Citrus Service: game

Showing posts with label game. 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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Saturday, August 1, 2026

Way of the Hunter (2022)

This game fulfills a primal need.

I bought this game with minimal expectations and I was quite pleasantly surprised with it. The game has many licensed guns—which is the reason I got interested in the first place—from brands such as: Beretta, Remington, and a smaller brand that caught my eye, called Strasser.

Although I had to buy Strasser's guns separately as a DLC I chose a good time to grab them; as the game was on sale.

The gameplay is competent; having many mechanics that would make the game feel like a simulation but, it has great difficulty settings to shape the experience that you'd like to get; more simulation or more arcade-like.

With my selected difficulty, the animals leave some blood trails to make tracking them easier, in addition to having the hunter senses ability to make identifying, finding and, tracking animals much more easier. Without subtracting from the core experience, that require a lot of waiting and actively looking for preys constantly.

From mechanics like bullet trajectory being affected by gravity and wind, to managing and influencing the gene pool of a specific species; hunting older/younger animals, or specifically hunting lower trait animals to leave the stronger ones to reproduce.

The game shows you how 'good' your shot was in killing the animal. The energy within your selected caliber, the organs you damaged or penetrated in a neat three dimensional X-ray bullet camera, once you interact with the shot animal.

I would've liked a dog as a hunting companion to complete the experience and more guns in the base game, with differing quality, and older robust wood furnished guns.

I realized after I bought the game that the sequel was about to release in early access, with some of my complaints being addressed in it.. Just my luck, huh?

Reading recommendation relating to the topic:

The Complete Encyclopedia of Hunting Rifles and Shotguns by A. E Hartink.

This encyclopedia is a fun read with many nice pictures. (I have the 2004 edition, which has some added and removed entries from the original 1997 edition. Like the removal of the Mossberg entry from my 2004 edition and the addition of TOZ.)

With many beautiful specimens like the Krieghoff Plus combination gun; as in multiple calibers in one gun! Or the artistic engravings on the Lebeau-Courally shotguns.

Sorry for the lack of images on this one; as I don't have a scanner to show you the pages of my book in great detail. You can check the 1997 edition on the Internet Archives, albeit with poorer quality photos within the pages.

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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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Monday, January 19, 2026

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

Lost at Sea, 1803 ~ The good ship "Obra Dinn".

Actually made my jaw drop by the immersive presentation.

A must-play for anyone who loves the 'age of sail' theme and stories or neat puzzles in general. Everything about this is Peak. Love the setting, the diverse crew and, the music! Absolute masterpiece. However, the puzzles turn into a guessing game near the end, but I had a lot of fun though!