Chamberlain And Chance

It's the beginning of March and there is nothing to play. Well, nothing new to play. Chance does not mind, he can still play Overwatch. Alex doesn't mind, as he has no problem revisiting old classics like Horizon Zero Dawn. Chamberlain, though, is beside himself. Maybe he should have held on to Super Mario 3D World just a little longer. Not surprisingly, lots of movie and TV talk this week.

Prepare yourself for a great deal of culture, all at once, and at least mostly correct. We begin with Chance's Story time, a dramatic reading of two tales, filled with shocking ignorance and how it was dealt with. He then talks about Overwatch. Next is Alex, who has abandoned the final chapter of Pillars of Eternity in favor of the timeless shenanigans offered by Borderland 3. Finally, Chamberlain wraps up the flagellation that is Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood. For his penance he earned two hours of simple fun in Bleed 2 and the milquetoast comfort of Super Mario 3D World.

This week: animal husbandry in space! A JRPG without skeevy costumes! Murder at sixty frames per second! Tree hugging murderous werewolves and the humans who love them!  And some Overwatch.

Well, at least Chamberlain has. He says mean things about Axiom Verge, a metrodvania that no one care about anymore, then says a few nice things about Ys IX before putting on a questionable accent to relate a chemical triggered auditory hallucination. No really. Alex finds more to love in Borderland 3 with the latest expansion and Chance is back to loving Overwatch, long queue times and all.

This week: Chance watches an excellent horror series that he does not remember who recommended.  He also plays a whole lot of Overwatch but NOT a lot of Tracer. Alex plays Pillars of Eternity on the easiest setting because he cares about the story but no so much about the game. And The Medium crosses a line that Chamberlain cannot approve, but he finishes it anyway. 

Did you buy Gamestop stock? No? Neither did we. Chamberlain bought a raffle ticket in the form of a (spoiler) bad horror game called Visage, but Immortals Fenyx Rising and Cyber Shadow were more than good enough to make up for the loss. Chance took the short option on Tracer, and sure enough she is getting nerfed. He also would make an exceptional hired killer after playing a lot of Hitman. And Alex stuck to the blue-chip stocks, made a slight profit, and spent it on mods for Fallout New Vegas.

Remember what it was like to be happy? Content? Warm and fuzzy? Games can do that just as well as anything else. Chamberlain and officially spent more time on Immortals Fenyx Rising than he did on Assassin's Creed Valhalla because (gasp) it is more fun to play. Chance picked up Hitman 2 on sale, which lead him to him buying Hitman 3 and not being able to play, but that in no way diminished how powerful his fish was. And Alex has gone totally against type and is replaying Fallout New Vegas as an idiot, to great success. 

Prepare for the Statler and Waldorf of video game podcasts. Without Alex, Chamberlain and Chance just seem so much older. And crankier. Chance has passed 200 hours in Cyberpunk and is quite thankful for the game that so many others have said should not have been released in its present condition. Chamberlain is quite content with Immortals Fenyx Rising. It is Assassin's Creed, minus all the overwrought story nonsense, plus Breath of the Wild dungeons. It's January, folks.

Congratulations, you made it! It is now 2021 and your reward is one last best of 2020. While there may not be many surprises on this year's list, it is still a good one, and is officially the last time anyone will ask you to think about the year that shall not be named. Chance is still playing Cyberpunk 2077 after giving up on Yakuza Like a Dragon. Alex has stuck by his Yakuza purchase and Chamberlain insists that Immortals Fenyx Rising is a good game. No, really, it's good.

It's Cyberpunk 2077 spoiler time! Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have all finished the game (with different results) so all quests, romances and endings are fair game. Just to be thorough, Chance also spoils at least a little of Tenet and a little more of Wonder Woman 1984. Chamberlain didn't understand one of those and was not terribly interested in the other but he can at least confirm that Godfall is a depressing game that should not be voluntarily played. Alex is still pleased to be playing the best version of Cyberpunk, meaning the one that crashes the least.

It's week 2 of Cyberpunk 2077 talk, this time with Chamberlain, who is less than enthused with the shooting and driving. Alex is proud to be playing the only version of the game that is anywhere close to feature complete. Chance is quite happy with the game on PS5 and is within spitting distance of wrapping up his first playthrough. That a lot of cyber punking in a short amount of time. Our condolences to PlayStation users who, as of recording, can no longer buy the game. Note from Chamberlain: lolSony.

