rjkclarke's Carnival of Diamonds and Rust

[YaManSmevz]

On 6/15/2022 at 5:54 PM, rjkclarke said:

Well with all the mad and hilarious Tekken 7 talk, it sounds like it's one to look into in the future then, I was going to start with Tekken 6 and then build my way up, but who knows when I'll actually get around to it haha.

 

Do it man! Especially with how diverse the games are on your profile are, it could only add a bit more variety. And that's always good, no? Tekken 7 reminded me that even though I suck, fighting games are still good simple fun - and I think it would do the same for you as well!

 

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Bloody hell, my spelling was atrocious in that post, but then to be fair on myself, I had been posting for hours that  day, I think my brain might have started to melt.

 

Glad to see you giving yourself a fair shake! We all do that here and there, and we can't afford our own personal editors for a hobby - or a brain melt prevention device, for that matter!

 

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Actually they did explain that whole Latino/Brit thing fairly well, and Hoskins does a passable, New Yorker/ almost Brooklyn-ite accent. But essentially the film says that Luigi is basically adopted, so they kind of get around it that way. It's not a charmless film at all, it's just very unusual.

 

Damn... that explains why Luigi always has this uppity air when I play as him, he's saying "Whatever, you're not my real dad." I should've been more understanding with him?

 

It might be one of those I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of since I didn't see it in my youth, but maybe I'll give it a shot!

 

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Also it's nice to y'know see Fisher Stevens..... PLAYING SOMEONE WHITE!, like he should always be doing unlike.... *cough* Short Circuit*cough*

 

*throws popcorn and other refreshments at Fisher Stevens*

 

BOOOOOO!!!!

 

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Yep, I'm down for The Voice of Winona Ryder, we can do it like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, which ironically I stopped playing momentarily to reply here, where you have to piece together all the parts that made her voice eventually sound like that.

 

We could make it similar to where you have to line up bits of audio in Oxenfree! And make all the voices sounds like sweet, gentle versions of her younger voice, and then when correctly combined they resemble a heavy smoking elderly woman's wet belch. Since players may be thrown off by this, we can make a trophy for the first time you accomplish this feat titled Don't Worry, You Did It Right!

 

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I'm very pleased to read that! I want to like that game so much more than I do, and I want to make sure it definitely wasn't just a massive ME problem, like it often is with video games, so I do look forward a little more to jumping back into it. You were the one who ended up convincing me to get the Season Pass when you reviewed it, so it'll be nice to be able to reappraise the game in my mind.

 

It's definitely not a you problem - Fallout 4 has a lot of great ideas but isn't really able to focus on any of them, and it just renders the final product a lot more lackluster than it should be. Less than the sum of its parts, if you will. But it's definitely a completion that I'm proud of, and it's very much doable! The only warning is that a few Nuka Cola trophies are ???

 

 

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Haha! Cheers dude!

 

It's funny you mention that thing about thinking she was five, because when I looked at it, I did think it looked a little like a life to death thing, so don't feel too stupid haha!

 

I just thought it'd be nice to show how long they were in the role for.

 

No, that was a very smart and fitting thing to throw in there, it's just that my brain has been melting for about seven years longer than yours, and I suspect at a quicker rate as well?

 

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I love that description of Peter Davison! That's great, it's going to be hilarious seeing what the hell you make of some of the other costumes that the other 80's Doctors had to endure, I think he got a lucky break, basically being all dressed in Cricket Whites, and a sweet hat! I own one of those as well, by the way, not one used in the show obviously, but a hat just like that!

 

More 80s cruelty awaits? Say less, I'm in!

 

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Thanks again! I really did enjoy writing that one, I didn't expect barely anyone to even read it, I was just content to write it, so it's so awesome of all of you to actually take the time to give it a read,. I appreciate that so much! Plus, no lawsuit from Doc yet, BONUS 

You can tell that you had a good time writing that one, made it all the more of a treat to read!

 

.....but yeah I would've laid low after posting that just in case???

 

On 6/16/2022 at 9:08 AM, rjkclarke said:

 

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)

 

 

Awesome stuff man! Also interesting to learn you ha(ve?)d a bit of an Astronaut phobia. We all have stuff that in our childhood had us like "uhh that wasn't in the brochure," I didn't have that one myself but I can totally see it. Like when Bart sells his soul and tries to get it back from Milhouse and dude in the heavy PPE comes out like "LEAVE THIS PLACE."

 

Space in general scared me, and really still kinda does if I think about it for too long. That's why I can't help considering 2001: Space Odyssey one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, it just unsettles the shit out of me!

 

Also I love that you gave the mines a shout, I really enjoyed that segment as well! That was the first time in the game I was like "wait... can I die??" The creature lumbering around, the maze, the end with the dead bodies standing in their places... it was just really cleverly done, I thought.

 

I personally liked the sound... though I have not played any Chinese Room games, so perhaps I shouldn't speak on that!

 

Lastly, thanks for the shout, and PENIS CONUS 4 LYF!!

[rjkclarke]

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

There's always a first time for everything eh? lol

 

It looks like it yeah, Doc and I did once post a review of the exact same game, at the exact same minute once. So I think that one has to take the cake for really weird coincidences still ?

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

100% agree. Haven't really experienced the stick drift issue, it's more to do with stiff buttons on ours. Sony must have raked in a fortune on people buying replacement DS4's. 

 

I bet they have! They've sure had a few out of me.... Bit annoying they cost MANY PENNIES ... and I want to burn my money on other things, like you know somewhere else to live, and all those other not interesting things haha.

 

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

She enjoyed the older ones and enjoys the ones now so yeah I'm awaiting that top 5!

 

I must get around to writing Parts 2 and 3 (the list is already written obviously), because I had a lot of fun with that first one.... Problem is, I've actually got a backlog of new completion reviews now (aside from the 250 classic reviews I still need to write at some point). So I might have to put that off until I've caught up. 

 

Okay so if she's familiar with and likes both the old and new eras of the show, then yeah, there is more of a chance her favourite might be number one or very high up.

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

I know some don't like it, but it's honestly as far as I can remember the first time I've ever done it. Either way it's a RE plat and I spent a lot of time and energy into it so having a double plat for my efforts (essentially) is a nice reward.

 

Yeah some people definitely do seem to get pretty uptight about autopopping platinum's. I'm surprised you did for RE2, purely because I thought you'd want to play it again with those nice next gen improvements.  Some games it's literally unavoidable though, like if I ever want to play Warframe on PS5, which there's a good chance I will want to, I'll have to autopop almost all of the trophy list when I import my profile over. 

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

Well now that would be a challenge in itself lol start a new thread about it haha. I'd probably become an honoury member of those companies lol which I wouldn't want to be haha. I did buy ZJ the visual novel for an easy plat and it was 39p and bought a Baseball and another one of those ones but that was it lol 

 

Feel free to make one haha! That's defininitely AN idea for a checklist thread haha! I think I'll be dust and bone before I'm even close to 3000 platinum's.

 

Well like I said before a fair few times, I'm not going to judge how anyone chooses to spend their money, you got a platinum for 39P which is literally less than it would be to buy a Twix or a Mars bar, so you could argue the thrill of dinging the platinum might be comparable to that brief rush of some chocolate ?

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

I need as much money as possible for all these big new releases like FFVII Rebirth (remake part 2) being released next winter and FFVII Crisis Core: Reunion being released this winter! Never got to play Crisis Core as never owned a PSP so really looking forward to that! Just more money to spend arrrrr lol

 

I did play Crisis Core a little bit, but I never finished it, I just borrowed my friends PSP for a few hours when he was at my house, or I was at his (can't remember which) to just see what it was like.

 

So I don't really have much of an opinion on it, or an opinion on the remaster. Square Enix can and will monetise anything FFVII related, so it'll only be so long before Dirge of the Cerberus gets one too ?. As it'll be pretty much brand new to you though, I hope you have a good time with it.

 

On 17/06/2022 at 8:36 AM, The_Kopite said:

O yeah I know. I didn't take it that way. I wouldn't have talked to you this much if you were like that, as you would have taken one look at my profile and proceeded to call me a fake gamer, whinged about the games I have the temerity to play and dissed my gamer skills etc etc........sigh.....boring....

 

People can play what they want, don't care as long as noone or nothing is getting hurt.

 

Exactly! But I never would, so it isn't something you have to worry about!

 

What's the point in wasting your own mental energy, getting infuriated about what someone else is choosing to do with their own time and money, To them it's worthwhile, so I really don't understand why people do that sometimes. 

 

It's like I've had random PSN messages in the past saying "your profile would look better if it didn't have so many point-and-click games on it".....  SOME PEOPLE EH 

 

It's like you say, people can and should play what they want.

 

 

 

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

I Mean being F2P i would be surprised people wondering why

But yeah as even Kopite confirmed Tekken 7 it's really Easy and even people bad at the Genre like us can plat it  Don't know about the others honestly! 

 

I guess with all the Tekken talk in this thread over the last week I have to play one at some point then haha ?

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

I Mean, after the latest news now then i'm gonna bother you until you Play P4Golden when it releases next year on Ps4 then  Jokes aside i really Recommend it, such a wonderful game and story even more in the Original language (Thankfully it had great English VA too at the time still). For me i never played P3 since i started with Golden on Vita for the Series so i'll catch up on that!

 

You won't need to bug me, I'll definitely be playing Persona 4 Golden, and hopefully I'll have a PS5 by then too. It's a game that I've really wanted to play for ages, but never did, because lack of VIta, but now that won't be a problem I'll definitely dive in. Good to know it's got a good English Voice cast, because sometimes that is incredibly hit and miss in games like that.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

Yeah sadly the Racing Genre is getting really bad and worst every year, at least there is GT7 for the future that doens't have a 500+ hours plat this time! Oh Wreckfest i agree looks great i want it! But more than racing it's a destruction derby kinda of Game. Yeah for me Payback is alreayd in the Many Bad NFS list.

Well when you feel like playing a Racing game then you'll have a good one to choose at least  

 

Wreckfest is weird in that it looks more like a Destruction Derby kind of game - and it certainly has those gameplay bits. But it also has some really tight racing controls. If you play with the difficulty sliders a little bit there's quite a pure almost racing sim feel to it. It's quite short too, so if you were looking for another racer that is pretty decent, that might be a good choice. 

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

Ah i see, i played them Back on my Ds years and years ago first. Obviously if you couldn't they came out just 2 years ago everywhere. I think they are on sale now? Or were last sale? Can't remember, still it's hard that they drop under 50% which i think it's fair it's 15 € so you are paying properly 5 € per Title! When you get them enjoy without worrying too much about realism because it's not the best aspect of the game  

 

I think they are on sale at the moment yes, so I'll either buy them or wait for a bit, I'm trying to make a real effort to mostly just attack games on my backlog at the moment but I guess one more pack of three games couldn't hurt

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

Ah well about the online in AC recently i can't say anything. I didn't try it. I stopped after AC3 where for me the Saga/series ended. I don't like the current formula and for the old one, Unity catches indeed my attention but not much, black flag no, i don't really like Pirate themed stuff much, the spin off (Or One off i guess?) Of it was enough for me  So i can't say about the online being better and funnier if it is so, at least they improved that part of it that's nice.

 

I really liked Black Flag, and really didn't like Rogue all that much (the weird spinoff one where you play as a Templar). I'm in the minority on that one, as a lot of people seem to really dig it, but I couldn't stand the protagonist, and the game just felt like a really hollow game stretched out a little longer than it needed to be. It's got some good bits for sure, but that'll be a review down the line that doesn't read overly positively.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

I Mean i can get the dissapointment, i'm just biased with KH i have no problem saying it so i'm really happy with the game especially Gameplay wise. Story too my only Complain is the Ending yeah i would have much liked finally seeing this Romantic story at end and then start another journey maybe to continue, i'm gonna be 50 at this rate when i see a Kiss i'm waiting since i'm like 12 to see 

For KH4 i'm really curious to see what they do i would like to have Different session where you use Either Sora, Riku or Kairi! But we'll see we onyl ahve 1 trailer so far and the City looks gorgeous, the Gameplay looks even more fluid than the 3Rd one, seems awesome! We'll see what Nomrua does with what's the name? I call him "His Noctis" because that's what the character is  

Oh Indeed if they werent' so Long i would have done them all already ?

 

That's totally fair! Yep we're all going to be mighty old by the time we see any of the Kingdom Hearts characters start to reach adult maturity, looks and acting wise. Which is a shame, as I think the majority of Kingdom Hearts audience are adults, so why not just y'know move the characters forward a little bit, it can still work, even if you have Doland and Gooby (I refuse to call them anything else ?) hanging around.

 

I did think that's what we were going to get more of in KHIII was where we'd get a choice of controlling Sora Riku or Kairi, but we didn't really get that. KHIV does look buttery smooth so far from what we've seen I must admit.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure what they'll do with Yozora? Is that his name, the Nolctis one. I've just been calling him NotNoctis, whenever talking about him with friends haha.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

Thanks! But i hope it works for you i went back some days ago i got bored fast. It just doens't feel fun, no great weapons, you always have few resources unless you "farm" and, at least for me, it feels like playing a worst Fallout 3 and i hate that feeling in a game, when i'm playing a Worst of the Previous games. 

 

Yeah that isn't a fun feeling I agree, so that's a shame that's how you felt when you went back to the game.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

Thanks for the support, maybe i'll try when i feel up to it, biggets problem with Limbo is i would have to watch a Video because, who remmebers traps and stuff now? 

 

You could totally do it! You wouldn't necessarily have to watch a video. I didn't, I just ended up playing through the game once or twice more. Like if I failed during the run, I'd just play to the end anyway, to get practice for the later parts. It's thankfully only about an hour long, so you don't have to maintain extreme concentration for long.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 0:37 AM, Sora9427 said:

 

AH! I see, Annoying stupid random Based trophies, always Such fun to do.... Good luck i hope you cna be done with those soon and get to the 2nd one then! 

Meanwhile congrats on the 2 100%! Stick it to the Man doens't catch me (Especially the Visual) but reading a bit of your review Ethan Carter looks like those kind of nice stories you go around and explore things and the story unfolds, kinda like Edith finch which i enjoied quite a bit, guess i'll keep an eye for it on sale then!

 

I've gotten most of the annoying or hard things done in Dishonoured, I just haven't gone back to it since Tuesday or Wednesday, so I need to go back and really finish that one off soon, but I don't think I'll have much trouble with what I have left.

 

Stick It To the Man is great, but I could see why the visuals might put you off (they do look a little grotesque) but I loved them, it's a really weird and wild game, so I'm quite looking forward to writing the review about it.

 

Ethan Carter though.... yep, you're spot on with Edith Finch vibe you got from it. They aren't too similar (and I think Edith Finch is much better) but I still think Ethan Carter is a pretty great experience in its own right, and it'll probably only set you back about four or five hours if you ever wanted to play it!

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Do it man! Especially with how diverse the games are on your profile are, it could only add a bit more variety. And that's always good, no? Tekken 7 reminded me that even though I suck, fighting games are still good simple fun - and I think it would do the same for you as well!

 

That would be a nice reminder! Although I don't need reminding that I suck at them.... I'd have serious trouble forgetting that part ?.... As I mentioned a bit further up this post, I guess I have to play at least one more Tekken game at some point then

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Glad to see you giving yourself a fair shake! We all do that here and there, and we can't afford our own personal editors for a hobby - or a brain melt prevention device, for that matter!

