On Saturday, July 1, 2023 at 11:00:04 PM UTC+9:30, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Another month, another list. I didn't spend as much time in front of
> the monitor as I should have; too much time spent outdoors doing
> 'exercise' and 'enjoying the good weather' and 'spending quality time
> with friends and family'. I didn't spend thousands on a new PC to
> waste time on nonsense like that! I should be gaming 24/7! But alas,
> no, the lure of warm sunlight and tasty food keep pulling me away.
> I'll try harder next month.
>
>
> Game Summaries Where I Respect Your Time
> ---------------------------------------
> * Cyberpunk 2077 (continued)
> * Ghost Tokyo (new)
>
>
> Game Summaries Where I Take Up All Your Time
> ---------------------------------------
> * Cyberpunk 2077 (continued from last month)
> I largely stand by my initial impressions from last month's round-up.
> The creation of Cyberpunk 2077's world took an impressive amount of
> effort, and yet I'm sadly left wanting. The story was engaging, and so
> were the characters; there was a lot of polish and content, and the
> gameplay - while not groundbreaking - was largely satisfying. I could
> have done without the bugs - which got increasingly worse as I neared
> the finale - and the climatic mission was a bit of a let down, but
> overall, a good game.
>
> But still, I'm disappointed. And I struggle to express why I think the
> game didn't live up to its potential.
>
> I've already made a few guesses as to the cause of my unhappiness in
> other posts: the mazelike design of the city, some odd decisions in
> the gameplay design, the grindy crafting mechanic. But I think the
> biggest fault is Night City itself. For all its beauty and for all its
> detail, Night City lacks life and character. It doesn't feel like a
> place; it feels like a generic sci-fi metropolis. It might as well
> have been San Andreas from GTA5 for all the city itself played a role
> in the actual game. And I think part of the failure in its design is
> how static the city feels. Nothing changes in the city from start to
> finish; even if, narratively, I defeat a major power in the city's
> politics, you wouldn't be able to tell from how anything in the city
> looks or acts.
>
> I suppose, from the perspective of the setting, this is accurate - one
> of the themes of the game is how powerless individuals are to effect
> any real change - but from a story and gameplay perspective? It's
> awful. Nobody - not the gangbangers, not the cops, not the corporates
> - reacts differently to the protagonist regardless if you're a level 1
> nobody or a level 50 legend. Despite wiping the map clean of every
> mission icon, there's not one change to how the map looks; no
> destroyed buildings or revitalized neighborhoods in my wake.
>
> This stasis absolutely ruins the appeal of progressing through the
> game; why keep chugging along if nothing changes? Even when there
> should be changes - like when I helped a politico realize he was
> secretly being manipulated by unknown hackers - the plot-lines get
> dropped before anything ever resolves.
>
>
> Too many of the missions themselves are pointless busywork too. Oh,
> the main quest and companion side-quests are all well worth it; if
> anyone rings you up in the game and asks you to assist in a mission, I
> strongly recommend you say yes because that's where all the variety
> is. But the various assault hotspots and mercenary gigs you do for the
> fixers? You can skip those because they don't do anything except give
> you piddling amounts of XP and gold. And that's half the game right
> there. Similarly, you can ignore buying all the cars and apartments
> because the former all drive the same, and the latter offer you no
> benefit. The gear is repetitive and hardly worth chasing after, and
> the uninspired AI makes every combat feel very much the same.
>
> I hate bringing up all these faults because the game IS NOT bad. It
> kept me occupied for over 100 hours, after all. I've nothing to do
> after concluding the main quest because I've done every possible
> side-mission. And I quite enjoyed the story (even if it was sometimes
> a bit overwrought and ended on something of a let down). But
> "Cyberpunk 2077" could have been - it SHOULD have been - one of those
> classics we talk about for decades. It's overflowing with talent and
> hard work and great ideas. You can see it in every scene, in every
> model; there was so much love put into its design. Yet it just doesn't
> come close to achieving its potential, and it's heartbreaking.
>
>
>
>
> * Ghostwire: Tokyo (new)
> I'm still in the early stages of this one, so I haven't come to a real
> conclusion about this game yet. But I'm fairly certain it was a
> mistake to play it right after "Cyberpunk 2077"; even though in terms
> of gameplay and theme the two games are quite different, the fact that
> they both are single-player games that take place in a near-future
> open-world means that I was tired of "Ghostwire: Tokyo" even before I
> started it.
>
> Which is unfortunate, because "Ghost Tokyo" has some obvious
> strengths. It's visuals are quite nice, to start with. It's not quite
> as detailed as "Cyberpunk 2077" and the special effects and lighting
> aren't nearly as sophisticated... but it's pretty close and the game
> is very pretty. But - like "Cyberpunk", its world suffers from a lack
> of real interactivity and - thanks to the eponymous ghosts - there's
> no wandering AI to add the necessary verisimilitude. There's no real
> reason - at least not so far - to hang around in one neighborhood,
> other than to maybe scrounge for hidden goodies and supplies. For all
> its size, the city serves little purpose beyond being a static
> backdrop.
>
> But the game's conceit is interesting; after an apocalyptic
> supernatural event, the protagonist survives - thanks to a lucky
> possession by a friendly ghost - as the only one left to fight off the
> bad-guys. Combat is a mix of spell-slinging, unconvincing melee and at
> least one ranged weapon. The monsters are suitably creepy - as only
> Japanese monsters can be - although there doesn't seem to be much
> variety. But then again, I haven't gotten too far into the game. The
> voice-acting is well done too.
>
> But the sheer scale of the world is daunting; not so much because it's
> incredibly large (it's not), but because there just doesn't seem all
> that much of interest to do. Sure, I can peek into the alleys to find
> hidden coins and lost souls to rescue; there's Torri Gates to cleanse
> and various side-quests to fulfill. But none of the activities are
> very fulfilling and it all seems like so much busy-work. Despite my
> usual desire to scour the map of every adventure I'm increasingly
> tempted to just speed-run the main quest so I can say I've finished
> the game.
>
> I resist, so far, telling myself not to give up on the game just yet,
> and to fight the ennui caused by 100+ hours of playing "Cyberpunk
> 2077". I'm not sure it's a winnable battle, though. "Ghostwire: Tokyo"
> may be a great game, but at the moment I think I'm just too burned out
> by open-world adventuring to find out for myself.
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
>
> So that's it for me. And how about you? Were you wisely ensconced in
> front of your computer playing video games, or did summer cruelly draw
> you away from what was important? Tell us...
>
> What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?

