YaManSmevz Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 58 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said: Hollywood culture isn’t necessarily left wing politics. I have no idea where you got that from. The only thing I mentioned was Los Angeles culture being decent without the Hollywood culture mixed in with it. That’s it. I don’t appreciate the passive aggressive tone here, so we’ll just move on. It's nice that you commented on my LA post, I don't want to seem ungrateful. However - you made a remark about Los Angeles culture being unhealthy, and so naturally I felt the need to defend it. Rather than let that go, you amended the initial remark to being "Hollywood" culture, and with seemingly either a half hearted backpedal or flat out begrudgement, acknowledged that "Los Angeles culture is actually decent." You do see how this could be perceived as a touch disrespectful, yes? Also, there's no need for your defensive tone. It's an easy connection to make, after all - I've seen plenty of your famous rants on California and the evils of wokeness, and the same arguments have been made countless times under the blanket of "Hollywood culture." We don't have to play games here, man. You have your beliefs and I have mine. And that's fine. Everything's cool, dude. If I came across as passive aggressive, then maybe that's on me. I consider you a guest on the thread and try to be polite, perhaps it had the opposite of the intended effect there, and if that's the case I'm sorry. However, if something doesn't sit right with me, I'm not going to say nothing. 58 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said: I’ve walked right up to Bruce Lee’s gravesite. His son Brandon Lee is right next to him. In a hour of visiting the gravesite I saw plenty of older Chinese American people pay tribute to Bruce Lee by leaving flowers and holding their hands by remembering. He died nearly 50 years ago, and when you still have millions remembering, obviously you left a cultural impact on society. A legend indeed. I'm envious! 58 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said: Agree on LA Noire. I’d love another Sleeping Dogs. Sadly, both gaming companies that developed them are long dead. Me too? I didn't get around to Sleeping Dogs til recently, there's a cult classic that damn near slipped past me. I'd get in line real quick if ever there was word on another one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 8 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Ayyy thanks my dude! You're better off for neglecting Brutal, I can honestly say that you made the better decision there I saw!! That's great man, it deserves every view and like it gets. Yes I am definitely happy with that decision haha ?? Yeah it does, was a great read as well! 1 hour ago, YaManSmevz said: Me too? I didn't get around to Sleeping Dogs til recently, there's a cult classic that damn near slipped past me. I'd get in line real quick if ever there was word on another one. Bloody enjoyable game that one! Really clicked with me at the time and once I'd got the hang of the combat, every fight felt fun and rewarding and if I died, it was because of a mistake I made which I could see and would rectify rather than the game being janky or unfair. Very satisfying. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_Radio Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) On 10/5/2022 at 0:10 AM, YaManSmevz said: It's nice that you commented on my LA post, I don't want to seem ungrateful. However - you made a remark about Los Angeles culture being unhealthy, and so naturally I felt the need to defend it. Rather than let that go, you amended the initial remark to being "Hollywood" culture, and with seemingly either a half hearted backpedal or flat out begrudgement, acknowledged that "Los Angeles culture is actually decent." You do see how this could be perceived as a touch disrespectful, yes? Also, there's no need for your defensive tone. It's an easy connection to make, after all - I've seen plenty of your famous rants on California and the evils of wokeness, and the same arguments have been made countless times under the blanket of "Hollywood culture." We don't have to play games here, man. You have your beliefs and I have mine. And that's fine. Everything's cool, dude. If I came across as passive aggressive, then maybe that's on me. I consider you a guest on the thread and try to be polite, perhaps it had the opposite of the intended effect there, and if that's the case I'm sorry. However, if something doesn't sit right with me, I'm not going to say nothing. I know Hollywood culture quite well. I’m thankful that I didn’t grow up in it, and I’m far from alone in making this remark. Also, you may think I’m a right wing supporter, but I can assure you that I’m not. I’m a centrist at best, otherwise I'm basically independent although there’s a lot of policies I don’t agree with within that party. I have no idea why you felt the need to defend it. However, you seem to think that I am somehow against the “evils of wokeness” because people to the right of centrists are saying it. I don’t like what Hollywood has done in regards to culture in recent times and thus I just wanted to make my quick opinion on it. In contrast, you seem to like the culture more than I do and that’s completely fine. My family hails from California and I’ve taken countless visits up and down the coast. I love a lot about the state, including it’s scenery, weather, national parks and it’s variety. I don’t like the politicians there and I am against their liberal politics, whether it’s San Francisco, Los Angeles or in any other major metropolis. However, I’m not one of those conservatives living in the countryside who want a return to the “old ways”. That mentality accomplishes nothing. In regards to Hollywood, I don’t like most of the stuff they make but overall it has made a societal impact on American culture which cannot be ignored. I appreciate all the great things Hollywood has made in its long history. So when you took the time and effort to make a Los Angeles tour, I wanted to chime in and offer my commentary. I hope I cleared things up for you. Edited October 15, 2022 by AJ_Radio Hollywood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted October 16, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 16, 2022 (edited) Platinum #74: Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires Met a man from China, went down to Geisha Minah There's a special place in our hearts for those pieces of media that deep down we know really aren't that great, but we love anyway, and this is where the Dynasty Warriors franchise lives for me. I've been playing these games since the third installment back in 2001, and from a stoned teenager to a sometimes stoned and often drunk middle aged man, I've gotten much joy from these repetitive, over the top, and ultimately mindless games. What?? It's not mindless! It's about Chinese history!! It requires strategy!! I think it might even be teaching me Japanese!! Yes, 19 year old me actually said those things, and no, I am not proud. I really was taken with the juxtaposition of simple hack and slash gameplay with the rich historical content, being a part of multiple kingdoms at war with one another, and the semi-strategic setup you'd get with the layout of the battlefield and locations of the generals, whereupon you could decide which would be best taken out first and what path would be most efficient. Then when bases were introduced, it added yet another wrinkle to how you could approach taking out the opposing commander. Incidentally, this is all infinitely more fun when you've got a second player joining in! I found myself utterly fascinated with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, both the novelization as well as historical accounts on the fall of the Han Dynasty (where my education on ancient China had ended). I devoured anything I could about different officers and battles, even going so far as to track down a copy of Zhuge Liang's book(!) on Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Boys love war and empire talk, what can I say. You mix that shit up with a fun video game and it's over. There was also an odd kitschy charm, particularly with the English voice actors. They're terrible. In DW5 there was this great moment my sister and I still reference every so often where the voice actor was having a clear difficulty pronouncing "Guo Jia" but powered through anyway, saying it multiple times in a row. Or the ending for one of the characters made utterly bizarre by the music inexplicably dropping out, my sister and I fucking howled at that shit. Speaking of Da Qiao... -Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW, SCROLL PAST IF YOU AIN'T WANT NO FINGER WAGGING- I'm actually not gonna give Koei too much grief about the whole "we can't help it if all ancient Chinese women looked like supermodels" thing. It's gotten pretty damn silly at this point, but I enjoy bein like "ooh, she bad" as much as the next admirer of the female form, and I'm not trying to start a discussion on sexualization in games (besides, Zhu Rong can do no wrong). The Qiao sisters though, is where I draw the line. In DW5 they were noticeably shorter and more childlike, and seeing them interact with their very adult husbands was uncomfortable to say the least. That trend has only gotten worse, with Xiao Qiao in particular looking, talking, and acting like she's ten or something. And paired with that famously moany voice acting?? Shit's creepy my guy, y'all gotta stop. -BACK TO TALKING ABOUT GAMES LIKE A NORMAL PERSON- So when Koei had the outstanding idea to give players the chance to build their own empire, I was on board immediately. Playing Risk (PS1 version was the GoaT btw) with the added feature of fun, addicting gameplay to decide the battles in real time was a dream come true. Sure, the whole bit with policies and stuff like that in between carving up the map and enemy soldiers alike was a lil undercooked, but I thought this was a solid formula. So. At long last, we've arrived at the game I'm actually supposed to be talking about. One of the short stack I bought when I first got my PS4, this game entertained the hell out of me right away, and I absolutely loved it. Arkham it ain't, but it controls great. The level design can be overly convoluted, but they all look okay (as do the characters). The governing side of things has grown quite