Vic's Basement

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SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Dishonored sneak up on you in this episode. Watch out! Vic and Scott get another surprise visitor—hey, are they really surprises anymore?—down in The Basement. Today it's legendary developer Harvey Smith, one of the visionaries/creators behind Dishonored which, in case your memory is failing you, won our Rocket & Raygun Game of the Year award. Harvey has plenty of behind-the-scenes stories and revealing anecdotes about the making of the game. If you're a fan of Dishonored, this episode of the The Basement qualifies as a must-listen. Also, if you're wondering about upcoming DLC for Dishonored and Dishonored 2, Harvey has no information to share with Vic and Scott on either front. (Though he does admit that there will be some Daud-centric DLC sometime this year.) Also: Vic waxes poetic about the Metroid Prime Trilogy, which he is currently playing, even though he should be playing other things. This is Vic's symbolic way of saying goodbye to his old friend, the Wii. Raunchy, crass, informative—hey, that's The Basement.

Today on The Basement: Vic asks Scott why he has decided to grow a mustache. Then he implores him to do the world a favor and shave it off. Also, Scott rediscovers his love of videogames, thanks in no small part to the upcoming Devil May Cry reboot. Speaking of Devil May Cry, or DmC as it is now known as, Alex Jones (no relation to Scott) drops by The Basement. Alex is the Senior Producer on DmC. Vic and Scott ask Alex why Capcom, for the first time ever, decided to take the series out of Japan and let U.K.-based developer Ninja Theory build the game. Also: Scott asks Alex why they decided, when rebooting the series, to make Dante a huge jerk. Also: Vic and Scott ask Alex if Kratos or Dante engages in the greatest number of threesomes. That's right: it's another PG-13-rated episode of VB.

The One Without Scott. On today's 94-percent Scott-free episode of Vic's Basement: Vic interviews Sony marketing guru (and all-around sweet fellow) Matt Levitan. The two of them have a frank, intimate discussion about the future of all things Sony. Does Matt leak any details about the PlayStation 4? He unfortunately does not. Otherwise, we would have to list him as "former Sony marketing guru." Also: Scott makes a brief appearance at the very beginning and again at the very end of the show, when Vic and Scott discuss their New Year's resolutions. So what are you waiting for? Press play already, and let the entertaining begin.

Welcome to the Final Boss of all podcasts. And, just like the Final Boss in every videogame, this one refuses to die. It is—and this is big news, so best sit down for this—the audio version of our year-end Rocket & Raygun videogame awards. Every word, every moment from four episodes that are airing this month on TV is here for your listening pleasure. That means Steve, Raju, Ben, Jose, Marissa, Shaun, and, of course, Vic and Scott are all in attendance. Special Bonus Side-Effect: Even if you didn't keep up with all the games this year, you will feel as if you played every title released in 2012 simply by listening to this podcast. It's seriously amazing. So grab your egg nog, cozy up by the fire, and click the sideways triangle button over there...

This week on Vic's Basement, Vic and Scott answer a flurry of old Twitter questions. Trust us, it's more compelling than it sounds. That's right, we devote the entire episode to answering questions ranging from our guilty-pleasure movies to whether women who game have bigger libidos than, you know, those other women. Also: Vic and Scott squabble. Because no episode of Vic's Basement is complete without some squabbling. Click the PLAY button below and give your ears an early Christmas gift.

Two words that best describe this week's show: "big" and "news." Vic and Scott get a visit from Mike Crump who is the studio manager for the just-opened Microsoft-owned Black Tusk Studios. After all the studio closures and downsizings in Vancouver, this is some terrific news. Mike is a tall, thin, mild-mannered man who seems to enjoy wearing relaxed-fit chinos. He delivers his good news—ahem, great news—then sticks around to shoot the s*** with Vic and Scott. Crump can't talk about what Black Tusk is working on yet, so Vic and Scott—well, mostly Scott—do their darnedest to browbeat it out of him. (Note: Crump never cracks.) Scott speculates that it might be some kind of Dance Central-type game starring Halo's virtual strumpet, Cortana. Old Crumpers swears that's not what they're working on, but Scott still isn't buying it. Listen and learn, folks.

This week, Scott and Vic once again welcome a celebrity guest into their dank bunker. Yes, it's none other than Dr. Greg Zeschuk, who represents 50-percent of the legendary "BioWare Doctors." Greg, along with his partner Ray Muzyka, made some of the greatest games this industry has ever known including the Baldur's Gate series, the Neverwinter Nights series, the Dragon Age series, and, of course, the Mass Effect series. Both men recently retired from game-making to pursue other interests. So who, exactly, decides to stop making games? And what, exactly, does Greg plan to do that is better/more fun than making videogames? Both questions—as well as a great many others—will be answered on today's extremely beery episode of The Basement. P.S. Dr. Greg loves beer SO MUCH. EXPLICIT WARNING REMINDER: Just a quick reminder that this podcast is a place where Vic, Scott, and Guests may let loose a bit more than the TV show. There may be explicit language during any or all podcast episodes.

