Deus Ex Human Revolution EP37:A Bomb!

By Shamus Posted Thursday Mar 15, 2012

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 103 comments


Link (YouTube)

This part was a bit of a head-scratcher for me. Pritchard, if the signal is being jammed, then how are we able to talk at all? One thing that should never happen is people people having a conversation over the internet about how they can’t establish a connection over the internet.

And yes, this episode title is a jab at the bomb in the original Deus Ex.

Here is Spoony’s review of Final Fantasy X. Note that he HATED the game. I mean, I know he kind of rages against everything and that’s part of his charm, but I think he hated this with unusual fervor. I agree with all of the points against the game (Tidus was whiny, the game was too linear, Blitzball sucked, etc) but for some reason I liked it anyway.

 


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103 thoughts on “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP37:A Bomb!

  1. Pete says:

    Yet to watch the episode but I want to mention that my wonky internet connection had me at several times voice-chatting with someone over steam while being unable to browse the internet or send steam messages without trouble.

  2. JPH says:

    I actually thought the thing in the shipping container said “BRIAN .FCN” when I saw it.

  3. Nyctef says:

    Well, Pritchard says that the GPL is being blocked, but not voice communication. I guess the jammer only affects a specific frequency or protocol or something like that? A complete blackout of communications in a particular area would be pretty suspicious, anyway.

    1. SlowShootinPete says:

      The GPLs and Jensen’s voice communication would have to be at different frequencies anyway, otherwise you’d be able to hear the noise from the GPLs’ signal blending into Pritchard’s voice. Likewise, their speech would cause weird noise on the devices they’re using to scan for the GPLs. So that’s a reasonable explanation.

    2. Anorak says:

      GPL is presumably GPS. GPS jammers do already exist – lorry drivers use them to disguise where they are, in the same way they rig tachographs. When using a GPS jammer, all other frequencies still work, and you can still use a mobile phone, I think.

      1. Anorak says:

        Well duh, of course mobiles would still work. Completely different frequency. I think my point was that Jensen’s implanted GSM 3G device (or futuristic equivalent), is not being jammed. The blanket coverage that GPS give on the earth can be blocked by flooding those frequencies with noise, locally, so the GPL can’t find the satellite. Presumably, when the GPL is working, it transmits longitude & latitude back through his data connection. When it’s not working, it returns 404: Jensen not found.

        Why the conspiracy don’t just block the 3G connection too is weird – maybe all the mercenaries threatened to quit if they couldn’t check email on their smartphones.

        It also doesn’t explain why you can’t just do some basic triangulation from the cell towers. I think I’ll stop trying to explain away plot inconsistencies now :)

        1. Chris says:

          “Why the conspiracy don't just block the 3G connection too is weird ““ maybe all the mercenaries threatened to quit if they couldn't check email on their smartphones.”
          This is pretty likely actually, since you do come across guards standing about playing with smartphones.

          1. Pete says:

            Id like to think that the custom built military grade Sarif industries implants Jensen has run on either a proper radio or a satellite uplink instead of cell towers of all things.

    3. Piflik says:

      The real mystery is how Pritchard knows that Jensen is in Singapore while he still cannot track the scientists’ GPLs.

      1. Sumanai says:

        You can track rough location through 3G, if not GSM. I think the system checks proxies and servers and tracks what is the last one before hitting Jensen?

  4. Jeff R. says:

    All of the various NPCs in the game have the aug that metabolizes food into lead and gunpowder, allowing them to pull unlimited ammo out of their asses…

  5. Corpital says:

    What an explosion! Judging by the destruction of the wall around the window a normal person would need to leave the room and stroll away 10feet to escape the explosion!

    Climbing in a stasis pod? Wow. Just wow. I dont know any words strong enough to say how much I…disliked that. Gaaahh.

  6. Gamer says:

    I agree with you with regards to FF 10. All of Spoony’s criticisms (if memory serves) were completely valid, but I still love the game regardless.
    He also reviewed Final Fantasy 10-2. It was even more hilarious. Once more I enjoy the game while agreeing with him. I actually think that my enjoyment of the game made me agree more with him.
    http://spoonyexperiment.com/2011/07/10/final-fantasy-x-2-review-part-1/
    If Square-Enix dares to release Final Fantasy yearly like you guys joked about, I WILL be angry with you.
    Lastly (regarding FF10), the characters name is technically Tee-dus (read: Meg Ryan) because that’s the way those syllables are pronounced in Japanese. Most people do not care.

    On Topic:
    As the two guys above me said, perhaps voice chat just takes less bandwidth.
    I had no idea that a mech would come through if you were detected. I find that very neat.
    I really hope that Josh takes down Namir with melee. I just want to see the reaction of the cast with a series of innumerable combat taunts followed by THUMP!
    I’m somewhat disappointed that you aren’t going through Missing Link, but I understand. It would take far to long. I’d recommend that anyone who hasn’t bought that DLC do so because it is definitely worth it. It’s worth about 1/4th in both size and cost.

    1. MatthewH says:

      Maybe this solves last time’s balance question.

      If you sneak through, you face fewer bad guys, and as a result, need lump sum experience. If you go in guns blazing, you miss the lump sum experience but setting off all the alarms means you face more targets.

    2. AbruptDemise says:

      Most guard robots get activated (if they aren’t already activated before Adam gets there, or are scripted like in the rescue Malik sequence) when the alarm is sounded, since they’re part of the security system.

      Of course, they don’t get deactivated when you hack the alarm panel to turn off said alarm, you have to find the computer that controls them (and have the robot hacking aug) to do so. Which is exactly the kind of redundancy good security systems should have.

      Edit: Then again, smashing out the skylight to air drop them into the compound…

    3. SougoXIII says:

      Hey man! haven’t you heard of VersusXIII? People have been complaining that haven’t been releasing them FAST enough!

      On the Missing DlC: I was also hoping that they will cover it if not only to see that the developers have actually accept people’s criticisms and learn from them (i.e Boss fights). Which is refreshing to see.

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        I was hoping that theyd at least talk about it.I mean,Shamus has finished it by now,right?

      2. Gamer says:

        Oh I agree, no game should take 6 or more years before it even starts development. But a yearly release schedule would dilute the brand for me in the same way Assassin’s Creed almost did.

        Their is a middle ground there. A release schedule that gives them enough time to be different and refresh the brand without stringing the audience along.

        Another problem is that FF 13 and 13-2 were not very well received. 13 was horrible because it was in development for years and turned out mediocre.

        1. SougoXIII says:

          Totally agree with you there, I still haven’t touch Brotherhood or Revelation cause it just felt like Ubisoft is trying to milk Ezio as much as possible – one game was enough for that assshole.

          Though, to be fair 13-2 had like 2 years of development and it did fix a lot of gameplay problems that 13 had cept for the story (but that more of a problem with the writer than anything else.)

          I am actually looking forward to 13-3 for some reason… (I’m such a fanboy.)

    4. Thomas says:

      They said they wanted to move them to an Assassins Creed style release :(

      It’s terrible because the best thing about Final Fantasy is each game dares to do something different. It’s what makes it so divisive but it keeps things fresh. I think FF’s have single handedly innovated more than entire sections of the game industry. Just look at the IV, X, XI, XII, XIII progression and compare that to say, Medal of Honour and Call of Duty, made by two separate companies.

      Also FFX is my favourite game ever. It was the first game I really got sucked into playing and my brother would sit with me and wait til I got to the next cutscene so he could watch that. I think the linearity worked because it fitted the story. The basic idea was a journey through a broken world, and this slow dangerous travel where you were constantly fighting fitted that perfectly. Saying that most of Spoony’s criticisms were spot on (except for the Sphere Grid, I love that and I liked Blitzball too but I can understand why others didn’t). Voice acting wasn’t good though. It wasn’t bad, except for Tidus who was awful awful awful.

      1. Grampy_Bone says:

        I still think FF10 is the best out of the series, and I’ve played them all. The story, characters, setting, and battles all just clicked together really well. Its kinda why I don’t listen to Spoony. His videos are funny though.

