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  1. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Turret Sections

    Turret sections are one of those trends from the seventh generation of gaming that seemingly came and went alongside the brown cover shooters with chest high walls and chonky space marines. Video games that were previously high (or at least medium-well) energy would come to a halt, freeze the...
  2. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Game of the Generation

    In the years and months leading up to the release of Starfield there existed a vague buzzword whispered across social media platforms: game of the generation. It was not only mentioned when describing what Starfield would be like if it were the "game of the generation", but what it would be like...
  3. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Violence in Video Games

    Pranked. You just got pranked, bro. This is in fact not a thread about the nonexistent link between violence in video games and violent actions by those who play them. For almost as long as video games have existed there has been one common gameplay element: killing people. From the early days...
  4. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Steam Year in Review

    It's that time once again to look back at our gaming antics and feel bad about all the time we spent shooting Spanish zombies in a weird part of Spain that still uses the pesatas. The far handsomer Steam alternative to the gaming year in review. It's no surprise that I spent most of my gaming...
  5. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    The always online video game

    It's no secret that the live service model has lodged itself in the world of video gaming like a brain tumor resisting chemotherapy. For all the complaints about live service games, people keep spending money on them. Games like Genshin Impact will be derided by gamers for their feeding into a...
  6. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Speedrunning

    Speedrunning is one of those things that just seemed to spawn naturally from video gaming. When you're so good at a game that playing it normally doesn't pose of a challenge anymore, so you start playing it as quickly as possible. From the more traditional playthroughs that are more about...
  7. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    What makes an RPG?

    RPG is an acronym that gets thrown around a lot these days. From the beginning of the genre's popularity with the release of the first editions of Dungeons and Dragons to the 2023 release of Baldur's Gate 3, it's an acronym that has soaked its way into the gaming vocabulary more and more in...
  8. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Early Access video games

    It's no secret that game publishing among the AAA affiliated publishers has shifted to a publish now and finish later mentality. While there are still a few steadfast AAA publishers (mostly) sticking to finished products, the prevalence of "games as a service" models of release has pushed some...
  9. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Tears of the Kingdom [SPOILERS] Tears of the Kingdom story discussion

    It should go without saying that this is a spoiler heavy thread. Since Tears of the Kingdom is now floating across the nebulous waves of the internet ocean, gameplay and story details have cropped up. There's a good chance that at least a few of us have dabbled in the game early thanks to a...
  10. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Gaming Remakes

    March 23rd saw the release of the hotly anticipated remake of 2005's Resident Evil 4. Based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam and the current 93 on Metacritic, players and critics alike are eating it up. Despite this overwhelming success, the prevalence of remakes and HD remasters...
  11. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    The licensed video game

    It's been almost a month since Hogwarts Legacy released. Despite the last two Harry Potter games releasing as cover-based Gears of War shooters that entered and exited the gaming world with all the energy of an underpowered fart, Hogwarts Legacy has taken the world by storm. It's possesses one...
  12. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Steam Replay 2022

    2022 has come to an end. Since several gaming platforms have taken up an end of year review sort of thing, I thought it worthwhile to creep in and see what all the PC players out there are doing. I don't think mine is too surprising. I'm kind of bouncing all around the gaming spectrum, going...
  13. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    The Video Game Awards

    It's that time of the year again. With December upon us and the end of 2022 just around the corner, it's time to look back at this year in gaming and vote on who paid Geoff Keighly the most money who produced the best and brightest among the medium. It is also a time for everyone to tune out of...
  14. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Split-Screen Multiplayer

    If you're of a certain age, split-screen multiplayer is just what you think of when you think of multiplayer. Four controllers plugged into a single console like an excess of noodly limbs and squinting at the one quarter of the TV displaying all five pixels of your play area. If a console game...
  15. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    What sort of car do you drive?

    It's been a whopping nine years or so since I joined ZD. It wasn't until 2015 when I purchased my first car: a 2015 Ford Fiesta bought with a 10% interest rate while I was stationed in Baumholder, Germany. While I hoped to drive that car until the engine ejected itself on the highway, fate...
  16. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Handheld Gaming

    It's no secret that the dedicated handheld gaming market just... doesn't really exists anymore. While systems like the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck both exist in a nebulous sort of "hybrid" area (with even the Switch Lite being too large to fit into anything but a generous pair of cargo...
  17. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Digital Game Releases

    Over the past fifteen or so years, we've seen a shift in the world of video games towards digital releases. If you're a PC gamer, you've probably been forced to bend the knee to one of many digital gaming platforms, with physical releases largely existing as empty boxes to put on shelves with...
  18. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Losing in a cutscene

    I'm pretty sure we've all had that one boss fight in a video game. The boss the game builds up to for minutes or sometimes hours. Usually they'll get a cutscene or two. Maybe the narrative dropped them in the background, setting them up for a grand confrontation later. Often it's even the final...
  19. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Should the series name change?

