To summarize differently, their argument goes that if you signed up for a trial of Disney+ (or some other such service), you agreed to an arbitration clause as part of the terms of service.
They are arguing that the arbitration clause therefore applies to everything Disney-related, even if it’s a service unrelated to Disney+.
I doubt this will stand a court’s scrutiny and will likely get tossed as unenforceable for being an unconscionable contract. Still, Disney sucks for even attempting such a maneuver, and it equally sucks that the US legal system is in such a state that they think this is a possible avenue for success.
Favorites:
Steam Deck. I haven’t been this excited for a console since the original Xbox. I play a lot of games that I would otherwise avoid on my gaming rig, and it’s excellent for traveling.
Steam Controller. This one was worth the effort to get used to, and it introduced me to gyro controls and paddle buttons. Also, it was integral to the Steam Deck’s control scheme design.
Least favorites:
Wii. There were a few good games, but the controllers sucked ass. GameCube was better.
Game Gear. Screen was a smudge-fest. Any kind of motion was super hard to see.
Gen 1 Xbox controller. That thing was massive and awkward.
Deep Rock Galactic has been pretty cool (single purchase, no subscriptions). Nice community, devs who listen. Great solo experience, too.
Another good F2P game is Warframe. The community is generally nice, especially to new players.
Competitive games, though, seem to attract the alt-right tryhards who find pleasure in causing others misery. I quit those several years ago for my mental health, just because I was tired of listening to toxic people lose their shit. They can scream at each other, for all I care.
Kirby’s Adventure just feels the best to control. I don’t like the way they changed how powers work in Superstar, and I think the variety, controls, and level design aren’t as good. Sometimes, more isn’t always better.
FFTA is the best in the series, but it’s also the most unique story. FFT is still the usual “fantasy” universe you’re familiar with, but there’s an interesting element of isekai in FFTA.
Battletoads is hard, but not impossible. Everyone remembers the third level with the bikes being a pita, but I did it as a kid. Tip: towards the end, there’s a part where walls will come at you faster and faster, but if you try to stick to the middle and move just enough out of the way, you can weave back and forth. Don’t overcorrect; light touch. If you get really good, there’s even a secret in that part that lets you skip several levels. Look for a sparkle!
Little Nemo is based on a comic, and it’s a really unique puzzle/action platformer. I haven’t played anything quite like it, but it was one of the first NES games I owned.
Mega Man 2 unequivocally has some of the best chiptunes in any game. There’s a reason there’s so many remixes on OC Remix just from that game.
Starfox 64 is the original SNES Starfox but with better graphics, gameplay, and story. There’s also multiple endings…
Hope you have fun!
I know you want to avoid Final Fantasy style games, but both Chrono Trigger and FF Tactics Advance are unique takes on JRPGs (you’re open to Earthbound, after all). They are also timeless, IMO, and stand up against modern titles.
Kirby’s Adventure is great all around. Has saves, interesting gameplay, tight controls, excellent music, secondary secret objectives, and it’s just goddamn adorable. It’s also better than Kirby Superstar, IMO, but do try both.
I’m going forward just to see more of the environment, but I nearly gave up in the beginning for that reason. The gameplay itself is a bit stale, and it reminds me a lot of mobile games with how simple the combat and AI is. There’s also no explicit “Exit Game” option, so when playing on Steam Deck, you have to open the menu and force exit.
If not for the highly detailed environments, I’d think it was a mobile port.
Been playing The Ascent, a 3/4 looter shooter. Not a particularly deep story, and you are kind of a nameless nobody (so not much of a character arc), but they nail the atmosphere. Each zone has that cyberpunk dystopian feel with lots of NPCs loitering around, so the world feels alive.
The combat is kinda okay. The enemies aren’t particularly unique: the guys with guns try to maintain a distance, and the melee guys zerg rush you. Additionally, there’s a high-low aiming system that doesn’t feel good to work with, but is a necessary part of combat. You upgrade your guns via a finite currency, and as far as I can tell, each gun type acts as your “class.”
Overall, I’m having fun, and I will be playing with friends later on, but it’s not going to be for everyone. Its Mixed and Mostly Positive reviews on Steam are justified.
I really liked BioShock Infinite. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed that it was a deviation from the previous two, I liked the characters and the dimension travel. I especially liked the “fake facade” of it all, versus the overt, grimy dystopia of Rapture (which was fine). It gets extra points for being playable with ReShade on solely a Ryzen 5600G.
emacs is not that hard. You can learn emacs in one day—every day.
Loved AoE II. I still play it on occasion, and I grew up playing it with cheat codes (there’s some silly ones). I think it still holds up well to this day, even with my nostalgia glasses off.
If you’ve never played it, my only caveat would be to expect the AI to not compare to modern iterations. “Balance” in campaign missions sometimes comes in the form of giving the AI an unfair advantage, but everything can be overcome, and you can always save-scum your way to victory. It’s fun, and I definitely recommend a play if you are into retro gaming or RTS’s.
Great indie co-op games:
Upcoming games to consider:
Agreed. Depending on the business sector, the PR damage could be worse than the cost of litigation.
My company has a very expensive software product they sell to other businesses (to the tune of millions of dollars a year per customer), and the cost is a hurdle the salespeople have to overcome. If there was litigation against them over trampling another business, that doesn’t exactly instill confidence in a trustworthy business relationship. So they pay their licensing costs.
Why? Do you have treasure there? You have treasure, don’t you? Why you hoarding all the treasure, bro‽