The Giant Beastcast: Episode 129

Aw man, this is the first I'm hearing of Runic being bought by China (tm). I really enjoyed Torchlight.

@sethmode: I don't know about any of that fanboy stuff or defending your brand, but I do feel like they more readily brush off most stuff Xbox related and I do believe it simply stems from them not using that system very often and as a result not being very familiar with it. The whole "you can't find your game on the dashboard" seems so silly yet I'm pretty sure they say it earnestly as if they honestly have trouble finding the games tab from the main screen. It's not a huge deal really it's just something you notice. It's on the same level as Dan instantly proclaiming some game is "fucking awful" simply because he doesn't like it and so forth - if you were to get incredibly upset at that each time you heard it the Beastcast wouldn't be all that enjoyable to listen to. Although on the other hand Dan is a very extreme case of this as Vinny at least tries to be a bit more diplomatic about stuff he didn't enjoy whereas Dans approach is very grating in it's delivery.

holy fuck the Billy Squire thing just got me crying

@humanity: I agree with you. Particularly regarding just lack of familiarity. I find myself a little confused every time MS changes the UI, and I use my Xbox all the time. I couldn't imagine using it as infrequently as I think that they do. Although, having said that, it is a little silly for them to act like it's this completely imperceptible thing when it's obvious that they just don't use it. I think it's safe to say that video games just have a UI problem, because any time you don't use one enough to get used to it, it's going to seem confusing as hell (at least, in my anecdotal experience that has been the case).

It just feels like a weird to keep being an issue, considering those that like the Xbox, already have the Xbox (at least, in my experience with the comments after podcasts).

@sethmode: I was mostly surprised how last week Jeff (Bakalar) was just so down on the Xbox One X while at the same time seemingly knew nothing about it. He just knew that he didn't think it was any good and as a result of that internal opinion didn't think anyone had any reason to get one.

At the end of the day I do think it's all about how you say it more so than what you're saying. I mean these are all opinions and you'll either agree with them or not. If you talk around an issue in an intelligent matter instead of blatantly flipping off snap judgments people won't get this sudden slap across the face of hearing their favorite thing "sucks shit" and as result won't be motivated to rush to the comments section and start writing a dissertation about why the staff are wrong and they don't know anything. Lord knows I've gotten "triggered" a few times when someone mentioned a thing I like and simply said "blahh it sucks because I said so" so I'm not surprised tons of others feel the need to come in here and start defending things they like.

Learning that Alex is a Bone fan makes me respect him even more.

I wonder if the Telltale game is worth digging up.

Alex's laughter at 1:48:00 or so made my day.

Going off of the comments from last week. Most people seem to be upset that you guys as professionals didn’t know the basic features and functions of a platform that you are paid to cover.

It predates the Sam & Max games, so is probably a little basic these days. I get the impression they left it unfinished, there were only two episodes made.

I find myself listening to and watching things on this site far less often because I'm not into sony's 1st party games lately and have never been into Nintendo. I don't want them to pretend to be into the things I am, I just have zero interest in the majority of what they've covered/played lately. I tried Nier Automata because of their effusive praise for it and it did absolutely nothing for me.

I'm ready to be educated about Billy Squier.

@xshinobi: This is a confusing post to me. They have talked about it here, to the best of their ability, and done an entire stream about it on the West coast. So when you say something like "that you are paid to cover" I guess I find that a little weird. They're paid to do a lot of things, but I'd be surprised if most paying members are doing so to hear the most cutting edge, cut-and-dry, this platform is blank kind of info. There are literally dozens of other places to get that info, and almost all of them are more focused and therefore better for it.

This is a site where three of the major premium (paid for) content were for games from three previous generations. So, yeah, I guess I'm not sure who is coming here for an older-school IGN style write up of a console, let alone someone who is paying the premium membership for that service.

Guys I have the solution for increasing bandwidth costs:

Produce a set of videos that aren't posted to the site normally and that a viewer can get access to, one at a time at random, after paying a $2 fee. Perhaps in order to enhance the excitement around getting the video, it could come in some sort of virtual container with an elaborate opening animation.

Sun Chips are the best!

On Abby worrying about the small indie games not getting a lot of love in the 2017 GOTY list. I can understand where she's coming from considering that this has been a monster year for AAA games. However, the past 2 years' lists has had a good balance between AAA and Indie titles. 2015 had an even split and last year there were 6 indie games that were selected into the top 10. Actually retroactively speaking, you could say Hitman is the first Indie game to win GOTY on GB since IO Interactive is Independent now and they still own Hitman.

But we'll see. For indies I know Cuphead and Steamworld Dig 2 are locks for the top 10 this year. Maybe a wild card like Night in the Woods, Pyre or Absolver (Jason loves it) could sneak in as well.

1:47:08

How is everyone in this comment thread not talking about that high school Vinny picture? So much hair...

Abby cracked me up during the football talk

"I was a dumb lineman. What I mean by dumb is..."

"You're stupid!"

Also, I knew that email about filling petrol to the exact dollar amount came from someone from Australia. I could just tell by the words used in the writing, especially when they said 'bowser'. Game respect game.

I can't believe I have never heard of Billy Squier before this. I can't remember ever hearing his name or seeing his face, but after googling, I have definitely heard his songs a million times.

if the only knowledge aliens have of humanity is the giant beastcast no wonder they dont talk to us

@redhotchilimist: That keeps screwing me over, too.

If you're talking about the image for the podcast, that's not Vinny, that's Billy Squier (Dan does his weird song in his head to one of his songs).

Anywho. Loved this episode, you guys! My one piece of (what I hope is) constructive criticism is that you all talked over each other a lot this episode. Made it kind of confusing in bits.

