rjkclarke's Carnival of Diamonds and Rust

[rjkclarke]

It's Been A While.... Hasn't it.

 

I like to think most of the time, I try and let things just wash over me..... a bit like this guy....Any of you that know what I look like, and some of you do, probably can picture that even easier now haha ?....

 

 

As a general rule, I'm just incredibly laid back, but even I have my limits it seems .... So here I am, finally returning, not fully back, yet.  After some major burnout, but getting to the point, where I feel like I can start to interact a little more publicly again, without coming across in an incredibly toxic way, which I was genuinely worried about.

 

Something really changed recently.... I can barely go into any of it, I don't want to, it's a multitude of different things, and I think they just built up. Any of you reading this, I'm sure you're aware by now that my head can be a pretty dark place on occasions. Lately it's been a little darker than even I can capably handle. 

 

Where once I felt like "The Dude",,,,, occasionally I've been feeling like this......

 

 

 

Anger and I have not been firm friends for an incredibly long time, and we will never be rekindling that relationship so long as I have the ability to control it - but recently I've been feeling that awful feeling come bubbling up on occasion. I think a huge part of that is that I've got possibly the worst gaming burnout I've ever experienced. I think that was partly my own fault for playing so many games that involved online trophies. It's a shame though, because gaming is usually a pretty good form of escapism for me, so it's been a bit of a weird one the last few weeks.

 

I'm slowly getting out the other side of it though, and I appreciate so much, those of you who have been willing to lend an ear, or just generally be supportive during the last couple of weeks. Words don't really do justice to how much I appreciate it, but thank you so much.

 

I am sorry about the incredibly long gap between replies though - I don't expect any of you to really be offended. You're all too awesome for that,

 

I'm not quite at the point where I'm ready to start posting and writing reviews again yet - but I am going to post something later.... Which is Part 2 of my Doctor Who rankings, just because I want to cut loose and write something fun. It's probably not what a lot of you want to read (and I'm super okay with that) but I think it's something I need to do, just to kind of get the ball rolling again, so to speak.

 

I've got some catching up to do in all of your awesome threads too! So I'm looking forward to that one.

 

Righty then, let's get to some SO LONG OVERDUE REPLIES!!

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Fantastic! An RJK review is always a joy, but this one had me grinning wide for the entire time. So glad that you enjoyed this game as much as you did and that you gave it your solid write-up treatment. Just good shit wall to wall, man!

 

I wish I had more to say, you already said it all. And beautifully, might I add! I'm right there with you in hoping that as many peeps as possible play this one, it's such a deeply affecting piece of art.

 

Oh, and thanks for the shout!

 

I think it's a little ironic that the last thing I was writing was about The Artful Escape, and then I immediately suffer from crippling burnout, and whatever else has been floating around in my head recently.

 

Thank you so much man!

 

I really loved The Artful Escape, and I still hope as many people as possible get to experience it, because it is one of the most worthwhile and necessary experiences that you could get from a video game.

 

I did manage to convince one other person to give it a go too, so I'll be incredibly interested to see what they think of it too.... Let's keep this "Everybody should play Artful Escape" train rolling.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Thanks bro! Haha there's no need for worry. You've always been way better about that than me, I fall behind way more often than I'd care to say?

 

....... Oh the irony of this

 

Three weeks later I'm finally getting back to you.... Although it's only to everyone else I look like a dick.... as i's not like you and I haven't spoken loads over all of that time ?

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Now that I think of it, my first thought is an adult setting too - for me what comes to mind is a super clumsy stripper who trips all over the place and is constantly like "oops.. oh gosh, I'm so sorry... oh no, I hope that comes out."

 

"AND NOW COMIN OUT TO THE STAGE, JUMBLES! YESSIR GENTLEMEN SHE I- ..OOOHH, AW THAT LOOKED LIKE IT HURT.. BOUNCERS, CHECK ON HER, WILL YA?"

 

I think jumbles the stripper sounds like a much more likely thing to exist .

 

But I'm not really going to explore that avenue and find out haha

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

I need to get to writing about that one, Transistor is so stupidly well put together. And agreed, that song at the end hit me hard, it was one of those where you hear it and can't help stopping what you're doing and just ingesting the song whole in awe. Brilliantly written and performed track man, and the perfect ending.

 

Bastion and Pyre definitely got shot up the list, and while I know it will be a difficult one, Hotline Miami 2 is another candidate as well. Eager for you to get into HM1, that one is a fuckin trip!

 

I need to get reading your Transistor review... I know it's there, I just haven't read it. I wanted to be in a good head space when I read it, because I love that game so much. And reading about it, will be just as much fun I think. And what will be an awesome review (I know it will be ) it deserves my full attention, not some half distracted excuse of my attention,

 

That song at the end really did a number on me, I was exactly the same, it's one of those where exactly like you said, you just stop and take it all in. It's just so powerful.

 

I can definitely speak for Bastion... and I'm looking forward to Pyre myself.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

"How I Learned to Stop Worrying About E.T. and oh God get him away GET HIM AWAY," coming soon to a PSN thread near you!

 

I just remembered I actually have an E,T game.... I might throw that in my PS3 and give it a play, and review it, just for like the whole in-joke thing haha. It'd likely be a pretty funny thing to do.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 2:57 AM, YaManSmevz said:

I may have to do that. I've always been down for those early ones, but I gotta be honest, those newer ones don't appeal to me at all. Actually made me glad to see you reference that in the review, made me think all the more that these ones may in fact be for me after all!

 

I'd definitely recommend at the very least playing through the Ezio Trilogy, and then go from there if you want to dip into the series a little more... but those 3 are actually very good. I am really apprehensive about the newer ones. I'm sure I'll enjoy them to some degree, but I even thought Origins was "a little too much" and that's the smallest one of the newer ones, but I guess I won't know until I try them.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 6:50 AM, Heather342 said:

Awesome review of The Artful Escape, I'll definitely put it on my list as one to check out. But after reading this it got me wondering, have you ever played Sayonara Wild Hearts? It's another one by Annapurna Interactive, and your review of Artful Escape sounded very similar to my experience with that game. I think you may like this one too

 

Thanks so much Heather! Sorry for the offensive long time to reply! I'm really Glad you enjoyed the read. .

 

I haven't played Sayonara Wild Hearts, not yet at least, but I'm definitely up for it! I've been intrigued by it for a while, but I know it leans quite heavily on the whole rhythm games, and quite frankly they scare the shit out of me 

 

But you know - I won't know if I don't try, so I think I ought to get stuck in with that one! Because it does look awesome! So thank you for the recommendation! Especially after you said it sounded like a similar kind of experience to what I had with The Artful Escape!

 

 

On 15/07/2022 at 8:13 AM, DrBloodmoney said:

Fantastic Artful Escape review mate!

 

It's really gratifying seeing this game getting to more people, and becoming the cult classic I am almost certain it is destined to be!

It's funny reading this one right now, as I've been furiously typing up another review over the past week, for a game I am convinced should be sold in a double-pack called something like "The Power of Art" pack - Chicory!

 

Reading this one, I am more convinced than ever that you need to play Chicory - the things in The Artful Escape that so spoke to you (and me) are exactly the things that I think would connect you to Chicory in the super-glue-like way I did  It does it with visual art, while The Artful Escape concentrates on music, but both are such pointed and astute discussions of the perils, trials and glory of putting your expression out in the world!

 

In fact, funny that dear @Heather342 should also mention the third game that could be added to that pack to make it a triple - Sayonara Wild Hearts!

 

If The Artful Escape, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Chicory were ever put into a Triple Pack, it could just as easily be called "Buy This Pack RJKClarke!" as it could "The Power of Creativity Extravaganza" 

 

 

 

Thanks Doc!

 

I love the sound of The Power of Creativity Extravaganza Pack! I think I'd really dig that haha

 

Well thank you really, for being the one to get the ball rolling with this whole "WE LOVE THE ARTFUL ESCAPE" Praisathon, that it absoluitely deserves! So I'm happy it's starting to get more and more eyes on it, that can only be a good thing!

 

I am so down to play Chicory at some point in the future, I loved reading your review of it, so it sounds like a must play for me some ways down the line. I think from everything you've said about it, and the whole 'visual art' exploration and the very 'other' kind of mental health aspect of it, that really intrigues me as an idea for a story to explore.

 

 

On 15/07/2022 at 11:23 AM, The_Kopite said:

Maybe so. I'd be more annoyed at the fact you haven't turned into Spiderman yet tbh lol

 

Not quite Spiderman it would seem..... CripplingSadnessDesparatefeelingofpowerlessnessandBurnoutMan is more accurate right about now.... But I don't think that really has a very good Superhero ring to it to me...

 

What would my powers be? The power of self doubt, and caring too much

 

Don't panic by the way, I'm coming out of the other side of that, I just thought I'd lighten the mood a little.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 11:23 AM, The_Kopite said:

Yeah any infinite ammo in a Resident Evil game definitely helps the experience and speedrunning of course!

 

It sure does! I do love me some Infinite Ammo for those games... It actually comes in handy when you just want to replay the game and just see the story play out too. So absolutely yay for Infinite Ammo in Resident Evil games!

 

 

On 15/07/2022 at 11:23 AM, The_Kopite said:

No I agree with you 100 percent but apart from one match a day for the next few days in order to get a title for playing a match 30 days in a row (Need 50 titles for a trophy) then I'll be done with the online - already got all the online trophies so great to get that out of the way and will be able to give it a much needed break. Definitely got it locked in for my 350th platinum. Would be the rarest FF plat I'll probably ever get lol

 

I expect you probably got that problematic thing done by now for playing a match every 30 days! I guess now you just wait until you're on platinum numer 349 and get that bad boy unlocked... It'll be a nice one to have if it does end up being your rarest FF Platinum!

 

On 15/07/2022 at 11:23 AM, The_Kopite said:

Yeah of course everyone is different. I get where you are coming from and sometimes I get annoyed with how I have it set up but then eventually I get into the groove I need and it all (hopefully) falls into place!

 

Yeah absolutely! You know me, love my single player games so really intruiged by how the story will play out, especially when I've never experienced one like this before. Firstly I'll have to get my 300th platinum milestone - FFVII Remake. I'll get an autopop PS5 plat bonus there like RE2R, and then I'll be able to play the Intermission DLC which I've been looking forward to for ages as well!

 

Definitely, I'm just very impatient when it comes to things like that haha.

 

Final Fantasy VII will be a nice one for you for #300 as well....and #301 haha.... I'm quite intrigued by Intergrade, so I guess I'm just going to go straight into the PS5 version I think, Looking forward to getting to it at some point though.

 

On 15/07/2022 at 11:23 AM, The_Kopite said:

Marble Madness! That could have been the rival to Pokemon and taken the handheld crown! Maybe it happened in another universe lol

 

Yes indeed, stereotypes sadly are very damaging.

 

Sega really had some great tech and great games, but sadly they had too many decisions they got wrong like creating the Sega CD and 32X, not having a proper Sonic game on the Saturn etc etc. but certainly the Game Gear with the tech and potential it had compared to the Game Boy was a massive missed opportunity. Sony are quite like Sega in a lot of ways. 

 

I am actually quite glad we don't live in that universe haha.

 

Yeah it is a bit of a shame that Sega sort of died as a console giant...... I'm glad we ended up getting Yakuza out of it though. So you know there's always upsides to everything haha,

 

On 16/07/2022 at 3:16 PM, Copanele said:

Catching up to this thread a hundred years later...big congrats for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood! I've heard horrors about boosting that game, I too interacted way too much with Ubisoft servers and let's say potatoes form a better peer2peer connection than whatever they have there.

However that "French business"  ... goddamn, Rome really didn't want to be conquered this time.

Other than the online yes, the game is great, I think that's still my favorite AC game to this day, however the PS4 version is recommended since it's purely single player!

 

Best of luck with AC Revelation's "Lost Archives DLC", that Impress Warren Vidic trophy will be fun, I promise you  

Also good luck with Valhalla you know why lol!

 

Welcome back man! I am so behind with yours it's offensive... and everyone elses! So I will be catching up.

 

Brotherhood has always been my favourite of that Ezio trilogy, it is even more so now. I am enjoying playing Revelations a little bit at the moment though, I always liked Revelations, but I think more for how it closed out Ezio's story than anything else, so I'm looking forward to seeing if my opinion has changed on it at all.

 

Haha it's funny you say that about Lost Archives, I always assumed Lost Archives was going to be absolute arse, because despite being a big puzzle fan,I really hated those Desmond sections in the main game.....A friend played it recently, and she was like "Rob.... you were right, this isn't fun at all" So we'll see if I end up agreeing with that haha. She said the same thing about the Impress Warren Vidic trophy, with the same amount of hilarious sarcasm as you

 

Yep, I'll get on Assassin's Creed Valhalla.... It sounds like the best idea.... maybe I'll save it for Milestone #400?  That'll cure my burnout real quick

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

Sorry for my really late reply, almost 2 weeks! I've been into gaming mode last week and back to work this one but here i am, gonna try egtting back to my weekly routine! 

 

Firstly, no I'm sorry, for all of the really late replies!

 

I think it's almost 3 weeks since I replied to anyone in here, so don't feel bad.... I'm glad you've been in full on gaming mode, and I hope you've been enjoying that too.I've been the opposite as I've barely wanted to play any games at all, but I'm getting there slowly haha.

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

'm happy to know you are one of the Sane persons that prefer the Original Version of Japanese games rather than the english one just because it's his language, i see waaay too many people like that, it's stupid it's just logic, The opposite it's true of course Uncharted or GoW are better in English than japanese it's just their native language.

