PlutoRico Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Wow man you added some thumbnails in your original post ? That's crazy I never thought about it but it looks so good that way ! I might have to steal the idea ?? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted October 22, 2021 Author Share Posted October 22, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: They do look good, everything is kinda uniform. I might actually copy you...? Thanks - that was the intention. Glad it wasn't just me that thought they looked good - that would have made me look like an egomaniac .. Go for it man, copy away, I don't mind. I erm........ I totally didn't spend another "quite a while" this evening editing the first post.....Oh wait, no - I did... It's hopefully a lot easier to navigate and actually see which games I've got in which bit of my little platinum vault and 100%'s thing now. Hopefully I won't have to change it for another 500 posts now (although if we get there, that might be quite a way off) I put a little funny thing in the request a review section for @Copanele - thought he'd appreciate the little Yakuza reference I threw in there. I thought it should be better - if I'm going to be continuing with the whole "request a review" thing I might as well make it easier for people to look around y'know. Which brings me onto something actually - yours should be coming out today - that, super long overdue Phantom Pain review - I've not exactly been juggling my time very well lately, but I'm going to make a few tweaks and then I'll post it later. No Spoilers as usual obviously. I need to drop a comment on your Max Payne review - I loved reading that, so I ought to - well, tell you with some words that aren't just these ones. 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I don't think I have, either. Never really thought about that! If someone had a cat like that and offered for me to pet them, I'd probably be like "nah, I'm good" and then feel guilty about it? Haha...Do you think that they see other cats that aren't all hairless and smooth yet also feel like sandpaper to the touch - and wish they could have hair - you know, like bald folk stereotypically yearn for more hair? 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Is it true that Fields of Gold is about golden showers after a tantric session? Asking for a friend. A buddy and I had a drinking game back in the day involving the song Roxanne - you split into teams (or just face off) and one drinks when they sing "Roxanne" and the other drinks when they sing "red light." Whoever is still drinking at the song's end wins. Best limited to quick gulps of beer or cocktails though... no shots, lest you end up paying a visit to the nearest stomach pump! Highly recommended, it's really fun - we'd always end up laughing almost too hard to continue drinking. Almost. We were professionals?? If Fields of Gold isn't about that - then it is now. Although - that does spoil the Eva Cassidy version for me - so maybe not ? That drinking game sounds brutal...... Let's hope Sting doesn't release a tantric extended mix of Roxanne then - that'd be a pretty quick trip to the hospital! Do you guys have ring of fire over in the states? That's the drinking game I probably played the most when I was younger - if not read this.... https://ringoffirerules.com/ - can't say it's the nicest thing when you have to drink from the Kings Cup, some people can be right sadistic jackasses. 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I played the first and second, which I LOVED. Link to the Past was a really big deal when that dropped and of course was excellent as well, but beyond that I'm in the same boat as you, I've never played any others. Whenever peeps would talk about Ocarina I'd just nod and listen and be like "uh huh, yeah, definitely" cuz it's like a movie everybody's seen except for you and the response is always "WHAAAAAT??" Yeah - I know the one - it's the look I get when I accidentally let it slip that I have seen a miniscule amount of the MCU films... Easier to just say " uh huh, I love the one where Spiderman and Batman teamed up and fought Lex Luthor - your way is better though, because you aren't giving away the fact you're trying to bluff your way through. Hey - so there you go, you love the first two Zelda's so I do know someone who does have good things to say about them! That's good at least. 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I hope so! The cutesy look helps a lot, maybe I'll play it coy, and play it while she's around with the volume just a little higher than usual. "Oh wow, what's that you're playing?" "Hmm? Oh, didn't see you there... yeah it's pretty great. Two player action, addicting gameplay. Y'know. No big deal.." If there is a hell specifically for dorks, make no mistake, I am going. That might just work! Dastardly haha I'll see you in nerd hell buddy - we can recreate Afterparty - which I totally totally am going to buy as I saw it was on sale yesterday - and I'm absolutely certain from your review of it, that I'd love it. 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Oh, for sure! It looks more uniform and cleaned up. Like a haircut, for lack of a better term! That's why I'm wrestling with the idea of going back and doing the same thing myself, or keeping things as is and embracing the evolution of my posts - I'd slap myself across the face if I didn't think I'd gotten at least a little better! I thought about doing that - just leaving them as is, then I just thought - nah - these are a little uggo. So I decided I'll keep the reviews the same, and let that be the thing that shows any kind of evolution. One or two of mine did almost amount to "there was a trophy, it was nice" - like a six year old at school recounting their time at the beach (so hopefully it's been an evolution for the better and not,) " I saw a crab, it was nice, I found a needle, it hurt my foot" that kind of thing. Ultimately it's up to you - your thread, your rules right. So it'll be whatever you feel happiest with - that you end up going with. You've always written really well from the very start man - you seem to be getting bitten with the lengthier review bug a bit now - which I like. You have that gift of being able to transition from seriousness to hilarious like the flick of a switch in some of your reviews, and that's great. 3 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Is it weird that as I read that, I heard a Beholder ending in my head? "Mr. Clarke was captured, writing reviews at his computer and yelling at his loud neighbors. They dragged him, kicking and screaming, to a desert island, where he made a crate his new home. Gradually he went insane, believing he was hosting a talk show about gaming, when in reality he was talking to an arranged group of coconuts. This is how he spent his final days..." I love that you did. Now that you've said it.... ....I'm reading that quote in the weird accent of the narrator now - and you'd bet one of those coconuts has your face drawn on it - and one with a giant pair of lips with MOIST written on it - it's like I never got shipped here in a little box. In reality I lost my marbles all the way back in July going for Hail to the King in Final Fantasy IX failed it for months and attacked the loud neighbours - this whole thing has been a fever dream right? right? RIGHT COCOSMEVZ....... Why won't you respond to me....... End Scene ? Edited October 22, 2021 by rjkclarke 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: I put a little funny thing in the request a review section for @Copanele - thought he'd appreciate the little Yakuza reference I threw in there. Oh baby oh boy, hell yeah I can take the role of Date-San and moderate everything from the safety of my helicopter But damn...review requests. Hope you know what you are getting into, because dear lord there's some juicy games out there ready to be requested can't wait :> 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: Which brings me onto something actually - yours should be coming out today - that, super long overdue Phantom Pain review - I've not exactly been juggling my time very well lately, but I'm going to make a few tweaks and then I'll post it later. No Spoilers as usual obviously. I need to drop a comment on your Max Payne review - I loved reading that, so I ought to - well, tell you with some words that aren't just these ones. Woohoo!! And thanks man, I'm glad you liked it! Please don't feel under any obligation though, I'm just glad you hear (er, read rather) you enjoyed. I left a few things out sadly (don't we always) but I was happy with it. I'm excited for your thoughts on Phantom Pain... I enjoyed Ground Zeroes a lot, and as mentioned before, completion seems like quite the mammoth task, but lately I been like hmmm.... 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: Haha...Do you think that they see other cats that aren't all hairless and smooth yet also feel like sandpaper to the touch - and wish they could have hair - you know, like bald folk stereotypically yearn for more hair? I like to think so. They get all defensive, and call their lack of hair "a sign of VIRILITY," then put on a pair of wraparound shades and stomp off. Haha these poor cats, what did they ever do to us?? 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: Do you guys have ring of fire over in the states? That's the drinking game I probably played the most when I was younger - if not read this.... https://ringoffirerules.com/ - can't say it's the nicest thing when you have to drink from the Kings Cup, some people can be right sadistic jackasses. Yes! We just called it King's Cup, but that could've just been local nomenclature. You brought back some memories, man... sheesh. I had to pound my share of some foul ass cups man, lemme tell you. Oh well. Better than that Family Guy drinking game where they hit each other's hands with hammers and say "ha ha, you drink." 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: I'll see you in nerd hell buddy - we can recreate Afterparty - which I totally totally am going to buy as I saw it was on sale yesterday - and I'm absolutely certain from your review of it, that I'd love it. Sounds good dude, I'll meet you by the tree? I'm excited both for you to play it and hear your thoughts! That and Oxenfree, of course. Those developers are off to a killer start. 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: You've always written really well from the very start man - you seem to be getting bitten with the lengthier review bug a bit now - which I like. You have that gift of being able to transition from seriousness to hilarious like the flick of a switch in some of your reviews, and that's great. I really appreciate that man, thank you! Truth be told, I still find myself trying really hard to have a keener eye for what I should be talking about and keeping the excess to a minimum, but also not limiting myself to when it comes to the stuff I really wanna go over. Ah well, work in progress as always! 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: ....I'm reading that quote in the weird accent of the narrator now - and you'd bet one of those coconuts has your face drawn on it - and one with a giant pair of lips with MOIST written on it - it's like I never got shipped here in a little box. In reality I lost my marbles all the way back in July going for Hail to the King in Final Fantasy IX failed it for months and attacked the loud neighbours - this whole thing has been a fever dream right? right? RIGHT COCOSMEVZ....... Why won't you respond to me....... End Scene ? Dr. Coco! Maybe it's like the Squall is dead theory, like the Hail to the King and Bloodlust trophies actually drove you insane and right now you're in a padded cell, turning magazine pages with your toes. Probably not, though. What do I know, I'm just a coconu- ...er I mean Smevz! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted October 23, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) Classic Review Platinum #125 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4) Legend Obtain all trophies. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 25 April 2017: 6:29:17 AM Time Taken to Platinum : 1 year, 7 months, 3 weeks Platinum Rarity - 5.13% Trophy Number - #7,038 "If I conceal my fearWill I be in the clearOr am I giving life to phantom pain?" If Luke Skywalker from Return of the Jedi was standing over me whilst I wrote this review – he’d almost certainly be trotting out his “I sense the conflict within you” line. I have always had very conflicted feelings about this game, and to some degree I probably always will. I’ll put it to one side though, and I’ll only mention it if I’m talking directly about my own experiences with the game. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – takes the series in a bold new direction. Kojima decided for better or worse, it was time to truly take his creation into an “open world.” Was this late into an established video game series the time to change the formula? Games like the recent God of War (2018) and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, whilst being released later - certainly has proven it can be successful – and Metal Gear Solid itself did the very same thing by changing the formula slightly when transitioning from Metal Gear to Metal Gear Solid. I guess the only way to really find out is to unpack what the game has for us to see, and make a decision based on that. I’ll be honest – I won’t cover the gameplay too extensively in this review – not in the traditional sense anyway, movement and mechanics for example, I covered those in the Ground Zeroes review, and they haven’t changed significantly, so I’ll link that here, if you’re interested in specifically reading about certain gameplay quirks. I will go into anything particularly new or interesting gameplay-wise that The Phantom Pain brings to the table though – as there are quite a few things of significant note to discuss. Let us address the elephant in the room first – the fact that The Phantom Pain is essentially an unfinished game – and it is, it really is. As much as that pains me to say too, I can’t lie and say, it’s steeped in polish and that everything feels well rounded and bookended because it doesn’t. It’s very apparent that there’s quite a lot “missing.” I know the common consensus is to blame Konami for its poor work environment, but Kojima should shoulder a fair bit of the blame too, because I’ve also seen what there is to see of the scenes that were cut – and honestly? Would they have really made all that much difference, or really affected the game in any negative or positive way, had they actually been included. This is my opinion creeping in a little, I admit, but I honestly think they might have made the game worse, had the cut content actually made it– expanding on things that were already incredibly esoteric, even by Metal Gear Solid’s lofty standards, probably might have been a leap too far. Whilst The Phantom Pain does feel rushed in places, and at times a little bit lacking in story content – I think many of the problems it suffers from, would always have been there, whatever had ended up happening regarding cut content. All that being said – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is objectively still a very good game – that’s the conflicting thing, it does plenty wrong, and yet so much right, that I end up feeling so conflicted about this one, we’ll see if that opinion has changed by the end (no, not the photosynthesis powered Sniper). The Phantom Pain picks up nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes, I’m deliberately avoiding pretty much any spoilers here, but various things happen, and Big Boss now with one less arm, and a chunk of shrapnel shaped suspiciously like a horn embedded in his skull - ends up back in control of Mother Base, trying to rebuild what had been lost. Along the way, you’ll see returning and familiar faces, friends and foes and a huge oversized mech – well it wouldn’t be a Metal Gear game without one would it? I understand that’s the most basic description of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain that you’re likely to see for a while, but there is so much more to the game than just that, I just really don’t want to get into spoiler territory, because for as much as I criticised aspects of the story in the previous paragraphs, it’s got some genuinely brilliant moments, that truly stand up amongst some of the best in the series, so I don’t want to give anything away, there’s still plenty to discuss though. Ever noticed how a lot of Kojima’s more devoted, or should I say vocal fans (apologies if you are one) tend to always say how good Kojima would be as a film-maker? I’ve never been onboard with that idea, he certainly could be, if he had enough people around to decry, some of his more “out there” ideas. Not necessarily bad ideas, just ones that only make sense to him. This game just cements my viewpoint on that a little bit more. Occasionally I think he really needs to hear the words no, or but why? Then actually take heed and listen to them. It’s ironic because Phantom Pain is not really filmic at all, elements of it are – I know some of the Metal Gear Solid games at times could be considered borderline live-action-anime, but structurally they’ve always been conventionally more filmic. Phantom Pain however, fits the mould of episodic television much more than it does a film. Parts of that work – and some parts don’t. I think they went a bit too far, by having each mission open with credits saying “Starring – Punished Venom Snake, “or Ocelot. The thing is, just like with any television show that has a lot of episodes – that usually leads to a fair amount of filler – whilst I can’t really say the missions themselves are filler they definitely feel far less important and a little more disconnected than anything seen in Metal Gear Solid previously. That episodic feel, doesn't benefit the story, for me it ended up feeling very disconnected, there's not a whole lot of natural flow like there is in even Peace Walker which also utilises smaller "episodic style" mission structure. For any Simpsons fans out there, I’d equate it to something like - an episode that revolved solely around an ancillary character like, say, Bumblebee Guy, you’re happy enough watching it, but it doesn’t really add much to the overall experience that something centred on the entire Simpson clan might have. You’re just happy and safe experiencing something you are comfortable with. Ironically this never bothered me whilst I was playing it; the gameplay and everything there is to see and do itself, is more than enough to keep you invested – which is almost the inverse of the usual Metal Gear Solid experience. This is where another one of my conflicting feelings about this game comes from, for I think the first time ever in this series, I cared more about playing the game than I did finding out what the story was about. Now - usually I’d delve pretty deeply into the visual style and the soundtrack – but to be perfectly honest, much like the core elements of the gameplay, they remain pretty much the same as they were in Ground Zeroes. The visual presentation is a little bit inconsistent in places too, I think Big Boss/ Snake looks a little too stoic at times. My assumption is that he’s supposed to look brooding and forlorn at times, but in reality there are a few scenes, where some major plot points take place where more than anything he just looks disinterested. