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Side Quest, Episode 68: Some More Thoughts on DualSense

Via Matty.

Sacred Symbols, Episode 94: Cloud Nine

Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally arrived, and with it a bevy of high expectations. Have they been met? Well, for one of us, anyway, expectations have been far exceeded. We're excited to gush about Square Enix's fresh tour-de-force, and dedicate tons of time to Cloud's new-old adventure. Of course, we won't forget about the news! DualSense is PS5's new controller, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Silent Hill Remake both get new rumors, Sony is automatically refunding people's digital pre-orders ...

Should We (or Shouldn't We) Move Sacred Symbols' Record and Release Dates?

Hey!

As promised on Episode 94 of Sacred Symbols, Chris and I want to let you -- our beloved audience -- vote on if we should move the podcast's record date from Monday to Thursday, and our publish date from Tuesday to Friday each week.

The reason? Well, our current recording schedule has us missing some news each week (forcing you to wait until the following week), a problem especially pronounced for our "freeloader" listeners. It is true, however, that this problem will still ...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXVI: Meet DualSense

If you expected PlayStation 5's controller to be called DualShock 5, you would have been making the logical guess, but you'd also be wrong. PS5's controller will instead be called DualSense, and Sony randomly revealed it this past week to mixed reaction. Some people hate it; others love it. We here on Sacred Symbols? Well, we're optimistic, but cautiously so. On today's episode of +, we thought we'd delve into what little we know about this important piece of hardware, what we think of what w...

KnockBack, Episode 113: True Detective (Season One)

We live in a golden age of television, but even some of the best series stick around too long. Unlike many of its contemporaries, though, HBO has a good habit of identifying ideas that don't need to linger, and while True Detective has three seasons, they're all detached from one another. The first season -- running eight episodes back in early 2014 -- is widely considered one of the best miniseries ever created, with exceptional performances, amazing writing, and a setting so thoroughly real...

Side Quest, Episode 67: The Best Games PSP Had to Offer

Hopefully your battery didn't explode.

Sacred Symbols, Episode 93: Indefinitely Quarantined

When it comes to gaming, anyway, Coronavirus has officially claimed its greatest victim yet: The Last of Us Part II. As predicted on this show more than a month ago, COVID-19 has forced Sony's and Naughty Dog's hand, and the most anticipated PS4 exclusive of them all hasn't only been delayed, but delayed indefinitely. We don't know when it's coming out, now, and it's a huge deal, which we discuss in-depth. There's lots of other news to get through, too! Resident Evil 8 is rumored to be PS5-bo...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXV: The Halo Effect

With a new Halo finally coming out this fall, it begs the question: Would we get such high-profile, high-caliber releases from first party publishers if they didn't have hardware to push? It's a relevant inquiry in the realm of PlayStation, too, what with The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima on the (indefinitely delayed) horizon. During today's mailbag-centric episode of +, we delve into the realities of being both a hardware manufacturer and game developer, the expectation of quality that co...

KnockBack, Episode 112: The Little Mermaid

The ocean is a mysterious and even scary place, but in Disney's 1989 classic animated film The Little Mermaid, it's pretty damn awesome. That's what makes protagonist Ariel's insistence on leaving her home waters for the world above so confounding... that is until she falls in love and finds the perfect excuse to live her dream. The Little Mermaid was the first film in the so-called Disney Renaissance of the '80s and '90s, and it still holds up wonderfully these few decades later. So let's ex...

Sacred Symbols, Episode 92: Staying Indoors

Are you losing your mind yet? Hopefully not, for while Coronavirus is running roughshod over societies around Earth, imagine how bored you'd be if you were isolating yourself and surviving a pandemic in, say, 1900. With the Internet, video games, streaming TV, and much more, we can stay entertained and connected even through these trying and historic times, but it doesn't mean it's not taking a toll on many of us. And, not surprisingly, COVID-19 is taking a toll on the gaming industry, too. S...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXIV: Making Twin Breaker

Somehow, I (Colin) helped making a video game that came to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita mere days ago. Indeed, it's been quite the journey, and for as hard as I might have worked, developer Barry Johnson of Lillymo Games worked substantially harder. He's the one that approached me to make this game; I was lucky enough to merely be along for the ride, give the brick-breaker a story, and help evangelize it to the public. Now that it's in the wild, though, I figured it would be a good time...

