XBox had a direct recently and it was one of their best. That said, it was the first deep dive we've received for Starfield and it feels like the most in depth deep dive I've ever seen for a video game before launch. In fact, I've heard some video game pundits say it may have gone too deep and some of what they showed should have been better experienced by playing the game, but honestly in a world where game launches go so badly, it's good to see most of the game beforehand. All that said, the game looks incredible and I'm going to play it on launch day.
True story, I don't believe I've picked up a Triple A big release since Fallout 4 which launched back in 2015.... Read All
XBox had a direct recently and it was one of their best. That said, it was the first deep dive we've received for Starfield and it feels like the most in depth deep dive I've ever seen for a video game before launch. In fact, I've heard some video game pundits say it may have gone too deep and some of what they showed should have been better experienced by playing the game, but honestly in a world where game launches go so badly, it's good to see most of the game beforehand. All that said, the game looks incredible and I'm going to play it on launch day.
True story, I don't believe I've picked up a Triple A big release since Fallout 4 which launched back in 2015. Fallout 4 was pretty good but nothing has really caught my attention that I just had to have on launch day. (Well, Shredder's Revenge, but that's a much much smaller game in scale).
I think the standout parts of the game to me is that this looks like a different take on No Man's Sky that looks to bring in a narrative and flesh out a lot more. I'm not trying to knock No Man's Sky, but Starfield looks like the right kind of game that promises to do much of what No Man's Sky is and does. When Bethesda showed off that you can get into dogfights with spaceships and board them to steal the ship for your own I was sold. I just hope the promise of running cargo AND being a space pirate as well as the single player and run and gun stuff is as strong as what they showed.
Starfield will be a game I play day on at launch but I'm not sure how I'm going to play it. I have a few months of Game Pass I could play it with or pick up a copy on XBox. Either way, I'll let you know what I think when it comes out.
In partnership with Krool Games, McDonalds released Grimace's Birthday a themed game that ties in with the Gimace's Birthday meal celebrating everyone favorite purple McNugget. That sentence might sound like it's entirely made up, but it's not and Grimace's Birthday on Gameboy Color is actually really really good. It's only a handful of levels long, and not very hard, but why does every game have to be Dark Souls and 5,000 hours long? Grimace's Birthday isn't and it's so fun my seven year old son likes playing it. I was happy to have been able to beat it in my second setting in 4m33s. Currently as of me writing this the Speedrun record for Grimace's Birthday is by... Read All
In partnership with Krool Games, McDonalds released Grimace's Birthday a themed game that ties in with the Gimace's Birthday meal celebrating everyone favorite purple McNugget. That sentence might sound like it's entirely made up, but it's not and Grimace's Birthday on Gameboy Color is actually really really good. It's only a handful of levels long, and not very hard, but why does every game have to be Dark Souls and 5,000 hours long? Grimace's Birthday isn't and it's so fun my seven year old son likes playing it. I was happy to have been able to beat it in my second setting in 4m33s. Currently as of me writing this the Speedrun record for Grimace's Birthday is by CheeseSodaPunch at 4m23s which may be as fast as is humanely possible.
That said, you can play it right now in your browser on your phone or desktop OR in your Gameboy Color on your favorite emulator or flash kart on your system.
Currently the developers released 1.4 to the website and the Internet Archive currently doesn't have that but you can download it through your browser by inspecting the network traffic and plucking the .gb file out of it. That's pretty technical so you could also wait for the Internet Archive to update the 1.4 file or play 1.3, which is plenty fun anyway.
I just found an announcement that Shredder's Revenge is getting a DLC. It says "new game mode," "new character colors," and even "new playable characters," although the only one listed is Usagi Yojimbo. You can wish list it and get more details on Steam. There isn't a release date or price announced yet, though.
Let me know what you think.
I just found an announcement that Shredder's Revenge is getting a DLC. It says "new game mode," "new character colors," and even "new playable characters," although the only one listed is Usagi Yojimbo. You can wish list it and get more details on Steam. There isn't a release date or price announced yet, though.
Yeah, it's shaping up to be quite a good amount of DLC. Hopefully they do a few more and release a physical edition wrapping it all up. That said, they didn't do that for Street of Rage 4 that I know of.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/31/2023 at 08:19pm
"The History of Diablo" is a great 15 minute video giving some details about the history of Diablo in time for Diablo IV's release. I think it's a must-see for Diablo fans.
Let me know what you think about it and if you're getting into Diablo IV today.
