Forza Motorsport 3

Date played: September 29th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played 3 showcase events last night. The first was in the Race Driver Experience category where I got to drive a Lotus F1 car around Yas Marina at night. Those cars are absolutely incredible... Of course, they go really fucking fast and shifting through 8 gears manually is always a challenge, but the best part is the unbelievable braking and cornering. It's completely different from anything else in the game and it's quite exciting.

Next up was a Factory Spec event in the Formula Ford. Now, these LOOK like high end race cars, but they don't drive like them. The Formula Ford isn't all that fast and is actually quite drifty in corners, losing friction rather easily. They still handle pretty well, but it's jarring to drive a car that looks like that, then see it lose it's tail like John Bobbitt at every sharp corner.

The Caterham Superlight R500

Finally, I raced the beautiful but wild 2013 Caterham Superlight R500 in another Factory Spec race. Now that's a car that is fun to drive! It's very drifty, like the Formula Ford, but it's a lot more fun to wrangle back to stability. I had many moments where I put the car back on track with a giant puff of smoke behind me, cones flying in the air and tires screeching wildly.

Super Mario Maker

Date played: September 27th
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 10/10

After a week of playing Forza 6 pretty much exclusively, I finally went back to Super Mario Maker. I played a few levels that people made, including a little run through the easy 100 Mario challenge. It's a bit frustrating that most people make shitty levels. Lots of them are just badly designed, many are just filled with enemies and others are simply way too short. There's the occasional awesome level though. One of my brothers visited, so I had a good time making him play my levels, and my daughter's level! He liked what he played and thought most of what I made felt like real Mario levels, though he found one of them to be a bit too hard.

Most of my time was spent creating though. I made two levels, one in Super Mario World and the other in Super Mario Bros 3. The SMB 3 level  is called Running Shoes  and you can play it here: 23C1-0000-0078-BE2A. I tried making an easy level, since I have a tendency to make levels that I find challenging to myself. I've got a bit of theme going... Basically, the first half of the level is built around running across chasms where blocks are placed close enough to run over if going full speed. I've scattered some Chain Chomps and Goombas around.

The second part of the level requires that the player use Kuribo's shoe, the green sock thing that protects Mario's feet. I've built platforms that are covered with Chompers, stationary plant-creatures. Finally, I built a pipe underground that leads to a small pipe maze and eventually, the level's exit.

Wiggle Room: 7082-0000-0078-8B65

The Super Mario World level is called Wiggle Room and you can play it here: 7082-0000-0078-8B65. I'm very proud of this one as I put a lot of effort into it. The place is themed around Wigglers, the cute caterpillar things that get angry when hit. I've also used a lot of mushroom platforms to make it pretty. Most of the challenge in the level comes from pure platforming, my favorite part of any Mario game. I've even got a boss room where I put a giant angry Wiggler with wings that can't be defeated. The player must jump on it's head to escape the room safely. Towards the end, I've got a short section with platforms on rails, through buzz saws. I think it's easily my best level.

Skylanders Swap Force

Date played: September 27th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 7/10

As almost every Sunday morning, I played some video games with my daughter. We played Skylanders this week and completed a level set in a dark snowy mountain. By following a light, we were able to find and rescue the third of the mysterious elders, a giant frost puppy... There were villagers in the mountain and they had some mini-games for me to play to progress. I bobbed for apples in a water basin while avoiding explosive mines, I played a way too easy memory game and I guessed which cup held the prize by watching it move.

Then there was the boss battle against Mesmeralda, a puppeteer lady with 4 arms sent in by Kaos' mother. The battle itself was pretty tricky. I had to dodge a flurry of oncoming attacks by small enemies first, then I had to use a spotlight to reveal and stun the puppeteer and open her up for attack. It was one of the better battles in the game so far.

Mesmeralda

I played with Cynder, the purple dragon and managed to purchase all of her moves! I also played with Jade Fire Kraken and got all the moves for the head, but still have some stuff to buy on the feet. We must now start the journey to finding the fourth and final elder.

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 26th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played through two entire series and one showcase events, so that's 12 full length races. I started with a showcase event in GT cars around Spa, in the rain... I drove a heavily modified Ferrari around this very fast track.

Much of my time was spent in the my new Lamborghini Diablo SV, an iconic car from the 90's. That car is absolutely wonderful to drive and it's real fast, so I was able to win most of the races I entered. Forza 6 has a feature called "Forza Vista", which is basically a way to inspect the cars in extreme detail. You can open doors, hoods, trunks, power on the lights and the engine, sit in the driver's seat or the passenger's seat and even listen to some interesting narration. The Diablo has a very cool looking engine in the back that includes some writing that describes the firing order of the pistons! I got myself a sweet looking brown paint job for it too...

Well, that's one way to pass...

The next series was set in some low end GT cars, so I picked a cool looking Mercedes. All of the races in this series were set in the rain, so I was glad that my car had excellent grip and stability. It's the first series to exclusively feature some race cars, so that was pretty damn cool. 

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 25th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed a 6 race series in my new Lamborghini Aventador. That car can definitely compete, unlike it's cousin, the Huracán. The Aventador is fast, easy to handle and not too heavy. The series featured a bunch of tracks that have lots of elevation and bumpy roads, like Rio, Laguna Seca and Bathurst.

The Aventador shreds the streets of Rio

After completing the series, I played a few showcase events. I bowled with a Jaguar F-Type, then used the same car to race against the Stig. I've now completed all the Top Gear events and only have one last Stig race to unlock. Then I went to my favorite showcase category, the History of Motorsport. The event was a muscle car race on Road America. I didn't pick the fastest car, an old Ford Mustang, but it was good enough to get third place. Finally, I played a last event, a one lap race around Laguna Seca in modern muscle cars. I used the beautiful Camaro SS to get the win. 

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 24th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10

Well, the Lamborghini Huracán just couldn't cut it.

I continued the series I had started last time and I just got frustrated really quickly. The second track had a lot of big straights and the Huracán simply wasn't fast enough. I was getting passed by Ferraris left and right. I still love how that car handles, I could catch up a little bit in the corners, but it wasn't enough.

