What was that like, pseudo sequel spiritual success or to True Crimes to True
It was supposed to be a true crime game and then it turned out Sleeping
Dogs, well we got was way better than any true crime game. Yeah.
Anyway, I'm Johnnie Saipeke. Welcome the game spot After Dark episode two
hundred and forty five, you said that was more confidence than usual. Thank
you because you called me out on it last week. I do every week,
so I had to be more confident about it. Two hundred and forty
five five. Uh current Avena, Hey, thank you for joining me.
Oh, it's such a pleasure. It's truly an honor to be invited back,
especially after last week's episode. Yeah, where I move like, I'm
not inviting any of you back. I know, because we fucked up all
the Metroid games and I fell asleep while Jake was talking about Alden Ring.
And but it's great because this time you don't just get me, No,
we get Max Bluementhal either. Hey, what do we do? Max doesn't
he Well, I just don't come on very often. So to the Max
man, you're gonna right now? Well, I was actually I was mostly
thinking about Max pain Pain to the Max. Uh have you ever gotten that?
I have gotten so many Max? What's your favorite? What's your favorite?
I don't have a favorite because I hate them all, but Maximus,
Maximilian, Maximus, Maximbo. Have you has anybody calls you Max Pain?
Yes? Ships actually you know what? I have pain mode. If you
let me pull on my phone, I have a list, yes please,
Speaking of Max Pain. Uh, we talked about Max pains so much because
I'm here there. There was there was a tweet where someone like was showing
like their their fits uh, and it was one was like a Max Pain
fit and right next to the one Max Pain fit the the original Max Paine
with the jacket over it, and then next to it was Alan wakefit.
And they're like they had him like on their rack, being like, I'm
all set baby, like this is going to outfits. Georgia pulls it up,
uh, turns to me and goes, what do you think of this?
And I was like, what do you mean? Like like you with
that? I'm like wearing it? Yeah, And I was like I think
I look like Max Pain. She's like yeah, but you know what if
you wore that? And I was like, do you want me to and
she's like yes, and then she's like, also, I want you to
put a bold cap on, and then I want you you dive, you
know, dive on your face while at an airport and playing sweet music.
So if I show up to the office addressed as Max Pain, that's why
specifically Max Pain won. Yes, okay, yes, like the leather jacket
with the whole insurance. I mean the necklace but you do well, you'd
have to be a necklace with a ring on it. Well, yeah,
the ring of your dead wife. Yeah. I mean I feel like I'm
missing some lineagure because everybody calls me that and I haven't played it yet.
Max Pain. Yes, Oh, I mean Max Pain is the I mean
you should be honored. You should play Max Pain and you probably should.
Yeah, and you uh, and then you could learn that you're named after
a guy whose wife and baby were killed, and you went on a your
frame for the murder of your partner and uh unravel a conspiracy specifically named him
after Max. Yeah, yeah, and then unravel. Yeah, that's what
you can understand where you came from and like your heritage. Yeah, and
you can unravel a corporate conspiracy that also has to do with like experimental drugs
that make people, Oh, you're getting away the whole game. Don't do
that. Yeah, I need to. It's gonna play it for myself,
the flash of falling, and then you're gonna have a way different context to
that. And then we're all gonna appreciate Max Pain mode, which is the
mode you get in right in the game. No, you personally, And
then we'll watch the movie. Yeah, and then we'll watch and then you'll
be like, wow, I'm just like Mark Wahlberg. And then we'll put
on the Max Pain film the trailer. If I don't think we should ever
watched the movie, I think we should just watch the trailer because there's a
great scene when a shirtless man is like standing on the docks in the night
and he like opens his mouth the screen, but they replace it with like
a tiger's currently tiger roar. It's very good. Is that actually what happens
in the movie. I've never seen the actual movie. I saw the movie
when it came out when I was a young boy. Max Pain was my
favorite game of all time. At the time. I'm so sorry. I
was like. Now as an adult, I probably be like, this is
great for its own reasons, but at the time, I was like,
this is a travesty at all things. Yeah that matter in my life.
I'm lost again. It was a movie. Yeah, they did my favorite
podcast episode, but I was learning my own lore behind the nicknames. And
yeah, they made a movie in like two thousand and six something like that,
during the Terrible Movie adaptation, Yeah, starring Mark Mark Wahlberg as Max
Pain. As Max Pain, it starred Milia Kunis as Mona Sacks. This
is true strangest casting choice, you know, I mean, Mark Wahlberg wasn't
well also strange, but like I mean, there's I mean, I don't
see I at least believe Mark Wahlberg was like a cop okay, where Mona
Sax looked like a Millie Cutis looked like she was like a sixteen year old
who like rated her mom's class assassin and not like a sexy fe fatall.
Like, I was just like, oh, that's also true. That's also
true. So tell us your your favorite Max names, My favorite Max Wilbert,
Mighty Max, Max, Rito, Kitty Kat, Gludias, Maximus Food
Max, MAXI Pack, Kitty hat uh Marsha. It's a told the story
with another person gotcha. It looks like maximode, Maximode, I've got some
bad ones on here. I'm not gonna say, whoa Harry Potter, but
you got Harry Potter too specifically. You're transformed to Harry Potter, aren't you?
People are? What is it? As you could probably guess, I
would get Harry Potter all the time, and I still get Harry Potter sometimes
and I'm like, I don't look anything like is it just because but I
will say this, you're white? Yeah, no, no, Like at
the time, I got it exactly and that's when and that's where I was
gonna direct over to Max be like, why, why how did you get
Harry Potter? I used to just get everything. I used to just get
every generic white, brown haired actor period, interesting, Keanu Reeves, John
hughzach h Matthew Broadrick, Tom Cruise, like you name it. It's just
like I've got it, Like somebody has somebody has come up and be like,
you look just like this is actually when I've gone you look just like
Bob Dylan's son. And I was like trying to go to Blockbuster and be
like, I'm just trying to find a bad movie. And stale red vines.
