Welcome back to GameSpot Q&A a weekly section where we ask our staff and readers an interesting discussion question about video games. Look at this as a forum where you and others can discuss and compare your opinions of this beloved hobby of ours. Let us know what your answer is to this week's question in the comments below!
This week's question is:
What is your all-time favorite video game quote?
Video games can oftentimes be a medium that delivers the most memorable dialogue. Be it from a game you love or absolutely hate, what's your favorite quote from a video game? Here's some of our top personal picks.
Sunset Riders, Last Alert, and much more. | Rob Crossley
In my search for some profound video game quotes, or at least something as cool as quips from films and books, I found absolutely nothing. However, a quick search in the other direction--for quotes so bad that they're kind of awesome--came up with dozens of candidates. Among the best: Sunset Riders' "Bury Me With My Money", Castlevania's "What is a man", and of course this all-time classic from Barry in Resident Evil: "You were almost a Jill sandwich." But it'll be hard to find anything as glorious as this thoroughly nonsensical quip from Last Alert: "People will hate you, Steve, if you're too sting-ee."
Metal Gear Solid | Daniel Hindes
"Do you think love can bloom, even on a battlefield?" Said by Otacon to Snake in what is probably the most melodramatic moment of the first Metal Gear Solid, the quote perfectly encapsulates the tone of the entire game, and how it walks a fine line between seriousness and silliness.
Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Peter Brown
Dracula: It was not by my hand I was once again given flesh. I was brought here by humans who wished to be me tribute!
Richter: Tribute!? You steal men's souls, and make them your slaves!
Dracula: Perhaps the same could be said of all religions…
Psychonauts and The Longest Journey | Kevin VanOrd
It must be this one from Psychonauts. Dogen: What do you think's wrong with my brain, doctor? Dr. Loboto: How should I know? I'm a dentist.
On a more serious note, I'd like to add this one, slightly modified to make better sense, from The Longest Journey. "Life, even when difficult and painful, is a gift. Love is priceless, and rare, and precious. Every good action, every good thought, counts."
Psychonauts (2005)
Fable II | Eddie Makuch
"And so our story begins." That line is stuck in my memory thanks to Fable II. Theresa says it to open the game, and it's repeated every time you boot up. Now I want to play Fable II again...
Bloodborne and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand | Chris Watters
"May you find your worth in the waking world." This parting blessing from the Doll in Bloodborne is both consoling and motivating, a balm and goad all in one. I want to adopt this as a farewell in my actual life.
"Oh, I do all my banking online." This is an actual retort spoken by 50 Cent in 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.
Bloodborne (2015)
Full Throttle | Edmond Tran
"Whenever I smell asphalt, I think of Maureen..." - Ben, Full Throttle. The opening monologues of my most cherished games usually bring a tear to my eye every time I hear them, and that's one of them. Another is the Fallout 1 version of the "War... War Never Changes" monologue. I never would've guessed how iconic that line became. I love those games.
It may be tempting to dismiss Supernova as another generic attempt to enter the multiplayer online battle arena genre. However, developer Primal Game Studio has taken elements usually found in a MOBA game and mixed it with the traits of a real-time strategy game. The result? Something that plays like League of Legends meets StarCraft 2, set in a sci-fi universe. I had some hands-on time with the alpha version of the game and spoke to product manager Jason Schaefer about how Supernova offers something different, and why he thinks games like League of Legends and Dota 2 won't always be the leaders in the MOBA genre.
As is characteristic of MOBA games, Supernova places players in direct control of a single unit who is called a Commander and possesses unique skills. The goal is to destroy the enemy team's base, which spawns units periodically. These armies of minions travel along a predetermined path to the enemy base.
The similarities end there, however. In MOBA games like League of Legends and Dota 2, creeps spawn autonomously and players are limited in the ways they can influence the wave of minions. In Supernova, players pick which units they want to make up the army, and can choose to upgrade them. Units are added or upgraded using resources, which increase each time a wave of creeps spawn. Additional resources are gained when killing an enemy commander. You can delay spending these resources to buy more the powerful units, but risk having the enemy push further through your defences while you pool resources. Players are also able to sell units to change up their army composition.
