crispy4000

Rest of the EA games are up, including Mass Effect Trilogy. It's all through account linking unfortunately, otherwise, I'd give some stuff away.

I'm assuming it's because you're not as much of a 3D Zelda guy, being so handheld oriented. Play it, it's a watershed game. FYI, Skyward Sword is also $35 right now at Best Buy, and you know how rarely Nintendo games go on sale.

Spoilers for Xenoblade 2: Spoilers for Xenoblade 1 if you'd rather: How easy it would be to pull in XBX's plot threads depends more on where exactly XB2 left off.

@Xbob42 LOL at your colorful explanation. Anyways:

Sounds like you’re conflating server-side changes with the netcode that games use to interpret the received data. Even games without dedicated servers can still have good netcode. Or likewise, good servers can’t save bad netcode.

If you’ve played and enjoyed earlier entries, go for it. No reason to think 3 won’t be a great game. If you haven’t played 1 yet, go with that instead, and forget that sequels exist for now. The harder choice is for those that stopped 2 before finishing it. There’s some pretty crucial nature-of-the-world stuff I’d expect will play into 3 somehow. It might be worth experiencing it in 2 first. Plus the callbacks we already know the game is going for.

The windup for animations to start in skells, especially with arts, is stupidly long. Completely at odds with how zippy movement is with them outside of combat. It’s a very different feel from on foot combat as a result. Hulking slow things hitting slow. It’s the anti-Torna. The last area is chalk full of flying mechs surrounding a fortress. You can’t fly more than a few seconds without one of them initiating combat, until you’ve grinded to level far enough past them. In the other zones you can be careful enough to avoid tougher foes, but that last area is just a minefield.

2 is, for the most part. You can play it without playing the first. There’s some references at the very end you’ll get much more out of if you played XB1 to completion. It also kind of spoils the ending of the first. 3 is supposed to be similar. But is literally built off the remnants of the first two games.

There’s only less combat because there’s more high level monsters out there that snipe you, lol. Otherwise, it’s even more of a grind. As far as I see it, X trades in Melia and Shulk’s abilities for slow Skell combat. Not a good trade off, IMO. The late game suffers for it. You can’t go anywhere in that final zone without being forced to engage with it.

I know we disagree on combat in the first, we’re on the same page that Torna was the apex. But X’s combat was worse than 1. It still has the horizontal arts selection system you hate. Skell combat is slow as molasses. Unique character abilities became homogenized and more generic. Synergy between party members is based on picking corresponding colored arts following the AI’s lead. Those are big reasons why I never finished it. I particularly couldn’t stand the skell combat by the final zone.

I wanted to try The Last Campfire after hearing that the creators of Lost Winds worked on it. I consider Lost Winds 2 to be an extremely underlooked gem of a game, and secretly one of the best indie Metroidvanias to this day. It unfortunately never got the sequel it was due. The Last Campfire doesn't quite get there, sadly. It's a completely serviceable puzzle adventure game. If you liked Captain Toad, you get a bit of that. If you like tile grid block puzzles, you'll get some mildly interesting ones. The storybook narrative and writting is pretty bad, it says a lot while simultaneously saying nothing. But its also pretty chill and short game with good vibes. So if you just want something to relax with, you could do much worse. If it looks appealing to you, make sure to play a few better games with similar tone (like RiME or HoB) first. 7.5/10 2022 Death's Door - 8.5/10 Torna: The Golden Country - 9/10 Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion - 7/10 Mail Mole - 7.5/10 Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair - 9/10 What the Golf? - 8/10 Greak: Memories of Azur - 8/10 Psychonauts 2 - 9/10 A Hat in Time: Nyakuza Metro DLC - 7.5/10 The Last Campfire - 7.5/10

I wouldn't recommend anyone power through these games to jump on the bandwagon for a sequel, if that's what you mean. If it's just the prospect of playing long JRPGs these days, even just one, you can also avoid. That said, Xenoblade 1's greatest barrier to entry (Wii visuals) is now gone with the remake. If you're curious about the series at all, that's the easy recommendation. It's still the one to play. There's no dangling threads if you finish it either, it's as self contained as FF. Later entries (2 and Torna) improved combat and quest structures a bit, but the original still has more endearing characters and better pacing.

There was never a bundle discount for Xenoblade 2 afaik.

@HardAct Always check isthereanydeal.com. You can pretty easily avoid ever paying full price that way, and get a gauge on what a properly discounted Steam key should be. (hint: it's not often Valve's storefront) The Augmented Steam browser plugin does this as well.

Just unlocked the game's central (?) power-up, now I've got a better idea where it's going. It's kind of a mash up of Captain Toad and BoTW shrine puzzles now.

Yeah, I need to get around to Portal 2. Beat 1 for the first time last year.

A generation after Sony/Microsoft do.

Beyond Good And Evil 2 Starts External Playtesting - eXputer.com EXPUTER.COM Although Beyond Good and Evil 2 has had its problems, it has officially been confirmed by Ubisoft that it is still in active development.

The Crisis Core remake’s battle system is going to be more like the Final Fantasy 7 remake's one | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM The surprise remaster is being 'updated' to play more like the modern FF7 trilogy.

Competing? No. But they do tend to catch up to TV display standards eventually. It'd be shocking if the next Switch didn't aim above 1080p on TVs.

You get at least 3 cards per game. Even going by Keyser’s math (most cards are worth more), that’s $16 in wallet credit every 6 months if you can idle one game per day. Get a foil card drop and it’d be even more. If you don’t have a sizable Steam library, you could also play the market to generate returns on top of that. It’s possible, but takes more effort/risk, and earns you about the same daily if you play it safe. This all used to be the only game in town to score free PC games. Nowadays, there’s many more options, and bigger discounts elsewhere. So its not like you get so much more if you do it.

Apparently I can't get enough 3D platforming lately. Nyakuza Metro is another Hat in Time single-level expansion. It's a bit larger and more free-roaming, and also one of the game's best. It's more of what I wanted from Psychonauts 2 at times actually. The only problem is that it's a bit too easy for a post-game romp. The Seal the Deal DLC feels a lot meatier as a result, even with fewer collectables to find. That one should be played last. It's a good level, but probably not worth the asking price unless its on sale, or bundled in with the larger game, which is fantastic on the whole. 7.5/10 This track though, 10/10 Earthbound vibes. 2022 Death's Door - 8.5/10 Torna: The Golden Country - 9/10 Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion - 7/10 Mail Mole - 7.5/10 Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair - 9/10 What the Golf? - 8/10 Greak: Memories of Azur - 8/10 Psychonauts 2 - 9/10 A Hat in Time: Nyakuza Metro DLC - 7.5/10

Funny, that's exactly how I feel about emoticons and profile cosmetics.

I've gotten hundreds of dollars worth of free Steam games on Valve's storefront over the years. I did it by avoiding exactly what you're on about here. Leveling up your steam account is particularly pointless if you're in it for wallet credit. Booster pack drops are stupidly rare, and the increased odds you get every 10 levels are marginal. It's a money pit.