rjkclarke's Carnival of Diamonds and Rust

[DrunkenEngineer]

38 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

That's great to hear that Shadow is on your do want list now - sorry to hear about the original giving you motion sickness. All it gave me was, thisgameismakingmesabotagemylovelife-itis haha! ..

 

Do you get motion sick a lot? I don't usually myself, but there's a select few games that have made me really motion sick in the past, like Warframe and the Lite-Gun Resident Evil games on PS3.... It's not what you want at all when it comes to games is it.

 

That's the irony of these checklists isn't it - sometimes they're meant to serve a purpose of decreasing your backlog, yet mine seems to keep growing from all the awesome games everyone has been playing....

 

You're 100% right, blessing and a curse - lets repurpose the Sam Raimi Spiderman line of "This is my gift, this is my curse.... Who am I? I'M BACKLOG-MAN"

 

Are you sure you're okay with me doing a Monkey Island - I feel like I've cheated my own system there..... If you'd rather I did something else, I'm perfectly happy to do that. Otherwise, I guess I'd add a Monkey Island to the list.

 

Yeah man, do Monkey Island!  In my background section in my checklist I talk about how Monkey Island is one of the formative game series of my childhood.  Very eager to hear your thoughts.

 

I generally do not get motion sick in games, and when I do it's 100% because the FOV of a game is set too narrow.  In the case of Tomb Raider 2013, I played it on PC so not sure if this was present in the console version, but there was a screen bob that occurred while Lara moves, which is completely bizarre as this is the a third person game.  What's the point of simulating head bob in a non-FPS game?  I found a way to mod it out, so thankfully I was able to finish the game.  Wasn't an issue in Rise as they added a toggle for the effect.

[KindaSabbath]

Right, so I've finally had the time to fully read your Shadow of The Tomb Raider write-up! I did read it in parts not too long after you posted, but it's only now that I've been able to sit down and read it in its entirety... and I mean properly man - headphones on, Led Zeppelin playing and a big ass ice cold Pepsi. Does anyone else love listening to music when they read? I've actually never asked anyone before... 

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

I’ve mentioned many times, over the past two write ups about how, you might not like this version of Lara (I know plenty of people who both do and don’t), but by the end you’ll definitely understand her. That was deliberate, I was always planning to follow through on my statement – this version of Lara is incredibly complex, and often quite unlikeable, but the whole way through the trilogy it was building up to this one moment. I believe she gives her best performance to date in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

 

This is one of those rare times where I’d love to break my own rules and delve deeply into spoilers, but I won’t – however much I might like to. It’s rare for video games to actually effectively pull off slow-build storytelling across multiple games, it does happen on occasion – The Legacy of Kain series was certainly going in that direction, before the series was ended prematurely. Whereas in this trilogy – Crystal Dynamics had a very clear plan from the beginning, and I think for the most part they managed to stick the landing, which is something they should be commended for. Whilst I don’t think this game is the best in the trilogy – it is my personal favourite one, for one reason and one reason only, the scene where Lara completely unravels in the oil fields.

 

It’ll be no secret to anyone who reads a lot of my reviews to know that I’m incredibly passionate about film – and this section in the oil fields, is so immaculately produced that it wouldn’t look out of place in a high quality cinematic affair. The acting is superb, which is a given at this point, the sound design and soundtrack complement each other brilliantly, the cinematography and the lighting especially are so atmospheric yet also evocative of films like Apocalypse Now, that you can’t help but get drawn into the abundant quality on offer here.

 I’ve both replayed and watched this scene several times, and the only thing that are negatives, are some of the stiff facial animations. Luddington absolutely excelled herself here – my words won’t ever do it any sort of real justice, I don't think - but the culmination of three games worth of suffering and turmoil, and never really dealing with her built up anxieties, all culminate in the huge crescendo seen here as Lara just unleashes her primal rage. For what it’s worth, I find it hard like this version of Lara at times too, but that doesn’t mean I was never invested in her character, or couldn’t appreciate how immaculately written I thought her entire character arc was, especially when you compare her to some of the more bare bones iterations of Lara in Tomb Raider’s gone by. That unfortunately includes the Legend trilogy version, even if that was more of a step in the right direction.

 

So I've highlighted a pretty huge segment of your review here. Reason being is because, as you know, I haven't played this Trilogy. You even fought against the urge to talk spoilers - so - I mean this as a big compliment - without even diving into the subject matter of the scene your referring to, the sheer skill of your writing in this section gave me goosebumps. No joke. That is something pretty special dude.

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

I would say a fair criticism to level at this recent Tomb Raider trilogy, is the fact that after three iterations not a whole lot of improvements are made regarding gameplay. I’ve heard the words stale and unoriginal thrown around on occasion too. Both of those descriptions seem a little harsh – whilst not a whole lot changes on the surface from a gameplay perspective, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any – or that Crystal Dynamics themselves didn’t want to implement them.

I spoke at length in the last two reviews about my personal frustration with the immersion breaking chalky white ledges - the ones that might as well have served as a sign post saying “please go here.” The thing about those is that Crystal Dynamics wanted to get rid of them too – yet were very fearful that if they did remove them, then newer players would feel very lost and wouldn’t react positively to the game as a result.

 

I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for the devs when it comes to franchises such as this. People expect new installments and they expect improvements to be made - not too many, though, as to not stray too far away from the beloved formula. Yet gradual improvements - y'know, to respect all of the things I've just mentioned - well they get slammed, too. It's a difficult balance. I think your view on the improvements that have been made (or not made) is fair and objective. 

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

You’ll probably notice that I often write in as much detail as I can about soundtracks and sound design, yet hadn’t in great detail up to this point in this trilogy, because in all honesty, they aren’t all that spectacular or stand out (they are good though). Until now that is, I hadn’t realised it until I started writing this review, but I think Shadow of the Tomb Raider plays host to my favourite Tomb Raider soundtrack. That’s high praise too, because I think the Keeley Hawes trilogy has an incredibly large amount of skilfully written music across all three entries, pieces that perfectly evokes the feeling, be it culturally or emotionally, of the areas each are set in. Shadow of the Tomb Raider does that in a similar fashion, but in a much more streamlined and focused way, due in no small part to Shadow of the Tomb Raider having less globe-trotting, as each area is geographically or tonally connected to another. So what you end up getting is a very uniform soundtrack that at no point feels jarring. Words won’t really do it justice, but it is astoundingly good in places, and it does a tremendous job of elevating everything around it. If I ever make an in depth post about my favourite video game soundtracks, I’ll expand on it there. Nevertheless, take a bow Brian D'Oliveira

 

I really appreciate these segments. I would definitely love to read in depth about your favourite video game soundtracks!

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

Now then – how do I tackle this divisive subject? Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s trophies – I say divisive, because I have seen some absolutely uncalled for bile thrown at this game for its difficulty trophies. On this very site I’ve seen people call this the worst game ever made because of the Deadly Obsession difficulty trophy. It’s not even that bad, I know difficulty is subjective, but you at least get save points, even if they are few and far between. Trophies are optional, nobody is forcing you to do them, and usually at least, they don’t in any way diminish the quality of a game. So either do it or don’t. Just don’t lose out on what could be an awesome experience for you as a result.

 

Well said! Trophies are optional and in no way do they indicate or impact a games quality. A well thought out list can absolutely elevate a gaming experience, even intensify immersion. But a bad list doesn't HAVE to be completed. If you HAVE to complete every game you play (I include myself here) - understand that it's a you problem (again, myself included) - be objective enough about it to accept that it's not indicative of the games overall quality.

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

Concluding Statement.

 

It seems a little redundant to say would I recommend this, because obviously I would. I’d recommend this entire trilogy in fact, it has its fans sure, but I don’t think it quite gets any of the love that it deserves, so I decided to give it some of mine. It seemed fitting to review all of the Tomb Raider games with trophies on its twenty-fifth anniversary year. I just hope I did them justice.

 

You absolutely did my friend! I've read all of them and honestly, you've done an incredible job. 

 

I saw the entire Trilogy was on sale last week. I'm not sure if it still is, but I think I will work my way around to it at some point. I mean, I can't not have a Tomb Raider game on my profile - I grew up playing this franchise.

 

On 29/09/2021 at 11:07 PM, rjkclarke said:

So that's me completely freed up now to go write those requested reviews, so coming up next is Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, then Yakuza 0, and finishing off the requests with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain before starting and writing reams about Little Nightmares!

 

That's awesome man, I can't wait! ?

[rjkclarke]

loodmoney said:

*watches gameplay trailer*

 

”oh… so that’s what the death of optimism feels like…” 

 

This is the truth ?

 

It made me a little glad that the onboard computer on Apollo 11 was probably faster than my Phone... So I'd never be able to play it anyway.

 

4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

I did! The wife and I travel a lot, but the world being what it is nowadays, it had been two years since we'd so much as seen an airport - a very long time for us. Thank you, we had a blast, and we desperately needed it! We're both quite recharged now, I'm happy to say

 

 

That's awesome to hear man - glad the two of you had an awesome time!  I bet that must have felt good to get back travelling again. Sounds like it's something you both needed, and are all the better for it!

 

I haven't even quite adjusted to seeing friends regularly yet, I like it don't get me wrong, but after barely seeing anyone for a year or so it was quite the culture shock

 

4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Yo, I would happily jump on a point-and-click Hitman title! It would definitely avoid the genre's pitfall of linearity - if each mission didn't have at least six different endings, we would riot!

