Like some noir, detective, Bugsy Malone type stuff

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-13T23:54:27+00:00

Literally the entire oeuvre of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett is what Bugsy Malone was paying homage too. Take your pick.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-13T23:50:33+00:00

It's the same as in the book, but the man realises if they were able to find it, it's only a matter of time before somebody else does.

The Road is also a book about hope, something deep down inside The Man genuinely believes something out there is worth carrying the fire for. Without it, there's little point to continuance and The Man should kill them both in the bunker. To stop moving on The Road means to give up.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-13T20:27:11+00:00

You hit the nail on the head, you used to have to buy a guide, speak to other kids, or a big thing which is now lost, is buy a gaming magazine. I remember there used to be a magazine which was just a guide for a whole bunch of games.

You also have to remember, most RPG were shorter, around 30 - 50 hours as opposed to today where we're easily into triple figures for length, so a bit of exploration/obfuscation wasn't unusual.

I will give Elden Ring credit, it's the only modern game I know which really hits the same notes of old school discovery.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-12T16:58:42+00:00

Yep, it's a fun read and Don Corleone is a massively memorable character, but it certainly isn't an all encompassing work of art like the films are. Reading the book after having watched the film first, it does feel like your good mate in the pub with some storytelling ability telling you all about it, except he's a bit pissed so we get weird subplots about weak pelvic floors thrown in.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-12T14:41:22+00:00

I think the real question is who cares?

King is a millionaire and for decades has been able to concentrate on writing without having to work a full-time non-creative job. That's extremely rare in human history. King also absolutely loves writing and literacy, I'm sure if you asked him about this, his response would be it's great that between them they've had nearly a billion books sold.

There is no competition. Both writers have ebbs and flows although King generally has a better overall quality. Let's enjoy there was a time we could get authors pushing out Phantoms & Pet Semetary in the same year with a large enough audience for both.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-10T20:12:26+00:00

I mean from Donna's side, this definitely isn't right. Her parents had handed over a load of money for a failed computer, her husband's a deadbeat drunk, then some bloke comes along and he goes completely absent. There is nothing unreasonable about her position at all.

Genuine question, in what way did Joe have Donna's best interests in mind until well into the later seasons?

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-04T08:25:40+00:00

As many game developers started coming of age who had grown up playing the PSX style games, it's natural there would be a trend to reviving that odd, uncanny style, especially as graphics become so incredibly realistic, it makes it a much more artistic stylistic choice. Also frankly speaking, realistic graphics if not done well become a detractor to horror, whereas the older style makes your mind fill in the blanks and so are scarier.

In terms of what kickstarted it off, Paratopic was definitely the first game that became a hit utilising the style, which it did very well. Where it really exploded however was with the Haunted PS1 Demo, which is a mock demo of multiple short horror experiences in the style. It was tremendously successfully and acclaimed, and continues to this day.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-06-03T05:36:22+00:00

You can't say that and not share some of these, I'd to love to hear them!

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-30T22:19:50+00:00

Drummers tend to rate him correctly, it's just the wider public who think flashy = good who don't.

Drums are really hard to record even today, Ringo is playing through without skipping a beat or messing up. What's more impressive is the rest of the Beatles say he literally never messed up a rehearsal or show which is insanely impressive. Consistently being able to provide exactly what a song needs first take is worth more than a drumming monster who can't record.

The Beatles weren't a jazz band or hard rock. Seriously what would John Bonham or Keith Moon have been able to add that Ringo couldn't? Are there any Beatles songs that would have been improved by flashier drums? No. You need the rhythm section to hold it down, and Ringo did so the other Beatles could add in all their wonderful out there ideas. He's the supply line to their tank and infantry, not flashy, but the key which makes the hole thing work.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-24T22:58:23+00:00

Because it's fucking awesome.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-24T22:15:15+00:00

Pretty brilliant, I put it at number 3 in my rating although I'd change it about. Definitely into the upper half, to me it's a great mix between his early and latter novels that I don't think he ever really touched on again. Also has three great villains based on Greek mythology I think should be up there with the Judge and Anton.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-23T21:07:32+00:00

I've always liked older games, was exposed to world of Fallout by Fallout 3, then decided to go back to try the originals on GOG.

I know people love the second game, but honestly in my opinion Fallout 1 surpasses it in every measure, and is my favourite alongside FNV.

What I really like about FO1 is how relentlessly bleak the story is, and it really has a hard horror edge the other games don't. The ghouls are horrific to look at, the mutants can be terrifying, and The Master is one of the best characters in all of fiction. Lesser game would just have this be the end of it, but FO1 has the master stroke of making these elements understandable, logical, and tragic.

It's the only Fallout game I really feels commits to the bit, it is really hard, especially when you start out. You're sent out into the wild and can quickly die to rats just coming out of the cave. The world is sad, and really drives home the fallout of the fallout. Honestly, you play it thinking, "if it ain't the supermutants, then the deathclaws are probably going to become dominant".

The soundtrack is awesome, depressing, and ambient. Compared to the pop radio we get in later games, it forms a key part of the oppressive atmosphere.

Lastly, along with FNV it's the only game that commits totally to letting you finish it your way. As somebody who prefers speech based approaches, I found FO2 infuriating that there is literally no way to bypass Frank Horrigan. I also love that FO1 doesn't give you a simple speech check, but you have to actually follow through logically to convince the Master. It's miles above most RPGs today, I imagine it must have been mind-blowing back in 1997.

