dartmonkey

So I took the Wavebird apart, cleaned and reassembled it and it's fantastic (if you like the GC pad.) I've been playing Rebel Strike, which isn't so great. Everything in a vehicle is good and still looks decent now, but the on-foot sections are dull. Mash A until all stormtroopers are dead, run to next batch and repeat. However, it was worth getting just to play Atari arcade Star Wars, which is still fun over 30 years on. In other news, my N64 had a strop and wouldn't output video or audio, although it powered on. I googled possible causes. All of the connections are pretty immaculate so I was confident I wouldn't need alcohol and cotton buds. I tested the cables on a GameCube - all good. I pulled out the expansion pak and put in the original - no change. Then I read that reset buttons can get gunked up. I pressed it several times in a row, powered on again and - boom - we're in business. The button's clean though. Hmm. All in all, an N64 Mini would be the first of the Classic consoles I'd definitely pick up. I'm on the cusp of getting a new TV and even if the reset button holds up, it'll be a muddy mess on a 4K screen! I picked up F-Zero X a couple of weeks ago, replacing the cart I traded in years ago. I forgot just how balls-out metal it is! I got GX a while back too, though I haven't played it much. X feels much more precise to control for me. It feels like I can make much more subtle changes with the 64 analog stick vs the GameCube one. I put Yoshi's Story on too. After lovingly Woolly World, Story is a bit of a nightmare to go back to. I'm going to persevere because I hear it's relatively easy but it's not holding up so far. Also, In The Valley Of Gods has got me pining for some Egyptian goodness and I have had Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy on the shelf for ages. Might give that a whirl too. On that note, what are your favourite Egyptian levels in games? Gobi's Valley for me. Dat music!

It seems like everyone in the world is on this already, or has been for a few days. I'm a couple of hours in. First impressions for me: it's good but I'm feeling a little constricted. There's a massive moveset and most of it I learned 20 years ago, but the utter freedom I felt in Galaxy - where I'd launch myself off a ledge with a longjump towards my destination, knowing I could finesse my landing spot with that spin - is replaced with tension. It's probably a necessary trade for this type of game. I'm constantly searching for Mario's shadow and trying to calculate distance and move the camera, and it raises my blood pressure a little. As the new moves bed in I'm sure that will diminish but right now I keep mucking up the side somersault because I don't quite have enough momentum to trigger it. I'm looking forward to taking my time with this.

I've just finished playing Yooka-Laylee for an hour and it's given me the feels :,-)

Didn't it sell, like 14 copies? It was good but not up there with 1 & 2. I found the controls temperamental. I'd rather Pikmin 4 but if they're going to pick Wii U's carcass clean, a port of 3 could work fine. It says so much about Wii U's failure that Nintendo Land is the only game that has no chance of getting ported. One game that can't be replicated on Switch because the second screen was essential. Anyway, Bayonetta 3. My money's on an F-Zero homage section.

Excellent news! I played 1 and 2 on Wii U but never returned after finishing them. Portability might have me going back. It's good to see Bayonetta 2 get another shot at an audience. Looking at the Wii U catalogue now, it's really only Mario 3D World, Mario Maker and Smash Bros left as the big exclusives. I imagine we'll see the latter two before long. Edit. Also, we'll get another Digital Foundry comparison article! I'm addicted to those things despite not having a console, PC or TV able to handle all those Ks and gigawatts and flops.

The character shape brought to mind Elastigirl from The Incredibles for me - that stylised exaggerated form. I'm sure it's been done with an awareness. Looks great! And 2019 gives me time to find something that will run Firewatch.

So over the past couple of weeks I've been dipping back in regularly, hoovering up coins and moons and this evening I 100% finished the game. I really enjoyed some of the 'hidden art' moons and I feel much more nimble with the controls now. One of the last moons I got was the rhythm-based one in New Donk. It took me ages until I tried something and I got it in one:

Thinking about it, if Wii U is your only Nintendo console, it's pretty unbeatable in terms of first-party games you can access: the entire Wii library, the cream of GBA, DS, NES, SNES and N64 on Virtual console, and even some GameCube games via New Play Control rereleases and HD Wind Waker. Switch has been my bag this year (almost exclusively) so my Goaty list is entirely predictable, plus a load of last year's games. Good year.

