hotpoppah
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Skull and Bones
2024
This game is Quadruple Ass.
I am so glad I don't have to play this at launch. I played the open beta and an even earlier version about 6 months ago. The two versions were identical, and all accounts are saying that nothing has changed from the beta and the final game meaning I can talk about what I played.
That is, to say, a baffling regression from the 11-year-old AC: Black Flag. A game where 95% of all actions are done in your ship, only stepping out at specific ports to buy items and accept menial side quests. A game where you do all of the combat, exploration, and SURVIVAL MECHANICS in your ship. A truly baffling game that is so clearly limping out of development hell, and you can see it in every aspect of the game.
You can tell this game was going to have some sort of story at some point, but it just.. doesn't. I sometimes complain about RPGs that have a main quest that feels like a bunch of side quests duct-taped together but that's LITERALLY what this is. There is no overarching storyline, no interesting characters, NOTHING. Just awkwardly presented window dressing for you to do boring open-world quests that either ask you to find some materials kill a couple of ships or some flavor of those two.
It doesn't help that the game doesn't look that great either. There are moments where the visuals look pleasing like during a sunset, but the closer you are to the visuals the crustier and less defined they look, made all the worse when you see just how BUGGY this game is. There were so many opportunities to fix the bugs from the previous times I've played this game and we got NOTHING. Audio bugs, visual bugs, frame drops, server crashes, game crashes, the whole shebang. I have reported at least 8 of the bugs that still show up in the final product of this $70 Quadruple-A game.
The open-world and survival bullshit is not frustrating, but it is incredibly monotonous. Ship controls are generally janky and the process of mining for loot, using it to upgrade your ship, and increasing your infamy level CAN be super rewarding if it weren't for several baffling design decisions like the fact that you have to do ALL of that in your ship. But the other big one is that.. that's the extent of the game.
It's not deep enough to invest all your time into, but it takes the place of an interesting story, actual quests that mean anything, out-of-ship exploration, all of it. While it may have some nice music and there are brief moments where the stars align and the gameplay loop is decently engaging and interesting, it just doesn't make up for everything that was lost. It's just an objectively lesser version of a PART of Black Flag, stuffed with microtransactions and shoved onto stores for $70. What an embarrassing turnout from Ubisoft.
I am so glad I don't have to play this at launch. I played the open beta and an even earlier version about 6 months ago. The two versions were identical, and all accounts are saying that nothing has changed from the beta and the final game meaning I can talk about what I played.
That is, to say, a baffling regression from the 11-year-old AC: Black Flag. A game where 95% of all actions are done in your ship, only stepping out at specific ports to buy items and accept menial side quests. A game where you do all of the combat, exploration, and SURVIVAL MECHANICS in your ship. A truly baffling game that is so clearly limping out of development hell, and you can see it in every aspect of the game.
You can tell this game was going to have some sort of story at some point, but it just.. doesn't. I sometimes complain about RPGs that have a main quest that feels like a bunch of side quests duct-taped together but that's LITERALLY what this is. There is no overarching storyline, no interesting characters, NOTHING. Just awkwardly presented window dressing for you to do boring open-world quests that either ask you to find some materials kill a couple of ships or some flavor of those two.
It doesn't help that the game doesn't look that great either. There are moments where the visuals look pleasing like during a sunset, but the closer you are to the visuals the crustier and less defined they look, made all the worse when you see just how BUGGY this game is. There were so many opportunities to fix the bugs from the previous times I've played this game and we got NOTHING. Audio bugs, visual bugs, frame drops, server crashes, game crashes, the whole shebang. I have reported at least 8 of the bugs that still show up in the final product of this $70 Quadruple-A game.
The open-world and survival bullshit is not frustrating, but it is incredibly monotonous. Ship controls are generally janky and the process of mining for loot, using it to upgrade your ship, and increasing your infamy level CAN be super rewarding if it weren't for several baffling design decisions like the fact that you have to do ALL of that in your ship. But the other big one is that.. that's the extent of the game.
