#the seek cutscene is fucking amazing.

[spacecatdraws]

i saw the ending cutscene for the mines. and holy shit. Seek is my favorite (along with Figure and Ambush)

spoilers below:

So the ending cutscene is the Queen Grumble resurfacing, and coming after the player in the castle. But before they can, one of Seek’s hands grabs them by the eye and pulls them back, as well as more of Seek’s goop melting down onto the rest of the Queen Grumble. The cutscene ends with Seek standing on top of the trapped Queen Grumble, and staring at the player through the closing castle doors. it fucking slaps.

but this implies a few things:

Seek is willing to attack other entities to pursue the player.

Screech may be the result of a giggle coming into contact with Seek (Queen Grumble being submerged)

Seek is powerful enough to win a fight with another entity, and a strong one at that, with little struggle.

The Castle is not going to be safe from Seek.

[sky-kiss]

Okay, your OC is a love interest, what does their first romance cutscene look like?

A/N: Sassy, this is such an amazing question. I hope it’s alright that I did it for my three main idiots (I have another, but he’s just an old man for Jaheira lol). 

Scrungus: (Cowboy lizard)

Being an Oath of Redemption paladin, Scrungus isn’t overly romantic. He’s very kind, but he’s more focused on the wellbeing of the group. The incident with the goblins leaves him a little down, so he’s melancholy post party. The PC has to seek him out. He gives you a little smile, tips his head. If you offer him wine, he politely declines. 

“Had to be done. Couldn’t have ‘em running along the coast, know that. Still…ain’t sitting right. Coulda done more. Shoulda, I reckon.” 

If you mention you would have liked to dance at the party: “Would have been good to see…ain’t much point killin’ if you’re not enjoy living.” 

If you ask him if he knows how to dance, or would have danced with you, he gives you a little grin. Yeah, he picked it up somewhere along the line. In a little village, years back, after a fight just like this. Used to be pretty good. But don’t hold him to it. He’d hate to step on your toes. 

If you point out that the goblins and the Absolute left you no choice: 

He agrees, but finds it unfortunate. Worse folks have turned their back on evil. 

If you go to hold his hand, he chuckles and moves it away. 

No offense meant, but he’s got one responsibility. Gotta see you through the city. No use muddling things. 

You spend the night talking about your past, his, maybe he tells you a story about some absurd devil or demon he talked round to redemption. It’s ridiculous. He lets the PC lean against his shoulder and doesn’t move them when they doze off against his chest. 

Evoi: (Evil, evil, evil AU!Joi; it’s early, and she’s…untempered) 

Goblin-party only. She’s turned on by the stink of carnage and the way you looked while slaughtering the Grove. She makes this very evident, very early into the party, sidling up to the PC, nosing their throat. 

Blood-slick, hunter-kin—soak in carnage, baptize her in your sweet cries. 

She’s going to fuck you. Consent is optional, sorry. Will lick every drop of blood off your character. It’s a lot of kissing and biting. Going to absolutely devour/go down on the PC. You’re her pet now (and she’s obsessive, crazy, generally the worst). 

Joi: (Amnesia Girl)

Joi still has no idea what’s going on or who she is at this point. The scene will have more variance compared to the above, based largely on player input. Most of  her reactions are going to be emulating the PC’s drive. I.e if you’re interested in talking, she’ll be softer and happily talk, but consistently direct the conversation away from her. If the PC is more forward and wants sex, she’ll fall back into that role. 

Is likely very similar to Astarion in that she’s unsure she wants to have sex at that point, but it feels natural, normal, and a way to like…establish rapport. And since she has nothing personal to offer, why not sex? It’s the best she can do. 

If the PC opts to take things more slowly, she’s comforted. Wants to hold the PC’s hand or sit in their lap/beside them. She’s naturally very physical, and the slow!route still reflects that. If the PC asks whether she enjoyed the party, Joi is puzzled and admits that she doesn’t know. Saving the tieflings felt strange, almost wrong, but she likes it. 

Platonic/Slowburn route: Joi asks your PC to tell her about their life, stroking their hair. She thanks the PC for sharing and kisses them. 

Sex route: Joi is enthusiastic, but distant. Leads the encounter, focused on pleasuring PC. The morning after, she is more conflicted and admits she did not sleep well.

[knackeredforever]

Ok I’ve finally finished dmc3 and oh my god that was incredible.

That game was a 100 times better than the first two. The combat is easily the most fun and diverse with the combination of the different styles, five different unique weapons and unique guns, the ability to unlock new moves like dmc1 is great as that being missing from dmc2 could really make the combat feel stale at times.

The difficulty is much harder than the first two games but not too difficult apart from a couple bullshit bosses. But I much prefer this to how incredibly easy dmc2 could be at times.

The difficulty is probably harder due to the fact you don’t get devil trigger until at least a third into the game and even when you do get it it’s not an instant win button like it is in dmc2.

I didn’t think I’d ever compliment a dmc game for its story considering the previous 2 games attempts at a story but dmc3 for what it’s trying too accomplish has a great story with memorable characters incredibly fun but cheesy cutscenes. Dante’s characterisation is perfect especially as a younger version of him who is constantly trying to be as cool as possible but occasionally fucking it up such as trying to say a cool line to his enemies and then sneezing in the middle of it.

Vergil is of course Vergil who somehow is one of the few characters of the whole power seeking sword wielding cool mc cool guy archetype that manages to never feel overly edgy. Probably because of his voice which is very monotone and snide which stops him from feeling like an edgelord. Also every boss fight with him is a highlight.

