Jump to content

rjkclarke's Carnival of Diamonds and Rust


rjkclarke

Recommended Posts

I forgot about the Doctor Who rankings!

 

Better scroll back through and find them! Who is number 1 for the mighty Mr Clarke?

 

*scrolls through previous pages*

 

Seems there has been some timey wimey mischief! (I'm probably using this completely incorrectly, I'm not a Doctor Who fan but the wife is and I've heard this so screw it lol)

 

Where's the list?! (Remember I'm not even a Doctor Who fan lol just think of the actual fans who were interested in this list!)

 

Your paying audience demands answers!!!!

Edited by The_Kopite
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 26/01/2023 at 7:39 PM, rjkclarke said:

Was it game of the year for 2022 in my opinion? As this is the only game I’ve played from 2022, I can’t actually compare it to anything else, but my gut feeling says that it probably isn’t, but it is a very enjoyable experience nevertheless.

 

Well that sums it up here too. Didn't play too much of 2022 and its line up but stray was like a breath of fresh air. It allows you to just take a moment and I think I found it incredibly relaxing to put a few hours into.

 

I wasn't onboard with the hype that surrounded it and I think I still feel the same but by no mean am I subtracting from the effort and enjoyableness ( not a word, I know) that Stray presented.

 

As much as I know your feeling on anime tropes, may I suggest 13 Sentinels? I think it will surprise you  and deep down i honestly believe you will enjoy it and I wanna see your opinion. Though ill say, you won't see the pay off till later.

 

Love Reading the reviews dude, super enjoyable and you have some interesting view points. What's next? xD

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
49 minutes ago, Baker said:

Great timing to see you back again! Because ofcourse I have to ask: enjoying the WC snooker so far?

 

Haha thanks dude!

 

You know, I am enjoying the Snooker a lot thanks, or any of it that I'm managing to catch, it's been pretty good quality so far, bit surprised to see Judd Trump go crashing out in the first round.... Hope you're enjoying it, too?

 

I'm definitely hoping for a Ronnie O'Sullivan or Neil Robertson win though xD

 

As I'm planning to be back writing a bit more frequently again, it might be an idea to knock another of the Snooker games off my list of games to review, I seem to do this fairly regularly this time of the year as well.... For some reason ?

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Haha thanks dude!

 

You know, I am enjoying the Snooker a lot thanks, or any of it that I'm managing to catch, it's been pretty good quality so far, bit surprised to see Judd Trump go crashing out in the first round.... Hope you're enjoying it, too?

 

I'm definitely hoping for a Ronnie O'Sullivan or Neil Robertson win though xD


Nice. I watched pretty much everything so far and it’s highly enjoyable to me. So my quick two cents. 

I don’t know what’s up with Robertson but it seems this tournament is cursed for him. He played very bad today. I hope he can turn it around tomorrow. ??
 

I also don’t think O’Sullivan is in the best of forms but maybe his match against Vafaei will ignite some spark. With Williams out the road to the semi’s is wide open.

 

Sad to see Trump and Murphy go out this early but they seemed very nervous to me. But that young Chinese guy was very impressive. ??

 

If I had to put my money on someone it would be on the person I would like to win the least: Selby.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Baker said:

don’t know what’s up with Robertson but it seems this tournament is cursed for him. He played very bad today. I hope he can turn it around tomorrow. 1f4aa-1f3fb.png
 

I also don’t think O’Sullivan is in the best of forms but maybe his match against Vafaei will ignite some spark. With Williams out the road to the semi’s is wide open.

 

Sad to see Trump and Murphy go out this early but they seemed very nervous to me. But that young Chinese guy was very impressive. 1f44f-1f3fb.png

 

If I had to put my money on someone it would be on the person I would like to win the least: Selby.

 

I don't mind Mark Selby as a person.... I just find him unfortunately a bit dull to watch play Snooker ? .... so the fact that he's won the world title four times, and Robertson who is probably my favourite player, has won it once makes me a bit like..... WHYYYY....

 

He's so supremely talented, and if I was going to suggest anyone try and replicate a technique when actually striking a ball, it would definitely be his.

 

That Chinese guy is really quite impressive I agree - he showed a lot of grit and determination to put away Murphy like he did.

 

I think of all the people left in so far, Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen both seem like they could potentially be in with a good shout of lifting the title I reckon. But I'd like Kyren Wilson to win about as much as we'd probably both like Selby to win so..... Not a lot xD

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

I don't mind Mark Selby as a person.... I just find him unfortunately a bit dull to watch play Snooker 1f602.png .... so the fact that he's won the world title four times, and Robertson who is probably my favourite player, has won it once makes me a bit like..... WHYYYY....

 

He's so supremely talented, and if I was going to suggest anyone try and replicate a technique when actually striking a ball, it would definitely be his.

 

That Chinese guy is really quite impressive I agree - he showed a lot of grit and determination to put away Murphy like he did.

