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zachsgamejournal · 1 year

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COMPLETED: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New 'n' Tasty

Within the past couple of years I played through the original again and absolutely loved it (to the best of of memory). While the vibe is great, and I'm pumped for more Oddworld, I was disappointed in what I hoped to be the definitive version of Abe's first adventure...

I was surprised that I chose to play this game. But having beaten Kena: Bridge of Spirits--I needed more beautiful adventures: NOW! I kinda new I was going to be playing Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath next--but those games are a bit graphically dated--and came out when we thought 3D graphics could deliver more than they actually could. So that desire to have pretty graphics, a great adventure, and delve into the realm of Oddworld brought me back to a game I wasn't sure I'd ever play: New 'n' Tasty.

Well...actually, I've played it before. I think it was on PS3. I was pretty pumped when it released because I LOVED the original. I was really excited to see the classic gameplay realized in a 3D environment. But I wasn't sure how they'd pull it off, because the puzzles and gameplay really is about these "screens". Probably more on that later.

What I remember from my first time replaying was that it was similiar but different. Because I hadn't played the original the world, I wasn't quite sure where they were deviating and where they stayed true. I only made it to Scabania before never playing it again (for some reason...probably kids). The game was cheap over xmas, and I bought it with almost every other Oddworld game, but I never really thought I'd play it. Yet, it called to me and I answered.

NOW, playing it again I have the benefit of having played the original fairly recently, and knowing that the original is a perfect work of art. So if I'm not feeling this version, it's because something didn't translate...and it turns out, things did not translate.

The first thing that got to me were the graphics. I was surprised to find them so bland. The whole time I was thinking, "Didn't they look better on PS3??" And my laptop is PS4 Pro equivalent. I think. I made it to the Scabanian temple before I found the graphics were set to medium. I pumped them up to full power and the game was much prettier. But I'm sad that I played the first half not seeing the game at its true glory.

This is important.

The art direction of the original is amazing. Quite often, the graphics were insanely realistic. As humorous and cartoony as it could be--some of the scenes are the most realistic and impressive I've seen in a video game. Unfortunately, there was a cost to moving to 3D on Xbox. The series couldn't rely on good art, it needed good technology. And while Xbox was the most power of its generation, 3D games still often had bland textures and block models. Some games, like Resident Evil Outbreak, were able to pull off amazing 3D graphics, but those were tight, small areas with restricted camera angles. The fully explorable world of Munch and Stranger had to sacrifice detail for freedom. Being released on PS3/PS4 (I don't know), allowed the team get more bang for the buck--but also using the side scrolling format allowed them to focus more attention to the immediate instead of sacrificing resources to render are larger world.

So yes, once I amped up the graphics I was more impressed. Even with low settings, they managed to transition many of the interesting, organic environments into cool 3D spaces. While the game clearly reuses resources, they're able to make each area feel pretty unique. This is mostly noticeable when escaping the factor at night and in Scabania.

Moving on from the presentation, I start to get disappointed...

The main problem with the game is precision. In the original, there's a station screen. Enemies within that screen can help you and enemies outside of it can't. There's minimal to no interaction outside of your screen. (I was thinking a lot of Celeste while playing this, how each screen in Celeste is a challenge that must be overcome one at a time.)

Anyway, in the original screen, Abe's movements were exact. If you pushed forward, he moved forward 1 unit. If you held down sneak, he snuck forward 1 unit. If you tapped roll forward, he rolled forward 1 unit. And if you ran, he traversed by whole units. This probably to some degree related to the use of a d-pad on PS1--but also that precision was necessary for the challenges you faced. You had to trust that Abe was going to jump to where he was supposed to, move where he was supposed to, and that "luck" was minimal to non-existent. It allowed level challenges that were very tricky, but if you figured out the right pattern of moves, you could get through it.

New 'n' Tasty lost that completely.

Instead of having set screens that have to be loaded, the game follows Abe like most 2D side scrollers would. Because of this, it's hard to know what the boundaries are. You can take over sligs, right--but in the original, sometimes the sligs would run off the screen and sometimes they'd stay. This set a parameter for the challenge you faced--can you take over this slig or not? Since there's no screens--it's hard to know when a slig is going to stay in range and when they're not. Same with the drones that zap you. Am I out of range or in range? It made each challenge a bit more organize, but that also meant there were many uncontrollable factors playing into success.

This was made worse by the controls.

