I haven't played "Ghost of Tsushima", but I did play "The Last of Us Part II" when it came out last month, and it absolutely floored me. Drew, I think you mentioned in an earlier newsletter that the first one wasn't for you, but I recommend giving that and this one a chance.
I admire the creative and technical work Naughty Dog does. I think they're a great studio. But I have literally tried THE LAST OF US four times. I am so 100% sure it's not for me that it is ridiculous.
I will be honest; grim is not my cup of tea right now. Serious is fine, but "global pandemic" and "murdering a bunch of dogs" and "rubbing your nose in your escapist violence" is not where I am emotionally at all right now.
GHOST is very tranquil, despite, yes, also being a murder simulator. There is a stylized action movie aesthetic here I find very soothing, and a combat system that is pure pleasure. I picked it up immediately.
I know that TLOS is frustrating by design. That's the game. You're meant to always be on the verge of death, and the enemies are meant to be difficult. I hated every second of actual gameplay so much it made my teeth hurt.
Ultimately, as much as games flirt with delivering an experience that is like a movie, I want my games to be genuinely enjoyable to play, and TLOS and I are simply not compatible. It's like me and DEATH STRANDING. I'm sure it's enjoyable to others. People seem to love it. It made me want to break my machine into very tiny pieces.
I'm trying hard to save Tsushima until I have less work to do, but the thought of it's haunting me. I just want to stand overlooking a windswept valley and play my bamboo flute and enjoy a taste of the peace and stillness that real life so profoundly fails to offer me right now.
Did Toshi watch Phineas & Ferb when he was younger? You can remind him Riff Raff is Ferb's-Dad/Phineas's-step-Dad. (And Lawrence Fletcher calls out his Rocky Horror past in one ep!)
I have been playing Destiny 2 and Borderlands 3. I need the calm of working down a to-do list while mowing people down. Brings order to the day. My 16 year old started watching the Sopranos. Asked me to tag along. I declined. The middle-age depression and anxiety of Tony Soprano doesn't seem as entertaining now I am in my late 40s. I will revisit it but not now. But he said something interesting to me. He said it isn't like other shows. He said he stopped looking at his phone and listened to the dialogue because it sounded real. That struck me.
Well stated, Drew. You're absolutely right, this country has gotten too fat and happy for its own good, and that has sadly reflected onto who we've elected into our government and how they (and we) shit the bed with reopening. Now it's time to face the consequences, and between gasping for air in a hospital bed or no longer getting to see movies in theaters, I will gladly be fine with the latter. A good movie is a good movie to me, whether or not I have the ability to pause it so I can go to the bathroom. Christopher Nolan is going to have to accept like the rest of us that we're in a new world now, and in many ways, we've needed a new world. If that means changing the way we consume cinema, so be it.
Have they seen Legend (hopefully the superior director’s cut with Jerry Goldsmith’s score)? Tim Curry in that film is perhaps my favorite Tim Curry ever. Here’s a Tim Curry anecdote many people don’t know (but I expect most here will): He was Bruce Timm’s original choice to play The Joker in Batman: TAS. He even recorded dialogue for his first appearance. However, he got sick and couldn’t perform the part, so Mark Hamill, who many (including myself) believe to be the best Joker there is, got the part second hand. Amazing how fate and destiny can work. I believe Tim Curry would be great, but Mark Hamill is otherworldly as the Clown Prince of Crime. Truly transcendent.
Speaking of Mark Hamill’s Joker, I picked up Arkham Knight a couple of weeks ago and I’m almost finished. I only got half-way through the game when it came out because I hated the insanely frustrating and somewhat boring Batmobile missions, so the game was a disappointment. It still is, in that I think Arkham City is the best video game I’ve ever played in every aspect (voice acting, fight mechanics, cool shit everywhere, and one of the best Batman stories ever written), but after getting through the terrible Batmobile stuff, I’ve found this game has charms in other areas.
Also watch out, because they're both going to fall in love with Mia Sara and will ask you what else she's been in, which of course should lead to Ferris Bueller. Unless you're a big Time Cop fan, I guess. 😂
Man, as an aside, how the hell did she not have a gigantic career, or at least the kind of career fellow amazingly beautiful former fantasy film actress Jennifer Connelly had?
I haven't played "Ghost of Tsushima", but I did play "The Last of Us Part II" when it came out last month, and it absolutely floored me. Drew, I think you mentioned in an earlier newsletter that the first one wasn't for you, but I recommend giving that and this one a chance.
