The First Gamer to Play the Xbox Series X Ft. Michael Santiago

what's up and welcome to the Single Player Experience Podcast. As always, I'm your host, Sebastian Malden, and in this episode we're going to be talking about the best games so far of 2023. And I know what you're saying, like, man, chill. It's only the first two months of the year, and I get that completely. But that said, this has been the absolute stacked year for video games so far. 2023 has been, for video games. So for a topic this big, I had to call in the big guns. So my guest today is none other than Lit Un Play. In case you didn't listen to the previous episode I had with Lit Un Play Lit is a very good video game reviewer and a video game streamer. He knows all about the dopest indie games and he plays the hottest triple A games of the year. So who better to talk about the top game so far of 2023? So in this episode, lit and I are gonna be talking about the Dead Space remake one Piece Odyssey and other games that blew us away so far in the first two months of 2023. But that's not all folks, because Lit is also gonna be telling us why he's so excited for tours of the Kingdom and he is going to take on the pro nerd trivia challenge. We got all this and more coming right at you right after the intro. DJ start the intro. Mine. Like I said in the intro, joining me today is a very special guest. He is a gamer. He's an NYC nurse, and he is a soon-to-be father from the hit show, the Gamers University podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, it is two medic himself, a k a, Michael Santiago. Michael, how you doing today?

What's going on, Sebastian? Thank you so much for having me, man. I love the intro, man.

Love man. Yeah, a special guest needs a special intro, so I had to dial it up a notch, you know what I mean?

I hear you, man. I hear you. Thank you so much for having me, man. Uh, I I just wanna give you your flowers. You're doing a great job, uh, with your podcast. And literally the episode you did with Trevor Alexander is like, it's like, it is like a bible. It's a masterpiece for me. It's, it's like everything I need, and we'll, we'll talk about why, uh, later, later on. But thank you so much for doing that episode with him, man. I, I loved it, man.

Thank you so much. You flattered me. Thank you for the compliment there, man. Uh, and shout out to Trevor, like he, he is a very good guest. I would highly encourage anyone to check out his podcast as well. So, Michael, though, for the people who may not know you, introduce yourself to the audience. Let these people know.

Yeah. So, um, so my name is Michael Santiago. Um, I also known as Tune Medic in the social medias and, and the gaming in, uh, Uh, I'm a also a podcaster. I have my own gaming podcast called Gamers University Podcast, and my, my day job is I'm in the healthcare industry. I started off, uh, in the fire department as New York City, uh, paramedic. And then, uh, during the pandemic I became a nurse. And, and I started doing that. I started working in the ER as a nurse. Uh, and I've been doing that ever since as my day job and podcasting at night.

That's what's up, man. Thank you so much for your service, by the way, serving the community like that. So before we, you already know what it is, man. You, you heard the show before. So for all my first time guests, they always have a put you on the spot question, a top five question based on their area of expertise, and yours happens to be gaming. So Michael, what are your, what's your top five games of all Top?

Oh man. Okay, so, um, I might have like recency bias, but um, I'm gonna have to, in no particular order, right? I'm gonna have to say, uh, Eldon Ring is up there. Okay, good one. Um, one of the greatest games of all time, and I'm not a huge, uh, souls, uh, like I appreciated souls ever since. Um, I tried out Dark Souls, but. Uh, from, uh, from Soft, but I, I was never like, great at it. And my, I had, I don't know if it's a D H D or something like that, but my attention wasn't, I couldn't like, focus on these games, so I tried Bloodborne Sacro and just, it never hit, you know, a few minutes, but, and like a few hours actually, like, I think Dark Souls, I played maybe five hours and that was the most, and it, it, I appreciated it. It was just maybe too difficult for me, or you just gotta get good, right? I just didn't have the time or the energy to do it. But then Eldon Ring came out and it's not like it's an easier game. It's just, it's a masterpiece, man. It, it is, um, it's, it's like a work of art. It's like a, it's like motion, it's like, it's like motion art. Um, and, and people say there's no like, story in the game. I, I, I would argue that it has a great story and it's just, it's just not like, it's not just like hand delivered to you, you know what I mean? Like, you just gotta, you gotta like, Uh, it's like looking at a piece of art. Like, it's not like you look at art in like a painting and you're not gonna, it's not gonna in the bottom have a story under it, right? You have to use your imagination and kind of, kind of figure it out yourself and, and almost like what you think the story would be. So that's what I love about this game. Like, you go into a, a castle or a room and, and there's so much going on in there and you, but, but there's nothing like telling you exactly what's going on. So you have to kind of use your imagination and, and, and see what, what they're trying to say with, uh, with the, with the art style and the, and the graphics and the open world. Um, it's an amazing gay man, one of the greatest experiences I've ever had for sure. I don't

mean to cut you off, but like Yeah. It's, it's really fun. Funny you say that because like, I've been writing a piece and sort of thinking of like my game of the, when I was thinking of my game of the year and such like that, like I, one of my biggest debates right now is in internally, I haven't really like, debated with anyone, but like one of my internal debates with myself is like, Elden ring. and Horizon, for forbid West. And the reason why, like I, the, one of the knocks that I actually did have on Eldon Ring was the, the story, because I'm like, I didn't, I was one of those people who you just described who didn't really think it had like the biggest narrative or like mm-hmm. you know, that big story. So when you described it just now, it kind of like, okay, I can see that point of view of like, the story is almost in the exploration versus the, versus something that has traditional storytelling where it has that, that narrative of like a start, uh, middle and a beginning, uh, or ending of like, it takes you on a j a actual like journey, so to speak. Like Horizon and like Halo Infinite, or even like a Last of Us, or a Red Dead too, has like a very heavy narrative like story that you're following. So it is, it, uh, it is a very different like way of storytelling that I think connects with different

