Tag: DEREK

Derek’s SDCC 2022 Recap: Thursday

by Derek Kraneveldt

For my Pre-Con and Preview Night recap, head here!

I forgot just how exhausting SDCC can be. Maybe it’s just been awhile, or maybe I’m just really not as young as I was the last time I was in town (I wasn’t even in my 30’s then), but I feel dead tired already, and today (Thursday) is only the first full day of the convention!

But… I can sleep when I get back to Canada!

After turning in at about midnight (and naturally, rolling around for a bit), the alarm was set for 5:55AM this morning so I could head to the Welcome to Lumon website to attempt to snag a slot for the TV+ Severance offsite (press timing hasn’t quite worked out so far, and as a huge fan of the show I didn’t want to leave it up to chance). The website initially had some CAPTCHA issues (not just for me, as complaints echoed across twitter), but the CAPTCHA segment was quickly removed, and I just happened to refresh at the right moment and snagged a slot for 12PM. If you’re lucky enough to be on site in San Diego, more slots will open up at 6AM each day and will go very quickly — after booking my slot, I refreshed again to see what was still available, and every slot was already booked up. From the look of the Welcome to Lumon website to the confirmation email that I received, it was clear that this was going to be a high-quality experience.

I pretty much completely cut out caffeine eight or nine months ago, but needed something this morning to give me a bit of a kickstart. Luckily enough, the Hilton Bayfront hotel that we’re staying in has a Starbucks in it, and they even decked it out with some light decorations for Comic-Con!

Once I grabbed a beverage, it was time to head over to The Theatre Box for the William Shatner handprint ceremony (featuring new Captain Kirk, Paul Wesley) hosted by Legion M. This was a super neat experience, and seeing the joy on the faces of all of the Star Trek cosplayers and fans in attendance is sure to be a convention highlight. You can catch a couple of photos of the event below, and we’ll link a dedicated piece about the experience once it’s been published!

This was a fantastic way to start the day, and I couldn’t have been more excited for the Lumon Orientation experience that was coming up next. Severance is an absolutely phenomenal drama, and one that I (unfortunately) didn’t jump on until the insane word of mouth about the series was too much to ignore. It’s completely unique, and unlike anything I’ve really seen before — I cannot wait for Season Two.

As TV+ launched in November of 2019, this year’s SDCC really marks their first major appearance at the convention. The brand really came out in full force, with huge wraps on the outside of the Gaslamp Hard Rock Hotel, gigantic banners inside of the convention center, numerous panels, including dedicated panels for Severance, For All Mankind, Mythic Quest, and more (along with, of course, the Severance offsite itself).

my slot was for 12PM, and at that point, things were running decently behind. It was after 1PM by the time my ”orientation” finally began, but as a major fan of the show it was well worth the wait. The offsite itself was simply breathtaking — just yesterday I noted that this year’s House of the Dragon experience may have been second only to 2013’s Godzilla Encounter, but Severance’s ’Lumon Orientation” has to take the cake You can take a look at a couple of photos from the experience below, and we’ll be sure to link our full write up once it goes live! If you’re lucky enough to be in San Diego, you can try your luck for a reservation at 6AM each morning right here.

Eventually, I’m sure that I’ll make it to the expo hall floor — but not yet, as after Severance, it was time to check out the Audible Beach!

At SDCC 2019, Audible featured a huge offsite for the intriguing Stan Lee’s ‘Alliances: A Trick of Light’ offsite in 2019 (reminisce with Mikaela’s write-up of that experience right here). This year’s presence is much smaller, featuring a few expertly crafted sand sculptures themed for some of Audible’s biggest new releases like Moriarty: The Devil’s Game and Impact Winter, and a ”beach” where attendees can relax and recharge (their phones). Here are a couple of shots of the impressive designs, and a few more in our dedicated piece right here.

Severance was hosting a massive panel in Ballroom 20 at 4PM which may have been the programming that I was most excited for at this year’s SDCC. Prior to heading for the long Ballroom 20 line, I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything yet for the day, nor had I had any liquids for hours — so… I paid $20USD for two cookies and two drinks before heading in the ballroom.

Patton Oswalt hosted the panel, noting that as a major fan of the show it felt as though he‘d won some sort of lottery. Panelists included series creator Dan Erickson (it was actually Dan’s first time at SDCC), series director Ben Stiller (also, somehow his first time at SDCC), Britt Lower (Helly, also first time, and she looked like she was going to cry at the audience’s reaction when she entered), Adam Scott (Mark), along with with Dichen Lachman (Ms. Casey), Jen Tullock (Devon), and Tramell Tillman (Milchick). The ballroom looked packed, which was super exciting (and a little surprising, as TV+ is an absolutely underrated service that almost nobody I know seems to subscribe to).

Erickson began the panel noting that when having a terrible office job, he simply wished that he could just fast forward eight hours and be done with it — this is how the idea of Severance was originally born.

Several neat tidbits were revealed during the panel — Mark, for instance, was originally the character that would have woken up at the beginning of the pilot rather than Helly; at one point, a detached pair of legs was set to run down a hallway (this was deemed a bit too weird); Erickson wrote the pilot over ten years ago, and Stiller read it over five years ago. Possibly the panel’s best reveal was that none of the cast was aware of the multicolored dance party lights that were installed in the Macrodata Refinement office until the scene was actually shot.

Mr. Milchick himself looked suspicious when asked if we’d see further into his character’s life, so I’m pretty sure (and pretty hopeful) that this will happen.

Interestingly enough, series director Ben Stiller noted that the Severance activation at the Hard Rock Hotel (look for our write-up on that soon) was built up from about 75% real props from the show — including the computers used for Macrodata Refinement.

The panelists dug pretty deep into the show, the thought behind it, and its many twists and turns, and it was just plain exciting to hear from some of the incredible minds that made it all happen. I won’t say too much as I don’t want to risk any spoilers, but let this serve as your reminder that Severance is one or the best dramas in recent memory, and it should absolutely be on your radar.

I was feeling pretty beat by this point, and wanted to head back to our hotel for a bit to work on some write-ups. I stopped by the Geekscape booth (again, #3919) to say hello, and then walked back over to the Hilton Bayfront. Once I arrived… I realized that there was a panel, Attack of the Show: Who Let Us In?, starting shortly that I’d really been looking forward to.

I weighed the pros and cons for a bit (fun panel vs. getting a jump-start on articles and resting a bit), and ultimately (thankfully) decided to go. The panel ended up being essentially a live (uncensored) episode of the show, made a lot of fun of Kevin Pereira, and was overall a total blast. I’m not sure if G4 has been as much of hit they were hoping for since its return last year, but I’m super glad that it again exists.

Matt and I grabbed a quick dinner (there was zero wait for a two person table at Spaghetti Factory, which was super surprising as it’s one of the closest restaurants to the convention center, not to mention most affordable). Throughout the dinner, I talked about how I was glad to not be going out that night as I was so damned tired, and because the next day had a Paper Girls screening that I was excited to attend. Once we returned to the hotel, I sat down and wrote for a few minutes… and then went against everything that I said at dinner and walked over to the IMDBoat.

I ran into Shaun again while there, met some of his friends, and had some delicious themed cocktails. It was a great way to cap the night, and I’m only 14% regretting it this morning.

That’s it for now — be sure to check back for more tomorrow!

Derek’s SDCC 2022 Recap: Pre-Con / Preview Night

by Derek Kraneveldt

What the heck is this? Every year that I attend SDCC, I do recaps of my experience. These are typically wordy, fun (I hope) reads, that give non-attendees a look at what a trip to San Diego Comic-Con may look like. I hope you enjoy!

…and we’re back.

It’s a little tough to believe that I’m sitting in a San Diego hotel while writing this. Naturally, the last time that I was in the city (accompanied for the first and possibly last time by my partner Mikaela) was all the way back in 2019 (you can see our SDCC 2019 content right here for a nice look back), and we had no idea what the world had coming for us just a handful of months down the road.

But we’re back. Thankfully, attendee safety seems like somewhat of a priority with strict always-on mask guidelines that many cosplayers are sure to hate, mandatory proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 tests (which nets you a standard disposable wristband that definitely won’t be gross after several days in the California sun), and even security staff that will ensure con-goers are adhering to these rules.

