In-Game Chat: Recent Episodes
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We’re back and in the two weeks away…nothing has changed. In fact, it’s only gotten worse but what do you expect from an AI world taking in all the ram (and water).
PlayStation tells us it has enough ram for systems through the end of the year and more so during the release of GTA6 but Samsung has said we’re gonna be in the funk for the foreseeable future. Also, both Nvidia and AMD are raising their GPU prices this month. With Microsoft increasing the Xbox price in the UK and Europe.
Speaking of GTA6, the boss of Take-Two Interactive says we’re getting the game at a STEAL for $80/$100. He’s kinda right, if I’m honest. We’ve said before but that’s a game you could put an outrageous price on (kinda is already) and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see the kind of numbers it would generate. Still, the way he put it came off like some over the top movie villain. Then again, he’s a CEO, so…
EA would really like the cut of that guy’s jib, given what their CEO walked away with from the success of Battlefield 6. I mean, AFTER they laid off a good number of people first.
Given the way these companies are handled it’s no wonder we’re still waiting on another Splinter Cell game. At this rate it’ll release for a console no one can really afford. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,738 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 9,128 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Not the busiest of weeks for news, especially compared to previous weeks, but I guess it isn’t all bad.
On my end, we might be getting another shot at someone making a Burnout game. However they’ve tried before and missed the mark so we’ll have to wait and see how this next attempt shakes out.
We don’t have detailed pre-order data for GTA6, but we do know it’s been number one on PlayStation for a while now. Given that, I could probably bet money there will be server issues on one or both of the consoles it’s releasing for on that day. That many people trying to download and play that one game is bound to clog some pipes.
It sure would be nice to get some news on Splinter Cell, but I’ll take that Ghost Recon news next month so long as it’s better than what they previously released. Wildlands was great, I’m talking about the game that came after that. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,724 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 8,701 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
So we finally have a week that isn’t dominated by bad news. But don’t get me wrong, it’s still there. From more layoffs to more physical media options being lost to the expectations that our RAM pricing issues will only get worse.
But let’s focus on the good for a bit at least. Summer Games Done Quick raised over TWO MILLION dollars for charity and that’s just an absolutely wonderful thing to share. I’m not sure where it stands among previous efforts but it doesn’t matter. Anything raised when there was none before is always a good thing.
In the “captain obvious” segment of the news we heard that analysts predict a slump in console sales on the horizon. Given the fact console prices keep increasing this didn’t really take a particularly strong set of mind powers to foresee. We again state, as we have for a while now, the best time to buy was yesterday. The second best time is today. This advice will now continue to be the case until sometime in 2028 or further.
And Ubisoft made the news but not for good reason as there have been more layoffs after the VERY successful launch of the Black Flag remake. They still have not yet released Splinter Cell.
Ubisoft, it’s been 4,717 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 8,527 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
I don’t know how many more times I can start these things by saying we have more bad news but…
We have more bad news. Likely by now you know most of it. The gaming world has been dominated by the news from both Sony and Microsoft.
On the Microsoft side, it’s the layoffs. The big “reset”. We’d known cuts were coming and we expected it to be bad. We didn’t know how bad but it didn’t matter. Whatever we thought wasn’t near what actually happened.
In 2025 there were about 5500 jobs lost in the gaming industry. Just two weeks ago the number for 2026 was over 4500 jobs lost but after the Microsoft cuts, we’re at over 8000 jobs lost this year.
And it’s not over.
On the Sony side of things it’s the decision to stop producing physical discs for first and third party PlayStation titles beginning in 2028. This will likely spread across other gaming platforms as well. Sony took the hit for making the announcement but it’s almost a given that Microsoft and Nintendo will follow.
The future for physical media is bleak.
The future for video gaming is bleak.
The future for PC gaming/building is bleak.
And it’s not over.
Ubisoft, Splinter Cell will not save you, even though it’s been 4,710 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 8,312 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Before we get to the (bad) news this week, a reminder that we’ll be off next weekend due to the holiday.
Also, a massive thank you to all of you who helped us reach our goal covering our server costs for the year. We appreciate that more than you know and we can’t begin to express what it means to us. Seriously, thank you.
Now for the bad news. This was a week packed full of what normally would be pretty amazing news but it’s just all bad because of…everything.
In any other reality the Steam Machines release would have been a pretty big deal of good news but the prices threw water on that fire pretty quick. And it only made people look even closer into it to find more limitations than anything else – specifically because of how much you’re paying for the thing. The higher the price the more you need to know what you’re buying.
Staying in alternate realities, the pre-order for GTA6 would be massive! But we have no numbers yet on what that is and the price, ultimate edition, along with the whole “no physical” editions has turned the whole thing a bit sour to some folks.
While also being in the dark timeline, Xbox console prices are increasing a THIRD time. Six whole years into this generation this SHOULD NOT be happening, but it is. And it’s only going to get worse.
Then there’s the job losses. Which, as you’ll see below, has now increased and will increase again. Last year, in total, we had about 5,300 job losses and we’re very close to hitting that mark THIS year.
It’s bleak. And hope does not seem to be on the horizon.
But at least that new Star Wars racer plays like Burnout.
Ubisoft…it’s been 4,696 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 4,658 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
And the bad news just keeps rolling on.
To start with, after the wonderful help and generosity with the help of our hosting costs – our host decided to increase our costs. If you are able to help, and I get that we’re living in times right now where helping, financially, is difficult, we appreciate even the least little bit. It’s all laid out in the post just below this one on our website. So, again, thank you.
As for the other bad news, Microsoft is currently in the reaping part of that whole phrase/verse/proverb. And it really sucks. We keep a running tally of job losses at the end of each of these posts and that number is about to go WAY up. Nothing has happened yet but it’s likely to in the weeks to come.
And it’s happening with Bungie & Sony as well.
I’m not sure what the good news could be or any kind of silver lining in all of this is, but I don’t think it’s going to stop or slow down any time soon. There’s a whole ripple effect that’s going on with a near perfect storm of economic issues, RAM issues because of AI (and the economy), and game/console development issues because of the RAM and the economy.
As much as I harp on Ubisoft for never releasing another Splinter Cell – it won’t save them. I get now why they are just, seemingly, going with a remake. It’s been…it’s been 4,689 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,895 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
To start this off I need to thank all of you for listening over the years and being as supportive as you’ve always been. And to specifically thank Dave, Sarah, & Bryan.
We have hosting costs coming up next month and their generosity has gone further than I ever expected to make that possible. This is what was talked about at the beginning of the show and before the first hour was done, we’d already made our goal – thank you each from the bottom of our heart and thank you all for your continued support of this show.
As for the news, that’s about the only happy news we have. I mean, yeah, we cover some more of all the games shown off last week, but then we talk about more closings and people losing their jobs – at both Ubisoft and Microsoft. That and what’s to come for PC and console players alike – which is more price increases. And the outlook for how they’ll go about selling you a brand new Xbox or PS6. While no one has announced prices yet, I think it’s mainly because, right now, at this point in time with the way things are price wise, you’d be asking A LOT from your consumers. We’re likely talking 4-digit prices or the whole 999 thing.
I miss building PCs. That fun little hobby done every several years or so has evidently faded away as well given the prices of components.
Oh, I completely forgot about the “no shows” of our big games reveal week – and at the top of that list you have ONE guess as to what I’m talking about.
Ubisoft…it’s been 4,682 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Well, as is every year, we’ve reached the point where EVERYONE wants to show their games.
And it’s too damn much!
Seriously, spread the love here. Not everything has to be done in the first weekend of June. Also, why does everyone think it should? You are not doing any devs or publishers any favors by doing this. The big guns just drown you out. And I’m writing this right now before we get to Microsoft and the PC Gaming Show.
Hundreds of games revealed, announced, updated…and they’re just thrown into the maw. You could spread all of this out over the summer with nearly something almost every week for gamers.
But they wanna cram it into the span of about a week. Do yourself a favor and take some time to watch the different gaming showcases over a longer span of time. You’ll find more games you’re interested in and you’ll have the time to digest them, to think about them, and get a better indication of what all is out there.
This whole episode is a recap of Sony and Summer Games Fest and we barely get through all of it. And that’s just TWO shows. There’s been like…5 or 8 of them already with more to come. And I hate to complain about too many games, right? But that’s not it. I love all the games. I’m complaining because there is no time to come up for air or for any of them to get time in front of your eyes before the next shiny thing comes floating by.
Oh well, still a chance to get a Splinter Cell popping up at some point. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,675 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Goodbye. Again.
I was contemplating doing a post during the week break we took. When the Destiny news broke, I’d thought to say some words about it given we’d be another week before we could talk about it.
Never did get around to it so consider this THAT post.
It’s been a few years since I last played Destiny 2. After the ban there was no way for me to do so without starting completely over and I had no intention to walk that road again. Regardless, I was still absolutely stunned to hear that Bungie would cease updating Destiny 2 any further. It suddenly felt a bit like it did when I realized I’d never play the game again.
And then I started reading forums and Reddit posts. They read like eulogies. And suddenly everyone else was feeling what I’d felt a few years ago. I mean, they still had the game to play but they wrote as though the plug was pulled. I get that this means the end of the game. We won’t get new expansions, DLC, news coverage…and without content to fuel the conversations, that’ll eventually go away as well.
The ban never made me angry with the game or the players or the memories I had of it. Might have been a tad peeved with the customer service aspect but them’s the rules and I’d accepted it rather quickly.
But now everyone’s sharing in my feeling of the end of an era. It was a bit of a different ending for me but the result is pretty much the same. The game…is over.
And as I missed it before I will miss it again but this time as everyone else who are…mourning…their losses.
As much as I’d love to count the days until we get a Destiny 3, it’s unlikely to ever happen. Or, that if we do, it might not come from Bungie. So I’ll continue to count for Splinter Cell, and as much as I do want that game, I’ll always hope for what maybe possibly could have been in a 3rd outing of the Destiny franchise.
Ubisoft, it’s been 4,668 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
As is usual this time of year, we’re not doing a show next week to coincide with a holiday here stateside.
Coming back, we’ll be leading into the big summer game event stuff where we find out that rumors were true or false or better or worse than we expected.
For now, we’ve had a good run of releases. Forza Horizon 6 and Subnautica 2 this past week with LEGO Batman and 007 First Light on the horizon for this week and next. I’m looking forward to both of those latter releases even though it may be some time before I get to one or both of them.
As for everything else, we’re highly anticipating two things. A price/release date for the Steam machines, and more news about GTA6 – mostly the price for that one since we have a release date already. A new trailer is likely on the way as well.
But that Steam machine pricing is a big one considering what’s going on with memory issues and just the overall increase in price of…well, everything. It’s going to be a nice precursor to what we may see as far as prices for the next Xbox and PlayStation.
And it’s probably not going to be good.
Even with the summer fest of games on the horizon, I’m willing to bet good money we still won’t see Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,654 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
What a strange time to witness the state of video gaming as it currently stands.
I thought 2020 was an odd time with the release of the new consoles but here we are six years later and I’d have never believed you could tell me that those same consoles will be MORE expensive six years later – oh, and we’d have no idea of when the NEXT systems would be released.
That’s the kind of strangeness that I’m talking about. The questions of how we got here and why we got here are already answered. It’s the “when will this end” that we’re trying to figure out and “what’ll it cost”.
Of course, as it has been all year and a good chunk of last, AI is to blame. And those same questions before about the consoles apply to AI. When will it end and what will it have cost us when it does?
