Game Articles and Videos Thread

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,905
118
Gaming Brit does not act like a dick, and brings up reasonable points without being a smug douche. His calmer attitude has gotten noticeable since his Ninja Gaiden reviews. DmC and Rising get mentioned and discussed a couple of times and relates to his points on Ascension. Huge progress compared to his demeanor back in 2018.

That’s one of the better examinations of the classic Kratos as a character, and I agree that Ascension is sadly too overlooked in the series, deserving a remaster as much as 3. I think it would’ve faired better if they marketed the story differently as a sort of “origins of madness” backdrop, and ditched to tacky MP component (which I actually still played quite a bit of and enjoyed for what it was worth. It was unique enough and executed quite well alongside the main game).
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
That’s one of the better examinations of the classic Kratos as a character, and I agree that Ascension is sadly too overlooked in the series, deserving a remaster as much as 3. I think it would’ve faired better if they marketed the story differently as a sort of “origins of madness” backdrop, and ditched to tacky MP component (which I actually still played quite a bit of and enjoyed for what it was worth. It was unique enough and executed quite well alongside the main game).
I remember back in 2012 to 2013, they were selling the multiplayer so hard. I knew something was a bit off, because of it. Kind of sad in both cases. From what I heard, the multiplayer was actually not half bad and pretty good, but not everyone was invested. I admit that I was sick of God of War by the time Ascension came out, and I didn't even have a PS3. The only way to play Ascension now is if you either have a PS3, or through the PS Now subscription on PS4. I'm not wasting $20 for a subscription to rent games. Sony has no reason not to make HD ports or Remasters of all the other God of War games. They did all of them before on PS3, why not this time? They lose literally nothing. I'll be the first to admit, that I rarely ever go back to the old God of War games, cuz I don't like their pacing much, but still make it available to the fans and the new fans that are curious. You got the new audience, don't turn them away just because they see the heinous things Kratos has done in past games. They'll still get the idea, even if they don't agree. Have faith in your audience. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing ports of Killzone or Resistance either.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: hanselthecaretaker

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,244
7,023
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I remember back in 2012 to 2013, they were selling the multiplayer so hard. I knew something was a bit off, because of it. Kind of sad in both cases. From what I heard, the multiplayer was actually not half bad and pretty good, but not everyone was invested. I admit that I was sick of God of War by the time Ascension came out, and I didn't even have a PS3. The only way to play Ascension now is if you either have a PS3, or through the PS Now subscription on PS4. I'm not wasting $20 for a subscription to rent games. Sony has no reason not to make HD ports or Remasters of all the other God of War games. They did all of them before on PS3, why not this time? They lose literally nothing. I'll be the first to admit, that I rarely ever go back to the old God of War games, cuz I don't like their pacing much, but still make it available to the fans and the new fans that are curious. You got the new audience, don't won't turn them away just because they see the heinous things Kratos has done in past games. They'll still get the it, even if they don't agree. Have faith in your audience. Also wouldn't mind seeing ports of Killzone or Resistance either.
Ninendo is one of the wierdest examples. Why is a big chunk of your games locked on the Wii U or earlier consoles when we're 4 years into the Switch Era? There's also the 3DS but that's a portable system with a weird gimmick which feels redundant if you've got the switch, at least for me. I didn't want the Wii U or the WIi, the 3DS being a portable system isn't what I really consider a console so now I got the Switch I'm feeling like "So Nintendo, why can't I play the old Metroid games on the Switch? Why are most of the Zelda games not available on the switch? Seriously, I bought the thing so I could play your damn exclusives that you won't allow porting to anything and you won't even make them available on your own damn console. I'm trying to be a good boy and not just emulate them but you're kinda testing my patience here"

I'm not letting Sony off the hook either, btw. I'm just wondering why some of these companies don't just fucking emulate/port their back catalogs, but Sony and Nintendo are both fucking weird about it. Sony is annoying because BC for earlier models ended with the PS3 and those have been out of production for half a decade now, so you can either hold onto the older consoles and hope they don't break or just emulate if you want to play older games.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Ninendo is one of the wierdest examples. Why is a big chunk of your games locked on the Wii U or earlier consoles when we're 4 years into the Switch Era? There's also the 3DS but that's a portable system with a weird gimmick which feels redundant if you've got the switch, at least for me. I didn't want the Wii U or the WIi, the 3DS being a portable system isn't what I really consider a console so now I got the Switch I'm feeling like "So Nintendo, why can't I play the old Metroid games on the Switch? Why are most of the Zelda games not available on the switch? Seriously, I bought the thing so I could play your damn exclusives that you won't allow porting to anything and you won't even make them available on your own damn console. I'm trying to be a good boy and not just emulate them but you're kinda testing my patience here"

