Mister Jack

Doom 64 Now THIS is what I call a preorder bonus, although you can still get it for 5 bucks on its own. This is really more of a remaster than a port, and a fairly well done one at that. Keeping in mind that this was originally an N64 game, the textures look good, the game plays at a proper widescreen resolution, the framerate is consistently smooth, and the controls are tight. There's even an extra pack of all new levels--more on that later. Doom 64 is a good game, but I would still say it's my least favorite of the original Doom formula. That sounds worse than it is because I consider Doom and Doom 2 to be two of the greatest games of all time so saying that a console exclusive from the N64 era isn't as good really isn't all that damning. However, this game still made some changes that I don't think were for the better. Enemies all got redesigned and some look better than others, but this is a matter of opinion. Likewise, the music is more ambient and atmospheric, and while I prefer the rocking tunes of the first two games I will say that the spooky tone of this game would make it great for a Halloween playlist if you're the type to play horror games every October. Doom 64 is by no means a horror game, but it leans closer to that kind of feeling than the other games do. Take that as you will. The level design is a lot trickier than the other games too, with more emphasis on puzzles and activating far-off switches by shooting them, which isn't really much of a thing in Doom 64's predecessors. Your mileage may vary on how well this works. I personally prefer Doom to be just a straight up action game with minimal switch hunting and puzzle solving, but that's just me. Either way, it definitely feels like a different designer's vision was at work here for better or worse. Oh yeah, there's also a lot of platforming going on here, and by platforming I mean sprinting off of one platform fast enough to hop a gap to another one. This was a real pain for a while until I realized that the autorun does NOT let you run at full speed, which is necessary for a lot of platforms. You have to turn autorun off, then hold down the sprint button and run off the platform. Not the worst thing in the world but not knowing this from the beginning halted all of my progress for a frustrating amount of time. On one more note, the fact this was a console exclusive means no number bar for switching guns. They didn't add in a weapon wheel either. You have to tap the weapon switch buttons and scroll through every gun until you get the one you want. You can mitigate this somewhat by quickly tapping however many guns you want to skip over, but I still wish they had at least added a wheel, even if it wasn't originally made that way. I assume they chose not to do this for balance reasons, but the game already doesn't feel like it's balanced for a control scheme that can't quickly switch weapons. I died more than once trying to get to the weapon I needed. Oh well. The new levels are pretty good, but also pretty daunting. They make up their own episode which means you start with just a pistol despite having barons of hell right there at the beginning. You end up going through most of these levels with the basic bitch weapons which means no plasma gun, no BFG, and especially no Unmaker until you're close to the end, but at least you get the super shotgun and rocket launcher fairly quickly so you can still manage, it just won't be easy when the game is constantly throwing enemies and traps at you. I found myself running dangerously low on ammo more than once. Ironically, the final boss fight at the end of these new levels ended up being a cakewalk because the game decides to hand you a fully powered Unmaker for free during the last level, but I consider that my reward for scraping by all the previous levels. So yeah, Doom 64 still kicks ass and it's only 5 bucks. I remember this game getting dismissed when it came out because it wasn't as visually impressive as Turok or Goldeneye, but Doom ended up having the last laugh because it holds up much better today than the other two.

Well whenever you want to post a Dodo code just do that and I'll swing by if I'm available.

Yo Ethan when do you want the fruit? Someone will have to open up their gate. I'm pretty available right now since I'm quarantined so whenever it's convenient for you I'm sure I'll manage.

Nope. Can't give them to others in any way.

Maybe I just had them too close together then. I'm good on fruits either way

No I think I'm good. I planted some orange trees but they're not growing. I'm assuming it's because of the season

I can get you bamboo, apples, and cherries

You have better odds of winning the lottery three times in a row than you have of Trump not seeking a second term. Biden's best hope here is that voters are angry enough about the White House's lackluster response to oust Trump. Or that Trump dies of the coronavirus, anyway.

Looks okay. I just hope the battery life has improved. That's really all I ask.

