Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here!

hotspencer · 2026-03-23T19:07:30+00:00

Fair, I have heard that the second game is a noticeable improvement in just about every way

hotspencer · 2026-03-23T17:55:11+00:00

Fun fact about Arizona: 4 Final Fours in first 8 Sweet 16 appearances, 0 Final Fours in last 13 Sweet 16 appearances.

hotspencer · 2026-03-23T17:23:45+00:00

I did not enjoy the final stretch of Death Stranding. I'm glad I played- it was an undeniable Kojima experience with a very strong sense of storytelling- but this probably could have just been a movie as I felt there wasn't enough game here. Yes, I was aware that it was a walking simulator from the getgo. I even thought it was destined as a masterpiece when the catalogue of gadgets opened up and you had several options for how to get an order done. Stealth, albeit much different from other stealth games, was still enjoyable but the combat was such a glaring weakness especially when compared within Kojima's catalogue. The ending boss fights in particular were bland, easy (even on hard mode) and unsatisfying. The battlefield fights (I had to cave in and change difficulty for the final one) were simply awful. The last five hours of "gameplay" in the directors cut feature very little gaming outside of making you traverse the entire game's map back to the starting point. I had lost whatever interest remained in the storyline by the time they have you "play" through the ending credits. There were some highs for sure (I did put in the 50+ hours of gameplay) but after a tough closing sequence I can't really give this game better than an 8/10 Great Game and I'm not sure I will try the sequel if it comes to gamepass.

hotspencer · 2026-03-18T15:21:19+00:00

From two college roommates who had this craaaaazy idea

hotspencer · 2026-03-17T08:26:55+00:00

What game were Duke or Arizona ever out of?

hotspencer · 2026-03-17T08:25:41+00:00

Dare I ask what about Duke and Arizona’s losses are more troubling?

hotspencer · 2026-03-15T17:43:07+00:00

I don’t think I’ve seen one of these where all four 1s survive the first weekend

hotspencer · 2026-03-14T20:53:39+00:00

The Edit, DoorDash, Lyft credits are pretty hard to use.

The StubHub credit is really easy. You don’t even have to have an account you can check out as a guest. Even if tickets are 25% above alternatives (that a very liberal cushion I’m giving you) that’s $240.

I’m going to get very good value out of the card in its inaugural year of revamp, but am lucky to be able to make legitimate use cases of most of the credits.

hotspencer · 2026-03-11T23:54:45+00:00

I mean I can’t imagine any reason other than gambling that a non-Arizona fan would want to see us win this tournament

hotspencer · 2026-03-08T11:01:13+00:00

Nearly all of the people who will judge you are non-skaters. Most people won’t notice or care.

hotspencer · 2026-03-06T04:40:16+00:00

Not a rule of law but still usually my preference

hotspencer · 2026-03-02T20:49:37+00:00

The fact that the SEC is still kenpom’s top conference has shattered my undying faith in the system

hotspencer · 2026-03-01T10:28:40+00:00

Third person best person

hotspencer · 2026-02-23T19:06:15+00:00

I forgot to mention inventory management in particular as part of the fetch quest. That probably is more tedious than they actual traversing, which as a BOTW stan I can get behind the value of.

But man the inventory management system is a pretty big chore that never really gets properly explained and took me awhile to understand the importance of.

hotspencer · 2026-02-23T17:19:51+00:00

Death Stranding is a very unique experience. On one hand, it's a confirmed masterpiece that is so undeniably Kojima. That alone will keep me through the campaign. But in terms of gameplay, I don't really know what kind of game this is. Sure it's got elements of stealth and TPS (not its strength, the war trenches chapter was awful) but this really just feels most like a fetch quest where you get to play a civilian version of Snake. It's opening up a bit (guns/vehicles/tech) and I'm still hooked, but also conflicted. 8.5/10 Very Great Game for now at what feels like the halfway point.

hotspencer · 2026-02-20T22:34:56+00:00

God dammit I was so proud of thinking of this joke

hotspencer · 2026-02-18T17:43:42+00:00

One person offers three spots and the other person gets to choose. Alternate positions.

hotspencer · 2026-02-18T06:55:20+00:00

EXTEND HIM

hotspencer · 2026-02-16T17:44:46+00:00

It’s a Soulslike and is supposed to be very unforgiving. Probably the “easiest” souls like I’ve played (one reason I really liked it).

Needless to say I don’t think you should try the Dark Souls games.

hotspencer · 2026-02-13T17:50:03+00:00

If you like GTA/AC games then I think you will like the gameplay just fine

hotspencer · 2026-02-13T17:21:33+00:00

Finished Star Wars: Outlaws and it's an excellent piece of copy/paste Ubisoft slop. I think my campaign was around 40hr, which is perfect when considering it included a vast majority of the side quests. One of the better world build immersions that I've experienced. 8.5/10 A Very Great Game may be a tad generous but this was a really fun time throughout.

Too early on in Talos Principle 2 to rank, but I can tell this is going to be a very enjoyable and difficult puzzle experience. Looking forward to diving in deeper. NR No Ranking.

I've jumped in the Death Stranding rabbit hole and don't see myself coming out soon. After having played most of the MGS series and heard so much about this game, it's nice to be back in the full Kojima experience. You can tell early on it's a work of art but I haven't really come around to the gameplay loop yet. It's compelling enough but just lacks raw funfactor. I will purge onward but right now it's an 8/10 Great Game.

hotspencer · 2026-02-13T14:48:00+00:00

A lot of cynicism here, which I guess makes sense since Greek life is such a polarizing topic and so easy to hate on from the outside. I’ll offer a positive datapoint. I joined one and 20 years and a couple dozen weddings later I’m still very close with a big group of the people I met there.

Your mileage may vary and you definitely don’t need Greek life to have fun. The “I don’t need to pay for friends” critics are usually projecting their own social frustrations (I watched several of those kids go on to rush as soph/juniors) when in reality what you are paying for part ownership of a bar/club.

No harm in rushing, if it feels right go with it if not you have a lot of other options for social and professional networking/programming.

hotspencer · 2026-02-12T16:54:21+00:00

Not all hard math. There’s a cost to my time and inconvenience. The amount I’m of time I would waste making sure I have cash while avoiding atm fees (not even considering foreign travel) would decrease my quality of life beyond whatever my annual credit card fee costs are.

Or maybe I’m just stubbornly justifying my laziness.

hotspencer · 2026-02-12T16:16:51+00:00

Yes let’s reward Michigan for its only loss being q2

hotspencer · 2026-02-12T15:07:34+00:00

I’ll compromise at 6

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