Archive for October, 2020

Playstation 5 – Anticipation

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games on October 28, 2020 by slateman


January 1997: Playstation alonsgide Street Fighter Alpha 2
October 2000: Playstation 2 alongside SSX
November 2007: Playstation 3 alongside Resistance
November 2013: Playstation 4 alongside Killzone: Shadow Fall

I didn’t get the original Playstation at launch. I may have gotten the PS3 late as well. But I’ve been with the Sony brand for over 20 years and I am so tremendously excited about this new entry. My planned launch games are Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and probably Demon’s Souls.

At such an exciting time, I can’t wait to get my hands on the new console: to tinker with the controller, view the UI, witness 4K for the first time. Playing Ghost Of Tsushima is another one I’m excited for. Just can’t wait.

Spelunky 2: Made It To World 5!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, High Scores/Accomplishments with tags on October 17, 2020 by slateman

Around 500 deaths into this game, I finally unlocked the second shortcut, allowing me to skip straight to the Tide Pool, world 4. The alternate fourth world is the Temple of Anubis which wrecks me almost instantaneously. However, after just a little while of working through the Tide Pool, I managed to beat it, making it to the Ice Caves for the first time! It’s been a while since I played the original Spelunky and though I enjoyed the flashback, I haven’t made it far into this new locale. Additionally, building a shortcut to it, without having to traipse through the Tide Pool, will be a rigorous and almost-impossible task.

My first impressions of the game were not quite at the level of other review outlets, who have dished out 10s. But the more I play, the more I realize how brilliant the game is – particularly when playing with my 9-year-old son. This game is great and one of the year’s best!

The Best TV Shows Ever

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Lists, TV on October 13, 2020 by slateman

This is more of a mental list than a real one, as I can’t necessarily claim this to be 100% valid. This will require some expanded exposition as time goes on. I’ll come back to this and expand upon it, so don’t let this be official.

  1. Seinfeld
  2. Breaking Bad
  3. True Detective (Season 1)
  4. Fawlty Towers
  5. Haunting Of Hill House (Season 1)
  6. Band Of Brothers
  7. Vikings (Seasons 1-4)
  8. Game Of Thrones
  9. The Sopranos
  10. House Of Cards (Season 1-?)
  11. Stranger Things (Season 1)
  12. Fargo (Season 1, 2, 3)
  13. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
  14. Narcos (Season 1)
  15. Sherlock
  16. South Park?

Notable Entries: Black Mirror, Boardwalk Empire, 24, Mindhunter, Sons Of Anarchy, The Leftovers.

Still To Watch: Mad Men, Rectify, Justified, more?

More to come!

Spelunky 2 – Progress?

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games on October 12, 2020 by slateman

I’m not too proud to admit it. I was stuck on Olmec for weeks, never progressing past world 2 at all. Death upon death came to me and while I knew I could get a shortcut to the next world, I also knew I’d have to beat Olmec at least three times – and I couldn’t defeat him even once!

Fast forward a bit and…I’ve done it several times! Now, that elusive shortcut is locked behind taming some sort of animal AND beating Olmec all in one go. Hmm…I’m less confident now. However, as I approach 500 deaths and witness people speedrunning the game in three minutes, I’ll have to be happy with this slight progress. Only then will I be able to tackle the rigors of level 4. Wish me luck.

Games I Missed This Generation

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Lists on October 3, 2020 by slateman

Back in 2013, I wrote about the 9 best games of the prior generation and we’re about time to wrap up yet another gen. While I should get to doing a similar post, I wanted to recap some of the titles that may deserve a place on that list but which I never had the pleasure of playing. In addition, this serves as a sort of checklist for things to get to in the coming years. The good news is that most, if not all of these titles will work next gen, so that’ll be great when prices drop a little bit. Without any additional ado…


Titles I’ve Missed
Game Thoughts
The Last Of Us: Part 2 The first was great – but exhausting!
Ghost Of Tsushima I will play this game!
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox Getting localized soon
Gears 5 No Xbox One!
Monster Hunter: World Is this up my alley?
Final Fantasy XV Do I have the patience for FF nowadays?
Control Unsure about this one
COD: Modern Warfare Probably a gorgeous, fun romp
Hades Waiting for a PS4 port

Two Years Later Update
It’s now the 1st of October, 2022 and I figured I’d toss a quick update about this post.

TLOU: Great game, looked spectacular – but like the first, I never want to revisit again
Tsushima: Just loved this game. Visually it was just a joy. Fun gameplay.
Ys IX: Played this in early 2021. Absolutely loved it – more than 8. One of the series’ best.
Modern Warfare: Just beat this today. Usual romp – worth the $ – not the HDD space!
Hades: Played upon returning to America. Liked it but never beat, just kinda fell off.

I tinkered with 3 of the 4 others but not enough to keep me interested.

OK, Sony. It’s Time To Talk.

Posted in Blog, Games on October 1, 2020 by slateman

Here’s my very personal history and the memorable launch titles:

I bought my Playstation in January of 1997. (Street Fighter Alpha 2)
I bought my Playstation 2 in October of 2000.(SSX)
I bought my Playstation 3 in or around November 2006. (Resistance)
I bought my Playstation 4 in November 2013. (Killzone)

In fact, the ONLY console I don’t own from the past 25 years is the Xbox One – and only because of finances.

So, I’m on board with the next gen. I’ve pre-ordered. I am thrilled about the upgrade and I’m happy to choose Sony again (though I genuinely hope to pick up a Series X at one point down the line!)

But as the system is set to launch in a mere 41 days, there’s more that we don’t know than we do. How will backwards compatibility work? Will it have a suspend mode like the upcoming Xbox? Will PS5 controllers work with PS4 games? How will the UI look? How will haptic feedback feel? I could go on and on.

Sony’s hubris after the best-selling console of all time, the Playstation 2, contributed to its successor having a rocky start. All the goodwill they’ve earned in this successful generation is dribbling away. It’s not whether the PS5 is better than the Series X or not. But Microsoft’s message has been far more consistent, positive and informative. Sony should be using this time to hype up new features, show things off and get people psyched!

Get on it, Sony! Ride this excitement and give us something!!!