Messages

241

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: May 12, 2022, 05:37:20 pm »

Playing Mega Man Legends 2 again.

I forgot how badly they tell the story. The gameplay is still fun. But they start the game with this grand mystery of a forbidden island, what's on it, and how these mysterious ancient people that appeared tie to it. But thing is, instead of unraveling the mystery as you go through the game, you instead look for keys. Then the game just dumps the rest of the story on you right at the end of the game.

It felt like there was just too much explanation all at once at the end.

242

Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 06, 2022, 01:23:22 pm »

Woo hoo! Good time to be a sci-fi fan! New Quantum Leap series picked up by NBC. A sequel to the original series, not a reboot:

https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2022%2F05%2Fquantum-leap-reboot-pilot-picked-up-to-series-nbc-1235017782%2F&h=AT3UC3s_wFc6nmV7tDyII589izw6ijZIl7PINM_A2LFAy1Lk4lHlLJw8lygXZ-evfjndjFFlcAykljDBZMJxN1o3xLtmJIug7u1mu1Bo46GiXrTTBJF_5UcxwqwIPsPleJcBLPOEOMjJCtEgmuNu

243

Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 06, 2022, 11:05:16 am »

Yeah, the Star Trek Picard finale was kind of meh, too. And I have questions:

1. How does an immortal, omnipotent being die? It would be nice if they explained that.

2. If The Borg were already on Earth in 2024, then why were they clueless about Earth and The Federation in Q Squared?

But how about that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, huh? That felt like they were getting back to the feel of what Star Trek used to be. Good stuff.

244

Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 05, 2022, 03:49:56 pm »

Star Trek day, today!

We get both Star Trek: Picard's season finale today, and the premiere of the all-new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which tells the adventures of the original Enterprise before Kirk became captain.

I'm pretty excited.

What did you think of the rest of Picard season 2?  I think it still managed to put together a pretty solid story all around, even though it could have stood to have either A) jumped timelines one more time or B) have been 2-3 episodes shorter.

I still have yet to watch the finale. But so far I feel that it was amazing for the first 3 episodes, then kind of fell into a bit of a slump (though still enjoyable).

245

Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 05, 2022, 11:09:23 am »

Star Trek day, today!

We get both Star Trek: Picard's season finale today, and the premiere of the all-new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which tells the adventures of the original Enterprise before Kirk became captain.

I'm pretty excited.

246

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: May 04, 2022, 01:11:07 pm »

Random thought:

I started collecting retro games because it was easier on my wallet than current gaming. Now I buy more modern games (or at least digital retro offerings on modern systems) because it's easier on my wallet.

Oh yeah, since 2020 my retro purchases have been relatively few and far between.  And now I'm trying to cut back modern purchases too.  I've just got too much to play to be buying stuff in general and everything is just expensive everywhere.

Yeah, I think I've completely given up on completing some of my wishlists. Dreamcast and Genesis is getting out of control, even, and they always were affordable consoles to collect for before.

247

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: May 02, 2022, 05:12:45 pm »

Random thought:

I started collecting retro games because it was easier on my wallet than current gaming. Now I buy more modern games (or at least digital retro offerings on modern systems) because it's easier on my wallet.

248

Off Topic / Re: VGcollect nostalgia

« on: April 25, 2022, 11:57:55 am »

As for Gamespot's forum it was more or less pure shit. It was full of trolls, the worst fanboys you've ever seen online, and moderators on a constant power trip just waiting for the most minor infraction to temporarily suspend or ban you.

I used to double-track my collection on both VGcollect and Gamefaqs at the same time in the beginning, but I stopped going on Gamefaqs and do exclusively VGcollect because the way we classify individual game releases is way better than Gamefaqs. And yes, I saw how much of a mess the forums were, it was a jungle.

I never got banned or reprimanded or anything, but I mostly stuck to the Legacy Forum. I remember trolls running rampant there.

249

Off Topic / Re: Music thread

« on: April 22, 2022, 11:48:59 pm »

Soilwork
-Figure Number Five
-Stabbing the Drama

Soilwork is good stuff.

Me and the wife saw Rise Against and Pennywise last night. Great show!

250

General / Re: Modern Physical Games

« on: April 20, 2022, 08:41:13 pm »

I understand Xbox's reasoning for doing it since a lot of people can't get a new Series X or Series S console. And this ensures more sales for them.

But as an Xbox Series X owner it's a bit frustrating because they are holding back the potential of this powerful hardware by doing so. If the games are made to run on inferior hardware, then they aren't being made to fully take advantage of the new hardware. So I personally hope they move away from this policy so I can really see what my Series X can do. I paid a lot of money for exactly this reason.

That's not how Xbox's cross-gen is working though. The games have a One version and a Series S/X version, but will install the correct version depending on the system. If I pop in my Assassin's Creed Valhalla disc into my One, I'm playing the One version. But if I take that same disc and put it into my Series X, I'm playing the Series X version on it, not the One version on the Series X.

