HandsomeDead

Well that's a big blow to me, it was what I was most looking forward to out of their portfolio. Can't remember the last time I was more disappointed by a cancellation 😐

I mean yeah, but gaming wise I think it has been fairly normal 😄 I dunno why I was so convinced at the start of the year Death Stranding wasn't gonna come out.

It's more naturally incorporated, You're not choosing something to miss out on another style of play but it expands it in a similar way. Some weapon classes need to be relearned though. Though as a Charge Blade user predominantly at this point, that class is still disappointingly similar where the wire bugs abilities didn't add much, but others it's like a new weapon.

Yeah, I think Iceborne is a big improvement over what was already a solidly good game. I'm not that surprised it still has people playing it because it does maintain its own identity that isn't totally superceded by newer installments and when I played it on a current gen console it looked and ran so nicely. Rise/Sunbreak is more of a companion game than an upgrade. Definitely handheld focused so the game is faster at getting at the action: areas are still imaginative but exploring is much less a priority. But much like the clutchclaw it's identity is tied to the wire bugs and how they are incorporated into the combat. I wouldn't go as far as saying it turns every weapon class into the insect glaive but that's almost what it does.

Seems like whatever criteria they are using is a bit useless. They even say the 3DS was previously the fastest selling but that quite famously had a rocky launch and had to have a price cut. There needs to be more time before we see how consistently they leave the shelves.

What piqued my interest in this a bit more was the association with the ESA. I'm hoping it means it'll have proper science consultants. There's a bit too much science as magic in games and this will hopefully consider the real threat of space.

I think this was my favourite of the show. I'm glad because I'm finding The Outer Worlds to be a bit obnoxious but this is hitting similar beats but in a way that is better, just going by trailers.

I thought it was a crazy announcement. They've never made anything of this scale before that wasn't Pokémon. Interested in what something that looks AAA is going to be by them. It's a big jump from Little Town Hero.

Yeah, I played through all of the first 4 but any after that I fall off after a while. This seems like it's an actual big jump rather than how iterative the other games are (not including the turn based ones).

Perfect Dark still seems like it needs a more solid release window. I think that's the only thing I'd like to hear about thats already announced.

Not how I expected to see Punch Out return.

The difference between maths and what AI is used for is that it's subjective information, and maths isn't. I don't think getting lazy with communication is good in an email job. I kind of get frustrated by what seems to me to be false equivalency with previous technology that democratised skills and information. I don't know why you'd want to give credence to the idea your job could easily be automated in our current world. But I do hate because of who is running these technological advancements and what their motivations are I have to be a luddite but here we are. I also worry about it being similar to limiting access to education, creating a more malleable, unthinking population, whether intended or not.

I played a good chunk of it back on the Xbox but it's something I've meant to properly go back to. I do have it on Switch.

I picked it for fantasy critic but had it at mid 80s at best. Nice. I think I'll try and play it too, lol

I miss Left 4 Dead 2 so that will be my multiplayer. I dunno for single player, probably something basic like Resident Evil 4 I guess. I've always enjoyed going back to it and I never mastered it.

The ranked ladder for this season ends in just over 2 weeks and I feel like I took about a week off after hitting that wall but came back using a different deck. I figured if I do want to hit Master Ball I gotta stop being cool and play one of the meta decks, so I went with this: Ugh, a water deck. Disgusting. I'm one of those people now. It got me over the hump and into Ultra Ball 3 (it was UB2 I was stuck in specifically). It does really well against the other meta decks. Not as safe in the beginning due to Magikarp but once you're up and running it's hard to stop. But all I keep encountering now are bloody counter meta decks, so I guess I need a counter counter deck and I'm not experienced enough in card games to build my own at this level, and frankly not smart enough. It's not really choosing which Pokémon to use, that's the easy part, it's which assist cards, and there are so many now so it's so hard to choose which are more likely to net you the most advantages. I hope there are changes to the the progression next ranked season because it feels really brutal. Of course getting to Master should be an achievement but it's just weird how Ultra feels so grindy. Anyone with a half decent deck playing moderately well can get in the early section, so it doesn't feel like Ultra is anything special and you want to hit Master but it's so many points needed to rank up and +10 win, -7 lose is... it just takes a few games where the win is just out of your hands. Nothing you can do about it. I guess I'll keep at it and see if I have that Master Ball emblem next post.

I like the system, I think it's mostly what people wanted from a Switch successor and the price is what I expected, though definitely on the more expensive end, and I could have lived with that but the price of games has turned me away. I only bought them on the rare occasion I found them on sale but they're beyond me now so I'm out until my debts are paid. It feels strange that console gaming used to be the budget way to game but it doesn't feel like it now. I'm leaning wore towards the next thing I buy be some sort of handheld PC, but who knows what will happen to them over the next couple of years.

Yeah, I dunno. Shenmue is a neat curiosity but it's hardly a game I've seen many devs talk about as an influence, and it's not like we've seen a bunch of games like it. Definitely seems like a certain type of gamer caught wind of the poll. I guess intimate, detailed environments you can interact with is something you see sometimes in games now, like "Walking Simulators". QTEs became really disliked. There's the cinematic storytelling but I feel like that was attempted a few times before Shenmue. You don't see the time scheduling that much but again I don't think it's a Shenmue innovation, though there's an argument it does well pulling this stuff off. But whatever, the Shenmue enjoyers do like it when people remember their game.

I suppose there was less 1st party stuff announced than usual. Nintendo are opaque when it comes to their studios but I'm assuming Donkey Kong is the main one that usually does 3D Mario. I'm surprised a new Animal Crossing wasn't at least hinted at. It's maybe too early for a Monolith game. Their other usual partners were still tied to the Switch but I suppose you'd expect more considering how long it's been in the making, and should have courted more 3rd party exclusives. I don't think a multiplayer Bloodborne and a Daemon X Machina quite cuts it but I can see a world being proven wrong on that.

I'm wondering if these Trump tariffs are pushing the price up everywhere since America is one of the biggest markets and they don't want too many importing. I know Nintendo always charge as much as they can get away with, I'm not letting them off the hook, but with GTA6 is this the start of a new standard? Fuck me, if so. I won't be getting one until I know I have a steady income.

I never played the original but it's one of those games where everyone who likes it really likes it so I'm open to be converted. Seems odd they're releasing it so close to Mario Kart, tho

I think it looks like one of those games where they're trying to get back some R&D they put into the controller. An experiment they deemed enough to turn into a game. But yeah, it's a cool concept that could have used some of their artists contribute some more.

It looks really nice, mostly due to the very expressive animations. New mechanics like wall riding and rail grinding look like some silly fun but I hope it's used more meaningfully like avoiding attacks. Its open world doesn't look that open but that could be just as easily for the better. It definitely looks like a more meaningful change to the concept than Mario Kart has had for a long time.

I'm surprised at the scope of this. It looks open world-ish but in a really playful way that recent Zelda and the new Mario Kart might be like. Seems like that may be the MO for Nintendo this generation.