Ah Yakuza has even English dub now? Didn't even know or wanna know how it is  

Oh i wanna 3 50k each post about P4 When you play it  

 

Definitely if it's the language that would most fit the game, I'll usually play it in that one. The Yakuza/ Judgment dubs are not like really bad or anything from what I've seen. They just lean into that thing I hate about English dubbing of Japanese things, and that's specifically over-pronouncing the Japanese names, but doing it in a way that still sounds so "White" haha. It's the kind of thing that like really Edgy Anime fans do sometimes, and it just makes me want to turn the volume down haha.

 

I reckon they'll definitely end up as long ones whenever I get to actually play Persona 4 haha.

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

I see, well i guess it's indeed a good point, i Love the Ezio trilogy in my Language because it's the setting language! So i guess that's true for here too, if it's possible to choose french language and EN (Or IT it's not the Text language that bothers me in my language) text i'll definitively do that! And yeah Unity catchs my interest, the only AC that does, glad to hear now it's in a much better state too! I'll play it alone not having anybody when i'll do you'll see

 

I was going to ask you if you'd played the Ezio trilogy in your own language, as I expect the game would hit that much harder that way. I'm pleased you enjoyed them though! And that they still are just as enjoyable.

 

Like I wouldn't mind actually playing the Ezio trilogy in Italian myself at some point, but it might have to be a while from now, as I'm currently at the end of replaying them, trying to move towards the last Revelations trophies I need.

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

Indeed, try checking when there are DLCs sales it usually goes. And well Melody of Meomroy shouldn't be an hard Rhytm game so don't worry even if you're not great at the genre you could plat it no doubt  

I Mean i guess sit could work with the Gummiship and stuff but Meh. I don't like space stuff be it star wars trek or whatever so for me the hope is to not see neither Star wars nor superheroes! 

 

I'll make sure I've got an eye on the sales then... I don't want KHIII to stay at under 100% forever, if Melody of Memories is not too bad difficulty wise for a rhythm game I'll have to dive on in. As I'm fairly curious about actually playing it, and it's like, 1 extra KH platinum too.

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

Yeah limbo is indeed a great short game, i'll try get back into it, i even have Inside to play.

 

That reminds me - thank you! I have Inside to play at some point as well, and I really ought to get and do it!

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

I see you are still bored to gettign back to dishonored, i understand  

 

Dishonoured and pretty much every other video game that I try to play at the moment haha

 

On 24/07/2022 at 0:51 AM, Sora9427 said:

Well thanks but change of programs i guess  

I'll delay Ape escape for a little first Comes Stray on the Genre sinc ei was waiting for it, probably after that Ape escape! 

 

I see meanwhile you wrote about the Artful Escape, it loooks interesting, being ont he Plus i'll add it in my library! And Congrats on RDR surely one of the most boring and annoying 100% to get out there! 

 

I really ought to play Stray, I'm just worried I'm not in the right headspace to really enjoy it properly.

 

I still need to actually write a review of Ape Escape, which is not ideal, as I played it like 4 weeks ago now, so my memory might be a little hazy haha.

 

Definitely check out The Artful Escape if you haven't already, that's such a great game! And if you love it, tell another friend and see if they'd like it too, that games deserves all the love.

 

RDR is so weird - like I love the single player so much.... but the online made me so miserable. To the point where one of my friends basically had to privately tell me to take a break, because I was becoming really miserable and she didn't like hearing me like that haha. I'm glad it's finally at 100% though, so I can at least give it a full review at some point.

Edited August 3, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Baker]

Welcome back! 
 

The Artful Escape. I can see why people would like it. For me it was a very mediocre game. ?

[rjkclarke]

2 hours ago, Baker said:

Welcome back! 
 

The Artful Escape. I can see why people would like it. For me it was a very mediocre game.

 

Thanks dude! It feels nice to be back, hopefully I won't go into super negative mode for a little while now.

 

Hey I mean that's fair enough about The Artful Escape, we can't all love the same things.I think that's one of those games where you've got to be pretty invested in the ideas that it's trying to present for it to resonate with you a lot, because I guess functionally, outside of the story, and the overarching message, it does have pretty minimalist gameplay, I loved that side of it, but I'm certainly not going to tell you you're wrong for not enjoying it. 

 

You did pique my interest with Bloodstained though, so I might have to give that one a look, especially as I'm on PS+ Extra still!

[YaManSmevz]

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

 

Wow, he really is just you with a goatee, isn't he?

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Where once I felt like "The Dude",,,,, occasionally I've been feeling like this......

 

 

Everybody needs time to heal or just step back altogether, there ain't never any shame in that.

 

Nice suit tho bro?

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I think jumbles the stripper sounds like a much more likely thing to exist .

 

But I'm not really going to explore that avenue and find out haha

 

Crap... well when a giant cake shows up at your house, whatever you do, don't open it?

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I need to get reading your Transistor review... I know it's there, I just haven't read it. I wanted to be in a good head space when I read it, because I love that game so much. And reading about it, will be just as much fun I think. And what will be an awesome review (I know it will be ) it deserves my full attention, not some half distracted excuse of my attention,

 

That song at the end really did a number on me, I was exactly the same, it's one of those where exactly like you said, you just stop and take it all in. It's just so powerful.

 

I can definitely speak for Bastion... and I'm looking forward to Pyre myself.

 

Always armed with a kind word man, thank you!

 

....though now I'm like 'crap, I hope it's good...'

 

 

Bastion is coming up soon I think, and Realm gave me a friendly nudge towards Pyre, so chances are by the year's end I may only have Hades left!

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I just remembered I actually have an E,T game.... I might throw that in my PS3 and give it a play, and review it, just for like the whole in-joke thing haha. It'd likely be a pretty funny thing to do.

 

Yes!

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'd definitely recommend at the very least playing through the Ezio Trilogy, and then go from there if you want to dip into the series a little more... but those 3 are actually very good. I am really apprehensive about the newer ones. I'm sure I'll enjoy them to some degree, but I even thought Origins was "a little too much" and that's the smallest one of the newer ones, but I guess I won't know until I try them.

 

"A little too much" sums up exactly how I feel about those games! A while back I think Odyssey was on sale for a ridiculously low price, but I looked at how much there is to it and was like "do I really wanna do all that for a game I'm not even convinced I'll like that much??"

 

But the Ezio trilogy... there's a commitment I can make!

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

What would my powers be? The power of self doubt, and caring too much

 

 

Nah, you would be orphanage-savin Kiryu and we all know it?

[Heather342]

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Thanks so much Heather! Sorry for the offensive long time to reply! I'm really Glad you enjoyed the read. .

 

I haven't played Sayonara Wild Hearts, not yet at least, but I'm definitely up for it! I've been intrigued by it for a while, but I know it leans quite heavily on the whole rhythm games, and quite frankly they scare the shit out of me 

 

But you know - I won't know if I don't try, so I think I ought to get stuck in with that one! Because it does look awesome! So thank you for the recommendation! Especially after you said it sounded like a similar kind of experience to what I had with The Artful Escape!

 

If it puts your mind at ease I wouldn't say Sayonara Wild Hearts leans heavily into a rhythm game, but more a sort of on rails music game with the occasional button prompt. A couple of trophies are tied to the button prompts on some levels, but it's pretty doable ?

[rjkclarke]

3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Wow, he really is just you with a goatee, isn't he?

 

He actually isn't far off is he..... and I have got a beard right now, but not a goatee haha!  And now you'll never look at that scene where he's gliding along the floor looking somewhere he shouldn't, the same way  ever again ?

 

3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Everybody needs time to heal or just step back altogether, there ain't never any shame in that.

 

Nice suit tho bro?

 

Quite swish isn't it, the suit I mean!

 

You know damn well I probably could have hypothetically bodied like that entire group of people behind Kiryu the way I was feeling at times the last couple of weeks.... So I'm glad I've chilled out a bit now. 

 

3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Always armed with a kind word man, thank you!

 

....though now I'm like 'crap, I hope it's good...'

 

 

Bastion is coming up soon I think, and Realm gave me a friendly nudge towards Pyre, so chances are by the year's end I may only have Hades left!

 

It WILL be good.... Just you know, you and I sometimes have trouble saying nice things about ourselves! Me more so I think, but you ought to give yourself more credit, I've been looking forward to that Transistor review ever since you booted the game up for the first time, because I was sure you'd do that game a particular justice, I just have a hunch!

 

I'm looking to end the year with just Hades left as well - maybe even finished too, but I really ought to get and start Pyre because that looks so amazing.

 

3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

"A little too much" sums up exactly how I feel about those games! A while back I think Odyssey was on sale for a ridiculously low price, but I looked at how much there is to it and was like "do I really wanna do all that for a game I'm not even convinced I'll like that much??"

 

But the Ezio trilogy... there's a commitment I can make!

 

Glad I'm not the only one that feels like that every time they see Odyssey go on sale, every time that I see the one with all the DLC go on sale, I'm like should I? I don't know what I'll make of that game, like there's so many people who's opinions I absolutely trust, that have basically given me the opposite impression of what they think I'll get from the game.

 

The Ezio trilogy is great though, all three of them, I'm about wrapping up my trophyless replay of Revelations and I've had a really good time with it, so I hope you will if/when you do dive into those in the future!

 

3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Nah, you would be orphanage-savin Kiryu and we all know it?

 

I'm glad THAT was the thing you chose to quote from that specific bit of that reply... because I read that back and realised how dark that read... Oh well, I'll just leave it, it's not an inaccurate description either.

 

I'd like to think I'd be Orphanage-savin Kiryu for sure...Maybe without all the self righteousness Kiryu does and the head cracking... I'll just stick to the whole BIG HEART thing.... until  it inevitably explodes or something ?

 

 

3 hours ago, Heather342 said:

If it puts your mind at ease I wouldn't say Sayonara Wild Hearts leans heavily into a rhythm game, but more a sort of on rails music game with the occasional button prompt. A couple of trophies are tied to the button prompts on some levels, but it's pretty doable ?

 

Oh wow! Actually yes that does, massively actually! I was, not put off per se, just a bit cautious I's say about Sayonara Wild Hearts, because I really cannot emphasise enough, my sheer ineptitude when it comes to rhythm games... so for you to say that, that has actually massively helped! So thank you Heather, like really, I'll have to pick it up and get playing I think!

Edited August 4, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Platinum_Vice]

I hope things start to look up for you soon RJ. If not, I'm always here to lend an ear. ?

Please look after yourself as the highest priority.

[rjkclarke]

41 minutes ago, Platinum_Vice said:

I hope things start to look up for you soon RJ. If not, I'm always here to lend an ear. 

Please look after yourself as the highest priority.

 

Thanks man! I really appreciate that... and I know you would.... and seriously, that does mean a heck of a lot.

 

I'm actually okay, mentally, or close to it? If that makes sense, like I feel in a much more positive place I think. I just have that lingering burnout feeling now, which I'm not quite used to, where I don't quite feel back to where I was, but I'm getting there.

 

I'm just trying to be more and more proactive each new day and seeing where that goes, and so far it seems to be going alright, so hopefully "normal service will resume" at some point, I should think ?

 

Thanks for being absolutely awesome about it though dude, it really is appreciated - I've not exactly been a barrel laughs the last couple of weeks. So hopefully that can change going forward.

[YaManSmevz]

15 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

You know damn well I probably could have hypothetically bodied like that entire group of people behind Kiryu the way I was feeling at times the last couple of weeks.... So I'm glad I've chilled out a bit now. 

 

Me too! I'm glad to hear that the emotional chaos is starting to calm down some. It definitely takes time but that calm will come to you eventually!

 

Although picturing you stomping through England picking up bicycles with one hand and demolishing people as yen flies out of their clothing is an undeniably interesting thought!

 

15 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

It WILL be good.... Just you know, you and I sometimes have trouble saying nice things about ourselves! Me more so I think, but you ought to give yourself more credit, I've been looking forward to that Transistor review ever since you booted the game up for the first time, because I was sure you'd do that game a particular justice, I just have a hunch!

 

I appreciate that confidence, man! It's just cuz I wrote "me Trabsister friends 3ever good mucis" and called it a day?

 

15 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'm looking to end the year with just Hades left as well - maybe even finished too, but I really ought to get and start Pyre because that looks so amazing.

 

Seriously! from everything I've heard, Pyre sounds damn near other otherworldly. I kinda want to do that one next but something tells me that playing Bastion first is the way to go.

 

15 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Glad I'm not the only one that feels like that every time they see Odyssey go on sale, every time that I see the one with all the DLC go on sale, I'm like should I? I don't know what I'll make of that game, like there's so many people who's opinions I absolutely trust, that have basically given me the opposite impression of what they think I'll get from the game.

 

The Ezio trilogy is great though, all three of them, I'm about wrapping up my trophyless replay of Revelations and I've had a really good time with it, so I hope you will if/when you do dive into those in the future!

 

I just have such tepid interest in those, and I've already got such huge open worlds waiting for me to get into that I genuinely want to play, so tossing games like Odyssey or Valhalla onto the heap doesn't make much sense.

 

Pleased to have a trustworthy endorsement for the Ezio trilogy, though!

 

15 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'm glad THAT was the thing you chose to quote from that specific bit of that reply... because I read that back and realised how dark that read... Oh well, I'll just leave it, it's not an inaccurate description either.

 

I'd like to think I'd be Orphanage-savin Kiryu for sure...Maybe without all the self righteousness Kiryu does and the head cracking... I'll just stick to the whole BIG HEART thing.... until  it inevitably explodes or something

 

Well you would know what I was referring to, so there was no need to get specific!

 

The idea is to take care of said heart before something like that happens! At least, so I've heard. Excuse me!

 

*glug glug glug*

[rjkclarke]

Sideshows and Curiosities #4

 

 

 

 

Professor RJ's Ultra Science-Fiction Ranking of Doctor Who... Doctor's, Part 2

 

 

 

 

Right then, are we all sitting comfortably? The two or three of you that are actually interested in seeing how this list ends up! If you're not, I obviously don't mind, I just  think I needed to write something completely game free, to kind of ease myself back in so to speak. So why not return to writing about probably my favourite show of all time!

