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nine-gear crow posted:I’m amazed it too this long. Not for us to start killing ISA troops, but for people to stop giving a poo poo about us and anything we post. was this your master plan all along? ace combat taught you nations are bad, now killzone teaches you uh ... everyone is bad???
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Aug 19, 2021 23:10
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Although I think it was certainly mentioned earlier, this update puts into stark, sharp focus of Justus's true role in all of this, taking into the perspective of literally everyone else we've seen in this game. Except maybe Savic. Savic seems to be a guy who was once a bit too naive and a bit too spineless (although he has had a gun pointed at his head his entire life, so it's hard for me to criticize him in that respect) but he finally finds the cunning to give Danner the hint that saves his life, and possibly Justus's life, if Danner chooses to do the right thing. Watching this game gives me echos of Bioshock. The protagonist simply does things because people ask him to, not for any true personal agenda. I guess Danner gets money out of this deal, but I wonder why Benoit didn't just stiff him anyway if he knew he was about to die. Either had to keep up appearances (forensic accounting may have revealed his treachery) or an overriding need to ensure all debts are paid.
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Aug 20, 2021 05:50
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sb hermit posted:Watching this game gives me echos of Bioshock. The protagonist simply does things because people ask him to, not for any true personal agenda. I guess Danner gets money out of this deal, but I wonder why Benoit didn't just stiff him anyway if he knew he was about to die. Either had to keep up appearances (forensic accounting may have revealed his treachery) or an overriding need to ensure all debts are paid. Yeah, it also feels very, let's say, mercenary. It's a shame we don't get Danner's side of things. What does he think about suddenly working for the enemy? Does the game care about Danner as a character, or is he just a selection of cool guns on a tripod? Philippe fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Aug 20, 2021 |
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Aug 20, 2021 07:20
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Philippe posted:Yeah, it also feels very, let's say, mercenary. It's gonna come up in the commentary for the final video of Mercenary and I reference it in the latest Shadow Fall post, but a big part of Danner having no voice is that you can ascribe whatever morality you feel like to him. There's a moment in the final level that crystalizes this sentiment, and I can't wait for it to get posted.
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Aug 20, 2021 07:27
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Does it live up to the Shadow Fall moment when the villain tells you "You're just a gun with a camera!"?
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Aug 20, 2021 08:14
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Philippe posted:Does it live up to the Shadow Fall moment when the villain tells you "You're just a gun with a camera!"? It's a little subtler than that, but there are some moments coming that live up to Tyran's rant in sheer "oh gently caress off" quality to them 
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Aug 20, 2021 08:25
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Cooked Auto posted:Not much to say other than: They had it coming. 
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Aug 20, 2021 13:12
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one subtext i thought of... it stands to reason Boris was crucified by the Helghast. he betrayed them, killed dozens of them... seems like an actiob motivated by revenge. but the ISA have been occupying that building for a length of time. long enough to station troops all over, lay mine fields all over, and give Benoit enough time to interrogate Savic. and they're all fine with leaving the crucified dead body up there. no one thinks "that's hosed up, take him down so we don't have to look at it." no, they were fine using it as a temp base of operations with Boris' giant corpse looming over them. hmmm
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Aug 29, 2021 03:07
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Maybe they didn't have a way to take him down? Boris is a lot of dude, wearing heavy Helghast armor, firmly attached to a wall. What are they supposed to do, bring one of their dropships inside and tear him off?
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Aug 29, 2021 05:26
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"but that could be a load bearing crucifix! we have to form a committee to determine the next steps" "hmm, the conference room is booked with torture interrogations until next month. I guess we'll just tell him to hang in there!"
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Aug 29, 2021 05:36
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He really ties the room together.
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Aug 29, 2021 11:18
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goatface posted:He really ties the room together. "Danner, you're out of your element"
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Aug 30, 2021 23:01
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Angry_Ed posted:"Danner, you're out of your element" The only line Danner ever says in the game is in the final confrontation with Benoit where he gets him in a headlock and screams "WHERE'S THE loving MONEY, SHITHEAD?"
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Aug 30, 2021 23:34
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nine-gear crow posted:The only line Danner ever says in the game is in the final confrontation with Benoit where he gets him in a headlock and screams "WHERE'S THE loving MONEY, SHITHEAD?" Kratek and a couple of his boys being all "Ve vant the plasmid trigger, Admiral!"
