Ironic Indie Lad

For me it has to be Point Blank by Nailbomb. Just a black and white image, gun to the head and the band is called NAILBOMB ffs. It says it all.

I remember seeing it in a record shop when I was in my early teens and actually laughing that something this extreme even existed. 

Amazing song titles as well.

Got some time off to get in amongst the back log. Was thinking maybe Mario RPG? Maybe Spidey 2?

Instead I am playing Metroid Zero Mission on the GBA...

Colby in the main event is possibly the hardest sell ever for me. I don't give a fuck about all the MAGA nonsense and his incredibly fake persona in general. 

He's a good fighter but his credibility as a contender is almost entirely based on being competitive (but losing twice) to the man that everyone, at the time, accepted as the 2nd best WW of all time.

Thank god theres a great undercard!

1. The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom

2. Mario Bros Wonder

3. Robocop - Rogue City 

4. Resident Evil 4 Remake

5. F-Zero 99 (shout out to @Fog Dude for mentioning this and jogging my memory)

Couple of Caveats here for me. This is probably the year where I have spent the least amount of time gaming in recent memory. I've mentioned in other threads but I've only been able to play games in short bursts here and there due to having my daughter in the summer. In any other year I would have played Armored Core, Spidey 2, Alan Wake 2, Final Fantasy XVI, Octopath Traveler 2, Pikmin 4 etc. There is every chance my list could have looked completely different if I had a bit more time.

From what I did play, Zelda was the clear number 1. It was the only game that I was thinking about when I wasn't playing it, playing it for hours at night, losing entire weekends to etc. I already loved the world established in BOTW but I feel like the new mechanics improved it to the point where it would be impossible for me to go back. Just endless joy, discovery and invention. 

Mario was never going to miss. 2D Mario is always good but it definitely felt like a fresh coat of paint was needed and that's exactly what this is. Beautiful style and charm and a perfect game to sit down and do a couple of levels of an evening. One of the very few games where I finish it and feel sad because I want more.

Robocop is just a fun ultra violent gory shooter that perfectly nails the world and vibe of the first movie. It's not big or clever but its a joy to play if you love Robocop (which I do)

Resi 4 on the Gamecube is probably top 5 games of all time for me. I'd struggle to think of a game I have completed more times. I've probably never gone 2 years without playing it since it came out. Thankfully, they didn't fuck the remake up whatsoever. They nailed it, although they should have had an option to turn off the yellow paint constantly making it clear what you can interact with. 

I've been crying out for a new F-Zero for so long now. It turns out we didnt need a new one, we needed this! Hopelessly addictive. Has that "ok just one more quick game..." factor but before you know it its been 4 hours. 

2 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I was at the hospital today, and was directed to a waiting room just round the corner from the McColls. These were pretty basic directions, which saw me going to a waiting room round the corner from McColls.

Surprised McColls still exists after the legal case against them by a certain Cromer based Journo.

I cant say any more for legal reasons.

11 hours ago, TildeGuy~! said:

So when did Rountree get good??? 
I remember him being a bang average ageing middleweight and now he’ll probably be ranked in the top 10 at Light Heavy.

That guy hits *so* hard. 

I remember years ago I was very close to the cage when he knocked out Paul Craig. I honestly thought he had killed him for a minute.

1 hour ago, David said:

Ange was outdone by a 2nd half managerial masterclass. 

Horrible flashbacks to Rangers fans during the Michael Beale era for a second there. Felt myself blacking out.

I have a 3 month old baby so I am finding gaming time hard to come by at the moment.

When I do have a bit of time of an evening, I have been chipping away at Robocop: Rogue City

I think this got quite mid reviews but I have been having a blast with this. They have absolutely nailed the vibe, you feel like a tank, the violence is wildly over the top and gory and its loaded with easter eggs. I think objectively its nothing outstanding but if you are a big fan of the movies then I really think its worth a go. It's probably the 3rd most enjoyable game I have played this year behind Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Wonder. 

I finish work in a couple of weeks and dont start my new job until the second week of January. I am saving Super Mario RPG specifically for this period. Nothing says Christmas to me like playing a nintendo game. 

27 minutes ago, westlondonmist said:

That sounds mental to me, I've had 15 minute screening calls before but to me that's what the recruitment agency should be doing. If you aren't meeting the criteria then they shouldn't put you through, especially if they are a specialist recruitment agency which I would think financial services would use. I'm also curious as to why the tests weren't done in the first proper interview. 

Recruitment seem to take a scatter-gun approach at times. It seems as if they just pick out on key words on phrases only. I have QA throughout my CV as I have almost always worked in Financial Services Assurance / Risk / Compliance type departments. Doesnt stop me from getting calls about fucking pharma jobs, maritime jobs etc.

