The Pound Threes Gaming Podcast

This week I bring on an incredible guest to help the podcast break out of the teens! Todd Chappuis aka HappyChappy96 is a PlayStation thoroughbred and we hit every console starting with the legendary PS1. Among many things, we’re able to take a deep dive into Lord of the Rings The Two Towers and Return of the King as well as discuss the canon controversy of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor & Shadow of War. After getting our fill of LOTR video games, we hit everything from the Battlefield series (including the hype for 2042 & Portal), doing donuts at Petco Park in NFS: Midnight Club 3, holding on to the skateboard in Little Big Planet, to why cinematic sequences in video games are arguably as quality as Oscar winning films. The games discussed in this episode include: EA Supercross, Battlefront (2004), Battlefront 2 (2005), Need for Speed: Midnight Club 3, Slugfest, LOTR: The Two Towers, LOTR: The Return of the King, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Call of Duty 3: Big Red One, Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 2042, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Uncharted, Little Big Planet, Firewatch, UFC 3, MLB: The Show, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Red Dead Redemption 2, and God of War (2018).

We're back, baby! After a 3 month hiatus (which included an engagement, promotion, resigning a lease… woohoo!!) Pound Threes is back with this brand new episode. I bring on Blake Ozuna, aka zunamojo1996, and we hit the gambit of console gaming. Everything from sneaking around Pizza Planet in Toy Story on the SNES and facing trolls in Harry Potter on the PS2, to cussing out FIFA on the Xbox Kinect and getting your team a yellow card for foul language. I'm stoked to be recording again and hope you all enjoy the comeback! The games discussed in this episode include: Toy Story, James Bond: Golden Eye, Madden, Harry Potter, Halo 2, FIFA, NBA 2K, MVP Baseball, Gran Turismo, MLB The Show, Heavy Rain, Beerio Kart, Shot Smash, NHL, Batman VR, Oculus VR, Simpsons Hit & Run, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Enough with Call of Duty already! This week I bring on an old friend of mine, Annie Luke aka topweeb, to discuss what is so great about indie games, how critical exclusive games are to PlayStation and Xbox, and why PC’s are the natural evolution of gaming. This episode was awesome reconnecting with an old friend who is doing some awesome stuff these days. Go check out her podcast on everything anime and manga called “Love it or Weeb It” at https://loveitorweebit.com/. The games discussed in this episode include: Stardew Valley, Diddy Kong Racing, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Halo, League of Legends, Overwatch, Among Us, Fall Guys, Untitled Goose Game, Witchbrook, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and more!

This episode was recorded this past Monday so... Happy International Women's Day! This week I bring on someone I play video games frequently with and someone who is deadly with a sniper in Warzone. Alton Mantz, aka JSLV, got his start shredding in Tony Hawk and racing in Crash Bandicoot racing on the PlayStation 1. We talk the early days and hit everything along the way from the Forge in Halo Reach, Skyrim, and finally Call of Duty: Warzone. We even talk about the rise in popularity of streaming services like Discord and Twitch and how this type of entertainment is dominating right now. The games mentioned in this podcast include: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Crash Bandicoot and Crash Team Racing, Need for Speed: Underground, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Burnout, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, MX vs ATV, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), and more!

My first guest on who actually owns a PS5! This week we get international as I bring on Marc Sedino aka BrummB43R-15 and we discuss the differences of gaming culture between the United States and Germany, having a LAN party using PC’s (say goodbye to the electricity bill), how Guild Wars is a better World of Warcraft, and the true PS5 experience. Games mentioned in this podcast include: Age of Empires, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Monkey Island, Halo 3, Astro’s Playroom, Assassin’s Creed, AC: Valhalla, and more!

This week I have my most competitive (officially ranked play) player on yet, Devin Prema aka Hella Shawtiez, to discuss all things Call of Duty, Fortnite, League of Legends, and more. With very different interests as far as gaming is concerned, Devin and I have a blast diving into what makes first-person shooters such an addictive genre for any and all ages. Games discussed in this podcast include: Pokémon, Super Smash Bros, Legend of Zelda, FIFA, Halo 3, Halo: Reach, League of Legends, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, COD: Modern Warfare 2, COD: Black Ops, COD: Modern Warfare 3, COD: Black Ops 2, COD: Black Ops 3, COD: Black Ops 4, COD: Modern Warfare (2019), COD: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: WWII, Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 1, Battlefield V,

This week I bring on one of my best friends, Mitchell Refnes aka Refnasty, to discuss the many games we played together over the years and how even though we get different experiences out of playing video games, we still have an absolute blast playing co-op together or competitive against each other. We touch on everything from finding out who the best Wii bowler is in your family, how Super Mario Strikers has one of the most difficult campaign modes we've ever played, the frustration caused from "screen-peaking" in split-screen gaming, and just how much Call of Duty capitalized on the competitive nature of people, ourselves included. The games mentioned in this episode include: MarioKart, Slugfest, NHL Hitz, NFL Blitz, RedCard Soccer, Wii Bowling, Super Mario Strikers, Guitar Hero, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2, Halo 2, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019),  PUB-G, and more!

Happy Valentine’s Day! This week I take a walk down memory lane with a guest that I’ve been playing video games with for over 15 years. Tanner Syftestad aka PoisionBub or Derp (depending on the console/PC) is someone that has always been drawn to the competitive nature of gaming and we hit a variety of genres and titles that surround this itch for competition. We compare RuneScape to World of Warcraft, dive down the rabbit hole of League of Legends, and talk about why we’re so lucky to have girlfriends that are down with the gaming! The games discussed in this episode include: Diddy Kong Racing, Super Smash Bros, RuneScape, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Viewtiful Joe, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, League of Legends, and more!

If you’ve ever been curious what it’s like to write, create, direct, and act in video games then this is the episode for you! We’re back this week with Dean Liapis aka ReverendFaceSmash (what a gamer tag) to discuss the industry from the creator’s side. Dean has been involved in everything from creating/writing games from scratch, writing on DLC’s, attending and presenting at E3 and Gamescom to directing voice acting. This is one of the most in depth episodes I have had yet and cannot wait for you listeners to tune in and hear this guy’s incredible story. Oh and don’t fret, we dive deep into many games along the way. Games included in this podcast (with SPOILERS as noted below) are as follows: Capcom vs SNK 2, Scivilation, Sacreligium, Batman: Arkham Knight SPOILER, God of War (2018) SPOILER, Assassin’s Creed series, AC: Valhalla, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Last of Us SPOILER, The Last of Us: Part II, Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order SPOILERS, Uncharted series, Irony Curtain, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Dark Souls, Psi-Ops, Spider-Man (2018).

You ever heard of a Neo Geo?! This week I bring on someone with a fresh perspective compared to my previous episodes, Eric Woolfitt aka Woolfitt5695. We discuss a number of topics ranging from the massive leap from the Atari to the Nintendo 8-Bit, underground leagues of GoldenEye Golden Gun in the dorms, his experience raising kids and balancing video games in their lives and my hopes and expectations of playing video games with my own some time in the future. Games and consoles discussed on this episode include: Atari Pong, Nintendo 8-Bit, Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Castlevania 3, Willow, Marvel Studios Games/Movies, Halo and the Master Chief Collection, GoldenEye 007, Tecmo Bowl, Bubble Blast, N64 Madden, MarioKart, Sony Dreamcast, Neo Geo, Hydro Thunder, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, G-LOC: Air Battle, Civilization, Resistance, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Wii Bowling, Wii World at War, Titanfall 2, God of War (2018), Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Killzone 1 & 2, Beat Saber, Google Earth VR, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.