 

So I won't dilly-dally around too much, if you want to specifically find out what my criteria are, and how I'm ranking them, you can find it in the first part, and if you want to specifically find that, go to the first page on this thread, and look at the second post, you'll find it in the Sideshows and Curiosities section.After all, I do basically use the first 2 posts of this thread as my unofficial contents page ?

 

Remember, these are all my opinions, I'm not suggesting they are fact... You can feel free to agree or disagree as much as you like... I'm sure I'll be 'wrong' on more than a few of these!

 

Let's see how the list is shaping up so far shall we?

 

 

• #15: The Thirteenth Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
• #14: The Shalka Doctor - Richard E. Grant
• #13: The War Doctor - John Hurt
• #12: The Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
• #11: The Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison

 

 

Right.... in the words of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.... " Well..... here we go again"

 

#10

The Sixth Doctor

Colin Baker  (1984-1986)

"In all my travelling throughout the universe, I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilisation: decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core. Power-mad conspirators, Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen - they're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt."

 

Oh Colin.... You poor amazing, underappreciated actor, and Doctor, you......

Just look at that costume, how garish is that? Colin Baker's time as The Doctor whilst not all terrible is definitely approaching the lowest of low points in shows history, and the saddest part about it, is that it wasn't his fault at all. So whilst almost all of Colin Bakers best moments actually take part in audio adventures, those performances are so brilliant, that I'm putting him above some of the other Doctors just for that reason alone.

 

Colin Baker is a real revelation on Audio, he was afforded the chance to play the part he wanted to - his Doctor can be a little dark, but him, more than any other Doctor is most proud of their superior intellect, he can be a little pretentious and pompous about it, but Colin Baker plays that aspect so well, and something he never got to explore on screen too much was how much he cared about his companions - he just has an emotional wall up to stop the hurt when things go south, and I love the way they've explored that a few times on audio.

 

If I was going to recommend one Audio Drama to listen to with Colin, it'd be Davros, that story explores the relationship between Davros and the Doctor in a really thoughtful and unusual way, and Colin's dejected voice when he says "We're not friends.... Davros" with the slightest edge of disgust has always stuck with me.

 

Colin Baker is a more than capable actor, he's really good in fact. From what I understand, from his own words, he just never quite got to play the part the way the he wanted to. He wanted a darker edge to his Doctor, but what he was given to work with as a character,  was an abrasive 'C' word... yes, the one this site censors, not a cactus or a cauliflower.

It's an interesting idea on a conceptual level, the problem is, it only really works on a conceptual level. 

 

The idea was admirable to try and do something different. The problem is, going from an incredibly mild mannered, but well meaning Doctor in the Fifth Doctor, to an abrasive and unlikeable character, which immediately tries to murder the person he just risked his own existence to save, just feels wrong.

 

Even his opening lines are pretty abrasive... His first lines were, after Peri's stunned reaction to his change of appearance of "I-I-I-I,,,,,,," only for the Doctor to immediately reply with: "  That's three I's in one breath — makes you sound a rather egotistical young lady."

 

That line isn't in the pursuit of humour, just an unnecessary thing to say, and so unlike the character the audience grew to know at that point - whatever incarnation they happen to be in. The people in charge of the show at the time seemed to think people wanted to see The Doctor and his friends arguing endlessly, but throughout the history of the show it has been abundantly clear that the best and most dynamic pairings are the ones that get on.

 

Plus Colin's second theme tune, is one of my favourite versions of the theme to ever exist, it's just so obnoxiously and unapologetically 80's and I love it.... I guess i'll hold off on details until I do Profeessor RJ's Ultra Science -Fiction Ranking of, Doctor Who Themes.... ? (Don't think that I won't!)

 

 

 

#9

The Twelfth Doctor

Peter Capaldi (2013-2017)

 

"There's no such thing as the Doctor. I’m just a bloke in a box telling stories. I didn’t come here because I'm ashamed. A bit of shame never hurt anyone. I came… because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard… I’m not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."

 

There are a lot of quotes I could have pulled out over Peter Capaldi's tenure as The Doctor - but that one in particular, I think will always resonate with me. Fundamentally it's what still gives me faith in this nearly sixty year old show. The Doctor as a character has always been a man/woman eternally haunted and tormented by their own actions, but has and always will be a good person.

 

So for someone who lives inside their own mind far too often, and dwells on so many things I can't control, that's a huge part of why I gravitate so much towards that character. Peter Capaldi's Doctor is one that they explore those ideas with more regularly than others.

He can so often be found asking his companions: "Am I a good man?" Like he knows that he is, but he needs that reminder, because sometimes living with that constant mental pain just makes you doubt that you even are.

I'm not suggesting I'm an amazing individual like The Doctor, I barely have an ego as it is, but I do know that I'm a good person, so when those doubts start to creep in they can really turn you inside out.

 

Ahem... back to Doctor Who, right? I feel similarly about Peter Capaldi's time as The Doctor, as I do with Colin Baker's, you get glimpses of brilliance, but it's never quite what it should have been. And he could have been so much more. I think his relationship with Clara, across their two series together, is incredibly toxic. Where Capaldi really shines is in his final Series, where they seemed to finally have a handle on what they wanted his character to be.

 

However, One of my favourite episodes of the entire show came from Peter Capaldi's era of the show. Heaven Sent. If you're a fan of just good quality television, then this one is worth watching. You can kind of watch it in a bubble too, as the following episode is an absolute dreckfest.

 

Heaven Sent however, is a masterfully written and directed piece of television - and is such a powerful and beautiful metaphor for the long healing process that goes hand in hand with dealing with both a loss, and the internalisation of those thoughts... and how chipping away at those feelings over time is the only way to really feel better about it. 

 

I'm looking forward to Peter Capaldi dipping into the audio adventure range at some point in the future - because I'd love for his Doctor to get explored in some greater depth like Colin Baker has been able to do with that medium.

 

#8

The First Doctor

William Hartnell - (1963-1966, 1972-1973)

Richard Hurndall (1983)

David Bradley (2017)

 

 

 

"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear"

 

Now we're into the territory where it's not just a simple case of "I like this one, more than another one" We're kind of into the very small margins of preference territory, because 60's Doctor Who is one of my very favourite eras of the show.

 

Time for a bit for a bit of an audio visual accompaniment I think..... That quote above is one of the most powerful moments in the entire history of the show.... And exemplifies exactly why The Doctor is such a good character - never fearing about hurting himself in the pursuit of someone else's happiness, or their needs.

 

To give a little context, this is The Doctors final moments with his granddaughter (for a long time at least) and William Hartnell gives such a powerhouse performance when he has to do what he thinks his best, and say goodbye.

 

 

It's such a brilliant moment, for what was probably the most stoic incarnation of all of The Doctor's.... I've always loved the small subtle bits of acting from William Hartnell in that scene, where you can just see a bit of pain etched on his face, as he begins to speak, like the slightest hesitation, to say the thing he has to say but the thing he doesn't want to say.

The bit I like the most is actually, the moment where he hastily turns off the scanner and dematerialises his time ship, in one quick movement, because he just can't stand to dwell on that pain any more. In the context of his character, it's a brilliant little moment.

 

It does feel a little wrong, that The First Doctor, is actually only #8 on the list, but I really do love The First Doctor. He has such excellent character growth across his time as the character too. Going from a curmudgeonly old man who is quite self serving, to the character he would eventually establish and grow into over time, it really is quite the noticeable difference if you watch his era (or what still exists of it) chronologically.

 

I suspect if he wasn't plagued by Missing Episodes, Hartnell would make it higher up this list, because William Hartnell's dual role in The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Eve, is tremendously good just on audio so to have some visual representation would be wonderful. But unfortunately not a single frame of footage survives, just an audio track, and some tele-snaps (if there are even any of those I believe). 

 

#7

The Ninth Doctor

Christoper Ecclestone (2005)

"Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!"

 

Christopher Ecclestone's tenure as The Ninth Doctor is one of the biggest what ifs in the entire history of the show. He was so brilliant, but his time as The Doctor was so fleeting lasting only one full series. It's a real shame, and that is the only reason that he isn't higher up on this list, because he really is brilliant.

 

You could probably describe the Ninth Doctor best as The PTSD Doctor. His part to play in "The Time War" is one of the most prevalent aspects of his character. It haunts every fibre of his being, and I think Ecclestone plays that part of the character to such great effect. When I wrote about The War Doctor in the previous post, Ecclestone's Doctor is the next incarnation, so he carries all the weight of his actions, and they are much more recent for him than any other Doctor. 

 

I think Christopher Ecclestone's portrayal of The Doctor is also one of the reasons that the show was a resounding success on its return to Television after a gap of sixteen years. It adapted and it changed, and he was a huge part of that. The newer series of the show is a much more simplified one, and to be perfectly honest they are completely different types of show, but Ecclestone's infectious energy is exactly what the show needed. 

 

Considering how short his tenure as the Doctor actually was, he managed to create so many amazing moments as that character. Like there are so many that I could post, that I'd love to just post here, to demonstrate exactly why he was so brilliant. this might be one of The Doctor's I revisit at some point if I revise the rankings after listening to his audio adventures.

 

It's a controversial opinion, but I much prefer The Ninth Doctor and Rose, to the pairing of The Tenth Doctor and Rose, there is just a little more of a simplicity to their relationship, that you don't get with Ten and Rose.

 

 

#6

The Seventh Doctor

Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989, 1996)

"Every great decision creates ripples, like a huge boulder dropped in a lake. The ripples merge and rebound off the banks in unforeseeable ways. The heavier the decision, the larger the waves, the more uncertain the consequences."

 

Man I hate that Sylv is sitting outside of the top 5..... I just love his Doctor so much, but the next five I love that little bit more. The Seventh Doctor was my favourite growing up, and I'm still very fond of him now. He has a really endearing impish, and almost clown-like quality to him. The thing you don't notice as a younger person, is how dark his Doctor is alongside that.

 

I may or may not own a few of the components of his costume too, not the original ones obviously. But as some of you know, I'm partial to a hat or two,and those trousers are pretty swish too ?

 

I really appreciate his Doctor as a result of that, as an adult. There's a real darkness bubbling under the surface with him, he's manipulative and he's enigmatic too. But his heart is in the right place. The sad thing about The Seventh Doctor's tenure, is that the show got rested by the BBC just as the show was starting to have a mini-renaissance.

 

Some of my favourite stories in the show come straight from this era, and the script for Remembrance of the Daleks, is one of the finest pieces of writing to ever grace the show. The fact that a story like that is not the 25th Anniversary story, when the pretty abysmal Silver Nemesis is, just feels a little wrong.

 

There is so much I enjoy about it though, The Doctor and Ace's student/teacher/friend relationship is so well realised, and their chemistry is electric! It's so obvious why Sophie and Sylvester have remained friends for the last 35 years.

 

I would love to have seen how the show would have moved forward with Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch taking the show into a new era, which I believe was the plan, much like Barry Letts and Terrence Dicks did in the late 60's and early 70's.There was real scope for potential there. And when you look at how the show decided to tell stories when it was revived in 2005, it used a blueprint eerily similar to the way Aaronovitch and Cartmel decided to structure their writing.

Doctor Who under them became just as important to focus on The Doctors travelling partner as anything else. Not only that, but Andrew Cartmel had such an interesting take on what he thought the Doctor should be, and he really knew how to get the performances out of McCoy, when tweaking the dialogue in his job as script editor.

 

The Seventh Doctor was also "Technically" the current Doctor, when I got into Doctor Who... So I suppose by default, that makes him "My Doctor" I remember even when I understood what regeneration was conceptually in the show, how upset I was when his Doctor died, and regenerated in the Paul McGann TV Movie. It's some really well directed television.

 

A traveller in space and time getting gunned down, and then dying on an operating table, as a result of complications from surgery, is one of the most harrowing things I remember watching. It all felt a little "too real"  I could not watch it for years and years, but Sylvester McCoy acted that scene fantastically. As a terrified alien, being exposed to human medicine, but not quite knowing what's going to happen.

 

I also love that The Seventh Doctor is the one to punctuate the final scene in Classic Doctor Who, with some of the most beautifully apt prose from Andrew Cartmel, it's so fitting for both the character and the universe. Which I think is as good of a place as any to leave this part of the rankings.

 

"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."

 

 

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

 

Well that was nice to get written, I have no idea when I do the next one... or the next "Anything" but it was nice to write something and start to feel a bit more positive again!

 

I'll catch you whenever the next one is folks!

Edited August 4, 2022 by rjkclarke

[DrBloodmoney]

On 04/08/2022 at 9:15 PM, rjkclarke said:

#6

The Seventh Doctor

Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989, 1996)

 

Aha!

 

So - Full Disclosure @rjkclarke - I've held off commenting on most of your Who related posts (games and these awesome lists!) because I'm admittedly, not a Who guy really... however, I was really wondering where Sylvester McCoy would land on these for one very important reason...

...he's the only Doctor I've seen!

 

For whatever reason, the only episodes I ever actually caught, were Sylverster McCoy ones (I assume repeats, though maybe late 80s... I forget how old I was!) ) at my grandparents house being babysat, and so in my head, they are the pure canon for me - thus rendering all others imposters ?

 

I had wondered, given that I don't have the broad knowledge, whether what I saw was considered in the "Good" or "Less good" range from a true aficionado - and sounds like he was up there!

 

 

Seriously though - in case your wondering whether these "play" for someone unfamiliar with the series really... still great reads! ?

