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Nerds Without Pants   

Nerds Without Pants Episode 75: Leather-Clad Nerds

Happy anniversary, NWP!

Welcome, welcome, to the 75th episode of Nerds Without Pants! It's a monumental occasion, as we are also celebrating our third year anniversary. We celebrate in bombastic fashion, with an epic episode full of surprises and hilarity. If you can make it to the end of this three and a half hour monster we love you.

3:00 Patrick's live reading; a lengthy talk about Metal Gear Solid

28:30 The Last of Us multiplayer; Star Wars Battlefront

35:24 Jurassic World; Patrick gets a lesson in biology; why Ant-Man is so hyped

53:55 Archie #1 is fantastic; Julian's vacation gaming

1:05:00 Devil Survivor; all the talk about Batman

1:36:00 Patrick's triumph over Bloodborne

1:50:00 Angelo's board game corner; "quick" comic book hits; Lady Thor

2:15:00 A nice chat with an old friend

2:51:15 Breaking down the stats of Nerds Without Pants; a farewell to Satoru Iwata

FEATURED MUSIC

The Lonely Island- D*ck in a Box

Cynthia Harrell- Snake Eater

Third Eye Blind- Deep Inside of You

Danny Elfman- Batman: The Animated Series Theme

Starbomb- Luigi's Ballad

Koji Kondo- Super Mario World ending theme


 

Comments

Michael117

07/19/2015 at 11:09 PM

I'll keep this brief... just kidding.

This was really well put together! I can't imagine a better anniversary than the duo of episode 75 and the best of NWP show that went up before this. I think new listeners will get a lot from these two most recent shows.

Hearing Rob again had me smiling the entire time. It's good to know he's doing well & I wish him the best of luck in everything he's doing. The fact that he was getting a blow job while recording one of the old episodes has painted all his old shows in a new light. It's now an NWP lore mystery that we will probably never solve. I feel like we have to pull the old episodes out and shine a black light on them.

I'm excited that Patrick has headed off to vacation in Europe because anytime he goes overseas he comes back with pretty interesting stories about it. Julian bringing up the Natural history museum in Denver reminded me of all the times I went there as a kid. I love that place.

It's great Angelo has all the Metal Gears and brought up a good discussion on them.  You should play them all, Angelo. That's what I've been doing this summer. I played MGS1 as a kid and quit, then finished the remake on Gamecube years later. As an adult I wanted to finally get around to finishing the series so I bought the HD collection this summer and loved every bit of it.

Play all of them, don't skip any unless you have to. The stealth gameplay alone isn't necessarily good enough to pull a person through a given Metal Gear, but when you couple it with the unique subject matter, the wide array of mechanics they give you, and the attention to detail on the weirdest things, it's extremely compelling as an experience. I skipped MGS4 because I don't have a PS3, and Portable Ops because I don't care about it, but I used the Wiki and Youtube to catch up on what happened in those two games.

MGS2 is pretty satisfying as a stealth game and the story is ludicrous, but it shouldn't be missed. Once you've played it you'll realize it was worth it.

MGS3 is my favorite, but it's a significantly different type of stealth, especially if you're playing the HD remaster because it has the option to use the 3rd person camera and switch back and forth between the old camera and the new one on the fly. MGS3 doesn't have cones of vision anymore, the enemies see much farther, and they look up and down. And it all makes sense once you take into context that the new stealth system is based around camouflage and player movement. I spent most of MGS3 flat on my stomach camouflaged with the ground, crawling around like a snake, and finding the right time to make a big move. And it was some of the best stealth gameplay I've ever experienced. Also with the HD remasters it's 60fps, and yes it definitely benefits the feel of the game.

I recently finished Arkham City after having quit last year in frustration. City has plenty of problems, and it's not a good open world game, the reasons for which Julian pointed out and I agree with. But that main story is really worthwhile and the Catwoman stuff is fantastic. On rare occasions I had fun in the open world doing whatever fluff and filler they contrived, but the actual levels where story stuff takes place are pretty great. I also did the Harley Quinn dlc and it was really satisfying as well. Despite its numerous and nagging problems, overall that little world in Arkham City is still quite fun to be in.

Angelo Grant Staff Writer

07/20/2015 at 05:08 PM

Well, I do enjoy my stealth games, so I suppose I should give them all at least a shot. I'm just worried about how rediculous it's gonna get. 

