Smevin's Regular, Every Day, Normal Ass Gamer Attempts at Trophy Hunting

[DrBloodmoney]

10 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Platinum #56: UnMetal

 

While I love a good spoof as much as the next person, I'll also quickly admit that it's an extremely easy thing to fumble. For every Airplane! or Don't Be a Menace, there are countless Disaster/Epic/Date Movie type deals that are utter garbage and make the genre as a whole that much harder to sell to somebody, and it was for this very reason that I initially balked at the idea of trying out UnMetal.

 

As a big fan of a good spoof (and, like you, an enemy of the terrible ones!) I wholeheartedly recommend you check out McGruber if you haven't! Based on what UnMetal seems to be, I think it will be right up your alley... I'd rank it right up there in spoof terms with The Naked Gun / Top Secret! / Hot Shots! / Don't Be A Menace.... and it seems to be aping the exact same things that UnMetal is!

 

(Also, not for nothing, while I totally agree that almost every one of those "X Movie" parodies are beyond woeful... I must admit, I do still have an odd soft spot for the first one - Not Another Teen Movie...?

Might just be my personal soft spot for teem romantic comedies... but I maintain there are actually more good jokes than bad ones in there... and it definitely showed off a very young Chris Evan's comedy timing to a tee!

 

 

10 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

The macho voice, the tough guy jokes, not to mention that at the time I was still in the process of converting to Team 16-Bit. Didn't think about it much until I saw it in a recent sale and gave the trailer another watch... and this time, I really got what they were going for, and found myself unexpectedly excited to play it!

 

Before going further, I should point out that "they" is barely applicable. UnMetal's developer is so small, its name is in the developer's actual Twitter handle - @UnEpic_Fran. In fact, that's the developer name listed here on PSNProfiles! All I've been able to gather is that this is the work of one Francisco Téllez de Meneses, a Barcelona-based game developer who merely collaborates with others, naming his company UnEpic after the first game he made back in 2011.

 

This game has 84 credits - Téllez de Meneses created it, another guy did graphics, and two others handled the music and sound effects. The remaining 79 consist of the different language voice casts, translators, the publisher's team, and testers. Makes me wish I'd paid full price, as I enjoyed this game immensely!

 

You play as Jesse Fox, a civilian convicted of a crime he didn't commit and held in a military base. In the midst of a daring escape, he finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plot where he has no choice but to align himself with a captured Colonel and photographer to take down the baddies and end the threat to the world as we know it.

 

UnMetal is very obviously modeled after the NES Metal Gear games and lovingly parodies not only the franchise as a whole, but this genre (it's a jawn-rah) altogether. Gags about unrealistic things in games are far from new of course, but there's a specificity here, as well as actually being surprisingly funny more often than not, that creates way more hits than misses. Overall, the writing is sharp enough to keep the format afloat, when in lesser hands it could get stale quite quickly!

 

We progress as Fox is telling his story, which gives a few options here and there. There will be moments where he pauses to remember a detail, and it's on you to pick - this is introduced very early in the game. UnMetal does use this to troll the gamer at times though - sometimes if you choose something that sounds easier, it will backfire in ridiculous fashion.

 

As well as the game-oriented humor is nailed here, thankfully it isn't strictly gamer-based (lest it become reminiscent of a sprite webcomic or something) and is wisely rounded out. There's a healthy helping of Hot Shots/Naked Gun type humor, with absurd logic and bumbling heroes leading the charge. Creating chloroform by combining the (widely well known) chemicals Chloro and Form in an Erlenmeyer flask, the hair-brained enemies (one of which even forgets his lines), our protagonist generally not being able to put two and two together and keep up with the player, that kind of shit just takes me back to watching the aforementioned movies and dying of laughter at the dumbest things and loving it.

 

Damn.... I can't deny this one never really got a second look from me, but the parody angle couple with it being similar to original Metal Gear does have my interest piqued... as the last hold-out still maintaining that the best Metal Gear was the first one, I might be legally obligated to check UnMetal out! ?

 

10 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

THAT Trophy: YOU'RE A TOUGH GUY

 

UnMetal can be a fairly tricky game at times, and doing my first playthrough on Hard definitely gave me a lot of moments where I felt stumped for a bit, but they never lasted terribly long. Tough but fair, I guess you could say. Plus, the trophy list is fairly forgiving, so nothing else comes to mind! You're not required to do a death-free speed run or anything like that, and everything is fairly self-explanatory, so completing the game in Hard mode is by default the roughest of the bunch.

 

Congrats on the Plat, and nice write up m'dude! ?

[YaManSmevz]

2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

As a big fan of a good spoof (and, like you, an enemy of the terrible ones!) I wholeheartedly recommend you check out McGruber if you haven't! Based on what UnMetal seems to be, I think it will be right up your alley... I'd rank it right up there in spoof terms with The Naked Gun / Top Secret! / Hot Shots! / Don't Be A Menace.... and it seems to be aping the exact same things that UnMetal is!

 

Sold! You're yet to steer me wrong after all, but also I remember when I first got my hands those eight or so episodes of Police Squad! "Sergeant, take her away and book her!" "Ah yes, Sergeant Takeraway and Sergeant Booker." Also for some reason, Leslie Neilsen crashing his car into trash cans never got old???

 

Quote

(Also, not for nothing, while I totally agree that almost every one of those "X Movie" parodies are beyond woeful... I must admit, I do still have an odd soft spot for the first one - Not Another Teen Movie...?

Might just be my personal soft spot for teem romantic comedies... but I maintain there are actually more good jokes than bad ones in there... and it definitely showed off a very young Chris Evan's comedy timing to a tee!

 

Agreed pretty hard! I thought that and the first Scary Movie were the last ones of that ilk that I really enjoyed. I also thought it was funny that for the most part, the actors in Teen Movie were more attractive than those in the movies being parodied!

 

And of course an indignant Molly Ringwald cameo can only help?

 

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Damn.... I can't deny this one never really got a second look from me, but the parody angle couple with it being similar to original Metal Gear does have my interest piqued... as the last hold-out still maintaining that the best Metal Gear was the first one, I might be legally obligated to check UnMetal out! ?

 

 

Congrats on the Plat, and nice write up m'dude! ?

 

Thanks man! I remember you talking about not being a big fan of the franchise post-1990, this might could be a fun time for you! If you don't check it out though, don't worry... I ain't no snitch??

[DrBloodmoney]

23 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

Sold! You're yet to steer me wrong after all, but also I remember when I first got my hands those eight or so episodes of Police Squad! "Sergeant, take her away and book her!" "Ah yes, Sergeant Takeraway and Sergeant Booker." Also for some reason, Leslie Neilsen crashing his car into trash cans never got old???

 

? Man, those were so good.

 

"Thank you, you've been very helpful... we think we know how he did it."

"Oh, Howie couldn't have done it, he hasn't been in for weeks."

...

"Weeks?"

