WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:11.039 Hey, everybody, Welcome to Games Mornings with Me Jeff Grub, 2 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.640 your host from GiantBomb dot com. Thank you for tuning in. 3 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:17.039 In this episode, we're going to be talking about what 4 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.399 feels like the fiftieth game this year to launch the 5 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:20.280 glowing reviews. 6 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:21.079 It's gonna be a. 7 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.039 Good one because we have John Sick Mechanico Clark on 8 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:24.600 the show. 9 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:25.719 John, how are you doing. 10 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.760 I'm doing very well, mister Grub, And thank you for 11 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.880 pronouncing the ridiculous game attack correctly. I get a rare talent. 12 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:35.759 Yeah, that one I've heard set out loud so I 13 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:38.920 can remember that one. Uh, John, Yeah, how are you doing? 14 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:41.719 I'm doing good, mate, I'm doing good, you know, embracing 15 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.359 my midlife crisis, dyeing my hair ridiculous colors. 16 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:46.320 I mean, you have to at some point. 17 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.560 Desperately to my ever fading youth. But as you rightly say, 18 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.640 playing just twenty twenty six, well, I thought twenty twenty 19 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:58.799 five was like rivaling two thousand and seven is one 20 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:01.679 of the best years of video game life for video games. 21 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.480 And don't get me wrong, like, let's put opinion all 22 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:07.000 the terrible things that are happening in this industry, but 23 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:08.719 in terms of like the games. 24 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:11.120 Yeah, the people that are sticking around making the games 25 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:12.599 are really talented. 26 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:13.200 Yeah. 27 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:17.400 Yeah, good lord, we are drowning in excellent video games. 28 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:17.920 It's great. 29 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.719 Yeah, it is going from one great game to the next. 30 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:23.400 It's kind of how it's been for me, and not 31 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:24.920 complaining on that side of things. 32 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:26.920 I just wish that more developers got to do that. 33 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:28.760 So yeah, I mean, and. 34 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.159 It's working like it seems like all these games, a 35 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:32.640 lot of these games are finding their audience and uh yeah, 36 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:33.640 it's been pretty good. 37 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:34.280 Well, we'll talk. 38 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:37.120 About some good games here in a second. In fact, 39 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.640 let's get into the show and let's explain what we 40 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.519 do here. I'm Jeff Grubb. This is Giant Bomb. You 41 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:44.120 can go to giant bomb dot com, slash join and 42 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:45.000 become a premium member. 43 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:45.799 If you do so, you. 44 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:47.840 Get access to a bunch of cool stuff. You get 45 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.760 premium exclusive shows. You get early access to shows that 46 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.120 go on premium first and then go public later. You 47 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.519 get ad free versions of all of our programs. But 48 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.560 most you get the satisfaction of supporting independent games media. 49 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:02.120 We're out here doing this thing. We want to keep 50 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.319 doing it our way. You can help make that possible, 51 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.079 and we really are appreciative to everyone who has helped 52 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.159 us do that. And if you're on the side because 53 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.039 you can't afford it or whatever reason, we get it, 54 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:13.240 tell a friend, hang out here, make the make the 55 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:16.120 community cooler just by having your presence be a part 56 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:19.280 of it. We really appreciate that as well. As far 57 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:21.800 as this show goes, most weekdays, I Jeff Greb will 58 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.800 help piece your gaming life back together. That includes breaking 59 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:28.280 news and maybe even some of our own original reporting. 60 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:31.120 For all these topics, I'll get the input of a 61 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.719 bona fide expert who will make me look smart. If 62 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.800 you are watching live on Twitch welcome. You can always 63 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:39.120 listen to the show later on podcast feeds by searching 64 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.240 for Game Mess Mornings, or find the RSS feed on giant. 65 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:43.840 Bomb dot com. 66 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.039 You can also catch the show later with chapters and 67 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:47.360 timestamps on YouTube. 68 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:49.599 Hello YouTube. 69 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:51.120 All right, we have a lot to get into, so 70 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:55.520 let's start the Morning Mess with Mina the hollower reviews. 