PPR Presents Play Play: Sunset Overdrive

hat do you get when you smash a trigger-happy trampoline town up with a shit load of pop-rocks and Tang? An awful mess; that’s what you’ll get, an awful, mess…

Or maybe you’ll get Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive! Yeah, that’s it!

Join Andrew and George as they discuss the merits and fallings of the Xbox One Exclusive at a glance, and dive deep into the cooperative multiplayer, singularly-driven open-world action games, and George’s creepy love affair with Jorts.

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!

QCF: Sunset Overdrive

t’s no secret that I take a particularly guilty joy out of the dichotomy that defines the éclat of video games—it’s a pretty silly identity crisis that I can’t but find amusing. On one hand, I want to the art and impact that video games create to continually expand into legitimate expression of art that can stand on par with some of the greatest literature and film ever produced by mankind, and yet on the other, I still want games to indulge into some of the stupidest shit imaginable.

Sure, that sounds unreasonably flippant, since making headway in one of directions would congruently set back the other, but I’d like to think that we can live in a world where gaming can cater to both of these worlds respectively—Insomniac’s Xbox One exclusive, Sunset Overdrive, is living proof of that.

Yeah, we live in a world where things like Deadpool and Tumblr have saturated our culture with facetious satire and fourth-wall humor to an obnoxiously pandering degree, but the latest effort from the same people behind Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, is one of the most refreshing games to have released in 2014. A world and action woven by the over-the-top chaos and fiction of this modern open-world odyssey of caffeine and attention-deficit youth has all the makings that truly define the special kind of enchantment that only a video game could offer.

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QCF: Bayonetta 2

here are certain games that are fully aware of the audience they’re intended for—the original Bayonetta was such a title.  The impression of vivacious action and the great deal of spectacle its sultry violence spurs on is the kind of experience that indulges in the very unique spirit of expressionism that can only be realized by video games.

And yet ironically, despite the many eccentric nuances exclusive to the culture of gaming that it did celebrate, it’s appeal and accessibility was arguably a bit niche-sized at best, finding a home within the hearts of only the most hardcore of action fans.

Bayonetta 2 rectifies a great deal of that with Nintendo’s influence, and much to the delight of everyone involved or interested for that matter, it doesn’t compromise any of the distinctive dynamics or personality of the Umbra Witch—quite the opposite actually.

The trifecta of Nintendo, Sega, and Platinum collaboration has not only produced title made of everything that a sequel should be, but Bayonetta 2’s subtle improvements help propel the approachability of it adrenaline-soaked quest into a significantly wider spectrum of player skill and interest that’s good enough to land the Wii U on some wish lists for this holiday season.

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