Days Gone 2: Killed by gamers

 We are gathered here today

Are you a gamer? Do you enjoy spending some of that free-time currency with the ever creative medium of gaming? Well then you just make me sick, you depraved degenerate! Because that just means you, alongside all others of your kind, are responsible for the death of Days Gone 2. Or rather, we as a people are responsible for the termination of Days Gone 2 in utero, because although the game was cancelled before it was even made, we are the culprit at the end of it all. We are the one's found above the dining room with a bloody candlestick and a wanting alibi. (I assume those references made sense. I've never actually played Cluedo) So I guess the question is; Why'd you do it? Or why did we do it? Are we just a sick twisted people drunk on the sensation of crushing dreams? Maybe it's because we hate all artists and developers and want them to suffer and starve. Yeah, I'm thinking we're getting close to the root of the cancer. Maybe then we can finally validate to the former Bend director of Days Gone that we're all just as much degenerate scumbags as he knows we are.

Did I lay it on a bit thick? Sorry if any of my sarcasm actually offended you out there, I've worked up quite the immunity to name calling and general self loathing so I can get kind of carried away at times. But that little diatribe up there is really the first thought that came to my mind when I read John Garvin's views about the whole Days Gone 2 situation. But just in case you've found yourself out of the loop and am currently looking at this sentence with the glazed out expression of someone trying desperately to care; I'll consolidate. On my Birthday in 2019 (that's April 26) Sony publish a zombie biker open-world (survival?) game called Days Gone. It proceeded the usual flair and excitement that Sony originals got, which is why when it dropped and was only 'good', that stood out as a misfire from a studio that was determined to establish a reputation of publishing only excellence. That game sold well, but not amazingly, and now we've learnt that plans for a sequel have been scrapped for the time being and Bend Studio is without the franchise that they deserved. Also, we miss out on another Sam Witwer performance, and I positively adore Sam Witwer so that alone makes me devastated.

Yet in the words of a sullen pre-impetus Peter Parker; "I missed the part where that's my problem." Well don't worry cause John Garvin's got you there. I mean, he's not going to shoot your uncle, but he's got you covered anyway. Garvin was actually a featured guest on David Jaffe's (the creator of God of War) Youtube channel, whereupon he let off some choice opinions about the game he wrote for back when he worked for Bend. (which he didn't at the time of saying this) When addressed with the fact that Days Gone would be coming to the PS5 collection, our protagonist retorted with something that he admitted he knew would annoy some people. "If you love a game, buy it at full f******* price." (Sorry my man, no F-bombs on this blog) He extrapolated. "I can't tell you how many times I've seen gamers say 'yeah, I got that on sale, I got it through PS Plus, whatever-" Jaffe replied with the quite sound argument that one can't exactly say they love a game if they haven't played it, but our man Garvin knows how to sidestep, alright? He's on that politician game right now, avoiding direct questions like Muhammad Ali out here. "I'm just saying, you don't, but don't complain if a game doesn't get a sequel if it wasn't supported at launch." He then went on to make some modern God of War comparisons but that's just apples to oranges. Not really interesting.

The take away, as I see it, is obvious. Damn, gamers killed Days Gone 2 by not flocking to it like rapid monkeys on a banana tree. (Are monkey's really addicted to banana's like that? I feel like that's cartoon propaganda, gimme a sec- nah, at face value it would seem that they are. I don't care enough to really research.) Whereas other developers recently rode against Sony and their obsession with publishing nothing but constant blockbusters in a frankly unsustainable death march to perpetual improvement, Garvin's over here saying "No, all that stuff is fine. The gamers just failed to live up to their end of the bargain by mortgaging their house in order to buy my 7/10 game." And yeah, I suppose that's a very... a quite... well it's a point. That much is without doubt. Lets run with that a bit, shall we?

So video games live and die on the strength of their sales and engagement. That's what makes it clear to the investors that these developers know what they're doing and can make a buck. Therefore that does but the pressure of success onto the gamers to 'support' the game in order to keep everything hunky dory. Additionally, for some reason investors really care about week one sales over the lifetime performance most of the time, so I guess by Garvin's reasoning that means anyone who waits for a sale is a lazy scumbag who's prioritizing their bum selves over the poor company who makes the game. I guess I'm about to reveal myself as the embodiment of all scum them, because I haven't bought a game day one at full price since 2019. (And no, that game wasn't Days Gone. Are you kidding?) How could such inhuman waste like me be allowed to walk this earth without handcuffs and a cell?

Stepping back into my own perspective now, I actually have a reason why I don't buy games full price on day one (and Garvin should like this, it's a mild response with a sidestep!) I can't afford it. Yeah, funny that. I know it makes me the embodiment of Satan himself, but I just don't have the money to be buying every single videogame that I'm excited for just because I need to support the developer. I still pick up the games down the line most of the time, but I guess that doesn't count because it's accursed 'delayed money'. Consumers aren't endless piggy backs, or at least most of them aren't, and some of us really are quite careful about the things we spend our money on. In which case, and to draw from an example he himself used, let's examine why millions would flock to God of War to spend their day one money on over Days Gone. Let's keep this simple. Days Gone's Metacritic is 71. God of War's Metacritic is 94. (As of the writing of this blog) If I've got the spare cash to fork out on only one game at full price, it's going to God of War. But then, buying games day one is usually stupid anyway, and most informed purchases should occur after the game is out there so that we all know what we're buying exactly. Isn't that something developers should support? Empowering the consumer? Unless... unless they don't give a crap about the consumer beyond how much they can financially benefit them... but that's just alleged.

As one can imagine, Garvin's comments, though pre-empted by the man a bit, didn't hit the community well once they were unearthed. People seemingly didn't like getting the blame for the decisions of a multibillionaire company who've sunken into a habit of worshipping metacritic scores and record breaking sales over just solid games. But nones to worry, because once Garvin actually saw the responses and began to emphasise a bit with the customers, he realised the error of his view an- just kidding, he hasn't said jack. The current director of Bend Studio on the otherhand, Eric Jensen, laid out his staunch thanks to anyone who played Days Gone whether picked up "on day one, borrowed- from a friend, watched someone else play it or tried it on PS now." A wave of appreciation perhaps spurred on by the 15000 signature long petition to get Days Gone 2 greenlit again. (When all else fails, I guess) So slightly differing views on that topic, I'd say.

Personally I can see where this Garvin fellow is coming from, as a creative in an industry run by executives it can feel like the entire world is conspiring against you to watch you fail. And then when things don't work out as well as you think they should, it's easy to point fingers at what should seem like the logical culprits without really thinking things through. That and there's the fact that these comments were made in a casual chat with a friend, I understand; stupid, unrefined crap gets said sometimes, that's life. It just makes for supremely bad timing when the gaming world's optics are on Sony's culture and how that's influencing the industry. It just feels like a handwave to all his own contemporaries' experiences. Or maybe he's just saying what they're all thinking, and the wider game development world is as insular, bitter and toxic as the forums over at Resetera would have you believe. At this point I'd totally believe it, why not? It's not enough that the media labels us degenerate monsters-to-be, now developers might be looking at gamers as disloyal cheapskates. Well even if that is the case, jokes on you guys; I rock stingy like a supermodel! 

Dragon's Dogma Netflix Episode 2: Gluttony

Cross loamless plains

So it's been a decent chunk of time since I last touched on this review-esque blog type, such to the point where I'm starting to feel like a tardy delinquent, so it's about time I got around to fixing that. In my defence, it was because even watching Dragon's Dogma spurred me on to start the game once more and power through to the end over the space of about a week, so now I've just got a bunch of completely refreshed memories about what that game was really about. I know the dragon was actually Grigori, as opposed to whom I though it was last blog, I know that the Arisen from the prologue, Savan, is not the guy portrayed in this anime despite the similarities that they share. I also remember a whole lot that the Arisen is supposed to be put up against, and I'm unsure of how the Netflix series is going to handle it. Ethan had his entire life burned away in the first episode, which sort of comes at odd with the traditional Arisen journey. I won't raise my specific concerns right now, but rather wait and see if they solve themselves. In the meanwhile, let me get back into the show itself.