I'm not letting Sony off the hook either, btw. I'm just wondering why some of these companies don't just fucking emulate/port their back catalogs, but Sony and Nintendo are both fucking weird about it. Sony is annoying because BC for earlier models ended with the PS3 and those have been out of production for half a decade now, so you can either hold onto the older consoles and hope they don't break or just emulate if you want to play older games.
That's pretty much why I traded in my Wii U for a switch. The few Wii U games I had, would have here on switch or other modern consoles. I traded it in during pro day and got a couple extra bonuses. All I had to pay about nearly $200 for my Switch. But you're right, there are still a lot of Wii U games that have not made it to the switch. We finally got Mario 3D World on switch just this year. Not to mention, Nintendo pool that bull crap limited time exclusive for the Mario 3D All Star trilogy. And now they're Disney vaulting that shit. All for just look good for their financial fiscal year and nothing else. Greed, stupidity, and petting this all rolled into one. Sony are no different. Apparently God of War 3 in The Last of Us One are easy to ports to the PS4, but all the other games are too much trouble or not worth the money, despite them being at the very top.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I highly recommend you all watch this. It's about how there are many developers that broke off, quit, or left to form their own studios. Due to always pressured, rush, or crunch production. Or how you can tell certain people have left or people are leaving by the quality of games in their sequels. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Last of Us Part 2 get a mention in these scenarios.

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: hanselthecaretaker

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male

Ballsacks. God of War 5 pushed to 2022.....oh well, kind of expected that anyway. Frankly most things slated for holiday 2021 are likely going to get puched back to '22
I'm not too surprised by that. I got all the time in the world and plenty other action games to play.
 

CriticalGaming

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2017
10,830
5,353
118
Oh god damnit! Why the fuck 2021 gotta be worst than 2020? We already had our shitty year, time to swing the pendulum back around guys please.

 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Oh god damnit! Why the fuck 2021 gotta be worst than 2020? We already had our shitty year, time to swing the pendulum back around guys please.

This is partially why I always wait for a price drop or never get a console at launch. With COVID screwing everything uo, I don't know why you're this surprised. A lot of games are or were being pushed back to 2022. I suggest you all starting playing recently new or old games you never got around to or kept putting off. I know what I'm doing. You know the old saying:

 
  • Like
Reactions: hanselthecaretaker

CriticalGaming

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2017
10,830
5,353
118
This is partially why I always wait for a price drop or never get a console at launch. With COVID screwing everything uo, I don't know why you're this surprised. A lot of games are or were being pushed back to 2022. I suggest you all starting playing recently new or old games you never got around to or kept putting off. I know what I'm doing. You know the old saying:

I am not upset about not having a game for the PS5. I'm just sad about games I'm looking forward too taking longer to come out. It's fine in the end, and the stuff I'm playing on PS5 is more than enough to keep me busy. Final Fantasy Remake's upgrade comes out next week, and FF14 is an MMO that I'm years behind on. So I got plenty to keep going.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,905
118
I am not upset about not having a game for the PS5. I'm just sad about games I'm looking forward too taking longer to come out. It's fine in the end, and the stuff I'm playing on PS5 is more than enough to keep me busy. Final Fantasy Remake's upgrade comes out next week, and FF14 is an MMO that I'm years behind on. So I got plenty to keep going.
I don’t get upset about delays anymore because they’re increasingly a given, given the changing industry climate of bigger/moar/better and increased scrutiny of developers’ health. Santa Monica Studio specifically cited concern for the latter one as a key factor in their delay, and I’d rather have healthier, less stressed folks working on it than not as it *should* ultimately result in a better product.

