Gotakibono

Small world indeed, bud! Really appreciate you subbing to my channel as well

The trophy lists being released today are an absolute whirlwind of surprises.

Maybe getting a game of my life released on Playstation isn't such a pipedream... 'Man with Hunger: The pursuit of Snacks'

That Dead by Daylight platinum is pretty damn sweet.

Mate, do you work for the Epic Store?

@SlimSanta94 I think you might be a Guitar Hero God. But to the point of the thread. I've honestly never given it much thought, but off the top of my head I think it's cool when people just do what they want to do. The only thing I can say is that if I happen to glance at someone's profile and see a high amount of ultra rares without duplicates I think, "This cat has serious skills." Do people still say 'cat'?

Look, I'm going to put aside Naughty Dog's crunch culture for a moment. That isn't to say that it isn't of importance or shouldn't be discussed, but the game itself is what I want to focus on. Afterall, that is what the majority of people ultimately care about most. Anyway, I'm a big fan of the original game and for me personally it was one of the highlights of the PS3 era. It played great, had well-realised characters, had a stellar soundtrack and an engaging atmosphere. I was eagerly antcipating the second game, so I was pretty disappointed to stumble upon the leaks and see the uproar they caused. I find the extent of the vitirol rather bizarre, it must be said. I know people - myself included - care about these characters, but to bombard its creator (and by extension Naughty Dog's entire development team) with venomous insults and anger because they wrote the story they wanted to tell is just not going to help anyone. l just feel that even if the story's absolutely shite Druckmann and his team still don't deserve death threats and the like. This is the direction Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann have decided to go with The Last of Us: Part II. Whether I like it or not, it is their title and as artists they have the right to go whatever direction they feel like with their work, and I have the right to simply not engage with any of their work I don't have an interest in. I'm not beholden to them and no matter how much we love or relate to any big forms of media, they are not beholden to us. Yes, the game doesn't seem like it shaped up to be the game I would've liked to see, but that's okay - that's life sometimes. I have no problem hopping off at the next station in regards to The Last of Us: Part II, tipping my hat to thank Naughty Dog for the first game and then vote with my wallet when Part II is released.

Got to say I don't share your opinion, especially when I consider the trophy lists of Rockstar's other PS2-era classics: The Warriors: Not even a platinum and 13 measly and lazy trophies for what is arguably the best movie tie-in game of all time. GTA III: Excellent, balanced and fair list. Vice City: Perfect aside from the absolutely insane Take the Cannoli trophy, which is nigh-on impossible to get outside of the Sea Sparrow grind. San Andreas: Decent list but I found the lack of a 100% completion trophy a bit weird. Maybe Rockstar didn't want to remind people just how much content and side missions San Andreas (a game from 2004) had compared to later GTA games... Max Payne: Again, no platinum for one of the most iconic third-person shooters ever. Red Dead Revolver: Fairly shite game to be fair, but it deserves a platinum at least. Manhunt: Probably the most well-rounded and fair list of Rockstar's PS2 titles. Bully: Most of the trophies come naturally if you're the type to mix it up in combat or simply fuck around as you navigate the world. The only trophies that are a bit of a pain are buying 250 clothes, performing 200 wheelies, kicking 100 soccer balls and breaking 300 glasses at the shooting gallery. But in saying that, once you make the decision to go for them they are straightforward and don't take too long to obtain. I love Bully, in fact I just made a retrospective video about it on YouTube. But compared to other games from Rockstar's PS2 era I feel like it got at least a bit of effort put into it, unlike a few I mentioned above.

This is getting out of hand. The Last of Us: Part II and Dying Light 2 were by far my most anticipated games, but the sheer regularity of such workplace horror stories is quickly removing any alluring shine these games had. I mean, I want to play great games, but not at the cost of the developers.

I don't know if that's aimed at me, but I'm well aware of their history - just thought it was needless to go into it in this thread. And yeah, there's been a lot of smoke coming from the studios over the past few years, but it's not exactly big news outside of gaming circles. For better or worse, the game itself it what the vast majority of people care about, not the developers or the behind the scenes shenanigans. I liken it to the movie industry. Most people don't follow or seek out news regarding writers being fired or anything else pertaining to a film being shot, they just watch the movie. But if the Avengers was leaked months before release you better believe people would be pissed and suddenly wondering what happened or caused the leak. This is unfortunately what has happened with Naughty Dog. Their big release is out there for everyone to see and it's shining a huge light on them as a studio right now. It's simply a far bigger story than Henning or Straley - that's probably why a lot of people are only finding out about all the other stuff now.

I actually find this whole situation pretty depressing even if the reasons and motivations behind the leak are pure conjecture. The rumour of an unpaid staff member leaking the game is a diffciult one to shake. Even if evidence proves that the leaker wasn't affliated with Naughty Dog, many people will still treat Naughty Dog with the same disdain as if it were true, and perhaps even assume they're covering their tracks. On the flip side, if it is actually true, then one of the most beloved development studios have completely ruined their reputation, which could (will) have hugely deterimental effects on them going forward. A company of their size not paying their employess would be shameful and nigh-on impossible to defend. On the leaker's side, you've got someone who hit the nuclear option; a person who has spoiled one of the most anticipated gaming narratives this generation in a manner I've never seen before. Not only has he/she taken away the possibility of many people going into the game blind without pre-defined opinions, but they've also probably increased the pressure tenfold for the people still working in the studios. I can only imagine the workload and stress that this incident has caused the many staff members working over at Naughty Dog. The ones who've poured so much talent and effort into the game over the past five years, only for it to be lambasted and ridiculed before it's even released. From my perspective at least, no one comes out of this smelling particularly like roses - it's just fucking messy whichever way you look at it. I can understand people heralding the leaker as some sort of hero because it fits into a narrative that the game's been ruined by an overly PC influence and that their 60 dollars have been saved. I get it. But I for one can't stand behind such an egregious leak, even if it benefits me in the short term. This cannot become the standard response to work-related issues in the video game development world. Any matters arising from disagreements, layoffs or pay have to go through the correct legal avenues, not the avenues of revenge by way of the consumer.

First off you have an amazing collection - it's actually insane. I'd say go for the GTA IV plat, it wouldn't look out of place alongside some of your other other plats.

Some people want to buy a cheeseburger and not bother cooking a steak with a side of salad and sweet potato fries. Both are tasty, so to each their own. I don't know if that metaphor is relevant - I'm just really hungry and kind of crave a cheeseburger.

Finally got my Bully Gotakispective done and dusted!