 

Well, a nerd-riot, so we wouldn't be able to push over cars or blow up stuff. But the online comments we leave would be utterly blistering!!

 

Note to self: look into Hitman Go...

 

I'm down - gimme that game now!

 

Better than this nerd photo-shoot right?

 

 

 

Oh man - Hitman GO is actually pretty decent... Puts Lara Croft GO to shame. It's got an incredibly interesting aesthetic to it, which really works for the whole tactical side of Himtan... Y'know planning your kills that kind of thing, so everything looks like pieces of a board game, it's really unique.

 

It's one of those games people dig out for being an easy Platinum, which as you know doesn't actually make a game any less worthwhile; but it's also a pretty excellent puzzle game I think, that would have been really fun to play whilst travelling. So yeah, I'd definitely look into that one.

 

4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

"Bro, the town is a mess and criminals are running rampant! Where the hell is Backlog Man?"

"Oh, he's holed up in the Backlog Cave. Apparently he started reading psn profile checklists."

"....God help us all."

 

That's enough to keep anyone busy ?

 

I think this'd be how it'd go if I was Backlog-Man.

 

"Think I could maybe stretch to trying to get a cat out of a tree... Oh wait no I can't realM just brought my attention to an awesome indie game, Arc just slayed another beastly game, Sabbath just throat punched Trials of the Blood Dragon, Smevz just released his long anticipated piece on the Godfather game. This week Doc just added five bonus games...... Oh two more notifications.... Erm..... On second thoughts sod the cat, I'm staying here."

 

I know I left plenty of people out...... but I'm a little tired, so my creativity ran a little dry, don't feel offended folks ?

 

 

4 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Yeah man, do Monkey Island!  In my background section in my checklist I talk about how Monkey Island is one of the formative game series of my childhood.  Very eager to hear your thoughts.

 

I generally do not get motion sick in games, and when I do it's 100% because the FOV of a game is set too narrow.  In the case of Tomb Raider 2013, I played it on PC so not sure if this was present in the console version, but there was a screen bob that occurred while Lara moves, which is completely bizarre as this is the a third person game.  What's the point of simulating head bob in a non-FPS game?  I found a way to mod it out, so thankfully I was able to finish the game.  Wasn't an issue in Rise as they added a toggle for the effect.

 

Yes!! Get in... One of the games of my childhood too man - and whilst I'm not one to drown myself in a bath of nostalgia, I absolutely adore The Monkey Island series, more than almost any other, as they're one of the first examples where I remember thinking " wow, I didn't know video games could be this"

 

So even if I did  half nominate myself ...... I'm really looking forward to that one.... Thank You! I'm really lucking out with the requested reviews at the minute, maybe it'd be easier, if I played games I didn't like, then I could write a review that was only 30 words or something.

 

I don't remember if that was in the console version of Tomb Raider 2013 - it's sounds like a nightmare, so that sucks that you had to deal with that. At least you got through it, fingers crossed it's not in the console version if/when you ever decide to tackle the new trilogy for the PS4.

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

Right, so I've finally had the time to fully read your Shadow of The Tomb Raider write-up! I did read it in parts not too long after you posted, but it's only now that I've been able to sit down and read it in its entirety... and I mean properly man - headphones on, Led Zeppelin playing and a big ass ice cold Pepsi. Does anyone else love listening to music when they read? I've actually never asked anyone before... 

 

I listen to meditation music sometimes when I read and write  - if that counts haha?

 

That is an interesting question actually - because I've both never been asked that, or thought to ask anyone that myself.... So I wouldn't mind hearing whether others bung  a song or two on when they're having a bit of a read.

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

So I've highlighted a pretty huge segment of your review here. Reason being is because, as you know, I haven't played this Trilogy. You even fought against the urge to talk spoilers - so - I mean this as a big compliment - without even diving into the subject matter of the scene your referring to, the sheer skill of your writing in this section gave me goosebumps. No joke. That is something pretty special dude.

 

Wow! Thanks man - I really appreciate that, especially as I always suspect people would probably rather I just outright wrote about spoilers. I was trying  really hard with that to convey everything it made me feel, and why it was so good without actually showing it, I did think about linking the scene, but it spoils so much, and honestly the payoff is spectacular.

 

As selfish as it might sound, I want people to WANT to play it, and want to  experience it for themselves, as they'll almost certainly get something different out of it to me, which might then open up another nice little discussion to be had, that's half the fun right? Talking about all these awesome games, with awesome people - that's why I really need to play Little Nightmares and a bajillion other things ?

 

I figured if anyone wanted to talk to me about anything specific or spoiler-ish  they can always drop me a message and I'll try and get back to them when I can.

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for the devs when it comes to franchises such as this. People expect new installments and they expect improvements to be made - not too many, though, as to not stray too far away from the beloved formula. Yet gradual improvements - y'know, to respect all of the things I've just mentioned - well they get slammed, too. It's a difficult balance. I think your view on the improvements that have been made (or not made) is fair and objective. 

 

 

I think that's a huge part of the problem, yeah - that and the fact that an already established fandom of something, are usually the ones that criticise it the most, I guess because they think it's so special to them, that they have the god given right for it to be the way they perfectly envision it.

 

People often say nobody hates wrestling as much as wrestling fans, in the same way nobody hates Doctor Who asmuch as Doctor Who fans.

 

People can be a hard bunch to please I suppose.

 

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

I really appreciate these segments. I would definitely love to read in depth about your favourite video game soundtracks!

 

 

I've been thinking about it for a while... So I should actually do it really.

 

I definitely think some of the non review format pieces that @realm722 often writes would be a pretty big inspiration for that sort of thing - so I'd love to take a crack at writing some stuff like that about my favourite soundtracks and such, but I'd have to probably do more than one of those, but I'd love to do it at some point, so it's nice to hear you wouldn't be against me doing it.

 

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

Well said! Trophies are optional and in no way do they indicate or impact a games quality. A well thought out list can absolutely elevate a gaming experience, even intensify immersion. But a bad list doesn't HAVE to be completed. If you HAVE to complete every game you play (I include myself here) - understand that it's a you problem (again, myself included) - be objective enough about it to accept that it's not indicative of the games overall quality.

 

Exactly! I think plenty of us on this side of the forum think that way, thankfully.  But that could be a sweeping generalisation, because I don't venture out of these parts all that often anymore.

 

I have nobody to blame but myself, for the horrendous time I'm having with Agents of Mayhem, nobody forced a gun to my head and made me play it to completion like I'm doing.  That's a me problem too, that'd be a dreadful game whether it had trophies or not, it'd still be something I'd happily send on a one way trip to the core of the sun ?

 

4 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

You absolutely did my friend! I've read all of them and honestly, you've done an incredible job. 

 

I saw the entire Trilogy was on sale last week. I'm not sure if it still is, but I think I will work my way around to it at some point. I mean, I can't not have a Tomb Raider game on my profile - I grew up playing this franchise.

 

Thanks again man!

 

I think they were on sale for a really good price too.... I'm sure they will be again though if they're not. Definitely a hell of a good time all three of the games. Ones I'll happily go back to, even though I'm all out of trophies to collect.

 

I only just noticed that you sneaked that little bit about Little Nightmares in at the end haha ?..... Thankfully, it's a short game isn't it, so I've got no excuse not to bump it up the list of priorities! I'm fairly sure I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it though.

 

I'd better go post up that Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes review then!

 

[rjkclarke]

Classic Review

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

 

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

100% Achieved - 1 September 2015 : 7:34:49:AM

Time taken to 100%:  3 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes

100% Rarity - 4.33%

 

 

I think before we really get into this as a review, I ought to contextualise how I was actually feeling about the game, before it was even released. It isn’t like it’s altogether that relevant, as far as objectivity goes, but it just feels right to, especially as it’s the first Metal Gear Solid game I’m actually sitting down to review. Yes, I’m aware this is going to end up in a funny order, with me doing both Metal Gear Solid V entries first, but the Metal Gear Solid timeline is so unusual anyway, so long as I cover it’s distinct era’s in order and in story order, I don’t think it’s too much of a problem. It almost seems fitting this way anyway. This review won’t be the longest review ever – purely because this game is essentially a prologue, but it’s a game nonetheless, so I’ll give it the attention that it deserves. The Phantom Pain, just by its larger scope has a few more avenues to unpack than Ground Zeroes.

 

It will be a surprise to almost none of you, that just as Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes were nearing its release – surprise, surprise... SHOCK HORROR, I was apprehensive about it (noticing a trend?) I always seem to worry myself so unnecessarily when it comes to video game sequels and reboots/ continuations of a franchise, or I guess in this games case, a sequel to a prequel? Ground Zeroes specifically - serving as a sequel to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker far more than a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3.

 I’m fairly lucky in that three of my closest friends are also Metal Gear Solid fans, so I’ve practically always had someone around to talk about the series with, which in a way is nice. However, I remember so many long discussions before this games release, about how it just won’t be the same without David Hayter as the voice of Big Boss. That was ironically the thing I was most apprehensive about. Just like always the quote “I’d rather be happy than right any day” rears its Douglas Adams shaped head again – but we’ll get there.

 

As I previously alluded to, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, essentially serves as a sequel to Peace Walker, a decision I always found a little strange, as so few people seem to have bothered to play that game. Even some I know who own the HD collection on PS3. No judgment here though, that’s up to them. Even if it is one of the best entries across the entire series, and has an art style so astonishingly unique, that I’m almost grateful that the limitations of the PSP forced them into that situation. As such, without the required knowledge of the story beats from Peace Walker I do wonder how much enjoyment someone would get from Ground Zeroes.

