This week, we're putting away childish things... after we're done playing with them, of course, because we're knocking out the last of our toys-to-life games! After the wild success of SKYLANDERS, everyone wanted in on the plastic-figurine-as-game-pieces craze, and these two games are the most prominent rivals to Activision's pioneering series. Firstly, we're playing DISNEY INFINITY, which has the benefit of Disney's massive backlog of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters to play with....

It's time for us to cut a rug with Ubisoft's mammoth dancing series JUST DANCE!  We're playing through more games than we've ever attempted in one episode, a whopping NINE games in the venerable series that span the entire lifecycle of the Wii U! It's a lot for two clumsy boys to tackle on our own; luckily, we're joined by dancer, teacher, and owner of Evolution Dance Company, Emma Obukowicz, who can give us some context and let us see just how good of a dancing simulator this series...

It's party time... for the last time. We're playing the last round of generic party games, and we're looking at arguably the high point and the low point of the genre on Wii U. Of course, it's not a proper party without Dan Reese, and he joins us as we sort through some inscrutable minigame collections. First up, it's the bafflingly-titled, hilariously cheap collection FAMILY PARTY 30 GREAT GAMES OBSTACLE ARCADE SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM; then, we're playing the Nintendo-sanctioned version WII...

Prepare to get splatted, because this week we're playing SPLATOON, the most successful original IP on the Wii U! We're talking all about the history of this squid-filled delight, and how Nintendo brought their own unique spin to the arena shooter genre!  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The Octopus Project (theoctopusproject.com)  ultra64podcast.com  Twitter: @ultra64podcast  Email: [email protected]  Instagram:...

This is it! The very last batch of sports games we will ever play on this show! We're delving into a wide range of sports today, but luckily we've got our old favorite Josiah Coolidge back in the studio to provide his expert insight! We're closing out sports by revisiting the MADDEN franchise with MADDEN NFL 13; then we're hitting the lanes with BRUNSWICK PRO BOWLING; finally, Mario and the gang are facing off for a game of MARIO TENNIS: ULTRA SMASH! Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody...

This week, we're looking at game adaptations of a couple of Disney TV favorites! Bad game aficionado Ailish Collins returns to help us play PHINEAS AND FERB: THE QUEST FOR COOL STUFF, based on the hit show about two inventive brothers and their summertime adventures. Then, we're heading back to the 80s with the remastered version of DUCKTALES from WayForward and Capcom. This remake of the classic NES game retains a lot of the music and gameplay from the original, with a vibrant new visual...

The brothers are back! This week, we're playing two of the premier games for the Wii U: the side scrolling throwback NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U and it's standalone spin-off NEW SUPER LUIGI U! We're gonna dive deep into some of Mario's most successful and beloved games of all time, plus take a look back at that most iconic of times, the Year of Luigi! This episode earns a full Steve-chievement.  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The...

This week, we're busting out a couple more minigame collections, with a couple of revitalized classics in the mix. WII SPORTS CLUB is an HD remake of the original pack-in game WII SPORTS, which had the benefit of online play but the detriment of an odd release model. RABBIDS LAND sees the RAYMAN enemies taking the limelight with a MARIO PARTY-style minigame collection that actually makes some pretty clever use of the GamePad!  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowksi  Logo by Corinne...

This week, our top-tier Patreon supporter CJ Baker returns to talk about the excellent 2017 remake WONDER BOY: THE DRAGON'S TRAP! The WONDER BOY series was the flagship franchise of the Sega Master System, and despite never being a bit hit in the U.S., it has grown a huge following around the world. We look back at the fractured history of the series as it went from simple arcade platformer to innovative open-world action RPG, and look towards the future as we chart the surprisingly...

Can you dig it? This week, we're playing two hit indie games that center all around the moving of dirt! Firstly, we're playing TERRARIA, a 2D MINECRAFT clone that is one of the 10 best-selling games of all time! Then, we're playing STEAMWORLD COLLECTION, a compilation of two games, STEAMWORLD DIG and STEAMWORLD HEIST, that might just become your new small-scale favorites.  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The Octopus Project...

We've played a lot of LEGO games on this series, and today we're fitting the final bricks into place! Neal Crow returns to the show to help us talk about a random roundup of LEGO games. First, we're playing the fast and funny cop comedy LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER. Then, we're playing three movie adaptations, one based on Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT trilogy, another based on STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, and finally we're closing it out in-house with the adaptation of THE LEGO MOVIE!  Hosted by...

This week, we're checking back in with the MARIO PARTY series, and making an appearance at an amiibo Festival as well! Corinne Kempen joins us as we play MARIO PARTY 10 and ANIMAL CROSSING: AMIIBO FESTIVAL, two board game-style adaptations of Nintendo characters that take very different approaches to the genre.  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The Octopus Project (theoctopusproject.com) ultra64podcast.com  Twitter:...

This week, we're embracing our inner hackermen as we play Ubisoft's ambitious, expensive spectacle WATCH DOGS. This open-world game lets you take control of the city of Chicago from your smart phone, allowing you to hack everything from ATMs to security cameras to traffic lights. There's an impressive amount of game here, but does this high-profile event game hold up nearly a decade later?  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The...

