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Damon Hatfield
C3PO voice, we're doomed, but in a good way. Plus, Sam has visited the new Nintendo San Francisco store and we have to talk about the gift that is andor that's all coming up on gamescoop right after these messages. Planning any exciting trips this year? I bet something you might not be planning is learning the local language. Well, with Babel, you only need a few weeks to learn. This year, speak like a whole new you with Babbel, the language learning app that gets you talking. Babbel's quick 10 minute lessons, handcrafted by over 200 language experts, get you to begin speaking your new language in three weeks or whatever pace you choose. And because conversing is the key to really understanding each other in new languages, Babbel is designed using practical real world conversations. Babbel's tips and tools are inspired by the real life stuff you actually need when communicating with a focus on conversation. You'll be ready to talk wherever you go. I I took a trip to Mexico last year and used Babbel to brush up on my Spanish. Babbel is useful for learning an entirely new language, but also for those who, like me, hadn't used a second language in many years and needed some refreshers. Need proof that Babbel gets you talking? Studies from Yale, Michigan State and other leading universities continue to prove Babbel works. One study found that using Babbel for 15 hours is equivalent to a full semester at College. With over 16 million subscriptions sold, Babbel's 14 award winning language courses are backed by a 20 day money back guarantee. This year I want you to learn another language. So I'm teaming up with Babbel to gift you 50 55% off subscriptions, but only for our listeners at babbel.com Gamescoop get up to 55% off at babbel.com GamesCoop spelled b a B-B-E-L.com GamesCoop rules and restrictions may apply. It's the Smuckers Uncrustables podcast with your host Uncrustables.
Sam Claiborne
Okay, today's guest is rough around the edges. Please welcome crust.
Damon Hatfield
Thanks for having me.
Sam Claiborne
Today's topic he's round with soft pillowy bread.
Mark Medina
Hey.
Damon Hatfield
Filled with delicious PB and J. Are you talking about yourself?
Sam Claiborne
And you can take them anywhere. Why'd you invite and we are out of time.
Damon Hatfield
Are you really cutting me off? Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich. Sorry Crust. What's up everybody? Welcome to IGN Games Group. I'M your host, Damon Hatfield. And joining me this week are Sam Claiborne.
Sam Claiborne
Hey, everybody. Good to be here.
Damon Hatfield
Nick Limone.
Nick Limone
I'm back, baby.
Damon Hatfield
And Mark Medina is here.
Mark Medina
I'm here, Damon.
Sam Claiborne
Nick took your line, Mark.
Mark Medina
I know, I know. Nick, I, I, I accidentally took a hybrid of your line last week. I apologize. I didn't know. And I've, I've lost sleep over it.
Nick Limone
You're, I will never forgive you for this.
Damon Hatfield
Unforgivable. Nick, what is your shirt? Neither enemy nor friend. What is that?
Nick Limone
It's a Metal Gear Solid shirt. It was part of the Uniqlo collection that they had a couple years back.
Damon Hatfield
Cool. We've got a great show for you this week. Sam has visited the Nintendo Store in the new one in San Francisco. We'll get his thoughts on that. And Andor is complete. And I don't want to spoil anything, but we'll talk about it in whatever broad terms we can. And I also saw Thunderbolts this week, so I want to talk about that. Oh, nice. But first, Doom. The Dark Ages is out. Now. I think all of us have been playing it. Sam, you too?
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, I'm halfway through.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, we actually were fortunate enough to actually get code a couple weeks ago. Mitchell did our review for IGN, gave at a 9 out of 10. And I think it's a lot of fun. Just, you know, I think just like Doom eternal. Just a lot of fun. Really, really fun. First person shooter. Who's played the most? Does anyone beat it? Mark, if you beat it.
Mark Medina
No, no, I'm about halfway through as well.
Damon Hatfield
Okay, so I'm on 20 chapters. 22.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Nick Limone
22.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. 20 change.
Damon Hatfield
Okay, I'm on chapter six, so I'm still fairly early days. Where is everyone else?
Nick Limone
I'm in the same spot.
Sam Claiborne
Chapter I.
Damon Hatfield
That was five when you're on the dragon. Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
That's funny. Yeah, I'm, I'm past chapter 10, so I'm halfway through. Okay.
Damon Hatfield
Mark.
Mark Medina
I think Sam is probably the furthest then. Yeah. Because I'm probably like about where Damon is.
Nick Limone
Yeah, I'm in the chapter immediately. I just finished the chapter six, so I'm on seven now. And I think six is where the game really shows all the good stuff that the game has to offer. Like, don't get me wrong, getting into Giant Mech was sick. Getting in the Cyber Dragon was really cool. But I think the chapter six is the, the first time they introduce a large world with multiple objectives scattered throughout the map, with tons of secrets hidden throughout where I'm like, okay, this is the thing that I wanted from this game.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. There's not a lot of that, but that level is great and it's kind of like Call of Duty where. Where they pulled off that kind of drive around the desert level last year, which was great. A really awesome Call of Duty level. So yeah, I. More of that please. Is a is. But. But even like the corridor shooting and stuff is fun for many, many reasons in this game. So it's all good.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah.
Mark Medina
Yeah. Is.
Damon Hatfield
Isn't it refreshing to play a big triple A game that's level based?
Sam Claiborne
It is levels and they just show up in your chapter select.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, yeah.
Sam Claiborne
It just.
Damon Hatfield
It just. It's kind of rare these days.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Nick Limone
And it's also just. I love the quality of life of like I know it's not new to Doom, but just showing here's how many chap or here's how many secrets there are. Here's all of these like weapon upgrades. I'm like, oh, thank God. And then they're like, by the way, it's over here. It's like, oh, I won't miss anything unless I want to.
Mark Medina
Yeah, me. It's.
Sam Claiborne
Go ahead, Mark.
Mark Medina
I was going to say like me. Every splash screen is here's everything you missed, you failed, get back in there.
Sam Claiborne
But it's. I love how they. They balance this really cool Metroid map with like finding secrets. They show you when you get near them where the secret is on the map. Then you can usually see it through like a great or a damn door with fire on it. One that everybody hates. But then you can't figure out how to get in. I love it. I think that's like. I would be happier if they showed you nothing personally. But for my just playthrough right now and working on the guide, I love it. I think it's really cool. But I think they, they tease a thing and then you have to figure out in the world, usually a world puzzle, how to get into the secret. And it's not like the things you get are amazing or anything but so far I don't want to pass them up. Like it's really fun to figure those out. Like it's a cool stop from the fighting and that's how this game works. It's like puzzle solving and then fighting. Puzzle solving and then fighting over and over again. If you want to play it that way, you can just play fight fight the whole way through. And the fighting is cool because it has a lot of like counters and a bunch of different doodads and ways to, like, go at enemies. You have to just kind of sequence through them. So I like that about it. But yeah, I like to stop in for secrets.
Damon Hatfield
It's great. Yep.
Nick Limone
But I need more money. I need more money to upgrade my shield so that I can bounce around and do Captain America stuff.
Mark Medina
It does not. It does not dole out the gold. Like. Like, maybe it does in the later, but I'm like, it's like $75 to upgrade a weapon. I'm like, dude, $75? Who's got this kind of.
Damon Hatfield
In this economy?
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, I know Challenges give you gold just as a heads up. So if you do pay attention a little bit to those, you're going to get a little bit more gold. And then. And then it's soon enough. It's like, yeah, gold. You can't buy this with gold. You got to buy this with rubies.
Mark Medina
And so wait, hold on. One of my challenges is to get gold.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. Either you'll get more gold for that.
Mark Medina
Love it.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. I think the secrets are pretty well placed because I'm playing. I'm going through every level, like, trying, really trying to look in every nook and cranny to find them. And then I'll complete the level and It'll be like, 66% completed. Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
Look for the dark areas on the map. Then you'll uncover where they are, and then you have to figure out how to get to them. And some. I just had to pass originally, and I was like, okay, I'll just come back to this or another guide writer. I'll figure this out. Because, like, it. It. They don't teach you the rules of secrets. So, like, it's like some of them, you have to kill everybody in one area. Then, like, a wall goes down or whatever. Some of them you have to find like a.
Nick Limone
A, A.
Sam Claiborne
A lever somewhere and pull it. Like. Yeah, they don't teach you that, you know, and so you don't really know. And then some of them, you have to, like, destroy a whole level, then come back later, you know, like, there's. There's just. There's just things you. I'm sure by level 15, you. You know all the tricks, you know? But that's what's cool about the first part about it.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah.