 

WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS ?

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Damn... that explains why Luigi always has this uppity air when I play as him, he's saying "Whatever, you're not my real dad." I should've been more understanding with him?

 

It might be one of those I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of since I didn't see it in my youth, but maybe I'll give it a shot!

 

I think I've mentioned this before, but I always avoided playing as Mario because he was massively fat, so my brain told me he wouldn't be able to jump as high ?. Which turned out to be true in Super Mario Bros 2.  ?

 

Quite possibly, I haven't seen the film since I was about 13, so I don't have a clue how it would translate to adult eyes with actually good taste in film such as yourself.

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

We could make it similar to where you have to line up bits of audio in Oxenfree! And make all the voices sounds like sweet, gentle versions of her younger voice, and then when correctly combined they resemble a heavy smoking elderly woman's wet belch. Since players may be thrown off by this, we can make a trophy for the first time you accomplish this feat titled Don't Worry, You Did It Right!

 

That'd certainly be unique - we'll just have to find a way to avoid the lawsuit from Nightschool ?

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

It's definitely not a you problem - Fallout 4 has a lot of great ideas but isn't really able to focus on any of them, and it just renders the final product a lot more lackluster than it should be. Less than the sum of its parts, if you will. But it's definitely a completion that I'm proud of, and it's very much doable! The only warning is that a few Nuka Cola trophies are ???

 

That does sum it up very well actually yeah. I think I'll probably get on okay with it, I never really found much about Fallout 4 boring, it just didn't resonate with me all that much. If I hate the DLC, I'll hold you personally responsible and send you even more stupid messages than I already do as a result haha

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

You can tell that you had a good time writing that one, made it all the more of a treat to read!

 

.....but yeah I would've laid low after posting that just in case???

 

I really did! So I'll have to return to them, once I've y'know caught up on my recent completions

 

I just imagine... that this was Doc when he got the notification and saw the name of the post

 

 

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Awesome stuff man! Also interesting to learn you ha(ve?)d a bit of an Astronaut phobia. We all have stuff that in our childhood had us like "uhh that wasn't in the brochure," I didn't have that one myself but I can totally see it. Like when Bart sells his soul and tries to get it back from Milhouse and dude in the heavy PPE comes out like "LEAVE THIS PLACE."

 

Thanks man! I appreciate it!

 

I don't quite have a phobia of them now, but I certainly did. In fact, you know how I said I was scared of E.T, well I think my Astronaut fear/phobia came directly from that film. Like the bit where he's all chalky and ill and looks like dried out dog poo. And then those horrible faceless people in Space Suits come out and tear up Elliot's house, that absolutely terrified me, and still makes me a little uncomfortable if I happen to watch E.T now.

 

Actually that PPE dude from that Simpsons episode even freaked me out a little!

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Space in general scared me, and really still kinda does if I think about it for too long. That's why I can't help considering 2001: Space Odyssey one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, it just unsettles the shit out of me!

 

I Totally get that! If I think about it for too long, I start to feel a really odd existential dread! So best not to dwell on that one too much! Although I never really tire of watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven't ever seen it in a cinema, I thoroughly recommend it if you get a chance it is absolutely captivating on a big screen.

 

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Also I love that you gave the mines a shout, I really enjoyed that segment as well! That was the first time in the game I was like "wait... can I die??" The creature lumbering around, the maze, the end with the dead bodies standing in their places... it was just really cleverly done, I thought.

 

I personally liked the sound... though I have not played any Chinese Room games, so perhaps I shouldn't speak on that!

 

Lastly, thanks for the shout, and PENIS CONUS 4 LYF!!

 

 

The mines were awesome. It might not be a very big part of the game, but I thought it was one of the most memorable. I loved that little touch with the bodies standing in those specific spots was cool too. It wasn't an overly complicated puzzle or anything, but it's one I thought was really well executed.

 

I did like the sound. Problem is I really I created a problem for myself - in that, I couldn't get the Jessica Curry comparison out of my brain. I really think she's an amazing composer/sound designer too in a way. Say what you will about Dear Esther as a game, but that Directors Commentary that is in that game really gave me a deeper appreciation for how much thought, effort and passion she puts into every small detail as far as music goes. So whilst I thought Ethan Carter's music was good I ruined it for myself by making that comparison.

 

You might like some of the games by The Chinese Room, or you might not, I know you're partial to a Walking Sim or too, so that probably means you're much more likely to get on well with them.

 

You're welcome! I really ought to google what Pine Cone actually is in Spanish, that Penis Conus thing was a cruel trick from my Dad haha ? but a hilarious one!

 

[YaManSmevz]

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

I think I've mentioned this before, but I always avoided playing as Mario because he was massively fat, so my brain told me he wouldn't be able to jump as high . Which turned out to be true in Super Mario Bros 2. 

 

Somewhere there is a parody in game form where Mario gets stuck in a pipe and the game is over!

 

Incidentally, is it true y'all say Mare-io as opposed to Mah-rio? I heard it said that way in an English accent and thought "...huh."

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Quite possibly, I haven't seen the film since I was about 13, so I don't have a clue how it would translate to adult eyes with actually good taste in film such as yourself.

 

Thank you sir, but don't forget that I have an unironically owned copy of Crash?

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

That does sum it up very well actually yeah. I think I'll probably get on okay with it, I never really found much about Fallout 4 boring, it just didn't resonate with me all that much. If I hate the DLC, I'll hold you personally responsible and send you even more stupid messages than I already do as a result haha

 

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I don't quite have a phobia of them now, but I certainly did. In fact, you know how I said I was scared of E.T, well I think my Astronaut fear/phobia came directly from that film. Like the bit where he's all chalky and ill and looks like dried out dog poo. And then those horrible faceless people in Space Suits come out and tear up Elliot's house, that absolutely terrified me, and still makes me a little uncomfortable if I happen to watch E.T now.

 

Oh wow, I forgot about those! Yeah, fuck those guys!!

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I Totally get that! If I think about it for too long, I start to feel a really odd existential dread! So best not to dwell on that one too much! Although I never really tire of watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven't ever seen it in a cinema, I thoroughly recommend it if you get a chance it is absolutely captivating on a big screen.

 

Best not to dwell indeed!

 

I've no doubt. I'm struggling to remember classic movies I've seen in a theater (post-original run, of course), the only one I can recall for sure was Pulp Fiction, and that was a real treat. There are a number of small theaters in L.A. that I've been meaning to check out for YEARS which specialize in showing old movies, all pandemic survivors incidentally!

 

Sadly the only real life movie buff friends I have aren't much into that type of cinema, and since I've been (thankfully, don't get me wrong) wifed up for a good while now, it's been some time since I've done stuff like that by myself! I fear I'd look like Travis Bickle or something?

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

The mines were awesome. It might not be a very big part of the game, but I thought it was one of the most memorable. I loved that little touch with the bodies standing in those specific spots was cool too. It wasn't an overly complicated puzzle or anything, but it's one I thought was really well executed.

 

The mines and that house where you're playing a memory game to properly arrange the rooms were my favorite parts. I definitely appreciated the weirdness of the bodies shuffling into their place, had a dash of "John Smith 1882?" flavor to it?

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I did like the sound. Problem is I really I created a problem for myself - in that, I couldn't get the Jessica Curry comparison out of my brain. I really think she's an amazing composer/sound designer too in a way. Say what you will about Dear Esther as a game, but that Directors Commentary that is in that game really gave me a deeper appreciation for how much thought, effort and passion she puts into every small detail as far as music goes. So whilst I thought Ethan Carter's music was good I ruined it for myself by making that comparison.

 

Yeah, I feel you on that. Methinks I'll have to look up Jessica Curry credits!

 

3 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

You're welcome! I really ought to google what Pine Cone actually is in Spanish, that Penis Conus thing was a cruel trick from my Dad haha but a hilarious one!

 

I think it's just cono, maybe cono de pino.

 

Actually no, I looked it up - it actually is cono de penis, that's weird.....

 

[The_Kopite]

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

It looks like it yeah, Doc and I did once post a review of the exact same game, at the exact same minute once. So I think that one has to take the cake for really weird coincidences still

No way! OMG that is hilarious lol Was there a competition to see who had written the best one? lol just joking. Did your opinions on the game differ?

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I bet they have! They've sure had a few out of me.... Bit annoying they cost MANY PENNIES ... and I want to burn my money on other things, like you know somewhere else to live, and all those other not interesting things haha.

Well having somewhere to live is always a nice thing lol Sony doesn't tell you this when they try and sell you their consoles tut tut.

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I must get around to writing Parts 2 and 3 (the list is already written obviously), because I had a lot of fun with that first one.... Problem is, I've actually got a backlog of new completion reviews now (aside from the 250 classic reviews I still need to write at some point). So I might have to put that off until I've caught up. 

 

Okay so if she's familiar with and likes both the old and new eras of the show, then yeah, there is more of a chance her favourite might be number one or very high up.

It's all good. Space-ing them out some-time-s can't be a bad thing. Keeps people on their toes. Then boom! you throw one out at everyone out of the 'blue' lol 

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Yeah some people definitely do seem to get pretty uptight about autopopping platinum's. I'm surprised you did for RE2, purely because I thought you'd want to play it again with those nice next gen improvements.  Some games it's literally unavoidable though, like if I ever want to play Warframe on PS5, which there's a good chance I will want to, I'll have to autopop almost all of the trophy list when I import my profile over. 

Well you should read a thread which is called (something like) RE2, RE3 and RE7 trophy autopopping and well yeah, various wildly differing opinions from lots of people. 

 

If I had the time, I'd have played it again absolutely. Certainly I'll get my wife to play the improved PS5 version whenever she plays it in the future. See the differences then and there. You know my struggles with my backlog though and my desire to trim it down. I haven't got the time to go through a game again that took a while to do. Even if it's RE. That's just how it is for me.             

 

Not surprised about Warframe. I know that has a ridiculous amount of trophies like we have discussed previously.

 

Though funnily enough after I say that, I received both RE5 Gold Edition and FFVII Remake Intergrade today. The Intermission Yuffie DLC I can access anytime so no probs there, but I didn't know until I looked it up that for the 2 DLC's for RE5, I have to get almost the whole way through the main game in order to access both! So there's me now having to go through the game again when I didn't plan to lol 

 

Might make me end up going for a platinum for it, depending on if A.I. Sheva will work with me well enough lol Still bit annoying, was hoping I could go straight into them.

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Feel free to make one haha! That's defininitely AN idea for a checklist thread haha! I think I'll be dust and bone before I'm even close to 3000 platinum's.

 

Well like I said before a fair few times, I'm not going to judge how anyone chooses to spend their money, you got a platinum for 39P which is literally less than it would be to buy a Twix or a Mars bar, so you could argue the thrill of dinging the platinum might be comparable to that brief rush of some chocolate

A kind way of saying it would be a rubbish thread lol Yeah indeed, 1000 platinums seems a hell of a long way off, let alone 3000 haha

 

That's true, and yeah I know. I'm the same. One of many reasons why I respect you and talk to you. People should play what they want, and have fun. Whatever they want to do.

 

Also a Twix over a Mars bar anyday. Who's with me?

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I did play Crisis Core a little bit, but I never finished it, I just borrowed my friends PSP for a few hours when he was at my house, or I was at his (can't remember which) to just see what it was like.

 

So I don't really have much of an opinion on it, or an opinion on the remaster. Square Enix can and will monetise anything FFVII related, so it'll only be so long before Dirge of the Cerberus gets one too . As it'll be pretty much brand new to you though, I hope you have a good time with it.

Nice! I never knew anyone who had a PSP sadly. Everyone had Game Boy's or DS's back in the day that I knew. 

 

100% agree. All the new merch they announced as part of that FFVII 25th Anniversary livestream attests to that. I'm looking forward to it though definitely. Will be excited to give it a crack!

 

5 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Exactly! But I never would, so it isn't something you have to worry about!

 

What's the point in wasting your own mental energy, getting infuriated about what someone else is choosing to do with their own time and money, To them it's worthwhile, so I really don't understand why people do that sometimes. 

 

It's like I've had random PSN messages in the past saying "your profile would look better if it didn't have so many point-and-click games on it".....  SOME PEOPLE EH 

 

It's like you say, people can and should play what they want.

I know you wouldn't!

 

Honestly, no idea. It's like the 'grown up's' who still bang on about the console war, blah blah blah. Boring.

 

OMG, really? Geez, like seriously. At worst say that on a forum, not directly messaging you on PSN. Point-and-Click aren't really my thing, but they are to other people like yourself and don't detract from your profile. What the? ! *shakes head* I give up lol

[rjkclarke]

22 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Somewhere there is a parody in game form where Mario gets stuck in a pipe and the game is over!

 

Incidentally, is it true y'all say Mare-io as opposed to Mah-rio? I heard it said that way in an English accent and thought "...huh."

 

I'm pretty certain that happened in The Simpsons game, the one from around 2008-ish? I don't know if you ever played that one. I had it on 360, and thought it was pretty great actually. But there's a Mario parody level in that one where I'm sure Homer goes down one of the pipes but gets stuck in it haha ?

 

I reckon posh people might call it Mare-io over here, if we're on mic in a party chat at some point (probably next time we play a game together or something) I'll say it and see what you think, whether it's Mare-io or not.... I think when I say it, it probably sounds like MARRY-O.

 

22 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Thank you sir, but don't forget that I have an unironically owned copy of Crash

 

I unironically own all 5 seasons of the Jackass spinoff Viva La Bam on DVD... so erm, we've all got our cross to bear I guess ?

 

22 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I've no doubt. I'm struggling to remember classic movies I've seen in a theater (post-original run, of course), the only one I can recall for sure was Pulp Fiction, and that was a real treat. There are a number of small theaters in L.A. that I've been meaning to check out for YEARS which specialize in showing old movies, all pandemic survivors incidentally!

 

Sadly the only real life movie buff friends I have aren't much into that type of cinema, and since I've been (thankfully, don't get me wrong) wifed up for a good while now, it's been some time since I've done stuff like that by myself! I fear I'd look like Travis Bickle or something

 

 

I always try and get and see any old classic I can find if a cinema is showing it. Even if it's a film I've seen dozens of times before, there's something so magical (for me at least) getting to see those on the big screen. I've seen a couple of Kubrick ones now on the big screen, and they just look tremendous. I had tickets to see The Elephant Man at the cinema just before the initial wave of lockdowns happened at the start of the pandemic at the cinema, and I was so gutted I missed out on that one. I'm so glad those cinemas in L.A manage to weather that storm, because the pandemic killed so many great cinemas near me.

 

I'm well jealous you've seen Pulp Fiction on the big screen. God I love that film, it's got such electricity to it in places, that would just be magnified so much more by the big screen experience.

 

Well if I ever find myself in L.A we'll have to go to one of those cinema's that specialise in old films, if you like.  You can look like Travis Bickle, and I'll look like Harvey Keitel from that film, although as he's a creepy sleazy prick in the film, I'd rather not be him haha, but my hair is about that length right now ?

 

22 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

The mines and that house where you're playing a memory game to properly arrange the rooms were my favorite parts. I definitely appreciated the weirdness of the bodies shuffling into their place, had a dash of "John Smith 1882?" flavor to it

 

Oh I totally should have mentioned that Memory game house too, I thought that was awesome myself.

