PixlBit

Yesterday I came up with a podcast that was called Media Monday. Couldn't be bothered to finish it. Here's what I might have said:

Xeodrifter is a damn fine entry in the NES Metroid series*, though it's a bit smaller with only four planets to explore that taken together still aren't as large as Zebes, etc. Also, rather than fighting iconic characters like Ridley and Mother Brain, you basically just fight the same boss with more powers and a different color scheme to get your major upgrades. 

The exploration and customization found in Metroid and Castlevania games is still there however, with cool abilities like hyperfast running and switching between the front and back panes of the screen available upon destroying a boss. Where Metroid just gives you gear and you figure out when to use it, Xeodrifter allows you to upgrade your gun so that it'll shoot in a spread shot, more powerful pellets, rapid fire lines or some mixture of five different shot types you can mix and match, making the experience somewhat unique for different players. 

I'd say the game is a bit harder than GBA Metroid games I've played, but not as hard as their NES and SNES cousins. You're never really as overpowered as Samus can get in those games and the normal enemies do a surprising amount of damage. Luckily, there aren't any cheap glitchy enemies or frustrating wall jump tasks to hinder you further and the boss fights require more strategy than the wars of attrition in GBA Metroids. It's a welcome challenge in my opinion, since gameplay feels more intense when you have to navigate the hallways rather than stacking up on hidden supplies and bullrushing your way through. 

I'm very happy with it as a free game, but I might wait until the price drops from $10 to $5 before buying. 

Speaking of cheap Metroidvania titles, I beat Shantae: Risky's Revenge not long ago. It's got a lot of Mario's DNA in its colorful world and humor, though the latter gets a bit more racy than the oh-so-innocent Nintendo franchise. Developer WayForward knows its main character is a half-naked genie in a world full of bellydancers and has fun with that fact, but not to the point you need to hide your kids. There's just a couple NPC conversations hinting at adult relationships. There's also a man using his bowels to steal treasure and a zombie using literal spider webs to speak with friends and find information. 

With Shantae, there's more boss variety than in Xeodrifter, though those fights and the overall game is a bit easier ... minus some very tricky platforming sections and a couple hard-to-find items necessary to complete the game. Where Xeodrifter is a small game that feels like a spin-off Metroid down to the art style with some key tweaks, Risky's Revenge feels more like its own thing. The animal transformations and weapon upgrades fit the game's world really well and it's a fuller, more colorful game. I'd say it's worth the $10 asking price if you don't mind its short length, or you could wait for it on sale for $2 which is what I paid. 

I've still been playing a lot of Rocket League and Guilty Gear Xrd as well. I love the Guilty Gear series. I love the batshit-crazy Japaneseness of its characters and story, the over-the-top but incredibly deep fighting system, the glorious heavy metal soundtrack, gorgeous animations, and just how smooth combat feels. 

My only complaint in either game is how I do so well in most cases until I go online. I beat the hardest difficulty on Xrd Arcade mode with three different characters, but I can't hang for long at all when I actually manage to find a match against another level 1 player. It's like I just want to win a match or two online, but everyone from the bottom up is an EVO player or something! I have more luck in Rocket League, but it's wildly inconsistent depending on what team I'm on (and I suuuuck at singles) and who we're facing, so I constantly fluctuate from the lower end of Bronze II to the higher end of Bronze I. It's frustrating when someone says they're defending, leaves the goal wide open then sarcastically comments "what a save!" when you're seen in the replay trying to hurry to the goal and stop the score. RL has a few trolls for sure. Mostly nice people, but definitely a handful of stupid and vocal people who will blame their team for losing despite being ranked its least valuable member at the end of the match. 

I also played some of the free PS+ offerings like Super Time Force Ultra (completed a bit of the tutorial and had some trouble with the time travel), Teslsagrad (love the art style, haven't gotten far but enjoying the puzzles), Sound Shapes is the closest thing I have to Mario Maker to play. I haven't made my own levels, but some of them I've played are pretty creative. My only complaint is that the sounds made by the platforms can be cool, but oftentimes it becomes a bit of a cacophany. 

As for Grow Home, which I actually voted for to be a free PS+ game this month, I'm loving the laid back experience of roaming around a sizeable world and rock climbing my way to growing giant bean stalks. It's a charming game. I do think some of the controls could be tighter, and it's really frustrating falling from a huge height because the camera doesn't want to cooperate, but I'd still say it's an artful experience. Something about the lack of urgency combined with the huge scope just puts me in a zen-like state. 

Then there's PlayStation Vue. I'm glad I already cancelled automatic subscription renewal after my free trial (using it to watch the excellent Trevor Noah debut live along with some Fox Sports Southwest games). I really don't understand what Sony is trying to do here. 

So ok, I can record a lot of things without issue unlike on my parents' DVR that won't let you change channels if two shows are being taped at the same time, but as much as I hate how Time Warner cable drops out for us given how much it costs, I'd be livid to pay $50 for a stream that constantly goes down. It's hard to channel surf with no associated numbers, so if you want to get to something on a higher channel, you must search the whole guide. There's no ESPN and I couldn't watch an episode of Walking Dead airing on a local channel cause Sony doesn't have the rights. I get not having rights, but how are you going to keep me from watching a program airing on a local station? 

I understand wanting stuff like Showtime a la carte, as I've been wanting to get just HBO Go to watch Game of Thrones and see what all the fuss is about, but especially considering that the price isn't even that much cheaper than traditional cable packages, I really do not understand the appeal of Vue. At least I can watch old Simpsons episodes on demand through FXX and catch up on South Park (watched the latest episodes today. 

I rented Big Hero Six and a free rental of Elder Scrolls Online the other day as well. ESO was fun and I understand the appeal of going on a ton of easy quests, but I had the same problem Snee did with it looking too low-res. It reminded me of how WoW looks and call me a graphics whore, but the look of that and Minecraft really do make me less interested in those games. It just makes everything feel a bit too blase. Y'know, I'd marry a decent looking woman with a great personality over a bitchy supermodel any day, but there's a point at which something just isn't pretty enough for me to feel a genuine connection to it. Which sucks, because I'm ugly in real life. It's a vicious cycle of emotional hypocrisy that I guess somehow has to do with MMOs? I forgot where I was going with all this.

But yeah, Big Hero Six was really cool. Makes me want to go to nerd school.