[rjkclarke]

On 04/08/2022 at 5:58 PM, YaManSmevz said:

Me too! I'm glad to hear that the emotional chaos is starting to calm down some. It definitely takes time but that calm will come to you eventually!

 

Although picturing you stomping through England picking up bicycles with one hand and demolishing people as yen flies out of their clothing is an undeniably interesting thought!

 

Thanks man.... and I'm offensively late replying.... AGAIN.

 

Thankfully that emotional chaos, has calmed down now, and things are mostly back to normal.

 

Not gonna lie though, I'm intrigued by the image of me stomping around England using Bicycles as baseball bats! ?

 

On 04/08/2022 at 5:58 PM, YaManSmevz said:

I appreciate that confidence, man! It's just cuz I wrote "me Trabsister friends 3ever good mucis" and called it a day

 

That's still six words more than any Transistor review I've ever written.... but I'm seriously considering writing one myself (and yes I've got a lot of catching up to do with everyone's threads, which I will 100% do)... But there is someone I'd really like to play Transistor, so maybe me writing a review of it that's nice and spoiler free might nudge them in the direction of experiencing that amazing game!

 

On 04/08/2022 at 5:58 PM, YaManSmevz said:

Seriously! from everything I've heard, Pyre sounds damn near other otherworldly. I kinda want to do that one next but something tells me that playing Bastion first is the way to go.

 

Pyre really does look amazing doesn't it, and I suspect we'll both love it - I think something Doc said last year to me was pretty on the money, that it's probably better to just go back and do Bastion before going to the more recent ones. It's really good, and I loved Bastion so much, but it doesn't feel quite the same as something like Transistor does. And what I've heard Pyre does, despite still being incredibly good.

On 04/08/2022 at 5:58 PM, YaManSmevz said:

I just have such tepid interest in those, and I've already got such huge open worlds waiting for me to get into that I genuinely want to play, so tossing games like Odyssey or Valhalla onto the heap doesn't make much sense.

 

Pleased to have a trustworthy endorsement for the Ezio trilogy, though!

 

Yeah you said it perfectly man! There are a bunch of other open world games that I'd like to get to before those as well, so I'm not ruling out ever playing them, I just don't really have all that much interest in them myself.

 

Yep! The Ezio trilogy gets a very healthy endorsement from me!

 

On 06/08/2022 at 0:03 AM, DrBloodmoney said:

 

Aha!

 

So - Full Disclosure @rjkclarke - I've held off commenting on most of your Who related posts (games and these awesome lists!) because I'm admittedly, not a Who guy really... however, I was really wondering where Sylvester McCoy would land on these for one very important reason...

...he's the only Doctor I've seen!

 

For whatever reason, the only episodes I ever actually caught, were Sylverster McCoy ones (I assume repeats, though maybe late 80s... I forget how old I was!) ) at my grandparents house being babysat, and so in my head, they are the pure canon for me - thus rendering all others imposters 

 

I had wondered, given that I don't have the broad knowledge, whether what I saw was considered in the "Good" or "Less good" range from a true aficionado - and sounds like he was up there!

 

 

Seriously though - in case your wondering whether these "play" for someone unfamiliar with the series really... still great reads! 

 

That's cool man! I know you're not a big Doctor Who guy or anything, so I appreciate you slapping a comment on now, or giving it a read.

 

I guess McCoy would have been The Doctor when you were pretty young, so yeah makes sense he's the one you would have seen.

 

I do like that you sort of see Sylv as the de-facto canon Doctor for you. Especially as he's also a Scot. I really like his Doctor, and I'm honestly a little sad he's outside the top 5, but past that point it's like the tiniest margins of preference between each one. I really like 2/3's of his era of the show, the first series is a pretty awkward transitional period, but his final two are really good, with some really interesting and thoughtful stories, that were heading ina  pretty interesting direction. So it's kind of a shame the damage had been done by that point, and the viewing figures were at an all time low.

 

Thanks so much though - I'm really glad these fun little Doctor Who'y posts are still interesting to read, so that's really awesome of you to say! And for you not to call your lawyers about the slight joke title about the rankings, not that I thought you'd mind ??

[Sora9427]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

Firstly, no I'm sorry, for all of the really late replies!

 

I think it's almost 3 weeks since I replied to anyone in here, so don't feel bad.... I'm glad you've been in full on gaming mode, and I hope you've been enjoying that too.I've been the opposite as I've barely wanted to play any games at all, but I'm getting there slowly haha.

 

Definitely if it's the language that would most fit the game, I'll usually play it in that one. The Yakuza/ Judgment dubs are not like really bad or anything from what I've seen. They just lean into that thing I hate about English dubbing of Japanese things, and that's specifically over-pronouncing the Japanese names, but doing it in a way that still sounds so "White" haha. It's the kind of thing that like really Edgy Anime fans do sometimes, and it just makes me want to turn the volume down haha.

 

I reckon they'll definitely end up as long ones whenever I get to actually play Persona 4 haha.

 

I was going to ask you if you'd played the Ezio trilogy in your own language, as I expect the game would hit that much harder that way. I'm pleased you enjoyed them though! And that they still are just as enjoyable.

Like I wouldn't mind actually playing the Ezio trilogy in Italian myself at some point, but it might have to be a while from now, as I'm currently at the end of replaying them, trying to move towards the last Revelations trophies I need.

 

I'll make sure I've got an eye on the sales then... I don't want KHIII to stay at under 100% forever, if Melody of Memories is not too bad difficulty wise for a rhythm game I'll have to dive on in. As I'm fairly curious about actually playing it, and it's like, 1 extra KH platinum too.

 

That reminds me - thank you! I have Inside to play at some point as well, and I really ought to get and do it!

 

Dishonoured and pretty much every other video game that I try to play at the moment haha

 

I really ought to play Stray, I'm just worried I'm not in the right headspace to really enjoy it properly.

 

I still need to actually write a review of Ape Escape, which is not ideal, as I played it like 4 weeks ago now, so my memory might be a little hazy haha.

 

Definitely check out The Artful Escape if you haven't already, that's such a great game! And if you love it, tell another friend and see if they'd like it too, that games deserves all the love.

 

RDR is so weird - like I love the single player so much.... but the online made me so miserable. To the point where one of my friends basically had to privately tell me to take a break, because I was becoming really miserable and she didn't like hearing me like that haha. I'm glad it's finally at 100% though, so I can at least give it a full review at some point.

 

Oh you don't have to be sorry, at all, as you can see it took me another 3 times to reply now, wow didn't thought it was this many days O.o Sorry once more for the late reply! 

Ah, i hope this last weeks were more Gaming involved for you then, i see you got back into AC Revelation and a trophy in Dishonored while playing GoW too, great work on them  

 

I mean i absolutely Hate the English Dub on anywhere that isn't from US or UK so, i don't even wanna listen to that i Yakuza  Seriously in my opnion the EN dubs try so hard to make ti sound their own and you did a perfect example, it's terrible, and this is pretty much in every Media that it's not from them.

Well then i'll gladly wait for your Persona Review, i expect a lot  

 

yeah i indeed played Ac Ezio Trilogy in my language, back in the Ps3 era actually IT dubs were good enough even Uncharted i'll gladly play it againb in Italian, why not it was good, it's in the alst 6-7 years (Or forever in Rpgs anyway) that they are awful, for example GoW when i'll play it i'll do that in ENG, god i tried out F1 22 in Italian and i turned it off and put EN after the first menus and talking it, to give the idea  

Well you started Ac Ezio in EN so it makes sense to play it that way  Plus i gues sit's always better understand a bit what is said, even if i'm in no position to say that or i would be hyprocrite since i play and watch stuff in Japanese knowing like 50 words at most  

 

Well good luck if you manage to congrats! I, for the time ebign at least, gace up in the 100% because, damn if it's hard the final battle, i really couldn't make it! But i wanna of course do it, one day! Let me know when you'll buy it And Yeah MoM should be pretty easy fro what i know, even the guide says 4 difficulty and it's a 30% rarity, i doubt it would be so being hard  Plus i doubt it's super skippable too, sure it doesn't tell that much but we'll see what Kairi and the Others are doing between Kh 3 & 4 still.

 

Ah you have it too, nice, really great game, i watched it but like 5 years ago, don't remember much i should get into it too!

Well i say you are doing a great job getting back into your games Dishonored so close to the end now, as AC Revelation  

 

Ah i get you, i try to write down reviews right away or i'll either forget or the Desire to write them pass! I see you wrote down a big review about doctor Who, nice! Not my kind of thing (Well i don't really watch any TV be it Movies or Series overall) still great reviews! 

 

Yeah i haven't and i noticed it's another Annapurna game soi'm sure it's great, it's in my plans for sure! Well i see a good bunch of people playing it here on PSNP beng on the Plus so there's that

 

Yeah so like every rockstar game i guess?  Personalyl i ahted the Single player too, not the game itself, story and agmeplay were super fun but the 100%? I'm missing only that and i don't care or wanna go to find 3-4 squirrels or whatever to work on1  thing and so on, so boring. I'm Glad you managed to make it all, especially the Online then judging by your experience  

[rjkclarke]

Some Apes Escaped, I Captured Them, And Got Myself A Lovely New Platinum

Platinum #360

Ape Escape (PS4)

 

 

No Ape Can Escape!
Collect all other Ape Escape Trophies.

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

Platinum Earned - 8 July 2022: 2:01:23 AM

Time Taken to Platinum -  11 hours, 34 minutes, 30 seconds

Platinum Rarity  - 41.06%

Trophy Number - #17,130

 

 

 

You know what I always say (well, those that have read anything of mine, will) – sometimes a little trip down memory lane isn’t the worst thing in the world. Sometimes it can be the healthiest of reminders, of why you enjoyed something to begin with. Did Ape Escape scratch that itch? I guess we’ll find out the further we get into this review. 

 

When Ape Escape, a game I was incredibly fond of when I was younger released with PlayStation Plus Premium, I jumped at the chance to explore the game once more, and add a shiny new platinum to the collection at the same time.

 

Don’t get me wrong here – I absolutely enjoyed my time with this game, but I did get the feeling a few times that “Some things perhaps ought to stay in the past” ironically, it’s actually some fairly small factors that made me think that, and we’ll get to those shortly, and realistically if you aren’t playing the version that I played they might not even remotely be a factor.

 

So with that bit of bluster out of the way, let’s kick this off properly shall we?

 

Ape Escape, released all the way back in 1999, and was developed by Japan Studio; the game itself is somewhat of a unique platformer and collectathon hybrid.  It utilises some of the most unique and innovative functions of the Dual Shock controller around the time of the games release too, and when I say innovative, that is absolutely not an understatement, it really does do just that – innovate.

You take the role of Spike, as you set out to chase down an armada of brain-washed monkeys (I’m going to be using helmet monkeys from now on, just because I enjoy it) turned loose by the hyper intelligent and famous white haired monkey Spectre. Your goal is to travel to various time periods and recapture the monkeys.  That seems like a really simple description, but that is pretty much what constitutes as the story basis here.

 

Ape Escape is also fairly unique, in that the game plays ever so slightly differently depending on the region copy of the game that you happened to be in possession of. In my case, the UK copy, the protagonist is still named Spike, however, the professor’s female assistant is called Katie, instead of Natalie, as she is in the US version – Spikes best friend in my version is named Buzz instead of Jake too. Not only that, but the UK and US versions have entirely separate voice acting.

 

This is, in all honesty, my main gripe with the game, so I’ll deal with it now. Let’s be clear here, whether you like the voice acting or not, it will not in any way detract from your ability to have an enjoyable time with this game. But I do think there’s a small chance it’ll grate on you a fair amount. Here’s the thing – and I have a bit of a confession to make here, when I was much younger, I’d often skip the cutscenes if I wasn’t hat interested, to get to the game a bit faster.

So in truth, I don’t feel like I’ve probably ever, truly, experienced the “Story” of Ape Escape. Fast forward to 2022, and there I was experiencing it, thinking “Wow, that is some of those most stilted and awkward line delivery that I have ever heard.” Not from one character, but from practically all of them. It’s not a really big issue, just something you find yourself occasionally eye rolling at, before getting your net out, shrugging your shoulders and catching yourself some more helmet monkeys.

 

As I alluded to earlier, one of the most unique features of Ape Escape is the way in which it utilises the Dual Shock features. Incredibly well too, because when I initially played the game around the time of release I distinctly remember being blown away by the fact that the thumb-sticks could be clicked in to act as a button in their own right, or the fact that rotating the analogue sticks when holding the Sky Flyer, would cause you to essentially hover like a propeller. I think what really does stand out though, is that whilst these things are fairly groundbreaking, and they absolutely were– they also work mechanically on a fundamental level. Ape Escape deserves all of the credit for this. As there have been plenty of examples where an innovative idea, does not always translate into a mechanically sound one. 

 

The catching of those helmet monkeys – and the general all round innovation of Ape Escape’s gameplay really is where it shines, and that, I think, is where the majority of the praise should be heaped. In a sense, it’s rather simple conceptually. You enter a level, catch a set amount of monkeys and then leave. It never is quite that simple though, as each individual helmet monkey possesses its own set of characteristics and stats. The helmet also contains an alarm which when triggered; either sends the monkeys into a violent frenzy, or a desperate panic. You’ll also gradually learn that certain characteristics of the monkey’s clothing, will also translate to a slightly different behaviour type, so there’s usually a specific way to approach each one. The further you get into the game, the more advanced the strategy you might need to utilise to catch said monkey.

 

To aid you in your pursuit of the helmet monkeys, you’re afforded several gadgets, which aid in both solving puzzles to progress the individual levels and giving you an easier time when capturing the pesky hairy critters. These range objects like a net to actually capture said monkeys, a Stun Club, to help subdue the monkeys momentarily, making them easier to capture, a Hula-Hoop type device, which allows you to traverse faster. My personal favourite was the Sky Flyer, an object which simply looks like a two sided boat paddle, but affords you the chance to traverse the levels faster and more efficiently. Access to this really does open up a whole raft of possibilities to the player.

