OCH

I wanted to play a little of both (PokéMon Violet and RE8), before Callisto Protocol arrives. Except now, I've fallen down a bit of a pokémanz sinkhole and sidelined RE8 (which sidelined Tactics Orge and Sekiro, beforehand). Today I got a pre-dispatch alert from ShopTo for Callisto Protocol. Suddenly I have too many games to play🤯

The Hardest Tetris Game Created Is Being Ported To Consoles

The availability has halted my reading with Vinland Saga also. Volume 3 is out of stock everywhere. I'd recommend getting a short manga, if you're looking to dip your toe in @spatular Akira and the big names are really dense for your first go round. I read Fire Punch not too long ago. Only eight volumes. Easy to follow with a very definitive ending. Having a quick look and every volume seems readily available and quite cheap too. See how you get on with that and work your way upto the bigger stories. I had a friend who suggested a good jumping on point for manga was One Piece... It isn't.

I realised that I haven't actually talked about the PokéManz themselves yet. The funny thing, as someone with mostly Gen 1 knowledge. I don't really know who is new to this game or just new to me? So far most are quite charming, as expected. It is weird to see them all in scale in an open world map. I've run into the Bug encounters numerous times, because they were so small I didn't see them (not helped by the draw distance). I was a little surprised the Starter (Green cat) I picked doesn't have a third evolution? I thought that was a series staple. Then again, it might just be luck of the draw on my part. The Beast Machine From the trailers (and box art) is a strange non-PokéMon. It is a PokéMon. But more an NPC, along the lines of LoZ's Epona. I don't know if the series has done this before? But a nonparticipating PokéMon is a little jarring. As noted from my pics above, the same min-max level grinding approach I take to RPG's like Disgaea, tends to be the main enjoyment I find in this series. Also the reason why I only played one of the games in Gen 1.

The strangest part was that the orange side - when it did register - said it had a full battery. Which why the FAQ presumed the blue side couldn't be detected. Surely if they are connected to the screen, inside the dock that is always plugged in. They would remain fully charged?🤷‍♂️

Play session two - The visual hiccups get worse There is a section wherein you are introduced to your classmates. Bear in mind this is a single room. Anyone not scripted to speak, jitters like they are a cardboard cut-out. All in-engine cutscenes have a pause at the beginning and ending. Plus the town I've just reached. There is a windmill at it's centre.. Just as jittery as ever. I'll reiterate what I said in the news thread: Game Freak have made 3D PokéMon games before, right?

So today, I turn on my Switch. The first time since I last played Metroid Dread (I wanna say last October?) and I thought, I'll undock it and play it in bed for a change. Except the Joycons weren't working. Not even registering at all. Eventually, I pressed the little reset button on the side and the right/orange side was acknowledged. Nothing from the left/blue side though. Even searching for it, yielded a '?' on the menu? It's not a deal breaker or anything. As I'll just play it docked anyway. But it is strange that one side has just ceased to function???

I'm starting this thread, eh? Weird... Anyway, PokéMon Violet. There are issues. Even I, someone who doesn't take note of framerates, screen tearing etc can see it plain as day. Draw distance is a thing. Note this is apparent from the second town. Before you reach the main school. The worst part is that every single PokéDex entry causes slowdown and stuttering. This isn't great for flaws in the most basic, yet fundamental game stuff. That's the negatives out of the way for now. Stay tuned for more on that, I imagine. The results of play session one. Not bad going really.

A remake that potentially has some interest from me. I haven't played Splinter Cell in a long time. It tickles me that while the knife concept art piece is just for effect. It is indicative of doing the game wrong😄 I still vividly recall finishing Chaos Theory with no shots fired and undetected. Feeling like a real spy/ninja. I remember people used to compare the stealth in SC to MGS. Although it was basically apples and oranges, in approach. Hopefully this remains in tact. Cautiously optimistic of this one.

Weird as it sounds, Aliens seems a bit too normal for Grasshopper?

It may be a technical marvel, a beautiful game of staggering scope and scale, but its gameplay is narrow, linear and never changes. [Christmas 2007, p.122] Found reference to it on the Metacritic for the PS3 version. Nothing from that summary suggests it was that bad a game? I think I played a bit of the second one and that's about it.🤔

I've had this preordered for a while. I'm not bothering with a season pass though.

Assassins Creed 1😄 I still recall that, even with my worthless memory (also the 10/10 they gave Demon's Souls).

Arriving early, PokéManz! The pair came in an insanely oversized box ala ShopTo. One is for a Christmas present, one might not be. Considering how many PokéMon Scarlet videos are popping up on YouTube. As the OH didn't have a preference. I might go for Violet.🤔

That is really surprising for Game Freak. This isn't the first 3D PokéMon game, after all? This is a Christmas present for the OH. Hopefully there will be some kind of stabilising patch before then.