people. Right. And, you know, what's, what's great about other Ring and the way, I mean, I, I just wanna say like the last of us and Red Dead and these like narrative story-driven games are also masterpieces, right. In their own way. And, but for me, Elden Ring, like it brought in that community aspect of like, Because it's not telling you straight up what's going on. You would have to, let's say like go on YouTube or something like that and, and get like a little background story and stuff like that. And you won't have to do that in the last of us. You know what I mean? Like it's telling you right then and there what Joe and Ellie's going through. Right. But in Eldon Ray you don't know what, you really don't know exactly what these characters are going through. Kind of like when you looking at a painting, you don't know exactly what the artist is trying to say, but you can like use. You could, one, you use your imagination or you can go on let's say YouTube or Reddit or, or, or reach out to a community, whether it's Discord or Twitter and hey, and, and you know, and, and discuss amongst, uh, your peers about like what exactly is going on with Redan and, uh, mena or something like that. And then you could watch a YouTube video and you find out like the sad, tragic stories of how they got to where they are, or the heartbreaks and this and that. And you're like, what? Like, I can, in a, in a million years, I would never know that because it doesn't straight up tell you. And I could see why some people would be turned off by that. But I find it as like an opportunity to like, get the community together and, and experience like an amazing work of art in terms of, of video game. You know what I mean? So that's, that's what I loved about it, because every time I would l look up something, um, and find out more about, uh, something about the story or, or about the game, it just, it's mind blowing. It's just like, oh my God, I gotta see that for myself and I gotta, you know, turn the game back on and, and experience it. And, and then you see it and you're like, oh my gosh, this whole time you go to this room and you look on the wall to the right and then it just, there's a statue of something and it's like heartbreaking. You're like, oh man. It's just that, it's that, that's what I love about it, you know what I mean? Okay. Okay. Um, to each their own. Right. Some people aren't gonna like that and they're not gonna, they were gonna want things like a, like a movie, you know, like, uh, yeah. Like Chart or Last of Us. Yeah.

Yeah. So I get that completely. What's the other four games?

Um, so I used to, I used to say The Last of Us, the first one was my favorite game of all time. Um, and I, I would say rightly so, right? It's, it's, uh, it's, it's one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. Um, oh, for sure. It just, like, it was, um, uh, when it first came out, it was just so heartbreaking and so creative and, um, oh man. The, the, the stuff that, that, uh, they did at Sony, it's just, um, at, um, it was incredible what Naughty Dog was able to do. Uh, uh, it just, it was the, at the time, it was, it, it still might be the greatest story, like ever told in video games. It was just, uh, it was just such a masterpiece. And it's still up there as like one of my favorite games of all time, and I played it again recently. I haven't tried the new one, like the, the remake or the, you know, the PS five remake. Yeah, yeah. You know, there's a lot of like, buzz on that, on like, you know, as it worth 70 and all that stuff. But with, with that, with that like to the side, just talking about the actual game and not like the remakes and remasters and re remasters, right. Um, the game. Masterpiece. You know what I mean? Like the storytelling and it still holds up, you know, the storytelling, the, um, the, the art style, uh, the combat and stuff like that. Um, oh

yeah, that game is a, that game's a goat. Like I mm-hmm. I'm right there with you. Like, I love everything about it. Everything, uh, like I, it gripped me in a way that I didn't know I could be gripped by a video game before, like mm-hmm. especially narratively. So I completely understand. So what is number three for you? Or not in, in particular order, but what's the other

three? Yeah, I mean, uh, man, I, I wish I was able to like, give you like, oh, my number one, right? But that's hard, man. That's hard. It's hard to say, right? It's hard to say. So I'll, I'll say the next one. The number three would be, um, Skyrim, uh, man, Skyrim, Skyrim, Skyrim, um, um, eldest girls. Uh, it, man, what they were able to do back then, um, like I would, the hype was so crazy that I remember I bought like the, uh, man, I don't know what ha whatever happened to that thing, like the official like strategy guide for it, like before the game came out and, and like I was reading through it and. Oh my gosh. The hype level for that game was insane. You know what I mean? Like an open world, you know, like, um, do what, you know, do whatever you want. You could, like, you don't even have to like beat this, beat the game. You could just like start a, start a job and become a, um, uh, either a trader or, or a blacksmith or something like that. And, and, uh, and have, and have, uh, quest doing that, or missions doing that, and or you could join, uh, an assassins, uh, um, the Assassins Guild. Yeah. Guild. Yeah. Different guilds. Or you could become, um, uh, uh, like, um, a maid guild or something like that. And it's just, oh man, that game was incredible. It, it's still, it's still incredible. Um, the, it came out well over 10 years ago and they like released it. So many different platforms and stuff like that. It, it's almost like a, like a joke now, you know,

like, yeah, it is. I'm almost expecting it like a next gen, like Sky Room edition, Like, I really am, like, they released it like every two years for every single console imaginable. Since what the like 360

days. I, I know, I know. The, uh, I would say it's, it might be my favorite soundtrack. Maybe it is, it is way up there in terms of music. Um, just that, like, that like, um, epic. Uh, soundtrack that it has, uh, when, when you go into different towns and, and the music, oh my goodness. The, it's, it's, um, it was so incredible, like, so powerful and epic. You know, like, you feel like you're, you're like in this giant, um, uh, Lord of the Rings or, you know, like something straight out of, um, George Martin or something like that. George R. Martin, uh, sky, sky Room was in, uh, one of my favorite games of all time. I loved this so much. Did you ever, did you like it? Did you ever play it? What do you think about Sky Room?

