@naruball Something absolutely magical happens with VR when it goes after music, and there are just so many great options! Always glad to be surprised by games like this that surprise me with just how great they actually are!
@Burntbreadman Yeah that was at least partially my first impression as well, some aspects of the presentation of the game look slightly...cheaper than something like Beat Saber, which makes sense given how presumably massive the gap in budgets would be.
But the gameplay itself is marvelous! I think the rail system realllly helps make the gameplay feel that extra bit special, it's by far the most elegant solution to held notes I've seen in VR, and it's fantastic!
I myself only have PSVR, has the community on PC done anything in the vein of the "Experience" levels in the custom realm? Is it feasible in the title?
@kingbreww That doesn't really make much sense. That'd be like comparing Undertale to The Last of Us and docking points on Undertale because the "graphics aren't as impressive". It's not about that. There's more to it. And a game being graded on a scale is being graded according to how well it's succeeding on the experience it is trying to provide to the user. It is not being compared to every other game that has received an 8. An 8 can mean something entirely different from game to game.
@Steel76 Yeah They did something similar to Beat Saber on PSVR. A rotation mode in 90-degree cones in either direction. It's not quite as well implemented as with Beat Saber, but it's an option at least!
Oh you can turn obstacles off still, but that was more just in relation to the default experience as presented!
Agreed on the soundtrack. Muchhhhhh better! Way more music I actually like and listen to haha
@naruball I almost exclusively use VR for rhythm games these days, and this is one of the ones I think I'll be leaving installed! This, Beat Saber, Audica, and Pistol Whip!
@KidBoruto Of course! Would also recommend the PS4 ports of Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy if you haven't played those in a while (or ever). Those are still great too!
@KidBoruto That PS4 port might be worth your time! Upscaled, but honestly the game plays pretty well by modern standards! It was very ahead of its time!
@KidBoruto Actually, you know, among those few games I think I would agree with you haha. I think the last truly great Star Wars game I played was...Republic Commando? I think that was the last one haha
@Spoonman-2 Awww I love that "forward momentum" of the story! No looking back! And the actual environments (the open-world style areas you end up in especially) are great!
A couple of other folks have mentioned it as well, but depending on your opinion of subtitles, the Russian voice work is quite a bit better!
@Spoonman-2 Yep yep! The DLC is upgraded as well. The PS5 only one they released just comes with all the Season Pass stuff by default in fact! I think they call it the complete version?
@orson Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Absolutely debatable! That's part of the fun of it though, no? Look at just the comments on this review alone! Some pretty divergent opinions!
@Abdessgal Lemme know what you think when you start! It's so good!
@Ward_ting Oof that sounds extremely annoying! I was actually shocked to not run into any bugs this time. Encountered a lotttttt when I was playing it on PS4!
@JustPlainLoco If it's a series you already like, definitely worth it! I did that before the PS4 version of Exodus came out actually!
@Alpine021 I bought Ghost of Tsushima day 1, and haven't even booted it up once!
@Nepp67 I think it's just a purely artistic choice, because mechanically I agree it doesn't really help much, but that tactile feeling and knowledge that you the player are the one catalyzing it...warm feelings all over!
@carlos82 It's one of the small reviews, and there were just other areas I was more interested in talking about. Buttttt, I do agree with you! Very impressive!
@zimbogamer My thinking is that's tied to the frame rate too. I think they might have tweaked aiming acceleration so you can aim side to side/top to bottom more smoothly now cuz they didn't want it to look out of place while the game was running at 30FPS (well sub 30 in the case of the PS4 version haha)
@trev666 I could be persuaded on 2033, but Last Light ehhh, gameplay-wise it was a huge leap forwards from 2033, but it's far and away the one I'd be least interested in going back to. Already beaten Exodus more times I think haha
@Nepp67 Less that it's new and more just reiteration. One of my favorite "little details" in gaming!
@MattyHammo ish. The story isn't one of the strengths in the first two, but it informs most of the dialogue in this one. It's less important for the actual story. The characters in this were present in past entries, but weren't super well developed until this one actually haha. I'd say Exodus is pretty welcoming to newcomers so long as you have an understanding of the world you're being dropped into!
I'd still play the other 2 though given the choice. The "Redux" remasters on PS4 are great! Last Light is a decent game, but I LOVE 2033! One of my all-time favs!
@Olmaz That actually sounds fantastic! I'd love a dedicated marker for 3D Audio. Took them a while to get one for VR back when that was on the way, so who knows how long it'll take, but I am super on board for them adding that!
@Olmaz Nah not overhauled to be native 3D, of the muffled variety. The improvised 3d!
@Latex Nah same game through and through, just a couple of graphical tweaks. The map is still decent for collectible and navigation purposes, but still less so when trying to actually figure out how to go places haha.