"Sol Weeks, he's the comptroller, Frank"

[realm722]

On 6/5/2022 at 5:58 PM, YaManSmevz said:

Platinum #56: UnMetal

 

UnMetal can be a fairly tricky game at times, and doing my first playthrough on Hard definitely gave me a lot of moments where I felt stumped for a bit, but they never lasted terribly long. Tough but fair, I guess you could say. Plus, the trophy list is fairly forgiving, so nothing else comes to mind! You're not required to do a death-free speed run or anything like that, and everything is fairly self-explanatory, so completing the game in Hard mode is by default the roughest of the bunch.

 

Yooo so glad I finally got around to reading this. Honestly, when I started reading your review I kept thinking to myself: "this sounds so much like one I've seen a YouTube video about it ages ago..." and then when you actually mentioned Metal Gear it clicked! SuperBunnyHop did a review of it back in December of last year. My only hesitance in terms of playing it is this - I've NEVER played a Metal Gear game (shh don't tell anyone), do you think the humor would still land and it's playable on its own or does having foreknowledge of those games play too much into the enjoyment you think? Aside from that, I'd also like to congratulate - cracking the Top 5 of the fastest achievers list is a huge feat even if it has a relatively smaller playerbase!

[YaManSmevz]

16 hours ago, realm722 said:

Yooo so glad I finally got around to reading this. Honestly, when I started reading your review I kept thinking to myself: "this sounds so much like one I've seen a YouTube video about it ages ago..." and then when you actually mentioned Metal Gear it clicked! SuperBunnyHop did a review of it back in December of last year.

 

Ayy thanks mah dude! I keep forgetting, so before typing this up I went to YouTube and subscribed real quick. You've mentioned this channel a few times now, I need to get with the program!

 

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My only hesitance in terms of playing it is this - I've NEVER ****** a *************** (shh don't tell anyone), do you think the humor would still land and it's playable on its own or does having foreknowledge of those games play too much into the enjoyment you think?

 

 

I definitely think it's still worth a go! It's like a good spoof movie in that while it does help to be familiar with the source material, it's not completely necessary as the jokes hold up on their own. It's just a funny game. I know you know your way around retro-styled games too, so I don't see why not!

 

Quote

Aside from that, I'd also like to congratulate - cracking the Top 5 of the fastest achievers list is a huge feat even if it has a relatively smaller playerbase!

 

Oh wow, dope! Thanks, man! You are sharp as a tack with that stuff. It is definitely a small playerbase, but I'm about that.

 

Well now you HAVE to play it, so you can try to rank higher! Sorry man, I don't make the rules, that's just how it is?

 

EDIT: Yeah, his review was better??? he got waayy more in depth with the cons, I feel like every other thing he said I was like "damn, wish I'd thought of that!"

Edited June 8, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[YaManSmevz]

Platinum #55: The Artful Escape

 

When the music hits, I feel no pain at all

 

You wouldn't know it to look at us now, but my wife and I had a rather subpar first date. Not unpleasant, and certainly not without potential, but everything just felt a touch off. A little awkward, and a strange combination of unsatisfying yet left wanting more. The second date, on the other hand, was spectacular, and we haven't looked back since.

 

I can now strangely say that I'm having a similar experience with Annapurna! Our first date was 12 Minutes, which was lacking but ultimately promising. Our second date? The Artful Escape. And I don't mind telling you, I had a damned good time. I think Annapurna and I are gonna make it after all!

 

The Artful Escape hit me on several different levels - firstly in how wildly creative it is. Permit me a trip down a pop culture rabbit hole right quick: do you remember the Doof Wagon from Mad Max: Fury Road? Just Imagine it on a flying sea turtle, brightly lit with psychedelic colors as the Eddie Van Halen guitar that terrified 1955 George McFly in Back to the Future wails away, heading off to impress a divine, female equivalent of the Cromulons from Rick and Morty. That's more or less what we're workin with here.

 

Just to get the basics out of the way - The Artful Escape is a simple platformer with multiple choice dialogue and is dominated by a Simon-esque mini game - this is how the guitar playing is largely done. You play as Francis Vendetti, an aspiring musician who has the misfortune of being a nephew of a folk singer with a level of fame that towers over Francis to such an extent that he feels obligated to follow in his exact footsteps - and while he too is passionate about music, he wants to try something different, and feels heavily pressured against doing so.

 

This game speaks very strongly to the feeling some of us can get, that we're not doing what we want to be doing. Maybe we feel tethered to a decision we made before that isn't panning out how we thought, maybe there's just a vague sense of something being wrong and that we're unsure how to fix it. This game also, more importantly I'd argue, speaks to the feeling of overcoming that unpleasant sensation.

 

When Francis leaves his sleepy Colorado town and finds himself in the universe's furthest reaches, he is both fascinated and terrified. When he learns he can't simply just go back home, he's initially wracked with anxiety and guilt, but he gradually allows himself to grow into who he has always seen himself as - the real him. There are several roadblocks along the way, of course - he still has to confront himself about a lot of things, like how he could not only be more honest with himself, but with the people in his life as well - but as they say, it's a journey. And the game gives us a front row seat to Francis' journey.

 

Lastly, as someone who's been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember, I can happily report that The Artful Escape nails expressing the transformative power of music. The music literally transforms Francis himself! It lights up the world as he makes his way through, oblivious to damn near everything but rocking out on his guitar. I mean, it ain't called The Artful Escape for nuffin! Most accurately, it didn't work until it was what he was truly feeling in his soul - it works, but it's not something you can fake your way through. It's just a really wonderful thing to see expressed so well.

 

This is one of those games that brings out my inner cornball. I don't normally go on about things like this, but it really got to me in many ways, all of them good. Would I recommend this game?

 

Fuck no, it's horrible.

 

Of course I would?
 

Stray Observations

 

- He's never gonna finish that song about the miners, is he? I love how unconvincing he is as a folk musician.

 

- I thought Caroline Kinley did a great job as Violetta. We're not talking Janina Gavankar's Lola from Afterparty or anything, but solid! It's not easy to convincingly play the indifferent-but-not-really cool girl without eventually feeling disingenuous, but she pulls it off with style.

 

- Speaking of the voice cast, Carl Weathers is outstanding as Lightman, who is initially our impressive, otherworldly mentor who gradually shows us that he too is just another flawed human. And props to Jason Schwartzman, who got so into his role as the wonderfully pompous Zomm that I couldn't even tell it was him!

 

- Where your name would be spoken, you instead get a quick, corny little guitar fill, and it somehow never gets old. "Wait a minute, are you ????????"

 

- There is a wonderfully surreal bit where you suddenly find yourself on a talk show, which is where some cracks start showing in your new persona. Again, mad creative presentation with honest storytelling. You just can't go wrong with that combo!

 

- Love when you get to put together your outfit. It's a mall on a ship in the sky, so pretty normal stuff. I took the androgynous punk rocker special, it was on clearance.

