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There are some things now where I prefer digital. The Switch, if you use it as a console instead of a handheld, is pretty much a pain to swap games. I am determined to buy digital only for that now. Looking back, I wish that I had purchased more digital games for the 3DS while they were available.

I do prefer DVDs for media consumption. I remember going through a good handful of old DVDs after moving to Indy and not having internet in a new apartment for a couple of months.

I am in-between with music CDs. I have made back-up mp3s of my CDs for decades now, which was great since I could have my mp3s on my PC while my CDs were in my car. My newer Jeep has no CD player though, which sucks. The mp3 player in that thing has been beyond unreliable and is a pain to navigate.

Each medium has its perks, but it is weird going into a store and finding no DVDs anymore, yet finding vinyl albums.

Christmas goodies! It is hard to beat Castlevania and Final Fantasy!

I upgraded my computer monitor, but even though a PS5 or Xbox Series X seems like I can swing the cost, I just don't see any appeal in either console.

What happened to first-party and console exclusive games? Why buy a console when I can get the same game on PC?

Probably a cranky old neighbor complained to the HOA... 

Backity back back

One... two... Threee? 

Mega Tim! One year wiser!

I just finished season 2. I think that this season was an improvement over the first season. The cinematography and worldbuilding is very well done. The actors are becoming more comfortable in their roles too.

Any John Wick fans?  Apparently a spin-off film is in production with Ana de Armas playing The Ballerina."

The trailer looks pretty good, if not violent in just the right way.

Get a micro SD card and hold way more games!

Yay! 

The cameos in the movie were all very very well played.

Ryan Renolds has nailed the persona of Deadpool and is clearly comfortable playing the role. Hugh Jackman did a wonderful job as Wolverine as well.

Looks like Steam has the Castlevania Collection (Castlevania I, II, III, Super IV, Bloodlines and GameBoy Castlevania Adventure), Advance Collection (Circle of Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow), and now this Dominus collection.

Steam is pretty much just missing the Nocturne Collection from PS4 (Symphony + Rondo of Blood) and the PS2 3D Castlevanias (Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness).

How did I miss that Nintendo is FINALLY moving these DS games to a full console version?

I have all three on DS/DS lite/3DS already, but have really found handheld gaming is less of my thing and have always wanted to play these on an actual console setup. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin has been one of my favorites for a while. It looks like it'll be available on Switch and Steam for PC users.

https://www.gematsu.com/2024/08/castlevania-dominus-collection-announced-for-ps5-xbox-series-switch-and-pc-now-available

I thought this was going to be a K-mart special!

It is too bad that virtual console support for Wii / Wii U / 3DS was abandoned by N. I would have liked to have eventually downloaded more games to my 3DS.

And a belated thank-you to you all!

This video is worth a watch. It is a good commentary on the state of the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 nowadays...

Annddd... as a related follow up, what happened with the modern Halo games?

MasterMario, SpartanEvolved, and I discussed it on Thursday. MM suggested that we'd need to set aside a full session since the game is time-consuming.

If you keep playing and exploring, you find the dead ends and impasses. Drawing a simple map can help early in the game. The map added in Super Metroid or Metroid: Zero Mission did make things easier. There is a reason that the entire genre of Metroidvanias is based on Super Metroid.

Also, since Metroid takes place on planet Zebes (same as Super Metroid) there are some passages that get familiar between the two games.

Nah, the wave beam is pretty important, but Super Metroid really fixed those issues.

I remember back in 1989, getting Metroid and trying to draw my own maps of Brinstar. It is epic how the game basically tells you to find and defeat the "mechanical life brain" and gives you no other instruction. Anyone who played Mario intrinsically starts going to the right, only to hit a dead end and have to go left to get the maru mari (round ball).

That game came from an era of Nintendo-hard arcade-style games when starting over is easier than dying and continuing. By the time GameBoy Advance had the NES Classics series, I picked up Metroid and would play from start to finish in one life, about one hour per session. The game was never easy, but definitely gets more manageable with practice and patience.

Also, you don't need every energy tank or every missile to beat the game. The wave beam, though helpful, and ice beam, though nearly necessary in the final areas, are not actually needed as a condition to beat the mother brain either.

Learning the bomb jump trick and getting the Varia suit early is a major boon to Samus before getting to Norfair as well.

If you haven't played Metroid: Zero Mission, the early 2000s remake of Metroid, it is worth checking out for the extra abilities and extra chapter!

Mostly MasterMario and Spartan wanted to play more Mario games on Switch!

I have not really played it much since the season update. I got far enough to get a horse. That's about it.

The last three episodes of The Clone Wars were epic and intense. Filoni allowed the team to experiment with some more ambient music. That music experimentation has followed through to the Bad Batch, making each episode very intense and moody. Along with the amazingly detailed animation and relatable characters, this show is pure win.

This does not feel like a "kid's show" at all. The writing and overall tone is more akin to Andor's heavy-handed view of The Empire than the rest of the Star Wars franchise.

My spoils!
I also got three games for the Switch,
Sonic Mania
Star Trek: Prodigy Supernova
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth complete edition

In the photo three NES games and two for the Famicom.
You cannot view this attachment.

Happy birthday, nice haul!

I watched it a few days ago. I did not pay much mind to the Ms. Marvel series as I felt it was aimed toward a much younger audience. I may have gotten more out of the movie had I watched the series first. Kamela (Ms. Marvel) is pretty much an annoying fangirl; the actress plays the part well, but the character's place in the movie does not appeal to me much.

The action scenes were solid, the acting was somewhat good overall, the writing and directing had scenes jumping from one to another too quickly for the characters (or audiences) to digest what happened in the scene prior.

I didn't hate the movie. I didn't love it either. I think that it could have been better with some more careful directing.

Rebels was great. What'd you think of it BV?

Deep Space Nine was one of the more difficult Star Trek shows for me. The political drama and stationary setting for many of the episodes did not intrigue me as much as Voyager, Enterprise, Next Generation, or Brave New Worlds.

Fact check--I won the 2nd game with Stars! At the last round, I picked up my 6th star, while MM had 4. He did get one of the bonus stars, but that still left me with 6 and him with 5.

 

It was a pleasant, but short game. I think that I pretty much beat it in three sittings over a weekend. There are only 10 achievements to acquire. Overall, it is a decent story; I definitely found myself wondering what was going to happen next.

Firewatch is 90% off on Steam for $1.99 (plus tax).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/383870/Firewatch/

I played a good chunk of the game yesterday. It makes for a great narrative-driven game. Graphics sound, and voice acting are all great. The play controls can be a little bit finnicky when trying to find a rope attachment point to climb down a ledge.

Overall, definitely worth $2.

It is a great binge series.

Like you said, Echo (Maya) is introduced in Hawkeye, so revisiting Hawkeye prior to watching is a good idea.

I really like how the hearing aid issues introduced in Hawkeye are taken further with Maya's deafness. The mythos from the Choctaw nation added some more depth to the story as well. As is par for Marvel series, the action sequences are excellent and each character gets a fair amount of backstory. I'd recommend the series for a binge watch.