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Aug 31, 2021 08:07
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 Hey, so quick heads up before you go into the video. Got a genuine technical error here: The video only rendered out to 480p. I am not sure how this happened. It only took two evenings to record the game and I did about half one night and half the other. So chapters 6-9 were all recorded the same night. And yet while the others recorded in proper "PS VITA HD", this one is... well, this. No idea what happened here--probably a human error, but it was years ago so I am not sure. And, well, given there were years between when I recorded the footage, started this LP, went on hiatus, and restarted, there's been ample time for the original laptop it was recorded on to kick the bucket. I had thought I'd properly archived all the footage, but as it turns out, I missed this one. I didn't catch it while doing commentary because I had the footage windowed. I just didn't notice. Beyond that, I will not be re-recording the video. We're going on eight years to LP just shy of ten years worth of Killzone games. The end is in sight, so I'm just going to go for it. Here is the vid--audio quality is fine, the video is what it is: Hopefully you either use this LP as a podcast and don't actually watch what we are doing, or you are watching it on a cell phone so you don't really notice. So it goes.  Here we are, at the end of it all:  Each contingent, ISA and HGH, rush towards Kratek's secret mobile research base. The composition of each team is interesting, because none of them are truly Vekta or Helghast despite their on-screen callsigns. The intruder in the lead carries the head of the Phantom Talon Corp PMC group, an orphaned son of Helghan political figures, and a rogue ISA admiral. The dropship chasing it carries the a lone mercenary, under protection by a bunch of Helghast troops on order of a Helghast officer whose plans said mercenary has routinely foiled. In Admiral Grey's case, she ought to be back with the ISA invasion force over Pyrrhus. Instead, she is here hoping to cause planetary genocide--against orders, as we've seen in various intel reports, with a force that are unsure about her motives. Kratek meanwhile has been set by his superiors to clean up mess. Given how many times Danner has hosed up Kratek's day, you start to wonder if Helghast high command are getting impatient. But as we'll soon see, the Helghast haven't sent their best. No, those troops are in Killzone 2 at the moment.  And here we are once we are reminded what the stakes are. The loving Eschaton Virus. No one ever refers to it by its proper name in the game. I believe the only reference we have to the name "Project Eschaton" are in the intel documents, one being in Mission 4 and a few of them here in Mission 8. If you're unfamiliar, "eschaton" is theological word referring to the Day of Judgement, which happens right after Armageddon when God makes judgements on the world. It's the end time virus, and given its lethality, it's a fitting name. Let's not forget that this all started because of the Vektans. The project was overseen by Admiral Grey to be a deterrent to Helghast aggression. We all know how well that worked out. The Helghast invaded anyways and wound up just stealing the virus. Kratek then put Dr. Savic on the task of making it even more lethal. The only reason we're still going around in circles and it hasn't already been loaded into a bunch of warheads is because Savic created that plasmid trigger he injected into Justus. Our current probelm: Grey has Justus and Kratek is no longer in control of his Secret Floating LaboratoryTM. The only thing standing between Grey and the vault is the vault door itself--and Danner has the keycode. Still, if she can brute force her way through before we can stop her, this could all be over for Helghan. Though we've played Killzone 2. We know that's not gonna happen.  I love the on-the-nose imagery here, where the virus injects a cell and it blackens into a dead Helghan with a rising body count. We've seen a similar image, but they really want to make sure we're paying attention. After all, repetition helps hammer home a point.  This slide highlights parts of the ship we will be travelling through. As well, it points out the pair of arc coils because everything is powered by petrusite on Helghan. And like every Chekhov's Petrusite we've seen in previous Killzone games, you've just gotta know we're going to be blowing it up at some point.  And this is a nice bit of foreshadowing. Grey's forces currently control the ship, so you know we'll be fighting ISA on the way in. But once we take control and kill them all, we're going to have a wall of Kratek's forces at our backs. And, well, once we've unlocked the vault, Kratek isn't going to have much further use for us. Hint, hint.  This bit too is foreshadowing Kratek's intent. He's hiding the evidence. The Secret Floating LaboratoryTM has been compromised. Kratek wants plausible deniability. Get a sample, torch the rest, and make sure the ISA don't make off with a sample in the process. Danner? One more piece of evidence. One more liability. Kratek wants a clean win he can take back to Radec and Visari.  