"The History of Diablo" is a great 15 minute video giving some details about the history of Diablo in time for Diablo IV's release. I think it's a must-see for Diablo fans.
Let me know what you think about it and if you're getting into Diablo IV today.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 05/27/2023 at 01:05am
Awesome! I think I'll be busy playing Diablo IV at the time. I need to wait anyway if I want to play w/ shaders, because those files have to update, too. I might create a new world as I usually do, but I'm thinking about using the seed I last played on.
Are you going to be playing this and Diablo IV, Jon?
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 05/29/2023 at 08:18pm
> Are you going to be playing this and Diablo IV, Jon?
Most likely I'll play more Minecraft 1.20 with my son. As to Diablo IV, I've considered getting it on PC but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Hard to say, are you getting Diablo IV at launch?
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 05/29/2023 at 09:31pm
>Most likely I'll play more Minecraft 1.20 with my son. As to Diablo IV, I've considered getting it on PC but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Hard to say, are you getting Diablo IV at launch?
I'm glad you'll be enjoying Minecraft w/ him. Me and Vinny didn't play Minecraft together very much at all, but he's the one that got me into it.
I'll get Diablo IV very soon.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 06/07/2023 at 08:05pm
Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
One of the things I like most about games that are sequels is seeing how a game I enjoyed got improved. This is especially true when it comes to PCBS2. There are new tools and lots of QoL (quality of life) improvements, which I often see in sequels I enjoy. PCBS2 gives you more to work with and unlocks a lot of good stuff quickly without too much leveling up progression needed.
One of the things I love most about this game is itâs amazing soundtrack, which has a beautiful mix of rock, rap, and techno. âHard to Believeâ is often in my head and âNo Fear of Fallingâ really strikes a chord with my heart strings. There are a couple of references to COVID such as in â... Read All
One of the things I like most about games that are sequels is seeing how a game I enjoyed got improved. This is especially true when it comes to PCBS2. There are new tools and lots of QoL (quality of life) improvements, which I often see in sequels I enjoy. PCBS2 gives you more to work with and unlocks a lot of good stuff quickly without too much leveling up progression needed.
One of the things I love most about this game is itâs amazing soundtrack, which has a beautiful mix of rock, rap, and techno. âHard to Believeâ is often in my head and âNo Fear of Fallingâ really strikes a chord with my heart strings. There are a couple of references to COVID such as in âAntidotes,â âhard everyone lock down, hard everything lock down.â You can check out the playlist on the official PCBS YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyTsMZIO5Z4&list=PL1qw64qmrhBNK1zw712CLmDO9AKbJrv-l You can also buy the soundtrack and check out the lyrics of each song here: https://pcbuildingsimulator.bandcamp.com/album/pc-building-simulator-2-original-soundtrack
I think PCBS has a good tutorial for learning how to build a PC, teaching you what each component is and what it does. PCBS2 doesnât seem to have that unless I overlooked it. It does have multiple tutorials to show you how to do everything. I think thereâs less guess work when it comes to troubleshooting, too, and youâre given more tools. One of them is a tablet that makes the office PC obsolete and redundant.
The tablet is always with you. You can access it any time by pressing âTâ on your keyboard. Once you unlock it, and you do so quickly, you really donât need your office PC. There are a couple things it can do that your office PC canât. For instance, thereâs an app that uses the tabletâs infrared camera to check the thermals of a running PC. Sometimes faulty components that need to be replaced will be running much hotter than everything else. Thereâs also an app allowing you to customize your work area including pictures, workbenches, walls, floors, and ceilings.
One way in which PCBS2 is different is that it gives you a big workshop and storefront. In PCBS, you have only one workbench until you level up and pay for additional workbenches. Even then, it only gives a total of three, but PCBS2 doubles that and doesnât require much to unlock.
There are now three types of workbenches, each with itâs own specialty and you can change them anytime a PC is not on them. Youâll be mostly working with a âbuildâ bench that lets you do all the PC building and troubleshooting. Another workbench allows for water-cooling customization where youâll take individual components like a GPU, motherboard, or RAM. The last workbench allows you use spray paint and stickers for case modding. You probably only need one of each for the last two, while the rest you may want as âbuildâ benches.
The storefront includes one of these workbenches, itâs mostly there for tinkering with the PCs youâre going to sell. There are multiple spots (four I think) to put a PC for sale, so you can sell many of them at the same time. You can buy a PC from a store app, which contains at least one broken part. You can then replace the part (or completely remove it if itâs an extra) and resell it. If you give the PC a name, overclock, or customization, you can get more money for it, too.
