Bonus Level - Punting and Gathering! (Euro 2020 Special)

At a time when you can't even look out the window without having a national flag waved in your face, we're here, to jump on the bandwagon, to talk about FOOTBALL.

It's bleedin' Euro 2020, innit?

To celebrate big boys kicking big balls, we've signed a one match loan deal with podcast strikers Tom Dow and Andrei Grayson of @boysinredandwhite to talk videogame football.

Hear our collective preferences on the eternal, annualised fight for dominance that is FIFA vs Pro Evolution Soccer.

Allow all five of us to sing the praises of the 'little engine that could', New Star Soccer for mobile devices.

Then let four fifths of our footballing cohort sell you on some lesser known kick-men classics, before bringing on super sub Minty Booth to give cutting edge opinions on three pieces of eShop esoterica that at best could be described as being... football adjacent?

Are we able to predict the winner of the real life tournament? Listen to the very end of this special bonus episode to hear and laugh at our punditry.

www.ourthreecents.co.uk

— — — — — — — — — —

Massive thanks to our Patreon subscribers Andy Smith, Gene Limbrick, CJ Anderson, Debbie Booth, Guy Lochhead, Jasper Blacketer, David Boys-Layton, Darren Hughes, Rob Wade, Dominic Kemp, Chris Walker and Alex Dunn!

Watch our video content on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dZ2gmg

Subscribe to our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/o3cpodcast

Help support us in exchange for some incredible perks: www.patreon.com/ourthreecents

Browse all previous episodes to date: www.ourthreecents.co.uk

Join in the conversation with us: Our Three Cents

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/o3cpodcast

Reach out to us individually:

Jonathan - www.twitter.com/jonathandunn

Chris - www.twitter.com/Chas_Hodges

Minty - www.twitter.com/clement_boo

Bonus Level - We've Got Balls!

A baying mob collects outside Our Three Cents towers…
Ten thousand feet stomp in unison…
The floor of the building ripples softly…
A chant erupts from the crowd…

“what do we want?”
“an incredibly deep, and somewhat esoteric dive into the mechanical history of ball-rolling video games!”
“when do we want it?”
“now!”

Join our trio, and Rasmus Jensen of Bolverk Games, to discuss the humble roots of the genre in Mark Cerny's Marble Madness, through Sega's Super Monkey Ball, Metroid Prime's morph ball, to modern indie titles such as Bolverk's Glyph. 

What makes a good ball roller? 
What makes Glyph one of the best ball rollers?
How did we convince Rasmus to join us when most of the episode ended up just being jokes about balls?!

“Grab a drink, roll some balls!”

Let’s go!

Bonus Level - Sequel Spectacular!

What's better than a juicy sandwich? A second, even juicier sandwich, of course!

But wait, what if the second sandwich was dry, lacked filling, or was assembled without the care you'd come to expect from your sandwich artiste of choice?!

*heartbreak*

How about taking the very concept of the juicy sandwich and extending it to a new sandwich two point oh the artisan bread stuffers had yet to even envisage?!!

Join the usual Our Three Cents trio, as well as special guests Alex Miller and Will Thrasher from the Sequelcast 2 and Friends podcast to shift this stupid sandwich metaphor to video games!!

Bonus Level - Feeding the Fire

Blue Fire is a fantastic debut indie that melds intense, freeform platforming action with a Legend of Zelda-come-Dark Souls structure and aesthetic.

Robi Studios is the Argentinian team behind this little cracker, and Gabriel Rosa, the director of the project, was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about the game's design, development and surrounding post-release community!

Find out how Rosa and team were inspired to make what would become the extremely well received Blue Fire; the games which did and didn't feed into their original design specification; and their desire to use their games to 'improve the lives' of their players!

Also, hear Minty and Chris give their thoughts on a title that Jonathan has already gone on record as calling 'a very good game’!

Bonus Level - The Joy of Text

Do you like typing? 

Smashing your little fingies down on your keyboard, laptop or touchscreen to make wonderful words manifest into being?

How about typing to play a game? Not just bouncing across W, A, S and D as you whip your mouse around for frags, but using the actual letters themselves to manipulate on-screen action?

Join the Our Three Cents team, as well as members of the developer RNG Party Games, as we plot the checkered history of the typing genre via MS DOS commands and edutainment, through Typing of the Dead and Pokémon Typing Adventure, to modern examples like Epistory, The Textorcist and RNG's own Backspace Bouken!

