TDIRunner

12 hours ago, TrekMD said:

So, what's your score?  I got all of them...

I had CompuServe instead of AOL (because it was half the price), but other than that, I've done everything on the list.  

Edit:  I remember now that I later had a AIM account with an AOL address, so I have in fact done them all.  

52 minutes ago, Aguy said:

I was born in 1985 and I've done everything on this list with the exception of Columbia House because even as a kid I could tell it was a scam. I imagine even people born in 88-89, deep into millennial territory, could say the same.

It wasn't a scam.  I bought well over 100 CDs through them (maybe 200) and my average cost per CD was never more than $5, which at the time, made it the cheapest way to buy new music.  

I haven't seen it yet.  Not sure that I will.  When I first heard about it, I was definitely interested, but I've watched a few different scenes on YouTube and I've mostly lost interest.  It sounds like everything that can go wrong, does go wrong for the sake of suspense and entertainment.  Meh.  

Ordinary World is one of my favorite songs of all time.  I remember hearing it for the first time as a very young child, and it has never gotten old for me.  

I finished the Dark Forces Remaster today (PS4 version) along with all trophies.  Most of the trophies are gameplay related (finish a level) and only a few are "missable," but even those were pretty easy to achieve.  So this was probably the easiest platinum trophy I've ever gotten.  

My only complaint is that sometimes the movement controls "stick" and my character will always move forward or backward no matter what I press.  It only happened a handful of times, and it only killed me once, but it was still pretty annoying.  I'm not sure if it's a problem with the game or my controller, but it occurred with both of my PS4 controllers and I've never noticed this on any other PS4 game.  I also found the stick movement to not be as precise was I would prefer.  I messed with the stick sensitivity multiple times, but I still haven't found a setting that is perfect for me.  

Today was the first time that I've ordered something since they announced the new shipping methods.  For those wondering, when you put an order in, you have two options for shipping.  One is to ship all items together when all are ready (technically the old method).  The other option is to ship each item individually when it's ready.  Obviously the second option is more expensive, but at least you now have the option.  

7 hours ago, avatar! said:

I thought about getting a turbo everdrive. Good to know it doesn't work... or I should say, it's unfortuante it doesn't work -- I had heard it did

There are multiple versions of the Turbo Everdrive.  I don't recall the version I have off the top of my head, but I almost certainly have the oldest model.  It was the first Everdrive I bought a very long time ago.  

I know for a fact that some versions of the Turbo Everdrive work as I've seen them being used on YouTube.  So don't base your purchase decision just off my experience.  

I know I'm in the minority, but I love Sonic Spinball, so I'll nominate it.  

Tracking number received for my Pocket adapters.  

The timing was perfect.  I finished Mario vs. Donkey Kong last night, and the Dark Forces Remaster was released today.

It's very rare for me to buy a digital only game that costs more than $5, but I decided to get this one now and hope for a physical version to be released later.  This game is just way too high on my list of all time favorites that I don't have a great way to play on a modern system.  

I got exactly to the half way point tonight and decided to take a break.  I am loving the game as much as I did when I was a kid.  The remaster is beautiful and true to the original in terms of layout and gameplay.  The controls are obviously completely new since I was used to playing on a PC as a kid, and the PS1 version predated the dual-analog controller.  So this is my very first time playing the game with modern FPS stick controls. 

My only complaint is that the stick controls are a bit too touchy for me, which is making the platforming segments tricky.  The stick controls are adjustable and I've been messing with it, but I haven't found a setting that I'm really happy with yet.  I've also noticed that in some levels that have enemy spawn points for areas that you have to revisit, the newly spawned enemy sometimes jumps around and glitches into a different spot.  It happens rarely, but it's noticeable.  I have not had issue with the audio that some reviewers have brought up, but I've been a little too focused on the gameplay to pay too much attention to the music.  I've only listed enough to know that I remember the basic tunes well and I have a lot of nostalgia for the music.  

For those interested in trophies, it looks like the PS4 trophy list is mainly story based trophies that are unmissable.  I counted maybe 6 trophies that could be missed, but all seem easily attainable.  I didn't see any of the "beat the game on hard with one life" BS, so I should be able to 100% the trophies on my first playthrough.  That of course assumes I'm still capable of completing the game.  Some of the later levels can be hard and I haven't done this in a long time.  

Do I really have to be the first person to say Sonic the Hedgehog 2?  I heard it was pretty good.

7 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Sega Master System? 

Does the SMS version use PSG audio or FM audio?

On 2/7/2024 at 12:46 PM, avatar! said:

Good:
+Music
+Atmosphere
+Cinematography
+Robert Pattinson
+Colin Farrell
+John Turturro
+First 30 minutes

Okay:
Zoe Kravitz
Second 30 minutes

Yawn:
-Rest of the movie (all 115 minutes of it)
-Plot, or lack thereof
-Andy Serkis (great actor, but he's basically a plot device in the movie)
-Jeffrey Wright (great actor, but his Jim Gordon character sounds like he would rather be anywhere but Gotham)
-Political Commentary (really?)

