Messages

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 18, 2026, 02:19:41 pm »

Still chugging at the series with Mega Man X4.  Looks great, with some really cool boss designs.  Overall it felt much easier than other titles.  Theres a little bit of a difficulty spike at the end, but nothing outlandish.  The first game in the series with voice acting and it is absoultely terrible, which has its own flavor of charm.

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

« on: April 16, 2026, 09:45:21 pm »

Got a Switch 2 and the remastered Mario Galaxy set.

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

« on: April 13, 2026, 08:52:34 pm »

The Tin Star - Basically an excellent two-hander between Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins that looks phenomenal. A character stumbles into the camera after a shootout in way that made sit up and say, "Oh that was so cool!"

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

« on: April 04, 2026, 09:39:58 pm »

Second season of For All Mankind is great.  Felt like a step up from the first (which I did really like) in pretty much every conceivable way.  Terrific show.

Third season of For All Mankind would be the best so far if not for two storylines that involve the children of characters from seasons 1+2.  They ultimately end up in some very interesting places, but getting there is rough.  Everything it sets up for season 4 is pretty great, but some of the end feels a bit rushed.

And the fourth season of For All Mankind done.  Still pretty great, but they seem to be moving away from the harder speculative sci-fi and more towards a harder focus on the socio-political commentary.  Not necessarily a bad thing, just a shift in the overall focus of the show.

Second season of Paradise starts of really strong, but I really started losing interest and noticing just how melodramatic everything is in the back half.  It wants to move beyond the initial elevator pitch, and I don't know that it is really working for me.  Still an entertaining watch, but not really all that great.

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General / Re: Do you still prefer physical games or digital?

« on: April 04, 2026, 09:20:08 pm »

Picked up a copy of Assassin's Creed Mirage for PS5.

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General / Re: Do you still prefer physical games or digital?

« on: March 31, 2026, 06:29:14 pm »

I'll always support physical, but I'm also a PC gamer and PC has been digital only for many years now, so I do both. I reserve physical to consoles these days, which I have a PS5 and I still have my Switch games even though I don't have a Switch at the moment.

Same here.  Physical for anything console related (unless the price is too good to pass up), but I also love my Steam Deck, and there's no actual option there.

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General / Re: Older consoles or handhelds that you regret sleeping on when they were modern

« on: March 29, 2026, 02:49:13 pm »

I legitimately think the only PS1 game I have ever played is Symphony of the Night, and that wasn't when it was new.  I went N64 that gen, and I didn't know anyone with a PS1.  And at this point, I have no idea what I might have mossed.

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

« on: March 29, 2026, 02:23:00 pm »

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come - The biggest strength of the first film is the simplicity of the set-up, so you are automatically giving some of that up to tee up a sequel, which is just a bit more complicated in the pursuit of one-upmanship. Still a ton of fun, and the cast is having a ball. If you liked the first one definitely check this one out.

WALL-E - Man, I really forgot just how much I love this. The score, the sound design, WALL-E and EVE. Just a masterpiece of a picture. The human story obviously exists only to appease producers who needed to make it marketable, but it's still a sharp and funny satire whose only major flaw is failing to perfectly match the tone of the rest of the film.

Eastern Condors - There is absolutely zero fat on this. Who needs things like characterization when a trio of lady guerrillas is just mercing folks left and right before we even see the first bit of action from Sammo Hung and his squad?

Pandorum - There is absolutely nothing here you haven't seen done better elsewhere, but it is still a totally fun space madness creature feature.

She Shoots Straight - Excellent stunt work (of course), good cast, and a fun plot that just gets a little lost in the melodrama in the second act.

The Departed - Marty makes a soap opera, and it is magnificent.

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood - Aged surprisingly well and is still pretty funny, especially considering all of the issues I have with the Wayans made Scary Movie flicks.

Lady with a Sword - Good stuff. A little bit more than your standard revenge tale by providing a unique hiccup in the heroine / antagonist relationship.

