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Video Games: Keanu Re3ves Is Breathtaking


KiDisaster

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What do you mean "whataboutism?" This isn't about that.

There have been several posts now with variants on "Why are you picking on CDPR?! What about [other game developers/Walmart/insert random company]."

You did it in an earlier post with:

On 6/17/2019 at 11:22 PM, Mr. Fancy Pants said:

I agree with this, but why is CDPR the only one we're hearing about.

Everyone is doing it was a shitty excuse when I was 5 years old. It's still a shitty excuse when you're a multi-million dollar company. And I don't buy crunch culture an inherent feature of capitalism. Workers rights and work place culture can vary company to company, industry to industry, country to country, and can be changed. Public backlash and perception is one way to put pressure on and change things for the better, and in this instance it seems to be working. Sadly across much of the western world the business / worker relationship is swinging back towards increased profits at the expense of workers rights. I don't think this is sustainable.

1 hour ago, Mr. Fancy Pants said:

And they had a bad track record with women in the first game, but the Witcher 2 and 3 have pretty strong, positive images of women. In fact, they had a fairly nuanced take on homosexuality in the Witcher 3. I don't buy the bad record argument. It feels as hollow as someone saying that CDPR supports abusive men because of the Red Baron. They're dealing with these issues in a fairly non-binary way which is difficult, I think, for people.

While sure, I found it got better as the series progressed, I still thought the female characters were over-sexualized, and the games (especially 2) were very male gazey and juvenile, which I found off putting (much like GoT). Lots of female characters in little clothing for no reason, waiting to be seduced by Geralt. But yes there were several strong women, and ymmv. 

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On 6/18/2019 at 6:46 PM, The Anti-Targ said:

I've played TW3 twice already (incorporating the DLCs 2nd time around), not hankering for a 3rd time. But I only played Horizon Zero Dawn once. How does it stack up 2nd time around? Thinking about the DLC for Horizon, any hot takes on it?

The Frozen Wilds has around 10-20 hours of new content, including a significant quest that ties into the main game and a number of side quests that are generally superior to the side quests of the main game. There are some graphical enhancements (snow, mostly) and three new, quite challenging machines.  The best gear in terms of armor and weapons can also be found in DLC, though acquiring the adept versions will require a New Game +, which it sounds you have. It is 100% consistent to the quality of the main game, with a few improvements -- the animation of Aloy and NPC's in conversation, for example, is much more dynamic than the way they were presented in the original game. If you loved Horizon, the DLC is another generous helping to tide us over.

As for the 2nd playthrough... I loved just wandering around, the HUD completely turned off, engaging in fights with the various robots and trying to figure out new ways to use the environment to set traps, engage in ambushes, etc. The story also had more impact in certain places, because I knew the underlying secrets.

TBH, Horizon sort of ruined a lot of other games for me. I played it first when I bought my PS4, and the three games I played after - Nier, God of War, and Witcher 3 -- all failed in comparison, at least in terms of gameplay. Nier was probably the closest, while God of War felt like a PS2 corridor slasher with incredible graphics and the Witcher, while having superior writing and superior side-quests, was clunky and a bit boring on the combat end, compared to those other three. The pacing also suffered in certain places (Novigrad in particular), though I don't regret the 80 hours I put into it.   

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38 minutes ago, Impmk2 said:

There have been several posts now with variants on "Why are you picking on CDPR?! What about [other game developers/Walmart/insert random company]."

You did it in an earlier post with:

Everyone is doing it was a shitty excuse when I was 5 years old. It's still a shitty excuse when you're a multi-million dollar company. And I don't buy crunch culture an inherent feature of capitalism. Workers rights and work place culture can vary company to company, industry to industry, country to country, and can be changed. Public backlash and perception is one way to put pressure on and change things for the better, and in this instance it seems to be working. Sadly across much of the western world the business / worker relationship is swinging back towards increased profits at the expense of workers rights. I don't think this is sustainable.

