Lurker > LightningStrikes

It seems that originals are getting favoured here likely due to higher exposure. For what its worth Im not sure if Ive actually played Wario Land 2 but I have played 1 and 3.

Oracles below Links Awakening is a tragedy sorry not sorry.

andel posted...

if he wasnt facing trump i think he would lose to a generic gop fuckwit but trump is so repulsive to so many people i expect biden to win another closeish election.

biden has some obvious fuckups, but the media is really gross how they harp on mundane shit about biden and hammer it while not focusing on trumps overt fascist ponderings.

if trump actually wins because some idiots in the midwest care more about 'the economy' and 'gas prices' (gas is roughly the same as pre covid trump and trump ratfucked the economy far worse than it currently stands) than abortion rights or living in a democracy we have lost all hope anyway

Alas this is basically what always happens wherever in the world the hard right and far right take power, whether it be Argentina, or India, or Turkey, or yes, 30s Germany, its typically the economy to blame. Of course in the case of the US it is extra stupid because the US is actually doing better than most comparable economies. Thanks to Bidens own policies no less!

Anyway speaking of elections and utter clowns, Rishi Sunak is saying that if he wins he will bring in national service for 18 year olds and even refuses to rule out jailing teens who dont comply and fining their parents. This is both heinous and stupid, but at least it will almost certainly never happen!

I gotta say I am also surprised that Wario Land is so high and particularly so far above Wario Land 3. It was kind of setting the stage for future Wario games in my view.

Pokmon Trading Card Game is terrific, although when I played it before doing the writeup I was a bit surprised at how slow it felt. Great mechanics and design though, I didnt mention it in the writeup but I like how even the regular card players have uniquely themed decks. Hope we see more of this one day. Loved the tribute to it in Inscryption (spoilers for a 2021 card-based game).

I think the general overview of whats happening in the episode is:

The Doctor breaks the fairy circle and gets erased. Ruby gets stuck without him amd ages until she dies, at which point she becomes the 73 Yards away lady and moves backwards through her timeline until she ends up back at the cliff to warn the Doctor not to break the circle. So the whole episode aside from the start and the end is basically a splinter timeline that loops back to stop itself from happening.

What Im curious about is does this last thing happen because of the fairy circle or because of Rubys unique situation? Or something else?

Dancedreamer posted...

I... don't get what happened at all. It was interesting, but left me with just questions. Reminds me of Midnight in a way, only Doctor lite instead of companion lite.

What was the deal with Martie? What was the deal with Gwilliam? Why did it take another 40 years for Ruby to return to the original timeline? Why was it exactly 73 yards? What did Ruby? say to everyone that made them run away like they did?

As far as I can figure out:

Marti was getting abused in some way by Gwilliam. I think Gwilliam was mostly there as a red herring but could come back later, after all Ruby wont stop him in the main timeline. Also he is social commentary both in populists but also specifically on a special kind of nutter in the UK that appears in the audience on Question Time before an election and demands that politicians should want to fire nukes, that will probably happen again in a few weeks lol. Ruby had to go to the end of her life to become the woman. I dont know. And lastly I dont know!

Fun one to figure out.

Yeah that was a wild episode and probably the best of the season although Boom is also really great. My only minor point is that I wish it was a full hour long.

The nice thing about Super Mario Land is, its around an hour long to beat and just released on NSO, which means I was able to play it in full before doing my writeup. So I can confirm that its a good game! Does a lot very different to Super Mario Bros which I liked. Its only real issue is how short it is. As far as mainline Super Mario games go its on a lower level but not the lowest.

It actually got fewer placements than the last couple of game so people must have been ranking it highly too.

GANON1025 posted...

Boom was great! Glad to see more Moffat. Devils Chord was quite good too. Enjoying the season overall so far.

How do people here feel about the Susan references? Do we think shes actually coming back?

I think so. Its the most references in 40 years.

Also new episode out! Reminding me of Return the slab.

Computer Space
Tetris
Super Mario 64
Minecraft

Ive got my issues with XVI, but that Bahamut is an all-time series high point. Lots of fun to use too.

Also to get super, super nerdy:

Strictly speaking it wasnt The Little Mermaid that saved them in the 80s. It was actually, if you can believe it, Basil the Great Mouse Detective three years earlier. It got overshadowed by Don Bluths An American Tail but was a solid success allowing them to keep making movies, and also debuted the CG elements that would become such a big part of the Renaissance era. It was followed by Oliver and Company that was a major commercial success and actually outgrossed its main competition The Land Before Time if you can believe it. In general despite the popular misconception most of Disneys 80s films were commercially successful, their only miss was The Black Cauldron but that alone was a huge disaster for them.

What The Little Mermaid did was turn Disney into an absolute juggernaut critically and commercially and establish the formula that would last pretty much to this day. So its definitely on the list!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Cinderella
The Little Mermaid
Frozen

Cinderella should be on here because it was the transition point back to the kind of feature length films Disney still make today and without it the idea of the Disney Princess movie wouldnt exist. It was the film that got them back on track after the war and post-war period of package films. They even advertised it like this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/277f18e8.jpg

Greatest since SNOW WHITE!