So Episode 2 is entitled 'Gluttony', and it was here that I realised we were doing the Seven Deadly Sins with this. Somehow the first episode entitled 'Wrath' didn't tip me off, I know... Still, I both get excited and concerned when I see a story that wears it's convictions and lessons so freely on it's sleeve. On one hand it shows straight-up that there's a direction and purpose behind the stories being presented, so I can take solace that the show isn't just going to waste time until the Dragon pops up. On the otherhand going this route does portend exactly what to expect from the story and also opens up some hefty expectations that need to be met. "How is this story going to portray the concept of Gluttony to it's fullest; what are it's lessons, examples, resolutions" etc. Heck, even looking back I feel like they could have leaned heavier into the concept of Wrath, perhaps during the moments before the dragon showed up. (They could have switched up the pointless wolfhunt for something more thematically appropriate, for example) Because otherwise the show is invoking the name of 'Wrath' in it's most bland and boring sense, anger. When I feel like the sin aspect could open up the consequence of wrath and vengeance overtaking justice. And yes, you could argue how that's the story the entire series is telling, but then why not call the last episode 'Wrath'? Why not call the whole series 'Wrath'? Am I getting caught up in insignificant topics again? I am; onto the episode. 

Gluttony begins by scoring immediate rapport with fans of the game like myself, by showing our Pawn make her way through the rift in search of the newly arisen. Perfect lifting of concepts from the game, nailed the sound, look, presentation; everything. What they didn't nail, however, was the city which was burnt down around our protagonist. Is that meant to be Cassardis? I think it is. But Cassardis is a fishing village in the games, built atop the slope of a hill that effects the shape of the whole location and makes it stand out as weirdly unique. There aren't a great many towns that slope down a hill in such awkward fashion, afterall, so that serves as kind of it's instant visual flair. Not sure why the Netflix show decided to turn it into a flat pancake generic city. I didn't even see a single fishing boat or anything. Again, you may argue 'Small details.' But those are the details that make the world breath. Without that we've haven't got a world, just a backdrop, and the show's starting to feel like its in front of a backdrop right now.

Our Pawn lady picks up unconscious Ethan, tucks him into bed and then is there in the morning to tell him all about what he is, as an arisen, and set him on his merry way. To which I must say, my Pawn never carried me to bed after a stressful day! How supremely courteous, I wish my pawn thought enough about me give a piggyback ride every now and then, it would save me some back-ache that's for sure. I also thought it was funny that, after hearing all this exposition, Ethan suddenly hears the voice of the dragon out of freakin' nowhere explaining all the important details he glossed over last night. "Oh yeah- crap- listen dude; you kinda should hunt me down and beat me if you want your heart back or something. No pressure and all but, it's sort of your duty. Nuts, the Seneschal is going kill me!" Didn't know that the Dragon could use long-distance mind phone to call you up. That's a new one.

That night Ethan is camping in the woods and ends up having a heart-to-heart with his Pawn where he discovers that she doesn't have a name. Touching on a curious topic I never really thought about where Pawns aren't just given their personalities by their masters, but their identities too. It's a wonder that some can still persist after their master's death. It also makes me wonder how Pawn's both observe the wider world and seem oblivious to it, where they can identify character traits of monsters but don't know what the concept of 'kidding' is. (Maybe that's just the script trying to have its cake and eat it at the same time) Ethan calls her Hannah, after the child he would have had with Olivia, which I suppose creates a parent and child bond with this woman of the same age that's going to become his murder-buddy over the course of this journey. Not sure I understood what was supposed to be thematically appropriate about that, but there it is. It isn't long, however, before the plot rears its head and gets our story focused once again.

A cyclops is getting ready to chow down on a woman who's been tied to a rock, rather obviously deliberately and Ethan decides he's not about that thus  he thrusts himself into the hero role like any good generic protagonist would. (Hannah almost seemed reluctant to get involved. Odd detail to throw in there, wonder if it'll pay of.) From here on the themes start to stand out in the plot, but in very plain and simple definitions, kind of how they did with 'Wrath'. The Cyclops is a hungry monster that the villagers need to feed every year with sacrifices. The local town (which is unnammed and doesn't relate to any location in the game) has a system where they elect out their own children to be eaten so that the family who 'donates' will be given extra rations. The leader of the town hoards all of the food to himself and divvies it out sparingly in order to keep the starving populace desperate. It's all very surface level hunger-related topics which is certainly fitting in a story named 'gluttony', but once again; there's more to the concept than it's face value.

There's no real surprises in the narrative to speak of. Ethan and Hannah go to hunt down the cyclops and free the town of the sacrificial ritual, during which they learn that the town's mayor is in contract with the cyclops to feed it villagers. (Not really sure how that works, given that cyclops' are incapable of higher thought) The pair showcase uncanny levels of teamwork considering they just started fighting together, and manage to fell the Cyclops with a bit of elemental magic ("Take my fire!") and a stab directly in the eye. Which killed it, oddly, instead of just sending it swinging blindly like what happens in the game. The Mayor storyline also manages to wrap itself up in the same fight, because apparently this show is on speed mode to do one story an episode on a 24 minute constraint. (Not wise.) The only twist, and I'm glad this angle was addressed, is that when Ethan shows the people their Mayor for what he is, the starving masses store his citadel and tear each other apart to get at his food. Showing desperation mixed with greed and human folly. Yes, it isn't the most unique message in the world, but it just about saved this episode from narrative mediocrity.

I actually enjoyed this episode a lot more than the first one, with the actual task of travelling the world and becoming the Arisen taking centre stage. I will bemoan that the villain was painfully cliched and obvious in this episode, and the dialogue (Are we sure that this was written in English first?) feels like it was sleep-written, it's so by-the-numbers. But the action was fun, the story has a point, and I'm actually coming around to liking one of the main characters. I mean, that character I like is actually Hannah rather than Ethan, because she wields that bow like a god, but at least there's someone I find interesting. Ethan lacks huge amounts of character, but that is in keeping with the game so I can't deride him too hard for that. Given that this is only the second episode, and nothing outside of the animation stood out as exemplary, I'm only comfortable rating this episode with a C. Better than the intro, still not enough to make this series shine like it absolutely can do.

XCOM Journey to Ironman: Getting through March

 To the girl with the mousy hair

So begins my journey to Ironman, in full earnest this time; because now I'm not going to stop until I finish XCOM on my terms with all the prestige that I deserve. (Or rather, that I will deserve. Don't deserve jack right now.) Now from a meta-game perspective, this really means that I need to progress through the gruelling early months until I've reached something of an equal footing with my alien overlords; then I can start relaxing somewhat. Ideally I want to shoot for stealth satellites; once I reach that point I think I'll be safe to take the backseat and cruise forward onto the end. However, obviously, getting that far down the research and development ladder is going to require keeping atop of growth, finance, and not losing too many key countries early on. With that in mind as a goal, let me take you through the journey of trying to get through March (the opening month) Classic difficulty, Ironman mode in 'XCOM Enemy Unknown'.

First, however, I feel the need to lay some of the ground rules that I didn't even know about, such as having to say that there won't be any Hero Units in the run. That's quite the rule to lay down considering that, until two days ago, I didn't even know Hero Units existed! I just saw this 'reminder' flash by in the Steam forums that 'naming soldiers certain things will morph them into hero units' and clicked on it for a laugh because I was certain it was a joke. "Oh how droll. So if I call my character 'Sid Meier' he'll magically become a god psionic with the impossible-to-learn rift power? As if." Only, it wasn't really that funny of a thread at all. I couldn't find the sarcasm anywhere. Then I looked it up. Tried it out. It's real. Did you know there's 6 hero units to choose from including 'Ken Levine'? (Creator of Bioshock) What's more, these units morph into specific classes with endgame weaponry and armour. I'm talking plasma gear. You can have a fully decked out plasma wielding god character whenever you want. The only consequence is that achievements get disabled when you summon one. So yeah; that's obviously banned for this run. Good god! (Can't be literally invalidating the difficulty curve of the game. Sheesh.)

Secondly, and this is something I honestly should have covered when I first spoke about this idea, I want to go over the Second Wave settings. In fact, this will be really important if anyone out there wants to try the same run I do and show me how it's done. (I'll take any help. I suck) These are special options you can tick on which really change the makeup of the run with fundamental switch-ups to gameplay aspects, thus it's important to match these up when setting a run. Because I completed the game on Normal Ironman before I've unlocked the 2nd row of Second Wave options, which I've picked from as well. First I pick New Economy, which randomises the potential funding you can get from council countries once you build a satellite there, because it adds an element of chance and strategy towards my metagame construction. I also pick Not Created Equally, which randomises rookie starting stats, because I love having soldiers that feel individual from one another. Hidden Potential randomises stat growth on level up, contributing to that same feeling. And from the second list I've picked Absolutely Critical, which guarantees a critical hit on a flanking shot, (both for the player and the enemy) because I've just always felt like that should be the cost of being flanked. (It also does something funky to enemies who can't take cover, but I forget the specifics) And that's all you need to start this run yourselves.