I admire the creative and technical work Naughty Dog does. I think they're a great studio. But I have literally tried THE LAST OF US four times. I am so 100% sure it's not for me that it is ridiculous.
I will be honest; grim is not my cup of tea right now. Serious is fine, but "global pandemic" and "murdering a bunch of dogs" and "rubbing your nose in your escapist violence" is not where I am emotionally at all right now.
GHOST is very tranquil, despite, yes, also being a murder simulator. There is a stylized action movie aesthetic here I find very soothing, and a combat system that is pure pleasure. I picked it up immediately.
I know that TLOS is frustrating by design. That's the game. You're meant to always be on the verge of death, and the enemies are meant to be difficult. I hated every second of actual gameplay so much it made my teeth hurt.
Ultimately, as much as games flirt with delivering an experience that is like a movie, I want my games to be genuinely enjoyable to play, and TLOS and I are simply not compatible. It's like me and DEATH STRANDING. I'm sure it's enjoyable to others. People seem to love it. It made me want to break my machine into very tiny pieces.
I think after TLOS 2 and Uncharted 4 I am more of an Amy Henning fan than a Naughty Dog fan.
I'm trying hard to save Tsushima until I have less work to do, but the thought of it's haunting me. I just want to stand overlooking a windswept valley and play my bamboo flute and enjoy a taste of the peace and stillness that real life so profoundly fails to offer me right now.
Did Toshi watch Phineas & Ferb when he was younger? You can remind him Riff Raff is Ferb's-Dad/Phineas's-step-Dad. (And Lawrence Fletcher calls out his Rocky Horror past in one ep!)
He did!
Here's the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOKM5L6GfL8
I have been playing Destiny 2 and Borderlands 3. I need the calm of working down a to-do list while mowing people down. Brings order to the day. My 16 year old started watching the Sopranos. Asked me to tag along. I declined. The middle-age depression and anxiety of Tony Soprano doesn't seem as entertaining now I am in my late 40s. I will revisit it but not now. But he said something interesting to me. He said it isn't like other shows. He said he stopped looking at his phone and listened to the dialogue because it sounded real. That struck me.
Well stated, Drew. You're absolutely right, this country has gotten too fat and happy for its own good, and that has sadly reflected onto who we've elected into our government and how they (and we) shit the bed with reopening. Now it's time to face the consequences, and between gasping for air in a hospital bed or no longer getting to see movies in theaters, I will gladly be fine with the latter. A good movie is a good movie to me, whether or not I have the ability to pause it so I can go to the bathroom. Christopher Nolan is going to have to accept like the rest of us that we're in a new world now, and in many ways, we've needed a new world. If that means changing the way we consume cinema, so be it.
Have they seen Legend (hopefully the superior director’s cut with Jerry Goldsmith’s score)? Tim Curry in that film is perhaps my favorite Tim Curry ever. Here’s a Tim Curry anecdote many people don’t know (but I expect most here will): He was Bruce Timm’s original choice to play The Joker in Batman: TAS. He even recorded dialogue for his first appearance. However, he got sick and couldn’t perform the part, so Mark Hamill, who many (including myself) believe to be the best Joker there is, got the part second hand. Amazing how fate and destiny can work. I believe Tim Curry would be great, but Mark Hamill is otherworldly as the Clown Prince of Crime. Truly transcendent.
Speaking of Mark Hamill’s Joker, I picked up Arkham Knight a couple of weeks ago and I’m almost finished. I only got half-way through the game when it came out because I hated the insanely frustrating and somewhat boring Batmobile missions, so the game was a disappointment. It still is, in that I think Arkham City is the best video game I’ve ever played in every aspect (voice acting, fight mechanics, cool shit everywhere, and one of the best Batman stories ever written), but after getting through the terrible Batmobile stuff, I’ve found this game has charms in other areas.
They haven't seen LEGEND yet. It'll be this year at some point. I anticipate Tim Curry will be a HUUUUUUUGE hit when they do.
Also watch out, because they're both going to fall in love with Mia Sara and will ask you what else she's been in, which of course should lead to Ferris Bueller. Unless you're a big Time Cop fan, I guess. 😂
Man, as an aside, how the hell did she not have a gigantic career, or at least the kind of career fellow amazingly beautiful former fantasy film actress Jennifer Connelly had?
Big FERRIS fans already. Mia Sara is lovely. She always had a very delicate screen presence.