@RogerRoger Glad to hear that haha. I quite enjoy the exchanges!
Hahah no worries! Yeah e-mail is a-okay! Shoot your e-mail to my Push Square one ([email protected]) and then I can respond on my personal account after that!
@dark_knightmare2 Oh i think the puppet is vastly more impressive for what it's worth, just that this CG looked better overall. I think it was better at realizing Goro, but I'm never ever gonna prefer CG to practical!
@tselliot That's generally what my takeaway was too! A very "okay" game is basically amazing by the standards of game adaptations hahaha.
@RogerRoger Oh oh! And I forgot one!!!! All the Bond talk we did over the months got me antsy to watch them, and it so happens I have a buddy who has NEVER WATCHED ANY OF THEM. He had seen part of Casino Royale and that was it! So now we're watching the entire franchise. Started with Brosnan, finished all those (Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye are still brilliant! World is Not Enough isn't nearly as awful as I remember. Die Another Day is exactly as awful as I remember). Then we went on to Craig after that! I hadn't seen a bunch of these in ages, but man Casino Royale is great. Quantum of Solace big no on that one haha. But somehow, Skyfall was BETTER than I remember? Haha, might be cuz we watched that and Quantum the same day though. Skyfall is absolutely perfect haha. Literally everything they coulda gotten right, they did. I'm kinda dreading Spectre though haha.
Oh god, and the Republic Commando port has come out since too! I need to stay more on top of actually responding haha. So much stuff!
@RogerRoger Although turning Shepard into basically Navi from Zelda would be hilarious lmao. Agreed on not revisiting some of the old romance possibilities though. Granted 3 huge games and all DLC in one package isn't exactly easy so they just might not have had time, especially with all the work they did do. Yeah so much of that DLC is fantastic! I really loved Kasumi's DLC. And Shadow Broker of course haha.
Adapting quiz shows rather than bringing them over whole-hog definitely makes sense. That seems to happen just about everywhere haha. Hey, at least Frasier made it over haha! I love Frasier! That and Everybody Loves Raymond were always my favorite sitcoms. And Golden Girls. Although a lot of it I'm really glad there are no attempts to adapt it. I don't wanna see an American version of the Big Fat Quiz Shows. I just wanna watch the Big Fat Quiz Shows that already exist! Or god forbid someone tried to remake Garth Marneghi's Darkplace. That would probably kill me so I could then turn over in my grave!
Yeah hockey's got plenty of international power luckily. It's been doing really well these past years ratings wise too, so it might finally get recognition as one of the "big sports" that it deserves! Plus you got The Mighty Ducks continuation on Disney+ too! Ironically it's doing all the same kinda stuff I was sad to see Star Wars do, but I like it there haha. Not sure if you ever watched those old movies growing up or anything, but much as I love them, they're not good movies. So the show being quaint and predictable is kinda comforting in a way.
True, that idealized version of something you see somewhere else that looks so unique and interesting to "out of towners" but ultimately those are just regular things in those areas. So treating them with the reverance they sometimes are in foreign countries just isn't the right tone. Ahhahaha yeah an American Diner! Hell, a lot of the ones here are kinda facsimiles of them now, let alone across the pond!
@RogerRoger For real! I guess technically that weird Force "Beckon-Call" summoning Luke made more sense, Ezra woulda been more interesting. The spin-off for Ahsoka I'm definitely interested in though. Especially if that leaked synopsis, about Thrawn being the central narrative point of the series is true! I do think that's their plan with Luke, hopefully anyways. It totally reaffirmed my biggest concerns, but all that being said, it was still really awesome to see. Luke's been my fav from Star Wars basically from day 1, so seeing him again (like the Luke people actually care about, not the Rian Johnson version) was pretty awesome. Oh I have a thought about that. And go with me. A Jedi Academy series! Keep Grogu around, do more Luke stuff. My biggest problem is all the big stuff is being shoved into Mando, not that they're doing it in the first place, so I'd be super super down with a Jedi Academy series! Bo Katan would def make sense to keep around though. Her being involved feels less like shoe-horning and just a natural inclusion to the series!
Both in fact! I swapped majors multiple times through college, started with game design, pivoted to film-making, and hated both haha. Just took a writing course as a requirement, but it was journalism, and I found I veryyyyyy greatly enjoyed the reviewing and op-ed end of it all! It's work, but in an enjoyable way. Always like having opinions about media, but never really got into making it myself haha.
Yeah, Peaks is honestly something I just don't try and sell people on haha. THat's a show people either already know they want to watch, and if they don't know that, they probably won't like it haha. Honestly similar to Kentucky Route Zero in that sense! That's not a game you can sell many people on, but the ones you can? They'll probably love it. I completely forgot he showed up in Agents of SHIELD!!! The early seasons of that show were so great. The stuff with Bill Paxton?! Ahhh it was great! More of absolutely anything Peaks I'm in! Well, peaks from Lynch and Frost. Not from someone else haha.