So after reading a lot and checking sets out firsthand, it seems that the LG OLED 55 B7 (or C7) is pretty much the best you can buy without taking out a mortgage. Low lag, HDR support across all standards, first-rate picture, great OS. I've seen deals in the 1400-1700€ range. Pricey but relatively futureproof (I'd hope to get 8-10 years out of it.) I'll wait for a good deal. One game-related issue comes with legacy inputs. The LG has composite only. Does anyone have experience with Component to HDMI adaptors?

After umming and arghing about a pro controller I've indulged my OCD and got a neon green and a neon yellow joy con instead, to go with the blue and red. No more controllers now. Too many controllers. But they're damn pretty.

Got a Wavebird! Utterly superfluous but I've always wanted one and they're usually £50ish. I also found Rebel Strike (Rogue Squadron 3) which I've heard is very up-and-down quality-wise, but it includes co-op Rogue Squadron 2 and also the original Atari arcade game, which I've never played.

Listened to the book this morning. (Spoilers coming) I lapped it up. Lots of little details and Frostian bows without closing any doors. Short and sweet. A couple of thoughts: - The TP Sheriff Dept's hazy recollection of the Laura's disappearance (not murder) when the timeline changed brought to mind Gordon's faltering memory of Phillip Jefferies' appearance in Philadelphia. - it seems that these temporal shenanigans ripple out gradually rather than instantly. As if the memories of the other timelines are still there, but buried. Presumably Laura's scream and the Police Dept's "yeah, that sorta sounds about right" means those barriers can be broken. Fuck knows what Richard and Linda have to do with anything, though. - Sarah Palmer was the frog moth girl. Makes sense, I guess. Can't wait to rewatch Episode 8 on Bluray! - and Annie's fine! Relatively speaking. I don't think there's enough meat here for an entire podcast but maybe a combocast discussing this, the Blurays, their extras and any general ponderances since the end of The Return?

Finished this block of Discovery today. If you fell off, I'd recommend sticking it out. Episodes 6-9 were all good, with some very good bits. The dialogue is still a bit lumpy (for example, "Saru, I know you're grumpy because we had to transport down 30km from our objective due to tech blocking our tech with tech, but..." - put that shit in the log guys! Use your built-in Trek devices!) but each episode offered some nice character moments and some cool moral quandaries. Episode 7 was a happy return for the time loop which provided an opportunity to spend time with the characters without needing to drive the plot forward at warp 9. I'm actually looking forward to the next batch now. A slow start, despite the slickness, but it's starting to work. Does anyone have a theory as to why Trek can't do a really top-notch pilot?

So, I'm at around 600 moons now and I'm travelling around hoovering up bits and pieces. It's obviously a great game. It feels exactly like a Sunshine 2. I liked Sunshine (enough to 100% it) but it had some irritating design choices and felt rushed. This addresses nearly all those issues and buffs everything to a brilliant shine but it still feels somewhat boxy. And there are areas I just plain dislike. Is anyone a fan of the dark forest floor in the Wooded Kingdom? If I was going to replay any of the mainline 3D Marios for fun, Galaxy & 2 would win every time. They feel like the ultimate in freewheeling platforming and experimentation - if I had an idea about a jump, I could give it a whirl and nine times out of ten it would work, and I'd feel like a whooping, gleeful boss. In Odyssey I'll try and usually end up hitting a wall or falling. That's not to say that the jump is impossible, but Galaxy was empowering and Odyssey makes me feel like I'm not quite getting something. I'm going to enjoy mopping up moons in the coming weeks/months. And I'd be happy if they decided to release a DLC pack with a couple of new kingdoms (or even some classic stages from the Mushroom Kingdom.) But BotW is goatier in 2017, the year of the rather good video game.

Rocket League is now out, and I think Skyrim arrives tmrw. Looking at my 'To Buy' list, the top half is now on Switch! Moonwalker Oxenfree Stardew Valley Steamworld Dig 2 Axiom Verge Octodad Rocket League Inside Firewatch Undertale The Witness Quadrilateral Cowboy The Last Guardian Hyper Light Drifter Superhot Nier Automata Edith Finch Looking at the remainder, I'd say only The Last Guardian (and obviously Moonwalker😉) have zero chance of appearing. If Doom is possible, anything is. Undertale seems like a given, and Square announced they were going to be going mental on Switch in 2018, so I think Nier has a good chance. Doom continues to be great. I died in the lava yesterday and just as I punched the A button to load from the last checkpoint, I saw Doomguy's hand as he sunk below the surface and did a literal spit take all over my screen. Brilliant! I'm curious if anyone here is going to pick up Skyrim.

