It's very easy, but you have to want it.

Set up a text message alert on nowinstock.net

when the alert comes in, drop what you are doing and get one. Your best bet will likely be with Amazon Prime (they usually stay in stock for about 30 minutes). If you don't have Amazon Prime, get your free trial now and I can almost guarantee that you will have one before the trial lapses. You can still try with other retailers such as Wal-Mart, but you'll have to be fast to respond to the alert.

After my fiancee saw my Switch and wanted one for herself, I was able to get her one in a couple weeks following my own advice.

Do it before E3....

I personally find it has the best mechanics of the series. It plays at the right speed, and the controls feel tight and responsive. It has the most diverse build options where even the strangest builds can prove viable. The game's world is the biggest in the series and probably the least-linear. It has the best invasion system with optional PvP areas. It has the easiest to grasp story from a series notorious for being obtuse. It also has the best NG+ with new enemy types, additional NPC placements, and new items to find. It feels the most balanced (Rank 3 Blood Bros here) and is without a doubt, my favorite in the series.

Sure, you take an elevator ride to a lava castle in the sky and distant landmarks may not be exactly where they appear. Some complain about the hitboxes (extremely rare issue in my experience). But these flaws just aren't enough to detract from an amazing experience.

A warning about the PC version: Even though I have a decently beefy PC, I went for the PS4 version to cut down on the chances of encountering cheaters. It was a bet I am happy to say paid off.

5: About a 10 way tie between Mass Effect, Anachronox, Secret of Mana, Relentless (Little Big Adventure), Chrono Trigger, Fallout, Daggerfall, and different entries of games seen in this list.

4: Final Fantasy IV
Long ago, Final Fantasy wasn't just good, it was the best RPG series the gaming industry had to offer. The movie-like cut-scenes and lengthy storytelling began here. A friend of mine once claimed the story arc had "a bigger plot twist than The Crying Game." While I wouldn't go that far, I can definitely attest this game blew my mind mere moments after I pressed start.

3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Although recently released, I have put more than 150 hours into the game and am excited to play the HARD difficulty mode for another 150+ hours. This Zelda game is the closest to the original released more than 30 years ago. The world continued to surprise and delight me through to the very end. Its only crime is that it ended up too easy. While many prefer the more linear adventure found in the Ocarina of Time, for me it isn't even close: Breath of the Wild is the best Zelda game and one of the best games ever made.

2: Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
This is the best version of my favorite Souls game from my favorite series of the past decade. DS2 takes everything I love most about RPGs (adventure and exploration, challenging and complex combat, multiple viable classes and ways to play, world PvP and tournaments) and puts them all in the same game. Often seen as the "black sheep" of the franchise, I find DS2 to be among the best RPGs gaming has to offer.

1: Dark Age of Camelot (from 2001-2002)
Not only is DAoC my favorite RPG, it's my favorite game of all-time. For about the first year, the game was complete magic. It existed at a time following the underdeveloped chaos of games like Ultima Online but before the over-sanitized experience found in World of Warcraft. It was the perfect combination of exploration, adventure, PvP, and risk vs reward. I've yet to play another game that can match the unbelievable experiences I found in DAoC. I wrote about some of them in college and even shared one of my favorites in my review here on Gamespot.

I loathe difficulty settings.

I realize they are a development tool used to attract more players thereby expanding potential sales, but it's almost always just some artificial adjustment without regard for actual balanced and fun game-play.

Let's look at the Souls series. It lacks any sort of difficulty slider because the developers have a vision for how the game should play. You play the game that you are served and you learn it or you don't play it. There's no participation trophy here. The game's only true difficulty is in learning its mechanics. Hard mode (NG+....+) doesn't actually make the game any harder (with the exception of some added enemies in the better ones) if you understand the encounters. Such a mode exists only to enforce a more flawless execution.

Compare that with Skyrim, where the player must almost certainly adjust the difficulty settings; make a poor build and everything takes too long to kill. Create an overpowered build and everything around you falls too quickly. The game never changes, and the quests and items stay the same. The game is simply not balanced, so the difficulty slider acts as a UBalance (patent not actually pending) mechanic.

What makes a GOOD difficulty slider? Easy -- content! Imagine if Skyrim had items and loot balance adjustments based on difficulty. Perhaps a few more skill points could be made available for such a choice. What if there was an exclusive quest or three for the hardest difficulty? The best gear in the game could be hidden behind a difficulty wall, too! After all, it's the only time a player would even need it.

