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One thing I like about the limited space for recipes is that it forces me to think through what I know I'll need (max hearts, extra speed and stamina for climbing) and what I think I'll need (added defense, protection against electricity, maybe protection against heat). I mainly try to put 4 of something into a pot with some meat and go with that. I'm still experimenting with different things because I'm a creature of habit and sometimes only cook what I already know. When I first saw "dubious food" I thought I cooked it right. Silly me.

It's interesting that others have said that selling meals has helped with getting rubies, because I never thought to sell those. I just mainly collect the ore and try to sell those when I see a vendor. I have some monster parts that are way overstocked (like in the 100's for some) so I should work on selling half my stock at some point. Adding an acorn seems to boost whatever you're trying to make, so if you toss in some meat, maybe 3 things of defense, and then an acorn, my understanding is that the acorn intensifies the defense. I made one thing that had 15 hearts health and right now I'm at 11 hearts, so some recipes I've hung onto unless it's the only thing left I have to live on to beat a boss.

I don't have the game up, so I'm trying to recall...but if you talk to that guy by the shrine in front of the Gerudo city, he tells you that he's not spying but looking for someone who snuck into the town. And then when you talk to a guard outside by the entrance, she tells you about a bazaar that's nearby (or at least I think it was her). So if you head down the road from there, you'll see the bazaar where you'll need to talk to people to find out where you can find the person who was able to get in. Then you get a clue about what to do next to proceed in that part of the divine beast mission. A voe is Gerudo language for "man" so you'll need to find out how not to be a voe.

On the food part, all I can say is collect everything you see because it'll come in handy later. I like to use a marker on the map for when I find ore deposits in case I need to go and get more later so I can make money and buy some of the higher level gear using the ancient technology. A pack of bomb arrows costs 600 rupees and I bought a house for 3000 rupees so I'm building back up over time.

I just finished the divine beast that is a problem for the Gerudos last night, but you don't have to do that next. You can travel to the other places and try those next if you want, but the game doesn't hold back from giving you a difficult trip if you need to make better food and exlixirs. Some of the towers have their own challenges to overcome before getting to the top.

I think I'm close to the 10 hour mark right now. Something about the running from destination to destination makes me smile. One time I got caught up in the mountains and found my way from one mountain to another where there was a shrine tucked away. I bought some new clothes to help with armor, but I still feel like I'm vulnerable just running around. I know this might sound funny, but I feel like celebrating every victory. Every chest I find, or every critical arrow hit I get...there's a lot of reward in those moments. I ran out of arrows and panicked, too. So I try to find a camp and scour some from those that shot at me. I want to save my rupees for more advanced gear and bomb arrows.

I'm playing on the Wii U version (downloaded from eShop, plus update). I haven't tried playing solely on the gamepad, but the game is just a marvel. I can go hunting, foraging, and the Tips tell me there will be fishing later. I'm not the smoothest on the combat, but I've got some of the moves down, and I've learned some more tactics just recently that I'll employ. I also enjoy the part where when a weapon becomes weak and will break soon, Link has the option to throw the weapon and if it hits, there's double damage. I've really enjoyed the shrines. I think I've seen 7 so far, and the puzzles are clever. I read on the gamepage on the eShop that more than 100 shrines exist in the game. Overall, the combat flows for me as I switch between melee and bow, or use a rune and toss a bomb while sprinting as fast as I can. Also being able to switch between 1-h and 2-h weapons adds to the combat. Collecting the food and making better food reminds me a lot of Monster Hunter, another series that I have enjoyed playing.

My impression of the game is that it has been an excellent adventure so far, and I can see that continuing for a long time. I get a real enjoyment out of playing and I'm happy to report that here, in case there are readers who are might be looking at purchasing the Wii U version of the game.

I got a chance to watch the showcase tonight on the Wii U. The games that caught my interest were Runner 3, WarGroove, and Steam World Dig 2. I got enough cash to get the new Zelda in March at some point, but I won't be able to get a Switch until maybe June? I got dentist bills and taxes to pay in March, and because I need my teeth and don't want to go to prison because of tax evasion, I gotta prioritize. As it is, Fire Emblem Echoes is slated to release May 19 on the 3DS, and so having two strategy games to look forward to in 2017 is nice. I love getting into some of those every once and awhile.

I'm excited to see this indie lineup and look forward to trying some out here in 2017!

I like browsing through the Quick Looks if I'm interested in a game. Sometimes I also will tune in to the Live Shows and see what goes on there. The last marathon to raise money for kids was probably the most live content I've consumed in quite some time.

@morecowbell24: Good luck on the top 100 list. In 2016 I finished 12 shooters (FPS and third person combined) and really had a blast playing at my own pace. I started off the year with Bioshock (my 2nd time through) and basically ended the year with Bioshock: Infinite, which wasn't planned, just worked out that way. Something that I wanted to do was play John Woo Presents Stranglehold and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition - Colonies Edition to completion for the first, which is something I did accomplish. These games have their own unique way of telling stories and shooting mechanics, so I look at them in that light instead of the sometimes clunky controls or environments that can seem rather bland at times. John Woo is a master storyteller through his action sequences, so I appreciate that kind of work.