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that this was a little bit hampered by the fact it was developed to run on a PS3 too, so they didn’t fully explore the limits of the hardware they had available to them. Perhaps, I’m being overly critical on that aspect. The Phantom Pain does boast some very memorable tracks, but I still think when compared to other instances in the Metal Gear Solid series they feel a bit flat in comparison. They are still great – sure, but slightly less memorable. It does boast an incredibly rich amount of nostalgic 1980’s music found throughout the game in the various cassette tapes too – that was a particular joy of mine, being able to choose the music that plays when you infiltrate or exfiltrate from a mission. Essentially you can play yourself into a mission to Take on Me by A-ha, or Europe’s The Final Countdown or even Rebel Yell by Billy Idol. It was a great touch and it really encourages exploring the open world to see what tapes you can find – there’s even some nice little Easter Egg ones for the keen eared Metal Gear fans to listen to. In much the same way story takes a slight backseat in this title, so do the characters themselves. That’s not to say they are bad, just possibly a little underutilised, I don’t think it’s necessarily a case of “leave them wanting more” either. I believe it’s a misstep that could have, and probably should have been avoided. I heaped a lot of praise on Kiefer Sutherland in my review of Ground Zeroes, praise that I absolutely stick by, in Phantom Pain I feel like he’s woefully underutilised – his presence is there of course, you are Big Boss/Snake after all, but he just never quite gets the big character moments that I think he really deserved, with one huge exception. Shining Lights Even in Death – that is a tremendously powerful part of the story, and for me it will always remain his defining performance as Big Boss. He does an incredibly good job of getting across the human side of Big Boss, the part of him that’s always made him a slightly more fragile and interesting character compared to Solid Snake, both have their merits of course – but Sutherland in that one scene perfectly encapsulated that character, in a way that hadn’t been since the tear soaked salute to conclude Snake Eater. The use of cinematography, voice acting and a rousing musical score all came together so wonderfully in that one moment. I might be fairly over critical of Kojima on occasion – but that scene is brilliant. A rare moment of subtly from the Metal Gear Solid series. Whilst we’re on the subject of characters, I gave a similar amount of praise to Robin Atkin Downes in Ground Zeroes, as Kaz Miller – a role that he only betters this time around – there are elements of his character that I can’t go into for story purposes – yet the way Downes, delivers his dialogue with this world weary, snarling embittered voice is exceptional. You aren’t suppose to like Huey in this game right? Or as I always like to call him Notacon, so I’ve made it pretty clear in the Ground Zeroes review and further still in this one probably – how fond of Peace Walker I am, and I think it’s a genuinely unloved and underappreciated entry in the series. Well, that fondness is part of the reason I detest Huey, it’s an interesting curiosity, as unless you’ve experienced that game, his actions are questionable sure – but, I don’t think you’d feel quite the same way. I’ve never really talked to many people about what they think about Troy Bakers version of Ocelot, I couldn’t quite get on with him myself, as Ocelot, he does feel like a suitable in-between phase of what he’d probably look and sound like between Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid, but there’s just something that didn’t quite feel authentic about it, perhaps it’s just me. I think Troy Baker gives a great vocal performance though, and he really does mimic a few of Ocelot's very specific cadences on occasion. I mentioned Phantom Pain does some great things didn’t I? well let’s delve into some of them. Mother Base, is a fine example – I think the way Mother Base exponentially grows the more you upgrade it is a brilliant concept, especially as you can gradually notice that growth yourself too. I remember when I played through the game initially, and I was so excited to actually see the various parts of Mother Base being built as you travel between missions; it’s a pretty underappreciated aspect of the game – it really makes you feel as if you’re strengthening your defences and building an army, as it just gets bigger and bigger. It’s interesting in a way, because all of these elements, except the visual ones, were present during Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – but that visual element, makes all the difference – it’s all well and good, if a text box pops up and tells you – for example, that another part of the R&D lab has been built, but if you can’t see it, you don’t really care. I got a lot of enjoyment out of just going to see what all the new parts of Mother Base I’d built actually looked like, as you can realistically visit about ninety percent of them. I almost got into a routine when I played the game – where I’d come back from a mission – hit the shower, then go and chat to a soldier or two, then I’d go and inspect the newest part of the base I’d built, if one of them had finished construction. In that regard it really does make you feel like – well, without being too obvious Big Boss. That feeling cannot be undersold either, because that’s rare for a video game to really make you feel like the character, or at least effectively anyway – and ironically it’s one of the game’s biggest strengths and weaknesses, but that, good people, is for you to discover for yourself, if you haven’t already. I shall say no more on that. As I love animals I used to love wandering over to the animal section of Mother Base where you can see all of the animals that you’ve caught in the animal conservation area of the base, which leads me nicely into another great aspect of Phantom Pain. The Fulton Recovery system – an element seen in Peace Walker, and briefly mentioned in Snake Eater – but used to its fullest potential in The Phantom Pain. Let me ask you a question dear readers. Have you ever wanted to shoot off a prosthetic arm like a rocket, (ROCKET FIIIIIST,) remotely control it and direct it towards a nearby donkeys backside, then after the donkey has been suitably sedated – tie a balloon to that donkey, and send it shooting into the sky for recovery via plane or helicopter? Well, I hadn’t to be honest, until The Phantom Pain gave me the option to do things like that, don’t worry the animals don’t die if you do that. Disclaimer! No donkeys were harmed in the gaining of this Platinum. This is essentially how you recruit soldiers too, tie them to a balloon and send them off to your base; to misquote Timon from the Lion King “simple, yet satisfying.” In probably well over one hundred hours I spent with this game, this gameplay quirk never gets boring – especially as a side mission grants you a wormhole version, where you send the animals, containers or soldiers back through a wormhole. I might have mentioned that a few missions feel like filler – but some missions aren't, in fact to be honest the majority of them, really do take the open world to a whole new level (in a good way). A way Peace Walkers smaller scale could only have dreamed of. Back up Back Down particularly. For a little context I had the pleasure of playing through almost all of my time in Metal Gear Solid V, with one of my closest friends in party chat, who also happens to be a huge Metal Gear fan. We both went to a meeting about a script we were working on at the time, and both of us had slept maybe about three hours over the course of a week, just from playing this game, and we were absolute zombies. We were pretty much making equal progress, so we were essentially always at similar spots at the same time, and we both spent hours one night trying to figure out the best uses of the various gadgets and implements, to get through the level without being detected, you have to really learn the map, learn the routes – it’s quite honestly stealth in its purest form – that satisfying trial and error experimentation that really elevates a mission like that. There’s plenty more like that one too, for as much as I’ve played down the story (which is still fine) the gameplay can be so fantastic when it’s done right. We both decided to use a strategy of ordering your horse (one of the companions, more on those soon,) to defecate in the road, to stop one of the tanks that you have to capture or destroy, the fact that that’s an even option is brilliant. The Phantom Pain boasts, a huge gadget pool for Big Boss to pull from this time around – and one thing I always see value in, in a video game, is variety. Thanks to Mother Base, you have a lot at your disposal, including your map/scanner the iDroid voiced by the awesome Donna Burke. (You should check out her podcast and YouTube channel she seems like a cool lady.) Best of all, pretty much everything is upgradable, which encourages more exploration and doing side content. It’s a really interesting element, because the game has slightly adaptive difficulty, so the more efficient you are at stealth the more gadgets you’ll end up having to use to stay effective. Essentially if you head-shot a lot of enemies with your tranquilliser pistol, or lethal pistol I guess, after a cycle of time, the next enemies you might encounter will have a metal helmet on that can block tranquilliser shots (you can still shoot them in the face though,) these get progressively more extreme as the game progresses. So because of that adaptive difficulty it encourages you to really experiment with the different gadgets and find what works best for you. I mentioned companions briefly earlier, which are another new element to the Metal Gear Solid series – having another person or entity in the field with you, can make for some interesting routes through levels. You essentially have three available to you (four if you count D-Walker). D-Dog, D-Horse and Quiet, what makes them unique, is that each one has their own situational purposes that can help and hinder you, so you have to figure out how to best utilise them, which I thought added a nice bit of depth. The Horse is fantastic for traversal and distractions, but not a whole lot else. Quiet, is pretty adept at scouting outposts and tranquillising the guards for you if you want to pick up some soldiers quickly for Mother Base, but in Missions, she can go a bit “loopy” let’s say, and just fires at will, which can lead to alarms getting triggered. Personally, I always found D-Dog to be the most useful, he essentially just roams around and marks enemies for you so long as you’re close enough, which is a huge advantage, as he can sniff out places your binoculars can’t mark the guards. The fact this element of the game offers quite a variable amount of gameplay options is another reason the game usually has something fresh to offer the whole way through. The only real problem with that - is that once you’ve done everything in the game it’s hard to want to go back and really do it on a fresh file. Which unfortunately leads me to the open world; it’s got plenty of interesting elements to it, and plenty of incredibly memorable areas. Yet, it suffers from a problem that hampers a lot of open world games – the space is just too big, and that space is not maximised to its fullest potential. If you read my Ground Zeroes review, you’d remember that I very much praised Camp Omega, and honestly some of the individual locations in Phantom Pain do have some of that excellently structured and immersive design – areas in both Afghanistan and Africa. Unfortunately it’s the huge expansive spaces in between those places, just filled with desert or nondescript rocky outcrops that just blend together, that end up being a rather large distraction. Take the airport in Africa for example, a well designed, tight space with plenty of entrances and exits, and areas to explore – yet, to get there, you have to drive or run or ride a horse an inordinate amount of time to even get there. what’s in between? To tell you the truth- pretty much nothing. Apart from the occasional fairly sparsely guarded outpost - and not a whole lot else. To me it feels like the game’s biggest wasted opportunity, is to not make use of the space better. What are we looking at here for the Platinum? I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t going to take a long time (a bit like this review I guess) – I looked at the guide just now, and the estimate seems about right, one hundred and thirty hours. I’ve played it probably fifty hours or so more than the guide estimates, but that’s a case of me and my friend trying to get a “no traces bonus”(you can’t be seen, no alarms, no kills, no reflex mode, and you can’t CQC opponents either,) on every mission available – just for fun. I can attest to the fact that it won’t feel like that long – it’s one of those games where you can play it for a ridiculous amount of time and feel like you’ve barely played it. It does have two online trophies which people ought to be wary of, but so long as you get those, I believe there aren’t any missables fortunately. You’ll essentially see everything this game has to offer. You have to do every side op, every collectible, which there aren’t many significant ones; you’ll get them alongside the side ops as they are connected. You’ll get an S rank in every single mission and do every single mission objective (you can spread this over multiple attempts,) and a few miscellaneous trophies along the way. If I was going to give advice, which I will, I’d say to turn off reflex mode as soon as possible, and just get in the habit of restarting the checkpoint every time you get spotted, that way you’ll pick up most of the S Ranks when you play through your first go through the game, this should save you some significant time, and use D-Dog where possible, as he’s seriously useful. Try and be patient when you get to the Extreme variants of some of the missions – I loved these personally (but I can see why others don’t,) as I really enjoyed the extra challenge, but they can be a bit of a harsh wake up call, if you’ve played the whole game using reflex mode, or the sneaking suit, to have silent steps. I believe the last thing I actually did for the game was collecting all the animals – which can be a bit finicky, as some of them only spawn on very specific places – I think one tortoise, spawns on a very specific rock in a very odd out of the way part of Africa – but it’s interesting to see all of the indigenous animals you can find. I learnt what a Civet Cat was whilst playing the game, after collecting one of them in a little capture cage you can put down – a word of advice if someone ever offers you a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee, you might want to turn down the offer, as you’ll be about to embark on the journey of drinking something that came straight out of a cat’s bum. No – seriously, it’s true. I’d give that one a miss. After writing this, I think I’ve actually come to the realisation that this game wouldn’t be the worst game for someone to play who’s not very familiar (an opinion I had the opposite of previously,) with the Metal Gear Solid series, because I believe The Phantom Pain truly lives and dies by its frankly excellent gameplay. For the record, if I was going to compile my own list of preferred Metal Gear games, this probably wouldn’t make it very high. However, there is so much that I can appreciate about it, in this case objectivity is king, and I can’t ignore how great this is to play. For a game to captivate my attention for upwards of one hundred and fifty hours it must have been doing something right, remember how jaded I was after just thirty hours with something like Agents of Mayhem. Myself and that same friend that played the hell out of this at launch, often do say to one another that we’d love to replay the entire thing again, and do everything like we both have on Peace Walker before, but neither of us have really mustered the energy to do it yet. It has a story for sure, and there’s plenty of things to enjoy in it (I don't dislike it, I just think it could have been better,) one or two things not so much – that just makes me think of the clichéd parent line of “I’m not angry with you, I’m just disappointed.” If you want a great Metal Gear Solid story (by the series standards at least,) then go play Snake Eater – I’d still say Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is worth people’s time. Especially if they like stealth games too, but haven’t played a Metal Gear Solid game yet. I know that doesn’t seem likely – but remember, I’m a big Final Fantasy fan that only played Final Fantasy IX for the first time this year, so you never can tell. This has been an interesting one to revisit – as it did end up helping me figure out why I’ve been quite conflicted for a while – but as it is spoiler heavy, I’ll leave that discussion for another time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There we go @YaManSmevz - all done - now you have the unfortunate task of reading all that - I hope you know what you let yourself in for. I hope it is an alright quality, I've got a horrendous cold at the moment, so I'm a little worried my brains been a bit fuzzy while I've been writing that on and off... So hopefully its not a dud review. Thanks for requesting it though - it's great to finally get something Metal Gear related in the thread at last that isn't my Avatar. Next up is @DrunkenEngineer's Monkey Island Review I totally didn't request for myself ? on the request front... So I'm looking forward to that one - you guys gave me an awesome couple of first requests in Yakuza, Metal Gear V and a Monkey Island of my choosing. I'm also going to throw out a Pokeball with @Slava's name on it, just in case you wanted to read it - if we end up discussing the game a bit, we'll have to do it spoiler free - because Smevz hasn't played it and I hope that review doesn't put him off actually playing it. I guess I'll also use the Dragon Flute from Power Rangers to summon @AK-1138 - try not to smash the place up too much when you come crashing out of the sea like Godzilla.... You don't have to read it either obviously, but I know you're a Metal Gear fan and this is a bit of a divisive game amongst the fanbase I suppose. That being said - if anyone else would like to request a review - just let me know, otherwise I'll go back to picking them at random for a bit.... You can find all of my games pretty easily now in the first post of this thread - so if you want me to write about something specific and I've got the 100% or the platinum in it then I'd be happy to. I'm finding it's pretty helpful for keeping focus. I know this one took a while to come out, but I put maybe too much time into the Yakuza 0 one and burned myself out a little with that, but I'm ready to get back on the horse so to speak. On 22/10/2021 at 10:45 PM, Copanele said: Oh baby oh boy, hell yeah I can take the role of Date-San and moderate everything from the safety of my helicopter But damn...review requests. Hope you know what you are getting into, because dear lord there's some juicy games out there ready