This includes eliminating Grey once and for all. We saved her from Kratek once, and now we're here being sent as her executioner.  The opening cutscene has as flying into the mobile lab. Lots of firepower coming out way. I appreciate that we're in an Overlord Dropship versus an Intruder. Regardless, the Helghast landing forces are picked off like flies, including Danner's dropship. And that in the background?  That's Battle Group Mandrake, Jan Templar's invasion force. That means they're hovering over Pyrrhus City, which would place us somewhere in the Maelstra Barrens. It's nice to think that somewhere nearby Rico is being an rear end in a top hat, haha!  Once we survive our crash landing, Blackjack reaches out to us. Though the Helghast are currently fighting by our side, it's nice to hear a genuinely friendly voice. The last of Danner's bridges are soon to be burnt. The ISA doesn't want him, Phantom Talon Corp doesn't want him, and the moment we complete our objective, you can be sure the Helghast will be done with him. His last remaining allies are the disembodied voice of his arms dealer and a kid who is currently in enemy custody. Not lookin' good, Earthman. But the extra intel is good. So we'll be hearing Blackjack, Kratek, and Grey all chattering in our ears throughout the mission.  Perpetually late, Danner gets into the control room just in time to see Grey take off with Justus. This won't keep happening. But of note, Benoit is curiously absent.  Once taking out the nearby ISA troops, our Helghast allies stay behind to secure a landing zone. We leave on amiable terms, but you just know the next time you see these guys they'll be shooting at us. The long elevator isn't the dramatic transition that CJacobs suggests it is. Rather it's a moment to pause and breathe. It's the last moment Danner will get in the game to just sit. Across the gap is the vault. It's in sight. All roads converge at the vault and we will be there soon. Folks, we are racing--or rather, popping in and out of cover--to the end of the game.  War crimes are not new to Killzone. We've seen both sides commit their fair share. In this instance, we enter a lab just in time to watch some ISA soldiers march a Helghast scientist into an incinerator. Much like the morality choices of Shadow Fall's Mission 6, you are given that here. You could attack the ISA immediately, giving away your position and forcing you into a prolonged firefight against a numerically superior force who can and will call in reinforcements... or, you stay quiet, watch, and attempt to use your stealth advantage to kill everyone quietly before they can call for back-up. The gameplay will change based on your choice, of course, but much like Shadow Fall, Mercenary makes you cast judgement on your own choice. And as a silent protagonist, you can apply whatever rationale you want to Danner. Perhaps Danner saves the scientist as an act of righteous justice or perhaps he lets him die from indifference. Maybe he attacks the ISA out a sense of vengeance, the scientist only living as a byproduct--or maybe he kills the scientist himself? Who knows? Who cares? Danner? The scientist doesn't thank you. He immediately runs away. And exploring other avenues of Lab 01, as I do in the post-mission additional content, you see there's a horrifying number of human test subjects being tested here. Hard to feel too much sympathy for the scientist knowing that, though a bullet would be a more merciful execution than an incinerator. Furthermore, Dr. Savic was a researcher here. Despite his attempts at doing the right thing, if he was working in the Secret Floating LaboratoryTM, then it's very likely that he was involved in human experimentation. If the player spared Dr. Savic's life earlier, will they regret it now? What would Danner say if he had a voice? Again, no comment from the game. No judgement. Just bleak encouragement: You get a trophy if you kill an enemy with the incinerator. It's called "Freshly Baked". The game has no shortage of ways to make Danner an exceedingly despicable person, and thanks to its replayability, it encourages you to experiment with them.  Moving on through the next lab, we see that the ISA are just as interested in destroying the facility as Kratek. Whether it's to keep resources out of enemy hands or to destroy the evidence, it doesn't matter. The effect is the same. It's nice because it's appropriate to the story AND it means we don't have to go through an identical firefight. Getting through it brings us to this point:  The moment Danner becomes redundant to Kratek. Yes, Kratek wants Danner to stay alive along to grab a sample and blow everything else up, as well as kill Grey. But if Danner were to bite it here, Kratek would still have avenues to victory. His forces are right behind Danner. Even if Grey were to try and fly away with the virus, he's got control of the anti-air defenses and additional Overlord Dropships to chase her down. Danner surviving is more convenient, but without Savic's code, he has lost his leverage. Regardless, Kratek is a Future Danner problem. Once the charges are set, Grey arrives on the last Intruder with some soldiers. I get through fairly quickly in the video, but this is actually a pretty challenging segment. There's not really anywhere good to hide, so if you're wearing lighter armour you will die fast. The ISA heavies are a pain in the rear end and get in your face immediately, their JAMR means you're going to have a difficult time outmaneuvering them and can't use your VANGuards, and Grey herself is well-armed and accurate. She can loving ruin your day fast. Danner has to move quickly and, ideally, be better armed. One the ISA troops are down, it's easier to play cat-and-mouse with Grey. Still, she's dangerous until you can destroy the JAMR and bring out, say, Porcupine Missiles.  