Because a price will be paid, in some form or another, for all of this AI stuff.
I mean, we’re currently paying it in the form of the price of RAM and other PC components. And our console price increases, again, SIX years into this generation.
The outlook is bleak.
About as bleak as waiting for a new Splinter Cell game.
Ubisoft, it’s been 4,647 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Do we need another controller for something? Well, yes, we do. Do I personally need this controller? No, absolutely not.
I don’t need the Steam controller but I can totally see myself owning one at some point in the future. And I do like the idea of it and what it’s trying to do. I was there for the first one and rarely ever used it – either because of its functionality or the tech for streaming games to a bigger tv from a different room just wasn’t there yet.
But given my time with the SteamDeck and how it controls, I’m pretty optimistic for what this new controller can do. That and reading the reviews of it. Plus, playing the SteamDeck docked as it displays on a larger screen works out just fine given how the Switch works. Not to mention, by the time I ever get around to owning one of these things plenty of other people will have had lots of time with it to get a better idea of how well it works.
So yeah, that’s my thought on the Steam Controller. I won’t be there on day one but I will be there one day.
And one day, I might be playing Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,640 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,298 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Advertising feels evil. And that’s so strange to say, but I look at how many ways we attempt to avoid it and it feels like it’s something we just don’t want to mess with at all. We skip them on pre-recorded things, we subscribe to ad-free tiers, we try to block them out on our websites…we don’t seem to want them in any part of our lives.
Especially not in our gaming. But it’s already there for some of you. Heavily so in the mobile market. And that’s the part that I’m worried the most will make its way into our other gaming aspects. The ones where you get so much stuff per day and beyond that you either wait or pay or watch ads to gain…something, in the game that is mid beneficial for you. That, or we get to choose a full price game with no ads or a smaller priced game with ads. Something of that kind of…f—kery is likely on the way at some point.
The recent gamepass price drop was a concern. Yes, they dropped the price but if that doesn’t bring people back to it, what then? What lengths are planned to go to get money back into the game, so to speak? Gamepass with ads? A cheaper tier to be sure but how will the ads be implemented and if it’s enough of a revenue generator, how does it stay out of everything else?
Anyway, the ad monsters aren’t here yet and we can all be thankful for that for the time being. But I feel like it’s only a matter of time before someone does something and then the flood gates open for everyone else. I don’t know how bad it’ll get, but I feel like we won’t notice until it’s way too late.
Speaking of late, still no Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,633 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,248 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
I seem to have stumbled upon another “type” of game that I enjoy. The kind of game where you try to break it. Not actually break it but you take its rules and gameplay and find ways to do absurd things with it.
It’s the nature of the game itself and could easily be called “ways to crash your PC”. There was Ball X Pit and CloverPit, Vampire Survivors and Mega Bonk, and now I’m doing the same with Raccoin. I’ll probably stream some gameplay here not long after this has been posted.
I’m always surprised by what can hold my attention. More and more it’s games that let you play for about 30 minutes or so before you’ve done what you needed or wanted to do and then it’s your choice to continue or to stop. It always makes me wonder if my tastes are changing but then I look at what’s coming out that’s exciting to me and realize that no, my tastes are just as they’ve always been. I say that because I saw a new video of the Lego Batman game due next month and I’m just as excited for it as I would be any other game in the Arkham series.
In other news, Matt’s still alive and finally getting around to Cyberpunk. And finally getting around to joining us for his first episode of the year.
In other bad news, more layoffs and more price increases.
In no news whatsoever, we’re still waiting on Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 4,626 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,248 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
How’s that line go again? The things we own end up owning us.
It probably doesn’t apply in this instance but we talk about the whole physical and digital ownership thing where, for a good long while now I’ve found myself owning more digital than physical. Likely the case when you prefer playing on PC more than console. And when you have the addition of subscription services it only expands that digital ownership.
And there’s the question of if we even really own these digital copies. Discussion for another time I suppose.
I know this past week saw the price increase of all things PlayStation 5. And while those are outrageous prices I’m almost positive another one will come prior to the release of GTA6. It may come from Sony or Microsoft or both, but expect it to happen if the current state of the world continues. Specifically AI and gas.
That’s about as good as my predictions can get because if you were to ask me about the next Splinter Cell, well, I’d rather try to touch the moon than take on that kind of thinking.
Ubisoft, it’s been 4,612 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 3,037 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.
Well, the demos start coming and they don’t stop coming.
I didn’t think we’d spend more than half of the show going over demos I’ve been playing but then again I ramble horribly so, maybe that isn’t so surprising to you.
But man, those demos. Plus, I revisit a game from NINE years ago that I finally finished – MAD MAX. There’s spoilers there, but the game was horribly received and it’s also been NINE years. And, by the way, I say it in the show, but when this game goes on sale, it’s absolutely worth picking up. For a fiver, you can’t beat the value there. Even a tenner is worth it.
I’m glad we finally got more information on Nivalis. It’s a game I’ve been looking forward to since last year’s reveal from the Cloudpunk folks, and it’s set, coincidentally, in the Cloudpunk universe. It’s like they took that third person game and made it first person, seemingly. Anyway, anything within a Cyberpunk world, and you’ve already got my attention.
PVKK, playing as Zelda in a Zelda game, and Metroid Prime 4 were all amazingly unexpected. Now we know what some of us will be playing when the Switch 2 launches.
What we will NOT be playing on the Switch 2 or anywhere else for that matter is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,942 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Still drowning in demos over here.
A week removed from Summer Game Fest and getting close to the end of Steam Next Fest and I’ve still got around 30 or so demos left to play. I probably won’t make it through all of them but that’s okay. I never expected I would.
I do wish these demos would stick around longer. Because while I don’t expect to get through them all before they are gone, I absolutely WOULD if I knew they were hanging around for say…a month.
Regardless, there’s a ton of little small indie games out there waiting for you to discover them and given the sheer amount of what’s available you’re near guaranteed to find something you like. Probably a lot of somethings you like, actually. So take a break from whatever you’ve been playing and jump into some demos to see what floats your boat (there’s a lot of boat games to pick from, by the way).
What you will NOT find in the demo section or anywhere else for that matter is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,935 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Throw a drowning man a line…
I am covered in games. I don’t ever want to go back to the old E3 if this is what it means to lose that. I’m perfectly fine with it.
I think I’ve likely added close to a hundred of them to my Steam Wishlist and that has been growing. It’s Sunday as I’m writing this and I’m downloading a massive amount of demos currently. This is mostly coming from the smaller showcases. Day Of The Devs, Wholesome Games Direct, Future Of Play, Latin American Games Showcase, and Women-Led Games. There’s a few from the Future Games Show and some from the actual Summer Games Fest. I still haven’t seen the Guerrilla Collective showcase and there’s Microsoft today along with the PC Gaming Show.
Ever since this whole “summer games fest” shift I think more games are actually shown off. It’s interesting to remember back during the E3 of old and watching the big publishers do their thing showing off these massive AAA titles. And somewhere in between you’d get a sizzle reel of a bunch of smaller games. Except now those smaller games get more time and don’t feel as lost in the shuffle. I say that after staying up late rewinding the YouTube video so I can get a game’s name and add it to my wishlist. But the more games the better, I say.
While not getting lost in the shuffle of the big players there’s still just a crazy amount of games to get lost in regardless. So watch these presentations and take note (like seriously, pen and paper) of what you like and add it to your wishlist on Steam or whatever. Play the demos if they’re available to see how it plays.
This is the way of the gaming world without an E3.
Everyone is welcome.
And that means you too, Splinter Cell. What will tomorrow bring? Maybe the end of this post tag once and for all. Probably not. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,928 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I enjoy games that want you to experience them. That’s a bit of a broad stroke so let me be a bit more specific about what I mean.
Hellblade 2 wants you to experience the game. Ninja Theory was so adamant about this that there’s even a setting to let the game automatically control combat. So, any time there’s a fight, it’ll take care of it for you. All you need to do is solve puzzles (that can also be tuned for the player) and keep moving through the world (it’s practically on rails so you’ll likely never get lost). Sort of makes it an experience first and a game second. And I’m okay with that.
With a lot of these big, triple A, story driven, single player games, I’d actually like more of that. God Of War doesn’t go to the same extremes, but there were settings within the game that made me enjoy it more and I think it’s something more games should strive for – player enjoyment.
That sort of goes without saying for the most part because if a game isn’t enjoyable it’ll get bad reviews, won’t sell, etc. But going one step beyond that and giving the player an enormous amount of options and tuning FOR the player so they can enjoy the experience – maybe not to the point of the game playing itself, perhaps, but enough that the player can find enjoyment in the game.
I think it’s something we might see more and more from the bigger studios and developers. And that isn’t to say they are the only ones who can do this, but the smaller studios provide smaller and more specific experiences, and already a lot of them give you that leeway in how you play their game.
While I did bring up Hellblade 2 and applaud the studios efforts on making sure the player enjoys their game, I should say – it’s an amazing game. It isn’t long, but it’s PACKED with story, character, emotion, and some of THE absolute most stunning visuals we’ve seen in a game so far. Play it.
It’s June, you can smell the new game trailers beginning to cook. Perhaps…just maybe…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,921 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Thy cup runneth over…
This month has been a killer for Indie games. Just hit after hit after hit getting released. And that’s already on top of a pretty good year so far for indie titles. I mean, for me, it started with Balatro in February and there’s probably been one release per month that I’ve added to my wishlist on Steam. May has just added an insane amount of new, small, indie titles to that list.
And that’s fantastic! Look, the triple A games have their place. The big budget, massively advertised, franchise titles will always take center stage during their release and reveal, but for the price of JUST ONE of those you can probably get 3 to 4 indie titles (or even more).
It’s a trend that I hope continues. And, in fact, it might just have to. Given the state of our big publishers and studios draining money, closing shops, and preventing entire countries from buying your games, the indies are likely to keep gaming alive throughout all of this. And in a way that is, hopefully, noticed by those other studios and publishers. These indie titles are usually one-dev operations. Maybe a little more than that for some, but it’s small. However, they produce games that can easily rival anything from studios with massive teams and budgets.
My point is, don’t skip the indies. Don’t let the news of everything going on in the world of gaming distract you from everything going on in the smaller world of gaming. Because the games are there. There is fun in those smaller titles. There is inventiveness and creativity. There are some mind bending experiences and some major wholesome ones as well. There are things you never even thought of yet in those titles and even more surprise at the simplicity of what you find.
Don’t skip the indies.
Again, a topic that makes it difficult to segue into a triple A game. However, the gag must continue to run. So…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,907 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Three blind mice…
It’s mostly just two though. Let’s get Nintendo out of the way first since it seems in this episode we covered all three consoles. Nintendo basically just told us the next Switch is coming and we’re gonna talk about it soon. That was it.
Sony reversed their stance on requiring a PSN account to play Helldivers 2 on PC. That’s good, this time. But what about next? And I don’t mean Ghost Of Tsushima or God Of War Ragnarok. I’m talking about the next multiplayer PC/PS game. Because this whole PSN requirement was already baked into Helldivers 2. They just turned it off when they launched because of all the login problems they were having. What happens on the next title? Still required? My guess is yes.
Then there’s Microsoft. If you missed the EA of the 2010s and around that time frame, don’t worry. Microsoft has your back. Soak in the nostalgia of a company buying up studios, making a big deal about what they’re going to bring to the table, releasing whatever they were currently working on and then completely shutting them down. Except, unlike back then, Microsoft is speedrunning this thing with the closure of FOUR studios in one single day.