It's not deep enough to invest all your time into, but it takes the place of an interesting story, actual quests that mean anything, out-of-ship exploration, all of it. While it may have some nice music and there are brief moments where the stars align and the gameplay loop is decently engaging and interesting, it just doesn't make up for everything that was lost. It's just an objectively lesser version of a PART of Black Flag, stuffed with microtransactions and shoved onto stores for $70. What an embarrassing turnout from Ubisoft.
At the time of my review I have completed Tomb Raider 1 and 2 in their entirety and am about to start on III. So far I am incredibly satisfied with this collection, as it makes my favorite game series instantly playable without having to deal with the nasty ass PS1 load times or the incredible flimsiness of the PC Ports. Unfortunately, for as long as they made me wait for this thing I'm kind of stunned at how bare bones the whole thing really is.
I want to state first and foremost that the use of A.I artwork is deplorable. I understand this game was no doubt made with a woeful budget by an overworked team, so I'm going to direct my anger more towards the publisher for not giving these games the respect they deserve to have a proper art team remastering the visuals. As it stands, the remastered visuals largely clash with the original artistic intent, don't line up properly along the grids, and generally look cheaper than the original's, as the original game was textured by artists and not a piece of shit A.I.
I am also annoyed at the OG visuals having a frame cap on them, allegedly due to animations being locked to 30 for the old visuals. Even though there are PC Ports available right now that have those same visuals at 60 FPS. There is no reason these games should be stuck at 30 FPS, unless the Switch was having too much trouble running these games, which I would believe.
I also lament the loss of save crystals, which I hypothesized could have been a fun difficulty adjuster for long-time fans of the series, as the save crystals made Tomb Raider 1 and 3 very intense games when you can't save scum through them. Tomb Raider 2 is borderline impossible without save scumming so there no change there.
I think the asking price for some fantastic games is worth it, even though I resent the business practices being used within the package. I also don't anticipate all the terrible discussion we are in for about how these games aged by guys who are obsessed with fucking Pokemon or whatever. If you enjoy these types of games there is a nice handy package here to play them, which honestly, is what I've been dying for for years.
I want to state first and foremost that the use of A.I artwork is deplorable. I understand this game was no doubt made with a woeful budget by an overworked team, so I'm going to direct my anger more towards the publisher for not giving these games the respect they deserve to have a proper art team remastering the visuals. As it stands, the remastered visuals largely clash with the original artistic intent, don't line up properly along the grids, and generally look cheaper than the original's, as the original game was textured by artists and not a piece of shit A.I.
I am also annoyed at the OG visuals having a frame cap on them, allegedly due to animations being locked to 30 for the old visuals. Even though there are PC Ports available right now that have those same visuals at 60 FPS. There is no reason these games should be stuck at 30 FPS, unless the Switch was having too much trouble running these games, which I would believe.
I also lament the loss of save crystals, which I hypothesized could have been a fun difficulty adjuster for long-time fans of the series, as the save crystals made Tomb Raider 1 and 3 very intense games when you can't save scum through them. Tomb Raider 2 is borderline impossible without save scumming so there no change there.
I think the asking price for some fantastic games is worth it, even though I resent the business practices being used within the package. I also don't anticipate all the terrible discussion we are in for about how these games aged by guys who are obsessed with fucking Pokemon or whatever. If you enjoy these types of games there is a nice handy package here to play them, which honestly, is what I've been dying for for years.
The Movies
2005
The best part about The Movies isn't how goofy it all is. It's easy to look at this and have a good laugh at how all the movies you're making aren't very good. But there's a certain special sauce to it that makes it hold up all these years later.
There's a trope with tycoon games that I've always found somewhat troublesome. Employees are not treated as people but as static objects. If they get better, it's so you can get better. The game may tell you that they have a personality, but it rarely shows that in any way.