There are three ways to kill Grey. One, just kill her. Throw bullets and explosives at her until she's gone. This is the most straight-forward and, narratively, the least cathartic. Two, you sneak up on her an initiate an interrogation. It's as violent as any other. You wail away at her until she gives up some precious intel, then Danner breaks her neck anyways--like he would any other officer. All we get in-game is the "So, Kratek wins" statement. Goes to show that after this, he's all she has on her mind. It's not the Helghast or Visari winning, it's Kratek. This fight has been personal for her for a long time. (Probably since Mission 1)! Still, the most significant part of this ending is that she gives up her final statement. Her "in the event that I am killed before I can explain myself" statement. The full statement is in the intel section below, so make sure you don't skip it. It gives you a good look into Grey's motivations. If you still had any sympathy for her from earlier in the game, you may find it in short supply after reading. Her basic sentiment is "Kill'em all". Third, is perhaps most on brand for Killzone: Mercenary. Danner races past her and locks her in the vault. It's an echo of how we first met Admiral Grey: Her on one side of a class wall, Danner on the other, with Grey staring down death. Of course, now our mission has been inverted. Before we wanted to save her, but here we're the killer. There's no more options here. Once we close that door we have no choice but to detonate the explosives. We can't just turn around and leave her to go down with the ship. "This time Admiral Grey dies..."  Once the explosives go off, the mission ends. A number of blasts rock the ship. Somehow, Danner hasn't disintegrated himself and Facility X01 hasn't crashed into the wastes below. We still have to get Justus and get off the ship, though. No problem, right? Justus was on Grey's Intruder and she clearly left her Intruder outside of the vault, right? W... wait... Hold on. What is that there falling out of the vault?  Oh. Oh, dang...  Looks like we're here until the bitter end.  Facility X01 Schematics "The Higs, they do everything on industrial scale - this place is like factory for bioweapons. No wonder they try to keep it secret." —Blackjack There was a comment on one of the earlier videos asking why Kratek didn't already have the keycode--how is it that Savic was able to lock his boss out of the vault? Well, this is the answer. It was part of Dr. Savic's job description that he'd be resetting the codes weekly. I assume that before he planned his defection, he just didn't update Kratek on the new code. Easy. quote:ENGINEERING SCHEMATIC The New Sun "The ISA they are winning this fight — but they pay heavy price, too. This mean both sides are desperate. And desperate man is dangerous man..." —Blackjack Woohoo, lore post! Lots of familiar names in here. This message dates us in the timeline. The New Sun has fallen, so Templar is dead at this point. The "some crew" would include Sev, Rico, and the rest of Alpha Squad. Templar's records list of our dead villains of Killzone 1 and Killzone: Liberation, and Evelyn Batton and her nuclear weapon get name-dropped as well.  Templar quote:TO ALL SENIOR OFFICERS Eschaton Final Testing "People you see arrested back in Pyrrhus — they end up here. Lab rat for bioweapon experiments. You ask me, this is not war." —Blackjack Here we get confirmation that Dr. Savic is indeed a war criminal. Again, if you were a play who spared him one run, you may be tempted to go back and kill him in another. We also get a little note on how the virus is so deadly it will basically kill everyone. I am assuming this means both Helghast and ISA are susceptible. This is whole virus thing is getting out of hand. As stupid as Massar's "Ethnic Bullet"? If we're not already there, we've got to be close. quote:PROJECT ESCHATON - FINAL PHASE Eschaton Plasmid Trigger "This Savic was smart cookie. Separating the trigger from the virus give him control of the research, and a bargaining chip with the ISA. Too bad for the kid, though." —Blackjack This one is interesting. Ostensibly, the plasmid trigger was developed as a safety precaution. Makes sense. But also gives him plausible deniability to create, as Blackjack says, a bargaining chip. Only he injected it into a literal child. What the gently caress, Savic. quote:MEMORANDUM TO ALL RESEARCH Demolition Orders "Better be quick, my friend. Grey has this whole place rigged to blow once she get her