PixlBit

Xbox One was offline for some unknown reason. That turned out to be a good thing because I got some serious time with Red Dead Redemption II on PS4. I did so many different things in such a short time in this game, I don't know where to start, but I'll try.

I surprised myself by sticking to Forza Horizon 4 today. Seems there was more to do. I got in on some Team Adventure matches and raised my rank. I've got to get to rank 10 to qualify for a League. I'm not sure how far down that road I will go though because the races, capture the flag and Infected matches aren't all that interesting to me. I'll see what the League prizes are though. Mark is going to create a team tomorrow, so I'll join and see what that's all about. 

Somehow I got to all of these today. I had Luigi's Mansion ready to go too, but didn't get to that. 

I found the Banner Saga soundrack in my copy of the Trilogy Bonus Edition. It was under the game disc where I didn't expect it. I'm so happy about finding it. I listened to it all day today and it's great. It's mornfull and sounds, at times, like a dirge or funeral music, but that's sort of the situation in the game. The characters are facing an apocalypse and many die fighting it. I imagine the music is sourced from old Norse folk music. There are men's chorus', blowing of horns, the clatter of percusion, it has a martial tone at times but there are softer moments too. I keep hearing echoes of the theme to the 1982 film Conan The Barbarian too. Also Shostakovich. 

I can't resist starting my media searches a little bit early. I love seeing what's coming out and making a list of things I'd like to experience. As for retro, it's not really retro for me in November because I'm reviewing the years 2015-2019, which is recent past, present, and future. Here's some new game releases I'd like to get day-one, if I could. 

I stumbled across this game the other day and got all excited. Then I couldn't find a physical release anywhere. You can download it on the game's web site but no physical release yet. I checked Gamestop and got a big not yet. Then I saw on Major Nelson's blog that he said it was here and so I checked the Xbox web site. It was not there. So I'm guessing it'll just pop up next month in time for the holidays and I'll pick it up at Gamestop the second it does. It's a $20 game and I have volume 1 and 2 already. I can't miss it. I don't know why they wait to the last minute like this. 

I've decided to put aside this retro plan of mine and stick to my most recent essentials. These are games I'd buy day-one if I had the cash, but instead I'll wait until they hit near the $20 mark. Three of my essentials for this year got to that level, so I picked them up today: Ni No Kuni II, Banner Saga Trilogy, and Dragon's Crown Pro. Here's a pic:

Yes, the obsession with Forza has begun and it is now the number 8 most played game for me this year and rising fast. I've just passed level 50 with no real end in sight. I've never seen a map screen more full of races and other points of interest. New ones get added as I complete challenges and as the seasons pass. Then there are the multiplayer events called Forzathons that happen every few hours or so. When it pops up, you head to the location on your map and suddenly, seemlessly, you are in multiplayer surrounded by other players. As a group you go off to complete various challenges within a set amount of time. This game has endless variety, it seems. 

Not quite retro, but it'll do. I'm currently populating a list of games, books, film and music that I have and want from those years. I'll try and play some of the games (although Forza Horizon 4 will probably stomp that into the ground), read a few books, watch a few films and make several mix cds for my car. Here's some highlights. 

Yes, yesterday I played some games. A little Minecraft, a lot of Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo and a medium amount of Forza Horizon 4. What's with the fours? It's bad luck in some cultures. I'll try not to think about that.