In The Movies, actors and directors become alcoholics and need to go to rehab. Carpenters can become supporting cast members or screenwriters. The game recognizes this with the weight it deserves. Everyone has some sort of hubris. Not getting them exactly what they need will throw them off from wanting to work at all. Filmmaking isn't about telling stories. If you want to be in that business, try to become a screenwriter. Most of us won't be directors, either. Look at the credits of any movie, and you'll notice that the director is one person. There are twelve times as many gaffers, best boys, and in some cases, producers. Filmmaking is a form of adaptation, taking words and putting them on screen. It's an exhausting effort that requires people who know how to operate a camera and how to assist people who know how to operate a camera. Electrical equipment and lighting aren't set up by themselves. If you decide to use the microphone in your camera, the quality of the sound you're going to get will be subpar at best.
The Movies isn't a complete celebration of this. It definitely streamlines a lot of the process for the sake of fun. But it gets damn near close to being one of the most honest tycoon games I've ever played. It should see more recognition for that alone. Businesses are not people, but a hell of a lot of people sure operate them.
There's a trope with tycoon games that I've always found somewhat troublesome. Employees are not treated as people but as static objects. If they get better, it's so you can get better. The game may tell you that they have a personality, but it rarely shows that in any way.
In The Movies, actors and directors become alcoholics and need to go to rehab. Carpenters can become supporting cast members or screenwriters. The game recognizes this with the weight it deserves. Everyone has some sort of hubris. Not getting them exactly what they need will throw them off from wanting to work at all. Filmmaking isn't about telling stories. If you want to be in that business, try to become a screenwriter. Most of us won't be directors, either. Look at the credits of any movie, and you'll notice that the director is one person. There are twelve times as many gaffers, best boys, and in some cases, producers. Filmmaking is a form of adaptation, taking words and putting them on screen. It's an exhausting effort that requires people who know how to operate a camera and how to assist people who know how to operate a camera. Electrical equipment and lighting aren't set up by themselves. If you decide to use the microphone in your camera, the quality of the sound you're going to get will be subpar at best.
The Movies isn't a complete celebration of this. It definitely streamlines a lot of the process for the sake of fun. But it gets damn near close to being one of the most honest tycoon games I've ever played. It should see more recognition for that alone. Businesses are not people, but a hell of a lot of people sure operate them.
Dead Rising
2006
Despised this when I originally played it, thought it was an underrated gem when I gave it another shot a couple of years ago, and now I’ve finally cooled on it- still a really admirable title, especially as one that was meant be Capcom’s leap into the 7th generation, but it’s decidedly frontloaded upon further inspection. So many of the offputting design choices, like the ever-present timer and weapon durability system, only really matter for the first couple of days when you’re still fumbling around, learning the layout of the mall, and dealing with the constant upsets the game throws at you just as think you’ve gotten a handle on everything.
Even coming back to it now, there’s an impressive streak of early-game roadblocks: the convicts, the gun-store owner, zombies that are deadlier and more numerous at night, and the infamous fight against Adam the Clown, each of which feels like catastrophe incarnate. But this also means these early hours necessitate, and are gratifyingly open to, experimentation. Was able to trivialize the Cletus fight by bringing in the LMG from the convict’s truck, and snowballed that into a much easier fight against Adam by handing out shotguns to a couple of survivors and having them stunlock him in place- a far cry from some of my initial attempts to tackle these fights while eating at away my time to complete objectives. If you value games for the little emergent stories they provide, the near misses and disastrous failures, then Dead Rising’s opening hours alone are well worth the price of admission. Could rattle on about the interesting moments borne out of the pressure to make the best use of your time, like a moment on this playthrough where I had to ferry two incapacitated survivors through the mall in the dead of night- anti-fun in practice, but a fantastically memorable challenge.
Once you get some of the busted boss weapons and deeper into the game, so much of that initial thrill is pared down, with little planning needed to prep for bosses and less overlapping case files to try and optimize. By its final unlockable section, the “Overtime” mode, the game has regressed into something out of the Simple Series: a threatless fetch quest through the mall carried only by the fact that you now have the opportunity to perform you newly-unlocked wrestling moves on hapless groups of Zombies. It’s a disappointing arc for a title that begins so well, definitely something where its most widely-criticized choices are really what brings the game together, and it's the deeper stuff, the scenario design and balancing, that needed further examination.
Would be much easier to let the campaign’s flaws slide if it coexisted with a mode that was totally centered on trying to save as many survivors as possible under a dramatically shortened timer- the game’s additional “Infinite Mode,” where you have to survive as long as possible in the mall while your health slowly drains also seems an inversion of what the real draw of the game is- just a total slog in practice- and even more of a shame given that Capcom normally excels at making supplemental modes that can highlight the best of a game’s mechanics. (Was an ardent RE6 defender for the longest time due to the relative strength of Mercenaries, for instance.)
At the same time, it’s got a million little cool details that are easy to latch onto, like it’s opening, where you learn the photography controls while doing a fly-by of Willamette’s main street, which handily beats Half-Life out as far as atmospheric intros are concerned- offering you some early-game experience if you get the most lurid shots of the disaster unfolding on the ground, and maybe most crucially, is entirely optional. Or managing to run into the surprising number of optional scenes where Frank is stripped of gear and has to break out of captivity- tense moments I had completely missed on my first time through. And this to say nothing of the mall proper, which might rank as one of the best-realized locations in the medium, with a huge number of unique storefronts to explore. Easy to lose time just rummaging through and exploring the place, a mundane location given real life through the sheer craft of the world design.
I’m a couple of hours into Dead Rising 2 as of writing this, and it already seems like a more measured and evenly-paced experience, but the first is still worth a try- it’s a deeply flawed game, but it never seems half-hearted in its attempts to pull so many weird directions.
Even coming back to it now, there’s an impressive streak of early-game roadblocks: the convicts, the gun-store owner, zombies that are deadlier and more numerous at night, and the infamous fight against Adam the Clown, each of which feels like catastrophe incarnate. But this also means these early hours necessitate, and are gratifyingly open to, experimentation. Was able to trivialize the Cletus fight by bringing in the LMG from the convict’s truck, and snowballed that into a much easier fight against Adam by handing out shotguns to a couple of survivors and having them stunlock him in place- a far cry from some of my initial attempts to tackle these fights while eating at away my time to complete objectives. If you value games for the little emergent stories they provide, the near misses and disastrous failures, then Dead Rising’s opening hours alone are well worth the price of admission. Could rattle on about the interesting moments borne out of the pressure to make the best use of your time, like a moment on this playthrough where I had to ferry two incapacitated survivors through the mall in the dead of night- anti-fun in practice, but a fantastically memorable challenge.
Once you get some of the busted boss weapons and deeper into the game, so much of that initial thrill is pared down, with little planning needed to prep for bosses and less overlapping case files to try and optimize. By its final unlockable section, the “Overtime” mode, the game has regressed into something out of the Simple Series: a threatless fetch quest through the mall carried only by the fact that you now have the opportunity to perform you newly-unlocked wrestling moves on hapless groups of Zombies. It’s a disappointing arc for a title that begins so well, definitely something where its most widely-criticized choices are really what brings the game together, and it's the deeper stuff, the scenario design and balancing, that needed further examination.
Would be much easier to let the campaign’s flaws slide if it coexisted with a mode that was totally centered on trying to save as many survivors as possible under a dramatically shortened timer- the game’s additional “Infinite Mode,” where you have to survive as long as possible in the mall while your health slowly drains also seems an inversion of what the real draw of the game is- just a total slog in practice- and even more of a shame given that Capcom normally excels at making supplemental modes that can highlight the best of a game’s mechanics. (Was an ardent RE6 defender for the longest time due to the relative strength of Mercenaries, for instance.)
At the same time, it’s got a million little cool details that are easy to latch onto, like it’s opening, where you learn the photography controls while doing a fly-by of Willamette’s main street, which handily beats Half-Life out as far as atmospheric intros are concerned- offering you some early-game experience if you get the most lurid shots of the disaster unfolding on the ground, and maybe most crucially, is entirely optional. Or managing to run into the surprising number of optional scenes where Frank is stripped of gear and has to break out of captivity- tense moments I had completely missed on my first time through. And this to say nothing of the mall proper, which might rank as one of the best-realized locations in the medium, with a huge number of unique storefronts to explore. Easy to lose time just rummaging through and exploring the place, a mundane location given real life through the sheer craft of the world design.