hands on the virus." —Blackjack Just reaffirming what we witness in the level (and what Kratek comments on). These orders are picked up off of an ISA officer. And also, sheesh, Grey is ruthless. quote:FROM: ADMIRAL ALEX GREY Admiral Grey's Statement "Kratek was right. Grey was ready to use the virus — and she had the whole PLANET in her sights." —Blackjack Yeah... Like I say, ruthless. She intended to exterminate the Helghast. What Sev and co. did by accident, she had methodically planned, even going so far as to create plausible deniability for her superiors. Grey had to go. quote:TO: ISA HIGH COMMAND  I don't use any new weapons or VANGuards here--I think I've essentially covered them all at this point--so instead I'm going to use this update to talk about the different armours! I haven't really talked about any of the armour so far, other than the fact that it exists and is tailored to specific playstyles. They have their uses and I absolutely change between them, but they aren't noticeable enough in game play to be worth going over in depth. So that said, here's my preference in armour: If playing stealthily, then I use Infiltrator Armour. If playing explosively, then I use Supply Armour. For everything else, I default to the Mercenary Armour.
Sally fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Apr 9, 2024 |
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Sep 10, 2021 08:37
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I appreciate that the intel dump on Templar's exploits in reaction to his death just straight up erases Lente from existence. "Joseph, who? Never heard of him. Nope, Metrac was in charge of the invasion of Vekta. And ONLY Metrac. Thank you."
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Sep 10, 2021 09:13
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You gave her the Dishonored treatment!
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Sep 10, 2021 11:58
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Is there a fictional bioweapon that just makes people feel crummy?
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Sep 11, 2021 01:39
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White Coke posted:Is there a fictional bioweapon that just makes people feel crummy? Heinz Doofenschmirtz is not a character in the Killzone universe.
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Sep 11, 2021 01:47
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nine-gear crow posted:I appreciate that the intel dump on Templar's exploits in reaction to his death just straight up erases Lente from existence. "Joseph, who? Never heard of him. Nope, Metrac was in charge of the invasion of Vekta. And ONLY Metrac. Thank you." haha i didnt even notice that. gently caress you, Lente! i would say that Hakha has had his revenge but it seems like the price for writing Lente out of Killzone's history books was being similarly erased.
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Sep 11, 2021 01:54
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Sally posted:haha i didnt even notice that. gently caress you, Lente! Hakha was never destined for the history books and he kind of knew it. Knowing he at least erased Lente from history along with him would probably be considered a victory by Hakha.
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Sep 11, 2021 02:04
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very true. hope Hakha is enjoying retirement
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Sep 11, 2021 02:23
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Philippe posted:You gave her the Dishonored treatment! i havent played dishonored!! what is that!
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Sep 11, 2021 02:23
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It's a immersive sim stealth game where you can either kill your target or disable them in an ironic way. One of your targets wants to get into a vault filled with gold, so you can knock him out and lock him inside. Game recommendations are awful, but still: it's a really good series of games and people should play them, especially if they like KZ: Mercenary's expressive play!
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Sep 11, 2021 07:29
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hmm, i've got the Dishonored series sittin in my Steam account. i downloaded them on Arkane's name alone after playing through nu-Prey. I will definitely get to them!
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Sep 11, 2021 16:20
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I do admire this game's committment to "yeah both Grey and Kratek are basically two sides of the same genocidally crazy coin and there is no real good side here because war loving sucks. So go make that money."
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Sep 11, 2021 18:05
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It's not even that by now. It's also "mercenaries are also untrustworthy fuckers who can be bought" so there are no high grounds in this fight. Maybe Boris. Dedication to duty, determined to protect an innocent, paid for with crucifixion. Truly, he was Killzone Jesus.