 

One of the more unique areas of Ape Escape is actually in its level design – I think you could both praise this and criticise it in almost equal measure, if you were inclined to do so. I’m not going to, because I think contextually it actually works very cleverly. As one of the main plot elements of Ape Escape is time travel, as such, time zones, and splintered pieces of other times, appear where they shouldn’t. I think that really works in the context of the levels, as some of the things you encounter can be a genuine surprise to encounter them in the specific places that you do.

As each level is fairly small and discrete the designers had a pretty good opportunity to really experiment with some ideas. Not every single one of them works, but I appreciate the effort in trying. I also couldn’t help but appreciate how each level is fairly non-linear and can be approached from a multitude of different directions if you wanted to do so.

 

For a game released on PS1, then emulated for PS4 and PS5, I genuinely think this looks quite good. It’s not perfect, like with a lot of titles from this era, you can expect incredibly jagged textures and some slightly unusual stuttering on occasion, but even with that in mind – visually at least, Ape Escape has held up rather well. I really did appreciate how much smoother this specific version looked.  Having played the original not too long ago, it was noticeable how much of an improvement it actually is.

I’d also like to make it clear how much I appreciated the feature in the emulation, to be able to just rewind time essentially; it cuts out what might have been a really frustrating section of platforming. It’s something I didn’t feel at all bad about utilising either, having played the original so many times.

 

One standout feature of Ape Escape that I think ought to get a little more appreciation, is in its use of sound design – whilst I’m not overly keen on the voice acting in my particular version of the game, the sound across the board in the entire game is incredibly well realised. It also has undeniable charm to it, which also contains an incredibly satisfying feeling to it. Whether it’s the sound of the net as it captures a helmet monkey or the almost instantaneous screech of fear and panic from the monkey as its helmet alarm starts to go off, it all adds together to make something very memorable.

 

The original soundtrack for Ape Escape, supplied by Soichi Terada is an absolutely masterful one. It’s a real joy to listen to out of context too. It’s persistently upbeat, and absolutely full to the brim with energy. One aspect of it that I think is incredibly clever is the way that it changes the tempo in a situational manner. For example, the tempo of the music changes depending on whether you’re in stealth/sneaking mode, and depending on which form of either of those, the tempo will noticeably slow down, as you approach your target, which I thought was an incredibly subtle but clever touch.

 

Would I recommend Ape Escape? Yes, I think so – it’s incredibly short, but I don’t think I was ever disinterested during it once, and I think even if you don’t have even the slightest touch of nostalgia goggles from playing it on release, there is still a very enjoyable time to be had with this game. Its trophies are pretty straightforward too. I am slightly glad you don’t have to get good scores in the mini-games, just play them. Some of those made me feel like a cascade of rocks had fallen onto my head, as I tried to figure out those controls.  

 

I do feel as if the game is worth experiencing though, even in 2022, if you’re completely new to the series. You never know it might be a whole new game series you find an appreciation for, and how can that ever be a bad thing. Which I suppose means I ought to finally get and play Ape Escape 2 at some point, as it’s been on my backlog for quite a long time now.  

 

 

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That's pretty bad, that it took me a full month to actually review this one - I'd better start picking the pace up again from here on out, but I guess that'll happen when it happens. I can't force stuff like that. But it's nice to finally have Ape Escape reviewed at last.

 

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

Ah, i hope this last weeks were more Gaming involved for you then, i see you got back into AC Revelation and a trophy in Dishonored while playing GoW too, great work on them  

 

I'm getting there thanks - no need to apologise for replying late either, it's not like I haven't been bad for that lately myself. I appreciate that you actually take the time to do it.

 

It's been nice getting some gaming back in here and there though - I've also been playing Resident Evil Revelations 2 a lot, which has been absolutely amazing, but you won't see that show up, because I already played it years ago.

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

yeah i indeed played Ac Ezio Trilogy in my language, back in the Ps3 era actually IT dubs were good enough even Uncharted i'll gladly play it againb in Italian, why not it was good, it's in the alst 6-7 years (Or forever in Rpgs anyway) that they are awful, for example GoW when i'll play it i'll do that in ENG, god i tried out F1 22 in Italian and i turned it off and put EN after the first menus and talking it, to give the idea  

Well you started Ac Ezio in EN so it makes sense to play it that way  Plus i gues sit's always better understand a bit what is said, even if i'm in no position to say that or i would be hyprocrite since i play and watch stuff in Japanese knowing like 50 words at most  

 

I actually wouldn't mind going back and playing the Ezio trilogy in Italian, with some English subtitles on, I really love those games anyway, so being able to hear them how they should probably authentically sound would probably be incredibly cool.

 

Plus, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to want to replay Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ONE more time. So I could do the other two as well

 

Having been playing GoW fairly recently myself, it's quite tougj to imagine that game specifically in any language other than English, I'm sure it works in other languages, but Christopher Judge is just so good as Kratos I struggle to be able to imagine anyone else's voice coming from Kratos.

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

And Yeah MoM should be pretty easy fro what i know, even the guide says 4 difficulty and it's a 30% rarity, i doubt it would be so being hard  Plus i doubt it's super skippable too, sure it doesn't tell that much but we'll see what Kairi and the Others are doing between Kh 3 & 4 still.

 

I'll have to check it out then, I did see it very cheap on Amazon recently, and I forgot to buy it, so I might have to give Melody of Memories a nice little look, just to see what's up really. And you know, it'd be nice to have all of the Kingdom Hearts platinum's again (well without stacking anyway) at least until KHIV releases in Two thousand and never ? - I think we'll have a long wait for that one.

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

Well i say you are doing a great job getting back into your games Dishonored so close to the end now, as AC Revelation  

 

Thank you! I'm trying to get some of those pesky stragglers on my backlog ticked off, and I've now done all the hard stuff in Dishonoured, and I've got one pesky trophy left in AC Revelations, so I really ought to dive back in, and give that a go at some point soon.

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

Ah i get you, i try to write down reviews right away or i'll either forget or the Desire to write them pass! I see you wrote down a big review about doctor Who, nice! Not my kind of thing (Well i don't really watch any TV be it Movies or Series overall) still great reviews! 

 

That's usually what I try to do as well - around the time I was playing Ape Escape I had like a pretty big patch of just burnout and really not good feeling for a while, so I kind of just left off writing it for a while, so when I returned to write that Ape Escape review (that this reply is attached to ironically) I did struggle a bit to remember where my head was at with it.

 

I totally agree with you though! That it's better to just write about them fairly soon afterwards, otherwise you find yourself less and less likely to actually want to do it.

 

1 hour ago, Sora9427 said:

Yeah so like every rockstar game i guess?  Personalyl i ahted the Single player too, not the game itself, story and agmeplay were super fun but the 100%? I'm missing only that and i don't care or wanna go to find 3-4 squirrels or whatever to work on1  thing and so on, so boring. I'm Glad you managed to make it all, especially the Online then judging by your experience  

 

It was definitely an experience that's for sure! I can see why you probably decided to give up with some of the really silly requirements for the 100%, they are a little bit unusual and obnoxious some of them!

 

Thanks I'm glad I managed to do it too, ultimately - but unfortunately the two times I attempted doing Red Dead Redemption's online portion in the last 6 years have been pretty disastrous, some of it this time around was alright. But yeah, one trophy in particular really drove me a little crazy. Even having one of my favourite people in the whole world, along with me for the ride didn't actually make it any easier not to find the experience incredibly sapping. I'm glad it's one less horrible set of online trophies to have to worry about!

Edited August 20, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Billie__227]

Congrats again on the plat and on fiinally getting the review done I once again abandoned my whole write up of all the games I've played recently.. I actually did finish up the Ape Escape portion of mine but once again your writing totally puts my measly couple of short paragraphs to shame and makes me feel the need to revise lol. Love the passion you guys all have for the writing part of the process, it always looks so professional haha.

[YaManSmevz]

12 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Thanks man.... and I'm offensively late replying.... AGAIN.

 

Thankfully that emotional chaos, has calmed down now, and things are mostly back to normal.

 

Nah man, no worries! And I'm glad to hear that, if anybody deserves a little piece of mind, it's you?

 

Quote

Not gonna lie though, I'm intrigued by the image of me stomping around England using Bicycles as baseball bats!

 

Get together with Sabbath, man! He'll have you swingin bikes over your head in no time?

 

Quote

That's still six words more than any Transistor review I've ever written.... but I'm seriously considering writing one myself (and yes I've got a lot of catching up to do with everyone's threads, which I will 100% do)... But there is someone I'd really like to play Transistor, so maybe me writing a review of it that's nice and spoiler free might nudge them in the direction of experiencing that amazing game!

 

Doo it, doo it?

 

Quote

Pyre really does look amazing doesn't it, and I suspect we'll both love it - I think something Doc said last year to me was pretty on the money, that it's probably better to just go back and do Bastion before going to the more recent ones. It's really good, and I loved Bastion so much, but it doesn't feel quite the same as something like Transistor does. And what I've heard Pyre does, despite still being incredibly good.

 

Yeah, between Doc's rec and Realm's urging, Pyre is pretty much a lock. Which by default makes Bastion a lock as well, I suppose! I'm looking forward to seein how different each game plays, you can just tell Supergiant has got creativity for daayyys.

 

On 8/4/2022 at 1:15 PM, rjkclarke said:

Professor RJ's Ultra Science-Fiction Ranking of Doctor Who... Doctor's, Part 2

 

 

In case I didn't mention this after your first installment, I love the thought and dedication you're pouring into this. If I had to rank favorites of any medium, I know I'd definitely struggle to provide the same level of care that you do here.

 

On 8/4/2022 at 1:15 PM, rjkclarke said:

 

 

 

While I've never seen this guy on TV, I do love his oatmeal!

 

10 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Platinum #360

Ape Escape (PS4)

 

Great to see you back on the horse, man!

 

Or ape, as it were.

 

Awesome write-up as always, and I gotta say I dig that we've both nabbed ourselves a classic PS1 plat!

[Sora9427]

12 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I'm getting there thanks - no need to apologise for replying late either, it's not like I haven't been bad for that lately myself. I appreciate that you actually take the time to do it.

 

It's been nice getting some gaming back in here and there though - I've also been playing Resident Evil Revelations 2 a lot, which has been absolutely amazing, but you won't see that show up, because I already played it years ago.

 

 

I actually wouldn't mind going back and playing the Ezio trilogy in Italian, with some English subtitles on, I really love those games anyway, so being able to hear them how they should probably authentically sound would probably be incredibly cool.

 

Plus, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to want to replay Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ONE more time. So I could do the other two as well

 

Having been playing GoW fairly recently myself, it's quite tougj to imagine that game specifically in any language other than English, I'm sure it works in other languages, but Christopher Judge is just so good as Kratos I struggle to be able to imagine anyone else's voice coming from Kratos.

 

 

I'll have to check it out then, I did see it very cheap on Amazon recently, and I forgot to buy it, so I might have to give Melody of Memories a nice little look, just to see what's up really. And you know, it'd be nice to have all of the Kingdom Hearts platinum's again (well without stacking anyway) at least until KHIV releases in Two thousand and never - I think we'll have a long wait for that one.

 

 

Thank you! I'm trying to get some of those pesky stragglers on my backlog ticked off, and I've now done all the hard stuff in Dishonoured, and I've got one pesky trophy left in AC Revelations, so I really ought to dive back in, and give that a go at some point soon.

 

 

That's usually what I try to do as well - around the time I was playing Ape Escape I had like a pretty big patch of just burnout and really not good feeling for a while, so I kind of just left off writing it for a while, so when I returned to write that Ape Escape review (that this reply is attached to ironically) I did struggle a bit to remember where my head was at with it.

 

I totally agree with you though! That it's better to just write about them fairly soon afterwards, otherwise you find yourself less and less likely to actually want to do it.

 

 

It was definitely an experience that's for sure! I can see why you probably decided to give up with some of the really silly requirements for the 100%, they are a little bit unusual and obnoxious some of them!

 

Thanks I'm glad I managed to do it too, ultimately - but unfortunately the two times I attempted doing Red Dead Redemption's online portion in the last 6 years have been pretty disastrous, some of it this time around was alright. But yeah, one trophy in particular really drove me a little crazy. Even having one of my favourite people in the whole world, along with me for the ride didn't actually make it any easier not to find the experience incredibly sapping. I'm glad it's one less horrible set of online trophies to have to worry about!

 

This time same as you i'll reply right away, no waiting weeks, i appreciate you too taking the time, espeiclaly with some Massive Reviews to write like this one, Damn i read some lines and it really makes me wanna try out Ape escape, i really should! Didn't know about the Diffrent Voice acting, well i have the Console in US english so that is for me i guess  

Anyway, wonderful Review! For such a short game, can't imagine your Review of a 100+ hours game

 

Ah, glad to hear you got some time to get back into it! And Enjoy then, it's always nice Re-Playing a game you like no mater the trophies  

 

Well i surely recommend it, especially because it's actual normal Italian and not forced dialects like it usually is in the EN versions (God DQ XI has a Vencie based town it's awful in English to say an example) so you can definitively do that when you'll play it again on Ps4, it's on the PSPlus Extra too if you have it so no need to ppay it, i'm curious when you'll play it about your thoughts then  

I Mean the problem with Bortherhood was the Online  Thankfully it's removed on the Ps4 collection so you can enjoy the agmes full Single player and so it's only Collectable founding that takes a while. No 20 Hour online boosting 

 

Yeah no i agree especially because, with my thinking, it's an American game so ti sounds better that way, only other Great language could be Swedish of finnish something like that being in those areas but who knows. I don't even, as said, wanna try it in my language  

 

Yeah MoM it's pretty cheap right now i think, wait i check. Yeah it's 20 € on my Amazon so pretty "cheap", it paied it 15 during an Amazon Sale.You think? I don't think so i expect it for the Mid-End of 2024, just because FF16 has to come out first i doubt it's gonna be later than that. anyway yeah i should work on all the stacks, i'm clealry a massive fan but still missing a lot of plats for the series  

 

Nice work and good luck on 100% with this games! It's greta you can get back into them and try to finish them, it's something i struggle with so, eprsonally, respect! 

