rjkclarke Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 Sorry for the ridiculously late replies everyone...... ...... It's a combination of not wanting to look at a keyboard for a day or two after writing that NieR review. However much I might have enjoyed it. That, and ploughing through Lego Movie 2: The Videogame, which I'll post a review for in a little bit - because you know, pink thumbnail, fight the cancer with a big pitchfork! All that good stuff. So I'm ready to jump back in and not be such an antisocial human again. On 08/11/2021 at 0:11 AM, Copanele said: Fantastic review, I knew I was right in requesting this specific game especially since I read Drakengard 3 and your EuroRPG love...yep, Nier is up there for sure! Took me some time to read that monster of a text (saw it coming), obviously I agree with every single point duh, NieR is in my top 10 of all time hands down. Thanks man - that is much appreciated. You know, I didn't initially expect to write that much about this game, Not the amount that I did anyway. It's just most of the review requests I've gotten happened to be games that I either really love, or just have a lot to say about, so it's sort of become a bit of a by-product of that, I promise I'll try not to have really long ones that'll make your eyes want to bleed so much if I can avoid it. On 08/11/2021 at 0:11 AM, Copanele said: Most reviews kinda say that you don't need to play the original NieR in order to enjoy Automata. While in the gameplay and surface level I would say that's true, if we want to go for full experience, I would respectfully disagree: NieR IS REQUIRED for TRULY appreciating Automata. I have a friend who played Automata first and really disliked it, said the game gave him 0 feelings. I asked him to play NieR Replicant once it comes up (I was sure a remaster was on its way and he pretty much trusts me whenever I 100% recommend a game), he did, LOVED the game and replayed Automata. Ended up falling in love with Nier Automata as well. It's not the smoothness of the combat that got to him, or the awesome soundtrack or 2B's ass, but the feeling that "holy crap this place hits differently now that I know its history". And that is where I saw that you truly enjoyed NieR existential dread aside, the moments that got me the most in NieR Automata were the aforementioned robots with masks, the "God of the Mountain", Devola & Popola and their whole story, the Lunar Tears and a certain fight in the desert with some massive balls of doom and death. You know the fight, the words, if you play as A2 (as you should) you get a different reaction...that's Yoko Taro madness right there and I loved it Even A2...you would think she's just another badass android...until you get her context. NieR Automata truly hits its mark only after you have experienced NieR. It's one of those odd games where I guess that's true, you don't need to have played the original to enjoy it per se. Although I do remember being pretty crestfallen when one of my friends played Automata, and I asked him what he thought of Emil, and he basically said that he didn't feel anything for Emil....... But I do kind of get it, outside of a few obvious moments in Automata I don't exactly like what they did with him......... They turned the poor guy into a Tuk-Tuk for christs sake, nobody deserves that. I actually think playing Drakengard 3 gives you an even deeper appreciation of Automata on top of the one that the original NieR already gives you - that game cements the fact that those two series are more connected than just a joke ending. A2 is basically Zero and Kaine fused into one character - she's like an amalgamation of those two things. I definitely think when you get around to playing Drakengard 3 that you'll end up having a few little eureka moments yourself, with how they tie into a few other things, especially with how Accord plays into things. It just makes the sense to play as A2 for that desert fight (although I would have done anything to not have to play as 9S ) and erm yeah, that was a tough one to take, my poor broken heart when you hear those words. I'm really glad you enjoyed that write up - and as I said I'm super happy that you nudged me in the direction of doing it, because I probably would have just kept putting it off otherwise. On 08/11/2021 at 0:11 AM, Copanele said: And yes, I do insist for that NieR Replicant. Imagine NieR with actually fixed combat. It's now wonderful. Also they added a never-before from the scratch in-game quest that was only in the Grimoire Nier stories and it hits you in the goddamn heart, like this game wasn't tragic enough I'm looking forward to it! It's probably long overdue that's for sure. Fixed combat is a huge plus too, as it's the only thing that really let down the PS3 version to be fair. Bring it on! On 08/11/2021 at 8:10 AM, The_Kopite said: Ah I didn't realise it was based more on the books than the games. Well I've neither read the books nor played the games, so that'll probably be my first experience of The Witcher personally lol I've got to say, the Uncharted trailer was alright, like the homages to set pieces and other little things were really cool, but it kind of lacked the soul and heart of the games from that trailer sadly. Nothing wrong with starting with the Netflix series - it's genuinely quite good television - then if you like that enough, then I guess you can decide if you wanted to try out Witcher 3 (which I'd recommend by the way). Even if it did release in a pretty broken state, I brought it on launch day and it crashed a bunch, and I had a lot of really weird bugs too. I'm sure I read @DrBloodmoney say at some point that he'd had a similar experience with that game actually - except I actually went back to it that Summer after it was less broken, but still had plenty of glitched quests and bugs like that happen. I'm sure now it is actually in a playable state. To be fair - as you know I'm not the biggest fan of the Uncharted series - I like them, but I don't love them. So I was kind of always going to be pretty indifferent to the trailer, because I'm just not remotely interested in a film version of it. I'm a bit bummed out for the Uncharted fans that were genuinely optimistic again, and they seem to be a little disappointed now. I guess, just go and watch Indiana Jones if you want to watch an adventure with a dude searching for treasure, and you won't have to look at Mark Wahlberg either ?. On 08/11/2021 at 8:10 AM, The_Kopite said: Yeah indeed it wasn't a grind at all really. Got one trophy left for the platinum but it'll have to wait as Platinum milestone 225 is up next and that'll be Sonic Colours Ultimate! Oh yeah - I saw you'd hit 224 when I looked at your profile the other day (please don't put out restraining order haha, ?) How far off are you on the platinum for Sonic Colours Ultimate? Have you already got a plan for 250, or are you not thinking that far ahead? On 08/11/2021 at 8:10 AM, The_Kopite said: Definitely will get the 2nd Cat Quest in the future, and I'll have to read your review I've just spotted lol Yep Cat Quest II is more of the same awesome-ness that the first one was. Funnily enough, the Cat Quest II review wouldn't take you very long to read I don't think - it's one of the shortest ones that I've written for a while. So at least your face won't look like this guy afterwards. Which it might if you read all the things I've written since writing that Cat Quest one! I'm glad the reaction has been positive to the NieR one, because I do genuinely worry at times, that the length of these reviews might sometimes test peoples patience. On 08/11/2021 at 8:10 AM, The_Kopite said: To be fair, that's a very good point. Maybe see if other people are interested in that discussion, wouldn't want it to take up the whole thread again like other Final Fantasy discussions haha FFX is a fab game, 2nd favourite FF personally as you know so really looking forward to your review on that! I mean, I don't mind obviously if it turns into more Final Fantasy discussions. writing about Final Fantasy X-2 is going to be pretty challenging though, because that game is such a mixed bag. I like a challenge though, so I guess I'll tackle it when I've done FFX at some point - and we can all keep Sin at bay with this checklist by doing a communal Hmm of the Fayth like they do in FFX - man I love that moment! On 08/11/2021 at 8:44 PM, GonzoWARgasm said: Top 3 most anticipated unreleased games on the Gonzoscale. Trying to not let my expectations get out of hand. Hope they don't fcuk it. How good was the Chamber of Secrets game though?!! I've seen the reveal trailer from last year - and that's literally all I'm going to look at for promotional material. I'm definitely in that same camp of trying not to let my expectations get out of hand. That's very easily done these days, and then you end up being really sour about something that you got overly excited about. Mate! Chamber of Secrets was amazing an a game, you speaketh the truth good sir! Which is ironic, because of all of the Harry Potter Books and films, I think it's probably by the far the worst one. Maybe not the worst film actually, Order of the Phoenix might take the cake with that for how much important bits of plot they just removed or skipped over, I don't understand how you turn the longest book into the shortest film. Chamber of Secrets though - yeah that was a banger - I might have to bust into that one when I start doing trophyless games at some point - because I've owned Chamber of Secrets on 4 Platforms, PC, Xbox, PS1, Gameboy Advance. (Back in the days when they were all different games, on the different platforms.) They were all pretty much excellent. Even the weird top-down Gameboy Advance version. On 09/11/2021 at 4:03 PM, DrBloodmoney said: Christ man - you do realise I already have a backlog that could stun a team of Oxen in it's tracks, right? What are you doing to me I've read through this one a couple of times now, and I have to admit, I was really hoping I could read between the lines enough to find something I can point to and go "Ahah! There's a reason I wouldn't like it..." so I didn't need to add another game to the never-ending wishlist... You're definitely contributing to my backlog on a pretty regular basis too man! So you reap what you sow eh Doc? I'll take it as a compliment though, and I do really appreciate the kind words. Apologies for adding another awesome game to your wishlist! Sorry .............NOT SORRY ? Wow you've read through that multiple times and your face didn't melt......... Well done that man! There just isn't that many glaring issues with it outside of the gameplay - and as you'll be playing the PS4 version, that won't be an issue for you. I can't speak for what the new voice-overs are like, but one of my friends has said that the actor that plays the new younger Nier (protagonist) is pretty decent. On 09/11/2021 at 4:03 PM, DrBloodmoney said: sounds too good to pass up - and was the primary reason Automata spoke to me (as a Nier newbie) - the differences in philosophy and thinking theory that surrounded each distinct area, and how kind of none of them actually worked, or made anyone in them actually happy... Well, onto the wishlist goes the Remake version I guess - (hey, did you know there is a maximum limit to haw many games you can put in your PSN wishlist... 'cause I sure didn't until this morning!) I'd probably argue that the original NieR does that element a little better than Automata does too. Purely because there's a few more examples of disparate groups of people/robots, like there is in Automata, so that element gets explored a little bit more in depth as a result. I didn't know that there was a limit to the wishlist feature - I guess I better hold off on writing that Yesterday Origins review, just on the off chance that you decide that's a game you might enjoy too. You know, if we did time jump one thousand years, I reckon I'd still be talking about how much I disliked Agents of Mayhem - and Space Overlords would almost certainly still be a craptastic wreck holding up a heap of your awesome games like the Titan Atlas! On 07/11/2021 at 7:48 PM, YaManSmevz said: Oh my... yeah, I see what you mean. It gives a whole new meaning to the name Lost Boys Makes me think of Spyro frolicking around, with happy music, and then a cut to this image here with menacing music. Poor Spyro! Yeah that Peter Pan from Kingdom Hearts is a scary one - I suspect just before the menacing music hit, the colour drained, went into black and white and Peter Pan used that knife and made him his bitch! On 07/11/2021 at 7:48 PM, YaManSmevz said: Aw, you had the better one - mine ended when you crawled into the vent at the very beginning, just before the DARPA chief. Then in that Game Over screen it said "Coming soon" or some such shit. Played it over and over and over. I too was so excited when it came out, and I remember this palpable excitement when I went into the shaft - and the game kept going! To be fair that was probably where mine ended too - I've just played the PS1 Metal Gear Solid so many times that, that almost certainly created a false memory. Isn't it weird that the Darpa Chief is actually Sigint from Metal Gear Solid 3........ Good old Kojima and his stupid contrivances eh! On 07/11/2021 at 7:48 PM, YaManSmevz said: Thank you man, it does - I really love that game, and it made me sad to stop playing it. Literally all I have to do it beat it on hard (which doesn't deter me at all) and top all the combat challenges (which gives me anxiety). My current games are kinda beating my ass, but hopefully once I can handle those, I'll be able to make some room for Asylum! You got this! Asylum is my favourite one, so that's definitely one I'd really love to read your thoughts on, although to be fair, you'd probably find a way to make it interesting to read whichever Arkham entry it was. I think I did all of those combat challenges over the course of one night - so if I can, you absolutely can...... The ones with the Titans in them are the only ones that gave me any sort of real bother to be honest, but if you get on them when you've already got a really high combo, then that's a good way to rack up a lot of points quickly in those ones. 15 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: You're right, the lyrics were absolutely necessary! Something I thought I'd never say - you've made me want to wear underwear on my head, steal a pair of my wife's leggings and grab some flip flops and go on an adventure. ....failing that, I'll just play NieR. haha brilliant ....... That genuinely made me laugh out loud. Try not to get caught stealing those leggings - I'm imagining a real life Simpsons situation, like when Homer told all of his and Marge's marital secrets when he became a teacher - and then had to go and live outside in Barts Treehouse! ? Or......... Yeah........ Do the sensible thing and just play NieR! I really appreciate the fact that you and Doc are interested in this one - I guess I can consider that one a job well done, as I always want more people to experience that awesome game. 16 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I'm really lovin - can I say this?? - how you're progressively putting more and more of yourself into these. You do a masterful job of walking us through your experience, what grabbed you, and what's lasted with you since. Looks like I've got a new wishlist entry... time to do some research! I was a bit apprehensive about putting more of myself into these - but I thought, as much as I treat these as reviews, I still want them to sound like it is 100% coming from me, so I kind of thought, why not pepper in some more of my own specific thoughts and feelings a bit more whilst I'm doing it. NieR means a lot to me, and I felt like I had to really try and articulate what it was about it that I loved so much, and what it was about it that might make someone else love it too. As always man, thanks for the kind words. I really do appreciate them. I'm planning to start Oxenfree tonight - so I guess you might see that show up in here in a couple of days. For now though I better go and write that Lego Movie 2: The Video Game review. That won't be too long though........I'm sure there's a few of you that'll breathe a sigh of relief when you read that So I guess I'll be back soon-ish 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 (edited) A New LEGO Shaped Platinum! Platinum #336 LEGO Movie 2: The Videogame (PS4) You are Just as Special as we are Unlock all Trophies in The LEGO Movie 2 - Videogame A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 9 November 2021 : 9:50:02 PM Time Taken to Platinum : 2 days, 20 hours, 11 minutes Platinum Rarity - 41.24% Trophy Number - #16,163 “Everything’s not awesome........” Seriously, those are real lyrics from the second movie. It turns out they are almost prophetic when applied to this video game. Didn’t that song from the accompanying film come around and bite them squarely on the behind. It turns out with those lyrics, they perfectly described the video game adaptation of – well to give it its full title, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever played two film adaptations back to back on my profile, I can’t think of a time I’ve done it before. If you are one of those types of people that feel as if they need to have seen the film first to be able to play a video game adaptation of said media, then I’m going to put a few of your minds at ease with this one. You don’t need to watch the film at all; it barely follows the structure of the film in the slightest. The game’s story essentially ends roughly two thirds of the way through the film. I understand that the final third of the film is tough to adapt as a video game, but one of the overarching messages of that original LEGO Movie, is an encouragement of creative freedom. So if ever there was a time for that, it was here – unfortunately just like the in-universe television show “Where are my Pants.” It seems as if Travellers Tales really had an existential crisis with this one...... Threw their hands up in the air and screamed “Where is my creativity?” In a vacuum it would seem. There were a lot of cut corners here, so many in fact you’d probably assume you’d just stumbled across lunchtime in a house full of children that just can’t stand crusts on their sandwiches (there I go with the vague analogies again). Chris Pratt is noticeably absent as Emmet, in fact all you get are vague “WOOAAHS,” and grunts from Emmett. The actress impersonating Elizabeth Banks (Lucy) is decent enough though, which is fortunate as she narrates the entire game. Visually the game is pretty colourful at the very least, but the characters look more like typical LEGO game characters compared to how they did in the previous game, which was more in line with their film counterparts, just directly inserted into a game. Also much like its predecessor the soundtrack is pretty non-descript, and as much as I hate to say it, occasionally annoying too. I’d be lying if I said that this game was terrible – because it isn’t. It’s actually more than competent. It just isn’t good, or particularly engaging. What it is – is wholly unremarkable, and it absolutely suffers from an overabundance of lacklustre features that are just a little bit too shallow for the actual length of the game. Length which is mercifully quite short, I often feel like a LEGO game can live or die on its post game content, or at the very least the ability to have an enjoyable time in the midst of that content. The original LEGO Movie video game did not possess that enjoyable quality – ironically however, this game does. The post game content is at least never really boring, and at times pretty enjoyable. Honestly though –whether it would have maintained that, had it been longer remains to be seen, but what there is, is at the very least: short, sweet and fairly innocuous. Strangely this game abandoned the more typical LEGO game formula of a set of story missions, free play and then a hub world, in favour of making the entire experience open world. I guess – in essence this allowed them to reuse some of the assets that they had from LEGO: Worlds, as this game is essentially that game directly transplanted into this one. There is good and bad with that, the bad mainly comes with the fact that they don’t utilise the building mechanics quite as much as they should. The good however was really good, and was far and away one of my favourite things about the game. This was building on the planet Syspocalaypstar.To be perfectly honest – this is probably the only time in the entirety of the game where it’s actually true to one of the films core principals, which is creating a harmonious union between all things. That sense of satisfaction that you get from rebuilding Syspocalypstar (try saying that when you’ve had a few,) is actually pretty satisfying, as you end up building a little commune of misfits, and seeing all of the misshapen houses and structures all over one place does end up feeling – in a way, like you’ve almost created your own little utopia. LEGO Movie 2: The VideoGame does not ask a lot of you as far as achieving the platinum goes. It’s incredibly straight forward; in fact you don’t even really have to worry about miscellaneous trophies to be perfectly honest. It really is as simple and straightforward as, finish the story, and then achieve one hundred percent completion. This isn’t even true total completion in the usual sense either; you essentially just have to collect every Master Piece (essentially what gold bricks are in the other games,) on every level. I think it took me just shy of twelve hours of in game time to get the platinum, maybe a little longer. I suspect my patience might have worn a bit thin, had the game been much longer. Honestly – I think I’d only really recommend this one if you are either a big fan of both LEGO movies, or you’re trying to get as many of the LEGO games completed as you can on the consoles you own. Or alternatively, you play it as part of an event. I personally fell into both of those categories, as both of those were motivators for me. If you can manage to find this for a decent enough price and you have the interest – then by all means pick it up, but this is absolutely one of those instances more than most, where it really doesn’t deserve people dropping a lot of their hard earned cash on it. Or if you’re really lucky get a brand new copy in a very low EBay bid that you never expected to win like I did. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm not feeling too tired right now - so I think I might boot up Oxenfree and have a little delve into that before I end up sleeping, I've been looking forward to getting into Oxenfree for ages. So that one should be pretty decent. Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: You're definitely contributing to my backlog on a pretty regular basis too man! So you reap what you sow eh Doc? I'll take it as a compliment though, and I do really appreciate the kind words. Apologies for adding another awesome game to your wishlist! Sorry .............NOT SORRY Atta boy, you tell him! A pretty sizeable bulk of my backlog is a direct result of you two, so if ever I convince either of you to add something onto your backlog, I don't feel the least bit bad? 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Isn't it weird that the Darpa Chief is actually Sigint from Metal Gear Solid 3........ Good old Kojima and his stupid contrivances eh! You got this! Asylum is my favourite one, so that's definitely one I'd really love to read your thoughts on, although to be fair, you'd probably find a way to make it interesting to read whichever Arkham entry it was. I think I did all of those combat challenges over the course of one night - so if I can, you absolutely can...... The ones with the Titans in them are the only ones that gave me any sort of real bother to be honest, but if you get on them when you've already got a really high combo, then that's a good way to rack up a lot of points quickly in those ones. They said his real name in 3? I don't remember that. Very Kojima though... if only he could tell me how to take off my pants? Thanks man! I certainly hope so, although it definitely wouldn't be the first time I sat with a game for hours of failure-soaked misery until I finally tasted sweet platinum (literally the only context those words would ever make sense). Maybe I'll set that one as a short term goal. It's so close... 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Try not to get caught stealing those leggings - I'm imagining a real life Simpsons situation, like when Homer told all of his and Marge's marital secrets when he became a teacher - and then had to go and live outside in Barts Treehouse! Or......... Yeah........ Do the sensible thing and just play NieR! I really appreciate the fact that you and Doc are interested in this one - I guess I can consider that one a job well done, as I always want more people to experience that awesome game. Aw man. I'd draw my wife's face on a plant and keep it next to the sleeping bag... but at least I'd have the leggings!! You most definitely can consider this a job well done. I'm already keeping an eye out for PS3 copies of NieR... unless it's available on PS4? I did a quick search but it didn't come up. 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I was a bit apprehensive about putting more of myself into these - but I thought, as much as I treat these as reviews, I still want them to sound like it is 100% coming from me, so I kind of thought, why not pepper in some more of my own specific thoughts and feelings a bit more whilst I'm doing it. NieR means a lot to me, and I felt like I had to really try and articulate what it was about it that I loved so much, and what it was about it that might make someone else love it too. As always man, thanks for the kind words. I really do appreciate them. I'm planning to start Oxenfree tonight - so I guess you might see that show up in here in a couple of days. I get that, but you really shouldn't be, you're very good at incorporating that into your reviews, and articulated that especially well with your NieR review. For me personally, when I first started writing reviews for games where I knew an excellent review of the same game already existed, that felt like something to lean into. I'm not the best writer on this site by any stretch of the imagination - anybody could write a better review than I could on any given game, but nobody could write about my personal experience with a game better than I can, and I'm always at my most comfortable when writing with that perspective. If you feel comfortable with it too, then stick with it - you do it exceptionally well! ...then again I'm also most comfortable if I have my wife's leggings and my boxers on my head. Those are non-negotiable when it's time to write a review, but it may not work for you! Yaaaas!!! I'm so excited for you to play that and Afterlife, really eager to see what you think of them! 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: A New LEGO Shaped Platinum! Platinum #336 LEGO Movie 2: The Videogame You are Just as Special as we are Unlock all Trophies in The LEGO Movie 2 - Videogame A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 9 November 2021 : 9:50:02 PM Time Taken to Platinum : 2 days, 20 hours, 11 minutes Platinum Rarity - 41.24% Trophy Number - 16,163 Syspocalypstar. Cyst and Pock Mark Spectacular. Syncopated Calypso Star. Syd Barrett and Pablo Escobar. Nailed it. Great review, and as usual you're so nice about the things you seem kinda underwhelmed with.. if you ever wrote a truly scathing review about a game, I'd message the developers like "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM??" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 On 11/10/2021 at 11:03 PM, rjkclarke said: Nothing wrong with starting with the Netflix series - it's genuinely quite good television - then if you like that enough, then I guess you can decide if you wanted to try out Witcher 3 (which I'd recommend by the way). Even if it did release in a pretty broken state, I brought it on launch day and it crashed a bunch, and I had a lot of really weird bugs too. I'm sure I read @DrBloodmoney say at some point that he'd had a similar experience with that game actually - except I actually went back to it that Summer after it was less broken, but still had plenty of glitched quests and bugs like that happen. I'm sure now it is actually in a playable state. To be fair - as you know I'm not the biggest fan of the Uncharted series - I like them, but I don't love them. So I was kind of always going to be pretty indifferent to the trailer, because I'm just not remotely interested in a film version of it. I'm a bit bummed out for the Uncharted fans that were genuinely optimistic again, and they seem to be a little disappointed now. I guess, just go and watch Indiana Jones if you want to watch an adventure with a dude searching for treasure, and you won't have to look at Mark Wahlberg either ?. I've heard fantastic things about The Witcher 3 (Clearly CD Project Red haven't learned how to release a game in a good state though...) and if I had the game I'd give it a go defo. It was on sale on PSN store a few months ago I think for £4.99 or £6.99 and that was the GOTY version but still I can't pull the trigger on it with my backlog and limited play time. Witcher TV series is probably the most I'll ever experience of the franchise lol Yeah I know. Myself, I think Uncharted is a great series (and the voice actors I like too, which we have gone into) and I thoroughly enjoyed everyone and look forward to a potential next installment on PS5. Therefore certainly the film trailer was more disappointing to me than to you. Indiana Jones films are a bit hit and miss for me personally. 1 and 3 are good adventures. 4 was decent for what it was. 2 I found boring and irritating to be honest. Probably controversial opinions right there lol On 11/10/2021 at 11:03 PM, rjkclarke said: Oh yeah - I saw you'd hit 224 when I looked at your profile the other day (please don't put out restraining order haha, ?) How far off are you on the platinum for Sonic Colours Ultimate? Have you already got a plan for 250, or are you not thinking that far ahead? Haha of course you're more than welcome to look at my profile lol just don't ridicule it, it is nothing compared to yours. Sonic Colours Ultimate is coming along reasonably, I am struggling more than I thought with getting the S ranks so it's taking more time but hopefully more progress will be forthcoming soon. Haha yes I already have my 250th milestone lined up - Resident Evil 2 Remake ? On 11/10/2021 at 11:03 PM, rjkclarke said: Yep Cat Quest II is more of the same awesome-ness that the first one was. Funnily enough, the Cat Quest II review wouldn't take you very long to read I don't think - it's one of the shortest ones that I've written for a while. So at least your face won't look like this guy afterwards. Which it might if you read all the things I've written since writing that Cat Quest one! I'm glad the reaction has been positive to the NieR one, because I do genuinely worry at times, that the length of these reviews might sometimes test peoples patience. Haha, paw-fect! Sounds like more fun in the fur-ture! (I'll stop meow....I mean now lol) I haven't seen any disconcerting opinions regarding the length of your reviews. I think everyone here or at least most people appreciate the detail you put into them, and I'm sure others would have got into games based on these reviews. BTW watching that GIF over and over is quite mesmerising in it's own way lol On 11/10/2021 at 11:03 PM, rjkclarke said: I mean, I don't mind obviously if it turns into more Final Fantasy discussions. writing about Final Fantasy X-2 is going to be pretty challenging though, because that game is such a mixed bag. I like a challenge though, so I guess I'll tackle it when I've done FFX at some point - and we can all keep Sin at bay with this checklist by doing a communal Hmm of the Fayth like they do in FFX - man I love that moment! (Hums Hymn of the Fayth in my head as I type this lol) Epic indeed! Yes I think saying that FFX-2 is a mixed bag is apt. It is definitely a discussion worth having. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 (edited) On 11/11/2021 at 2:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: Atta boy, you tell him! A pretty sizeable bulk of my backlog is a direct result of you two, so if ever I convince either of you to add something onto your backlog, I don't feel the least bit bad You've definitely added a few already - ones like Beholder that I got so into the idea of I pretty much played them instantly so no you shouldn't feel bad at all - I'm so glad to have played those two games. On 11/11/2021 at 2:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: They said his real name in 3? I don't remember that. Very Kojima though... if only he could tell me how to take off my pants? Thanks man! I certainly hope so, although it definitely wouldn't be the first time I sat with a game for hours of failure-soaked misery until I finally tasted sweet platinum (literally the only context those words would ever make sense). Maybe I'll set that one as a short term goal. It's so close... I think they revealed his real name in Metal Gear Solid 4 actually - I think they listed off all of the Patriots in that one - and it turns out Sigint was Donald Anderson (The Darpa Chief) and Dr Clarke (the person that turned Gray Fox into the cyborg ninja,) was also a character from Snake Eater that I won't spoil if you've never played Guns of the Patriots. We've all been there man - where a certain part of a game just gets to us for far longer than it ever should....... I fully expect some of the community challenges in Arkham Knight are going to make me do that. Which is part of the reason I've been too chicken to go back to them yet! You've not got much left on Asylum though - so if you wanted to, I reckon you could probably knock it out pretty quick. On 11/11/2021 at 2:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: Aw man. I'd draw my wife's face on a plant and keep it next to the sleeping bag... but at least I'd have the leggings!! You most definitely can consider this a job well done. I'm already keeping an eye out for PS3 copies of NieR... unless it's available on PS4? I did a quick search but it didn't come up. Just try not to get your rags caught on the coffee table right? ? Thanks man! That's awesome to hear - the good news is the PS3 version of NieR is available on PS4. Well it sort of is - if my facts are right, when it was first released in Japan, there was a different version on the PS3 and the 360. Everywhere else the one released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 was the same game. We got the one where you play as the Father, whereas the original Japanese PS3 title had you play as a Brother - so contextually the two titles are a little different. So the version on the PS4 - is a remaster of the brother one - it contains new voice acting, and some things that are exclusive to just that version - so if you can't find the PS3 version you can find NieR: Replicant on the PS4 that has the same story, but with slightly different context because of being a brother instead of a father. That's the one I'm going to tackle whenever I get to platinum 349 whenever that is. On 11/11/2021 at 2:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: I get that, but you really shouldn't be, you're very good at incorporating that into your reviews, and articulated that especially well with your NieR review. For me personally, when I first started writing reviews for games where I knew an excellent review of the same game already existed, that felt like something to lean into. I'm not the best writer on this site by any stretch of the imagination - anybody could write a better review than I could on any given game, but nobody could write about my personal experience with a game better than I can, and I'm always at my most comfortable when writing with that perspective. If you feel comfortable with it too, then stick with it - you do it exceptionally well! ...then again I'm also most comfortable if I have my wife's leggings and my boxers on my head. Those are non-negotiable when it's time to write a review, but it may not work for you! Yaaaas!!! I'm so excited for you to play that and Afterlife, really eager to see what you think of them! I think you are really downplaying your own writing ability there. I doubt there are very many Cuphead reviews that are as entertaining as yours is. You are far far better than you give yourself credit for - we're all our own worst critic though right? Those are the kind of reviews I do really enjoy the most though - where you absolutely get a feel for how that person was feeling whilst playing something - I do think it adds something incredibly unique. Like with @DrBloodmoney's review of The Witness, Sabbath's love letter to Trials Fushion, or your review of GTA: Vice City, or @realm722's epic coverage of Final Fantasy VII Remake,or plenty of others I could probably think of - you all put so much of you into them, that you end up coming away thinking "How can that not be a fun time?" So I always feel like I have to put plenty of my own perspective in there too, just so that it feels authentic I guess - so I'm really happy to hear that it does come across that way, so appreciate you saying that. It certainly does feel the most comfortable writing that way. I've done one playthrough of Oxenfree so far, I thought it'd be best to go in blind first time through - I'm now doing my "be a jerk to everyone" playthrough, so I might have a review out for it tomorrow, depending on how early I manage to sleep today, and how into it I end up getting, the thing with Oxenfree is once I start playing it I don't really want to put it down. On 11/11/2021 at 2:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: Syspocalypstar. Cyst and Pock Mark Spectacular. Syncopated Calypso Star. Syd Barrett and Pablo Escobar. Nailed it. Great review, and as usual you're so nice about the things you seem kinda underwhelmed with.. if you ever wrote a truly scathing review about a game, I'd message the developers like "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM??" B-but if you didn't start the fire....... Then who did? Thanks though Negativity doesn't really come that easy to me - I am capable of it though obviously, about the most scathing I've been so far has been about Agents of Mayhem - but as I'm sure I get deeper and deeper into some of my older games, I'm sure there's a few that I'll end up conjuring some negativity up over. By all means send that message to the developers if it happens, the response might be funny - if I'd played Lost at Sea instead of Doc you might have been doing that very thing haha! 21 hours ago, The_Kopite said: I've heard fantastic things about The Witcher 3 (Clearly CD Project Red haven't learned how to release a game in a good state though...) and if I had the game I'd give it a go defo. It was on sale on PSN store a few months ago I think for £4.99 or £6.99 and that was the GOTY version but still I can't pull the trigger on it with my backlog and limited play time. Witcher TV series is probably the most I'll ever experience of the franchise lol I can totally understand that - it is a pretty obscene amount of time to actually get the platinum in it. Even if it doesn't actually feel like it is, I took a week off to play through the story - and I was house-sitting at the time too, so I was essentially playing The Witcher 3 upwards of 12 hours a day, only stopping to feed myself and my nephews Gerbils ?......... Even after all that I still hadn't finished the game. I absolutely recommend the series too - plus you won't be like some of the dick head fans of the series have been regarding some of the casting choices - you'll probably just take the characters as they are without having any preconceived ideas about what you think they should be from playing the games. Like a few people seem to have done. 21 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Indiana Jones films are a bit hit and miss for me personally. 1 and 3 are good adventures. 4 was decent for what it was. 2 I found boring and irritating to be honest. Probably controversial opinions right there lol Maybe a little controversial haha I'm very fond of Indiana Jones 1-3, those are genuinely all pretty good films. The second one is one of the best prequels ever made too (although that's not really tough competition to be fair,most people forget it even is a prequel, but it's set before the first film)..... ........ I think those first three are exactly what they are trying to be - which is really entertaining romps - and really good pastiches of those old Saturday morning serials that they are paying homage to. I think Willy is one of the things about the second one that's probably the most grating about that second film. But it also has Short Round in it, and that kid is one excellent child actor - that bit where he goes "INDIE...... I LOVE YOOOOOOOOU" always gets me right in the feels. The fourth one - is as you said, decent for what it was. It deserves to get torn apart for that scene where Shia Labeouf swings through the trees on the vines though, which is just plain stupid, so stupid I think even Disney's tree surfing Tarzan would have his rolled eyes. 21 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Haha of course you're more than welcome to look at my profile lol just don't ridicule it, it is nothing compared to yours. Sonic Colours Ultimate is coming along reasonably, I am struggling more than I thought with getting the S ranks so it's taking more time but hopefully more progress will be forthcoming soon. Haha yes I already have my 250th milestone lined up - Resident Evil 2 Remake You'll get no ridicule at all from me - I'm not about that. People can and should play what they like....... That's always kind of been my philosophy, just play games that YOU want to play, and then it'll never be boring or feel forced. You should totally play a Monkey Island at some point though ? You've got loads of awesome things on there - in fact I'm pretty envious of the fact you have that sweet 100% in that delisted X-Men arcade game - I used to love playing that game back in the day, that's one I'd definitely love to have gotten. I had heard Sonic Colours wasn't exactly a cake walk - but you've got this, you're a Sonic Veteran, so it'll all click together eventually. Ahh so Resident Evil 2 Remake is lined up for 250. Awesome! I did think about that for 350, but then I remembered how much I loved NieR and it just had to be NieR Replicant. I don't know that I'll want to hold off on Resident Evil Remake before 400 so I'll probably just get around to playing it and just be content with the fact I've played it. 21 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Haha, paw-fect! Sounds like more fun in the fur-ture! (I'll stop meow....I mean now lol) I haven't seen any disconcerting opinions regarding the length of your reviews. I think everyone here or at least most people appreciate the detail you put into them, and I'm sure others would have got into games based on these reviews. BTW watching that GIF over and over is quite mesmerising in it's own way lol I suppose that's true yes, so that's always good to know - much appreciated! That GIF is quite mesmerising in its own way I agree, I've found myself watching it a few times without even meaning to - which probably means I need to be carted away and stuffed into a rubber room, and made to bite down on some leather whilst I have electric shocks forced into my brain. . 21 hours ago, The_Kopite said: (Hums Hymn of the Fayth in my head as I type this lol) Epic indeed! Yes I think saying that FFX-2 is a mixed bag is apt. It is definitely a discussion worth having. I think that the Last Mission part of the FFX HD collection is genuinely worth peoples time, it's worth booting up FFX-2 for that almost - that's one of most enjoyable experiences I've had with my admittedly fairly limited time with "roguelike" games, so that alone would give FFX-2 an interesting talking point. It's just a shame they did what they did in a few other areas, but as you say that's a discussion for another time I guess. Edited November 13, 2021 by rjkclarke 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenEngineer Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 4:42 PM, rjkclarke said: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (PS3) I'm just now reading this - fantastic work on reviewing such a classic game! For me, my first introduction to Monkey Island was the even better LeChuck's Revenge, which I played at the ripe age of maybe 7 or so, so about the same age as your first experience to the series. My dad had our first gaming PC "for work" which of course it wasn't used for, but rather we played a lot of Doom, Dune 2, and Xwing/TIE Fighter on that beast. What a joy. I actually revisited Monkey 2 on PC almost a year ago and breezed through it for another run - it's just a clever as the first time I played it 30 years ago and brought nothing but smiles and tears of nostalgia. It's definitely one of my "desert island" games. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 2 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said: I'm just now reading this - fantastic work on reviewing such a classic game! For me, my first introduction to Monkey Island was the even better LeChuck's Revenge, which I played at the ripe age of maybe 7 or so, so about the same age as your first experience to the series. My dad had our first gaming PC "for work" which of course it wasn't used for, but rather we played a lot of Doom, Dune 2, and Xwing/TIE Fighter on that beast. What a joy. I actually revisited Monkey 2 on PC almost a year ago and breezed through it for another run - it's just a clever as the first time I played it 30 years ago and brought nothing but smiles and tears of nostalgia. It's definitely one of my "desert island" games. Cheers! Cheers dude - That's awesome to hear! It was a really fun one to write actually. Nice little stroll down memory lane too I guess. I do agree about LeChuck's Revenge being the better game. I did consider doing that one first - when you gave me the choice to pick whichever Monkey Island I wanted to do. Ultimately it just made sense to do the first one first. You definitely aren't the only one who was exposed to the awesomeness of PC gaming through parents "work computers" that - as you rightly say, never really got used for those purposes. ? No wonder PC gaming got its hooks into you after having those sorts of games to play - Xwing/Tie Fighter was a joy to play on a PC, especially if you had a compatible joystick. I sort of went from playing those games on the N64, to the PC later on and realised what a huge gulf of difference there was between the two. I never did get to play Doom on PC though, I'm guessing that was much better than on SNES where I initially played it. Dune II is a big blind spot for me though - I think one of my Uncles had it as he used to be big into RTS titles - The game has the same cover art as your profile picture right? I'm sure I've seen it on his shelf. So judging by that it must have left a big lasting impression on you,so it's probably pretty awesome. I'm really glad you had a great time with Monkey Island 2 when you recently played it! I think I'm going to replay it again once I get around to reviewing that one - because I don't think I've played it since I got all the trophies in it, so it is long overdue a revisit. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have on a desert island either - if you drink enough sea water and eat enough Coconuts you might start to trip that you are floating around the ocean in a bumper car, like the end of LeChuck's Revenge/ start of Curse of Monkey Island ?. If you've not yet played through Thimbleweed Park on PC - I definitely recommend picking that one up on PS4 or PC even, that's an amazing little love letter to the old point-and-click games of old. It's also written by Ron Gilbert one of the minds behind Monkey Island, so you can't really go wrong with that one. I absolutely loved it. It's incredibly clever too (as you'd expect). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenEngineer Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 20 hours ago, rjkclarke said: If you've not yet played through Thimbleweed Park on PC - I definitely recommend picking that one up on PS4 or PC even, that's an amazing little love letter to the old point-and-click games of old. It's also written by Ron Gilbert one of the minds behind Monkey Island, so you can't really go wrong with that one. I absolutely loved it. It's incredibly clever too (as you'd expect). I've added it to my wishlist I still have Grim Fandango Remastered languishing in my PC library - I really outta play that one! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 0:27 AM, rjkclarke said: I can totally understand that - it is a pretty obscene amount of time to actually get the platinum in it. Even if it doesn't actually feel like it is, I took a week off to play through the story - and I was house-sitting at the time too, so I was essentially playing The Witcher 3 upwards of 12 hours a day, only stopping to feed myself and my nephews Gerbils ......... Even after all that I still hadn't finished the game. I absolutely recommend the series too - plus you won't be like some of the dick head fans of the series have been regarding some of the casting choices - you'll probably just take the characters as they are without having any preconceived ideas about what you think they should be from playing the games. Like a few people seem to have done. Wowzers. 12 hours a day and you hadn't finished the game? Yeah I really don't have the time for it lol I didn't realise that was a thing, well yeah I would just go into the TV series watching it as is and that would be The Witcher for me. No pre-conceived ideas here. On 11/13/2021 at 0:27 AM, rjkclarke said: Maybe a little controversial haha I'm very fond of Indiana Jones 1-3, those are genuinely all pretty good films. The second one is one of the best prequels ever made too (although that's not really tough competition to be fair,most people forget it even is a prequel, but it's set before the first film)..... ........ I think those first three are exactly what they are trying to be - which is really entertaining romps - and really good pastiches of those old Saturday morning serials that they are paying homage to. I think Willy is one of the things about the second one that's probably the most grating about that second film. But it also has Short Round in it, and that kid is one excellent child actor - that bit where he goes "INDIE...... I LOVE YOOOOOOOOU" always gets me right in the feels. The fourth one - is as you said, decent for what it was. It deserves to get torn apart for that scene where Shia Labeouf swings through the trees on the vines though, which is just plain stupid, so stupid I think even Disney's tree surfing Tarzan would have his rolled eyes. To be fair to me and to give my opinions more context, I have watched a lot of those 70's/80's/90's classic films like Indiana Jones, Predator, Alien, The Goonies, Ferris Buellers Day Off etc etc many years after they were released, and so my opinions and views on them might be different if I had watched them at release or close to it. That said, I stick by my opinions as that's just how I got on with those Indiana Jones films. (FYI - Predator is great, Alien is good, The Goonies is pretty good and Ferris I found really boring...more controversial opinions there lol) Short Round was good yes I agree, and Willy was the woman? I can't remember, if not then the woman with the incessant screaming was beyond irritating. The 2nd one just didn't do it for me personally but hey, like we have said before, we can't like everything the other does lol That'd be too weird. Shai Lebeouf could play Tarzan in the inevitable Disney live action remake, although as I'm typing this I think they already did a live action new version? I can't keep up with them haha On 11/13/2021 at 0:27 AM, rjkclarke said: You'll get no ridicule at all from me - I'm not about that. People can and should play what they like....... That's always kind of been my philosophy, just play games that YOU want to play, and then it'll never be boring or feel forced. You should totally play a Monkey Island at some point though You've got loads of awesome things on there - in fact I'm pretty envious of the fact you have that sweet 100% in that delisted X-Men arcade game - I used to love playing that game back in the day, that's one I'd definitely love to have gotten. I had heard Sonic Colours wasn't exactly a cake walk - but you've got this, you're a Sonic Veteran, so it'll all click together eventually. Ahh so Resident Evil 2 Remake is lined up for 250. Awesome! I did think about that for 350, but then I remembered how much I loved NieR and it just had to be NieR Replicant. I don't know that I'll want to hold off on Resident Evil Remake before 400 so I'll probably just get around to playing it and just be content with the fact I've played it. Haha thanks, appreciate it! Yes totally agree, people should play what they want to and get what they want to out of those games. Monkey Island was made by LucasArts yes? If so, I've just played through most of Day of the Tentacle Remastered if that offers up some kind of consolation prize? lol X-Men arcade game was one of those classic ones back in the day that many coins would get sunk into, like The Simpsons arcade, TMNT arcade etc etc. Awesome games. ? Haha thanks. Yeah I will get it eventually. With the S ranks, it's more about understanding in this game what are the best things to go for in a run in order to get the required points. Doing videos for the Red Star Rings as I go as I thought, why not lol Yeah, going to platinum RE7 after Sonic Colours amongst others. Can't make every FF, RE and Sonic game a milestone one so picking the ones I like more and mean more to me lol Definitely play it. On 11/13/2021 at 0:27 AM, rjkclarke said: I suppose that's true yes, so that's always good to know - much appreciated! That GIF is quite mesmerising in its own way I agree, I've found myself watching it a few times without even meaning to - which probably means I need to be carted away and stuffed into a rubber room, and made to bite down on some leather whilst I have electric shocks forced into my brain. . Well hey, what you get up to on your weekends is your business haha On 11/13/2021 at 0:27 AM, rjkclarke said: I think that the Last Mission part of the FFX HD collection is genuinely worth peoples time, it's worth booting up FFX-2 for that almost - that's one of most enjoyable experiences I've had with my admittedly fairly limited time with "roguelike" games, so that alone would give FFX-2 an interesting talking point. It's just a shame they did what they did in a few other areas, but as you say that's a discussion for another time I guess. Yes, I keep meaning to get around to giving that a proper try. I did try it once but didn't understand what the style of game was but now I do, I would at least be going into it with a better understanding and it'd be nice to add some more trophies to my FFX-2 list. It's a bit poor compared to my X list. (Think I've just played simple ones like Devious Dungeon if that counts?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted November 14, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 14, 2021 (edited) OLLY OLLY OXENFREE PLATINUM! (Disclaimer: Oxen sold separately!) Platinum #337 Oxenfree (PS4) Leave Possible? Collect all trophies. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 14 November 2021 : 1:15:17AM Time Taken to Platinum : 2 days, 22 hours, 1 minute Platinum Rarity - 24.24% Trophy Number - #16,177 Oxenfree is one of those types of games that you could probably spend as much time trying to actually figure out exactly what type of game it is – than actually breaking down the important aspects of it. So to break with my usual tradition of – well, waffling like a ninny. I’ll try and cut out the part where I actually try and figure out what exactly the game is, and just tell you that it simply is an experience. An experience is probably the best way to think of a game like Oxenfree – that way you won’t get too bogged down with any preconceived ideas about what to expect before diving into it. If someone had a gun to my head and really forced me to make a snap assessment though, I’d say it is part interactive adventure, part audio drama with a smattering of horror and coming of age story. If you threw all of those things into the machine from the film The Fly, you’d probably get something close to Oxenfree come flying out. Conceptually at least – Oxenfree is a fairly simple premise. At least on the surface it is, in reality, it is incredibly layered and multi faceted. You play as Alex, as you, Jonas, Nona, Ren and Clarissa visit Edwards Island, for a weekend party. One that quickly goes awry – as you soon find the island is home to plenty of supernatural phenomena – oh and time loops, those are involved too. That’s about all I’m willing to say about the story, just to avoid spoilers, because the story itself is incredibly engaging, and that’s up to you to discover for yourself. In truth it would probably be best to get the easiest aspect of the game out of the way now, its gameplay – or you could say lack thereof. Which is fine – a game like this doesn’t need complex gameplay hooks to really hold your attention for long periods of time, at least not in my case – so I was perfectly happy to sacrifice deep and layered gameplay for a more satisfying story. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with this games gameplay, it’s just a case of these things: Movement, three buttons to select dialogue, a button to open a map, and a button to work the radio. It’s really that simple. You can occasionally get caught on the environment, which slows your movement speed a bit, but it is hardly a game breaking thing, just a bit cumbersome. The gameplay’s real depth comes in the form of the dialogue system and probably most importantly, its atmosphere. A Dialogue system that contains the kind of depth and ease that Telltale could only dream of. Dialogue of which even after playing three full playthroughs was still revealing pieces of character development or aspects of the overarching story that I hadn’t quite picked up on, during previous playthroughs. What Oxenfree might lack in technical gameplay depth – it more than makes up for in building atmosphere. There’s an element of the time-loop aspect that made me want to still keep playing the game after attaining the platinum, just to find out even more nuggets of information through branching the dialogue even more, which is a pretty big endorsement from myself on the quality of the dialogue system. I can’t fault the visual design and art-style on display in Oxenfree. Whilst you don’t see any of the characters expressions or the characters themselves in too much detail. That is more than made up for with the voice acting – an area which honestly, is where the characters come to life the most. Oxenfree’s voice acting absolutely feels like the sort of thing you’d hear in a very well produced audio drama, and the chemistry between all of the characters, negative or positive is brought to life so effectively by the actors. Yet the watercolour art style is truly a thing of beauty, there’s a sort of unwritten rule in cinematography, that any good shot could be paused at any moment and look like a painting (stay with me this is relevant,) well – in Oxenfree’s case, you could look at the backdrop of almost any location on Edwards Island, and it’d believably look like something you might see sold as a hand painted postcard on Main Street in the gift shop of Edwards Island. The area of Oxenfree that I personally found one of the most interesting is in its use of sound. It’s something that is used absolutely expertly in this game. It’s funny really, because even knowing how most of the sound effects and the ways in which they manipulated the voices were crafted – they still absolutely terrified me on occasion. It’s a bit of a balancing act that they managed really successfully. It’d be too easy to just sound – well, generic demonic. I think there is a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Galadriel is tempted by the ring, and they modulated her voice far too much, to the point where it doesn’t really sound as threatening, as it probably should. Whereas in Oxenfree, modulation is used, but it’s also combined with some really unsettling distortion, and spliced with other voices too. It’s one of the finest examples I can think of in a recent video game where a malevolent or otherworldly presence actually does feel like a threat. Especially some of the audio on the second playthrough where you understand exponentially more than you did the first time through, so that unsettling vibe only really gets magnified. In much the same way the use of sound design is excellent – as is the soundtracks itself – elements of it feel appropriately atmospheric. There’s timelessness to it too, which is appropriate considering the time loop aspect to the game. There were even elements that reminded me of Final Fantasy VII in places – which I honestly never expected to find in a game like Oxenfree. For the most part, Night School Studio did a terrific job of writing believable dialogue for the teenage characters. Writing dialogue can be hard enough as it is, all it takes is just a few inconsistencies here and there – and you can destroy particular characters credibility without even meaning to. The fact that Night School Studio on the whole (with a few exceptions here and there,) manage to weave believable dialogue into almost every character is very impressive. Easily the strongest area of the game – is how the characters themselves are handled – it’s both an impressive indictment of both the writing and the voice performances by the various actors involved. All of the characters motivations feel real and believable – and the more you unravel of the story, the more you come to understand them. The character writing and the voice acting complement each other exceedingly well. Even down to the way characters that are less familiar with each other interact – there’s that inherent awkwardness that you’d expect from a first encounter, or that need to fill silence with small talk. On top of this – there’s the brilliant way in which the characters will react to you organically depending on your specific responses – it’s amazing the sides of the characters you only see when you play the game being negative towards everyone for example. This is where the game really shines, in its interplay between characters. Alex and Jonas’ relationship is particularly interesting. For some context they are step-brother and step-sister who are