Lady is also a great character that unlike Vergil I didn’t hear about beforehand every cutscene with her is my second favourite next to Vergil considering her insane amount of guns she uses at any given time. Also I love that when her dad basically deadnames her by calling her Mary. Lady instantly shoots him in the face.

Honestly the most surprising thing of the game was the fact it managed to pull off a genuinely good plot twist that took me by surprise I knew Arkham was probably gonna become the main villain at some point but I never expected Arkham and Jester to be the same person. Also I love it in media when there’s a villian character that’s objectively weaker than the heroes so they manipulate and weaken them so that they can obtain ultimate power for themselves.

Genuinely amazing game.

[cupcakesmoothie]

Other things I'd like to mention about the new quest: Spoilers, obviously

Her fight was sorta difficult since I didn't bring a shield character, and also didn't really know what to do at first.

Delusion lore. Delusions are made of Crystal Marrow, and drain a person's life-force.

Going after Kujou Sara to the Tenshukaku was a little funny to me, since all the guards were just on the ground. She must have went on a RAMPAGE. She is also found lying on the floor presumably (Hopefully) unconscious, and is not mentioned anymore after that.

Signora fucking died. Turned into ash and disintegrated. I didn't expect that, since there WERE leaks about how she would show up in every nation since she was the Tsaritsa's favourite. I know leaks can't be trusted, but this does also mean she is the first (Potentially) playable character that canonically died.

The part when you're leaving the Tenshukaku, I feel like that has to be talked about.

The glitch effect, the heat waves(?), the lightning, the overall somber tone, those parts when the screen goes black with only text in the middle, the little quick time events I was too afraid to fail, just. That part was something I did not expect, but was actually great.

THE KAZUHA CUTSCENE. I know talked about this, but Oh my GOD. The scene was so goddamn epic, Tomo's vision activating for a bit was AMAZING.

Word of warning for anyone who hasn't played, the team you use to fight Signora (Cryo, Pyro) will be used to fight Baal. You won't be able to switch. I went into the Signora fight with a not that good team (My Kazuha is mostly used for pulling enemies in, not damage, so he did nothing in this fight, also I brought my not at all built Electro Traveller, but I would have done that either way, so that's not important.)

That scene when all the visions' ambitions come together, Teppei is shown for brief period, which is nice but also I am like 90% sure he died (Sangonomiya paid respects in front of his house, and then it cut to Kazuha paying respects at his dead friend's grave.)

When Kazuha goes to visit Tomo's grave, there is a white cat.

The fight where you have all the ambitions powering you is probably one of the most enjoyable fights I've had. Constant healing, character immediately brought back to life upon death.

Baal, the Raiden Shogun's real name is Ei, which means Shadow. She actually had a twin, who died in Archon War. This was the "great loss" she suffered, which was one of the things that shaped the way she is and why she so desperately seeked for eternity.

The destruction of Khaenri'ah and "Heavenly Principles" was referenced.

Ei never had her Gnosis. She gave it to Yae ever since she created her puppet vessel. The Gnosis was actually given to Scaramouche, in exchange for letting the Traveller go.

That means even though we did manage to straight up kill Signora (Actually Ei did), the Tsaritsa still got another Gnosis.

[quizzyisdone]

Smutty Headcanons | Jason Hudson x Reader

A/N: I’ve put together just so smutty headcanons for my egghead, Jason Hudson my beloved. Y’know, to distract from the pain of watching the new cutscene.

Warnings: Mentions of sex, strong language, inappropriate use of neckties

- I think out of everyone in the safehouse, Hudson actually has the highest libido. Everybody thinks that Woods is always super horny but I think that’s rather far from the case, Woods is just clear about it when he is. 

- Hudson, on the other hand, is like always down to fuck but is good at hiding it for the sake of professionalism. Sometimes though, he’ll find his mind wandering back to railing a certain someone and finds it incredibly hard to focus.

- If that’s the case, he will desperately seek out your attention, reasoning in his head that it’s just a matter of practicality, just a means to fulfill his physical needs so that his work isn’t affected by such desires. But he knows it’s always so much more than that.

- If you’re indisposed at the moment, Hudson has no qualms about satisfying his own needs and jerking off, although he’d much prefer you.

- I’ve mentioned before that Hudson has a thing for sex in a workplace environment. Not that he acts on it a lot, considering he could get fired for it, but the thrill of watching his personal life bleed into his work really gets him going, it’s almost liberating for him in a sense.

- Hudson has an office at his home where he works a lot too, and that’s where he prefers to have sex, in his office chair or up against a wall in the room. It’s technically a “work place” but there’s no chance of getting caught.

- Won’t ever admit it, but if he’s trying to focus, trying to get shit done, he secretly loves it when you attempt to distract him with the promise of something way better and infinitely more fun than this shit. 

- He’s a strong dom, nearly all the time. Hudson doesn’t like surrendering control too much, but he loves it when you ride him. Cowgirl for any gender is one of his top three favorite positions, it just makes him so weak. But make no mistake, he’s still in charge.

- When the mood strikes him, Hudson fucks. Like fucks. The “go-to-pound-town��� type of fuck where he’s just filthy and muttering the most profane things in your ear from behind. 

- He’s amazing at dirty talking. It’s so eloquently filthy and it’ll make you weak at the knees whenever he speaks to you like that.

- I feel like he’d have a thing for ties, to be honest. Whether that’s tying you up with his own tie, using it as a gag, or even when you wear his tie and literally nothing else.

- Seriously, that’s like Hudson’s form of lingerie. 