Ooooo I got it! Brendan Fraser could play Dash Rendar!!! Then he could pop up in Rangers and Mando! Both sides of the law type thing! Even if Dash is just Han Solo lite. It's worth it for Brendan Fraser haha.
Was a PS5 patch for Mass Effect confirmed? I don't remember now. A tonnn of PS4 games have been doing it though, so it sure seems likely. As it's gotten closer I have been more and more compelled to dive back in. All of it one package is compelling, especially having them be touched up. Plus it's been so long since I was enveloped in the series, that even knowing I hate the endpoint, I think I could enjoy the earlier stuff to a comparable level to when I first played it finally. I think enough time has passed haha. Now I'm not bitter, just sad it turned out that way. The reworks look excellent though. ME1 especially, obviously haha. The whole game not being in soft focus is crazy to see. ME1 looked great, but all the textures were very soft as a compromise haha. Sneaking a scene or two in there to set up the next one would make a lotta sense to me. I hope they do that!
@RogerRoger Man, I keep getting worse with responding to these lmao. Every time I remember I need to (basically every day mind you) I think "Nah I'll do it tomorrow when I can give it the time it deserves, and then I just...don't haha. (not opposed to conversing via Facebook or Twitter or some such place should that be faster, I'll leave that up to you!)
Given what I've heard about Absolution (the stuff past "It's bad and should feel bad" mind you) I'm inclined to agree. I think that formula'd work better with Hitman!
Writing!?!?!? If you want someone to do some reading or editing for you, lemme know! I do some o' that on the side from time to time, and I'd love to lend a hand
It actually still hasn't been patched believe it or not! I gave up and just turned the settings down. So one of the games I got with the hopes of it showcasing the PS5, I had to play below its peak performance. Couldn't use the Ray Tracing mode, and I think I ended up playing 30 fps? Idr now haha. It was excellent though! Minus the insane problem! For real CDPR hasn't really gained any of it back yet either! Did you see the thing about the Bonuses the higher ups got compared to the baseline employees??!?! They're very visibly looking like all the other publishers in the scene these days...
Haha, guilty! Alan Wake is one of my favorites of all time! Kentucky Route Zero is like the only game I'd place above it haha. I adore that game!
I did in fact return to Squadrons though! And honestly I uh....I didn't like it very much? It was gorgeous, the story was solid, and I reallllly like the soundtrack, but the gameplay overstayed it's welcome for me. The biggest issue though, couple missions from the end of the game, I got in a hard crash loop where I couldn't progress, and since I was only having an okay time to begin with, I just put it down, and don't really intend to go back. The VR stuff was awesome, but I think overall I'd give the game a big ol' shrug.
Alright so this is gonna be funny, but that High Republic Book I was talking about not having started several months ago, I finished last week haha. It was...not great. Even Claudia Gray wasn't enough! There were like 18 main characters, and they were ALL new (to me at least). Hard to keep track of everyone. Not a great first impression. I basically forced myself to finish so it didn't get in the way of the new Thrawn book haha. At present I think I'm stand by my not being super interested in the High Republic thing yeah haha. Gray is the only author that's worked in the space I alreayd like, and even she wasn't able to do a ton with it. That makes me...very weary. Plus like we've said before, the proximity to the "current" timeline is just awkwardly close. Just go wayyyyy back if you wanted to do your own thing. I swear it was only a couple hundred years back so they could namedrop Yoda once in a while...
@Jayofmaya Balan Underworld can be the sequel! That game's totally gonna get a sequel right?
@Amnesiac So fun fact for you (and anyone else reading this) i 100% wrote "Balan Wonderland" every single time I mentioned the game by name on the first draft of this piece. Then I had to go back and change them all!
@Jimmer-jammer I still have to listen to that one! I was totally thinking of it as an April game! oop haha
@Cambrius Huh, you know that's not actually something I really encountered! Even while sticking with the game after finishing up the reivew. That sounds super weird haha. Agreed, it could really do with a resolution boost (I guess most PSVR games could though haha)
@Jaz007 That's what I do hahaha. This is one of the only games where I had to actually go turn some things back on that I can think of
@Burntbreadman If you're interested enough it might still be worth your time (this is where demos being a popular thing again would be super helpful haha). It was really bad with no comfort settings no, but once I turned a few (the vignette helped a lot, I was able to leave smooth turning on with that instead of turning in increments) everything was fine after that!
@RubyCarbuncle I vastly prefer this to Doom VFR if that helps! haha. I was underwhelmed by VFR, but this one's pretty fun!