    Bear with me for a moment. I can already hear people typing N-O, but give me a moment. I'd like to draw attention to the Assassin's Creed games. For the first six eight or so entries in that series, the games centered on a specific style of character: a hooded edgerunner with a penchant for...
  20. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Video game subscription services

    The news about different "tiers" of the Playstation Plus subscription seems to have brought fresh attention to the idea of game subscription services, the sort where a prospective player pays a monthly fee in exchange for access to a catalogue of video games. The downside, of course, is that...
  21. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    The Souls-like Genre

    With the much hyped release of Elden Ring now coasting to a successful finish in our rear view mirrors, the Souls-like genre is once again at the forefront of the gaming landscape. What began with the cult classic and later re-release of Demon's Souls (or King's Field, if you're of a particular...
  22. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Dying Light 2

    In what still feels like a small miracle in the modern post-Cyberpunk 2077 gaming landscape, Dying Light 2 has managed to scrape along to its release date without having to issue another message in which it candidly announces yet another delay. Its predecessor, Dying Light: The First One, has...
  23. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Sony The Playstation 5 Controller.

    So, the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series S/X released near the end of 2020. At this point, they might as well not have released at all given how few of them there are on the market and how difficult they are to find. However, the controllers continue to be sold with a great degree of regularity...
  24. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    How would you handle Zelda as a protagonist?

    Ever since the initial Breath of the Wild sequel trailer dropped, the possibility of Princess Zelda as a protagonist has lingered (if it wasn't already present). While the latest teaser trailer seems to all but dismiss the possibility of a playable Princess Zelda, I feel it's an idea that's...
  25. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Physical or Digital?

    While gaming began a medium largely dependent on the physical transfer of data, the modern gaming world has shifted to a much more digital landscape. Stroes like Gamestop that previously dominated the world of video games sales are now playing second fiddle to a gaming world that has shifted...
  26. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Idle Games

    So, I started playing Cookie Clicker on a whim recently. It's a fairly simple game in concept: click on a big cookie, produce more cookies, and buy upgrades that allow for you to produce more cookies without having to click on your one big cookie. I've always looked at the genre as something...
  27. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    What's your preferred web browser?

    So, most of us probably know that one lame joke that gets tossed around about stuff like Edge and Internet Explorer. "Internet Explorer is the fastest way to download Firefox/Chrome." But nowadays Edge (the successor to Internet Explorer for those who might be operating in the world of...
  28. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Do you trade in games?

    Trading in video games to make way for newer video games seems common practice for some. While I've seen plenty of people who maintain large game collections, I've seen a fair number of people who maintain smaller rotating collections of physical games. I've never been a fan of the paltry sums...
  29. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Do you own more than one controller?

    Since local multiplayer has (unfortunately) mostly taken a backseat to its online sibling, there's been less incentive for people to own more than one controller. Most multiplayer games emphasize the online aspect of their games while neglecting the couch coop that used to be the norm. If you...
  30. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Pre-ordering Games

    How do you guys feel about pre-ordering games? I know it's become common practice in the video game scene, with publishers proudly touting that games are now available to pre-order (even when they're sometimes years away from release), but I've never been a fan of it. I don't like the idea of...
  31. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Dungeons and Dragons

    So I've recently started playing a lot of Dungeons and Dragons lately, both as a player and a dungeon master. I was sort of a late arrival to the game. Outside of a single session of D&D 4e in high school (after which the group immediately fell apart, because class), the game was alien to me. I...
  32. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Superman and Lois

    Superman isn't a character who's spent a lot of time on modern television. When the Superman logo comes up, it's usually in the form of a prequel (in the case of Smallville or Krypton) or a team-up series. Until recently, DC has seemed very shy about the notion of having Batman and Superman...
  33. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Catherine/Catherine: Full Body

    If you're a fan of Persona or the Shin Megami Tensei games, then you're probably familiar with Catherine as that one quirky puzzle game about pushing blocks and talking to girls. Going just by the cover, that's the game at a glance. Little do you know that beneath the sexualized cover and weird...
  34. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Hitman 3 (and the others)