So I played Sky Room. Um, I've played it recently and, um, when it first came out, like I enjoyed Sky Room. It's not my favorite Elder Scrolls game, though. I, I think that's, that's like where I defer,

really. Okay, so what, what is it? Um,

oblivion. Obl Oblivion, elder Scrolls. Oblivion was like my favorite. It to me is like, I'm a big narrative guy and one of the things that I do not like about Sky Room is like the chosen one narrative because like at, in my head, and, you know, like one of the things that disconnects me from that game, narratively speaking, is the fact that like, you are the chosen one and it's up to you to basically, basically like solve the problem and like save the world, so to speak. But like, It's always hard for me to, to like have those type of games to where I'm like, I am the chosen one, but I also have to like, or also get to like, go do my own thing. And, but the world's in the balance, like the narrative speaking makes it seem like, oh, like you need to hurry up and do this. Or like, the world is gonna like just perish versus Yeah. Versus like, okay. That type of game encourages you to like, go out, do your own thing, get lost in the minutiae of like joining the Maj Association or like the, the Maj Association or the Fighters Guild or like the, the Rogues Guild. The Thieves Guild. Or even like the, um, what was it, the black bro, the Dark Brotherhood. It was the assassins. Yeah. So I'm like, it encourages you to do that, but in oblivion you're not the chosen one, you're just the guy who sent out to look for the chosen one. Mm-hmm. And, and at that pace, you know, like the, the game doesn't really start until the chosen one kind of gets involved in, in when you actually like tell him what's going on. So in that like game, uh, you can kind of do what you want. You can kind of like be who you want because it doesn't have any impact on the overall narrative. Right. And it's just one of those, and it's just sort of like the little details. I'm like, I kind of liked the arena in, um, in oblivion versus like, oh yeah, the arenas. Yep. Yeah. So it was one of those things to where it had like little tiny differences and like differences. And it appealed to me in a different sort of way than Sky Room, where I don't necessarily know if it was maybe the atmosphere or maybe it, it never really felt like, to me, sky Room always felt like a step down from oblivion. And that's just a personal thing. Like oblivion felt like it was colorful. It felt like it had a better, like, narrative. It felt like, like it had like the same groups and organizations, but it also had like other things that made that game stand out. So, I don't know, it's just like oblivion all has, like my heart when it comes to Bethesda games versus Sky Room. It's, it's weird.

That's no, that's not, that's not weird at all. I think you have a valid argument there of, uh, and I'm sure there's a ton of people that agree with you about oblivion. Oblivion is, is that It's, it's a older game, so it's, it's, you know, sky Room takes a lot of, and Sky Room has been everywhere, so Sky Room is always like, uh, up there in terms of conversations. But, uh, there's definitely, uh, something to be said about oblivion for sure.

Yeah, for sure, for sure. So, I, you've listened out a couple of really good bangers so far, you know, like what's, what's the last remaining ones?

Oh yeah, no. So it, it's, it's tough because you know what, I'm gonna have to go back in time a little bit because the, the ones have been saying fairly recent, you know what I mean? Like, I'm missing, I'm missing games from like Genesis and Super Nintendo, so I, I wanna share some love there, you know what I mean? So for me, I'm gonna pick a Nintendo game and it's gonna be the Legend of Zelda, a link to the. As my, like, Zelda choice, uh, for like top five games for

sure. Okay. Okay. So is that, in your opinion, the best Zelda game of all time?

Oh man. Whew. So, uh, I would say personally. Personally, yes. Uh, but I would say man, OK of time might have to like, take it there in terms of, of an, uh, like a objective feeling and you know, it's either that or Breath of the Wild, um, only because I guess of the recent bias, you know, but for me personally, you know, without, you know, with that being said, personally linked to the past, like it just hit different, you know, I was, you know, I came out in 1991, so I was younger and I hadn't really played like crazy adventure, like long, like big adventures like this before. And just, just like having your own, like being able to create your own character. I mean, not character, uh, like name, like name you name your, your link character, you know what I mean? Which is safe foul. Like, that was just even back then for me, that was like mind blowing, you know what I mean? Like yeah, for sure my name, you know, and it just, it was incredible that, that feeling. You start off with like three hearts. And I remember when I first saw the game, I had a, like a older cousin he was playing and he had like 12 hearts or something like that. I was like, like, why do you have so many hearts? That's not fair. And he's like, oh, I've been playing for a while. So, uh, I played that with. I remember playing that with my f my dad and um, and, uh, I mean, it is just an incredible Zelda game. Uh, just like, just the adventure, the music, uh, back then, the graph, the graphics, back then it was incredible seeing the world change. That was, that like, changed my world, you know what I mean? Like, it was mind blowing, seeing like the world change and you get into that like, uh, different, uh, dimension or whatever it was. Um, it, it was an amazing adventure, you know, like getting different weapons, whether it's the, like the boomerang or the bomb, oh man, getting the bomb and then finding locations to go to that you couldn't get to before, but you're like, oh wait, now you know, this b this thing that looks like a bomb. And I think I remember like accidentally doing it, you know, like, cuz the games can't really tell you. Right? But the, you know, there's a big boulder right in the way and you come to it and then you just put a bomb down there. That's how games were back then. You know what I mean? It was all experimental. You know, you walk around and let me see what this does. Or I remember, uh, in the game where you would slash the bushes, right? I remember in the beginning, beginning towards the castle, I'm slashing the bushes and then there's a opening there and I was like, oh my God. You know, it was insane back then. And he like jumped down and it brings you into the, into the castle, um, like from the underground or something like that. Like those, those type of experiences were mind blowing back then. And, um, and yeah, like I, I had, I had so much with, so much fun with that game, uh, and, uh, it's, it's, it's up there. I, I feel like it holds, holds, uh, it still holds, uh, today. Um, uh, have you, what, what do you think about, um, Zelda? I'm curious.

