#ancient but im NOT i just. i am not a Gamer. the only game i play consistently is yakuza. literally I dug up my old ps4 my friends got me

[designernishiki]

Bro, your rambles n shit, whether it be in the tags or a separate post, IS ALWAYS. ON. POINT. I'm genuinely always so interested to see what you have to say about stuff- that sounds lame- But I don't care! 😤😤😤 you're hella cool 👍👍

(sorry I got to this so late I’m really bad at remembering to reply to things fjdjdjjsb)

thank u so much :’) especially as a relatively new Yakuza Enjoyer im always glad to see that my takes aren’t totally out of left field and I just have. a lot of takes. if you like what i ramble about youre in luck because my brain never shuts up <3

[zxal]

hey im interested in getting into ygo do u have any recs or recommended orders of reading/watching theres a lot from the looks of it on anilist so i was wondering about your preferences o:

ANON I ABSOLUTELY DOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm only about halfway through the sequels (i just started arc-v) so I'm not like the most knowledgable person in the world but I can give you my personal recs. COME CLOSER!!!!!

First of all, every yugioh series is totally independent from each other (sort of - gx is set directly after dm and leans on its worldbuilding quite a bit, and 5ds takes place in the same universe as well though a bit further in the future, but you can watch them on their own with no problem) so if there's one in particular that grabs you there's nothing stopping you from jumping straight to it - that being said I've been watching all of the anime in release order (ygo dm -> gx -> 5ds -> zexal -> arc-v (i am here) -> vrains -> sevens -> go rush) and I've been enjoying it a lot. I also wouldn't recommend watching arc-v in particular without having watched the ones before it as it probably won't really have any impact for you. Now for specific recommendations (in order) !!!! SORRY THIS GOT REALLY LONG.

yugioh manga - START HERE !!!!! the original story by kazuki takahashi. high school boy inherits an ancient magical artifact containing a spirit that's really, really good at playing games (and inflicting psychological torment on bullies). I have to give it a warning for some shonen-typical creepiness towards female characters in the early chapters, but it's REALLY worth reading and it's a story that's so near and dear to my heart. this is the fastest and easiest way to start loving yugioh. Its worth noting that the original ygo manga is the ONLY manga (afaik) that tells the same story as its anime + i haven't read any of the others aside from a little bit of the gx manga, so the rest of my recs are anime-only

(optional) yugioh season 0 / 1998 / toei - a one-season anime based on the early manga chapters. if you like the horror vibes of the manga you'll enjoy this a lot. really fun 90s animation with a killer soundtrack, but generally not considered """canon"""

yugioh duel monsters - this is the one most people watched as a kid. it's an adaptation of the manga, but with most of the early chapters cut out so as to get straight to the card games + some extra arcs added in. this is most people's favorites and the most popular! you can also watch this in lieu of the manga, but you will be missing a LOT of the early story or experiencing it in condensed form (and the plot of ygo dm is already patchy At Best).

yugioh gx - direct anime sequel to ygo dm. boy goes to gamer school to become the next king of games + high school shenanigans ensue. gx is a really charming, goofy romp with a super lighthearted s1, an interesting s2 and a shockingly engrossing s3. s4 (the last 25 episodes or so) never got dubbed in english so if you're a dub enjoyer like me you'll have to switch to subs to get the full story

yugioh 5ds - direct sequel to gx, though further in the future than gx was to dm. card games on motorcycles are real and so is class warfare and the surveillance state. iirc this is the only yugioh anime that was rated 4+ - it has a slightly more mature tone but there's still plenty of lighthearted fun to be had. Really strong s1 with a second season that falls off a little bit, at least to me, but is still absolutely worth watching. s2 is missing a number of episodes in the english dub, so again if you're a dub enjoyer you will find yourself quite confused by the end. its probably worth watching s2 entirely sub-only (something i still need to do)

yugioh zexal - the first of the sequels that is possibly set in a different universe entirely (or just the really distant future). middle school boy gets a magic necklace from his dad that has an alien inside. zexal is a lot of peoples favorites and now that I've watched it I GET IT. Really strong story + pacing from beginning to end and a really endearing cast of characters. It's silly and goofy and fun but DAMN DOES IT COHERE.

yugioh arc-v - the first of the sequels that is DEFINITELY set in a different universe entirely. this is the one I'm watching currently so i don't have much to say about it yet GET BACK TO ME ON THIS ONE. this one boy's dream is to become the greatest clown who ever lived (tragic) (inspiring)

INHALES LOUDLY. that was probably more info than you wanted BUT I HOPE THAT HELPED AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT? again I recommend reading the original ygo manga first and i think that will give you a good idea of whether you are down with the yugioh silliness or not. It's important to remember that this is a very silly anime series about card games but like. As long as you can buy into the worldbuilding and accept that this is just How Things Are in the world of ygo, it's suuuuuuuch a fun world to sink your teeth into.

[1942chateaubackstab]

* gordon voice *

benry? stupid idiot motherfucking benry goddamn fool alien dust eating rat old bastard shithead idiot avatar of the WHORE biggest clown in the circus laughed out of town cowboy motherfucking benry? STOP PINNING ME WHEN I TALK ABOUT BENRY I hate him so much why does he have so many fucked up powers why did he decide to fuck around and find out just use them is he DEAD is he a BASTARD? man has such a visceral affect on me not even in the room never seen this mans hair and I know he has the worlds shittiest haircut GET AWAY FROM ME

if i wanted to get into heaven and god said benry was waiting inside i would piss on gods feet for the sole purpose of getting sent back down. if i have to deal with benry speaking one word in person not only will I close the game I will delete my save out of spite and have to replay the entire game again for the experience of being able to ignore all the times when he is mentioned or alive. i dont even know why i hate him so much. he just sings i am just mad because i am angy.

he better have some fucked up backstory to explain this if hes just some shithead whos a fan of videogames and wanted the irl version ill go ham. BETTER have had a game make him kill a man cuz if he didnt im going to make him

paypal.com/IFuckingHateBenry

games not even about him. vaguely mentioned what is supposed to maybe be him and I lost it. where the fuck is benrey if hes still alive im going to so deeply wish he wasnt. crusty old man

ill punch benry and his sad frail gamer twig bones will simply flake apart under my epic huge meat fist and he will disintegrate until all that's left is one final passport he kept on him at all times with the name as Now You Fucked Up in ancient yiddish. I'm not BREATHING I'm hyperventilating at this point. i hope theres a date given for when benry died or will die so i can make it a reminder on my phone. everyday once a year i will see it and do anything but pay respects to the man that had so many fucked up if true abilities.

[stabletwooriginals]

CHAPTER FOUR: Perspective

LittlePip had the bright idea of looting a building she is way too underleveled for. That's not really a Gamer Joke, as FoE really does seem to take a lot of rules and mechanics from the Fallout games. But it's also funny.

Her opponents are the classic brain-bots we know from the games, made more horrifying with the simple detail of sounding like children. "Come on out. We only want to kill you for trespassing!" also reminds me of the turrets in Portal.

This is also where we get our first reference of the zebras as the enemy, via the intercom playing an ancient, automated message. Oh, and the first mention of the Minstry of Technology too!

The Mr. Handy equivalent of a plasma weapon is said to look like a unicorn's horn. That's cool.

While trying to escape on collapsing catwalks we get the first instance of self-levitation! That's a creative use of the canonical ability unicorns in the show possess. I'm not even sure if a unicorn levitaed *another* pony in season 1. But I think they never levitated themselves? This also gave me flashbacks (or rather flashforwards) to all the cool stuff LittlePip can do later with her levitation, I'm excited to get there.

 Oh fuck me with Celestia's forehooves!

The first instance of a PipSwear! Now, I love them. They are iconic. But heck, gosh, darn it if they don't sound awkward when said out loud. Which kinda makes them not work as swears, in my opinion. But for me, they are dumb fun and sometimes that's enough. Her remark that she picked these exploitives up from the raiders is a nice touch. That she keeps them up and builds on them is all her, though.

