Your video game hot take(s) thread

[CriticalGaming]

Either game critics are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to reviewing for their audience, or they themselves just don't know what the fuck they want. If it's a linear game there'll almost always be some line about the game's length being short or about how they wish there was more off the beaten path. If a game is open-world you'll get the usual complaints about "too big, too much".

I think the linear game's problem lies entirely on whether the game itself is good or not.

Final Fantasy 13 was linear as fuck and everyone hated on it because it was just a "hallway". Yet FF7Remake and FFX are just as linear if not even more so, and people love those games. If the game is good, the the linearity doesn't matter.

Same thing for the open world though. We all talk shit about Ubisoft and there map full with icons but check this out. https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Interactive+Map

Toggle "all" icons on this interactive map and immediately Elden Ring's map looks like a Ubisoft game. What is even worse is how many times the same bosses are scattered places, ruins all look the fucking same, chruches are the same, there is so much copy pasta all over the Elden Ring map it's insane. The difference is, the Souls gameplay is beloved, and by removing the icons on the map you instead give the illusion that Elden somehow is revolutionaizing the open world genre. It's not, it's the same fucking shit every open world has except the combat is a cockpunch.

Horizon Zero Dawn back in 2017 didn't have a remarkable open world, but gameplay and story are everything and because those elements were great the open world's mediocrity didn't bother anyone.

That's partly why I get upset when people talk so favorably about Breath of the Wild, because they somehow are blinded by the open world and think it's so incredible when it's the same shit over and over again. On top of gameplay that sucks a dog anus.

You know what I think it is.

1st open world syndrome. BoTW and ER are both the first games with open worlds in their franchises. Nobody cares about Assassin's Creed's world because it's the 1000th world for the series.

 

[BrawlMan]

You know what I think it is.

1st open world syndrome. BoTW and ER are both the first games with open worlds in their franchises. Nobody cares about Assassin's Creed's world because it's the 1000th world for the series.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

[QUOTE

That's partly why I get upset when people talk so favorably about Breath of the Wild, because they somehow are blinded by the open world and think it's so incredible when it's the same shit over and over again. On top of gameplay that sucks a dog anus.

You know what I think it is.

1st open world syndrome. BoTW and ER are both the first games with open worlds in their franchises. Nobody cares about Assassin's Creed's world because it's the 1000th world for the series.
[/QUOTE]


YYYEESSS!!!

Drives me nuts.

 

[Dalisclock]

Ground Zeroes was an infinitely better designed map than the entirety of Phantom Pain's open-world, and it was pretty much just a demo. That military base felt like an HD remake of Shadow Moses.

Either game critics are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to reviewing for their audience, or they themselves just don't know what the fuck they want. If it's a linear game there'll almost always be some line about the game's length being short or about how they wish there was more off the beaten path. If a game is open-world you'll get the usual complaints about "too big, too much".

Different people want different things so of course.

To be fair, there are games where I wish you could get off the linear path and go explore some(FFX was this for me, the fact there are pretty much no towns is a big part of this) but at the same time I realize there are advantages and disadvantages to this. Hell, I wish Bioshock Infinite let you explore a lot more of Columbia and at first it looks like you might be able to do that but after a while it's very clear you're on a linear track. The bridges or skycars or whatever always give you all of one fucking route to take and you can't ever go back to an earlier area. Even when you visit the big transport terminal in the late game you can't actually go anywhere but out into the streets once you fight your way through. At best you get a couple smaller areas to wander around and shoot things in before being forced to the next area(the Finkton area in the mid-game is about as open as it gets). It's kind of a shame too because it feels like Columbia is a prefect setting for having mini-open world areas for each district.

But I also realize it's easier to craft with a smaller space and set pacing, and big open worlds are often missions separated by stuff that may or may not reflect stuff done in the missions. Like how the maps in AC never seem to change despite 20 years passing in the story missions.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I think the linear game's problem lies entirely on whether the game itself is good or not.

Final Fantasy 13 was linear as fuck and everyone hated on it because it was just a "hallway". Yet FF7Remake and FFX are just as linear if not even more so, and people love those games. If the game is good, the the linearity doesn't matter.

Same thing for the open world though. We all talk shit about Ubisoft and there map full with icons but check this out. https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Interactive+Map

Toggle "all" icons on this interactive map and immediately Elden Ring's map looks like a Ubisoft game. What is even worse is how many times the same bosses are scattered places, ruins all look the fucking same, chruches are the same, there is so much copy pasta all over the Elden Ring map it's insane. The difference is, the Souls gameplay is beloved, and by removing the icons on the map you instead give the illusion that Elden somehow is revolutionaizing the open world genre. It's not, it's the same fucking shit every open world has except the combat is a cockpunch.

RDR2’s game world has gotten pretty much unanimous praise for its attention to detail and minimalist intrusions on the player, especially given its size. There is also an option to turn on all kinds of map markers which would completely defeat those intentions, but it’s kinda beside the point.

Anyways, this kinda speaks for itself -

Enemies | Dark Souls Wiki

Enemies are the numerous adversaries faced in Dark Souls. All locations, stats, strategies and loot for DKS and Dark Souls Remastered.

darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com

Bosses | Dark Souls Wiki

Bosses are the greatest enemies faced in Dark Souls. All locations, stats, strategies and loot for DKS and Dark Souls Remastered.

darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com

Vs

Creatures and Enemies | Elden Ring Wiki

Elden Ring Creatures and Enemies Guide: Complete list of all wildlife and hostile creatures, where to find them, drops, farming and tips and tricks.

eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com

Bosses | Elden Ring Wiki

Elden Ring Bosses Guide: Complete list of all Bosses in the game, their weaknesses, where to find them, drops and rewards as well as tips and tricks.

eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com

The latter still completely dwarfs the former in terms of unique enemy and boss types. Idk how Miyazaki can keep conjuring up some of the wild stuff I’ve seen so far; from a creative standpoint it’s easily his most ambitious effort; even if there are issues with redundancy here and there. The Souls games are also guilty of reusing assets here and there, but perhaps it’s more forgivable with smaller scale games in general. Kinda like how the more detailed something like RDR2 is, the more certain flaws stand out in spite of it.