A man, I'm, I'm gonna be rude with you. My first ever Zelda experience was, um, breath of the Wild for the Switch. I never had played another Zelda game even afterwards. Like, I, it's hard for me to go back to play my Switch lately. It's one of those things to where like, I've been immediate and like immensely spoiled with like the PlayStation five and the Xbox Series X and X Mm. And that quick load times. It's just some about those things that like, have spoiled me. So I haven't went back and actually played in another Zelda game. I know they're fantastic. I've, I've like people rave about them. People like, you know, shout upon high about how good like the Zelda franchise is, but Right, right. I've never actually like went back and, and played those games. Um, but other than Breath of the Wild. Oh, I, I

highly recommend it. I think for sure. I don't know if you have, um, the online pass or whatever for the Yeah, the, yeah, yeah. So it comes with, uh, n e s and s N E S and it comes with link to the past. So I definitely recommend you just boot it up, you know, just boot it up in terms of, like, think of it as like being a historian and just like seeing what it was like to play a video game in 1991. Try to use that mentality cuz it's so hard because we're in 2022 and everything is so different, you know, in terms of, uh, graphics and the SSDs of the world and, and little terms and just everything is so different. So I would, I would just use the different lens, you know, and just play this in, in terms of like learning about the history of video games. And then if you do that, uh, you'll be able to appreciate it more, especially if you like, play it un docked, you know what I mean? Because if you dock it mm-hmm. and you see like this, you know, 1991, like Sprite game, you know what I mean? It, it might turn you off, but if you just play handheld, maybe it'll be easier to swallow and just, just, uh, play like maybe an hour of it just to see what it's like and you'll, you'll experience like, whoa, you know, I, I, I see what Mike was talking about, like, that it it for 1991, like. I see where breath, you know, like I see where all these current games get their stuff from. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. That's, that's, I get it completely.

You know, I get it completely. I'll have to check it out. Like, I'll let you know when I think about it, but

I'm like, oh yeah, I'm curious man, because I, cuz Breath of the Wild is, is, you know, one of the best games of all time. So, uh, to see a Zelda from 2017 to 1991, I'm really, I'm really curious of what your thoughts are cuz it's, you know, it's the same like passion, you know what I mean? It's the same character in a way, just like upgraded graphics and upgraded, you know, stuff like that. Um, but it all comes down to like, when Zelda first started, you know, so

yeah, I'm, I'm right there with you. I'm fine with playing older ga like older games as well, so I'm like, it's one of those things to where I'm like, I now you've given me some more in like, inspiration to go do this because it was always on my list, but I never really had the gumption to go do it. So you, you saying this kind of motivated me a

bit. Oh, that's awesome, man. That's, yeah, definitely. I definitely recommend it, man. It's, uh, there's so many games like back then, like, um, to, to check out, you know what I mean? Like the It is, it is, it is tough though, because we, what we got now in 2022, you know, all these brand new games that are coming out, the el you know, um, Eldon Rings of the world. Yeah, for sure. We're cool. It's tough. It's tough to go from Eldon Ring, uh, or Breath of the W Wild to LinkedIn past. I, I, I hear you man.

Hey man, it's real. It's not just like the games though. It's like the, it's the switch itself. Like it is really hard for me to like, turn my switch on now. Mm-hmm. It is, yeah. It's really one of those things to where like, I, I yearn so badly for updated version of the Switch with like a S S D or like a Switch Pro. Or even maybe if they wanted to do like something for like a hardcore gamer, make a, like a dedicated gaming console like that, that's like on pace with like at least a series S, not even like a X or like a Ps. Yeah, I hear

Great thing is about the Series

S man. I love it. I absolutely, like, I am, I'm spoiled. I have one, like in my, like in my living room downstairs, and then I have my series X like in my game room upstairs. But like, I love those, like both of those consoles are really good consoles, but that series S is, it's like that value like punch mm-hmm. that I was not expecting because like, besides like some, some graphical differences here and there, like it looks exactly the same or it plays exactly the same. Mm-hmm. they're both load up extremely fast. So I'm like, it, it feels next year and still That's incredible.

And it's super lightweight, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, like, and, and way smaller than people could like ever imagine. Probably because Oh, for sure. Like, oh, what it outputs like, and you see it, you're like, no way. You know what I mean? This is, oh, it's

tiny, like mm-hmm. absolutely tiny. It's so small that I just have mine sitting behind my tv. Like it really is like, I don't even have to worry about it. Like it is just sitting behind my tv. It's not on like a out, it's not like a shelf or anything. It's just boop popped it right up there, put that and like, just play games. It is hidden. No, like no one would know about it unless they like went directly behind my TV and looked and they were like, oh, there's an Xbox Series S there Like, nobody would know. Like, it is that small.

Wow. That's crazy. Yeah.

So my, we let's, let's get to the topic at hand. We, it was good to get to know your top five games of all time. Mm-hmm. but I got the question for you. you're a lifelong gamer and you're about to be a father. Congrats on that, by the way. Thank you. You made your shout outs. Appreciate it, man. So how are you getting ready to balance your hobby and your real world responsibility?

Oh man. It, it is tough, man. Actually, I'll tell you a recent story. So yesterday I got an email from my steam deck pre-order, and then what? That's exciting. Yeah, they, so it's like, oh, you know, you have until the 18th. So, so the, so we're doing the podcast right now on the 16th. So I have two more days, uh, to determine, you know, if I'm gonna pay for this steam deck and, and get it and, um, I don't know, man. So that, that's the type of thing that I'm struggling with, you know what I mean? Like, I'm about to be a new dad, so I have to figure out what I'm gonna do financially, you know, like now I have, it's not just me and my wife. Um, now we're gonna bring another ch you know, a person into this world. So I'm gonna have to figure out, you know, should I pay for this? Should I like you? Because that's fi that's like what, 500 bucks? I can use that on diapers and this and that Sure. Plus you get the approval from, from the boss lady, you know what I mean? Yeah. I'm married man. I get it. I get it. Yeah. So there's a lot of going on. So that literally just happened to me yesterday. So financially you have to figure out what are you gonna do? Like, are you gonna buy the 75, $70 games plus tax? Um, or are you gonna, like, for instance, like what Trevor was saying, get game pass and hopefully the family pass, uh, will come out, whether it's this year or next year. Mm-hmm. Um, and then I'll probably get that in the future too, so that my child and I can both play, you know what I mean? That, that's, that's a little bit further down the road, but that's the kind of mentality I'm gonna have to switch into. So switching, switching my mindset, like becoming mindful of like the situation of like, it's no longer by you. Um, it's, you know, you have to be responsible about somebody else. Makes me. Financially, like what am I gonna play? How many games am I gonna play? And, um, you know, and, and that, that's just one aspect of it. Like, am I gonna pay this $70 for this game or do I wait to rent it? Or do I, um, do I pass it or do I look for a subscription service like Game Pass, which is very, uh, gamer friendly, you know what I mean?

