Mister Jack

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Streets of Rage 2 and 4 (Probably my top recommendation) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Absolum TMNT: The Arcade Game The Simpsons Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara River City Ransom Castle Crashers Comix Zone Splatterhouse 3

I got my eye on that controller. I use my steam deck docked to my tv most of the time, and while the DS5 works well enough for the most part there are always those few games in the backlog that don't gel super well with it. I really like how the deck feels in portable mode so if this controller is basically just the steam deck with the screen chopped off then it would be perfect.

Dispatch Season finale dropped today. All in all, this game is fantastic, maybe the best that the Telltale guys have ever made. I know that their previous works were constrained by the budget and technology of the time but this is the first episodic game I can think of that actually looks good enough to pass for a tv show. Hell, it looks better than plenty of actual animated shows. I would love to see this universe expanded as a series. I know that R-rated superheroes have become a bit of a cliche with Invincible and The Boys and too many other examples to list, but Dispatch sets itself apart with its more comedic and optimistic tone. These heroes are perverts and jerks and fuckups but they're trying their best out there. It also helps that they're really funny. I laughed out loud at several moments in this season, but when the drama hits it hits hard. I like these characters and I got emotionally invested in them. That's good writing. Unlike previous games by Totally-Not-Telltale, this one has more actual gameplay with the dispatch shifts. Your job is to sit in front of a computer and pick the right hero to send to the right distress call. It sounds overly simple on paper but every episode throws in new workplace complications to shake up your shifts. You can't just solely depend on number crunching stats for your heroes. You also have to take their powers, their mercurial personalities, and their relationships into account when deciding who to send where. A perfect shift with no mistakes is trickier than you think. The story veers onto pretty different paths depending on your choices too. This isn't just a situation where someone might die and then the story plays out the same except they're absent and occasionally people mention it. Depending on what you choose and how well you do on your shifts you could be seeing two completely different scenes in an episode. You will have to play through the season at least twice to appreciate all the content. That's not a bad problem to have when it's so enjoyable. This game really took me by surprise. I bought it because of positive word of mouth and I can see why people like it so much. This would be a game of the year contender if there weren't already so many strong choices this year. It at least deserves best narrative.

I don't know what happened at Valve to make them suddenly start making so much great hardware but I'm here for it. I did not like the old steam controller or steam machine or even the Index hardware but all of this honestly looks good and I have been absolutely loving my steam deck since I got it. I don't need another VR headset anytime soon but I am liking the look of that controller.

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy So this is kind of an odd case. I don't feel like I've truly beaten this one yet, but I got far enough for the credits to roll. Thing is, this game is meant to be played multiple times and you won't get the whole story in just one playthrough, but that's all I'll say about that. This is like a blend of visual novel, tower defense, puzzle, and tactical RPG all in one. Sounds bloated, and yet it somehow works. In fact, I expected the tactics side to be an afterthought but this is the best tactics game I've played in several years. Each story battle requires you to defend the shield generators for your school. They are the most important thing, more than the lives of your units. In fact, you're actually encouraged to sacrifice your units in big flashy desperation attacks to both do big damage and boost your score at the end. You get them back after each wave so you don't want to waste their potential by keeping them alive at all costs. Each character in this game is totally unique and has their own role on the battlefield. None of them feel superfluous. You level them up by crafting weapon upgrades, which is where the visual novel side comes in. Instead of building up affection levels, spending time with each teammate will increase a certain skill that you need to access certain upgrades. Spending time with the jock will upgrade your gym class stats, for example. The battle system itself is quite interesting. Instead of each unit getting a turn, you're given action points at the beginning of each round and can spend them how you wish. If you want one unit to go several times in a row, you can. Each attack leaves a unit exhausted for one round though so if you want them to go multiple times you either have to spend another AP to refresh them or stick to moving one space per extra turn. Each enemy you kill (except the 1 HP kamikaze units) also gets you 1 AP back. That means that there are times where if you plan out your AP use strategically, you can wipe out the entire enemy force without them ever even getting a chance to attack. It's incredibly satisfying when you can pull it off. Each attack also builds up a meter that you can spend to either buff units, let them use their desperation attack without dying, or even give back spent AP. That's why I say this can feel like a puzzle game at times. Some enemy waves can feel utterly overwhelming at first but if you manage your units and AP use smartly you can turn the tables and decimate the other side in a single round. I won't speak on the story, since I haven't fully completed it yet, but I will say that I ended up enjoying the entire cast of this game, unlike Danganronpa. In each Danganronpa game there was always one or two characters who I hated from beginning to end, but in this I managed to come around to all of them eventually. Don't get me wrong, some of them are really obnoxious, but they get better for the most part. Even the ones who stay obnoxious are at least really useful in combat. I honestly can't recommend this game highly enough. It has a free demo on steam if you're on the fence so you have nothing to lose.

Oh it's definitely not easier, but at least where steamOS is concerned I like how free of bloat it is. I'm kind of hoping valve puts out an official version for PCs down the line. The steam deck is already getting a big surge of popularity thanks to the price gouging Microsoft and Nintendo are up to lately so I feel like it isn't out of the realm of possibility valve would do something like that if Windows ever goes a bridge too far.

I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. The tactical RPG side doesn't feel tacked on either. It's unlike any other tactics game I've played. I'll post my full thoughts when I finish it.

Played the demo for this on the deck and really liked it. I was going to wait for the next steam sale but I had a really shitty day (fell through the attic) and was too pissed off to care about paying full price when I already have to pay to repair a giant hole in the ceiling so fuck it, I need to de-stress.

1) Beat em up 2) Roguelike 3) Great on steam deck 4) Online co-op Yeah this was made for me. It also does a very good job scratching that Dragon's Crown itch since that never got a steam port

I'm mostly keeping it in my back pocket in preparation for the day when Microsoft decides Windows computers can only install apps from the Windows store

Man, the steam deck is cool. In fact, it's so cool that it's actually got me considering Linux now.

Those devs really seem to know how to take those old Genesis franchises and make them feel new again. They did great with Streets of Rage 4.

Fuck it we ball. Getting the 1 TB edition.