 

On the surface, the entire structure of Ground Zeroes takes the shape of one elongated rescue mission, set in Camp Omega, which totally isn’t supposed to represent Guantanamo Bay. You’re tasked with rescuing two integral characters from Peace Walker, who unless you played that title, probably don’t seem all that important. Thankfully, the game doesn’t alienate newer players – which could have happened, by virtue of dedicating an inordinate amount of time to explaining who Chico and Paz are. If you know, great – it might enhance the experience, but if you don’t then it’s not going to change anything about your time with Ground Zeroes. After playing through this you won’t forget those characters quickly. This isn’t the only element you’d expect to find in Ground Zeroes of course, it does have a surprisingly rich amount of side content, which if you’re inclined could keep you busy long after the games natural runtime was over.

 

However, bombastic, wild esoteric or unusual the story-line from the Metal Gear series might be, they’ve always been the main draw for a lot of fans. I doubt you’d get many that play them purely for their gameplay. Personally, they got their story hooks into me at a very young age, so at this point, whilst I’m not blind to their flaws; I still rather enjoy the stories for what they are. So the idea of seeing Big Boss’ story continue, but with Kiefer Sutherland taking on voice acting duties I did wonder how well that’d go. Thankfully he’s brilliant.

Now this might seem off topic, but it’s actually quite relevant – this is pure speculation of course, but I do get the impression that Kojima is a little like Sergio Leone, in that the first chance he got to move away from Clint Eastwood and work with what he deemed a “real” actor in Henry Fonda, he did so – I feel that was also Kojima’s thinking, when hiring Sutherland. The fact he’d always been angling to replace Hayter, with several actors over the course of the entire series, almost cements that in my opinion.

 

David Hayter’s vocal performances as both Solid Snake and Big Boss are excellent – yet there are elements of it, which are, let’s face it completely unrealistic – nobody in the real world actually speaks like that. Which is fine, we’re dealing with a world of nano-machines and one hundred year old Snipers powered by photosynthesis and a man who fire Bees as projectiles, so who needs realism right? Well, Kojima evidently, I don’t actually know how much say he had in the way Kiefer Sutherland delivered his lines, but he delivers them with such sincerity and realism that took me quite a while to adjust to, because almost every other voice actor is performing as if they were taking part in a photo-realistic anime.

This is one of the more negative aspects, I think if you were going to have Sutherland perform like that, then everybody needed to. Robin Atkin Downes, who some of you may be familiar with as the Emo Prince from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, does a wonderful job in this game as Kaz, the delivery of some of his lines in the trailer for Phantom Pain that plays at the end of this game are haunting almost, especially when laced together with some of the disturbing imagery being shown alongside.

 

Despite this however, I think it really works, at least in Sutherland’s case it does. Whilst he doesn’t quite have the same gruffness, to his voice that Hayter does, there’s sincerity to it that I never expected, for probably the first time, Big Boss talks like a person would. As some of you will know, I love digging into the minutiae of things, and there’s an exceptional piece of sound design found in Ground Zeroes – now this isn’t a spoiler.  But just before you find Chico, it’s the subtle way in which Sutherland lowers the pitch of his voice, and says almost in a whisper “Chico, is that you.” Now that might not seem like much, but any previous version of Snake/Big Boss would have probably screamed that at the top of his lungs, but I found the way Sutherland delivered what little dialogue he has, really immersive.

 

I remember being absolutely astounded by the graphical leap when I first played Ground Zeroes, it isn’t actually that breathtaking, that reaction merely was a holdover from Peace Walker being the most recent title I’d played – which is a remaster of a PSP game anyway, so there was a limit to how good that could look, even if you factor in Bluepoint’s amazing talents for remasters and remakes.

Whilst the graphics are very good, the real visual spectacle comes in the form of Camp Omgea. It’s full of secret nooks and crannies, Easter Eggs, and most importantly of all – especially when you’re starting to steer the ship in a more open ended direction, the element of choice. Ground Zeroes itself, might be fairly low key, and serves as a prologue to a bigger game, Camp Omega remains one of the most iconic locations for me across the entire series, it’s an absolute testament to the statement, “bigger isn’t always better”. Camp Omega is actually a fairly small and discrete location, yet when it comes to stealth games, that almost makes it that much more satisfying where you can seamlessly move about undetected after learning the layout like the back of your hand. This is only furthered by further exploration in the Side Ops, that force you to learn new enemy patterns and one which tasks you with practically seeing everything the map has to see.

 

It’s almost fitting that I mentioned Sergio Leone earlier, as thematically you can hear his frequent collaborator Ennio Morricone‘s influence all over this soundtrack. Ground Zeroes soundtrack is an interesting mix of familiar musical themes, paired with a plentiful amount of original music, heard for the first time here. The two side ops, Jamais Vu and Deja Vu respectively, offer a lovely nostalgia fuelled trip, down an auditory memory lane, as you hear remixed versions of both the PS1 Metal Gear Solid theme and that of Metal Gear Rising. For as much as I’ll happily tear apart some of the ridiculousness of this series on occasion – the Peace Walker Medley/ Heavens Divide piece, is simply – well, let’s just say it’s majestically beautiful, you don’t expect to hear music that rousing, from a series that also has giant Mech’s with nuclear warheads attached to them, in it. As a great man would often say to me - “contrasts and contradictions mate!”

 

I often see Ground Zeroes get criticised for being too short – which in a way is not an unfair criticism, if you take trophies and side ops out of the equation, you’ll likely only spend at most, about an hour with the story portion. I’m sure plenty were hoping for something slightly meatier, but, we got what we got; try to look at the positives of that. I might just be being, optimistic, but I think the shorter play-time really allows the gameplay to shine.

The gameplay has improved leaps and bounds over previous titles, and the FOX engine has done wonders in breathing new life into Metal Gear Solid’s - at the time of the games release, quite frankly stale stealth mechanics. Ground Zeroes stealth mechanics, are far more advanced than they were previously and account for a multitude of things, such as lighting, noise and peripheral vision. It isn't doesn't just equate to vision cones and cardboard boxes anymore. There’s still more they could have improved upon, but it was a step in the right direction. The inclusion of Reflex mode is a little bit of a head scratcher though, it makes the game a little too easy, as the minute you get spotted, you get a slow down, and a few seconds to snap a headshot before an alert can be sounded. It absolutely trivialises the game a little bit, but the easiest way around it is to just turn it off, instead of complain about it.

What Ground Zeroes does perfectly, is give you all the necessary tools to jump right into Phantom Pain. By exploring all of the Extra Ops, you’ll have all of the necessary tools to start the next game running. This is why I put so much emphasis on praising, Camp Omega as a sandbox area, it’s such a perfect example of a well disguised tutorial section, that unlike most, actually feels fun to explore and experiment with.

 

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes ultimately would fall into the category of a game in which the trophies can really enrich the experience. There are certain trophies like Reminiscence, which are tailor made for long time fans of Metal Gear. You’ll also find some really interesting references to Kojima’s earlier title Snatcher. When you consider the main story boils down to about an hour and a half, including cutscenes. The fact you can turn an hour and a half story, into a fifteen hour one hundred percent, which never really gets tiresome is quite impressive.  As a result of this, you’ll see practically everything the game has to offer, it’ll also mean that you have a much deeper attachment to some of the soldiers you can bring over into The Phantom Pain, as a result of having a save file in this one. Two of them appear in Side Ops in Ground Zeroes that I always kept in my team throughout Phantom Pain, because it just felt right to, I know wasn’t the only one either. I can’t really give too much advice, outside of, if you were to play it, approach the difficulty in a way that feels comfortable for you, don’t start on Hard if you don’t want to. You practically have to do everything multiple times anyway, so take your time and enjoy yourself, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.

 

If you’re ever planning to play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, it only seems natural to start here. It’s not a necessity, but I think it’d definitely help, the game has a few glaring issues, but not any to stop this still being a very high quality affair, when you look at it in context. This was for all intents and purposes a demonstration of what the FOX engine could do, whilst also tying up some loose ends from Peace Walker, and also furthering the story into the next game – most of those it does fairly well.

Personally, I like Ground Zeroes more than the Phantom Pain, I’m under no silly illusions that Ground Zeroes is a better game (because it isn’t,) I just prefer it, but we’ll probably delve into the why of that when I delve into The Phantom Pain soon. That isn't to say I dislike that one either, I'm just a little less forgiving of some of it's more flawed areas.

 

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

 

So that's my first Metal Gear Solid review written, that felt both great to write, and strange, as I feel like I really ought to have done one by now anyway.

 

I don't exactly feel comfortable saying thanks to @YaManSmevz for requesting this one - because you didn't, I just felt like I had to cover this one before I could get to reviewing The Phantom Pain. We're almost there though.

 

@Slava - I'm sure I remember saying I'd tag you if I got to anything Metal Gear Solid related, so here you go - you don't have to read it of course, it's just there if you wanted to.

Edited October 21, 2021 by rjkclarke

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

ACVD has been giving me the dick the last few days. The hardcore run is something out of a nightmare. Probably gonna write about it in my own checklist tomorrow since I haven't updated it at all since I made it lol. Give me strength fellow checklisters!

[Destructor-8]

7 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I can only hope you enjoy them if you give them a read. Good to see you're still bossing plenty of racers at the moment!

 

Nah you're pretty good on Agents of Mayhems front - you only need an Online connection, the only people you have to rely on are people to do the contracts alongside you, otherwise you'll be grinding a lot by yourself.  So you can start it whenever you like.... Or erm - don't. 