 

22 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I think it's just cono, maybe cono de pino.

 

Actually no, I looked it up - it actually is cono de penis, that's weird.....

 

At least now I know haha! Thanks for doing some fact checking for me. Shame it was a good 25 years too late for me not to embarrass myself

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

No way! OMG that is hilarious lol Was there a competition to see who had written the best one? lol just joking. Did your opinions on the game differ?

 

So odd right! It was really funny. I didn't notice, until he posted on my profile about it. I loved it though, thought it was hilarious too. We both liked that game  a lot which was Afterparty, I believe, but I think he liked a little more than I did, whereas I think I preferred Oxenfree a tiny bit.

 

It could have happened with Stick It To the Man, the review I'm posting up after I reply here.  Where Smevz and I could have posted the review at the same time potentially, had I actually gotten to playing it and writing about it faster.

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

It's all good. Space-ing them out some-time-s can't be a bad thing. Keeps people on their toes. Then boom! you throw one out at everyone out of the 'blue' lol 

 

Haha, precisely! The worst part is as much as I enjoyed the recent games I've played. A selfish part of me just wants to write those Doctor Who posts, but they'll get done eventually. I'll try and get one out early next week.

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Well you should read a thread which is called (something like) RE2, RE3 and RE7 trophy autopopping and well yeah, various wildly differing opinions from lots of people. 

 

If I had the time, I'd have played it again absolutely. Certainly I'll get my wife to play the improved PS5 version whenever she plays it in the future. See the differences then and there. You know my struggles with my backlog though and my desire to trim it down. I haven't got the time to go through a game again that took a while to do. Even if it's RE. That's just how it is for me. 

 

I read a little bit of that thread but I instantly dipped out.

 

Actually that makes perfect sense why you wouldn't wait to play the PS5 version. That exact thing you brought up is also one of the reasons I've never really gone for stacking, I totally get why people do it, I'd usually just rather play something new, because there's only so much time, so I'd rather play as many unique things as possible.

 

But as you and I have said in the past, I also totally get the other side of it, so I'm glad there's also folks out there who really enjoy stacking games, because why not extend your enjoyment of games that you really love, by playing it all over again!

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Though funnily enough after I say that, I received both RE5 Gold Edition and FFVII Remake Intergrade today. The Intermission Yuffie DLC I can access anytime so no probs there, but I didn't know until I looked it up that for the 2 DLC's for RE5, I have to get almost the whole way through the main game in order to access both! So there's me now having to go through the game again when I didn't plan to lol 

 

Might make me end up going for a platinum for it, depending on if A.I. Sheva will work with me well enough lol Still bit annoying, was hoping I could go straight into them.

 

Oh nice! Fathers Day gifts I'm guessing? I had no idea that was a thing in RE5 Gold Edition, I'd have assumed the DLC would be available to you right from the start. If you had it on PS4, I would have played it with you if you'd wanted.

 

A.I Sheva should work well enough for you. I think Smevz did one of his playthroughs almost entirely solo, so she should be alright as an A.I partner, just don't give her any herbs haha. It's a pretty fun platinum experience Resident Evil 5 (but then I would say that, I like RE5 a lo) I know it's not one you're too keen on though. 

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

A kind way of saying it would be a rubbish thread lol Yeah indeed, 1000 platinums seems a hell of a long way off, let alone 3000 haha

 

I'd totally read it, if you did it because it'd be your thread. And you'd make it awesome.

 

If it was me, the idea of me having to write reviews about THAT many games.... I'd be this gif after a couple of weeks ?.....  I'm barely managing the fraction of that I have left to write of my own reviews haha.....This....will also be my reaction if the new Monkey Island game doesn't eventually release for consoles

 

 

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

That's true, and yeah I know. I'm the same. One of many reasons why I respect you and talk to you. People should play what they want, and have fun. Whatever they want to do.

 

Also a Twix over a Mars bar anyday. Who's with me?

 

Ahh thanks so much man! Straight back at you!

 

Obviously! You get TWO in one. Plus Mars bars are miniscule these days, not to sound too much like a crotchety old man MARS BARS WERE BETTER IN MY DAY YOUN'NS!

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Nice! I never knew anyone who had a PSP sadly. Everyone had Game Boy's or DS's back in the day that I knew. 

 

100% agree. All the new merch they announced as part of that FFVII 25th Anniversary livestream attests to that. I'm looking forward to it though definitely. Will be excited to give it a crack!

 

I just read back what I originally wrote to you about that, and I come off as such an indifferent dickhead. I haven't got an opinion on it because I didn't play Crisis Core enough, and I was almost acting like I won't play it. Which I will, I'm totally going to be playing that at some point.

 

Pretty much most of the people I knew had a Gameboy too, but at least one had a PSP. I used to be jealous of the fact you could watch movies on them. But the dirty film snob in me these days would never watch a film on a screen that small now anyway.  OH THE IRONY!

 

I think I'd be excited for Remake Part 2, if I'd y'know actually played the first remake yet ?... So once I do, I'll probably be aboard that hype train.

 

21 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

I know you wouldn't!

 

Honestly, no idea. It's like the 'grown up's' who still bang on about the console war, blah blah blah. Boring.

 

OMG, really? Geez, like seriously. At worst say that on a forum, not directly messaging you on PSN. Point-and-Click aren't really my thing, but they are to other people like yourself and don't detract from your profile. What the? ! *shakes head* I give up lol

 

We're all on this site because at the core of it we all love games, that love just manifests itself differently depending on the person. In a way that's awesome, and in others less so. But the "how you should or shouldn't trophy hunt or use your time" is probably an argument that will rage on for as long as trophies are a thing, and I can't see them disappearing. Nor do I really want to get into the specifics of that too much either, because it always ends in disaster, never anywhere actually constructive.  So I'm just going TO SHUT THE EFF UP now ?

 

Weird isn't it? It's just a bit of a strange thing to say to someone haha , that they think someone else's profile would look better with less games that they specifically like on it. I don't mind if people have that opinion, I just don't see why they felt the need to tell me ...... point-and-clickers are games  I'd be playing  even if they didn't have trophies in them.

Edited June 20, 2022 by rjkclarke

[rjkclarke]

I Really Stuck It To The Man, With My Latest 100% Completion!

Stick It To the Man (PS4)

 

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

100% Achieved - 17 June 2022: 5:01:01 PM

Time taken to 100%: - 18 hours, 7 minutes, 30 seconds

100% Rarity - 11.33%

 

 

Stick It To the Man truly is bizarre. I think you’ll either really love that about it, or you won’t.  I can’t imagine all too much middle ground on that front. It’s a game that I think as many as possible should give a chance though.  Even if I am... oh I don’t know? At least eight years late to the party on this one, why break the habit of a lifetime, better late than never, so let’s get into this one.

 

With the PS4 version of Stick It To the Man releasing all the way back in 2014 – to be truthful, it’s tough to really define what genre Stick It To the Man falls under, so I’ll just go with the broad descriptor I’ve seen on a lot of sites, of an Action Platformer. I’m not sure it’s wholly either of those things, especially as there’s quite a big focus on puzzle solving present too, but I don’t make the rules, and I really don’t want to spend half the review trying to define a genre, like I made the mistake of doing with my Beholder review.

 

Ahem... anyway, where was I? Right, essentially in Stick It To the Man, you take the role of Ray, a regular guy, who after the introductory chapter, wakes up from a coma with a humongous “spaghetti arm” sticking out of the top of his head which now gives him the ability to read minds. From there the most appropriate and fitting descriptor for the story as a whole I can think of is “a real trip.” In a wholly good way, it really is a trip. It was, for me at least, a wonderful, zany, chaotic, hilarious and anarchic one too. I’m not going to spoil a thing about it, as it’s something well worth experiencing for yourself if possible.   

 

As the thread you’re reading this in has a name loosely inspired by lyrics, there’s a very specific set of lyrics that are screaming out to me every time I think about this game. I think they almost fit it perfectly. One of my favourite folk bands 3 Daft Monkeys wrote a song called We Be, I can’t link to a music video, but I’ll link to the bands site, and you can listen to it there if you wish, it’s a really beautiful song (in my opinion) –  but the lyrics go like this...

 

“Compelling, concise, confusing, amused”

 

... That almost perfectly fits my own thoughts on Stick It To the Man. I think I’d comfortably use variations of those words to describe this game, and that is truly one of the most wonderful things about it, that it can give you all of those complex feelings in what is admittedly quite a fleeting experience.

    

Zoink Games managed to create a truly unique experience with this one. It’s almost like nothing else you’re likely to play.  In all honesty, part of me would always recommend it just on that novelty alone.

 

Almost every single thing about it is unique, the visual aspect, the music, the story particularly so. Whilst I’m not going to talk about any specifics, I thought it works wonderfully, the way it almost plays out like the writers stream of consciousness; I can almost imagine the writers thoughts were of “Will that work? Sure, why not, let’s just go with that” Not in a lazy way, in a way that positively feeds into the games overall tone.  It’s something that would only work in a game as fast paced and hectic as this one, but work, it absolutely does!

 

Visually Stick It To the Man is very much its own thing. It’s not dissimilar to Psychonauts in some respects though, in that character designs are very highly stylised with almost a deliberate grotesqueness to them. I think you’ll either really like this, or you won’t. For the record – I loved it.

It’s probably easier to throw up a screenshot, of which I took many by the way, because so much of this game really made me laugh.

 

 

It's lines like that one, seen onscreen, that really gave this game such a quirky unique (that word again) charm to it.

 

The whole game essentially plays out on a 2.5D plane. Or for us as players it does, Ray’s world is essentially 2D, everything is flat and made out of paper, and or interchangeable stickers. Just this specific aspect alone, brings a whole unique raft of visual possibilities with it, and it’s something that I think Zoink use to great effect.

Even Ray’s unusual sideways walk made me laugh absent-mindedly a few times, just because he almost walks like a crab. The animation that every character has when they speak, looking almost identical to how South Park’s version of Canadians remained funny throughout too.  

 

Stick It To the Man is one of the finest examples I can think of in games I’ve played recently, where the soundtrack almost perfectly complements everything that’s happening on screen. For a game with such a chaotic and unusual overtone, I think it’s so brilliantly fitting that it flits between chaotic free-jazz almost, to something thematically blues infused the next.

 

The sound design as a whole is very good, as are the specific sound effects, but the real main event, on sound alone, is the outstanding voice acting in this game across the board. I can’t think of a single bad performance.  It really is great – you can almost hear how much enjoyment it sounds like each of the voice actors are getting from their various roles. Some of the types of voices that come out of certain characters are sometimes the exact opposite of what you’d expect, but I just think that absolutely adds to the charm.

 

Continuing with the theme of uniqueness, the gameplay is on the surface fairly simple yet can be incredibly satisfying. Oddly it shares an assortment of similarities with point-and-click adventure titles, but with none of the restrictiveness that comes along with that particular gameplay quirk. Instead of repeatedly clicking on an item, to hear what the used might be, you can simply read characters minds to get an idea of what you might need to do, and then the rest is up to you.  

 

The puzzle side of the game has this rather obtuse and esoteric, Tim Schafer or Ron Gilbert feel to them. Something that I’m sure you can imagine, I absolutely loved! In some games that wouldn’t work and it might feel out of place – not here though thankfully. Even before Ray has a giant spaghetti arm sticking out of his head, the world itself is already established as quite unusual. So when you’re tasked with solving problems in ever increasingly strange ways, nothing about that side of it feels out of place at all.

 

Stick It To the Man is an incredibly easy one for me to want to recommend. It’s a truly unique game, and it’s also very short (around four or five hours) so even if you don’t find it resonates with you quite like it did for me, then you wouldn’t need to spend too much time with it. Although I’m very late to the party on this one, I still think it’s a wholly worthwhile experience. I’m looking forward to exploring more of Zoink's games in the future!

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The fact I've played and enjoyed this, is living proof that we do actually listen to each others recommendations around this awesome checklist subforum we all inhabit, when they're pointed in our direction.

 

So I'd like to say a huge thanks to @DrBloodmoney for doing such a wonderful job of putting this game under the microscope and doing some serious scientific analysis on it. I'm looking forward to delving into more of Zoinks back catalogue even more now!

 

I'm off to read @YaManSmevz own review of Stick It To the Man, as I've purposefully avoided reading it, just so I didn't subconsciously borrow any of his own thoughts about the game.

 

Catch you in the next one folks.... Which I can already tell you is another Pool game, so time for another round of Bobert's Billiards Bonanza ?

Edited June 20, 2022 by rjkclarke

[YaManSmevz]

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I reckon posh people might call it Mare-io over here, if we're on mic in a party chat at some point (probably next time we play a game together or something) I'll say it and see what you think, whether it's Mare-io or not.... I think when I say it, it probably sounds like MARRY-O.

 

That reminds me, what are we playing next?

 

I impulsively bought Shredder's Revenge a day or two ago because I'm a child, other than that I can't think of any multiplayer games coming up for me. I'll comb the backlog a bit, see what I got!

 

Quote

I unironically own all 5 seasons of the Jackass spinoff Viva La Bam on DVD... so erm, we've all got our cross to bear I guess

 

Hahaha yeah, as Nikka Costa says, everybody got their somethin. My sister was a huge fan of that show as well, and I can't deny that what I did see would tend to get a good laugh out of me!

 

Quote

I always try and get and see any old classic I can find if a cinema is showing it. Even if it's a film I've seen dozens of times before, there's something so magical (for me at least) getting to see those on the big screen. I've seen a couple of Kubrick ones now on the big screen, and they just look tremendous. I had tickets to see The Elephant Man at the cinema just before the initial wave of lockdowns happened at the start of the pandemic at the cinema, and I was so gutted I missed out on that one. I'm so glad those cinemas in L.A manage to whether that storm, because the pandemic killed so many great cinemas near me.

 

I'm well jealous you've seen Pulp Fiction on the big screen. God I love that film, it's got such electricity to it in places, that would just be magnified so much more by the big screen experience.

 

Oh 100%! I'm sorry to hear about missing out on The Elephant Man, that's wack - even more so that you lost a lot of quality theaters. I don't know if it's the Hollywood culture or what, but it is not lost on me how fortunate we are in my neck of the woods to still have as many still standing as we do.

 

?I'm still standin! Yeah, yeah, yeah!?

 

That damn adrenaline shot scene is a figurative shot of adrenaline as well - I've seen this movie at least 70-80 times, I know exactly what's gonna happen, but every single time that scene gets me to hold my breath. You could really feel the energy in that moment in the theater, it was crazy. Good fucking directing, all you can say!

 

Quote

Well if I ever find myself in L.A we'll have to go to one of those cinema's that specialise in old films, if you like.  You can look like Travis Bickle, and I'll look like Harvey Keitel from that film, although as he's a creepy sleazy prick in the film, I'd rather not be him haha, but my hair is about that length right now

 

Down?

 

I'm pretty sure we've talked about this, but - and Martin Scorcese himself says the ending is real, what he says goes and all - I just can't wrap my head around that ending being real, and I don't think I ever will. Betsy comin back around and him turnin her down... I'unno man, I just doubt she saw him in the paper and was like "ooh, that's the guy who took me to a porn theater and told me I was gonna die in a hell!"

