Mike Epstein's discussions

I've been concerned about that as well. Depending on when the game actually ends, I'll jump into a public game and continue playing for the rest of the time. If it comes to that, I'll keep everyone in the loop about what I do, though I suppose it doesn't actually matter if we're in the same game, so long as we're… Read more

My concern is that the "hectic battle" can become a grind if you don't feel like you're teammates are as invested as you. Based on what I've seen, it seems like there's a point where one's desire to play with others and one's competitive streak come into conflict. Most competitive multiplayer games work hard to fuse… Read more

Many people have made similar comments. It's true that Paula is likely the demon huntress, given the huntress' story and Paula's abilities. (Though since its implied that she lived during the middle ages, it's a little odd that she's good with a gun.) Read more

Ok guys. I want to leave a thread open specifically for discussing what game(s) you might want to tackle next. Read more

That's really interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Still, while the ending does open the door for a sequel, I would be skeptical of whatever they tried. I liked the idea that, while the final scene was open-ended, there wasn't a clear progression. Hotspur seemed to accept that he'd just keep fighting demons (and Paula… Read more

It was a great moment. Just the fact that it happens so fast. One second you're watching the camera slowly pan around a couple, then all of a sudden... BAM! She's trying to kill you. At first I thought it was going to end right there, which would have still been good, but not nearly as deep. Read more

I guess I like to think of that scene as more of an epilogue. I imagine the fact that Garcia is still with Paula even though shes a demon would be an incredible torture for him. His true love is now an embodiment of his greatest failure. Garcia concedes that he may have to keep running and protecting Paula forever:… Read more

Interesting. What about it did you feel was restrained? Was it more about how graphic the content was or how nonsensical? I can imagine that Shadows is less disturbing than Alice because it has more of a gonzo feel to it for most of the game. Still, between the giant floating naked women that you walk on and the game… Read more

yea, I kind of did a double-take there. At first I didn't notice what was actually happening. Then again, once I did... it was kind of par for the course, right? Read more

On Act 5, I thought it was great that they kept adding puzzle elements literally until the end. Sure, arcing a skull and playing demon bowling aren't exactly brain-straining, but at least they mixed it up the whole way through. The puzzles, throughout the game, generally weren't painful for that reason. Read more

Despite being pretty short, I think it was worth the full price of admission. I know there are/were places selling it for 40. You should absolutely pick it up. Read more

I'm with you on the boss fight. I thought it was great and so different from every other boss. As I've said below, I do think that they should've used someone other than Justine for that fight. If she's as important as they've made her out to be, she should get a little more fanfare before Garcia takes her out. Read more

We did talk about this a little in our first discussion, but it is one of the game's most interesting themes. The distinction in my mind is the execution. There's a difference between being crass and being childish. Shadows is the former, DNF is the latter. At least from what I hear. (I haven't actually played through… Read more

Ripe? Metaphor? Please elaborate. Read more

I try to choose games that are fairly new because I think it's more fun when everyone's doing their first play-through. Next week I will be asking the group what they'd like to play next, so you should definitely come back and put in your two cents. Read more

Yeah I noticed that too. I'm hoping that Justine comes back and gets a little more attention. Read more

I didn't have problems with the blockades, though I didn't entirely understand what made them appear or disappear. I did, however, die a few times. And while the death animation was really funny at first, I got sick of it after seeing it a few times. Ditto for Johnson's "enlargement". Read more

Sorry if the image made somebody blush. The Kotaku Game Club is an attempt to bring people together to talk about playing games as we play them. To discuss our thoughts and ideas about both the game itself, and how the game fits into the world of video games as a whole. Read more

One thing I didn't mention up there, since it didn't really fit the topic, is how big a letdown Justine was as a character. I got excited when Johnson told "his favorite story" about the demon hunter who became a demon, since I assumed it was her and there was going to be some hilarious story. So when I saw opera… Read more

Yes I also didn't like the colonel, I thought his dialogue started to get weird the way Japanese games so often do. Read more