Giant Bombcast 628: Respect the Headcrab

Mario is Back.

waiting for video version

This is my first Animal Crossing game but I feel like it just requires patience. Just do a little bit every day and slowly watch your island grow. Trying to grind it out seems like a quick way to get burned out.

@morningcoffee: Yeah I'm always surprised when Jeff says he's played and enjoyed the previous AC games, since the whole "the game dictates its own pacing" that seems completely core to the series does NOT seem like something he'd like. Then again, he's also quite hard headed in weird ways, so maybe the additional amount of railroading that ACNH has is too different for him.

I think it's a bigger issue with game reviewers in general, but they REALLY don't apply flexibility in terms of how to play games, since they generally spend less time with each title and have more games lined up. They keep talking as if they're being forced to min-max the game, but there's absolutely nothing that actually is... dunno why they're interpreting it that way.

@morningcoffee: My first one as well and felt nothing of what jeff was talking about. His experience is his experience and that's totally fine, but im having a delightful time.

I think Jeff's actual life doesn't have the room for a game like AC.

@escapevelocity: I think social media has exacerbated certain issues with this game. Now more than ever before people display their lavish towns online, and lagging behind that feels bad/strange. Like how the hell can you craft the Robot Hero so early? That material requirements are insane!

This game has gigantic advantages over the earlier games, especially in terms of customization and interface. But the more modest style of that original game, and the more modest time it came out in was more accommodating to some players, and Jeff’s life right now with having a baby doesn’t help. Not unlike him having issues with HL: Alyx, even if that’s a different beast.

I’d like to see Jeff fire up the N64 original with a fan patch on a stream sometime, just to get a good look at how much has changed in 20 years.

You heard it here first, DOOM is too metal for the bombcrew, they can't handle it.

Seriously though, it is kinda wild seeing the reception of Eternal inside Giantbomb (crew & community) compared to outside. You'd think it was a different game.

I'mma say this, I absolutely hated Doom Eternal until three quarters in, and then it clicked. I think the game should just start you out with all the weapons and upgraded abilities, 'cause that is when it started getting fun for me. Replaying all the early levels with max ammo, health, and whole weapon wheel of guns elevates those fights to above Doom 2016 levels for me. The upgrades offered by the half dozen skill trees are also absolutely fundamental in making you feel unstoppable in the same sense as 2016.

I also am over Doom Eternal.

I know that the following doesn't matter in the current state of things but how do you release a 3d Mario bundle with fucking Sunshine instead of just 64, Galaxy, and Galaxy 2 WTF Nintendo?

Re: Brad's question on ammo in Half Life Alyx, the game seems to run on a sort of "smart" ammo spawning system, where if you run out, especially during a boss fight, you'll find some mags lying around that you might chalk up to not having noticed before, but really they probably just weren't there.

Apparently it also spawns in more ammo for the guns you use more often. Shotgun ammo seems scarce to most people because most people aren't using the shotgun because the ammo seems scarce, but apparently people who are using the shotgun regularly are finding plenty of ammo for it.

Did Ben just say that Sunshine controls badly?

It is like the best controlling 3D platformer EVER. One peek at any speedrun proves this without a shadow of a doubt. This is honestly enough for me to dismiss his opinions.

LIKE I GET IT YEEEY SHITTING ON SUNSHINE IS A MEME ON GIANTBOMB.COM but sheesh cmon it was a great game.

Also 64 had a faaar worse camera and it was also inverted but of course only Sunshine gets shat on.

I think my thoughts on Doom: Eternal can be summarized in a single chart:

Doom 2016 was so great because it focused almost exclusively on the first column. Doom: Eternal still has those things, but kind of wrecks the experience by adding in everything from the second column, too.

Doom: Eternal is kind of like New Coke. They had the formula, it was successful, and people liked it. Then for some reason they decided they needed to change the formula, and now it's much less good.

I don't think Jeff likes video games.

Jeff’s comments about Animal Crossing remind me a lot of his take on Outer Wilds: everyone says this game is incredible so he needs to race to the good parts and then gets frustrated if he’s not engaging with the game at the slower pace it dictates. Contrast that to COD where he can get into some good shit a couple of minutes after he starts it up.

This whining about Doom is the most boomer shit ever. And of course Jeff dislikes AC, because of course he does.

Just finished doom eternal. I thought it was incredible

@crazybagman said:

I guess you're new here lol

It still makes me sad they just completely skip over Xenoblade Chronicles news. Still the best JRPG in the past 20 years.

The "music" during the e-mails just sounds like random distracting noise because the volume is so low.

Video games

Jeff doesnt like certain video games, the comments just like to blow it out of proportion.

And considering he's seen a lot of videogames, maybe he's a bit harder to please.

Also: People don't have to particularly be gushing praise to be positive on a videogame. (Anyway, when people *do* gush praise there tends to be a backlash. Can't win either way heh.)

You know, I feel bad for Jeff a little, I find it more and more the case that he just cannot enjoy video games. I don't know, I think the points he brings up about HL:Alyx could be considered but generally speaking I don't honestly feel at all the same way about how 'valve dropped the ball' which is his assertion generally; and honestly some of it feels like a hangup that is personal more than it is acknowledging that his capability to play it optimally (roomscale being the way to immerse into it, moving at a pace through the game which feels like he's barely making progress and getting stuck on his hopes for it which honestly all seemed like towering-aspirations on his side Valve didn't set out to meet; etc) I dunno its the same with Any game these days and that's sad. I am having a rad time with HL:A and it just kinda sucks Jeff can't seem to find the good amidst his sorta pointed criticism over very little things they decided to not focus on, rather than the quality of the whole of what they did.

This extends to just about every game he talks about, the back to back to back complaints from doom to alyx to animal crossing to everything lately... Yeah someone else said it, I wonder if Jeff can or does enjoy video games or if he's unintentionally looking for greatness to his expectations or it's 'really bad', often when most of anywhere else I check, there's plenty of reasons to be excited or pleased with how any of these games turned out. Weird.

I think he is burned out on games. It happens. Take a break from them for a while should fix that.

That Animal Crossing talk was kinda insane. There's no defending the shit online but pretty much every other complaint they raised is the very reason why this series is finally clicking with me. I just cannot imagine going back to AC with no crafting. Just enjoy your little island, have your laid-back daily routine and shake some trees. You'll have everything you need for crafting. Maybe social media is kinda ruining it for them in a way, because of FOMO / peer pressure? Kinda like that weird remark of Brad last week about it being maybe to late for him to jump in, hah. I don't really ever check twitter so that has not affected me one bit. Anyway, their opinions are fine, just kind of a bummer to listen to.

@zinkn: it would be sad to see , but I wouldn't be surprised if he'd walk away in the near future . And no , I'm not new to the site .

Fun podcast, but it's kinda weird seeing the crew figuring out shooters are way better with mouse and keyboard. Which has always been the case.

@spankingaddict: That is Jeff's M.O. though. He finds one or two minor things he does not like in a game he does not like very much and goes on and on about them in order to make them seem like a big deal and justification for why he is right that it is not very good. It is what it is.

Last week when talking about Alyx, his main complaints/"complaints" seemed to be that you cannot hit people with a pipe item and that it could not be used to break down wooden boards that the game required a crowbar for. This week, after having played through the game more, those were the same things he was going on and on about in regards to "things not working the way you think they should". It makes it difficult to parse what is actual, legitimate criticism about the quality of the game.

I know this isn't gonna be helpful or change anyone's opinion , but I am so surprised a big crowd of people don't dig Doom Eternal. It's a near perfect fps at every angle I look at . Perfect pacing with nice light puzzles and platforming in between a perfect badass feeling combat loop , which gets tougher at a nice rate . Great bosses , beautiful scale , good linear exploration , very fitting metal soundtrack, surprising deep lore . Story's not perfect , but everything else easily makes up for it . This is a fudging vidya game !

FYI , I'm not a big fps guy either .

Ehh I think it's more the case that shooters have gotten to feel real good on pads over the years so when something clearly isn't working well it stands out. It's not like they've never touched a PC before, they know. As someone that played Counter-Strike semi competitively in the early 2000's and then enjoyed the hell out of classic PC FPS games like Battlefield 1942 or Quake.. these days, I prefer to play on a controller if I can. It's just more comfortable. That said I'm playing Eternal with mouse and keyboard and I think it would be tough on a pad because of all the buttons and the need for precision shooting.

"jEfF DoeSn'T LikE viDya gAmeS"

The man's been praising Control every chance he's got. He had to fight tooth and nail to get his two minutes in this week.

He just doesn't like the games you like, pull ya heads out ya asses.

Jeff just naturally focuses on criticism and I guess some people(not me) need a balance of praise.

Digital Foundry's video review of Alyx pretty much conveys the same thoughts Jeff has about the lack of bold innovation in Alyx's VR. The difference is, they also highlight the parts that it does really well since it's a review, after all.

WHAT IS THE MUSIC IN THE EMAILS? I KNOW IT AND IT IS ANNOYING ME SO MUCH!

