Garbage Game Night

In a double-header, the gang tackles two games from 1994 that fuse ROCK N' ROLL with video games. First, we take a look at a 3DO game called 'Virtuoso' in which 'Our Hero', a rockstar, uses a virtual reality headset to escape the fandom you experience every moment of every day. With absolutely nothing at stake, we explore the power of the 3DO, discuss what the hell a 3DO is, and doom-clones in our the first half of our podcast.

In the second half of our podcast we launch into something with a little more meat, the arcade light-gun shooter Revolution X. What was originally going to be a Jurassic Park shooter was transformed into a fully-backed Aerosmith tie-in. We watch some behind the scenes videos of Aerosmith recording the digitized footage for this game, whether Aerosmith is the right band to save us from a neo-industrial corporate militaristic empire and how arcade games port to console.

Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death is a game starring Marlow Briggs and a mask of death. It is difficult to summarize the self-awareness and joy that this game finds in it's niche of over-the-top action and absurdity. With it's God of War style mechanics, it's excellent tone and startling apt graphics, this may just be the most enjoyable (but lowest critic reviewed) game we've found on Garbage Game Night.

It's Guess Who, but it's got a sexually implicit name and is maybe a commentary on capital punishment? Frank hosts this 2015 game by the team who brought you Super Meatboy and The Binding of Isaac is... a game... We discuss the difficulty of discerning what things are 'not gross' in this art style, kill a lot of people, Frank gives us stats on capital punishment and we meander into talk about Invincible and Justice League. This homage to Frank's finger tips leaves us thinking of newgrounds and ebaumsworld, but despite the fandom from Edmund Mcmillen the reviews aren't all good. 

This week we dive back into the 90s childhood of Apple II games, among the Oregon Trail's and Number/Word Munchers, you might have played a business sim called DinoPark Tycoon. This very early theme park managing game taught children the value of income and expense as well as the inevitable failure of owning your own business. Were we better at this game as kids? Why the hell is it so difficult? Are we in an alternate universe where dinosaurs enslave dinosaurs and there was a T. Rex president? We cover it all in this episode with Tom, Grace, Frank and Chris.

From 2009 - can fantasy games work without being Tolkien Based? Chilean developer ACE Team thinks so. In their 2009 game Zeno Clash they have created a world full of unsettling creatures and mysterious plot. Plus, you can punch it all in the face then kick it while it's on the ground. The gang checks out this PC/XBLA release a decade later. 

This week we take a run at running a slower life, the life of a modern day farmer. Will this simulator give us the pure unadulterated farming experience? Or is it another one of those farming sims that give you a manufactured bells and whistles experience. Join us as we salute the heartland heroes by plowing a field for 35 minutes and doing farm puns.

In 2003 our favorite Slovokian Republic game developer, Cauldron, created a massive epic story that might have slightly been based on Total Recall. You are Chaser, or are you? and you are trying to figure out why you're being hunted, or are you? We try to unravel the plot and get some help from Frank as he explains the plots of Total Recall and Face/Off.

In 1992 (or maybe 1993) Mario-mania was sweeping the nation. The educators wanted to get kids interested in learning again, and what better way to trick them then using the Mario Brothers. But enough spotlight on Mario, why don't we make Luigi the star? The gang explores this Edutainment game released on DOS and ported to NES and SNES. Does the plot make sense not particularly. Are the facts correct? No. But it's a game. You can say that about it. Tom, Frank, Hunter and Chris go on a worldwide quest to find Mario despite knowing exactly where he is. 

In a special Valentines Day episode, Carley Hosts our second dating sim, targeting the most dangerous animal, dad. We play through the first couple hours of the game reading characters and learning about the creation of this... experience. Will we be able to seduce a dad? Is the game about a lot more than dating? Lets find out. Joining us: Scott, Moe, Richard, Kristen, Frank, Chris, Hunter, and Carley

What is an Ibn Battuta? This Saudi developer Semaphoor is on a quest to tell us. In their first full-fledged game using an episodic approach in 2013's Unearthed: The Trail of Ibn Battuta. The gang tries their hand at tomb raiding and killing so many people who just don't want you to be destroying historical artifacts. We talk Indiana Jones trivia, Uncharted and how this game exists and what's in its future. Chris, Tom, Hunter, Carley and Frank dust off the adventuring gear