I got contacted by a recruitment agency recently as they found my CV somewhere.

I advised them that I wasnt looking for work at the moment as I would be starting a new role in January. 

They have emailed me a few times recently saying they know I am not interested but if I can recommend colleagues they will give me £50. Seems really professional!

13 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Worth remembering that there is no such thing as a "shit job" and with retail especially, and I can only go from my experience, applying through the absolutely horrendous websites these companies have is almost always worthless, and there's no shame in not getting an interview as its nothing to do with you and all to do with the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) 

It's easy to feel crap when not even securing an interview, but again, it's not you.

You can create an ATS friendly CV if you want, and it's a load of bollocks, but worth bearing in mind.

This sort of thing really depresses me. Looking for work really can be quite painful.

I've worked in financial services for 15+ years now and they seem to have particularly annoying recruitment practices.

I got contacted about a job a few months back and the recruiter was telling me that they aim to "simplify the process" which seemed a welcome relief.

What followed was a 45 minute "screening" call just to make sure I definitely met the criteria. I then had an hour long competency based interview. I thought that was it and then they said "I've been successful...in getting to the next stage" which was another interview but with different people followed by some tests. This wasnt even a particularly senior job.

I dread to imagine what their process before they simplified it.

Handed in my notice at a REALLY toxic workplace the other day. Never worked anywhere in my life that's been so awful for my mental health. I am the fifth to go since the summer to give you an idea of how horrendous its been lately.

They pretty much lost me when they were very unsupportive during what was a difficult time. I was supposed to work 3 days at home 2 in the office. My commute is about 90 mins each way so I was out of the house for 11-12 hours at a time. I was leaving my very heavily pregnant partner home alone to do this which was really causing a lot of stress and anxiety. I openly told my boss this, even noting that the reason for the anxiety was due in part to going through two miscarriages previously.

They turned down my temporary request to work 100% from home. I got the union involved who urged management to reconsider on the basis that there is no element of my job that cannot be done remotely. Management agreed but made it abundantly clear they were unhappy with me, going as far as to say "Getting the union involved? Well at least now we know HOW YOU ROLL" to me in a meeting. Ridiculous behaviour from adults. 

I took some time off sick at one point and had an occupational health assessment done. The outcome of which was that I needed more time off followed by a phased return followed by increased capacity for remote work. When I came back, I was barely acknowledged. After two weeks I asked my boss if they had read my occ health report, they admitted that they hadn't. 

Just an utter shower of bastards.

9 minutes ago, FUM said:

I mean both of them deny it in fairness. Wrestling is full of carny stories told in shoots by other wrestlers hunting to get over. It’s a messed up world but it’s probably less messed up than they would have you believe.

Old adage of never let facts get in the way of a good story when it comes to wrestlers.

It's actually 100% true except it was The Sandman noshing off Sabu (probably)

I dont think anything has ever really encapsulated the true seedy nature of the business like this.

Addict Sunny getting her laughing gear around Sabu while he dangles a bag of pills, refusing to give them over until he busts off.

The boys going "how could she do this to Chris tho?"

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

New Horizons and Stardew Valley have been incredibly helpful in tackling our eldests anxiety. 

Without getting too deep, she has found it is the best way she can relax and forget about her stress, so that's fantastic obviously. 

She's now after Minekos Night Market which looks like the most "her" game ever.

Even as a huge life long Nintendo fan boy, I never really got the appeal of Animal Crossing. I looked into it a while back and was amazed at how many people said it really helped them cope with anxiety, depression etc. I think thats amazing.

16 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Quake 2 had a surprise release on pretty much everything today, not only does it have the expansions but also a brand new one from MachineGames and Quake 2 64.

Including Game Pass! It was an immediate download for me.

I often see posts / youtube suggestions about STEAM DECK KILLERs etc. The price point just kills any discussion for me though. There are quite a few handheld gaming PC's now that are impressive but I'm not going to drop the best part of a grand on one. I think the Steam Deck is going to have that particular niche covered until someone can offer something as good or better at a really attractive price.

In other news, the long awaited follow up to Breath of the Wild is out today. I am impatiently waiting on the post man putting mine through the letter box.

Currently at a 96 on metacritic based on 87 reviews!

I think I have reached my own personal burn out point with modern AAA 3rd person games. Trying desperately not to sound like a cynical old man here but they are all the same thing!

• Unnecessarily huge map.
• Squeezing through a little gap in a wall to hide the loading time of the next enormous area.
• Constant new customization and CRAFTING~! options with your character and weapons.
• Skill tree to enhance your health, abilities and so on.
• Tacked on side quests, things to collect etc.

