Shagger

Shagger Says:

 
It took me a while, but I finally found the time to stitch this review together. This isn't an easy one, not just because I'm keeping it spoiler free, but this game has divided opinion so much since it launched that it's hard to say weather or not you trust yourself and your own views any more. But I thought about it, and decide to go for it as it's impossible to avoid invoking somebody's ire with ones view on this game anyway. So my disclaimer is, take it, or leave it. I also do this on the assumption that whoever's reading this has played the first game, so even though I wish not to spoil The Lust of Us: Part 1 or 2, there may be references to The Last of Us part one that may include spoilers for that game. If anyone is interested, please check out my synapsis and analysis review on the first game here.
 
As usual, I apologise for any typo's and such. I try my best, but it's not easy for me.
 
So let's get to it.
 
 
What did you see? What did you hear?
(Graphics, sound and voice)
 
 
The developer Naughty Dog is a well funded developer, one the largest and most reputable game studios in the world, working under the banner of Sony Interactive Entertainment, one of the most dominant conglomerates in the entertainment and electronics business with may decades of experience and even more billions of dollars at their disposal. So yeah, it's hardly surprising the game looks like this;
 
 

 

 

 
(The first two screenshots are from the net as I never thought to take any envirmoental shots while playting, but the last one is my own.)
 
Yeah, you can spend a lot of time gawking at the photo mode.
 
Graphical fidelity and the insane attention to detail really help this game come to life. Everything, the tracks left in the snow and mud, the blemishes and imperfections on people's skin, dirt and marks on clothing, the weather, the discarded bullet canisters flying out guns, blood splatters that appear on the characters when you attack close, the natural and varied ways bodies fall and rest, the way foliage and branches are disturbed as you brush past them, the difference in appearance between wet and dry cloths, I could on forever, but what this building to is a game that pushes the boundaries of graphical fidelity and attention to detail unlike any game I've ever seen. Even by Naught Dog's own impeccable standard, this is impressive. I'm on an original PS4, not the Pro, and I was still blown away. I've played games on $6,000 gaming PC's that don't look half as detailed and rich as this.
 
A great looking game isn't just about graphics, in fact it's not even mostly about graphics. Art style and design also come into it as well. Obviously, The Last of Us is meant to simulate our world... twenty or so years after a cordyceps pandemic that wiped out over half the world's population and forced who was left to abandon society as we know it to survive, but the point is it's not going to be the most unique nor creatively adventurous game in the world. Not to mention it's a sequel, so has a base pattern to follow. Despite that, this does have an instantly recognisable visual identity, and with this identity still intact, I'd say that Naughty Dog have improved the way this game looks a surprisingly large amount from the first game.
 
The environments, especially the cites, feel more overgrown, a greater scene that nature has taken over. Human character models are nicely detailed and look like they belong in the environments they preside with exceptionally well animated faces, especially on the main characters. The infected, especially the Clickers, also look more detailed and less like each other than in the original. They're also naked now, and I thought it was odd for them to be wearing cloths in the first game. Feel free to laugh on you own time, I'm actually being serious, why would someone who's been wondering around pretty much mindlessly for years with fungus growing out their walking remains still be wearing their cloths? Fabric would get worn, torn and ripped over time and it's not like a clicker is self conscious or has the wherewithal to find something else to wear. So I like that change....
 
… SHUT UP!!! I do NOT enjoy looking at naked clickers!
 
Anyway, this is a visual masterpiece and anyone can appreciate the time and effort put into the fine details. You get you chances to appropriate the beauty of this game and revel in it. There's even a bigger variety of environments to explore in this as well, so the game can look very different from one part to next. The more fundamental things are also well done. I like the new layout of the in game menus, I like how the weapon upgrades now both a cosmetic and visual change (that may have been in the first game, but if it was, it wasn't nearly as noticeable) and the new animations you see as you upgrade them. The death animations are also more numerous, savage and brutal that ever. I just love it. I don't what that says about me, I just appreciate the effort that went into this... NO!!! I DO NOT LIKE LOOKING AT NAKED CLICKERS!!! SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
 
Sound design can also make or break immersion in a game. This was of my favourite things technically about the original. I loved the soundtrack and the sound effects really do their thing to make feel the environments and action like you are really there. This isn't really an improvement as such, like I said the first game was superb with this as well, so what they've really is the same. Nothing wrong with not fixing what isn't broken. The one thing that did annoy was the sound cue that game gives to indicate an enemy is about to see you. They used the same sound cue in the first game (difficult to describe, kinda sounds like a build up of wind) , but this time it felt a lot louder and more, let's say, paranoid than before. I kept hearing it when I knew the enemy in question was miles away and/or not a threat in that moment and that's annoying.
 
One thing that was not gonna go wrong was the acting. Honestly, there isn't even much to say. It's still at same industry changing standard it was in the first game. All the main performers, new and old, offer memorable and pitch perfect performances. I'll talk about the improved AI in a later section (spoiler alert, the AI has improved), but this improvement asks a lot or out of the VA's doing the smallest roles, like your human friends and foes out in the field. Communication, coordinating (in the case of the Seraphites/Scars, that involves of whistling in some some kind of code, an interesting touch) and even getting upset, screaming their friends names when watch them get killed and standard does not drop at all in the voice acting in these moments.
 
