Lurker > LightningStrikes

I have not had the chance to watch it yet but the thumbnail looks incredibly promising.

Otherwise Giant Bombcast REVENGEANCE (yes thats what theyre calling it, amazing) is up now and is a lot of fun. Already getting the GOTY smack-talk in there.

I mean the really mind blowing thing is that a flourish like that helped punctuate the action and make it better. Its not like there was a lack of it. Tbh either way Moon Knights probably in the top third? Quarter? If we go by action scenes but that isnt saying that much.

The Echo comment is very odd but the Moon Knight one is no lies detected. A lot of Marvel action, can be exceedingly boring and all these series have a lot of it. I definitely wasnt watching either that episode or the series and thinking hmm, this really needs more action as there was already so much of it. What they went with was a fun stylistic flourish that fit the theme of the series.

I feel if Russia invading the largest country in Europe didnt trigger WWIII, Hezbollah wont be the ones to. We could see western countries get stuck in another quagmire though.

Yeah its just for taste, ie for fun. Pennywise can eat anything and survived for millions of years before humans. I would say that is more evil not less!

8.5/10.

The storys not really the point, but the world it brings to life and the characters are terrific along with the sheer inventiveness of it.

Place posted...

Never seen a story use the British home computing boom as a backdrop before.

Theres even a Jeff Minter cameo!

Xiahou_Shake posted...

I'm not a King expert by any means, but didnt IT also effectively poison Derry and create the shitty, miserable and abusive culture that tormented all the kids before Pennywise even started feeding? That feels like it's worth considering, if Pennywise spreads evil just by existing even when he's not active.

Holding my vote until someone more tuned in can address that point, but leaning Pennywise because as others have noted, Frieza has lost a lot of his edge with Super factored in.

Yes thats absolutely right. Even when Pennywise is sleeping Derry is noted as a very violent place where adults are abusive, murderous, or at best turning a blind eye. Thats a big part of what makes It scary at all. So yeah there is definitely that angle of it as well.

I feel I accidentally addressed Supraks points before even reading them, but yeah Pennywise doesnt need to eat children and fear, it just wants to. Also Stephen Kings cosmology is based on deontological morality and very clear good and evil cosmic forces with It definitely on the evil side. So its definitely within our moral understanding despite also happening to be a cosmic being.

Pennywise

First of all, Pennywise is much more personally cruel, Frieza doesnt do anything as individually malicious as the way that Pennywise tortures those kids. Secondly, in terms of scale lets not forget that It is in reality an extra-dimensional being in fundamental opposition to the cosmic forces of good, so Its definitely much higher-scale than he appears. Effectively like a Satan-figure in some ways. On the feeding, It doesnt actually need to eat fear, It can just eat people, It chooses to inflict fear and target kids because it tastes better. Lastly, Frieza softens considerably after his initial arc and by the end of Super is working with Goku.

Just one, JonThePenguin (and wife) stayed at my flat once. Was a pleasure to host them.

Art

Sadism vs scale again, I think here sadism wins. However I would vote for Griffith over Art here so it is an odd one.

Also @plasmabeam @PrivateBiscuit1 @DemonicChaosXX @PerfectChaosZ you need to bold your votes for them to count.

Also my guy ever hear about the bombing of Dresden?

LMS got suspended again. Is that like four warnings/suspensions in the last two topics?

*Points at topic title*

States not all doing their primaries at the same time is bizarre. Also, Im surprised theres not more of a race to go first.

If the Republicans put up a moderate (by Republican standards) candidate against Biden, he would be toast. However they are not going to do that, because they are the Republicans.

This is probably a good point to mention that Biden, while very very different domestically, has not pulled back from Trump-era foreign policy nearly as much as expected. Case in point, the US embassy to Israel is still in Jerusalem and the US still recognises Jerusalem as Israels capital. That is hugely significant. In general theres been a really disappointing turn away from foreign engagement across western democracies, its not just a US thing, and its let bad actors take hold whether that be Russian influence in Africa or the far-right in Israel. This inwards-looking foreign policy consensus is getting people killed.

On the other hand, Trump was probably even worse abroad than he was domestically (makes sense given the powers of a President) and did much more damage than Biden has of course. Its just wild that there was not more de-Trumpification of foreign policy.

On the Alan Wake 1 DLC its mostly the story that makes it essential, they just had the ending of the game in there. However gameplay-wise the second part is definitely better than the first.

As for 2, I just did Alans first chapter last night. That was a trip. Also did the additional exploration for Saga before it and there were a lot more enemies than just critical-pathing through the game. Still nowhere near the original though, and well spaces out.

I do have to say I personally doubt there will be much in terms of electoral consequences in the US given that not only is it a pretty small sub-section, but current voting intention will change during the campaign, particularly when Trump makes his thoughts known. Just a bit of a general health warning on polls right now. However the rage against Bidens stance is absolutely there and rightly so. Im gonna say bombing children and cutting off water and electricity is no good and providing military aid to a country doing that is beyond obscene.

Edit: Also to add to what others have said not only would Trump fully support the Israeli far-right militarily, perhaps even as far as into Jordan, he would also fully suspend the aid the US is sending into Gaza right now.

Run

Yes I got that confused - was thinking of a director that joined early not one of the founders. I delet.