@zupertramp I found it a littttttle too cumbersome to play seated, but I'm extremely impressed with the AIM on this one. Almost reminded me of how well it was implemented with Farpoint at times!
@GoodGame It's definitely a disappointing obstacle in a lot of instances. I'm glad I don't normally have to worry, but it's a shame it exists at all!
@naruball It was quite manageable with comfort settings on, but the fact I needed them at all was a first for me!
@tameshiyaku A lot of them were pretty terrible as a result, but hey when they worked, they reallllllly worked. Rogue Planet is fantastic if you know that one? And it's extremely weird haha
@tameshiyaku I'm sure it's not literally only that, but the fact that they can name drop Yoda every once in a while must make them so happy haha. Quite fun sounds about right. Since Disney took over, most of the EU stuff is more or less just "pretty good" there's a lot less that's outright terrible in the old canon, but there's a lot less that's incredible too. Which is good in a way, but a part of me likes the peaks and valleys
@tameshiyaku I miss my boy Kyle too Jedi Outcast is one of my favs of all time! I'm skeptical of The High Republic stuff so far. I'm kinda weirded out by them wanting to have it be so close to the modern era though. Was that exclusively so they could trot Yoda out a few times? Why not just go way way way back like the Old Republic and you could still basically do the same thing. Republic could still be at its height then and everything! I am reading Into the Dark right now though. Claudia Gray is far and away the best new voice Disney added to the Star Wars pantheon!
@PhantomMenace84 There are very few books I'd recommend from the old canon more! Both those MedStar books are amazing!!!! Not all of the books by Reaves (who worked on both MedStars) are great, but he's one of the only authors that was ever willing to get crazy with his ideas. The premise behind "Shadow Games" is kinda insane compared to most of the Star Wars books out there haha
@PhantomMenace84 Yeah more or less what I meant! A lightsaber not being central to the plot helps draw attention to other things in the Star Wars universe that would otherwise go unnoticed or completely ignored because "LOOK LIGHTSABER". Like the soldier/grunt world which is usually at best a supporting element to Jedi/lightsaber stuff. Or take familiar elements and go absolutely nuts with them. My favorite example's probably the "Medstar" books from the pre-Disney canon. It's related to Jedi, kind of. But it's basically MASH but Star Wars! And it's fantastic!
@tameshiyaku A bit part of that is definitely just how "deep" into the whole Star Wars thing I am at this point. Particularly the expanded universe stuff. Books, games, comics, etc. It's just incredibly tiring to see the same stories over and over in Star Wars, especially because of how great many of the "different" stories are. I don't need to see a story about a Jedi finding their confidence and saving the day or how a handful of Imperial's see a bad thing and decide they're rebels now (the only stories EA have taken the time to do with their Star Wars games under Disney no less). I'm sick to death of those. So seeing this game that came out over a decade ago that absolutely nailed not feeling the need to be Jedi-centric or lightsaber heavy is just a gigantic breath of fresh air. Especially when the game is as good as this one was!
Comments 1,473
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@naruball Let me know when you try it out!
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@naruball Something absolutely magical happens with VR when it goes after music, and there are just so many great options! Always glad to be surprised by games like this that surprise me with just how great they actually are!
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@kingbreww What's the biggest gripe you ended up having with the game? Just didn't like the gameplay much? The tracklist?
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@Burntbreadman Yeah that was at least partially my first impression as well, some aspects of the presentation of the game look slightly...cheaper than something like Beat Saber, which makes sense given how presumably massive the gap in budgets would be.
But the gameplay itself is marvelous! I think the rail system realllly helps make the gameplay feel that extra bit special, it's by far the most elegant solution to held notes I've seen in VR, and it's fantastic!
I myself only have PSVR, has the community on PC done anything in the vein of the "Experience" levels in the custom realm? Is it feasible in the title?
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@kingbreww That doesn't really make much sense. That'd be like comparing Undertale to The Last of Us and docking points on Undertale because the "graphics aren't as impressive". It's not about that. There's more to it. And a game being graded on a scale is being graded according to how well it's succeeding on the experience it is trying to provide to the user. It is not being compared to every other game that has received an 8. An 8 can mean something entirely different from game to game.
Re: Mini Review: Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
@Steel76 Yeah They did something similar to Beat Saber on PSVR. A rotation mode in 90-degree cones in either direction. It's not quite as well implemented as with Beat Saber, but it's an option at least!
Oh you can turn obstacles off still, but that was more just in relation to the default experience as presented!
Agreed on the soundtrack. Muchhhhhh better! Way more music I actually like and listen to haha
@naruball I almost exclusively use VR for rhythm games these days, and this is one of the ones I think I'll be leaving installed! This, Beat Saber, Audica, and Pistol Whip!
