Active Reload: A Video Game Podcast · Sheridan Media

Good, Bad, & Ugly of the Game Awards Trailers! Marathon Gets Re-Revealed!

·1 hr 23 min·5 clips

High Guard was the last trailer of the show, and the hosts call it a dead-on-arrival hero shooter.

1. Active Reload episode 117 focuses on The Game Awards trailers, with the hosts calling out the event's “good, bad, and ugly” slate. 2. John and the other host drive the discussion, with one co-host especially focused on Halo, Control, and flight games. 3. The episode asks which Game Awards trailers actually looked worth following after a show that ran about four hours. 4. The hosts say the awards themselves had “no real surprises,” but the trailer section mattered more than the trophies. 5. They criticize the show format for being “a trailer show mixed with a game show, but like 80% trailers.” 6. They talk about award recipients not getting enough time on stage, and mention that only a few winners would have held their attention. 7. Control Resonant gets the strongest praise, with discussion of the FBC building, altered world objects, and a trippy setting. 8. The trailer's gameplay tease shows floating combat and a possible melee focus, which the hosts see as a shift from the first game. 9. Ace Combat 8 stands out because the hosts think the franchise had gone quiet after Ace Combat 7 in 2019. 10. They compare Ace Combat 8 to Ace Combat 4 on PS2 and say the story presentation in the series is unusually strong. 11. No Law earns a positive reaction because of its cyberpunk look, first-person gameplay, and mechs. 12. The hosts also point out crafting, melee combat, and a visual style that reminds them of Dying Light and Deus Ex. 13. Gang of Dragon gets attention because the trailer initially looked like Sleeping Dogs to one host. 14. They identify Toshiro Nagoshi as the creator, note the hand-to-hand fighting, and comment on the stabbing scene's style. 15. High Guard becomes the biggest disappointment because it was the final trailer after the show had built up expectations. 16. The hosts say it looks like a free-to-play, five-on-five hero shooter with Concord-like visuals and payload-style structure. 17. The tone stays conversational and argumentative, with two hosts constantly interrupting each other and comparing trailers in real time. 18. The format is a live reaction breakdown with trailer-by-trailer judgment rather than a formal review. 19. Fans of The Game Awards trailer reveals and Xbox chatter. 20. Listeners wanting tightly edited analysis or award-show politics.

As heard by us

Good, bad, and ugly from the Game Awards, Marathon confirmed, and a real question about where Microsoft is heading.

Active Reload's Episode 117 opens with a Good/Bad/Ugly pass through the trailer slate -- Marathon's re-reveal among the first stops -- before the panel turns to whether the Game Awards format makes any sense.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You've got Game Awards trailers to process -- Active Reload already sorted them into good, bad, and ugly.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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