 

Unless that paper's article headline was LOCAL MAN GOES FULL ON INCEL BUT HAPPENS TO KILL PEOPLE NOBODY FEELS BAD FOR SO IT'S COOL I GUESS, WHATEVER, FUCK IT... then I think it would make more sense!

 

Anyway... where were we?

 

Quote

At least now I know haha! Thanks for doing some fact checking for me. Shame it was a good 25 years too late for me not to embarrass myself

 

Hey, you got a great story out of it - that almost always makes it worthwhile!

 

.....well unless it got you arrested, I suppose.

 

"I don't like the look of this inmate, frankly he gives me the chills. What did he do?"

 

"He went to a school and shouted about his 'Penis Conus.' We tried to take him down before he got to say it, but we were too late."

 

"That sick bastard..."

 

Quote

Weird isn't it? It's just a bit of a strange thing to say to someone haha , that they think someone else's profile would look better with less games that they specifically like on it. I don't mind if people have that opinion, I just don't see why they felt the need to tell me ...... point-and-clickers are games  I'd be playing  even if they didn't have trophies in them.

 

I wonder if the PSN Police really think they're making a difference or something. Like "Before me, that guy just had point and click platinums. But I straightened him out... and he recently got the plat for Crypt of the NecroDancer. It's cases like his that make this job worthwhile."

 

I think I need to watch some clips of the South Park cops or something and get this weird cop joke thing out of my system???

 

19 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Though funnily enough after I say that, I received both RE5 Gold Edition and FFVII Remake Intergrade today. The Intermission Yuffie DLC I can access anytime so no probs there, but I didn't know until I looked it up that for the 2 DLC's for RE5, I have to get almost the whole way through the main game in order to access both! So there's me now having to go through the game again when I didn't plan to lol 

 

Might make me end up going for a platinum for it, depending on if A.I. Sheva will work with me well enough lol Still bit annoying, was hoping I could go straight into them.

 

Until I get a PS5, which is at least a few years away, I will be salty about getting to play the FF7 Remake and having to sit on the sidelines while everybody else gets to play Intergrade, and eventually Part 2. Lousy end-of-a-gaming-generation!

 

I say go for it! Sheva is a perfectly fine A.I. partner, I think her ineffectiveness is grossly exaggerated. I did most of my runs solo, and she was fine - but play as Sheva for that boss at the end of chapter three on Professional, for whatever reason Chris' shooting is way better in that one!

 

If you end up going for the hundo and need bodies to shoot for the MP you can hit me up, I haven't uninstalled the game. Like Mr. Clarke, I ended up liking it a lot more than expected!

 

Quote

Also a Twix over a Mars bar anyday. Who's with me?

 

Twix all day, and everybody knows this. Whoever is saying Mars is better is a total contrarian and needs help!

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Stick It To the Man (PS4)

 

I can't tell you how pleased I am that you have now stuck it to the man as well!

 

Great write-up (nothing new there, of course), but in particular you had a much better song lyric than I did - I just used a line from that song in Baseketball that starts getting weirdly specific???

 

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! It's just so loud and fun. It seems you liked it for all the same reasons I did, so I guess I can just give you a virtual high five for a job well done and call the comment early on this one?

Edited June 20, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[The_Kopite]

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

So odd right! It was really funny. I didn't notice, until he posted on my profile about it. I loved it though, thought it was hilarious too. We both liked that game  a lot which was Afterparty, I believe, but I think he liked a little more than I did, whereas I think I preferred Oxenfree a tiny bit.

 

It could have happened with Stick It To the Man, the review I'm posting up after I reply here.  Where Smevz and I could have posted the review at the same time potentially, had I actually gotten to playing it and writing about it faster.

Well see there great minds think alike! I've never played Afterparty, or Oxenfree for that matter but then I wasn't referring to myself as a great mind haha

 

Funny that could have happened with Smevz aswell as the Doc. Shame on you for not making that happen but being too slow to play it and write about it. Depriving everyone here of that is shocking and I hope you think long and hard about your future endeavours on this thread.

 

............?.........(Wasn't quite the right emoji but what can I do lol)

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Haha, precisely! The worst part is as much as I enjoyed the recent games I've played. A selfish part of me just wants to write those Doctor Who posts, but they'll get done eventually. I'll try and get one out early next week.

Good! Otherwise things might go a bit timey-wimey around here! (I have no idea if I have used that saying in a correct way, I saw the saying on a random chain item in a mystery box me and me wife got many moons ago lol)

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I read a little bit of that thread but I instantly dipped out.

 

Actually that makes perfect sense why you wouldn't wait to play the PS5 version. That exact thing you brought up is also one of the reasons I've never really gone for stacking, I totally get why people do it, I'd usually just rather play something new, because there's only so much time, so I'd rather play as many unique things as possible.

 

But as you and I have said in the past, I also totally get the other side of it, so I'm glad there's also folks out there who really enjoy stacking games, because why not extend your enjoyment of games that you really love, by playing it all over again!

Ah well there you go then. You experienced enough of that wonderful thread....sigh.

 

Yeah exactly, just haven't got the time like I used to back in the day lol I get it for people and if they have the time to do it properly, then go for it of course!

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Oh nice! Fathers Day gifts I'm guessing? I had no idea that was a thing in RE5 Gold Edition, I'd have assumed the DLC would be available to you right from the start. If you had it on PS4, I would have played it with you if you'd wanted.

 

A.I Sheva should work well enough for you. I think Smevz did one of his playthroughs almost entirely solo, so she should be alright as an A.I partner, just don't give her any herbs haha. It's a pretty fun platinum experience Resident Evil 5 (but then I would say that, I like RE5 a lo) I know it's not one you're too keen on though. 

Yes indeed! Very nice ones along with some others, was really happy.

 

Yeah that would have been cool, thanks for the thought! 

 

Well @YaManSmevz might be a Resident Evil 5 legend for all I know, so I might not be able to match his ability. Let's just say it'll be interesting to play again whenever I do lol might as well try do it on Professional as with no save file, need a trophy to go for along with unlocking those DLC's!

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'd totally read it, if you did it because it'd be your thread. And you'd make it awesome.

 

If it was me, the idea of me having to write reviews about THAT many games.... I'd be this gif after a couple of weeks .....  I'm barely managing the fraction of that I have left to write of my own reviews haha.....This....will also be my reaction if the new Monkey Island game doesn't eventually release for consoles

Well thanks for those positive comments! I really appreciate it! 

 

Think I'll stick to the guide writing for now (which I've not done much of in terms of guides output this year so far lol)

 

Haha yes I can imagine that on both counts!

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Ahh thanks so much man! Straight back at you!

 

Obviously! You get TWO in one. Plus Mars bars are miniscule these days, not to sound too much like a crotchety old man MARS BARS WERE BETTER IN MY DAY YOUN'NS!

?

 

lol They probably were but even a normal size one nowadays is too much for me. The choc brownie variety are better imho. 

 

Twix and White Twix are just awesome.

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I just read back what I originally wrote to you about that, and I come off as such an indifferent dickhead. I haven't got an opinion on it because I didn't play Crisis Core enough, and I was almost acting like I won't play it. Which I will, I'm totally going to be playing that at some point.

 

Pretty much most of the people I knew had a Gameboy too, but at least one had a PSP. I used to be jealous of the fact you could watch movies on them. But the dirty film snob in me these days would never watch a film on a screen that small now anyway.  OH THE IRONY!

 

I think I'd be excited for Remake Part 2, if I'd y'know actually played the first remake yet ... So once I do, I'll probably be aboard that hype train.

lol well didn't come across to me that way but fair enough.

 

Yes!!!!! On the Crisis Core hype train! All aboard! 

 

Pokemon with the link cables swapping and battling was all the rage back in the day. Barely ever saw a Game Gear around and when it transitioned to the next gen handhelds with the PSP's and DS's, again practically everyone had Nintendo's. They've always had that market locked down.

 

Haha, well it was exciting back in the day. Having an Ipod Touch and being able to watch eps of Scrubs bought from the App Store really helped with long journeys haha

 

Yes!!!!!! Get on board the FFVII Remake train! Then jump off it stylishly like Cloud does in the opening, then finish the game and get on board the FFVII Reunion hype train with me! All aboard!

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

We're all on this site because at the core of it we all love games, that love just manifests itself differently depending on the person. In a way that's awesome, and in others less so. But the "how you should or shouldn't trophy hunt or use your time" is probably an argument that will rage on for as long as trophies are a thing, and I can't see them disappearing. Nor do I really want to get into the specifics of that too much either, because it always ends in disaster, never anywhere actually constructive.  So I'm just going TO SHUT THE EFF UP now 

 

Weird isn't it? It's just a bit of a strange thing to say to someone haha , that they think someone else's profile would look better with less games that they specifically like on it. I don't mind if people have that opinion, I just don't see why they felt the need to tell me ...... point-and-clickers are games  I'd be playing  even if they didn't have trophies in them.

Absolutely. Most people realise that and can see that and that is why this site works. Some sadly can't but there you go.

 

Indeed, you are very correct and it is a pity, but everyone is entitled to their opinions.

 

I know you would. Clearly shows you they didn't know you. Just the fact they messaged you directly. Hopefully noone will bother doing that to me lol

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

So I'd like to say a huge thanks to @DrBloodmoney for doing such a wonderful job of putting this game under the microscope and doing some serious scientific analysis on it. I'm looking forward to delving into more of Zoinks back catalogue even more now!

?

 

13 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'm off to read @YaManSmevz own review of Stick It To the Man, as I've purposefully avoided reading it, just so I didn't subconsciously borrow any of his own thoughts about the game.

So you should. You let him down. You let everyone down by not timing your reviews and being too slow. Shocking......lol

 

25 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

I impulsively bought Shredder's Revenge a day or two ago because I'm a child, other than that I can't think of any multiplayer games coming up for me. I'll comb the backlog a bit, see what I got!

OMG the temptation to get that game is so high!!! Obviously my avatar here would give that away anyways lol Looks so good though! Old school, beat em up, turtles! Awesomeness!

[The_Kopite]

31 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

I think I need to watch some clips of the South Park cops or something and get this weird cop joke thing out of my system???

RESPECT MY AUTHORITAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

33 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

Until I get a PS5, which is at least a few years away, I will be salty about getting to play the FF7 Remake and having to sit on the sidelines while everybody else gets to play Intergrade, and eventually Part 2. Lousy end-of-a-gaming-generation!

 

I say go for it! Sheva is a perfectly fine A.I. partner, I think her ineffectiveness is grossly exaggerated. I did most of my runs solo, and she was fine - but play as Sheva for that boss at the end of chapter three on Professional, for whatever reason Chris' shooting is way better in that one!

 

If you end up going for the hundo and need bodies to shoot for the MP you can hit me up, I haven't uninstalled the game. Like Mr. Clarke, I ended up liking it a lot more than expected!

Haha yeah it is annoying. Starting playing Remake on PS4, but got the Intergrade version now as you know so I'll autopop that after 300 for another play but at least I have access to the Yuffie DLC whenever I want unlike RE5 lol

 

Now of course I've just seen this message lol Righteo well thanks for the heads up! I'll try to remember that! Appreciate it!

 

Cheers for the offer! You and Mr Clarke played the PS4 version though didn't you?

 

44 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

Twix all day, and everybody knows this. Whoever is saying Mars is better is a total contrarian and needs help!

YES!

[rjkclarke]

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

That reminds me, what are we playing next?

 

I impulsively bought Shredder's Revenge a day or two ago because I'm a child, other than that I can't think of any multiplayer games coming up for me. I'll comb the backlog a bit, see what I got!

 

I believe we both have Aragami on our respective backlogs, so maybe we can find a place to fit that one in somewhere in the future? I believe you can do some of the trophies co-op so that could be a good shout.

 

Or I guess we could do The Last of Us Remastered. I said to myself I'd play it once I get into Tier 2 on the ultra rare cleanup (I don't know why I imposed that on myself) I'm inching closer and closer towards that. Especially with my latest Pool completion, which I just finished the review of, and am going to post soon!

 

That's also an option. Then we get to read @Platinum_Vice's (as you've been summoned, I'm not ignoring your event, I just haven't found a selfless act quite yet, so I don't feel worthy enough to post about one until I do.)  awesome magazine post about at least the first Last of Us it in the future. I can admit how wrong I was when I first played it years agom etc.....  Win Win right!

 

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Oh 100%! I'm sorry to hear about missing out on The Elephant Man, that's wack - even more so that you lost a lot of quality theaters. I don't know if it's the Hollywood culture or what, but it is not lost on me how fortunate we are in my neck of the woods to still have as many still standing as we do.

 

I'm still standin! Yeah, yeah, yeah!

 

That damn adrenaline shot scene is a figurative shot of adrenaline as well - I've seen this movie at least 70-80 times, I know exactly what's gonna happen, but every single time that scene gets me to hold my breath. You could really feel the energy in that moment in the theater, it was crazy. Good fucking directing, all you can say!

 

I guess I'll just wait until the 50th Anniversary screening of The Elephant Man now haha. The Hollywood connection could have something to do with it, but I'm glad they are still standing!

 

Yep he can be an absolute magician behind the camera when he wants to be Tarantino..... and erm, a complete weirdo too, but that's besides the point. I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time when I was very young, and the first time I was sort of shown anything about it was kind of odd in a way. My brother (who is an artist, this is important context) made me this really cool collage of Star Wars characters for my birthday, but for some reason he'd used a poster of Uma Thurman from that movie as the background for the collage, so I have this really awesome collage of Star Wars characters that also has parts of Mia visible in it too

 

But where was I! Yes Pulp Fiction is amazing, it's almost infinitely watchable I find. That scene is indeed an adrenaline shot. In fact that whole sequence of the film with Travolta and Thurman is cinematic magic, so you're so lucky to have gotten to see that on a big screen. I'm sure I will one day too!

 

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I'm pretty sure we've talked about this, but - and Martin Scorcese himself says the ending is real, what he says goes and all - I just can't wrap my head around that ending being real, and I don't think I ever will. Betsy comin back around and him turnin her down... I'unno man, I just doubt she saw him in the paper and was like "ooh, that's the guy who took me to a porn theater and told me I was gonna die in a hell!"

 

Unless that paper's article headline was LOCAL MAN GOES FULL ON INCEL BUT HAPPENS TO KILL PEOPLE NOBODY FEELS BAD FOR SO IT'S COOL I GUESS, WHATEVER, FUCK IT... then I think it would make more sense!

 

THAT is one of those examples where I sometimes wish the director wouldn't necessarily reveal what their intention was, because a bit like you I have trouble really getting on board with the whole "the ending is real" thing.

 

That headline sounds like something I wouldn't be surprised to see in my local paper ?

 

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Hey, you got a great story out of it - that almost always makes it worthwhile!

 

.....well unless it got you arrested, I suppose.

 

"I don't like the look of this inmate, frankly he gives me the chills. What did he do?"

 

"He went to a school and shouted about his 'Penis Conus.' We tried to take him down before he got to say it, but we were too late."

 

"That sick bastard..."

 

Exactly I couldn't not tell the story, because how likely am I going to find another pine cone in a game that is likely to trigger my thoughts on that one! 

 

You know everything you said about an inmate that may or may not be me haha, wouldn't feel out of place in Stick It To the Man, after Ray had read the mind of a guard .  

 

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I wonder if the PSN Police really think they're making a difference or something. Like "Before me, that guy just had point and click platinums. But I straightened him out... and he recently got the plat for Crypt of the NecroDancer. It's cases like his that make this job worthwhile."

