Messages

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: October 26, 2025, 10:04:55 am »

Robocop: Rogue City is probably the best Robocop game ever made, but that's not a particularly high bar to clear.  Graphics look good for the most part, but the facial animations are pretty bad, and the voice acting doesn't fare much better. 

Robo isn't particularly mobile, which is true to the franchise, but that makes most gunfights consist of standing like a turret and mowing down enemies.  Its really the tone that cone across the best, and while the dialogue is sometimes not great, it really nails the feeling of being under OCP's boot, and I really enjoy that it's a bridge between the second and third movies.

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

« on: October 26, 2025, 09:57:39 am »

Oddity - There's a lot I really liked about this; it's restraint, it's world-building, the way it uses silence, the way it uses the frame. I just really wish that had all been in service of a way more compelling mystery or that we had gotten more out of Darcy's bag of tricks.

Robocop 3 - The main thrust of this movie, OCP is finally ready to build Delta City by using a private army to forcibly relocate the citizens of old Detroit, falls right in line with the escalations of the previous two films.  The problem lies primarily in the execution.  A PG-13 sequel to movie that originally got an X rating for violence?  Its got a who's who cast of character actors, and they do play the theme a lot, at least.

Ash - It looks terrific (especially for the budget, so I let some dodgy CGI pass), and it has a terrific claustrophobic feeling. Does a little bit of overexplaining during a very extended flashback in the last act.

The Ugly Stepsister - Very weird and uncomfortable take on the Cinderella story. Definitely puts the grim in Grimm's Fairy Tales.

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General / Re: October 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: October 19, 2025, 02:50:54 pm »

Had to get something for myself why out Secret Santa shopping!

SNES
Super Godzilla

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

« on: October 19, 2025, 02:38:35 pm »

Black Phone 2 - I liked the first film well-enough, and I thought this one was just a skosh better.  Excellent aesthetics and vibes.  It gets a bit too wrapped up in expositional conversations a couple times, and the first hour or so gets a little repetitive.  Not enough to derail it for me, though.

Maverick - A textbook romp. So much fun, a killer cast, music fits perfectly. I love the way it feels like this is just a couple of regular episodes in Bret's life.

Suspiria (2018) - Forgoes the hyper-stylization of the original in order to forge its own no less unique identity - exactly what a remake should do. More general substance than Argento's film, but probably didn't need to be nearly 2.5 hours.

Nosferatu (1922) - Is it unfair to say the Eggers version is better? Probably. But this is still pretty dang good in its own right.

Starship Troopers - An even more overt satire than RoboCop, Starship Troopers took everything Verhoven had done since than prior film and dialed it 11. Its weakest aspect, the relationship between Rico and Carmen, isn't really helped by their lack of chemistry, or the fact the two performances kinda let down the overall vibe of the movie.

The Wizard of Gore (2007) - Look, I'm not saying the numetal aesthetic and film noir style are completely incompatible, but it would take a much steadier directorial hand to make it work.

Without Warning - There's some low budget fun to be had here, but not a ton. Completely screeches to a halt in the second act and never really recovers from that loss of momentum.

Dangerous Animals - A fun and fresh take on a serial killer thriller that has a great performance from Jai Courtney (maybe his best?) at its center. I had a really good time with this one.

Cowboys & Aliens - If you asked me what my ideal concept for the plot of movie named Cowboys & Aliens was I'd describe about 85% of what is already in this one. Just one of those films that feels like it was made just for you.

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

« on: October 18, 2025, 08:43:40 pm »

The Ten Commandments - Such a pompous self-indulgent 1950s big Hollywood film. I love it. Real "They don't make em like this anymore" type stuff.

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General / Re: VGCollect 2025 Secret Santa!

« on: October 18, 2025, 07:24:40 pm »

Got all my game shopping done in one fell swoop this morning!  Not to find extra goodies to add.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Error Listings and Rejected Edits 2025

« on: October 14, 2025, 10:06:47 am »

Is it only required here because they are both on Steam?  I'm just a little confused because there are so many games out there with the same name.

In this instance, a descriptor is required for each of the two entries because they share the same base name and are in the same category. And because of the current limitations of the database, it's irrelevant that they're entries for two totally different items—the rules still apply. Until there's ever a change in how the database is designed, that's how we're to handle these kinds of situations. A more egregious example is below:
Maze (2019)
Maze (2020)
Maze (2021)
Maze (2024)
Maze (2025)

This makes sense.  I was interpreting the wording of "release" to mean releases of the same title, not different games ("titles") with the same name.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Error Listings and Rejected Edits 2025

« on: October 13, 2025, 07:12:39 pm »

Is it only required here because they are both on Steam?  I'm just a little confused because there are so many games out there with the same name.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Error Listings and Rejected Edits 2025

« on: October 13, 2025, 04:41:58 pm »

https://vgcollect.com/item/126752

Incorrect Formatting. Name descriptor is required to differentiate this entry from another. https://vgcollect.com/item/16497. Please see the VGCollect Style Guide or visit the Forums to clear up any listing questions.

Maybe I'm blind, but I don't see anything in the style guide about this.  Why are older games not listed in the same manner?  Like the multiple different X-Men releases (that aren't just ports of each other)?

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

« on: October 13, 2025, 03:25:16 pm »

Alligator - The first half of this, which plays more like a noir-ish serial killer mystery than a creature feature with Robert Forster: Pet Detective, is a bit stronger than the back half.  The monster mayhem stuff is totally fine and fun, but it's just got a bit more pizzazz earlier on.

