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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 39m

Though I will say having the Kanemitsu Corporation making a cameo at the very end was really funny, it's like the Robocop equivalent of Scrappy-Doo showing up at the end of the Scooby-Doo movie.

Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 42m

and credits. The ending was good enough that I don't want to spoil it, but they really went the extra mile to wrap everything up instead of just being a "What wacky adventure will Robocop get up to next week?" or sequel hook
Great game, so going to New Game+ next time I need a break from factories

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 3h

Kyle rules, I'm a total no-name and he installed Discord to guest on my show and talk about killer ziplines for two hours.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 4h

the Robocop game has more dialogue-specific skills than any Bethesda RPG released since I finished high school

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 7h

It has the one shortcoming every Robocop sequel has: it lacks a Clarence Boddicker. Punks with mohawks, bikers, and a stern man in a suit are all well and good but I miss that X factor of a weird little dude that is super mean but not physically tough or imposing

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 7h

and yes, Robocop shooting you in the dick is an instant kill

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 9h

you can grab and throw people like when Robo's interrogating Clarence Boddicker and you can recover your health with electric terminals like in 2. They recreate the cool old computer UIs and the environments have a lot of props that are references but mostly make sense in context

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 9h

This feels like a remaster of an Xbox 360 game in the best way possible. Like an artifact from a universe where The Darkness was the model for that gen of FPSes instead of Call of Duty. It has a New Game+ mode and I'm already looking forward to the stuff I missed the first time

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 9h

Also the shooting itself is very fun. It leans into following the flow of Robocop gunfights: you can't jump, crouch, or stick to cover so you tank gunfire while slowly walking forward mowing everyone down. You can customize the Auto 9 so I have infinite ammo no reload and just spray the entire room.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 9h

I haven't beaten it but so far I think it might be my favorite Robocop thing not made by Paul Verhoeven. Unless you're the type of movie nerd that only likes Robocop for the nostalgic aesthetics, in which case the smoothly animated ED-209s and Xbox 360-ish plastic people won't give you brain tingles

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 9h

It's smart because in abstract the idea of doing fetch quests as a robot cop sucks, but the character work and satire and worldbuilding are a huge part of the Robocop movie. Half the game is (optional) Deus Ex-ish hub quests with dialogue choices so you really get to feel like you're Robocop.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 10h

I have to give it credit for the humor, if you liked the bits of Robocop 2 where he's interacting with the public it has lots of fun bits like using Robocop to pull down a stuck garage lift or breakdancers asking him to do the robot or using his databanks to find a video tape at the rental store

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 10h

It takes place after Robocop 2 so they keep the good stuff from that like Nuke and Cain but there's no ninjas or jetpacks thankfully. Main plot seems fairly obvious but they take advantage of the medium for slower character stuff like Robocop seeing a therapist or doing station gruntwork

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 10h

if you're like me and find Screaming Mad George's aesthetics to be really silly and tryhard I cannot recommend the episode of Abject Suffering on this game enough podcasts.apple.com/gh/podcast/a...

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Robocop is one of my favorite movies and so far my only complaint writing-wise is that they sidelined Lewis and replaced her with a young Miles Morales type that feels way too modern and quippy compared to everyone else.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

My computer can barely run the Robocop game but it's worth it to issue parking tickets between missions for bonus xp

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

I always love getting to see what these cool aloof social engineer types are actually like when they aren't holding all the cards archive.is/rb9Nl

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Extra funny because peak Simpsons was very much into that "old people are stupid senile punchlines" comedy mindset so maybe internalizing that at a young age is part of why they're so scared of aging now

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Whenever I see someone online doing a street preacher rant about Marge Simpson sounding like death I wonder if they spend as much time and effort on the aging and mortality of their own parents or if they just sublimate it all to the cartoon parents.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

I feel bad for people my age who still have unexamined issues with their mortality and fly off the handle when they hear that Marge from the Simpsons or Dale from King of the Hill sounds older. Just being incredibly mean to an old person sounding old because you don't like being reminded of aging.

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

The original Borderlands is 16 years old so I feel bad for the generation of kids who are being forced to play Borderlands 4 with a parent gushing about how epic the millennial humor is and how they don't make games like this anymore and how they would have loved it at their age

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

now 30! I guess it's a good thing they backed down from the $80 price if they're struggling this obviously at $70

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Season 1: interesting location and characters and themes, albeit largely lifted from other writers
Season 2: Set in California, about Hollywood and roads and celebrities, stars Sad Gay Cop and Badass Lady Cop with Stoic Mobster on the side

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Season 2 was terrible and I will never understand the apologetics for it but this was the one time where just throwing out anything that comes to mind to come up with 8 episodes in less than a year resulted in something interesting even if it was only after the fact

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Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · 1d

Remember when Cary Fukunaga didn't return for season two of True Detective so Nic Pizzolatto put in a single scene of an asian director being an asshole for no reason. And then later it turned out Fukunaga was a predator so the jab was actually well-earned and not as petty as it looked.

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