The Experience Points Podcast

What happens in Vegas gets shared all across the internet! This week on the Experience Points Podcast, Scott and discuss the latest news and announcement from the Game Awards show and Sony's Playstation Experience event. You can prepare yourself for the show by watching the game awards show in entirety  right here . For your viewing pleasure, you can also find all the trailers for the games we dis...

In what is becoming the World Cup of the video game universe (Sorry Snake, looks like Pac Man bested you in the qualifying round), the medium’s marquee mascots have gathered once again to partake in the time honored tradition of beating the crap out of one another (this time in HD!). We got our hands on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (despite not getting our hands on a GameCube controller adapter) an...

Super Smash Bros. WiiU  came out on Friday and yet we still haven't shown our complete and utter dominance as Jigglypuff yet. Why all the rush? Because some games are just meant to be played day one. But which games and why? Join us this week on the podcast while we discuss all the reasons you want to hop into the latest games, lest you miss out on something amazing.

Like a demonic phoenix rising from a feces-laden alter,  The Binding of Isaac  has returned. Rebirth  adds cooperative play, scores of new items, and a visual remake (or de-make?). This week we return from our trip in the basement and rogue-likes, faith, and beasts of unimaginable horror.   - Here's the show's  stand-alone feed - Listen to the podcast in your browser by  left-clicking here , right...

The yearly barometer for shooters and the games industry at large is out!  Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare  just hit store shelves we are heeding our own call of duty by reviewing and discussing the latest in the multi-million dollar franchise. How advanced is it? Will we ever defeat Robo-Putin? What is the most user-friendly design of a grenade? All this and more in this week's episode!   More at...

Let’s talk about your most trustworthy companion. No, it’s not your dog or that flask you’re keeping in your jacket pocket. I’m talking about the thing that’s tucked into the corner of your vision, quietly monitoring you and keeping track of where you’re going and who you’re meeting: the mini-map. It’s a convenient tool, but how does it impact the way we impact the way we interact with a game’s wo...

This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I get up out of our seats and jump around! It's time to dissect the art and design of the perfect jump. Oh! One other thing we forgot. The EXP Podcast has reached 300 episodes! Thanks to each and every one of you that have listened to the show over the years and jumped into this crazy experiment with us. We appreciate each and every one of you and look forwa...

Your digital library might be limitless, but your entertainment center only has so much space on it.  At a certain point it’s time to box up your old consoles and join the next generation.  Before that happens, it’s worth taking a time to look back on some of the games that probably won’t make the generational leap.  Even in today’s environment of cross-platform releases and remastered releases, t...

On your lunch break? Starving for a mouth-watering podcast to sink your teeth into? Look no further! This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I head to the kitchen to discuss food in games. We round out the podcast at our usual thirty-minute mark, but there is a bounty of food topics to discuss in games. What are your favorite hunger mechanics? What are the most effective examples of eating in game...

You wake up and roll out of bed.  You strap on the rare gauntlets you found yesterday, you realize you don't have time for breakfast.  When you reach the mouth of the cave, you load your rifle and pull the trigger.  The thrall's head snaps back, it's body crumples to the ground, and you try to decide whether you hate this daily grind or whether it's the best thing in the world.  This week, we revi...

What does P.T. stand for? Podcast time! This week on the show, Scott and I explore the endless hallways of P.T. and come back with our thoughts on the Silent Hills playable teaser, the creative mind of Hideo Kojima, and what the final product might look like in its most fearsome iteration. Also, after to listen to the podcast, come back and watch the YouTube analysis of the game by Marszie in the...

Image from Flickr user  Georg Sander "Well-weathered leather.  Hot metal and oil.  The scented country air.  Sunlight on chrome.  The blur of the landscape.  Every nerve aware."  Don't worry, we're not turning the podcast into a prog-rock analysis show.  However, we are using this episode to talk about cars.  Specifically, how video games might preserve automobile history as they change.  This lea...

You thought buying a full priced game was expensive? Microsoft just bought Mojang, and Minecraft along with them, for 2.5 billion dollars. That is way more money than I spent to play the game. So how does Microsoft plan on making it worth their while? This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I are joined by a guest to discuss the future of Minecraft, what it can mean for players, and the secret lif...

Babysitting has never been so stressful. It’s been a long and deadly road, but we’ve finally made it to the finale of The Walking Dead, Season 2. It’s the culmination of all the big questions: How does Clem adapt to increasingly adult responsibilities? How do you know when to stick with the group and when to strike out alone? Is alcohol the solution to dealing with the zombie apocalypse? We wouldn...

The football season is back, but the eSports  League of Legends  season is almost coming to a close. Now I can go from sitting in a room watching strangers play a video game to sitting in a room watching strangers play a sports ball game. How different, really, are the two experiences? And what will eSports look like when we consider it a "past time"? All this and more on this week's EXP Podcast!

"After I no-scoped that noob I broke down and cried." Can games inspire catharsis?  If you mean expel bodily fluids, then yes, I suppose it's an inevitability.  For the sake of your couch, I wouldn't recommend it.  Instead, why not look to games for emotional catharsis?  It's a question posed by Critical Distance in  this month's Blogs of the Round Table .  We decided to join the conversation and...

Did you see that amazing and gorgeous looking trailer from Gamescom!? It was a fully rendered marvel! I can't wait to see how it will look in the much more limited and realistic setting of the actual game, you know, we can finally know what it is, right? This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I discuss cinematics in games, what they can offer games before and after release, and more. Have some th...

If you look closely, you can see the ghost drivers. Video games are often considered a form of escapism, but what about the games that attempt to painstakingly model the small intricacies of the real world?  Jorge and I aren’t very experienced when it comes to conducting virtual trains, piloting virtual planes, or growing virtual grains, but we are very much fascinated by the strong interest in si...

Your bank account is slowly tricking away into nothing. Can you even remember all the services you subscribe to, right now, off the top of your head? This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I discuss all the ways we pay for games and services in more than one lump sum. We also touch upon potential value of EA Access coming to Xbox One. As always, we encourage you to subscribe to this very podcast...

Image from  Tell Tale Join us “Amid the Ruins” for a discussion on episode 4 of The Walking Dead's second season.  As the title suggests, this episode deals with the consequences of some very dramatic events.  Characters come and go and we talk about our interpretations of Clementine’s development and her potential fate.  We also posit some pretty innovative dairy farming theories.   - Subscribe t...

Destiny  is still more than a month away from release, but already there is so much to talk about! This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I delve into our early thoughts about the game. Is it living up to the anticipation? Does the look and feel adhere to the high standards we've set for Bungie? Where is that wizard from again? The Moon?

Everyone open your creative writing journals, it's time to answer a question: "What does 'free' mean to you?"  It's a question the UK's Advertising Standards Association answered in their analysis of EA's recent  Dungeon Keeper  remake.  The game was advertised as "free," but the ASA's ruling found otherwise, saying that the ad was "likely to create a game experience for non-spenders that did not...

The occasional strangeness of  Valiant Hearts We launch these  podcasts  every week, but still there is never enough time to touch on every game we play, even if they make an impression. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I take some time out of our regular schedule to chat about a variety of games we've been playing lately, from one " fall " to  another . Let us know how you've been spending...

As a relative outsider, I see Notch as an almost-mythical figure.  Here is a being who created a system of divine rules upon which millions have built their own worlds.  Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but it seems fair to say that Notch has a sizable following of people who are very invested in the game as well as his public image as a lawyer-trolling, Facebook-hating advocate for independent games....

The granddaddy of kart racing is back!  Mario Kart 8  just made its triumphant return to the Wii U recently, and Scott and I got a chance to blast our way through a variety of tracks. Suffice it to say it made enough of an impression to fuel an entire podcast episode, which you can check out below.    And of course we want to hear from you. What do you think of  Mario Kart 8 ? Does it replace your...