Torso - Really puts the sexual in psychosexual.  Maybe my favorite of all the giallo I've seen so far.  Not as outlandish with the twists, and a bit more straightforward, but it handles it all well.

The Wolf Man - Pretty handily my least favorite of the classic Universal horror films I've seen, but not bad by any means.  A bit sluggishly paced for only being 70 minutes.

Delicatessen - Really weird, really French, and a lot of fun.

Nightmare - A very taut, well-acted and tense psychological thriller!  Felt a little old-fashioned for the mid-60s, but i think that actually helped it quite a bit.  One of my favorite Hammer films I've seen so far.

Bubba Ho-tep - Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis are legitimately great in this. The 4K disc does not favors for hiding just how cheap this movie is, though. It still has loads of charm, though.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: October 12, 2025, 08:50:49 pm »

Got the true ending of Hollow Knight: Silksong.  Just a masterful game.  A pretty natural progression of design from the first game, which was all I wanted.  I think the map may actually be a hair too big for how long it is, making it easy to forget about stuff in areas you haven't seen for dozens of hours.  The game is difficult, but once you hit a certain point everything just sort of clicks into place.

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

« on: October 06, 2025, 08:31:03 pm »

MadS - This really surprised me.  I barely knew anything about it going in, so I spent a lot of the first act just trying to figure out what kind of movie it is, and once it shows it's hand it really takes off and becomes one of the most refreshing takes on zombies I've seen in ages.

Freaks - Haven't seen this since college, and it played completely different for me this time.  Barely a thriller, let alone a horror film, it's mostly just a slice of life portrait of these circus performers.  Would love to see those lost 20-30 minutes one day.

Something Wicked this Way Comes - Amazing soundtrack and immaculate vibes. Jonathan Pryce is great, and Jason Robards is no slouch. Unfortunately, it's dragged down by what always seems to drag this type of movie down - the kids. If this took a broader approach with the town and extended cast it would be a must see.

Late Night with the Devil - It's really impressive how much this really captures the vibe of a 70s talk show (until it doesn't).  I could forgive the handful of shoddy effects, but coupling them with the AI graphics makes it tougher to swallow.  The ending feels kinda rushed, but works for the most part.

Blood Quantum - Outside of the general premise this is a pretty bog-standard zombie flick with stilted acting and a generic script.  Which is unfortunate because the premise and opening are both really strong.

Huesera: The Bone Woman - Well-mad, and appropriately moody in place, with some ok body-horror, but once it became obvious it was a "horror is a metaphor" film I started to lose interest.

High Noon - Easy to see why it's considered a masterpiece.  An indictment on McCarthyism that feels just hugely relevant today.

Bubble Boy - The way Jake switches from being the dorky Bubble Boy to hot confident Jake Gyllenhaal in the flip of a switch at the end is insane acting.

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General / Re: What are you playing?

« on: October 04, 2025, 10:12:09 am »

I've made up to the "bad" or "false" ending in Hollow Knight: Silksong afterv45 hours of playtime.  I don't think I'm going for 100% completion, but I am definitely going for the "true" ending now.  Just a truly phenomenal game. I only have a few quibbles, mostly with the size and scope of the game.  I'm very happy that there's more to play, but there is so much here, and the map is so big that it is easy to forget about characters or totally miss them altogether.  The story is also much more straightforward and easy to follow than the first game.

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

« on: October 02, 2025, 05:07:04 pm »

In 2023 and 2024, I watched a horror movie each night in October. I wasn't sure if I'd be feeling up for that again this year, but I'll see if I can manage it for 2025.

I've started my October movie-a-day habit again!

Smile 2 - Unreal performance from Naomi Scott. Absolutely better than the first, but leans too hard on a trope I really don't like in the third act, though.

#Alive - I had fun with this! Well-made minimalist zombie story, that starts out spending a lot of time focusing on logistics and what it might actually feel like in a zombie apocalypse. It starts to lose focus and not really make sense by the end, though.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - This looks just absolutely stunning. Good pacing, great action, but it gets pretty muddled in final act and I wasn't quite sure what happened.

The Grand Duel - Shame is has such a soggy middle, as the opening and ending are both great, and the soundtrack is an all-timer.

Sputnik - I was getting major X-Files vibes from this one.  Cool mystery, well-directed, excellent production design.  Spends a little too much time on the set-up, and the scientists kinda leap to some wild conclusions without much evidence, but it also makes excellent use of its early 80s USSR setting.

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

« on: September 27, 2025, 05:28:20 pm »

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Underseen by general audiences, considering the overall quality.  It's great!  Such a fitting send off for the TOS crew right when TNG was hitting its stride.

Pulp Fiction - The first time I really noticed just how good Travolta is in this.  It's no wonder it revitalized his career.  What an absolute bombshell on the industry this must have felt like in the 90s.

Cat Ballou - Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin are great, and I really like the level of energy it has.  Not a big fan of the horny henchman, though.  Kinda undermines Cat as a focus of the film.

One Battle After Another - I don't think it's PTA's best, but it is almost certainly his most important. It's gonna win a bunch of awards, and I'm not gonna disagree on pure technical level, but I didn't fully connect with it on an emotional level. The tone felt just a bit too at odds with itself for me.