 

That trophy seems incredibly finicky too, I feel like it should have unlocked for me by now, but it hasn't it's literally the only trophy that I'm missing. I feel like I've done way more than 15 - but who knows. You can only do 3 a day as well, so it's five days minimum for the platinum.

 

It's not going to be a positive review of Agents of Mayhem, I can say that much - in fact I'll be mentioning how I think that game is the perfect indictment of why reviewers should play all of a game, instead of just bits of one. My first impressions are almost the complete opposite now haha ?

 

Yeah you put in a lot of work in the reviews like the others so it's nice to see people all share stuff like this. Oh cheers, I've gotten through a few haha. I might have to start that game then to get that trophy done, hopefully you get it though since I heard it can take awhile. It will be an interesting read though.

 

25 minutes ago, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

ACVD has been giving me the dick the last few days. The hardcore run is something out of a nightmare. Probably gonna write about it in my own checklist tomorrow since I haven't updated it at all since I made it lol. Give me strength fellow checklisters!

 

Oh damn, I know how hard a game in that series can get lol. I mean it's quite funny as one of the trophies I put in the most effort was in that series since the stuff you are usually required to do can be ridiculous lol. I'm not sure if you played the same one I did since you are playing the game after but I can imagine what that trophy requires to do or maybe not. I'm sure you'll get there though.

[CelestialRequiem]

1 hour ago, Destructor-8 said:

Oh damn, I know how hard a game in that series can get lol. I mean it's quite funny as one of the trophies I put in the most effort was in that series since the stuff you are usually required to do can be ridiculous lol. I'm not sure if you played the same one I did since you are playing the game after but I can imagine what that trophy requires to do or maybe not. I'm sure you'll get there though.

I'm not familiar with V. Verdict Day is my first Gen 5 game (Armored Core generation, the only one with trophies on PlayStation). But, this game isn't a joke. It asks quite a lot from the player. 

 

Kind of cool; because the Souls games aren't like that. It's basically a check box of getting all of the collectibles and seeing the endings. In this game though, it really asks you to go above and beyond. Despite it being pretty straight-forward, it isn't very accessible. Which goes along with the nature of Armored Core, I suppose. 

If you ever decide to go for it, let me know. I'll make myself available to help you out. 

[Destructor-8]

8 minutes ago, CelestialRequiem said:

I'm not familiar with V. Verdict Day is my first Gen 5 game (Armored Core generation, the only one with trophies on PlayStation). But, this game isn't a joke. It asks quite a lot from the player. 

 

Kind of cool; because the Souls games aren't like that. It's basically a check box of getting all of the collectibles and seeing the endings. In this game though, it really asks you to go above and beyond. Despite it being pretty straight-forward, it isn't very accessible. Which goes along with the nature of Armored Core, I suppose. 

If you ever decide to go for it, let me know. I'll make myself available to help you out. 

 

Yeah the one I did just required many runs through the game being fast & knowing where everything is to get through it. It was easier before I did it since you could do runs with others, but I did everything I could at least. Oh cheers, I might get that game if it's able to be done. I'm not sure if you need others for it but haven't played one of those games for a long time.

[CelestialRequiem]

31 minutes ago, Destructor-8 said:

Oh cheers, I might get that game if it's able to be done. I'm not sure if you need others for it but haven't played one of those games for a long time.

You definitely need people. A guide is being developed; so stay tuned for that. 

[rjkclarke]

10 hours ago, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

ACVD has been giving me the dick the last few days. The hardcore run is something out of a nightmare. Probably gonna write about it in my own checklist tomorrow since I haven't updated it at all since I made it lol. Give me strength fellow checklisters!

 

I pretty much went to sleep after posting up that Metal Gear Solid review last night, so I missed this...

 

...Sounds like you're having a brutal time with it... Sorry to hear that - what is it about the game that's getting to you?   Is it difficulty related? Guessing it is by the fact you're calling it a hardcore run. Or just sheer intolerable grind? those can be the worst too.

 

These definitely can be good places to vent your frustrations so if you need to write yourself a nice long rant about it in your checklist it might help cool you off a bit, if the game is really getting to you. It certainly helped me after venting my frustrations about Agents of Mayhem.

 

10 hours ago, Destructor-8 said:

I might have to start that game then to get that trophy done, hopefully you get it though since I heard it can take awhile. It will be an interesting read though.

 

Or..... Just don't start it at all - although I know you've already bought it, so I guess you kind of will feel obligated to start it now right?

 

I'm actually off to write that review soon - I literally put the platinum in Agents of Mayhem to bed about fifteen minutes ago. I don't think I've ever moved faster to uninstall a game from my console haha - so that review is definitely not going to be filled with overwhelming positivity that's for sure ?

[Slava]

Thanks for summoning me, @rjkclarke! Great review of Ground Zeroes.

 

Oh man, where do I start, I have so many thoughts. Right, I should probably mention that I've never actually played this game . Of course, as a Metal Gear fan, I had to know what happens in it before playing The Phantom Pain, and watched a playthrough and some streams. I might buy it in the future just to explore the location in my own way, and to have a game in my collection.

 

Yeah, before the game's launch, I had been wondering about Sutherland's casting choice. Would his performance fit the character? Would I get used to his voice after many years of hearing Hayter as Snake? I'd say the answer to both questions is yes. I still hear Hayter's voice in my head when I imagine Snake, but for this game Kiefer just makes sense, I don't know why. Maybe because of the jump to a more realistic and cinematic (it feels weird to type this knowing about hour long cutscenes in previous games) tone. As much as I love David Hayter, he started over-acting and changing his voice a little too much in the later games in the series. His voice was a little too growly. Compare his line delivery in MGS1 to Peace Walker and you'll likely notice the difference right away. He almost sounds like a caricature of himself at times. So, even if he happened play the role of Snake again, I would've liked him to tone it down a little. But we got what we got, and I'm satisfied.

 

The FOX engine is a technical masterpiece. Not only because the graphics look great, and because of all the cool systems they implemented, but also becasue all of that works on PS3 as well. Insane to think that 2006 hardware is able to run Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. It's a shame that such a cool engine was barely used. Thanks, Konami. 

 

Kojima's direction is not the most consistant in quality throughout the series. With the main mission in this game, I thought he did a good job from start to finish (well, maybe except some parts in the end). The opening cutscene with the storm and the introduction of Skull Face looked epic. The tone was perfect, the cinematography was awesome, the music choice was great, the writing wasn't cringe. After Peace Walker, which was mostly bright and colourful, and full of happy moments and characters with doll-like shiny eyes, you go to this and see kids in cages, and you find Paz with a shaved head in some basement. I like these tonal shifts. As you've said, when you already know these characters, you get more from the story. These scenes pull at your heart strings.

 

Gameplay-wise, I can only speak from experience of playing through the Phantom Pain, but it must be comparable. Yeah, it's phenomenal. Best in the series by far. The moveset is so great, it just feels so smooth and satisfying to control Snake. Running, jumping, diving to the ground like a dolphin, climbing, aiming in 1st person and 3rd person. I never feel limited by anything. I also like your description of Camp Omega. It's like a playground where you're free to utilize your moves and gadgets, get used to the controls and new mechanics, etc. 

 

Overall, I think Ground Zeroes works fine as a prologue to MGSV. I believe it was planned to serve as the beginning of The Phantom Pain in the early stages of production. But it does make more sense to have it as a standalone short game, because TPP has got it's own prologue mission. If the game had two of them, it would've taken a player around 2.5 hours to get to the open world. It would've also taken a lot of the disc space. On top of that, a 9-year coma time gap fits well between the game releases. It feels like a lot of time has passed. So I understand the decision.

 

Lastly, you're definitely not the only person who likes GZ more than TPP. I've seen people on the internet who put a hundred of hours into GZ and were so disappointed with TPP that they didn't want to fiinish it.

 

So, I assume the review of TPP is coming up soon, right? That game has a special place in my gaming history. The pre-release hype and the launch itself are the most exciting and memorable gaming event for me. There's so much I can say about that game ?.

[rjkclarke]

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Thanks for summoning me, @rjkclarke! Great review of Ground Zeroes.

 

Oh man, where do I start, I have so many thoughts. Right, I should probably mention that I've never actually played this game . Of course, as a Metal Gear fan, I had to know what happens in it before playing The Phantom Pain, and watched a playthrough and some streams. I might buy it in the future just to explore the location in my own way, and to have a game in my collection.

 

Thanks - I'm glad you enjoyed the read. 

 

I really enjoyed reading through your reply too.

 

I'd definitely say it's worth picking up at some point if you still have the interest in it - there's worse ways you could spend a couple of hours, even if you do know the story and what generally happens.

 

I did the same thing you did with Ground Zeroes with MGS4 - I remember watching snippets and cutscenes because I thought I wouldn't be able to afford a PS3 for ages, so I might as well find out what happened. Although I ducked out pretty quickly as I didn't like seeing so many spoilers, I'd already of heard of "that!" character coming back at the end and so I didn't want to ruin anything for myself with that one.

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Would his performance fit the character? Would I get used to his voice after many years of hearing Hayter as Snake? I'd say the answer to both questions is yes. I still hear Hayter's voice in my head when I imagine Snake, but for this game Kiefer just makes sense, I don't know why.