 

- I loved the douchey DJs towards the end. QUESTION NUMBER TEEEEEWWWWW!!!!

 

- FLYING SEA TURTLES WITH CRAZY NEON SHIT ON THEIR BACKS. This thing is so bright and vivid. Like the next time I get my hands on some psychedelics, this game might have to step in for Cuphead!

 

- Another ending so satisfying that you don't care how predictable it is.  The whole arc of this story would make a great childrens' movie, the animation is so loud and fun, and the message underneath is so inspiring. It's just great stuff y'all, I don't know what else to tell ya!

 

THAT Trophy: How'd You Get Up There?

 

Here we are again with a "hardest" trophy that would be by far the easiest in countless other games. At a certain point you have to make a well-timed jump off of a bouncing platform to end up on top of an arch. Seriously, that's it. And it's a gold trophy, no less!

 

....so yeah, go play some Artful Escape! I suspect you'll be glad you did.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Damn it, on to the wishlist this one goes!

[DrBloodmoney]

Dude - love it!

 

Man, The Artful Escape is something else - you’re totally right… the gameplay on paper is so basic it barely warrants a mention… but holy cow do they turn it into something bat-shit awesome, delightfully ridiculous and psychedelically inspiring!

 

I never though of this when playing:

 

47 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

The whole arc of this story would make a great childrens' movie, the animation is so loud and fun, and the message underneath is so inspiring.

  
…but you’re right on the money - the game manages to hit the level of something like the better Pixar movies in terms of world-building and story, and could totally work as a family movie!

 

Hell, edit out some of the gameplay and add a few cinematic sweeps around, and it’s most of the way there already!

Edited June 11, 2022 by DrBloodmoney

[YaManSmevz]

7 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Damn it, on to the wishlist this one goes!

 

It's a pretty quick one, you could easily finish this in a day. Great for in between more demanding plays!

 

7 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Dude - love it!

 

Man, The Artful Escape is something else - you’re totally right… the gameplay on paper is so basic it barely warrants a mention… but holy cow do they turn it into something bat-shit awesome, delightfully ridiculous and psychedelically inspiring!

 

Thank you, sir! Yeah, gameplay is not at all the main draw, but it's still serviceable enough to come along for the ride without being to the game's detriment. Plus the world is so tremendously fun to run and jump around in?

 

I have to give you credit for this one really, I wouldn't have known it existed if I hadn't read your write-up, so thank you, Doc?

[YaManSmevz]

Platinum #9: MediEvil

 

Sleep with one eye open

 

I've been meaning to get to this one for a while now, especially after one @rjkclarke wrote an outstanding review of this very same game (which if you haven't read yet I highly recommend doing so). I gotta lotta history with this fool, and it starts with this:

 

 

Interactive Sampler Disc #8, oh how I loved thee.

 

It was here that I first encountered MediEvil, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I've always been a sucker for anything Halloweeny, and this hit all the marks. It looked like something Tim Burton and Danny Elfman would put together, and I played that Graveyard level over and over and over. Much like the opening of Metal Gear Solid, but that's a story for another time!

 

A few years later a sequel came out, which I also liked. Looking at reviews, it was a touch inferior to the original - I remember it being just as good, but we're talkin about a 20+ year old memory, so who knows. In fact, when I finally played the remake, I had misremembered a few things and was expecting some stuff from the sequel to pop up here! As one of Leonard Shelby's tattoos says, memory is treachery.

 

When the remake was announced, it was a classic example of getting something I didn't know I wanted, and I scooped that shit up with the quickness - when I got my PS4 at the end of 2019, this was among the first games I bought.

 

So at long last, you may be asking: how is the remake, and what is MediEvil anyway, you self-indulgent weirdo?

 

Well first of all, rude.

 

Secondly, MediEvil is a hack and slash game starring Sir Daniel Fortesque, a man who was revered as a hero, but in reality was killed quite quickly by an arrow through the eye (Xiahou Dun he ain't) and had little to no contribution towards defeating the evil Zarok and saving the day. However, when Zarok pulls a Ganon and returns, Fortesque is revived, and he's given the chance to live up to his heroic status and prove once and for all that he's no fraud.

 

Fortesque may not be a scintillating sexpot skeleton like Manny Calavera, but he's still pretty easy to get behind. He isn't quite a silent protagonist - he's got this mush-mouthed delivery (seeing as he has no jaw, or tongue, or teeth... I mean he dead, bro) that always cracks me up, especially with how sassy he is. He's got legends in the Hall of Heroes talkin shit and he forces out a defiant "I'll show you!!" Gotta love it.

 

The remake looks spectacular - it's definitely got that primitive PS1 feel, but it's just so clean. Other Ocean Emeryville did a great job keeping it simple and subtle, faithful to the original with just a few boosts in the right places. The graphics are vivid and detailed. The controls are tightened nicely, and the woeful camera angles, while impractical to completely overhaul, are given a much needed tune-up. Everything plays as smoothly as you could possibly expect from a 98er but without sacrificing any of the original's charm - of all the buckets carried over to here from the original, not a drop was lost. I daresay this is exactly what you want when it comes to remaking a beloved classic!

 

And the charm is not nostalgia, my guy - that shit is real. The art direction alone really is fantastic. It embraces a playfully macabre style, nailing a perfect balance of creepy and comical. Like Nightmare Before Christmas but only in spirit. With a bit of polish, I really do think this could've made a great stop-motion short.

 

I remember when I first played the original game, there was this incredible anticipation to see what the levels I hadn't already played tons of times looked like, and it didn't disappoint. The level design is stupendously creative, with kid gloves-adorned versions of horror movie tropes like corn fields, dimly lit villages, mental asylums, and haunted ships, and the remake only enhances all of this.

 

The music is dope too, completely orchestrated by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and giving the soundtrack the richness it's always deserved. It makes it that much easier to immerse yourself in this old ass game!

 

The gameplay is.... it's okay. I acknowledge that anybody completely unfamiliar with the franchise (or PS1 gaming, for that matter) is definitely not gonna be dazzled with this department. Hell, I love this game, but I've played one too many Hitmans and Controls and am so spoiled by modern controls that even I was like "eh..." As polished as they were able to get the controls, there are still a few moments that can give you flashbacks to 90s platforming. It ain't always pretty!

 

The camera work is a huge offender too. The developers are kinda like doctors sadly saying "we did what we could," because there were clearly many spots where they had their hands tied. It's nothing too terrible, but you definitely notice it here and there.

 

All things considered, I really do think this is worth a try for the uninitiated. This thing has got macabre allure for days, it's got levels that are a blast to explore, it's easy to play and it doesn't ask a lot of you. I freely admit to being a bit biased, but MediEvil is a great time.

 

Stray Observations

 

- I always thought it funny that Zarok was such a foul villain, he left a trail of slime to indicate his whereabouts. So you're tellin me this dude can raise the dead, but he can't keep a handkerchief around?

