PC Shakeup and Xbox Game Pass for PC

On a whim, and wanting to be able to try a bunch of games but not necessarily buy them, and a good deal, I subscribed to Microsoft's new Xbox Game Pass for PC, for a dollar for the first month, and then five for every month thereafter. It's not a bad deal at all, considering I've refrained from buying many games over the last year or so (meaning there is a lot to catch up on), and that I do want to check out the first party offerings MS will be putting up, including the Halo and Forza series entries and whatever else.

It was a real ordeal getting Windows 10 updated to the newest version so I could get this new Xbox beta app; one that necessitated uninstalling a good deal of games from my PC. It wouldn't be much materially to go and reinstall them all, but for the time being I'll let the previously installed ones go.

Fallout 76

I got a chance to try out Fallout 76 this past week when Bethesda made it free to play for a week. I got in two or three sessions, enough to kind of get a feel for it. Despite my initial skepticism of the idea, and the critical failure of the game at launch, it seemed like a pretty good time, even solo as I insist on playing games like this.

I guess that is my main issue with 76; that it is built from the ground up to a purpose completely apart from my own in gaming. I find that with a lot of things, really. I find that I just don't want to play with other people the majority of the time, or play multi-player focused games much, either.

This all makes me thing I would rather go back and play more Fallout 4, like all that DLC I have for it remaining untouched, than buy into 76 anytime soon.

Back to Titan Quest Again

I got curious about the pteruges on some space marines' armor the other day and went to research what they were actually for in real life, and while I didn't learn much, I did get a craving to play some Titan Quest from the whole thing, so I loaded that back up and have been wasting time therein.

My character had already been created back when I first picked up the Anniversary Edition of the game. He is a Defensive (carries a shield) Rune Master. At least I think that's what the classes are called. In the game you start out in Greece, and then move on to Egypt, China, and I believe Scandinavia now, since the Ragnarok expansion. I'm nearing the end of the Greece portion to this point.

I guess not every hour I put into the ARPG genre needs to go into Diablo III. After this, I also want to revisit Path of Exile to see how that may have changed since I first checked it out. I never did finish Torchlight II, either. And then there is Grim Dawn and Warhammer's Inquisitor - Martyr which I should check out, as well. Not to mention Klei's game Hades, and any number of other entrants to the genre that might be worth looking at.

Apparently Blizzard is working on Diablo IV, as well. That will be a happy day, when that is released.