Icebrand1270

Today is my 43rd Birthday. The time has come to see who remembers me. To celebrate another year of ups and downs. And to eat cake of course!

I do have one wish, the same from last year, not for myself but for this site:

Work together. Stop being at each other's throats. Most importantly, don't wish for the site to collapse if you're an active member. Problems? Sure. But the infighting will destroy us faster than any other aspect. I've been on forums that have "gone under" and infighting is what brings it down. I don't want that to happen here, even as some members seem to want that to happen just to say "I told you so".

I come to be here to be among people with similar hobbies and passions... away from social media where my positive posts are often called "poor taste" behind my back. This is my "home on the Internet" for a number of reasons. Let's keep it that way.

Time will tell whether this is received in a positive manner or not. But it is my wish nonetheless.

I normally don't post big-league pro wrestling news despite being an 'indie scene" announcer (trust me, it's bad out there) but this one I have to.

Jay Briscoe, one half of AEW's ROH Tag Team Champions "Dem Boys" The Briscoes alongside his brother Mark, died in a car accident today in Laurel, Delaware. He was 38.

Best known as a 2-Time ROH World Champion and a dozen ROH Tag Title reigns in the "old" ROH as well as a ROH 6-Man Tag Title Run, The Briscoes won tag gold in Impact and New Japan as well. They are 1 of only 3 teams to hold that distinction, with the others being the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin) and The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett).

Last year's brutal rivalry with FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) showed they still had it, culminating in a Double Dog Collar match to earn the ROH tag titles a final time. Outside the ring, "Dem Boys" are known as family men and extremely fan-friendly. Well, was in Jay's case now.

Nothing hurts worse for a fan or "worker" than an active big-league competitor dying. I can still remember parents consoling children in the crowd when Eddie Guerrero died in 2006.

Thank you for your contributions to the wrestling industry Jay Briscoe. You will be missed.

After a... depressing... review of personal life in 2022 for me, here's a review for me in gaming for 2022.

On the PS4 side, the trophies were fewer than in years past with only 893. It's the lowest since 2017, which wasn't a full year (changeover to OohYeah127 after losing the Icebrand1270 ID to a bank card hack). I earned 22 Plats, down from 31 last year but better than 18 from 2020.

Of the 22 Plats, 18 are the "trash" type. 15 in 1 day if you can believe it. (I say if you're into trash Plats fire them all off at once.)

The other 4 are definitely interesting:

Mayhem Brawler (NA): A throwback to 90s beat-em-up games that has one of the super-powered police heroes say at one point "Am I the only one who feels trapped in a beat-em-up game?" (HA!) with divergent paths and 3 possible "final stages" as a result of your choices. In an age where beat-em-ups have returned (thanks to Streets of Rage 4 and the first Cobra Kai game) this one may have missed your attention. So I bring it to your attention now!

Little League World Series Baseball 2022 (PS4): Platinum 200. 2nd UR (for now). My 5th "1st in the World to Platinum" moment. Not a very good game (GameMill dropped the ball on a brand name... again) and some people have seen bad trophy glitches that I was fortunate enough to avoid. Still, a fitting choice as "1st in the World" moments have been the defining moments of my time hunting trophies.

Sleeping Dogs (PS4-NA). Not every day I Plat something I did on my old ID. But I did. And this is a good one, so why not?

TMNT Cowabunga Collection (PS4). The greatest retro collection of ALL TIME! Filled with a collection of 13 retro TMNT games, it has all the modern "quality of life" amenities you would expect (rewind, save states, music, concept art) and even more (watch mode, enhancements, original instruction booklets, strategy guides). I got to relive what I played and experience what I missed. AND a screenshot of mine from the game trends on the PS4 Live from PlayStation for the game!

Sadly, my PS4  is in a breakdown phase... my 3rd no less... so the time to save for a PS5 has arrived. March at the earliest due to low money AND low post-holiday supply.

As for my time with Switch, I continue to enjoy it... despite the viewpoint of critics and haters. The year in review said I played 60 different games on Switch in 2022... though some for brief periods. My favorite game on Switch was Switch Sports... which has now become difficult to play due to standing issues. Such is life.

Not much else to tell... I think. Until next time!

With everyone commenting on how good or bad 2022 was for them, my time has come to reflect. I'm taking a different road than most... and this won't be an easy read.

