Descent II (PC) Review

While I have incredibly fond memories of playing the first Descent game, it would not enter my home alone, When I picked it up, it was in a boxed set of both Descent, Descent II, an expansion pack for each, a level editor, and a few teaser pictures for the up coming and much anticipated Descent 3. Sadly we would wait several more years before we would hear about this third game again, and the expansions are a lot harder to get today then back then, but I was still excited to continue my revisit on this franchise. And it did NOT disappoint! Come on in!

Boltgun: Forges of Corruption (PC) Review

While our first run with BoltGun was overall satisfying, we did not complete the story just yet. For when Max Powers picked this one up for me, it was the deluxe edition, which included the DLC expansion pack and I knew I was coming back for it. And for better and for worse, it was everything I expected from more of this boomer shooter. Step inside.

Extra Life 2026 May Update

Hello everybody. It's been a hot minute since I've posted on this, but it really is something we can not forget is going on. After all, we are doing this to help sick kids who are stuck and don't have the luxury to forget.

But I am getting ahead of myself. To anyone new here, welcome in and welcome to our own little push for a little something called Extra-Life. And what is it? Well it's a charity drive run by the Children's Miracle Network in which gamers get to sign up and raise money for their local children's hospital by doing what they love. If that sounds good to you, come join the site and get signed up and come join in on the fun! The process could not be simpler!.

1. Go to www.extra-life.org and sign up. 
1. The website will feature a nice big yellow "Sign up" button which will guide you through the process. It is really easy and has all the regular processes except:
1. Picking a hospital. Who you play for is a bit more specific then just "Extra-Life." While you sign up you will also be offered a list of hospitals within the Children's Miracle Network. Once you pick one to play for, all your donations will go towards that hospital specifically.
2. Set yourself up to bring donations into your choice hospital.
1. Once again the site will have plenty of suggestions, but among the biggest things you can do is (if you are here to play video games) setup your streaming service to play through your new participation page! The site supports both Youtube and Twitch. (I am STILL hoping to see Rumble join the list one day.)
3. Start playing!
1. Draw attention to why you are playing. Once again, the site is your best place to get ideas.
2. While I may focus on video games, myself this is NOT just about those. It's about any game you can think of: Video, board, card, or hell even Tabletop. Have some friends who play D&D? Why not do some good for the world while you have fun!
4. In early November, get ready for the big one, the 2026 24-hour gaming marathon!
1. In previous years, this would be on the weekend of daylight savings to extend the marathon to 25 hours, but last year, it was decided with so many needing a raindate anyway, a week was set aside where games picked their day.

Easy, right? And that's all you need to do to use your hobby to help children who really need it. But if you are not a gamer or don't think you have the time, that is ok too. After all, we need your help to to help them, and if you help me help them, well, I'm honored and humbled.

You can find my team page easily enough: it's the big Extra-Life icon in the upper right corner of this very page.... or you can click the button below. From there, the donate button will guide you the rest of the way. Everything goes to the hospital the player you donate under is playing for and again, I thank you for anything you can do to help.

And of course we are not just gonna sit around and wait for the big event. Around here, we do our best to show off the event and what you might see during it twice a week. Our themes haven't really changed as we spend one day pushing through a franchise I still love to this day and the other basically playing with how far you can take the idea of First Person gaming... and just how varied it is

• Phantasy Star Wednesday: Come join us Wednesdays at 8 PM Eastern where we play through everything released in the US. From it's 8-bit origins all the way to the still ongoing PSO2: New Genesis! Currently we are wrapping up the Hunters Guild missions of Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 before starting Episode 2. And if you want to join in the fun, you absolutely can for free! We can be found on the Ephinea server and with all intention to let anyone interested join us! Just look for the "Red Sector" game. If you are not where we are do not worry. I've always been happy to lend a hand and get someone else started down their journey (and certain missions in particular I know really benefit from a partner in the field). So come on in and join the fun, either in chat or directly in play! You are welcome!
• First Person Friday: And this is where the REAL variety show happens. Every week we stop in as we show off games, both action and otherwise, where you see from the eyes of your character. We have played everything from Descent to the 7th Guest and we are still looking for new experiences to share! Currently we just re-opened Boltgun to play the Forges of Corruption DLC, and so far it is already intense! Come see what the 41st Millennium can throw our way every Friday, also at 8 PM Eastern.

In both cases, you can join the chat and see us on Twitch or our Extra Life Participation page and we would love to see you there! But on that note, Im afraid my time to write is up for now. I have a lot to get done before Mother's Day this weekend. Enjoy your day and keep on gaming!

- Megabyte

Realms of the Haunting (PC) Review

Fresh of the joy of playing Descent as a First Person Friday game for Extra Life, I found myself wanting to continue with another MS-DOS title and immediately thought of this gem. While I was taking on my fellow gamers every week in the PTMC mines, I was playing this one on my own and loving everything about it. I don't think Im giving anything away telling you that, yes, I still loved this game. But at the same time, it wasn't quite what I remembered. Let's talk about it.

Warhammer 40K: Boltgun (PC) Review

Originally this was not the game I had planned on playing next for First Person Fridays (one of my streams I do weekly for Extra Life), but things both good and bad changed those plans. On the downside, the publishers who sell the game I was originally goning play are now on my shit list for their behavior around a very public murder and for the foreseeable future you will not see anything by them being added to my work: stream or review. But on the upward swing, my buddy Max Powers sent this my way, and how could I say no to a buddy? Having put the game down, yeah it was a great time for the most part, if not a perfect one.