I don’t think we’ll look back on this year and be talking about all the cool games that came out – we’ll be talking about all the jobs lost and studios that closed. Because this is adding on to what already happened earlier in the year and a whole bunch of people who know more than me about this are saying there’s more closures on the way.
And that makes it hard to segue into my whole Splinter Cell weekly running gag. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,900 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
Well, I had to tie it into Star Wars Day somehow. Still, that bad feeling is sitting around the people who are about to be unable to enjoy a game they bought.
I’m speaking of Sony and the Helldivers 2 situation. We discussed it in this episode but just after we finished recording Sony made their move. We had speculated on what they might do and I think we settled on exactly what they actually did.
At launch Helldivers 2 had issues with logins and the like so Sony disabled the requirement to have a PSN account in order to play the game (even on PC). However, this was back in February and only now is Sony coming around to reinstating that requirement. Normally, it’s not a big deal. Plenty of games have requirements just like this in order to play, but the problem here is that in some countries there is no PlayStation Network. They didn’t enforce it as the game launched so a number of people in a number of different countries (177 countries, to be exact) can’t play their game. The Playstation Network doesn’t exist in their country. They can’t make an account.
Steam has now started issuing refunds because of this problem – regardless of time played or how long you’ve owned the game.
I’m sure more will come out about this be it a statement from Sony or the developers, Arrowhead Studios – who’ve actually been on twitter responding to people. The obvious answer for this problem was to just disable the requirement to have a PSN account in order to play the game. It was working fine and had a massive positive review rating on Steam. Within the span of a weekend all of that has been lost.
Speaking of lost, where the hell is Splinter Cell? Ubisoft, it’s been 3,893 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I feel like there was a time when I was younger that I could play all manner of games and pretty much at any time I wanted.
Well, let me explain a bit. Currently, and in this case that means for like the last 5 years or more, I really can only stick to one or two games at a time – depending on what they are and what they require of me. Balatro is a nice quick play kind of thing. Talos II is not as quick, but can be if you take it puzzle by puzzle. I recently thought about starting up Spider-Man 2, but backed off because I thought it might get in the way of my time with Talos. Games have done that before. I took nearly a 6-month break halfway into Last Of Us 2 and I think it ruined my experience of that game. Wasn’t a complete loss or anything but my feelings towards it at the end, I feel, would have been different had I not waited so long to finish it.
Yet, I feel like there was, at some point in my youth, a time when I could have taken on any game I wanted, multiples of them, all at the same time, just playing them like I could remember all the controls and the story for what I was playing as well.
Just doesn’t feel that way anymore. Now, that could be something to do with me.Maybe it’s age, or brain function or…something. I don’t know. It could also be the games, as well. Games are longer, more involved, more complex in their storytelling. More mechanics in gameplay. I guess maybe there’s more you need to give into a game than maybe what was required in whatever time period my mind is thinking of where I could just hop from game to game. Maybe it’s my own free time where I get to play these games. Something I can easily say has shrunk significantly since I’ve gotten older.
Speaking of getting older, the last time a Splinter Cell game was released was ten years ago. And we’re still waiting for something new from it. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,886 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Nothing lasts forever.
I probably don’t talk about peripherals enough. Or maybe there isn’t a need to? Either way, I’m very picky with my gaming headsets. So much so I kept a stock of a specific model of them from Turtle Beach. I can’t remember the name of it now but I still have them laying around the room here. I was worried about what might happen when I ran out. They aren’t making any more of that specific model and of the others I’ve tried they just didn’t give me what I wanted from the Turtle Beach set.
Then I found the Roccat headset. Still in production, on sale, and they did exactly what the old Turtle Beach did for me. Sounded great and gave me everything I wanted from the old set. Turns out, Roccat was owned by Turtle Beach so that made a bit of sense. Finally, I wouldn’t have to rely on eBay and second hand sellers to get a replacement headset.
Well, now Turtle Beach is killing off the Roccat brand. I don’t feel too bad about it given the set I have works wonderfully and, well, ever since the BANNENING from Destiny 2, I haven’t used them too much. Still, before they completely remove them from stores, I’ll probably stock up again for the time being. Until I find another one that does what I like in a headset. As goes the cycle, I suppose.
Still, it’d be nice to find a product that sticks around.
Speaking of something sticking around, the Splinter Cell franchise did that a good ten or so years ago. We weren’t short of Tom Clancy titles, much less the Splinter Cell titles within that. Then…nothing. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,879 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
It’s good to see more and more video game stories making the jump into television series stories.
Obviously I’m talking about both Fallout and The Last Of Us. I haven’t finished Fallout yet, but it really is quite enjoyable and I’m only 4 episodes in so far. It’ll be interesting to see what the success of these shows does for future shows based on video games.
Then there’s the whole film side of things which…hasn’t been great in the past. We’ve gotten plenty of adaptations but a lot of them don’t really hold up – it’s only been recently with the Sonic franchise and now the animated Super Mario film. You go back beyond that and, yeah, there’s content, but it isn’t the best.
I guess as with comic books moving to other media, video games kinda had to crawl before they could walk – or something like that. And we’re still not sure they can cause that Borderlands film is right around the corner.
I have hope for it. I have hope for anything that comes from my comic books or video games and moves into a medium a LOT of other people can enjoy. It’s almost like showing people a video game but without the standard generalization that comes from people who don’t play or like video games. It’s another way to connect, I suppose.
And that’s the whole point really, isn’t it? To make that connection with the audience and, by extension, you making a connection with someone else over this…shared thing. So yeah, I always hope for the best in these situations. So far so good.
And then there’s that Borderlands film right around the corner.
There was talk of a Splinter Cell series. But good luck with that if it takes them as long in between seasons as it does the games. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,872 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Every once in a while you come across a game or maybe even a TV show or a book, but you enjoy everything about it. So much so you don’t really want it to end. Come to think of it, I think I’ve even done this with food.
But my point is, there are games I can sometimes play where I wish they could go on longer. The entire MYST series is this for me. I’m currently playing The Talos Principle 2 and enjoying every single second of it. I’m early into the game but it already gives me this wonderful feeling of exploration and puzzle solving and secrets and I’m just soaking it all in. But I also know it’s going to eventually end and so I do plan to drag this game out for however long I can. And I don’t mean take it slow, I just mean milking it on my first run for everything it has to offer. Side missions, side puzzles, every nook and cranny to be explored and poured over. No stone unturned and no door left closed.
It’s also interesting that, while I enjoyed the first game very much, I remember that I didn’t sort of feel this way about it as I do its sequel. Maybe it was the setting or something, I’m not sure. And, also, I’m as early as ever in this game. Not even half of halfway through it – there’s still time for me to hit a mechanic in the game that turns all of this gushing on its head.
But for now, I am in love with this game and I cherish every single moment while I am in it. I hope you find games like this from time to time as well. That whole feeling of “This is it! This is my jam…or whatever!”. I’m even rushing through this post so I can get back to playing the game, actually.
Another game and game series I so dearly love is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,857 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
The amount of other games I have played since getting banned from Destiny 2 has easily eclipsed all the other games I played while I was NOT banned from Destiny 2.
I’d say that I’m better off for it, but it’s something I wouldn’t have noticed or cared about had I not lost access to play that game. D2 was a routine and while my routine was thrown off because of losing access to the game, I’ve been able to really enjoy so many more titles now and look at upcoming releases with an interest that I’ll actually play them.
Thinking about it, the loss is really only with finishing something that started over a decade ago – something I would have liked to have seen to the end, story wise. And the other is the loss of just playing with my group of friends. I miss my clanmates.
And I think that’s the focus of games like this. We had it a long time ago with City Of Heroes. And then again with Call Of Duty on the 360. I don’t want to call it a sense of community. That sounds too political or something. And, more so, it wasn’t a sense of anything. It was actually real friends enjoying playing a game together on a pretty regular basis. And it’s something I never would have had without my time in those games.
I guess if anything writing all of this has shown me, it’s that you’ve done it at least three times before…take comfort in the fact that you’ll probably do it again. And again. And again.
Something else we’ll do again and again is calling out the days since we’ve gotten a new Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,850 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I really do miss arcades. I know they still exist in some form or another but, even now, they just can’t hold a candle to the arcade you can have at home. And I’m not even talking about building cabinets and such.
We talk about this on the show but I’ll say it again here – arcades, as a kid, were like walking into the future. You had your games at home, sure, but they were nothing like what was in that arcade. That’s where the most advanced tech was. The best graphics and games you’ll NEVER get to play at home. Only at the arcade.
That’s how it was for me, anyway. Then it all changed and morphed and sort of went backwards. I’ll give credit to the arcade/bar synergy thing that happened, but I don’t run around those places wide-eyed at all the cool games like I did way back when. Now I look for whatever will give me the most redeemable tickets…or pinball. And that’s only if I make it out to an arcade to begin with. Not everyone has those places within reach and mostly, if you do, it’s full of just redemption games. Actually, it’s been forever since I’ve been into any local arcades here so I don’t know what they stock them with now.
Given the way technology is going and how great we have it at home, we’ll likely never see arcades be, to me, what they once were. And I’m okay with that. I absolutely love what we have at home on our consoles and PCs and handhelds. I also love that we can bring over most of everything we had at arcades into our home with custom built cabinets housing hundreds of games and even pinball tables too.
Which reminds me, I need to really work on building those two things, actually.
You can probably easily spot the transition here. You know what else used to be great but is not a ghost town of nothing – the Splinter Cell franchise. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,843 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
The amount of people losing their jobs in this industry is staggering. I don’t have an exact number but it’s likely pushing into the five figure range. If you combine it with last year’s loss you’re easily over ten thousand jobs.
And I wasn’t sure if I would use this as a topic to talk about it, but just as much as I did on the show, I don’t have any kind of an answer for it. Smarter business decisions, sure, but I don’t know that it would have helped much. With each new game (mostly the upper triple A type games) that pulls in tons of awards and accolades, I wonder how much was spent to develop and then market that game. This hobby for us is expensive for them. Making a new console is the expectancy of a loss of revenue out of the gate. Making a new game for that console is also a MASSIVE money sink. And the marketing for both is just a deeper hole.
The cycle was that after a game would release you would then lose a good chunk of the dev staff as they were brought on almost like contractors to help with development. Once the game was released, so were they. But that’s not what has been happening lately. Game sales haven’t really slowed down but the cost to make them has completely gone up. And one solution to bridging that gap is an increase in the cost of the game to the consumer. But there’s likely a limit to that. I’d say the current $70 is probably close to that limit. But I will not be surprised when this massively developed game of some sort releases at a base price of $99.
Like I said earlier, I don’t have a solution for this. And there are probably darker days ahead for the people working in the gaming industry. There’s a domino effect here and they only just started falling over.
There’s no way for me to tie this subject matter into my usual Splinter Cell closing. There is a remake on the way and I hope that can produce enough revenue to bring about a brand new game. But, in keeping with tradition, Ubisoft, it’s been 3,836 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Pick a card…
Once this gets posted around everywhere, I plan on streaming for the first time in a while and it’s a game we talk about in the opening segment of the show. A little card game called Balatro.
The idea to stream it came to me as I was trying to explain it on the air and just figured streaming would be an easier way to show you how it plays. I may dip back into some pinball today as well – just for nostalgia sake. Maybe.
