Your video game hot take(s) thread

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,910
118
That's the hardware you have to sell a kidney to be able to afford to buy used from a scalper, but only after they're done using it to mine crypto, right?
I have a suspicion Sony knew this scalper thing would be an issue, with the ongoing chip shortage. Apparently there’s a brief splash (welcome) screen with audio that plays only on initial boot up of PS5, which could help protect consumers from people attempting to resell them as “New”.

It’s a nice touch considering that well, most of us haven’t been graced with the presence of a “new” PS5 anywhere yet.
 

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,372
1,958
118
Country
USA
I have a suspicion Sony knew this scalper thing would be an issue, with the ongoing chip shortage. Apparently there’s a brief splash (welcome) screen with audio that plays only on initial boot up of PS5, which could help protect consumers from people attempting to resell them as “New”.

It’s a nice touch considering that well, most of us haven’t been graced with the presence of a “new” PS5 anywhere yet.
Never seen one. Not even seen one. Not in a store, not anyone I know personally has got one. And while I eventually want one and a Series X, I want the PS5 1st of the two. Figure 3 years to mid console launch?

EDIT: Going way back, Zelda II on NES is better than the 1st one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xprimentyl

Xprimentyl

Made you look...
Legacy
Aug 13, 2011
6,643
4,934
118
Plano, TX
Country
United States
Gender
Male
EDIT: Going way back, Zelda II on NES is better than the 1st one.
Now THAT'S a hot take. Zelda II was awful as far as I can recall; so very disparate from its predecessor. I remember as kid a playing it and thinking "why?" I don't believe I ever finished it; it was so "not Zelda" that I couldn't be arsed. Taking a rudimentary open world and making it a side-scrolling platformer in the next iteration was a massive misstep, IMO. I obviously haven't played it in over 30 years, so maybe it has some redemptive qualities I missed, but all I can recall is "WTF?"
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,286
7,082
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
That's the hardware you have to sell a kidney to be able to afford to buy used from a scalper, but only after they're done using it to mine crypto, right?
Even though it's starting to look like there might be PS1-3 backwards compatibility coming to the PS5(maybe, possibly), I'm still not spending $1000 to get one. And those PS5 exclusives are gonna keep suffering until more people can get them.

I was kinda hoping the XBOX/A/B thing would maybe make it a little easier to get s PS5 but it doesn't look like it's gonna matter much in any appreciable way.

Now THAT'S a hot take. Zelda II was awful as far as I can recall; so very disparate from its predecessor. I remember as kid a playing it and thinking "why?" I don't believe I ever finished it; it was so "not Zelda" that I couldn't be arsed. Taking a rudimentary open world and making it a side-scrolling platformer in the next iteration was a massive misstep, IMO. I obviously haven't played it in over 30 years, so maybe it has some redemptive qualities I missed, but all I can recall is "WTF?"
I don't think Zelda 2 is horrible and I've actually beaten it, but it's got a lot of issues that overshadow the interesting things it tried to do. I will say that I've gotten more PTSD flashbacks from Zelda 2 then I've ever had with any FROM game. Maybe because I was younger but also because it felt it was far easier to get trapped or just royally fucked with no real recourse. More to the point, it doesn't really fit much with the rest of the Zelda series(like there's a fuck ton of crosses implying Christianity is not only a thing but also the official religion of Hyrule, a stark contrast to the Trinitary Goddess religion of every game that came after it). And then there's the wierd ocean/sea dividing hyrule in this game and only this game which doesn't really jive with any other game in the series(unless you want to try to link it to Wind Waker/Spirit Tracks somehow by squinting at it real hard).

I do like the premise and ambition of the game, but the actual implementation of the game leaves a ton to be desired and it's clear Nintendo feels the same way considering LTTP is a lot more like the first game then Zelda 2 and the series has more or less pretended Zelda 2 doesn't exist. Regardless, It's extremely unlikely we'll ever see any kind of sequel to Zelda 2 to address this other then the implicit "BOTW is at the end of all 3 timelines" thing.
 