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Sep 11, 2021 18:09
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The ISA and the Helghast deserve each other. Danner is a merc who had to sell his vocal cords for booze money, and he only sorta cares about what's going on. "Are the blue guys or the red guys attacking me? Who knows, just pull the trigger until it's all quiet. Maybe I'll get paid today."
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Sep 11, 2021 18:39
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goatface posted:Maybe Boris. Dedication to duty, determined to protect an innocent, paid for with crucifixion. Truly, he was Killzone Jesus. "Sending a mercenary to do their dirty work? Typical Vektans. Yellow as frankincense."
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Sep 12, 2021 08:30
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 We've got the virus. Grey is dead. This flying lab has been rocked by explosion after explosion... and now it's going down.  Kratek immediately pops onto our screen makes good on threatening us. He also notes that his men have been mopping up the remainder ISA, so we know we won't have to deal with them--just the squads of trigger-happy Helghast between us and a way out. Thankfully, this doesn't last very long: quote:Transmission jammed. Transmission jammed.  Oh, hey, Blackjack, are we ever glad to see you! Yes, actually, we did figure out Kratek would kill us the moment we no longer held value to him. The guy is not subtle at all.  Yeah, dude, we know! Trust us, this thread has been paying closer attention to the plot than most.  We get another dying planet/infected cell visual metaphor, but this time it's Vekta rather than Helghan. But we get it. We've seen variations of this imagery throughout our briefings.  So we've switched commanders once again. From Benoit (and by proxy, Grey), to Kratek, to Blackjack. Of course, the sales pitch is a bit different. Grey and Kratek sold various stories about doing the "right thing" for their side. Blackjack has a similar pitch to Benoit: It's all about the money.  Big difference here, is that while Benoit was willing to cut us out to get a bigger take, Blackjack is happy to keep working with us. Thus, Blackjack is the preferable merc to work with. I say we take his offer!  He points out our lack of options, in case you missed it in the last missions final cutscene. Grey had an intruder, yes, but it's gone. (I like that in the cutscene it just fell off the X-01 facility in an unceremonious manner, while in his animation it jettisons off into the horizon). Our only option off is Kratek's dropship:  Of course, that means getting through Kratek's forces. And to think, we helped them establish the LZ and now those fuckers are going to be gunning for us.  Escaping with the virus and Justus means the ISA and the Helghast can continue fighting their forever war and Blackjack can keep making mad stacks. This one's for you, CJacobs:  We've had back-up in a variety of shapes and forms throughout the game. On the ground we've had Ivanov, Boris, and Remus squad fight right alongside us. ISA cruisers have provided air support, and Helghast tanks have provided ground support. And of course, Benoit and the Phantom Talon Corp mercs were often there to help out. ( Carrell). All that's left is Justus and the disembodied voice of our arms dealer. But we've got this. Danner is an Earthman after all. Oh, and I like that despite our task being to "find Justus", Blackjack's briefing immediately reveals he's just standing outside the vault door waiting for us:  We get an elevator dialogue with Justus. We're going to get a couple of them this mission. He waxes about who he could and couldn't trust. Grey was unreliable, despite the trust his father put in her. No one gives a poo poo about some kid in the Killzone--they just want their sweet genocide virus.  Danner does not (cannot) respond. What would he say? It's not like he is rescuing Justus out of a sense of altruism. I mean, he DOES keep rescuing Justus, but he's been getting paid the whole time. First by one side, then the other, then by an interested third-party. Sorry, Justus, but don't know what to say. Anyways, moving along, we work our way back through one of the facility's labs. I didn't comment on it during the video, but I just wanted to note what that one officer said when I interrogated him:  They've got Blackjack in their sights. I mean, makes sense. Who else would be jamming Kratek's signal to aid Danner? Grey's dead and hated him anyways. Benoit has already burnt all bridges. Blackjack is the only logical choice. Still, good for you Helghast intelligence.  