Nah that was waaay back when Ebert wrote a piece regarding the argument for it, mentioned being shown SotC as a front runner example and ended with, “Ok kids, you can play on my lawn.”
What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter Nick Calandra
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Yeah, dead, and that was three years ago, when not as dead. My topic got twice the responses.Your opinion on hints and guides
So I've been going back through my backlog of Giant Bombcast as I stopped listening to a lot of podcasts because of the year we've been through. Anyway, point is, I came on an episode where they got into a debate about some kind of hint system that, I think it was Sony, would be baked into the...forums.escapistmagazine.com
Why I don't copy my last movies watched here anymore, despite lazily copying so many of my other posts.
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Now I'm playing Flower, Thatgamecompany's followup to flOw and immediately the more entertaining of the two.
We're still in Sixaxis tech demo territory. You tilt the controller to steer wind through flower meadows, blooming them on touch and Okami'ing the lifeless environment into that one Windows XP desktop wallpaper. Controlling the wind and combing fields of grass and flowers to some tasteful piano, petals swirling around and giving heft and color to your 'character', is a spectacular upgrade over flOw's petri dish bonanza.
I think both games, art pieces, whatever you want to fall them, are fine by the way. flOw is about microorganisms enduring a pointless dog-eat-dog existence, Flower is essentially about the grace and harmony of nature when left the fuck alone. One of these is easier to vibe to.
Flower is also a bit more 'gamey' in that levels are somewhat gated and structured around completing certain tasks, rather than merely getting to the end. And there're a few collectibles to boot.
We're still in Sixaxis tech demo territory. You tilt the controller to steer wind through flower meadows, blooming them on touch and Okami'ing the lifeless environment into that one Windows XP desktop wallpaper. Controlling the wind and combing fields of grass and flowers to some tasteful piano, petals swirling around and giving heft and color to your 'character', is a spectacular upgrade over flOw's petri dish bonanza.
I think both games, art pieces, whatever you want to fall them, are fine by the way. flOw is about microorganisms enduring a pointless dog-eat-dog existence, Flower is essentially about the grace and harmony of nature when left the fuck alone. One of these is easier to vibe to.
Flower is also a bit more 'gamey' in that levels are somewhat gated and structured around completing certain tasks, rather than merely getting to the end. And there're a few collectibles to boot.
I've also been simmering on this one spoiler thing about The Veilguard that I want to bring up.
So at the beginning of the game, Varric - a returning companion from Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition, and your character's recruiter and mentor - gets into a scuffle with Solas. During the fight, Solas stabs Varric, critically injuring him. Varric then spends the rest of the game in the infirmary, too injured to go out into the field, but you can still go and visit him, where he will comment on what is going on, and offer his advice.
However, towards the end of the game, it is revealed that Varric has actually been dead the whole time. Solas killed him at the beginning of the game. However, Solas - wanting to try to keep you on his side - has been using magic to manipulate your mind into thinking that Varric was still alive. Cute trick; makes sense why he would do this. However, it is also mentioned that only you have been manipulated, and everyone else is very well aware that Varric was killed.
But here is the elephant in the room: there is and was nothing stopping anyone else from mentioning or telling you that Varric was dead, they just didn't, because "they thought you knew". Everybody seemingly just wordlessly agreed to never bring up Varric's death for the whole game.
Harding - who was with the Inquisition alongside Varric, and was with him when he died - doesn't bring it up.
Neve - who seemingly had a history with Varric, and who was also with him when he died - doesn't bring it up.
The Inquisitor - your character from the previous game, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
Dorian - a returning companion from Dragon Age Inquisition, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
Isabella - a returning companion from Dragon Age 2, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
And you never hear from Hawke, or any of the other characters or companions from 2 or Inquisition.
Not only is this just a massive, colossal contrivance in service of the plot, but it also robs these characters of their moment of mourning. As far as this game shows, Varric dies, and nobody cares enough to even mention it. Its a massive shame, and a disappointing send off to one of Dragon Age's best characters.
However, towards the end of the game, it is revealed that Varric has actually been dead the whole time. Solas killed him at the beginning of the game. However, Solas - wanting to try to keep you on his side - has been using magic to manipulate your mind into thinking that Varric was still alive. Cute trick; makes sense why he would do this. However, it is also mentioned that only you have been manipulated, and everyone else is very well aware that Varric was killed.
But here is the elephant in the room: there is and was nothing stopping anyone else from mentioning or telling you that Varric was dead, they just didn't, because "they thought you knew". Everybody seemingly just wordlessly agreed to never bring up Varric's death for the whole game.
Harding - who was with the Inquisition alongside Varric, and was with him when he died - doesn't bring it up.
Neve - who seemingly had a history with Varric, and who was also with him when he died - doesn't bring it up.
The Inquisitor - your character from the previous game, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
Dorian - a returning companion from Dragon Age Inquisition, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
Isabella - a returning companion from Dragon Age 2, who adventured with Varric all through that game's events - doesn't bring it up.
And you never hear from Hawke, or any of the other characters or companions from 2 or Inquisition.
Not only is this just a massive, colossal contrivance in service of the plot, but it also robs these characters of their moment of mourning. As far as this game shows, Varric dies, and nobody cares enough to even mention it. Its a massive shame, and a disappointing send off to one of Dragon Age's best characters.
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It’s also a rare case where the product wound up being a step beyond what even this hype commercial had in mind -
Test Drive Unlimited: Solarpunk Crown
Was bought with the researched understanding it was already shit. Or more generously, released too early in unfinished state? It's also always online and I hate those fucking things so wtf am I even doing? Don't answer, don't validate that neurotic bullshit with a second's thought. The game must undergo preliminary vibe check!
Unsure whether or not to start on snarky joke about the title being test drive alongisde the game being beta test drive or has the time already been wasted pondering the matter? Can't dither, let's move on. Solar is the word of the day, month and generational displaced indigenous trauma it seems on this free roma island. Money? Solar bucks! Points? Solar points! Friends? Solar friends! Loo-roll? Solar poops! I had to double check where the game said it was placed cause every character so far were extremely sci-fi wealthy Americans "Hong Kong island"? Hmm. Probably best not ask where last population at then.
Game works though! Looks... unimpressive. But not offensively so. Apart from the glistening porcelain dolls it insists are human characters, animated at times hilariously - or specifically the one time the sci-fi wealthy woman walked towards her private sci-fi chopper with a strut am struggling to find words to describe. Ketamine Ace Ventura?
Controls...ok! A cute lil radial wheel to toggle your vehicle extremities is nice, if pointless.
Connection? Cant say for sure. Power cuts been happening a lot round here lately so everything's been inconsistent. It hasn't disconnected on its own so far at least.
Frame rate? Uh, it's ,uh, you know, it's trying its best.
Helps forget The Crew Motorsport is clearly the superior product and should be played instead, right now, what the hell are you doing not playing that instead right now? No, sadly not quite. Apart from the new island to explore, it ain't bad, has potential not outside the realm of a few smart patches.
Was bought with the researched understanding it was already shit. Or more generously, released too early in unfinished state? It's also always online and I hate those fucking things so wtf am I even doing? Don't answer, don't validate that neurotic bullshit with a second's thought. The game must undergo preliminary vibe check!
Unsure whether or not to start on snarky joke about the title being test drive alongisde the game being beta test drive or has the time already been wasted pondering the matter? Can't dither, let's move on. Solar is the word of the day, month and generational displaced indigenous trauma it seems on this free roma island. Money? Solar bucks! Points? Solar points! Friends? Solar friends! Loo-roll? Solar poops! I had to double check where the game said it was placed cause every character so far were extremely sci-fi wealthy Americans "Hong Kong island"? Hmm. Probably best not ask where last population at then.
Game works though! Looks... unimpressive. But not offensively so. Apart from the glistening porcelain dolls it insists are human characters, animated at times hilariously - or specifically the one time the sci-fi wealthy woman walked towards her private sci-fi chopper with a strut am struggling to find words to describe. Ketamine Ace Ventura?
Controls...ok! A cute lil radial wheel to toggle your vehicle extremities is nice, if pointless.
Connection? Cant say for sure. Power cuts been happening a lot round here lately so everything's been inconsistent. It hasn't disconnected on its own so far at least.
Frame rate? Uh, it's ,uh, you know, it's trying its best.
Helps forget The Crew Motorsport is clearly the superior product and should be played instead, right now, what the hell are you doing not playing that instead right now? No, sadly not quite. Apart from the new island to explore, it ain't bad, has potential not outside the realm of a few smart patches.
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Finished The Room.
This is in essence a series of virtual puzzle boxes. Gorgeous puzzle boxes, with intricate design elements. The actual puzzles are mostly of the nature of "I have a series of elements that I need to figure out how they stick together in order for the game to continue", like an Escape Room. It was so-so. The puzzles of figuring out the next thing to do was the thing I mostly got stuck on; once the ingredients was in place it was rather banal. There were a few instances where I got that "aha!" feeling where I figured out how to proceed and felt clever, but on the whole it was so-so.
This is in essence a series of virtual puzzle boxes. Gorgeous puzzle boxes, with intricate design elements. The actual puzzles are mostly of the nature of "I have a series of elements that I need to figure out how they stick together in order for the game to continue", like an Escape Room. It was so-so. The puzzles of figuring out the next thing to do was the thing I mostly got stuck on; once the ingredients was in place it was rather banal. There were a few instances where I got that "aha!" feeling where I figured out how to proceed and felt clever, but on the whole it was so-so.
I played flOw but I didn't beat it. I never realized it was that short. Maybe I'll go back just to cross it off the list of ThatGameCompany games I haven't played.
I tried the demo for Antonblast. Pretty good game, but I think I am going wait on this one. I like the fast paced platforming, but the slow precision based segments are not needed and Anton or his partner are too slippery in these segments, when their looseness is matched better with speedy platforming.
It's even shorter than that, but the game can be a bit foggy when distinguishing between the 'hub' and the 'levels' so I unwittingly looped the first two levels twice, thinking the repetition was part of the progress. If you have the game I recommend you go finish it, it's well worth the running time.
Funny how quiet characters become about obvious talking points when plot twist critical information becomes involved. Still, that's not even close to the most egregious example I've seen. *cough* Zero Time Dilemma *cough*
Ghostbusters echo, echto, echidna, echopraxia style edition?
Is ok neat little asymmetric multiplayer, pleasant audio/visual synergy
Dying Light 2
Is tough cookie. Respect it but it don't respect me. Battle must continue despite needing to re-read whole damn move list after every period of absence cos they all like "double tap this button while holding that trigger" or some shit. Lots of tweaks been made, options menu has expanded into infinity it seems, and the dropkick feels way heftier than before as if there's a mighty dumpster truck swinging around below the waist instead of the wobbly flesh legs on the screen.
Marvel rivals
May be the first time overwatch felt legit fun to play.
Baletro
Can't get into this for some reason. Ain't my thing, cards. Congrats to the solo dev for their success nonetheless, seems a well-intentioned and talented individual deserving of it so far.
Entropy Survivors
You know the drill when you see that word. It's a bullet heaven. More focus on "whacky" and even more tickling of reward pathways if you can believe it, with everything having it's own upgrades and synergies. 3D art style ain't bad. In desperate need of lore notes however. Perhaps lore written by a Stephanie Sterling like they done for Vampire survivors? Connecting all the dots? It literally has nothing there at moment, can vertically integrate whatever bullshit you want, it's a waiting canvas.
Stick Fight
Does this just...? Keep? Going? Somewhat amusing crack binge you gotta shut the power off to stop playing cos it aint interested in slowing down for your responsibility-shackled ass.
Is ok neat little asymmetric multiplayer, pleasant audio/visual synergy
Dying Light 2
Is tough cookie. Respect it but it don't respect me. Battle must continue despite needing to re-read whole damn move list after every period of absence cos they all like "double tap this button while holding that trigger" or some shit. Lots of tweaks been made, options menu has expanded into infinity it seems, and the dropkick feels way heftier than before as if there's a mighty dumpster truck swinging around below the waist instead of the wobbly flesh legs on the screen.
Marvel rivals
May be the first time overwatch felt legit fun to play.
Baletro
Can't get into this for some reason. Ain't my thing, cards. Congrats to the solo dev for their success nonetheless, seems a well-intentioned and talented individual deserving of it so far.
Entropy Survivors
You know the drill when you see that word. It's a bullet heaven. More focus on "whacky" and even more tickling of reward pathways if you can believe it, with everything having it's own upgrades and synergies. 3D art style ain't bad. In desperate need of lore notes however. Perhaps lore written by a Stephanie Sterling like they done for Vampire survivors? Connecting all the dots? It literally has nothing there at moment, can vertically integrate whatever bullshit you want, it's a waiting canvas.
Stick Fight
Does this just...? Keep? Going? Somewhat amusing crack binge you gotta shut the power off to stop playing cos it aint interested in slowing down for your responsibility-shackled ass.
Beat Everything or Nothing again last night, first time since I was a kid. Highest difficulty, of course. Back then I had platinum medals in all levels. It's okay. 3/5. Normally would shit on auto-aim, but, with the hand-to-hand fighting added, manual aim probably would have been too much. Last level was pretty twitchy. Didn't remember the layout at all, so had to look out for bulletproof vests.
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Played the fake RE4 demo again.
Lack of shoulder swap in modern games bothers the hell out of me. Have to move so far out of cover to see what's there.
Don't like the way it handles. So zoomed in when you aim. Wobbly. Position of your character feels floaty and imprecise.
Crappy, annoying (noisy) music.
Leon looks weird. Gaunt. Like he's sick. Or part Asian? Voice has half the charisma of the original.
Opening house too long.
Containers painted yellow because nothing stands out from all the detail.
I would say I'll wait for a bigger discount, but I don't even know. Don't really enjoy it.
Lack of shoulder swap in modern games bothers the hell out of me. Have to move so far out of cover to see what's there.
Don't like the way it handles. So zoomed in when you aim. Wobbly. Position of your character feels floaty and imprecise.
Crappy, annoying (noisy) music.
Leon looks weird. Gaunt. Like he's sick. Or part Asian? Voice has half the charisma of the original.
Opening house too long.
Containers painted yellow because nothing stands out from all the detail.
I would say I'll wait for a bigger discount, but I don't even know. Don't really enjoy it.
Gamecube version. That's the one I platinumed as a kid and emulate as an adult.
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My brother in Christ, I don't know what you were expecting. I mean, it's got a run button and everything, there's no coming back from that.
OT: Since I'm strongly considering picking up the Castlevania DLC for it, I decided to punch out a few more runs of Vampire Survivors, get some unlocks that'll help me clear Dracula's castle. Finally got the Randomazzo relic and access to the fifth (original) stage, though I still need to do at least one more run of Gallo Tower for the relic at the bottom.
OT: Since I'm strongly considering picking up the Castlevania DLC for it, I decided to punch out a few more runs of Vampire Survivors, get some unlocks that'll help me clear Dracula's castle. Finally got the Randomazzo relic and access to the fifth (original) stage, though I still need to do at least one more run of Gallo Tower for the relic at the bottom.
He wants things to be the "old way, because everything is better there". Ignore him, because no one else, but nostalgia paint huffers give a shit. Everybody else got their own shit and don't give a shit about them.
I just got back from playing RE4R Mercenaries mode. Still fun and bad ass with the melee options and how you can wall bounce Ganados for more melee options or an insta-kill with the knife.
Elevator Action Returns is on sale at Steam, so I am gonna try that out for a good minute. Best in the franchise.
Seems also like the text commentary is gone. I checked a few things out in the demo and the cam just focused but without any of the protagonist's mental commentary. You could say, graphics have come so far that you no longer need to write that (and I would disagree), but about smell? It added atmosphere.
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You know what? I did beat this already. I played through a level in the middle after accidentally selecting it, then after that I was trying to figure out how you were supposed to tell which levels you've already played and selected the one on the end, and then there were credits. Huh. I played the jellyfish level and the game was pretty much how I remember it, difficult to control and borderline incomprehensible. I'm not sure if the goal is to eat everything or just get to the lowest level or what. Kind of makes me want to replay Flower because I remember that one being actually good, but I have factories to build and environments to destroy in Factorio so it'll have to wait
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So... Starcom: Unknown Space... its got its hooks me in, I play it all day now. The combination of satisfying combat and exploration with good dialog overcomes the somewhat lackluster overall story and the lack of deep conversations with other species. I do wish I could have a almost destroyed ship surrender. You do get some interesting missions, but unless you have one of those going on most species will at best just trade with you after the initial conversation.