Josh64

Damn, Im very jealous, that looks amazing! I've been desperate to make my own but just gotta wait until I can convince myself to spend that much on a controller (next payday lol) I didn't realise you could get stuff engraved on them too!

Yeah, I think it gets way too much hate for what is one of the best platformers of the last 10 years - but that's the risk you take when you use old IP for new ideas I guess. And yeah I agree with your Rare sentiment, those who write them off after the buyout must be blind by Nintendo loyalty as they have released some fantastic games since. I forgot to mention Viva Pinata in my initial post but that was an amazing surprise to find on Rare Replay, kind of like Forza I thought I'd give it a quick go and didn't expect much but got really hooked. I've probably sunk a good 20 hours into it! Though it does break my heart when they die and you hear kids screaming with joy lol. Yeah the arrow assist helped me so much, I'm definitely gonna delve further into Forza. I'm gonna play Forza 5 and Horizon 2 until I'm finished and then move onto 6 and Horizon 3!

I got especially obsessive collecting all the vehicle pieces and making really ludicrous contraptions this time too! And it shocks me just how beautiful this still looks considering it's a 2008 360 game.

I haven't got an X, in fact... I only just picked up an S in September. I was going to post my excitement in this thread but at the time this place didn't seem very inviting haha. I've been having a real blast since I got it, I've been out of the Xbox game since my 360 died in around 2013 so it's been great to dip back in. My first two games were Rare Replay and Forza 5, Forza was free and Rare Replay is something I've wanted in FOREVER. I played the crap out of Rare Replay, 100% Completed Banjo, played hours and hours on Nuts N Bolts (and defeated Grunty for the first time, screw the haters I LOVE nuts n bolts) and have a good play on all the classic titles and 'snapshot' mode that plays like NES Remix. I forced myself to have a quick go on Forza as I'm not really into 'realistic' racers but man... that quick go turned into hours and hours, I seriously love Forza. It's great to ease noobs (like myself) in with the assists, and then slowly removing them as you get better really helps you get to grips with the game. I love unlocking new cars and driving against (and building up my own) Drivitar and checking out all the cool designs people have made online. I have played the crap out of it and still feel like I haven't really touched the surface and perhaps now I won't because... I saw Forza Horizon 2 for cheap in CEX so thought I'd try it out to see what's different and /love it even more/. The races are as good as ever but the graphics seem miles better and it's great fun driving around the open world, smashing signs and choosing the next event. The only thing I hate is the abundance of terrible British accents lol. I then got GamePass so have been fiddling in old SEGA titles and played some Sunset OverDrive, picked up Cup Head which looks and plays beautifully despite being hard as nails and most recently ignored the middling reviews and got Super Lucky's Tale which I'm seriously enjoying - It's certainly got a budget feel but it's that classic 90's 3D Platformer feel that I love. MineCraft has been love of my life for the past 2 years and that love has extended even further with the Xbox One version as I now have a realm so me and my friend don't constantly have to try and sort out times between work and social life to play online, we can just dip in and create our own Scranton Office whenever. I'm sure there's more, as I've been really enjoying the Xbox, but I'll leave it at that for now. I don't feel bad about getting an S instead of an X as I can't really afford an X and I don't think my TV would show the true power anyway. Not to mention that the X enhanced games seem few and far between so far and perhaps are not the best choices. As much as I like Luckys Tale, one of my main gripes atm are the shoddy textures in areas, I can only imagine how gross they'd look in 4K. The other bizarre edition is MineCraft that looks hideous at the best of times.

I haaaaate the Switch main screen, mainly because it looks just like the PS4 main screen which I also hate. A bunch of icons all just... there in a row!? Madness! I much prefer the blocks of icons like on Wii U and Wii but I know I'm in a minority there. Anyway, I haven't been in this thread since before I got a Switch so thought I'd give my two cents. I'm glad I waited for Odyssey. I really loved that game (for the most part, I'll get back to this) but the Switch itself is a mixed bag. I really like the Joycons unconnected, takes me back to the freedom of the Wii days but even moreso as there's no wire between remote and Nunchuk so playing Odyssey in that format felt great and took me back to the glory days of Galaxy. The OS I despise, but I knew I would already, and the system features are woeful. The fact you can upload a photo to Twitter and then have to view it on another device is obscene and the eShop is a joke. They sucked the life out of everything! The jaunty eShop tune on WiiU, the textured backgrounds, heck there's not even any damn Mii music. But before you shoot me down, I accept I am in a VAST minority of people that loved the WiiU and while I miss its charm, it is nice having a faster menu in general. But yeah, system features are garbage. I was happy that when I got my Switch was the same day we got video recording but even that is lacklustre. The storage situation is also crap but again, something I knew before getting the Switch. Finally though I'm just a bit disappointed with the overall quality, I'm constantly worried about the plastic taco as my Switch seems to wobble all over the place when docked and changing a game or moving the joycon on or off. The screen is also really disappointing, especially when going from my iPad to Switch (which is a 2011 model so not even like it's something new) but I guess it is a million times better than the 3DS screen (approx.) so that's something. Back on the Odyssey, I really loved playing the main game start to finish and I love some of the fan service. I wouldn't rate it as highly as the Galaxy games but it blows 3D World out of the water. One thing I'm not keen on though is the frequency of moons. They seem to start off as fun awesome challenges but some end up being 'Ground pound this random piece of earth' or 'do this same task again but get a higher score'. It's still a great game, but I would say the later moons feel less like Galaxy 2 green stars and more like Sunshine's blue coins. As it stands, I'm gonna keep my Switch for now and look forward to what Nintendo may have in store for us, but there's nothing out currently aside from Mario that has me excited. I got and sold Deluxe, it's a great game but it's the exact same one I played to death until only a year ago, and I might dip into Rabbids at some point if the price comes down at all. My overall first month with Switch - fun but uncertain.