But that’s about today, what did we talk about on the show? Well, not really one specific thing after trying to explain Balatro. We covered Nintendo’s dev showcase thing they did earlier this week with not much to mention from that. There’s also the Elden Ring DLC but, again, not much to mention from that.
Then there’s the position Sony is sitting in. With no new franchise games being released until the midway to latter half of next year, what are they gonna do? My guess, given that GTA6 is coming next spring, is that we’ll get our midway revamp of the PS5 sometime this fall. GTA6 will not get a release on the previous generation consoles so those who want to play it are going to need to have a Series X or a PS5. And that game WILL absolutely move console sales. Having yours out there touting the best on the market is probably a good way to get that system sold for that specific game. And I don’t think Microsoft has any plans to release a Series X.5 just yet.
Something else with no plans of a release anytime soon…is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,822 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Cool. Cool Cool Cool.
The PC is running again and not having any overheating issues as before. Totally something borked with the AIO. I do NOT recommend the Lian Li Galahad AIO (at least anything from 2021 or before). They actually discovered a manufacturer error in the build so avoid those AIO’s from the years mentioned. I have no idea how they perform since then and they’ve made quite a few advancements so, who knows?
As for gaming, it’s been a low key week for myself, personally, just because of the PC issues I was having. Now that it’s all fixed I plan to dive into a lot of demos from the Next Fest that happened last week (if they still work) and put more time into Baldur’s Gate or, maybe, jump into Helldivers 2 since that seems to be the big thing at the moment and may actually scratch my Destiny itch.
As for this episode, we talked about my AIO issues but also all the news from Xbox and Playstation this week. Xbox expanding their exclusives outside of their ecosystem and Sony dialing it back on what to expect from Playstation in the coming wee…mont…well, year, actually.
But you know what could immediately fix that for Sony? Splinter Cell.
Ubisoft, it’s been 3,815 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Our apologies for the tardiness of this post and the complete lack of a video to accompany it.
I’ve recently run into computer issues so, for now, you’ll only be getting the audio portion of the show. I’ve got all the video stuff saved and ready to go, it’s just going to have to wait for now. We talk about the issues in this episode and, honestly, it has dominated my thoughts over the last few days.
That’s mainly because I can’t really do anything with my PC outside of maybe browsing a tab or two on google and some work related things. Gaming is, sadly, off the table for now. I’ll know in a few days when the replacement gets here but it seems to involve the CPU cooler. It’s an AIO and I hope to have more info to you by the time the next episode comes around – it’s a whole process with RMA and what not.
In the meantime, I got to spend a very short amount of time with some Steam Next Fest demos. And now I get to really put in some work on the steam deck and the consoles given they’re the only way I can game on anything currently. Hell, I’m even writing this on a laptop so I can spend as little time as possible with my main PC on and running.
Yes. It has gotten that bad.
Oh well, the waiting never ends.
Speaking of waiting, and waiting, and waiting…Ubisoft, it’s been 3,808 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Lead me not into temptation…
The amount of times I have said that to myself in relation to gaming. I’m currently being lulled into the new Rocksteady game. I shouldn’t be, but I am. After seeing so many previews of the game leading up to this release I was NOT on board for it. I had no interest and was pretty sad that Rocksteady had gone in this direction and just didn’t stick to Batman.
But I get being tired of doing the same thing over and over again and we should applaud risks – especially in gaming where a lot of the time we get more of the same. And there’s a place for that and other teams who can work on that, but you’ve got to branch out and try something new. I think Rocksteady were doing that, but Warner stepped in and told them they could but it needed to be wrapped up in a DC comics skin.
Regardless, after launching and reading forum posts of people who’ve played it, I find myself falling for their hype. Hype anywhere else for this game is nonexistent. Reviews are tanking it (although I’m about to give the Digital Foundry video a look) and most other people who haven’t actually played the game are crapping on it as well. Still, I look to the folks who have actually played it and I’m not getting the stink like I am from everyone else.
There could be something there. Something fun for a little while at least, but something that, for me at the moment, isn’t worth the SEVENTY dollar price tag they want. You take thirty bucks off that and I’m probably in. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly.
One game I’m certain I won’t wait for a sale on is Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,801 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
A copy of a copy of a copy.
Palworld is, probably, not my thing. There are some aspects to it that I’m totally interested in. The idea of crafting materials on this assembly line like system with the Pals you capture in game. It almost looks “city builder”-ish, in a way.
That and flying around on one of your Pals is the only thing drawing me in that might, and it’s a very big MIGHT, get me into the game. But it’s gotta do a lot more than that for $30.
The reason there is any draw at all is just how massive this game has become over the course of a single week. It has exploded everywhere. Not just as a game a bunch of people are playing but the discussion around it and what it’s doing is leading the conversation. Especially where copyright and AI are concerned at this point.
Thing is, either Nintendo is gathering material for a lawsuit, or they’ve already looked at it and decided otherwise. I can’t figure any other way as to why it has taken so long for Nintendo to even say anything about this.
Then again, Square’s getting away with Foamstars so I guess anything’s possible if you change it just ever so slightly. That and the amount of people playing Palworld right now is not the number of people you want mad at your brand because you took something away from them.
After all, Ubisoft took away Splinter Cell. It’s been 3,794 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
The things you own end up owning you.
Recently the guy at Ubisoft in charge of their subscription service said that he hopes gamers can come to terms with not owning their games the same way we do with music and movies now. Where we own them digitally. Of course the guy in charge of a digital subscription service would say such a thing.
Physical media is still a thing. Even so much so that physical media on its way out has resurged and become a thing again (vinyl albums). I don’t know that we’ll ever see an all digital future (in my lifetime, I suppose). Where nothing is physical except the boxes that allow us to enjoy our digital purchases.
Then again, maybe it’s sooner than I think if more and more titles decide to go the all-digital route (Alan Wake 2 and now Hellblade 2).
For me, I go where the price is cheapest. And they’ve yet to really nail that down in most cases to where digital is more enticing than physical. They do not incentivize it at all. In fact, it feels almost the opposite in some cases.
My Steam library begs to differ, however.
Regardless of whether I own it (physically) or not (digitally), I’m still waiting on Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,786 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Where dice flows like water…
Oftentimes we’ll talk about mobile games. It’s not a genre many of us are familiar with. Mostly the games I play on mobile are quick little things I can get in and out of. However, mobile gaming year over year has DOMINATED the gaming market.
It’s easy to see why with almost any mobile game you download. There’s not an entirely free one among them that doesn’t offer some way for you to spend money on some aspect of it. A lot of them are pretty benign about it. But most of them will never stop reminding you and even bake it into the gameplay near forcing you to give them money. But always remember: NEVER GIVE THEM MONEY.
The game already hooked you into playing it somehow so don’t let them hook you again when you spend money on it. It is one of the worst of slippery slopes. If the game isn’t fun unless you’re spending money on it then delete the game.
I get it. This is coming off more like a lecture than a show post but it’s more just something to keep in mind. Like when we’ve talked about video game trailers – whatever you’re seeing is meant to sell the game to you. The editing of the trailer, the music, the visuals – remember that you’re watching a sales pitch. Keep that in mind when you think back on a trailer you were excited for but didn’t see any gameplay. Always look for the actual gameplay. Except with mobile gaming, the entire game you’re playing is a sales pitch to spend more money on it.
By the way, keep all this in mind when Suicide Squad launches in February. That whole thing followed the trailer example above and probably will follow the mobile examples when it launches.
Something I am willing to throw money at, however, is a new Splinter Cell game. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,779 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Welcome to Season 18!
Right out of the gate we jump into the whole situation that happened right after we finished shows for the year – the Insomniac situation. We could have made this the whole show, to be honest, and I don’t think we’re done discussing what was released. This is information we don’t normally get but always talk about wishing we could get our hands on. I don’t mean the leaks of game footage or even upcoming titles. I’m talking about the numbers. The contracts. The inner thoughts of a studio or (and the one I’m more interested in) the publisher – that being Sony.
We also cover what we’ve played over the past two weeks (or longer in some of our cases) and what we picked up during the sales and over the holidays.
Here’s to a new season and a new year! Maybe this will be the year we’ll get a new Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,772 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Welcome to the final show of the year. While normally this is where I tell you a bit of what we talked about and maybe go a little more into the topic, I’d rather use this time to tell you how much we appreciate you.
We’re going into our 18th year of doing this show. And we absolutely could not be doing that without your tremendous support and loyalty. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve only just started listening, catch it from time to time, or show up every single weekend – we appreciate all of you who support us and listen.
We’re coming back after the first of the year and we hope to see you there with us again.
To all of you reading this now, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year to come.
Thank you, all of you, for listening.
Maybe next year we’ll get a new Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,751 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I love Max Payne 1 & 2. Absolutely love them. The first was fantastic and the second took it exactly where it needed to go and pulled it off near flawlessly. Then came Max Payne 3. I just finished that before doing this episode and while I’m not sure the setting and story were Max […]
The backlog is on the fire and we are cooking! I don’t know why that was the first line to come to mind, but…there it is. Point being, I’ve been going back into some old games recently and enjoying them very much. Mostly, I don’t remember playing some of these games. Max Payne 3 I […]
For a brief moment in the show (probably not too brief knowing how I ramble) we talk about the next thing from Nintendo. And right there live on the show I’m thinking about it. Or at least, analyzing HOW I think about a new console from Nintendo. Mainly given my history of their new systems. […]
Sometimes…there’s just nothing to talk about. This is normal for this time of the year. There’s a few of these here and there throughout the year where, well, really nothing is happening. Nothing newsworthy at the moment anyway. Kind of a lull in releases as well. So we look at our back catalog and, for […]
A Long Time Ago… However many years ago it was when Jedi Fallen Order released. I’ve finally jumped into the game and well, not a lot to complain about from a ever how many years old game but there are some issues. Mainly the map. I mention this on the show but the level of […]
At long last, that poor dead horse can finally stop being beaten. Microsoft is now in the clear for buying Activision. This is likely to happen on Monday at some point or that week anyway. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens from here on out. I mean, Microsoft will still buy […]
Over the past two weeks I’ve been giving my Xbox console some more love than I usually do. It’s on the big TV and there’s Gamepass so there’s bound to be something worth playing or a lot of somethings, actually. Turns out while there were a few games there worth my time, I ended up […]
Just as a note – there is no show for next week. As for this show, we dive right into everything we never got around to from the last episode. We finally cover all over what the not-E3 had to offer as well as go through all the things we’re finding out from the FTC […]
I’ll just tell you upfront here that we didn’t get to nearly all the topics we wanted to on the show. We barely got through the Microsoft presentation. Much less ANY of the others or even Starfield. But that’s on me cause I ramble. A lot. To just sort of cover the whole thing in […]
I really wish they’d spread this out. I’m speaking mainly of all the reveals, updates, expansions…just all the announcements. Spread out that stuff, please. It’s like overeating at a restaurant or a movie that goes on WAY too long. I know it’s an odd thing to hear, but I’m not asking them to cut back […]
What do we call this now?
I guess we’re in the E3 season, but we can’t really call it that anymore since E3 is all but dead at this point.
So the new game announcement season? I don’t know what to call it but someone with much more creativity than me will figure it out. And it’ll be simple as hell and staring us in the face the entire time. Whatever it’ll be called, we just got our first taste of it with Sony’s PlayStation Showcase.
It was…okay. I mean, they showed off a lot of new games but how many of those are going to be selling PS5’s? Very few of them we saw were exclusives to the system and even some of them coming from first party studios were also getting PC releases (mostly the live service games we saw). Other than that it was a lot of multiplatform games and Spider-Man. And Spidey didn’t feel like it was moving the needle into killer app territory.
