Mike Richards

I dropped the difficulty to story and I'm having a lot more fun. The balance and pacing feels much closer to how I remember the original

Overall I really am enjoying it though. And it's addressing a lot of issues I had with 4 and 5. I could easily see it being the best of the modern games by the end, even if a lot of that is because of all the things the original got right

I just wish that didn't feel like damning with faint praise

I have Thoughts on the general balance so far, but I want to see how a lot of its decisions play out long term

Still, I'm not sure it puts its best foot forward and I can't help feeling like it's just over complicating things that were already working perfectly fine in the original

Aggravated Ghosts are harder, yes. But in practice they really just end up randomly making fights longer. And look, I *love* Fatal Frame's combat. But it has a very distinct pace and the *last* thing it needs is to drag out basic fights even more

They tip the scales from tense to frustrating fast

I'm a few hours into the Fatal Frame 2 remake now and there's a lot to like! Tone and style is probably the most on point the series has been since the PS2

But a lot of the new mechanics haven't quite justified themselves to me yet. *Especially* the Aggravated Ghosts

It bears repeating: Every store that said that Horses is too extreme for them to sell is lying. Blatantly.

There's nothing in the game that wouldn't pass muster in an M-rated movie. And it's FAR milder than COUNTLESS titles on Steam right now.

But it's easier than admitting a smear campaign worked

There should have been a real Street Fighter: The Movie: The game style tie-in for this

We missed out on super crunchy digitized sprites of Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo jumping through dystopic urban sprawl

Really wish they'd just pull the plug and give it to Supermassive or something like that

I love the idea of a choice-em-up/interactive-movie/whatever-we're-calling-them SW game. But why did it have to be QD

I genuinely love Morrowind and its eccentricities

But you start to understand a lot of the choices Oblivion/Skyrim made after you spend over an hour hiking out into the middle of nowhere trying to find a random cave for a Fighters Guild job, only to discover you're about 12 levels below the target

I think I'm more confused by the idea that it has a novelization at all

Circling back on this thought:

If you like nu-Marathon's aesthetics, you've got Cicadamata.

If you like old Marathon's combat & prose, you've got Supplice and Marathon mods like Apotheosis X. (SO GOOD)

But if you like the GAMEPLAY of nu-Marathon, this is the closest thing in single-player format.

The Fatal Frame 2 remake demo was both pleasantly surprising and comfortably whelming

I'm not sure it matches *all* the strengths of the original. But it seems like a definite improvement over 4 and 5 in some very important ways and that's cleared up some of my biggest concerns going in

Wait there's a demo for the Fatal Frame 2 remake out?

Ah fuck. I'm nervous

Definitely. You can't really go wrong with any of them, but Riven and URU are my favorites

I get the feeling there are probably a lot of fans of things like Blue Prince, Outer Wilds, or even The Witness out there who haven't played Myst yet

They really, really should

The thing that's tripping me up a little is the intro is closest I've seen anything else get to Condemned's "decaying urban horror/crime thriller" vibe. Everything after that has been "really incredible RE"

I love RE and I love what 9 is doing, but I want Condemned back

Daggerfall?

Feels like an Elder Scrolls railshooter spinoff where you hunt cliff racers. Sixth House of the Dead?

I think part of my soul just healed

The intro sequence of RE9 is the closest I've seen anything get to Condemned's vibe in a very long time

It's still fantastic after it settles into more traditional Resident Evil territory. It's iterating and experimenting with classic RE *extremely* well. But fuck I want Condemned back

Clair: Leon S. Kennedy? What’s the S stand for? Leon: heh, something cool, no doubt (Leon looks at his license, sees it is Scott) “aw man”

Leon: Hey Ada, did I ever tell you i was on the football team in high school? Ada: I don’t care (Flashback) Football coach: Kennedy! I need you out there! Leon, donning a Mr Raccoon mascot costume: “be right there, coach!”

i can’t play re9 for a few more days, so here’s a thread of some re2 and re4 Leon comics

A back alley in Resident Evil 9 on a cold, rainy, gray day. We're looking up at the buildings tightly packed together. A dense maze of fire escapes, wires, and the tops of chain link fences.

Resident Evil 9 went hard on rundown urban sprawl and I think I'm in love

Yeah, I'm gonna need a second season of Strip Law as soon as possible

Come on Netflix, do some good for the world. You know I bet Gumb & Flambe could defeat the Paramount/WB merger. Just saying

I get the weirdest vicarious nostalgia from Sonic X Shadow Generations. Like I have no particular history with Sonic but it kinda makes me wish I had grown up playing them

William Shatner's TekWar (1995)

a man is making a funny face and saying `` oh my god '' in front of a crowd . ALT: a man is making a funny face and saying `` oh my god '' in front of a crowd .

How have I never played Rez before. What the fuck was wrong with me

Got on a rail shooter thing yesterday. Finished the Panzer Dragoon remake, Star Fox SNES, Sin and Punishment, and started Whisker Squadron Survivors which is incredible

Also finally picked up Verho: Curse of Faces. Absolute banger

Unexpectedly found myself on a rail shooter kick today and wow Sin and Punishment is rad. Still not sure I have any idea what the fuck was happening, but damn it was neat

Gotta check out the Wii one now

A screenshot of a text box from Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown. Kathryn Janeway: Follow them! We'll get Tuvok's lungs back.

This is what gaming is all about