Whether you're a touch typist, or a one-digit stabber; come revel in the clickety-clack of the keyboard!

Bonus Level - Let’s Get Physical

To break up Season 3 (and make sure the grand reveals of our number one games gets further and further away), we invite you to meet the first of our guest stars: JP of Premium Edition Games and JP's Switchmania fame!

In a SPECIAL EPISODE dedicated to physical games and their collection, hear how, why and what our group and guest collects; personal memories of standout releases over the years; as well as hopes and dreams for games that have yet to be immortalised on disc or cartridge!

PLUS: exclusive, behind the scenes information on how physical games make it to market, as well as hot-off-the-press details on the first two Premium Edition Games releases Super Blood Hockey, and Pigeon Dev Games Collection!

"how the sausage is made"

Bonus Level - The Big 2020 Roundup Episode!

SEASON THREE BEGINETH!!

AS PROPHECY HAS FORETOLD, JONATHAN DUNN, THE PRODIGAL SON, HAS RETURNED!!

After a week’s break, we’ve missed you all, and maybe you’ve missed us?

—————

2020, eh? It was certainly a year.

Allow Jonathan, Chris and Minty, your good pals from the Our Three Cents towers, to:

> tell you which games they used to ring in the New Year!
> tell you which games made them feel a veritable swathe of ‘happy, happy, joy, joy’ over the apocalyptic year that was!
> tell you which games they hope to play in 2021!
> tell you which games they hold up as the very best released in 2020!

Want to know if Shrek: Hassle at the Castle on the Gameboy Advance is any good? 

Want to know if Jonathan enjoyed The Last of Us Part 2 when he returned to Naughty Dog’s critical darling?

Want to know how Minty is faring in his quest for a Living Dex via Pokemon Home?

Want to know how many Nintendo franchises feature in the trio’s best of the year?

GOODBYE 2020 and HELLO 2021!!

www.ourthreecents.co.uk

Bonus Level - Chris and Minty Adventure Month Ep4 - Good Friend, Bad Friend

CHRIS IS A BAD FRIEND™

MINTY IS A GOOD FRIEND™

Minty bought Chris a Christmas present last year. He’s only just split the cellophane.

Chris bought Minty a birthday present a few weeks back. He had it up and running within 60 minutes of its arrival.

Hear Chris’s (late) thoughts on Tales of Zestiria, and Minty’s (timely) thoughts on Heroland.

ALSO! Thoughts on the Lost Lands mobile series; updates on Minty’s ultraviolence MAX playthrough of Doom; an overview of the indie-Metroidvania Xeodrifter; and Chris’ incredible disappointment at the recent Panzer Dragoon remake.

www.ourthreecents.co.uk

— — — — — — — — — — 

Massive thanks to our Patreon subscribers Andy Smith, Gene Limbrick, CJ Anderson, Debbie Booth, Guy Lochhead, Jasper Blacketer, David Boys-Layton, Darren Hughes, Rob Wade, Chris Walker and Dominic Kemp.

Watch our video content on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dZ2gmg

Subscribe to our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/o3cpodcast

Help support us in exchange for some incredible perks: www.patreon.com/ourthreecents

Browse the episodes from Season 1: www.ourthreecents.co.uk

Join in the conversation with us: www.facebook.com/ourthreecents

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/o3cpodcast

Reach out to us individually:
Jonathan - www.twitter.com/jonathandunn
Chris - www.twitter.com/Chas_Hodges
Minty - www.twitter.com/clement_boo

Bonus Level - Chris and Minty Adventure Month Ep3 - WEB TWO POINT OH

welcome
to
T H E
I N T E R N E T

Chris and Minty, two cool-kid millennials recount their time on the early mainstream web.

Flash! Neopets! MUDs! Optimism! Klik 'n' Play! Discworld! Pickles!

Listen to the boys feel warm and fuzzy in remembrance of the wave of positivity that accompanied the dial up internet, and then share in their crushing sense of despair when considering how the web has splintered and become polarized some 20 years on.

www.ourthreecents.co.uk

— — — — — — — — — — 

Massive thanks to our Patreon subscribers Andy Smith, Gene Limbrick, CJ Anderson, Debbie Booth, Guy Lochhead, Jasper Blacketer, David Boys-Layton, Darren Hughes, Rob Wade, Chris Walker and Dominic Kemp.

