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Marathon (2026) Review

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Marathon Might Have That Bungie Polish, But It Completely Misses the Point of Extraction Shooters: A Dynamic and Enjoyable Experience Before we talk about Marathon, I want to first tell you a story of mine from its main competitor, Arc Raiders. During one of my excursions, I ran into a hostile player who tagged me with a rifle shot right before I entered a building. I tried to communicate that I was friendly, but they were having none of it. As I sprinted into a nearby building, I knew I was playing at a disadvantage, as I only had a silenced pistol and little ammo. However, I did have a trick up my sleeve. I knew that he thought I was on the ropes and was going to run in after to finish me off, but in my prior scavenging, I had managed to find a grenade. So right as I entered the building and rounded the corner, I threw the grenade right at the frame of the door—and what do you know: the instigator came running right on top of it as it exploded, knocking him down and getting me the ki...
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Oh My God, So Many Things Happened Since I Last Posted - The Cleanup 14/03/26

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This will almost certainly be my biggest post I’ve made since starting this blog, and this is just game industry stuff. I’m not even getting into other things like getting a new car (yay!), or my feelings on the new Gorillaz album (I liked the last one more), or buying the new Galaxy Buds Pro 4 (the noise-cancelling feature freaks me out), because the industry seems to flip-flop between “we are so back” and “it’s never been more over” on a nearly daily basis. Let’s all take a deep breath and get through this together.   This Is (Not) An Xbox COO Pour one out for our wide boi. Xbox’s now-former COO, Phil “Obscure Game T‑Shirt” Spencer, has retired from Xbox and left the company, assumingly with a burlap sack over his head, being shoved out through one of the service exits alongside Head of “This Is An Xbox” Sarah Bond, following behind him. This is a big deal because Xbox has been losing relevancy for almost the entirety of Phil’s tenure since taking over the position after Don Matt...
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The Addoncalypse, Microsoft and Nintendo Had A Thing Sort Of, and What Do I Play When I Have Nothing to Play - The Cleanup 8/02/26

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It had been so disgustingly hot over the last few weeks it has made me glad to be at work in the air conditioning. To make me feel grateful to be at work, something truly wild must have happened. That is how exciting my life has been. One more thing before we get started: Fuck ICE, fuck the Trump administration and fuck the people who support them.   More Like Addoffs (I’m Sorry I Wrote That) I'd forsake the light for her For those who don’t know—and I assume that’s all of you—Blizzard has recently released its latest version of World of Warcraft, 12.0, in the lead‑up to the newest expansion, Midnight. However, as part of their new patch comes perhaps the biggest mechanical change since its launch: Blizzard has significantly restricted addons and how they plug into the game. A lot of this is going to change For the second time in its 20‑year history, World of Warcraft has suffered a cataclysmic event, but instead of an Old God–corrupted dragon aspect breaking out of their undergrou...
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What Father Gaben Brought Me For Christmas, What Games I've Been Playing and How A Man Breaks The Manbreaker - The Cleanup 10/01/26

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2026 has started like one of those drag racing cars that burst into flames at the starting block. I’m even somewhat impressed by how much of a fucking shitshow 2026 already is while not even clearing the two-week mark. Well, instead of dwelling on the present, let’s dwell on the past, shall we?   Steam Sale Haul With the end of the year means the end of the year Steam sale was upon us and as is with most PC gamers I got myself quite the little haul of games to fill out my already overstuff library of games. So here’s what I bought and some brief thoughts on why I bought it. Dragon Age Collection (Origins, 2, Inquisition) So I actually already own all of these games on different platforms but A) I don’t own them all on the same platform and B) this will allow me to play them on my Steam Deck. Now I am not the biggest Dragon Age fan, especially compared to the much better Mass Effect series, but I had played all of them and enjoyed… most of them. Inquisition ran out of steam well bef...
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