When the Nintendo Switch 2 released earlier this year, one of the launch games was the download only Welcome Tour.  It was set up like a museum, and you controlled a little person as they walked around a giant Switch 2 and its accessories.  You could play mini-games, try tech demos, and take quizzes on facts about the new console.  To me, it sounded like a lot of silly, quirky fun.  And I love games that have museums in them, whether it be Namco Museums or Animal Crossing.  There was only one problem.  They charged you for it.  It really should’ve come with the system, and that’s what it’s going to be known for from here on out.  I really wanted to boycott it and not buy it to support that kind of behavior.  But here’s the thing.  I only believe in boycotting if it doesn’t hurt yourself.  And the game still sounded interesting enough to me that I didn’t want to miss out on it.  Life is too short to miss out on what you think is fun.  So I got it.  It was only ten bucks anyway, and I can spend more money than that on fast food!  So I figured I’d take you all on a tour of the Welcome Tour!

I'm all over the place lately. I'm trying to do games set in the 50s and keep up with the new stuff. I eventually just reduced it all to playing the largest files size games first on my hard drive. It's all a mess now, but I'm having fun, so I guess it's all good. Here's the sloppy story.

My June theme, continuing my traipse through history, is the 1950s. I'm finally down to a single decade a month until the end of the year. With regards video games, since no video games were made, unless you count Tennis for Two on an oscilloscope in 1958 - and who wants to play what is basically proto-pong (new band name found), I'll have to go with trying to match anything 50s related in modern video games. This is my first list of titles. 

My new plan is to roughly follow my reading plan. This month I'm reading from the years 1900-1949. The games just have to be related to the period in some way. So this blog is about my week's plays and some new pickups. 

Around this time, I like to make a list of games that are releasing in the coming year that I’m looking forward to.  Of course, this isn’t a full complete list, as there will assuredly be titles announced throughout the year that I may get as well. But anyway, here’s what I know now, for the most part, so let’s take a look at what games I’m looking forward to in 2025!

i played a bunch of stuff from my month's theme (70s). When I run out of stuff on a particular day, I default to Lego Star Wars. 

It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2024 Awards Show!”  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

It was all Switch this week. I feel like i'm cramming in playing the systems I largely ignored during the year in this last month. Better late than never. 

Those epic RPGs shot me down. I couldn't take it any more. Neither could I take my rediculous listomania. I was totally overwelmed and so dove into some lighter, shorter fair and found some cool games. Check, check, check it out (to the sound of the Beastie Boys song with those words). 

This week I played mostly Mass Effect 2 but also Flock. I bought EDF World Brothers on Switch with some Fetch rewards and I saw the Borderlans movie. 

Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten.  So here’s when those games get their due.  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

Earlier this year, the ESA announced they would be cancelling E3 yet again and they wouldn’t have it anymore.  So I wanted to say my final goodbyes and reminisce on my favorite E3 memories here.  The reasons why I didn’t do this earlier when they first announced it I was pretty busy at the time, and I figured I’d do it when E3 usually occurred around now.

Retro first, then new stuff. That's how I do it now whenever I'm in front of my gaming set up at Mad Krammer's place. I'm on Gen 4 now and Genesis, SNES and Game Boy. Here's what I got to this week: 

Ok so apparently I forgot to either upload my last blog post or I completely forgot to write one. I checked my folder and it turns out the one that I was typing up last week I either never saved or it got lost before I had a chance to upload it (I probably just forgot) anyways let’s catch up.

Much more than just Shmups this week but I played a lot of Shumps and finally had my fill of getting beaten down. I think I'll put the Shmups aside for the rest of the month. So I've also been exploring games of the late 80s both from hits lists and my own lists. I've got the Switch, Retron 3 and Xbox Series S all running and sourcing whatever I can find. So here goes. 

Princess Peach is one of the most popular Mario characters and she’s recently getting her own game on the Switch called Princess Peach Showtime!  And that’s not even the first time she’s gotten her own game either!  And even though she spends much of her time as a damsel in distress waiting for Mario to save her, there are plenty of other times when Nintendo lets her shine and be a hero.  So in honor of her new game, I thought I’d go back and look at Princess Peach’s best moments.

Good morning Pixlpeeps! It’s been a minute but I’m back, and how about that we get an extra day in February. Well it’s been a different couple of weeks where it’s either been cold and rainy, really warm, and now windy in Vegas, but either way I like it. I do wish we had more snow this year but I think that’s over now. Anyways let’s go into what I’ve been playing and what I finished.

It’s raining, I just finished my sixth book of 2024 Reading Challenge on Goodreads, and I am ready to throw down my random thoughts about whatever I played this past week and a half…GOOD MORNING PIXLPEEPS! Alright let’s see what I remember playing

Wow, 2023 has been an incredible year for gaming, one of the very best! And here we are at the end of the year, so let’s look back at some games, shall we? You guys probably know that I’m a big Nintendo guy. In fact, I don’t even have the other consoles (mostly because I don’t have time to play them all). This was a great year for Nintendo, we got so many fantastic games on the Switch. This year I beat a total of 26 games! (I was hoping to beat 30, but you know how it goes)

It’s the end of the year so you know what that means?  It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2023 Awards Show!”  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

Finally, I am Switch exclusive right now. I already have youtube running for meal times, and I'm exploring the story and news apps thoroughly. I'm also just as impatient with every game I'm playing, taking breaks and jumping around like a manic flea from game to game. Well, maybe I've found a game I will stick to for a while in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. Details below. 

I love that feeling when a new game totally takes over game time. This happened this week with DPS Idle, a free-2-play autobattler. Who knew? It swept the field of everything else mentioned below. 

New console, Happy Meal toys and games played this week. Also OG Astro Boy episode 1 watched. Black and white and very influenced by early Disney animations. Good stuff. 

So recently I played through Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe on Switch.  Knowing that I’m a huge Kirby fan, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t get this game back when it released in February.  Well I don’t really like paying full price for Switch re-releases and remakes, especially when I already paid for these games back on the original console.  So I waited and asked for it for my birthday, which is what I usually do for games I want to get, but don’t have to play right away.  So since I had already played this one back on the Wii, I decided I can wait and put it on my birthday list.  After playing it, I have to say that unlike a lot of other Switch rereleases, this one’s actually pretty good and adds a lot of extra content.  One of the extra things is an amusement park with ten Kirby mini-games from past titles!  And since I like to write blogs about games that have a lot of mini-games, especially if they are presented in a museum or amusement park, let’s take a tour of Merry Magoland!