While sure, I found it got better as the series progressed, I still thought the female characters were over-sexualized, and the games (especially 2) were very male gazey and juvenile, which I found off putting (much like GoT). Lots of female characters in little clothing for no reason, waiting to be seduced by Geralt. But yes there were several strong women, and ymmv. 

I played the Witcher 3 without seducing anyone. The romance with Yennefer continued, but that's a relationship that's seven books long. It seems these aren't your types of games, to be honest. And you can not buy that crunch is an inherent feature of capitalism, but there's plenty you could read about the ills of capitalism and the dehumanization of the worker. At least since 1845 with Marx and Engel's German Ideology which deals with alienation quite fully. 

Nothing going on in gaming studios is new or unexpected. Something should be done, but that'd require the overturning of capitalism in its current state. Which will happen, but not because someone wrote some articles about CDPR's crunch culture. I suppose I should be happy gaming outlets are covering this. If even gamers are recognizing this problem, the solution can't be far off now?

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2 hours ago, KiDisaster said:

I'm not sure if Schreier specifically has any articles focusing on unions, but other sites have been doing that work. Waypoint (or rather Vice Games now technically) focus on it quite heavily. Here's a piece they wrote about the efforts of Game Workers Unite at this year's GDC https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmad85/unionization-was-center-stage-at-the-2019-game-developers-conference

Just yesterday we saw Bernie Sanders tweeting in support of GWU. The support is growing, and slowly the industry is going to get there. Kicking and screaming as the higher ups may be. 

This is great honestly. I'll have to add Vice Games to my feed. 

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1 hour ago, Impmk2 said:

very male gazey and juvenile, 

HA!

haha!

Oh my fucking god, haha!

:lmao:

Bro it's a videogame. It's a fucking video game. Are you kidding me? Like seriously, is this a fucking joke? Personally, I never got more than a couple of hours into the game because I think Geralt is boring and I prefer to play rpgs as a lady.

But this. Oh my god, people.

I'm trans, and I was beyond excited to hear that CDPR was gonna depict trans folks in the game. I don't really give a damn if they don't do it right. I'm grateful that they're gonna represent people like me in a way that doesn't feel wildly patronizing (Hi, Krem de la creme). I don't want to be treated with kid gloves and coddled to appease some white bread motherfucker's delicate sensibilities. If CDPR has a take on how trans people would fit into their world (where transgender people are so normal as to be part of broad marketing strategies) it would be nice if I could see what they have to say before a bunch of outrage heroes tell me what the fuck I'm supposed to have been offended by. 

This shit is cray cray, people! I don't post much anymore for a reason, but fuck.  If you don't like it you don't have to play it, but the wild accusations of X-phobia this and Z-phobia that are way out of bounds. Just one person's take. Ugh. 

 

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is finally out (EDIT: Except on Switch, scheduled for 6/25 there). I'm about two hours in and it's exactly what I wanted it to be, which is a Metroidvania in the mold of Symphony of the Night and Aria/Dawn of Sorrow. Very pleased with it so far. It's my favorite genre, and AoS/DoS were the best games in the series IMO.

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9 hours ago, kuenjato said:

TBH, Horizon sort of ruined a lot of other games for me. I played it first when I bought my PS4, and the three games I played after - Nier, God of War, and Witcher 3 -- all failed in comparison, at least in terms of gameplay. Nier was probably the closest, while God of War felt like a PS2 corridor slasher with incredible graphics and the Witcher, while having superior writing and superior side-quests, was clunky and a bit boring on the combat end, compared to those other three. The pacing also suffered in certain places (Novigrad in particular), though I don't regret the 80 hours I put into it.   

I consider HZD to be a master class in video game design. Nothing else released in the last 10-15 years checks every single box for me the way that game does. 

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3 hours ago, Inigima said:

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is finally out (EDIT: Except on Switch, scheduled for 6/25 there). I'm about two hours in and it's exactly what I wanted it to be, which is a Metroidvania in the mold of Symphony of the Night and Aria/Dawn of Sorrow. Very pleased with it so far. It's my favorite genre, and AoS/DoS were the best games in the series IMO.

