Posts made by Chocobop

@bam541 Great! You're welcome to assume the mantle. If things change or someone else wants to be involved they can always post in the new monthly thread.

I'm looking to hand off the business of creating the monthly curation threads where everyone's individual anticipated upcoming games are brought to community attention.

Post a reply here to announce that you are self-appointing yourself. This is also a good time for everyone to suggest and discuss changes you'd like to see.

If it isn't already clear, this task can be a pretty simple routine to maintain even when you feel busy: at minimum you would post a template post every month around the 31st or 1st. Of course, as MC you can bring new influences to the whole show.

A thread for examining the new games of January! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

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Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

A thread for examining the new games of December! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

Leon can catch Sonic using bear traps, and then Leon just steps on him and it is over.

A thread for examining the new games of November! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

A thread for examining the new games of October! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

Flynn: Son of Crimson. A 2D pixel sidescrolling action adventure. Think metroidvania, but perhaps not with that overarching structure. It appears to me to be more like a narrative adventure, and at one point in trailers you can see a Super Mario World-esque style point map. Gameplay is a combination of sword slinging and riding your mythical beast companion

Surprisingly, Flynn: Son of Crimson wasn't listed on any of the upcoming games lists in the OP. It is being published by Humble and showcased recently Xbox's Gamescom showcase (part of their "humble games on gamepass" initiative).

Severed Steel. Indie FPS that is about score attack/level completion using stylish moves and destructible enviroments. Think combo'ing parkour moves, sliding on the floor, and other action movie stunts with appropriate amounts of slow motion. The promise of the game are all these cool moments where you are switfly pick up a gun in order to return fire while sliding, or grabbing an enemy's gun while you kick off them, or all other sorts having fun with the enemy AI. Severed Steel reminds me of what would go through my own imagination when I would replay certain levels of Mirror's Edge just to mess around with the guards.

A thread for examining the new games of September! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

@capnbobamous I think the huge deal will be the general life impact (probably beneficial) to those under 18. I think the marketplace implication is not a huge deal. AAA incentives are not shifted away from online games by this change.

A thread for examining the new games of August! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

@el-shmiablo said in HERE'S YOUR DARN SWITCH PRO!!!!:

I mean, does that really matter when most of the games on the platform are already lesser experiences?

Huh, this is a good point that I never hear made. For the past 2 years it was always the opposite reasoning that would be offered every time Switch Pro speculation came up.

@dipset No, the Jumper pack is what was inside your system before you bought the expansion pack.

Release order is a very good order, both because that's always a fun approach and because these games in particular get incrementally longer and bigger.

@el-shmiablo said in That's News!:

I would say that the initial promise of Cloud Computing has, so far, been a lie on the scale of Star Wars Kinect, or the Killzone 2 reveal. Nothing even remotely resembling the destruction we were told would be in Crackdown 3 or things like deferred physical rendering to the cloud, has happened.

More evidence: no one except Microsoft seems to publicize cloud computing as a way to create better games. After all these years, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the only example I can think of where it did something worth giving credit for.

A thread for examining the new games of July! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

.

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:

The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

.

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a couple text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Feel free to post other lists or list videos of upcoming releases that you find useful.

• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

I made this list a couple years ago. I think the top 3 are the must plays. (Don't sleep on AM2R! Consider trying "hard mode" for a first time playthrough!) Looking over it, I wonder if Samus Returns (3DS) is too high, maybe it could drop a couple spots. Prime is obviously lower than most would put it, but I think floating around the "second tier" with Fusion is where it sits for me personally.

Super Metroid
Metroid: Zero Mission
AM2R [fan game]
Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime Pinball
Metroid 2: Return of Samus (GB)
Metroid Prime 2
Metroid Prime 3
Metroid 1

I wouldn't want to say "avoid this Metroid game", but I have some opinions along those lines:

• I think Prime 2 and 3 are not "need to play"s unless you really are engrossed by Prime.
• Metroid 1 requires some fondness for NES-era games, otherwise you won't like it. It can be made more approachable with a romhack that doesn't drain your energy tanks upon death/password reload.
• Metroid 2 requires patience for its claustrophobic charms and unguided exploration to be appreciated. If playing Metroid 2 makes you feel thirsty for more action and more structured exploration, you won't like it.
• Metroid Fusion is good. It gets a bad rap for its more straightforward hub-and-spoke gameplay design by a subset of fans who adore Super Metroid and Zero Mission. I think if you know Metroid deeply you don't need someone else to judge Fusion for you, you can tell for yourself.
• While I think Samus Returns is good, I feel it is harmed by being too big. It is begged to be played expediently (for most), deliberately avoiding the unnecessary power ups. Frankly, for decades all Nintendo games have poorly incentivized collecting such marginal upgrades. It's not a must play.

@JDINCINERATOR I think the game design of Souls explains the world design. Like, they want a world where it makes sense that enemies and NPCs can stand around non-nonsensically if need be, where they don't have to respond in human-like ways to the player, and where levels can occur in a hub and spoke like flow without it having to make sense as a real world. In particular, the games can be filled with weird architecture and nowhere has to feel "populated". But maybe you meant that within the realm of foreboding, dying worlds, they still feel too same.

In contrast, I feel publisher's review restrictions are getting out of control. Anything specific after the 50% mark in a AAA game seems to be off limits these days.

Part of the problem is that it is surprisingly easy to talk about criticisms, no matter how much you love a game. This goes for everybody, not just reviewers.

Reviewers also aren't selective with their time and money in the same way a normal person would be. To a reviewer, a decent score means "good enough", but for a regular person a game being decent also means "relevant enough". The equivalent of a bad score isn't "bad game", it is "I simply don't care/not interested".