You wanna take The Last of Us Part II on? Don't bother. It doesn't matter what systems you have or what games you have played, even by the standards of their own day, when it comes to presentation, this is the best game to date. Beyond any question or shadow of doubt.
 
“You wanna fuck 'em up?”
(Gameplay)
 
 
First off, there's a guitar playing mechanic;
 
 
Now onto the rest.
 
I need make it clear, gameplay has improved subtly in certain areas, but has not fundamentally changed. Like the first game, The Last of Us Part 2 is a linear third person shooter with a strong emphasis on stealth, exploration and survival balanced to offer the player a choice in the moment on how to get past a section based you current resources and play style. So really, this about where it's changed and how it's changed since before, and that gives me an idea. What I'll do quote from the other post I made on the first game about the gameplay and then describe the differences because I think that will be more informative than simply “Telling you what it's like”.
 
“Stealth feels dynamic because of the various ways the enemies in the game react, especially the infected runners and clickers. Runners can see and the can move fast, but take less damage than clickers and can be taken out with your fists. Clickers “see” using sound and if alerted, it’s a one hit kill if they get to you, so use stealth tactics whenever possible. Larger enemies called Bloaters you engage as bosses. They take a beating, attack at range and deadly up close. Avoid them if you can, but big weapons, Molotov cocktails and nail bombs will get the job done.”
 
I mentioned how the AI improved early in human characters. Well, as strange as it is to say, the AI powering the infected has also an upgrade. Runners and Clickers behave pretty much the same, but Bloaters feel more dangerous now. As well as the long ranged acid balls, they can now charge at you, powerfully enough to smash through walls and destroy your cover, forcing you out in the open. I don't think there was ever a point in the first game that ever encountered or fought a bloater alone, you always had a partner in combat, but the enemy AI would definably pick on little old you. Irritating would be the word. Now, though, you can duck out and let your partner (if you have one) take some aggro whilst you find an angle, and the enemy AI does respond. As of course, so does you partner, who feels feels mare capable in this game and save saved my useless ass a few times. It's so much less predictable and fun to do play with than it was in the original. Moltov's have definatlly been nerfed in this game though, I don't think they should have been.
 
There's other things to. In my quote up their I didn't even mention one of the infected types, the Stalker. Why? Because there was no point. They had a different visual design, somewhere in between a Runner and a Clicker, but they behaved pretty much as the same Runners did. Not this time though. They're slightly harder than runners to kill, but more importantly the name “Stalker” has purpose, because these things are silent and can't be detected in the “listening mode”. They silently crawl and clamber around like Gollum on mission to eat, well, your head I suppose.
 
They game also come along with a new infected type, between a Clicker and Bloater called a Shambler and, unfortunatly, I feel this is a miss step. Don't get me wrong, I love the design...


 
… but they suck. All they do charge at you and grab you like most infected do, but then produce a cloud of acid that can drain your health before you have chance to fight free, it feels cheap. They're pretty tough, but not much more than a Clicker, so they're not actually that hard to take down at a distance, the only safe way to fight them because, unlike Bloaters, they can't attract at range, but also can't be taken with stealth. So basically, they exist to bleed you ammo. The “best” thing though is, after you take them down, they explode in a cloud of acid hurting you badly if you are anywhere near them. It's a complete beginners trap and hate it when games do cheap shit like that. I was looking forward to seeing a new form of infected and was very disappointed to see what Naughty Dog came up with here.
 
There is one other new infected in the game, but I'm not gonna say anything, just tease you instead...
 

(That one is also one of my own)
 
“The human enemies are OK to fight with, but are only varied by the weapons they carry and certain very enjoyable set prices the game has to offer and, at times, armour, but the level layout helps make engagements enjoyable enough. The AI is not that sophisticated , but it’s adequate and does offer enough sentient behaviour, opposing tactics and challenge to suit in this game. These sections I’d say weren’t quite as much fun as battling infected, but still very good.”
 
I'd say there's more of an emphasis in combat against people in this game than before. I said that the “AI is not that sophisticated” in The Last of Us Part One, but it's all change here. I touched on it earlier that the AI is more communicative and emotional. They're also much more effective, and you can find yourself out flanked or even surrounded very easily if you don't position yourself well and anticipate their tactics. There's now brutes that can't be stealth killed in one hit, making stealth more risky and less reliable than before. They find a body, they'll behave differently. More cautiously. They will also search more thoughtfully and in areas they wouldn't have in the first game. They tended to just wonder around before, but now they'll look under cars, check buildings, cover each other as they do and even sometimes have dogs to sniff you out.
 
One of things I loved in The Last of Us: Left Behind was the opportunities to pit human enemies and infected against each other. It's such fun, and there's plenty of opportunities to do the same thing in this game. I'm so glad that happens here as well, and it's a more tense dynamic with that improved AI.
 