The game is also getting review bombed now, like Horizon: FB but for different reasons of course. Makes me really wish game “scoring” was done away with, because it almost acts like flame bait. It seems whenever there’s a really high profile game that has critics gushing praise, there will be an inevitable backlash to follow over something, anything wrong with it, to varying extremes. The higher the score, the more contemptuous it can be, as if people gradually found out about a pedophile or something.

The opposite can also happen when a highly anticipated game doesn’t do as well, and there will be those who rush to its defense like it’s the victim, vehemently chastising its detractors. Let's not even get into the personal attacks from the “fans” on the various people in the industry, from journalists right up to developers themselves.

 

[BrawlMan]

I'd say Konami's best brawlers are Violent Storm and Methamorphic Force (as long as you are playing the Japanese version). Yes, they are both better than TMNT Arcade and Turtles in Time (both versions). Violent Storm has all of these cool moves you can do and only need two buttons and a joystick. Every character plays completely differently, there are two different types of grabs you can perform, you can kick enemies while they'reb on the ground like in most of Konami's brawlers, universal dashing and off-the-wall-jump kicks, and a kick ass soundtrack. The game has the slapstick of the Crime Fighters series and TMNT that just works. The only flaw with the game is slightly low enemy variety, but the AI ain't stupid and have their own unique moves and block animations. In addition, Violent Storm is the best Final Fight sequel ever made.

Metamoprhic Force is X-Men and TMNT combined with Altered Beast. I have nothing else to add.

 

[BrawlMan]

Not counting the first NES game and all of the GB games, Turtles Arcade (NES) is going to get the least amount of playtime in the Cowabunga Collection. The Japanese Famicom version will get more playtime by comparison. Easier difficulty, and it is easier to gain extra lives.

 

[Dalisclock]

Not counting the first NES game and all of the GB games, Turtles Arcade (NES) is going to get the least amount of playtime in the Cowabunga Collection. The Japanese Famicom version will get more playtime by comparison. Easier difficulty, and it is easier to gain extra lives.

I remember the NES TMNT game was very difficult. I still remember that fucking dam level.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I remember the NES TMNT game was very difficult. I still remember that fucking dam level.

Appropriately named, it seems.

 

[Gyrobot]

Western games on morality is too obssessed with the Turd Sandwich vs Douchebag as much as Japan focuses on the Rock Sugar vs Liquid Honey argument.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Western games on morality is too obssessed with the Turd Sandwich vs Douchebag as much as Japan focuses on the Rock Sugar vs Liquid Honey argument.

?????????????

 

[BrawlMan]

?????????????

​

Either way, still a shitty and waste of an analogy.

 

[Gordon_4]

Western games on morality is too obssessed with the Turd Sandwich vs Douchebag as much as Japan focuses on the Rock Sugar vs Liquid Honey argument.

What the hell does that even mean?

 

[Jarrito3002]

What the hell does that even mean?

Where is he at.

You can't drop something incomprehensible and then just dip.

The people need closure.

 

[BrawlMan]

I never cared much for Wario Land 2 and 3. I prefer the first game, 4, or Shake It. Wario Land 4 is actually my favorite of the sequels and the franchise.

 

[Gyrobot]

What the hell does that even mean?

Douchebag vs Shit Sandwich means two shitty options for factions to choose from, see Far Cry 4 for example or Stormcloaks vs Imperials

Rock Candy vs Liquid Honey means factions with equally reasonable goals to choose from but you are forced to pick one and kill the other guy, see Yggdra Union or Triangle Strategy for that kind of example.

This was inspired by Yahtzee's article about Authoritarians and Nutters and how I feel why that is justified is because the alternative option is to have two likeable factions kill each other for supremacy and people complaining about not having a golden route where everyone is happy and work together like some sappy fairy tale.

 

[BrawlMan]

people complaining about not having a golden route where everyone is happy and work together like some sappy fairy tale.

Options like that are nice. It's exactly what happens with Dynasty Warriors 8 and its alternate history routes for each kingdom.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I never cared much for Wario Land 2 and 3. I prefer the first game, 4, or Shake It. Wario Land 4 is actually my favorite of the sequels and the franchise.

-insert shocked meme-

B-but.... Wario Land 3 is so good.... It's the perfect game for feeding my inner packrat.

 

[BrawlMan]

-insert shocked meme-

B-but.... Wario Land 3 is so good.... It's the perfect game for feeding my inner packrat.

My problem with II and 3 especially is that you can't die, no game over, and they are glorified puzzle platformers. That is nice in theory, but concepts like that should have been for a completely different game. I beat each of those two once, and never bothered again. Wario Land 4 and Shake It at least allow for death or a lose condition. There may not be a game over, but I'll take that any time over not being able to die. Plus, I hated getting stuck on puzzles in the second and third game. Wario Land 4 has got fast pacing and so much better gameplay. The presentation is beautiful! Oh, and the soundtrack is still fire! I sold II and 3. I kept WL and WL4.

​

 

[FakeSympathy]

Ghostwire: Tokyo's authentic representation makes a mockery of Ghost of Tsushima and Sifu's cultural tourism

Tango Gameworks’ open world may be formulaic, but its setting has a depth that could have only come from a Japanese studio.

www.vg247.com

*insert JJ’s laugh then “are you serious?” Meme here*