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Post by Basil on Jun 8, 2023 20:56:46 GMT
lets fucking gooooo
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Post by Basil on May 24, 2023 20:41:42 GMT
Snake Eater is legit in my Top 5 favorite games of all time. They better not fuck this up.
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Post by Basil on May 24, 2023 20:35:30 GMT
holy fuck, what?!
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Post by Basil on Mar 29, 2023 14:20:56 GMT
Resident Evil 4 Remake might be the best video game I've ever played, and that's not a hyperbole. It is absolutely flawless from start to finish, they have somehow improved on every aspect of the original, which was already close to perfection in my eyes. Capcom continues to deliver one masterpiece after another with this series.
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Post by Basil on Nov 26, 2022 0:06:16 GMT
I feel like you might enjoy Ragnarok more than the first one. If the dad and boi relationship didn't quite work for you the first time around, it still might not, but Ragnarok definitely has more going for it than the first in terms of scale and characters.
I thought about it, and I came to the conclusion that I love both games equally. Ragnarok of course is grander and more epic, and as I said, there are a few scenes here that absolutely destroyed me emotionally. But I also really adore the smaller, simpler, more intimate story of the first one. The scene at the end when Kratos and Atreus spread the ashes and the entire landscape is covered with the slain giants remains to this day the most powerful visual I have ever seen in a game. Like I can't even explain why that scene moves me so much, but it really does.
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Post by Basil on Nov 24, 2022 15:42:12 GMT
this track
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Post by Basil on Nov 24, 2022 0:20:37 GMT
Also, unrelated, but I absolutely adore this line: "To grieve deeply ... is to have loved fully." I'm a pretty emotional guy, but even by my standards, this game made me cry way too much.
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Post by Basil on Nov 24, 2022 0:03:45 GMT
Short video about the hand-holding you mention Basil. I don't know if my game bugged out or if there was some early update to tone it down but I definitely struggled with some of the puzzles without Mimir/Atreus explicitly telling me the solution as shown in this - that's pretty mad that they'd go so far to backseat. I don't think it has been patched yet, and I'm not sure it ever will, but maybe there's some randomness involved in whether a voice line will trigger or not? It definitely happened a lot for me, to the point where it actively started to annoy me. It was pretty bad during combat, too, like Freya reminding me to shield bash enemies 40 hours into my playthrough. Seriously, if I still haven't learned what the blue circle means after all that time, I deserve to have my ass kicked. I have honestly never seen a game backseat itself this hard.
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Post by Basil on Nov 17, 2022 21:29:24 GMT
Yep. Not gonna lie, I had super high hopes for it, and it managed to surpass them all. What a game. It genuinely blows my mind how huge the game was. Every time I felt like, okay, I think I've seen everything there is to see here, or, I must be getting close to the end now, another new area with five hours' worth of side content opened up. And despite its scope, it doesn't fall into the trap of so many other open world games. The world is dense with worthwhile content and even with your typical fetch quest type missions, like go get an item for this character, or go there and kill this group of enemies, there is always some connection to the main plot, characters, or lore, so it never feels like pointless busywork. There are small things here and there that I think could be improved upon. For example, while I do appreciate how talkative my companions were, I didn't like the constant backseat gaming and hand-holding. I didn't need them to point out puzzle solutions right away every single time, often before I had even noticed that there was a puzzle to solve. During battles, I got sick of hearing them shout directions at me or telling me that I'm poisoned or on fire. It was kinda cool at first, but it got old fast and I truly hope it gets addressed in a future patch, because honestly, this might be my biggest gripe with the game in terms of its gameplay. Some random thoughts about the story: The game made me ugly cry literally within the first ten minutes, like wtf. Also, when I played GOW 2018 and pictured what Faye might look like, Karen from Daredevil was not what came to my mind, but I did end up liking the design and the actress did a pretty good job. Atreus has officially become my favorite GoW character. I already liked him in the previous game, but he definitely had some strangely contrived character moments, like suddenly turning into a little shit heel. It felt like the writers hadn't quite figured him out as a character yet, but he really came into his own in Ragnarok, and Sunny Suljic delivered a fantastic performance. The voice acting in general, just ... holy fuck. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this game had some Oscar-worthy performances, especially from Chris Judge and Danielle Bisutti. My favorite moment in the entire game was this line by Kratos: "Loki will go. Atreus ... Atreus remains." Again, ugly crying my heart out. In general, I love how vulnerable Kratos was portrayed in this game, and how much he loved Atreus. Ragnarok, the event, was maybe a little bit underwhelming. I liked the emotions of the scene, but the battle itself could have been grander for sure, and it was over far too quickly. Also, the characterization of Sif was kinda weird and inconsistent. In one scene, she talks Thor into attacking Atreus for killing Magni and Modi, but then the next time we see her, she convinces Thrud to spare and ally with Atreus. Where did that change of heart come from? Can't wait to see what the future holds for this franchise. Ragnarok convinced me that Atreus could carry a GoW game by himself if they want to retire Kratos as the main playable character. Also interested to see what role Sindri is going to play in a potential sequel, the ending of Ragnarok felt a little bit like his villain origin story. Who would have thought Ragnarok happens because of him:
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Post by Basil on Nov 15, 2022 21:17:26 GMT
God of War Ragnarok is fantastic. I haven't been this emotionally invested in a game's story since ... well, since God of War 2018. It's everything I had hoped it would be, and more.