I can see who likes my stuff, I just clicked where it says ‘1 <3’ and then S.C.G’s name appeared

Sorry to hear that Serebii So a quick update on where I am at. Things have been generally going a lot better, the mix of medication and therapy has been working well because I just finished month 2 of my new job which is something that started to feel impossible earlier in the year. Old bad habits have started creeping back in though. I've felt so sick at work because of anxiety that I've only been eating when I've got home, couldn't stomach breakfast before it or anything during, and being a 10 hour shift it leaves me weak and feeling very weird. I'm just trying my best not to slip back into old habits but sometimes the physical aspects of it just seem so uncontrollable. Last week I did go home a few hours early after sorting cover with one of the other guys and felt dreadful about it. I did agree to cover one of his shifts as a favour though so I kinda made up for it. The night before shifts are always problematic too, waking up cold and hot and having bat-shit insane dreams. But I'm still there which is the main thing and I'm more self aware now - When things seem really terrible I keep reminding myself it's not the job that's the problem and it's all in my head which generally does help me just carry on and shut my mind up for a while.

That has always been the main problem. I do recall a brief period in the late noughties (2008-2010ish) where it would have actually been possible and the idea was to release Goldeneye on Wii and Xbox Live but because the Wii version wouldn't have online Nintendo were against it. Then again it's been years since I read that so don't know if there's much truth to it.

This would be amazing, I can handle the old graphics and even the textures but the biggest complaint when I go back to N64 games is some of the awful frame rates.

If I still had the memory of everything then I'd just buy new consoles until I got a really severe retro pang. If I didn't have the memories then definitely a Wii. Plays all GameCube games which was my first true love, as well as a bunch of awesome Wii games and a kick-ass VC which provides nearly all the great Nes, Snes and Mega Drive games and a decent selection of N64 titles.

Yeah that'd be cool, I quite liked playing with rentals and they have some fun mini-games too. Pokemon Stadium 2 would be especially awesome as that is quite expensive now on eBay

I already have an N64 Mini - It's called Rare Replay *que canned laughter* Seriously though, while Rare helped a lot in the N64 era by keeping the console afloat with regular releases, it's come to bite Nintendo in the ass when revisiting that console as the VC line-ups have proven. Still, a pretty decent 'mini' could be created because there's still the likes of Mario 64, OOT, Majoras Mask and Mario Kart. Mario Party 1 to 3 is a good shout (especially as the original Mario Party hasn't been on any Virtual Console) and I think it wouldn't be too hard to get Diddy Kong Racing - Microsoft were open to cross platform play and Minecraft as well as Jetpac being on the DK64 VC. Controller is an issue, as others have said, the analouge stick doesn't work well at all on Wii U VC. They seemed to nail the HD remasters of Banjo on 360/Rare Replay but I don't know what amount of work was required for that. Otherwise, would it be possible to re-create the original joystick with a rubber head perhaps? Theres' a couple of titles from their Virual Console localisation efforts they could throw in for a 'StarFox 2' type headline such as Sin and Punishment and [that other game they released on Wii VC]

I haven't got a Switch yet because I needed Nintendo to prove that they really had learned their lesson this time and the online will be great when it arrives... they're doing a fantastic job at saving me money so far. Its a joke that this far into the Switch we're only just getting a 'basic' version of their online service and it's even worse that it's a complete shambles. Are DENA helping with this? Because it they are then that venture was a waste of money. This is laughable, truly laughable. I could get a better online experience on my fucking Dreamcast. I am so done.

