MisanthroPlay Podcast

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MisanthroPlay Save Point - Kara no Shoujo

In this week’s Save Point, Robert talks about Innocent Grey’s adult visual novel Kara no Shōjo. Set in post-war Tokyo, Kara no Shōjo follows private detective Tokisaka Reiji as tries to track down a serial killer responsible for the deaths of several high school girls. It’s a problematic work, but a fascinating one nonetheless.

Advance warning: this episode describes scenes of sexual violence. Listener discretion advised.

Head on over to the MisanthroPlay blog to have a listen.

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Robert and Alvin talk about games that make use of procedural generation to inform their play experience. From the randomized dungeons of Rogue, Diablo and their Japanese cousin Mystery Dungeon, to more unconventional uses such as The Elder Scrolls’ ill-fated Radiant AI system.

In more general gaming, we both play Salt and Sanctuary, Robert anticipates Dark Souls 3 by picking up his old Dark Souls save, while Alvin does the same with Dark Souls 2. We’ve also give impressions on Hyper Light Drifter and Enter the Gungeon, and continue the dungeon theme with Stranger of Sword City and Legend of Grimrock.

Listen!

[misanthroplay]

Robert and Alvin talk about games that make use of procedural generation to inform their play experience. From the randomized dungeons of Rogue, Diablo and their Japanese cousin Mystery Dungeon, to more unconventional uses such as The Elder Scrolls' ill-fated Radiant AI system.

In more general gaming, we both play Salt and Sanctuary, Robert anticipates Dark Souls 3 by picking up his old Dark Souls save, while Alvin does the same with Dark Souls 2. We've also give impressions on Hyper Light Drifter and Enter the Gungeon, and continue the dungeon theme with Stranger of Sword City and Legend of Grimrock.

Listen!

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Hallelujah, Easter Eaters! In keeping with the theme of this wonderous four day weekend, this episode of MisanthroPlay discusses video game depictions of the hottest of afterlife destinations. From the heavy metal-tinged inferno of Doom to the filthy vermin-filled pits of Yokai Dochuuki, we examine the medium's wide variety of hellscapes and how they choose to simulate endless torment. When you shuffle off this mortal coil, will you wander through an extradimensional building with no exit in Corpse Party, or will you face endless hordes of chittering skulls and insects in Devil Daggers? Perhaps you'll end up in a Living Hell of your own design, like poor ol' James of Silent Hill 2?

Head on over to the MisanthroPlay blog to have a listen.

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MisanthroPlay Episode #8: Idol Chatter

Thank Goodness it’s MisanthroPlay! We’ve upgraded PCs and braved neck pain to bring you this exciting episode. This week, Alvin pets all the animals of Far Cry Primal and rebels against KAISER OBLIVION in Bravely Second: End Layer. Robert finds that Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest hasn’t yet ignited a flame in his heart, but he finds a kindred spirit in a Stranger of Sword City. We also learned to stop worrying and love save-scumming in XCOM 2 and officially find SUPERHOT to be SUPERCOOL.

Last week’s Nintendo Direct has brought a wealth of exciting news: We yearn to robo-rock to Kirby Planet Robobot, we cautiously observe Paper Mario Color Splash. Notably, we learn that Atlus/Intelligent Systems collaboration Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is financed by idol jimusho Avex, and why this causes an ethical dilemma.

But hey! We’re not the type of podcast that’s content to go out on a negative, so we express our enthusiasm for upcoming hot 2016 releases Psycho Pass: Mandatory Happiness and No Man’s Sky.

Head on over to the MisanthroPlay blog to have a listen.

Oh, and please spare a moment to rate & review us on iTunes if you enjoyed this week’s episode!

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We're hot for Firewatch! In this week's episode of MisanthroPlay, Alvin and Robert have an in-depth discussion about Campo Santo's brilliant debut and its top shelf voice direction. After that, Alvin gets back to nature in Far Cry Primal, while Robert pages through Mario & Luigi Paper Jam, and we both question Steel Empire's style of punk.

