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The People's Republic of Clogher
Oh tatty. Those Death Stranding reviews.
I know!

I always figured that Kojima unchained by Konami would be even more up his own rear than usual, but it sounds like he's disappeared so far that he's turned himself inside out.

I'd go into the game thinking of it as a glorious failure, and celebrate the weirdness of it all .... but the whole thing just sounds deathly dull. I'll buy it .... but maybe when I see a deal on the disc.

Anyway, downloaded Afterparty, the new game from the Oxenfree people, on Game Pass. I hate it.

The story is just the most awful faux woke garbage that only people in their 30s writing from the perspective of teens can manage - Think Life Is Strange but with none of the sincerely goofy charm.

The performances also hit more often than they miss. It's great having an all star cast but when you have to shoehorn Janina Gavankar (who I normally love) into playing a teenager there needs to be a huge suspension of disbelief.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



Yeah, I was very into that game when I first saw bits of it, but I saw some similar references to that stuff you mentioned and took a pass. Glad to know it was the right call, thanks.

It's kind of amazing how many games there are about some kind of sexual or identity awakening. A few times I've just been able to guess where a game like this was going based on the indie vibe it was giving off.



there's a frog in my snake oil
I'd go into the game thinking of it as a glorious failure, and celebrate the weirdness of it all .... but the whole thing just sounds deathly dull. I'll buy it .... but maybe when I see a deal on the disc.

The Guardian loved it

Imagine Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos atoning for his sins in an especially cruel episode of Black Mirror. At times, the act of playing Death Stranding is a test of faith in itself, not only in Hideo Kojima’s ability to surprise, but that your efforts will ultimately be rewarded.
Hideo Kojima’s liberation from the MGS series can feel like X-Men’s Cyclops removing his visor and having a good old look around – it’s a little much.
Still, this uncompromising, unashamedly political work of artistic intent is 2019’s most interesting blockbuster game by a distance, and certainly the only one where you will find a frankly brilliant, tonally jarring, Public Enemy gag.
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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here



The People's Republic of Clogher
Yeah, there's going to be a lot of semi-pretentious guff written about Death Stranding.

Best description of its political outlook I've heard is that it's as deep as a conversation between two stoners.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Hopefully this will be his "get it out of your system" game and he gets a little less leash on the next one. Then again, I can see him accepting zero leash.



Seems the guy is more focused on the celebrity status of his games rather than the actual game.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
As we approach the end of this decade what would you say have been your best games for 2010-2019?

If we're going by time spent playing mine would be,

1. PUBG
2. Europa Universalis 4
3. Hearts of Iron 4

Bethesda games haven't held my attention as much as before, I played Oblivion and Fallout 3 obsessively, but Skyrim and Fallout 4 didn't hold my attention nearly as long. Maybe I'm just getting older (35) and bored of games.

If we're going by broad appeal and sales Minecraft owns the decade. I played it a fair bit but prob 50 hours or less.

The Witcher 3 was probably the most fun, I'll prob give it another go soon.
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A system of cells interlinked
Number 1 is an easy call for me: The Witcher 3

A Top 5 RPG of all time for me, and definitely my favorite of this era. Well over 200 hours in and still playing it from time to time. Excellent writing combined with a wonderfully realized world and characters. The chink in the armor is the combat, but it works for what it is. The robust DLC packs contain enough content to be full games on their own. The die quest system is the best in the genre, seamlessly weaving engaging side stories in with the main story from start to finish.

After that, it would be the following:

Dark Souls
Red Dead Redemption
Skyrim
GTA V
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



there's a frog in my snake oil
The thing I miss the most is loving video games. The bore me to death.
I'm trying to play a browser game now, Die2Nite.
*WHISPERS*: Get VR



there's a frog in my snake oil
I honestly can't make a proper list, because my last 2.5 years have been compromised by VR. Where the games are shoddy but the experiences amazing

Forgetting the recent hallucinations though, it'd probably be something like this, in no order...

Minecraft (creating adventure maps as much as playing)
Battlefield 3
RDR
GTA V
Skyrim

Mammoth playtimes & franchises kinda dominating there. BF3 just edged out Rocket League for online addiction. Feels wrong not to have a Banner Saga in there somewhere. But ach, I'm stingy, and somehow still prone to getting lost in deranged open worlds

(Now back to the GTA VR mod )




The People's Republic of Clogher
10 years is a funny one, as it straddles console generations.