IRONSHOD FIREARMS How do you like *them* apples?   I didn't get it.

So, I am not a native English speaker. I know this saying, but I was curious where it comes from. *Apparently* that's not really known, but according to this article the phrase was used like this in 1895 already. However, it was also used to refer to anti-tank granades in World War I, for their apple-like appearence. Since granades also look like apples in FoE, I will take the risk and say that I think I do get Ironshod Firearms' slogan.

The anti zebra propaganda found in the factory overmare office is both creative and glossed over. The slogan ("Better Wiped than Striped! Join the Equestrian Forces Today!") is heavily reminicient of the German rhymes of similiar racist nature from the world wars. And the depiction of the zebras as some dark creatures with evil glowing eyes is over the top, but only a reread might reveal this as the neon sign it is, as the zebras have not yet been introduced as the enemy force properly.

In the overmares office Littlepip finds a ton of useful items, from spark batteries , a StealthBuck and gum (which could be the first instance of MintAls, altough not called such, as LittlePip doesn’t know them yet (and if they aren’t, she finds some later in this chapter in an abandoned camp under a bridge), to the one, the only: little macintosh. This revolver will become LittlePips iconic weapon that she keeps until the very end of the story. Presumably made for or at least by Applejack, so this also gives Littlepip a neat little tie to one of the original shows main characters.

Hacking the terminal LittlePip discovers that she could have opened the safe she picked with a bobby pin remotely from there. Intentionally or not, this is a dig at Fallout 3′s design philosophy of giving you several ways to open locks, making only learning one of them enough, while skilled characters are left feeling a bit overqualified.

Leaving Ironshod Firearms, LittlePip admits to having given up on finding Velvet for now and being set on just exploring the world instead. Again, very Fallout 3 in my book.

Past a playground that became a graveyard for little ponies (dark!), she finds a “Sparkle~Cola” vending machine. This becomes LittlePips favorite drink and when I first read it, I was super happy about that for some reason. The book keeps mentioning how she sipps on carroty cola sometimes and every time I remember thinking it was a fun detail. I have no idea why.

Resting on a bench closeby we get a description of this poster:

(Art by Droakir - DeviantArt)

First mention of the Ministry of Morale, first instance of Pinkie Pie and a really fun description of how her graying mane makes it look like a candy cane. Like the poster on the zebras, this is also great, classic propaganda writing. Obviously it is a reference to the episode Green Isn’t Your Color, but while I feel that it is referencing some real life propaganda, I do not know a specific one.

Watcher suddenly is back, helpfully explaining that the MoM is “another well-meaning idea that was so much better on scroll.” What a fitting description of pre-war politics in FoE.

Getting jumped makes LittlePip call back to the slaver, that complained about sprite-bots sneaking up on ponies. If I recall correctly this will be one of the biggest sources of fun in FoE: Callbacks like this, that help paint the world in your mind by connecting the dots for you. Im certain some find this aspect annoying, as they rather enjoy doing that work themselves, but as a casual reader (of a very long story) I always welcomed it. I will also stop pointing them out from here on, unless they strike me remarkable in other ways.

A quick reminder of the raider armor she is wearing and some foreshadowing how it makes her look like “a nightmare pony”, before Watcher offers that she needs to find her virtue. This will be as important as in the original show, but also almost take LittlePip until the end of the story to really figure it out. Right now, she doesn’t quite believe him and his connection to the sprite-bot drops. Now we get a different voice from the radio the sprite-bots play, when Watcher is not in control of them. Similiar to President Eden of the Enclave in Fallout 3. This however, is Red-Eye, altough not named yet, giving a motivational speech about the posibility of rebuilding Equestria. Naturally, this confuses LittlePip even further, having seen no trace of any leaders or reconstruction efforts.

Well, technically she has seen slavers, so, unbeknownst to her, she actually has seen a part of Red-Eyes plan.

But it gives her the idea to look for settlements and actually finds one in the distance. A undamaged looking caravan is moving away from it, all in all a great disovery.

While a fun and memorable scene in itself, what follows is meant to reflect a corner stone of LittlePips character. As she approaches the settlement she gets mistaken for a raider by her barding and shot at. Remembering the caravan she collects her strength and stands up to her agressor, threatening to kill them if they attack the others. This reveals the misunderstanding -- her attacker thought she was endangering the caravan -- and LittlePip exits the chapter loosing consiousness from her insuries.

Footnote: Level Up. New Perk: Egghead -- You will add +2 skill points each time you gain a new experience level.

What a chapter! While it might feel like not much happened, so many pivital and iconic elements were introduced here. Even if a lot weren’t named yet. Like Calamity! It does feel weird that LittlePip just admits on giving up on Velvet like that, though. On my first read I didn’t mind, because I just enjoyed how similiar the experience felt to playing Fallout 3, which I liked more than any other entry at the time. Now it seems odd, but there are a lot of other things to focus on and enjoy in this and the coming chapters.

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Comparing RWBY and YGO DM: The Handling and Evolution of Themes

Hey! Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything RWBY-related but Im laying in my bed right now and Im sick and bored so I guess we're doing this. Today I will do my best to analyze what I percieve to be the main themes and messages of both of these shows, or more specifically, how theyre handled narratively. Im mostly focusing on that part because, while these series do have similar themes and messaging, they are still a few things in which they are wildly different. And with that, lets start with this essay-post-thing!

1. Theres something we need to adress first

Okay so, before we can really talk about this, theres something I feel the need to clarify here: Neither of these stories was "planned from the beginning".

Now, I dont think a story being planned from the beginning or not nesscessarily makes the story any better or worse by default, however, it is still important to acknowledge because the way the story is planned is going to affect every facet of it. Things are not going to be foreshadowed properly, things are gonna be set up only for nothing to come of it, the story might drastically change directions, characters might act differently, etc, etc.

And, this is bit off-topic but, it's much better to just admit that the story was not planned than trying to pretend that it was. Like, there are a lot of reasons why I tend to be so forgiving towards YGO even though its not very good, but one of them is definitely the fact that, as far as Im aware atleast, the guy who wrote it isnt pretending to have had this big master plan all along and neither is the fandom. With RWBY on the other hand... yeaaaah, its kinda the opposite. From what Ive seen of RWBYs fandom, there seems to be this pretty popular narrative that everything was planned even though it clearly wasnt. Thats pretty bad and honestly lowers my opinion of the writers so much more than if they would just admit to not having a proper plan.

Like, I initially consumed YGO like this: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh (aka Season 0), like, a quarter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (I still havent finished it)

In all three of these we have the character of Yami Yuugi, or just Yami. Broadly speaking, he is an ancient egyptian gamer spirit who lives in a magical puzzle that has not been solved for 3000 years until this highschooler named Yuugi Mutou comes along and solves it, thus setting him free and allowing him to possess Yuugi and have access to the vague magical powers of the puzzle.

In Duel Monsters he's perfectly fine most of time, morally speaking. There is an instance of him almost murdering a guy and its a bit unclear what exactly happens to those he mindcrushes but overall he's very much a pretty good guy. In Season 0 most of what he does is set up these games for bad people, where they will go insane no matter what they do. From how I understand this whole Shadow Game, Penalty Game stuff, if you lose a Shadow Game, you get violent and intense hallucinations and you will always cuz yknow, gamer spirit. But if you try to cheat, which most of the bad people do in this show, you get violent and intense hallucinations as a punishment.

Since the two anime are generally considered two different continuities, its perfectly fine that Yamis characterization is wildly different in both of them. But in the manga both of these characterizations appear, basically one after the other with no real arc or consequences, for that matter. Why is that? Simply put, someone thought it was a good idea to try to turn an episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror manga into a more traditional, more plot-driven battle shounen. From what Ive heard, it was apparently largely because of network interference or something, but the point is, it changed directions incredibly drastically with little planning and everyone knows this and I can understand that for the most part.

