Bashing monsters through the snow...

(That pun was reaching so hard I might've dislocated my shoulder but still, I stand by it.)

For today, here are some pictures from The Callisto Protocol, from my favourite part of the game, out and about on the surface of the moon. The atmosphere here is delicious, with the dramatic crags and scarps, the snow and stormy skies; it's all very evocative. I'm not at all happy about the whirlwind bromance between Jacob and Elias being cut short but alas, you can't have everything. Also I've gone on about this ad nauseam in real life but the internet's copping for it now 'n' all: Outdoor map for Riot Mode. Make it happen and I'd be on that in a heartbeat, just sayin'.

Also: The part where you're supposed to help the trapped worker - can you actually help him? Does he just get bashed regardless? Am I too slow with kicking the fuck out of these monsters? Is that where I'm going wrong? Seriously, I'm curious about this... (Jay seems entirely unfussed either way but that's fine; give me a taciturn protagonist over someone who's trying far too hard to win over the audience any day of the week.)

Anyway: pictures. There's a mixture of shots from the PS4 and PS5 versions here, as I've spent more time with the previous-generation version overall and just generally haven't been playing video games all that much lately (it would be nice to have the free time and the energy to do so.) Give it a bit, and there will inevitably be more fancy pictures from the current-generation version, though; this is one of my go-to Comfy Old Slippers games.








Here's the obligatory silly one, taken in the subterranean tunnels. I gather that this warning was most likely there for benefit of the workers who were there before, squirrelling about in the dark, but my brain went first to "Of course, there are monsters everywhere but yes, by all means, tell me more about these scary stairs."


Could've sworn I had more pictures of the shipwreck 'n' all but apparently not...
Tags!

Further rambling

Twa Thousand Corbies

Image
Going to start this post with an illustration, because of this blog layout, posts lacking images tend to look a bit pants. The art here is by G. Howell-Baker. A while back, I was joking about gathering together as many versions of Twa Corbies as possible, and finally, here we are. This is going to be a continually evolving list, so if you know of a version that needs to be included, or if you've recorded one of your own, then by all means, let me know. You can put a comment here or e-mail me at looksinnocuousnenoughchaps [at] gmail [dot] com. Let's begin! 1.  Folly Bridge - My personal favourite, performed completely a capella with some beautiful, eerie harmonies. 2.  Hamish Imlach - A live version, and a very close second favourite. Hamish's distinctive voice works wonders here and we're treated to some elegant sitar as well. 3.  Ayreheart - This one features the lute and a passionate vocal performance, it's quite pleasant. 4.  The Corries - Quite a brisk and e...
'Ave a gander 'ere

Some thoughts regarding Silent Hill Downpour

Image
Getting up at 3am for work is never a recipe for focussed and cogent thought, but it does seem to result in getting down some rabbit holes. On this occasion, after feeling an overwhelming desire to know what A Lyke Wake Dirge would sound like done in the style of Pookiesnackenburger (for the record, Alisdair Reynolds' version is my personal favourite) and weighing up whether or not to pursue a change of setting in an absurdist comedy script-in-progress because it feels like a repurposed shipwreck might provide more fertile ground than a haunted theatre, I got to thinking about Silent Hill Downpour for a bit. This game gives me some very mixed feelings; overall, I'd come down on the side of being fond of it, there's definitely a lot to love here but there's a near-equal measure of things that are frustrating about it. I guess the one-word summary would be "undercooked". It's got a lot of potential, and the green shoots of some really interesting ideas, but...
'Ave a gander 'ere

Revisiting Crapston Villas (while actually sober)

Image
So recently, I played the Silent Hill 2 remake (really enjoyed it, a nicely done update of an old favourite) and while scrambling about in the flats, something emerged from the dusty caverns of long-buried memories: namely this stop-motion animated cat, lurking in the sallow light of a knackered hallway with blood dripping from his jaws. Quite the sight. Look upon him!!! To be honest, if it were a toss-up between the cat and Pyramid Head, yeah, I'd rather take me chances with the Traffic Cone Twat, thank you. So as it was, the only other things I could remember about Crapston Villas were an homage to that one King Crimson album, a scene involving a horrific-looking fish, there was a lot of gallows humour and the fact that I was howlingly drunk on questionable ale when I watched it (this was around 2013.) Incidentally, it seems to be a running theme with people that I've talked to over the years, whenever the topic of Newcastle Brown comes up, someone always has a story about...
'Ave a gander 'ere