Watch our video content on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dZ2gmg

Subscribe to our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/o3cpodcast

Help support us in exchange for some incredible perks: www.patreon.com/ourthreecents

Browse the episodes from Season 1: www.ourthreecents.co.uk

Join in the conversation with us: www.facebook.com/ourthreecents

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/o3cpodcast

Reach out to us individually:
Jonathan - www.twitter.com/jonathandunn
Chris - www.twitter.com/Chas_Hodges
Minty - www.twitter.com/clement_boo

Bonus Level - Chris and Minty Adventure Month Ep2 - Love in Times Of War

Chris was a Sega kid, and Minty was a Nintendo kid.

Two childhoods characterized by conflict; the blood and sweat of frontline fighting in the console wars.

Can the boys sell one another on the consoles they weren't conscripted to support as wee'uns?

Chrissy-Wissy presents Minty with a veritable platter of Mega Drive classics in Streets of Rage 2, Rocket Knight Adventures and Toejam and Earl.

Boothy-Toothy suggests Chris sample the delights of Super Nintendo treats, A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, and, well, Street Racer.

MAKE CONSOLE LOVE, NOT CONSOLE WAR

www.ourthreecents.co.uk

— — — — — — — — — — 

Massive thanks to our Patreon subscribers Andy Smith, Gene Limbrick, CJ Anderson, Debbie Booth, Guy Lochhead, Jasper Blacketer, David Boys-Layton, Darren Hughes, Rob Wade, Chris Walker and Dominic Kemp.

Watch our video content on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dZ2gmg

Subscribe to our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/o3cpodcast

Help support us in exchange for some incredible perks: www.patreon.com/ourthreecents

Browse the episodes from Season 1: www.ourthreecents.co.uk

Join in the conversation with us: www.facebook.com/ourthreecents

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/o3cpodcast

Reach out to us individually:
Jonathan - www.twitter.com/jonathandunn
Chris - www.twitter.com/Chas_Hodges
Minty - www.twitter.com/clement_boo

Bonus Level - Chris and Minty Adventure Month Ep1 - The Adult Baby Takeover

The Chris and Minty Adventure Month begins NOW.

Whilst Jonathan rears an actual human child, Chris and Minty get together to discuss what they've been playing as well as their favourite digital babies.

In the first of a mini-series of episodes some are calling “a little bit silly”, and “a stark departure from the show's usual format”, the Our Three Cents B-Team do their best to entertain, inform, and discuss infant excrement and its many potential colours.

www.ourthreecents.co.uk
— — — — — — — — — —
Massive thanks to our Patreon subscribers Andy Smith, Gene Limbrick, CJ Anderson, Debbie Booth, Guy Lochhead, Jasper Blacketer, David Boys-Layton, Darren Hughes, Rob Wade, Chris Walker and Dominic Kemp.

Watch our video content on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dZ2gmg
Subscribe to our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/o3cpodcast
Help support us in exchange for some incredible perks: www.patreon.com/ourthreecents
Browse the episodes from Season 1: www.ourthreecents.co.uk
Join in the conversation with us: www.facebook.com/ourthreecents
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/o3cpodcast
Reach out to us individually:
Jonathan - www.twitter.com/jonathandunn
Chris - www.twitter.com/Chas_Hodges
Minty - www.twitter.com/clement_boo

Bonus Level - Spooktober Special Part 5: Resident Evil Special

WHAT ARE YOU BUYIN'?!
WHAT ARE YOU SELLIN'?!

As Spooktober draws to a close, the gang tackle a veritable moaning horde of Resident Evil titles!

Will Chris surpass his previous, pathetic efforts to stomp through Resident Evil 4?

Will Minty enjoy his first exposure to the series with its earliest canonical entry, Resident Evil Zero?

Why has Jonathan thrown the towel in with Resident Evil Remake and leapt head first into the more modern Resident Evil Revelations? 

No more scary games, please.
(can you guess who writes these blurbs?)

Bonus Level - Spooktober Special Part 4: Doom 3

DOOM 3 then, eh?

A game initially defined by being built around the question 'VISION or AMMUNITION?', today's modern suite of ports retools the vanilla game as a pretty straightforward horror-themed action title.

Has this been a week of all guns blazing, demon popping pow pows? Or has the game retained elements of its early 2000s spook factor with its soupy shadows and shambling hordes? 

Find out by piping our words and thoughts into your ears and brains!