The game I've undoubtedly put most hours into during that time is Skyrim, but is it my favourite?

Dark Souls should be up there, in terms of influence as well as gameplay, same with Spelunky and Binding of Isaac. Journey would also be high on my list, as would Life is Strange - Narratively driven games have come into their own in the last 10 years.

Tentatively:

1. Deadly Premonition (fight me!)
2. Journey
3. Skyrim
4. Hitman
5. Dark Souls

EDIT - I can't stop at 5!

6. Nier Automata
7. Witcher 3
8. FTL
9. XCOM
10. Yakuza 0



A system of cells interlinked
10 years is a funny one, as it straddles console generations.

The game I've undoubtedly put most hours into during that time is Skyrim, but is it my favourite?

Dark Souls should be up there, in terms of influence as well as gameplay, same with Spelunky and Binding of Isaac. Journey would also be high on my list, as would Life is Strange - Narratively driven games have come into their own in the last 10 years.

Tentatively:

1. Deadly Premonition (fight me!)
2. Journey
3. Skyrim
4. Hitman
5. Dark Souls

EDIT - I can't stop at 5!

6. Nier Automata
7. Witcher 3
8. FTL
9. XCOM
10. Yakuza 0
Good call on both Journey and Life is Strange, even if the latter didn't quite make your Top 10.

I liked Life is Strange a whole lot, and it put me on my ass emotionally more than once during my play through. That said, some aspects of the characterizations kind of annoyed me, so I didn't list it in my Top 5.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Good call on both Journey and Life is Strange, even if the latter didn't quite make your Top 10.

I liked Life is Strange a whole lot, and it put me on my ass emotionally more than once during my play through. That said, some aspects of the characterizations kind of annoyed me, so I didn't list it in my Top 5.
I've been meaning to play Life is Strange 2 for months now, as it's on Game Pass, but something's stopping me. I think I'm kinda apprehensive that it won't hit the same highs as the first game.

I'll probably leave it until all the episodes have been released now.



Yeah, I've been passing on Life is Strange 2 for awhile. I think the thing is, a game like that has to walk a really fine line to be enjoyable. You wouldn't have to change much for it to feel just nakedly manipulative, or overly schmaltzy, or both. Just slant it 10% away from the clever story mechanic and towards the teenage drama and it'll topple off the twee cliff and get really bad, really quickly. I guess I don't trust even the sequel to deftly strike that incredibly small target again.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Yeah, I've been passing on Life is Strange 2 for awhile. I think the thing is, a game like that has to walk a really fine line to be enjoyable. You wouldn't have to change much for it to feel just nakedly manipulative, or overly schmaltzy, or both. Just slant it 10% away from the clever story mechanic and towards the teenage drama and it'll topple off the twee cliff and get really bad, really quickly. I guess I don't trust even the sequel to deftly strike that incredibly small target again.
Agreed 100%.

People I know seem to like it a lot, but I've definitely not heard the same buzz from it.



A system of cells interlinked
I've been meaning to play Life is Strange 2 for months now, as it's on Game Pass, but something's stopping me. I think I'm kinda apprehensive that it won't hit the same highs as the first game.

I'll probably leave it until all the episodes have been released now.
Yeah, I've been passing on Life is Strange 2 for awhile. I think the thing is, a game like that has to walk a really fine line to be enjoyable. You wouldn't have to change much for it to feel just nakedly manipulative, or overly schmaltzy, or both. Just slant it 10% away from the clever story mechanic and towards the teenage drama and it'll topple off the twee cliff and get really bad, really quickly. I guess I don't trust even the sequel to deftly strike that incredibly small target again.
Lisa and I played Before the Storm, which is sort of the prequel to Life is Strange that centers around the friendship/romance of Chloe and Rachel Amber. The stakes aren't as high as in the first game, and it does tilt a bit more into the teen drama angle, but on the plus side, the game play mechanic fit Chloe really well, and the story it does tell is told well. All in all, I didn't think it was good, but perhaps still worth the time. I haven't played the second game.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
Cheating arsehole perma banned from Fortnite.

Issues tearful apology. "It didn't even cross my mind to think I could be perma banned".

His mother: "He doesn't have a devious bone in his body", erm no he's a cheating little prick raised by you, hopefully gets sued for all earnings.