Wandering Adventure Party

Ford Racing 3 is my favourite Win 9x racer.

I know there’s other great racing games, some which might be better.

But do they have you driving a '67 Mustang in a New England town during Autumn? Do they have you offroading in the snow with an '85 Ford RS200?

This could have been a crappy paint-by-numbers affair with licensed vehicles. What you got instead was a history of iconic cars available for a myriad of challenges.

You can even race with a 1923 Ford Model T Sedan! Sure, it is slow and can barely accelerate. But seeing that old horse move is something else.

Ford Racing 3 might not be innovative. Like all other racing games of the era, it’s got three modes: single race, championship, and time trial. But it’s dependable.

On a keyboard, steering is easy. You can also run this with a steering wheel. And since Steam controller button re-mapping to align with keyboard controls, playing this on a Steam Deck is a pleasure.

I feel the visuals have largely held up. This game really is all about the cars, and the models are still beautifully rendered. The environments have character. What’s more, the frame rate is stable and consistent.

There’s actually music to accompany you on a race though it’s hard to hear it above the engine noise. And that engine noise, paired with wheels screeches, is glorious. The effects are punchy.

That said, customization is thin. But that’s okay. This isn’t meant to be an outright simulation but an arcade racer featuring legendary Ford vehicles.

Sadly, this game has been de-listed from Steam. It is now abandonware. However, if you have a copy, there are mods available that will allow you to Ford Racing 3 in widescreen 4K. You can find more info here:

This might be a budget title. But it’s the closest I’ll ever get to driving the legendary Bullitt car.

GPU prices are so out-of-hand, someone just dropped $300M on diamond cooling.

They really are using actual diamonds to prevent heat loss.

What’s next? Wedding rings going up in price?

Coromon is a riveting play.

And a great replacement for Pokémon on the Steam Deck.

Yes, I know that Steam Deck makes for a wonderful emulation device. However, if you want to support indie devs making great games for PC, Coromon is a great choice.

Steam Deck is incredibly popular in Japan, and it regularly sells out.

This Japanese YouTuber had to wait months to get her own unit, and she feels lucky she got her mitts on one.

Apparently, Steam Deck is such a status symbol that Japanese are now importing them from USA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8T7qqwmm6o

Really wish North America got a release of the WonderSwan.

We missed out on some classics.

PC games are typically cheaper than console games.

And no, it’s not a fanboy statement to say this because I don’t think most people realize how affordable PC gaming really is. So here goes.

Every week, games—good games at that—are given away on Steam, Epic, GOG, and Amazon. In fact, here’s all the free games I got this week alone:

• Total War: ATTILA
• Tavern Talk
• Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
• Boxes: Lost Fragments
• My Night Job
• Just Move:Clean City Messy Battle

The value of these six games is over C$150, and I did not spend a cent.

There’s also bundle deals, which is where you buy games for super cheap if you get them as a group. Today, I spent C$1.95 on Strange Brigade - Deluxe Edition at Fanatical. It typically costs C$91.99.

Key resellers are a great place for super cheap deals. Which is how I got Sid Meier’s Starships for C$0.41.

Steam itself offers deep discounts. Right now, Vampyr is 90% off. You can buy it for C$5.49.

Beyond the price itself, there other ways PC gaming is more affordable. There’s no online subscription needed to play multiplayer. There’s free mods available that improve the graphics of old games.

Just the ability to play your games on a variety of hardware, with different form factors, makes PC gaming more affordable. Back in 2013, I bought Final Fantasy VII. I initially played it on a laptop. I have since played it on a desktop, on my TV, and on a handheld.

In fact, when Square Enix created a new version of Final Fantasy VII, they sent it to me for free because I bought the older version in 2013. This new version now has controller navigation for the launcher as well as cloud saves. Again, this was given to me for free.

What about the ability to stream my PC games? That’s free. I use Steam Link and Moonlight to play games on my laptop, my handheld, my tablet, my smartphone—and, yes, my arcade cabinet.

And to top this all off, I have access to offline installers. Which I can store on a NAS or an optical disc. The cost? It’s free.

The value you get from PC gaming is unmatched. And this is why I have such a large library of PC games.

Guns N’ Runs is a fast and frenetic run-‘n-gun platformer with amazing boss fights.

It’s made by Brazilian devs Statera Studio.

And I generally love Brazilian-made games because they have this flavour that really is only found in Brazil.