Sony does seem to be putting in a lot of work into the live service game category. Now, I know those will have a PC release as well as a console release and may even get multiplatform releases on the Switch and Xbox, but this wasn’t a move I was expecting from Sony. There were, at the very least, 3 different live service game announcements all from Sony, two or more maybe from first party studios. And I’m not including Destiny in that mix. It remains to be seen how they’ll market those. Free to play? Subscription service? Will we see some sort of Sony storefront on PC or maybe a PC PlayStation Plus, perhaps?
We’ll find out in time, of course, but all in all, it was kind of a weak showing from Sony. Because while there were a lot of games, it was hardly a handful that Sony could claim as their own and point to for a reason to buy their system. Not that I’ve got much faith in Microsoft either, but that’s coming in the next few days and, well, they’ve got Starfield so…yeah.
None of them, however, have Splinter Cell because it has been 3,562 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Freedom isn’t free.
The new Zelda game is just running rampant across the internet, gaming news, reviews, whatever…it’s all over the place and a LOT of people are playing and enjoying it. I’m highly tempted to join them, except, and this is weird, I’m kind of intimidated by it.
Open world games are a wonderful concept. Giving the player the freedom to do whatever they want in the game. Even more so in Zelda with the construction/build aspect. Except that large open world games kind of make me a bit nervous. When it’s vastly open as with Zelda or maybe Elden Ring, I get a bit overwhelmed by my options and tend to turn off the game. Maybe it’s the thought of starting the journey that gets me, I’m not sure, but with no sign pointing me to a direction I tend to feel lost.
In fact, thinking about it now, I’m almost sure it’s the start that gets me. That small bump in the road of where to go and what to do, the lack of restraints keeping me from doing whatever I want without following the main story line, it’s all a bit jarring at the outset – for me.
But Zelda, like Elden Ring, is really REALLY big. And I haven’t played either of these games, I just know the incredible size of their maps and I know how I play open world, well…ANY game, for that matter. I cover every possible inch I am able. Which can also be a point of concern when starting out one of these things knowing how I approach them. The last Zelda game I played (at least up to the final boss) was Wind Waker. And I know the time that took me and how much I explored.
But I loved it. And I’m sure, once I eventually get started and settled into it, I’ll be just as in love with this Zelda game as that one. I’m looking forward to it, even if it’s with a little hesitation knowing what I’m getting myself into.
Speaking of looking forward to things I love…Ubisoft, it has been 3,548 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
A PC in every port(able).
A year ago if you told me that a year from then we’d have competing PC handhelds, I don’t think I would have believed you. When the Steam Deck launched I didn’t see or hear of any competitors around the corner for Valve. It was just them.
A year (and some months) later and we’ve got our second one about to hit the store shelves. And I think there’s about 2 or 3 more just on the horizon to be released. And better yet, they all have something to offer that’s different from each other. They aren’t carbon copies of any one system and they all do what they do in different ways. And better still, none of them, for the most part, seem to really be skimping on how they deliver a really good gaming experience on their device. At least from the reviews and previews of what’s available.
And really, all this means is that over the coming years you’re going to hear of improvements and updates to the existing hardware and better releases of the next version of every one of these that stick around long enough (and are successful enough) to make. This is great news for any of us interested in these PC gaming handhelds.
More so, if you never jumped into the PC gaming space because of what it took to build or just outright buy your own machine, a lot of these are a great secondary choice of doing just that. Although I’d argue that some of the pricing on these devices could warrant a better desktop PC than a handheld (even a laptop in some cases), but that’s totally up to you on that.
It’s already great that I have a Steam Deck where I can play a portable (but old) Splinter Cell. Still, Ubisoft, I’d really like a new one to play on-the-go. It has been 3,541 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Redfall. More like Redfail…
That’s a bad joke. There’s really no reason for dogpiling on the game at this point. The whole thing is bad and you don’t have to look for very long to see that in the reviews.
But I am ALL KINDS of curious as to how it got here. From a studio that has had its share of successes and back to back to back at that – what went wrong?
How did it get through testing? How did it get through any sort of Microsoft quality assurance or whatever they may have. How do you have a game from this studio slip through the cracks like this? It doesn’t feel rushed. This doesn’t seem like a game that was running on hype or anticipation, so I can’t figure they wanted to get it released as soon as possible.
Quality control is my big question here. Especially given the video reviews I’ve seen of how badly it controls, and how sparse the areas are of enemies at times. Look, it’s not the biggest failure of a game. I’m quite sure there’s some real champs that outshine this particular game, but it’s usually from a first-time studio. Not a company that’s put out bangers time and time again.
I don’t know if we’ll ever know the real reason, but I do hope they are able to fix this or do something to get this game to the polished shine they’d like it to be. I’d love another success story like Hello Games with No Man’s Sky. I hope we get that.
But I really, REALLY, want to know how we got here to begin with.
This is normally where I connect what was written above to something about Splinter Cell, but I’m not able to find that bridge at the moment. So yeah, blah blah blah… Ubisoft, it has been 3,534 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Microsoft really wants to spend A LOT of money.
But that’s actually on brand for them, however. The odd part of this whole MS buying Activision thing is the decision of the UK to not let it go forward. And to dig a bit further, it’s their reasoning for it: the cloud.
It’s so kind of out there in that decision that it almost seems a bit suspect. Or at least that someone has an odd perception of cloud gaming to think this purchase would be bad for it. I mean, essentially they’re saying it’s perfectly fine for MS to buy Activision for physical games and mobile games and every kind of gaming you can think of EXCEPT…the cloud.
Huh?
And maybe I’m oversimplifying it or, more likely, don’t know exactly what I’m talking about, but it is still really strange. And this issue with the cloud part of things totally holds off MS from buying Activision at all.
I’m either/or on the decision here to purchase Activision. I don’t feel like it’ll affect me in any way and I don’t see it as having a negative impact for consumers. Maybe other companies, but, as we’ve said before, Sony seems to only be concerned over Call Of Duty and seems to be the only company I know of who are really pushing against this purchase.
Someone should buy Ubisoft and then finally make…you know, a Splinter Cell game. It has been 3,527 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
How realistic do you want your games?
I’m kind of torn on this a little bit. On the one hand, I’m completely fascinated with how ultra/hyper/photo realistic we can make a game look or play. On the other hand, I’m perfectly fine with a game looking, well…like a game. Something you don’t have to question when you see it that it’s a video game.
That isn’t to say I don’t want us to advance the tech and the tricks behind them, but, I dunno, maybe give me an ultra/hyper/photo realistic city builder, or a platformer.
Giving me all of that realism and making it a shooter, like with Unrecord (give it a google if you haven’t seen it yet), kinda puts me off of it. Fascinated as hell by the tech behind what I’m seeing but I think, for me, there’s a line in the realism of my video games, and it’s a combination of looking incredibly real and the kind of gameplay you’re going to mix with that.
Feel free to keep your ultra/hyper/photo realistic Splinter Cell game. Stealth games like that already get my anxiety going and I don’t need it to feel real. Not that I need to worry because, well, Ubisoft…it has been 3,520 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Just as a heads up, there will be no new episode next weekend. We’ll be back in two weeks.
I’m really having a hard time coming up with something to talk about here in regards to the show. We went in so many different directions that it’s a little troublesome to focus on just one thing.
To sort of cover them all a little bit would be to say that we talked about retro gaming, but also retro storage as well. And we venture into the past during a time when we would spend thirty bucks or so…on a screensaver. We talk about RE4, emulation, and the Steam Deck. In fact, we talk about handhelds a lot given we got new ones from ASUS on the way as well as, possibly, from Sony too.
Speaking of Sony, we dive back into the whole Microsoft/Sony/Activision weird love/hate triangle going on there. Mostly thankful that we’ll be done talking about this after this month. Well, maybe not done, but at least it’ll be decided and none of the back and forth will matter after that.
We DID NOT talk about a new Splinter Cell game. Mostly because, well, Ubisoft…it has been 3,506 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
E3 is dead. Long live E…nah, dead’s fine, actually.
E3 is likely done. I mean, it is for this year for certain, but likely in the years to come. If it comes back it would need to be massively overhauled and delivered in a much different way than it was before.
But I don’t think it’s coming back. There’s so many alternatives to it now and the companies themselves (the big ones and probably a lot of the small ones) are just doing their own thing to get the word out. E3 is prehistoric almost. There is no need for what it once offered. I mean, there was a time it was needed, just like there was a time gaming magazines were needed (and don’t get me wrong, I’m still kind of fond of the ones who’ve stuck around), but it’s a dinosaur compared to how we get our information now and more so how the companies want to deliver it to us. Really surprised it never happened sooner, but that it took something like a global pandemic to bring the whole thing down.
I don’t know what needs to be done to bring it back to whatever glory it had. This goes back to a time when we could only get our gaming info from, mostly, magazines. It’s really hard to top, well, the internet when it comes to delivering information related to gaming. It’ll be interesting to see if they try and how, but I’m not holding my breath.
We MIGHT get a new Splinter Cell game before we get another E3. Ubisoft…it has been 3,499 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Gaming trends come and go. We’ve been around it long enough to see things come, go, and come back again. It’s history, as is everything really, and it repeats itself. Even with gaming.
Back when the Wii released it suddenly became motion control EVERYTHING. The Wii was massive for Nintendo and the other companies thought they could grab a bit of that gravy train as well. None of it lasted.
There was the Left 4 Dead formula. There’s the PUBG one too, that’s been copied and revamped numerous times in the form of Fortnite and Apex and likely countless others along with modes of games that borrow from some aspect or another of the style. There’s the 4v1 gameplay that started with Evolve (I think) and now sits firmly in the horror movie icon gaming genre now.
I don’t know when these things will die off or become obsolete or evolve themselves, but a time will come when that happens, and I don’t think it’ll be too far into the future. Within our lifetimes, easily. Either something will come to replace them or the novelty will wear off or, perhaps, the target demographic will…move out of the target demographic. And the next group won’t be there to replace them. Who knows?
Such is life.
The best part is, if you like the trend, something is there for you and if you can’t stand it, there’s something there for you too.
What there isn’t..is a new Splinter Cell game. Ubisoft…it has been 3,492 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
The games we love and enjoy leave a mark. And sometimes, the people involved in making those games do as well. And when we lose those people, we lose a friend.
Lance Reddick may be known to you by many other characters he’s played in television and film, but for me, he was a character in Destiny. A character who has been with the game as long as I have – from the very beginning. Commander Zavala.
Lance passed away, unexpectedly, on Friday.
What follows is a poem a player wrote many many years ago when one of their Destiny friends passed away.
Praise the sun in memory of those whose light has been extinguished.
Remember the light they brought into this world,
Remember how it made yours brighter.
The battle with the Darkness is not only outside our walls,
But inside ourselves.
In this time of great loss and greater Darkness,
Remember that even the strongest of guardians can fall.
Not a failure, but merely the doom of life that we each carry over us,
At all times, the edge between Light and darkness.
Eyes up, Guardians.
For our friends and fellow warriors,
For those whom the Light was cut short,
For the protectors, for the ones who stood at your side,
For those who were the brightest of all.
Eyes up, Guardians.
In memory of Lance. Always our Commander.
Is this near the third time in a row that I’ve brought up Suicide Squad?
