Your video game hot take(s) thread

[BrawlMan]

Bioshock Infinite isn't terrible, but it had a long and troubled dev cycle and it shows in the final product in how it can't really commit to any one theme or idea for very long. It still has some cool ideas and premises, none of which are really explored to the full manner they should have been.

I'd say BioShock 2 is better than Infinite. Deal with it Yahtzee! At least the second game had better and faster paced gameplay. Oh, and a thing called a weapon wheel. I don't know what Yahtzee was praising Infinite about, that most other shooters had done better or differently. All they did with Infinite was CODIFY it. You can only hold two weapons, you have a regenerating health. Even if it is two health bars. The only saving grace is that on the hardest difficulty, you don't get the regeneration shield. There's little exploration or side paths, and almost everything is in a straight line, no different from a corridor shooter. At that point in the Bioshock franchise, it's no longer a spiritual successor System Shock. Dead Space 1 & 2, and Evil Within 2 are better System Shock games; with or without the comparison.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Dark Souls 3 plays way better than Bloodborne. I went back to try finishing my personal chalice dungeon against Ebriettas in layer 3 I was reacquainted with how surprisingly unresponsive it feels. Half the time sprint won’t even register as an input as I enter the fog gate. Getting knocked down is practically a death sentence, in the rare instance she doesn’t kill you outright considering your health is cut in half along with your blood vial effectiveness.

I’ve read there’s an issue with Bloodborne’s frame pacing, and it might have something to do with why even PS5 didn’t get a 60fps patch. The fan patch works *somewhat* but also isn’t consistent and apparently impacts performance in other ways. Bloodborne is simply a weird beast (no pun) that might never leave PS4 if a dedicated team doesn’t think the effort to properly port it is worth it.

Oh you know you got my attention with this post.
I sold the machine I used to play those games but I would be curious to try them both again and compare. Your hypothesis about why it's not getting updated makes sense- if it were as easy as all that, Sony would definitely take the easy money and hype that would come with a PS5 upgrade.

 

[Dalisclock]

I'd say BioShock 2 is better than Infinite. Deal with it Yahtzee! At least the second game had better and faster paced gameplay. Oh, and a thing called a weapon wheel. I don't see don't know what Yahtzee was praising Infinite about, that most other shooters had done better or differently. All they did with Infinite was CODIFY it. You can only hold two weapons, you have a regenerating health. Even if it is to health bars. The only saving grace is that on the hardest difficulty, you don't get the regeneration shield. There's little exploration or a side pass and almost everything is in a straight line, no different from a corridor shooter. At that point in the Bioshock franchise, it's no longer a spiritual successor System Shock. Dead Space 1 & 2, and Evil Within 2 are better System Shock games; with or without the comparison.

I never played 2. I plan to do a playthrough of all 3 games in a marathon but I'm not there right now. Infinite impressed me with it's setting and the whole Timeline/Reality bending thing rather then any gameplay(I also appreciate the bits where you can take a break and wander around a bit before the combat got hot and heavy again, which most FPSs don't bother with). Bioshock very likely is a better game, but I haven't play any of them for like a decade.

 

[BrawlMan]

I never played 2. I plan to do a playthrough of all 3 games in a marathon but I'm not there right now. Infinite impressed me with it's setting and the whole Timeline/Reality bending thing rather then any gameplay(I also appreciate the bits where you can take a break and wander around a bit before the combat got hot and heavy again, which most FPSs don't bother with). Bioshock very likely is a better game, but I haven't play any of them for like a decade.

Infinite has some side paths, but nowhere near the amount you would see in the first two games. I've never played 2, but I watched a play through a couple times. Sure, Infinite has more than say, your standard Call of Duty campaign, but it is very minimal in comparison to BioShock and other games that take influence from System Shock.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Doom Eternal is kind of shit.

I preordered the game hoping to make videos on it (back when I did that sort of thing) and yet every time I try to play through it, I can only get about an hour or so along before I feel compelled to quit. There's a few factors that make me just not want to keep going:

- Too "arcade-y" a feel. Things like extra lives and cheat-code disks don't fit the feel the game tries to have.
- Too many gadgets to keep track of. I end up forgetting I have most of them, let alone what they do.
- Way too much verticality just for the sake of level padding. The movement in combat arenas isn't so much of a problem, but I should not have to audition for Cirque du Soleil just to traverse between them.

I wanna like this game; I loved the reboot. But every last moment of playing it feels like an absolute unenjoyable slog.

 

[BrawlMan]

- Too "arcade-y" a feel. Things like extra lives and cheat-code disks don't fit the feel the game tries to have.

That part I actually did not mind, and got me all giddy.

- Way too much verticality just for the sake of level padding. The movement in combat arenas isn't so much of a problem, but I should not have to audition for Cirque du Soleil just to traverse between them.

This however made me quit and traded the game in for some valuable store credit. I do not regret doing so.