Leto was fine, I don't quite understand the hate. Anyway, in a few years we'll have the tech to replace him with a CG Bowie as originally intended and everyone will be happy.

The sticks are fine. I mean, obviously mouse will be faster and more accurate but it's not designed as a twitch shooter. You crack out your shotgun, get stuck in and then melee finish to get health. I'm impressed how well it feels like Doom despite having the trappings of any other modern FPS. On the higher difficulties a mouse will no-doubtedly help you out. But for arcadey, strafe-tastic fun, the sticks work as well as keyboard-only did in the original. Doom with a mouse would be weird to me, but each to their own.

So then, Doom! I've played a couple of hours on the train and it's great! Obviously, being one of the best received games of 2016. The master race will treat it like someone's served them a blurry turd on a plate but, having never played the original at 1080/60, it feels lovely and smooth so far. There's some vaseline on the lens and some of the UI text is small on the handheld screen, but everything feels smooth. I turned off chromatic aberration, whatever that is, and it might have sharpened a tad. Not really sure. Again, I haven't had the full fat experience, but I don't feel like I'm playing a borked version. I'm ripping demons open on the train! If you've already got it on PC or console and you don't travel with your Switch, there's no reason to get it. If you're curious about a portable Doom (and certainly if you have no other means to play it) it seems like a real winner so far. I'm a happy camper.

It's DOOM'S DAY!!! I've been downloading it all day before a trip on the Eurostar this evening! Had to leave the house at 94% complete!! (I know you guys probably played it last year, but I didn't so I'm happy!)

Yeah, we were concerned that something too big would take over the entire room, but we're steadily inching the sofa towards our TV so we can see it better. Stupid deteriorating eyesight! More is more. OLEDs look so nice. A little too pricey but they do look amazing. Thanks, I'll check out the wirecutter article and the Home Theater thread 👍

It's certainly all over the place but I think Mario (possibly singularly?) can get away with it. The citizens of these worlds just shouldn't be in the same place but it also feels novel that the I don't think people would be so kind if the gameplay wasn't spot-on. The hat mechanic ties it all together. Even so, if Rare was so haphazard there'd be a shitstorm. Say what you like, those googly eyes were consistent 👀

Exhumed! I've searched but this is the only thread about TVs I could find. Maybe that says something - being surrounded by screens, I get that not everyone bothers with an actual TV set anymore - but watching some things on a laptop or phone is a sadness and I still buy the odd Bluray. For the past five years a 32" HD Sharp has been fine for us, save for a vertical line of blue pixels that appeared on the left last year. However, over the summer I spent a month at a friend's flat in the company of his 55" 4K curved Samsung monster. It took some getting used to, but...I did. I expected Breath of the Wild and MK8 to look ropey blown up so big but they looked great. Actual 4K stuff looked predictably nice. I was impressed. On returning, my humble 32"er looks like a chunky, distant relic. An upgrade may be in order. What sizes/makes/models do you have? I'm looking for something with low-ish lag, decent black levels and viewing angle. I've seen loads in shops (including this Samsung designed to look like a picture frame when you're not using it - it fooled me when passed by) but I'm interested in first hand experience of sets in the 500-1000€ range. Got any tips/horror stories?

Yeah, the moons really feel like Korok Seeds to me - I'm getting exactly the same pull of something in the distance before getting distracted by something I run past. I end up juggling 2 or 3 objectives but it always manages to stay just the right side of manageable and satisfying to tick them off. It's a bit of a pain to need a wardrobe to change and I'm still bludgeoning the controls upwards rather than elegantly flipping and wall jumping, etc. Although Sunshine is the obvious predecessor, there's still plenty of Galaxy in here. It's really great. Zelda's probably still my goaty because its controls are spot-on at all times. Helluva year.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/11/microsoft_wants_to_reach_gamers_on_rival_systems_says_xbox_chief_phil_spencer You know, Rare Replay on Switch just might not be such a stupid call! 🤞

I checked out Derek Yu's announcement tweet and scrolled down wondering when the first "Switch please" would be. First one!