I backed out of there and got into the game's cover car, the 2017 Ford GT. That thing is a real beast. It's fast, it's easy to handle, it's powerful and best of all, it looks absolutely stunning. Once I got back on the track with it, I was easily able to compete with the top racers. I raced the beast in the rain and I just loved it. I think it was a good choice to change cars... After I completed the series, I decided to treat myself to another new car, a Lamborghini Aventador to use in the next events.

The 2017 Ford GT is glorious

My evening ended with one of the Race Driver Experience showcase events. I couldn't believe it, but I got to race a Formula E car! Those cars are completely electric and also very silent... There's a slight whine from the motor, but honestly, most of the sound came from the tires. Also, it was really difficult to gauge when to change gears. That's what made the race difficult... I couldn't listen to my car, I had to use the visual cues.

Mario Kart 7

That spot on the left between the windmills, that's a shortcut

Date played: September 23rd
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

During break at work, I played a 100cc Grand Prix with my friend. We had started a Grand Prix on the Mushroom Cup, but could only do 2 races before we had to get to work. Of course, I raced as Donkey Kong, as usual. My opponent used Yoshi. In the second race, Daisy Hills, there are a lot of windmills that act as obstacles along the way. My friend was actually really good in this race and I had to take advantage of the fact that I'm good at the gliding portions. I cut into the windmills on the left cut off my opponent at the last turn to take the victory! The other Grand Prix we played was the Flower Cup. I won all the races and my friend placed 4th in the end. 

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 21st
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 8/10

Last night, I decided to do the events that interested me the least in the Showcase events, to get them out of the way, really. This meant I spent a lot of time doing passing challenges, Bondurant Autocross and one on one races against The Stig.

For all that stuff, I reactivated the rewind function to avoid frustration. The Stig races were actually quite easy, because I fucking rammed that little asshole into concrete barriers, grass, sand or tire walls as soon as I could. This would give me the lead and I simply had to stay fast to win.

The passing challenges kind of suck honestly. For those, I had to bring the difficulty down one notch to "Highly Skilled" to win. There were even some events on the Top Gear Test Track, including one in a Jeep Cherokee SRT that felt real nice to drive. It was very powerful too. The best passing challenge was in a Formula 1 car against a whole bunch of old Mini Coopers. The F1 car has 8 gears and roars with it's high-pitched whine as it rages past the old cars. It was pretty satisfying.

The F1 car against a Mini Cooper

I also completed most of the Bondurant Autocross events, a weird event where I have to navigate through cone gates on the track as quickly as possible. This was pretty cool, and kind of difficult. It changed the nature of each track entirely. Finally, I started the next career event and picked a beautiful Lamborghini Huracán as my weapon for this series. I absolutely love how that car handles...

5th Annual 2015 Ottawa Pinball & Gameroom Show

Date played: September 20th
Platform: Pinball
Session fun rating: 10/10

Yes, there's a Pinball show in Ottawa! It's the first time I go and I was very much impressed. Basically, you pay 10$ at the door to get in and you can free play any of the machines. The machines are all owned by individuals and they just lug those things around in trucks to show them off and let people play them. It's a very cool concept and I had tons of fun.

The Ottawa Pinball and Gameroom Show

I played a lot of tables too... Dungeons & Dragons, Adam's Family, Dracula, Lethal Weapon 3, Elvira, Star Trek and Iron Man being the ones that stood out. I played a few more older tables too, some real vintage stuff. Adam's Family is cool because it has a bunch of funny sounds and some interesting mechanics. Dracula has a great little mini-game on the display where I shot zombies with the flippers.

Star Trek was easily my favorite table though, and I don't even like Star Trek. It has some awesome ramps, some fun multi-ball action and a giant Starship Enterprise that moves around and lights up in the middle of the playing field. I really wish I could afford a recent pinball machine for my basement, but it's ridiculously expensive. I'm very grateful for all these owners coming together and sharing their tables like that.

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 20th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 10/10

I'm really glad I bought this game... Forza 6 has really been keeping my attention. Honestly, the exceptional driving physics is what really keeps me coming back, though I also appreciate the variety in the special showcase events. I played through a 6 race series, using a Lexus RC F, a fun to drive, 2 door coupe. I put on a slick orange decal and raced through the events.

I got myself a new Dare mod that gives me 50% more credits if I use simulation damage and don't use rewind. I was already on simulation damage, but I realized I was using the rewind as a crutch to get through events easily. I put on the mod and haven't used rewind in any real races. I've only used it on a few showcase events that were a bit tougher. Rewind is always a tough thing in a racing game. On one hand, I like that it's there so that I don't have to restart longer events, but on the other hand, I feel like it really doesn't help me improve my game when I use it. I'm glad I turned it off...

I lead the pack in my Lexus RC F

I played a good amount of showcase events. I played a Track Shootout in a McLaren P1, so that was cool. I completed a 15 lap race around Lime Rock in a weird Lotus that was awful to drive. I mean, the damn thing has good speed and braking, but it loses traction very easily during turns. Most of my time was spent completing Top Gear Events, a series of wacky events set on the famous Top Gear track.

Two of the events had me literally bowling with my car. I had to hit as many bowling pins as possible during one lap around the track. In another event, I got to drive a classic 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air against other cars of that era. I drove an old Mini around the track against some old Fiats and Volkswagens. I sped in the wonderful Lamborghini Huracan. I even got and old Ford Bronco to buck on two wheels during high speed turns.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Fyrus, the boss of the Goron Mines

Date played: September 20th
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 8/10

The Goron Mines are now safe and the Goron elders have been saved!

The second dungeon in the game featured a lot of lava and many spots where the iron boots were needed. I used them to activate switches and walk under water, but more interestingly, to walk on walls and ceilings in special areas that are "magnetic". Maybe it's not science? Maybe it's just magic? Anyway, it was a pretty good dungeon, featuring magnetic crane puzzles and some awesome fire-breathing lizard enemies.

The mini-boss was a big, dumb Goron that I had to throw over the edge of a platform while wearing my iron boots. After three swims in the lava, he was done for. Eventually, I scored a new, powerful item, the bow! I used the bow to take out long range archers and rotating towers of laser-death. Then I fought the final boss, the Goron Elder who had been possessed by some evil force. The fight was cool, I had to shoot him in the head with the bow, then grab the chains that hung from his legs, put on the iron boots and pull to knock him down. I then simply whacked at his head with my sword for a bit until he got up, and repeated. I'm back in Kakariko Village now, the town starting to have more life in it now. I bought myself a nice metal shield before shutting off the game.