Cyberpunk 2077 nearly broke Steam, doesn't really run on last gen consoles and might kill you if you suffer from epilepsy, but it is finally out and one can customize their genitalia. It just might be the most '2020' a game can be. Chance and Alex are here to tell you what you need to know, just not too much. The game came out less than a day ago, after all. 

It is getting more difficult to pass the time until Cyberpunk 2077. Chamberlain still wishes he was playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but not being able to save is kind of a deal breaker, so he dipped unto the back catalog for The Missing and then, because he was not stressed enough, started work on Ghostrunner. Alex was able to fix his broken Valhalla but was lured away by the beautiful reflections of the ray tracing enabled Control. And Chance is on either his second or third play through of the Demon's Souls remake. 

All the teraflops in the world can't fix Assassin's Creed bugs. Chamberlain would very much like to be playing Valhalla but the last patch broke fast travel and saving, so he is being visually overwhelmed (not in a good way) by Dirt 5 instead. Chance plays the only real next gen game, Demon's Souls, as it is a promise of what the new machines can really do. And Alex significantly ups his GPU horsepower becasuse a new video card was a thing that he could but with money and a PS5 still is not. 

The next generation has finally arrived in full. Chance has obtained his PS5, Chamberlain has both because he lacks common sense, and Alex continues to use his gaming PC, pledging his continued allegiance to the PC master race. No spoilers for Spider-Man Miles Morales this week, but all bets are off soon. Chance celebrates his new box by playing an old game at a better frame rate and resolution. Chamberlain tries and fails to find enough hours to play everything and Alex decides that sleep is now completely optional, playing two Assassin's Creed games at the same time. Everything is permitted, but come on man.

Welcome to the new generation! Sort of. Chamberlain has obtained an Xbox Series X and it feels more like buying a new video card than a new console. And neither Chance nor Chamberlain have a PS5. So Fuck Walmart. But there are games being played! Alex and Chance have played Assassin's Creed Valhalla and have managed to make Chamberlain vibrate with anticipation. He can't wait to stop playing Watch Dogs Legion. And so begins the next next gen - with a lot of yelling and just a tinge of disappointment. 

In case anyone has forgotten, Chance is Canadian. This means that he is extraordinarily polite, has a plus three bonus to cold resistance and has a vested interest in what goes on to the south of his very large, unguarded border. And just like Chance and Chamberlain are between console generations at the moment with no real guarantee on when the next will arrive, Chamberlain and Alex are between White House regimes. Neither of these positions are comfortable. Chance makes do with Ghost of Tsushima Legends. Alex finds solace in the Truffula trees of No Man's Sky and Chamberlian finds a new appreciation for British swearing in Watch Dogs: Legion.  

Excitement for the new hardware builds in spite of neither Chamberlain nor Chance knowing exactly when their new toys will arrive. Chance has filled these painful hours by reaching demigod status in Ghost of Tsushima Legends. Chamberlain can only gain joy from spoiling things, so if you care about Amnesia Rebirth spoilers (you shouldn't) skip overt his bits. He also wades through Layers of Fear 2, an even more mediocre 'horror' game. And Alex sidesteps all of the release date drama with Fallout 76, a game that he still insists is good now.

Weeks ago, both Chance and Alex dismissed the Ghost of Tsushima Legends expansion. Multiplayer samurai adventures? Who would want to play that? It turns out that Destiny 2 plus a sweet parry mechanic is Chance's kryptonite as that has, for the moment, pulled him away from Overwatch. Alex throws $15 down a hole and tries Fallout 76. He says it's fine but that may just be a coping mechanism. And Chamberlain makes the sad realization that he is too jaded to be frightened by a game even when that is exactly what he is looking for. No spoilers for Amnesia Rebirth this week but full plot spoiler in a week.

As the generation winds down our heroes need to dig deeper for entertainment. Chance returns to old (and new) friends in Overwatch and Ghost of Tsushima. Chamberlain spends a few fleeting moments with pixel art indies Huntdown and Ikenfell. And Alex dives deep into the lore or Warhammer with Warhammer 2 Total War. Plus just a little more Hades talk. No minds have been changed.