It's his birthday, so we're letting TL take over the wheel -- or the cockpit, as it were -- to walk us through a retrospective of sorts about the various genres of mech video games, inspired by this week's release of Super Robot Wars Y. From fighters to tactical RPGs and everything in between, if you like games about giant robots you pilot and punch things with, this top 5 is for you. 

After that, we cover the other new releases this week, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, then offer up a few more thoughts on things we've been playing like Sword of the Sea, Mafia: The Old Country, and Death Stranding 2. 

Question of the Week: Which famous mech from pop culture would win in an ultimate mech battle royale and why?

Break Song is "When the Mechs Hit the Ground" by NerdOut

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Summer movie blockbuster season may be winding down, but we still have movies on the brain around these parts. So much, in fact,  that we wanted to talk about movie tie-in games. And who better to help us with that than special guest Steve Guntli from the excellent CinemArcade podcast? We are all familiar with the games that are generally regarded as the best movie tie-in games. So Steve is here to offer up some of his favorite movie games that you may not have heard of, in what we're calling the top 5 next best movie games.  

After that, we talk about Sword of the Sea, the recent PlayStation 5 price increases, Kirby Air Riders, Pokémon, and all the big news from Gamescom. 

Question of the Week: What previously unadapted movie needs its own game? 

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Let's face it, the games industry hasn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows lately. As the late, great Dusty Rhodes would say, the industry has been facing hard tiiiiiimes, daddy. And yet, as a game player, there's a lot of really cool stuff to be excited about, including some recent trends and changes to the hobby that are just plain awesome. The VGA crew is here to help celebrate some of those recent changes in games.  

After that, we give our impressions of Mafia: The Old Country and Madden NFL 26, talk about news from the recent Nintendo Indie World Showcase, and more! 

Question of the Week: What was the first online experience you can remember having?

Break song is "Everything is Awesome (Tween Dream Remix)" by Garfunkel & Oates

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

This week's release of the prequel game Mafia: The Old Country is as good an excuse as any for us to get nostalgic and take a trip back in time to discuss games that did exactly that, as the VGA crew and special guest Greg Moore pick the best prequel games of all time.  

After that, we talk about Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2, the new Shinobi: Art of Vengeance demo, the Fortnite Power Rangers crossover,  Nintendo price increase news, and more! 

Question of the Week: What guest character or franchise do you want to see in Fortnite next?

Break song is "Back in Time" by Huey Lewis & The News

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The recent release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps got us reminiscing about games where you get to team up with friends and create your own fantastic foursome. Whether it's huddling around an arcade cabinet, sharing a couch, or meeting up online, it doesn't take a brainiac like Reed Richards to know that some games are just more fantastic with friends, and the VGA Boyz are here to list our favorite four-player games. 

After that, we talk more Donkey Kong Bananza, sneak in a little Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, break down this week's news, and more! 

Question of the Week: What's your favorite four-player gaming experience?

Break song is "We Ain't Came to Lose" by Raekwon and Ghostface Killa

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.