rhutton125 said:

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I finished Xenoblade Chronicles X on Switch recently. Honestly, I do not recommend it. I recommend XBC1 and 3 pretty wholeheartedly (2 is pretty anime, maybe not for everyone) but this one was just not worth the 50 hours I put into it.

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Maybe the hardest I've ever disagreed with anything.

It was a masterpiece on the Wii U and the Definitive Edition is even better.

Fairly into Fallout 76. Scratches that Fallout itch anyway. It can be a little janky though. It's multi-player although it's the most non-interactive multiplayer game that must exist. Which is the only reason I'm playing it.

Hahaha. Your recommendation may have been one of the ones that convinced me to try it (not that I need much, given my affinity for the series). I knew it was more exploration and combat than story, which is not my preference, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately it felt like an MMO and not in fun ways. Very grindy. Story content was level-gated so I'd have to go grind side quests to get to anything interesting again. And to be fair I did a ton of character missions, but most of them proved to still be pretty generic in the end. And boy did they look generic too (Hope would be a background NPC in any other game).

Combat was decent but after XBC2 and 3 it was kind of more of the same. I knew this came first but it didn't make it any more fun. Skells were cool but running out of fuel and using all my miranium just to keep playing the game was not well designed. A few times I just let the game run to get the time-gated FrontierNav resources, and when that's the only way to advance a character quest, it's super lame. (Lin's first quest, had to leave the Switch on while I drove to work in hopes of finally procuring the quest item. Took about an hour.)

I'm not trying to convince you a game you love isn't great, but to me it was mostly not a fun experience. Sounds like the definitive edition removes a lot of the tedium but it was still pretty tedious overall, across all ~55 hours.

YouBet said:

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Fairly into Fallout 76. Scratches that Fallout itch anyway. It can be a little janky though. It's multi-player although it's the most non-interactive multiplayer game that must exist. Which is the only reason I'm playing it.

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I absolutely despised the card system. But it has been a couple of years since I looked at it last and I adore the setting so may DL again soon and take another look around. I think I had 25ish hours on it and I never once joined a party or did a group event.

I've invested more time than I can count into FO3, FO:NV, and FO4. I have had zero desire to try Fallout 76. I may try it, one day.

Just finished Death Stranding Directors Cut (the game only had like 5 different ending sequences, LOL). Great game! I'd honestly have no problem just chilling and slowly doing more post credits activities and taking in all the views... but my backlog is calling.


Started Warhammer Space Marine II last night... been on my to do list for a while and now it's "free" on PS+.

Eliminatus said:

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YouBet said:

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Fairly into Fallout 76. Scratches that Fallout itch anyway. It can be a little janky though. It's multi-player although it's the most non-interactive multiplayer game that must exist. Which is the only reason I'm playing it.

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I absolutely despised the card system. But it has been a couple of years since I looked at it last and I adore the setting so may DL again soon and take another look around. I think I had 25ish hours on it and I never once joined a party or did a group event.

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I might take another shot at it. Im not sure how it played last time you were in it, but I'm finding it pretty close to the other Fallout games. There is a **** load of quests and the map is large. Card system hasn't bothered me.

My only nitpicks are
- running out of storage space so that's forcing me not to be a pack rat. You can pay for a sub and get unlimited storage but I'm not doing that.

- due to nature of being MMO, you will sometimes run across locations where everyone there is dead because someone got there right ahead of you and the game hasn't respawned yet. A recent patch seems like it may have fixed some of that though.

- I don't know if you can't or if people just respect one another but I haven't had any issues with PVP killing. When you run across others, everyone just seems to ignore each other for the most part.

- I've done a couple of joint quests with others and they were fine. I'm always the least experienced person in group. No one is on audio or at least I'm not. I'm level 22 and there are people at 900+. My god. How long have they been playing this game?

- some player keeps nuking the same section of the map any time I end up in the same world as him. Amusing.

The Isle

Phantasy Star 4

YouBet said:

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Fairly into Fallout 76. Scratches that Fallout itch anyway. It can be a little janky though. It's multi-player although it's the most non-interactive multiplayer game that must exist. Which is the only reason I'm playing it.

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Join the events and wait for people to get there to start them. Then either ask to join a party or just invite people to parties. Everyone in a party shares XP, even if you don't shoot something before it dies.

The community is actually pretty awesome, and I love what he game has evolved to.

Started playing an older game, Sleeping Dogs, via the Steam Deck. Made for a really good time during my travels this weekend.

It's a very simplified GTA that focuses on hand to hand combat. I think it's relatively short so it's perfect for handhelds.

Very addicted to NBA 2K26 at the moment. MyCareer is fantastic. Fun to play 1 v 1 vs my son as well. Except when he gets Kon Knueppel hot, then I just get absolutely shelled.

Average Joe said:

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YouBet said:

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Fairly into Fallout 76. Scratches that Fallout itch anyway. It can be a little janky though. It's multi-player although it's the most non-interactive multiplayer game that must exist. Which is the only reason I'm playing it.

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Join the events and wait for people to get there to start them. Then either ask to join a party or just invite people to parties. Everyone in a party shares XP, even if you don't shoot something before it dies.

The community is actually pretty awesome, and I love what he game has evolved to.