I am really excited to get this (next Friday when I get paid). I bought the little prequel last summer, and it was fun, but I love IGA Metroidvanias most of all. How is the music? I doubt the same composer as Symphony is working on it, but those soundtracks were amazing.

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I've been playing a bit of Outer Wilds and it's one of the coolest games I've played in a long time. It's overwhelming and somehow relaxing all at once. There's just so much to see and explore, so much information to take in, and I'm a very easily distracted person so I end up going off in random directions and forgetting what I had originally planned to check out. The ship computer thankfully does a great job of keeping track of everything you've learned though and is the only thing that persists through the reset. 

Watching the sun explode in the complete silence of space at the end of a run is really hauntingly beautiful. 

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2 hours ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

I consider HZD to be a master class in video game design. Nothing else released in the last 10-15 years checks every single box for me the way that game does. 

I’ve got this on my PS4 when it was on sale and played up through getting the little thing that reminded me of Jorg Ancrath’s wheel; but then got distracted by life and then other games.  Your endorsement makes me want to return.

How Long is the game do you think?

2 hours ago, Mr. Fancy Pants said:

I am really excited to get this (next Friday when I get paid). I bought the little prequel last summer, and it was fun, but I love IGA Metroidvanias most of all. How is the music? I doubt the same composer as Symphony is working on it, but those soundtracks were amazing.

I am intrigued... I too loved the SotN and the Gameboy follow ups.  I was unaware of this game.  Is it a Castlevania game?  Or just a spiritual successor?

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Fired up Final Fantasy VII with the Remako mod and I have to say it's a very impressive piece of work. It uses an AI system to up-res all of the background art and FMV in the game (quadrupling the resolution), and then replaces all of the 3D elements in the game with higher-res version. More importantly, it keeps everything true to the original spirit of the game, unlike some mods which go a bit beserk and doing things like replacing the original models with ones from Advent Children and so forth.

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Fuck this nonsense!

I just lost my first colony in Surviving Mars in the most frustrating way possible. These shitty goddamn spheres... So yeah, the Mystery popped up. I was nowhere near ready. These fuckers kept multiplying, draining my entire power grid dry until I unlocked traps. Of course these traps consume ridiculous energy, so each time I managed to trap some of them, my grid collapsed due to the remaining spheres still eating my cables and they were set free again. I spent all my money, everything, into buying huge piles of electronics and polymers to spam traps like crazy. And when I finally managed to grab all of them...

BAM

Cold Wave! All solar panels shut down, leaving me only with my wind turbines. All buildings consume twice as much energy as before. I went from +170 energy to -260. Of course my traps malfunctioned, setting ALL OF THE FUCKERS FREE AGAIN SO THAT THEY EAT EVEN MORE FUCKING ENERGY, MULTIPLYING EVEN MORE!

At that time all domes were frozen solid, there was no water and no air, all drone hubs shut down and even though I gave it the highest priority, basic life support was failing too because I didn't have even a spark of energy left.

FUCK THIS! How the hell am I supposed to win this?!?

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2 hours ago, Rhom said:

I’ve got this on my PS4 when it was on sale and played up through getting the little thing that reminded me of Jorg Ancrath’s wheel; but then got distracted by life and then other games.  Your endorsement makes me want to return.

How Long is the game do you think?

It's one of those open world games that's as long as you want it to be. You could probably finish the main story in 20 hour or so, maybe less? I think my first playthrough took about 50 because I tried to do all the side quests and collectibles. It's one of those games that really encourages exploration. The environment itself is really cool, but the backstory is even better. I wanted to turn over every rock, so to speak, just to get a bit more information about the world and how all the past events went down. 

ETA: I'll also add my endorsement for the Frozen Wilds expansion, as others mentioned upthread. It's a superb addition to the base game.

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2 hours ago, Rhom said:

I’ve got this on my PS4 when it was on sale and played up through getting the little thing that reminded me of Jorg Ancrath’s wheel; but then got distracted by life and then other games.  Your endorsement makes me want to return.

