Now Playing

(B)
Switch
The legend of ZELDA - Tears of the Kingdom
[Beaten 28/1/2024][ā™„x27 - 18/18 - 4/4 - The Depths] - Found two out of four eyes, need to bring one back still...

Updated about 23 hours ago

(U)
PC
Guild Wars - Prophecies
[Fighter/Monk 20 - Ring of Fire] - Died twice trying this... once by the Drakes, once by some random Fire Imps... damn..

Updated about 3 days ago

☆★★★★
(U)
PC
The Witcher - Enhanced Edition
[Chapter 3 - Druid Grove] - Killed the White Fang, conquered Triss, helped in the Elven Ruins in the Sewers... need to prepare for battle, now!

Updated about 3 days ago

(U)
PC
Black Isle Compilation: Baldur's Gate II - Shadows of Amn + Throne of Baal
[106 Days/15 Hours - Me/Jaheira/Minsc/Aerie/Nalia/Imoen] - Killed the vamps, now going to Grognar's Castle, I need to watch out for traps!

Updated about 4 days ago

(B)
GCN
Resident Evil Rebirth
[Jill/End][Chris/Mans.Drug Room] - Saved Richard (for now) and met Rebecca! Now Chris has to learn to play the Piano...

Updated about 5 days ago

★★★★★ My Rating --- Game: 9, F'n'S: 10, Sound: 9, Time: 9, Graphics: 10 - TOTAL SCORE: 9,5/10
(U)
360
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
[06:33 - 31/131 Jiggies] - Okay, I think I just want to do the minimum to beat this.. it is getting very repetitive...

Updated about 5 days ago

Celebandune's Status

(U) Unfinished ?No significant accomplishments.     (B) Beaten ?The main objective has been accomplished. Usually marked by the defeat of a final boss and/or viewing of credits.     (C) Completed ?For games which are 100% done. All extras and modes have been unlocked and finished. All significant items have been collected.
4 (U)
1.3%
260 (B)
81.3%
56 (C)
17.5%
Wishlist  0 ?         Top-Rated  38 ?????         Master Runs  3 (M)
PC 3 (U) 84 (B) 7 (C) 326 Total
Nintendo Switch BEAT 2 (B) 0 (C) 2 Total
Wii U BEAT 3 (B) 1 (C) 4 Total
Wii BEAT 10 (B) 0 (C) 13 Total
Virtual Console (Wii) BEAT 4 (B) 0 (C) 4 Total
GameCube BEAT 33 (B) 13 (C) 62 Total
Nintendo 64 BEAT 26 (B) 13 (C) 45 Total
SNES BEAT 9 (B) 1 (C) 10 Total
NES BEAT 4 (B) 1 (C) 7 Total
Nintendo 3DS BEAT 7 (B) 1 (C) 8 Total
Nintendo DS BEAT 10 (B) 5 (C) 21 Total
Game Boy Advance BEAT 9 (B) 1 (C) 13 Total
Game Boy/Color BEAT 8 (B) 1 (C) 11 Total
PlayStation 4 BEAT 3 (B) 1 (C) 4 Total
PlayStation 3 BEAT 8 (B) 0 (C) 8 Total
PlayStation 2 BEAT 13 (B) 1 (C) 19 Total
PlayStation BEAT 10 (B) 3 (C) 21 Total
Xbox 360 1 (U) 3 (B) 0 (C) 5 Total
Xbox BEAT 8 (B) 1 (C) 12 Total
Amiga BEAT 5 (B) 1 (C) 7 Total
Dreamcast BEAT 1 (B) 0 (C) 1 Total
Browser C O M P L E T E ! 5 Total
All Games 608 Total
?Use this field to quickly search your backlog. If you enter in a single letter, you'll get a list of all the games you own that start with that letter.
  • Status
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Dialogue Box   (add comment)

about 1 week ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
Focus: Only playing one game
I appreciate your answer I'll keep that in mind. I guess I'll be playing both in the end, my curiosity is getting too much to contain
about 1 week ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Poisoned: 3+ new games in a row
Sleep: Not playing anything
Thanks Celebandune! I didn't actually log in all last year apparently, but happy new year 2024!
about 2 weeks ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
(post 1 of 2)

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a first-person shooter; I made a typo. And I totally get not wanting to add more series onto the backlog pile! Iā€™m only just getting into touchstones like Metal Gear and Resident Evil and still have yet to start diving into Sonyā€™s catalog. Most of the Call of Duty games I own either came bundled with something or were given to me. I think Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the only one I bought (I wasnā€™t especially interested in it, but it is one of its generationā€™s defining games and I saw a copy for cheap, so I snatched it).