- He is absolutely weak whenever you try to take control, whether that’s tugging on his tie to pull his lips to meet yours or pull your fingers through his belt loops and forcing your body as humanly close to possible as his. Despite his dominant nature, it just feels so good to surrender control every once in awhile.

- There’s a softer side to him, though. Sex for him is a very emotional, a very sacred thing. To surrender his body to somebody else, no matter who’s “in charge” in such an intimate matter is an expression of love in it of itself. Hudson doesn’t do that for just anyone.

[border-spam]

Took a bit of time and some morning coffee and wrote up my feelings on why I’m feeling so let down by the twins.

Copied from my Reddit: Just finished the game and am still reeling at how poorly the last few hours went story wise. There is a clear disconnect between how the twins were built up as the game progressed though echo logs, direct communications with them etc, and how things actually went down as the story began to wrap up, which is why things feel so rushed and not satisfying. Troy was the key to this game having a fantastic ending, and he was thrown away out of the blue despite all the twin's character development being on him solely.

While Tyreen suffered a lot of the same issues, my god.. they really.. really.. screwed up how they handled Troy, and they needed these villains to go down perfectly to be able to be on the same level as Jack. They came so close, it was incredibly frustrating to see them throw it all away.

As the story ramps up, cutscenes and echo communications very purposefully begin to show you the relationship between the twins isn't that stable. Tyreen has a clear disgust for keeping her brother alive, and Troy is far quieter, and willing to defer to her opinions. Once he absorbs Maya's powers, things take a noticeable shift. He's more confident, more ready to disagree with her, his cutscene in Jacob's alluded to him having his own goals not related to hers. His echo messages started dropping tidbits like how he always thought he was just a freak, and how good it feels to have power now.

Everything was building to "This dude is going to turn on Tyreen and end up taking her powers if she doesn't start treating him with more respect", and by the time you reach the cathedral we are right at the peak of this foreshadowing, with the twins aggressively mouthing off to each other and Troy ready to snap while channeling energy to Elpis.

When Tyreen started screaming "STOP, YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME!!" lines during his fight, I don't know anyone who didn't immediately think this was it, it was the plot turn point and shit was about to get amazing, and then he dies.

He just dies, the end. All that foreshadowing and threat, all that character development that Tyreen got none of, and hes's gone, and we are meant to see Tyreen as the threat again despite her having absolutely 0 development or growth across the whole game? She didn't even react to his death, there was no depth to the entire scene, it was rushed and painful to watch.

So what the fuck actually happened? Did the writers just change at that point? Did GB run out of time and threw together a fight with him despite it not matching ANY of the huge amount of foreshadowing they had spent so long working into the game already?

I could have written a better ending in 5 minutes, most of us could have. What I would have expected was:

Him to continue to leech from her during the fight, accidentally kill her because he got too cocky with his new powers, then had a breakdown when he recovered and tried to wake her up to let her know they had done it. The final fight being a deranged "God King Troy" who had continued on with his sister's plan solely out of guilt and spent the fight screaming her name and looking for her would have been fantastic and in line with the "Seeking power only leads to pain, family is the true strength" over laying plot of the game.

Points off the top of my head written into this character and then completely trashed with this fight ending:

What were his goals, he said he wasn't a follower and seemed to be humoring Tyreen most of the game.

The fuck was up with his face? Jaw hinges? We'll never know. Why are they there?

What happened to his arm, it was such an important visual feature and was never confirmed as being part of them being conjoined.

Was his main aim to break free of his parasitical relationship with her and be healthy?

What's the extremely high tech spinal and skull implant he has that's unrelated to his arm's tech

Why does he have actual tatoos under his siren tatooos if Tyreen had her powers since being a child

What were his base siren powers, did he have any bar the one he found out about midgame

What were the glowing crystals he carried that matched his tatoos and sword

Where the fuck did the sword come from, it just appears out of the blue in his fight with no pre context.

He was the only male siren in known history, this was a massive deal and wasn't even touched on once

TLDR, Troy was laid out as key to the entire plot arc and received all the character development for the twins. He was thrown away with no followup after the whole game foreshadowed his rise to power. Shitty writing that affected most of the characters in one way or another, but completely crippled the twins from being as great as they could have been.

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Dragon Age: Inquisition, day 16.

I’ve still got a little bit of the Emerald Graves to mop up, so let’s start there. With a party of Cassandra, Sera, and Vivienne, because they sound like a good idea to fight the dragon with.

Aw. I got the quest to hunt down the problem bear and I can’t even make a “he’s right here in the party!” joke.

Hands up everyone who’s surprised that Vivienne uses Chateau d’Onterre to make a point about the dangers of magic.

Greater Mistral, level 19-20 party, go.

“Isn’t this supposed to be one of the dragons that does the guard thing? I’ve got her down to half health and she hasn’t done it.” Before that sentence was even fully out of my virtual mouth, she did the guard thing.

Dear Vivienne: Cassandra and Anchoret have inexhaustible guard. You do not. Use a damn healing potion.

Got her. I’m getting to the point where even dragons that do the guard thing aren’t too difficult.

And unless I want to spend the rest of my life hunting giants, that’s that for the Emerald Graves.

Hm, might be time I stopped putting off What Pride Had Wrought. Who to bring? Solas is a shoo-in, but the rest is completely up to me. Hey, how about Cole and Vivienne? This ought to be good. Or possibly very frustrating, depends on a few things.

The opening cutscene with the advisors striking badass poses as their people get in place to do their thing. Yes but also oh god I can’t.