Yeah, for sure. I have a question for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So just paint the picture for the audience, like mm-hmm. you're you, I, I mentioned you're current lifelong gamer. You gave your top five games of all time though, and you're making a really, like a really strong case here of like the, are really, like painting a really good picture of the dilemma. You're, you're, you have right now mm-hmm. but, um, just paint the picture and tell everyone what consoles you currently have. Like what are you currently gaming?

Oh, wow. So I'm, so currently I have all of them basically The, the only thing I don't have is a pc. Like I have a regular HP laptop. Mm-hmm. Um, so I don't have a gaming pc. Um, and I, I feel like, I think you were mentioning, uh, on your podcast, you're not big like PC gamer either.

No. Like I, I have, like, I have a PC gamer, uh, like I have a pc, but I am not like a PC gamer by any means. Like Right. If I have my preference, it's always consoles.

Right. So I'm the same way, like, um, I mean, I would, I would say the last time I was like a PC gamer was when the original Doom was out. Doom, duke Newcomb, you know, stuff like that. Uh, you know, like, um, uh, you know, the orig, you know, all the, all those like, uh, point and click games, you know, like double fine stuff, you know, like that's, that's when I was a game, you know, like a PC gamer. And that was what, 20, 20 plus years ago? Forget about it. It was Oh yeah, for sure. So, um, so, so ever since then, it's been cons, I would say, ever since Sega Genesises. Sega Genesises was my first console, and then it, um, and then, uh, from there it was, uh, N 60. Four. And then, um, PlayStation one. Oh my god, what an incredible time to be a gamer. Right. Love that. PS one love. And then PS two, which was the easy sell to the family cuz you just, I told my dad like, Hey, it's a DVD player, we want, you want a DVD player, right? Um, get this thing, I could get a games, you get a DVD player and it's cheaper than a, I think they were like cheaper than getting a DVD player. Oh, for sure.

For sure. Right. Almost like 75 to a hundred dollars cheaper than the average like DVD V player.

Yeah. So that was the, that was the easy sell. And then from there, um, I purchased my own cuz I, you know, I'm a big boy now. I don't know how, how, when the, uh, Xbox came out, but mm-hmm. I think it was what, 2001, I guess. Mm-hmm. around there. So, um, I, at that time I was in high school, so I got like a job, a summer gig, and I paid for the Xbox with, with the Halo. Right. Combat involved. Yeah, for sure. And um, I remember coming home with that. That was an incredible feeling. Like, oh my God was through the roof, um, when I brought that home. So I got the Xbox and then, uh, Xbox 360, uh, PS three P. Um, and then, and then p when Xbox, uh, Xbox One and PS4 came out. Mm-hmm. I got the Xbox One instead of the ps4, and I regretted it, um, because I feel like last Gen PS4 was better, you know what I mean? It had better games. Oh

man. Those exclusives were on

fire. Yeah. Yeah. It was, it was insane. Yeah, you're right. It was, it was so insane. I'm just waiting for Xbox One to come out with games, you know what I mean? Other than Sky, I was playing Skyrim and G T A five. Those are like the two games and then, which are three. Uh, so those are like the three games I had for one console. Meanwhile, PS four is coming out with all these bangers, right? It was crazy. Mm-hmm. Uh, and then for this, so long story short, and it brings you to this generation, I got the Series X. Actually, I don't know if you knew this, but I was the first person. To ever play the Xbox Series X in terms of a consumer in the world. You are kidding. What? No, you could Google it, man. Just Google X like Xbox Series X first, first, you know, like, oh, or first player to play, uh, Xbox Series X or something like that. And just articles will come out, videos will come out. And that's actually how I got into podcasting. It was crazy. Um, uh, um, segue, you know, into, into that. Like, I, um, uh, so Dan Danny Pania is a, he's a Hall of Fame podcaster. Um, yeah, he does, yeah. Gamers uni. Uh, gamer tag,

gamer tag Radio. Yeah. Shout out

to them by the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The goat man, he, uh, he's been doing it, you know, over 20 years already, uh, podcasting. It's crazy. So I, I followed his community, the Discord and stuff like that. And, um, and on Twitter, you know, I started f I started following him on Twitter and stuff like that. And, uh, he, he reached out to me one day, um, uh, because he had the series X to like preview or review or whatever, um, for like a month before it came out. So he wanted to do something with it. Uh, so he reached out to Microsoft and it was like a risk, because, you know, He got the okay from Microsoft, but it wasn't like, it wasn't easy. So he, he was able to like find, uh, a community member to be, to, to play the Xbox Series X and to be like the first person in the world to play it. So he chose, he chose me, he reached out to me and he was like, Hey, uh, Mike, uh, a bunch of this was on Discord, and he's like, Hey, you know, a bunch of people are gonna meet up, um, from game game attack radio and we're gonna talk about games and stuff like that. You wanna come by? Uh, and I was like, yeah, sure. You know, like, and we picked the time and place. And when I get there, remember, mind you, this was in 2020, so you got the pandemic still going on. Yeah, for sure. So I get in, I get, I get over there to the address and there's this, there's this like, first I couldn't find it at first. It is, it is in, uh, New York City, lower Manhattan. And I finally. and there's this guy from like head to toe with like a camera. Oh, well, head to toe and like a hazmat gear. And um, I, you know, like I opened the door to the building, I'm like, Hey, is this whatever address? And he's like, Hey, are you Michael? I was like, whoa, this is what, what the heck is going on here? So he has like this camera and stuff like that. And I'm like, yeah. He's like, uh, you know, we're expecting you come on in. So I was like, okay, this is, this is kind of weird, but I was like, you know, I've never done anything like this. So I was like, maybe That's

exciting and scary though.

