Bullet Time

On this episode of Bullet Time, we go head-to-head with Nintendo Software Technology’s 2006 shooter Metroid Prime Hunters. Special guest  @Darkfry  (host of podcast Video Gems) joins James and guest host Ben to examine this spinoff of a Metroid spinoff, and in a first for the podcast a fully actualised portable FPS game. The three discuss annoying platform sections, cool bounty hunters, and how gr...

In this special series finale, James and Tehsnakerer present their Free Radical Design Ltd power rankings. Once and for all, they’ll decide which game covered in the mini-series deserves to be remembered by future generations. TehSnakerer: https://www.youtube.com/user/tehsnakerer hotcyder: https://twitter.com/HotCyder Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hotcyder

Our Free Radical Design mini-series comes to a close with 2016’s Homefront: The Revolution.  James and guest host TehSnakerer dissect this open-world reboot that passed from THQ to Crytek before landing in the hands of a now rebranded Dambuster Studio. The pair rank its place in the pantheon of Ubisoft collectathons, the state of AAA shooters, and answer what if any TimeSplitters DNA exists i...

Our Free Radical Design mini-series reaches its first major casualty with 2008’s Haze. Special guest AboveUp joins James and guest host TehSnakerer to dissect what went wrong with the supposed Halo Killer that ended up killing its developers. Listen to hear a mild-mannered podcast host get radicalised into a gamer, thanks to Haze’s tortured development, charmless gameplay asides, and a lost era of...

Our Free Radical Design mini-series reaches its titular game with 2005’s TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. Special guest Charlie from YouTube channel Purposeless Rabbitholes joins James and guest host TehSnakerer to go long on this end to the TS Trilogy. The three cover everything from their favourite MP characters, Future Perfect’s many mechanical flourishes, how EA mucked up Free Radical’s chances...

Our Free Radical Design mini-series goes deep into a psychic conspiracy with 2004’s Second Sight. Special guest Minimme joins James and guest host TehSnakerer to chat about this title’s narrative ambitions, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, and main character John Vattic’s sheer nerd power. A spoiler warning that the game’s very neat plot twist will be spoiled after the 1:15:00 mark. Minimme on Yo...

Our Free Radical Design mini-series continues with TimeSplitters’ immediate sequel, aptly titled TimeSplitters 2. Special guest MrHammers joins James and guest host TehSnakerer to discuss multiplayer map memories, who’d win in a hypothetical deathmatch, the games of 2002, and James makes a case for why this title should be the Tetris of FPS games. Hammers on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MrHam...

For this new mini-series, we take a look at the work of Nottingham based Free Radical Design Ltd. Formed by ex-Rare staffers responsible for the groundbreaking GoldenEye 007, we travel back in time to their very first solo release: 2000’s Timesplitters. James and guest host Tehsnakerer do their best to avoid comparing this game to its successor, debate its credentials as a boomer shooter, celebrat...

On this episode of Bullet Time, we go to war on vicious cultists with 1997’s Blood, the first (person) shooter from Monolith Productions. Special guest Chris Franklin from the YouTube channel Errant Signal joins James and guest host Kevin to dig into the game’s horror influences, Blood’s place in the shooter canon, its Nightdive remaster, and whether Blood is better than Duke Nukem 3D. Chris on Yo...

On this episode of Bullet Time, special guest and horror expert* Pim from YouTube channel PimsCrypt joins James and guest host HeyItMeBen to venture into the horror of MercurySteam’s 2007 shooter Clive Barker’s Jericho. As the three explore the terrifying realm of the box, they discuss Miyamoto’s toilet design, the Xbox 360 era, and Ben grades James on his metacritic score retention. *in relation...

On this episode of Bullet Time, special guest Mitch Cramer from YouTube channel HeavyEyed forms a new G-Unit with James and guest host TehSnakerer to discuss Swordfish Studio’s 2009 shooter 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. Along the way, the three celebrate the game’s arcade sensibilities, NBA2K16 Livin' da Dream, and what prestige shooters could have benefited from Fiddy's inclusion. James also promot...

In this special series finale, James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) present their Raven Software power rankings. Once and for all, they’ll decide which game covered in the mini-series really sums up what is So Raven. PixelLit: https://www.pixellitpod.com/ hotcyder: https://twitter.com/HotCyder

Our Raven Software mini-series comes to a close with their final original title: the time-bending FPS Singularity. Special guest Jesse Guarascia of the NoClip Podcast joins James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) to dissect the games overly ambitious origins, demand Phil Spencer bring back the prototyped Baby Gun, and feel a sense of ennui at the state of the video game charts in 2010. NoClip P...

