Messages

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Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 11, 2026, 09:39:23 am »

And of course, the Ku Klux Klan. They didn't even exist when the game takes place (First Klan ended around 1871, the second only started in 1915), their depiction is based on the second klan and they are portrayed as bumbling fools. I mean you can tell this was put in by some far left activist with an agenda. No other reason, especially considering how "we want this game to be time period accurate!" Rockstar otherwise was.

Rockstar has never been accurate to real American history.  Never thought I'd hear someone complain about the fact that you get to kill the Klan, or the fact that they are, in fact, fools, in a video game, but here we are. 

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 10, 2026, 09:24:38 am »

32 - Donkey Kong Bananza (Switch 2 2025) - BEAT - I'm gonna be honest on this...I'm a little mixed on this game.  Broadly, it's a fun time.  Tunneling is cool, there's fun mechanics, lots of colors, music, silly characters, there's a lot here as a game to do, it is a solid 3D platformer, it's good stuff.  That being said, it sorta does some of what I didn't love with Super Mario Odyssey (This is the same team, where instead of each level having like...10, maybe 20 distinct collectibles like how things were back in the day, each level has anywhere from like 30 to I think 60, and there's nearly 800 in this game, just like Odyssey.  After awhile, the grind to find them starts to get fairly tedious and this includes things like the Fossils, which are used to buy cosmetics, so there's a TON to find here.

It's not poorly handled compared to like Donkey Kong 64, but I realized by a certain point, I think it's abit over halfway through the game, that I was getting abit burnt out finding everything.  You spend so much time just spamming R1, because it's the sonar clap which will show banana's and fossils buried around for you to dig or maybe find a way around, so much is just spamming that and you want to upgrade that as fast as possible along with terrain strength so you can find things better. 

It didn't help that the bosses are kinda lame.  They look cool, but nearly every single one is really easy.  They also re-use a number of the bosses fights twice, with one even getting used a third time.  It's like halfway through they gave up on bosses, it's very unsatisfying especially when they are super easy.  The finale section of the game perked me up, but it was such a weird turn I did not ever expect, it's kinda baffling, kinda fun, I don't know, it's weird.

Game needs some optimization too, like real bad.  It's generally quite smooth, but effects heavy levels like the Ice Layer, and Storm Layer, and then certain boss fights and things where lots of explosions happen cause serious frame drops, like going from 60 to 30 or something, it's bad.

I don't know, I'm generally on board with open world 3D platformer games and I did have a good time, this a good game, but I hit a point in the last third of the game I kinda just wanted to get through the story and sorta pushed my way through.  I have so much to do and collect and there's decent post-game content added also, this is a hefty as heck game.

Also screw that one Rambi racing level, it's objectively the worst level and feels awful to play lol

I'm not finished yet, but this is exactly how I feel about the game.  Cool, bright, fun, tight controls.  Way too long.  I was beating a level, going back and getting every banana, but around Layer 1000 it started getting a little tedious, but I figured the game was wrapping up.  There were eight more layers to go.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Zelda/Nintendo Directs September 8th/9th

« on: September 08, 2026, 10:53:36 am »

The Ocarina remake justified itself to me far more with that showcase than the Star Fox one ever did.  I wasn't pretty disinterested before, but now I'm totally in.

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

« on: September 06, 2026, 10:55:07 pm »

Crushed out season 3 of Silo over the weekend, and I think having a 4th and final season renewal really did wonders for the focus and pacing of the show.  It has a little bit of a shakey start with an old worn out trope, but it uses it well, and doesnt dwell on it too long.  Best season of the show so far, and I'm amped for the final season next year.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 05, 2026, 07:56:41 am »

