Messages

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: June 24, 2026, 01:20:13 pm »

There's apparently a lot of people pissed about how much stuff is locked behind the ultimate edition, so it's not all going down easy.

I've seen a few outlets making it a point to say there will be no physical version "at launch."  Maybe it's copium, but this is what we saw with Alan Wake II as well.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: June 22, 2026, 10:45:13 am »

The Furious - For the first two thirds of this I was like "This is totally fine and cool, but I don't know that I agree with all the praise I've seen." The movie could have ended at an hour and thirty minutes still would have been completely acceptable as it was. But then the last third hits.   

Masters of the Universe (2026) - It's way too long and a little bit too silly, but it looks (mostly) great, the characters are pretty fun, and the soundtrack is killer.  Plus Alison Brie is Evil-Lyn.

Pretty Lethal - Green Room with ballerinas is such a great elevator pitch, and this mostly lives up to it. Script is a little clunky as it sets up the inciting incident, but once the first shot is fired it really gets fun.

North to Alaska - Capucine is the main reason this works. She's just magnetic. The Duke is fine, just out there being The Duke. Not all of the humor lands, and I feel like it could have leaned into the slapstick a little more. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there are a couple of creep-o moments with how some characters treat Capucine that are supposed to be funny that really dont work.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie - Spongebob works better in the 15-ish minute format, but this works for the most part. Not enough of the side characters, especially Squidward.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 18, 2026, 11:06:15 pm »

Time for a catch-up post.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was a fun and difficult (but fair, unlike those NES titles) platformer from  last year.  It's got a couple of beat gimmicks, has slick pixel art, and the soundtrack is killer.

I'm about 6 years late, but I finally got around to Hades and I totally understand why people got so addicted to it.  Hands down one of the best action rogue-lites I've ever played (if not the best).  Looks incredible, combat is super fun, and the characters are all great.

Also played and beat the short indie Idols of Ash today.  It's kind of an inverted 3D platformer where you have to continuously climb down in a huge cave.  But you can't take too long figuring out your path because a giant freaking centipede is chasing you.  It's also got PS1 inspired graphics that I really liked.  Really impressed for such a short high concept indie title.

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Modern Video Games / Re: XBOX Games Showcase 2026 thoughts?

« on: June 10, 2026, 05:00:15 pm »

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse - This looks like fun, I haven't really played many newer Castlevania games, I've only played the old ones back in the day or the collection releases, but I don't think I've played them past like...GBA era maybe? Might get this one.

Outside of the Lords of Darkness games (which were God of War clones), and the WiiWare remake of The Adventure for Game Boy, every Castlevania game since the GBA has been the Metroidvania style.  3 on the GBA and 3 on the DS.  I'm very excited to see what a modern CV title looks like, especially from the Dead Cells devs.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 thoughts?

« on: June 10, 2026, 04:57:18 pm »

Anyone else think that kid Link looks super weird?  The photorealism is doing him no favors.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: June 09, 2026, 03:07:01 pm »

Finally got around to finishing the third season of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.  I've been surprised at just how dark, complicated, and engaging it has been.  I think it took a little too long to really get going, but it really hits its stride in the back half, up to an incredible 2-part finale.

Do you recommend a watch?

If you are a TMNT fan I think it is almost mandatory.  They hit a lot of the major story arcs, do a lot of Easter Eggs and fun casting with the characters.  I think it has two major drawbacks.  First: it is kind of an ugly show.  The turtles themselves look fine, but a lot of the environments are bland and drab and a lot of the human characters are just blocky messes.  And second: it is still ultimately a kids' show.  It can get surprisingly deep and have some funky body horror (something the ugliness of the show actually helps with), but just as often it is just silly stuff for kids.  That's the main reason it is taking me so long to get through it.  That kiddie stuff can wear thin.

Finished season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again.  The best MCU project in 5 or so years.  Still not quite up to the quality of the best of the Netflix years, but still pretty damned good.  Secondary characters dont get a ton to do this season, but they all make the most of their limited screen time.

Finished up the first season of Widow's Bay on Apple right before my subscription expired.  Totally unique and inspired horror comedy with Matthew Rhys and a ton of character actors.  Episode 4 is maybe the best episode of TV I've seen all year.  Just an absolute blast of a show.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: June 08, 2026, 08:53:53 pm »

Finally got around to finishing the third season of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.  I've been surprised at just how dark, complicated, and engaging it has been.  I think it took a little too long to really get going, but it really hits its stride in the back half, up to an incredible 2-part finale.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 04, 2026, 09:21:24 pm »

I thought Astalon: Tears of the Earth was an excellent indie Metroidvania.  Some of the most fun I've had exploring a map in a long time.  Almost completely undone by the healing and respawn system.  You only get to heal at checkpoints once after a boss kill and when you die you respawn at the start of the game and have to make your way all the way back to wherever you died.  I think it would have been in my Top 5 if not for that.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: June 04, 2026, 09:15:43 pm »

The Naked Spur - What makes Mann's Westerns so good is that there is so much more going on than a simple white hat vs. black hat romp. Just like The Far Country Jimmy Stewart is playing a bit against type, a surly cowboy out for his own interests who tries not to care about anyone else. Not quite as gritty as the Ranown Westerns, but not squeaky clean, either.

