Been playing a little bit of Overwatch. It literally is Blizzard's version of Team Fortress 2.

I started Shovel Knight this weekend.  Beat the first 2 proper knights.  It's...  Ok I guess.  I'm enjoying the throwback to simpler times, but so far I feel the game is lacking in charm.  But it's still early days.

Also played some Mario Party 10.  My wife bought this for our son, along with the Mario Amiibo.  He loves how he now has an amiibo of his own he can stand next to the 'small green fighter' (toon link) and the 'blue fighter' (marth).  It's nice to play with the kid.  He's obviously still too young for it, as he can't wrap his head around all the different controls the minigames throw at him, not to speak of the fact that he can't read yet, let alone understand English.

As for the actual game, it seems a lot simpler than the mario party games I played back in the day.  The gamepad is used to show Bowser being imprisoned.  It's a sweet extra little touch, as the prison has six locks, each for every number on the dice.  Every time someone throws the number for the first time, a lock will spring open and Bowser will roar.  When he finally escapes, he litters the board with extra minigames with high stakes.

SupremeAC said:

As for the actual game, it seems a lot simpler than the mario party games I played back in the day.  The gamepad is used to show Bowser being imprisoned.  It's a sweet extra little touch, as the prison has six locks, each for every number on the dice.  Every time someone throws the number for the first time, a lock will spring open and Bowser will roar.  When he finally escapes, he litters the board with extra minigames with high stakes.

I'm pretty sure the new ones are easier. I can't say I really kept up with the series past the second one, but when I played the Wii version and the Wii Party and Wii Party U games, they did seem remarkably easy. Part of it is probably eliminating some of the games that truly did not work, but there's definitely some dumbing down to appeal to younger kids instead of college kids who want to turn it into a drinking game.

Epic Games may never develop another large-scale single-player title

So no one has commented on this story or Sweeny going apeshit on Microsoft?

It seems the publishing deal for Gears of War was so toxic for Epic that it changed their whole business model and way of doing things and made Sweeny a MS hater.

SteelAttack said:

Almost as toxic as making the same game over and over again, huh Epic?

SupremeAC said:

Punk Rebel Ecks said:

Not entirely. PC component prices drop notably once a new card is avaliable. There are also "generational standards" that games are geared to that it is best to wait for. For example the ye olde 8800GT was supported by most high end games until a year and a half ago. However, something that preceeded that by a year. However previous generation GPUs were outdated long before that. I learned this the hardware as I built my first PC ten years ago and while it was cutting edge it mostly focused on non-future proof parts (high clocked AMD X2 CPU, GPU with high memory and mediocre speed, etc.). My first PC built in 2006 was too weak to run a fair share of games properly in less than three years. The comptuer I built after it could have comfortably lasted me four years. My current build is based off of a year and half old GPU and computer part from 2011. The computer can still run any game on high settings at 1080p. I ran The Witcher III at 4K at a higher framerate than the console counterparts. In short don't feel the need to wait an extra two years something bigger and better. But if its less than a year away it is best to wait and see.

True, but Vader wasn't in the market to upgrade his PC, he was building a new one.  So why wait 9 months for a better part?  There's always going to be a better part 9 months down the road.  To buy something PC related is to acknowledge that what you're buying will be cheaper and outperformed in a matter of months.  I get your point in that certain parts will be more widely supported than others and for a longer time, but didn't he get a 970 GPU?  Those are the most used GPU's according to Steam's most recent survey, so it's not like he's in danger of his rig becoming obsolete any time soon.

The way I look at it is, his PC is still going to outperform any consoles for the next 4 years, at least. Hell, I built mine in 2012, and MY PC outperforms the consoles for the next 4 years. Console tech hasn't been the cutting edge industry that it used to be. 360 and PS3 were, but every machine since then has been at least somewhat underpowered. You can built a top line gaming PC and have it outperform the consoles for years without doing much to it. That said, its always tempting to upgrade when you see the latest chips. And as Vader said, these new chips and cards are going to be the new standard going forward. So its a good time to think about upgrading for most people.

I don't think Vader should bother though. His GPU is going to be solid for awhile.

SupremeAC said:

I started Shovel Knight this weekend.  Beat the first 2 proper knights.  It's...  Ok I guess.  I'm enjoying the throwback to simpler times, but so far I feel the game is lacking in charm.  But it's still early days.

It's probably the most over-rated game I've played in a long time. It's up there with The Last of Us. Freedom Planet is better in every way, shape, and form. The difference is that it is a Genesis throwback game instead. By that game.

SupremeAC said:

True, but Vader wasn't in the market to upgrade his PC, he was building a new one.  So why wait 9 months for a better part?  There's always going to be a better part 9 months down the road.  To buy something PC related is to acknowledge that what you're buying will be cheaper and outperformed in a matter of months.  I get your point in that certain parts will be more widely supported than others and for a longer time, but didn't he get a 970 GPU?  Those are the most used GPU's according to Steam's most recent survey, so it's not like he's in danger of his rig becoming obsolete any time soon.

When you're spending big bucks, waiting an extra few months to gain a year or year and a half of life seems worth it to me.

How do you indeed. I never got lost in the game.

HTC Vive VR review: don’t believe the hype

Wow.

Read this.

Spiderman Swings Into Feudal Japan for New Figure

Move over Darth Vader, Spiderman has his own samurai dreams to fulfill.

Marvel's web-slinging superhero is joining Tamashii Nation's Meisho Realization figure series later this year and Bluefin will distribute it in late summer or fall. The reimagined seven-inch Spiderman looks at home in feudal-era Japan with web-like black and crimson armor.

Customers can pose Spidey in a number of ways thanks to 15 points of articulation. Takayuki Takeya designed the figure, giving him a ninja kaginawa-style grappling web hook. It also comes with three interchangeable hands and a Japanese katana set.

Pre-orders are open now for US$91.99. The Meisho Realization line previously reimagined Star Wars characters, including Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, and Darth Vader.

I smell a movie. Like TMNT 3