The Back Page: A Video Games Podcast

Dan Dawkins, former editor of PSM2 and current Content Director of Games and Film at Future, joins us to discuss his long history in games media. You'll hear some of the best games magazine stories on this podcast yet, including encounters with Hideo Kojima and how PSM2 (and later PSM3) popularised the Let's Play format in a pre-YouTube age. This week's music is from the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams, Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori and Kazuma Jinnouchi, the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams and the Ico soundtrack by Michiru Oshima, Koichi Yamazaki and Mitsukuni Murayama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if Sony released a PS2 Mini? And what if it was good? In this week's episode, Matthew and Samuel each pick 10 games to be released with a hypothetical PS2 Mini. Head to the poll on our pinned tweet @BackPagePod to vote on who picked the best games, and we'll announce the winner on a future episode!The winner of this episode was Samuel.This week's music comes from the Gitaroo Man soundtrack by COIL, Tomohiro Harada and YUAN, the Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater soundtrack by Norihiko Hibino and Cynthia Harrell, the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo and Masaharu Iwata and the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a simple podcast about the games we've been playing in 2021 so far – both old and new. From The Last of Us Part 2 to Neo: The World Ends With You and Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, we cover plenty of ground in this episode, and answer your questions about open world games and video game theme parks.This week's music is from the Judgment soundtrack by Hidenori Shoji, Yuri Fukuda and Saori Yoshida, The Last of Us Part 2 soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla, and the Hades soundtrack by Darren Korb. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a spoiler-free dive into the Phoenix Wright series and its various spin-offs, as Matthew gives his verdict on the long-awaited The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, and reels off the 10 best entries in this immortal Capcom visual novel series.This week's music: Phoenix Wright ~ Objection! 2013 (Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies), Investigation - The Core (The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles), Godot ~ The Fragrance of Black Coffee (Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations) and Athena Cykes ~ Courtroom Révolutionnaire (Ace Attorney: Spirit Of Justice) by Noriyuki Iwadare, Yasumasa Kitagawa, Hiromitsu Maeba. Toshihiko Horiyama and Masami Onodera. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Valve moving into the handheld market, we reflect on whether there's a place for a Switch-style PC in this episode. Plus! In a sequel of sorts to our Bad eBay Games Court episode, Big Sammy Holdings and Matthew Castle Productions are moving into the hardware market – hear us conceptualise the (fictional) perfect handheld games console. This week's music is from the Heavy Rain soundtrack by the late Normand Corbeil, the Control soundtrack by Petri Alanko and Martin Stig Andersen, and the Space Harrier soundtrack by Hiroshi Kawaguchi and Yu Suzuki. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew has played The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, which is out now. Does he still think it's worth an Edge 10 a decade later? Find out in this episode, and discover where it ranks in Matthew's list of the top 10 Zelda games to date. Expect lots of deep dissection of Nintendo's series from a genuine expert.This week's music is from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack by Koji Kondo, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword soundtrack by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota and Takeshi Hama, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening soundtrack on Nintendo Switch by Ryo Nagamatsu and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker soundtrack by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi and Koji Kondo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two top 10 lists of the best games of 2009, from Uncharted 2 to Batman: Arkham Asylum. First, we'll tell you what was going on in the media in 2009, then we'll delve into a solid chunk of recommendations. Don't miss our episodes on the best games of 2006-2008, too, as we slowly work our way through the past two decades of gaming history.This week's music is from the Uncharted 2 soundtrack by Greg Edmonson, the Spirit Tracks stage soundtrack from Super Smash Bros Ultimate arranged by Michiko Naruke, the Little King's Story soundtrack by Yutaka Minobe and the Let's Tap soundtrack by various artists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you write about a game that's not actually finished yet? In this episode, we dig into the art of writing games magazine cover features, covering weird demos and dealing with the hype cycle in general. Hear about our experiences visiting the studios behind Pokémon and Assassin's Creed, and more embarrassing stories about throwing hot chocolate in toilets and going to the bathroom on a New York City freeway.This week's music is from the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided soundtrack by Michael McCann and Sascha Dikiciyan, and the Devil May Cry 5 soundtrack by Casey Edwards, Ali Edwards and Cliff Lloret. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Indie developer Jay Baylis (Wargroove, Lenna's Inception) joins us to talk about Sonic's history in time for the Sega icon's 30th anniversary. You'll hear two top 5 lists of the best Sonic games, and a lot of chatter about his highs and lows. Please don't unsubscribe! Find Jay's work on Cassette Beasts @byttenstudio on Twitter.This week's music is from Sonic CD by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, and the Sonic Unleashed soundtrack by Tomoya Ohtani, Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi, Hideaki Kobayashi and Takahito Eguchi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