Even with all of these guidelines in place, it’s hard not to be at least a little nervous. Sure, since things began to really open back up early this Spring, I’ve felt pretty comfortable venturing out for some fun again. I’d guess that I’ve been to over a dozen decent-to-large-sized concerts in the past few months, have returned to movie theatres regularly, have felt more comfortable with larger groups of friends, and overall things have felt pretty great (well, except for that time I got COVID, but that wasn’t due to any of those things).

A random, now terrifying crowd shot from SDCC 2019.

But this is San Diego Comic-Con, where (at least in the past) you’re shoulder to shoulder with what feels like every single other attendee for almost every moment you’re here (including when you’re outside in the Gaslamp District). Never in my life have I felt so incredibly close to so many people at once, and with the new BA.5 variant of COVID-19 now running rampant, being close to so many people once again, on days of little sleep, absolutely has me skittish. If I get sick, I can’t fly back to Canada for ten days, which sounds very hard and expensive, and I’m feeling more iffy just thinking about the possibility.

Maybe I (definitely) should have given it all more thought before flying in… but here we are, so let’s try to make the most of it.

Pre-Convention

I’m not yet sure just how messed up US airports are at this point (I’ll find out when I head to the San Diego airport on Monday), but Canadian airports are pretty screwed (to the point where one day recently, our largest airline, Air Canada delayed 70% of its flights). As such, I ended up at YVR preposterously early and had to sit around for hours for my 8AM Saturday flight to LAX.

Economy flights seem to have become even more nickel & dime-y since I was last in the air. In the past, I swear that you had the ability to choose almost any seat in the general economy area (aside from the few with an actual appropriate amount of leg room), and that checking in the very moment you could gave you an advantage, since more seats would still be readily available. This time around, my 6 foot, 3-inch frame was assigned a middle seat near the rear of the plane, and moving even one seat over in order to be in the aisle would have cost nearly $50. That felt new (and super lame).

Wanting to save more funds for the exorbitantly expensive ”Special SDCC” menus at the restaurants near the convention centre, I stuck with the middle seat, and naturally ended up next to another tall guy named Eric. We mostly kept to ourselves, but had a little bit of banter here and there — we came up with a strategy where an airline’s check in policy would also ask your height, and then seating would automatically be staggered between short and tall people in order to provide any amount of comfort. When departing the plane, I let him know that I hoped that he was able to sit next to someone shorter on his way back, and he did the same for me — fingers crossed, buddy.

After landing at LAX, I hopped on the FlyAway LAX bus to Van Nuys where I finally, after three years, reunited with Jonathan. At some point in the past few months it came up that I’d never had a Rueben sandwich before (I don’t think that they’re a common menu item up in Canada), so we’d already discussed that our first goal once I arrived in Los Angeles would be to change that fact. Jonathan, Heidi, and I ended up at Art’s Delicatessen — a popular sandwich joint that opened back in 1957, where I had a delicious (albeit expensive) introduction to the Rueben sandwich. Seriously, it was $26 USD for the sandwich and a small side, which is nearly $35 in Canadian dollars. Damn.

A poorly framed photo of the Art’s menu.

We spent much of the rest of the day preparing / inventorying items for the booth… and watching the new Netflix Resident Evil series. The series felt very so-bad-it’s-fantastic to start and slowly devolved from there into something all but nonsensical. There were certainly cool moments here and there, and a handful of great easter eggs for video game fans, but overall it was pretty rough.

That said, Jonathan spent much of the series yelling at the television and talking about how bad it was… but we still ripped through all eight episode in about two days.

https://youtu.be/uIdjcDTc9Vk

On Sunday morning, I had my first round of In-N-Out in nearly three years and it was just as tasty and fresh as I remembered it being. Those animal style fries are everything.

I’m home.

Matt finally showed up a few hours later, and it was phenomenal to be reunited with him as well. We all spent some time catching up and grabbing some Chinese food, and then spent much of the night watching Nathan for You and preparing mentally for the days to come.

Monday was mostly a day of hanging out (the Los Angeles heat, 36 degrees Celsius at one point in the day, made it fairly unbearable to do anything else), aside from picking up a small UHAUL trailer that would help us transport the booth (#3919, as always, if you’re at the show) and all of our merchandise to the convention centre.

This first recap is getting pretty lengthy already, so here’s a bit of a rapid fire on the rest of my pre-convention journey:

– We left early Tuesday morning to San Diego and I learned along the way that US Denny’s is just slightly rougher than Canadian Denny’s.

– Once we arrived at the convention centre, things devolved into chaos pretty quickly. Our plan was to park in the garage below the building in order to unload the booth, but no trailers were allowed in and we were instead routed around to the back of the building, and then further back, and then finally to the lot where all of the larger booths were being unloaded and brought to the convention center via forklift. The workers there acted like we didn’t belong (we didn’t) and seemed kind of angry when we weren’t using their forklift services to move our basically five boxes. One of the workers finally told us we could go in through a loading door, and told us “If they give you any trouble, tell them Jim sent you.” Of course, the security guard at the loading door wouldn’t let us in, and told us ”Well you better go talk to Jim then.” In the end, we had to walk down (booth in tow) the vehicle ramp into the underground parking, walk across the underground parking lot, take the elevator back up to the other side of the convention center, be told a few more times that we were in the wrong place, then be told that we needed to get our COVID wristband before we could dump our stuff, and then eventually we made it inside. I swear we’ve done this plenty of times before. The convention center also doesn’t turn on the air conditioning in the building during setup and that seems kind of mean for the people that are working inside all day (it’s so freaking hot in there).

– As soon as we hit the city, I was immediately enthralled with the spectacle. You’d think that this feeling would wear off after all of these years of attending, but especially after a three year break it’s simply amazing to be in this energy again. From the incredible work that goes into all of the hotel wraps (only to be removed a few days later), to the literal buildings that are being put together for amazing offsite events (again, only to be torn down a few days later), to the sheer size of the convention center, it’s simply so good to be back.

– Matt puts butter on Pop Tarts and it’s possibly the weirdest thing that I’ve ever heard.

– Again, for someone who seemed to hate the new Resident Evil series so much, Jonathan sure ripped through it quickly.

– Nathan For You is possibly the best television show ever made.

– COVID has changed Rockin’ Baha. The nacho / salsa bar is no more, which makes complete sense and they instead bring chips to the table, but the limitless supply of pineapple mango salsa is also gone, and instead you pay $2.50USD per minuscule portion. It’s delicious as ever, for sure, but during our post-setup lunch I was certainly more reserved in my pineapple mango salsa consumption than I would have been in the past. Our server, Ruby, has only been working at Rockin’ Baha for a few months, and hasn’t experienced an SDCC before. I feel bad for her.

@geekscape Geekscape headed back to #ComicCon! We do an #unboxing on the way and build the booth! #SanDiegoComicCon #singingtexttospeech #sdcc #comics #sdcc2022 #fyp ♬ Smoked out Phonk – TREVASPURA

After walking around the surprisingly-quiet Gaslamp District for a while (and grabbing a few supplies at Ralphs), Matt, Jonathan and I returned to our hotel (the Hilton Bayfront, which is thankfully just across the street from the convention center for an early night. I’m tired already!

Wednesday / Preview Night

Yep. Still tired, and we haven’t even done anything yet!

With not much planned until an early preview of a fantastic-sounding offsite activation for the new Netflix film The Gray Man, I wasn’t too sure what the first half of the day would look like.

Jonathan was already out for a November Project workout before I even woke up, and Matt was really worried that he would need nine hours to count shirts at the booth (again, #3919 if you’re in San Diego) so he dipped out pretty early too.

I decided to hang back, work on this recap, and just enjoy my last few hours of peace before SDCC 2022 finally arrived — that is, until El Chucho showed up to tear up the show floor well before it even opened (look for him on the Geekscape TikTok here).

I’ve been a big fan of G4 (well, and TechTV long before) since I was a young boy, so when Attack of the Show tweeted about a meetup / cosplay contest, I just had to head over. Of course, cosplay isn’t my thing, and it would have been way too late to set anything up anyways, but I absolutely wanted to see what was up.

Those that made it to the ’secret’ meetup spot were able to take part in a Kassem G hosted satellite segment that felt like a blast. You can take a look at pieces of the segment below! G4 is also running several panels throughout the week, including an Attack of the Show panel on Thursday at 6:45 (Room 6A), an XPlay panel on Friday at 6PM (Room 6A), and a special ’G4’s Return to SDCC’ panel on Saturday at 12PM (Room 25ABC).

