Ben-DutkaFirst off, Happy Mother's Day. 🙂
Secondly, the difference between doing PSXE on a daily basis and…well, not, has become abundantly clear awfully fast:
As my focus is always elsewhere and video game news is never atop my priority list, I'm way out of the loop. For nearly a decade, I always knew everything that was happening in the industry the same day it happened. Now, the only way I know is if I glance at my email or at the site here.
Perfect example: I only found out today that Dishonored 2 was coming out in November. It's one of my most anticipated games of the generation but the announcement was several days ago, right? And then there's this Battlefield 1 thing for fall, and I think I totally missed the official confirmation of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare . I wonder what else I've missed…
But it's a good thing. It actually makes me interested to see these bits of information whereas before, it was just another press release I had to handle. Anyway.
Well then, Uncharted 4 is quite the beast, isn't it?
I can't remember the last time I saw a game score so crazy high all over the place. A 94 Metacritic average after 71 counted reviews? That's almost unheard-of. But hey, it's Naughty Dog, and I think the last time we saw such overwhelmingly positive applause was when The Last Of Us came out. Everyone is saying it's just amazing and while I'm not exactly surprised, it's certainly nice to see. Can't wait to play, though it might have to wait until Wednesday night.
Too bad DoaX3 didn't turn out very well
I read David's review of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune and that's just…unfortunate. I was a fan of these games but I always knew they needed a mechanical overhaul and apparently, we didn't get one in the latest entry. Now I'm not so annoyed that we're not getting it in Western regions. It just ticks me off that we can't have a decent volleyball game, though; I picked up some old PS2 volleyball game I'd never heard of (something with "Summer Heat" in the title, I think) last year, but it was just unplayable. 'sigh'
Beat Ratchet & Clank
Yep, done. The final boss was a pretty decent challenge, I think, and I'm just really happy with the whole experience. This game was, perhaps fittingly, my last review at PSXE and I stand by every word because it truly is a refreshing and wonderfully enjoyable adventure. We just don't get games like that anymore (at least not on a relatively big-budget scale). And speaking of which, I've seen more than a few requests for me to do an Uncharted 4 review. I might be able to do that but it'll come way late, as I just won't have the requisite time.
I keep seeing a lot of hate over this PS4 Neo business
I was never a fan of the idea but I don't despise it as much as some people, obviously. I haven't seen this much blatant and overt hatred since the first year of the PS3. People are saying it'll splinter the market, Sony will lose long-time fans, it'll totally screw up the flow of the generation, etc, etc, etc. I've never liked the idea of being forced to upgrade my hardware a few years into any era of gaming, and I like it even less now. But I'm also not sure the upgraded PS4 warrants this level of backlash. I dunno…have to learn more about it, I guess.
Thank you again
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone, as I continue to see messages about my departure. It really means a lot. By the way, Gordon set up a forum off-site so the PSXE community has a home if and when the owner decides to pull the plug, and that's very appreciated. He can fill you in on the details but the link is live now . If PSXE goes down at some point this year, I'm sure you'll see me there at some point. 🙂
I'll chime in here. The problem with it is that it is not a volleyball game. That is there, maybe so they can sell it (I dont know). It's not a fighting game. The sole purpose of this game is for titillation. That is what is a fetish. Anime porn/pinups are a fetish. Between the camera "free posing" that World discussed and the butt bash battle(seriously the hell is that?) how can you say otherwise?
There is nothing wrong w/ having a fetish, as long as it isnt underage kids, but to try to make excuses for this game to be anything other than that is dumb.
*Also people, stop with the whole whining spiel about real men can no longer be real men. The world changes. If you absolutely must be a idiotic misogynist or racist or homophobe, or anything else that
"real" men were 60 years ago then maybe you need to find a hole and live in it. (Not you in particular, more a generalization of mens rights folks)
Last edited by wackazoa on 5/9/2016 11:21:50 AM
@Underdog.
So you never said why it wasnt titillation. Instead you wrote 8 paragraphs arguing about a caveat paragraph I wrote saying that too many people are whining about the demise of society/"men being men". Ok.
Also never said that anyone was underage, just that having a fetish about underage people is wrong. It was a footnote that not ALL fetishes are ok. Kind of like saying there is nothing wrong with owning a gun, as long as you dont go around shooting people.
The other stuff I have no idea what that is about. More important since "(Not you in particular, more a generalization of mens rights folks)" was included to show that I wasnt going after you. Your diatribe clearly refers that maybe you do fit into one of those categories, so maybe in retrospect offense intended. Also dont get started on Japanese culture. I dont understand it but dude, they have panty vending machines…
You can play the game, and enjoy it. But to not view it for what it is, is denial. It's for kicks and giggles and boobs.