E3 2021 is finally over! Hear our thoughts on this year's conference as we each count down our 10 favourite announcements from the show, and format them into a hypothetical games magazine. This week's music is from the WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgames! soundtrack by Ryoji Yoshitomi and Kyoko Miyamoto, and the Metroid: Samus Returns soundtrack by Daisuke Matsuoka. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Guardian's Keza MacDonald kindly joins us on this episode to discuss her long career in games media, and whether E3 still matters in 2021. Hear about some of our E3 memories, and learn about the different ways the show has changed over the years. This week's music is from the Demon's Souls soundtrack by Shunsuke Kida, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword soundtrack by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota and Takeshi Hama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're answering 22 more of your questions. Where would we set a Yakuza game? Should games reviewers always finish the game first? What were our favourite playground rumours about games? We answer all of these and more – plus we discuss the results of last episode's draft.This week's music is from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack by Junya Nakano and the It Takes Two soundtrack by Gustaf Grefberg and Kristofer Eng. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microsoft has been on a spending spree in acquiring developers over the past few years, from Obsidian to buying the entirety of Bethesda. In this episode, Matthew and Samuel can each pick 6 game developers to build a new publisher – but it's competitive, and they can't pick any of the same choices. After you listen, head on over to @BackPagePod on Twitter to cast your vote on who won!The winner of this episode was Samuel.This week's music is from the Hades soundtrack by Darren Korb, and the Toy Story on Genesis soundtrack by Andy Blythe and Martin Joustra, based on the original song by Randy Newman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Kelly from PC Gamer joins us to talk through what makes a great detective game, whether it's a compelling mystery, a certain type of setting or something else. Get a deep dive into the genre, then a heap of recommendations as Andy and Matthew each count down their 5 favourite detective games.This week's music is from the LA Noire soundtrack by Andrew Hale, the Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir soundtrack by Kenji Yamamoto, the Return of the Obra Dinn soundtrack by Lucas Pope and the Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations soundtrack by Noriyuki Iwadare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Mass Effect: Legendary Edition now available, we're revisiting the original Mass Effect trilogy in this episode, a defining HD-era series of games. What impact did it have on the RPG genre, for better or worse? What happened to BioWare in the years afterwards? And what future does the series have, if any?This week's music is from the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack by Jack Wall and the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack by Clint Mansell and Sam Hulick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've both finished Resident Evil Village, and in this spoiler-free episode we'll talk you through our thoughts on the eighth entry in Capcom's brilliant survival horror series. In the second half, Matthew and Samuel will count down their 5 best Resident Evil games from across the series.This episode's music is from the Resident Evil 4 soundtrack by Misao Senbongi and the Resident Evil 5 soundtrack by Kota Suzuki. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Dead Space to Grand Theft Auto 4, 2008 was a phenomenal year in gaming. In this episode, hear Samuel and Matthew count down their respective top 10 best games of 2008 lists, and flash back to the big events of this year in the HD generation console wars. This week's music is from the Fable 2 soundtrack by Russell Shaw, the No More Heroes soundtrack by the Genki Rockets, and the GTA 4 soundtrack by Michael Hunter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this sequel episode to 'Games Review Scores We Got Wrong', hear more about our process of assigning scores to classic games as we pick out the times we got it right. It's two men, getting defensive about old review scores. What makes a better podcast than that?This week's music is from the Resident Evil 6 soundtrack by Akihiko Narita and the Metal Gear Rising Revengeance soundtrack by Jamie Christopherson and Jason Miller. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PC Gamer's Phil Savage joins us for a Yakuza-themed special episode, which covers pretty much the entire history of Sega's series as it finds new fans on Xbox Game Pass. Hear about the 5 best games in the Yakuza series, and learn about the best starting point if you're a new fan.This week's music is from the Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6 soundtracks by Hidenori Shoji. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we discuss 10 of our best games magazine covers, and explore the stories of how they each got made. Hear about how issues of PC Gamer, Official Xbox Magazine and Official Nintendo Magazine came together. See the covers discussed in this episode for yourself here: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/backpagegames/back-page-covers-from-heaven/ This week's music is from the Nights: Journey of Dreams soundtrack by Tomoko Sasaki and Naofumi Hataya, and the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain soundtrack by Akihiro Honda, Ludvig Forsell and Stefanie Joosten. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the PS3 and PS Vita stores both closing this summer, here are 10 games worth grabbing before the digital storefronts vanish forever. We also discuss the disappointing form that led to Sony's decision to do this, and ponder what console manufacturers actually owe us when it comes to preserving their old games.This week's music is from the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack by Takanari Ishiyama, Gigi Meroni, Kazuki Muraoka, Lee Jeon Myung and Hiroyuki Togo, and the God Hand soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You sent in 31 questions about gaming, ranging from demo discs to how games are reviewed, and we answered them! This week, we pause for breath, and just enjoy a Q&A with our listeners. Regular service resumes next week.It's a very straightforward episode, but it covers a wide range of subjects, even if it's about 30 minutes longer than it should be. This week's music is from the Deus Ex soundtrack by Alexander Brandon, Dan Gardopée and Michiel van den Bos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old this month in the US and Europe, and in this episode, we're counting down the system's best games. We're joined by a special guest (and former employee of Matthew's) to supercharge our Nintendo expertise: IGN's Joe Skrebels! Hear about the history of this system, and learn about the many highlights of its library.This week's music is from the Fire Emblem: Awakening soundtrack by Hiroki Morishita and Rei Kondoh; the Super Mario 3D Land soundtrack by Asuka Hayazaki, Takeshi Hama and Mahito Yokota; the Kid Icarus: Uprising soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, Noriyuki Iwadare, Takahiro Nishi and Yasunori Mitsuda; and the Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright soundtrack by Tomohito Nishiura and Yasumasa Kitagawa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode is all about interviewing the people who make games. Are we good at it? What makes a great interview? From Phil Spencer to Yuji Horii, too, you'll hear about 10 of the most notable exchanges we've had while working in the games media over the years.This week's music is from the Super Smash Bros Brawl soundtrack by Takahiro Nishi, Shogo Sakai, Masaaki Iwasaki, Yutaka Iraha, Keigo Ozaki and Kentaro Ishizaka, and The Secret of Monkey Island soundtrack by Michael Land and Patrick Mundy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samuel Roberts stands accused of crimes against good taste – will the honorable judge Matthew Castle find him innocent or guilty, based on 18 dodgy eBay games purchases made over the past 12 months? We also talk about the idea of collecting games generally in this episode, and reveal how big our Steam libraries are. This week's music is from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack by Lex Horton and the Phoenix Wright trilogy soundtrack by Masakazu Sugimori and Akemi Kimura. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to Crackdown, which were the best games of 2007? Matthew and Samuel share their top 10 lists, and delve into their memories of covering the early days of HD console gaming. This week's music is from the God Hand soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda, the Halo 3 soundtrack by Marty O'Donnell and the Hotel Dusk: Room 415 soundtrack by Satoshi Okubo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The long-awaited Nintendo Direct hit this week, and we've picked out 12 highlights for discussion, from No More Heroes 3 to Skyward Sword HD. It's definitely not just an excuse to hear some more of Matthew's great Nintendo thoughts and anecdotes, but hey, it's a nice bonus.This week's music is from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota and Takeshi Hama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mario's greatest Wii U outing has landed on the Nintendo Switch, and this week, we discuss its place in the 3D Mario pantheon. Is it better than Galaxy? Definitely not. Odyssey? Nope. But it is still pretty great. We also talk about the challenges of writing about Mario with our first ever guest, Katharine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun! This week's music is from the Super Mario 3D World soundtrack by Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo and Yasuaki Iwata. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our two top 30 games of the generation lists conclude this week, as we each read out our personal 15 best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U. This week's music is from the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack by Shiho Fujii, Atsuko Asahi, Shinji Hosoe, Ryo Nagamatsu and Yasuaki Iwata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack by Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata and Hajime Wakai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two top 30 lists of the best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U from the past 7 or 8 years – this episode covers games 30-16 on both our lists. Part 2 is coming next Friday. Enjoy.This week's music is from the Prey soundtrack by Mick Gordon, the Danganronpa V3 soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and the Final Fantasy XV soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've both played a lot of Hitman 3, and in this episode, we celebrate IO Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy and explore why it's one of modern gaming's greatest achievements. If you're a fan of Agent 47's many murders of nasty billionaires, this episode is for you.This week's music is from the Hitman 2 soundtrack by Niels Bye Nielsen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew and Samuel discuss the art of making covers for games magazines. See the covers discussed in the episode for yourself using this link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/backpagegames/the-back-page-magazine-covers/If you're having trouble using the link on your podcasting app of choice, you'll also find them on Twitter @BackPagePod.This week's music is from the Pillars of Eternity soundtrack by Justin E Bell, the Mass Effect Andromeda soundtrack by John Paesano and the Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright soundtrack by Tomohito Nishiura and Yasumasa Kitagawa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 2021 preview episode, we sum up what's new with the next-gen consoles (and PC! And Nintendo!) in the coming 12 months. We also serve up 21 gaming predictions for the next year – from Cyberpunk 2077 DLC to Master Chief appearing in Smash Bros, it's all based on very few facts, and we hope you enjoy it. This week's music is from the Baldur's Gate 3 soundtrack by Borislav Slavov. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wow, 2020 was the worst! Luckily, the games were pretty good, and in this episode, we each count down our personal top 10s of the year. From Doom Eternal to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, start off 2021 by capping off the last 12 months of fantastic games.This week's music is from the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu and the themes of Destiny 2's Prophecy dungeon by Michael Sechrist, Skye Lewin, Michael Salvatori and Josh Mosser. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is now much bigger than the game itself. Still, in this episode, Matthew discusses his 70 hours playing the glitchy but nonetheless fascinating game, while Samuel throws questions at him about the game's best quests and why it's not a very good immersive sim. In the second half, we discuss the ways in which writing about big games has changed over the years. Note that this episode was recorded before Sony pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from sale on the PlayStation Store - the conversation around this game has changed quickly...This week's music is from the game's soundtrack by Marcin Przybyłowicz, PT Adamczyk and Paul Leonard-Morgan, as well as the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack by Koji Kondo and Mahito Yokota. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Twilight Princess to Gears of War, travel back to the dawn of HD gaming in our 2006-themed retrospective podcast. Matthew and Samuel both count down their top 10 games from that year, and recall the biggest news headlines, from Peter Moore's ludicrous GTA 4 tattoo to the PS3's pricing disaster. Get ready for a comfy 2.5 hours of nostalgia (hopefully not in an unbearable way). This week's music comes from the Bully soundtrack by Shawn Lee, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess soundtrack by Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta and Koji Kondo, and the Rhythm Tengoku soundtrack by Tsunku and Masami Yone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IO Interactive: nobody does it better? James Bond is the theme of this week's episode, as we discuss the Hitman developer's recently announced 007 game, and what it might look like. We also delve into the history of Bond on consoles and PC. Predictably, GoldenEye 007 comes up, but so too do the deeply average PS2-era likes of 007 Nightfire and Everything or Nothing. Plus! Jokes about George Lazenby. This week's music is from the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack by Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland, as well as the No One Lives Forever soundtrack by Guy Whitman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What goes into awarding a game a 7/10 review score? And what happens when you get it wrong? This week, we discuss 10 or so games where the review scores we decided on many years ago didn't stand the test of time. From Epic Mickey to Metal Gear Solid 4, it's a spicy podcast. This week's music is from the MGS4 soundtrack by Nobuka Toda. Our logo is by John Strike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two next-generation consoles just launched: the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, both of which have sold out worldwide. We've played games on each, and this week we talk about their launch line-up, as well as the history of each company's consoles. Plus: which console had the best launch line-up of games ever? The answer may or may not surprise you. This week's music comes from the Assassin's Creed Valhalla soundtrack by Einar Selvik. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.