YouTube Obsession

It’s a common refrain around here that I love collecting core rulebooks for Table-Top RPGs but never end up playing them. No channel feeds this behavior more than the relatively new channel Quinns Quest. The titular Quinn is an experienced game master who reviews TTRPGs by running campaigns with his group of friends.

His reviews aren’t just lore and rule break downs, though that is a big part of his reviews. Nor is it an actual-play¹ channel like Critical Roll, he never actually plays the game in full in a review. But he does show the flow of play and makes it simple to understand.

Lancer is a favorite “read” of mine, I love the mech tech and the lore but I have never really fully understood the rules and flow of a game until this review.

I also have to shout out the Windows 95 and Encarta 97 aesthetic and FMV of his videos.

Playing

I’m sure even people who aren’t interested in BF6 are seeing a ton of BF6 in their various feeds so I’ll keep it brief.

TLDR
BF6 is good. It needs a lot of work yet, but -at launch- it is already a fun game. That’s a lot more than you can say for 2042.

Long Version
The most common complaint I’ve been hearing is that the XP gain for weapons is way too slow. It is slow and I’ve been enjoying using the bare-bones stock weapons and slowly unlocking better and better attachments. So, by the time I have good attachments, I am already good with the gun and I just become better. I totally understand people wanting to have all the attachments right away and they want to have the loadout they want from launch. Well, they can bot farm for a couple couple hours on Portal and have everything unlocked.

The way I figure it is: I am going to be playing BF6 for a long time. I want to be experiencing new weapons throughout it’s lifespan. I don’t care what the meta loadout is because the Battlefield design has always been a natural counter to metas. Especially in BF6 where flanking an entrenched enemy is much easier with all the destruction tools available. Also, if you play the objective (PTFO), you are able to contribute to the win without getting an insane K/D ratio. That’s not what Battlefield is about.

The campaign is also getting trashed in reviews and I just have to say, BF campaigns have not been good since the Bad Company days and even that was goofy af. So to hold an expectation that the campaign was something most people care about is just a bit silly. BUT! I have played the campaign (100% actually, yeah I’m cool) and it’s not horrible. The story is a coma inducing sub-par Tom Clancy book but it does deliver some visually cool moments. The gameplay is fun enough too. I never felt like I was retreading the same level which can happen in some COD campaigns and it’s gracefully short. Still needs to allow skippable cutscenes but otherwise adequate.

The multiplayer does have bugs. But as of this writing (10.15.2025) the most egregious ones have either been patched-out or addressed by DICE as priority fixes. Also, none of the bugs -that I encountered- were game breaking, just annoying when they pop up. There are still a few visual bugs I have been experiencing, but my enjoyment has not been hindered by these.

The audio design of BF6 continues to be a highlight of the series. It has definitely been toned down form the beta, deservedly so but it still delivers the most immersive experience of the game. There’s nothing like hunkering down behind a bit of cover you can hear being pecked away by bullet fire, the scream of a fallen comrade behind you, the building next you crumbling as you hear a friendly tank advancing next to you, all the while jets screech through the air above. There are a hundred moments like this every match.

If you have any interest in BF6 you will not be disappointed.

Listening

I was randomly scrolling through the “Available Now” tab of the Libby app to see what was out there and much to my surprise, I saw a combination of names that shook me:

I was instantly obsessed. Since it was a free “skip the line” book from the library, I figured it would do no harm because I would not be sending a Clinton money. I have to say that this version I listened to is not the audiobook, it’s produced more like a radio play. Multiple actors, sound effects and when a character is on the phone their voice has that electrical tininess you would expect. Really adds to the ridiculousness of a book written by Bill Clinton.

First off, I have never read a James Patterson novel but I had a pretty good idea what his books try to accomplish. Schlocky murder mysteries with elevating tension, red herrings and (not often earned) twists. I had no idea how right I was.

The schlock is only elevated by knowing Bill Clinton helped write this. It is impossible to separate him from the text of the novel when the titular “First Gentleman” is so clearly a self-insert; Charming, handsome, misunderstood, smarter than suspected by everyone, and an oft over exaggerated past of alleged crime. And when I can’t separate Bill from the First Gentleman character that means I cannot see the POTUS as anyone other than Hillary. It’s great.

Honestly, I cannot believe Hillary let him write this. Because how Patterson mysteries work (I assume) is that everyone is given enough of a shady history to make them a suspect at all times. So that means Bill is essentially writing about a shady presidential couple that relentlessly pursue their political goals by any means necessary. It’s wild. Like, Bill, you and Hillary relentlessly pursue your political goals by any means necessary. It’s also awkward to have a book where women are described sexually when one of the authors is one of the most infamous sex pests on earth.

One thing that I expected from this level of mass-consumed novel was that there would be a of chapters. Dan Brown is guilty of this too, it gives the illusion of building pace and tension while also making the reader feel like they’re reading a massive novel. But I did not expect that some “chapters” are only 2 paragraphs long, end in the middle of a scene, only for the next chapter to start exactly where the last one ended, destroying any attempt at tension the break might have been attempting to build. An example:

Also, It turns out, BC and JP have hooked up before and the titles of these books are equally intriguing from a “He’s just talking about himself right?” angle.

The President is Missing is a completely camp title, I am so intrigued. But the one I want to read so bad is The President’s Daughter because I will have to imagine Chelsea as the titular daughter and that already has me cracking up. What possibly could have happened to Chelsea? lol lmao.

Other Notables

** Hollyhand gives off the vibe of a Latter-day Saints missionary venturing into the depths of the Amazon.

** It took me a minute to figure out what’s going on here. This is the coolest thing I’ve seen with VR

1  I’m of the mind that actual play channels are mostly annoying and the ones that are good are few and far between. Big ups to Austin Walker’s Friends at the Table.