Mark Medina
Pretty funny that, like. Go ahead, Nick.
Nick Limone
No, it was just. Stupid thing aside, it was more so, like, I love the idea of the doom guy sees a secret that's just out of reach. He goes, what did this dude just, like, burst through the wall? Like the Kool Aid man and just grab that thing instead. It's like, no, no, no. I need to push that box over there, jump on top of 100%.
Mark Medina
Yeah. At least you figure this out.
Nick Limone
Yeah, fair.
Mark Medina
A lot of the secrets are it's one of those things where it's like there's a clear ledge that you would fall off the map. And they did this in the two previous Dooms where if you go and look and you look down that ledge, there's like a different ledge that you could drop down to. And it's like, how am I supposed to figure that stuff out? But people do because I'm watching my guides team do it right now. It's.
Sam Claiborne
See, that's what's good about like playing the previous games is that I bet they teach you a little bit more of that methodology about the game. But the combat's really different in this. Right? Like the flail. You guys don't have the flail yet, but the.
Damon Hatfield
I. I do.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, you do? Okay. Yeah, that one, that one's really fun. Well, there's two flails, there's a gun flail. Then there's also just an upgrade to your melee weapon. That's just a. You know, cuz when you click the right stick, you can do the melee attacks, which I love. Yeah. You get weapons that change for those which are great.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. So you start out, you have your. What is, is it a power gauntlet? Is that what it's called?
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Damon Hatfield
You can use that for melee attacks and then also for finishers. And then you upgrade it and you get the flail. But then there's two different upgrade paths. But what, Wait a minute. Who's going to go back and use the power Gauntlet when you have the flail?
Sam Claiborne
It's so cool, right? Yeah, I, I don't know. I always get confused about that. When like it's not like God of War where like you kind of go back to the chains because they're great. But it's like, you know, once you, you know, some. Usually in God of War it's like, okay, well I got a spear now, but I'm never going to use it. You know.
Mark Medina
Going to be challenging.
Sam Claiborne
It requires it.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, yeah.
Mark Medina
When I, when I played the first level because, you know, we, we get a, a Doom game every five years.
Damon Hatfield
Yep.
Mark Medina
And you play the first level and it's, it's, you know, release the Slayer and it's just nonsense and the music's super cool and you're just like, I'm a kid again. This is awesome. And then you get the power gauntlet and it's like you can refill this getting melee ammo and I was like, this game's. It's so stupid, but I love it. Melee ammo, like they know what they're doing at this point and they just, it's, it's just wonderful.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. Sam. Also speaking of the soundtrack, you know, it's just like super hardcore heavy metal. Sam. Like in the early 90s metal bands to get heavier, they started doing a detuning on their, in their guitar so it lowers the Easter down to D. And then like with new metal they wanted to go even heavier so there'd be like they drop it to like C. It's some. I feel like they're like, they've got to drop it to like what they're. Are they playing on B now? It's so.
Sam Claiborne
I know it's so. I wonder if they use like a transpose pedal or something though. Yeah, yeah, maybe like dropping it. You know, obviously it's like that's what like helps with the. Also the music is mixed really loud and Mark was recommending to even turn that up. And it's just funny but like you're, when you're just like getting secrets or something, it's just gone. So that's why it's like when a portal opens or whatever, you know, that's when it comes in. It's very funny.
Mark Medina
I was recommending you blast the music and turn the sound effects down to like 65 because then it just like, I don't know, it kicks ass.
Sam Claiborne
These enemies are tough. The, the, the kind of. The larger gargoyle demon guys. Yeah, I like, I, I don't know if anybody's gotten to these, but there's like you can get a super shotgun. That's probably the best weapon. It's. It's really fun. It just kind of splats things and it's. You can kind of do it from a distance up but then after that you get some kind of precision weapons like the rail gun and stuff. And it's pretty interesting cuz like I think there are enemy types that like require you to do headshots, you know, and stuff like that. But like you don't have to do it. You know, you can just shield, bash something to study and just like blast skulls at them for a while. It's just a very, it's a, it's a very lenient game for like hey, there's all these enemy types and you can Cycle through your attacks and figure them out. Or you can just like brute force it, which I think is funny.
Nick Limone
Yeah, I like about this over like Doom Eternal because like Doom Eternal had a very much rock paper scissors with the yes versus Emmys. And I just like in this one, I was like. But I like using the super shotgun. I just want to do that.
Sam Claiborne
Yep.
Damon Hatfield
I'm just playing on the standard. Hurt me plenty difficulty. Did anyone crank it up?
Mark Medina
I went up just normal one notch.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. I think Mitchell said because, you know, he wants to, you know, experience the real, like kind of. Because what it. What it changes is I guess it makes you a little bit more absorbent of damage and stuff like that, but it changes the timing of their. Of their, you know, reaction you have to have. And I think the sloppy reaction timing is pretty fun in this game. Like, I don't mind getting. Getting good at reaction timing and stuff. Obviously, that's what we're all talking about for Expedition. It's like. Is an important part of that game. Like, that's all fine, but like, man, like this game, like if you do. If you do play on normal, like, you could. You can slop it up a little bit. It's fun.
Damon Hatfield
It.
Mark Medina
It feels really cool to turn and then. And then I'm playing on mouse and keyboard. But so it's like you do the right click to bring up your shield and you accidentally block something because it's just kind of for.
Nick Limone
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. We should talk about. We should talk about. We should talk about the shield Mark mentioned. You know, we get a Doom game like every five years. And the.
Sam Claiborne
What.
Damon Hatfield
The way they've mixed things up this time is. Has this new, like, dark fantasy setting. So it's cool to be the.
Sam Claiborne
The.
Damon Hatfield
The Doom Slayer, like Doom guy, like running through castles and over drawbridges and stuff and riding a. A dragon that has like laser wings, but also also a jetpack on its back.
Sam Claiborne
It's so little record cover. It's like. It's like. Do you. You guys have ever seen the. The pinball machine series? Black Knight? It's like Black Knight the game. Yeah, it's really, really funny. Like futuristic, you know? Yeah, fantasy.
Nick Limone
I mean, it's. It's really cool because, like, you know, back in the early days of id, John Carmack was running a dnd like session for the entire, like, development team, and that's where they got Quake from. Quake was like this medieval fantasy barbarian, and then they wanted. That's what they wanted Quake to be. But this feels more like what the Campaign for that Quake character should have been of like, this is the Doom guy. It's just the Doom guy in a. In a. In a medieval fantasy setting.
Sam Claiborne
It rocks.
Damon Hatfield
And the Doom guy is heavier now, so there's no more like double jump. He's. He has a lot of weight to him. And there's lots of opportunities where you have to, like, jump down from a ledge and land into a group of enemies. And it just obliterates all the enemies.
Sam Claiborne
It kills them every time.
Mark Medina
It's so stupid. I love it.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, it's great. And you've got your shield, which just. It feels so good. I don't know what they call it. The shield charge, whatever the name for it is. You can, like, target an enemy, bring up your shield, and just. You charge right into them, smash them, and any enemies around them. It also is a great way of closing the gap between you and a group of enemies.
Sam Claiborne
And you feel buzz saw them to. To paralyze them, to shoot them.
Damon Hatfield
Yep.
Mark Medina
You throw your.
Sam Claiborne
Really. It's a great animation, too.
Nick Limone
And.
Sam Claiborne
And it's what's what I call Full Rygar.
Mark Medina
You can start to get used to it too, where you throw it and then you position yourself so that way on its return. Yes. It's hitting even more enemies. Yeah. That's great. Yep.
Nick Limone
Ign Max Scoville and I were chatting about it, and he was just like. He calls out that. You know, there's a pageantry to every single time you get something in this game where it's just like, hey, by the way, here's the chainsaw attachment for your shield. And you just, like, you spin it around and you're like, oh, hell yeah, let's do this.
Sam Claiborne
I have a disappointment with. Go ahead, David. I'll talk about.
Damon Hatfield
I was just gonna say, I'm on chapter six. I've gotten at least one new weapon in every chapter. So it's.
Mark Medina
It's.
Damon Hatfield
They're. You're getting new stuff on the.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, you do. You do. Yeah.
Mark Medina
The. The way I look at Doom is almost like Mortal Kombat, Right. Every time a Mortal Kombat comes out, you want to see what Ed Boon and the team came up with for fatalities? Right. And they basically always deliver. And like, that's what this is. It's like, how did Id come out with new ways for you to destroy demons? And in this game, they. They are delivering new ways to destroy demons. It's great.