Last edited:

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,372
1,958
118
Country
USA
Now THAT'S a hot take. Zelda II was awful as far as I can recall; so very disparate from its predecessor. I remember as kid a playing it and thinking "why?" I don't believe I ever finished it; it was so "not Zelda" that I couldn't be arsed. Taking a rudimentary open world and making it a side-scrolling platformer in the next iteration was a massive misstep, IMO. I obviously haven't played it in over 30 years, so maybe it has some redemptive qualities I missed, but all I can recall is "WTF?"
Even by today's standards, II is considered to be a hard game. But it is more an RPG than the 1st. In the 1st, you discovered better and better stuff. In II, you also could grind and "level up". The 1st was more original. Not too many games like it, while there were a number of side scrollers for the NES. Faxanadu and Battle for Olympus come to mind. They kind of prove the point though: they felt bargain basement, while II felt like a AAA experience, even back then.
I don't think Zelda 2 is horrible and I've actually beaten it, but it's got a lot of issues that overshadow the interesting things it tried to do. I will say that I've gotten more PTSD flashbacks from Zelda 2 then I've ever had with any FROM game.
You could whack a suit of armor to get free stuff. Once in a while, you'd do that but instead of free stuff, what I called a Ninja Chicken would jump out at you. Good jump scare back in the day.
1643321860761.png
 
Last edited:

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,286
7,082
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Even by today's standards, II is considered to be a hard game. But it is more an RPG than the 1st. In the 1st, you discovered better and better stuff. In II, you also could grind and "level up". The 1st was more original. Not too many games like it, while there were a number of side scrollers for the NES. Faxanadu and Battle for Olympus come to mind. They kind of prove the point though: they felt bargain basement, while II felt like a AAA experience, even back then.

You could whack a suit of armor to get free stuff. Once in a while, you'd do that but instead of free stuff, what I called a Ninja Chicken would jump out at you. Good jump scare back in the day.
View attachment 5401
The Evil Chicken thing actually fits well with Links eternal rivalry with Cuckoos(?).

Or maybe it's a Rito ghost? Long before the ritos existed? Oh my god......

*Breaks out the red strings and pushpins*

Don't follow me. I'm going deep down the rabbit hole here. If I dont' come back, I was probably eaten by a grue...or a rabbit.....grue rabbit?
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,286
7,082
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Raiden from MGS2 is far more interesting then the breakdancing Cyborg Version in MSG4 and MGR:R. Yes, I know Konami lied in the intial advertising about him even being in the game and a lot of people were butthurt that they weren't playing Snake after the Tanker Chapter, but his backstory was a lot more interesting and sympathic then Cyborg Ninja boy.
Being some poor slub who was manipulated into thinking he was part of a Special Forces Unit(namely FOXHOUND), raised as a child soldier, trained on video games for his "legit" military training only to be thrust into the giant shitshow of the Big Shell Operation(not to mention having his girlfriend harassing him every half hour about their relationship while they're on a mission) is a bit much and maybe a bit over reliant on being a commentary about simulated violence to create future warriors and information manipulation that is one of the games themes. However, instead of building on that we just go to "Oh, I'm a cyborg ninja now because thing that happened off-screen at some point(Thanks Kojima). It rained the day I was born. Aren't I cool and edgy?" in MGS4. IDK, I'm just kinda annoyed that it felt like the entire point of Raiden's character kinda got thrown in the trash because people didn't like him in MGS2.

On a similar note, I'm annoyed that Venoms reveal in MGS5 is basically just dropped in there at the end and pretty much nothing is done with it. Some poor medic who followed Big Boss(like so many others in MSF), went on the Ground Zeros Mission and as a result, was almost killed and had his identity forcibly stripped away so he could be manipulated into cosplaying as Big Boss for reasons he doesn't understand. There's a wealth of potential for drama and existential angst there but instead it's just "Oh, you're not big boss. He's off there having fun somewhere else while you're here dealing with all this shit". Maybe if the game had gotten a full 2nd chapter like was planned we might have seen this but as far as I know the big cut thing was the infamous "Kingdom of the Flies" mission we have partial footage of where baby liquid and baby mantis run off together after Metal Gear snuffleupagus is destroyed and probably some more fuck around missions like the rest of the game.
 
Last edited:

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,395
12,230
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Raiden from MGS2 is far more interesting then the breakdancing Cyborg Version in MSG4 and MGR:R. Yes, I know Konami lied in the intial advertising about him even being in the game and a lot of people were butthurt that they weren't playing Snake after the Tanker Chapter, but his backstory was a lot more interesting and sympathic then Cyborg Ninja boy.
Being some poor slub who was manipulated into thinking he was part of a Special Forces Unit(namely FOXHOUND), raised as a child soldier, trained on video games for his "legit" military training only to be thrust into the giant shitshow of the Big Shell Operation(not to mention having his girlfriend harassing him every half hour about their relationship while they're on a mission) is a bit much and maybe a bit over reliant on being a commentary about simulated violence to create future warriors and information manipulation that is one of the games themes. However, instead of building on that we just go to "Oh, I'm a cyborg ninja now because thing that happened off-screen at some point(Thanks Kojima). It rained the day I was born. Aren't I cool and edgy?" in MGS4. IDK, I'm just kinda annoyed that it felt like the entire point of Raiden's character kinda got thrown in the trash because people didn't like him in MGS2.