It's weird how much Billy Squier looked like Vinny in high school, but I went to different highschools with Vinny and that's Vinny.

I'm going to post this and I would email it in, but nobody cares about cars!

Doloreans body's were made of stainless steel, so when Vinny said, "A rusted out Delorean." They really can't rust. Sure the frames and other parts are not stainless steel, but the body's don't rust.

This is my personal assessment of what Giant Bomb is as a website. Even though the subject matter is primarily gaming-related, this is first and foremost a personality-driven place. The top objective is to create fun and entertaining videos. If you came here for technical deep-dives into hardware and software, you're going to be disappointed.

OMFG Dan you're a hero never change

I can't believe we are all just going to let it slide that Dan the owner of a very expensive OLED tv isn't even using HDR because he has a "nice receiver". If it wasn't for the hilarious "stroke me" section I would have been much more livid.

Alex was so spot on with the comparison between the Larry David stare and LA Noire. Now I need this video with "Truth, Doubt, Lie" in the top left corner.

@eojay: Well, normally a game would take around 50H to complete. Or maybe I play too much RPGs. Dunno, the length seems normal to me, and asides normal FPS that are short, I don't see any other game that wouldn't be long.

But yeah, I get that they wouldn't be into it and that it would be a lost cause (At least I thought that Danganronpa would be a little more popular). Just the way it was mentioned during the podcast bugged me a little.

I love Dan so much. That was one of the best email segments ever.

Just when I thought I that Dan's quirks could no longer surprise me.

Beastcast, Beastcast, maybe it's a Beast, maybe it's a Cast now!

I don't think anybody has honestly ever said "You cover JRPGs too much" to Giant Bomb.

As far as the console wars and fanboying goes, that stuff is largely stupid, but I can see where some of it comes from. You guys will always go with the "lead", because those games are the ones you're being sent, if nothing else. Back during last gen, you didn't have one dude that was primarily Playstation, and you don't have an Xbox dude now. You were all going in on the Xbox then, and are now all Playstation.

You hear all sides calling you out not just because of different people or dumb fans, but because whatever console you don't prefer at the current time inevitably leaves the people that only play that console out in the cold. That's never gonna be the majority of people, since the system leader is the one you take and all. But it's gonna be some amount of people that are bitter that their console only ever comes up when something is wrong or you don't get its interface. I can respect that annoyance, even if I can't respect the raging dumbass fans with stupid t-shirts.

Regarding the backlash to your Xbox talk, I don't think it's a system wars thing. You guys come off as willfully ignorant about a lot of the info and features of the 1X just because yall don't seem to care about it. There is a podcast on this very site that would have answered a lot of the questions you guys have and there has been a ton of info out there about what the system does or doesn't do. I think most people would prefer it if you didn't even bother talking about something you guys don't care or know anything about.

You are clearly missing the obvious conclusion. Billy Squier IS VINNY CARAVELLA. Have you seen them in the same room at the same time? Didn't think so.

oh dan

oh my god dan

INCREDIBLE

A seminal installment of this fine audio program.

Gaining that kind of insight into Dan's mind and the crew's subsequent reaction to it was absolutely priceless :D

Such as.....

That's the recurring comment here, "you guys don't know what you're talking about," followed by no additional information.

Wait... does Jeff just work for CNET and not as an actual GBE member? I'm fairly new to GB (2015), and this is the first time I've listened to the Beastcast outside of highlight clips.

@dechief: yep, Jeff Bakalar doesn't work for GB at all.

He doesn't but he really should. If Jeff B. was a regular part of the Beastcrew then GB East would be an unstoppable powerhouse.

At this point I honestly cannot imagine the Beastcast without Bakalar on it - he is in my opinion as integral as Vinny.

@depecheload I think what most people talk about when mentioned them not knowing anything about the Xbox is probably stuff like not being able to find the games tab from the main menu and such. I mean you asked "such as.." so thats an example I can cite.

Well that superstition section made me feel good about myself. Holy crap.

Also don’t worry about the Xbox complaining. When there’s a single reason to talk about it, like a game, they will.

@mocbucket62: yeah. I felt like that comment came out of left field. Perhaps a legit worry since this has been such a full year for video games, however, to me it felt just like seeding a reason for why 'her' games won't get traction in GOTY talks. Easier to come up with a reason now then to deal with the fallout later. Hopefully she brings some good arguments to GOTY, but I'm worried it will just be a bit of audible sighs and pouting.

I need Jeremiah and Margaret to come back.

Oh man, the stroke thing Dan does is the best thing I've heard in a while. That's awesome.

I'm pretty into hearing Dan describe what it's like inside his head , while Abby is going W...hat?what? Dan? That's hilarious. Whenever i watch football, there's this goalkeeper named Onana. Whenever i see or hear his name, i automatically go for the Onanana.... whats my name? chant. But that seems to be the go-to reaction for a lot of people.

I do share a lot of Alex & Dan's weird things. Like i would always prefer to pay cash, because my old card once didn't function, because of some scratch or the reader being faulty. Card looked fairly pristine, so it was probably the reader. Since then i wanted to be 100% guaranteed that i could pay at the register. I would even stop by the bank, to withdraw cash with my card before going to the shop to use said cash. Just because i could trust the bank, and if something went wrong, i wouldn't be annoying other people by making them wait. I kept doing this for many years and didn't stop when i received a new untainted card, until i realized that it was just dumb and i stopped it right there. I'm also a feathering to the euro amount kind of person.

I also hardly dig through drawers. Mostly pick from the top, unless it's a special occasion.