[What did you learn about yourself playing MMOs?]

I learned that I might just very well be misanthropic on some level. lol I mean, look, I obviously enjoy socializing, seeing as I'm posting here regularly, but the online environment, even in MMOs with all their guidelines and rules, tends to bring out the worst in people. Hell, "Barrens chat" was a thing in World of Warcraft, where people headed to the Barrens just to see the latest shitshow that's going on in the chat.

I also learned that I just don't enjoy multiplayers. I enjoyed Star Wars: The Old Republic a lot more than I did in WoW because it's a lot more single player-focused with its storylines. I almost never bothered with the storylines that require you to join a group. And that's another thing I learned from MMOs - I don't do well in groups. It requires a kind of concentration and cooperation between the group members, where everyone has to pitch in and "git gud." You can't just enjoy the game, you have to be good at the game, or why the f*** would they want to invite you? That kind of attitude has gotten me staying away from multiplayers for good, and MMOs in general.

[Is there any such thing as "overhyped" or "overrated" video games?]

It's just elitism at play, gatekeeping, the same way bullies online call people who play easier simulation games "casual gamers" because we don't play Elden Ring or Battlefield. But I guess it depends on the context too, like all things.

Take for example, the Fallout series. I get why fans of the older games were upset that a gigantic corporation pretty much swooped in and seized Fallout from a bankrupt company and did whatever the hell they wanted with the IP and its lore. I get it. It's why I couldn't really fault them too much if they start to make comparisons between the first two FO games and the Bethesda-era games, maybe even calling the latter overrated because it's a genuine representation of how they feel about those games, that they were rated more favorably than their beloved first two games even though, in their opinion, they didn't deserve such ratings when they lack the merit that made the first two games charming and endearing to them. I personally never grew up with the first two FO and never got into them, so I couldn't give a crap what God Howard does with the IP and his 16 times the obsession with it, but I also don't love FO3 and New Vegas enough that I would be blind to the frustration fans of the original FO games were having.

In a more general context though, I don't give a crap that a game like Elden Ring is popular. I don't play most AAA games these days, so their existence means nothing to me. I'm too busy doing my own thing to argue with people on the Internet what is overrated and what is not. I have a life, and arguing about the IPs of billion dollar corporations isn't going to get me a medal from God Howard. They're not going to send me an exclusive package for defending or criticizing some game for being overrated/underrated.

[What game broke you of completing all side quests?]

Too many to name. I hate pointless side quests that give you a virtual medal for beating some annoying race that you need good reflexes to get the gold... and my reflexes suck. I almost never finish any Spider-Man games in 100% completion because of this (aside from maybe Shattered Dimensions because that game was smaller and more fun), and I'm a huge Spider-Man fan too, so it's a great shame.

Usually, if a game doesn't interest me enough with its story and universe, I have no emotional investment in it, and therefore, I won't bother completing it, especially not for some digital medal nobody's gonna see.

[What are your favourite gaming memories from the past?]

I have lots of great emotional memories from playing and replaying (several times) the Mass Effect trilogy, particularly the third one. But I would like to bring up a memory I had from another Bioware game, Dragon Age: Origins. I really loved the scene with Leliana's Song, especially because of the context it was in. It wasn't just a great song full of emotions, but it was a funeral hymn meant to pay tribute to the dead. This scene took place right after the Brecilian Forest main quest, when you had to confront the elven leader and pretty much put him down. There was a hard decision to make there, even though it was pretty obvious that the leader was in the wrong, and so it led to one of many possible outcomes where people would die or sacrificed "for the greater good." Even in the most positive outcome, it was more of a bittersweet moment where people still had to die to reach the peaceful eventuality, so Leliana's funeral rite honoring that carried with it a lot of weight, and the cutscene really emphasized just how much everyone else was affected by the heavy emotional burdens they had to carry as well going on their quest. You can see how almost everyone was upset by the song, especially Morrigan. It wasn't a happy little quest they were on; it was one of sacrifice and bloodshed.

That moment has always stuck with me in gaming history because man, that was the peak of my gaming experience, when I've truly enjoyed the journey of a game so thoroughly. I don't think there were any game that has done that for me on the same level for the past 5-6 years. Spiritfarer was the most recent one that came close, and before that, it was Detroit: Become Human, but neither of those felt like the epic emotional journey that was Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect trilogy (which is reasonable, considering they're considerably smaller games, even DBH).

