Your video game hot take(s) thread

[Dirty Hipsters]

Now this article is talking about it being the next Bioware and focuses on romances. I think that is a very unimaginative way to look at it- better if it's something new. Could it set a new gold standard for deep video game story telling, by simple virtue of combining the best of video games and table-top role playing? That is putting too much pressure one game but it's fun to imagine the potential.

And it lets you fuck a bear, so there's that.

We've been through this already: the voice acting ain't even close to terrible. Slightly stilted in some places, but not terrible. Art direction is between decent and average. I will defend the character designs though. Shinji and Clover Studios knew what they were doing.

IDK, I think it's pretty aggressively ugly. It's mostly brown hallways, gray hallways, and empty square buildings. There's only one area in the game with any color if I remember correctly (the Carnival where you fight the guy in a Gorilla costume). The section of the game were you're fighting your way through some destroyed flaming ruins is especially hideous looking.

This came out in 2006, next to things like Okami, Gears of War, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. There's games that were released years earlier, like MGS3 that look much better.

And as far as voice acting goes. Well...


It ain't great.

 

[BrawlMan]

IDK, I think it's pretty aggressively ugly. It's mostly brown hallways, gray hallways, and empty square buildings. There's only one area in the game with any color if I remember correctly (the Carnival where you fight the guy in a Gorilla costume). The section of the game were you're fighting your way through some destroyed flaming ruins is especially hideous looking.

It was 2006, what game didn't have some type of brown? Hell, a lot of the beginning of RE4 involved so much brown, it predated the 7th generation trend of "real is brown". I know RE4 has better art direction, graphics, etc., but I'm just pointing it out. God Hand has some brown, but it's really only the first two stages. The Carnival and the stage takes place in a Venice type city is pretty colorful. Ironic, because God Hand ran on the same engine as RE4 back then. Obviously, GH was done in a weekend.

The section of the game were you're fighting your way through some destroyed flaming ruins is especially hideous looking.

That's the second stage takes place at night. It's one the beginning section of that area. Hideous looking? No. Average looking? Yes. The rocking music keeps things going and lightning is actually good. But yeah, the obvious clipping don't help everything.

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This came out in 2006, next to things like Okami, Gears of War, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. There's games that were released years earlier, like MGS3 that look much better.

I never said nor implied God Hand looked better than any of those. DMC3 came out in 2005 and looks better than GH. No one is contesting that or what you're saying. That said, you can never get me to touch Gears of War ever again. I hate gunmetal grey/dog shit brown aesthetics. Give me GH any day of the week over that. I don't care how well detailed the graphics are/were for the time.

And as far as voice acting goes. Well...
It's ain't great perfect.

Fits the tone nicely, yes! That even nowhere close to bad. I know it's been a while, but Onimusha had worse voice acting than whatever happened in God Hand. Then there's Chaos Wars...

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Chaos Wars came out in 2006 too.

 

[Drathnoxis]

And as far as voice acting goes. Well...


It ain't great.

Not having played the game, it doesn't seem thaat bad. Like, MC seems a little awkward, but I think if there was some background music or something you wouldn't even really notice. I mean, like Brawlman shows it's nowhere near bottom of the barrel, but then there aren't many things that are on the same level as Chaos Wars. The scene was kind of fun regardless, I like how the big guy puts out his cigar dramatically only to light it again before the fight starts.

 

[BrawlMan]

This is the reason why I am not to subscribed Ghenry Perez. He's got some good videos, and while he has some valid complaints about Hi-Fi Rush, I can't stand when someone personally attacks a creator or shits on them unnecessarily. I get you don't like John Johanas work and all, but the guy ain't a bad person. Nor should you insult a voice actor for doing their job. This isn't the mid to late 2000s anymore. If you want to be seen as mature, then cut that shit out. I wouldn't call the game "too easy" either. Sure, I didn't die much, but there are some difficult sections, even on Normal. YMMV with Chai and the overall cast, but I love all the characters. Chai is not as annoying as Perez makes him out to be.

Another thing Perez, if you're not that interested in Tango Games, because Mikami and Nakamura left, then you came in for the shallowest reasons. You might as well pack up and leave now. I'm glad you want to support something different and is way more artistic, but you can't have it both way. Either you're into the developers, or not. I miss Mikami and Nakamura as well, but the former wants the next generation to take over, and the latter has matters of her own to attend in towards building legacy. Mikami wants these developers and new people to spread their wings. He won't be around forever, and I respect and support his choice to step down.

Sorry, if I am coming off critical of the guy, but I hate when people go too far into something they don't like, or unnecessarily bash something. Like I said before, Perez has good content, but he can too contentious with certain opinions and goes too far at times.