It’s still very sweet to see said advisors out in the field with me, though.

Ah, the infamous “which is?” How much more would it have cost to have Lavellans (or indeed other Inquisitors with a relevant knowledge perk) say something along the lines of “huh, I didn’t know she had a temple” instead?

I’m going to come out of this with enough stormheart to outfit the entire party with fully-upgraded matching armor and weapons twice over.

I’ll never have to worry about arbor blessing again, either. Especially since the stuff grows wild in Emprise du Lion and I haven’t even been there yet.

Oh, right, that’s why the body-surf scene was such a thing. Yeesh.

Fuck happened to my framerate? I hope the game’s not about to crash.

Morrigan’s Morriganing really does take on a new dimension when she’s aiming it at a Lavellan, doesn’t it?

Yes, OK, she’s wrong about something on-screen. Amazing! But it feels meaningless. She and the Inquisitor immediately pivot to seeking out the Well of Sorrows instead of an eluvian, with no damage done to their ability to stop Corypheus’ lieutenant in their tracks.

Huh. Not sure I was expecting Cole to be the one to suggest jumping down the hole, but I suppose that tracks.

The “Mankind blunders through the world” speech was definitely written to be delivered to a human Inquisitor, oof.

Anyway. Off to do the rituals. Sorry, Cole.

Solas, you had something there for a second with that bit about Dalish stories changing over time. And then you capped it off with “Never mistake them for arbiters of “true” elvhen culture”, and...hnyeeeeeeeerm.

It’s the “you don’t count as the heir to your own ancestors’ legacy because Reasons” thing, and the “your only worth is in how closely you can approximate your ancestors’ culture” thing, and *scrème*.

Like, we all bring our own viewpoints and experiences to our interpretation of the in-game material. We can’t not. That’s how being human works. And I will say this, if Plato rose from his grave and started telling us moderns what to do, I wouldn’t be alone in telling him to fuck back off to Hades. So of course that colors my view of Solas, and of all the Dalish and elvhen-related material, even though there are other experiences that went into inspiring it that I can never fully understand.

(Which makes Morrigan into Evans and Schliemann and all the rest of them in a low-cut top, doesn’t it. Even if the DAO material had never happened, I’d still have very little time for her.)

It’s hard to be all that mad at Calpernia once she turns on Corypheus, honestly, but her nationalistic fervor is still a little concerning. I’m not sure if putting her and Dorian in a room to work on a reform plan for Tevinter would end well for anyone or not.

This is the first Inquisitor of mine who’s drinking from the well, for obvious reasons. This should be fun.

Oh. Goodness me.

I could really do without the continued Morriganing, though. The game really wants me to think I made the wrong decision by not letting Morrigan drink, doesn’t it?

Ah, the “running low on war table missions” part of the game. For a while there I was worried I’d never get to this point.

Oh, cool, getting shouted at by Solas. Yay!

“What if you wake up to find that the future you shaped is worse than what was?” Uh, Solas, this isn’t about the Well anymore, is it?

*gasp* A hug! Hugs in the context of a romance only count for half, though. Them’s the rules.

Cool, cool, getting held at arrowpoint by Sera. Very nice. Really endearing you to me, old girl.

Wow, the whole “makes the Dalish look like tits for living in the woods” rant lands with extra force for a Lavellan, too. Damn.

That was probably the last conversation Anchoret and Sera will ever have, unless something major changes. Not sure how you come back from all that.

Cole. <3

Anyway, time to head out to Emprise du Lion. Cassandra and Blackwall both have quest stops there, but there isn’t room in the party for both of them with a warrior Inquisitor, so they’ll have to take turns. I’ll bring Cassandra to start with, plus...hm. Cole and Dorian seems like a good way to round out the party.

Right, yes, the part where I try and figure out how to get around the Emprise. I do remember that there was an obvious path out the back of Highgrove Camp that I’m not going to miss this time, which is something.

And more tomorrow, as it’s gotten quite late.

[raven-wraith]

A Completely Subjective (Objective) List of Titles to Examine (Purchase), Play Through (Waste Your Life), and Enjoy (Enjoy) During Quarantine (part 2)

We know what’s happening. It’s April 1st, but the joke has been going on for far too long. Trapped in our homes with Covid-19 actively shooting people in the streets outside, we have to find a way to pass the time. As an avid gamer and professional uncooked cookie dough eater, I have compiled a list of games, both multiplayer and singleplayer that anyone and everyone should play for an enthralling experience. These games range from the newest releases to golden classics, so be warned if, I don’t know, Halo Reach appears. By the way, Halo Reach is appearing.

Multiplayer Games: 

I would like to point out that the following games are more directed to be in the vein of multiplayer, however, the single player experience should not be disregarded at all with these titles. I just find that the replayability comes from the multiplayer modes in these titles, but go ahead and check out the single player. After all, these games have strong versions of those modes either way.

A Way Out

Okay so I already lied. A Way Out is exclusively multiplayer. But before we hop into the gameplay itself, I do want to emphasize that only one (that’s right, one) copy of the game must be owned for 2 people to play, even online. A cooperative 2-player interactive drama game, the game paints a story that involves a prison break, found family, betrayal, and interesting and original levels, each with unique controls involved in every set. 

The game plays in split screen, even when playing online, allowing for one player to be in a cutscene talking to a guard while their partner is to be off somewhere else, in full control. A Way Out also has very interesting mechanics, where branching discussions can be given depending on either player’s interests or playstyles.

A Way Out is a once in a lifetime experience and it won’t be the same after replaying it, but the time spent with a partner is special and unique for first time players. I had an amazing time, I’m sure you will as well.