Get Psyched! Our Raven Software mini-series finally tackles one of the biggest names in video games: Wolfenstein! No, not Wolfenstein 3D, or Return to Castle Wolfenstein, or the games in the New Order series, but the now legally unavailable 2009’s Wolfenstein. Special guest Jacob Geller joins James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) to talk about this supernatural adventure game. The three fail...

Our Raven Software mini-series trundles on as we hit their first big misfire: 2005’s Quake 4. James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) do their best to put a positive spin on a game that stars mash potato Billy Corgan in Chocolate Hell, and debate whether this fourth outing in the groundbreaking Quake series is actually a work of subversive genius (spoilers: not quite). Episode features a spirit...

Welcome to the party, pal! On this festive edition of Bullet Time, James and co-hosts Kevin (from PixelLit) and TehSnakerer take an extensive look at Bits Studio's 2002 licensed shooter Die Hard: Vendetta (featuring Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. Al Powell). The three do their best Alan Rickman impressions, their worst Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions, and make a case for what Nintendophiles called...

Our Raven Software mini-series returns to a galaxy far, far away with 2003’s Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy. Special guest Aranock joins Jedi Padawan James and guest sith Kevin (from PixelLit) to crush on this successor to Jedi Outcast. We ask: did Jedi Academy lay the groundwork for Superhero Games? Did this game inspire the Call of Duty devs to make Titanfall? And what does Emperor Palpatine tast...

Our Raven Software mini-series goes into hyperdrive with 2002’s Dark Forces III: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Special guest Willow from the Youtube channel Questing Refuge join James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) to talk about the greatness of its lightsabre, the not so greatness of its shooting and platforming, and bemoan not making any Outkast jokes the entire episode. Willow on YouTube:...

Our Raven Software mini-series boldly goes where no podcast has gone before(?) with 2000’s Star Trek Voyager: Elite Forces. Evelynn from the Youtube channel IamError once again joins James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) to help them find a positive word to say about the game. Collector John: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChmiUboO0fmvJZYhjmv2W2Q IamError on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com...

Our Raven Software mini-series heads into dangerous territory with 2000’s Soldier of Fortune. James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) take aim at the controversy surrounding this release, but mostly poke fun at the exploits of the game’s real-world mercenary John Mullins. PixelLit: https://www.pixellitpod.com/ hotcyder: https://twitter.com/HotCyder Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hotcyder

Our Raven Software mini-series continues with 1997’s sequel to Hexen, aptly titled Hexen II. James and guest host Kevin (from PixelLit) play Devil and Angel respectively to this ambitious but awkward follow-on, talk about how the box-art calls to mind a terrible promotional shot, the rockstar power of John Romero, and an American explains to a British person the award winning musical Hamilton. Pix...

For our first mini-series, we take a look at the work of Wisconsin based Raven Software. Best known today for working on the Call of Duty franchise, we start our exploration of their early releases with two collaberations with FPS Pioneers id Software: 1994s Heretic and 1995s Hexen: Beyond Heretic. Special guest Evelynn from the Youtube channel IamError join James and guest host Kevin (from PixelL...

On this episode of Bullet Time, we’re out for frontier justice with LucasArts’ 1997 shooter Outlaws. James is joined by special guests ZacFraizer and ChariotRider to talk about this fond favourite of yesteryear. Thes cowboys also discuss orangutan proportions, remaking nuketown in other FPS games, and postcard 3D, whilst James officiates who'll be co-host for the episode. ChariotRider on YouTube:...

On this Halloween appropriate episode of Bullet Time, we exorcise N-Space and Nintendo’s 2005 shooter Geist. Special guest Razbuten joins James and guest host Ben to ask whether Nintendo will ever attempt a mature leaning FPS title again. The boys also learn how enormously popular Cricket videogames were in the month of August 2005. Razbuten on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/razbuten Razbut...

On this episode of Bullet Time, we take aim at Criterion Games’ 2006 shooter BLACK. Aptly named special guest Hamish Black from the YouTube channel Writing on Games joins James and guest host TehSnakerer to discuss the game that was to do for the FPS what Burnout did for Racing Games. Along the way, the three discuss Hideo Kojima's Breaking Bad, misfit soundtracks, copious debris, and Hamish’s new...