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FROM games start to all blend together

Wow! 300 discs in one CD player -- I honestly did not know such a thing exits

Sorry, ignore that, I was in Dark Souls land not Bloodborne Sounds like you're at the start in Iosefka's Clinic. You're supposed to lose to the werewolf and then you end up in the Hunter's Dream where you choose a starting weapon, I recommend the saw cleaver but all the weapons are effective. You won't be able to level-up until you make it to the first boss. Honestly, you'll need to explore a bit, collect any blood vials etc but don't be upset if you die and lose your experience, because that will happen until you reach the first boss. The first boss will likely smash you, but again, afterwards you can level up!

Cool! do you collect cassette soundtracks? I've heard rumors they're making a comeback...

In general I think the first thing to focus on and level up is your endurance. Also, get the tail-weapon from the first dragon (hit it below the bridge). That weapon will go a long ways. Get magic and use it a lot. The Ornstein and Smough battle is the hardest battle in the game -- it has made many a rage-quit. But, you're probably a ways off from that

I heard it's amazing. I've always been a fan of Vanillaware

It's fabulous, but also brutal. An "easy" From game to get into is Demon's Souls.

A student persuaded by his friend to get his legs amputated for a $1.3 million insurance scam wound up getting only $7,200 that he now has to return https://www.yahoo.com/news/student-persuaded-friend-legs-amputated-071127189.html The 23-year-old, identified only by his last name Zhang, plunged his feet in a bucket of dry ice for over 10 hours to get them so badly frostbitten that he would need a double amputation, the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau said in a Thursday release. The bureau said a friend of Zhang's from high school, identified only as Liao, persuaded him to carry out the insurance scam. "As Taiwan is a subtropical region, cases of severe frostbite requiring amputation are unheard of due to natural climatic conditions," the bureau said in a statement. Zhang's legs were amputated below the calf due to his frostbite injuries, but his case was reported to the authorities, per prosecutors.

Well you know

When were the games originally scheduled to be released?

When I looked at the auction, the disc looked minty and authentic. I don't know if there's a clear way to tell if it's not an authentic PS1 disc without actually holding it in your hands, and even then I suppose it would depend on the quality of the repro.

I quite enjoyed The Descent, still thought it would have made a better video game than movie

Exciting, challenging, and full of fantasies...

The Coma Recut is an updated version of The Coma: Cutting Class which is an indie Korean survival horror. The game meshes Lovecraftian horror with a uniquely Korean twist, which is great! First thing you'll note, the graphics are beautiful. This is you -- You are a typical very stressed-out Korean student -- note that part of the game is based upon the developers actual high-stakes high-stress high school experience in Korea. You have a crush on the very buxom teacher Ms. Song -- Things quickly take a dark twist when you end up in "The Coma" -- without spoiling anything, it's an alternate reality. One with very Lovecraftian vibes -- Unlike Silent Hill, which to be fair is NOT an indie game, your character has NO weapons! I feel this is refreshing. So, what can you do? You can dodge, you can hide, you can regain health, and regain stamina. That's about it! Also, you're limited to what items you can carry, and you purchase items at a vending machine -- The vast majority of the game, you will explore your surroundings while attempting to not get killed. At the start of the game, most "enemies" are easy to avoid, but quickly you come across the main antagonist -- Here is where the game starts to get a bit stale. First, the "Killer" above is unstoppable. This is not new, Resident Evil certainly used that plot device as well as other games. Nothing wrong with that. However, the Killer shows up at random places at random times! If you are hit, you lose anywhere from a little health (early on in the game) to a LOT of health (later in the game). In fact, later in the game you can take one hit, the second will kill you. To make matters worse, the game is not very responsive. Youngho (the protagonist) feels clunky. What you need to do is run, then hide, then wait until the killer vanishes, then continue to explore, then rinse and repeat. The game would have greatly benefited if the Killer only showed up at certain instances. However, again, it's entirely random. There's not that much for you to do. You basically learn the lore of the game from notes -- The story is okay, nothing particularly exciting. I will note that the story is MUCH improved and fleshed out in the sequel (The Coma 2). And in fact most everything is improved in the sequel! That said, this first game has a certain charm, and a certain frustration. The game is also short, you'll finish it in about 5 hours, perhaps less. There are multiple endings and achievements, so there is arguably some replay value, but very little. There are some nice cutscenes throughout the game, again the artwork is fabulous, but the gameplay quickly becomes rather mundane. Also, with regards to the music, it's very forgettable. The music and sound effects are adequate, but nothing more. You certainly will not be rushing to purchase the soundtrack. At the end of the day, I would recommend this game to fans of survival horror, but most people will probably find it rather uninspired and arguably a bit dull. Final Grade: 6.25/10 Bottom Line: Worth playing if you are a fan of survival horror, but other than the lovely artwork there's nothing particularly inspiring about the game.

Well I appreciate your thoughts which I feel are very ruminative

2 men charged with blowing up woman's home, planning to use large python to eat her daughter https://abcnews.go.com/US/2-men-charged-blowing-womans-home-planning-large/story?id=108073142 Two men have been charged after allegedly bombing a woman's home and planning to release "a large python into the victim's home to eat the victim's daughter," according to prosecutors. Stephen Glosser, 37, and Caleb Kinsey, 34 -- both from Richmond Hill, Georgia -- are alleged to have used electronic communications to place the unnamed woman under surveillance from December 2022 until January 2023 "with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate," before using an explosive device to blow up her home, according to a statement from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia. Can't make this up!

Just saw this -- https://www.ebay.com/itm/395263040237 I have not seen these before, but of course this stinks. Now diluting actual games with Chinese fakes... wonder when the floodgates open just like that shithead did with the TG16 -- PCEWorks. I have no problem with reproductions, so long as it's obvious they are reproductions. Clearly, not the case here.

Migrant Children Sell Candy on the Subway. New York Has No Solutions. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/nyregion/migrant-children-selling-candy-subway-laws.html Of all the manifestations of human misery that the two-year-old migrant crisis has brought to New York City, few trouble the conscience more than the sight of children selling candy on the subway — sometimes during school hours, sometimes accompanied by parents, sometimes not. On trains and on social media, New Yorkers have asked: Isn’t this child labor? Is it illegal? Shouldn’t someone be doing something to help these children? The state Labor Department said it was “difficult to determine” whether the practice of children selling candy in the subway would violate labor law, which generally “regulates employment relationships (i.e., between employers and employees).” The city’s child welfare agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, said that anyone who sees a child in a situation that seems unsafe can call the state child abuse hotline. But the State Office of Children and Family Services, which runs the hotline, said that a child selling merchandise or panhandling would not be considered maltreatment or neglect unless there was a specific concern about possible harm, like “children selling candy at a dangerous intersection.” Children's Services in my experience is basically a waste of money. I knew people that were abusing children and when called CS did NOTHING. It was so infuriating. This happens over and over. Something as obvious as helping kids like this, and what does CS do? Again, NOTHING. Not surprised NYC has no solutions, they have had no solutions for most things for decades. But hey, as long as the money is flowing in...

I really enjoying reading your reviews! Spot-on. Do you think we should start a "book review" thread?

Muhammad is "fully autonomous" and did not deviate from his "expected behavior," the makers said. This is coming from a country where women were given the right to drive only in 2018! Also, women can't play sports or travel without permission from a "male guardian"... is anyone surprised that the robot did not deviate from expected behavior in such a country!

Nice! feel free to also post stuff like this in the LRG thread -- I didn't even know about this

Nostalgia... I would say today's cars are definitely "better", but at the same time, life was simpler and easier.