Towerfall

Date played: September 19th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

After a nice family dinner at the restaurant, and some casual social word games, we somehow ended up playing Towerfall for a bit. I was still as good as ever as the Turncloak Soldier, eternally battling The Last of the Order in intense dodging battles. The Vigilante Thief is getting better and better every time he plays, and must not be under-estimated. Ancient Exile was a bit of a wild card, being amazing in some plays, but awful in others.

Towerfall is always a great party game

We all got real excited when we had an opportunity to unlock a new character! The way it works, the players must defeat a series of monsters that spawn from the middle of the room. The problem is, usually people are so focused on killing the others that they don't even notice and die, or kill themselves. This time, the monsters appeared when the only remaining players were myself and The Last of the Order, so we quickly looked at each other and called a truce, an alliance. We defeated the monsters together, as a team, and won a new character. She is purple and has one of the best names in the game... Vicious Vessel. 

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 19th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played a shit ton of Forza 6's single player events. I started by playing a 5 race series featuring SUV's and trucks. I went with a Ford F150 SVT Raptor Shelby, a highly modified truck. I liked it a lot, it was faster than you would expect and it handled pretty well for a truck. However, it had one major problem... It's center of gravity is simply a little bit too high, and the fucking thing rides on it's two side wheels a LOT! This meant I really had to take it easy on some of the corners, specifically those that are uphill or downhill.

After winning the series, I spent a lot of time in the showcase events. There's a lot of variety there... I played some Chase events, where a modern car must pass older generations of itself. The older cars start the race with a significant lead. I did another passing challenge, this time in an Ultima GTR. I think I really don't like these events, they are difficult and not very fun. I played a few Track Shoutouts, which are always cool. I raced against Top Gear's Stig in a one on one race in an Audi R6. He's pretty damn fast, so since he was my only opponent, I just spun him out during a corner and won...

These race cars are really fun to drive

I tried out a new event type, the history of Motorsport, which features historical cars in classic events... When I say historical, I mean it too... The race I played was called Birth of Grand Prix Racing where I raced and old open wheel Maserati. It was a really cool experience and probably was my favorite event in the game so far.

Finally, in the Race Driver Experience, I drove an insane car, a prototype race car of some sort. It's absolutely bonkers. It accelerates like a rocket and brakes even faster. I drove it around Spa at night and honestly, I'm glad I only had to grab third place because I just couldn't catch up to the first two drivers. I also played a couple of very fun events in heavily modified touring cars and some V8 Supercars. One of those races was set in the rain at Sebring. Those cars feel real good and are fun to drive. They are also very stable, which was great for those big puddles of water around the track.

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 18th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 8/10

Night racing is definitely more challenging than normal racing... I played through one career series, a 4 race event all set at night. I picked a B class Honda (Acura?) NSX from my garage and did my best to win in the darkness. I won the first race, but placed 2nd and 3rd in the remaining 3 races. I don't think I was really doing anything wrong, I think I just don't like the NSX too much. It loses traction a bit too fast in the corners I find...

The simple act of braking looks pretty at night

The game looks incredible at night, with each car projecting it's individual headlights onto the track and other cars. Even the brake lights look dramatic! On top of that, the heating of the wheels under heavy braking glow red with the heat from the brake pads. Also, the headlights can be broken when there is a collision, which is a very very bad thing. 

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 17th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10

I went back to the career mode and completed the next series, a 6 race event. It turns out, class D isn't the slowest, I hadn't noticed that there are also class E cars. I decided to pick the Classic Compact class and bought myself a nice little car, a 1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R. Of course, it's rather slow in general, but it holds it's own in it's class quite well.

I played the 6 events with it, set on American courses. The Daytona race was set at night and it just looked spectacular, with the spotlights flooding the track in some sections, while being almost pitch black in others. Other tracks are more standard fare, like Road Atlanta or Indianapolis. The final track was Laguna Seca, one of my favorite racetracks in the world. I know this track very well, from years of playing Gran Turismo, Forza and other circuit racing games. This version of it has some very impressive airborne dust just before the last corner, it just looks fucking cool.

During the series, I pumped up the difficulty another notch up to Expert, since I was always a solid 4 or 5 seconds ahead of the second place car. On Expert, I still win, but it's a bit tighter. I tried out the showcase events too. I drove a Mazda MX-5 in an 8 lap factory spec race around Laguna Seca, where all cars are exactly the same. I also did a passing challenge in a 2017 Ford GT as it blared past a bunch of old Beetles. The objective is to reach a certain number of "passes". On Expert, it was too hard, requiring 81 passes in 2 laps. I dropped it down to highly skilled and had to pass 74 cars.

Back on Expert difficulty level, I tried out The Track Day Shootout events. They pit famous cars against each other in a single race. For example, I raced a recent Subaru Impreza WRX STI against a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO and another car that I forget... maybe an Audi? The next one had me racing in a Mercedes against an Aston Martin, a BMW a Jaguar.

Everything about Forza 6 is lots of fun, I just wish I was playing it right now!

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 16th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 10/10

I started by completing a couple of career races with my trusty Fiat 500, including a race in the rain on Sebring Raceway. The more I play this game, the more I appreciate the incredible attention to detail. For example, the clock on the car's dashboard shows the real time. The hatch wiper is active when it rains. Water puddles get bigger and bigger as the race progresses. Brake marks on the pavement remind the player of the big crash from earlier in the race.

The rest of my evening was spent racing online and was quickly reminded that some people are real fucking dicks.

Don't get me wrong, I still had a great time playing online! I took my Fiat 500, equipped it with a better tune, and joined a D class lobby, the slowest class. At first, I had a hard time because people don't drive at all like a computer controlled opponent. The grid can have up to 24 players, so of course, things get hectic real fast. Some people can't drive and try to compete by slamming into others at full speed, causing spectacular, terrifying crashes and pile-ups. Others deliberately play dirty, even if they can drive well. PIT maneuvers and nasty last minute blocks are pretty common.