 

They'd have to be pretty good at their job to do that...

 

I'm telling you now I'm going to need some full on Alex DeLarge brainwashing to want to play Crypt of the Necrodancer ?

 

 

9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I can't tell you how pleased I am that you have now stuck it to the man as well!

 

Great write-up (nothing new there, of course), but in particular you had a much better song lyric than I did - I just used a line from that song in Baseketball that starts getting weirdly specific

 

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! It's just so loud and fun. It seems you liked it for all the same reasons I did, so I guess I can just give you a virtual high five for a job well done and call the comment early on this one

 

 

Thanks man!

 

I couldn't shake that song lyric out of my head afterwards. Which is odd as I haven't listened to the Oomin album, which that is from, for quite a while. It is surprisingly fitting for the game though!

 

It is rather funny how we both came to a lot of the same conclusions, using almost exactly the same words on some occasions in our respective reviews, but yeah VIRUTAL HIGH-FIVE indeed! I'm glad that we both had a great time with it! I'm going to need to dive into Flipping Death at some point soon too.

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Well see there great minds think alike! I've never played Afterparty, or Oxenfree for that matter but then I wasn't referring to myself as a great mind haha

 

Funny that could have happened with Smevz aswell as the Doc. Shame on you for not making that happen but being too slow to play it and write about it. Depriving everyone here of that is shocking and I hope you think long and hard about your future endeavours on this thread.

 

Haha yep! Shame on me indeed!

 

I'd totally recommend Afterparty or Oxenfree... Ideally both to be honest. Neither are very long, and you can usually get Oxenfree dirt cheap, so it might be something to look into in the future! They're both really unique and great games I think!

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Good! Otherwise things might go a bit timey-wimey around here! (I have no idea if I have used that saying in a correct way, I saw the saying on a random chain item in a mystery box me and me wife got many moons ago lol)

 

That is actually quite accurate, the whole timey-wimey thing is a bit of a reference to things going out of sequence, so I actually think that applies fairly well. After this post, I'll be all up to date with the things I've completed recently. So I can safely tell myself I can do another Doctor Who post haha.

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Ah well there you go then. You experienced enough of that wonderful thread....sigh.

 

Yeah exactly, just haven't got the time like I used to back in the day lol I get it for people and if they have the time to do it properly, then go for it of course!

 

Yep, in and then run away from that thread screaming haha.

 

Oh I could probably find the time to stack games if I really tried to, I just haven't, and probably won't. I've got enough other things to keep me occupied ?.. I think we're doing alright, and like you said in your other post, neither of us are hurting anyone .

 

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Yes indeed! Very nice ones along with some others, was really happy.

 

Yeah that would have been cool, thanks for the thought! 

 

Well @YaManSmevz might be a Resident Evil 5 legend for all I know, so I might not be able to match his ability. Let's just say it'll be interesting to play again whenever I do lol might as well try do it on Professional as with no save file, need a trophy to go for along with unlocking those DLC's!

 

That's awesome! Can't go wrong with getting showered in gifts on Fathers day,

 

Smevz was certainly great at shooting me in the face at point blank range when we were doing the versus trophies ?...

 

Sheva is a pretty decent partner A.I, so you should be good on that one! I used to give her a Lightning Hawk magnum on professional, and she'd pretty much keep me safe, you can give her an infinite Rocket Launcher too if you like and pray she doesn't blow herself up (if she even can, I can't remember).

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Well thanks for those positive comments! I really appreciate it! 

 

Think I'll stick to the guide writing for now (which I've not done much of in terms of guides output this year so far lol)

 

Haha yes I can imagine that on both counts!

 

I'd say that huge Final Fantasy X one is a pretty substantial bit of output I'd say!

 

I am actually thinking of co-authoring a guide for Pool Nation. Baker and I did discuss the idea a little when we were playing it recently. So I might be doing a bit of the old guide writing myself soon. That game just has very little information for it available which is a shame, so it might be nice to get some out there.

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

lol They probably were but even a normal size one nowadays is too much for me. The choc brownie variety are better imho. 

 

Twix and White Twix are just awesome.

 

I didn't know there was one, I'll have to hunt that down.

 

I also haven't eaten a White Twix yet. I saw one and figured they'd taste a bit odd, so I'll make sure to try one when I see one. Then walk it off, because bad food is less kind to you once you tip over 30 haha

 

8 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Pokemon with the link cables swapping and battling was all the rage back in the day. Barely ever saw a Game Gear around and when it transitioned to the next gen handhelds with the PSP's and DS's, again practically everyone had Nintendo's. They've always had that market locked down.

 

My Uncle and my Dad (who are different people obviously ?) had Game Gears, but I didn't know any kids at the time that had one. Everyone had a Gameboy like you said. I did enjoy the whole linking up thing for Pokemon. Me and a friend used to co-ordinate getting the opposite releases for Pokemon, like he'd get Gold and I'd get Silver that kind of thing, so we could have every Pokemon available, because of some being exclusive to certain versions.

 

Yep Nintendo have always kind of had the market on that one!

Edited June 21, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Platinum_Vice]

That The Last of Us opus is pretty long ? but it's probably a good something to read in between matches of the multiplayer. There's no rush though dude ?. If I were to recommend anything about that series for trophy hunting, I'd say: 

 

1) TLOU1 on hard, blind playthrough

2) TLOU2 on hard, blind playthrough

3) TLOU1 on survivor with a collectibles guide and with Left Behind DLC injected into the right spot on survivor difficulty

4) TLOU2 on survivor with a collectibles guide

5) TLOU1 multiplayer

6) both games on grounded difficulty.

 

 

As for my event: no major rush, I'm sure you'll find something for the act of kindness as you seem like a compassionate bloke. I think @The_Kopite would enjoy it too.

 

 

Quickly on Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs is my favourite from him but Pulp Fiction is great for many reasons, definitely.

 

 

And yeah, Pokemon link cables were soooo good back in the day! It's just a total ripoff that you could never complete a Pokedex even with trading due to many bullshit reasons. 

[rjkclarke]

21 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

That The Last of Us opus is pretty long  but it's probably a good something to read in between matches of the multiplayer. There's no rush though dude . If I were to recommend anything about that series for trophy hunting, I'd say: 

 

1) TLOU1 on hard, blind playthrough

2) TLOU2 on hard, blind playthrough

3) TLOU1 on survivor with a collectibles guide and with Left Behind DLC injected into the right spot on survivor difficulty

4) TLOU2 on survivor with a collectibles guide

5) TLOU1 multiplayer

6) both games on grounded difficulty.

 

It is pretty long! But I'm really looking forward to it.

 

I'm hoping I'll really enjoy it, because I just wasn't feeling it when I played it originally. Considering when that was in a bit of a murky dark patch in my life around 2015-ish it was probably a ME problem, as it usually is with games. 

 

I'm looking forward to a nice long read though! After all, I've inflicted more than a few of those on all of you, so hopefully whenever it is. I'll be grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down for a nice long read!

 

That sounds like a good suggestion, thanks man!  Especially those two blind playthroughs. I had heard it's best experienced with trophies completely out of your mind entirely for the first time you experience it. So I'll have to take that onboard!

 

 

Quote

 

As for my event: no major rush, I'm sure you'll find something for the act of kindness as you seem like a compassionate bloke. I think @The_Kopite would enjoy it too.

 

Ohhhh thanks man! I certainly try to be! So hopefully an opportunity will arise that isn't just me clutching at straws, but I'm looking forward to joining in with the fun! It looks awesome!

 

21 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

Quickly on Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs is my favourite from him but Pulp Fiction is great for many reasons, definitely.

 

We all have different favourite Tarantino's I think. Mine is Kill Bill - but as a whole not its individual parts.  So I'm sort of cheating, by saying that. I think those films work incredibly well watching them back-to- back but less if you don't. Reservoir Dogs is amazing though! It's a shame we never got that Vincent Vega and Vic Vega film that Tarantino apparently wanted to make.

 

Quote

 

And yeah, Pokemon link cables were soooo good back in the day! It's just a total ripoff that you could never complete a Pokedex even with trading due to many bullshit reasons. 

 

Absolutely man! It is cruel that they dangle that carrot in front of you with the whole " Catch em all" thing, then the games turn around and are like....... " You know you can't ACTUALLY do that right" Sick bastards ?

Edited June 21, 2022 by rjkclarke

[rjkclarke]

Bobert's Billiards Bonanza, Part Tres! You Guessed It, My Latest Platinum, Is EVEN MORE POOL

 

Platinum #355

Pool Nation (PS4)

 

 

Pool Master
You have mastered Pool Nation

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

Platinum Earned - 18 June 2022: 9:55:52 PM

Time Taken to Platinum :  1 week, 3 days, 19 hours

Platinum Rarity  - 2.89%

Trophy Number - #17,029

 

 

 

Before we really get into this review, I feel as if it is important to say that I’m actually quite fond of this game, even if I might seem a little overly critical of it. There’s a really great game here, but I’m not sure that through the act of trophy hunting you really see all that much of that side of it, and I think that’s a real shame.

 

That being said – let us dive into Pool Nation for the PS4 a little bit. I suspect this won’t be a particularly long review, as whilst it is an entirely different game to the PS3 game of the same name, it does share similarities.  So I’ll leave a link to that if you haven’t read it and are interested in the finer details of how realistic the physics feel and the like. Both games are made by the same developer, so more than a little cross over is also present.

 

Pool Nation for the PS4, was developed by Cherry Pop games, and released in July of 2019, suspiciously close to the release window of Snooker 19. I always suspected the release around this time was to capitalise on as many eyes being firmly back on cue sports video games as possible. This isn’t a criticism at all; it’s a perfectly good idea from a business standpoint.

 

I’ll start with the positives, because I always like to expand upon those when possible. Pool Nation on the PS4, plays phenomenally, the physics are smooth, they’re fast and most importantly – they are incredibly responsive too.  Mercifully I think they’re incredibly accommodating for new players. They possess what appears to be a steep learning curve, until you get a feel with how much power you can, or in some cases, can’t inject into every shot.

 

When you think of a video game based on Pool, the look isn’t something that you think of as particularly important. Not everything looks great, but I’ll get to that shortly.  Certainly you could argue that’s true, that visuals are not even a secondary concern – but Cherry Pop Games went above and beyond to create some gorgeous looking locales in this game.

I’m not quite sure that they wholeheartedly represent the locations that they are based on, but without delving into the realms of stereotype, that would have been difficult to achieve anyway. They certainly add character, and I can appreciate that. Pool Nation also offers the player a rather diverse set of cosmetic customisation options. It’s not just a few either, there’s a lot to choose from, whether it’s specific decals for balls, cloths for the tables or cue designs, there really is a lot to choose from.  

 

Sound is also something that isn’t overwhelmingly important in a game like this, yet I can appreciate the fact they were made fairly well. The sound effects themselves are really satisfying, whether that’s just the cacophonous thud as a ball careers into a pocket, or the collision of two balls (keep your minds out of the gutter please haha) they all sound satisfyingly like they should. There is a smattering of soundtrack; it’s not quite muzak like it is in Pure Pool, because some of the pieces you hear in Endurance mode for example are surprisingly funky.   

 

One of my personal favourite things about Pool Nation is the fact the game allows you to play shots that are certainly feasible in real life. But ones you’d never likely play because of the extreme risk factor involved. If you’re big into cue sports like I am, then you’ll find this part of the experience incredibly satisfying, and most importantly, fun. That’s something that can’t be overstated enough, is how fun this actually can be to play.

 

I’ll reiterate my point in the opening paragraph, what was a negative for me, wouldn’t necessarily be for anyone else. So let’s talk about those a bit.

 

I wanted more from this. Don’t misunderstand that as the game needing more content, it actually has plenty. The thing is – the game, and I suppose by default, the trophy list, doesn’t really ever expect you to play all too much of it, and I think that’s a real shame.

 

I’m not of the opinion that difficulty equals quality, not at all. However, Pool Nation on PS3’s requirements were difficult but fair, what that difficulty allowed for though – was almost complete mastery of the games controls, and the satisfaction that comes part and parcel with that. I expected to spend a while trying to get the Endurance mode content finished. I spent hours and hours attempting that on Pool Nation (PS3). In this game, I got that entire game modes related trophies on my first attempt, even without the aiming aid, just because of how much easier they had made it.

   

If Pool Nation for PS4 had required the player to gain all available Stars (set challenges within each match) in the career modes for example, you’d have had a much longer single player experience. I can, and I probably will go back and get all of those stars, because the game is just so enjoyable to play. From my perspective, I felt like it was a shame that the single player side of the game was so fleeting.

 

One genuinely offensive negative feature of Pool Nation for the PS4 is the user interface. It is equal parts obtuse and ugly. I felt like it was incredibly poorly optimised for consoles, which was a real shame.  There were a few times where the menus are so confusing that you can’t quite grasp exactly how to even change certain settings. I could see it working perfectly well with a mouse, but on a controller it’s finicky to say the least

 

I don’t think it’s truly fair to call the online part of the game a negative aspect. From an ideas perspective it is great. I love the idea of the leagues.  The idea is sound, that you only get matched with players at your specific skill level. You perform well you’re promoted, you lose a lot, you’re relegated to a lower league. Simple, but it would work, if it was well populated, so perhaps it was a case of over ambition on Cherry Pop Games part.

 

The problem is, from what I understand the online presence for this game was almost dead on arrival, so when Baker and I came to attempt this; it really was like a ghost town. In the ten or so hours we played the game together, I don’t think we encountered more than one player that was playing the league mode like we were. We also encountered a weird little problem where the game wasn’t counting certain wins that I was getting, which resulted in us having to restart completely from scratch. We did eventually figure out that it was something to do with who was hosting the match. But I felt so bad; luckily Baker is a real awesome gentleman, so he didn’t hold me responsible.

 

Now here’s the burning question. Would I recommend Pool Nation for PS4? I think on paper I would. It’s certainly one of the best Pool games available on PS4, and doesn’t have crushingly frustrating A.I players in it like Pure Pool does.  

 

I genuinely think it’s a great Pool game, I just wish there was a little more to it, because what there is really is rather good. I also think, aside from it having a lot of online trophies (that you’re practically forced into boosting now) that it’s a pretty great first entry for someone looking for their first Pool game. As, to be perfectly honest, it’s incredibly fun, and you’re able to essentially learn as you play, which really helps.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

That's one more Pool completion added to the list! It's a shame that I ended up preferring the PS3 Pool Nation, but as I said in the review itself, Pool Nation on PS4 is still a pretty damn fun, and dare I say it pretty good Pool game.

 

I've got to say an absolutely huge thank you to @Baker - who played the game alongside me, and was incredibly patient despite the little screw up we had where we had to completely reset our progress.

 

Getting to hang out in party chat, talk some JRPG's and various other bits and bobs was real fun. I hope I didn't get on your nerves too much ?.... I'm just super paranoid I'm always annoying everyone, just by my mere presence alone, but for me I enjoyed it.

 

I'm glad I got to do a little trophy hunting alongside you though! Baker could probably also confirm  the fact that when I randomly put haha into sentences, that's not too different to how I actually speak, where I nervously just laugh occasionally . 

Edited June 21, 2022 by rjkclarke

[The_Kopite]

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Haha yep! Shame on me indeed!