        1. krellen says:

          10 was good, but 9 is still the best (6 is a close second.)

          1. Daemian Lucifer says:

            Wait,wasnt 7 considered to be the best?You are shattering my uninformed beliefs right now.

            1. Syal says:

              9 and 7 are both good, but 8 was the best. :)

              (Also 7 was considered the best before 8, 9, and 10 came out.)

              1. Thomas says:

                Ah Daemian, you can’t be a die hard fan of Final Fantasy and say that VII is the best, you’ve got to explain that the job system of VI and the normal pure-mad nature of Kefka elevate the game far beyond what those mere fans enjoy in VII.

                Except if you’re die die hard then you explain that the support of VI is only a backlash against it’s popularity and a true fan can play and enjoy VII much more than he would enjoy playing the elitest VI.

                The thing is FF games are so different, trying to unify the fan base is actually slightly harder than trying to find a Grand Unifying Theory of Everything.

                1. SougoXIII says:

                  The thing is FF games are so different, trying to unify the fan base is actually slightly harder than trying to find a Grand Unifying Theory of Everything.

                  Actually, being so different each game is the reason why I love FF so much. Am I the only who enjoy all of the mainline FF games? (except for the MMO’s since I don’t play them)

                  It always make me cringe when someone claim that Square/Jrpg’s (cause Square is the entire freaking genre) are growing stagnant.

                  1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                    But arent X-2 and XIII-2 against the rule of having a new shtick in every game,and therefore evidence of the series growing stagnant?

                    1. SougoXIII says:

                      Ahh, I was referring to the mainline FF of course (I, II, III etc…) The -2 sequels, do have some, while minor, changes to its predecessor (XIII-2 more than X-2 in this case.)

                      Edit: For the stagnation argument, the problem with Square is that people tend to only focus on their console output, not mention the majority of them only focus on FF (I’m apparently the only one who love Last Remnant to bits.) This is the problem when square only show them 1 medicore mainline FF game: XIII and its sequel XIII-2 so people are quick to jump on the band wagon.

                      However, if you’re looking at their portable output, they made some of the best games in the psp/ds library. Case in point FF Dissdia is one of the most innovative 3d fighting game I have ever seen this gen and I’m still having a blast with it even now.

                    2. Sumanai says:

                      @SougoXIII – That’s a different genre. When people say “FF is getting stagnant” they mean “jrpgs are getting stagnant”. If Square-Enix can create new stuff in other genres, good. But that doesn’t make jrpgs more relevant.

                    3. Thomas says:

                      X-2 definitely isn’t. Completely different gameplay mechanics, completely revamping of world. New themes, climbing, jumping, multi-path ending, non-linear story structure. Completely new levelling system.

                      The list of common things between X and X-2 is:
                      Rikku.

                      They basically even only really share 2 characters with each other (apart from cameos) and even then one of those has gone through a massive personality change

            2. Matt K says:

              I honestly thought FF 7 was terrible. I enjoyed FF9 though (and FF4 and 6).

    5. Sumanai says:

      I thought it was “teedus” because he is tedious.

      But really, “Tidus” would be pronounced that way in Finnish, so I’ve always registered it as such.

  7. Dennis says:

    Finally caught up to the episodes as they come out. Any chance SW will play ME3?

    1. Nyctef says:

      I’d be really suprised if they didn’t.

      (Strangely, I’m really hoping they resurrect Jack and Miranda, actually. Jack has some great missions, Miranda dies again anyway, and causes Tali to have one of the funniest scenes in the game)

      1. Tse says:

        Not really, she dies only if you don’t give her the info she requests at the citadel.

        1. Ringwraith says:

          Actually, I have noticed that a lot people keeping saying such-and-such dies when that really only happens in very few cases and only if you haven’t made the right choices to save them. A few deaths are either unavoidable or the ‘best’ outcome for that character, but that’s a small fraction and they all make sense regarding each individual’s position.

