Tonight we had more topics than we had time to talk about them, but we managed to hit the majority of them.  First up Bel talks about his frustrations with Black Armory the latest content drop in Destiny 2 and their overarching plan of content releases going forward.  He also talks a bit about the Last Wish raid that he got drug through this week. From there we talk a bit about the Game Awards and how weird it is that they are actually relevant.  We discuss how it is turning into E3 part two as major shows give big release information… and occasionally they give an award for things between the commercials. Grace talks about Hades the new title from Supergiant Games and how it jumps right into her wheelhouse of the Action RPG blended with a Rogue Lite.  This also starts a discussion about how Epic Games is vying for serious competition with Steam by discounting their cut of sales. Finally we talk about the new Smash Bros game and the World of Light adventure mode.

Featured Topics

  • Shiana verifying Tam Was Rogue Class Lead
  • Destiny 2
    • The Black Armory
    • Last Wish Raid
  • GAME Awards
    • E3 2.0?
    • Various Games Announced
  • Hades - Supergiant Games
  • Epic Games Storefront vs Steam Storefront
  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    • World of Light
Direct download: aggrochat_episode231.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:04am EDT

Tonight we talk a bit about Monster Hunter World Winter Star Event and how maddening the Tempered Kirin is.  From there we talk about the closing of MMOs and specifically the loss of Wildstar. Several of us have returned to Final Fantasy XIV as is often the case at the end of an expansion.  We briefly talk about some frustrations with World of Warcraft and then go into a discussion about puzzle games you can zone out while playing specifically Tetris Effect in VR and the amazing Lumines.

Topics Discussed

  • Monster Hunter World
    • Winter Star Event
    • Tempered Kirin
    • Talking about Various Weapons
  • Closing of MMOs
    • The Last Hours of Wildstar
    • Star Wars Galaxies
    • City of Heroes
    • Games being Bought
  • Returning to FFXIV
    • Main Story Quest
    • Palace of the Dead
  • World of Warcraft Issues
  • Tetris Effect in VR
    • Lumines
    • Bejeweled
    • Peggle Loot
  • Missing Game Forums
Direct download: aggrochat_episode230.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:19am EDT

Tonight we talk about a bunch of differing topics… that sorta blend together into a mix of ideas.  We start off with some discussion of Thanksgiving Leftover abominations. From here Belghast talks a bit about his experiences with extremely Hardcore players on mobile phone games.  This sorta leads its way into discussions of MMO Design problems, which itself leads to talking about the FFXIV Shadowbringers expansion announcement. We discuss the problems with the Blue Mage and how the Limited Class construct is probably not the right way to do it.  This leads eventually into a discussion of the shenanigans that Tam and Kodra and crew have been up to in Fallout 76.

Topics Discussed:

  • Thanksgiving Leftover Abominations
  • Hardcore Mobile Players
  • MMO Design Problems
  • Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringer
  • Blue Mage Limited Job
  • Fallout 76
Direct download: aggrochat_episode229.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:14am EDT

Tonight we talk about a bunch of things starting off with the interesting and also sort of weird experience of watching a movie, and having a live orchestra play the soundtrack.  Ash talks about his experiences with the new Spyro the dragon and the practice of modernizing games without really changing the original gameplay. From there we talk about the insanely charming Pokemon Let’s Go game and how it is seemingly way more sticky for a few of us than core Pokemon games.  Tam and Kodra talk about how with Diablo 3 on the Switch they finally understand what Grace and Bel see in this game. Grace talks a bit about the new Netflix She-Ra. Bel talks about his disappointment in the newest Hellgate: London steam release. Finally we end up in a lengthy conversation about Fallout 76 multiplayer and how this game does not deserve the grief reviewers have been heaping on it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Orchestra Plus a Movie
  • Spyro
  • Pokemon Let’s Go
  • Diablo 3 Switch
  • She-Ra
  • Hellgate: London
  • Fallout 76
Direct download: aggrochat_episode228.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:30am EDT

Tonight we are down a few people but pick up with a topic that sorta got skipped from the previous week which is Deltarune the new Toby Fox Game.  From there Kodra talks about his experiences with The Messenger and then the game Getting Over It. At which point we discuss how much Kodra apparently loves meat grinder games.  Bel talks about the purchase of Obsidian and inExile and how it is probably good for the longevity of those studios. From there we discuss the conflict between investors and game players….  Fighting for the soul of a game beginning with the news that Destiny 2 is “Under Performing” and sorta going off in different directions from there. Bel talks about his experiences trying a bunch of new Mobile games and encounters the weird trend of mobile games that literally play themselves.  Finally we move into a discussion about how much Ashgar would like us all to try Cross Code.

Topics Discussed

  • Deltarune
  • The Messenger
  • Getting Over It
  • Microsoft Purchase of Obsidian and inExile
  • Destiny 2 “Under Performing”
  • Trying Action RPGS
    • Last Epoch
    • Grim Dawn
    • Path of Exile
    • Wolcen
  • Mobile Games Playing Themselves
    • Crusaders of Light
    • Lineage II: Revolution
  • Cross Code
Direct download: aggrochat_episode227.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 11:18am EDT

Tonight we have a packed show full of topics to discuss because as we hurdle towards the holiday season… a bunch of stuff is happening.  First up we talk about Super Smash Bros Ultimate and the inclusion of the World of Light single player system. From there with similar Nintendo topics we talk a bit about the Diablo 3 Switch release and just how good it feels.  Chaining off that we get into a discussion about Blizzcon 2018 and the announcement that the community was not prepared for… Diablo Immortal. We try and break this down a little bit, talk about the positives of it, and explain why the community as a whole freaked the hell out in a very toxic and dangerous manner.  

Admittedly somewhere along in here we jump around through a bunch of topics but eventually settle into a discussion of World of Warcraft Classic and all of the things Bel quite honestly didn’t remember from playing on a retro client.  Saturday afternoon Bel, Tam and Kodra spent a few hours roaming around in Fallout 76, so there is some talk about how much they are now looking forward to the release. Finally we wrap up with a brief discussion of Deltarune, which honestly happened in a few places during the show…  but will likely be reprised next week.


Topics Discussed:

  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    • World of Light
  • Diablo 3 Switch
  • Blizzcon 2018
    • Diablo Immortal
  • World of Warcraft Classic
  • Fallout 76
  • Deltarune
Direct download: aggrochat_episode226.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:12am EDT

This week we welcome Thalen back from his Japanese sojourn, and with that we have a brief reprisal of the monetization topic from a few weeks back.  From there he talks a bit about his own experiences in Japan and how watching Tam experience it for the first time brought back all the feelings of his own first memories.  We talk a bit about slow game starts, primarily Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and then some talk of Persona games. From there Bel talks a bit about digging into Destiny 2 Forsaken and all of the quality of life tweaks that have been made.  From there we discuss Starlink and how the Nintendo Switch Digital Deluxe version is the correct way to purchase this game. Finally at the very end there is some talk of League of Legends Worlds.

Topics Discussed

  • Monetization Reprised
    • The Sad Demise of Marvel Heroes
  • Thalen in Japan
    • Raubahn is the Scowlingest Soup
  • Slow Game Starts
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2
    • Persona 5
    • Personal 4
  • Destiny 2 Forsaken
    • Itemization Changes
    • Gambit
    • Haunted Forest
  • Starlink
    • Playing as Fox
    • Switch Digital Deluxe
  • League of Legends Worlds
Direct download: aggrochat_episode225.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:02am EDT

Tonight we lead off the show with a brief explanation of why there was no show last week.  Namely Bel was at a wedding, Grace still in DC, Tam and Thalen in Japan… and Kodra and Ash probably wisely decided not to record a duo show.  No offense to any of the bajillion podcasts out there that are always a duo show… but that isn’t our schtick. Since Tam is in fact back from his vacation we talk a bit about his experiences on his first trip to Japan.  This leads into a discussion about the Pokemon Go culture and how popular the game is there. From there Bel talks briefly about his nonsense “Wireless Ethernet” set up and playing the latest God of War game over it. From there we delve into a discussion about the Hollow Knight Randomizer and Steel Soul mode.  Finally we briefly touch on The Messenger and Gris.

Topics Discussed:

  • Why No Show Last Week
  • Tam’s Adventures in Japan
    • Pokemon Go Culture
  • Wireless Ethernet
    • Parsec Remote Play
    • Playstation Remote PLay
  • God of War
    • Dad of War
    • Wages of Toxic Masculinity
  • Hollow Knight
    • Randomizer
    • Steel Soul Mode
  • The Messenger
  • Gris
Direct download: aggrochat_episode224.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:28am EDT

This week we are down half of our show, but weirdly enough ended up very close to our original line up from the first few AggroChat shows…  only missing Rae. We were concerned we might not have enough material for a show, but wound up only about 10 minutes short of our average which seems pretty good.  Tonight we talk about Monetization in Free to Play games and in part why some games it feels good to spend money on, and others it feels exploitative. This explores mobile games and mmorpgs as well.  From there Bel talks a bit about his experiences restarting with Monster Hunter World PC and how weirdly most of the progress was raising his skill and not necessarily his gearing. Kodra talks about his experiences with Mega Man 11 which leads to a discussion of this golden age of modern 2D side scrollers.  Finally we wrap things up with some discussion about Guilds of Ravnica and how it feels in a constructed and sealed environment on MTG Arena.

 

Topics Discussed

  • Free to Play Monetization
    • Mobile Games
    • Dragalia Lost
    • MMORPGs
    • Elder Scrolls Online
    • Star Wars the Old Republic
    • Neverwinter
  • Monster Hunter World
    • Skill Acquisition vs Gear Acquisition
    • Small but awesome PC community
  • Mega Man 11
    • Hollow Knight
    • Shovel Knight
    • Celeste
    • Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon
    • Retro Feeling Modern Games
  • Guilds of Ravnica
    • MTG Arena
    • Sealed Play
    • Constructed Play
Direct download: aggrochat_episode223.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 9:49am EDT

Tonight my stalwart friends managed to make me completely fail at getting through the intro once more.  The truth is I never know what Ash is going to say when I call upon him… tonight was not a thing I was expecting.  The first game discussed was Spiderman for PS4 which had rolled over from a few shows. Next up the start of the MTG Arena Open Beta and the end of wipes…  so that everything from this point in theory carried forward indefinitely. Kodra talks about his experiences playing Celeste and its interesting variable difficulty settings.  We talk about Dragalia Lost and how it is once again taking the world by storm… as most Nintendo mobile releases seem to. Finally we talk a bit about Battle for Azeroth and why some of the systems and the grind involved with them feels bad and often times pointless.

Topics Discussed:

  • Spiderman PS4
  • MTG Arena - Open Beta
  • Celeste
  • Dragalia Lost
  • World of Warcraft Grind
Direct download: aggrochat_episode222.mp3
Category:gaming -- posted at: 10:33am EDT