The only real qualm I have is the lack of Ukrainian and Russian accents on the English dub. I don’t really understand the thought process as I felt like it added a lot of character and immersion to both the originals and to the Metro games.

Otherwise I’m optimistic, I think the game looks good and they’ve been saying all the right things. Game journalists who have played it also report things that make me feel very hopeful, both in terms of micro gameplay (atmosphere, tension and isolation without reliance on jump scares) and macro gameplay (decisions mattering, branching stories and factions).

I pre-ordered the ultimate edition regardless to support the studio after the horrors they’ve survived over the war, including losing colleagues to the frontline.

Reminds me of Cassidy’s foreskin musings in Preacher.

Time is a flat circle eh?

Very cool!

I love all the discoveries made possible by lidar, this was a very cool read and I can’t wait to see what they find when they start an actual on-site dig.

Also makes sense from a performance perspective. I know he is far from single-handedly responsible but part of being in charge is that you’re the one the buck stops with. For the past almost two years straight the “upgrades” the team has brought has consistently not worked - multiple times even making the car actively worse.

I’m in a bit of a down period as STALKER 2 is coming out soon so I don’t want to pick up a new story campaign from my backlog in the meantime (Metro: Exodus, Bioshock Infinite and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided are on the docket) in case I’m not finished in time for release day.

Still playing lots of Deadlock, but for a single player story game I’ve gone back to some bits of RDR 2 when I’m not in the competitive mood. I started it earlier this year but abandoned it as I burnt out on it a bit. Coming back to it has been a very mixed experience, there is still so much about it I love - but also some very deep frustrations. And absence hasn’t really made the heart grow fonder in that regard. I don’t really like the mission structure. I know it’s been brought up by others, but I too seem to be among those who are bothered by it. I also find the sheer body count forced on you through main story missions to be so ludicrous as to regularly ruin my immersion. I’m not even that far in and I’ve already basically committed genocide levels of murder! And then the mission is over and nobody is talking about the massacre of hundreds of lawmen?

The Hindus were right all along, this is the Kali Yuga.

I think that was supposed to be an attempt at an accent?

For sure, STALKER is just not the same without Cheeki Breeki!

I still can’t get over how “wrong” it sounds and feels to have native English speaking accents for the voice work instead of the heavy Ukrainian and Russian accents. This is one to play with Ukrainian VA and English subtitles for sure.

Well said. As soon as Harris started parading Biden around on campaign events and talking about “we love you Joe” I knew it was over. It doesn’t matter that a lot of the circumstances were out of his control, to many people Biden’s term is associated with hardship. The Dems had a unique opportunity to sidestep the issue by having Harris position herself as a separate candidate, distancing herself from the Biden administration and pushing a narrative of her having different and new ideas for the country. Instead they tried themselves to the status quo in a moment where the everyman is suffering and it pulled them down like a boat anchor.

It’s a damn embarrassment, and the whole world is left weeping. Fucking hell.

Damn, I did not expect such a step-up from the 7800X3D, that’s kinda insane actually.

Not feeling good about spending four more years attempting to resist the noose to be honest.

Love this game. Ever since trying the VR mod though I’ve been dying for official support. Imagine using the proper VR controls to pop handbrake and steer the car, would be the most immersive thing!

Still, even with that said if you like the game and have access to a VR headset It’s still worth giving it a go, it really fits the game I think.

The pitstop was huge, but judging by Norris’s performance today he would have been powerless to challenge Verstappen regardless. He might have limited the damage though and kept his hopes alive for the following races.

Do you know if they value the WCC more, or if they (like the common crowd) put a higher value on the WDC?

It’s a shame we won’t be able to maintain the title fight delusion anymore for the rest of the season, but this was a cold shower for McLaren - both literally and figuratively. Neither the race strategists nor drivers are of a high enough calibre, and it’s really a shame since the mechanics, designers and factory workers have been amazing. Trying to root for them this season has been so damn frustrating it’s starting to make me feel hostile emotions about them.

From what I understand they’re only present at a fraction of the races, and so the storylines they try to put together are heavily influenced by what races they were around to film at. I think if they’re here there is plenty of material about either McLaren throwing the title fight or Alpine getting a surprise double podium, but it would not surprise me in the slightest to learn that they were not here filming and this race goes completely unmentioned in the season.

It’s giving me flashbacks of last year. I can feel the PTSD.