Different minion types possess different strengths and weaknesses, and are classed as either a ground or air unit. Choosing the correct units to form the army which travels towards your enemy's base is crucial to victory. Some units have special attacks that are effective against other particular unit types, and I altered my own wave composition to counter that of my enemy's.
For example, the enemy's army was comprised largely of raptors, an air unit, so I picked the coyote unit which would directly counter them. The coyotes I chose automatically prioritised killing off the raptors in the enemy's wave, thus swinging the balance of the wave in my favour.
The strategy elements of the game can run deep, but the game allows the option to turn an auto-pick feature on, which handles army management automatically and helps to ease new players in. I found the feature to be especially helpful as I figured out what combination of skills worked best for the commander I was using, and familiarised myself with the layout of the map. Supernova does not have items, instead allowing players the ability to customise their commander builds through the selection of Masteries.
Interestingly, the focus on strategy has resulted in Supernova's ability to be forgiving for players experiencing higher latency--something which I, who regularly experiences the shortcomings of Australian internet, was intrigued to hear. I also enjoyed experimenting with different types of unit compositions in my army, using a strategy which revolved around picking units which directly countered those of my enemy's. It was a simple tactic to start off on, but proved effective against my AI-controlled opponent. It will be interesting to see how countering unit compositions play out between two skilled players.
Reflexes take a back seat to strategy in Supernova, something which Schaefer describes as an intentional design choice. For example, the game does not include the last-hit mechanic, which is a central gameplay feature in games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. The mechanic focuses on the player's ability to land the killing blow on minions for extra money and experience, which in turn has heavy influence on the outcome of the game.
"It was [removed] on purpose, and for a specific reason. When we look at other MOBAs that have that last-hit mechanic, it really emphasises the whole gameplay being really revolved around that. Especially early game. That's a very mechanical type of gameplay. With Supernova, we want strategy to count just as much if not more. By removing a last-hit mechanic it allows you to focus equal parts on working on your army and making sure your army is optimised and performing well. It makes it less about knowing the exact mechanics and executing the exact mechanics and more high-level, and forming a strategy," Schaefer said.
"Yes, timing counts for a lot on Supernova, but even when you're battling a commander one-on-one, we've seen that even a medium latency is perfectly fine," Schaefer explained.
"One thing we have noticed is the game is pretty stable and is still a good experience even if you have a semi-high ping. It's not really dependent on really low pings. So we've been happy to see that. That being said, we are making plans and starting the efforts of expanding different server locations throughout the world. The next one that we do will probably be based in Europe. We do plan to eventually have global support."
Although publisher Bandai Namco describes the game primarily as a MOBA, Schaefer said that he hoped that the strategy elements Supernova introduces will be enough to draw players who are familiar with the genre but are looking for something new. He was confident that games like League of Legends and Dota 2 wouldn't maintain their lead in the genre.
"Those games have both done very well and there's a lot to learned from their success. Especially League of Legends, it's been around for a long time now, [it's] kind of been in the lead for a long time. What we've seen is that experienced MOBA players who for example were playing League of Legends for four years, they're getting tired of it, they're getting a little burned out. They'll come try out Supernova and they find it a very refreshing and new experience that revitalises their interest not only in MOBAs but also RTS. When we have our alpha test phases and we send out surveys after to get feedback, one of the questions is what other games have you played, what kind of MOBA experience do you have. A large portion is previous MOBA players who have four plus years and they're kind of ready for something new. And we're ready to give them something new."
Bandai Namco plans to release the closed beta phase of Supernova at the end of July for PC.
Ultra-Rare Nintendo PlayStation Console Has Been Found: The result of a failed partnership between Nintendo and Sony, the items is considered to be the Holy Grail of game memorabilia. Click through the link above to see some images and read about how it was found.
Batman: Arkham Knight PC Problems Were Known "For Months": According to alleged testers, Arkham Knight publisher Warner Bros. knew about the game's PC problems for a long time but instead decided to focus on the console versions.