Your experiences with the first Call of Duty are similar to my vague memories of trying it at a cousinā€™s house. FPS games were never exactly my thing either, even if the Nintendo 64ā€™s lineup of them were popular among my friends (I didnā€™t ā€œgetā€ GoldenEye at the time, though Iā€™ve come to appreciate it). The Half-Life series was the first time I remember thinking ā€œyā€™know, this kind of game can be cool, actually,ā€ its sister series Portal furthered that, and Iā€™ve come to enjoy the genre fine over time.

I still have one big disconnect with it, though: Iā€™m not usually that interested in their multiplayer modes. Thatā€™s where Call of Dutyā€™s meant to shine. I know people who buy them just for the multiplayer, barely, if ever, touching their single-player campaigns. Same for Gears of War, a shooter series I am a fan of.

Altogether, I thought the Partner Showcase was solid. A co-writer has praised Pentiment, so thatā€™s a must-buy. I say this every time a new Super Monkey Ball is announced, but I plan to buy this one. A friendā€™s ecstatic over Epic Mickey. And Iā€™m happy about the Rare games. Yeah, nobodyā€™s subscribing to NSO for RC PRO-AM, but the fact Microsoftā€™s relationship with Nintendo remains strong is encouraging. Iā€™m confident the Donkey Kong Land trilogy and 64 will come eventually regardless, but I feel even more optimistic for a Diddy Kong Racing re-release. Iā€™m sure Tooieā€™s coming eventually, too. Personally, I really hope their Game Boy Advance titles come eventually. I deeply regret not buying Sabre Wulf and Banjo-Pilot and now they are super expensive.
about 2 weeks ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
(post 2 of 2)

According to the ole rumor mill, Metroid Prime 2 and 3 remasters seem to exist but arenā€™t top-down makeovers like the first game got (so theyā€™re probably akin to what Pikmin 1 and 2 got). Hopefully they get some touch ups, though. Though I havenā€™t been following the rumor mill too closely because, well, Iā€™m perfectly content with everything already on my plate. Iā€™m even starting a new system where Iā€™ll only buy a new game* after finishing a certain number of unfinished ones.

*If somethingā€™s on a good enough sale, Iā€™ll probably still snatch it up. But I am not looking to buy any new games right now.

I was excited to get a new Nintendo system this year, but I have no issue holding off until 2025. I do wonder what Nintendoā€™s release schedule for the rest of 2024 holds, though. Assuming their next system was meant to release this fall, that leaves a pretty big holiday gap. But theyā€™ll definitely have something: 2020 is another year where Nintendoā€™s plans were palpably affected, and they mustered up the Hyrule Warriors sequel as their ā€œbigā€ holiday game. ā€¦Of course, assuming the long-rumored Donkey Kong game is a Switch game, this could leave a nice window for it. A May release for a Returns remaster would be lovely, too, to coincide with the parkā€™s opening.

In the least surprising confession ever, the Nintendo series I most want a revival of is the Kyle Hyde saga. But Another Code literally just came back, so Hotel Dusk and Last Window are absolutely in the cards if Recollection does well enough. Aside from that, thoughā€¦ Iā€™m actually not sure which dormant Nintendo IP I want to see revived. Itā€™s a tough question! Iā€™m inclined to say Wario Land, but like Donkey Kong, the series has gotten attention over the years, so I donā€™t think of it as dormant (and besides, Iā€™m confident Land will come back eventually). Part of me would like to see a good Geist game, but thatā€™s definitely not the IP Iā€™d most root for.

