Citizen Sleeper is next on my list. Got it for Christmas, but there's been a bottleneck on the Switch since my child started really getting into Minecraft.

I personally think it rules, but I am aware that the hyper anime aesthetic complete with occasional fan service (though to a much lesser degree than other Kodaka games) is not for everyone. So, I don't blanket recommend it to anyone, but if you enjoy or at least tolerate that part of it, the rest of the game is tight.

One thing to know going through it is that the very first play through there are no meaningful choices (aside from a joke bad end choice). You don't get to the branching narrative until you experience the 100 days once through. But even that has an in game lore, characterization reasoning behind it, which I thought was pretty clever.

I'm a sicko, so I'm neck deep in Last Defense Academy. The choices actually do matter is super refreshing. The included story flowchart branching at your choices reminds me of Radiant Historia in terms of bouncing around trying things out. Thankfully Kodaka is not too precious about anything and so the melodrama works. I doubt I get all 100 endings, but I'm going to get way more than I thought I would when I first heard about the concept.

The tactical RPG gameplay itself is fairly straightforward, but as someone that plays every Fire Emblem game at launch, I enjoy it. I should maybe be playing on a higher difficulty than normal, I've gotten an S rating for every battle I've done outside of two of them, but honestly being able to just shred through it has it's own fun to it.

The visual novel type gameplay between battles is good enough. I wish it had just a little more depth, maybe some extra power-ups unlocked for getting friendship points ala Persona would be nice. But it doesn't punish you too much for not min-maxing, which I'm sure most people will appreciate.

I do appreciate just how many gameplay systems have in game lore and plotting attached to them. It doesn't feel like gameplay is divorced from story at all. The way your character navigates the flowchart to the way character death is handled during the tactics RPG sections all tie back into the main story, which makes it feel less discrete than some games that just sort of have story and have gameplay and never the two shall meet kind of stuff.

Domino is one of my favorite films. Maybe I give it extra love because it is so underrated, but what a fun film with a very stylized look.

Oh, no! Not his Morbestie!

So many liberals act like you've grown a second head when you bring this up. It's amazing how much they memory holed this.

I loved a lot of early Blizzard stuff and I have no desire to play any of them ever again. Warcraft 2, Starcraft, Diablo were all huge parts of my life and I have done nothing with any of those series since those games, let alone go back to those.

I was also a so into Smash Brothers that I was in the competitive scene and won some locals, but I haven't really felt the call of that series since Melee. Loved my time with the game and the scene though.

Just to add:

Bears Among Men - album

Agree. Elden Ring is the only one I've liked personally. And a big reason is being able to fuck off and go do something else if you find a boss battle or section of the game too difficult. There's so much to do and explore and check out that it didn't feel like I was "grinding" ever.

Thanks. And yeah, I agree. There are some seriously strong folks here and it's nice to see.

Tough being a RETVRN guy these days if this is the barrel they're scraping the bottom of.

I would agree with @[email protected] again and say you'll want to focus on big complex lifts then. Bench, overhead, squat, deads, barbell rows, etc. The dips you've got are good, and I'd add some sort of pull/chin-up. Wide grip is the most effective in my opinion, but they are rather difficult and you do have lat pull downs, so neutral grip could be good too.

Once you get more comfortable with lifting, I'd say Olympic lifting might really be where it's at (assuming you have the space/equipment for it). Moving bigger weight with a wide variety of muscles is a great way to build mass and health. We all love curls and having pump in the arms, but for health and mass, you can't beat a powerful clean and press. Big weight, lots of muscles involved and puts a good amount of stress on your cardio system for health.

You have some good specific recommendations from @[email protected], so I'll talk more about high level, type stuff.

I'd worry less about the specific amount of weight and reps and more about RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Make sure you are pushing yourself to change through progressive overload. I don't know what your progression plan is, but if you don't have one, you should consider having a plan in place. You need to stress the body to change or it won't, that includes muscle growth, strength or whatever your goals are.

That leads to my other point, it's great to get active and improve your health, but part of what will inform a good program is what your goals are. Are you looking at health, practical strength, sport, aesthetics? There's overlap in all of those, of course, but knowing what you want out of your time at the gym can better inform what you want your routine to look like.

Yeah, there's a lot to be said for optimized training and getting the most out of your time in the gym. But the best program is the one you'll actually do. Especially for those of us that aren't like, professional powerlifters or something and need to hit certain lofty numbers.

My bench has always been my worst lift of the big four. I've never tested my 8RM, but my 1RM is 280 lbs. and has been for years. Would love to get up to three plates, but I don't know if I ever will at this point. But, I'm also addicted to trying out new programs, maybe if I really sat down and picked a bench focused program like Smolov Jr. or something I would get it moving. I've been program lifting for almost a decade, to at this point the actual workout being fun is more important to me than hitting bigger numbers and I don't know if heavy benching four days a week is all that appealing haha

I was geeking out and my wife, who was mostly there for Bad Omens, had no idea why.

Love this band, got to see them not too long ago and JT Cavey from Erra did the vocal feature on Contraband out of no where.

Kind of a shame how the whole Booka thing went down, but Alex is such a great addition to the band and I am beyond pumped for their next album based on the two singles they've put out with her.

I'm just not sure if Joe Barry is the guy. He's never been the guy anywhere in his career it seems, but he runs the type of defense that Shanahan et al like and so that's the big reason he's there. The player talent is undeniable, but I'm just worried about Barry.

Been enjoying that To Kill Achilles album so far.