 

Ah well it's normal i guess, after writing down a lot felling burnt out it's Standard for me too so i understand you taking a break (I Mean i stilll have to get back to my Weekly Recap for example) and it doens't seem like you didn't remembered much  

Yeah i would say, for me at least, i write them as soon as i can even because otherwise my lazy booty will take weeks for it 

 

I think i'm only missing few stuff but so specific and to spend hours finding 2-3 things that it's really annoying to. RDR 100% has sooo many useless things you never care for or use but have to do for the Plat and that's it  Basically 1 of my many reasons why i'll never play a Rockstar game ever, i refuse to work hours and hurs on a 100% of a game i enjoied and that's it.

 

I cna't say much about those online trophies becuase like what 8? Years i think passed since i did them i don't remember anything at all aside from beign super boring. At least you don't have to ever get back into that suffering ever again thankfully  Unless you're a Masochist and wanna try waste time on gta online  

[The_Kopite]

On 8/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

Not quite Spiderman it would seem..... CripplingSadnessDesparatefeelingofpowerlessnessandBurnoutMan is more accurate right about now.... But I don't think that really has a very good Superhero ring to it to me...

 

What would my powers be? The power of self doubt, and caring too much

 

Don't panic by the way, I'm coming out of the other side of that, I just thought I'd lighten the mood a little.

I had no doubt that you would be doing so!

 

I'll bet DC would make that film quicker than doing a Superman sequel lol

 

On 8/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

It sure does! I do love me some Infinite Ammo for those games... It actually comes in handy when you just want to replay the game and just see the story play out too. So absolutely yay for Infinite Ammo in Resident Evil games!

???

 

On 8/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

I expect you probably got that problematic thing done by now for playing a match every 30 days! I guess now you just wait until you're on platinum numer 349 and get that bad boy unlocked... It'll be a nice one to have if it does end up being your rarest FF Platinum!

Yes I got that one done (still have to get a lot of titles but they'll come from playing the single player part) but no as you've probably seen and know, I've done a platinum walkthrough guide for Hot Shots Golf, got a trophy guide waiting to hopefully be published and been playing short games from the Premium sub my wife upgraded to for a very reasonable price for 8 months, so games like ones you've played I'm looking at playing (Ape Escape) and ones that you and others have recommended highly like The Artful Escape. Been interesting exploring those older games and ones that wouldn't have been bought and played otherwise. The Premium sub for my wife has worked out at the mo due to the games there and the low cost for those 8 months, but otherwise Sony aren't keeping their end of the deal with the Premium tier, I mean not a single game was added in the latest update yet the Extra tier specifically got 11 I believe including all those Yakuzas. Obviously you get access to those with Premium but why pay the extra money with no games for that tier on offer in one month and only 2 or 3 small ones added the previous month? Also apart from those initial 5 PS1 games with trophy support, there have been no others. Sony dropping the ball there again tbh.

 

On 8/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

Definitely, I'm just very impatient when it comes to things like that haha.

 

Final Fantasy VII will be a nice one for you for #300 as well....and #301 haha.... I'm quite intrigued by Intergrade, so I guess I'm just going to go straight into the PS5 version I think, Looking forward to getting to it at some point though.

Everyone is different lol

 

Well funnily enough, it's on the Extra tier with the Intermission DLC so when you get a PS5 you could always just dive right in! Cmon, you know you want to lol

 

On 8/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, rjkclarke said:

I am actually quite glad we don't live in that universe haha.

 

Yeah it is a bit of a shame that Sega sort of died as a console giant...... I'm glad we ended up getting Yakuza out of it though. So you know there's always upsides to everything haha,

lol me too

 

Indeed, Sega has strengthened in it's software department and output in some ways since leaving the consoles behind, but in other ways it hasn't. It's also a shame it abandoned the arcade scene which is still massive in Japan too but there you go.

 

EDIT - Also just noticed I'm getting closer and closer to 15000 trophies, so I'd better keep an eye on that and the PS3 had better be ready for the Sonic 2 speedrun trophy!

 

EDIT EDIT - Got that Sonic 2 speedrun trophy for my 15,000 trophy milestone! Really fun to go through my favourite Sonic game again! So many banging tunes in it.

 

EDIT EDIT EDIT - BUMP! For this thread and the ball in the pinball game I'm playing at the mo lol

Edited October 22, 2022 by The_Kopite
Updated information

[rjkclarke]

Well, I'm Back! Time For Some Catch Up Reviews

 

Did Anyone Say....... God of War Review?

Platinum #361

God of War (PS4)

 

 

Father and Son
Obtain all other trophies

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

Platinum Earned - 25 August 2022 - 3:08:20 PM

Time Taken to Platinum -  1 month, 1 week, 4 days

Platinum Rarity  - 28.29%

Trophy Number - #17,200

 

I feel pretty pleased to say, that God of War joins a now increasingly smaller list of games that “I wish I’d played sooner, but didn’t.” For whatever reason – one that I can’t even quite fathom myself, God of War is a game I have wanted to play for a long time, but just not quite gotten around to. Until 2022, that is. Thankfully I have now fixed that mistake of mine, and here I am able to talk about the game in as much detail as I think it deserves.

 

Released all the way back in 2018, God of War, developed by Santa Monica Studio, is in part, a soft-reboot, whilst staying true to the chronology and the continuity of the seven games that preceded it, in the main God of War series. Opting instead to mine from the lore of Norse mythology, instead of Greek, the stage is set for an entirely new take on Kratos, The Ghost of Sparta.

It feels a bit redundant to try and summarise the story, not only because so many people are already privy to it at this point – but because those who have yet to experience this in all its glory, should be able to do just that, and not have any single part of the game spoiled for them.

So with that in mind, all I will say is this. We find Kratos, perhaps not quite where you’d expect him to be, not among the sweltering heat of Greece, but in the frosty lands of Midgard. Now a father, and widower, we as players join Kratos on a journey that is as important for his son, as it is for him, to fulfil his late wife’s dying wish,

 

God of War, as it turned out was the God of War game I needed, yet didn’t quite realise it – or to be perfectly honest the game I always wanted God of War to be, but never dreamt actually had the capacity to be.

 

Let me elucidate upon that one in a little more detail. I have always been a big fan of the God of War series, from the very beginning, but I was never under any impression that it possessed any real kind of depth to it. Did it need it? Arguably that’s debatable, initially, probably not, but the more the series progressed, the less Kratos could get away with simply just being an abhorrent angry bald fanny in a loincloth.

I did appreciate the very deliberate effort with the handheld titles to specifically try and flesh out Kratos as a character and make him more relatable in the process, and this worked to a degree, I certainly think the plot of those games humanised him to a point, but then his actions in God of War III, ultimately end up completely undermining that almost instantaneously. That however is another story, for another review, for another time.

Essentially – his actions had very little, if any consequences, and there was no effort for any kind of atonement for the character, or any sort of positive redemption arc. Characters don’t always need a redemptive arc, but to remain interesting they need SOMETHING, and the more Kratos was fuelled by rage as the series moved forward, the more one dimensional he also became as a result.

 

This recent iteration of God of War completely turned that notion on its head. Without going into spoiler territory, which I’m not going to, because if you’ve yet to play this game and are going to, and are still spoiler free, you should absolutely remain that way. However, what I will say, is this – Kratos, in my opinion, is more compelling as a character in this one game, than I think he’s ever been across every iteration of the franchise so far.

 

I will grant you, I also find the way a character like Kratos is presented in this game incredibly compelling, and I always have done. The way in which people deal with their own personal shame, and sometimes horror at their own actions is something I’ve always found fascinating, purely from a psychological perspective, in any form of media, anyone that has read anything I’ve written about Doctor Who will probably have picked up on the fact that’s one of the aspects that appeals to me most as an adult. One of the startlingly impressive things about God of War’s writing is how it presents multiple characters this way, not just protagonists, but the antagonists too.

In previous entries in the series, the characters existed on a very black and white plane; they were for all intents and purposes good or bad, innocent, or evil. God of War however, really explores the idea that “actions have consequences” and to paraphrase a line from Doctor Who, that feels startlingly appropriate. “......The heavier the decision, the larger the waves, the more uncertain the consequences." Whether it’s your actions in the present or your actions in the past – they all mean something, and they’re something we should always be mindful of, and God of War never lets us forget that, if we’re receptive to the idea.

 

I’ve always believed the way people react to their own actions says a lot about a person, that doesn’t just extend to video game characters; this applies to the everyday, too. And in this case, myself – I’ll expand on this in greater detail later in the review, but I was as shocked as anyone, that I not only found myself relating to Kratos in a few spots but fully understanding both his pain, and his reticence in a few very key moments, one of which hit me incredibly hard emotionally.

 

With the shift in direction towards a more subtle and nuanced form of storytelling, naturally this new take on God of War has changed substantially from how it was previously. I feel like this is one of the aspects that are probably most up for debate between people. God of War as a series was always synonymous with absolutely belting action set pieces, even going as far back as the PS2 days. It would be a lie, to say that God of War possesses no action at all, and no action set pieces, it does, they’re just slightly fewer and far between than they once were.

But when they’re good, they’re really good, much like the God of War of old, God of War has always excelled at demonstrating some of the monstrous size differences between Kratos and his foes, and that is no different here. If I was going to criticise any small part of this aspect of the game, it’s that the boss fights themselves often feel a little unimaginative, compared to previous entries in the series, outside of one or two specific examples, and of course, the valkyries. But it’s not something I personally felt hampered the experience for me at all.

 

I tend to look at it this way – perhaps it’s the side of me that always tries to remain optimistic, but whilst the grandeur and the bombastic nature of the set pieces might not be quite so prevalent, they are still there. They just manifest themselves in a very different way. God of War prides itself on smaller more nuanced character moments, and these are – I personally think, what stand as even greater set pieces. They don’t need bombastic action shots of monsters being rend in two with an axe or Kratos’ mighty hands to be effective, no, all that is needed is some good writing, and some subtle character moments that have stayed with me, and will stay with me long after I have played this.

 

Something I personally found really effective about those small character moments I mentioned above is that they don’t just extend to Kratos and Atreus, and only them. One area God of War really does excel quite well in is compelling characters, whether it’s the strained relationship between Brok and Sindri, or the unravelling and interesting tales of both Baldur and Freya, the game always allows for those quiet but effective exploratory moments, with the characters and for me personally, I think that’s just as good as any bombastic action set piece could ever be.

 

With the new tonal direction for God of War, also comes a slightly different approach to the game as a whole. In the past, God of War as a series was always a linear affair, and I maintain there is nothing at all wrong with a linear game done right. God of War however, opted to place Kratos into a semi-open world setting. I’ll be perfectly honest, I never was that confident this would work too well, however, as always – and borrowing a line from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I always like to, “I’d rather be happy, than right, any day” – so this is indeed one of those areas I’m happy to be wrong about.

 

God of War for me, is one of those effective kinds of open worlds, where there’s just enough to see and do to keep you occupied, without ever feeling like there’s too much. I was suffering from some particularly bad gaming and trophy related burnout when I played this, and some of the most enjoyable times playing this, were just straying from the path, and just purely exploring the rich world that the game had to offer me.

 

Alongside the change from linear to open world – the combat system too, changed dramatically. This one I’m not entirely sure was for the better. I feel as if, for the most part it definitely is. I could never argue that God of War doesn’t have more versatility and options open to you as far as the combat itself goes. The thing that I think hinders it from being a truly great feature of the game is the camera – having a fixed camera, that is focused exclusively on Kratos’ back becomes a problem when encountering situations where a multitude of enemies are on screen.

There becomes a tendency to get overwhelmed by attacks that are not easily avoided, so when you factor in the fact you can only block from one angle at a time, it becomes a little easy to become swamped on higher difficulties.

 

That being said – I did personally really enjoy the versatility and variability that God of War’s combat offers us as players. Instead of just being faced with the usual “bread and butter” combo’s you’d expect from Kratos of old, combo’s which still exist by the way. I shall not spoil how or why they are, for those that don’t yet know, but believe me, that moment is one you won’t soon forget.  You’re faced with options for melee combat, and magical combat. With the inclusion of armour sets, and weighted stats, this new iteration of God of War also allows us the opportunity for specific builds. Which is something I appreciated as it does allow you to tailor the game more towards your own personal preference, instead of needing to rely solely on just your knowledge of the in-game combo’s alone.

 

I’d argue that the aspect of God of war that demonstrates the above best, is actually found through optional content, and it’s something we, as trophy hunters are lucky to have been able to appreciate. This, ladies and gentleman – are the Valkyrie fights. I felt like these did a really fantastic job of encouraging the player to not only understand the combat in God of War, but to become both proficient and highly skilled at it. It probably manifests itself best with the final Queen Valkyrie fight, as it really tests your knowledge in multiple areas and on no difficulty level is it truly easy. What it does do however, is exemplify just how well the different aspects of God of War’s combat can, and often does synergise incredibly well together, as you can chain successful combos between armed, unarmed and magical combat practically seamlessly.  

 

Another seamless element of God of War is in its visual elements – these really are spectacular fantastically showcasing, just how tremendously good games could look on a PS4. Not only is it visually stunning, but the design aspect itself is excellent, much like God of War of old, from a design stand point it has always remained very true to what you’d typically associate with the lore its drawing inspiration from.