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My first interaction with another player was some girl who gave me level 50 power armor and a level 45 gun. I was around level 5 so I couldn't use it but she was adamant I take it judging by her character's emoting. I was lost as to why she was gifting me this stuff. I couldn't quite tell if she wanted me to follow her to a public event or what. It was very early on so I wasn't sure what was going on...still don't really. I ultimately sent her a message via PS and thanked her and apologized I had nothing remotely equivalent to give her. Never heard back.

Multiplayer confuses me, mostly.

Finished WH Space Marine II.

It was OK. A solid B tier game. Probably a bit more bad ass if you know the WH lore. It was like a lesser Gears of War. Glad I player it via PS+ instead of spending money on it.

If you only played the campaign, I would agree with that grade (even as someone who knows and loves the lore).

The bulk of the game is actually in the multiplayer PvE operations and siege modes. So if you are into that kind of horde-shooter gameplay leveling up different weapons and classes, I think it deserves a solid A. I've barely even scratched what is available there and have put in 3 times as many hours as I did in the story campaign.

Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

jr15aggie said:

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Finished WH Space Marine II.

It was OK. A solid B tier game. Probably a bit more bad ass if you know the WH lore. It was like a lesser Gears of War. Glad I player it via PS+ instead of spending money on it.

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Agree. Huge disappointment after all the hype it got.

Started Pragmata... That kid is adorable!

Finished "Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance" for GameCube (via Switch 2 Online). Very solid. Radiant Dawn on Wii is a direct sequel so I gotta find a way to emulate that, I think.

Up next, Pokemon Scarlet (Switch 2 non-crappy edition).

rhutton125 said:

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Finished "Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance" for GameCube (via Switch 2 Online). Very solid. Radiant Dawn on Wii is a direct sequel so I gotta find a way to emulate that, I think.

Up next, Pokemon Scarlet (Switch 2 non-crappy edition).

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Have you played Arceus? I only ask because reading that you're about to start Pokemon Scarlet made me physically cringe a bit. Even with the better performance on the Switch2.

Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

Average Joe said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

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On my Steam Deck. It's perfect for putting in some couch hours. I have all of the games through Steam.

However, a very strong argument can be made that a retro gaming device would be even more perfect. Especially if you want to explore stuff of the same era after those first six. I've been on the fence for years about getting one but hard to justify with a Steam Deck that I already had.

Worth a look into if you want a rabbit hole. There is a sub reddit for them and it's a great place to start looking at these devices. Tons of info there and you can get in for sub $100 easily.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/

Eliminatus said:

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Average Joe said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

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On my Steam Deck. It's perfect for putting in some couch hours. I have all of the games through Steam.

However, a very strong argument can be made that a retro gaming device would be even more perfect. Especially if you want to explore stuff of the same era after those first six. I've been on the fence for years about getting one but hard to justify with a Steam Deck that I already had.

Worth a look into if you want a rabbit hole. There is a sub reddit for them and it's a great place to start looking at these devices. Tons of info there and you can get in for sub $100 easily.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/

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I have a Raspberry Pi 2 running RetroPie packed away in the closet with thousands of ROMs. Haven't turned it on in a long while, but thinking I might need to now.

Average Joe said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

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Same - I remember watching my dad play the original FF when I was like 3. Have loved fantasy genre and RPGs ever since.

CC09LawAg said:

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Average Joe said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

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Same - I remember watching my dad play the original FF when I was like 3. Have loved fantasy genre and RPGs ever since.

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Good lord I'm old.

YouBet said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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Average Joe said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

Just got an email that Everything is Crab finally dropped. Such a dumb and mindless game. I fell in instant love when only the demo was available. FF3 will wait a little longer…

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What're you playing the FF games on? Thought about going back and playing 1-6. FF1 is what got me into gaming. Played it at a friend's house on NES and was addicted instantly.

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Same - I remember watching my dad play the original FF when I was like 3. Have loved fantasy genre and RPGs ever since.

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Good lord I'm old.

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Beats the alternative

For anyone that likes extraction type shooters, Gray Zone Warfare is worth going back to if you haven't played it in a while (or ever). The latest updates have been really good.

Finished Ragnorak and now just doing end game tasks and trying to beat the Berserker King.

Hahah. I haven't played Arceus or Z-A. I'm doing a bit that will help though, only catching new pokes or ones I like.

The Diamond remake kinda broke me. Low number of pokes, tons of repetition. Just wasn't a fun experience. I'd also done the first zone of Scarlet and had like 30 Pokemon so I'm not in the mood to mass catch, evolve and ditch. I'll make a new crew and push through the story and then maybe try something else. I'm not evolving Pidgey for the 80th time.

Eliminatus said:

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Finished Final Fantasy 2 and wanted a quick break before jumping into 3. Got a hair and went back and played StarCraft 2 campaign again. Was just going to dabble but I always forget how good they actually are and before I knew it I completed all three factions. Tons of fun and well written stories.

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Nostalgia gaming is where I'm at these days.

I went back and started playing AOE2 again a year ago and wow, that is now a hi-res game with multiple new campaign expansions a year and decades of awesome customer campaign content. I'm still playing through it all.

If I want an RPG, there's a mod that allows me to play Fallout 3 and New Vegas on the same save file.

You are in for a treat when you reach FF6. That's one of my most played RPG's of all time. Great characters and story.

If you can't get enough of 4 or 6, highly recommend checking out Free Enterprise or Worlds Collide!