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Movies & TV / Re: All Things Netflix! Coming Soon: The Netflix Experience, Live and In Person!??

« Last post by broodwars on Yesterday at 09:47:15 PM »

Alright, let's cross off 2 more Netflix shows off the never-ending list, starting with an anime, Delicious in Dungeon.

This one had some Anime of the Year talk going around about a year ago, and having watched all 24 episodes of the current season I just have to ask..."really?" This show is repetitive as hell, with Every. Single. Episode. of the show's first half having your standard D&D crew discovering a monster, killing it easily, and then eating it. It's always an easy kill, and the food is always great. Nothing ever goes wrong.

At the halfway point in the season, the show tries to change things up and introduce a longer ongoing story, but IMO it's just too little too late. I'm not into food porn, so this show really isn't for me. I need some actual stakes.


Speaking of, I'm now fully caught up on Stranger Things, having completed the 4th season. This season got a lot of hype as the one that "saved the show" after how "terrible season 3 was", and while I don't agree with the sentiment towards Season 3 I do think this is the best season since the first...mostly. It's certainly the most creatively-shot of all 4 seasons. I think the show completely fumbled the ball at the end, but for the most part this was a good season. Once again, all the characters had something to do, though the basketball team and Russian subplots wore on my patience. Aside from attempting to retcon Hopper back into the plot, I just didn't see the point of the Russian subplot. We didn't learn anything we didn't already know from Season 3, and it makes ABSOLUTELY no sense how Hopper got where we was considering we saw the US army storm the mall at the end of Season 3. SOMEONE would have seen him.

Something I really appreciated about this season is that the individual characters got to actually make major contributions to the plot. Eleven wasn't used as just the usual instant-win button. Characters live and die based on the actions of normal characters, as it should be. Eleven even got a bit of a "training arc" so she could jump in to contribute when it was appropriate for her to do so.

And wow, they really wanted to get their money's worth out of licensing Kate Bush's "Keep Running Up that Hill." Funny...despite being a child of the 80s, her version of that song isn't the one I'm familiar with and honestly I don't care for it all that much. It's just too..."pop" for my taste. I first heard the song when the band Track & Field covered it for an extremely memorable season finale of Warehouse 13:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xGbi6lYFO8

Minor quibbles about song preference aside (I understand the Kate Bush version is the original and is the only one that makes sense in this time period), I really liked how that song was used...the first time they did a big epic climax with it. Then the writers got greedy and tried to perform the same trick twice in the finale, and it just didn't hit the same way.

But yeah...that ending. Not a fan. I see that Eleven continues to only need a sensory deprivation tank when the plot decides she does. Let's just disregard all the hand-waiving the show's done with her mental location powers the entire show. And hey, I guess we're just going to throw out altogether the fact that the atmosphere in the Upside Down is supposedly to be so incredibly toxic that characters in earlier seasons were running around in Hazmat suits. I don't like what they did with Eddie, who is an extremely likeable character who just turns into a dumbass at the last minute...because they wanted to give Dustin some pathos. And what they did with Max was a total cheat. And HOW is anyone even ALLOWED to still live in Hawkins by the end of the season considering what happened? The military should be quarantining the **** out of that city.

Overall, yes it was good, but man does it drop the ball in that last episode. I still think Season 2 is by far the worst season so far. The show wasn't originally supposed to use the same cast from season to season, and you can VERY much see that with Season 2, where characters just wander around in circles making stupid decisions to pad out the plot while recycling most of the general concept from Season 1. It's boring, and aside from introducing Max very little of Season 2 had ripple effects on later seasons. Season 3 at least attempted to change the status quo, even if it did have to introduce the incredibly idiotic Secret Russian Base plot line, something Season 4 would have to spend a considerable amount of time resolving.

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Movies & TV / Re: All Things Netflix! Coming Soon: The Netflix Experience, Live and In Person!??

« Last post by Stratos on October 25, 2025, 02:05:21 AM »

Had a lot of family stuff going on lately so haven't had the energy to play much since finishing Xenoblade 2 earlier this week. Figured i might as well go on and continue with Stranger Things: Season 3.

...Really? THIS is the season of the show that's universally hated? THIS one, the one where **** actually happens; everyone actually contributes to the story; there are actual consequences to the things the characters do; and Eleven isn't just an instant win button for once? Really? 

Yeah, I thought this season was pretty alright. Granted, it had a bit of a slow start with teenage love bullshit and you have to accept some really stupid plot contrivances (i.e. everything about the Russians, *redacted* not getting dissolved into meat several times throughout the season when so many others were; etc.), but in general i thought it was well-paced. Refreshingly, while characters would act recklessly, they weren't generally weren't acting STUPIDLY like they were in Season 2. Yeah, the nostalgia key jangling was a bit excessive both at the start of the season and the end, but in general I thought that was a decent watch. I'm not sure why people hate this season so much.

