So I didn’t go to the dentist for about 15 years. I had disgustingly visible buildups of calcified plaque around my bottom front row, and was becoming seriously self conscious about smiling because of it. All my wisdom teeth were still in, but only a couple of them were visible at all. Then one day I took a big bite of a taco, and all of a sudden it felt like I got punched in the jaw at the mandible joint. So I went into panic/maintenance mode, and booked doctors and dentist appointments asap, catastrophising that one of my wisdom teeth had somehow grown up into my jaw and was going to dislocate it, or something. It was a fucking delicious taco, too.

Anyway, turned out my wisdom teeth were fine, if fact the dentist was amazed at how well my teeth were holding up considering how badly I treated them/ignored them. Only one cavity, the only cavity I’ve ever had in my life, and in a wisdom tooth that could be easily removed, at that. So I got that pulled out promptly, which was one of the most disgusting experiences of my life.

Turned out the cartilage between my jaw and my skull had gradually slipped loose, and the bone was rubbing up against bone. Six months of jaw therapy and multiple awful, painful, and bloody dentist visits later, my mouth is back to normal, my jaw doesn’t click any more, and my teeth are looking great.

And now, I cannot, for the life of me, fall asleep at night without flossing first.

Oh yeah, the Contracts games have decent game feel. Definitely not jank. They’ve been on CryEngine since Ghost Warrior 2, so they are modern enough I guess.

I’d throw Sniper: Ghost Warrior in there too. (Different studio, similar generic title :P) They’re a bit like the Elite games but in first-person, and set in modern day/near future.

The spinoff games Sniper: Ghost Warrior: Contracts 1 and 2 are a bit more hitman style as well. (I got more into the Contracts games personally, as the story from the main series was kinda wack.) They’re shorter games overall but levels can get bloody difficult when your plans go inevitably wrong.

Receiver 2, my dude.

An awesomely weird firearm simulation/stealth game, with a storyline consisting of equal parts gun safety, mental health awareness, and cult reprogramming. Almost every function of the player weapon is a different key on the keyboard. Reloading a single magazine is like a 4-6 keystroke sequence. A suddenly jammed weapon is like being presented with a tiny puzzle to solve, while under fire from deadly turret drones. One shot from an enemy kills you. You can and will shoot yourself in the leg. There is fall damage. There is broken glass damage. You are not an action hero, you are a sentient range target. Every bullet matters.

Anyways, it’s very paced, tense as fuck, and a decent challenge. The voice acting and soundtrack are also lovely.