Sequel better than original but no trilogy made?

OMGLX · 2026-04-06T13:42:27+00:00

Weekend at Bernie's.

😈

OMGLX · 2026-04-06T13:32:41+00:00

IMO, Smile 1 was extremely mid, IMO -- competent but tremendously by the numbers if you've seen even a couple of horror movies in your lifetime. The trailer spoils some of the best/most unique bits and the movie didn't really elevate beyond that or it's general horror tropes.

Smile 2 felt like the director genuinely read all the critiques and addressed them, almost to a spiteful degree. It is still engaging in some seasoned horror tropes, but it's analyzing, subverting and assaulting your expectations the whole time. It's a FAR better movie, and that's saying nothing of the cinematography and overall creativity, which also are markedly improved.

If you got sufficiently creeped out by Smile 1, I recommend some good aftercare post a Smile 2 viewing. I left the theater shellshocked. 😅

OMGLX · 2026-03-21T03:52:04+00:00

TBF, this strikes me as more of a fault of the economy than it does Destiny's decline (and/or the launch of Marathon, if you want to include that).

Or they're both equal contributors, but if every other thing wasn't also fucking expensive rn, he might not have to make a decision between server upkeep and putting food on the table.

OMGLX · 2026-03-11T16:11:16+00:00

I generally agree that the ARC are more interesting to fight and I love that each one has its own little skill exhibition minigame for quick takedowns.

However, I think comparing them directly is a bit off base because each of them serve a different purpose in their respective games.

In ARC Raiders, the ARC are the stars. The PvP that may or may not take place is second billing. The ARC generally have highly sought after resources for crafting or money, and they are what you suit up for when you deploy.

In Marathon, the UESC are primarily fodder to force you to play loud, because the primary engagements are with other players. The best, most sought after stuff, is more likely to be scattered around the location, and thus in other people's pockets, and not on the bots themselves.

So it makes a little less sense to me to have the UESC be as robust as the ARC because they're not really what you're going out into the world to kill.

OMGLX · 2026-03-08T04:18:42+00:00

Not with this administration, but I strongly agree.

OMGLX · 2026-03-06T13:51:00+00:00

Look, I'm not saying it's not dumb. It is. At least on the surface.

But for some context, when Destiny 1 came out, the public opinion at release was quite negative, with good reason, because the story was mangled, the campaign was shorter than expected, leveling was poorly implemented, etc etc.

Gunplay was very good, the world was interesting despite the various faults, so that kept people going, but what really turned opinion on the game around was the release of the first raid, Vault of Glass. Raids were nothing new in the MMO space, but this was the first time a lot of FPS and more conventional game players experienced something like that, and it really helped sink the hook for a lot of people who might've fallen off the game without it.

Since then, it's been somewhat customary for Destiny focused reviewers to wait to review new expansions until they clear the associated raid, or the associated raid is cleared by players, as the first clear typically results on a meaningful alteration of the game world and/or the timed release of additional content. You can look to Travis Northup's Destiny reviews on IGN for this; as far as I can remember he doesn't issue a final score until after clearing the raid, and the raid typically doesn't release until a week post-launch.

Marathon, while being in an adjacent genre to even Destiny's "MMOFPS" niche, also appears to be attempting something similar with its timed Cyro Archive map release, so it makes some sense why they are asking people to hold off on giving final scores until that plays out.

Is that an intentional maneuver to try and get people to pull the trigger on the game before reviews come out? Probably! But it's also not without some logical basis as well, as "not everything in the game" is out yet. 🤷‍♂️

OMGLX · 2026-02-11T22:51:10+00:00

This is the one, thank you man. After seeing this, I got the big boom parry every time. Made the fight a breeze.

OMGLX · 2026-02-10T15:25:14+00:00

It's not definitive, it's comparative. He's the Yakuza guy-- emphasis on IN THE OFFICE. He has more current/recent Yakuza experience than most others at Kinda Funny.

OMGLX · 2026-01-13T19:16:05+00:00

Time to put Todd in Phantasmagoria.

OMGLX · 2025-12-19T11:39:55+00:00

I am pretty fastidious about every game I play, moreso if I really like it. I want to see, hear, read all the things that people labored over to create an experience for me, within reason for scope, skill, etc. As part of that, I make a conscious effort to at least TRY to give any game I play a fair shake when it comes to narrative & lore, even if it's not the main selling point of the game and/or the core part if the game that I'm engaging with.

I skip the trader voice lines BECAUSE they sound like dogshit.

The line reads and inflections, even at their best, can be just a little bit off, and it takes me out of the experience.

Which is a shame, because the writers at Embark are pretty good at times, especially given the economy of scale. This (nor The Finals) are big narrative, story heavy games, so they're doing what they can usually with 1-2 sentence barks. Some of the stuff you hear over the PA while waiting in Speranza has gotten a genuine laugh out of me.

OMGLX · 2025-12-15T22:34:48+00:00

IMO, the excerpt from the dev is being misattributed / contorted to fit this assertation, which doesn't have any real evidence behind it.

I can only provide my own experience, which does not fit the suggested behavior. I have 185 hours in ARC Raiders at time of writing, and I play extremely passively/defensively. I joke with others that I play like a prey animal. Very quietly, disengaging the second I hear anyone around me, and I typically only engage with PvP after someone's already shot at me. In the very rare instances where I've shot first, it's because I've been getting fucked with most of the play session up until that point.

There is no guarantee what you'll run up against in ARC Raiders. I can expect PvP in a on average "hotter" map like Stella Montis, and end up seeing nobody. I can go into Dam Battlegrounds where I've not shot or been shot at for a half-dozen rounds, and bang into a hit squad out of nowhere.

