Sunday, October 21, 2018

Year 2: October Update

Winter is fast approaching and where I live it feels like it's actually already here. Temperatures in the 60s didn't last long as we went straight to the 40s and 50s the past couple weeks in Michigan. Only two more updates this year and then onto Year 3 which will see the end of the ads posts I believe. Hopefully I can get the Commodore 64 working soon or get a replacement if I can find a good deal. With Halloween right around the corner here's a McDonald's image (front and back) I posted last year on Facebook and Twitter:


I've been dropping the ball again in keeping up with the blog and YouTube channel as I've had a hard time pulling myself away from the recent game releases. Assassin's Creed Odyssey has an awful lot of content; I've played quite a bit and am still not close to the end of the story. Red Dead Redemption II is out this week as well which will be another open world time sink. Odyssey isn't too different from Origins but it does seem to have a lot more side quests. Also, whereas Origins has a lot of desert, Odyssey has a lot of water and therefore plenty of ship combat. The environment variety is lacking in Odyssey though and I feel as if the photo mode images I've taken in Odyssey don't look quite as good. I am a fan of desert landscapes though so that could be why I like the look of Origins a little bit more too.

Of course, I have been playing Forza Horizon 4 when I can as well, though I've not spent much time on making new Cobra cars. You can see a few of my older designs here and I did import some of those into the new game. In the past month I did manage to complete Valkyria Chronicles 4 which was much longer than I anticipated and there is more content I'd like to play if I ever go back to it. While I can't complain about games having a lot of content, it would have been great if one or two of these games could have released in June or July. Unfortunately, Valkyria Chronicles 4 isn't as kid-friendly as the first one. They both have violence so neither is for young kids but the first one has some positive messages and according to ESRB only has mild language. This new one is rated "T" because there is a fair amount of swearing and some suggestive themes. While it doesn't bother me when playing, I'm disappointed I cannot recommend it to younger gamers.

Valkyria Chronicles 4
Valkyria Chronicles 4

There are some kid-oriented games releasing but I don't think I'll have time to try them and give an opinion. Crayola Scoot released this month and is said to play similarly to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and out in a couple days is a PAW Patrol game. I've not heard anything about the PAW Patrol game though I'd guess it will be an average game that will appeal only to those who enjoy the show. The latest LEGO game, DC Super Villains, is getting positive reviews and some say it's one of the best of the LEGO franchise. In other game news Intellivision Entertainment unveiled many details of the next Intellvision console at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2018 this weekend. It's called Intellivision Amico (Italian word for friend), has a tentative release date of October 10, 2020, and should cost between $149 and $179. The games will be 2D, cost between $2.99 and $7.99, and all of them will be rated "E" or "E10." Most of the games are expected to be remakes of classic Intellivision, Atari, and Imagic games. Although I thought cartridges were supposed to be a thing on this console when it was first mentioned, all of the games will be digital.

Suddenly it looks like the Toys "R" Us brand isn't completely dead in the U.S. as there are plans of a comeback under the name Geoffrey's Toy Box. I don't completely understand the press release; it says it will launch in November(!) as a store-in-a-store concept. That must mean it will be more like a toy department within an already existing store rather than a standalone toy store.

Thanks for reading,
Jonathan

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