“Resource management and exploration are critical as you use supply’s, scrap and what I think is medicine you find in the world for crafting items and upgrading weapons and skills. Again, it’s pretty light mechanics, but smart as crafting items use common ingredients and you only find so much medicine and scrap, so your choices really matter in the crafting. There’s also a limit to the ammo capacity, so you need to use your weapons wisely as well.”
 
Pretty much the same, not much to say. You have to find manuals now to unlock new skill tree's to upgrade and there's the aforementioned visual improvement to the weapon crafting, but other that it is a slightly expanded version of the same system. You play as two characters in this game, Abby and Ellie, and what is cool is that they each have different load-outs and access to different crafting recipes the other doesn't. It can be annoying when, for example, have to make shivs as Abby when Ellie has her pocket knife, or if you are Ellie and miss the superior firepower of Abby's crossbow and hunting pistol, but that's the game. I'd say while both characters load-outs are different, they're well balanced and I didn't feel stronger playing as one over the other. 
 
The partner AI is also more reliable than before and actually, you know, does stuff. Like I said earlier, it saved me more than once. They still do that thing where enemy AI can't see them even if your parter passes right in front of them, but think about it. How annoying would it be for your cover to get blown because of something you parter AI did? It looks ridiculous, don't get wrong, but it's defiantly the lesser of two evils hear and helps with actual gameplay.
 
“Allot of these games that focus mostly on single player have tacked on multiplayer modes that feel half assed and just not worth it (Dragonage Inquisition multiplayer anyone? What, wanna do something more fun like carve yourself a new, wider path for your bladder to empty? Can’t say I blame you.). The Last of Us actually had a fun and fresh idea that involved linking your Facebook account to import “survivors” from your real life friends list if you wanted the allying yourself to either bandits or the Fireflies to then go out and compete against other players for your clans survival. The crafting, focused hearing mechanics and of course combat were taken from the main game and implemented well in a very tactically focused team death-match. Of course it wasn’t as extensive as other more multiplayer-centric games, but for a side dish it was a very tasty and surprisingly substantial part of the meal.”
 
No Multiplayer in the The Last of Us Part 2. Yeah. I get it, they wanted to focus more on the single player game and that's the real point of the franchise, that's fine, but to see multiplayer disappear is a bit of a shame, especially when it was so unexpectedly good in the first game.
 
There is a number things to talk about in gameplay that I didn't mention before.
 
Movement has improved... in part. There more control options and ways to explore the environment including proning on the ground and using climbing ropes, neither of which you could do before and the natural cover feels a little easier to use. The one problem is sprinting. It feels slower than before and it's use is forced on you make jumps, and in that situation, it just doesn't feel intuitive at all. A lot of your movement is upgradable. This can be a good or a bad thing. It really depends of whether the character feels unnaturally slow and hindered without the upgrade, or it they feel normal without the upgrade and badass with it. In The Last of Us 2, it's a bit of a mix of both. For example, crouching whilst aiming feels terribly crippled until you improve it, whilst proning felt fast enough considering and I didn't feel the need to upgrade it.
 
It's a similar story with the shooting. It's feels good with realistic weapons sway and recoil that can be improved through the crafting an upgrade systems, great sound to. Naughty Dog know how to make a 3PS. But yet, one thing was really annoying. I felt I got knocked down by enemy gunfire very easily, and natural instinct when I get shot is to keep my finger on the aim button to find my target, but when you do that you find yourself laying down on your back in a “reverse prone” position pointing the gun out in front of you completely out of whatever cover you were in. It takes a valuable few seconds to get out of this to get up and into cover and it happened all the time, really grating on my patience. Even got me killed on a few occasions. Overall, it's a very solid 3PS, and the enemy AI in particular makes up for some of the game's minor control issues.
 
Another big part of the game is exploration. Now, people might be surprised to see somebody say this, but exploration is not Naughty Dog's strong suit. Not at all. In Uncharted 4, exploration was nothing more that vanity hunt to let the game laugh at people chasing a platinum trophy, and honestly, the only reason reason you strive to search every thing and look everywhere in The Last of Us is because you have to. You need the training manuals, you need to find the workbenches, you need the crafting resources, you need the pills to upgrade your skills, the parts to upgrade your weapons, but face the facts TLOU fans, it's a padded out chore and, deep down, we all know it. It's only made bearable buy the notes and some of the collectibles that can be interesting at times.
 