Monster Hunter: World

What is better than hunting parking garage sized Pokemon on crack? Hunting parking garage sized Pokemon on crack with three other friends. Monster Hunter: World threw things like story and development out the window to focus on gameplay, and for that, I appreciate their direction with this game. 

In this game, the idea of the hunt is everything. Figure out your prey, find and craft potions and weapons that are best against it, track that fool, beat that thing’s head in 500 times. Rinse. Repeat. While it sounds simple, MHW’s massive size would prove you wrong. This game is so gigantic, you and your friends have to camp out in the game, you may have to in real life, just so you don’t lose too much sleep.

The game runs closer to an RPG as well, with weapons and armor that can only be wielded by players seeking a specific role for their hunting party. It’s like every good part of hunting things in The Witcher, only you do it with teammates that never brought enough health potions. For people with a lot of time on their hands, this game is a must have.

Did I mention that you kick the shit out of monsters?

Borderlands 2

The most self aware game I’ve played since the Stanley Parable, Borderlands 2 is a phenomenal game that only gets better the more friends you throw in it. A first person shooter built around a campaign of limitless side quests, an expansive class and character system, and of course, guns. Borderlands 2 brings humor to an already mixed genre of looter shooter that there is so much to unpack, I feel it’s unfair to do so here.

Borderlands 2 is the ultimate hunt for treasure and glory. You journey through the planet of Pandora, a mixture of Mad Max and a 2012 mlg compilation video. The game has a strikingly intriguing story with multi-dimensional characters and a fascinating intro to anyone who is opposed to shooters, RPGs, or both. The game offers hundreds of hours of content with the numerous DLC’s, all offering new areas, quests, and characters. The unserious Destiny, COD Diablo, whatever you want to call it, it’s all there in Borderlands 2.

The game, however, goes above and beyond what it already has when you incorporate two or three friends. After picking classes/characters and starting a new journey or just dropping in and out of co-op, the game is always fresh and welcoming with endless things to kill and loot. All in all-

Look. Just play it. Seriously. It's good. It’s like Spider-Man

Halo Reach

Ha, what’d I tell you? Boom, Halo Reach! Let’s get into it.

You don’t even have to play any of the other Halos to even start to understand what is happening. The game has so much to do, not in comparison to world size or gameplay, but in just sheer amount of modes to participate in. There's a campaign (with 4-player support), firefight, forge, custom games, and all the different playlists in multiplayer like infection, SWAT, Invasion, Big Team Battle, and more. 

While I did say that these games were centered on the multiplayer experience, I do have to highlight the campaign of Halo Reach. It is filled with beautifully destroyed battlefields, detailed corridors of enemies, and a cast of dynamic characters, all with impressively delivered voice lines and performances. I can give just the campaign alone a 9/10, honestly.

Back to the real shit, there is an incredible amount of things to unlock in Halo Reach’s armory, a list of cosmetic items that you can slap onto your super soldier to make your flex just that much harder when you kill and t-bag a person online. And also, everything that can be done between the multiplayer and single player ALL accumulate experience to your level, meaning no matter what you play in this monster, you can still access the armory and look fly as hell. Even for those who haven’t even heard of Halo, I guarantee that this entry into the series is the strongest. 

Titanfall 2

It is fucking criminal how underrated this game is. This is the only game, the ONLY game I know where Hollywood level shit happens on my screen every match. Every. Single. Match. Things that aren’t in cutscenes or in the background, we’re talking player to player encounters in the game. This is the only game where you can run along a wall at mach speeds, drop kick a guy, hop onto the back of his thirty foot tall mech suit, throw a grenade into it’s engine, blow it up, double jump onto a different building, hack a robot, kill a guy while invisible, teleport to a different fucking dimension, and board an evacuation ship all at once. 

Titanfall 2 offers a shooter experience that anyone who has ever played online has to hop in and see. While the skill gap is high (like Snoop Dogg high), it is beyond exhilarating in every match. The game allows for customization for your skills, suits, guns, and of course, your big ass Titan.

The game’s online modes feature a pick and choose system in loadouts where players of Call of Duty games will feel at home. However, players of Mirror’s Edge will feel at home with the fast paced mobility of Titanfall, where the player actually shines. The game sports wall running, double jumping, slides, movement assisting skills like grapple hooks, and momentum physics to all feed into an impressive movement experience to an otherwise simple online shooter.

Multiplayer revolves around less diverse playlists than Halo Reach, but between a surprisingly short and sweet campaign and an online experience that I think is unmatched, Titanfall sports such clean animations, well done lighting and curated maps, that I think that it holds an unparalleled online experience (3).

And that’s the list, really. I didn’t include games I thought were 10/10’s, perfect, or otherwise critically acclaimed just because everyone else had played them. I went off to analyze these titles and try to comprise them into just a few short paragraphs using the experience in writing and gaming I knew. Stay safe during quarantine. And please…

Check out Titanfall. Those dudes need more players. Seriously.

(3)  Also, see the campaign. Seriously. It’s a little too good for a shooter.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

1 3 and 10 c:

Ahh, thank you for the ask! c:

1. What is your favorite DC movie and why? And least favorite?

Justice League vs. Teen Titans! Because I’m simply biased as hell.

To ALL of its elements! Azarath! In a MOVIE! Arella’s story got RECOGNIZEd– even ANIMATED! It gave Raven’s gem a BACKSTORY! It’s everything I’ve ever wanted out of a Teen Titans animation.