Following the Attack of the Show fun (and still before the show floor opened), I was fortunate enough to be invited to a preview event for the fantastic-looking offsite activation for the new Netflix action thriller, The Gray Man. I’ve posted a couple of photos below, and you can head here for more!

The outside of the crashed train car. Inside is a short escape room style experience.

Since preview night is typically the easiest night to browse (due to the floor being the least crowded) I’d planned to head over to the convention centre after tackling The Gray Man activation. Instead, at the offsite I met a dude named Shaun, we connected over AEW, and decided to head over to HBO’s House of the Dragon activation instead.

The best offsite event that I’ve ever experienced at Comic-Con was 2013’s ’Godzilla Encounter’, and next up might just be this year’s House of the Dragon experience. Take a look at a couple of photos of the event below, and look for a larger piece about the offsite in the coming days! If you’re down in San Diego, the offsite opens tomorrow (Thursday) at 10AM at MLK Park.

My new pal Shaun on the new (old?) Iron Throne.
Rough quality, but this is really inside the event.

Seriously, House of the Dragon is a must-see if you’re at SDCC. Shaun and I finished up at the activation just before the show floor closed. He was headed to meet some friends at Rockin’ Baha (he had never been before, and yes I recommended the pineapple mango salsa), and I headed back to the hotel to get some writing done.

Matt returned to the room (bearing water, thanks Matt) and after what turned out to be a pretty long day, we didn’t feel like venturing out to the now overwhelming Gaslamp District. Thank goodness for Door Dash, as, as of this writing, Wingstop (which I’ve never had before) is currently on its way to our hotel room.

That’s it for now! Check back tomorrow for my recap of the first full day of SDCC!

Geekscape Games Level 178: “Reverse Epilogue”

by Derek Kraneveldt

Join the Geekscape crew for a bi-weekly discussion about video games!

Yes. We’re back. It’s been awhile (insert Shane’s Staind impression here), but we’re so happy to be here!

We may have missed the launch of several consoles and the delay of seemingly every video game that was announced for 2020 (including Cyberpunk 2077 40 times), but mostly, we missed getting together to chat about video games with our friends.

So here we are! A mixture of us will be here every fortnight (hehe) to discuss and give impressions on the games that we’ve been playing, and we’ll also be breaking down any news that resonated with us.

Listen to the latest episode below, and keep scrolling for links to subscribe to the Geekscape Games podcast!

Geekscape Games · Level 178 – "Reverse Epilogue"

What we’ve been playing:

Walkabout Mini Golf
Uncharted 2 and 4 but not 3
Mass Effect Andromeda
50 Cent: Blood in the Sand
Microsoft Flight Simulator

What else happened?

Where the heck has everyone been?
Carlos breaks down the Pokémon craze
Derek buys every console
Shane finally hit 144hz and still wants a PS5
The next PSVR will only have one cable!
What the heck is Fry’s Electronics anyways (RIP)?

Where can I follow Geekscape Games?

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts!
Follow us on SoundCloud!
Subscribe to us on Google Podcasts
Follow us on Stitcher!
Subscribe with another program!
Follow us on Twitter!

Want to give us feedback? Drop us a line at geekscapegames@geekscape.net!

Xbox Game Passengers 023 – ‘Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare / Warzone’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Typically, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

But these are atypical times, and with the added stress of some certain doom and a sensory overload of bad news, Xbox Game Passengers has found itself in a bit of a hiatus.

Host Derek has spent the past few weeks playing some games that he wanted to play, instead of games that he had to play, and he and guest (and Let’s Play Arcade! cohost John are here to give their thoughts on Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare. Yep, we know — it’s not even on Xbox Game Pass!

John has spent a lot of money to play this game (more than you’d guess), and Derek ended up with an Elite Controller, plus some initial thoughts on Fallout 76: Wastelanders, and more!

The stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal Tier One operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power. Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® engulfs fans in an incredibly raw, gritty, provocative narrative that brings unrivaled intensity and shines a light on the changing nature of modern war. Developed by the studio that started it all, Infinity Ward delivers an epic reimagining of the iconic Modern Warfare® series from the ground up.

In the visceral and dramatic single-player story campaign, COD: Modern Warfare pushes boundaries and breaks rules the way only Modern Warfare® 2019 can. Players will engage in breathtaking covert operations alongside a diverse cast of international special forces throughout iconic European cities and volatile expanses of the Middle East.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
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Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
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TuneIn

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 021 – ‘World War Z’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show, so you always know what’s coming up on the next adventure.

This time around, Mike returns for his second episode in a row to discuss the derivative but compelling multiplayer adventure, World War Z. The pair make far too many comparisons to Left 4 Dead… but what are you going to do about it?

World War Z is a heart-pounding four-player cooperative third-person shooter featuring massive swarms of zombies that recklessly rush their living prey. Focused on fast-paced gameplay — and inspired by the incredibly popular Paramount Pictures property of the same name — World War Z explores new storylines and characters from around the world in tense, overwhelming, and gruesomely exciting missions.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
Breaker
Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
Stitcher
Spotify
TuneIn

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 020 – ‘Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

In this episode, Mike returns to break down 2017’s lauded adventure title, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s a much different experience than either host expected and… they spend far too much time wondering if the world will ever see a sequel as they recorded this episode just days before Senua’s Saga was revealed.

From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, comes a warrior’s brutal journey into myth and madness. Set in the Viking age, a broken Celtic warrior embarks on a haunting vision quest into Viking Hell to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua’s mind.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
Breaker
Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
Stitcher
Spotify
TuneIn

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 019 – ‘The Outer Worlds’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

Dougie returns to chat about one of Derek’s most anticipated (and surprise — favourite) games of 2019, The Outer Worlds. It’s pretty much the best Fallout game that we’ve had in years, and brings some cool and original ideas to the table as well.

Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the furthest edge of the galaxy, you awake decades later only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the Halcyon colony. As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter various factions, all vying for power, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable. 

https://youtu.be/Oxlflrh_Pzw

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
Breaker
Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
Stitcher
Spotify
TuneIn

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Let’s Play Arcade! 004 – ‘Spaceland’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome back to Let’s Play Arcade!

The outline of this show is simple. We’ve got:

Two best friends.
One randomly selected Apple Arcade game.
Two fresh new semi-randomly selected beers (we basically just grab something new that we see on the shelf).

We don’t talk about the game at all before we record, so we’ll be learning each other’s thoughts and impressions live on air. At the end of each episode, we’ll also randomly draw the game for our next offering, so you’ll always know what’s coming up on the next adventure.

Part of the appeal of doing this show was just getting to “hang out” more often. Back in the day we’d be able to meet up for a beer, but because of where we live at this point, it just can’t really happen. For each episode of Let’s Play Arcade!, we’ll also be cracking open (and sort-of reviewing) a random beer as well. Neither of us really know anything about beer (or drink it all that often), so while we don’t know what anyone has to gain from us talking about them, we’ll see what happens!

Each episode will also feature an ‘after show’, where we’ll basically drivel on about whatever we feel like (stick around after the end theme if you want to listen).

This episode we dig deep into Spaceland, which is “probably the most dynamic turn-based strategy in the spirit of the old school” (at least according to the game’s App Store description). It’s a turn-based strategy title (think XCOM), and we have a lot to say about it.

It is probably the most dynamic turn-based strategy in the spirit of the old school. Less covers, more action! Land on a lost planet and show the mutants what you are made of. Shoot, kick, blow up and destroy. You will put together the most reckless team of fighters and unravel the mysteries of the mystical planet following the best traditions of science fiction.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show (more options coming soon):

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Apple Podcasts
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We’ve had a blast making Let’s Play Arcade! so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! 

Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

Intro, Outro themes by Arcade High

Listen to the previous episode, Let’s Play Arcade! 003 – Where Cards Fall

Xbox Game Passengers 018 – ‘Oxenfree’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

Mikaela returns after a long hiatus to chat about the quirky, spooky, and gorgeous adventure game, Oxenfree. Spoiler: she very clearly doesn’t like it and Derek spends the entire episode defending it.

Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift. Play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenager who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island. The night takes a terrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly gate spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you.

YOU determine every aspect of Alex’s story while exploring Edwards Island, uncovering the base’s dark past, and changing the course of your friends’ lives.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Let’s Play Arcade! 003 – ‘Where Cards Fall’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome back to Let’s Play Arcade!

The outline of this show is simple. We’ve got:

Two best friends.
One randomly selected Apple Arcade game.
Two fresh new semi-randomly selected beers (we basically just grab something new that we see on the shelf).

