Ep. 195 - Knuckles' Chaotix Is For Lovers, with Jeff Gerstmann

Game journalist and Giant Bomb co-founder Jeff Gerstmann joins the panel to cover The Wheelman, phone phreaking, and Super Sushi Pinball.

Questions this week:

1. Rachel Weil asks: What are you favorite hidden gem video game reviews? (03:20)
2. What does Frank have to report on his two-week absence to save video games? (09:20)
3. What’s going on with the video game speculator market? (14:43)
4. How and why did Giant Bomb become a wiki for video games, and hows that going? (19:57)
5. Design a game about phone phreaking in the 20th century. (25:48)
6. Dirtbag Kory asks: In the year 2050, what will be known as the most ridiculous part of video games in 2021? (31:25)
7. What game design principles make a really satisfying pinball table? (35:26)
8. Fifteen years after the launch of the Wii, what do we have to say about casual games? (41:12)
9. What’s the history and current state of publishers paying for reviews? (46:34)
10. What is the Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son of video games? (52:27)

LIGHTNING ROUND: Who’s It For? (56:36)

We have a lovely forum available if you want to discuss the episode!

A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED:

• Shade wolf from Nier (spoilers)
• Dog’s Life
• The Revenge of Shinobi
• Kimimi The Game Eating She-Monster
• Mizzurna Falls
• Old Man Murray
• Erik Wolpaw’s Final Fight One Review
• Chrontendo
• Topher’s Sonic 2 review
• Vin Diesel’s Alternative Guide to Barcelona by tombo
• Vin Diesel’s The Wheelman
• The Video Game History Foundation, Which Was Co-Founded By Frank Cifaldi And Kelsey Lewin In Case You Didn’t Know
• Sealed Mario 64’s Record-Breaking $1.5M Sale Has Retro Experts Skeptical
• CheetahMen II
• Giant Bomb Wiki
• ComicVine
• Pup Breeder
• Phone Phreaking
• The Thompson Twins Adventure
• Her Story
• Flaming Carrot Comics
• Larry Sanders Show
• Bloody Wolf
• FunHouse pinball machine
• Centaur pinball machine
• F-14 Tomcat pinball machine
• Lethal Weapon 3 pinball machine
• The Pinball Circus pinball machine
• Banzai Run pinball machine
• Tap Titans 2
• Saturn Devouring His Son

Recommendations:

Brandon: The first half of Take Care of My Cat (2001), The Rippington’s Weekend in Monaco

Frank: Stop subscribing to the Video Game History Foundations incredible “Mystery Box” Vintage Video Game Magazines

Jeff: Giant Bomb Podcasts, garages

Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.