Category: Features

Irregular Columns

The Pokémon culling is a disaster, here’s how it can be salvaged

Luxry's self sacrifice to save her crying trainer from dying of exposure.

Pokémon trainers around the world were shocked to learn that not all their carefully raised Pokémon, their friends, will be able to accompany them on their next journey. This news came from game director Junichi Masuda who sheepishly admitted at E3 that the full roster of Pokémon wont be playable after a lengthy preamble to soften us up with excuses. A week on, with the frenzied backlash dying down, this article will examine exactly what the culling of Pokémon means, evaluate the reasons given by the developer Game Freak, and make recommendations for how both Pokémon fans and The Pokémon Company can rectify the situation.

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Borderlands 2 – Bandit Blues

I arrived at the bandit hideout as ready as I could be. My rifle was custom made by Dahl with an extra fire element specifically made to burn flesh. The rifle burns through 2 bullets per shot as a consequence, so I loaded up on ammo at the vending machine beforehand. I knew there would be tons of human freaks here. This world was now full of mutant spiders and hungry beasts, but humans were still the worst thing to encounter. It was technology that made us the most dangerous and stupid at the same time. What a combination. Anyway, my goal was simply to purge this place on a mission from Sanctuary. How did these guys become bandits anyway, it’s hard to believe it’s a choice. They have no cause. All they do is run around and die really. We could be rebuilding but we’re just tearing each other apart. I guess I’m not doing this by choice either, oh well.

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Freelance Salmon – Making Ends Meet

I’ve been out of work for a while now, but freelance keeps me going. It’s not all roses but it’s enough to get by. Mr Grizz keeps sending us to the same place and then complains that the eggs are drying out. We still get a good haul every now and then but freelancing ain’t what it used to be. I applied for this job to discover new places like this so called Ruins, but here I am back at Lost Outpost. I can’t believe he still sends us out here. The grates here wouldn’t pass any health and safety inspection in my days at Walleye Warehouse. Oh well, work’s work. As long as I did my best I could get by. I was low on chunks and just spent the last of my coins on scrubbing. Time to get to work!

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Dragon Trail Dreams

Welcome to the 64th Annual Running of the Dragon Trail Grand Prix! The cars are making their way to the grid now for what is set to be another thrilling race at the island. We are honoured to have so many guests here both local and from overseas.

Dragon Trail is an island off Croatia with a rich mysterious history. The name originates from sightings of a dragon said to be the guardian of the precious land here, who used to fly around the island in a particular pattern. There is no confirmed documentation of the dragon itself and many speculate it was just a bird with a big shadow, but word spread fast and the legend was born. No matter where it came from, every individual dragon report claimed that it made the exact same path around the island. Thus, the Dragon Trail was born. It was originally a walking track made to honour the guardian, but it eventually became it’s own racetrack to pay tribute to the dragon’s alleged speed.

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Endurance Racing – The Journey

I’m doing a 3 hour challenge in Forza Motorsport 7 that involves driving 69 laps of Spa–Francorchamps, a famous circuit in Belgium. There will be 24 cars competing but it’s just the game’s AI, and the hardest part won’t be racing them, but simply completing it. Driving lap after lap for 3 hours is quite mentally demanding, especially keeping consistent lap-times and enough mental focus to not drive off the track. So I’m just going to document the process in a writeup to give a little insight into what it’s like. Some people might have seen this achievement in the game and you’re wondering, “is it worth it?”. I’m going to say yes because I’ve done endurance races before and found them very rewarding and invigorating. It’s definitely not easy though.

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Life with the Splat Brella

The sky above is clear but there are clouds in the distance. You can tell it’s about to rain. Luckily, you are a Splat Brella main. Lift it up and catch the wind. If it flies back in your face then a storm is coming. You must charge up your own rain to counter it by inking everything around you. Throw that sprinkler down. Launch that canopy across the bridge. Jump around and shoot ink all around the camp yelling Booyah! People will give you weird looks but to use a Brella effectively you must be prepared to take in your surroundings.

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Forza Community Spotlight

Forza started with a bang on the original Xbox, but by the time Forza 5 rolled around it was gaining a lot of negative press based on the way they were exploiting consumers. I even wrote an article about it here back then and subsequently avoided the Xbox brand for 5 years. Times have indeed changed as I’ve found myself absolutely blown away by the latest Forza games and the state of the series. Not only has Forza Horizon created one of the most fun experiences in gaming with a new open structure, the core Forza sim series has righted all its wrongs and now exists as a wholesome, playable and welcoming game.

