Watch Dogs, Etc.
So, after finishing an Assassin's Creed game fairly recently, a bit more open world adventuring seemed appealing, especially with shutdowns coming and increased time at home looming. So with some rifling around, I picked up Watch Dogs. I remembered how it made a big splash on reveal and was a bit of a let-down graphically when it released, but hey - open world stuff to do and a bit of a cyberpunk-ish bent with all the hacking.
Weeeeelllll... It's okay. From the get-go, I found I didn't really like the revenge-driven protagonist, Aiden Pearce. The hacking involves a lot of jumping from camera to camera, taking control of things based on line-of-sight, and waving a phone at things to make them blow up or otherwise activate. There is a certain empowering element to that in gameplay, though it's functionally more tech-flavored magic than anything more grounded, not that there's anything inherently wrong with that.
Along with that "hacking," the game has the requisite shooting. Coming off Deus Ex games, I started trying for a non-lethal approach, but that just isn't practical or possible in this game, as that only leaves a melee take down and some missions require otherwise. I often found it easier to gun down enemies in an area than stealth through it. The driving is functional (maybe better with a controller), but the police chases were downright annoying and went on too long for my taste.
And continuing the theme of "maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for this," the story is rather dark and tragic. Aiden spends all his time 1) violently protecting his sister and nephew or 2) actively going after people connected to the hit on him that killed his niece. He acknowledges that his family members are in danger because of his own hacking activities, but his solution to that through most of the game is being a murderous vigilante who the public somehow knows the name of (yet is surprised when anyone figures out he has a sister in town). He only finally gets the two out of the city after he has to rescue his sister, which involves at least killing one person in front of her with an explosion and having her shoot another. And the of the hacker allies he gains along the way, one dies and one parts ways with him, leaving him to get his revenge and... go on being a vigilante. One could argue Aiden Pearce has some morals, but I really did not find him a sympathetic character at all.
So... yeah, functionally alright game, probably more impressive when it came out, and a depressing narrative. Eh, I probably could have done without that.
I also recently watched (fast-forwarded) through a playthrough of Doom Eternal. I probably could have just waited for a condensed "lore" video, given that's about all that remains interesting to me in the series. And I am curious about the lore set up in Doom (2016). Eternal makes that story a bit more clear, though some things are still vague and fuzzy. That's fine, it's an action series, but I like to see what narrative the creators built in the background.
The game goes full-on Diablo 3, with the the Doom Guy/Marine/Slayer assaulting a heaven-analog realm in an attempt to save Earth from hellish destruction. I guess that's a trope these days? Still, I found some entertainment there.
"Working at home" is certainly odd. My job doesn't have a task list for the day, so much, as to be responsive to any issues that arise. So the big difference from working at home and just being off is whether I'm glued to my email all day and whether I'm allowed to nap at my leisure. In some ways, I might rather have a thing to do than spend time waiting.
For now, though, one of us will be in the office on a given business day and we'll be rotating who that is.
Weeeeelllll... It's okay. From the get-go, I found I didn't really like the revenge-driven protagonist, Aiden Pearce. The hacking involves a lot of jumping from camera to camera, taking control of things based on line-of-sight, and waving a phone at things to make them blow up or otherwise activate. There is a certain empowering element to that in gameplay, though it's functionally more tech-flavored magic than anything more grounded, not that there's anything inherently wrong with that.
Along with that "hacking," the game has the requisite shooting. Coming off Deus Ex games, I started trying for a non-lethal approach, but that just isn't practical or possible in this game, as that only leaves a melee take down and some missions require otherwise. I often found it easier to gun down enemies in an area than stealth through it. The driving is functional (maybe better with a controller), but the police chases were downright annoying and went on too long for my taste.
And continuing the theme of "maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for this," the story is rather dark and tragic. Aiden spends all his time 1) violently protecting his sister and nephew or 2) actively going after people connected to the hit on him that killed his niece. He acknowledges that his family members are in danger because of his own hacking activities, but his solution to that through most of the game is being a murderous vigilante who the public somehow knows the name of (yet is surprised when anyone figures out he has a sister in town). He only finally gets the two out of the city after he has to rescue his sister, which involves at least killing one person in front of her with an explosion and having her shoot another. And the of the hacker allies he gains along the way, one dies and one parts ways with him, leaving him to get his revenge and... go on being a vigilante. One could argue Aiden Pearce has some morals, but I really did not find him a sympathetic character at all.
So... yeah, functionally alright game, probably more impressive when it came out, and a depressing narrative. Eh, I probably could have done without that.
I also recently watched (fast-forwarded) through a playthrough of Doom Eternal. I probably could have just waited for a condensed "lore" video, given that's about all that remains interesting to me in the series. And I am curious about the lore set up in Doom (2016). Eternal makes that story a bit more clear, though some things are still vague and fuzzy. That's fine, it's an action series, but I like to see what narrative the creators built in the background.
The game goes full-on Diablo 3, with the the Doom Guy/Marine/Slayer assaulting a heaven-analog realm in an attempt to save Earth from hellish destruction. I guess that's a trope these days? Still, I found some entertainment there.
"Working at home" is certainly odd. My job doesn't have a task list for the day, so much, as to be responsive to any issues that arise. So the big difference from working at home and just being off is whether I'm glued to my email all day and whether I'm allowed to nap at my leisure. In some ways, I might rather have a thing to do than spend time waiting.
For now, though, one of us will be in the office on a given business day and we'll be rotating who that is.
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