Now that the game has begun, my strategy is based around getting a sound metagame strategy going, and for now that's ruled by a single major principle: Order a satellite at the beginning of every month. It takes 20 days for a satellite to be made, so ordering right at the start of the month is essential. Making a nexus allowing you to launch that satellite only takes 5, so having the satellite/ammo ready to go when it's needed is more essential, even if you haven't built the infrastructure yet. And it's certainly needed for the dual benefit of keeping the credits rolling in and retaining countries in the XCOM initiative. Launching satellites in a country immediately lowers the amount of panic in that country. (additionally, countries with an active satellite simply cannot leave the XCOM program because there's a coded in 100% chance for panic to be reduced by one in satellite countries if the panic hits it's peak of 5) That means having a satellite ready to launch the day before the monthly report can very much be a lifesaver. Additionally, if all goes well and we limit the danger of them being shot down by implementing 'stealth satellites', then we can set a game stalling system in which we can stop the aliens from freaking out member countries and keep the metagame rolling long enough to research and suit-up as much as we need for the lategame. But that's really just the golden dream right now, getting there will be the tough part. 

Why? Because of the missions; oh the missions! The glorious thing about XCOM is, whilst it arguably does a fantastic job of maintaining a somewhat consistent difficulty curve so that, unless you're blazing through, you're never quite on top of the enemy; the hardest missions are always the first few. Why? Simple. Because all of your troops have no abilities, can't aim for crap (Although that doesn't exactly change too significantly) and, on classic difficulty, die instantly from getting hit. Sectoids are some of the cruellest starting enemies for this first month possible because they, comfortingly, have a ludicrously high chance to hit and can take that shot from across the map. Their overwatch hits stupidly often as well, and the only way I've made any headway on them over March is by leading them into traps. The difficulty coming from not having enough room to make a trap, or making a trap just barely outside of engagement range so that the Sectoid can sneak into range with their movement action and no-scope a trooper on their attack action. (Something almost conceptually impossible for the player to replicate, mind you) So the solution? There is none. Just keep playing this terrifying game of chess each and every encounter praying you can make it out the otherside with enough victories to justify the injuries.

And on a related note; one of the key features of XCOM has been troubling me lately. Naming my soldiers. I'm having trouble justifying that given the 6 or 7 abandoned timelines I've already blazed through. Do you know how much it sucks to customise my entire crew only to throw them away because everything fell apart? I don't mind tragically losing someone during a mission, that's what XCOM's all about anyway, but I seriously cannot be losing entire squads in the first few missions. (Well, actually I can't really be doing that ever in the entire run) Right now I'm even struggling to come up with names and personalisations to make everyone stick. (Thank god XCOM 2 introduced a handy character pool so I don't have to tear my hair out like this.) The only solider who's been a constant through every playthrough so far has been the guy named after me, because you gotta name a trooper after yourself in XCOM. (of course, that does in itself bring up the question of why the heck the commander is on the field where the danger is; but I guess we're treating this with Star Trek rules, who cares.)

But getting through those early abduction throughout March is just the warmup, the real challenge is the inevitable event that's always lined up on the way out of the month. Namely; the council mission. In the state of early disarray that each XCOM playthrough starts in, you don't really have the luxury to skip a mission on the grounds of 'too hard, people might die.' You need that money and resources. The problem is, some missions you might be offered are straight up impossible without a team of 6. (Preferably with laser weapons and carapace armour) I'm talking about bomb disposal. The fact that mission is even capable of spawning as the first council mission is honestly criminal. But that's only if you leave things up to RNGesus; I, on the otherhand, have opted to pick Operation Slingshot, the optional DLC mission, whenever offered everytime. It's consistent, doable, and rewards a Lieutenant for completion ontop of credits and staff. (Unfortunately, this does also activate two ludicrously tough follow-up missions in proceeding months. But we'll cross that bridge when we slam into it at terminal velocity. For now I'm making do)

What I've just laid out for you, in some many words, is the tactic I've used to crawl my way through month one of XCOM on Ironman, with a balance book in the black, no countries lost and only one tragic death. (Which was total bull, by-the-way; but I'd already hired her replacements anyway) Something tells me that this save I've currently got won't be the one which sees me through to the end, just because I suck at the game, but it may just form the basis of every subsequent run and, through that, maybe it'll one day be essential in my recipe for success. Here's hoping I'm not blowing too much smoke out the rear end by saying that. And with that, I have crossed the first month threshold, which leaves me another 30 virtual days to get my ducks in a row before the XCOM gods starts throwing the real threats out the door. (Pray for me)

XCOM Journey to Ironman: The set-up

It's a God-awful small affair 

My name is- well it's not important,- but I have a confession to make: I have never completed a Classic or Higher Ironman run of the XCOM games. Now I'm sure that's a distinction I likely share with a good many other people in the world today, however for someone who loves the modern XCOM series as much as I do, and who owns every single game in said series, it's a bit of a misnomer. It's kind of like claiming to love the Lord of the Rings franchise but only having read the Hobbit, or even worse, only having watched the films of the Hobbit. It just don't roll like that. Somewhere along the line you've either held yourself back or bought into your own lie. And for a very long time, I'll admit: I was scared. As much as I like hard games, I've never really been one for the games that step on those pressure points and ride up the anxiety to stupid degrees. The games that make you so stressed that you aren't even having fun anymore. That's how I was. Nowadays I reached the point where I don't care so much about being stressed, stress can't do anything to me that I would be afraid of, so I'm going to put it on the line to deepen my conviction to a series I love. Somehow, someway; I am going to best at least XCOM Enemy Unknown on Classic difficulty with Ironman ticked on. (And then I guess I'll do marathon mode, or install Long War, or something. I don't know yet.)

But just so that I can bring everyone up to speed, like those who just read what I wrote and said "huh?" XCOM Enemy Unknown is a video game that is built upon turn-based squad-tactics and strategic planning with life or death consequences. Its a series renowned for being tough to the point of impenetrability to most who don't take it seriously, and the modern games all feature a 'classic' difficulty setting which is said to match the tough-as-nails unforgiving nature of those originals. (There is a higher difficulty mode in 'impossible', but I don't wanna talk about that now. Babysteps.) Ironman mode, sometimes referred to as 'the way XCOM is meant to be played' denotes a mode wherein players are given access to a single save file, from which they cannot load with exiting. And it's also a file which saves automatically whenever you quit. Ironman mode is basically a check which ensures that mistakes have irrecoverable consequences on the battlefield because save scumming becomes impossible. (Save Scumming: Reloading a save point over and over so that you can retry a section for more favourable results.) Ironman is basically XCOM with the training wheels off, and it has terrified me for as long as I've played the XCOM series.

Just to be clear, I have completed all the modern XCOM games on Classic difficulty: it's my goto play method because anything lower just feels cheap and lets me plough through everything. (With an exception to 'War of the Chosen' because I just haven't gotten around to completing that playthrough yet. I really do enjoy the expansion though; it's an incredibly transformative upgrade from base XCOM 2) But when I get to the point of playing these games in a state where consequences are irreversible I get to feeling the ole blood pressure rising. As my familiarity with the series has grown, I've left behind traditional save scumming (Which got me through my old console playthrough of Enemy Unknown) and have moved onto a system I'm mostly happy with where I keep one save file that I update at the beginning of every mission. That way, when I restart it's just so that I can retry my strategy in the same scenario rather than in order to retry fate over and over hoping to break through the clouds. But... darn it's just not enough. 

So here I am, dedicating myself to the stupid task of attacking Ironman XCOM and completing it sometime before my stress boils over into my blood pressure and gives me a brain aneurysm. (Although, to be completely honest with you: That outcome might be the good ending out of this whole affair. It would save me a lot of headache.) Or rather, here I am informing you that I've already dedicated myself to this stupid task, because I've been at it for the last week now and I'm here with my tail between my legs to report; it's uh... it's not going so well. Yeah, I've run into some snags. But I've written it down here which means I'm committed to getting it done and you are absolutely un-allowed to bring up my other unfinished projects on here because I said so.

The last week has been taken up mostly with what I've referred to as 'training', but in reality turned out to be little more than a undeserved ego boost before a series of embarrassing faceplants. So I went ahead and played through XCOM enemy Unknown twice on Ironman setting, first on Easy and then on Normal, (Difficulties that I had actually never played this game on before) thinking it would prepare me. And in a way it did. For the metagame process of designing an XCOM command that's capable of surviving the curve of enemy aliens getting thrown at me, I am actually rather well practiced. Both playthroughs had me reaching the end with no countries lost and a greater appreciation for, not just dealing with mistakes, but not even making them in the first place. (And yet I knew from the getgo that I would get a little bit lazy due to the Officer Training School that both difficulties give you free for some unknown reason.) The real limitation with this 'training' was with the aspect of the game they were meant to help me with; the actual battles.

