The Ben 10 Affleck-Out: I feel like fame is wasted on me.

[Sheras]

But yeah

[Sheik]

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. It is XBLA. Came out in 2009 or something, it was the free game with gold last month which was when I picked it up.

Damnit.
I'll put it WAY on the backburner then.

[Ace Ventura]

Okay guys, so I uploaded one video and am uploading another one, (Both are going to be unlisted.) Which are both quality test videos. Anyone wanna help me decide which settings I should use once the 2nd one gets uploaded?

[Ikusagami]

Woke up to find my cat had completely ransacked my room. It looks like a junkie broke in and looted the place for money for catnip or something.

And, Ray, I approve of page 137.

[Gare]

I don't know if I'd call it "sloppy" but it just doesn't feel that "good".

I mean, you go on the internet and the reviews are all about how "deeply moving" the story is and how the ending "moved me to tears" and such.

I just don't really follow. These people must be in constant sobbing fits due to feeling things. They've got the emotional sensitivity of a bipolar schizophrenic pregnant woman who is somehow also on her period.

I bet they bawl their eyes out of fucking insurance commercials and shit.

I mean, my gawd.

Oh god it's good to see I wasn't the only one who thought that.

In all honestly I liked the atmosphere of it all, and looking around for stuff. I even enjoyed reading the letters. But there was really nothing mind-blowing about the entire thing, so I'm not sure what all the reviewers were smoking.

The hidden subplot about the creepy old pedophile was interesting enough but still nothing GOTY-worthy.

[Gare]

For the record, the same goes for Lone Survivor.

I mean, it was okay. Good, even. But it doesn't do anything that Silent Hill 2 didn't already do far better in 2001, yet it's somehow getting "best gaem evarrrrr" reviews.

[gezegond]

Good morning desu~

[Jazzmarazz]

POST

[Raype]

Oh god it's good to see I wasn't the only one who thought that.

In all honestly I liked the atmosphere of it all, and looking around for stuff. I even enjoyed reading the letters. But there was really nothing mind-blowing about the entire thing, so I'm not sure what all the reviewers were smoking.

The hidden subplot about the creepy old pedophile was interesting enough but still nothing GOTY-worthy.

Yeah, the gameplay and setting are nice enough. And the urban exploration thing is something that I'd like to see more games doing (even if it is somewhat ruined by the house more or less being a Spencer mansion esque collection of hidden compartments and locked doors). The way the story is told is alright, but it's hardly revolutionary (it's basically a * Shock title with the shooting/RPG bits siphoned out, which makes a lot of sense considering their previous work).

And I can get behind the people praising that aspect of it for instance the blurbs from Hamilton and Grayson on the home page are pretty apt. A semi-normal seeming house that normal people live in being the setting for a game where you wander around reading bits and pieces about the daily lives and backstories of an average family is pretty unique and a cool avenue for a game.

I just wish that the big story you're uncovering was better written and was more capable of making you identify with the characters. And with more payoff. And that everyone felt more fleshed out.

It appears to just be people riding the "games are art" train and feeling that to notice any flaws in the game somehow detracts from the artistic license (without realizing that art can be heavily flawed and still be good). Or they just dug stuff in this game and feel that if they have to accept flaws it somehow makes the game a worthless piece of shit and the developers should just quit gaming forever. No game has ever been perfect, regardless of what review scores state, and noticing that this one has a pretty big issue is probably a good thing as they may try to do a better job on the next go around. Like hiring more/better writers. Criticism is good, guys. Stop ruining things. Also, no one wants to be "that guy" who hates "that lesbian game". It kinda has this wonderful ability to make you seem like a hate filled asshole who's trying to take people's rights away. Games that use this crutch are, for all intents and purposes, immune to criticism since taking issue with it causes you to come off as some sort of nazi. Considering the behaviour of the developers to Gone Home, I doubt this was accidental.

Kind of reminds me of a few years ago when people kept trying to convince me that Shadow of the Colossus had an amazing 10/10 story. Where it's...really just an excuse to climb and stab things. Doesn't make it terrible though. This story being an excuse to explore the house would be alright, except there's not really anything to do but piece this story together.

Also, that subplot is probably an example of how to work this concept right. You can set the thing in some sort of ancestral family home. Throw in a long and storied history of said family, complete with madness, murder, intrigue, deception, and mundane happenings existing side by side. Kind of like a more mystery centric Assassin's Creed except told largely through old journals, newsclippings, environmental details, and such. Maybe have the owner of the house being a writer relative who was researching the family history, only to unearth a few too many skeletons. You've got the sort of banal goings on of a life interrupted that this game was pretty heavily steeped in from it's most recent occupants, but then you've also got a few centuries of ancestors who happen to have other things going on, which may ultimately tie into the disappearance/death that lead you there being more than just "something that happened". One minute you're reading a shopping list or hearing someone go on about how shitty their day at work was, the next you're finding out crazy old grandpa was actually a turncoat American who sold out to the KGB in his prime after being catastrophically let down by his government. Maybe mom turns out to have been a radical feminist back in her day, who went through some harsh times due to her bisexual tendencies (with hints that there's still an ongoing affair with her former lover). There's so many directions there you can go in and potential for other stories to be told in the space. Instead it just feels like the game has too much focus on the Sam and Lonnie relationship and it could really use some variety to keep things moving. The other characters just feel like "Oh, and also Dad was abused as a kid" bits rather than anything that has any bearing. It doesn't even seem like it really affected him any or it was something that had much reason to be in there. I don't recall seeing anything that showed he had his own personal struggles and demons to deal with whilst his daughter was being bullied at school. It just was because they had to do something with that space.

Hell much of the bits about the uncle can be skipped past and left unnoticed and there's loads of reading between the lines involved because the content just wasn't there. Shows which basket the developers were putting the eggs in.

[gezegond]

^ Serious amounts of tl;dr

[Raype]

Word.

I should just write my own game instead of writing shitloads about how this one game has issues.

I just need to move to portland and locate a few neckbeards in fedoras first.

[Jazzmarazz]

Shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Jazzmarazz]

The 90's are alive........

[Gare]

I honestly thought the sister's corpse would be up in the attic. Or something. I was also expecting to find evidence of murder, incest/inbreeding, suicide, black magic and potential time travel. Or something along those lines. Anything. But nope, lesbian lovers it is!

I believe Eurogamer gave it a semi-low/mediocre score, stating that it had an interesting premise and a very cool mansion, but didn't really tell an interesting story. Which is what I'm saying as well. Too bad everyone else had to dish out 10/10's to look all open-minded.

[Gare]

...aaaand this is why Missing is still my favorite. Dat ending.