71 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:59.439 They're in after a long wait for this game, and 72 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:03.919 it's yeah, just critical ravings mostly across the board, with 73 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.879 some notable exceptions, but at a ninety two one open critic. 74 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:10.360 Last time I checked, I expected to hover around there. 75 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:12.159 I don't think it's going to like have some massive dip. 76 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:13.840 But we've seen a lot of games recently John like 77 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:16.280 launched to like ninety two and then kind of drop 78 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.159 around ninety eighty nine, So yeah, it could. 79 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:22.520 Happen here as well. But lots of like perfect scores 80 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:23.000 or whatever. 81 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:24.840 However you want to phrase that ten out of ten 82 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:30.840 from Samuel Claiborne at IgM, who said many, yes, right, like, yeah, 83 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:32.879 they are pretty stingy with those. And here's another one 84 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.159 from Samuel Claiborne who says, Mina the Hollower will burrow 85 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:38.719 into your brain and set up a cozy little house there. 86 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.280 I couldn't let it go. Clues to unsolved puzzles popped 87 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:44.759 into my brain before bed. A corner high out of 88 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:47.159 reach that I never set foot on beckons me every 89 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:49.039 time I pass it on my way to the shops 90 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.360 in Ossex. The math tells me maxing out my attack 91 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:55.680 power would just take one really good grinding spot and 92 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:57.960 then I could beat that secret boss that destroyed me. 93 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:02.520 Mina achieves the same heights both both action and style as. 94 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:04.639 The game, the studio's predecessor. 95 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:07.439 In terms of Shovel Night got five stars from Joshua 96 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.879 Robertson at The Gamer. The Hollower is an almost faultless 97 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.879 game that combines the elements of nostalgic classics we know 98 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.639 in love with a healthy dose of Yacht Club's flare 99 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.519 and expertise to make it something that truly stands out 100 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.959 as a retro inspired masterpiece. I could honestly play it forever, 101 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:27.360 with Yacht Club proving that it's not just a one 102 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:31.160 game studio with yet another bona fide classic. I Meanwhile, 103 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.000 Mike Manadi here at Giant Bomb gave it three and 104 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.560 a half stars. He said, somehow the Dark Soul's influences 105 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:37.920 keep Mina from being the best Zelda style game it 106 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:40.959 could be, while the Zelda mechanics prevented from reaching. 107 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:45.160 The heights of the best Souls likes. I've been playing it, John, 108 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.560 and I'm definitely somewhere. 109 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.639 In between all this. Actually, I'm like, yeah, this is 110 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.279 a pretty good game. It's something about it. Early on, 111 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:54.680 at least I've not played a ton has not been 112 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:57.279 sticking with me. I've definitely been happy to like go 113 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.519 over to Bond, which we'll talk about here in a second. 114 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.439 But I could see why so many people are very 115 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:04.519 into it, and I was a little surprised to be like, 116 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.800 oh man, there sounds like there's so much more in 117 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.279 terms of the depth of what's going on in the gameplay, 118 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:12.120 in the world, just a ton of screens to explore. 119 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:14.560 It seems substantial. What do you make of all this? 120 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:18.319 Yeah, Like it's an interesting one because I'm surprised to 121 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:23.600 see it score so highly because Jesse, our reviews lead, 122 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.160 has been playing it and is like, this game is 123 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:31.360 punishingly difficult, and that can often create a kind of 124 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.199 you know, a skill gap, if we want to use 125 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.720 that phrase, where some people will just bounce off it. 126 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:39.759 Like I'm probably going to be one of those people, right, 127 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.279 this probably is not a me game to dive into. 128 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.720 But he absolutely loved it, you know, he didn't give it. 129 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:48.040 The full top marks or something. 