In RWBY we have the character of Blake Belladonna, who, in the first 3 volumes/seasons atleast, was this aloof, more toned down loner-type character with a pretty strong sense of justice. She's an in-universe marginilized racial minority and she clearly cares about racial injustice. The way its initially framed makes it seem like she had a very hard life and no stable support system, which is what eventually pushed her to join a Civil Rights group/Terrorist organization (good god, the Faunus subplot is so awful, I could write a whole essay about it but Im already de-railing rn so I'll just save that for later).

Then, in volumes 4-5 it turns out her father is actually like, the mayor or chief of this island-place called Menagerie and she grew up in this big mansion with multiple guards/servants. Oh and also, apparently "space is a commodity" on there, so theres that. She still retains large parts of her personality but she's kinda like, worse somehow I think. I cant really describe it in a meaningful way but I hope you get what Im saying anyway. Then in Volume 6 she confronted her emotional abuser Adam (sorry for not mentioning him sooner but yeah, he was like, her abusive boyfriend, which is something that a lot of people disagree with but I wont really say anything about it either way because I dont really feel any specific way) with her friend, Yang, and ended up killing him.

After all that, she pretty much lost the rest of her personality, as well as her arc about all the Faunus stuff. She just kinda became the meek, generically nice, recovering abuse victim. Why? Well, the actual reason is that they didnt plan out shit and are just kinda flying by the seat of their oversized clown-pants and if they and the fandom just admitted it, I would have less of an issue. I still wouldnt be as forgiving towards RWBY as I am towards YGO because the crux of the issue, for me, is just that I dont particulary like RWBY but also like. Do you really expect me to take MKEK seriously as writers after admitting to not have a timeline because iT wOuLd CaUsE pLoThOlEs?

However, since they want us to believe that everything was planned out from the beginning, the explaination would be.... Idk, they deliberately butchered one of their main characters?? Because.. they hate her?? Maybe????

So yeah, that was quite a detour however, I would like you to keep this mind going forward.

2. Themes of the Early Series'

First, what do mean by 'Early Series' for both of these shows respectively? Well, for YGO that would have to be Season 0 or if youre reading the manga, everything pre-Duelist Kingdom. Basically, the part of the series thats a episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror series.

For RWBY that would be the first three Volumes, also known as the Poser-Era. Back then it was just kinda an action series that took place at Anime Warrior Academy (also known as Beacon) with some pretty bare minimum worldbuilding, character-driven plots and developments but now its more of an epic high-fantasy story with more of an emphasis on plot as opposed to just action.

The themes and messages in Early YGO are kinda vague, very confusing to me and if you were to follow any of it literally that would be pretty bad. For now Im just gonna say the main themes are Friendship and Identity and mostly focus on the Identity aspect.

Now, it took me a little while to figure out RWBYs deal but I think the main themes for Volumes 1-3 are also Friendship and Heroism. Once again, I'll mostly focus on Heroism and touch on Friendship more briefly later.

I dont have much more to add to YGOs themes right now, so I'll briefly go over Heroism in RWBY.

In RWBYs setting there are these man-eating monsters called Grimm that have basically infected the planet. In order to deal with that, they have people called huntsmen and huntresses that kill them and protect people. Theyre trained at special academies like Beacon and go on missions there and stuff like that. Our four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, are training to become huntresses and one day they go on this mission to clean up a grimm infested city block with one of their teachers. Obviously, that takes a long time so they have to camp out in one of the empty houses. Weiss, Blake and Yang cant sleep because theyve been thinking about this question that their teacher asked them when they were fighting grimm: "Why do you want to become a huntress?"

They have a heart to heart and we find out about their motivations; Weiss wants to bring honour back to her family, Blake want to distance herself from the White Fang (that terrorist organization I mentioned earlier) and as an extension from Adam, Yang wants to have a life of adventure. They also talk about why Ruby wants to be a huntress and it turns out that she judt wants to help people. Unlike the others, she has no motivation besides that. We're meant to listen to that and look at her as a sort-of personification of Heroism: kind, but not naive, strong and most of all, selfless. The others on her team are not portayed as bad for not being like Ruby by any means but we are clearly meant to admire her the most out of all of them.

Okay, now comes the part Ive been looking forward to the most:

3. How did these themes evolve in the Modern Series'?

Alright, before we can really delve into the way they evolved in YGO I'll have to give you a brief summary of the character progression. At the start of DM, during the Duelist Kingdom arc, Yami Yuugi is just that; A darker Yuugi. Hes more confident, bolder, his voice is deeper, hes somehow taller, more ruthless, all that good stuff. Notably, he doesnt actually seem more skilled than Yuugi even at the start of this story, but he's still dependent on Yami. Yami on the other hand, has no identity of his own or even hints at one at this point. He's just The Other Yuugi.

Then during the Battle City arc, they find out that Yami was actually a pharao prior to being sealed in the puzzle, he just didnt know because of amnesia, I guess. So now they need to find out his real name and then send him to the afterlife because hes meant to be dead, but not before saving the world from being swallowed by darkness, which is also a thing they have to do now.

Then we finally get to the Memory World arc, where Yami, Yuugi and the rest of the gang astralproject to ancient egypt via puzzle magic. Yami is trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who all these familiar people are, while Yuugi & Co are trying their best to help him. Then some weird shit happens and it turns out that all of that is not just Yamis sealed away memories, but also a giant D&D Shadow Game that will destroy the world if Yami loses. So now theres Pharao!Yami who is still clueless on the metaphorical and literal playing field and Player!Yami, who is kinda controlling himself now? I guess?? Yamis opponent, The Spirit of The Ring, has something similar to that going on where hes both controlling and properly participating in the game. So Player!Yami is now fighting against Player!TSoTR, Pharao!Yami is now fighting against Thief King Bakura (who is like, the human, ancient egyptian version of the Ring Spirit) and Yuugi is now fighting against Yami Bakura (who is like, the human, modern japanese version of the Ring Spirit). Yuugi gets Yamis real name, he and the gang go over to Pharao!Yami and tell him his name, meanwhile Player!Yami is also somehow helping as well and they defeat the Ring Spirit, thus saving the world. Then they travel to modern Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel happens and Yuugi wins, sending Yami to the Afterlife where he can finally rest and that was the series!

I originally wanted to recount the stuff that was going on with the Ring Spirit and his host as well because they parallel eachother, but this summary is already far too long and I think youll get the point without me needing to explain any more.

My point here is, that the story went from being vaguely about Identity, maybe? to being very clearly about Self-Discovery and Learning to Be Independent. I think this is a very good way to evolve the messaging of your story. How does RWBY track on that?

Well, uh... its not great. I will acknowledge that they have tried to introduce new themes and ideas since, even though I wont really be talking about them in this post. But yeah, the whole Heroism thing really regressed.

Like, I didnt explicitly say it when I was explaining grimm earlier, but theyre not going away. The grimm have always been there and people who sign up to become huntsmen and huntresses are effectively signing up for a job that will never truly be done, no matter what they do. Characters like Ruby and even more minor ones like Phyrrah have shown us that that doesnt matter when youre a hero. No life isnt worth saving, no grimm isnt worth killing, no criminal isnt worth arresting. Then, in volume 6 they find out about Salem. Salem is the Big Bad of the show, shes immortal, controls the grimm and is supposed to be very powerful.

What do our heroes do? They give up. Sike! They were just mindcontrolled by monsters or some shit, of course they didnt give up their mission (which is to bring an Important Macguffin to a city called Atlas, sorry I didnt mention it)!

But then they arrive in Atlas (which is llike, a city thats floating over another city called Mantle) and yknow, they do some plot stuff thats not really important right now until the city gets invaded by Salem and this big grimm army she has.

What do our heroes do? Well, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and some side characters are chilling, drinking tea in a mansion and Yang and the B Team were actually trying to do something, but even those efforts seem incredibly minimal.

Oh wait, I also forgot to mention that Ironwood (a fairly minor, vaguely antagonistic character up until now) wanted to lift Atlas even higher to save Atleasian civilians from danger while leaving Mantle vulnerable to Salems invasion.

What would be the most heroic thing to do?