*Also misogyny is not about hating women. It is about women being inferior. Racism is not about hating other races. It is about feeling them inferior. You can not hate someone but still look down on them. The more you know!
Last edited by wackazoa on 5/9/2016 2:36:44 PM
Wackazoa,
Misogyny is not sexism or chauvenism. The dictionary definition of it is;
"dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women"
Which I think you'll find fits pretty well with what I said.
You might have placed a caveat on your post, but your post itself ignored that caveat.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 5/10/2016 12:37:34 AM
"It's hard to see where the misogyny is considering that the entire game is about enjoying the female form."
LMAO, please stop condescendingly trying to explain what feminism and misogyny are. You obviously understand neither.
The sexual objectification of women is entirely misogynistic, Highlander. You don't have to scream insults at a woman, or hit her, to express your contempt for them; devaluing them as human beings by reducing them to a function of your sexual gratification is more than enough.
Do more than look at the Google definition of the word if you're going to lecture other people on what misogyny is.
Did Underdog have a comment that got deleted or something? Because I don't see a comment by him anywhere in this comment chain.
@Bio
Nope. This is the first I'm reading here actually. :p
I'm not going to side on one side or the other in this forum, but I will say there's a pretty stark double standard, although I acknowledge women have a history of marginalization which adds a whole other layer.
Way back when I was 19 and the PS2 was becoming a big deal, I worked as a server and bartender at a pub and grill. It was Highlander themed and we had our own brewery even. But one thing required was that I had to wear a kilt (and by the way, the women had to wear short tartan skirts… women kilts? I dunno) But with shocking regularity, if middle aged women came in and got a little tipsy, on more than one occasion, they would try to flip up my kilt and other things like that (I always wore shorts underneath for that reason).
Mind you, it bother me much, perhaps because it's not so threatening when there's no way they could ever hurt me in any way (I'm not exactly a target for most people, let alone middle aged ladies). But the fact remains, that's probably not an appropriate thing to do to a 19 year old if you're over twice their age (or ever really). But society is ok with them doing that to a young male, and if it did make me super uncomfortable, it would be hard to get listened to, because to an extent, it's ok to do that to a young man. But had the roles been reversed… and middle aged men did that to a 19 year old female colleague of mine? Sh!t'd be in the paper!
Anyways, not siding with either side. Just making an observation. I think it'd be hard to erase misogyny and sexism until all people are respected no matter what. (Sober versions of these women would likely be horrified. And I can't state enough how incredible it is about how MANY different women were comfortable to do that to a 19 year old kid, really. lol)
Last edited by Underdog15 on 5/10/2016 10:14:40 AM
@wackazoa
I know very well what a fetish is, and you'd be well advised to stop making generalizations when you start saying things like " If you absolutely must be a idiotic misogynist or racist or 'homophobe', or anything else that
"real" men were 60 years ago"
For a start, none of that constitutes being a real man, to say it does is utter bullshit and insulting to every man you're even remotely intimating is in this category you define with the words "real man".
As for the rest of your comment here, it's so far off base it's almost unreal. You're so intent on calling people names that you can't resist any opportunity to do so, perhaps you're more at home with Jim Sterling's 'review' of this game?
You write "There is nothing wrong w/ having a fetish, as long as it isnt underage kids, but to try to make excuses for this game to be anything other than that is dumb." Stop there, you're conflating two separate things in one sentence says to me that you believe that DOAX3 not only goes beyond mere titillation into fetish territory (don't start playing semantics, titillation does not equate to fetish). But you're conflating this game with 'underage', when that is not the case, the characters are all 18 or older. At the same time you're saying that this game needs excuses to be made for it, and that doing so is dumb.
The game needs no excuses, it doesn't hide that it's little more than a fantasy for young and not so young men. Your opinion of what this game is is your opinion, but the fact that your opinion differs from mine, and Worlds for that matter, makes neither of our opinions dumb.
