Comments 2,212

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)

Burning_Spear

Hey, @Ganner, happy 2026. I think you hit the nail square on the head with this. ...

"What I mean is as we get older our "anything goes" headspace gets less and less due to real life. With that knowing we're about to break ground into something new (even if it's supposed to be fun) can weirdly feel intimidating some."

So when I finally get those five days to chill at home and do nothing but play games, my brain puts the brakes on complication and routes me to whatever is easiest to slip into.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)

Burning_Spear

@Rainz Yeah, I think it was a combination of a long year and having just finished a Civ run that was non-stop intensity and suspense for two weeks. I thought maybe it was finally time to take a breather from the game after more than 700 hours, but this latest run as the Roman Empire has been amazing.

Anyway, glad to have you in my corner! Hope you have a fun 2026!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)

Burning_Spear

Does anyone else experience this? I’m on a five-day break from work, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to begin a new game and make a good deal of progress before getting back to work. But whenever I get to this spot, I can’t find the enthusiasm to start something new and wind up playing a little of this and a little of that and then regretting the time “lost” when the vacation is over.

It happened again this week. I had decided to take a break from Civ VI after a hard-fought, super-tense and mentally exhausting comeback win as Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu leading Japan. (We won the space race after trailing by a good margin, thanks to my master spies gumming up the works in other civs’ space-port facilities.) But after a couple of days of indecision, I just went back to Civ. So I’m in a super-fun run as Trajan leading the Roman Empire. I’ve also been mixing in a lot of Balatro.

Happy New Year, and happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (27th December)

Burning_Spear

Happy holidays to all!

I'm in the final hours of my Civ VI run as Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu leading Japan. We're shooting for a space-race victory, but Poland and Mongolia are ahead of us in the late stage. Not looking good, but I've been closing the gap with two Master Spies who are disrupting my rivals' rocketry programs. Real James Bond stuff.

I've also been filling in time with Balatro and with Astro Tripper on the PS3.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Opinion: After A Few Missteps, Story Of Seasons Finally Nailed The Formula With Grand Bazaar

Burning_Spear

To be fair, this is not really Marvelous but third-party developers who have almost zero connection to the team that developed the classic titles in this series. It's not as though they forgot how to make these games well — they had never done it at all. And now what they've done is build upon an existing game: They took a good game and brought it up to date with largely textbook ideas. Let's see them build one from the ground up, entirely with their own ideas.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th December)

Burning_Spear

Happy Saturday!

I began the weekend with a few hours of Balatro. From here, it will be back to my Civ VI run as Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu leading Japan. Infrastructure is in place, we've expanded to another continent and everything is just about ready for an all-hands-on-deck push for our space-race project.

Happy gaming and happy holidays to all!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (13th December)

Burning_Spear

My weekend began yesterday, as I had to take the day off to bring the Spearess to a doctor's appointment.

I started a new Civ VI run as Tokugawa leading Japan. We're pursuing a space-race victory. The difficulty step-up hasn't been as much of a problem this time, as we've assembled a military that's the envy of all. No one messes with us and our legion of samurai warriors, who are flat-out overpowered in the early game. Australia's John Curtain was uncharacteristically warring with everyone, and when his military strength fell, we swept in and grabbed his nearest city while he made measly — OK, insulting — peace offers.

For those playing along at home, the previous run as Pericles of Greece ended with a hard-fought diplomacy victory, which I normally shun but in this case was commendable for all the sleight of hand needed to make it work as I tried to overcome my first run on a new difficulty level.

I've also been filling in time with Balatro runs.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (6th December)

Burning_Spear

Weekend!!! After a grueling week, I'm happy to be able to have a largely chore-free weekend to game, with the house all to myself until late Sunday,

I went for six hours last night on my Civ VI run as Pericles leading Greece. A run that long seemed doomed as I stepped up in difficulty and got derailed by war has turned a great deal in my favor. I thought I was very close to a hard-fought diplomacy win last night, only to suffer another setback. But I still have a decent shot. The outcome should be determined within two or three hours. After that ... next Civ run!

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (22nd November)

Burning_Spear

The Spearess and I got in late last night after an unbelievable holiday on the happy island of Aruba. Nothing but a beautiful beach and all the food and liquor we could consume!

Later today I'll get back to my Civ VI run as Pericles leading Greece. I stepped up in difficulty and paid the price. This one is not looking good, but I'm on the verge of capturing the Khmer kingdom's capital and hopefully some more of its cities after it declared war on me. I hope the expansion of my empire will get this run back on track.