As I said, the original had Abe moving in predictable units. No matter where you jumped, rolled, ran, walked--Abe would always stop at specific points on the screen--allowing you to plan tricky jumps and maneuvers. NnT allows the player to move slowly, quickly, or somewhere in between. You never quite know where Abe is going to stop. And, the greatest sin, physics seem to have a play. In the original, moving meant Abe moved immediately. But in this, Abe often has to build up momentum. This makes timing really tricky. You have to account for the build up and animations. It's like in the Crash Bandicoot remakes. In the original games, pressing jump made Crash jump immediately. In the remake there was a windup where crash had to bend down before jumping. Meaning you had to press jump a split second before you intended to. making jmping horribly imprecise. Same thing here.

One of the worst things, there's only one jump button. In the original, you could push up to jump straight up, or push triangle to jump forward. That meant you could push a button and know the result. Depend on it, even. But now I have to press forward to jump forward. And if I don't push it correctly, Abe could take a step or two before jumping--leading to my death about 100 times. This was especially frustrating at the end, where I kept dying from the imprecise controls and momentum build up. This was also really annoying when possessing a slig. They weren't as responsive as the original, so tricky sections often required me to think ahead. I wasn't able to react to things, because if you were reacting you were already too far behind. You had to know, ahead of time, what you needed to do because every action needed to be activated a few split seconds before they were expected to be executed.

This honestly made the game nearly unenjoyable.

The other issue is the story. The story and cut scenes in the original are near perfect. I rewatched a little bit and saw that some of the cut scenes had been changed. There's a great slap stick moment in the original when Abe falls into a meat barrel. As he's flicking off goo, he hits his head on a low hanging pipe. As Abe falls back into the barrel, he passes two sligs that would have killed him immediately on sight. It's a silly moment that adds some fun. These things seemed to be missed or not as well timed in the remake. The original's story was just so tight and precise (like the controls) that it didn't leave wondering what was happening, or why.

That's all I really have to say. It was awesome to see this game get a facelift, but the controls and curious storytelling decisions cause it fall behind the original in the key areas that make the game great. So the the pretty 3D graphics come at a cost.

#Zach's Game Journal #COMPLETED #Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty #Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New 'n' Tasty #Video Games #Gaming #PC Gaming

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solarsavoy · 2 years

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Let’s see another story. Number 9 for the personal asks please 😁

Sorry for the super delayed response. I'm so tired... Anyway, another childhood story. Proof that I am a gamer. This will be a two-for. Storytime!

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, I got the Sega Genesis. All the Super Nintendos were sold out and I cried and whined about it and my mom would say stuff like "at least you have games, geez!" In hindsight, I should've pushed harder for the Nintendo. I still have the Sega now, 20+ years later, and it still works. Just saying.

So I get the stupid Sega. I was so upset that Mom didn't even make me wait until my birthday/Christmas to get it so I hooked it up that night and put in the cartridge for Sonic 3D Blast. (No one asked, but this is how I was into Sonic without being into the anime which is why I argue Sailor Moon was first.) So I put it in. Now Zone 1 of Green Grove basically runs in a giant circle with a cliff at the end that puts you back at the beginning. I learned that Knuckles would appear after I circled the thing twice, pushed a bunch of random buttons to try and interact with him because I didn't know what I was doing, and then ended up on this screen.

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(You don't have to watch the video.)

And I thought "Ooo, what happens if I go to the final fight?" So I select it and the whole thing looks really trippy because it's in space and I've no idea what I'm doing and things are trying to kill me but I'm taking the time to learn how the game works (this particular boss fight just keeps going in circles to different mini bosses until you kill them) and eventually...

youtube

And the credits start rolling.

...

Mind you, this is my very first game ever, I had no idea what I was doing, and now it was over???

I'D ONLY SPENT TWO HOURS ON THE THING!

So I turned off the game, upset that it didn't last longer and little disappointed because, you know, I finally figured out how it worked and it was over.

So mad I didn't get the Nintendo.

Part II, the type of naive gamer I was for a long time.

I eventually get the PS1 a couple years later when it was released and played my first Final Fantasy, number 7. Here's how bad a gamer I still was. Cloud was a healer. No one had their second most powerful weapon. No special items or armor. I grew impatient and decided to just fight Sephiroth and finish the game at level 60 or so (very low, btw) and won. I favored 3 specific characters and the second level of the boss battle has two teams of three so the second team had the average level of, like, 30.