I still like the idea of this. But wow the execution seems to be garbo.

Punnyz posted...

so

can it really be called an anime if its made by a Canadian guy?

Its a co-production, the animation studio is in Japan and the writers and producers are in the west. Tbh after watching Castlevania Nocturne I have now converted to anime being a style rather than a country of origin anyway.

I think I will leave 100% beating this for a while, but the invisibility badge is an absolutely hilarious power-up I love to hate. Bravo to whoever came up with that, but also, screw you to whoever came up with that.

At the end of the day Zoran kills a bunch of people and is very cruel, but he wouldnt possess somebody to make them rape and murder their own daughter like BOB did.

Blithe

Wow, BOB, wow.

Lol I meant to vote Kefka but forgot. Ah well.

MoogleKupo141 posted...

finished AW1 last night and yeah, I liked it, but by the end I was really ready for it to stop. The combat encounters got pretty repetitive.

but I was into the rest of the games whole vibe

ill probably check out American Nightmare next, save AW2 for Christmas time

I will say, I dont know how the currently available version does it (and dont remember from when I played) but if you havent you absolutely need to play the AW1 DLC. It was part of that annoying trend when games were straight up putting the ending in DLCs.

Yeah Ive tried it a few times and never gotten more than a few hours in for the same reason - its just simplistic compared to later Mario RPGs. If and when I do get around to the remake I will push myself to actually beat the game!

pjbasis posted...

The game awards cannot be that serious to publishers...right?

Not necessarily just The Game Awards but Game of the Year awards in general. Most outlets GotY deliberations happen in early December if not late November, so its not just about eligibility its also about giving people time to play the games. This is why Smash Ultimate got so little GotY attention when 4 won a bunch, it was extremely acclaimed and it got a TGA nomination the next year when it was eligible. Nobody had time to play it.

That could be a factor but I dont know. It used to be that you would move your game out of November to avoid the crowd. Now though October is often as stacked as November used to be while November is a desert. Could also be wanting a longer period at full price before the holiday sales?

For me it took me a second to remember oh right, these games have a run button. Not sure any other major platformers still do but you get used to it pretty quickly.

In World 6 now, pretty confident this is behind only World for me in the 2D Mario rankings. The way they have revamped the world map is great, the badges are great, the online is some of the best integration Nintendo has done. Had they taken NSMBU mechanics and level design, added a few new mechanics and a fresh aesthetic, that still would have been a great game. However they have done a lot more than that.

This is probably the driest November I can remember which is impressive given that its been a stacked year. Nothing for now but Ill probably get around to Super Mario RPG eventually.

8/10.

Fun is the right word here indeed.

Mid

Nah there were a chain of Reeks before Theon. We dont know how many.

Ramsay had no problem wreaking havoc on the North as a whole in addition to the personal torture. I have no doubt he would absolutely be a Yawgmoth or worse at that scale.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

What week would you say is when the Bombcast started ramping back up again? I haven't listened in about half a year.

I dont remember exactly when but probably when they committed back to a minimum crew rather than just two with the rotating guests and Dan became more regular on it. Taking a quick look (pun unintended) maybe 797 is a good point to jump back on as thats where they moved timeslots and then you get the back-to-back 799 (Gollum chat) and 800 (entire current crew there) right after.

Seanchan posted...

It wont. The Beastcast was great because it was the East Coast crew.

They already have the Bombcast, Game Mess Mornings, and the Dumptruck. Not to mention so many of their videos that are defacto podcasts with all the talking and not paying attention to the game (Blight Club, the MK story playthrough, etc.).

Granted, this is the first Im hearing of it but it likely to just be more.

To be honest, a lot of it is being on Friday. The Nextlander podcast is in many ways Continuity Beastcast but being on Wednesday/Thursday just gives it a different vibe. Even though I guess the Beastcast was a Thursday show for the last year and a bit!

They just announced theyre doing a new regular Friday podcast. Basically a cleanup for games with embargoes after the Bombcast and general topics. I hope this can fill the Beastcast-shaped hole in my heart.

Yeah that was a crazy episode.

Played through to the start of Chapter 2, the atmosphere is incredible. I really like how so far I have fought exactly one enemy.

Thalasso

I dont know why either

Morgoth just feels like a larger scale.

Mass

Stormfront

The discrimination angle is more insidious than mindless violence.

There has been a very concerted effort to polarise the discussion as to where you literally cannot make any kind of statement without being painted into a side by somebody, because it benefits the extremists to keep people divided and angry. Hence why Netanyahu and the Israeli government actually supported Hamas previously, to prevent peace.

Social media presence is a big one. That is an obvious way forward.

Honestly of course Im saying this here, but more contests would help, those do draw people and are very much a unique GameFAQs thing still.

Lastly, tidying up the reputation of the forums. Which probably means a lot more active moderators.

GameFAQs is still a useful resource of text-based guides, Ive used it recently in fact. The website doesnt need to just wither and die.

Havent even finished Super Mario Bros. Wonder yet but I think Ill get this tonight.

On Alan Wake 1 combat, it is really fun the first time. Then you realise how much you are going to have to keep doing it. There was a similar issue with Control. This game seems to solve that!

Cat

Making that guy the ambassador?

That sounds like a decision Trump would make, yeah.