The Giant Beastcast: Episode 149

It is great how they repeat what game they are talking about now.

@adamdork: Empty calories. :V

@zetdeef: genuinely curious what people don't like about this. four friends playfully teasing each other, everyone laughing. are people not able to read the situation as clearly not hostile? not singling you out, a lot of people seem to share your opinion!

Didn't this exact teacher email get read during the bombcast this week?

The way everyone is defending MK8 against Vinny sound like a bunch of constitutionalists defending the second amendment existing today because "That's the way it has always been," as if that in itself is a valid reason.

I appreciate hosts putting some effort into reminding listeners what they're talking about now and then, sometimes they start talking about a game or movie or something that you don't think you're interested in, then when you hear something interesting you're not sure what they said the game was when they started 10 minutes ago, and they keep saying, "this game," or, "this movie," but you don't know what they're talking about. Repeating the title now and then doesn't seem like that intrusive a request.

@danfess: I don‘t have the feeling of a hostile atmosphere. For me it’s just tiring. A joke here and there...no problem. But for example the Jeff Florida bit, they do that now for like three weeks?

And the impressions...These things are just not my kind of jokes I guess.

Couldn't agree more with Vinny on Mario Kart. It is such a frustrating game to play. I can't take the game seriously when it purposely punishes the leader because they are better or got lucky with items. Lightning bolt and blue shell are so overpowered and when your in 1st or 2nd all you'll get is the crappiest items. I understand some people like this game, but i can't enjoy it for long.

@Alex The second Assassin's Creed DLC is not considered canonical by Ubisoft. It's just a side story "what if" kind of deal. Only the first DLC is considered canonical.

Vinny is right about Sonic Transformed. Best kart racer ever made. The inventive stages that evolve over subsequent laps and the feel of the racing are better than anything Mario Kart has done. Also it has Ryo, BD Joe and Ulala in it cmon.

I had to stop listening to the podcast as soon as I heard this to come here and agree with Vinny: I think Sonic Racing Transformed is better than Mario Kart 8.

@bunguskhan: I'm going to listen to The Last Jedi on audible and play Mario Kart 8 instead of playing Rainbow Six with you tonight

The hyper-defensiveness of Mario Kart was funny for about ten seconds. After five or six interruptions I wanted Vinny to just to tell them to shut up and let him finish a sentence.

@north6: Mofos double-dipping on emails, yet they still haven't read mine. Super annoying.

@murbillray: Yeah, and the thing about hearing loss is that it's so darn gradual. I had mentioned going to hundreds of shows, and it was something I never thought about until maybe ten years in.

"Turn up the movie, it's so quiet."

"Dude, no, the windows are already shaking."

So prevention is key. It'll come on with age somewhat, but giving it a head start when you're young will do no favors.

I would love a "like" counter on this podcast. I just can't stop hearing how many times some of them say "like". I guess I am getting old and crabby but it drive me nuts.

Side note: I am really enjoying Far Cry 5. I could care less what the game has to say about American politics. The story hasn't been great but it is a lot of fun.

Jeff is correct, while servicable to good, NHL is the step child of the EA sports main 4 franchises. I don't want them to just add in a "going pro" story mode. Need to bring back a really good EASHL mode.

Just my two cents on the Steam Controller convo, I'm pretty pleased with the controller myself. Apart from slower things (i.e. anything turn-based), I actually love the controller for Dead Cells. Once you get used to the trackpad for your camera (which is minimal in that game), it functions like any other controller. If I didn't get it for the Switch, I'm sure I'd be rockin' that controller for Celeste as well. This, of course, comes with the caveat of playing a 2d platformer with a control stick; I haven't tried (and don't care to try) the left trackpad as a d-pad substitute.

Totally on Vinnys side on the karting games. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is an truly an awesome game. I prefer it to the Mario Kart games. Bought it dirt cheap on a steam sale to have something to play with my brother when he was visiting and both of us was blown away how fun it was.

Yeah after last week I don't know if I'll listen this week.

What does Abby mean by Life is Strange having a skill tree at around 58 minutes?

Definitely with Vinny on this one. I have countless hours in Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed. That game handily beats Mario Kart 8 for me. Every aspect of that game is more fun for me to play than MK8. I also think Racing Transformed edges MK8 out in creativity with track construction. MK8 is still a great game, though.

Vinny is correct.

I do not really understand this but in any event it is barely present in this episode.

@kaneis said:

She misspoke. In context of the game she was discussing, she clearly means she likes games with branching dialogue trees.

Area Sonic Man Accidentally Drives to Mario Kart County, Is Immediately Besieged.

There was Quake vs. Unreal, Gran Turismo vs. Forza, Battlefield vs. Call of Duty. Now, our latest eternal struggle is Mario Kart vs. Sonic & All-Stars Racing!

I've played and enjoyed both Mario Kart 8 and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Mario Kart definitely shows its ethos that you can glean from this Eurogamer interview:

"We're always experimenting with what new elements to introduce or what elements can be removed," Yabuki said. "We have tried - or we are trying - to see what the game's like without the blue shell. When we've experimented without the blue shell, actually it feels like something's missing. Like there's something not quite enough in the game. So for now we've kept it in.

"You know," he continued, "sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes in life you have something where you feel that's not right, and that's frustrating."

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-07-21-love-it-or-hate-it-it-sounds-like-the-blue-shell-is-here-to-stay

With Mario Kart, the non-Vinnys are absolutely correct in their implication that the bullshit is the point.