to be requested can't wait :> Well I may have to spend the next couple of years with my eyes forced open like in Clockwork Orange and my hands glued to my keyboard - but y'know sacrifices must be made and all that. We'll see how it goes ? On 23/10/2021 at 0:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: I like to think so. They get all defensive, and call their lack of hair "a sign of VIRILITY," then put on a pair of wraparound shades and stomp off. Haha these poor cats, what did they ever do to us?? One cat did once jump on my face and almost use it as a launch pad - I had to have stitches and everything - scary stuff. I'd like to see one of those Cats with a really obvious toupee on its, head, but literally nowhere else. That it keeps adjusting with it's very visibly bald paws. Okay....... Okay, maybe we should stop picking on those poor smooth cats... On 23/10/2021 at 0:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: Yes! We just called it King's Cup, but that could've just been local nomenclature. You brought back some memories, man... sheesh. I had to pound my share of some foul ass cups man, lemme tell you. Oh well. Better than that Family Guy drinking game where they hit each other's hands with hammers and say "ha ha, you drink." So did I, were you one of those people that zone out a lot? I used to get royally screwed with the waterfall and finger games because I'd just drift off and start thinking about something completely different. Plus we have some gross stuff that people seem to like drinking over here - add to that some of my friends used to add vinegar and junk like that in as well - that's a fast track ticket Vomtopia dude. On 23/10/2021 at 0:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: I really appreciate that man, thank you! Truth be told, I still find myself trying really hard to have a keener eye for what I should be talking about and keeping the excess to a minimum, but also not limiting myself to when it comes to the stuff I really wanna go over. Ah well, work in progress as always! My pleasure dude. Oh I almost started Oxenfree earlier, after reading Cassy's review of it, might have to boot that up soon, it is on my list in the backlog challenge too, and it's got an orange thumbnail so - erm two birds with one stone I guess. I guess that's the key yeah - what you said about keeping the excess to a minimum. We are our own worst critics though. Perhaps that's some self control I ought to learn myself, I'm sure there's plenty of bits in mine i could cut out if I tried to, just get to points a bit quicker, but I get too carried away sometimes. I'm definitely not writing them long on purpose,it's just the nature of the last couple of games I've covered in the Classic Review thingy-ma-jig. they are fairly huge games to break down. On 23/10/2021 at 0:33 AM, YaManSmevz said: Dr. Coco! Maybe it's like the Squall is dead theory, like the Hail to the King and Bloodlust trophies actually drove you insane and right now you're in a padded cell, turning magazine pages with your toes. Probably not, though. What do I know, I'm just a coconu- ...er I mean Smevz! You still have those to do - so you could well be joining me soon ?........ One Flew Over the Checklist Thread? WHERE'S MY GODDAMN CIGARETTES NURSE BLOODMONEY! KindaSabbath would totally be Chief - that dude could absolutely rip a sink out of the floor and launch it through a window. I wish I could unsee the fact you see Danny Devito in a tiny little pair of white underwear in that film Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: Sorry for the late replies folks! Think my reply is way late haha On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: Yeah - it's shameful really what they did with Sazh, because he's pretty great in that first part of the trilogy as we've both said before. It's a wasted opportunity, especially when you think how much focus someone like Hope got in both XIII-2 and Lightning Returns. I probably bought at least a third of my gaming collection from the PS2 era from Gamestation - I used to go nuts for those 4 for £10 or 4 for £20 offers that they used to do. Got so many awesome hidden gems that way,and a fair amount of crap too, I've got some really bizarre games as a result of that kind of thing. Rikku, Yuna and Paine are all in Kingdom Hearts II ..... I'll leave you a video of them, it's pretty much spoiler free so you can watch it without worrying too much.... But yeah, they seem to abandon the Final Fantasy crossovers a bit in the recent KH titles, which is a bit of a shame. Indeed, it is a shame and they showed with Hope they could give that kind of attention to other characters too but didn't. Yeah 4 for £10 or 4 for £20, those were the days. Loads of great deals to be had! Bet you had fun with some of those bizarre games though and you never would have experienced them otherwise. I suppose they couldn't keep the crossovers going for story reasons? I don't know I'm just guessing. Shame for people who wanted that though. On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: I was planning to play Dead Space 2 a while back and then I heard murmurings about a PS4 release - which hasn't happened yet, so I decided to just not bother in the end. I guess it's one I ought to consider going back to. I'd heard exactly the same thing about Dead Space 3 being a little more actiony than perhaps it needed to be - I guess EA didn't learn from Capcoms mistakes with that one then. Dead Space 2 is dirt cheap and well worth playing. Grab yourself a copy and fire up your PS3! Dead Space 3, well yeah sadly that's why the franchise disappeared. On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: It makes me really sad that this can happen - one of my other favourite franchises Monkey Island hasn't had a release for about ten years too. It's annoying because the guy that created them I'd read has ideas for another one, but as Disney own the rights, and he's offered to try and buy the rights to games, but Disney just aren't playing ball so that's another one that's just going to lay dormant for ages. I've got what I think is a really good idea for a Monkey Island TV series as well - but that equally would never happen, because one, the fanbase probably isn't big enough, and two,Disney seem to just prefer to pretend that the IP doesn't exist, it just happened to come as part of their purchase of Lucasfilm. Disney have a monopoly and so many franchises that they can't or won't give proper time too as they have their bankers bringing in the massive revenue. Sadly that's how it is. Keep the rights so others can't have it and potentially make money off it. Screws over the fans but that's business. Would be interested to hear about your Monkey Island TV series, even though I've never played one. Loads of other video game franchises are getting films and TV shows nowadays, the resurgence is here! On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: I'd put the DLC amongst the top three best DLC's that I've ever played, so it gets high praise from me. I don't mind the ship to be fair - I just think it ends up taking the game in a bit more of an action oriented direction - so it ends up undermining a few of the really grand steps they made toward taking the series back to its horror roots - but the ship part is perfectly fine it just doesn't gel as well with the rest of the game I don't think. I do agree on the first person camera - that's such a steep learning curve. Well I have now played all of the DLC apart from Ethan Must Die, which I don't particularly fancy giving a try. (Limited time and all that) Not a Hero was good, enjoyed it a lot. End of Zoe was random as hell. The Banned Footage was pretty decent including a very graphic card game lol All in all, worth playing for sure. Some of them I'm just rubbish at though. I will say that story wise, the ship part is where it really picked up for me and the rest of it was much better as it kind of clicked for me. The stories of Not a Hero and End of Zoe added to the overall plot as well in a good way. On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: Exactly- it's really bizarre, I don't think I ever really used it, because it doesn't feel natural too until the very last fight with Jack, when I realised you pretty much needed to, because I didn't realise it actually cut the damage you take down significantly, the game just doesn't really make that very clear,when it probably should have done. Completely agree. On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: I dunno man - Steve made my skin crawl - he seems like the type of person that'd heavily breathe really close to you or touch you when you're sleeping...... He's just not for me - he can keep his golden pistols however cool they are, as far away from me as possible. Quite a few of them have been plus games in the past,so you probably down own at least one - but yeah, they're definitely quite the time investment, but in my opinion that time is incredibly well spent. Some twitter channel was doing a poll on the best RE characters, and one such poll was Chris Redfield vs Steve Burnside, I'm sure that Steve got destroyed lol Yes I only hear positive things. On 10/15/2021 at 9:43 PM, rjkclarke said: I don't think you should probably mention burning to Vader? I don't think he'd take it very well - I think he'd be giving you a little death grip of his own. Haha! Plastic Suit - that.........Well that just made me think of a Vader as a little PVC Gimp boy! Now I can't get it out of my brain. I'll be playing VI first if those pixel remasters come to PlayStation - I guess I could boot up my PS3 and finish it though, I'm sure it wouldn't take that long. Vaan and Gau that's a terrifying thought. I feel like Vaan and Gau in the same place would just cancel each other out, with their equal misplacement in their own respective games. I mean Gau is essentially a less hairy Captain Caveman, with none of the requisite ladies man skills that Cavey seems to posses. Haha very true. Well at least I left you with a lasting image lol. VI is well worth playing, a fantastic game overall. Vaan and Gau could be a great double act in a film, think of the potential! lol On 10/15/2021 at 10:19 PM, rjkclarke said: Although the platinum's rarity is high, don't be put off by this game, it's a fantastic game - and it'd be a pretty enjoyable time for anyone who just wanted to take the edge off and play something both relaxing and fun. Enjoying Cat Quest quite a bit myself, just got the treasure items so hoping that'll get me to level 99 a bit easier! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 8 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Classic Review Nice review! Was interesting to read how you felt about this game, MGS is a series that I never approached (and never had the urge to play, in all honesty ) NOW! Seeing that requests are available, I had a few games in mind :> whenever you feel, 0 rush about them, especially since they are old games. NieR Fist of the North Star Ken's Rage (you weren't kidding, you really have this one.) Dragon's Dogma Hitman 2 Silent Assassin (I want to start the old series on PS3 too, played them on PC ) Arcania (sorry for this one :> ) Alice Madness Returns Bloodborne Star Wars Jedi Outcast/Academy (you can even go 2 in 1 here) Letter Quest Remastered Again, whenever you feel like it, IF you feel like it. Thought it's best to just dump the games that caught my attention on your profile and deliver the entire punishment at once ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadly_Ha_Ha Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 I feel like I'm always late to the party with what you're doing but just now I see you did Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime which I'm super interested in. How'd you find it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 13 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Classic Review Platinum #125 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain First of all, excellent work- not a dud in the least. It was a pleasure to read and I'm quite grateful for your honest, in depth thoughts! Very much agree that Kojima is at his best when on a leash. He got overly bold just after seeing the runaway success of the first MGS, I could only imagine how he would react if a film studio was like "here's a couple hundred million dollars, go do whatever you want." I can't speak for MGS4 and beyond, but the ending of 2 alone, I'd say you can't make that stuff up if not for the fact that somebody obviously did! I wasn't aware of an episodic format, not quite sure how I feel about that... although now when I finally do start it, I'm going to be thinking of 22 Short Films About Springfield? Also intriguing is the ability to listen to 80s music in a MGS game! That's surprising, and kind of hard to envision. I'd heard before about the open world being under-utilized, which is a shame - even in San Andreas there were odd occasions where it could be a chore to move across that gargantuan map, and they did pretty much everything in their power to keep it lively and entertaining. I could only imagine how it would feel when all you've got are swaths of sand! The gameplay for Ground Zeroes is what really made me second guess my, uh, second guessing of the game. So I guess I'm on my triple guess now? Either way your review is great (as always), and I must thank you for reinforcing the triple guess with your cautious optimism! I'm pretty sure use of things like vinegar in a game of King's Cup is illegal in the states! I remember the rule was it had to be what you were drinking, and you couldn't just add random shit. Then again, perhaps my friends weren't quite as mean-spirited! Dude, KindaSabbath would rip it out of the ground and twirl it on his fingers like a basketball before hurling it out the window - then he would write a bad ass review about it? Aw man, Cuckoo has such a brutal ending - and yes, I'm referring to the nearly nude Danny Devito! In retrospect, he looks like a damn baby in that movie. ...I kinda wanna watch Amadeus now? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-1138 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 16 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I guess I'll also use the Dragon Flute from Power Rangers to summon @AK-1138 Well, at least somebody made a concerted effort when it comes to MGSV and writing... I joke, but also kinda don't. Many of your points mirror my own... I know exactly what you mean about conflict and stuff, because my own opinion keeps vacillating every other week, it seems like. Not looking forward to writing my own review down the line... No matter who shoulders the blame for its sense of non-completeness and palpable identity crisis, I think I would actually appreciate it more as a game experience if it weren't a Metal Gear game... actually, the precious moments of genuine metallic gearness only makes the residual phantom pain of the game that was never to be, all the worse. It didn't destroy my proclivity for obsessive hypeishness for nothing, you know. It's just one of those things that instantly drags my mood down... just another series consigned to death and/or creative limbo. So thanks for reminding me, you recessive-gened taffer! Anyways, don't assume that my unfortunate penchant for not being much of a replier at times in any way indicates that I don't read your stuff or whatever, because I tend to more often than not. I would also like to underline my anticipation for any writings you may have concerning the Island of the Monkeys. Keep read--err, writing, Samwell--ahem, I mean... dude. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slava Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 (edited) On 23.10.2021 at 9:20 AM, rjkclarke said: I'm also going to throw out a Pokeball with @Slava's name on it, just in case you wanted to read it - if we end up discussing the game a bit, we'll have to do it spoiler free - because Smevz hasn't played it and I hope that review doesn't put him off actually playing it. What do Pokémon usually do when they're summoned? Who do I have to fight? ? Alright, I hope my input on the game can be Super Effective! (Please don't call the cringe police). What a nice novel review. I just re-read my own review post from a year ago to refresh the memory, and I see we agree on most points. Starting with story. Yeah, it has great moments, like the one about diamonds you mentioned, and the mission preceding it. But they don't really sum up into one good plotline. You get multiple storylines, and each of them doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. A TV show is actually a good comparison in regards to both the story and the gameplay structure. Story-wise it's like a popular big budget show that gets weird by the third season and gets cancelled before the plotlines can get properly resolved. Also, one thing about Kojima is that he gets into the stuff he watches/reads/plays/listens to too much, and that reflects in his games. He read some books about evolution, language, and microorganisms? Now YOU will learn everything about that through the game. He read Lord of the Flies? Expect a character and a subplot that references it. And so on. I remember that he talked about his creative process. Some movie director compared his own process to consuming other people's creations, mixing it together in the stomach (or brain), and "pooping out" your own stuff. Kojima said it's the same for him, although it's more like throwing up, because the good stuff isn't digested. Lol, yeah. Anyway, he is direct with his influences, any MGS fan knows it. But I prefer when Kojima tells you about his favourite things through something like radio calls with Para-Medic about her (his) favourite retro movies. Because it doesn't have anything to do with the story, unlike wolbachia in TPP. In terms of characters, I really liked Kaz. Venom was pretty good. Ocelot didn't really do much for me, he just was there. Huey's plotline could've been better. Quiet was meh after the cool introduction. Skull Face's story was underwhelming. Code Talker is just an info dump. Spoiler character plotline was interesting, but not very important. The gameplay in TPP is amazing. I really like the gameplay loop. Prepare and go on a mission - complete the mission while collecting soldiers and resources - do some optional stuff if you want - return to Mother Base - listen to some tapes - manage your Mother Base and develop some weapons and gadgets - prepare for the next mission. This loop is so good, so satisfying, so addicting. It was in PW, it is in TPP. TPP is PW2 is terms of gameplay structure. One thing I need to mention, Peace Walker didn't invent it. Peace Walker takes ideas from the previous PSP game - MGS: Portable Ops (not directed by Hideo), perfects them, and combines them with some things from Monster Hunter. I never played Portable Ops, so I didn't see the similarities. But there are many. It's also mission based. You also capture and recruit soldiers (but without fulton recovery). And a few more I forget. That game even had the comicbook-style cutscenes like Peace Walker. One point I don't entirely agree with is that the open world not being filled with more stuff is a problem. It's certainly more empty than in a typical Ubisoft game, but I'm okay with that. I can't come up with a thing that I'd want to see or do in between locations. The mission based structure doesn't really