 

I still hear Hayter myself - it's odd. It's almost as if he can't quite escape that role himself, he essentially plays a Solid Snake dwarf in Dragon Age: Inquisition, and in Deponia Doomsday - he literally does a parody of MGS4 playing Old Rufus - that was so out of left field to hear him in a point-and-click adventure game of all things.

 

Do you think Kiefer got underused in The Phantom Pain? I wish they'd given him more voice lines - what he does get,he really did a great job with.  We can always discuss that in a little more detail after I've done the review for TPP. 

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

As much as I love David Hayter, he started over-acting and changing his voice a little too much in the later games in the series. His voice was a little too growly. Compare his line delivery in MGS1 to Peace Walker and you'll likely notice the difference right away. He almost sounds like a caricature of himself at times. So, even if he happened play the role of Snake again, I would've liked him to tone it down a little. But we got what we got, and I'm satisfied.

 

It's startling isn't it, the difference between MGS1 and Peace Walker - that growliness gets in the way a bit in Peace Walker too I found, it ends up becoming a bit distracting. I have always wondered if it was a conscious decision to make Big Boss' voice a little more gravely... But then he does the same one for Snake in MGS4, so that kind of would suggest otherwise.

 

It's interesting you mention over-acting, because a friend and I came to a similar conclusion - that's not to knock David Hayter either, perhaps it's an element of the material he was given - I've always felt they went in a slightly strange direction with all of the games post Snake Eater - it's as if Kojima just decided to double down on the stranger elements maybe?

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

The FOX engine is a technical masterpiece. Not only because the graphics look great, and because of all the cool systems they implemented, but also becasue all of that works on PS3 as well. Insane to think that 2006 hardware is able to run Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. It's a shame that such a cool engine was barely used. Thanks, Konami. 

 

^^ Well said man!

 

That's one of the biggest things I think I missed out in that review -so I'm glad you mentioned it.It's an astounding technical achievement when you think about it

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Kojima's direction is not the most consistant in quality throughout the series. With the main mission in this game, I thought he did a good job from start to finish (well, maybe except some parts in the end). The opening cutscene with the storm and the introduction of Skull Face looked epic. The tone was perfect, the cinematography was awesome, the music choice was great, the writing wasn't cringe. After Peace Walker, which was mostly bright and colourful, and full of happy moments and characters with doll-like shiny eyes, you go to this and see kids in cages, and you find Paz with a shaved head in some basement. I like these tonal shifts. As you've said, when you already know these characters, you get more from the story. These scenes pull at your heart strings.

 

I still remember being so blown away the first time Snake lifts his NV Goggles and drops this games "Kept you waiting huh!" It took me straight back to the feeling I first had when I played Metal Gear Solid 2 for the first time, and was absolutely astounded by the weather effects and the graphical leap from PS1 to PS2.. I love that even in my mid 20's at the time stuff like that could still blow me away, and no doubt it'll happen again at some point too.

 

That's a fascinating point you bring up regarding the tonal shift from Peace Walker... It's really well done isn't it... Ground Zeroes and TPP just feel, so much grittier. It does kind of hit you when you see Paz with a shaved head in a prison jumpsuit looking helpless, and you can't help but remember things like " Me and Miller went fishing, and then I gave the fish to Nuke" 

 

Especially when you factor in how, they handled certain characters. Did you ever listen to the in-game cassette tapes in Ground Zeroes?  Some of those, are incredibly harrowing and take characters like Chico and Paz in directions you could never have expected.

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Gameplay-wise, I can only speak from experience of playing through the Phantom Pain, but it must be comparable. Yeah, it's phenomenal. Best in the series by far. The moveset is so great, it just feels so smooth and satisfying to control Snake. Running, jumping, diving to the ground like a dolphin, climbing, aiming in 1st person and 3rd person. I never feel limited by anything. I also like your description of Camp Omega. It's like a playground where you're free to utilize your moves and gadgets, get used to the controls and new mechanics, etc. 

 

Haha! Glad I'm not the only one that did that a lot. It kind of replaced rolling everywhere right?

 

Yeah - that's a little too satisfying.

 

Gameplay - wise I agree - the two MGSV titles are the absolute pinnacle of Metal Gear Solid gameplay, it's just a shame they both lack in a few other areas.
 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Overall, I think Ground Zeroes works fine as a prologue to MGSV. I believe it was planned to serve as the beginning of The Phantom Pain in the early stages of production. But it does make more sense to have it as a standalone short game, because TPP has got it's own prologue mission.

 

Exactly!

 

I'm glad that it is it's own smaller little game - although, do you think if MGS2 was released nowadays we'd have gotten the Tanker chapter as it's own discrete title, in the same way Ground Zeroes is for this?

 

There's a similarity there, with the time jump between chapters, and the smaller scale nature of the Tanker chapter, there's quite a few parallels between MGS2 and MGSV I guess when you really break it down.

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

Lastly, you're definitely not the only person who likes GZ more than TPP. I've seen people on the internet who put a hundred of hours into GZ and were so disappointed with TPP that they didn't want to fiinish it.

 

I still can't quite figure out why I prefer Ground Zeroes - I think I know, but I'll know for sure once I've written about Phantom Pain - the thing is I had such an engrossing time with TPP, that it consumed my life a little bit for a good few weeks. I remember running on about an hour and a half to three hours sleep every day just so I could play as much of the game as possible - so unhealthy in hindsight.

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

So, I assume the review of TPP is coming up soon, right? That game has a special place in my gaming history. The pre-release hype and the launch itself are the most exciting and memorable gaming event for me. There's so much I can say about that game .

 

Yep - The Phantom Pain review is coming after the Yakuza 0 one. I thought I'd space them out with a different review in-between. 

 

You and me both @Slava - I was ridiculously excited for Phantom Pain - to the point where I put off playing Ground Zeroes until the weekend of release.

 

Reviewing The Phantom Pain is going to be an interesting one - I'm genuinely really interested to hear what you've got to say about that game, so I hope you don't mind me summoning you to that one again. ?

 

It'll be an interesting one to discuss that's for sure.

Edited October 3, 2021 by rjkclarke

[Slava]

10 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Do you think Kiefer got underused in The Phantom Pain? I wish they'd given him more voice lines - what he does get,he really did a great job with. We can always discuss that in a littlemore detail after I've done review for TPP. 

 

Yeah, maybe so. Venom Snake felt like a silent protagonist at times. Although there's not a lot of cutscene time with him to begin with. Most of his voice work is found in the cassette recordings. I'm not sure if it was intentional. This might be the case considering Venom's plot twist. On the other hand, If Sutherland was too busy acting in other roles at the time, then Kojima must have known about that before casting him. I don't think he would've cut the script just to get the man for the role. But who knows.

 

Also, a fun fact: if I'm not mistaken, the Japanese voice actor for Snake stayed the same. This VA switch only happened in English version.

 

26 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

I've always felt they went in a slightly strange direction with all of the games post Snake Eater - it's as if Kojima just decided to double down on the stranger elements maybe?

 

There's always balance between funny and serious moments in Kojima's games. But I definitely noticed that Peace Walker had a bigger share of funny dialogue compared to other games. Can't forget discussions about food, UFO's and ghosts, stories about naked fights in the shower, all that fun stuff. And of course the curscenes where he talks to a cat from Monster Hunter ?. Just listen to this dialogue about a cardboard tank. I guess the tone they weren't going for was a bit more relaxed that time. So it shows in the voice work too. IDK.

 

42 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Especially when you factor in how, they handled certain characters. Did you ever listen to the in-game cassette tapes in Ground Zeroes?  Some of those, are incredibly harrowing and take characters like Chico and Paz in directions you could never have expected.

 

No, I don't think I did. Or maybe I just don't remember them at all. 

 

45 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Haha! Glad I'm not the only one that did that a lot. It kind of replaced rolling everywhere right?

 

Yeah - that's a little too satisfying.

 

Dude, the people who put a lot of time into the FOB online mode often get around just non-stop dolphin-diving everywhere on enemies' bases because it's also useful (as in you're less noticeable). I saw these clips on YouTube, they're hilarious.

 

49 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

 

I'm glad that it is it's own smaller little game - although, do you think if MGS2 was released nowadays we'd have gotten the Tanker chapter as it's own discrete title, in the same way Ground Zeroes is for this?

 

There's a similarity there, with the time jump between chapters, and the smaller scale nature of the Tanker chapter, there's quite a few parallels between MGS2 and MGSV I guess when you really break it down.

 

 

It's an interesting qustion. Depends on how you'd be able to market the Plant chapter and what kind of promotional materials they'd show. Personally, I think, it's better experienced as a whole package. The big twist hits harder because it comes moments after Snake's chapter ends. But there's probably a way this could work.

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

 

Yep - The Phantom Pain review is coming after Yakuza 0 one. I thought I'd space them out with a different review in-between. 

 

You and me both @Slava - I was ridiculously excited for Phantom Pain - to the point where I put off playing Ground Zeroes until the weekend of release.

 

Reviewing The Phantom Pain is going to be an interesting one - I'm genuinely really interested to hear what you've got to say about that game, so I hope you don't mind me summoning you to that one again.

 

It'll be an interesting one to discuss that's for sure.

 

Of course! I'll come back to discuss all the wild fan theories, the game, the story, how Kojima spoiled the game in a trailer, and more ?.

[The_Kopite]

On 9/29/2021 at 9:58 PM, rjkclarke said:

Wow - that's even more surprising. I thought her voice was fine.

 

I'm in 100% agreement with you on that one. She's very important.

