On this episode of Video Games 2 the MAX hosts Sean Garmer and Marc Morrison are once again joined by The Outerhaven’s Keith Mitchell (Follow Keith on Twitter at @Shadowhaxor).

Keith and Marc dish on the games they’ve been playing which includes Keith talking quite a bit about his time with Outriders. What he enjoyed about it, the server problems, and what the dwindling player numbers could mean for the future of the game. Marc has been playing some Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and Sean checked out the Retro Machina demo too.

That’s not all though, as both Keith and Marc have played some hours of Returnal. Marc even got through and defeated the Boss of the second biome. The guys discuss what they enjoy about the game so far. Some of the early story, the shooting mechanics, the Roguelike elements, and give thoughts, on the whole, save controversy too.

The guys also discuss the decision by Activision to move the makers of Crash 4, the Toys For Bob studio, to working on Call of Duty and why it could spell the end of the cartoon games for the publisher. Not to mention, the decision from Microsoft to lower their cut to match the Epic Games Store’s 12 percent and make improvements to the Windows Store. Will this move entice developers to bring games to the platforms? Is Microsoft planning PC exclusives? Or this a little too late?

Plus, Keith gives his thoughts on Google Stadia as a whole, the trio wonders what genres Sony could add to their Games Lineup, Konami not making E3 2021, they also review the Mortal Kombat (2021) film too.

Things finish with a look at some of the crew’s favorite PlayStation exclusives.

The End of Toys For Bob, Returnal, Mortal Kombat 2021

Timestamps:

Games We Are Playing:

Outriders and some upcoming games talk (3:00) (Keith)
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (13:35) (Marc)
Retro Machina Demo (17:10) (Sean)
Returnal (18:20) (Keith & Marc)

Major Topics:

Hype Levels For Ratchet & Clank (PS5) After the State of Play (33:45)

Toys For Bob Put on Call of Duty and Possibly Suffers Layoffs (37:40)

Microsoft lowers their store cut to 12 percent, promises improvements for their Windows store and PC Game Pass, there’s also discussion on the Wolfire Games suing Valve news too (50:15)

What genres does Sony Need to add to its games lineup after they promise to spend $183 Million on studios and partnerships (1:11:40)

our Mortal Kombat Movie (2021) Review (1:21:25)

Headlines:

IO Interactive Working with Microsoft on a “Dragon IP” (47:05)
Google Stadia adds a Search Bar, Keith’s thoughts on the service (1:04:20)
EA has documents leak that point that the game is geared towards FIFA Ultimate Team (1:15:50)
Konami not going to E3 2021 (1:17:20)

The End: Some of our favorite PlayStation exclusives, Keth and Sean talk about their puppies (1:31:45)

There are no ads on this show because we had a guest, but please go support the show and the entire W2M Network via enjoying a special offer on Grammarly or a 30 Day Free Trial of Amazon Music Unlimited

About Video Games 2 the MAX

Video Games 2 the MAX is a podcast where Sean Garmer and Marc Morrison get together to talk about everything involving Video Games every week. they discuss what they are playing or reviewing, the gaming news of the week, upcoming games, a special topic, and more.

Listener Questions and Reviews

If you’d like to get in touch with one of our hosts you can email us at w2mnetwork@gmail.com or find us on social media. You can also like the W2M Network Facebook Page and review us on Podchaser or any of your favorite podcast listening apps.

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Sean Garmer

Sean Garmer has a long history with video games, since childhood. But truly, things got serious when he discovered Pokemon on the Gameboy, and thus his Japanese RPG fandom was born. Sean has channeled that love of games into reviewing them. He also analyzes the games industry on the Video Games 2 the MAX podcast and writes on various sites. Sean pretty much plays any kind of game nowadays, but he still prefers his first love, the JRPG.

Marc Morrison

Marc Morrison brings years of experience writing about games (and of course, playing them) to Video Games 2 the MAX. He currently writes a Top 8 column every week at 411mania and also reviews games. Marc plays all different kinds of games and takes analyzing them to heart.

Jens Dietrich

Jens is co-host and editor of the podcast Chapter Select and an occasional contributor to Video Games 2 the MAX. While he grew up on 90s PC adventure games and flight simulators, nowadays his preferences have shifted towards Soulslikes, JRPGs, and weird kusoge.