Interactive Friction: Far Cry 3: Episode 15: The Worst Part of the Game

This episode is the beginning of the end of Far Cry 3. In a related note, it is also the WORST part of Far Cry 3.



Sam made a very interesting point in this episode. If all we needed to do was to just steal a uniform, it would be simple to just shiv the guy at the entrance, then dispose of the body. We would have absolutely no need to sneak into the heart of the base. Everything after we got passed that first guard was a complete waste of time.

I mean, technically we also obtained the information that some guards in the evil drug and human trafficking organization  are morally bankrupt and funneling money from under their boss's nose. However, we would have no indication that we could get such information before we were pulled aside by the guard.

And another thing that I didn't think about when recording the episode, why would the guard pull us over in particular? What about us would single us out as particular corrupt enough to join him? Did he have a relationship with the person we stole the uniform from? If so, how did he not know he weren't that guy and what are the odds we would get that guy's particular uniform? That in and of itself is an unlikely series of contrivances. On top of the fact that Hoyt is here and we just happen to say "Oh, I dunno. Let's sneak in for no reason." makes this section just the most painfully stupid piece of writing in this game.

Speaking of Hoyt, dear god this is dumb. We talked about it at length in the episode, but I cannot possibly emphasize enough exactly how stupid it is that Hoyt doesn't get stabbed. Again, the plot should have been over well before this, but this really underscores how much this second section of the game is pointless filler. (For the record, our first chance to kill Hoyt occurred in episode 7.)

So, in summery, the sheer staggeringly-massive amount of contrivances is so high and the random chance that all of these factors would fall so nicely into place is so low that, even without the inclusion of Hoyt in that section, this mission does not make sense. It stretches plausibility so much that Jason would have to forge a contract with the Old Gods in order for me to believe it.

Missed Hoyt Assassination Opportunities: 2

Impressions #24: Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4)

Every once in a while, I find myself playing a multiplayer loot-fest, where the main point in the game is to grow stronger and acquire better equipment as the game goes on. I am not entirely sure why this is the case. Though I rarely ever get as much fun out of them as other people do, they keep ending up on my queue somehow. In this particular instance, a friend of mine requested that I play Diablo 3 with him, so I got the PS4 version and did just that. Somehow, we managed to make it through both the base game and the Reaper of Souls expansion that came with the Ultimate Evil Edition. While a great game, I feel that Diablo 3 had a couple of big problems that I am not entirely sure how to address.

Initially released in May of 2012, Diablo 3 released to great controversy. The original title included several criticized new features, like always-online DRM and the auction house, in real-money and in-game currency varieties. Others disliked the lower drop rates of items in the first release. Slowly, over time, most of these issues were addressed in updates to the game, to the point where most of the old fans were at least satisfied by the end result. Many new features, like Paragon leveling and PvP, were even added in. The PS4 version I played came out in August of 2014. My version of the game is, as of the time of writing, complete with the only expansion to ever have been released for the game.

As a port, the game is very solid. Though I have no experience with the PC version, the game looks quite good. While it will never be a spectacle in graphic prowess, each area in the game is memorable in its own right. The characters are also quite distinct from one another. At a glance, it was extremely easy to tell my character apart from both my partner's character and the enemies on screen. Furthermore, I enjoyed the use of color in the game. Looking at screen-shots of the first 2 Diablo games, I noticed a very gray and brown palette. Though Diablo 3 is just as dark in its world design, the extra color and style they injected helps it stand out from other games. With loads times rarely, if ever, exceeding a single second, Blizzard definitely gave the PS4 the royal treatment when it came to porting Diablo 3 to the machine.

At the same time, I did find that I had some issues with controlling the game. For those unaware, Diablo presents the player and up to three of their friends with many enemies to fight, and most fights consist of repeatedly clicking on enemies (on the PC) until they die. The PS4 lacks a mouse, so movement and direction have to be handled using analog sticks. For this reason, precisely aiming some special attacks is an impossible task. For example, as I was playing a Wizard, Wizards are given a move where they can summon a black hole that pulls enemies towards itself. There were a number of occasions where it went in the direction I was aiming, but was either too close or too far to my intended target because it was auto-aimed at the wrong enemy. I do not have an easy solution to this problem, because it is inherent to the controller-interface. They may have been able to alleviate it by using the touch pad as a mouse, but I imagine that would have similar issues to using a mouse pad on a laptop computer. It is not an easy fix, but still an issue that needs to be pointed out.

The other control-based issue I had was a general-discomfort from prolonged play. Typically, my co-op partner and I would play for roughly 3 hours in a single game session. At the end of our sessions, we would often experiences soreness in our fingers and thumbs. This mostly came from repeatedly holding down the X button on the PS4 controller for minutes at a time to use our characters' basic attacks. I would even have a switch fingers mid-battle a lot just to make myself feel a bit more comfortable. Like the issue with precise aiming, I feel that this might just be an inherent problem to putting a fundamentally PC, keyboard-and-mouse-oriented game onto a console, because a mouse button is more comfortable to use for extended periods of time. However, unlike the issue of precise aiming, it is less of a minor annoyance and more of a genuine complication. It is difficult to enjoy a game that literally hurts to play at length.

