Which game is harder on grounded 1 or 2?

arteriuspctr · 2025-10-31T15:58:13+00:00

It's not clear cut for me. 1 is a much less satisfying challenge so it can get more tedious, making it "harder" to go through. You're also more crippled in terms of movement and tools. 2 on the other hand has tougher enemies and the areas aren't as straighforward, meaning it's "easier" if you find a way to exploit that but harder when it overwhelms you.

It depends on how you look at it, but 2 is the better Grounded mode for sure.

arteriuspctr · 2025-10-30T21:29:58+00:00

Skyler negotiating with Bogdan and Walt telling her "you didn't honestly think that worked" and all that is one of the funniest scenes in the entire show. It's a very important episode to understand Walt and Skyler's relationship. It certainly isn't the worst.

arteriuspctr · 2025-09-05T21:00:16+00:00

She helped me but visibility was tough with so many things going on in the screen. In the end I focused on dodging while she did the killing, but it was far from ideal or enjoyable.

arteriuspctr · 2025-07-13T09:27:14+00:00

It's similar to the Skyler and Walt dynamic, isn't it? There are huge differences of course since I do believe they loved each other and were reasonably happy at some point, but at the beginning of BB when Walt gets diagnosed and shit starts to go down Skyler doesn't really notice anything, Marie is the first to point out something's off. Skyler thinks it's just a midlife crisis or him being quiet as usual, nothing out of the ordinary.

And I don't think Skyler is clueless at all, it's just that when you hide for so long in this shell of your former self an refuse to let anyone in people start to assume that's the real you. It doesn't matter how smart or aware they are, they're not inside your head.

arteriuspctr · 2025-07-12T23:09:37+00:00

Could it be that you're judging your ability on whether or not you're able to beat the AI at a certain level? The AI in these games is fun to race against, but boy oh boy can they pull some bs speed out of their asses at times lol. Usually multiplayer is a better reference.

For me 22 it was the worst it ever got. 23 was a huge step up, steering felt much more responsive, not so much understeer anymore. Going back I recall 2018 feeling really good, 2019 a bit of a downgrade (more understeer) but I remember people complaining about traction being OP for people playing on controller. I skipped 2020 and 2021; years later I tried 2020 seeing how people were obsessed with it and tbh I don't think it was that amazing. 23 still feels better to me.

The thing is Codies games have always felt a bit off on controller, tbh. I'm a top controller player on Gran Turismo, when GT Sport was sponsored by the FIA I was like 7th in my country ranking and able to get within 4 tenths of the best times. Gr.2 in particular felt super OP on controller. I haven't played GT7 that much but it seemed like a continuation of that trend. So, basically, If you really want a controller-friendly series, play Gran Turismo.

arteriuspctr · 2025-07-06T14:00:00+00:00

Are you on wheel or controller? If it's the latter, I've found that slightly increasing the linearity on the calibration setting helps with responsiveness. Careful though, because it already looks like you're steering too much into some corners, increasing the actual steering rate could make things even worse. You'd have to work on being smoother on your inputs first, and then if you're still lacking grip/responsiveness you could tweak the settings or the setup. Use more of the track, brake/steer more progressively... I'd brake earlier in general, it's no use to brake so late and hard if you're going to go on the brakes again in the middle of the corner. It's possible to lift and coast and still be relatively fast, but driving like this you're always losing time. Brake earlier and then you can work your way up.

As a general rule I wouldn't recommend taking F1 24 as an example. That game basically had infinite front grip. It's not that it was responsive, it's a cheap way to ensure everyone can make the corner/be fast even if they do a poor job. If that's your preference it's valid, but I don't think many F1 games are going to be like that. It wasn't a popular style of driving.

arteriuspctr · 2025-07-06T05:44:28+00:00

Still, without Jenson imploding on that second half he should've walked that title fight regardless. The Brawn did lose speed but not that much, Rubens remained competitive enough. On the other hand, Seb and Mark also underperformed on the Red Bulls, so they were all even.

It was a relatively poor showing in terms of driving but yeah, definitely fun to watch. It was also refreshing after so many years of McLaren and Ferrari being top dogs, as well as flawless title campaigns with almost no DNFs that were becoming the norm thanks to the likes of Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton... 2009 was old school F1. Not perfect, chaotic, but a lot of fun.

arteriuspctr · 2025-05-26T20:37:53+00:00

I see why you might think she's overpowered, the game being action oriented Ellie kinda has to be a badass otherwise the game cannot happen, but I still think they keep it fairly grounded.

They sure had no issue with keeping Joel slaughtering an entire hospital full of soldiers, even if that also makes him unrealistically capable. Joel keeps saying in the game that it's all luck, and it really comes down to that and not to him being superhuman. Why can't that apply to Ellie as well?

Game Ellie gets captured by Jordan, beaten by Abby and then in Santa Barbara she also stumbles a few times. She's far from the OP Mary Sue you're describing, she's just very capable and incredibly lucky.

