I'd forgotten that this was the Killzone developer. Those games were competent but forgettable. Kind of crazy that they had something like this in them the whole time.

Agree about the "lose your gear on death" thing. It makes sense lore-wise, but dying in the wrong spot is very frustrating. I made the mistake of going back to the desert arena where you fight Sephiroth-lite and spending 30 minutes or so grinding on the infinite bots there only to get blown up by one of the kamikaze…

I completely agree, the game goes down smooth. Stuff that would normally be an irritating chore in other open world games, like gathering materials, I have no qualms doing because I know it will be quick, easy, fun and I can do it pretty anywhere I happen to be on the map. One of the few games of its kind where the…

Thanks for that. I had entertained the same thought about why 2B may be different (I'm aware of the overall arc of the story, if not all the details), but I thought some of the other Yorha androids spoke about emotion as well. I may have been mistaken. I do find it interesting that 2B, who's so no-nonsense in most…

I haven't completed it yet but I've been able to guess at most of what happens and have spoiled myself in certain respects and would agree re: plotting based on what I do know. I often feel that way when I play JRPGs; sometimes it may be the result of poor translation, other times it may be due to cultural…

I own most of what Fantagraphics has published from both Barks and Rosa and share them with my girls too, but they are very little - 4 and 2 - so the TV show appeals to them a bit more. That's also partly because Barks' conception of Scrooge is not much like the DuckTales' show, though Rosa's is much closer.

One of my proudest (if trivial) accomplishments as a parent is getting my young daughters into the original DuckTales, which was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Whatever slight misgivings I may have about the ways in which Disney has "updated" the show, I'll set them aside if it means they can have a DuckTales to…

The title track from "Helplessness Blues" came on the radio the other day and I was reminded just how gorgeous that song is. I really like a lot of their songs but have to say that I was rarely able to get through an entire album in one sitting. Beautiful in small doses but very same-y when taken as one portion. I…

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who has a fondness for Returns. Not to say that it's a "good" movie, but it certainly is breezy, fun, and has a few memorable moments as well as a fantastic score. I think I actually remember a lot of the sequences in returns better than I do the Mummy. I thought the whole…

So sad to learn of this but yes, 96 and a peaceful death should draw no complaints. I mean aside from having to die at all, that is. I'm not familiar with his other work but his voice as Wallace was inimitable and the source of much joy. If anything good has come of this, it is that I'm now motivated to introduce…

I'm bummed that I'm not able to see this for another week or so, and therefore can't participate in the conversations surrounding it.

It's been sitting in my Spotify lists since it was released, I just haven't had the confluence of time and mood to sit and listen to it. I should check it out.

I'm interested in whether there's actually been a change of heart about LDR over time or if things have simply cooled off to the point that only people who like her show up to comment. Back when her first album came out, and especially after her SNL appearance, it was quite the sport to bash her as yet another…

I appreciate the tip!

That sums them all up, really.

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THE HIDEY-TEXTY THING SO SPOILERS BELOW

They've always reminded me of the Matrix movies in that sense. Both series squandered a lot of potential from an initial installment that was wildly fun and imaginative (obviously the Matrix was original in a way POTC never aspired to be), but subsequent installments seemed to forget what made the first ones…

I actually liked the young Drake stuff set in Cartagena. Uncharted 2 is still my overall favorite but 3 had some really beautiful and memorably locales, the French chateau in particular sticks out (the interminable Raiders-esque warehouse near the end, not so much). I enjoyed 4 but it did not make such an impression.

I enjoyed that part initially it but it went on far too long. Also, applying the game's mechanics to the inside of a private home took faaaar more suspension of disbelief than climbing around caves and forgotten temples.

Reynolds seems to have finally found his true superhero calling, and I don't think the problems with the Thor movies have anything to do with Chris Hemsworth. If anything, the upcoming Thor picture seems like it's designed to play to his strengths, which are being casually charming and lightly humorous, rather than…