I thought that playing through the game twice on Ironman would familiarise me with the peril of living in a world with consequences, but all it did was hardcode into my mind some nonsense that making a mistake and getting blindsided by a Sectoid isn't a death sentence. (Newsflash: it absolutely is) In fact, just the plain process of going through the game twice and upgrading soldiers through levelling and armour resulted in me becoming reckless in my easy playthroughs! There were several late-game examples where I had to literally drag a character out of an encounter because they had 1 hp! That shouldn't be happening on Ironman, but I'm the idiot that would leave them in the middle of an ambush between two Sectopods and a Chryssalid! (I'm exaggerating, of course. So far I've only ever seen two Sectopods in the final Temple ship assault, and nowhere near the Chryssalid section) In fact, on the final battle of my Normal Ironman playthrough I literally let three out of my six squadmates die on the final turn. I mean sure, it didn't really matter from that point, but that's neglect of a whole 'nother level! (Coming from my mind)

But that was over the course of four days, how have the next three days been? In the words of Clubber Lane from Rocky 3: "Pain." I made it past month 1 once, and I did that with a monthly finance of -15 credits and with the Untied States having just pulled out of the XCOM agreement... on Month 1... I didn't even know it could get that bad. I've tried again and again, and I think I'm getting better, I hope I am, but I still have a long way to go. One trick I've picked up from helpful guides on the Internet (besides the freakin' obvious that some try to offer up like nuggets of golden wisdom) is to, whenever possible, decide the battle ground. Activate groups of enemies by walking into them, then retreat all of your troops into favourable firing positions. That's worked sometimes. But then I end up losing an entire squad later and just abandon that save file. (I like to think of it as 'abandoning that timeline' from my days playing 'Into the Breach')

So I guess that means this becomes my very first challenge blog series, as I try to push myself to achieve a stupid task for stupid reasons because I hate myself. Won't you read along with my folly? I'll be trying to turn my adventure into a vaguely entertaining story as best as I can do, as I slowly learn how to transition from a commander who autopilots fights whilst binge-watching Doctor Phil. (That is the actually reason why I lost three guys in the finale last time) to a razor-sharp tactician who can outwit his way around any sneaky grey who comes his way! Or at the very least, one who gets lucky enough to limp through the first two months so that the real game can begin. With any luck this series will be two blogs long. (It won't be.) If you're an XCOM player with any hints for a moron; please hit me up. I'm desperate.

Oh dear god, it's my Birthday

 Someone wake me from this nightmare

So it's that time of year again. I'm another year older and that's a very fact that hurts me to accept thanks to that chronic Chronophobia I can't shake. (I know it's not actually 'Chronophobia', but I just like invoking the name of Chronos, okay?) Another year- what total crap. I'm pretty sure by now that you know how much my persona on these blogs hates the concept of aging, but let me assure you very definitively that even out-of-character I'm not even remotely okay with any of this. It's as though every single time I look at that number tick up I'm seeing another opportunity slip by to- take hold, if you will. Of what? I have no earthly idea. But it both haunts and torments me every damn day. And it's arbitrary, of course it is, we all age every second of every day, Birthdays just serve as the landmark to remind us it's happening, but to me it just symbolises that point in the year where I can't bottle up the nervous stress and it all comes spilling out. Which brings it out here as well.

As to how this translates to what's happening on the blog right now; I don't know. Yeah, I'm usually strangely more organised when I come to do these wrap ups, with theories and suppositions pointing me in some direction but this time I'm just at the end of my hairbrained scheming. Writing a blog in this is my daily charge that gives me purpose and meaning, and yet I feel trapped to it. A sleeping slave, if you will. I wish I could justify maybe toning these blogs down to just three or four times a week, but I feel like if I do it's going to lose that effect on me. That invigorating sting which reminds me "Wake up, you've got something to do". Depression isn't a topic I talk about too much on this blog, for many reasons that really roll up into: 'I'm English and repression is kind of like our racial starting ability from the character creator.' But if what I've heard about the effects and causes of such an 'affliction' is in anyway accurate (or enough to reach a comprehensive conclusion. Even though I already know it isn't) then I'd say that's probably what I have. Most certainly.

And it's not as though this is some new development, from my last birthday to this one. No, I'm pretty sure depression mixed in (or caused by) loneliness is what drove me to start this blog in the first place, spurred on by the offhanded comment of someone who likely doesn't even remember this unwitting suggestion. But even after two years I don't feel much better, I just feel like I've learned to think about it less. For one, I've haven't suffered from a single panic attack since I started this blog. Well, actually there was this one time- but that wasn't really an attack... the point I'm trying to say is that I know I'm getting better, even if I don't feel like I am. Yet none of that makes the existential dread of marching ever further in the years any more comforting. I think I'm coming to realise that I might be someone who hate's the journey, and just wants to rush the end.

Yet luckily I've had much in way of distractions to keep me preoccupied over the past year, including my discovery and absolute adoration for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. You've probably noticed in a few blogs around here where I've littered a reference or two (or eight) into the another topic completely. I just love it so much. It's a great example of narrative weaving with great characters who are never 'dumb for the plot'. (Excusing the Part 4 finale. That was just really loud rain, okay?) I adore the humour, cherish the creativity and am ever in awe of the artistry behind the show. David productions did a simply unbelievable job of bringing the manga to life and keeping this artistic heart behind the presentation without devolving the story into self aggrandising pomp like 'art-house entertainment' is sort of known for. The show is accessible, and touches on grander concepts subtly. (For the most part. Part 5 certainly leaned on the wagon a bit heavier in that regard) 

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and coincidentally the day I write this blog (Which is actually six days before the posting date and my actual birthday) is also the day where I finished my last episode of Jojo. God that sucks. Especially since this particular finale, the end of Golden Wind, veered off in such an atypical fashion which left me wanting but satisfied in a sheer paradoxical tsunami. Man, if it weren't for the next series, Stone Ocean, getting announced literally earlier this month I'd be spiralling out of control. On the bright side, this does open me up to focus more on other things like writing more on this blog. Which I think I still like doing, even if it's giving me troubles right now.

When I said I wanted to take the load off earlier, truthfully that was a projection more of where I was at a week ago, when I was struggling to think of what on earth I should write about. Obviously, the answer is that I should change things up and keep chugging, duh, but someone I couldn't reach that conclusion. With my 'Road to Ironman' blog on XCOM, I've started doing something I've truthfully wanted to do for ages, and though this has always been the sort of thing I wanted to share with others, (going on a journey to get good at something with other people so that we can all improve together) I don't have any friends so chronicling this to myself is really my own personal compromise. But then, that's actually been my philosophy behind this whole blog, hasn't it? Becoming my own phycologist because I have no one to talk two and my innate stubbornness refuses to pay money to a professional shrink. Hell, I don't even care if one took me on pro-bono; it's the principal of spending time talking to someone who's paid to be there. If I got that desperate I might as well just hit up some poor soul on GANK. to vent to. (But I couldn't just straight dump myself on some rando like that, wouldn't be right.)

Today I'm honestly feeling the will to write more than one blog a day, which is a feeling I'm desperately fighting to control unless I fall to it and then really end up with no time in my day-to-day. (What a disaster that would be) Which isn't to say that this won't completely turn on it's head tomorrow, or the day after that, I'm just oblivious at predicting myself like that, as much as it upsets me to admit. I could be tearing my hair out about my next blog this time tomorrow- but I hold myself off from feeling that creeping despair/pressure through the power of repression! (See: It's a great racial bonus!) 9 times out of 10, when I sit down and start writing it all just comes to me naturally anyway. And those 1/10 times I'm sure you can tell apart very easy just by reading the darn things. (they're atrocious) Does this mean I'm slowly becoming a natural writer? Maybe, I don't know. Hopefully.

But look at that! I managed to completely avoid the topic of my Birthday and growing older for most of this blog. See what I mean- repression and deflection man; that just comes naturally to a Brit like me. Who needs to come to terms with yourself when you just never face it? That's what I'm talking about! Meh, I think I'm mentally healthy enough to persist, more than I have any right to be given what I do and where I am. (I write a blog about gaming every day; by the media's reckoning that should have made me a mega mass-shooter years ago!) Or maybe I'm just one mood swing away from a complete psychotic break. Who knows? Who cares. At the end all that matters is I keep up this blog because I have no idea what's waiting at the end of the path where I stop. Is that fear talking? Probably. But I've come to terms with it all by now. (Oh. Sorry about all of that; I'm getting ever more ramble-y during these, huh?) 