Extra Life 2025 September Update

Hi everybody! It's been a few months since our last talk but time is flying by as we get closer and closer to the big marathon in November. I have to admit, I am looking forward to it as I always do. But I have this bad habit of getting ahead of myself here. I don't even know if you are new here or have been keeping up with Extra-Life!

For those of you who are new here, Extra-Life is a charity event that I have been lucky enough to participate in since it was started in 2008. Back then, it was a lot smaller affair, and one sadly born from the pain of loss. From my own perspective, I was at the time a happy member of the Sarcastic Gamer community, spending time on the forums and listening to every podcast that came out talking about an overview of the gaming stories of the day. But one day that podcast would be one of the hardest things I would ever listen to. The founder, fondly known around the site simply as Doc, literally broke down and cried mid-stream as he had just gotten the news that a family he was friends with had lost their daughter, a young girl named Victoria, from cancer. But he would not leave her legacy to end in tears. Instead, he came to us collectively with an idea.

To thank the hospital for their efforts, he rallied the site to have an event where for 24 hours we would all get online and play games as a fundraiser for this hospital. Needless to say, we were all in... site-wide. It wasn't a big event, but it was a successful one. And we were already hungry to do it again. it became a tradition of the site for a few years before Doc would leave, joining the team at Children's Miracle Network... and he took this event with him. No longer limited to a single (and sadly now defunct) website, the event could now expend to more hospitals, with more participants helping more children! And I have been incredibly honored to watch it grow through the entire process. But it's not fair to not let the event tell the tale for itself, so you can check out the about section here for their own take on it.

Today, Extra-Life is MASSIVE and has collectively raised well over $132,000,000 to help these poor kids who need it most, and it is truly an amazing thing to take part in and as I noted at the beginning of this post, I have been honored to be able to be there for since the very beginning.... and it's time for you to jump in too! So how do you do it? Well that's the easy part!

If you are a gamer, sign on up and get in here with us! You don't have to play video games, but really anything nerdy is good for this. Just get on the Extra-Life Website and click that signup button! The site will guide you the rest of the way including how to setup your own page, link any streaming channel you might wish to use for it, and even what team you want to play on. However the most important choice you will make is the hospital you are playing for. One of the unique points of this charity event is that what you bring in goes specifically to the hospital you are playing for. I myself an playing for Boston's Children's Hospital, but you can pick any hospital in the Children's Miracle Network you wish. With that in motion, you will have access to tips, tricks, and tools to help you kit up for the event, so time to get going and bring in what you can to help those kids. And all your efforts will culminate with a 24 hour marathon we all always look forward to in November.

In previous years this was date would traditionally be the Saturday of Daylight Savings in November, creating an actually 25 hour marathon, a lofty goal to play through indeed. But there was a problem with this: one weekend for every Extra Lifer can be a pain for many people's schedule. I should know. with family events almost always coming on the same weekend, it made tough for me to make it, which is why I was always thankful for the often used "rain date" the following weekend. But this year is different. The organizers have decided to try a new solution by letting us as gamers pick our days, defining a game week instead of a single day! This year, "GAME WEEK" will start from Saturday morning on November 8th and run all the way through Sunday night on November 16th. You pick when you put in your 24 hours to celebrate what we could do for these kids (as well as a final push the marathon represents). We here will have to pick our day still, but I will be updating here when we do.

And speaking of, that brings us to the other way you can partake in this event. If you can't or don't feel like you should be playing yourself, you can always donate under the name of your favorite gamers to help the hospital they play for. As noted above, I myself have chosen to play for Boston Children's Hospital, and if you would like to help me (or any other member of my team) thank you so much. We really can't do this without you. You can reach us three ways:

1. Look us up on the Extra-Life page: I am including this one first simply because it can be used for anyone you want to show support with, but in the page header, there is a "search for player" bar. Use it to find literally anyone you want to back.
   
   
   
2. Donate on our streams: When I stream, it is always for this event, as one of the two reasons for it: getting pictures for reviews on this little space online and (more importantly) to draw attention to this event so we can get more players and to offer an easy way to help us help the kids if you so incline. And while the reviews are why you never see me on screen (video, picture, anything really), you can find the panel below in the about section of the stream page. The donate button there will take you directly to our page where you can donate to anyone who is a member.
   
   
   
3. Click the button below! At the bottom of this message, I will leave a button to reach our team page as well. Feel free to use it if you just want to get there without any hoops.

As for when you can catch the stream, I finally have set a solid schedule for streaming games. Wednesday has remained the same, but I have reserved Friday nights as well, if for a different more action built franchise. In both cases we celebrate the gaming past, even as we try to help kids have a better future:

• Phantasy Star Wednesday: This has not changed, but every Wednesday around 7 PM, I am playing my way through the entire Phantasy Star franchise in order of release. Currently we are making our way through Phantasy Star IV, but it won't be much longer before we make the jump to the first MMO in the series.
• First Person Friday: Yes the games we play on Friday, beyond the franchise, will have a theme, as this is arguably where a lot of my favorite games live, but we are starting with one of the big Granddaddy of them all with Wolfenstein. As I write this, I have finished Spear of Destiny and our next stream will be to start our adventure in Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

But on that note, I think its time for me to get going as I have gotten very long winded today. Please join us for the fun and helping kids who truly do need it the most.

Thank you for listening,

Megabyte