    2. Ringwraith says:

      It’ll be a while before they do Mass Effect 3, seeing as Shamus has only just started it.
      There might be something like Skyrim in the meantime, as I think it’s been mentioned before as a possible candidate, but of course, many things get nominated for Spoiler Warning…

  8. dovius says:

    Spoony has a habit of nicknaming the characters for lulz, such as naming Squall ‘Emo Git’ in his FFVIII series.
    There’s also Rhinoa and her dog, whom he gives rather vulgar names, which leads to much hilarity during the tutorials for how the dog functions.

    1. Sumanai says:

      Years ago, in a jrpg I can’t remember, I named my character “Crap” for no particular reason. I regretted the decision, feeling it was a bit too childish, after a couple of hours. Then my character “died” and was reunited with his friends. One of them went:
      “Crap! You’re alive!”

  9. Gruhunchously says:

    It would be nice to see the augmented enemies be able to use more “super” powers, though some of the larger guys do use a (much) weaker version of the typhoon.

    Also, the stasis pods were shipping in live subjects for the experiments on the Illuminati biochip. Tong mentions that they were being kidnapped off the streets.

    1. AbruptDemise says:

      Having augmented mooks use their augments more with a wider variety would have definitely been a plus. Heck, they don’t even need to have the same ones Jensen can get.

      That might have been the problem, the developement team tried to think of ways that they could put Jensen’s augs on enemies. Except most augments are passive things, or context-sensitive (punch-through-walls aug) which wouldn’t make much sense for the enemies to do themselves or be able to be picked up by the player that ‘hey, that guy’s using the see-through-walls augment on me!’.

      1. Gruhunchously says:

        Well, I can see how the see through walls aug could work, enemies could be able become alerted, or even hostile if the saw Jensen from behind a wall. Might be a bit of a pain for stealth players, though.

        1. Tse says:

          They would have to be alerted to activate the augment. Then they would be able to see you behind a wall and while invisible.

        2. Sleeping Dragon says:

          I can see how such an augment on guards would make perfect sense within the world of the game but can you even imagine the level of gameplay frustration with that? Especially if you stealthed. I mean, half the time you wouldn’t even know who spotted you.

          1. Gruhunchously says:

            I know. Maybe the guards would only activate it if they were already alerted, say, if they were looking for you after you ran away from them. They could see you behind cover and through your stealth generator. Frustrating, sure, but it would provide stealthy players a greater incentive not to get spotted in the first place. Combat oriented players wouldn’t mind as much.

            1. Olly says:

              Of course, the “Wayfinder Radar” augment could just have an additional unlock that displays enemy viewing arcs on Jensen’s radar map and highlights those that can see through walls in a different colour..

      2. Daemian Lucifer says:

        There are some passive augs that they could use,like the dermal armour,or flashbang protection,or emp/stun gun protection.Also,one more reason why melee shouldve remained in the form of weapons instead of a cutscene:You could have guys just rush you and try to punch/cut you.

        1. Thomas says:

          The problem with those and the above see-through walls is that they don’t really convey to the player well. I mean intellectually you can understand it, but it’d feel like an excuse.

          Strength/arm blades/jumping/some unique non-typhoon-but-similar weaponry and maybe an arm that turns into a portable shield might work.

          It’d need to really show off dominating though. Maybe in Hengsha 2 you should have come across a scripted event of a soldier intimidating a shopkeeper by punching through a wall. It would give an interesting quick dilemma, do you step in? People would already be angry about Malik and this might tip them over into killing Belltower. It would make Bt seem even more evil. Make better anti-aug points and it would make DX:HR feel more dynamic and less quest-hubby/gamey

  10. Thomas says:

    I was so excited when I thought Josh was going to have to buy the parachute aug. I genuinely felt like i’d one something.

    Darn you Josh

  11. Hitch says:

    Jensen’s brain wasn’t jellied because he “rode” the blast out the window. He was surfing the shock wave and getting carried along with it. It’s totally plausible. I’m sure Tory could demonstrate it on Mythbusters.

    1. Moon O'Riley says:

      Any explosion with a shockwave that has enough force to throw a person as far as Jensen was is also likely to cause significant internal injuries, especially to someone within 12ft of the bomb and no solid objects in between to cushion the blow.

