RubixsQube

North and east of Los Angeles, getting up towards Nevada, there are definitely areas that are reminiscent of the northern parts of the game. I mean, the Salton Sea and the tiny town on its shores are in the game as the Alamo Sea and Sandy Shores. I haven't unlocked the Trevor portion of the game yet, but I'm 100% sure that it will show the kind of crazies who live out near Barstow in and around the Mojave Desert.

While I currently live across the country, I've spent the majority of my life in Los Angeles, and have lived in Westwood, Culver City, and Koreatown over the last six years. As a result, it has been real weird to drive around Los Santos. It's like the uncanny valley of city simulation. There was a moment when I said to myself, "oh, hey, if this is Getty, then they should have that artsy fartsy garden over...oh, awesome!" as I walked over to the ledge and looked down. I won't spoil things, but if you've ever visited LA for an extended period of time, I hope you also feel this way about the game. Frenetic Pony, you are correct, the lighting is really perfect for LA. I didn't realize what it was about GTAIV that bored me, and it was the oppression of buildings looming above you all the time. What's great about LA is that it's so spread out, so you just get so much sky. Rockstar nailed it. It's too bad that the game is just still a GTA game, with it's similar GTA frustrations. It's pretty bizarre how Rockstar creates this gorgeous world and then gives you driving directions using a mini-map jammed in the corner that you stare at instead of, say, the road, or the world. I'm sure that'll change as I get to know the street layout, but it always fights against what I'm sure Rockstar wants to do in the early game.

As someone who lived in LA for most of his life, I'm mostly excited to just tool around a bizarre mini version of my most beloved city. I used to live around the corner from here! That's the Wiltern on the right, and what is now a weirdly shaped Chase bank on the left!

I am 100% sure that Metacritic's power has only grown. And they haven't even released their weighting system! I'm pretty sure that there's some weird selection biases at play here. If I went and submitted a scientific paper where I just cherrypicked my targets and weighted some property by values that I never provided, I'd be rejected so fast. Why have we let Metacritic have so much power? Their description of how they create their Metascores is one of the most mystifying things I've read on the internet. Hey did you know that a "score" between "75 and 89" represents "generally favorable reviews"? On any video game. (If it's a movie, though, it's 61 through 80, so watch out.) Reading this description is like that moment when you're watching a politician answer a "tough question" and they say fifty things without actually saying anything at all. Metacritic, you are correct to call Metascores "magic" because they are smoke and mirrors and that smoke is all up our butts.

There's a lot of things to think about with the release of this game. First off, GTAV is repackaging a lot of the pretty abhorrent trends in modern gaming: shootin' and killin' and not respectin' women and explosions' and dicks. Leigh Alexander's piece touches on this, and as Argobot pointed out, it's a broad shot across the bow of all AAA titles. That being said, her piece is real reductive. I am sure that there's some worthwhile content in GTAV. You know what? It's pretty fun to drive cars fast and jump over things and blow stuff up in a video game. While the titles that really "represent" gaming to the general public (your Grands Theft Auto, your Calls of Duty, etc) are not great at showing off the potential of interactive entertainment, their existence has not stopped the expansion of games into new and wonderful territory. We still have Gone Home! Leigh Alexander's piece, while providing a bit of humor, doesn't seem to do anything but levy a snarkbomb at Rockstar. And that's been done. So...what? I am more astounded each time a big budget title drops, and all of these little numbers get ping-ponged around and commenter after commenter freaks out about Metacritic scores. This is COMPLETELY MINDBOGGLING. "Son, when I was your age, I was on the front line of the war against Escapist and their scandalous 3.5 star review of GTAV. I said some pretty cruel things on the internet son. Things I'm not proud of. I hope you can still love me." Why do game journalists give numbered reviews? What a silly thing to do. It's most likely because it drives clicks, right? What a weird way to do business. "I don't have time to read 3500 words about a game! I just want to know if it's good! With a number between one and ten!" (heavy head slam into desk) Congratulations, universe. I think it's pretty bizarre that video game reviews are sorted based on the website that the reviewer works for. Film reviews are tied to their authors. Savvy gamers will seek out authors who's opinions jibe with their own, but most review aggregators list the scores next to the website (or publication, ha!) that delivered the number. Ugh, reviews. Listen, I understand that video games cost a lot of money, and people want to know if they're worthwhile or not, but if we want video games to be given respect, human people playing video games, we're going to maybe have to make some sacrifices. Little gold stars are going to have to go.

So, I played three hours of Pikmin 3 multiplayer last night, on each of the multiplayer maps. My only experience with the multiplayer was via watching the Pikmin 2 Idle Thumbs stream. The mode was absolutely a blast. I'm pretty horrible at competitive multiplayer, but each match was pretty close, and I never felt overwhelmed. Ok, there was one time on the final map where I was pretty flummoxed, but that was mostly due to the map being bonkers, and I did come back and win, so it wasn't so bad. So, the game works like this. You are presented with a 4x4 grid of possible elements scattered throughout the map that you have to drag back to your ship. If you get any four in a row (up/down left/right, and diagonal), you win. Easy. There's an option to add a "victory macaroon" which is a capture the flag element (read: red or blue marble from Pikmin 2), but we never played with that, preferring to stay with the basic options. The items on your bingo board range from marbles to various sized fruit and enemies. I really liked the fact that you'd spend the first few minutes of a match building your army and scouting for the easiest, nearby pickups, and then you'd have a look at your bingo board to see what was worth going after. Should you attack a large bulborb? Or should you go exploring for a gold strawberry? There was a great risk/reward element to the game. It keeps the basic idea from Pikmin 2 that you are going after the same items (the yellow marbles), but it mixes things up such that you may initially pass by an item because it's not helpful for your bingo board, but maybe you get it anyway since it'll block a victory for your opponent. Cherries are still scattered around, and require one or two pikmin who very quickly zip back with the item providing a Pikmin 2-esque reward, like meteors you can call in, Pikmin power-up gas, or even one that re-arranges your opponent's bingo board. My least favorite reward was one that transported your opponent across the map to a random location. While my friend found that the rewards tended a little towards rewarding random chance versus skill, I don't think I agree. The rewards are so varied that it's unlikely that one will really sway the match in the long run. There are a ton of maps (10? I think) and each one is quite different. Some are quite symmetrical, while there is one map with a central rise (tower) that one character starts on, while the other is near the bottom. Most of the game's enemies make an appearance on the various maps, and all of the different type of Pikmin show up, but on a map by map basis. For instance, one map will feature water, and you'll have to scout around to find the blue Pikmin. We both played with the Wii Remote / Nunchuk set-up, and kept the gamepad between us as a quick way to look down and see where the various items were in the map. Overall, it was one of those good multiplayer gaming experiences that you want to have, where you're shouting at the screen because a win is imminent on both sides. The type of experience where you just immediately finish a game and then go in to play on another map. Really, really fun stuff. I'm just sad that it's not online, because it's pretty hard for me to find opponents. (We didn't even touch the mode where each player has two captains they can control. Jeez.)

Really wonderful game. Not gonna lie, though, I was hoping that this was just like, a real deliberate and perfectly paced gamefaq for Street Fighter II.

As someone who has a 3DS sitting right next to me at work, it is really fantastic to hear someone talking about Mario & Luigi Dream Team on the cast. The 3DS is easily my favorite video game console, and it's sad that you guys, who I respect in a HUGE WAY because you guys are very thoughtful and precise about your video game thoughts and criticism (well, most of the time) have kind of Formulated Opinions on some things (like current Nintendo games) and those opinions are strangely off-the-mark to what I've experienced. It's GREAT, though, that you can have someone like Kirk on, who did an admirable job trying to convince you both of the merits of the 3DS! It's real, real good. As I've gone on to be an adult, I don't really have time to sit in front of a TV or a computer screen and play video games, but I do have time when I'm fitting surface brightness profiles or whatnot and I can just pick up and play a Crashmo level, or beat a level in Super Mario 3D Land. Jake. Get a 3DS.

All of the soda cans are two servings? Who saves soda for a second serving?

I don't know whether to be happy for Dub-Dil or sad that in the universe of CKII that Chris/Nick control, Dub-Dil will never know her true glory. It's kind of sad to be faintly aware of your existence in a parallel universe, I think. Oh Dub-Dil. Thank you, Nappi.

I bought this and played it for the entire afternoon. I found the first Pikmin game to be Too Stressful for my Simple Brain, and skipped 2 for the same reason. I always felt like I should have gone back to give them another chance, but then other games came out and I never got around to it. Then I watched the Pikmin 2 multiplayer stream with Chris/Jake and I thought: "oh man, that looks really fun." And so I bought Pikmin 3, because I have a WiiU (which I like, and actually play quite a bit, so take that media narrative), and because it looked to be a great time. It's still real stressful, but that's probably because I am "afraid of failure." While there's a daily time limit, you can go back and redo days if you're not happy with how things went. However, you'll be losing any progress made after that day if you go back and redo it, if that makes sense. It's pretty, and the Pikmin are excitable little fellows. As I have not played the original two, I have no thoughts on losing the ability to control Pikmin swarming with the c-stick. My only gripe is that it's pretty rough to like, split your attention across multiple characters. But I suppose that'll change once I get the hang of it. Also, Chris, Jake, while you both have already written off the multiplayer because it's not the platonic ideal from Pikmin 2, from what I have read (I haven't had a chance to try it), it's apparently pretty good, and you can change the settings so that it is essentially the same game. Yes, instead of four yellow marbles, you have to complete a bingo with randomly scattered fruit, but structurally, the strategy seems to be similar. And, instead of a big red marble, there's a "victory macaroon" you carry back to victory, in lieu of completing a bingo. There's also a 2 vs. 2 match, where each player commands multiple Captains (Olimar and Louie make a reappearance!). Both players can play with wii remote and nunchuk, and maybe I have NO idea how PERFECT Gamecube controls are for Pikmin (I don't doubt that they're great!) but the Wii Remote / Nunchuk setup worked quite well when I played the single player game. It just seems like you wrote it off real quick-like. I understand that this was also (and perhaps more importantly) because you don't own WiiU's. Oh well! Nice job, Nintendo!

Kildare February 10th, 1093 "Our daughter will arrive, soon. I feel her stirring." "I am overjoyed, awaiting her arrival. What shall we name her?" "She will be born in an incredible time. Our country is close to being united. Gardeners can become mayor, and fraternize with the King!" "It is true, my love. I feel that she can be anything. Maybe they will speak of her. Maybe she will marry into royalty." "But that is too lofty a goal for a lowborn!" "Perhaps, but I feel that we can dream. Let us name her after your mother." (softly touches her belly) "My darling Dub Dil, I cannot wait to hold you in my arms." June 23rd, 1114 "Mother? Father! The fire consumes our house! Oh, God, why have you done this? We must leave immediately!" "Where is Bub Dil? Where is your brother?" "Father, he must be in the house with Mother!" "I am going in after him." "Father, no, please!" "Father!" (house consumed by fire) June 24th, 1114 "How can I go on living, when my world has been taken from me?" (dies) San Francisco July 28th, 2013 "Dub Dil has died." "Ha! It's just Dub Dil. That's it. Dub Dil. Dub Dil has Died. Dead Dub Dil" "Doggone Dead Dub Dil, Deba deb deb dub dil" ... "That's Dub Dil! The least important person on the entire island has died." ... "There are probably dogs that are more famous in this country." "Well, there probably are. Our dog. Glory to me, and my dog." (click)

It's incredible that we live in an age where we can play incredibly detailed bizarre simulation video games and stream them over the internet and capture perfect moments like the one at the end of Part VI. When I was younger, I'd describe things I did in video games to my friends at school and I know those little shitheads didn't believe a word I had said. But nowadays it can be viewable online for effectively forever. I swear I must have rewinded to 42:54 of Part VI like, four or five times and laughed hysterically every time. This very specific moment: That's real human emotion there. Guys, this was the Citizen Kane of video game streams.

I think that while I understand the technical ramifications of why the game designers placed (empty, or filled with one or two items) pots or crates or barrels into their game (Jake put it correctly, it's polygonally cheap), I still don't know why we can't evolve past their use. The Old Man Murray article came out in 2000, for goodness' sake. They were making meta-jokes about empty crates in video games thirteen years ago and still Chris is rolling around in empty pot after empty pot after empty pot in Dark Souls. Chris mentions that if the crates/barrels/pots weren't destroyable they would take you out of the game, but which is worse: "Oh, I can't destroy that crate! Hrm, that's pretty arbitrary and video gamey" ~or~ "Oh, another empty crate! That's pretty arbitrary and video gamey" Both take you out of carefully crafted game worlds and make you think: "oh, this is a game." I just wonder why we are still so married, then, to such a silly, old trope. How often do you see crates/barrels in real life, anyway? (I guess maybe a lot if you work at some sort of warehouse)