Sam Claiborne
It turns out it's in chunks. Yeah, that's the best way. It has really good body deformation stuff. In it. And that's a good segue to my point where it looks bad on PlayStation 5 and I'm really disappointed. Like it's not. I don't know if it looks better on Xbox but Mark, you were explaining a little bit about this to me. It looks great in PC, right.
Mark Medina
I'm playing on PC and yeah, it looks great. I've seen on the social medias that the PS5 version is a little lacking, even the PS5 Pro version. But I can't confirm because I'm playing on PC.
Sam Claiborne
It looks like a launch PS5 game to me. And what the issue is, it's running really well. It's got a good frame rate but it just doesn't have the. For the deformation and for chunks and stuff like that. The resolution just doesn't look that, that good and it doesn't, it doesn't look like a next gen game. It looks like a really well done last gen game to me and I know it'll probably improve. So that's great. These people are technical wizards. But like it isn't like I'm not going to call everybody over and be like look how good this game looks. Like that's just not. And that's what I expect from it frankly. So I'm disappointed in that.
Damon Hatfield
Well, I'm playing on PS5 and I never thought this game looks bad. It's not up. It's not like one of the best looking. You're exactly original games.
Mark Medina
So.
Damon Hatfield
Clay.
Sam Claiborne
Yes. I just want it to be the best looking game because I know they're capable of that. They've. They've been like even since Doom 3. They've been like the vanguard of graphics a lot of times. Right.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, that's true. Nick, what are you playing on?
Nick Limone
I am playing on PC Max settings and getting like 120 frames per second with DLAA and it's like. And dude, that sucks Sam. But like it looks incredible.
Sam Claiborne
That gives me hope though because it just means that like obviously the PlayStation 5 could run this game well. Like I'm sure it can. You know, like it's just there's some kind of step that needs to be taken maybe because this game also came out fast like to their credit. Like it's not like it was delayed a bunch and like, you know, took a lot of years to make and stuff. Like it just looks like they turned it around and like this it's really high quality.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. Like I said, I appreciate the level based structure that I can just, I know, I could just sit down and after I put the kids to bed, I could sit down and be like, okay, I'm gonna play two levels tonight. And that's, you know, that's it. Whereas when I'm playing, like, Assassin's Creed, Origin or Shadows, it's just like, oh, I don't know, what should I do next? Where should I go next? I don't know. That's endless possibilities.
Sam Claiborne
I didn't think about it that way. That's really. That's really. It's almost been a relaxing way to play it because it doesn't demand that from you.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, yeah, that's true. One second before we move on to our next topic.
Mark Medina
Just like that, he's gone.
Sam Claiborne
We lost Damon. Nick, you're in charge.
Mark Medina
As mysteriously as he arrived, I haven't.
Sam Claiborne
Seen you host recently, Nick. You're doing a good job.
Nick Limone
Thank you. They're trying to mutiny. Damon, they're trying to mute.
Damon Hatfield
What. What are they trying to do?
Sam Claiborne
What are they. I was trying to put. I was trying to put Nick in charge because he's been hosting so well recently.
Damon Hatfield
That's true.
Nick Limone
Thank you. Thank you.
Damon Hatfield
Well, speaking of. Speaking of ripping and tearing, this one has been.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, no.
Damon Hatfield
This one has been ripping and tearing. The little case for the styrofoam case for my light I have over there. So look how, look, look.
Sam Claiborne
We must shine so little dude Slayer. Such shark much teeth.
Nick Limone
Release the cat slayer.
Damon Hatfield
Rip and tear until it is finished.
Sam Claiborne
I love that grumpy face right now. Caught in the act.
Damon Hatfield
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Sam Claiborne
I took Bart to Powell Street. I walked out from the trolley and yeah, no it was great and it's all it is on Google Maps already because I guess because it's open but it was already. Look at that trolley stop. Isn't that a great shot there? This is in like so first of all, if you come to San Francisco like this is the place you're probably going to be in. It is like the central tourist location in San Francisco. So it's kind of funny. Like everything around there is like, you know, gelato and you know, Gucci stores. It's like, it's what you'd see in, you know, Venice or Rome or London or Paris. Like these are all very similar, you know, world cities. So it's kind of funny it's there. But yeah, Nintendo store. I got to go and check it out. I'm going back on Sunday. You have to reserve time there. So if you do have a trip coming up in San Francisco, you do need to look it up ahead of time. And by the way, you can see right now San Francisco, it's summer here. So it is a 50 degrees out. It is freezing outside right now and it is freezing in my house. And so be ready for that. These are all Miss San Francisco tourist tips. Easy to get there. But yeah, get off, you know this trolley stop and you walk in. It used to be probably like a clothing store. It's a two story large shopping center. Like it's like walking into a city. Target. It's really big and it looks, you see some of the photos I took we have on the site. It looks like spread out and like the sparse, but it isn't. It's like really jam packed. You go up to these areas and they have by game Splatoon has a giant area you would never expect. They made all the Splatoon merchandise and you're like, oh, that's strange. But they have it for Kirby, they have it for Pokemon, they have it just for Pikachu. And then like they have these incredible sections. I think the top two are Zelda and Animal Crossing. So Animal Crossing is like all themed like houseware. It's little kitchen cookie jars, like high quality stuff, like really cool trays and stuff like that. They have a huge unique to San Francisco and Tokyo stationary section. Apparently that's sold out and that's the theme of the store. Everybody knows how rare the stuff is that's available in the store right now. It's either only available in San Francisco if it's a San Francisco on it or it's only available in Tokyo and here, which is really cool. It's like the Cross Ocean Supply. So anyway, back to the Animal Crossing. They have big stationary section, all that. That's really cute. And then the Zelda section though. And I got kind of a guide from Nintendo about their thoughts about how they're stocking the store. And one of the things they're saying about the Zelda area, it's like this is for. They didn't say this this way, but more mature audiences, older audiences. So they had things like polos and cardigans and the cardigans would have little koroks that go up the knit button area. And it was just so well thought out and cool. And yeah, the story just oozing with character and fun stuff. It's really hard to get a sense of that even from our videos, but it's really good. And one thing I wanted to call out for gamescoop fans, they have a giant in the box, like just stock of games. You can just walk into a store and hold video games in your hand for Switch, Switch one so far and pick out video games. It just feels great. It's like going into a Toys r us in 1995.
Damon Hatfield
Are they all first party or they have third party games as well?
Sam Claiborne
No, they have third party. They have them all. And like in a big stock you pick up the games like they're not locked in a lockbox or anything. It's. It's just shocking. And they have a giant wall of Amiibo. Same deal, like fully stocked wall of Amiibo. Like some of the weirder stuff you can't get as easily, like you know, the Guardians or the double pack, not the rarest double pack for Metroid, but the more recent double pack. Like stuff like that, they just have them sitting there, you know, they're just on the shelf. It just feels good to be in this, like, you know, this, this store of plenty. And then the prices for the things that I was picking up like animal crossing, notepads and booklets and stuff like that. Look at that. Like a card. Good. So funny. You know, they're like $2, $3. So you can go there and not like spend a fortune. You can just get some cool stuff and it's really good for gifts, stuff like that. I don't know, ask me questions. What else do you want to know about it? It's a fascinating experience.
Damon Hatfield
Well, I'm noticing as you know, if you're just listening to this, we're watching a sort of walkthrough of the store right now that's being led by Brian Altano. Nintendo has a new console coming out in less than three weeks and there doesn't seem to be anything about the Switch two in the store.
Sam Claiborne
We asked. So they kept on saying things like, hey, we'll make space for our new family members when we're ready. But you can tell like maybe some of that space that I'm talking about is going to be space for them to roll out the new areas. Maybe there'll be another shelf for the Switch 2 games on top of the Switch 1 games. They have things right now that they only have at the store, like only in Tokyo and here are you able to do custom Joy Con color picks and you have them build it there. I don't think they're going to have that Switch two right away. I'm just predicting this. I have no idea. But that stuff maybe would be coming eventually, but they'll probably keep it for Switch one is my point for now. So I don't think they're going to like, go and outright replace a bunch of things. I think they're going to add Switch two.
Mark Medina
I love that in their training manual, they were like, what do I do when someone asks us about the Switch 2?
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, I'm using this knowing full well the joke here. But I'm not saying it's a Star Trek joke. But the red shirt people here, those are the employees of the store. They're not Nintendo people. So, like, there's PR people around in this video, but there's also just Nintendo Store people. Talk to a lot of them, like, are you going to be working this coming weekend? Like when the store opens on Thursday? And like, they're all like, yeah, they're all ready for it. They're just people that live in San Francisco that are working in this Nintendo store. It seems like a dream come true for them. And they had that line at the ready too, right? Like, oh, we have new. We'll have new family members to add. Just did Mark's horn.
Damon Hatfield
I just think it's odd that they have, you know, big, big, big, big new hardware coming out, but to walk around their new store, you wouldn't know it.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, it would be nice if they just had like a tease of Switch 2 merch. Because who cares if there's Switch 2 merch out ahead of the Switch 2 launch, right? Just give us some Switch 2 pencils. So there's also a meta game you can play where you walk around the store. Like, you can log into your Nintendo account and do things and like, get like a sticker strip like a passport just for free. And then they give you stickers around the store, which is kind of like I'm always looking for, like, what's the most exclusive thing at the store. And that's one of the things you should, like, look into to do. Of course, I grabbed every possible variation of sticker because they, they, they silly the silly employees left them out unsupervised and I was able to complete my, my, you know, 16 part passport, not a four part. So got all those. And then also when you leave, I think you have to spend to a dollar level. I think it's $50. Do not quote me on this. I heard that secondhand. I don't know how this works, but you get a coin when you leave. And my coin said like, you know, it was like Thursday, May, whatever the day was that it opened and I had Pikmin on it. But then I found out too late that Brian Otano had figured out that there was also Zelda and Mario ones. You can collect them all. And so I'm going back on Sunday as I said. Although I saw the lions now in San Francisco are huge to get in even with the registration. Like, like 50, 100 people deep. Like, like I don't know how it's gonna work. So I'll see if I lose steam going back a second time. I'm going with friends. You, you can bring like 4, 3 up to 4 people with your pass when you register.
Mark Medina
I get, I get Disney vibes when it comes to Nintendo because like if, if people have been to Disneyland, like I have you. They do? Yeah, yeah. They do a lot of these magical things to make it where it's like you forget that you're on Earth basically. Like for an example is like, it's silly. For example, if you go on, you know where you're at Indiana Jones or what's the. What's the ride? What's the Jungle Cruise? And it's like, so you're in the jungle, right? There is a tree shaped like the Matterhorn to hide the Matterhorn because it doesn't make sense to see a giant snow mountain when you're in the jungle, right. So it's that kind of like weird stuff. And so it's like when I look at this store to Nintendo then in The Nintendo Switch 2 doesn't exist yet. Like it's not out. So they're not going to have anything forward for it because like they don't want you to buy merch and stuff like that for something that doesn't exist yet. But I, I actually, I think I would opt to wait to go to this store after Switch 2 comes out because I'd like.
Sam Claiborne
I don't think you have a choice. It might be sold out until then.
Mark Medina
I, I mean probably it's like three hours away. So I'm not like, you know, that is a.
Damon Hatfield
That is A good point. If they have like signage up for the Switch 2, then you get people asking if can they buy the Switch 2? And then you have to keep telling people, no, it's not available. So. Okay, maybe it makes more sense that they're not.
Sam Claiborne
What if the Switch 2 is available at the store? Like, what if there's some kind of thing where it's easier to walk into the store than other places and get it? Like that's going to be interesting, right?
Nick Limone
Yeah, yeah.
Damon Hatfield
Sam, you mentioned just having games available, physical copies of games to pick up and buy. But when the Switch 2 is available and those games are out, a lot of those third party games, I mean, maybe all of them are going to be game key cards.
Mark Medina
Yeah. It's just a code inside.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, yeah.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, I saw the Nintendo accessory controllers are all just sitting there. You can buy, which I think is really cool. You know, the Nintendo 64, Genesis and NES controllers. Those are, you can just buy those in the store.
Mark Medina
Did they have Labo?
Sam Claiborne
They had a Labo thing. I remember seeing the Labo logo and being like, ooh, I. It's been a while. They have a big animal crossing Lego section, which is cool. I can't remember Mark. I'll have to look into that. I think they had some kind of Labo, you know, expansion or something like that.
Damon Hatfield
They have Ring Fit, Adventure.
Sam Claiborne
I don't know. I. They see those are all specialty boxes so they wouldn't have been in that big pile section. So you know, in my. I'll have to go into my mind palace and see if I can remember if they had that stuff in like a specialty Switch game section. Because since they had Amiibo like that.
Mark Medina
Right.
Sam Claiborne
It was like Amiibo is all different sizes of their own. One area. Oh yeah, the Pikmin game is strong here. There's hidden Pikmin everywhere and then there's like Pikmin merch. And one of the things I had to get and Brian Altano like was, was really talking these up. I got these three little ceramic Pikmin vases and they're. They're awesome. They're such a good design. They look good. They like, they're like a great design for a house because they look like weird, like little modernist things, you know, like they don't look like it like a toy or anything. They just look like, you know, houseware. It's very funny.
Nick Limone
This is pretty one to one with. Based on all the footage I've seen, this looks one to one with the Tokyo Nintendo Store and I'm curious, like the Tokyo Nintendo store has a lot of like gaming cabinets for arcade games centered around Pokemon where kids come in and bring their Pokemon cards and play this thing. But I'm curious, is there any sort of analog tab? Because obviously those games don't exist here in the US but is there any sort of playable game stuff?
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, they have, they have a few Switch game stations and then they have one big screen one so you can play like a very nice new panel wall where I couldn't even see the pixels on it. It looks like a great panel wall to play. Clearly that's going to be the Switch 2 display, right? Yeah. You know, because they want to like show off.
Mark Medina
How close is this store to the New York store if you've been there?
Sam Claiborne
Well, it's across the country.
Mark Medina
Whoa. Okay. I don't 2,000 miles. I, I think that's probably what I.
Nick Limone
It'S pretty similar based on, based on my memory of going there like in 2018, which was also again pretty one to one with the Tokyo one. So like they do a good job of making sure you're not missing out on stuff. Granted, they didn't have any of the Pikmin stuff when I went to the New York store. And I think low key, the Pikmin stuff is the cool, coolest stuff that they have there. One, because, one, because I love Pikmin. But two, I, I think in general all the stuff that they have at the Nintendo store is like classy gamer apparel where it's like this is just kind of like elegant and nice in terms of like adhering to what the IP is known for and leaning into the things that make it special. And so they do just a, a really good job of that.
Sam Claiborne
So they made it a big deal of showing us that the stuff at the San Francisco store was only in the Tokyo and San Francisco stores. And that is Pikmin stuff. There was the animal crossing. It says Dobitsu no Mori. It doesn't say animal crossing on it. Ton of Japanese stuff. And then these like statue sets that, in these red tubes that I'm sure you'll see in this video, there's things that so it. So when I went to the Nintendo store in New York, it was so long ago that it was, it was maybe a tenth of the amount of stuff that's in the store. So I don't know like if they've really upped their game at that store, I know they don't have. Also in the New York store, they don't have the customized Joy Con builder. So there's things that are definitely expansive here and I think they're limited by room, you know, in that store and they have a lot of room to still expand here. As I said, like it's, it feels like you're in a, in a supermarket. It's that big. And I'm saying a city. Remember, this is San Francisco. Space is limited. So like, this is about as big as you can get for a department store in San Francisco, right?
E
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Nick Limone
It'S cool.
Damon Hatfield
Very cool. Well, keeping with the theme of console launches, let's check in with the listeners.
Sam Claiborne
Hey listeners, listeners.
Damon Hatfield
Remember, you can Always reach us at the email address gamescoopgn.com just like Ripley from Austin ish, Texas did. Ripley says. We've talked about how frustrating switch two pre orders were. Now let's talk about our favorite game console purchase stories. I'll start. Ripley said. Back in the first year of the Wii when it was still impossible to find my college dormit and I were browsing the shelves of Best Buy when an employee walked past me with a cart containing four Nintendo Wii consoles. Oh my God. I asked. Are those for sale? Are these pickles free? Thinking they were already spoken for, they told me they were available. I did some quick math and determined that I didn't need to eat that week and bought myself a new concert. Your friend in Time. Something similar. That's kind of how I got my Wii. I was at Target back in the old IGN offices in Brisbane outside of San Francisco. We would often on our lunch breaks go to the mall and go to Gamestop and buy. We'd often have to buy brand new games that we were going to review and we'd also sometimes go to Target as well. And I'm just wasn't planning on it and they just had a couple Wiis on the shelf in Target. I was like oh my gosh.
Sam Claiborne
And I grabbed.
Damon Hatfield
That's how I got. That's how I got the Wii.
Sam Claiborne
And then you got the Wii beat for a little while.
Damon Hatfield
The which one the Wii beat the Wii beat. Oh yeah. I was a Nintendo editor. Yeah, yeah yep. For for a minute I was a Nintendo editor. Anyone else have any good console obtaining obtaining stories?
Mark Medina
I mean all the Wii ones mine would, mine would be Wii as well because ever since then I've gotten every console at launch I just pre ordered they were there but for the Wii I you know that was. When did the WWII come out? 2006. So I was a senior in high school and it was, it was. I was doing everything I could. It took weeks. I would call stores, I would just go down the list. I would wake up and I would go down the list and see if anybody had them and it took weeks and I finally went and got one. But like PS4 I pre ordered it got a day one. Same with PS5 and, and switch two and all that. But yeah, what man the Wii was. That must have just been this weird turning point where it was like not super easy to pre order consoles yet because everyone seemed to have trouble finding it.
Sam Claiborne
Well, the PS5 was a huge deal too. Sorry, it's PS3.
Damon Hatfield
Al.
Mark Medina
Yep. Oh for you yeah, PS3 was a PS3 back then.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, PS3, remember the 20 and 80 gigabyte models? It was like a really, really rare system that people waited in line for. And it came out the same fall as the Wii. It was like the same time.
Mark Medina
Yeah, but I think it was like what, 700 bucks versus like 250.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. So yeah, the we. I mean I, I've told this story on the show. I have a, I guess a little thing to add to it, but I, I waited in a Walmart line and there was, you know, 20. They told us in line there was, they were going to get 20 to that store. And I was like 18 in that line if you just counted backwards. And there was 60 people by the end of the day and they just sold them all accessories, you know, like it was just evil and. But yeah, we walked, you know, we were there for about 20, I don't know, like eight to midnight, you know, like what, you know, it was 16 hours or something. So we walked, you know, through this gauntlet of Wii accessories. But I just wanted Zelda in the Wii. Right. Got that. It was great. But what was really another thing that happened though was that. And my student union in my college had a game store at that time. And it was just like, I just went in, I was like, hey, you know, can I get on some kind of wait list or anything for a Wii? And they were, they put me on one and like three months later, I. What, three weeks later or something, you know, really soon after mine came into my student union, I just went in and just bought it. And so that was the second one that I was able to give to a friend. But like that was really, really crazy when that happened. I loved it.
Nick Limone
That's cool.
Damon Hatfield
I was just trying to think through my head how I got all my consoles. So just indulge the. Do you remember how you got your NES Christmas present? I think Christmas 1980s.
Sam Claiborne
That's always on mine.
Damon Hatfield
And it was the full system with Gyromite, which is, I think it just included Gyromite and Duck Hunt. And then Super Mario Brothers would have been separate. And then I got the TurboGrafx 16, Christmas 1990, I believe. And then I turned 13 in 1991 and went through kind of a weird phase where I was like, ah, maybe I'm done with video games. Maybe I'm. I'm too old for them. So I went like a couple years and I, I didn't get, I had any 16 bit, other 16 bit console right away. But I did eventually get both the Genesis and Super Nintendo, but like second hand in the mid-90s sometime. And then I bought the PlayStation. I bought a refurbished place, refurbished PlayStation in like 1997 or 1996. And I remember I got like Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy vii and the, the cutscenes wouldn't work, they would skip. So I had to like take it back. I had to take it back and exchange it for a different unit. My friend sold me his dreamcast in like 2000 when he got bored of it. When I got. I bought my PS2 when I moved out on my own. Had my first apartment in Chicago because it was also a DVD player. I never got a PS3. I got GameCube on launch day. My friend and I went like we bright and early when Best Buy opened on launch day and we just waited in a short line and got a system, no problem. Xbox360 I did not buy right away. I got it from Costco in like 2006 at some point. And then of course beyond that, it was just easy to pre order consoles. So I just pre ordered PS4. I didn't get a Wii U at launch. I walked into a GameStop and got it when the Wind Waker edition was out. And then like, you know, Xbox One. Actually, I don't think I ever bought an Xbox One either. And then I just borrowed the PS5.
Sam Claiborne
And so for all those Christmas presents, you got to think like. It makes me think of two things. One is that like our parents did a really good job sometimes it was a difficult thing to get a system around Christmas time. But your parents got lucky, Dave, because nobody wanted an NES when you got one. And then nobody liked TurboGrafx when they, when you wanted one either.
Damon Hatfield
So you're exactly right.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, yeah. Because I remember my mom's stories of like her, my dad looking for, you know, nes. This is when the power pad had come out because that's the one I got. But they didn't want to get that one that was like the last one left at the third Toys R Us or KB or whatever they went to. And it was like hunting down. It was like hunting it down. That fall was difficult. You know, I just think that like, you know, that's amazing and it makes me feel really bad for parents now who just don't even stand a chance. Like you have to be like a tech connected parent to do any of the hoops that it takes to jump through or pay I guess on secondhand on Craigslist or something. Right. To get your kid the present that they really want, which is really, really difficult for parents. And I feel for you.
Mark Medina
I. I was such an Xbox 360 kid that I never, like, attempted to get a PS3, but I went to. I don't. I don't remember what it was called, but it's like Adventure park, but they're like, more in, you know, Orange County, Louisiana area. I forget what they. I forget what it is.
Sam Claiborne
Like, a fall pit place.
Mark Medina
Like. Like, you know, like arcade. And you. They have, like, you know, laser tag, mini golf. Mini golf outside and. Yeah. Lase. Bumper cars.
Nick Limone
Scandia.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah, Scandia. Pierre. What. What about golf and stuff? Those are so. So I don't.
Mark Medina
Yeah, I don't remember, but I was in Alisa Viejo, California, and they had this, like, stacker game where it's like, it goes left and right, and, you know, there's like. There's like, five blocks, and you stop it, and then you have to keep stacking to get to the top. And, you know, you get less and less blocks. And you find out that. That though those are actually, like, almost like slot machines. Like, those are, like, if the. If the machine's not ready to pay out, you can't stack it to the top. And so I was like, I'll just, you know, put a couple dollars in. And I. I got it to the top, and then the machine froze. So then my friend Lori went and got somebody, and they were like, yeah, you won. They, like, went and looked and, like, was able to look at the, like, past wins or whatever, and they saw that it was. And I. And I won a PS3 out of it. Oh, my God. Wow. And I think I sold it because I was like, PlayStation sucks.
Sam Claiborne
Amazing.
Mark Medina
I mean, I never had. I couldn't help it.
Nick Limone
I never owned a PS3. But this was during my retail days at Best Buy, where I understood the way our return system worked and what I could get away with. And so there was like. I was like, okay, there's only two games I want to play on PlayStation 3. Because as, like, Mark said, I was the next box to be 60 boy, but I was like, I need to play Metal Gear Solid four, and then I need to play the Last of Us. So this had to be 2013, because last of Us was the talk of the town, right? And so I said, okay, I have two weeks to beat both of these games before my return policy is up. So I. I beat Last of Us in Metal Gear Solid four and Base.
Sam Claiborne
You're returning them all five days?
Nick Limone
Well, I. I could only return the console, so I strategically bought a used copy of Metal Gear Solid four for like eight bucks. And then a new copy of the Last of Us because it was new at the time. And I was able to return the console and I still have those two copies of the game sitting in my, my drawer over here.
Sam Claiborne
What a scam. I love it.
Mark Medina
I sold my PS3 and then had to borrow a friend's PS3 to play beyond Two Souls and Last of Us because I was already seasonally. I know, I know. I was like, I gotta play this game. I loved Heavy Rain. I don't even know how I played Heavy Rain. So I, I was like, I gotta play Beyond Two Souls or a Gammy. Yeah, this is my. My wife's alarm clock on her phone in 2025. Today is a song from Beyond Two Souls.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, it's not who guys yelling. Sean.
Damon Hatfield
This is my memory of playing Heavy Rain trying to put that plate down. And he put the plate down. Other. Other two completely random memories that were just unlocked in the late 90s. My sister worked at Toys R Us and I used her employee discount to get Mega Man 8.
Nick Limone
Oh, oh man.
Damon Hatfield
And also near my grandparents place in Overland Park, Kansas was a mini golf and go park cart place that also had a pretty good arcade. And they had that Sega hologram game, Time Traveler, I think it's called.
Sam Claiborne
Hell yeah. Yeah, it was Time Traveler. You know, I think you and I might have seen that recently at California Extreme, like in the last 10 years. Damon, did they have that there when we were there?
Damon Hatfield
I don't remember.
Sam Claiborne
Well, what I noticed about it was like. It was. It's a. It's a CRT that reflects upwards onto a. With a mirror or reflects upwards onto a pane of glass. That's how they do the hologram, which is technically called somebody's illusion. I forget the name of the illusion. But then they spray painted a pyramid, a sphere and a cube with neon spray paint and then put it in the background and then put a black light on them. And that's how you get your 3D effect. So funny.
Damon Hatfield
I hate to think how much of my grandpa's money I wasted on that game.
Sam Claiborne
I'm sure it was a dollar a play or 50 cents a play when everything was a quarter. Right.
Damon Hatfield
And you can't do anything in it.
Sam Claiborne
It's just like Dragon Slayer. Right? You walk up to Dragon Slayer as a kid, you're like, this is amazing. And then all of a sudden it's $5 later.
Mark Medina
Yep.
Damon Hatfield
You Die instantly. Okay. Extracurricular activities andor has come and gone, and it's the best. It's easily the best thing. Star wars thing that Disney has produced. And I hate to say we might not ever get anything Star wars that high quality ever again. I'm actually feeling sad. I'm sad that it's over and sad about. Yeah, just like. Because, like, next year we got Mandalorian and Grogu. Okay. Like, I think it was. Altano said it's like having a Happy Meal after having the best steak of your life. I know. Sam has finished it. Nick, have you gotten through Episode eight yet?
Nick Limone
No, not yet. That's. I'm on that one currently, so I'm almost there.
Sam Claiborne
I don't know.
Nick Limone
I'm savoring it, though.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, it's worth savoring. Mark, have you watched any of it?
Mark Medina
No, I am. I'm so turned off from Star wars, but I hear and. Or it is. I know, because I love Rogue One. I think Rogue One is great.
Sam Claiborne
You won't see a single lightsaber, Mark.
Damon Hatfield
Nope.
Mark Medina
And also I might like it.
Damon Hatfield
Then the night after I finished Andor, I watched Rogue One again. And I don't think I'd watched the whole thing since it was in theaters, although I've watched that Darth Vader scene like, a million times.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Mark Medina
Oh, yeah.
Sam Claiborne
And my memory of it was that as lightsabers.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, my memory of it was. That was kind of messy and felt like it was noted to death by, like, executives. But, I mean, I think it totally plays now. I don't know if it's the Endor magic or what, but it just. It just.
Sam Claiborne
It feels like it's. It's the retcon, right?
Damon Hatfield
Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
It feels like it completely filled it in.
Damon Hatfield
The nice little period on that story. Like, it just makes so much sense. This. These are not spoilers. You know, I'm going to talk about Rogue One. When you first see Cassian in Rogue One, he meets with this informant, and then they get surrounded by stormtroopers, and Cassie's gonna have to climb out of there, but the informant has a bad arm and can't do it, so Cassie just kills him. Which is exactly what Luther would do.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
And then. So, yeah, there are other. There are other sort of, like, mirrors of what happens between Andor and Rogue One, but I won't talk about. Get into those because those are more of a spoiler. But anyway, as you can tell, I cannot. Stolen Skarsgard is okay.
Mark Medina
I can get Amanda to watch it now. Because she loves all of the Skarsgard.
Sam Claiborne
All the Skarsgard. He's great at all.
Mark Medina
He sees.
Damon Hatfield
He's amazing. He has some of the best lines. Also, the writing is so good. Like son Skarsgard's character has a line that goes, I burned my life for a sunrise I know I'll never see. Like, how is that that line in the same franchise as I hate sand.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. No.
Damon Hatfield
Anyway, as you can tell, I cannot say enough good things about Andor. It's so good, but like so spoiler free. Sam.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
What do you think?
Sam Claiborne
So I love it. It's a. It's a. It's very slow as like, you know, as a Star wars, you know, show or movie or anything. Like you're not, you know, it will, it will turn off people. But one thing that it keeps you engaged with is everything that looks Star wars about it wherever it takes place. It's in an amazing Imperial facility where everything looks awesome inside. Or it's on Coruscant where everything looks incredibly ornate and cool and High Republic. Or it's some kid's birthday party or whatever it is the debutante ball and everybody's in some crazy ass alien costume. And it's a beautiful planet. Like all that stuff's great. And then they do like, you know, this farm planet which looks amazing and they do the. With the revolt planet is all in that town square they clearly built. They clearly built a town square and shot it from like every single angle for three episodes. And it's like a masterpiece. And it's just, you know, the imperial cells in it that the prisoners are in. Like everything is just incredible. Every single set is just amazing. And it doesn't look like CG is ever. I just, I don't get it. So then the ultimate set though, my favorite part of the show. Just as a Star wars nerd. Not just as like a fan of like, hey, this is a fun dramatic show about a rebellion forming of a bunch of misfits. And is that so much of it takes place on Yavin and they keep on showing these rebels. What are they welding? What are they welding that all the time? Like it's just, it's just. That's what happens in Star wars though, right? They're like showing like steam and welding sparks. Like it just. They're always, always be welding. And it's like that for nine episodes this season. Every time they show it slowly they turn into their orange puffy gear pilots. That whole Yavin base comes together. I think it's really interesting On a deeper level than that amazing set is that the rebellion is. You think? And maybe this is wrong. Maybe this is why George Lucas, who stood. The creators of the show, said this week they have no idea if you watched it, which I think is the funniest thing ever. Like, George Lucas not watching them. We don't know if he's watching the most critically acclaimed thing that he's created. I just think it's weird. But the rebellion is. I always thought of it as, like, okay, you know, there's the. What are they called? The mon. The calamari. And then there's the, you know, Leia's planet that's destroyed Alderaan and Alderaan. And then there's, of course, like, you know, all of these, like, big plans. I thought they had, like, planetary defense forces, and they were the rebels that were keeping the imperials out. And, like, there's a war happening. It's a Star Wars. But this tells it so differently than that. It's that, like, there is no rebellion until there's basically a guerrilla rebellion.
Mark Medina
Yep.
Sam Claiborne
And there isn't. There isn't anything like. I just think that's really interesting.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, it's great. It's like everyone. Everyone was sort of, like, really annoyed that the prequels. Lucas was trying to dig into politics. It was, like, really clunky and boring and whatever. But now andor is like, all. It's very, very political, and it's riveting.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. Yeah. I also think it shows you.
Damon Hatfield
Go ahead, go ahead.
Nick Limone
It shows you. Like Sam said it best. It reminds you that Star wars is about an actual war that happens. And I think that there is, you know, its intended audience when it first came out. Star wars is very much, you know, young adults, children to some extent, showing a battle of good versus evil, light and dark. But when you actually start to explore what that looks like on a more granular level, you realize no wars. Wars start are. They're horrible. Wars are terrible. People die, and people need to make compromises. And, you know, sometimes you got to sacrifice people in order to gain a yard in this ongoing battle. And that's what this show does a good job of recognizing. Like, yeah, sometimes the good guys have to do some pretty bad things in order to gain one inch in this ongoing battle, which I really love.
Sam Claiborne
So I also want to point out that without the emperor and Darth Vader as, like, these bad guy villains like that are just, like, overly evil and stuff like that, they tried to explain Vader. They tried to explain help team, whatever who cares? But like this, it doesn't have those in it. Right. So it has to explain what's bad about the Empire. And what's bad about the Empire is not that they're like villainous and enslaving people to make parts of the Dust Daleks. It's none of that. It's that they just turn on each other instantly and they just devour their own. And it just goes. One person after another is like, I am a loyalist to the Empire. I didn't screw up ever. And they get chewed up and spit out and it's like they try to make heroes. Almost like you almost root for the main. Nedra. Is that her name? Like Nidra, the main character. And then her. Dedra.
Damon Hatfield
Nedra.
Sam Claiborne
Dedra, yeah. And then her boyfriend. Right. Who are both like kind of imperial scumbags. Right. You kind of start rooting for them because you're like, well, you know, they have humanity and they're part of it, but, like, they do everything right and like, watch what happens to them.
Damon Hatfield
Yep. Watch what happens live. Yeah. I don't know. I know that, like, not. It seems like not too many people are watching it. Like, we know from just our coverage at IGN that it's been a little soft. It's not performing super well. So I just. I hope Disney learns something. I know it's getting universal praise from everyone who does watch it. So I hope, I hope Disney takes something away from all this and. And trust. Trust, you know, good writers to make.
Sam Claiborne
Don't people love Rogue One? Now that's like becoming like this, like. Cause celeb for like Star wars is still good, but it's only that one. I think that's happening. Yeah. So if you just watch it for the. You know, this season has the K2 so stuff in it, which is a different origin story, which is a whole can of worms.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
But he's great.
Damon Hatfield
He's so funny. He's so funny. Alan Tuden.
Nick Limone
Also, once you're done with andor watch Michael Clayton, also written and directed by Tony Gilroy.
Damon Hatfield
Yep. Yeah. Which I have a good movie now I want.
Sam Claiborne
What is it about?
Nick Limone
It is about corporate espionage and a whistleblower with the checks out company. So. So it's very, very slow. Yeah. George Clooney, Very, very slow burn. But, man, it hits.
Damon Hatfield
One last thing about Rogue One, I love Bail Organa is in it. And I love. At the end of Rogue One, Bail Organa. I was like, well, I gotta get back to Alderaan.
Sam Claiborne
Is that. Did he wrap it up? That way. Is that how it works?
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
He's like. Yeah. He says he's got to get back to Alderaan.
Mark Medina
Oh, no, that's good.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. I was wondering. I was like, was he on the. Was he in Yavin this whole time that the, you know, the Death Star is being attacked, but. No, I guess not. Yeah.
Mark Medina
I forget that that movie has, like, Mads Mickelson and. Yeah, yeah. And I do love rog1. It was.
Damon Hatfield
I enjoyed it very. Okay, that brings us to video game 20 questions. And first, before I reveal who suggested this week's game, a little bit of a. Of a PSA to everyone out there because we got an email from Ivan this week. Was who had a suggestion for video game 20 Questions, and he says, I have a suggestion for video game 20 Questions. I used to play this game a ton on the N64 and always loved its unique concept and. And the variety of level environments. I think it strikes a perfect balance. Tricky enough to be a fun challenge, but not so obscure that it feels unfair for the Omega Cops. Good luck. And there just seems to be a step that was missed here. I'm not the one.
Nick Limone
I'm not trying to guess.
Sam Claiborne
This is the second time this has happened. People aren't putting it in the subject line or something? Nope. Did you do the thing you used to do on the Internet where you highlight all the white on the page and it turns out there's white text?
Damon Hatfield
Maybe I have to run it through something.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Nick Limone
Give us a reminder about Chameleon Twist.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah, exactly. Just as a reminder, I need to know the name of the game when you're sending me in suggestions.
Mark Medina
It was Beetle Adventure Racing.
Damon Hatfield
Our real suggestion this week comes from Quinton in San Diego. San Diego. Let the Questioning Begin.
Nick Limone
Is a game from this century.
Damon Hatfield
Yes, it is. And as a little hint, I was shocked. Shocked. Well, not that shocked that I'd never used this game before.
Nick Limone
You've never used this game for 20?
Mark Medina
Oh, we've never used. Is that a. Is that a hint?
Damon Hatfield
Never have this. I've never picked this game for 20 questions before.
Mark Medina
All right, well, Coastal Elite, Quinton, we got to see what he would pick.
Sam Claiborne
Is this a. Is this a console exclusive?
Mark Medina
No. Okay, so this century. So what is 2000 on?
Damon Hatfield
Let's see.
Mark Medina
Console exclusive. Got a nail down generation. So would this be. Is this in or after the Xbox One PS4 generation? Be like, this would be. Yes, this would be post.
Sam Claiborne
Let's see this come out after the. After the launch of the Xbox One. Is what you're asking.
Nick Limone
Or.
Mark Medina
Yeah, sorry, two. So 2013.
Damon Hatfield
I'll answer your question in a different. In a different way. This game was released for the Xbox One.
Nick Limone
Multi plat on Xbox One. Yeah.
Mark Medina
When everything was coming.
Nick Limone
So PS4 Xbox or Xbox One and PC, all console exclusive.
Sam Claiborne
Sounds like it's not connectable. So we can check that one off the list. I'm surprised we've never used that one.
Mark Medina
Yeah, let's see. But not exclusive.
Sam Claiborne
Well, could you play a version of this game on a Nintendo system?
Damon Hatfield
Yes.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, was this based on a license?
Damon Hatfield
No, that's five.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, it's not Iron. Oh, damn. Was that version on We.
Damon Hatfield
No.
Sam Claiborne
Whoa.
Nick Limone
Wii U.
Mark Medina
Right?
Sam Claiborne
That's. That's a question.
Mark Medina
Or. Or Switch.
Nick Limone
Is this game playable on the Nintendo Switch?
Damon Hatfield
Yes.
Nick Limone
Okay.
Mark Medina
All right, so let's think here. We gotta figure out what you do in this game. Yeah, it's on everything.
Sam Claiborne
Is this an. Was this made in Japan?
Damon Hatfield
No.
Nick Limone
I feel like that era is peak Ubisoft. So is this a Ubisoft game?
Damon Hatfield
No.
Sam Claiborne
Does this game have a. Does this game have a sequel on the PS5 Xbox series?
Damon Hatfield
This game has a sequel that is playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X. And that's 10.
Mark Medina
Whoa. Okay.
Nick Limone
Would you want to live in the world of this game?
Damon Hatfield
Heck, no.
Nick Limone
Heck, no.
Mark Medina
Was this game made by a studio that is now owned by Microsoft?
Sam Claiborne
That's good. I love that question.
Damon Hatfield
It's a good question.
Mark Medina
No, because that's a lot of games.
Sam Claiborne
Is multiplayer the focus of this game?
Damon Hatfield
Yes.
Sam Claiborne
I'm thinking Destiny or Overwatch, something like that.
Nick Limone
It sounds about right.
Sam Claiborne
Except the Nintendo thong.
Mark Medina
Yeah, the Switch thing is weird. So it's like Fortnite. You know, it could just be something like Fortnite or.
Sam Claiborne
What's the car game?
Mark Medina
Oh, yeah. Rocket League.
Sam Claiborne
Rocket League.
Mark Medina
But he said that this game does have a sequel, and there's no like.
Sam Claiborne
That's a good point, too. That's a good point. Well, is this game a. A shoot. A shooty game? Do you shoot. Shoot things in it?
Damon Hatfield
Yep. Yep. Shooty shooting.
Mark Medina
Yeah. But it wouldn't be Overwatch because Overwatch is owned by Xbox.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Nick Limone
Wouldn't want to live in that world. I feel like Overwatch is actually pretty okay.
Mark Medina
Yeah. I'd want to live there. I'd want to live in.
Sam Claiborne
Really. Well, I guess you don't kill anybody, right? Darth Vader's always swearing, though.
Mark Medina
Yeah. Okay.
Nick Limone
Maybe like Apex Legends.
Sam Claiborne
Oh, that's good. I like that.
Mark Medina
Did Apex come to Switch? I bet it did.
Nick Limone
I think. I think it did, but I don't think that there's a sequel for it. There's no sequel though.
Sam Claiborne
Is this an EA or Activision game?
Damon Hatfield
No, that's 15.
Nick Limone
Oh, geez. Dang.
Sam Claiborne
Are we missing something here? Is it an indie game? Maybe it's Borderlands.
Nick Limone
Is it in the game?
Mark Medina
It could be Borderlands. Okay.
Nick Limone
That's okay.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Nick Limone
I wouldn't want to live in the Borderlands world.
Mark Medina
Nope. I would say heck no to that. Okay.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Nick Limone
And there is a sequel coming on.
Sam Claiborne
On Next and even its sequel is playable on the. Which was trickiness there. I just don't. I don't know about its availability on Switch. I don't know what. I mean.
Mark Medina
It's sure like it's on Switch.
Sam Claiborne
Tiny Tina was on it.
Nick Limone
Is it. Is this a game in the Borderlands franchise?
Damon Hatfield
Yes.
Mark Medina
It's probably Borderlands too, which is like. Probably.
Sam Claiborne
Which would be weird. We never had it before. Right.
