bluefish

I've always had a real soft spot in my heart for that controller. Partially because it was associated with so many vivid ealy-Xbox memories and partially because I find modern controllers a bit small. The PS2/PS3 controller was the worst offender and in no way filled out my standard-adult-male hands so much so that I found gaming on the PS3 a little uncomfortable.

The big damn X on the front is bold and hilarious and indicative of how powerful tech was viewed in the early 2000's. It was growing so fast and people were only starting to intuitively grasp what that really meant that there was a wildness, power and imagination that came associated with it. Movies like The Matrix, The 13th Floor and almost any other sci-fi based around tech was exaggerating it's power to the N'th of the N'th degree, so that big bloody X, the design of the console and it's "LOOK AT THE POWER INSIDE ME" boot up animation fit really well.

So yeah, The Duke looks ostentatious but once you get a feel for it I think it creates a better overall resting pose for your hands, primarily palm area around the ring and pinky finger. It's not perfect for the reasons you listed, but I think it's an amazing piece for it's time and is VERY much unlike any other controller- but not in a bad way like the N64 controller.

As to the video, I like it. I like the weird, grainy, handicam, crime-re-creation style. The deeper, southern style voice bits I could do without personally.

Blur 2 weirdly enough. I would lose my fucking mind.

Or that Irrational magically came back together and are making another Bioshock game in a new and crazy setting.

@shiftygism: I've very much liked a lot of games this gen but I feel passion for quite few of them. Maybe I'm changing towards games, but I'm playing them as much as ever. I just rarely find myself loving a game as much as I did last gen.

Horizon: Zero Dawn (as my favourite of the generation)

The Witness

Inside

Bayonetta 2

Forza Horizon 3

Helldivers

(and then on the maybe list)

Wolfenstein: The New Collossus

x-Com 2

Life Is Strange

Uncharted 4

FAST: RMX on Switch.

It's fucking fabulous! My personal favourite future-racer since the CG. I don't really understand why it's not getting more talk with new Switch owners, easily one of the best games on the system and the most fun I've had with it aside from Zelda. (cheap too, $25 Canadian for 36 unique tracks)

Very impressed :D

This person is about %1000 better than me...

Vanquish with a bullet.

Sleepy Dogs is good, nice enough new take on open world standard'ness and a solid pulp story to get you through.

BUT VANQUISH.

Banjo: Nuts & Bolts easily. I love that game

Respect to Brad.

I feel exactly the same. Nobody seemed to take her to task. As it kept going, every time she repeated "it was very good" i wanted to pull my hair out and yell at someone to point out that that's not a real argument.

Totally agree.

I know everyone has individual experiences and I know it's a staff list but I think arguments for Dream Daddy were weak and everbody seemed afraid to go after it for some reason except Dan. And I couldn't help but shake my head at Battlegrounds taking top place. I think they just liked messing around in a multiplayer game. They kept talking about "the moments" in Battlegrounds but I remember vivid moments from certain Halo 2 and 3 competitive matches well over ten years ago that are incredibly player driven, creative and dynamic to an extent that much more evolves from amazing game design, wherein Battlegrounds these moments are only grown from design in that it's a team game where you only get into a firefight infrequently and it's an open map.

Obviously it was a tumultuous GotY debate for the whole game but nothing about the actual design in Battlegrounds is remarkable except that it funnels players together. Nobody hammered on the fact it's not actually a very well made game except Abby. I don't see how the section of the staff that was in no way impressed by it failed to put together coherent arguments, it's flawed in EVERY respect whereas games like Zelda were dragged over the same knife again and again and again and again and again.

What a frustrating listen.

I... kinda don't like Mario Odyssey.

I bought a Switch for it and I go between feeling pleasant enjoyment, slight boredom, irritation, and now that I'm in the end game: blinding rage.

I know the total consensus is that it's amazing so I'm probably just not the audience for a 3D Mario anymore(?) Which is an insane sentence considering Mario 64 was my introduction to gaming and remains one of my favourite games ever.

-I don't like how slow Mario moves. I don't like that you fight four variation on one boss (the rabbits) and I really don't like that you fight each variation four times over the course of the game. I absolutely hate the controls for the long jump. I don't like Cappy, he's a really dumb character. I don't like how pitifully easy it is until end game. I don't like the art style much, (some levels look great like the beach vacation and desert ones and others look pretty junky) I don't like how the game just hurls moons at you for basically just walking around. I don't like that when it gets hard I find myself fighting to control Mario/Cappy more than managing the level design. I don't like how repetitive it is, (going 2D was a great surprise the first couple of times, the 15th and 20th got pretty old)

/Ok, I admit. I'm angry, I only got to this point today so it's still fresh.

Once the difficulty in the end game ramps up, all the small irritations I had with it (but was pleasantly ignoring up to that point because the game was so easy) came right to the forefront. I was never loving the game. It was a little slow and kinda dull in places, I was in no way compelled to keep playing but I like to finish games and (like I said) it was easy and charming enough that I pressed forward hoping it would kick into gear at some point. When it finally turned the difficulty up I only found all my small issues became big issues and I ended up yelling at the tv and cutting my hand on something after punching the sofa. No game has made me angrier than Odyssey in a long time.

I'm so bummed.

(p.s. if you are one of the VERY many who love Mario Odyssey please don't take this personally. I feel like I can happily back up my claims but at the end of the day it's a matter of taste and it's different for everyone. I REALLY like that most people think this game is amazing, I'm just sad to not be among them.)

I will say, InFamous: Second Son plays really well. It suffers from weird pacing and repetitive design just like most open world games but it's still very solid. Also free on PS+ so WOO!

Really tried to like Mad Max and just found it SUPER boring. Didn't bother with any of the others.