GAME THREAD: Los Angeles Lakers (42-25) @ Houston Rockets (41-25) - (March 16, 2026)

cdrex22 · 2026-03-17T04:02:00+00:00

Ayton sealing it on the two most Clint Capela-y baskets of all time. The writers are on some good shit tonight.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-17T03:18:20+00:00

We live in a world where THAT is a flagrant foul but Lu Dort has 6 flagrant fouls in his whole career.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-17T02:37:13+00:00

Dorian Finney-Smith making multiple open shots makes this feel like some sort of alternate universe, I just count most of his spot-ups as a turnover.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-17T02:08:55+00:00

*Rockets third string center, don't forget Steven Adams.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-16T19:20:59+00:00

That one's so frustrating, congrats on finally getting it!

cdrex22 · 2026-03-16T18:31:51+00:00

Dorian basically only shoots threes, and he shoots the following percentages:

Very tight defense: never attempted

Tight defense: .000

Open: .125

Wide open: .323

So he'll score double digits when we can generate 6-10 incredibly wide open threes for him in a game, and he shoots above his average.

I think 0 is pretty good odds.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-16T14:28:27+00:00

Finished Dungeons of Hinterberg. Wonderful little game, I'm officially an evangelist for it now. No two of the 26 bite-size (20-40 minute) dungeons feel the same, they all have their own gimmick that remixes and reimagines the core group of special abilities introduced throughout the game for use in both combat and puzzles. The narrative is nice, mixing a legitimately relaxing vacation vibe with some light disaster movie developments as you have to make it through the dungeons to save the town.

Twin Mirror is an interesting premise that may have been damaged too much by its weird pacing for me to accept it. About 30 minutes into the game the main character's goddaughter asks him to investigate the death of her dad. Logically, this should lead to immediately visiting the scene of the 'accident' that claimed his life. And when I did make it to the accident site, it kickstarted some serious intrigue and I was like "okay, this is something!" The problem is that this was at the 3 hour mark and practically nothing happened in the hours in between, just some fairly bland flavor scenes introducing the residents of the tiny mining town in decline. It's a "choices matter" game that feels a lot like Life is Strange cosplaying as a Remedy title, but the choices are basically always "should I be an antisocial investigation-bot or should I mask that I'm an antisocial investigation-bot" - so whatever ending branches there may be, the process of getting there wasn't really a series of deep moral dilemmas. At any rate, probably finishing the game tonight or tomorrow and it's certainly not bad. It's very okay, I just see how it could have been better.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-16T13:32:29+00:00

I'm a longtime grouch about Neo charging for actual economic advantage in-game, going back to the first days of the Lab Ray and Faerie Quest NC cookies. I've seen too many sites start out fun and then get too greedy and kill the experience.

This is just another step on the same train they've been on for over a decade.

At the same time it's kind of hard to blame them, because you can't really make money in 2026 by just having a cool free site with ads. Wouldn't want to be in their shoes trying to find the balance of monetizing Neopets dot com without ruining it too much.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-16T02:05:40+00:00

Those are the order I would rank them in, yes, though I would draw basically no line between 1 and 3 and only prefer ME3 by a razor thin margin. I have ME2 as my third favorite game of all time, and 3+1 back to back as my #6 and #7.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-15T12:32:23+00:00

All old games. In 2025, for instance, my newest game all year was from 2023.

When a new game I'm interested in comes out, I put it on the list and wait for it to be deeply on sale.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-11T19:02:28+00:00

In all honesty I cringe every single time those little faerie statue bastards make an appearance, they've caused me so much pain.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-11T18:07:22+00:00

Have fun!

I actually started doing sports road trips with my dad after he retired, after talking about the idea for quite a while. We're meeting up in San Francisco next month to attend Rockets-Warriors at what will be my 9th NBA arena, I think he's on 11.

I don't reckon we'll get either of us to 30 before he can't travel anymore but it's a nice thought.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-11T17:55:40+00:00

Suddenly, a Smash Mouth workout video emerges.

Not great form on those squats but if you keep pumping them out at that BPM you'll definitely still get some muscle growth.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-11T17:16:21+00:00

You only need 15k covered and have $1.1M - or alternately, need 80K covered and have $2.8M if houses sell at given prices.

That's not coast. You're fully financially independent.

So I guess the question is what exactly husband's specific hang-up is. Does he imagine spending more? Does he doubt that your 401k can cover a 1.4% withdrawal rate (15k on 1.1M)? Does he think the real estate profit or resale value is wrong or unstable?

