Into The Breach II - Key's 2024 Video Game Journal

[Key]

Let's start things off with Herald of Darkness from Alan Wake II

[Key]

RUMOR

While this is only a rumor, it kind of gets you thinking about what the next installment of Banjo Kazooie could be. I absolutely love both the first and second games dearly, but I'm half and half on Nuts & Bolts. I've heard both sides and I agree with points on both sides, but I think now more than ever is the perfect time for a new Banjo Kazooie game. I'll talk more about this as we hear more solidified information but for now, the interest is definitely there.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/rumor-new-banjo-kazooie-game-could-be-in-development/ar-AA1mgpNY

A new Banjo-Kazooie game could be in development, according to the latest rumors. The original Banjo-Kazooie is often pointed to as one of the absolute-best games ever released for the Nintendo 64, and while Banjo-Tooie isn't remembered quite as fondly, it still earned a great deal of critical acclaim. The series largely went off the rails after Banjo-Tooie, with the GBA games Grunty's Revenge and Banjo-Pilot failing to drum up much interest.

[Key]

Top 10 Favorite Video Game Songs

I've done entries talking about video game soundtracks, hell I could probably talk your ear off about video game music. But I'm going to simply be doing a countdown of my personal favorite top 10 video game tracks that I have heard throughout the years. This could be all the way from the 90's, up to current day. In no particular order:

#10
Pokemon Scarlet / Violet - Penny Theme

Pokemon music is always excellent, but I really feel like they 'evolved' with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. I know the game is riddled with performance issues and whatever, but the experience is honestly still such a pure Pokemone experience that I sincerely urge anyone to give the games a shot. Penny's theme at the end of the story is one of the greatest climaxes to a Pokemon story that I've ever seen. This is definitely up there with my favorite tracks from Hoenn and Kanto.

[Key]

#9
Gruntilda's Lair Theme - Banjo Kazooie

One of the most common songs that I hum out of sheer randomness. The simplicity of the track mixed with the environments of the world really make this track standout.

[Key]

#8
Fallout 3 Sountrack

I'm just going to put "Fallout 3 Soundtrack" as this entry because when I was trying to find a track to put here, it was virtually impossible to pick one. Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games of all time and the immersion that the music brings is something I had never experienced before up to that point. Simply one of the best video game experience I've ever had and one of the best soundtracks to bring it all together.

[Key]

#7 #6 & #5

Spoiler

Fable 3 - Sanctuary

Super Mario World - Athletic Theme

Menu Theme

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[Key]

Honorable Mention (not part of the top 10)

Goldeneye 007 - Pause Menu Theme

[Key]

2024 Games Reviewed In This Journal
(Index)

This will be an index of the games that I review in this journal. Specifically games that are released this year (2024). Any other reviews will be linked in a separate index. You can find that here: Prior To 2024 Games Reviewed Index

PALWORLD
Palworld: LINK
Palworld...A Follow-up: LINK
Palworld...With Screenshots: LINK

[Key]

Prior To 2024 Games Reviewed In This Journal
(Index)

This will be an index of the games that I review in this journal. Specifically games that are released prior to 2024 that I haven't had a chance to dive into yet or haven't talked about (enough) yet. Any other reviews will be linked in a separate index. You can find that here: 2024 Releases Reviewed Index

My Time At Portia (First Impressions): LINK
My Time At Portia (pt.2): LINK
My Time At Portia (pt.3): LINK
Fallout 3: Jumping Back In!: LINK
Wrapping Up My Time With...My Time At Portia: LINK
Everspace 2: LINK
Valheim: LINK
Brotato (First Impressions): LINK
Monster Sanctuary: First Look: LINK

[Key]

My Time At Portia



I'm kicking myself over and over again right now because for one reason or another, it took me a long time to jump into this game. I knew already that this was going to be a game I was going to love. It has farming, crafting, all the essentials to make a really good survival game. What I wasn't expecting was the extent that I would enjoy this game, and as quickly as that came on. I took a break from gaming for a few weeks because for one, my hands were giving me some trouble, and two, I just simply wasn't enjoying anything I was playing. I tried to jump back into Starfield, and meh. I played Conan Exiles for a few days with my best friend and while that was great, it just wasn't completely what I was looking for. My Time At Portia scratches that itch. Not only is it a really good crafting / survival style game, but it's also really relaxing to play and doesn't feel like you are in a rush all the time. Now I love games like Elden Ring and Assassin's Creed like the next guy, but I also love a game where I can just sort of chill out and enjoy my time. No stress, no goals that I have to immediately get to. It's got the same spell that Stardew Valley has where if you spend 5 minutes or an hour, you feel like you got something done either way. I'm currently level 9 right now and still getting the basic workshop stuff done but all in all, I'm having a pretty good time. I played for a few hours and didn't even realize it and I'm about to go jump back in.

[Key]

My Time At Portia (pt.2)

Oh my god I am loving this game! Here are some screenshots:

Spoiler

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[Key]

My Time At Portia (pt.3)

I upgraded my house today and got more land for more stuff to build! Currently I am just going around collecting resources and making money to further upgrade the buildings I have. I'm going to build a stable next because once you do that, you can raise mounts that you can ride around! Here's a few photos of what my current plot of land looks like:

Spoiler

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[Key]

Fallout 3
Jumping Back In!



I can't say for certain whether it's been a long time or a short time between the time I last played Fallout 3 and now. Either way, you read that right! I am jumping back into Fallout 3 for the 'i lost count'th time. I love this game so much. It was my first experience with a Fallout game and was also my first experience with a truly open world game. Not to say anything negative about my experiences before this, but I didn't have as much exposure to an RPG rich game other than Fable or Enclave. There simply weren't a lot going around back in the day, or at least I just didn't notice them. Fallout 3 will forever hold a special place in my heart for truly being one of the most unique experiences I've ever had in gaming. I try to own a copy of this game in every way that I can, and most recently I now own it own Xbox Series S, but for every console before it, you're damn right I found a copy of it!

This'll be a nice break from My Time At Portia. And as I have done a pretty in depth review of Fallout 3 before, there won't be too many more updates other than me just being excited to jump back in again!

[Key]

Wrapping Up My Time With...My Time At Portia
Final thoughts, etc.

As much as I would like to say I'm gonna go back and play My Time At Portia, realistically with it being the new year, and life changing things happening on a weekly basis, I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that I may not jump back into this game any time soon. That's not indicative of the game at all. In fact, I enjoyed all the time I put into it. But unfortunately, with games like this, the longer you play, the longer things take, and I just don't have that time to spend on a game that is meant to just be a "zone out" type of game. I highly recommend anybody play My Time At Portia if you're looking for a game with a mix of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. It is quite an undertaking to get everything upgraded and etc but if you have the time to put many hours into a game like this, I strongly suggest it. It's still a great experience even if you don't do any of that, but I can definitely see that there is quite a bit more to do even after playing many days straight.

For now, Fallout 3 will be taking up my time for the foreseeable future until I jump into the next thing!

[Key]

Everspace 2

From the get-go, Everspace 2 delivers on every instance that I wanted it to deliver. It's an RPG, you pilot a spaceship, you go around doing main and side quests, and you loot ships and all that fun stuff. You find new weapons and armor to attach to your ship to make your stronger. You go back to your base, put your loot in storage, upgrade some stuff, go back out and journey in space again. I know I'm making it sound simpler than it is, but it really is just a genuinely great spaceship piloting RPG space adventure. If you like games like No Man's Sky, Starfield, Warframe, etc, this game will probably be for you. And hell, give it a shot anyway. I'm having a blast. Been playing all morning.