We don’t talk about the game at all before we record, so we’ll be learning each other’s thoughts and impressions live on air. At the end of each episode, we’ll also randomly draw the game for our next offering, so you’ll always know what’s coming up on the next adventure.

Part of the appeal of doing this show was just getting to “hang out” more often. Back in the day we’d be able to meet up for a beer, but because of where we live at this point, it just can’t really happen. For each episode of Let’s Play Arcade!, we’ll also be cracking open (and sort-of reviewing) a random beer as well. Neither of us really know anything about beer (or drink it all that often), so while we don’t know what anyone has to gain from us talking about them, we’ll see what happens!

Each episode will also feature an ‘after show’, where we’ll basically drivel on about whatever we feel like (stick around after the end theme if you want to listen).

This episode, from the creator’s of the brilliant Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, we’re taking beautiful isometric puzzler Where Cards Fall on for size.

Where Cards Fall is a slice of life story where you build houses of cards to bring formative memories to life. Create pathways through dreamlike spatial puzzles to navigate the insecurities and emotions of high school and beyond.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show (more options coming soon):

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Apple Podcasts
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We’ve had a blast making Let’s Play Arcade! so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! 

Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

Intro, Outro themes by Arcade High

Listen to the previous episode, Let’s Play Arcade! 002 – Neo Cab.

Xbox Game Passengers 016 – ‘Blair Witch’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show, so you always know what’s coming up on the next adventure.

After John’s disappointing reaction (read: not being that scared) to Alien: Isolation in Episode 14, with the release of Bloober Team’s Blair Witch we simply had to break the rules, actually choose a game for the very first time, and bring him back to hopefully scare the shit out of him.

We think that breaking the rules was worth it. Listen below to find out how things went.

It’s 1996. A young boy disappears in the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Maryland. As Ellis, a former police officer with a troubled past, you join the search. What starts as an ordinary investigation soon turns into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears and the Blair Witch, a mysterious force that haunts the woods…

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Xbox Game Passengers 015 – ‘Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, Geekscape Games alumni Courtney joins Derek to chat about lauded Metroidvania title, Hollow Knight. This is pretty much the episode that didn’t want to happen, as Courntey’s keyboard broke, then Derek lost his voice, then Courtney got sick, and we had to push this thing so many freaking times… but here it is!

Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 014 – ‘Alien Isolation’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This time around, John is back (yes, again) to discuss survival horror gem, Alien Isolation. John hates horror, and Derek has been trying to get him to play or watch numerous scary IPs over the near-decade that they’ve known each other. This is the first time that he’s said yes.

How did he react? Well, you know how to find out.

Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance.

As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien.

Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive. 

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Xbox Game Passengers 013 – ‘Innerspace’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, Evan returns to talk about one of the most peculiar games that the show has featured yet, Innerspace. The game is kind of like being inside a giant beachball, there isn’t really any up or down, and… well, as you’ll hear, things get pretty confusing.

Soar through virgin skies and dive into lost oceans as you hunt for the ancient gods of the Inverse, a forsaken realm of inside-out planets. Created by a small team of seven developers and originally funded on Kickstarter, InnerSpace is a bright, colorful exploration flying game with no horizons.

https://youtu.be/ZxqziYl2giE

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Xbox Game Passengers 012 – ‘The Gardens Between’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, Mikaela returns to talk about a calming and completely unique puzzle experience in The Gardens Between. The game was one of Mikaela’s top three games of PAX West 2018, so naturally she had to come back to the show to chat about it.

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. Manipulate time to solve puzzles and discover the secrets of each island.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Xbox Game Passengers 011 – ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, John returns to chat with Derek about The Elder Scrolls Online. Neither has played an MMO in years, and both were surprised to learn just how fresh (and just how familiar) an MMO today could feel. The pair detail their favourite quests, how playing a game like this with a controller feels, some silly bugs, and much more!

Join over 13 million players in the award-winning online multiplayer RPG and experience limitless adventure in a persistent Elder Scrolls world. Battle, craft, steal, or explore, and combine different types of equipment and abilities to create your own style of play. No game subscription required.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers – The PAX West 2019 Developer Interviews!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to another very special edition of the Xbox Game Passengers podcast.

Typically, every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Today might be Wednesday, but it still isn’t typical. Last week, host Derek and regular guest Mikaela descended on Seattle for the annual PAX West convention. During the show itself, the duo released two special Xbox Game Passengers episodes detailing all of the incredible experiences that they had at the show (episode one here, episode two here). Here’s another (final) PAX special, this time chock full of interviews with game developers on the show floor.

Here are all of the games featured in the interviews, and trailers for each:

Liberated

The Suicide Of Rachel Foster

Wanderlust

https://youtu.be/7ASrKo-yVZ4

Wavebreak

Untitled Goose Game

Dauntless

No Straight Roads

Luna: The Shadow Dust

Stranded Sails

Spiritfarer

Mutazione

Sparklite

Gamedec

If these special episodes aren’t your thing, this will be the last episode for this year’s PAX, and with next Wednesday’s The Elder Scrolls Online episode, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 010 – ‘Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, Mike returns to chat about one of his favourite series of all time, Gears of War. Specifically, they’re playing Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the impressive Xbox One remake that sadly (somehow) isn’t Xbox One X Enhanced. The duo dish about their favourite moments, their history with the series, and why Derek has to play every game inverted.

“Experience the game that launched one of the most celebrated sagas in entertainment with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. The shooter that defined the first generation of HD gaming has been painstakingly remastered in 1080P and modernized for Xbox One, and is packed full of new content including five campaign chapters never released on Xbox. The story of “Gears of War” thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the depths of the planet. Players live and breathe the role of Marcus Fenix. A disgraced former war hero, Marcus seeks personal redemption as he leads his fire team against an onslaught of merciless warriors from below.”

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers – The PAX West 2019 Special #2

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to another very special edition of the Xbox Game Passengers podcast.

Typically, every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

But… today isn’t typical, and today isn’t Wednesday. Host Derek and regular guest Mikaela have descended on Seattle for the annual PAX West convention. Yesterday, the duo detailed all of the amazing games that they had the opportunity to experience during Saturday of PAX West 2019, and with another day in the books, they’re here to chat about what else… but more games.

Today they played games like The Suicide of Rachel Foster (which Derek immediately fell in love with), Wave Break (which feels very Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-esque, with some insanely cool multiplayer modes), Cardpocalypse, Dauntless on Switch (with full cross-play and cross-progression), Her Story follow-up Telling Lies, the super-fun and addicting action of Windjammers 2, the intense roller-derby action of Roller Champions, Hitchhiker, the weird and wonderful world of Mutazione, the unbelievably beautiful world of Spiritfarer (which is already confirmed for Xbox Game Pass), the Stardew-esque Stranded Sails, Sparklight, the breathtaking style of Sayanara Wild Heart, and much, much more.

If this episode isn’t your thing, the show will be returning to its regularly scheduled programming on Wednesday, September 4th, when Mike returns to the show to chat about Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. But before then, tomorrow you’ll see another PAX episode release, and a PAX developer interview special coming later in the week.

Also, as Derek details pretty early on, he has kind of lost his voice over the past few days, so thanks a ton for bearing with him as he struggles to talk!

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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Apple Podcasts
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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers – The PAX West 2019 Special #1

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to a very special edition of the Xbox Game Passengers podcast.

Typically, every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

But… today isn’t typical, and today isn’t Wednesday. Host Derek and regular guest Mikaela have descended on Seattle for the annual PAX West convention. They’ve spent the day playing a ton of games — some beautiful, some intense, and some featuring impressive hardware, and are simply dying to talk about them.

The duo spent time with titles like Borderlands 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Gamedec, Liberated, Mortal Kombat 11 (on Google Stadia), Wanderlust, No Straight Roads, Death Stranding, LUNA The Shadow Dust. Derek also got some hands-on time with Panic Inc.’s upcoming Playdate console, and he needed to talk about that. They also hit up events for Cyberpunk 2077, and The Elder Scrolls Online, and share a few details about what was available at each.

Mostly, they just talk about how freaking cool PAX is, and also how Graveyard Keeper may just have the best booth.

If this episode isn’t your thing, the show will be returning to its regularly scheduled programming on Wednesday, September 4th, when Mike returns to the show to chat about Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. But before then, tomorrow you’ll see another PAX episode release, and a PAX developer interview special coming later in the week.

