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Cake day: June 17th, 2023

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  • 4 is very similar to 3, in my opinion. It generally ranks lower than 3, but I’d attribute that to 3 defining expectations and 4 meeting expectations rather than pulling another groundbreaking move. 3 shared some notable elements with 2 but refined the direction of FC. 2 doesn’t have magic and FC enjoyers begroaned 3’s supernatural element, but here we are.

    5 removed the supernatural element and got some mixed feelings. I’d put some of that on the fact that they brought the white American savior trope home to America. Instead of a foreign land under a whimsical authoritarian regime the West likes to go to war with, it’s a religious cult in classic Americana rural towns. It’s like changing from 1990s Batman movies to the Nolan trilogy. Gritty, more realistic, closer to historical fiction than fantasy. It harks back to the 1993 Waco Massacre.

    I’ve played 6 on and off over the last few years. I read lots of hate but still enjoyed it. It’s in Cuba, so it was back to being a far-off fantasy for me, with lots of story rooted in the 1960s revolution (though the game is present day). That is until the Gaza war flared up. Suddenly the game got uncomfortable for me. You play as a terrorist group fighting the military. That’s not exactly different from 4. Sure, if you win, it’s a revolution, but if you lose, historical speaking, the winners call it terrorism. I suppose the story could be considered weaker, but it’s a change up. Instead of basing the story on you vs the big bad, it’s rooted more in the friends you make along the way. You’re building a revolution as one faction gathering 3 more.

    There’s also 3 half-games. Between the main titles, half of the prior maps for alternate experiments. I’d wait for all the titles to be discounted but would say the halfsies need to be discounted more. Granted, they’re probably all regularly under $20 now anyway.

    After 3 came Blood Dragon, using one of the islands for an over the top 1980s synthwave action comedy. It has corny 80s moves in lieu of superpowers. It’s fun.

    After 4 came Primal, a prehistoric version of the FC formula. I think it’s neat that they developed a proto-proto-indo-european language for a 10,000BC setting. Spears, slings, clubs, and knives are the weapons here with some grenade-like items. There’s spiritual elements resembling living a mythology. It’s also fun.

    After 5, New Dawn is actually a continuation of the story. A quasi-Fallout/Mad Max post-nuke-apocalypse world in which Joseph Seed still lives - and becomes an ally. I think it brought in supernatural powers from nuclear stuff. Probably my least favorite of the 3, but still enjoyable. It also introduced a number of the elements people begroaned in 6, so maybe that’s why I don’t mind 6 as much.

    I’m surprised there hasn’t been a halfsies between 6 and, presumably, an upcoming 7. 6 does have some extra story (dlc?) that has you relive parts of the prior titles. I haven’t done them nor read about them much so I can experience them myself.





  • Make it Bun Dem by Skrillex and Damien Marley

    I’m glad you enjoyed the song. I don’t know your age, but seeing that screenshot made me realize how hard it’d be to explain the popularity of dubstep and, in particular, Skrillex to anyone who wasn’t there. Same goes for the immortalization of the “oh my god!” featured in Nice Sprites and Scary Monsters, screamed by the girl who stacked cups in record time. Or stacking cups. This feels like the making of an “onion tied to my belt” type of rambling story. I imagine most of this platform was there for dubstep and that the young adults today had way more internet access than I did as a kid, so it’s probably not even unknown yet.

    The song shuffles into my playlist sometimes and takes me back to both that game moment and the generalized memory of blasting that from my ipod nano into my grandpa’s handmedown Ford Taurus with the headphone wire I hardwired into the cassette deck. If you think dubstep sounds bad now, I made it sound worse.

    What a coincidence. I looked up the Key & Peele skit about dubstep. My exact generation of Taurus is involved, identified by the circular rear window. The skit is worth it on its own, of course

    https://youtu.be/5Kod1q39ddE