Thank you so much. And she's like, you look, you look
him up, you'll just like Bob Dylan Son and heinz I now know a
h Bob Dylan does. Bob Dylan Son does have a band. I can't
remember the name of it. Bob Dylan Son band. Yeah, Bob Dylan
Son's band. And I don't look anything like that guy. But he's white
with brown hair, so you know something. They're like, oh wow,
anyways, Harry Potter, MAT's over here. Such a wide range he hit
and now that I have a pencil mustache. That opens the flood of other
things that don't make any sense. And he's like, you could play John
Waters. I was like, I can play a very skinny, frail game
man. Like who's like who's made pink flamingos and movies where people like eat
human feces? Like I can I can be John Waters. I can't be
John Waters. Uh, that's insult the John Waters. I love John Waters,
and I can't be I'm not gonna be John Waters. Just can't happen.
Don't look like him, but I have a mustache like them Gomez Adams,
that one I can check that one checks out. Yeah, you only
because I could do that well, because I want to fulfill that fantasy.
Yeah, I think you could do a good Gomez Adam. I know.
I mean when I was younger, my dream was to have, specifically the
nineteen nineties Adam's family film. I want to go Mes Adams wardrobe specifically why
because it's fucking amazing. When was the last thing you watched? When was
the last time you saw Gomez Adams in that movie? Silk scarves, smoking
jackets, stripe pinstriped suit coats with giant shoulder pads. Sounds like you with
a thin mustache and dark circles under his eyes. God, anyways, you
should anyways, But I don't get hair Potter so because you don't have glasses.
If you put glasses on, I never got Daniel Radcliffs. I was
about to say, Kurt with glasses would be a whole different beast. Kurt
with a hat on as a doucheback. If Kurt has a If Kurt has
a cap on, I turned into a raging asshole. Immediately, it looked
like a douchebag. What is it about baseball caps? It turns those like
twenty years younger for some reason, have you or into a douchebag or not
saying that people wear baseball caps look like all look like douchebags. I'm just
saying me personally. I don't know. There's a podcast about video games.
We've we have not talked. We talked about Max Man. Yeah yeah,
yeah, yeah. Kind of quiet week as far as, uh, what
the fuck are you talking about? It was not a quiet week Riven.
Oh sorry, my apologies to Riven. I'm actually very excited about Riven.
Okay, let me let me recry, let me start. It's been the
biggest week of the year in video games. Let me tell you all those
other weeks in yeah fucking matter because guess what Riven came out this week.
Even game of the best game of the game to change games. It's the
sequel to Miss. I mean that's the subtitle. Yeah, Riven, have
you beaten? Oh? No? Okay, but I think I think I'm
making a good stride. So for context for listeners, I've never actually played
Riven. The remake came out today or yesterday, June twenty fifth, June
twenty fifth, because I had my calendar. Okay, but I love Kurt
wakes up and looks at their calendar. I mean, I mean, I
said in a meeting. Its true. It was like a happy Riven Day
to those who celebrate. I'm out, like I gotta go. I never
I've always, always, always wanted to play Riven because I love miss I'm
obsessed with Surprise. You've never played it. It just was like we had
so like everyone's dad. As I was talking to Max, I talked to
everybody about this. Everyone's dad has played Missed. It is the game.
It's like it's like every single time I talk to someone, they're always like,
who doesn't really play video games? They're always like, oh, you
know, I used to play this one game with my dad. Miss It's
like, there's this game I used to play as a kid my dad on
an island, Missed. Like it's always like it's the shared cultural thing that
every one of our generation can like uniform, like we can all bond.
Even you never played it. You know what Missed? Yes, you know
what miss is, and you know that your dad had it. So we
had Missed and I was I didn't have the patience as a kid to beat
it, but I did as an adult. And it's changed it changed,
like the chemistry in my brain. But I feel like my family had moved
on because they were My dad was a doom guy, like Doom Quake sort
of dude. So like we got missed and he was like, I have
no fucking idea, what's going on? Boot up Doom and like, and
then that music would take over and we played due. So I don't think
Riven was just in the was in the cards for me as a seven year
old when it came out. Grim Fandango was surprisingly in nineteen ninety nine or
nineteenninety eight, but Missed and Ribbon weren't. So I had to just like
watch from the sidelines for a long time and I played Miss three and all
that jazz. So now's my time to to take it back and play Riven.
So I haven't I haven't finished it yet, but I'm making my way
through it. How do you feel about it? I years of anticipation.
I know it's it's I it makes me realize that the simple things of my
life that I love most. It's like changing. No, no, I
didn't say it changed my life. It just it reminds me of the things
that matter to me in my life. Yea like exploration and like a feeling
of not understanding but the will to want to understand. Like I have no
idea what's going on, but with like perseverance and patience and enjoying a world,
I can learn about that world and connect to that world and slowly get
begin to understand. And last night I had like this breakthrough for one of
the puzzles where I was like, oh, I understand what we're doing.
I understand like the things I'm in this I'm in the space. You go
into the space world, like it's not space work. You go to space
basically in the game, and you like rotate these globes and like create these
bridges and you're like feeding this bizarre ball into a into a mechanism that's like
shooting a laser beam to a lighthouse light in the middle of space. And
it's like, I have no idea what the fuck's going on. But then
I discovered something a room that shows like where these energies, what you're shooting
these energies from, and like I was like, oh my god, I
don't understand it, but I get it, like I feel something from it.
So I love it. I just love I love not understanding things and
then getting some sort of uh own version of my understanding of it. It
feels like that game is a more of a vibe than an actual game.
I don't know, I mean I would I would only disagree with that because
there is a story, like there is, there is a lore. It's
just that the game puzzles and you know, yeah, the game just doesn't.
The game certainly creates a vibe, but I wouldn't say, like there's
games that you play that definitely are like, oh, this is a vibe.