Also, as Derek details pretty early on, he has kind of lost his voice over the past few days, so thanks a ton for bearing with him as he struggles to talk!

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

Theme Song: I Adore My C64 by Nicolai Heidlas from HookSounds.com

Xbox Game Passengers 009 – ‘Observer’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, guest Dougie joins Derek to chat about how many times he’s finished Mass Effect (a lot of times), how upset he was at the lack of split-screen in Halo 5: Guardians, and of course, the cyberpunk survival horror game that stars Rutger Hauer, Observer.

Sounds like a winning combination, doesn’t it?

Also, this episode was recorded well (well) before Rutger’s death (RIP), so please keep that in mind as we make fun of his bad voice acting… Yeah.

“What would you do if your fears were hacked? >observer_ is a cyberpunk horror game from Bloober Team, the creators of Layers of Fear. Play as an Observer, the new front line of neural police, as you hack into the jagged minds of the insane.”

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

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We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast!

Xbox Game Passengers 008 – ‘Super Lucky’s Tale’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

We’re super excited for this episode. Geekscape Games (RIP) alumni Shane O’Hare joins Derek to talk about, well, a lot of things. The duo dish about the old days, tell some inside jokes, the Divergent series, and of course, Xbox Game Studios’ surprisingly entertaining platformer, Super Lucky’s Tale. Shane also tells us about his initial Xbox Game Pass impressions, and naturally this episode was recorded just before Xbox Game Pass for PC was officially announced, so if it sounds a little out of date, it’s because things have changed a lot with Xbox Game Pass in the past couple of months!

“A delightful, playground platformer for all ages that follows Lucky, the ever-optimistic, energetic, and lovable hero, on his quest to find his inner strength and help his sister rescue the Book of Ages from Jinx. Jinx is the scheming and mysterious villain trying to reshape the world, but for what reason?”

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
Breaker
Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
Stitcher
Spotify
TuneIn

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

Derek’s SDCC 2019 Recap: Thursday

by Derek Kraneveldt

If you missed recap of pre-convention or preview night, head here, and you can also check out my Prime Video Experience recap right here!

It’s the first full day of San Diego Comic-Con, and unfortunately it started with a bit of a frustration. I rolled out of bed to see a tweet from Mondo that their line policy (which based on my recap last night, they seem to have outgrown) was changing. Their previous system was essentially ‘we’re full, check back later,’ but as they announced this morning, but as of today, they’d instead be handing out timed tickets letting you know what time you could return to shop.

Mikaela had an event to cover first thing, so I ran over to the convention centre (which was not yet open) to try to get my hands on a ticket for the booth. At 12PM, Daniel Danger was set to be there to sign his new IT artwork, and as I currently have three Daniel Danger Mondo prints on my wall at home (and loved IT), I was hankering to get my hands on this too.

Convention staff guided us through the E doors, up the stairs, and essentially around half of the building to stand in a massive crowd. We were told that this would be the fastest way in, and that other doors wouldn’t open until this crowd was in. Once 9AM hit, (which is when the expo hall itself opened up) this crowd started being let in in chunks, and by about 9:15 I was headed down the escalator back towards the expo hall. As it turns out, they had also opened all of the other doors, much of the crowd was already inside, and door E turned out to be pretty much the slowest way into the building.

I went over to Mondo (on the other side of the expo hall) as fast as I could, and I was able to get a ticket… for 6:00 (the last block of the day). I assumed that IT would be long gone by then (only 225 available), and I was also set to be away from the convention centre for an event starting at 6. Thankfully Matt said that he’d take a look for me at that time. He’s basically my hero.

I then ran to room 6A, as my favourite panel at SDCC, the WWE/Mattel panel was set for 11:15. There was one panel before it, the Funko Funkast Live, which was actually a really fun time. I don’t collect Pop! figures because once I start I would never be able to stop, but the group had me laughing and showed off a ton of cool reveals. There’s even a cool looking mobile puzzle came called Funko Pop Blitz in the works, which I’ll definitely be checking out whenever it ends up releasing. Also, now I need to convince Mikaela that we can collect Pop! figures.

A lot of the front area of the panel room cleared out pretty quickly once Funko ended. I was able to move up pretty much in the center, just three rows back, and ended up with the best seat I’ve ever had for this panel, which I’ve been going to for years at this point.

The WWE/Mattel Panel always features a handful of WWE superstars, and some executives from Mattel. The presentation always starts with a bunch of new toy reveals, and then ends with a Q&A with the WWE superstars. I’m not really much of a toy guy, but it’s always fun to see the announcements, and it’s need to get to see the performers in an environment like this. This year, some of the most well received announcements included a new Chyna figure, which would mark her first in 19 years, and a brand new line of WWE / Masters of the Universe toys. These looked awesome (and super cheesy), and were introduced with a special video by Triple H. They showed off a few of the designs on screen, and then revealed a special, physical prototype figure for Kofi Kingston, who is apparently a huge MotU fan, and it seriously looked like he was going to cry for a long time after this announcement. The Q&A felt fairly standard to start, with cute kids talking about being inspired, and asking performers what inspired them. Then, a guy dressed as ‘Macho Manana’ grabbed the mic, and… well, it ended up being WWE Superstar Drake Maverick, who is in San Diego on a mission to track down R-Truth and the 24/7 Championship, and to win it back so he can finally consummate his marriage. It sounds silly, but it’s the absolute most entertaining thing in WWE right now.

Following the panel, I was lucky enough to snap a quick photo with Drake, who did not break character until he disappeared into another room (even yelling “I will consummate my marriage,” before disappearing entirely). It was a fantastic moment, and a great end to the very best WWE / Mattel panel that I’ve had to opportunity to attend.

He just never broke character and looked so sad the entire time.

Next up, I tracked down Mikaela, we grabbed a quick snack, and stopped at the hotel to drop some things off. She left almost right away to conduct an interview, and I stayed behind to catch up on some writing.

Shortly afterwards, I figured that it was probably a good time to peruse the show floor, as my next appointment wasn’t until 6 (and I needed to see how those IT prints were coming along), so I eventually wandered back to the convention centre to check out some of the show floor that I hadn’t visited yet. Mondo said that IT was probably still going to be in stock (phew), so I started making my way back to the Geekscape booth (#3919 if you’re in San Diego), and promote got distracted again trying to see what the Entertainment Earth and Mattel booths were like. As it turns out, they were capped. They’re always capped, and both the Slim Jim Macho Man doll and Mario Kart figures were sold out for the day anyways. Dang.

Things were (are always) pretty hectic on the show floor, so Mikaela and I decided to head out into the Gaslamp to see what we could see. As always, protesters were out in full force, and the conventiongoers were spilled out into the area by the hundreds, filling the streets still blocks away from the convention center. We caught the tail end of a Syfy drum line (I love that they do these things), and then wandered over behind the Omni hotel to take a look at the Detective Pikachu activation. The movie releases on digital in just a few days, so Warner Bros Home Entertainment is in San Diego showing off a few pieces of Ryme City. The activation starts in a Pikachu-ed our train car, before moving into other rooms, including Howard Clifford’s office, a small piece of the Ryme City market, and a room with a Pikachu photo-op. Take a look at some photos from the activation below!

Next up, we went over to the Panda Express pop-up, which I thought was absolutely hilarious. Now, I love me some Panda Express, but everyone here was just so energetic, the staff was freaking screaming out in excitement, there was a dancing Panda (and the playlist was all fire or heat related songs which I thought was so funny), and again, this store won’t exist in a week. It was all in celebration of a new limited time dish, the Sichuan Hot Chicken. They even created a character named Pep-Pep the Sichuan Wonderpepper, who is a a little fireball looking dude who is pretty cute. The place was fun, the line was less than 5 minutes long, and the place offered up free samples of this new and delicious chicken, as well as beverages. Thank you Panda Express!

We were both pretty exhausted at this point (long before this point, actually), but there was still more to do. Next up we were headed to the Oxford Social Club for an event revolving around upcoming EPIX series Pennyworth, which is set in “1960s London, where Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, forms a security company and goes to work with Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s billionaire father.”

The event was held at the Oxford Social Club over at 435 Fifth St. The offsite is open to the public for Friday and Saturday from 10AM-7PM, and potential attendees will need to give a secret password to “access to the Velvet Rope, a high-society London lounge filled with gambling, drag, and cabaret performances, plus live music from the era. You’ll also find yourself inside a library that leads to an eerie poetry reading in the posh hidden headquarters of the Raven Society, as well as a dank dungeon where the membership’s darker deeds become clear.”