incentivize you to go out and explore anyway. You start at point A, go to point B, infiltrate, and escape. I think the open world exists in this game because it made sense to put all these bases and outposts on the same map and connect them with roads that are used in missions with multiple locations and transport. We got small outposts, collectables, and animals to care about when you travel during the missions. I thought it was enough. Maybe some things to look at would be cool, because some parts of the map look the same, and don't have any interesting landmarks. Other than that, I don't want more. I was more interested in exploring Mother Base and interacting with Diamond Dogs. Speaking of which, this is one of my favourite thing about TPP as well. I mentioned this in other threads before, but I like when games have a place for the player to return to after missions. A location that feels like home. Another example is Normandy from Mass Effect. You kind of get attached to that place. When you return to Mother Base you see your soldiers salute you, you hear them talk to each other sharing their positive or negative impressions (depending on how well you manage the base), you can talk to them as well (and then throw them into the nearest wall, which makes them even happier ?). You even start recognizing thier faces, so they feel like more than just a model and a line of code when you send them into battles, or play as them in side ops. And of course, like you said, the fact that you see the platforms that you personally ordered to make is a great touch. It's your place because you, the player, built it. I also want to mention the insane attention to detail. You'd think an unfinished game like MGSV wouldn't be filled with so many voiced lines for anything you can do, or the many ways you can use your gadgets and manipulate the environment and enemies. But it is. There are plenty of YouTube videos with this stuff. When you're on a mission and look at a chimney at some power plant, you can call Ocelot, and he will tell you something like "What are you, Santa? Don't even think anout infiltrating through there." Or when you go to a place before getting an intel file pointing to it, Kaz will ask how you knew about it and if you have a 6th sense. With stuff like gadgets, the game works on the principle of "If you can imagine it, you can do it" most of the time. Not only can you experiment with your arsenal, like use a water pistol on the Man on Fire, but you can even mess around with surroundings and make an electric pole fall on an enemy and electrocute him, and it will work. What a game. I've heard some opinions that this game gets boring and repetitive. So my final point is that it's only boring if you are playing that way. I was never bored. I kept trying out new items and new ways to play until the end. The one thing that got repetitive were the "destoy the helicopter" side ops. Your options are much more limited in them. Otherwise, there's a lot of freedom. Okay, I'm tired of typing ?, so I'll talk about the fun stuff from before the game's release next time, maybe tomorrow. Edited October 24, 2021 by Slava 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) On 23/10/2021 at 11:33 PM, YaManSmevz said: First of all, excellent work- not a dud in the least. It was a pleasure to read and I'm quite grateful for your honest, in depth thoughts! Very much agree that Kojima is at his best when on a leash. He got overly bold just after seeing the runaway success of the first MGS, I could only imagine how he would react if a film studio was like "here's a couple hundred million dollars, go do whatever you want." I can't speak for MGS4 and beyond, but the ending of 2 alone, I'd say you can't make that stuff up if not for the fact that somebody obviously did! I wasn't aware of an episodic format, not quite sure how I feel about that... although now when I finally do start it, I'm going to be thinking of 22 Short Films About Springfield Also intriguing is the ability to listen to 80s music in a MGS game! That's surprising, and kind of hard to envision. I'd heard before about the open world being under-utilized, which is a shame - even in San Andreas there were odd occasions where it could be a chore to move across that gargantuan map, and they did pretty much everything in their power to keep it lively and entertaining. I could only imagine how it would feel when all you've got are swaths of sand! The gameplay for Ground Zeroes is what really made me second guess my, uh, second guessing of the game. So I guess I'm on my triple guess now? Either way your review is great (as always), and I must thank you for reinforcing the triple guess with your cautious optimism! Thanks man, much appreciated as ever. It's funny you mention MGS2 because I'd say its probably one of the few times where Kojima's insane ambition and somewhat flimsily working "high concept" story telling actually does sort of make sense..... It doesn't exactly seem to be a fan favourite entry in the series, but it is pretty clever, I don't think some of the metatextual commentary works as well as he thinks it does, but I guess I can appreciate what was being attempted. It's only episodic in the way the missions are structured - but as I said, I don't think they really did the most they could with that, as nothing really tangibly flows together coherently (shock horror right? In something from Kojima,) outside of a few missions at least, where it does, and it's really effective. That San Andreas comparison you made is a little too accurate - you remember the mission where you have to go pick up Maccer and Kent Paul from the desert (man the dialogue is hilarious in that one)? Well there's big chunks of the Africa missions in Phantom Pain, that have a similarly long trek through a desert to actually get near the mission marker, and I just think, why make it so big? I still hope you play it at some point - there's a lot of fun to be had with it.... I honestly thought the gameplay alone makes it completely worthwhile. It's a shame the only other Metal Gear game that runs off of the Fox engine - is that massive tyre fire Metal Gear Survive - which I'd have to be in some mad fugue state to ever play that game. On 23/10/2021 at 11:33 PM, YaManSmevz said: I'm pretty sure use of things like vinegar in a game of King's Cup is illegal in the states! I remember the rule was it had to be what you were drinking, and you couldn't just add random shit. Then again, perhaps my friends weren't quite as mean-spirited! Dude, KindaSabbath would rip it out of the ground and twirl it on his fingers like a basketball before hurling it out the window - then he would write a bad ass review about it Aw man, Cuckoo has such a brutal ending - and yes, I'm referring to the nearly nude Danny Devito! In retrospect, he looks like a damn baby in that movie. ...I kinda wanna watch Amadeus now They might have been less mean spirited that's true - but Ring Of Fire/King's Cup over here - we never (at least with anyone I've ever played it with,) used to call the Kings Cup the Kings Cup - it used to just be called "the dirty pint" so I guess people went for anything goes in that type of thing - I've had one that had ketchup, hot sauce, wine, beer and a jack and coke in before - I think maybe one other thing too. GROSS. There's one scene in particular where Danny Devito particularly looks like a really hairy toddler - it's near the bit where all the - erm, "lovely ladies" come in, and he goes walking down the hallway and he just looks likes a really hairy child - it's so unsettling, even more than some of Christopher Lloyds expressions in that film. You saying that almost makes me want to watch Amadeus, then I remember how long it is. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Yeah 4 for £10 or 4 for £20, those were the days. Loads of great deals to be had! Bet you had fun with some of those bizarre games though and you never would have experienced them otherwise. That's exactly right - less fun with America's 10 Most Wanted - that game is terrible, and there's a special part of video game hell reserved for just that game - oh and Agents of Mayhem that can go there too. It's funny we're on the 4 for £10 thing - I was in my local CEX the other day, and behind the counter they had the original Drakengard game there for £55 - which they told me they actually were previously selling it for £75.....So, get this - I go find Drakengard on my shelf, and it still has the 4 for £10 sticker on it - so something that I got in one of those bundles is now worth silly money - who'd have thought eh? Not that I'd ever sell that. That's like one of my favourite interconnected series now. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: I suppose they couldn't keep the crossovers going for story reasons? I don't know I'm just guessing. Shame for people who wanted that though. I doubt it's for those reasons - Kingdom Hearts story is about as convoluted as you can get (as much as I do love it,) so if they'd really wanted to carry on those crossovers they could have done - they even have Zack cameo in one of them (it's even implied Sephiroth turns him into a Kebab too). I think they just decide to make it a crossover with potentially any Square IP - because there's a crossover with The World Ends With You in Dream Drop Distance. I haven't ever played TWEWY - but I hope Neku isn't as much of a fanny in that game as he is in his Kingdom Hearts, or I might have to nope out of ever trying that PS4 version. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Think my reply is way late haha Don't sweat it man, I appreciate the fact you have - I've taken like a fair bit of time to reply to all of these myself to be fair - I went on a nice little point-and-clicky adventure, and those are rabbit holes that can consume me for a while. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Disney have a monopoly and so many franchises that they can't or won't give proper time too as they have their bankers bringing in the massive revenue. Sadly that's how it is. Keep the rights so others can't have it and potentially make money off it. Screws over the fans but that's business. Would be interested to hear about your Monkey Island TV series, even though I've never played one. Loads of other video game franchises are getting films and TV shows nowadays, the resurgence is here! Hmmm...... Can't disagree with that about Disney - It's a shame..... As you say that's business - I do feel bad for Ron Gilbert though, Monkey Island was his creation - and he's offering to pay money for it, probably not the kind Disney would actually ask, but let him have it back - having just played Thimbelweed Park, which I'll be reviewing soon - he has not lost a step, so if they'd let up. He could deliver a fresh new and interesting Monkey Island game. Isn't the quality of the some of the TV and Film versions of games starting to improve a bit too? I'd heard great things about Dragons Dogma, and the Castlevania series, and I think you yourself, said the new RE one was worth a go. Apart from *cough* Uncharted *cough* I wasn't interested particularly in that film to begin with - but now the trailer is dropped - I'd rather go and watch a sex tape between Leonardo Dicaprio and the bear from The Revenant. I guess I could post my treatment for that Monkey Island series in here at some point - it's realistically never going to get made, so I guess I could - unless Ron Gilbert gets the rights back and is like hey, I need a screenwriter to write an animated Monkey Island TV comedy series. That'd be the dream, or at least one of them. I'll have to think about Dead Space 2 then - as it doesn't look like they'll be doing a remaster of it anytime soon. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Well I have now played all of the DLC apart from Ethan Must Die, which I don't particularly fancy giving a try. (Limited time and all that) Not a Hero was good, enjoyed it a lot. End of Zoe was random as hell. The Banned Footage was pretty decent including a very graphic card game lol All in all, worth playing for sure. Some of them I'm just rubbish at though. I will say that story wise, the ship part is where it really picked up for me and the rest of it was much better as it kind of clicked for me. The stories of Not a Hero and End of Zoe added to the overall plot as well in a good way. Yeah I can understand you skipping Ethan Must Die for those reasons - I don't think it took me more than about three hours to get it though, possibly a little less - but it is so random, and pretty unforgiving too, and it doesn't add anything to the story - so I get why you'd leave it be. Did you like Jacks 55th birthday Party? That one's such a weird gameplay loop, but I loved it. and Bedroom in one of the Banned Footages was great - it's like a really well crafted little puzzle. Yeah that card game is brutal - and the trophies tied to it are even more brutal. I wouldn't rush to do those again. End of Zoe is super strange man - but I loved it. Joe was such a breath of fresh air as a character - he's like the "dumb as a rock" character that Chris actually is, but is never presented as - so it was nice to see him just face punching the moulds because "YOU DON'T TOUCH MA FAAAAAAAMLLLEEEEH" I'm glad you liked the boat - it certainly does explain everything a bit better - I liked it aesthetically, and from a plot perspective, just wasn't over keen on them taking it back to a bit more of an action oriented final stretch. That might just be my own little gripes though. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Some twitter channel was doing a poll on the best RE characters, and one such poll was Chris Redfield vs Steve Burnside, I'm sure that Steve got destroyed lol Hammered into the ground like a tent peg I expect. It's only what he deserves. Massive Creepy Steve. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: VI is well worth playing, a fantastic game overall. Vaan and Gau could be a great double act in a film, think of the potential! lol I have played most of VI - probably like 85% however much there is before the final stretch - I just didn't ever finish it for a reason that I can't even think of - well fingers crossed for the pixel remasters coming to PlayStation then I've got a reason to go back - because TROPHIES ? Gau and Vaan can be in a two man version of the Lars Von Trier film The Idiots... I'd watch it, maybe. On 23/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, The_Kopite said: Enjoying Cat Quest quite a bit myself, just got the treasure items so hoping that'll get me to level 99 a bit easier! I'm glad to hear that man! - I hope you really enjoy the rest of your time with it - I can't think of a single bit of that game that really outstayed its welcome. I loved that game - in fact I'm planning to play the second one this week... So Hopefully I have a great time with that one myself. From what everyone has said - I probably will. On 23/10/2021 at 5:49 PM, Copanele said: Nice review! Was interesting to read how you felt about this game, MGS is a series that I never approached (and never had the urge to play, in all honesty ) NOW! Seeing that requests are available, I had a few games in mind :> whenever you feel, 0 rush about them, especially since they are old games. NieR Fist of the North Star Ken's Rage (you weren't kidding, you really have this one.) Dragon's Dogma Hitman 2 Silent Assassin (I want to start the old series on PS3 too, played them on PC ) Arcania (sorry for this one :> ) Alice Madness Returns Bloodborne Star Wars Jedi Outcast/Academy (you can even go 2 in 1 here) Letter Quest Remastered Again, whenever you feel like it, IF you feel like it. Thought it's best to just dump the games that caught my attention on your profile and deliver the entire punishment at once Cheers dude - I appreciate that. I'm sure reading that review isn't going to make you want to play it either - what with me describing it as a a bit of a mixed bag and all. Damn man - that's quite a varied litter of games there I've added them to my word document now, that has all the requests on it. I'm super glad that you've given me the kick up the backside to actually revisit NieR though. I'm going to forewarn you now - and I think you knew this already, but that one is going to be loooooong - that's my favourite game from the PS3 generation, so I'm going to really enjoy getting stuck in with that one. I had a look earlier and it's actually coming up on ten years (man that's scary,) of me getting the platinum in that - November 7 2011........ So it only makes sense to put the review out on November 7 2021 right? All of the ones you mentioned are going to be interesting to revisit in their own way - especially Arcania - Ironically you and I having discussed the heightened tolerance we both have for EuroRPG's over in your thread - whilst I'm not going to probably sing its praises with rapturous applause. I think you more than most will understand why I actually did have a decent amount of fun with it. I'm glad you mentioned Fist of the North Star actually - because I'm hoping reviewing that one might give me the impetus to go and buy the second one - before I play Lost Paradise. I've always felt a little wrong for never getting to that one. I appreciate you compiling the list though - and I will be getting to all of them eventually - I'm guessing you don't mind if I don't do them in that exact order? I'll make sure that I tag you in any of them too - I'm looking forward to those - I might go back and grab the 100% on Bloodborne first as well, because I'm missing one DLC weapon - I got super distracted laughing my arse off at Ludwig flailing around on the floor, and forgot to actually get the Weapon from him, and by the time I'd gone back to get it, I couldn't anymore - so I might have to rush to that spot again on NG+ On 23/10/2021 at 6:46 PM, Deadly_Ha_Ha said: I feel like I'm always late to the party with what you're doing but just now I see you did Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime which I'm super interested in. How'd you find it? I've shown up late to plenty of late parties in everyone else's threads - so it's all good ? I've been gaming quite a lot recently - I've had a little more free time than I expected to, so I thought I might as well make use of it. Which is why it's been a little more busy in here lately I guess. Personally I loved Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime - I thought it was fantastic. I did review it - and if you wanted to read it, you can find it here....... ....... If you don't have the time to read it though I'll try and sum it up as best I can - which is this, it's incredibly fun, very unusual, it has really addictive gameplay (with a surprising amount of depth,) some rogue-like elements, that can keep it really fresh, plus, it's fairly accessible to just be picked up and put down if you have to go and do something else. If you can rope in a friend to play it with you then you'd probably have an even better time - it really hooked me in and I played the whole game in one sitting over a whole night - and then felt like a jackass the next day for the lack of sleep, but it was still a great time. Difficulty is subjective and everything, but I didn't find it very difficult (if it's considered difficult,) you do tend to like some challenging games by the looks of it, but it also looks like you dig a bit of ultra rare trophy gathering, and this game has a few of those up it's sleeve. It's also got @Arcesius seal of approval I believe. I'd recommend it for sure - it's short and sweet, so even if you didn't really enjoy it, you wouldn't have to endure hours of monotony to trudge through to completion. On 24/10/2021 at 0:32 AM, AK-1138 said: Well, at least somebody made a concerted effort when it comes to MGSV and writing... I joke, but also kinda don't. Many of your points mirror my own... I know exactly what you mean about conflict and stuff, because my own opinion keeps vacillating every other week, it seems like. Not looking forward to writing my own review down the line... No matter who shoulders the blame for its sense of non-completeness and palpable identity crisis, I think I would actually appreciate it more as a game experience if it weren't a Metal Gear game... actually, the precious moments of genuine metallic gearness only makes the residual phantom pain of the game that was never to be, all the worse. It didn't destroy my proclivity for obsessive hypeishness for nothing, you know. It's just one of those things that instantly drags my mood down... just another series consigned to death and/or creative limbo. So thanks for reminding me, you recessive-gened taffer! Thanks man - glad I wasn't the only one that's all conflicted about this one. That was a constant battle to remain objective - believe me - there were so many times where I wanted to really tear it a new one in areas that personally got under my skin, but don't really impede on whether or not the game is actually good or not - damn objectivity to the depths of hades right? I'm not sure that feeling of conflict is going to change for either of us - now I'm on the other side of that review I pretty much feel the same. I think I might agree with that actually - that I too, might prefer if the game wasn't actually a Metal Gear Solid title - you strip that away, and there's still a great game there - and it doesn't come along with all the baggage that being an already fairly strange entry chronologically in a beloved series brings to the table too. At least one of us is looking forward to your eventual review down the line.... ? That bit in bold made me imagine you with a face like Ric Flair's bunched up crying face, when you typed that, as Leave the Memories Alone by Fuel played in the background - although, that is the only comparable thing with scuzzy old naitch.... I don't wish to insult you like that.... What with him making himself persona non grata these days. Metal Gear Solid deserves so much more than to be in consigned to death or limbo state - but then equally, there's plenty of other games series that are stuck there, that shouldn't be there either. On 24/10/2021 at 0:32 AM, AK-1138 said: Anyways, don't assume that my unfortunate penchant for not being much of a replier at times in any way indicates that I don't read your stuff or whatever, because I tend to more often than not. I would also like to underline my anticipation for any writings you may have concerning the Island of the Monkeys. Keep read--err, writing, Samwell--ahem, I mean... dude. Well - if you hadn't been so encouraging all those months back then I probably never would have even started this thread anyway, and it probably would have just remained a huge what if? In my head for a while instead... I'll always be grateful for that, believe me (and I look forward to when/if you ever start your own). So I really do appreciate the fact that you're still reading this stuff - and that anyone is really - as I've said, I don't make it easy for people, by making things fairly long. We shall be visiting the Island of Monkeys fairly soon - in the next couple of days, after Thimbleweed Park I should think - until then I guess I should give you a distraction " Hey...... Look behind you a three headed Monkey!" 9 hours ago, Slava said: What do Pokémon usually do when they're summoned? Who do I have to fight? Alright, I hope my input on the game can be Super Effective! (Please don't call the cringe police). Nah you're safe from the cringe police Slava - you're all good. I'm sure I should have had them called on me more than once anyway, so if I'm safe you are... ?..... Super Effective indeed. 9 hours ago, Slava said: What a nice novel review. I just re-read my own review post from a year ago to refresh the memory, and I see we agree on most points. Starting with story. Yeah, it has great moments, like the one about diamonds you mentioned, and the mission preceding it. But they don't really sum up into one good plotline. You get multiple storylines, and each of them doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. A TV show is actually a good comparison in regards to both the story and the gameplay structure. Story-wise it's like a popular big budget show that gets weird by the third season and gets cancelled before the plotlines can get properly resolved. Also, one thing about Kojima is that he gets into the stuff he watches/reads/plays/listens to too much, and that reflects in his games. He read some books about evolution, language, and microorganisms? Now YOU will learn everything about that through the game. He read Lord of the Flies? Expect a character and a subplot that references it. And so on. I remember that he talked about his creative process. Some movie director compared his own process to consuming other people's creations, mixing it together in the stomach (or brain), and "pooping out" your own stuff. Kojima said it's the same for him, although it's more like throwing up, because the good stuff isn't digested. Lol, yeah. Anyway, he is direct with his influences, any MGS fan knows it. But I prefer when Kojima tells you about his favourite things through something like radio calls with Para-Medic about her (his) favourite retro movies. Because it doesn't have anything to do with the story, unlike wolbachia in TPP. In terms of characters, I really liked Kaz. Venom was pretty good. Ocelot didn't really do much for me, he just was there. Huey's plotline could've been better. Quiet was meh after the cool introduction. Skull Face's story was underwhelming. Code Talker is just an info dump. Spoiler character plotline was interesting, but not very important. You wrote quite the novel there yourself man - and I absolutely enjoyed reading the whole thing. Did they talk about wolbachia in The Phantom Pain? ....... I honestly didn't notice the THOUSANDS OF TIMES, that they got mentioned in cassette tapes ?...... It's honestly laughable how many times Codetalker says that one word alone - especially in one of the cassettes that's essentially a one person mini audio drama, as I'm sure it went on for about that long. I'd honestly not really thought of some of Kojima's quirks like that - the way he just drills his own interests into everything - in the most specific and detailed way possible - which really doesn't always work all that often , lets be honest. 9 hours ago, Slava said: The gameplay in TPP is amazing. I really like the gameplay loop. Prepare and go on a mission - complete the mission while collecting soldiers and resources - do some optional stuff if you want - return to Mother Base - listen to some tapes - manage your Mother Base and develop some weapons and gadgets - prepare for the next mission. This loop is so good, so satisfying, so addicting. It was in PW, it is in TPP. TPP is PW2 is terms of gameplay structure. One thing I need to mention, Peace Walker didn't invent it. Peace Walker takes ideas from the previous PSP game - MGS: Portable Ops (not directed by Hideo), perfects them, and combines them with some things from Monster Hunter. I never played Portable Ops, so I didn't see the similarities. But there are many. It's also mission based. You also capture and recruit soldiers (but without fulton recovery). And a few more I forget. That game even had the comicbook-style cutscenes like Peace Walker. Yep - the gameplay loop just really hooks you in - that's kind of why I ended up getting less and less invested in the story - and just being fine with playing the game. It seems like we'd pretty much do exactly the same thing after getting back from missions by the sounds of that. I didn't know that about Portable Ops - I've never played that one, and I've only seen very minimal gameplay of it - I think I've only seen a bit of a mission or two, and a clip of Snake meeting Campbell. So that's great to know - thanks for enlightening me, because there I was heaping praise all over Peace Walker, for basically doing a lot of things better than TPP does, when Portable Ops had already done some of it before.................. ? I'm now realising I want to play Portable Ops - but also have the sad realisation that without a PSP or a PS4/5 that I can't, shame I guess. 9 hours ago, Slava said: One point I don't entirely agree with is that the open world not being filled with more stuff is a problem. It's certainly more empty than in a typical Ubisoft game, but I'm okay with that. I can't come up with a thing that I'd want to see or do in between locations. The mission based structure doesn't really incentivize you to go out and explore anyway. You start at point A, go to point B, infiltrate, and escape. I think the open world exists in this game because it made sense to put all these bases and outposts on the same map and connect them with roads that are used in missions with multiple locations and transport. We got small outposts, collectables, and animals to care about when you travel during the missions. I thought it was enough. Maybe some things to look at would be cool, because some parts of the map look the same, and don't have any interesting landmarks. Other than that, I don't want more. I was more interested in exploring Mother Base and interacting with Diamond Dogs. The bit I emboldened is actually the only real problem I had with the open world. I probably wasn't very clear about my issues with it in that section to be fair. it's not that I wanted more stuff to do, I didn't. I thought that aspect was fine - I just wanted either less space, or to have more locations in those spaces. A big world map is fine, so long as you actually fit with meaningful things to see and do.... Which it definitely has, but it also has huge expansive spaces with just sand and or mountains and beige everywhere, and amount to nothing - so I just found myself getting sick of how long it takes to get from point A to point B with not a whole lot in between - and I couldn't help but think.... Why make it THIS big? 9 hours ago, Slava said: Speaking of which, this is one of my favourite thing about TPP as well. I mentioned this in other threads before, but I like when games have a place for the player to return to after missions. A location that feels like home. Another example is Normandy from Mass Effect. You kind of get attached to that place. When you return to Mother Base you see your soldiers salute you, you hear them talk to each other sharing their positive or negative impressions (depending on how well you manage the base), you can talk to them as well (and then throw them into the nearest wall, which makes them even happier ). You even start recognizing thier faces, so they feel like more than just a model and a line of code when you send them into battles, or play as them in side ops. And of course, like you said, the fact that you see the platforms that you personally ordered to make is a great touch. It's your place because you, the player, built it. Mother Base, is absolutely fantastic. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much yourself. I love the Normandy comparison too - because, that really does feel like home as you say, that interaction with everyone - to wind down after a mission cannot be undersold, even in TPP - it's a Bioware staple that they've been doing so well, since as far back as KOTOR at the very least.... So to see them do something similar with Metal Gear was great. I used to spend hours just collecting Soldiers and trying to get the best stats as possible - what you said was remarkably the same for me as well - it's funny because there are certain soldiers you can carry over from Ground Zeroes - and although they had far inferior stats to some of the other soldiers you can pick up. I always used to keep them around as some kind of loyalty I guess. That's a pretty impressive thing actually - that you actually grow to care and have loyalty towards some of these little digital folk. Although sometimes my friend and I were very brutal brutal - and we'd sit there getting rid of some of the ones with poorer stats going " you suck, get in the sea" and just outright dismissing them. 9 hours ago, Slava said: I also want to mention the insane attention to detail. You'd think an unfinished game like MGSV wouldn't be filled with so many voiced lines for anything you can do, or the many ways you can use your gadgets and manipulate the environment and enemies. But it is. There are plenty of YouTube videos with this stuff. When you're on a mission and look at a chimney at some power plant, you can call Ocelot, and he will tell you something like "What are you, Santa? Don't even think anout infiltrating through there." Or when you go to a place before getting an intel file pointing to it, Kaz will ask how you knew about it and if you have a 6th sense. With stuff like gadgets, the game works on the principle of "If you can imagine it, you can do it" most of the time. Not only can you experiment with your arsenal, like use a water pistol on the Man on Fire, but you can even mess around with surroundings and make an electric pole fall on an enemy and electrocute him, and it will work. What a game. I've heard some opinions that this game gets boring and repetitive. So my final point is that it's only boring if you are playing that way. I was never bored. I kept trying out new items and new ways to play until the end. The one thing that got repetitive were the "destoy the helicopter" side ops. Your options are much more limited in them. Otherwise, there's a lot of freedom. It's almost as if they prioritised finishing the wrong things isn't it ?....... That's the frustrating thing - I'm kind of in the same boat with you on that one, that it deserves a lot of praise for that, and it does - yet, at the same time it's overwhelmingly irritating - that it can be so immersive in areas like that, then equally severely lacking in others. The options you have available to you are brilliant - and they add so much extra re-playability to the game it's unreal.... We're definitely in agreement on that, I'd be parroting you too much if I expounded upon it?... Yep - I'm no closer to sorting out my conflicted feelings about the game...... I don't think I'd ever describe TPP as boring or repetitive, you hit the nail on the head, it's down to how you play it - I think it's such a rewarding experience if you just tinker around and enjoy all of the options the game actually gives to you, and just tool around with the sandbox. I've literally played it for about 200 hours - and the most bored I think I ever was, was listening to Codetalker droning on about wolbachia..... 9 hours ago, Slava said: Okay, I'm tired of typing , so I'll talk about the fun stuff from before the game's release next time, maybe tomorrow. I wish I could recapture that feeling of anticipation I had for The Phantom Pain - it might be part of the reason I started to get apprehensive about upcoming sequels/prequels and reboots in game series I like. I might also have to go dip my fingers in some ice now ? - I shouldn't have left it so long between replying - thanks for all the in depth replies and feedback everyone..... Apologies if this post is filled with spelling and grammar/ or wrong word gaffs and what not - I might edit it properly tomorrow, if I sound too much like I'm from the planet Flarg or something. ...... I'll see you all in the next one. Edited October 25, 2021 by rjkclarke 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadly_Ha_Ha Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Thanks for reiterating for me your thoughts on the game, sorry I missed your review of it that's my bad. If you want to do a co-op game sometime let me know, I think it would be cool 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 5 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Cheers dude - I appreciate that. I'm sure reading that review isn't going to make you want to play it either - what with me describing it as a a bit of a mixed bag and all. Damn man - that's quite a varied litter of games there I've added them to my word document now, that has all the requests on it. I'm super glad that you've given me the kick up the backside to actually revisit NieR though. I'm going to forewarn you now - and I think you knew this already, but that one is going to be loooooong - that's my favourite game from the PS3 generation, so I'm going to really enjoy getting stuck in with that one. I had a look earlier and it's actually coming up on ten years (man that's scary,) of me getting the platinum in that - November 7 2011........ So it only makes sense to put the review out on November 7 2021 right? All of the ones you mentioned are going to be interesting to revisit in their own way - especially Arcania - Ironically you and I having discussed the heightened tolerance we both have for EuroRPG's over in your thread - whilst I'm not going to probably sing its praises with rapturous applause. I think you more than most will understand why I actually did have a decent amount of fun with it. I'm glad you mentioned Fist of the North Star actually - because I'm hoping reviewing that one might give me the impetus to go and buy the second one - before I play Lost Paradise. I've always felt a little wrong for never getting to that one. I appreciate you compiling the list though - and I will be getting to all of them eventually - I'm guessing you don't mind if I don't do them in that exact order? I'll make sure that I tag you in any of them too - I'm looking forward to those - I might go back and grab the 100% on Bloodborne first as well, because I'm missing one DLC weapon - I got super distracted laughing my arse off at Ludwig flailing around on the floor, and forgot to actually get the Weapon from him, and by the time I'd gone back to get it, I couldn't anymore - so I might have to rush to that spot again on NG+ Hah no worries about the order, hell you don't even have to review them if you don't want to (except for NieR, I know you want to do that one :> ). I just liked the fact that someone played those specific games and I had to mention them You do have to play NieR Replicant on PS4 at some point, trust me the improvement is...wow. And I don't mean about the combat here. If you liked the PS3 one, you will love the PS4 remaster (it has bonus content even, perfect to wreck your heart even more ) And of course, EuroRPGs, the most unexpectedly fun RPGs ever. Heck, Witcher 3 is an EuroRPG and we know how praised that game is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slava Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) 13 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I didn't know that about Portable Ops - I've never played that one, and I've only seen very minimal gameplay of it - I think I've only seen a bit of a mission or two, and a clip of Snake meeting Campbell. So that's great to know - thanks for enlightening me, because there I was heaping praise all over Peace Walker, for basically doing a lot of things better than TPP does, when Portable Ops had already done some of it before.................. I'm now realising I want to play Portable Ops - but also have the sad realisation that without a PSP or a PS4/5 that I can't, shame I guess. You know what they say: "Good artists copy; great artists steal" ?. I haven't played Portable Ops either, but I saw big parts of it on stream. TBH, it's probably not worth it. For example, the soldier capture mechanic was clunky. If I remember correctly, in that game you had to drag the poor guy across a location to your truck for half a minute. The fulton recovery system is a much better solution. Even if Kojima's idea wasn't entirely original, at least he improved upon it. Quote The bit I emboldened is actually the only real problem I had with the open world. I probably wasn't very clear about my issues with it in that section to be fair. it's not that I wanted more stuff to do, I didn't. I thought that aspect was fine - I just wanted either less space, or to have more locations in those spaces. Ah, okay. We're pretty much on the same page then. At least with deserty parts it makes sense. But there are also too many similar looking roads and surroundings in the rocky regions of the Afghanistan map. Quote I used to spend hours just collecting Soldiers and trying to get the best stats as possible - what you said was remarkably the same for me as well - it's funny because there are certain soldiers you can carry over from Ground Zeroes - and although they had far inferior stats to some of the other soldiers you can pick up. I always used to keep them around as some kind of loyalty I guess. That's a pretty impressive thing actually - that you actually grow to care and have loyalty towards some of these little digital folk. Although sometimes my friend and I were very brutal brutal - and we'd sit there getting rid of some of the ones with poorer stats going " you suck, get in the sea" and just outright dismissing them. I had a really cool female soldier, she had some of the highest stats. I even used to play as her all the time. If my memory serves me right, I died playing as her once, and that counted as perma-death. I was so sad and a little disappointed in myself ?. Spoiler There was also one chraracter on the medical platform that I would see all the time. A female doctor I had saved in a mission. Female characters are very rare to see on Mother Base, so she was very recognizable. So when that quarantine platform mission started, and I saw her there among the infected, I was like "Oh no" ?. Killing her and all these people you previously saved or captured was hard. Just for that reason alone, I'd say this mission was a step forward in interactive storytelling. Quote I wish I could recapture that feeling of anticipation I had for The Phantom Pain - it might be part of the reason I started to get apprehensive about upcoming sequels/prequels and reboots in game series I like. Yeah, that was unlike anything I had seen before. The hype was palpable. Every trailer was an event. And every time people would start coming up with crazy fan theories. It's funny looking back at them after playing through the actual story, because you'll know that the main twist was spoiled in the second trailer back in 2013 before Ground Zeroes even came out. Here's the trailer (for people who haven't played the game yet - don't open the link if you don't want to be spoiled). For people who have played - try to remember where that cutscene plays. Yep, the last story mission ?. Some people got it right away, because it's so obvious. But it's surprizing that most people (including myself) didn't pay attention. Some of my favourite crazy theories from before the release: Venom Snake is actually Gray Fox. Some YouTubers pushed this theory in particular. It's funny considering how old they think Gray Fox must have been during MGS1 or even MG1. Quiet is Chico. This must be the wildest one. People were critisizing Kojima for making the only shown female character dress like that. He famously replied with "Once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words & deeds". People started making theories, and that's probably when they came up with the transgender theory. Yeah, turned out that the 9 year timegap + Chico not being shown after the timegap does not = Chico is Quiet. And that "secret reason" was ultimately just an excuse to show more skin. ? Kaz Miller is a racist. Yeah, Kojima had said that the game's theme was race, but this doesn't make this theory less hilarious. I think it was going around after the E3 2014 trailer that featured a moment where Kaz is being an asshole to an African child soldier. Not as wild, as other theories, but still a big jump in logic. Just imagine if Kojima actually tackled the race theme through turning one of the main characters into a racist. That would be something, wouldn't it? Not many people even try because it's hard to do it tastefully. Of course, after the game came out, the theories didn't stop. People were convinced that Chapter 3 existed and were looking for any clues and hidden messages. The "Never be game over" subreddit was created, and that's where people went super wild. I don't use reddit, so I never visited that place. But I've seen some stuff, and to say I was impressed with what I saw would be an understatement. Even though It didn't lead into anything in the end. The fact that people were still looking for clues and hoping for continuation months and years later was the real phantom pain ?. But to go back to the pre-release materials. There were many trailers. My favourite ones were the E3 2014 one with the song "Nuclear" (what a banger BTW, it's hard to not sing along, or at least want to listen to it again) and the launch trailer that featured scenes from all mainline MGS games. There were also big gameplay presentations for The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online, I watched those too. But also watched a few episodes of Kojima Station. Who remembers that one? It was a weekly (?) stream from Kojima Productions, where Hideo himself and his co-host would talk about their games, reveal some small bits of info, showcase fan art, and do some random stuff. Kojima even made some top 10 movie lists with his friend and colleague whose name I don't remember. You didn't have to know Japanese to understand those at least, because they were showing the footage and posters. No other game has got me as hyped since then. The Death Stranding trailers were cool and weird, and there were some interesting thing like the synchronicity of the two first trailers when you played them at the same time, but it's wasn't the same anymore. Obviously, it's not as exciting as the final part of a 25+ year old saga you've grown so attached to, but still. Edited October 25, 2021 by Slava 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) On 25/10/2021 at 3:36 AM, Deadly_Ha_Ha said: Thanks for reiterating for me your thoughts on the game, sorry I missed your review of it that's my bad. If you want to do a co-op game sometime let me know, I think it would be cool No worries man. I wouldn't mind doing a bit of co-op with it down the line if you like - the problem is this game has no native online multiplayer - it's pretty much built for couch co-op, so we'd have to do it via share-play, and whenever I've tried to do that before it always tells me my internet connection isn't strong enough.... Although I haven't tried it for a while, so that might have improved I don't know. If you get sick of waiting on me for that - the A.I for the CPU character in that game is actually surprisingly competent, so it'd definitely be an option to play it that way if you wanted to. On 25/10/2021 at 8:42 AM, Copanele said: Hah no worries about the order, hell you don't even have to review them if you don't want to (except for NieR, I know you want to do that one :> ). I just liked the fact that someone played those specific games and I had to mention them You do have to play NieR Replicant on PS4 at some point, trust me the improvement is...wow. And I don't mean about the combat here. If you liked the PS3 one, you will love the PS4 remaster (it has bonus content even, perfect to wreck your heart even more ) That's good to know - I'll do them, that's all good. As I said I'm quite looking forward to writing some of them - Letter Quest will be rather easy to write about, that's such a gem of a game. I'm particularly relishing Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, that was the first Hitman game I ever played all the way back on the original Xbox, so it'd be nice to get to talk about that one - and how the bald murderer man's games have evolved over the years. I was always going to play NieR Replicant - I just haven't yet. Replicant even on PS3 was not technically the same game anyway - I think there's quite the contextual change between a father and a brother - the dynamic of the story would shift a bit as a result. I'll have to get around to Replicant soon, as it's one I'm really looking forward to diving head first into. I'm glad to hear its got your seal of approval too. On 25/10/2021 at 8:42 AM, Copanele said: And of course, EuroRPGs, the most unexpectedly fun RPGs ever. Heck, Witcher 3 is an EuroRPG and we know how praised that game is You.... Erm, you - well, you just blew my mind with that..... I don't know why, but I'd never actually thought about the fact it is one - because it is. Maybe it's the overall praise it seems to get that threw me off, as most people tend to usually double down on the negativity when it comes to EuroRPG's...... I mean it helps that you don't often clip through the scenery in the Witcher 3, or have to deal with truly abysmal melee combat, that makes you want to chew through your first..... ?.... I can't help but love them though. (Although, I encountered loads of bugs and glitches at that games launch, so many that I didn't go back to it until it had been significantly patched in the summer of that year.) 18 hours ago, Slava said: You know what they say: "Good artists copy; great artists steal" . I haven't played Portable Ops either, but I saw big parts of it on stream. TBH, it's probably not worth it. For example, the soldier capture mechanic was clunky. If I remember correctly, in that game you had to drag the poor guy across a location to your truck for half a minute. The fulton recovery system is a much better solution. Even if Kojima's idea wasn't entirely original, at least he improved upon it. That's very true haha Clunky sounds like an understatement then - that is super off putting - nothing like breaking up the organic flow of gameplay by having to laboriously drag a soldier around for half a minute. To just find out he probably has terrible stats, and you have to throw him in the bin anyway ? 18 hours ago, Slava said: Ah, okay. We're pretty much on the same page then. At least with deserty parts it makes sense. But there are also too many similar looking roads and surroundings in the rocky regions of the Afghanistan map. It clearly needed a casino strip in the desert like in Fallout New Vegas - someone can take bets on the distance Venom Snakes horn grows over the course of the game. ? 18 hours ago, Slava said: I had a really cool female soldier, she had some of the highest stats. I even used to play as her all the time. If my memory serves me right, I died playing as her once, and that counted as perma-death. I was so sad and a little disappointed in myself . I didn't know that counted as perma-death if you died as them. That makes sense, but it's a shame especially as you grow attached to playing as those soldiers - that loss feels all the more personal. I had one like that in Peace Walker - I can't remember her exact name - I think it was Quiet Dolphin, it definitely had Dolphin in it, but she was awesome, had really great stats (better than Big Boss' stats) and I used to love playing as her, she moves faster, she's more accurate, she puts out more damage, and I grew really fond of using her, you're so right, that's an element of The Phantom Pain and Peace Walker that really doesn't get enough love. Evidently from me to, as I only skimmed over it in my review. 18 hours ago, Slava said: Yeah, that was unlike anything I had seen before. The hype was palpable. Every trailer was an event. And every time people would start coming up with crazy fan theories. It's funny looking back at them after playing through the actual story, because you'll know that the main twist was spoiled in the second trailer back in 2013 before Ground Zeroes even came out. Here's the trailer (for people who haven't played the game yet - don't open the link if you don't want to be spoiled). For people who have played - try to remember where that cutscene plays. Yep, the last story mission . Some people got it right away, because it's so obvious. But it's surprizing that most people (including myself) didn't pay attention. Some of my favourite crazy theories from before the release: Venom Snake is actually Gray Fox. Some YouTubers pushed this theory in particular. It's funny considering how old they think Gray Fox must have been during MGS1 or even MG1. Quiet is Chico. This must be the wildest one. People were critisizing Kojima for making the only shown female character dress like that. He famously replied with "Once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words & deeds". People started making theories, and that's probably when they came up with the transgender theory. Yeah, turned out that the 9 year timegap + Chico not being shown after the timegap does not = Chico is Quiet. And that "secret reason" was ultimately just an excuse to show more skin. Kaz Miller is a racist. Yeah, Kojima had said that the game's theme was race, but this doesn't make this theory less hilarious. I think it was going around after the E3 2014 trailer that featured a moment where Kaz is being an asshole to an African child soldier. Not as wild, as other theories, but still a big jump in logic. Just imagine if Kojima actually tackled the race theme through turning one of the main characters into a racist. That would be something, wouldn't it? Not many people even try because it's hard to do it tastefully. I didn't guess the twist either - one of my friends did - and I looked like a right dick, because I told him that, that definitely wouldn't happen - well fast forward to me finishing the final mission, and I had to eat my words. The most bitter meal I've ever eaten ? Oh Wow - thanks for posting some of those crazy theories - I'd heard the first two, and the first one always was a head scratcher for me, even though it seemed to be the leading one for a long time. I'm sure they give away the age of Gray Fox in MGS1 - and without fact checking it, I'm sure he's like 39 or something like that. in 2005? I think that's when the first MGS is set, again I'm going completely off memory, as I'm a little bit out of the loop on my MGS knowledge. so by 1981-2 whenever TPP is set, he'd be like 15-16ish. The one about Kaz is completely news to me though - I'd never heard that one before. How bizarre, I think I remember the bit you mean from the E3 trailer as well, but that's so weird. That's literally someone making a mountain out of a Molehill. That's a really interesting point you make about how Kojima would actually have handled turning a main character into a racist. It'd be interesting because, for all that I criticise him, he does often make his villains or main characters fairly three dimensional characters, and even in the case of some villains like Solidus for example, there are still a few redeeming qualities to them - or at least elements of them where you can somewhat understand their motivations - that's what made The Boss so compelling. Making a racist character pretty much means you can only look at them one way, it's hard to really see them any other way than being a bit disgusting and wrong. I'm guilty myself of the crazy theory thing. So I had my own little crazy theory myself for a while regarding TPP - there was one child soldier in particular, that was very close to Eli - and I was sure that was going to turn out to be Vulcan Raven, they just seemed to be putting quite a substantial bit of prominence on him in a few areas, and it kept making me wonder if it was - even though in reality it made absolutely made no sense for him to be. 18 hours ago, Slava said: Of course, after the game came out, the theories didn't stop. People were convinced that Chapter 3 existed and were looking for any clues and hidden messages. The "Never be game over" subreddit was created, and that's where people went super wild. I don't use reddit, so I never visited that place. But I've seen some stuff, and to say I was impressed with what I saw would be an understatement. Even though It didn't lead into anything in the end. The fact that people were still looking for clues and hoping for continuation months and years later was the real phantom pain . I've read a few bits and pieces around those myself,some of those are really interesting I agree, some are taking it way more seriously than they probably should, but who am I to tell people how to use their time - and I'm kind of glad some of what was cut,was cut in the end. I know I would have seen that,and just looked at it completely blankly and just thought..... Really? Really? That's where you're going with this - Okay guys you keep drinking your lovely LSD laced Lemonade and I'll go and play something else, that won't make me throw up my arms and go WHYYYYYYY. 18 hours ago, Slava said: But to go back to the pre-release materials. There were many trailers. My favourite ones were the E3 2014 one with the song "Nuclear" (what a banger BTW, it's hard to not sing along, or at least want to listen to it again) and the launch trailer that featured scenes from all mainline MGS games. There were also big gameplay presentations for The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online, I watched those too. But also watched a few episodes of Kojima Station. Who remembers that one? It was a weekly (?) stream from Kojima Productions, where Hideo himself and his co-host would talk about their games, reveal some small bits of info, showcase fan art, and do some random stuff. Kojima even made some top 10 movie lists with his friend and colleague whose name I don't remember. You didn't have to know Japanese to understand those at least, because they were showing the footage and posters. No other game has got me as hyped since then. The Death Stranding trailers were cool and weird, and there were some interesting thing like the synchronicity of the two first trailers when you played them at the same time, but it's wasn't the same anymore. Obviously, it's not as exciting as the final part of a 25+ year old saga you've grown so attached to, but still. Kojima Station sounds like something I wouldn't have got much fun out of - at least you did though. I like the fact they showcased fan art and stuff though - that's nice, it's nice to have stuff like that given a spotlight for people to see. I'm surprised Kojima did top 10 movie lists, and not a weekly "here's another top ten reasons why I don't want to use David Hayter anymore, and feel like it's fine to treat loyal and good voice actors as disposable" - sorry that one still doesn't quite sit right with me, for however much I like Sutherland as Snake, David Hayter deserved better than to be treated like that - and I'd say the same about anyone who got treated like that - Hayter won't have been the first and he won't be the last. Heck,even Bandai Namco, were being tightwads a few years ago when they didn't ask Troy Baker to reprise his role for Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, as they thought he would ask too much dollary-doo's.- they didn't even ask him,and apparently he was more than willing to do it, as he really enjoyed that role. Things like that can be real head scratchers sometimes. I have had a similar amount of hype since then, but only once - specifically for NieR Automata, which was a game I never expected to happen - I didn't ever think NieR would get a sequel, so I was equal parts excited and apprehensive, that they wouldn't quite do it justice (thankfully they did,) but no, it's hard to get as hyped about anything the way, everyone seemed to be around TPP.... .......Did you truly think MGSV was going to be the end? I never did, to be honest - in the same way I don't think Rise of Skywalker is the final film in The Skywalker Saga - I see it as " it's the end, until someone decides otherwise." I haven't played Death Stranding yet, but I probably should. As if it wasn't obvious unlike some MGS fans I don't have a huge amount of undying loyalty and passion towards Kojima, in fact I definitely don't - so I never got that excited for Death Stranding. I get that's a me problem - some creators can just sell a product by having their name attached to it, and the opposite happened with me for Death Stranding. Edited October 26, 2021 by rjkclarke 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadly_Ha_Ha Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Lol, I didn't mean Lovers sorry, I meant just like a co-op game - any co-op game 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted October 26, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) A Point-and-Clicky New Platinum Platinum #333 Thimbleweed Park (PS4) Player of the Year Collect all trophies. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 26 October 2021: 3:08:26 AM Time Taken to Platinum : 2 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes Platinum Rarity - 37.61% Trophy Number - #16,034 To call Thimbleweed Park a love letter to the point-and-click genre, would essentially be doing it a disservice. That isn’t a knock on the game in the slightest – to be perfectly honest; it is far more than that. Thimbleweed Park is less of a love letter but more a lovingly crafted and beautiful poetry anthology of all of the elements that made people fall in love with this genre to begin with. If I were to create a Mount Rushmore of some of the greatest minds to ever apply their craft to this genre – then mine would consist of: Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island,) Tim Schafer (Day of the Tentacle/Broken Age,) Roberta Williams (Kings Quest) and Charles Cecil (Broken Sword). Ron Gilbert proves with this game, that he hasn’t lost a step, and can still create an interesting take on one of gaming’s oldest genres, loosely inspired by both Twin Peaks and The X-Files. Not only that, he managed to weave an incredibly interesting metatextual commentary about the genre itself into the games plot, which I thought was a fascinating direction to go in. Thimbleweed Park started its life as a successful Kickstarter campaign – envisioned as “a newly unearthed” LucasArts (hilariously referred to as MucusPhlegm within the game,) adventure game. The idea behind this was to imbibe the feeling of playing a game straight from 1987, something which I believe this game absolutely achieves. Therein unfortunately lies part of the problem, you’re immediately limiting your audience, to those likely to already have a vested interested in a game of that ilk. Here’s my problem, I’m one of those people I made reference to just now, and as such I absolutely loved this game, almost everything about it in fact - but I’d struggle to recommend it to anyone not at least interested in the genre, because for a game released in 2017 it does, as was the intention, play like something that’s thirty years old. With that also comes a lot of the cumbersome and unwieldy gameplay that can be associated with that, but we’ll get to that. I don’t think I’ve ever played a crowd funded game that did as good a job as Thimbleweed Park does with making the Kickstarter backers feel like an integrated part of the experience. So much so in fact, that I’m genuinely a little bit annoyed at myself that I never backed this. There’s an expansive library in one of the areas in the game, and its filled little short written pieces written by some of the games backers, that range from hilarious, incredibly interesting and absolutely filled with Easter Eggs. The best one I think I encountered was one from Ron Gilbert himself – where he literally Rick-Rolled me, I saw the title of the book, and as any self respecting Monkey Island fan that sees a book titled The True Secret of Monkey Island would, I opened it. Only to find that inside were the lyrics to Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, which absolutely cracked me up. Some of the Kickstarter backers also recorded voice messages that you can access via the games telephone book, which also range from hilarious, to plain bizarre. I thought it was a lovely way of acknowledging their contribution, without even feeling like a forced inclusion. Just like everything else in Thimbleweed Park, the intention is to reflect a game from 1987, something that is managed to an incredibly sharp degree in the visual department. If the intention really was for the game to feel like a lost LucasArts game, then they managed this to a startlingly accurate degree. Containing absolutely gorgeous pixel-art and character models with ever so slightly wrong proportions. The locations are so evocative of a game from that era, as is the use of colour, to really bring certain objects to your attention; it’s an area of the game that feels so authentic. The sound design less so – and I can see why, I think - had they gone fully in the direction of recreating a game from that era, then the audio quality probably should have reflected that, but if it did, I think people would react negatively and question why it was so muffled and difficult to understand. It’s not really a criticism, more of a necessity so I understand the decision. Thimbleweed Park gives us incredibly crisp and satisfying sound effects, with a lot of attention to detail paid to them. The soundtrack itself is of a very high quality too – I always think it says a lot about a games soundtrack if it can contain looped audio, yet still not be annoying or intrusive. A touch I particularly enjoyed was that when you pause the game, elevator music plays, which gave me a smile when I first heard it. The voice acting is of a decent quality too – admittedly a little bit variable, but nothing is stand out bad. I thought Ransome The Jerk Clown was a particular highlight. Imagine Daxter from Jak and Daxter, but with his obnoxious levels turned up to eleven, and that’s Ransome – he’s a great inclusion, and some of his cynical quips and sarcasm really gave me a chuckle on occasion. Thimbleweed Park’s gameplay is exactly what you’d expect – you point at items and you click on them, and interact with them. Alright, alright – so admittedly it’s much more complex than that, and those who are more used to modern point-and-click titles, might be surprised to find that in this title you have to manually select the verbs to use each individual one. It’s something that does admittedly take a while to get used to, but once you do, it won’t feel cumbersome anymore. I was pleasantly surprised by the absolutely slick loading times, I wouldn’t be spouting hyperbole either by saying that it loads in a flash. I’d say this game probably has the most in common with a title like Day of the Tentacle. Both titles have multiple characters (five in this games case,) and each one has their own branch of story, that can be followed to its conclusion. A slight criticism is that all the characters except one all have the ability to do the same things, I would have liked there to have been a few context sensitive things that only certain characters can do, as it would have forced you to think outside the box even more. Speaking of difficulty, it also contains two distinctly different difficulty settings. Now, full disclosure here – I was going to write this review after doing the hard mode playthrough, as I thought there wouldn’t be any significant difference between the two. Now that I’ve done both, I’m glad I didn’t. The difference between the two is almost astronomical. To put into perspective I spent probably six or seven hours on my hard mode playthrough (admittedly a good chunk of that was getting the voicemail trophy,) yet, the casual playthrough took just under two hours. There were so many puzzles cut out completely from that playthrough – it’s comparable to the two difficulties in The Curse of Monkey Island, where you can miss so much by playing on a lower difficulty. On future playthroughs I will be playing it on hard mode, and I think this is definitively the best way to experience the game, I loved the fact that I was having to get a pen and paper out, and physically write things down to figure out some of the puzzle solutions (some of which are randomised each playthrough,) it’s a feeling I haven’t had whilst playing a game like this for a while – and it really is effective in giving you that feeling of independent puzzle solving. The journey towards the platinum in Thimbleweed Park is a pretty simple one, you have to play through the game twice, as the difficulties don’t stack, do various miscellaneous trophies which can be really funny, so none of them really feel like a chore, and collectibles, seventy-five of them to be specific. They are at least interesting; you have to collect seventy-five specks of dust, which are tiny grey pixels that can be found in any part of a given screen. If you wanted to, you can just save before picking one up, pick it up and reload it the amount of times needed for the trophy late into the game if you feel you’re running short. You also have to do an entirely separate playthrough without ever picking up a single speck of dust, but you can essentially do a speedrun on casual very quickly, as it is staggering seeing how much of the puzzles actually got removed from that mode. I’m genuinely having a hard time recommending this one, despite the fact I think the game is a tremendously good video game – the thing is, I looked at plenty of review scores, and there’s an overwhelming amount of praise for it, praise that I agree with – I think this game is incredible for what it is, but it has almost no universal appeal for anyone that might be interested in trying out a game like this, because it feels so anachronistic to actually play. Which was the intention, to feel like a game from 1987, but as I alluded to earlier, that’s only going to attract a certain calibre of individual who would be predisposed to liking something like this anyway. So – in short, I’d say if you’re a fan of the genre, and you’re looking to try something that you haven’t played before, then try it out, you’ll almost certainly have a good time, and love picking out all the tiny obscure references that the game throws out so often, like the scratched initials by a love heart in the elevator panel of “G Heart E” which I suspect was definitely meant to be Guybrush loves Elaine. It’s the small things like that, that make you smile, and reminds you exactly why you decided to play a game like this in the first place. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I really enjoyed that game - probably quite helpful that I played a very old school style point-and-click game before writing a Classic Review on The Secret of Monkey Island soon. Anyone that's interested in average rarity % (I'm not especially) but I thought I'd post this anyway, I randomly checked it the other day for the first time in a while,and I was pleasantly surprised to see it had dropped below 40% again, so that's kind of interesting I guess. Doubt it'll stay that way Although - as you can see on the stats section, it was fairly late when I earned that platinum - I've got a horrendous cold at the moment, and I've been sleeping really badly for about a week at least - so as usual when insomnia hits, I tend to get some gaming time in. It's a nice little bonus that there's orange in the thumbnail so it's another little mini drop-kick to Cancer with that one. I think I might have to boot up Cat Quest II soon and get that played. Catch you all in the next one! Edited February 2, 2022 by rjkclarke 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: A Point-and-Clicky New Platinum Platinum #333 Thimbleweed Park (PS4) Crackin' review mate - man, you are seriously cranking these out! I'm slacking completely at the moment - as a result of my kid being off school for the holidays, I've entered that terrible holding pattern where I'm finishing games faster than I'm getting my write-ups done (stupid God of War taking forever to write!) May need to just do a half a batch just to keep up with you! 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: To call Thimbleweed Park a love letter to the point-and-click genre, would essentially be doing it a disservice. That isn’t a knock on the game in the slightest – to be perfectly honest; it is far more than that. Thimbleweed Park is less of a love letter but more of a lovingly crafted and beautiful poetry anthology of all of the elements that made people fall in love with this genre to begin with. I actually knew about Thimbleweed park, in passing but I somehow missed that it isn't a love letter to Ron Gilbert et. al., but is actually made by Gilbert! aaaaaaaand... on it goes, to the neverending wish-list ? 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: If I were to create a Mount Rushmore of some of the greatest minds to ever apply their craft to this genre – then mine would consist of: Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island,) Tim Schafer (Day of the Tentacle/Broken Age,) Roberta Williams (Kings Quest) and Cecil Parker (Broken Sword). Ron Gilbert proves with this game, that he hasn’t lost a step, and can still create an interesting take on one of gaming’s oldest genres, loosely inspired by both Twin Peaks and The X-Files. Not only that, he managed to weave an incredibly interesting metatextual commentary about the genre itself into the games plot, which I thought was a fascinating direction to go in. I'm assuming you meant to say Charles Cecil (of Broken Sword), and not Cecil Parker (actor from the Ladykillers?) ? Regardless, I like this idea: (see - let it never be said that I let the important things I have to do get in the way of the unimportant things...) ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baker Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Nice review. And this is why I like browsing through the checklist section: A Point & Click game I hadn’t heard of before. That game looks like something I would really enjoy. Added it to my wishlist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Crackin' review mate - man, you are seriously cranking these out! I'm slacking completely at the moment - as a result of my kid being off school for the holidays, I've entered that terrible holding pattern where I'm finishing games faster than I'm getting my write-ups done (stupid God of War taking forever to write!) May need to just do a half a batch just to keep up with you! Thanks man... I'm trying - although if I sleep as erratically as I have been, then it won't be too long before I look like the blokie from Life of Brian who lives in a hole naked and only eats Juniper berries. ? That's a good point - a youngling being around would definitely make it a bit tougher to sit down and write something without a few distractions I guess. I suppose there is a danger, that, at that rate you'd have as many bonus games in a batch as the five randomly selected ones right? I'm looking forward to reading what you thought of Crack in Time though - especially as I sort of poked you into playing it with a sharp stick ? You know - we'd both make this much easier on ourselves if the two of us didn't write so much,wouldn't we..... Everything takes that much longer when you end up writing the amount we both do on occasion, so I totally get where you're coming from. 2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: I actually knew about Thimbleweed park, in passing but I somehow missed that it isn't a love letter to Ron Gilbert et. al., but is actually made by Gilbert! aaaaaaaand... on it goes, to the neverending wish-list That's what I like to hear! I wasn't actually too sure what exactly it was myself - in fact I didn't realise Gilbert made it myself until after I'd actually purchased it. ? I think you'd definitely have fun with it.... So I hope you do find your way to playing it at some point. 2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: 'm assuming you meant to say Charles Cecil (of Broken Sword), and not Cecil Parker (actor from the Ladykillers?) Regardless, I like this idea: (see - let it never be said that I let the important things I have to do get in the way of the unimportant things...) I don't know how that Cecil Parker thing slipped through, well I do actually, I watched more than one film with him in recently.The Ladykillers was one of them funnily enough (that old lady is awesome,) but I actually edited that out before you posted that comment - or I thought I did at least.... I noticed it after I re-read it to check for spelling and grammar errors, as I always miss a few......... I saw it and was like,OOOPS - THAT'S THE WRONG CECIL GROMIT Yes!! That'd be my Mount Clickmore that's for sure..... I love that - I'd say that was a productive use of time. 1 hour ago, Baker said: Nice review. And this is why I like browsing through the checklist section: A Point & Click game I hadn’t heard of before. That game looks like something I would really enjoy. Added it to my wishlist. Thanks Baker - I appreciate that. Especially as that's one of the things I like most about rummaging through the checklist section too - you always find games that on paper you'd think you would have heard of, but they somehow slip past you,until you read about them and think " oh yeah, I might like that one." I hope you like it, if you get around to it - I had such a good time with it, it's really cleverly done, in that it doesn't drown itself in nostalgia - it loves its own history, sure. Yet, it doesn't get in the way of telling a great story, and having some really interesting puzzles, the sort of really odd out of the box thinking you'd expect from a game like this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlutoRico Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Your reviews are always on point, another inspiring aspect of your checklist. Keep up the good work my friend ? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 On 10/24/2021 at 7:32 PM, rjkclarke said: It's funny you mention MGS2 because I'd say its probably one of the few times where Kojima's insane ambition and somewhat flimsily working "high concept" story telling actually does sort of make sense..... It doesn't exactly seem to be a fan favourite entry in the series, but it is pretty clever, I don't think some of the metatextual commentary works as well as he thinks it does, but I guess I can appreciate what was being attempted. I didn't necessarily mean it as a bad thing, rather that it was our first real introduction to how weird Kojima could get. MGS had some far fetched shit goin on to be sure, but here your whole experience with the game itself was falling apart. I thought it was very clever too, in fact it blew me away the first time I played it, but after a few replays it almost started to feel as if the concept was deliberately set up to give himself license to get truly bizarre, rather than the story itself organically yielding the freakishness (like the time compression in FF8, for example). It worked there, but it didn't signal future sustainability, if that makes sense. On 10/24/2021 at 7:32 PM, rjkclarke said: That San Andreas comparison you made is a little too accurate - you remember the mission where you have to go pick up Maccer and Kent Paul from the desert (man the dialogue is hilarious in that one)? Well there's big chunks of the Africa missions in Phantom Pain, that have a similarly long trek through a desert to actually get near the mission marker, and I just think, why make it so big? I still hope you play it at some point - there's a lot of fun to be had with it.... I honestly thought the gameplay alone makes it completely worthwhile. It's a shame the only other Metal Gear game that runs off of the Fox engine - is that massive tyre fire Metal Gear Survive - which I'd have to be in some mad fugue state to ever play that game. They might have been less mean spirited that's true - but Ring Of Fire/King's Cup over here - we never (at least with anyone I've ever played it with,) used to call the Kings Cup the Kings Cup - it used to just be called "the dirty pint" so I guess people went for anything goes in that type of thing - I've had one that had ketchup, hot sauce, wine, beer and a jack and coke in before - I think maybe one other thing too. GROSS. There's one scene in particular where Danny Devito particularly looks like a really hairy toddler - it's near the bit where all the - erm, "lovely ladies" come in, and he goes walking down the hallway and he just looks likes a really hairy child - it's so unsettling, even more than some of Christopher Lloyds expressions in that film. You saying that almost makes me want to watch Amadeus, then I remember how long it is. I LOVED that dialogue! Again, it's like they knew it could be quite a task to cover that much ground in a mission, so they did their best to make it as entertaining as possible. Maybe if MGSV had a pair of foul mouthed Brits following you around for those segments, the enjoyment factor would've been bumped up a notch! I do plan on playing it at some point. It's not a dirty pint with ketchup and hot sauce after all? Danny Devito's turn as a hairy toddler was precisely what I was referring to when I called the ending brutal? I did love Christopher Loyd's expressions, my favorites being when he discovers the lit cigarette in his pant leg and his strange salute to the chief at the end. Amadeus is long, but I dunno, I've always loved that one. Sidenote: when watching movies in eras such as these, I'll occasionally remember the fact that it's taking place before the modern age of hygiene and sanitation. I'll be so swept up in the majesty of the architecture and clothing, then think "yeah but it probably reeks of shit." Also... I'd skip the Leo/bear sextape if I were you. It starts out good but Leo gets seriously messed up. 14 hours ago, rjkclarke said: A Point-and-Clicky New Platinum Platinum #333 Thimbleweed Park (PS4) 8 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Crackin' review mate - man, you are seriously cranking these out! He's right, you are in the zone as of late - and we are reaping all the benefits! I'm sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well, and hope you're on the mend sooner than later. As for the game, I've never been much for point and click games, but you just make it sound so charming. I wasn't much for puzzle games either, but the good Doctor got me playing The Witness, and in spite of feeling like my brain is being put through a shredder, I'm very much enjoying it! All that to say that avoiding the "I don't play _____ games" mindset has always served me well, and perhaps I'll give this one a shot? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, PlutoRico said: Your reviews are always on point, another inspiring aspect of your checklist. Keep up the good work my friend Thanks Pluto - I really do appreciate that, I'll try my best. I'm out of rep points, at the moment - but once I have some again - I'll make sure to throw some your way on that post. 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I didn't necessarily mean it as a bad thing, rather that it was our first real introduction to how weird Kojima could get. MGS had some far fetched shit goin on to be sure, but here your whole experience with the game itself was falling apart. I thought it was very clever too, in fact it blew me away the first time I played it, but after a few replays it almost started to feel as if the concept was deliberately set up to give himself license to get truly bizarre, rather than the story itself organically yielding the freakishness (like the time compression in FF8, for example). It worked there, but it didn't signal future sustainability, if that makes sense. That's true, you're right .... For what it's worth I really like MGS2 - it'd be pretty high up my own personal preference rankings in the series - there's so many things about it that I remember exceptionally vividly and some of my friends still throw Fission Mailed into texts or messages when one of us has monumentally screwed something up. That does make perfect sense actually. I'd never thought about it like that - that Kojima would do it so he could creatively give himself an out, for when he truly started to go in an unusual direction. Y'know like having a character that fires projectile bees, instead of just a fat man on rollerskates - which isn't that uncommon, heck, you can drive about twelve miles down the road from me, and see a load of tubbo's skating around on the rollerskating hall thing. It'd be way harder to find someone that'd fire bees at you. ? 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I LOVED that dialogue! Again, it's like they knew it could be quite a task to cover that much ground in a mission, so they did their best to make it as entertaining as possible. Maybe if MGSV had a pair of foul mouthed Brits following you around for those segments, the enjoyment factor would've been bumped up a notch! I do plan on playing it at some point. It's not a dirty pint with ketchup and hot sauce after all Me too man! It's genuinely cracked me up every time that I've played that game..... I'll be honest though - I equally would have loved it if Ocelot or Kaz had been on the radio talking about "sausage tits" like Maccer does. In between what seems like an eternity riding a horse or driving to your destination. Would at least have given it a little more character. Shaun Ryder - the dude that plays Maccer is just unintentionally hilarious anyway, and intentionally too I think. I remember listening to a radio show, and he was one of the guest callers, and for some reason they were asking about if they had to have it off with an animal what would it be..... To which he hesitates for a minute then says ".........Erm, what kind of animil would I shag?........ Oh I don't know Russell I'd probably F*ck a cabbage, me"......... That's not a typo either, he pronounced it animil, and everything. Then another time, he went on like a morning TV show - I guess you'd call it our equivalent of Good Morning America, or something like that - and he addressed the rumours that he'd been ill - because he just showed up publicly completely bald, no eyebrows or anything. He informed them that he'd got alopecia - and that " I dunno what 'appened,I just woke up and it were all gone" Also, funny fact if you didn't know - the guy that plays Kent Paul is one of our biggest Soap Opera stars over here. 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Danny Devito's turn as a hairy toddler was precisely what I was referring to when I called the ending brutal I did love Christopher Loyd's expressions, my favorites being when he discovers the lit cigarette in his pant leg and his strange salute to the chief at the end. Amadeus is long, but I dunno, I've always loved that one. Sidenote: when watching movies in eras such as these, I'll occasionally remember the fact that it's taking place before the modern age of hygiene and sanitation. I'll be so swept up in the majesty of the architecture and clothing, then think "yeah but it probably reeks of shit." Well Carla from Cheers found something appealing about that hairy toddler - so I guess there's someone for everyone right? Christopher Lloyd is really great in that film - I agree, I love those moments too, my favourite one, is a more unsettling one, it's the weird look on his face when Nurse Ratched is being strangled, as he keeps just bobbing his head back and forth, in a really intense way.... It's really unsettling, but it's a hell of a good bit of acting,and it's always stuck out for me for some reason. 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Amadeus is long, but I dunno, I've always loved that one. Sidenote: when watching movies in eras such as these, I'll occasionally remember the fact that it's taking place before the modern age of hygiene and sanitation. I'll be so swept up in the majesty of the architecture and clothing, then think "yeah but it probably reeks of shit." Also... I'd skip the Leo/bear sextape if I were you. It starts out good but Leo gets seriously messed up. Until you said that - I'd never once even considered that whilst watching a film like Amadeus, but thinking about it, you're absolutely right. I guess I just kind of get swept up in everything, without thinking about how everything would probably smell like a farmyard. I kind of get a bit bummed out when I watch Amadeus, when I see how good Tom Hulce is in that film - I always think, why weren't you a much bigger star? He's a hell of a good actor - he's got a lot of depth to his voice as well, so he could of done a lot, it looks Theatre was more his thing though, so he probably has enjoyed a great career and everything, I'd just like to have seen him on screen more. I feel similarly about David Hyde Pierce, that dude is a tremendous actor, and he steals almost every single scene he's in in Frasier, well the ones that don't have John Mahoney in them anyway. I really think Leo and The Bear probably should have set up a safe word or something ..... That didn't end too well for him. 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: He's right, you are in the zone as of late - and we are reaping all the benefits! I'm sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well, and hope you're on the mend sooner than later. As for the game, I've never been much for point and click games, but you just make it sound so charming. I wasn't much for puzzle games either, but the good Doctor got me playing The Witness, and in spite of feeling like my brain is being put through a shredder, I'm very much enjoying it! All that to say that avoiding the "I don't play _____ games" mindset has always served me well, and perhaps I'll give this one a shot Thanks dude - I really appreciate the positivity you're throwing my way, as always. I still need to play The Witness - that's a definite huge gap that I need to fill at some point, so I'm really pleased to hear you're having a great time with it. It'd be cool if you did play Thimbleweed Park, I'd love it if you had a good time with, because it deserves a lot of love I think.... I mean I have loved point-and-click games for about twenty-five years now, so I was always probably going to like it........ it'll just feel like playing something from when the games set (in 1987) as I mentioned, and it does feel slow and a little clunky, and they know it too, because they reference that in the game, but that was all part of the charm for me. If you're ever on the fence about it ever, I could probably think of one or two that's a little more recent, that might be a bit more user friendly to dip your toes in with. Edited October 26, 2021 by rjkclarke 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 15 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: For what it's worth I really like MGS2 - it'd be pretty high up my own personal preference rankings in the series - there's so many things about it that I remember exceptionally vividly and some of my friends still throw Fission Mailed into texts or messages when one of us has monumentally screwed something up. Oh, MGS2 is a spectacular game, I love it too. I just always felt that Kojima unintentionally (for lack of a better word) produced such a masterwork with MGS that he either felt immense pressure to top it or was so convinced of his genius that he felt that any wacky idea he had was utterly brilliant, which resulted in the series going off the rails so often. This is just my impression, of course - sadly, Kojima was unavailable for comment. I love that you and your friends have so many gaming inside jokes.. feels like I've got only a handful! When I get back into FFIX relatively soon, if I message you Fission Mailed, it will be because I messed up at 998 jumps or something like that? 24 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: I'd never thought about it like that - that Kojima would do it so he could creatively give himself an out, for when he truly started to go in an unusual direction. Y'know like having a character that fires projectile bees, instead of just a fat man on rollerskates - which isn't that uncommon, heck, you can drive about twelve miles down the road from me, and see a load of tubbo's skating around on the rollerskating hall thing. It'd be way harder to find someone that'd fire bees at you. Bruh I forgot all about Fat Man and his roller skates? I'm probably misremembering this (in fact I'm sure of it), but the music for his boss fight almost felt like something out of the Ninja Turtle arcade game. As for The Pain, well.. that was that moment in 3 where it was like "whelp, looks like we're goin batshit again!" Maybe there's a fat rollerskater who belches bees, but he doesn't mean to, it's just something he can't help. And the pandemic has been particularly hard on him, because on occasion he'll belch in his mask and the bees will come out and he'll be like "NOT THE BEES!! AAAHHHH!!!!" 38 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Shaun Ryder - the dude that plays Maccer is just unintentionally hilarious anyway, and intentionally too I think. I remember listening to a radio show, and he was one of the guest callers, and for some reason they were asking about if they had to have it off with an animal what would it be..... To which he hesitates for a minute then says ".........Erm, what kind of animil would I shag?........ Oh I don't know Russell I'd probably F*ck a cabbage, me"......... That's not a typo either, he pronounced it animil, and everything. Then another time, he went on like a morning TV show - I guess you'd call it our equivalent of Good Morning America, or something like that - and he addressed the rumours that he'd been ill - because he just showed up publicly completely bald, no eyebrows or anything. He informed them that he'd got alopecia - and that " I dunno what 'appened,I just woke up and it were all gone" Also, funny fact if you didn't know - the guy that plays Kent Paul is one of our biggest Soap Opera stars over here. That's great, I love all of this! The cabbage animil is fantastic, and I now know the correct answer should anybody ever ask me this question! That's a trip.. I suddenly like him so much more now. Love the idea of a big soap star bein like "unruly video game character? Sure, why not?" Fuck, I'm excited to get to them in San Andreas! 44 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Well Carla from Cheers found something appealing about that hairy toddler - so I guess there's someone for everyone right? Christopher Lloyd is really great in that film - I agree, I love those moments too, my favourite one, is a more unsettling one, it's the weird look on his face when Nurse Ratched is being strangled, as he keeps just bobbing his head back and forth, in a really intense way.... It's really unsettling, but it's a hell of a good bit of acting,and it's always stuck out for me for some reason. Until you said that - I'd never once even considered that whilst watching a film like Amadeus, but thinking about it, you're absolutely right. I guess I just kind of get swept up in everything, without thinking about how everything would probably smell like a farmyard. I kind of get a bit bummed out when I watch Amadeus, when I see how good Tom Hulce is in that film - I always think, why weren't you a much bigger star? He's a hell of a good actor - he's got a lot of depth to his voice as well, so he could of done a lot, it looks Theatre was more his thing though, so he probably has enjoyed a great career and everything, I'd just like to have seen him on screen more. I feel similarly about David Hyde Pierce, that dude is a tremendous actor, and he steals almost every single scene he's in in Frasier, well the ones that don't have John Mahoney in them anyway. I remember them being the parents in the film adaptation of Matilda and they were perhaps a little too perfect for their roles! They have a strange pleasantly ugly cuteness to them that's tremendously difficult to describe without being insulting! YES! He does such a good job of being just off enough and only in certain moments so as to not oversell. I'll always have a soft spot for Doc Bro- ...I mean Judge Doo- ...I mean Christopher Lloyd! Crap, I hope you don't end up thinking that now! I assumed you already did as well. Oh well. Comment backfired, fission mailed? Tom Hulce was excellent, I'd always wonder the same thing. Especially to hold his own against F. Murray Abraham's performance. Even now that he's pushing seventy, Hulce still has those kindly twinkling eyes, which kinda make him look like Santa Claus! David Hyde Pierce is an excellent example too, a shame he didn't seem to have any interest in pursuing more work in that vein. You nailed it with John Mahoney, man.. Frasier was such a stellar ensemble cast looking back on it! 1 hour ago, rjkclarke said: It'd be cool if you did play Thimbleweed Park, I'd love it if you had a good time with, because it deserves a lot of love I think.... I mean I have loved point-and-click games for about twenty-five years now, so I was always probably going to like it........ it'll just feel like playing something from when the games set (in 1987) as I mentioned, and it does feel slow and a little clunky, and they know it too, because they reference that in the game, but that was all part of the charm for me. If you're ever on the fence about it ever, I could probably think of one or two that's a little more recent, that might be a bit more user friendly to dip your toes in with. I definitely plan on watching a trailer or some gameplay videos in the very least. I saw you playin that on my PS4 updates and was like "heyy, another new one!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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