 

- Again, while I love Fortesque's sass, I also really liked how many of the Hall of Heroes characters know the real deal and very sternly put him in his place with varying degrees of "WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS."

 

- Tremendously petty, but I always wished there was a chalice for that ant level. Every other time you need a chalice to get into the Hall of Heroes, but this time someone puts in a word for you instead. So they just decided to forget about their apparent chalice shortage because a Faerie said "this guy's okay, let him in?" I'm doin all the work here, why come they got more clout than I do?? The answer, of course, is "because it's a game, chill out." It's super silly, and something I shouldn't even have felt the need to write a pithy paragraph about, but here we are.

 

- So check this out - when the original came out in 1998, I was fifteen years old. A fifteen year old now was born nine years after Medievil came out. You know what was still big nine years before I was born? Pong. This means that the original Medievil today is almost as ancient to a modern fifteen year old as Pong felt to me when I was that age. Fuck me!

 

THAT Trophy: Soul Savior

 

MediEvil boasts a great trophy list. Nothing is hard enough to merit mention here really, but this one was the most interesting. The whole Lost Souls addition was a pretty good idea, and a nice way to get a lil more playing time without feeling like needless padding. The coolest thing about this is once you complete the challenges, you get to play the original MediEvil, in all its 90s glory.

 

You know when you see old TV shows or footage of old sporting events, and you think "Wow, that looks like shit! What's that from, the 70s?? ....wait, 2002? What the hell??" Well after fifteen hours of playing the more modern looking cleaned up version, I went to play the original, and what a rude awakening that was. The whole time I marveled at how it didn't look that different, how they probably didn't have much work to do when it came to making the game look more crisp and sleek... well, time played a nasty trick on me.

 

I was, as Biggie would say, dead wrong. I took one look at the original opening and was like "AAAHHHHH!!!!!!" and damn near leapt up and hid behind the couch. Don't ever let anybody tell you that games haven't come a long way??

Edited June 12, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[rjkclarke]

Damn dude! You've been on a real tear lately with these reviews... and they've all been awesome, obviously! I'll start with the most recent one first!

 

1 hour ago, YaManSmevz said:

Platinum #9: MediEvil

 

Sleep with one eye open

 

You know, this one is weird - because for the longest time I actually thought you'd reviewed this one already, it was only when I wrote my review and went to leave a link to yours that I realised you hadn't. So I basically created this weird false memory that I'd read your review of it, I think because you and I had talked about the game a whole lot before I actually played it.

 

Odd... Anyway! That was an awesome read, especially when it comes from someone who was very fond of the original. It helps give a great indicator that there's a good time to be had with the game.Let's be honest sometimes remakes just don't do it for fans of the original. 

 

It's great to read about how faithful it is, yet still stay true to that certain jankiness that comes part and parcel with those older PS1 titles. I'm glad that you clued people in on that, bringing up the fact the game is still enjoyable from a modern perspective. 

 

1 hour ago, YaManSmevz said:

Tremendously petty, but I always wished there was a chalice for that ant level. Every other time you need a chalice to get into the Hall of Heroes, but this time someone puts in a word for you instead.

 

I hadn't ever really thought about that! Great point I guess because I try to think about that level as little as possible ?..... I did that when  I had some really terrible equipment, like as early as possible (because I'm stubborn haha) and figting that boss was a nightmare. It's such a great level though, and having never played the original MediEvil myself (affirming my point that I've ALWAYS played games in a weird order) I played MediEvil 2 first, when I saw what the faeries were I damn near laughed my arse off.

 

That review was a real treat dude!

 

On 11/06/2022 at 8:27 PM, YaManSmevz said:

Platinum #55: The Artful Escape

 

When the music hits, I feel no pain at all

 

 

I've been interested in this one since Doc reviewed it, I wanna say late last year, but it could be early this year? Either way, it looked and sounded awesome. Was already sort of on the periphery of something I want to pick up soon! I think you've bumped it even higher up the priority list now! ?

 

Now I've got even more reason to be excited about picking it up, as that's another person that had a fantastic time with it.

 

One paragraph in particular really jumped out at me - something tells me you won't be surprised which one.... and that's this:

 

On 11/06/2022 at 8:27 PM, YaManSmevz said:

This game speaks very strongly to the feeling some of us can get, that we're not doing what we want to be doing. Maybe we feel tethered to a decision we made before that isn't panning out how we thought, maybe there's just a vague sense of something being wrong and that we're unsure how to fix it. This game also, more importantly I'd argue, speaks to the feeling of overcoming that unpleasant sensation.

 

That sounds awesome, because that feeling really can be one of those terribly crippling reoccurring feelings that can just be quite difficult to escape from. So I'm equally glad that it explores the other side of it, and how truly liberating the other side of that is, well done Artful Escape, that's a hard thing to nail!

 

Nice to know that this one is a big improvement over 12 Minutes as well, I remember that one not quite resonating with you the way that you wanted it to, so it's great that this one actually did!

 

I'll say it once more - FANTASTIC REVIEWS DUDE!

Edited June 12, 2022 by rjkclarke

[YaManSmevz]

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Damn dude! You've been on a real tear lately with these reviews... and they've all been awesome, obviously! I'll start with the most recent one first!

 

Thanks so much my dude! Has anybody told you that you the real MVP today? Cuz you the real MVP #VoteClarkie.

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

You know, this one is weird - because for the longest time I actually thought you'd reviewed this one already, it was only when I wrote my review and went to leave a link to yours that I realised you hadn't. So I basically created this weird false memory that I'd read your review of it, I think because you and I had talked about the game a whole lot before I actually played it.

 

I very briefly considered fucking with your head and be like "yeah bro, I wrote that forever ago, this was just a re-write!" It's weird because when you wrote your review, I was thinking about makin a MediEvil post myself, but yours was so good that I knew mine needed a lil more time in the oven? Plus you have that love of Paul Darrow, so your heart was really in that one!

 

.....which is not to suggest that you don't put your heart into everything you write, as that clearly is not the case!

 

....okay I think it's best if I stop writing words now.

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Odd... Anyway! That was an awesome read, especially when it comes from someone who was very fond of the original. It helps give a great indicator that there's a good time to be had with the game.Let's be honest sometimes remakes just don't do it for fans of the original. 

 

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I hadn't ever really thought about that! Great point I guess because I try to think about that level as little as possible ..... I did that when  I had some really terrible equipment, like as early as possible (because I'm stubborn haha) and figting that boss was a nightmare. It's such a great level though, and having never played the original MediEvil myself (affirming my point that I've ALWAYS played games in a weird order) I played MediEvil 2 first, when I saw what the faeries were I damn near laughed my arse off.