The result of people being human-sized penises

Fortunately, it's not all bad. I stuck to the same lobby all evening, which meant I started to know the racers pretty well. I knew I had to stay clear of White Hawk, that fucker would ram people every chance he got. I knew I wouldn't see PEEW the whole race, since he would always be in first place. I knew if I ran across DrPepper, he would play clean. I even put on my headset and chatted with the guys!

Eventually, I started doing better by recognizing the style of the others and adapting to playing against real players. I didn't quite manage a podium, but I had a few 4th, 5th and 6th places. A few times, I still got knocked to the back of the pack by some unfortunate accident, but I always managed to stay in the top half of the grid. I have a feeling I need to play with the tuning of my car to really get it competitive enough to get on the podium, or maybe the guys I was playing with were just too good for me.

Even better, the money and XP rewards are really good during online play. I managed to level up a few times and during my prize rolls, I scored a million credit prize, a Ferrari 458 and a Pagani Huayra! I can't wait to get back into the game and race some more, maybe I'll even try some faster cars next time, like C class or something.

Forza Motorsport 6

Date played: September 15th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 10/10

Driving a car in Forza 6 feels absolutely amazing!

I was very much enjoyed the demo and honestly, it's just been too long since I've played a good simulation racer. Don't get me wrong, Forza Horizon 2 was fucking incredible, but there's something special about racing around a real circuit. I jumped into a Honda S2000 and played the first few events.

One of the first things I had to do was configure the difficulty and assists. By default, the game has way too many assists... I made the driving line show up only for braking, I turned off auto-braking, changed steering to normal mode, turned off stability control, put on simulation damage and set up a manual transmission. I also boosted the AI to "Highly Skilled" to give myself a bit of competition, though I still win most races.

I definitely like the S2000, it has a good amount of power and doesn't understeer, which I like. The race tracks are all spectacular, but I was most impressed by the amazing cobblestone streets of Prague. There's something really special about the force feedback in Forza. Having the controller rumble at different intensities when accelerating, braking and turning is very helpful. Even better, the gas and brake triggers have their own independent force feedback, something that is unique to the Xbox One and is used very skillfully here.

I roar around the Alps track in my faithful 500

Eventually, I got out of the races and started fiddling with cars. I bought my first car, an Abarth 500. I drive a Fiat 500 in real life, so I was happy to see that the car is very accurately modeled. I drove it in the Hot Hatch series and really like how it handles. Obvsiouly, the car I'm driving in the game is a lot more powerful than my real car, but it still had the same "feel" as my car. I modeled the color and rims to be as close as possible to my real car!

I am really pumped to play more Forza, I wish I didn't have to wait until work is over to do so!

Super Mario Maker

Date played: September 14th
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 9/10

I made an SMB 3 level, set in a castle.

This time, I tried to really focus and have a real theme going, to make it feel like a real level. I called it Skeleton Crew and you can find it here: D13E-0000-003A-8045. Basically, The course is based on falling donut platforms, lava, flamethrowers, a few Thwomps, a few doors, a skeleton train, a Bowser battle and tons of Dry Bones. I was very careful to ensure the level flows well and isn't too hard, but is still challenging.

Skeleton Crew

I'm finding that it's pretty easy to create a level that is too hard. It's always tempting to put more shit that can kill the player, but the best levels have self-control. I hope my level is fun and that many people play it...

I also played a few levels that friends have made, including this one girl who makes puzzle levels, each with their own fun solution. It's really cool to see what people can do with this powerful editor. Unfortunately, there's also a bunch of junk in there, like people stacking a bunch of giant Bowser's and putting a star at the beginning, but I guess that really can't be helped.

Super Mario Maker

Date played: September 13th
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 10/10

As soon as I got into the game, making a fourth level, my 5 year old daughter asked me if she could put a mushroom. I handed her the tablet controller and showed her how to use the menus and the stylus. Within minutes, she was creating a full level all by herself! It's set over a lava pit, has a winged mushroom at the beginning, a couple of rotating fire barriers, some fireballs and a series of three collapsing skull trains, each spaced accurately.

Finally, there's a final encounter with Bowser, or "The Boss" as she put it. I played the level and was surprised to see that it worked almost perfectly right away. We had to make a few minor adjustments, like moving the mushroom a little closer, but for the most part, she fucking nailed it... She made her mother and uncle play the level too, pride beaming from her smiling face. I'm really proud of the level she made, we called it "Bowser d'Alice", French for "Alice's Bowser".

Fight or Flight

Feeling inspired, I set about making a full New Super Mario Bros level. Early on, I decided to make it so that if the player finds the hidden propeller hat costume, they can fly above most of the danger in the level, and get a 1UP out of it. I really took time to ensure things were spaced properly and rather difficult, without being unfair. I used coins to guide the player and help them notice hidden paths.

I have two pairs of Hammer Bros in there and even a final wall that must be blown up by a Bob-Omb to progress...unless you have the propeller hat of course! I called it "Fight or Flight" and you can play it here: C5A4-0000-0034-1EF8. I've unlocked the castle set, the airship set and the Super Mario Bros 3 theme! I'm excited to try out the new stuff...

Super Mario Maker

Date played: September 12th
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 9/10

Super Mario Maker is finally available!

The game is basically a creation tool, sort of like LittleBigPlanet, but a lot simpler to use. There are themes based on Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. At first, the game only allows SMB and NSMB levels with a day and a cave environment. There's also only a few items available to use in edit mode.

I started with a very basic and short level SMB level, just to get a hang of the mechanics. I set it during the day, put a few challenging jumps, but nothing too harsh and shared it to the online community. The sharing aspect works very well, with players able to comment on a course or give it a star. Stars allow the creator to upload more levels. Right now, someone gave me one star and I have 10 spots on the server to upload levels. In fact, for those of you who have access to the game, here is the code for my first level: A75B-0000-0022-F173.

As I played, I unlocked more items, blocks and enemies, so I made an underground level in SMB. I'm enjoying putting in alternate paths or secret 1UP mushrooms in more challenging portions of the level. My second level is a lot longer, but has fewer elaborate sections. I called it Foot Soldiers, because I put a ton of Goombas in the last section of the level. Here is the code for that one: 5DB7-0000-0023-613E.

My water level!

Finally, I made a third level in the NSMB theme, but I set it underwater. This is the one I'm most proud of because I built it as a risk vs reward kind of level. I built a path for small Mario and a path for Super Mario. The small Mario path is super easy. The Super Mario path is harder, but has quite a few 1UP's hidden in it. Here is the code: 9C14-0000-0029-9560.

I played some levels that people made too of course. There's a fun mode that gives you 100 lives to clear either 8 or 16 random levels. I played through an 8 level challenge and saw some good stuff, some bad stuff and some crazy stuff. I also tried out some of the top levels in the world and found that many of them rely on weird gimmicks, like not touching the controller or just holding down run. They look cool and took tons of effort, but they are not Mario levels... I can't wait to build more levels, I just unlocked the castle set, so I'm excited to try it out!

Multiplayer Mayhem!

Date played: September 11th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

Last night was one of the most epic gaming nights I've had in a long time. We ended up being about 7 or 8 guys playing Rocket League all night, with a few matches of Towerfall sprinkled in. Rocket League is a very special game in a lot of ways. Pretty much anyone can pick it up and play it within a match or two and it's instantly gratifying. Of course, those of us that had more experience were a lot better, but it worked really well throughout the night.

We had so much fun, that we started giving each other some nicknames based on our playstyles. The first was Snake. He's kind of a dribbler and when he scored, it often felt... snake-like. Then there was Spider, who likes to hang out on the walls and boards of the arena. Moose was our expert goaltender. Tiger was the close range striker. Wildcat was a bit of a misnomer. We also called him Cockroach and Rat. Basically, he was a sneaky fucker, always coming out of nowhere.

Finally, I was named Eagle for my high speeds and sniper-like, high velocity shots. I even managed a wonderful aerial goal, rocket boost and all. It was an amazing night. Split-screen gaming is very special. The experience is impossible to replace with online gaming.

Transistor

Date played: September 9th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

The last time I played Transistor, I loved it, but I never played it again until last night. The incredible music pulled me right back in... It's unusual for a game like this to have full vocals in the background music and honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often because it works very well.

I continued progressing through the city, discovering hints about what happened to all it's residents. It's kind of unclear, but I think the game is set inside a computer program or something. Then the bad guys are "The Process", and my functions are based somehow related to specific people. Transistor is actually the name of my sword, and narrator. He is an intelligent being somehow, but again, stuff is unclear about the story in this game.

Red is more than a badass warrior, she is also a wonderful singer!

What I know for sure is that the game plays very well. The gameplay systems are very unique and fun to use. Each function can be assigned to be active, upgrade or passive. The number of combinations and different effects is absolutely insane... I got a few new functions and a bit more power to equip more functions at the same time. Charm is my favorite, as it can be used to turn enemies into friends for a short time. I actually use it as a passive ability which makes it so that every time I defeat an enemy and collect it's cell, there is a high chance that a small unit will spawn to help me defeat the remaining enemies.

There's also a sort of power bomb function, a quick fire laser and a "Help" robot. I have set up some pretty cool combos and I love experimenting with the different functions. I love Transistor and will definitely keep playing it, at least until Super Mario Maker is in my hands...

Rocket League

Date played: September 9th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

I finally played a few ranked matches, I wanted to see what it was like. I did relatively well there, but clearly, the skill level is a little bit higher than normal matches. In normal matches, when a player quits, he is replaced by an AI until a new player can be found. In ranked matches, if someone quits, that's it, that person is just gone. I ended up playing a match where one of our team quit in the first few seconds, so it was a 3 vs 2 the whole time.

Believe it or not, we won 3-0.

It's satisfying to blow up a guy, then score in the wake of his exploding carcass

I guess 2 good players are better than 3 average players... I played a few more ranked matches but didn't like that people quit a lot, so I went back to normal matches rather quickly. I had Spotify playing in the background and put on a metal playlist, then a skate punk playlist. It fit the game rather well I think.

Rocket League

Date played: September 7th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

I plow through the opposition to score a goal

I had a beast of a night at Rocket League! Even though I lost a few matches, whenever I had teammates that play at a minimum of competency, we won. I managed a few spectacular goals, so I'll just let the videos speak for themselves...

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 7th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 7/10

I finished Batman: Arkham Knight!

The last segment of the game was actually pretty poor in terms of gameplay, it was almost all just a big cutscene. Batman goes to the movie studios and confronts Scarecrow directly as Gordon and Robin watch. Scarecrow forces Batman to remove his gadgets or he will kill my two friends. Scarecrow told Batman to get on a truck, where I had more hallucinations, this time a flashback to Crime Alley where Bruce saw his parents murdered.

When I reached my destination, Scarecrow forced Batman to remove his mask while broadcasting the images to the press... Scarecrow injected fear gas into Batman's body using a syringe and that's when the crazy hallucinations came back. What followed was a very odd scene where I played as the Joker and had to fight a bunch of thugs in the "Jokermobile", a modified version of the Batmobile. There was even a segment where I had a shotgun and played from the first person view. Basically, the whole thing was a way to show that Bruce Wayne was shutting out the Joker from his mind, winning the battle against the hallucinations.

Batman came real close to just... being the Joker

Finally, as Batman lay strapped to a chair while Robin and Gordon looked on, for once, someone came to rescue the dark knight... Jason Todd, former Robin and defeated Arkham Knight, came back as Red Hood and saved me from Scarecrow with a few well placed rifle shots. I finally jailed Scarecrow.

Now, I ran into a bit of a technical problem with the game after this. Batman talks with Alfred and tells him it's time to activate "Knightfall Protocol". Unfortunately, the game asks that I apprehend another most wanted criminal, and the only one I have left is the Riddler. I fucking hate doing the Riddler stuff and I still had about 200 trophies and puzzles to solve to capture him, so I said fuck it and watched the ending on Youtube. It seems the game wants you to complete a certain percentage of the stuff you haven't completed yet before activating the ending. The problem for me was that I had completed almost everything... I thought it was a real shitty way to handle it.

On Youtube, I saw that Batman just goes to his house and blows up the fucking place in front of a bunch of reporters. Apparently, there is a different ending if the game is 100% complete, so maybe I'll watch that one too. I absolutely loved Arkham Knight, even if I didn't really like the last hour or so. It's one of the best open world action games I've played.

Forza Motorsport 6 demo

Date played: September 7th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10

I've always loved the Forza series. I spent hours and hours in the first three games, Forza 2 being the one that held my interest the most. However, I never played Forza 4, mainly because I wasn't playing much on the Xbox 360 at that time, and never played Forza 5 since I didn't get an Xbox One until a bit later. I did spend quite a bit of time in Forza Horizon 2 this summer and fucking loved it.

Forza 6 is coming out soon and honestly, it looks to be one of the best racing games ever made, at least, that's the impression the demo gave me. Of course, it handles like a dream, as every Forza game does. It looks spectacular, with a stable 60 FPS across the board, 24 cars on track, exquisitely detailed interiors and sprawling, animated landscapes. It sounds amazing too with the roar of the engines and the screech of the tires on tarmac.

The demo features a quick introductory race, three qualifying events and one special event. I got to drive the sexy new Ford GT 2017 in the intro, but most of the assists were turned on, so it wasn't really the experience I was looking for. I picked a Toyota GT 86 for my qualifying events and turned off most assists, with the exception of traction control and ABS. I also pumped up the opponent difficulty quite a bit, otherwise it was way too easy.

The three events showcased the game pretty well, including a night race and a race in the rain, both being new features to the series. Wet racing was particularly impressive. I mean, I've raced in the rain plenty of times in other games, but the way this game feels in the rain is unmatched. For example, racing through a large puddle feels exactly like it does in real life. It's hard to describe in words, but I quickly learned to fear the puddles and slow down when I approached them.

There was also a special event that put me in the cockpit of an Indy car around Indianapolis. The oval track was fun in it's right, allowing for breakneck speeds and a real sense of danger. I love what I've played of Forza 6 and am utterly convinced that I need to play this game when it comes out!

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 6th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

Deathstroke is the mercenary that was hired by Scarecrow to take over when the Arkham Knight was defeated. He has a grudge against Batman, but money is his first motivation. I managed to take out all of the landmines, watchtowers and militia checkpoints across the city. While it certainly took some effort to complete it all, I had to resort to a guide to find some of the locations... One security checkpoint had me looking around like an idiot in particular. Some of the battles in those locations were pretty tough, requiring a lot of precision and quick thinking during combat.

After clearing out all that stuff, I was able to take on Deathstroke himself. He rode a large tank with 360 degrees of visibility and was protected by a few Cobra tanks. I took him out with the Batmobile and jailed him at the GCPD.

Drones attack the GCPD

Scarecrow wasn't quite done with us though. He still holds Gordon captive, and possibly Robin too. He organized a large scale drone and soldier attack on the GCPD itself, trying to free the prisoners. This was easily the biggest drone battle in the game yet. Thankfully, Oracle was there to help a bit by hacking into some of the tanks and creating EMP's every once in a while. After the tanks were destroyed, I had to protect the GCPD from soldiers dropping in from helicopters. Again, these were some of the more difficult battles in the game, with tough soldiers and high end equipment. I took them out and must now head to the movie studios to stop Scarecrow!

Rocket League

Yeah!

Date played: September 6th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a few games of Rocket League with my youngest brother when he visited. We played some 2 VS 2 mainly, and one 3 VS 3 match. Our first game was really rough, I think both of us were a bit rusty, but it didn't take long before we were dominating every game, including an epic 6-0 win. From simple bank shots on the boards to tense high speed chases and aerial hits, we did it all and won it all...once we were warmed up of course. 

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 5th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

I know who the Arkham Knight is...

Commissioner Gordon was still held captive by the Arkham Knight, but the path to him was blocked, so I had to find a different way in. I found some underground tunnels that led me to the right spot, only to be chased by the Knight, riding a huge tunnel digging vehicle. I basically had to lure him to some areas of the tunnel that were rigged with explosives to damage the vehicle. After taking enough damage though, he managed to trap me into a corner and destroyed my precious Batmobile!

I got inside the room where Gordon was held, but the Knight followed and set himself up on a perch, armed with a sniper rifle. I had to solve some pretty rough stealth rooms to get under him and damage him. When I beat him, it was revealed that the Knight was none other than Jason Todd, the first Robin! I thought he was dead, but it turns out, he wasn't and was so pissed at Batman for leaving him for dead that he decided to hunt him down and kill him...

The Arkham Knight, also known as Jason Todd, the first Robin

In an painful twist of events, Batman and Gordon reached Scarecrow, only to discover that Barbara wasn't dead after all! The suicide scene was all an elaborate setup by Scarecrow... To save his little girl, Gordon turned his gun on Batman and shot him in the chest and tossing him out the side of the skyscraper. Scarecrow being the awful person that he is, betrayed Gordon and threw Barbara off the building as well. Thankfully, Batman wasn't really injured by the gunshot, so he saved her in the nick of time. Lucius Fox sent the backup Batmobile (it's white!) and I had to find a different way to stop Scarecrow and save Gordon, though Barbara is now safe at the GCPD.

Barbara reprises her role of Oracle, but from the GCPD. To get some info on Scarecrow, she needed access to some files in her clock tower hideout, so I had to clear the thugs out of that area. I stopped and did a few side missions here. I completed the Azrael missions, those were pretty cool. I also saved a reporter from some cultists, cleared out some militia towers and bases and took out a few drones.

Finally, I saved the last few firefighters, only to discover that the Chief of the fire department had given access codes to the buildings that were targeted by Firefly... The man simply wanted to create work for his men, but that still makes him a criminal. I locked him up in the GCPD.

Skylanders Swap Force

Date played: September 5th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 6/10

My daughter and I played through one level, where we had to get a big shining light that would eventually help us light the way to a large ice mountain, where the third ancient must be saved. The level featured a ton of snowy enemies and hilarious snowball fights. I often had to man some large catapults to take out some large snowball canons.

This is the light crystal I had to collect

I played mostly with Cynder, the purple dragon with poison abilities, and Ninja Stealth Elf, a strong melee fighter. Cynder is one of my favorites to play as, since she can leave a trail of damaging ghosts in the wake of her underground glide attack. It's really effective and fun to use. 