Spalls, you are still here... after many decades.

On Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:46:37 -0700 (PDT), Antonio Huerta
<ahuerta@inbox.com> wrote:

>Spalls, you are still here... after many decades.

Of course I'm here. Why wouldn't I be here? I'm always here.

Wait... is this how you're letting me go? Is this a sort of, "You're
still here? I thought we dismissed you last month?" thing? I mean,
sure you moved me down to the sub-basement level and made me pay for
my access, but I thought that was all due to Usenet struggling
financially. Was it all just a ploy to get me to leave? Surely at
minimum I get some sort of pension? Severance? A small muffin with a
candle on it? All those years of service, you'd think I'd get
something.

Can I at least keep the little red stapler?

<mutter mutter burn the whole place down mutter mutter>

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:46:37 -0700 (PDT), Antonio Huerta
> <ahuerta@inbox.com> wrote:

> >Spalls, you are still here... after many decades.

> Of course I'm here. Why wouldn't I be here? I'm always here.

> Wait... is this how you're letting me go? Is this a sort of, "You're
> still here? I thought we dismissed you last month?" thing? I mean,
> sure you moved me down to the sub-basement level and made me pay for
> my access, but I thought that was all due to Usenet struggling
> financially. Was it all just a ploy to get me to leave? Surely at
> minimum I get some sort of pension? Severance? A small muffin with a
> candle on it? All those years of service, you'd think I'd get
> something.

> Can I at least keep the little red stapler?

> <mutter mutter burn the whole place down mutter mutter>

Hey! You can't burn down the usenet! ;P
--
"By God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed." --Romans 15:32. A somewhat slammy Monday even though less humans outside.
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