 

I'd like to think it's a universal gaming thing, but it's likely a stubborn person thing? I identify with this 100%. So many times I've gotten to a place in a game where I was clearly under leveled and lacking tools that would make it so much easier on me, yet I insisted on pushing through and figuring something out. Even though I could leave at any time! But yeah, all that to say I feel you on that one!

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

I've been interested in this one since Doc reviewed it, I wanna say late last year, but it could be early this year? Either way, it looked and sounded awesome. Was already sort of on the periphery of something I want to pick up soon! I think you've bumped it even higher up the priority list now!

 

It's such a quick, easy plat. And more importantly, a ridiculously good time. If it's on sale, I say snatch that shit!

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

That sounds awesome, because that feeling really can be one of those terribly crippling reoccurring feelings that can just be quite difficult to escape from. So I'm equally glad that it explores the other side of it, and how truly liberating the other side of that is, well done Artful Escape, that's a hard thing to nail!

 

I had a surprisingly difficult time articulating that. There's a spoken word bit about the inner you, the real you, and how sometimes what you're doing with yourself can be in conflict with that, and how moments where you're wondering what you're doing with yourself is really the inner you bein like "I'M IN HEEERE!!"

 

 

Here's the spoken word bit, in case you're interested. It's by a rapper named Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire - not exactly someone you'd expect anything deep from, but yeah?

 

 

It just really spoke to me how Francis had this all built up in his head that he had to be a certain person, that nobody would accept who he really wanted to be, and that failure would be such a crushing thing. While there was a difficult path towards him claiming his true self, he proves that it's ultimately a feasible thing. It's powerful man, and for peeps like you and me, who aren't always sure of things like that, it's just a wonderful message. I really hope you play it.

 

19 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Nice to know that this one is a big improvement over 12 Minutes as well, I remember that one not quite resonating with you the way that you wanted it to, so it's great that this one actually did!

 

I'll say it once more - FANTASTIC REVIEWS DUDE!

 

Yo I gotta give another shout to the Doc, it's entirely on him that I gave this game a chance and ended up lovin it.

 

And thanks a ton man, I appreciate you?

[YaManSmevz]

Hundo #14: Stick It to the Man!

 

Even if some guy's trying to blackmail you, and your girlfriend thinks you suck

 

First of all, a big thank you is in order to @DrBloodmoney for slapping a big Zoink sticker on my brain for future reference - he wrote an excellent review of this game and, something I neglected to give him a shout for a few write-ups back, The Artful Escape. They're both in this batch here. After Flipping Death, I'll have finished a trio of games that all came with his recommendation, and I gotta tell ya, it's been a blast!

 

Stick It to the Man has you playing as Ray, your classic lovable slacker, who falls prey to a rough accident at the workplace. He wakes up to find that he's now got this big ass sticky hand (reminds me of the ones they used to sell in those gumball machines back in the day) coming out of his head that only he can see, and it both reads minds and hoists him up onto platforms. It also talks to him, even getting a cute solo moment near the end of the game where he tells Ray what a nice place to hang out his head has been. What a guy!

 

The headline when talking about this game is that it's insanely imaginative, visually charming, and goofy as hell. If you've got a soft spot for the wacky Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network aesthetic, you will be in heaven. It looks great, the animation is fun and quirky and they take every chance to make the style their own. It's fitting that there are a few segments that aren't entirely unlike fever dreams, because this game overall very much feels like that!

 

The characters are all rockin this 2D Paper Mario look, and it's always funny to watch them spin around. The spawning points are even these cool wringer-looking contraptions that draw you on the spot, spit you out on a cel, and send you on your way. I just thought that was so clever.

 

The humor and animation steal the show, but it isn't hard considering that the plot is very much just there, and doesn't really add a whole lot to the experience. It's like Ace Ventura 2 or something; if it wasn't so funny and so fun to look at, the story would wear thin pretty quickly. It feels like an afterthought, like the artists came up with these awesome designs, the writers came through with this great, zany sense of humor to go along with it... and then they needed to slap together a story real quick. It's for this reason that the game's brevity is a strong suit, there's not enough time for you to stop and think "wait, this doesn't make any sense."

 

This gameplay is perfectly passable puzzle platformer fare. It's a bit unresponsive here and there, but nothing terrible. Unlike the plot, however, it's incorporated into the overall package much more convincingly. Beyond reading people's thoughts, when it comes to enemies you can literally use their thoughts against them - there's an extremely satisfying mechanic where you see an enemy picturing you - you swipe this image of yourself and place it on another enemy's face so they mistake them for you, and suddenly they're scrappin and you can move safely past. 

 

The voice acting is spectacular, you can tell the cast had a lot of fun with their roles. Everybody is wildly emotive and runs with their character, and it just matches the look and humor to a T. Joel Bille's soundtrack is great as well, largely low key jazz that combined with the level designs, brings out a kind of Monkeybone or Cool World feel.

 

It may not be perfect, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and it's such a short game that there isn't enough time for any lacking quality to bother you. If you haven't played this one and have a fondness for over the top animation with silly humor, it's absolutely worth checking out.

 

Stray Observations

 

- Is it just me, or does the titular Man bear a striking resemblance to The X-Files' Cigarette Man? The whole time it felt like a parody to me... probably just me though?

 

- There are little animations of Ray's that I really appreciate, like his lil thumbs up when he gets reanimated, or how he plugs his ears while trying to read minds. Little things like that go a long way for investing yourself in a protagonist.

 

- The level design is solid all throughout, but my favorite by far was the asylum. There's a dark feel to it that complements the game's natural silliness in a way I really liked.

 

- This game is just so fucking funny. Hilarious lines are dropped left and right, like "I'm so bad at not dropping hammers on people, how did I even get this job??" but one line that got a truly unexpected ugly laugh out of me was "I'm a sexy beast, and my date is one lucky gentleman. DAAAAAYYYUUUMMMNN." Delivered in this weirdly lascivious tone with Maria's smoky, bourbon-soaked voice, that shit killed me.

 

- When you give that Elvis impersonator his guitar... aw man. Watching him flail away while poppin off like "ASAYMWUSBATMWAHSEHMAHNEEEHHH" was worth the price of the game all on its own.

 

- It's a very easy joke to have a character being embarrassed by their mother, but low hanging fruit or not, I really liked it here. Especially since the mom still refers to him as The Man, definite article and all, as if she had filled that very name out on the birth certificate all those years ago.

 

THAT Trophy: The Bird in the Sky

 

More annoying than difficult, and not even that much, really - it just took me a handful of tries when it should only have taken one or two. You have to dodge a helicopter's spotlight, and time running and jumping between platforms just right. It's just such a simple, easy thing and the unresponsive controls made this surprisingly tricky. 

 

It's always the controls' fault, isn't it Smevz...

 

....yes. Yes it is.