Chris Ray Gun Goes Wild in Doom Eternal

In hell.

KnockBack, Episode 111: Inglourious Basterds

Few modern filmmakers are more popular, beloved, controversial, and even reviled than Quentin Tarantino. When he got his start in the early '90s with the cult classic Reservoir Dogs, no one could have predicted his meteoric rise in the American and global movie industries, but it's his 2009 flick Inglourious Basterds that's perhaps his most popular offering. Inglourious Basterds tells an alternate history tale in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, and it melds an intriguing story, wond...

Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure IS OUT NOW!!!

Hey All,

I hope you're doing well (all things considered).

I just wanted to let you all know that Twin Breaker -- our PS4 and Vita game -- is now out on PSN. It's $9.99 (or your local equivalent), cross-buy between platforms, has two Platinum Trophy lists, a story, tons of modes, and more. It'll keep you busy for a bit during these trying times. =)

Europeans: Please note that the EU PSN doesn't update until Wednesday, so you'll have to wait just a few more hours from the ...

Sacred Symbols, Episode 91: Go to Hell

Here on Sacred Symbols, we like to make fun of Chris Ray Gun for all sorts of reasons, but it's his undying love of Doom that's perhaps easiest to target. After all, he brings it up nonstop. But this week is Chris' week, friends, because Doom Eternal has finally arrived, and our young Puerto Rican friend is hyped up and ready to talk all about it. Let's give him the floor, shall we? Then, let's jump into the news! Sony's bizarre PS5 tech reveal was so confusing and ill-conceived that they had...

KnockBack, Episode 110 | Batman: Arkham Asylum

Today, Rocksteady is one of the most famous game developers on the planet, but back in 2009, they were basically unknown. With only one obscure PS2 game under their belt, the British team was met with an enticing challenge: Make a good Batman title. Turns out, such a task is easier said than done, but Rocksteady rose to the occasion. 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the very best licensed games ever created, an ode not only to the Dark Knight, but to 3D exploration and kinetic fisticuff...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXIII: Mark Cerny's Power Hour

We --those who have been anticipating PlayStation 5 -- have been extraordinarily patient. While Microsoft has spoken quite a bit about Xbox Series X, we've been left wondering about PS5, waiting for more than just an interview or two while next-gen hurtles towards us. Well, the day we've been waiting for has finally arrived... kinda. In a 52 minute presentation, Sony's technology wizard Mark Cerny took to the stage and spoke openly about the console in public and at length for the very first ...

Colin's Last Stand Turns Three

Hey,

Three years ago -- on March 20th, 2017 -- I launched Colin's Last Stand.

1,095 days later or so, CLS is the second-biggest gaming Patreon in the world (and in the Top 30 overall), with one of the most hardcore audiences in the space. There are some 50,000 people or so who listen to CLS content each week, and there are more than 8,000 of you supporting the brand with your hard-earned cash in an era where you have content galore to choose from.

<...

The Finer Points of Nioh 2

Matty goes to Japan.

Sacred Symbols, Episode 90: Crisis

This episode of Sacred Symbols -- like every one before it -- will become a time capsule. It's just that, in these seemingly historic days, this time capsule might be a little more real than the rest. The world is going through a tumultuous period, and in our little corner called The Gaming Industry, we certainly aren't immune. E3 is cancelled, for starters, but that's no surprise. And word of distress is emerging from Naughty Dog about harsh working conditions, too. But perhaps the biggest n...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXII: Community

Video game players around the world are indeed broken into many different communities, groups large and small that span individual titles, whole franchises, and even entire genres. But which community reigns supreme? Fighting fans, perhaps? Or maybe it's JRPG nerds? In today's mailbag-centric episode of +, we discuss (pardon the rhyme). Plus: Capcom has remade two classic Resident Evil games, but should it leave Resident Evil 4 alone? Should Sony port its double-A first and second party games...