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 4th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

Poison Ivy was a bit too hasty in attacking the Arkham Knight and Scarecrow's cloudburst with her over sized plants... So much, that the bad guys decided to release the gas and engulfed Gotham City in it, creating pure chaos in the streets. Batman went back to the airships to find Simon Stagg, the guy who engineered the cloudburst, in order to find a way to disperse the gas. After clearing out some fun stealth rooms on the ship, I found the scientist and got a thing to put in the Batmobile. This would allow the car to function within the fear gas.

Batman bravely, but foolishly jumped into the gas, got into the Batmobile and hunted down the Arkham Knight and his tank, the source of the cloudburst. Batman's hallucinations and his freefall into insanity are getting worse and worse, with Joker showing up more often than ever. I fought the Arkham Knight's tank in an epic battle! It was really tough actually, since his tank is huge, has an immense cannon and is fast as fuck. I literally had to shoot him, then run the fuck away until he lost sight of me. I took out the tank and the cloudburst device with it. When I took off the Arkham Knight's mask, all I could see was the fucking Joker... Confused, Batman let him go and set out to disperse the gas that clouded the city.

Gotham City, submerged in fear gas

There was a large segment where I had to find another plant underground to help Poison Ivy make it grow. Using the Batmobile, I had to navigate a series of puzzles and obstacles. I got to the tree and Ivy was able to clear the gas with her plants. Unfortunately, it took so much energy that it took her life...

With the fear gas gone, I went back to the GCPD to investigate a mysterious signal being broadcast on the SWAT team's radio frequency. When I got there, I found that it was actually commissioner Gordon who had been taken captive by Scarecrow's men. Before going there, I cleared out the remaining towers and militia headquarters, and saved a firefighter. I also completed a short side quest where a man from Bruce Wayne's childhood had undergone dramatic cosmetic surgery to look just like Bruce... He got into Wayne Tower, seeking revenge on Bruce for foiling his plans to kill his parents when he was a child. He took Lucius Fox hostage, so I was forced to reveal my identity to him, then knock him out and keep him captive in the tower.

I also picked up a new gadget at the GCPD, an electrical charge device. This lets me send out a electric charge to shock enemies or activate electric devices. This allowed me to take on the final Riddler challenge and save Catwoman. The final puzzle room was pretty cool, it was sort of a tile puzzle like kids play with, but with lasers and saw blades. Catwoman is free! The Riddler wouldn't confront me directly until I found all of his trophies and solved all his riddles, so that's never going to fucking happen... I must now save Gordon.

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 3rd
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

Shit just got real... So there were 4 people that had been infected with Joker's blood that were held inside some isolation cells. These guys all took on characteristics of the Joker himself, except for one man. There was also a 5th cell, that was empty. Robin was in charge of researching the man who didn't show any symptoms in order to find a cure.

Unfortunately, Harley Quinn, the Joker's insane right hand, made a big return by breaking into the movie studios where the infected were held and freeing them all. With Robin's help, Batman infiltrated the facility and taking out the three loose Jokers and Harley Quinn. The first was a woman who was well protected by a series of thugs. The next was a charming singer who had placed a set of explosives around the room as he sung like a crooner. Batman couldn't do anything without him blowing up the whole place, so I got to control Robin and take out the explosives stealthily as the man sung. Finally, the third was huge brawler that where Batman and Robin had to fight together to defeat.

I managed to knock out Harley Quinn shortly after, thanks to a new gadget, a voice modulator. This allows Batman to send commands to the enemies by pretending to be their leader. When we got back to the isolation rooms, the fourth, uninfected man was waiting for us. It turns out, he was infected after all and decided to shoot and kill all the other Jokers, then shot himself in the head.

Harley Quinn is annoying, but she's a great villain

As all of this was happening, Batman's hallucinations became worse and worse. Robin asks that Bruce enter an isolation room to avoid becoming a real threat to the city... In a horrible turn of events, Batman decides to imprison Robin instead and go after Scarecrow. It seems that Batman was the 5th person infected with Joker's blood... Fuck. Also, he's been lying a whole fucking lot, to Gordon, to Robin and even to poor Alfred...

Anyway, I got out of there, Robin still locked up, and discovered that the Arkham Knight had sent reinforcements into the city, creating a slew of new side missions like towers, militia headquarters, landmines and aerial drones. I spent a good amount of time clearing up that stuff. I also continued chasing down the Penguin's weapon caches. The evil businessman managed to capture Nightwing, so I had to rescue my friend. I captured the Penguin, saved Nightwing and took him back to the GCPD.

I also continued the series of missions to save Catwoman from the Riddler. Again, these side missions are some of the best in the game, each puzzle requiring quite a bit of thought, but also some skill. My favorites are the Batmobile obstacle races, they require speed, skill and fast thinking. I can't do the final mission yet because, as Riddler puts it, I lack intelligence, but also, the right tool. That means I need a gadget I have yet to find...

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 2nd
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

The side quests in Arkham Knight are really cool... I spent a chink of my evening doing those and caught a few high profile criminals. The guy who was crucifying people turned out to be a deranged man with serious psychological problems who acted like a pig. I mean, we're talking pig snorts, a big pink belly and a pig mask. He surgically "enhances" people, and the crucified ones were his failed experiments. I fought him in his lair and had to counter when he threw a series of butcher knives at me... I took him back to the GCPD and locked him up.

I also took out Firefly, the arsonist with a jetpack who was symbolically attacking the city's fire stations by chasing him once again in the Batmobile. Next on the list was Two-Face. He's been attacking the city's banks with his thugs, simply to steal money, as any worthy criminal would. These missions were increasingly elaborate, requiring both speed and stealth. Those thugs are well armed and very dangerous. I had to use most of my Batman skills to succeed, but eventually, I captured Harvey Dent himself and drove him to GCPD.

Batman interrupts Two-Face's bank robbery 

Azrael signaled he was ready for another challenge by burning the Batman symbol into roof of a building. His fights are pretty cool since I can't take any damage at all to win. I had to start over a couple of times to fight the thugs, but it was nice to have a good challenge. Next, I chased down another weapons cache used by The Penguin and blew it up. It's fun to track his vehicles from the skies, then attack the caches with Nightwing. I also took out the remaining towers and most of the militia outposts. I intend to get back to saving Catwoman from the Riddler next time I play...