The game, whether ends up being good or bad, isn't slop.  It's obviously a crazy technical achievement that was probably achieved via crunch, hard work, and real sweat and tears for something people believed in.  Agree with the direction of the franchise or not, lets not minimize the work of those people by calling it slop.  The amount of work put into the game is the main reason I think the price is mostly justified.The content that is hidden by the deluxe edition is heavily exaggerated.  You get a specific subset of donk cars, luxury interiors in a alternate car shop. 1 tattoo shop that offers art from a special real life artist (not the only rodeo in town as there will be other tattoo and car shops) and 1 alt clothing store/salon. A hiest mission that may or may not be for online currency at a later date.  I get it. Not ideal.  But we also got a lot of people pretending the 100 dollar copy is the manditory way to experience the full game. Im buying the 80 dollar version. I dont think the extra content really wows me.  Now if they have mention of it in the standard copy like "hey Lucia loves getting her nails done but she cant becase you're a brokie" then i'll be pissed.  As of now Its almost entirely cosmetics.  I do think its scummy though. Just not game breaking scummy. I also believe that price comes with a month of rockstar plus. What I will say on that topic is take two also makes NBA 2k. So the fact they are double dipping their chip at this price point doesnt surprise me.  I have 50 percent faith this will be what I want it to be. But with GTA. That's enough for me to give it a hail Mary shot.

Right.  There's not a ton locked behind it, but I just don't like it on principle.  If you are releasing the game, release the game.  Deluxe Editions should be for statues and boxes, etc IMO.

people argue it's woke cause jason the main male protag is kinda a simp and super passive. seems like he has less of a role or is arguably made later on in terms of the development not meant to be in the game cause his interractions with npc's seems like it would be almost the same withouth the guy.

I feel like there are lot of assumptions (not necessarily here) going on about the content of a 30+ hour game based on what?  2 short trailer and a 30 minute preview?  You could cut up Michael's story from 5 and make him look like a henpecked house husband.  Outrage culture has become so, so tiring.  Just choosing the next big thing that they know next to nothing about and manufacturing something to be mad about.  Just like Elliot Page and Lupita in The Odyssey and their combined what?  Maybe 10 minutes of screentime?

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General / Re: September 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: September 04, 2026, 05:02:19 pm »

My game purchases are on pause in the hopes of Nintendo announcing a Zelda themed Switch 2 system and Twilight Princess HD port. If the Zelda themed Switch 2 happens, I'll preorder it for the family as the big Christmas gift. I expect with the price hike to $500 for the base system, a Zelda themed one will be $50-$100 more... which sucks.

There have already been leaks pretty much confirming there's one coming.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 04, 2026, 03:32:13 pm »

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/grand-theft-auto/rockstar-devs-allege-crunch-is-so-common-at-the-gta-6-studio-that-its-built-into-contracts-and-you-have-to-opt-out-of-it/

Barely two months ago regarding crunch.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: September 04, 2026, 10:15:08 am »

Blue Steel (1934) - Meh. The first 10 minutes felt like it was setting up a chamber piece that seemed like it could have been interesting, but it went in such a boring and predictable direction.

Motor City - I admire the swing, even if it only clipped the ball. The big action climax is pretty rad, but it comes too little too late.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - Well, I just absolutely loved this. My opinion might be slightly tinged by seeing it on the big screen so soon after Dolly's passing (I definitely got emotional when she sang 'I Will Always Love You'), but it just an absolutely charming musical that is wildly ahead of its time while also feeling like downright old-fashioned from an overall production standpoint. It does wrap up kinda quickly, but as a whole package it is wonderful.

Mutiny - Statham seems a little more disengaged than usual, but the plot is fine, action is fine, it's 95 minutes. Great villain death.

Stowaway would probably be more accurate, but it doesn't sound as cool.

tony - Loved this. Loved that they didn't sand the edges of Bourdain. He's such a asshole. Other modern biopics are so lionizing. It reminded me of All That Jazz in that way. It's funny, it's heartfelt, and it has Antonio Banderas's best performance in years... maybe ever?

Maybe my favorite of the year, but with one big caveat. I hate that they felt the need to Hollywood-ize the ending with a big dramatic event. If it had a more low key climax this would be 5 stars.

The Blue Caftan - Wonderfully tender exploration of love, death, and new beginnings via a pretty specific relationship dynamic I have never seen before.

Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest - Appropriately increased stakes from the show and an interesting Hitchcockian premise with lots of red herrings. I think the increased runtime doesn't quite work here, though, as it let's you marinate in the clues and mysteries longer, which has the side effect of making it all feel kinda obvious.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 04, 2026, 10:10:29 am »

The topic at hand seems so ridiculous, it's not worth getting into, IMO.

