This week, instead of my usual Sims content, I’ve just gotten home from a one-day eight-hour drive (four hours each way) to go buy myself ‘my’ ‘first’ car. I think because of this, I’ll take a break. Instead of writing a thousand words about the Sims, I’ll write…two and half thousand…about my cars up until this point. Right. Makes sense.
This’ll have to be in two parts. I’ll do one today, and one tomorrow. Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Mercy, Hiccup, and Jellybean I”
This week I am playing Raft with Bay, Elliot, and Charlie, which is pretty fun. I have some (many) issues with how the machines are supposed to work or how we get the parts, but the gameplay is good. I am also still playing Slay the Spire at every moment of spare time.
What are you guys up to?
A big part of my retrogaming experiment was to experience entire franchises and series. As I have shared, classic RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are on the list. On a whim, I decided there are major, important titles I have never played that I would like to try, like the Metal Gear games. And while I’ve always been a big fan of The Legend of Zelda as a whole property, I’ve never actually played any Zelda games other than the first, gold-cartridge TLOZ and Link’s Awakening on the original Gameboy. I’ve even added all the main-line (I think) Mario Bros. games, and Sonic games from the original Genesis release through the GameCube generation. But naturally, at the last minute, I decided I *really* wanted to play a different “series” of video games I’ve only barely dabbled in: Batman.
– Shamus, Wednesday Nov 29, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster XXXV: A Dubious Victory”
The year is 2020 and Logan is at college. His parents are doing their best to return to some sort of normalcy, but it’s strange without their son.
Logan comes to stay over weekends and is consistently met with the sort of thought out meals he’d usually think of as birthday dinners. There is no takeout to be seen, just roasted potatoes, homemade lasagnas, and everything else he knows his mom and dad can cook.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: The Plague”
This week I am succumbing to a Slay the Spire addiction which is fine and normal and I do not have a problem.
What are you guys up to?
When I proposed this week’s article, I believed it would be a break from retrogaming content. Not that retrogaming is the only thing I ever intend to write about, or ever DO write about, but I feel my retrogaming setups are still in a state of “incompleteness.” Some recent AI news has been on my mind, though; and considering I’m a Gen-X’er, my “get off my message board!” instinct was being triggered. However, it wasn’t until I started fleshing out what I was going to talk about that I realized retrogaming was actually an important part of the story, or at least the news item I wanted to talk about. Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Retrogaming and AI – A Surprising Tangent”
Did you anticipate the big plot twist of Batman: Arkham City? Here's all the ways the game hid that secret from you while also rubbing your nose in it.
This is a massive step down in story, gameplay, and art design when compared to the 2014 soft reboot. Yet critics rated this one much higher. What's going on here?
Some advice to game developers on how to stop ruining good stories with bad cutscenes.
A look back at Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abrams Reboot.
It's not a good movie, but it was made with good intentions and if you look closely you can find a few interesting ideas.
Most stories have plot holes. The failure isn't that they exist, it's when you notice them while immersed in the story.
This Korean title would be the greatest MMO ever made if not for the horrendous monetization system. And the embarrassing translation. And the terrible progression. And the developer's general apathy towards its western audience.
Since we're rebooting everything, MASH will probably come up eventually. Here are some casting suggestions.
The story of me. If you're looking for a picture of what it was like growing up in the seventies, then this is for you.
How did this niche racing game make a gameworld so massive, and why is that a big deal?
T w e n t y S i d e d