Also, I beat Resident Evil Zero last night. Overall, I liked it and thought it was interesting enough, even if itā€™s definitely the last breath of the seriesā€™ classic formula. I was looking to start 4 or maybe Revelations next, but I actually think Iā€™ll finally start Castlevania: Symphony of the Night first. My poor copy got, like, twelve minutes of game time well over a decade ago and has been sitting in my backlog ever since. Hope you're enjoying REvival.
about 3 weeks ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
Easily my favorite Shooter; no contest. I love the entire series (haven't played Tiny Tina's Wonderlands yet), but this one was just incredible. Beautiful worlds, tons of cosmetic customization (even gun skins!) that you don't have to pay real money for, hijack and build your own custom vehicles, a LOT more customization for your builds, and one hell of an adventure behind it all!

Well, it wasn't exactly a fully-grown California Redwood landing on me from full verticality or anything; I was just cleaning up the treeline, the thing came down, and I got pinned underneath it. I mostly just remember trying to lift it, then having to call them outside, and my sister doing most of the heavy lifting, because she is INSANELY strong. Unfortunately, it became too difficult to find a bow saw big enough to cut down trees, and I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT trust myself with a chainsaw, so I don't get to do that kind of work anymore.

I'm not sure if it is, but it's an excellent word for it, I think. Yeah, grading systems will do that, if for no other reason than playing more games expands your horizons and makes you realize that, "Yeah, maybe the reason I thought Einhander was an excellent game is that I didn't have enough else to compare it to; it's actually kinda mid." That and your tastes change; back in the '90s I was OBSESSED with Racers, Fighters, and Shooters (Doom and its ilk), and these days, I find most of those to be pretty unplayable. To clarify, I do still like Shooters as they exist now; it's the older ones, like Doom, Blood, and Duke 3D that I can't stand anymore, and I did fairly recently give Heretic and Hexen a try just to be sure. My tolerance for RPGs is a lot lower than it used to be, too. I'd almost have to go through my entire library, playing everything again to reevaluate everything's ratings. You know: in all my spare time. I did go through and redo my entire rating system at one point, though, to be more in line with those tiermaker things (is that what they're called?), because ratings are personal, and F- through S-tier say more about how I liked a game than a number, so that's what works for me. We play it fast and loose, here at The Beautiful Nightmare.
about 3 weeks ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
Clearly, I'm thinking of a totally different game; can't remember for the life of me what it was called, though. The big thing with that one was that it has 4-player co-op, like the Guacamelee games do, but doesn't have any sailing, as far as I'm aware. I don't think I know this game; it's on my Steam ignored list, so it must've come up in my discovery queue, but I don't remember it at all.

Oh, alright; that's a different story. Sorry, corporate propaganda is EVERYWHERE (especially here in the US), and anyone who was a kid in the '80s or later was brainwashed to be good little consumers, and often doesn't even realize when they're regurgitating it, so I tend to see it everywhere. I absolutely do not mean that in the shitting on young people, either; it's not their fault. I might check it out sometime; right now, I've been working on a lot of projects around the house (I'm off this week), and my YouTube viewing has been pretty focused on Tales from the Borderlands, because I hated the quick-time events too much to actually play through it (that and choose-your-own-adventure books were never my thing), and apparently, it's canon, so I want to learn where the Rhys and Vaughn characters came from.

"Your face; your ass; what's the difference?" "Geralt, have you been neglecting your monster studies?" Honestly, even the combined efforts of that and leaning into the absurdity of collecting all the trading cards wasn't enough to get me through it, so I'll just have to cheer you on from the sidelines. My lady's a big fan of the books and the TV show, and was excited when she found out that we have the games, and I said, "Geralt is SUCH an edgelord; I can't take him seriously!" Well, apparently, the books are like that, too... It's like... the way he's written smacks of the most pathetic male power fantasy as written by some sugared-up little kid in the '90s who just discovered the X-Men and wants to create a character with EVERY SINGLE SUPERPOWER... except with sex. "He's sterile, so like, he can have as much sex as he wants and never have to worry about getting a girl pregnant OO OO and he's immune to ever disease ever, so he can't get STDs either and and and and HE'S GOT CAT EYES!" I'm fine with male power fantasy existing, even in games that I play, despite neither being male nor caring about exercising power (agency is fine, thanks), but this is on a whole other level.
about 4 weeks ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
I do; you drop in when you can, and that's fine. If you're going to damage yourself to reply, you'd better do something dramatic, like bursting in to something like this: [Link] ...for some reason, this version's a little limp; the one I have is WAY more dramatic.