 

I think of all the people left in so far, Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen both seem like they could potentially be in with a good shout of lifting the title I reckon. But I'd like Kyren Wilson to win about as much as we'd probably both like Selby to win so..... Not a lot xD

 

 


Well. Thanks Hossein Vafaei for awakening O’Sullivan.

 

The road to the final is completely open for him. I can’t see anyone else from that side of the schedule making the final.

 

Robertson won’t make it. But that side of the schedule still has Selby, Allen, Wilson and Higgins. Definitely the much harder side.

 

Selby - O’Sullivan final would be pretty cool.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

22 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Platinum #364

We Were Here (PS4)

Lc82887.png

 

RJ IN THA BUILDIN!!!! Always awesome to see you posting, my dude?

 

So the escape room angle with this one, okay! I've never played a co-op with puzzles, that's such an appealing concept! Which reminds me, Vice and I were talking about playing Operation Tango, I may break my no-new-game-buying streak at some point this year and cop that one!

 

Also, I'm surprised you're not a chess player! For whatever reason, I guess I just assumed that of you. And you know what they say about assuming, it makes an ass out of you and the Ming Dynasty. Wait, is that how... yes, I'm sure that's how it goes.

 

I like how the symbols gave your minds a trip to the gutter! "It's the one where they're 69ing standing up!" "Oh yeah, next to the one with them peeing on each other?" "Exactly."

 

22 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I thought it was about time I started actually catching up on reviews, especially as work has become a little lighter lately, so I've had a tiny bit more free time, so looks like I have a fair amount to catch up on, but nevertheless, some interesting games that I am pretty excited to share some of my thoughts on!

 

I can relate homie, I can relate. I'm glad to hear that you'll have a bit more free time! All work and no play and all that, it ain't good for ya!

 

22 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

This one is a nice one to revisit review wise, and it was an absolute blast to play this one with @Redblaziken8 , who to this day still won't let me forget that I just left her behind  on our first playthrough of the game.... Oops :facepalm:

 

???????

 

Nooooo, you can't be doin that! Mark my words, ten years from now you'll forget something and she'll be like "THIS IS JUST LIKE THAT TIME YOU LEFT ME BEHIND WHEN WE PLAYED WE WERE HERE!"

 

And she won't be wrong, so you'll have no retort.

 

...not that I speak from experience or anything!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome back RJ! Looking forward to more reviews.

 

On the subject of Coffee Talk, are you going to get the sequel?

 

I'll be looking at your (and any other guinea pigs) before getting around the sequels to We Were Here.

 

Mrs Vice and I enjoyed the first one. We moved a 2nd TV and 2nd PS4 into the same room and faced the opposite ways... was a good afternoon. We liked the chess puzzle and the opening room but didn't like the puzzle in the theatre (way too janky). And it was definitely disappointing when we went to do a second playthrough (swapping roles) to find that every puzzle was identical on the second go around.

 

 

12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Which reminds me, Vice and I were talking about playing Operation Tango, I may break my no-new-game-buying streak at some point this year and cop that one!

 

american-psycho-patrick-bateman.gif

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23.04.2023 at 8:46 PM, Baker said:

My god man. Wilson is getting destroyed. Not a Wilson fan but I feel kind of sad for him.
 

@det_gittes What are your thoughts about the tournament so far?

 

Thanks for the question, though I don't have much to say this time as I have barely watched the championships so far. As every year, I paid for the Eurosport subscription some 2 weeks ago, but I haven't had much time lately and I only watched some bits of Ronnie's previous matches; last night I caught the last frame of Ronnie vs. Luca Brecel, which gave Ronnie a four-frame overnight lead, and today I was planning to entertain myself with their last session on a 4-hour train journey. Well, you know very well what happened in that session ? So with all the players I enjoy watching out of the tournament (Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham, Ronnie - of course!, Neil Robertson and probably a few more), I guess I won't mind the final between Luca Brecel and Mark Selby. If they both make the final and Brecel wins, he will make history, but beating Selby, especially in the final, is a tall order for a player that, as I heard, never won his match in the Crucible before.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Noice! Unremarkable Valley and Flipping Death in one week!

 

Yeah, I know which one I’d rather play ?

 

Had an inclination you’d dig Flipping Death, given your affinity for the Gilbert and Schaffer variety of nonsense - glad you dug it, (and agree with me that it’s the better game than SittM, as fun as that one is!)

 

Excellent write ups as always m’dude!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Noice! Unremarkable Valley and Flipping Death in one week!

 

Yeah, I know which one I’d rather play 1f61d.png

 

Had an inclination you’d dig Flipping Death, given your affinity for the Gilbert and Schaffer variety of nonsense - glad you dug it, (and agree with me that it’s the better game than SittM, as fun as that one is!)

 

Excellent write ups as always m’dude!

 

Thanks man! I appreciate the kind words, as always.

 

You know what, Unremarkable Valley would have been a better tagline for the review instead of what I went with, and somehow I managed to not say during the entire writing process about how remarkably unremarkable that game actually is.

It's one of those "you should be soooooo much more, but why aren;t you?" type of games..... like completely inoffensive, and fine, but it is only that, just fine I suppose.

 

I really did have a good time with Flipping Death, I'd really dig another game set in that universe, but they'd kind of need to find another unique hook that's not just doing what the other two games have already done.

 

I'm looking to make it three this week, as I'm just in the process of writing the review for Concrete Genie which is going to be a bit of a minefield I guess I'm going to have to walk into xD..... As I kind of think that games message massively misses its mark, but I guess I'll save that for the review itself.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 08/07/2023 at 7:56 AM, YaManSmevz said:

I feel you on bein a sucker for retro pixel stuff, but I've been pretty fortunate where that goes. What a bummer to play something that seems to have that charm and it's like "oh... you just wanted to look like this other game. Ew, you're doing the same gameplay features too?? That's some Single White Female shit, I'm out!"

 

Good observation on the sound, it's cool that they went to those lengths so it isn't damning with faint praise, but with so much else lacking in originality it does make you wonder "there's clearly talent and forethought, why couldn't this have been applied elsewhere??" This was also a good reminder to look into Lone Survivor, so thanks for that!

 

 

Haha yes! I realised afterwards that you definitely could have shortened my Uncanny Valley review down to "Here's a bunch of reasons why you should go and play Lone Survivor.... so erm, do that."

 

Like, Uncanny Valley was fine..... but is that really enough? In an age where we have so many awesome new and exciting experiences at our fingertips that are both sometimes dirt cheap, really short, and worth your time.... It's tough to really justify playing Uncanny Valley.

 

On 08/07/2023 at 7:56 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Love this game, love that you loved it, long live Zoinks and all that good shit. Agreed mad hard on the world building, the delightful wackiness (there's a lot to be said for implementing just the right amount), and the balance of light and heavy. Also, that couple.... Jesus, man. When I realized exactly what that trophy needed me to do, I couldn't help cracking up1f602.png

 

Stick it to the Man and Flipping Death have definitely converted me to a believer in Zoink - whatever deity that might be........ Wait, did we all unknowingly join a cult?

 

 Typing that totally didn't make me think of this....

 

lider-simpsons.gif

 

 

Oh well, you know what considering how fun those games were, I'm good with being indoctrinated by Zoink.....

 

Wouldn't have played those two bangers without you and Doc though, so I definitely appreciated the push in the right direction.

 

On 08/07/2023 at 7:56 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Being a total lose- uh, I mean gaming completionist, I've kinda let the whole VR thing being needed for an S rank deter me from this one (having gotten it for free on PS+ doesn't help either). It's dope to see this game is the vibrant encourager of creativity it seemed to be, but I agree on the whole bullying thing.

 

Like you, I don't like seeing stuff like that shrink-wrapped into some cheesy, feel-good After School Special shaped package, it's a little glib and I could very much see that taking away a bit of enjoyment. I figured the approach would've been more like "there's a lot of fucking bastards in the world, but look at all this great art you're creating, they can't take that from you" rather then "but those poor bullies, it's on you to take the time to understand them." Barf.

 

Solid work as always homie, you still got it1f44a.png I need to take a cue from you and get off my ass and get back to writing my damn self. Or wait, wouldn't it be to get on my ass? Get in m-... ?

 

Nevermind.

 

Again, great work, and great to have you back1f60e.png

 

I do know what you mean on that whole  being hesitant to add Concrete Genie because of those VR trophies, but I think I just thought screw it, I've got some unobtainables anyway, so adding a few more trophies I'm not likely to get probably can't hurt.

 

It's a funny one Concrete Genie, it;s very very god in some aspects, and in others it is completely tone deaf, and a little more shallow than I think it should have been, but the way it handled bullies,and bullying - yes, that was just a massive mistake.

 

You instantly came up with a better alternative of conveying that message, and that should probably have been the one they went with. It's more powerfu, and if you're artistically inclined anyway, I think that would speak to people more anyway. Great shout with that one.

 

I don't think it should stop you playing it though if you ever fancied it, as it's still a very enjoyable game, just a little bit misguided in the way it decides to put its message across. As you can tell from the review, there's still loads to love...

 

It's good to be back man, and! Even if I keep slipping into a big gaming hole, and making my catching up on reviews a harder task ? - and erm, take a week and a bit to reply to this as well :facepalm:

 

I'm looking forward to your own inevitable writing return too.... and, obviously, I have no doubt that you won't have missed a beat

 

On 08/07/2023 at 8:36 PM, Taruta13 said:

I really like the title card, you took that from a screenshot of Dark Arcana: The Carnival, did you? I like it! ^_^

 

I'm glad you like the title card...

 

I didn't know it was from Dark Arcana: The Carnival - my buddy @DrBloodmoney made it for me. So he deserves all the credit for how good it looks.

 

That game is definitely one I should probably get around to playing. Especially as I don't think I've actually played an Artifex Mundi game since about 2021.... So I'm probably due another one soon really.

Edited by rjkclarke
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...