I’m a couple of hours into Dead Rising 2 as of writing this, and it already seems like a more measured and evenly-paced experience, but the first is still worth a try- it’s a deeply flawed game, but it never seems half-hearted in its attempts to pull so many weird directions.
I don't know, sauceless? Wasn;t in the mood? Don't wanna play a Besthesda-esque game that isnt oblivion, fallout 3/newvegas, skryim? Idk, just generally didn't care. I think this Spacer's Choice Edition looked very pretty when it wasnt way too dark.
A charming love letter to a niche genre while standing on it’s own
This game pays homage to the Phillips CDi Zelda games, using alot of the original talent that worked on them and mimicking it’s design so well that it feels like it could have been made for the original console at the time. The love and soul that went into making this game can be felt and it makes the experience a joy on that alone. It’s a simple enough game to play in a single sitting and honestly recommended since there’s a lot to memorize with its metroidvania style of progression. You’ll be backtracking a lot thorough levels, combing every wall and surface to get any secrets; it’s a fairly easy game to 100% without a guide, just a keen eye.
My only gripe with the game is that the cutscenes did not match to the humor of its inspiration, animations/characters didn’t leave as much of an impact except for a small handful of scenes. Some scenes felt like attempts to be parodied of the CDi games but they just made me go “I wish I was watching the original cutscenes instead.” The animation quality wasn’t consistent between each other, but that did add another layer of charm that the game gave off.
This game pays homage to the Phillips CDi Zelda games, using alot of the original talent that worked on them and mimicking it’s design so well that it feels like it could have been made for the original console at the time. The love and soul that went into making this game can be felt and it makes the experience a joy on that alone. It’s a simple enough game to play in a single sitting and honestly recommended since there’s a lot to memorize with its metroidvania style of progression. You’ll be backtracking a lot thorough levels, combing every wall and surface to get any secrets; it’s a fairly easy game to 100% without a guide, just a keen eye.
My only gripe with the game is that the cutscenes did not match to the humor of its inspiration, animations/characters didn’t leave as much of an impact except for a small handful of scenes. Some scenes felt like attempts to be parodied of the CDi games but they just made me go “I wish I was watching the original cutscenes instead.” The animation quality wasn’t consistent between each other, but that did add another layer of charm that the game gave off.
This review contains spoilers
Positives out of the way first. The core narrative through line involving Kenny's descent after the loss of his family and Sarita was incredible, and ultimately, the choice I made to finally put a bullet in him would be the only way anyone would finally get through to him. I love Kenny, I really do, but the poor guy was spiraling. And after watching everyone die around Clementine, it felt like the only way I could truly end this cycle of love and loss. Jane was right all along.
The thing that really tied all of this together was the flashback Clementine had to Lee. People are complicated, just as he says.
With that out of the way, here's why I was conflicted on this game as a whole. Several characters around you die in often sudden and shocking ways. This was a running theme throughout the entire season, and it impacts everyone in various ways. This inherently isn't a bad thing for the narrative, and while certain characters did at least get some sort of sendoff (particularly Luke), I took issue with the way some characters were written out. Carlos dies suddenly, and Sarah is in shock for a while, as he sheltered her for most of her life. Before this, you could spend time with her and earn her trust, which makes the choice of getting her out of that mobile home feel rewarding, rather than just leaving her to die. But then, she dies anyway in the most distasteful and disgusting way I could have ever imagined. It was as if they didn't feel like writing her into the story any further, and they just have this poor, scared little girl devoured by a pack of walkers. What the fuck?
This is actually representative of a bigger issue with Season Two - your choices really don't have the same weight as frequently as they did in Season One. This is compounded by the fact that there are basically no hubs this time, and no opportunities to have conversations with characters. Considering how often they kill people off in this game, that seems intentional, but it just ends up leaving me without much closure or connection with the characters as I did in Season One. This also directly impacts how much weight your choices have, with the greatest choice in the game - that being the choice to shoot Kenny or look away - being so great because of the two seasons they had to develop Kenny's character.