 

I'd totally recommend Afterparty or Oxenfree... Ideally both to be honest. Neither are very long, and you can usually get Oxenfree dirt cheap, so it might be something to look into in the future! They're both really unique and great games I think!

Lol right well I will have to look into both of them then. See if either wll get added to my future games to buy list!

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

That is actually quite accurate, the whole timey-wimey thing is a bit of a reference to things going out of sequence, so I actually think that applies fairly well. After this post, I'll be all up to date with the things I've completed recently. So I can safely tell myself I can do another Doctor Who post haha.

Well colour me surprised that I kind of used that correctly haha

 

Good to hear that you're on top of things again! Just saw your latest review post so I'll check that out!

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Yep, in and then run away from that thread screaming haha.

 

Oh I could probably find the time to stack games if I really tried to, I just haven't, and probably won't. I've got enough other things to keep me occupied .. I think we're doing alright, and like you said in your other post, neither of us are hurting anyone .

I don't blame you honestly. Wasn't exactly tempted to put a comment in that thread myself.

 

Precisely (Would have put a thumbs up emoji here, but for some reason none of them are loading up....)

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

That's awesome! Can't go wrong with getting showered in gifts on Fathers day,

 

Smevz was certainly great at shooting me in the face at point blank range when we were doing the versus trophies ...

 

Sheva is a pretty decent partner A.I, so you should be good on that one! I used to give her a Lightning Hawk magnum on professional, and she'd pretty much keep me safe, you can give her an infinite Rocket Launcher too if you like and pray she doesn't blow herself up (if she even can, I can't remember).

No, it was nice definitely haha Always appreciate it!

 

Now then, my estimation of Smevz RE5 skills have gone up a notch there with that revealing information lol

 

I don't know how to unlock an infinite Rocket Launcher, I'd have to look that up but yes giving her a Magmum sounds like a good idea, cheers.

 

When will I get to it? The desire is there as I really want to start playing that DLC, but I've just started Dissidia FF so who knows lol

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'd say that huge Final Fantasy X one is a pretty substantial bit of output I'd say!

 

I am actually thinking of co-authoring a guide for Pool Nation. Baker and I did discuss the idea a little when we were playing it recently. So I might be doing a bit of the old guide writing myself soon. That game just has very little information for it available which is a shame, so it might be nice to get some out there.

Yeah indeed. It really was pretty much a whole month of solid writing, formatting, getting info, pics, vids from the game etc etc. It took a lot out of me and I wouldn't ever do another guide of that magnitude ever again certainly. I will get back to doing more guides at some point. 

 

Nice! I knew I'd get you to write a guide at some point lol Doing it with someone else is a good idea, and of course doing either Snooker or Pool is logical, playing to your strengths and something you are passionate about so looking forward to the end product!

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I didn't know there was one, I'll have to hunt that down.

 

I also haven't eaten a White Twix yet. I saw one and figured they'd taste a bit odd, so I'll make sure to try one when I see one. Then walk it off, because bad food is less kind to you once you tip over 30 haha

If you like Chocolate Brownies and Mars Bars, you'll like it.

 

If you like White Chocolate and Twix's, you'll like that too. 

 

Sadly also true! Lots of exercise always needed lol

 

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

My Uncle and my Dad (who are different people obviously ) had Game Gears, but I didn't know any kids at the time that had one. Everyone had a Gameboy like you said. I did enjoy the whole linking up thing for Pokemon. Me and a friend used to co-ordinate getting the opposite releases for Pokemon, like he'd get Gold and I'd get Silver that kind of thing, so we could have every Pokemon available, because of some being exclusive to certain versions.

 

Yep Nintendo have always kind of had the market on that one!

Edited 4 hours ago by rjkclarke

I'm perplexed that you felt the need to tell me that your Uncle and Dad are different people but I digress lol Game Gears are cool in their own right. Got one and being able to play the Master System versions of Sonic on a handheld in full colour is pretty cool considering what was available at the time. 

 

Yeah of course, you always had to do that with the Pokemon's. Had to catch 'em all!

 

Yeah looking at the quality of some other handhelds, it's almost a pity that Nintendo have always had that market locked down but they've produced quality handhelds themselves of course.

 

9 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

As for my event: no major rush, I'm sure you'll find something for the act of kindness as you seem like a compassionate bloke. I think @The_Kopite would enjoy it too.

Firstly, regarding TLOU. Yeah played the OG a long time ago, got 3% from it or something very small lol enjoyed it but didn't have the urge to go back to it. One of my worst completion rates trophy wise lol o well. No interest in the PS5 Remake personally either. I do have TLOU part 2 in my backlog (It's sat on a shelf inbetween Modern Warfare and Trials of Mana) and am looking forward to try to get the platinum for that!

 

I saw your event yesterday pop up on the home page. It looks really good and very well crafted. Kudos for all the effort you've put into it. If I don't sign up for it due to lack of time (not lack of interest), then I'll be a keen outside observer definitely! 

 

9 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

And yeah, Pokemon link cables were soooo good back in the day! It's just a total ripoff that you could never complete a Pokedex even with trading due to many bullshit reasons

Here, here!

 

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by The_Kopite
Updated information

[rjkclarke]

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

Lol right well I will have to look into both of them then. See if either wll get added to my future games to buy list!

 

Those games should be on lots of peoples to buy in the future list! Although one of my best friends played through Oxenfree recently and told me that the game had a recent patch that screwed a few trophies up, but I expect that'll be fixed soon.

 

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

Good to hear that you're on top of things again! Just saw your latest review post so I'll check that out!

 

Haha! I said that pre-emptively it seems. What with me replying to this now, instead of when you sent it.

 

There's a half funny story though, apart from boring adult business, I got bitten by a False Widow Spider a couple of times, and I've had this weird pins and needles-ish wooly feeling in half of my hand, so typing pretty much anything was a no go, as it just felt weird. Otherwise I would have gotten back to you sooner. And got that Lone Survivor review finished, which I've just done. So I'll have to post that up shortly.

 

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

I don't know how to unlock an infinite Rocket Launcher, I'd have to look that up but yes giving her a Magmum sounds like a good idea, cheers.

 

When will I get to it? The desire is there as I really want to start playing that DLC, but I've just started Dissidia FF so who knows lol

 

I believe you just have to get a completion time of under 3 or 3 and a half hours overall in Resident Evil 5. It isn't as bad as it sounds though. As you can just replay certain levels really quickly to get your overall completion down.

 

Ouch - I've got no desire to play Dissidia Final Fantasy. That needlessly grindy trophy list makes me want to go and eat a pile of twigs. ? Good luck man! I hope you enjoy it though, because if it is anything like the PSP one you'll probably have fun with it.

 

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

Yeah indeed. It really was pretty much a whole month of solid writing, formatting, getting info, pics, vids from the game etc etc. It took a lot out of me and I wouldn't ever do another guide of that magnitude ever again certainly. I will get back to doing more guides at some point. 

 

Nice! I knew I'd get you to write a guide at some point lol Doing it with someone else is a good idea, and of course doing either Snooker or Pool is logical, playing to your strengths and something you are passionate about so looking forward to the end product!

 

Give yourself as much of a break from it as you think you need! That was a huge undertaking with your Final Fantasy X guide. Even playing through the game takes a good long while, and that's without throwing trophies into the mix or all the extra stuff you put in there.

 

I'm going to try and record a Century break tomorrow (or soon at the very least) in Pool Nation to probably use in the guide. That should be easy enough, it's just making one where I'm not all over the place positionally, but that might actually be a better one to use, as it'll show the kind of shots you can pull off in that game to keep a break going. I'm hoping it turns out decently. We definitely got a very thorough understanding when we played the game for a good ten hours almost in one day.

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

If you like Chocolate Brownies and Mars Bars, you'll like it.

 

If you like White Chocolate and Twix's, you'll like that too. 

 

Sadly also true! Lots of exercise always needed lol

 

I like BOTH of the first two things!

 

And the last thing I DON'T LIKE AT ALL ?

 

On 21/06/2022 at 8:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

I'm perplexed that you felt the need to tell me that your Uncle and Dad are different people but I digress lol Game Gears are cool in their own right. Got one and being able to play the Master System versions of Sonic on a handheld in full colour is pretty cool considering what was available at the time. 

 

 

Haha! well I've previously said that a lot of my family are from The West Country, so I felt the need to clarify it.... People do have some stereotypes about inbreeding and folks from that part of the country. One of my Great Uncles was quite literally a Goat farmer as well ?

 

I remember taking the GameGear for granted, in that I never wanted to play it very much because it didn't have Pokemon on it. My little child brain was like "I don't want to play Shinobi or Sonic, Where's Pikachu?

Edited June 26, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Sora9427]

On 19/6/2022 at 4:56 PM, rjkclarke said:

I guess with all the Tekken talk in this thread over the last week I have to play one at some point then haha

 

You won't need to bug me, I'll definitely be playing Persona 4 Golden, and hopefully I'll have a PS5 by then too. It's a game that I've really wanted to play for ages, but never did, because lack of VIta, but now that won't be a problem I'll definitely dive in. Good to know it's got a good English Voice cast, because sometimes that is incredibly hit and miss in games like that.

 

Wreckfest is weird in that it looks more like a Destruction Derby kind of game - and it certainly has those gameplay bits. But it also has some really tight racing controls. If you play with the difficulty sliders a little bit there's quite a pure almost racing sim feel to it. It's quite short too, so if you were looking for another racer that is pretty decent, that might be a good choice. 

 

I think they are on sale at the moment yes, so I'll either buy them or wait for a bit, I'm trying to make a real effort to mostly just attack games on my backlog at the moment but I guess one more pack of three games couldn't hurt

 

I really liked Black Flag, and really didn't like Rogue all that much (the weird spinoff one where you play as a Templar). I'm in the minority on that one, as a lot of people seem to really dig it, but I couldn't stand the protagonist, and the game just felt like a really hollow game stretched out a little longer than it needed to be. It's got some good bits for sure, but that'll be a review down the line that doesn't read overly positively.

 

That's totally fair! Yep we're all going to be mighty old by the time we see any of the Kingdom Hearts characters start to reach adult maturity, looks and acting wise. Which is a shame, as I think the majority of Kingdom Hearts audience are adults, so why not just y'know move the characters forward a little bit, it can still work, even if you have Doland and Gooby (I refuse to call them anything else ) hanging around.

 

I did think that's what we were going to get more of in KHIII was where we'd get a choice of controlling Sora Riku or Kairi, but we didn't really get that. KHIV does look buttery smooth so far from what we've seen I must admit.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure what they'll do with Yozora? Is that his name, the Nolctis one. I've just been calling him NotNoctis, whenever talking about him with friends haha.

 

Yeah that isn't a fun feeling I agree, so that's a shame that's how you felt when you went back to the game.

 

You could totally do it! You wouldn't necessarily have to watch a video. I didn't, I just ended up playing through the game once or twice more. Like if I failed during the run, I'd just play to the end anyway, to get practice for the later parts. It's thankfully only about an hour long, so you don't have to maintain extreme concentration for long.

 

I've gotten most of the annoying or hard things done in Dishonoured, I just haven't gone back to it since Tuesday or Wednesday, so I need to go back and really finish that one off soon, but I don't think I'll have much trouble with what I have left.

 

Stick It To the Man is great, but I could see why the visuals might put you off (they do look a little grotesque) but I loved them, it's a really weird and wild game, so I'm quite looking forward to writing the review about it.

 

Ethan Carter though.... yep, you're spot on with Edith Finch vibe you got from it. They aren't too similar (and I think Edith Finch is much better) but I still think Ethan Carter is a pretty great experience in its own right, and it'll probably only set you back about four or five hours if you ever wanted to play it!

 

Sorry for the Late reply but i'm really into Elden this week  

 

Well you have a lot of people here who i think are relaly good with fighting games? Like Copanele? So i guess it's obvious  Personally i Suck but i can say if you feel for it go! I'll have to get into Tekken 7 one day having it already on the profile (With the Onlien thankfully done)

 

Ah great then when you'll play it i'll surely ask your opinion about every new area  Well if you Check P4 and 3 are Ps4 only and i doubt they'll have such a performance to change on Ps5 Either so i guess having it would be a plus in this case not a must! I Mean they'll probably just port the Pc Version which has Japanese and i'll obviously 100% recommend that having a ton of Great VA that you can listen to nowadays even in current Anime or games! The English Version yeah it was 2010 when there were actual pretty good Dubs there too compared to nwoadays where it's terrible in Jrpgs.

 

Isn't wreckfest just Arena and crashing or it has races too? If that's the case nice, i now Actually have it! It's included with the PsPlus Extra which i have so i'll definitively play it! Gotta find somebody for the Online that i read, at least, it's fast!

 

Oh i get you there on the Backlog, same her but i just Renounced to Try and Make it smaller rather than buying stuff, i'm playing like 50+hours games and now i just did the PsPlus extra which gave me game si wanted like Maneater, Miles Morales, Cristales and so on, it just got bigger  Let me know if you bought them or when you'll get to them and play, i'm curious about your opinion about it, i hope you like them  

 

I Mean i can't say anything after the 3Rd one as said for AC but to me it seems like every protagonist is Pretty awful after Ezio, at least Connor was. For Rogue yeah another one in the Series i don't care for even more with that set-up, why would i wanna play the bad guys? Bad guys that don't even have a real purpose just being the enemy for sake of it after they destroied the Main story in the present in Ac3 in my opinion too.

 

Well at this point yeah majority of old KH fans grew up with it and so i was 7 when the first one came out, now 28, let's hope to see the end of it, afetr all nomura is older than us  Jokes aside i hope the 4Th one either it's the final one or there is 1 another main one and then stop. If after they wanna go for the sake of it FF style who cares but the Story with Sora and the others i wanna see it closed. I Mean nowadays we know more about those disney characters than the actual kids who are on forntnite (which is pretty sad...) 

 

Well i kinda expected not to get to contorl them in the 3Rd one which fair you have Sora all the times after all but int he 4Th one being all 3 in different worlds and situation i hope that's the case. Or At least Allow the use of Aqua & Roxas too if they are now Present who knows with that.

I Mean yeah it's notnoctis but it's basically him Yeah Yozora that was it, still have to beat it in the DLC, they really gave him too much Hp for the fast enemy he is. I'm curious to see what Nomrua will do, after all Noctis was his character that basiclaly got ruined with only the desing remaining from Nomura's idea.

 

Yeah that's why after F4 i really don't expect anything from bethesda neither i'm jealous at all of it being only on xbox we didn't lose much, even Deathloop on Ps5 i saw it it's neat but really basic after a while.

 

An hour? I remembered much longer like 3-4, guess i could try it then in the next months when i'm up to it in the weekends.

 

Ah i see so you're almost done with Dishonored that's nice, good luck with the last remaining stuff  

 

I noticed you did a great long review about a simple Pool game can't imagien then what you'll write about Stick it to the man  

 

That's good then i got the right feeling from it, didn't expect sucha  agem to cost 18 €! But no problem As said above the PSPlus Extra came to the resuce  I Noticed some horus ago that Ethan carter is on the list! I Already downloaded it, gonna check it out in the next weeks then  

 

And to Finish congrats on the Plat of lone Survivor  (Another Game i should go back and finish)

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by Sora9427

[YaManSmevz]

On 6/20/2022 at 5:33 PM, rjkclarke said:

 

I believe we both have Aragami on our respective backlogs, so maybe we can find a place to fit that one in somewhere in the future? I believe you can do some of the trophies co-op so that could be a good shout.

