I did mention that in the post. It’s not on the Steam store anymore, but it has an offline mode with bots, so you can still play it.

I just upgraded my cosmetic armor set to this season’s Awoken Archenemy set. I have the full set, but I don’t like how the flaming horns cover almost all of my head, so I opted for the Waning Sun Diadem for my helm instead. I definitely feel like a fire sorcerer now! Check it out:

Sonic the Hedgehog was my jam in my childhood! I mostly played Sonic 2, but I’ve been a big fan of the franchise ever since I was a kid.

You say you don’t care for Porsche IRL. If you have any interest in driving performance vehicles and have an opportunity to drive one, try to not pass it up.

I used to be pretty big into cars in my youth. I actually took part in some drift racing in northern Japan when I lived there for a few years, and those guys are all big math/physics/car nerds (not the Yakuza gangster wannabes like you saw in Tokyo Drift; that movie was fantasy American street racing with a Japanese skin over it), so I really got into that stuff for a while. But high-end sports cars were out of our league, so I haven’t ever tried a Porsche. I guess that needs to go on my bucket list.

I suppose have finally accepted there’s never going to be another “campaign” style title. I guess that’s really the gaming industry as a whole with all the battle Royales and similar arcade-style games.

I really hate that there’s so much push to get us to play online multiplayer games now. I mean, I get it from a financial standpoint - it keeps players engaged with a game long after they’ve finished the campaign and if they can squeeze micro-transactions/seasons/DLC into it, it’s a source of added income for years afterward. But from a gaming standpoint, I just see it as repetitive gameplay that doesn’t lead anywhere, with rewards that are never worth the effort.

I’m also not a fan of playing online with strangers because the environment can be very toxic. I barely tolerate playing co-op with my friends some days. 😆

Those symbols on those shirts are an equivalent to a swastika

That’s… the point. This particular branch of the game led to everyone (except you) becoming a Nazi. All because you tolerated racist diatribe from your supposed “best friend.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek look at what could happen if you tolerate racists in your life. And it doesn’t end well for the racists.

Perhaps you should play the game before you jump to conclusions on its content. Yes, it’s a dark game, but it definitely doesn’t show any love for Nazis.

Yeah, I always wait for Steam sales before I buy games. No way I’m paying $50+ for a game I don’t even know if I’ll enjoy. Fortunately, the Tom Clancy franchise goes on sale pretty regularly.

Both recent Ghost Recon games are about toppling dictators in foreign countries.

Wildlands takes place in a South American-esque nation where the local drug cartel has taken over the government. You’re sent to sneak in and take out the regional leaders one by one, freeing the oppressed people from their control, until you gather enough intel to find the dictator himself and stop him. It’s very much like a Tom Clancy spin on the Just Cause game franchise.

Breakpoint goes a little more sci-fi in its story. It takes place on a technologically advanced island nation that’s overthrown by a militia (run by a former Ghost buddy of yours) who wants to use their AI drone swarm technology to “end all wars” (read: conquer other nations via fear, intimidation, and billions of deadly drones).

You’re sent to investigate what happened to a ship that got too close to the island and got attacked, and find yourself also attacked and marooned on the island, with no way to escape or call for backup. So you’re now a one-man army, figuring out what happened on the island and slowly overthrowing the coup and rescuing civilians caught in the middle.

Both recent Ghost Recon games are about toppling dictators in foreign countries.

Wildlands takes place in a South American-esque nation where the local drug cartel has taken over the government. You’re sent to sneak in and take out the regional leaders one by one, freeing the oppressed people from their control, until you gather enough intel to find the dictator himself and stop him. It’s very much like a Tom Clancy spin on the Just Cause game franchise.

Breakpoint goes a little more sci-fi in its story. It takes place on a technologically advanced island nation that’s overthrown by a militia (run by a former Ghost buddy of yours) who wants to use their AI drone swarm technology to “end all wars” (read: conquer other nations via fear, intimidation, and billions of deadly drones).

You’re sent to investigate what happened to a ship that got too close to the island and got attacked, and find yourself also attacked and marooned on the island, with no way to escape or call for backup. So you’re now a one-man army, figuring out what happened on the island and slowly overthrowing the coup and rescuing civilians caught in the middle.

When you’re playing co-op, the whole map is available. You don’t have to stick together, you can go do anything you want while playing with friends.