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[BrawlMan]

Not going to lie, Alma Wade raping Beckett in FEAR 2 felt out-of-character, and unneccessarry. Made it hard for me to care for the character after that. Yes, she's a murdering psychopathic woman child ghost psychic out for revenge, but given her father raped her in mid teens, you would think Alma would be above something like that, or have some standard. I admit I don't like FEAR 2 in general, because of its "CODifying cinematic nature" and dumbing down the gameplay (you could not dual wield pistols anymore) of the first game in many regards. It still plays good enough, but I think the story suffers, and gameplay feels more generic and of the times. F3AR is way worse in many regards, but it did have better bullet time compared to FEAR 2.

 

[bunniesandrainbows]

Old fasioned JRPGS are just as much fun as action JRPGS, in my humble opinion! Most of the time.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is pretty cool, but the first in my heart will always be the original. :3

 

[Chimpzy]

Why is the default volume in pc games always set so goddamn loud? Every time I launch a game for the first time it's like that one THX sound test joke in the Simpsons, followed by a trip to the audio settings to promptly turn all sliders way down to like 10-20%. And that's with my system volume already at 20%. Why not make, I don't know, 50% the default? A nice compromise. Those of us with working hearing don't get blasted, and the deaf and/or people who enjoy ear bleeding can turn it up if it's too quiet. But nah, mate, everything maxed the fuck out.

 

[BrawlMan]

Why is the default volume in pc games always set so goddamn loud? Every time I launch a game for the first time it's like that one THX sound test joke in the Simpsons, followed by a trip to the audio settings to promptly turn all sliders way down to like 10-20%. And that's with my system volume already at 20%. Why not make, I don't know, 50% the default? A nice compromise. Those of us with working hearing don't get blasted, and the deaf and/or people who enjoy ear bleeding can turn it up if it's too quiet. But nah, mate, everything maxed the fuck out.

PC games aren't the only ones with this problem. Most console games will have the volume between 80%-100% as the default. This has been a thing going on since mid to late 6th generation. Before that point many, but not all games, had their volumes set at the default 50 or whatever. The idea nowadays is to have your game and room to be as loud as possible for the "true gaming (cinematic) experience!". Gotta justify that $200+ sound bar and that $1000 flat screen TV.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

PC games aren't the only ones with this problem. Most console games will have the volume between 80%-100% as the default. This has been a thing going on since mid to late 6th generation. Before that point many, but not all games, had their volumes set at the default 50 or whatever. The idea nowadays is to have your game and room to be as loud as possible for the "true gaming (cinematic) experience!". Gotta justify that $200+ sound bar and that $1000 flat screen TV.

Streaming is the worst regarding sound quality. Notoriously for how it’s almost impossible to hear dialog without later blowing your eardrums out during some explosion or something. Really kind of a joke that the more sound mixing tech there is, the worse things generally sound, because they’re assuming “optimal” viewing conditions for the audience vs people watching Netflix at night when the kids are in bed.

Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It) - /Film

/Film spoke with several Oscar-winning sound designers, editors, and mixers to learn why it has become tougher to understand what characters are saying.

www.slashfilm.com

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[meiam]

Why is the default volume in pc games always set so goddamn loud? Every time I launch a game for the first time it's like that one THX sound test joke in the Simpsons, followed by a trip to the audio settings to promptly turn all sliders way down to like 10-20%. And that's with my system volume already at 20%. Why not make, I don't know, 50% the default? A nice compromise. Those of us with working hearing don't get blasted, and the deaf and/or people who enjoy ear bleeding can turn it up if it's too quiet. But nah, mate, everything maxed the fuck out.

The worse is when using discord to talk to people while playing, trying to keep the game various sound (music, sound effect, dialogue) audible while also hearing various people on discord, each with their own sound level, is insane.

 

[BrawlMan]

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[Specter Von Baren]

This seems the closest appropriate thread for nestling a lil quibble. Oxenfree 2, why you got your review embargo set on same day as release? You're just a 2D indie narrative sidescroller, not ambitious overhyped fancy project: late embargos are for raking in early sales before customers can be informed of the technical train wreck it actually is. Was not wanting to be doubting, but now you got me doubting. Whatcha hiding back there, eh?

I would think there's actually more justification for that with a game like that. The plot and mystery are the biggest driving factors for a game like that and if something leaks out then it could really impact sales.

 

[BrawlMan]

I like Double Dragon Gaiden; it's better than Neon. The former definitely got replay value and is not a grind fest, but the later enemies, bosses, and especially true final boss, are all way too overpowered or cheap. Even if you what you're supposed to do. Hopefully with the online mp patch update, they'll fix these issues. Neon never had this issue much for the most part, but that once again comes to level grinding and how much you upgraded your stances or special moves.

Rankings:

1. Double Dragon Advance
2. Double Dragon Gaiden: RothD
3. Double Dragon II - PC Engine
4. Return of Double Dragon (Super Double Dragon Japanese Version)
5. Double Dragon Neon
6. Double Dragon II - NES
7. Double Dragon IV
8. Double Dragon II - Arcade
9. Double Dragon - Arcade
10. Double Dragon I - NES

The rest I either don't like or consider trash.

BTW, that up coming DD collection should have the PC-Engine version of DDII included. There's no reason not to do so.

