StonkoRocko
503 Reviews liked by StonkoRocko
Halo: Combat Evolved
2001
"people shit on the library mission all the time, but they forget that the rest of the game is designed just as terribly"
~someone who didn't know shit about shit (2020)
i've been a halo fan for nearly my entire life, but the earliest memories i have of combat evolved are hazy at best. in reality, i am a halo 3 diehard and that game has been the benchmark i've used to judge the series by since 2007
such was the mentality i carried into CE's 2011 anniversary release, where i not only completely misunderstood its level design, but also willingly botched its incredible visuals via the god forsaken toggle for 343's flashlight-phobic and all-around heinously unfaithful overhaul
where halo 3 boasts a wide range of vibrant landscapes and fast-paced, mostly bite-sized levels, CE takes a slower, more methodical and surprisingly tactical approach to shooting (mostly because meleeing isn't as useful as it would later become). stages are designed less around their geometry and more their enemies - all of which are competent foes that pose reasonable threats, especially on legendary, which i feel is the best and only difficulty that demands a solid grasp of the game's mechanics and highlights how useful every weapon really is
the assault rifle particularly gets a lot of undeserved flak. it's a real piece of shit if you just spray and pray, but if you know how to manage your recoil (i.e. tapping the trigger in bursts) it becomes a nigh invaluable midrange tool that can effortlessly dispose of anything that isn't shielded. and when you can keep elites busy dodging grenades (which should be simple, because you usually have 8 of them stocked) it's pretty effective on them as well
and regarding the elephant in the room that is "the library": y'all are still babies. how can you be upset about the stage that finally allows you to use a shotgun nonstop?! the flood are some of the most fun to fight enemies in any shooter, the weapon selection they offer is infinite, and yet you're upset that the halls are same-y in a game where all of the halls are same-y?? are you fucking mad?!?!
that last remark isn't a slight towards the stages at large, either. in fact, i find myself commending levels i've previously bitched about vehemently - most notably "assault on the control room" and its counterpart "two betrayals". the fuck was i even thinking before? one variant is purely ground-based and the other spends half its duration in the air. that's not even mentioning the completely remixed enemy variety or how differently paced the two missions are altogether
oh yeah - cool narrative too. it's simple, but still very interesting especially after completing the marathon trilogy and knowing how similar the two franchises are; right down to details like the flood initially being a scrapped concept from marathon 2 and the forerunners being very similar to the jjaro in general
anyway, very good game. 3's still better though!
~someone who didn't know shit about shit (2020)
i've been a halo fan for nearly my entire life, but the earliest memories i have of combat evolved are hazy at best. in reality, i am a halo 3 diehard and that game has been the benchmark i've used to judge the series by since 2007
such was the mentality i carried into CE's 2011 anniversary release, where i not only completely misunderstood its level design, but also willingly botched its incredible visuals via the god forsaken toggle for 343's flashlight-phobic and all-around heinously unfaithful overhaul
where halo 3 boasts a wide range of vibrant landscapes and fast-paced, mostly bite-sized levels, CE takes a slower, more methodical and surprisingly tactical approach to shooting (mostly because meleeing isn't as useful as it would later become). stages are designed less around their geometry and more their enemies - all of which are competent foes that pose reasonable threats, especially on legendary, which i feel is the best and only difficulty that demands a solid grasp of the game's mechanics and highlights how useful every weapon really is
the assault rifle particularly gets a lot of undeserved flak. it's a real piece of shit if you just spray and pray, but if you know how to manage your recoil (i.e. tapping the trigger in bursts) it becomes a nigh invaluable midrange tool that can effortlessly dispose of anything that isn't shielded. and when you can keep elites busy dodging grenades (which should be simple, because you usually have 8 of them stocked) it's pretty effective on them as well
and regarding the elephant in the room that is "the library": y'all are still babies. how can you be upset about the stage that finally allows you to use a shotgun nonstop?! the flood are some of the most fun to fight enemies in any shooter, the weapon selection they offer is infinite, and yet you're upset that the halls are same-y in a game where all of the halls are same-y?? are you fucking mad?!?!
that last remark isn't a slight towards the stages at large, either. in fact, i find myself commending levels i've previously bitched about vehemently - most notably "assault on the control room" and its counterpart "two betrayals". the fuck was i even thinking before? one variant is purely ground-based and the other spends half its duration in the air. that's not even mentioning the completely remixed enemy variety or how differently paced the two missions are altogether
oh yeah - cool narrative too. it's simple, but still very interesting especially after completing the marathon trilogy and knowing how similar the two franchises are; right down to details like the flood initially being a scrapped concept from marathon 2 and the forerunners being very similar to the jjaro in general
anyway, very good game. 3's still better though!
GoldenEye 007
1997
The Last Guardian
2016
Among Us
2018
Wii Fit
2007
Nintendo Land
2012
Super Mario 64
1996
GoldenEye 007
1997
This game made me think I didn't like first person shooters until the more modern form of them developed. It's not because of the gunplay, shooting guys is reasonably easy and somewhat fun and satisfylng. It's really good light fun that works really well. It was the mission design that put me off. Having to decipher objectives and execute them perfectly was something I was never able to wrap my head around and as a result I didn't see much of the game. Glad shooters grew past this!
GoldenEye 007
1997
Cruelty Squad
2021
There's a Wes Anderson film called the French Dispatch which features a short story that really resonates with me. It's about an artist in a prison who paints flesh-colored blobs using Lea Seydoux's nude body as a reference. An art salesman played by Adrien Brody finds these paintings, and presents them to a group of investors, looking to make a killing off the prisoner's work. In the presentation, Adrien Brody shows the investors an illustration of a perfect sparrow, showing that the prisoner knows how to make realistic art, but chooses to make pink flesh blobs out of Lea Seydoux's naked body; saying it's the difference between a good artist and a genius artist.
Cruelty Squad was made by a genius artist.
Cruelty Squad was made by a genius artist.