Besides like you say, there’s already enough to play and get your money’s worth over before moving onto a new shinie.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,244
7,023
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I don’t get upset about delays anymore because they’re increasingly a given, given the changing industry climate of bigger/moar/better and increased scrutiny of developers’ health. Santa Monica Studio specifically cited concern for the latter one as a key factor in their delay, and I’d rather have healthier, less stressed folks working on it than not as it *should* ultimately result in a better product.

Besides like you say, there’s already enough to play and get your money’s worth over before moving onto a new shinie.
As much as I'm looking forward to a couple select games(Cris Tales, Garden Story, UnMetal, Silksong, maybe Elden Ring if it ever comes out) games coming out at a slower pace actually gives me a chance to work on my backlog for a change.

Hell, maybe I'll get a change to play through GoW 2016 before the sequel comes out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hanselthecaretaker

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,244
7,023
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Just in case anyone actually cares about Balan Wonderworld at this point.


I'm sure the fans(all 3 of them) are disappointed by this
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Just in case anyone actually cares about Balan Wonderworld at this point.


I'm sure the fans(all 3 of them) are disappointed by this
With all the production trouble, this is not surprising. Best of luck Yuji Naka. I have no idea where the hell he's going to be heading. Which sucks is because he he made Sonic. Though just like Keji, does not guarantee me a smash Hit or success. Here's one more for the road I guess.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

happyninja42

Elite Member
Legacy
May 13, 2010
8,577
2,982
118
Yeah it's mostly on point. I do think the one guy's take on Deacon St. John's personality (that he's this completely nutso dude) is a bit off. Doc Squiddy, having finished the game, does have a better idea of how it is for the guy. But yeah, he's definitely not entirely sane. My take on it was thus:

He has basically closed off the parts of his personality, pre-apocalypse, because to open those parts of himself up, would be too painful, and it would make him realize, and have to reflect on the tough things he had to do, in order to survive in a zombie apocalypse. But if he just seals himself off mentally, denies his emotions, and empathy, and just reduces his world down to him, his best friend, and their bikes, and fuck everything else, he can cope with what he has done, and continues to have to do. But, that just isn't feasible, it's a poorly thought out coping mechanism, that doesn't survive the opening sequences of the game. And so yeah, he's forced to confront his own demons, find a way to forgive himself for things, that only HE blames himself for. I mean he's hardly the only person in a world of survivors, that had to do horrible things to survive, but that's how guilt eats at you. We are quick to forgive someone fucking up in some way (that doesn't impact us) that they feel guilty for, but we are slow to forgive ourselves for the very same act, and ignore their claims that they don't blame us, and that they understand.

I think Sam Whitwer did a good job conveying this. I think one of the issues is the way the game structured his mental state, could be very jarring. For example. Yes, he is often very angry, and muttering to himself when doing missions. But, since the mission chains are independent of the main storyline (where he has actual emotional growth/closure), you could do them at any point. So they didn't script him having an emotional turn into the dialogue. So, if you, for example, go back to clean up an old mission chain (clearing out the zombies from this one area or whatever), he sounds like Day 1 Deacon, angry and violent and unhinged. Even though he has, at this point in the main story, actually resolved a lot of his baggage, and become way more chill by comparison. So yeah, it can be very tonally jarring. Whiplashing back and forth as you move around the map, doing the various quest lines.

Still, I do think it's a much better game than it looked like at first. Yes, Sons of Anarchy meets Walking Dead, is a very apt synopsis of the tone of it, and yes, for me, at release, that was not enough to buy it. But, it was definitely worth the 30ish bucks I spent for it on sale one day. I would say it was probably worth full price? But I can't fault anyone like myself, who thought it probably wasn't worth full price, based on the material they had at release.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I do think the one guy's take on Deacon St. John's personality (that he's this completely nutso dude) is a bit off. Doc Squiddy, having finished the game, does have a better idea of how it is for the guy. But yeah, he's definitely not entirely sane. My take on it was thus:
Pat has some of the weirdness and dumbest takes at times. Some times it's funny, other times I make a "ugggghhh!" sound when he's way off base, does not pay attention, or comes to interpretations or conclusions that don't make sense.