We're back on our fitness grind, and this time we chose NOT to play them on the hottest day of the year! First, we're getting tone with Ubisoft's YOURSHAPE: FITNESS EVOLVED 2013, and then we're dancing around the globe with ZUMBA FITNESS WORLD PARTY! Listen now to lose a guaranteed* five pounds! (*not a guarantee) Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The Octopus Project (theoctopusproject.com)  ultra64podcast.com  Twitter:...

This week we're gathering up a few odd little games that don't quite fit in anywhere else, but darn it they'll always have a home with us! First, we're playing the bare-bones arcade port TANK! TANK! TANK!, which promises three times the tanks of the average game. Then, we're playing RUNBOW, a fast-paced, stylish platformer/racer which supports up to nine players for wild local multiplayer. Finally, we're talking about TUMBLESTONE, a small but addictive indie match-3 puzzle game.  Hosted by...

The MONSTER HUNTER games are some of the most popular in the world, but the learning curve can be intimidating for new players. Luckily, we've brought in a ringer to help us explain the many working pieces of hunting monsters! Garrit Manker from the Co-Hops podcast comes by to help us parse through the complex and beautiful world of Capcom's multiplayer RPG, in all it's bone-busting, cat-befriending, egg-waddling splendor! Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne...

As a special treat for you, we have a new bonus episode courtesy of one of our top-tier Patreon supporters! The great Scott Burger returns with another dizzyingly complex and smart game, the indie roguelike COGMIND! Made by just one programmer over the course of several years, COGMIND casts you as a newly-sentient robot trying to escape a research lab, and offers more than 1000 different ways to customize yourself to do so!  If you want to join us to talk about any game of your choice, check...

This week we're witnessing an iconic team-up that took an event as big as the Olympics to manifest! Mario and Sonic set their differences aside long enough to share billing in the MARIO & SONIC series, taking them to various Olympic games to compete in mini-game versions of real-life Olympic events. This time, we're talking about the games for the 2014 winter event in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! Does this series go for the gold or is it stuck with...

We're saluting those about to rock this week with GUITAR HERO LIVE! GUITAR HERO was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that spurred most everyone to drop money on colorful plastic guitars, but a glut of sequels and imitators overwhelmed the market. LIVE is Activision's attempt to revitalize the series, with a new play style, a live stage show aesthetic, and an ambitious streaming service for new songs. We break down the new style of play and decide if this new spin on a classic formula is worth...

We're assembling heroes this week in every sense of the word! This week, we're closing the loop on both BATMAN and MORTAL KOMBAT by playing some games that highlight the best of both. First, the NetherRealm-developed fighting game INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, where DC  heroes and villains throw down in a MK-esque battle royale! Then, we're checking back in with the LEGO series for two of the Caped Crusader's best selling titles, LEGO BATMAN 2 and 3!  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody...

Our good friend Elliot Jay O'Neill is back for another bonus episode! This time, instead of discussing a particular game, we're diving deep into amiibo, Nintendo's answer to the toys-to-life craze! Unlike SKYLANDERS, amiibos are more free-floating, working with several games rather than having one platform built around them, and this has helped them endure longer than the competition. We look deep into the history of the figures, discuss their collectible value, and try to pinpoint the...

We're revisiting a couple of classic game shows this week! It's been a while since we played JEOPARDY and WHEEL OF FORTUNE on the Nintendo 64; how have the games changed in the interim? Ailish Collins returns to help us spin that wheel and question those answers! And she may have underestimated Steve's propensity for trivia...  Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo by Corinne Kempen  Theme song: "Truck" by The Octopus Project...

This week we're cracking into one of the biggest series of all time, the unstoppable juggernaut that is Activision's CALL OF DUTY! The series has been dominating sales charts and online bandwidth for years, but for those of us who tune in and out of the series, is there still anything to recommend from the earlier generation? We'll find out this week as we play CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II and it's sequel, CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS! Get 20% off @manscaped + FREE shipping with promo code UNIVERSE at...

We'd planned to make this an all-Dreamworks episode, but just because the Penguins couldn't make it, that's no reason to stop the party! Ailish Collins joins us this week as we make a hard pivot from animation adaptations to misbegotten party games! We played THE CROODS: PREHISTORIC PARTY, a minigame collection based on the hit movie; we follow it up with GAME PARTY CHAMPIONS, the latest in a series of shovelware compilations! The games may break, but the party never stops here at Wii...

We're travelling to magical, anime-inspired worlds this week! Firstly, we're taking flight with RODEA: THE SKY SOLDIER, the oft-delayed action game from the creator of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG! Then, we're looking at SHANTAE: 1/2 GENIE HERO, a breakthrough Kickstarter success that finally gave the plucky, hair-whipping heroine her first proper hit!  Get 20% off @manscaped + FREE shipping with promo code UNIVERSE at manscaped.com! #ad #manscapedad Hosted by Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski  Logo...