We went down some interestingly lit stairs which were guarded by some creepy looking… well, guards. I was actually wearing a Finn Balor shirt, and one of them even gave me a too sweet on my way in. Once inside, everything was styled like the 1960’s, even the cocktails that the servers were offering us (an Old Fashioned, renamed ‘The Alfred’, and another drink, called ‘The Esme’). Inside we were treated to musical performances, secret poetry readings (a guy was even hand-writing these poems for the event, and according to him his wrist was very tired). There was a library where ‘Raven Society’ members were giving attendees postcards, which they could fill out and address to their friends, and drop in a box to actually be mailed out, and also a torture chamber which made for a pretty neat photo op. Overall, the event was a fun way to be introduced to some of the themes of the show (and get a couple of cool photo-ops), and it definitely made me hopeful that the show will be picked up in Canada, as EPIX simply doesn’t exist there.

Following the Pennyworth event, a sleepy Mikaela headed back to the hotel (and even saw a DeLorean on the way), and I headed over to Seaport Village to meet up with Jonathan, Matt, and Gui for some food. Everyone else had pretty much already eaten when I arrived, and so everyone just sat around telling old convention stories and we laughed our asses off for something like an hour.

At this point, I was beat, and decided to call it a pretty early night. For Friday we were set to be up early (and probably out late), so it was important that I get a decent sleep as I’ve been simply exhausted so far. Matt and I returned to the hotel room, while Gui and Jonathan went elsewhere, and after a bit of chatting we all turned in pretty damned early.

Until tomorrow, this has been Thursday at SDCC!

Derek’s SDCC 2019 Recap: Pre-Con / Preview Night!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Tuesday

I can’t believe it’s already SDCC week.

At times, it feels like it was just yesterday that I was Lime-ing around San Diego with Matt Kelly, eating Rockin’ Baha with the Geekscape crew (that sweet, sweet mango salsa), being insanely impressed with offsides like Purge City or Mr. Mercedes, or running into the likes of Xavier Woods and Becky Lynch during Rocket League’s fantastic third birthday party.

Other times, it’s crazy to think just how long it’s been, and how much Geekscape has changed over the past year. The Geekscape Games podcast was a huge part of my life, and it ended very suddenly last Fall, leaving me in a spot where I just didn’t know what to do next. After a bit of a break and some time to recuperate (and figure out how to both live without my longtime co-hosts apply what I’d learned over Geekscape Games’ four year run to something else), in May I finally launched a brand new show called Xbox Game Passengers, which has myself and a guest discussing a single randomly-selected game on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service. As of this writing we’re six episodes in (with a couple of E3 specials for good measure), and we’ve played some absolute gems like What Remains Of Edith Finch (which certified non-gamer Matt Kelly actually joined me for), along with a few titles that left something to be desired, like MotoGP17. Xbox Game Passengers has been a challenging and incredibly rewarding experience so far, and I can’t wait to see where it brings me a year from now.

Today, Geekscape also launched a brand new, redesigned website. Our last redesign was about four years ago, and we (and the web itself) has changed a lot since then. We’ve shifted our focus from things like news, to original content like podcasts, and this new design puts a much bigger emphasis on the shows that we’re doing, and its far simpler layout helps browsers see what’s new on the site much, much more easily. It brings with it some changes that I’d been hoping for for some time (higher resolution featured images, yes!), and I think that there’s absolutely no better time for a Geekscape reboot, than when some of the team is together in San Diego. Please, take a look around the site (and forgive some of the odd looking featured images for now, I’ll fix them when I can), and let us know what you think!

When the alarm rang this morning at 1:45AM, I was incredibly sleepy, rather grumpy, but also so excited. Mikaela, who you may have heard on Geekscape Games or Xbox Game Passengers, who handles our @GeekscapeForever Instagram page (where you’ll find all sorts of sick cosplay photos from the different events and conventions that we’ve visited), who has a casual column where she, as a semi-novice gamer, tackles game reviews from her own perspective, and who is my long time fiancé, headed to San Diego with me for the very first time. She’s super excited, nervous, and overwhelmed all at the same time, and I can’t wait for her to see and understand just what keeps me coming back to relive this insanely exhausting experience each and every year. I’m really excited to see what kind of experiences she has while here with me.

So we made our way to the airport parking (some weird valet style thing that didn’t seem to have any employees around so I really hope we still have a car when we get back), took a shuttle to the terminal itself, and prepared ourselves for the long 25 minute flight to Seattle where we would have a couple of hours of layover before our final flight to San Diego. Thankfully, our bags were checked so we didn’t have to worry about them at all, and so during our layover time we grabbed some snacks and took some time to check out the new Geekscape.

Some beautiful views even before we left the ground.
I think that Desmond forgot to push the button.

While waiting for our connecting flight, Jonathan published a yearly pre-SDCC podcast, this year a one-on-one with Matt Kelly. These episodes are always a favourite of mine to listen to, as everyone on them is typically super comfortable with each other, and it ends up just being an hour or so of ridiculous jokes. This year is no exception — the episode is hilarious, and… it feels like the pair barely talked about the actual convention. Mikaela and I listened to the show on the plane, and absolutely got a few looks as we burst out laughing multiple times over the course of the episode.

We landed, barely waited for luggage, and grabbed a Lyft from Oscar, whose car was filled with candy and bubble gum. Like every cup holder, every nook and cranny of every door was filled with candy. We didn’t eat any, but I appreciated it.

Insane wraps everywhere.

Finally, it was time to reunite. Somehow, Mikaela, John, Matt, and I all arrived at the Grand Hyatt within about 10 minutes of each other. We exchanged some quick hellos, and before long it was time to head to the convention centre to grab our badges for the week, and to get ready to build the booth.

The first step in getting ready… was to get some delicious food in us. My favourite restaurant (of the few that I’ve actually been to) in San Diego is called Rockin’ Baha. It’s a seafood / Mexican joint that has a phenomenal salsa bar with a ton of different varieties, but their mango salsa is simply amazing. I could eat the stuff forever. Today, I also had queso for apparently the first time in my life, and it might be a new favourite.

Once we ate, we finally made it inside the expo hall in order to assemble our booth. This is my seventh time to SDCC, and it never gets old walking around the floor early and seeing all of the intricate booths being set up. It’s amazing to see that work that is put in both inside of the convention centre, and the whole Gaslamp District around it, just for this five day period. It’s essentially unfathomable to imagine just how much money these studios and production companies are spending to put on these insane events just for a few days. It’s amazing, and I appreciate it so much, but I definitely don’t understand it.

Building the booth constitutes of bringing a ton of items for actually building the booth, and crap that Jonathan doesn’t want anymore (giveaways woo!) to our designated are (booth #3919), building our backdrop and table, organizing t-shirts, and then walking around and looking at all of the cool stuff that nobody else will see until late the next day. It’s warm as hell in there, as it doesn’t seem like the air conditioning is actually turned on until the next day, but it’s definitely worth it. Also, I typically get first pick of the crap that Jonathan doesn’t want, and I’ve definitely scored some sweet merch over the years by sorting through these boxes and boxes or refuse.

It was getting slightly late, and I was getting pretty tired (as I was up at 1AM the night before), but I still wanted to hit up the FYE Pop-Up shop over at Horton Plaza. Matt, myself, and the hosts of the Fright School podcast (who we met up with slightly before) walked over to check out the store. You can check out some photos of what the store has on offer right here, but in short, the place is just chock-full of mostly inexpensive collectibles that are just so freaking cool. The shop is open through X, but a lot of the stuff goes really quickly, so if you’re in the area, I’d recommend heading their ASAP. I asked about sizes on a couple of shirts, and was basically told that whatever was out was what they had, so there were a couple of things that I could didn’t get, but I definitely bought an amazing Stranger Things shirt, as well as the soundtrack to season three… on cassette. I will never be able to play this, but it’s going to look super cool next to my New Coke.

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at a neat barcade called Coin-Op GameRoom that I’d somehow missed for the past seven years. They had a good soundtrack, neat games, decent food, and were playing Willow, old WCW wrestling, Bob Ross, and The Karate Kid, all at the same time. It was a nice, chill way to end the night.