Re: Human-Munching Horror Game Carrion Squirms onto PS4 This Year
Been waiting for this one to hit PlayStation for an eternity! Just looks so cool!
Re: Mini Review: Winds & Leaves (PSVR) – A Silviculturists Dream in Virtual Reality
@thefourfoldroot Not that I'm aware of, unfortunately. That'd sure be cool though!
@rjejr 🤣
Re: Cutesy Mouse Quill Is Back in PSVR Sequel Moss: Book II
Absolutely loved the first one, still one of my favorite PSVR games to date. I'm absolutely on board for another one!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@KidBoruto Of course! Would also recommend the PS4 ports of Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy if you haven't played those in a while (or ever). Those are still great too!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@KidBoruto That PS4 port might be worth your time! Upscaled, but honestly the game plays pretty well by modern standards! It was very ahead of its time!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@KidBoruto Actually, you know, among those few games I think I would agree with you haha. I think the last truly great Star Wars game I played was...Republic Commando? I think that was the last one haha
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@Spoonman-2 Awww I love that "forward momentum" of the story! No looking back! And the actual environments (the open-world style areas you end up in especially) are great!
A couple of other folks have mentioned it as well, but depending on your opinion of subtitles, the Russian voice work is quite a bit better!
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@Spoonman-2 Awww bland? Like the environments? The gameplay? The writing?
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@Spoonman-2 Yep yep! The DLC is upgraded as well. The PS5 only one they released just comes with all the Season Pass stuff by default in fact! I think they call it the complete version?
@viktorcode Absolutely! Much better!
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@orson Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Absolutely debatable! That's part of the fun of it though, no? Look at just the comments on this review alone! Some pretty divergent opinions!
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@Samba3 The loads are muchhhhhh better. Still pretty long in spots, but definitely better!
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@Abdessgal Lemme know what you think when you start! It's so good!
@Ward_ting Oof that sounds extremely annoying! I was actually shocked to not run into any bugs this time. Encountered a lotttttt when I was playing it on PS4!
@JustPlainLoco If it's a series you already like, definitely worth it! I did that before the PS4 version of Exodus came out actually!
@Alpine021 I bought Ghost of Tsushima day 1, and haven't even booted it up once!
@Nepp67 I think it's just a purely artistic choice, because mechanically I agree it doesn't really help much, but that tactile feeling and knowledge that you the player are the one catalyzing it...warm feelings all over!
@carlos82 It's one of the small reviews, and there were just other areas I was more interested in talking about. Buttttt, I do agree with you! Very impressive!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@KidBoruto Just from the Star Wars games under the Disney umbrella? Or going way back too?
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@zimbogamer My thinking is that's tied to the frame rate too. I think they might have tweaked aiming acceleration so you can aim side to side/top to bottom more smoothly now cuz they didn't want it to look out of place while the game was running at 30FPS (well sub 30 in the case of the PS4 version haha)
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@trev666 I could be persuaded on 2033, but Last Light ehhh, gameplay-wise it was a huge leap forwards from 2033, but it's far and away the one I'd be least interested in going back to. Already beaten Exodus more times I think haha
@Nepp67 Less that it's new and more just reiteration. One of my favorite "little details" in gaming!
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@nessisonett they're practically the same game when you think about it! They're both...uh...games.
Re: Mini Review: Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
@MattyHammo ish. The story isn't one of the strengths in the first two, but it informs most of the dialogue in this one. It's less important for the actual story. The characters in this were present in past entries, but weren't super well developed until this one actually haha. I'd say Exodus is pretty welcoming to newcomers so long as you have an understanding of the world you're being dropped into!
I'd still play the other 2 though given the choice. The "Redux" remasters on PS4 are great! Last Light is a decent game, but I LOVE 2033! One of my all-time favs!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@Olmaz That actually sounds fantastic! I'd love a dedicated marker for 3D Audio. Took them a while to get one for VR back when that was on the way, so who knows how long it'll take, but I am super on board for them adding that!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
@Olmaz Nah not overhauled to be native 3D, of the muffled variety. The improvised 3d!
@Latex Nah same game through and through, just a couple of graphical tweaks. The map is still decent for collectible and navigation purposes, but still less so when trying to actually figure out how to go places haha.
Re: Tetris Effect Connects with PS4, PSVR in July for Free
Absolutely down for me tetris, especially free tetris!
Re: FAR: Changing Tides Goes Sailing on PS5, PS4 Later This Year
I was not expecting a sequel to this well, ever! Very on board with getting another crack at that series!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - A Wonderful Treasure from Star Wars' Glory Days
@RogerRoger Glad to hear that haha. I quite enjoy the exchanges!