I have previously enjoyed some of these games a lot (even Assasins Creed ones!) but I just cant get through them now. I dont know if its just a genre thats become so saturated or that Elden Ring has ruined gaming forever.

When I sold my flat, I got an unexpected profit. I promised my brother that I would keep money aside to pay for us to go to the first AEW show in the UK as he is a huge fan(ny).

They finally fucking announce it and its literally within 2 days of the due date of my first child. 

Would be hilarious if I missed the birth of my daughter to sit there crying through Stings retirement match or something. 

I genuinely think a lot of Punks frustrations come from his belief that he is better than everyone else at this mental job. I think he must look at the business when he isnt involved and think "This would be so much better with me!".

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Horizon is beautiful to look at, the dinosaur fights are satisfying but despite the incredible amount of work and detail put into it there's just something about it that is completely uninspiring. It has most the ingredients of what should be a classic but it just lacks any heart or the joy of discovery that it should have. 

This was my experience exactly. An absolutely soulless, joyless game despite its undeniable beauty. 

I am feeling a bit burned out on big AAA games in general at the moment. I haven't played anything on Series X or PS5 in a while. I am mostly playing retro stuff on the Switch online service. Splitting my time between Earthbound and Metroid Fusion at the moment and having a lovely time.

10 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Bloody marvellous game. Shout out to the top shagger Alkibiades!

I love the gameplay in Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla but truly could not give a bollocks about the story.

I was playing through Odyssey last year and was just frantically skipping through most dialogue trees and cutscenes. My girlfriend came into the room and the mission I was doing involved following a trail of petals in a beach to meet a man for some kind of gay affair.

I've maintained this was accidental but she believes I was having some kind of breakdown and this was a cry for help in the world of gaming.

The Alex Salmond is an innocent man thread 

Metroid Fusion comes onto the Switch Online Expansion Pass on Thursday!!!!!!

On 2/23/2023 at 9:28 PM, FelatioLips said:

I went into Atomic Heart really expecting to enjoy it from the trailers but once you’re in there, boy it can be a slog. 
It’s like the game is trying really hard to be several things and barely succeeds at any of them. It’s Prey but not as scary with worse crafting, it’s Wolfenstein but the combat is rough and the protagonist is a nobody, it’s Bioshock but the atmosphere is blander and the upgrade system is all over the place.

It throws every idea it has at you and barely explains them. So far there has been about 6 ways to lockpick doors, there’s crafting but so many different materials and it uses them for ammo too so it’s either use the guns you have or have no ammo and melee until you can make new ones. It gives you an energy gun early that requires no ammo but the tradeoff is it can’t kill anything so why bother. 

The area I’m in now, without spoiling too much, is outside and there are cameras and robots everywhere but the stealth mechanic is so poor that it was actually easier to me to run in a straight line through everything to the objective.

There are huge load times the game tries to disguise behind elevators or travel cutscenes and I’m on Series X. I was in a lift out of a lab for about 60 seconds of silence as the game loaded the outside.

The game’s been living on borrowed time since I started it and it opened with what felt like half an hour of walking slowly as the game explained itself to me, but several hours in now and it’s getting worse if anything. Will likely just move on to something else if this next area is no better.

 

I pre installed Atomic Heart through Game Pass.

The first time I tried to play it, it needed a 60+ GB update.

A couple of days later I went to play it again and it needed another 15+ GB update.

I just opened it again...12GB update required.

In between updates, I did manage a quick shot and the constant lock picking enraged me. I cant understand how stuff like that gets through QA. Did nobody bring up that maybe the lock picking was a bit excessive?

There were also so many times where my character felt like he was walking knee-deep in treacle for some reason.

I wont be persevering with this one.

On 2/14/2023 at 7:32 PM, CleetusVanDamme said:

Seen this in Glasgow. It was!

Pointless note that I think you'll pointlessly want to know about that show: They must have been in limbo with the company name change at that point and weirdly kept calling it "WWFE" or "WWF:E" all night. It was a really confusing few days until they Got The F Out.

I still have my ticket stub for this and it says WWF/E on there.

I was in my early teens at the time. This was my first time seeing WWE live and it was right in the middle of my peak fandom. Difficult to even describe how excited I was for this.

From memory:

RVD v X-Pac and Eddy v Jeff Hardy were both really good matches.

Seeing Brock in person and up close was freaky. Absolute monster.

Nash got involved in the finish of the Hall v Bradshaw match. From my seat, I couldnt even see him so I was pissed.

People near me were claiming that Goldust came out from backstage and got his arse out to some lucky people in the queue at the time.