I'm happy to be back reading about everyone's gaming plans. Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (15th November)

Burning_Spear

@Ganner Hey, Ganner, I feel you. I've been using a lot of my days off to help the folks with doctors' visits. But the way I look at it, when I was a kid my dad spent so many days off dealing with Little League and other activities for me, so I'm just paying it back. And my dad was a firefighter, so I'm sure he needed the days off much more than I need them now. (It's tough, though, when these games have their claws in you, right?)

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (15th November)

Burning_Spear

I’ve got limited time to play this weekend because the Spearess and I need to be awake at 2 a.m. Monday to fly to the happy island of Aruba. Still a lot of prep to do before that.

For those keeping score at home, I easily won my Civ VI run as Tsar Peter of Russia very early last weekend, gaining victory by making our founded religion — Rastafari, of course — the dominant religion in every other civilization, the highlight being when Babylon was converted. Jah bless.

I promised myself I wouldn’t start another run because I didn’t want it occupying my mind while I was on vacation, but then I went ahead and began a run anyway as Pericles leading Greece. I stepped up in difficulty, and it has been a struggle. So, I will indeed have that on my mind next week!

And … happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (6th November)

Burning_Spear

I am in the middle of my Civ VI run as Tsar Peter of Russia. We’re going for a religious victory and have already successfully spread Rastafari across 60 percent of the world’s civilizations. Of particular historical note, as depicted below, we took down the Babylon System in the process. Chased those crazy baldheads out of town!

https://i.postimg.cc/fyvK2rxv/Rastaman-Vibration.jpg

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (1st November)

Burning_Spear

I only played for about 75 minutes last night but was able to finish my Civ VI run as King Mvemba a Nzinga of the Kongo. I scored my quickest culture victory ever, as the Kongo rode a capitol packed with religious relics and manmade wonders to a great start, which was finished off nicely by some grinding with rock bands.

Today I'm going to start a run as Peter of Russia. I'm aiming for a religious victory but will pivot if circumstances dictate.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th October)

Burning_Spear

I've reached the 17th century in my Civ VI run as Mvemba a Nzinga leading the Kongo toward a culture victory. His massive collection of relics on display in the capital is attracting hordes of religious tourists, and we're nearing the completion of the Cristo Redentor monument, which should nearly double the draw. Really fun run. And Civ Vi is now my most-played Switch 1 game. Insane.

Otherwise, that's about it for me this weekend. Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (18th October)

Burning_Spear

I started a new Civ VI run last night, this time aiming for a culture victory with the very difficult Mvemba a Nzinga leading the Kongo. I'm off to a good start!

I won the Cleopatra Egypt run earlier this week, though I had to take a diplomatic victory instead of culture, as I had planned. It felt cheap, but England had landlocked a level-4 rock band of mine that was slamming it and could have snatched a diplo victory quickly if I didn't. For my own satisfaction, I let the game roll on One More Turn and got the culture win 21 turns later.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (11th October)

Burning_Spear

I'll be getting a very late start to the weekend, as I was exhausted last night and had little energy for anything other than a few runs on Mr Driller 2 on the GBA (not NSO).

When I get back in the cockpit, I will resume my Civ VI run as Ptolemaic Cleopatra leading Egypt to a culture victory. She has just started recruiting Egyptian rock bands, and for those familiar with the game, I'm at that point where the tourism is beginning to arrive in chunks, rather than one every turn or two. So I'm optimistic.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (4th October)

Burning_Spear

I'm back after spending last weekend on vacation with the Spearess. I spent a couple hours in Mr. Driller 2 on the GBA last night (not NSO). I improved my high scores on all three Endless difficulty settings.

On Civ VI, I'm about one-third through a run as Cleopatra leading Egypt. I'm just about fully settled and ready to start the push for a culture victory. The run as Joao III of Portugal ended in a glorious space-race victory last Friday night. Joao's trading empire let me buy my way past everyone else, and I actually would have had a culture victory if I'd chosen to play it out that way for another 10 turns or so.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th September)

Burning_Spear

I'm about halfway through a Civ VI run as Joao III of Portland. Looking good. International trade routes are producing insane amounts of loot, making it a snap to keep my military far ahead of everyone else's as I build toward a space-race victory.

I also completed this month's challenge on Mario Golf Super Rush last night.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Re: Nintendo Of America Reportedly Cuts Loose Customer Service Contractors As It Looks To Outsource

Burning_Spear

"While we have nothing to announce about our internal business activities, the claims shared with IGN include inaccurate information."

Not saying Nintendo is lying, but as a journalist, I often receive these responses about inaccuracies and then, after pressuring the media-relations person for clarification, learn that the "inaccuracy" was a barely meaningful part of the greater story.