Also, we go through another area with Helghast prisoners in stasis. They're all red, the Helghast inside slumped over dead, some clearly shot, like this fellow whose chamber has been blown open. I commented in the last video that the blue meant they were alive and red meant dead--but I'm not so sure after this comment Justus made which I really only noticed while writing this update:  A-are you sure, Justus? Like, have you checked for a pulse, kid? I am pretty certain they are all dead. Likely this was just a slip. Perhaps audio didn't consult with the art department. Or we could consider that Justus is just a kid under a lot of stress in a slowly failing flying lab or horrors. I lean towards red=dead as far as chamber colours go. Thus, with no power to sustain them, we are now effectively fighting out way through a morgue.  Working our way through, I appreciate how Justus actually pulls his weight throughout. Just as he did back at the embassy, he helps us navigate the wreckage between each shooting gallery. And, paying it back a bit, Danner gives him a hand too. Whether or not you want to consider this a character growth moment for Danner, or just a merc protecting his payday, is entirely up to you.  Even during this fight, Justus helps out, dropping explosive barrels for us to fire at. Also, I appreciate that he immediately ducks to the side when the heavies show up and they don't even notice. They probably didn't see him, really, but Danner's the real threat. No time to waste bullets on the kid. Plus, I appreciate that Justus is an invincible AI companion. Babysitting him would've sucked... but I also like that he doesn't just soak up bullets or have them pass through him. No, instead, he just actively gets out of the way and hides. Kid can generally take care of himself. Well, not counting that one moment an officer grabs him and takes him hostage... this is the ONE time Justus is a direct target. I'm not even sure if you can gently caress this section up. I've never tried. But it's also extremely easy to not gently caress up. Anyways, once we're under the landing pad we take the elevator up and Justus moralizes at us one more. He trusts Danner. Trusts him to do the right thing. Talks about how his dad said people always show their best when things are at their worst. It's a nice sentiment, Justus, but once again Danner has nothing to say. He's a flippin' merc. You, the player, can decide what Danner is thinking. Again, has he experienced character growth? Or is he still the same static merc he has always been.  Yeah, you're telling me, Justus.  The elevator door opens above us and we are temporarily blinded by the light. There's a silhouette, backlit by the glare. Who could it be? Have we caught a break for once?  Ah, gently caress, it's loving Kratek. And of course he's being a loving dick and betraying us. Who saw that coming, hey? You're predictable, Kratek, that's your problem.  Aw, man, and Benoit's here too? This sucks. Looks like we're gearing up for a double boss fight.  Only--well, here's your other problem, Kratek: You're short-sighted. By this point Danner has killed the majority of Kratek's forces. He's got no back-up. Instead, he's relying on Benoit for cover. Only Benoit's a loving predator--a goddamned shark. Benoit doesn't give a gently caress. If you aren't worth anything to him, he'll toss you aside for a bigger score. It's a poetic death: Kratek thinking he could off Danner for outliving his usefulness only for himself to be killed when his worth to Benoit tanked. I really appreciate this as it hits home how much of a second-stringer Kratek is. He was never the main villain. Hell, he was never the secondary villain. Kratek was tertiary as all get out. The real dangerous Helghast are already out there fighting the war or are dead. Metrac, Cobar, Radec, Stahl--they were dangerous as gently caress, and their supporting forces reflected that. The Helghast in Mercenary have always been the cannon fodder. Even here in the final level they were cut down like butter. They tried their best, they really did. They tried sending two heavies at once. But Kratek doesn't have the pull to bring in the elite of the elite. All the best trained and armed Helghast are facing off against Alpha Squad right now. Now Grey was a threat. She was the goddamned commanding officer of the ISA invasion force. Her solders were well equipped and put up somewhat more a fight for Danner. During her boss fight, Grey herself was lethal. I get why she was so incredulous up to the end, when she said "So, Kratek wins?" She herself couldn't loving believe that chump was going to succeed. But in a game about mercs where the ISA and Helghast both have to resort to hiring them because they're so effective, Grey and Kratek both missed the elephant in the room: Benoit. And like I say, Benoit doesn't give a gently caress.  This guy immediately starts wheeling and dealing. We've heard this "And you can skill get out of this alive" speech already--from Kratek at the beginning of this very mission! It's crap, clearly.  But also, man, it sucks to be Kratek. This is it. This is the last we see of him ever. Guy goes out with an absolute whimper. Honestly, considering his first name was "Vyktor", the dude was cursed to be exactly the opposite.  