meeting for the first time that night. Yet – Jonas doesn’t know any of the other characters either. One of the things I appreciated the most was how authentic Jonas and Alex’s interactions felt. Jonas sort of follows Alex around wherever she goes, because she’s the only person he’s remotely connected to – which is almost exactly what happens when you are that age and you bring a friend with you to meet other friends, the friend only you know, tends to stay very close to you, just because that’s the thing that makes them the most comfortable. I thought that added a really nice layer of authenticity to it. Alex and a few of the other characters have certain aspects of their lives away from Edwards Island that haunt them on some level, which does get explored throughout the game too. If I was going to put on my over-analytical hat for a minute, then I’d probably argue that the time loop aspect itself you could argue is almost a metaphor for grief, and that unfortunate circle you can get stuck in where you just can’t quite let go of some of those lingering feelings. Unfortunately not every character is given the same amount of time to shine – which I think is a shame. Nona is a staggeringly underused character. To the point where on my first playthrough – I sort of forced the issue by having her come with me to find a key, because I wanted to talk to her a bit, and find out more of her character. She’s interesting too; she just gets the bare minimum of character development, which I thought was a slight oversight. I’ve got to be honest though – one aspect of Oxenfree that didn’t quite resonate with me the way I expected it to, was on an emotional level. I’d read plenty about Oxenfree before I played it (always a danger I know,) and one of the most prevalent things I had read about seemed to be peoples emotional response to the game. It’s not that I didn’t have any, I definitely did, it just wasn’t quite in the way I expected it to be. It can’t be the fact you can’t see subtle expressions on the characters faces, or anything like that – because, I found Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther and Gone Home pretty emotional experiences, and that’s just from a singular perspective. If Oxenfree resonated with you, great – there was just something about it that didn’t quite give me the gut punch in the feelings I expected it might, but perhaps my expectation is actually the problem. Oxenfree has almost the perfect type of trophy list for a game like this. You’ll experience almost every single important element that the developers wanted you to. Your route to the platinum is actually pretty simple, play the game as a nice person (well only really for one section). Play the game as an ezel (an ass, that’s the only Dutch word I know off the top of my head, but Friends makes me use it all the time,) and another where you don’t say anything at all – and get some collectibles during one of them. All of that is pretty straight forward – and in all honesty, the only real advice I can give you is to play the game blind first. Just put trophies out of your head entirely and enjoy it for what it is. The game is very short, so it won’t set you back too much time, and I think it’ll be probably be a much more enjoyable experience than stringently following a guide from the offset. You can usually find Oxenfree for a very decent price – as it goes on sale quite often. Even if it isn’t on sale I’d still say it’s worth your time. It’s one of those incredibly unique video game experiences, that aren’t really like many others – so it’s a little tough to find a comparison point. That should work in its favour though, as I’m never going to complain about having more unique gaming experiences to play through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sure I'm going to miss people out here - I can't realistically remember off the top of my head every single person that has nudged me in the direction of Oxenfree, so if you feel like I should tag you, let me know and I will. But I think it was @YaManSmevz' review of it all the way back in August that ended up being the thing that bumped this game all the way up the list of things to play. I'm so glad that it did too, because that was a hell of a good experience. Onto Afterparty very soon I think! So I'm looking forward to that one! but first some replies! On 14/11/2021 at 6:27 PM, DrunkenEngineer said: I've added it to my wishlist I still have Grim Fandango Remastered languishing in my PC library - I really outta play that one! That's what I like to hear! Yes you should - Grim Fandango is great - especially if it's completely new to you. Even if it isn't I'm sure you'll still have a great time with it - I regularly think about one of the most innocuous parts of the game when Glottis just screams "Manny I'm frightened!" in the most bizarre way possible. Always cracks me up. Looking forward to reading about your time with it whenever you get to it! On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: Wowzers. 12 hours a day and you hadn't finished the game? Yeah I really don't have the time for it lol I didn't realise that was a thing, well yeah I would just go into the TV series watching it as is and that would be The Witcher for me. No pre-conceived ideas here. Yep - 12 hours a day, and I still wasn't finished...... That game is big, and to be fair, I wanted to do everything whether that was connected to trophies or not, so I spent a bunch of time doing non trophy related things, which took longer - but I loved my time with it, even if it was obscenely long. Yeah some people who are fans of the book are a bit up in arms about the series - but also plenty of people that are fans of the games are too. I just see it as a separate thing, and enjoy it for what it is. So yes - I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch if you can spare the time. On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: To be fair to me and to give my opinions more context, I have watched a lot of those 70's/80's/90's classic films like Indiana Jones, Predator, Alien, The Goonies, Ferris Buellers Day Off etc etc many years after they were released, and so my opinions and views on them might be different if I had watched them at release or close to it. That said, I stick by my opinions as that's just how I got on with those Indiana Jones films. (FYI - Predator is great, Alien is good, The Goonies is pretty good and Ferris I found really boring...more controversial opinions there lol) Well I didn't watch any of those on release either - unless I'm a time traveller, but I'll not reveal that........ Does anyone have any spare IBM 5100's by the way? points for anyone who gets the John Titor reference...... ...... Anyway - yeah no that's fine, I wasn't calling you out on your opinions, I just thought that Indiana Jones reference in the picture was a funny one to throw out. Can't say I agree with Ferris - but like you said we don't need to, would be weird if we agreed on everything as you say. On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: Willy was the woman? I can't remember, if not then the woman with the incessant screaming was beyond irritating. Yep - Willy was the screaming woman - and Mrs Spielberg actually. Willy as a ladies name is probably weird to hear for us Brits though - I don't think I've ever met a lady called Willy. Even typing that sounds weird. She's definitely the thing I like the least about that film - but Short Round saves it for me, I was so desperate for him to come back in Indiana Jones 4 but alas we get Tarzan Boy - and no, not even the awesome song by Baltimora. On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: Shai Lebeouf could play Tarzan in the inevitable Disney live action remake, although as I'm typing this I think they already did a live action new version? I can't keep up with them haha Not sure - if they haven't then they probably are making one as we speak - that seems to be their thing now. License to print money really. Even if the end product doesn't end up being a patch on the original. On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: X-Men arcade game was one of those classic ones back in the day that many coins would get sunk into, like The Simpsons arcade, TMNT arcade etc etc. Awesome games. Haha thanks. Yeah I will get it eventually. With the S ranks, it's more about understanding in this game what are the best things to go for in a run in order to get the required points. Doing videos for the Red Star Rings as I go as I thought, why not lol Yeah, going to platinum RE7 after Sonic Colours amongst others. Can't make every FF, RE and Sonic game a milestone one so picking the ones I like more and mean more to me lol Definitely play it. It sure was - I didn't realise they put The Simpsons one out on PS3 as well - I feel like a bit of an idiot for never picking those up back in the day, I don't think I bought any digital games until like 2014. I really should have, but nevermind. You'll get them eventually - cool that you're making videos on them as you are going along. Sounds like a plan to go get some of those sweet platinums after getting your 225. That is true about not being able to have FF, RE, or Sonic ones for everything - at least you'll never have an accidental FFX-2 one like I did. I don't pay too much attention to them, and that was my 175 EDIT: I realised I never responded to the Day of the Tentacle thing - that's awesome that you played most of that one - it's definitely fairly close to what Monkey Island is - it has some of the same people behind it too, so if you dug that, you might like Monkey Island too. On 14/11/2021 at 7:18 PM, The_Kopite said: Yes, I keep meaning to get around to giving that a proper try. I did try it once but didn't understand what the style of game was but now I do, I would at least be going into it with a better understanding and it'd be nice to add some more trophies to my FFX-2 list. It's a bit poor compared to my X list. (Think I've just played simple ones like Devious Dungeon if that counts?) Devious Dungeon might count - there's plenty of folks far more equipped to be able to tell you than I am - I definitely need to play more roguelikes myself, because the few I've played or games with those elements in them I've really enjoyed. Go for it - there's definitely plenty of fun to be had with FFX-2 it has some great mini-games and the gameplay itself is actually quite fun, so there is probably worse ways to spend your time - but the story as you know, is equal parts infuriating and frustrating. Feels like you've just had a circular saw aggressively taken to your intellect. So there's that I guess. As I always say a mixed bag ? Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Great Oxenfree review mate! - I know what you mean about the strongest (or one of the strongest) aspects being the interplay between the different characters - they are all very distinct and given a lot of personality, so different combinations are given a really distinct flavour, which isn’t easy to do, and games can often fail at. A lot of times, with group dynamics in games, characters can start to feel a bit interchangeable (see some of the lesser Telltale games) - but in Oxenfree, each one seems to have a distinct “voice” Anyways - I read, thoroughly enjoyed… and am now going to try to immediately forget - as I finished Afterparty the same day you finished this - so it’s a virtual necessity that I rank Oxenfree soon myself, and need to avoid the accidental intellectual theft ? See the logjam you’ve caused by working overtime on your recommendations, @YaManSmevz ?! ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Vice Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 13 hours ago, rjkclarke said: The gameplay’s real depth comes in the form of the dialogue system and probably most importantly, its atmosphere. A Dialogue system that contains the kind of depth and ease that Telltale could only dream of. I can’t fault the visual design and art-style on display in Oxenfree. Whilst you don’t see any of the characters expressions or the characters themselves in too much detail. That is more than made up for with the voice acting – an area which honestly, is where the characters come to life the most. Oxenfree’s voice acting absolutely feels like the sort of thing you’d hear in a very well produced audio drama, and the chemistry between all of the characters, negative or positive is brought to life so effectively by the actors. Really well written review Rjkclarke, one of my favourites from you so far. The bit I've quoted above really echoes something I really agree with above everything else. Dialogue is very difficult to get correctly and that's not something exclusive to the gaminh medium. Oxenfree kills it in this department. ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 20 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: See the logjam you’ve caused by working overtime on your recommendations, @YaManSmevz ?! 20 hours ago, rjkclarke said: OLLY OLLY OXENFREE PLATINUM! (Disclaimer: Oxen sold separately!) Platinum #337 Oxenfree (PS4) Bro I am so pleased with your review - not that there was any real danger of the opposite, of course - you juggled the character development, plot, music, and basically all of Oxenfree's hallmarks masterfully, and have added yet another ace review to the pile! I'm sorry to hear it didn't fully register with you on an emotional level, but I mean I'd be lying if I said I'd shed any tears or lost any sleep over this game myself. I'm just glad you had a good time! Looking forward to your thoughts on Afterparty! Also thank you so much for your thoughtful words - more often than I'd care to admit, I have difficulty responding to compliments (yes, I'm that guy) but I appreciate it, as well as being grouped in with such a talented bunch! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 On 14/11/2021 at 9:41 PM, DrBloodmoney said: Great Oxenfree review mate! - I know what you mean about the strongest (or one of the strongest) aspects being the interplay between the different characters - they are all very distinct and given a lot of personality, so different combinations are given a really distinct flavour, which isn’t easy to do, and games can often fail at. A lot of times, with group dynamics in games, characters can start to feel a bit interchangeable (see some of the lesser Telltale games) - but in Oxenfree, each one seems to have a distinct “voice” Anyways - I read, thoroughly enjoyed… and am now going to try to immediately forget - as I finished Afterparty the same day you finished this - so it’s a virtual necessity that I rank Oxenfree soon myself, and need to avoid the accidental intellectual theft Thanks Doc, I appreciate that - as always. There was something very specific I meant to mention about the interplay between the characters that I annoyingly forgot to bring up - but as I suspect dialogue and conversation will also be a heavy element of Afterparty - I guess I'll just hold back on it until that review. I think I am going to have to dive back into Oxenfree at some point soon anyway - because there's some specific outcomes I want to see, that I never got to when I played through it for the platinum, like taking Ren with me to get the key/wal radio. They might be small things, but I still want to see what's different about them. I wrote that Oxenfree one under a little bit of a time constraint - as I was going to a friends house, as it was his birthday - and I wanted to get that written before I left - instead it took me longer to write Oxenfree and I was late to my friends house, so that wasn't my smartest move ever. I do feel a little more urgency to get Afterparty played and written about now, just so that whenever you get it out it doesn't seem like I've just aped your review that I already know is going to be top quality - so I need to get on that. Who knows might be my first ever birthday platinum - I didn't make any plans for tomorrow like I usually do - I kind of just forgot it was coming up. I'm looking forward to your own review of Oxenfree though! Well, that and the rest naturally ? 