Fellow CachyOS user (we’re like the lil’ brothers of Arch!).

While I do appreciate GoG working on their own native launcher - is there anything wrong with just using Heroic for both GoG and EGS?

Only tangentially related, but I specifically claim every single game they make freely available on multiple accounts - just in the vain effort of costing Tim Sweeney money, even though I am yet to launch even one.

I think you hit the nail on the head, right there.

Black Flag still felt more vertical than AC3, plus when it comes to my memory - AC3 felt very cold and grey, while AC4 was bright and warm.

Assassin’s Creed III never clicked for me, and I remember buying the Collector’s Edition day 1 - after enjoying the hell out of AC1, 2, Brotherhood and Revelations.

I ended up enjoying both AC4 and Rogue afterwards, so 🤷🏻‍♂️

True, but don’t sleep on the Mega Drive / Genesis, or the Neo Geo too!

There are legitimately so many incredible titles in the 4th (16bit) console generation, that it could keep most people playing for a decade or more.

…and that’s BEFORE gaming exploded in popularity with the 5th & 6th console generations.

Dread it. Run from it. Retro status arrives all the same.

I was expecting you to recommend Elden Ring, honestly!

Willing to tackle the series chronologically, if that’s what you think would be the best way to familiarise myself with the genre.

From Software Souls-like games.

In fact, I’m still technically sleeping on them as I don’t know where to start. Assuming I can only play on a PS3 or Steam Deck - where would be the best jumping in point?

Absolute platinum tier brain-dead take.

The only “morons” around here are people who loudly and proudly share the same stupid disinfo, and try to disparage those that actually trying to keep this hobby from completely going down the shitter.

No one’s trying to take away your ability to buy and play digital games, so why the fuck are you advocating doing so for those that prefer physical media?

Has your dumb-ass not yet realised that physical media means competitive pricing, due to Sony’s online store needing to compete with B&M sales, as well as the 2nd hand market?

Once that’s taken away, and you’re stuck with “dynamic targeted pricing” of $70+ dollars for years-old titles - if you can even still purchase them - maybe then, the couple of brain cells floating around in that massive waste of space between your ears might just manage to find each other, and it will finally dawn on you just how hard you’re now getting fucked over.

Oh, and by-the-way - removing digital-only titles and DLC from the sales metrics, something like ~50% of game sales are still through physical media.

Similarly, pulled the trigger on a LWB 7-seater version of the id.Buzz. Not a lot of choice here in Australia, especially given we wanted to take advantage of the FBT exemption for EVs.

Delivery in ~3 months - low-key hyped, NGL.

I’d love to see something like the SuperDock come out for the Steam Machine, except like - actually functioning would be a bonus!

As a fellow Aussie, just be aware that importing goods from overseas does make you liable to pay for GST on them at the border.

As a nation, we love a punt - and I’ve taken that gamble multiple times without issue bringing in tech in my luggage - but just be mindful of that fact.

Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive.

Take-Two is already on the list, and also covers 2K and Zynga.

I recently showed a 60-something year old relative the two GTA6 trailers, while explaining my looking forward to trailer 3 and the game’s launch.

They remembered me playing Vice City back in the early 00s, so we watched its first two trailers also and let me tell you - for all of modern gaming’s faults - marketing has gotten a lot better in the intervening years.

You’re right, we tend to distill value per dollar - but that’s a 2-dimensional equation: games can either be longer but more expensive - or shorter and cheaper.

As an extreme example, I have gotten so much value out of games like Minecraft and Vampire Survivors that my cost-per-hour played is in single-digit cents. Neither is pretty (graphically), and both were very cheap early-access titles when I bought them.

Comparatively, I can’t think of any recent AAA releases have had anywhere near the level of replayability of indie passion projects.

Bit of a tangent, but I personally think the gaming experience peaked in the PS3/X360 era - and the industry has been largely treading water ever since. Nothing that’s come out over the last two console generations couldn’t have been done on those earlier platforms (albeit with lower graphical fidelity).

How would you rank Max Payne 2 in that comparison? It was more fun (subjective), prettier (objective), but shorter (from memory).

Legitimately, SR4 was my introduction to the series and I absolutely adored the shit out of it.

If you haven’t checked it out yet - The Gat Out of Hell expansion had a very similar super-powered play-style.

It’s weird that I’m actively rooting for China to do it’s thing and begin to rapidly pump out cheap memory modules in such high volumes that they are able to over-satiate demand and put a downward pressure on pricing.

Before anyone tries to accuse me of copium or some other affliction, I would like to remind you that this is EXACTLY China’s modus operandi for the past 20-something years.

Both Samsung & SK Hynix were just in the news for issuing their DRAM division staff annual bonuses of well over $300K USD from a 10-15% pool of operating profits. The margins are there for China to squeeze once their manufacturing capability catches up - and it’s catching up very quickly.

The only thing preventing a re-release of any of these “EA Trax” era titles is that they’re not willing to pay to renew those licenses.

加油 !

I know how you feel, I have similar regrets about Psygnosis the PS1 era - so many games that meant so much to me growing up, that I we couldn’t afford to buy. Most I either got to experience through demo discs, renting, or piracy.

But it’s OK - they might not exist as a company anymore. But their former employees still do, their art continues to live on, and you now own a piece of it yourself.

Master System 2
Super Nintendo
Game Boy
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
GameBoy Advance SP
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation 3
New 3DS
Steam Deck

I honestly think the 3DS was probably the most disappointing; I bought it on a whim 2nd hand from EB Games along with a copy of a Pokémon game (I don’t remember which). Mechanics hadn’t evolved much since Pokémon Blue, and the experience was kinda “meh” overall.

I also dabbled with a few other games, but nothing gripped me. The only saving grace for that console was that it rapidly appreciated in value since my purchase (like 5x?) due to the relative rarity of that particular colorway.