You got like good music and like the good thing and like you're just
vibing out. But this game there is if you can go deeper with it
if you wanted to. Yeah, there's like your fucking character comes with a
journal that has like a hundred pages already filled out. You could like read
every single page if you want to know the story. All I'm saying is
where are my my my missed lore YouTube channels? Where I don't I mean,
they might be, but like you know, people give people give from
software praise for their like storytelling. Miss was doing that first. It was
all there, Yeah, and you know what, it's also they've they've I
believe that Missed games like Missed and from Soft games follow the same exact principles
of in terms of like philosophy and mentality and playing those games, and the
key one is patience and people like I've I've met I've met from Soft,
I've met like hardcore gamer gamers who love pressing buttons, like that's their thing.
They love you'r you like pressing buttons? Is the button pressing gamer guy?
Uh? And I think I fell somewhere in the middle, but I've
heard button pressing gamer people be like, I don't fucking get missed. I
don't understand what's happening. These fucking puzzles make no fucking sense. Somebody was
texting me about Laurli and the Laser Eyes, who was a very button pressing
gamer, and they were like, this makes no sense, there's no logic
in this. I was like, no, what you're saying to me is
almost for batim what I've heard people say about Soul's games, where they're like,
this makes no fucking sense to me. I don't fucking understand this.
I don't know how to figure this out. And the thing you can tell
both those people is like, pay attention to the world. Be patient.
Yeah, read the room, and I think they I think they fall in
the same and the same on the opposite spectrum, same side of the We
had the same coin. What's the what's the saying coin? Sure? Like,
yeah, it's just different size of the same coin, that's it.
Yeah, okay what you said basically. Anyways, but where is the where
is the miss level? You? Four hour? Eight hour YouTube before YouTube?
Is a question that might be why come out to two thousand two somewhere
around this The last miss game, Missed five, was like pretty late,
yeah, and it was it was not very good from whatever from what I've
heard. Anyways, that's what I'm playing, and I went, thank you
for interesting. Anyways, I know I haven't finished yet, but I don't
know if i'll finish it tonight. But I well, I know is that
I had I had a really calm night drinking sake and playing that game.
That is such a mood. Oh my god. Now that is a vibe.
Maybe the game isn't a vibe, but the vibe, like the how
you play it as a vibe. So yeah, yeah, we'll go down
the Jean Luke's currently trying to find if there's a find the World of Miss
part one, the Great Din Civilization Complete Chronology. It was four years ago,
so you know what? All right? Okay for people out there doing
good work. Yeah, go support your local minute philosopher historian. Yeah,
I mean the brothers who made that game, they put in the work,
like to flash that world out there is depth. That's I think that's cool,
cool stuff in there. But that's my busy week. I don't know
about Max over here. How about you? I am playing a game,
an action game. Is it? Is it? Can you talk about it?
Or no? You can't talk about it. I am playing a game.
It's a lot of button hitting and you impressing your monkey brain button and
it's sort of hitting my monkey brain. But it's what are you playing outside
of that? Anything? Star five years late? But yeah that they just
put out an update this year again. Yeah, it was like the perfect
time because the updates that they put out. You also joined You also recently
joined the steam Dicks squad. Yeah, why did you say that? Wait?
Why did I It's true? So I guess yeah, you got a
steam deck from Jake past his steam Dick to me, is that what you're
saying Okay, hold on, hold on that way, but yeah, all
right this podcast, you got a Steam deck, joined the steam Deck crew
with with us US folks, but Jake gave up his steam Deck past his
deck to you. I love it. I mean I I haven't like pushed
its limits yet because I've only been playing Stardo, which is meant to have
such a graphic intensive game. It's it's perfect for me because I didn't get
it on the Switch and I had it on Steam. Figured out very late
that I couldn't transfer my stay between Switch and oh yeah Steam, because I
was very stupid. I'm still s important the developer though, so I bought
it twice. But yeah, I love it. Yeah, so far I've
only had it for like five days. Do you have any grand ambitions with
it outside of playing games? Like what do you plan on you know,
mess manimulation or putting other stuff on it? And not necessarily I mean,
I wanted to play Genchen on it, but that is a whole other kit
in kaboodle because that's not a Steam game and separate launcher, so it requires
me to go through a Linux to figure that it is. It's I mean,
I to be fair, I guess I don't know about Gensen, but
other launchers are like not as complicated as you'd think. Like I was able
to get epic games running on it fairly easily. Like a lot of people
have put in the hard work to make that stuff not terribly complicated. Okay,
well I'm a new all that, so I think it taking me a
little bit longer. Runs pretty well on it. I'm not sure what aout
The game was not unreal. It looks unreal. Well, it's also on
Steam, so it's a lot easier to just yeah right right, But not
everyone I'm trying to say, is not every game graphic attendensive game can just
run. I mean without some work on the developers, and like I know,
Indica for a while couldn't run, and then eventually I think is now
steam bag verified. We played Elden ring or somebody played Elden on steam Deck.
I played a little bit of it on steam Deck. I think Jake
did to Dafonte. It runs great on no frame dropped, I mean maybe,
but not really. Yeah, you can lock it up to you know,
whatever you need to be. I remember running great sixty. I think
you could get it running to sixty or at least. Like one cool thing
with the steam Deck is you could if you have the O lead, it
goes up to ninety, so you could lock it at forty five and it'll
actually like feel pretty smooth, you know, because it's it's you're not uh,
you're doing it at like a you know, like a half half scale,
so it just doesn't sounds weird. It sounds weird, but if like,
if it's a consistent forty five, it's fine, Like it runs smooth,
you know, as long as your monitor can support it, so which
the olead does, which is pretty cool. Yeah, Yeah, that ran
great. How much stronger is the old compared to the original? It's not.
It's just a different refresh rate, different refresh rate the screen has,
like there's less of a bezel, so it's a little bit larger, kind
of the same way the switch Old was. The battery life's better, so
there are a lot of improvements to it, but the actual underlying hardware is
the same, is pretty much the same, so it feels like switch oh
Lead basically yeah kind of. Yeah, but I mean it's it's a substantial
enough upgrade that it's it's probably the best version of the steam Deck but by
no means are you missing out by not having it? Okay, Yeah,
since I've gone into my PC gaming chapter of my life, I didn't think
it was possible for me to gain more appreciation for the Steam Deck because,
like I loved, I already was obsessed with my Steam Deck and that was
like kind of my gateway back into PC gaming after after not being a PC
gamer for many, many many moons. And it's only like enabled my excitement
and my passion. Yeah of for for like wanting to buy games on Steam,
Like we'll play games on Steam and you've been streaming from yeah, boy
computer. It's fucking great, especially because it's like when I first got Riven
and it was bedtime and I wanted to go to bed, and I opened
my Steam Deck. I like, I'll just install it and see how it
runs on there. We got the options just like you can just st from
your PC to your Steam Deck, and I was like, this is the
greatest life I've ever lived. So I did that and it was absolutely wonderful.
I still installed it obviously for on the go. On the go,
I mean, once I finished Riven, I know, you know, I'll
just be speed running it over and over again. Have you speed sped run
any game? I can't imagine couragin to mean it being the speed run.
I mean, it depends what game, and it depends on what way.
Like I've I've had, I've raced myself and Resume for the original uh many
many many times. And there's games like I don't just resonable for a remake.
But you know, my whole thing resu before remake that we've talked about
extensively is like that game gives you tools to beat that game faster and faster
and faster and faster. But I wouldn't say I'm like a I'm not.
I would never be like speed run the game in this game like no,
I just I just like lauralin the Lasers is a game that I want to
beat as fast as possible because oh man, I really hope someone does that
for yeah, yeah, because you know, like that is such a puzzle
heavy game and the every single puzzle changes. But once you understand the layout
of that mansion, there is a mentality you could probably take to get through
that game as fast as possible. But Reside evil games are the games that
I like. I always say that resuev the resubal series are my button pressy
games like that's those are the games that like I resonate with on a mechanical
level more than anything else, including like the old school tank Control prereunder background
versions. So those games I have like race to be as fas as possible,
but that I'm not gonna fucking go broath the Wild and glitch my ass
up a wall and through a fucking volcano and then through Gandorf's ass, like
like I'm not, I'm not, I'm not gonna do that. I'm just
imagining you when you first saw the trailer for the the remake and you saw
the first parody with the chainsaw, I lost my fuck. Yeah, lost
my fucking mind. Uh yeah, you're right, absolutely speaking resonal. Did
you see that they put the original one on gog Oh no, yeah,
RESI one like o G PlayStation RESIDUEV one now excuse me, Uh yeah,
it's great. I'm not I don't like I'm not on Twitter anymore. So
I'm I like feeling I get to like organically alert about these things and they
feel so much better. Yeah, yeah, uh they're putting on gog sposie
Seerund actually did like a video she got to announce it well, oh,
which was like cool. But it's not just they have one, but they're
also gonna put two and three out as well. They're like coming soon.
Oh my god. If yeah, they are, they are. It's it's
like you can pre order it by it now, by the bundle and we'll
us get it. But that's awesome because it's one of those things where because
they've like remade those games and like you know, like obviously like that's the
version Capcom probably wants you to play. A thing I always hate about remakes
is like it kind of overrides the availability of the original. People want to
back to the old times, yeah origin, or you know, maybe you
actually even prefer it, like right, like I prefer the yeah, no
reason. I think Demon Souls is a great example of that way. It's
like I would like to play the original version of Demon Souls. And so
it's cool that Capcom and Gog we're able to like put this together and have
those versions out and preserved. And because it's on Gog, it means his
versions are dear and free, so you can just have them forever, which
is great. So that's awesome. I'm sorry I'm reading about the article right
now, and I'm wait, so includes all of its original content with quality
of life improvements and enhanced capability from modern systems. I'm not sure what that
is. I'm gonna be honest. Huh. It's also the also quoted,
so it doesn't look like it. It's also the original version, not the
director's cut, so it has the original soundtrack, Thank fucking god, the
director's cut soundtrack as a fucking yeah, you made a whole video about that
short? Yeah, do you know about that? Max? Nope, because
I'm not a resident evil guy. Well, I'll give you the short of
it. There is a composer who did the soundtrack to the Director's cut release
of the First Residence soundtrack who claimed to be uh deaf, yes, and
like handicap. He always had like banges on his hands on a cane and
he was like regarded as like the Japanese Beethoven. This is all true.
He also did the soundtrack to Onny Musha two. Yeah, so this is
one track, and there's one track. It's the basement theme for the Director's
cut. It it sounds like like a it sounds like a monkey. Ca
cophony of farting horns like a monkey farting into like a like a horn.
Yeah. And so you hear it and you go, well, that sounds
like something a person as it is. But as it turns out, not
only was he not deaf, he also didn't write it, had a ghostwriter
for everything. It was like a double whammy of like, I mean,
this dude did like the Hiroshima Symphony, yeah, like, which is considered
one of the most remarkable pieces of UH music that come out of like the
modern age of of classical music in Japan. So he didn't write it.
He scammed all of his work, or just this one specific, all of
that. He didn't make anything. He didn't write any of it. But
that soundtrack is kind of legendary for that reason because it's it's unraveled a scandal.
What's funny is that that whole soundtrack isn't terrible. No, it's not
only just that one. I actually think the hallway, like the lobby theme
in that version is better than the original version. Like, there are actual
some tracks I like or in the director's cut. It's just that that one
track is like the most baffling, bizarre, Like I have a very vivid
memory of like the first time I played it getting to the hallway. What's
extra funny. It's not just that it like pauses for a second and it
goes like that's right, and it has a pause Barber. I think I
was like me and my brother were laughing straight for like just could not handle
it. And that happened. And the thing is about that song in the
video that I made, if you guys, if anybody who's listening actually cares,
it's a it's it's for a show I made. Could remember when that
was came out Jesus Christ twenty twenty. And I think this is the second
episode was the Residuevil Basements Skin. But in that in that episode, I
reached out to a bunch of classically trained musicians to try and explain it to
me objectively because it was ended up being produced composed by an actual composer.
