Hot takes

[Ikagura]

The Borderlands I don't find funny at all. Even Borderlands 2, aside from about two jokes.

Borderlands 1 was funny to me because it was a bit more like dark humour and was more about people lost in a wasteland nobody wanted to stay in rather than them going full delirious (as much as I like Jack he's basically the one carrying the game on his shoulders and him being actually threatening made a good contrast with his personality).

Too bad Gearbox hasn't understood the spirit of the first game and went full humour without cynicism.

 

[Majora Fi]

Even at their most ambitious, most stories in gaming are at the very best sporadically average by the standards of just about any other storytelling medium.

If I knew how to interpret text, I would be very angry with what you wrote.

Post automatically merged: Friday at 8:13 PM

Great points.
The Genesis sound chip issues were terrible, since I grew up with a model 2. Which we got broken second hand and my dad had to fix it to get it to work. Not to mention the Genesis (mod1/2) was the first and last Sega console I ever really played. I watched Strange Days in the 90s and I still never heard about the release of the Dreamcast. We had a PS1 and GBC at the time. Every Sega fan likes to talk about the famous release date, but I never head about it back then, and I still watched broadcast tv at the time. I never owned a Dreamcast, but I hate the controller just looking at it. The d-pad looks uncomfortable and that weird thing with the cable was strange and laughable. The VMU looked cool though. To this day I have never emulated anything on the Dreamcast. The console we got instead was the Gameboy Advance. So I have no nostalgia for the Dreamcast unfortunately.

I only play the titles on Dreamcast that were released for PS1, but the graphics are better on Sega console.

 

[BrawlMan]

The whole "DMC Netflix will wholly influence the next game" is nothing more than malarkey made by schemers/fake fans, toxic fans, or fans with way too much time on their hands. Capcom used elements from the live-action RE films, into the games, but it was more so on the focus of greater action in RE4 and RE5. Yet even before those and the films, the series was already getting more action heavy. Need I remind everyone with the Code Veronica opening or how they turned Wesker into Advanced Model from Drive (1997) and Agent Smith?

If Capcom does take influence from the Netflix adaption, it will be either minor shout outs, or transferred to an original character(s) or demon(s) and made specifically for the next game. DMC5 took influences from DmC, but to much better effect, aside from about two exceptions. DmC was just taking from DMC4, but was either too streamlined or done worse, but at least the Definitive Edition fixed that.

 

[BrawlMan]

Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper I find better Alpha 2 Gold. Max Dood goes on about how most people in the West or American prefer A2G. While there is truth to this fact, it's mainly those opinions among the hardcore FGC, and not a majority of the casual audience. Most casual fans will just jump straight into Alpha 3 and its many updated versions, because of the most additional content, largest roster of the Alpha Trilogy, and a better combat system. The only advantage Alpha 2 has over Alpha 3, is a better soundtrack, and letting you mix and match characters in Dramatic Battle for Alpha 2 Gold (Arcade only) . The arcade versions of Alpha 3 won't let you do this for some reason. Why Capcom removed this is beyond me. Alpha 3's soundtrack is great, but there are some songs which will be hit or miss with anyone, and some songs aren't as memorable as Alpha 2's. Even though they're unique and original songs.

Nearly everything else is YMMV and up to the individual.

 

[BrawlMan]

Being indifferent towards a piece of media or product doesn't make you a "fence sitter". I know it's something obvious.But there are people who really don't get this or constantly have a "with me or against me" attitude on Twitter. Black and white insanity, or people who can't handle somebody that's not hating something nor loving something passionately. That's life. You're not gonna be passionate, nor give a shit about every single thing, nor other's opinions about it.

 

[Aerolite]

Some people miss this red flag, and that it's whenever someone tries so hard to convince others to "normalize" this, that, and the other 100 controversial topics, like you NEED to feel shame sometimes to actually gain a proper moral compass

 

[Viviana Santos]

OG God of War is incredibly mediocre. Devil May Cry, Tomonobu Itagaki’s Ninja Gaiden, and Bayonetta are way better and more engaging Hack and Slash games, with better mechanics and way more depth than OG God of War. I’ve never understood why people like OG God of War so much when there are so many better Hack and Slash games out there.

 

[Sheepy765]

I don't think Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is as bad as people often claim it is. I tried skipping the dialogue for my first character for a while and found it boring, then for my second I decided to pay attention to the dialogue and now I find it a lot more enjoyable.

Also I think Arizona Iced Tea is pretty good, it's horrible for you and you probably shouldn't drink it all the time, but it's pretty good.

 

[Majora Fi]

I respect Ridley Scott for wanting to show his vision of Blade Runner in the Final Cut and all, but it's sooooo boring (I only tolerate the theatrical version because Brazilian voice actor for Deckard put more effort into the narration)

 

[Viviana Santos]

OG God of War is incredibly mediocre. Devil May Cry, Tomonobu Itagaki’s Ninja Gaiden, and Bayonetta are way better and more engaging Hack and Slash games, with better mechanics and way more depth than OG God of War. I’ve never understood why people like OG God of War so much when there are so many better Hack and Slash games out there.

