PlayerPandemonium (A Video Game Audio Blog)

After over a year, The PlayerPandemonium audio blog is BACK! And what better way to officially kick off season 2 than with a buffet of Kirby. Late in the Super Nintendo's life cycle, Nintendo released Kirby Super Star. It's advertised as 8 games in one, but will this game fill even a Kirby size appetite? 

In 1993 Midway released NBA JAM, A legendary arcade style sports game. Later Midway would release a hockey and football equivalent of JAM. However, there was never a baseball style game like this. But what if I told you there was one in development at one point? In the season 2 premiere of my audio blog, I talk about the unreleased arcade baseball game, Power-Up Baseball.

The Legend of Zelda recently had it's 35th Anniversary and I thought why don't I talk about 35 songs to celebrate the occasion? Keep in mind this is NOT a top 35 or a list of personal favorites, theses are 35 songs I talk about and why I love the songs I picked.

Link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBxmyrQqdvXn5YYLN7NylDd_JaHh8d95y

Metal Gear Solid when released in 1998 (I said 97 in the video, oops) revolutionized and proved that great story and narratives can work in a video game. Metal Gear Solid became an instant classic when it was released as it brought the idea of stealth into mainstream gaming. Metal Gear Solid has its fair share of epic boss fights but one boss fight stands out more than the others in Psycho Mantis. In this episode I talk about how Mantis not only tests you in the world of Metal Gear Solid, but in reality as well.

Back in the 90s, everyone wanted to make a mascot platformer to rival Mario and Sonic. However with the mass amount of them, there's bound to some that fall pass the cracks. Dynamite Headdy might be one of the greatest SEGA Genesis/Megadrive games you've never played.

In the peak of the video game home system wars of the 90s, Nintendo wanted to reboot one of their icons in Donkey Kong and they decided to team up with a new British studio known as Rare that had the technology to make fully rendered graphics to make such a game. The game ended up being Donkey Kong Country, that ended up becoming a trilogy. In this audio essay I talk about each of the 3 Donkey Kong Country gamed that were released on the Super Nintendo.

Back the in the late 90s going into the dawn of the millennium, video game systems were pretty much just that, gaming systems. However with the release of the Sony PlayStation 2, it would not only change the video game world, but have an effect on the media world entirely. In this audio essay I talk about how the PS2 was such an instant game changer.

As I was doing my Christmas month special, the highly anticipated game, Cyberpunk 2077 was released, however it came out to a very rough release with many calling it a massive disappointment, but is it THE biggest disappointment in modern gaming and is there any hope for Cyberpunk?

Happy Holidays everyone! I talk about a movie tie in game that no one would talk about in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

When it comes to Christmas specials, everyone wants to be that new Christmas classic that everyone has to watch around the holidays. This also means Christmas specials in cartoons. Today I review my first animation piece in 1996's Sonic Christmas Blast.

When it comes to snow and ice levels, the first thing that always comes to my mind is Banjo Kazooie's Freezeezy Peak, But what makes the level so memorable and such a great snow level? I talk about that in this episode.

Welcome to the start of PlayerPandemonium's Big Holiday Event, where in the month of December, I'll be covering winter themed topics. Most of the time snow and ice levels are very annoying to play, but there are some snow levels that are the exception of the rule. Here are 5 snow levels in gaming that I think you just have to play.

The 2020 Video Game Awards are coming up soon, but what excatly are the Video Game Awards and why should we look forward to it, Well don't worry because I got the guide for you. I talk about the Video Game Awards and talk about each Game of the Year nomination and the story they have going into the big night. The 2020 Video Game Awards will be a digital event on December 10th. 

In 1995, a the Car Combat game hit new highs with the arrival of Twisted Metal. Ever since, Twisted Metal has become a series full of ups and downs. In this episode I talk about the Car Combat genre in itself in the Twisted Metal series, I also talk about another Car Combat game that was a direct competitor in Vigilante 8. Strap in your seatbelt for this hellish episode.

In 1996, 3D gaming hit a whole new level with the introduction of the Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64. However some gamers could not get a new system right on release. Sega tried to give their beloved blue mascot one more shot at success on the Sega Genesis and the result was a pre-rendered game titled Sonic 3D Blast. In this episode, I talk about 1996's Sonic's 3D Blast and my overall experience with the game.

When Capcom release Resident Evil in 1996 on the PlayStation, the game became an instant classic and redefined the survival horror genre of gaming. Resident Evil has now become one of the biggest franchises when it comes to horror survival video games and media as a whole. For Halloween this year I thought it would be worth it to talk about the original Resident Evil and how it changed horror games forever.

Today, gaming on our phones is pretty common, but this was not the case in 2003. There really wasn't a bridge from phones to portable gaming. NOKIA planed to change that with the N-Gage. The system ended up being a massive failure but is there more to the system that meets the eye? In this episode I talk about why the system failed but also talk about a few things that were pretty cool with the system as well.