Amazon: WHAT IS WRONG?

The rainforest died for this?

So picture this; you're rich. No, not just rich. I'm talking Rich. I'm talking buying a plot on the moon to stencil your face on it rich. I'm talking chopping down the rainforest for firewood rich. There's no one out there with the resources at their disposal that you have, the ready customer base, the ability to hire talent, and yet you cannot, for the life of you, release a game. Just what in the heck is wrong with you? Now don't get me wrong, I know that the game industry isn't for everyone, the arts in general are a frustrating pursuit for any company to go down. It represents an approach wherein you can't just narrow success down to those specific margins, because ingenuity and the wily whims of imagination are your two most key resources. How do you ration that? How do you summon it? It's a nightmare. So sure, success in building the biggest retailer in the western world that has almost single handily killed highstreets everywhere doesn't necessary translate over to video game success. But you'd figure they'd at least be able to buy success. Or the parameters that would make success attainable. But not Amazon, oh no. They're trapped in a hell of their own creation right now.

Amazon Game Studios (Now Amazon Games) have been around since 2012. Can you believe that? It's almost been a decade since they've been on the scene and they exist as more of a meme than a legitimate video game studio. And I'm spoken about them before, you bet that I have, but it's never been to do more than point at laugh of the failings of a company with literal billions in bloodmoney behind it. So in that sense I don't feel all that bad for the flailing or the floundering, nor do I really feel bad for the developers scooped up by Amazon thinking that they'd get an easy payday before being wasted like scrap because they didn't bother do any research behind the actual credibility of the studio hiring them. Okay, maybe that's not entirely fair; I'm sure some of these devs most have known the reputation and adopted a bit of the ol' messiah complex. "Sure, every other attempt to make this studio work has failed but I'm going to be the one to turn the tide. Of course I am. I'm X developer, I can do anything!" Well in the end the posturing was for naught, Amazon have been a mess and seemingly will continue to be one until further notice.

Starting off making/publishing app titles was never going to be the end game for Amazon Game Studios, but maybe it should have been because back then they at least actually finished titles. I can't exactly speak to the quality of 'Simplz: Zoo', 'To-Fu Fury' or... wait, 'Dragon's Lair'? Why is that- ya'll didn't make that game, Don Bluth did forever ago! They just gonna buy up the rights and pretend that's their game, huh? Talk about disrespectful... But anyway, as questionable as that library is we can conclude that those are real games that were made and could be played at least at some point. From then they wanted to go ahead and make this MOBA type game to capitalize off the league of legends fame, only to end up with a cancelled project codenamed 'Nova'. Then they wanted a cool Battle Royale game because Fortnite just came out and there couldn't possibly be any issues with following that trend, could there? (That project, Intensity, was then cancelled) Then there's the fantasy sports game that actually got a reveal trailer, Breakaway! Which was subsequently cancelled. Oh, and then there's Crucible, a game which actually came out! But that game was hit by so many issues regarding what it wanted to be and what the fans wanted it to be. Eventually it killed it's own player base with ill-devised revisions to core gameplay that destroyed what little unique charm the core game had. Now the game's been officially discontinued, which is sort of like cancelling but even sadder because we all watched it happen.

All those examples were attempts by Amazon to make real games. No offense to their app trash, but real games carry prestige, reputation and monetary commitment with them. You can sell a real game to the public and win a following, gather fans, start a gaming empire! Heck, these are games that might have even made it consoles if cards were played right. Imagine opening themselves up to a whole other demographic of customer! What I'm trying to say; is that this is the real goal of the game studio, what they spent those 5 initial years building up to, but they've screwed the landing every single time. Attempt after attempt to ride the coattails of the popular kid have sent these clowns barrelling onto their asses in spectacular fashion, and it's getting to the point where I'm starting to wonder if the studio's just cursed; because surely at this rate you would have scored one game which is at least released if nothing else! Point in case: These guys couldn't even bring out a game from a brand that they owned and which already has an established fanbase.

That's right, the real reason I'm brining up all of this soiled dirt is because recently Amazon cancelled their plans for a Lord of the Rings MMO, which has probably down wonders for the player count of the Lord of the Rings MMO that already exists... This is LoTR for god's sake; the grandfather of fantasy that has so many legions of fans out there that it transcends fandom and becomes some people's way of life. That was a game that would have sold itself. But it didn't even get the chance to make it to market because of internal machinations. How insane is that? Shouldn't this be the sort of game that Amazon Game Studios reverts all of it's resources to defend? A video game version of a property you wish to capitalize off on your own streaming service in the near future? Wouldn't it be marketing genius to get out a companion video game to that upcoming LoTR series instead of leave the video game LoTR landscape to be dominated by a plethora of games based on the Peter Jackson movies, highlighting them as the definitive adaptation before yours comes out? I mean don't get me wrong, I can't see how Amazon could even entertain recasting Gandalf and cohorts, but if I'm playing devil's advocate there's a way they could go about this which would make marketing sense. But what's driving Amazon today certainly doesn't seem to be logic.

Much has been made of the current head of Amazon Game Studios, Mike Franzzini, particularly since he was accused as being directly responsible for the many failures. Now personally I have to roll my eyes whenever a huge project's death is laid at the floor of one individual, even if we're talking about leadership. Yeah, he takes the fall, but is it really all his fault? But then you look at the number of casualties, and you have to start wondering; what is this Franzzini's dude's deal? Is he the curse put on the studio? Well for one the man has no prior gaming experience before being made head of Amazon game Studios, basically meaning I would have just as good a choice for the role. (Not a good start) Apparently he's hard headed, uneducated to the practices of the field he's working in, lacks creativity in a creatively driven industry, is incapable of even the simplest leadership tasks and is all around just a pathetic waste of effort who probably should have been swallowed by his mother. Huh, I guess you can lay the majority of blame out one person's feet, huh?

But the biggest tragedy in all this, is that the one fully fledged console game that Amazon did manage to put out; (Crucible was Windows only) is a game I stumbled upon years ago when doing my irregular scan of the game store for the worst looking upcoming titles. It was 'The Grand Tour Game', and let me tell you it was disgusting. One of the worst looking racing games I have ever seen, with the only saving grace being the featuring of a four player couch co-op mode in which players could be all members of The Grand Tour team. But wait a second, there are only three members. That's why one lucky individual has the honour, nay the privilege, of being Jeremy Clarkson 2. That's right, instead of just roping in their Stig equivalent (I never watched Grand Tour, I assume they had a Stig) these idiots just recycled Jeremy Clarkson. (Producers for that show better watch out, least they find themselves on the receiving end of a double Clarkson beatdown. Urg, I can just smell the stench of stale beer through the screen)

And so I have to ask the question: What is wrong, Amazon? Or, more appropriately, what isn't wrong? And is this something that can fixed, or is it best for Amazon to pack up their losses and bow out of the gaming market like champs. They've got their Twitch, and that's great for them, but oh-good-lord the development game just isn't working for them. At this point I am absolutely certain that their upcoming 'New World' MMO is going to be a monumental disaster and I'm almost afraid to stand by and watch it. I mean, I will and all, but it won't be with that same anticipatory glee as it might have been before. Because this is just sad now. Stop while you're this far behind, Amazon, no one wants to watch you stumble some more. And whatselse, I don't think anyone really wants you in the Industry anyway, you're sort of a toxic crater of scum that poisons most everything it touches. Kinda like a Stand ability, but a really lazy one that Akari didn't put any effort into coming up with. "Meh, they're gonna be dead in a chapter anyway, who cares?"

PSV and PS3 Online saved!?

 You live to see another day

Not too long ago I came before you a beaten man. Bitter, broken, lost and despondent; because I had heard that most damnable of news, how the Playstation store was shutting down. Well, certain segments of it, to be clear. (It would be a little weird if they turned around and suddenly shut down the PS5 store.) This was a clear move to consolidate the online infrastructure of the PlayStation systems completely oblivious to the clear and lasting effect this would have on the wider library of available games in the world today. Because once that online store logged off for good, that would immediately make it so that only games bought in person could be played on the old Playstation 3 and PSV. Nevermind any patches those games might have had, online functionalities, always-online checks or heck, just any game that could only be bought online in the first place. All these games had been proclaimed the exact same execution date and it came to a shock across the PlayStation community. Not least of all because it was reported on as a exclusive leak before being officially confirmed by Playstation, kind of making it look like they weren't planning on telling people at all.

