NextGen 83 - Pikmin [S2E1]

XBox Official Magazine 2 - Halo + Munch's Oddysee [S2E3]

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/next-generation-24-dec-1996/NextGen%2085%20Jan%202002/https://www.retromags.com/magazines/usa/official-xbox-magazine/official-xbox-magazine-issue-2/ [https://www.retromags.com/magazines/usa/official-xbox-magazine/official-xbox-magazine-issue-2/] XBOX OFFICIAL MAGAZINE: MAGAZINES EVOLVED. We had to stay in January 2002 for one more episode this season, because we just couldn’t overlook XBox Offical Magazine’s massive walkthrough for Halo: Combat Evolved. We also couldn’t overlook the fact that Imagine Media/Future U.S. Publishing launched this magazine at the same time they were sunsetting NextGen–and there was plenty of overlap between the two staffs. Goodbye to think-y features for (real and aspiring) grown-ups, hello to world-exclusive previews, reviews, and digital assets obtained via first-party licensing. For everything XBox Official Magazine did well, though, we were rubbed very much the wrong way by its unholy union of Ultra Game Players’s 100-point review scale and NextGen’s five-star rubric. Even still, we came away (mostly) very impressed with eventual editor-in-chief Francesca Reyes’s review of the idiosyncratic Munch’s Oddysee. ——— Sources include the Video Game History Foundation [https://gamehistory.org/], the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/], Retromags.com [https://www.retromags.com/], our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com [https://millenniumfalck.com]!

EGM 150 - Metal Gear Solid 2 [S2E2]

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-150-january-2002/mode/2up [https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-150-january-2002/mode/2up] January 2002 was all killer, no filler! EGM kicked off the new year by revisiting their Top 100 games of all time, and we take a look at the changes since their last attempt (which we covered last season)! But EGM also ranked their worst 20 games of all time, thanks to freelancer Seanbaby [http://www.seanbaby.com/], and we start the episode with a discussion of the worst games we ever bought. We go back to the best-of-the-best with the review, though, as three EGM editors do a fantastic job with Metal Gear Solid 2–and as an extra-special surprise, the previews editor of the magazine at the time (and FunFactor ULTRA member) Greg Sewart jumped in mid-episode to share some incredible behind-the-scenes stories of how the MGS2 review came together! And, as always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/ [https://funfactorpod.com]! We'll see you on the Discord [https://discord.gg/5VBpWGSuz6], and you’ll see us when we next go live! ——— Sources include the Video Game History Foundation [https://gamehistory.org/], the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/], Retromags.com [https://www.retromags.com/], our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com [https://millenniumfalck.com]!

NextGen 83 - Pikmin [S2E1]

ISSUE LINK: NextGen issue 85 at the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/details/next-generation-24-dec-1996/NextGen%2085%20Jan%202002/] SEASON TWO: RISE OF THE CORPOS has arrived! We've skipped forward in time to the dawn of a new era - where the dorky world leader in business software, Microsoft, has dropped a massive black-and-neon-green bomb on a gaming industry. Likewise, the games media's shift to both an older target audience and parallel online coverage means a lot of beloved magazines are dead or dying--including "NextGen," as it's been called for a couple of years. Blake Fischer takes over as the magazine's second, and final, top editor for its 85th--and final (!)--issue. But while this issue of NextGen reviews all 26 XBOX launch titles, Nintendo has also just launched the Gamecube; and our reviewed review is of its iconically iconoclastic launch title: Pikmin. And, as always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/ [https://funfactorpod.com/]! We'll see you on the Discord [https://discord.gg/5VBpWGSuz6], and you’ll see us when we next go live! ——— Sources include the Video Game History Foundation [https://gamehistory.org/], the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/], Retromags.com [https://www.retromags.com/], our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com [https://millenniumfalck.com]!

Video Game Fantasy Draft with "My Life in Gaming!" [S1X3]

Four people, five rounds, and all the best video games of 1995-1997!  Coury and Try from My Life in Gaming [https://www.youtube.com/@mylifeingaming] join us to snake-draft our way through the Generation Gap--building four 'teams' of five games each released across all game systems and regions during our first-season time period. The competition was friendly but fierce, with plenty of you-took-my-picks and even more surprise curveballs! We all walked away with at least one new must-play game for our backlogs. And, as always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/ [https://funfactorpod.com/]! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live! ----- Sources include the Video Game History Foundation [https://gamehistory.org/], the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/], Retromags.com [https://www.retromags.com/], our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com [https://millenniumfalck.com]!

NEXTGen's "Are You Hardcore?" Quiz, with Retrograde Amnesia [S1X2]

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration38Feb1998 [https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration38Feb1998] QUIZ LINK: https://forms.gle/9cFPG8EsJesFAEB59 [https://forms.gle/9cFPG8EsJesFAEB59] BILLY BAKER’S 2007 BOSTON GLOBE PIECE ON HIS WIFE SECRETLY BEING THE WORLD’S BEST TETRIS PLAYER: https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/ [https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/]Our Season 1 wrap-up extravaganza has never been more extravagant: Chris and Eric from Retrograde Amnesia [https://www.patreon.com/cw/retroAM] join us to take NEXT Generation’s “Are you Hardcore?” quiz! Thanks to Josh from the Still Loading Podcast [https://www.stillloadingpodcast.com/], we were able to see and take the whole quiz for the first live via Google Form–and hey, so can you [https://forms.gle/9cFPG8EsJesFAEB59]! Back in February 1998, the staff of NEXT Generation issued a challenge to their readership with a 200-plus-question quiz determining whether they’re truly hardcore. This being 1998, some of the questions were more about whether you were an actual dirtbag, and many of them assumed you were a North American male of roughly GenX age. But most of them were great fodder for telling stories, claiming points of pride, and owning points of shame. As always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/ [https://funfactorpod.com/]! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live! ----- Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com [https://millenniumfalck.com]!