130 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:51.639 Yeah, yeah, he said it was, you know, channels the 131 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:53.879 vibes of all the best old school games, but brings 132 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.279 some modern sensibilities along for the ride, with smartly paced 133 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:02.839 exploration and tight gameplay. A difficult but rewarding experience. At 134 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.560 just twenty dollars, it's well worth well. 135 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:09.000 Worth, right, Yeah, yeah, do you remember that I'm a 136 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.600 I'm a huge Links Awakening fan, and so when I 137 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.319 saw this and it was like, Oh, that looks a 138 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.439 lot like that's what they're going for. And yeah, and 139 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.079 it's you know, in terms of some of the elements 140 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.439 of the game, it is definitely a Zelda, but they 141 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:25.120 are there's so many other elements in here you can't 142 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.040 just put it in any one jar. And I do 143 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:28.720 think that like that. I was like, oh, yeah, what 144 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:30.680 Mike got there is kind of the sense I got 145 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.560 early on, which is, you know, the jack of all trades, 146 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.319 master of none or whatever. But uh does sound like 147 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.800 it for some people they got over that hump and 148 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.360 it was like, oh, it becomes this cohesive experience kind 149 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:43.480 of doing its own thing. 150 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:44.600 Uh. But I do. 151 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.279 I do think there like there will be a hump 152 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:48.600 there and that will be both difficulty as you pointed out, 153 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.399 and then just kind of grasping all like the way 154 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.839 all the very specific mechanics work. For example, the Estes 155 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:58.439 flasks in this game, the recovery mechanic is not just 156 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.560 you know, you drink your Estus flask and you get 157 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:04.199 your life back like in Dark Souls or Bloodborne or 158 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:06.680 something like that. You have to an attack an enemy 159 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:09.560 to like get potential health back, and then when you 160 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.240 take a drink that fills up. And it's like, so 161 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:15.000 if you get attacked by something else in between taking 162 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.759 that drink, which you know you're vulnerable during, you're gonna 163 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.680 lose more health as well as that potential health. It's like, Okay, 164 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.480 that's that's pretty complicated. That's a little bit more more 165 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.079 sort of again in depth than I would have what 166 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:27.839 was expecting, and I think a lot of players will 167 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:31.120 be expecting, so I think it'll take time for newcomers 168 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.279 to sort of grasp that sort of thing. But it 169 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.759 does sound like people will find something they'll find some 170 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:36.959 like purchase here. 171 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:40.319 I think as well, like just seeing like and this 172 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:42.680 is the great thing about video games nowadays, right is 173 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:46.399 you get you know, you get big triple A extravagances 174 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:48.399 like Bond, which we'll talk about in a bit, but 175 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:51.959 you still get these love letters to the past that 176 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:56.240 bring along the modern kind of more modern game design 177 00:07:56.759 --> 00:07:59.519 do things that frankly like systems back in the old 178 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.920 days could never do and yet are still just as 179 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.160 fantastic in just completely different ways. And I love that 180 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.360 there are so many different like avenues for people to 181 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.199 just enjoy this hobby across a myriad of different genres 182 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:17.160 without stressing too much, and like to see studios continue 183 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:20.519 to find success in so much variety is just like 184 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:23.439 you know, and yeah, like we said at the beginning, 185 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:26.839 this whole industry is going through like a rough time 186 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.759 for like the last feels like half a decade now, 187 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:32.159 but I still see stuff like this and I'm just like, 188 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:34.080 I'm so glad it exists, even if it's not for me. 189 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.600 I'm just so glad that it's out and it's getting 190 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:38.840 the kind of reaction that it's getting from players. It's 191 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:39.600 good to see. 192 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:42.799 I was playing on steam Deck. If anyone's wondering while 193 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:44.600 it's on there, of course it would be this. You know, 194 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:48.039 they're not trying to go for realistic graphics or anything. 195 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:50.960 It's a throwback style. But yeah, it was very comfortable 196 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:52.799 to play on the steam Deck, which you know, to 197 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:54.639 me at this point means any of the other handhelds 198 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:57.000 anyone's using are all more powerful than that at this point. 199 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.720 So that's kind of your green light there that, yeah, 200 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:01.720 you're going to be able to play that handheld no issue. 