Overall, I would give it a 65 out of 100 -- it had some great ideas, great actors, great music, great cinematography, but poor dialogue, poor direction, poor plot. I honestly can not recommend it. However, it's a great starting place for a hopefully much better sequel!

I think I enjoyed it more than you did, but I understand some of the issues are you brining up.  For me, the biggest thing that confused me was how the movie went on for another 30 minutes after the movie had already "ended."  

Also, I feel like with every new comic book movie, they keep upping the collateral damage caused by the superheroes.  The car chase scene in particular was a little too over the top for the amount of damage caused vs. what Batman was actually after.  

Still, I'm looking forward to the sequel.  

2 hours ago, WalterWhiteJr. said:

The sad thing about it all is that I believe WATA could have been successful WITHOUT all of this shady nonsense. They had the support of the community, a good product and service.

Agreed.  I remember when WATA was first announced, it was almost universally agreed upon in the gaming forums that, ON PAPER, they appeared to be a huge improvement over the practices at VGA.  Even if you weren't a fan of grading, it appeared that they were going to fix most of the things that made people upset.  

Things sure turned out different.  

I haven't played this game in a very long time, but I remember enjoying it.  I only ever played it casually, and I never knew about any of the goals.  I also figured it was the type of game that just went on forever.  It wasn't until @T-Pac's review of the game over in the T-Pac Arcade thread that I learned much more about the game.  Ever since watching that video, I've been wanting to give the game another try.  

I got Splatterhouse vides from that picture.  

6 hours ago, avatar! said:

What did your kids think of the controls? Again, I wonder if it's that you're used to the older controls and perhaps the newer controls are something you're not accustomed too? I think I'm just going to have to try it myself... although I heard it's very hard, and I might be prone to just rage quitting

Only my youngest son played it, and he was 5 at the time.  So he doesn't really have  any grasp for controls.

The first 3 Crash Bandicoot games are not hard.  

I finished Mario vs. Donkey Kong tonight with all 136 stars.  

I'm so pissed right now.  If I had seen the picture with the tubes, I would have recognized it immediately.  For some reason, the red section didn't ring a bell for me.  I should have gotten that right away on the first picture.  

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is 100% complete.  All 136 levels (which includes expert levels) are complete including all bonus items for 136 stars.

Level EX-2 can kiss my ass.

2 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

They confirmed on Discord you can literally submit HD-DVDs. Zing denied.

All 4 collectors must be excited.  

4 hours ago, Gloves said:

Bro I'll make the next site, too. It'll be an endless loop. 

I vote the next site just be called "Michael."

(start at 3:56 if the embeded link isn't already doing so)

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

*taking notes of different verticals to pitch site sale to*

I'll start thinking about names for the new website that will be needed after you sell this one and the new owner tanks it.  

4 minutes ago, avatar! said:

First of all as far as crash 1 goes you have to use the d-pad as long as you do that controls are fine. Plus I think kids are not used to hard games crash 1 is hard and it's not because of controls.

When the collection first came out and I complained about the controls being garbage on Facebook, I was accused of being bad at the game.  That's fucking laughable.  

I was as excited for that collection as anyone and I bought it for PS4 on day 1.  I put several hours into it and made it a ways into the game.  I gave it a fair shake, but it's just not good.  Years later, my kids got the Switch version as a gift.  I thought I would give it another try, but came to the same conclusion.  The game looks fantastic, but then again, so do the originals.  Since the graphics are a bit cartoony, they have aged extremely well on the PS1, so it just makes more sense for me to play those versions.  I'll go to the grave complaining about how much I hate the remakes.  

2 minutes ago, avatar! said:

Is that true for all ports? IGN thought it was great --

https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/29/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-review

Update: The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is now available for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC. I've gone back and played the N. Sane Trilogy on each system and am happy to confirm the challenge, fun, and updated shine of the N. Sane Trilogy remains intact across the board. The Switch's version doesn't look quite as good as the PS4 or comparable Xbox One versions, but still plays great. And Crash looks even better on PC with a 60 fps framerate option.

Over 1500 reviews on metacritic give it an 8.4 which is fabulous.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy/

It just seems like if the controls truly are "garbage" across the board the score should be much lower?

I can confirm controls are garbage on PS4 and Switch.  I haven't played any other version.  I would be curious what % of the reviewers played the originals.  Nearly everyone I've spoken to who was familiar with the originals agreed with me.  If you enjoy the remakes, feel free to play them.  I gave the remake collection a fairy fair attempt on two separate occasions (multiple hours of gameplay each time), and it's unplayable for me.  I can play the originals today and beat them with my eyes closed.  I replay the originals almost annually.  I doubt I will ever touch the remakes again.