Yeah, yeah. It was. Yeah. So it was, I was like, you know, maybe, you know, he's, it is just a protocol to keep everybody safe cuz it's gonna be a bunch of people there. Um, and you know, social distance and all that stuff. Right. So I, uh, you know, I open the door, I get in the, it's like a long hallway. Huge, right? A big, like, you know, those like off offices. So it's like a long hallway. Yeah, for sure. And there's nobody in the room and there's nobody in this hallway. It's just, it's just empty until like, you get like, towards like a third, like three quarters down and there's a, a chair, a t a TV in front. And there's a guy standing there, hazmat suit, completely head to toe. But I could tell that it was Danny Penia cuz just like, his eye, like his eyes were like, his face was showing through his like eyes and stuff. I was like, oh, what's up Danny? And uh, he's like, and you could tell like he has a smirk, just the way he is, like looking at me and whatever, And I'm like, what the heck is going on? Am I gonna get murdered? You know what I mean? Or something like that. Like what, what? Crazy. Yeah, that sounds crazy, man. Yeah. And um, and uh, and then somebody next to him too, uh, uh, Tony Polanco, shout out to shout out to him too. And, uh, he's also a podcaster, um, through the Throwdown Show. So he's there too. So it's the only two guys in this huge hallway, and he's like, what's up Mike? Uh, come, come o uh, come over here. And, uh, I was like, okay. So I come over, I I get closer and he's like, I was like, uh, you know, where is everybody? He's like, oh, uh, it's actually, it's not, it's not what you think. So, uh, have a seat in the chair. So I have a seat, and then I notice in front of, in front there's like a, a little, uh, little table there and it's, and it's the Xbox Series X. I'm looking at it like, oh my God, that's the Xbox. And he's like, Hey Mike. So, um, you know, like I said, this what we were gonna do, but actually this is, it was just to get you here. That's not what we were doing actually. Uh, you know, this is the Xbox Series X I, I was previewing whatever, and I wanted somebody from the community to. Uh, so basically you're gonna be the first person in the world to play the Xbox Series X. Uh, you're gonna have a whole hour to it. Um, there was like games already preloaded in, in it, so I was able to test out, um, quick resume. Shout out, shout out to Xbox for making an incredible, incredible, um, console. Yeah, for sure. Zoom is, is is legit. You know what I mean? All that stuff. And, and I was able to test it out. You know, I w I played Yakuza like a dragon. I played Love that game. Absolutely love it. Yeah, it was, it was great. I played that. I played Doom Maternal, uh, what else did I play? I think Gears Gears, uh, gears. Um, what's the latest one? Gift? Five,

four. Five, right? Five was like the, I don't know if five. Yeah, five was the latest one. Yeah.

Yeah. So I played, uh, I played that. So I was just swapping through just to test it out, you know what I mean? So, so basically I sat down the chair he gave me, he put headphones on me. So for an hour, um, they're just recording me playing the Xbox Series X. And it was, it was like life changing. That's literally why I'm here right now, like doing podcasting and stuff. Um, and actually this, it is, so I played for it. I played with it for an an hour. It was an amazing experience, cuz back then, you know, it was the first time playing the Xbox Series X. It was incredible. Mm-hmm. Um, and then after that, What, what stands out to me. The entire experience, which was amazing, was afterward like that, that's what stood out to me the most. So after we finished, he, he like took off the hazmat gear and stuff like that. He's like, Ooh, finally, you know, I could just be myself. And, and he cracked three beers for me, him and Tony. Uh, and we just sat there drinking beers and just talking about games after that for, for like an extra, for like another hour. And uh, and they knew like from my big smile, from what I just experienced, like, they were just so excited to just see somebody like me, just like a, like your average gamer guy, um, play playing something for the first time. And, uh, it was, it was life changing man. Because for me growing up, I didn't really have a bunch of like, gamer friends. Um, you know, like I have cousins that will play with me and stuff like that, but they weren't like as nerdy, you know what I mean? They didn't have that like, inner nerd of just like, wanting to game and, and talk about games and magazines and this and that. Mm-hmm. So they do, they do though, like Danny Pania, Tony Polanco, those are like legit gamers and Yeah. They've

been in this industry for a

long time. Right, right. And they, and it's not just, they don't just do it just to like pay the bills or something like that. They do it cuz they love video games. So that's what we talked about. And it, it, it just, it was like the greatest experience in my life. Like just sitting down talking about something passionate, you know what I mean? Like, like we love video games, so if you talk to somebody else that loves video games, It's, it's an unbelievable experience. So after that, like, that's what changed my life. Like I got more into like Twitter cause I had a Twitter account, but I wasn't really using it like that. So I got more into Twitter. I started following people in the gaming industry, trying to like, um, j just trying to like communicate with like other people, you know what I mean? That, that love games too. Uh, I was more involved in the, in the Discord. And, and then what happened was it, it kind of blew up, like the, like articles were everywhere and stuff like that. And so when I went to work, um, one day, uh, like a week later, something like that, uh, one of the doctors came up to me in the er. And he said, uh, hey, uh, like I, I feel like I, I, I saw you playing. Um, were you the guy that played the Xbox? And I was like, yeah. Like, how'd you, how'd you hear this? He's like, oh, I saw, I saw like an article on it or something like that. I was like, I was like, um, I was like, oh, thanks, you know, like, you know, that's like your 15 minutes of fame Yana website or like on for sure video or something like that. And then he was like, oh, so what, what was it like playing Xbox? I was like, wait, this doctor's curious about, about the Xbox? I was like, yeah. It was, it was amazing. It was an amazing experience. And I, I, I started thinking to myself like, what? And so I asked him, I'm like, do you play video games? And he's like, yeah, I play video games all the time. You know, whenever I get a chance, you know, like, I love call duty and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh, wow. You know, like, and I thought to myself like, what a, a doctor is playing video games. Like, that's kind of crazy. And then that's when it hit me, like, wait a second, I'm a nurse and I play video games all the time. Like, I'm a huge gamer. Like, why, why is this so shocking that a doctor, uh, like, would, would, um, like, wouldn't play either? Like why, why am I so shocked that a doctor plays video games? And that's what, that's what what came up to me with the idea of like, um, gamers University podcast. Like I wanted to like talk to other people. About what they, uh, what they do for a living and, and about games, you know what I mean? Like, I want to talk to different people, whether it's like, uh, a teacher or, uh, other doctors or nurses or, or, um, lawyers or, or, um, what, whatever, whatever industry you're in. Business. Business. Um, and like, I wanted to talk about what you do for a living just to like, and then talk about games, because I want, I wanted people to like get, get out of the stigma of like what a gamer looks like. You know what I mean? It's not just someone who just sits on the couch all day, plays video games, but it could be anybody. It could be a politician, like, like a o c, you know, like playing, uh, playing video games. Or it could be, you know, a anybody, it could be like a, a judge or a lawyer or a doctor, a dentist. You know what I mean? Like, imagine going to a dentist's office and looking at your dentist and, and thinking like, oh, is he a gamer? Or, or just talking about, talking about like that new god of war trail. Like, like, hey, hey doctors, you see that God of war trailer. You know what I mean? Like, there's people out there that, that play video games in all walks of life and Yeah, for real. And that's what I, I'm, I'm super passionate about it, you know what I mean? Like, I love talking to people, like of all backgrounds and all careers of, of about games, you know what I mean? Because I, that's why I love, so

