“I’ve been a fan of Zero Punc since inception, and own several of Mr. Croshaw’s audiobooks. When I came across this podcast, I was really looking forward to a slower-paced look into the reasoning and rationale for his and Mr. Packard’s views on video game issues and such. In this episode (1/25/21, my first ever), I got that, I suppose, but the delivery is almost a dealbreaker.
Rather than Mr. Croshaw speaking with his mind with free snark and liberty, it feels as though he’s sitting with his Grandma and winking at us now and again at how polite he’s willing to be. That, and the affirmative, Skeksis-like sing-song humming that Mr. Packard performs whenever Croshaw make an interesting point is rather off-putting. I’m not sure how Croshaw doesn’t find it condescending and/or patronizing (I suppose no more so than the verbal guardrails that Packard maintains for Croshaw, whose charm is the offhanded “incorrect” humor he offers in ZP. We know it’s not 100% serious, but to hear the “easy, now” attitude that comes across, it sounds as though they’re too wary [read: gun-shy] of their audience’s sensitivities.). Let’s all say it slowly to offset the Tomb Raider breast joke, “We. Respect. Women.” Yes. Of course.
I’ll give it a couple more episodes, because I really want this to be my favorite Xbox podcast, but I’m not certain I can take it. It might not be like I thought it could be.”
Surly Aardvark via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
01/25/21