Destiny!

343 did a bang-up job at murdering their golden goose in the pursuit of a mythical “broader audience” that they’ve referred to many times. In Halo 4, they doubled-down on the loadout systems, added in COD-style perks and ordinance drops, and drastically changed the art direction and tone of the game (and don’t even get me started on the story). Halo 5 was much of the same, this time opting to chase the advanced movement trend that was all the rage in the mid-2010s, crazy MTX lootboxes, and a somehow even worse artstyle/story.

Even though the raw gameplay as Infinite was mostly a return to form, 343 again scuttled their own ship with their abysmally pathetic imitation of a Fortnite-styled live service/F2P game. 6-9 month seasons. No rank/career progression. Exorbitant shops prices and locked-down customization. Drip-fed additions of content. Staples of the franchise that are STILL not in the game after 18 months.

It’s funny that you mention MCC as 343’s best game, though, since I’d argue that was their worst by far. Sure, MCC is pretty good now, but the game was literally unplayable for YEARS for many people - not “oh I’m lagging a bit” sort of unplayable, I mean game-crashing, no multiplayer loading, unable to log-in type issues that only were resolved beginning in 2019 when they brought the game to PC (and even that had a massive slew of issues).

Anyways, I’m rambling at this point. I enjoy playing Infinite quite a bit and think it’s 343’s most faithful effort, but it’s still plauged with issues. 343’s endless pursuit over the past decade to attain a broader audience for Halo has effectively killed the franchise in popular opinion - and the ironic thing is that 343 never realized that Halo fans already were the broader audience to begin with.

Love how it looks! I never played Skylines 1 after I got a bit of wary advice from friends on the jankiness/need for QOL mods, but I think I’m going to take a shot with 2!

I really like what I’m seeing, ranging from the depth of things to do, to how granular the systems are, to how much I love the art direction Bethesda has taken. That said, it still won’t be a day-1 buy for me when it launches, I simply don’t trust big AAA releases anymore and will wait at least a little while to see if it’s simply unpolished, or flat-out broken.

I’m not in tech, but work in the public service sector with offices and all that, and we’ve been under a similar in-office twice a week mandate for a few months now, after 2.5 years of working from home due to COVID. I do see some value of being in the office occasionally - it’s nice to be able to talk to your co-workers face to face, and at least in my line of work, meeting with clients/partners face-to-face is incredibly important.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. The office complex I’m in has been woefully outdated for over a decade and they’re only getting around to renovations now, which has led to everyone having to cram on far too few floors during workdays (though it’s better than having to work in the old sections filled with asbestos, bed bugs, and bats in the ceiling). Commuting still sucks and will always suck (and costs too much money + pollution!). At times, it feels like coming into the office is just a formality and it’s a crappy feeling being at a desk all day when I know for a fact I could be doing all my work from home just fine.

The largest issue I feel I have with it, though, is the fact that it causes centralization in our specific city, and prevents people who don’t live within driving distance of the core to reasonably be able to work. During COVID, my department was able to hire a slew of employees from across the country for 100% remote work - people who would have never gotten the chance to have such a job simply because they don’t live in one specific city timezones away. Now that we’re not only back in the office, but that upper management places such an importance on being in the office for the sake of being in the office instead of using the office space in meaningful ways, I feel like it’s a step backwards from being able to expand the talent pool, improve people’s work-life balances, cut back on our physical and carbon footprint, and reduce our cost of living.

It doubly makes me roll my eyes due to the fact that a large reason why we’re even back in the office now was because the local government feeling that it was the duty of us office workers to support downtown restaurants/businesses. I kid you not, the higher-ups behind this decision were making public statements about how important it is for us to go and spend our money through lunches and other things to stimulate the local economy - but guess what! No pay raises and we haven’t had any in 3 years despite record inflation and the rising cost of living! No - instead of these businesses having to adapt and shift their approach to the new post-COVID reality, we all have to lug our sorry asses in to spend money instead.

Exactly this. spez isn’t fit to be a CEO and clearly needs to go, but even if they canned him, I’m out. The only thing reddit has going for it now is its popularity which means it gets lots of traffic. The bots are out of control, the spam is out of control, and the general atmosphere is awful and nothing like it once was. Lemmy/Beehaw/which ever instance you use is a little slow, sure, but to me that’s the perfect excuse to break off from my addiction to reddit and have a site I check only a couple times a day.

The first time I beat the Cairo Station level in Halo 2, way back in 2005. The ending cutscene to that level is one of the best ever made, and was absolutely incredible to experience for the first time.

Playing Dark Souls 1 for the first time has so many amazing moments like that - finally defeating the Bell Gargoyles, or surmounting Sens Fortress and pushing the Iron Golem off… But I don’t think anything will ever compare to the exhilaration I felt in beating Ornstein and Smough for the first time.

I’ve been playing a mix of Halo Infinite with a few friends lately, and then trying to beat Ascension 20 in Slay the Spire - it’s tough, but I love the game!

The new composers they’ve used after C418 have knocked it out of the park, keeping the sounds and atmosphere faithful to the original game while not getting too bogged down in motifs or tributes. This track, for example, feels like it comes straight from 2011 but with a fresh new twist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-f8pEX1Q1M

As a Halo fan since 2005, I could not recommend MCC enough. Although I do have very slight issues with it (lack of the original menus and credits, for example), having all of the classic Bungie games mostly preserved is a wonderful thing and are very much still worth playing ~20 years on. The run of the original trilogy was monumental in the gaming landscape in the 00s in terms of innovations and firsts, but at the same time, the stories, worldbuilding, and the fun still holds up for first time players despite the age of the games.

Multiplayer is a little brutal given that most people playing are veterans like me, but for a meager $10, it is well worth the price for the campaigns alone.