KnockBack, Episode 109: Divorce

It's true: We would have never chosen to do this topic on our own. But when our beloved audience voted on Patreon to hear this discussion, we simply had to oblige. In 1992, the Moriarty Brothers' parents split. In the wake of that event, our lives were reshaped forever. This isn't an uplifting episode of KnockBack by any stretch of the imagination, but it's most certainly a candid and honest one, one about loss, pain, choice, and consequences. We are who we are, in part, because of this traum...

Side Quest, Episode 66: Are Video Game Critics Bought-Off?

No... but the optics sure aren't good.

Sacred Symbols, Episode 89: Cordyceps and Katanas

While we await news of PlayStation 5 from Sony (seriously... what the hell are they doing?), news has emerged from two important -- and very different -- projects. First, Ghost of Tsushima, arguably the last of the big PlayStation 4 first party exclusives, finally has a release date, and it's a lot sooner than any of us expected. Then, a more unexpected nugget: The Last of Us is getting an HBO series! But is that a wise risk to take with arguably the brand's most beloved IP? We discuss. Lots ...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode XXXI: Economics

With news of PlayStation 5 hopefully on the horizon, it goes without saying that a major focus is going to be cost: Cost of the hardware, cost of the software, and the overall cost of doing business, particularly when compared to its competition. Thing is, there's a lot that goes into pricing a console and its games, and this new generation might just turn it all on its head. Games are indeed cheaper than they've ever been; the systems may just get into that range of historic affordability, t...

KnockBack, Episode 108: Cuphead

The so-called run-and-gunner Cuphead is hands down one of the most beautiful video games ever created. Crafted in the spirit of the rubber hose cartoon stylings of the 1920s and 1930s, Cuphead is a rarity in the modern industry: It's drawn and animated by hand, and it's brutally (and we mean brutally) difficult. It's also charming, artfully designed, funny, and full of lush detail that truly showcases the sheer amount of work and energy that went into making it. Thus, we simply had to dedicat...

Twin Breaker Physical Copies NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!!!

Hey,

I don't want to be too annoying on here with Twin Breaker, but I wrote a video game so you're just going to have to deal with it.

I know a lot of you are interested in pre-ordering physical copies of Twin Breaker on PS4, Vita, or both, and I wanted to let you know that those pre-orders are now open.

Edit: Patreon's link system is busted for some reason. Here's the link, which you may need to C&P into your browser if it's not clickable:   2020-03-05 16:40:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Side Quest, Episode 65: Buying PS Vita in 2020 (An Investment in History!)

It's not dead until we say it's dead.

The Return of Side Quest, Let's Plays, etc.

Hey All,

I hope you're doing well!

It's been a busy time in Colin's Last Stand world the last couple of months, what with Sacred Symbols, Sacred Symbols+, and KnockBack cruising along, Twin Breaker launching on PS4 and Vita very soon, and me laying in bed all day like Grandpa Joe... but with a laptop and a DualShock 4 instead of a shitty TV and three other old people.

With all of the excitement and busyness, a couple of things have fallen through the cracks. One of those ...

Sacred Symbols, Episode 88: Maintaining Its Luster

Back in 2007, Platinum Games was founded by some of (at the time) Capcom's heaviest hitters, including Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya. Some 13 years later, the team is one of the most respected independent development studios in the world, and it's finally ready to shed its shackles from publishers like SEGA, Activision, and Nintendo, and strike out on its own. So let's chat about it! Plus: The creator of the famous Konami Code has passed away, GDC gets postponed in fear of the Coronavirus, ...