201 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.559 Mike did play on switch to he waited for a 202 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:07.559 switch code. I don't think there were a ton of 203 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:10.559 switch reviews. Maybe there were more after I looked this morning, 204 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.279 and I think he had no issues as well. 205 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:14.519 So there you go. 206 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.799 All right, let's talk about the game. You and I 207 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.679 have been playing. Double O seven First Light reviews also 208 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:22.639 came in. I know we talked about on the BombCast 209 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:25.440 yesterday yesterday everybody, but we've not talked about it on 210 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:27.919 this show yet. Got an eighty eight on Open Critic. 211 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:30.120 This is another one that did actually open in the 212 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.360 low nineties. It's kind of dipped down a little bit. 213 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.399 I think it's probably going to settle in right around here, 214 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.679 which is shocking to me. John just couldn't believe how 215 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:40.480 good this game was. Five stars from Jordan Midler over 216 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:44.080 at VGC. Double O seven First Light might just be 217 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.080 the best James Bond game ever. The way IOI has 218 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:50.919 translated the Bond fantasy into a fourteen hour, globe trotting 219 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:55.279 epic is masterful. It's a game full of spectacle, humor, action, 220 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.799 and romance. Everything James Bond should be. New Bond owners, 221 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:02.720 Amazon must in sure this franchise continues. Eight out of 222 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.639 ten from Mark Delaney at GameSpot, who says Double O 223 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:09.399 seven first light wisely repurposes what works in both universes. 224 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.240 I believe that is James Bond and hit Man, but 225 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.960 isn't afraid to reimagine or ditch those parts that don't. 226 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:17.879 I definitely agree with that. I think it's kind of 227 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.080 one of the amazing things that did happen here. Then 228 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:24.960 a nine out of ten from Jean Clark at Day one. 229 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.360 With a great cast of characters, tons of imagination, and 230 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.559 just the right amount of player agency and replayability, there 231 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.080 is a delightful playground full of gadget gadgetry and spycraft 232 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.480 the players will want to return to again and again. 233 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.960 A confident return for the Double O program. And sorry, 234 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.720 Golden Eye, this is, without a doubt, the best James 235 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:45.159 James Bond game ever made. 236 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.720 I agree with that. This is a yeah, I mean. 237 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:49.440 It's this is this is it they figured. It really 238 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.720 feels like they cracked the nut here. They got this 239 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:55.759 one sort of onlock in a way that my expectation 240 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.000 for this game, John was we'd go into it and 241 00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:59.799 be like, oh, I can see I could see what 242 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:02.399 they're going for. They're getting really close with this. You know, 243 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.320 it's hard to make games. They had to like figure 244 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.840 out the first stuff, and they came out with a 245 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:08.679 really awesome seven out of ten that I'm. 246 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:10.399 Gonna be telling people go play it. You should be 247 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:10.759 playing it. 248 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:13.480 It's like, oh, no, no, no, they skipped that part, 249 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.799 and they're like they made what felt what feels like 250 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:17.919 would have been the sequel. It's like, oh, everything really 251 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:20.639 came together, because everything really comes together here, and I 252 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:24.600 do think it all traces back to they used everything 253 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.360 they learned from Hitman, but not as like an anchor, 254 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:28.720 a thing that was weighing them down, like this is 255 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:29.879 the way we did in hit Man, So we just 256 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.679 got to find a way to make that make sense 257 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:33.960 for James Bond. It's like, no, if it didn't make 258 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.360 sense or it needed to change or it needed to 259 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.320 be improved, like the combat, they did the hard work 260 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.120 to make the combat fun in a James Bond way 261 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:45.200 like that. When they deviated from Hitman, their answer was 262 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:48.399 always what makes it more James Bond. And the result 263 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.440 here just is so obvious, like from the first minute 264 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:53.559 you pick up the controller, but then it just continues 265 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:54.440 and gets better and better. 