Wraithtek

Yeah, exploration is always the biggest draw for me. Even if a lot of quests boil down to "go here, shoot some dudes, come back," I don't mind so much when I get to do it in this great big open world.

I subscribed when they did the Sid Meier's SimGolf video and haven't looked back.

Others have mentioned some streaming to TV options. At the very least, I'm sure you can download videos and play to your TV (through consoles, media devices, or smart TV). Or save to a USB stick, if you have a poor network connection between them.

I said it in another thread, and I'll say it again. I'm really surprised how much hate there is for this game, given how much I've enjoyed it.

Maybe it's because I haven't played very many big AAA open world games in the last year or two (so I'm not worn out on the genre), or because I don't have a big attachment to the western RPGs of the 90s (pretty sure the first one I ever played was Morrowind, which is from 2002).

While there are things about it that could be improved, and a few things are annoying (repeat settlement quests), it hasn't stopped me from having a lot of fun with it.

There are also many kinds of desserts you can make with peanut butter, beyond sandwiches.

First one that comes to mind are Special K bars. If you don't have Rice Krispies, use a similar puffed rice cereal. Special K (wheat+rice flake cereal) can be used, but I prefer the ones with rice krispies.

How I've always had peanut butter & honey:

• Two pieces of bread (usually not toasted)
• Optional: Spread a little margarine on each (or your preferred butter-like spread)
• Spread peanut butter on one slice
• Spread white clover-spun honey on the other
• Assemble
• Eat

Favorite was Drew's guide to watching F1. I'll admit, it didn't fully click with me until he takes the "wings" out of the oven.

Also liked ASMR with AXNR.

And:

was great, too. And Jason trapped under a pile of cables.

Darkadia is a good video game cataloging site that uses Giant Bomb's games database. When you add a game, it defaults to "Owned". You can also add "Played," if you've started it, and eventually "Completed." And if you're just done with the game (finished or not), flag it as "Shelved." The profile page has handy links to show "Unfinished" games (played, but not completed) and "Pile of Shame" (not played). On the Games page, you can specify any number of filters, and sort by date added, release date, title. There's also a Wishlist for anything not yet in your library.

Maybe I'm "soft," but I didn't expect Fallout 4 to be a huge leap in gameplay and storytelling vs. Fallout 3, or have the best graphics (technical) of any game this year, or be bug/jank-free.

I have 130 hours into the game and have not finished the main story. I haven't even been to the Glowing Sea. But I've really enjoyed the game so far. I'm playing on PC, with controller, and fortunately haven't encountered any serious/game-breaking bugs. (The bugs/jank I've hit are mild annoyances at worst.) While framerate has dipped into "bad" territory a few times, it's the exception rather than the rule. I understand console players have had it much worse, and that sucks. It's just not my experience with the game.

In one of the podcasts, Austin talked about how he would "pick a direction and just go," choosing (for a time) to simply explore on his own terms rather than following the main story's path through the world. That's what really gets me into these games. I'd be lying if I said the story didn't matter, but it's the big open world that's the real draw. I like the open world, the crafting, the visual design/color, the music, the character customization.

Put it this way: Fallout 4 may not be the best at any one thing, but it does so many different things (arguably, does them pretty well) and stitches them together in a way that keeps it all from falling apart/feeling disjointed. And it doesn't force you to spend tons of time on any of these aspects that you find unappealing (you don't have to go nuts building settlements or crafting guns if that doesn't appeal to you, apart from the few times they come up in tutorials/quests).

If I had played all the other open world games/RPGs this year, or had so many other games to get through for GOTY or review purposes, or if I was super-attached to the original Fallout games (pre-3), maybe my opinion would be different. And I'm not saying "If you hate the game, you're wrong, and here's why..." I'm just kind of surprised at the volume of negative and "meh" responses to the game, given how much I've enjoyed it.

1. Most Improved - for the game that most improves an existing franchise (counterpart for Best Debut), or the game that's most improved since launch (fixes, balance, updates, dlc).
2. Toys-to-Life Toy of the Year - aka "Amiibo of the Year".
3. Stupidest Product Placement of the Year
4. Alt+F1 Formula One Driver of the Year

I saw an article about this a while back, maybe this one. It sounds like they're trying to create a system where you automatically lose face and social standing when you do something of which the government does not approve. A system in which you are pressured to stay in line or put your personal, professional, and romantic relationships at risk.

Under the mandatory government "social credit" program, will you be penalized for the following? Criticizing the government. Talking about Taiwan. Discussing political protests/dissidents. Following controversial figures or publications. Buying literature, movies, or games the government deems questionable. Buying imported products instead of those made in China. Generating utility bills that are higher than average. Spending too much of your money on entertainment, liquor, cigarettes, fast food, etc. Donating to certain charities/non-profits. Having too many short-term relationships. Not having enough relationships. Complaining about your social credit score.

Will your social credit score affect any of the following? Whether you're admitted to a university. Whether certain employers will hire you. Whether a company will rent you a car/hotel room. Whether friends and family continue to follow you online. Whether you can participate in certain social media platforms, online forums, comments sections.

Are any of these totally unfeasible?

Imagine visiting the Metacitizen website and finding out that you've been rated 60 as a human being. Anyone, anywhere, can see your score. You can't opt out, and you can't debate your current score with those who maintain it. The site has a list of things that will raise your score, and a (very vague) list of things that will hurt your score. Now you get to choose whether to straighten up and fly right, conforming to everything that will help your score improve, or keep on making your own choices and risking the social/professional/financial consequences.