Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: games

My Switch 2 Collection Is Already Starting to Grow

Posted on by Viljami

It has been two months since Nintendo released it newest video game console Switch 2. I have already a tiny collection of Switch 2 games. I have four games plus Mario Kart World that came bundeld with the console. I went for the bundle since it was more easily available although it cost some tens of euros more compared to the other option that didn’t include any games.

So, the games I have bought are Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, Sonic X Shadow Generations, that were both available on the release of Switch two and Donkey Kong Bananza and Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 + 4. The latter was a “code-in-a-box” release. There was no other way to purchase the game. I am usually not into these codes. I like physical releases way more.

Donkey Kong Bananza is currently, in my opinion, the best game that you can have for Nintendo Switch 2. I have already played it for about ten hours. I am really enjoying it. Sometimes I feel like I am getting stuck in some way but when I take a break and return to playing this game the matter gets quickly solved and I keep on progressing. I haven’t got stuck badly at least not yet. I am hoping to finish this game some day soon. Donkey Kong Bananza is also a fully physical release. So, there are no huge downloads when you start to play the game.

What about the other games in my Switch 2 collection? I have to mention that I have been playing some Switch 1 games also. I played Burnout Paradise and Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee New and Tasty and also Dragon Quest III HD-2D. I have to add also Diablo III.

When it comes to THPS 3 + 4 I can tell you that the game is very good. I have spent five hours playing this game. It is cool to feel the nostalgia again and experience something from the past. There are very few matters that have been changed. The gameplay still feels nice. I just haven’t really got deeper with this game atleast not yet.

I only played Sonic X Shadow Generations for a little time. It was available when Switch 2 got released. If I wouldn’t have bought the bundle, Switch 2 with Mario Kart World, this would have propably been my first game for the system. Bravely Default is the only game I have for Switch 2 that I have not yet had time to play at all.

As Switch 2 was getting released we were introduced something like “game key cards”. This means that when you buy a game you get a key card. It alloes you to install the software of the game. You do need the key card to play the game. We can propably have a debate on if this is sensible in any way or not. I don’t have actually anything to say about this. Atleast every game that I have bought seems to be currently working and I can play them.

We have seen many good games already getting released for Nintendo Switch 2. Some good games are still getting released very soon. There are some games, that I am waiting to get released for Nintendo Switch 1 that do actually work also on Switch 2. I am especially waiting to see Hades II, Metroid Prime 4, Terminator 2D No Fate and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Splintered Fate. There might also be some oter good games coming that I didn’t mention here. Oh yeah, I think Final Fantasy Tactics could be interesting, also.

Switch 2 is currently my favorite gaming system that I own. I have divided my attention lately mainly to my Switch 2, Xbox Series X and Raspberry Pi 5 with a Recalbox OS installed. I play many retro games on my Raspberry Pi 5. I haven’t played so much on my PS4, PS3 or Mega Drive Mini or my Retro Trio console that supports SNES, NES and Mega Drive cartridges and of course every controller that I have for these systems. So, I do have all my consoles connected to my 4K 55 inch television. I already took a peek at some 8K televisions on a random web shop. They cost a huge sum of money, like 2000 euros or something like that. There are also not so many devices available that could output a 8K picture. But it might be that I have to get a new TV in maybe two to three years. We will have to wait and see.

About Games That I’ve Played Recently

Posted on by Viljami

In this blog post I am going through what games I have been playing recently. Every game that I pick up and start to play isn’t one that I would like to write about or take a picture and show here. I do play lots of video games. I usually buy new games from time to time. I like to buy games I like to play or that are somewhat or in some way significant for me as a video game hobbyist and a player.

I have recently played a lot with my new and shiny Nintendo Switch 2. It has a lot to offer as a console. While being an expensive purchase it already has some decent games that you can play. I had to buy a memory card for Switch 2. I ended up with a memory card that has 256 GB of storage space. I had to pay something like 70 euros for the memory card alone. I also bought the controller (the updated Pro Controller 2) and that alone cost 110 euros. The console was also a bit more expensive here in Finland where I live.

I have been talking and writing about how Switch 2 doesn’t yet have so many games available. Considering this there was a tiny relief for gamers that are waiting to see some more games as the new Donkey Kong game came available last week. Earlier I said that it could be a game that I am not so interested in. But you know what? I decided to give it a chance.

Donkey Kong Bananza cost me 75 euros. It is said that it takes about 17 hours to beat this game. I haven’t actually played it yet since I got it last Saturday and I also haven’t yet finished Burnout Paradise Remastered although I have already been playing it for a bit over 10 hours. I am hoping to finish it soon.

When it comes to Donkey Kong Bananza I have read some news about it. I think it offers some nice 3D environment for a player to move around as the main character accomplishing some tasks. I am not a big fan of Donkey Kong games. I have played recently Donkey Kong Country Returns HD that is actually a 2D platformer game. I also like the original Donkey Kong Country that was released for Super Nintendo aka SNES back in the golden 90s.

When it comes to Nintendo I am not as familiar with it as I am with Sega and PlayStation or even Xbox. I never had a NES or SNES as a kid. Instead I was playing with PC, Mega Drive and PS1 as young person growing up. I have later tried to correct this matter by getting first a Nintendo Wii and later a GameCube. This is something that I love – exploring something that these a bit older games still have to offer. I also like to go back to PS2 and original Xbox. I am also still playing a lot of PS3 and Xbox 360 games.

