Price of Admission

Here's where I'm at with my gaming so far:

Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)

It's been more than a week since my last post, and this is really the only game I've played consistently.  Having lost half my crew in the first few levels, most of my time's spent leveling up my remaining warriors, managing my inventory and saving enough in-game money for those DLC characters I've got via SpotPass.  Speaking of which, instead of buying one, you can always defeat a hero in battle and recruit him for free.  In the end, though, I ponied up 10,000+ gold after getting bodied 3 times.

Since I married my avatar off to someone else, I'm trying to hook up Chrom with Anna, the Nurse Joy of FE.

Splatoon 2 (Nintendo Switch)

The only other game I've played on a regular basis, I keep coming back for the occasional online match; it's how I learned to play without ever touching the main campaign.  On the single-player front, I hope to finish the downloaded Octo Expansion in time for the next in-game event.  For the uninitiated, you play as an Octoling (apparently the 8-limbed equivalent to Splatoon's Inklings) who must 'splat' his/her way out of an underground railroad.  Not only are players rewarded with gear when they're done, but get to play as Octolings online.  But the thing is you have to either pay to play each challenge, pay for a pass if you lose enough times, or grind away after blowing your funds (guilty).

If you haven't guessed from the first pic, the Expansion is rife with hard-to-miss Nintendo references.

I should really get a Game Boy Color to complete my handheld collection.

Mortal Kombat 11 (Switch)

Netherrealm Studios' latest entry in the MK franchise has been met with politics, microtransactions and overall outrage upon arrival.  After playing just a little over an hour, I've discovered that what you don't pay in money is spent in disc space, bandwidth, and time.  Straight out of the gate, the game itself ate 20 gigs off my Switch's memory card.  Another pleasant surprise was how "internet-pendent" MK 11 is--and how often certain features failed along with the connection.  Though I admit to not having played this very long, I imagine spending the most time in the tutorial so as not to get my arse kicked too hard online.

To its credit, while the visuals are just a step down from the other versions (looks like something you'd see in Zelda: Breath of the Wild), the Switch version plays just as well.

Yes, this screen here's what I look forward to the most.

Disemboweling strangers may not solve my personal problems, but it should help ease the pain.

Join me in the next post as I continue to walk the long, bloody road to the TOP OF THE HEAP.  See you next time!

Mortal Kombat is available at GameStop.