The Flintstones - They'd shoot you in street if you tried to make a movie this way today. Actually building everything? From scratch? Go to hell.

It's a great cast and an incredibly impressive production, but the script is abysmal. Just total garbage.

Parker - Had a good time with this. Deep cast, fun heist and revenge plot. Lots of fun violence. Makes me wanna go back and drop my Play Dirty rating. This is a much better Westlake adaptation.

Backrooms - Finally, a movie that dares to ask, "What if everything was empty, kinda weird, and creepy?"

Found myself genuinely unsettled during several sequences. I think it gets a little up it's own ass in the climax but still manages to mostly stick the landing.

Challenge of the Masters - Didn't really hit for me, but maybe my expectations weren't in the right place? A couple of fun fights, but this doesn't really play to the Shaw Bros strengths of violence and exploitation.

Straight to Hell - If this weren't made by a director that I knew was capable of making a good movie it'd get a pass, but it was, and I can't believe that a professional (and award winning) filmmaker made something this bad. Two stars because of Dennis Hopper and there were 4 or 5 scenes or ideas that I thought were genuinely hilarious. Nearly everything else was atrocious.

The Florida Project - Another Sean Baker home run. Brooklynn Prince should have been nominated for an Oscar. She'd be on the Mount Rushmore of child performances.

Elio - Totally fine. Looks amazing, cool creature designs, mostly predictable. Lower tier Pixar is still worth a watch.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu - Pretty much bereft of passion and substance. Say what you will about the prequels, but at least they make me feel something. Would have been far better served as an actual new season of the show. Ludwig Göransson MVP.

The Lost Bus - Intense, emotional, looks incredible. It's let down by a rather ho-hum script, unfortunately.

The Punisher: One Last Kill - I think Bernthal just absolutely crushes it as Frank. I could watch a new one of these every year.

They Will Kill You - Loved the big weirdo energy on here. Kooky, kinetic, strange, gory, campy. A ton of fun.

Discolsure Day - I think West Side Story is just a hair better, but this might be my favorite Spielberg flick since Catch Me if You Can. Killer setpieces, fun characters, great (final?) score from John Williams.

It is a little too long and some story beats get repetitive, but I'm willing to over look those things for Senõr Spielbergo.

The Gunfighter - Maybe the first revisionist Western? Terrific world-weary performance from Gregory Peck. From the first scene you understand he's done being the famous Johnny Ringo, and it is completely clear why. There's always someone younger and hungrier, but they just don't realize that their hunger can't be sated.

Executioners from Shaolin - Several great fights in this. Especially the opening 10 or so minutes. Gets a bit repetitive in the middle and not all the humor lands, but I had a good time with it.

The Family Plan 2 - The overall plot is better than the first, and Kit Harrington is a fun villain. However, the action sequences much fewer and farther between, while being worse overall, and they were the highlights of the first.

Ocaen's Eleven - It's been a minute, but this still so much freaking fun. Just a total blast from start to finish.

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Modern Video Games / Re: State of Play | June 2, 2026 thoughts?

« on: June 03, 2026, 09:44:09 pm »

God of War Laufey
As someone who's really never engaged with the God of War franchise: I ask: does this game really need to exist? Although I suppose we won't know until the game actually releases. I had watched some gameplay across the campaign for the previous two titles, and it never seemed that important to learn more about the title-character Laufey.

She's basically the driving force of the first games narrative and is someone who gave Kratos his axe and before the first game, had fought both Thor and Kratos to a standstill.  She has some deep lore explored in the games and is what leads to the character growth of both Kratos and Atreus without directly being in either game.  That it's exploring a character we got to know indirectly from both games and it involves bringing in other pantheons, and will delve into a mystery involving Atreus that I think was only teased in Ragnarok, I think that justifies the game more than enough.  I say that as someone who wasn't interested a ton in a new GoW game before this, so the preview did alot to win me over lol

Yeah, Faye is the reason the new games happen at all.  I'm stoked to play this.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 25, 2026, 05:48:17 pm »

Lessons in Chemistry - It is obviously Apple trying to have their own Queen's Gambit, and they ended up with period-piece Love on the Spectrum instead.

Latest season of For All Mankind has shifted focus to the socio-economic ramifications of all of the space exploration and colonization, and while a logic place to end up the show is a bit weaker for it overall.  It's still good,l and fascinating to watch, but it isn't as thrilling as it once was.  Terrific end to the season, though.