Compare that to the pedigree of Sumo Digital Ltd., developers of the Sonic racing games, which includes the awesome ports of OutRun 2, and you can see why the competitive racing in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a bit more tighter and... competitive.

I am anxiously waiting for the next iteration of Mario Kart, foolishly hoping that Nintendo EPD might take the game's balance to more favor skillful racing. But the near instant, yet jovial, dog piling on Vinny with the battle of the kart racers felt a little embarrassing and gave me flashes of how awful Nintendo zealots can get in other forums.

With the news of the new Sonic Racing game coming out and the inevitability of the next generation of Mario Kart, I just pray that Nintendo deems it fit to green light another F-Zero game.

It used to feel playful, because they knew when the joke had run it's course. I used to really enjoy the light ribbing between friends, but something has changed recently in a way that really puts me off and makes me feel bummed out. Between last episodes belaboring of dunking on Jeff Bakalar, to this like 15 minute shouting match about why Vinny wasn't allowed to like Sonic better than Mario Kart, it just feels extremely different to the show it once was (one that was refreshingly positive, in a sea of cynicism).

I mostly doubt any of them are walking away from the cast with genuine hurt feelings, but there just seems to be disregard to when to draw the line. I think there's a genuine interesting conversation to be had from someone who has spent so much time with Sonic Racing coming to Mario Kart after a long break. It's why it was a bummer to me that the point immediately got shut down by members of the cast going out of their way to cut off his points by talking louder and immediately dismissing his statements. Strong opinions are great, I just wish it was less of the shouting match it became.

It's just gone from this very positive kind podcast (from the "It's the best time to be playing video games" to "Happy Birthday to everyone whose birthday it is") to one that legitimately feels hostile to listen to. I know how ridiculous that sounds, and I'm sure members of the cast even would feel like I'm being overly dramatic, it just bums me out. Even the 'oh people are gonna be mad at us for this' statements are laughed off in a way that doesn't feel like they're taken seriously, which sucks.

This is the first comment I've left in like five years, and didn't mean to write a novel-length response to your post in particular. Just something that's really been bumming me out for the past few episodes.

Poor Vinny, everyone just piled on him. Who would have thought that Mario Kart would inspire one of the more impassioned arguments from the BeastCrew. Great ep, bring on 150!

I’ve never tried nacho cheese, but I separately discovered as a kid that Oreo’s + cheddar cheese is a weirdly good combination. And can confirm, people usually scoff at first but come around after a bite.

Vinny is absolutely correct. Sonic All-Stars Transformed is a damn fantastic game that has significantly less of the bullshit that Mario Kart revels in.

Yikes, lots of shouting at Vinny in that Mario Kart/Sonic Racing discussion.

And if the best argument you have is "that's part of the series, that's how it's always been", you've already lost. (Deduct extra points for using Mario Party as a comparison, a series solidly built on bad game design decisions.)

@ibroughtbeer: Sega finally did it, Sonic beat Mario!

Sonic and All Stars was such a pleasant surprise, probably helped by being more of a Sega kid. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was my first Mario Kart game since the very first on the SNES, but I'm just not having as much fun with it. Something about the way it controls, the rubber-banding and the way it treats you when in first place.

@buttonbasher

Yes, this! It's frustrating but I felt this for quite a while but could never really express it in a good way.

I rarely comment, but I had to drop in to echo the sentiment that Vinny has the correct opinion RE: kart racers.

Does anyone know which bombcast they talk about the Noobz director's spat with Dan?

Another one in agreement with Vinny. Mario Kart is great for multiplayer, but I don't have the tolerance for its arbitrary bullshit in single-player. I've been meaning to pick up Sonic Racing Transformed for a while (mostly because it has Skies of Arcadia and JSR characters in it) and Vinny makes another good case for it.

Also Diddy Kong Racing is still GOAT as far as kart racers are concerned. I wish that DS port had been better.

Spirit detective? I'm going to just write Yu yu hokusho here. That anime deserves more love.

PLEASE DO A FILMS AND 40's OF GRANDMAS BOY! KTHXBYE!

Vin is right on the Sonic Racing debate. Mario Kart is fine its just not as good. Seems peoples reason for Mario Kart being better is "Because Mario." I do love the heavy rubber banding being justified with "because that's how its always been" too.

Vinny is right. Mario Kart 8 is a good game, but Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is just flat out better. I'm glad Vinny is giving people the courage to finally say this because I've felt alone on this for a long time.

The one point I'll give to Mario Kart 8 is that the course design is incredible - amazing tracks that all look great and often very inventive. The tracks in Sonic are a little hit and miss and often just don't have the same flair as those in MK8.

Other than that though, Sonic is just a better game to actually play. Mario Kart may be better in a party local multiplayer setting, but if I'm playing on my own or with people that are capable video game players, Sonic is just better.

#VinnyWasRight

For what it's worth, I enjoy the friendly ribbing between the crew.

Yeah I probably spent the same amount of time between Sonic and Mario. Rubberbanding isn't okay because they've been doing it for 20 years. It sucked then and it sucks in 2018. Put that rubber banding in literally anything else without Mario in the title and everyone would riot.

Wow, I did'nt expect to see so many people agreeing that Sonic Racing > Mario Kart. There seem to be a lot of people that just don't give Sonic a chance "because Sonic lol". And yeah, I can get it to an extent. The series' name has been dragged through the mud enough that he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore like Mario always will. But in this case Sega simply beat Nintendo at its own game. Mario Kart is rightfully THE name in kart racing but it's good to have its dominance challenged from time to time. I hope Sega makes another one.