Spoilers for some enemies and character reactions in Ghostwire: Tokyo
Butch:
Sigh.
Found the bike, got the "get to the roof of place" deal, cleansed some shrines. Thought "I think I have time for one more side quest. Oh, a construction site. Ooo! Investigate a Samurai manor! Neat and WHATTHEFUCKISTHATSERIOUSLYWHATTHEFUCK?"
Pause to repeat: What WAS THAT?
Loothound:
Yeah, the cool motorcycle. I thought I was going to be going for that ride last night, but ended up just hunting for cat toys. Some of those are absolutely devilish to find.
Is the freaking out because of the giant frigid bride lady? I'm going to assume that it is.
Yeah, she's a giant frigid bride lady. Although, again, had you not seen one before? Did you not get the aromatic underworld oil? (I want some of that for my beard, BTW. Mmmmmmm, aromatic.) Have you never bumped into one around the city? Well, anyway, welcome to the club. She's real fun, with her reflective ice wall shield thing.
Butch:
There are…..MORE OF THEM??? Just….AROUND????
Shit.
How are you guys making the progress you're making? You're even sharing the console! I'm trying! I'm playing here!
Anyway, after that, cleansed some things, followed the Tapper (kind of annoying that one bit where I couldn't figure out where to go), found the car and the gasoline then did....that. "That" took me forever because I was getting THIS CLOSE each time and that last bastard wouldn't die.
Still, did that, learned the turbine was somewhere else (the subway?) and now I'm about to enter the underworld and I'm tired. KK all "This might take a while. Sure you're ready?" KK, I shoveled shitty snow. I'm not ready.
Hit save.
The underworld is next.
How are you guys PLAYING SO MUCH????
Loothound:
Was the Tapper that one in the mall where you have to track them through one of those MC Escher alternate dimensions? I liked that one. Not sure exactly what you're referring to by "That." You mean the fight for the gasoline?
As far as our pacing, I'm not sure what to tell you. We're doing a divide and conquer thing on the trophies (benefit of playing on the same account), but other than that we're just playing.
Butch:
I salute your speed.
Yeah, the tapper was the follow puzzle thing. And "that" was that "protect KK with arrows" deal, which wasn't hard but I kept being just a little too slow. Grumble.
Thank god they left that quiver of never ending arrows right there.
Loothound:
Oh, THAT. Yes, that was full of suck. I hate it when they yank KK around, and I'm sure he's none too fond if it either. Do you find yourself swapping out your prayer beads depending on the task at hand? I put on my Archery beads for that one, but a lot of the time I pretty much just roll with the wind/water/fire enhancement set. Although, when you get Self Defense III it's worth its weight in gold.
I don't think you can credit us with speed, so much. We're both done with story now (we have MUCH to talk about, perhaps loudly), and we're each around 60 hours of playtime. My initial guess that we were 7-8 over online estimates…yeah, way fucking off.
So much to discuss!
Feminina:
Yeah, here's the other thing, and this is a hard conversation to have, but...
Butch, the internet lied to you. I'm sorry.
This game does not have 8 chapters. In all likelihood it never had 8 chapters, although I suppose there is a faint chance that they decided to cut two of them after it was released and this was in an update we absentmindedly loaded (but this seems unlikely).
It has 6 chapters, and the last two are endgame.
This means you are also not that far away from the end of the game.
Loothound:
Maybe pre-release chatter on the game was that it would have 8 chapters, and the studio just started running out of time or money? This game could have (and I'll go out on a limb and say should have) had another two sections of story.
Butch:
Huh. So I'm close. Good. I was worried I was about four weeks behind you.
Maybe I misread. I was going off the trophy list. I thought there was one for "finish chapter 8." I guess not. Frankly, I'm glad. Game is good, I am liking the game, I am, but I'm not all "I wish this would never end...." Four more chapters would've been a lot. Too much.
I always forget to swap out prayer beads. Though, I did put on the ones that show you where KK's notes are, and they are the bomb. I'm picking them all up now!
Sixty hours each.....must be nice not to need sleep or anything like that.
Though, I think my glasses are doing me in. I get around the two hour of playing mark and my eyes are killing me. I think it's cuz I switched to progressive lenses. I love them, usually, but usually is when my eyes are doing things more consistently, like reading, or driving or looking out the window. Games, your eyes are darting all around all the time, and I don't think progressive lenses are good at that. Maybe I need to dig out my old glasses.
