T w e n t y S i d e d
From The Archives:
Rage 2
The game was a dud, and I'm convinced a big part of that is due to the way the game leaned into its story. Its terrible, cringe-inducing story.
Black Desert Online
This Korean title would be the greatest MMO ever made if not for the horrendous monetization system. And the embarrassing translation. And the terrible progression. And the developer's general apathy towards its western audience.
Mass Effect 3 Ending Deconstruction
Did you dislike the ending to the Mass Effect trilogy? Here's my list of where it failed logically, thematically, and tonally.
Could Have Been Great
Here are four games that could have been much better with just a little more work.
Deus Ex and The Treachery of Labels
Deus Ex Mankind Divided was a clumsy, tone-deaf allegory that thought it was clever, and it managed to annoy people of all political stripes.
Shamus’ post about Jade Empire made me realize it’s been close to 20 years since that game was released. Gods, I feel old. D:
I’m amuse that he was so excited for Final Fantasy XII.
Over a decade later, he’d be hosting the Rocketeer’s series describing it as a junk sculpture…
Right.
That’s ironic, but such is life. Sometimes the next big thing just… isn’t.
I mean… that breaks the context of that qoute
…
`If I had to describe Final Fantasy XII in two words, I would pick “fascinatingly flawed.” The game is like a junk sculpture: a grand amalgam of pieces that, individually, are often nothing special, and are often, well, junk. But sometimes, in the right light, from the right angle, these parts form a whole that pushes back all of your expectations, and, for a moment, appears to take a new form, alien and intriguing, moving as though alive. And in that next moment, a hunk shudders and falls away, and the illusion is broken again. I’d be very hesitant to call it a great game, and at times I’d balk at calling it a good game. But nonetheless, I found myself circling it, time and again, stalking that one special angle, hoping to get one more glimpse of a mystique I was certain it hid.
Then a character would open their stupid damn mouth, and the spell was shattered with my controller.`
…
There’s something worth playing in FFXII, it’s just ephermal and transient as your heads crests over the murky sewer water and you see the grand caverns, decorated with breath-taking and striking crystal formations grown over millenia… and then suddenly it’s shit again as your head drops back beneath the waves..