Chapter Select

The Internet is divided over the perceived quality of first-time director Simon McQuoid’s new adaptation of the Mortal Kombat IP. Some have declared it a masterpiece, others say it’s as bad as Annihilation. Randy and Jens find both of those positions needlessly hyperbolic, but they also still find plenty to disagree about. The usually 30-day promotional free offer for Amazon Music Unlimited is cur...

“After all… why not?” Jens remarked while perusing his backlog. “Why shouldn’t I make Randy play a VanillaWare game?” Jens was, of course, a long time fan of VanillaWare and Atlus. He had fond memories of playing the original Odin Sphere fourteen years prior. He’d long internalized it as one of the “Great Games.” PVC representations of its cast of characters adorned his shelves, not far from his s...

Long before Paul W.S. Anderson was a Wife Guy, when he was but an ambitious young filmmaker with a single independent hit (Shopping) under his belt, he managed a surprise smash hit that would come to define his career as a blockbuster director. That movie was Mortal Kombat. Derided by critics but embraced by fans at the time, it made $122 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. It is still reg...

Randy and Jens finally get back into just the type of game the Chapter Select show format was made for: a charming little puzzler of scale with a universally recognizable story about love and loss. A spirited discussion ensues on whether this Maquette is fully fleshed out or whether it is still a preliminary model. Please go help support the show and the entire W2M Network by taking advantage of o...

This week, Randy and Jens finally examine a relatively well-regarded video game adaptation. W2MNet's Marc Morrison calls it "one of the top 5 best video game adaptations." Meninists call it "the one that beat Birds of Prey." It made 320 million dollars worldwide. Is this exalted status justified? Jens has a laundry list of reasons why the answer is "no," but Randy's gut says "maybe." Listen for mo...

In these dark and troubling times, we stay sane by appreciating the little things in life. For instance, at no point during the 2.5D puzzle platformer The Pedestrian did the main character die of thirst or break their weapon. And isn’t it nice being able to fit a game into a single satisfying evening? Jens and Randy discuss. Please go help support the show and the entire W2M Network by taking adva...

Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter follows the tomboyish Captain Natalie Artemis who, along with her team of wise-cracking UN soldiers, is whisked away to high adventure in The New World, where they encounter monsters, magic, epic battles, and perhaps even romance? Severed from their everyday life, Artemis’ troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome man known...

Randy and Jens have each put about eight hours into Dark Cloud. Randy is enjoying himself. Jens hates his every second of playing the game with a fiery passion. Will the differences between them become irreconcilable? Could this be the tragic end of Chapter Select? Keep listening to find out. Advertising spots: 00:30 - Amazon Music Unlimited - Go to getamazonmusic.com/w2mnetwork for your free 90 d...

The final battle for the fate of humanity is upon us, and so is the end of our journey. It was long and arduous, full of pain and confusion, but its purpose has finally been revealed. After a four-year sabbatical to hone his narrative craft, Paul W.S. Anderson pulls away the curtain one last time like a master magician to show us just how everyone’s fates, desires, and destinies are intertwined. W...

Previously on Chapter Select, Jens challenged Randy to complete Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on Jedi Master difficulty within a fortnight. That time is now up for our intrepid hero. Will Randy emerge from his ordeal with his head held high and an appetite for more? You’ll have to listen to find out. In the episode’s B plot, Jens harbors the delusion that the show’s newfound sponsors imbue it with...

Randy and Jens continue down the dark path of Resident Evil movies with Resident Evil: Retribution. Alice continues to battle Umbrella while the guys continue to battle to understand how any of the movies make any sense. Jens gets upset at the continued retconning going on by Paul W.S. Anderson while Randy loses all sense of hope as a veritable who's who of characters from the games get shoehorned...

In picking Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Jens hoped that Randy would take his first step into a larger world: the world of Soulslikes. Will Randy internalize the lesson to do or do not, there is no try? Will Jens spend the bulk of the podcast comparing Fallen Order to other games? And what’s the deal with Cere Junda? Listen to perhaps find out.

Resident Evil: Afterlife marks Paul W.S. Anderson’s glorious return to the director’s chair, stuffing the series’ first 3D installment to the brim with gimmicky nonsense. Randy and Jens discuss.

Randy and Jens embark on a pacificatory journey through the indie darling Undertale. Along the way, both find a lot to like, but also totally different things to dislike.

Paul W.S. Anderson relinquishes his directing duties once again, but this time to actual real director Russell Mulcahey (Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, The Shadow). The result is a weird outlier for the series that features some of its most competently assembled set pieces. Unfortunately, it is still written by Anderson, who contradicts himself and barely moves the overarching plot for...

Randy is so happy that we are at the end of Cyberpunk 2077, but what did Jens think of the ending to Night City?

The guys follow the T-Virus into Raccoon City. The second video game took big steps forward for the franchise. Did the second movie do the same or did it take a Nemesis-sized dump? Find out what Jens and Randy think when they review Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

It's the most contentious episode of Chapter Select yet, as Jens turns into a full-blown CDProjektRed apologist in the face of Randy's vexations with Cyberpunk 2077. Most of the episode consists of general gameplay impressions, bug nitpicking, and Sunday Morning Quarterbacking the development decisions. When the guys finally get to the plot, they end up covering Act One and its early aftermath in...

This week Jens and Randy go down a Tyrant-sized rabbit hole as they start their journey through the entire Resident Evil movie franchise. Randy believed the first movie was the only "Ok" one in the series, but after revisiting The Hive does he still feel that way?

Astounding plot revelations abound in the second half of Binary Domain, raising fascinating questions about transhumanism and what makes a robot a robot. In the course of their discussion, Jens makes an impassioned case to Randy for Binary Domain being counted among similar great works of science fiction such as Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell. Caveat: in the process Jens ends up SPOILING Blad...

Randy and Jens check out the anime adaptation of Animal Crossing by Jōji Shimura, the director of Tamagotchi: The Movie (stay tuned for that one at some point in the future of this show). While they agree a valiant effort was made to adapt the game’s story, and to include as much fan-service and as many recognizable characters as possible, a spirited argument arises around the big questions “Who i...

Armed with a laundry list of complaints, Randy confronts Jens about his pick for this week’s assignment: the cult-classic sci-fi 3rd person shooter Binary Domain from Toshihiro Nagoshi and the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. While empathetic to Randy’s less than ideal experience on PC, Jens nonetheless makes an impassioned case defending a favorite underdog of a game.

Randy has never played a single Wing Commander game. Jens has been a die-hard fan of the series since the ‘90s. Together, they complain about its 1999 film adaptation by none other than series creator Chris Roberts himself.

Despite various setbacks, Randy and Jens finish The Evil Within and try to make sense of its story. Whether or not they succeed in the latter is for you to judge. They also talk about their favorite bosses, how the game lived up to their expectations, and if it whets their appetites for the sequel. They also talk about some other games they’ve been playing, such as Dragon: Marked for Death and Cra...

After 2007’s Like a Dragon, one may understandably be skeptical about Takashi Miike adapting yet another story-heavy classic game. However, in the case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Miike decides to stick lovingly to the source material, much to Randy and Jens’s surprise and delight. Listen to them expound on the finer points of what will be a difficult yardstick to beat for future contenders t...