The other interesting thing I made note of when playing is the unique way in which the loot system creates a form of competitive-cooperation. For the unaware, the main method by which Diablo 3 engages players, enticing them to press on, is through a positive feedback. In the version of the game I played, as players defeat monsters, complete quests, and open treasure chests, they will obtain equipment and experience which can be used to further strengthen their characters. After acquiring new more powerful gear, they can tackle more challenging content and obtain even better items. Though there is a story and campaign, this feedback loop is at the core of why Diablo is effective.

When playing with friends, the best thing that Diablo does is give each player their own separate loot drops. In the event that an enemy or treasure chest leaves a piece of equipment behind, each player will have their own items that only they can see. No other player will be able to take them, nor can they take the drops of other players. This neatly skirts a common trap that is often seen in games like Borderlands, where every player sees all the loot. As a result, teams will not have to compete with one another to strengthen their characters. I refer to this as “negative competition,” where the desire to outmatch others results in a dissolution of the team dynamic when the rewards start flowing.

Instead, I found that my co-op partner and I experienced what I would call “positive competition.” We still constantly tried to one up each other in a form of an arms race to see which of us was the stronger character. However, since we both obtained new equipment at the same rate, and could not worsen each others chances of obtaining good loot, we could more easily cooperate towards a common goal. By working with each other, we could maximize our rewards. Afterwards, we would attempt to one-up each other by showing off the items we earned. We would even engage in trade and item exchanges if it meant that our team was more effective overall. Though we were essentially competing with each other, the systems utilized that and channeled it into a cooperative force.

On the other hand, there is an interesting problem that I discovered as I was playing. That is, it became hard to pick a difficulty that was exactly challenging enough to keep me interested in the game, but not enough to make the enemies extremely time-consuming to kill. Since enemies scale to the party's level, the only way to truly control both how tough they are, and how good their loot drops are, is by adjusting the difficulty. Rarely does increasing difficulty ever make the game “challenging,” in that it requires more tactics and use of evasive/defensive skills, unless the player is fighting an elite or boss character. Rather, what usually happens is that the enemies take significantly more time to kill. Not only does it exacerbate the sore-thumb problem from earlier, but it can also really start to bore the player if they go too far. Finding this equilibrium is the real difficulty, not the actual fighting.

Diablo 3 is a great game for those with the correct disposition. Those who adore loot-fests like Borderlands or Torchlight probably already have Diablo 3 at this point, enjoying their experience. Though it entertained me enough to stick with it to the end, I would not have done so without the encouragement of my co-op partner. It is very much a game that works better with friends. The single-player will not find as much value here. Though there is a story, it only does its job by justifying the dungeon-crawling and loot gathering. I think that may be why I find myself quitting these games often. It is difficult to routinely gather a group of friends to play one game. Those who can gather a reliable group will have great times here. Solo gamers need not bother.

Interactive Friction: Far Cry 3: Episode 14: Titular Stealth Mission

First off, I want to point out that this is 200th post on this blog. Honestly, when I started out in 2012, I didn't think I'd stick with it this long. Nor did I believe I'd really have a chance to get good at it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, and I hope you continue to do so in the future.

Now, in this episode, we begin our trek into the second half of the game. More importantly, I teach someone who writes articles as a hobby how to correctly use the word "titular."



I love the stupidity of the scene at the start of this episode because of how stupid it is. Jason is basically telling his girlfriend Liza, "I'm comfortable being a completely selfish monster, and I can only do that by staying here." Then, Liza basically allows him to do it without even questioning it for a minute. This only makes sense if she's secretly trying to kill Jason (and I would have to respect her for that), or if Jason already showed signs of being this much of an unrepentant bastard before they landed on the island. Otherwise, it comes off as just plain silly.

And Sam brings up a good point. If Jason and company left, what would Hoyt do? Citra might try to stop him, but Jason's apparently (somehow) become a good enough warrior to fend them off by himself. Hoyt, at this point in the story, does not even know what Jason looks like. Sure, we can look him up, and send his men after him in the states, but that's far too many resources to spend on someone who is not even a problem anymore. It further strengthens our argument that the story should have ended there.

Despite being the worst part of the game, we do end up getting the best mode of transportation here, which is the wingsuit. Even though I am a harsh critic of this game, I have to admit that the wingsuit is extremely fun to use. Jumping off a cliff and gliding through the air just feels good to do.