(Azarath being animated in a movie fulfilled my SOUL, you have NO fucking idea. It was AMAZING. And so well animated too? So pretty? So peaceful? So nice to look at? Holy god, I want ten thousand hours of documentaries on that place??? legitimate tears in my eyes when we saw it. honestly, it was just… it was so good.)

Not to mention, while the production value was Kinda Eh, the writing was really clever and the Moments (silly, fun, heartfelt, freaky, dramatic) were all really well done. It captured the “Heart” of those feelings, emotive and raw and honest. I actually enjoyed the fun moments. Myself. And wasn’t just “distantly admiring people being happy”. Do you know how much of an ACCOMPLISHMENT that is?

The music was really cool. Not to reveal my Immortal Inner Emo Kid. But “Down to Nothing” is a really good song. (One of my only problems with this movie is that it was shoddily edited in the scene, and it’s a shame, because it really is a good song… {lD it was kinda my anthem for a long, long time after this movie. “Help me: believe in something, cuz I am: broken, I’m down to nothing. And it’s just so hard to be this way, but it’s just as hard to change. So: help me, believe in sooomethiiing….”)

(Because it’s in this movie, I grin a bit whenever Ciaran randomly shuffles it up. But also because I just really like the song itself.)

Also really cool: Trigon was an abusive asshole. Ultra mega props for that element; not just making him a Bad Guy because he’s Powerful and Wants to Rule the World, but legitimately showing that he was a BAD “GUY” *and* a Bad Parent.

Also nice, Damian felt less shoehorned in than Certain Other Really Recent Robins were in the comics…. (The reason for that may have been glossed over and a touch cliche, but it worked for the movie. It did what it needed to, nothing more and nothing less.)

Good thing too, because Damian being A Kid was really nice to see. (Raven too, let’s be real. Those kids need more “fun” in their lives.) Bond the children! BOND THEM, GODDAMN IT. That’s what any good Teen Titans story really needs; friends who are a FAMILY. They love each other, even if it’s hard-earned and hard-kept.

Focused on the PEOPLE, and their WELL-BEING, just as much as (if not MORESO!) than “ohshit, Big Bad Guy to deal with here”.

(the rest is under a cut, because godDAMN. I got rambly once I started talking about Raven.)

And perhaps most important of all to me: Raven’s characterization was amazing. Truly a masterpiece. Any time you’ve got a comic character with 7 different tones and 3-4 Literal Deaths and like 28 different writers having handled her: It takes a LOT of work to pick and choose what you want to do with them. It takes a lot of WISDOM and even prowess to triangulate your Own Characterization between such dramatic differences. Raven has been cold and distant; warm and soft; sharp and bitter; lost and clueless; wise and knowledgeable; she’s a very LAYERED and COMPLEX character even in each individual VERSION.

And the movie portrayed so many of her key characteristics so wonderfully. It’s a very “complete” picture of my absolutely Iconic Favorite Character, it encompasses so much of my Favorite Parts of her throughout her entire history, and it was just such a delight to experience. I, in my unpopular opinion (at least among my contemporary Cartoon-First Generation of Teen Titans Fans), actually really liked her voice actress, too? So subtle. So snarky. So soft, even with its edge of attitude. It was such a good fit for such a good incarnation!

And then there’s the fact that they included Jaime (who does well on his own, but honestly always seemed like a natural fit to the team), Kori (a Key Titan, let’s be honest), and even Gar (because his playfulness is a key part of Whole-Team Characterization too honestly; it wouldn’t be the same without him). It was a good setup, even with the comics this continuity’s based on being totally cracked.

And Cyborg showed up. Despite working “in the big Leagues” now. Thanks for throwing us that bone, at least. lD

And Damian? They did a great job of giving him character developement. Much needed. Good shit. If he can’t be with Dick!Bats in this verse (and I deeply prefer Dick as Nightwing anyways), that’s a really good fit for him. Learning to be human. Getting comfortable with Some Normalcy. Good and relateable.

That movie was just. Ahhh. SO Good. X3 As a Teen Titans fan especially, but also just as a person who likes a good Team Becoming Family story.

I love it. It has its caveats, but none of them dampen my obnoxiously heartfelt love for this thing.

*

(…yikes .after THAT essay, the rest of my answers are going to feel so shallow.)

All that bias aside though, my other favorite DC movie is definitely Wonder Woman. Hands down. Undoubtedly, no contest, no holds bar. It was a phenomenally well-told story with a lot of wit and compelling characters that used absolutely MASTERFUL rising action, and felt GENUINE. It was told from the heart as well as the camera, and it was told beautifully. Smoothly. It felt godly and human all at once. I can’t explain it very well, but it was genuinely one of the best movies I have ever seen.

I never got very into Wonder Woman, but from what I know of the 80’s and the Really Recent comics: It also captured her backstory, her personality, and her Style of Heroism really well. But even without being very familiar with her as a character? It’s a gorgeously well-done movie.

( Note: I still haven’t seen Justice League yet, but from what I’ve heard, I’ll probably end up liking that one too.)

*

Least favorite? I don’t know, honestly.

(My least favorite superhero movie is that one Marvel one with Vision, because I literally fell asleep while watching it. That’s the first time in my entire life I’ve fallen asleep while watching ANYTHING.)

But for DC, even the silly obnoxiously-radioactive-colored Batman and Robin has its place in history.