He has basically closed off the parts of his personality, pre-apocalypse, because to open those parts of himself up, would be too painful, and it would make him realize, and have to reflect on the tough things he had to do, in order to survive in a zombie apocalypse. But if he just seals himself off mentally, denies his emotions, and empathy, and just reduces his world down to him, his best friend, and their bikes, and fuck everything else, he can cope with what he has done, and continues to have to do. But, that just isn't feasible, it's a poorly thought out coping mechanism, that doesn't survive the opening sequences of the game. And so yeah, he's forced to confront his own demons, find a way to forgive himself for things, that only HE blames himself for. I mean he's hardly the only person in a world of survivors, that had to do horrible things to survive, but that's how guilt eats at you. We are quick to forgive someone fucking up in some way (that doesn't impact us) that they feel guilty for, but we are slow to forgive ourselves for the very same act, and ignore their claims that they don't blame us, and that they understand.

I think Sam Whitwer did a good job conveying this. I think one of the issues is the way the game structured his mental state, could be very jarring. For example. Yes, he is often very angry, and muttering to himself when doing missions. But, since the mission chains are independent of the main storyline (where he has actual emotional growth/closure), you could do them at any point. So they didn't script him having an emotional turn into the dialogue. So, if you, for example, go back to clean up an old mission chain (clearing out the zombies from this one area or whatever), he sounds like Day 1 Deacon, angry and violent and unhinged. Even though he has, at this point in the main story, actually resolved a lot of his baggage, and become way more chill by comparison. So yeah, it can be very tonally jarring. Whiplashing back and forth as you move around the map, doing the various quest lines.
Sounds about accurate.

Still, I do think it's a much better game than it looked like at first. Yes, Sons of Anarchy meets Walking Dead, is a very apt synopsis of the tone of it, and yes, for me, at release, that was not enough to buy it. But, it was definitely worth the 30ish bucks I spent for it on sale one day. I would say it was probably worth full price? But I can't fault anyone like myself, who thought it probably wasn't worth full price, based on the material they had at release.
My older brother got the game during the 75% PSN sale. He's still early in the game. He literally bought it because he's a super fan of Sons of Anarchy. It's pretty much why he 100% GTA IV: Lost and the Damned. I still have no interest in Days Gone, but I am glad people are able to enjoy it.
 

happyninja42

Elite Member
Legacy
May 13, 2010
8,577
2,982
118
Pat has some of the weirdness and dumbest takes at times. Some times it's funny, other times I make a "ugggghhh!" sound when he's way off base, does not pay attention, or comes to interpretations or conclusions that don't make sense.
He's not entirely wrong. I mean Deacon IS pretty unhinged a lot of the time, and the independent way the various quest lines operate, means the storyline growth of the character doesn't spread outword as a result. So yeah, he can seem very unhinged. Like, the part where he mentions Deacon going up to his wife's grave, and being hostile and violent to the zombies, and then having this heartfelt moment. It is jarring, but I felt it was pretty fitting. To him, that place is sacred. It's HER place. And to see it swarming with zombies, kiiiinda pisses him off a teeny bit. :D Then, when it's clear, he's now trying to "behave in front of his wife" when he's talking to her marker. It felt pretty real to me. I've seen a lot of people, who are OCD, get REALLY upset when something isn't the way they want it to be. And graves, I mean shit, I've lost count of calls I get from real people, who are angry, I mean FURIOUS, that it was Veteran's Day, or Memorial Day, and they saw that various veteran graves had little flags on them, and someone did NOT DO THAT FOR THEIR DADDY! HE SERVED IN WORLD WAR II AND HE DIED FOR THIS COUNTRY AND HE DESERVES TO BE HONORED FOR IT!! And I have to try and cut into their self-righteous rant to explain to them, that flags on graves is 1. Not a VA thing, and thus not my issue, so stop bitching at me. 2. A volunteer thing from who knows what group, possibly a church, or school, or whatever, so we have no connection to it. 3. Go fucking ask the cemetery director about details, not me, you unhinged *****! But you know...I say it all politely. So, yeah, I can see an ex-military biker dude with anger issues and a short fuse, and PTSD, kind of losing his shit as he's killing zombies (the creatures he blames for his wife's death), defiling the area around her grave. It totally tracks to me xD

But, yeah he's not stable, and is pretty unhinged, so Pat's take is mostly accurate. Just, well he's not seeing the full picture, as he's still in Act 1. And yeah, Deacon is pretty one note in Act 1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan