I really loved Borderlands. Shooting bandits in the face to get guns to shoot more bandits was awesome. And still is. Borderlands 2 has better guns, more interesting enemies, better leveling, and better graphics. So why do I end every session going "that is bullshit". After doing that 8 times or so I think that is the end for me.
Ultimately, it was the cars. They sucked in 1 and they suck just as bad in 2. But they are just a patch over the glaring travel issues. There is nothing like running all over to do a mission, only to just be left in the middle of nowhere having to run back. The game just puts so much trudging between my bullets and some jerk's face. I can't do it anymore. If they could have strung the missions in some logical order so you could do a ton at once, or chain them in a big circle leading back to camp. that would be amazing. As it is, the game puts too much between me and its good parts.
I'm sorry Borderlands 2, I love and hate you so much.
My only real problem with Limbo was that partway in all the antagonists went away. Once the kids and the spider were dead, it was just industrial dangers. If you died it was mostly your fault. I think the game could have used some more of that sense of being hunted and opposed in the rest of the game. It's probably not accidental on the part of the designers. With the more complicated mechanics built into the later levels it's probably too much to ask the play to twiddle gravity in sequence while avoiding monsters.
I finished up DeathSpank in short order and really loved it. But I have a couple issues with it.
You have to drag items to the grinder. It would be nice if there was just a button press for it.
Once you accept a quest, the info the quest giver imparts is often lost. Like the location to go to. So you have to burn hints to get information you've already received.
It didn't explain how to use inventory objects with the environment. I knew exactly what I was supposed to do to solve a puzzle, but I had no idea how to make it happen.
Lock-on loves to focus on objects instead of the enemies attacking you. Often off the screen so you don't even know you are shooting a chest or a door instead of a baddie.
So I've been reading the Harry Dresden novels, which I quite enjoy. But suddenly in book 4 he seems to mention Coke every few chapters. I'm all for having a character more connected to the real world via products and places, but sprining out of nowhere a few books in felt like Butcher had got tidy check to help him decide which goods Harry favored. I think it's unlikely but it felt weird.
While a good game, I felt that Monkey Island 2 had inferior puzzles to the first game. There were several rather un-intuitive ones, a lot of backtracking, and a few that required split second work. Time based actions in a puzzle game are annoying at any time. Trying to figure out which action to do, and the exact second to do it in is a real pain. It felt more like they were using a new feature of the game rather than something that made the game better. But overall enjoyable and the ending is rather surreal.
Recently I was watching Twin Peaks and was struck with how much Agent Cooper reminded me of Stephen Colbert (as he is on the Colbert Report). To the point that I wonder if Colbert used Kyle MacLachlan's performance as inspiration when forging that persona. Or I'm crazy, I do know I'm very prone to think most people look like some other person until I know them well.
Also, the Endurance Runs have ruined me and it takes real effort not to think of him as Agent York.
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