That being said, I play default or harder difficulty. However, show me a difficulty setting that is actually balanced and introduces worthwhile gameplay features, and I'll pick that one.

I was just talking about this with my fiancee last night.

DISCLOSURE: I am a gamer and therefore cannot have a significant other.

I played my first FPS on the PC when I was just a kid, that game was Wolfenstein. From then I played Ken's Labyrinth, Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Quake, Hexen, Blood, Heretic, No One Lives forever, Soldier of Fortune, Unreal, and countless other games and sequels.

By the time Halo came out for the original Xbox, I was already over and done with FPS games. Every now and then you get a gem like Metroid Prime, Bioshock, or the 2016 Doom reboot. However, with limited exception, FPS games are the same damn games I was playing 20 years ago but with prettier graphics and more scripted segments.

I could use the same argument for RTS games, too. Dune, Warcraft, Command & Conquer, Starcraft -- each too similar to the game that came before it.

I wasn't enamored by the starting plateau. It was slow going and the "open world" simply made it take longer to get from point A to point B.

But then I got the paraglider and access to the real open world. From the hidden caves with powerful weapons to the surprising world bosses and terrifying guardians, I found myself drawn in by the game's depth. By the time I freed my first divine beast, I saw a game more immersive than Skyrim or Witcher 3.

The combat is reminiscent of Souls games, but executed by the merciful hand of Nintendo. The latter half of that statement stands as my biggest criticism of the game; after awhile you simply get too well prepared and skilled for the challenges that lie ahead. The hard mode DLC can't come soon enough, and I'm excited to play through the game once more. Furthermore, plowing through menus in order to cook food and mix potions isn't really my bag, but needing to do it in order to survive made the act far more consequential and rewarding. There are other small issues with pop-in and frame rate, but I could hardly notice them under this mountain of gold.

But I think what is truly striking about the game is how well it all integrates together. The horseback combat, perilous climbs, weapon balance and cycling, countless world puzzles, shrines, beasts, and mini-games amalgamate a new standard of open-world ARPGs in 2017 and beyond. The game engine's foundation is as solid and versatile as the genre has ever seen. Some games may do one or two things better, but Breath of the Wild offers consistent, high-quality variety across the board.

But is it a masterpiece? When taken as a whole, it is indeed worthy of such praise. It might not have stricken your particular fancy, but that doesn't stop the game from being a work of high art.

For me JRPGs can span things I love to things I detest, mostly the latter.

When I was growing up, I enjoyed classics such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. But as the medium matured, I didn't like what it had grown up to become. I often find the storytelling in modern JRPGs to be all too pandering to specific demographics, culturally absurd, and completely nonsensical at times.

But then there is Dark Souls, my favorite series of the past decade. Without a trace of anime to be found but with a level of cultural abstraction that intends for it to feel foreign, it ironically becomes one of my favorite games of all-time.

Japanese games have historically been innovative and fun. It is when they break away from their myopic storytelling ideals that I can say they are some of the best, if not the best, games out there. On the other hand, when they are steeped in Japanese tropes and quirks, I find them among the worst.

LOVE:
Dark Souls
Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy I-VI

HATE:
Fire Emblem
The Last Remnant
Final Fantasy VIII-present

Democrats (with limited exception) are oligarchic shills who pretend to represent the people.

Republicans are even worse.

Find your local representative.

Find out who butters his/her bread.

If it's not you and your neighbors, vote 'em the f***k out.

Get billionaire money out of politics and I promise you it won't matter which side you're on because they'll be working for 99% of you. The labels are just there to gull the masses: Republicans want to lock up the poor, Democrats want to take your freedoms away, Socialists want everyone to be equal regardless of effort, etc.

Family values, right to work, safe spaces, and freedom probably mean something to you, but they're used as props of misdirection by politicians. If any of those words pissed you off, it's time to start thinking for yourself.

As people wake up to what has been happening in this country -- not just the last election but for the past 30 years, I expect 2018 to be a political bloodbath. America always steps in it, but America always comes back stronger.

You don't get to call something BS because you don't want it to be true.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/08/voting-polls-election-day/93201770/

And voting is a privilege, not a right. Shutting down DMVs in minority neighborhoods then requiring photo IDs to vote is textbook voter suppression. Limiting voting precincts in those same neighborhoods to create artificially long lines is from the same book. I haven't even talked about gerrymandering yet because that type of suppression works outside of the presidential branch.

Why don't take take your fingers out of your ears and learn a thing or two about the state you claim to be from?