Of course this wasn't exactly anything new to the gaming community. Those who've spent any amount of time with Nintendo consoles will tell you how the big N drops the previous consoles as soon as humanely possible and tries their damndest to kill those old storefronts so that they can justify reselling those games with a minor touch-up down the line. (It's just the Nintendo way) But Sony fans couldn't help but feel a little run around in a tizzy thanks to the lack of forewarning about this store closure that was due in the summer. Developers who still made their games for the PSVita voiced their disdain for projects that they were working on which would either have to be cancelled or reworked onto other systems. In fact, the Vita crowd in general were inconsolable, because they've held for years that their console had been done a raw deal by Sony, never given the support it needed, and now it would die in a backroom deal alongside the PS3 and PSP. It just didn't seem right.

And what's more, there was the precedent that this set. The line in the sand which said "From this point forth, every new generation will kill another behind it." This hurt specifically for the Playstation 4 as recently there was a big reveal that I didn't get to cover because it happened after the original story. Quite simply, it was a design flaw for the PS4 whereupon the console needed to check itself against the sever in order to keep the console running in the instance of a clock battery death. This is something that is unavoidable, and in fact scheduled. And fans reported that should this clock battery die and there be no server to reconnect to, then the console would immediately become bricked, essentially. Downloaded games and disc games could not be played from that point onwards, rending the console unusable. (And apparently this was only designed this way to stop people from messing with the console clock to make it look like they earned trophies before they actually did. Doesn't really seem like a fix worth the cost, huh?)

But I'm using past tense both purposefully and cautiously, because the recent update on this story is that the good word has made it's way to higher ups and the impending death of the PlayStation's infrastructure has been... let's say postponed. This is definitely a 'stay of execution' over a complete pardon, because Sony have already made themselves abundantly clear with how they feel towards paying a pittance to keep servers running. That annual cost, which likely comes up to the change under management's couch-cushions, just disgusts these people to have to pay; and the concept of 'game preservation' clearly isn't something that occurs to these money men trying to turn a buck out of art. I know this because they made the darn decision completely quietly trample it and only responded when the internet shouted at them too. They don't care about preservation. So bet you bottom lip we'll be back here in a year in two.

However I'm being a downer, let's celebrate in what small victory this is, shall we? Playstation made an official comment admitting to getting things wrong and undoing their summer murder plans. This means that those online exclusive games aren't going to soon disappear forever, Playstation 3's aren't about to become the next scalped to death item and PS4 owners can breath a confused sigh of maybe relief as they ponder how this 'clock battery death' thing is going to work out even with servers there to pull from. Will the console suddenly become an online-only device from that point on? Can this be reversed remotely by the team at Sony? And how much will it cost to get my console jail-broken, because right now that seems like the smartest choice for any console owner not thrilled about watching their game console slowly become a paperweight.

At the very least, I think this is a victory of larger consequence than itself, because the effect this has on the wider market will be significant. I've noticed how the Xbox news has been favourable against comparison with Sony in regards to preservation, noting how well backwards compatibility works, but I know that Xbox would have been first in line to kill off their older markets if Sony had simply broken the seal first. It's an opportunity to save a percent of a percent worth of costs, any company is going to jump on that no matter the irrevocably horrendous damage it might have on art as we know it. Xbox may play goody two shoes, but they'll disappoint their fans just so long as Sony disappoints them more first. Right now we're in a holding position where both consoles are kept by the other's reticence to be the first loser, and in an ideal world this mutually assured destruction treatise would be enough. But ultimate deterrence has ever been a flawed theory.

Yet we celebrate anyway. Pointedly ignorant of future woes and the next fight. But hey, isn't that what life is all about? Enjoying the moment instead of splitting hairs about tomorrow? I mean afterall, all the Playstation stores are sav- wait a second, what about PSP? Yeah, all the news I've heard about the reversal have spoken about the PSV and PS3 stores, but nobodies said jack about the death of the PSP stores. Is this just the usual case of that platform being ignored because it's decidedly not worth caring about like the PSV store? Perhaps. I can't imagine what would be the point of shutting down PSP stores but keeping PSV open. Aren't their stores literally mirrors of one another? Unless actually nobody cares about preserving PSP games, which being a PSP owner myself I can sort of understand. (A lot of them are really bad) But that platform held the definitive, surprisingly, version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance, with several game modes that other versions still do not have, thus I say: "Save PSP too. Or at least save MUA on PSP. Let the rest burn"

I wonder, on the otherside of this, what it really was which stayed the executioners axe this time. Because as sure as I am that, when asked, Playstation management will parrot the talking points of the detractors for public recognition points, I think we all know the truth is far more cynical than that. Maybe at it's heart this really is just a question of public backlash that Sony wanted to get ahead of, even indie developers were getting upset at Sony over this choice, and Sony already has a strained relationship with the indie community compared to Microsoft. So perhaps this was in their sake, or simply just to keep fanboys happy. I ask this because I merely wonder if, just like EA and Activision have mastered, this is a capitulation for as long as the flames of outrage spark. For in such a scenario, once the fires die from peoples' heart, and it always does, we'll have lost. I certainly hope Sony management isn't that shallow, but I just don't know.

Resident Evil 8 goes Mercenary

 My extraction point!

So a big surprise for me to hear about randomly whilst I was otherwise occupied, is that Resident Evil had another showcase event just the other day. (Actually, as of the writing of this blog it was just a few hours ago.) And my first reaction is; wow, really? I'm not trying to tell these guys how to do their marketing job at all, I would never presume like that, it just feels like the Internet just got done with their horny jail sentence after getting up close and personal with the ravishing Lady Dimitrescu. (Savour these moments of blissful ignorance until the actual game comes out and she mutates into a horrifying worm-monster-thing at the end of the real game. Mark my words) And now we have yet another event to talk about, just after the unsuccessful beta for RE:Verse. (Didn't get invited to that one, but I heard all the horror stories. Not the 'good' kind of horror either) Maybe the guys over at Capcom are just really invested in making this game as much of a cultural icon as possible to guarantee success. It just rubs me wrong, is all. (I see events getting strung together like this and I start to think of the grand con that CDPR pulled from Cyberpunk. Makes me nervous)

Alongside all the confusing new announcements was a VR mode- coming to Resident Evil 4? Yeah, you heard me right. Not coming to the Resident Evil 4 Remake we know that they're working on, but the original Resident Evil 4. (Or a VR approximation of it.) Mechanically I can actually understand why this is the case. Resident Evil 7 was surprisingly well received on PSVR, and that game worked so well because it was already first-person. But if the team wanted to go back and retrofit some of their old games to capitalise on that same success, they'd be limited due to the camera and prop restrictions of the original games. (Plus, those games look dated as heck nowadays. No one wants to get up close and personal with those models) Now Resident Evil 4 isn't exactly a spring chicken, and this VR footage really does show the age of the game we're working with, but it is the first game in the series to feature a free camera and thus all the assets of the game have already been designed to be viewed fairly up close. I'm sure some extra work had to be done here and there (such as texture upscaling) but the potential was sure and there. 

My only question is why. Why do this and why now? Why, when everyone's waiting on that stupid Resident Evil 4 Remake announcement that they're literally just holding over our heads now? Why, when they themselves should be preoccupied with launching Resident Evil 8 in the best state that it can be? Why? Well, let me tell you. Because they know full-well the similarities between 4 and 8, and Capcom want everyone thinking of the good vibes that RE4 left them with when they hear about the new title. They want Resident Evil: VIIlage to wear the skin of Leon Kennedy such to the point where you think the two games are the same. Maybe you'll even buy 8 thinking it was 4 remade, because you'll get them that confused in your head. How do I know this so certainly? Because the other thing they announced was the return of a feature all the way back from Resident Evil 4 in 'The Mercenaries'. (Yes, I know the debut was actually from 'Resident Evil 3: Nemesis', but 4 gave it the pizazz which made it so beloved. In RE3 it just seemed a little confused.)

