Typing out the code from the book and then trying to figure out where you got the code wrong was half the fun!

Yeah, they’re gonna have to take my Windows 10 from my cold, dead hands.

As long as one is okay with the requisite time tinkering to get it up and running, the gaming PC still seems like a no-brainer to me at these prices. So much utility, including doubling as a work station.

I guess a bit can be saved on games by selling the discs later, but that requires the disc drive add-on, so we’re already looking at more up-front cost. And yet somehow, the base unit is still cheaper than the PS3 was, adjusting for inflation.

It was literally the Pinkertons. Long-time union infiltrators.

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Also my first deep dive into a gacha. One of my friends also plays Genshin and ZZZ and I’m like, hoooow? 😂

There were so. many. quests. that I’m just now getting to the “log in to spend energy” mode with HSR. The game’s absolutely packed with one-time content and being an MMO player, I’m so not used to this rapid release schedule.

The only times I ever ran out of content in WoW–been playing since 2004–was the six months or so before the next expansion’s prepatch. Even in the notorious 6.1 “Twitter integration” patch that didn’t add a raid, I still was happily messing around with my garrisons and collecting battle pets and mounts. If I weren’t doing the tourism thing now, I’d still spend hours upon hours with the new professions system. I spent more time messing with that in Dragonflight than I did in dungeons and raids.

Maybe you’re the kind of player that doesn’t roll alts? Just that alone is a lot of different content and different takes on existing content.

I don’t know how anyone has time for two live service games at once. Even in my peak college slacker days, just World of Warcraft alone was a lot. I started playing Honkai: Star Rail this summer and a friend wanted me to start The War Within expansion with her. I’ve been doing the tourist thing in WoW for a few years now, and even still with that casual pace of play, the combination was far too much for me these days.

My gaming tastes can get mercurial, so I prefer the irregular stuff now. I love that I can just log into Guild Wars 2 any time without even thinking about money, and I’ve spent a whole $10 on HSR in the six months I’ve been playing it. Makes it much easier when I suddenly get a few days of light work here and there.

You made it farther than I did, lol. Got worked by Ymir.

IGN’s reviewer really didn’t like it, scoring 5 out of 10. Probably an outlier, but the overall consensus does seem on the low side for a Mario game.

Also the easiest way to play the PSP version with the combat slowdown fix, which is essential.

I had to actually get my hands on it to find out what appeals. For me it was a combination of challenge, routine, and a clear sense of progression. Hunting materials for gear gave me clear milestones while I was also getting better at the combat at the same time in a more intangible way.

Monster Hunter World was the one I spent the most time in, and my favorite part was the multiplayer. Unfortunately, frustration with that is also what led me to eventually drop it. Co-op with a friend in that game was bizarrely restricted, with a really janky way of going through the story (I eventually figured out that it was just better to do the story independently). On top of that, the multiplayer had technical issues on PC at launch.

I hear that Wilds will have a similar setup for the main story co-op–outright bizarre for a AAA game releasing in freaking 2025–but here’s hoping it won’t have the other issues at least.

It’s an amazing fit for Takarazuka. I’d absolutely be going if I were still in the area.

I don’t think you’re necessarily wrong on this. Part of the problem is new IPs are risky, and I’m sure market research is telling the big publishers that you’d better not suddenly downgrade your graphics on an established property. Nintendo’s very comfortable in this space because they haven’t really gone this route with first party. They’ve even managed to thread the needle on Mario, Metroid, and Zelda by having both 2D and 3D offerings.

My wishlist is Final Fantasy Tactics, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, and Xenogears. A Xenogears remake likely isn’t ever happening so I’d be happy with a remaster, and it’s practically an open secret at this point that an FFT project is in development. It getting the Tactics Ogre Reborn treatment would be lovely, but what I really want is an orchestrated soundtrack. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get cancelled. 🤞

As a genre, 4X is still kicking around, but I’m not even sure if SMAC is beloved enough to get the treatment. Good voice acting would be essential.

I’d be happy with a simple remaster with a cleaned-up script. Disc 2 wasn’t as bad as I’d remembered on a replay I had earlier this year.

Maybe, but if it does ever happen, we’re still very much in the embryo stage. Like, behind VR or at the level of 1990’s-era game streaming services.

What was most telling to me was even Hasbro seemingly chose not to chase the fad with Magic: the Gathering. Depressingly, it was presumably because even NFTs would be more friendly to players than their tightly-controlled market.

I’ve heard of Ale Abbey! I think it might have been on the PC Gaming Show or something this past summer. I do like 2D base builders.

Just heard of this guy for the first time in the chatter around reviews for this game (which has been…interesting, to say the least). Similar tastes to mine, so that’s promising for me for Veilguard. Speaking of which, sounds like I should be trying Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.