How Long is the game do you think?

I am intrigued... I too loved the SotN and the Gameboy follow ups.  I was unaware of this game.  Is it a Castlevania game?  Or just a spiritual successor?

I believe it's a spiritual successor, but IGA talks about it as though it's a direct sequel...which is strange! 

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16 hours ago, WinterFox said:

HA!

haha!

Oh my fucking god, haha!

:lmao:

Bro it's a videogame. It's a fucking video game. Are you kidding me? Like seriously, is this a fucking joke? Personally, I never got more than a couple of hours into the game because I think Geralt is boring and I prefer to play rpgs as a lady.

But this. Oh my god, people.

I'm trans, and I was beyond excited to hear that CDPR was gonna depict trans folks in the game. I don't really give a damn if they don't do it right. I'm grateful that they're gonna represent people like me in a way that doesn't feel wildly patronizing (Hi, Krem de la creme). I don't want to be treated with kid gloves and coddled to appease some white bread motherfucker's delicate sensibilities. If CDPR has a take on how trans people would fit into their world (where transgender people are so normal as to be part of broad marketing strategies) it would be nice if I could see what they have to say before a bunch of outrage heroes tell me what the fuck I'm supposed to have been offended by. 

This shit is cray cray, people! I don't post much anymore for a reason, but fuck.  If you don't like it you don't have to play it, but the wild accusations of X-phobia this and Z-phobia that are way out of bounds. Just one person's take. Ugh. 

 

Personally I take issue with this post, not because of whether or not CDPR is sexist / transphobic / homophobic or whatever. But that you seem to be belittling video games as an art form. Debate about the way people are depicted and represented in art, especially mass market art should not exclude video games merely because they are video games. Just like all art, video games can be, and are, influential on people, and also reflect prevailing attitudes (good and bad). You do a disservice to video games by dismissing debate on a socio-political topic with a response of "it's only a video game."

Tell people they are being pathetic and overly PC (and explain why if you can), but please don't say "it's only a video game."

 

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I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned in the thread already but is anyone else hyped for the vampire:the masquerade sequel game coming next year?.

I’m still undecided about wether to play Jedi Fallen Order or not.

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7 hours ago, Rhom said:

I am intrigued... I too loved the SotN and the Gameboy follow ups.  I was unaware of this game.  Is it a Castlevania game?  Or just a spiritual successor?

It is a spiritual successor, that does not even try to hide the fact that it is a Castlevania game without the branding. It's produced by the former series producer of Castlevania after Konami went full Konami and didn't want to make the series anymore.

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1 hour ago, TrueMetis said:

Did someone posting on a entire forum dedicated to dissecting in depth a book series really think "it's just a video game" was going to be taken seriously as an argument?

It seems 2 people might have.

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Modded FF7 is a thing of beauty. It makes such a difference to playing the game, not squinting at the pixels trying to work out what's a piece of scenery and what's an interactive part of the game.

Just got out of Midgar at the 9 hour mark, although I did leave the game on for about 2 hours whilst I had dinner and did other things, so that was a bit slow. Interested to see how the Remake takes 6-7 hours of game and turn it into 30+, although there are a few things you can do (bigging up Biggs, Wedge and Jessie at the start, having a few more side-quest areas the size of Wall Market and Honeybee Inn etc). However, I'm wondering if that's going to make the main story too diffuse. Will be interested to see how they pull it off.

1 hour ago, Bittersweet Distractor said:

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned in the thread already but is anyone else hyped for the vampire:the masquerade sequel game coming next year?.

I’m still undecided about wether to play Jedi Fallen Order or not.

I'm cautious about the V:TM sequel. It's a relatively low-budget game but they're trying to hype it and make it look like an AAA game, which I suspect will only confuse those who see it superficially as an action game. I suspect for fans of the original it will be just fine.

I was on the fence about Fallen Order until I heard it was a mix of KotOR and Jedi Knight, are which point I was fully on board.

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