 

Isn't that a little bit harsh on Australian people for the critics to complain about her voice - only voice worth complaining about in that trilogy is Mog's from the next game, that is a voice I could do without having to hear say Kupo in about a thousand different sassy ways haha

Yeah I've heard that criticism a few times.

 

Haha to be fair I found Mog's voice cute and like the character but I can understand where you're coming from.

 

On 9/29/2021 at 9:58 PM, rjkclarke said:

That company really don't do a whole lot to make themselves popular do they. When will they ever learn.

 

I'll look up what the team turned into later on, because I'm quite curious about what the new game those people are working on is.

Funny how you say that, it is a bit coincidental that all of a sudden they announce too massive remakes of games fans have been clamouring for in KOTOR and Dead Space. 

 

https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/10/22168768/dead-space-callisto-protocol-the-game-awards-2020-horror-game

 

There you go - finally found it lol The Callisto Protocol.

 

On 9/29/2021 at 9:58 PM, rjkclarke said:

That is a very good point!

 

I mean I had a huge thing from Metal Gear Solid 4's ending spoiled for me, but that didn't stop me enjoying the ride getting to that point, because what I'd found out actually turned out to fairly inoccuous anyway and doesn't really impact on the game as a whole, so knowing about it as you said didn't really detract from the experience all that much. Would have just been an even bigger ... Haha

 

Guess I'd better go post up my Shadow of the Tomb Raider review - it's going to be a long one, so apologies in advance everyone!

Haha yeah you can lose a bit of that WOW OMG type shock moment, but sometimes it doesn't have to detract or interfere from the whole experience. Even better if it turns out to be not that big overall haha.

[Destructor-8]

12 hours ago, CelestialRequiem said:

You definitely need people. A guide is being developed; so stay tuned for that. 

 

Ah I see, will see about getting the game now then.

 

4 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Or..... Just don't start it at all - although I know you've already bought it, so I guess you kind of will feel obligated to start it now right?

 

I'm actually off to write that review soon - I literally put the platinum in Agents of Mayhem to bed about fifteen minutes ago. I don't think I've ever moved faster to uninstall a game from my console haha - so that review is definitely not going to be filled with overwhelming positivity that's for sure

 

Yeah I might still start it just to try to get that trophy as soon as I can then. I guess I'll just play it till I get it. Nice going on getting it done. I'll keep a look out for the review then.

[rjkclarke]

4 hours ago, Slava said:

Venom Snake felt like a silent protagonist at times. Although there's not a lot of cutscene time with him to begin with. Most of his voice work is found in the cassette recordings. I'm not sure if it was intentional. This might be the case considering Venom's plot twist. On the other hand, If Sutherland was too busy acting in other roles at the time, then Kojima must have known about that before casting him. I don't think he would've cut the script just to get the man for the role. But who knows.

 

Also, a fun fact: if I'm not mistaken, the Japanese voice actor for Snake stayed the same. This VA switch only happened in English version.

 

I didn't know that the voice actor remained the same in the Japanese version - I guess it makes sense as Kojima seemed to want to give David Hayter the boot for the longest time.

 

That was a head scratcher for me the fact that most of his dialogue is in the cassette tapes - I know they essentially replace the codec calls, but you have to want to hear those, and go out of your way to do so, so it's a little strange in that regard. Plus we've heard CodeTalker say the words "VOCAL CHORD PARASITES" far more than any human ever should have to ?

 

4 hours ago, Slava said:

There's always balance between funny and serious moments in Kojima's games. But I definitely noticed that Peace Walker had a bigger share of funny dialogue compared to other games. Can't forget discussions about food, UFO's and ghosts, stories about naked fights in the shower, all that fun stuff. And of course the curscenes where he talks to a cat from Monster Hunter . Just listen to this dialogue about a cardboard tank. I guess the tone they weren't going for was a bit more relaxed that time. So it shows in the voice work too. IDK.

 

I would agree with that - we're gonna have to stop agreeing at some point haha ?

 

it's a very strange one Peace Walker.... Personally I love it, it's probably my second favourite in the series, it's just incredibly re-playable. I think the motion comic aesthetic for the cutscenes was a brilliant direction to go - it's one of those times where you have to stop yourself and go.... "woah dude, wait this was a PSP game?"

 

4 hours ago, Slava said:

Dude, the people who put a lot of time into the FOB online mode often get around just non-stop dolphin-diving everywhere on enemies' bases because it's also useful (as in you're less noticeable). I saw these clips on YouTube, they're hilarious.

 

Awesome! I'm going to have a look at those later - I never really dabbled too much with the FOB mode - I did for a little while, whilst I was working on the 100% for the game, as it was a decent way to get some top notch soldiers for your base, but never too much.

 

4 hours ago, Slava said:

It's an interesting qustion. Depends on how you'd be able to market the Plant chapter and what kind of promotional materials they'd show. Personally, I think, it's better experienced as a whole package. The big twist hits harder because it comes moments after Snake's chapter ends. But there's probably a way this could work.

 

I think it's better as a whole package too, for what it's worth - I just wondered if it'd work... 

 

... I don't think you could really keep the Raiden thing a secret in this day and age - Plus if there was a year and a bit wait between the Tanker and Plant like there was with GZ and TPP then I think fans would have been even more outraged - when they see Raiden.

 

 

4 hours ago, Slava said:

Of course! I'll come back to discuss all the wild fan theories, the game, the story, how Kojima spoiled the game in a trailer, and more .

 

That's great - I'll look forward to that then!

 

3 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Haha to be fair I found Mog's voice cute and like the character but I can understand where you're coming from.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one - Mog makes me want to go out and buy earplugs as if it's an emergency.

 

So as we've been skirting around perceived unlikeable Final Fantasy characters, I'm not sure if I've ever asked you what your least favourite ones are?

 

 

3 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

There you go - finally found it lol The Callisto Protocol.

 

 

Thanks! I'm going to have a look at that in a minute, that's a fairly intriguing name too, so that was quite a good pick by them I think.

 

Can I have my Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver remake now please.... Or Blood Omen - that'd make more sense as it's the first one. GIMMME TASTIES

 

3 hours ago, The_Kopite said:

Haha yeah you can lose a bit of that WOW OMG type shock moment, but sometimes it doesn't have to detract or interfere from the whole experience. Even better if it turns out to be not that big overall haha.

 

I find it more of a struggle with films - I've still never watched The Sixth Sense, because I already know what the twist is, so I've never really seen much point in actually watching it.

 

3 hours ago, Destructor-8 said:

Yeah I might still start it just to try to get that trophy as soon as I can then. I guess I'll just play it till I get it. Nice going on getting it done. I'll keep a look out for the review then.

 

Thanks - it's the least fun I've had going for a platinum in a very long time, it's a pretty joyless game to be honest. I guess you can read all about that if you want to as I'm just about to post up the review of it.

 

I tried very hard to at least make it a little bit funny, so it was at least hopefully entertaining for people to read, even if it is my furious ramblings about the game. I did manage to stay objective though - So that's always a plus!

Edited October 3, 2021 by rjkclarke

[rjkclarke]

A Rusty, Dusty, Unrefined New Platinum

 

Platinum #330

Agents of Mayhem (PS4)

 

 

Agent of the Month
Complete all trophies.

 

A Few Trophy Stats

 

Platinum Earned - 3 October 2021: 2:06:35 PM

Time Taken to Platinum :  1 week, 5 days, 9 hours

Platinum Rarity  - 8.90%

Trophy Number - 15,916

 

 

I suspect I fell into the exact same trap a lot of people did with this game – which is that they either bought it because the price was incredibly low, or they bought it because it was connected to Saints Row even if it is just a fairly tenuous connection. I almost fall into both of those brackets. I really wanted to like this game, but I’ve never experienced my initial excitement over a game dissipate quicker than a small puddle in a baking desert. I’m going to be completely objective here, for as much as I don’t like this game, and I really don’t, it does have some redeeming features, and worst of all it has plenty of untapped potential, which to me is almost the most egregious thing of all.

 

To me Agents of Mayhem is the single greatest argument for journalists to be required to play the majority of, if not all of a game. Agents of Mayhem on the surface at least, and in its opening hour or so of gameplay - appears to be a fairly exciting and enjoyable open world game brimming with character customisation, varied gameplay from multiple characters and an interesting open world.

 

At least that would be the case, if the game was only an hour long – everything you see in the first hour of gameplay – unfortunately boils down to the entire structure of the game. Not a single relevant thing changes outside of new characters being added across the entire thirty five hours of game-time that this took. It essentially boils down to; take your three chosen agents out into the field, go to a bland uninteresting location, fight some enemies, succeed at an arbitrary objective and then repeat.

I know that doesn’t sound too dissimilar to any other open world fare – but the thing is - Agents of Mayhem turns bland and uninteresting into an art form, or at least a canvas coated in some faecal matter, haphazardly thrown by some poor primates that have been used to test hallucinogenic substances on.

 

One of the most puzzling things about Agents of Mayhem is its complete lack of multiplayer component (outside of the connected contracts, which are an illusion of multiplayer). Now – I’d be the first person to criticise a game for having a forced multiplayer element, yet in the case of Agents of Mayhem, it just seems like the most organic thing to add to the game. It would have enhanced the experience tenfold, being able to co-ordinate with two of your friends, and strategise, this might actually have added some much needed depth and enjoyment to the gameplay. Instead what you’re left with are three agents, which you have to manually switch to if you need to utilise a specific ability. This is cumbersome to say the least.

The approach to open world elements in this game seem like such a backward step – now, I may be in the minority here, but I find half the satisfaction of open world games is clearing the map of activities. Well, in this game, the activities re-spawn, so you end up with a map full to the brim with constantly refreshing tasks, so instead of clearing the map, instead it just looks like a constant mess. This must have been a nightmare for any poor souls with severe OCD.

 

I don’t think I’d feel terribly bad about spoiling the story in this game – because, well, let’s be real, there practically isn’t one. I’m not going to though, because that’s not fair on anyone who did decide to play this game. I’m going to touch on a few things though.  Saints Row has always had somewhat low brow and crass humour, which is fine. I’ve never had a problem with that, in those games, it works and it can be very funny – things don’t have to be nuanced or deep all the time of course, that’d be far too rigid. Agents of Mayhem in my mind at least, commit the cardinal sin of thinking its funny whilst not actually being remotely humorous at all. That’s the baffling thing, it’s got an eighteen age rating, yet the sense of humour of a twelve or fourteen year old who desperately think swearing is hilarious and cool; all the while they are oblivious to the rustling of Tumbleweed trickling past them regularly.

 

To be honest I think the humour is actually one of the lesser problems, the thing I struggled the most with was the borderline offensive cultural stereotypes found littered amongst the entire playable agent roster. If I played a sound clip of Oni’s daughter to a Japanese person, I’d be very surprised if that was met with positivity. The thing is - I think the intention was for the Mayhem Ark’s roster of agents to be fairly culturally and globally diverse, which is a positive sentiment if you actually pull that off, and – well, put some genuine effort into that representation. Unfortunately, it looks like no real effort was actually put into this element, so what you get is a litany of tired stereotypes, almost offensive accents and character back-story that look like they’ve been concocted from someone lazily reading a Wikipedia article on an areas culture or a specific country for all of about five minutes.

 

Whilst we’re still on the bad, I guess I should mention the soundtrack and the sound design – although, not extensively, because practically all of the ambient sound is both lacking and forgettable. Whilst I still remember elements of Saints Rows soundtracks, Agents of Mayhem, just blends into the background and remained innocuous. The sound effects themselves are at least decent, and I think a reasonable amount of effort was put into making each characters weapons sound unique – that’s commendable to be perfectly fair, as it would have been very easy to reuse assets a lot more than they did.

 

So I did say I’d talk about the good right? Well, this game does have its positives for sure, it’s not all a horrendous disappointment, the gameplay itself – and I must stress, this is leaving the open world elements to one side for a second, focusing on the gun play and traversal, those are the games strongest features. For as much as I found elements of this game infuriating, I never once found the combat or the movement boring. Each character, does feel for the most part very unique, each one has their own specific play style and unique skill sets that give them a situational purpose, as opposed to doing the same gameplay quirk another character might employ.

Remember I mentioned wasted potential earlier? Well here’s the thing, if the gameplay loop had a little more variety, this game would have been so much more enjoyable to play. The ideal situation would have been to encourage the player to experiment with multiple teams, or lock specific agents into doing specific tasks, that would have made each individual element feel a little more important.

 

However, the games visual style is at least very good; I’ve always personally been a sucker for cel-shaded aesthetics, even if they are only semi-cel-shaded in this games case. For all the criticism I gave to the way the characters may have been portrayed, the character designs themselves are very unique and interesting. It’s actually rather fun to go through some of the character skins and figure out the various video games and movie references they represent. Whilst cutscenes themselves are few and far between, they are incredibly satisfying to look at, they’re almost a hybrid of traditional western animation and anime – if anyone is familiar with the anime sequence in Kill Bill, they aren’t too dissimilar to that.

 

Agents of Mayhem would actually possess a fairly simple trophy list if it wasn’t for the inclusion of the connected contracts. It’s a fairly standard open world kind of list to be perfectly honest.  It’s a case of playing through the game at difficulty level seven or higher, levelling up each agent to twenty, doing their personal missions and then collecting all of the shards across the map -something, which from an in universe stand point makes little to no sense, as it’s far easier to get the upgrade cores another way, so ultimately outside of trophies, the shards are completely pointless, these are always the worst kind of collectibles.

Essentially the inclusion of the connected contracts far extends the time you’d naturally spend going for the platinum, as you need a minimum of five days to do the fifteen contracts – the problem is, they seem to be a little finicky as I had to do far more than the required amount before the trophy unlocked, my advice to any of you poor unfortunates thinking of playing this game, is to get that done as soon as possible.

 

The only way I’d possibly recommend playing this, is if, like me you were a Saints Row fan and didn’t feel as if your Saints Row trophy collection was complete without playing this game. Otherwise I’d recommend avoiding it like the plague, unless you want to listen to music and podcasts the entire time, which might make the experience slightly more bearable. Don’t be fooled by the low price point (like I was). Sometimes that can lead to a hidden gem, this just isn’t it.

Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

12 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

 

I pretty much went to sleep after posting up that Metal Gear Solid review last night, so I missed this...

 

...Sounds like you're having a brutal time with it... Sorry to hear that - what is it about the game that's getting to you?   Is it difficulty related? Guessing it is by the fact you're calling it a hardcore run. Or just sheer intolerable grind? those can be the worst too.

 

These definitely can be good places to vent your frustrations so if you need to write yourself a nice long rant about it in your checklist it might help cool you off a bit, if the game is really getting to you. It certainly helped me after venting my frustrations about Agents of Mayhem.

 

Hardcore in ACVD is beating the game, all 60 missions, with a set number of lives. There are "classes" to choose from before you start a run that change multipliers for things like lives you start with, damage you take, damage you deal, etc. Each class has its pros and cons but none of them make the task easy. I'm doing a "Gambler" run which gives me 5 lives and I take 5x damage and deal 10x damage. I honestly think it's the best chance you're given. You have to adhere strictly to certain strats, and you REALLY need to know what you're doing to have any chance.

 

You can spend hours on a run only to die like an idiot and you're down a life. Nothing feels worse than losing one of only five lives to negligence or just plain being bad. Once those lives are gone, your run is over and you start over. You start as an AC with all "junk" tier parts, and you have to work up to good parts by playing well for player rank rewards which unlock new parts in the shop, and money. You get those things from S ranking missions as much as you can, because in hardcore you can't grind missions. Once you complete a mission it's gone off the map no matter how you do. Just scraping by won't get you very far; you have to play well and not die.

 

This game is just not a joke, and its rarity is really indicative of its challenge. I'm making progress, but the game demands a lot for this plat.

[DrBloodmoney]

9 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

A Rusty, Dusty, Unrefined New Platinum

 

Platinum #330

Agents of Mayhem (PS4)

 

 

Ooft.

 

Even with you doing your darnedest to give Agents of Mayhem a fair shake on its strong points, this still sounds like a poor-man's Crackdown - and let's face it, Crackdown was a poor-man's Prototype, which was, in turn, a poor-man's Infamous, so by that rationale, Agents of Mayhem must be for the borderline homeless... ?

 

I've got to admit, I was a fan of Saint's Row The Third, but that style of humour is on a hell of a knife-edge. Not because it borders on any edginess, but simply because it is an incredibly difficult style of humour to actually nail, and not just end up sounding lame - the difference between a laugh and an tumbleweed, or an eye-roll, is razor thin - and getting thinner and thinner as time goes on!

 

Mind you - even bad humour trumps blandness, and that seems to be the central thesis of your (excellent) review here - loads of negative game aspects are forgivable, but being bland really isn't - and it's also the one thing that can never be course-corrected... there is no "Patch 1.04 - Blandness Removed"!

Edited October 4, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[rjkclarke]

9 hours ago, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

This game is just not a joke, and its rarity is really indicative of its challenge. I'm making progress, but the game demands a lot for this plat.

 

Reading through all of that - yeah, that doesn't sound like a cake-walk at all. I'm sure you'll get it though!

 

That sounds like something that I'd assume - if a person had long flowing thick hair - by the end of it they'd probably look like Homer Simpson, with some raised blood pressure to throw into the mix.

 

Fair play for soldiering on through and playing it though - if it really starts to get to you, you could always go and play through some Kingdom Hearts games on your Alt account to take the edge off, if you aren't doing that already.

 

5 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Even with you doing your darnedest to give Agents of Mayhem a fair shake on its strong points, this still sounds like a poor-man's Crackdown - and let's face it, Crackdown was a poor-man's Prototype, which was, in turn, a poor-man's Infamous, so by that rationale, Agents of Mayhem must be for the borderline homeless... 

 

That review was one of the most cathartic ones to write for a while - that's for sure.

 

That's actually a pretty accurate comparison - it's not wholly dissimilar to Crackdown - except I'd much rather play Crackdown, for all its faults, it was way more satisfying to play than this ever was.

 

I've never played the Prototype titles actually - are they worth it? Or is it one of those where, if I haven't played them at this point there isn't a whole lot of point in starting them now.

 

5 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I've got to admit, I was a fan of Saint's Row The Third, but that style of humour is on a hell of a knife-edge. Not because it borders on any edginess, but simply because it is an incredibly difficult style of humour to actually nail, and not just end up sounding lame - the difference between a laugh and an tumbleweed, or an eye-roll, is razor thin - and getting thinner and thinner as time goes on!

 

 

This is true yes.

 

I like Saints Row: The Third myself, as you say the humour just about skates that line - but the further that series went on the less that humour really works, until we get Agents of Mayhem.

 

Saints Row: The third was the point where I started to think that series shifted in a direction I wasn't particularly keen on - I actually think Saints Row works best when it's an unapologetic Grand Theft Auto clone, it did just about enough to make it unique enough that I never felt the need to really criticise it for those things.