A) Let Ironwood lift Atlas, get as much support as they can down to Mantle and save as many Mantle civilians as they can from the invasion

B) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas but then split up in order to protect both Atlas and Mantle civilians

C) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas and then dont do anything else

Congrats! If you choose C, you think exactly like the writers!

And I just

This is so mindboggling to me, I feel like I shouldnt even have explain how this is bad. And like, it wouldve been so easy to actually make them seem herokc through their actions, to make it seem like they did try but no.

I have never seen a central theme be this botched, how in the world did they do that? Why did they think it was a good idea for Ruby "The Embodiment of Heroism" Rose to sit in a mansion doing nothing, no planning, no organizing just ..... God, how are they this bad? Like, this doesnt even have anything to do with it being planned in any way, this is just straight up incompetence

4. Very briefly touching on friendship

The friendship is awful and its not solely because they all have the same opinions. They barely interact with eachother outside their designated pairs which leads to it all feeling incredibly hollow. Theyre also practically indistingushable from one another now, which is a shame because it wasnt always like that. Like, I dont think the characters were that well-developed in earlier volumes but they were very well-characterized. But now we've gotten to a point where you can literally copy and paste one characters dialogue onto another and literally nothing changes, it really sucks.

5. Some closing words

Damn, this took way longer than I thought it would and now Im pretty exhausted. I have no idea how yall always write these but props to you! I feel like this ended up a bit rambly but overall, Im pretty proud.

Please let me know what you think of the points I brought up! Id also really appreciate some tips on how to get better at these longer posts because I am planning on writing more in the future (not the near future, probably but yknow).

Thats all I have to say for now, thanks for reading!

[bileshroom]

how do you feel about the new sally face chapter?

Im glad you asked! under a read more for spoilers for chapter 5

Myself and Fox are giving our opinions in this post so it will be very long

There were things i really liked and things i really didnt like

for example, the swapping dimensions and the changing art styles were very neat! i liked some more than others, like the rubber hose style for sal could of been a bit different in my opinion, @shinysnek did an edit/drawing and tweeked the tiniest thing and made the design alot more palatable 

and the minigames were… really repetitive and sometimes very confusing ? esp todds door, the plus’s were almost impossible to notice! slightly darker grey against light grey just makes it look like part of the door :/ and the 3d bits were a bit hard to control during the later part of the game

and the writing,, it felt super rushed as if he just wanted to saddle alot of the damage onto native americans??? that completely came out of the blue, like he couldnt come up with some sort of cop out for why the cult is doing what they do

and still with the weird queer baiting with larry? like he made them brothers but is still pushing it, if steve wanted sal’s love interest to be ash why not have moments like ‘that’ with her instead?? it feels very uncomfortable in my opinion especially with him saying he was still,,comfortable with the ship which REALLY rubs me the wrong way

and the ending,,, dont even,, TALK to me about the ending, it honestly made me so upset?? like, and the epilogue to go with it,,, like okay cool the worlds still fucked over and todds still corrupt and larrys just gone??? for no real reason???????? hes just gone :| okay 

gnome larry was funny tho, didnt really explain why Larry got super old while megan stayed a 7 year old, i suppose you can explain it with like when ghosts arent bound to a place they can wither and age? i dunno whatever chapter 5 sucked and it felt like steve just didnt want to do it anymore

—

my turn! alright im going to be typing my opinion from a fellow writer and programmer’s POV.

the beginning of the game kinda drops you in which was a little surprising, considering the other chapters were very rich with exposition which is one of the things i loved about SF. 

It had this way of bringing you in even though you didnt know what the heck was going on. It made you want to learn more and it felt like you were THERE with sal. 

But this opening with just… ash tossed in fell a little… flat. yeah… graveyard… lets toss in some epitaphs as a reminder of who died, ok… cool. 

next lets talk a little about the general story. im not going to lie, this felt like a TOTALLY different game to me and I played them all in succession again to remind myself of the other chapters. 

It was so… plain. It didnt have the eerie-ness of the bologna incident, it didnt have the intriguing mystery of the first chapter where it started you off in the hospital as a little boy with your face hidden, it didnt have that heart wrenching storyline of the 4th chapter.

it was just…. “i need to end this game quick”. 

there was just a unique feeling to the other chapters, something that made you feel gritty and floaty, like you were a dirty teenager hunting for ghosts.

Saddling the natives on the unexplained reason as well… BIG YIKES, steve. the silent hill movies pulled this crap too, and we can all see how flat that fell in comparison to the actual silent hill 3 game. 

There are so so many things you could do instead of that tired (and lets face it) racist stereotype. 

I thought it was going to have a deeper meaning, like… people have had cults for decades that didnt have to do with the natives. hell, he could have even kept with the weird alien theme he was going for. calling an ancient alien creature? that would be pretty badass.

The ending… fell disappointingly flat. ok… everyones dead? so you tortured sal and his pals for literally no reason? granted i didnt press the c4 button so im not sure how that path goes, but i doubt its any more satisfying. 

not to mention the constant queerbaiting that, at this point, makes me so uncomfortable.

yes we get it, steve. you think adopted brothers can fuck, and yeah, theres nothing TECHNICALLY wrong with it (and im using technically by definition, its still wrong in my eyes), but come on. can any of you tell me that wouldnt make you intensely uncomfortable? Its not ok what he did imo and i know its his characters, but steve? either dont make them brothers or stop fucking pushing their romantic interactions.

oh and lets talk about the only other canonly gay couple with any screen time! he killed the black one.

yep… just… let that sink in for a second. did he need to? absolutely not. at least not in such a pointless way.

didnt even give neil any character development tbh, just… token black gay man that needed to be there to be the motivator to search for todd. ok thanks, steve.

and travis (another not white character. no do not argue that hes “blonde”, sal has fucking blue hair and i WILL color pick travis if i have to). he was the other gay character who… yep, lemme look at my notes… died.

he didnt even get much of a redemption tbh, yeah he was secretly helping them, but… wow. toss him in the hole! we dont want to write gays!!! (unless we’re taunting people to get them to play under the guise of “lgbt representation”)

also larrys a gnome and is just… gone forever. just say you hate larry, steve. you didnt have to do him so dirty man.

now then, lets talk about the gameplay.

i was playing with an xbox controller so im going to be from that POV.

the controls were… ok for the most part. the 3d part was a bit hard to see and i got stuck trying to walk past the trees a lot. 

to be honest, the 3d is my only complaint with controls. the mini game later on where youre 3d and shooting tentacles was very hard to control, half the time it wouldnt move fast enough and the other half it would zip past the diagonals. i DID beat it, but i am a very good gamer. to other people who might not play games constantly, might have a bit more trouble and get frustrated.

the puzzles were bland and repetitive. im a horror puzzle game writer and i would NEVER do something this blasphemous in a horror style game. it removes you from the game to think “wow…. THIS puzzle AGAIN?”. it makes you feel like its insulting your intelligence, like “oh here you go you fucking baby, move the shape to match the other shape”

and one of the only other puzzles was that fucking door number puzzle. he made the pluses almost impossible to see for starts, and i KNOW other people had trouble with this. Wanna know how to fix this? make the pluses easier to see and make it so the input pad can only except the number of numbers that the code it. dont make me sit there like a jackass, typing in every conceivable way to order the numbers given.

all in all though, the gameplay was plain, the storyline was bland, the puzzles were mediocre and the only reason to play the chapter is to close up the story and to find out what happened to sal and his mom (which tbh was the only good part because i was actually surprised and excited that it was that that injured him)

i hope in steves next projects he actually figures out how to write an ending and doesnt rush it (and please keep in mind this was rushed even though he had multiple people helping him)

-fox

[castledvania]

this is really cool and all but im also like.  hm.  we have this same discourse over and over about assassins creed.  oh fuck you can choose to be a female viking in the new ac the gamers are mad!!!  you can choose to be a female spartan mercenary in the last ac the gamers are Mad time to own them!! oh fuck sometimes you play as a female twin in the victorian era game the gamers are mad!! time to own them!!!  and like. yeah that is something very stupid to be mad about and you should criticize them.  BUT.  i dont recall anyone having this same energy when racists were very, very mad about this Game Series depicting black people as having existed in ancient egypt or other time periods for that matter.  like.  this was recently. in 2017 people were very mad that the protagonist of the game set in egypt was black. and thats only if we’re talking about awful reactions to diversity in the series within the last couple of years.  im not saying you cant care about multiple issues but i am just throwing that out there

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

THAT MAP

i didn’t die

also spoilers. like. major spoilers. im serious.

dont click that read more unless you’re totally okay with spoilers cause i talk about some endgame stuff too <3

CELESTICA ERIDIA

THAT ERIDIAN RIFT HUHHHHHHH ITS RIGHT NEXT TO PANDORA

WE’RE ENTERING THE FLORPUS

IT LOOKS LIKE THERE’S A WAY TO TRIANGULATE/OPEN THE WORMHOLE OR SOMETHING???

alright LOOK

each planet (Eden-6, Promethea, Pandora) they’re all circled and when their lines cross it leads to SOMETHING

and looking at the grid that’s obviously what looks to be a wormhole

so we’ve also got the lines

“elpis - not what it seems. is elpis a lens? or a conduit. or both?”

