Watch Out For Fireballs!

This month's premium episode is Capcom's action-heavy followup to the Resident Evil 2 Remake, their update to Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It tells a similar story to the original, but streamlines everything to heighten the intensity of the fights. This process absolutely strips away a lot of what was special about the original, which it was rightly criticized for, but it's impossible to say it's not fun. This is a preview of May's premium episode, and it contains the first hour or so where we cover the game's generalities. To hear the whole thing, back us on Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/posts/37119106)

Special thanks to Neasa! Kole and Gary surmount one of the most critically acclaimed indies in recent memory. This masocore platformer has tons of heart, some hidden, and extremely precise gamefeel that make it two great tastes. Do they taste great together? Find out.

We're over the moon about this strange detective game set in an alternate history version of the late 90s internet. You're an Enforcer for a corrupt company, browsing the poorly made homepages of netizens looking for violations of the law, and trying to avert a cyberdisaster. This is a very clever investigation game with an amazing look and sound, and it shows a lot of affection for a time period that's nostalgic for a lot of us.

We read your prompts, and your responses to April's games, and discuss what we think separates good lore from bad lore.

The New Colossus is a very strange game. By our usual metrics, this sequel isn't as good as its predecessor. The levels are bad, and the difficulty tuning is way out of whack. Instead, what makes us love this game is its audacity, and how well it tells its story... sometimes even through play! Billy begins the game near death, having lost his leader and his ability to walk. But he still mounts up and puts together a resistance movement to take back America and begin the revolution against the Nazis, once and for all. This is a preview of April's premium episode. To hear the full episode, back us on Patreon! (http://patreon.com/duckfeedtv)

Like sands through the hourglass, everything ages. But because time is an ocean in a storm, not a river, some things age better than others, even within the same game. Kole and Gary talk about this well regarded classic and figure out which parts are delicious and which are past their sell-by date.

We welcome Legend of Grimrock II to the pantheon of masterpieces we've covered for the show. It's a throwback to retro dungeon crawlers with tense combat and ingenious puzzles. It's light on story, but heavy on atmosphere, and consistently good throughout. People who like when we gush about good games will like this episode a lot.

Thanks Jack! Gary and Kole turn out the lights and get cute-spooky with the forgotten Mario Brother. This charming, bite sized adventure oozes with polish and though it was unfairly maligned in its day, it was way ahead of its time. Take a listen!

For this month's Watch Out for Fireballs! Dispatch, our discussion topic is remakes. What makes good remakes good, and bad remakes bad? Additionally, we answer your questions, read your responses to March's games, and announce the games for May.

Hey everyone, we've got some announcements. You can listen to the audio for full details, but it boils down to: the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee has been canceled, the Portland Retro Games Expo has been canceled, and we cannot in good conscience plan and execute a Duckfest with the global pandemic being what it is. We will not be doing any live events this year, and this really, really bums us out. To ameliorate this, we will be holding a virtual Duckfest sometime in June, and also putting out a Switcheroo Bundle a few months after that. We apologize for any disappointment this might bring, and we hope you are staying save and sane under these trying circumstances.

There are really two Ocarina of Times. The one that came out in 1998 that's undeniably groundbreaking and an aesthetic triumph, and the one that you can play in 2020 that has a lot of ups and downs. We give this sacred cow an honest evaluation in this episode. Note, this is the preview version of this episode. To hear the whole thing, join us on Patreon!

Note: You're stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, so we're unlocking some of our favorite premium content from 2019 so you have more stuff to entertain yourself with. Take care and be safe. Double Trouble has stolen another fuckin' quarry. In this episode, we look at the very good game show and the very bland cartoon based on the hottie amazon known as Carmen Sandiego.

Note: You're stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, so we're unlocking some of our favorite premium content from 2019 so you have more stuff to entertain yourself with. Take care and be safe. Let the circle be broken, because we don't like Bioshock Infinite. The full episode is four hours of us trying our best to point out the many ways it falls short as a game, and as a conveyor of ideas.

Note: You're stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, so we're unlocking some of our favorite premium content from 2019 so you have more stuff to entertain yourself with. Take care and be safe. I'll come clean with you. If you know who Scott Adams is, and you know our general outlook on things, you can probably guess where this episode goes. And if you're not down for that, the first portion of the episode is for you. We talk about the Dilberito.

Note: You're stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, so we're unlocking some of our favorite premium content from 2019 so you have more stuff to entertain yourself with. Take care and be safe. Let's get ready to horny! Stuart Gordon looked at a seven page Lovecraft story about seeing extradimensional beings, and said "I can make a movie out of that." The result is From Beyond, where overactive pineal glands enable shapeshifting and confer BDSM fascinations. It needs to be seen to be believed.

Metroidvanias are pretty common, but games that aim to ape the original Metroid are few and far between. Axiom Verge is a 2015 indie game with a distinct glitchy NES aesthetic and some pretty great powerups. It also has some problems with its combat and main character. You can't take away the beauty of those sprite designs or that music, however.

Kole and Gary go deep into the Abyss on Valdis Story, a kickstarter character action/metroidvania hybrid. It's got ups, it's got downs, and we discuss em all. Thank you to Terra Parker for sponsoring this episode!

This week's episode is a Dispatch, where we answer your questions and talk about your requested topic... namely, is it harmful to consider a game's value solely as a function of its length versus its cost? Additionally, we read your responses to February's games, and announce April's titles!

This month's premium Watch Out for Fireballs! is about XCOM: Enemy Unknown (and the Enemy Within expansion). This game is a masterpiece, and we take our time dining on the systems and the way they interlock. The aliens have made contact, and they do not come in peace. So it's time to mount the defensive and take the fight to their doorstep. The structure of this episode is a little strange, we admit, but we hope you're here to hear us geek out over tactics and such. This is the first portion of a premium episode. [You can hear the rest by backing us on Patreon.](

Death of the Outsider is an expansion for Dishonored 2, and the end of the Dishonored story as we know it so far. We control Billie Lurk as she picks up where Daud left off, seeking artifacts and clues to learn where the Outsider is most vulnerable so she can strike him down. The change in focus from assassination to heists, and to a different character with a more restrictive power set, makes this a very unusual entry in the Dishonored franchise, but it's still delightful to dip back into this world.