Friday, November 27, 2020

Year 4: November Update

Unfortunately, this will be the month with the least number of posts since I began the blog. I did do a few "Let's Play" videos on YouTube with the latest being for Create With Garfield!, a lesser known program where users create static images featuring Garfield characters. This video was created and uploaded on Thanksgiving as I attempted to make a holiday scene that you can see to the right. The placement of Nermal is a little messed up as I meant to move the cat a bit to the left but accidentally hit the return key. It might not be too obvious at a glance though Nermal's tail is overlapping Arlene's face a little bit.

Today is possibly the biggest shopping day of the year. If you're buying toys you might like to hear what W.A.T.C.H. believes are the 10 worst toys this year (click on the slideshow at the bottom of the linked page) and what Parents.com says are the 45 best toys of 2020. The worst toys are being rated on safety and promotion of violence while the best toys are favorites among those who tested them. I've been playing the beginning of every physical video game release this year and let me suggest staying away from L.O.L. Surprise! Remix, Speed 3: Grand Prix, and XIII. It's doubtful any kid would ask for Speed 3 or XIII but L.O.L. is probably quite popular. L.O.L. does not have much content and it's very rough; it's primarily a handful of short mini-games with limited gameplay. PAW Patrol is a step up from the previous release with open environments rather than side-scrolling levels but the pups still don't make any sounds. 

L.O.L. Surprise! Remix
PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay!

Slide Stars is another game kids might be interested in since it features a bunch of influencers. That one is playable even if there isn't much to it and as the ESRB rating says, it has mild suggestive themes. I'd put Cobra Kai on the weak side too while Transformers: Battlegrounds isn't bad for a young gamer that likes turn-based battles (the art style is based on modern cartoons, not 1980's Transformers). I've previously discussed the G.I. Joe game and that one is okay for fans but a very average shooter for anyone else due to bland level designs. Keep in mind, as I said, I've only played the beginning of these games which in most cases is around the first hour.

Slide Stars
Transformers: Battlegrounds

Also, I finally got my first smartphone! While I am well behind the times, I actually didn't even want one but my carrier has been informing me this year that the outdated technology in my flip phone might cause the phone to cease working or at the very least there would be a decrease in call quality this January as the major carriers transfer completely to VoLTE. I've only had the phone for about two days and am finding it quite confusing to navigate. The reason I mention this here is that I did create an Instagram account years ago to help promote the blog. However, when I did that I thought I could use a PC to upload images but, of course, Instagram is meant for smartphones only. Once I figure this out I may start posting images there if you wish to follow. https://www.instagram.com/vault1541.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jonathan

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Gaming Ads: Retailers

This may be the final new ads album unless I acquire more ads for publishers that don't yet have an album. As the title suggests, these are ads from video game retailers. Some are about the retailer and some are for sales so I thought now would be the best time to post these as the holiday shopping season takes off around Thanksgiving. Plus, with two new consoles recently released and prices increasing for some games, you can look back at what games typically cost 30 years ago. There are some other random things mixed in, such as Babbage's top 10 charts that appeared in Electronic Gaming Monthly. 

Retailers albums: Facebook - Google Photos