Finally getting around to Daredevil: Born Again.  First season had a ton of production issues, and you can feel it in the show, which basically feels like two separate Daredevil series spliced together.  It comes together pretty well in the end, but you can really tell that they were putting stuff together on the fly.  The end left me super jazzed for season 2.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: May 14, 2026, 08:51:19 pm »

Sanctified - Punches well above its weight in both score and cinematography for being such a low budget western. Also a prime example of a faith-based film that doesn't have a terrible (and cloying or saccharine) screenplay.

Dr. Strangelove - Ostensibly a first watch, since all I really remembered from a single viewing 25-30 years ago is Pickens on the bomb and "You can't fight in here! This is the war room!" (Which, to be fair, is one of the greatest lines ever written.)

It's almost impossible to tell that Sellers' three characters are the same actor, but it's George C. Scott that steals the show for me. "He'll see the big board!" is an all-time line reading.

Ripper's rants also sound an awful lot like RFK, Jr. these days.

Tropic Thunder - First revisit since theaters. My opinion is largely unchanged. Lots of people could have played Ben Stiller's role, but only Ben Stiller could have written and directed it. Terrific high-concept comedy with some brilliant performances, but it plays the really over the top stuff just a couple too many times. It's almost on a schedule. Every 15 minutes something so stupid happens it should stop the movie dead, but they've been keeping thing just silly enough so it doesn't feel that out of place.

The Dam Busters - Not exactly a thrilling film, but it is an interesting and engaging one. Similar to Oppenheimer if that movie were only about the development of the bomb. A solid pen and paper thriller until it becomes a sturdy airforce flick.

Obsession - YouTuber to feature horror filmmaker pipeline remains strong. I've been a fan of Curry Barker's comedy skits for a few years at this point, but only recently started to delve into his horror work, and this guy has what it takes. Powerhouse performance from Inde Navarrette that will worm its way under your skin and stay there for days.

Superbad - Holds up! The outdated language gets a pass because of the accuracy, and the movie makes it a point of the climax that their plan is ill-advised, shitty, and, most importantly, doesn't work.

Raymond & Ray - I bet this really cooks as a stage play. As a movie it is kind of flat and not particularly interesting, but the performances are solid across the board.

Unforgiven - It's got several great monologues, but most of the dialogue is a lot more stilted than I remembered. And honestly, so is Clint's performance until the 'Hell of a thing' speech. Probably no coincidence that is also when it turns into one of the most satisfying 15-20 minutes of cinema ever created.

Masters of the Universe - It's a total mess, but it is an extremely charming mess. Obviously wants to be taken seriously, but that hackneyed attempted at earnestness makes the tone so much more inline with the original cartoon than it was meant to be. And if you know just how much of a disaster things were during production it makes the end result feel just that much more impressive. Langella is having a blast and outacting everyone else but Meg Foster by like 10x over.

Saturday Night - Even though it is bit too self-serious about the importance of SNL and far too lionizing of Lorne, I still had a good time with this.

China O'Brien - A poor Americanized attempt to recreate Rothrock's Hong Kong output.

Red Rocket - Mikey Saber is an all-time cinema scumbag. Simon Rex is made of pure lightning.

The Witches - It's a shame that the child performances in this are not great, because otherwise this is one of the greatest mixes of little kid adventure story and genuine scares ever made. You can tell that several sequences had to be pared back from what was shot, which is a shame cause it makes the editing feel a little choppy in places.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Gamestop Offers 56 Billion Dollars To Buy Ebay. Good or Bad?

« on: May 12, 2026, 11:23:43 pm »

eBay has rejected the offer, calling it "not credible nor attractive."  And most outlets are referring to it as "unsolicited," so unless GameStop really steps it up this ain't happening.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 11, 2026, 07:10:57 pm »

Assassin's Creed Mirage is such a tepid entry in the franchise. I think it gets a lot of undue praise for 'getting back to basics.'  It strips away all the RPG elements and shrinks the map to be far more manageable, but that doesnt make up for the flaws.  Bland story, forgettable characters, stiff controls.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Gamestop Offers 56 Billion Dollars To Buy Ebay. Good or Bad?

« on: May 10, 2026, 10:19:31 pm »

I'm mostly just amazed that Gamestop has that money. Are they that big in the USA? Here in Germany they attempted to take over but never were able to compete with online shops like okaysoft and the local shops people prefered. It reminded me of the monumental failure of Walmart trying to taking over and losing billions. Gamestop pretty much ceased to exist here last year.
If Ebay gets eaten by them, i don't worry. Here in Germany, kleinanzeigen, which was once part of ebay, is now a separate entity and better anyway.

That was my 1st though, where the heck do they get 56 billion from? I don't think they are doing well here, my city went from maybe 10 gamestops to like 3? All the ones anywhere near me just disappeared last fall. IDK I haven't used ebay since like 2002 or so, so it wouldn't effect me either way.

GameStop is basically the prime example of a company that is doing terrible in the business space but is being propped up investors.  It was pretty much saved from bankruptcy because a bunch of guys on Reddit thought it would be funny to do a run on their stock to drive up the valuation, and it's been precariously balanced on that ever since.