I actually have F.E.A.R. 3 on my stack to play soon, too, so I'm looking forward to that experience for the first time. I've noticed that I have more of a tolerance for the "scary" shooters of my yesterdays, so last year I finished Dead Space to completion for the first time. I'm working on Doom 3 now (the BFG edition) and having a good time. Audio logs always get me, which is why I like the Bioshock series a lot, too. I just realized recently, that the Riddick games are a blend of FPS and stealth, so I might try to tackle one of those titles later in the year. IGN had good things to say about the Xbox Riddick game back in the day.

I hope your plan on the list comes out the way that you want it. I seem to dig into shooters more and want to play to the end, something I've not had the joy of doing in a genre for quite awhile.

I wanted to write here to say that it's nice to read another blog about someone's adventures into some of the older FPS games. I recently got into shooters more than at any point that I can recall, so reading your thoughts about those titles was interesting to me. I played Medal of Honor: Airborne to completion for the first time last year. The Crysis series is one that I haven't dived into very much at all, so perhaps this will be the year for that. I did play Halo 3 last year, and I'll be looking at playing Halo: Reach within the next couple of months of 2017. If you haven't checked out the story in Call of Duty: Black Ops II yet, I think it was presented in a well-paced manner.

As a side note, what I realized is that playing the shooters in Dolby Digital sound really makes each game an unique experience, even when gameplay is not at its best. But when gameplay is at its best, say, Wolfenstein: The New Order, there's something special to it. And gaming is even more fun.

I actually turned away from playing a lot of RPG's and turned to FPS's this year. Not competitive multiplayer games, though. Just the campaigns. Moving from story to story and getting a blockbuster movie-type experience out of each game just works for me right now. But I can't get into RPG's anymore, either. I finished up Lost Planet tonight for the first time, for example. Interesting quote.

My track record for finishing games has had been pretty poor for the most part. I think a big reason for that was in the past I picked up and played a lot of RPG's and I would get to a certain point (usually around 35 hours) and then would get tired of playing. In rare cases, I even started over and played for an even longer time on my second time, and still quit. This happened with Xenoblade Chronicles X when I reached the 70 hour mark and stopped on my second time through. It seems I can't be a person who writes, "I'm at 100 hours now and I'm still going strong." That's just not me.

Which is fine. Instead, 2016 has been the 'Year of Shooters' for me, but not because of all the new releases. I've been in a money crunch situation this year, and because of this reality, I went diving into my backlog and started on a lot of shooters that I already owned. I wrote a few forum posts earlier this year about my decision to put a spending freeze on new/used games for close to 6 months and instead played Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, and Metro 2033. Those 3 games I did finish, and they are all awesome in their own way. I especially like the settings in each game, and how the settings add to the gameplay in different ways.

I bought 2 new games this year during the summer months: Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE and Monster Hunter Generations. I had a lot of fun with each title, but I didn't finish the story in Tokyo and MHG is not a game that I can keep playing for a long time. I wanted to when I started playing the games, but that didn't happen.

The conclusion that I've made is that I really enjoy shooters more now than I've had before. I've played 7 shooters recently and completed the campaigns in each: COD: Blops II, GOW3, MOH: Airborne, Dead Space, Stranglehold, Halo 3, and Red Dead Redemption. This basically means that when I start a new shooter, I try to finish the campaign, even if a level gives me a hard time 10-15 times in a row. I used to stop playing after a certain point, but now I plow through and want to see the story completed.

This answer is a tad long, but I wanted to answer the question by saying that I do feel compelled to finish every game I start, and the reason is because I found a genre that interests me and I want to keep playing different kinds of shooters. I don't mind playing first or third person, but the environments have to change in some way. After I played Dead Space, for example, I didn't want to play another space shooter right after. So I spread them out so I can enjoy the gunplay and the environments together, and that makes the experience pretty rad. Also, playing on a sound system that has dolby digital as an option really made Dead Space quite an amazing experience for me. I recommend playing games with dolby digital if you have the option.

I wanted to say thanks to @ravensword for starting this thread. Recently, I pulled out my Memorex tube and hooked up the PS2 using composite cables. Then here I realized I could try the component with my 720p TV to see if that looked okay. So tomorrow my new cable will come in and I can give it a go. Yesterday I changed the settings on the PS2 to say 'Full' instead of 4:3, and I've noticed a nice change. My Memorex is only 20" and the 720p is 32" and at first I got a headache partly because of the size change in TV's. But over time the headache went away, so that change to 'Full' on the PS2 settings seems to help out. I also did want to agree with @cheetoman because the 20" Memorex weighs a lot and is an uneasy carry for just 1 person.