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What we're playing

by: Randy - posted: 2/26/2021 7:57:00 PM
More On: What we're playing

In response to an increase in carjackings and violent crime in Chicago, an Illinois legislator is looking to ban the sale of all violent video games in the state. Arcade classic Frogger will become a game show. A game show about dodging high-speed traffic? What could possibly go wrong? And rapper Soulja Boy is (again) attempting to introduce (another) console into a market that still 100% remembers his rebranded Chinese consoles from 2018.

So, what are you playing?

Russell Archey

As of right now I'm apparently the only person on the planet not playing Valheim so I might have to change that at some point. This weekend will likely see me finishing off Cathedral for my upcoming review. I enjoyed Alwa's Awakening and while I haven't had the chance to play Alwa's Legacy yet, I'm always up for checking out what Elden Pixels publishes. So far, them and Decemberborn Interactive have done a pretty good job with Cathedral. Not perfect, and I do have a few nitpicks along the way, but still a fun Metroidvania-style game.

Eric Hauter

Every now and then, I get myself into a situation where I am playing a bunch of games that I'm not able to talk about due to embargoes. For those not familiar with the way embargoes work, in order to review games, writers must often agree not to discuss them until a certain date. Not all embargoes are the same though; there are a number of different levels of restriction. For example, sometimes you are allowed to say "Hey, I'm playing xx game for review." Sometimes, you are able to talk about particular aspects of games, so long as you don't spoil the story. And sometimes you sign an NDA that says that you won't discuss the game at all, even with family members. So, given my current situation here's what I'm going to say: I'm currently playing a game on PlayStation 5. I am also playing a game on Stadia. Oh, and I'm still getting richer and richer in Red Dead Online. I can talk about that one.

Randy Kalista
Maybe my skills have improved a little since Mass Effect first came out in 2007. But in this replay of the trilogy, the combat is more of a pushover than I remember. Fourteen years ago, Commander Shepard's first firefight on Eden Prime was insane. The shootout with Fist's guys in the strip club was insane. Those aren't even boss fights. Maybe I shouldn't pat myself on the back too hard until I reach Matriarch Benezia and Hovercraft Saren. I mean, I did take an L from one of Fist's Krogan bodyguards as he pistol whipped me whipped me to death because the camera rotates like a tank. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm catching friendly fire from Tali who's trigger happy even when I'm in her shotgun's cone of fire.
 
And of course I'd love to step back into Valheim to carry out bigger and better building projects. But I may have already reached the stage where I stop playing and just watch YouTubes of other people building stadium-sized longhouses, or Sauron's tower, or the Millennium Falcon out of nothing but beech trees, for heaven's sake. Otherwise, I saw someone on Steam reviews say playing Valheim is like playing Minecraft again for the first time. And that just might be the most accurate one-line review of anything I've ever read in my life.
Joseph Moorer

I turned my Zelda 35th week into a month. I want to play as many Zelda games as I can. I beat the original Legend of Zelda (NES) to kick it off, and am currently midway through Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. A Link to the Past is next, as well as stuff Zelda/Link is featured in. (Mario Kart, Cadence of Hyrule, Super Mario Maker 2). I'm going to also try to finish Max Mraz's Ocean's Heart, as it was heavily inspired by the princess. Breath of the Wild will make an appearance as well. I will probably sprinkle a Miles Morales 100% in there somewhere. 

John Yan

This weekend I'm going to take it easy on gaming as I have a few reviews I have to finish up. That said, I'll probably drop in a quick session of Valheim to continue building an observation deck around our captured troll. Although Randy did show me a picture of a troll wandering around in a moat that surrounded a base. That might be something I might take some time to do.

I know I've done all I can in #KILLALLZOMBIES but I do enjoy jumping into a quick session or two. It's a nice little time waster that lets me just go out and shoot large hordes of zombies.

Also, I'll drop into some old retro gaming with my Atari Fightstick with Trackball and its many games housed on the Raspberry Pi 4. It's one of the best purchases I've made as it lets me experience old arcade games with my kids.