Episode 45 - Watchdogs and Video Game Role Models

The Joy of Gaming Podcast, Episode 45:

Watchdogs and Video Game Role Models

On this episode of the Joy of Gaming Podcast, we (Rich, Tim and Jordan) try to answer a rather difficult question: Are there any truly good role models in video games? With games like Call of Duty, Titanfall, Grand Theft Auto and Assassin’s Creed topping the sales charts, the current gaming landscape has become defined in large part by the violence found in today’s most popular games. But are there any game experiences out there that show us how to lead a productive and fulfilling life?  So many of today’s  games ask us to view the world down the barrel of a gun and interact with fellow players and NPCs using swords and bullets as opposed to words - but does the presence of violent content mean that a game cannot also feature heroes worth admiring?  These are the questions that Tim – who is soon to be a new father - challenges us to answer, and we all try our best to come up with some video game heroes worth defending.

But first, we talk about the games we’ve been playing recently (most of which are, admittedly, extremely violent).  Since the smoke is just starting to clear after this year’s E3, we have decided to forgo our usual gaming news segment to focus on nothing but the games, and speaking of E3, could anyone ever forget the amazing hype that surrounded Watchdogs when it was announced two years ago at E3 2012? Now remember - this is the game that won over 82 best in show awards that year, and was lauded as the game that would define the next generation of gaming. But now that it’s finally been released, does Watchdogs live up to the hype, or does the game come up a few months too late and a few mobile-phone-hacked dollars short? We delve deep into Ubisoft’s cyber-hacker opus to let you know what we thought.

And just to prove that there is indeed life after the release of Watchdogs, we discuss the other games we’ve been playing these past few weeks, including Murdered: Soul Suspect, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Diablo III, Max and the Curse of Brotherhood, Halo: Spartan Assault, Charlie Murder, Vampire Smile, Battlefield 3, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know, Star Trek, Plants vs. Zombies 2 DLC, Peggle 2, and more. We also discuss the latest journalistic endeavors on our website, TheJoyofGaming.net, including new video content, game reviews, editorials, top 5 lists, and much, much more.  

So grab a controller and a copy of Watchdogs, hack into some guy’s camera phone and watch him play Russian roulette with his girlfriend while high on Meth. Who says there aren't any role models in video games? This…is the Joy of Gaming!