Hoping they announce a few more new characters before release. Great to see everyone return, but half the fun is seeing new fighters.

That win seems even more preposterous when observed from the outside.

That review kind of pissed me off. It was especially weird of him to say that Pillars was one of the greatest games of the last few years—I agree!—and then ding the sequel for committing to the lore that any fan of the first game should’ve been familiar with.

This weekend, I’ll be putting Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire to bed. It’s a great game, although now that I’m at the end I can see how odd its structure really is. The story is barely there, and most of your time is spent working for the various factions of the Deadfire. But it’s easy to lock yourself out of quests…

The show isn’t remotely as funny as it once was and Hurwitz doesn’t seem like he’s got a firm hand on the helm. Maybe it’s time to finally let it go?

“The population of Isla Sorna, the free-range dinosaur island where the second and third movies take place, is hand-waved away.”

It’s basically identical. The biggest differences are that you have much more ability to automate your party and there is far less reliance on Per Rest abilities. I would say it’s significantly easier than the first game, though I think they are aiming to patch it to be a little more challenging.

Yeah, it’s a good deal, although the DLC is only 33% off (still not bad when you consider it’s functionally DLC for the second and third game, as well).

I’ll be playing Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. It’s a GOTY contender for me, right up there with God of War and Monster Hunter World. They’ve basically made an Elder Scrolls game that plays like Baldur’s Gate, a wide-open game world filled with quests, monsters, and treasure. I have no idea how far into the main…

I’m really looking forward to Jurassic World Evolution. They haven’t said so in any promotional material I’ve seen, but they are so clearly pulling a lot of ideas from Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, the last attempt at a Jurassic Park sim (released around the time of Jurassic Park 3). Operation Genesis was great,…

I haven’t played either of those, but Warframe is basically nothing but grind. To play the game at all is to grind.

My opinion of Warframe was that it was about ten times the grind of Destiny and, while better than the average MMO in terms of what you do, still not actually terribly good.

God willing, my PC will be fixed today and I can return to Deadfire. A free DLC pack just released. But in addition to that—or as a replacement—I’ll be playing Destiny 2's Iron Banner event.

Hoo boy, The Village. I’ve never been with another audience so united in utter contempt of a film. It remains a singular moviegoing experience.

It’s like a version of Alien where someone is raising them for food. Why would you want to eat something with acid for blood?

*Interior alien command center*

It’s a great film and well-constructed except for the ending. The problem with endings is that they are what you leave the story on, so if they’re really bad it can ruin the overall experience.

Except for me, apparently.

The problem with casting Michael as a villain is that the first three seasons weighted his shitty qualities with his efforts to be good for George Michael. He was always portrayed as the Good Bluth despite not being immune from his family’s failings. Season 4 decided to say, “What if we throw all that out and Michael…

I think the lesson of Season 4 is that few of the Bluths (and/or the actors portraying them) are particularly funny in isolation. GOB’s pathetic shittiness, for instance, is only funny when you can contrast it against goodness and confidence. When you’re spending extended lengths of time entirely in GOB’s world, it’s…