Love movies, love games.
There isn't much more to me.
Here's what I've played sorta ranked: Great or really good / good / ok / not good
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Shin Megami Tensei II
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army
Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 2
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Maken X
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga
Persona 3
Persona 2 (EP/IS)
Jack Bros.
Revelations: Persona
Shin Megami Tensei If...
@paulmci27 said in Videogame Hot takes:
Symphony of the Night & Super Metroid although trailblazers & classic games don't hold a candle to modern Metroidvanias. Whether it be controls or level design they just can't compete, but that's okay. I would say the same for 95% of retro 8 & 16 hit platformers. Games are just better now & so they should be.
This is funny because I don't think Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night are anywhere near as interesting as the earlier games in their respective series.
The only three I like, though I haven't played any made after The Wind Waker.
@dipset I haven't played TLG and I still agree.
I don't know if I agree with any of the ones I played out of those. Bloodborne I can see an argument for. Maybe.
Metal Arms: Gitch in the System
One of the most 6th gen games I've ever played. Very derivative. It's taking primarily from Halo, with medium to large sized areas and vehicles that shoot laser beams and fragile infantry that throw their arms in the air and run away screaming if you hit them a few times. It's also probably taking a bit from Ratchet and Clank, with its third person camera, cart-wheeling double jump, and irreverent, cartoony presentation, but there's only a year separating these games, so perhaps not.
In execution, it's pretty shaky. character movement can be cumbersome and shooting feels weightless. While enemies can have their limbs/weapons damaged and blown off, there's little strategic value in doing it, and even if you wanted to, none of the guns feel accurate enough to do so. Enemies are bullet sponges, and it's just a better idea to shoot center-mass with whatever powerful weapon you have ammo for.
There's some variety (driving sequences, espionage, etc.), but it only seems to be there to elongate the experience, and the game doesn't feel very confident straying from arena and vehicle combat. If it played better and was more concise, it could be a cult classic worth embracing.
@dipset I really liked the new Tsai Ming-Liang film 'Days', but I think you have to go into it understanding how ascetic and personal his films are. I also dug Spike Lee's latest Da 5 Bloods.
From what I've seen on your list, Martin Eden is my favourite, though I saw it in 2019. Really bizarre and beautiful stuff.
January:
-Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
-Siren
-Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
-Helltaker
-Riven
February
-Shenmue
-Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
-Maken X
-P.N.03
March
-Ratchet and Clank (2016)
-Rayman 2: The Great Escape
-Resistance 3
-Asura's Wrath
-Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
April
-Motorstorm: Apocalypse
-Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
-Ratchet & Clank: The Quest For Booty
-Thumper
Total: 18
More of a type of movie: the 'so bad it's good' movie. The kind of movie that people put on to laugh at because it's inept or campy, but watch from a position of condescension and faux-disbelief that someone could have made something so bad. Most of the time, they're just bad movies. They're boring and derivative. When they do have something interesting about them, or when they are actually quite good, they never get meaningfully interacted with. Just the same, ironic 'lol isn't this stupid' reaction from whoever is watching.
Dropped 3 games and replaced them. Ended up with 9/12 complete.
I don't know if I'm going to carry on with this next year, because basically everything I play is from my backlog. I play new games very rarely, so it's more about what 12 games I pick to finish rather than just finishing 12 games from my backlog in general---because I do that every year. It's nice to have ones with my eye on them, but generally speaking games like Nier and Xenogears weren't going to fit into this year, as big, conceptual JRPGs are something that I need to be in the right space to fully appreciate.