a bit, and while a lot of the quests can get annoying and are merely a slight variant on the regular battles you're used to, it's nice that they're there. The creation suite was expanded quite nicely as well! Overall it's essentially a tuned up version of that same dumb fun quality I know and love, and I had no intention of ever asking for anything more. It does still have that trademark Dragonforce wannabe soundtrack that has definitely not aged well for me (though in all fairness I've become surprisingly snobby with my metal), but that's what the music on our phones is for! As I'll detail in a bit, completing this game is a miserable grind through and through, but I had a lot of fun with this. Of course you only need one of them really, and as someone who's played a pretty large chunk of these games, if you ever got bitten by the DW bug (for whatever reason) I'd say this one could fit the bill pretty well - either this or just plain DW8. It controls the best from what I've seen, and offers a bit more variety without trying for too much. Plus it's a UR, so there's that! Stray Observations - I seriously felt like an old man when I first played this on my new PS4 and my controller started shouting at me in Japanese. I consider that moment a sneak preview for when my current age doubles and everything confuses me. - The Create an Officer suite is cool, and what's even cooler is that they'll show up as extra officers in any given campaign, along with those created by other players! Unless Raw Dawg and Big Balls were famous Chinese generals that I've missed... - For a war strategy game, you'd think the player would have some say in where the officers are actually placed. I mean the intro actually shows someone placing blocks to suggest a strategy being shown! Minor quibble, but that would've been dope. - A lot of the time I'd see a Bandit lieutenant and misread it as Bad Lieutenant and picture Harvey Keitel dressed up as a Chinese warrior, muttering to himself how he never should've bet against the Mets. - As annoying as those side quests can get, watching a wooden ox move by itself never failed to amuse me. - The only use I ever found for raids was to get multiple kingdoms to attack me at once, otherwise it's pretty useless. Play out the whole battle, except when you win, you don't acquire the territory... goodie. - You know you've got too many characters when you have more of them than weapons - Liu Shan straight up has a damn BENCH as his weapon. Since the officers all have their silly little things they say when they enter battle, I really would've liked for them to lean into this absurdity and have Liu Shan say some shit like "You're about to get BENCHED" when the battle starts, and "SIT DOWN BITCH, BE HUMBLE" after winning. Fa Zheng's weapon comes in a close second - a fucking towel. Seriously. THAT Trophy: Many Ways to Live Ah, the chief reason this game has been on and off of my hitlist for the last two years and change. There are 55 Ways of Life you need to get, each with its own set of individual Titles (the second biggest pain in the ass, there's more than 120) you need to get first. They're all quite diverse, meaning that you can't get them all in one playthrough, which is a good thing. What isn't, however, is how god damn random some of these things are. So many titles can only be achieved by getting somebody else to do something, and once you finally figure out roughly how to make that happen, actually willing it into existence can be exhausting as fuck. Have you ever been talking to someone and you're trying to get them to reach a particular conclusion without outright telling them, but they're not particularly sharp or intuitive? That's exactly what this feels like, and it's so random that it could happen for you in a handful of turns, or it could take a handful of playthroughs. I've burnt entire days going for one single Title, and once I'd gotten that there were still four more I needed for a particular Way of Life, and still twenty more Ways of Life to go. Even when manipulating the Scenario Creator, which I stupidly didn't catch onto until waaayy late, this is a mercilessly grindy and absolutely RNGesus forsaken trophy to go for, and I'm so happy to finally be done with it. You know something, Koei? After I play DW8, DW7, possibly DW7 Empires, and maybe even DW6, I am so done with you. Edited October 17, 2022 by YaManSmevz I swear, edit one of these then you're editing them all? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather342 Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 Ah man, Dynasty Warriors 3 brings back some memories. I used to play this with my friend back in the early 00s, we went through the Yellow Turban Rebellion campaign so many times - it was our favourite mission ?. Although I do have vague memories of a level with elephants, and how we always used to be terrified of Lu Bu showing up ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, Heather342 said: Ah man, Dynasty Warriors 3 brings back some memories. I used to play this with my friend back in the early 00s, we went through the Yellow Turban Rebellion campaign so many times - it was our favourite mission . Although I do have vague memories of a level with elephants, and how we always used to be terrified of Lu Bu showing up Duuuude that's what's up? I remember all the generals being like "For real leave Lu Bu alone" and not listening, and he killed me with one hit? next time I was like "avoid Lu Bu, got it!" Agreed, that shit could get scary, especially when he'd chase your ass?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrooba Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) Nice retrospective my man! I'm back from the grave momentarily, and in my bout of procrastinating assignments, here I am, only to be gone for another month after this until my semester is actually over! ? Now, Dynasty Warriors, this is one I've heard of! Only hack and slash I believe I've played is Persona 5 Strikers (or Sonic Unleashed and God of War if those count ?). There's definitely a lot of appeal to sending waves of enemies into the stratosphere! Definitely a good stress reliever! ? That Da Qiao video felt like something from a forbidden realm... Like holy shit, the abrupt disappearance of music-- not even a slow fade out -- made it seem comedic. ? The sound department were probably trying to salvage something there! Somehow it reminds me of that sort of comedic timing of those Yakuza minigames. Never actually played a Yakuza game, but I've been blessed (or cursed...?) with seeing some of those scenes. I also see you've started good ol' GTA IV, eh? ? You got this! Edited October 18, 2022 by Shrooba 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted October 22, 2022 Share Posted October 22, 2022 On 10/16/2022 at 11:07 PM, YaManSmevz said: You know something, Koei? After I play DW8, DW7, possibly DW7 Empires, and maybe even DW6, I am so done with you. Lol, we will see if you stick to that! Also, not much of a threat haha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted October 31, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 31, 2022 Platinum #76: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist I made myself invisible/So you will never know if I'm right behind you... Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six was, at least to my knowledge, the first game with the author's name ostentatiously tacked onto the title. I remember reading about it in some gaming magazine or other and finding the idea of a realistic, more tactical style shooter tantalizing beyond belief. I mean, do I want to manage a highly trained counterterrorism unit, decide on their rollouts, coordinate their attack and then carry it out myself? YES PLEASE. In fact, it should be pointed out how influential this game proved to be - after all, Mr. Clancy's name isn't emblazoned on so many video games today because the inaugural one was garbage! The strategic element and focus on thinking your way through these dangerous situations was inspired to say the very least, and its impact on gaming in general has been quite significant. There was one teensy problem though - for all its imagination and clever implementation, this game did not seem intended for life beyond its original PC incarnation, and I played it on the PS1. Which, sorry/not sorry, was a shit port. It looked awful, the controls were downright bizarre at times, and ultimately it didn't seem as though translating the PC version as optimally as possible was on the developers' minds as much as cranking out these ports as quickly as possible to start makin that money. So when I started seeing ads for Splinter Cell, as bad ass as it looked, and as much as Hitman and Metal Gear Solid had nurtured my love of stealth gaming, my memories of Rainbow Six wouldn't let me commit, like I was trapped in a Drake song or something. When word got out that the Blacklist servers were going down though, it didn't take long before I decided that I wanted in - I've got enough FOMO as it is now that Max Payne 3 is unobtainable, and a Splinter Cell completion on my profile would feel pretty damn nice. The previous Splinter Cell game, Conviction, has a reputation for steering the series away from pure stealth, but I have to say that Blacklist did well to establish a balance between that and the aggression. The game is equipped to handle either approach, and in fact rewards you for sticking with one tactic throughout any given mission. You can go pacifist or mass murderer, with the mechanics being like those good parents who tell you they'll support you no matter what. There's seriously no method of play that doesn't feel right, and I think Blacklist deserves a lot of credit for that. I know this is standard stealth game stuff, but I truly love how much this game rewards you for being aware of your surroundings. Vents, pipes, and crawlspaces are everywhere. I also liked the mechanic brought back from Conviction where a ghostly image of yourself resembles where you were last seen - this is super helpful when it comes to luring enemies in the assault approaches, and playing cat and mouse with AI that's surprisingly sharp at times is a lot of fun. Yes, I did call the AI sharp. These guards aren't as dumb as they look. Sure, they have their predictable patrol routes, same as any other stealth game, but they clearly pay attention. Once their buddies cease contact, they will get curious - and if they catch wind of