Nintendo has published the English translation of a recent shareholder briefing. Check out the entire Q&A here to hear directly from president Satoru Iwata and managing director Shigeru Miyamoto about a range of topics, including Wii U, NX, E3, smartphone games, and a lot more.
Heading to San Diego Comic-Con next week? Want to check out some Nintendo games and experiences? You're in luck, as Nintendo is again heading to the show. The company this week announced its plans for the event, which includes game demos at a special lounge and some gaming tournaments. Get the full rundown here.
Microsoft wants Minecraft in the classroom, and that's pretty darn cool. Read more about it here.
Who will be on the cover of NHL 16? Now we know it won't be one athlete, but two. Gracing the cover this year are Chicago Blackhawks' stars and recent Stanley Cup-winners Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Get the full story here.
Curious about the state of the video game industry in Europe? It's your lucky week, as GDC Europe organizers this week announced the results of a new study that covers European developers. Among the findings is PC topping mobile as the most popular development platform. Get all the stats here.
PlayStation Plus launched five years ago this week. Wow. Has it really been that long? If you were a member from day one, Sony is sending you a special gift. Check your email!
Curious about the future of Facebook? Founder Mark Zuckerberg held another online Q&A this week, tackling questions about the social network, virtual reality, and more. Read the full thing here.
If fans had stopped demanding The Last Guardian, Sony might have canceled it. That's according to the guy who would have made the call, PlayStation president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida, who talk about the long-in-development game in an interview with Edge recently.
Gaming giant Riot Games, developer of League of Legends, has announced an unspecified investment in Curse Inc. Read more about the deal here in this blog post.
Here's the first full-length trailer for the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, which hits theaters in October. It stars Michael Fassbender as the late Steve Jobs, and it certainly looks very promising. Check it out.
Xbox One racing game Forza Motorsport 6 will have more than 450 cars in all. We now know a lot more of them, thanks to a new Xbox Wire blog post that reveals a handful of the new cars, including the 2002 Ferrari Enzo Ferrari and 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C. Man, they look good. Read the full blog post to see all the Forza 6 cars announced so far.
Technology giant Sony, maker of the PlayStation 4, has announced its own internal crowdfunding initiative called First Flight. Sony describes it as an " internal framework for supporting and fostering new business and product creation that goes beyond existing organizational boundaries." Read more about it here.
Kotaku has a great interview with Patrice Desilets, the creator of Assassin's Creed who is now out on his own, working on his first independently produced game in years, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. Read the full interview here.
The Genesis Starliner. No, it's not the name of a new indie rock band. It's the name of the latest ship added to Star Citizen, the PC space game that's raised an incredible $85 million. Get all the details about the new ship here.
Here's something to (sorta) hold you over until Fallout 4 arrives in November. From a fan comes this epic 4K Fallout 4 wallpaper. It's really very good. Check it out here.
Polygon has an excellent, wide-ranging interview with Microsoft about some of the changes coming to Halo 5: Guardians' multiplayer mode. It's a great, in-depth read and worth any Halo fan's time. Read the full interview here.
One extremely dedicated and enterprising Fallout fan has built his own fully operational Pip-Boy. Check out some images and read about how he did it here.
Are we finally going to soon hear about Beyond Good & Evil 2? According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot...maybe. Read an interview here from The Guardian, but be aware that it's one big tease.
The video was debuted at Minecon, which is taking place in London on July 4 and July 5, and shows a group of intrepid adventurers--one of which is voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt--encountering "something weird" in the world of Minecraft.
After a catastrophic event causes everyone to flee, the crew of heroes decide to stick together and try to save the universe.
"Players will control protagonist Jesse throughout the season, as portrayed by actor Patton Oswalt," Telltale explains. "Jesse and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon."
"The Order is the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong... something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion."
Along with Oswalt, Minecraft: Story Mode's voice cast also includes Brian Posehn (Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer), Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us), Scott Porter (Batman: Arkham Knight), Martha Plimpton (The Goonies), Dave Fennoy (The Walking Dead), Corey Feldman (The Goonies), Billy West (Futurama), and Paul Reubens (The Nightmare Before Christmas).
"We've worked closely with the amazing team at Mojang to ensure this story is a natural fit for the Minecraft world fans already know and love," said Telltale Games CEO Kevin Bruner.
