Why Is Every Game an 8/10?

Our Top 100 games with the best Barrett in the business! -- 00:00 Introducing Barrett and the Top 100 03:00 Behind Kinda Funny's Top 100 15:48 The Top 100 Begins (#100–91) 29:36 #90–81 50:30 #80–71) 01:12:39 #70–61 01:37:05 Top 60 01:45:35 Top 50 01:58:53 The Top 40 02:18:44 The Top 30 02:34:23 The Top 20 and Our All-Time Favorites -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCoitk5TUppjIS1huKsraU_Q -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

Is Coach Eric Taylor actually a good coach? And does he understand Matt Saracen at all? We're back with episode two of our Friday Night Lights rewatch! Jake, Cristian, and Peter dig into "Eyes Wide Open," an episode about the aftermath of Jason Street's injury, the impossible expectations placed on a new quarterback, and a coach that might be in way over his head! Support Critical Error and get a bonus podcast every week: https://www.patreon.com/criticalerror -- 00:00 Start 02:44 How Do We Read Friday Night Lights? 06:18 Is Coach Taylor Actually a Good Coach? 11:12 The Craft of Coach Taylor 19:53 Matt Saracen Figures It Out 21:58 We've Got a Lot of Work to Do 23:12 Jason Street's New Life 26:50 Smash and Riggins 35:49 The Broken Air Conditioner 37:48 Patreon 44:29 Coach Taylor and Jason Street 47:55 Jason and Lyla 55:10 Is This a Fireable Offense? 59:35 Tami Taylor's HR Department 1:01:32 Matt Saracen Misery Index 1:04:32 Outro -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake: @JakeSteinberg and https://jakesteinberg.substack.com/ Subscribe to @peterspittech -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg, Cristian Macias and Peter Hunt Szpytek

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Critical Error. Jake Steinberg, Cristian Macias, and Peter Hunt Szpytek kick off Critical Error's Friday Night Lights watch with the pilot episode, which premiered in October 2006. Watch along with us as we revisit all five seasons, one episode at a time. -- 00:00 Start 01:17 Is This the Best Show Ever? 04:33 Jason Street and the Mythology of Football 07:48 Rewatching the Show 20 Years Later 11:33 Monday in this Town 16:16 Introducing Matt Saracen and Tim Riggins 24:54 Football, Religion, and Expectations 31:30 A Word From Our Sponsors 32:34 Coach Taylor, Moby-Dick, and the Uncatchable 39:16 Friday Night Football 46:47 Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose 55:51 Jason Street's Injury and Matt Saracen's Triumph 1:06:56 Texas Talk 1:09:12 Is This a Fireable Offense? 1:11:44 The Matt Saracen Misery Index -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg, Cristian Macias and Peter Hunt Szpytek

Are all video game podcasts, reviews, and essays basically the same? This week we ask why games coverage keeps repeating itself and what it would take to say something new. -- 00:00 Every Game Podcast Ever 00:35 Is All Video Game Coverage the Same? 02:47 Overviews as Analysis 07:00 The Intentional Fallacy 10:57 Ocarina of Time and the Remake Discourse 13:55 The Problem With Video Game Essays 18:50 Why Are All Gaming Podcasts the Same? 22:47 A Podcast Should Be More Than Its Hosts 24:35 Going Independent Just to Make the Same Thing 28:57 Is Games Media Becoming Irrelevant? 32:31 Games Media Hasn't Adapted to the Internet 33:29 What Is a Video Game Critic Actually For? 35:24 The Problem With Games News Podcasts 37:59 Being Sad About Layoffs Is Not a Position 40:22 Cruel Optimism and the Games Industry 44:09 Longer Doesn't Mean Deeper 45:41 What Does It Mean to Closely Read a Game? 47:52 How Much Plot Summary Is Too Much? 52:37 The Worst Video Essay Writing Trend 55:36 Critical Error Royalty 56:31 Peter's Prepared Segment -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCoitk5TUppjIS1huKsraU_Q -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

This week on Critical Error, we put gaming's greatest (and stupidest) names on trial. -- 00:00 Don't Judge a Game by Its Title 00:31 William Shakespeare Is a Hack 04:06 Donkey Kong Bananarama 08:35 Lizard's Religion 12:57 Disney's Bug-Man 2 15:32 Extremely Violent Siblings 19:13 Space Lady: Anxiety 22:26 The Universe Stops at Your House 26:03 Symbolism: Fantasy Again 30:39 Nietzsche: Washing Machine 34:12 Space Wizards: Unfortunate Situation 38:12 Pocket Monsters: Big Sky Objects 41:57 Pokémon: Alphabet Backwards 44:50 Blood-Related Adjectives 47:15 Dang It Grandpa: Gun Fun 49:28 Azure Aristocrat 52:50 Disney's 179 Days Per Person 58:46 Critical Error Nation and Patreon 01:02:11 Microfiction 01:04:17 Closing Discussion -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCoitk5TUppjIS1huKsraU_Q -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

How long do you have to play a game before you’re allowed to have an opinion about it? We talk Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, 100-hour games, the dreaded “it gets good after 40 hours,” and why gaming culture mistakes endurance for acuity. -- 0:00 Cold Open 2:11 How do gamers relate to time? 1:00:12 PATREON THANK YOU 1:04:05 Jake's Written Piece -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCoitk5TUppjIS1huKsraU_Q -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

Videogame reviews have become overview trailers combined with thumbs-up-or-down referendums on personal taste. We talk about what happened to interpretation, and whether criticism has taught us to stop reading games deeply. -- 0:00 Cold Open 0:30 Did Reviews Make Us Dumb? 57:33 PATREON THANK YOU 1:00:05 Jake's Written Piece -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCoitk5TUppjIS1huKsraU_Q  -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected]  | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

Have you ever seen so many 8 out of 10 scores in your life? -- 0:00 Cold Open 1:20 Why so many 8s?! 52:39 PATREON THANK YOU 55:58 Peter's Written Piece -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek

We spend months getting hyped about video games, but then only a week really talking about them? That can't be right. PATREON Bonus episodes every week: https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership LISTEN & FOLLOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/ FOLLOW JAKE YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JakeSteinberg Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit FOLLOW PETER YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@peterspittech WRITE TO US [email protected] Subject: “Hey Jake and Peter” Critical Error is hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek.

Is "negativity" really the problem? -- Patreon ▸ https://www.patreon.com/c/criticalerror/membership Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/show/2vBGKwB2eZu6yXEEDUYvbM?si=8c082eae408f41f4 Apple Podcasts ▸ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-error/id1831034969 -- Follow Jake on YouTube:  @JakeSteinberg  Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jakenoseit Subscribe to Peter on YouTube:  @peterspittech  -- Write To Us ▸ [email protected] | Use Subject "Hey Jake and Peter" -- Hosted and created by Jake Steinberg and Peter Hunt Szpytek --