Then again, I've also learned that Kenny pretty much has no presence in Season Three, and he ends up dying in a flashback anyway, so hey. There you go.
Moreover, there isn't really much gameplay in Season Two. No puzzles, no chances to do nice things for the characters, rarely any optional discoveries that matter - Season One was already a more minimalistic game in terms of adventure game mechanics, but Season Two is just about moving from place to place like an interactive film more than it is a compelling video game.
As a whole, I thought Season Two was a good experience. But it didn't live up to Season One by any stretch of the imagination.
The thing that really tied all of this together was the flashback Clementine had to Lee. People are complicated, just as he says.
With that out of the way, here's why I was conflicted on this game as a whole. Several characters around you die in often sudden and shocking ways. This was a running theme throughout the entire season, and it impacts everyone in various ways. This inherently isn't a bad thing for the narrative, and while certain characters did at least get some sort of sendoff (particularly Luke), I took issue with the way some characters were written out. Carlos dies suddenly, and Sarah is in shock for a while, as he sheltered her for most of her life. Before this, you could spend time with her and earn her trust, which makes the choice of getting her out of that mobile home feel rewarding, rather than just leaving her to die. But then, she dies anyway in the most distasteful and disgusting way I could have ever imagined. It was as if they didn't feel like writing her into the story any further, and they just have this poor, scared little girl devoured by a pack of walkers. What the fuck?
This is actually representative of a bigger issue with Season Two - your choices really don't have the same weight as frequently as they did in Season One. This is compounded by the fact that there are basically no hubs this time, and no opportunities to have conversations with characters. Considering how often they kill people off in this game, that seems intentional, but it just ends up leaving me without much closure or connection with the characters as I did in Season One. This also directly impacts how much weight your choices have, with the greatest choice in the game - that being the choice to shoot Kenny or look away - being so great because of the two seasons they had to develop Kenny's character.
Then again, I've also learned that Kenny pretty much has no presence in Season Three, and he ends up dying in a flashback anyway, so hey. There you go.
Moreover, there isn't really much gameplay in Season Two. No puzzles, no chances to do nice things for the characters, rarely any optional discoveries that matter - Season One was already a more minimalistic game in terms of adventure game mechanics, but Season Two is just about moving from place to place like an interactive film more than it is a compelling video game.
As a whole, I thought Season Two was a good experience. But it didn't live up to Season One by any stretch of the imagination.
Never wanted to stay away from reviewing something so much in my life. Discourse around this game has been so draining on both sides.
Yes the live service aspects hurt the game’s overall plot (due to needing to wait for new seasons to progress it) and the endgame loop is barebones. I, personally, find the gameplay itself so engaging that I don’t find the loop as boring as others but it’s totally valid to criticise the game for that.
I’m not going to try to talk too much about the story that is there. I’ve been reading comics consistently for a decade and I really enjoyed it. I don’t think my experience makes my opinion more valid or anything. But I’ve read/watched/played enough content of these characters that this felt a bit more fresh.
Again, I totally understand if people don’t like the direction the story went. I can understand their feelings especially as it’s a follow-up to the Arkham series. But some people are acting like the story killed their dog or something and they need to chill out.
Yes the live service aspects hurt the game’s overall plot (due to needing to wait for new seasons to progress it) and the endgame loop is barebones. I, personally, find the gameplay itself so engaging that I don’t find the loop as boring as others but it’s totally valid to criticise the game for that.
I’m not going to try to talk too much about the story that is there. I’ve been reading comics consistently for a decade and I really enjoyed it. I don’t think my experience makes my opinion more valid or anything. But I’ve read/watched/played enough content of these characters that this felt a bit more fresh.
Again, I totally understand if people don’t like the direction the story went. I can understand their feelings especially as it’s a follow-up to the Arkham series. But some people are acting like the story killed their dog or something and they need to chill out.
The most unlikeable game you could come up with. Play as the Worst Guy You Know and dabble in some casual date-rapery and general sex-pestery - which consists of burping and belching through mobile game tier minigames where you control a sperm swimming through beer. Whatever you picture this game being in your head, it is the Direct-To-DVD version of that.