We stopped at Ralph’s on the way back to the hotel to grab some water and snacks for the week ahead (mostly coconut water, which I discovered last year, and which saved me from feeling terrible and dehydrated most days), and then stumbled our way back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Next up is Preview Night (and day, as Mikaela and I will be checking out Amazon Prime’s incredible sounding offsite activation in the early afternoon), and while as I’m prepared as I can be, it’s hard to ever feel ready for an event like this!

Wednesday

I was really happy to have had a good night’s sleep.

Much to Mikaela’s dismay, people in the hotel room began to stir as early as 5AM. I was up and showered shortly after 7, and as nothing has really started yet, had a bit of a chill morning. Mikaela slept in a bit, and I worked on some articles in the chill, air conditioned room.

After relaxing in the hotel room for awhile, Matt, Mikaela, and I decided to walk around the Gaslamp to check out some of the in-progress activations. NBC has a fantastic presence with Superstore (a show that I’d not actually heard of before) taking over the lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel, The Good Place taking over Mary Jane’s restaurant (and turning it into the Interdimensional Hole Of Pancakes), among with a neat little Seinfeld activation that has you doing trivia in exchange for a coin that you can use in a themed vending machine filled with Seinfeld merch (including Junior Mints), along with a fresh build of the precinct from Brooklyn 99.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment also had some neat in-progress activations, including a piece of Rhyme City (and a huge Pikachu) for Detective Pikachu, and a miniature version of Chilladelphia for Shazam.

We also took out some Bird scooters briefly so that we could get around more quickly. It’s definitely for the best, but the scooters are much more limited this year in just where they can go, and if you head into an area that you shouldn’t be in, the scooter loses all power and is manual only. I also accidentally added $20USD to my Bird account… so it ended up being a pretty expensive ride. Mikaela did ride as well, however, and was totally terrified, so maybe it’s still worth it.

At noon, Mikaela and I checked out the Amazon Prime Experience, which hosts activations for upcoming Amazon Prime series The Boys, Carnival Row, and season four of The Expanse. I’ve posted some photos taken at the offsite below, and look for a full article with video of the three activations on Geekscape shortly!

The tower was cool, and the performances on it were even cooler.

The Amazon Prime Experience is located at MLK and 1st, and is one of the coolest offsite activations that I’ve been to. There are always a number of incredible offsite events, but these three activations feel like neat, mature, interactive theatre, and it’d be impossible not to have a huge smile on your face the entire time you’re taking part. The area itself is huge (60,000 square feet, actually), and the ‘Tower’ area in the centre shows some cool clips from the upcoming series, and also features a number of different performances throughout the day. While we were eating some lunch (some Carl’s Jr. provided by Amazon, which we were very thankful for), someone came by and asked if we’d ever been wronged by a Supe. A few minutes later, essentially an anti-supe support group started, with a number of group members describing how they’d been wronged, from things as simple as refusing an autograph to a child, to giving their mother herpes. It was super interesting. In any case, the offsite is open from 9-5 Thursday through Sunday, and the content inside is well worth the wait.

We were very thankful for the Carl’s Jr.

Following the Prime Video experience, we took some time to head back to FYE (as Mikaela hadn’t seen it yet), and, naturally, ended up grabbing two additional Stranger Things shirts, and shortly afterwards it was actually time to split up. Mikaela was headed inside of the convention centre (she had some Mondos to score, and was also going to try to hit up Entertainment Earth for that sweet Macho Man / Slim Jim exclusive figure), while I was set to preview the Nintendo lounge at the Marriot.

Mikaela’s covered (and super limited) Mondo Batman screenprint

Oddly enough, this was actually my first time at the Nintendo lounge. It’s almost always present in the Marriot, but I’ve always figured that it’s not really worth standing in line for, as I was already going to buy all of the games that they were showing off. This year, with the first full Pokémon game for Switch, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 on offer, it would have been tough to skip out on this.

Once I went inside, I immediately regretted not taking the time in year’s past. Within minutes I was playing a demo for freaking Pokémon Sword and Shield, and though it’s been years since I’ve really played Pokémon, I immediately felt at home with the game, and I immediately fell in love with it. This Switch reimagining felt absolutely fresh, and I simply cannot wait to get my hands on more of this game. As far as I know, this was the same demo shown off at E3, and had your character working their way through a water gym, and showed off both the new Dynamax functionality, as well as a myriad of new Pokémon.

I also played a (again, E3) demo of Luigi’s Mansion 3, and it mostly made me wonder how the hell I missed out on Luigi’s Mansion 2. The puzzle-y levels were a ton of fun, the vacuum mechanics felt far better than I remember them being, and the game just felt completely different from anything else that I’ve played as of late. This is another game that wasn’t really on my radar at all, but will now be a purchase on day one. It’s just so much freaking fun.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening demo really showed off the game’s unique new art style, which often has a sort of tilt-shift look. Around the demo stations, there were also some super-cute miniatures that it was just impossible not to take pictures of. Link’s Awakening looks like an impressive remake, and as I was just three years old when Link’s Awakening came out (though I did play it later), I really don’t remember it that well.

The lounge also featured a few cool photo-ops (including Luigi’s Mansion and Pokemon), and was also showing off some sick looking Target Exclusive Mario Kart Hot Wheels, and also a sweet (literally) Nintendo X Sugarfina booth, which featured a bunch of different Nintendo themed, high end and totally freaking delicious candies. I had seen Sugarfina stores in some local malls before, but hadn’t tasted the stuff… and I’m pretty much hooked already and I can’t wait to have more and it’s Nintendo themed so it’s even better.

Once I’d played everything that the Nintendo booth had to offer, I sauntered over to the convention centre. Preview night runs from 6-9 PM, and it was sometime after 7 at this point, so I knew that I didn’t have all that much time to walk around. I walked over to Mondo at 435, where she had been hovering around the ‘capped’ line that seemingly capped before the show even opened (damn exhibitors). She was told over and over that the line wouldn’t re-open, but after standing around the line (because she wasn’t allowed in it) for well over two hours, the line opened back up, and somehow the Batman screenprint that Mikaela was stoked for, and the Jaws tiki mug that Matt wanted were still in stock.

She had made a not-line friend, and there were a couple of other things that I wanted to check out on the floor, so I left her with intentions of returning soon (I didn’t).

I wandered over to Entertainment Earth, as I thought that they were set to carry both the WWE Macho Man Randy Savage / Slim Jim exclusive, along with the Silver/Gold Mario Kart 8 statues. It turns out they had neither (and the line was capped anyways), so I then went over to Mattel which actually had both, not that it did me any good, as their line was capped as well and Macho Man was already sold out for the day.

You will be mine.

I made a quick stop at the TNT Snowpiercer booth to receive one of the coolest pieces of swag announced so far this year, which is a protein bar made with cricket protein which totally makes sense based on the source material. I ended up with a couple of the bars, and absolutely plan to eat one, and plan to keep one forever.

Matt then sent me a message that WWE superstar Drake Maverick just walked by the booth, and so instead of going back to Mikaela, I just kind of searched around for WWE superstar Drake Maverick. He and superstar R-Truth have the absolute most entertaining storylines in WWE right now, and I just wanted to find him to thank him for the laughs. I never did, but you bet I looked.

The show floor closed, and Matt, Mikaela, Jon, and I made our annual trip to Lolita’s Mexican Restaurant. The line was long, the restaurant was too warm, and Matt’s entire order was wrong, but it was still a good time.

Naturally, we took Bird scooters back to the hotel. This was partially because we didn’t want to walk anymore, but also because they’re super fun!

That’s it for Preview Night! Tomorrow will mark the first full day of the convention. I’m most excited to see the WWE / Mattel panel in the morning (and fully believe that the 24/7 championship will change hands during this event), and also the offsite event for upcoming series Pennyworth.

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you’ll check out all our other coverage, follow us on Instagram, and come back tomorrow to read my Thursday recap!

Xbox Game Passengers 005 – ‘Viva Pinata’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Geekscape’s newest gaming podcast, Xbox Game Passengers.

Every other Wednesday, host Derek and a guest will dissect and discuss just one game available on Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which was chosen for them completely at random.

Whether it’s a magical or a horrible experience, they’ll force themselves through it, share their thoughts, and let you know whether or not the game is worth your time! At the end of each episode, they’ll also randomly select the game for the following show.

This episode, longtime Xbox fan Mike joins Derek to chat about Rare’s quirky 2006 gardening / weird animal farming game, Viva Piñata. They also discuss the surprisingly funny animated series that briefly preceded the game, and how much they wished that the game would go mobile or at least get an Xbox One X Enhanced update… then a few weeks later it did, so now you can play it in 4K!