you, they will start looking with some serious interest. I can't tell you how many times I got made and found myself getting flanked and blown up by a grenade because I did not respect the enemy's intelligence. The routes seem to be randomized as well (for the most part at least), which added a most welcome additional challenge. Then there's the multiplayer, which I'm genuinely sad to see ride off into the sunset. There are several co-op mini-campaigns, and I had so much fun tackling the Briggs missions with a complete stranger that I could only imagine what a blast it would be to play with a friend. The franchise's famous Spies Vs Mercs mode makes a return as well, and while I confess to only playing it in a boosting capacity, the potential for mischief was off the charts. Of course, there is a fair amount of criticism to dole out as well. Fans were pretty outraged by Michael Ironside not reprising the role of Sam Fisher (he got cancer?? What a JERK), and even as an outsider to the franchise I can kinda see it. Eric Johnson does not do a poor job in the slightest, but it really doesn't seem as though he's given much to work with here. Sam Fisher is a boring, one note, typical espionage film protagonist who doesn't really do a lot to get us in his corner. He makes bad decisions, he throws temper tantrums, and he doesn't seem to take accountability for any of it. Ironside's familiarity with the character might've produced some charisma for this guy, but Johnson sadly doesn’t seem up for the task. Solid Snake and Agent 47 may not be the best guys around, but I've always felt happy to play as them warts and all, and I never got that sensation with this rendition of Sam. Blacklist is also held back a bit by very formulaic writing and an overblown story. Charlie as the total doofus who ultimately proves to be smart and capable at just the right times, Grim as the witty repartee machine with Sam, Briggs as the up and coming novice who can never stop being on stage, desperate to impress the grizzled vet that is Sam Fisher. I won't say it's without its charm, or that I was unable to get on board with the cheese - I was. But I'd be lying if I didn't say this was a Michael Bay ass script. Does anybody remember Exploder, the movie from Vice City with every Rambo stereotype imaginable included? It was rated PG (for "May Include Patriotic Garbage") and that sentiment is weirdly present here. I know that Sam and Co. are here to protect the country's interests and all, but damn if it doesn't get a lil hamfisted! There's a moment where the main baddie is making perfectly reasonable accusations, and all Sam can do is just respond with "Go to Hell, I'M THE MAN WHO'S GONNA KILL YOU" and all that tough guy shit. I couldn't help thinking.. if you want to defend the U.S., then don't let your main villain make cogent points! I just felt that this franchise is too smart and self aware to be so dense where this territory is concerned, either acknowledge or ignore, ya kinda can't have both on this one! Speaking of which, said main baddie was giving me a fierce case of WTFIKYFS syndrome (that's "Where The Fuck I Know You From, Son?") until I realized that he had a quick but effective appearance in Breaking Bad. I absolutely AGONIZED over who this dude was, my brain was hurting from trying to piece it together until it finally clicked. Carlo Rota, this was a job well done! I'm so glad that I finally had a real Splinter Cell experience, and I'm seriously tempted to try out the PS3 port of Chaos Theory. I never should have doubted this franchise, and can now say that it deserves its general placement just below Hitman and MGS in the Stealth Kingdom. Stray Observations - The game's cover, with Sam Fisher running in this exploding white void, gives me mad Chariots of Fire vibes. - Being on my PS3 backlog campaign, I gotta say that checkpoints becoming a thing in this era is so wonderful, and I gotta give props where they're due. - Somehow, some way, Blacklist makes me give David Cage credit. This and Detroit: Become Human both feature female presidents with a Hillary look, and I realized that Cage didn't trip while fellating himself over including a female president. Neither did Blacklist, but any restraint by David Cage is impressive. Fuck man... I'm not looking forward to Heavy Rain at all? - I'm all for Sam wearing his best "fuck you" attitude for the main antagonist, but when he be like "Because your president sends men like you to countries where you don't belong," where's the lie? There just ain't no comeback for that one?♂️ - This game controls pretty damn well, but one bone I have to pick is that the Cross button is given too much work. You can accidentally jump over the wrong thing while running or climb over something instead of changing cover waaayyyy too easily. A minor complaint though, and a testament to how solidly this game performs otherwise. - Most games where money is an object eventually get to a point where it's meaningless, but here the money really is just silly. I got every weapon and upgrade I wanted and by the game's end I was still a multi-millionaire. If it's that easy, where the Fourth Echelon sign ups at? - The Guantanamo Bay shit was especially nonsensical. If you wanna make that name drop, and you're already showing Arabic terrorists torturing people, why come you gotta shy away from depicting Americans doing the same thing? Also, a mission where you falsely get yourself arrested and sent to Gitmo just to breezily escape? Not saying I didn't enjoy playing the mission, I did... but that shit's ridiculous! - The final mission is so intense. It's long and with awesome sneaking requirements and makes great use of the repeated attempts this genre usually calls for... it was pretty difficult, but for all the right reasons! THAT Trophy: Tactical Style: Assault So remember when I said that there's no wrong way to play this game? I may have been just a bit dishonest with you on that one. This is totally just me, because ever since Conviction, Splinter Cell is far better equipped for a loud, guns blazing approach. Now I love showing up and blasting everybody on the map, especially when I'm not supposed to (the numerous bloodbaths I've left behind in multiple Hitman games will attest to this), but here, for whatever reason, I simply didn't like it. The Grim missions have widely been labeled as the most difficult, but I actually enjoyed those a great deal - it was when I had to just start loudly shooting everybody in sight that I suddenly wasn't having as much fun. Though in a way, I guess that's as Splinter Cell as you can get? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 On 10/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, Shrooba said: Nice retrospective my man! I'm back from the grave momentarily, and in my bout of procrastinating assignments, here I am, only to be gone for another month after this until my semester is actually over! What's up, homie?? Good to see you out of the crypt?? On 10/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, Shrooba said: Now, Dynasty Warriors, this is one I've heard of! Only hack and slash I believe I've played is Persona 5 Strikers (or Sonic Unleashed and God of War if those count ). There's definitely a lot of appeal to sending waves of enemies into the stratosphere! Definitely a good stress reliever! That Da Qiao video felt like something from a forbidden realm... Like holy shit, the abrupt disappearance of music-- not even a slow fade out -- made it seem comedic. The sound department were probably trying to salvage something there! Somehow it reminds me of that sort of comedic timing of those Yakuza minigames. Never actually played a Yakuza game, but I've been blessed (or cursed...?) with seeing some of those scenes. Bruh it's so poorly done??? Yeah I feel that's specifically what Dynasty Warriors is for, just to shut your brain off and slay. The franchise ain't survived this long for nuffin! You remind me that I need to get back on Yakuza 0, it's such a good game yet for whatever reason I am constantly getting sidetracked whenever I start playing it. And agreed, there's definitely a special kind of awkwardness to some of those interactions? On 10/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, Shrooba said: I also see you've started good ol' GTA IV, eh? You got this! Thanks my dude! So far so good... and I can't believe forgot how much I love it? On 10/22/2022 at 3:22 AM, The_Kopite said: Lol, we will see if you stick to that! Also, not much of a threat haha It's the only threat I could muster? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted November 1, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 1, 2022 Monthly Update with Ya Man SmevzOctober 2022 It's that time again! Another month is down and good fucking lord it's already November why does this happen so fast. A good month, as I've finally started to gain ground with the PS3 backlog, but also a slow month that had me looking at all my recent IRL stuff like "Do you mind, I'm trying to play games." Anyway, let's draw back the curtain, what have we got??88.65% Overall Completion (-0.80)514 Unearned Trophies (+36)3.45 Trophies Per Day (+0.03)76 Platinums (+3)Level 368 (+4) ...yeah you can go ahead and close the curtain back up... nobody wants to see that.Game of the MonthSplinter Cell Blacklist was a total blast, I always appreciate being reminded that I need more stealth in my life. Finally trying out The Godfather Part II and revisiting the Smackdown Vs Raw series with the 2010 installment has been fun too, but really this comes down to Grand Theft Auto IV and Resident Evil.Oof.Given that I haven't touched GTA IV'S story mode yet, Resident Evil has to take it. Amazing how good this game still looks and feels, and how brilliantly it captures the intended spirit of the original game. Twenty years after its release, it still feels like a must play title. Capcom, you get props for that?Rating the MonthIn spite of a slower output, we managed to accomplish nearly all our goals! RE is sitting pretty as my 75th platinum, my daily trophies stat is trending upwards again, and a nice bite has been taken out of the PS3 backlog. All games on the hitlist saw progress or outright completion... except for Katamari. Probably the last game I ever pictured myself dragging my feet on.. come on Smevz, get your life together.Anyway, I still consider this month a success, albeit a bit modest. I'ma give October three out of five Magnum Rounds, if only to encourage more productivity for next month!November Goals1. Three plats was definitely a step back. Can we do five this month? Methinks we can. 2. Outdo my October output and write more than two things! 