T w e n t y S i d e d
This week I got bored, so instead of finishing my Terraria world that had only two bosses left, I started playing BALL x PIT.
Because apparently half of the games I play are roguelikes, BALL x PIT is just Breakout, but a roguelike. I’m enjoying it so far.
Some of the characters gimmicks seem like someone thought it sounded like fun, so they just threw it in there. You got some simple ones like, scattered aim, but shoots twice as fast, or balls always pierce until they hit a wall, and then some just silly ones like, battles become turn-based, or just strait up plays the game as a gimmick.
I ‘ve still been busy, so my free time is limited, so that’s about all I played of interest.
What’s everyone else doing this week?
The Best of 2018
I called 2018 "The Year of Good News". Here is a list of the games I thought were interesting or worth talking about that year.
The Biggest Game Ever
How did this niche racing game make a gameworld so massive, and why is that a big deal?
Quakecon 2012 Annotated
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
What Does a Robot Want?
No, self-aware robots aren't going to turn on us, Skynet-style. Not unless we designed them to.
A Telltale Autopsy
What lessons can we learn from the abrupt demise of this once-impressive games studio?
Brotato continues. Scope Creep has set in hard with Nightmare Mode. Had two runs with Mage that ended on the final boss, and one run with Mutant with nigh unlimited firepower, that still died on Wave 17 because Nightmare Mode just spawns too much meat and too many bullets. I’ve resigned myself to just clearing every character with the Sleepwalk accessibility settings to get the little ring and put my mind down. Mildly annoying, but that mode cheats really hard and it’s a much better use of time to cheat than to clear them legitimately.
Jimmy continues, very slowly. Reached the final boss, and Hard Mode has given them new adds that boost their danger considerably. Looks like I’m actually going to have to grind a bit. Lots of quests still to do, but not much motivation to do them anymore. Never did find that second new dungeon. I should probably do that. Didn’t really give the first one enough of a go either.
The plus side is Jimmy’s mostly been dislodged with writing. The minus side is writing has in turn been dislodged by Brotato Nightmare runs. Maybe that will change once I cheat enough to get all the foils. Except that didn’t stop the Level 5 runs. Maybe vacation has a chance at it. But probably not. But maybe.
Still playing Yakuza Kiwami 3. After doing all the side content for the orphan house Morning Glory I’m in Kamoroucho and doing all the side content for the Haisai Girls. Kiwami adds so much new stuff compared to the original Yakuza 3, it would be insane if it weren’t mostly optical re-designs of mechanics in its predecessors. Gardening was in Ishin, Haisai Girls is a rebrand of all the pirate crew management in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which in itself is a rebrand of the gang management of The Song of Life. The new fighting style is completely fresh, and after a few upgrades really good.
Coop: Palworld. Still not strong enough to defeat Obon boss lady. But we weren’t obliterated, like last time, just the time ran out.
And we tried Trailmakers: Pioneers. I thought it was a DLC to pay for, for a game I lost interest in but NO. It is a 2.0 update for the base game. I’m not sold on it though. Driving physics are bouncy – if two wheels leave the ground or you hit a wall (or much to often an invisible hitbox) your car bounces all over the place. Also: Now there are resources needed to craft parts to build with. No more free experimentation with parts you unlocked, you have to grind resources first. Not quiet fun.
Analog I got stuck in Witchbound again, without a lead what to do next. I packed it up and played a teaching game of Splendor Duel and Castle Combo instead. Upcoming weekend I have the opportunity to play them with family. Maybe I get a teaching game of The Bloody Inn and Hero Story before that too.
I was busy this weekend and so lost my Suikoden V slot, but made up for it with two runs at Knights of the Old Republic for the diary, finishing Dantooine. I’m playing the GOG version which has always had … interesting interactions with my laptop, with the graphics glitching in the open areas and it crashing at random times, but all of that is workable and since I’ve finished it once already with this I should be okay. The high dexterity keeps me from getting hit a lot, but I don’t seem to hit as often as I’d like, although I need to do more with dual wielding and probably need to put a lightsaber in my off-hand now. Then again, the security droids were easy to hit, so that might not be the issue. Anyway, progress is being made so it’s working pretty well.