I bring this up because I'm about to talk about one of the very real problems I have with the game. I talked about how in the original how the environment was actually a joy to explore because of how the environment itself told a story. This made the exploration mechanics themselves, even though they were a chore, easy to bear with. The Last of Us part 2 has a signifiant downgrade in the quality of this. This time the “environmental storytelling” as I called it is mostly done through the notes you find, so you have engage in the aforementioned “chore” to even get them, and it's mostly pointless, fairly forgettable stuff with only a few intersting finds along the way. The environments themselves feel larger with more in them than before, and whilst that's good for the gameplay, makes the environment feel more empty and less interesting to be in with less personality. It's not that game doesn't try, and in some sections really does well. The Hospital is Seattle is a fine example of this. Don't worry, I won't spoil, but the point is that's an environment that's fascinating and with a strong indigenous identity with it's story to tell just by being in it. The first game, I can think of several places like that. The Storm Drain where the inhabitants met a tragic fate, the University of Eastern Colorado abandoned by the Fireflies, The Ruins of Salk Lake City where escaped Zoo animals have taken over, Bill's town where he clearly dose everything possible to avoid anyone and everyone, the Hotel set up to host a high school prom, the suburb where the inhabitants clearly turned on each other with the ice cream truck and Ellie doesn't know what it is. In the sequel? Including the hospital, I can think of two, maybe three at push, environments that felt that way, and in a game that's twice as long as the original, that's a problem.
 
Speaking of storytelling, it's time for the big one.
 
 
“See, they should be terrified of you...”
(The Story)
 
Let me make this 100% clear. This is a Spoiler Free review, so I expect a spoiler free response section. I'll soon open up a discussion thread for spoilers, I even invite you do do the same thing if you wish, but please do not post any spoilers here.
 
Update August 19nth 2021
The age of the game and the age of this thread is such that I've decided to open the comments to spoiler talk. Knock yourselves out.
 
You may not know this, but The Last of Us's name has more significance than you might think. The original story was all about finding was left of humanity. Not humanity physically obviously, but our soul, our heart as species, as a people amidst the very worst of circumstances. An inspiring story of hope where it'll all bout finding the light in the darkness, telling us we could be redeemed. Again, if you wish, please go back to my other post on the first game to get the full scope, but this is a bit of I said at the time;
 
“This has meant so much to so many and I for one, learned how important it is to embrace hope even when life is at it’s worst and life is only worth who you choose to share it with. We live in vain, materialistic world and ironically it’s a video game, a impractical indulgence that can only find a home in that world is what helped me see more clearly what is truly valuable. The Last of Us may have impacted you in a different way or even not at all, but whatever the case that experience belongs to you, so treasure it.”
 
So I've been thinking, if this game, with it's tone and it's lesson had actually come first, what would they have named it to suit like the way “The Last of Us” suits the original? I think I've got it.
 

 
This is not a story of hope, but hatred. Not inspired by redemption and love, but by darkness and revenge. A story of two young woman, corrupted by their own tragic pasts, driven into a new existence of violence and pain.
 
This is, without doubt, the darkest, most shocking, provocative and uncomfortable experiences you can have playing a game. It's brutal, savage, unfeeling, upsetting, unapologetic and, quite frankly...
 
...Brilliant!
 
Now, very many will disagree, and I completely understand... that they don't understand. It's upset them, pissed them off, but with all due respect, they have been too self centred to realise that's the point. This is not a shining smile meant to make you feel better, it's a dark beauty meant to be evocative and emotional in a very different way from the first game. I'm glad I took a few days before sitting down to write this because to really understand this, you need to reflect and, well, calm down. This game does rattle you, it upsets it makes you angry by design. It does what it set out to, and teaches you what it tries to teach.
 
The story is about hatred and how powerful it is, but in the end only has the power to take, not give. To embrace hate is to embrace your own destruction. There's other things to live for, better things to live for. It's ironic how hatred and prejudice has driven the people who review bombed this because because of the strong LGBTQ themes in it, and of course it's a little sad, because they probably need that lesson more that the rest of us. Even so, this not for everyone this story. A plot this malevolent will not sit comfortable in righteous heart. A presentation this violent has no place in a civilised mind. Then again, maybe you need those things to come through it with anything resembling a positive outlook at all. It also makes the point that we're all the hero's in our story, that's the kind of selfish creatures we are, but it's possible we're the villain in somebody else's story, and who get's to say who's right?
 
Do I like it, though. Well, too say like I like the story would be similar to “liking” somebody's obituary on Twitter or Facebook. You wanna express you sentiment, appreciation and respect, but “liking” it just feels...wrong.
 
Now, dose it have problems? Oh, hell yes it does!
 
Now, I already talked at length about the environmental storytelling has been downgraded, that's the first issue. No point going there again, but it's worth bearing in mind.
 
The story in the original wasn't actually unique, not really, it's the way it was told that made it work. A liner, well paced tale that had it's life berthed into through progress and steady, well timed in game expositions and cut scenes. Now, for the The Last of Us 2, not only did they switch around the tone and message, they also swapped around the strengths and weakness of the storytelling experience.
 
The last of Us 2 has more unique story, but it's not nearly as well told. These aren't spoilers, this right at the start of the game, this is just how it's set up. You start in Jackson, the town where Tommy and his wife Maria have settled. It's been five years since the events at the end of the first game. Ellie has grown up in service to the town, made a few friends and is now part of the teams that patrol outside Jackson to keep up observations on the infected. We also are quickly introduced to a new character Abby (that's the buff lady from the early trailer). Abby is also just outside Jackson with her own motives that, for reasons that become obvious, aren't made clear. One morning, Ellie heads out on patrol with Dina (That's the girl she kisses in the other trailer) and all seems well.
 