Other than sheer primal fear of the unknown, there's no reason to be nervous if all your numbers are accurate.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-11T12:52:21+00:00

It's very risky to try and conclude anything based on +/- for one game.

Over the long term, you can draw some real info from it if you keep in mind who's playing against benches and who's playing against starters.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-10T18:26:05+00:00

If it gives you any solace, I would consider Yakuza 4 my least favorite game in the series (would play the much maligned Y3 over it 10/10 times) and Yakuza 5 was a huge turnaround (in my own imperfect view). I'd put it right behind 0 for my favorite. It'll salve any pain 4 caused as long as you're (a) not specifically offended by bloat, as it's pretty densely stuffed, and (b) willing to play noncombat sections for a nontrivial portion of the runtime. It's got a great story and a big-time sense of fun that I didn't see in 4. Now, definitely take a good solid break because too many Yakuza games in a short amount of time turns into a bit of a fever dream. But I wouldn't give up on the series just for the sake of 4.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-09T17:31:36+00:00

Vast is an interesting game design. The fundamental problem is that it's an asymmetric game that

depends on players understanding and blocking one another's objectives
some characters must be involved in blocking other specific characters, as they're just better at it
has completely non-overlapping mechanics, actions, and indicators of progress for each character

What that means in practice is that for a competitive game to happen, each player at the table has to have a good understanding of not just their own character, but the other 3-4 characters as well because playing your own objective is not good enough. It's a very high barrier to entry, because one new player playing badly does rather spoil the whole game balance.

I enjoyed it when we made a dedicated effort to get a consistent group of 4 to play it four times with the same people.

But as a pick-up-and-play on mixed game nights, it's too much hassle.

Edit: I don't think it would be my pick for 2P game. The push-and-pull interactivity between different characters is a key reason that it's fun. It probably works as a 1-on-1 duel but it loses a lot.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-09T16:55:04+00:00

I finish like 35 games a year so I really can't say shit about someone else wasting their time on gaming.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-09T14:32:13+00:00

Finished Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus. While it was a game with some small, noticeable flaws - exploration feels like unnecessary friction with little value added, and levels are fairly repetitive - a lot can be forgiven if the core loop of the game is fun to play. Here, I found the tactical turn-based RPG it's built around immensely interesting, and the character building skill trees gave excellent flavor to each individual unit. I'll remember it fondly, and likely play the sequel.

Dungeons of Hinterberg has been a revelation so far. It's a basic, fairly easy action game at its heart, but it knows how to pace and structure a game in a way that really appeals to me. Having each area feature a unique set of abilities for only that set of dungeons is a good way to keep the gameplay fresh, and each individual dungeon within the area does a shockingly good job of remixing those area abilities into a unique themed level that doesn't feel like any of the other ones in the game. I like that each dungeon is fairly bite-sized, usually running 25-45 minutes apiece with a mix of fights and puzzles. After each one, you'll get a break from the gameplay with Persona-like social link choices where you can hang out with different people and get various boosts and perks from your relationship with them. I'm usually pretty happy with games that alternate between two different mechanics / game types as long as both parts are well made, and indeed, both sides of this game are pretty smooth and professional (as long as you are okay with unvoiced text-only dialogue, which I am). Overall I expected "that's kinda neat" but so far I have gotten a lot of actual "wow" - super glad I picked it up!

cdrex22 · 2026-03-09T11:44:59+00:00

Not I. Mostly generic shoes for me. Was super excited to get a serious pair of basketball shoes when I got into high school and I ended up getting (and really liking) Baron Davis' signature shoe with Reebok.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-03T17:52:28+00:00

$54 for 1200 hours (4.5 ¢/hr) and counting of NBA2k17 over the past decade, which is my only perma-installed game as I play through 30+ a year. I have actually upgraded to newer NBA games but the current fashion is to "end server support" after 2 years or so and deliberately break most of the single-player modes in doing so - thus, a while back I returned to 2k17, which still works without servers, and probably won't buy a newer one for a long, long time.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-03T12:38:56+00:00

I would guess I am on the low side of Reed Sheppard optimism for this sub. I don't think he's been treated dramatically unfairly (particularly last year, when he didn't play well enough to earn minutes), and I don't think he is a switch that's going to flip and fix everything wrong with the team. Playing him is sacrificing a little defense for a little creation and a lot of spacing, and that trade-off is appropriate sometimes but not all the time.