In terms of what the OP described though, the kind of memory where it's less about the game content and more about my own personal life interacting with games, I'm afraid I don't really have any other favorite memories outside of what I mentioned above, because most of my gaming memories as a kid were rather lonely ones where I was playing the Gameboy on my own. I was a rather secluded kid who never got along with many people, so there weren't really a lot of colorful memories I could think of, aside from having my Gameboy Color and Pocket stolen on two separate occasions during Primary and Secondary school (respectively), along with all my Pokémon cartridges. That's more of a memory I would prefer to forget.

I do remember getting my first gaming console, but I'm pretty sure that was a cheap knock-off of N64 or SNES that runs those "cartridges" with a compilation of other games like Super Mario Bros., Contra and Elevator Action in a single cartridge. I used to stay up all night playing those games. I was easily addicted to gaming. But again, not a lot of fond memories there because I never really got along well with my parents enough, and they just felt like parents who shut their children up by buying them things without putting in the emotional support. I would exchange all my consoles and Gameboys in the world for some good parenting, if you know what I mean. But I digress.

But yeah, most of my fond memories came from single player journeys, especially RPGs where you could shape your characters' journey through an emotional story like DBH. DBH was just such a unique and amazing game for me at the time, containing so many paths and endings dependent on not just QTE successions but also whom you talk to and what you talk about. It made the experience feel really personal, like I got to play a part in writing the story to my liking and decide how I want it all to play out.

[Last movie watched?]

Just finished watching Dave Chappelle's The Closer. This is the first Chappelle show I've watched, and as a fan of honest, truthful and unbiased comedy like Ricky Gervais' bits, I find it to be my cup of tea. That last bit about Dave's dead transgender friend was heartbreaking, and you could tell how much the suicide has hurt Dave. It was a great closer to The Closer that celebrated humanism - as in all humans, whether it be blacks, whites, males, females, trans, and anything in between - not this horrible tribalism the woke community seems intent on encouraging.

9/10

[What has made you cry hardest in a video game?]

15 minutes ago, Heatman said:

About crying at movies, I have seen that happen on more than one occasion. Even my mother and sister does the same thing with some movies. My sister cried more than 30 minutes after watching Titanic. I'm not sure how that works for them but I guess we are all affected by emotions in different ways because it never works with me that way. I can't remember the last time I cried apart from when someone very close to dies. For games to do that to me, it's very rare. 

It is hard to describe because feelings are hard to describe, that's why conversations about our feelings between spouses often take so much time away when the husband (or even wife) is just chilling and watching television. lol "We've gotta talk about our feelings." Oh no. Oh no. 😆

But I'm a big advocate of being in touch with your feelings, because I'm a very emotional person myself. If I were to take a guess - because I'm no expert psychologist - it's because there's a kind of connection we have as empathetic human beings even to fictional characters. We open ourselves up to have that connection, leaving us emotionally vulnerable, and then the movie proceeded to make them suffer with horrendous fates. So yeah, people get upset. The logical message in our head that says "It's not a real person and nothing that happens to that person matters" doesn't always convey smoothly, and our emotions take the reign and we start bawling anyway.

Also, you have to remember, movies and video games with tragic scenes can evoke painful or upsetting memories from our life, which is another trigger to crying as well.

[Which would you pick?]

1 hour ago, Heatman said:

It's probably going to be very difficult for you to adjust to playing on consoles I assume right?

Not at all. I do find the PC to be more convenient, but I've still bought console-exclusive games on the PS5 and 3DS, even PS/Switch games that have already been ported to the PC. It just depends on my mood, I suppose. I have a habit of impulse-buying.

[Disenchanted]

Sequel to the movie that subverted Disney fairy tale tropes way before it was cool to do so in Once Upon A Time and Frozen. Releasing on Disney+ on November 24th.

Really looking forward to this one as I had a great time with the first film. I'm someone who has long grown out of fairy tales and just Disney animation in general, but I felt that the first Enchanted struck a nice balance between paying tribute to Disney fairy tales while also deconstructing some of the more dated stereotypes in them. Plus, I really, really enjoyed the music, something that hasn't happened in Disney films for a long time (I even like the songs more than those in Frozen).

This sequel looks like it will be yet again playing around with the typical fairy tale formula as Giselle makes a fairy tale wish gone wrong, so that should be interesting to see.

[What has made you cry hardest in a video game?]

4 hours ago, Heatman said:

Now, that's a shocker for me to be very honest. You're the first person that I have heard say that. Most people try to stay away from such games because it leave them devastated. 

I wouldn't say it's that shocking, since there's people who love to cry at movies too. It's the same thing. The emotional catharsis that comes from crying feels good. Having a good cry makes people feel good sometimes because of the powerful emotions that course through your body, kinda like adrenaline.