That's when REDACTED happens, and the story begins in earnest.
 
Now, you've most likely noticed something already, you play as two different protagonists. Abby and Ellie;
 
                                                                      Abby                                                                  Ellie
 
 
Now, this isn't a problem in itself, but it dose inevitably cause one. You play through the game with your time split between these two playing the same time period occurring after REDACTED. First one, then the other, to then switch again THEN again, for the final part of the game. Each individual story is also laced with flashbacks, that are playable, witch is cool, but fragments the flow of the story. The very fact you switch between the two characters also fragments the story. This does not flow very well and causes it's own pacing issues.
 
So you end with is exposition drip fed to in chunks in whatever flashback or playible character you happen to be at the time. The character might know something that you don't or vice verser, leading limited understanding of the characters motivations or making some of the story after the switch kind of redundant because you already know, at least to some extent, what's going to happen. It feels a padded out as well sometimes because of this. As a result, it's more difficult to connect to the characters, especially the new protagonist Abby and those around her, until the later point of the game.
 
Now, I get it, I totally understand why they did this, and if I'm honest, it dose actually work. You need to spend time with Abby to connect with her, especially after REDACTED and get to know who she is, but it does take some patience to get through to this point, and I'm not surprised to see some people just not have enough of it.
 
So ultimately, that's issue. Not the story, but the way it's told. Like I said I understand, and I mean complexly understand why they told the story the way they did, and in many ways it works, but not without cost.
 
 
“You really gonna go through with this?”
(Conclusion)
 
This is gonna sound like a weird question after all the time like question after you just spend all this time reading this idiots opinion for the last several minutes, but how do you review a game? Do you base it on did whether or not you enjoyed it, how adept it is technically and aesthetically, or whether it met the developers ambitions for it as a creative endeavour? Respectively, is it a Monopoly board, a painting or a book?
 
As a Monopoly Board, there's not enough plastic hotels and a couple of chance cards have gone missing. However, it's still Monopoly damn it and the only reason you wouldn't like it is because you knew you didn't like Monopoly, and if so, why play it?
 
As a painting, it belongs in the Louvre. An eternal and undeniable masterpiece that marks a precious and rare achievement.
 
As a book, this is a novel that had the reader jump paragraphs back and forth, but it's still a good, memorable and evocative story that stays with you. You may be better or worse for it, but you are different. Looking back, despite the frustrations you had trying to get through that book, you did, and you were angry, even furious at times, but you were never, ever bored.
 
My love for the last game made me hold this one to a higher stranded than I would do with most games and that may have helped what problems it undeniably has stand out, but this si still one the very best video games I've every played. Stronger that it's predecessor in so many ways, but also weaker in others, but one way this is better than any game I've played. It has courage. It takes a serious set to make a game like this in these days. The world is so self centred, entitled and opinionated that's impossible now to follow your own vision knowing it's controversial and stick with it, knowing you're about to piss a lot of people off. Love it or loathe it, this game needed to exist even if just to show important it is to stand up for your creative vision.
 
It has it's issues, and they aren't minor, so I have to reflect that in the score, but it's still a masterpiece and well worth considering if you're willing to accept what you are in for.
 
My Final Verdict.

As of right now, I have 180 active mods on Skyrim and here are my top 10.  Note that These links are all from Nexus mods and are for the Special Edition but I believe that they are all available on the standard one as well.  Also note that this list will focus on content mods so bug fixs and utillites such as  the Unofficial Patch, SkyUI, and Amazing Follower Tweeks though recomended (and in some cases required) arn't included.
 
 
Sjel Blad Castle
A MASSIVE customisable player home full of NPC's that you can hire scavenge in the world for Alchmical ingredints, ores, weapons armor, meat, pelts.. you name it!  There are also traders, followers, animal compantions and a teleport system to each of hold capitalsd and solsteim.  It would take to long to explain it all and I would conmsider this the ultimite player home mod if weren't for two problems.  Numbner one is that some features are incomplete (and may never be) and that one of those features is the childrens wing so it not Hearthfire compatible.
 
Lakeview Extended
With that in mind If Hearthfire is a concern, I recommend this one.  It adds to the original Hearthfire player home with new buildings, features, trader NPC's, followers but without de-railing or restricting the original Hearthfire experience.
 
DeserterX Armours (Some are NSFW and require a body mod like UNP or BBE)
These are some of the coolest, beautifully crafted and in many cases, sizzling Armor mods I have seen and the guy is still putting them out.  They certainly won't be for everyone but I love these designs.
 
Immesrive College of Winterhold
If you ever thought that the College of Winterhold was a little drab for a place dedicated to the study of magics this will certainly fix that.  It adds a bunch of cosmetic changes like furniture, wall coverings and artifacts.  Also new botanical gardens, alterations to AI so that the other students actually participate in classes practicing their spells and even a new "The Midden” Questline where you get to explore the ruins of the fallen Winterhold.  It makes the College feel so much more alive.
 