I'm not sure if hate is the right word and suspect that's just the internet blowing every minor issue into a major ordeal. For whatever reason, people online tend to have an overwhelming urge to **** on things they don't like and that the weakest part of something HAS to be a load of crap instead of just being the same good show but with some weaker points, plots, or characters.

I just viewed it as my least favorite season, but still enjoyed it. Aside from the one out there episode in S2 I don't think there was really anything truly awful about any of the series (and that wasn't awful, just felt out of place and unnecessary, especially with it being a wide open loose end without any additional follow up or closure), just a collection of minor issues or complaints.

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by M.K.Ultra on October 24, 2025, 01:33:59 PM »

This week I was able to complete The Addams Family on NES. I was immediately struck by the curse when firing up my Retron to play the original NES cart. Apparently the required voltage was different than the AC adapter I was using and it will no longer work via HDMI. I was able to get it working using the component cables. I need to remember to check the voltage for some of these other plug and play consoles.

I have the CIB version of the game and was able to take advantage of the paper instruction manual. While the game provides a few hints, I don't think I could have completed this in a reasonable amount of time without the manual. I am proud to say I did not use a game genie or look anything up online in the process.

The game is also on SNES with a password system where I am sure it is much more accessible. Overall it holds up well for an NES game and even has some light metroidvania aspects. A successful playthrough is only going to take 1-2 hours, but it took me about 10 hours to get to that point. In the game you play as Gomez and must rescue the eponymous Addams family. Once you rescue Morticia you are treated to a cute dance as shown in the picture above.

In other news, the curse has also claimed my PS5, which will no longer read PS5 discs. Since all my games are on disc, the console is quite useless at the moment while I wait for Sony to mail me a box to mail back to them.

I still have one more game that might cross the finish line before the month ends...

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General Chat / Re: The Major League Baseball Thread: Did SI Swipe The 2025 Sports Almanac?

« Last post by Khushrenada on October 24, 2025, 01:01:38 PM »

Well, the big series has arrived. I'm not sure how much of a battle it will be. Jays are a good team but the Dodgers just seem to be at a higher level of play right now even though they are almost even based on regular season results. Just making the World Series again seems like the big win for the Jays this year but it would be something if they could complete this playoff run with a Championship victory. It's wild that they are facing off against the Dodgers almost two years after their whole effort to get Ohtani to sign with the Jays. Will next year be Jays and Mets after they couldn't get Juan Suto to sign with them either?

Still, it's a shame that it had to come at denying the Mariners their first chance at playing a World Series though I think the Mariners would have beaten down pretty quick by the Dodgers if they had made it. Sort of like when Colorado Rockies got to their first World Series only to be swept by the Red Sox.

Too bad about the Brewers. I was reading that the Dodgers/Brewers series could be seen as a referendum on the growing argument for a salary cap in baseball. If a small market and low payroll team like the Brewers can have success then supposedly it shows that a salary cap isn't that necessary. So, I guess congrats to the Brewers on helping aid the cause for a salary cap in baseball. Despite being the best team of the regular season, they were swept by the biggest payroll team. And, sure, its not like they were blown out. A couple games seemed kind of close but looking back on the series, it almost seemed futile for the Brewers.

I hadn't realized this until seeing it mentioned in a sports article but so far there have been no repeat champions since the 21st century began. Dodgers are looking to become the first time to repeat in 25 years. It's surprising too since there have been a few teams to win multiple championships but they just never did it back-to-back. Going back to the 90s you had the Jays winning twice in a row and Yankees closing out the decade winning three in a row. In baseball, if often seems that when a team is good that it can usually win a few championships close together due to the imbalance in roster payrolls. Phillies were the closest so far but they lost in their second World Series in a row to the Yankees. I always think of that series as the one where I wanted both teams to lose.   San Fran Giants also had a weird streak of winning three times in 5 years but doing it every other year. Does that bode well for the Jays? I suppose we'll find out starting tonight.

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General Chat / Re: The Major League Baseball Thread: Did SI Swipe The 2025 Sports Almanac?

« Last post by Ian Sane on October 23, 2025, 07:37:55 PM »

Well, my team is in the World Series.  Been a while since that happened.  I don't know how likely they are to beat the Dodgers but let's give it a go.  My brother is so bummed out about the Mariners though.