[Playstation is being sued]

SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) made an insightful video a while back touching on this, and he did a great job explaining how the prices of both Sony games and digital games are indeed inconsistent as you could buy physical copies of said games for a cheaper price on Amazon. As someone who doesn't care much about the fate of billion-dollar corporations like Sony and Microsoft, I'm inclined to agree with him, especially since I've always been supportive of physical games. If Sony does lose the lawsuit (which is unlikely, as Mutahar points out in the video), if the industry standard is affected and digital games aren't as prevalent anymore (again, unlikely), then all the better for me, because all other companies would be affected too, from Valve to Microsoft. But again, it's no big deal to me whom wins this lawsuit. I've got the popcorn and I'm here to watch the s***storm.

[Last Game Played]

8 hours ago, Gonassis said:

Playing stuff in pure sandbox mode? That feels like getting some relaxed creative juices flowing, or oddly like Lego. 😁 just having fun doing stuff.

It's not even about that since I'm not very creative. It's about having that sense of control, or the illusion of it, which is ironic for a Jurassic Park/World game because the franchise's all about man not having control, and how chaos will always happen. lol Well, chaos, guess what? As Dr. Wu said in the first Jurassic Park movie, I simply deny them that (by using mods). 😛

In fact, not being very creative is the reason why I find most sandbox games boring, because I'm just not creative enough to create the most impressive-looking theme parks/zoos in the world, so there's no satisfaction in playing them. Jurassic World: Evolution games are different though, since they're not about creativity, but about... well, creating dinosaurs. lol

[What has made you cry hardest in a video game?]

21 hours ago, Kane99 said:

For me, near the end of Season 1 of telltales Walking Dead game. When you have to make a horrible decision at the end. I won't say what if you've never played it, but it was a great story, sad ending. 

See, that example is why I feel like I have a hard time crying playing games or even watching movies, because while the scene was kinda sad, I didn't really burst out in tears and went into depression mode like I did with Spiritfarer. It's like, games where you see the vast majority of gamers cry, particularly on YouTube videos (Pewdiepie cried to that scene in Telltale's Walking Dead too), and when I didn't have the same reaction... man, I feel left out sometimes. lol

[Do you get annoyed when people play loud music while driving?]

I would only get annoyed if it's a song I don't like. lol I love loud music.

[Best movie you've ever seen in theater?]

I really want to say Spider-Man 2, because that's one of my favorite films I've seen in a theater... but man, it just didn't utilize the theater-going experience as effectively as Toy Story 3. THAT is a movie you HAVE to watch in a theater specifically because of that garbage dump scene at the very end. The scene where Woody and his friends were heading into the inferno... god, I'll never forget how chilling it felt watching it on a big-screen theater. That's something my smaller 4K screen would never replicate, because you're literally sitting in a dark theater with a crowd of people watching your childhood icons meet their impending death, and the way Woody hold his hands together with his pals while that's happening might as well be you holding your hands with whomever partner you brought along beside you. God, that's an amazing experience.

[What has made you cry hardest in a video game?]

7 hours ago, Heatman said:

I haven't played Stray yet but I have heard the same remark from at least 5 players that I have known to have played and completed the game. 

I really should get around to playing it since I love games that make me cry. I've already installed it but got bored and distracted after the first hour. lmao

[General Gaming Discussion]

20 hours ago, Kane99 said:

Do you guys have any issues gaming with a cheap mouse?

I don't really care much about my hardware unless it involves whether it could support next-gen graphics. My cheapo Targus mouse feels like any expensive Razer mouse, minus the unnecessary "extra functions" that I didn't even bother to use much for Razer mice. I guess there are gamers who would need more functionality for their games, but since I usually only play simulation or adventure games that don't require superb control over several hotkeys, I don't really have need for extra functions like that.

[Last Game Played]

20 minutes ago, Gonassis said:

Hmmmm, reminds me of this survival sort of game, that was built as an educational game to be sold initially to schools, have you heard of "ECO"? It might be the sort of game that you might like, since it's technically sort of peaceful, and can play with multiplayer on public or private servers.

It's a sort of like Minecraft, but with economy features, and a meteor will destroy the world if the players don't stop it.

to get the gist of it, just search for a youtuber that has a fast recap video about their world from start to endgame. There are plenty. 😀

https://store.steampowered.com/app/382310/Eco/

It looks cool, but to be honest, I'm just kinda too lazy to have fun managing resources. Even in Jurassic World: Evolution 2, which I just bought, I just turn off all resource management options in sandbox mode because I'd much rather get to the fun stuff - building dinosaurs and observing them. Eco looks like you'll have to build an entire community from the ground up, and don't get me wrong, I did enjoy that kind of game for quite a long time over several years in the past. But I guess I've kinda outgrown those games and I've moved on to more straightforward sandbox games where I can do whatever I want. Resource management tends to feel like a chore, like work, and working is the last thing I want to be reminded of while playing a game.