      Mythbusters have done a couple of episodes that illustrate the affects of shockwaves: Dive to survive & What is bombproof. Based on those episodes his best bet would have been to run back out of the room and hide behind the wall.

      1. anaphysik says:

        FWIW, I read Hitch’s post as satire.

        1. Thomas says:

          Im sure Dermal plating solves all problems related to this scene :D

  12. Ramsus says:

    Shamus, what was up with your reaction to Matt Damon? I could see it for Ben Afflek but, my undying inexplicable love of Matt Damon compels me to ask. (Seriously, don’t ask me to explain that position, I have no answers.)

    1. Sagretti says:

      He’s quoting Team America: World Police. Matt Stone and Trey Parker actually have nothing against Matt Damon, apparently, his puppet just came out looking terrible, so they decided to roll with it and make it a running joke.

      1. Ringwraith says:

        He’s also a good sport about it, and doesn’t seem offended at all.

  13. Rasha says:

    This episode was *shades* the bomb. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      3…2…1…let the comments
      *puts sunglasses over regular glasses*
      explode with puns.

      YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      EDIT:Oh,its no fun when you cant break the wall with the yeah.

      1. Even says:

        You can still copypaste it to see it in all its glory.

  14. Marlowe says:

    Jensen spent four days recovering from his hangover in the pod. As for urination – he is augmented.

    1. Milos says:

      He has special pouches on his hips where the urine gets redirected until he can reach a toilet. Imagine the possibilities!

      1. Marlowe says:

        I was thinking more along the lines of a Fremen stillsuit and recycled urine:

        It’s basically a micro-sandwich “” a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system. The skin-contact layer’s porous. Perspiration passes through it, having cooled the body … near-normal evaporation process. The next two layers . . . include heat exchange filaments and salt precipitators. Salt’s reclaimed. Motions of the body, especially breathing and some osmotic action provide the pumping force. Reclaimed water circulates to catchpockets from which you draw it through this tube in the clip at your neck… Urine and feces are processed in the thigh pads.

  15. Andrew B says:

    Because, you know, you all read the comments and actually care when we tell you these things, I feel compelled to point out that the non-exploding dude was out of range. All the non-sniper weapons have an effective range, which is indicated by the laser sight dot. (If there’s a dot, it’s in range. If not, out of range.) Beyond that range the bullet simply poofs out of existence, hence no explosion.

    The endless tranq round misses were just because you suck, though. ;). (Actually, they are because the tranq rounds drop downwards pretty fast, meanin you need to aim several feet above a distant baddie to hit them.)

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      So the fast flying bullet travels through air less than a slow flying and much heavier tranq dart?

      1. Andrew B says:

        Yep. Didn’t say it made sense, just how it works in Jensenland! :)

  16. James says:

    Just before I placed the bomb I actually did think to myself “Wait, what reason does Tong have to not make this blow up the instant I turn it on?” So after placing it and seeing the timer all I could say was “Ah”.

  17. Infinitron says:

    Josh: I think the tranq dart’s trajectory is arc-shaped. Aim high.

  18. MatthewH says:

    Random thoughts after watching the video.

    1.) I don’t think Tong is involved in the smuggling operation – but he does know about it.

    2.) I’ve heard it suggested that the pods are transporting women for the Hyron project. I think it’s slightly less disturbing if we pretend it was just for transporting prostitutes to Singapore. Yes, that is how horrific I think the Hyron project is – I would prefer to think the smugglers are merely engaging in human trafficking.

    3.)Taggart may not be a luminary of the industry, but I presume he has at least as much influence in governmental action as the ACLU or the NRA -any well-organized interest group, really.

    4.) While part of me likes the idea that the hostages are partly Stockholmed, Dr. Colvin’s response still annoys me. Almost as much as Dr. Megan “Ethics? What Ethics?” Reed’s quisling. But really “I nearly died trying to save your life -and you saw it happen -and, for that matter you were talking to me 10 minutes before it happened. But thanks, I liked you too.”