Kratos is also insufferable and far less charismatic than Dante, Bayonetta, and Ryu Hayabusa.

 

[What's His Face]

Kratos is also insufferable and far less charismatic than Dante, Bayonetta, and Ryu Hayabusa.

Kratos isn't supposed to be "charismatic." He is supposed to be a rage monster who can be fury-incarnate, a petulant whiner, and a warrior all the barely-dressed ladies want to play minigames with.

 

[BrawlMan]

Modern games with good female writing:

• Nier Automata
• Oneechanbara Origins
• Street Fighter VI - Play their arcade modes or bond with them in World Tour mode. They got some deep stuff going on.
• Hi-Fi Rush - Even though Chai is the main character, none of the female characters who play huge supporting roles are written poorly, nor the men either.
• Both Norse GoW games. Yes, Freya can be up her own ass at times, but at least she gets called out on it several times in Ragnarok.
• Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei.
• Alan Wake 2
• Resident Evil 8 and Shadow of Rose DLC
• Resident Evil 9
• Silent Hill f
• Celeste
• Sayanora Wild Hearts
• Gris
• Assemble With Care
• Eliza
• 1000XResist
• Penny's Big Break Away
• Signalis
• Crow Country
• Double Dragon Revive
• River City Girls 1 & 2

Sounds like some people have only been looking in the one direction or blinded by hate and not giving games an actual chance, and rely only highly dubious second hand opinions. Writing of female characters wasn't perfect back in the 80s-2000s either, and many cases (not all) worse than now. Women were either treated as sex objects/eye candy/needing to be rescued only, or thinking making them total assholes as being tough was the only way to go.

 

[Viviana Santos]

Kratos isn't supposed to be "charismatic." He is supposed to be a rage monster who can be fury-incarnate, a petulant whiner, and a warrior all the barely-dressed ladies want to play minigames with.

Don't care, I still think he's a shit character

 

[BrawlMan]

Not my take exactly, but Nick has a point and talks about additional content single player that can make the game last longer and ease new players in.

 

[extermist]

Modern games with good female writing:

• Nier Automata
• Oneechanbara Origins
• Street Fighter VI - Play their arcade modes or bond with them in World Tour mode. They got some deep stuff going on.
• Hi-Fi Rush - Even though Chai is the main character, none of the female characters who play huge supporting roles are written poorly, nor the men either.
• Both Norse GoW games. Yes, Freya can be up her own ass at times, but at least she gets called out on it several times in Ragnarok.
• Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei.
• Alan Wake 2
• Resident Evil 8 and Shadow of Rose DLC
• Resident Evil 9
• Silent Hill f
• Celeste
• Sayanora Wild Hearts
• Gris
• Assemble With Care
• Eliza
• 1000XResist
• Penny's Big Break Away
• Signalis
• Crow Country
• Double Dragon Revive
• River City Girls 1 & 2

Sounds like some people have only been looking in the one direction or blinded by hate and not giving games an actual chance, and rely only highly dubious second hand opinions. Writing of female characters wasn't perfect back in the 80s-2000s either, and many cases (not all) worse than now. Women were either treated as sex objects/eye candy/needing to be rescued only, or thinking making them total assholes as being tough was the only way to go.

I'm gonna sound like a low IQ brainlet for this, but I guess that why we call these hot takes, so here goes.

I don't think about characters being well written or not, for me the only thing I look for in characters is "Can this personality exist in real life?" if the answer is yes then that's good enough for me.

Can a character act ditzy like they're nothing but eye candy and nothing else? If this can happen in real life then I have no problem with this portrayal, even if it is a sad reality at the end of the day.
Can a character be obsessed with a singular goal for most of their life? It rarely happens but it is probable in real life.
But I suppose the fine line of a well developed character for me is if they are multi-facited.

They could be self contradicting or even apathetic, but having a look at their personality through multiple angles does elevate them to a well roundedly written character.

I'm drawing a blank of who to cite as examples here, but certainly Heather Mason of Silent Hill 3 and the survivors of the first Left 4 Dead.

 

[BrawlMan]

I'm drawing a blank of who to cite as examples here, but certainly Heather Mason of Silent Hill 3 and the survivors of the first Left 4 Dead.

Certainly good examples, but all my examples are recently, and not from 20-30+years ago to prove a point. Hence why I said the past has good written female characters, but was never the paradise some people deluded/gaslight themselves into thinking and believing. Or pining for a time they never born in, nor around.

 

[AkiraSO4]

Don't care, I still think he's a shit character

I remember playing GOW 1 and 2 and kinda having a laugh about how much of an asshole Kratos was, gaming had a bit of a thing for "angry asshole protagonists who blame everyone but themselves" at this time, didn't they? I don't really mind that they tried the Herculean task of redeeming his ass in the new games, as nearly impossible as that task might be.

Also Kratos being a manlet in MK9 fucking cracks me up. He is so tiny there.