Perhaps if you were wise enough to slow down and stop throwing out accusations of misogyny, racism or homophobia, and actually pay attention you'd do better. The fact that the view of women in one culture does not match the view in another culture does not make one right and the other wrong. Feminism in the US means something very different from what it means to women in the middle east, China, Japan, South America or anywhere else. At it's core Feminism is about equality and opportunity. It's not about putting anyone down, nor about suppressing the natural tendencies of either gender. Misogyny is about hating women, racism is about hating other races and being prejudicial on the basis of skin color or other racial features, and homophobia is the fear of homosexuals, and is often expressed through offensive language and or violence. None of these things is present in DOAX3. I read one hilarious article complaining that there were no characters of color in the game, and declaring it racist because of that. I guess that Chinese and Japanese are 'white people' now. Seems like someone forgot that racism is not limited to the insane hatred against people of African descent. It's hard to see where the misogyny is considering that the entire game is about enjoying the female form. And the only 'homophobia' you could imply is down to there being no guys pole dancing…
Randomly tossing out words like misogyny, racist or homophobic says less about those you hurl the words at than it does about your own view.
This level of reaction to this game is just well out of proportion for what it is, in my opinion. You're either very sheltered and unaware of the wealth of exploitative material on the internet that is absolutely misogynistic, racist and homophobic; or you're stretching a point here in order to score points in a discussion.
It's not as big a deal for a woman to do that to a man because there is not a global history of sexual objectification, contempt and violence by women against men. However, throughout history in almost every culture, there has been a consistent pattern of that kind of abuse by men against women.
That's why every botard male gamer who brings up muscular men from Gears of War as some sort of rebuttal to the way women are depicted in games is merely showcasing how completely culturally oblivious he is, especially when those male characters are still there for the gratification of men. Cliffy B didn't make super beefy dudes for Gears to arouse women. He made them to fulfill male power fantasy, to let scrawny, pasty teenage boys feel big and macho and totally badass.
The day Tecmo or any other company releases a game where you can sexually objectify and devalue women the way you can do in the DOAX games, and they're popular enough to warrant multiple sequels and continuous coverage and discussion among male gamers, we might be getting somewhere close to the point where we can start talking about double standards.
I'm sure everyone on this site realizes that's never going to happen in the current gaming culture, though.
No one is saying it never happens to men, but trying to conflate the two is friggin' absurd. There is not an equilibrium of power between the sexes, either culturally or physically, so abuse of women by men is on a completely different level. 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. I bet you know at least five females. How many men do you know who have actually been forcibly raped by women?
When I hear people saying "It happens to men, too!" it just reminds me of dumb white people saying "All lives matter!" whenever they hear someone say "Black lives matter". It is, at best, a demonstration of ignorance about the systemic issues of sexual objectification, abuse and violence against women in society. It's lame Men's Rights Activism bullshit.
Yeah, it sucks that sometimes men are objectified by women and sexually harassed, but you know what sucks a lot, lot worse? Being part of a demographic that is raped once every 107 seconds in America. Being part of a demographic that isn't objectified sometimes, or by some people, but by society at large. Being part of a demographic that is threatened with rape and death for daring to have a voice in certain parts of society that men have deemed off limits to women.
It happens more to women, yes. But don't kid yourself into thinking there aren't a lot of men who have endured sexual assault by women. A good friend of mine specifically works as a psychologist for a men's sexual assault victims service. I get what you're saying. I'm just taking it a step further by saying it's not ok for anyone to do to anyone else.
It's naive to think women don't objectify men, too. But you are right. No one makes as big of a deal of it because there isn't any level on a societal level of a history of marginalization of men. (Although certainly there is to boys. And I'm not talking religious affiliations, either. The whole Catholic thing is small beans by comparison to what other societies have done.)
But I assure you, from the realm of social services of which I am a part, there are a lot of men who don't talk about their endured abuse because of that mentality… that it's only abuse or objectification if a man does it to a woman. That's not just silly… it's a harmful opinion.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 5/10/2016 5:30:17 PM
I'm quite excited for Uncharted 4. It may be the very best indicator of what this gen of tech is capable of thus far.
Something I find so remarkable about Naughty Dog is in the quality of their visuals.
With my time in the realm of playing around with 3D I've learned 3 major things that influence the quality of graphics.
Art direction: The way scenes should look and feel along with the research and resource gathering to generate a point of reference for asset creation.
Craftsmanship: the tools and techniques used to craft assets. There's many ways to build a scene and oftentimes there's many way to do things more optimally.
Rendering engine: The technical side of things from a programmatic standpoint. This involves everything from harnessing the power of the hardware to staying on the bleeding edge of techiniques to produce amazing effects.
Naughty Dog is top tier in each of these areas.
I can think of other studios that stand up to them in one or two ways, but I can't think of any that can in all three areas as consistently as they have.
PGU: Tried the Overwatch beta. I have to say it's one slick game worthy of Blizzard's name. It's impressive on many levels and in ways I didn't fully expect. Ultimately it's not for me but I maintain high regards for it.