3. Get back under 500 unearned trophies.Gaming Hitlist1. Grand Theft Auto IVIt took about a week, but the online portion is almost complete (the dreaded Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic trophy is wrapped up, which has this thing starting to feel pretty damn doable). Really looking forward to re-experiencing the story. The pigeons, not so much.2. The Godfather Part II The chillest of the bunch by far, and will serve as the month's easiest completion. It's a little too easy if I'm bein real, and doesn't quite stand up to its predecessor, but it's still pretty fun.3. Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 Man, I loved these games back in the day. This isn't the best of em, but the spirit is the same and it's been a real treat.4. XCOM: Enemy Within Fell in love with Enemy Unknown on the 360. I'm a lil nervous about the Classic playthrough, but I'm still eager as shit to get into this one. Especially after writing about StarCraft, the RTS itch must be scratched!5. The Saboteur This was one of the first games I thought of when I started entertaining the idea of tackling PS3 games. Like XCOM, I absolutely adored this game in the last generation and am pretty stoked that I have an excuse to play it again! The PS3 battle rages on, and I am loving it so far? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 2 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: 3. Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 Man, I loved these games back in the day. This isn't the best of em, but the spirit is the same and it's been a real treat. I enjoyed going back to this and platinuming it. Definitely really enjoyed them back in the day as well so was cool to do and was cheap too! The only other WWE platinum I have is Legends of Wrestlemania which is just not the same. It's an odd fighting game mixed with a wrestling game and just plays differently. Fun enough for what it was though lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 9 hours ago, The_Kopite said: I enjoyed going back to this and platinuming it. Definitely really enjoyed them back in the day as well so was cool to do and was cheap too! The only other WWE platinum I have is Legends of Wrestlemania which is just not the same. It's an odd fighting game mixed with a wrestling game and just plays differently. Fun enough for what it was though lol Dude I was obsessed with those games! I missed '09-'10 and played '11, so that was my first choice but it's been long unobtainable? I always mix up Legends of Wrestlemania with Legends of Wrestling, and that one is so old I'm always like "huh???" I've heard mixed things about that one so I'm glad you had a good enough time with it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 9 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Dude I was obsessed with those games! I missed '09-'10 and played '11, so that was my first choice but it's been long unobtainable I always mix up Legends of Wrestlemania with Legends of Wrestling, and that one is so old I'm always like "huh???" I've heard mixed things about that one so I'm glad you had a good enough time with it Yeah I had a hankering for some good ol' fashioned WWE and was like "Make sure not to play any unobtainable plats" lol SvR2010 and LoW worked out nicely! Yeah can definitely understand the mixed ratings for it. Honestly if you ever play it, I'd be interested to know your thoughts. Decent play length and easy enough to get so I'd recommend in that regard, just takes a bit to get used too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted November 19, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 19, 2022 (edited) Platinum #75: Resident Evil You hear the door slam/And realize there's nowhere left to run The GTA trilogy was the sweetheart of my experience with the sixth generation, but it wasn't my first time being obsessed with a wildly successful and influential trio of games on a single console. I'd been #TeamPlaystation for a full generation before that after all, and much like Britney Spears, wasn't that innocent. And as far as PlayStation goes, maybe even any franchise with that specific criteria, I think the distinction of my first might have to go to Resident Evil.Granted, the 90s RE games I fell in love with are not PSN-recognized, but we do have newer, platinum-endowed renditions of all three which are, and I'd say that's as good an excuse as any to blab about the originals?I was thirteen years old and just becoming acquainted with the PlayStation console when Resident Evil first came rolling through in 1996. Unlike GTA III, I don't actually recall advertisements of any sort from the time, but I do remember my friends talking about it non-stop - and schoolyard word of mouth was still king in those days. Once the word "zombies" came up, which of course was probably the first or second thing mentioned, it was over for me. Ever since seeing Night of the Living Dead at a very young age (the ending in particular, with the shots of bodies being burned and that chilling music, traumatized me juuust a tad), I'd had a taste for horror, and the concept of zombies taking center stage in a video game set a bomb off in my head.Plus, I'd never played a truly scary game before, and the praise from my friends was unanimous. I had to see what all the fuss was about - so I hopped into my caddy, went to the store, peeled a crisp hundo off the roll, slapped it down on the counter and walked out purchase in hand like a pimp.....just kidding, my mommy rented it for me. Today of course, this game's opening is rightfully a laughingstock, but as a teenager who was not far removed from playing on the SNES, seeing a live action sequence actually kinda blew my mind, and had me feelin more hype than Thrillho. Right from the jump, you have this sense of paranoia and fear and don't have to wait long at all for that awesome reveal of your first zombie. The fixed camera angles helped create an even more unsettling atmosphere, and the scarcity of ammo and healing items ("green herbs, huh huh") made staying alive a thickly tense endeavor, with the jump scares taking full advantage of this. Not to mention the impressive lore building - I was hooked on learning everything I could about what was going on and devoured every diary, memo, note, letter, and report I could find. A personal favorite, the infamous Inn Keeper's Journal, has stayed with me to this day. Tasty. It was all played so beautifully that until its top tier sequel came out, we either didn't care about the glaring flaws or adopted them as a part of the game's charm. Yes, the story makes less and less sense the further you get. And sure, the Wiseau-esque writing and voice acting are a hot mess. And okay, the soundtrack on the Dual Shock version, which was sadly what I got when I finally bought my own copy of the game, was... actually even teenaged me can't defend that score, it was pretty trash. But it all came together to form this cheesy, B-movie horror that you couldn't help loving. A heavily flawed classic, but a classic nonetheless. Which, at long last, brings us to the remake. Its announcement came in 2001 with a promise to essentially upgrade RE 1 in every aspect, while most importantly retaining a staunch faithfulness to the original vision of the game. And less than a year later, there it was, our survival horror Six Million Dollar Man seen to fruition, exactly as advertised. Better, in fact. I don't know if Capcom gave the development team everything they needed, if this was just a particularly talented group, or if the secret ingredient truly is love, but this is an unusually good remake. I mean ridiculously so - to the extent where it's widely accepted that the remake has replaced the original altogether, pretty much free of caveats. That's insane. Nowhere is the case for Remake toppling the original any stronger than when it comes to the story. Remake feels infinitely more immersive immediately, its intro ignoring camp and just bringing us up to speed with what's going on. Once we get to the Spencer Mansion, it's made clear that our characters aren't just action heroes waiting for their names to be called by a gravelly voiced narrator, they're real people dropped into an increasingly horrifying situation. Jill and Chris each have a moment where shock is clearly coming over them, and the mad dash to the mansion feels far more frantic - no stopping everything for a dramatic "DON'T GOOOO!!" for instance. Everything is in tact plot-wise, even managing to introduce a few new elements without rocking the proverbial boat, with the absolutely heartbreaking story of the Trevor family coming to mind. Speaking of new elements, the Crimson Heads are such a brilliant addition. Having that extra wrinkle to consider broadens the tension that much more, and the first time one comes at you there's this great sense of "what the fuck" that hasn't been present since first playing the original game. That's not an easy trick to pull! Plus there's a bunch of little things, like that doorknob that breaks after a handful of uses, or being able to walk up and down stairs freely, or zombies occasionally coming through closed door! I also loved the scenes where enemies first appear, namely coming upon your first zombie, or having your first Hunter come upon you (er..), which brings me to how much better the remake looks than I remembered. This thing looks excellent, and has aged well enough to fit in on the PS4. It's like David Bowie in his 50s at this point, it has no business looking this good. The character models and cutscenes are all great, but it's the fixed shots of pre-rendered backgrounds that really steal the show. The settings, from the mansion to the lab, all feel so real. They wear the recent events prominently, but have so many little details that indicate these were once quite commonplace locations, and it makes everything all the more harrowing. The more realistic approach here is handled almost flawlessly, with another helpful element being the score. It's so well done and fitting for each moment, it know when to be haunting, it knows when to be creepy, and it knows when to get your blood pumping. I also love that there's finally just one singular soundtrack - the original and Dual Shock version