You did wonderful work. And the thing that we the thing that I ultimately
learned is like no on paper on music notes, this song is eerie as
fuck, Like it uses methods that is supposed to create senses of dread,
and it does it by layering notes that are not supposed to go together with
a chord that are played in such a sequence that's like uneasy uneasy. However,
at the time of which that game was made, the technology was not
there to reproduce those instruments, and therefore those sounds just use midi horns opposed
to maybe like a sort of midi synth or classical string arrangement. So it
was played for me when written, when actually played properly with actual instruments,
and it sounds great. Actually, now that sounds it actually sounds effective.
It's just in that. In that and then again that's the product of what
you when you probably ghost get a ghost writer to make classical music for a
piece of for video game who doesn't understand the technology. I'm assuming that's what
you get anyways. So uh, it's it's it's kind of cool that I
hope they put out the director's cut sound I'm sure somebody's gonna add the directors
cut sound track model. It's great though. I mean, if you've never
played the originals and Evil do it do it for the cut scenes alone.
Oh, I feel like I'm a criminal for not playing Yeah, get out,
hold on, Yeah, I thought you were didn't you say you were
no, you played on the wink to I played all the wink two okay
for making him though to dead Space fucking two one and two. I think
remake. I must have played one Resident Evil at some point I don't remember,
but something turned me off by the tank controls. I think that.
I mean, they didn't stop. They didn't stop until after until they didn't
till residual six. No, no, five didn't have tank controls. Are
you sure? No? No? Sorry? Five? No, you're right,
I'm wrong. I was, yes, five had it, Six did
not. Yeah, so six was the first one that didn't. Yeah,
and then seven went first person. Yes. Yeah, it must have been
like three or two. That makes I played for like probably five minutes,
and I was like, I'm done. But Resident Evil to remake, Man,
Oh my god, I was gonna say, but I really feel like
you would be I would like to see Max go hand with resume four remake.
Yeah, four remake I think would be your speed, just because there's
like especially because if you like dead Space, because that was specifically the Resident
inspired You know why I hated quote unquote hated Resident Evil and like dead Space
was because I feel like I could defend myself in dead space. In Residenteval,
you're just like, well, it's constantly my yeah. I mean four
has a different ballet of stress where it's like you do have the resources,
but you are so overwhelmed with enemies that it then becomes like disc dance dance
of like switching with like you know, like you know, there are scenes
where you're surround on all sides and like, sure you can reload, but
then you can switch to a different weapon, but then you risk the ability
to Like you might be in a position where it's like I have to deflect
with a knife, but my knife might break if the next time I do.
It's like, there's just this wonderful thing. It's that's the ship that
makes that I figured out by through my brain. That's like I love Survival
Horror because I like the feeling I guess being like I'm not gonna make it,
but I can. I can if I just like I might have just
an inch, I can make it, And that's the ship that gets that
gets my rocks off. For four remake was definitely like the closest I got
to like, oh, I really want to play this game, but I
never did. Still, so you gotta do it. I feel like again,
I feel like a criminal. For criminal, you're just you're you're just
you're maybe on the brink up becoming a fugitive, and we just got to
chick it makes you a criminal. When you come in the office next week,
there might just be the game booted up on your PC. You know
this, kidding what's going on? And on principle, you need to play
it for the dialogue because the fucking writing in that game is a top tier.
Oh yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, you'll get there. We'll
get you there. I'll tie you down, We'll tie you down, We'll
make it. Yeah, I will say. Alan Wake two's gameplay, I
love the game playing that and the Dodge bount actually broke my brain a bit
because I was trying to play Rising before remake recently and I was coming off
the heels of playing and I was like, I can't dodge, Like,
I can't, I can't. Like it's it's it's a small thing, but
it's like they feel so similar and at times that it was like it's I
was like getting in Allen Wake two mentality not action no no no no no
no no no no. But yeah, I think the gameplay in that was
was pretty good, but I think just the whole story and the presentation of
that game was just unbelievable. I mean that's definitely more than the game playing
for sure. Yeah, although I actually really like the gameplay about like too.
I like the gameplay too. I like it. I like it.
But you know, but if we're talking, you know, like top tier
feeling, sure, yes, okay, absolutely starting to piece it together now,
Yeah, especially when you get into like again like knife deflecting and even
like you even the hip boxes in Resume four are so specific and interesting because
it's like there is technically a dodge because if you duck, like because you
can crouch in that game, and like it's like I've seen people online have
access thrown at them and like have pitchforks thrown at them, and if you
crouch at a certain time, like you dodge it, like you can get
past it. And it's like very small things like that, or like the
way the world interacts with each other. We're like I've seen shit online where
like somebody will throw an axe and like a wolf will jump at you,
and then like the act will hit the dog and like stop it from hitting
you. And it's like little things in the world, the way that will
play together. That's just like that's just like like stuff like that. Or
you know, like when you watch an enemy trudge through other enemies, like
you know, there's a oh yeah yeah, like the bowl, the bowl
wearing headman with a sledgehammer who will fucking knock through other villagers and it's like
you can like trick them and figure out the world that will win. It
feels good. Anyways, you can tell the slow wee because we're just talking
about old games. What are you playing? What am I playing? Yeah?