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: September 1st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

Batman has teamed up with Poison Ivy to neutralize the fear gas created by Scarecrow. To do this, Ivy must make some giant plants grow to produce the counter-toxin. I used the Batmobile to scan below the city and find the roots of old trees and plants, then defend the growing tree from enemies wielding rocket launchers... Yeah, it's stupid and insane, but it's really fun!

The game has three main islands and I've pretty much cleared the first two of all enemy forces and side missions, at least, I've done what was available to me. The only thing I'm not really doing are the Riddler trophies. There's something like 250 of these little fuckers strewn around the city and honestly, it's not much fun trying to get them, so I think I will ignore that stuff. The third island was a problem since I couldn't use the Batmobile on it, and in turn, couldn't defeat the drone tanks and complete many of the side missions.

I loved these APC chase missions!

When I continued the story, I got to a point where we had to find the "Cloudburst", the distribution system Scarecrow wants to use for his fear gas. The best way to find that thing is to use the Batwing, the incredible aircraft, to remotely scan the area. Unfortunately, missile launchers and aerial drones protected the area, so I had to go and take that shit out on foot.

After taking out a few drones and some radars, using a variety of gadgets and fighting enemies that were tougher than ever, I set my sights on the missile launcher. After clearing the control room and it's surroundings, the Arkham Knight himself showed up and tried to stop Batman! I got a hold of him and was close to finding his identity, but he fled and left me with his militia... I then had to remotely control the Batmobile to take out the missile launcher. I could now bring the Batmobile and the Batwing onto the third island.

I spent the rest of my time completing side missions here and there. I defeated all of the APC's in the city. Those missions were pretty fun as they were really just a big Batmobile chase with missiles. I cleared out a few watch towers and militia headquarters. One of the more difficult challenges was to disable the land mines around the city, as they are protected by a big army of drones and tanks. Some of these fights were really difficult, there were literally dozens of drones swarming around the Batmobile... I chased Firefly once more, but haven't caught the arsonist yet. I found the last crucified body and now have a location for the killer. I destroyed another of the Penguin's weapon cache with Nighwing's help. Finally, I stopped a bank robbery in progress, being run by Harvey Dent, Two-Face himself. 

Batman: Arkham Knight

Date played: August 31st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

Man, this game goes dark places...

I continued chasing down Scarecrow in the airships. There were a lot of big battles here, as well as a few challenging stealth rooms. The game is at it's best when there is a large room with a ton of guards roaming and Batman must take them out from the shadows. It feels fucking awesome. Along the way, I discovered that Scarecrow was using the airships to build a device that could unleash fear gas on the whole city. I managed to stop them from releasing it, but it's only a temporary solution.

Batman's fear gas hallucinations are getting worse and worse. I keep seeing the Joker all over the place, teasing Bruce Wayne. Those sequences are very well written, funny and dark at the same time. The voice actor for Joker is none other than Mark Hamill, known as Luke Skywalker, and he does an amazing job with the role. I managed to reach Scarecrow, but was hit with more fear gas. In a great moment, Batman hallucinates and imagines himself shooting Scarecrow in the head with a revolver. That's fucking blasphemy for Batman... he simply does not kill.

Fear gas takes hold of Batman...

Scarecrow got away, so I used the new clues to find Barbara Gordon, also known as Oracle, or Batgirl. In a horrific turn of events, she gets infected with fear gas and shoots herself in the head, dying in front of Batman... It was a powerful scene. The hero decided that Poison Ivy could help him, since she is immune to the fear gas, thanks to her special plant-like abilities. I grabbed her from the GCPD and stowed her in the Batmobile.

I completed a few side quests here and found the vampire bat monster again. I chased him in the air then injected him with anti-serum, though it wasn't quite enough to make him normal again. 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Date played: August 31st
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a bit of Twilight Princess with my daughter after her first day of school. I made it to Kakariko village, which was in Twilight. I found the kids there, but had to return light to the town first. I hunted down the little bugs that stole the spirit's light. I like this mechanic, it lets me explore the village and find all the little secret paths. After I restored light, I talked to the kids and Renado, the person in charge of the village.

He informed me that there was a spirit to save in nearby Death Mountain, but that it was being guarded by the Gorons. It's unusual because normally, Gorons are very friendly, but these days, they are aggressive towards humans. To make it past them, I needed some help from the mayor of Ordon village. Epona met me in the village, so I rode her back to my home town and met the mayor.

Victory pose!

Believe or not, I had to sumo wrestle the guy, a skill that would prove useful later when I went back to the Gorons. He also gave me the iron boots, that add a lot of weight. When I got back to Kakariko village, some boar-riding goblins attacked and kidnapped one of the kids. I chased them down with my horse and fought them on horseback, then had to joust with the leader of the pack. The mechanics for fighting while mounted were fine, but the jousting was a little rough. I saved the kid and went back to the village and headed for Death Mountain.

Using my new iron boots, I was able to toss the Gorons that rolled at me, then reached their stronghold inside the mountain. I sumo wrestled the chief to prove my worth, then discovered that the usual leader had been transformed into a monster by the evil within the mine. I've reached the second dungeon!

Rocket League

Date played: August 31st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a lot of Rocket League last night, but I only played a few normal matches. I did pretty well once again, but I got distracted when I earned the trophy for driving 500 kilometers in the game. That meant I was really close to getting all the trophies in the game and scoring a platinum trophy...

1 vs 1 makes for a very empty field, but it's fun in it's own way

So, I played a few 4 vs 4 matches and a 1 vs 1 match. With 8 players on the field, you would think the game would be really insane, but it actually slows down quite a bit, mainly because people bump into each other a lot more often and there is always a goalie. It was still fun, but it's clearly not how the game was meant to be played. The 1 vs 1 match was really interesting though. Without another person to hit the ball on your team, the game changes dramatically. Kickoff is even more important than ever and it's important to play a bit safer. On the other hand, aggressiveness is rewarded quickly... It was fun, but it's not the same game at all.

Finally, I played some of the single player campaign. I still have about a dozen matches left to play to get all my trophies, but I'm getting real close to the platinum.