Yeah. Yeah, all right. So… yeah. Yeah, I hear you. No, yeah, I heard what you suggested. I just… well… look, I know this all sounds very funny to you, but it’s not really the sort of joke I do for What Are You Playing, do you dig? Uh-huh. Yeah. No, I got that. No. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. You keep saying “it’s Mario” like I didn’t get that part. You said it. Yes, I heard you. Yes, Mario, the video game character. Charles Martinet. You didn’t have to specify that part. Fine, you had to specify that part, whatever.
Look, it’s just not a very good joke. Uh-huh. All right, what do you think the joke would be? No, don’t just say “it’s Mario” again. Do you have me on speaker phone again? Jeez. No. We’re not doing this again, all right? Hang up the phone. No, just hang up the phone. Because you called me and I don’t want to be rude. Fine. All right. Yes, I will see you at Easter. Sure. All right. Goodbye. Yes. Yes, a ham. Uh-huh. Yes. Mario. Very good. Sleep it off. Goodbye.
Bonus question: What’s your usual approach if you’re stuck in a single-player video game on a specific boss fight or mission?
​Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Usual exercise games are getting/giving me a work out, especially Pokemon Go’s Litwich Community Day. But I won’t lie, Splatoon 3’s really stolen my heart as of late, so that’s where I want to be the most.
Speaking of which, yeah, I’ll use guides to help in any game. I tend to prefer written guides as they actually explain things better. Most video guides are overly bloated and work better with the sound off, though obviously not all. Love all you content creators that get to the point first and actually edit your work!
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I’ve got twin goals this weekend: Star Wars Galaxies Legends Halloween stuff and Lord of the Rings Online Halloween stuff. I’ve got holiday grindin’ for cosmetics to do!
I don’t hesitate to go look up stuff if I can’t figure it out after sufficient effort, in video games or anything. Learn from experts!
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, blog): Most of my attention will go into learning Star Trek Online; that is to say figuring out how to better kit out my ship and character, as well as learn how crafting and upgrading works. I’m making small strides so far. I also have the usual activities in Final Fantasy XIV to get done and a bit of racing gaming to enjoy in Grid Legends as a refresher.
Most of the time when I get stuck in a particularly gnarly section of a single-player game I do one of two things: seek a guide or seek some cheat codes.
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): Got another game to review, got some FFXIV stuff to do, and after that I think I’ll be playing more of the last game I reviewed. (That review goes live very soon. It’s positive. Not saying what it is just yet.)
Honestly, I tend to do a lot of reading about a game before I even start, and I have no problem going to guides for help or pointers. The one thing I try to avoid doing is cheating to get through a game I’ve never played before. Thing is, I tend to play games in such a way that once I’ve gone through it once I have some kind of ultra-setup, so on subsequent plays I’m fine with just cheating things. I did this legitimately, I proved the ability, if I’m replaying this it’s for my own edification and I don’t need to demonstrate mastery.
Sam Kash (@thesamkash): I was pretty disappointed this past week when I realized I was jumping ahead and that Guild Wars 2 Mad King was still a week out. But I think it’s actually coming up this time. But I’m mostly still playing MultiVersus. Nothing else gets me yelling at my screen and my blood boiling the same way. I really need to play The Elder Scrolls Online again but, boy, it just so fell flat for me.
Bonus: If I’m absolutely stuck, like an impasse I’ll look up a video to see if there’s a setup or trick I’m missing. But in general I like to keep it clean and just suffer through like the good old days. Take Moonscar for instance. Last weekend I estimated that I fought the 1st boss about 80 times before I finally won. That’s back to back deaths and running back into the fight. It took me a couple hours to get through it maybe. Pretty annoying. But I did it so, yay me?
Every Saturday, join the Massively OP community and staff for What Are You Playing, our roundup of what MMORPGs and other games we’re hoping to play this weekend (with a bonus question or two for our amusement). Tell us what you’re up to! Go off-topic! And don’t forget to have fun!