Mortal Kombat was not just a fighter game changer, but changed gaming entirely with it's over the top violence and gore. The second game of the series brought more to the table, but for some reason, the third game of the Mortal Kombat trilogy was received with very mix reviews by fans? I think it's a great game, so in this episode, I talk about what I love about the updated version of Mortal Kombat 3 in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and maybe try to understand why the game has and even 25 years is still getting mixed reviews.

Goldeneye 007 is known to be one of the best first person shooters of all time during its day. As it was the game's mutiplayer that made it a legend, it also had a fun single player mode. However there's one level in Goldeneye that stands out to be the most annoying of them all. In this episode I talk about the Goldeneye 007 mission known as Control, my history about the level and why it's so frustrating.

More times than not. A Gameboy portable version of a video game never meets the same hype as its bigger counterpart on a home system. However, Mario Golf on the Gameboy Color is not only just as good, if not better than its Nintendo 64 counterpart! In this quick episode, I talk about the hidden treasure that is the Gameboy Color port of Mario Golf.

A decade ago (as the recording of this), Nintendo and GameFreak released the 5th generation of Pokemon in Pokemon Black version, and Pokemon White version. How has the game aged these past 10 years and what are some things that make it stand out as a stand alone Pokemon title?

There's a saying in sports called the G.O.A.T. meaning The Greatest of All Time. When it comes to retro video games and sports, one game always comes to mind, Tecmo Super Bowl. In this episode, I talk about how Tecmo Super Bowl is not just a great sports game, but a great game even non-sports gamers can love.

Mario Kart is famously known for all of it's wacky Mario theme'd race tracks. However in Mario Kart DS, one track out shadows the rest when it comes to popularity. In this episode I talk about one of Mario Kart's most imfamous race tracks in "Waluigi Pinball".  

Picking a topic or game for the show is a process. However there's a hand full of games that I feel like I really can't do an episode on. We talk about what kinds of games I won't do an episode on.

G4 was a TV network that was 24/7 about video games. With its revival announced for 2021, I'll talk about the brief history of G4 and how I think the revival could be a major win in the modern gaming age.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is to many to be one of if not the greatest video game of all time. When asked what their favorite level or dungeon is, most will tell you The Forest Temple. But what makes the Forest Temple so memorable and great? In this episode I closer look at Ocarina of Time's Most Loved Dungeon.

When racing games started, there was pretty much only stepping on the gas, turning, and not much more after that. However in 1997, Gran Turismo was released to show that a realistic racing game could work and be sucuessful. Today, I talk about the first two Gran Turismo games on the PS1 and how they changed racing games forever.

Paper Mario is known to be one of the best RPG series of all time. However, it has not see the best days in recent years. It is to the point that people are split with excitement and fear with the release of Paper Mario and the Origami King. In this episode, I talk about the Paper Mario series and talk about how the fanbase is very divide and how this is gaming prime example between the innovation of trying something new VS the tradition of finding what works and sticking to it. 

Music games have become a juggernaut of a gaming genre. From newer hits such as Beat Saber, to classics like DDR and Guitar Hero.  However ever genre has their first. Today I talk about a 1997 music game that was the first of its kind in "PaRappa The Rapper". I GOTTA BELIEVE!

Sadly, 2020 and baseball have not had a great year due to a worldwide pandemic. But don't worry, SNK is here to give you your 2020 baseball fix, with their futuristic themed arcade baseball hit, Super Baseball 2020... or is it 2020 Super Baseball? Anyway I give a quick review about the game.

An update as to why I've not uploaded an episode in awhile and my future plans for the show.

Let's face the facts, most people hate water levels in video games, so the idea of a game that's all water levels can't help but sound like a living nightmare. However, there's more to Ecco The Dolphin's story than just that. I spend 10 minutes talking about Ecco's adventure from it's humble beginning, to it's sudden end.

Remakes are everywhere now, not just in video games, but media as a whole. When a video game remake is done well, it can be a love letter to its older fans while giving it a breath of fresh air. In this episode, Me and some friends give our top 3 video game remakes of all time!

Back in 1992, SEGA released a full polygon 3D racing game called Virtua Racing. More impressively the game got a port on the Genesis along with other ports of this forgotten arcade game.

In a time where re-releases were few and far between, Nintendo made the choice in 1993 to pack a collection of the Super Mario Bros games into one cart and bundle it with the Super Nintendo. How does each game in the All-Stars hold up? Me and my friend Trey discuss memories, each game, and how they hold up today.

Welcome to the very first episode of PlayerPandemonium. Starting out is sometimes the hardest step, and I feel what better to start out than a video game for new players? In this episode I give my review over the NES classic, "Kirby's Adventure".

A quick thing about what the show is.