Made more progress on 3D engine stuff. Got various forms of shadow mapping implemented. It's expensive stuff to implement. No wonder shadows have looked like poop for so many years. It amazes me the techniques people have developed to tackle graphics challenges.
It's so fascinating learning this stuff, even if it can be incredibly time consuming.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 5/8/2016 1:09:10 AM
I'm so pumped. Gonna play U2 and U3 today.
Is anything ever going to beat GTAIV (my fav) and V? Besides GTAVI.
You must have new respect for what devs have been up to. I'm finally cited for Uncharted 4 too 🙂
As of late because I've been spending most time on the programmatic rendering side of things the most respect goes to good old vector math.
Next time you fire up a 3D game, be sure to thank vector mathematics for making it all possible.
And so far most of the math hasn't been all that complex. A regular intro Linear Algebra course covers everything I've had to implement, much of which comes right out of the first chapter.
Anyway, if you wan't to see PCF point based shadows in action, along with some normal mapping on the walls. Here it be!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j1sFa9NUoQ&feature=youtu.be
The red orb orbiting is where the point light source is at.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 5/9/2016 12:41:36 AM
I'd like to do that but then I get a nutty need to BEAT those games before U4. Which is impossible for me.
Really can't wait for tuesday and to play uncharted 4 should be awesome, dark souls 3 will have to take a back seat for a while, rachet and clank is an amazing game aswell, nearly finished with it tho, tho i may play through it again soon as its so much fun to play.
Either way it's cool!
It wasn't me! Rogueagent was already on to it.
Thanks for the link Ben!
I'm glad Dishonored 2 comes this year.[nov 11]
PGU:i'm waiting for Far Harbor[may 19][dlc for Fallout 4] so i played and finished SOMA:what a great game,very very good!
I liked it that you have to avoid the monsters and that you can't shoot them,also the atmosphere is great.
Last edited by slow and smart on 5/8/2016 6:15:12 AM
I need to warm up to Soma, after coming off Layers of Fear and Outlast it's such a different kind of setting. Much harder to avoid those monsters.
I feel like you may have misquoted Ben Franklin. There should be a "Dude" in there somewhere.
People forget that.
*Sweet! My 1st ever double post!!!!!*
Last edited by wackazoa on 5/9/2016 11:27:03 AM
The first phase of things calming down for me will happen after this week, hope to spend more time with everyone after that.
Banky was kind enough to start a PS4 community "PSXExtreme" for all of us on PSN. Join it or die! Then identify yourself please. We don't care if you online game or not.
"If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately."
-Benjamin Franklin
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 5/8/2016 12:39:44 PM
You're welcome man, thanks for sticking around. A Link to the Past is one of my favorites of all time.
Have you ever got to Ocarina? It's the only one that's better.
I feel like you may have misquoted Ben Franklin. There should be a "Dude" in there somewhere.
People forget that.
Tuesday approaches! Soon! I pressume everyone here is excited whether pre-ordered or not. The positive reviews are swell n' all, but I'll finish the game before looking into too much of the news.
PGU: Finally finished A Link to the Past on my Nvidia Shield. Now it's onto Link's Awakening. That and as much Witcher 3 replay I can find time to do b/f U4 dominates my free time.
Many thanks to David and Gordon for the articles since Ben's departure!
So who do you guys want to handle the Uncharted 4 review among the remaining contributors?
you tbh
Actually not a bad idea, several reviews would allow for some good view points.
Nah. I somehow missed the highest critically scored game of all time. My original intentions was to play the 1st 8bit era Zelda and go up to Ocarina of Time. I'm not sure If I'll have the time for it any time soon, but those classics… They've reached their terminal age. No matter how photo realistic U4 is it's not going to make an N64 game look any worse by comparison at this point.
Either you, Ben, highlander or blankline 😀
Just so everyone is aware, there's nothing wrong with multiple reviews. 🙂 But bear in mind that the first one published is the one that will get on Metacritic, GameRankings, etc.
Quick. One of you guys post a review with a score of 10 as a placeholder.
In the text body just state. "Review text forthcoming"
Woah, that is important.
i just registered,maybe a good idea to make a topic about it so people are registered in time,IF this site goes down later on
Done and Done.
Thanks man. I'm willing. I think nobody would mind if we actually had multiple reviews to get more viewpoints too.
Hi all,
I have to apologize, I left registration on the community site disabled. As soon as I saw ben had linked to it, I enabled user registration by email. So, just head over to forum.psxcommunity.net
Last edited by TheHighlander on 5/8/2016 7:56:22 PM