In this bonus episode, Chris and Peter step away from Mainframe for a while to talk about the Mortal Kombat II movie and the nostalgic narrative game Mixtape. The discussion around Mortal Kombat leads them back to their earliest memories of the series - arcades, over-the-top fatalities, and the cultural panic around videogame violence in the 90s.

Meanwhile, Mixtape sends the conversation in a more reflective direction, as they talk about the people, places, and moments that quietly disappear over time. Along the way, they revisit the music, technology, and atmosphere of growing up in the 90s, from mixtapes and CDs to 80s movies and the feeling of discovering media before the internet flattened everything into algorithms.

It’s part gaming discussion, part nostalgia trip, and part meditation on memory, complete with fatalities, feelings, and far too much reminiscing about obsolete technology.

Noobs by C.G. Regan

Cover Art by Charlotte Regan

Music by Peter Regan

Chris and Peter set sail with ReBoot Season 1, Episode 7, “The Crimson Binome”—Mainframe’s pirate-themed adventure. As Bob, Dot, and Enzo encounter data pirates on the high seas, the conversation naturally drifts into the legacy of pirates in video games.

The brothers discuss Sea of Thieves and how modern pirate games often portray pirates less as romantic adventurers and more as chaotic nuisances. From there, they trace the pop-culture resurgence of pirates through classics like The Secret of Monkey Island, On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, and of course the hugely influential Pirates of the Caribbean series.

They also revisit the legendary Sid Meier's Pirates!, discussing why it remains one of the definitive pirate experiences in gaming, and how pirate fiction has evolved from mythic rogues to loud people stealing your loot online.

Noobs by C.G. Regan

Cover Art by Charlotte Regan

Music by Peter Regan

After a slightly time-bending return (it’s been a year… sort of), Chris and Peter are back in the system and catching up on what they’ve been playing. Chris dives into the cartoon-styled shooter Mouse: P.I. For Hire, a rubber-hose animated throwback in the spirit of classic 30s cartoons, while reflecting on difficulty, storytelling, and the strange modern obsession with bolting extra systems like card games onto everything.

From there, things spiral (as they tend to) into a deep and entirely necessary discussion about lockpicking mini-games, wrestling briefcases, and why some mechanics stick in your brain long after the rest of the game has faded.

They then jack back into ReBoot to tackle Season 1, Episode 6: “The Belly of the Beast.” It’s another surprising departure from the expected “game of the week” format, instead focusing on Enzo and Frisket in what feels like an early sidekick episode. The brothers question why the series pivots away from its core concept so quickly, explore the odd low-stakes nature of kidnapping in Mainframe, and inevitably Chris brings up the topic of bowel movements inside a computer system.

Along the way, there’s talk of the origins of CGI animation (including connections to the iconic Money for Nothing music video), the quirks of 80s and 90s kids’ TV structure, and the enduring mystery of why sidekick characters are almost always the worst.

Noobs by C.G. Regan

Cover Art by Charlotte Regan

Music by Peter Regan