Sofia - The Funny Voiced Follower
Sofia is a follower fully voiced custom follower who you find passed out in the stables outside of Whiterun. She tags along with making off-color comments and jokes about you, the game, NPC's, quests often breaking the 4th wall and it is hilarious!  You can even give her alcohol and she wanders around blind drunk!  Well worth at least one playthrough with her... until she totally gets on your nerves!
 
M'rissi's Tails of Troubles
Another custom voiced follower but this one quite different. It features a full questline with multiple choices and you try to uncover M'rissi's past and keep her safe from the Aldmeri agents that are pursuing her.  It's a gripping and at times very dark adventure.
 
The Kids are Alright (With Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions)
Unfortunately, as I have just found out this mod is no longer available on Nexus because some asshats where reuploading lewd versions of it so the author (understandably) set it to hidden.  The child NPC’s in the original game where a bit of an afterthought and all looked and dressed pretty much the same.  This was a complete overhaul of the children in the game giving each of them their own unique look as well as adding new clothing sets (including armor), a bunch of other adoptable and even hostile NPCs to the game.  You could even adopt vampires and undead skeletons if you wanted to!  Shame it's been taken down, guess I'll have to keep a safe back up of the archive file now.
 
Helgen Reborn
This is an extensive lore-friendly quest mod where you, of course, rebuild Helgen, the town that was destroyed at the beginning of the game.  Fully voiced NPC's (including one friggin hilarious Arnold Schwarzenegger impression), new armor, followers, merchants, and a player home to top off a great story.
 
The Forgotten City
This is a mod that is so amazing and got so many accolades that not only did the guy that made it got a job in the game industry full time as a developer, but the mod is getting expanded into its own release as a full stand-alone title!  I don't want to give away to much but it starts with a letter from a woman who has lost someone in a forgotten Dwarven ruin that you will have to explore to find a way out.  The design of the quest is simply brilliant where you will have to think outside the box to solve the mystery of the place and get out alive.
 
Legacy of the Dragonborn
Quite simply, The One Mod to Rule them all!
Legacy of the Dragon is a gigantic expansion to the original game that had been added to, patched, and updated for years.  Lore friendly with Dozens of new fully voiced NPC's and a New Guild.  It' got Multiple questlines, dungeons and player homes with every utility you can possibly imagine.  Then there is the Legacy of the Dragonborn Museum itself, a huge complex with custom displays for pretty much every single unique weapon, armor item, book, and more in the game and DLC’s.  Not to mention it adds new and much-improved skins for them as well as adding hundreds of unique new weapons and items of its own.  Hell if you add the right patches you even get custom displays to form unique items found in other mods like The Forgotten City and Helgen Reborn.
It's INSANE how much content is in this thing!  I reckon it adds at least another 80 hours to the game and none of it even feels like a filler!  If you were to install just one mod to Skyrim, make it this one and any patches that you need.

I have my Facebook and Twitter. Not much more to say other than follow me, or they will never find your body.

I have my Facebook and Twitter. Not much more to say other than follow me, or they will never find your body.

That Lara Croft literally made the cover of Playboy, and I can totally understand why. It wasn't the pixelated tits, it was because the character being a fantasy treading closer to a young man's reality that any other character had in mainstream media. A hot, empowering, witty, big titted, smart action heroine that was way more relatable to the 90's geek than any movie or TV show had even got close to at the time. That's what gave her appeal, that's what made her attractive, not just the design (And mean design, I do mean what was in the minds of those that created her, graphical limitations aside) that was ultimately meant to have sex appeal from day one.
 
The new Lara is way deeper and more complex, and she needed to be. She's still as smart and determined as the original Lara Croft, but with a greater sense of vulnerability and maturity. She just feels that much more real and fleshed out. The design is still that of a beautiful young woman, but not a fantasy like the old Lara was intended to be. Sorry, but you're wrong. Whilst I personally would not list the old Lara as a bad protagonist, more a product of her time, the new Lara is by far superior.

I could honestly pick out any one of these main cast members from FFXIII and unleash one hell of a rant;
 

 
But there is one that stands out, even amongst this motly crew of douche.
 

 
I. HATE. THIS. GUY.
Snow is an irresponsible, selfish, self-righteous, egotistical, arrogant, ignorant prat that the game tries to pass off as a selfless hero!
(Warning, Some minor spoilers ahead)
Right the start of the game, he gets a load of innocent civilians killed, then the next time you see him he is hi-fiving his buddies and declaring himself a hero as he rides off to rescue his already doomed girlfriend like he's Captain America.
A quick point before I move on. A hero is confident, inspirational and charismatic, but also selfless, thoughtful and humble, usually even anonymous. Even if they have earned the right to call themselves a hero, they don't. Snow is none of those things.
Back to the point though, our "hero" getting those innocent people killed. Any remorse? Regret? A lump in his throat? No, of course not, he was only thinking of Sarah (The GF), the only lump he had was down the front of his trousers. While travelling through Palumpolum with Hope (Whose mother was one of the aforementioned civilians who died because of Snow), he's completely oblivious to the fact Hope hates his guts because he's to focused on "being the Hero". When Hope does eventually confront him, only then does he actually show some remorse. Eh, no Snow, you don't get to feel bad about what you did only when poor little you has to face the consequences, that's not how it works.
He's pretty much the same, carefree, annoying douchebag the entire game. All the main characters in FFXIII are there their own brand of terrible, but Snow is the worst. And when you're the worst protagonist in FFXIII, that is a very strong case for the worst video game protagonist of all time.
Even being played by Troy Baker couldn't salvage this waste of pixels. Thank about that.

