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Turns out the Borderlands setting is actually pretty great when put into the hands of competent people.
I’m pretty much on-record as not being a big fan of the Borderlands games. I think sometimes my apathy towards the franchise turns to loathing due to a distaste for developer Gearbox following Aliens: Colonial Marines mixed with the absolute love the franchise seems to get. In a post-Destiny world it is especially confusing as to why the game would garner such a passionate group of fans. At best, I can only imagine that a love of constant loot-drops is what brings all the players to Gearbox’s yard.
Tales From the Borderlands is the first time I’ve been tempted to fall in love with the setting.
When I wrote about Nier: Automata I discussed how many believe you must sacrifice either gameplay or story based on your priority. Narrative-driven games must sacrifice mechanics, gameplay and agency while mechanics-driven games must sacrifice story and character. Gearbox and Telltale each deliver an experience in this universe that adheres to this mentality, and in the end I’m left unsatisfied with the end result.
The problem with Borderlands as a setting in the Gearbox developed titles is that it all exists for the sake of the mechanics. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it certainly keeps the world from being as vibrant as its comic book aesthetic. The world looks wonderful and the art direction certainly oozes personality. The problem is that the narrative and games themselves do not support it. Even Borderlands 2 – where each primary quest followed a sort of three-act narrative structure to provide a more engaging and satisfying episodic feel to every mission – failed to achieve anything more than a template for mechanics-based narrative.
Chris and Steve occupy an entire episode complaining about things in video games.
Not everything is as you first perceive. There's two sides to Nier: Automata, and unfortunately I can only discuss one without spoilers.
I would describe Nier: Automata as being a game about duality, deceit, and opposition. Perhaps not what you’d expect – or even desire – of a game description. You cannot really ascertain what sort of mechanics make up the gameplay with those words. Though “opposition” seems to somewhat describe the very nature of a conflict, it is broad enough to also encapsulate the likes of Super Mario or even a Madden title.
Nonetheless it is on these three concepts that Nier: Automata lays its very foundations. Like the indie game Toren – a game I analyzed in-depth on my YouTube channel and even this very blog – it takes thematic content typically intended for a narrative and carries those ideas through to the gameplay.
Final Fantasy XV manages to be an enjoyable experience despite being an incomplete game.
I think it was for Final Fantasy VIII that I saw a magazine headline its preview with “Not Your Grandfather’s Final Fantasy”. The suggestion at the time, of course, being that the new title was such an evolution of the formula that it was a definitively new experience.
Instead, that cheesy headline is what comes to mind when playing Final Fantasy XV. Primarily prompted by its opening screen, declaring that it is a title for new and old fans alike, I cannot help but think of how not Final Fantasy this is. It makes use of a variety of familiar elements, but what brings me back – the reason to play this game – is completely different.
This is a Final Fantasy where the emphasis is gameplay and sidequests, not the story. While the franchise has sought to update and revise its gameplay in greater and greater ways since the Playstation, never has it made as large a leap as this. Similarly, never have the side quests and optional boss fights been such a large draw. In the past, only the most dedicated players would trudge through all of the side dungeons in hopes to obtain every hidden weapon, spell, or trinket. For all the times I played Final Fantasy VII, I never once did get Knights of the Round.
With Final Fantasy XV, though, the side content is the draw.
Steve and I spend an hour having a spoiler-laden discussion about Nier: Automata
Long-running franchises always run the risk of becoming rote and repetitive. The Ace Attorney series manages to meld an ensemble-based narrative with gameplay to make the series more vibrant than ever.
During the 80’s and 90’s, my perception of Capcom was as a sequel-generating machine. As long as their game was a success you would be guaranteed to see another one… or two… or perhaps even five.
The Mega Man franchise is perhaps the most notorious. Near-annual releases of not only the original game, but the spin-off X series that premiered on the Super Nintendo and continued on the PlayStation. Once the GameBoy Advance rolled around, Mega Man Battle Network reared its head and spawned yet another series on this new device. Street Fighter may have had few “sequels”, but it continued to iterate with updated editions and various cross-over spin-offs. Street Fighter begot X-Men vs. Street Fighter, which begot Marvel vs. Capcom. The Resident Evil franchise seemed to be shambling about much like its iconic creatures before the seventh numbered game released to critical acclaim earlier this year.
The Ace Attorney series – known in America as Phoenix Wright – is at first blush no different than that 90’s style of iterative sequel generation. The second game is much like the original, but with a single new mechanic added. The third game followed suit, adding only a single new feature. Even when protagonists swapped in Apollo Justice, it seemed to be following a similar formula but with one exception.
For other games, swapping protagonists doesn’t exactly mean much. While X is, narratively, a very different character from Mega Man, his traits are defined by his evolution in gameplay. When Apollo Justice makes use of his bracelet to perceive minor physical “tells” during a testimony, it’s no different than the prior games adding new methods of investigating a scene. It’s simply that title’s new gimmick.
...well, closer to two months it turns out, as Steve and I finally get a new podcast out.
Chris and Steve are late to the party and right on time to discuss Atlus' streaming guidelines for Persona 5.
Chris and Steve share a romantic evening together
A collection of observations and realizations made during the course of editing my latest RamblePak64 video on the video game Toren.
After almost a year without an update, I finally managed to get a new RamblePak64 video up. I’ve spoken in the past about ways I wanted to update the series more often, but it was typically with the intent of releasing shorter-form content between longer videos. In the end, the amount of work was not reduced, particularly as audio editing is not something I’m a fan of. However, as I sit here and type this, I already have two new scripts partially written and am converting the remaining footage for the next video. Typically I don’t even begin recording new footage until a video is done. However, I feel like I’m more likely to be productive and create new content if, after the script writing phase is complete, I immediately begin capturing footage of and taking notes on the next project. Script writing, audio, and the video editing combined can take anywhere from a month to two months depending on the length of the video and time available for me. If I’m lucky, it can all be completed in the span of two or three weeks. By having these projects sort of lap over each other, I’ll hopefully be able to better maintain an output of a new video every one or two months.
Of course, one of the issues I’ve often come across during the process of editing video is either picking up on little details I’d incorrectly remembered or minutiae I’d missed out on altogether. In the case of Toren, there was an onslaught of little details I hadn’t picked up on until I was more closely scrutinizing every frame while trying to select clips to match my audio. In order to combat the typical crippling self-doubt and existential crises that accompany these realizations, I’ve decided to have a sort of “Afterthoughts” section following each video. In here, any notes or details that were left on the cutting room floor or picked up on will be observed here. Toren is a perfect game to follow up on, as it’s so densely packed with symbolism in its short three hours that, in the moment, can easily be missed. Or I’m just out of practice and am super oblivious while playing games these days. Either way, let’s start with something minor.
Chris and Steve discuss the various types of hype – be it corporate driven, press driven, or culture driven – and how we respond to it.
The recent Netflix release of Iron Fist sparks a discussion on the current state of super hero television.
What was supposed to specifically be a topic about falling in love with games again became a trip down memory lane instead.
If you thought barely any time was spent in Fourside, wait until you get to Summers... and promptly leave it shortly thereafter.
Inspired by Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, Steve and I discuss where open world games are now and what makes them succeed or falter.