Can I just say, maybe… “the Injustice: Gods Among Us cutscenes”?- raven’s voice really grates my nerves, and not even in a Fun Creepy Way.- Whose idea was it to have SUPERMAN go evil? Like? ?? Who thought that was in any way a reasonable idea. - the story in that game felt really cobbled together. The comics are a lot more interesting, fun, and though there’s a lot of, like, Random Occurrences that seem to happen Exclusively For The Drama, in the game there are a lot of ill-explained things and general Random Chaos. Not my kinda story.

*

3. Which DC character should be introduced in movies/shows? Or have a movie/show of their own?

I mean. My automatic response is “Raven”, but I only ever want to see that if it’s being done right. The way CW wanted to do it kinda ripped the heart of everything I know/love about her to shreds. (”Relateable normal teen girl sudden has powers”? What? What??? That’s literally NONE of Raven’s backstory, shoo. Begone. Good riddance.)

That aside, I’d honestly probably watch the HELL out of a Nightwing show. Or movie. Just LET DICK BE HIMSELF. Without being attached at the history AND HIP to Bruce!

Or Death? or Sandman? I don’t know how well they’d translate to TV; Nightwing would certainly be the safer bet. Neil Gaiman’s writing is half as great as it is because of the WRITING. The style. The narrations… But, I mean: Coraline was just wonderful~ So why not a Sandman movie, too? Given the right director, and the right special effects team…?

(Constantine would’ve been next on my list, for a better movie anyway. but he’s already getting some decent recognition. So whoop whoop. Good shit. Nice Decision, DC. I Approve.)

10. Which DC character portrayal do you think is better in the comics than in the movies?

Batman. By far.

I’m just sick of all this manpain and gritty, utterly-unyielding violence, and… politics? Where’s the humanity?

Aren’t these writers forgetting that he’s someone who has suffered, and is doing all this, not just to beat up bad guys and look cool, but to save others from what theyd do? To HELP PEOPLE, not to growl like a man-tiger and punch things?

You can be badass and still have a heart, you know. Comics!Bruce does. (Most of the time.) And that’s a big part of why I like reading Batman comics so much.

And on that note, the conspicuous lack of Robins in (most) movies is an insult to comic history. Batman’s family-seeking and protect-the-children tendancies make for a much more interesting franchise, honestly. Give us a colorful cast! (Literally!) Give us diversity! Give us more stories with more characters so it has more facets than just “some guy wants to kill people; can’t have that”!)

As a sidenote: what I’ve seen of Gotham, it’s doing a really good job of encapsulating his Heroic Tendencies as well as his “sense of Duty” to Gotham and its people, while keeping him human AND super cool. That’s an important balance.

[alfstop50]

Character #48: Doom Slayer/Doomguy

"In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doom Slayer."

First Appearance: Doom 2016 (May 13th, 2016) Bio: A viciously brutal space marine, the Doom Slayer is awoken from slumber after a previous failed attempt to wipe out the denizens of Hell. Although his benefactor simply needs him to stop Olivia Pierce, he has only one objective in mind: kill anything in his path.

---

Usually I don’t like main characters that are mute and have to have a lot of their personality filled in for them by the player (looking at you, Crono), but Doom Slayer is absolutely great at this. Why? Because he and the player share the goal of killing shit all the time! He doesn’t want to wait around for some dumb explanation about Argent Energy and “the threat to humanity” or whatever, he wants to just get in and murder some demons! Yeah he’ll do the job you gave him to shut some machines down, but why do that when you can just CRUSH THEM! He won’t give a fuck about the long-term consequences so long as he’s able to destroy whatever’s in front of him, and at the end of the day that’s just a beautiful thing (some cutscenes spoil this aspect and is more the fault of the game than anything, but I digress).

There’s a lot of lore surrounding Doom Slayer that you find in-game as well, but the amazing thing is it never feels over-indulgent. Hearing a demonic voice speak at length about Doom Slayer and how much of a badass he is gets you hyped and feeds into the thrill of actually playing as the Doom Slayer. It perfectly compliments all the cool shit you’re able to do already, and adds more gravitas to the mythology of the character rather than leaving him as “some space marine who happens to be good at killing things.” It’s a joy to play as Doom Slayer, learn about Doom Slayer, and most importantly, BE Doom Slayer, and it’s a big part of what makes Doom so damn good.

Teaser for Character #47: Gets possessed more often than not

[zefive]

since one person asked me to, here’s a post recommending some roguelikes!

if you don’t know what a roguelike is, it’s a game where, once you die, you start over. the fun is often in getting better, and defeating enemies you couldn’t defeat before. it’s pretty dang fun.

(i was gonna write a lot more, but bleh to that.)

anyway! starting with my two personal favourites:

RISK OF RAIN a game where every second that passes means a harder, tougher, game. the graphics are gorgeous pixel-art, and the soundtrack is pretty damn rad. it’s probably my favourite, even though i don’t talk about it at all. (and haven’t played in a while >o>;) plus, it’s finished!

THE BINDING OF ISAAC: REBIRTH probably the most popular roguelike. i’ve personally spent 200+ hours on it, so. the art is pretty cute, and a lot of people praise the soundtrack (personally i turn off the music and listen to my own shit, but that’s probably because i’ve spent so much time on it) there’s also two DLC! Afterbirth and Afterbirth+, both of which i’d recommend, though if you’re not sure, just buy rebirth first! there’s also fanmods a plenty, and have i mentioned the main character?? because you will Want To Protect him very fast. (there’s also kind of a story, but it’s not like... in your face? it’s mostly in cutscenes you get after beating the round) it’s also finished!