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Post by Basil on Oct 19, 2022 21:50:52 GMT
Glad to hear it's good. Tbh, I'm feeling a little bit burned out on Disney Star Wars at the moment, especially after the mediocrity of Kenobi, but my interest is definitely piqued.
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Post by Basil on Oct 3, 2022 19:28:51 GMT
Overwatch 1 servers are down, the game is officially dead. GGs Overwatch.
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Post by Basil on Sept 28, 2022 20:37:23 GMT
Very much looking forward to God of War 2, though I'll probably have to replay the first one to refresh my memory a bit. Also, Overwatch 2 will be out next week. Only the PVP part for now, but still ... Unlike Overwatch, Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play with a new monetization model that involves a battle pass. I feel like this could potentially be good for the health of the game, my only concern is that the company behind it has become infamous for predatory monetization models in the last couple of years. Would hate to see any pay-to-win elements in Overwatch. True, the game's balance hasn't always been the greatest in the past, but at least you've always had the tools to deal with any given situation. If they start locking away heroes behind a paywall, I feel like this would seriously undermine the competitive integrity of the game. So I don't know how I feel about it. I'm looking forward to all the new content, but I'm also worried about the future of the game.
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Post by Basil on Aug 22, 2022 23:14:27 GMT
Not gonna lie, if we don't meet Lord Grover or Lord Elmo before this thing is over, I'd be severely disappointed.
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Post by Basil on Aug 22, 2022 18:22:19 GMT
I thought it was good. It hasn't blown me away or rekindled my love for the series quite yet, but a very solid opener and I'm definitely hooked enough to keep watching. I've never been the biggest Targaryen fan, so the prospect of a TV series mainly revolving around them was never super appealing to me, but so far, I'm digging it. Daemon and Rhaenyra especially seem like very interesting characters I'm excited to see more of. I also wonder how close they gonna stay to the history established in the books. I didn't read Fire and Blood, but I'm vaguely familiar with the events of the dance from reading up on it years ago when I was still obsessed with everything ASOIAF. I think I remember some really dark stuff. I've gotta say though, I am extremely disappointed with the absence of an intro sequence. I get that GoT set a pretty high bar as far as intros go, so their solution was not having one at all?
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Post by Basil on Jul 26, 2022 21:36:09 GMT
fuck
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Post by Basil on Jul 21, 2022 20:32:50 GMT
I've been listening to "Running Up That Hill" every day since I finished the season.
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Post by Basil on Jun 22, 2022 16:20:00 GMT
when you lowkey wish for a second season of Kenobi, even though the first ended on a perfect note
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Post by Basil on Jun 22, 2022 8:22:53 GMT
Kenobi really turned it around in these last two episodes. The show went from a lowkey dumpster fire to basically everything I wanted it to be, which makes me happy, but still doesn't excuse how inept the first four episodes were.
I really loved how they showed Vader to be very conflicted. He's still very much Anakin Skywalker, even though he says he's not, which is obviously what left the door open for Luke to reach him and bring him back in ROTJ. Hayden was so great. My favorite thing about this show is the fact that it brought him back to the franchise, and having the entire fanbase shower him with love. Really appreciated the flashback to Anakin as a padawan, and in the final episode when his mask was partially destroyed, hearing Vader speak with Hayden's distorted voice as well as James Earl Jones' was so haunting. "You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did." that line and the hint of a twisted smile on his face gave me shivers. This was for me by far the best scene in the entire show. It's what I wanted most from it and was getting worried we weren't gonna get it: acknowledgment of the fact that these two men used to love each other as brothers. The duel itself was kinda lame tbh, and both of them throwing rocks at each other with the force was a bit too video gamey, but the confrontation afterwards was chef's kiss. (would have been even better with John Williams music, though)
Speaking of John Williams, they did use some of his music in the last ten minutes of the final episode, which I guess is better than nothing. Unsurprisingly, I was a mess when Obi-Wan told Leia about her parents and Leia's Theme was playing. I guess had they used her theme before, it might have lessened the impact of this moment, but I think they could and should have at least hinted at it in the music they wrote for the show. The fact that it was one hundred percent original and unrecognizable made the whole show feel removed from the rest of the franchise, John Williams is simply too much an integral part of the identity of Star Wars. It just boggles my mind that they used Duel of the Fates in the trailer, but there wasn't even a hint of it played in the actual show.