both had good and bad tracks (the latter more so), but here everything is high quality from start to finish. Now of course, there was nowhere to go but up with the script and voice acting, and they are also top notch. I must confess that here is the only area where I get mixed feelings, though. As mentioned before, by this point the original's bad writing and delivery had developed such a well known cheesy charm, but Remake was going for very much the opposite. So I can see the tightrope they may have felt the need to walk here, and this is more of a personal thing than outright criticism, but I'm not sure how I feel about the writers feeling the need to leave in nods to some of those old lines.With the graphics being so much more realistic, the situation feeling even more dire, and the characters being better fleshed out, a line like "You were almost a Jill sandwich" is too absurd, which I won't disagree with. However, they still want to give the wink as it were, so instead Barry says "A second later, you would've fit nicely into a sandwich." WHAT IS THIS? It's even worse than what came before it! We all know what Barry said and we've had our laughs, if you make him act like a normal person in a tense and frightening situation, believe me, it's okay! Or, y'know, just say the line, cuz that's fine too! Chris' "We got the the ROOT of that problem!" worked just fine, after all. But trying to find a middle ground here is low key a fool's errand, because you are not going to make the original game's dialogue sound natural. There are several instances like this where Capcom tries to have their cake and eat it too, and I can't help wishing they'd gone in one direction or another. Lastly, the controls are pretty solid. Everything is surprisingly smooth, and things like the quick turnaround inherited from RE 3 is mad appreciated. I love that Capcom gave us the choice of tank or standard controls, but going standard really underlines why tank controls were a thing in the first place! That sense of disorientation absolutely serves its purpose though, so no hate on that, but it made the speed runs more stressful in some places, because you're bound to waste a bit of time inadvertently running back and forth more than a few times. There's also a bit of "Nuh uh uh, you weren't standing in the exact right place!" when trying to interact with the background or solving puzzles, but it's a 2002 game, whaddayagonnado. This was such a great time, and I'm really glad on a basic bitch level that I played this in October. I've heard the original on the GameCube looks better than the one we've got on PS4, and I don't doubt it, but it looks so good as is that I can't be bothered to care. I played this once in 2002, and I'm grateful to have forgotten as much as I did about this game, it really felt like a new experience again. This isn't just mandatory for Resi fans, I really think any given gamer could play Remake today and just enjoy the hell out of it - as an old dork who plays a lot of older games, this one looks and feels a lot closer to modern day stuff than you might think. I really can't praise or recommend this one enough, I wish all remakes were this thorough and this lovingly made. If you haven't played this one, I'm sorry, but you fucked up.Stray Observations - Again, a testament to the writing and acting - I didn't find myself once missing lines like "No. Don't open that door!" Besides, that's what YouTube is for? - You can genuinely feel the camaraderie between Jill and Barry, and as things progress Jill seems a lot sharper and Barry seems a lot more anguished. Great attention to detail. - I LOVE the tease of the dogs in that hallway. Just this little knowing tap on the glass... and then we get the requisite jump scare a few rooms down later on in the game. Solid.- "What was THAT??" I forgot what a dick Chris was with Rebecca here! I mean she played okay. Maybe not good enough for a trap door with a curiously keen ear, but definitely better than your ass! - "Barry, why do we need these convoluted keys? I mean I've got shotguns and a grenade launcher, can't I just shoot the knobs off?" "Jill, you can't do that, it's impossible." "But what about when you broke the door down earlier to save me?" ".....that's different."- Some of the hidden items crack me up. There's a sculpture with an inscription indicating it requires certain colored eyes, and cleverly hidden around the mansion are these jewels of different hues which fit into these slots perfectly. You place them inside, the sculpture reacts, it coughs dust onto you as it wondrously begins to move and reveal its hidden contents at long last - the MYTHICAL, the MAGICAL... case of shotgun shells. You're telling me somebody went to such uncanny lengths to hide THESE? Get the fuck out of here.- Watching Jill climb up or down that ladder made me feel like I was taking a spin class on the bike behind a very attractive woman - I'm trying so hard to look at anything but her butt. - I have this memory of the original game where in the lab Jill would type like an adult, and Chris would just use his index fingers like he had never seen a computer before in his life. Couldn't find any video of this though, did I make that up? - One of the things I wish they'd kept exactly the same as the first script was Wesker's bullied kid voice when Chris starts laughing at him near the end, that shit will always be funny. - Quick shout to the costumes - having Chris and Jill's Baby Cop outfits along with Body Builder Agent Chris and Bad Ass Agent Jill in the same game was a pleasant surprise! THAT Trophy: Ink Is for Squids As fun as it was to tear through the game with my infinite rocket launcher (as is tradition) and intimate knowledge of everything the game has to offer, I still found this more stressful than any other run. The sharks and Hunters in particular had me nervous - however unlikely, they still had a chance at killing me in one attack. That anxiety came back a bit before the end when I had to carry that fuel without running or getting hit, thinking of the outside chance that I missed a monster and it would step out of the shadows and blow my ass up. The Invisible Enemies run was a close second, namely for that Crimson Head boss and the second battle with the snake, but at this point I was just on the verge of having had my fill with the game, and the last thing I wanted was to finish my time with this masterpiece feeling annoyed. I hope that makes sense? Edited November 20, 2022 by YaManSmevz 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 15 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Which, at long last, brings us to the remake. Its announcement came in 2001 with a promise to essentially upgrade RE 1 in every aspect, while most importantly retaining a staunch faithfulness to the original vision of the game. And less than a year later, there it was, our survival horror Six Million Dollar Man seen to fruition, exactly as advertised. Better, in fact. I don't know if Capcom gave the development team everything they needed, if this was just a particularly talented group, or if the secret ingredient truly is love, but this is an unusually good remake. I mean ridiculously so - to the extent where it's widely accepted that the remake has replaced the original altogether, pretty much free of caveats. That's insane. Man - that's true! I hadn't really thought about that, but you're right - a remake so completely obliterating the original version is pretty much unheard of... the only one I can really think of is possibly Shadow of the Colossus - primarily because the original ran like a powerpoint presentation - or maybe Super Mario Bros being so all-encompassing, that the original Mario Bros is barely even a blip on a Google search now! 15 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: With the graphics being so much more realistic, the situation feeling even more dire, and the characters being better fleshed out, a line like "You were almost a Jill sandwich" is too absurd, which I won't disagree with. However, they still want to give the wink as it were, so instead Barry says "A second later, you would've fit nicely into a sandwich." WHAT IS THIS? It's even worse than what came before it! We all know what Barry said and we've had our laughs, if you make him act like a normal person in a tense and frightening situation, believe me, it's okay! Or, y'know, just say the line, cuz that's fine too! Chris' "We got the the ROOT of that problem!" worked just fine, after all. But trying to find a middle ground here is low key a fool's errand, because you are not going to make the original game's dialogue sound natural. There are several instances like this where Capcom tries to have their cake and eat it too, and I can't help wishing they'd gone in one direction or another. ? That cracks me up - I didn't realise they changed this - and your right, it's like going "this painting of an Octopus in sexy clothing is ridiculous... put it in a different frame! Ah, that's better." 15 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: - "Barry, why do we need these convoluted keys? I mean I've got shotguns and a grenade launcher, can't I just shoot the knobs off?" "Jill, you can't do that, it's impossible." "But what about when you broke the door down earlier to save me?" ".....that's different." ? Great write up man - you're making me seriously think about doing this one now - I played the original PS1 game a whole bunch, but haven't ever played any of the versions of the remake... ...curse you, backlog gremlin! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 20, 2022 Author Share Posted November 20, 2022 1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said: That cracks me up - I didn't realise they changed this - and your right, it's like going "this painting of an Octopus in sexy clothing is ridiculous... put it in a different frame! Ah, that's better." I freakin KNEW it was the frame? 1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said: Great write up man - you're making me seriously think about doing this one now - I played the original PS1 game a whole bunch, but haven't ever played any of the versions of the remake... ...curse you, backlog gremlin! Thanks a lot bro! Honestly I think you'd have a really good time with it.. plus I imagine it would help wash out the unpleasant taste of 6! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted November 28, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 28, 2022 Platinum #20: Resident Evil 2 Knock knock, open up the door, it's real Sometimes I look back on the games I had in my teen years and am blown away by the embarassment of riches. I was thinking about how the wait didn't seem very long for Resident Evil's sequel for me and wondering why that was, until I remembered that I had Final Fantasy VII, Symphony of the Night, and Goldeneye (well, at my friend's house) to keep me occupied. When Resident Evil 2 dropped in January of '98 though, all that shit fell by the wayside. Well, not FFVII. That franchise was also an obsession, but that's a story for another time. Unlike Resi 1, I remember the the ads for this one all too well. Every video game magazine worth its salt kept us up to date, and between the talk of the fabled Resident Evil 1.5 and the budding marketing campaign spearheaded by the tagline "If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will," we were whipped up into a frenzy. The commercial I remember most closes with an immortal line by Gary Krawford as Chief Irons that's been synonymous with this game ever since, at least for me. Mr. Krawford deserves all the flowers he gets (R.I.P.), he absolutely killed this role. We start with a quick recap of the story so far, and that alone sets the tone. The dark, menacing music combined with competent voice acting signals a much more serious game - no silly live action stuff, no bombastic intro, just diving right in and picking up where you left off with the sad fate of Raccoon City. And this opening slays, man. New characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield arrive in the city, unsuspecting as can be, but quickly realize that shit ain't quite right. They find each other, have a great "come with me if you want to live" moment, and head off to the police station in hopes of a safe haven and some answers. Then shit goes haywire, and suddenly they each find themselves separated, thrust into the city's new reality. That mansion incident didn't blow over, it fully spread in a matter of months, and you can see it immediately. Debris is all over the place, cars are overturned, fires are out of control, and there are zombies everywhere. You have to maneuver your way through the ruins of Raccoon City, with zombies breathing down your neck the entire time, and just hope you can make it to the police station so you can finally find a typewriter and save! On top of better voice acting and music, RE 2 played better and felt stronger story-wise. Easily my favorite addition was the limping system - your health is reflected in your posture and gait, which makes thing even more intense when you're near death and trying to get away from enemies. I could've sworn this existed in the first game, but nope - this is where it debuted! The story is a great deal more rich, and you can really sense how much the writers are into building up this world. New characters like Chief Irons and Ada Wong contribute massively to making this disaster feel even more real, and the disappearance of Jill and Chris serves to heighten the mystery rather than feel like a lazy omission. Finally, there's the fantastic dual scenario system. Just like the first game, you can choose which character you wanna play as, but this time how you play will directly affect the next playthrough. If you take a weapon or hip pouch, for example, it won't be there for the character who goes next. They communicate via walkie talkie for the majority of the game, which is great - I remember playing as Leon and hitting up Claire, informing her about the newly found sewer access, and she sounded so sad in her response. You can't help being curious about what's going on there, and when you play as her next it's all explained. It wasn't perfect, I mean obviously there are a lot of the same zombies and puzzles to be dealt with, but having both Leon and Claire's stories happening concurrently was such a brilliant touch and added a lot of depth. Oh, and Mr. X. He only shows up in the second scenario, and provides such a great WTF element when you first see him. Resident Evil 2 was a masterclass in how to make a sequel. It builds up on and improves literally everything from the first game, and fleshed out Raccoon City, Umbrella, and any other thing you could name from this franchise, it all just feels that much more believable and real. Given how good its predecessor's remake was, hopes were high for the sequel's own re-imagining, and while it isn't perfect, it's still pretty fucking great.Much like the first game's remake, it immediately slaps you across the face with how much better graphics have gotten since the original game's era. Even that greasy cheeseburger the truck driver is shoveling into his face looks fantastic! Meeting your first zombie is exactly as it should be, tense and frightening. Also like RE 1 Remake, every area is so detailed and feels realistic. The police department, and especially the lab, are rife with small details, giving each environment a lived-in quality. The environments effortlessly capture the feeling of the original, while adding onto locations without anything feeling tacked on. Potential hot take: the sewers is a notable upgrade from the original. Peeps complain about it being dark and tricky, and I feel you, but I don't agree. This area is not some generic sewer setting like in the OG, it feels like the real deal. It's so dank and filthy, you can almost smell it. Also, I thought the bit with the chess pieces was so well done. It was claustrophobic as shit, and my first time I was lookin over my shoulder the whole time while trying to rush through it, which always lends a great deal of tension to even the simplest of tasks. Maybe it's easy for me to praise it now, having completed it well over a year ago, but I appreciate how cavernous and dangerous this area is as opposed to its original appearance. The controls are impeccable as well, basically showing off every improvement the series has ever seen in this department. The Over the Shoulder camera approach feels appropriate, and aiming and shooting feels great. Sounds great, too - gunshots have a solid kick to them, which I really enjoyed. Also, I found this game pretty scary! It seems like a lot of people don't like bestowing the term 'scary' if it didn't make them piss themselves, but I thought this aspect was nailed beautifully. The aesthetic is there big time, and it's not just the blood drenched hallways or terrifying creatures. You're forced into several situations that escalate quickly, largely thanks to Mr. X. You hear his footsteps from a room or two away and it gets you rushing into a different room. But suddenly you've got zombies coming out of a window you didn't board up, and now you've got to escape this room. And Mr. X can still be heard off in the distance. Run out of this room and straight into two lickers, and you fucked up because they heard your footsteps and know exactly where you are. I loved these moments, and had more than a few of them! Now, the remake does have its issues, but before I get to them I just wanna establish that they're largely nitpicky and I don't have the haters' backs at all on this one. I adored the remake, I thought it mostly did right by the source material and was a joy to play from beginning to end. Firstly, the big one - the scenario system is completely gutted. It's my understanding that they were going to do away with this entirely but kind of tacked it on after announcing that it wasn't gonna be a thing and getting, um.. let's say a mixed response. I think it's fine, but I found myself wanting to see Leon and Claire communicate more beyond just a few written notes. Given the capabilities games have now, and the impressive creativity already on board with the remake, there could've been a really in depth version of the scenario pairings. I'm not gonna play armchair developer and act like I know exactly what they should've done, but I was kinda sad to not see this capitalized upon. Secondly there's the music, or rather the lack thereof. It dawned on me that I hadn't even really made any mental notes of the soundtrack - the boss themes were pretty crackin, but everything else was pretty much just serviceable, and that's when there even was music, because a lot of the game is played in silence. The original's soundtrack was not just a massive leap from its predecessor, but iconic on its own merit. In fact, the original score was so sinister that I'd argue even the save room theme didn't quite feel entirely as safe as what we've grown used to. It just doesn't have the same warmth, and I really liked that. That's pretty much it! Leon simps a lil more over Ada than he did in the original, I wish Chief Irons was a little more like his original, subtly creepy self, and Annette Birkin is waaayy less sympathetic this time around, but other than that I'm fresh out of complaints! Resident Evil 2 doesn't reach the high watermark left by its predecessor as far as remakes go, but it's like losing a pick up game to Michael Jordan, it's nothing anybody would ever hold against you. There's a few little things I wish were different, but this is just a spectacular game, plain and simple. It's got atmosphere up the ass, it controls great, it looks phenomenal, and it's very much worthy of its namesake. It doesn't render the original obsolete by any means, but who cares? This game is way too good to be concerned with things like that, and if you haven't played this yet, well... play it. Cuz you should. Stray Observations - Favorite line from the original opening: "That guy's a maniac... WHY'D HE BITE ME??" Second place is the exchange of Claire's delightfully suspicious "...you're a cop, right?" and Leon's weirdly cheerful "Yeah, first day on the job. Great, huh?" - I've heard mixed opinions, but I wanna go on record saying that Claire is the perfect level of had ass here. She knows how to hold a gun and flashlight, she's all about keeping Sherry safe, and she also dislikes this version of Chief Irons! - Mr. X is dressed like he's going to the local porn shop, and I love it. Even more, I love the idea of him bursting through the porn shop's wall, but still donning the costume in an effort to be discrete. - Something I forgot to mention with the last write-up, defense weapons were an absolute game changer, and thankfully make a return here. The grenades are bad ass and the knives have their own life bar, which is a clever touch. - I like how we keep