GC Podcast #16 on YouTube: Ratchet & Clank (& Michael)

I want you to imagine something horrifying: Imagine that staff writer Michael Ridgaway is right behind you.

Playing videogames.

Thanks to the magic of YouTube, this terrifying exercise in make-believe can become a reality. When you’ve got an audio-only recording of Michael Ridgaway trying out Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, it truly feels like he’s in the same room as you, playing with your air and breathing your PlayStation 3. When you pair that audio-only recording with a slideshow of screenshots from the game, it truly feels like Michael is in the same room as you, playing Ratchet & Clank: A Wrinkle in Time, while you’re watching a slideshow of screenshots from the game.

I had barely heard of Cratchit & Hank before The GameCola Podcast #16, but that didn’t stop me from watching these videos as part of my required administrator duties for the GameCola YouTube channel. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to try out these videos, for goodness’ sake, man, get off! It’s a picket fence! I can’t believe you’d even consider sit—what? Oh. Socket Wrench & Clink, right.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the series, and even if the idea of listening to someone else play videogames isn’t immediately appealing, at least give the first video a shot—many of us at GameCola are better at talking about videogames than playing them, and I promise you that Michael’s commentary is far more interesting than what you get to see of the gameplay. Plus, the first video has one of my favorite gags ever to appear in one of our YouTube videos, and it’d be a shame for you to miss out on the joke. It’d also be a shame for you to miss out on some of the ridiculous pictures of Michael that are interspersed with the screenshots. I won’t ruin the surprise, but there’s one that looks just like this:

Podcast #16 is shorter than most, which means that there are only five videos in this series, and they’re all under 10 minutes. Try out the first two videos here, and if the thought of having Michael Ridgaway in your room doesn’t spook you, check out the entire playlist for Hatchet & Clunk Take a Bite Out of Crime.

If you find yourself getting fidgety, remember that you don’t have to watch the slideshow of screenshots. You could…you know…do something more active, like RATING OUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND GAMECOLA ARTICLES. You may have noticed that our archives are gradually filling up with content from pre-revolution-era GameCola.net; those articles need love (or loathing) just as much as the new stuff, and I’d call you a liar if you said you couldn’t multitask by listening to the videos and reading—whoa, gotta stop writing for a while so I can focus on breathing again.