The Back Page: A Video Games Podcast

In this sequel episode to 'Games Review Scores We Got Wrong', hear more about our process of assigning scores to classic games as we pick out the times we got it right. It's two men, getting defensive about old review scores. What makes a better podcast than that? This week's music is from the Resident Evil 6 soundtrack by Akihiko Narita and the Metal Gear Rising Revengeance so...

PC Gamer's Phil Savage joins us for a Yakuza-themed special episode, which covers pretty much the entire history of Sega's series as it finds new fans on Xbox Game Pass. Hear about the 5 best games in the Yakuza series, and learn about the best starting point if you're a new fan. This week's music is from the Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6 soundtracks by Hidenori Shoji. Hosted on Acast....

This week, we discuss 10 of our best games magazine covers, and explore the stories of how they each got made. Hear about how issues of PC Gamer, Official Xbox Magazine and Official Nintendo Magazine came together. See the covers discussed in this episode for yourself here :  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/backpagegames/back-page-covers-from-heaven/   This week's music is from the Nights: Journe...

With the PS3 and PS Vita stores both closing this summer, here are 10 games worth grabbing before the digital storefronts vanish forever. We also discuss the disappointing form that led to Sony's decision to do this, and ponder what console manufacturers actually owe us when it comes to preserving their old games. This week's music is from the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack by Takanari Ishi...

You sent in 31 questions about gaming, ranging from demo discs to how games are reviewed, and we answered them! This week, we pause for breath, and just enjoy a Q&A with our listeners. Regular service resumes next week. It's a very straightforward episode, but it covers a wide range of subjects, even if it's about 30 minutes longer than it should be. This week's music is from th...

The Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old this month in the US and Europe, and in this episode, we're counting down the system's best games. We're joined by a special guest (and former employee of Matthew's) to supercharge our Nintendo expertise: IGN's Joe Skrebels! Hear about the history of this system, and learn about the many highlights of its library. This week's music...

This week's episode is all about interviewing the people who make games. Are we good at it? What makes a great interview? From Phil Spencer to Yuji Horii, too, you'll hear about 10 of the most notable exchanges we've had while working in the games media over the years. This week's music is from the Super Smash Bros Brawl soundtrack by Takahiro Nishi, Shogo Sakai, Masaaki Iwasak...

Samuel Roberts stands accused of crimes against good taste – will the honorable judge Matthew Castle find him innocent or guilty, based on 18 dodgy eBay games purchases made over the past 12 months? We also talk about the idea of collecting games generally in this episode, and reveal how big our Steam libraries are.  This week's music is from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack by Lex...

From Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to Crackdown, which were the best games of 2007? Matthew and Samuel share their top 10 lists, and delve into their memories of covering the early days of HD console gaming.  This week's music is from the God Hand soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda, the Halo 3 soundtrack by Marty O'Donnell and the Hotel Dusk: Room 415 soundtrack by Satoshi Ok...

The long-awaited Nintendo Direct hit this week, and we've picked out 12 highlights for discussion, from No More Heroes 3 to Skyward Sword HD. It's definitely not just an excuse to hear some more of Matthew's great Nintendo thoughts and anecdotes, but hey, it's a nice bonus. This week's music is from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yo...

Mario's greatest Wii U outing has landed on the Nintendo Switch, and this week, we discuss its place in the 3D Mario pantheon. Is it better than Galaxy? Definitely not. Odyssey? Nope. But it is still pretty great.  We also talk about the challenges of writing about Mario with our first ever guest, Katharine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun! This week's music is from the Super Mario 3D World...

Our two top 30 games of the generation lists conclude this week, as we each read out our personal 15 best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U.  This week's music is from the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack by Shiho Fujii, Atsuko Asahi, Shinji Hosoe, Ryo Nagamatsu and Yasuaki Iwata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack by Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata and Hajime Wakai.  Hosted on Acast....

Two top 30 lists of the best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U from the past 7 or 8 years – this episode covers games 30-16 on both our lists. Part 2 is coming next Friday. Enjoy. This week's music is from the Prey soundtrack by Mick Gordon, the Danganronpa V3 soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and the Final Fantasy XV soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

We've both played a lot of Hitman 3, and in this episode, we celebrate IO Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy and explore why it's one of modern gaming's greatest achievements. If you're a fan of Agent 47's many murders of nasty billionaires, this episode is for you. This week's music is from the Hitman 2 soundtrack by Niels Bye Nielsen. Hosted on Acast....

Matthew and Samuel discuss the art of making covers for games magazines. See the covers discussed in the episode for yourself using this link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/backpagegames/the-back-page-magazine-covers/ If you're having trouble using the link on your podcasting app of choice, you'll also find them on Twitter @BackPagePod. This week's music is from the Pillars of Eternit...

In this 2021 preview episode, we sum up what's new with the next-gen consoles (and PC! And Nintendo!) in the coming 12 months. We also serve up 21 gaming predictions for the next year – from Cyberpunk 2077 DLC to Master Chief appearing in Smash Bros, it's all based on very few facts, and we hope you enjoy it.  This week's music is from the Baldur's Gate 3 soundtrack by Borislav...

Wow, 2020 was the worst! Luckily, the games were pretty good, and in this episode, we each count down our personal top 10s of the year. From Doom Eternal to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, start off 2021 by capping off the last 12 months of fantastic games. This week's music is from the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu and the themes of Destiny 2's Prophecy dungeon by Michael Sechrist...

The story of CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is now much bigger than the game itself. Still, in this episode, Matthew discusses his 70 hours playing the glitchy but nonetheless fascinating game, while Samuel throws questions at him about the game's best quests and why it's not a very good immersive sim. In the second half, we discuss the ways in which writing about big games has cha...

From Twilight Princess to Gears of War, travel back to the dawn of HD gaming in our 2006-themed retrospective podcast. Matthew and Samuel both count down their top 10 games from that year, and recall the biggest news headlines, from Peter Moore's ludicrous GTA 4 tattoo to the PS3's pricing disaster. Get ready for a comfy 2.5 hours of nostalgia (hopefully not in an unbearable way).  This...

IO Interactive: nobody does it better? James Bond is the theme of this week's episode, as we discuss the Hitman developer's recently announced 007 game, and what it might look like. We also delve into the history of Bond on consoles and PC. Predictably, GoldenEye 007 comes up, but so too do the deeply average PS2-era likes of 007 Nightfire and Everything or Nothing. Plus! Jokes about Geo...

What goes into awarding a game a 7/10 review score? And what happens when you get it wrong? This week, we discuss 10 or so games where the review scores we decided on many years ago didn't stand the test of time. From Epic Mickey to Metal Gear Solid 4, it's a spicy podcast. This week's music is from the MGS4 soundtrack by Nobuka Toda. Our logo is by John Strike. Hosted on Acast. See...

Two next-generation consoles just launched: the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, both of which have sold out worldwide. We've played games on each, and this week we talk about their launch line-up, as well as the history of each company's consoles. Plus: which console had the best launch line-up of games ever ? The answer may or may not surprise you. This week's music comes from the Assas...