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November 2018

It's A Claptrap Kind Of Christmas

Claptrap2

As my girlfriend and I worked out our holiday decorating plans for the season, we had plenty of our favorite video gaming and sci-fi franchises represented, but one key ingredient was missing.  Due to what I'm assuming is a careless oversight at Gearbox Software, there are no Borderlands ornaments for Christmas.  We have Super Mario and Star Trek on our Christmas tree, but the theme just isn't complete without a little taste of Pandora.  Luckily we came up with a solution. 

It all started several weeks ago when we were out shopping for decorations.  Earlier in the year we rented a house together, and this is our first holiday season in our new home, so we need new decorations to fill it.  We were browsing the aisles at a holiday home store when I saw stocking holders with gift boxes mounted on top.  The interesting thing about the little gift box was that the sides of the package were sloped inward slightly, giving it a very familiar shape.  "Hon," I said to her, "Doesn't this look like of like Claptrap?", and that's when the idea first took shape.  I'm in love with a creative genius.  She took those gift boxes and using paint, glitter, and some custom-built props, transformed them into little Claptraps straight out of the Hyperion factory.  Now we have a little bit of Borderlands in our holiday season.  Happy Mercenary Day, travelers!


Power Button - Episode 278: Matt Buys A PSVR

Power ButtonBlack Friday offered deals on Sony's PlayStation VR headset that were too good to pass up, so I took the plunge and bought a PSVR set with the camera, Move controllers, and pack-in games.  I haven't kept up with PSVR developments since I hadn't really been in the market for one until Borderlands 2 VR was recently announced, so now I have this headset and no idea how to get the most out of it.  Fortunately, Blake Grundman has owned a PSVR since launch and is ready to answer all of my questions about the device and offer some tips and advice on how to have the most fun with it.  Join us for an hour of PSVR primer, and rest assured that we will follow up on this topic once I spend some quality time with some VR games.   Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes and Google Play, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 


Nostalgia For A Non-Existent Memory

Electronic Gaming MonthlySomething strange happens around this time of year when darkness falls earlier in the evening and the cool winds blow as I get the craving to play classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, particularly the Sega Genesis titles (including spin-offs like Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D Blast) and even the lesser Master System/Game Gear titles.  That's not entirely unusual, but the desire to play is rooted in memories of growing up with my game systems and taking time off from life to relax over the holidays, so you'd think that I'm trying to recapture a bit of my youth through Sonic, but here's the twist: I never owned any Sega hardware or Sonic titles when I was growing up.  The first Sonic game I owned was Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 midway through my college years, and then Sonic Mega Collection shortly after that.  I've never been able to figure out why I equate playing Sonic with this time of year until just recently when I finally made the mental connection that explains it all.

When I wasn't playing video games as a kid, I was usually reading about them in the magazines of the day such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro which were both publications that leaned heavy on Sonic coverage.  The speedy hedgehog was all over those issues in the early 1990s, first as pre-release rumor, then preview, then review, then maps/guides, then finally as part of a year-end recap.  I followed Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles through this printed path year after year, wanting to play them all but never owning the hardware required to do it.  The nostalgia I feel for these games isn't for playing them, it's for vicariously experiencing them through print! 

Now, thanks to retro compilations, I own the classic Sonic catalog several times over across a few different platforms, so the old games are never far from my reach, but I do still think back on the magazines from time to time and the thrill of finding a Sega Genesis demo station in a store like Sears where I could play a round or two of Emerald Hill Zone in the Funtronics section while my parents were shopping.  I've been playing Sonic games lately to scratch that old memory itch, but maybe I should be reading about them instead.


Power Button - Episode 277: Thanksgaming II

Power ButtonAs we enter the annual holiday season buffered by Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, it's time for us to present our traditional Thanksgaming podcast episode in which we discuss all of the gaming things that Blake Grundman and I are thankful for this year.  From the more rational choices like price drops and availability to the special moments money can't buy like playing with family, we have an hour of introspective thought for you to enjoy with your plate of turkey and potatoes.  Save a slice of pie for us!   Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes and Google Play, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way.