Lurker > Snake5555555555

1. Remember
2. New Star in the Sky
3. La femme d'argent
4. Le voyage de Pnlope
5. Kelly Watch the Stars
6. All I Need
7. Ce matin l
8. Sexy Boy
9. You Make It Easy
10. Talisman

This album is so good holy shit. Ever since the pandemic hit last year I've loved these kind of chill, downtempo ambient albums, but I think this is also a bit more than that as well. Plus I'm currently experiencing a hurricane in my area so playing through this album only felt that much more appropriate and surreal. Much like Vaporwave, there's a prevalent sense of nostalgia that runs through every song, and unlocks feelings you had long tucked away years ago. But it's not a depressing feeling, rather I feel uplifted and quite pleasant, with ethereal soundscapes transporting me to a world of pure imagination & wistful wonder. It's albums like this that make me wish I was more skilled at describing the beautiful musicianship behind it all. Almost all songs on this album are of equal quality, and last place is merely a formality here.

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StartTheMachine posted...

Also no extra points really, but I'm pretty sure Metroid Prime pioneered text logs in (non-RPG) games? Definitely felt very unique at the time.

Could also be slight survival horror influence too.

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Rikku

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Paine

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Jesse Custer and Tulip O'Hare

untll the end of the world baby

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6.5/10

Interesting but also pretty standard fare when put up against similar sci-fi angles. The actual delivery of the plot and lore is more mechanical than I would like and as such it struggles to be truly memorable.

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Yuna

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Answer is a little complex. But in general my answer is no. All of my music discoveries typically start with tracks first.

But:

For artists I'm already interested in, I always listen to the full album first. And though I typically listen to tracks only, I still enjoy putting on a whole album for the ones I really love when I'm in the mood, but they pretty much have to have no tracks I would want to skip on it. And then there are albums I prefer to listen in full, like a lot of Japanese progressive/jazz instrumental artists.

So I'm all over the place!


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Pesetas from Resident Evil 4

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Awesome!

Babes - Heather Baron-Gracie




Classic Rock Song
Buffalo Springfield - Hung Upside Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c_zfP1ahx0

Movie Setpiece
From Dusk Till Dawn - Titty Twister
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9FCOAEPHHM

(In the film, it starts at approximately 44:19 to pretty much the end of the film.)


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Paine

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This is the End if that count as a "Kevin Hart" movie

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plasmabeam posted...

had Henry and Eileen been Walter Sullivan's parents, and SH4 was punishing them for abandoning them, I would've given this story an automatic 10. Then again, maybe that ending would've been too much of a thematic of SH2's guilt theme.

Damn this ending would've been awesome, at the very least it could've been one of the many that are in the game already.

plasmabeam posted...

Ever watch Max Derrat's YouTube videos? He analyzes Silent Hill 1-4 and a number of other story-heavy games. Your insights are sharp like his. Thanks for the writeup.

No but I love game analysis so I'll definitely check him out! And you're welcome, and I appreciate you (and everyone else) all the same for reading it!

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9/10

I'm going to preface this but saying that it's almost impossible to separate the story from the admittedly tedious gameplay, even for a survival horror vet like me. And it's not tedious in a way like MGS4's Microwave Hall which emphasizes the game's themes and Old Snake's character development, but rather tedious because the game attempted to be more like the survival horror games it was competing against, i.e. the Resident Evil series, which for one thing had ironically already dumped the item box in its latest main entry and Outbreak series games at the time. Two series going through identity crises and which one is still going strong today? I digress.

But you have to separate them, because this is a fantastic story, one that doesn't quite reach the highs of Team Silent's masterpieces before it, but it comes damn close with one of the most shocking and scariest ideas in any video game. Before the Silent Hill series would enter the mediocre loop of rehashing Silent Hill 2's plot beats to diminishing returns and effectiveness, Team Silent's last hurrah proved their chops at once again providing a story with rich detail full of symbolism, well-fleshed out characters all with unique, memorable and vibrant personalities, and twisted, heinous locations that even the hellish nature of the Otherworld couldn't compare to.

There are two parallel stories on display in Silent Hill 4: at the forefront, you have Walter Sullivan, attempting to fulfill the ritual of the 21 Sacraments, and concurrently, you have Henry Townshend, seemingly trapped in his apartment, door chained from the inside, windows all shut and unable to opened, when a mysterious hole suddenly opens up in his bathroom.

