Shadow of Rome Review | Gladiatorial Combat, Corridor Questioning, Roman Whodunnit

A decade ago, one member of the games press decided to try his hand at development, and it worked out pretty alright for him. So, for this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we decided to take a look at that 2013 2D puzzle-stealth game from indie dev Suspicious Developments. We're talking Gunpoint.On this episode, we talk about the vlogging developer Tom Francis was doing, in the lead-up to the game's launch, on topics such as action games vs stealth game, as well as the heartbreak and triumph you encounter while making a game. We also chat about all the interviews Francis did in and around the game's launch – most of them are on whether his work at PC Gamer influenced Gunpoint in some way.In our review, you'll hear us discuss successful instafail, sharpshooting guards, the gift that is the Crosslink, a pair of superhero trousers, cartoon violence, a gun with a timer, kicking doors off their hinges, dialogue options that don't matter, and some jazz synth fusion.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in Who Am I? And then the lads give their final verdict on whether Gunpoint is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing The Last Of Us on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Maj 20232h 5min

The largest town in the county of Hampshire is relatively local for at least one of the crew, but we decided against reviewing the birthplace of Liz Hurley. Instead, we decided to take a look at the 2018 stealth roguelike from indie developer Puppy Games. We're talking Basingstoke (the video game and not the place... although there is some chat about Wote Street Willy).On this episode, we don't have a ton of marketing or press coverage to chat about, sadly. However, thanks to an incredible two-part postmortem the developer published on their Patreon, we are able to chat about the issues they faced: their publisher dropping out, a PR mix-up, Steam sales and much more.In our review, you'll hear us discuss the joy of a well-done flashlight, a new fear of plastic bollards, utter dejection, some mixed emotions on the items, and the Shaun of the Dead vibes.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in Who Am I? And then the lads give their final verdict on whether Basingstoke is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Gunpoint on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Apr 20232h 1min

We're going back to the 1100s and a period of history that video games don't tackle all that much, because we're looking at the 2007 action-adventure game that would go on to spawn one of the most successful series of all time. We're talking Assassin's Creed.On this episode, we have a lot of pre-launch marketing and press coverage to talk about: there's the totally un-Ubisoft vlogs, Kristen Bell pointing everyone towards a website, and just the unrelenting hype. In our review, we chat about the inconsistencies in the social stealth, the mission repetition, the counter (that's way too good), THE INTRODUCTION OF UBISOFT TOWERS, the mission repetition, and the fact that the modern-day stuff is actually pretty decent.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in A TOTALLY NEW GAME (that will probably just be called Who Am I?) and then the lads give their final verdict on whether Assassin's Creed is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Basingstoke on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Apr 20232h 51min

If I'd paid more attention in French class, I'd try writing the entire blurb en français, but I didn't, so I'm afraid English will have to do. Either way, this week on the Stealth Boom Boom podcast, you're getting over two hours of chat on 2013 indie heist game, Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine.On this episode, we chat about the wonderful vlogs from Pocketwatch Games' Andy Schatz and how the developer prefers Out Of Sight to Ocean's Eleven. In our review, we discuss the visual motif of the game and how everything is in service to the game's theme; we chat about the variety in the game's roster of criminals, and we discuss the shotgun... because it's brilliant.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in another round of Trivia Espionage Action and then the lads give their final verdict on whether Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Assassin's Creed on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Mars 20232h 17min

Sure, Ghost of a Tale is the first game on Stealth Boom Boom that launched via Steam Early Access, but it's also the first game we've looked at that was made by a former Dreamworks animator. Both equally as important.On this episode, we chat about the successful IndieGoGo campaign that developer SeithCG ran, we discuss the indie-ness of Ghost of a Tale, and we chat about Lionel Gallat's reasons for leaving the animated movie business. When it comes to stealth, we chat about how easily guards give up the chase, and how one outfit kills your sneaky funtimes. When it comes to the boom boom, the conversation turns to how RPGish this game really is, plus the pinecones... man, those pinecones. And, of course, there's some time to chat about how incredible this game looks, because my god does it look incredible.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in another round of Trivia Espionage Action and then the lads give their final verdict on whether Ghost of a Tale is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Mars 20232h 5min

The Penumbra series is like the three-track E.P. to Frictional Games' more successful debut album in Amnesia. The first-person horror genre is now stacked with weak lead characters and on-screen prompts telling you to get out of harm's way, but Penumbra walked so the protagonists in those other games could run to a wardrobe and hide.On this episode, we chat about the beginnings of Frictional Games and how Penumbra began life as a tech demo, before being spun out into a three-part game series (and then back to a two-part game series... and then a two-part game series with additional free DLC). In our review, there are differing opinions on the stealth: some preferred to be cautious even when it wasn't necessary, while others just battered zombie dogs with their pick axe – whatever gets you there. On top of that, there's some chat on "bad" combat and whether it has a place in Penumbra; some of the lads liked moving boxes around (while others didn't); and the story flits between fun mystery and confusing note / email drops... still, Clarence is wonderful.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in another round of Trivia Espionage Action and the lads give their verdict on whether Penumbra is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those that would like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Ghost of a Tale on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Feb 20232h 16min

Stealth Boom Boom goes all the way back to 1998 for this one, as Tenchu: Stealth Assassins celebrates a big anniversary. 1998 is often seen as the year stealth games were thrust into the mainstream, because of Thief: The Dark Project, Metal Gear Solid, and the game being reviewed today. But, does Tenchu hold up? I guess you could stop reading this and listen to find out. But, if you're gonna continue looking at the description, I'm gonna carry on typing out words into this little box.On this episode, we chat about the embryonic stages of developer Acquire and how Tenchu: Stealth Assassins very nearly never made its way to the West. In our review, we discuss the issues some of the Boom Boom Boys ran into with the draw distance and tank controls; we chat the magic of item selection (and specifically poison rice); and Josh lets us know just how much he loves that moonsault jump. We also talk about the reluctance of video games to allow you to be the baddie, some absolutely baffling voice acting, and some absolutely incredible music.Colm tests the gaming knowledge of Adam and Josh in another round of Trivia Espionage Action, and the lads give their verdict on whether Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those who'd like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Penumbra: Overture, Penumbra: Black Plague and Penumbra: Requiem on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Feb 20232h 29min

The Boom Boom Boys are looking at their first indie horror game today, as they turn their attention towards 2018's Remothered: Tormented Fathers. This is a game inspired by movies such as The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho, and very much the vision of one man. That man's name is Chris Darril and his name comes up quite a bit, so best for you to remember it.We chat about Darril's in-depth biography on the publisher's now-defunct website, and the many references to Hollywood that the Italian developer makes in interviews. In our review, we chat about how Tormented Fathers is keen for you to explore the Felton mansion (while constantly living in fear), we discuss the ludicrously vague puzzles, and we talk QTEs that require lightning-fast reflexes. We also discuss the sections of the game that stood out to us (for good and bad reasons), the odd audio mixing, and some really nasty transphobia in the story.Our quiz has a name now! And some legally-distinct music that's not at all like another quiz where they use the phrase "is that your final answer?" loads. So, please enjoy Trivia Espionage Action.... we like tea, okay? And then we finish this episode of the podcast by deciding whether Remothered: Tormented Fathers is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those who'd like to play along at home, we'll be reviewing Tenchu: Stealth Assassins on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS🎧 Subscribe to Stealth Boom Boom🐦Stealth Boom Boom on Twitter📸 Stealth Boom Boom on Instagram🎵 Stealth Boom Boom on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 20232h 13min