The Giant Beastcast: Episode 250

BEASSSTTTTTTTTTT

Thank you Mike!!!

beastie time.

Miiiiiiiiike. <3 o7

Mike gonna miss that dude

Ah I remember when MatMikeMark was at Game Informer he actually went to school in Rochester or Syracuse with my girlfriend at the time Kastner. Darn shame

Goodluck on your new ventures, Mike! Thanks!

I feel like we all were just getting to know Mahardy on GBEast. Good luck and we'll miss you! Time to go start your fighting career.

All the good people leave :(

Dan and now Mike? Stop. Please. No more leaving. :'(

:(

Miiiike :'(

I'll miss you on the show dude, thanks for being an honorary member of GB for the past few years now.

OH (mike voice)

will miss Mike

Mike always felt like he filled the void when Danny left... really gonna be missed. If Pete goes next I won't even know anyone left at Gamespot.

The Orange Cassidy moment in question:

ｔｈｉｃｃ

All these folks leaving :(

Best of luck Mike, excited to see what you do next.

Hey this was really fun, we hope you liked it too. Seems like we've just begun, when suddenly we're through~

Bye Mike, wish we'd had you on the podcast for longer.

o7

250! Congrats!

Oh my god, Mahardy’s tombstone thing

Man, I feel like the discussion about what holds up and doesn't is so couched in nostalgia but people of a certain age just won't admit it and act like the stuff they didn't grow up with is objectively worse.

Like, I grew up mostly on the N64/PS1 (little bit of Genesis), and have zero issue with how those games look as generally kind of like it. Conversely, I super don't care about how SNES games look, and think anything older than that basically looks like shit.

@epidehl: and your point is? You have bad taste? Great. Thanks.

Thank You, Mike! o7

@vinny if you’re playing Baldur’s Gate 1, then you might as well import your character and play Baldur’s Gate 2. It’s the pinnacle of the series.

This is an usually giggly episode. lol

Oh, I hated the Annihilation book but loved the movie. I recommend not bothering with the book.

Bummed Mike is leaving, but, can't be mad at someone chasing cash or love of something. Or both.

Thanks for welcoming me Jeff. Glad to help you all out!!

@adamdork: That's fair. I personally much preferred the books over the movie, but to each their own. My wife hated that book and looks at me weird whenever I say how much I enjoy it.

LOL, I'm the exact opposite. The movie is HOT TRASH!

RIP Mike Mahardy. We hardly knew you.

as a huge fan of TLoU-

i don't need a TLoU tv show. the story stands on its own.

@captubaplayer: I found the book poorly written. It had some cool ideas but didn't find any payoff. I looked up "spoilers" for the other two books to see if there was one and didn't feel like there was.

@maxxcanti: the movie isn’t nearly as good as the ardent fans say it is, but boy the book is PRETTY bad and even folks that rated it 5 stars on Goodreads and loved it (I did not) would go on to say the rest of the trilogy is not worth your time.

The first book is also very different than the movie since it’s a lot more psychological and philosophical. The film uses great cinematography to forego any real plot or character development and is a very visually arresting but ultimately shallow experience - and that’s fine because as a movie it can get away with it and still be enjoyable. The book does something similar but as a novel it can’t as easily get away with it.

2000-era Polygonal graphics are A+, probably easier to understand as a generational thing due to nostalgia but stuff like Anodyne 2 or even playing Morrowind for the first time this past week I'm like hell yeah this stuff looks good still.

I think Baldur's Gate looks like muddy trash, but it's entirely possible you just stop noticing after a while. You get used to anything if you're engaged. But I'm very happy, say, Disco Elysium doesn't look like those games at all despite using the perspective though.

But yeah, all old games and art styles aren't equal just because they're all old. I've been watching a lot of SNES gaming videos recently and it's super easy to tell whenever a game was either made in England and/or adapted from an Amiga, because they universally look worse than most others. If you're making a game with an old-school aesthetic, it's probably smart to go for one of the lookers. Streets of Rage is pretty damn aged but there's a world of difference between that beautiful and atmospheric pixel art and the boring, grimey mess you find in Final Fight 2.

Minor nitpick: I wish when discussing games they haven't talked about before, they would mention the name of the developers. Their hard work deserves a modicum of appreciation. Like, don't just say "the devs of Mutant Year Zero". Say, "The Bearded Ladies, from Malmo, Sweden"...

@vinny The smart delivery system is just a cross-generation cross-buy. Cyberpunk 2077 already committed to it. It simply means if you buy the game you get it for any xbox hardware. So I buy Cyberpunk on xbox one I get the Series X version as well. No need to rebuy a "remake" version like "TLOU Remastered" on PS4.

Damn! Gotta stop hemorrhaging talent.

To Mike Mahardy!

He lived fast!

He fucked hard!

He knew who Orange Cassidy was!

o7

man that thicc xbox talk got steamy

Typically I'm on the side of creators, but on this streaming thing I'm on the side of nVidia (morally, legally I dunno). If you've been paid for your game by the person playing it then I don't see how you get to control the method by which they play it.

I'm glad Mike pushed back on the double standard of it being fine to adapt a novel faithfully, but the crew was so negative on the idea of faithfully adapting Last of Us.

A Last of Us TV show isn't for people who are tired of zombie stuff. It's for people who loved the game and would like to see it adapted, and for people who consume TV more than they play games and haven't played this.

Thanks mike you eased the transition of the post dan hangover while bringing your own vibe and good times. Honestly occasionally overcooked the minutiae In games for me but the best you brought was so worth that, wishing you the best bro you seem like you have it together! And I did feel a difference in ur confidence self assurance as time went on hope it continues!!!

Mike says he's going to leave, Abby's gone, and the show gets super horny. What's going on...

@vinny I see you there with the Davenport TaZ reference

Thanks, Mike! Your GB shenanigans were appreciated.

I think this episode has finally caused me to flip sides. This podcast *does* reference Ghostbusters 1/2 and Trading Places too much.

It's been a fun ride. It's too bad about the "thick" bit and y'all having to shut down the site now.

Not to make light of the Corona situation, but it's always fun to hear Prepper Vinny come out.

Mike, despite never being an employee, you've become an important part of the GB family, and it's lesser without you.

I look forward to Eugene guesting on videos and podcasts in the future. That or (hopefully) someone getting hired.