Hahah no worries! Yeah e-mail is a-okay! Shoot your e-mail to my Push Square one ([email protected]) and then I can respond on my personal account after that!
Re: Mini Review: Gadgeteer (PS4) - A Fulfilling VR Physics Puzzler
@Vacuumator Oh man I am so so so there for that. Sign me up! Like Battlebots, but with extra stuff!
Re: Mini Review: Gadgeteer (PS4) - A Fulfilling VR Physics Puzzler
@hobbes242 Yup!
@Vacuumator @deadfred77 @get2sammyb Guilty!
Re: Mini Review: Exodemon (PS5) – A Fun By-the-Numbers Throwback Shooter
Seriously, seriously impressed with the level design on this one! So much better than I was expecting!
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@dark_knightmare2 Oh i think the puppet is vastly more impressive for what it's worth, just that this CG looked better overall. I think it was better at realizing Goro, but I'm never ever gonna prefer CG to practical!
@tselliot That's generally what my takeaway was too! A very "okay" game is basically amazing by the standards of game adaptations hahaha.
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@DrJames Ehhhhhhh, bit of a reach given I think the Uncharted movie's gonna be awful hahaha
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@AhmadSumadi I still can't believe they went for that one! Never expected to see that recreated in a live-action movie!
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@Rash There was one for Tomb Raider too! @get2sammyb did that one!
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@Bri-Die No lol
Re: Movie Review: Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
@AFCC 🤣 <3
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - A Wonderful Treasure from Star Wars' Glory Days
@RogerRoger Oh oh! And I forgot one!!!! All the Bond talk we did over the months got me antsy to watch them, and it so happens I have a buddy who has NEVER WATCHED ANY OF THEM. He had seen part of Casino Royale and that was it! So now we're watching the entire franchise. Started with Brosnan, finished all those (Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye are still brilliant! World is Not Enough isn't nearly as awful as I remember. Die Another Day is exactly as awful as I remember). Then we went on to Craig after that! I hadn't seen a bunch of these in ages, but man Casino Royale is great. Quantum of Solace big no on that one haha. But somehow, Skyfall was BETTER than I remember? Haha, might be cuz we watched that and Quantum the same day though. Skyfall is absolutely perfect haha. Literally everything they coulda gotten right, they did. I'm kinda dreading Spectre though haha.
Oh god, and the Republic Commando port has come out since too! I need to stay more on top of actually responding haha. So much stuff!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - A Wonderful Treasure from Star Wars' Glory Days
@RogerRoger Although turning Shepard into basically Navi from Zelda would be hilarious lmao. Agreed on not revisiting some of the old romance possibilities though. Granted 3 huge games and all DLC in one package isn't exactly easy so they just might not have had time, especially with all the work they did do. Yeah so much of that DLC is fantastic! I really loved Kasumi's DLC. And Shadow Broker of course haha.
Adapting quiz shows rather than bringing them over whole-hog definitely makes sense. That seems to happen just about everywhere haha. Hey, at least Frasier made it over haha! I love Frasier! That and Everybody Loves Raymond were always my favorite sitcoms. And Golden Girls. Although a lot of it I'm really glad there are no attempts to adapt it. I don't wanna see an American version of the Big Fat Quiz Shows. I just wanna watch the Big Fat Quiz Shows that already exist! Or god forbid someone tried to remake Garth Marneghi's Darkplace. That would probably kill me so I could then turn over in my grave!
Yeah hockey's got plenty of international power luckily. It's been doing really well these past years ratings wise too, so it might finally get recognition as one of the "big sports" that it deserves! Plus you got The Mighty Ducks continuation on Disney+ too! Ironically it's doing all the same kinda stuff I was sad to see Star Wars do, but I like it there haha. Not sure if you ever watched those old movies growing up or anything, but much as I love them, they're not good movies. So the show being quaint and predictable is kinda comforting in a way.
True, that idealized version of something you see somewhere else that looks so unique and interesting to "out of towners" but ultimately those are just regular things in those areas. So treating them with the reverance they sometimes are in foreign countries just isn't the right tone. Ahhahaha yeah an American Diner! Hell, a lot of the ones here are kinda facsimiles of them now, let alone across the pond!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - A Wonderful Treasure from Star Wars' Glory Days
@RogerRoger For real! I guess technically that weird Force "Beckon-Call" summoning Luke made more sense, Ezra woulda been more interesting. The spin-off for Ahsoka I'm definitely interested in though. Especially if that leaked synopsis, about Thrawn being the central narrative point of the series is true! I do think that's their plan with Luke, hopefully anyways. It totally reaffirmed my biggest concerns, but all that being said, it was still really awesome to see. Luke's been my fav from Star Wars basically from day 1, so seeing him again (like the Luke people actually care about, not the Rian Johnson version) was pretty awesome. Oh I have a thought about that. And go with me. A Jedi Academy series! Keep Grogu around, do more Luke stuff. My biggest problem is all the big stuff is being shoved into Mando, not that they're doing it in the first place, so I'd be super super down with a Jedi Academy series! Bo Katan would def make sense to keep around though. Her being involved feels less like shoe-horning and just a natural inclusion to the series!