 

I think the Darksiders series falls in line a little bit with that too.

 

5 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Mind you - even bad humour trumps blandness, and that seems to be the central thesis of your (excellent) review here - loads of negative game aspects are forgivable, but being bland really isn't - and it's also the one thing that can never be course-corrected... there is no "Patch 1.04 - Blandness Removed"!

 

That's it yeah - I wouldn't have really been offended by the bland humour per se...... After all, you can always ignore that right? It'd be like watching a 36 hour marathon of the TV show Born and Bred - which would probably make me feel Bored and Dead - now I'm sure that show has its fans, and whilst its perfectly serviceable television - it's so bland and middle of the road, that it just gets under my skin, there's no excuse for making content like that, whether it's video game or any other medium.

Yet, an entire game like Agents of Mayhem being so barren and lacking in real meaningful content is absolutely unforgivable, especially when it asks you for a fair amount of your precious time (that's still when taking trophies out of the equation too obviously).

 

If only there was patch to remove blandness eh - we wouldn't have terrible things like this and Space Overlords on the bottom of the pile  propping up our respective Jenga Towers of much more enjoyable games.

 

I think I'm going to play Hue next as a nice little puzzly palate cleanser. Should be a fairly enjoyable change of pace.

[DrBloodmoney]

6 minutes ago, rjkclarke said:

I've never played the Prototype titles actually - are they worth it? Or is it one of those where, if I haven't played them at this point there isn't a whole lot of point in starting them now.

 

I'm generally a wordy guy, but in this case, I think a one word reply is more than sufficient:

Nope! ?

 

Quote

This is true yes.

 

I like Saints Row: The Third myself, as you say the humour just about skates that line - but the further that series went on the less that humour really works, until we get Agents of Mayhem.

 

Saints Row: The third was the point where I started to think that series shifted in a direction I wasn't particularly keen on - I actually think Saints Row works best when it's an unapologetic Grand Theft Auto clone, it did just about enough to make it unique enough that I never felt the need to really criticise it for those things.

 

I think the Darksiders series falls in line a little bit with that too.

 

That's interesting - for me, Saints Row as a series is basically like a mountain underwater - The Third is the only point where it breaks the surface, and it comes together in a way I like - GTA, but daft, knowingly dumb, but still retaining gameplay I want. It's basically GTA: Talledega Nights. The ones before, were too dour for me, and the later ones too OTT.

 

Quote

I think I'm going to play Hue next as a nice little puzzly palate cleanser. Should be a fairly enjoyable change of pace.

 

Good call! Won't take you long, but a great little puzzler - perfect palate cleansing material!

Edited October 4, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

@rjkclarke I've been playing Grandia on my Vita in my downtime away from VD. Grandia is the game that made me say "I want to experience this for the rest of my life" (video games that is). I played it first when I was 7 after I rented it from the video rental store in my town, and I'd played other games before it but once I played Grandia it was a wrap; I was sure that video games could be something amazing. The Vita is a great tool to play Classics on and it's WAY less intense of a mental effort than VD lol

[rjkclarke]

40 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I'm generally a wordy guy, but in this case, I think a one word reply is more than sufficient:

Nope! 

 

 

Are you? I'd never have guessed......... ?

 

I'm not - nope, I write briefly and succinctly - oh wait, I keep forgetting this is the real world.............. Not, rjkclarkes Castle of Delusion ?

 

I'm going to take your word on that one, and trust the brief, but almost certainly accurate science.

 

40 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

That's interesting - for me, Saints Row as a series is basically like a mountain underwater - The Third is the only point where it breaks the surface, and it comes together in a way I like - GTA, but daft, knowingly dumb, but still retaining gameplay I want. It's basically GTA: Talledega Nights. The ones before, were too dour for me, and the later ones too OTT.

 

 

I suspect I worded that badly - I think Saints Row: The Third,is exactly the right kind of goofy, and I do like it very much - in fact for what it's worth I think it's the best one in the series. I just don't particularly like that in future titles they turned the whackiness up to one hundred and eleven - the balance is better with the third, it's enough that it doesn't go overboard with it.

 

That Mountain comment is a fantastic analogy for the series, and one I don't disagree with either. Dour is pretty accurate for the first two - for as much as I enjoyed them, the first barely has its own identity, the second did do a little bit of course correction thankfully.

 

I'm just equally happy to put my snorkel on and swim near the bottom of that mountain - around with the GTA-lite fishes too (I think part of it, was I just wanted anything that was like GTA when Saints Row 1 and 2 first came out which was why I gravitated towards them). Regardless,  I quite like the variety on offer in the extra activities in the second and third game particularly.

 

I just hope whilst I'm swimming around down there, I don't bump into whatever horrendous scary deep sea fish with a lantern on its head, that Agents of Mayhem would represent, all the way down at the base of that undersea mountain.

 

Great - now I've turned your great metaphor into a stupid one - oops.

 

The later titles go way overboard though with the goofiness - I think once you end up having powers of flight or super jumps or super speed, you do wonder why cars and things like that are even part of the game, if everything else has gone in a completely bombastic direction, it's just a bit too much of a tonal shift for my liking.

 

I look forward to Hue then in that case - I remember being very interested in it when you got to it in one of your batches - but I hadn't really thought to commit myself to actually playing it yet.

 

39 minutes ago, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

I've been playing Grandia on my Vita in my downtime away from VD. Grandia is the game that made me say "I want to experience this for the rest of my life" (video games that is). I played it first when I was 7 after I rented it from the video rental store in my town, and I'd played other games before it but once I played Grandia it was a wrap; I was sure that video games could be something amazing. The Vita is a great tool to play Classics on and it's WAY less intense of a mental effort than VD lol

 

Interesting - you'd probably get on great with one of my friends that absolutely loves Grandia as well - I've never played those titles, but I have always been fairly interested in them. I was really hoping the remasters/ ports that came out for the Switch a couple of years back would make their way to the PS4 but they never did. It's nice to read someone else singing it's praises.

 

It's great when video games have that sort of an effect on you, can't they - they can be a real eye opener at times - especially at a young impressionable age like 7. I was a similar age when I played Curse of Monkey Island, I'd played video games plenty before that point, but they were mainly Commodore or SNES games - so a lot of them were platformers, or things of that nature, but the first time I played Curse of Monkey Island, I remember being completely blown away by the fact video games could be an interesting story with lots of puzzle solving (which at that age, I wasn't all too good at) and I've absolutely loved point-and-click games ever since.

 

I didn't know Grandia was actually on Vita, I really ought to get myself one - because it'd be good to have something a bit more mobile you can pick up and play classics with too, to just take the edge off - I guess you could even play Metal Gear Solid 1 on the toilet if you so desired ?

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by rjkclarke

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

Yeah Grandia on the Vita is sick. The Vita has a secret menu that lets you change the size of the screen for Classics which is nice because the default is a little small for my liking. They don't have Grandia 2 on the Vita store though which sucks, as I think they have it on the PS3 store (I'd need to check). I've actually never played Grandia 2 but it has one of the greatest battle themes in history. Let me ENLIGHTEN YOU ALL

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd1apytVxhg

 

It won't embed the video but if you want to feel truly ~~~ e l e c t r i f i e d ~~~ then give it a listen

[Shrooba]

@rjkclarke Just read through your recent reviews on MGS: GZ and Agents of Mayhem!

The MGS series is quite iconic for sure; I'm pretty sure there's a reference to it hidden in Astro's Playroom, the playable tech demo for the PS5. Games in the series like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has a killer OST, so I must ask; what are your thoughts on Ground Zeroes' OST?
And man, Kojima is definitely a great director in my eyes; he's a man who takes risks and has a vision for sure. It's crazy that he developed a game like Death Stranding in his first work as an independent studio! I'm tempted to get the game at some point, but it's got a horrific grind apparently! ? Maybe I'll play it at one day, seeing as a director's cut was recently released.

And as for Agents of Mayhem, while I'm not too well versed in the Saints Row series, the note you made about liking cel-shaded aesthetics in games made me instantly think of the Borderlands series; needless to say, I took another gander at your profile to see if you've played the games, and you've done 1, 2, and the Pre-Sequel and Tales, nice! Do you reckon you'll do Borderlands 3 at one point? It's a pretty good game IMO-- the Circles of Slaughter can be a bit tough solo, but the game's a lot of fun overall. I'm on the complete opposite end, I've yet to do Borderlands 1! ?

As an unrelated side note, I just realized you've also done GT6, that's awesome man! I've been considering doing GT6 for ages and dusting off the PS3, but apparently downloading the updates is an absolutely loathsome experience. If I ever get to it, I'll probably do the Senna DLC first since that's the trickiest thing. I know it was such a long time ago since you completed it in 2015, but what were your thoughts on getting all gold on the Senna stuff?

 

On 03/10/2021 at 0:53 PM, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

ACVD has been giving me the dick the last few days. The hardcore run is something out of a nightmare. Probably gonna write about it in my own checklist tomorrow since I haven't updated it at all since I made it lol. Give me strength fellow checklisters!

I've seen that you've been playing AC:VD recently. It looks pretty tough, but you'll get through it! Playing something like that and pushing through your limits is something I respect!
The hardest trophies are almost always the ones you look back on more fondly, like KH3's Risk-taker trophy! ?
When it's done, you've got a damn good completion on your hands. It seems like a tricky game, but you'll get it mate, keep going! Take my strength!