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Squandered a few bucks on our recent visit to California, took a list of about 40 games with me, found around 8 i was looking for, most of the other stuff i got was because i found it for a decent price, i visited 3 Gamestop's and 3 independent stores but it was slim pickings, stumbled upon a store on one of the last days called "Game Dude" which had an incredible selection although i didn't have much time there as the kids were tired and we had to move on.

Actually a pretty good lineup with a few nice surprises:

Just a couple of pictures of what games were mentioned today...

Sound gate and noise cancelling go a long way.

Didn't know Silent Hope got a special edition in the US. That looks really nice, not jealous at all.

Why the fuck do you have a £3000 PC and then use a pound shop special mic? Get a proper one. Especially if you're streaming, you silly bugger.

Yea, I fucking love that. Gets a genuine laugh of me everytime. Like this! https://youtu.be/Cy0KmjgMclc?si=HYS2yA_kcJQn6IAZ

Not really an update on game progress just something I find amusing in the game... anyone notice the absolute carnage that party members leave behind in built up areas, the first few hours of playing I'd be happily having a conversation with an NPC or something then hear a load of crashing coming from my rear speakers only to find Barrett and Tifa kicking chairs and tables all over the place😂... way to keep a low profile guys.

Planetary hazards, gots to dodge meteors and tornados

Ha, true, sort of I have a WiiU too, lol. MK8 has continued to expand, I really love it. The latest Splatoon is ace, although I do think I spent more time on the 2nd, so you're right there. I have spent so much time on Switch, probably more than any other console (although Super Monkey Ball on GC also had a huuuuuge time investment).

I'm in chapter 11 now, in the game I mean not filing for bankruptcy. I think at this point the open world stuff starts to be slightly disruptive. In the sense that you're hitting parts of the game which have solemn renditions from the main theme, kinda doom and gloom, and you turn a corner and spend a solid 30 minutes trying to wrangle a chocobo that's super power is , and the music is all chirpy and lively. I think the point is that up until now this game feels like a much better version of Final Fantasy XV, where it feels like a bunch of friends on a road trip. It doesn't really have a 'story' in the traditional sense, particularly cause its story is a lump of narrative excised from the middle of FFVII and kinda shaped into a larger self-contained-but-still-contigious-with-part-1 story blob. But they manage to actually make that work really well, and the embellishments to the world, story and character backstories/interactions/motivations feel like very additive changes overall. But it could space out a bit better the more eccentric quest giver NPCs from the 'oh fuck, serious shit ahead' moments. I think for all its faults, FFXVI's sidequests felt more like they belonged within its world. But they were also just really boring, so I prefer this game's approach overall in spite of the jarring juxtapositions in tone That said I'm surprised by some of the exploration gimmicks they come up with, in Cosmo Canyon especially. It was a bit frustrating to figure out, but Aerith's quest there was super nice. Took a long time to figure it out though, but that's all part of the game, figuring out the terrain (from Junon onwards anyway, nothing to figure out in Grasslands) I beat full might Alexander with Cait Sith, Cloud and Red XIII last night, purely to figure out the synergy a bit better there, and now everyone has a summon materia (thanks to the save import from the first game, because I've only beaten Alex and Phoenix). Kept forgetting that Crescent Claw is a thing I should be using, but found with Red that if you want you can sacrifice some of his aggression to turn him into a healer with one of his unique moves which spends vengeance gauge on full party heals. Which is really interesting, how flexible some character roles seem to be. Cait Sith is pure random by design, he has a high luck stat but isn't up to much without the right crits and dice rolls, but that volatility makes him fun. I love his 'kill the moogle to dodge an attack' move, and you can put a bomb on the moogle and double down with the suicide strat if you want. I did a 2 party comp with him and Aerith in the arena, sure that it would be the worst comp posssible, but they have an amazing synergy skill (r1-triangle) at round start which is a very long line AOE which hits multiple targets, gave them both full ATB bars and let both of them just nuke the whole arena In terms of things which are improved from the original game, Cait Sith has to be the biggest one. He's much more fun in gameplay and in story, and his animations look so good Probably next I will try a max might summon without Cloud in the party at all (actually thinking on above, Aerith and Cait Sith got to be in it) edit 😛

We are so back

I don’t understand Poker at all. My brother would often try to teach me how to play it, but I never got the hang of it. I utterly hate maths, because of my dyspraxia. Not sure this will be my jam.

No - I'm terrible at poker. I don't do well holding hands and working towards a specific goal. Think of it more in the terms of manipulating the deck to work towards what you want it to do. Especially when it comes to the point where you start replacing some diamonds with (for example) more clubs, or working towards having 5 of a kind. It's maths, essentially.

No, MK is a mobile game now where you dress up Sub Zero and make him solve puzzles on a cutesy farm.

Just to say there's a fairly hefty difference between something being complete shite and not liking it... the game itself is fine... but it's fine not to like it too.🙂 I'm 26 hours in and finally ready to head to upper Junon.

FWIW I've read a couple of reviews which have started out saying the reviewer had no idea or interest in poker, but then went on to really enjoy Balatro. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/feb/27/balatro-mashup-solitaire-poker-has-taken-over-my-life-roguelike https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/04/balatro-review-joker-time-20391058/?ico=metro-posts_gaming_whats-trending-now

Still doesn't look great, like a year 9 kid knocked it up in their IT class Albeit, better than the main cover

Reverse cover.

Having to spend more time in bed, due to my painfully swollen ankles. So I’ve got myself some reading material. A Mario encyclopaedia, and Bitmap Books’ history of Metal Slug. Bitmap make some bloody awesome books. I already have their SNES compendium, and scrolling beat em up one.

I got Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth physical, and got Penny's Big Breakaway and What The Golf? for my Steam Deck

I had a bit extra at the end of the month after taking care of the boring, responsible adult stuff, so treated myself to a game and a couple of audiobooks.

74p Remember really liking this on ps4 but never got it finished.

Will have to wait till Saturda, busy tonight and off to see Dune Tomorrow.

Time to dust off the PS5 etc.