Extra Life 2024 marathon is tomorrow.

We are finally here and tomorrow morning, the big day begins. As always I am absolutely excited to do this and plan to start streaming at 8AM Eastern time, not stopping till the same time Sunday. It will be a long time, but it will be a fun time, and it will make a difference. After all that is why we do this, right? But what am I talking about? Extra Life and the 24(5?) hour gaming marathon! If you do not know what this is, well sit down a while and let's talk.

Over the past year, gamers from around the globe have signed up for this, where we all selected a children's hospital to help directly. With this singular goal in mind, we  have collected and given donations via the children's miracle network throughout the year, and now we get to celebrate the effort with one massive push called Game Day. And that is tomorrow, when gamers from around the world in the name helping these sick kids, will start playing and not stop for 24 hours... well 25 hours in this case (daylight savings is this weekend too).

Simple? I hope you see it so, cause it is to me too... I am very thankful I get to be a part of this every year and have been since it began... since before even Children's Miracle Network got involved and it was in honor of one young lady who lost her fight with cancer in Texas, to thank the hospital who tried to help her, as well as help them to be able to do more for those who followed. Back then we were just a website of gaming nerds who wanted to help and do something... but if you want the story of this, I think the official site can offer a better window then I, so please come check that out.

But even as time draws in and we clearly have a lot to be thankful for, these kids can always use more help, so before the big event, I am asking you, help us help them. If you want to take up the mantle yourself, you can sign up and take donations right through the end of the year at www.extra-life.org and believe me, the more who do this the better these kids will be.

If you don't feel like you want to play yourself (this weekend or a rain date) you can always also donate to a player who is. All donations go through the Children's Miracle Network to the hospital that player is playing for. I myself play for Boston Children's Hospital and if you wanted to help me help them, I am beyond humbled. You can find our team page link at the top of this blog, or you can find my own page right here if you are so inclined (Ill list at the bottom of this post too). Again, any help you can give is more then welcome and more then helpful for those who need it most.

But I'm not going to preach about this here, not so close to the goal. Rather this is an open invitation. Come on in and join on the fun! Once I start up tomorrow, I will be constantly rolling till I crash the next morning, and you are welcome to join me at any time during! So please, get comfy and enjoy with me!

Thank you,

Megabyte

Links:

• Extra Life home page
• The Red Sector's Team page (Stream will be visible here)
• Megabyte's Extra Life page (Stream will be visible here)
• Bookhobo's Extra Life page

Squirrel with a Gun (PC) Review

The moment I saw the trailer to this game the first time, I knew I was going to have to play it. To think someone would make something this insane and release it... and still make it look that fun, I just knew I had found one of the handful of games this year I needed to get my hands on and play pretty early on. And yes, it lived up to my expectations.

Demons Never Lie (PC) Review

While I can not say this is the deepest dive into my backlog I have ever seen happen, here we do have a game that's been hanging out there a few years. In this case, it was an already cheap game that intrigued the hell out of me, and was made even cheaper as part of a Halloween sale on steam. Turns out, I found an oddball that wasn't afraid to get dark, but still had real heart and soul behind it. But enough of the puns, come on in.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) Review

This time we have a game that has been hiding in the backlogs for many many years. Way back in the day I had bought a PSP for the soul purpose of playing two games: Phantasy Star Portable and the recently released remake of Persona. But to have a console and not play more the two games is an absolute waste, so I would pick up other titles during it's life. Unfortunately I did not get to play them all over the lifespan of that machine, but it would hint at it's own demise coming, so I had time to prepare, ripping my library to file form so I could eventually play them all anyway. Today this should have paid off with an interesting view of how the events of Final Fantasy VII were set into motion. But I am sorry to say, it did not. I found myself bored by it to be quite honest.

Now before we begin, I have to admit, just as the above suggests, I did not play this game on the PSP. Rather well after my actual hardware died, I played via emulation ripped from my original copy, so my experience could well be different then yours. But with that in mind, step inside.

Ys IX Monstrum Nox (PC) Review

And for at least a few months, we have finished yet another series. (Nordic is dropping soon.) I have absolutely loved every Ys game I have played till now, but I will admit I was a bit nervous this time around. I was not hearing great things from friends about this one, so I waited this time till I could get it on sale. But I am here to tell you right now, there was no reason to fear such concerns. In fact, I think I have a new favorite of the series.

August Extra Life 2024 Update

Hi again everybody! Every day that passes is another day closer to Game Day, the culmination of Extra Life, and we are now a few scant months away. How close are we? Well for most people, gameday will be November 2nd, starting bright and early (8 or 9 AM LOCAL time, no I don't care what time-zone... it doesn't work like that). And for the first time in years, I will not be using a rain date to go the next weekend! It's been too long, but I can be there for the actual 25-hour marathon this year. I hope to see you all there, new and familiar faces, cause it really is a fun time.

But with my own schedule solidified, it is time to get ready, and to have that last big push to bring in donations so we can help the sick kids... but here I think I've gotten ahead of myself for anyone new so let me step back a second.

For those of you who are new here, Extra Life is a 24 (or 25) hour gaming marathon and charity event a lot of us gamers take part in to help sick kids local to us every year. Each one of us has signed up on the site here and try to raise money for the hospital we chose to play for. I myself play for Boston Children's Hospital as my own page can attest. All of this, however is handled by the Children's Miracle Network so they will handle all the details with any donations received, but it all goes to the hospital you choose to play for, so you really are making a personal difference by playing.

And while I will be streaming my marathon and it will be video games, these are optional if you wish to take part. Not everyone will have a stream going, choosing instead perhaps to just have a local event. Nor are video games the only option. Basically if you have nerdy things you like to do, you can make it part of the event. Board games, card games, table top RPGs, miniatures... it's all good. Hell if you wanted to and could figure out how to make it work, LARPing would probably work as well. (But you better start planning that campaign if you wanted to do that... November is going to come quicker then you think.) So yeah, all are welcome to help make these kids' lives just a little bit better. And of course if you can't make it on November 2nd, you can always rain date it to another weekend that works for you... just try to go the full time when you take it on.

If, however, none of this sounds like your kind of thing, you can also help by donating to another player and help them help sick kids. If you would like to do so for anyone in my team, thank you deeply and completely, and we will make this as easy as we can. Clicking the image below or this link here will take you to the Red Sector team page. Once there the donate button will guide you step-by-step to pick which team member you want to donate under the name of (everyone plays for their own hospital choice... that isn't decided by the team), choose how much you want to, and even leave a message if you so desire (anonymous is also an option if you don't want to leave a name). If you take this option, thank you very much. We are humbled for any help we can bring for the kids.

But with that simple note, I'm afraid my time to talk is up. See you next time and see you on Game Day.

- Megabyte

Was It Worth It? (PC) Review

Usually when I pick up games during the infamous Summer or Winter sale, they tend to be cheaper titles I am interested in, but not so much I want to play right away. Rather they share the fate of falling into the ever growing pit known as my backlog. But sometimes games refuse to stay there long... and then we get things like we have today, a small indie title that refused to stay dormant about life's choices, a guide trying to figure out what yours were long ago, and the fun you can have pissing him off along the way. Come inside.