Favourites for me, at least in terms of gaming, tech and other nerdy stuff related:
 
AngryJoeShow "You done fucked it up!"  High quantity and entering game reviews and industry news.
 
Caddicarus "Greetings and salutations, my beautiful people, and welcome to the Caddicarus show, where I always have to do the dirty deed of deciding whether or not a game deserves to be slaughtered or salvaged"  A VERY funny game and other content reviewer.  Should have WAY more subs than he has! 
 
Channel Awesome "Hello I'm the Nostalgia Critic, I remember it so you don't have to!"  Primarily Nostalgia Critic but lost of other movie and TV show related content.
 
Cinemassacre "He's gonna take you back to the past...." Angry video Game Nerd, Board James, You Know what's Bullshit and tons of commentary about old movies, one of the very best on the platform.
 
JayzTwoCents Well... OK there's no real quote here exactly, but he is a very entertaining and informative Tech YouTuber.
 
Jim Sterling"You can all thank god... for me!" Home of The Jimquisition and lot's of other commentary about the cesspool that is the game industry, has some funny let's plays too.
 
ReviewTechUSA "SKIPPIDEBAPMNDADUP *explosion*"  Flip Flops and does stuff with cucumbers way more often than reviewing tech in the USA still and great channel for gaming news.

YongYea Another great and exceptionally well spoken industry pundit, also a talented voice actor. "Yong out!"

You can't go wrong with the nerd. James Rolfe is gold.
As well as AVGN (AKA, Cinemassacre), I really enjoy ReviewTechUSA, ChannelAwesome, Kathleemms (She's a much smaller channel and doesn't upload as much as she used to, but I still love her content), Angry Joe (I don't always agree with his opinion, but his reviews are superb) and Angry Centaur Gaming (or ACG).

You can't go wrong with the nerd. James Rolfe is gold.
As well as AVGN (AKA, Cinemassacre), I really enjoy ReviewTechUSA, ChannelAwesome, Kathleemms (She's a much smaller channel and doesn't upload as much as she used to, but I still love her content), Angry Joe (I don't always agree with his opinion, but his reviews are superb) and Angry Centaur Gaming (or ACG).

As far as gaming YouTubers go, I have to go with one of the best known. AVGN gets my vote. No matter how many times I've seen a video, they always make me laugh.

The last couple days have been pure hell. Nothing has gone right in any way, starting with having to put one of my rats down. Things have just completely gone downhill from there. If something doesn’t change soon I’m going to completely fucking lose it.

How about T-Rex Run, if someone calls you out you can just tell them your internet is down!
 

The Playroom? That's an interesting choice. It was cool, yes, but it was more of a tech demo than an actual game.

There is one major problem with a Silent Hill Remake...
 

 

The thing that I find fascinating about this is whilst 8K is completely unnecessary for PS5 and XBSX, to have a TV that's gonna get the best out of the next gen consoles, I've found that it's mostly these 8K ready TV's is what one needs. HDMI 2.1 ports, 120Hz refresh rate and the kind of HDR that worked best with these consoles, to get these features on a TV now it'll cost a bloody fortune and it's most common on the pointless 8K resolution compatible sets. This is the true cost of next gen.

Obviously, the price for these TVs are way too expensive for us to perceive such a difference in quality. It's at least a step towards advancement in graphics. I'd love to see how the AMD graphics cards in the new PS5 console would look on one of those 8K TVs though...

I picked up a few games today through the Nintendo eShop. Two of them I have been wanting for a long time. One I have to credit to @Shagger for his glowing review of it. The other, I can't remember where I initially saw it, but it was most likely here. The one @Shagger talked about was Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. It's currently downloading on my Switch, and I can't wait to get into it.
The other game is a little goofy. After Hellblade is done downloading, the next one that will start downloading is Cuphead. I mainly wanted that one because it is drawn up exactly like the old cartoons I watched as a kid. The same art style, the same graphics, all of it.
 
I specifically want to give a special thank you to @Shagger for Hellblade. You can read his review HERE.

A little disclaimer. Everything I'm about to say I say as my own individual person, not as a mod nor a representative of VGR in any way. And yourself @m76as well as anyone can respond freely without fear of reprisal.
 
