Your video game hot take(s) thread

[Jarrito3002]

Its a problem games with choices matter or avoidable deaths. People are inclined to play the messiah playthrough and it becomes a Metagame to save those around you. Kai Leng is there sharpening the reaper's scythe setting up major characters to die

I would ask what are opinions on the endings. Now I would say mostly flawed but not pure crap. Something of that grand scale have a nice tightly wrapped ending would not of set right some open to interpretation would still keep the scale of it but the method could of used a little more ironing out. I will say the whole I chose no option making so that everyone just legit dies felt like writers trying to railroad a bit too hard.

 

[Gyrobot]

I would ask what are opinions on the endings. Now I would say mostly flawed but not pure crap. Something of that grand scale have a nice tightly wrapped ending would not of set right some open to interpretation would still keep the scale of it but the method could of used a little more ironing out. I will say the whole I chose no option making so that everyone just legit dies felt like writers trying to railroad a bit too hard.

It wrapped up the saga well, either the galaxy ushers in a new era for all life in the system or not with variables like if the the non citadel races are going to end up stronger or the citadel races are the sole survivors of the conflict due to Shepard's actions.

Even in the previous stories, you had to choose between preserving the base or destroying it or choosing the councilor. It was a story of escalating impact as the fate of all life is decided

 

[BrawlMan]

One more NMH topic, Yahtzee's claiming Travis became a self-insert is mostly bungus. There are some areas, but it's called growing up and maturing. If anything, Suda inserts aspects of himself, and his career (up to that point), in Travis Strikes Again with certain boss characters. That game was mostly him coming to full terms in what happened throughout is entire career. Some parts of him are in Travis, but especially in TSA, that's not the main focus.

• While he did change a little bit in the first game, it's nothing near the growth he went through in the second. In the beginning, he's the same immature otaku that he had always been, but some of the battles throughout the game (namely Ryuji being heartlessly gunned down by Sylvia when Travis considers him an honorable man and a Worthy Opponent, his decision to leave Captain Vladimir's body unharmed by Sylvia's goons, and the outcome of his battle with Alice Twilight) completely alter his view on life, and by the end of the game, his goals have shifted from screwing Sylvia to being a hero in his own way.
• His interactions with rival assassins also shows a great deal of development over the course of the series: he becomes a reluctant mentor for Shinobu after sparing her life in the original game, going so far as to spurn her sexual advances as it weirded him out a bit too much; he was all set to kick his brother Henry's ass six ways from Sunday in the original game, whereas in the sequel, he saves him from another assassin and lets him recuperate and watch some of his anime; but most poignant of all, in the beginning of Desperate Struggle, he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of Skelter Helter's brother, the first man he assassinated. As he finds Worthy Opponents throughout the game, though, he interacts with them more amicably, eventually culminating in his duel with Alice, the conclusion of which sees him promising to remember her name after he slays her.
• Travis slowly becomes more of a genuine badass over time. In the first game, he's regarded as a Butt-Monkey idiot by most of the first half of the rankings, but the latter half of bosses seem to regard him as a genuine threat, especially Speed Buster and Harvey, hence their sneak attacks. In the second game, he's become a legend and is revered in Santa Destroy's criminal/assassin underground for his skills, to the point where many of the assassins in the game are itching to fight him instead of the other way around, including one ranked below him who comes to challenge him the same way he challenges the other assassins. In Travis Strikes Again, he's become a world-wide legend, with some of the most influential people in the world knowing him by name (including, intriguingly, the Smith Syndicate) and often aiding him in his and Badman's quest for the Death Balls purely out of respect for him. It's also worth noting that Travis gains a scar over his eye in TSA, and scarred or "silver" eyes in Suda51's mythos usually denote incredible willpower and strength, as well as immense bloodlust.
• By the time III rolls around, Travis has a brand new perspective on life and the people he associates with, particularly with how old enemies like Badman have become Fire-Forged Friends. Whereas previously he'd shun Shinobu's insistence of being his pupil, he expresses genuine concern when she's put into danger and wants to be able to teach her more. He also tries to support Bad Girl of all people after the death of her father. While his overall ability to be emotional support is still sorely lacking as he projects his own sources of self-help and training material onto others (specifically anime), there's clear indication that he's at least trying to be a reliable person now, and has more of a paternal instinct carrying him than ever before. This culminates in him gaining the approval of the in-universe strongest hero, having his friends join him during the final battle, and saving the world; completing his transition into being a true hero.
• This development of his also affects his relationship with Sylvia as well. In the first game, his rise through the ranks is motivated in part by the prospect of sleeping with her. They do get together by the end of Desperate Struggle, after Sylvia forms more respect for the more principled stand that Travis takes — so much so that they're already married with a daughter when Travis Strikes Again rolls around. Their interactions in III arguably show this off the best; whereas before Travis would have lept at the chance to try and advance on her, or Sylvia similarly trying to throw him off by being cryptic or manipulative, both are able to hold more straightforward and caring conversations with each other.

No More Heroes - Travis Touchdown / Characters - TV Tropes

No More Heroes character index Travis Touchdown No More Heroes | 2: Desperate Struggle | Travis Strikes Again | No More Heroes III Travis TouchdownVoiced by: Robin Atkin Downes (EN), Kazuya Nakai (JP)Theme: N.M.H. The Heroic Comedic Sociopath …

tvtropes.org

 

[Gordon_4]

Its a problem games with choices matter or avoidable deaths. People are inclined to play the messiah playthrough and it becomes a Metagame to save those around you. Kai Leng is there sharpening the reaper's scythe setting up major characters to die

Kai Leng is an embarrassment, Thane himself says as much because he - a terminally ill man who's living day by day and very much out of practice - nearly handed him his ass. And worst of all, Leng is not even a challenging boss fight the two times you fight him on his own merits. All his 'victories' come during cut scenes which is a cardinal sin when establishing a character as a credible threat.

 

[Hades]

Kai Leng is an embarrassment, Thane himself says as much because he - a terminally ill man who's living day by day and very much out of practice - nearly handed him his ass. And worst of all, Leng is not even a challenging boss fight the two times you fight him on his own merits. All his 'victories' come during cut scenes which is a cardinal sin when establishing a character as a credible threat.

But remember! Kai Leng did break into Anderson's home and ate his cereal. Because he's a thrill seeker.

 

[Piscian]

Hot take: WoW is not an attractive or skill intensive or even "fun" game, its merely streamlined a hyper-efficient balance of simple task vs reward which causes users brains to constantly release serotonin therefore incentivising them to keep "playing" to feel "good".

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Hot take: WoW is not an attractive or skill intensive or even "fun" game, its merely streamlined a hyper-efficient balance of simple task vs reward which causes users brains to constantly release serotonin therefore incentivising them to keep "playing" to feel "good".

All WoW did was shave off all the rough edges that other MMOs had in order to become the perfect Skinner box.

 

[Gyrobot]

Kai Leng is an embarrassment, Thane himself says as much because he - a terminally ill man who's living day by day and very much out of practice - nearly handed him his ass. And worst of all, Leng is not even a challenging boss fight the two times you fight him on his own merits. All his 'victories' come during cut scenes which is a cardinal sin when establishing a character as a credible threat.

Thane actually talked about how he is well aware of the exploits he could take to infiltrate csec and pop the council. It was the only reason why he could reach Kai Leng. Thane was just that good as an assassin and it was through numbers that Leng had an advantage. Besides at that point TIM stopped seeing his operatives as even people so much as resources spent to achieve his goal and Leng struck me more as the hand of the Illusive Man

Though fuck up badly on your end and you will take personal losses. Nothing like shooting your fellow virmire survivor because Leng got the Salarian Councilor and starting a clean playthrough means you are already at a considerable disadvantage in telling the survivor to stand down.

 

[Piscian]

All WoW did was shave off all the rough edges that other MMOs had in order to become the perfect Skinner box.

I dont know what a Skinner box is. I probably dont want to know.

 

[09philj]

I dont know what a Skinner box is. I probably dont want to know.

It's a colloquial term for a bit of apparatus for testing animal behaviour.

Operant conditioning chamber - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[AnxietyProne]

The Fighting Game Community is far and away the worst sub community in gaming, with arcane mores and codes of behavior that'd make an occult secret society member's head spin.

 

[BrawlMan]

Despite its problems, I would still play Asura's Wrath over most of the God of War games. Capcom, please make a Definitive/Complete Edition already! Mark it at $20. You'll get all the money and then some.

 

[BrawlMan]

From Software really needs to tone it down on the Dark Souls style games. They don't have to stop, but try something different or bring back some of their older franchises. Or at the very least, make an HD remake of Tenchu or a compilation pack of certain games.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

From Software really needs to tone it down on the Dark Souls style games. They don't have to stop, but try something different or bring back some of their older franchises. Or at the very leastm make an HD remake of Tenchu or a compilation pack of certain games.

Sekiro was probably their spiritual successor to Tenchu. They did another Armored Core sometime between DS2 and Bloodborne, but it apparently wasn’t much to write home about.

*edit* it was a year before DS2 -

Armored Core: Verdict Day - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[AnxietyProne]

Tenchu remaster/remake

YES! YES! Listen to Brawlman you should!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Sekiro was probably their spiritual successor to Tenchu. They did another Armored Core sometime between DS2 and Bloodborne, but it apparently wasn’t much to write home about.

*edit* it was a year before DS2 -

Armored Core: Verdict Day - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They also re-released Metal Wolf Chaos.

 

[BrawlMan]

I concede to an extent and say an action game a la DMC style can work if the character only has 1 weapon or a 2 weapon load out only. But the combat has to be good, with great enemy encounters and decent variety. Most importantly, a large, or at the very least, a decent sized move set. Better yet, have more than 1 playable character can help even odds that plays completely different from each other. See Killer Is Dead: which you only have 1 weapon, 4 sub-weapons (you progressively unlock as you get through the game) but large upgrade system where you get plenty of new moves, and power ups. The Onechanbara series almost always gives you at least two characters with two weapons and sub-weapon.

Or do something unique if the character only has 1 weapon. Make their weapon a morphing weapon. No More Heroes 3 has Travis's Beam Katakana morph based on his tension gauge, or whether he's doing a light or heavy attack. His blade extends long when finishing off an opponent with a standing sword swipe. That can hit or kill multiple enemies depending how close they are when it happens. Marlow Briggs has a scythe that morphs as you upgrade him or gain new moves. I would like to thank @happyninja42 for giving me this train of thought.

Also, more beat'em ups 2D or 3D need the Stance Change mechanic. DMC5 took it to a new level with all the crazy shit Dante could do. Now actions games have to really step up their game.

 

[Dalisclock]

Ok, let me start by saying I rather like the God of War series and am generally on board with it's unique interpretation of Greek Mythology. So take the following hot take with that in mind.

Here goes. So I get that the GOW Trilogy plays fairly fast and loose with Greek Myth, History and Geography for the sake of Storytelling and Spectacle, and you can easily write it off as being set in the Age of Myth, or if you really wanted, before the Rise of Classical Greece, during the Greek Dark Ages or even tie this to the bronze age collapse if you really wanted to try to sync it with actual history(Don't do this, it doesn't sync).

This Breaks down, however, because GOW2 decided they wanted to have Kratos Fight the Colossus of Rhodes, which admittely is great Spectacle. The problem is said wonder of the world only existed for 54 years(yes, a grand total of a half century) before being destroyed by an Earthquake in 226 BCE. The problem with this is now you've established a Firm Year for GOW2 and GOW3, and which sometime in the 3rd century(and presumably 226 BCE). And this causes a problem if you try to factor in the rest of...well, history, because by that point Classical Greece isn't even really a thing anymore. Hell, Alexander the Great has already Built his Empire, died, left 3 squabbling successor empires that fought 4 major wars with each other and this all well within the span of recorded history at this point.

And that doesn't jive well with GOW3 where Kratos basically kills all the Gods and takes down a big chunk of the Greek World with it because, yeah, something like that would have been recorded by like everyone(the Sun going dark, the seas destroying everything, the plants dying, etc).

That being said, they're great games but any attempt to sync them our world at this point is futile because you can't. Then again, I guess that was obvious when there was supposed to be a giant Desert outside of Athens with a Titan Crawling around in it.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Ok, let me start by saying I rather like the God of War series and am generally on board with it's unique interpretation of Greek Mythology. So take the following hot take with that in mind.

Here goes. So I get that the GOW Trilogy plays fairly fast and loose with Greek Myth, History and Geography for the sake of Storytelling and Spectacle, and you can easily write it off as being set in the Age of Myth, or if you really wanted, before the Rise of Classical Greece, during the Greek Dark Ages or even tie this to the bronze age collapse if you really wanted to try to sync it with actual history(Don't do this, it doesn't sync).

This Breaks down, however, because GOW2 decided they wanted to have Kratos Fight the Colossus of Rhodes, which admittely is great Spectacle. The problem is said wonder of the world only existed for 54 years(yes, a grand total of a half century) before being destroyed by an Earthquake in 226 BCE. The problem with this is now you've established a Firm Year for GOW2 and GOW3, and which sometime in the 3rd century(and presumably 226 BCE). And this causes a problem if you try to factor in the rest of...well, history, because by that point Classical Greece isn't even really a thing anymore. Hell, Alexander the Great has already Built his Empire, died, left 3 squabbling successor empires that fought 4 major wars with each other and this all well within the span of recorded history at this point.

And that doesn't jive well with GOW3 where Kratos basically kills all the Gods and takes down a big chunk of the Greek World with it because, yeah, something like that would have been recorded by like everyone(the Sun going dark, the seas destroying everything, the plants dying, etc).

That being said, they're great games but any attempt to sync them our world at this point is futile because you can't. Then again, I guess that was obvious when there was supposed to be a giant Desert outside of Athens with a Titan Crawling around in it.

Well, c'mon; logical adherence to ACTUAL history has never been a thing GoW has gone for. They use the various elements of Greek mythology as source material to craft fantasy tales; yours isn't so much a hot take as it is a gripe with an extremely niggling detail. I mean after all, you said it yourself, the Colossus of Rhodes existed for a relatively short and specific period of time... at what point was it EVER a living being that needed taken down by a singular guy with a couple blades swing from chains?

Now if you wanted to take up this kind of criticism with , say, Assassins Creed or some such franchise that would have you believe they're going for at least some modicum of reasonable credibility with their depictions of history, that be more fitting.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Mass Effect, the whole bloody thing, was never very good. The first game is as good as it gets, and even it chooses all the boring aliens over the cool weird ones for your companions. Then with the start of the second game the series becomes too obsessed with being cool and sexy to not only tell a good sci-fi story, but a good story in general. And I wouldn't have as much of a problem with this series getting its freak on if it didn't choose the most stilted and robotic way to present its characters. You have all these hot people/aliens with canyon deep necklines and vacu-sucked booties, and they move around like awkward mannequins with stiff hands.