Mark Medina
Yeah. Because I like that's the most popular of all the Borderlands games. And like that would be.
Sam Claiborne
I remember there's the pre sequel.
Nick Limone
Everybody likes that one is this.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah.
Nick Limone
Does this game have the number two in it?
Damon Hatfield
Well, yes.
Mark Medina
Is it Betterlands too?
Damon Hatfield
Borderlands 2.
Nick Limone
Oh, my bad.
Damon Hatfield
Yeah. I was surprised to learn we have not had this game in 20 questions before.
Sam Claiborne
Still looks good, doesn't it?
Mark Medina
Yeah. Yeah. Cell shaded, just lives forever. So.
Damon Hatfield
Yep. Originally released in 2012. 360 PS3 PC.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
Vita in 2014.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
PS4 and Xbox One in 2015 and then Switch in 2020.
Sam Claiborne
I wonder how it ran on Vita.
Mark Medina
Not good.
Damon Hatfield
Really? Oh, okay.
Mark Medina
Not great. Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
And I would not want to live in this world.
Mark Medina
Nope.
Damon Hatfield
Borderlands 3 is playable on PS5 and.
Nick Limone
Xbox Series X. I remember Borderlands 2 was bundled with the Vita. There was like a Vita bundle with Borderlands too.
Mark Medina
Yeah, I remember. I remember the box for it. Yeah.
Sam Claiborne
Not what a world.
Mark Medina
Yeah. I love Borderlands 3 and I'm pretty stoked for Borderlands 4.
Sam Claiborne
Nice.
Nick Limone
Yeah. It looks good. It looks good.
Sam Claiborne
Yeah. I hope it goes well. I mean, like, I. I want a bunch of people to play that because I think it's a really good strategy guide game.
Mark Medina
Yeah, it is.
Damon Hatfield
I was not crazy about Borderlands 3, but I loved Borderlands 2, so fingers crossed.
Mark Medina
Yeah.
Damon Hatfield
Borderlands 4.
Sam Claiborne
Turns out, I mean, Tiny Tina looked good.
Damon Hatfield
Oh, I played as well.
Mark Medina
Yeah, that one was fun.
Damon Hatfield
Well, nicely job.
Mark Medina
Birch is really good.
Damon Hatfield
Thank you for the suggestion, Ivan. Or I'm sorry, Quinton from San Diego. Viewers, listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions. Email them to me at the email address. Games with their name and remember to include the name of the game please. Okay, Housekeeping over at Humble, you may want to check out our Xbox Game Studio Publisher bundle. For just five bucks you get Broken Age, Sunset, Overdrive and battletoads. And for 10 bucks you get those three games plus Wasteland 3, Quantum Break, as Dusk Falls, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Age of Empires Definitive Edition. And as always, proceeds go to charity. Also, IGN's in person fan event IGN Live is coming to downtown Los Angeles on June 7th and 8th, just three weekends away. Come hang out with us at the Magic Box at the Reef for an exciting live show. All weekend long we'll be doing gamescoop Live. We'll have big reveals, interviews on stage with celebrities and your favorite games industry personalities, playable PC, console and handheld gaming stations, panels, IGN Merch, tons of giveaways and more. You can expect to see Nintendo, Xbox, Netflix, Alien, Rogue, incursion, claire, obscure, expedition 33, sam, so excited. Rick and morty, idw publishing and so many others. Head over to ign.comlive to grab your tickets and use Code Scoop for a special discount. And that is all the scoops that we have for you this week. Thank you Nick. Thank you Mark. Thank you Sam. My name is Damon. This is IGN GamesCube and we're out. This episode of Game Soup was produced by David Hatfield. That's me. Technical direction was handled by Nick Maye. Technical production is by Marian Franzen and Amir Aqib. Audio engineering is by Amir Aqib and post production editing is done by me, David Hatfield. I do everything I get. I hand pick all the music and edit it all in. All the stupid stuff I say is edited out by me. All of Sam's swears are left in by me and graphic design is by Nicole Kagempen. Gamescoop is an IGN production and part of the of the Geek Media Network.
Mark Medina
It's an incredibly exciting year for Nintendo fans. The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here and there's so much to dive into. That's why we recorded Nintendo Voice Chat on Thursdays to catch all the big news from Nintendo's regular announcements. Then release new episodes every Friday morning for the latest Switch 2 updates, first impressions and lively discussion. Tune in to NVC, IGN's weekly Nintendo show hosted by me, Logan Plant. I'm thrilled to lead the show into the next generation alongside an amazing panel of Nintendo experts Rebecca Valentine, Jada Griffin and Seth Macy. NBC is part of the Geek Media Podcast Network with new episodes every Friday morning on Apple, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you get your shows with full video versions on IGN.com and YouTube. Join us and get the thing this Friday on Nintendo Voice Chat.
Sam Claiborne
Hey, listen. For thousands of years, or at least since the 90s, PlayStation has been pushing.
Damon Hatfield
The boundaries of the video game medium.
Sam Claiborne
And for almost that long beyond has been there offering color commentary from the side. Join a panel of passionate PlayStation experts and enthusiasts, including Brian Altano, Jada Griffin, Akeem Lawanson, and your host, me Max Scoville.
Damon Hatfield
We unpack the latest gaming news, gush.
Sam Claiborne
About what we're playing, chat with developers.
Mark Medina
And voice actors, and explore the ever.
Sam Claiborne
Growing world of PlayStation and beyond. Catch a new episode every Wednesday on.
Damon Hatfield
Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sam Claiborne
Beyond is produced by IGN and part of the Geek Media Podcast Network.
Detailed Summary of "Game Scoop!: Rippin' & Tearin'" (May 16, 2025)
Game Scoop! Episode "Doom Scoop!: Rippin' & Tearin'" delves deep into the latest installment of the Doom franchise, explores the grand opening of the new Nintendo San Francisco store, and touches upon the conclusion of the Star Wars series Andor. Hosted by Daemon Hatfield alongside Sam Claiborne, Nick Limone, and Mark Medina, the episode is a rich tapestry of gaming insights, passionate discussions, and engaging banter.
The episode kicks off with Daemon Hatfield teasing the main topics:
Notable Quote:
The hosts enthusiastically discuss the release of Doom: The Dark Ages. They share personal progress in the game, highlighting its level-based structure and the introduction of new gameplay mechanics.
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The hosts praise the game's encouragement of exploration and puzzle-solving within levels, comparing it to classic titles like Metroid and Call of Duty.
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Discussion revolves around the variety of weapons, including the power gauntlet and flails, and the strategic use of upgrades.
Notable Quotes:
A segment is dedicated to the graphical performance across different platforms, with some disappointment expressed about the PlayStation 5 version's visuals compared to PC and Xbox.
Notable Quotes:
The hosts commend the game for its engaging mechanics and level design, while expressing minor critiques about in-game economies and certain graphical aspects on specific platforms.
Notable Quotes:
Sam Claiborne shares his experience visiting the newly opened Nintendo store in San Francisco, offering a comprehensive overview of its layout, exclusive merchandise, and unique features.
The store boasts sections dedicated to popular franchises like Splatoon, Kirby, Pokemon, Zelda, and Animal Crossing. The emphasis is on high-quality, exclusive items that appeal to both hardcore fans and casual visitors.
Notable Quotes:
The hosts speculate about the absence of the Switch 2 in the store amidst its imminent release, pondering future merchandise and space allocations.
Notable Quotes:
The store includes interactive features like game stations and a sticker-based meta game, enhancing the visitor experience.
Notable Quotes:
The conversation shifts to the conclusion of Andor, a critically acclaimed Star Wars series. The hosts express mixed feelings about its impact and quality compared to other Star Wars productions.
Notable Quotes:
A segment of the episode features the classic "Video Game 20 Questions," with the game of the week being Borderlands 2. The hosts engage in a lively guessing game, reflecting on their personal experiences and memories associated with the game.
Notable Quotes:
The episode wraps up with various announcements, including promotions, upcoming events like IGN Live in Los Angeles, and plug-ins for affiliated podcasts such as Nintendo Voice Chat and Beyond.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion
"Doom Scoop!: Rippin' & Tearin'" is a compelling episode that offers listeners an in-depth look at the latest Doom game, a firsthand account of the new Nintendo store, and thoughtful reflections on the Andor series. The hosts balance technical insights with personal anecdotes, making the content both informative and entertaining. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or a casual enthusiast, this episode provides valuable perspectives and engaging discussions that resonate with a wide audience.