It doesn't seem like it's actively melting down right this second, but it's a crapshoot. I've been playing mostly without incident, but the hard drive still disengages (sometimes seemingly at random; it did that while I was just chatting on Discord the other night), and sometimes even after shutting off Borderlands 3, it breaks anyway; I've had it bluescreen on me just from opening the start menu one time. I have next week off, so I'm hopefully going to get some shit sorted out then. Probably almost finished with Borderlands 3, though; I have one main expansion left, and after that, I may or may not do the Takedown missions, depending what those actually are, since the series does have a nasty habit of making some content that is unfriendly toward single players.

They tend to age better than more traditional 3D styles, especially for older games, I think. Not sure what my first one was, but I guess it also kinda depends what you count, because there were games on the PlayStation at least that kinda did that? Like Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22; I'd never heard of the game, picked it up on a whim, and it sorta does the Mortal Kombat digitized graphics thing, but with animation cells; it's not 3D, but it is cel-shaded in a way. Iunno, maybe that's not quite the same thing; I wouldn't fight it. I think the first might've been Cel Damage, but I could be wrong about that... that might've been the day that my sister brought her boyfriend at the time up to my place, and I had to have them help me lift a fallen tree off of myself; that's surprisingly hard to do when you're on your back underneath it. Anyway, I wouldn't count the first Paper Mario, since the paper characters may or may not be two-dimensional, but the backgrounds are polygonal (sometimes distractingly so), but I'd have to play Thousand Year Door or Super again to see if they do; it's been quite some time.
about 4 weeks ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
Time is a good way to describe it, but the Thesaurus-Rex that rages within me knows there's a word specifically for it. Rar. But yes, it is pacing and content (both amount and quality) and difficulty and many other things. Some things just don't work in longform; I used to love Jim Carrey on In Living Color (a sketch comedy show from the early '90s), but his movies are torture for me to watch. Multiplayer doesn't factor in for me, because I don't usually do the multiplayer thing; I can be kind of a control freak with my games, so I don't want to have to wait on someone else just to finish playing. YES, I KNOW THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY IS THE EXACT WRONG PLACE FOR ME TO WORK. Sea of Thieves... is that the Platventure with the pirate... raaaaats? I can't remember if they're rats or mice, but I might be thinking of Theodore Mouse now.

You're not wrong; I shit on Ubisoft, but they were just the latest in a long line of "Fuck the consumer" stances, and while I tend to prefer the term customer, because consumer is demeaning, I think it's time to face the fact that that's all we are anymore; the real customers are the shareholders. I don't really know Scott the Woz, and haven't watched... probably any of his content that wasn't a direct collaboration with someone else that I do watch, but I think that's a stupid take. Yes, a game is going to be in its case when you're not playing it, and no, you're not going to play every game equally; that's just absurd. The whole thing sounds like someone trying to justify the war on ownership, and that's the opposite of what we need right now.

Oh yeah, if you're hellbent on playing through it, then definitely save that for after your finish, but I loved it; I was disappointed to find that he didn't do the same for 2 or 3, even though I did manage to finish 2. I was also really surprised to find that 2 plays better with a controller than with a mouse and keyboard, since CD Projeckt Red is all about PC. For sure; everything's super gritty, everyone's a complete dick, and Geralt is such a littler edgelord that I can't help reading all of his lines in an over-the-top Duke Nukem voice... or at least my closest approximation thereof.
about 4 weeks ago (edited)

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
I know, right? Call of Duty is definitely not something within my wheelhouse. But as a gamer and a critic, I feel it's important I try a wide array of games, not just ones I'm interested in. Besides, I felt like playing a mechanically competent third-person shooter and something that was narratively mindless, and Ghosts hits both. For what it is, I'm enjoying it fine. I will never be a Call of Duty fan, but once in a while they're nice. How was the original?

I haven't been following the rumor mill lately, but I heard that the launch of Nintendo's next system was delayed, which in turn delayed the reveal for it that was planned for next month. Now, we might be getting some kind of general Direct, Mini or no, in April with the next system debuting in some form in June. I think that's the gist of it? For what it's worth, June feels about right for some kind of hardware reveal. June's always been a big month for gaming news. Hopefully one of these events has Donkey Kong. His last solo adventure was ten years ago!