The rest are self-explanatory. While it may seem odd to leave The Lion King off I feel Frozen kind of replaced it.

I would definitely back the Mega Drive/Genesis next because it is next chronologically, even though I wont be able to take part. Will still look forward to the results and writeups.

Anyway Wario Land 3 does indeed rule. A bit surprised its that low actually.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Literally the greatest late title card of all time.

Second greatest, theres a movie called Fresh that might do it even better.

Oop, speaking of the UK.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-sunak-asked-about-summer-election-rumours-says-vote-will-be-second-half-2024-05-22/

General Election just called for July 4, looking forwards to the Tories getting annihilated.

Yeah youre right, Friday seems mean.

LightningStrikes posted...

Rebecca Black - Friday
Starship - We Built This City
Paul McCartney Feat. Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory
The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

LightningStrikes posted...

WAIT

I have the correct answer! Behold, the intro song to The Pest (John Leguizamo - Voodoo Mambo):

https://youtu.be/cAB8dNMoXZ0?si=OizixkWgr5tcMUd9

Humanity has failed.

Drop The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps (terrible song though)

Add John Leguizamo - Voodoo Mambo

Drop Friday
Add My Humps

Bringing it back! A truly terrible song from a group that was pretty much at the height of their powers.

ZenOfThunder posted...

I dont think anyone has voted for Blue Da Ba Dee yet

which is good because if they did, how dare they

I loved that song as a kid and was devastated to find out it was hated.

Well the UK has already committed to recognition of Palestine at the time it best serves the course of peace and passed a motion to do so back in 2014. In February of this year Foreign Secretary David Cameron (ugh) was saying that the UK could recognise Palestine before formal negotiations with Israel and Labours Shadow Foreign Secretary (and all but certain to be Foreign Secretary in a matter of months) David Lammy has said that theyre considering unilateral recognition. Also the UK has an embassy already. All this adding up, it feels like a when not an if. And to be clear I mean in the foreseeable future, not like, tomorrow or anything. There are many bad things about the UK especially now but it looks like they will get there on this. But anything can happen and I could be wrong!

And its not just the UK, I think its pretty clear which way the winds are blowing on this in Europe. Germany being the big European holdout.

Ireland, Norway, and Spain have as of today formally recognised Palestine which is a big step. It feels like the UK and France will do so sooner rather than later also.

Aww yeah

When the opening credits start about 20 hours in I think I nearly jumped out of my chair in excitement.

Did you start Route C yet or are you just reacting to the teaser at the end of B?

WAIT

I have the correct answer! Behold, the intro song to The Pest (John Leguizamo - Voodoo Mambo):

https://youtu.be/cAB8dNMoXZ0?si=OizixkWgr5tcMUd9

Humanity has failed.

LightningStrikes posted...

Rebecca Black - Friday
Starship - We Built This City
Paul McCartney Feat. Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory
The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

Drop The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps (terrible song though)

Add John Leguizamo - Voodoo Mambo

It feels weird to defend the honour of Baby Shark, but is it really bad? Its just a repetitive jingle for young kids. Definitely not what I think of when I think of bad music.

Ive played a bit of this now and if nothing else the visuals are unbelievable. Viking-worthy you might say!

Rebecca Black - Friday
Starship - We Built This City
Paul McCartney Feat. Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory
The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

Metacritic 81
Opencritic 82

Its pretty much the exact same reviews as the first one! With basically the same praises and criticisms!

Eurogamer - 5/5
Hellblade 2 continues Senua's story with grace, confidence, surprising brutality and thundering conviction.

Xbox Era - 10/10
Despite the backing of a company as large and as well-funded as Microsoft, Ninja Theory have, in my opinion, nurtured their independent spirit and kept it well and truly alive in every facet. It's brutal. It's breath-taking. It's brilliant. If this is Independent AAA, sign me up for more.

Game Informer - 9/10
Senuas Saga: Hellblade IIs conclusion ends on another strong note, and despite my initial reservations about continuing Senuas story, I walked away happy to see her conquer new monsters, both literal and metaphorical.

IGN - 8/10
Senuas Saga: Hellblade II is another Viking-worthy feast for the senses that meets the high bar set by its predecessor, even if it never really manages to clear it.

Gamespot - 6/10
Hellblade 2 is perhaps the most visually remarkable Xbox title to date, but is ultimately undermined by its emphasis on fidelity over story and gameplay.

Metro GameCentral - 5/10
A joyless slog of barely interactive entertainment and a muddled portrayal of mental illness that just so happens to have the best graphics ever on a video game console.

Naturally going to side eye anybody with 1933 in their username.

On Metacritic it is exactly the same score as the original! Ill make a review zone later.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Getting the impression that it's, for all intents and purposes, basically a visual novel.

No problem with that here! Just gotta wait for the inevitable Playstation port.

