PixlBit

In addition to Xbox stuff, I ran through a lot of 90s games to see what I wanted to use for trade bait, and what I wanted to keep. Here's what I have something to say about. 

SNES (played on a Retron 3)

Final Fight: I love 2D brawlers from the 90s. I'll keep getting more when I can. Total keeper.

Genesis (OG deck)

Fire Shark, PGA Tour Golf, Risk - All keepers and all very good. Fire Shark is better than the port of its predesesor, Sky Shark, on NES. The golf games on Genesis are excellent and still fun to this day. Risk is still, imo, the most playable of all Risk ports; I don't care how spiffy the graphics are or what new modes have been added to recent versions. 

Road Rash II: I wasn't sure I'd like the Road Rash games before the excellent Road Rash 3D on Playstation that I played the heck out of back in the 90s, but I discovered that I do. The lower res visuals of the Genesis games are an obstacle to great control on the roads but after a while you get used to it, and it's fun as heck. I hope to pick up RR1 and 3 as some point again (I used to have them). 

Golden Axe: With this, I solidified my love of 2D brawlers on Genesis. Despite the series being on every collection ever, I still want OG carts of 2 and 3. 

The King of the Monsters 2: I'm not keeping this, but in general, I really like the idea of it: Kaiju battles in a city where everything is destructable and powerups and hazards pop up everywhere. I found the AI intolerably difficult, but I'm going to look into the original arcade game The King of the Monsters which I'm pretty sure I saw on a collection on Xbox. 

Shining in the Darkness: Always a keeper but I wanted to make sure I could still save games. I can. I also need dungeon maps. I think I'm over wanting to map them out again. I finished this back in the 90s, but I'd like to do it again. 

Xbox Series S

Botany Manor - This is a very cool puzzle adventure game. You roam a house and grounds looking for clues how to grow a particular plant and then make it bloom. Story elements are weaved in as you go. I eventually got stuck though, as I often do in point-and-click style adventures, looking for a key I needed to open a key part of the mansion. Check it out:

 

Lego 2K Drive - Just a little bit of play this week. I discovered how to warp to new areas. It's even more like Forza Horizon than I thought and less like Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Races are like that excellent Sega game but everything else it totally Forza H. I really like it. 

Diablo IV - Lots and lots of Diablo IV this week. I'm a level 52 Necromancer. I haven't finished the main campaign yet because I'm letting myself do side quests and side dungeons as I go. I'm not combing the map for every single one though. I limit myself that whatever shows up on the mini-map while I'm traveling. My friend Mad Krammer is a level 50-something Barbarian and nearing the end of the campaign. I'm taking my time but not going for perfect completion. Achievements only cover core game mechanics anyway. Plus trying to do every side mission becomes a real labor, and I like to imagine I'm creating unique story with my character and what he comes across. 

Lil Gator Game - I needed a quick and easy game for rewards points and tried this on Game Pass. I soon got really hooked on it. It's an open world game with simplified fighting and platforming. It has a bit of an early 3D Zelda vibe, I guess. Your aim is to impress your older sister enough to get her to play with you by making friends and customizing various parks on the islands with your fantasy theme. Take a gander:

 

Android

Vampire Survivors: I played several rounds of this on my phone. It works pretty well on a phone but I'm frustrated with the small size of the screen. I'd rather play this on my TV. 

That's a week. How was yours?