 

20 minutes ago, Gonassis said:

Hmmm, do you play Minecraft? I remember seeing a modpack about dinosaurs a while back, that could be literally sandboxed mode too. 😁

Minecraft doesn't really have the top-tier graphics JWE2 has, unfortunately. lol Part of the reason why I caved in buying JWE2 is because of how great the dinosaurs look as opposed to, say, Parkasaurus (which has far superior gameplay, but the dinos look like cartoons for toddlers).

[What exclusives would you want most on a console you don't own?]

Mostly legacy titles like the first two SMT on the N64 and Digital Devil Saga on the PS2.

[Last Game Played]

Honestly, I wouldn't even call most of these mods cheating considering that the sandbox mode has been modified (by the game developers) to the point where you could turn off most of the challenges like staff needs and power consumption. Cheating would imply someone's being cheated, but the game devs are clearly encouraging free-range sandbox without restraints.

[Last Game Played]

24 minutes ago, Shagger said:

 

 

There are some so who would call that cheating...

I don't see the problem with that if it means it will cause me less stress. Who gives a crap what other people think about how I play the games I paid for? It's a ridiculous logic to shame people for. I like cheating in my games anyway since it makes games less stressful for me.

[Last Game Played]

After much hesitation, I bought Jurassic World: Evolution 2 - Premium Edition, and I've played it with the downloaded save game file where everything is unlocked for the sandbox without going through the tedious Chaos Theory mode. So much more fun that way, and a far more pleasant and relaxing experience, just like how a sandbox should be.

I love dinosaurs, and just being able to exhibit them and observe them without worrying about profit or pleasing guests (too often) is just such a nice way to spend your evening, maybe with a cup of joe on the side as you watch that T-Rex tear that goat to shreds. I am kinda annoyed though that a lot of the buildings and creatures are locked behind certain requirements you need to meet even in sandbox mode, so I couldn't immediately just create a T-Rex and have fun and have to jump through all the hoops. The mods didn't really change that even though I'm pretty sure I've followed the instructions correctly. Ah well.

[What is one unique music of a movie you really like?]

Most major themes by John Williams, usually. They're so iconic and memorable that if you hum just a bit of the melody and I'd instantly recognize which theme you're referring to.

 

[What do you prefer a computer or a mobile phone?]

"Don't you guys have phones?"

😆

Sorry. I had to, especially in a conversation about PC vs. mobile, when Blizzard screwed PC gamers over in a convention largely made up of PC gamers by selling them a mobile game. Sure, they have a PC port now of Diablo: Immoral, but man, that meme still kills me.

I definitely prefer my PC for all the reasons Shagger already said, including better quality games and having better graphics AAA next-gen games no mobile phone could ever hope to contain within their limited hardware.

Mobile phones to have their perks, but as a gaming device, even other platforms that offer handheld options are far superior, including the Steam Deck.

[General Gaming Discussion]

6 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

You're also doing what the folks who got mad about 'too much water' did, which is reading solely the summary. The full summary is, emphasis my own, "Shin Megami Tensei V's excellent JRPG combat and deeply rewarding customization shine bright, even when it sometimes feels like Persona without the heart."

Alright, I'll give you that one. The meme is still hilarious though because it's so understandable why people just immediately took that line personally, considering how popular Persona games were and ending up overshadowing the mainline franchise they spun off from, with many Persona fans and SMT fans still bitterly arguing with each other till this day on the Internet over which is the superior franchise despite both coming from the same franchise. So you can see why people took it to heart, because it's like a Digimon fan calling a Pokémon game "Digimon without the emotional story" or a similarly pointed comment about a Digimon game. People will react instinctively, especially with how easy it is to cast your opinion online.

Based on your remark about not reading the full review, I'd say you're in the right, but honestly, I'm kinda tired of debating whom is in the right anymore, especially on the Internet. I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself when I was the one who called out IGN for being in the wrong, but they're a million dollar company whose profit won't be hurt by a few petty comments I made based on my feelings, so it's not really the same thing when IGN's editors and CEOs won't be spending hours writing a thesis on why the other person is wrong on the Internet like what I'm doing right now with my life. Appropriately, it reminds me of IGN's forums where people mock each other for the wrong opinions all the time. It's like, what are people like them and myself doing with our lives? I'll probably forget this conversation in a few days anyway and going back to distrusting IGN again no matter how right you might be because that's how trust works - it needs to be earned, and emotions play into trust more often than logic. You can't logic your way into getting someone to trust you (not to mention how insignificant which review publisher I trust matters in the big picture).