Either way, I'm not fussed over things. They'll happen when they happen, and I'm confident the Switch has some life left in it and that we'll at least see Nintendo's next system this year.

What'd you think of the Partner Showcase? I still need to watch it, but Penny's Big Breakaway releasing was exciting for me. Really cool that Endless Ocean is coming back, too (guess I better boot up and maybe review the second game soon). Looking forward to seeing which obscure Nintendo franchise gets revived next.

Thanks. It was one of those special articles that made me feel really, really old.
about 1 month ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: July 24, 2019
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Focus: Only playing one game
Are we not able to create themes anymore when the new layout of Backloggery drops? I really hope we still can, I made it a tradition to create a theme for every game I play since 2016 or so I did check out the beta version of the new Backloggery layout by the way, I'm honestly not sure what to think of it yet, but maybe I'm just too attached to this one haha.

Anyway, it's time for Dragon Quest XI now. Really loving that game so far, highly recommend it if you feel like playing a new JRPG in the future.
about 1 month ago

Badges
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Ciao e scusa! Sto bene, ma sono molto impegnata!

Also nein, ich habe das nur geschrieben, weil ich die Wƶrter kenne Es geht mir zwar gut, auch wenn ich aktuell leider krank bin, aber ich bin nicht Ć¼bermƤƟig beschƤftigt. Ich hatte nur die letzten Monate ein paar VerƤnderungen bei mir, die mich irgendwie emotional beschƤftigt haben. Das hat im September angefangen, und irgendwie habe ich dabei dann ein paar Dinge vernachlƤssigt - tut mir wirklich leid, dass ich dir so lange nichts geschrieben habe!
Auch italienisch ist immer noch sehr wackelig, aber immerhin versuche ich schon, jeden Tag wenigstens ein bisschen was zu wiederholen, wenn ich momentan schon nicht recht vorankomme.

Das Donkey Kong Bild ist wirklich sehr schƶn gefƤllt mir gut!
Wie ist es dir sonst so ergangen, hattest du einen guten Jahreswechsel und einigermaƟen Freizeit hin und wieder? Nur noch 4 offene Spiele bei dir!

Raging Loop (weil du vor 100 Jahren danach gefragt hattest ) war dann sogar mein Game of the Year letztes Jahr! Es ist eigentlich ein verhƤltnismƤƟig unbekanntes Spiel, eine Murder Mystery (oder vielleicht sogar Death Game) Visual Novel - also quasi mein Lieblingsgenre. Also viel braucht es da bei mir nicht, dass mir so eine Art Spiel gefƤllt, und sie sind wenigstens auch meistens nicht so lange wie RPGs.
Wobei ich letztes Jahr auch Persona 4 gespielt habe, und die Ć¼ber 60 Stunden sind richtig schnell verflogen, ich wĆ¼nschte ich kƤme immer so schnell voran wie damit^^

Wenn ich in Deutschland bin, dann eigentlich meistens in der Gegend von Bremen, da herum habe ich einige Freunde. Und eventuell werde ich selbst auch mal irgendwo dahin ziehen, das ist auch so ein bisschen Part der Sachen, die sich bei mir geƤndert haben.
Oh, und mir war nicht einmal klar, dass du natĆ¼rlich gar nicht wusstest, dass ich Julia heiƟe, haha. Aber klar, woher auch.
about 1 month ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
At this point, yeah, Iā€™ve made peace with the fact that the Switch may not get a new, proper Donkey Kong game to call its own. I donā€™t think itā€™s impossibleā€”historically, Donkey Kong games tend to hit during the back half of a systemā€™s lifeā€”but I wouldnā€™t be surprised if the seriesā€™ next comeback is being saved for their next system. Either way, Iā€™m also hoping we get a Returns remaster this year. IIRC, Super Mario 3D Worldā€™s Switch port released when the Mario theme park opened, so thereā€™s even some precedent.

Weā€™re probably getting a Nintendo Direct this month, so weā€™ll see soon. Iā€™m expecting our next Direct will be the final Switch-only one before Nintendo unveils their next console. Whatever happens, theyā€™re poised to have a very eventful year.

I am enjoying Zero so far! Itā€™s just a hard game to make time for. Itā€™s the sort of game I only play if I can sit down and dedicate an hour or two towards it. I will say, from my admittedly limited experience with the series, that it hasnā€™t touched REmakeā€™s highs, the story is kind of confused, Rebecca and Billā€™s dynamic is disappointingly stale, and itā€™s not better than Resident Evil 4. But I am having fun.

