Month: August 2023

I love Max Payne 1 & 2. Absolutely love them. The first was fantastic and the second took it exactly where it needed to go and pulled it off near flawlessly. Then came Max Payne 3.

I just finished that before doing this episode and while I’m not sure the setting and story were Max Payne worthy – the dialogue was spot on near perfection. Just one liner after one liner to the point I wanted a soundboard so I could play a random clip of dialogue from the game to convey whatever I might be feeling at the current moment.

I’ve been having a run on noir-style games at the moment with Max Payne 3 and doing a replay of The Wolf Among Us. Not sure where I’ll go next but the next season of Destiny is right around the corner. For better or worse.

Then comes Starfield.

To quote Max Payne – Time was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

Speaking of time – Ubisoft, it has been 3,632 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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The backlog is on the fire and we are cooking!

I don’t know why that was the first line to come to mind, but…there it is. Point being, I’ve been going back into some old games recently and enjoying them very much. Mostly, I don’t remember playing some of these games. Max Payne 3 I have a few memories of and sometimes during my playthrough it’ll trigger and I’ll have a momentary flash of recognition. It doesn’t last long.

Same with Wolf Among Us. I have one distinct memory of that early on in Episode 1 and…that’s it. Some parts of it seem like a memory or a confusion between other games, but nothing has stuck, really. And the same goes for LA Noire. Near a total blank there and I actually wrote a review of the game way back in 2013. Or earlier.

It’s fun to revisit old games that you enjoyed. And even more so when your memory is so shot you sort of experience them again for the first time – a second time. Then again, there’s plenty over the years I haven’t played and I’m looking forward to those as well (I’m looking at you Control & Titanfall 2).

But I’m absolutely not looking at Red Dead Redemption’s Switch/PS4 port.

Speaking of old games – Ubisoft, it has been 3,625 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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For a brief moment in the show (probably not too brief knowing how I ramble) we talk about the next thing from Nintendo. And right there live on the show I’m thinking about it. Or at least, analyzing HOW I think about a new console from Nintendo. Mainly given my history of their new systems.

I realized that most likely beginning with the Gamecube, I’ve kept the big N from being compared to the other two, Microsoft & Sony. I mean, even then I was comparing but I think it was during that system’s lifetime and what we knew was coming next where I just sort of kept them separate. From the design of their systems to their libraries of games – it’s just a different world from what’s going on in Xbox land and PlayStation world. And Nintendo (and probably the other two) all kind of look at it that way as well.

And it occurred to me that I’m never actually interested in the design of a PS or an Xbox. I’m interested in what’s inside them and their power, but never the look. And it’s a bit different with Nintendo. Their form factor (even more so now that they’ll likely stick to a portable device) is crucially important. Maybe more so than the innards of the machine itself. We know it’ll be improved over the current Switch, but it will hardly matter how much. We’re just waiting for the gimmick. Motion controls for the Wii, portability for the Switch. So what’s next? Guts be damned – how does the system look and feel in my hands?

Speaking of what’s next – Ubisoft, it has been 3,618 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

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