 

I could be down for that! It's usually pretty damn cheap when it's on sale... might could pull the trigger on that. Co-op stealth sounds like a real good time!

 

Quote

Or I guess we could do The Last of Us Remastered. I said to myself I'd play it once I get into Tier 2 on the ultra rare cleanup (I don't know why I imposed that on myself) I'm inching closer and closer towards that. Especially with my latest Pool completion, which I just finished the review of, and am going to post soon!

 

That's definitely one I plan on getting to, but you might get to it first. I've just got a lot I wanna take out first, and that one is a behemoth, if I'm understanding its requirements correctly!

 

 

Quote

Yep he can be an absolute magician behind the camera when he wants to be Tarantino..... and erm, a complete weirdo too, but that's besides the point. I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time when I was very young, and the first time I was sort of shown anything about it was kind of odd in a way. My brother (who is an artist, this is important context) made me this really cool collage of Star Wars characters for my birthday, but for some reason he'd used a poster of Uma Thurman from that movie as the background for the collage, so I have this really awesome collage of Star Wars characters that also has parts of Mia visible in it too

 

Hell yeah, that's dope as fuck! I'll bet that's a nice bragging point when peeps come over. "Oh, this old thing? Funny you ask..."

 

Quote

But where was I! Yes Pulp Fiction is amazing, it's almost infinitely watchable I find. That scene is indeed an adrenaline shot. In fact that whole sequence of the film with Travolta and Thurman is cinematic magic, so you're so lucky to have gotten to see that on a big screen. I'm sure I will one day too!

 

I really am, and I'm super grateful I got to catch that one. Unforgettable experience. And yeah don't even worry bout it, you're gonna get yours too! That AND Elephant Man!

 

On 6/20/2022 at 5:44 PM, Platinum_Vice said:

Quickly on Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs is my favourite from him but Pulp Fiction is great for many reasons, definitely.

 

Reservoir Dogs was my first Tarantino film! I don't agree, but I could see that. Always loved how it's so minimalist yet so tense. And funny, haha.

 

On 6/21/2022 at 0:18 AM, The_Kopite said:

Now then, my estimation of Smevz RE5 skills have gone up a notch there with that revealing information lol

 

And you better not forget it! Cuz if you mess with me... I'll stand in front of you while you repeatedly shoot and kill me.

 

Oh yes. And THEN who will look foolish, hmm??

 

On 6/20/2022 at 6:18 PM, rjkclarke said:

 

Platinum #355

Pool Nation (PS4)

 

I love this Pool kick you've been on man, I'm about it?

 

It's too bad to hear that here's another good game with a trophy lost that doesn't take advantage of all there is to offer, I'm noticing there's a few MLB The Show installments kinda like that. Too bad that they couldn't up the antenna from the previous iteration

 

Quote

 .... I'm just super paranoid I'm always annoying everyone, just by my mere presence alone, but for me I enjoyed it.

 

No. Bad Clarke! Clarke presence good!

 

....wait that was probably more confusing than I meant it?

[DrunkenEngineer]

1 hour ago, YaManSmevz said:

That's definitely one I plan on getting to, but you might get to it first. I've just got a lot I wanna take out first, and that one is a behemoth, if I'm understanding its requirements correctly!

 

@Platinum_Vice gave a good outline on probably the best way to experience the series, but if you just wanted to be as efficient as possible you can get all the singleplayer done in one go using a glitch (so that Grounded counts for Grounded+) and of course a collectibles guide.  Then hit up the multiplayer and do the day-skip method.  Grounded on a fresh save file is no joke, but I'd guess you'd be looking at 50ish hours total for the whole shebang.

 

If I recall correctly my PS5 time tracker says I have over 100 hours in the game doing it more naturally.

 

OR OR OR OR we could hit up Red Dead Redemption 2 multiplayer if you and @rjkclarke are jones-ing for some multiplayer ?

[Platinum_Vice]

Just now, DrunkenEngineer said:

 

@Platinum_Vice gave a good outline on probably the best way to experience the series, but if you just wanted to be as efficient as possible you can get all the singleplayer done in one go using a glitch (so that Grounded counts for Grounded+) and of course a collectibles guide.  Then hit up the multiplayer and do the day-skip method.  Grounded on a fresh save file is no joke, but I'd guess you'd be looking at 50ish hours total for the whole shebang.

 

If I recall correctly my PS5 time tracker says I have over 100 hours in the game doing it more naturally.

 

OR OR OR OR we could hit up Red Dead Redemption 2 multiplayer if you and @rjkclarke are jones-ing for some multiplayer 

 

This is true, however, I think it is generally universally accepted that both:

- TLOU's trophy list is hot garbage, and

- TLOU has an incredible story.

 

I posit that the connection to the characters and a willingness to play through the story is what sells the willingness to put in the effort to S-rank that game. Either Rob or Smevz already gave the game a try (I think it was Rob and that Smevz hasn't tried it yet) and didn't connect with it so I think just sitting down and experiencing a hard difficulty blind playthrough is the ticket. ??

 

Fellas, if I was to give you one bit of advice with playing this game, it would be to not view it as a generic escort mission in a generic zombie setting that is just trying to justify gunplay to sell a game. It's a character story that deserves to be told that happens to have a post-apocalyptic setting. You are not physically surviving the apocalypse as a player; the characters are doing their best to survive emotionally in the wake of loss and the setting is just a symbol of that. I think that is often the hang-up that people get caught on when they don't like this game.

 

BTW, I sincerely hope that RDR2's multiplayer is more fun now than at release. I REALLY did not enjoy the multiplayer in that game. TLOU's multiplayer though? Choice, bro!

[DrunkenEngineer]

36 minutes ago, Platinum_Vice said:

 

This is true, however, I think it is generally universally accepted that both:

- TLOU's trophy list is hot garbage, and

- TLOU has an incredible story.

 

I posit that the connection to the characters and a willingness to play through the story is what sells the willingness to put in the effort to S-rank that game. Either Rob or Smevz already gave the game a try (I think it was Rob and that Smevz hasn't tried it yet) and didn't connect with it so I think just sitting down and experiencing a hard difficulty blind playthrough is the ticket. 

 

Fellas, if I was to give you one bit of advice with playing this game, it would be to not view it as a generic escort mission in a generic zombie setting that is just trying to justify gunplay to sell a game. It's a character story that deserves to be told that happens to have a post-apocalyptic setting. You are not physically surviving the apocalypse as a player; the characters are doing their best to survive emotionally in the wake of loss and the setting is just a symbol of that. I think that is often the hang-up that people get caught on when they don't like this game.

 

BTW, I sincerely hope that RDR2's multiplayer is more fun now than at release. I REALLY did not enjoy the multiplayer in that game. TLOU's multiplayer though? Choice, bro!

All good shit!

 

My intention to dive in to the RDR2 MP (and rope these two into it) is purely selfish and motivated by cleaning up server dependent trophies. Sadly, I’ve not heard anything good about RDR2 MP. It’s supposed to be quite boring and mostly done solo. 

[rjkclarke]

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

Ah great then when you'll play it i'll surely ask your opinion about every new area  Well if you Check P4 and 3 are Ps4 only and i doubt they'll have such a performance to change on Ps5 Either so i guess having it would be a plus in this case not a must! I Mean they'll probably just port the Pc Version which has Japanese and i'll obviously 100% recommend that having a ton of Great VA that you can listen to nowadays even in current Anime or games! The English Version yeah it was 2010 when there were actual pretty good Dubs there too compared to nwoadays where it's terrible in Jrpgs.

 

Well whatever console they land on I'll definitely be playing them! I've been a bit out of the loop with the Persona games for such a long time now, so it's about time that changed really.

 

Nice to know it had good VA's in it, because yeah those can definitely be a bit hit and miss at times. I've come across some really good ones, and some that make my ears want to bleed and then never stop bleeding ?

 

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

Isn't wreckfest just Arena and crashing or it has races too? If that's the case nice, i now Actually have it! It's included with the PsPlus Extra which i have so i'll definitively play it! Gotta find somebody for the Online that i read, at least, it's fast!

 

Nope Wreckfest is Arenas and Crashing and Racing. I think if someone were to actually figure out some sort of a ratio for it, there is actually more racing in Wreckfest than there is those crashing events, and I did think it was a pretty good racer too. In fact we have a resident racing expert in the thread, and he liked it too! so definitely check out Wreckfest if you can!

 

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

I Mean i can't say anything after the 3Rd one as said for AC but to me it seems like every protagonist is Pretty awful after Ezio, at least Connor was. For Rogue yeah another one in the Series i don't care for even more with that set-up, why would i wanna play the bad guys? Bad guys that don't even have a real purpose just being the enemy for sake of it after they destroied the Main story in the present in Ac3 in my opinion too.

 

Connor was indeed a massive fanny! He's about as interesting as a pile of rocks with a loosely adorned feather! I might be a little biased as I quite like the Assassin's Creed series, but I'd definitely say there's been some good protagonists after ACIII

 

I thought Edward Kennway was great in Black Flag, Arno from Unity was great so long as you play the game in French. In fact almost all of that game plays better in French, with subtitles on. Evie was great in Syndicate too. Don't discount ever going back to them, I still think there's some fun to be had with them. I haven't played any past Origins, so I can't speak on the ones that are Odyssey onwards.

 

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

Well at this point yeah majority of old KH fans grew up with it and so i was 7 when the first one came out, now 28, let's hope to see the end of it, afetr all nomura is older than us  Jokes aside i hope the 4Th one either it's the final one or there is 1 another main one and then stop. If after they wanna go for the sake of it FF style who cares but the Story with Sora and the others i wanna see it closed. I Mean nowadays we know more about those disney characters than the actual kids who are on forntnite (which is pretty sad...) 

 

Haha good point! I don't mind whether they do Kingdom Hearts 5 or 6 - I just want a little more progression, there is still ways to keep Sora and his crew fresh, I just don't think they're mining those possibilities as much as they could be. I hope I like KHIV though! There's no way that I won't play it eventually, I'm too deep into that universe to stop now.

 

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

I Mean yeah it's notnoctis but it's basically him Yeah Yozora that was it, still have to beat it in the DLC, they really gave him too much Hp for the fast enemy he is. I'm curious to see what Nomrua will do, after all Noctis was his character that basiclaly got ruined with only the desing remaining from Nomura's idea.

 

I still haven't touched that KHIII DLC, I've heard it's really good it's just a really too offensively high price tag for me to pay for a DLC. If it ever drops in price substantially I'll definitely get it though!

 

23 hours ago, Sora9427 said:

An hour? I remembered much longer like 3-4, guess i could try it then in the next months when i'm up to it in the weekends.

 

Ah i see so you're almost done with Dishonored that's nice, good luck with the last remaining stuff  

 

I noticed you did a great long review about a simple Pool game can't imagien then what you'll write about Stick it to the man  

 

That's good then i got the right feeling from it, didn't expect sucha  agem to cost 18 €! But no problem As said above the PSPlus Extra came to the resuce  I Noticed some horus ago that Ethan carter is on the list! I Already downloaded it, gonna check it out in the next weeks then  

 

And to Finish congrats on the Plat of lone Survivor  (Another Game i should go back and finish)

 

 

 

I think I had a stopwatch going when I did my last Limbo run, and it was something like 53 minutes for me. And that was with 3 deaths. So it's definitely not as long as you think! You can do it! I'll look forward to reading your eventual write up about it in your thread!

 

I really need to get back to Dishonoured soon, thanks for the reminder!

 

I did go a bit long with that Pool review, but I do really love Pool and Snooker, so I had to put a bit more into that one. It's a great game with a bit of a rubbish trophy list unfortunately.

 

Definitely try out Vanishing of Ethan Carter if it's available to you! I really liked that, and it's pretty short too, hope you have a good time with it.

 

 

I loved Lone Survivor, I'm going to post the review of it once I've written this post, that's another one I'd definitely encourage you to go back to, I thought that was a really great game.

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I could be down for that! It's usually pretty damn cheap when it's on sale... might could pull the trigger on that. Co-op stealth sounds like a real good time!

 

I think we were literally having one of our long late night back and forths when I brought it actually, which is probably what tricked me into thinking you had it. We were definitely perusing the store I remember that much.

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

That's definitely one I plan on getting to, but you might get to it first. I've just got a lot I wanna take out first, and that one is a behemoth, if I'm understanding its requirements correctly!

 

I might do! I owe it to one of my best friends to play it actually. We made a sort of pact where if he played Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World (a game he initially didn't like) I'd play The Last of Us to at least story completion, and I haven't held up my end of the deal yet ?... Plus I really want to know if I'm horribly wrong about my initial impressions of it.

 

So we could end up getting to it at the same time, or we won't who knows haha

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I really am, and I'm super grateful I got to catch that one. Unforgettable experience. And yeah don't even worry bout it, you're gonna get yours too! That AND Elephant Man!

 

I'm going to see the two Doctor Who movies in the Cinema in  a couple of weeks, so I'm pretty excited for that one. I reckon those really bright colours are going to look magnificent on a huge  screen.

 

Fingers crossed I see Elephant Man eventually!

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I love this Pool kick you've been on man, I'm about it

 

It's too bad to hear that here's another good game with a trophy lost that doesn't take advantage of all there is to offer, I'm noticing there's a few MLB The Show installments kinda like that. Too bad that they couldn't up the antenna from the previous iteration

 

Just a little bit of a kick

 

I know! It sucks, right! 

 

That's sometimes the curse with Sports games, is that they can be incredibly fun to play if you're fond of the sport, but have a horrible trophy list, that will detract everyone but those that already like the sport. I know being a completionist is niche enough, but it's kind of a shame when that happens. If it didn't have such a shit trophy list I'd recommend picking it up, which I hate saying, I really do!

 

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

No. Bad Clarke! Clarke presence good!

 

....wait that was probably more confusing than I meant it

 

You know the drill, dude! Just strike me on the nose a few times with a newspaper, that should snap me out of it!

 

20 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

gave a good outline on probably the best way to experience the series, but if you just wanted to be as efficient as possible you can get all the singleplayer done in one go using a glitch (so that Grounded counts for Grounded+) and of course a collectibles guide.  Then hit up the multiplayer and do the day-skip method.  Grounded on a fresh save file is no joke, but I'd guess you'd be looking at 50ish hours total for the whole shebang.

 

I worry efficiency might have been what made me zone out of Last of Us to begin with. I'm fairly sure I was checking a guide fairly regularly, and I remember it did break the immersion a little. So even if it ultimately takes longer, I think I might have to go the lone way around to discover if I could love Last of Us.

 

Thanks so much for giving me a great outline though as an alternative! I really appreciate that, especially you've got efficiency down to a pretty fine art it seems!

 

19 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

BTW, I sincerely hope that RDR2's multiplayer is more fun now than at release. I REALLY did not enjoy the multiplayer in that game. TLOU's multiplayer though? Choice, bro!

 

Good to know mate, thanks! I think by the end of next week I will have had my fill of draining multiplayer after tackling Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, even if I have met a couple of really awesome folks along the way, jumping into another long online ordeal is not top of my list of things to do

Edited June 26, 2022 by rjkclarke

[rjkclarke]

After Surviving Alone For A While, I Find Myself With... You Guessed It, Another New Platinum!

