SecretAsianMan

I also bought nothing (for myself at least). But don't worry, the Winter sale is supposed to be coming later this month so you'll still have a chance to empty your wallet.

I agree but a cooperative game with team killing seems like the kind of thing that would benefit from some coordination.

It would appear like there are enough people interested in the game to try and put together a group. Would anyone be interested in planning a time to play?

That makes me feel a lot better.

I find myself wondering a lot if some things are for real these days. Take this Kickstarter for example. I was convinced it was a joke until it got funded (barely). I'm still not sure it isn't one.

Were the reviewer's specs near the min? Or were they at the recommended level?

I finished Batman: Arkham Knight, including a New Game+ 100%. Fun gameplay that expands on the previous games but an absolutely terrible story. It's an iteration on City (which itself was an iteration on Asylum) but I liked the other two so I was fine with more of the same. It's a shame the PC version is such a mess (I was able to run it pretty well but I'm also using some high end hardware). I'd say wait for a GOTY edition if you're interested but haven't played it yet.

Despite what I said earlier I did finish that NG+ 100%. I was kind of hoping for a different ending because I was extremely unsatisfied by the regular one. I really hope this is legitimately the last one. I've had fun with the series but I think they've gotten everything out of the idea that they can.

I like the megathreads in general because I feel like they've spawned other interesting threads as a result. Sometimes an idea will seem innocuous enough at first but then it starts a discussion. Eventually if the conversation goes on enough it will usually spawn a new thread that would probably not have existed otherwise (the first example that comes to mind is the Baby Got Backstory thread). However I agree with those that dislike the Recently Completed Games thread. I'd rather have that info posted in a game's thread so that it can be discussed. Usually if I post in there it's a shortened summary of a longer post I put in that game's thread. I will concede that it's a good place for unknown games to be discovered though. I like when threads for older games pop back up again. My play style doesn't really lend itself to playing many games quickly so I'll gladly bring an older thread back to talk about a game I've been playing recently even if everyone is long done with it.

Yeah, that's exactly what it is. They're still going to have deals showcased on the front page, but that doesn't change the price or duration. Day one deals will be the same as deals at the end of the sale.

One thing to note about the sale this time (which I posted about in the Business thread) is that the sale prices will last the entire sale. No more flash or daily sales. So there's no point in waiting for a better price because there won't be one.

I don't have a PS4 (yet) but I've wanted to play this for a while. I love co-op games and squad/tactics based ones appeal to me a lot. It reminds me of that free Alien Swarm game which while rather limited I found to be kind of fun. I'd love to get a group together for this.

Google "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away" I enjoy how meta it is now that the entire first page is full of articles about what happens when you make that search.

I hate the idea of scored reviews so things like Metacritic are largely useless to me.

Yeah insurance is pretty complicated. There's really no way to fully answer that question without knowing more about your plan and network. You might be assigned a primary care provider like Mangela said, or you might have to find one yourself like my plan does. Your plan should start Jan 1 but like Jenna said it's worth waiting until you have your card. If you're worried about scheduling, insurance comes into play when it's time to pay so it shouldn't matter for that purpose, although knowing whether or not they are in your network will matter to you. Most places should still see you if you're out of network, but you'll have to pay more because your insurance probably won't cover it. Some plans will completely cover things like preventative care, others won't. Then there's stuff like co-pays, deductibles, out of pocket maximums, HSAs, FSAs, etc. I'm not an expert but if you want some help trying to figure it out you can message me. Or post it here if you don't mind it being public.

I feel like our tendency towards megathreads is at least partially due to the podcast. They revisit lots of ideas many times without necessarily going in depth. Also lots of one off statements that don't necessarily warrant entire discussions but someone wanted to mention it. As for older topics, I like when they pop up again. I'll gladly post again in an old thread if I have something to add, even without going through all the other posts. I probably repeat others quite a bit but a lot of times a new post can lead to new discussion or a revisit of an old idea. The main reason we redirect people to existing threads is just to cut down on the confusion. The idea of this forum being actively moderated (or even needing it) is strange to me. Tobacco does a good job of keeping out the trolls (although somehow Twig is still here...*) and I've never felt the need to invoke a mod for... well anything. Topics tend to just go where people lead them. I feel that strict enforcement of that is only going to stifle conversation. And in terms of forum age, I'm younger than I look. I started this account when I first began listening to Idle Thumbs (around episode 3) but I didn't become an active member until after the Kickstarter campaign when I met Chris, Jake, and Sean in person. Also yes this forum is very weird. It's the best. *Just kidding Twig, I love you

My biggest story annoyance in City was that Catwoman literally did nothing to save Batman. You get the option to either leave Arkham City as her which results in a bad ending, or go and save Batman. Except when you get there, all you do is help him stand up. You don't have to fight off any bad guys or save him from a death trap or even dig him out of the rubble. You just grab his hand, haul him to his feet, then take off. It was the most pointless thing ever.

The idea of paying for characters in a game that's designed to be competitive is such a mind boggling concept to me. I've never been into the competitive scene for any game so maybe I'm just making things up but what Twig says makes a lot of sense to me. Take the classic EVO moment 37 when Daigo perfectly parries Justin Wong's entire super. That kind of technique requires intimate knowledge of the other character's moveset. Imagine if he had to pay for Chun-li, he might not have been able to pull of one of gaming's most iconic moments. Players like that might main a small number of characters, but I'm sure they've at least tried them all to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. Gaming is weird.

I finished up the rest of the missions and got the 100% ending, which was predictably cliché and dumb. I started a new game+ but I'm not sure that I'll finish it. I'm also not touching any of the DLC because frankly none of it looks appealing to me based on what I've heard. I'm also not doing a bunch of the AR missions, especially the races. I hate the races. Despite all the complaining I've been doing, I did like playing the game. I think the gameplay is solid, although I admit it can probably be overwhelming if you're not at least somewhat familiar with it from the other games. In particular I think the stealth is more fun as there are now more viable ways to deal with enemies that feel satisfying, at least to me. Of course the regular way of just sneaking up and silently taking everyone out works too but I really liked using the remote hacking device to set off environmental things. The one gadget I miss is the sonic batarang that attracts enemies, which is ironic since I never used it in any other game. It would work so well with the multi-fear takedown in this game. One thing I have to complain some more about is the story. It's such garbage. One final thing of note that really surprised me. One of the conversations I overheard was a militia dude talking to another militia dude about their civilian lives. One of the dudes says something along the lines of "My other half is a human rights lawyer. He thinks I'm on a business trip" (emphasis mine). I was kind of amazed to hear this and had to stop for a second. It was a cool thing to hear in a game that's so heavily bro'd out.

I had already been doing it before I saw that movie but yeah, that.

Bjorn is Nick Breckon. Confirmed by Twig.

Do I dare bring up the sock with sandals debate? (I'm against for what it's worth)

In regards to Pokémon, I've been discussing the ins and outs of that game with someone I consider a Poke-master for probably more than a year now and I STILL don't get it. It amazes me that this is a "kids" game. On the topic, I like games that implement strength/weakness without resorting to passive traits. What I mean by that is instead of having an enemy weak to fire, you have an enemy with a strong guard and you need a strong weapon to break that guard. Or a slow enemy who is vulnerable to fast weapons. Or a ranged enemy weak against melee attacks. You could maybe call those things types as well, but it's more about how the nature of the weapon (fast or slow, strong or weak, short or long range, etc) plays into it rather than "this weapon does fire damage but is otherwise the same as this other one".

That's exactly the reason for me. The outside of a sock is nice and smooth while the inside is shaggy and rough. Considering that my feet are in shoes the majority of the time I'm wearing socks, I don't care how they look. I just want them to be comfortable.

I actually am enjoying the game for the most part. I liked Asylum, I liked City even more. Knight is mostly more of the same but I'm ok with that. I've seen a few posts from people here that the combat seems overly complicated to them because of the number of gadgets that Batman has. It's true that he does have a lot of toys to use in combat but I got proficient at using them in City and the ability to quickly fire off a gadget is rather satisfying to me. Stealth is also mostly the same but I do appreciate them at least trying to come up with some counters to just sneaking up behind everyone, like them actually working in pairs, having medics revive people, having them look at grates and stuff before you pop out, or having one enemy type track you when you use detective mode. Granted they're not very good at that but hey, they're henchmen. I particularly enjoy sabotaging their equipment then scaring them into trying to use it. The multi fear takedowns and additional environmental things are also fun to use. The Batmobile is pretty fun although I enjoy running around without it more. I think the race tracks are dumb but a few have some clever twists. Batmobile combat I'm also ok with. In a way it feels like a bullet hell because you're dodging lots of enemy fire while lining up shots but you have some fun gadgets at your disposal as well. In general I'd say the game is mostly an iteration on the previous games which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Nothing especially revolutionary but they also didn't mess it up by trying to reinvent everything. The one thing I would have loved is if the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor could have been implemented in this game instead. You already have multiple factions and enemies with different strengths/weaknesses, plus a system that puts fear into your enemies. I think that would have taken it from good to great.