Because it got delayed this week. And as much as I wish it was to retool and throw out all that live service game garbage, that will sadly not change at all. Apparently it’s for polish, but you can only shine something like that so much. The Calisto Protocol shined as bright as the sun in the looks department but it still fell short in sales and reviews.
I feel like the look of a game is the icing on the cake. There’s usually more cake than icing because the looks of a game can only carry it so far. If there’s no compelling gameplay or some sort of very well told story, then you’ve just got something nice to look at and not play.
I’ll reference two games that exemplify this: Papers Please and Obra Dinn. Obra Dinn actually looks pretty cool, but still, it’s not on par, visually, with something like Suicide Squad or Calisto. Regardless, both Papers Please and Obra Dinn have very compelling gameplay and a good story to go along with them. Suicide Squad seems to have none of this.
And I’ll totally eat my words if this thing releases and somehow hooks me, but I don’t see it happening.
A new Splinter Cell would hook the hell out of me. Ubisoft…it has been 3,477 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
That new Suicide Squad game is possibly going to live up to its name. I mean, that kind of game hasn’t had much luck recently and given most of the response to it we’ve seen, it’s nearly DOA.
I’ve ranted and raved about this before in previous shows and show posts, but the same can be said again now, except…without speculation. We were shown gameplay of the new Suicide Squad game from Rocksteady and it’s a big let down for a lot of people. I don’t know of anyone who saw that and got excited, but I’m sure they’re out there. Even people who aren’t excited about this are likely to play it.
Rocksteady hasn’t really stumbled that bad with their Batman games. Sure, there’s some nitpicks to make on a few of them, but they’ve overall received positive feedback. I can’t remember a time we were shown new gameplay from them before and had this kind of a reaction though.
This game began development in a time before Games As A Service was even a term. As well before a time when most people disliked them. And originally, we don’t know what they were developing but at some point, it was all scrapped and started over from scratch and now we’ve seen what all that work has resulted in and we aren’t happy.
But we’ll play it. We might get a refund on it or return it or take it outside and shoot it, but we’ll play it. As though we need actual confirmation of what we’re all pretty sure of at this point.
It sucks.
And while we’re being certain of things, Ubisoft…it has certainly been 3,462 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Where do we go from here?
There may come a time when you ask me what I’ve been playing and I will NOT say Destiny.
I don’t know what the plans are for that game once they wrap it all up sometime next year, but part of me doesn’t care. Part of me thinks that when this saga ends after ten plus years, so does mine with it. I’m sure there’s something up Bungie’s sleeve to keep us all engaged and continuing to play the game, but even if they do, I don’t know that I’ll follow that pied piper any longer.
I’m not sad about it or anything. I’m not looking forward to it, either. There’s really nothing there other than an opportunity to jump off the wagon. But not knowing what’s to come makes all of this rather moot. They could easily create another game that buries its hooks into me, or they go a different direction into something I have absolutely no interest in.
Only time will tell in that regard because, to be honest with you, I’ve never been here before with something like this. I finish games all the time and have completed numerous ones. Never like this, however. I’d say the closest might be City Of Heroes, but that game died before it was really finished. And Destiny…is something different.
Again, there’s no fear here or anything more than curiosity of what’s to come. Both on their part and on mine as well.
Speaking of curiosity, Ubisoft…it has been 3,455 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Apparently lately my time in gaming keeps reminding me of old lines from…things. Last week was Alan Moore and this week is Emerson.
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
This was how I felt after finally completing God Of War Ragnarok.
You see, I’m often left wondering after I finish a game like that if the story had held more weight or had more of an impact if I prioritized it rather than all the side stuff on offer during the journey. But that’s usually when I felt let down after I’ve finished a game and there was nothing in that way of Ragnarok. This game’s ending was absolutely more about the journey itself than the final moments of the story. In fact, you could not have had those final moments be what they are in this story without everything coming before it. And I don’t even mean in this title alone but in the two games that make up this story.
Still, I wonder. This isn’t a negative to the game or even a nitpick. It’s just me wondering how much more satisfying it could have been if I had put more focus on the main story campaign.
In the end, my conclusion was that I got exactly what I wanted out of the game, doing it in whatever way I chose to do it. And, furthermore, you will too, I believe. We all experience things in our own way and there’s no right or wrong about that…usually.
As for these two God Of War games, it was an amazing journey. And you absolutely must experience the first game to get the full weight of the second. Both are well worth your time and money. Although I will say, for those of you who may not play these kinds of games or games at all who happen to be reading this or listening to the shows each week. Find some YouTube videos of the two games and watch them. You’ll get the gist and I’m almost certain you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did.
No show next week, we’ll return in two weeks. Speaking of no shows, Ubisoft…it has been 3,441 (bad) days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
There’s that old line from “The Killing Joke” – “All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve let a game get under my skin, but in the wrong ways. The kind that frustrates you to no end or just…changes your whole attitude.
Marvel Snap is doing that currently and I’ve been trying my hardest to find out what triggers the change and how I can better respond to it or eliminate it altogether. The first option, obviously, is to stop playing the game. However, I really enjoy this game, so I’d like to find a better solution. So far, just muting the other player is actually doing a great job at keeping me calm. Or at least brings down the anger level of wanting to chuck my very expensive phone across the room.
I don’t like feeling that way, and nearly 99% of games that I play will not have that effect on me. But I can tell Marvel Snap is doing that and it reminds me that I’ve been there before. I can’t remember what game it might have been but this isn’t a new sensation for me. It’s a horrible feeling and sort of makes me reevaluate not only the game I’m playing but my emotions in general.
Is there a game you absolutely avoid because you know how it’ll make you feel? I’m sure we all have at least one. Be it a feeling of anger, or sadness, or anxiety, frustration – some games are meant to elicit an emotion of some kind. But then there’s the games that…I don’t know, they change your state of being or mind. A completely different person emerges.
This isn’t only with games, of course. It can be with anything competitive or not even that, really.
Speaking of bad days, Ubisoft…it has been 3,434 (bad) days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I was never too keen on Marvel’s Avengers. I had interest in it when it was announced, but the more I was shown it, the less I cared. It didn’t look bad, really, although given what we’ve seen, it probably could have looked better, but it never had a chance.
It was a GaaS out of the gate, and a bad one at that. I never played it, but you couldn’t find an article, review, message board post, anything that wasn’t calling it out as a bad game. Or, if they weren’t, they had hopes of it either getting better or felt they could look past the flaws. But the flaws piled on, some corrected, some overcorrected, but by that time the damage was done and the player fall off was very real.
And now, they’re ending support for the game only three years after release. Something deemed a “game as a service” doesn’t do that. The “service” part of that means it goes on and on until, as I said earlier, the players stop playing. And they have. Be it from bugs, or maybe even the lack of consistent updates and content – either way, it’s toast and probably really never had a chance to be anything else. I don’t blame the developers. This is all on SquareEnix – the publisher. They wanted money after the game was bought and turned it into something it never should have been.
I really hope Warner Brothers is paying attention here. The Suicide Squad game set to release later this year (also, seemingly, as a GaaS), could live up to its namesake if they don’t nail it.
Oh well, at least Splinter Cell will never be a GaaS – cause it has been 3,427 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
I’m currently somewhere around 30 hours into God Of War. I’ve been playing it on and off since just a week after its release in November. Earlier this week, I felt like I hit a pretty crucial story point with, what seemed like a pretty crucial boss fight.
When things like that tend to happen, and this far into a game, it feels like maybe we’re about to hit our stride and start to focus on moving the story forward to an ending. God Of War had other plans. Here I am thinking that MAYBE I’m close to an ending here but then…THEN…the world opens up again. I go on this side quest thing and there is this gigantic area for me to explore.
Let me say again, 30 hours into a game and they just…opened it up more. Not only did they do that, they threw in a mechanic to change aspects of the new area. And when changing those aspects, they threw new puzzles at me. These puzzles, when solved, ADDED ANOTHER LAYER of this new massive area.
It’s like a gaming clown car or something. This game never stops going. I’d been in areas before that were quite large to explore but here I am again, what feels like late in the game (but maybe that’s because I spend so much time exploring everything), and they just…give you more.
I don’t know why that feels like some sort of novel concept. I can’t say that all games should do this, but given this and I think Elden Ring does the same sort of thing, it’s a wonder more don’t. I get it takes time and effort to make all of that, but it was amazing to see this area open up to me and my sudden realization that I could go explore it. As though I had conditioned myself to think it was all set dressing. It’s the background of where you are playing and while it’s massive, you only have a small space to explore.
God Of War devs said nope – if you build it then let the player explore it.
Now if only Ubisoft could build a new Splinter Cell for me to explore. It’s been 3,420 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Welcome to season 17!
We’ve been away for two weeks and, on my end, there isn’t a whole lot to show for it. Still, we do try to pick our best games of last year, even though we…well, I, haven’t really had a lot of variety there. Still, as a spoiler, here were my three picks:
God Of War Ragnarok. I’m still playing this game and making my way through it. I’m slow with these kinds of games as I take my time and secure every little thing I can on the path to the boss, feeling as though I’ll lose the ambition to go back once the game is complete. None of that actually matters though because it keeps me entertained. By that I mean the game keeps pushing me forward, even with the distractions. Overall, when I’m finished, I’m sure I could find a few points of where the game drags, but, currently playing in the moment, I can’t find those points. The story is easily holding its own and nothing, so far, feels like a waste or something thrown on to lengthen the game. Again, retrospect may prove otherwise but I’m enjoying every moment of the game.
Vampire Survivors. This would probably be my game of the year. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and the loot/replay loop is fantastic. Then again, it was developed by one person who used to make casino games. They know a thing or two about getting you hooked and keeping you there. And this game does it flawlessly. It’s not the prettiest looking game out there and this proves the point that looks and story aren’t everything. Gameplay can come in and trump them all. Spend the five bucks. It’s worth it.
Marvel Snap. I never thought a card game would ever hook me but this one has. It’s absolutely free to play and there is some monetization there, it’s completely your choice to spend money. I haven’t spent a dime and if you think it means you’re missing out, I’ve won far more games with the base cards than I have lost. You don’t win the game by spending money. And that’s the best thing I could probably say about it. Still, it’s free, takes maybe less than 3 minutes to play a match, and you can play it anywhere on your phone or PC. It’s currently still in “early access” with a full release pending for the middle of this year so there’s tons of potential here and room for improvement. And you can’t beat free.
Maybe one day I can add a Splinter Cell game to a list like above, but until then we wait. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,413 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
The final show of the year is always kind of hard to write about and, sometimes, given whatever may be going on, just as difficult to find a subject to focus on.
We had a good year and a good run of episodes and we can’t thank you enough for being there with us. You have been and will always remain to be our reason for doing this. When you’re done then we’re done. We appreciate the year you’ve given us. The feedback, the phone calls, the emails, likes, shares, comments, and contributions. It all means a great deal to everyone involved with the show.
We can’t wait to see you in the new year and we look forward to everything on the horizon from 2023. Even without a new Splinter Cell release.
Thanks again for listening for all these years. We absolutely cannot do this without you.
In the meantime, the clock keeps ticking. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,399 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Given how the night started off with the game awards, I wasn’t hopeful for Elden Ring. God Of War was just raking in the wins right from the start and the more they pulled in the more I felt like the momentum of a recent release would carry the game to a sweep – or close to one.
