Down Under - Crash Bandicoot (PS4) - Part 2

Our adventures in the Down Under continue, as we try to save our girlfriend(?) from an evil scientist. Also, we're a mutated bandicoot going up against mechanical sentries and other mutant animals.

Join us as we traverse old ruins, cross treacherous bridges, and fumble in the dark, and climb the castle walls. This is Crash Bandicoot.

#124: Death Stranding's Relationship with Manifest Destiny

I'm sure by the time you're reading this, you've probably already gotten tired of the discourse surrounding Death Stranding. Such seems to be the story with most of the people I know, even ones who like it. And yet, as I was trekking along the snowy peaks surrounding Mountain Knot City, an insidious though began to creep into my mind, one that I couldn't shake even as I began to reach the end of the game.

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic America where the barriers between the human world and the afterlife are worn thin, Death Stranding has the player assume the role of Sam Porter Bridges, a courier working for Bridges, a subsidiary of the United Cities of America (UCA). His objective, set forth by Acting President Samantha America “Amelie” Strand, is to travel westward, starting from Capital Knot City in the east, to annex the various cities and shelters across the remnants of the old country in order to “make us whole”. As a student of United States history, this began to draw parallels to the real life doctrine of Manifest Destiny.

Making Magic in the Arena - Golgari Adventures

Once more, we return to the Arena, but our creatures have other plans. While some are just fine being summoned to the field, others would rather spend their time on their own adventures and misadventures first.

Suits me just fine, because my Golgari Adventures deck is set to make the most of their pioneering spirit.

Check out the decklist from MTGGoldfish.

Down Under - Crash Bandicoot (PS4) - Part 1

With the dragons rescued, and the Dragon Realms are at peace for a time. So for now, Spyro and Sparx deserve a much needed rest.

Let us set our sights somewhere else... like the Australian outback. There, a mad scientist duo is hatching a plan for world domination via an army of mutated animals. One experiment went wrong, and that may just be the one that brings their whole plan crumbling down.

We're going Down Under with Crash Bandicoot.

Dragon Daddies - Spyro the Dragon (PS4) - Finale

At last, we have arrived at the end of our quest, and every Dragon Daddy has been rescued from their crystal prison. And after a tense, thrilling, and difficult fight against Gnasty Gnorc, we save the day.

But more than that, we managed to find Gnasty's secret meme collection. No, this is not a joke.

Dragon Daddies - Spyro the Dragon (PS4) - Part 2

The adventure continues! Fresh from our training in the Peace Keepers world, we collect treasure, defeated egg-stealing thieves, and more importantly...

...rescue hot dragon daddies.

The Disappointments of 2019

While there were many excellent games that game out over the past year, not every one of them lives up. We've got through my list of Highlights for the year, and just as always we too must go through the disappointments of the year in kind.

Every year, I usually find at least one or two games that end up on both lists for different reasons. In compiling this year's collection, I noticed that this happened with far, far more games than usual, for a variety of different reasons.

As usual, just because a game appears on this list doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. All it means is that there are significant aspects of it that I feel detract from the overall whole. Further, this list is presented in a completely random order.

Without further ado, the disappointments of 2019 are:

Tower Climb - Slay the Spire - Run 2

I've gotten a little down on MTG: Arena lately, so I needed to inject some variety into my Wednesday streams.

And what better salve for that is there than a session of Slay the Spire. This time, we'll play as the Ironclad.

Making Magic in the Arena - Simic Flash (Eldraine)

In Magic the Gathering, one of the smartest things one can do is wait until the last possible second to make a move. By being patience, and playing reactively, we can give ourselves the freedom to amend our plans as the situation changes. In addition, we ensure that our spells and abilities are played at the point where they are most effective.

For this reason, I opted to go back to Simic Flash once more. We played this deck once during the Core 2020 season, and though we lost some cards in the rotation to Eldraine, we also gained enough new tricks that the strategy is still viable.

You can check out the decklist here.

The Highlights of 2019

At last, it is once again that time. That time where we look back fondly or otherwise, at the games that have been released this year. Every outlet in games media will soon be consumed by hours upon hours of Game of the Year deliberations, top 10 lists, and other assorted recaps.

I am no different, of course. That said, when I look back at the list of games I've played this year, I noticed that it was quite unique compared to most other years. While there wasn't much in terms of big budget games, the number of niche, mid-tier titles that cater to specific interests really added up to be a profound year. I almost always had something new and neat to play.

Just like in previous years, these are just games I have many positive things to say about, in randomized order. Even if a game misses this list, it doesn't mean I didn't like it. Odds are I have nothing much to say on it or just didn't get around to it. With that said, the first of my 2019 highlights is:

Dragon Daddies - Spyro the Dragon (PS4) - Part 1

Sir Daniel Fortesque has, at long last, defeated Zarok, resting in the eternal piece of his crypt. For us, that means it's time to move onto a new adventure.

What better excuse than this would there be to go back to an old, nostalgic game from the PlayStation, and my childhood. A game that I have replayed time and time again, and was remastered for newer consoles merely one year ago.

It's time to meet hot Dragon Daddies in the Dragon Realms, for we're playing Spyro the Dragon.

Making Magic in the Arena - Jund Junk Food

In this post-Oko standard, it's tempting to believe that Food is going the way of the dodo bird. After all, he was one of, if not the, most important card in the Simic/Sultai/Bant Food decks. However, there appears to be another formula out there for the archetype that has started to make the rounds.

Say goodbye to Oko Food... and hello to Jund Food.

The decklist I'm using comes from MTGGoldfish, but I swapped out a copy of Korvold, Fae-Cursed King for the extra Massacre Girl in the sideboard.

You're All Bones - Medievil (PS4) - Finale

At last, we have finished our great quest. The Kingdom of Gallowmere is safe from the evil clutches of Zarok and his undead army. Despite living life as a charlatan and fraud, utter incapable of defending himself, let alone his realm, Sir Daniel Fortesque has finally "lived" up to the legend, accomplishing in death what he failed to do in life.

Join us in recounting once more the ending of this epic adventure.