- DB
For All Mankind, Season Three | Marvel Snap
Something getter better over time, and something getting much, much worse.
MOVIES
- No movie review this week due to reviews in the other two sections, but still plenty lined up to come, especially with how long it takes to complete games, with the recent lot being far faster to finish than most.
GAMES
- And so the end comes for my time with Marvel Snap, which highlights an issue with these ongoing games: they can change a lot over the years.
- If I'd reviewed this closer to release (I started in the open beta, but it only seems fair to judge the actual final game), it would've scored much higher than what you see below.
- Unfortunately, it feels too much to me like the developers are almost trying to engineer a toxic attitude in matches, which seems to be working and is what's driving me away from the game.
- In the open beta and even for quite a while afterwards, Marvel Snap was a real joy to play as the game felt like you were trying to outdo your opponents rather than drag them down.
- Unfortunately, there are so many negative cards and locations in the game now that the matches more often feel like trying to disadvantage your opponent instead of trying to simply play better than them.
- There will be plenty of players out there who enjoy that kind of thing and may feel that it makes the game more competitive, but there's enough negativity and toxicity in gaming which I do my best to steer clear of, which is why I'm bidding farewell to Marvel Snap as the game itself becomes more negative.
- Then again, a year from now there might be a new design approach that heavily punishes players who focus more on attacking their opponent rather than trying to build something of their own, but I doubt it.
- Another downside of so many negative gameplay mechanics being promoted means that it's virtually rendering the card collection and deck building side of the game almost irrelevant.
- There are so many locations and cards in the game that can change the cost or power of your cards; nullify their abilities; give you random cards or cards from your opponent's deck; or change your card into something else that it's become ridiculous.
- Why bother engaging with the deck building side of things when most matches make it pointless? Like Hearthstone, I would only recommend making Marvel Snap your main game right now if you have an excess of money, time and patience.
- As is currently stands, Marvel Snap is a frustrating, disappointing and thoroughly unenjoyable experience when compared with how fresh and fun it felt at launch; got to chase those whales, I guess. [3/10]
TV
- Finally, For All Mankind has a season that (mostly) has shit happening in every episode and (again, mostly) makes each scene feel worthwhile.
- It took three seasons (like the 90s Star Trek shows, to be fair), but it finally became a show where I actively looked forward to almost all of the stories because most of them felt like they mattered now.
- That's still not the case for all of them, and there are still some plots where I'm left wondering just what the point of them is and hoping the planned pay-off is worth it if Apple even keep the show going long enough to get to that point.
- There's also the issue of some antagonists, like the conspiracy nuts, who feel rather under-written, as if the show needed them for a plot point rather than because those characters are interesting, as they really aren't and were actually the low point of the season any time they showed up.
- I think having so many of the cast on Mars is what helped make this season feel so much stronger: not being an easy environment to live in like on Earth means there's always something important going on with the three(...?) crews on the red planet.
- I do still think too much is saved for the finale though and it really is something I think the show needs to address, with some major events feeling like they get brushed past incredibly quickly because there's so many plot threads to tie up before the credits start.
- There are also what feels like very... interesting gender politics going on with the characters on the show, but this is one thing I really want to hold back from commenting on until everything has played out because certain things could be happening for a reason that only comes to light in later seasons.
- So is For All Mankind's third season an improvement? Absolutely. Would I say it's good? Almost, 'decent' would feel more appropriate, as I do feel there's still of plenty of room for improvement. [6/10]
