Citrus Service: Thoughts

Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

"V has come to."

I played this when it came out on the Playstation 4 and even got the Platinum Trophy for it. Now, after 11 years I do the same but on PC. This is a 'solid' (pun intended) contender for a game that is infinitely replayable or at least worth revisiting on a semi-yearly bases.

I enjoy games about stealth. The Assassin's Creed series, Hitman, Tom Clancy's games, and the occasional Sniper Elite. However, none of these games managed to reach this height of stealth sandbox that MGS:V offers.

Me and a friend playing the Co-op mod.

While the story is incomplete due to the whole Kojima fiasco, when he left Konami on less than ideal terms. I'm glad they went ahead and released this game.

To me the story of the Metal Gear franchise is a mixed bag of real world conflicts and fictitious advanced technology. Having only played Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, 4: Guns Of The Patriots, and V: The Phantom Pain to completion. The main appeal to me is the stealth and military setting of the franchise. With the weakest thing to me in all of them, is whenever the Mechas are unveiled, aka the metal gears. Metal gears are always treated in the world of the games as the ultimate Dreadnaught; a weapon surpassing nuclear weapons, despite being a platform to launch them! Oh and I dislike Mechas in general.

I love the nerdy gun facts of MGS3 and it's setting. I love the actual gameplay of MGSV and freedom to complete your missions in any way you want. But man! Is the story so convoluted and complex for the sake of being complex and nothing else. My friends' group grew up on this series, unlike me. I don't have a favorite character or moments from these games. I'm here for the fun gameplay and cool setting. With that said I'd like to try and play Peace Walker, it released recently as a remaster and I might grab it during a sale. I'm hesitant due to the low graphics quality of the game, but I'm really curious about it.

Your base of operations: Mother Base, has some nicely designed signs and iconography, that always manage to catch my eye. In my head, these signs are made to be as clear as possible to account for the fact that the soldiers of Mother Base are from all around the world; and thusly speak different languages! So having a universally designed signs to break the language barrier—Same as the pictograms of the Munich Olympics of 1972 (Watch this video for context)—is a really cool touch.

In the end. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is The most definitive stealth game in the world, undisputed since 2015. Fun movement options and numerous available playstyles are valid and accounted for. In addition to a vast arsenal of toys, gadgets, and weapons for you to tinker around and experiment with.

Remember to press every button and have fun!

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Thursday, June 11, 2026

Jeeves and Wooster (1990)

A splendid British classic!

I got into this show through a weird roundabout way; I recently—at the time of writing—learnt that an old search engine called Ask Jeeves has been sadly terminated after many years of service. This marked the first time that I've heard of the name Jeeves.

Now, this wasn't the only thing that pushed me to look forward to watching the show, I was window shopping some old books on Amazon, there I spotted The Encyclopedia of Trivia by Worth, Fred L, published 1974 and what I usually like to do with any book that catches my attention, is that I look for the book on the Internet Archive to assess whether the book is worth acquiring or not. By complete chance, as I was skimming through the pages, I landed on the name Jeeves. The entry says:

"Butler of Bertie Wooster in P.G. Wodehouse novels".

At that moment my curiosity was at it's peak. I had to look it up. Through Wikipedia I learned about the existence of the show.

cool vintage cocktail suitcase!

I'm now in season two and I must confess: The two couples getting engaged and then unbetrothed multiple times for the silliest of reasons, is really getting quite dull and samey.

Cool picnic basket!

The main appeal for me is the character of Jeeves. A seemingly unassuming butler, who is mysteriously more classy than his employer and is cunning in a most underhanded way to achieve his, or his master's goals.

Cool breakfast tray!

Bonus: Looking up this type of silverware, I discovered the term Hukin & Heath. Which is a manufacturing firm for silversmiths and electroplating.

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Sunday, June 7, 2026

Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)

My favorite franchise is Grand Theft Auto, and one of my favorite games of all time is Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. I love the setting, environments and, what they draw inspiration from (crime thrillers and car chase movies). I have played GTA Online since day one, on the Xbox 360 back in 2013. My playstyle is mostly solo and sometimes with friends, due to the fact that this is one of the most toxic online games by design, but I won't delve into all that; there are many videos and essays about this whole exploitative ecosystem, and I won't be bringing anything new to the table so instead, I'm going to talk about what I like in this game, specifically from it's latest major update.

The latest and possibly(?) the last major update to GTA Online, A Safehouse In The Hills brings a new storyline, the appearance of a main character in Online and the titular safehouse being purchasable mansions.

I chose the The Vinewood Residence as my mansion.

I love the paintings purchasable in the mansion. Some are so nice that I wouldn't look twice if they were in an exhibition or a museum, and some include inside jokes and references to GTA and Rockstar's other games.

Impressionist painting of the GTA IV map.

A reference to Red Dead Redemption 2's side character.

Besides the paintings, there is a trophy room. I only have a couple as they are hard to achieve. Except this one.

A car that I acquired through its limited time-window; the 2014 Valentine's Day Massacre Special.

Although, it has since been made available for purchase indefinably.

Albany Roosevelt on a mansion's podium.

My nitpicks:

1. The armory is simply underwhelming. I really wish they'd add a wall with your acquired weapons; to show them off. Something like the John Wick movies.

Like the Sommelier's Armory from John Wick: Chapter 2 for example.

Or my absolute favorite, the Antique Weapons Museum from John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.

Another shot from the Antique Weapons Museum.

2. Most of the freaking vehicle workshop features are locked behind a GTA+ subscription.

3. You can't invite private dancers to your mansion, but you can for your apartment.

4. Decoration options leave more to be desired.

5. Can't bring your purchased art and paintings from the casino's penthouse to your mansion.

I've been writing this post since the update came out last year on the 10th of December. My procrastination has gotten the better of me, I'm afraid. Better late than never, I suppose.

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Sunday, April 12, 2026

Utopian Scholastic

I recently became aware of a term that describes an aesthetic that I like; Utopian Scholastic.

Blendo Atom - Cover for a 1991 issue of Verbum Magazine by Jack Davis scanned from Collage with Photoshop (1998)

According to the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute (CARI):

"Utopian Scholastic Namesake: Refers to this style's use in encyclopedias and teaching materials, and the idealized, high-resolution photography of its subjects."

Image for NEC, by Steve Bronstein of RGA / PRINT scanned from New Media Showcase 3 (1993)

To me this style represent a hopeful look to the future, with the purpose of education and enticing children to learn and teach them the wonders of the world of non-fiction in media, by making it visually appealing and inspiring.

Globe Corner Bookstore, Boston, MA (1990s) designed by Bergmeyer Associates scanned from Lifestyle Stores by Martin Pegler (1997)

Short video with images in the Utopian Scholastic aesthetic, accompanied by the theme of 1995's Eyewitness:

The podcast enlightening me of the term—the Silent Generation podcast—is a pretty chill and informative podcast, by well spoken and educated hosts. I highly recommend giving them a listen;

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Sunday, March 15, 2026

Artist - Patrick Nagel

My first interaction with Nagel's art, came from the cover for the album 'Rio' by Duran Duran.

This artist has a very distinctive art-style that at a glace, you would attribute it (correctly) to the 80s. Personally, I enjoy more detailed artwork yet, Nagel's pieces are very beautiful and somehow minimalistic while still retaining so many details. I will post only what I enjoy or deem enough safe for work here.

Now, this might only be my pattern recognition at work, but I've to say: I feel like Hirohiko Araki—the creator of the JoJo series—drew inspiration for his Lisa Lisa character from the 'Nagel Women' series of artworks. There are no actual evidence to support this theory of mine, just a little thing I concocted.

Lisa Lisa - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency.

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