Bonus Level - Spooktober Special Part 3: Amnesia The Dark Descent

Three men sit; crumpled, folded.
A door opens purposefully. 
A figure enters and takes a seat across from the trio.

The group's eyes meet. There is measured silence.
Words fall softly into the room.
"Tell me about… Amnesia."

The first man shuffles in his chair before speaking with quivering voice. 
"The digital dark has made me fear the literal dark".
The second interjects. 
"It's a Lovecraftian nightmare, truly."
The third resident, speaks with reserve and distance.
"Oppressive. Relentless. Good."

Bonus Level - Spooktober Special Part 2: Bioshock

Spoopy poops the second! This week the gang tackle Bioshock - 2K Games' seminal first person underwater-dystopia-em-up.

Played across PC, Switch and PS4, how does the game hold up 13 years after its initial release?

Will Jonathan brave the shadows, or recoil under a metaphorical childhood blankie?

Will Minty best the horrors of the depths, or sink without trace to a Big Daddy's fist?

Will Chris shoot from his plasmid infused hands, or his spooked tooter?

Bonus Level - Spooktober Special Part 1: Slender The Arrival

It's Spooktober!

To celebrate the month of spoops and ghostly boops, we're pumping out F I V E (count 'em!) bonus episodes dedicated to playing horror games.

This week - Slender: The Arrival! 

Will Jonathan put up with having to use a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard?
Will Minty's current location, an isolated holiday cottage, help or hinder his playthrough? 
Will Chris drop an unexpected present in his trousers? 

What are we doing?!

Bonus Level - April Fool's Day Special

APRIL FOO-
(beer cascades out of the roof in a long shot of the Simpson's house) 

Did you really believe that Minty would have returned to and, gasp, ENJOYED, Sticker Star, his previously professed least favourite Paper Mario entry?

Did Jonathan and Chris' respective digital purchases on the eShop and App Store of Grasshopper Derby and Seagull Officer really sound plausible?

Did Jonathan's Ancient Kingdom II: The Fire of Old Legends (it spells 'FOOLs' for gawd's sake!) sound too good to be true with its layered systems, ludicrous sidequests, and PC bound limited modern accessibility? 

Did the anarchic spirit of the genuinely real (honestly! look it up!) Don't Sh*t Your Pants ring any alarm bells given Minty's usual penchant for sprawling adventure games and RPGs?

Did the weird spelling of Chequy alert you to the fact that Chris' 16-bit hidden gem was actually hidden to the point of non-existence? 

Is self isolation really getting to us all that much? 

Hope you all enjoyed this silly little aside! Regular programming will resume next week!

Bonus Level - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Special

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally here and we've made the corporate decision to BREAK RANK and record a bonus episode right here and right now.

Animal Crossing is a series that has grown exponentially since its early release on the GameCube and then the DS, Wii, 3DS and arrives now on the Nintendo Switch in the midst of a global pandemic. 

Does New Horizons stand up against its franchise forebears? (yes)
Does New Horizons prove that the commentariat who willed Animal Crossing to go free to play were wrong, wrong, wrong? (yes)
Will Minty, an Animal Crossing newbie, enjoy the plaintive pacing of Nintendo's life sim as much as Chris and Jonathan, the series stalwarts? (yes)

All this and MORE in this bonus episode!

Bonus Level - Valentine Special

FRATRICIDE AND SMOOCHES
DAIRYLEA TRIANGLES
CONVERSATIONAL BREAKDOWN

What on earth do any of these things have to do with love?

Join Our Three Cents as we, or at least Chris, willfully misinterprets the theme for this Valentine's Day special, before giving genuine recommendations for games to play with the special people that may be in your lives.

Much love from your favourite gaming goons.

Bonus Level - End of 2019 Special

See you next year! 2020 vision! Something something decade!

Now we’ve got all the contrived new year bumph out the way let’s enjoy the New Year episode with some contrived, vaguely Dickensian bumph:

2019 might have been an absolute mound of turds, but it’s been another great year of gaming. Jonathan has spent most of it smacking down nightmarish monsters in Lordran, Minty’s been smacking down dragons in various quests, and Chris spent most of it smacking down coloured shapes in... Tetris.

What’s been the best games of the past year, according to the centipedes? What games are they looking to in the future? What did they get in their secret Santa presents? 

Find out all this and more as we delve into the Games of past, present and future. Happy New Year everyone!