Agreed.  And it is a silly thing to have titled the "GTA Megathread."

I wouldn't pay $20, let alone $100, to license this slop.

The game, whether ends up being good or bad, isn't slop.  It's obviously a crazy technical achievement that was probably achieved via crunch, hard work, and real sweat and tears for something people believed in.  Agree with the direction of the franchise or not, lets not minimize the work of those people by calling it slop.  The amount of work put into the game is the main reason I think the price is mostly justified.

That said, locking content behind the Deluxe Edition sucks, and the lack of a true physical release is anti-consumer and anti-ownership.  But those are decisions that came from the corporate suits, not the actual people making the game.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 03, 2026, 12:51:25 pm »

Well, remember what I was saying about realism making games suck? It's apparently happening with GTA6, according to some new rumors. Apparently the devs have just said that higher end cars can't just be hotwired, and require special tools in order to break into. These "key cloners" can't just be purchased immediately, you have to do jobs for fences to unlock them. Then once you steal the car with the key cloner, you have to remove a tracking device that pings your exact location to police. This can only be done at a fence and is locked behind another set of missions. Then once the tracking device is off, you then have to pay the DMV to have the car registered to you! In a game named after stealing cars, you can no longer just steal cars. Cars also require fuel now, whenever your tank is low you have to stop at a gas station and refuel it

This is pretty much exactly the type of gameplay the GTA roleplaying servers have been subsisting off of for years.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: August 31, 2026, 11:53:03 am »

Wrapped up the Robocop: Rogue City Unfinished Business expansion.  More of the same linear corridor shooter.  Fills in some more holes in Robocop lore, which is cool, but the voice acting and dialogue is abysmal.  Thankfully, I only payed about $18 for the whole experience or I would be livid.

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

« on: August 30, 2026, 09:29:52 am »

Finished up Season 5 of The X-Files rewatch.  Pretty mythology heavy as a whole season, but it's the apex of that storyline going into the movie, so it's pretty solid across the board.  There are also at least 3 stand-out Monster of the Week episodes here, including the Rashomon inspired 'Bad Blood,' which is a Top 5 of the entire show.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: August 25, 2026, 10:08:47 pm »

Last Stand at Saber River - It has the structure and characterization of an Elmore Leonard story but none of the fire. It's not bad, merely servicable. Looking at the director's filmography I would not be at all surprised if this was the best thing he ever put his name on.

Congo - I love this stupid crappy movie.

Kingdom of Heaven - The kind of Director's Cut that gives studio interference the reputation of ruining movies. It can't fix all of the problems in the 3+ hour version, with most of that coming down to some very on the nose dialogue and a ho hum performance from Orlando Bloom, but it is tremendous step up in quality to a masterpiece nonetheless.

Coyote vs. Acme - I think my favorite thing about movie is that it never forgets to be a Wile E. Coyote movie. There's not more than a few minutes that goes by where he's not exploded or crushed or just generally getting dumped on.

Unbelievable that this almost became lost media.

The X-Files - It's wildly impressive just how seamlessly this slots into the show as an extension of the mythology arc while also being totally accessible to newcomers. It's a bit more successful as the former but it really is firing on all cylinders here.

The first 70 minutes or so are practically perfect as an X-Files conspiracy story, and while the main flaw of the back half is sidelining Scully, it was a Mulder plot first and foremost, that (wisely) expanded to Scully more and more as time went on.

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Off Topic / Re: Are Any VGCollectors Also Movie Collectors?

« on: August 18, 2026, 01:59:25 pm »

Are you watching and UHD discs or just steaming?  That makes a big difference as well.

Discs. I have no way to rip my 4K discs. And even if I did, the non 4K are straight rips, not compressed to MP4. I bought mumyself a 25 TB hard drive to hold that full quality.

Well, like I said it can be largely dependent on the discs themselves.  T2 for example has a notoriously bad transfer to 4K, but Lawrence of Arabia looks incredible.

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Off Topic / Re: Are Any VGCollectors Also Movie Collectors?

« on: August 18, 2026, 12:41:26 pm »

Are you watching and UHD discs or just steaming?  That makes a big difference as well.