Still had no idea what I was doing.

Did it in a single weekend.

To explain a bit for those that don't know the game, Cloud should be anything but a healer. Level 60 is not high enough to finish the final fight unless you have adequate weapons and armor, which clearly I didn't have. No one believed I could actually beat the game in such shitty conditions. Even so, I did it again in front of the person that loaned it to me. It was obvious I had no particular plan going in. He still couldn't believe I beat the game.

So there you go. Fun stuff!

Thanks for the ask, my sweet.

#solarsavoyasks #gamer girls rule #beginners luck #now that i know better even i dont understand how i was able to beat those games like that #life is weird #personal asks

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old-childhood-drama · 3 years

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Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas Masterpost (Toe/Jaylor)

Before dating (May 2008)

We start with the Taylor lookalike

In May 2008 the Jonas Brothers are filming their music video for Burnin’ Up [x]. Joe’s love interest in it is played by a blonde girl who looks quite a bit (and she’s also styled) like Taylor Swift, for reference, this is the music video that has Selena Gomez as Nick Jonas’ love interest.

As far as we know they hadn’t even met so we don’t know exactly what this was supposed to mean, maybe Joe had a crush on Taylor or maybe it’s a coincidence.

We do know that Nick and Selena were dating when this was filmed and that by the time the MV was released (July 4th, 2008) Joe and Taylor were officially dating.

Toe is alive! (July 2008 – September 2008)

On Tour

Fans claim to have seen Taylor around the tour in early July, which matches with Taylor’s lyrics in "Last Kiss".

Last Kiss. Taylor Swift.

I do recall now the smell of the rain

Fresh on the pavement, I ran off the plane

That July 9th, the beat of your heart

It jumps through your shirt

On July 14th, Taylor and The Jonas Brothers perform “Should’ve Said No”[x] from her debut album, and this performance now forever exists in their 3D movie (a classic), a cute fact is that some fans have said that Taylor tripped when she first came out, so they had to repeat it for the movie.

On July 20th Joe flies to Wyoming to watch Taylor opening up for Rascal Flatts, and they flew back and she was spotted at the Omaha show.

She’s seen in a couple shows more and she joins the stage again for their Madison Square Garden shows in August [x]. They sing “Even now just looking at you feels wrong”.

They’re together but they’re not together.

For more context, we must remember that Taylor was a very new artist from a small label and The Jonas were pretty much at their peak and Disney’s biggest act, and they were managed like crazy and could never even think about being seen with someone in a romantic way. Any rumors were denied so fast, and Disney did the absolute most to keep it secret. So according to everyone they were just good friends, at the time both Taylor and Selena were annoyed by all the secrecy.

Now back to the timeline:

Taylor is backstage of the tour A LOT for the next couple of weeks right next to the other not-girlfriends Selena and Danielle.

She films a cameo for the “Love Is on Its Way” [x] video for the concert in New York. She was said to be only interested in hanging out with Joe and they were seen hugging *gasp* I know it doesn’t seem like much now but back then this was the hottest gossip and again the Jonas were not supposed to breathe near any human of the opposite gender.

Taylor and the Jonas were staying at the same hotel a bunch of rumors ensued, but I will not talk about the whole Olympics and Toe locking themselves in a room at midnight thing. If it’s real, we really needed to touch some grass and stop staying outside of people's rooms all night.

On August 17th Joe goes to Ryan Seacrest's show and denied that Taylor is his girlfriend in the best way a corporation like Disney can train you to deny something that’s true. Saying Taylor is “a great girl and I think anybody would be lucky to date her. I think anybody would love to go on a date with her.”

And Taylor tells People Magazine “He’s an amazing guy and anybody would be lucky to be dating him” Cinematic parallels.

Taylor is spotted in the back (in a mirror) of one of the Jonas youtube videos [x]. Basically, we all knew they were together.

The Central Park date (August 28th)

Now if you were a fan of either the Jonas Brothers, Selena, or Taylor you know this next part and it the iconic triple date of Central Park.

Again, this is kind of famous at this point and Selena has been quoted saying how awful it was because the boys were not allowed to be seen with them so they all went to Central Park (Selena’s first time in Central Park) and Taylor and Selena walked about 20 feet of distance from the guys so nobody would think they were together but we all already knew because it wasn’t like they were that good at hiding it and there are pictures of them together that night (the clownery of it all).