The game play is essentially the same as the first game. As I mentioned in my review of PCBS, you take over a PC repair shop. Potential customers will email you, asking you to fix their computer problems, build them a PC, or request that you give their PC a customization. Email from them also contains plenty of info like what needs to be done such as run virus scan, paint case, or replace a part. Once you click âacceptâ the customerâs PC will arrive in your store the next day for you to work on.
Itâs pretty simple game play, but thereâs plenty to do. Some customers want you to do something simple and the game tells you what to do. Others are more mysterious requiring you to figure it out on your own, which isnât usually too difficult. Some customers want their PC to meet a certain score on a benchmark like 3DMark and Cinebench. Thereâs an app that helps you decide which parts will give you a certain score.
There are resources online about PCBS, including Steam guides that are still relevant. You might get a BSoD (blue screen of death) and not know whatâs wrong (because theyâre not very descriptive), but if you âGoogle it,â youâll be able to find your answer easily. I got one of these recently and realized I forgot to apply thermal paste to the CPU I replaced.
The game has gotten three updates and I wouldnât be surprised to see more, because theyâve added content and features. One of them introduced cable customization, which lets you color each individual cable, so you can have multicolored cables. Usually they add new parts and partners (PC companies like Phanteks).
PCBS2 is an Epic Games Store exclusive. Months ago, I did a Google search to see when or if it is coming to Steam and it seems as though it will not, even though PCBS is there. PCBS had a lot of workshops customized for different PC brands, like Razer, but PCBS2 doesnât seem to have that and thus no additional DLC to pay for.
Thereâs actually a demo for this game, so if this sounds like something youâre interested in, you can check it out before buying. The game is only $25 and I think itâs definitely worth it. Also, check out the PC Building Simulator YouTube channel for game play videos: https://www.youtube.com/@PCBuildingSimulator
I think this is a cool game, especially for someone like me whoâs a PC building enthusiast. Iâve already played this game on two different PCs, because I built a new one this year. I may keep playing so that I can unlock my hardware and build âAzura Azulaâ in the game. If youâre a PC building enthusiast, youâll probably like this game, too. If youâre just starting out, I think I might recommend playing the first game a bit. Just a bit, though, enough to get through the tutorial and maybe a little familiar with the game play.
Let me know if this sounds like something youâre interested in. If youâve played it, let me know what you think about it and if you have anything youâd like to add to this.
"Capcom transitions the Street Fighter franchise onto its excellent in-house RE Engine, so how does it look across consoles old and new? Tom checks out the recently released demo running on current and last-generation PlayStation consoles, plus there's a look at Xbox Series consoles too. Specs and performance may change with the final game - but this is how the game's shaping up via Capcom's own public-facing demo code."
If you have an XBox S/X, Playstation 4 or 5 or a PC running Steam you can download and play the new Street Fighter 6 demo! Remember those? You can play two of the new characters and try out the new avatar and world fighting mode against other players... Read All
"Capcom transitions the Street Fighter franchise onto its excellent in-house RE Engine, so how does it look across consoles old and new? Tom checks out the recently released demo running on current and last-generation PlayStation consoles, plus there's a look at Xbox Series consoles too. Specs and performance may change with the final game - but this is how the game's shaping up via Capcom's own public-facing demo code."
If you have an XBox S/X, Playstation 4 or 5 or a PC running Steam you can download and play the new Street Fighter 6 demo! Remember those? You can play two of the new characters and try out the new avatar and world fighting mode against other players in the demo. Capcom is giving everyone the chance to try out the new goods and I appreciate them for it as not many big game companies release these kinds of demos.
Mortal Kombat 1 was announced today and looks to reboot the series entirely and was announced for a September 19th launch. It seems the Fire God Liu Kang is rebooting the Mortal Kombat-verse and whereas the game looks very Mortal Kombat-like they are promising a new re-visioning of the game.
"Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and fatalities!"
The trailed doesn't really get specific on any new game mechanics but I'm interested to know more about how they are bringing the series into a new era. I thought Mortal Kombat 11 was incredible and offered a really fun modernization on the game, frankly I'm not... Read All
Mortal Kombat 1 was announced today and looks to reboot the series entirely and was announced for a September 19th launch. It seems the Fire God Liu Kang is rebooting the Mortal Kombat-verse and whereas the game looks very Mortal Kombat-like they are promising a new re-visioning of the game.
"Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and fatalities!"
The trailed doesn't really get specific on any new game mechanics but I'm interested to know more about how they are bringing the series into a new era. I thought Mortal Kombat 11 was incredible and offered a really fun modernization on the game, frankly I'm not sure what more they could do but I'm open to a new "punch your friend in the face game" while we are hanging out together. One big part of Mortal Kombat 11 was the extra DLC characters such as the Terminator, Rambo and Joker. Hopefully this version of the game comes with quite a few memorable cross-over characters too! Hopefully Nintendo allows Pikachu and getting Eric Cruise from Mac and Me would be ideal.
"This new expansion brings classic Age of Empires style and gameplay as a brand-new self-contained experience with all 16 original Age of Empires civilizations and the new Lac Viet civilization.
Conqueror your enemies through three new, fully-voiced campaigns, improved AI, and historically driven gameplay, all while unlocking new achievements on your Xbox or Steam account. Plus, get the bonus Romans civilization in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!"
Microsoft released Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition which is a complete remaster to the original Age of Empires II with new visuals and a game core for modern PC's and 4K displays. It hit the scene in 2019 and... Read All
"This new expansion brings classic Age of Empires style and gameplay as a brand-new self-contained experience with all 16 original Age of Empires civilizations and the new Lac Viet civilization.
Conqueror your enemies through three new, fully-voiced campaigns, improved AI, and historically driven gameplay, all while unlocking new achievements on your Xbox or Steam account. Plus, get the bonus Romans civilization in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!"
Microsoft released Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition which is a complete remaster to the original Age of Empires II with new visuals and a game core for modern PC's and 4K displays. It hit the scene in 2019 and Microsoft has continued to support it with updates, DLC and now with a new expansion Return of Rome. If I had my way Age of Empires would continue on indefinately and Microsoft seems to be doing that with a steady drip of Age of Empires II releases as well as as Age of Empires IV with seasons.
jdodson gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
jdodson gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Mighty DOOM is the latest franchise shooter entry that dropped on iOS and Android phones as a free to play game. Even though I first played DOOM as Shareware sometime ago, this is the first DOOM game that I can think of that's a free to play mobile game. After blasting my way through the Demon Hordes in Mighty DOOM for a day I'm happy to say the game is a worth game that earns the DOOM name.
One of my fears with mobile free to play games is how annoying the gameplay will be to get you to pay money. I don't fault developers for doing what they need to do to pay rent, that said, I prefer buying games up front. That said, that's not how things often work on phones so free... Read All
Mighty DOOM is the latest franchise shooter entry that dropped on iOS and Android phones as a free to play game. Even though I first played DOOM as Shareware sometime ago, this is the first DOOM game that I can think of that's a free to play mobile game. After blasting my way through the Demon Hordes in Mighty DOOM for a day I'm happy to say the game is a worth game that earns the DOOM name.
One of my fears with mobile free to play games is how annoying the gameplay will be to get you to pay money. I don't fault developers for doing what they need to do to pay rent, that said, I prefer buying games up front. That said, that's not how things often work on phones so free to play it is and Mighty DOOM is nice in that it doesn't seem like you need to pay for anything. Well, I could see a time where advancement might be so slow that paying makes sense, but I imagine i'll stop playing before that becomes a problem.
Mighty DOOM is a top down bullet hell shooter where you play through each stage one level at a time. I'd say Mighty DOOM feels more like a space shooter like Galaga than the traditional DOOM first person gameplay. That said, the bullet hell styled game play is on point and there is quite a bit of strategy you can employ in each stage to keep the gameplay fresh. There is a progression system by which you collect coins to upgrade your weapons and armor. Some weapons and armor have different abilities that can change your gameplay well worth experimenting with. For instance, if you want to stand back and shoot things from afar you should level up the rifle but if you want to get in close for more close quarters DOOM gameplay, you need to upgrade the shotgun.
So far, I've barely scratched the surface of Mighty DOOM and it's already a lot of fun. If past Bethesda mobile games like Fallout Shelter or Elder Scrolls: Blades are an example, Mighty DOOM should have a long life slaying demons ahead of it.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 03/27/2023 at 04:51am
Sounds great, thanks for the review! I like your Galaga comparison. I'll have to keep this in mind when ever I think of gaming on my phone again. It's not something I usually do as I'm used to having phones that aren't great. I've thought about buying a new phone, but I'm not too eager or enthusiastic.
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