Admittedly, I only just started Another Code: Recollection, but my first impressions are positive. I'm confident I'll end up loving it, though, because it's Another Code.

Iā€™ll hit you up when I start delving into Sonyā€™s catalog. Ratchet or Jak will be the first series I try, since theyā€™re the two Iā€™ve always been most curious about, and then Iā€™ll probably go for the first God of War. MediEvil and Ape Escape have my eye, too.

Source Gaming has a Patreon account. We also had a t-shirt people could buy at one point. I hope our mascot, Source-kun, gets a plush someday.

Good luck with your reading and gaming goals for the year!
about 2 months ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
Focus: Only playing one game
Oh, nice! How did you find TotK? As its own game and as a sequel to BotW?
about 2 months ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
I can relate to that; I think the only high-profile franchises I even try to keep up with anymore are Borderlands and Yakuza... and I guess Mega Man, but Mega Man's basically dead and not all that graphically intensive to begin with. Aside from those, you'll get the VERY rare one-off like the Seiken Densetsu 3 remake or... does Kingdoms of Amalur even count? I don't know how old that is.

Well, I'm paying for that comment now; it has only happened while playing Borderlands 3, so I think that's the culprit, but I've had several full system crashes with some kind of memory management error right in the middle of playing. I've been having some other disconcerting issues (one of my hard drives sometimes JUST DISENGAGES), so I'm going to have to pool my resources and see if it's worth upgrading this thing, or if I should just take out my big SSD and build another; my monitors and sound system are still fine, so I'd really just need the guts.

Artistic direction beats graphical fidelity almost any day of the week; that "realistic" game that "looks like a movie" is going to age like milk, while something visually designed like the developers gave a damn is still going to look good 20 years from now, in most cases. I think cel-shaded graphics usually fit into the latter category, because if you're using that style, it's almost always because you have a specific artistic vision in mind. Now you've got me wondering how many and which ones I've played; it's not something that'd be easy to look up and reference, that's for sure. Wind Waker for certain, though; that is, to date, the only 3D Zelda I've ever really liked, and the visuals help A LOT. Exploring a world is great, and I love that, too, but the way it's designed made it a world that's well worth exploring beyond simple exploration's sake.

The Borderlands series is wonderful. I know a lot of people like to shit on it, but to me, it's like if they turned Goemon into a Shooter: it's solid fun, it has lots of wacky things going on, but despite the focus on all that, the visual beauty of some of the landscapes will just run up and sucker-punch you, because you're not expecting it in something like Borderlands. It's kind of like what Yakuza does with its tone, except rather than coming from the story, the tonal shifts are coming from you, the player... at least for me; your mileage may vary.
about 2 months ago

Badges
Backlog Beaten: August 21, 2014
Backlog Completed: September 27, 2014
Legendary Weapon: 5 or fewer unfinished games
Master of Unlocking: Majority of games are completed
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
I think the (I want to say pacing, but that's not the right word) is important, too; is this a genre that can stay fun for 80+ hours? That might be okay for an RPG or something, but imagine a Platformer with that much content; even if it is fun, it'd be torture to play it that long. Whenever I see a Super Mario World hack that looks interesting, I jump right in, but I always forget how LONG Super Mario World is, and much as I love it, I get burned out after playing a few of them in a row. Super Mario World itself is now something I've played so much that it's familiar, and I don't really feel that, but a hack of similar (or sometimes greater) length leaves me really feeling it.

That's interesting; kinda funny that things have gotten to the point where that's a viable product that people want. Hell, had the indie scene not blown up the way that it has, I might've considered one of those, rather than a standard PC.

It's gotten a lot worse in the past week or so, hasn't it? Everyone's saying that Ubisoft said the quiet part out loud, but that's not completely accurate. Ubisoft knows people are going to be pissed to hear that, and they also know that when they roll out their subscription service, those same people are going to shell out whatever it costs to play the latest Assassin's Creed; there IS no quiet part when nothing affects your bottom line. It's nothing short of a MIRACLE that NFTs didn't catch on, because they used the exact same tactics to force them onto us, but somehow, people actually resisted. I'm also of the opinion that most anything Ubisoft makes is overrated and not worth any of my time, but that's neither here nor there; when they succeed, most every major publisher is going to do it too. I'll be forced even deeper into my indie cave, and if even those become part of a subscription-only service, that will be the day that I never buy another game again. Dead serious; new games are great and all, but I have plenty of old stuff I've been wanting to replay for a long time; shitty business practices are no match for my replay backlog.

