Chamberlain And Chance

The Hades debate continues. Chamberlain is convinced that the whole world is wrong, that Hades is not worth the time, and Chance and Alex are having none of it. Chamberlian also bounces soundly off of Crusader Kings III, Scourgebringer and Wasteland 3 before landing on the mediocre (at best) Star Wars Squadrons. Chance has no patience for mediocrity so he left Squadrons in favor of a Ghost of Tsushima replay. And Alex is still playing Hades. For some odd reason. In spite of Chamberlain's futile insistence that it really isn't very good.Also, I know I screwed up the first verse of Jabberwocky. It's a goddamn mouthful.

Pickings are a bit slim this week. Chamberlain didn't play Hades (on purpose). It's October now, so it is time for spooky games and the best he could come up with is Maid of Sker. Alex waited several years and several price drops to play Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War, a very smart decision. And Chance played just enough 13 Sentinels to be disappointed by it, just enough Spelunky 2 to be frustrated by it and just enough No Man's Sky to question his 'Alex was right' stance.

Chamberlain would like to apologize for his mood. He did not secure an Xbox Series X preorder and therefore everything is terrible. Even Hades. Chance insists that Hades is good but does not know quite what to make of 13 Sentinels, splitting time between that and a host of spooky movies. Alex also insists that Hades is good, inching in on game of the year territory before Cyberpunk even comes out.

The other shoe has dropped and two of our heroes have pre-ordered a PS5. The third, being Alex, has wisely decided to wait just a bit. Chamberlain has moved on from being disappointed in Marvel's Avengers to being disappointed in Minoria. Chance was also made sad by Minoria but has been having too much fun with Star Renegades to notice. And Alex beds down with another Borderlands 3 expansion because he is a good and loyal man.  Also, yes, Chamberlain got the episode number wrong in the intro. Feel free to leave scathing comments.

This week Chance indulges in a few scary movies. Well, two horror movies and a third starring David Spade, but close enough. He also gets killed by smurfs in Overwatch, which is not nearly as funny as it sounds. Chamberlain plays the new Destiny 2 expansion called Marvel's Avengers after turning tale and running from the final boss of Luna Nights. And Alex enjoys the bounty of a Humble Bundle, playing Grim Dawn, Tales of Vesperia and Star Renegades. Finally, one of the new consoles has a price and date, making Chamberlain very happy. You can guess which one.

Much like we all have been forced to wait for a price and date announcement for the new consoles, you have been unfairly forced to wait for part two of the generation in review. Chamberlain's dead laptop apoloigizes. Also this week: Chance plays some Overwatch and gets hate mail, Alex watched some movies, and Chamberlain quit playing what he thought was a music game to play an actual music game, only this time with metal instead of EDM. He definitely traded up.

As we near the end of the generation (hopefully) Chamberlain, Chance and Alex reflect of the current one, picking out their ten favorite games each. Part one is this week! On top of that, Chamberlain is embarrassed to admit he is playing Fairy Tale, just not embarrassed enough to stop playing. Alex is giving The Outer Worlds a second and play through and Chance relaxes with two indies on his Switch.

It had to happen. Chamberlain has played what may be the worst game of 2020 and managed to still be amused by Fast & Furious Crossroads. Alex revisits Horizon Zero Dawn, specifically on PS4, as the PC port is currently bollocks. And Chance watched one horror movie, attempted to watch another, and then visited said horror upon others in Overwatch.

Chamberlain, Chane and Alex have all finished Ghost of Tsushima, but did any of them manage to do it with honor? Full spoilers in this episode! Also, Chance played some Fall Guys, Chamberlain happened upon another card based rogue like in Nowhere Prophet and Alex is suffering through Pillars of Eternity just so can import characters into the second game.

It has been two weeks since the release of Ghost of Tsushima. Chance and Alex have finished it (no spoiler this week beyond the middle of act 2) and Chamberlain is still muddling along at an Assassin’s Creed like pace. Chance think everyone should at least try lethal mode. Alex took a break between finishing the game and starting it again to put a few hours into Bloodborne, and Chamberlain’s unhealthy obsession with question marks is keeping him from making any real progress.

