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28. Fallout S1 Weird, dark and funny in equal measures, Amazon's Fallout adaptation is always enticing, with a fantastic core mystery, a really interesting world and a really fun dynamic between the three main characters that feels like more than the sum of its parts. 8/10

The poster for season 1 of Amazon's Fallout adaptation, with the subtitle "The world needs a better ending" at the top of the poster. Features Ella Purnell's character (Lucy MacLean) crouching down in the center of the poster with a 10mm pistol in her right hand, Walton Goggins' character (Cooper Howard/The Ghoul) on the left holding a lever-action rifle, and Aaron Moten's character (Maximus) on the right in a set of power armor, each looking past the camera into a desert wasteland.

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29. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) This is an amazing-feeling FPS mired in a beaten-to-death horse carcass named Call of Duty, bloated with brand tie-ins and live-service bullshit, an overload of overlapping mechanics, a shitty campaign and a completely uncooked PvE extraction mode. 3/10

The key art for 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, with Captain Price holding an AR-platform assault rifle with the face of Makarov overlaid in the background.

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27. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) MW3 sheds so many brain cells that it assumes the player has lost theirs too, leading them strictly by the hand through a globe-spanning military-themed carnival. An OK wave survival mode and a stout multiplayer playerbase act as saving graces. 5/10

The cover art for MW3, featuring an American soldier carrying an M4 assault rifle while walking through the ruins of a war-torn New York City (presumably).

Reposted by rodentbird

26. Forza Motorsport 2 (DNF) A racing game with a ton of early 2000's energy that is not only marred with a clearly immature handling model but is also so damn easy that it's actually boring - just upgrade your car to its max PI, and never face a challenge again after hour 1. 4/10

The cover art for Forza Motorsport 2, featuring a custom orange Nissan 350Z drifting around the apex of a turn.

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25. Helldivers 2 (35 hrs) As far as live-service shooters go, this is a very good one. It often feels idiosyncratic, but always good, and the missions themselves remain entertaining. That being said, I can feel a grind creeping in and it's a bit high-commitment for me. 7/10

The key art for Helldivers 2, featuring a squad of 4 Helldivers wielding machine guns while standing in a cloud of yellow smoke and slime, one being assaulted by a Terminid as another plants the flag of the in-universe Super Earth in the ground, with a large blue planet lurking in the background

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 24/04/2024

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24. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) The intellect that defined COD4 is M.I.A from MW2's narrative and gameplay, in service of an high-concept, eye-catching plot and an expanded content platter that offers little substance. Despite this, it still has some cool, creative moments. 6/10

The PS3 cover art for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, featuring an American soldier walking in the burning ruins of the Washington D.C. Capitol building, holding an M16 rifle in their right hand.

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 24/04/2024

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23. PGR 4 The last PGR game isn't only possibly the best PGR game, it's also one of the best racing games ever, with nearly perfected core gameplay and a couple of game-changing additions. Only really suffers in that car/bike unlocks are weird and tracks will repeat sometimes. 7.5/10

A cropped version of the PGR 4 cover art, with the game's title inlaid as a badge on the lower passenger door panel of an unknown red car, with a Ducati motorcycle reflected in its paint.

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22. Demon's Souls (2009) The original Demon's Souls is still fun today, being the origin point of all the things that made the Dark Souls series so good, even offering more freedom in how the player progresses. However, performance issues on the PS3 mar the experience severely. 6/10

The PS3 "Greatest Hits" cover art for Demon's Souls, featuring a knight covered in a blue mist, surrounded by the runes of the Nexus.

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 24/04/2024

time for me to get around to updating the media thread i've been neglecting for an age

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rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 21/04/2024

have we yet reached NASCAR levels of FCY frequency #6hImola

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21. Call of Duty: World At War Treyarch's depiction of the final hours of WWII feels moody and anachronistic, marked with showers of gore, a grunge-infused soundtrack and heaps of disturbing imagery. It is a less expertly told story than COD4, and the gameplay is often very frustrating. 5.5/10

The Xbox 360 cover art for Call of Duty: World at War, featuring an American soldier running through a jungle on the Japanese front, firing a Thompson sub-machine gun at a target behind the camera.

Reposted by rodentbird

20. Project Gotham Racing 3 With a huge variety of street courses and event types, PGR 3's 15ish hour career mode ensures that there's always something new around every corner. Held back somewhat by the handling model, which sometimes feels way too sensitive to be useful. 6.5/10

The cover art for PGR 3, featuring a close-up shot of a red Ferrari F430 racing past a crowd in New York City.

Reposted by rodentbird

19. Star Fox 64 A very short but solid replication of the arcade aerial combat games of the 90's. Fun bosses, varied enemy types, challenging combat, solid voice acting and a storyline that branches based on your wins and losses all make this game deeper than it initially seems. 7/10

The cover art for Star Fox 64, featuring Fox McCloud flying his Arwing through space, followed by his teammates with a planet in the background.

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

Writing has not been going well as of late. Four months in and I think I'm on my third rewrite of this chapter's plot, and still no rough draft done. Really, really need a break here. I think I'm close to having something watertight, after I get that finished I'm going to just chill for 2 weeks

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rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 08/04/2024

helldivers 2 might be pretty good (I have played it literally all day)

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rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 03/04/2024

18. Death Wish This is exactly how you don't make a vigilante film. Even as a product of its age, its portrayals of delinquency and trauma are apathetic, and the only social commentary the film offers - on the apparent value of a man with a gun - feels motivated by spite and chauvinism. 2/10

One of the posters for Death Wish, centered on Charles Bronson's character. Subtitle: "Vigilante, city style - judge, jury, and executioner."

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 03/04/2024

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17. The Other Guys There's a couple really good gags in this but other than that a lot of the humor just feels too raunchy and over-the-top for its own good. Aside from it just not being my kind of movie the ending felt rushed and the economic commentary is tangential at best. 4/10

The poster for The Other Guys, with Ferrell's and Wahlberg's characters each jumping through a cloud of smoke, holding two pistols. Subtitle: "NY's finest were busy."

rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 01/04/2024

april fools! totally PRANK 😂🤣 your pals with this cool joke! Step 1: 59lbs of tannerite

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rodentbird @rodentbird.bsky.social · 28/03/2024

16. Kindergarten Cop Just a really fun, wholesome movie that is absolutely against type for Schwarzenegger but the story works so much better for it. Solid pacing, good characters and good character development all around. 6/10

One of the posters for Kindergarten Cop. Features Schwarzenegger's character being covered in children, riding on his shoulders and pulling his shirt and jacket, etc. Subtitles: "Go ahead, you tell him you didn't do your homework" and "As an undercover cop... he's in a class by himself."