But sure, I'll bite and try to address your concerns about my opinions.

 

6 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

The only major outlets that rated Digimon Survive highly, and I use the term 'major' very subjectively I appreciate, were GameByte (9/10), Nintendo Life (8/10), Game Informer (73/100), Eurogamer Italy (7/10), Push Square (7/10), and The Sixth Axis (7/10).

I don't really see the point in this statement other than saying IGN was right about Digimon Survive - they're not IMO. Digimon Survive isn't really the terrible game you seem to be implying with this statement by adding "subjectively" in that context, as if those outlets' high scores for Survive were untrustworthy, and therefore their status of being "major" outlets is subjective with how untrustworthy they are. I might be reading too much into it, but your statement was rather vague for me to understand what you're actually implying.

I don't agree with IGN's score, but I do think that Nintendo Life gave it too high; my score after finishing the game rests around 7.5/10. I'd say that's a fairer score than IGN's 6/10.

And here's the thing about fairness - it can be subjective to people's emotions, even if you might not think that is fair in itself. I grew up as a Digimon fan more than a Pokémon fan, so I know more than my share of Digimon-bashing in a world where Pokémon's the dominant franchise. Just like the people who instinctively dismissed IGN's statement that associated an SMT title with Persona games, I instinctively disliked their review as a Digimon fan, especially after having played it and confirming it's not really a 6/10 game IMO.

 

6 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

Reviewer Cameron Hawkins did not say that anywhere in the article. Quote the beginning, emphasis my own,

Again, if we're going to criticise people and companies for doing things, let's criticise them for the things they're actually doing, not ones we think they're doing.

I agree, I actually prefer turn-based combat to real-time in an RPG. But that's not what was said in the review.

Not the article. The YouTube video IGN published on their official channel. It's probably a minute into the video. A number of people in the YouTube comment section called out on this too, but that's how YouTube comments sections work, so I digress.

And I think when people criticize IGN, they don't really take into account the editors or individuals writing/filming the review anyway; they're just bashing on the faceless corporation itself, not the editors. Besides, god knows if their editors have to follow a corporate mandate. I don't have that trust in faceless corporations because I don't work for publishers like that, which is why I place my trust in individuals, not IGN YouTube videos where the reviewer doesn't even show their face. Sorry if I'm wrong about their review, but I'm still biased.

 

6 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

You have listed "one or two reviews" and the information you've asserted isn't entirely correct, so please accept my skepticism.

lol Really? Then please accept my skepticism of the faceless company you're defending so passionately. I think I at least have the right to be skeptical of a faceless corporation based on my personal feelings, so I don't know why you're calling me out like this when my vocal remarks would hardly matter to anyone anyway, considering I'm just some schmuck in Singapore who's "productively" spending my time replying to an essay-length response on an Internet forum. And are we really going to talk about skepticism when you're calling out people for being skeptics of IGN? Please accept people's skepticisms then for not placing their trust in a company that has a history of yellow journalism.

 

7 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

That's fine. But please say that, and if you want to discuss it further by all means do so with the correct information. If we're not going to do that we're just masturbating over things that are blown out of proportion, which I would like to reiterate, happens all too often in video games discourse.

But I did say that? lol You literally quoted me saying that, that I don't trust them because of their takes on JRPGs.

I think things are blown out of proportions in all matters of discourse on the Internet, not just video games, like how certain casual remarks made online are taken to task, even though those remarks were based on personal feelings and not some thesis I spent hours researching on. This whole conversation is blown out of proportion IMO. I have a feeling I'll be spending days "debating" again on whom is right on the Internet after I submit this post because that's such a fun and productive thing to do. lol I'm not interested tbh, and if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. I'll let you have the win.

[What constitutes a “puzzle”?]

I believe it's subjective, but then again, I feel like words are fickle human inventions that could be open to interpretation over time. Many words have different meanings today from what they were originally defined as.

I do see what you're getting at with Stray's scenario, and I guess by its purest definition, it might not be a "puzzle game" in the most obvious sense, but you do still have to figure out the proper mechanism to interact with in the game, and that's what a puzzle is like to me, figuring out things and solving problems. Just because it's an easy puzzle game doesn't make it any less of a puzzle game IMO.