I absolutely COULD NOT drag myself through any but the second Witcher game; I resorted to watching this plot summary of the first game, and I at least got far enough to know that it's 100% accurate: [Link]
about 2 months ago

Badges
Herald of Bak'laag: 500+ unfinished games
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
Yes. She is frequently seen around Constantine or Justice League Dark. Also associated with Batman and The Justice League from time to time. She's had her own book a time or two but apparently I'm the only one who cared. (Now some of those books I bought from her 2010 series are consequently somewhat valuable) I'd like to see her in a movie if just because it would be an interesting challenge for an actress to have to speak backwards. She's also a favorite subject of famous comic artist Adam Hughes. He's drawn her a lot over the years.

[Link]

Well I've worked out every once in awhile to wake up at night and just go to a random tower and hang out for a bit to see if I see one, then mad dash for it. Or sometimes go to the sky and you see one falling. Not doing too bad. Have a handful. I just don't want to spend them until I find the rest of the clothes so I can pick the one I like.
about 2 months ago (edited)

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
On Fire: 3 beat or complete in a row
Happy New Year! Seems like your 2023 was pretty eventful. Hopefully your 2024 is even better.

Yeah, I saw those Banjo rumors, too. It sounds like the game, assuming the rumors are accurate, is fairly early in development, so we probably wonā€™t see it for a few years. But I can wait, personally. Though, on the topic of waiting, I really hope this is the year we finally get a new Donkey Kong (and a proper one, not a Mario spin-off where heā€™s an out of character antagonist. I am glad Mario vs. Donkey Kong is finally going back to its Game Boy-inspired gameplay, though). And speaking of Donkey Kong, your new theme is beautiful.

I still think itā€™s a shame that episodic Project Spark Conker series didnā€™t make it past the pilot. I get it wasnā€™t the ā€œrealā€ Conker sequel people wanted, but it was still bonafide new Conker content and could have potentially led to one. Oh well; hopefully Conker gets another chance down the road, too. For what itā€™s worth, Iā€™ve heard Young Conker is fun for what it is.

Iā€™ll definitely give you a buzz when I, some day, begin Sea of Thieves! Iā€™ll probably start with the new Safer Seas mode to get my feet wet with its mechanics, but afterwards, hopefully we can sail together sometime.

I technically started Resident Evil Zero, I dunno, over a year ago? But then my old Xbox One power supply died, so I shelved it. Then I was playing it and Silent Hill simultaneously and shelved it again to focus on the latter. I think I got sidetracked once or twice for other reasons, too. But Iā€™m really gonna finish Zero this time, because I told myself I wouldnā€™t replay Resident Evil 4 (which I really want to replay) until I beat it.

To be honest, aside from specific Source Gaming goals, I havenā€™t set many goals for myself for 2024 beyond reading more. I should think about that. For what itā€™s worth, my Source Gaming goals arenā€™t super exciting: publish at least two articles per month, cover characters from a few series I havenā€™t covered before, and focus on my neglected Continuity Corner and new Level with Me series.

Update: Actually, there was one other small goal I have in mind for 2024 that I forgot to mention: get into more Sony franchises. The PlayStation's lineup has always been a blind spot for me (I only spent meaningful time on The Last of Us, Daxter, and the lousy PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale), which is something I want to address. I plan to start with the first Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, or God of War.
about 2 months ago

Badges
Consider Yourself a Hero: Majority of games are beaten
That's relatively common for me in open worlds. I play them casually and spend 100s of hours over months of time.

That would be the reason it's so high is the sheer amount of timesink stuff there is. For the Compendium, just buy the pictures for annoying and rare stuff, most of them are pretty cheap and Rupees are stupid easy to get. It's also worth noting that there's medals you get for killing all the large monsters, the ones that get marked "Defeated" once you kill it once. That's another timesink task.