Edited June 15, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[DrBloodmoney]

33 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

The humor and animation steal the show, but it isn't hard considering that the plot is very much just there, and doesn't really add a whole lot to the experience. It's like Ace Ventura 2 or something; if it wasn't so funny and so fun to look at, the story would wear thin pretty quickly. It feels like an afterthought, like the artists came up with these awesome designs, the writers came through with this great, zany sense of humor to go along with it... and then they needed to slap together a story real quick. It's for this reason that the game's brevity is a strong suit, there's not enough time for you to stop and think "wait, this doesn't make any sense."

 

That's a pretty good analogy - you're right, in some ways Stick it to the Man has the feeling like Ace Ventura 2 - of a comedy sequel, rather than an original - it feels like the characters and the world and tone were all there, designed and ready to go, and they just needed to stitch together a reason to bring them together!

It probably wouldn't work as well if those characters and humour didn't land, but they do consistently, so you never really care much that the plot os a bit shaky!

 

33 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

- I like how the X-Files' Cigarette Man was able to find work in the current millennium, he absolutely nails it as The Man. And who knew he had such impeccable comedic timing?

 

Ha- how did I not realise that was Bill Davis?!

 

That's awesome - think about it, you're right, that's perfect casting, and he hits the funny beats perfectly!

 

 

[YaManSmevz]

 

2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Ha- how did I not realise that was Bill Davis?!

 

That's awesome - think about it, you're right, that's perfect casting, and he hits the funny beats perfectly!

 

Oh no, that's not actually him!

 

Or if it was, I could very well shit myself in shock!

 

I just put that because the whole time his aura reminded me so intensely of that character, like a send-up of him or something. Damn, I should probably edit that... I was just being silly, the last thing I want to do is spread incorrect information???

[DrBloodmoney]

4 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

 

Oh no, that's not actually him!

 

Or if it was, I could very well shit myself in shock!

 

I just put that because the whole time his aura reminded me so intensely of that character, like a send-up of him or something. Damn, I should probably edit that... I was just being silly, the last thing I want to do is spread incorrect information

 

Oh, haha - well, you fooled me ?

 

TBH, the idea of him doing it didn't seem ridiculous - I've recently been watching (the fairly lacklustre, inoffensive, but oddly watchable) Upload on Amazon, and Bill Davis is actually in that, doing a pretty decent comic turn as a Koch Brother type... so he does have some decent comedy chops when he chooses to use them!

[rjkclarke]

On 15/06/2022 at 8:02 AM, YaManSmevz said:

Hundo #14: Stick It to the Man!

 

Even if some guy's trying to blackmail you, and your girlfriend thinks you suck

 

 

Yes!!!! That was an awesome read, not that I expected anything else obviously.

 

Putting off reading it ended up being quite funny in a way, as you and I said almost identical things about some aspects of it without any influence over the other, so that's kind of funny.

 

Something I'm really glad you highlighted, and I'm kicking myself I didn't, is the little enemy encounters that are in the game. Almost interesting discrete little mini-puzzles almost, that you can pretty much choose to tackle a few ways. For some reason I just left those out entirely so I'm glad that you mentioned those in a lot more detail (although any detail would have been more than I did ?).

 

On 15/06/2022 at 8:02 AM, YaManSmevz said:

This gameplay is perfectly passable puzzle platformer fare. It's a bit unresponsive here and there, but nothing terrible.

 

This is another thing that I kind of regret not discussing a little bit in my own review. It's in no way bad per se. It's just quite imprecise. I almost feel like the controls for Ray's arm a way more optimised for either a mouse or a motion controller, as I had a couple of issues here and there when reading minds of actually manoeuvring into a spot where I could float the cursor over the right brain to read.

 

On 15/06/2022 at 8:02 AM, YaManSmevz said:

This game is just so fucking funny. Hilarious lines are dropped left and right, like "I'm so bad at not dropping hammers on people, how did I even get this job??"

 

There's so many absolute zingers, it's tough to even think of mentioning them all. But one that almost made me spray a drink all over my wall from laughing was when you're in Ray's head, and his dad has an accident, and Ray innocently says something like " Yeah.... Dad was never quite right after that" so I read his mind afterwards and his Dad  just says something like "I MAKE A POOOOPIE" In the most ridiculous dullard voice, and for some reason it absolutely made me crease up!

 

 

On 13/06/2022 at 5:03 PM, YaManSmevz said:

very briefly considered fucking with your head and be like "yeah bro, I wrote that forever ago, this was just a re-write!" It's weird because when you wrote your review, I was thinking about makin a MediEvil post myself, but yours was so good that I knew mine needed a lil more time in the oven Plus you have that love of Paul Darrow, so your heart was really in that one!

 

.....which is not to suggest that you don't put your heart into everything you write, as that clearly is not the case!

 

....okay I think it's best if I stop writing words now.

 

Haha! Yeah I would have been heading straight for confusion city on that one...

 

Thanks for the incredibly kind words though! It's something you and Doc have done to me in the past, written a review so good, or in some cases so similar to one I'd probably write. That I have to put off writing my own just so it doesn't seem like copying. So it's nice to return the favour to you two occasionally You did it with Sleeping Dogs not too long ago as well, when I'd been kicking around the idea of reviewing that one. ?

 

On 13/06/2022 at 5:03 PM, YaManSmevz said:

I'd like to think it's a universal gaming thing, but it's likely a stubborn person thing I identify with this 100%. So many times I've gotten to a place in a game where I was clearly under leveled and lacking tools that would make it so much easier on me, yet I insisted on pushing through and figuring something out. Even though I could leave at any time! But yeah, all that to say I feel you on that one!

 

 

I think it's a stubborn person thing then haha - the annoying this is. it would sometimes have been quicker to progress the game,THEN come back and do the thing that we were stubbornly pushing on with ?

 

On 13/06/2022 at 5:03 PM, YaManSmevz said:

Here's the spoken word bit, in case you're interested. It's by a rapper named Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire - not exactly someone you'd expect anything deep from, but yeah

 

 

It just really spoke to me how Francis had this all built up in his head that he had to be a certain person, that nobody would accept who he really wanted to be, and that failure would be such a crushing thing. While there was a difficult path towards him claiming his true self, he proves that it's ultimately a feasible thing. It's powerful man, and for peeps like you and me, who aren't always sure of things like that, it's just a wonderful message. I really hope you play it.

 

I really liked that! That's absolutely not something you'd expect to hear at the end of a rap album, is something as thoughtful and reflective as that, but that was cool as shit. I'll have to keep that in my head whenever I play The Artful Escape. I definitely will, it's just a matter of when. 

 

Not to lower the tone too much...... but, erm, you know where he's squatting like that? I hope I'm not the only one that wondered where that rabbit appeared from

[YaManSmevz]

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

Yes!!!! That was an awesome read, not that I expected anything else obviously.

 

Putting off reading it ended up being quite funny in a way, as you and I said almost identical things about some aspects of it without any influence over the other, so that's kind of funny.

 

Why thank you, sir! Yeah, I thought the same thing reading your (excellent) review. We really did pretty much have the same experience. Dope??

