Some Re-Reviewing...
So, it looks like the division between spring/summer anime seasons is here, which gives me time to consider what I've been watching...
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was probably my favorite going into the season. After 13 episodes, I still sort of like it, but it also feels like it doesn't live up to its potential. The action's solid and the premise is interesting, but it just lacks a sense of payoff. By the season's end, no fewer than three city/stations have fallen to the zombie-like kabane on and off screen, and it felt to me like a sign of a death spiral for society, even though most of the cast rides off into the sunset. The villain never became very sympathetic, making him seem just a nihilistic force, which is fairly uninteresting. If there's another season, I'd probably watch it, but it's not as exciting to me at this point.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- has moved up to my favorite of the season, I think - and is continuing on from all appearances. Episode 13 ends on a pretty low note for the protagonist, and 14 leads in to what it sure to be another reliving of days trying to fix the situation. The relationships are actually pretty fun for me to watch, even if it's sometimes a little on the cheesy/cutesy end of things for my taste. Heh, one character gives some of the best advice ever - effectively "go tell her how you feel, use your words!" Of course, if characters did that, there'd be so much less relationship drama to watch.
I've glanced at a few other series recently, but nothing's really caught my eye. I might get into the new Berserk series after it has time to get rolling. That's been one of my favorite manga series, even though I find it incredibly frustrating at times (whether due to long delays in production or certain directions the story takes).
Aside from the anime scene, I've still been playing The Division on and off. Introduction of "high value targets" bolstered interest for a bit. Then the recent Underground expansion added stuff to do with quasi-random "dungeons." Both are things that give me, as a solo player, more to do. That's good. But... really the game runs into some of the same problems you see in MMO's.
- Content takes significantly longer to design and deploy than it does to "consume." Adding modular/randomized content certainly helps with that, but even so, players can run through all the permutations in a fraction of the time it took to make. And with a game bounded in a reasonably-realistic New York City, there are some strict limits on what can ben put out in the way of scenery and opposition.
- Advancement plateaus kind of suck, but are unavoidable. In a game like this, advancement means better gear. Depending on how a person plays, there's a hard limit to what they can acquire. I'm pretty much capped at my gear score 204 weapon and 214 items. There's higher-level stuff out there, but you need to play in content that (for all practical purposes) requires groups to get it. So... there's no real advancement to be had for me one week after the first expansion came out.
- Exponential experience systems are horribly demoralizing. I hit a wall in the Dark Zone around level 50 where levels were just so distant they weren't motivating. The same thing has happened in Underground levels at 20.
So... maybe I should go play something else for a while. That makes sense.
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was probably my favorite going into the season. After 13 episodes, I still sort of like it, but it also feels like it doesn't live up to its potential. The action's solid and the premise is interesting, but it just lacks a sense of payoff. By the season's end, no fewer than three city/stations have fallen to the zombie-like kabane on and off screen, and it felt to me like a sign of a death spiral for society, even though most of the cast rides off into the sunset. The villain never became very sympathetic, making him seem just a nihilistic force, which is fairly uninteresting. If there's another season, I'd probably watch it, but it's not as exciting to me at this point.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- has moved up to my favorite of the season, I think - and is continuing on from all appearances. Episode 13 ends on a pretty low note for the protagonist, and 14 leads in to what it sure to be another reliving of days trying to fix the situation. The relationships are actually pretty fun for me to watch, even if it's sometimes a little on the cheesy/cutesy end of things for my taste. Heh, one character gives some of the best advice ever - effectively "go tell her how you feel, use your words!" Of course, if characters did that, there'd be so much less relationship drama to watch.
I've glanced at a few other series recently, but nothing's really caught my eye. I might get into the new Berserk series after it has time to get rolling. That's been one of my favorite manga series, even though I find it incredibly frustrating at times (whether due to long delays in production or certain directions the story takes).
Aside from the anime scene, I've still been playing The Division on and off. Introduction of "high value targets" bolstered interest for a bit. Then the recent Underground expansion added stuff to do with quasi-random "dungeons." Both are things that give me, as a solo player, more to do. That's good. But... really the game runs into some of the same problems you see in MMO's.
- Content takes significantly longer to design and deploy than it does to "consume." Adding modular/randomized content certainly helps with that, but even so, players can run through all the permutations in a fraction of the time it took to make. And with a game bounded in a reasonably-realistic New York City, there are some strict limits on what can ben put out in the way of scenery and opposition.
- Advancement plateaus kind of suck, but are unavoidable. In a game like this, advancement means better gear. Depending on how a person plays, there's a hard limit to what they can acquire. I'm pretty much capped at my gear score 204 weapon and 214 items. There's higher-level stuff out there, but you need to play in content that (for all practical purposes) requires groups to get it. So... there's no real advancement to be had for me one week after the first expansion came out.
- Exponential experience systems are horribly demoralizing. I hit a wall in the Dark Zone around level 50 where levels were just so distant they weren't motivating. The same thing has happened in Underground levels at 20.
So... maybe I should go play something else for a while. That makes sense.
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