Both in fact! I swapped majors multiple times through college, started with game design, pivoted to film-making, and hated both haha. Just took a writing course as a requirement, but it was journalism, and I found I veryyyyyy greatly enjoyed the reviewing and op-ed end of it all! It's work, but in an enjoyable way. Always like having opinions about media, but never really got into making it myself haha.
Yeah, Peaks is honestly something I just don't try and sell people on haha. THat's a show people either already know they want to watch, and if they don't know that, they probably won't like it haha. Honestly similar to Kentucky Route Zero in that sense! That's not a game you can sell many people on, but the ones you can? They'll probably love it. I completely forgot he showed up in Agents of SHIELD!!! The early seasons of that show were so great. The stuff with Bill Paxton?! Ahhh it was great! More of absolutely anything Peaks I'm in! Well, peaks from Lynch and Frost. Not from someone else haha.
Ooooo I got it! Brendan Fraser could play Dash Rendar!!! Then he could pop up in Rangers and Mando! Both sides of the law type thing! Even if Dash is just Han Solo lite. It's worth it for Brendan Fraser haha.
Was a PS5 patch for Mass Effect confirmed? I don't remember now. A tonnn of PS4 games have been doing it though, so it sure seems likely. As it's gotten closer I have been more and more compelled to dive back in. All of it one package is compelling, especially having them be touched up. Plus it's been so long since I was enveloped in the series, that even knowing I hate the endpoint, I think I could enjoy the earlier stuff to a comparable level to when I first played it finally. I think enough time has passed haha. Now I'm not bitter, just sad it turned out that way. The reworks look excellent though. ME1 especially, obviously haha. The whole game not being in soft focus is crazy to see. ME1 looked great, but all the textures were very soft as a compromise haha. Sneaking a scene or two in there to set up the next one would make a lotta sense to me. I hope they do that!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - A Wonderful Treasure from Star Wars' Glory Days
@RogerRoger Man, I keep getting worse with responding to these lmao. Every time I remember I need to (basically every day mind you) I think "Nah I'll do it tomorrow when I can give it the time it deserves, and then I just...don't haha. (not opposed to conversing via Facebook or Twitter or some such place should that be faster, I'll leave that up to you!)
Given what I've heard about Absolution (the stuff past "It's bad and should feel bad" mind you) I'm inclined to agree. I think that formula'd work better with Hitman!
Writing!?!?!? If you want someone to do some reading or editing for you, lemme know! I do some o' that on the side from time to time, and I'd love to lend a hand
It actually still hasn't been patched believe it or not! I gave up and just turned the settings down. So one of the games I got with the hopes of it showcasing the PS5, I had to play below its peak performance. Couldn't use the Ray Tracing mode, and I think I ended up playing 30 fps? Idr now haha. It was excellent though! Minus the insane problem! For real CDPR hasn't really gained any of it back yet either! Did you see the thing about the Bonuses the higher ups got compared to the baseline employees??!?! They're very visibly looking like all the other publishers in the scene these days...
Haha, guilty! Alan Wake is one of my favorites of all time! Kentucky Route Zero is like the only game I'd place above it haha. I adore that game!
I did in fact return to Squadrons though! And honestly I uh....I didn't like it very much? It was gorgeous, the story was solid, and I reallllly like the soundtrack, but the gameplay overstayed it's welcome for me. The biggest issue though, couple missions from the end of the game, I got in a hard crash loop where I couldn't progress, and since I was only having an okay time to begin with, I just put it down, and don't really intend to go back. The VR stuff was awesome, but I think overall I'd give the game a big ol' shrug.
Alright so this is gonna be funny, but that High Republic Book I was talking about not having started several months ago, I finished last week haha. It was...not great. Even Claudia Gray wasn't enough! There were like 18 main characters, and they were ALL new (to me at least). Hard to keep track of everyone. Not a great first impression. I basically forced myself to finish so it didn't get in the way of the new Thrawn book haha. At present I think I'm stand by my not being super interested in the High Republic thing yeah haha. Gray is the only author that's worked in the space I alreayd like, and even she wasn't able to do a ton with it. That makes me...very weary. Plus like we've said before, the proximity to the "current" timeline is just awkwardly close. Just go wayyyyy back if you wanted to do your own thing. I swear it was only a couple hundred years back so they could namedrop Yoda once in a while...