Uh, John Luke? To make clear that I addressed John Luke because
I just said you yes, you me, uh guy in the corner of
the room that I've been playing two things. V Rising The Rising is one
of them. I'm deep into that V Rising. Do you know about V
Rising Max? Because V Rising is it's been in early access for like two
years, but it just came out officially one point zero this year. It
is a top down isometric in the style I love, like a Diablo,
but it is a like open world crafting survival. Well, I wouldn't say
survival because there are no like health and food mechanics like crafting mechanics where you
know, like, oh, like as as this is typical crafting formula where
you know, oh, you get this resource and this resource list, you
build this stuff and then you can build this that. The title does not
match the game you're talking. So here's the thing. It's the game where
you go and collect resources. Like, so here's the thing. You're a
vampire. You play. You play as a vampire that has woken up,
and you're like, I need to gain back my my power and defeat Dracula
and that's like your end goal. And you have this like massive list of
all these bosses you need to like defeat, and each time you defeat a
boss, you'll unlock new abilities and you unlock new like crafting things you can
get. Yes, actually they even have a crossover with Castlevania. So Simon
Belma is one of the bosses you fight. Oh, which is very fun,
but yeah, I mean it's it's got this really satisfying loop where as
you progress, it's like okay, like you know, I will beat this
boss. Now I can turn into a wolf, and then I can get
around faster. And then I beat this boss and now I get like this
ability and now I can like make this thing, you know, like and
improve my armor in this. And then the big thing is that you you
can pick a plot of land and you build your castle and you actually like
slowly get to build out this like vampire castle and you can make it like
however you want. And the actual like building tools are pretty robust and as
you go, so like even more than just like upgrading your abilities. The
most exciting thing is like I got a new wallpaper and I'm gonna like and
I can change the way my castle. This is the point. What's the
point where you say all that stuff and I'm like, I'm on the verge
of falling asleep until you say a wallpaper and I'm like, yes, I
want to be a born fucking vampire on the goddamn planet. I can fucking
murder every one of this fucking village. But instead I'm gonna change my wallpaper
today and I'm gonna like everyone live. The most exciting thing is like it's
like, oh, yeah, we unlocked different candle operas. It's time to
go build a bunch of candle obbers and put them around rising Dracula. Oh
I just white and blue pinstriped house yeah, and you're like, I can
now repolster my sofa rising, like the carpet comes in blue. Now it's
just like I imagined every single time, like, oh my god, we
got crystal door knobs Rising Journey just fucking you know pretty what We'll say,
the only thing I did the music in the game. It's not very vampireing.
I hope it sounds like the Sims. It just kind of sounds like
it's just kind of whatever. It's like, yeah, that's music. So
what we do is we put on a visual K vampire playlist okay, all
right, which I don't know if you've ever heard visual K before. It's
like Japanese like ah, like I think like Japanese like operatic, like goth
vampire that was clearly inspired. It's like a whole genre that's clearly inspired by
Castlovenia because they all kind of sound like Castle Vania like soundtracks, but with
like screaming metal. You know, stuff is so specific, it's incredibly specific.
It makes a great playlist when you're playing this game. I highly record.
I was gonna say, you should absolutely still continue listening to that.
But I know that my vampire music would be the band typo negative because the
singer looks like a fucking vampire, as like a six foot eight vampire man
with fangs. He actually has fangs. U Jesus, you're pretty good,
but maybe have a make sure it's uh a safe for work or not.
Since he's done Playgirl before, so you gotta be careful when you google his
names something. I'm playing this at home, so do whatever I want.
Yeah you can. Yeah, yeah, I'm just saying if you go google
this, maybe make sure you're not. Another game that I had that same
situation with where I was like playing the game, but I kind of didn't
like the music with C Stars. Oh interesting. That game was like really
fun to play and I love the vibe of it, and then I was
like, this music kind of wasn't back m Controversially, I feel that way
about or in The Will The Will the Wisps. Really, I think that
soundtrack is obnoxious. I think it is so loud, like so bombastic,
and so like Disney this Disney fied Yeah, to the point where it was
like genuinely distracting me, and I like, I shut it off, and
it's like when I have to do that in a game, I feel like
the game has failed, like the important part of it, the triangle when
you're creating a piece of art where every single thing is supposed to compliment that
thing. Obviously, maybe it did for that for what I wanted to accomplish,
it was successful, and the people who love that soundtrack awesome, But
for me, it was like it was bumb it was too over the top,
it was too it just bombarded everything for me. So that's that's an
example of a soundtrack. Was like, I can't do it. I feel
like that's our hot takes of the day for sure. Yeah, yeah,
no, I know, I know people will fucking you know, send me
a pile of ship listen to this asshole, enjoy this soundtrack. It was
when opened the boxing we filled the flies and farts, But you know,
I would rather listen to that on the soundtrack. I'm joking kind of what
was the other game you were playing besides the V Rising. I've been replaying
Dragon Age Origins. Actually you saw that reveal and you were like, I
need to go back to the to the s. Yeah. Yeah, I
was kind of feeling the itch and I've been meaning to play it with Georgia
because she's never played dragon Age, and she loved Boulterer's Gate, and so
I was like, okay, like there's there, there's that's the Gateway.
I keep hearing, Yeah, it's there's there's a lot of cross over there.
It's not like exactly the same, but like there is a lot of
crossover. So it's like, hey, let's you know see how it is.
It's fascinating playing that game now because there's I so it's my favorite of
the three, and I think it still holds up. But there's a lot
of elements about it that are like, yeah, this is pretty archaic in
some ways because it's when was it made. It was made two thousand and
nine, which is it's weird because it was. It's weird to think about
because when it came out, it was very much like we're going back virus
saying we're going back to our our our Boulders Gate roots a boulders Skate one
in two and so it was kind of meant to be a spiritual successor to
Boulders Skate, and it is in that way where it's like it has the
same like real time, but you can pause issue commands combat that that game
had even has like you can straight up normally, I think the preferred way
to play that game is more like kind of zoomed in, but you can
actually zoom all the way out boulders Gate style and like play it that way
where you just like straight up like click on the map and they walk around.
