Grinding for levels in Farm Together 2 and thinking about what retro games I'll play in September. 

I watched the trailer for Farming Simulator 25 where hikers are taking selfies in front of modern harvesting machines and then racing them across fields. Nerds! Haha. I'm okay with my cartoony jeep in Farm Together 2. I've tried the Farm Sims before and they are mondo complexido. I love farming but not that much. 

My Twin-stick shooter fascination has branched into a genre that is similar but not exactly the same. What I played this week is more along the lines of isometric multidirectional shooters. Really, the only substantial difference is that you use a trigger to shoot instead of using the right stick to both aim and shoot. Overall, it kind of feels pretty similar but maybe with less of a bullet hell feeling. Anyway, here's what I got into this week. 

Welcome to Nerds Without Pants! No time for a lengthy intro, because Julian got carried away playing games on the holiday weekend. Enjoy some really fantastic discussions around the news!

Every time I start up the Xbox I first check for any rewards points I can get by watching videos or playing certain games. This leads me to try a lot of stuff and sometimes find a new favorite. Here's what I played recently before long sessions of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. 

There are certain combo cartridges games that leave me wondering why they were ever sold as standalone releases in the first place. I found myself asking that question after playing the Hang-On/Astro Warrior cart on the Master System. I mean, don’t get me wrong- it’s nice to have both games on a cartridge. But neither one held much weight when all was said and done. Even so, I was still able to come away with some goodwill toward Hang-On. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Astro Warrior, but I’ll touch on that shortly. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

Before we get started the breakfast of choice is leftover Wienerschnizel bacon wrapped hot dogs and what’s left of my chili cheese fries. This was actually supposed to be my dinner from last night but all I ate was the majority of the chili cheese fries while watching 90 Day Fiance. So Wienerschnizel is a hot dog chain where most of their food involves chili and cheese. I loved the place as a kid because the building is a long triangle with a slot cut in the middle for drive thru. Anyways as I wait for the impending heart burn and me questioning my breakfast choice let’s recap what I played.

Launch into a new adventure!

After conquering 2018 with the hyper-realistic open-world cowboy simulator, Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar has certainly not been resting on its laurels. As many of you now know, the highly anticipated hyper-realistic open-world crime simulator, Grand Theft Auto 6, has been announced. Thanks to the hundreds of hits my writing for PixlBit has amassed over the past nine years and the runaway popularity of my podcast, Nerds Without Pants (tens of satisfied listeners!) I was given an exclusive look at this upcoming juggernaut. Don’t worry, I got hands-on with this sure to be life-altering video game months before the Covid-19 epidemic. Now that my embargo has been lifted, the story can be told at last!

Well, I beat Mario. It was very enjoyable. I loved exploring Mario Worlds again, and the game is very very clever. That said, I don't have a lot of memories of the game, it's like it was consumed and that was it, leaving nothing. I liken it to eating something very sugary that's very enjoyable but afterwards you're still hungry. It's a great game - but it doesn't quite have the magic of Mario 64, even though it DOES have magic. I loved playing mario levels that weren't corridors, and it felt really fun to peak around corners and explore and find stuff.  Sometimes I think though they should take all the cute characters and tell heartfelt stories and make them feel like real beings the way they do in Zelda games. I think if there were more heart, it would be more memorable. But I did love it, and am glad I beat it cause the ending is good and there's some nice surprises when you're done. 

So I'm 18 chapters into Uncharted 2 ... 1) because I was sick in bed yesterday and woke up with nothing immediately better to do I didn't have to go to my office for through the rain/cold (rather not risk the extra sickness effect) and 2) because HOLY CRAP, THIS GAME FIXES EVERYTHING WRONG WITH UNCHARTED DRAKE'S FORTUNE.

Hey, peeps. Haven't posted here in awhile except occasional comments.

So yesterday I had this blog planned out where I was going to write a bit, get my thoughts out there and then hit the gym. Instead I got halfway through it, decided I could do better, and then went to the newly reopened neighborhood gym. My gym has been closed for a couple of months because some yahoos decided to break the fire sprinkler system which caused the building to flood and ruin the entire clubhouse space. Its open 24 hours a day and when business hours are over the employees shut the door that leads to the rest of the space leaving only the gym, ping pong room, and pool room with mini library open along with a couple of bathrooms. Anyways it reopened last weekend and yesterday was my first shot at it. The gym is back to normal except the two treadmills are still down, and it seems like two pieces of equipment haven't returned. Also the card entry pad isn't working yet so the gym door is still open. It was fun getting a sweat on, realizing how long it has been since I stepped foot in there and I ended that trip with a couple of laps in the pool. That's what kept me from finishing my blog. Good excuse? Cool, let's get back in the swing of things with what I played.

So this was my Memorial Day Weekend in a nutshell: Sleep, Nap, Eat, Tinker on the Laptop, Nap, Sleep. Rinse Repeat. Not the best way to spend what is the start of summer but it was hot outside (100+ degrees), the AC was nice and cold, and have you ever watched Investigative Discovery Channel? That is like crack. So I didn't move much, and most of my non phone gaming happened on Monday night, so that is my full disclosure.

You know at some point I really need to get back to my usual routine of Monday/Friday entries but for now Tuesday will have to do. Good morning Pixlpeeps! It is a nice and cool Tuesday morning here and the entry I should have written yesterday but I got sidetracked by a muffin. Today I will save the muffin for after I write this so that will either calm the appetite down a bit or I will rush through this blog entry and it will show, either way let's get started.

Felt like one thousand.

Well good morning Pixlpeeps! As I type this what is normally sunny Southern California is gray, gloomy, and wet because we are having another storm roll through. Yesterday it was just gray and gloomy with sprinkles here and there, but now the water hitting everything is a symphony of different sounds and it is a perfect time to have some soup and maybe catch up on some reading...OR I can write about my experiences with you good people. Yeah I'll be back in a couple of hours.

Good morning Pixlpeeps! The plan for today is to either go watch Rogue One which starts at 2pm or save that for Monday and just do some small errands today like look for a new external CD/DVD drive for my laptop. Heck I could do both. Anyways this is the first Quick Hits of 2017 so why not do a little recap of Christmas with the peeps.

Full disclosure, I only played six games that came out in 2016, so this isn't really a "Top 6" list. Anyway, here's how I rank the games I played this year:

Halloween is here! A time of all kinds of scary things like werewolves, zombies, and diabetes! Not to mention plenty of great games. Whether you want something fun and lighthearted, something that will scare the pants off you*, or something in the middle, the Pixlbit staff has you covered as we talk about our favorite Halloween video games! 

Happy Friday from a damp Southern California! Currently there is a break in between showers and before I lose interest and find something to play I figured it is time to write up my next edition of Quick Hits before I go and play some games. Anyone try the stream from PS4 to PC? I played a little last night and I’ll give you my impressions about it on Monday. Anyways it is Friday and its time for the other stuff I like to talk about so let’s get started with Quick Hits!