On a similar note, I'm annoyed that Venoms reveal in MGS5 is basically just dropped in there at the end and pretty much nothing is done with it. Some poor medic who followed Big Boss(like so many others in MSF), went on the Ground Zeros Mission and as a result, was almost killed and had his identity forcibly stripped away so he could be manipulated into cosplaying as Big Boss for reasons he doesn't understand. There's a wealth of potential for drama and existential angst there but instead it's just "Oh, you're not big boss. He's off there having fun somewhere else while you're here dealing with all this shit". Maybe if the game had gotten a full 2nd chapter like was planned we might have seen this but as far as I know the big cut thing was the infamous "Kingdom of the Flies" mission we have partial footage of where baby liquid and baby mantis run off together after Metal Gear snuffleupagus is destroyed and probably some more fuck around missions like the rest of the game.
I actually love all of the above, but I do see highly where you are coming from. At least some characteristics and personalities from MGS2 come full circle in Rising. So there is that.

Doom 64 is the best of the classic Doom games.

I never agreed with the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games being spiritual successors to Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, or 2D brawlers in general. In some sense, yes, with the co-op play and health meters. Yet a lot of these games have pacing issues and stages that go on for too long. I'll give credit to Samurai Warriors and Hyurle Warriors mitigating these issues with smaller levels or speedier characters. My argument holds even more weight now with the return of the 2D brawler genre in the late 2010s and new Golden Age in 2020. KT/Omega Force don't even know what to do with the franchise, aside from a few spin-offs. Samurai Warriors 5 has even less content, more DLC, and your best bet is to wait for the expansion/upgraded version released in the next 1.5 years.

If anything, games such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and even God of War are better 3D spiritual successors to Final Fight, Streets of Rage, or Golden Axe, than the Musou brand.
 
Last edited:

The Rogue Wolf

Stealthy Carnivore
Legacy
Nov 25, 2007
16,868
9,549
118
Stalking the Digital Tundra
Gender
✅
Doom 64 is the best of the classic Doom games.
I agree, though many purists probably wouldn't. The CGI sprites actually work for the monsters, since they're supposed to be inhuman and freakish to begin with, and I like the music a lot more than the wannabe-metal MIDIs of the originals. (The PlayStation port of Doom had similar music to Doom 64, and it's sometimes a bit hard for me to tell them apart.) Plus "Dark Citadel" is one of the creepiest old-school maps in gaming.

@Nick Calandra or @JoJo, I please request that this thread and the Unofficial Screenshot Thread get pinned.
But if it's pinned, wouldn't that make it the Official Screenshot Thread?
 

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,910
118
I agree, though many purists probably wouldn't. The CGI sprites actually work for the monsters, since they're supposed to be inhuman and freakish to begin with, and I like the music a lot more than the wannabe-metal MIDIs of the originals. (The PlayStation port of Doom had similar music to Doom 64, and it's sometimes a bit hard for me to tell them apart.) Plus "Dark Citadel" is one of the creepiest old-school maps in gaming.


But if it's pinned, wouldn't that make it the Official Screenshot Thread?
Good thing titles are editable!
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,395
12,230
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I agree, though many purists probably wouldn't. The CGI sprites actually work for the monsters, since they're supposed to be inhuman and freakish to begin with, and I like the music a lot more than the wannabe-metal MIDIs of the originals. (The PlayStation port of Doom had similar music to Doom 64, and it's sometimes a bit hard for me to tell them apart.)
Bah! The purists like drinking kool aid mixed with their own urine. I never paid them any mind, even back in the old days. Elitists assholes they are all.

But if it's pinned, wouldn't that make it the Official Screenshot Thread?
@Chimpzy, you know what you must now do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fallen Soldier

Specter Von Baren

Annoying Green Gadfly
Legacy
Aug 25, 2013
5,637
2,856
118
I don't know, send help!
Country
USA
Gender
Cuttlefish
The current "hot take" thing I been thinking about is: graphics DO matter.