"As Jesse, players will steer their own path through a tale of adventure and survival; all brought to life by an all-star cast. Through Telltale's choice-based gameplay and a story spanning from the Nether to the Farlands, the End, and beyond, we can't wait for fans to experience this new take on the beloved world of Minecraft."
"The interactive storytellers at Telltale are giving players the chance to explore their own unique interpretation of the Minecraft universe," added Mojang's Owen Hill. "They've crafted a story that follows the logic of Minecraft, but still manages to feel original. It's actually pretty funny too. And the pig is adorable. We're super excited about players digging deeper into the world of Minecraft: Story Mode later this year."
Announced in December 2014, Minecraft: Story Mode will be developed primarily by Telltale Games, in collaboration with Minecraft creator Mojang, which is subsidiary of Microsoft.
Like the majority of Telltale's episode series, the game will tell an original story "driven by player choice."
"Telltale's series will mix new characters with familiar themes, in an entirely original Minecraft experience, inspired by the Minecraft community and the game that continues to inspire a generation," the studio previously explained.
Addressing the visual style of Telltale's series, Mojang has said Story Mode "won't look exactly like Minecraft," but will "feel authentic in its own special way."
In addition to Minecraft: Story Mode--and the games mentioned above--Telltale is also working on Game of Thrones and The Wolf Among Us, which is based on the Fables comic series.
In April 2015 Telltale announced a partnership with Marvel Comics: "We're excited to reveal an all-new partnership with the incredible team at Marvel Entertainment. We'll be teaming up on the development of an upcoming Telltale game series project set to premiere in 2017!"
Among the complaints leveled at Destiny were those involving the uncharismatic performance of Ghost, your robotic companion. Better dialogue could have helped, and as it turns out, Bungie did solicit two well-known comedians for that purpose, though their work apparently went unused.
Speaking with IGN, David Cross--best known as Tobias Funke from Arrested Development and for his work on Mr. Show with Bob Odenkirk--revealed that he spent a brief time working on dialogue for Ghost. He said he did this along with fellow comedian (and Mr. Show alum) Brian Posehn, both of which were flown to Bungie HQ for a few days prior to Destiny's release.
"Brian Posehn and I got asked and jumped at the chance," Cross said in a new podcast. "We were flown up to Bellevue, Washington to do a punch-up on the Ghost character in Destiny about a year ago. We were both very excited about it. They did not use a single, solitary thing that we wrote, which is a shame because we wrote some stuff that--you know, we're gamers, and they… I would imagine somebody somewhere said, 'We can't inject this levity or humor into it.'"
Cross went on to say he's played Destiny and--like so many others--found Ghost to be somewhat lacking.
"[W]hen you're at an hour 20 of that thing, it's like the Ghost is kind of monotone saying this thing, 'We must get over the ridge. That's the Cabal--we've got to defeat him.' Whatever, it's boring as s***, and I speak for myself and Brian, and I know thousands if not millions of other gamers would be like, 'It would be nice to have a joke or something in there.' You think we're going to f*ck with the tone? But it was very exciting to go up there and get paid to play a video game a year before it came out."
He couldn't remember any specifics of what he or Posehn had written, but described some of it as "self-reverential," while other things were "winking to gamers."
Cross has done some work in games before, voicing characters in Halo 2 (which Bungie developed prior to Destiny) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Posehn, too, did some voicework for Halo 2.
Update: The PSN status page shows that all services are now up and running.
Original Story: Following a service alert earlier this week, Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation Network is again experiencing issues on Friday.
In a tweet from the PlayStation support account, Sony stated, "We're aware that PSN is experiencing connectivity issues. Thank you for your patience as we investigate."
The PSN status page reveals that most services--including gaming, account management, and the PlayStation Store--are all affected to varying degrees. This means you may run into issues when trying to sign into PSN, access content on the store, play games, view your friends list, and so on.
PlayStation Video is also affected by today's issues, with PlayStation Now and PlayStation Vue are the only services to reportedly be working properly.
We'll be keeping an eye on the situation and will update this story with any further developments.
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