453: Halo Campaign Evolved, Funnel Runners and Ghost Recon Wildlands

This week, Brett, Austin, and Jason cover four very different corners of gaming — starting with Halo: Campaign Evolved. Brett played the entire thing with zero nostalgia, and the remake genuinely won him over. But the three new prequel missions, the only original content in the release, tell a different story: reused assets, thin characters, and a baffling choice to have a new character openly dismiss Master Chief. That firsthand breakdown gets weighed against the discourse, the layoffs that hit the studio a week after launch, and what it all means for a $50 price tag. From there, the crew takes a first look at Funnel Runners, an early access co-op survival game where the real threat is a terrifyingly realistic tornado — thin on content right now, but building real community buzz. Then it's a generational showdown on Ghost Recon Wildlands' 25th anniversary update: Jason's 195 hours deep, Brett's walking in cold, and the two compare notes on the new 4K/60fps upgrade, the Last Rites mission, and what Ubisoft's silence on Breakpoint says about where the franchise is really headed. Closing things out, Austin replays Spider-Man 2018 in the wake of Brand New Day's record-breaking box office run, using it as a lens for what Marvel's Wolverine — Insomniac's next big swing — might look like when it lands in September. Time-value takes, honest tradeoffs, and opinions throughout — no hype, just the real talk busy gamers actually need. **Show Notes:** 1:30 - Housekeeping 2:33 - Halo: Campaign Evolved's Biggest Flaw Isn't the Remake, It's What They Added 41:57 - Funnel Runners First Look: The Tornado Survival Game That Terrified Us in the Best Way 1:01:47 - Ghost Recon Wildlands Just Got a Free Upgrade — Is the 2017 Classic Still Worth It? 1:31:53 - Spider-Man 2018 in 2026: How Does It Hold Up? 1:58:14 - Upcoming Video Game Releases Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.   Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.   **Credits:** "Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress "Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64