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Shokz OpenMove bone conduction headphones. About a year ago I bought some really cheap ($10) bone conduction headphones to test out for riding my bike and stuff, so I can still hear what's going on around me, especially traffic. I wasn't sure how I'd like bone conduction so I didn't want to spend a bunch of money. Well, I did really like it, but because they were so cheap the sound quality wasn't great, and the battery is already kind of starting to crap out, so I decided to get some actually good ones to replace them. So far they're great, would definitely recommend.

Okay forget what I said before. I told a friend of mine about the one I had bought and he directed me to this 27 inch monitor that has the same resolution and HDR and all that other stuff for basically the same sale price. Only trade-off is it's 144hz instead of 165, but I think the tradeoff of getting an extra 3 inches on the screen is more than worth it. This was right down the street at my local Best Buy so I canceled the other one and now I've already got this bad boy bought and hooked up.

My old chair was getting uncomfortable but fortunately I had an extended warranty on it. Since there's a Christmas sale going on I got this upgrade, normally $380, basically for free minus the cost of a new warranty.

Fuck it, the Trump tariffs are about to make PC parts stupidly unaffordable again, so I'm just gonna go for broke and be set for the next five years minimum.

I like the PSVR2 I bought but those shitty little earbuds just had to go. I don't like using earbuds when I'm going to be having to constantly turn my head because they'll either slip out or shift around and become uncomfortable. I don't want to have to awkwardly wear normal headphones over the headset either. These just clip directly onto the headset and then you can flip them down over your ears. Way more comfortable and better sound to boot.

My headphones died, so I'm upgrading. Arctis Nova Pro.

Finally Metaphor went on sale.

Need something to play on my PS5 Pro and this is the only game I can find with a good Pro update that I haven't already played

I honestly wasn't planning to upgrade my monitor until next year but this was on a Christmas sale plus there was a 30 dollar coupon so I'm getting a $260 monitor for $189. That's just too good an offer to pass up.

lol, I also bought the same GMG deal.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle So, that one kinda came out of nowhere for me. I had been following it and was hoping it wouldn't suck but that was about it. Well, turns out this might actually be my favorite game of the year. I knew I was in for something special when one of the early levels basically played like it was a new Thief game. And then I got to the first major area and suddenly it turns into even more of an immersive sim? Christmas came early this year! Seriously, if you love immersive sims and were as crushed by the closure of Arkane Austin as I was, then do yourself a favor and don't skip this game. It's not a full immersive sim in the vein of Deus Ex but there was just enough of that DNA in there that I couldn't get enough of it. I can't remember the last time I went out of my way to get all the collectibles in a game before even finishing the main campaign just because I wanted to stretch the experience as much as possible. I could tell I was getting close to the end and I wasn't ready for it to be over. And if you're a fan of Indiana Jones, then it's the best Indy story since Last Crusade and it's not even close. This feels like a true Indy adventure in a way that Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny simply didn't. I finally got around to watching the latter last week-end and it's just not the same. It was alright for a final send-off for the character but it's pretty clear that Harrison Ford is way too old to keep making these. Most of the action is just chase scenes, I'm assuming because having a man in his 80s doing more elaborate stunts would be fucking irresponsible, and they got kinda boring after a while. My one complaint is that the game is kinda stupid with its checkpoints. It doesn't save after you pick up a collectible, so it's possible to spend like 10mins exploring and picking a bunch of stuff up only to die and lose all of it because you didn't hit a checkpoint. There were a few times when I was going back through areas to get whatever I had missed and found stuff I had already picked up hours earlier but lost because of this bullshit. So if you die, you need to remember to grab stuff again otherwise you'll need to come back for it later. I hope they'll fix this in a patch because it was kind of annoying. Especially when you missed stuff in isolated areas like tombs and caves because getting back there can be tedious. That was my only issue with the game, though. Overall, I absolutely loved it! MachineGames was not the studio I would've bet on to pick up the immersive sim mantle but this was a very pleasant surprise. I really hope they'll make a sequel to this because I'm definitely down for more.

