The Deku Tree

Peace ✌️

Peace ✌️ love 💕 - keep gaming 👾

Today I went to a relatively rural CEX (other stores are available etc lol) and I found the original trilogy remastered on PS3 on sale for 12£. I obviously went for it and brought the game! I have never played any of the PS2 DMC games despite being an avid PlayStation fan since the PS1. I’ve played most of the Sony exclusives but to be honest I’d have probably been too scared for this back in 2001 haha ! I’m on the 5th mission and it’s really impressed me so far. The whole atmosphere is in a Gothic dark fantasy vein and it is very spooky, shockingly morbid even. You are controlling Dante who’s the main protagonist. Dante can use his sword in melee or his duel guns from range against demonic enemies. The game is largely linear with save points between missions which essentially are the levels. It feels a relief completing a mission here. As the game progresses you earn orbs that give special properties which add a mild RPG feel(you can buy upgrades and items using the orbs collected). The gameplay is gripping and tense and the control of Dante is very well designed. The enemies are relentlessly stressful to fight and utterly satisfying to kill. ‘Hack and Slash’ is a core gameplay loop but there is solid method and precise timing in this insane and frankly hellish game action. I ruminated after this initial playing thinking: would there be the Darksouls and Bloodbournes out there now without DMC ? I think DMC is a central example of what early Sony games offered instead of traditional Nintendo family friendly games. The game is more mature , adult and darker, bringing back older gamers into the gaming fold. I will definitely try to complete the first game at least and am tempted for the PS5 current DMC game already !

Many mainstream AAA video games being released are selling at a new RRP of 70£ ! I personally think no game should cost this much. These prices are extortionate as they price out lots of people. It could be argued to be a fitting price however especially when taking other considerations into account. Compared to other traditional forms of entertainment such as film, theatre and live sport video games can provide a far longer experience for sometimes less money and can often be replayed unlike theatre for example which is a one off few hours experience with tickets sometimes costing hundreds of pounds; even the cheaper tickets are around 45-50£. These examples of entertainment have less repeatable content and lifespan when placed besides games such as ‘Horizon Forbidden West’, which I’m playing at the moment. I am 35 hours in and there is still loads more to do. I haven’t finished the main story and if i stopped playing now I reckon it would be just over 2£ per hour of my playtime. Not every game has a long main story, solid content and high replay value, this we all can admit. This doesn’t mean the game is bad or lesser but just a different, briefer experience. With these games that are shorter the price can and should surely be less for a new RRP which balances out the playing field in gaming prices. I’ve also got ‘untitled goose game’ on my Nintendo Switch recently and I’m near the end with it only lasting probably a few more hours - I am loving the game and I brought a new physical copy from Amazon for 17£. If any game is worth 70£ new RRP (and I think none should be despite my previous positive arguments) games like ‘Horizon Forbidden West’ with its long main story, side quests and more should be NX ultimately I worth it. A premiership football match ticket for a 90 minute experience in the stadium starts at (cheapest)45£ for a premiership match in London which is viewed as extortionate by many football fans. In the cinema it can cost 15£ for a one off two and half hour experience which is surely a worse deal (if comparable at all). Steam sales, indie, retro and other games have all benefited from the high prices with more gamers turning to and buying these less expensive gaming alternatives. Some games now like ‘Fortnite’ are free to play ! ‘Fortnite’ makes its money through micro transactions which sometimes don’t effect gameplay other than cosmetically. Free to play is a interesting concept but people feel the games are not fully fleshed out which leads to people considering buying in game. I’d personally prefer a one off payment for a whole new game at less than 70£. In the 90’s N64 games cost 60£ then which taking into account inflation is even more than the woeful 70£ today ?! 90’s PS1 games cost around 40£ I seem to remember. Emulators gained in popularity over the years as a cheaper alternatives. With these you can play mainly retro but also sometimes newer games. Gaming companies have gone hard on emulation and the scene doesn’t exist in the way it did before. Emulation is a reason why games are now too much for some gamers. Whilst these are logical and fair arguments, emotionally and symbolically I don’t think any game should be sold at that price. I’m not saying every game is not worth a big price I just don’t think they should be sold as such. I want every person possible to enter gaming fairly but also the developers of games respected and awarded. It’s a fine balance. The owners of the gaming studios get the most money anyways not the developers and makers of the actual product which is seen as unfair and capitalist but hey that’s another post for the future … peace ✌️

Why so much hate for Kojima’s Death stranding ? It’s banished into the realms of pretentious, slandered for being ‘a walking simulator’ by a significant number of people in the gaming industry / community. I’m however mostly with famitsu … the famous Japanese gaming magazine gave DS a perfect 40:/40 and I also think DS is a masterpiece (probs not a 10 but still incredible) . In my view It’s beyond a game , it’ propels into an artistic experience and philosophical journey rather than being a traditional game. The acting is fantastic and professional , graphics are in a top notch hi fidelity vein and technically the game on PS4 is strong. When it comes to individuality DS is a flag bearer of unique art challenging norms and re defining what it means to ‘play’ a ‘game’. I also found both on a base and deep level that the game was fun and addictive - I felt as if I was the protagonist in the game throughout my gameplay and therefore found the experience throughly engaging . The core gameplay loops are meditative, satisfying, rewarding and add to the whole voyage the player embarks on when playing DS. DS is probably one of the most stylised games of all time with almost no similar game next to it in terms of alternative story telling and immersive gameplay. The narrative is engaging and mysterious which is told in a traditional abstract Kojima way which I found harked back to Metal gear solid 2 on PS2 and went even beyond that in story telling. The themes of the game are post modern and refreshingly astute with core philosophical life questions are debated through out. The long periods of walking and riding your bike in the game I found hypnotic and a challenge I always wanted to overcome - I actually loved this part of the game which lots of people hate. I found it a challenge and the long journeys on foot and bike gave the quests a sense of upmost importance. I completed the main story in around 45 hours and thought the game was worth full price RRP. I enjoyed DS tremendously but more importantly it made me think on both a wide and precise level , lots of games don’t do this. I also was never bored even during parts people scorn at. DS is fantastically cinematic as well as intimate and low key. Audio design was well thought and brilliantly executed. People say both that it’s a boring walking simulator at the same time as grossly pretentious, two things that surely are juxtaposed greatly and I actually love this dichotomy. There is a sense of choice with the routes you take in DS to achieve the main story missions but also a general direction of going at the same time which I think is great level design. I love you Kojima 💕

I loved the juxtaposition of the symbolism in 90’s music … on one hand there was the whole rave counter culture , the likes of creep (Radiohead) and Nirvanas nihilism WHEN on the other hand there was super cheesy loving life commercial pop - simply red , spice girls and Aqua. Either hand couldn’t exist without the other and I’m not sure which is more important!?!!!?

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‘Strider’ - SEGA Mega Drive

Horizon Zero Dawn. PS4 exclusive.

‘Yuna!’ - Final Fantasty 10

F-Zero - SNES.

‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ hoody. 😍

A couple of great Dreamcast games that I own.

Zantheron

Zantheron.