“Attract and tame your favourite Piñatas. There are more than 60 species that roam wild on Piñata Island. Personalise everything from the grass at your feet to the hat on your Piñata’s head. Welcome to Piñata Island, enjoy your stay!”

Listen to find out how things went, and if you like what you’ve heard, here’s where you can subscribe to the show:

Anchor
Apple Podcasts
Breaker
Castbox
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Overcast
Pocket Casts
PodBean
RadioPublic
Stitcher
Spotify
TuneIn

You can also follow us on twitter @XGPPodcast

We’ve had a blast making Xbox Game Passengers so far, and we really hope that you’re enjoying it too! If you have any feedback for us, we’d love to hear it at derek@geekscape.net. Anything you listeners can do to help spread the word about the podcast would be immensely appreciated — from sharing it on social media like Facebook or Twitter, to leaving us five stars (or even a review) on Apple Podcasts, to sending it to a single friend, it can all make a massive difference! Thanks again for coming along on this ride!

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long- Winded SDCC Recap – Saturday

by Derek Kraneveldt

Well, today was far, far more relaxed than any other day of this year’s convention. We all turned in fairly early last night after laughing our asses off at Shane’s lack of ABBA knowledge and a myriad of other things (though by ‘early’, I mean that I finally stopped writing after midnight long after everyone else was asleep).

I woke up today just after 7 (to an empty hotel room, aside from Shane who was still fast asleep on the floor) feeling well rested and energetic. I wanted to be on the floor at show-open as a must-have Mondo print (Boris Pelcer’s Drive poster) was set to drop right away.

After the rough entry that I experienced on Thursday, things seemed to go far more smoothly this morning. When I arrived at the convention centre, there was already a door letting people in (to the centre, not to the exhibit hall floor) so I jumped in so that I could feel that sweet, sweet air conditioning. It didn’t really seem like anyone knew where to send me (as a press member, rather than an attendee or professional), so they just sent me through to the professional entrance… which worked out really well as I ended up on the show floor 15 minutes early.

Mondo somehow already had a huge line, and it was pretty clear that a lot of these people were working in groups to simply buy these super-limited edition screen prints in order to resell them.

I bought the Drive print, but there was something else that I wasn’t expecting. Mondo released another, surprise Jurassic Park print by an artist that Mikaela really loves (and so do I) named Daniel Danger. Daniel did the Crimson Peak piece that I picked up a couple of years ago, as well as The Shape of Water print that I’d be trying to pick up later in the day. This Jurassic Park print was just as gorgeous, was super limited to 125 pieces, and was signed as well. I wasn’t going to buy it, until the employee at Mondo confirmed that it was in fact Daniel Danger, and was so freaking limited. Mikaela was at work, so she was unable to talk me out of it, so I picked that one up as well.

Every time I buy something, I freak out about spending money irresponsibly and Mikaela has to talk me off a ledge, and this time was no different. She’s really a saint for putting up with my bullshit for this long.

Following my purchase, I carefully returned the prints to the Geekscape booth, which was terrifying as the show floor opened, was flooded, and the prints were loose and would have been so easy to damage. Matt put them aside, and I went on a hunt to find some appropriate poster tubes and after what seemed like forever I managed to find some. I returned to the Geekscape booth, rolled the prints, and set off again. During my travels, I found the creepy as fuck tooth kid from the criminally underrated Channel Zero, Deadpool’s hilarious animatronic band, some classic protesters (and hilarious parody protesters), and more!

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While I was on the floor, Shane attended an Aquabats concert (and band that I’d never heard of until I met him, and a band that I’m pretty sure nobody in Canada knows about), and he looked so incredibly happy it the photos that he shared. Seeing a smile that big, and the genuine on his face absolutely warmed my heart. After missing last year’s event, I’m glad he looks like he’s having such a great time.

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Courtney and I grabbed a quick bite (and a couple of beverages) at the Wired Cafe before I returned to the convention centre for the Expanding Sea of Thieves panel. There was a huge line for this, far longer than I would have anticipated, and I was pretty worried that I wasn’t going to get in. I actually think the line was cut off just a few people after me, so I really lucked out, as the panel was interesting as hell for fans of the game. The panel opened with an epic new video of the upcoming skeleton crews, which showed them preparing for battle, and showed the ship diving under the ocean before the Cursed Sails splash appears. The crew then celebrated the myriad of Pirate Legends that were present in the room (a lot of them somehow had t-shirts with their GamerTags on their backs), before diving into the comic book and novel that are in the works. The novel is called Athena’s Fortune, and will be about some of the first pirates’ journey to the Sea of Thieves. The team noted that there are also references to some real players in the book, and that this is really the start of an expanded universe that will soon be referenced in the game.

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I’ll hopefully have a dedicated article up about this panel in the next few days, but watching this team so passionately talk about the game and their plans for its future made me so excited to be a player. I’ve loved this world since the very first time that I played the beta, and I cannot wait to see what it evolves into. The crew even gave out some time-limited Perfect Dark inspired DLC, which I was not expecting, but which I cannot wait to see in game. Amazing.

Following this panel, I essentially ran back to Mondo to join the giant line for Daniel Danger’s The Shape of Water print that was set to drop at 3PM. The line was pretty long (and was capped immediately after I got in it), but after about an hour it was my turn to pick up the print. Mikaela talked me off the ledge again, and I simply cannot wait to put this beautiful art up on our walls.

I brought the prints back to the hotel, and then it was time for another amazing event. I’d been invited to a wine-tasting event in celebration of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Emmy-nominated series StarTalk. Shane and Courtney were coming with me, and Shane decided that as it was a ‘wine tasting’, people would be dressed up, and that we should do the same. Shane put on the second bold suit that I’d seen him wear this week, and I brought nothing like that, but put on jeans and a button-up. We very warmly walked the numerous blocks to the event’s location, took the elevator up to the rooftop bar, and very quickly realized that everyone else was wearing shorts and t-shirts. Damnit, Shane.

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The event itself was awesome. There was delicious food, bourbon, wine, and beer available. Once the sun dropped below some nearby buildings things cooled off immensely, and it was also one of the only parties that I’d been to this week that was not PACKED (the invitation said intimate, and I really appreciate how chill it was), and the only event where the music was at a volume appropriate enough to still have a conversation. It was great to be at an event with these friends that I don’t see very often and actually be able to speak, instead of just look at each other (or nod like you heard what they said). Neal seemed like a super nice guy, and was happy to chat with attendees and to take photos. There was an adorable lady there that looked as though she was going to cry the entire time that she was in Neal’s presence, and I’m super glad they were able to spend some time together. I also saw WWE’s Cathy Kelly there, which was pretty rad as I’m a big fan of her onscreen presence. We watched Neal play a giant game of Jenga with a Nat Geo (which airs StarTalk) exec, which was pretty impressive as the game went on as long as it possibly could, with Neal finally losing in the end. A huge thanks to National Geographic for hosting this super memorable event!

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Following the wine tasting, Courtney, Shane, Matt, and I went to Panda Express at the Horton Plaza. We made it just in time to order before they closed, and while it was slim pickins’ in terms of food choices, they still had their to die for orange chicken. I was so wonderful that Matt had two orders of it.

There was a memorial toast planned for Jon Schnepp at the Grand Hyatt, so we all made a stop there to check things out. Shortly after, video came from Hall H showing Kevin Smith’s moment of silence / tribute to Jon, which was super touching. Schnepp was always a huge part of Comic-Con (I feel like especially for Geekscape, as Jon’s booth has been right beside ours for years), and its awesome for someone like Smith to use their limited panel time to remember that he’s been lost.

Gui has been trying to get me to go to some country music bar for what seems like hours at this point, so I’m not sure if I’ll end up there, or end up just falling asleep, but it’s absolutely crazy to think that when I wake up tomorrow, this will essentially be over for another year.

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Tomorrow is likely to be a very relaxed day of walking the floor before packing up after the show closes, so I’m not completely sure if another recap will be necessary. In any case, if you’ve come this far, I truly thank you for reading along. I began writing these pieces as a means to remember what I’d seen, heard, attended, and accomplished at these events, and it turns out that some people like reading what I’ve been up to as well!

So, if tomorrow is interesting, I’ll see you then, and if not… we’ll see you at PAX West next month!