A CONDUIT/LENS?? FOR W H A T??

ARE WE BEAMING SOMETHING OUT OF PANDORA? BECAUSE IF THESE TEMPLES ARE ALL SIMILAR PYRAMID-LIKE STRUCTURES TO THE ONE ON ATHENAS THEN THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE

this is DEFINITELY on pandora (you see elpis up there) so it’s possible something is going to hit elpis and it’s going to beam to this vault-thing and open up a gateway to the Eridian Rift??? OR

we open this Vault and it beams something up to elpis and elpis helps open up part of the Eridian rift

i’d guess we’d need all 3 (?) active to open it?? Eden-6, Pandora, and Promethea

so something SEEMS to be getting beamed either from elpis to pandora or from pandora to elpis

but im going to get elpis to pandora given the way it’s being thrown out? like it hits elpis straight on and then defracts over pandora like a prism

im guessing it’s such a broad spread bc it’s trying to hit the vault-temple-thing we see above (still... not quite convinced those are vaults like we’ve been seeing them in the past games (with lots of big loot inside). again something like teleporters makes way more sense to me)

they also bring this up, that athenas and promethea have a draw to one another, which makes sense since part of the promethean vault key is on Athenas

“Although Athenas is not in the Promethean System, there is a strong pull detectable through use of [eridian resonator (customized) which I have discovered here (seen in purple)]” i have no idea if any of the bracketed stuff is right“

more importantly it looks like one piece of Promethea’s asteroid belt is ‘highlighted’ which i imagine is that giant space laser

which ngl surprises me because

this doesn’t really look eridian to me at all. like, okay, the laser part IS purple but... the actual tech doesn’t look Eridian at all. it looks VERY human. maybe maliwan/atlas discovered it and changed it somehow? that’s pretty much the only reason i can give. like they made it so it would only hit a certain area (concentrated) instead of the entire planet (like we see Elpis doing)

also if we look at Eden-6

eden-6 seems to be 1 of 6 (or more) planets surrounding the gas giant (?) named Eden (which is such a cool fucking detail). or maybe that’s just a solar system named eden. either way. AWESOME.

my question is:

is Eden going to act similarly to Elpis? to the Asteroid Belt of Promethea?? because if that’s the case OH MAN MORE GIANT SPACE LASERS. maybe this is why ships keep on crashing to Eden-6. We know the planet is basically a ship graveyard, maybe there’s some Eridian interference that’s causing this to happen???

Also, when they say “Vaults lead to other Vaults” do y��all think this is tied into in any way the “Vault of Vaults” or whatever “It” is???

because THE VAULT OF VAULTS??? APPARENTLY WE WERE NAUGHTY AS FUCK FOR OPENING IT (the overseer says so when you accept the quest for the proving grounds)

AND THE MASTERS (whoever the FUCK they are!) ARE NOT HAPPY BOYS

ALSO “UNIVERSE DESTROYING POWER” AS CLAIMED ON THE WEBSITE

UHHH IM GONNA GUESS THAT RIFT IS ABOUT TO KILL EVERYONE AND/OR LET OUT A BIG OL SPACE DEMON COUGH THE DESTROYER COUGH

ALSO WE PROBABLY ARE CONFIRMED THERE ARE TEMPLES ON EACH OF THE PLANETS WITH THAT DIAMOND SHAPE

THEY MATCH UP WITH THE SYMBOL WE’VE SEEN EVERYWHERE

(also we now can guess this takes place after Athenas..?)

‘Vault... Key?’ i mean... think about it. we know the symbol for Vault is the circle with the arch. but this is different. this is diamond with, yes, with a vault shape in it. but... there’s obviously more to it than just the vault symbol

plus tannis is using it on pedestals dedicated to Vault Keys so i mean. you know.

and if this IS the symbol for Vault Key than oh man oh me oh my

that would mean opening up the ‘mini vaults’ on Pandora/Promethea/Eden-6 would lead to that big Eridian rift opening, whatever it is

which could explain this line: “the Vaults lead to other Vaults” “Smart, Leda!”

looks like Typhon met someone who writes in blue. who’s name is Leda.

calling it now typhon totally banged a Siren named Leda and had 2 twin kids (it runs in the family) the twins take after their parents: one red, one blue. possibly inherit the Cloth Map and learn about the purpose of the Vaults through it. i got nothing on the cage thing but tbh i wouldn’t be surprised if Typhon or Leda ended up going crazy at some point and/or having kids inside of a Vault for some ungodly reason. spewing random shit about ‘bandits this, bandits that’ to keep them from leaving. maybe they knew their adventures were going to (eventually) lead to the destruction of the universe so they wanted to keep their kids safe without having to admit they’ve doomed everyone outside this has no proof at all, im just spitballing lol i mean look at these love-sick FOOLS lmao

look they both left messages (that i can’t read) with hearts at the end of them

“Genius! [gibberish i can’t make out] <3″ “you know it! <3″

we don’t know what the Vaults really are for, huh Tyreen?? NOW WE DO. NOW. WE DO.

“ERIDIAN GLYPHS ARE CYHPERS!” (sic???)

“by overlaying various found glyphs patterns emerge which are then...” ASDFGSHJ i CANT READ THIS “What is the machine?” “We’ll figure it out together!” MACHINE????????

i NEED it

“Mapping in progress: the key-glyph [something] is an Eridian cypher hiding coordinates to some kind of cyber (????) structure” this perhaps???

also the proving grounds. let’s talk about those. we know they’re eridian, we know there’s 6 of them, we know there’s 1 at least on both Athenas and Eden-6.

we know those Eridian Ruins/Cyphers lead to the proving grounds. we know this much. so is it definitely confirmed the proving grounds hold a higher place in the story than they’re saying? i mean let me pull up my other draft talking about these in-depth and copy paste because there’s only 36 minutes until the NEXT endgame content stream

“Later in the campaign, you may be worthy of taking part in the Proving Grounds: themed gauntlets watched over by a Guardian known as the Overseer who wishes to test your mettle on behalf of the mysterious ‘Masters’.”

so it sounds like at least one is going to take place during the main campaign of the game.

as for uhh who the Masters are... I don’t know. I imagine they’re Eridian in some way/shape/form. to be honest, considering the Overseer is a Guardian (confirmed), I imagine these ‘Masters’ are just literally Eridians. some sort of council, perhaps. i mean “the masters will determine who is at fault” for “naughty humans opened the vault of vaults”. so i imagine they’re like a council.

Let’s start listing stuff we know about the Proving Grounds:

1. you get them by translating (we apparently get a translator later on in the story) Eridian texts (ciphers) left behind, which tell us where (?) these proving grounds are. why we’re not just using tannis... i dunno. something better not have happened to Tannis, gearbox

We’ve seen these texts in the Eden-6 gameplay, so it looks like maybe we won’t need the eridian doritos stabby thing to break any crystals. damn youuu

“Ohhh good. Nonsense.”

i make jokes with my friend that soon i’ll be able to read Eridian given how much i stare at these tablets. it’s only a matter of time...