If it happens any time soon I'll be a bit pissed and it will put me off Switch even more. As bullshit as Wii going offline was, at least they had a legitimate reason. It just adds fuel to the fire that you can't trust any online component Nintendo offers because it could disappear in an instant.

I've still got a long (looooong) way to go but this week, for the first time since it started really, I've gotten progressively better at counselling. Each week you fill out a form with a bunch of different questions and rate them from 1-5 and it's been improving for the last few months until this week where she told me we still have things to improve but I'm no longer considered a 'concern'. I certainly feel better in myself and have done things lately that I wouldn't have ever considered doing a few months ago. It's also really bizarre and a bit frightening to remember where I was and how I felt a few months back, it's like looking back at another person. The feeling of not being in control and wondering yourself what you might do is horrible and remembering that initial call I had to make to them is quite harrowing. I've completely nipped suicidal ideation in the bud which was something I never considered reality but something I couldn't stop obsessing over. Now that I'm not quite so clouded and can look back with a clearer mind, it genuinely feels like I had some sort of physical disease taking over my body and thoughts. I'm hopeful I can continue this positive path even through getting new jobs and meeting new people and the weekly therapy will continue for at least another few months if I do have another wobble here or there.

I'm not interested in any SD cards right now but if I had a switch I'd be snapping them up, those are some amazing prices. It gives me hope for the future that perhaps we won't have to wait too long for them to drop in price. Those PS Vita storage days will hopefully feel like a distant memory for me...

It's the economy! The industry isn't ready for a new console yet! Just you wait, the PS4 and One will struggle too!

It's selling well but there have been consoles that sold at a much quicker rate. It's silly the amount of sales Nintendo are potentially losing out on due to lack of products in stores. I think they just ship the same amount of everything no matter what demand there is for it which is how we ended up with the GameCube halting production situation mid-way through its cycle and WiiU returns along with no Wii or Switch stuff in stores

I've always found the trophy system bizarre too, especially as the 360 was my first step into non-Nintendo Land so I got used to trophies syncing up straight away. Has any one been getting in on the deals this week? I finally took the plunge and got the £9.99 Rocket League deal which comes with a bunch of DLC.

Yeah, lifting up items and spinning them around can be weird sometimes. As can very slowly poking buttons with one finger, it looks very out of place in a game that generally has very fluid gestures I played it for a few hours with my friend last night, it's a lot of fun and the acting is great. I really hate all of the characters but that's good in a way because then I'm not too mortified when one of them gets killed The therapy sessions are actually quite full on I think, I felt genuinely worked up at one point playing when I got lost in the moment and he was laying into me. That theme song is ludicrous though, oh my god. "Deeeeeeeeeatth, ooooooh, deaaaaaaaattthhhhhhhhhhh", I've never heard anything trying to hard to be deep and scary come across as so ridiculous, it may have well as been sang by a clay-mation skeleton lol. As for That's You, I played that last night with a friend and a few drinks too and it's a lot of fun for a chilled out party settings, I get major Game&Wario /House Party Wii U vibes from it. The drawing games and matching selfies to crazy poses are a lot of fun. Sadly my device did get connected once or twice but that's probably more down to my crappy Wifi than the software itself.

Remember when Nintendo had to recall a bunch of Wii U systems and repackage them because they were selling so badly? I've never known a company as woefully incompetent at keeping decent stock levels of their products. And yeah I'm always wary of getting accessories from there too. When I got a used PS3 I felt so dirty using the controller. I eventually got a new controller to go with the old system.

If they got rid of Mario and Sonic at the Olympics that would be the final nail in the coffin for me

I really hate that on Tinder. The worst for me is "hey how are you?" "I'm ok you?" "Yeah, I'm good! What have you been up to today? I see you like [something], I loved that show too. What was your favourite episode?" "I'm ok thx" So I had my third date with Hernando today! We went to see Spider-Man. I loved it, I usually hate Marvel stuff but Spidey is always the exception as it's usually a bit funny/lame and doesn't take itself too seriously. I also loved that it has The Ultimate Fighting Champion from F.R.I.E.N.D.S in it. After we did our usual mill around Tokyo Toys and stuff and then we went off to get cocktails at this nice place (no idea what its called). On the way there I jokingly asked him if he had a boyfriend and he laughed and said no so I said "Oh man, if only there was someone here right now that could go out with you" Fast forward a couple more lame Chandler Bing type lines and we're now a couple!

Thanks for the Birthday messages guys! I've had a great day! And thanks for reminding me of the wonders of Seaman @S.C.G - Given the crazy Mic prices it's one Dreamcast classic I've yet to get in my life! My brother got me this awesome videogame violinist on CD though so I've hooked up my speakers to the DreamCast and am having an unconventional SEGA day.

Happy Birthday KaeGae!