The episode doesn't stop there, because once you've returned from either of those two paths, you head off as a group with whichever other character you picked up in the first episode (Lukas for me) to find the last member of the Order of the Stone, Soren the Architect. This path also follows a relatively fast-paced action sequence, but falls a little short with its sub-par cliffhanger. It's only episode two, but the weird events surrounding the Order of the Stone and exactly what they're going to do to stop this crazy Wither Storm seems as though it will never be resolved.

However, there is a big difference between making an old school game for the purposes of invoking nostalgia, and making one that actually recreates the feeling of playing that game back in its prime. Castle Crashers is an example of latter, as it rightfully focuses less on re-inventing the brawler wheel, and more on emphasizing what made it so much fun in the first place. Of course, the little unique touches such as mini-games and RPG-lite elements are certainly unique and well appreciated additions.

It seems that it is getting to be closing time so I should probably get out of here. For my last question, since I got us off track talking about abusing The Sims, what is something you wish I asked you during that tangent and how would you answer it?

If competitive gaming ever really make it as a widely accepted form of entertainment, it will be in large part thanks to the contributions of this strange RPG, action, RTS hybrid known as the MOBA. It's origins date back to the previous generation, but its influence and prime really began in earnest during this one, as this charming genre mutt quickly found its way into the hearts and hard drives of some of the best gamers out there. Impossibly deep and begging for hours and hours of practice to become even marginally competent on a professional scale at, the MOBA is perhaps the most significant thing to happen to competitive gaming since the FPS.

Galactic Café went a step further with their Stanley Parable demo, creating new content not just for the free demo on steam, but for various venues that showcased the game. While all offered a short bit of meta-commentary on the nature of demos (pretty much the only way you could convey the core concept of the game without spoiling it), each was tailored to a specific scenario. The demo at PAX took some lighthearted jabs at Octodad (which was just across from it in the Indie Megabooth), and at one point made the player stand up and apologize to the audience for playing the demo so poorly. A special version made for Game Grumps addressed Danny and Ross by name. In this case, the demos were an unbridled success, building enough hype for the small indie game to garner 100,000 sales in 3 days.

Each path differs in gameplay as Magnus’s path is a lot more action-oriented with the introduction of Boom Town and 'griefers.' Of course, we all know 'griefers' from the original game as annoying players who would blow stuff up. Because of this, QTEs (Quick Time Events) are utilized that were so popular in the previous episode to dodge TNT. Ellegaard’s path isn’t as action oriented and focuses more on puzzles and Minecraft updates the character focus from the very first episode. There is a lot more dialogue in this path and a lot of it makes up the funnier aspects of this episode. This episode capitalizes on the voice actors that Telltale has gotten together like Corey Feldman (Magnus), who played Mouth in The Goonies, and Grey Griffin (Ellegaard), famous for playing Daphne Blake in the Scooby-Doo cartoon movies that bring the characters to life.

The action from the first episode hasn't left at all and if anything, managed to speed itself enough where you practically have to do a second playthrough just to catch it again. There are plenty of moments that could have been explained more and it's upsetting that they weren't in the short time it took to finish the episode. Things like Olivia's disappointment in finally meeting her hero and Lukas' role in Jessie's group of friends could have been touched upon a little bit more but the fact that they weren't makes me fear for future episodes. It leaves you with a, "oh, that was it?" feeling that should never be felt while playing any game, especially right when you begin getting into the action and quickness of it all. Hopefully, the third episode will capitalize on a few more important moments within the main character’s development and slow down a little in order to give everyone the attention that they deserve.

Capcom took a similar approach in 2010 with Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, although that was turned from a demo into a 10 dollar downloadable title. Set in a small town entirely separate from fortune city, it still offered a streamlined version of the core Dead Rising experience – a sandbox packed with improvised weapons, hundreds of zombies, and scattered survivors to save within a set time limit. Players got a cheap taste of the full game without spoiling anything, and their stats carried over to reward the investment of their time and money. It’s impossible to say exactly how Case Zero impacted Dead Rising 2 in terms of sales, but I can testify that it’s what sold me on buying the full game.