 

Platinum #356

Lone Survivor (PS4)

 

 

True Survivor
Collect all Lone Survivor: Director's Cut trophies

 

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

Platinum Earned - 22 June 2022: 10:20:18 PM

Time Taken to Platinum :  1 day, 1 hour, 46 minutes

Platinum Rarity  - 4.58%

Trophy Number - #17,066

 

I’m finding less and less reason to use the words “I don’t dabble all too much with horror.” Those are words I use a lot, but just the games I’ve played this year alone would suggest something entirely different. Lone Survivor now joins the list of games with horror elements I’ve played this year, and I’m really glad it did.

 

Lone Survivor, developed by Musician Jasper Byrne, masquerading as Superflat Games – is a small scale independent horror game in a 2.5D perspective, originally released in 2012, with the PS4 version that I’m reviewing arriving in 2014.

Talking about the protagonist in this game is going to be a little bit of a nightmare, as you, the player, take the role of a character only ever described as “You.” So I’ll write it like that any time that I do.

In Lone Survivor you take the role of “You” as you battle to maintain your mental health, finding yourself in increasingly dangerous situations in an apartment building littered with all manner of zombie-like beasts, as you search out food and supplies whilst desperately battling your inner demons. All guns blazing, or pacifism? Your choice entirely, and the consequences of both will become apparent the more you explore the game.

 

There is of course far more to the plot than that – as usual though, I’d feel terribly bad for spoiling elements of the story for people. I won’t, I’ll just say that I thought it was an incredibly well thought out aspect to the game.  It contains a lot of elements that are certainly more implied than explicitly stated, but I didn’t feel like the game as a whole suffered for that. Quite the opposite in fact, that slight enigmatic element, always keeps you thinking and pondering. It’s been a few days now since I’ve viewed all of the games endings and I’m still pondering exactly what certain bits and pieces truly mean.

 

I feel like an important aspect to Horror, is the ability to create atmosphere – it’s not an easy thing, and it requires incredibly good balancing. From my perspective the atmosphere in Lone Survivor was one of the best realised aspects of it. There isn’t one single element that stood out – it was  more a case that each individual element contributed to it wonderfully as a whole. In a sense it reminded me of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and how many elements of that synergise well to form a richer whole.  With that in mind – you’ll no doubt find me tying in the atmosphere to specific aspects of the game.

 

At first glance, I think a good proportion of people might see the visuals of Lone Survivor, and see it as something it’s not. I’ve been saying this a lot recently with games coincidentally. But in Lone Survivor’s case, you’ll either really like the art-style, or you simply won’t. To Jasper Byrnes credit, I really think he worked amazingly within the quite limited resources that were probably available to him. Pixelated they might be – but, in truth, I don’t think you could ever say that the designs found within Lone Survivor are anything other than unique. Even the protagonist, being clad in a medical facemask, is a rather unusual, yet inspired design choice.

 

A distinct advantage Jasper Byrne has from his experience as a musician, is an already great knowledge of how potently powerful sound can be when used effectively. Whether it’s the use of a stellar soundtrack or immaculate sound design he managed both. I feel like it’s important to make this clear, Lone Survivor doesn’t contain voice acting, that might be an issue for some people, that is fair enough, but I think Lone Survivor is still effective without it. The soundtrack is something very memorable, and it is one I feel I’ll almost certainly be returning to in the future.  

 

A fairly discrete part of Jasper Byrnes masterful use of sound design – is the almost persistent roaring ambient sound. It’s unsettling, and it’s almost instantly noticeable. Much like that similar sound is present in David Lynch’s Earserhead. You can’t ever escape from it – and that ends up being a brilliant constant metaphor for “You’s” constant fight with his own mental wellbeing.

Before I’d read anything else about the game after playing it, I strongly suspected that Byrne had deliberately based the monsters roars/screams on a vacuum clearner/ hoover. It turns out I was right (being a mole person (sound designer) myself probably helped a little, but I read a really interesting interview with Byrne that I’ll leave a link to here if you want to read all of  it. In which he states...

 

“The monster sound itself is one of the ones that took the longest. I kept going through different versions. I had a bit of inspiration when I was trying to work and my wife was hovering and I couldn’t concentrate, it was piercing my head, so I took that hoover, electric drill sound, and thought that’s the most uncomfortable sound at this particular time”

 

He’s right, it goes right through you, once you’ve heard it once, you instantly want to avoid having to hear that too often and it’s incredibly effective. I’m most people would have been reminded of a vacuum cleaner too. One of the most effective uses of horror is familiarity, so Byrne playing off of that familiar sound was an inspired decision indeed!

 

The specific area design in Lone Survivor is excellent I think – it manages to both reward exploration, or discourages it – depending solely on the type of playthrough you’re playing. It dawned on me actually, how you could transpose almost everything in Lone Survivor into a rogue-like format. This is all hypothetical of course, but I think the smaller discrete maps and fixed (but in a rogue-like situation, not predetermined) items and item locations could complement one another incredibly well.

 

I mentioned the above, purely because of the fact that – the gameplay of Lone Survivor is surprisingly diverse and satisfying. At first glance it seems fairly basic, and it certainly does have a few simplistic elements to it. Though, I must say, that is no bad thing either, I’d rather something was simplistic, yet works incredibly well, rather than the complete opposite.

 

You don’t possess a health bar per se, more a constantly depleting invisible mental health bar.  This essentially changes depending on how regularly you’ve sleept or how well you’re taking care of your own mental wellbeing. It’s got far more depth to it than it initially appears – like Lone Survivor itself actually. You’d be surprised by the small things that improve your mental health, drinking coffee for example (but not too much, because you’ll get anxious and lower it) find a cat, make a friend and you’ll always have a companion to talk things out with or to make you feel better. I found this specific aspect of it, one of the richest parts of the whole experience. Jasper Byrne really tried to account for everything, in what would, and indeed, wouldn’t, impede your mental wellbeing.  

 

Whether you choose to play the game using gunplay or with a greater reliance on stealth, pacifism and avoidance, both types of gameplay are open – and completely viable for you. One of the things I personally liked the most, and one that really plays into the horror side of the game, is that there is almost a risk versus reward element to the combat situations.

Much like the sometimes forgotten feature in the older Resident Evil titles, you have the ability to aim up and down, instead of just in a straight line. That might seem small at first, but it absolutely isn’t. Aiming downwards allows you to stagger an enemy giving you some slight breathing room, whereas letting an enemy get dangerously close to you allows you the chance to aim upwards allowing you to headshot the enemy and conserve some of the preciously scarce ammunition.

There are thankfully very few areas of the game that can’t be gotten through without clever use of stealth. You’ll be surprised how often throwing pieces of rotten meat will save your skin, and clever placement of it in certain areas can even lure creatures into areas that they’ll never be able to leave. It’s not stealth in the truest sense, as some areas you can’t sneak through, but can instead stun the creatures with the use of flares.

 

All of the aspects of the gameplay feel really satisfying to play though. Lone Survivor joins a rare list of games where I had as much fun doing a playthrough focused on gunplay and combat, as the one in which I didn’t kill a single thing, or fire a single bullet.

 

Lone Survivor is an incredibly easy game to recommend. Don’t sleep on this one like I did. It’s only around ten or twelve hours long (probably much less if use a guide) and it’s very often on sale. Even if you steer clear of horror games usually, it’s still worth experiencing. It does seem I’m far more of a fan of horror than I perhaps thought I was.

  

I thought it was a really great game, one that I’m incredibly glad to have finally gotten around to playing. The trophy list is a little bit convoluted in places, but it’s one that will pretty much require you to see everything there is to see and do in a game, and I can always appreciate that.   

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Someone should really blow a dog whistle near me any time that I start writing about sound design/sound shouldn't they... or just veering off into a hypothetical version of Lone Survivor that is a rogue-like. Not today though.

 

I think there is a point-and-click adventure game waiting for me somewhere soon! So I'd better actually get and play it and see if Black Mirror is quite as mediocre as I've been lead to believe. I just can't shake off how I intrigued I am that there could be a lot of things to actually like about it though!

 

Catch you all in the next one folks!

Edited June 28, 2022 by rjkclarke

[AJ_Radio]

Lone Survivor is definitely one of those games where you either like it or you don’t. That is definitely reflected in the trophy stats. Most of the trophies are very rare despite the game being around a 3/10 in difficulty for most players. 
 

Not my cup of tea though. Horror in general I just never really got into, even though I ended up enjoying Resident Evil HD.

[DrBloodmoney]

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

 

I’m finding less and less reason to use the words “I don’t dabble all too much with horror.” Those are words I use a lot, but just the games I’ve played this year alone would suggest something entirely different. Lone Survivor now joins the list of games with horror elements I’ve played this year, and I’m really glad it did.

 

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Lone Survivor is an incredibly easy game to recommend. Don’t sleep on this one like I did. It’s only around ten or twelve hours long (probably much less if use a guide) and it’s very often on sale. Even if you steer clear of horror games usually, it’s still worth experiencing. It does seem I’m far more of a fan of horror than I perhaps thought I was.

 

You know - there really needs to be some better descriptor for those games like this one that are Horror-adjacent, but not necessarily beholden to a strong predilection for horror in order to be enjoyed ?

 

I know what you mean about this - Lone Survivor is definitely Horror of a sort, but it's one of those ones I think non-horror fans, or even horror-adverse folks can easily get next to - like Bioshock, or Alice: The Madness Returns, or even something like Dark Souls - there's a horror root that is weaved all through it, and it's probably taking more inspiration from Horror cinema than any other brand of fiction, but still has enough of a foot outside that sphere, that non-horror folks can pretty much just tell themselves it isn't one!

 

 

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

A distinct advantage Jasper Byrne has from his experience as a musician, is an already great knowledge of how potently powerful sound can be when used effectively. Whether it’s the use of a stellar soundtrack or immaculate sound design he managed both. I feel like it’s important to make this clear, Lone Survivor doesn’t contain voice acting, that might be an issue for some people, that is fair enough, but I think Lone Survivor is still effective without it. The soundtrack is something very memorable, and it is one I feel I’ll almost certainly be returning to in the future.  

 

I was thinking about this - most of the time with non-voice acted games, I have a rough notion of what I think the characters would sound like... but Lone Survivor, I have no idea who could be the cast!

I can't tell if it would be super deadpan - like, Aubrey Plaza as Chie, and Stephen Wright as You... or maybe grim dark, with Troy Baker doing You, and Jennifer Hale as Chie... or if it would be sort of comic dissonance with Chie weirdly upbeat like Kristen Schall and You played by Office Space style Stephen Root! ?

They all kind of make sense to me in that strange world!

 

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

A fairly discrete part of Jasper Byrnes masterful use of sound design – is the almost persistent roaring ambient sound. It’s unsettling, and it’s almost instantly noticeable. Much like that similar sound is present in David Lynch’s Earserhead. You can’t ever escape from it – and that ends up being a brilliant constant metaphor for “You’s” constant fight with his own mental wellbeing.

Before I’d read anything else about the game after playing it, I strongly suspected that Byrne had deliberately based the monsters roars/screams on a vacuum clearner/ hoover. It turns out I was right (being a mole person (sound designer) myself probably helped a little, but I read a really interesting interview with Byrne that I’ll leave a link to here if you want to read all of  it. In which he states...

 

“The monster sound itself is one of the ones that took the longest. I kept going through different versions. I had a bit of inspiration when I was trying to work and my wife was hovering and I couldn’t concentrate, it was piercing my head, so I took that hoover, electric drill sound, and thought that’s the most uncomfortable sound at this particular time”

 

He’s right, it goes right through you, once you’ve heard it once, you instantly want to avoid having to hear that too often and it’s incredibly effective. I’m most people would have been reminded of a vacuum cleaner too. One of the most effective uses of horror is familiarity, so Byrne playing off of that familiar sound was an inspired decision indeed!

 

I thought that monster sound was super cool - with headphones on it felt like the roaring rush you get when something terrible happens, and you feel your pulse in your eardrums, and the blood rushing through your head!

 

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

The specific area design in Lone Survivor is excellent I think – it manages to both reward exploration, or discourages it – depending solely on the type of playthrough you’re playing. It dawned on me actually, how you could transpose almost everything in Lone Survivor into a rogue-like format. This is all hypothetical of course, but I think the smaller discrete maps and fixed (but in a rogue-like situation, not predetermined) items and item locations could complement one another incredibly well.

 

This is an awesome idea. 

Just sayin... and for all that it makes sense, I'm struggling to think of a narrative game like this what does the randomised rogue-like thing... I think you might be onto a genuine new genre here!

 

 

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I mentioned the above, purely because of the fact that – the gameplay of Lone Survivor is surprisingly diverse and satisfying. At first glance it seems fairly basic, and it certainly does have a few simplistic elements to it. Though, I must say, that is no bad thing either, I’d rather something was simplistic, yet works incredibly well, rather than the complete opposite.

 

You don’t possess a health bar per se, more a constantly depleting invisible mental health bar.  This essentially changes depending on how regularly you’ve sleept or how well you’re taking care of your own mental wellbeing. It’s got far more depth to it than it initially appears – like Lone Survivor itself actually. You’d be surprised by the small things that improve your mental health, drinking coffee for example (but not too much, because you’ll get anxious and lower it) find a cat, make a friend and you’ll always have a companion to talk things out with or to make you feel better. I found this specific aspect of it, one of the richest parts of the whole experience. Jasper Byrne really tried to account for everything, in what would, and indeed, wouldn’t, impede your mental wellbeing.  

 

Whether you choose to play the game using gunplay or with a greater reliance on stealth, pacifism and avoidance, both types of gameplay are open – and completely viable for you. One of the things I personally liked the most, and one that really plays into the horror side of the game, is that there is almost a risk versus reward element to the combat situations.

Much like the sometimes forgotten feature in the older Resident Evil titles, you have the ability to aim up and down, instead of just in a straight line. That might seem small at first, but it absolutely isn’t. Aiming downwards allows you to stagger an enemy giving you some slight breathing room, whereas letting an enemy get dangerously close to you allows you the chance to aim upwards allowing you to headshot the enemy and conserve some of the preciously scarce ammunition.

There are thankfully very few areas of the game that can’t be gotten through without clever use of stealth. You’ll be surprised how often throwing pieces of rotten meat will save your skin, and clever placement of it in certain areas can even lure creatures into areas that they’ll never be able to leave. It’s not stealth in the truest sense, as some areas you can’t sneak through, but can instead stun the creatures with the use of flares.

 

All of the aspects of the gameplay feel really satisfying to play though. Lone Survivor joins a rare list of games where I had as much fun doing a playthrough focused on gunplay and combat, as the one in which I didn’t kill a single thing, or fire a single bullet.

 

Awesome write up as always m'dude!

 

 

[kingofbattle8174]

On 6/26/2022 at 5:28 PM, rjkclarke said:

I think there is a point-and-click adventure game waiting for me somewhere soon! So I'd better actually get and play it and see if Black Mirror is quite as mediocre as I've been lead to believe. I just can't shake off how I intrigued I am that there could be a lot of things to actually like about it though!

 

I was not impressed at all by Black Mirror. It felt like the weirdness of Silent Hill with the clunky controls of an early RE game. 

 

 A good Point and Click series that is more light hearted, Agatha Knife