As they explained in the announcement; Resident Evil 4 The Mercenaries was a mode wherein Capcom took locations from the main game and turned them into a time-trial mission wherein you had to murder zombies in an arena. It was super rudimentary and designed to just be icing ontop of the cake (unlocked after the game was finished) but it proved to be a really enduring mode that let people just rip into zombies in the way that they always wanted to. In fact, it slightly reminds me of the Raccoon City Survivors DLC for Resident Evil 2 wherein you cosplayed as other characters for challenge runs. The only difference here, and it seems to be a difference that this iteration of the mode will have with the original 'The Mercenaries' too, is that due to the First-person nature of the game there won't be any unlockable characters. That sucks because I always felt like RE4's The Mercenaries was the first time that Capcom showed how aware they were of their fan's antics by making fan-favourite side character H.U.N.K unlockable despite having literally nothing to do with that game's story. (Even Wesker has more of a reason to return, being an iconic main villain. H.U.N.K just sort-of exists)

Resident Evil 8 offers to bring this mode back to us with it's original name, and perhaps with it's original premise of just killing things in a small arena for points. (The original Nazi zombies, if you will.) However, I get the sense that what we're really looking at are battle gauntlets that will derive their challenge through ammo scarcity and enemy bombardment, similar to the RE2 DLC. I say this because, new to this mode, the team have decided to implement the main campaign's merchant as a shop to access 'between areas'. This does give an actual value to the points gained throughout the game for once, and also borrows a mechanic from 'The Raid' mode which was tacked onto Resident Evil Revelations 1 and 2. A reminder that this game started life as 'Resident Evil Revelations 3' and that Resident Evil keeps recycling the same minigame and changing it's name for some reason. (Damn, they're giving mercenary mode the Chris Redfield treatment...)

The only real big addition to this mode would really just be the abilities that can be picked through in order to change up the gameplay, but I have to be honest and say that they don't really seem all that amazing from what I've seen so far. These abilities are gained by smashing these glowing orbs throughout the map, at which point they'll offer 3 ability slots to choose from. (No word if these are randomised or not, but if they are that would automatically generate a little bit of replay value) We've seen abilities that make you move faster, make specific weapons hit harder, deflects slightly stronger; nothing really mind blowing. In fact, all thats on offer will only really be worth it if the stat increase is literally crazy. (I'm talking x2 on handgun damage or something) So does that sound to you like enough to make this mode a 'richer experience' than it's been previously? Take out characters and shove in abilities to make up for the absence? Hey, it's up to the individual; I guess.

Apart from that this event was really just used to shove a brand new trailer down our face where it was revealed (at least to me. Maybe I don't pay all the attention to this game) that there'll actually be multiple werewolves in the game. (So there goes my theory that the enemy werewolf is actually Chris serving the 'stalking mega threat' for this game in the vein of Mr X, Lisa Trevor and Nemesis.) We got another shot of Lady Dimitrescu getting all up in the protagonist's grill wherein she... drinks his blood. (Yeah, she really chews on it. Kinda gross, not gonna lie. Attraction slowly fading) And that there would be actually three demos coming our way before launch. Three, huh? For a game coming next month? Seems a little excessive. (If you're reading this on the day it publishes, the second demo is literally out right now.) And one's coming out one day before my birthday? What a nice present- wait, it's for Playstation only... Seriously, Sony? You asshats are buying DEMO exclusivity now? What has the other two thirds of the gaming community done to offend you so? Why won't you let us have any freakin' fun?

Regardless, it won't be long now until Resident Evil 8 is in our hands and the journey of one man will come to an end, according to the marketing slogan. (It's definitely Chris. It has to be. Capcom can't keep regenerating him into other actor's bodies forever) It certainly feels a little strange to have a game like this so close, as though these sorts of games usually release at the end of their respective years, which they actually do- for various boring corporate reasons. (Plus, this is a horror game that isn't coming in anywhere close to Halloween. Maybe they really don't want competition, I dunno.) At least, for me, I can breath a little easier knowing that a family of games I love is soon to grow just that little bit larger, because it gives one of those little things to look forward to in life that we all long for. God, this year is looking dry. Post May is going to be just a gaming wasteland...

Oh, the Harry Potter games that could have been!

 Dumbledore said calmly

As a child growing up in the early 2000's, there are a few truths that I and everyone else within my age range held true. First, that we would all recognise a decade of genuinely trash-tier pop music; good lord what happened to everyone's taste? Secondly, that literally every single man, woman or child has at some point come across the Harry Potter world. Whether that be by reading the books, watching the movies, actively attempting to hide from both, or even just playing the games. Yes, there are apparently folk out there who's only introduction to the world of Witchcraft and Wizardry is from playing those movie adaptation games. Pity those people. Of course, in the age today there are less children with knowledge of Harry Potter, and though Warner Bros. are attempting some grand revival through the impressively boring 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to find' them movies; that's clearly an era that has passed us by and is starting to fade. But that doesn't mean we've forgotten it. Or at least, I haven't.

Because, you see, in my age it was the height of everyone's deepest desire to be whisked away to the world of Hogwarts. Everyone was waiting for that letter by Owl. (See what you did to an entire generation, Rowling? Got their hopes up for smoke and mirrors!) Little cathartic release substituted such disappoint when this never happened, but some could at least distract the misery by gorging on the world which had entranced them so. Watch the movies, read the books, go on Pottormore and take the test to discover which house you belong in for the fortieth time. (I've literally landed every house apart from Hufflepuff without even trying to meta-game. I guess the Sorting Hat's just confused these days.) As you likely have deduced; I was one such child. As was everyone in my school, mind you, I think peer pressure played her hand somewhat. I read every single book at least twice, got the games and watched the movi- well, most of the movies. (I still haven't see 'Death Hallows Part 2', maybe never will. Don't really care to. Movie didn't need to be split into two, Warner can go do one.) But it's the games that really have my attention.

Harry Potter games are something that I never really thought all that much about since the movie series ended. At least, I didn't until that 'Hogwarts Legacy' announcement came around to spark our imagination and hearts with promises that absolutely will never be lived up to. But what was it about that game which could win the Internet (or at least, the parts of the Internet from the same generation as myself) with such a bare-bones, introductory concept only, trailer? I'd say it's because that footage was filling the void we all wanted filled by the failure Harry Potter games over the years! Okay, I'm being combative... I'm sure the Harry Potter games sold well, and that their reviews from the time were decent, (They were, I looked it up) but not a single one was ever what we wanted it to be, and I need to vent. It only really hit me recently when I thought about it and realised that the perfect formula to make the ideal Harry Potter game was introduced to the world a year before 'The Order of the Phoenix' movie. And reiterated/perfected upon one year before 'The Half Blood Prince' Movie. Those adaptation studios had the materials there to draw from, they just couldn't be bothered to look around and find them. (for shame, team. For shame)

Before I get there, however, I'll talk about the games we wanted Harry Potter to be. Every kid out there wanted to be a wizard attending Hogwarts. (despite the obvious plot flaw that we all see in hindsight; there only actually being two or three career paths leading out of the wizarding world. Ministry member, School teacher and shopkeeper for Diagon Alley) We wanted to play out learning the spells, potions, creatures of this wild world, maybe delving into mysteries inbetween and saving the wizarding world a bit if we're lucky. But that sort of game wasn't going to become popular for a few more years, so the next best thing is playing as Harry Potter and living our fantasies even more vicariously through him. Thus, that was what every game did, and they did a wild job with it.

The game I remember the best from that time would be 'Chamber of Secrets', just because of how odd it was and the strange deviations it went for. It was a third person adventure game that tasked you quite often with platforming and simple puzzle solving in the same way that Conkers or Banjo Kazooie might. In fact, talking about Banjo Kazooie, Harry Potter also had a huge collectathon aspect to the game wherein you'd run around picking up floating pieces of 'Bertie Bott's every flavour beans' for some incomprehensible reason. There was a duelling minigame thrown in there which tasked you with knocking out Fred and George before you even got to Hogwarts. (Which has to be some sort of violation of school rules.) And of course there was a small quidditch match in the game that I remember as being so frustrating that I turned off my Playstation several times over whilst playing it. (Although, I was a child at the time, I'm sure it's not so bad now.)

But that was by no means the only Harry Potter game, of course. There was a quidditch stand alone game which got everyone excited for a while before it came out and was... actually it wasn't bad! Yeah, somehow it was a decent enough time that absolutely doesn't hold up by today's standards but that's okay! Not everything needs to bring down the house, I can live with 6/10. All the movies got their adaptations which gradually become more combat-focused as the series itself got darker. I vaguely recall the Wii version of 'The Half Blood Prince' trying it's hardest to mix in simulating school lessons with the moody melodrama (Which I really appreciated, by-the-by. Living the life of Hogwarts was the thing I wanted) but the game still fell into a fairly linear pattern before long. (Also, the quidditch matches were on-the-rails; what the heck?) And though I've never played it, I hear that the Deathly Hallows game was just fight after fight the whole way through; basically betraying the whole purpose of a 'Harry Potter' game.