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

Something I'm really glad you highlighted, and I'm kicking myself I didn't, is the little enemy encounters that are in the game. Almost interesting discrete little mini-puzzles almost, that you can pretty much choose to tackle a few ways. For some reason I just left those out entirely so I'm glad that you mentioned those in a lot more detail (although any detail would have been more than I did ).

 

I actually wish I'd gone into even more detail! I liked the mini-puzzle type approach. "Okay, here's a cannon... wait, there's a flame! Okay, light the cannon... there's a target! Okay, move and then light the cannon..." the gameplay is littered with light brain teasers that reward paying attention to your surroundings. Which is already a treat as it is, given how awesome this game looks!

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

This is another thing that I kind of regret not discussing a little bit in my own review. It's in no way bad per se. It's just quite imprecise. I almost feel like the controls for Ray's arm a way more optimised for either a mouse or a motion controller, as I had a couple of issues here and there when reading minds of actually manoeuvring into a spot where I could float the cursor over the right brain to read.

 

YES!! You took the words right out of my mouth, it absolutely feels like it would control more smoothly with a mouse. As it stands, it's very jerky and there seemed to be a bit of a delay with jumps and stuff like that. Nothing game breaking or anything like that, just something you have to be mindful of as you play. Once you make the necessary adjustments it's usually fine, but you have to focus a bit more than would be ideal.

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

There's so many absolute zingers, it's tough to even think of mentioning them all. But one that almost made me spray a drink all over my wall from laughing was when you're in Ray's head, and his dad has an accident, and Ray innocently says something like " Yeah.... Dad was never quite right after that" so I read his mind afterwards and his Dad  just says something like "I MAKE A POOOOPIE" In the most ridiculous dullard voice, and for some reason it absolutely made me crease up!

 

Yo that was a classic "I'm smart, I'm smart, I'm sma-" POW!! "DUUUUUHHHHHH" gag, and they played it beautifully. That's another thing about the humor I failed to mention, the timing and delivery of these jokes is outstanding.

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

Thanks for the incredibly kind words though! It's something you and Doc have done to me in the past, written a review so good, or in some cases so similar to one I'd probably write. That I have to put off writing my own just so it doesn't seem like copying. So it's nice to return the favour to you two occasionally You did it with Sleeping Dogs not too long ago as well, when I'd been kicking around the idea of reviewing that one. 

 

Thanks man! That's high praise if I do say so myself, so I'll take it? Gotta tell ya, I've been low key excited for a Clarkified write-up about Sleeping Dogs. In fact, you're the reason I even got up off my ass and played that game!! ...er, got back on my ass on the couch? ...got on the couch and put my ass into it? 

 

Ay, too many poorly chosen words in that paragraph. I'll stop while I'm not-so-ahead.

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

I really liked that! That's absolutely not something you'd expect to hear at the end of a rap album, is something as thoughtful and reflective as that, but that was cool as shit. I'll have to keep that in my head whenever I play The Artful Escape. I definitely will, it's just a matter of when. 

 

Yeah, especially considering the hook on the opening track of that album is basically him saying motherfucker a bunch of times???

 

I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Artful Escape, I think it's a truly beautiful game.

 

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

Not to lower the tone too much...... but, erm, you know where he's squatting like that? I hope I'm not the only one that wondered where that rabbit appeared from

 

Oh I wondered myself... it would certainly explain why he got such a big smile on his face!

[YaManSmevz]

Platinum #58: Guacamelee!

 

Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama

 

Full disclosure: before playing Guacamelee, I didn't actually have any experience with the Metroidvania genre, or even know what gave a game that qualification. I'd heard the term many times of course, but just never really put two and two together. And literally the very second I took Juan into Pueblucho, I was like "OOHHH okay it is EXACTLY what it sounds like. Wow, I'm an idiot."

 

As a newcomer to the genre, I just wanted to say it was a real treat getting a taste of those old games, but with a modern flavor. In addition to the obvious comparison points, I got a big whiff of Legend of Zelda 2 as well (I'm a huge Stan for Adventure of Link, always have been), even without the Error side quest! So suffice it to say that I was a happy camper pretty much from the word go.

 

As far as story goes, it's more or less your standard 'save the girl' story, but without ever taking itself too seriously. The Mexican culture that dominates this thing is pretty well done (more on that later), I absolutely loved it. The large doses of Día de Los Muertos, Charros, and of course Lucha libre are really well implemented, and it's more of a thing for people whose families stopped passing down Spanish at some point (like me), but the Spanglish was kinda nice too!

 

Plus there's the music, which really hit for me. Rom Di Prisco and Peter Chapman just knocked it out the damn park. The guitars and horns sounded so good to me, and there was a great balance of that with more straight forward gamey music, if that makes sense. Just a quick skim through the soundtrack will give you an idea if you're unfamiliar.

 

Also, there's a lot of cute humor throughout, it's a pretty funny game. Random shouts to (2013) memes, Mexican equivalents to other games like "Casa Crashers," the sudden Super Mario ending to a certain sequence, Huay Chivo tryin to get with your mom, there's a lot of charm all throughout.

 

The gameplay might be the biggest winner here, though. The controls will definitely test your reflexes, but fortunately they're so smooth and simple that this quickly becomes a pro rather than a con. It makes the challenge addicting and fun rather than something frustrating (with a few exceptions, but more on that later), and hits a perfect sweet spot with difficulty. Yeah, it takes a few tries to get down dimension switching to cling onto platforms and then fly over saws and spikes while stopping at just the right time, but as tricky as the game can get, it doesn't once feel overwhelming, and as doable as it is, accomplishing things is always satisfying.

 

?You never fail to satisfy, satisfyyyyyyyyyy?

 

And that's not even bringing up the combat! Whuppin on some fools is effortless, and even when enemies start getting more complex, so long as you're paying attention, you're gonna get through okay. Even though there are sections in the Hard setting towards the end where they will quite literally throw everything they have at you, oftentimes at once. Mercifully, the autosave system is pretty forgiving - there's a little ofrenda altar you'll regularly pass after certain sections where you can buy upgrades n stuff, but all you have to do is walk past and it not only saves, but restores your health. Neat!

 

-YOU KNOW THE DRILL, Y'ALL AIN'T GOTTA READ THIS PART IF YOU DON'T WANNA-

 

Real quick (and shout out to @DrunkenEngineer for commenting on this before I was even sure if I'd give it much mention), does it bother me that a game taking place in Mexico (where peeps are brown) is made by a studio in Canada (where they are not)? I don't think so. From what I understand, one of the animators grew up in Mexico and oversaw a lot for sake of authenticity, which explains why so much lands.

 

But there are still some ehh moments... like I'm glad we have the option of a female protagonist, that shit is always good to see. But... she gotta be named Tostada? Y'all were able to dig up names like X'Tabay and Huay Chivo, but she gotta be a Taco Bell menu item?