These are dark times with pandemics, wars, massacres, economic collapse and all-out chaos. Some can barely afford to eat, in some nations some may not live to see tomorrow. I've always believed to take comfort in what one can in such times as no one can predict tomorrow. No easy feat given the crushing weight of the human condition.

My not-so-fair city of New York becomes a worse mess by the day. Between a return to gang violence not seen since the 80s and 90s and a record high in violence and robberies in New York City's famous subway system (one of which was even classified as a domestic terror hate crime and made national news), most notably pushing people onto subway tracks into oncoming trains (popular 80s and 90s crime). Due to a law passed a few years ago called "bail reform" in New York State, bail is no longer a thing. Criminals are held without bail or released without being asked to put up bail... and usually commit more crimes the same day. A constant "guns vs weak prosecutors" blame game is the order of the day with zero talk of solutions. I'm perfectly cool with cracking down on both (Read: cracking down on street guns AND reversing bail reform) but my views aren't popular. Give me a solution or keep quiet. The End.

As for my personal life, as bad as my health and my isolation from others is, I've had worse years. I often wonder: What if I had treated others better as a kid? What more lingering effects from outlawed 90s psych meds are in my future? Who will turn their back on me next?

As for physical health, I have not suffered a varicose vein rupture since August of 2020. However, it is getting more difficult to stand for longer than 30 minutes and walking in cold weather is difficult for the first time. As a result, I was approved for and received a cane for personal use. Sad to need one at Age 42 but it's better than falling as I no longer walk straight. (I actually still need to learn how to use it correctly. Go figure.)

The "other" worst thing to happen to me in 2022 was my stepmother no longer speaking to me. I know it was inevitable after my father died but she still talks to my brother and sister so it's definitely not cool. We have a tumultuous history but one day she and my half-brother (father and stepmother's son) say "we're two people who will never forget you" and then that.

The one positive was returning to East Coast Pro Wrestling in October. After 3 long years, I did an event in my hometown. In so many ways it was simply surreal.

Here's hoping for brighter days for all. Gaming will be covered in a separate update.

Proof I live with I family of "tech dummies": my mother was unsure if my new Google ChromeBook could go on the Internet! I know she doesn't know computers and it's better she ask and not assume but YIKES!

Oh, and we got into a thought pattern... a rather weird one... over whether it could do more than our desktop that we got in 2012. I'm going with yes because the desktop has a laptop hard drive (not sure how they got away with that but we found out one day when cleaning it) and can't stream video past a certain point... or handle modern apps... or sync up to wireless modern printers... and so on.

P.S. My mother will NEVER bother to get a new computer. She can't figure out the old one!

Merry Christmas PSNProfiles! I am now the proud owner of a Google Chromebook! INDEED! Thank you family!

Proudly Presenting: Platinum Trophy 202: TMNT Cowabunga Collection (PS4 version)!

Some regard this as the best "retro collection" ever made. I may very well agree.

That said, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games (based on the ultra popular 80s/90s cartoon) on Arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis and Game Boy are here... 13 games in total. With a smorgasbord of "enhancements", save states and rewind features, this will be manageable but still challenging. There are also soundtracks and concept art as is often the case but unexpected extras such as the original instruction manuals, strategy guides and even a "watch mode".

As for trophies, beat each game and the Platinum is yours.

Fun Fact: One of my screenshots trends (for now) on Live from PlayStation (PS4): a trophy screenshot for Fall of the Foot Clan. I said "One of the first games I ever beat. Beaten again over 30 years later. What more could I possibly want?"

See you next time!

Since I don't know how to put up "Year in Review" cards from PlayStation website (tech dummy here) I'll just state that my most frequent game played was WWE 2K22. No surprise there!

As for trophies, a disappointing 21 so far. 18 were the "trash" variety (15 of them in a single day... might as well fire them all at once I say) but 3 very interesting ones:

Mayhem Brawler (NA Version).

Little League World Series Baseball 2022 (PS4). 2nd Ultra Rare (as of now) and my 5th "1st in the World to Platinum" Moment.

Sleeping Dogs (PS4-NA). I did this on my former ID years ago so a good "revisit".

I'm trying to get another Plat or two before the end of the year but, well, burnout. If it's anything it will be TMNT Cowabunga Collection.

Looks like my PS4... my 3rd one for anyone who cares... is on its way out.

For about a month now, it's had the occasional overheat issue. Seems to be getting more frequent now, although I'm not sure.

Just as I was planning a Plat or two to end the year (it can't all be trash, right?).