266 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:55.759 How'd you find it. 267 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.960 Yeah, it's it's a funny one. And it's like, there's 268 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.000 so much to unpack about this because, like from a 269 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:04.639 pure game perspective, when I first started playing, you know, 270 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.000 initially I was a bit worried. I was like, oh, 271 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:10.039 you know, I'm squeezing through small gaps, I'm learning how 272 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:13.240 to hide in long grass, hanging from lunches. 273 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:16.559 If you glance at this game, like for a second, 274 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.919 I think, yeah, oh, this combat looks like the block 275 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:21.600 block punch, block block punch, And it's like, yeah, it 276 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.759 doesn't feel that way when you're playing, but from a glance, 277 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:25.039 it looks like triple A slap. 278 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.720 Yeah, it looks like I've played this before, you know. 279 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:30.440 And so that first like forty five minutes. But then 280 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:34.039 because it's an origin story, you're you're not you're not 281 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:36.759 a trained agent, you're a Navy m and you're twenty 282 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:42.600 six years young, and uh, it just escalates and iowa, 283 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.399 I did this fantastic job. Where yes, it will interrupt 284 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:46.840 you all the time with cut scenes and it'll throw 285 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.879 the odd QT in Triple A style at you to 286 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:50.840 keep the pace up. But like you said, they do 287 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.639 the smart things. They pull all these learnings from Hitman 288 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.600 and World of Assassination is such an incredible experience, Like, 289 00:12:57.639 --> 00:12:59.360 and they just kept adding to it and adding to it, 290 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.600 adding to it. And here, you know, I've seen people criticize, oh, 291 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.039 you can't hide the bodies, but the point his Bond 292 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.720 probably wouldn't. This is about ace, This is about getting 293 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:12.080 the job done. And as you play through, like I 294 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.159 fell in love with Patrick Gibson's performances Bond. He doesn't 295 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:19.360 emulate anybody else. He doesn't do like a pass off 296 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.919 of like your favorite Bond or whatever. He is his 297 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:25.799 own man, and just all of the characters are great. 298 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.159 The plot is suitably a bit silly in all the 299 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:33.440 way Bond should be, but also very modern and grounded 300 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:35.600 and kind of throws away all the Cold War trappings 301 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.600 of the original character. It just is such a surprise 302 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:41.720 And the only reason it didn't get like the top 303 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:44.639 top marks from me was the overall I feel it 304 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:49.559 was almost too streamlined, Like I feel like they you know, 305 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.360 they removed they did mostly the right things, but there 306 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:56.120 are moments where I was like, the stealth is too easy. 307 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:00.559 The garden, like, the garden need to be there, absolutely 308 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:02.759 need to be there because like, yeah, they cannot have 309 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:05.039 you kind of getting off the beaten path and getting 310 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:07.279 wacky in a way that doesn't feel like James Bond. 311 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:07.840 So they put the. 312 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:11.799 Yard the what's the root Skoldberg machine where you're just 313 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.080 like in a cause it's not like that, and the 314 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.320 combat like you're absolutely right, like what an elevation comparative 315 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.279 to hit Man. 316 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:21.960 Yeah, but there were moments where I was like, I'm 317 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.080 forty two. I'm not I haven't got the pace and 318 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:26.600 the skills of my young twenty year old version, right 319 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.320 and I'm doing things in double O seven and I 320 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:30.879 was like, I am a badass. 321 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.159 Yeah, this is this. 322 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:37.039 Like expertly tuned to make me feel like a bad ass. 323 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:39.120 And it's just the animation, I really do. I think 324 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:42.320 it's like it's so context aware of like where the 325 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.600 character is that you're pressing the button to, like you know, 326 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:48.480 I'm just trying to like survive this encounter and do 327 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.399 this attack, and the attack kind of immediately naturally and 328 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:55.200 fluidly goes into slamming a guy's head into a wall, 329 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.159 and then everything doesn't like break or get jinky and 330 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:00.200 be like oh, he's kind of like inter I think 331 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.039 with the wall weird and then falling down and the 332 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:04.399 characters backing up and not really animated, no, with all 333 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.360 animates perfectly. So it just looks so slick and smooth. 