The concept Microsoft is working with is that when you buy a game, you don't need to worry about what system you're buying it for. You just buy the game, and when you want to play it, you get the version designed for the system you are currently playing on. And additionally, even if you jump between systems, all the saves and such get transferred too, as it's considered the same game, not a different instance. There are some exceptions out there, like the most recent Call of Duty, but for the most part, Xbox games are singular purchases now rather than needing to buy the same game multiple times just to play it on the latest systems.

Developers are going to go for the lowest common denominator and then just put a shiny coat of paint over it for the "upgraded" version. You are not going to get a state-of-the-art engine under that coat of paint. The newest upcoming Unreal engine, for example, is going to sputter and lag on the older systems.

251

General / Re: Modern Physical Games

« on: April 20, 2022, 12:56:04 pm »

I understand Xbox's reasoning for doing it since a lot of people can't get a new Series X or Series S console. And this ensures more sales for them.

But as an Xbox Series X owner it's a bit frustrating because they are holding back the potential of this powerful hardware by doing so. If the games are made to run on inferior hardware, then they aren't being made to fully take advantage of the new hardware. So I personally hope they move away from this policy so I can really see what my Series X can do. I paid a lot of money for exactly this reason.

252

General / Re: Consoles/Handhelds That You Hate

« on: April 19, 2022, 03:59:20 pm »

Ahhhh. I agree with so many comments on here.

That being said ... how has the 360 not made its way onto here till now? The fact that RROD is a thing is based on the absolute crap that is this console. I have actually met people who have told me that they are on their 6th/7th/8th/higher 360 cause their previous one has died and gotten RROD. Like what the actual F*@#&? How can you support such garbage? What does that console offer that would make you want to keep getting another one? 90% of its library (that's being generous honestly ... I'd wager its closer to 95%) is on other consoles. Just a sign that MicroShaft really did not care about its product and only about the revenue it generated. A lack of variety in its genres is yet another reason to take this console (and every iteration since) and toss them off a cliff.

You gotta remember that at the time, and I'm mainly thinking the first 3 or 4 years of the 360 after it launched, the PS3 was a huge disappointment in terms of good first-party exclusives and a shoddy online network compared to Xbox Live. Cross platform games from 2005-2009 were almost always better on the 360 and Xbox Live was just a superior online experience. I'd say around 2010 the PS3 started to become more respected and PS3 versions of games were becoming the "definitive" one. L.A. Noire was on one Blu-Ray disc whereas it was on THREE discs for the 360.

I agree with both of these takes.  The original 360 was an abysmal piece of hardware (I went through 3 I think?), but at the time it had an incredible library and was the vastly superior online device.  I think the main reason the 360 gets relatively fondly remembered despite those issues is that the latter iterations were far more stable and the stellar BC of the XB1.

I got lucky. I had a working launch model 360 for years, and years. I only got rid of it because aunt gave me her Star Wars S model.

253

General / Re: Games/Series you love, but also don't...

« on: April 19, 2022, 02:39:36 pm »

Legend of Zelda

I adore the 2D entries, but am bored by the 3D entries except for Breath of the Wild (which I loved).

254

General / Re: Games you almost Finished but gave up on.

« on: April 17, 2022, 10:27:02 pm »

The Messenger

I love the game. The perfect retro aesthetic, gameplay, difficulty, and humor. But that final boss on the linear levels is ridiculous. Which drives me nuts because from what I understand it then opens up into a Metroidvania after that; which sounds awesome!

255

General / Re: Consoles/Handhelds That You Hate

« on: April 15, 2022, 01:33:09 pm »

Sega Gamegear: As a diehard Sega fan it's almost hard to admit this, but I've never been a fan of this handheld. I had a good friend as a kid who had one and even back then playing Sonic or other Genesis ports on it felt like a chore and something I had a hard time getting into. Later on as an adult I gave the platform another chance and I actually dislike it even more now. Part of this is I'm not a huge handheld fan, but also it just makes me want to play the proper Genesis versions of is games. And all the original releases for it aren't that great either, at least the ones I've played.

As a huge fan of the Sega Game Gear, had I not grown up with it and had the nostalgia, I'd probably not be that impressed by it either. Many of the games on it were dumbed down Genesis ports. I thought it was cool to be able to take these games on the go and as a kid, I had far more interest in handheld gaming than I ever have as an adult. Sega was always ahead of the curve technology wise but there was always a negative cost to it. For Game Gear, the cost was the extra batteries it would consume making AC and car adapters necessary. For a device on the go, I was always tethered to something with it.

Looking through today's lens, yeah, that's all true. But back then the original Game Boy was so much worse hardware. Both of them had screen blur, but the Game Gear had a much better picture quality, much better sound, a lit up screen, and color. And you could play actual Master System games on it. The battery complaint is real, but easy solution with an AC Adapter. And before you say you don't want to be tethered to one, you totally had to be near a light source for the Game Boy so it's really no different.