As we move through the years, many of us end up in front-facing jobs, whether that's at a restaurant, or in retail, or in some other capacity. But few people have to work in an environment where the quality of a customer's experience hinges on a ton of things going just right, potentially for con...
2018-11-14 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Just when things seemed to be going swimmingly for Square Enix, bad news strikes: Not only has most of Final Fantasy XV's DLC been cancelled, but the game's director -- one of their most vital employees -- has left the company. Combined with a $33 million loss over the past six months, the famous Ja...
2018-11-13 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Here in the United States, the 2018 midterm elections are behind us, and so our long national nightmare is finally over. Right?! Wrong! To make sense of the split decision rendered by the American people, I've brought in popular guest Jeff Cannata to talk through the results. With the House in De...
2018-11-08 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
For many kids, music is a gigantic part of life, and the bands, albums, and songs we grow up listening to and enjoying often help shape the people we end up becoming as adults. With that in mind, we dedicate the longest episode of KnockBack to date to 10 albums each (or 20 albums total) that inde...
2018-11-07 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The PlayStation news never stops rolling in, and with new PS4 global sales figures, random NPD releases concerning lifetime Vita and PSone software numbers, and fresh information about both the Medievil remake and the recently announced MLB 19: The Show, we have plenty to keep us busy. But we also w...
2018-11-06 17:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Diablo Immortal and Building A Better Games Industry!
2018-11-06 07:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
For virtually all students, lunchtime (and the recess that often followed) was a pivotal moment of each school day. Indeed, going off to eat and goof off with your friends acted as the perfect respite from never ending waves of math problems and reading assignments. Today's episode of KnockBack -...
2018-11-01 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
You may know today's guest, Lauren Chen, by her digital pen-name (of sorts): Roaming Millennial. Lauren was born in Hong Kong, moved to Canada as a kid, and heavily engages in politics both at home and in the United States, primarily through her YouTube channel and through her work on CRTV. So na...
2018-10-31 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Sony has finally revealed the 20 games that are set to come loaded onto each and every PlayStation Classic. The lineup has pleased some, but has left many others disappointed (and dare we say aghast). Not surprisingly, we jump into the ongoing conversation. Plus, Shawn Layden finally talks specifics...
2018-10-30 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Castlevania Requiem Review!
2018-10-30 06:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Great games. Shockingly lazy presentation.
2018-10-29 18:06:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I marinated for a while on what the nature of this month's CLS Patreon-exclusive podcast should be. Should I use one of the episodes of Fireside Chats I'm sitting on? Perhaps it's time to get Ramon back in here for another exclusive KnockBack? Well, both of those things will eventually happen, but t...
2018-10-26 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Red Dead Redemption 2 Review!
2018-10-26 06:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
It's almost always true that "the book is better than the movie." But when it comes to the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -- which is based on the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- the movie is definitively better than what inspired it. Starring Gene Wild...
2018-10-25 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The very definition of Production Value.
2018-10-25 11:08:27 +0000 UTC View Post
In the United States -- and around the world -- millions of animals go unloved, uncared for, and discarded. Bryan Finck works on behalf of The Pixel Fund, a Florida-based non-profit that tends to dogs, cats, and other animals that have been abused, abandoned, and put in otherwise awful situations...
2018-10-24 16:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Just when you thought Sony Bend was actually going to release a game this generation, you were wrong. Well, kinda. The studio's eagerly-anticipated third-person open world game Days Gone has been delayed, and we discuss what that means for PlayStation 4's 2019 calendar year. Plus, the saga surroundi...
2018-10-23 16:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
For a decade, Castlevania fans knew their beloved series as something traditional. You'd go through a stage full of bad guys, you'd fight a boss at the end, and you'd move on to the next level, where you'd do it all again. But then, in 1997, Symphony of the Night came to PlayStation (and Saturn!)...
2018-10-18 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
In an interview, Rockstar's co-founder seemed to indicate that the massive team working on Red Dead Redemption 2 is pulling 100-hour work weeks to finish the game. But is that actually true, or have his words been completely misconstrued? Is all well, or is it time to sound the alarms? We discuss. P...
2018-10-17 16:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Rondale Williams is a veteran of the US Navy, a software engineer with a college degree in history, and a moderate black man in contemporary America. It's the latter point that makes him unusual, at least from the perspective of modern politics, which often considers minority voters reliable bloc...
2018-10-16 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Almost every episode of KnockBack is focused on something: A topic, or a product, or a place and time. Today's episode is a bit different, though. Each month, CLS Patrons get to vote on what we should cover in a future episode of this show, and you guys and gals voted for us to tell some of our f...
2018-10-11 16:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Laci Green is a popular YouTuber, sex educator, feminist, and author. She's also a personal friend of mine. I initially invited Laci to Santa Monica for a Fireside Chat about her new book (Sex Plus: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body), and intended on discussing sexuality, feminism, and all...
2018-10-10 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
A few days ago, cell phone footage of a new, triple-A Harry Potter game (purportedly an open world RPG) was leaked, giving us a glimpse into what the popular franchise could look like on current-gen (and possibly even next-gen) consoles. But this week's news doesn't stop there. All signs are pointin...
2018-10-09 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The Game Devs That Can Save Star Wars!
2018-10-09 06:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
2018-10-08 18:34:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey All!
I hope that this posting finds you and yours very well.
It's that time! I'm pleased to reveal the next 9 topics that will be covered on CLS: KnockBack. Dagan and I will be recording this wave between October 13th and October 16th in Santa Monica, and we're sto...
In the late '80s, Katsuhiro Otomo changed animation forever with the release of Akira, the film adaption of his manga series of the same name. His Akira manga began in 1982, and wouldn't conclude until 1990, two years after the movie was released. But one thing was true then, and remains true now...
2018-10-04 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
It's only in recent years that the gaming industry has become louder, more vocal, and more visible. But in quieter times, David Jaffe led the charge when it came to what we today term "being a personality." Jaffe is most famous for being the driving force behind Twisted Metal (pardon the pun), an...
2018-10-03 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The fall rush is just about here, and there's much to discuss. For starters, Mega Man 11 has arrived, and Colin -- The World's Biggest Mega Man Nerd™ -- has some feelings about it. News concerning the recent (and very surprising) Telltale closure has also been flooding out, including word of a cla...
2018-10-02 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post