Monthly Archives

April 2018

029: God of War (2005)

By | PODCAST | No Comments

We burn the Blades of Chaos into our forearms and try to take down Ares in God of War.

Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio (w/ Bluepoint Games & Sanzaru Games for the Remaster) | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment | Release Date: March 22, 2005

Jacob, Mike and Moe travel to Athens in order to find Pandora’s Box, tear our enemies limb-from-limb and feel 13 all over again.

You can now join our Discord server! Go to LeftBehindGame.Club and scroll down to the Discord section of the homepage!

Our three games for May 2018 are: Metro 2033 (May 2), The Witness (May 16) and Star Wars: Republic Commando (May 30).

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt), Michael Ruffolo (@ruffolom) and Moe Murtadi (@mmurtadi)

Website: LeftBehindGame.Club | Twitter: @LeftBehindClub

Show Notes (spoilers):

  • 2:45 How did you play God of War (2005)?
  • 3:50 A quick refresher about David Jaffe and Incognito Entertainment (note: Shannon Studstill was the Producer)
  • 5:35 God of War in three words
  • 6:55 “This game was designed for 13 year old”
  • 9:20 Jacob brings up X-Play
  • 13:25 Moe writes a God of War Book Report
  • 15:50 The game’s cutscenes
  • 19:00 This game is “super Zelda-ish” and comparisons to Darksiders
  • 20:50 The game’s length
  • 22:45 We talk about Kratos’ abilities and upgrades (Blades of Chaos, Blade of Artemis, Rage of the Gods, Poseidon’s Rage, Medusa’s Gaze, Zeus’ Fury and Army of Hades)
  • 25:10 “You’re bad at video games, how about we move your difficulty down for you.”
  • 27:05 We talk about specific enemy types (i.e.: Centaur, Gorgons and Cerberi)
  • 30:30 The most challenging sections of the game
  • 32:35 Jacob and Moe give Mike heck about using a walk-through and Mike fires back
  • 35:35 The Pinky and the Brain connection in God of War (2005)
  • 37:00 Differences between modern games and older games
  • 39:40 Our thoughts on Kratos “the character” in God of War and other Sony mascots
  • 42:07 Did they explain Kratos’ tattoo? Also, Kratos tattoos.
  • 43:40 Quick Time Events and Resident Evil 4
  • 47:05 Ares: Olympic Javelin Athlete
  • 48:15 The Final Battle
  • 49:15 The ending and “who is that vagrant?”
  • 52:45 The game’s camera and final thoughts
  • 56:00 A big God of War 3 spoiler
  • 56:25 Instagram, iTunes Reviews & Discord
  • 58:25 May 2018 Games

028: Tomb Raider (2013)

By | PODCAST | No Comments

We raid some tombs and discover our inner Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2013).

Developer: Crystal Dynamics with Eidos Montreal (Multiplayer), Nixxes (Next-Gen Console Ports), Feral Interactive (Mac/Linux Ports) and Square Visual Works (CGI) | Publisher: Square Enix | Release Date: March 5, 2013

Jacob, Mike, Moe and Special Guest Kevin Reaburn travel to the Dragon’s Triangle, reminisce about TressFX and miss spring game sales by two days.

You can now join our Discord server! Go to LeftBehindGame.Club and scroll down to the Discord section of the homepage! We launch our God of War (2005) episode on April 18th.

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt), Michael Ruffolo (@ruffolom) and Moe Murtadi (@mmurtadi)

Special Guest: Kevin Reaburn (@ATribeCalledKev)

Website: LeftBehindGame.Club | Twitter: @LeftBehindClub

Show Notes (spoilers):

  • 1:30 Jacob re-introduces the audience to Kevin Reaburn
  • 2:40 Kevin starts with a big question: “which came first?” (correction: pre-Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider games were developed by Core Design)
  • 5:30 Our exposure to the Tomb Raider franchise
  • 8:40 The writers of Tomb Raider: Rhianna Pratchett and Susan O’Connor
  • 9:30: So many credits in this game!
  • 10:05: The story of Tomb Raider (2013)
  • 11:20 It’s just called Tomb Raider, y’all
  • 13:00 What is the Definitive Edition? Also, TressFX
  • 14:50 This isn’t the “old Lara”
  • 18:35 The rest of the crew of the Endurance
  • 19:10 Hunting and gathering
  • 23:00 Survival Instinct
  • 24:15 We debate about the best weapon in the game
  • 25:20 This game is so violent and has much dirty rebar
  • 28:40 A bear trap and a wolf attack
  • 30:05 Tomb Raider’s world building
  • 31:20 Jacob’s Dad Moment
  • 33:20 Encounters with the supernatural
  • 35:50 Lara’s First Kill (“kills a deer, kills a man and kills everyone”)
  • 38:35 The game’s progression
  • 40:05 Slow-mo time (aka the Steady Shot), fire arrows and headshot reticle
  • 42:35 Combat puzzles & Tomb Raider vs. Uncharted
  • 45:05 Comparing the game to Indiana Jones
  • 46:15 Shantytown and difficulty
  • 49:00 The landscape and the tombs
  • 51:45 Smart AI
  • 53:20 Under-developed side characters
  • 54:20 Dual pistols are overrated
  • 55:30 Issues with the next-gen ports and great checkpoints
  • 59:55 The final confrontation
  • 1:04:40 The Final Hours of Tomb Raider & Jason Graves’ soundtrack/”The Instrument”
  • 1:06:25 Final thoughts
  • 1:11:00 Kevin missed the Xbox Spring Sale by two days. We tell him about for the first time here.