Ode To Game Pass

Hello Website,

Long Time No See!

Yeah, sorry about that. It’s been a very busy few months. Trying to figure out content is really tough when you’re juggling just about everything.

Recently, I did my usual “Top 10” Games for Giant Bomb, I even went back to Something Awful and posted by TV Faves of THIS YEAR and yes, to celebrate 10 years of it, THIS DECADE, Is it embarassing to use my old handle and post on a message board? Yeah, Kinda.

I also did a game in tabletop simulator to celebrate the launch of G4.

But I pretty much didn’t really have time to do MUCH OF ANYTHING with this website.

So I’m basically trying to tell you, HOPEFULLY THIS IS THE YEAR.

There is Fun Time Calls, like always, and I still have a Patreon but the content is a bit… less?

I’m aiming for three pieces of content on there each month…

A “Game Show Update” that should be good to keep people up to speed with CURRENT game shows, new shows, etc.

A “Night Night Analog” because people somehow like me playing video games on the internet, for whatever reason.

A “YouTube Viewing Party” in the hopes I never get DMCA’d but let’s face it, Twitch people are doing it for thousands more live viewers than I ever will.

SO THAT JUST LEAVES HERE.

My Goal This Year - TWO PIECES OF CONTENT FOR FREE EVERY MONTH.

One is a "video”, that you’ll see on YouTube, which I am affectionally calling “ONE PAGE OF NOTES”, where it’s a quasi-review where I read off my notes about a movie, tv show, gaming whatever, then loosely edit it to match the topic.

And the other is, you guessed it, a TEXT ARTICLE. I’m falling behind on my “write a bunch of words that nobody is going to read” department.

I WENT A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT MAKING A JOKE ABOUT NFTS!?!

So hopefully, every month. I can chime in here with something that’s on my mind. It might be a bit rambly, might have syntax and grammar issues (I see the spambots) but damn it, I DON’T CARE.

And the first thing I wanted to talk about, was what has been keeping me from making content TIME MANAGEMENT!

It’s not a secret, I am horrible at timing and I’m late, many people already know it’s because I’ve been juggling a ton of personal stuff for the last few year (pre-pandemic) and that has really hurt the schedule of content or really anything. I usually think “more is more” instead of “less is more” and my philosophy of internet content is “just be honest with the viewers”

There have been days when I only have just two hours to do anything. And I mean ANYTHING, Watch a movie, play a video game, let alone TRY and do a content. So something like a podcast already eats up a day.,

So the content. has been really slow, and I am probably very frustrated. But if I have to continue being very honest - I really don’t know what to do with TikTok???? I know it’s the new social media trend, but dance videos, lip syncing to freeform television shows or trying to figure out who the hell “The Dolan Twins” are, leave me feeling like somebody’s dad trying to fit-in with “kids these days”, and I say - LET THEM HAVE THEIR FUN, I’ll just be over here typing away at a keyboard for my AUDIENCE OF FIVE (I think it’s five, gotta run the analytics)

So what have I been doiing with all my free time?

GAME PASS

So, the quick “too long, didn’t read” version - I had an xbox one, but not xbox series s or x, was told even if i didn’t have it, game pass is for PC and plenty of Microsoft games are on Game Pass.

During a regular day at the G4 Discord, XPlay’s own Frosk basically bullied me into getting game pass (and Forza 5) and long story short - YEAH THAT GAME IS AWESOME, but Game Pass is so huge.

But what I didn’t know - if you get the “ultimate” pass, you get access to the biggest game changer - CLOUD GAMING.

Cloud Gaming is nothing new, GameFly tried that a decade ago, It was a selling point on a google stadia, and gamers have a love/hate relationship with this because “they don’t technically own the games”

Have you seen the retro gaming market lately? Good luck trying to play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs physically for less money than a new set of tires for a car.

But Cloud Gaming? That’s really next-generation stuff, yes, sometimes the levels don’t load all the way, yes there are bugs (maybe download the games you really want to continue playing?) But between the xbox, the computer and ON MY MOBILE PHONE - Xbox really is trying to be anywhere you are, and that’s amazing.

So, now I will talk about some games I’ve been playing in this next part, and then calling it a day,, I will probably do more reviews later down the line.

SUPERHOT : MIND CONTROL DELETE - I remember playing the original SuperHot as a GameJam, and I remember how amazing the original indie title was, the way they expanded this game and being that great FPS Puzzle is something I will always go back to.

FORZA HORIZON 5 - Frosk was right, I would love this game. It’s world building reminds me so much of Burnout Paradise, but without the dented cars, unfortunately. But what they lose in smashy, they make up for monster trucks, jump contests and more.

MIRROR’S EDGE - Mirror’s Edge was one of those franchises I really remember liking when I had an Xbox 360 and playing it now… it does not hold up. I made a mistake.

FUSION FRENZY - Hey Jordan, Fusion Frenzy is not fun. I’m sorry you have to know this from Future Jordan, but the mini games are annoying, and the orb stealing is just as bad as the star stealing in Mario Party. You won’t have fun with this one (the sequel is slightly better, but still garbage)

HALO INFINITE - It’s my game of the year, and while it still never filled that void “Destiny 2” had that one summer, the multiplayer and the campaign is a bit of a nostalgic run, akin to Paul McCartney’s Temporary Secretary.

GOLF WITH YOUR FRIENDS - I am bad at mini golf.

HYPNOSPACE OUTLAW - One of my favorite indie games out there, a classic text adventure mixed with 90s elseworlds nostalgia and polyphonic soundtrack, just an amazing experience.

MADDEN 2020 - Just a celebration of the legendary coach.

And there is many many more titles, MASS EFFECT is there, GEARS OF WAR is there, QUAKE is there, the list of games I have fond memories of is in this stack, and I am happy to play them, yes sometimes you get a “yakuza zero” that leaves the game pass, but it’s sometimes about the adventure we have, and maybe downloading the games is a good thing?

What I have experienced in the last two months of game pass is some of the best times playing video games, and while you could (and probably should) buy these games, The going back-and-forth between games, and the practically thousands of hours of gaming content make it so worth it.

It’s how I wanted to start my year, with a big bout of positivity!