13 hours ago, GonzoWARgasm said: Really well written review Rjkclarke, one of my favourites from you so far. The bit I've quoted above really echoes something I really agree with above everything else. Dialogue is very difficult to get correctly and that's not something exclusive to the gaminh medium. Oxenfree kills it in this department. Thanks Gonzo - much appreciated! I'm glad you enjoyed that - especially as I thought I structured that one pretty badly, and I was actually half thinking of just going back in and re-editing that a bit, to make it flow together a bit better - as I said to Smevz the other day we're all our own worst critic I guess. I probably won't now after reading that. Dialogue is so well done in Oxenfree - I actually can't think of many examples in video game form, that feel as natural as they do there. There aren't really any areas that feel too much like deliberate exposition - or just needless info-dumps like games tend to do on occasion. It isn't something exclusive to the gaming medium - I 100% agree - in fact that's kind of one of the areas that I meant to go into in more detail. But I'll leave that to my review of Afterparty, when I get that finished soon. 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Bro I am so pleased with your review - not that there was any real danger of the opposite, of course - you juggled the character development, plot, music, and basically all of Oxenfree's hallmarks masterfully, and have added yet another ace review to the pile! I'm sorry to hear it didn't fully register with you on an emotional level, but I mean I'd be lying if I said I'd shed any tears or lost any sleep over this game myself. I'm just glad you had a good time! Looking forward to your thoughts on Afterparty! Thanks man - that's really awesome to hear! Thanks again - for prodding me in its direction sooner than I probably would have done. I still can't quite figure out what didn't resonate with me emotionally about it - but yeah, I guess it didn't really need to, to still be a thoroughly awesome experience! I guess once I start playing NieR: Replicant I'll be able to stick some buckets underneath my head and catch my inevitable tears like rain water - so at least I won't have to use a tap for a while ?..... So at least that'll keep me going for emotional reactions I suppose haha! 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Also thank you so much for your thoughtful words - more often than I'd care to admit, I have difficulty responding to compliments (yes, I'm that guy) but I appreciate it, as well as being grouped in with such a talented bunch! You aren't the only one who does that, trust me - even in real life social situations - I don't exactly clam up if someone pays me a compliment or says something nice, but I definitely don't always just take it as a nice thing. Just one of my hang ups where my brain instantly wants to say " I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" or y'know something like that! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: Yep - 12 hours a day, and I still wasn't finished...... That game is big, and to be fair, I wanted to do everything whether that was connected to trophies or not, so I spent a bunch of time doing non trophy related things, which took longer - but I loved my time with it, even if it was obscenely long. Yeah some people who are fans of the book are a bit up in arms about the series - but also plenty of people that are fans of the games are too. I just see it as a separate thing, and enjoy it for what it is. So yes - I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch if you can spare the time. I remember the days of having that much time to sink into a big ol' RPG like that lol fun times. Yes I will try to get around to giving it a go soon enough. On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: Well I didn't watch any of those on release either - unless I'm a time traveller, but I'll not reveal that........ Does anyone have any spare IBM 5100's by the way? points for anyone who gets the John Titor reference...... ...... Anyway - yeah no that's fine, I wasn't calling you out on your opinions, I just thought that Indiana Jones reference in the picture was a funny one to throw out. Can't say I agree with Ferris - but like you said we don't need to, would be weird if we agreed on everything as you say. I didn't get the John Titor reference so had to look that one up lol interesting Yeah of course, no worries. On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: Yep - Willy was the screaming woman - and Mrs Spielberg actually. Willy as a ladies name is probably weird to hear for us Brits though - I don't think I've ever met a lady called Willy. Even typing that sounds weird. She's definitely the thing I like the least about that film - but Short Round saves it for me, I was so desperate for him to come back in Indiana Jones 4 but alas we get Tarzan Boy - and no, not even the awesome song by Baltimora. Yes I thought so. Can't say I've ever met a woman with that name either tbh. Tarzan Boy vs Short Round in Mortal Kombat 11: The Indy DLC On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: Not sure - if they haven't then they probably are making one as we speak - that seems to be their thing now. License to print money really. Even if the end product doesn't end up being a patch on the original. No it really doesn't. Some have been decent like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, but yeah they don't get close to the animated originals. Disney have many ways to print money though. On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: It sure was - I didn't realise they put The Simpsons one out on PS3 as well - I feel like a bit of an idiot for never picking those up back in the day, I don't think I bought any digital games until like 2014. I really should have, but nevermind. You'll get them eventually - cool that you're making videos on them as you are going along. Sounds like a plan to go get some of those sweet platinums after getting your 225. That is true about not being able to have FF, RE, or Sonic ones for everything - at least you'll never have an accidental FFX-2 one like I did. I don't pay too much attention to them, and that was my 175 EDIT: I realised I never responded to the Day of the Tentacle thing - that's awesome that you played most of that one - it's definitely fairly close to what Monkey Island is - it has some of the same people behind it too, so if you dug that, you might like Monkey Island too. Yeah, when they appeared on the PSN store I think I snapped them up pretty quickly. Always good fun to go through! Yeah, the vids are working out pretty decently and I'm potentially going to use them in a possible trophy guide, we will see. OMG, I hadn't released FFX-2 was your 175th platinum lol what are the chances after we have started to reference it. I'm not sure I'll ever get the platinum for it but yeah it won't be a milestone one lol Day of the Tentacle is an interesting one, the humour is very random or at least I find it to be, but it's interesting too so yeah maybe a Monkey Island game could be one to play in the future. On 11/14/2021 at 9:20 PM, rjkclarke said: Devious Dungeon might count - there's plenty of folks far more equipped to be able to tell you than I am - I definitely need to play more roguelikes myself, because the few I've played or games with those elements in them I've really enjoyed. Go for it - there's definitely plenty of fun to be had with FFX-2 it has some great mini-games and the gameplay itself is actually quite fun, so there is probably worse ways to spend your time - but the story as you know, is equal parts infuriating and frustrating. Feels like you've just had a circular saw aggressively taken to your intellect. So there's that I guess. As I always say a mixed bag I'll see if anyone else wants to chip in on if Devious Dungeon counts as a roguelike. They seem like interesting games though but you have to get into the rhythm and get invested I feel. I mght play the dungeon roguelike part of FFX-2, but you know backlog and all that haha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destructor-8 Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 (edited) On 29/10/2021 at 1:32 AM, rjkclarke said: I really should go back to Arkham City for clean up in the future too, but right now I'll save that for another time, as I don't really fancy exclusively playing as Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing for long spells. So what do I actually have left in Arkham Knight I hear nobody ask..... Well, I'll tell you anyway, I'm 80% complete, trophy progress, wise, but I still have plenty to do. There's: some miscellaneous base game trophies, alongside New Game plus, then the remaining Batmobile DLC's and the community challenges..... Something tells me I might be on those for a while. Which ironically was the first thing I attempted tonight - and man was I rusty - well that and the fact that the Batmobile controls like absolute arse..... If only I had the racing skills of @Destructor-8 - I'd be powering through them... But I've at least made a little bit of progress tonight - I finished Scarecrows Nightmare, and managed to knock out the trophy for AR stars in Michael Keatons Batmobile, which actually does handle pretty nicely actually. I'm quite late on this reply but I'm sure you'll manage to get all these done haha. I've heard quite a bit about the Batman games being pretty challenging but very good. I'll be interested on your Batman review whenever you get around to those. Edited November 17, 2021 by Destructor-8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 On 11/15/2021 at 4:12 PM, rjkclarke said: I do feel a little more urgency to get Afterparty played and written about now, just so that whenever you get it out it doesn't seem like I've just aped your review that I already know is going to be top quality - so I need to get on that. Who knows might be my first ever birthday platinum - I didn't make any plans for tomorrow like I usually do - I kind of just forgot it was coming up. It's your birthday?? Happy birthday dude!! I got a birthday platinum, it was FFVII, and while it was not intentional I'm quite happy with how that worked out! Feels appropriate in retrospect? I know eventually I will be in the same situation where I'll be writing a review for the same game as someone else at the same time, so I'm absolutely empathetic about the concerns that may come with that, but I gotta tell ya.. knowing that two of my favorite peeps on this site have Afterparty reviews in the chamber got me like On 11/15/2021 at 4:12 PM, rjkclarke said: You aren't the only one who does that, trust me - even in real life social situations - I don't exactly clam up if someone pays me a compliment or says something nice, but I definitely don't always just take it as a nice thing. Just one of my hang ups where my brain instantly wants to say " I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" or y'know something like that! Yeah, it's weird. If somebody called me an asshole I'd be more comfortable than if someone called me a good person - I couldn't tell you why that is, just an unfortunate piece of baggage? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 On 11/17/2021 at 4:36 AM, YaManSmevz said: I got a birthday platinum, it was FFVII Awesome! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 Sorry for the late replies on this one - so a mixture of lack of sleep, and Snooker being on has made me slack a little bit with this, and a few other things that I probably shouldn't bore you with. I'm sure @det_gittes -might be the only one that can somewhat sympathise with this one - what with also being a Pool and Snooker fan, I'm sure you also get the tough battle it can sometimes be between watching one of your favourite sports or partaking in more of another favourite hobby in video games - then add to that all the real life stuff that can get in the way. Plus it is one of my favourite tourneys of the year - The Champion of Champions - where all the best fellas in Bow Ties and Waistcoats (although this year they are wearing polo shirts for some reason - how uncivilised ,) compete for a big old prize of £100,000. I'll try and make a point of getting a new classic review out today - today's dish of the day will be Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, plus it's on a list of requests, so I have an excuse not to just throw it out for no reason other than Smevz got me wanting to write about Hitman ....So that should be a janky fun re-tread, going back to the old, old days of Agent 47. On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: Yes I will try to get around to giving it a go soon enough. Let me know what you think of it if you do! Always nice to hear another perspective on The Witcher as a TV series. On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: I didn't get the John Titor reference so had to look that one up lol interesting Interesting - yet very very odd..... It's definitely an interesting "but what if?" quandary when it comes to John Titor If you like anime - and you want a little anime spin on that whole John Titor thing you might like Steins;Gate. I'm hardly the most knowledgable person about anime - in fact I'm probably the furthest thing from it, but that is a very high quality one too. It's based on some visuals novels that I'd also recommend (again I'm not the biggest visual novel person,) but those are good - so you if you liked it those might be worth your time too, and I guess there's platinum's involved also. The anime itself is on Netflix (I assume it still is,) though if you ever wanted to give it a go. It's got a little bit of a slow start - but once it gets going it is paced brilliantly - I literally watched about 13 or 14 episodes in one sitting I was that enthralled, and it's an absolute emotional rollercoaster... ... Wait how did this descend into a love letter to Steins;Gate ? On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: Tarzan Boy vs Short Round in Mortal Kombat 11: The Indy DLC I'd buy that..... Although Tarzan Boy would be getting all of the fatalities and Short Round would only ever get Friendships from me In fact Short Rounds Friendship animation should just be **Insert Character Name** I LOOOOOOOOOOOVVVE YOU That, would be DLC worth paying for! On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: No it really doesn't. Some have been decent like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, but yeah they don't get close to the animated originals. Disney have many ways to print money though. Those are two of the ones I haven't seen actually. I actually went to see the Lion King one with one of my friends at the cinema, and man did that leave a lot to be desired. There were some very audible groans and cringes from us throughout the whole thing - it's just a bit of a mess. Timon and Pumba were actually really good in that film - Seth Rogen was really good as Pumba, but other than that, it just lacks so much - I don't know..... Ooomph? compared to the original. At least Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin are halfway decent going on what you've said - so I might have to give those a look when I'm next trawling through Disney+ Disney just buy everything - that's their new license to print money - buy an IP they know people like, that have a rabid fanbase - do what they like with it knowing that hoards of