These backstage tour adventures are the reason Taylor and Selena are friends today and in Selena’s own words the best thing to come out of those relationships.

VMAs (September 2008)

With how many pictures of them together that night [x] [x] [x] exist you would think they had gone together as a couple but no just two besties! The 2008 VMAs are so the show where Russell Brand mocks the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings and Taylor publicly defends them.

Toe seems happy for the rest of September but as we know now the end is near.

The Break-Up (October 2008)

Social Media was different back then and Taylor did what every teen girl with a broken heart did in 2008 and she went to myspace with an edited post to make a statement about the Toe current situation.

Post-Breakup

The 27 seconds Joe Jonas will regret for the rest of his life.

Taylor went on Ellen and I don’t even think I need to say much this interview is THAT iconic she sat on that couch and told the world exactly how Joe had broken her heart in the following two quotes:

“There’s one that’s about that guy, but…that guy’s not in my life anymore unfortunately. That guy…that’s an ouch.”

“I’m not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18…it was like 27 seconds, that’s got to be a record.” [x]

She also went on Ryan Seacrest’s and when asked about the perfect guy she saw an opportunity and took it, saying “I used to always say sense of humor, but I think that it’s important to have the same kind of sense of humor. I have a really dry, sarcastic sense of humor and if somebody doesn’t think that my sense of humor is funny, then that’s not something that is good. Um, so sometimes you know, that can be a wrong match. If they’re not allowed to go in public with me, that’s sort of an issue too.” [x]

Bonus the amazing youtube video Taylor posted with Joe’s Camp Rock doll and how he comes with his own phone to break up with other dolls [x]. Taylor eventually went full out and cited Camilla Belle (then girlfriend of Joe) as the reason for the breakup. And you know someone at Disney’s PR office wanted to die when this was going down.

So finally, Joe was forced to acknowledge the whole situation with a Myspace post:

"I never cheated on a girlfriend. It might make someone feel better to assume or imply I have been unfaithful, but it is simply not true. Maybe there were reasons for a breakup. Maybe the heart moved on. Perhaps feelings changed. I am truly saddened that anything would potentially cause you to think less of me. For those who have expressed concern over the "27 second” phone call. I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did. Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk. “

Forever & Always

Now this song is known as THE Toe song and it was born out of the end of the relationship when she felt Joe was getting distant, but she couldn’t do anything to help it, it was made really late into the production of Fearless so she had to rush to finish it in time (so no other breakup songs are about Joe in the original album).

Forever & Always Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide Like a scared little boy I looked into your eyes Thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure

In the 2009 Grammy's Taylor and Miley (insert The Ex-Girlfriends Club Theory here) performed Fifteen (obviously not about Joe) and the Jonas were in the audience. I believe this is probably around the time Taylor writes Mr. Perfectly Fine and You All Over Me, which we know get to have thanks to Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 13 years later.

You All Over Me

The best and worst day of June

Was the one that I met you

With your hands in your pockets

And your 'don't you wish you had me' grin

But I did, so I smiled, and I melted like a child

Now every breath of air I breathe reminds me of then

Mr. Perfectly Fine

'Cause I hear he's got his arm 'round a brand-new girl

I've been pickin' up my heart, he's been pickin' up her

And I never got past what you put me through

But it's wonderful to see that it never phased you

In November of 2009, she also goes to SNL and mocks Joe in her monologue. "You might think I'd bring up Joe That guy who broke up with me on the phone But I'm not gonna mention him *rolls eyes* In my monologue [Spoken:]Hey Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting SNL [Sings:]But I'm not gonna brag about that In my monologue [x]"

To make things even more dramatic and very awkward The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Taylor Swift spent NYE together watching the ball drop on TV and this was probably not how they wanted to start their years. [x] [x] [x] and a video [x]

Now let’s discussed some of the songs that came out at the time. The Jonas response to Forever & Always was Much Better. Nick described it as a song that was very personal to Joe and Joe went on to say that it was based on his very interesting year. They also at some point wanted to pretend the song was about their love for their fans but come on. Joe also changed the lyrics from ‘superstar’ to ‘country star’ and later changed it to ‘movie stars’ when he broke up with Camilla who is the ‘Much Better’ girl from the song.

