Recent reviews by Studio Ghibli

Every time I connect to Nightingale, I disconnect. Eventually, I am able to connect. Then, when I portal to another zone, I usually disconnect. I now spend my time playing Enshrouded.

It's certainly pretty, but it feels... dated?... clunky?... The wife and I moved on to "My Time at Sandrock."

Dec 5, 2023:

A monument to disappointment.

* * *

Mar 26, 2024:

It's still disappointing.

* * *

June 9th, 2024

They added some new content, and a quest for that content. And if you wanted more of that quest, you'd need to spend seven bucks. It's bounty hunter content. Still can't use the brig module on your ship.

Shattered Space still in development. Still waiting on vehicles. But at least they finally got maps into the game.

[private eye voice] 5:19PM. 601 Gomez House. When I first started this private eye gig, I wasn't sure what I was doing.

I got beat up. I got knocked out. I woke up in hospitals.

Now, with my third arrest under my belt, as I stand here in front of this dingy apartment door, I'm ready to make my fourth arrest.

The only clues I were given were a fingerprint, a description, and a first initial. The initial, I thought to myself. Easy enough. It's a "G." How many "G"s can be in the phone book as a first initial.

Three, I discovered.

I tried the door. It opened.

As I stepped inside, I thought to myself-

In the city that never sleeps, I'm kept awake by the fact that I won't get my handcuffs back after I arrest this guy.

I didn't spend any money on Shop Titans, but I repeatedly thought about it. After sixty-six hours in four days, I decided to uninstall it because I WAS CONSTANTLY WIRED FROM THE NEED TO CLICK THE THINGS TO CLICK THINGS TO CLICK MORE THINGS. . . having said that, I feel like Shop Titan is well-designed to coerce your time, if not your money. If you have no other responsibilities, you love shop-keeper sims, and you have money to blow, this is the game for you.

And, now that I'm uninstalled, I keep on slapping at the voice in my head that suggests, "Well, maybe we can re-install it and try again," or "Maybe we should re-install and tell our guild we're taking a break."

They'll probably gonna kick me after two days of inactivity. I feel bad. Sorry, Kobe Beef.

Day 1 Purchase. I sometimes pop in to see how it's coming along. There are folks that are certainly enjoying it. I'm not one of them. Maybe it'll be you.

I wrote my original review back when New World first released. As far as I know, the dupes have been solved. However, everything else about my original review--including the forums being on fire--are still relevant.

If you're a console player, the devs have a laundry list of things that *still need improving* for the base game. Instead, they spent that time prepping their *still needs improving* game so they could take your money.

* * *

The foundation for an amazing MMO is here--but it needs more time in the oven. There are so many issues right now with dupes and... more dupes?... and with game systems not working the way they're supposed to. Just check out the forums to see the damage control going on.

The interface needs work. :)

Back when Chimera Squad was first announced, my immediate impression amusingly led me to joke that "Chimera Squad" can be shortened to "CS," and "CS" reminds me of "C-Sec."

I suppose I could put a lot of words here. Instead, though, I'll say, simply:

I like it.

It's a little weird at first. 'cause it's X-Com, but it's not X-Com. The flow of X-Com combat being abbreviated into multiple breach sessions was a little jarring at first, but I've learned to like it. If anything, it encourages me to experiment with playstyle/kits.

It's a little unpolished, but that's probably because of the price-tag. "C-Sec" has been described elsewhere as a, "Hey, this is a fun idea. Let's whip it up real quick and see what people think" experiment. The voice acting, for instance, doesn't sound "alien" enough, for my alien people.

And I'm enjoying it more than I did XCOM 2. I spent my first night playing it until about 1A, despite my initial mixed feelings about it.

I'm tired right now. Didn't sleep much 'cause I was up way too late playing this. Then I woke up to play more of this. And then I decided to give it the ol' thumbs up.

And as mild as the story is (so far), it's nice to be doing something more... down to Earth. :P

HERE'S TO XCOM: C-SEC.

I have played for less than an hour. I am about to buy a copy for my wife and my buddy. There are mixed reviews for this title, and I wanted to provide what little information I can based on what little playtime I have for those that are wondering what the hell "Generation Zero" is.

It is, in its DNA, I feel, similar to "State of Decay" or "Fallout," in the sense that you're a survivor in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and you have to explore, scavenge, try not to die, and ultimately become a master of this new world and attempt to discover what has happened. This world, though--rather than it be a burnt-out nuclear wasteland or the zombie-infested ruins of a city--is, instead, a quaint Swedish city from the late 1980s.

"Red Dawn," except the Soviets have been replaced by robots.

Similar to Fallout/SoD, it (so far) does the majority of its world-building/story-telling through what remains of those that did not make it. Journal entries, for instance. Notes. The remains of a fight.

Prior to deciding to recommend this title, I found a note from a man that said he had left the city to live in the wilderness, and... I forget?... something about hunting. I'm not sure. I was still a little shook-up from my decision to engage what I thought was a single robot (which resulted in three more robots running up), so it's kind of a blur.

I decided to investigate this side-quest. It took me to a hill overlooking a small house on the shore of the island. From there, I saw two robots. I had only a pistol, so there was no real way I could engage them at range. I figured I could district them with a flare (a suggestion I picked up from glancing at a "let's play,") and then dispatch them both while they were distracted.

That was the plan. Run down. Get as close as possible. Throw a flare. Pew pew pew in their robot-brain-box.

Except I forgot to reload. Cost me a few seconds. And there was also a third robot.

I took damage. Nearly died. Got flanked. Donkey-kicked, too. But it was delightful.

Found a rifle in the house. Decided I would much much much rather explore the ruins of this world with people, so I took a break to pen this, and now I'm off to buy two more copies (plus DLC).

... if the devs happen to read this, here's hoping y'all add some kind of base management in the future. I'm not saying I want to chop down trees and make logs and build a house. I simply want to be able to (similar to State of Decay) claim a spot for me and mine, decorate it, keep it supplied, and survive there when I need to take a break from the wasteland.