#torusgames — Public Fediverse posts

Grand Theft Auto 5 is leaving Xbox Game Pass in April, as well as two other fantastic RPGs

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.eurogamer.net/grand-theft-auto-5-leaving-xbox-game-pass-april

Fantastic 4 Flame On with Scott Niswander (NerdSync, It’s (Probably) Not Aliens)



Picture this: it’s the early 2000s, the first Fantastic Four film is about to hit theaters, and someone at a video game developer says, “You know what would be the perfect way to capitalize on this intellectual property? A side-scrolling action game on the Game Boy Advance where Reed Richards appears to have been replaced by his less scientifically-inclined brother in law (close enough, give me this one) and the Thing is made entirely of texture-mapping nightmares.” Congratulations, you’ve just invented Fantastic Four Flame On! It’s a game that managed to take four of Marvel’s most iconic heroes and somehow make them feel more constipated than a chemistry lecture taught underwater.

Joining us this week is the absolutely phenomenal Scott Niswander from NerdSync (the man who can explain the entire Marvel mythos while simultaneously making you question why the Human Torch doesn’t just solve every problem by setting it on fire) and It’s (Probably) Not Aliens (where not even Sue Storm’s force fields could save Ancient Aliens from the debunking). Together we’ll navigate a game so baffling in its design choices that you’ll start wondering if the developers were actually aliens trying to understand human entertainment and coming up just slightly short of the mark.

Will our heroes discover that the Game Boy Advance’s technical limitations somehow made this game better than it had any right to be? Can Scott explain why this game exists in a way that doesn’t make all of our brains feel like Alicia Masters trying to sculpt in the dark? And most importantly, does “Flame On” actually let you catch things on fire in any meaningful way, or is it just an elaborate metaphor for combusting under pressure? Strap yourself in for an episode more chaotic than trying to explain Fox’s Fantastic Four continuity to anyone born after 2010.

Learn such things as:

• How do you make the Human Torch work in a side-scroller without just turning it into a horizontal beam-spam simulator?
• Did Fox’s movie curse extend all the way down to the humble Game Boy Advance?
• How did Johnny Storm have time to do all this stuff considering the timeline of the movie?
• And so much more!

You can find Scott at The NerdSync YouTube channel, on Twitter @NerdSync or on the NerdSync Patreon page. Also check out  It’s (Probably) Not Aliens to hear Scott and Tristan Johnson debunk Ancient Aliens.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads ,@playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Gender Pop and Distant Echos for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who would make Jiffy Pop with just his hands if he had fire powers.

Spider-Man Battle for New York with Jarett Tyree (Has to Do With Spider-Man, I Think)

Welcome, web-slinging console warriors and handheld hop-scotchers! Prepare your cartridges and grab your controllers, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving into the gloriously chaotic streets of New York with Spider-Man: Battle for New York, the 2005/2006 portable powerhouse that took Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s Ultimate Spider-Man universe and somehow crammed all of Manhattan’s mayhem into a GBA and DS-sized punch-up bonanza. Because apparently, someone looked at one of the most beloved comic runs of the 2000s and thought, “You know what this needs? A brawler where Spidey spends most of his time frantically hammering the same three buttons while dodging increasingly ridiculous villain attacks.”

Released across Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, this wasn’t your typical web-slinging adventure—it was more like someone distilled all of Ultimate Spider-Man’s most explosive moments into a side-scrolling arcade experience where the city itself becomes just as much of an enemy as Green Goblin ever was. With a roster of villains pulled straight from the comics and more “beat stuff up” objectives than you can shake a web at, this game proved that sometimes the best way to honor a beloved comic series is to completely reinvent what it means to be Spider-Man.

This week, we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome the phenomenally knowledgeable Jarrett Tyree from Has To Do With Spider-Man I Think, who brings an encyclopedic understanding of all things Arachnid and animated to help us untangle whether this game managed to capture the kinetic energy of Bendis’s run or if it just left our webbing all tangled in the wrong places. Jarrett’s the kind of Spider-expert who can probably explain exactly why this game makes the choices it does, while also gently reminding us that sometimes video game adaptations are more “inspired by” than “faithful to” the source material.

So strap in your web-shooters, prepare for some serious button-mashing mayhem, and get ready for an episode that explores whether this dual-platform adaptation is a hidden gem of portable gaming or just another case of “well, we had to do SOMETHING with this license.” Let’s see if Battle for New York is worth defending!