That isn’t how it actually turned out, however, and the big Game Of The Year award going to Elden Ring seemed, I don’t know, fitting. I can’t really make a comparison as I haven’t played Elden Ring. My only factors of thinking it would take home the big prize was the reach it had and the popularity it gained. Now, I have no clue if those were factors in how it was selected, but that was my criteria, for whatever reason.
I won’t complain too much about the awards presentation themselves. My complaints from previous years pretty much still stand. Stop steamrolling through awards. Give the devs (not the publishers) their time for recognition. Cut back on reveals. Oh, and maybe cut back on categories as well. And as a recent addition to the complaints – beef up security.
We’ve got one more show left to go before we say goodbye for the year. Join us next week for our Christmas show – whatever that entails.
In the meantime, Ubisoft, it’s been 3,392 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
It wasn’t my biggest haul of games over the holiday weekend but it was enough. Though I suppose at this point getting the deals is the easy part. It’s finding the time to play them – that’s the tricky one. I probably pulled in about 10 news games or so over the weekend, but I’ve […]
A show so nice we’re playing it twice. Actually, we do this every year around this time. Mainly because what we’re talking about in this episode will still apply come next weekend. It’s Black Friday week, so we’re all about the deals. So long as they are console related. The PC folks among us take […]
It’s either A or B. Two choices. Sure, there will be more choices, of course, but it’s really down to just two. Elden Ring or God Of War Ragnarok. Those are your Game Of The Year contenders, and I haven’t played either of them. Yet. Ragnarok is only a matter of time for me. Elden […]
I’m not sure we’ve ever had a peripheral cost more than the console it was made for. Now, sure, I can imagine going back to the NES days with the Power Glove/Pad/Gun/Etc, those would cost more given the console had already been out for a while. But the PSVR2 coming out next year will cost […]
I love a good horror game. I just won’t play a good horror game. Or a bad one. It’s a genre I don’t really ever dip into but they’ve mostly been some of the more fascinating play throughs I’ve watched or experienced. And sometimes, when we’re ever so lucky, we get a pretty good story […]
It’s getting closer and closer to that time of year when we’ll start to hear about all the Black Friday discounts, where games are concerned anyway. And by the way, just because it’s a Black Friday deal doesn’t mean it’ll happen on that day or that you even have to go out in the mess […]
Lowered Expectations… Things seem lite. I feel like we should be talking about new games released or just around the corner to do so, but nothing stands out. There’s God Of War in November and your usual Call Of Duty. Let me take a moment to talk about Call Of Duty. That franchise doesn’t even […]
They almost never pick the one YOU want. Like a lot of things we consume for entertainment, I suspect the ideas of remakes are subjective. The negative points being it’s either too soon for a remake or it was never worthy of one to begin with. The positives being returning to an old game with […]
Happy Spooky Season. Let’s visit a tech graveyard. We could say we called this whole Stadia thing going south way back when it was first announced, but EVERYONE called it, really. Google leaves a trail of death behind it. Like some weird nature thing where the company gives birth to a product and then just […]
Pretty soon, the card number will match the price… There was a lot of stuff leaked last week and still relatively very little was revealed. I mean, Diablo 4 was going to probably look like a better Diablo 3 with some QOL changes here and there, but nothing surprising. The GTA6 leak was massive as […]
I mean, the word Graphics was in their name! Sometimes it feels like there’s more to a story than what we are all being told. This whole split between EVGA and NVIDIA seems like one of those. Or, maybe it isn’t. Maybe we’ve been told exactly what’s going on and maybe this is how other […]
Buyers Keepers… I’m not really a Call Of Duty player. And it’s hard for me right now to find something to equate this whole thing with, but I think Sony’s displeasure (we’ll call it that) with Microsoft over Call Of Duty is…a little weird. I don’t know if Sony were ever in the running to […]
A relic appears… We’ve likely spoken about video game nostalgia before. And, for a moment, I’d like to talk about it again. And really, this is just a “me” thing or, well, an “us” thing. Destiny 2 just relaunched an activity in the game that hasn’t been there since the first Destiny. It launched in […]
We didn’t really hit the news so much for this show as we did just talking to folks through Discord. And to follow up on that conversation, I’d asked for help in No Man’s Sky and last night after the show did not disappoint. I appreciate DukeFrukem for giving me a hand in the game […]
A few weeks back I nostalgically spoke of the console wars. The ol’ Microsoft versus Sony thing we all did way back when and what some still do. It was always a clash, but it was one that took place in a court of public opinion or one we measured with sales and popularity or […]
The sky’s the limit.. Been quite a while since I’ve started something new. On a large scale, I suppose. I’ve poked around some small indie titles here and there or played some demos but haven’t really set off on a large scale new game in awhile. And while No Man’s Sky isn’t new, it is […]
Begun, the console war has… I don’t remember when I stopped caring about the “Console Wars”, but at some point I did. Likely when I was able to afford all the systems so I could cover all grounds of whatever was released. I can remember as a kid in school getting the magazines that covered […]
Sometimes…well, most times, really, games will get a lot of hype, then release to some very underwhelming reception from reviews, the public, or any number of different things. Point being, it doesn’t live up to the hype. Maybe it gets patched. Maybe things get fixed, but the taste has already soured and there’s little hope […]
Somehow we managed to hit every single news story we’d planned on this episode and that’s pretty surprising since we mostly don’t stick to that with how far off track we get. Not something we mind, really. I do realize, however, that given we did that, it makes writing these a bit tough since we […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Ubisoft recently showed more of Skull & Bones. It’s their very-late-to-the-party grasp on one of the best parts of a previous Assassin’s Creed game – being a Pirate. Thing is, they showed this to us 5 years ago, or at least announced it. Most of the news […]
It’s been tough for a lot of people these past few days. And it’s only the beginning of just how tough it is going to get. This little show seems awfully trivial given the way of the world right now. We hope you’re okay.
Too much is not enough… I remember when I was younger I had it in my mind that more was better. If the movie trailer was longer it was great cause you saw more of the movie you wanted to see. If the TV program was longer you got more of the show you wanted […]
Life moves pretty fast… This whole Summer Games Fest and Not-E3 thing has kind of surprised me. Well, it’s mostly me, I think. It seems to have come and gone with very little fanfare that I can tell. But, again, maybe that’s me just not paying attention. But it feels like the hype train was […]
We all have our styles we like when it comes to many different things such as movies, music, entertainment of all kinds, really. And it’s the same with video games. Racing, Puzzles, and adventure type games are my thing. Fighting games, shmups, Souls styles are in RJ’s wheelhouse. I’ve never come away from a Final […]
Wish in one hand… It sucks to know there were TWO opportunities to get something you wanted from a developer, and from both you end up getting nothing you were hoping for. It’s early as hell to pass judgment, I suppose, but Gotham Knights isn’t pulling me in so far and Suicide Squad has been […]
If I had 300 million dollars… We’re only 4 months into the year (working on our 5th) and studios are getting bought and sold A LOT. Maybe this goes on a lot and it’s not as big a deal or it’s smaller companies that it happens to, but this year has been a bit different […]
I still miss the blade UI. Sometimes nostalgia gets me. Most times, actually, but that depends on the subject. Gaming almost always works, though. Be it through rose tinted glasses or a scowl of regret, I have memories of things being not as bad as I remember them and others that make me wonder why […]
Did you just double-dip? I recently picked up the three Rocksteady developed Batman games for the Xbox. Hey, WB, Arkham Origins could use a remaster release or something. It’s a good title amongst the three and well worth being included in the “trilogy” (which wouldn’t make it a trilogy, I know). Anyway, it brought to […]
In The Not Too Distant Future.. I used to love speculating on what might be coming out in the future as far as video games are concerned. It was fun to think about what might be shown during E3 presentations or any of these Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft streams that only tell you WHEN they take […]
Fifteen bucks, little man… I can remember a time well over a decade ago when paying a subscription to play a game wasn’t too far fetched. I guess they still exist now? I’m not sure. Seems most died out or went free-to-play and offered other ways of making money rather than paying something monthly. Still, […]
Welcome to PlayStation Plus Plus Premium Elite Ultimate (or Monkey See Monkey Do). At first I wasn’t sold on this PlayStation Plus restructuring. Reading through it during this episode made me raise an eyebrow on that middle tier. I mean 400 games, I think, is worth the extra $40. HOWEVER, if they really wanted to […]
It’s like McDuck’s Money Bin…for games. Just a note that we won’t have a show next weekend, but we’ll return on April 2nd. We talk a lot about video games. Be them new, old, classic, vintage. We also bring up board games from time to time – like this episode for instance – and we’ll […]
Fair warning for those about to listen, there might be a spoiler or two for the first Hellblade at the beginning of this episode. Also, there’s vagueness around some possible spoiler stuff for Guardians Of The Galaxy as well – not the ending, mind you, but just a section of the game. The reason I’m […]
To Play Or Not To Play Elden Ring still tempts me. And I don’t completely know why. There’s no FOMO there. It’s all very self contained and…singular, in a way. It’s something that can be played now or years from now and you likely won’t be spoiled on content or story or, really, anything at […]
Now You’re Playing With Power, Portable Power! I can’t speak to owning a Steam Deck. I can speak to owning almost everything else Valve has released on the hardware side of things (minus THEIR version of VR) and it makes me skeptical. Not in the sense of what the Deck can do. But more about […]
Two Is Better Than One Sequels, as we all know, can be hit or miss. And this extends to threequels, prequels, and whatever else comes before or after. Point being, is the next one better than the one that came before it? In most media, the original stays winning, but in gaming, that isn’t always […]
The Bungie Cinematic Universe. I don’t really know what it means with Sony buying Bungie. As a Destiny player, I don’t think it’ll mean anything. The road map for this game seemed pretty clearly defined. They plan on wrapping it all up with an expansion next year (or maybe the year after?), and have also […]
Don’t Believe Their Lies There’s been a running joke on the show over the years about me not willing to drop $15 on a game on sale cause I think it could be lower or that $15 is too much. Then I’ll turn around and tell you I just dropped $250 on a steelbook or […]
Microvision Blizzardsoft That’s pretty much what the whole show is about. There’s a time or two we talk about a few other things but really the focus is on Microsoft buying Activision. Oddly enough, having talked about it for two hours there were still things we didn’t get to – mainly the good and bad […]
I think I own Hellblade on both consoles and PC. And I’ve had them now for quite some time. Years, in fact. So I’m just a little bit behind in finishing it but that’s exactly what happened over the course of the week. I have stronger feelings about Guardians Of The Galaxy, be them good […]
Itâ€s been two weeks but it feels longer for some reason. Anyway, weâ€re back and the topic of discussion is what we did on our Christmas vacation.
Iâ€ll probably ramble on a little bit here like I did in the show about these two things, but Iâ€ll start by saying Guardians Of The Galaxy is worth your time. It really is. It shouldnâ€t be – I mean, just at a quick glance and seeing what Square did with the other Marvel game youâ€d be justified in being a bit concerned. Fear not, true believer! This game, like a certain character within it, is golden. Combat is annoying. It isnâ€t hard. It isnâ€t broken. It just isnâ€t good. Thatâ€s my one complaint. The rest of the game is great.
Then thereâ€s Hellblade. Yeah, Iâ€m a bit behind here. Thereâ€s nothing broken in the game. Itâ€s beautiful and the story is captivating. Itâ€ll hold you through it, but thatâ€s all itâ€ll hold. Thereâ€s no guidance here. No hand holding, no tutorial. Your best friend is the pause menu with the controller options because that 's the only way youâ€ll know how to fight. Thereâ€s no waypoint or map. In some cases (MYST), Iâ€m okay with this. In a game with combat, death, and permadeath, Iâ€d like a little hint now and again on how to stay alive or where to go. Too many times now in the game Iâ€ve spent the better part of 30 minutes just trying to find my way around an area. When I do finally finish this game, Iâ€ll come back to it on the show and see if these problems, after all is said and done, are actually problems.
As another year begins we still count the days…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,063 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, or VR exclusive).
The more the merrier.
Our final episode of Season 15 (and 2021) did not end quietly. Nor should it. We celebrated old friends and new games with a hopeful look to whatâ€s next for 2022. I say hopeful but weâ€re all quite certain more companies will be facing reckonings of some sort or another as old stones get overturned. Which, actually, is kind of hopeful in a way since they all need to be held accountable.
Itâ€s been a long time since weâ€ve had this many people on the show with us and it was wonderful to see this time of year. Iâ€m hoping in the next year itâ€ll happen a lot more often. Iâ€d also like to bring back guests again for interviews so thatâ€ll be a goal of ours in the coming year.
We canâ€t thank you all enough for giving us another great year of episodes and constantly and consistently showing up for the live broadcasts. Be it through Twitch, Discord, the radio, or however you listen – it really means the world to us.
Thank you all so much for listening. Weâ€ll be back in two weeks.
As another year ends we still count the days…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,042 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive or remake).
You do plan to have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour, right?
It shouldnâ€t be called "The Game Awards". At this point, just call it "The Game Show". I mean, thereâ€s very little award there to even be mentioned. Itâ€s a sorry excuse to just show off new stuff. So do that. Show off the new stuff and do something else to honor the developers. Within the first five minutes of someone actually being on stage, they give out an award. Then, youâ€ve got nothing until nearly an hour later. About thirty minutes after that you get another followed by like, 5 more just rambled off without any fanfare or acceptance speeches.
Look, I know you arenâ€t going to please everyone. The majority of people tune in for the announcements, but most donâ€t even do that. They watch them all later without all the filler in between. Look at the viewer count for a new trailer compared to seeing some developer win something. Itâ€s a massive difference. And so while you say you are there to honor the devs who made these games and show off new stuff – itâ€s really only to show off new stuff. Your actions and their views easily prove this. So lean into it.
But stop calling it The Game Awards. Unless, you know, you do plan on having awards at your award show.
For what itâ€s worth, Iâ€d enjoy having both. But if I canâ€t, Iâ€d rather have the awards. The people who make these things we obsess over deserve the recognition – and they deserve it better than whatâ€s being done so far.
And the award for longest break in a Ubisoft franchise goes to…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,035 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
It was brussels sprouts for me.
You know how when you were a kid you specifically remember hating a certain food. It was probably a veggie of some sort or another. Maybe even a fruit. Usually healthy, but thatâ€s not the point. What happens is, you remember hating that food and really not liking it but then you try it later after some years and LOVE it. You canâ€t even remember why you hated it as a kid, but damn itâ€s delicious.
Thatâ€s not really what happened with me and VR, but itâ€s close. I loved VR when I first tried it years ago. I loved it when I had my own headset and loved it again with the Playstation version. But it was a process. A lot of wire connecting and more effort to play a game for 20 or 30 minutes than whatâ€s usual – which is none, really. I had those headsets years ago – the first versions of the Vive and Oculus. Maybe a few months of time spent with them then nothing. Then PSVR came around…another month or so of enjoying it and nothing.
Then I got a Quest 2 last week. VR is back on the menu. But for probably longer than a month or so this time.
I still need to put in a lot more time with it, and I will, but right now itâ€s amazing and I want to show it off to everyone (which I can thanks to its ability to stream cast to a tv, phone, or PC). Itâ€s portable. It needs nothing but the headset and the controllers. No wires. Every room can be room scale VR. Itâ€s not THAT expensive (compared to other VR units) either. It pretty much ticks the boxes I talked about years ago for VR to become more accepted.
Iâ€m excited about VR again. And, again, excited for the potential of VR.
Maybe in some other reality itâ€s already happened but for us…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,028 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
Stuffed with savings.
As usual this time of year we wonâ€t be doing a show next week.
Iâ€m currently in the middle of looking over deals and checking reviews and patch notes to see whatâ€s maybe worth picking up at a decent price when I remembered I had a show to post.
Seriously, I was up until 2am this morning as the last of the expected deals for today started going live (more to come tomorrow and later this week, of course). Iâ€ve only made a few purchases here and there but overall it looks to be a nice sizable haul of games. Iâ€m still hoping for some sort of miracle deal on Returnal, Ghost Of Tsushima Directorâ€s Cut, & Ratchet & Clank. Their current sale price just doesnâ€t cut it for me. And, honestly, the more I sit on them, the more I think waiting for a PS+ freebie sounds like the better option. Still, there is a price point for those Iâ€ll bite at and Iâ€m eagerly awaiting to see how that may play out.
Check out our twitter and facebook page for a spreadsheet of ALL the deals currently available and those will be updated as prices change or new sales announced.
Happy deal hunting, everyone!
Meanwhile…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,014 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
The new kid in town.
Every week I come away playing one game more than another. And yes, usually that game is Destiny, but not this week. And likely not for a few weeks to come until something pulls me back into Destiny (and it will). This week, that game was Forza Horizon 5. For some of the lucky few, it might have been the Elden Ring network test.
Iâ€m not going to write a review of FH5, but I will say itâ€s one of the prettiest looking games Iâ€ve seen. Thereâ€s a ton of vehicles, and the map is gigantic and you never stop progressing. Those are just some quick high spots of the game. Thereâ€s a lot more to it and it’s hard to find fault in any of it. Just…well, I hope you like driving games.
On another note, weâ€re less than two weeks away from the big Black Friday sales and if youâ€re looking to pick up a few games then just hold off a little bit longer. We hope to have a better list of things on sale come next episode (hurry it up Target & Best Buy), and weâ€ll run down what you can find and offer up a very well done spreadsheet so you can keep track of it all.
Meanwhile…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,007 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
What goes around…
I think we all have phases of our hobbies. Or vices. Or maybe really anything. Iâ€ll relate it to gaming but I think it works in almost any scenario.
For gaming, it can be anything from the style of game youâ€re interested in, the genre, the franchise, the aesthetic – all the way down to the console you prefer to play on. And that can shift over time. With the release of that trailer for the film version of Uncharted, Iâ€ve been looking back at that series and revisiting Lost Legacy since I never finished it. And lately, Iâ€ve been having a craving for combat in the Batman games.
When I get around to checking out Forza Horizon 5 next week on Gamepass, Iâ€ll probably have an itch for some more arcade racing and will likely dip back into Burnout.
Just that whole cycle thing, but, of course, a circle never ends.
Speaking of things that never end…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 3,000 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
Great expectations.
Guardians Of The Galaxy was never on my radar. The showing a few months back was long and drawn out and seemed to be combat focused. Thatâ€s fine, but what I was seeing wasnâ€t drawing me in. About ten minutes or less into a 30-45 minute presentation and I was done. Game was written off and Iâ€d never think about it again except for another swing and a miss for Square and their Marvel games.
Then the game is released and the tide of opinion begins to turn and not just on the reviews side of things. Regular players who donâ€t review games for a living were giving high praise to the title. And yeah, by Avengers comparison the bar wasnâ€t that high to begin with, but it was better. I watched a few reviews on my iPad during exercising and was genuinely turned around in my expectations of the game, and really happy to hear the combat is sparse. Or more so than that 45 minute first look would have you think. Single player, story driven, no online aspect or microtransactions. These were all boxes I loved seeing ticked.
Then I watched a video comparison on the different console versions between Series X and PS5. Except not on the iPad this time, but on the 65†OLED.
Sold.
Decision made. I need to play this game. So yeah, from this summer up until just a few days ago I was already forgetting this game. Now, Iâ€ll scour the ads looking for a good Black Friday deal (weâ€ll talk about that in the next few weeks, by the way). Iâ€m curious though, what games have done this for you?
Speaking of expectations…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 2,993 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
Giving it the ol†in-and-out.
Yeah, probably not the best starter Iâ€ve ever come up with, but itâ€s in relation to those moments in gaming when we turn the game on and something about it just makes us turn it right back off again. It isnâ€t out of something like forgetting you had something else to do and couldnâ€t play at that moment or anything like that – itâ€s specifically a design choice, or a gameplay mechanic, or something else about the game that makes you give up before you even started.
This happened recently while trying to play Doom Eternal on Gamepass. The download of the game took forever (we couldnâ€t find where to download JUST the single player portion so it pulled down the whole thing), then when we finally started it up, it asked us to sign into a Bethesda account and if we didnâ€t have one we needed to make one. I couldnâ€t find any option to skip this part so we could just play the game. So we turned it off.
I rarely "nope" out of games on a superficial level. I hate underwater sections where air is crucial. Itâ€s not a trigger or anything like that, but itâ€s anxiety on a level I do not want. I love the Burnout games but I absolutely cannot stand and dread, in fact, their time trials. Then thereâ€s this whole thing where to play a game you have to have an account with the developer/publisher. Not a fan. And most, I believe, give you the option to play without signing in/up and youâ€ll miss out on some stupid extras or something, but when they completely close the door to the game until you do, thatâ€s bad design. Itâ€s corporate design, and itâ€s bad design.
One quick note…in regards to the counter below that Iâ€ve been doing for a while now. That will continue until they release the game. Weâ€ve gotten word that a new Splinter Cell is probably in development, but itâ€s a rumor right now and nothing official from Ubisoft. So until itâ€s released, weâ€re still counting the days.
With that said…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 2,986 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
Dread and loving it.
I havenâ€t spent much time with Metroid Dread since its release but what little time I have spent with the game has been enjoyable. It also happens to look amazing on the OLED Switch. In handheld mode this game shines and even when docked it still looks and plays great.
Iâ€m currently not a fan of the EMMI rooms. Itâ€s the "dread" part of the title. And while Iâ€m not a fan of them because of the stress and anxiety they bring about, I understand and accept their place in the game. And itâ€s essential.
Then thereâ€s Destiny. Itâ€s a game that I can notice myself running out of patience with at times. Some of their decisions on things are so odd and feel more like a punishment than anything else. I donâ€t like that feeling. I donâ€t like feeling that way about a game Iâ€ve put so much time into. I want it to keep me coming back. I want that drive to play, and when they release updates as they did which, again, feels like a punishment then it really puts a damper on my desire to fire up the game at all.
But as soon as this is posted, there Iâ€ll be.
Meanwhile…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 2,979 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).
That thing you do.
You know the thing. Where you say you wonâ€t do something but you end up doing it. Almost every single time.
I was able to sell my launch Switch System and, with all that GameStop credit I had from last week, also picked up a new Switch OLED version. Something Iâ€d said probably as early as 2 weeks ago was something I wouldnâ€t do. But here we are.
Iâ€m not at all unhappy with the system, by the way. Screen is gorgeous. The build feels better and it really feels like Nintendo will probably continue going in this direction with further iterations of the system.
A quick note about this episode, the audio isnâ€t at the quality youâ€ve come to expect from us. It wasnâ€t noticeable as we were recording. However, Iâ€m now aware of what the issue was caused by and weâ€ll have this corrected come next episode. Really sorry about that.
Meanwhile…Ubisoft, itâ€s been 2,972 days since the last Splinter Cell release (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise or VR exclusive).