I usually consider the main character of Silent Hill games to be the one behind the creation of the manifestations and Otherworld seen throughout your explorations. In SH2 & 3, the monsters are a reflection of the player character, but in 1 & 4, things are arguably made even stranger because you are seeing another character's psyche reflected through monsters you don't and possibly couldn't ever truly understand. All of Sullivan's monsters and Otherworlds reflect his tragic upbringing, with one of the darkest aspects being his torture at the hands of the Order while at the Wish House Orphanage, connected to a Water Prison where children were routinely beaten, killed and disposed of, and also possibly used for meat by the cooks there. It's the type of place where you can understand why Walter ended up being how he was, brainwashed and left unwanted and unforgotten by, to him at least, the whole of humanity. There's a bit of Se7en here influence with Walter's slayings, and there's always a sense you never quite get the whole picture, with some parts of Walter's murders being purposefully muddy, like his questionable suicide. I will admit here it gets TOO convoluted in supernatural bullshit for its own good I think, but it paints the complete picture of Walter's entire character and that's the most important quality of it, at least to me.

Now, I like the Walter plot, but Henry's side of the story ends up being the most interesting to me. One thing Team Silent always did well was craft compelling, realistic characters. You might consider Henry "boring" or "plain", and that's because it's true, he's designed that way to reflect the average, ordinary person, from his demeanor to his fashion sense. There's nothing to call attention to him, and this can be traced to the chained room representing Henry's intense agoraphobia and social anxiety. This was used to some effect with James in SH2, but Henry is really the poster child for this type of character angle. There's more to it though; the holes that continually open up in Henry's apartment calls to mind voyeuristic tendencies, peep holes into others lives that seem far more interesting than yours. Perhaps, even representing sexual repression in the case of Eileen, your next door neighbor. As the game continues, your apartment even becomes victim to "haunting", destroying even your own notion of safety and comfort as your inner anxieties become reflected in your very surroundings. He's also the perfect foil to Walter as despite all his insecurities, Henry remains a kind and generous, helpful person throughout the entire ordeal of the game.

Silent Hill 4 is dense and layered with even more complex symbolism on top of all this, much more than I can and probably should get across in a simple ratings post, yet for some reason it just doesn't hit the same sweet spot as Silent Hill 2 & 3 do for me. I think those games are just more tightly designed and paced over all, like the average player will notice most symbolism in those games if they're paying attention, but Silent Hill 4 makes you work for it to mixed results. Either way, the effort here deserves to be experienced as both a terrifying work of original horror fiction, and as just a damn good video game story too.

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jcgamer107 posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY45CXIxNi0

Awesome cover!

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7/10

Only scratches the surface of how great the comics are, but that's neither here nor there. Like all Telltale games it has a serious problem with making your choices matter, and unlike The Walking Dead it lacks the benefit of having baked-in nihilism. What it does have though is an incredibly seedy atmosphere, with characters that are extremely charismatic, and examines both poverty and immigration in a creatively unique way (well, as lifted from the comic source at least). This does at least give some depth to your specific Bigby, and the main storyline is well thought out with a compelling mystery. It is enjoyable, but it doesn't live up to its full potential.

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It was GT when I was kid but now I like Forza more.

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Paine

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1. Alice Childress
2. Jackson Cannery
3. Underground
4. Best Imitation of Myself
5. Uncle Walter
6. Julianne
7. Video
8. The Last Polka
9. Philosophy
10. Boxing
11. Where's Summer B.?
12. Sports & Wine

This album wavers for me somewhere between this is enjoyable to ugh this track is way too long in the tooth. My experience with Ben Folds Five is limited to the biggest singles, or Folds' much more enjoyable solo work. Ben Folds' vocals are always sung with tongue firmly pressed in cheek, and that's both an aid and a hindrance. It makes for some fun listens, but when it comes to brass tacks, I have difficulty concerting the level of seriousness I'm supposed to take some of these. By the time the album's closer, "Boxing", comes around, I just end up feeling nothing because I'm so exhausted by the constant levels of sarcasm on the display in the album. Much like the lyrics and vocals, the instruments settle into a comfort zone of alt.-jazz arrangements with Ben Folds' signature piano-styled rock replacing parts that would typically feature guitar work. I definitely enjoyed some songs on this project, "Alice Childress" feels like the most genuine song on the album, a wistful ditty about separation in love and the cruelty of the world. "Jackson Cannery" offers an up-beat opening to the album that is a much traditional pop rock song than anything else on the album. "Underground", the album's most famous song, is a track that lampoons underground music culture just as pays loving homage to the scene, a humorous song about finding happiness in niche corners while still laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I have nothing really remarkable to say about the rest; it's a perfectly serviceable 90s' alt rock record, which sees a new band trying to finds it footing and ultimately slipping into a pit of mediocrity, with mass potential just out of reach.