The Valley of Gwangi - The concept and special effects deserved a better movie than what is here. A bunch of bland characters in a boring retread of King Kong.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 29, 2026, 02:21:37 pm »

Speaking of Platinum trophies, I just got it for Prince of Persia: The Last Crown.  I hadn't intended to, but I made it to the last boss and I only had like 4 left and they were all pretty easy.  Great game.  Terrific map, great movement, combat was mostly solid (but it sometimes had issues getting your character to face the right direction).  Just had a lot fun with this.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: PS6 2029 | Switch 2 price increase soon?

« on: March 28, 2026, 10:17:33 pm »

Yep, this was coming with all the news about chip shortages last year. A big part of the reason I finally bought a PS5 this most recent Black Friday.

As for Switch 2, they are apparently cutting production of new consoles by 30%. Nintendo commented on it but didn't necessarily deny it.

Yeah, this PS5 news has me ready toget a Swtlitch earlier than I planned just to avoid a potential price increase.

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

« on: March 28, 2026, 11:16:41 am »

Wolfwalkers - Just an absolutely stunningly gorgeous film that feels like it might be doing a bit too much for such a relatively standard fairy tale.

The Far Country - Kinda weird watching Stewart be such an unadulterated prick, but it is still another solid collaboration with Anthony Mann. That fella could shoot the hell out of a Western.

Project Hail Mary - Pretty much the exact same strengths and weaknesses as the book. First act is a little clunky and exposition heavy, but once things really pick up it's a total charmer of a science buddy mystery. Flashback narrative device exists basically for a single late game reveal. If this is outside of my Top 5 by year end I'll be shocked.

Moana 2 - Sure, it's a step down from the first (especially in the song department), but it looks great, has a couple of cool set pieces, and I really dug a couple of the new characters.

Lady Reporter - Needs more of this: "What about you, lady? You wanna try my kung fu?"
"Of course I wanna try you piece of shit."  and less of this: "We thought you were a whore!"

Hostiles - Absolutely gorgeous film with an incredibly stacked cast, but if you are going to make movie about a white guy overcoming (or at minimum coming to terms with) his prejudices, maybe remember to make your non-white characters actual characters next time?

Code of Silence - With a mostly solid script that calls out police corruption (doesnt stick the landing on that, though), good direction from Andrew Davis, and a ton of support from a plethora of characters, it's not surprising this is considered one of Chuck's best.  He's got the physicality of an action star, but he's just so bland.  Say what you will about Seagal, but at least he's interesting to watch.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 17, 2026, 08:49:30 am »

Just finished a playthrough of Dark Souls Remastered as a magic user.  Haven't played in 5 or 6 years, so itvwas a cool refresher while also doing a new style of play.  Felt like early game was more difficult than expected because of the limited spell options, but it was cool to see what stuff unlocked and became useful as it goes along.  I don't think it really changes how you play all that much, but I had fun and am glad I did it.

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

« on: March 16, 2026, 09:07:02 pm »

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is absolutely stunning to look at.  I really dig how this is still distinctly Cyberpunk while also just being a straight up sick as hell anime.  Insane violence erupts out of nowhere and everyone is just like "Yeah that's Night City for you."

Wife and I started For All Mankind on Apple TV.  Absolutely gorgeous to look at,, really great concept.  It's not quite The Expanse, but it scratches that itch.

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

« on: March 14, 2026, 11:37:05 pm »

They Call Her Death - It gets a lot done with a whole bunch of nothing. Charming for what it is, but still ultimately a shoestring production that can't quite ascend to a higher level like your Hundreds of Beaverses. Thrilled it exists, and worth checking out if you are even remotely curious about it.

1776 - It's a pretty excellent fictionalization of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence while also being a rather ho-hum musical.

Fackham Hall - What makes a parody really pop is a deep understanding of the genre they are satirizing. Fackham Hall gets it.

The Accountant 2 - This movie is totally bonkers, and I don't know that the plot actually makes any sense, but, man, are Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal are fun together.

Altered States - The problem with "acid trip" movies is that it can be too easy to end up all style and no substance. Thankfully Altered States was written by Paddy Chayefsky.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: Sony single player games exclusive again

« on: March 14, 2026, 09:45:21 am »

As usual the best selling games of 2025 were CoD, Battlefield, Madden, and other various sports titles.  Games that represent white dudes have gone nowhere.