Zaruboggan

Loved Black Ops 1-2 and MW 1-3, plus Big Red One on GameCube.
But Activision can suck it these days, so even if they got ported... I'm good.

Animal Crossing update. I'm not sure if I'll make time for it in January or not, though. Busy.

Now that I've beaten basically everything I was in the middle of (E33, Borderlands 4, Baldur's Gate 3, etc.), I'm on the next set of games:
Metroid Prime 4 has been predictable but fun. Peak with friends has been a dramatic blast. And Riftbreaker has been everything I could have ever wanted it to be with the new (late August) co-op update.

I also started MotionRec this week. Absolutely lovely little brain-teaser that I recommend when it comes to consoles next year. Elechead, except you play with time instead of power.

Probably just Mario Tennis Fever for me. Most of the first few months of this year will be catching up on the last 2025 games and playing through some retro titles.

Played some Absolum last night, and am likely to play some Nightreign tomorrow. Today I'll be reading The House Witch to try and tuck away ANOTHER one more book before the end of the year, and playing more Metroid Prime 4.

Absolum, Mario Kart World, and Donkey Kong Bananza are probably my favorites. Er, wait, XCX: DE...

Absolum, DKB, and XCX:DE, final answer?

Last night, after a months-long adventure, my cousin, brother and I finally polished off Baldur's Gate 3. The ending, especially the pieces of our own making, elevated what was already a memorable experience. I can see why my cousin has 1,000 hours in it, and why it's his favorite game of all time.
Of course, the quality was no surprise to me, since I've played both Original Sin games.

My brother and I are playing split screen Call of Duty: Black Ops just to revisit the maps and remember the good times, before the franchise (and company, and planet...) went down hill.

I'm planning to start Metroid Prime 4 as well. But I may decide to do Ghost of Yotei instead.

I am ALSO trying to finish one more book before the end of the year (The Wager by David Grann). I've got about 300 pages left. That'd put me at 18 for the year, which is less than last year's 25, but you won't catch me complaining.

@Kraven You can respec! Right after Fort Joy, iirc. I don't remember if there was a cost associated, just that my brother had respecced several times.

I'm kind of curious how they've been updated. I was huge into Neopets, spinning my wheels and making friends on the message boards and reading the Neopian Times (it was a dream of mine to get published there!). Even checked in every few years just to see how it was getting on.

I wonder if it's got that pirate ship game where you collect the dubloons and avoid the mines? That one was the right balance of fun and neopoints earned lol.

@Solomon_Rambling Basically my exact timeline.

@Luigia Agreed about the story. I played it on PS3 back in the day. Good fun.

Ports including all DLC is the bare minimum. Ports including everything from the original (multiplayer included) is the bare minimum.

By my math, then, this version doesn't even do the bare minimum! Ergo, failure of a port. Playable, sure, probably all most people need, but hardly a paragon of porting.

RDR fails as a port by not having multiplayer.

Not exactly the update of my dreams (more characters, more items, more element stuff, and the ability to better affect the elements that drop), but should be fun. Hopefully the corrupted places will drop stuff for the run, not just meta progression currency.
The only thing here I'm really looking forward to is the Elite Mounts. Especially if I have the item that makes my stuff affect them!

Great multiplayer CRPG. I would almost double-dip to have it on S2.

I enjoyed MUA: 3 the most of these because I haven't played any of the others lol.
Well, Guardians of the Galaxy, but on PS5.

Still feeling kinda sick, so I'm holding off on Metroid. That said, I have started back up some multiplayer stuff: Baldur's Gate 3 and Eldin Ring Nightreign continue.

Otherwise, I bought the brand new Outhold on Steam, a minimalist indie TD to help me pass the time.

If I shake this off before the end of the weekend, then I may try to pop in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and finally polish it off. I set it down at the end of Act 3 months ago and haven't gotten back to it since. Busy. Sick. Etc.

Amazon Game Studios? Yeah, nahhhh.

Cool art piece! Some great games lined up here.

I don't know how I never had this on the GameCube (just no money as a kid, I guess), but I'm very excited to get to play it now!

I used to look forward to CoD every year. That ended after the Ghosts to BO3 slew of duds. It's only been downhill from there, but I got off the ride at that point.

@kal_el_07241 Better to lose three matches, amiright? That's much more rewarding!