ENTER THE GUNGEON the game which i’ve been playing a lot, recently. it’s super fun, and also hard, but i’m having a damn blast playing it. it just got extra stuff added (for free!), so even though the base game is finished, there’s still more stuff a-coming! i’d definitely recommend this one; it’s kind of quirky, and a lot of fun, and just- it’s really fun, okay?

NUCLEAR THRONE in the same vein as Enter the Gungeon, is this game! it actually came before Gungeon, but whatever, i do what i want. much like Gungeon it’s quirky, super fun to play, and also hard. it’s also finished.

CRYPT OF THE NECRODANCER probably the most unique game on this list, it’s a rhythm-rougelike! the music is top quality, and it’s super easy to sink a lot of time into it. it just recently got an DLC, Amplified, which is in early acces!

DARKEST DUNGEON the oh god how do you not die game. Darkest Dungeon is a bit different in that, once you die, you don’t start over- instead, you lose the characters you’ve spent hard work leveling up, and start over with new characters. it’s fun. :) it is also a pretty damn grim game, with lovecraftian elements, a ‘dark’ artstyle, and a system which will fuck you over (or save your ass). beside hp, there’s a thing called ‘sanity’ which will drop the further you explore into the dungeon. when it drops completely, your hero will either crack, or go full blown saint. this is one of the hardest games on the list, i think, but it’s also a lot of fun. also, the narrator has a very delicious voice. i’d definitely recommend watching the intro.

DON’T STARVE (TOGETHER) another of my favourites! together is a multi-player version, which is probably the more popular one. it’s super fun to play with others! anyway, DS is by the awesome company Klei, who makes super awesome games. the art style is FANTASTIC, the world is amazing, and the characters are all precious and lovely. there is story, but it’s one you have to seek out yourself. there’s also DLC, which changes up the formula and adds more characters. there’s Reign of Giants, which adds a weather system and giants that’ll fucking murder you; Shipwrecked, which strands you on an island, and forces you to make boats and shit. it’s really an amazing game, and i’d recommend it any day. (though, fair warning: i personally get a bit nauseous playing it. you might be the same, i dunno.)

GONNER the actual cutest roguelike ever??? the art is fantastic, and the music is amazing, and YOU HAVE A WHALE FRIEND. it’s also pretty tough, as per usual. it is also finished.

CATACOMB KIDS i’m currently playing this, and having a fucking blast. it’s still in alpha, which means it’s nowhere near finished, but damn, is it good so far! unlike most roguelike, it has swords! and not guns! also it has spears, which has gained my forever love.

VAGANTE in the same vein as Catacomb Kids is Vagante! it’s a lot more polished, but it’s also still in early access. i haven’t actually played this recently? but it’s got a great art style, and it’s super fun.

DOWNWELL i honestly love this game. it’s a neat little one, with pretty pixel graphics, and fun gameplay. it’s really cheap too! i’m not sure why exactly i love this one as much as i do, but it’s a lotta fun.

ROGUE LEGACY another ‘unique’ one, in Rogue Legacy when you die, you start again as the dead hero’s kid. it’s pretty damn tough, and i’m nowhere near beating it, even though i’ve played like 19 hours.

SPELUNKY remember how i said Isaac was the most popular roguelike? i lied, this is the one. Spelunky is pretty dang known in the gaming-circle, and it does live up to that fame. it’s super tough, but also fun. it can, however, get very frustrating.

FTL: FASTER THAN LIGHT space game! roguelike- in space!! FTL is another one of those ‘famous’ ones, and it most definitely lives up to that fame. it’s fun, and also tough as fuck, and it’s kind of a delight?? also there’s aliens.

THE FLAME IN THE FLOOD i literally just played an hour of this, just so i could recommend it. because the game looks awesome, and from what i’ve played, it’s pretty great! it’s a survival roguelike, and you gotta travel from island to island. plus, you got a dog.

NEO SCAVENGER i love this game, honestly. it’s mostly text-based, and it’s not quite roguelike, but fuck it, i’m putting it here anyway- it fits the criteria well enough. it’s really fun to play, and it doesn’t matter that there’s not much visually going on.

DUNGEON OF THE ENDLESS this game is super duper pretty, turn-based, and i don’t know, i just really like it?

KINGDOM this apparently isn’t an roguelike either, but it feels like one, so. in this one, you gotta build up your kingdom, and not die. it’s pretty neat, and also pretty pretty.

ONE WAY HEROICS oh man, this game. it’s barely ever talked about, but it’s super fun. it’s kind of an old style JRPG, except an roguelike. basically, you can only go one way, and you have to constantly move, because otherwise you die. it’s really fun, super cheap, and also funny.

DUNGEONS OF DREDMORE okay so personally, i don’t care much about this game, but it’s pretty popular? it’s kind of in the style of old rpg games, kind of ala tabletop games, and stuff. it’s kind ‘quirky’, but obviously not in a bad way. it is kind of fun, and i probably just have to give it another chance.

DEVIL DAGGERS okay so, this isn’t really a roguelike either, but it feels like one, and it does kind of fit the criteria. also i do what i want, fight me. anyway, Devil Daggers is.... a really, really, hard game. like: the first hundred times you probably won’t even last over a minute. but, the combat is pretty damn fluid/fun, and the art style is just. REALLY RAD. also there’s a lot of ‘listening’ to figure out where your enemies are, and just- i really like this game, even though i haven’t even played 30 minutes.

anyway, that’s more or less it! all of the roguelikes i have (and would recommend)! there’s obviously some good ones i don’t have yet, and some of these aren’t quite roguelikes, but they’re pretty damn close. hopefully you’ll like one of these, and find a new game to love. (◡‿◡✿)