334 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:09.639 I'm just I'm into what it's doing. 335 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:12.399 It's funny as well, because like I know that there 336 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.120 was a lot of discussion, you know, and I'm sure 337 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:15.919 I don't know if you guys experienced this, but like 338 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:21.440 I didn't get code for this until the friday evening 339 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.840 before in the UK, a bank holiday weekend for the US, 340 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.399 a Memorial Day weekend, right, so I. 341 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:28.759 Think we got it. 342 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:30.960 I think we got it a Friday morning or Thursday 343 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:31.840 night or something like that. 344 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.519 Yeah, Like it was it was like, oh okay, right, 345 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:36.759 and they were you know, they were like, hey, you know, 346 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.519 it could be eighteen to twenty hours. And I'm like, 347 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.559 anytime a PR company tells me that, I'm like, yeah, 348 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:42.720 all right, half that, you know, like I can play 349 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:45.320 video games, but this is not a short game. They 350 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:49.159 really have thrown everything at this to throw plot twists 351 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:55.159 at you, surprising, downtime, plot development, you know, exposition. It 352 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.960 is just ioh, I did it. They pulled it off. 353 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.320 Forget forget all the silly. Oh, it's woke. There's a 354 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:03.759 woman in charge, like clean. 355 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:10.440 There's some impressive brains happening over on twitterli who was joking, 356 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.120 But there's a lot of people who are not. I 357 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.000 can't believe a disaster because he's listening to Moneypenny at 358 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:16.600 the beginning of the. 359 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.440 Game or whatever. Oh honey, it seems fine. Have you 360 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:19.879 seen it? 361 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:24.600 Yeah, it's funny. But the crazy thing was and like 362 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:27.279 this is just pure anecdotal, like because of the pace 363 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:28.879 of the review and having to get it all done, 364 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:32.000 was like okay, and I recorded something glorious, like eleven 365 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:34.559 hours of footage and I did so much badass stuff. 366 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.080 I was like amazing. I felt like a god. I 367 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:39.480 kind of stopped putting the video review together and my 368 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:42.399 obs had messed up and captured like instead of the 369 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.240 full screen and captured like a quarter and I was 370 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.480 like no. Then I went to go play replacing bits 371 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:49.480 and capture some new footage, and a new update had 372 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.840 come out on Steam and the game was busted, like 373 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.840 it was broken. It was hitching every five seconds. It 374 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.320 was unplayable. Anytime I headshot everything, all the frames dropped. 375 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.559 I was like, what is going on? I was disabling 376 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:03.879 overlays and things, so I ended up finding a direct 377 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:06.039 email because the PR company was obviously offline. It was 378 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:09.200 a long weekend for IOI, and they were paying attention. 379 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:11.920 I was like, no, your game's broken, and they were like, 380 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:13.720 thank you because you said just some clips. So I 381 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.160 quickly sent them some clips. Six hours later they pushed 382 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.720 a patch fixed everything, so they were they were, you know, 383 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:21.960 with this came in hot, and that's often a sign 384 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:23.799 of like, oh, it's going to be a rough. 385 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.400 Ride it all the days, but I think you are. 386 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:26.559 You're more often than that you're rating. 387 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:29.519 But yeah, it was. It was a close cool but 388 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.000 so stunned with how good it is. And I really 389 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:35.279 I think they've done an amazing job. But I they 390 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:37.400 you know, spoiler alert, it's not really a spoiler. This 391 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.680 isn't a plot related spoiler, but they are openly saying 392 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.559 James Bond will return at the end of the game. 393 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:45.119 So yeah, I would want to see please. 394 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:47.599 Yeah, I mean, I like, I feel this very similar 395 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.599 to how I felt out for Indiana Jones. I hope 396 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:52.160 we at least get one more of these, just yes, please, 397 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:52.880 I mean one more? 398 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:54.119 Do it? Take it? 399 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.240 You know, go in a different direction in terms of setting, 400 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:57.720 but you don't have to do much more than that. 401 00:17:57.880 --> 00:17:59.359