    5.) On the bomb – Tong does tell Jensen that the fuse is short. I figured it was a preset thing, rather than an attempt to kill Jensen.

    1. Ringwraith says:

      Who designs a bomb like that though?!
      I can’t think of any practical application unless you could trigger it remotely somehow.

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        Or if you want to screw someone over.Or if you are 160 years old.

        1. Thomas says:

          Tong was trying to kill him. He’s not a nice man, his workplace is actually littered with dead bodies and for some unknown reason a mobster was letting Jensen off for killing one of his most valuable assets, more than that, he was helping out of the goodness of his heart?

          No. As the CASIE says, Tong always puts on a face and likes to play games with people. That’s probably why the timer was 10 seconds rather than 0. He was chuckling to himself at the idea of Jensen seeing that and realising what he’d done and who he was messing with.

          You have to respect Tong, bombing a rival, creating a distraction for his son and killing an enemy without lifting a finger? Whilst the person he sent to die was actually thanking him? It’s not hard to see Tong survived even against Belltower

      2. MatthewH says:

        It’s not a large bomb -big enough to blow up a room. It might be something like an anti-tank grenade. Those only have a few second fuses. Had Jensen done as Tong suggested and readied his escape ahead of time, he’d have been fine. He could have even stood in the doorway, pulled the arming pin and flung it into the room and been fine.

    2. littlefinger says:

      (Major Missing Link Spoilers)

      the DLC confirms that

      a) Tong is very much involved in the smuggling rig, there’s someone who insists that “there’s been a mistake, Mr Tong assured me I could pay him back as soon as I had the money!” (or something like that).

      b) The smuggling ring is very much to supply various factories with enough people to manufacture Hyron Project Wetware (the women in white).

      c) More Hyron-project mainframes are planned, about 5 of them IIRC. One of them is on the moon.

      d) People part of a Hyron mainframe break down and die/go into deep coma a year after being “plugged in”. The facility Jensen visits in Missing Link is part assembly, part R&D to make subjects last longer.

      Can I also state that I dislike the main villain for Missing Link? The guy’s pretty much a Josef Mengele stand-in. I liked killing him but could we please have a little more subtlety?

      1. Packie says:

        “Can I also state that I dislike the main villain for Missing Link? The guy's pretty much a Josef Mengele stand-in. I liked killing him but could we please have a little more subtlety?”

        I actually liked the fact that I hated the asshole despite how one-note he was. I mean compared to the main bosses in the main game whom I know next to nothing about or care. At least, they gave us a reason to care in the Missing Link.

        1. littlefinger says:

          That is true, there was an actual connection, which I can’t say about -however the mute woman was called.

  19. Daemian Lucifer says:

    Final fantasy is Spoony’s mass effect 2.

    Corporations in this game act like they own the world,like they are some kind of…whats the word…syndicates.On the topic of syndicates,its weird how that one rode in the shadow of x-com backlash,and became a first person shooter without a peep.Shamus and co,did you try the new and improved syndicate?

    1. Shamus says:

      I never played the original, so yeah, the whole controversy kind of skated by me.

      1. Irridium says:

        Well, it’s now on GoG, if you’re interested.

      2. Sumanai says:

        Apparently the marketing blurb for the original Syndicate focused on the fact that you’re the big bad at the top of the syndicate, not just a grunt. And the perspective supported this (in-game you’re in a blimp and controlling the troops from above). And some people have been asking for a new Syndicate game for years.

        In the nu-Syndicate you’re a grunt, playing in first person. Not exactly what people were asking for. Some think that it’s trying to ride the wave created by Human Revolution, though I don’t think that’s what’s actually happening, since it was released to soon afterwards.

        From what I’ve understood, the only thing special about original Syndicate was its gameplay and the fact you were the top dog. So taking only the run of the mill cyberpunk setting smells like IP harvesting, which understandably upsets people.

        Personally I hate the fact it’s called just “Syndicate”. A subtitle or a number would’ve been nice, EA.