peoples are going to go and see it regardless. On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: Yeah, the vids are working out pretty decently and I'm potentially going to use them in a possible trophy guide, we will see. I'm definitely going to have to play through one of the games you've made a guide for -realistically it'd probably be Sonic or Golden Axe. Then I can be like " hey my buddy wrote the guide for this, it's awesome! You should all go check this out and use it if you ever play it." Although I'll try and be more eloquent than that! On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: OMG, I hadn't released FFX-2 was your 175th platinum lol what are the chances after we have started to reference it. I'm not sure I'll ever get the platinum for it but yeah it won't be a milestone one lol Not the best thing in the world to have as a milestone is it? Although I've always just played things I've wanted to, so it isn't like I look at any of them and feel ashamed or anything - but I sometimes see Final Fantasy X-2 there and think " WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU!" Haha..... I just looked out of curiosity on the first page of this thread to see what 174 and 176 were and they were Bully and Steins;Gate 0 respectively, which might have been better alternatives haha. They can't all be winners I guess. I don't blame you for not going for the platinum though - it's definitely a lot of double, triple, and then quadruple checking guides - and even after all that I still needed another playthrough for that 0.02% I missed off of the 100% - not my proudest moment On 16/11/2021 at 8:57 PM, The_Kopite said: Day of the Tentacle is an interesting one, the humour is very random or at least I find it to be, but it's interesting too so yeah maybe a Monkey Island game could be one to play in the future. Yep random and esoteric humour is kind of their thing - so Monkey Island is just more of the same - but arguably I'd say it's probably even more unusual than even Day of the Tentacles. I'd definitely love it if you did end up playing a Monkey Island game - I always smile when I see or hear about someone playing it in various places on the site. On 17/11/2021 at 3:23 AM, Destructor-8 said: 'm quite late on this reply but I'm sure you'll manage to get all these done haha. I've heard quite a bit about the Batman games being pretty challenging but very good. I'll be interested on your Batman review whenever you get around to those. I've done all the Batmobile stuff now (I suspect, you'd make light work of that, although I think you'd also hate how sluggish and weighty some of them are,) but I'm just too chicken to start the community challenge DLC - but I ought to get to it. As I did want to complete that game as part of the Trophies to Fight Cancer event, so I'll either just skip right to the platinum and do the DLC later, or I'll have to seriously knuckle down and get it done, because I think there's only 12 days left of that event now, so the grains of sand are running down on that one! I appreciate the belief I'll get them done though - I'm kind of looking forward to getting to the Batman reviews as well, might give me a cheeky excuse to give Arkham Asylum a bit of a replay too. On 17/11/2021 at 4:36 AM, YaManSmevz said: It's your birthday?? Happy birthday dude!! It was my birthday the 16th - so it was probably a little presumptuous of me to be like "yeah I'll get the plat, in Afterparty, no problem" fast forward to the 19th and I've made all of 1% progress... Good job Mister! Hopefully that'll change drastically after today haha. Thanks for the birthday wishes though - I didn't do anything exciting, I forgot to arrange anything, I just kind of let it slip my mind my birthday was coming up - so instead as it released on my 11th birthday 20 years ago I watched the first Harry Potter movie. Also I got a pet for my birthday that year, after coming back from seeing the film at the cinema to be greeted with an awesome little Chinchilla - which I also named Harry - I guess my 11th Birthday was pretty Harry Potter themed huh? so I guess when I am 61 this totally won't be me ??........ I might well become Lord Old-emort by then.. Spooky I just looked at this again - and super old Voldemort looks like my Great Uncle, that's pretty hilarious. On 17/11/2021 at 4:36 AM, YaManSmevz said: I got a birthday platinum, it was FFVII, and while it was not intentional I'm quite happy with how that worked out! Feels appropriate in retrospect I know eventually I will be in the same situation where I'll be writing a review for the same game as someone else at the same time, so I'm absolutely empathetic about the concerns that may come with that, but I gotta tell ya.. knowing that two of my favorite peeps on this site have Afterparty reviews in the chamber got me like I'm still yet to get one - Congrats on yours though, that's a pretty awesome one to have to be fair! If you could choose one, I'm sure a lot of people would probably pick that one. I guess I won't be getting one for at least another year either - I have one on both of my parents birthdays, by sheer coincidence - one being Final Fantasy IX on my Dads birthday this year - so that's nice I guess. At this rate Doc is absolutely going to beat me to it with the Afterparty review, which is fine if that happens - so I'd better get my skates on. Figuratively though, last time I put roller-skates on I'm fairly certain that I concussed myself, so better not put any real ones on ? Neither of us probably would have bumped it up the list as fast had it not been for your awesome review of it though, and a few others who have run through it on their checklist threads recently too - so as Doc said above, or words to that effect "see what you've created." It's all good man - I'm looking forward to properly diving into it later, so I'm sure I'm going to have a lot to be thankful for. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
det_gittes Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I'm sure @det_gittes -might be the only one that can somewhat sympathise with this one - what with also being a Pool and Snooker fan, I'm sure you also get the tough battle it can sometimes be between watching one of your favourite sports or partaking in more of another favourite hobby in video games - then add to that all the real life stuff that can get in the way. Haha, yeah, I can fully sympathize, but no snooker for me this time - I only get to watch snooker on Eurosport and sadly Champion of Champions is not part of their license. As for pool, it's basically just YT or occasionally some FB live broadcasts as it's not present on any major TV station in my country. So, who would you like to see in the final? I wouldn't mind seeing Trump vs. Higgins, that's almost bound to be entertaining BTW, what happened in O'Sullivan vs. Higgins, was O'Sullivan in no mood for playing, or was he so much outplayed by Higgins? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, det_gittes said: Haha, yeah, I can fully sympathize, but no snooker for me this time - I only get to watch snooker on Eurosport and sadly Champion of Champions is not part of their license. As for pool, it's basically just YT or occasionally some FB live broadcasts as it's not present on any major TV station in my country. It's happening again - Snooker dragging me away from gaming to watch the first semi-final. That's brutal man, that you don't get this tournament...... I'm sorry to hear that. Does that mean you also miss out on all the other ITV tournaments, like The Grand Prix, Player Championship and Tour Championship? Because that really sucks if you do - gotta feel for you on that one. Those are some of my favourite ones, almost guaranteed quality, as they always contain the 32. 16 and 8 best players in the world in the current season. YouTube is my go to for Pool as well - there's an absolute gold mine of decent Pool on YouTube, even like really obscure disciplines like One Pocket - which is fascinating by the way if you've never watched too much of it. I watched a really interesting one I clicked on just because Efren Reyes was playing in it, and some of the ingenious bank shots they were coming up with whilst also keeping safety was really impressive - it was almost like a chess game in a way. 1 hour ago, det_gittes said: So, who would you like to see in the final? I wouldn't mind seeing Trump vs. Higgins, that's almost bound to be entertaining BTW, what happened in O'Sullivan vs. Higgins, was O'Sullivan in no mood for playing, or was he so much outplayed by Higgins? You got it - of the folk left in, Trump Vs Higgins is definitely the match I want to see. How about you? Well I mean if you could watch it. I want Higgins to win too - because I really think he needs it. I was gutted the other weekend in that Higgins vs Robertson final. Two of my favourite players, but one had to lose, and Higgins "I'm just not good enough to be at the top" made me a little sad, so I think he could really do with the win. But I guess he has to get past Bingtao first, who for someone so young plays like he's got the tactical know-how of someone who's played Snooker for 30 odd years - it's bizarre really. O'Sullivan was in the type of play he seems to have fallen into in the last year or so - you'll know what I mean I think, where he's playing perfectly fine one minute, and he looks like he's going to dominate, and then he just misses really easy balls off the spots you'd never expect him to miss. So that alongside some ruthless play from Higgins is why he got battered, but to be fair to Higgins he also played exceptionally, made quite a few centuries. I think one of the end of match stats was something like 72% table time for higgins compared to 28% for Ronnie. Edited November 19, 2021 by rjkclarke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted November 20, 2021 Author Share Posted November 20, 2021 (edited) Classic Review Platinum #77 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (PS3) Perfect Assassin Unlock all trophies A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 23 June 2015 : 8:0:2:52 AM Time Taken to Platinum : 1 week, 5 hours, 36 minutes Platinum Rarity - 9.66% Trophy Number - #4,304 I think a suitable analogy for Hitman 2: Silent Assassin – and unusually for me, not a protracted and odd one for once, would be that Hitman 2: Silent Assassin – which I’ll just refer to as Silent Assassin from now on is IO Interactive learning to ride a bicycle with the training wheels still attached. What I mean by that – is that whilst the previous title Hitman: Codename 47 is a stealth game, it isn’t very refined, and it’s from what I remember at least far more linear than most of the games that follow it, aside from perhaps Hitman: Absolution. Silent Assassin really was the entry in the series that in reality lay the foundations for the direction that the series took going forward. One in which it often thrives – which was the further implementation of choice. Alongside that, the understated but important freedom that that choice affords you. I should forewarn anyone reading this that I’m reviewing the game purely in the context of it being a game released in 2002 – it obviously pales in comparison to recent entries in the Hitman series, but for its time it was very much ahead of its time, therefore I feel like that’s how it should be judged. This was my first introduction to the Hitman series, all the way back on the original Xbox – admittedly I didn’t play it to completion until I was quite a bit older. For as much as I was very fond of stealth games even back then – my childish brain (I must have been about 13 or 14 when I first played it,) couldn’t quite get past some of Hitmans more subtle elements. I very much remember booting up the first real level, being quite excited by how expansive it was, before laughing at a guard – now, I’ll use a childish turn of phrase here to describe my headspace at the time “doing a wee against a tree.” I don’t recall seeing that in a game before, so naturally I shot him in the head whilst he was doing his business – put his clothes on and ran into the compound, you know like any functioning human would, right? Okay maybe not. Notice I said run? That was my mistake, running even with a disguise arouses suspicion, so more often than not if you want to be effective at stealth you often have to walk instead of run and act as naturally as possible in almost every situation – you must behave the way a guard behaves if you’re going to wear the disguises. I mentioned previously about some of the more subtle elements of the gameplay, so I guess it’s time to dive into those a bit. For a game released nearly twenty years ago – the amount of fine detail that went into some of the smallest details is brilliant. Things that even areas of the newest games don’t quite have. I don’t necessarily mean movement itself, I’ll get to that soon. An example of one of those finer details is that if you wish to use a disguise, you essentially have to match the weapon the guard was using to the corresponding disguise – so if they have a machine gun, you’d better have that machine gun at least visible otherwise the guards will see straight through you. Essentially, the closer you are to guards, the more the suspicion bar fluctuates to the point where your cover will be quickly blown. So it’s important to take as many preventative measures as possible. This is something which is especially important in later levels such as India. An area which has very narrow corridors, oftentimes containing two guards patrolling at a single time. The disguises and the level of detail that went into them is one of its strongest features. Unfortunately actually dispatching enemies is a little more of a problem. Whilst you have a lot of weapons at your disposal – realistically if you want to remain stealthy and unseen you’re essentially limited to your silenced pistols or your fibre-wire. This in itself offers up a few issues. I’m racking my brains on how to describe this – or at the very least describe it without sounding horrendous. Have any of you seen the Family Guy episode where Peter Griffin has had a stroke? Well – in Silent Assassin when you go into sneak mode (which is egregiously slow by the way,) Agent 47’s animations are so bizarre that he essentially moves and walks like Peter does in that episode. It’s a shame, because it means dispatching your targets with fibre-wire or even using chloroform (or anaesthetic as the game calls it,) ends up becoming a totally arduous process. My way around it, was to always cancel out of the animation and go back into it – which looked equally unusual – but the problem really comes from the fact that moving targets walk almost twice as fast you do whilst you’re in the sneak animation. As a result I always found I was employing that awkward in and out of animation technique whenever I wanted to get to a particular person that was moving. Thankfully this is improved upon on each successive game in this trilogy. I should also mention how much this game feels like a port of a PC game – which in some parts is fine – in others areas less so. An example of this is your approach after you’ve – let’s say subdued, a guard. On the floor next to them could be any number of things, mission items, weapons, pieces of the environment you can interact with and the like. Now, on PC all that would be required would be a quick mouse selection – but on console you have the slightly finicky process of manually selecting your action, going down the list with each individual press of the D-Pad before finally landing on the action you wish to select. Think the early Splinter Cell titles if you’ve ever played those, but not this. For the most part this is fine – but there are a few sections in the later parts of the