I don't think it's the best way to play that game because the presentation,
but you can play it that way if you want. But then that
that series is like more gone down the uh kind of action y route ever
since, like like slowly to the point where the new one just straight up
is like an action game with like a Perry mechanic and everything. And I
was like, you know, and and I've accepted that because I think they've
just slowly been doing it. Like I'm not going to be a convention about
it, because I'm like, yeah, they've been going the while, and
we have bulders Skate three. But it's just interesting to like look back and
be like, wow, like that first game really was trying to like capture
the energy of boulders Gate, and then they've moved away from that. And
then meanwhile, boulders Gate three came back last year and was just like this
huge thing. I know, even from X, you know, and I
was gonna and that was what I was gonna ask, like, do you
foresee maybe trying out Dragon's Age. That's the thing we're just supposed to be,
well, balders Gate is supposed to be like an entry for D and
D and just these kind of other games too, And I for me,
it didn't really push that, but I feel like it definitely could for other
people easily. And that's why I guess, Yeah, I think the weird
thing with with Dragonage, I'm curious how they handle it is I think Dragon
Age has a lot more layering of like characters and plot beats over the years
that will maybe make it a little less accessible to people who aren't like I'm
you know, I'm sure they have that in mind, and they want to
kind of build the new one to be as accessible to new players. Uh,
But it's like, hey, like the core conceit of that game is
building off of, like the plot beat that was at the end of the
last game, which came out ten freaking zon. You're going to bridge players
with a world that exactly doesn't quite have the same accessibility or approachability and controls
and all that jazz one hundred percent. Yeah, where boulders Gate three definitely
has a lot of tie ins too the original Bolder Skate, but it I
know means required that to be invested, So I think that's they kind of
have a challenge with that one. I would like to try. I've never
played to Dragons Dragon Agent either, and there's a part of me because I
like archaic com like you know, systems and ship that you know doesn't really
make sense today. I'm like, I mean, I don't think it's that
archaic. Well fuck that, I'm not interested, like like I think you
would, but I think you would specifically you would probably play and be like,
oh okay, I see what they're doing. That's someone who's played like
the original uh Serrupges of that day. Oh you know recently too, Like
I mean exactly Planescape Torment Yeah what uh? I love that game so good,
but I yeah, I still like that first one quite a bit so
far. I love the vibe of it. It looks ugly as hell now,
but to be fair kind of, I don't think it even looked that
good when I first came out. If anything, I mean it's because it
came out the same time as Mass Effect and yes too, just looks so
much better. I mean, mass Effect one looked good in its own way
at the time. As Effect one looked amazing. Yeah it was sixty right,
yes, yeah, yeah, it is aged less gracefully now, but
at the time it was like, wow, this is amazing. I'm not
even dragon Age at the time didn't look awful, but it was just like
it looked kind of weird and rough and Spot I was watching. I don't
know why I was watching Dragon Age origin reviews for some reason recently. I
would never do that for fun. That doesn't seem good, I know,
so it must have been for work for some reason. But I remember seeing
it because I was I was watching the old game Spot video review from two
thousand. I remember being like, this game looks like a ship. Yeah,
I kind of, But I have now now I need to go back
and understand. Why was I watching that? Why do we give it?
Do you remember? No? I don't care. I mean, like I
don't. I have to assume it was like a nine or something. We
should we should rewrite history right now and say that I was given a nine
point four. Yeah, there, we did points points. I think we
I think we still did point decimals back then. Well, I'm gonna say
a nine point four yeah. Man, that game is still pretty awesome though,
Like it's just far as the amount of like you know, world building,
characters, side quest, like that game is dense as hell. Uh
and and yeah, like I think all that stuff about it still holds up.
It's just things like oh, the presentation and and also like it being
an old PC game, they're weird things like the UI. Well the UI
is okay, but like none of the text scales up so when you're playing
on like a four K monitor, Yes there is a I found a mod
that someone made that like fixes that, and I was like, all right,
well we need to download this because like I can't. I mean,
what happens if you just knocked the resolution down of the game. I mean
you can, but even even on ten ADP, it's kind of small.
Like it was like, oh, I need to play it, like seven
point safety let's go. Good, we gave it. Are you ready?
Yeah? A nine point five close? I always thought. I was like,
oh shit, point ah, it's pretty good though, yeah, do
you want to read Uh let's see why, let's see what that was?
It? The good and bad. Oh it was. Sorry, I'm scrolling
up to it. Uh with it? Do you want to guess with Kevin
van Ord? Holy shit, it was. John Looks, a legacy fan
of game Spot November thirt Spot reviews back in the day. Yeah, so
today I used to read this guy named Peter Brown. He's a loser anyway.
So the good. The good is intricate, involving storytelling, amazing dialogue
and voice acting, bring characters to life. That's that's great. Bridge fantasy
world filled with interesting lore yep. Yeah, enjoyable questioning with plenty of twists
and surprises. Yeah, there's a lot of good the way. At this
point it's like I'm surprised. Yeah, it's a great game. Lots of
spells and abilities make combat fun. Yep. Cool. Now for the bad.
Oh, this is what got it a nine point five knocked it down.
The one thing one quote, a few glitches. Hmmm, oh you
know what? Yeah, actually there there is Ah, there was a mod
because I was looking through the mods and I was like, what are the
mod what's the modes scene for this game? It's actually pretty dense and a
lot of it very not safe for work. Oh ok, sorry, like
things in the game were not safe for work. No, well, people
said, like, what if we did this, take this and make it
that was the thing? I mean that the course. I mean it's a
Biber game, so there are sex scenes, and everyone says, yeah,
what if we take those sex scenes? Can believe that wasn't marked us a
good point. It was just like, just like characters with lots of personality,
like lots of spells in combat, make combat fun, sex keep going.
I mean that's all I know about balders G three And I've played that
game, and I played that game for like a lot, and I still
whenever people like, hey, what's that game about, I was like,
oh sucks. This is like the first thing which definitely walks and boulders Gate
could just run run away with it in that department. Yeah, but I
want my Fable STD game. Oh sure, I thought I would here to
get if the new table doesn't have intestine condoms and STDs. Yeah, like,
what are we miss all of that Fable I don't remember any of them.
Yeah, oh yeah, there's lava. Don't worry. Don't have to
worry there, that's at the end of it. Face two is the one
they had like the good and bad like clearly separated. That's always been the
whole Fable thing. I mean, like the cool thing about Fable is that
you know your character slowly transforms based on whether or not you're good or bad,
Like you'll literally become a glowing angel person. You took a further We're
like if you ate too much, you would get like obese. Yeah,
like you know, like they did. Some weird stuff was in two or
three where you can have like you like can marry someone and then have an
affair and then like your wife will go and beat the ship up. Three
told you my story, my Fable three story when in someone else's world.