Re: Best PlayStation Music of March 2021
@Jayofmaya Balan Underworld can be the sequel! That game's totally gonna get a sequel right?
@Amnesiac So fun fact for you (and anyone else reading this) i 100% wrote "Balan Wonderland" every single time I mentioned the game by name on the first draft of this piece. Then I had to go back and change them all!
@Jimmer-jammer I still have to listen to that one! I was totally thinking of it as an April game! oop haha
Re: Mini Review: DOOM 3: VR Edition (PS4) – An Improved Version of a Solid Game
@Cambrius Huh, you know that's not actually something I really encountered! Even while sticking with the game after finishing up the reivew. That sounds super weird haha. Agreed, it could really do with a resolution boost (I guess most PSVR games could though haha)
@Jaz007 That's what I do hahaha. This is one of the only games where I had to actually go turn some things back on that I can think of
@Burntbreadman If you're interested enough it might still be worth your time (this is where demos being a popular thing again would be super helpful haha). It was really bad with no comfort settings no, but once I turned a few (the vignette helped a lot, I was able to leave smooth turning on with that instead of turning in increments)
everything was fine after that!
@RubyCarbuncle I vastly prefer this to Doom VFR if that helps! haha. I was underwhelmed by VFR, but this one's pretty fun!
@zupertramp I found it a littttttle too cumbersome to play seated, but I'm extremely impressed with the AIM on this one. Almost reminded me of how well it was implemented with Farpoint at times!
@GoodGame It's definitely a disappointing obstacle in a lot of instances. I'm glad I don't normally have to worry, but it's a shame it exists at all!
@naruball It was quite manageable with comfort settings on, but the fact I needed them at all was a first for me!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@tameshiyaku A lot of them were pretty terrible as a result, but hey when they worked, they reallllllly worked. Rogue Planet is fantastic if you know that one? And it's extremely weird haha
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@tameshiyaku I'm sure it's not literally only that, but the fact that they can name drop Yoda every once in a while must make them so happy haha. Quite fun sounds about right. Since Disney took over, most of the EU stuff is more or less just "pretty good" there's a lot less that's outright terrible in the old canon, but there's a lot less that's incredible too. Which is good in a way, but a part of me likes the peaks and valleys
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@tameshiyaku I miss my boy Kyle too Jedi Outcast is one of my favs of all time! I'm skeptical of The High Republic stuff so far. I'm kinda weirded out by them wanting to have it be so close to the modern era though. Was that exclusively so they could trot Yoda out a few times? Why not just go way way way back like the Old Republic and you could still basically do the same thing. Republic could still be at its height then and everything! I am reading Into the Dark right now though. Claudia Gray is far and away the best new voice Disney added to the Star Wars pantheon!
@PhantomMenace84 There are very few books I'd recommend from the old canon more! Both those MedStar books are amazing!!!! Not all of the books by Reaves (who worked on both MedStars) are great, but he's one of the only authors that was ever willing to get crazy with his ideas. The premise behind "Shadow Games" is kinda insane compared to most of the Star Wars books out there haha
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@The_Real_JMK
16:9, upscaled proper, but no new assets or audio.
The release date is at the top of the page
It's $14.99 (well in the states)
I didn't personally misspell lightsabers, gonna have to foist that off on one of the ol' brits who edited the piece though! haha
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@PhantomMenace84 Yeah more or less what I meant! A lightsaber not being central to the plot helps draw attention to other things in the Star Wars universe that would otherwise go unnoticed or completely ignored because "LOOK LIGHTSABER". Like the soldier/grunt world which is usually at best a supporting element to Jedi/lightsaber stuff. Or take familiar elements and go absolutely nuts with them. My favorite example's probably the "Medstar" books from the pre-Disney canon. It's related to Jedi, kind of. But it's basically MASH but Star Wars! And it's fantastic!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@tameshiyaku A bit part of that is definitely just how "deep" into the whole Star Wars thing I am at this point. Particularly the expanded universe stuff. Books, games, comics, etc. It's just incredibly tiring to see the same stories over and over in Star Wars, especially because of how great many of the "different" stories are. I don't need to see a story about a Jedi finding their confidence and saving the day or how a handful of Imperial's see a bad thing and decide they're rebels now (the only stories EA have taken the time to do with their Star Wars games under Disney no less). I'm sick to death of those. So seeing this game that came out over a decade ago that absolutely nailed not feeling the need to be Jedi-centric or lightsaber heavy is just a gigantic breath of fresh air. Especially when the game is as good as this one was!
Re: Mini Review: Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
@jack22 Definitely same. Wanted that for like. over a decade haha
@jezjezjez Yep, @RiceC03 nailed it! Enemies that just take way more damage than feels appropriate in a given situation!