let's go back to the like, really quick. I know we, I know this is like a side story, so to speak, but let's go back to that, um, that moment you were playing the Xbox Series X, because I have a question. What was it like seeing it for the first.

Man. It was, it was wild, man. Um, I still look at my series X and remember, remember back then? Mm-hmm. from time to time, it was incredible. Like seeing a next generation, uh, console for the first time back then. Um, it was in, it was, it was like, uh, it was mind blowing, you know what I mean? Like, um, it's so powerful. It's so powerful. Like these systems, they're so fast. The graphics are, are, are amazing. Like, we haven't even like reached the potential yet because of the Oh, no. Pandemic and stuff like that. Like, you can tell, like, this is, this is legit. Like this is L NextGen. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Quick resume, um, was like, I, oh man, playing quick resume for the first time and testing it out and switching between games. Like that wasn't, we weren't able to do that before. You know what I mean? Like, if you stop playing a game, you stop playing it. And that was it. Like, you, you p you know, you pause it. If you wanna play another game, you just switch over and that's it for the other one. But this one you can have four or five, six games on the background, all paused, and you can switch in between all, all of them. That's, that was NextGen for me. You know what I mean? Like graphics, graphics have gotten better frame rate and stuff like that with the SSDs. But that quick resume, man. That, that that's what, that's what stands stood out for me first of all. Oh yeah. That's

game changing. That is, that it is, it is a game changing feature. It is like the only feature that I love about X, like the Xbox series X and X mm-hmm. that I'm like, I'm, I'm like, I would love that to be just imported on to my PS five for sure. Like, for that is the only, like, you can tell me like any other feature that Xbox can keep and I'd be perfectly happy with it, but like, I want that quick resume on that PS five so bad. Mm-hmm. but, and it's the, and it is, it's just a little thing too, because like PS five loads up games, like it boots them up like stupidly fast, like ridiculously fast. Right. But it's, it's just that added 0.5, 0.6 of a second to where like, you don't even have to see the boot up menu. It's just, it just loads directly back into where you were like last playing

in the game. And that's, and that's the difference between like the s s D of PS five and like being able to boot up a game super fast and like playing, uh, two or three games like that. You have backed up exactly, exactly where you left off. Like literally, yeah, you could pause it mid fight in playing, um, killer instinct or whatever. Like you could pause it in round two ha half of your health is gone and come back months later. And go back to it after you've played other games and you are like, you know what? I wanna play a fighting game, uh, after a couple months of playing single player or just playing a, a shooter or something like that. Like, I wanna play a fighting game. You boot up a quick resume for killing instinct and you could finish that second round that you It's, it's sane, man. It's, it's like, it's like, uh, te like, um, it's like magic, you know what I mean? Like real world magic. It's crazy. It

really is. It really is. So I might, like, I got a question, like when you walked into that room of like, and saw the Xbox there for that first time, like, did, did it look weird to you? Because like that it looks so much different than any other Xbox we've ever had.

Yeah, for sure. For sure. I thought, I don't, man, when I, when I first saw it, I think I thought that it was, um, honestly like a day. I thought it was smaller than I thought it would be. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. No, I thought it was smaller because the PS five, remember the PS five was like announced and they were talking about how gigantic it is, right? Yeah, for sure. And, and so the series X comes out and it's like more of a square than anything. And, and. You know, I was like, wow, this, this is like, and it, you know what, and he, when he handed me almost like a newborn baby, he passed it to me and I was holding it. I was like, wow, this felt so premium. You know what I mean? Like, it had that perfect weight of like, there, this, there's some power in this. You know what I mean? There's some stuff in here that's next gen. It just, it just felt so good in my hands, you know what I mean? Yeah.

So like, did the controller they hand to you? Was it the exact controller that came out later on? Or was it kind of

different? Yeah, it was the one that came with the, um, with the console. Okay. So, and it was nice. It had good grip, you know, it's how it is, you know, now it's a perf perfectly, perfectly designed controller. Um,

and I love the texture on it, like that extra like texture that they added. Like, it's like that the, you know how like when you grip and like an Xbox one, an older Xbox One controller, it was always sleek and kind of like, it was smooth. This one has that, like, that grip to it, that like right, that like rougher texture that kind of feels, I, I, in a surprising way, it feels more

premium. Right. No, for sure. So I had that grip to it, and, and it, it felt great. You know what I mean? It, it was like, it was fresh. Um, uh, and it was, it was, it was familiar with the Xbox One, but it had that next gen feel. So I had like that, like that new feel, just like mm-hmm. the grip was a little grip here, you know what I mean? The, but the button's a little bit more crisp, you know what I mean? Like Yeah. The triggers were, even the triggers have a little bit of feel to it, you know what I mean? So, yeah, for sure. So that was, that was great. I loved, didn't it? So

is, would you say that the Xbox Series X right now is your favorite console of Volta?

