catalyst

@catalyst@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted – Pre-Order Trailer⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  I loved pvz back in the day, before it got junked up by EA. I have no idea what the state of the game is anymore. Curious if this would be worth playing for a bit of nostalgia.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Remembering Descent, the once-popular, fully 3D 6DOF shooter⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  It really was incredible. Especially back then when I hadn’t had much exposure yet to that style of music. The fact that it was CD quality instead of midi really helped.

  I vividly remember discovering how you could just put the game disk in a regular CD player and it’d work. Kinda blew my mind lol.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Remembering Descent, the once-popular, fully 3D 6DOF shooter⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Adding this to my wish list!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Remembering Descent, the once-popular, fully 3D 6DOF shooter⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Man I friggin loved Descent II. Game was so fun and immersive. I watched that opening cinematic over and over. The soundtrack was fantastic as well.

  I later went and played Descent 1 as well but 2 was the one I played the most.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨After 18 years, a surprise Half-Life 2 update makes it once again possible to beat a honking train on Highway 17⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  There is indeed! My kid played it on the switch and loved it. Well, right up to the point where they couldn’t proceed due to a level being completely broken. They ended up having to finish the last few stages on my PC instead.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨After 18 years, a surprise Half-Life 2 update makes it once again possible to beat a honking train on Highway 17⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Wow! I somehow never knew this bug existed. I guess it’s been a long time since I played this one. 😅

  Now, how about fixing game-breaking bugs on the Switch version of Portal 2?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 369 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Man, I should revisit this one sometime.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 365 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing (One Year Anniversary!)⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Congrats on making it a year! And Halo 3 is a great game for the occasion too.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 29]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  We finished Lazarus last week, and I came away unsure how I felt about it. There were enjoyable episodes to be sure, and I liked the characters well enough.

  spoiler

  First off, I called it early on - we weren’t ever gonna find Skinner until the very last minute. Nearly every episode was a red herring. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; When thinking about Cowboy Bebop, the comparison one can’t avoid, most of those episodes are also “unnecessary” as far as the overall plot (in so much as there is a plot) is concerned. So I’m inclined to say it’s not that big of a deal, and you kinda have to go into a show like this with the understanding that each episode is just it’s own little adventure that you gotta try to enjoy on it’s own merits. Now, I do think the ending was a teeny bit too convenient. You’re telling everyone in this crew just happened to have been at the airport incident, inexplicably survived, and then completely forgot? The show absolutely glosses over why they survived the bio weapon when everyone else died. I dunno, man, but this felt flimsy to me. But I think what takes the cake for me is the whole Hundan assassin subplot. The show pushed this hard, despite the fact that it only affected a minor character. There seemed to be some kind of relationship hinted at between the Hundan and Axel, by way of the necklace, but this isn’t really explored very well. This all might have made more sense to me if we discovered that Axel himself had escaped from the same assassin school, but (as far as I’m aware?) that was never revealed as such. So yeah, this assassin dude felt like a huge waste plot energy that could have been spent more wisely.

  In the end, I think I come to the conclusion that it was a mostly enjoyable show that I don’t regret watching at all but also wouldn’t rush to recommend it fully either.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Steam is cracking down on porn games, to keep Payment Processors happy.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Agreed, this shit sucks. The credit card companies hold far too much power over what is considered viable commerce.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Vintage gaming advertising pictures: a gallery⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  My thoughts exactly. Some of these ads are just plain weird in a way that they would never dare today.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 28]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Rock is a Lady’s Modesty wound up being our favorite show this season. Gosh, what a ridiculously fun watch. That finale was a blast and delivered exactly what I’d hoped for - awesome music and visuals to match, and a satisfying resolution to the arc. I sincerely hope we get more of this, though understandably it’s hard to predict; it’s like a more niche version of Bocchi the Rock, I think, and I don’t know just how strong of a fanbase there is. If nothing else I really hope we start seeing more manga chapters translated soon cause I need more of these crazy rock girls. I’d also love to see a little more merch being available.

  I posted my Gqux thoughts over in the gundam community, but overall I enjoyed it a lot. I agree with the sentiments that the two main characters were underdeveloped. I think the show would have benefited from more episodes for sure. But I did find the finale fairly satisfying regardless. While watching the episode I commented to my spouse how much I appreciated that our girls went from fighting over the boy to fighting the boy. And honestly, as somehow who just in the last ~2 years started getting into UC gundam, I was primed to be very much into this from the word “minovsky”.

  Now DanDaDan is back and I’m very excited for that. We actually went and saw the theatrical release of the first 3 episodes back in June and enjoyed it quite a bit - thought, I expect that the pacing will feel a bit better seeing them again in episode format. Was surprised to see Kinta in the EP, as I didn’t expect to make it that far in the story; Will our alien invasion sweetheart Vamola make an appearance??

  Now, what’s next? I’m not too sure. I have Gachiakuta on my watch list to check out this season, but I’d like to pick out at least 2 or 3 more shows to follow. I’m kind of at a loss though. I skimmed the summer shows list a few weeks back and nothing immediately jumped out at me.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 28]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I want to believe we’ll get more Rock is a Lady’s Modesty. 😣

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 | OFFICIAL TRAILER⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I love Frieren but I tend to agree. Not necessarily that I disliked cour 2, but in that I much preferred the quieter and more contemplative episodes over the shonen-y stuff. The whole exam arc for me was a bit too long.

  My favorite episode remains the one where they clean up the beach.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 348 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Man I thought the well was so dang creepy when I originally played it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 347 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I played so much SoT back around 2019/2020! Was such a blast just hanging out on the seas.

