And then Rare claimed they were continuing the memory-maxing shenanigans with DK 64 requiring the Expansion Pack to play, but it was really only to fix one bug that would be hard to run into but would break the game without it. The Expansion Pack does very little to nothing for the game otherwise. According to some former Rare devs they could’ve fixed the bug without needing the Expansion Pack but they decided to require it anyway.
More of an anomaly than it is today, TBH. The console stores and Steam really do not care anymore what goes up on their shop, as long as they can see even a little $$$ from it. Porn games on the eShop and Steam are rampant.
Back in those times gaming was still seen as mainly a kid’s hobby by most, so I would almost guarantee Conker fooled a lot of parents (didn’t fool mine, though), especially being on the N64 and starring a “cute” squirrel as the main protagonist. I would actually argue, though, that parents cared a good deal more then than they do now. Night Trap and Mortal Kombat almost got games censored by the US government in the early 90s, and they’d be seen as quaint now. We’ve had a ratings system for 30 years and more underage kids than ever are probably playing adult oriented games today. An M rating is just what marketers need to sell their game to the junior high market because parents are ignorant and retailers just want the money, doesn’t matter from where.
“My human got me the most awesome box for Christmas. He also got me a toy, and that was nice and whatever. But that box was AMAZING.”
Even given that, I’d still think there would be an uptick in Linux market share, but only a small one. Certainly no “year of the Linux desktop” levels.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, a few days ago. Been busy or just didn’t feel like gaming since then.
I definitely do the Firefox to LibreWolf (and also install Brave as a backup). I also replace the default video player with Haruna and VLC (but default to Haruna). I change music players all the time so I just replace the default with whatever I feel like using at the time. In the past I’ve replaced Thunderbird with KMail, but on my latest install I left Thunderbird alone since I like having available RAM.
Myst is an all-time classic. I’d just wander around exploring the world.
I tried so hard to get anywhere in Magic Carpet but our home computer ran the game too fast. I needed the “turbo button” to slow the game down but we didn’t have one.
Also had the PC version of Garfield Caught in the Act (just called Garfield on PC). Played through it over and over again. The Genesis game with improved graphics, an exclusive level and one of the most underrated soundtracks in gaming. Seriously, look up the soundtrack to the PC version, the entire thing jams.
EDIT: Also, Age of Wonders. I actually spent more time in the level editor than in the game itself, building Middle Earth as a map and placing cities, factions and leaders on it as something of an “old school” (for the time) Battle for Middle Earth.
Nintendo’s lawyers doing something good for once?
Just as there are many reasons not to support Microsoft, Sony, Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and so on. None of them is off the hook and they’ve all been under the microscope as well. I wasn’t saying that Nintendo doesn’t do crappy things, but that most game companies do crappy things and they tend to get heat for the crappy things they do almost on a rotation based on what gamers are focusing on.
Yep, it’s a byproduct of the “bit wars” in the gaming culture of the '80s and '90s where each successive console generation had much more of a visual grqphical upgrade without sacrificing too much in other technical aspects like framerate/performance. Nowadays if you want that kind of upgrade you’re better off making a big investment in a beefy gaming rig because consoles have a realistic price point to consider, and even then we’re getting to a point of diminishing returns when it comes to the real noticeable graphical differences. Even back in the '80s/'90s the most powerful consoles of the time (such as the Neo Geo) were prohibitively expensive for most people. Either way, the most lauded games of the past few years have been the ones that put the biggest focus on aspects like engaging gameplay and/or immersive story and setting. One of the strongest candidates for this year’s Game of the Year could probably run on a potato and was basically poker with some interesting twists: essentially the opposite of a big studio AAA game. Baldur’s Gate 3 showed studios that gamers are looking for an actual complete game for their $60, and indie hits such as the aforementioned Balatro are showing then that you can make games look and play great without all the super realistic graphics or immense budget if you have that solid gameplay, story/setting and art style. Call of Duty Black Ops 48393 with the only real “innovation” being more realistic sun glare on your rifle is just asking for failure.
It’s just Nintendo’s turn to be in the spotlight for being crappy. Most game companies, especially if they’re big enough are crappy in different ways from each other.
Personal human contact is still an important thing to have for one’s mental health and wellbeing at any age, and that includes the elderly and the young interacting with each other You’d think that was an important societal lesson the isolated Covid years should have taught us. Do you not think that making robots do all the work of caring for the elderly at least gives off vibes of the young just tossing out the old? A robot can never provide the personal touch of care that a human can. When I get old the last thing I would want would be just to be sent to some “home” with my only contact being with machines and computers.
It’s a good thing they saw firsthand the beginnings of understanding that when players are given an open 3D expanse to explore, even with a set goal in mind, the fun is as much about the exploration on the journey to get to that goal as it is about completing the goal itself.
I also wonder, from watching those kids play and try to break the boundaries of the game, what he would think of all the grown adult speedrunners and YouTubers who do all that as a hobby now, lol.
Odd to say Veilguard was a success when from what I can tell, one of the few things uniting the very fractured and divided gaming community this year was that the writing in Veilguard was horrible. And you know that’s true when the various members of that community can give their own varied reasons why the writing was horrible and they would all be valid.
This is the most effective for my cat, but just be sure they don’t eat the treat around the pill and then spit the pill out.
Bingo. This gives no indication of what they discussed or what said CEOs actually think of him. Basically just routine politics to ensure they don’t get on his bad side regardless.
The only time I was really caught off guard by a game like that was Darksiders II. I went into the final area expecting a gauntlet of challenges, beat the first big boss enemy in there… And final cutscene and credits. That guy was the final boss. Made me literally put down the controller and say “That was it?” I’ve always known long games were going to be long going in to them.
To piggy back on this, here’s some more specific examples (as far as I’m aware listed games have both Genesis and SNES versions unless otherwise noted; note that versions may differ in gameplay and/or quality):
I personally vastly prefer mutable distros for my own system, but I understand the appeal for those who like them. As long as mutable distros remain an option I don’t mind immutable distros.