I hate to say it but there's a new conspiracy theory spreading on Twitter now that the virus itself is a hoax because they're filming the outside of hospitals and HURR DURR IT'S QUIET OUTSIDE WHERE'S ALL THE SICK PEOPLE?! This crisis is really shining a spotlight on the depths of human stupidity. Speaking of which, hey Dean, has this whole coronavirus thing changed any attitudes about Brexit from what you've observed? I can only observe from the outside and I definitely don't understand the intricacies of British politics but it doesn't seem like Britain is in a very strong position to deal with this right now.

So how long is it going to take for an angry mob to burn your president at the stake? Because it's feeling long overdue at this point.

I love this game and it's one of my favorite shooters of all time but there is one thing I miss from Doom 2016 that I hope gets added back in when they do the DLC episodes.

Wasn't planning to get this until much later but this seems like the perfect time to get absorbed in a lengthy JRPG.

Gate's open. Dodo code is 44SQ4. I'll leave it open for a few hours but I might idle from time to time.

Here's my friend code so I can have a better idea of when everyone will be on SW-2093-2714-0238 I know I said 5 PM but nobody's around so I'll do it a little later, I think. Maybe 7 PM is enough time. Unless someone else opens up first.

I spent some time with the Battlemode multiplayer of Doom Eternal and it's actually pretty cool. You definitely want to go through the tutorials or you'll probably feel lost when you start but this is a fun, unique multiplayer experience. It's a 2v1 system. Two demons vs one slayer. The slayer has access to most of his abilities, guns, and mods and he can also heal himself by doing glory kills. The demons, besides having a numbers advantage, can also summon NPC demons to attack the slayer and have class abilities but the trade-off is that playable demons are weaker and less mobile. I went into this thinking that the demons would have an unfair advantage over the slayer but a good slayer can clean house. If you can beat the campaign on ultraviolence then you should have more than enough skill to hold your own against the demon players. Conversely, demons who use their abilities and summons wisely are plenty capable of winning, though there's pretty much no demon class who is gonna beat the slayer in a 1v1 duel unless the slayer is really bad. The way to win as a demon is to apply pressure with your summons and either attack the slayer from a distance while he's distracted or take him by surprise with a high damage close range attack. Don't dismiss this just because "Eh nobody cares about multiplayer in Doom." You might be surprised at how well it works.

I'm available. I'll open my island around probably 5 PM EST or so and post a Dodo code for anyone who wants to meet up. I have the Able Sisters shop open.

I'm on the east coast so I guess I ought to do it. I could just leave my gate open all day in theory and let it idle but some general plan would be nice. Mal, I already got you so who else would come?

So how many of us have this game now? I'm counting maybe five or six people, including myself? We should try to meet up in someone's town sometime so we can all get added to each other's friend lists. Still think it's stupid you can't add people without physically meeting them first but what can you do.

Sounds like everything worked out for the best, then.

Bruh I just sold a bunch of tarantulas for over 400,000 bells. Also, Ethan, digital is the way to go. You don't want to have to switch the cart out every single time you check on your town.

@danielpholt Fish bait just instantly spawns a fish in the water if there isn't one already.

Mal I'm super jealous that you got Cherry on your island. Meanwhile I started with Rocket, who is my least favorite animal in the entire series. I'm opening my gate. Code is G6SBK. I've focused more on expanding my town than decorating my house so it's not very impressive yet but might as well establish that link. Oh yeah, I have a couple extra pears and some bamboo if anyone needs those.

If anything the T-virus is less deadly. At least that thing only spreads through direct contact and it was only a single city that got fucked by it.

It looks like, at least in my state, Gamestop is still semi-open. I say semi-open because the stores themselves are closed to the public, but they're still doing curbside pickups for orders that have been placed online or preorders that were made prior to the closings. I'm torn about this policy. On the one hand, it's hardly an essential business and even with the distancing measures in place there is always going to be a risk of exposure when you go outside. On the other hand, this also means all the employees aren't stuck at home without any pay for who knows how long. Theoretically this means I could probably pick up my FFVII preorder (can't cancel it, already asked) but I can't help feeling like if I do that I'm part of the problem.