Comments on Hit Self-Destruct: Badlands

great review, I will try both games.

2009-01-27T05:22:00.000+13:00

great review, I will try both games.

I was never really interested in Stalker until I r...

2008-09-15T02:57:00.000+12:00

I was never really interested in Stalker until I read your article, but now I'm definitely going to try to get a hold of it.

Pathologic sounds amazing, so I'm keeping an eye out for that one too.

Thanks, man. It was a beautiful article.

qrter: thank you for the Kafka comparison, because...

2008-09-05T17:50:00.000+12:00

qrter: thank you for the Kafka comparison, because I'm not anywhere near conversant enough in Russian literature to draw an appropriate parallel. After writing this post I did pick up Dostoevsky for the first time ever, so we'll see how that goes.

I can definitely believe The Witcher shares this kind of aesthetic. I still haven't played it since I decided to wait for the "expanded edition" which, as time goes on, may never actually be released. Who's laughing now. No one, really.

Yegwa, I hope you're able to give Pathologic a shot eventually, and Christopher, if you haven't played it, you should too. I actually recommend it more than Stalker, even though Stalker's definitely the better game. Any serious gamer will get SO MUCH out of the Pathologic experience even if they don't like it or don't finish it. It's really a must.

I think The Witcher fits in with this line of game...

2008-09-05T16:39:00.000+12:00

I think The Witcher fits in with this line of games, not only because it's a Polish game but because it has the same kind of edge to it, a sense of moral ambiguity, a sense that all the paths you can take are wrong but only because your idea of wrong and right doesn't work in this world.

I just reinstalled STALKER last evening, with the Oblivion Lost mod installed. I absolutely loved the first time I played the game. It comes down to the idea of a true nightmarish world, I think, where it's quite literally you against the world. Eventhough you know you can't really win, you keep going, the game almost becomes hypnotic, you want to see how bad it can get.

I did start playing Pathologic and I was impressed by its weirdness but I got distracted by real life things. I should reinstall it.

These kind of games remind me of Kafka (or his writing at least) - the outsider who visits new and terrifying lands (although it's never quite clear what exactly is so terrifying), who then decides he wants to flee those lands but constantly gets distracted by other complications.

There's a part of the human mind that enjoys experiencing wrongness, a general feel of unease and dread - when I say "enjoy", I mean it's the same kind of drive that pushes you to look at something awful eventhough you know you'll hate yourself for doing so.

Totally fascinating read. My current computer is ...

2008-09-04T21:44:00.000+12:00

Totally fascinating read. My current computer is way too wimpy to play Clear Sky, but I'll certainly visit the wasteland in the future. It's great to see these sorts of approaches come out of game development in parts of the world beyond Japan/America/W. Europe. Here's hoping we get more of this sort of cottage industry in the gaming world.

Very great read and excellent writing to boot.I wi...

2008-09-04T20:31:00.000+12:00

Very great read and excellent writing to boot.

I wish I could get my hands on Pathologic, but I don't think that I can get it from any stores that deliver to Nigeria. Piqued my interest ever since I read about it on rockpapershotgun.