Episode 3

On a festive edition of Thumb Bandits, the team unwraps the dark arts of console marketing, tracing the evolution of PlayStation advertising from subversive ’90s cool to the slick campaigns of the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, while eyeing the hype machines behind the Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. Reviews come thick and fast: wrestling spectacle WWF SmackDown! divides opinion, shooter showdown HeadHunter takes the jury’s crown over Time Crisis II and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, and futuristic racer New York Race is slammed for style over substance. In the news, the demise of SNK and the fading fortunes of the Dreamcast prompt a bittersweet retro countdown featuring Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi and Resident Evil Code: Veronica. Previews tease surf sim TransWorld Surf, ogre-powered platformer Shrek, and comic-book caper Batman: Dark Tomorrow—before the hosts sign off in typically chaotic, booze-fuelled fashion.