064: Octal FM 2k19

061: Get Pokémon! (Trading Cards)

We’re joined by a special guest this episode! Tom last joined us back in Episode 10 to discuss MOBAs. We’ve talked about competitive Pokémon before too, with Marti Bennett back in episode 21. This time, we turn our attention to the trading card game.

Sound-byte 014: Lucky LAN number 13

054: Year of Gaming – 2007

In this episode we talk about why we think 2007 was one of the biggest, and one our favourite, years in gaming.

Orange Box
- You can pick up Orange Box on Steam, or mostly second-hand on Xbox 360 and PS3. The Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible on Xbox One.
Bioshock and Uncharted
- Bioshock is available in a remastered collection of the first three games on Xbox One, PS4, and Steam, or you can still buy the first game standalone on Steam.
- Uncharted is available in a remastered collection of the first three games on PS4.
Call of Duty 4
- CoD 4 was so popular, fans petitioned for the game to be remade. Therefore, you can pick up the remastered edition on PS4, Xbox One and Steam.
Assassin’s Creed
- Assassin’s Creed Heritage Collection includes the first three main games, as well as Brotherhood and Revelations. It’s available on PS3 and Xbox 360, where it is backwards compatible on Xbox One. The Director’s Cut edition is available on Steam.

052: Stay awhile and listen

In this episode we each discuss some of our favourite video game stories.

Bioshock 1
- Vox: Bioshock proved that video games could be art
- Bioshock 1 is available in a remastered collection of the first three games on Xbox One, PS4, and Steam, or you can still buy the first game standalone on Steam.
Valkyria Chronicles
- The original was on PS3, or you can pick up the remaster on PS4 or Steam.
Last of Us
- Polygon: Let’s talk about the ending of The Last of Us
- The Last of Us was released late in the PS3’s lifecycle, so now you can pick up the remastered edition on PS4. A sequel is in the works.
Metal Gear Solid 3
- This is quite a tricky one to play now. There’s an HD collection of MGS games for PS3, Xbox 360, and Vita. And there was a 3DS version of MGS3.
Half-Life 2
- You can pick up Half-Life 2 on Steam. The Orange Box includes Half-Life 2, and the Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible on Xbox One (also available on the Xbox marketplace).

Intro/Outro music: CJACKS – Runaway fashion

047: Get lost

In this episode we discuss some of our favourite video game worlds to get lost in. We reminisce about some worlds we’ve not visited for a while, and we discuss what it means for a game world to be ‘immersive’.

Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion

043: Nintendo vs. The Internet

In another ‘Octal FM are Nintendo fanboys’ episode, we take a look back at the often overlooked history of Nintendo and the Internet. It involves satellites beaming games down to a virtual village on your SNES.

Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion & an old modem

042: A Mostly Harmless Episode

In this episode we tell the story of the Elite game series and our story of playing the original together back at school, and some bits about the space-sim genre as a whole.

The Guardian excerpt from Backroom Boys about David Braben and Ian Bell.
Elite (1984) free PC download (and the Mac version)
Or play it in an emulator in your browser.
Elite 1984 gameplay footage (Scott Manley)
ArcElite (the version we played) gameplay footage
Frontier Elite 2 footage
Frontier First Encounters gameplay footage (with updated graphics) (Scott Manley)

Intro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
Outro music: Strauss – Blue Danube

033: MMOs in Disguise

In this episode we discuss the emerging trend of adding massively multiplayer features to games that otherwise might be single player. Is this something we want to see more? Or is it just a way of extracting more ‘value’ from gamers?

Intro & outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion