Key

It definitely shows its age but it does feel like Dishonored is its successor. Having played both, I love Dishonored much more. But Thief has a lot of things going for it that it is still a lot of fun to play. Despite some of its flaws.

The Batlord

Dishonored came out first, son.

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Key

Oh well. That's pretty impressive for dishonored then tbh

The Batlord

You should check the old school thief games though.

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Key

This is one of those games that I don't mind talking to death about, because it's so damn good.

Star Wars Episode 1 Racer was just re-released onto the newer consoles. My experience is solely from the PS4 version. I know nothing about the Switch port or the PC port for that matter. It's not a remaster either. And I honestly don't mind that. I find that the game truly shows it's beauty with the older style graphics of the N64. Sure they don't look super fantastic, but they also don't look half bad. The game runs at a smooth 60fps with literally no lag. Which is important given this game is fast, and it's podracing. It has to run smooth. And it most certainly does. I guess one shouldn't be too surprised by that given that it is a 17 year old game. So of course it should run well on newer consoles. I'm just saying it's nice to see, and it's nice that it fills the entirety of my TV.

What I'm finding myself enjoying more than anything though is just the overall nostalgia I'm feeling as I'm going from track to track. It's also pretty bizarre that in some cases, I've been able to remember the tracks so as to not crash or do anything stupid. Again, I probably haven't played this game in quite a long time, so to be able to relive it again, and to remember stuff, is pretty cool.

All the tracks feel super unique as well. This wasn't something I particularly focused much on when I was a kid, but the tracks do vary quite a bit. It's also really cool that certain tracks change how they look based on which part of the tournament you're doing. For example, there are two different version of the Tatooine track. Of course, what makes the tracks really shine is the music. It's just your standard Star Wars music, but it works extraordinarily well in a racing game.

I'm certainly thrilled that not only do those of us that played this game back then get to relive it again in all it's glory, but people get to pick up one of the best racing games ever made. It just helps that it's Star Wars, and podracing.

debaserr

I played the crap out of that on N64. Maybe I will give it another spin on PC.

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Key

Old School Runescape

Yeah, we're talking about this game again. Why? Because it's the only goddamn game I play. I literally have tons of great games on both Steam and PS4 combined. But NOPE, Old School Runescape it is. Literally the same game I've been playing for the past 15 years. I just...the grind. Like, I am literally spinning flax into bowstrings while I write this. Why? I can't really explain.

See, here's the thing. I know Runescape and Old School Runescape respectively aren't exactly the GREATEST games. But, Old School Runescape specifically brings back the game that I grew up playing. And honestly, getting hit with nostalgia every time I play is pretty nice. Makes the game even more enjoyable. And yeah, like I said. I like a good grind. And this game is nothing but just one long grind. And it is really fulfilling in its own nerdy way.

I've also been setting personal goals for myself. The likes of getting full dragon armor. The armor that all the rich kids had back in the day. I finally achieved it. And I absolutely am in love with it. Here it is right here:



On top of all of this, I've been working hard on all my skills. This is something that I did way later on my main Runescape account. That one is the high level account with all the high level armor. I don't play it much anymore because Runescape 3 sucks. It's the current live version of the game. Anyway, here they are right now. I'm currently working on crafting:



And with that, back to the grind I go. Hope you're all having fun playing whatever it is you're playing.

debaserr

Same thing for me, but WoW Classic.

The progression, friends, and gameplay keep me coming back.

I have tried to play runescape a few times but I could never stick with it more than a few minutes, the gameplay seems a little jank.

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Key

This is one of those instances where I knew close to nothing about this game until its release. I didn't really follow the marketing or anything. And I wasn't really all that excited about it. Despite all that however, Ghost of Tsushima may very well be one of my favorite games of the year. Has a good chance of being my Game of the Year as well, but we've still got the rest of the year.

Ghost of Tsushima mixes together everything I love about games, and puts it all into one beautiful package. You've got For Honor style combat, Shadow of War style world progression, in regards to having things on the map to go to. A lot of games have done thing but I always credit Shadow of War as that's one of the few games I've fully completed. Not to mention the game not only runs beautifully (with literally close to 0 load times), but it looks absolutely beautiful as well. And I'm not even playing on a 4K TV (which Microsoft believes you need to have a 4K TV to enjoy the next gen games, which I fully disagree with.) And the story and overall feel of the game are done very well. Everything feels fluid and you never really feel like the character isn't responding well to your button inputs. Very few times I've had instances where I made a bad move, but it's usually my own fault for fumbling around with the controller sometimes. I lose grip of it at certain times.

On a side note, can we all just agree at this point that the PS4 has been one of the best consoles ever made for gaming? Not even talking about the exclusives that have already come out, but then you add this to the mix and it just makes the PS4 look even more enticing. I am also heavily looking forward to the PS5 and what that is going to offer. Microsoft really has to up their game from now to release if they want people to be sold on their console. Which the general consensus seems to be that not a lot of people are really excited about it. Well...Halo Infinite specifically. Anyway, that's another story for another time.

If you haven't picked up Ghost of Tsushima. Do it. You won't regret it. It's one of the most interesting and fun games I've played in a while, in this particular style.

Key

Pokemon Sword / Shield
(Currently playing through Sword)

I recently got a Nintendo Switch, and one of the first games I wanted to play was the most recent Pokemon games, Sword and Shield. I haven't played a Pokemon game since Pokemon X so I know I have missed quite a bit in terms of the series progression. I have not beaten Pokemon Sword yet, but I want to point out a few pros and cons that I have come to find during my playthrough. I'm currently right before the next Gym battle, and I recently beat the Rock type Gym.

Let's get the cons out of the way, because despite there not being many faults, there's still a few that have made a bit of a difference in terms of playing the games:

Cons:

• Gym battles: not enough things to do between each gym. feels like you go through them pretty quick
• EXP ALL: I really don't like that fact that all your Pokemon get XP at the same time, even if they don't battle. I get it for balancing reasons, but it takes the entire point of the grind out of the picture. Good for some, not for me.
• Difficulty has certainly gotten a lot easier as the series progresses. A little bit more difficult than Pokemon X, but that's probably due to these games not giving you strong Pokemon right off the bat. The fact that you got a Lucario in the beginning of Pokemon X was just a dumb move and it made the game feel way way way too easy. Again, Pokemon Sword fixes this a little bit, but it's still really easy. I miss the difficulty.
• I find the fact that it tells you in battle that a move is super effective against an opponent or not. I've played these games for years, so evidently this game is more focused on catering to the younger crowd. That's fine. Again, just not for me.

Pros:

• While I think some of the designs are god awful, I think this game brings a lot more creative designs than Pokemon X and Y did. I know NIntendo still has a lot to give in terms of Pokemon, so I'm curious to see what kind of designs they come up with next. I really like the ones in this particular game tho.
• Soundtrack is fantastic. Especially the music that plays during the wild area and in routes. Reminds me of Fallout
• The wild area is nice, though I wish they could've just made the whole game like that. It's really neat to be running around in an open field with catching Pokemon, but the game STILL manages to feel a bit too linear. Again, really solid idea. Weird way to go about it. But I like it nonetheless.
• Battling is more fun than it ever has been, despite the game being painfully easy. The gym battles are really cool and it makes Pokemon feel more like a professional sport. Nobody really gives a **** about story anyway so I'm glad more of their focus went on the battle side. Plus so far, the story kind of sucks.

While there may be more to each of those lists, that's just what I could think of right off the bat. There may be a part 2 to this post as I make my way through the game, but those are my thoughts on the matter currently.