The other good thing this section does is introduce us to Sam. Aside from Vaas and Liza, Sam is one of the best characters in the game. He's a tough looking German dude and knows it. Basically, he utilizes commonly-assumed stereotypes of tattooed German's to infiltrate Hoyt's operation and make people assume he's tough shit. In actuality, he's working for the CIA in an attempt to take down the whole operation. The setup alone gives him a lot more depth than most of the other character's in the game. On top of that, he's given some good lines and his voice actor sounds like he's enjoying the role. You'll see as we go on what I mean by that.

Aside from that, most of the major story beats on the second island will be disappointment after disappointment. It's pretty much all downhill from here.

Interactive Friction: Far Cry 3: Episode 13: The Best Part of the Game

In this episode of Interactive Friction, we hit the best part of game... after we go through Citra's bullshit.



It truly is a shame that we had to go through this really shitty dream sequence before we have to experience some of the best this game offers in terms of storytelling. It is a boss battle that lasts about twice as long as it needs to. On top of that, it is easy to figure out and not particular fun to fight.

Then, it's followed by one of the most uncomfortable "sex" scenes I can remember. Citra really creeps me out in this scene, and I'm not sure if that's intentional or just me being prudish or something else.

But after that, we finally get to the best part. Vaas, the best part of this game, goes out in a blaze of glory. The little hallucinations they give you right before Vaas's final scene are a really, really nice touch of subtly in story telling. Even before that, the whole scene has Vaas just pointing out the absurdity of one lone, rich, white boy taking on a literal army of pirates and their commander. In this one mission, we have a lot of small things coming together.

Not only does it represent the end of the best character in the game, but also the true transition of Jason Dilweed from a rich, white, douchebag to a rich, white, monstrous douchebag. His friends no longer matter, only the bloodlust. Again, there is potential. Must could have been done with these ideas, but that's the story of Far Cry 3. Far Cry 3 is a host of things that "had potential" and "could have done"s. In the end, what is an Ubisoft game, but a miserable little pile of unused potentials.

The Texture Pop: Episode 27: My F**king Panty Party

Sam could not make it to this week's recording because his job had left him physically exhausted that weekend. As a result, this is a bit of a shorter cast than usual.

Also, we had no viewer questions this week. If you have a question, comment, or anything else you want to be read on the air, please e-mail us at thetexturepop@gmail.com. We'll be happy to read what you send, within reason.



0:01:20 Gaming News
Persona 5 Teaser Trailer
I really wish Sam was here for the Persona 5 conversation. Chris and Garrett are great conversationalist, but they don't care as much about Persona 5 as Sam and I do, so it would've easier to have a conversation with him around.
One thing I want to note is that there was a Final Fantasy XV trailer that also came out this same week. In comparison, the Persona 5 trailer looks so much better. It's not surprising, but it is indicative of the obvious transition to from Square-Enix to ATLUS as King of JRPGS.

Naughty Dog says getting Uncharted 4 to 60 FPS is "really hard"
We've already discussed the whole Frames Per Second thing before, so this conversation felt a bit more-of-the-same, doubly so without Sam here. However, it is still worth reiterating.

Nintendo's new revenue-sharing program
I do want to make a correction of a mistake I made in this video. Nintendo takes 30%. The video maker takes the remaining 70% of YouTube revenue. That's still really pointlessly mean, but less so than I made it out to be in this segment.
Still, the fact that they want any piece of that pie is a really bad precedent to establish. It speaks to the bad part of Nintendo's decidedly older paradigm when it comes to video games. They make good consoles and good games, but there's no excuse for this ignorance of the online space.
There's still one thing we didn't mention is that Nintendo will only allow content from a pre-approved list of games. If you want to do a video on Smash Bros, Nintendo does not care about you. It's shocking how backwards this line of thinking is, and I hope it bites them in the ass.



0:22:30 Garrett lists everything he did in rapid-fire (and I can't keep up)
Yeah.



0:26:30 Garrett discusses game ideas he has from his Game Design class.
"Iron Aurora" copyright 2015 to Garrett Glazewski.



0:34:30 I have been playing Final Fantasy VI
You're probably getting sick of hearing me say this, but I have an article on the game in the works, so I want to keep my discussion of it hear to an absolute minimum. I have a large queue, I know, but please bear with me.
Still, we had a great discussion of the game here. I had a blast playing and I easily see why so many people love it.
I do love how Chris gets to be the "modern Final Fantasy sucks" guy, since he's the oldest.



0:57:25 Chris plays Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (because of DLC).
It's Borderbutts. If you like Borderbutts, you probably already own it.



1:07:10 Chris played more Hyrule Warriors (because of DLC)
And I've got nothing to add, unfortunately.



1:11:00 Chris played Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z
Y'know, I've never been a fan of the Ninja Gaiden franchise. Having said that, I'm impressed at how bad Chris's descriptions and examples make this game sound. I really can't envision myself having much fun with it.



1:28:00 Wrapping Up
Interactive Friction is here.
My inFamous: First Light article is here.

Addendum:
After the podcast was released, Sam had a chance to write his own opinions out, since he missed the recording. You can find that article here.