One of my friends is a wildcard and likes to go start shit every time we play, so he just runs off and terrorizes enemy compounds on his own. While my other buddy and I actually stick to the mission and take out our targets.

We tried to play along with our other friend, but he has no sense of subtlety and always makes a mess, so we just let him rampage somewhere else on the map while we’re accomplishing the actual stealth mission.

He loves to shoot everything he can with a helicopter, then crash it into the enemy base and jump out guns blazing. He’s the absolute opposite of a Ghost operative. 😅

Isn’t that a PvP mode? I don’t typically enjoy playing against other people online, so I’ve been avoiding it.

They’re all independent games, so you don’t really need to worry about playing them in any sort of order. Just pick one and enjoy!

Except The Division 1 and 2. They’re a continuation of the same plot, but you won’t miss much if you jump into the second one first. They do a pretty good job summarizing the story to get you going.

My favorites are the two latest Ghost Recon games, Wildlands and Breakpoint. They’re open world games, so you can travel anywhere on the map and get into trouble wherever you want.

The Ghost Recon games are meant to be more subtle stealth games (you are playing a Ghost operative after all), but 95% of all missions can be completed by running in guns blazing if you want. Very rarely do you get a mission that actually requires stealth. But I find it far more rewarding to scout out a mission area, identify my targets, and stealthily sneak in without alerting anyone. Hint: use a drone to tag enemies from the air and then you’ll never accidentally bump into someone while sneaking around.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to challenge yourself in a game or play with/against others. There are many reasons we all play. Personally, I’m a huge film buff and love that modern games have started bridging that gap between gameplay and cinematic storytelling. It’s like I can enjoy a 30+ hour film AND interact with it as well!

I used to prefer to just play games solo. There are so many strangers in online games that can be toxic and it’s not fun trying to accomplish a goal when no one’s listening and everyone’s doing their own thing. But I have a childhood friend who won’t play games unless he’s playing co-op with friends, and through him (and a few other close friends), I’ve learned to enjoy co-op games as well.

Plus, one of my other friends is one of those “do-their-own-thing” kind of gamers and we’re constantly trying to get him back on mission. So I’ve learned patience for difficult gamers too. 😉

It’s semi-related. I served in the US Air Force for 20 years. I got to retire and collect a pension at 38 years old, which is some decent passive income, but not enough to live comfortably on. I would have needed a new job to supplement my living expenses with just that income.

(Un)Fortunately, I also got a bit beat up in my 2 decades of military service. The worst (physically) was a motorcycle accident a decade ago, which I never properly healed from. Both my legs are a bit messed up. I’ve had a few surgeries to fix them and I’m finally back on my feet and mobile, but I can’t really run anymore, nor be on my feet for too long. Which is a shame because I used to be extremely active in my youth. If American Ninja Warrior had been a thing in my childhood, I would’ve dominated that show! I was super fit and bursting with energy back then. I never met anyone who could beat me at obstacle courses as a kid/teen.

Mentally, I saw some shit in Iraq and nearly died a handful of times. My base was mortared at least once a week for the 4 months I was there. I once stepped out to my truck to grab something and a mortar shredded the shack I had been in, killing the 3 Army guys in there. I got a mild concussion from that hit, too. That’s probably the closest I came to dying. So I’ve got a bit of lingering PTSD. Nothing too extreme, just a bit of anxiety and insomnia that comes and goes.

Those, plus 2 decades worth of minor injuries and health concerns, convinced the VA to give me the coveted 100% Permanent & Total disability rating, which includes a monthly pay that’s 2x as much as my pithy pension.

My wife also got the rare 100% disability rating from her military service, due to her own physical and mental issues, which also comes with a similar pay as mine. So with our combined passive incomes, we’re not wealthy by any means, but we make enough to live comfortably without working.

I’m 40 now and inherited my childhood home when my dad passed away this year, so my wife and I have the freedom to relax and focus on our own lives without worrying about needing to be somewhere or making money to get by. It’s very therapeutic, and I wish everyone could experience this earlier in their lives. Retirement age keeps getting bumped further back as people live longer, and it’s no fun being retired when you’re too old to do most things anymore.

I have a ton of hobbies that I bounce back and forth between, but gaming has been a relaxing pleasure of mine since I was a kid. My Steam library is over 3,500 games now and I’m always looking to try out new games. Plus, a few friends of mine play weekly in various co-op games together. So I’ve been a pretty active gamer since I retired. And I hope to share a bunch of screenshots of my games and maybe spark some discussion.