PixlBit

I thought The Crew had a demo, but not a free release. If it was a full-on free game I should get it back on my hard drive. Unless it's like the PS+ version of DriveClub? I haven't checked the free games for this month yet.

I was  seeing some friends beg EA to bring back the NCAA games on my Facebook timeline. Never could get into college football myself, because there's too many teams and the rankings are subjective. I mean I root for SFA and some other college teams like the Huskers or Longhorns and maybe watch the championship, but I can't follow a whole season like I can for NFL.

I saw a post about Simpsons double entendres today and the one that made me laugh the hardest was Marge in a yoga position on all four, butt in the air asking "What's this position called?" and the guy saying "The American Taxpayer." 

Ah, I remember Generation DX. Suck it, indeed. And yeah, for as much shit as he gets, he sure does seem to be a great guy. I still would be more interested in watching CM Punk, but I respect the hell out of Cena. Plus, I'm team Fruity Pebbles all the way (didn't even know that was a thing until I saw Cena on a box I bought). I mean I grew up watching Stone Cold and The Rock, but Cocoa Pebbles are bullshit.

My mom plays a lot of Free Flow on her iPad. I should borrow that from her sometime, plus for her free library books she can get on there with her passcode.

I haven't played Angry Birds in a loooooong time. It's funny how stuff I think has died down will still be around years later. I remember when Pokemon X&Y came out being like "holy shit, they made how many after I graduated middle school?!"

I saw a very similar game to fingers of fury on PS4 on sale the other day. It was a rythm-action game where you pressed the right button to the beat to beat up the bad guys. I almost bought it since it was under $5 and I've been itching for some true rythm-action gaming.

As for the Wii, I might get one eventually, but I honestly think I'd buy a 360 as far as last gen consoles because I love the controller. Then again, I have 360 games on Steam, though they don't run as well, so who knows? Mostly I'd want a Wii for the Virtual Console. 

My mom bought Minecraft for me so I can help her when she teaches her kids with it. Game sure does like to throw a lot of shit at you right out of the gate ...

Yeah, PSN games are still too expensive and I wish they would just pull an Xbox One and say streaming isn't necessary, here's some PS3 games. 

But I've been playing a ton of Rocket League. Best free game ever.

It wasn't a really big deal, I just thought Batman's behavior was explained by being gradually effected by Joker blood and Julian didn't necessarily agree. Thinking about it, I too think Batman is a bit too aggressive in these games, but I thought the levels he takes it to are because Joker is in his head. 

I know about the Miller comics though. If you've ever watched the show Atop the 4th Wall, Linkara refers to Frank Miller's Batman as Steve I think. He even has a special show called "Miller Time" where he critiques the things Miller does to Batman. I didn't think this series was as juvenile as what I've seen of some of those comics, though I understand there's an influence. 

I should read Killing Joke, since Alan Moore's writing has always inerested me.

I solved the Catwoman riddle with her collar on and the mug has nothing to do with Cash's riddle, it's his claw hand. I do understand why people would get frustrated with the riddles though, because of what Julian said about hit boxes being way too small. I really got frustrated with those Question Marks in City not being aligned correctly. 

Anyway, I hadn't heard the rumors of a new Justice League, but thought they were gonna make a new Superman because Metropolis references are so ubiquitous in Knight. Either way, I'd love to see where Rocksteady goes after Batman. 

I don't think your Batmobile hatred is insane, but I do agree that for me Rocket League controls similarly. I don't want another either. Getting the 100% ending reassures me we probably won't get one.

I really should have been downloading those ... Technically, I also have the Steam games and 360 controller from 2012/2013, but since I'm now having trouble getting Arkham Asylum to work on its lowest settings, I guess that doesn't really count.

That's what the Cracked article that got me to write my previous blog was about: the increased use of these mechanisms. 

I'm a bit of a completionist, so I can be driven to get a bunch of doodads if I enjoy the world enough. That's both to your point about whether or not someone enjoys a game being a determinant in how much of a Skinner Box it really is and to mine that there's probably a bit of boring but addictive gameplay elements in most games. Yeah, I liked spending time in the game, but I cetainly wouldn't have done that much in it if I didn't think there was a feeling that I was completing somehting. I wouldn't have done that stuff without an objective. So while I enjoyed reaching the objective because the game was fun, I still was more interested in completing the objective than necessarily just experiencing a good game for longer, though both were a factor.

As with any social or media related question, humans present way too many variables to find a direct answer for everyone. It's always a matter of finding what MOSTLY seems to be happening, despite a respectable number of outiers.

I get jealous of some of the PS3/Vita stuff I don't get as a PS+ user on PS4. I would definitely swap Mousecraft and Styx for Rain. Entwined isn't "about" anything, but its presentation is awesome. And Rocket League is the best PS+ game I've received since becoming a member in February. 

I have a lot more to say as I type this at the first break, but I just want to get to this since my name was mentioned:

I think Batman gets increasingly asshole-ish over time in the series because of the effect of the Joker blood in City (as conversations on the street in both games allude to), but I've actually always had a problem with how much Batman relies on brutal interrogation tactics and it basically seems to work without question. I don't recall many henchmen even trying to mislead him? I think that's both unrealistic and makes him a bit one-note. I understand why it's done from a gaming perspective, but still.

I wasn't meaning to excuse that aspect of Batman's character in these games, I just thought his increased aggressiveness was partly explained by the Joker blood, especially in Knight. Specifically, when Julian had a problem with the Batmobile being rolled near an enemy's head, I think that's too far as well, but since he's always used similar tactics (I doubt those bone-crunching finishers wouldn't kill someone who's just been in a fight) I thought Joker's blood was enough to explain that escalation. I understand why you think it might not be, but since I've always found Rocksteady's Batman a bit overzealous as an interrogator to start with, I was more comfortable with that progression in them I think Julian saw as a bigger leap than I did.

Then again, every character in this game can do an environmental takedown where they smash someones head into a solid control panel with electric wiring behind them, so I guess it's not just a Batman problem. This is all part of why I don't find the Batmobile interrogation out of the question in this universe, though I admit my previous comment about it was probably influenced by rose-colored glasses I have for this game. 

Also, to John's point, one of my biggest problem with all Batman lore - and maybe this is addressed in the comics, I'm referring to the mainstream movies/cartoons I've seen - is that I never get a sense of what Batman sees as so worthy of defending and building in Gotham, since all we really see are the villains it harbours. I know Batman is a very dark character - at least that's why I was drawn to the Burton films and cartoon as a kid - but I'd like to see what the hell is so special about Gotham during the day and why Bruce Wayne cares so much beyond his backstory and family history there.

I'll listen to it later when I get the chance. looking forward to it.