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Oh shit, good match Boss v. Bleck, even if I feel like I've been stabbed through the heart.

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My mom always called it a free guy so I'm used to it.

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Change to

Event Horizon - The Core
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKfoWh8t6o

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That helps tremendously, I will change my nom later.

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I will do Eagles songs for anyone disappointed

You're Not Here
End of Small Sanctuary
Your Rain
Theme of Laura
Room of Angel
Love Psalm
Heaven's Night
Promise

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GP5: The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)

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Harder to Breathe


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Cavedweller2000 posted...

Good call mate. Go and enjoy your vacation!

I concur with this! I will definitely still be excited for when the contest continues.

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Doing one of each because why not

Babes - Taylor Swift




Classic Rock Song
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Photos of Ghosts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJM9hJnSqfg

Movie Setpiece
Audition - The Man in Asami's Sack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWVRXYsirc4

Hope I have the setpiece right, I don't know if I quite get the instructions. Like if it's about the actual set I will change this.

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Tag for a little later

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Does Silent Hill count? XD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Fg-1UsQ5s

I wish they would make more "violence rhythm" games like Thumper. I can imagine a Hotline Miami one, since they're almost like rhythm games on their own.

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Damnnnnnn, good run though. Now I can fully focus on YRP.

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Paine

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GP4: The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)

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Leblanc

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pezzicle posted...

lol what was the war crime i didnt hear of this nor do i pay any attention to CoD news

It was the "Highway of Death".

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I think I'll go with Yes

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10/10

My 3rd favorite video game story of all time. Its shooter framework disengages and disarms the player used to these type of games. Hell, even I fell into it. I went into this game completely blind, and came out the other side more aware of my actions then ever before. I am and always have been a huge fan of Call of Duty and other similar military war campaigns; now, I don't think COD gets enough credit for also subverting some pretty interesting pre-conceptions, but it has never been to length of how Spec Ops: The Line portrayed it. Spec Ops: The Line takes its narrative inspiration from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but I think it's a lot closer to something like Dante's Inferno, its themes are imbued with a more noticeable psychological horror influence, if not exactly Silent Hill, then Eternal Darkness, the films of Roman Polanski, Dario Argento, Stanley Kubrick, and David Lynch, The Twilight Zone, the surrealist artworks of Dali or Magritte, or even something darkly comical like a Commedia dell'arte. To say it's just a descent into madness is too simple for Spec Ops: The Line; by the end of the game, Spec Ops crumbles any notions of sanity or order you once had, Captain Martin Walker, his misguided sidekicks and you the player are cast as the fools in this hostile land they don't belong in, as Dubai itself twists and forms around these helpless souls, just as the player's own heroic fantasy is mangled from its opening in media res bait and switch, the scorching desert sands forcing your feet forward as brutal and blood-soaked sandstorms blind your eyes to the real intentions of Spec Ops's cruel and disgusting narrative misdirections. It isn't just madness that descends, it's Dubai's symbols of wealth and power now obscured with the environment it was built on, it's the menu screen becoming more and more distorted as the game goes on, it's your very appearance becoming more and more ravaged as your mental state deteriorates. The game employs psychological tricks to keep you right in the midst of the emotion along with Walker, and I've never seen a game embody you as main character as much Spec Ops does. Spec Ops makes it so the simple act of playing it feels like a crime in and of itself, savagely offering critique on the notions of "just following orders", killing for entertainment even in a video game, disparaging you just as much as Walker for helping participate in this endless loop of destructive, non-productive violence against a situation you don't have any business being in. There's so much more the game does wonderfully well, like Silent Hills 2 & 3 every design decision in this game loops back into the narrative, even the licensed music choices. I could go on and on, but the game makes enough of a statement on its own. War isn't fun, it isn't pretty, and being the hero isn't what it's cracked up to be, and no game makes that more plainly clear and terrifying than in Spec Ops: The Line.

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Paine

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Leblanc

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GP3: The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)

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Alone in the Dark

In my opinion, the true birth of survival horror.

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