Horizon Zero Dawn is gorgeous sometimes, I’m down with it’s main draw…Darkbeast Dino-Riders Gone Wild.
I’m not even picky about this kind of thing usually…but these bland cuts from their dialogue cam compounded by occasional face wonk just make me want to burn through most character dialogue.
Huh, and I was about to say I wouldn’t even mind in a game where those are worse, carried by better writing. With New Vegas as a quick comparison but…I had no idea it’s the same guy as creative lead -> narrative director. Well I’m getting myself through anyways, now curious how rich the story <|> world balance will be.
I played for a couple hours last night. I like it. I haven’t gotten to any of the 16 bit reality stuff, let alone the rest; but I like the feel of the character, so far so good.
Tonight I played like 50 matches of 2nd Impact on Fightcade after struggling unsuccessfully for like an hour to get native res full screen working in the newer FBA build of Fightcade “2”.
And the guy who left Monolith before Shadow of War because he clashed with the creative director on the importance of [heroic sucking noise] as the main character! I love how the main character in Horizon is a transplant from our world into a oil of lame fantasy archetypes, to ask: Why? Why do things have to be this way? Even her voice sounds inextricably modern next to the stiff game actor cast she interacts with.
I’ll probably get to Shadow of Mordor at some point. Friends shared their tales of orc-slaying antics and the acclaimed nemesis system, and it looked superbly crafted. I really wasn’t in the mood for open-box gloss (or grit?) around then, plus some aspects of the story sounded meh but I’m also a bit dumb for Tolkien sanctity.
Yeah I think Aloy in Horizon sounds good as an actress, as do most of the characters in their own basis. The game is just weirdly jarring, and I don’t believe I’m mistaking that from the tech-organic clash. Only when I’m aiming ranged weapons has it felt on point, movement is rubber-bandy similar to how TW3’s was spoken of. The way everyone talks and interacts comes off a little too casual for the setting.
Had this all been done a bit more MGSV style I might be gushing about how incredible it is (leaner narrative, tighter control, creative mix of tools). Anything resembling the format of Uncharteds or ACs now really has a chance to lose me early on. Still, guessing I might find a gooey center here. I know God of War falls into this but it seemed relatively graceful while having tons more punchy combat. Can I even Tomb Raid now?
I agree that the dialogue and basic quest lines in Horizon are disappointing. I think narrative superstructure and a few key decisions and then of course miraculous graphics tech are the highlights (oh, and popularizing a simplified Western version of Monster Hunter when nobody thought it could be done). I’m fairly down on the game but respect those bits, though my opinion on a lot of these games (and especially God of War) may be shaped in reaction to the love it gets at work from people who haven’t played the predecessors.
Metal Gear Solid figured shit out in a way mamy are still struggling to handle. The voice acting and animation in those games is so natural or fittingly executed. Few other games/series can compare, in these regards.
I picked up Donut County on Steam so that I can treat myself to something simple and pleasant after finishing up a powerpoint presentation for tomorrow (hate that shit).
The mechanics hit the Katamari sweet spot of janky-looking physics-based fun, visuals are surprisingly detailed and charming, writing is very much on point, but… fuuuuuuck do I hate tablet to other platform adaptions that don’t feel right on a mouse nor a gamepad. It’s either a floaty mouse or having to use the analog stick as a mouse replacement a lot of times. This is not something I am content with when paying that Annapurna Interactive premium on PC.
im really fiending for some Dragon Quest to the point of snagging the mobile port of 2 (which i actually kinda like, and is just the right kind of vanilla jrpg for my work downtime). It’s a weird port — the tilework is roughly similar to the SFC remake, but all the characters are the DQ6 size and style so everyone seems gigantic. And there’s seemingly no sfx! I assume that must be some kind of bug; it stinks though because i really like those little classic DQ attack and damage noises, and the font “voices” for NPCs
edit: i just opened the app and the sfx were on, yay!
The translation is nice, it harkens back to the original Olde English NES localization but goes even harder. Would be nicer if these mobile ports used a less generic font though.
Might grab the mobile version of 4 after my next paycheck, since i like that one a lot but have never finished it (played about half of the NES version a few years ago but fell off of it). The DS version stupidly omitted the party chat, which is one of the cooler features, and 4 has one of the best casts of characters in a DQ game so you know i gotta have that chat
Is Annapurna the first, ‘rich people want to EP games like they already do for films’ money pile we’ve seen? I’ve been wondering when we’d start getting that, because gosh it would help
I’m in the same boat; lots of DQ fever going around and I want to play something on my phone… even though I could just go back and finish 5 on my DS from years back.
playing epic mickey 2 since it was free on xbox and these hell corridors full of dead disney ephemera are the first time a game has scared me in a long time. all these dead baloo carcasses and severed bambi heads. the sound design is a nightmare. it’s wild.
That’s a good point and another facet – we’ll get both the art-darling studios and the name-first vanity projects.
My friend who’s been making Due Process for the past 5 years and is published by Annapurna has described it as, they’re supposed to be the moneymaker compensating for the cool single-player money pits for the fund.
i have to imagine i’m close to the end of The Messenger. my late-game thoughts are as follows:
game is too long. spoilers (i guess? does anyone care?): so once the game stops being a linear action platformer and becomes a metrovania, the backtracking through levels becomes tedious very quickly. no new bosses, you’re just going to different locations on fetch quests. there are a few new levels, though, which are cool.
the game never chills out. i’ll explain: In most metrovanias, the pain of backtracking is alleviated by the player’s new-found abilities. i.e. the challenges of the platforming lessen, making exploration breezy . The Messenger doesn’t really do this. you just keep having to do challenging stuff any time you wanna go from point A to B, and it’s kind of a pain in the ass?