Sorry. But it's really annoying me, especially the opening bit with the flute / pan pipes.

Yeah, Jeff’s notorious lack of patience for video games is in rare form here. AC’s first hours are known to be a bit of a slag. To be so dismissive of a game that imminently gets much deeper...I just feel bad for him missing out on all the impending fun.

What’s more, it seems like some of the other staffers are having a decidedly better time with the game (Jan, Ben & Jason), but as usual Jeff’s tirade seems to take center stage. Would have loved to have heard a more nuanced/balanced conversation about it.

Jeff was pretty miserable on this one. Jesus.

@briarpack:

Oh, please...

Jeff is a borderline professional contrarian at this point. Him liking a game (other than COD) every now and than is a rare sight. It has absolutely nothing to do with "games you like" Jeff hates everything and it starts to get annoying enough to skip forward every time he opens his face.

Jeff's critiques on some of the opening tutorials of Animal Crossing sound totally valid especially the furniture bullshit that Tom puts you through (even though that's the only time it happens) but his complaining of the turnips thing on social media was one the most grating grumpy old man tirades that I've heard in a while.

Who the fuck cares what others are doing with this game? It's all about your own experience and what you make of having your own island. Go your own way at your own speed.

@zinkn: Easier if it isn't your job haha but completely agree.

I take it they still don't know you can play Doom Eternal on Xbox One and PS4 with a mouse and keyboard? I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how it feels compared to doing so on PC but, hey, the option IS there.

As for Animal Crossing, just play at your own pace. The people out here with robots and mansions and shit are cheating anyway.

It's cool when the crew is championing a game you're enjoying, but it's arguably more valuable when someone has an opinion different from yours or that of the mainstream. The staff's diversity (at least in taste) is one of the main reasons why I listen to the podcasts every week. Also, well-put, @ripelivejam.

That said, I simply cannot agree with Ben about how Eternal requires an ungodly level of precision. The game has a super generous aim assist on consoles by default, and the hitboxes for weak points must be twice as big as they appear. For instance, I often notice sticky bombs just magnetizing to enemies. Granted Ben could be early in the game, but out of like 20-plus enemies, only three have relatively small weak points, and one of which doesn't appear until the level before last.

Finally, I haven't tested this, but when you open the weapon wheel, the enemies must pull back a bit, because not only am I struggling to recall being hit while the wheel is toggled but also because it sometimes takes me more than a couple of seconds to choose a weapon.

I've found it easier to avoid damage in Eternal than it was in Doom 2016. The game's also much better at telegraphing enemy attacks and communicating exactly who hit you – that is, despite the chaos. And even still, it's easier and quicker this time around to recover health and armor, at least past the early game.

Oh hey look another Bombcast where Jeff is first to speak on games and dunks on everything which in turn causes the rest of the staff to be tepid in any praise they may have for the games. Nice!!! Ben even tries to challenge his criticism of AC at one point and Jeff just plows ahead. Dude doesn’t even want to have dialogue with someone who may have a different opinion than his takes.

Got through the DOOM talk and I think I'm almost in complete sync with Brad's take on the game except I'm playing with KBM on PC. They didn't need to explain every tiny aspect about the lore. The tone is still grating but The story got better when the guy you save gives you background info while traversing the last hell level. It's just enough and would have preferred if most of the game was just that.

Really hope he finishes it and has someone else that does too so they can at least discuss the end game levels. Like others have said the last third of this game really comes together with better level design, a better grasp on the controls and mechanics, and a heart pounding mix of all demons in large arenas. It’s the best DOOM has ever been.

I agree with Jeff, Nintendo is actively making games like Pokemon Sword/Shield and Animal Crossing New Horizons worse with all these bad mechanics and terrible online anything.

I think that resident character restriction only applies to the tutorial projects. My wife has been paying for projects around the town since she started. I have to lay out the constructions, but she can freely contribute.

It's a shame how many folks here immediately chastise Jeff for not immediately heap glowing praise on their favourite games. I'm glad I can hear different opinions/criticisms on games I like or dislike, it allows me to gain further perspective. There are no 'sacred cows' that aren't deserving of even mild criticism like Jeff did here.

Folks need to not take this so personally.

"Jeff hates video games" is a meme. This shit is exclusively used to hand-wave away any criticism the man has while ingoring every time he does like a game.

Jeff didn't like a game and instead of settling for the boilerplate "Game is not for me" bullshit, he had some specific criticisms. Get over it.

I agree, it's one of my favorite shooters of the generation. Up there with Halo 5 in terms of combat.

This site in particular seems to be quite negative on it.