Now I've complained about the whole franchise to no end, the games were fine but they weren't as great as they could have been and leaned on the crutch of being 'adaptations' far too much. (Something I blame on WB, by the way; that's how the sold almost all of the licence.) But what was the ideal formula for a Harry Potter game that I mentioned? First of all, we should have been able to make our own characters over being forced to cosplay 'the boy who lived' the entire time. That one's a given. Second, the entire point of the game should have been the balance between enjoying your life as a kid in a magical world whilst being embroiled in serious issues that threaten it. That didn't necessarily mean we needed a unique story just for the video games, but we needed to get the sense that there were two worlds colliding here so that we cared for both. But that's high level game design, right? We wouldn't be thinking about the potential of games like that for another ten years... Or would we? Because, you see, I think that the perfect two games which could have been great source material for the Harry Potter developers: Is Persona 3 and 4.

Think about it. Games that follow a group of school-aged people that are concerned with the dual challenges of coming-of-age and saving their little worlds from a mystical threat. (One of them also deals with coming back from the abyss of worthlessness and suicidal contemplations, but I'm sensing that might be a bit beyond Harry Potter's scope. Just a tad.) Gameplay split with scenes where you attend lessons and pile on stats that help you along the main game. RPG mechanics, side quests, smaller and more intimate worlds. Persona has the Harry Potter game we all wanted wrapped up within itself somewhere, and if we're every going to see that revival of the series that WB wants; that's where they need to go next. Come on WB, make the best licencing decision of your lives! (Heck, I'll write it for you! This just has to get done.) But I'm sure everyone has their own idea on the Harry Potter game that could have been, as well as those golden ingredients which it seems no one has capitalized on. If you're another disenfranchised 2000's kid ever searching for the game that licencing forgot, let me know your 'golden vision' down below. We can turn this into a 'group therapy' session.

Will Konami start licencing?

 Give it back! This isn't right, that was ours!

The great stone wheel of the rumour mill is stirring up a little late this year, at least in regards to what many expect out of the 'gaming even of the year' this time around. E3 probably underwent the best announcement it could have recently, after deciding to not host a show in person for the second year running, although that's more in response to the on-going global caution rather than actual acknowledgement of how much better last year's event was to their usual garbage. Several weeks of coverage spread out for people to digest, great free demos to try out, a distinct lack of existential cringe to recoil at; E3 last year was straight unnatural for many reasons. (But in all the best ways) And perhaps that distinct veer from the usual, that clear indication the humors of the world's body are no longer in alignment, has effected the very soul of the industry as we know it. I say this because people are starting to suggest- nay, to speculate- that Konami's next botch-job is going to be the licensing out of one of their core franchises.

But why am I even talking about Konami in the year 2021, you might be asking, theirs is a clearly fallen company who have no baring in the modern landscape of gaming. The last game I remember out of their studios was that mobile Castlevania game which- oh right that shut down, didn't it? (After a year in operation. Poor form) They've still kept up with their annual PES releases though, because I guess they need to keep the lights on, but apart from that their studio has gone completely radio silent since they torpedoed their own reputation in a fruitless battle against a beloved industry icon, and then ruined their own reputation as competent creators by trying, and utterly failing, to supplant his life's work. (Oh my god, Metal Gear Survive still gives me nightmares some nights. Until I wake up and realise- real life is the nightmare where this game exists in; the night terrors were the escape.) But it's fitting I should invoke the name of my favourite game series of all time. (that favouritism is really directed towards specifically 3 but I think the gist carries all the same) For you see, folk believe that Metal Gear Solid is the game getting licenced.

And to be honest I wouldn't be too darn surprised with the way that Konami have treated that franchise in recent years. (I mean beyond their efforts to actually make a game for it; that deserves it's own special place in hell) On one hand you have the, still inexplicably not cancelled yet, Metal Gear Movie said to be staring Oscar Isaac. I'm told he's a solid actor, but casting anyone as Snake is a damn crime to the source material no matter who's wearing the bandanna. Also, the very concept of creating a stealth action storyline for the cinema is asinine to me. Where will the tension of sneaking around come from? I've never seen a movie shoot a stalking/sneaking scene with even an ounce of the amount of investment that a game can create over the same situation; and Metal Gear was the original king of tension pop moments. I think the project is so wrapped up with the conspiracy storyline and bombastic villains that it totally forgot how the meat of the game doesn't really translate over all that well onto the big screen. Unless they want to take a 'movie Hitman' route and completely forget what the source material was about in favour of mindless action. (Wait- this movie, despite getting greenlit from Konami, actually has Kojima's seal of approval? Hmm... well then I guess I disagree with my favourite game director; I wonder who will have that laugh last...)

Then there's the biggest crime that Konami have ever done to any one of their series', which they then committed several times to their other franchises, and I'm of course talking about Metal Gear Solid 3 Pachinko. (You utter, utter, monsters.) I will literally never forgive Konami for that. The absolute exuberance of seeing your favourite game of all time rendered with the love and care of a high-quality remake only to have it be all for mid-game eye candy shoved onto a Pachinko box; was truly heart-breaking. I may never love again. Actually, I did go and watch some proud Diamond Dog out there who uploaded themselves filming evert cutscene onto Youtube; so I have technically cathartically benefitted from this betrayal in the long run; but I wouldn't have needed that closure if Konami hadn't actually stabbed me in the heart to begin with. (The reanimation was great by-the-by. You can tell the creator really respected Kojima's famously solid scene placement and timing and did their best to match that perfectly, as opposed to the Twin's Snake remake.)

In light of that catastrophe, it might make a little sense why Konami want to distance themselves from any future delving into the Metal Gear series. They have no more creditability themselves and any move they make will be instantly killed by sheer underperformance, the only sort of accountability that these people care about. That's not just a reflection of how loyal Metal Gear fans are, but also how clueless Konami is about the series. They took a stealth action political intrigue thematically heavy-handed series and turned it into a zombie survival game that takes place in an alternate universe. There's no sensible words for how far off the mark you need to be in order to miss the execution that badly. With how the industry works, where the next game suffers from the failures of the last, it would literally be burning money for Konami to sell another Metal Gear. (And Survive did poorly enough anyway) But is their solution really going to be licencing out the franchise?

On one hand it really had done wonders for some series' to have a plethora of different creators come in and have their own swing at things. One of the most iterated upon series that I can think of, Warhammer, has literally every single game genre under it's belt that you could think of short of a racing spin off. (Although there's always potential. The Speed Freaks table top game is just waiting there to get adapted!) But on the otherhand Metal Gear is such a hyper specific series it's a wonder that any other developer could consider approaching it for a one-off entry. The lore is intricate and entwined, the canon and validity of the supernatural differs drastically in relation to however Kojima is feeling that morning, and all the characters know each other intimately; so slipping in another one there will just feel cheap and contrived. (Trust me, I know. They tried that twice with 'Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain')

What makes far more sense is the rumour that Konami are looking to straight up sell Metal Gear; because that's the only way the K-gang are ever going to realistically see decent profits out of this series ever again under their leadership. (Their company badge might as well be profit-kryptonite right now) Plus, if anyone is going to come to this series they'd need to attack it with gusto and commitment; especially since all the loose ends are firmly tied up right now, so a new entry would have to start a fresh branch of the Metal Gear story, and that's no easy task. I mean sure; I know of several great jumping off points for new storylines, but I'm a megafan who's literally had years to ponder this, you'd need that same level of dedication to formulate a new series yourself. (As well as a new suffix to Metal Gear. Again, I have a perfect one. Not sharing. At least not today.)

I am absolutely, unequivocally, all for this rumour being willed into existence by the sheer force of the Internet. Metal Gear, Castlevania, Silent Hill and just about anything of quality needs to divorce itself from Konami if they've any chance to be good again. Some complete hopefuls out there even hypothesis that, with this move, Metal Gear could feasible end up in the hands of Kojima productions! (Could it be coming home?) But I think that's a stretch beyond the pale. Even if Kojima is in those talks, like it's said that he is, I can't understand why he'd go back in his career at this point when it seems he's committed to exploring high concept art games from this point onwards. Mixing art and action to that perfect degree would be JOJO levels of brilliant, but I've suffered too much disappointment in my life relating to this series to even entertain such a notion. But unhooking Metal Gear's reins so that it can gallop free around the pasture? Heck, I'd say that's a good enough compromise for this lifetime. Come on Konami; do the right thing for once in your miserable lives!