Welcome to one of the greatest episodes of Vic's Basement, ever. We realize that this is hard to believe, but "The World's Greatest Podcast" (that what Scott calls it anyway) just leveled up. We have an exclusive interview with one of the gaming world's most vaunted developers: Warren Spector. This is the man who worked on legendary games like System Shock (the spiritual precursor to BioShock) and Deus Ex. Warren, of course, is busy putting the final touches on his latest creation, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, but he found time to chat with Vic and Scott. Naturally, they ask him only the pithiest of questions, including queries about his ongoing Disney/Mickey Mouse obsession (he holds a special pass that gets him into any Disney theme park in the world) and his magnificent beard. (Well, his former beard. It seems Warren has shaved it since the last time we saw him. What a shame. A perfectly good beard down the drain.) Here's the deal: 1. you listen; 2. you get smarter. It's really that simple.

This week on The Basement: Vic and Scott take a break from the annual November gamevalanche to have in-depth discussions about two of the biggest ones: Halo 4 and Assassin's Creed III. Scott reveals that he is, in fact, human when he confesses that the score he hung on one of these games might have been a little too high. (You'll have to listen to the show to find out which one.) Also: Vic once again professes his undying love for Apple's tiny new tablet, the iPad Mini, while Scott holds his stomach and groans in the background. I know we say this every week, but this time we really, really mean it: THIS IS OUR BEST EPISODE YET. Don't miss it.

Today in The Basement: Scott eats leftover Halloween candy until his stomach hurts. Then Vic brings up the whole Disney-taking-over-Star Wars thing, which only makes Scott's stomach hurt even worse. Is this the new hope that Star Wars fans have been waiting for? Or has the empire struck back one more time? Then Vic and Scott get a visit from—can you believe it?—Josh Holmes, the Creative Director on Halo 4. Josh talks about the pressure behind making a game that's 49-percent game and 51-percent pop-culture moment. Finally, all jokes go out the window in The Basement's closing moment when things get genuinely emotional. No kidding. Even the Covenant Jackals and Brutes out there in the listening audience will be misting up when they hear this heart-wrenching, behind-the-scenes story. The best episode ever of The Basement begins in 3...2...1...

Vic and Scott discuss the pros, cons, and everything in between regarding the iPad Mini. But wait, there's more: Brian Provinciano is in "da house." Brian, in case you don't know, is the man who made the superb videogame RetroCity Rampage. Gaming's ironman—he built Retro all by himself—gives Vic and Scott a candid behind-the-scenes look at what goes in to making a game all by yourself. Hint: the personal cost is, to put it mildly, not small. Future game developers of the world, do not miss this episode.

This week, Vic and Scott do terrible impressions (Bill Cosby, Christopher Walken). They offer three ways to fix New York Comic-Con. (You're welcome, New York Comic-Con.) They discuss Retro City Rampage, a new downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 and Vita that has been blowing Vic and Scott's minds. Dream Come True Alert: Vic and Scott are both characters IN THE GAME. Does this fact color their review? (Vic: "No." Scott: "No.") Finally, the boys discuss the latest Bond videogame, Activision's 007 Legends, which turns out to be just plain wretched. Who thought it would be anything but wretched? (Answer: Vic did.)

Today on The Basement, Vic and Scott leave the smelly confines of the basement—fly free, little birds!—and travel 3,000 miles to New York City where they interview Insomniac's Brian Allgeier. Three things you need to know about Brian: 1. he worked on seven Ratchet & Clank games; 2. he's working on a new game called Fuse; and 3. he sports a well-groomed, lustrous beard on his face. Behind-The-Scenes Pro-Tip: The interview took place in a subterranean nightclub in midtown Manhattan, which was eerily basement-like. Let the mind-blowing begin in 3...2...1...

Today down in Le Basement (which is French for "The Basement"): Vic and Scott argue over the need for cases for electronic devices. Scott says no; but Vic says yes. After that, they both rave about Arkane Studio's new game, Dishonored. This incredible experience is, well, incredible, with one extremely minor exception: Scott does not like reading the game's virtual books. So he complains about it for awhile, then Vic makes fun of him. Hey, it's just another typical day down here in The Basement.