QCF: Nescape

hen most think of the NES, they'll likely imagine platformers, side-scrollers and turn-based RPGs. Nintendo's premier console did, after all, introduce us to the very roots of these genres as we know them today while also restoring our faith in video games as a whole after the 1980s game crash.

Some titles, however, were more experimental than others – more specifically, those of the point-and-click genre. Two that immediately come to mine are the console ports of King's Quest V and Shadowgate, in addition to Manic Mansion from Lucasfilm Games.

One could consider NEScape! a faithful ode to any of these titles now available in the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Live libraries, albeit with a much more docile feel. In short, it truly is an "escape room" for the NES.

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PPR Presents The Golden Zonkies: Class Of 2022

ow that we’ve torn all of the pages off of our 2022 Bluey licensed Calendars, we’ve jumped ahead into a whole new January filled with work, fatigue, and the occasional video game or two set the vibe to 2023 with. While we’ve definitely had some negative things to say about the last couple of years—we took a few steps to help steady ourselves against the increase chaos in our civilian lives, and in the process, those small sabbaticals we did take as a team have really did a lot to refresh both our minds, and our souls.

We finally took a big step forward with some of the equipment we were able to obtain, and we’re hoping to bring y’all that promised regular video content that we’ve been teasing the last couple of years. In the meantime, a new year means a new class of Golden Zonkies to pass out, including the Press Pause Radio Golden Zonkey for Game of the Year! So without further ado, let’s get into the unofficial rules of our official awards:

In case y’all don’t remember the updated flow from the last couple of years, we have changed up our format and have done away with categories!  Now, bear in mind, we’re still giving our prestigious mark of excellence, a Golden Zonkey, to the games that are deserving of recognition, only, we’re not doing by a respective genre, or category. Instead, we will be giving them out in a personal list format by each of us in the podcast, and we’ll be spending time discussing why we picked the titles we did within a countdown of three.

 Normally we would have done a roundtable of games that were worth a quick mention from the year, but we decided to mention them in passing instead, along with some not-so-honorable-mentions (we also chose a few more not mentioned on the show to include in the post!) We will then award the “Golden Zonkey of The Year” in a unanimous vote that was similar to the previous format, and conclude the show from there.

Thanks again for listening to us gab on about our favorite time-wasters from last year. May we do what we can to capture both your ears AND eyes this on Press Pause Radio with all the neat shit we have in store—love ya! 

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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PPR 144

nstead of going all of those clichéd “Remember when you could drink water from the Garden Hose” sayings, we’re just going to stick with something way less hacky, and far more direct—everything is WAY too fucking expensive right now…

ESPECIALLY Video Games, like, who fucking needs to spend $100 on Marvel’s War of the Gems for SNES right now?!

Luckily, with life hacks like working over 60 hours a week at our Day Job without dying, creating  Professional-grade Arcade Stick controllers out of used Pizza boxes, and checking games out from your local Library for the low, low price of free, the Press Pause Radio staff have been able to weather the cruel wrath of inflation with some bangers.

Join Andrew, Ed, and George as they discuss everything they’ve been playing for this week’s episode of Press Pause Radio, with some choice titles like Splatoon 3, Spider-Man Miles Morales, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss, Mega Man 5, Saints Row, Trouble Witches Neo, Super Mario World: A Plumber For All Seasons, Multiversus, and more!

So enjoy the show and pay those credit cards, because soon you’ll need to start marking down those Holiday releases—Winter is about to hit us HARD with some big-time releases!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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PPR 143

ey all—it’s certainly…been a while since we released an episode, and for that we truly apologize. The Press Pause Radio staff has been contending with a “Life comes at you fast” sort of deal the last two months and well, we went on an unplanned hiatus. The good news is that we’re back, and not only are we back but some of the new production equipment we’ve been teasing over the past year is here!

Aside from a few remaining parts and software, we’re finally ready to start regularly producing video content again, and we couldn’t be happier. Speaking of budgeting for the future, in this episode we gather around with wallets in hand to talk about current subscription-based pricing models for the online features offered from the big three console platforms—the PlayStation Plus series, The Xbox GamesPass selection, and Nintendo Switch Online/Expansion Pass.

Join Andrew, George, and Sean as they debate the advantages and disadvantages of each service while clutching at our Savings Account, and try to land on which service gives you the most bang for your space bucks here on Press Pause Radio episode 143!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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PPR 142

ight before Geoff Keighly kicked off his Summer Throat Stroke™, we all scrambled to gather some of our thoughts on what we’ve been playing while we can because unlike the droughts we’ve seen in the years before 2022, we’re in for a flood of titles dropping onto shelves this summer.

Setting aside the real-life struggles of Covid-19 recovery and Car purchases, George and Andrew took the time to go over their thoughts on Sony’s latest State of lay, and all of the neat stuff they’ve been playing. This episode features talk about the Playdate, Trek to Yomi, Nintendo 3DS eShop sunset, Steam Deck, Crimson Shroud, Nintendo Switch Sports, Overcooked, Donut Dodo, Tempest 2000, Pokémon GO, Street Fighter VI impressions, and so much more!

Make sure you’ve got your suntan lotion and your mask handy while you enjoy Episode 142 of Press Pause Radio in the smoldering-ass sun!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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House Show: That's Not Ciclope!

o we've been away for a bit, sorry about that everyone. But just like George's favorite wrestler Dean Malenko in that match against Jericho, we have returned! This is a catch-up episode where we just try to touch base on everything that has happened over the last several months, including Cody Rhodes going back to WWE, that recent MJF promo and Kingston trying to commit a gasoline-fueled crime on PPV. Hope everyone is doing well and hope to be back with more regular episodes soon!

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Parallax Pilgrimage: The Timeless Charm of 2.5D Action Video Games

sn’t it just wild what a simple addition or twist can do for a recognized formula? Just look at what tossing in a splash of Lime or Vanilla to a can of Pepsi does for the drink—the same cola base is there, only now it offers a whole new perspective to its taste, and they did this all without completely reinventing the wheel either. It took Pepsi forty years to come up with the idea, while the brilliant minds of the Video Game industry came up with their “Pepsi Lime” moment in thirty-seven with the 2.5D Platformer.

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PPR 141

ven though some Video Games that are so good that you just want to play them over and over again, you can’t help but wish for them to get some tinkering under the hood to supe’ them up with the times. Luckily, there are plenty of titles getting new life again for the High Definition screen and a slew of other improvements for audiences both old and new, especially for some of those “Deep Cuts” that didn’t get their fair shake the first time around like Klonoa Phantasy Reverie or Pocky & Rocky Reshrined.

Still, there are a ton of other titles that could use the Remaster treatment, and we each have our own little personal wish list of software that we want to get a fresh coat of paint to share with y’all here on the latest episode of Press Pause Radio. Join Ed, Ren, and George as they go over a rundown of some cult-classics and sleeper-hits primed for the Ninth Generation of gaming!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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