Webhead123

While we're riding the "unpopular Zelda opinions" train: While I respected Ocarina of Time for what it represented, I never liked the game as much as everyone else seemed to. Honestly, it might be my least favorite (of those I've played). The order of Zelda awesomeness goes: LttP -> BotW -> Awakening -> LBW -> Zelda I -> Wind Waker -> Minish Cap -> Zelda II -> Ocarina

Agreed. It is sad though that we've reached the point in the industry where we have to say, "Well, at least the bugs don't corrupt your save data".

I'm really excited about that game, a combination of the fact that I was a big fan of the Cyberpunk 2020 pen-and-paper RPG many years ago and the fact that it's CD Projekt Red behind the wheel. As the reviews are coming in, I'm hearing that there are a *lot* of bugs that need to be smoothed over, so I'm going to end up waiting about 6 months for them to iron out the kinks before I pick it up. That's the unfortunate state of AAA today. Games are so massive, development so involved and investors so entrenched that getting games out of the gate in a "final" state is rough. I know it isn't entirely the developer's fault (and I'm confident that CDPR will give it the necessary support) but that's just what consumers have to expect today. I'll wait until the game is more stable so that I can fully appreciate the experience.

Tugger's whistle's blowin' Which means we must be goin' No more Russell Crowe'n for you...

The beautiful thing about DLC/micro-transactions in particular and video games in general is that they are a luxury hobby and can be entirely ignored at individual discretion. I find the "free-mium/season pass/in-game store" model obnoxious, predatory and lazy, so I simply refuse to participate in them. I find the general trend of "games as a service" and "games that have no end" about equally unappealing...so I refuse to participate in them. That's where the mass-market of the industry is headed and that's fine but there is enough content still being produced to speak to the audience that likes self-contained, linear experiences that we can get by. Indie developers are taking the reigns on that market and have offered some truly incredible games in the last 10 years. And even if that all faded away, there's already a backlog of about 45 years of video gaming to draw from.

While virtually everything about DKC2 is better than the original (more creative stages, tighter control, better graphics/music/bosses/etc.), for some reason, I find that the flow the game more difficult to stick through to the end. It may also be down to the obnoxious difficulty of some of the later stages, which can feel unfair at times. As such, I find that I end up playing DKC1 far more often than the sequel, as it feels more accessible somehow. Some of that is down to nostalgia and familiarity, I'm sure. And I really tried to get behind DKL1 but I simply couldn't. The cropped screen and janky controls really killed my buzz. I was tolerating it until I hit a stage with a platforming section that literally ate all my lives. It had to do with the weird jumping arc and how the Kongs plummet like a stone near the end of the jump. I gave up and haven't gone back yet. Maybe one day I'll try it again but I'm not holding out much hope that it will change my mind.

This is actually a tougher choice than I thought it would be but I have to give it to Contra. Both are fantastic but, as others have said, the Contra series has more overall variety and there are some subtle control advantages as well. I've also played more of the Contra series than Metal Slug but that is what it is. It's also tough for me to disregard the sheer nostalgia that I have for Contra, since it was one of the first handful of games that were gifted to me the day I got my NES. I've been consistently playing it and its sequels for more than 30 years (and still do regularly). Since I didn't have a Neo Geo, my only opportunity to play more than 10 minutes of Metal Slug really began with the Wii Virtual Console in the mid-2000's and, a bit later, Steam.

I get the feeling that I'm in the minority when I say...I much prefer the original, more purposeful cadence and rhythm of classic Street Fighter II over any of the "turbo speed" settings of later entries. There's something so much more methodical and strategic about playing SFII at default speed, whereas making the game faster always felt like it just turned it into a button-mash. Because of that and because I always felt the colors, animations and voice samples were much better, I've always preferred the original SNES release to the Turbo or Super releases on the system. Another related unpopular opinion: the SNES controller is superior to the GEN 6-button pad for SFII. Having only one thumb to have to manage all 6 attack buttons is not as great as it might seem at first. While not perfect, the shoulders buttons are a life saver by comparison.

Make that 6. Donkey Kong 3 is awesome. A very overlooked and underrated game.

Personally, I'd want to see one of these two:

As I understand it, the "original" survival mode (the one that nobody plays, ironically) was inspired by the whole Minecraft "the creepers come at night" concept. So, you and your friends are tasked with building up a "fort" strong enough to withstand the waves of enemies that are coming and survive the "night/nite". But since everybody just plays the Battle Royale mode, some of that message is lost. I gave it a 2/10. I tried to play it but after only 2-3 hours worth, I found the gameplay unbearable. Even just the fact that it was 3rd-person rather than 1st-person put a real damper on my ability to enjoy it. I've tried a few other "battle royale" games as well and I've come to the conclusion that I don't like the format overall. Apex was slightly more tolerable but only slightly. I got about 5 hours out of Apex before I was sick of it. If I'm playing a multiplayer shooter, I'd much rather do something like Quake/Unreal (for retro) or TF2/Overwatch (for more contemporary).

The 360 played a major role in roping me back into (at the time) modern gaming. It marked the generation when all the major console libraries began to "bleed together" but, as I opted for the 360 over the PS3, it was a system that I must have dumped thousands of hours into. Castle Crashers alone probably got a couple hundred out of me. Oh...and Battlefield 1943. I was addicted to that game. My original "fat" model got so much use that I killed 2 disc drives. When the second one failed, I just bought a refurbished slim model, which is the one I still have today. I've also gone through more 360 controllers than any other console, although a lot of that wear and tear was due to my kids. I know I've owned at least 8. I don't play it much anymore but I still hold on to it for the handful of great games that I don't own on any other platform.

Just played and beat Micro Mages. Considering the self-imposed 40kB limit of the game, it's a charming little title and it was definitely worth a playthrough. The first part is pretty easy but they definitely introduce a bit more challenge at the end. It's the right kind of challenge though. When you die, you know that it's your own fault.

I appreciate Modern Warfare's place in industry history. I've never played it (or any game in the series since a demo disc of CoD2) as it isn't generally my style of FPS (I'm a 90's-shooter guy) and I doubt I ever will but I can respect what it has accomplished.

I almost forgot about it but one of the limited handful of games I had on N64 was WWF War Zone. What a terrible game...*but*...the "Create a Wrestler" feature was a source of endless entertainment for my brother and I. We spent way more time playing that turd than it deserved because of that simple feature.

Well, thanks to Brock, I just re-installed Darkest Dungeon and dusted off my old save file. Here goes...

Ooh! I just finished another playthrough of Mario RPG a couple months ago. I've been a fan of it since it first released but I hadn't really played through it in several years. Such a fun, charming game. It's pretty easy, as RPGs go, so don't expect to burn your brain on it or anything but the story is fun, the graphics and music are beautiful and the whole thing is such a unique experience. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!

I don't think Darkest Dungeon evokes Stockholm so much as PTSD.

All this talk of Darkest Dungeon did remind me of one of my absolute favorite games of this generation/recent years: Invisible Inc. A turn-based, tactical espionage/infiltration game set in a cyberpunk-esque universe. That game was seriously addicting for me. Enough so that I played through the entire game back-to-back through every difficulty setting (except for "Easy"). For a turn-based game, it creates such an incredible sense of escalating tension and leveling up/gearing out your team of spies was really cool. One of my favorite games of the decade.

Sorry I missed it. Turns out the wife had secret date-night plans.

Trog! was a game that completely escaped my notice when I was younger but with such a unique name, I took a chance on it later in life and I found a sort of appreciation for it. I don't think I would call in an amazing "hidden gem" or anything but I found it surprisingly fun for what it is. Who knew?

Yeah, I do like how the hamlet advancement helps to "soften the blow" somewhat, and of course I've lost a party member here or there, which might sting sometimes but the game actually really helps you get past. Part of what really set me off on that particular occasion though, was that not only was it a TPK but I didn't have any other replacements for those classes in my bank. So, if I wanted to try to get back to where I was, I was going to have to grind a hodge-podge party of low-level heroes to even attempt the random grind to rebuild my party. It sort of sucked all my enthusiasm away. Also, it was just a random, early-dungeon encounter and the RNG was just completely against me...and I wasn't even in the Darkest Dungeon. When I started to ponder how hard the luck-hammer can swing and contemplated attempting that final slog yet again, I just lost all will. I've thought about going back at some point and I probably will. When the game isn't laughing in your face with unfairness, it is amazingly fun.

Yeah, basically. I LOVE the atmosphere and a lot of the design of the game. I wish I was savvy and motivated enough to figure out how to hack the game, make an unkillable super-party and then watch the enemies and bosses weep beneath my boots as they experience just a fraction of the bullshit that they've inflicted upon me! It's one of only a handful of games that I hold actual, tangible contempt for. Hmmm...perhaps a little Google Fu is in order.

I loved Darkest Dungeon until, one night, it lured me into a back alley, knifed me in the gut, stole my wallet and shoes and left me for dead (aka TPK of my decked-out, max-level party during a random encounter near the end of the game). I've never forgiven it.

I was also one of those kids. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, so picking up a new game or taking a trip to the rental shop was an exciting thing. While I did eventually get a Nintendo Power subscription and spent allowance money on other gaming mags from time to time, in the pre-internet days, you just had to make the best of what you had. I'll just get this out of the way now...I actually love E.T. on the Atari 2600. I loved it as a kid (beating it about once a week or so) and I still love it today. Is it objectively great, even by Atari standards? No. Is it the worst game of all time? Not even close. Am I blinded by nostalgia? Maybe. I had Ghostbusters on both the 2600 and, later, on the NES. I played a ton of both version because...it's what I had. Honestly, I've always thought the 2600 game was superior. Back to the Future on NES is a game that I still have a lot of fondness for because it was one of the few games that found its way into my collection. The gameplay is clunky and the music is repetitive but I can honestly boot it up any time and enjoy my time with it. Fester's Quest is another guilty pleasure. I enjoy it less overall than BttF and even at the time, my brother and I joked about many of its poor features...but when your choices are limited, what else are you gonna do? I've never finished the game (I've tried but even *my* patience has limits) but I can go back and play through the first few areas and have some fun with it. Monopoly on NES was another one that I somehow obtained and you know what? It's probably the best version of Monopoly ever made (including the actual board game). I played an embarrassing amount of it in the early 90's and I still find the graphics and sound incredibly nostalgic and appealing. And I don't care what anyone says, I love Sewer Shark on Sega CD. Yes, I think I only had 3 games total for the system and all 3 were amazing (to me). The other two were Spider-Man vs. Kingpin and Jurassic Park. Even so, something about the setting/atmosphere of Sewer Shark pulled me in. I must have beaten the game 20 times. And Falco was my digitized queen.