2. there’s apparently 6 of them, and at least 1 on each planet. We’ve seen the Athenas (Survival) and Eden-6 (Instinct) versions, which does make me wonder if there’s any tie between 6 of these trials and the 6 Sirens...

Also, given there’s supposedly 6 trials and only 5 planets (as the community has gotten devs to tell us), it makes me wonder a) if there’s actually 6 planets or b) why there’s only 1 planet with 2 per planet. i guess if that’s the eridian homeworld then it’d make sense if they have 2.

(Also Varnell did originally say 7 trials at first, but he gets a pass because he was live on stage and i would’ve made that mistake too knowing my dumb brain lol)

3. Apparently during the narrative of the game, at some point, we will unlock at least 1 trial.

“[proving grounds are] encased in the narrative of the game. a combat challenge the Eridians have left for the player to kinda prove themselves worthy for... things i won’t completely spoil right now, but uhhh prove themselves worthy to the ancient, lost, Eridians.”

so... YEAH. big news, gamers.

does this take place at the end of the game? its possible. its likely considering this is considered endgame content. it might not. it could be both, like sort of a repeatable thing. im not really certain. 

What I am certain about tho, is that this takes place after a huge story event.

So, maybe the BL3 story ends on a cliffhanger. Tbh i would upset if that happened, but THAT SAID, if the game does end on such a huge cliffhanger that this is AWFUL and the end of the universe is coming, I don’t think we’d be getting 4 story DLCs that completely ignore this problem.

The devs had said the entire story will be contained within bl3 (no splitting it up between dlcs), and it seems the games like to keep the timeline intact in the real world, so if imminent death is on its way, we can’t exactly wait 5 years irl and in-universe for borderlands 4.

So, if this is a cliffhanger ending, I don’t think whatever happens is... that big of a deal. Sort of the level of finding the Vault Map at the end of BL2. It’s big news! but it’s not going to end the universe. The story marches on. We figure out the new goalposts of this universe and keep doing stuff outside it.

Now that we know that, let’s take note of what the Overseer says at the start and end of this mission:

“Vault Hunter... I thought you might show up sooner or later. So naughty your species, so curious. The Vault of Vaults has been opened and it has been released. Prove your worth and I will reveal why the Masters made me wait for you”.

“Naughty humans opened the Vault of Vaults, but the Masters will determine who is at fault. Until next time, Warrior.”

so that’s some pretty fucking loaded dialogue, isn’t it?

im vvvvvvvvvv curious about who this ‘it’ character is... something the Eridians didn’t want out- well, that’s bad, because we (or the twins, or maliwan, or both I guess) just let it free. and the fact the Overseer won’t even reference the thing by name... that’s probably bad. If this is an actual entity, then that is mostly why I believe this particular Proving Ground takes place during the main story.

that said, ‘it’ could literally be anything. Knowledge, hope, whatever. the potion you brew to become a Siren. you know. anything. She called whatever was released ‘it’ and it doesn’t seem like we’re in a RUSH or anything. Just hanging out doing proving grounds. and apparently this is because we’ve been naughty humans. not evil, just naughty. like she’s giving us (or the cult) a slap on the wrist.

The Overseer doesn’t seem too affected by us opening the Vault of Vaults herself. The Masters apparently are trying to determine ‘who’s at fault here’, like it isn’t exactly clear. was it the humans for opening it? was it the eridians for making them openable?

it would be interesting if this isn’t even talking about something that happens in game, but instead like... she’s referencing Typhon and Leda. the Vault of Vaults had been opened (by Typhon and Leda) and IT has been released... whatever it is... maybe the reason Typhon and Leda locked their kids in a vault? ... i mean if we’re going by the eridium/slag causes psychos, then maybe that? we definitely find eridium on planets other than pandora...

also speaking of stuff taking place during the game, lets remember what was discussed in that interview: “[proving grounds are] encased in the narrative of the game... a combat challenge the Eridians have left for the player to kinda prove themselves worthy for... things i won’t completely spoil right now, but uhhh prove themselves worthy to the ancient, lost, Eridians.”

worthy of what, exactly?

I’m still of the belief that it’s for the title of Vault Guardian (and, yes, by proxy, i want to say Siren, but y’all won’t take me too seriously if i keep advocating for this crack theory lol... implying you took me seriously in the first place 🤡) because of the Guardian Rank

the fact we’re killing Fallen Guardians means, technically, a position HAS opened up... plus I don’t think the Watcher would have come in contact with Lilith if she didn’t think the Eridians needed us

that said, if this isn’t for just becoming Vault Guardians, then... idk. If this is strictly endgame stuff, i don’t even know what we’re trying to prove our worth for.

I guess worthy of not being thrown into alien prison is probably a good one. magic space prison is probably hard to get out of. like, ‘200 years an opening’ hard to get out of. and ur roommate is the destroyer 😨

i mean... maybe worthy of entering the Eridian Rift? i mean... it’s possible this rift leads to the eridian homeworld... there would have to be one HELL of huge Vault Monster to keep people from getting through :o

anyway, we’ve got 20 minutes until the new endgame content, i’ll be sure to add onto here if we learn anything new and/or i think of anything else. im vibrating over this shit, it’s awesome. i LOVE this map. might have to pick one up on ebay or smth.

[kingofdinosaurs]

ranking of hollow knight areas now ive been to all of them

city of tears - obvious reasons. its just sexy... its big, its pretty, its got great music, makes fun of rich people, you fight a bug who looks like a frog that did innumerable war crimes... need i say more? also from a gameplay standpoint once i got there i felt the world open up so much... suddenly i really felt like i was in the massive world people kept talking about...

dirtmouth - fuck the gamers who said this area was boring because it doesn't have enemies in it, it was the only friendly place in hallownest and i would always go back there after hard boss fights to rest... elderbug is my best friend and i WILL give him that delicate flower i stg

crystal peak - i know im in the minority for liking this area but really whats not to like (aside from uhh. myla. you know.) its got pretty crystals, the most cheesable boss in the game, access straight from dirtmouth, and the crystal dash which singlehandedly saved my playthrough from grinding to a screeching halt at the city of tears entrance. thank you crystal peak

greenpath - i like it both for the aesthetics and for the lessons it taught me about combat in this game. i hated hornets boss fight with an undying passion but at least it made me learn some actual skills at the game instead of just randomly waving my nail around. also its just so pretty... all that lush greenery after the forgotten crossroads was lovely to see. also sheo lives there and i think hes my favourite npc

kingdoms edge - another unpopular opinion but kingdoms edge was mostly a cool area and the aspids actually in kingdoms edge aren't that bad once you know how to deal with them. they suck in the colosseum but everything sucks in the colosseum thats the whole point. also i like the baby hoppers even if the big ones are the worst, and oro is there and i like the nailmasters. it also connects to the hive. for the bees. yeah.

deepnest - its a bitch of an area to get through but it's supposed to be that way, and it does it very well. also hornet lore makes me LOSE my MIND... herrah the only good parent in hollow knight bitch i wish we got to talk to the dreamers. herrah is the only parent

royal waterways - loses points for stinky sewer level and creepy laughing rich lady but regains points for mr ogrim dungdefender (thats his full name) living there. i wuv u ogwim please tell me the forbidden great knights lore and also take care of yourself. also godhome is there? kind of ironic, that...

howling cliffs - theyre boring to look at but theres a lot of cool stuff there and its nice to be able to go to the place you're in during the opening cutscene. also GORB

resting grounds - its got a nice atmosphere but i got here, got the dream nail, fought xero, died to xero like the stupid bitch i am, and woke up on a bench in crystal peak because i forgot to find the one in the resting grounds in my haste to collect essence. so that coloured my perceptions of the area just a little bit. you know. also it contains a) the delicate flower quest b) the entombed husks.

forgotten crossroads - same as fog canyon i just don't really have much of an opinion on it... i didn't like what happened after i got the monarch wings (not spoiling that) but other than that it was a nice first area i guess? false knight was a fun boss

fog canyon - no particular hate or love for this area (i at least like most of hallownest), but i legitimately forgot it existed. like... what is there... the archives i guess but you go there once, do your job and then never think about it again. millibelle was there but i did the bank thing so now it doesn't even have that going for it

queens gardens - again, @ mantises please fuck off please fuck off please fuck off. also thorns are the worst... who invented those... i don't even like the white lady either like no matter how regretful she is for what she did, she never does anything to make up for it she just perpetuates the cycle. also im mad we didn't get to meet dryya she looked so cool...

ancient basin - got stuck on broken vessel for fucking ages (HARD come down after how fun dung defender was). like any normal person i don't like mawleks, and aside from that? it was just empty... sad... also it contains the white palace and the abyss which are like... story destinations but not fun to visit. the only thing the ancient basin has going for it is lore.