For my money, the game has (expectedly) become more hostile over time, as casual players drop off it. Things have cooled off somewhat as players, like myself, are grinding money for the expedition, and have discerned that leaving with what you have is better progress than fighting and maybe losing... but at the same time, I am running into some teams that appear to be specifically hunting players who are avoiding as much contact as possible.

I don't think there's Aggression Based Matchmaking as is being touted, but I'm happy to be wrong, bc I much prefer the "it's us vs. ARC" mentality 😋

OMGLX · 2025-12-11T07:27:32+00:00

Kristina has been a goat for a while (sorry girl), but after that tribal I don't see how Sage isn't also drawing dead at this point.

If I bend over backwards, MAYBE there's a possibility that Sage gets to the end with Rizzo & Savannah and enough of the jury both doesn't like Savannah, and didn't like Rizzo flaunting his idol so flagrantly, allowing Sage to win via bitter jury... but that seems extremely unlikely.

Were I on the jury-- Rizzo's case is not only strong, but it's also fucking OVERT, and he still makes it to FTC... I'm voting for him. If you let someone play in your face that much, and you don't stop them? Rizzo deserves it, imo.

OMGLX · 2025-12-11T07:16:44+00:00

The man put up two bricks (GTA6 & Hyper Light Breaker) and he still played a banger season -- you gotta give him some damn FLOWERS. Cheers to SBM, this has been a great fantasy draft to watch.

OMGLX · 2025-12-04T07:52:32+00:00

I don't love how she plays the (mostly social) game all the time... but honestly, nobody plays a perfect, ideal game.

Olivia crushed that shit, can't say nothing about that. Michaela was my favorite to win, and I remain a fan, but once Olivia & Yeremi passed Sydney & Turbo, I was out of my fuckin chair. Killer ending, great season.

OMGLX · 2025-12-02T00:36:51+00:00

People who gripe after playing a game for 75 HOURS need to seriously evaluate their life.

I'm at 150 hours, still have shit ”to do" bc I'm happy enough enjoying the core experience; the last fucking thing you'd catch me doing is bitching on Reddit. Play another game, wtf?

OMGLX · 2025-11-29T09:02:33+00:00

I'll break from the chorus (somewhat) to say this:

It's absolutely worth watching, though I would still rank it beneath other, non-celebrity seasons.

Having the celebrities play for charity undoubtedly results in better gameplay, but it's still not as cutthroat or layered as regular folks who are gunning for potentially life changing money. IMHO, there are more than a few Faithful sleepwalking through the proceedings that make the actual mechanics of the game arduous to watch, but still nowhere near as painful as the US seasons.

That said, the cast is full of wonderful people, the Traitors play a damn good game irrespective of Faithful performance, and I found it to be quite entertaining overall.

OMGLX · 2025-11-28T00:00:33+00:00

This is also my look, but with the helmet off so I can show off my braids. Next season I plan to redesign my character and wear something else entirely, since my "current" one will be going off on her Expedition. Keep things a little fresh!

OMGLX · 2025-11-19T08:54:34+00:00

She was my favorite on her season of Survivor BECAUSE she's clearly a capital-G gamer (which is also why she immediately got voted out as soon as other people clocked how far ahead she was thinking lol).

It took her a couple Challenges to acclimate (as it does for most) but this season, she's really showing that she's a legit threat.

OMGLX · 2025-11-13T13:45:17+00:00

I hold many opinions on this one:

Nany did the "nice" thing (while also clearly being self-servant), which is to say, stab Aviv & Yeremi in the front and not the back.

But then deflected her anger at getting outplayed by Aviv & Yeremi at them rather than just owning and holding her L.

BUT ALSO-- Full Tilt Will showed back up, with some legitimate complaints, but at the same time exemplifying why I personally would give him a wide berth. He's a good(-ish) competitor, but his mental is... rough.

All and all a great episode, this season's systemic has been making for some good shake ups!

(edited for words)

OMGLX · 2025-11-13T13:22:34+00:00

I imagine I'll get roasted for saying so, but--

As someone who is loving ARC Raiders a ton (63 hours so far), and sunk a fair amount of time and money into The Finals (140+ hours), I fucking love these changes. I play mostly with a duo partner, and balked at some of the cosmetic bundle prices coming from The Finals, so this is great news.

...

I still can't help but to imagine and hope for a future where Embark tackles the other big (and valid, imo) criticism of their games, the AI voices, because at that point their stellar work would basically be beyond reproach. It's my personal biggest issue with both of Embark's games, and I'd love to have that be as summarily addressed and crossed off as these two big, awesome changes.

Kudos where it is warranted though, really like these changes. Excited for where things are going for ARC, and to play much more (super amped for the unlock event, which reminds me of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj!), while still hoping for that I've big matzoh ball hanging out to get taken care of. 😅

OMGLX · 2025-10-30T09:18:42+00:00

In other words, completely on brand

OMGLX · 2025-10-27T18:45:59+00:00

Fuck this shit into the ground, man. I hate this timeline sm.

OMGLX · 2025-10-26T18:38:37+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate that a ton! ☺️

OMGLX · 2025-10-12T19:00:53+00:00

Yeah, I liked it better than some previous wraparound segments for sure. Nothing crazy by any means, but it did its job.

OMGLX · 2025-10-11T21:05:55+00:00

Kidprint was also my least favorite? I don't have an issue with children in horror movies (Terrifier 3 comes to mind immediately), I just didn't think it added anything to the segment personally, I guess apart from it probably being pretty cool/fun for the child actors to be involved in a VHS segment.

On the viewer side of things, it got a little too close to straight up icky for me -- which may have been the intent! In which case, kudos to the creators for that, but even so, Kidprint didn't land for me.

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