LogFAQs > #950516377

LinkMarioSamus posted...

The rant I wanted to make is that based on the way people speak of MOM, you'd think the story was bad because it makes Samus look weak.

I wanted to respond to this because it does interest me to some extent, though I know this can be a sensitive subject for some people so I apologize if I say anything unreasonable. I think I agree with you that a character like Rey is too powerful to the point that it's detrimental to the story she's a part of, and part of the reason for that might be that the writers were consciously trying to make those films empowering for girls and women, so that they were afraid to give her any major weaknesses. That being said, for me the bigger problem with Rey (as someone who didn't like TFA or TLJ and hasn't seen the third film as a result,) is that she just lacks a compelling personality and isn't very fun to watch, which also applies to all the other characters in those movies, boys and girls. Finn is a little more flawed than her but I don't like either character any better than the other. I did sort of like Kylo Ren and thought he was a bit more conflicted and complex, but that might just be because I like edgy boys. In comparison, though, I found Bayonetta to be an enjoyable character even though she doesn't have many weaknesses just because she has enough of a sense of fun and some funny dialog that makes her easy to like, and I think the same is true for Dante.

I forgot Other M existed when I was writing about extra games from 2010, but maybe I could've included it as some kind of dishonorable mention. You might be able to argue that Samus being weak in that game is poor writing because it contradicts her characterization in other games, but usually a character being weak is fine in and of itself. The bigger problem with her in that game is, again, that she lacks an interesting personality. She just spends the whole game reciting bored monologues and doesn't have a strong central motivation. You do have to be very careful when you write a really weak character, though. People generally prefer following more dynamic characters, and especially ones with a strong central motivation, so you need to be purposeful when you make a character that lacks those qualities. I think the perfect pop culture example of that being done right is Evangelion, where all the main characters are deeply flawed but that's used to explore interesting and complicated parts of the human condition, but a lot of people are still turned off of that series because they can't get behind a protagonist who is as much of a wuss as Shinji.

BetrayedTangy posted...

That entire sequence is definitely one of my favorite gaming experiences. I loved how they used physics in the first one. So playing around with all the different gels was a blast, then you also get Cave Johnson on top of that.

So I actually temporarily jumped ahead of Deus Ex and have been playing Dark Souls. I figured Deus Ex would be a good side game for when I need a break from DS.

Yeah, Cave Johnson is great, and it helps that he's voiced by the always-excellent J.K. Simmons. I think for me, the most interesting part of that sequence is seeing how the other characters, particularly GLaDOS, react to the recordings. Johnson's speech about lemons is hilarious on its own, but her interjections make it that much funnier ("Burning people! He says what we're all thinking!") It's also really nice to see her start to undergo some character development.

I think Dark Souls and its From Software contemporaries like Bloodborne are the most successful translations of the "metroidvania" concept into 3D that I've played. It's definitely really cool how many different options you have to approach the game, not just in terms of alternate paths and secret items but just how many character customization and weapon choice options you have in general. Incidentally, I love the Zweihander and have done more than one run where I charge into the graveyard to pick it up as soon as I get to Firelink Shrine, pump my strength until I can use it, and then main it for the rest of the game. Which class did you start as, and what kind of stats are you focusing on? Any weapon preferences so far?

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As an aside, I started a recently-released indie game called Omori after I finished Portal 2, and I've been enjoying it a lot so far. It belongs to the same lineage of games as Earthbound and Undertale, along with other games like Lisa and maybe even Yume Nikki. Sometimes the JRPG-style combat gets a little tiresome, but the story is quite compelling and I find myself really interested to see how it all turns out. I recommend this one.

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I finished Portal 2 the other day. Last time I posted I was pretty close to the end and I think I finished it off in one big session after that. The final test chambers are fitting of the end of a game in that they combine most of the ideas that have been set up throughout the game. There are new air streams that push things in a single direction and can be redirected with portals, and they combine those with the light bridges and all the types of gel. You're testing with Wheatley while GLaDOS looks for a way out until eventually he finds the two prototype testing robots that you play as in the multiplayer and decides he doesn't need Chell if he has them, so he moves things along to The Part Where He Kills You. You take him down in a boss fight that's pretty similar to the final battle from the first game, except that you're adding corrupt cores to his body instead of taking them off and burning them. You have to finish him off by shooting a portal through the ceiling and onto the moon (which was brilliantly set up when Cave Johnson mentioned how the white portal-bearing gel was made from ground-up moon rocks) and launching Wheatley into space, restoring GLaDOS to power over Aperture so that she can stop the place from exploding in a nuclear catastrophe. GLaDOS says that she experiences a surge of emotion when she saves you from getting sucked away along with Wheatley that lets her pinpoint where Caroline in her brain is and delete her, and then she sends you on an elevator ride out of the facility. The lift stops and opens up to a bunch of turrets with their sights trained on you, and then they back off and start to sing. As you slowly ascend an enormous chorus of turrets come into view, including a special fat one that provides the main vocal line. And then, you're finally outside, on a sunlit day with the wind blowing through a thick field of grass. From here, the whole Aperture Science building just looks like a tiny, beat-up shed. That shed's door swings open and a charred companion cube gets tossed out.

Just like the first game, the credits are set to a song by GLaDOS, this time called Want You Gone, that describes her feelings about the events of the whole game. I'm sure everyone has heard it by now, but there might be one or two of you who don't know about the third Portal credits song, which appeared in Lego Dimensions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbWfGIjZG50

I doubt my write-up does it justice, but it really is a great final sequence and ending. A lot of people wanted a Portal 3, and I get why, but for what it's worth the second game gives a near-perfect conclusion to the series. I really did like the game a lot, but the last few hours are probably the best part.

Final Thoughts on Portal 2 after I get out of bed.


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I'm playing every game from GotD 2020! Games Completed: 17/129
Currently Playing: God of War III