Really appreciate that Indiana Jones makes the 4K textures an optional download. I really wish more games would separate things you don't need like language packs and 4K textures.

Stellar Blade This is a cool action game that is definitely not a soulslike, though it does have a few of those elements (mostly just that you have camps that function as bonfires, and resting at them refills your flask and respawns most enemies). It honestly has more in common with something like DMC. It's also pervy in a way that strained my suspension of disbelief, but whatever. The combat feels good, it requires precision without being punishing, and it has the most satisfying parry I think I've ever experienced. All in all, I would definitely recommend it if you like character action games. There is a massive difficulty spike at the end, but aside from that I had fun throughout. Grade: B+

Time to join the 32GB master race.

I've been super into VR this year. Next to my PC it's easily my most played platform these days. I bought the Serious Sam VR bundle in the steam autumn sale because it was extremely cheap and boy, lemme tell ya, Serious Sam is a much better game in VR. It's definitely old, and you can tell it was originally made for Vive controllers without joysticks, but it works fine with modern VR controllers like the Oculus Touch so it's not really a problem after a few tweaks. More importantly, playing it this way ends up giving you several improvements, some of which might not have even been intentional. 1) You can dual wield any gun as soon as you pick it up. You can also use a different gun in each hand. It opens up some new strategies. 2) Since you can free aim in any direction crowds are much less tedious to deal with than in the flat version so you're not just hitting S on the keyboard while holding down M1 the whole time. You can also shoot enemy projectiles out of the air much more easily, especially if you're dual wielding a pistol or assault rifle in one hand specifically for that purpose while using your other hand to deal damage. 3) Enemy health is NOT adjusted to take dual wielding into account, so everything dies faster. It really doesn't make the game too easy because you still have dozens and dozens of them coming at you in every wave. It just means battles don't overstay their welcome anymore. 4) Since you can free aim that means you can sweep the flamethrower back and forth in front of you to make a giant fiery wall of death instead of just aiming it in a straight line. 5) The sniper rifle is used by actually looking through the scope, so you can maintain situational awareness around yourself while sniping rather than having a big black circle blinding your peripheral vision. 6) The revolvers and the shotgun can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, so if you're quick these basic weapons become absolute death dealers. Not bad for 2.99

If you own a Quest headset Meta is giving out three free months of Quest+ right now, which is basically Game Pass for VR headsets. It includes two new free games every month as well as a rotating catalog of games to download. Great way to try some of those titles that looked neat but you didn't want to pay full price for them.