Infinite Craft
2024
For whatever reason no matter what I combined everything would lead back to Gargoyles and Stonehenge. What does this say about society?
Baba is You
2019
Review Is You And Review
Has
Text
And
Move
Picture this. You materialize in a world full of text dictating the laws of physics as an unsupervised toddler where a gear can move on its own and take hold of your soul by replacing your name with his next to the "You" component. Well, still preferable to materializing in Ohio.
It's during the 2017 Nordic Game Jam that humble gamer Arvi Teikari has an eureka moment and finds LE gimmick that he decides to cook, and after simmering down he decides to go for seconds and make 200 levels. A lot of these are carefully crafted to lead you to eureka moments and they are not as linear as they may seem... all the while humbling, because a concept entailing a lot of freedom ends up used for a restrictive design of high level puzzles constantly shattering the rules of game design. That can be frustrating. You know what to do but unsure what you are allowed to do to make it happen.
Guess we reached the end then.
End Has Words On God
Is
Defeat
And
Idk you get the gist of it
Has
Text
And
Move
Picture this. You materialize in a world full of text dictating the laws of physics as an unsupervised toddler where a gear can move on its own and take hold of your soul by replacing your name with his next to the "You" component. Well, still preferable to materializing in Ohio.
It's during the 2017 Nordic Game Jam that humble gamer Arvi Teikari has an eureka moment and finds LE gimmick that he decides to cook, and after simmering down he decides to go for seconds and make 200 levels. A lot of these are carefully crafted to lead you to eureka moments and they are not as linear as they may seem... all the while humbling, because a concept entailing a lot of freedom ends up used for a restrictive design of high level puzzles constantly shattering the rules of game design. That can be frustrating. You know what to do but unsure what you are allowed to do to make it happen.
Guess we reached the end then.
End Has Words On God
Is
Defeat
And
Idk you get the gist of it
Grand Theft Auto V
2013
Its 2024 and Im still trying to finish GTA V. What is it with this Game ? The driving sucks, the shooting feels like ass and the characters all blow chunks. Franklin is just a boring version of CJ, Trevor is an unlikable homeless crackhead and Micheal is a winy fkn bitch. Do I really wann play as these guys for the next 30 hours ? The answer is clearly No. I really like GTA, I have finishd all the previous games but V just makes me question the absolute state of humanity. Im super pumped for VI and hopefully I will not be gaslight anymore into thinking this is in any shape or form a good game until then.
Another in the list of games I wanted to give another shot. Given how much fun I just had replaying Dead Rising 2 recently, doing 3 complete runs and and getting the S Rank Ending.
I came away hating this game even more then when I got bitterly dissapointed by it back in 2013. From its mechanics to its tone, aesthetics and characters: Dead Rising 3 is the posterchild of a large multimillion dollar Publisher not understanding or caring why something is popular and steamrolling its appeal flat for maxium mass market chare. We need an Xbox exclusive, Zombies are popular, make populare Zombie Game.
Quite interesting in heinseit how they arguably ripped off the entire look of the then relativly new TV smash hit that was The Walking Dead. Maybe if this wasnt labbeld Dead Rising and comitted to its more serious tone than their could have been something here but everytime this game actually gets to be true to its name sake the tone clashes so awkwardly. Nick Ramos and his crew dont fit at all into this franchise. I get how they wanted more grounded and plucky characters to root for in this wacky, nonsensical series but that doesnt work if the game constanly winks and smiles at the audience. We know Dead Rising is stupid. A series about a snarky reporter beating zombies with gumball maschines and parkbenches. A stonedfaced Father who can weare Baby Pjs and tape chainsaws to rowing paddles.
The Comedy comes from rarely, if ever, pointing at the absurdity. This is life or death for these characters, while we the audience get some credit for knowing thats its absurd without it beeing explained. Ironicly its the reason why people got so invested in the series to begin with.
