GWJ Conference Call Episode 522

Mafia III, Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Dragon Quest Builders, Aragami, Your Ancient Emails and More!

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This week, Shawn, Elysium and Cory unearth some ancient emails and talk so many games!

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind.

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Comments

Look at me! I'm a tastemaker! Two of my GOTW picks made the show in one week!

I'm excited.

00:02:00 Donation Drive
00:06:17 Mafia III
00:27:58 Gears of War 4
00:39:39 Aragami
00:40:55 Dragon Quest Builders
00:42:41 Upcoming Games
00:44:25 Your Emails

The more I hear Shawn talk and make videos of EU4, the more I want to spend all of my money to get the game and its multitude of expansions. Curse you, Game King!

"It's the Point Break of video games" should be on the front of the GOTY edition's box.

I was wondering whether we'll get sponsor announcements each week from now on... is that a new thing? Or have I just never noticed them before?

Brainsmith wrote:

I was wondering whether we'll get sponsor announcements each week from now on... is that a new thing? Or have I just never noticed them before?

We do it very rarely. I think that's the only one scheduled for this month.

Certis wrote:
Brainsmith wrote:

I was wondering whether we'll get sponsor announcements each week from now on... is that a new thing? Or have I just never noticed them before?

We do it very rarely. I think that's the only one scheduled for this month.

I did notice that in the donation drive section of this podcast it was mentioned that it helps to keep the podcast ad-free :p

No complaints from me though, do what you gotta do to keep this site and conference call going!

pythagean wrote:
Certis wrote:
Brainsmith wrote:

I was wondering whether we'll get sponsor announcements each week from now on... is that a new thing? Or have I just never noticed them before?

We do it very rarely. I think that's the only one scheduled for this month.

I did notice that in the donation drive section of this podcast it was mentioned that it helps to keep the podcast ad-free :p

No complaints from me though, do what you gotta do to keep this site and conference call going!

Not to get too semantic here, but "ad-free" has always meant the website, not the podcast. In the show today I just said "ad-free" as a short hand because even I'm tired of talking about it.

I'll hop in to support Certis on hate-reading books and hate-finishing games just because I'm too stubborn to give up on them; in fact, I did both this summer:

I hate-read The Gunslinger & hate-finished Chrono Trigger, pausing only to curse wildly every now and then and shake my fist at the sky.

Scottish_Leprechaun wrote:

The more I hear Shawn talk and make videos of EU4, the more I want to spend all of my money to get the game and its multitude of expansions. Curse you, Game King!

Not to be an Enabler, but, ...

I just noticed that it is 75% OFF on Steam for the next 39+ hours (as of 2117 EDT Wednesday).

EU4 base game is $10. EU4 Extreme Edition is $11.24. EU4 Collection is $25. Many (but not all) of the DLCs are also on sale.

Edit: Of course, when I looked at the store page, it also said "[GWJ]Elysium, Now playing". Big surprise there.

Hmmm... The podcast brought up a good question: When you are playing a video game, do you think of the character’s actions as things YOU are choosing to make happen or more like a movie you are watching unfold?

jrralls wrote:

Hmmm... The podcast brought up a good question: When you are playing a video game, do you think of the character’s actions as things YOU are choosing to make happen or more like a movie you are watching unfold?

I tend to role-play as a way of trying out other points of view.

Great episode!

The last thing I hate-finished was THE NAME OF THE WIND. Since then, I've started a policy of bailing when I'm done and I have to say, though it was hard at first, overall it has made life better. Weirdly, since I stopped hate finishing things I also stopped being a completionist on the things I like.

Hell, yeah!

Scottish_Leprechaun wrote:

The more I hear Shawn talk and make videos of EU4, the more I want to spend all of my money to get the game and its multitude of expansions. Curse you, Game King!

Just pick up the base version, see if it clicks then next sale pick up the specific DLCs you are interested in. As Hrdina says it's $10 at the moment, so it's pretty much a no brainer.

EUIV has never clicked with me quite as strongly as CKII, I appreciate the extra level of role playing in CK, but it is something I think everyone needs to try.

I am a few hours deep in a new attempt though and it's resonating more now. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the momentum.

MrDeVil909 wrote:
Scottish_Leprechaun wrote:

The more I hear Shawn talk and make videos of EU4, the more I want to spend all of my money to get the game and its multitude of expansions. Curse you, Game King!

Just pick up the base version, see if it clicks then next sale pick up the specific DLCs you are interested in. As Hrdina says it's $10 at the moment, so it's pretty much a no brainer.

EUIV has never clicked with me quite as strongly as CKII, I appreciate the extra level of role playing in CK, but it is something I think everyone needs to try.

I am a few hours deep in a new attempt though and it's resonating more now. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the momentum.

Curse you all! I picked up the Deluxe $11 version. Going to play it over my lunch break. I hope this doesn't become TOO much of an addiction, especially with Civ6 coming out so soon!

Scottish_Leprechaun wrote:

Curse you all! I picked up the Deluxe $11 version. Going to play it over my lunch break. I hope this doesn't become TOO much of an addiction, especially with Civ6 coming out so soon!

Good man.

I'd recommend starting with Castille. You get the Reconquista early which gives you some early game direction. It's also an easy goal that gives you time to get a feel for the game.

And I'll reiterate, don't be surprised or disappointed if you bounce off it at first.

I look at EUIV occasionally, then I remember how hard I bounced off of Crusader Kings II, and I save my money.

MrDeVil909 wrote:
Scottish_Leprechaun wrote:

Curse you all! I picked up the Deluxe $11 version. Going to play it over my lunch break. I hope this doesn't become TOO much of an addiction, especially with Civ6 coming out so soon!

Good man.

I'd recommend starting with Castille. You get the Reconquista early which gives you some early game direction. It's also an easy goal that gives you time to get a feel for the game.

And I'll reiterate, don't be surprised or disappointed if you bounce off it at first.

It usually takes a lot to bounce me off a strategy game. I've played Stellaris, though I'm still struggling some with the interface. Now that my busy season is finally over, I'll be able to spend more time learning and developing my Paradox skills.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I look at EUIV occasionally, then I remember how hard I bounced off of Crusader Kings II, and I save my money.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried again? Or completely given up?

One thing I said in your write up of Endless Legend was that games like that and CK and EU sometimes are served better by trying a few times with breaks in between. I replayed the same start to CKII any number of times before it started to make sense. I'm not normally patient that way, but I had the sense that there was something there for me to find.

CK does have more direction than EU, so if you can't play CK no matter how much you try then I definitely think you're better served by saving your money.

MrDeVil909 wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I look at EUIV occasionally, then I remember how hard I bounced off of Crusader Kings II, and I save my money.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried again? Or completely given up?

One thing I said in your write up of Endless Legend was that games like that and CK and EU sometimes are served better by trying a few times with breaks in between. I replayed the same start to CKII any number of times before it started to make sense. I'm not normally patient that way, but I had the sense that there was something there for me to find.

CK does have more direction than EU, so if you can't play CK no matter how much you try then I definitely think you're better served by saving your money.

I've been meaning to go back to it, actually, but I'm waiting until I'm in just the right mood for it.

I've found there are games I can only get into if I'm in the right headspace. Like Dwarf Fortress, which I love but can only play if I'm feeling very crunchy.

IMAGE(http://memecrunch.com/meme/2PXUX/hell-yeah/image.jpg)