It's hard to really pick a favorite side quest though, since a vast majority of them are simple fetch quests with meaningless rewards. The Misko's Treasure ones are usually pretty good since they involve some kind of riddle to solve with the most challenging being the Awakening ones. Also the gear rewards can be useful sometimes.

Overall, for Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo opted for quantity over quality. There's a mountain of content in it, but 90% of it just doesn't feel rewarding at all. It's still fun though.
about 2 months ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Confused: Playing 10+ games at once
Lots of free-time this 3-day weekend! I'm sorry again for taking so long to properly respond.

New year, new theme, eh? DKC is another classic. I always liked the pseudo-3D graphics. Another game with a great water level theme.

As far as environmental dangers in SM64, the areas where you're affected by a hazard with no way to recover (or when you lose control of Mario and he goes right back into the hazard, lol) are what make the lava and ice levels so annoying. I actually kind of like the Bullies, though. They're annoying but the little ones are cute.

If you like spooky levels you must love Luigi's Mansion, right?
Yes! I beat Luigi's Mansion last Halloween. It was my first time playing it, though I coveted it as a youngin'.
I wished that it were longer, but actually the mansion is reasonably sized and any more of it would have felt unnecessary. So I'm content with a "Hidden Mansion" replay. After that, I'll think about trying the sequels. I'm hoping for more crazy ghost fights, and no Bowser fights - I wasn't a fan of reusing Bowser for the final boss when it could have been a really cool ghost fight more fitting to the rest of the game.

Also, favourite game is The Wind Waker, but it is 4(.5) stars out of 5. And Ocarina of Time has a 5/5. Interesting top rated games either way.
I may need to revisit some of my reviews/ratings... But still, I think I mostly agree with my old ideas. Wind Waker is a personal favorite of mine for various reasons (nostalgia, personal preference, etc), but I think that I would technically call Ocarina of Time a better game, or maybe better polished in (most of) the ways that matter for a Zelda game, notwithstanding the slightly more modern polish of WW. WW HD made a few changes that greatly improve the experience, but I still think the latter half of the game has a lot of lost potential.
It's a similar thing with Ace Attorney! I prefer AA1, but I can see how AA3 is technically the better game and the most popular.

Back to Boo levels: have you played Super Mario Sunshine yet?
The boo levels were my favorite as a kid. But I'm saving Sunshine for the summer.
There are some games that I just prefer to play at certain times. For example, Skyward Sword is associated with Christmas-time for me and I waited until then to pick it back up. Just a weird little thing I do sometimes. But I know other people do the same thing - do you have any weird associations like that?
about 2 months ago

Badges
Minion of Bak'laag: 100+ unfinished games
Treasure Hunter: 1000+ games
Focus: Only playing one game
Oh I know what you mean. Honestly, I'm all for it - I'm a strong believer that games are just hands down the best form of entertainment, closely followed by movies and TV, so to have games so easily begotten is a treat to say the least.

As for Assassin's Creed, I gotta say - I encourage that you make this year their year. You won't regret it, especially with the Ezio Trilogy. If you want to play III too, make sure to play the remastered version, it's actually really good... Except for the present-day ending (won't spoil you!).

Also the CoD games... Honestly CoD isn't what it used to be. I'm not a huge multiplayer guy (I only play a couple multiplayer games, like VALORANT, CS2, DayZ..) and I never really cared for CoD multiplayer, I am only into CoD for the story, which is its biggest weakness nowadays... CoD 1 and United Offensive, Finest Hour, 2, Big Red One, 3, Modern Warfare trilogy (classic), Black Ops games (didn't really like the second one to be honest)... There's a lot of GOLD releases in there. Nowadays I wouldn't blame you for skipping them. Yes, even the new MW trilogy, it's just not that great to be honest.

All in all: you want to try some cool series? Assassin's Creed is great actually, even Unity (god I love that game's mechanics). Odyssey and Valhalla - not that much, I don't like games becoming a second life, they're just too much grind. Call of Duty is amazing, it's good up until the modern games. I heard good things about Yakuza but I'm only playing the remastered version of the first one right now. I see you don't have Sleeping Dogs either, which is basically GTA 4: Hong Kong edition - very good game, I recommend it. Have fun!
CelebandĆ¹ne's look backā€¦ Donkey Kong 64 - 8/10