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/25/2015 at 09:45 AM

I mean, you know Japan and Japanese video games, so as long as you remember that it is military sci-fi from a Japanese movie buff you should be fine.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/25/2015 at 09:44 AM

I'd skip Peacewalker, because it's almost impossible to play solo, and the Monster Hunter-style boss fights are lame in the MGS framework.

Glad you enjoyed the episode! I was really worried it was too long, but I didn't want to break it in half since it is a milestone show. Also, I have really come to love Arkham Knight but still feel that the batmobile sucks and I need to vent about that.

Michael117

07/26/2015 at 04:23 AM

I started playing Peace Walker and I was really into the story and the simplified MGS3-esk gameplay for the regular missions, but the boss fights made me quit the game. The first one is an APC that you fight in an area that has pretty decent cover via a warehouse you can run into. That battle wasn't great but it was totally manageable. The second boss fight where you fight a tank was infuriating and I quit the game.

I really thought I was going to love Peace Walker, because I hear Greg Miller say it's his favorite MGS game of them all, but I had no idea it was this different compared to the others. I ended up just going onto the wiki and reading about what happens in the rest of Peace Walker's story. The saddest thing about it is that there's good stuff in there that I wish I could see for myself!

I was eventually able to come back to Arkham City, finish it, and really enjoy it. I don't think that'll happen with Peace Walker.

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/21/2015 at 05:16 PM

Batman has Joker blood in him, which I think explains his increased aggressiveness throughout the series. I also think he gets more and more insane throughout the movie series. 

The Batmobile is awesome and f@#$ you haters. It's my favorite part of the game. I don't understand your hate at all and it controls fine. The subway part you're talking about is tedious as hell though, I agree there.

I think the predator stuff is there enough if you use your gadgets to raid the military bases. 

Bloodborne endings all suck, I watched the playthrough on Game Grumps and it just made me glad I didn't get the game. And no, Patrick is not making that up and the Grumps forgot to use the umbilical cords.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/25/2015 at 09:50 AM

Yeah, I realized later that the Joker blood was causing Batman to act differently, but I don't think it is handled as well as it could have been. Alfred, Nightwing, and Robin just act like Batman is acting normal. It seems like only the thugs notice a difference.

Oh, I will be going on a longer rant about the batmobile on the next episode. I feel like a crazy person, because everyone I talk to LOVES the batmobile and thinks it is the best part of the game. I can understand people liking it, but saying it's the best part of the game is lunacy to me. I have had the back tires of the car slide out from under me when I am driving in a straight line. The game design around the car is boring, lazy, and really not fun. Plus, it pads out the main story in a way that has really soured me on finishing it. If I have to do one more arena tank battle I may shut it off, even though I think it is the best game in the series since Asylum.

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/25/2015 at 06:44 PM

Various people notice he's acting different at various times in the game. He seems to be struggling but mostly keeping it in check. It's not like Nightwing, Robin, and Alfred are around him at all times and Robin at least does seem to notice a difference. I thought it was handled really well. 

You're definitely not alone in Batmobile hatred on the Internet, but I am more than happy to love it. I enjoy both the tank missions and love driving around. I've never had the back tires slide out. Only issues I've really had driving it were those side walls in Riddler missions. I only really dislike the Cobra tank stuff. And even then, I thought it added a level of tenseness I think Arkham games tend to lack. I'll listen to your rant. It won't change my opinion, but I've never gotten the people who love Man of Steel to see why I thought it was disappointing and boring either. 

... But honestly, while I'm not convinced buying the $40 season pass was worth it, I am beyond excited for that Keaton Batmobile in the August DLC. I wonder what its tank form looks like.

transmet2033

07/24/2015 at 05:44 PM

#teamkitkat

this was a really fun episode.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/25/2015 at 09:51 AM

You chose wisely.

Glad you enjoyed the show! I was worried about what people would think of this one. And I hope newer listeners enjoyed the talk with Rob. Oh, and mega kudos to John Gholson for all the fun greetings.

transmet2033

07/25/2015 at 01:58 PM

I was wondering where those came from, that's awesome

KnightDriver

08/01/2015 at 03:52 AM

I think some of those music choices are pretty funny like Snake Eater and Luigi's Ballad. 

I get my nerd pants off with iTunes. 

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