        1. Daemian Lucifer says:

          Syndicate:Give us your moneys.

          1. Sumanai says:

            You reminded me of one of the nu-Syndicate videos, that had blurbs that implied EA was either taking the piss out of themselves, or they were showing a complete lack of self-consciousness. I think one of them was “companies always lie” or something to that effect.

  20. Friend of Dragons says:

    Yeah, I didn’t get the bomb either. If Tong wanted it to kill Jensen, why give him ten seconds (Plenty of time for Jensen to RUN OUT THE DOOR HE CAME IN rather than wasting all that time on the window) rather than just one or two seconds?? (or zero). And if he didn’t want Jensen dead, why not give him a reasonable window like thirty seconds or a minute?

    Maybe he couldn’t make up his mind ;)

    1. tengokujin says:

      “Hey, rude boy, if you want to live, you need to anticipate when you piss someone off enough that they send you on suicide mission. First 10 seconds free,” is how I imagine his line of thought.

    2. Even says:

      Given that the explosion covered about the whole floor, I doubt 10 seconds would be enough just running away from it. Jensen jumping out the window and surviving would be passable if he fell down far enough before the explosion to avoid the worst of the blastwave.

      1. tengokujin says:

        There’s also the likelihood of some “improvements” to his organic bits that might not be listed.

        I’m drawing from Gunnm(Battle Angel Alita) here, but what if he has a non-Newtonian fluid cushioning his organs and such from external shock?

        Also, quite a large chunk of him is just metal and plastic, designed to take high impact damage (e.g., walls, bullets).

        Also, going through the windows this time around?

        One, he’s been augmented.
        Two, he’s not breaking the window with his body: notice the hard work’s already been done by the chair, and he’s simply scattering the pieces with his mass.
        Three, he’s not being thrown, he’s throwing himself out, i.e, the difference between being blindsided and being aware of what to prepare himself for.

    3. littlefinger says:

      The only way I can explain the bomb timer is if it was supposed to be a heavy-handed warning to Jensen never to intrude on Tong’s territory again…

      How about a phone call, Tong Si Hung? Too old-fashioned for you?

  21. John the Savage says:

    Final Fantasy X is a mystery: it’s a great game to remember, but a terrible game to play. On the macro level, it’s a beautiful story of love, loyalty and sacrifice. On the micro level, it’s a tedious slog through endless grinding, idiot characters and terrible voice acting.

    I play piano, and my favorite piece to play is the ending theme from Final Fantasy X. I played it for a recital six years ago, and I’ve kept playing it as my warm-up routine ever since (I find that the heart needs to be warmed up as much as the hands). It’s a beautiful piece on its own merit, but when you know it’s context, and recognize all the musical themes that have developed and gained meaning through the course of the game, the piece is amazing. I have brought tears to my eyes, playing that piece and thinking about the scene which it accompanies.

    Then when I actually watch the scene, I’m reminded just how utterly ridiculous every character looks, sounds, behaves and thinks. And then when I sit down for the Tipping Forties’ Let’s Play of the game, I see the game as a great story with a poor delivery (and also a hilarious LP).

    1. James says:

      I feel the exact same way about FF X. It really is a strange beast. Both fun and horrible at the same time, like some bizarre videogame Ying-Yang.

      But I will always remember it fondly just because of Yojimbo, that whole concept made me laugh for some reason.

      *Tactic to beat game- Pay Yojimbo money until everything is dead*

      1. Gamer says:

        I found that Yojimbo broke my immersion slightly. Aeons are formed by merging the souls of the summoner and faith. Also, the faith of Yojimbo essentially spends all his time in the cave and has no use for money. So why would he charge to fight for you when he’s part of your own power and the half that isn’t has no use for money.

        It never made sense to me. I never used Yojimbo after I got him because I couldn’t afford to use him.

        1. James says:

          It really didn't make sense at all. I think that's why I found it funny.

          He's actually the product of Square's bad habit of splitting the story and the gameplay. For the most part in X the two parts co-existed, the aeons being the primary example, but they've never fully been able to link the two and always end up throwing something into the game part they never consider for the story part.

