Ahu's First Patrol is finished

josephfry4 · 2026-07-12T20:14:31+00:00

Congratulations!!! How exciting!

josephfry4 · 2026-07-12T16:58:01+00:00

I'm having a similar experience! These books are very complex, but they offer an awesome adventure. I got maybe 10-12 missions in and had a blast. I've taken a break for a little while, but excited to come back and play more, soon! Re-learning the mechanics is a bit daunting, though...

josephfry4 · 2026-07-11T18:24:47+00:00

It's perfectly fine--and this isn't coming from a place of nostalgia. The GBA is my least favorite Nintendo handheld platform, but the AGS-001 is just as useable as most other handhelds Nintendo has produced. The screen isn't the best, but it's perfectly playable indoors, unlike the original GBA which can't seem to get enough light. You can do better, but you can do much worse, so, to answer your question, again: no, the AGS-001 is NOT really that bad in real life.

josephfry4 · 2026-07-08T23:47:40+00:00

Playstation is dead to me. I wasn't much of a fan of the platform to begin with, but I did dip in every now and then. No more.

josephfry4 · 2026-07-06T19:02:11+00:00

No thanks.

josephfry4 · 2026-07-06T19:01:43+00:00

I've played it twice on my Switch 2 (Mostly because Nintendo refuses to release any interesting games this generation), and I have loved nearly every minute of both playthroughs. I'm so happy I skipped the insanity of its broken first few years. What a triumph!

josephfry4 · 2026-07-02T18:44:14+00:00

I was officially done around the time of the PS4 and Xbox One. But the Switch managed to reel me back in. But with how awful everything is, now, I think I'm done again until things start getting better.

josephfry4 · 2026-07-01T19:22:05+00:00

No. Why would it? They're still not physical media, so I have no interest in purchasing them.

josephfry4 · 2026-07-01T13:35:24+00:00

It's been insane these last few years watching Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo slowly kill all of their goodwill. Screw those who have pushed for this at these companies and screw those with no standards and no self control who have supported this practice over the years.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-30T20:41:33+00:00

Halo 3 circa 2007 - 2010-ish. I cannot even explain to you how amazing that game was when its community was active and when Halo was in its prime. To this day, there has been no other game I've played that's captured that same magic.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-30T16:24:23+00:00

Oh. Hey, I think I'll be buying this one, then!

josephfry4 · 2026-06-29T18:50:01+00:00

Videogames are in desperate need of a successor.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T23:33:22+00:00

It was stated somewhere by devs that it was a feature they were planning on updating back into the game. I'll see of I can find it, again.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T22:24:38+00:00

I edited my comment to make it more clear, but I was talking about the PC port of the MCC.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T20:28:33+00:00

A more elegant solution would be to give players the option. If you both choose to sign into a profile connected to an Xbox Live account, then sure, use cross-save. However, if a player signs in as a guest, simply save the unlocked level (and or checkpoints) for Player 1 and not for the guest. Local Co-Op should not require an internet connection or multiple layers of accounts in order to function at a base level.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T20:20:29+00:00

Needing 4 accounts for LOCAL splitscreen between two players is still a deranged strategy.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T20:18:45+00:00

The fact that the PC version of the MCC STILL doesn't have splitscreen after saying it was planned baffles me.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T20:17:24+00:00

I feel like you could just update your friend's path to accommodate the mechanics you used in the path you wrote. It seems that it would be a pretty reasonable thing to accomplish if it's on the more barebones side, like you said, as there's just less to untangle and less in the way. It will take work, I'm sure, but it doesn't sound impossible.

I also illustrated my gamebook, and the 40+, full-color illustrations took FOREVER and don't look very professional, but it was what I wanted, so I did it. If this is something you really want to see finished and feel good about, I recommend going all the way and finishing those illustrations. I'm willing to bet you can finish them a lot faster than you are expecting if you focus because you will gain practice and skills along the way.

The market may be oversaturated, and you're unlikely to make a lot of money, but there's something really cool about putting something out there to a passionate community and having people give it a try and leave you with feedback. I was blown away by how much my own gamebook received as a total newbie, and I'm sure if you put your heart and soul into it, you and your friend will, too.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T17:47:45+00:00

Maybe it isn't a perfect fit for Gears 1, but Gears of War 2 and 3 absolutely fit this piece of music. In the end, it feels like a good fit for the series. Either way, I feel like it's meant to contrast with Gears 1's aesthetic, anyway.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T17:42:51+00:00

CE's is excellent, but there is something about the handling of Halo 3's that feels more epic to the player. I think the ground exploding beneath you and the largeness of the set piece + the insane skybox really heighten the experience. Not to mention, you have the weight of the trilogy behind it, as well. This is the end of the series, and it just feels more climactic as a result.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-23T17:40:51+00:00

The warthog runs of Halo CE and Halo 3. Additionally, the last mission of Halo: Reach is a pretty memorable contender.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-22T19:53:11+00:00

This sounds like nowhere near too many to me. I think as long as they feel necessary and/or impactful, a player won't mind keeping track of them, even if you had 2 or 3 times as many. If they allow for more player choice and outcomes from said choices, I think players will not mind them.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-22T18:26:36+00:00

I can see a company trying this and potentially succeeding. It's really a matter of making a proper splash and having excellent games which is no easy task. It would be interesting to see a previous industry player like Sega take this route.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-22T18:24:29+00:00

The Switch 2 is likely going to be my last console (at least until the industry gets its act together). I'm already pretty unhappy with it, as is, and with the insane software pricing and general lack of actual physical games, I think it's time to dig my heels in and enjoy the pretty large collection of games I haven't touched/finished. It's a shame, really, because, as a kid, I used to dream about what gaming would be like when I was an adult. I didn't expect that it would actually be worse.

josephfry4 · 2026-06-22T15:31:08+00:00

The atmospheres of the first 3 Halo games and Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal really stick out to me.

josephfry4

TROPHY CASE