Frame Trap - Episode 37 "A Real Hot One"

Ubisoft in Smash? Obviously the choice is Jade from BG&E.

Huber and Ben, if you wish for a new Left 4 Dead, you may want to take a look at Vermintide. It looks great, plays great (on PC, cannot speak for console), and follows the formula closely, but adds a number of welcome new elements.

Leif

Great topic for Hottake this week. There was a segment in What Remains of Edith Finch that had one of the most strikingly honest portrayals of mental illness I've ever seen in media, specifically because the player was in control of the process. I'm so looking forward to seeing what developers continue to do to bring their own experiences with physical and mental disabilities into their work, and to work with people with a wider variety of experiences to craft more diverse stories and worlds.

Ray Aldiar

It's 90-115 where I live every year from May until often times NOVEMBER, so I would go crazy if I didn't have an AC in whatever room contained all my media equipment. I feel for you guys, this past week with all the freak storms and hot weather and wildfires has been a nightmare.

ZyloWolfBane

Ben, I know it's like a meme or whatever that this show is really long and it's funny and all, but this show is legitimately too long. I think a shorter weekly show is easier to digest and I'd like for you to go that route. But at the very least you could lessen the morning routine type of talk.

Coming from Texas where it gets in the 100's every summer, I would have put some type of an ac in the garage right away. Maybe a portable ac but I'm guessing that it's not podcast friendly with the sound that it can create but there's got to be a solution here. I'm sorry that you guys are miserable in the heat right now. I know what you're going through. Also wanted to throw in there that I loved the episode.

Jason Walstrom

Excellent HOTTAKE, I'd like to see more discussions about games that are trying to use the game medium to communicate something...let's say more than fun...and are not so visible to big audiences. Also how hard is to ignore the marketing and the urge to cover bigger games (nice example from this episode is Agents of Mayhem) instead of digging up something more hidden, but potentially more interesting for you personally?

So! It's been awhile since I've posted on a Frame Trap episode, and I know this won't be the most popular post, but I would like to explain to Huber, why a lot of people (including me, feel that Uncharted combat is not very good). I think the issue mostly stems from the general handling of the character, Uncharted is FULL of very good looking contextual animations and cutting edge blending of different actions, problem is, when you actually want to do something specific, and your character slides around, or rolls into the wrong cover, or hangs down a ledge, or auto-vaults over a chest high wall in often unintended ways, causing a general unwieldiness to the combat and resulting in a lot of frustrating moments where I personally feel I’m just wrestling with the controls to do what I want them to (and instead I end kissing some heavy shotgun wielding guy’s boots). Moreover, the weapons feel largely lacking in kick, maybe because many of the enemies are quite bullet spongey. Comparatively, in games like the Last of Us, where every bullet seemed vital and brutal, or “The Order 1886”, where you really felt the impact of some of the guns, or even Gears of War where there is a clear Weight to everything, I feel Uncharted fails at defining and differentiating its combat. Sure, they have added some options in Uncharted 4 (I have not played this dlc), but the combat still seems like it follows a [try stealth - be discovered - flood the room with enemies - kill all] cycle, and the flashier take down and alternatives, are often riskier than functional. However, the real issue is that these fights generally simply go on for too long, and come too often towards the end of the Uncharted games, and don’t offer any significant variation other than enemies with helmets or more armor. Only Uncharted 1 and 2 mixed up the compat significantly in the third act, but I have invariably been pretty bored with the endless hordes of goons the series throws at you. There you have it. For all those reasons, Uncharted is one of my least favourite third person shooter experiences. Particularly Uncharted 3 and 4. (Aside, personally, I think that while the script in Uncharted games is pretty good, particularly when it comes to character banter, the stories are very contrived and would only make for mediocre B grade action movies). Anyhow... my 2 cents L & R as always.