Something that I have also tried to, like, focus on are some handheld consoles and games that are released for them. I have to say that PSP and Nintendo DS seem to be the most fascinating ones when it comes to handhelds. They have lots of cheap games available and have some power to offer also. I do have a Game Boy Color. I also play some Game Boy games on an adapter to SNES. I am curious about Sega Game Gear and also Game Boy Advance games and would like to same day get to know them better.

The first Nintendo Switch might have been the push for me to get closer to Nintendo as a video game enthusiast. I wasn’t among the first ones to buy it when it was first released. I did decide to buy Switch Lite as it was cheaper than the regular version of Switch. Nintendo has so many great consoles. I think Super Mario Bros was a real breakthrough as a video game. Nintendo has been there for so long. We have so much to thank them for. So, I do find Nintendo’s new and also a bit older products (games and consoles) very interesting.

I have also played recently a lot with my Xbox Series X. I played Robocop Rogue City for a while. This game is very nice especially if you like Robocop movies. The game gives you a detailed view of the main character (Murphy) and it features also his partner that was with him in the first movie. It has been a while since I watched it. There is also a completely new Robocop game out there (Unfinished Business) if you find these topics interesting.

Also I have played some retro games. I have played Rayman 2 The Great Escape for some hours. It is s fun three dimensional platformer for PS1. It is a good game and if you are comparing it to the first Rayman, also released for PS1 among many other consoles and PC, it has this 3D environment as the first game is purely 2D.

I have so many consoles attached to my setup currently. Mainly I have been using my Switch 2 that actually required me to attach it directly to the TV instead of a separate HDMI switch. I have used also my Xbox Series X and my Raspberry Pi 5 that has 8 GB of RAM. These are the three devices I have mostly used for a long time already. I play my PS1 games and also some older systems games on Raspberry Pi 5 that runs emulation on Recalbox. This is just the easiest way to play these kinds of games.

As I do have many consoles attached to my television I rarely switch the HDMI connections. I mainly just select a channel from my remote controller of my television and I already have a chance to choose one of these three connected devices. If I would like to use PS3 or PS1 or any other device I would have to search for the correct option from two separate HDMI connectors. So, I have been happy using just these three devices.

Too Many Games

Posted on by Viljami

Playing games, being a gamer, can take a lot of time. This comes clear to me as I have just some weeks ago installed two huge and space-taking games to my Xbox Series X. I took me almost two hours just to install these two games. The games are Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy. Some very good titles that have just been sitting on my game shelf for a long time. I would even go and say too long.

I actually did pay a bit lower price for both of these titles. I paid about 20 euros for Cyberpunk 2077 and about 40 euros for Hogwarts Legacy. As you might know the price for a new, just release game, seems to be around 70 euros or something like that. Of course publishers are now aiming to rise prices a bit. We might see games that were just released priced as something near 100 euros in the future. Where does the money go one might ask.

It seems like the industry is making a lot of money by releasing new games. Do we as gamers have the ability to play every single decent game that’s out there and available. I doubt that. Today we are seeing a new Doom game and in the July we are going to see remake collection of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. And, last but not least, we are going to see the release of Nintendo Switch 2.

In the last maybe four years I have been buying lots of games. I like to buy games that are in sale. I also buy lots of older games. They are also cheap. I am talking about games for PS3 and Xbox 360 or anything that is from that era. You know – games that are old but not yet considered widely retro games.

I think, actually, that there are just too many titles out there. I’d like to play every decent game but it seems that you just have to decide and pick what to play. This is sometimes difficult. You have to spend some hours playing the game to see if it fits your idea of a good gaming entertainment. For example I did play almost seven hours of Cyberpunk 2077 but decided to play something else after that.

Games are long. Some games take 30 hours just to play them through. I know that I have spend hundreds of hours playing NBA 2K games. I think this videogame series got me and many others hooked. Somehow they seem to capture players and they keep releasing the game every year with so little improvements or changes in the basic gameplay.

People are spending more money on videogames than ever. There has been discussion and some predictions of how will Nintendo Switch 2 sell in the first year that it is available. We are talking about tens of millions of devices. That something to think about. Gaming seems to be more popular than ever.

Why don’t I have so much time? Well, it seems like my adulthood has already begun several years ago. I am not a student anymore. I have an eight-hour workday from Monday to Friday. So, I have to work. I want to work. I want to be a part of the society. I would like to play more. It just isn’t my top priority anymore. I have less free time now. I do have some more money. It just seems that buying a game seems to be something I have to really consider and think about.

For someone that is playing lots of videogames this seems to be a perfect time. There are lots of games to choose from and you have to choose which ones to buy and play. There are reviews in the gaming media online and even in the printed media. They can give you an idea of what to expect from a game even before you buy it. You can also gather knowledge about games and discuss about them to find new games to actually play.

What I would like to say about all this? Think for a while what you are buying. Sometimes it is good to wait some time after a game is released. The price might go lower. Please think about what companies and what kind of companies you are supporting. Don’t forget independent developers and give them some support. We do have a beautiful moment in time and history. Lets embrace it and keep playing good games!