You are listening to the Introductory Gaming podcast with your host(s) Duke and Yash.

This is episode 2 of our 5-episode journey. Today’s episode will talk about one of the most popular PlayStation exclusives, Spider-Man. Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in Marvel, so we just had to include him in our agenda. This podcast will detail what the game is about, the fundamentals of how to play, and we will even partake in rounds of trivia. We got Anish on this episode, and Josh is also back. They will most likely be here for the next 5 episodes. Be sure to check him out on Spotify at Fantasy Football Fanatics.

For our first segment, we'll briefly overview the game Spider-Man. There have been 2 Spider-Man games in the past 4 years, but we will only be talking about the first one. The first Spider-Man game was released as a PlayStation exclusive on September 7, 2018. This game has many accolades as at the 2018 Gamers’ Choice Awards it won Fan Favorite Action Game, Fan Favorite Single Player Gaming, and even Fan Favorite Character of the Year. Marvel’s Spider-Man is an open-world third-person action-adventure game, in which the gamer can play as Peter Parker. You can play his superhero identity of Spider-Man to fight crime in New York City. I’m going to pass it over to Duke so he can explain the storyline a bit more in-depth.

---Story Line

• Next, we’re going to talk about the storyline. The game takes place eight years into Peter Parker’s career as Spider-Man. The main villain of this game is a super-human crime lord named Mister Negative, and he plans to seize control of New York City’s criminal underworld. He threatens to release a deadly virus with the assistance of the Sinister Six, so Spider-Man must confront him and save the city while dealing with the personal problems of his civilian personas. He is accompanied in his journey by his ex-girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, NYPD captain Yuri Watanabe, and even Miles Morales.

In this segment, we will be playing a minigame with our guests. The minigame that is featured in this episode will be trivia. Yash will go through a series of questions, and Anish, Josh, and I will compete to get the correct answers. The person with the most points at the end of this segment will be the winner. The twist is that bonus points will be rewarded through a series of challenges. The trivia questions will test the guests’ knowledge on the entirety of the character, not just the game. For the people who are listening, feel free to answer the questions with us and see how extensive your knowledge is about our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Before I proceed with the questions, I wanted to recap the trivia leaderboard to let you guys know who is at the top. Anish is at the top of the leaderboard with 2 wins, but Josh is catching up because he just won the last episode. Duke on the other hand is having a little bit of trouble. Maybe he can turn that around in this episode.

In this segment, we will just voice our opinion of the game.

You are listening to the Introductory Gaming podcast with your host(s) Duke and Yash.

Today, I want to outline our plan for the rest of our episodes. We will be embarking on a 5 episode journey together, so buckle up. For this episode and the next, we will be directing our attention to PlayStation exclusives. For episodes 9 and 10, we will be jumping ship to Xbox exclusives. Then finally, for our final episode, we will be comparing and contrasting the two consoles to finally decide once and for all which one is the best. There are so many great PlayStation exclusives, so it was hard to choose only two, but we finally made the decision. First on our list will be a game that was highly anticipated all year, God of War: Ragnarok. This podcast will detail what the game is about, the fundamentals of how to play, and we will even partake in rounds of trivia. Anish will be back on yet another episode, making him 7 for 7. We also have a familiar face from the last episode, Josh Kohlhepp. Josh will be present for the next 5 episodes so we can get his opinion through the entire discussion. Be sure to check him out on Spotify at Fantasy Football Fanatics.

For our first segment, we'll briefly overview the game God Of War: Ragnarok. The first installment of God of War was released on March 22, 2005. Santa Monica Studios have released 9 installments of the game up until now, with God Of War: Ragnarok being the latest installment. The player primarily controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game elements. Kratos' main weapons are a magical battle axe called the Leviathan Axe, and his signature double-chained blades, the Blades of Chaos. He also has a shield, the original version of which is called the Guardian Shield. I can’t say too much without spoiling the story, so I’m going to pass it on over to Yash who will be talking about the storyline.

---Story Line

• Similar to its predecessor, God Of War: Ragnarok takes place in the world of Norse mythology, 3 years after the previous game. In this new release, you’re able to explore all 9 realms of the Norse world. You are able to visit 3 previously inaccessible realms known as Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, and even Asgard. The story follows the series protagonist Kartos along with his son Atreus and they have to deal with the harsh winter environment. Kratos and Atreus discover the prophecy of Ragnarok in which they are the center of all the events that take place. They must find a way to stop it through a series of quests and challenges. The writers of this game took a lot of time to accurately incorporate Norse mythology into the storyline, and they ended up doing a fantastic job to end up with a really good storyline that engages the player.

In this segment, we will be playing a minigame with our guests. The minigame that is featured in this episode will be trivia. Yash will go through a series of questions, and Anish, Josh, and I will compete to get the correct answers. The person with the most points at the end of this segment will be the winner. The twist is that bonus points will be rewarded through a series of challenges. For the people who are listening, feel free to answer the questions with us and see how extensive your knowledge is about God...

You are listening to the Introductory Gaming podcast with your host(s) Duke and Yash.

In this episode of the Introductory Gaming Podcast, we will be continuing with the enre of sports games. We’re going to move on to a game equally as popular as 2K23. The game featured in this episode will be Madden 23. This podcast will detail what the game is about, the fundamentals of how to play, and we will play two distinct minigames. For this episode, we have a fan-favorite guest, Anish Ponam. We also promised you guys a surprise for this episode, so we brought in two special guests from another podcast run in this building. They are perfect for this episode because one plays football and the other has a fantasy football podcast so please welcome, Andrew Rowan and Joshua Kohlhepp.

For our first segment, we'll give a brief overview of the game Madden 23. Madden 23 is a very young game as it was released on August 19, 2022. Madden 23 is an American football game developed by EA Sports, and it is based on the National Football League (NFL). The game featured is similar to ones that came before it, however, it has updated rosters and more advanced features. Madden 23 has every current football player programmed into the game, and each player has a rating that corresponds to their ability in real life. You can pick any of the 32 teams in the league and play as them. You can play this game with your friends either by playing on the same console with two controllers or separately online. If you’re by yourself you can play against the AI or even indulge in the Franchise Mode.

---Story Line

• There is no real storyline in Madden 23 because most sports game don’t, but the closest thing to it would be the Franchise Mode. In the Franchise section of the game, you can create an avatar with his own stats and put him on a team. You can then play as that player against various teams. Most years, your player would start off as a rookie, but this year, you start off as an underutilized fifth-year free agent. You then play lots of matches until you eventually make it into the hall of fame. This game mode is very special because you can simulate a career in the NFL in various ways.

In this segment, we will be playing a minigame with our guests. This episode is unique because we are breaking a pattern that we’ve been doing since the start of this podcast. You might have noticed that we pair games off, meaning that every two episodes feature games that are similar in genre. For these pairs, we usually play the same minigame, but because drafting an entire NFL lineup is tedious, we decided to play two smaller minigames. These two games have never before been seen on this podcast. We will be playing “Higher or Lower” and we will also be doing a “Keep 5 Cut 5”. In the “Higher or Lower” segment, I will read two characters at a time. I will give the guests the rating of one player, and they have to guess if the other character has a higher or lower rating. The person with the most points at the end wins. For the “Keep 5 Cut 5”, I am going to say a list of 10 players, and the guests will have to keep 5 of the players but cut the other 5. For the people listening, feel free to play along with us to see if your knowledge and opinions are on par with...