Zaruboggan

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.

My Steam Deck has been operating as a Steam Machine since I bought the dock. This would look a lot cleaner in my living room...
Too bad the deck came out first lol.

More Absolum! We've finished the final final boss twice now, and just got the crystals for seeing the entire map. There are a couple of side missions still to clear, and then it's just make fun builds!

Time depending, I'll try to do more of the post game in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
Otherwise, we'll be bringing our Switch 2's over to a lapsed gamer's house to party like it's 1998. Or whenever Mario Golf 64 came out.

I always enjoy reading lists. Even conglomerate ones that (almost inevitably) veer towards predictability.
Of course, reading people's personal lists is way more fun! That's where the real surprises come through.

Absolum, absolutely. Unfortunately, it's a bit laggy online. Presumably because we're on the switch versions. I'm tempted to double-dip to see if the Steam version also lags...

Another busy weekend, and not on purpose!
I should have gaming time on Sunday, when I'll be playing (if I have my way) a whole lot of Absolum. Absolutely fantastic co-op 2 player beat em up roguelike. We just got our first clear on Thursday (long live the chicken!!), and are eager to play more.
The only complaint I have is that when 2nd player clears a mission, it doesn't count. We rotate who's first, but every time we get the super high combo, we get it on 2nd player lol.

Selfishly, I'm willing to wait until further into the console's lifespan for Animal Crossing. A bigger Switch 2 install base globally and, more specifically, in my friend group, is vital to my enjoyment of the game. Right now, only one of the people I played Animal Crossing with has a Switch 2 (though technically they're not opening it until Christmas...).
For a title as social as this one, on the success of NH, I'm content to wait. Just don't make me wait until the NEXT home console.

I'm looking forward to hopping on and making an island with friends, even if the details of which remain to be seen (do we only have access to the host's furniture, or can we bring our own?).

Looking forward to playing this with friends. It doesn't sound like the slumber islands support asynchronous work, which is too bad. Anybody see anything that says otherwise?