In the news, Kojima and Del Toro get on stage at DICE to say nothing, Destiny 2 is announced/delayed, and Warren Spector returns to game development. All this and more, it's enough to burst your Darius! Just push play.

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Happy New February! After many scheduling conflicts, Alvin and Robert reconvene to compare their travel logs of Xenoblade Chronicles X's lush Planet Mira and have a wider discussion of meaningful quest design in recent open world games, including Fallout 4, Just Cause 3 and Batman Arkham Knight, and Alvin observes examples of East-West pollination evident in the design of Xenoblade and XCOM 2.

In recent games, Alvin brings his wit & wisdom to The Witness and gets returns to Homeworld in Deserts of Kharak, while Robert broods over tragedy simulator Pathologic HD, and neither of us have a great time with Final Fantasy Explorers. We also fawn over Meitantei Pikachu, lament the fact that Unsung Story will remain unsung, and we tell you why you should put aside your social anxiety to break out your DanganRonpa and/or Watch_Dogs-branded wallet to back Knights & Bikes on Kickstarter.

And last, but certainly not least, what games podcast would be complete without a discussion of the recent controversy surrounding Fire Emblem Fates? All this and more, in MisanthroPlay Episode #6!

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Wow, what a year 2015 has been! There have been so many amazing games released that we've hardly had time to play them all! That said, we did play a hell of a lot, and we talked about some of our favorites in no particular order. Did we miss your favorite? Leave us a comment and tell us what you liked!

Head on over to MisanthroPlay to have a listen.

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'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, we're talkin' `bout SOMA as if it's still Halloween! In the latest episode of MisanthroPlay, Alvin Chua and Robert Fenner have a lengthy discussion about Frictional Games' (Amnesia: The Dark Descent) latest offering, a deep sea horror story with some deep existential angst. 

Head on over to MisanthroPlay to have a listen.

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We're back and we've gone all out! In a first for MisanthroPlay, Robert Fenner and Alvin Chua tackle a brand new game in the form of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Marking the end of Hideo Kojima's run on the 28-year-old Tactical Espionage Action series, Fenner and Chua sit down for two and a half hours to give The Phantom Pain the type of lengthy overwrought discussion that would make its director proud.  Does it cap off the series satisfactorily? Does Miller make the world's greatest burger? Is Behind the Drapery the best Clan of Xymox song that never was (Spoilers: yes)?

Listen and find out!

(warning, here be ending spoilers) 

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22 September 2015

In this long-delayed feature episode of MisanthroPlay, Alvin Chua and Robert Fenner sit down to talk about NCS Masaya's influential Assault Suits series and the impact its had on the mecha platformer genre.

Starting in 1991 with Assault Suits Leynos (AKA Target Earth) on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, the series strove to differentiate itself from its forebears. Previous mecha platformers used the genre as little more than window dressing; a game like UPL's Atomic Robo Kid  could easily replace the eponymous Robo Kid with a flying human and not alter its gameplay; But NCS Masaya's games added a believable sense of weight and physics to its character movement that worked to bring the illusion of piloting a giant robot to life with very successful results. Just as the debut ofMobile Suit Gundam would see the "Real Robot" genre overtake "Super Robot" in terms of popularity, Assault Suitsarguably brought Hard SF to the platformer medium for the very first time.

In this episode, we discuss Assault Suits Leynos and Assault Suits Valken, as well as its spiritual successors Metal Warriors, Front Mission: Gun Hazard, Gigantic Army, Gunhound EX and the forthcoming PS4 remake of Leynos by Dracue. Unfortunately, we don't touch on Leynos 2 or Valken 2 as we were unable to obtain either of them.

Head on over to MisanthroPlay to have a listen.

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In the debut episode of MisanthroPlay Podcast, host Nervous Bob Nurvuss talks about the obscure NES RPG Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger! Adventures! Dungeons! Monsters! Weird sex changes? It's all here in the mystical land of Faria.

Head on over to the MisanthroPlay blog to have a listen!