Feminina:
Oh yeah! I forgot about those beads. I should put them on, I'm missing a couple of KK's notes... although it doesn't matter that much anymore since I mostly just plan to putter around looking for music and tanuki for trophies.
Now if there were tanuki beads....
But no. No trophy for chapter 8. No chapter 8. We were thinking all this time that there was so much left, but we were all of us deceived...
Butch:
Ttrophies, that's all y'all. Get those while I catch up! But, once I'm done, I'm done and we can collectively move on. I will cherish my platinum for Toem, my one and only platinum, and be content with it.
Though I'm so close on Bugsnax....
Loothound:
"Probably misses his old glasses."
We may not be able to get ALL of the trophies. Some of the combat related are proving to be really tricky. Quick extract with a stun talisman…I did this to every visitor I saw for like a half hour, and only ONE of them counted for some reason. No idea what I'm doing wrong there. Also the one attacking from a thicket talisman. Ugh.
Butch:
Yeah, see, it's those ones that make it so I don't platinum stuff. If I tried that, then it would guarantee that my last experience with a game would be frustrating, and every time I'd think back on it I would remember the frustration. I did some trophy hunting with one of the Tomb Raiders, and what I remember most about the game was the very last thing I did with it, which was shooting a wild boar in the ass with an arrow. The action sequences, the graphics, the excellent portrayal of Lara Croft all fades into the background of my mind behind the wild boar on the beach that I shot in the ass.
Of course, the games that have trophies like "Complete the game on hard. Complete the game on Extreme. Complete a New Game +" one does not even consider the platinum as a possibility.
Feminina:
Oh lord no. Those ones are just saying "don't even think about platinum, slightly normal person."
I mean, nothing against people who complete multiple playthroughs on different challenge levels. More power to 'em. I just don't have that kind of time or patience at this point in my life.
Maybe in the home.
Butch:
Man, I don't think we'll ever get to the point where we want to complete a game on Extreme or some shit. Hell, I'm so short of time and patience that I'm proud if I win a boss fight on "normal" instead of saying "Fuck this shit" and dropping it to easy.
I ain't ever turning the difficulty up. Thank you, no.
Loothound:
I think some of this relates to how long a lot of games are now. I thought about upping the difficulty on Diablo because the fights were getting to be a bit sloggy, but the game is so big I didn't want it to take forever. We've got other things in our lives, game!
I might have thought the word 'unfortunately' in that last sentence…
Feminina:
Normal is fine. In this game, I would even say normal is pretty easy, and that's fine. It doesn't interrupt my momentum with ridiculously complicated battles, but is challenging enough to be a little tense. It also has weird and creepy enough opponents to be a little tense: even if they aren't extremely hard, they're just plain terrifying, especially the first couple of times you encounter something, and that counts for a lot.
Speaking of encountering things, yeah, that creepy bridal-robed thing with the ice is a pain. The way it freezes you is not really DEADLY, but it's very annoying. I'm not sure how we're hitting all these points at such different times, but I did the cursed construction site on the grounds of an old samurai mansion what feels like a long time ago...I guess it's just how we're all wandering around the map.
Loothound:
Yeah, I like the normal setting in this game quite a lot. You can be tearing through visitors, and then they'll throw a surprise at you and you can just get pummeled. Going for a cat toy last night, and suddenly FOUR giggling noose puppets. Definitely a twist. Heck, you get enough of those easy boop-noising ghost things and they start throwing fireballs at you—it can really mess you up. Nice that you need to stay on your toes a bit.
My least favorite thing about the giant bride is the shield of ice shards that she can put up. Just starts deflecting all of your attacks. Not cool!
Butch:
Unfortunately, indeed.
Those damn noose puppets are the worst. I hate those even more than spinning death umbrella. I learned, last night, that if you just avoid that bastard for long enough he tires out. Would've been good to know earlier.
I'm digging normal. Normal is good. No need for more than normal.
Hitting places differently is the joy on blogging on a true open world game, which this is. I feel like we're running all around all the time, unlike other open world games where, sure, you CAN go back, but why would you? Like ACV. You could go pretty much anywhere you'd been, but the game was such you pretty much did one territory then another etc. in a vaguely sorta kinda linear way. This game? All over the place.
How we're gonna do BG3 is gonna be a thing.
Butch: Did you do that thing with the thing?
Looty: Um...did I?
Femmy: I don't think so...was it that thing?
Butch: No, what thing is that? I'm talking about some other thing.
Looty: Uh...maybe I did that thing two weeks ago?