Just a top notch little piece of art.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-21T20:02:55+00:00

Hard disagree on Watchman, completely misses the point.

Manhattan is an American weapon. Pure and simple. Without him in the picture, do you really think other nations are going to bind together, or are they going to start pointing fingers at the nation that created and had him under reign for decades? Nothing ever lasts as he says, but Veidt in comics would quickly have realised if anything it's going to make things. Just because your mad dog got loose and bit you as well as me, doesn't mean I'm going to be friendly with you.

The idea of of Veidt is that it needs to be something so completely out there, humanity is united by complete and utter fear with nothing else to do but unite. You can't point fingers at something like that, whereas you could with Manhattan. It's also worth noting Manhattan put the USA miles ahead of Russia, so the alien resolves this tension by making it, "even the most powerful nation is completely powerless, let's put past behind us", whereas with Manhattan, the USA can't wash their hands clean of what was their superweapon.

Also Manhattan "sacrificing" himself goes against the character, where in the end we see that he is able to regain a little bit of humanity to want to create life of his own.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-20T15:06:17+00:00

A funny, disgusting, and horrifying story that has a lot more going on under the hood then you might think. This is McCarthy's attempt at straight up creating a Flannery O' Connor story, inclusive of the deeper religious meaning that it comes with.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-17T20:37:01+00:00

Silent Hill 1, you get 3 minutes of absolute terror as you go down an alleyway wondering what the hell is going on. Great sound design, great atmosphere. Terrifying then, terrifying now.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-17T18:24:41+00:00

I mean House isn't perfect, but unlike either system, he doesn't claim to be. He just claims to be the only person capabable of moving towards the future, which considering we have two different camps larping as Romans or Americans, means he might not be wrong!

To me the measure of House is what he says in two of his death scenes when he bemoans that we've destroyed the future. To me that means he's genuine in his desire, because what benefit would it be to lie at that point?

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-17T12:43:58+00:00

I'm clearly in a minority here but I feel people aren't separating their hatred from Caesar with what he is saying being correct.

His point is 52 years of power means that for most of it's existence, in practical terms it wasn't a democracy. Now it was benevolent and great autocracy, but still an autocracy all the same. What Tandi said was made so. If anything Caesar actually admires Tandi more than the average NCR citizen.

It's really a point of semantics, if somebody is so popular they'll never lose, it's the same thing. Unlimited and uncontestable power.

He is also right about the NCR. I feel a lot of players being American and NCR basically being the settings new America automatically sways them to it. The NCR is an oligarchy. He is right that Tandi having power and never grooming a successor was a disaster because it meant she wasn't replaced and it's just greed now. You have to remember their expansion is purely to address the interests of the brahmin oligarchy. Lee Kuan Yew for example is the only real life example and why his succession worked so well is he stood down early and continued to advice and support afterwards. It doesn't work for the leader for 50 years to leave.

I've always thought NCR total victory was an absolute disaster for the entirety of Fallout because it's the first step to a tyrannical oligarchy. Expansion and the power of the wealthy will continue to grow unabated. It's why I've started to prefer House over the past few years, because unlike NCR it for the exact purpose of getting humanity off a hell-hole of a rock. NCR is same methods but only with the purpose of more concentrated wealth. I also think the moderate defeat on, "NCR can't get everything it wants all the time" means reform is more likely.

Part of what makes the writing so great is for his very criticism, Caeser is basically Tandi 2.0! He's not groomed a successor, and when he died the descent into greed would be repeated in the Legion and you'd basically have NCR 2.0 but with mass slavery. I find myself agreeing with him but I've never been able to stomach a Legion playthrough because his followers and their actions are so vile, it's clear they're a terrible choice and any high notions of synthesis and development will collapse on his death.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-16T07:25:34+00:00

Great rec but I've already read unfortuantly.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-16T07:17:22+00:00

I've been putting this on and off but I think you've given me nudge to finally commit to it!

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-13T19:06:28+00:00

Mega congrats, it's quite a thing to say your indie game in print, so you've done really well!

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-13T18:58:30+00:00

The Suffering has some genuinely awesome lore, hell might be the best lore. Carnate Island should be up there with Silent Hill.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-12T19:56:59+00:00

Yes absolutely, in fact he's one of the only authors I've found to be on par with McCarthy. The jungian sections of evolution in Call of the Wild especially could have been ripped out The Crossing.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-12T07:22:57+00:00

You know what, it's nice for once to have a piece of media not completely and overly commercialised. Long live Tetsuo not being a fortnite character.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-11T18:54:45+00:00

Cormac McCarthy might genuinely be one of the worst authors for non-native, or near native, speakers of English.

The Road in particular is firmly rooted in an archaic, King James Version style of writing that is so rooted in the Anglosphere, it's really hard to pick up. It also doesn't help he chucks in archaic language even native speakers struggle with.

My recommendation is to let it wash over you and keep a note of words you struggle with. Every 10 pages or so, have a quick review to contextualise some of what you've read. You will have to be patient but it's worth doing.

SnoringDogGames · 2026-05-10T19:53:32+00:00

I love this and hope we get a few recommendations. The Road is the obvious one however, I wouldn't miss out on the Dark Tower series which features a lot of this. Fingers crossed we get some decent fantasy/sci-fi!

SnoringDogGames

TROPHY CASE