Greatoneshere

I've read the manga and never once thought of Game of Thrones, a book series I'm also a gigantic fan of. In maybe the most superficial sense but that's like saying anything with warring families/factions/houses and is bloody with sudden character deaths that takes places in a vaguely medieval high fantasy Western European-esque setting is "like Game of Thrones" when really that's an entire subgenre unto itself which Game of Thrones isn't responsible for. I don't know, it has just never been a comparison I'd have made since in no substantive way do they seem similar to me. Either way, glad you're enjoying it! Manga is good too, though I prefer the show.

I mean, I assumed that, but it's something!

Yeah, it's a lot to take in at first - it all comes together - just remember, the lore is even in the diary entries and item/cargo descriptions. It's a really unique world dedicated to exploring the ideas of pacifism and isolation in a post-apocalyptic hellscape. It's a strangely very earnest and positive game. Hell, killing people makes them exploding bombs, so obviously the Kojima metaphors are awesome but none too subtle.

I'm surprised Rare outsourced one of their own beloved legacy IP's. I didn't realize that was from a different studio than Rare themselves. Not inherently a good or bad thing, just surprising to me.

I'm totally with you - it actually becomes so much the opposite later that I wished for more story stuff between my sidequest deliveries but I was trying to do everything, to be fair. And I'm a huge fan of MGS, Kojima, and I loved MGS4, so I understand the worry about cutscenes (though I love them, big fan of MGS4 here). It's mostly a lot of story stuff at the beginning, and a lot at the end. The rest is spread throughout pretty evenly.

Yes, significantly. For example, all the cutscenes added up equate to 11-12 hours, but I logged in 150 hours to basically platinum the game. So the proportion of playing the game and watching it is significantly in playing the game's favor. Early on it's simply the inverse and it'll take awhile to settle in. But it's a long game, especially if you do every unique delivery, and story stuff becomes sparse if you don't bulldoze through only story deliveries. It's just a lot of story stuff early on.

Demon's Souls definitely counts, it kicked off the whole Soulsborne thing in the first place.

Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express was good, not great, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Been looking forward to this!

Been waiting forever for the full release of this game - about damn time. Still would like a harder release date though.

You can manufacture new ones eventually - did you destroy the first one you unlock that's already sitting there? If you've unlocked online features there should be more in online garages but I forget when that kicks in - 14 hours in you should be able to but I dunno - I play slow and you could still be early.

Makes sense, but complicated games are going to have, to some degree, clunky controls. I've already experienced it, but at least so far it's completely outweighed by all the other things the game does well. But going to keep an eye. Could get cumbersome, but I handled Death Stranding so . . .

I'll wait to see how things shake out. Reviews aren't super positive, but I've played great games that haven't always had high scores. Hell, Nier was an amazing game and it took until Nier: Automata for people to realize that. Before that game came out, Nier had scores in the 60's and 70's. And yet it was one of my favorite games of its generation (and now it's getting a remaster, so at least it must have been a cult classic).

So, I, uhhh, have always been morbidly curious about the Red Dead Redemption series, having never played them. I know they are critically acclaimed and that the second one is very divisive. I have not read this thread but I have just finished watching a 4K Xbox One X enhanced version of the first game all the way through (all cutscenes, etc.) and it was weirdly very compelling! I haven't really played any Rockstar Game, not even Bully or LA Noire or anything, just the old Grand Theft Auto games, so Rockstar Games means little to me here in terms of brand. So I went and finished off all of my unfinished games and downloaded and started the second game (a prequel, it would seem, taking place 12 years earlier) on PC. Got all the settings sorted out and it looks gorgeous in 4K at 60fps, even if I can't get all the settings to max. I know the PC release last December was controversial (to say the least) but after reading an article or two and futzing around more than I usually do for a game on PC it really does look fucking amazing. I play slowly, but I'm currently just starting Act II. The whole game is lovely so far, really enjoying the atmosphere, graphics, music, etc. All looks like an extension of the first game, based on what I saw in the video for that one. Not sure what the complaints are about yet, seems like an intense, hugely open world, very customizable game, with almost too much depth as there seems to be a lot to keep track of. But I wanted a game that made me really feel like I'm in a dying version of the old West, and too much depth certainly helps with that. Anyways, I'm eager to see more and see where my thoughts match with others. I like interesting failures more than safe successes, and I recently loved the likes of Death Stranding, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and The Last of Us Part II, so my opinion probably counts for very little here. I could see a version of myself playing the game where I just enjoy hunting, for instance. But I'm in it for the story.

All fair assessments, and an 8/10 is high. Hannibal might be in my top five shows of all time because of season 2 and 3 though, to give you perspective. It's a show you luxuriate in - keep us posted!

Definitely curious. My youngest brother is also playing the game, maybe he and I can get in on those co-op story missions.

Yeah but no one cares if it requires pulling off the tango with my motion control device to get it to be done well.

Season 1 is nothing, and Will Graham is second only to Hannibal in how amazing he becomes. Seasons 2 and 3 are far and away an almost completely different and even far better show. Season 1 is just a taste.

Yeah, pretty much all of this. I don't remember Korra getting hate when it was coming out - I thought everyone pretty much universally loved the show (season 2 complaints happened of course, even then). Especially after season 3 - any Studio Nir helmed episode also always looked so good. It's only been since the show's release that there's been a particular group of fans who now dislike it. Strange.

Certainly would be a way better game with retrofitted better controls . . .

This.

I don't know what that means - it's a TV show - seasons 3 + 4 don't work without the story building that season 2 mostly is. It's a set up season, and while that makes it worse, there are plenty of payoffs for it later. It's better binged than watched week to week as well. To me, season 1 of Avatar is also super weak, as it's really intended for children and comes off as such. It took me until season 2 to get into the show (but then it really did win me over). So, I mean, lots of great shows have a weak season here or there but I'd still watch the whole show.

Season two was weak but season 3 was better than anything else in Avatar or Korra so . . .

This. The editing alone is fantastic. But everything about the film is expertly done.

Sorry, to be clear, I meant the first series is not available to stream easily. The second is newer and is available, as you say.

I'm not excited by the prospect of the reboot or whatever it is, but I also rewatched BSG recently to show the wife the whole show (yes, everything, the proper way haha) and she loved it (and I enjoyed it on what must have been my third time watching the show all the way through) and I still like season 4 a lot. Kara is really the only one who gets really short shrift, and I understand disliking a certain aspect of the ending on a more fundamental level, but if one gets past that aspect, it all ends as one would expect such a show to end in terms of all the characters' fates. The bluray box collection makes the show look great too, and the director's cuts of any episode that has one improves the show as well.