  I agree with your comment about the water, it really is beautiful.

  I know folks have mentioned disliking the pvp aspect and believe me I get it - I was never particularly good at it especially in close encounters. But I will say some of the most genuinely exciting memories I have are of those times when we had a boatload of loot with some pirates hot on our tail and managed to get away with it.

  The crew I played with eventually moved on to other things but I still miss it now and then.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hades II - The Unseen Update Trailer⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Hype!! The new music is fire. 🔥

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A game you "didn't know it was bad 'til people told you so"?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Guess that’s me too. I loved Fallout 3 and wasn’t really aware of a lot of hate for it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What game has the best tutorial, in your opinion?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The original Portal game does a good job of this. The first several puzzles are essentially tutorials that still manage to feel fun and interesting.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Inside the 'Dragon Age' Debacle That Gutted EA's BioWare Studio⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I wasn’t aware they tried to make it a live service game, but that’s also incredibly unsurprising. It explains so much.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The first weekly What Are You Playing? thread!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I am still working my way through Expedition 33. I’m in Act 2 and I’d estimate about half way into that. I’m still absolutely loving it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 21]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  No new Apothecary Diaries last week! Tragic really.

  As for Rock is a Lady’s Modesty, I want to give Tina a hug. She is a sweetheart and she deserves better.

  Loved the cute little scene of Nyaan and her dealer eating noodles in GQuux episode 6.

  Finished up Akiba Maid War. Man, this show feels like a bit of an unsung masterpiece. We loved it.

  spoiler

  Nagomi coming out in her wheelchair post credits was such a massive relief I still get emotional thinking about it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE | Official English Theatrical Trailer - In Theatres June 6⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  We got our tickets already. Very excited to see these characters on the big screen!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Square Enix considered ending Final Fantasy 11 in 2024, but player interest was high enough to keep it alive even after 20+ years⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  In many ways the jankiness is part of the charm and why so many of us love it. :)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Square Enix considered ending Final Fantasy 11 in 2024, but player interest was high enough to keep it alive even after 20+ years⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The game has effectively been in maintenance mode for some time. That being said I’m glad it still exists. I unsubbed a little over a year ago, but the idea that it’s still there waiting for me makes me happy.

  I actually logged in just this week - there’s a free login campaign right now for those who are inactive, so it’s a good chance to scope things out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm a console gamer so, Why the hate on the Epic Games Store?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I do both PC and console gaming, and I’ve personally never gotten the Epic hate. As a store it’s not amazing but it’s fine. I will generally go to Steam first but I’m also not going to boycott a game just because it’s Epic exclusive.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 20]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Continuing:

  • Rock is a Lady’s Modesty: I’m a broken record at this point but gosh do I love this show. It’s my favorite of the season. I’m hyped to see the full band finally assembled. Tina in particular is a brilliant addition; With the other three girls all possessing varying degrees of deranged over confidence, it’s exciting to see someone who’s the polar opposite thrown into the mix.
  • Apothecary Diaries: I love it when Jinshi loses his cool and the facade begins to drop.
  • Gundam GQux: Wow, what an episode. Nyaan has felt somewhat sidelined in my opinion so it’s good to see her getting the spotlight for once. Also, I guess Machu is the only member of the core team who is averse to killing now.

  Started:

  • Lazarus: The first 4 episodes are finally available in Japanese audio on Max (too lazy to torrent, sorry) so we binged them. I am really loving it so far. The episode at the EDM show / dance club was particularly satisfying. The action feels tight and the music is on point. Oh, and there was a really nice moment of trans rep which was awesome. The one thing I’m watching out for here with the premise is what feels to me like a kind of weird anti-vax angle; however, we don’t really know enough about Dr. Skinner at this stage and I’m thinking there is still room for more nuance than “evil scientist releases miracle drug but oops it actually kills you.”

  Grab bag:

  • Steins;Gate: This has been on my list for a long time and I had some spare time last week so I checked it out. The first episode really grabbed me. The next two, not so much. The humor isn’t clicking for me at all and the MC is kind of an unlikable asshole. Trying to decide if I want to stick this out to find out what all the fuss is about or not.
  • Inuyasha: We thought this would be a fun show to revisit with our 11-year-old. And boy they are so into it. We’re up to episode 28 or so and its been a hoot. I think this show genuinely holds up fairly well for it’s age and genre. The characters are delightful and well realized, the voice cast does a great job, and the drama is juicy. I only caught bits and pieces of it back in the Toonami days so this is my first time actually watching it through.
  • Witch from Mercury: Now that I’ve got my spouse on the gundam train (thanks, gqux!) she expressed interest in checking out G-Witch too. We watched the prologue and the first episode. Man that prologue is as heavy as I remember it. Excited to experience this show again.
  • Akiba Maid War: We have three episodes left to go. I still think this show is an absolute riot. It does hit you with the ol’ emotional gut punch at a certain point but then goes right back to it’s goofy self. I cannot guess how they are going to wrap things up.
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Ori Studio Head Says Review Bombing Might Force Studio Closure, Then Takes It All Back⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeaaaah, I’m with you. What a wild comment to make. I was ready to give them the benefit of the doubt that the whole review bombing drama was just a case of having a bad day but this is something else.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[Clip] That is certainly one way to turn down a job offer... - Rock is a Lady's Modesty⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I loved this sequence so much. Every single episode somehow exceeds my expectations.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨MyAnimeList Acquired by Gaudiy Inc.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Oh no. 🤢