PixlBit

I got encouraged by a friend at work to keep on going with Death Stranding. Luckily, I forgot to return it, so I was able to get back in there and solve my problem. Then I realized I needed an achievement on Xbox to get the daily rewards points, so I switched systems and played several different games there.  

Death Stranding: I solved my bridge building problem. Turns out I just needed to hold down the select button instead of tap it to access the bridge construction menu. I was able to upgrade and then build it. Onward I hiked to the next mission at a wind farm and then back again doing several more missions that took me all the way back to the starting city. Along the way, I was able to charge up a motocycle and got around a little bit faster. I still had to get off it, leaving it behind to cross a stream. I didn't have enough matterials to build another large bridge to cross that stream. I got swept away by deep water at one point trying to get floating containers. That's done realistically. You just float downstream and steer yourself with your hands until you reach shallow water.

One other thing, I discovered that the grenades you get are created from your own bodily fluids. So, take a shower or use the toilet, and you refill your grenades. Ha! Good one Kojima. I still don't know how to throw one yet, though. 

Gas Guzzlers Extreme: I played a tournament of three races, one normal race and two others where you can shoot other cars. It's like a violent Mario Kart with graphics that remind me of Project Gotham Racing, although, a little better than that. The game comes close to looking like Forza Horizon but with a less complex environment. Also, your driver says Duke Nukem one-liners the whole time. I wonder what the connection is with the developer and Duke Nukem. 

Zombie Vikings: I beat the big robot I got stuck on last time but lost so much health, that I got beat a little bit later on, which made me return to the checkpoint just before that monster. It really annoyed me to have to beat it again, so I quit. I've got to figure out how to beef up my weapon or fight more strategically. Mashing buttons doesn't cut it in later levels. 

Starlink: This game is quickly becoming very cool. You get missions on a planet hovering above the ground in your ship but you can turn on the flight engines and take off into the sky and even leave the planet to travel to other planets. Along the way you fight bandits and mine shipwrecks in asteroid fields. You can go into hyperspace but bandits can pull you out of it if you hit the energy nets they put up. I'm upgrading my weapons and my pilot. I'm switching out weapons on my physical ship to fight certain enemies. I can also scan life forms on planets to identify them fully. You can also harvest minerals or plants and trade them for cash. The graphics are colorful and detailed. It's a rich cartoony environment. I'm really getting hooked on this game.