The reason I like places like the Escapist is the idea that gameplay, story, innovation and "auteurism" are respected, and this idea that the latest graphics aren't as important as interesting, fun, innovative gameplay. I totally agree that graphics aren't the most important thing, and Undertale is great and whatever.

But graphics also matter to some degree and it is better when stuff looks cool. Games looking cool is why we play more video games than board games, to a large degree, I mean if we're being honest.

This whole "how important are graphics" idea has come to me from the perspective of sometimes certain game journalists and reviewers and people going TOO far the other way against the grain of dudebro gamur idiots.

Like the whole thing with Elden Ring looking potentially a bit disappointing that the graphics essentially look like Dark Souls 3, and its defenders are like "it doesn't matter, you're stupid for caring about that."
Well, no, I am a little disappointed by that, even though I preordered the game and still look forward to it as a FromSoftware fanboy. But still a new big game- it would be nice if it looked hella cool now on the new hardware.

And I recently tried to play Spelunky 2 and the combination of its brutal difficulty and the fact that it looks like from 1987 just turned me off. I don't feel like going back to NES when I can play anything from like 5 years ago that looks and feels amazing. But that is also just a mood I was in because I also just beat the similar luddite Nobody Saves the World by spending 30 hours reliving 12 yr old me brain. Or a few months ago when I play Stardew Valley so much I bought a clock for 10 million game dollars.

My point is that graphics were A factor- not THE factor- in deciding how I feel about a game I'm playing, buying, reacting to, whatever. I just think it became this cool/intellectual pretense to act like we're not gonna care if a game actually looks good, new, pretty, whatever.

And straight up I avoid most post-apocalypse games like Fallout because dirty broken buildings is just... ugly (contrast with Dark Souls where the wear and tear of the world is sort of its own beauty). Am I shallow or am I just reacting to the reality that video games is an intensely immersively visual medium
I think it's important to remember when and why that discussion happened. Graphics had gotten to a point where just showing a still image wasn't capable of being a "wow factor" anymore yet it seemed that the industry was still hung up on improving the graphics of games despite the diminishing returns. Add in all the monetization practices and overblown budgets and it becomes more clear that people weren't arguing against making games look better but the desire for other aspects of games to be improved and a more reasonable use of the budgets.
 

Specter Von Baren

Annoying Green Gadfly
Legacy
Aug 25, 2013
5,637
2,856
118
I don't know, send help!
Country
USA
Gender
Cuttlefish
I think I've ranted about this one before but I want to do it again.

Pokemon Black & White do not have the best story in a Pokemon game. In some small respects I'd say it even has the worst.

We have the issue of how the Pokemon games are cock fights and how that's a really horrible thing in real life but we kind of handwave it for these games and don't talk about it. I was never really interested in the issue being brought up in game and didn't think it could or should if GameFreak wanted to keep the series rated E.

But they decided to broach on it in B&W and immediately, immediately, torpedoes it with your initial interaction with Team Plasma. After having a speech about how bad using pokemon to fight is they are immediately seen abusing pokemon. The design of Team Plasma is that of crusader knights, this is a deliberate design choice to show that they are full of it and at best naive fools being manipulated and at worst seeking power and using a pretext for it. Normal people in the game think Team Plasma and N are weirdos and many characters talk about how "No, they don't understand the bond between us and pokemon" and such. N was deliberately tricked, his world view is built on lies by a power hungry individual. Everything in the game is slanted against the argument that pokemon fights are bad. Why did they even bring up this aspect of the games if they were going to straw man it so hard? Just ignore it and it would be fine!

So yeah, this is not the best story from the mainline Pokemon series, and it pisses me off when people say it is. I'd actually say that the best story and characters the mainline series has had came from Sun & Moon. There seemed to actually be some heart and care put into the story with Lusamine and Lillie and their family issues. I'd even put Cyrus from Diamond & Pearl above N as far as good villains go since he's so cold and cruel to not just his pokemon but also his subordinates which makes him a contrast for what the series wants to be about.

Anyway, I know, "Why are you ranting about story in a Pokemon game?" but it just grinds my gears sometimes.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,395
12,230
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Anyway, I know, "Why are you ranting about story in a Pokemon game?" but it just grinds my gears sometimes.
People who complain about other people ranting about the story, usually don't like thinking or are trying to deflect criticism to begin with. I hate that. Some things are always going to have weird ass stories, but if you call attention to it, within your own story and characters, that just makes things worse.
 
Last edited: