Keyrock

When I'm wrong, I will admit that I'm wrong, and I will admit that I was wrong about Apex Legends and the state of the battle royale landscape. I can't say 100% that AL will have staying power, but I got to play the game a little bit and it's legitimately good. I don't think it can unseat Fortnite, but I can definitely see it permanently taking over the #2 spot. AL has enough going for it to differentiate it from other games in the genre and IMHO it's just flat out better than PUBG. It's still not really my type of game, but if I were to continue playing a battle royale on the regular, it would definitely be Apex Legends. Respawn did a good.

Team Cherry is terrific. I would also put Failbetter Games, Image & Form Games, and Mimimi Productions into the top shelf indie category.

I watched Five Elements Ninjas last night. I've seen this movie before, as old skool kung fu is my favorite movie genre, bar none, so I've seen almost all these movies, multiple times in many cases. Five Elements Ninjas is one of Shaw Bros. ultimate masterpieces. The sheer level of absurdity in this 1982 gem is mind blowing. It's got it all: Ridiculous weapons and gadgets, super gory deaths, overly dramatic heroic deaths, an ill-fated and really creepy love subplot, and hilariously bad special effects. My only real criticism is that the training montage (generally my favorite part of kung fu movies, or any movie that includes them, for that matter) is relatively short.

My love of the Drakgoon shotgun goes beyond just Warframe. For all intents and purposes, the Drakgoon is the Flak Cannon from Unreal, right down to the shrapnel ricocheting off walls. It is my favorite weapon in that series as well. I did enjoy the Hek also. My biggest issue with the weapon is the combination of small clip size (4 I think) and long reload time. The damage output is amazing, though.

I should jump back into Warframe myself sometime. My favorite gun in the game was the Drakgoon shotgun. That bad boy did ABSURD amounts of damage at short to medium range and was even somewhat effective at long range. I miss going on ridiculous murder sprees with that shotty.

I love how much more of a badass Claire is in REmake 2 than Leon. Leon is this rookie cop who's all unsure of himself and gets thrust into some ****ed up **** and becomes a badass over the course of the game. Claire, right from the beginning, is like "I'm a Redfield. Sudden zombie outbreak everywhere? Pfft, typical Tuesday."

Consumers are absolutely to blame. Big publishers are publicly traded companies, they are constantly trying to figure out ways to maximize monetization. In fact, they owe it to their shareholders to maximize monetization. They're going to push this just as far as we let them and we let them push pretty f'n far through years of people saying "Day 1 DLC is no big deal, it's not like they're carving parts of the game out and selling it separately" when in fact they were carving parts of the game out and selling it separately and "Season passes are good value" and "these microtransactions are purely cosmetic" (I'm guilty of that one) and "without these microtransactions publishers can't afford to make these games" and so on. Sure, we started pushing back big time recently (see: Star Wars Battlefield 2) but the big push back needed to come 5 or 6 years ago. Now here we are in $60 up front, multiple deluxe editions, collector's editions that don't even include a copy of the game, multiple season passes, paid loot boxes, timed exclusives, single use paid consumables, pre-order available before a game trailer is even released hell.

^ Ironically, that actually works in favor of vidya game companies as there is usually a way to earn loot boxes in-game without spending real money in games that have monetized loot boxes, which, in effect should allow them to skirt gambling laws the same way McDonalds and others skirt gambling laws with the "purchase not necessary" loophole in games such as the aforementioned Monopoly. Of course, if the game costs $60 to start then you DO still have to make a purchase to be able to earn loot boxes in-game, so that puts the whole thing in a grey area and also reinforces my view that f2p monetization schemes are fine in f2p games but don't belong in pay up front games.

False. Gambling is risking money or something else of real value on an outcome that is determined by chance.

The way I see it, loot boxes in vidya games, so long as they are purchasable with real money, are gambling. People will present all types of loopholes and technicalities, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, etc... In the United States gambling is legal but it is regulated. Why should vidya games that contain gambling be exempt from said regulations? Want to have gambling in your game? Cool, go for it. Your game now has an AO 18+ ESRB rating and whatever percentage of profits from the sale of loot boxes goes to local governments as per state laws (I won't purport to know the details of these laws). As for other countries, the matter is up to them.

@Azdeus - Have you considered getting your whole body covered with bubble wrap?

What a surprise! It never ceases to baffle me that this needs to be researched. We are living in a time where there are people that are seriously pushing the idea that there are no biological differences between men and women and some of these people are even "academics" (I'm using this term in the loosest sense of the word imaginable) despite the hundreds of years and veritable mountain of scientifically proven evidence to the contrary. No level of sheer stupidity or willful ignorance to push an agenda can surprise me any more. People will continue to put forth the idea that vidya games, or whatever new medium comes along, are the source of all our problems so long as it serves as a convenient scapegoat to distract from the fact maybe some people are failing at their roles as parents and also that mental health is a serious problem that is not nearly as recognized nor addressed as it should be.

Dear God, I hope they don't include this in the game, or it's something you can disable in options. The last thing I want is survival game tedium shoehorned into my story-driven RPG.

There's no guarantee the person taking the picture is a guy. Also, there are such things as cameras you can set on a timer. Edit: Also, "third guy" implies that both people in bed are male.

Is it just me or is Far Cry: New Dawn the least ballyhooed title in the series? The game comes out tomorrow and while I've seen ads on Twitch, no one seems to be talking about it. Maybe I just don't frequent the places where it is being talked about?

Kool Keith is a one of a kind. He's like the Primus of hiphop. His rhymes are all wrong and yet somehow super right.

To be honest, I'm not sure, but that does sound plausible. The semi I drive has the standard 2 dually axles for the drive wheels (8 tires).

I drive a semi for a living so when the Mad Max apocalypse comes I'm all set. Granted, it's pretty terrible as far as fuel consumption goes, but it's fantastic for smashing into and through other vehicles.

I was given an Alexa last year as a gift from the place I worked at. I never hooked it up, it's still in the box. I appreciate the gift but I don't need YET ANOTHER device the NSA can track me with.

I files my tax return today.

I don't think we're at the point of no return yet, but we are getting dangerously close. What really scares me are the people in positions of power pushing equity as the solution. Equity is a TERRIBLE idea and will accelerate the coming of bloody revolution greatly.

Income inequality is a necessary byproduct of free markets and innovation, but it needs to be kept in check and it is snowballing dangerously out of control in the US. If it isn't curbed and soon we're going to end up in a burn it all down and start over scenario, which will be really bloody and terrible.

I bet there was at least one dude laughing and saying "It's just a passing shower." Now, my man drowned, but I'm just sayin'. This is why I plan to move to Asheville, NC eventually*. Ocean levels can rise, the next great flood can come, I'll be up here on top of a mountain chillin'. * Also, Asheville is beautiful

I just finished Yoga Fire in less than 5 minutes. I love that Obs put that option in the game. I was like, I'm through with you gods, y'all can find someone else to do your dirty business, and she was like suit yourself, roll credits.