Learn such things as:

• How connected to the actual comic storylines is this game, or does it just borrow character names and call it a day?
• Does an action-packed comic run actually translate better into a side-scrolling brawler than into an open-world adventure?
• Why do handheld games keep trying to squeeze console-sized epicness into screen sizes that make text completely illegible?
• And so much more!

You can find Jarett as part of Has to do With Spider-Man, I think on BlueSky @smitpod and of course the Has to do With Spider-Man, I Think website.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky or hear Chris on his other podcast Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine.

A big thanks Talkin’ Comix and Orphaned Entertainment for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who would never let us even be at the top of that bridge in the first place.

#activision #gameBoyAdvance #greenGoblin #jarettTyree #marvel #nintendoDs #spiderMan #torusGames

Fantastic Four with Anthony Sytko (Capes on the Couch)

Flame on, podcast listeners! This week we’re stretching our way back to 2005 to tackle the Fantastic Four game that somehow managed to land on more consoles than Reed Richards has had scientific breakthroughs. Based on the first Fox movie that made us all question whether Hollywood truly understood what “fantastic” meant, this multi-platform adventure promised to let us clobber our way through levels faster than Ben Grimm goes through doorframes.

Joining us for this cosmic-powered gaming expedition is Anthony Sytko from Capes on the Couch, who’s here to help us determine whether this game was the ultimate power or just another case of “it’s clobberin’ time” gone wrong. We’ll be exploring how this tie-in game managed to squeeze onto everything from GameCube to Game Boy Advance, and whether any version actually captured the magic of Marvel’s first family – or if they all just left us feeling more invisible than Sue Storm on a bad day.

So grab your unstable molecules costume and prepare for a gaming experience that’s sure to be more unpredictable than Johnny Storm’s dating life. It’s time to see if this Fantastic Four adaptation was truly marvelous or just another victim of the superhero movie game curse!

Learn such things as:

• Does yelling “FLAME ON!” improve your loading times?
• Is this the worst timeline for Dr. Doom?
• How long can we go without saying something about America’s Ass?
• And so much more!

You can find Anthony @CapesOnTheCouch on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and of course the Capes on the Couch website.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscast on Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Group on Facebook.

A big thanks to Nerd Best Friends and TransMissions Podcast Network for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who is willing play the game, but is going to pretend that the movie doesn’t exist.

#7Studios #Activision #AnthonySytko #GameBoyAdvance #Gamecube #HumanTorch #JohnnyStorm #Marvel #PlayStation2 #ReedRichards #SueStorm #TheThing #TorusGames #Xbox

Welcome back pixel pioneers and comic crusaders to another electrifying episode of Play Comics! This week we’re donning our high-tech armor and jetting off into the world of The Invincible Iron Man on the Game Boy Advance, a game that might just be the hidden gem in Tony Stark’s treasure trove of adventures.

Joining us on this iron-clad journey is the one and only Zach Tonack, a first-time guest with insights sharper than Iron Man’s repulsor beams. Together we’ll dissect this pixelated powerhouse, exploring how it stacks up against its comic book origins and whether it truly captures the essence of everyone’s favorite billionaire genius playboy philanthropist.

Prepare for a whirlwind of witty banter, nostalgic nods, and perhaps a few arc reactor puns as we dive deep into the mechanics, storylines, and sheer fun of The Invincible Iron Man. So grab your GameBoy Advance, polish up your armor, and get ready to blast off into an episode that’s as thrilling as a high-speed flight over Stark Tower!

Suit up listeners because this episode is going to be a blast!

Learn such things as:

• How Tony Stark has fought in all of these different wars.
• Why was an Iron Man game even made pre MCU?
• Are comic cut scenes the best thing ever?
• And so much more!

You can find Zach on Twitter @ztonack, BlueSky @ztonack, megageekscanbecool on Tumbler, and Anorak2201 on FanFiction.Net and Archive Of Our Own.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscast on Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Group on Facebook.

A big thanks to Condrey #6 (available as a physical and digital book) brought to us by Legacy Comix, and The Last Comic Shop Podcast for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Best Day, who might have gotten eaten by the void.

https://playcomics.com/the-invincible-iron-man-with-zach-tonack/

#Activision #GameBoyAdvance #IronMan #Marvel #TorusGames #ZachTonack