game, in which if you’re aiming for Silent Assassin rating you need to catch guards or other NPC’s on specific patterns so time is absolutely of the essence. It’s one of the aspects that weren’t the smoothest of transitions from the PC exclusive Hitman: Codename 47 to this title. For a game approaching twenty years old – from a visual standpoint it still holds up astonishingly well, even taking into account the fact this is a HD remaster – it’s clearly one of the ones that had more effort put into it – as colours are vibrant, the environmental textures are very smooth. The user interface very much feels like a PC game – but I think whether you do or don’t like that is more of a personal preference than actual detriment. I do like that aspect if you were wondering what my personal stance on it was. Silent Assassin also boasts a raft of absolutely memorable and distinct locations, some so iconic like St Petersburg that even made their way into Hitman GO as bonus levels. I’ve always personally felt that the globe hopping nature of the Hitman series is one of the aspects that always elevated it and made it feel much grander than other games of this generation – in reality it’s an illusion cleverly created from the smaller levels across multiple diverse locations. I don’t think this is nostalgia talking – because I’m honestly not someone who dwells too much on nostalgia. But Silent Assassin has some of the most satisfying sound design of almost any game I can think of from this era of video games. I think it goes without saying that David Bateson provides a top notch performance as Agent 47, as he always does. Stranger still is the fact that the sound effects themselves aren’t really all that spectacular, but in some areas they really stand out – these I think are the important ones however. I alluded above to the fact that to be stealthy you are limited to a few play-styles, and that loud gunplay is not really an option. Try using a shotgun, or a machine gun, and hear that shockingly, almost ear piercing “boom” as people fly across the room. 47’s tools of destruction, feel like exactly that – even down to the melee weapons. I think nowadays when people hear the name Jesper Kyd, they probably think of Assassin’s Creed or maybe even Borderlands soundtracks – I think of Hitman. Those that have played Silent Assassin, would probably hear something like the theme 47 in St Petersburg and be instantly transported back to your time running through the streets in a snowy guard’s uniform, as the strong orchestral soundtrack permeates through your ears. I know I was when I heard it whilst writing this review. That’s just one example – I can think of plenty more, event Silent Assassin’s more ambient pieces are excellent at evoking atmosphere. The exploration theme in particular – sounds like some of the more mysterious and intrigue building pieces by a composer like Angelo Badalamenti tends to use in sections of Twin Peaks. An element of it that I personally really appreciate – is the attention to detail in making each area’s orchestral pieces sound culturally appropriate. An area in this game that has been done as effectively as some of the pieces in the Keeley Hawes Tomb Raider trilogy, those who know my thoughts on those, will know that is high praise indeed. I know I haven’t really mentioned the story all that much – but let’s be honest here, most people don’t play the Hitman games to find a subtle and nuanced story, I would imagine so anyway. What story there is – is actually pretty decent though, not the series best outing as far as a story goes, but interesting nonetheless. The series has a pretty weird chronology truth be told, which I’ll delve into a bit once I get to Hitman: Blood Money, as that aspect is far more relevant to that game in particular. The route to the platinum in Silent Assassin is actually not as straight forward as it initially appears to be. You need to gather all weapons, yes (really all, even things like a golf club,) complete the game on the hardest difficulty, and get five silent assassin ratings on that highest difficulty, and a few miscellaneous trophies. The upside is the difficulty stacks. The hard part is smuggling certain weapons out of the levels – because most guards tend to get a little suspicious if you run around with an enormous axe, or a golf club, or a silenced crossbow, so there’s a few levels you have to do more than once, if you want to play the whole game stealthily. Every game in this Hitman HD trilogy contains a trophy for getting exactly 47 kills – which is a great idea, and it’s actually a very enjoyable trophy, to just be able to let loose and go completely berserk through a level. As it’s a stealth game I can’t really give all that much advice, as the route to success is mainly through trial and error. Which I’ve always felt is half the fun. What I would say though is to try and do the five silent assassin ratings as early as possible – because they only get harder the further you progress. So if you wanted you don’t have to be quite so careful later on. Especially as this game in particular is very particular about what you are and aren’t allowed to do. Ultimately it’s kind of up to the you, as an individual whether or not you’d want to play this game in 2021 and beyond – the problem is, it is an undeniable truth that there are better Hitman games out there that you could play. If anything it’s fascinating to look back and see how far the series truly has evolved over the years. If you’re interested in the series though, and fancied another Hitman flavoured platinum to add to your collection this is definitely a solid one to go with. I think it’s a pretty fantastic game for when it was made – and even when I last played it (yes, I’ve played it since getting the platinum,) it was still an enjoyable experience, even by the more refined standards of more modern Hitman titles. I feel like it’s better to appreciate it for what it was, than to get hung up on what it isn’t – or what it realistically couldn’t have been. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to @Copanele - for requesting this one..... I hope you don't mind if I crank the other two from this trilogy out in the next week too, whilst I'm in a Hitman mood still. I know you were thinking of revisiting them - and I also know that you played at least this one on PC if not all of them, so I'm hoping that I don't inadvertently put you off playing through them again. I'm sure you'll be more than willing to put up with a bit of janky controls though, so we'll see. Thanks too to @YaManSmevz, @Heather342 and @DrBloodmoney for the nice little reminder of why I'm so fond of this series over in Smevz own thread - I definitely got to writing this one quicker as a result. As always if you'd like to bump a specific game up the list of reviews to get to sooner - all you have to do is let me know - and I'll add it to the list, they've all got to get done eventually, so as long as I have the platinum or the 100% anything is fair game. Catch you in the next one folks - which may or may not be Afterparty if I can make some progress that's faster than a sloth wearing lead shoes trying to cross a road filled with freshly laid tarmac ...... Don't look at me like that - that happens all the time here in the UK ? Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Thanks to @Copanele - for requesting this one..... I hope you don't mind if I crank the other two from this trilogy out in the next week too, whilst I'm in a Hitman mood still. I know you were thinking of revisiting them - and I also know that you played at least this one on PC if not all of them, so I'm hoping that I don't inadvertently put you off playing through them again. I'm sure you'll be more than willing to put up with a bit of janky controls though, so we'll see. I'll start with this one, because I am 100% sure you will find it hilarious. I actually downloaded Hitman 2 Silent Assassin and Hitman Contracts on 17th November(as you will see), planning to play them in the nearby future. Your review doubled my conviction now ? A fantastic review! I can't wait to revisit this game. If I remember correctly St Petersburg revisited mission is one TOUGH mission, you started with the fiber wire only ? I remember spending so many days on that mission, had no internet back then so when i finally did it, it was a thrill. I really plan to catch up to this series, definitely want to reach the game that is no1 on @DrBloodmoney's list I played Hitman Agent 47, Silent Assassin and half of Contracts, so I have the tutorial in stealthiness already. I have to say...I am kinda glad they didn't remaster the first game Agent 47 though ? the final level in that game was probably one of the hardest levels that I played in a videogame to this day, I legit was forced to use cheats in order to pass through it. Again, thanks for taking up my request, now I'm really motivated ? Edited November 20, 2021 by Copanele 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Loved this one man! 6 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I think a suitable analogy for Hitman 2: Silent Assassin – and unusually for me, not a protracted and odd one for once, would be that Hitman 2: Silent Assassin – which I’ll just refer to as Silent Assassin from now on is IO Interactive learning to ride a bicycle with the training wheels still attached. What I mean by that – is that whilst the previous title Hitman: Codename 47 is a stealth game, it isn’t very refined, and it’s from what I remember at least far more linear than most of the games that follow it, aside from perhaps Hitman: Absolution. Totally agree here - Hitman 2: Silent Assassin was my introduction to the series too - and I'm glad of that. I did eventually go back and play Agent 47 years after the fact, and while it's an interesting thing to play knowing where the series went (I played it after Contracts, so I'd even seen some of the re-made original game stuff), I think it would have been enough to put me off, more than intrigue me, as it was pretty ropey! 6 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I’m racking my brains on how to describe this – or at the very least describe it without sounding horrendous. Have any of you seen the Family Guy episode where Peter Griffin has had a stroke? Well – in Silent Assassin when you go into sneak mode (which is egregiously slow by the way,) Agent 47’s animations are so bizarre that he essentially moves and walks like Peter does in that episode. It’s a shame, because it means dispatching your targets with fibre-wire or even using chloroform (or anaesthetic as the game calls it,) ends up becoming a totally arduous process. My way around it, was to always cancel out of the animation and go back into it – which looked equally unusual – but the problem really comes from the fact that moving targets walk almost twice as fast you do whilst you’re in the sneak animation. As a result I always found I was employing that awkward in and out of animation technique whenever I wanted to get to a particular person that was moving. Thankfully this is improved upon on each successive game in this trilogy. I should also mention how much this game feels like a port of a PC game – which in some parts is fine – in others areas less so. An example of this is your approach after you’ve – let’s say subdued, a guard. On the floor next to them could be any number of things, mission items, weapons, pieces of the environment you can interact with and the like. Now, on PC all that would be required would be a quick mouse selection – but on console you have the slightly finicky process of manually selecting your action, going down the list with each individual press of the D-Pad before finally landing on the action you wish to select. Think the early Splinter Cell titles if you’ve ever played those, but not this. For the most part this is fine – but there are a few sections in the later parts of the game, in which if you’re aiming for Silent Assassin rating you need to catch guards or other NPC’s on specific patterns so time is absolutely of the essence. It’s one of the aspects that weren’t the smoothest of transitions from the PC exclusive Hitman: Codename 47 to this title. You're not wrong here - and frankly, the awkwardness with controls, and the laborious and finicky way some of the animations would work against you really are annoying. They did get better as the series went on, but really, even in Blood Money, it feels like you are fighting against the game to get it to do what you want! Some of that is the age, of course, but I do think that is what elevates the new Hitman games as much as anything - the fact that the controls are finally so simple, smooth, responsive and context correct, that you can execute a plan with confidence, knowing that it isn't going to be scunnered by you happening to be 1 nano-millimetre too far away from a guard for the fiber-wire to catch him at the right angle! I mean, I played Silent Assassin and Contract to death on PS2, but I've never been able to bring myself to go back to the HD remasters, especially now, after playing so much modern Hitman, because even dipping back to Blood Money reminded me of how infuriating those controls could sometimes get! 6 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I don’t think this is nostalgia talking – because I’m honestly not someone who dwells too much on nostalgia. But Silent Assassin has some of the most satisfying sound design of almost any game I can think of from this era of video games. I think it goes without saying that David Bateson provides a top notch performance as Agent 47, as he always does. Stranger still is the fact that the sound effects themselves aren’t really all that spectacular, but in some areas they really stand out – these I think are the important ones however. I alluded above to the fact that to be stealthy you are limited to a few play-styles, and that loud gunplay is not really an option. Try using a shotgun, or a machine gun, and hear that shockingly, almost ear piercing “boom” as people fly across the room. 47’s tools of destruction, feel like exactly that – even down to the melee weapons. That's something I hadn't really though of, but yeah - for all that Hitman games are about staying quiet, they have always had some of the most satisfying gunfire of any games - just to tease you I suppose! Because guns are so deadly in the games (how many games out there can a guard take a shotgun to the chest, and keep on trucking? In Hitman, a single, deafening blast sends them flying!) the sound design really adds to it - you fire a shotgun, and you know you just did some damage... to the enemy, and to your rating ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
det_gittes Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 On 19.11.2021 at 8:20 PM, rjkclarke said: You got it - of the folk left in, Trump Vs Higgins is definitely the match I want to see. How about you? Well I mean if you could watch it. From the line-up of the semis, Trump vs. Higgins is no doubt the best match-up, and I imagine it's gonna be a great battle. However, t's not like like Higgins beat Bingtao with ease, at least the final score does not suggest it. Now for the final, I'd pick Trump skill-wise, but as we know, the mental game is equally important and at least in the past I remember it was Higgins' strong suit. In any case, it looks like there won't be too much gaming for you today The UK Championship is up next and I am pretty sure that this one is covered by Eurosport (it was in the past). I don't mind the larger field as you get to see some fresh faces, which often makes for a much needed break from the players you get to see all the time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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