Now here's an interesting one. Beating III HD-2D inspired me to take on an old game, that I've planned on finishing for a long, long time. See: I finished one of those games back then, but tonight I finally completed my original save file, from the cart, on a DS... Dragon Quest IX I bought this game when it came out in the summer of 2010. I was 23 then. It was my first Dragon Quest game and I remember really liking it. But eventually I hit the final boss, Corvus, and he easily destroyed my party. I think I tried a few more times got frustrated and as this was the era of $59.99 CAD games ($49.99 Wii and... maybe 30 or 40 dollar DS games? I can't recall) I probably had a bunch of new games to play so I moved on. I always intended to come back and I think I might have tried one or twice, and probably when I made the above post in 2011, but by that point, 8ish months later, I couldn't exactly remember where to go or what to do. So if that was a challenge in 2011, you can bet it was a challenge here in 2024. But I'm old as fuck now and with that means I've completed like, three Dragon Quest games since then. I'm arguably smarter. More worldly. So I found my wife's old DSi XL, my copy of DQIX, and hoped the save was still there. Turns out it was! And the DS somehow had like half a charge, I don't remember when I plugged that in last. Either way, I googled the best place to fight Liquid Metal Slimes, struggled to figure out how to get there, but eventually spent a few hours slicing those little dudes up. And then I made my way to the bottom of Gittingham Palace and.... nothing. Turns out I must have finished that as it is not the final boss area I thought it was. After consulting a GameFAQ walk through (as per the spirit of this endeavour) I realized I had to go somewhere called the Realm of the Mighty. Which I have no memory of. But I've been there before because there was open chests. Figuring out how to get there took time too, no guides just tell you, they expect you to know because in game you were there like 5 hours ago maybe. It's like the devs didn't even account for someone coming back 14 years later. Eventually I made my way to the top and accidentally started the final battle with low HP and low MP. Oops. So I got wrecked again. And then a second time with proper provisions. At this point I realized, shit, I should have 4 party members. How the fuck do I find my other party members? More googling, but eventually, much like DQIII I found an inn with Patty, found my fourth party member, a fighter, who, like my warrior, was named after a long gone family pet (). Oh back to slicing up Liquid Metal Slimes for a bit too. Anyways, long story short, I finally beat this game. 14 and a half years later. I had no idea what happened at the end. There was a bunch of angels and some flash backs. I'm sure it would have been great in August 2010. But at least now, I can finally check this one off the list. I liked it, even if I don't know why or how. For that I will give it a score of... Grade: ?+ Also, the DSiXL screens make everything look awful, I can't believe this was an actual product. And the DS is so uncomfortable to hold, how the fuck did I ever play this thing all the time. Bring out a remaster and put it on Steam so I can play on my Deck. This time I'll do it in the span of a few weeks not 1.5 decades.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake I also finished this tonight. Dragon Quest is such a comfy series, it's always a treat to return to it. I never played the original but this felt like a perfect middle-ground between playing a retro JRPG and a modern one. Overall, I thought this one was fantastic although there were a few parts that tried my patience a little. Especially near the end when I had to grind a little bit to beat some of the bosses. Also, playing this one before Dragon Quest I & II means the impact of the big twist is significantly reduced. I knew all about it and yet when it happened I didn't immediately recognize its significance until about an hour or two later when I went "oh wait..." Apparently they're reworking I & II a bit so that there'll be a few new surprises that come from playing the games in chronological order. It was also my first HD-2D game and I realize I'm years late on this one but I'm really sold on the style. The low camera angle and the bokeh DoF end up creating a really cool visual style. And, like Cowboy said, the lighting at night is definitely a mood. I often found myself purposefully waiting until night to enter some areas just to enjoy the vibes while going through them. It's downright criminal that Dragon Quest VIII still hasn't had some kind of rerelease on modern platforms. The PS2 version stills looks fantastic when rendered at high resolution with an emulator. It would be the easiest remaster job ever. And it's also baffling that S-E never bothered to drop the mobile versions of DQ I through VI on Steam.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Fucking hell I love Dragon Quest. I've been playing this game in the past two weeks as temperatures dip and snow starts to fall, and I haven't minded because DQIII HD-2D is cozy AF. I love the way this 2D-HD art style looks, and I would love to see Final Fantasy VI remade like this. Especially with thick depth of field... and the way the lighting engine makes lanterns look at night. It's a ~vibe~ and I'm here for it. I guess this has been the year of TCP playing classic JRPGs as I also beat Final Fantasy VI and VII for the first time as well. And similarly to those two games, I can retroactively see the influence of this game on other games I've played, especially Pokemon. It's a shame other classic Dragon Quests aren't on Steam. I'd love to play V and VIII. I and II are coming but knowing they won't be as deep as this game has me less excited. Anyways Grade: A

I had no plans to buy the PSVR2 again when I've been pretty happy with my quest 3, but there's a Black Friday discount on this for 350 on Amazon. I also had $200 in rewards thanks to all the medical supplies I buy on there, so I only paid $150 out of pocket. With Horizon, RE4, RE8, Synapse, and the upcoming Hitman (if it's GOOD this time) that's enough exclusives to be worth 150 to me.