Butch: Fuck this, I'm gonna go find some sorceresses.
Loothound:
From what I hear, Butch, there will be plenty of sorceresses.
Feminina:
I'm already sorry there probably won't be a bunch of cat toys.
Butch:
While I feel for you, I do, this is a trade I will happily make.
Loothound:
There may be orc toys. Or kuo-toa toys. OR FLUMPH TOYS! We should not presume the toys we will or will not get to find in BG. How much fun will we have if there's an Apparatus of Kwalish!?!?
Butch:
Hmm? What? Sorry, drifted off there, thinking of sorceresses and toys. What were we talking about?
Loothound:
Goddammit! Do you know how hard I had to resist making that joke? Especially given the rumors of how randy this game gets? And you just drop it there like that. I hope the sorceresses give you the whole 'Oh, you're going to try and have Yennifer AND Triss?' treatment. Out in the cold.
Also, without context, 'Hips of Vecna." Just sayin'…
Butch:
Dude, I've been blogging a long time. All inhibitions regarding dropping raunchy, if obvious, jokes evaporated years ago.
This is also one of those days where my multitasking hurts my brain. Here I am thinking on sorceresses and toys while play testing a Niel Diamond record. It's a strange juxtaposition, to be sure.
Loothound:
Duh, duh
Sweeeeet sorc'ress mine
Dah, dah, duuuhh
Your toy's made of magic wood
<<that wood, that wood, that wood>>
Iiiiii'll spider climb
Dah, dah, duuuhh
And end this joke just where I should, should, should…
Seriously, that was gonna go south quickly.
Feminina:
Wow. I'm going to...just be over here...
Loothound:
Sorry, it had to be done. We're finished now, though. Or at least I am. Definitely done with this line of blogging. Everything's under control. Situation normal. So, we're fine…here…thanks. How are you?
Butch:
I'm still sitting in shocked awe.
This record, though, is stranger than fiction. It's the soundtrack to "The Jazz Singer."
Remember when you could make movies where pop stars started out in black face then ended singing in Hebrew with Lawrence Olivier before singing a rousing patriotic 80s ballad and no one got offended?
Good times, good times.
I will shamelessly sell the soundtrack for 13.99. Plus shipping.
Loothound:
Hey, I LIKED Yentl, thank you very much.
Sorry, my goofy is a bit off the charts today. Yes, a different time. Vintage vinyl for $13.99 seems pretty legit, but I know nothing about the value of anything.
Feminina:
Speaking of a different time, can we mention how funny it is every time we find a cat toy that's something kind of obvious, like a plastic lizard figurine or a sword, and KK says "what the hell is that?!" in a tone of great astonishment?
Like...dude. It's...a sword? Or, those are shuriken, even I know this and I'm not Japanese, this is part of your cultural history so why the surprise?
I get "what the hell is that?!" when you find a mummified dog head, or a mummified dog body with a human head. That's an appropriate – indeed, almost necessary – reaction.
But I don't think you're quite young enough to be that startled by a video cassette, which is another cat item, and which, being from a different time, is where I got this smooth segue.
Loothound:
Ha, yes this. Neither Akito nor KK know what anything is. Mummy dog with a human head, makes sense. Samurai sword, sorry but I don't buy it. I also like how we keep finding the shuriken stuck into air conditioning units on the roofs of these tall buildings. I like to imagine that these business workers are going up there on their lunch breaks and just hucking ninja stars at things because they're pissed at their boss. It's got a very Aggretsuko vibe to it.
Seriously, you two. Get some basic cultural literacy.
Feminina:
At least if they're throwing shuriken around, they're expressing their anger instead of stuffing it down until it can burst out later as an enraged Visitor!
Good work, people. Fling those stars.
Butch:
Probably why the cats are so chill. They collect that shit, then they use it. You fuck shit up to get the anger out, you can be a nice, chill cat. Never see a cat with an umbrella, do you?
Loothound:
I love how some of the cats wear the things that you give them. The dragon mask, the little round glasses, THE SOCKS! Also, the little clap they give you sometimes when you deliver stuff. I think we all know why cats rule the internet.
All your artifacts are belong to us.
Butch:
I do enjoy the happy cat clap more than a grown man should.
Feminina:
I think you mean "exactly as much as a normal human with a functioning sense of wonder and delight and a healthy appreciation of amusing cat antics should."
Loothound:
The way they sort of lounge back while they hover there takes away any shame I might feel about the matter.
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