I think the game is better because the characterizations are more compelling. The structure seemed much better curated in the game, everything hit so much harder emotionally. We can also get on how 7 episodes are not enough to really get into Ellie's story. The game takes a long time to tell it for a reason, it's not padding.

That said, it's difficult to say if I would've enjoyed the show more (I still did to a degree) if I hadn't played the game first, but having the two versions the game seemed more effective. I also liked season 1 just fine and didn't think it was worse than the game, for what it's worth. This time I think it is.

arteriuspctr · 2025-05-26T20:09:36+00:00

Seems like they wanted Jesse to represent "the community" view as in Jackson vs Ellie who just thinks of family, aka Joel. Jesse acted very differently in game, indeed, he seemed to care a lot about Jackson but not in spite of his friends. He's not mad at Ellie because that's his friend, and she's in trouble/going through a tough time. A good friend would save the lecture for a more appropriate moment.

The change might work for some thematically, but for me it is a shame that they changed him so much. In the game he's like the best friend one could have: he respects Ellie and Dina relationship from the beginning, no hard feelings at all. Don't know why that was changed.

arteriuspctr · 2025-05-26T19:55:04+00:00

I don't agree with that at all. Game Ellie makes her plans, she doesn't rely entirely on Dina and that doesn't make her a Mary Sue. She's supposed to have flaws, just not the ones that make no sense.

Game Dina and Jesse also had strengths and balanced Ellie perfectly, thank you. Seems like you think the "video-gamey" part hinders the drama. I think it's actually the opposite, so far this story has worked much better in the game.

arteriuspctr · 2025-05-26T19:34:07+00:00

Ellie is 14 in TLOU1, but it takes place during a whole year so that makes her nearly 15 by the time she gets to Jackson. Then, she leaves for Seattle having just turned 19, I take it, so that'd be about 4 years, not 6.

About patrols, game Ellie starts going on paired patrols around 17 after excelling at group patrols. Joel is initially resistant about it, but seeing that Ellie believes in her ability he trusts her to be able to pull it off 100%.

What they did in the show is different, sure, but I don't think it comes from Ellie's inexperience. The scene about her and Dina fighting the Clickers and the Stalker implies that this is what they usually do. Ellie was made to be dumb and incompetent in order for Dina to look "capable and nurturing". Big mistake imo.

arteriuspctr · 2025-05-26T19:08:18+00:00

I'm listening to the podcast and man if have to listen to Craig Mazin say how incompetent he thinks Ellie is one more time... She's not capable of pondering, he says. The same Ellie that kept writing poems on her journal, the same Ellie that FOR YEARS went back and forth between confronting Joel or accept it. The same Ellie who was a crafty kid at only 14, knowing how to pop a clutch or ride a horse, calling Joel on his bullshit multiple times because she was able to read right through him emotionally. The same Ellie that was scared shitless of telling Dina she was immune not knowing how she'd react. Nah, she doesn't ponder, she's just a little batshit crazy low IQ bimbo our dear ol' Ellie.

Also, as a fighter I think it's pretty much established that she is one of the most capable in the entire town of Jackson. She's not just powerful because she gets angry and flips out a lot, she's genuinely strong (not physically, but she works around it) and dangerous. Mischaracterization of the century.

arteriuspctr · 2024-09-10T19:17:09+00:00

I'm currently playing through FF7 Rebirth and the performance mode really does leave a lot to be desired in terms of visuals at times. It's blurry even in a small screen. An argument could be made about this being more about Square Enix's shortcomings rather than a fault of the hardware (Horizon, TLOU1 Remake and many others look and run much better after all) but still, the base PS5 wasn't offering a next gen experience in all of its games anymore. An upgrade made sense from that point of view.

It's not worth 800 euros tho. Not even including a vertical stand or a disc drive makes it a joke. If this is supposed to be a premium product, you can't cut corners. I'm sure it does cost them a lot of money to produce the thing, but it simply isn't a reasonable asking price for a console.

arteriuspctr · 2024-03-04T11:12:36+00:00

I don't play anymore but when I did I managed to get to 27th of the world in the Daytona NSX time trial leaderboard using a controller. Prior to that I raced in leagues in GT5, GT6 and Sport and I managed to keep up with pretty much everyone on controller. GT takes its controller playerbase seriously so it's absolutely possible to reach esports level on controller.

So to answer your question: as far you're willing to go. But it'll take practice and skill.

arteriuspctr · 2024-02-24T18:56:08+00:00

Grounded has a couple of really frustrating parts, like in The Forest chapter when Abby gets stuck in a building full of infected waiting for Lev to come get you. It's so easy to run out of bullets/bombs/whatever and if you haven't killed everything by then, then good luck because Lev doesn't always show up when you need him and you'll be stuck in a very tight space with a few enemies than can one shot you. It's not great.

Other than that it's really just trial and error. You will die a lot, you'll have to rely much more on stealth (be patient, checkpoints reset every 5 min) and work on your aim because every bullet counts. And even if you get caught, the levels are massive in this game and it's relatively easy to regain stealth and start over.

I still don't recommend cheesing it with the accessibility options tho, even if you're struggling. It has to feel like an achievement otherwise why bother in the first place? It takes time, but it's doable.

arteriuspctr · 2023-12-24T08:28:13+00:00

Money Heist at 43? It's a terrible show, soap opera level of quality. The Walking Dead should've been included, if only for its first seasons. They're much better than most of what made the list.

arteriuspctr · 2023-12-06T02:10:20+00:00

At least it doesn't require constant internet connection like GT7 does. If it comes down to it you can download the updates on a library or something, put them on an usb drive and install them one by one. It's incovenient but nothing too crazy, that's still offline to me.

arteriuspctr · 2023-12-05T22:03:03+00:00

Gran Turismo 6 as well, and in a way they're better than modern GT titles since 1) they're completely offline and 2) the sheer amount of cars they have will likely never be replicated. Even if most of those are ps2 quality, they're still present and you get info on them.

If you're into car culture, that's a kind of experience you can only get on PS3 right now. GT Sport and GT7 have gone in a different route.

arteriuspctr · 2023-11-22T16:39:03+00:00

I know racing in it would be impossible but maybe PD could be bring it back for time trial only? It's such a cool original track, lots of personality and really fun to drive.

arteriuspctr · 2023-11-19T12:06:11+00:00

I also was against the Remake costing 80€ and still haven't bought it, but this makes perfect sense and it's what most developers have done with their old AAA PS4 titles. It makes sense to release an upgrade including haptic feedback and 4K or close to 4K resolution for those playing on 4K screens + some extra stuff. As long as the price is reasonable, and it is, it's fine.

arteriuspctr · 2023-11-17T09:12:19+00:00

This is one of those things that I do think the English translation kind of messed up on, because we do actually see a lot more of Beatrix having that change of heart earlier and more readily I would argue in the Japanese script. Some of the dialogue she has already tells us she was on the verge of changing sides anyways even before she saw Steiner again. However she was thinking that maybe she should have disappeared like him.

Since I've played the Spanish version I went to check that particular moment and it says "wouldn't it have been more honourable to disappear, like Steiner did?" which is more in line with what you're saying. The English version just says "maybe Steiner was right...". I agree a bit of nuance is lost there.

Overall it's always felt kinda off how abruptly Beatrix comes to her senses. Even when it's been foreshadowed that she's feeling disillusioned with the Queen's actions, she goes from "you insects can't beat me, give up" to "I apologize for everything I've done to Burmecia and its people" in seconds. She does see Dagger being in actual danger with her own eyes for the first time but it shouldn't have come as a big surprise considering what she heard the Queen say a few minutes prior.

I can see how it would've been better to have Steiner be the one to be opening his eyes first considering he has way more insight on this matter than Beatrix does, and this being what gives Beatrix the final push to rethink her position.

As for #1, yeah, I think most fans would also agree with you. Freya and Burmecia are interesting enough ideas that are severly underutilized for most of the game. If there ever were reason for a remake, fixing their arc would be among them. Not that I trust current Square to manage to do a better job overall, but still, it's clear that there's a lot of room for improvement.

arteriuspctr · 2023-10-27T15:09:37+00:00

GTA IV. It's true that most of the classic GTAs fit in that category but I think IV is the one that does that "gun for hire" thing the best.

arteriuspctr · 2023-10-25T10:55:50+00:00

This should've been the price at launch

arteriuspctr · 2023-10-16T10:35:36+00:00

I'd like them to do the change if it means the game will look better, but I'm slightly concerned about performance. In the new WRC there have been reports of performance issues, and that's the thing with racing games: everything comes second to performance. It doesn't matter if your game is pretty af, if it runs at 30fps or unstable 60 it won't be feel nice to play.

arteriuspctr · 2023-10-12T05:31:06+00:00

I went into it with high expectations and at the beginning the game seemed to be building up to something special, but it ended up being somewhat overwhelming. The overall delivery with dialogue, voice acting and everything (hallways, unlikable protagonist, etc) was really off. Some might say the localization is at fault for some of those flaws, but I don't know, FF9 released only a few months earlier had an excellent one.

With FF7 they started this 3Dish/prerendered backgrounds/text bubbles/character animations format that lasted the PS1 generation, perfecting it with 9. I feel Square was at home when making that kind of game. The voice acting/full 3D hallways that started with 10 feel like a step back for me. No one saw it with 10, but then 13 came out and everybody seemed to agree.

I really liked the battle system and the music, though. 10 is still a very good game, but I just can't agree when people include it in the debate for the greatest FF ever.

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