The cast was really good. Reva redeemed herself completely as a character in my eyes. I was genuinely feeling for her in the last two episodes and I'm open to seeing more of her in the future. Ewan and Hayden I already talked about, I just adore them both so much and I'm so happy to have them back and experience the love of the fandom. Little Leia, while I don't think an amazing child actress per se, really grew on me as the show went on. She really nailed the mannerisms and general attitude of adult Leia so well. I can absolutely believe that this little girl and the woman we see in ANH are the same person. Also, was not expecting to see Liam Neeson back, even if this was just for a few seconds, but the more prequels love, the better. Now we only need a way to bring Natalie Portman back.
So even though I stand by what said about the first half of the show, the last two episodes were really fucking good and in retrospect redeemed the whole thing for me. Though if I were to rewatch it, I'd probably skip the middle section or watch it at double speed, just to get to the good stuff.
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Post by Basil on Jun 8, 2022 22:38:05 GMT
It pains me to admit this, but four episodes in, I'm still not enjoying it. I think Kenobi might be the worst written and directed piece of Star Wars live-action I have ever seen. It sucks because I was looking forward to and really wanted to love this show, but it just isn't ... good. The storyline as written I think is incredibly dull. I find Reva to be absolutely insufferable as a character, and even something as momentous as the Vader/Obi-Wan confrontation didn't deliver the way it should have, at least not for me. I didn't feel the personal connection between these two characters at all, it just felt hollow and pointless. The directing makes the lackluster story even worse somehow. There is stuff in here that's legit bizarre in how bad it is. How does a director look at something like the Leia chase scene in episode one, or Leia hiding under Obi-Wan's trenchcoat in episode four, and conclude that, yeah, that's definitely not the most ridiculously dumb thing anyone has ever seen. Good job, me. It's honestly baffling, I could not believe what I was seeing. There are scenes in this show that feel like they're from a Star Wars parody. I hate to be this negative, but I'm genuinely deeply disappointed. There are some moments and scenes here and there that are alright, the girl who plays Leia does a good enough job and she definitely conveys the essence of the character pretty well. Ewan is giving it all he's got and all my favorite scenes so far have been of Obi-Wan and Leia bonding. I'm still holding out hope that Hayden will get his moment in the spotlight as well. But overall, I just cannot get over how dull and empty this show turned out to be. It could have been an introspective exploration of Obi-Wan's grief and trauma, him coming to terms with what happened to the Jedi and Anakin, looking over and interacting with Luke. I don't understand how we ended up with this mess. Really hope they get their shit together and start to invest in better writers and directors who have stories to tell that are actually meaningful, because if Kenobi is exemplary for the quality of the storytelling we can expect going forward, I'm not feeling super hopeful about the future of Disney Star Wars right now. Hate that this is the material Ewan and Hayden were brought back for, they both deserve a much better show. I prefer him finding out onscreen since it’s just a bit more interesting to see his reaction, but yeah it’s inconsistent. I like the idea of Vader not being super well-known across the galaxy, though I’d forgotten that Ben already knew in ANH so I suppose they needed to justify him knowing. It’s just a consequence of Tatooine being the most popular backwater planet in the galaxy. I found it odd that a random Tatooine bartender knew who the Inquisitors were and what they do despite there being only about a dozen of them in a galaxy of trillions. And, of course, he’s harbouring a Jedi who also just happens to be on the planet as well. As you said some things just feel very contrived. I think realistically, Obi-Wan would have found out about Anakin's survival years before this show takes place, probably shortly after ROTS honestly. Even on a backwater planet like Tatooine, I feel like the name of the Emperor's brutal enforcer would have been known at least in whispers and rumors, which would have been enough for Obi-Wan to put two and two together. Vader was enigmatic, but not exactly subtle. I totally get that it makes sense dramatically for this show that Obi-Wan finds out onscreen, but I really don't think it was a question that needed answering. This is far from being the show's biggest problem and that scene where he finds out was one of the better ones, but I still feel like it's bogus storytelling.
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