Much Better - Jonas Brothers

I get a rep for breakin’ hearts

Now I’m done with superstars

And all the tears on her guitar

I’m not bitter

But now I see

Everything I’d ever need

Is the girl in front of me

She’s much better

Taylor’s iconic response in Better Than Revenge seems to be more of an attack on Camilla. She’s spoken about her regret for this song since then and hasn’t played it in years and Camilla seems to be ok we never forgiving her for it [x] [x]. Regardless this song remains a staple of the genre ‘Feminism OFF, Bops ON’.

“I was 18 when I wrote [“Better Than Revenge.”] That’s the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend. Then you grow up and realize no one can take someone from you if they don’t want to leave”. - Taylor 2014.

Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift

Let's hear the applause (Come on, come on)

Come on, show me how much better you are

(So much better, yeah?)

See you deserve some applause

'Cause you're so much better

She also released "Last Kiss" about the nicer part of their relationship, and some believe other songs such as If This Was a Movie, Haunted (Speak Now) and Jump Then Fall (Fearless) are about Joe. From the Jonas, the other song believed to be about Taylor is Paranoid (Lines, Vines and Trying Times).

Jump Then Fall

Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face

You got the keys to me

I love each freckle on your face, oh

I've never been so wrapped up, honey

Probably a song was written about and in the early days of their romance and the long hair freckles [x] thing definitely fits 2008 Joe.

If This Was a Movie

Baby, what about the ending?

Oh, I thought you'd be here by now

Thought you'd be here by now

According to some this song is a sister song to "Last Kiss" in the same album and that is confirmed to be about Joe.

Haunted

Come on, come on, don't leave me like this

I thought I had you figured out

Something's gone terribly wrong

Won't finish what you started

This song would be a sister to Forever & Always since Taylor described both to be about a relationship that was fading in the end and that she was confused as to how they got there in the first place.

"‘Haunted’ is about the moment that you realize the person you’re in love with is drifting and fading fast. And you don’t know what to do, but in that period of time, in that phase of love, where it’s fading out, time moves so slowly. Everything hinges on what that last text message said, and you’re realizing that he’s kind of falling out of love. That’s a really heartbreaking and tragic thing to go through because the whole time you’re trying to tell yourself it’s not happening. I went through this, and I ended up waking up in the middle of the night writing this song about it.” Taylor

Friendlier days are coming (2010- )

I guess time can heal a lot of wounds and Toe is seen hugging and on friendly terms at the Clive Davis party on January 31st of 2010 [x].

The world was so shocked when we realized that Joe went to see her perform in a couple of her shows in September 2011 [x] [x], and in here Holy Ground is born about her new evaluation of their former relationship rather than the bitterness of the breakup. The lyrics' secret message is “when you came to the show in SD” and the potential parallel to "Last Kiss".

Holy Ground - Taylor Swift

We blocked the noise with the sound of ‘I need you’

And for the first time I had something to lose

And I guess we fell apart in the usual way

And the story’s got dust on every page

But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now

And I see your face in every crowd…

… Tonight, I'm gonna dance

For all that we've been through

But I don't wanna dance

If I'm not dancing with you

Last Kiss - Taylor Swift

I do remember the swing of your step

The life of the party, you’re showing off again

And I roll my eyes and then

You pull me in

I’m not much for dancing

But for you I did

They're seen talking in the MTV's EMA's 2012 [x].

From here they seem to be friendly and in May of 2015 after the Billboards. They even go on a double date later that year with Gigi Hadid, Calvin Harris, and Karlie Kloss (this picture feels so cursed). Nick and Joe get invited to Taylor’s 4th of July party and they seem somewhat distant after his split from Gigi.

Present (2020- )

In 2020, we got the amazing surprise of folklore with the song ‘Invisible String’ that makes a reference to Taylor’s past songs about exes being harsh and how she sent Joe and his wife Sophie Turner a present for their baby girl’s birth. In 2021, she has now released the re-recordings of Fearless and we are all reliving the drama and enjoying the chaos of Taylor’s and Sophie’s friendship not letting Joe know peace for those 27 seconds over a decade ago.

Invisible String

Cold was the steel of my axe to grind

For the boys who broke my heart

Now I send their babies presents

#Taylor Swift #fearless #fearless (taylor's version)#forever & always #mr perfectly fine #you all over me #last kiss #toe #jaylor #joe jonas #jonas brothers #folklore #invisible string #paranoid #much better #lines #vines and trying times #better than revenge

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