I don't think decrying the drip feed nonsense of modern live service BS seeping into Pokemon games is the issue here. Nobody's saying feed it to us in a tube. We just want key items to be obtainable without having to pay for online multiplayer and without having to clock in for homework once every few weeks.

We used to buy one or two packs every so often, just for the fun of it. That was when it wasn't crazy.

I just managed to get an order in on Pokemon Center for some cards earlier this month--one of those six-pack booster sets. More than I need, but I've got lots of young kids in my extended family who love Pokemon cards, and can't get any, so I'll probably be sending those to their parents to use as stocking stuffers. (Though I'll save one for me!)

@Waluigi451 I loved those pins! We've got a whole bunch of them. It didn't even occur to me that they stopped doing them.

And there it is. Not sure why they need to bother attempting an aggressive takeover. A certain someone will stick his nose in and play favorites.
I don't think there's any question who his favorite is at this point.

Fun article!

The idea of getting a full-on game console for Christmas is a little crazy to me, but I bet it'd make a nice memory!

All I want for Pikmin 4 is co-op.
I want campaign co-op a la Pikmin 3 DX, and I want mission mode co-op a la Pikmin 3.

I don't think I'll fire it back up for anything less.

I am very nearly recovered from two weeks of being bad sick, only now I feel a little something in my throat that makes me think I'm going back to back with it...

Maybe it's just a little dry and not another frog in my throat. If that's the case, then I'm hoping to finish Borderlands 4 with the gang. I want to start Metroid Prime 4, but not until I feel I'm at 100%. Which now seems less likely to happen this weekend. Ugh.

I gotta go with Absolum.
But I haven't played Metroid, yet.

Not the worst of the prospective buyers, but is that really any consolation as we watch the continued monopolization of entertainment?

I just wanted the UI to be new.

I'm looking forward to the game, but I had to stop watching the video. Watching somebody watch somebody watch the game is...trying.

@axelhander I don't think it should get Art Direction or Audio Design, but basically everything else, absolutely.

I'm just here for game announcements lol.
Sad that this is basically the closest thing we've got to E3.

It should arrive sometime this weekend.

Man, still no multiplayer is pretty disappointing. I have good memories of goofing around with friends in the wildnerness, getting pounded by bears and getting up to no good in town.

I'm more than a little tired of ports having less than the original game.

Kinda wild, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I hope Mina the Hollower succeeds, and expect it to. I had fun with the demo, and loved Shovel Knight, so I'll be picking it up.

Pretty excited to throw down with some pals in this one. $30 seems a bit steep since we're not likely to play more than once, but it'll probably go on sale between now and when the gang gets together.

Metroid Prime 4 and Mario Tennis Fever for me.

Absolutely nothing. I'm afraid I got sick in a gross way, so instead of playing games I'll be hacking up gunk.
I am not very happy about it. I have too many games to play to be wasting a long weekend!

My personal favorite. I remember beating it as soon as I finished a bike race back in middle school.
Good times.

Somehow Timesplitters passed us by, when we were busy with 007: Agent Under Fire and Metroid Prime 2.
Looks dank.

Nightreign was awesome. I don't love the PvPvE genre, though. I'll still give this one a try--I just don't expect I'll play it for very long.

Probably more Absolum, and some Kirby Airiders. I'd like to keep chugging away on Borderlands 4 and Expedition 33, too.

Cabinet Installation.

And some Lumines Arise, Borderlands 4, and Absolum if I've got the time. Maybe even more Baldur's Gate. Or I'll try to finish Expedition 33.
But mostly Cabinet Installation.

@beartown This is funny to me, because I ALSO grew up on Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 64. I ALSO don't really care for Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros 3 (and didn't play them until later). And I ALSO love Odyssey and Wonder.
Get out of my brain, bear.

Fun list! I enjoyed reading it throughout the week.

@PessitheMystic Eyy Solatorobo! Great game, great OST.

Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist, but between uninspired locales, soldiers with tropey dialogue, and a wide open central area on a bike...I think I'm less excited?

Much more minor nitpicks, but I also don't like that they felt the need to title Sylux "Archrival" or that the first line of scanned dialogue we see begins with "O Lamorn, gaze upward and..."
I can practically read the Japanese.

All that said, I'm sure I'll enjoy the game. I love me some Metroid.

Why, that sounds like my era of internet! Color me intrigued.

Absolute banger year for indies. Absolum is probably my big winner, followed by, of these, E33.

Now you're talking. I'll be picking this up in a week.