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SteamWorld Dig 2 – Going Deeper

It’s been 89 days since Rusty went missing. From the small desert town of Tumbleton I’ve found myself in a brand new mining town, El Machino. This place is huge. It’s quite high up on a hill, full of houses, buildings and machines, has a population in the triple digits (so the sign says), and there’s even a rocket! The people here are quite simple minded and they are all trying to make a living, but still they are quite welcoming. Everyone wants to do business and The Mayor is happy to stand around and brag. The overall feeling is that there’s a lot more going on here than Tumbleton. Even the music is on a new level with a very funky baseline and more elements than I’ve heard before. Wait, what music? Must be in my head. I’ve come a long way to get here.

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Driving Simulator 101 – Challenging Yourself

G’day fellow racer, I’ll be your instructor today. My name’s Grubdog but you can call me Grub. I’m not a racing god by any means but I’ve had my fair share of struggles and success to share some words and hopefully help someone out. There are many different ways to enjoy driving simulators and many people will choose the passive approach with all assists on and easy AI, just to enjoy the sights and sounds of the racetrack. Mmmmm, nothing like the smell of sweet asphalt and burning rubber on a Sunday afternoon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that approach and it can be a very chill way to spend your gaming time. There’s no right or wrong way to play a game that has this many options.

For people who DO want to challenge themselves as much as possible, there is a whole new world waiting for you. Whether it’s Forza, Gran Turismo, Assetto Corsa, Project CARS or F1 you have a lot of difficulty options at your disposal that can change the game significantly. With every assist you turn off, your car will get faster as you unlock more potential from it. It will also get more difficult to control. Playing these games without assists can be daunting at first, but it’s very satisfying if you find your groove. A big strength of these games is mastering all different sorts of cars and tracks, kinda like using different weapons in a shooter, or different movesets in a fighting game. Instead of going in-depth about driving technique, this article is going to be more about the mindset of change, and approach. For advanced driving there’s far more qualified people and articles out there. I’m going to keep it simple and throw up my biggest personal tips for a console gamer without much driving experience.

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The Khushrenada Contrivance – The 2019 Game Plan

I’m ticked off, dear reader. Once again, an idea I’d come up with in my mind has been implemented in life before I got the chance to execute it first. In this case, I was shocked to see this article by Roland on his 2019 goals. You see, with the new year, I was looking over the Backloggery account I use to keep track of my games. I was able to wrap up a few games in December and cross them off my list. As I thought about doing an article on what I played in 2018, I also thought about looking ahead and what I’d like to do in 2019. It seemed like a perfect follow-up to look forward after reflecting. I didn’t mention this plan to anyone yet during the 12 days it took me to write that article about 2018, Roland has beaten me to the punch making me look like a copycat. So, I’ve altered my plan a bit and my first goal in 2019 will now be to kill Roland to keep him from telepathically stealing any more ideas from me. It seems like the only solution to this problem.

Keep Reading (Because I’m Only Gonna Tell You This Once)

The Quiet Side of Grand Theft Auto V

A broken man stands on a hill atop the city. His family in disarray, past heavy with regret and future in a body bag, he doesn’t have much hope left. Yet here he stands, completely stunned by the aura of the moon. His problems shrink in the ambient neon lights of the city, which in turn shrink to the stars in the sky. This moment is rare and fleeting, but it tells you to go on. It happens just often enough that the life of crime, death and corruption can be looked at with the right perspective. We are lucky to be human.

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Nintendo Direct DeConfirmed (updated)

Update: Nintendo Direct cancelled due to US Government shutdown.

Our inside source at Nintendo said that with the release dates for Yoshi’s Crafted World and Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn being announced via press release today, the Nintendo Direct initially planned for the 11th of January has been shelved indefinitely.

Nintendo had previously delayed their direct presentations after natural disasters ravaged Japan. According to our insider, the most recently delay was due to fears the US President might institute autocratic rule, distracting customers from Nintendo’s message. Since the White House address was a bit of a fizzer, the direct may still go live next week.

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Playing Smash Bros with items turned off doesn’t teach you about life

There’s a correct way to play Smash Bros; 4 players, timed match, 2:30, items on, stage hazards on, random stage select. Any other way is wrong. This setup not only creates the most volatile and chaotic matches, but also the ones most likely to see the best players thrive. As anyone who has made it past the third grade of school knows, life is unfair. So why should your video game be any different? Smash Brothers teaches you how to cope with unfairness, how to handle chaos and how to seize opportunities to get ahead in life. Playing stock matches, without items creates not only a saccharine gaming experience, but also a generation of gutless imbeciles. Disagree? Well keep reading to find out why you’re wrong.

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Splatfest – Heroes and Villains

I just wanted to feel something. The Heroes vs. Villains Splatfest seemed like a no-brainer to me at first. I try to be a good person and Nintendo’s Smash heroes are some of the best role models a person can have. What does it mean for us though, to be “good” in a videogame that is about winning and splatting people? You’re always going to be a villain to somebody. Even the person of purest intentions is going to do something wrong or be misunderstood at some point, so I decided to cut my losses and pick the Villain side from the get-go.

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