 

Ultimately though, I think they genuinely did their best to keep as much authenticity as possible, and you can tell it's a very lovingly crafted game. Besides, an actual native Mexican living in Oaxaca or something would take one look at me and call my ass a gringo, so I don't have quite enough clout to take offense, particularly when I really enjoyed this thing!

 

-OKAY, SORRY 'BOUT THAT, I'MA GET THIS BACK ON TRACK-

 

So thank you, Guacamelee! You took my Metroidvania virginity (it was so gentle) and opened my gaming world up that much more. I think every gamer could use some of this game in their life, so if you haven't tried it out, I gotta say it absolutely deserves your attention! Because of this masterwork I can finally say:

 

 

Stray Observations

 

- Right before every boss fight, we're treated to a real quick poster popping up, strongly resembling something advertising a local wrestling match. This was a dope idea, and another example of how they try to cram in as much cultural creativity as they could.

 

- I don't know why, but there was something so weirdly adorable to me about the way Poncho gets knocked down only to spring back up and dutifully march back into place for more abuse.

 

- As rough as a lot of the Infierno challenges were, I felt like they at least sharpened the skills you've developed while playing the game... with the exception of Challenge #15. How does me throwing a chicken through an obstacle course help me get better at the game?? Maybe it was included for the off chance that a player would be a student majoring in Chicken Trajectory or something, and they'd be like "FINALLY! A challenge made for my demographic!"

 

- My favorite boss was far and away the Terrible Trio. Maybe it was the music-centric approach to the fight, maybe it was the discotheque feel to the visuals, I don't know. That one was just an absolute blast for me.

 

- I ended up beating Calaca three times - first in the blind run, then after getting the orbs, and finally in Hard mode. And I still laughed every time that Lupita, tied down to be a human sacrifice, off-handedly sighs, "I guess we're going to miss the festival."

 

- I forgot to mention the dimension swapping - you go back and forth between the lands of the living and the dead, and they do a great job with this mechanic. One thing I really thought was dope was that the music dims a bit when you're in the dead world, sounding like you're underwater or something. Then you switch back to the live world and it's clear, crisp, and loud. That was a nice touch!

 

THAT Trophy: El Savior

 

There were a few competitors clamoring for the title this time around! Hard mode is of course no picnic, particularly the Greatest Tag-Team in History fights, which I thought easily eclipsed all the actual boss fights (especially Calaca, he be telegraphin like a mafucka). Then there were the Infierno challenges - I mean Mexican appropriation I can live with, but making me do a 130 combo without throws?? You're fucked up, Drinkbox.

 

No, what truly frustrated me the most and got the record for curses under my breath was getting those last two orbs.

 

OH, YOU KNOW THE ONES.

 

I am utter trash at platformers, and I had a hell of a time with these two. There were times where I fucked up so catastrophically that I would just watch in horror as I plummeted all the way back to the beginning. Gotta give the Tule Tree a shout though, for reminding me that I will never, ever play Super Meat Boy?

 

Guacamelee 2, on the other hand...

Edited June 26, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[DrunkenEngineer]

Oh hot damn, Smevz speaks again!

 

Love the review for Guacamelee!  You definitely gotta check out the sequel and report back.  I've been meaning to get to it forever, but instead I'll live vicariously through...tú.

[YaManSmevz]

3 minutes ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Oh hot damn, Smevz speaks again!

 

Love the review for Guacamelee!  You definitely gotta check out the sequel and report back.  I've been meaning to get to it forever, but instead I'll live vicariously through...tú.

 

Thank you, dude! Whenever that happens I'll try to downplay it though, I know you're a busy man??

[realm722]

21 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Platinum #58: Guacamelee!

-snip-

 

Awesome job Smev! This was a wonderful callback for me as the Guacamelee! games were some of the harder games I remember playing when initially branching out. It was nice to have a fresher with some of the mechanics and bosses as I honestly didn't write that much in 2019 and kinda lament I didn't properly convey my thoughts other than saying: "these games are good, I enjoyed them!". I played them in a really wacky order though. I beat the 2nd game 1st and THEN played the original a few months later. I'll warn you - I have ALWAYS believed that the 32% rarity platinum on the 2nd game is downright bizarre. The game is VERY challenging in my memory and even more so than many <10% platinums in my catalog. I don't know if it sold such few copies that only those who enjoyed the original bought it but it's something that I've always thought was strange after beating it. 

 

Aside from that, hope you're loving that Transistor. ? That game is gooooooooooorgeous 

[YaManSmevz]

28 minutes ago, realm722 said:

 

Awesome job Smev! This was a wonderful callback for me as the Guacamelee! games were some of the harder games I remember playing when initially branching out. It was nice to have a fresher with some of the mechanics and bosses as I honestly didn't write that much in 2019 and kinda lament I didn't properly convey my thoughts other than saying: "these games are good, I enjoyed them!".

 

Thanks so much, my dude! I was definitely taken aback by some moments, but it was just so much fun. And I feel you, I think that's something everybody has here - I haven't even had my checklist for a year yet and I already look at my oldest write-ups like "ehhhhhh I really could've done better with that!"

 

At the same time though, watching progression is pretty dope. Your reviews are so big and vibrant, literally colorful, and bursting with your well-backed opinions, so thinking of you putting out quick ones like that is a trip to me. Have you ever considered re-visiting?

 

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I'll warn you - I have ALWAYS believed that the 32% rarity platinum on the 2nd game is downright bizarre. The game is VERY challenging in my memory and even more so than many <10% platinums in my catalog. I don't know if it sold such few copies that only those who enjoyed the original bought it but it's something that I've always thought was strange after beating it. 

 

That's what I've heard! I guess they had the same thought as the Hotline Miami devs with that sequel, bein like "we didn't make it hard enough." It's in line for sure, but yeah I'm definitely prepping myself for a more difficult experience!

 

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Aside from that, hope you're loving that Transistor.  That game is gooooooooooorgeous 

 

I am, and it is!! It's funny cuz I don't think I appreciated how brilliant the function system is until the end of my first playthrough. That game is somethin else, man?

Edited June 26, 2022 by YaManSmevz

[AJ_Radio]

I can safely say that Guacamelee is going to be a more difficult experience for you. 
 

Think about the precision and timing you had to do to earn that Tule Tree orb. Now picture yourself doing something like that several more times. That’s Guacamelee 2, particularly the later half. 
 

I won’t spoil the game for you.

[YaManSmevz]

1 hour ago, AJ_Radio said:

I can safely say that Guacamelee is going to be a more difficult experience for you. 
 

Think about the precision and timing you had to do to earn that Tule Tree orb. Now picture yourself doing something like that several more times. That’s Guacamelee 2, particularly the later half. 

 

Oh I figured as much, it's widely considered to be more difficult. I fully anticipate both Guacamelee and Hotline Miami's sequels to give me a tremendous amount of grief!

 

Thanks for stoppin by, man?