The Friday Five: 5 Things You'll See In Unpatched Games (Part 2)

[Andrew]

The Friday Five: 5 Things That Spoil Multi-Season Modes

So, I've explained why I strongly believe that multi-season modes are awesome, and I stand by that. I wouldn't maintain an interest in them if I didn't! However, I also won't pretend that they're perfect and that nothing can spoil the experience. Please note that when I say spoil, I don't necessarily mean that the mode is completely ruined and no longer capable of being enjoyed. Again, if these were insurmountable issues, then my interest in multi-season modes would soon evaporate, and even after all these years, that obviously isn't the case!

Nevertheless, there are quirky things that are annoying or detract from the intended experience in some way. Even if they ultimately don't stand in the way of enjoying multi-season modes, they're among my pet peeves in some of my all-time favourite basketball video games, and issues that I'd prefer future games to avoid. In other words, if you were to ask me what are my least favourite aspects in some of my favourite modes and games, the issues that I'm discussing here are definitely on that list! I adore multi-season modes and will always recommend them as a fun way to play basketball games, but be warned: these are some issues that you might encounter.

[Andrew]

The Friday Five: 5 Best Retro Pick-Ups

Expanding my basketball video game collection in recent years has been immensely satisfying. Sometimes I don't like to think about the cumulative cost, but as I've said in previous articles and on our podcast, it's always my goal to strive to be as savvy and frugal as possible. I'm not going to overpay just to get a game that I want right away, unless it's particularly rare and difficult to get hold of. Even then, I'm still going to shop around and balk at any price tag that's straight-up gouging. My advice to any would-be video game collector is to not overspend on your retro pick-ups.

Although snagging some bargains is definitely a part of what makes some of my retro pick-ups so satisfying, I don't just collect for the sake of completion, or the thrill of the hunt. I want to play these games and create content about them, so it's been a joy to finally get my hands on titles that I overlooked, couldn't access, or simply didn't know about years ago. Unsurprisingly, some of them are more challenging than others to obtain years and indeed decades later, especially without paying more than they're worth. These five games are among my best and most satisfying retro pick-ups, as it took some good deals and good fortune for me to snap them up for my collection.

[Andrew]

The Friday Five: 5 Things You'll See In Unpatched Games (Part 2)

As I noted in my first article recalling things that you'll see in unpatched games, official updates are a contentious issue. Day 1 patches do little to convince gamers that modern titles aren't rushed out before they're ready, and frequent updates can be annoying when they're several gigabytes in size, essentially forcing you to download the entire game all over again. From the list of issues that they have to fix to some of the undesirable changes that are pushed through, the sight of a pending patch is one that makes many basketball gamers groan in frustration.

However, when we consider that we used to have to beg and plead for patches that barely fixed any issues, and for a long time weren't viable on console, I've come to believe that having too many patches is actually the lesser of two evils. While there are times when foregoing an update or downgrading to a previous version is in fact preferable, you'll also be reminded of some weird and bothersome issues when you play unpatched games. Of course, you'll also see some interesting snapshots of the league when a game and its rosters are restored to their vanilla state. With that being said, here are five more noteworthy things that you'll encounter without patches.