FUNGAL WASTES - FUCK THIS STUPID AREA FUCK THE PLATFORMING FUCK THE MANTIS ENEMIES FUCK THE STUPID EASY TO MISS BENCH NEAR LEG EATER THAT I DIDN'T SEE, MEANING I HAD TO GO ALL THE WAY BACK ROUND EVERY TIME I DIED. FUCK THE FUNGAL WASTES. THEY DIDN'T EVEN LOOK NICE YOU ARE ALL KIDDING YOURSELVES.

[rollingpenguin]

Unknown dudes approaching me(a stranger but also a girl, if you ask my Facebook) just to tell me that if I need help playing X game I can count on them.

Why. Would I need. Your help.

Been playing anything just fine as a solo my entire life, why do you think that I, a stranger who did not ask for any help, would need your help. Why.

I'm so annoyed by this shit. I mean just tell me 'hey I'm playing that too what's your favorite character in the game' to approach me. Why would you think I need your fucking help.

Im not a pro gamer but I can be damn amazing at playing if I'm into it so honestly. I don't need nobody's help. Like ever.

And yknow what, if I needed it. Google sensei is the one for me.

Is this another form of mansplaining? It's so annoying. Ugh.

I'm so tired of people trying to explain shit to me even if I give off no sign that I need an explanation.

No dad I don't need you to tell me about politics, I was talking about how the daily house life of an ancient egiptian could be, not about their politics which I have studied way too much at school.

And no, brother, I've been reading Mangas for 10 years longer than you, someone who only read 2 stories(that I am familiar with) in the past half a year, I think I can pick comics on my own.

And no, Mr stranger on Facebook, I've been playing genshin impact for a month now and am doing just fine on my own, I got to level 35 no problem so, you know, I don't need your 'help' which I never ever requested~

Jesus christ stop explaining stuff I never asked

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - January 2, 2012 - Gaming in 2011

Since this fall was one of Gamings most exhaustive with over a dozen AAA titles in less than three months, i thought Id share my opinion about some of them and review the ones I played....        Full list: Dead Island, Gears of War 3, RAGE, Batman Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Sonic Generations, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Halo Anniversary, Assassins Creed Revelations, Saints Row The Third, Super Mario 3D Land, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Mariokart 7 (3DS), Just Dance 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic. -Dead Island: I've never been a fan of the whole Zombie franchise, not because they are bad games, but because ive had to be selective in my gaming purchases. Everything i've heard about Dead Island however has been very good and is probably the best zombie game of 2011. I wouldn't know though. -Gears of War 3: This long awaited title is debatably the most anticipated game of 2011, and definitily the most anticipated Xbox title. The title finishes off the Gears of War trilogy with a satisfiying (though cheesy) resolution to end the Locust War. -RAGE: Anticipation for RAGE was high as shared development between Id software and Bethesda Softworks, two of gamings most notable companies, brought the title to life. The game was expected as a mix of DOOM and Fallout, an action packed, open world, first person shooter with a detailed plot, amazing gameplay and hundreds of hours of gameplay. This was not the case. The game reported to have a low total length of about 10 hours and a weak storyline. Where RAGE shines however is in its gunplay and technical feats.  Overall this game is fair, but doesn't live up to either companies standards. -Batman Arkham City: Seperate from the movies and following the plot to Arkham Asylum, this game provides a deep look into the Batman Universe and is praised for its story and innovative gameplay. -Battlefield 3: Back in October I was DYING to play this game. It was the first major title this fall I was prepped to buy and I was excited to finally get a chance to keep up with the newest gaming buzz. Unfortunatly the release was less than ideal. It came out the week I was preoccupied with the Fall Play and I didn't get a chance to open it. By the time I finally had freetime to play games, Modern Warfare 3 had been released and I was itching to finally finish the storyline for that. Finally in late November I got my chance. I popped the game in my xbox and began the Campaign. Immediatly I enjoyed the game. However as time went on the Campaign seemed to drag on and on. I had a difficult time understanding the plot and the characters were difficult to relate to and feel emotions for (Unlike MW). Then I tried out the Multiplayer. I was not impressed. The maps were too large and the players were all far more experienced than I was, I didn't have much fun. Overall Battlefield 3 has amazing technology, but unless your willing to dedicate more time to it, then it isn't as much fun. -Uncharted 3: I don't own a Playstation, however reception for this game has been very good (Im assuming Nathan Drake is the Indiana Jones of Video Games). When I finally do break and buy one, this game is definitly on my list of games to try. -Sonic Generations: Old Sonic meets New Sonic, brushing aside the obvious cheesiness of this concept, the game seems to provide gamers with the chance to live out their favorite form of Sonic games. But since ive never been a strong fan of the series it means little to me personally. -Modern Warfare 3: I bought this game for the sole purpose of defeating Makarov! (Oh I can hear the COD fans screaming right now). Ive never been a fan of COD multiplayer. Ive gotten into it recently but its vastly different then the games im used to. Ever since Black Ops, Activision has been publishing really crapped COD titles that simply reskin the previous game with new graphics and stories, barely changing the gameplay or multiplayer at all. This game is basically a $60 addon for Modern Warfare 2. Not only that but they expect gamers to pay an additional $50 for multiplayer upgrades. Frickin heck!!!! -Skyrim: OH FRICK YES! When I first heard of Skyrim about 8 months ago it didn't seem that big of a deal to me. It just seemed like a crappy sequel to Oblivion (which I didn't play). So I turned my attention elsewhere, notably to the newly revealed Halo 4. However about two months ago I began hearing alot about this game and how excited people were for it. I still wasn't interested. I had already sunk $180 in games already and Christmas was on the horizon so I continued to ignore it. News of Skyrim only increased after the release as all my gamer friends talked about it exclusively while I sat in the corner playing Halo. Eventually the buzz got too great and I broke and decided to rent a copy (not convinced I would like it). Just today I dedicated a few hours of my day and sat down to play it. Now I can safely say that I am in love with the game as much as any other. In a few hours I had climbed a mountain, discovered an ancient tomb and killed a fire breathing dragon. This game is definitly on the list of games I need to buy in the future. -Halo Anniversary: When I first heard about this in June, I was gitty with excitement. Like many I feared that Halo would die after Reach and that the series would never be as acclaimed as Call of Duty took over. As I watched the live E3 announcement I was filled with hope as a new decade of Halo games came into the light. For months I waited impatiently to play the new Halo title. I loved Halo 1 and I couldn't wait to see it in HD. Finally the day arrived. After a long day of school and an agonizing ride to the local Gamestop, I held the game in my hands. I brought it to my dad's apartment, turned on the Xbox and blasted my way through the Pillar of Autumn and across the surface of installation 04. I would have played all night if school hadn't directly followed. Though quickly the game grew old to me. Something ive noticed about Halo titles is that they have an amazing amount of replayability, but get old if over played. The game itself broke down into two features. One was the rebooted Halo 1 campaign, and the other was a map pack for Halo Reach. The games renewing quality was its reduced price tag of $40. Thus making Anniversary what Halo 3 ODST wanted to be. Overall a worthwhile purchase if all its aspects are to be respected. -Assassins Creed Revelations: I very specifically was not interested in this title. Why? Because the Assassins Creed Franchise is a buzzkill. I could have easily rented this title at the local Redbox for a mere $2 a night, played it and given it back. But no. I didn't. Why? Because the franchise is story driven by the previous title and hits a cliffhanger at the end of every game. Id have to play 1, 2 and brotherhood just to understand the plot prior to the game. I might as well just google the entire plot. Plus the gameplay is repetative. Jump off building, kill guy. Jump off building, kill guy. Jump off building, kill two guys. See my point? -Saints Row The Third: Its a ruder Grand Theft Auto clone. Enough said........ -Super Mario 3D Land: Back in November, I had been given the opportunity to hang out at the local gamestop while my mom was busy. As usual I took note of the various titles avaliable, asked some questions to the clerk and played some demos avalible. Notably the new Mario title. As with every Nintendo console, a Mario title is paired up to boost sales. With nothing better to do, I approached to sample 3DS (you know the one nailed to the wall) and played through the first level. Rarely do I enjoy a game the first time a play it. Usually the controls become a hastile and I dread my first experience. But the controls came naturally to me. The level was simple and fun and I honestly enjoys playing through it. When I finally buy my 3DS, Mario is one of the first titles I will buy. -Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword: There are not bad Zelda games, there are ones that dissapoint slightly or have frustrating features, but all the titles are quality titles worth their cost. I am not personally a zelda fan, but I have tremendous respect for the franchise and its fans. Skyward Sword is definitly a notworthy title. The game cronologically takes place before Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask. The game however is vastly different in style from previous zelda titles and may alienate some fans. Overall the game is praised for its quality and story. I applaud Nintendo for ending the Wii's Lifespan with such a wonderful title and look forward to seeing what titles they have in store for the Wii U in terms of Zelda. -Mariokart 7 (3DS): Since the Nintendo 64, every Nintendo console has to have a mariokart game. They are fun, simple and bring in the bucks for our friends in Japan. Mariokart brings the same style of racing Nintendo characters to the 3DS and is worth the cost. -Just Dance 3: either you play motion sensitive games or you don't. If you like them and music games, then youll like it. If you don't, then you won't like it. Simple as that. -Star Wars: The Old Republic: A star wars MMO, not an original concept but definitly a profitable one. Following the success of Knights of the Old Republic and the huge following for MMOs like World of Warcraft, Lucasarts and Bioware came together to produce The Old Republic, allowing fans to make their own epic journey in the star wars universe. However the game is plagued with issues. Notably the fact that all players are forced into a waiting room upon signing into a server until enough room opens for them.

