DoctorEncore

$40 for a pristine copy of one of the greatest games of all-time? Sounds like a steal to me.

1112 I actually always found The Pretender to be overrated and overplayed, but this is the first I've heard of Drive and I'd be happy to never hear it again. One Headlight is literally a perfect pop rock song while Hail to the King is just a good rock song. Hips Don't Lie is actually a pretty strong pop song, but Outshined is a top tier grunge-era song so I had to go with Chris Cornell. Prince easily topples this generic modern rock song. In their defense, Falling in Reverse actually have some good tunes, but this isn't one of them.

I thought we were talking R.O.B. for the NES this whole time. Damn.

I've never been in such a hurry to devour my chicken wings that I felt I needed a more efficient strategy. I just bite some good stuff off the middle and then separate the bones to finish the job. Also, no thanks on the cartilage.

I got a great price on a VGA sealed copy of Fantasy Zone for NES a few years ago. I wanted to open it for the sealed contents thread, so I had to smash the acrylic case to get it out. That case was pretty damn sturdy and I think I even had to take a hammer to it. That being said, it wasn't too hard to keep the to actual game intact. I just had to be careful about how I struck the case. Once I had it cracked open, it was just a matter of safely prying the remaining pieces apart. So, while it can be a little challenging to get inside the case, protecting the game was relatively easy.

Yeah, it was a long slog for us to get through the whole game with our limited playing time. The levels also get significantly harder in the last couple worlds, so that also slowed us down. My son is getting old enough now that we average an hour or two per week, so our progress has sped up lately. Once he's out of school for the summer, I think we'll be able to knock out a couple more games. I told him he could choose the next game, so now we're playing The Last Kids on Earth (Xbox) which is kind of an isometric shooter/brawler with light RPG mechanics. The first couple areas in Infinite are nice classic Halo gameplay, but the game really soars once you hit the open world. Grapple shot is so fun. Even though the story is pretty middling, the character interactions are great and the gameplay is the best since Reach, in my opinion. One piece of advice for adjusting to FPS is to slowly pan the camera with the right stick as you use the left stick to move between combat encounters. That will help build the muscle memory of moving both sticks at the same time without the pressure of combat. Have fun!

After many, many months, my son and I finally conquered Super Mario 3D World on the Switch. I'd probably rate the game 7/10. The game is really tough to play with an inexperienced gamer since the camera is not helpful when you get far apart and the little bubble mechanic often blocks your view. Additionally, similar to other 3D Mario games, I just don't enjoy the way the characters move. I love the simultaneously tight, yet floaty feel of the original NES games, but I don't think the momentum-based movement feels particularly responsive in an added dimension. I will say that I did enjoy the cat suit and boomerang suit though. My next completion is probably a ways off. Progress will be slow this year, but my current focus is on Witcher 3 and FFX. Also, there are a bunch of games releasing this year that I want to play (Starfield, BotW2, Redfall, Dead Space, etc), so that complicates things as well.

Thumbs down. Jump is too floaty. How dare you try to make something fun and cool?

Welcome!

Need an option to vote both. I like variety and the surprise of a blind grab.

5/10. As a child, I found it a bit too weird and dark to be enjoyable. I'm sure the deeper themes are more rewarding when watching as an adult, but that's not enough to justify a rewatch in a world where there are hundreds of other movies I'd like to see.

2nd in top row is Chell (Portal Lady). 3rd in second row is Alyx from Half-Life. I knew Alyx, but couldn't remember Chell's name.

6/10 for me. I would've also had to guess Assassin's Creed Man, Portal Lady, and GTA Man, which would probably not have cleared the bar for points. I had no clue on Elena though.

10/10. I didn't play it all the way through until I had the Playstation collection, but even at that later date, it was still fantastic. Unrivaled depth, great characters, tons of secrets, fun gameplay, excellent graphics, and stellar music. Up there with Chrono Trigger as one of the all-time great RPGs.

