Shows
TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 17 - Halo: Combat EvolvedBetter late than never is the theme of this month's show. After a hectic August claimed much of the free time for all three co-hosts, Mark and Kevin were finally able to set aside some time and put a bow on our month of Halo. Kevin delves into the interesting history behind the series, and while their experiences were quite different, both hosts agree so much that we know and love today about Xbox and gaming, in general, is owed to Bungie's seminal space shooter. Along with more great forum feedback from our community, we finally say goodbye for n...2018-09-121h 34TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 16 - Fallout: New VegasWith our month of Halo: Combat Evolved in full swing over in the TA Playlist Hub, it's time we finally put the bow on last month's game, Fallout: New Vegas. Is New Vegas the best game in the Falloutfranchise? Sam definitely thinks so. Mark tends to agree, though he can't get past some of the legacy problems he's had with the series too. A complex discussion over the endgame decision-making, including a mixed reaction from our community, makes this one especially fun. 2018-08-032h 13TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 15 - Quantum BreakWith TA Playlist being well over a year old now, it was about time we all played a game, uh, about time. Our month of Quantum Break coverage is coming to a close but first, we get to wrap it all up with our monthly podcast. In this episode, Kevin returns and is actually positive on the game, believe it or not. Meanwhile, Sam explains what both this game and Alan Wake do wrong for him, and if you read my review, you already know how I feel about it. All of this plus highlights from our communit...2018-06-302h 06TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 14 - Alice: Madness ReturnsOver the last month we jumped on mushrooms, fought anthropomorphic tea kettles, and sought guidance from a talking cat. No, we weren't tripping out of our minds. We were spending a few weeks in Wonderland. As May has now passed, it's time to say goodbye to Alice: Madness Returns as our featured TA Playlist game. On this episode, Sam and Mark each have plenty of praise for American McGee's dark vision of the classic story, as did the community for the most part, but none of us are without some criticisms as well, namely for the over-the-top crim...2018-06-012h 06TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 13 - Sea of ThievesAhoy! I see a ship! It's close! We're back with another episode of the TA Playlist Podcast. This is our first show of the second season and in it, we set sail for our newest game to date in Rare's polarizing pirate adventure, Sea of Thieves. Sam and Mark are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their feelings toward the game thanks, in part, to surprisingly different experiences. Meanwhile, our special guest Darren Gargette of the Cane and Rinse podcast seems to fall somewhere in between even as he remains a dedicated daily plun...2018-05-042h 23TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 12 - Fable IIIt is now officially podcast time! Welcome to the latest episode of the TA Playlist Podcast. In this episode, Mark calls Fable II charming roughly 104 times while Sam admits his role as a scheming landlord all in the name of Gamerscore. All of that, plus what may have been the most community correspondence we've ever squeezed into an episode. Come to Albion with us as we wrap up our first year of TA Playlist. We also give away two $50 Xbox gift cards on this episode courtesy of site user and Fable fanatic GuardianAngelGG. Congratulations to our winners, BinaryRu...2018-04-092h 12TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 11 - Ryse: Son of RomeWhile we venture across Albion gaining renown in March's TA Playlist game, Fable II, we must take one brief detour and recap last month's community game as well. Ryse: Son of Rome is the focus of the latest episode of the TA Playlist Podcast. In this episode, Kevin praises the game for its setting, Mark forgives its mediocrity because it's a launch title, and Sam at least liked that it was brief. Along the way, plenty of community feedback is shared from an overall much more positive bunch of community players. All of that, plus stats, sequel talks...2018-03-111h 49TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Podcast Episode 10 - HITMANIn the latest episode of the TA Playlist Podcast, Mark, Kevin, and Sam reconvene to break down IO Interactive's stealth sandbox deathtrap, HITMAN. During what is our longest episode yet, we discuss the story for longer than anticipated, debate the game's artificiality as a devil's playground, and wonder aloud if anyone else feels uneasy from the way HITMAN seems to revel in its violence. All of this, plus plenty of community feedback from voices old and new, as well as our monthly stats review make up for the first episode of 2018.2018-02-062h 03TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 9 - Assassin's Creed OriginsIn the last TA Playlist game of 2017, Sam, Mark, Kevin and a great number of community members traversed the deserts of Egypt in search of vengeance, allies, and countless map icons in Assassin's Creed Origins. Sam takes the hosting duties for his first time as our resident Creed historian and thus he comes down most favorably on the game. Kevin quite enjoyed it too and shares his intriguing fan theories as to what comes next for Bayek and Aya. Mark meanwhile calls this the "final nail" in his