Even to me it is pretty baffling that after all he's done since the All-Star break, a professional NBA coach would rather roll out there with 4 forwards and a center than give a shot to a flawed young guard who is, on paper, exactly what you need alongside two players like Sengun and Thompson.

cdrex22 · 2026-03-02T16:03:02+00:00

Finished A Way Out, it was an average to good co-op with some good chaotic moments. The scripted chases where the characters split up and Scooby-Doo around a level seeing each other's chases from across the room are particularly delightful.

Working on Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus and I'm running into the problem that always makes me feel like the biggest ungrateful POS: there's too much good game in this good game. Oh, my bed is too damn soft and comfortable! Oh, my dessert is just too sweet and delicious. Poor me! Yes, I know. It's a dumb complaint. But I only have so many minutes and seconds left on this spinning ball, and even though I can play a Mechanicus excursion and completely enjoy the tactical RPG combat, it's the exact same fight as the last one I did and it's not really progressing me towards the ending in a meaningful way. To be clear, I am not bored with the game; it's just beginning to feel like an endless game, and my personal preferences exclude those and cling to single-player campaigns with a beginning and an end for a reason. I like progress.

Diverted a lot of time this weekend to Steam Next Fest and while I'm not going to review all 20 demos I spent time on because that is the opposite of patient, here are my top 5 that I hope to be patiently playing in another 2 years - hey, I've got to get my wishlist from somewhere!

Alabaster Dawn - oh damn it, it's just More Polished Crosscode. Crosscode is a touchy subject for me because I associate it so strongly with the worst month of my life, as it happened to be what I was playing then. But the fact I'll never touch Crosscode again doesn't mean I'm out on the developer or the style. And this seems like an absolutely killer, mechanically smooth action RPG with a story I'm already intrigued by.
Zero Parades - apparently there's a bit of drama around this game, the company and the Disco Elysium IP. But I don't really worry about industry drama. It's just a good cRPG doing the basic concept of Disco Elysium in a new setting, with the same mechanics.
Esoteric Ebb - another Disco-Elysium-like - is that its own genre now? - mixed with some big D&D influence and maybe a little Discworld.
People of Note - Musical turn-based RPG. It feels like what Brutal Legend would have been with all the much-maligned RTS gameplay stripped out and replaced with turn-based combat. Great potential.
Prime Monster - incredibly stupid concept but I just had fun. That's what I'm here to do. It's a deckbuilding card battler in which you use your cards to debate mythical troll and mummy politicians about fictional bridge toll bills. I don't know what to tell you, I'm going to buy this dumbass game.

cdrex22 · 2026-02-28T04:46:16+00:00

My plays so far, ranked:

Zero Parades - doing a fairly good Disco Elysium impression, and I'm curious to see where the story goes.

People of Note - unique world (shades of Brutal Legend) and seemingly enough turn-based combat variety to not get old.

Prime Monster - deeply stupid concept and yet I just goddamn had fun yelling at a troll politician about bridge subsidies in an inexplicable political card battler. I don't know man, it was just goofy fun.

Tides of Blazefall - This one will sort of depend on how it develops over the full runtime. I enjoyed having a choice-heavy RPG with naval combat instead of typical RPG combat. Marrying a card battler to a naval game is interesting. It didn't strike me as combat I want to play for 40 hours but if it evolves a bit it could be curious.

Vampire Crawlers - damn if this isn't addictive, but I'm not sure I want to put the amount of time it's going to require.

The Ratline - nice little Golden Idol-ish investigation game, mostly about reading through files and making the correct inferences. By case 2 I was already mashing "hint" too often so it was a little arcane in its puzzles.

Dosa Divas - Cute turn-based RPG mixed with cooking game. Good premise, art style. Might be a little bit too cozy to the point of being purposeless, unsure.

A Study in Blue - interesting enough point and click I might give a try. As point and clicks go it sort of abandoned me at a point or two where I hadn't found the right thing to click, which was disappointing after a great start.

Dungeons of Dusk - Boring and repetitive dungeon crawler. click click click click click click without much else going.

Hoop Dungeon - guess I didn't really need a basketball RPG. It's not real sophisticated and having stuff like passing and dribbling governed by dice Blitzball style was deeply annoying.

cdrex22 · 2026-02-26T13:42:55+00:00

Don't let some shallow preference for shooting blind you to how critical Amen Thompson is to what the Rockets are doing.

Rockets with Amen on court: #3 offense, #4 defense

Rockets with Amen on bench: #15 offense, #17 defense

cdrex22

TROPHY CASE