I got my sister all the Divergent books for Christmas. She seems to really like them so I'll have to check it out. Feels weird for them to be interested in sci-fy stuff before me though between this and Hunger Games.
I liked it, but mostly because of the style. The first level is really in your face about it, but as the game goes on it does some really cool stuff artistically. Combat was just good though, nowhere near as good as Bayonetta or Ninja Gaiden.
So glad you brought up Reservoir Dogs. Mr. Pink talking why he doesn't tip, that's relatable. We can all see where he's coming from. We may not agree with it, but it makes him more human yet doesn't take away that he's a sleezeball. Tarantino gets criminals, he has them justify what they do in their own fucked up way, which Rockstar doesn't do as well.
I like the idea of playing as a bad guy, but don't give me this bullshit that this guy's relatable then have him do all this fucked up shit.
I don't really agree with that portrayal of Michael. I think he gets off on success, on having a purpose and crime is his outlet for that. There's a huge difference between that and getting off on crime. And they don't really kill all kinds of people until they get threatened in the missions. Yeah, there's that chaos in the sandbox, but that I think is another weak link in Rockstar's story, even if it makes the game itself more fun. It's another reason I think GTA should have stuck with the sillier stories even if this isn't as bad as IV was in this regard.
And yeah, the cops are pointing guns at them, but they plan it that way. And I'm sorry, but that's just bad writing. Saying these guys are relatable in one cutscene then mowing down wave after wave of cops in another? Sorry, that's bad writing. Franklin may roll along with what's going on, but he will voice when he thinks something's fucked up. Not a word when he hears they're going to be murdering a hundred cops, but he'll speak over taking pictures of celebrities. Again, that's not thinking things through when you write.
You can say they don't give two shits about anyone else, but they don't give two shits about people who fuck with them. And that's a big difference too. You can choose to kill innocent people, but the game always gives you a choice. If they really didn't give two shits, why even offer that choice?
Those are true, but there are two reasons I still take issue. The first is that Rockstar isn't writing those kinds of criminals. They write Franklin and Michael to be relatable to GTA players. They write them so despite their criminal actions, they're not that different from the average person. They'll still act disgusted at some of the other, but less fucked up shit that Trevor does. It's bizarre when Michael asks why the hell Trevor would kidnap someone then have no second thought at mowing down cops.
You could say it's a stretch, but every criminal is different. And when looking at which criminological theories best reflect Michael and Franklin, it is more of a stretch. Crime isn't as simple as that. The story portrays Michael being involved with crime and Franklin having blocked opportunities, which are much less inclined to kill that many people (cops or not), especially when they're portrayed as compassionate (relatively speaking) as Rockstar set out. They're not saints, but we're still supposed to be left with this idea that they are good guys at the end of the day.
The second is that these things aren't that they suddenly happen. It's that they are planned from the start. Michael and Trevor plan to defend an area from waves of cops and to put on all this riot gear so they can mow down waves of cops. It's not a fight or flight scenario, it's a let's start slaughtering almost a hundred people for a score then pretend two of us are still nice, relatable guys just because we're with this other asshole. It doesn't even reflect Michael's character that well planning it, he's not usually wants to shoot things as part of a heist unless that's the only choice, from a save your skin perspective.
Yeah, I know the military gets a good portrayal in media. In this game though, they're just cannon fodder.
Max Payne 3 was linear compared to Uncharted. There's not much leeway in how you approach encounters, it's more about looking cool while shooting people in slow motion.
I think you'll like Tomb Raider more than the average gamer since so much of it will be new to you. Just read up on what key to press with the QTE's, Blake says they don't do a good job of telling you which key to press.
Kotor 2 is a brilliant game. I'd recommend patching it with the Restoration mod if its not too late, theres a lot of loose plot threads without it.
