PixlBit

You mean to tell me, you don't think a man of such great intelligence could develop and execute such a sinister plan in the matter of a week?
I think you are wrong sir, I trust his intellect and villainy.  It may have come a little quick, but I was not pulled out of the game.

I am willing to say God of War was my favorite game of 2018.
runner-ups inlcude Prey:  Mooncrash, Celeste, Into the Breach, and Evil Within 2.
I did replay Bloodborne and fell in love with it all over again.

It's not that I don't think he could pull that off in a week, although the physical logistics of it are almost as silly as all the shit the Arkham Knight had in place in that game. For me I don't think there was enough build up of his motivation. And maybe they explain away some of that stuff when he goes full bad guy, but I think it would have been way cooler and more impactful to save that reveal for a sequel.

I thought it worked just fine, my bigger issue is it happens at like 75% campaign completion and then I fought the final battle at 87%.  It would have been nice if they gave him a little more time as the big bad.  

That’s part of the problem, too. Like, maybe you fight him after the big reveal, but there’s some big explosion and you lose him. Then he pops up later with his big plan.

Because even his motivation seemed fueled out of rage and his mind breaking, so a well executed plan is antithetical to how his motivation is framed.

You guys should see about making Justin a regular, I have been catching up on the last several podcasts, and he is a good addition.  

It’s definitely something we’re talking about!

Yeah hes doing great. Either that or fix Angelo Bot. 

Just wanna say. hey, I'm just glad people think I'm doing an okay job when I'm on the show. This seriously made my day when I read it... Like you have no idea. I'm really just happy to be there. So... thank you guys a whole bunch.

To be honest, when Julian said there was a surprise during the music episode, and i saw you were on it....  I just assumed the suprise was you becoming a permanent host.

Great return guys. Glad to have NWP back. It was there for me on those record breaking winter nights at work. Honestly helped pass the time out there. 

Stage Select: Retro Indie

I'm going to keep it within reason. I would love a retro remake of Gain Ground. I would definitely add more characters and weapons. I also would go rogue like with it and randomize the levels after you finish the initial campaign. There would also be randomized heroes to find, bigger and better bosses. Up to 4 player coop also.

Stage Select: 

So I had more time to think about this than most, and I have to say it wasn't easy... But I think I got somethin.

So I've said for a long time I want somebody to bring back the Mendel Palace game, because I loved that game as a kid. So my idea for this is to make a game called "Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace." Now I know what you're thinking, "Justin, it would just be Mendel Palace," and that's where you're very wrong. You see in Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace you play as the character Legally Distinct Chun Li, (That is the full name of the character) And she looks a lot like Chun Li but just different enough to not be sued by Capcom. What's the story you ask? I don't know yet, but there'll be a lot going on... At least that's what I'll tell the people kickstarting it, because I need money. For five hundred dollars we'll render a room to look like your cat or whatever. There will be zero fucks given on the dev team of Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace.

Now Mendel Palace was a game where you flipped tiles and knocked enemies into walls to kill them. Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace will do something similar, but instead of tiles, you'll pull rugs out from under enemies. Every stage is just a room with a bunch of rugs (Which the story may or may not explain) and you have to pull the rugs that the enemies are on. Some enemies will be tricky because they jump and such, so you gotta have good timing when you pull those rugs. And then when you pull a rug, there will be another rug under it you can pull. Some rugs will be magic and do cool things that I havent fully thought out yet when you pull them. Also there will definitely be a coop mode so your friend can play as pink Legally Distinct Chun Li, and you can pull all the rugs together. Your friend may complain about having to be pink Legally Distinct Chun Li, but just tell them to shut up about it, and if they want more colors they should pay us like 500 dollars on kickstarter and send us a picture of their cat. Then they'll have more colors and a level based on their cat in the game. Everyone wins!... Probably.

Now how do we get people to play this? I don't know man. We'll get like the Bakugan license or something. They're not doing anything and I assume it's a cheap tie in to get. Why wouldn't they want to be a part of Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace? Then the kids can play as... whatever a Bakugan is. All I know is Bakugan Brawl, standing tall, they're the awesome ones and that sounds like a perfect tie in for Justin Hamm Presents Mendel Palace, because it's a game about standing and not falling on the rugs... So yea. It works.

Episode comment: I just hope people liked it okay. I had a good time rambling about my favorite games of the year. My list was super weird compared to a lot of other people's I;ve heard, but hey, I'm a weird guy. So it fits. Sorry if my stage select was long. Look forward to hearing other people's ideas because this is a cool stage select!

Stage Select:
You ask me what kind of Retro inspired indie game I would make.

I just want to make a blatant Metroid ripoff.  not story or setting.  Gameplay, map design, sequence breaking.  None of this Metroidvania crap, which is too loose of a term.  No level, everything is skill based.  if you can wall-jump and access an area, by all means go and get that item before everybody else.