 

[meiam]

Infinite has some side paths, but nowhere near the amount you would see in the first two games. I've never played two, but I watched a play through a couple times. Sure, Infinite has more than say, your standard Call of Duty campaign, but it is very minimal in comparison to BioShock and other games that take influence from System Shock.

I'll second 2 over infinity, but they're kinda different game. 2 essentially tried nothing new, its more bioshock in the same setting. Play it mainly for the gameplay. Infinity tried too much new stuff and never fully realize them (flying city/worship founder/racism/time-loop/fatherhood/class struggle and so on) so the story is an interesting but mostly jumble mess, gameplay wise it's very much a linear version of bioshock, which is a shame if you like those game for the -shock aspect (ie system shock).

 

[Dalisclock]

Infinite has some side paths, but nowhere near the amount you would see in the first two games. I've never played 2, but I watched a play through a couple times. Sure, Infinite has more than say, your standard Call of Duty campaign, but it is very minimal in comparison to BioShock and other games that take influence from System Shock.

Oh, I was referring to how you'd get to wander around the beach a bit, or at the amusement park, or at the beginning where you can just soak in the whole ambience of Columbia before you get to the racist baseball bit. Very few other FPSs have bits like that where you can just enjoy the sights like in an RPG. Which I get but Columbia is a bright, cool ass setting even if it's full of racist jerks.

I hate to say it, but I kinda wish Bioshock Infinite had been semi-open world or something where you could kinda explore Columbia as you wanted instead of being lead through on a linear path, at least until the end when everything is on fire. Columbia looks like it's fucking huge but you really only get to see small bits of it at a time and there are constant points of no return where you can never return to any previous area. Maybe that was the idea earlier in development but clearly it got lost along the way.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Doom Eternal is kind of shit.

I preordered the game hoping to make videos on it (back when I did that sort of thing) and yet every time I try to play through it, I can only get about an hour or so along before I feel compelled to quit. There's a few factors that make me just not want to keep going:

- Too "arcade-y" a feel. Things like extra lives and cheat-code disks don't fit the feel the game tries to have.
- Too many gadgets to keep track of. I end up forgetting I have most of them, let alone what they do.
- Way too much verticality just for the sake of level padding. The movement in combat arenas isn't so much of a problem, but I should not have to audition for Cirque du Soleil just to traverse between them.

I wanna like this game; I loved the reboot. But every last moment of playing it feels like an absolute unenjoyable slog.

And I think the inverse is true. I didn't like Doom 2016 until I was like 3/4 of the way through it because I thought it took too long to get a proper arsenal of gadgets and it's only really fun once you've got the double jump, your weapons are upgraded, and the enemy variety in encounters is high.

I think Doom Eternal is way better in that regard, you get way more of your weapons and abilities much faster and the combat feel and speed is way higher and more brutal actually forcing you to use all of your weapons and abilities. You can beat 90% of Doom 2016 with just the default shotgun with grenade launcher attachment, it works on literally every enemy.

 

[BrawlMan]

Between the two: Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and SFIII: 3rd Strike, I still consider 3rd Strike the best. Now don't get wrong, both games have their respective developer at the top of their game and pedigree. The best graphics, animations, sounds, and gameplay for 2D fighters that still looks jaw dropping today. One advantage 3rd Strike has over Garou is how it handles the final boss. In 3rd Strike, it's just get to the boss the normal way and that's it. Garou does the annoying trend of having to beat each fight with no continues to reach the true final boss. I hate that shit. This is an SNK arcade game. Do I really need to clarify any further why this is a problem?

Another advantage is 3rd Strike's soundtrack is God-tier of ear pleasing music. Garou's soundtrack is good and stands on its own, but it is nowhere near as memorable as 3rd Strike's hip-hop, jazz and techno infused soundtrack. Otherwise, they're both awesome fighting games that are the best of their respective franchise, and each game deserves a couple of hours in arcade mode and between your buddies or family.

 

[Worgen]

Silent Hill 1 and 3 are better then Silent Hill 2. The story in 2 might be stronger, I'm not sure, when I played it I couldn't pay much attention to it since I was too busy being really disappointed that I didn't find it scary like I did the first or 3rd games. Then again, for the first game everything came together in a perfect storm to freak me out. I was younger and by the time I got to the school it was already night and I got to the hell world when it was 11 at night, I was too freaked out to even go to the bathroom. I mean I still did, cause I'm not peeing in my room, but it was damn freaky.

Nothing in 2 was scary, the best was the intro, but pyramid head was weird but not very threatening. Nothing like Nemesis chasing after you and having a rocket launcher.

 

[Gyrobot]

I didn't like Sony's censorship not because they removed problematic gameplay elements but how it created a culture of gaslighting weebs putting shovelware companies as some martyr while demonizing a single state as some unholy puritan beast bent on destroying all things sexual

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Goatee Kratos is still the GOAT -


I’ll definitely be using this mod whenever I get it on PC. Actually, Sony needs to add this skin to the PS versions as well.

 

[BrawlMan]

I actually prefer Mai's costume in Fatal Fury 2, 3, Special, and Real Bout sub-series. Her costumes started out as conservative, even for the time. The fan-service mainly came from her bouncing chest, and some times going bare feet/toe-less socks (though that part is less fan-service, unless you already have a fetish for that kind of thing). It wasn't until Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture and KOF '96 that she got more stripperiffic and ditzy. I don't mind the fan-service, but it's still annoying how many SNK fans misremember how she started, or people outside the spectrum just assume Mai was "always like that".

Oneechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers is a decent game. It's not a 1/5 or 3/10 a lot of reviewers were making the game out to be. BZS is a 3/5 type game. There are good and hidden mechanics, if one bothers to actually play the game, and not rush out their review for quick rant gag, or because they're on a dead line. It's a budget game, so there are going to be problems. The environments are samey with nothing special, you're essentially going through the same levels 4 times total when you unlock all the characters, unlocking costumes is a disaster without looking up GameFAQs, and controls are Wiimote and Nun-chuck only. Surprisingly, the motion controls work and has an almost rhythm to how you do the moves, but Classic/GC control would have been nice alternatives for those that want it, or have certain handicaps. Every character either has two weapons or two stances, they all play completely differently, each have a taunt, and while the enemies are mostly weak sauce, they definitely put up a fight on harder difficulties. This game ain't DMC1, 3, 4, nor 5, but is better than DMC2 and Chaos Legion.

I would not have paid $30 for it though. $20 would have been okay for me, had D3 started at that price. I got this game for $5 back in 2017. A few years prior, the game was sold used $1-2. Today, the game is a bit more pricey, but you should be paying no more than $15-20. Anymore than that, then do not bother, and play the games on PS4. As far as 3D brawlers (there's not that many) goes on the Wii, you can definitely do worse. It's not Mad World, nor No More Heroes, but BZS is better than Red Steel, Samurai Warriors 3, or Spyborgs. Funny enough, there is this one user reviewer on GameFAQs that considered NMH and MW to be pieces of shit, and considered BZS to be the best 3D brawler on Wii. The person was known for being contrarian and vindictive. I like the game, but that is just not true.

 

[Gyrobot]

Mai's outfit was meant to be a shout out to V Cinema Kunoichi. It was just taken a step further to her signature outfit. But this is one thing I will interject on how people complain about Lucky Chloe, Honoka and Marie Rose should realize that Japanese Fighting Game devs use whatever pop culture inspiration they got to make their characters and V Cinema/Manga/Anime was their work material in making movesets.

So when people wonder why Japanese Fighting Games can get so perverse with their designs need to realize their inspiration comes from V Cinema they binged on their days off.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I actually prefer Mai's costume in Fatal Fury 2, 3, Special, and Real Bout sub-series. Her costumes started out as conservative, even for the time. The fan-service mainly came from her bouncing chest, and some times going bare feet/toe-less socks (though that part is less fan-service, unless you already have a fetish for that kind of thing). It wasn't until Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture and KOF '96 that she got more stripperiffic and ditzy. I don't mind the fan-service, but it's still annoying how many SNK fans misremember how she started, or people outside the spectrum just assume Mai was "always like that".

Doesn't look that different to me?

 

[BrawlMan]

Doesn't look that different to me?

View attachment 5494

Start looking at her sprites for Fatal Fury 3, Special, and Real Bout Series. All of them are a variation or slight deviations of her 3 sprite. That screenshot is still conservative compared to what came way later in KOF '96. Hell, look any history of Mai looks/plays on YouTube.

By the time it gets to '98 and further, she might as well have tape underneath her clothing for all that even function.

​

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Start looking at her sprites for Fatal Fury 3, Special, and Real Bout Series. All of them are variation or slight deviations of her 3 sprite. That screenshot is still conservative compared to what came way later in KOF '96. Hell, look any history of Mai looks/plays on YouTube.

View attachment 5495

By the time it gets to '98 and further, she might as well have tape underneath her clothing for all that even function.

​

I guess it's just that the kinds of people I expect to see complaining about her outfit the most and loudest would complain just as much and as loud if her outfit still looked like her original one.

Side note: I like her hair from XII the most but like her outfit from XIV the most thanks to the added details to her belt and white shapes.

 

[BrawlMan]

I guess it's just that the kinds of people I expect to see complaining about her outfit the most and loudest would complain just as much and as loud if her outfit still looked like her original one.

I don't know if the complaining part is directed at me, but I am not complaining. Just pointing out a particular preference and how silly the costumes gets down the line.

Side note: I like her hair from XII the most but like her outfit from XIV the most thanks to the added details to her belt and white shapes.

A nice detail. They keep the same costume with some slight change in XV.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I don't know if the complaining part is directed at me, but I am not complaining. Just pointing out a particular preference and how silly the costumes gets down the line.


A nice detail. They keep the same costume with some slight change in XV.

Oh no, it wasn't directed at you.