On the gameplay front the game doesnt fair much better. From the very begining Capcom Vancouver make it clear that they think the main appeal of the series is killing zombies in wacky ways. There is no escorting survivors anymore. Baffling since there is so much focus on Veycles. The Timer is completely irrelevant now, killing all decision making and navigation that was the main fun of the previous Games. All that there is left is killing zombies, wich is further trivilisd by beeing able to craft combo weapon on the fly. Capcom Vancouver in fact hit all the notes in order to make it not fun. In the end I did get about half way through the story before beeing completely misserable and desinstalling it to make space for any other game in the known universe.
I came away hating this game even more then when I got bitterly dissapointed by it back in 2013. From its mechanics to its tone, aesthetics and characters: Dead Rising 3 is the posterchild of a large multimillion dollar Publisher not understanding or caring why something is popular and steamrolling its appeal flat for maxium mass market chare. We need an Xbox exclusive, Zombies are popular, make populare Zombie Game.
Quite interesting in heinseit how they arguably ripped off the entire look of the then relativly new TV smash hit that was The Walking Dead. Maybe if this wasnt labbeld Dead Rising and comitted to its more serious tone than their could have been something here but everytime this game actually gets to be true to its name sake the tone clashes so awkwardly. Nick Ramos and his crew dont fit at all into this franchise. I get how they wanted more grounded and plucky characters to root for in this wacky, nonsensical series but that doesnt work if the game constanly winks and smiles at the audience. We know Dead Rising is stupid. A series about a snarky reporter beating zombies with gumball maschines and parkbenches. A stonedfaced Father who can weare Baby Pjs and tape chainsaws to rowing paddles.
The Comedy comes from rarely, if ever, pointing at the absurdity. This is life or death for these characters, while we the audience get some credit for knowing thats its absurd without it beeing explained. Ironicly its the reason why people got so invested in the series to begin with.
On the gameplay front the game doesnt fair much better. From the very begining Capcom Vancouver make it clear that they think the main appeal of the series is killing zombies in wacky ways. There is no escorting survivors anymore. Baffling since there is so much focus on Veycles. The Timer is completely irrelevant now, killing all decision making and navigation that was the main fun of the previous Games. All that there is left is killing zombies, wich is further trivilisd by beeing able to craft combo weapon on the fly. Capcom Vancouver in fact hit all the notes in order to make it not fun. In the end I did get about half way through the story before beeing completely misserable and desinstalling it to make space for any other game in the known universe.
Dead Rising 2
2010
Dead Rising 2 really is the most straight forward sequel they could have made, down to using some of the exact same assets and music tracks. Canadien studio Blue Castle Games had their work basicly cut out for them and to their credit: They mostly brought really good quality of life improvments to the formula while adding a fresh cast to the franchise.
Survivor AI is massivly improvement and combo weapons add a lair motivation to the leveling system and exploration. Id say map design took a hit here, I much prefer Willamet to Fortunate City, simply because the latter has can get fairly tedious to navigate while Dead Rising 1 had very little wasted space in its tightly designt Mall setting. What I do prefer is Chuck Green over Frank West.
I know im gona be in the minority here but Chucks ultimate dad persona is infinitly endering to me. From beeing as quick witted as a lobotomized puppy, to his corny one liners and his loving relationship to his daughter Kathy. Chuck is the kinda guy I wanna have beer with.
Survivor AI is massivly improvement and combo weapons add a lair motivation to the leveling system and exploration. Id say map design took a hit here, I much prefer Willamet to Fortunate City, simply because the latter has can get fairly tedious to navigate while Dead Rising 1 had very little wasted space in its tightly designt Mall setting. What I do prefer is Chuck Green over Frank West.
I know im gona be in the minority here but Chucks ultimate dad persona is infinitly endering to me. From beeing as quick witted as a lobotomized puppy, to his corny one liners and his loving relationship to his daughter Kathy. Chuck is the kinda guy I wanna have beer with.
I suprisingly like the story better than the original. Its a really clever deconstruction where I dont even mind revisting what are basicly asset flips from KH1. But goddamit the card battlin system is so poorly explained. It even comits the fucking grevous sin of letting you coast through hours of the game only to suddenly hit you with a brickwall. Then its either hours of deck building/grinding or just straight up restarting 10+ hours all of over again with a fresh save.