that cool, unconcerned-with-all-this-very-real-danger aura with Ada, but that slow, casual walk of hers is quite unwelcome on the speed run. "Have you heard of Umbrella?" Yeah. How about running, have you heard of that? - "Based on what you've said, the sewer seems fitting." Oooh, sick burn Leon. Wouldn't wanna get on your bad side. - The limb targeting in this game is stupendous. People complain about the zombies being bullet sponges but I think it makes sense, and the necessity to shoot a kneecap or arm to render them a lil less dangerous, rather than empty a clip to try and kill them outright, is a great thing to focus on. - I actually really enjoyed Sherry's segment in this game, much more than the original, that's for sure. I've had some pretty awful experiences in my childhood with abuse, and I completely understand how many might find this segment triggering, but... it's just so well done, and really feels scary. I fucked with it. - Watching Leon or Claire die is just brutal. It looks great, and it speaks volumes about how well their characters are developed, but man. You hate to see it. THAT Trophy: Hell of a Sheriff Extra scenarios was a big part of RE 2's appeal - granted, only us nerds who bothered to try and get A ranks on every scenario even knew they existed, but they were icing on the cake for sure. So getting not only Hunk and Tofu, but four new scenarios as well, was a huge treat to say the least! They're short, fun, and not terribly demanding... at least until you get to playing No Way Out. Remember that handsome Rick Grimes cosplayer from the beginning of the game? Well you assume control of him as he attempts to hold down the gas station, enduring wave after wave of zombies (100 to be precise), and it's easily one of the most challenging tasks in the game. You have a pistol with infinite ammo, but it becomes borderline useless well before the halfway mark and you find yourself at the mercy of goodie-filled backpacks that periodically make their way into the gas station. This one took me a good couple of days even after consulting YouTube for tips. It feels daunting at first, especially when new variations of zombies start popping up, but after a while it gets easier to map out. The RNG is pretty light, as they always come out of the same places and the contents of the backpacks more or less stay the same. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and the claustrophobic feel of the gas station aisles will feel intense as shit, but eventually it starts to make sense. A lot of people have mentioned that Crimson Heads might have been cool to keep as a series mainstay, but can you imagine this scenario with those?? Fuck that? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie__227 Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Maybe someday I'll get around to finally buckling down and earning THAT trophy, but as for now I will just continue to have a single one missing on the list Congrats on the completion! I remember having a blast going for the plat in this game, and in 3 remake as well! Wish I could experience them for the first time again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted November 28, 2022 Author Share Posted November 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, Billie__227 said: Maybe someday I'll get around to finally buckling down and earning THAT trophy, but as for now I will just continue to have a single one missing on the list You can do it homie, I promise you! Whenever you're finding yourself feeling inspired, give it another go? 2 minutes ago, Billie__227 said: Congrats on the completion! I remember having a blast going for the plat in this game, and in 3 remake as well! Wish I could experience them for the first time again. Thank you! And that shit's real, you only get to play these things for the first time once, and that's when they're at their best. Well, that and the inevitable infinite rocket launcher run? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted November 30, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 30, 2022 Platinum #80: Resident Evil 3 Better deadbolt the door, it ain't safe no more There's something special about when a franchise really comes into its own. I can only speak for the excitement of us gamers, but would love to have experienced the energy in the Capcom offices. They had just put out arguably one of the greatest sequels in gaming history - I could only imagine the pressure that comes with this feat. So what do they do? Start concurrent work on two different follow-ups, sell the movie rights, plant the seeds for going FPS and even online... and that's just what we knew about. Busy lil mafuckin bees! Today, I have mixed feelings about this era. The aforementioned excitement was very real, but over-saturation was right around the corner, as was Capcom hoppin into bed with Dreamcast and GameCube. My petty brand loyalty left me with Survivor (goodie), snippets of Code Veronica, bits and pieces of Zero and a lone playthrough of Remake. That and the movie bein wack all saw me fall off from the franchise altogether, which I am not proud to say. However, it wasn't before I got to experience Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in all its glory. I still find it interesting that this was originally the spin-off and Code Veronica was supposed to be RE 3, but can't imagine it any other way. It has a kinship with the first two games that just makes sense - its story occurs before and after the events of RE 2, and it brings back our favorite protagonist from the original game (I love you too Chris, but I mean let's be real). Jill is pretty hardened after the last few months - I mean who wouldn't be - and with shit hitting the fan in Raccoon City, and nobody believing her about the truth, it's time to get the fuck out of dodge. With all the chaos in the streets, it would be tense enough trying to peace out, but there's a brilliant new wrinkle with the game's namesake, Nemesis. A new Umbrella bioweapon who is specifically programmed to hunt down the S.T.A.R.S. unit, he is essentially Mr. X on steroids. We see him kill our old buddy from said unit (Nemesis said "Check out the big brain on Braaad... GUSSHHHH!!!!!") and now he's after us. He's as strong as Mr. X, but insanely fast, far more durable, and has a freakin rocket launcher, as if that all wasn't scary enough! And he is following us throught the whole. damn. game. Between scripted events and random appearances, you're always paranoid about when he'll show up next. He even follows you through rooms, which used to be a big no-no for the baddies! You have no moment's peace with this guy, which makes even looting and backtracking far more nerve-wracking than before. It's been said that this is the first RE where action was really the focal point, and that's true, but there's so much more to it than that. The premise of a menacing Nemesis enemy's ever-present meddling perpetually testing your weaponry essentially ensures that you're still going to be strapped for ammo, and the constant fear of him showing up (or getting slapped with a gaggle of zombies, cuz there are way more of those here as well) serves up that classic survival horror feel we know and love, even if it is paired with a high octane Escape From Raccoon City conceit. Plus, there's the clock tower! While the streets of Raccoon City are definitely what make this game unique location-wise, it's the clock tower that grounds it. It has the same feel as the mansion or the police station (which we get to visit briefly here in a wonderful deja-vu segment), and more importantly it's got some notoriously tricky puzzles. Not only are they more complex, but they're randomized as well! And there's just so much they added gameplay-wise as well. The dodge and 180 turn make their debuts here, as does the ammo building system, which made a triumphant return in RE 2 Remake. And most prominently, every so often the game will freeze up and present you with a decision to make. They aren't always necessarily huge, but it adds a bit of replay value for sure, and in the heat of the moment (there's a quick countdown whenever this option comes up), particularly the first few times this happens, you're like "Shit! What?? Uhhh... fuck!" This is how you make a trilogy game, man. It keeps the spirit of its predecessors while adding a ton of cool new shit and enriching the existing storyline all the more. Not only do we get an even broader look at the sudden downfall of Raccoon City, or the nefarious schemes of Umbrella, but finally we know what Jill's been up to! We're long past the "something's not quite right" stage at this point, and they just ran with it. I love this game, and it's as good a way to close out its time on the PS1 as any. So then this is where we talk about the remake, or as I've heard a few peeps refer to it, Threemake. I had already heard a couple unflattering accounts by the time I got around to playing this, which was disheartening but also kind of a good thing because it made it easy for me to focus on the positives for my first playthrough. And firstly, this thing looks incredible. Jill, Nemesis, Raccoon City, Hunters, the hair on that dreamboat Carlos?? Ridiculous. Sometimes it blows me away to think how far removed we are from the days of "if you squint, it almost looks like a movie." I can only imagine how good this looks on a PS5! The city itself is disappointingly compact and linear, but it looks fantastic. It's very well realized, with a pretty large chunk of the original being featured, and feels just as hopeless and frightening as it should. The hospital and lab both boast the same qualities as the lab from RE 2 Remake, they feel like they were pristine and lived in until all this happened, with chill, every day details hiding underneath all the blood and gore. A lot of people had some hate for Jill's character, but I really liked her. The last few months have done a lot to her, and it's totally believable that she'd be cursing up a storm and talking shit to Nemesis at every opportunity. I mean, she doesn't say anything meaner than things I say when I'm getting my ass beat by a game, so it makes sense to me. And besides, she was sassing up Carlos in the original too, so I ain't mad at Remake Jill! There's a lot of good cool jump scares, I really liked Carlos and his chemistry with Jill, and the atmosphere is great. But given what it's working with, it's just lacking. The ultimate downfall of the remake