Jake

Idle Thumbs 207: Buble Bloodborne Bloodbeef

Recommended Posts

I think I may have mentioned this in the episode, but I still think the greatest horrible Star Wars character is 

Elan Sleazebaggano 

 

Sadly, a nickname.

 

 

 

 

For that, you need a volcano:

 

This was so great until the last few seconds. SURPRISE! It was an ad for the worst music game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The dumbest thing about Sleazebaggano is that he's trying to push a drug called death sticks. Let's talk about marketing for a second.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I always enjoy it when something is named based on the creator's knowledge of its end-state without any self-awareness of how it might actually be perceived by the story's characters. in Earth Defense Force 2017, the mysterious aliens that show up are immediately and unquestioningly called "The Reavers," then the game spends the first 10 missions pretending that the giant bug attacks couldn't possibly be from the peaceful visiting aliens and it's a huge shock to the world when it turns out to be them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Its product disclosed its hazardous nature by prominently displaying skull and crossbones on its outer package[4] and came in two varieties; Death, and Death Lights

 

 

:hah:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In case, like me, you were wondering about the "Please, call me" plumber:

7J7C8991-copy.jpg

I admit, I imagined him balder and sadder...

The desperation in his eyes is subtle and hard to see without a higher quality photo. But it is there. I love that he is not old and is a relatively normal looking guy. It paints a way more immediately bleak and life-bed-shitting backstory.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think I'd trust a plumber who didn't know you're not supposed to shit in the bed.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The desperation in his eyes is subtle and hard to see without a higher quality photo. But it is there. I love that he is not old and is a relatively normal looking guy. It paints a way more immediately bleak and life-bed-shitting backstory.

 

Honestly, looking at him, I am sad I do not live in San Francisco and therefore will never be able to use him as a Halloween costume.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm just going to step in and champion the 3DS's Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as a thing people should totally play if they like the Souls games for their boss fights and combat mechanics at least as much or perhaps more than for their world-building and exploration. (...Because, to be clear, there's none of that in Monster Hunter, but the underlying mechanics and the pacing of the fights will feel very familiar, and Souls games are for that reason a pretty good gateway into Monster Hunter, and MH4u is absolutely the best that series has ever been.)

 

It's also something to play if you're a person who wishes the Souls games had a more functional and natural emphasis on co-operative play.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm just going to step in and champion the 3DS's Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as a thing people should totally play if they like the Souls games for their boss fights and combat mechanics at least as much or perhaps more than for their world-building and exploration.

I tried the demo and hated it. The scale (character to weapon to monsters) just seems off, the camera controls were very irritating and the ridiculousness of many of the weapons was off-putting to me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah the controls are absolutely terrible. I tried so hard, but couldn't get over that awful, awful, awful camera. ):

 

I might try again soon now that I'm "done" with Bloodborne but I am not very hopeful.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I will strongly dispute a broad statement of the controls being terrible. It's a game with quite a sophisticated combo system and, almost like a fighting game, when you have a handle on it, you can do kind of incredible things. For a long, long time i had the impression of Monster Hunter being a slow and clunky game, it took some effort on my own end to reach the point where it "clicked" for me, and the game just suddenly seemed to move at a pace several magnitudes quicker and with far more precision.

 

This is one of the bigger differences between Souls games and Monster Hunter games. A lot of the mechanics and tactics are very similar, but the base level demands are more approachable in the former, you can get quite far in Souls without a deep understanding of the combat mechanics, which i think is generally not as true in Monster Hunter. (Unless you're playing cooperatively and have people to prop you up, of course. Still, checking out some community created weapon tutorials on youtube is greatly encouraged.)

The camera though, if you have access to either an n3DS or a Circle Pad Pro, it's basically not an issue. Most people won't, obviously, and the game's lock-on mechanic is purposefully primitive. (Trust me, it's something that makes sense with a few dozen hours in the game. It sounds like apologetic bullshit, but it legitimately is that way for a reason.) I'm sympathetic to this issue, i definitely understand that it's a barrier some people won't be able to cross.

 

I'm not going to try and say that having some time with Souls will just magically make Monster Hunter not be an insane and impenetrable thing, that was not even my own experience. I had played multiple Monster Hunter games before MH4u and i ran the range from outright hating them to begrudgingly being dragged into it by friends, and it wasn't until coming at MH4u with a reference point in the Dark Souls games that i felt like i had a footing to build from. It was still a huge hill to climb, not in terms of sheer difficulty, but in the breadth of knowledge that needed to be acquired. The game finally dug its hooks in and i'm several hundred hours in on what will probably stand for me as one of the best experiences i've ever had with an action rpg.

 

The scale (character to weapon to monsters) just seems off...

 

I don't really follow what you're saying here, can you elaborate?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I always enjoy it when something is named based on the creator's knowledge of its end-state without any self-awareness of how it might actually be perceived by the story's characters. in Earth Defense Force 2017, the mysterious aliens that show up are immediately and unquestioningly called "The Reavers," then the game spends the first 10 missions pretending that the giant bug attacks couldn't possibly be from the peaceful visiting aliens and it's a huge shock to the world when it turns out to be them.

 

That was easily one of my favorite things about that game. So good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think if your system requires a different control input device to make it playable enjoyably on the handheld system for which it's intended, you've made a mistake.

I don't really follow what you're saying here, can you elaborate?

Most weapons are vastly bigger than the characters, the monsters are even more gigantic, and while that's cool in its own way the weight and animation of the weapons, attacks and characters made it all feel really weird, disjointed and just 'off' to me.

For what it's worth I'm also not a huge fan of the oversized weapons in the Souls games but there the animations are so much better for my tastes at showing weight and impact... I don't know.

Finally, I frankly don't feel like having to read up on a game before playing it. That's also my biggest beef with LoMas. Knowledge should flow organically from playing the game. Going into a Souls game blind is amazing. Playing the Monster Hunter demo felt like a confusing mess.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now