Two years ago, Vlad Guerrero was caught napping off the base in the playoffs and got thrown out.  At this point the Jays were making their third appearance in the wild card round, where they were swept every single time.  I was fed up.  I figured Vladdy didn't have it and that they should do something drastic to shake up the roster.  I felt the core were good players that didn't take it seriously when it mattered.  I was thinking of when the Jays won the World Series how they had underachieved with a good roster for years and then made a big trade of McGriff/Fernandez for Alomar/Carter, a lateral move on paper but a shake-up to a stale roster that wasn't getting it done.  When they resigned Guerrero to a big contract I thought it was a questionable move.  Giving a playoff underachiever a big contract is a classic mistake.

Uh, I'm an idiot.  Don't let me run your baseball team.

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by broodwars on October 17, 2025, 07:51:25 PM »

Good to know since I did have some interest in this game.  I've never played a Silent Hill game so the lack of connection to the rest of the series wouldn't bother me, but weapon degradation/breaking is one of my biggest gaming turnoffs.

What's weird is that Silent Hill keeps trying to make weapon degradation a "thing", despite players universally hating it, and yet the series keeps doing it. It was a thing in Silent Hill 4; Origins; Book of Memories; and Downpour, and now it's a thing in f as well. We didn't like it then, we still don't like it now, and yet I expect we'll continue to see it in future games...because. 

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by M.K.Ultra on October 17, 2025, 07:21:20 PM »

Mina the Hollower releases on actual Halloween so if there are any arbitrary prizes, anyone who beats that game in October should win by default.

Agreed, anyone who beats Mina in Shocktober will lift the curse of NWR!

The Curse lives! Mina delayed to TBA

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by M.K.Ultra on October 17, 2025, 07:19:41 PM »

I am playing quite few games right now with all being possibly completed by the end of the month. To avoid waiting until the end to talk about them I will give some first impressions on the game I am least likely to finish this month.

I have played the first hour or so of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard on Playstation VR (via PS4). I have only played RE4 and Revelations but enjoyed those. If not for the abundance of great games in other genres I would probably play all the mainline games at least. Of course it was the Virtual Reality option that enticed me to this one. I also have RE8 for PSVR2 but figured I should start with the earlier game.

The technical difficulties I was having with my headset seem ameliorated by playing seated, which is not typical for VR games I play. Also unusual is playing with standard controls i.e., the dualshock 4. It is probably better than motion controls would be in this case. The game just would not work with teleporting so you do move along in the usual way. The sluggish pace is actually helpful for limiting the motion sickness, not so much for escaping from all the baddies chasing me.

The graphics obviously took a hit but that is fine with me as along with playing this with Japanese audio (talk about an anatopism!) I am happy for anything that can make this less scary. It's interesting how you hit a point when fun scary is just disturbing scary. Well I have hit that point. I am not sure about you all but the thing that scares me most is being held prisoner with violent people, well that is the premise here.

I will definitely continue on for now but with an average time of about 9.5 hours I don't see myself beating the curse this year.

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by M.K.Ultra on October 17, 2025, 07:08:10 PM »

I'm trying to work through ZombiU and am being reminded why my previous two efforts ended quickly.  The controls are very stiff and the move stuff around with your finger on the gamepad screen is not accurate enough (for me at least).  I don't know if that was intentional to make it more "horror-y" like the tank controls in early RE games or just poor design, but the frequent "cheap" deaths quickly sap my will to play it.  My gaming resolution for 2025 was to finally get some of the over 10-year-old games off my backlog so I'll keep at it.  For reference to anyone who has played it, my first two attempts stopped before getting to the supermarket.  I have gotten farther than that this time at least.

I recall the game having a difficult start. As you stock up on inventory the cheap deaths seemed less frequent. I would say to stick it out if you can as the game is not that long.

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General Gaming / Re: Shocktober VI: Curse of NWR

« Last post by jarodea on October 17, 2025, 09:42:01 AM »

I'm trying to work through ZombiU and am being reminded why my previous two efforts ended quickly.  The controls are very stiff and the move stuff around with your finger on the gamepad screen is not accurate enough (for me at least).  I don't know if that was intentional to make it more "horror-y" like the tank controls in early RE games or just poor design, but the frequent "cheap" deaths quickly sap my will to play it.  My gaming resolution for 2025 was to finally get some of the over 10-year-old games off my backlog so I'll keep at it.  For reference to anyone who has played it, my first two attempts stopped before getting to the supermarket.  I have gotten farther than that this time at least.

I haven't played any of the games mentioned so far, but it's interesting reading about them.

And all your weapons are breakable, so you're heavily encouraged to not even engage in combat until the game forces you to, as it pretty much does the entire second half of the game. And the game's 2nd half introduces an (I kid you not) honest to god Devil Trigger/Rage of the Gods mechanic that feels REALLY out of place in a horror game like this.

Good to know since I did have some interest in this game.  I've never played a Silent Hill game so the lack of connection to the rest of the series wouldn't bother me, but weapon degradation/breaking is one of my biggest gaming turnoffs.