 

This iteration of God of War is no exception to that rule, and the character designs themselves, feel incredibly appropriate to their settings, but with an ever so slightly modern relatable edge, which was an aspect I found particularly interesting.

There is – in my opinion at least, a deliberate decision being made by the developers in this aspect. There was such a clear intent for us as players to get emotionally involved with the experience (and it only feels right to call this an experience) so having characters that both look relatable, and feel relatable to either themselves or people they know would definitely heighten that.

It’s something I can personally attest to, the relationship between Kratos and Atreus reminds me in places of my brother's relationship with his son. In recent times my brother has had quite a lengthy beard, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of him in a few spots, especially when Kratos inert gruffness momentarily betrays a softness that he’s trying desperately to hide. It’s something I’ve experienced personally from him, and I know his son probably has too, so this’ll be an interesting game to find out my nephews opinion on, when I’m sure he’ll play it in years to come.

 

What? You thought I was going to skip over mentioning sound? No such luck I’m afraid, I might have had a break away from writing, but I can’t forget my inner mole person. So, let’s delve into the sound a little shall we.

 

God of War’s soundtrack itself was something I don’t think I quite appreciated until the latter half of the game. It’s not that I couldn’t recognise it was good, I just think the more emotionally invested I became in the outcome of the events; the more I found the soundtrack resonated with me.

I was already predisposed to some degree, in liking it, as I’m a big fan of folk music, so when I heard some of the folksier influences on the soundtrack, it was hard not to feel at peace during certain parts of the experience.

I never particularly like using the term cinematic when speaking about video games, but in some of the more emotionally weighty moments, where filmic techniques are implemented incredibly effectively, the soundtrack compliments in such a wonderful way – and it must be said, as it’s rather important, not a remotely emotionally manipulative way either.

 

For me the personal highlight and the aspect that is most important to talk about regarding sound in God of War, is in fact voice acting. Not just from Christopher Judge, although that is where my main focus is going to be. Practically every actor that took part in the voice acting process in the game did an incredibly stellar job.

Sunny Suljic gives a particularly good performance as Atreus, and I personally thought it was a genius decision by the creative forces behind God of War, to seek Suljic’s approval on which actor he enjoyed working with the most during the audition process, and it turned out to be Christopher Judge. They have a particularly strong on-screen chemistry, and Suljic himself as Atreus gives a multi facetted and layered portrayal, that is very impressive for someone who was only ten years old when the game was going into production.

 

Christopher Judge however brings a completely new edge to Kratos, you can tell how much research and time he poured into bringing the character to life. There’s brilliance to this version of Kratos that is simultaneously old and new.

There’s isolated parts of his performance that are deliberately reminiscent of T.C Carson’s portrayal of Kratos, but Christoper Judge plays them in such a subtle and interesting way, that through both his excellent motion capture and vocal range, you can tell Kratos is instantly ashamed and disgusted with himself, every time a slight reminder of his past comes rushing to the forefront.

This was and is one of the aspects of the game that resonated with the most personally, is just how powerful of a performance Judge manages across the entirety of the game. Whether that’s through key story events, or side quests his commitment to the character is second to none.

 

So, with all of the things about powerful motion capture and vocal performances in mind, it’s time to detour ever so slightly for some story time with Rob. I feel like I need to give some context and address exactly why a certain part of the game resonated with me in such a deep, and in a sense, painful way.

 

It’s time to learn, how I identified, understood, and, strange as it might seem, empathised with Kratos.

 

How? You’re wondering. First I think it’s best to give context to exactly which scene resonate with me the most.

 

Without giving away spoilers, and I will link a video here , for those who are familiar with the story and would like to see the scene – there’s a scene towards the very end of the game, where Kratos reveals all of who he is, to the person he’s closest to, and that scene hit me so ridiculously hard.

I never once expected to find myself not only empathising with Kratos to some small degree, but fully understanding where his headspace was in that moment. I have been in that situation, within the last couple of months; where you’re revealing the darkest part of yourself to the person you fear the reaction to that from the most.  

 

Put it this way, many of us have parts of our past that we either don’t much like to talk about, whether it’s too traumatic an event, or it’s just a dark part of you that you don’t quite want to share. I have that too, I am not remotely even a sliver like Kratos, but when I was a much younger man, I had a tendency to be a little bit hot headed, to say the least – and it’s only with years of gradually gathered wisdom and constantly reminding myself to “be better” myself, that I’m able to always keep a lid on that. That’s all I’m willing to go into, and it's only because of the person I'm about to talk about that I feel comfortable sharing even this.

 

So, fast forward to around the time I was playing this game, I had a moment startlingly similar to the one Kratos has with Atreus, with the incredibly special lady in my life, who at the time was practically one of, if not my closest friend. There was very little we didn’t know about each other, but there was one thing she didn’t, and it was the true extent of that hot headedness.

So, much like Kratos, there came a time where the truth had to come out, like it always would have done – but much like Kratos, I couldn’t have made eye contact, as I laid that truth bare, it’s the most reticent I’ve probably ever felt. Of course, being the incredible woman that she is, she was more than understanding, and that is an understatement.

However, when I played through the rest of the game roughly a month later, and witnessed the scene I linked, it hit me emotionally, an overwhelming amount. That unwillingness to make eye contact, the hesitance, fear, worry, sadness and shame in Kratos voice hit me so hard, because I understood more than I ever wanted to just how difficult that was for him to do, and I haven’t committed any murders or any kind of atrocities in the slightest – so that resonated with me in a major way. I think it’s an incredibly deep character moment, and one that I’ll never quite forget about this game. And to be perfectly honest, this game is full of small nuanced moments like this.

 

Allow me to detour, one final time, and address the person I was talking about, because I know she’s reading this. Thank you, truly – for just being yourself, and not only understanding, but reassuring me that I haven’t been that person for an incredibly long time. In that unguarded moment (let’s see if you get that reference) to paraphrase something from one of my favourite songs..... “You’ve seen me come undone, and then seen beyond.”........ I could never have expected the reaction that I actually got, but it shows what a truly remarkable person you really are. It might not have sunk in yet at the time, but I will never forget just how much that meant to me. The one time I’ve ever dropped an emotional bombshell on you, and you not only brushed off the shrapnel, but dusted me off too, and made sure I was alright. Folks, if you find someone like that, never let them forget just how important they are to you, every chance you get.

 

This is one of the easiest recommendations I think I could ever do - it doesn't even require a "Would I recommend this?" I absolutely would, it's very worthy of your time, the trophy hunting experience is incredibly enjoyable. I think the game is perfectly accessible whether you've played all seven God of War titles, or whether this happens to be your first, if you haven't played it yet, try not to wait four years like I did, is all I can say.

 

 

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

 

 

And just like that, I'm back...... It's been a while, I really don't want to get into the specifics of why I've not been around too much, let's just say it's been a roller-coaster, one with plenty of ups and downs, but it's good to be back. And it's good to feel comfortable posting again.

 

I am going to break some of my own review rules, and skip ahead a bit before skipping back to my review of Stray, but my thread, my rules .....

 

First I want to write my first - but definitely won't be my last co-written review, of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.Which is a game I played co-op, with a pretty special person.....and I'm so looking forward to writing about our experiences with that game. 

 

So I hope to have that out in a couple of days, or less - as I'm sure anyone who's played it is probably curious as to how a game like that could even be made into a co-op experience, well that'll be a fun review to both write and read hopefully.

 

Catch you in the next one folks...... Feels weird writing that after so long ?

Edited November 9, 2022 by rjkclarke

[YaManSmevz]

2 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Platinum #361

God of War (PS4)

 

First of all,

 

 

And secondly,

 

 

Awesome shit my dude!! Like you, I've put this one off for waaayyy too long. God of War with a reasonable open world and earned feelings sounds pretty much perfect, and with the crazy shit I'm already hearing about the new one... man. I gotta get with it.

 

Looking forward to the Brothers collab! Also, new Vice and new Clarke posts??

 

 

Okay no more gifs for me. I'm sorry, I have no idea where this energy came from?

[Platinum_Vice]

Thanks for sharing RJ. I'm very happy for you to have found someone that you can deeply trust and who accepts you for who you are.

 

Re GoW: we have a lot of similar thoughts on this game! I too have a great appreciation for it. It seems that we both like the new combat/the directions taken with character development and that we had similar criticisms of the limitations of the new camera angle.

 

As a very visual person who often has to reduce the volume of the TV so that my kids can sleep, I did not take as much notice of GoW's audio suite, and getting the perspective from a mole person is always a highlight of reading your checklist.

 

Watching that linked clip reminded me of my favourite aspect of Kratos' dynamic with Atreus: Kratos isn't trying to steer Atreus away from the pattern of sons killing their fathers in an attempt to live longer; he's doing it in an attempt to save Atreus from a life of regret and shame. I wonder whether your bearded brother would also play GoW in addition to your nephew...

 

[realm722]

[Copanele]

Hah amazing review, the one I've been waiting for  glad you are back!

 

Not much to add ~you said it best and I also agree, GoW2018 is a fantastic game and one that actually saved what remained out of Kratos' character in GoW3. What a twist of a development that was, which is further accentuated by Ragnarok (You'll see!)

On 11/9/2022 at 4:26 AM, rjkclarke said:

 

With the shift in direction towards a more subtle and nuanced form of storytelling, naturally this new take on God of War has changed substantially from how it was previously. I feel like this is one of the aspects that are probably most up for debate between people. God of War as a series was always synonymous with absolutely belting action set pieces, even going as far back as the PS2 days. It would be a lie, to say that God of War possesses no action at all, and no action set pieces, it does, they’re just slightly fewer and far between than they once were.

But when they’re good, they’re really good, much like the God of War of old, God of War has always excelled at demonstrating some of the monstrous size differences between Kratos and his foes, and that is no different here. If I was going to criticise any small part of this aspect of the game, it’s that the boss fights themselves often feel a little unimaginative, compared to previous entries in the series, outside of one or two specific examples, and of course, the valkyries. But it’s not something I personally felt hampered the experience for me at all.

 

This was one of my original complaints with GoW2018. The boss fights weren't as grand as in the past games.

However...I have the impression that this wasn't a situation like in the original series, where GOW2 was  "GOW1 but BETTER". I feel that this time GOW and GOWRagnarok were supposed to be one game, but had to be split into half because well the first game is already huge as it is. So probably that was the intention behind the not-as-huge-as-Cronos boss fights.

Quote

 

Something I personally found really effective about those small character moments I mentioned above is that they don’t just extend to Kratos and Atreus, and only them. One area God of War really does excel quite well in is compelling characters, whether it’s the strained relationship between Brok and Sindri, or the unravelling and interesting tales of both Baldur and Freya, the game always allows for those quiet but effective exploratory moments, with the characters and for me personally, I think that’s just as good as any bombastic action set piece could ever be.

Imagine my shock...when Kratos found Brok and Sindri....and he didn't immediately use them as doorstoppers for some stupid ass puzzle  

Really, Kratos TALKING like a NORMAL BEING? I think that was the biggest wow moment of the game 

 

On 11/9/2022 at 4:26 AM, rjkclarke said:

 

Alongside the change from linear to open world – the combat system too, changed dramatically. This one I’m not entirely sure was for the better. I feel as if, for the most part it definitely is. I could never argue that God of War doesn’t have more versatility and options open to you as far as the combat itself goes. The thing that I think hinders it from being a truly great feature of the game is the camera – having a fixed camera, that is focused exclusively on Kratos’ back becomes a problem when encountering situations where a multitude of enemies are on screen.

There becomes a tendency to get overwhelmed by attacks that are not easily avoided, so when you factor in the fact you can only block from one angle at a time, it becomes a little easy to become swamped on higher difficulties.

 

That being said – I did personally really enjoy the versatility and variability that God of War’s combat offers us as players. Instead of just being faced with the usual “bread and butter” combo’s you’d expect from Kratos of old, combo’s which still exist by the way. I shall not spoil how or why they are, for those that don’t yet know, but believe me, that moment is one you won’t soon forget.  You’re faced with options for melee combat, and magical combat. With the inclusion of armour sets, and weighted stats, this new iteration of God of War also allows us the opportunity for specific builds. Which is something I appreciated as it does allow you to tailor the game more towards your own personal preference, instead of needing to rely solely on just your knowledge of the in-game combo’s alone.

 

If there was a "necessary" downside, then yeah the combat is the one that took a hit. I don't believe the game would have been as compelling if you saw Kratos from a fixed camera position, but the combat is not as fast paced as in the previous games.

But...if you tinker with your equipment...and experiment... you will resurrect the Ghost of Sparta. It just takes a lot more practice and not as many  combos.

(besides if I want a pure gameplay experience, I'd already play DMC again  )

On 11/9/2022 at 4:26 AM, rjkclarke said:

 

Christopher Judge however brings a completely new edge to Kratos, you can tell how much research and time he poured into bringing the character to life. There’s brilliance to this version of Kratos that is simultaneously old and new.

There’s isolated parts of his performance that are deliberately reminiscent of T.C Carson’s portrayal of Kratos, but Christoper Judge plays them in such a subtle and interesting way, that through both his excellent motion capture and vocal range, you can tell Kratos is instantly ashamed and disgusted with himself, every time a slight reminder of his past comes rushing to the forefront.

This was and is one of the aspects of the game that resonated with the most personally, is just how powerful of a performance Judge manages across the entirety of the game. Whether that’s through key story events, or side quests his commitment to the character is second to none.

 

TC Carson's portrayal was peak perfection for a younger, angrier and stupider Kratos. However Christopher Judge couldn't have done it better for the "it's time to be calm" Kratos.

