This Game Where

Ep.9 - Lemmings (Acorn Archimedes)

Happy February, everyone! To celebrate the leap year and the subsequent extra day we're gifted this month, we figured we'd give you exactly the same number of episodes as every other normal month, and this is the first of them. Don't complain, you've already got an extra day!

This week we take a look at Lemmings, a game scientifically proven to have cropped up in the life of every child born between 1984 and 1999 because it was made for every machine through the nineties you can think of.
Did you have a Megadrive? You got Lemmings.
SNES? You got Lemmings.
Walkman? Lemmings on tape.
Phillips CD-i? Yes, even you got Lemmings!
Chris opted to play the game on an Acorn Archimedes personal computer, itself pilfered from work by by his Pop.

But, as always, that's not all! Over the course of the show we touch upon novelty dancing, copyright trolling, and the problem with passwords. We suspect that will have you salivating for the show, so grab your favourite podcast app and get listening!

 

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

Ep.8 - The Simpsons Arcade (Arcade)

This Game Where! Did you just read that in the style of The Simpsons title song? If not, go back and start this again because you did it wrong. Join us this week for our first trip down the arcade for the cabinet classic The Simpsons Arcade, a beat 'em up that was so well drawn it was like playing an episode of the television series.

 

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

Ep.7 - Transport Tycoon (PC)

Planes, trains, and automobiles! And boats. Oh, and hovercrafts and lorries. And canal boats? Is that right? Apparently it is! What? No automobiles? Are you serious? But we've already said that they're in it. What a joke.

Let's try this again: All the transport solutions you could possibly want (except cars), squeezed into an enjoyable management simulation. Start off with just a unicycle and a wicker basket, delivering bread for your local baker, and work your way up to become the sinister, all-pervading transport conglomeration we all wish we could be. That's what this game is!

As is tradition, Chris and Ashley amble their way through an hour of conversation that is at once rambling and incisive. Listen in this week for some deep cuts on the dark predilections of The Sims players in the olden days, lots of Rollercoaster Tycoon-based chat, why Chris should have been playing Railroad Tycoon instead of this, and precisely how tall the fence behind Ashley's childhood home was! Exciting, we know, and that's just a vertical slice of all the goodness in this episode!

If you want to give Transport Tycoon a bash, head on over to OpenTTD and fill your boots.

Apologies for Ashley's grump at the beginning. He says it's hard to deal with Chris' unrelenting upbeat positivity in a world rapidly falling into decay. Happy Thursday!

 

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

2019 Xmas Special 2 - Pokémon Red (Nintendo Game Boy)

It's Chrimbo Limbo, that annual lull between Christmas and New Year where you're so full of food, fizz and festive cheer that you might not want to move. Yes, you could play one of those spanking new games you were gifted, we wouldn't blame you. But why not spend an hour with us? Find your comfy chair and settle in for a cosy Christmas treat.

Our second Christmas special of 2019 sees Ashley take us back two whole decades with Pokémon Red for the Nintendo Game Boy, a grand RPG that barely fits into the confines of the tiny system. 

Expect to hear about the surreal means by which Ashley obtained Pokémon Crystal, the sneak's guide to finding your Christmas presents and how to get away with using them before the big day, and the staggering cost of obtaining a Shadowless Charizard trading card.

So grab a bowl of Christmas pudding and your favourite tipple, hunker down in front of the fire, and while away an hour of this inbetween time with us.

Ashley's present of Pokémon cross-stitch used patterns from Birdie Stitching at: http://www.birdiestitching.com/category/cross-stitch-patterns/gaming-patterns/pokemon-patterns/

PS Chris is very sorry for defining the word 'dearth' incorrectly during the episode. Very, very sorry. Don't write in.

 

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

2019 Xmas Special 1 - Stargate (Sega Game Gear)

What do we all think about when we think of Christmas? A bloke dressed up all fancy hurtling through the air at breakneck speed, of course. And it just so happens that's how Stargates work (what do you mean 'tenuous link'?).

Join us for the first of our festive treats, a surprise sprung on you like a sprout at a summer fayre, in which we discuss everything except Stargate, a puzzle game for the Game Gear because it is honestly just abominable. Awful. Think of the worst game you know and then forget that one and replace it with this. Honestly. Don't play it. But do listen to us discuss having played it. Especially if you want to know how Chris made his nana cry at Christmas.

So grab a mince pie and a pint of custard, snuggle into your favourite seat, and relax into the festive season with us.

 

Come join us on all the usual socials – follow, like, share, subscribe, rate, review and all that, if you please:

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

Ep.6 - Burnin’ Rubber (Amstrad GX4000)

LISTENING NOTE: we had a 'technical difficulty' with this episode and the sound quality isn't what we'd like it to be. Normal service is resumed from the next episode onwards!

There's perhaps nothing better heading into the festive season than to reflect on failure. Huge, catastrophic failures that lead to the decline of large corporations but that fail to puncture the hubris of the wrinkly walnut who heads it all up. That's the backdrop for this week's episode, in which we discuss Burnin' Rubber, a decent driving game on a doomed console that tanked Amstrad's hardware business.

Over the course of our hour, we'll touch on the Philips CD-i, discuss the etymology of the word 'romp', display our complete lack of understanding of racing and share a far-too-detailed comparison of the price of many classic consoles. Plus the episode ends on a horribly tortured metaphor. Lots to look forward to!

So if the prospect of a happy Christmas is leaving you too jolly, come commiserate and wallow with us in the sweet, sweet muck that is failure.

 

Come join us on all the usual socials – follow, like, share, subscribe, rate, review and all that, if you please:

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

Ep.5 - Tails’ Adventure (Sega Game Gear)

This game where you play as a sidekick to one of the most famous video game characters of all time in a slow-paced action-RPG-adventure! This week, Chris chose to talk Ashley through Tails' Adventure, released on the Game Gear in 1995. 

While there is, of course, plenty of discussion about the game, a range of other subjects are covered from geocaching and Vinnie Jones to the now-infamous Middlemas and Link's catchphrase. Plus - we delve deep into the history of the dreaded 'Metroidvania' genre.

Does the game hold up? Is it worth playing now? What does the Queen think of other people's Christmas baubles? There's only one way to find out the answers - download / stream the episode immediately!

 

Come join us on all the usual socials – follow, like, share, subscribe, rate, review and all that, if you please:

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/

Ep.4 - Gremlins 2 (Nintendo Entertainment System)

The New Batch! This action-adventure NES game where you play as a Mogwai attempting to thwart the ambitions of your burdensome Gremlin progeny. The game (and film) is populated by a cast of mostly zany but occasionally horrifying characters, all intent on your demise.

Join Chris and Ashley as they discuss Gremlins, the work of special FX maestro Chris Walas, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and so much more over the course of an hour.

Or, if you want to skip straight to watching an episode of Come Outside, click here.

Or maybe you'd like to keep up to date with all things Gremlins, in which case you might want to visit Gremlins Online.

 

Come join us on all the usual socials – follow, like, share, subscribe, rate, review and all that, if you please:

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Music for this episode is by Stevia Sphere from the album Cell Division. You can find that and many more great tunes on their Bandcamp here: https://steviasphere.bandcamp.com/