    Hitman 3 launched this month. It's a game series that I've casually played sort of since the first game (at least the first in this particular subseries) released back in 2016. It's a very serious game and definitely isn't about a clown who walks around and hits people with a fish. It's also...
  35. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Cobra Kai

    So, season three of Cobra Kai just rolled out today. Season one and two were some of my favorite television, but I haven't see anyone bring the show up here. Any secret Karate Kid fans who are enjoying seeing the franchise from the perspective of Johnny Lawrence?
  36. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Cyberpunk 2077

    So in spite of three delays, it seems that Cyberpunk 2077 is set to release on December 10th. Though I'm skeptical of publisher produced gameplay trailers and a company unwilling to let previewers show off their gameplay, I'm maintaining a quiet level of enthusiasm for Cyberpunk. Although the...
  37. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Baldur's Gate 3

    So, Baldur's Gate 3 just hit early access and I love it. I've been a big fan of Larian Studios ever since I played Divinity: Original Sin, so it was exciting for me when they announced that they'd been tapped to produce the third game in a series that had laid dormant for twenty years. The...
  38. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Genshin Impact

    After more than a year of waiting, several closed betas, and some angry Breath of the Wild fans smashing Playstation 4's (despite the game itself being multiplatform), Genshin Impact is here. Often lauded as a Chinese clone of Breath of the Wild, it made a splash in the gaming world by...
  39. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Spoiler Waking up the Wind Fish

    As most of us Zelda fans know, waking up the Wind Fish is the ultimate goal of Link's Awakening. The Wind Fish itself is a godlike being slumbering atop a mountain on Koholint Island, apparently cursed to sleep by some sort of Nightmare creatures. The island itself only exists because the Wind...
  40. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Sex in Video Games

    The reality of more graphic content in video games these days is that you just don't really show sex in games. Breasts are sometimes okay, a limp penis is rarely okay, but sex if usually played for jokes. With very rare exceptions (The Witcher 3 comes to mind), video games never go out of their...
  41. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Bowsette's Short Stories and Scribblings

    I've been writing for a while, but the military sucked the energy out of me and killed my drive to write for many months. During the previous semester of college, I enrolled in a fiction writing class. While I didn't learn much (because of my huge ego), I did put together some short stories and...
  42. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Steep (and other sports games)

    It's hard to visit any video game store without being bombarded by waves of old Madden, NBA 2K, and NHL games. They're the sort of game that hardcore fans will buy for six months and then trade in for $10 worth of credit for the next game in the series. And while there's still a fair amount of...
  43. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Doom Eternal

    Rip and tear until it is done. On March 20th, the fifth-ish Doom game released to everything except the Switch (which they assure us is coming later, despite the publisher not going out of its way to make the delay well-known). It's about looking badass, killing demons, and nonchalantly...
  44. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Assassin's Creed

    If you you were gaming back in the early years of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, you've probably heard of Assassin's Creed. Whether or not you caught it during the early days when it was actually about an order of assassins, or jumped into it later when assassinating things was just vehicle...
  45. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    System Shock 3

    "Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?" ----- After twenty years of dormancy, System Shock, the progenitor of Bioshock, Thief, Prey, Deus Ex, and the immersive sim as...
  46. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Another Resident Evil remake!

    So after all the cool success of the Resident Evil 2 remake that definitely deserved to win game of the year, we're riding the remake roller coaster once again. Following some cool leaked images showing both the Resident Evil 3 and Biohazard 3 logos, Capcom rolled out the trailer for REmake 3...
  47. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Outer Worlds

    October 25th marks the release of Outer Worlds, the latest RPG by Obsidian (the same guys who brought you stuff like Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, and Pillars of Eternity) releases this Friday. In a world where Fallout 76 is all the effort Bethesda is willing to...
  48. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Microsoft Netflix for Video Games

    Lately we've been seeing an increase in what I can only describe as Netflix for video games. Microsoft introduced their own monthly game pass in the form of Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service available on both PC and Xbox One. $10 a month buys you the ability to play a respectable number of...
  49. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Resident Evil 2 Remake

    After years of waiting, rumors, and tee-shirts, the Resident Evil 2 remake has not only a demo, but a release date. I'm pretty new to the Resident Evil series, having completed only RE7 and chickened out of playing anything else, but I'm hooked after giving the demo a shot. If any of you have...
  50. Bowsette Plus-Ultra

    Samurai Jack (Season 5)

    Season five, mother****ers. It's hard for me to provide a real opening post for this thread outside of "HOLY ****", but I'ma try. I spent my wee years thinking Samurai Jack was the coolest thing since the Power Rangers taught me that violence solves everything. It was flashy, cool, and...
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