[smgo2099]

Mass Effect Review

Overview

Mass Effect a game that I have not played in years, it kicked off the decision making in video games with an entire trilogy being affected by the decisions you made in this game. Mass Effect was developed BioWare and was their first original space IP after doing Star Wars. the game takes place in an alternate universe after discovering advanced alien technology to travel through space and find other alien life forms. The game is centered around your main character name Commander Shepard and they can either be female or male depending on your pick. The game also starts you off on a ship on an unknown mission to a planet called Eden prime. The mission ends up turning bad to worst with robotic AI beings called the Geth attack and end up destroying an Alien device by an ancient race called the Protheans, that was crucial to the mission but luckily Commander Shepard turn on the device before it explodes and sees a vision of destruction and mayhem and that pretty much sets up the game.

Gameplay

This game is basically revolving around story changing mechanics in basic RPG elements as well as a third person shooter combat system. pretty much every decision you make in this game counts. I will leave the story elements to the story category, so let's talk about RPG mechanics and combat.

Starting off the third person shooting is not that great, being BioWare first third-person shooter game it's still not that bad but it's not on par as the later series. Now granted they could have done worse but majorly it's just how the gun mechanics work and the cover system doesn't work that well either. But at least they give you infinite ammo so at least you're not trying to hunt down ammo boxes, but the downside is there is an overheat mechanic. now on the RPG side of things, you have six different classes Starting off with.

The Soldier which basically has all the Arsenal's that some the other classes do not have access to, giving them to a range of more combat situations from different weapons they have as well as heavy armor sets over other classes.

The Adapt is basically the force user class and uses your biotics from shooting force fields to black holes towards your enemies, their weapons specialist is only pistols but when you can throw people against the wall there's really no need for better weapons than that.

The Engineer is basically the hacker class which AK the tech class they specialize in hacking into robot enemies with your face a lot in this game their main weapon is pistol as well and has a lot of abilities that help you pack other things as well besides enemy AI.

The Vanguard is basically a cross between the soldier and the adept class but relies heavily on defense as well as main guns is pistol and shotgun.

The Sentinel is a cross between the adept and the engineer class giving you a good mix of each classes abilities from hacking to throwing people against the wall, their major disadvantage is only light armor and just like both classes, your skill-set for weapons is a pistol.

The Infiltrator is a cross between the engineer in the soldier just like the engineer in the adapt class they both use pistols but have a skill set in sniper rifles, but given how the way of a sniper rifle and how easy they overheat you are best sticking with a pistol early on.

Now putting that out to side each class can get a special skill when creating a new character after completing certain tasks on a previous save how it does that is read your trophy list and if you killed certain criteria of enemies with certain type of gun you can add that weapon skill to that class on a new playthrough. That brings me to my other point about this game, it’s achievements and trophies that actually matter besides having something pretty badge on your gamer profile. This game reads your trophies and achievement list and if you just met certain criteria you would be rewarded on your next playthrough or New Game plus that includes the new difficulty plus, do more to damage to enemies types. It's something that's not very seen a lot in games. I really wish developers would take the trophies and achievement list serious by doing this, actually rewarding the players with these in-game abilities and perks for actually playing the game.

Story

REALLY BIG SEMI SPOILERS BECAUSE IM GOING TO SPOIL THE CRAP OUT OF THIS GAME! 

Now if you've not played Mass Effect 1, I totally recommend going read my final verdict and score down below just go ahead and Skip to that, otherwise, I am going to spoil the game story. 

So pretty much after Commander Shepard try to save the Prothean beacon an artifact that pretty much sends virtual messages straight into your mind. He ends up seeing a vision of Apocalypse of a robotic race called the Reapers destroying the universe. After that Commander Shepard gets back on the ship to go to the citadel, home to all alien races and meet with the high council of alien races that are selective races on a committee. After explaining the events of what happened and eventually finding evidence showing one of their elite agents which are called specters was behind the destruction of the Prometheus device. They Grant Commander Shepard Spectre status and agrees to him going on a mission to find the rogue Spectre. after that, it's pretty much going to three locations in recruiting new members for your newly given ship called the Normandy. After going to the three locations the game gives you and investigate them and do side quest you find out where his base of operations is and find out what his plans are. which is bringing an entire robotic race back called the reapers. Him and a ship which is a reaper itself was using other robotics called the Geth as their ponds. So they can eventually open up a portal using the mass relay in the Citadel space station that the current council resides. Pretty much after losing a friend and nuking the facility. Commander Shepard goes to a planet that is full of prothean technology and full knowledge on the history of the reapers, finding out that the prothean dyed out from the hands of the reapers and planned a semi-attack launched with some of the messages they sent out through some of their prothean technology. After finally getting to the citadel from taking a mass relay on the planet and fighting your way through the citadel. Shepard finds the rogue Spectre and kills him and then you must decide the fate of the council while the Earth the forces help the defend and defeat the Geth and the reaper ship. After making your decision either outcome leads with the reaper ship not activating the portal and getting destroyed. So the universe is safe up till the next 2 games.

Verdict

Mass Effect is a very damn good story with difference decisions branching off for you choosing who to kill and who not to. Making other decisions that are going to affect the sequels. The only downside with this game is the combat system is a little outdated and the driving mechanics is not the best. but if you want really a good damn story with some decisions that can definitely affect the sequels I totally recommend picking this up and playing. As well this game has a lot of replayability including New Game plus and if you unlock trophies and achievements for newer characters you make, you can get added skill bonuses and starting off bonuses as well as for your character in New Game plus. So final verdict I give Mass Effect.

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