u/ghost-bagel

Saros is one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. It’s also one of the most fun games I’ve ever played.

But it is 100% the best sounding game I’ve ever played. It sounds better than $300m movies.

Monumental, apocalyptic stuff. Housemarque raised the bar to an enormous height with Returnal’s audio but they’ve actually cleared it with this.

That is all I have to say really. I just had to gush about it in-between fights. Back in I go.

A lot of talk about gaming licenses versus ownership at the minute and I find it quite confusing.

When you boot up a modern game, you accept a licensing agreement. That’s easy to understand (whatever my opinion is of the practice).

My question is when did this actually start? Is the the SNES cartridge I’ve owned for 30 years also something I just hold a license for? Or a PS2 disc from 2001 that still runs and is completely self contained, requiring no online support, etc.

I’ve seen some people say ALL software is licensed rather than sold as property, but I’m struggling to understand the practical difference when a publisher would have no way of revoking it short of sending goons round to my house to take the cartridge/disc off me.

It was an absolute slimeball move that history should judge just as harshly. I don’t care how much of a legend Messi is - that was pathetic. 5th minute of stoppage time, World Cup final. I won’t look at him the same way again.

There's a lot to like about Wuchang, and while a lot of it is a evolution of genre staples, probably my favourite thing about it is the weapon levelling system.

Specifically the fact you upgrade your weapon class, not an individual weapon.

In Souls, Elden Ring or Lies of P, the game disincentivises weapon experimentation in the later game by making you use limited resources to level up a weapon. So any weapon you pick up is significantly worse than the one you're currently using until you upgrade.

By having weapon levels shared between a full class (and free respecs enabling you to change which one you're optimised to), you can pick up an interesting new longsword and use it to its maximum available level immediately.

I now want to find new weapons in my chosen class and try them out because I don't need to do any prep or item hunting to make it an equivalent level.

That's all. Just a fantastic bit of design that I wish other titles had.

They make it clear how critical its speed penalty is as a weakness. It got me wondering what, if any scenario would make it worthwhile.

Only things I can think of are to deliver a finishing blow against a stronger opponent that had been immobilised somehow (a Raditz/Piccolo situation). Or some kind of stationary target of massive power and defense.

But both of those seem to be clutching at straws. It feels more like an accidental form representing an incorrect growth path (SSJ2 being the correct one)

Does the manga clarify this? Or is it basically a plot device designed to showcase Vegeta and Goku’s combat insight and knowledge of Saiyan forms?