The Silent Hill 2 remake is (surprisingly) great + Jason Schreier talks Blizzard drama | FPS #55

PLUS Lucy becomes a mole creature and we're joined by the lovely Ben Hanson from MinnMax!

Hey Users! 

This week’s newsletter is coming at you from the friendly skies, as I (Lucy) am writing this from a plane coming back from London, so apologies if it’s a shorter one than usual.

Sickness has hit the FPS members and we’re down a Ralph this week, but worry not, it’s still a packed pod! The delightful Ben Hanson from MinnMax joins us to round out the trio. We also chat to Jason Schreier (who might hold the record for the most guest spots) about his brand new book which is all about Blizzard Entertainment. We’ve read it and it’s an absolute doozy. Of course we’ve got bants, What We’ve Been Playing, User Questions, and more.

While you’re here, be sure to check out MinnMax’s charity drive for Asheville, North Carolina, and if you’re able to, please donate! It goes straight to a great cause.

Catch you next time, hopefully we’ll all be feeling much better by then.

Games mentioned: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, No Man’s Sky, Dark Souls 3,

Misc. mentions: MinnMax, rapid fire interview questions playlist, celebration of Game Informer playlist, TMNT Shell Shock spinning ride at Mall of America (of which Tara is the queen), Snoopy, the MinnMax GameStop tweet, Indiana Jones, MinnMax’s charity efforts for Asheville (link again for ya)

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Silent Hill 2 Remake Chat + User question - Andrew Pierce

Do you think that Sony and Xbox will continue to remaster more games in their collection because it’s less expensive and maybe faster than creating new IP?

A great, timely question as the big release of the week is Silent Hill 2 Remake. The gang ponders why there have been so many remakes and remasters this generation, and whether it’s a good thing or not. The team then seamlessly segue into Jake’s impressions of Silent Hill 2, and whether it stacks up against the original.

Games mentioned: Suicide Squad, Concord, Horizon Remaster, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Ocarina of Time, Link’s Awakening, Destroy All Humans, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Yellow, Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Dead Space, Demon’s Souls, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Callisto Protocol, Brave Fencer Musashi, Threads of Fate, Soul Reaver, Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age, The Sims 2, The Sims 4, Ōkami, Fable, Red Dead Redemption, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear, Twin Snakes, Bloodborne, Skyblivion, Skyrim, Oblivion

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Interview with Jason Schreier About His Book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment"

Jason’s been a busy bee on the podcast circuit this week, and for good reason. He’s about to launch his latest book, which covers the history of Blizzard Entertainment, a beloved games studio that’s had a tumultuous time of it in recent years. Jason joins us to discuss how he wrote the book, his favourite tidbits, and an infamous GDC story…

• Play Nice by Jason Schreier

• Schrei Guy
  - Jason’s Substack

Games mentioned: The Lost Vikings, Rock n’ Roll Racing, Warcraft, Hearthstone, Titan, Overwatch, Warcraft 2, Starcraft, Diablo 2, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Skylanders, Guitar Hero, Overwatch 2, Team Fortress 2, Avalon, Minecraft, Dragon Quest Builders, Starcraft Ghost, Warcraft Rumble, Diablo 4

Misc. mentions: Annapurna tea, Jason’s other books: Blood, Sweat, and Pixels and Press Reset, The Sopranos, Overwatch League, Overwatch Netflix project, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead, Jacked by David Kushner, Game Changers (BBC movie)

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If you’ve got burning questions you’d like us to answer on the show, email us or drop them in the comments below!

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What we’ve been playing

• Ben’s been playing UFO 50 and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

• Jake returned to Silent Hill (2 Remake)

• Lucy played through Daemonologie, the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo and Tales of the Shire

Games mentioned: Spelunky, Brave Fencer Musashi, Balloon Fight, Pac-Man, Splatoon, Downwell, Metroid, Dragon Quest, Sunset Riders, Astro Bot, Mario + Rabbids, Assassin’s Creed Hexe, Tears of the Kingdom, Link’s Awakening, Breath of the Wild, Persona 3, 4, 5, Fields of Mistria, Ghost of Tsushima, Stardew Valley

Misc. mentions: Day of the Devs, Time Barons, Jack the Ripper Museum in London, Zelda Deepest Dive, Animorphs, The Lord of the Rings

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Show and tell

• Ben loved Hayao Miyazaki and The Heron, a documentary all about the making of Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron

• Jake watched Mr McMahon on Netflix, a deep dive into the WWE’s Vince McMahon

• The Bake Off Minute is back as Lucy’s been catching up on The Great British Bake Off

Misc. mentions: PsychOdyssey, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, 30 For 30, Slow Horses

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Thanks for reading! We’ll see ya in a couple of weeks.

<3 L