Oh, wow. Um,

or at least would you say it's the best Xbox of all time?

Wow, man. Oh, no, no, no. For sure. It's, it's definitely, it is definitely the best, um, Xbox of all time. Mm-hmm. for me, honestly. I'm still gonna gonna say it's the Nintendo Switch. Whoa. Yes, that is. Yes. Crazy. I, I, you know, the Xbox Series X literally changed my life. Mm-hmm. And I'm always grateful for it. Like, literally, like, I would not be where I'm at right now. I would not be talking to you if it wasn't for the Xbox Series X. There's no doubt about it. But the Nintendo Switch was able to do something that. Is like a quick resume and all that stuff. And SSDs is great and fantastic, but being able to, like, there's something to be said about being able to like dock your game and like put on tv, remove it, play down the couch or wherever, take it with you in the car, put it back, you know, like dock it, you know, stuff like that. And also like the amount, like the type of types of games that it has, like old school games. Um, you know, you could play classics, you could play, uh, the newest stuff, the new ips that, that, that come out a any, anything in between. Like it's a perfect indie, uh, console. Like there's like an indie revolution going on right now where like you got games like Hades that you were talking about. The shout out to Hades. Yeah. You got games. Like, so imagine So Hades for me, Hades is best on the switch just because you could like, play it on the go, you could play it, you know, like indie games are perfect on the switch. It's a perfect indie, uh, indie console, uh, in indie games are on the rise. You know, you got, um, um, col of the land that just came out, but whoa. I mean, that thing need, that thing needs some work. Holy cow. This, it is so buggy even for me, man. I got it on. Are, are you playing on the switch? Yeah, I'm, I'm playing it on the switch, yeah. Okay. So maybe it's that, maybe that's the reason why, but I, so I got on the switch just to, you know, cuz uh, indie, the indie love. So you got, you got, uh, you, you know, you could dock it or you could play it on the go. And so I got it. I played a little bit of it, like one dungeon. It's still choppy to this day. Like, uh, it still needs some work on it. So, um, uh, uh, Devolver get on that. You know, I, I know you guys are listening. Right. So Deva, get on that, you know, update that thing, patch it up. So, cuz I know there is something great in there, and I, and I shout out to Deva man, I love the games that they come out with. Uh, all these, like, they, they're all over the place, you know, they got, Uh, all types of genres, all types of games. I feel like they could do anything really. They could hit every single genre. It's unbelievable what they're doing over

there. Oh, Devolver is probably, I think, one of the best, if not the best, like indie studios on the face of the planet right now. Like mm-hmm. it's them, uh, like it's, them are super giant, like super giant games. The ones who made like Hades and Bashing mm-hmm. and all those, those are my top two right now. But like, shout out to all indie like studios, by the way. Like, y'all are absolutely killing it. And y'all are doing the Lord's work. Like y'all are doing it on a very, on like a much smaller budget. Shout out to all y'all, but like, I am, like, going back to what you said though, like, I, I haven't had as like many bugs, like, or experience, they mean bugs, but I'm playing it on like the series S and X and I've never played it on the switch before. So like, hearing that, I was like, whoa, like it's buggy and because like, I didn't, I didn't have that experience, but then I'm like, maybe the switch verse is like drastically different though. I

know, I know. So it would've been better to play it on, um, p oh, by, by the way, I forgot to mention, so I have a PS five, a series X and, uh, and the switch o. Okay. And, uh, and the, if you ever want to talk about a v a VR episode, uh, I also have the Oculus, which is dusting away somewhere in my drawer somewhere.

yeah. We'll, we'll have to have you back, especially with, um, the psvr and all that kind of stuff coming out. So Michael, man, thank you so much for talking about your experience with the Xbox Series X and you know, like taking us deep and like really walking us through what it was like to hold that console and play that console for the first time before we go. Where can the good people.

You could find me basically on Twitter, um, tune underscore medic, t o o n, underscore, m e d i c. I'm on there all the time talking about games. Um, so come have some fun. Uh, also you could check out my podcast, gamers University podcast. Uh, each episode I speak to a different guest, um, with, in a different industry, different career, um, about what they do for a living and about the video games that they love. Um, that, and, uh, and the same passion that we have. So I've spoken to, uh, doc, uh, doctors, uh, lawyers, um, uh, teachers, and basically like, uh, uh, you know, a film director, like all dips and walks of life. Um, and, and we share, share the same, uh, passion for games, and we just talk about it. It's fantastic stuff,

man. Definitely. Go check out that, that podcast. It is a great listen. So, man, Michael, I'm glad you to have you back on the show. We're gonna have to back on the show really soon. Like you're gonna be a recurring guest, man. You're fam now, so I gotta have

you back, man. Yeah, I, I, I love what you got going on, man. It's a pleasure talking with you. Uh, I could talk games all day every day, man. So whenever you want me on, just hit me up.

For sure, for sure. Well, I'll talk to you later. Until next time. Okay. Peace. Peace. so that's a rep for today's episode. I wanna give a special shadow and thank you to Michael Santiago for being a guest on the show. I also wanna let you know about the single player experience Discord server. It's the perfect place for single player gamers to talk about the good single player games they've been playing lately, and to get video game recommendations. Think of it kind of like a book club for single player gamers. The link to join will be in the description. Once you're in, feel free to share your video game backlog list. Talk about the good games you've been playing, or give your feedback on the show if you have a game that you think should be recommended or that you think I should talk about. Let me know in the single Player Experience Discord server. I'll see you there. Before we go, I just want to thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Stay safe, stay gamming, and I hope to catch you in the next one. Peace.