avatar!

Yeah, random battles are the bane of old skool games. I remember playing Shining in the Darkness on the Genesis -- fabulous dungeon crawler -- apart from the random encounters. I remember at one point I made far into one of the higher level areas, and all of a sudden I had a random encounter, enemies went first, they cast some bullshite spell that instantly wiped out my part -- GAME OVER -- WTF

A big part of the wait time seems to be if you order the "regular" vs collector's edition. It seems like the extras for the collector's editions take far longer to produce than the actual game itself. Also, LRG will not ship any part of your order until everything is complete. So, even if say 4 out of 5 of your games are ready, they will wait however long until all of them are ready to go.

The DS version was such a great game, this will be awesome

So, I assume a game such as Kudzu is considered "homebrew"? Although it's an official commercial release it's not licensed by Nintendo for the Gameboy, and of course Nintendo is no longer licensing any games for the Gameboy... so be default any NES, SNES, Gameboy, other-retro-system is a "homebrew" unless it's a re-release? Also, are there any good sites for homebrew reviews? They're really quite scare, which is a shame.

Currently, in the VGS Presidential election, Biden is up by one vote --

So, Trudeau does have a good reputation here in the USA, but I've heard he's much less popular in Canada -- true that?

I see you, and raise...

I hear what you're saying, but I would vote for just about anyone or anything over Trump.

I totally blame ebay. Their domestic (USA) policy is a seller can refuse to accept returns. Of course, if the item arrives damaged, etc. the buyer can file a claim. However, intentionally, a seller from the USA automatically has to accept a return regardless the reason. Hence, tons of sellers have stopped shipping outside the USA

A lot of polls are showing Biden and Trump very close, within the margin of error. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/ Unless there is another Democrat that is likely to appeal to conservatives, I think Biden will be the challenger and I just pray common sense prevails and Trump losses.

The ADL has an excellent definition and database of hate symbols -- https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/88 Sadly, numerous numbers, symbols, gestures, have been usurped by POS hate groups -- including the OK gesture https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/okay-hand-gesture

Mickey Mouse-Inspired Horror Game 'Infestation 88' Announced New horror game on the way thanks Steamboat Willie entering public domain. https://www.ign.com/articles/mickey-mouse-inspired-horror-game-infestation-88-announced Looks like Five Nights at Freddy's wannabe, but I feel a sense of satisfaction at The Mouse being the villain From IGN: We're changing our game's name to 'Infestation: Origins'. Our game, "Infestation 88" is set in the 1980s with the year 1988 chosen simply due to its symmetrical design in the game's artwork/logo. Unfortunately, we were unaware of any additional meanings the number 88 has. However, after learning about this, we're changing the game's name to "Infestation: Origins." We apologize for our ignorance on this and appreciate that this was brought to our attention so we could address it ASAP!

"So, how were your holidays? Peaceful and quiet I trust?"

Starting 2024 with a dad joke --

Well, as scary as this is, at least these things tend to only happen in third world countries, and California... https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/compton-bakery-ransacked-by-mob-from-nearby-street-takeover/ The ordeal reportedly began when when hundreds of people were gathered at a nearby street takeover at N. Santa Fe Avenue and El Segundo Boulevard early Tuesday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies. At around 2:30 a.m., however, the crowd shifted their attention to Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food, located on N. Santa Fe Avenue. Surveillance footage from outside the bakery shows a white Kia slamming into the entrance twice while in reverse, moments before dozens of people flood inside. Cameras inside the store then show the suspects ransacking the business, where they allegedly took lottery tickets, cash and merchandise, leaving behind a massive mess and considerable damage. Deputies, who received calls for both the street takeover and the robbery, arrived to the scene to find trash burning in the street and the front of the bakery smashed in. No arrests have yet been made and deputies did not provide descriptions on any of the suspects involved. I'm sure if the perpetrators are found, they will be given a very strict verbal warning. That will teach them! But hey, I'm sure the governor will fix this. After all, Cali is only what, only facing a $68 Billion Deficit -- https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4819

Police investigate virtual sex assault on girl's avatar https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67865327 The virtual incident did not result in physical harm but caused "psychological trauma", the Daily Mail has reported a source as saying. Ian Critchley of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) wrote that the metaverse - a collective name given to a range of virtual 3D spaces and technologies - had created a "gateway for predators to commit horrific crimes against children, crimes we know have lifelong impacts both emotionally and mentally". "We must see much more action from tech companies to do more to make their platforms safe places", he added. According to an unnamed senior officer familiar with the matter who spoke to the paper the victim, under 16 at the time, suffered psychological trauma "similar to that of someone who has been physically raped". But in criminal law, rape and sexual assault require there to have been physical contact. Some argue that legal changes may be necessary to ensure that those responsible for sexually motivated attacks on avatars in virtual worlds can be prosecuted and punished effectively. Certainly, we live in a brave new world On the one hand, it seems reasonable that criminal charges should be brought up. On the other hand, say someone spoofs an "avatar" of you, and then does horrible virtual stuff in your name. What then? This seems ripe for criminal manipulation much in the same way that swatting is used by criminals.

I have MM7 and 8 with manuals, but no boxes Still, if you want them, they're yours. No charge, apart from paying actual shipping.

The computer games are arguably the most classic games, and sadly most of those are not available on any console -- at least not in English That said, in my opinion the best Wizardry console game that has an English release is this --

Are you looking for sealed or in any condition? I know complete copies of MM 6,7,8 are easy to find. Sealed copies, not so much.

Honestly, I'm a bit shocked that an ungraded MAC game sold for over $4200 -- wow! I rarely see graded console games go for that amount, and this is the most expensive "computer" game I have ever seen sold on eBay. Granted, this is not just any game but a true classic and one of the most influential games of all time. It's nice to see that such non-console games are receiving the love and attention they deserve Also, for those of us that are old enough to have had these games... who would have thought

2024 is promising to be an "interesting" year...

This caught me by surprise -- On the one hand, her testimony was ridiculous. On the other hand, I'm not convinced she should have been fired for her stupid, asinine, ridiculously lawyered answers. On the other hand, her plagiarism allegations are pretty damning. I suspect she was fired because of that more than anything else -- both professors and students have complained about it -- https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/12/31/honor-council-member-gay/ I Vote on Plagiarism Cases at Harvard College. Gay’s Getting off Easy. When my peers are found responsible for multiple instances of inadequate citation, they are often suspended for an academic year. When the president of their university is found responsible for the same types of infractions, the fellows of the Corporation “unanimously stand in support of” her. There is one standard for me and my peers and another, much lower standard for our University’s president. The Corporation should resolve the double standard by demanding her resignation. Apparently they finally did.