R.I.P. Casual Cart's inbox in 3...2...1...

Looks great! Unique and aesthetically pleasing.

I have the 4k disc sitting on my shelf just waiting for some free time, so hopefully I'll get to it in the next one or two decades.

This conversation pops up all the time and always gets heated. I'm of the mindset that LRG and other limited print games can be safely ignored without endangering "full set" status. It's not worth arguing about and I don't even respond to people who get riled up about it, but it's enough to guarantee I will never even bother with set collecting for any console PS4 or later. I'd say just enjoy what you have for Vita and don't even look for a full set list.

Perused through my collection and noticed quite a few of my black box games have these offset UPCs. More work for you, Mr Phleo!

I do believe that is the mail-in promotional poster obtained from that card. It's really tough to find! Most of the other posters you see listed as CIB contents on eBay were really part of a Nintendo Power giveaway for the first game. See this thread for more awesome information.

Unfortunately US customs does this regularly. If you look around on different forums, you'll see a bunch of similar horror stories. In my personal experience, they opened a sealed Arkanoid (NES) I bought from South America, trashing the box tabs in the process. They don't care if they damage your item and there is no route for reimbursement. That experience is the reason I don't buy sealed games from outside of America anymore.

That sounds great. I love games where you're just dropped in the world and have to figure out the rules. Tunic, The Witness, The Outer Wilds, and Myst all come to mind as examples from some games I've played in the last few years.

Personally, I find Metal Gear (NES) and Metal Gear Solid (PS) to both have great gameplay in addition to the wacky story stuff, so they're worth playing either way. I never played Snake Eater or any of the MGS sequels although I'd love to. One important note: If you're like me and try to beat games without any hints or online help, there is a hard stopping point in each game that requires outside info. For Metal Gear on the NES you need to have the physical map that was included with the game (the info is not available in the game). There is a similar point in MGS which I won't spoil, but it's a hard stop where the needed info cannot be found in the actual software. Highly recommended!

Great interview. I feel the same way about SE. I looked at buying a CIB copy, but I'd rather have ten full sets (or a couple Neo Geo games ) than a label swap of a shitty track and field game. My NES set is complete as is. Also, Diet Mountain Dew powers my entire life and is the only reason I survived hundred hour work weeks in residency. I also fancy trying the new flavors, but just for the fun of variety. All the current ones are pretty legit: Baja Blast, Major Melon, and Spark.

Personally, l don't think the director's cut makes it a good movie, but it's a hell of a lot better than the theatrical version. I love the Alien franchise, but the quality is just all over the place. I really wish they hadn't wasted the promise of Prometheus with the dumpster fire that was Covenant. I knew that movie was going to be bad within the first 5 minutes and it absolutely met my expectations. It's so good! I like the way they used familiar characters and situations without being bound to any specific story from the games. Not that there is a huge amount of lore to work with, but it definitely captures the essence of the games. I liked the concept more than the execution. It seems like the type of show where the creators came up with a really good idea, but have no clue what to do with it (Lost, Westworld, Heroes, etc). You can only hide behind the "mystery" of the world for so long before you actually have to say something meaningful. For me, I thought it was kind of a steady downward trend in quality throughout the season. I'll definitely watch season 2, but I'm not confident it will be particularly good. Hopefully I'll be surprised. My wife and I have been watching season two of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. The first season was a breath of fresh air and season two is just as good. In particular, I think the dynamic between Steve Martin and Martin Short is fantastic. The mystery is fun, the presentation is top notch, and the supporting characters add some great flavor to the world (the apartment building itself has more personality than most sitcom characters). The only letdown is Selena Gomez who comes off as out of place and awkward. Her unusual voice and strange speaking cadence are odd enough to make me wonder if her Lupus diagnosis has affected her even more than she lets on. Still, I highly recommended it if you like a enjoy a good mystery wrapped up in a modern sitcom.