I think this is quite evitable. But certainly possible.

https://hard-drive.net/hd/video-games/roguelike-genre-purist-hopes-someone-will-develop-a-roguelike-someday/

I thought about this and I think the answer is yes, something can be like itself, in fact it is the most like itself possible. So Rogue is a Rogue-like but not a Rogue-clone. To which point:

Rogue
The Binding of Isaac
Spelunky
Hades

Karma

Will watch this when I have time but the A More Civilized Age (Austin Walker and cos Star Wars podcast) episodes on this thing were great.

TotK is not just a fantastic Zelda game, what it does with the interlocking systems is absolutely insane. Loved it.

The beautiful thing about the Super Mario series is, the level design is so good it actually doesnt matter all that much if the mechanics feel dated. That always holds up. I played through 64 when 3D All Stars came out (first time actually beating it though I got to the final boss as a kid) and although some of the precision platforming was not great, the level design still feels top notch so I had a blast with it anyway.

Now if you want to see a 3D platformer from that era that was bad then but somehow holds up even worse? Go and take a look at Bubsy 3D.

Yeah I have also been into Fire Emblem for a long time and like Awakening quite a bit. There are a lot of very vocal, very committed fans who hate it though and not even necessarily because of the future direction. But much more than that from more recent Fire Emblem fans I still hear a lot of affection for that game.

Fire Emblem Awakening is definitely a case of vocal minority. Of course Fire Emblem is also probably the fanbase with the biggest gulf in opinion between the diehard fans and the general audience, but the people who came on board with Awakening still really love Awakening.

Yeah I played Goldeneye this year snd had a good time with it, it held up a lot better than I thought it would. The level design is great. However despite that its still on my Rushmore because the perception is overwhelming.

Ngamer posted...

What? It launched the genre that became the most popular in the world. Sure it lost its crown as the #1 choice within that genre after a year, but it's still hugely popular (has been one of the three most-played games on Steam every day for six years running).

There was literally a major campaign called fix PUBG launched months after it went 1.0, yeah its popular but not well regarded.

LightningStrikes posted...

Was looking forward to this one!

Bioshock Infinite - The defining example surely?

Goldeneye 007 - I actually played through this this year and enjoyed it but this gets brought up a lot as an example.

Player Unknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG) - This won some game of the year awards, got a TGA nomination and months later its a joke.

Final Fantasy XV - Look, it sounds hard to believe now but there was a period here where a lot of people including on this board were adamant this was the best thing since sliced bread. Needless to say no longer the case! A bit softer on this one, could change later.

Actually yeah change FFXV to Chrono Cross. That Gamespot 10 has a lot to answer for!

Was looking forward to this one!

Bioshock Infinite - The defining example surely?

Goldeneye 007 - I actually played through this this year and enjoyed it but this gets brought up a lot as an example.

Player Unknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG) - This won some game of the year awards, got a TGA nomination and months later its a joke.

Final Fantasy XV - Look, it sounds hard to believe now but there was a period here where a lot of people including on this board were adamant this was the best thing since sliced bread. Needless to say no longer the case! A bit softer on this one, could change later.

Hope you enjoy it! 2005-2017 is an incredible run of television. The era after still has good stuff too although it doesnt hit at the same rate

As for this series, an observation. The first episode was set on Christmas like the special, but then the second episode was set in June, and now this one the Doctor says its October, but also the first time Rubys been to another planet. Its very odd and makes me wonder if some time shenanigans are happening that tie in to Ruby and the snow falling/stopping thing. It also feels like they drew a lot of attention to the date in each episode. Whatever the case definitely fun to be theorising about thia again!

And he was right! So far anyway. Best episode since 2017. So tense, great performances especially from Gatwa. Moffats dialogue has been sorely missed. My only issue with it is that the child performance wasnt quite there but that was a very small part of it.

New episode up! Really, really good so far.

https://youtu.be/yW5AnWT1d5E?si=xrZSEb-xm0hQnY5k

Unknown

Super Metroid
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Metroid Prime
Batman: Arkham Asylum

9.5/10.

I think this case is fantastic, it is a really great payoff of everything the duology was leading up to. There is what has to be the best investigation in the franchise and the best dance of deduction between the two games, and this features another fantastic piece of music. I dont even mind the hologram, it fits with what had been established previously. I really liked the way it tied the actual history in as well. Plus at the end you get to take down a corrupt old Tory! Which is part of the game Mr Fandom dont arrest me for politics.

Fair enough, I forgot about those two, particularly Legends. Also The Lost Crown is probably a better shout for a nomination than Outlaws though it probably misses.

The game looks good but Ubisoft have had a single nominee in history, Assassins Creed Odyssey, and that only snuck in there thanks to the awards increasing the nominees to six and Smash Ultimate being ineligible. To make it Outlaws would probably have to be Ubisofts best game since Assassins Creed Brotherhood. No pressure then!

While we are putting our cards on the table (heh) about this I love Balatro, I think its one of the best fundamental gameplay loops in years. It doesnt top Rebirth as my game of the year so far but its close. Also looking forward to getting into Animal Well and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes as far as indie games go!