dedication to playing the series on release every time. With your f...2018-01-081h 48TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 8 - The Turing Testhis past month was massive according to the stats page in the TA Playlist Hub. Of course, many of those being tracked on site were just playing the latest Games with Gold freebie, but judging by our excellent month of community forum chatter, it's safe to call The Turing Test a riveting choice for the event. Join Kevin, Sam, and Mark (I'm never sure if I should write in third person here) as they wrap up another engaging month with the TA Playlist faithful. In this episode, we discuss the game's moral dilemma, weigh its merits as an...2017-12-071h 33TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 7 - Alien: IsolationIt has been said that in space, no one can hear you podcast. If that's true, don't blast off toward the moon and stars until you've heard the latest episode of the TA Playlist Podcast. With several hundred community members, Mark, Kevin, and for the first time ever, a new voice, Sam, dissect the iconic xenomorph and learn all its ins and outs. Both Sam and Kevin have lived their lives almost completely avoiding the horror genre across all media so Alien: Isolation was a sort of exposure therapy for them, while Mark was making his third go aboard Sevas...2017-10-261h 26TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 6 - Dark SoulsWe've now covered half a year of TA Playlist games, and it's safe to say no previous month was as lively as September was for Dark Souls, despite the fact that the stats suggest otherwise and despite the fact that much of the conversation in the forums shifted from "what do you think of this?" to "how do I defeat this thing?" Kevin and Mark have to go on without Will for this episode — listen in to find out why. That topic, as well as the overall fairness of the game's design, the overwhelming sadness of the world of Dark S...2017-10-021h 08TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 5 - Life is StrangeWith the end of another month, we say farewell to our latest TA Playlist game. All three co-hosts enjoy the game in different ways, though it's Will who really adores it and isn't shy about saying so. Throughout the episode, we analyze the main characters, dissect the writing and dialogue, question some plot holes, and praise the game's attempts to deal with subjects few other games go near. Along the way, we share what amounts to the most community feedback of any episode so far because the discussions this month were truly fascinating. 2017-08-291h 28TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 4 - Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorThanks to a hefty sale just a few days into the month, the July 2017 edition of TA Playlist, covering all things related to Monolith's Shadow of Mordor, was our most active Playlist community game yet. Nearly 20,000 people played along with us, amassing over six million gamerscore. Will, Kevin, and Mark reconvened to share the best feedback of the month, unravel the story (spoiler: there's not much to unravel), and dissect the game's famous Nemesis System. Along the way, Kevin and Will maybe even became each other's nemeses, but we swear it was all in good fun. No hosts were ha...2017-07-311h 22TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 3 - Sunset OverdriveWe're back with our third month of TA Playlist, the official game club of TrueAchievements. For June's game, Kevin, Will, and Mark, as well as over 2,000 site members, got together to rack up stats, smash up Sunset City to a killer punk rock soundtrack, and weigh the merits of the game's nearly constant stream of meta-humor and fourth wall breaking. Later we demand Microsoft pull out their wallets and purses and finance a much-desired sequel. 2017-06-261h 04TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 2 - DarksidersMark, Kevin, and Will are back with May 2017's TA Playlist game, the violent and brooding Darksiders. Will and Mark come down pretty hard on the game, but Kevin likes it a bit more. The community weighs in too, mostly sharing the sentiment that Vigil Games' 2010 debut is neither awful nor excellent. We hack and slash our way through all aspects of the game before wrapping it up with a preview of June's Playlist offering.2017-05-301h 09TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist Episode 1 - Alan WakeOur inaugural month of TA Playlist is coming to a close, and that means our debut episode of the TA Playlist Podcast is here. Will, Kevin, and I got together recently to fully unravel the enigma of Remedy's 2010 thriller, Alan Wake. In this debut episode, we consider some early impressions of the game from both ourselves and the community and weigh the merits of its TV series presentation. Later, Will unloads on Alan as a character and Kevin doesn't exactly defend our titular novelist either. By the end, we're all still scratching our heads over the ending...2017-04-251h 26TA Playlist PodcastTA Playlist IntroductionTA means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Some come here simply to track their stats and see how they place in the world. Others come here as achievement hunters and everything we have to offer each other in the form of guides. Regardless of how you got here, many of you have stayed for the community. That's important and it’s something we want to foster. The Community and Events Team runs tons of events yearly to bring the community together and we wanted to take those same philosophies and mix it with the Ne...2017-04-1103 min