What you are saying are the words of someone who clearly has not made any effort to understand or research the message BLM is trying to put out, and that is also, with all due respect, kinda selfish. You're just happy to live in your little bubble where everything is fine. In your white world, you don't get guns drawn of you for just walking down the street. You don't have the police called on you in the hope they shoot you for being black. You don't get killed by police officers crushing your neck. You don't get tear-gassed for protesting peacefully. You don't get called a n****r or a monkey. You don't get turned away from job's because of the colour of your skin. None of this happens to you, so in your head it doesn't really happen at all. No wait, sorry, I'm being unfair;
 
 
Yes, racism exists, you said so yourself, so why are you pissing on those fighting it instead of supporting them? Is it because you believe the "small" amount of it you think happens is acceptable? And you're wrong, it is as bad as they say because it's not a minority doing it, it's become engrained in society. That's why, as @Crazycrabpointed out, it's the responsibility of all of us to change, to be better, fight for equality and justice even if one has never done anything discriminatory or racist in any way. Otherwise, we're choosing to live in the same bubble you are, and that would make us part of the problem. BLM are not hiding problems under the rug, that's what people like you do because you don't want to believe these things are true. Just because you don't like what's what to be found under that rug, doesn't make it fault of those supporting BLM. I don't want to believe it either, but as a white man I refuse to deny it just for my convenience. It was Edmund Burke who said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”. Then there's people like you, spewing this nonsense that the people in this fight to make clear how bad racial injustice really is are the bad guys. How dare you.
 
How dare you accuse the people who suffer through racial discrimination every day as "scapegoating". Victims of racial discrimination don't need you so-called "scapegoat" because they are the victims of racial discrimination. How dare only listen to one side and deliberately avoid the other to then be arrogant enough to think you know it all. How dare just choose to believe what's convent for you. How dare you only come out of your bubble to call those seeking truth and justice as liars just because you're not a victim and can't know what it's like.
 
Nothing of what I say here is against you. Your presence in this community is very much appreciated and valued, but for your own sake you have got to wake up and see what's really going on in the world.

A little disclaimer. Everything I'm about to say I say as my own individual person, not as a mod nor a representative of VGR in any way. And yourself @m76as well as anyone can respond freely without fear of reprisal.
 
What you are saying are the words of someone who clearly has not made any effort to understand or research the message BLM is trying to put out, and that is also, with all due respect, kinda selfish. You're just happy to live in your little bubble where everything is fine. In your white world, you don't get guns drawn of you for just walking down the street. You don't have the police called on you in the hope they shoot you for being black. You don't get killed by police officers crushing your neck. You don't get tear-gassed for protesting peacefully. You don't get called a n****r or a monkey. You don't get turned away from job's because of the colour of your skin. None of this happens to you, so in your head it doesn't really happen at all. No wait, sorry, I'm being unfair;
 
 
Yes, racism exists, you said so yourself, so why are you pissing on those fighting it instead of supporting them? Is it because you believe the "small" amount of it you think happens is acceptable? And you're wrong, it is as bad as they say because it's not a minority doing it, it's become engrained in society. That's why, as @Crazycrabpointed out, it's the responsibility of all of us to change, to be better, fight for equality and justice even if one has never done anything discriminatory or racist in any way. Otherwise, we're choosing to live in the same bubble you are, and that would make us part of the problem. BLM are not hiding problems under the rug, that's what people like you do because you don't want to believe these things are true. Just because you don't like what's what to be found under that rug, doesn't make it fault of those supporting BLM. I don't want to believe it either, but as a white man I refuse to deny it just for my convenience. It was Edmund Burke who said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”. Then there's people like you, spewing this nonsense that the people in this fight to make clear how bad racial injustice really is are the bad guys. How dare you.
 
How dare you accuse the people who suffer through racial discrimination every day as "scapegoating". Victims of racial discrimination don't need you so-called "scapegoat" because they are the victims of racial discrimination. How dare only listen to one side and deliberately avoid the other to then be arrogant enough to think you know it all. How dare just choose to believe what's convent for you. How dare you only come out of your bubble to call those seeking truth and justice as liars just because you're not a victim and can't know what it's like.
 
Nothing of what I say here is against you. Your presence in this community is very much appreciated and valued, but for your own sake you have got to wake up and see what's really going on in the world.

This is an underatted game, worth checking out.

THAT
 
Listen @m76, anyone who has told or in some way tried to convince you of that is either racist, not very smart or most likely both.  It's just an excuse to sweep this problem, and it is a legitimate international problem, under the rug and go back to a state of blissfull ignorance.  Now like @Shagger pointed out, a small number of people are using the protests as a window to break the law and spread anarchy but that is NOT what BLM is about.
 
Now I'm not racist in any way but I do admit like so many until recently I let myself be blinded to these issues without even realising I was doing it.  But I see it now and we ALL need to wake up.
 

That's people hiding behind a noble cause to excuse that behaviour. Happens every time anyone protests anything. BLM is not about that and the movement certainly doesn't endorse it.

Well, with that more or less resolved and @THawkhappy enough with the situation, I don't think we need this topic open any more. Be sure to let us know if there are any further troubles. Locking thread.

Not doing any of that. It just seems to be how I have Firefox set up. So I'll just use Edge and enjoy this site. Thank to everyone for the ideas.