Yes, yes, you have to tell this. Oh okay, I'm maybe
I've told this on the podcast before it so apologies. So Fable three had
a mechanic where I think you could just like go to a portal and you
would be like connect me to someone's game just randomly because the game had co
op and you could just like as long as their world was open, you
could just join it. And I was like, you know what, I
just want to see what happens. Take me on a journey. I joined
this person's world I'm playing as a girl in the game, uh and their
guy. And there's a mechanic in Fable three where you can hold hands with
NPCs, and like, this is what I wanted real quick, this is
what I wanted to Bowlers Gay three more than sex holding, because handholding.
I just wanted to hold Wither's hand. He was I had no I had
zero point zero desire to fuck anyone in that game, but I did have
a weird thing for Withers. And I understand how complicated that is, wanting
to have sex with a dead man. Yeah, I didn't say it.
You just finished the sentence for me. And it was one of those things
where were like, I just I just want to hold his hand. So
that's one thing Fable has. Fable three, yeah, has on top of
alders, you can hold people's hands, and so you can barely just do
that with other players as well. You can hold hands. So grab me
by the hand, like kind of run me around, and they're like,
here, take this ring, will you marry me? And I was like
sure, I've been here for five minutes. And then they're like great.
They dragged me over to like the chap, we have a wedding, we
get married, they grab my hand again, they run me over to their
house. They go to the bed, and then it's like do you want
to have sex? Like the prop pops up and I was like sure,
and then it's just like they didn't use a condom, and it's like you
have a kid now, and then just like just a kid pops up,
like a carriage with like a kid, and then it's just like, oh,
okay, we have the kid now, and then it just says they
have filed for divorce. You have now been broken up with and then all
of a sudden, it just cuts to a loading screen. I'm back where
I was in my world, and it's just like the players from their world
what a flash stream, and then my character is just there like nothing happened,
like like my world was like this is so time. That is so
unnerving. Must have felt so used kind of yeah, it was kind of
a little bit. Yeah, I was used for achievements is the it is
the epitome, the very definition of being. Yes, I think they were.
I think they were like perfect, I can have a trophy of like
half of this with another place. It'd be great if the trophy specifically was
because I think I got the trophies too. Oh god, it would be
great if the trophy specifically was like, marry someone, have a baby,
bunte unprotected sex with them, get a baby, divorce them, and kick
them back to their fucking realm. That's what the trophy. And you have
to do it within like, and the trophy has to be called something like
life Speed Run. Yes, yes, right, Life Speed Run achievement and
uh and that's exactly what both of you got. So that was I just
think about that all the time. So if the New Fable doesn't have if
the New Fable doesn't let me do that, like, what are we even
do? What are we doing? What are we doing here? I feel
like this is gonna be John Luke's vengeance. Of course, not morble.
You said there's a there's a thing in your voice, like, of course
not that'd be sorry, that would be so bad. I want to do
that. Chris is playing One day suddenly, I know, yeah, one
day, one day J'll be like, hey, you want to come over
in the world and be like we can play with you question or something,
hole in hands. Oh this is so nice, And next thing I know,
it's like the funk out of my house. Curtain, the kick me
to the curb, and I'll be like, what the fuck happened to my
life? And then I'll be trying to call you and be like, how
is our sign? May like he doesn't want to speak to you. Click
where's the alimony? Motherfucker? Click? Even though I feel like if you
if you have the kid, I guess you know. So that's what I
have to look forward if the new fable doesn't allow that relationship between John Luke
and I said, I'm returning it to games Stop. I'm returning this game
back physically to the physical media world I've left I We're just gonna like take
it out of I'm gonna put it on a USB drive and bring it to
games Now. It's not even one open in like San Francisco anymore. I
think there's one of the miss one you should just like take a picture of,
like your digital copy and my money pack. Can I just like return
I was used, I had a baby, I got divorced. Now they
won't even let me speak to them. And then the person games up like
do you wanna do you want to trade this and get five dollars credit to
your next came your next preorder. Oh, don't don't give me my war
flashback. I mean, I've been there. I've worked there for a hot
minute. We all worked there. I never worked there. Now, just
the the the uh, what do you call it? I want to what
do you call like pristine touched? Yeah, it's clearly not because of what
happened to me and Fable. Yeah yeah, yeah, I guess we all
have our moments. Yeah, anyways, let me hold hands with Withers.
Let us have a kid together. I will let him see the child.
I mean, I'm just imagining that meal. I want to shake her head.
Yeah, what does that guy just really wants to shake somebody's hand on
the airplane? Have you's not seen it? No, it's pretty terrible.
I feel like that's your energy towards Withers, right Jesus Christ. No,
maybe I live in a live in a perfect world where I just get to
have the fantasy of me aggressively shaking with his hands, whether he likes it
or not. Sounds like a threat. He would like it, I don't
think. Okay, let's stop, all right. I think that's a podcast.
Max thinks for joining us, thank you for having me. Yeah,
of course you should be on more often. We'd love having you on fun.
Have you just sit here and press buttons? Kurt? You're not inviting
me next time? I take it? Yeah, Kurt, you can you
can hear? I don't know. Are you okay? No, I'm not
in this podcast? Are you thinking about I think I'm just thinking? Are
you planning how you're gonna think about? My son? Where are they?
I need to get home. I need to get home to my son.
It's been fifteen years. Are they what are they up to? What have
they been doing? She try and to see if you could open up?
Uh? Probably not, Damn. Anyways, I think you're trying to Outroya.
I was trying to outro the podcast. Thanks Kurt, thank you for
being here. I'm I'm continuously shocked that I'm allowed back on every week.
Yeah, after this episode, I agree? Yeah, thank you, not
even last week's episode, but this one too. Yeah. Yeah, well,
thank everyone for listening to another episode of Games but after Dark and Games
spot Max Va Lava. I'll never hear the god damn. Every time you
get a code for a games and be like, does it does it have
the lava check? Does it have to have max Lava Yeah. Cool,
Thanks appreciated. You're absolutely so welcome, alright, both sarcastically and seriously.
All Right, everyone, we'll see you next week. Goodbye, bye,