You can probably guess what dominates today’s discussion. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have all played Ghost of Tsushima. They all agree that it is good (but they do not agree on how it is pronounced). But there must be dissent, so once the game discussion is over Chance and Alex beat Chamberlain about the head and neck with the Xbox game conference. He promises to all three remaining Microsoft loyalists, of which is one, that it is going to be fine. No really, it’s going to be fine.

This episode was recorded on the night of Ghost of Tsushima’s release. We at the Chamberlain and Chance and Alex podcast would like to apologize for Chance being a little distracted. A little preoccupied. A game that might as well have been made specifically for him is coming out in a few hours and Alex and Chamberlain are trying to get him to talk. The podcast would also like to apologize for the contents of the next episode in advance. It’s all samurai from here on out.

Are you hungry? You will be because this is a cooking show now. Chance lets his culinary burger tips slip and Chamberlain extolls the virtues of high proof stouts that he drinks for the flavor. No really. Come for the food, stay for Hamilton reactions that are years out of date, more talk of Slay the Spire and The Last of Us 2, and of how much Chance needs Ghost of Tsushima right now.

Beware, this episode is filled to the brim with The Last of Us 2 spoilers, but it has been two weeks since it came out, you should have finished it by now. Chamberlain and Chance have some nice things to say about it, and some not so nice things to say about it, but you’ll have listen for all the sordid details. Alex, needing to be different, played the Remnant From the Ashes expansion and swears that it is good. At the very least, it doesn’t have beloved characters behaving irrationally in service of the plot.

Chamberlain is significantly behind the curve in a lot of ways. This week it is in his progress towards the end of The Last of Us 2, so no spoilers past Seattle day 2. Chance has finished it, mostly holds his tongue regarding late game happenings, but still has serious issues with what is otherwise a fantastic game. And Alex has opted for Griftlands, another Borderlands 3 expansion and sharing the spotlight with his soon to be famous roommate.

It’s The Last of Us Part Two eve and two of our three heroes are giving it a pass, at least for now. Chamberlain made it all the way through a roguelike shooter by pretending it was a really hard shooter and deciding now to die. Alex has returned to Persona 4 Golden because he can play it on his fancy PC And Chance has Ellie’s newest adventure pre-loaded. He might even get around to playing it.

The PS5 is a real thing that exists. The box itself is questionable looking but there is no denying that a day one Spider-Man sequel is enough to get everyone hot and bothered. Chamberlain has grown tired of Path of Exile, opting to baselessly attack entire genres of game he does not like to keep himself amused. Alex is reasonably offended and Chance just digs into the hate mail bag for a good story. Also Brad Pitt at 22 was just dreamy.

It’s been a heavy, difficult year, for a lot of reasons, for a lot of people. More than just a lot, for everyone who has a brain in their head and even a modicum of compassion for their fellow human beings. And while this podcast is usually a silly, if a bit profane, oasis from real life, to ignore current events, specifically the protests in many major American cities, would be a defacto endorsement of the evils they are fighting. We aren’t going to do that. Yes, there are still games to talk about, but this week there are more important things going on.…Chamberlain still hates roguelikes.

Beware, Chance has acquired a taste for man flesh, having chewed through Maneater from beginning to end and back to the beginning again. He also has the audacity to say not nice things about Torchlight 2, for which he is taken to task by Alex, who is more interested in what may or may not look like a man in Prey. And Chamberlain has rejected manliness altogether and is playing Minecraft Dungeons because it was on Game Pass and he desperately needed something to do.

Chamberlain takes his turn in the way back machine this week, indulging in Ion Fury, a new shooter built on a twenty year old engine. Chance is happy that the wave of new blood has subsided and Overwatch is back to normal. Game are going so well that we another entry into Chance’s hate mail bag! And Alex puts the console versions of Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2 into the thunderdome. Plus real time reactions to Tenet! Yeah, we have no idea what it is about, either.