is that it's trying to re-build a game that gave us so much more than we expected by giving us so much less. There's just too much material mishandled or missing entirely for me to not acknowledge that the haters got some serious points this time around. The decision system, something that really could've been fleshed out (and made the game's brevity much more understandable), is gone. Once you're done with the city area, for a long while so is Nemesis. The threat of him randomly leaping out of the shadows is pretty much non-existent (well it is, cuz all his appearances are scripted) and it's a huge loss. The helicopter crash was a brilliant fake-out in the original, just this gutting "YOU THOUGHT!!" moment, and it's reduced to a cinematic at the beginning. And the omission of the clock tower is just baffling - there was absolutely no need to cut that! I get that you're under pressure to get this thing out as quickly as possible so that Capcom higher-ups can play Scrooge McDuck in their money bins, but it's just a damn shame. At the end Jill's like "IT WAS GREEEED" and I'd like to think that's the writers and devs taking a shot at their bosses Oh, and "You want STARS?? I'll give you STARS!!" is infinitely better than "Next time, take the fucking hint." It just is. I wish they would've kept that at the end. I don't think this remake is a failure, I don't even think it's bad. There's a lot of disappointment in it not being able to live up to the original content-wise, particularly when the two remakes before it killed shit so thoroughly, but it's still a highly enjoyable game, one I'd even still recommend. But if you've got a PS1 lying around, the original is the one you want hands down. Stray Observations - The very opening, when Nemesis is essentially being created... man, that shit gave me chills! - "HEY, FUCKFACE!!" Do people still say that? - I love how gross they made some of the enemies! Those headsucker things and the lil insects that shoot fuck knows what down Jill's throat were in the original game, and are gloriously disgusting here. Watching Jill down a green herb so she could yack after getting hentai'd by that one monster... yeesh. Who knows where that thing's been? - Carlos' segments in the police station and hospital were a lot of fun - even though the bit where they're clearly trying to recreate the No Way Out scenario felt kinda tacked on, it was still a blast, and felt like a nice release after carefully sneaking around for so long. - They did Nikolai justice too, I thought. He's so slithery that you know right away he's bad news, but unlike Chief Irons in the last remake, it's not so over the top that you're like "yeah I get it, he's a jerk." - For some reason, that sideways nose makes Nemesis look a lil less intimidating, like if he said anything other than "STARSSS" it would come out in this high pitched, nasal voice. "Brad? Jill? C'mooonn, I wanna kill all the STARS..." THAT Trophy: Dominator I find myself wondering if they made the infinite rocket launcher easy to get because of this difficulty, or if it was the other way around. Or if they hastily slapped this difficulty together after the devs realized you could beat the game in an hour and a half. Either way, this was literally the only really difficult part of the game. And to be specific, it's really only the final fight that's some seriously unpleasant business. Especially if you suck at perfect dodges like I did! Nemesis feels like you're playing a fighting game with somebody who just starts spamming his strongest moves once you start making some leeway, and if your defense isnt timed perfectly, it can get pretty miserable. But yeah, other than that this was a pretty breezy platinum. Which makes me weirdly sad, cuz I remember the original being hard as shit! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted December 1, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2022 Monthly Update with Ya Man Smevz November 2022 Here we are already, and it still hasn't quite registered for me. It's that time again to watch Home Alone and Die Hard, listen to A Long December by Counting Crows, make tamales, sing Auld Lang Syne, and start working on those year end write-ups. BUT FIRST! November wasn't my most accomplished month number-wise, but fuck all that, I've really enjoyed it! And one of my favorite things about my PS3 trip is something I'd surprisingly forgotten about - that tactile joy of handling discs and physically switching out games when you want to play something else! I confess, I let digital gaming ruin me so fast it's almost embarrassing...? 88.34% Overall Completion (-0.31)598 Unearned Trophies (+84)3.51 Trophies Per Day (+0.06)81 Platinums (+5)Level 375 (+7) Game of the Month Quite a lot to choose from this month! Playing WWE Smackdown Vs RAW and The Godfather II put me in a serious 2009 time warp. Started Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and Red Dead Redemption, but mostly tackled DLC stuff, nothing major yet. Resident Evil 3 was charmingly good-not-great, and The Saboteur was great-but-more-importantly-fun-as-shit. Finally, there's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which seduced me to the point of finishing it in less than a day and a half, and Grand Theft Auto IV, which I FINALLY completed the online portion for, as well as a good amount of pain in the ass miscellanea. I don't think it's GTA IV's time yet, as I'm still getting annoying stuff out of the way so that I can enjoy the story, and Modern Warfare was a surprising, whirlwind gaming romance that I enjoyed far more than expected, but as good as it was, I still woke up alone in the morning with the unpleasant itch of a leftover online multiplayer DLC trophy. Which leaves a game that literally gave me more than 1,000 collectibles to deal with, yet somehow made it insanely fun anyway - The Saboteur gets the nod! Rating the Month Again, I can't help feeling that given my lack of writing and gaming output this month, I not only shouldn't be overly pleased with myself, but perhaps also expecting a visit from the Bobs. Still though, I'm actually pretty happy with what is done, namely with GTA IV's online portion being wrapped up and getting a few new games started. A few goals weren't met, and percentages saw a downward trend... but can these factoids be outweighed by sheer gaming enjoyment? Well yeah, of course they can. Four out of five Belles Du Nuit for November! December Goals 1. All I need to match my completion output from last year is four games. That's nothing, right? Four more games!! Four more games!! 2. The writing output is up a tick, but I'd really like to see if I can coax the muse back out for a while. 3. Definitely would like to see the completion percentage back on the rise. Doesn't have to be anything crazy, just for it to stop going down - gotta stop starting so many games that I'm not finishing at once! Gaming Hitlist I'm gonna take @Platinum_Vice's suggestion and simplify this real nice: That's it, every PS3 game I either played on the 360, never played but wanted to, or found to have a reasonable enough price tag is here. I'm sure the odd PS4 game will still grab me on occasion, but this stack is priority, and will be until it's done. Some of these absolutely terrify me and may end up lost in the sad, dirty sea of incompletion, but that is the plan. So yeah, that's it for me. Happy December everybody? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 12 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Platinum #80: Resident Evil 3 Better deadbolt the door, it ain't safe no more Damn - I knew it would happen eventually - but finally a review of RE3R came along that has all the well reasoned reasons against the game I really liked - but what hurt it is the clear reason that make sense - you played and loved the original. RE3R is a game I actually SUPER liked - much more so than I expected to, and much more than most people - but I suspect (actually, I now know) that has a lot to do with it being the only version of RE3 I've ever touched. I never had the prior experience with the original to give me a taste of what was missing from the remake, so to me, it was just a super-tight, super-streamlined action version of RE2R, with a more compelling character, better cutscenes, and less in the way of filler. However... the more and more I hear about the original, the more and more I realise how much must have been removed to get the remake out in time - and it's making me really curious about this clock-tower section everyone seems to miss! Great review though man - top notch stuff! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 1 minute ago, DrBloodmoney said: RE3R is a game I actually SUPER liked - much more so than I expected to, and much more than most people - but I suspect (actually, I now know) that has a lot to do with it being the only version of RE3 I've ever touched. I never had the prior experience with the original to give me a taste of what was missing from the remake, so to me, it was just a super-tight, super-streamlined action version of RE2R, with a more compelling character, better cutscenes, and less in the way of filler. That's the thing, I 100% agree with you on all its strong points. Even with what I miss from the original, it's still so good and such a fun time. I just have that expectation implanted, and you know how those go, they don't always know how to shut up and play nice? 1 minute ago, DrBloodmoney said: However... the more and more I hear about the original, the more and more I realise how much must have been removed to get the remake out in time - and it's making me really curious about this clock-tower section everyone seems to miss! Great review though man - top notch stuff! Thanks mah dude? Bro you would dig that shit, namely with your proclivity for puzzles. In the very least, give that section a watch on YouTube or something, I suspect you'd find yourself interested in the very least! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serrated-banner9 Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: i don't think i have ever seen a video game with the box saying it's compatible with all regions good luck with those .... i should actually continue with my checklist and actually write up the reviews for games i have 100% only problem is that i hate long reviews so it's gonna be a grudge lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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