Actually - nothing more to comment here, we all love Teal'c as Kratos.

On 11/9/2022 at 4:26 AM, rjkclarke said:

 

And just like that, I'm back...... It's been a while, I really don't want to get into the specifics of why I've not been around too much, let's just say it's been a roller-coaster, one with plenty of ups and downs, but it's good to be back. And it's good to feel comfortable posting again.

 

I am going to break some of my own review rules, and skip ahead a bit before skipping back to my review of Stray, but my thread, my rules .....

 

First I want to write my first - but definitely won't be my last co-written review, of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.Which is a game I played co-op, with a pretty special person.....and I'm so looking forward to writing about our experiences with that game. 

 

So I hope to have that out in a couple of days, or less - as I'm sure anyone who's played it is probably curious as to how a game like that could even be made into a co-op experience, well that'll be a fun review to both write and read hopefully.

 

Catch you in the next one folks...... Feels weird writing that after so long

So glad to see you back, once again. I truly missed the long posts  and the conclusion to Dr Who ranking  

And I still haven't watched the damn show ?

[rjkclarke]

On 09/11/2022 at 5:25 AM, YaManSmevz said:

First of all,

 

First of all from Rob...... Sorry for the late ass reply, I meant to do this literally the day you did it.... I'm still a bit rusty at this whole forum thing after my little I'd love to say holiday, but you know it was anything but

 

On 09/11/2022 at 5:25 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Awesome shit my dude!! Like you, I've put this one off for waaayyy too long. God of War with a reasonable open world and earned feelings sounds pretty much perfect, and with the crazy shit I'm already hearing about the new one... man. I gotta get with it.

 

Looking forward to the Brothers collab! Also, new Vice and new Clarke posts??

 

 

Okay no more gifs for me. I'm sorry, I have no idea where this energy came from

 

Thanks though dude..... It felt great to be back, I'm gonna try and get a review or two cranked out soon, as I've got quite a bit to catch up on, and also all of you awesome folks checklists which I've barely kept up with (it wasn't that I didn't want to,) but did make a point of bookmarking where I was up to. So I'll be checking all of the awesome reading I have to look forward to when I can!

 

God of War is definitely a great one, totally one I think you'd get on with!  But definitely play it around a time when you're not even close to being burned out gaming wise. I played in the middle of one, and I probably shouldn't have, as I half paid attention to some of the earlier parts of the game.

 

I should have that Brothers collab out today, which will be awesome, I've been having a lot of fun writing around it, and it's one of those reviews I'll really treasure just because of the nature of it!

 

Thanks again for the super kind words as always man!

 

On 09/11/2022 at 5:43 AM, Platinum_Vice said:

Thanks for sharing RJ. I'm very happy for you to have found someone that you can deeply trust and who accepts you for who you are.

 

Thanks Mr Vice ?

 

She is most definitely all of those things, and more! So it was nice to give her a nice little section dedicated to just her, as she's so intrinsically linked to my experience with how I perceived certain aspects and moments in the game that I just couldn't not mention it, y'know!

 

On 09/11/2022 at 5:43 AM, Platinum_Vice said:

Re GoW: we have a lot of similar thoughts on this game! I too have a great appreciation for it. It seems that we both like the new combat/the directions taken with character development and that we had similar criticisms of the limitations of the new camera angle.

 

As a very visual person who often has to reduce the volume of the TV so that my kids can sleep, I did not take as much notice of GoW's audio suite, and getting the perspective from a mole person is always a highlight of reading your checklist.

 

This reminds me, I'm in dire need of getting back into your own awesome checklist, and reading the rest of your God of War (2018) review..... yes and the rest of them too! ?..... I literally ducked out of the GoW one just to avoid spoilers, but now I've played it and taken it all in, I can't wait to dive on in and check yours out, because without fail, you always offer some really interesting takes and opinions. or angles on games, that so many of us might not have even considered!

 

It's an interesting one isn't it, the camera angle - it's really the one thing I think that somewhat lets the combat down, which is a bit of a shame, and it looks like it's something, you, Copa and I can definitely agree on, on that one!

 

On 09/11/2022 at 5:43 AM, Platinum_Vice said:

Watching that linked clip reminded me of my favourite aspect of Kratos' dynamic with Atreus: Kratos isn't trying to steer Atreus away from the pattern of sons killing their fathers in an attempt to live longer; he's doing it in an attempt to save Atreus from a life of regret and shame. I wonder whether your bearded brother would also play GoW in addition to your nephew...

 

Yes! I love that reading of it as well - and you raise a pretty interesting point actually, perhaps I ought to see if my Brother would play it with my nephew, after all my Brother isn't exactly averse to video games, he's the one that practically got me into video games to begin with. So I'd love to see how he'd read the relationship between Atreus and Kratos, there's perhaps more similarities than he'd like to admit at first!

 

On 09/11/2022 at 6:50 PM, realm722 said:

 

Ohhhhhh!

 

You got a huge smile out of me with this one, when I got the notification of a realm post!

 

Thank you! - I love the definitely undeserved praise.... ?

 

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

Hah amazing review, the one I've been waiting for  glad you are back!

 

Not much to add ~you said it best and I also agree, GoW2018 is a fantastic game and one that actually saved what remained out of Kratos' character in GoW3. What a twist of a development that was, which is further accentuated by Ragnarok (You'll see!)

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

This was one of my original complaints with GoW2018. The boss fights weren't as grand as in the past games.

However...I have the impression that this wasn't a situation like in the original series, where GOW2 was  "GOW1 but BETTER". I feel that this time GOW and GOWRagnarok were supposed to be one game, but had to be split into half because well the first game is already huge as it is. So probably that was the intention behind the not-as-huge-as-Cronos boss fights.

 

Thanks Copa!

 

And it's really good to be back, thanks - and apologies, just like to everyone else, for the late response!

 

It was definitely the right move after what Kratos had become, and it's one of those where everyone could absolutely do with reading Doc's amazing reviews of God of War I-III, and Vice's too, the ones which told me I shouldn't review them for a good long while, just in case they came off like I was stealing their words and ideas! But they're so worth reading for a wonderful insight into just how screwed Kratos was as a character at that point, So they did a wonderful job of course correcting in this game, and actually adding some much needed depth and layers to him!

 

I had never thought about it the way you did, that Ragnarok and this game were basically meant as one whole - I guess it would explain why they re-used a lot of enemy designs as bosses for this one, and I guess saved up some of the really epic things for Ragnarok, I'm definitely looking forward to getting to that one eventually!

 

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

Imagine my shock...when Kratos found Brok and Sindri....and he didn't immediately use them as doorstoppers for some stupid ass puzzle  

Really, Kratos TALKING like a NORMAL BEING? I think that was the biggest wow moment of the game 

 

That's pretty hilarious! Like he definitely would have done, right? I could so see it! And then just walking away and not paying any attention to them again whatsoever

 

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

f there was a "necessary" downside, then yeah the combat is the one that took a hit. I don't believe the game would have been as compelling if you saw Kratos from a fixed camera position, but the combat is not as fast paced as in the previous games.

But...if you tinker with your equipment...and experiment... you will resurrect the Ghost of Sparta. It just takes a lot more practice and not as many  combos.

(besides if I want a pure gameplay experience, I'd already play DMC again  )

 

Yeah it's a sacrifice I can live with, to a point.....I liked the combat change in this one, but it's definitely different. I didn't like it initially, but once I started tinkering around with builds a bit more, and realised it did have some variability to it, I got a little bit more onboard with it. From what I've heard from you lately though Ragnarok's gameplay leaves a little bit to be desired, which is a bit of a shame, but I guess so long as the story side of it makes up for it, I guess I can live with it. 

 

Might have to get some tips on resurrecting the Ghost of Sparta build-wise if I go back for a replay of this one!

 

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

TC Carson's portrayal was peak perfection for a younger, angrier and stupider Kratos. However Christopher Judge couldn't have done it better for the "it's time to be calm" Kratos.

Actually - nothing more to comment here, we all love Teal'c as Kratos.

 

I do indeed like Teal'c as Kratos.... and I've only ever seen like bits and pieces of a few Stargate episodes

 

TC Carson definitely was perfect for THAT Kratos, and I think arguably, he does a really good job of fleshing out the very little depth they give him in Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus, so I like that Carson's version was such a good bedrock for Christopher Judge to build off of!

 

On 11/11/2022 at 7:07 AM, Copanele said:

So glad to see you back, once again. I truly missed the long posts  and the conclusion to Dr Who ranking  

And I still haven't watched the damn show 

 

Once again.... Thanks man, it's great to be back....

 

That reminds me, I totally need to finish that Doctor Who ranking off, that'll be a fun one to write actually, might have to bust that out next week, now that you've reminded me of it..... Perhaps you'll even watch an episode one day ?

[rjkclarke]

Subject 13..... Or is it? 

 

Subject 13 (PS4)

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

100% Achieved - 4 November 2022: 12:20:35 AM

Time taken to 100%: - 6 days, 1 hour, 20 minutes

100% Rarity - 14.39%

 

 

If you were wondering about the title, Subject 13, is a game in which you do not actually play as Subject 13, you actually play as Subject 14. Is that at all relevant, probably not, but it's such a non specific title for a game, I honestly couldn't come up with much of a title other than a silly rhetorical question.

 

So with that slight waffle out of the way, what exactly is Subject 13, and what can you really expect to find in it? Subject 13 essentially started its life as a crowd funded point-and-click adventure title (this is why you played it, is what a lot of you are now thinking) developed by Microids. As you can see, there's a few things there that might hook me personally in to purchasing the game, the intrigue of a kickstarted project, coupled with one of my favourite genre of video game. 

 

In Subject 13, you take the role of Subject 14, Franklin Fargo, as you wake up inside what appears to be a now abandoned research facility, and it's your task to escape, guided by an ever present disembodied mechanical voice. Interesting enough conceptually, and the game itself basically takes the form of a set of increasingly more complex escape room puzzles, which then branch out into your more traditional point-and-click fare that someone might come to expect from the genre.

 

I'll make this abundantly clear now, I paid a very low price for this game, quite literally seventy-nine pence, if I remember correctly. So I'm reviewing it very much from that perspective not from the perspective of expecting a bombastic visually stunning video game experience. Before I played this I had some sort of idea what to expect, or perhaps, not to expect.

 

I do always like a pleasant surprise though, it turns out Subject 13, was indeed that, a pleasant surprise. When you pay that sort of price for a game you very rarely expect a lot, that's not always the case of course, but Subject 13 does have a fair amount going for it in my opinion.

With that in mind however. Before you really consider it, I think you ought to ask yourself two important questions....

One: Do you like Puzzle games?

Two: Are you willing to forego much of an engaging narrative, to just enjoy solving some puzzles?

 

If, like me, you answered yes to both of those questions, Subject 13 might very well be a game worth your time. It is absolutely a game for puzzle game purists, in the sense that - that is quite literally the game, you solve puzzles. That's fine in and of itself, and thankfully the puzzles are varied enough and engaging, but they aren't puzzles that will tax you for all too long, if you're indeed the target audience.

 

For a frame of reference I'd equate Subject 13's puzzles to those of an Artifex Mundi game, but with a noticeable increase of difficulty and complexity. One aspect of this, that I really found refreshing, was that it's not quite so viable to use a guide, as practically seventy-five percent of the puzzles appear to be randomised.

Let's be honest, some trophy hunters would rather get their trophies and get out, that's fine, but in a puzzle game, sometimes heading straight for a guide eliminates a lot of the fun element, I am of course not speaking for everyone with this statement, only myself. But for me I found this a refreshing feature of Subject 13. Especially as the puzzles themselves are quite varied, with some of the sliding block puzzles require a lot of thought and forward planning. 

 

I think it'd be easier to tackle the audio and visual element at the same time, regarding this game. Subject 13, is, it must be said, rather murky to look at - it's not ugly by any means, but it lacks a certain polish, the sort you can definitely see charm in, yet feels reminiscent of a mid to early 2000's point-and-click adventure title. I do think the small cutscenes and character animations you do see are quite well animated, and realised. And I must say, the environments themselves might look slightly better if the colours had a little more vibrancy.

The soundtrack however, is a different story entirely, I actually think it's very good. It's got a genuine ambience to it, that suits the game really quite well. If you play this, and are also familiar with games like Myst, you'd probably find some familiarity there, not only is it good, it contains quite a range of interesting and incredibly well done audio stings, some of which I found particularly satisfying. As the majority of the games story is told through collectible audio logs, I actually think these quite well performed by the voice actors involved, and in a way where voices are re-used but the characters are written just about well enough, that they still feel individual.

 

Ironically, my main complaint with the game - actually comes from the gameplay - yes! You heard it right, shock horror, point-and-click gameplay I don't get on too well with.

Here's the thing, I would get on well with this, if it truly was point-and-click, you can optimise that for consoles, it's been done plenty of times. Subject 13, was not it. It's a decent enjoyable game, but it is so poorly optimised for consoles. It's not game breaking or particularly immersion destroying either, but it is noticeable, as your character unresponsively lumbers around. Whereas, that definitely wouldn't be the case when using a mouse, he'd just go straight to the destination without getting caught on the scenery, it's a shame, but it's far too noticeable to avoid talking about it.

 

Would I recommend this one? I think so, if you do like puzzle titles, and like I did, you can pick this up for an incredibly cheap price, it might be worth looking into, as an experience it's not a whole lot more than five to six hours, and I didn't once feel bored during that time, it was a pleasant surprise I enjoyed it as much as I did, that's for sure. 

 

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I'll throw out a tag for @DrBloodmoney and @gruffiiti (who I know has this on your backlog) just in case you two might like to read it and I think this review is likely to get buried beneath the one I'm going to post right after this one.

 

Catch you all in the next one folks..... Which ironically I'm going to post very soon.