Tag: reviews

Oblivion Remastered’s Censorship gives an opening to Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s beautiful women.

beautiful-liliana-in-tainted-grail-the-fall-of-avalon

The Oblivion Remastered Edition has been censoring women. While these changes are small, it is clear that Bethesda Softworks is still going through the process of ”cleaning up” its games. If you compare the screenshot of my character on the left and the screenshot of a drawn woman in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, it is clear that there are two trends happening here.

Having Intimacy in Bethesda Games

Originally, Oblivion was rated ”T” by the ESRB in America. However, after mods in 2006 were taking the clothes off the female characters, the game was re-rated as “M” or mature. The same thing happened to other popular games such as GTA: San Andreas. The video game industry was much bigger than it had been in the 1990s but it was still under the cover. Many people were not paying attention to it.

However, it was clear that the transition of themes relating to relationships between characters began to change between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, where there is a clear shift in how Bethesda approached the issue of player choice and how they could interact with characters of the opposite or same sex.

Fallout 3 had many brutal and sensous characters. However, Fallout 4 was a strange game that did not repersent a progression of the mythos but more of a regression. The sequel was more about domesticity stolen than anything else. The game starts in the Pre-War suburbs of Boston and the all the beauty of domesticity and family life are broken by atomic bombs being dropped on America. Fallout 4 however refuses to allow the player to be anything but a mother or father searching for their son.

This trend meant that Bethesda did not want to make attractive women characters anymore. Any hint of any intimacy in the games was taken out and instead it was hidden behind violence and better shooting mechanics.

The charm that made the Bethesda games simply unique was taken away from the games.

What Tainted Grail can bring some beauty back into games

While this is only a small section of the game, having the image of a woman that is beautiful in a game is enough to garner some outrage in some circles. However, among gamers who think with the heads, are going to be okay with it. That is what matters here. They shouldn’t be trying to appeal to people who have no interest in playing video games. In my previous article on Tainted Grail, I say that it has the potential with becoming the next Skyrim. With the genre being so stagnant, it is clear that there is something needed in order to get to be needed to revigoriate it.

Netflix’s Ransom Canyon 2025 Impressions

Ransom Canyon is an intriguing Western style Romance series in the style of Yellowstone. As a suburban man, I have no relationship with this world that is depicted on screen. However, I find the series to be very interesting to watch. It is an entrance into a world that I have little experience with and yet it feels like home.

The story was called by some of the access media as being too pedestrian. These kind of complaints are why so many critics are out of touch with the American public. Ransom Canyon is part of America that isn’t on the headlines. The place, which is located near the West Texas city of Lubbock is dominated by the ranching industry.

While many Americans may believe that their food is put into cans, these people are responsible for one part of it, the beginning parts of bring it to your table. In the area of Ransom Canyon, ranching is an important part of the series. Unlike many series on Netflix which focus on Upper Middle Class professions, the people here seem more authentic to me.

Some people say that the acting isn’t very satisfying here.

On this issue, I think that the acting is not as annoying as people say it is. As a fan of Classic Hollywood, I understand that the days of overacting are not in vogue. People seem to want realistic characters with a touch of larger than life here.

What is important is the vistas and the atmosphere. The story is intriguing but what’s more important is that it doesn’t take place in an area I have seen before.

What we get in Ransom Canyon is a story about a place where ranching is still very important. This is not Severance which while interesting in concept, is not a show that has much to say about anything in my opinion. This is a show about ordinary people in rural areas of Texas.

I have only watched one episode but it has taken my attention.

While some say that it is just background noise, I disagree.

Someone had to put effort into this. Watching with some attention is worth it.

Netflix should produce more series in this style.

Empire Earth vs Empire Earth 2: Two Games of Contrast

Empire Earth and its sequel are a study in contrasts. There are two games that represent differing ideas about what a game is. Empire Earth attempts to represent the classic RTS genre while Empire Earth 2 is attempting to chase after a new audience while being able to please the fans.

Empire Earth is about tactics and free form in its nature. It is a game that allows you build buildings anywhere.

Empire Earth 2 is more about strategic thinking and planning. The game integrates Civilization style scale with the RTS style.

Which game is better here?

Empire Earth at this point in time has remained the more popular of the two. On YouTube, Empire Earth 2 is largely obscure, only going due to the efforts of a few users.

Empire Earth however retains a thriving multiplayer scene. While not as lively as it once was in the past, there are significant number of players who enjoy it.

What is the reason for Empire Earth 2 being more obscure now? I believe it has to do with the overcomplication of the game.

Sometimes reinventing the wheel can be exciting but you are wasting money while your rivals are using tried and true technology which works now.

Empire Earth 2 attempts to put the Civilization series onto the structure of a RTS game.

Empire Earth knew what it was. The main selling point was the movement through history. That is what mattered to the players.

Empire Earth 2 was too much of a leap and Empire Earth was the comfy home which had the warm cookies made by your mom.

Many video games struggle with this. How much change should a game have? Sometimes its best to refine than to create something from scratch.

Empire Earth’s longevity as a game is a testament to the excellent structure and gameplay. It truly is a game that means what it says: Epic is too small a word.

The wide as an ocean and shallow as puddle worked just right for Empire Earth. That is why players continue to play and enjoy it.