A week ago, I shared this Medium post from a Brazilian who was talking about what it was like to grow up playing video games in Brazil and it’s very different from how we experienced the hobby here in North America.

If you could afford a console, it was probably a Genesis or Master System because SEGA is huge over there. But a good many people couldn’t, so they would often go to a LAN house to experience PlayStation and PC games.

And this colours the games that devs make. Because though they rarely make AAA games, they make a whole lot of indies with a great energy—often referred to as having a "gambiarra" spirit (a Brazilian term for creative problem-solving or MacGyvering)—that really punches above their weight.

It’s Pokémon’s 30th anniversary.

So I’m playing everything in my Steam collection that is similar to it.

Today, it’s Coromon. And yes, it’s a creature collector. I’m having a blast with this.

@syllopsium I had one. Used it for college.

It’s taken me years to realize this.

I really don’t like couch gaming.

The bulk of my consoles have been handhelds.

When I want a super immersive experience, I sit at a desk with a good chair.

But even when it comes to PC gaming, I prefer things portable. Mostly, I’m on my Steam Deck. Before the Steam Deck, I was mostly on laptops.

Why is it this way? Well, I tend to use a TV when I want to shut my brain off. I use a computer when I want to turn it on.

There’s also the fact that, while a couch is comfortable, it’s not so good to sit for a long duration. A Steam Deck lets me sit or stand or squat or lie down.

Finally, the living room is a communal area. I just don’t feel right dominating it. The rest of the family should feel free to do whatever they want.

That said, sometimes I’ll use the TV when there’s something so compelling, everyone in my household wants to see it.

@gatesvp Have a look for yourself.

https://a.co/d/0444Ai1s

Game Boy—all variants thereof—will always be known as, “Hey, we don’t have enough Tetris!”

This one is Magical Tetris Challenge for the Game Boy Color.

It stars Mickey Mouse, and it’s developed by Capcom.

It mostly plays like Tetris but every so often they throw something weird at you.

This was an era before rogue-like deck-builders. And the only real metroidvanias were Metroid and Castlevania.

This is the funniest Steam Deck accessory I’ve ever seen!

Don’t get me wrong. I understand why this keyboard/stand exists. It has a practical function.

But imagine sitting down at Starbucks. The room is full of normal laptops. Clean lines. Thin aluminum. Civilized.

You unzip a case that looks like it contains military hardware. Out comes a handheld gaming console.

Then a keyboard.

Then a clamp.

You assemble it in stages like you’re preparing to launch a small satellite.

Click. Lock. Adjust angle. Tighten mount.

The joysticks loom over your Word document like twin anti-aircraft turrets. The ABXY buttons shimmer with the promise of violence.

You begin typing your gentle coming-of-age novel.

Every paragraph is written beneath a D-pad.

Someone glances over, expecting Elden Ring. Instead they see you carefully crafting a metaphor about autumn leaves.

You nod solemnly and continue Chapter 3.

When the barista calls your name, you detach the entire contraption in reverse order like a NASA rollback procedure.

You pack away the clamp. You holster the console. You slide the keyboard into its sheath.

You leave behind only confusion.

No one knows if you were coding, gaming, or coordinating a drone strike.

You were writing poetry.

@AndyHat Yeah, I thought that was weird. Aren’t giant rats more creepy than dogs?

Today I learned that Digimon started as a Tamagotchi clone, not a Pokémon clone.

Wow. I really hate Warstride.

I don’t just hate the game. I hate the philosophy behind this.

Basically, I don’t like it when my state of flow is constantly interrupted. I don’t like tutorials. I don’t like commentary on how I’m doing.

Oh yeah, and the multiplayer is completely dead.

Every single time I see a video like this, I’m happy that I don’t focus on physical video games.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have a physical collection. But that’s not my focus. And the reason I have most of this is because it’s a result of walking around in thrift stores and going, “Oh, this is $5? I’ll take it.”

I can’t imagine paying waiting a decade to buy a game for $500, only to get really bitter once there’s a re-release, causing the value of the original to drop.

@David Same reason they censored Mortal Kombat: they wanted to be a family friendly brand.

Confirmed. R36S can emulate PSP.

As proof, here’s the PSP version Assassin’s Creed.

And as a reminder, this is a C$55 handheld console I grabbed off Amazon.

@Filene @David Bionic Commando, that’s also a game that gets me real sore but for entirely different reasons: the last game, we find out that his arm is his dead wife.