Devil May Cry: Pinnacle of Combat needs to come to the Switch. Switch players are never getting DMC4 (even though it can run that game fine) or DMC5 on consoles, so it's close as they're going to get. Then again, the Switch has the best version of DMC3 exclusive to itself, so most players aren't complaining.

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[BrawlMan]

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[XsjadoBlayde]

Been thinking bout a news not so long ago (or long ago, time is folding into itself) where apparently some person from Bungie told some people at Naughty Dog that their new TLoU multiplayer project was shit and not fun, which many others seemed to interpret as a good thing at the time.

Thing is i kinda enjoyed the first TloU multiplayer with its team-based sneaky stealth approach as it was different yet intuitive and didn't feel as stressful compared to other multiplayers. And despite my best efforts, Destiny 2 was a lot of bland boring grindy bollocks with a confusing unintuitive menu so bad I gave up trying to find the campaign entry point the last 2 times, leading to exasperated deletions. So, like what exactly were Bungie bods priorities when dropping that judgement? Cause based off my own experience with their latest work, can only imagine it's a whole lot of interchangeable focus-tested live-sevice toss being given too much reverence. I suspect they're gonna fuck it up. On the other hand, am not usually a fan of multiplayer, so perhaps my reverence for the original TLoU mp is not wanted in the big boy club of online frolicks. Time will tell. Unless I die.

I would think there's actually more justification for that with a game like that. The plot and mystery are the biggest driving factors for a game like that and if something leaks out then it could really impact sales.

Yeah that could be equally the case, is understandable for these genres. And having bought it anyway, can say it turned out alright in the end, no buyer's remorse! (Yet!)

 

[sXeth]

Been thinking bout a news not so long ago (or long ago, time is folding into itself) where apparently some person from Bungie told some people at Naughty Dog that their new TLoU multiplayer project was shit and not fun, which many others seemed to interpret as a good thing at the time.

Thing is i kinda enjoyed the first TloU multiplayer with its team-based sneaky stealth approach as it was different yet intuitive and didn't feel as stressful compared to other multiplayers. And despite my best efforts, Destiny 2 was a lot of bland boring grindy bollocks with a confusing unintuitive menu so bad I gave up trying to find the campaign entry point the last 2 times, leading to exasperated deletions. So, like what exactly were Bungie bods priorities when dropping that judgement? Cause based off my own experience with their latest work, can only imagine it's a whole lot of interchangeable focus-tested live-sevice toss being given too much reverence. I suspect they're gonna fuck it up. On the other hand, am not usually a fan of multiplayer, so perhaps my reverence for the original TLoU mp is not wanted in the big boy club of online frolicks. Time will tell. Unless I die.


Yeah that could be equally the case, is understandable for these genres. And having bought it anyway, can say it turned out alright in the end, no buyer's remorse! (Yet!)

Luke Smith (the current head of Bungie, essentially having inherited the position after the originals got irritated enoiugh by Activision to abandon ship) notoriously got his job by being a guy with a magazine column and overly opinionated on Halo 2 multiplayer. So yeah wouldnt surprise me.

While it has (somewhat) remedied in recent years, Destiny also itself had a big problem with consistent over-focus on PvP (often resulting in anything "Cool" being nerfed in service to it, and not having designated cool loot in your loot game is an obvious problem. Though yeah, in their "indie" phase they've also gotten to the point where you can barely open a menu without being sold something and I had to watch a 15 minute video and ask 3 friends to figure out how to buy the actual campaigns and not some irrelevant grind passes.

 

[FakeSympathy]

I'd take 10 hours of quality content over 100+ hours of bloated experience. But there are times when a game can have 10 hours of crappy content too.

 

[Worgen]

I'd take 10 hours of quality content over 100+ hours of bloated experience. But there are times when a game can have 10 hours of crappy content too.

I'm like 18 hours in it and haven't beaten it, granted I've been screwing around, but its longer then 10 hours. Although, considering its age, it should have at least been launch discounted, but it is a great game.

 

[BrawlMan]

I'd take 10 hours of quality content over 100+ hours of bloated experience. But there are times when a game can have 10 hours of crappy content too.

At least PC players are only paying $60. I'm still waiting for a sale when the game is used, and adding a coupon to that. 70 bucks my ass! I got Dead Space Remake used, and I used a gift card on it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Although, considering its age, it should have at least been launch discounted, but it is a great game.

Any PlayStation/Xbox exclusive that comes to PC after a year or year and a half, automatically should come with a discount price.

I am once again finding it funny how a brawler with rouge-lite elements that only cost a little over half the price physical, or 3/4 of the price digital, has more replay value than most of these "elite", "luxurious", "AAAA" titles most of the publishers and console makers are throwing out. I know most these exclusives are good on the PlayStation side, but they're not worth $70. They should be at either $50 or $60. Sony, Microsoft, and most other major publishers/developers know this. Which is why I never paying full price for any of these games. It's either going to be coupons, discounts the used section at a second hand store, or a "freebie" on PS Plus.