          Being able to shoot fireballs or slow down time would have been useful in some cinematic pieces in many games, yet for the sake of plot there ignored. It’s funny since we have this same issue with Mr Adam-Forgets-To-Sneak-Suddenly.

          1. Gamer says:

            The thing with spells and all that is that the game developers cannot know for sure if you have those spells or skills. Thus I accept that break from Story.

            But with Yojimbo, the very fact that he exists runs contrary to the very premise of Aeons and summoners. People reference spells and such all the time. (Remember why Rikku has a fear of lightning. They even lampshaded someone selling you items before a boss battle when they would die if you lose.) Not linking story and game isn’t the same as the game breaking the story.

            I just remembered a scene in FF5 where one of the main characters is about to die and the party tries to use spells like Cure and Raise on him. The problem is that he exhausted himself so extensively that his body can no longer be healed. I though it was a nice touch that they acknowledged the gameplay mechanics and used them in a cutscene because really: Why didn’t they try using a Pheonix Down on Aeris?

            1. Sumanai says:

              A friend of mine had a reason: The materia that drops has her… life essence? Soul? Anyway, a piece of her. Without it she can’t be revived.

              Sounds bollocks to me, but whatever rocks your boat.

              Other explanation is that Phoenix Down doesn’t actually raise dead, since you’re only “knocked unconscious” in battle.

  22. anaphysik says:

    Never played any FF games, but for what it’s worth: Tidus’ name in the Japanese game is ティーダ (Tiida) – though note that the ‘i’ used here makes the same sound as IPA’s [i], that is, ‘ee,’ so the correct pronunciation would be like ‘teeda’ (though the ‘ee’ would be extra long).

    Point is, the “Teedus” pronunciation is a better mapping of the original name. (Whether or not that matters is another issue altogether.)

  23. RCN says:

    Oh, come on, the reason Tong gave you a 10 second bomb is because he is a troll. Your first conversation with him makes this obvious. He’ll always, ALWAYS fuck up people from outside his circle when they seek him out.

  24. Thomas says:

    One thing the game missed was accidental misuse of augments.

    They needed a sidequest where a nice guy got drunk and had an argument with a friend and hit him before he realised he was too strong to be hitting anyone any more.

    1. Wandring says:

      I like the idea of a misuse of augments… The dangers of drinking and operating heavy equipment by simply walking down the street!

      I’d like to see a public service announcement about THAT… :P

  25. Daemian Lucifer says:

    Damn your tweets Shamus.Now I cant wait for you to finish,so that I can finally link you The Theory.

    1. Sumanai says:

      Heh. I know the frustrating feeling of wanting to discuss, or tell, something to someone but you have to wait until they finish something.

  26. Vekni says:

    You liked FFX because it was the first FF game to actually be *ABOUT* something, and making a game where the entire point is saying “religion is a stupid shame meant to manipulate people” is pretty brazen for a pop video game.

    1. Shamus says:

      Uh… that’s not the message I took away from the game. That’s all you.

      1. Rasha says:

        Although I can tell you very easily where he gets it. Why is the final boss named after the same group that has been trying to kill you for half the game while sacrificing an endless line of innocents to said final boss? Further still the leaders of said group are openly subverting the teachings handed to the normal people whenever they find it convenient going so far as to say that the natural order of death shouldn’t apply to them and even using the same tech they use as an excuse to demonize the Al Bhed. Silliest of all though is the talk with the wise old guy who says openly that the hymn of the fayth was originally a song declaring defiance of bevelle in old zanarkand during the war. Yes this game has some screwed up themes that can easily be taken multiple ways. Not saying it’s explicitly trying to piss off all religions, but it can hardly be said that said interpretation is completely baseless. I personally could care less as hey since when has any final fantasy made base logical sense? I would like to hear your take on all of that though.

    2. Sumanai says:

      Only thing I really registered was that it was against blindly following people in high positions, since power tends to corrupt. Which I think was a topic in FF4,6,9 and Tactics Advance.

      I can see your point, but I don’t feel that’s what they were going for.

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