Reviving this old thread because I've been playing this mod recently and it kicks ass. I beat Blood once before on the PC, but playing it again in VR practically makes it feel like a new game for me. I never realized just how much VR can enhance those old school boomer shooters like this one. Not only is it cool to be completely immersed and be able to freely aim with your hand, but the modders even changed how some weapons are used. In these old shooters you never really needed to worry about reloading and the same applies here, but back then all you really had to do was hold down the mouse button and the game would play whatever animation it had to. In this mod if you want to throw the TNT you need to flick open your lighter and bring it to the fuse manually. To use the aerosol flamethrower you hold the lighter in front of the spray can yourself. Using the voodoo doll is no longer an automatic process but instead the game will target whatever is in your direct line of sight and then you personally jab the needle in over and over until your enemy dies. Or you can use the secondary death spell by physically waving your hand over the doll. Finally, on a less impressive but no less useful note, you can jab your pitchfork in any direction rather than just directly in front of you, which is great for handling all those rats that run up to bite your ankles. I really hope we continue to see more old school games enhanced and modernized for VR like this. Imagine something like playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out with actual dodges and punches or playing Descent with an actual cockpit. It's a very exciting time for VR.

I played Horizon VR with 2kg wrist weights on, and let me tell you, it is hard firing a heavy bow constantly.

Even though I've been anticipating this one since it was announced, it was a bit of an impulse purchase. I've only just gotten started with Ys X but last night I said fuck it, bought this and played for a couple hours before heading to bed. Dragon Quest isn't a series that I have a ton of nostalgia for since I never played them as a kid but there's still something super comfy about the series that always makes it a treat to return to. Especially with the HD-2D visuals in this one. I'm really looking forward to putting some more time into it.

Metro Awakening At the risk of sounding weird I'd call this more of a horror game than a first person shooter. A very effective one, too. Oh sure, you use guns and you shoot people and they'll shoot back at you and that's all fine, but the parts of this game that really stood out to me are the segments where you're not fighting against other humans. The mutated animals of the Metro have tunnels all over the place that they use to flank and ambush you, and I'd say at least 50% of the time you'll discover a monster when you hear it skittering in your blind spot and then turn around to find it suddenly jumping at your face. It's extremely tense and it's not a bunch of cheap shots either. The monsters can't just teleport behind you. They have to physically run through their tunnels to set up their ambushes so if you listen closely and have good situational awareness you can make a reasonable guess as to which hole they're going to emerge from. These bastards are quick though, so even if you see them coming you have only a split second to shoot them before they leap at you. Backing yourself into a corner to minimize your blind spots is ironically a good survival tactic when it's available. This is a Metro game so you'll be doing things like using a portable generator to power devices and keep your flashlight lit along with looking for air filters for your gas mask when moving through radioactive zones. There's not a whole lot of VR interactivity outside of your weapons and inventory, but considering this is a world that's been blown to shit by nukes it's not like there's a whole lot to interact with besides rubble and cabinets in your search for ammo. Ammo is scarce too so you best get in the habit of emptying out the guns of everyone you kill. Don't throw away your empty magazines, either. You'll need them to hold whatever spare bullets you find. There's a decent plot here and several segments where you're not shooting anything at all but merely walking through haunted areas and absorbing the story, so if you want constant action this is not the game for you. Traveling through pitch black tunnels while hearing the wails of the dead all around you is pretty damn creepy though. I do have a few small criticisms. If you want a Russian dub, you're not getting it here. I don't know if the Ukraine situation has anything to do with this decision but it is what it is. Several maps also get recycled. They're different on return visits, owing to the supernatural nature of the metro, but the fact remains that you'll be seeing certain locations multiple times. Lastly, there's one too many turret sections for my liking. Still, this is a very solid VR title and if you've been looking for an excuse to bust out your headset again you could do a lot worse. By the way, I don't have arachnophobia but if you do this game is going to be your personal hell. Giant spiders not only creep all around the walls and jump directly onto your face but they'll also crawl all over your body, forcing you to grab around your shoulders to catch them and yank them off. Sometimes you'll even go to grab ammo or your backpack only to discover that a spider the size of a small dog has clamped itself onto your hand. There's no arachnophobia setting either so you best be mentally prepared for that.