Benoit, meanwhile, is already giving us his pitch. Both Blackjack and Benoit want to profit off of war and misery, but Benoit is more willing to cross a few lines to get paid. Blackjack wants to destroy the virus and let the boy go so that the forever war can keep raking in a profit. Benoit wants to put the boy and the virus up for sale, who gives a poo poo about the outcome. In response, we get Danner actually giving a response:  Now when I first played Mercenary, I just kinda blitzed through and didn't really pay attention to anything. But having now replayed it multiple times, I really dig this little character moment. And again, like everything with Danner, you can interpret just how benevolent he is being here. Is Danner rejecting the offer because he genuinely cares about a potential Vektan/Helghast genocide? Has he perhaps grown fond of Justus and wishes to spare the kid further pain in this life? Or, my personal favourite reading, perhaps Danner gives even less of a poo poo about all of this than Benoit. It's just Danner is pissed. Benoit hosed him over. If there can't be honour among mercs, then Danner is gonna roast him alive. I like to imagine Danner is the bigger rear end in a top hat--it's just that he wasn't the guy in charge. Plus, I think it's funny that Benoit's trash talk lampshades all of this:  Anywho...  Before Benoit can give a proper response, the Rayhoven nuke is detonated over Pyrrhus City. The screen flashes white and Benoit just loving no-sells that blast. As crow pointed out, this was a pretty major event of Killzone 2. Sev and the rest of Alpha Squad are aghast. Benoit? Well, he takes the words right out of Phillipe's post:  Philippe posted:The ISA and the Helghast deserve each other.  Phantom Talon Corp intruders are quick to arrive. Benoit strikes a pose--  --and we are about to face off against our last new enemy type: Phantom Talon Corp mercs! It's a whole army of Carrells!  Justus earns himself another point as "Good NPC Companion" by getting out of the way immediately.  The buzzing in our ear is constant. Everything is coming to a head. Blackjack chimes in to let us know that he can pilot us out of there remotely, but Benoit is jamming take off. (Notice too during the fight that if we get too close to Benoit our HUD goes offline and we can't fire VAN-Guards right next to him---he has some sort of personal JMR on him). No escape, we kill Benoit or die here ourselves.  I love the touch of these final objectives getting an angry Danner Fist as their icon.   The PTC mercs wingsuit in and quickly try to swarm us. If you let too many land on the deck, you can get hosed over pretty quick--they'll force you to just burn through your VAN-Guards. Pick them off as they float in. Best time to do this is when the suit rockets slow them down. They hang there for just a brief moment before hopping down. As enemies, they aren't any more difficult than standard Helghast soldiers. They are armed with small arms, and it doesn't take much to take one down. The biggest threat is that they all wear either stupid looking toques or ballcaps. Oh, and the infinite respawn. They're here to keep you off Benoit and in that regard they are effective.  This is a helluva boss fight. I dig it. Probably my favourite in the series. It doesn't feel like a waste of time, like Lente and Adams, difficult to the point of unfair, like Radec, or a tedious exercise in resource management and puzzle-solving abilities, like every single Killzone: Liberation boss. Benoit is challenging, but it feels like a fair fight. There's a rhythm to it, a flow. The battle is dynamic and constantly moving, requiring you to utilize all your abilities. By this point, you should be a finely honed killing machine. There's a reason the UCA never shows up in any of the Killzone games. If one ex-UCA trained merc could cause this much damage, could you imagine what a whole fleet of them could do if they really wanted the Helghast and ISA to really settle down? Anyways, the deadliest aspect of the fight is Benoit's trash-talking and gaslighting:    Yeah, that's right, it's all Danner's fault. Wait... Hey, screw you, Benoit!  Furthermore, Benoit is one of those wonderful but rare boss fights where you're basically fighting a version of yourself. This comes in a two stages: First, Benoit rides the on-rails section of the level, being flown around on top of an intruder. Though thankfully, whereas Danner does this armed with a minigun, Benoit has-- --wait, damnit, Benoit has the huge gently caress-off rail cannon sniper rifle! This thing really sucks to get hit with! He's also got a Carapace VAN-Guard.  He's invincible in this segment. You cannot hurt Benoit. You've got to cause enough damage to intruder to force it to land. Meanwhile, Benoit will be taking potshots at you while PTC mercs swoop in. Keep moving, obviously. The intruder will wheel around to get you back in line-of-sight every time you duck behind cover. The Accelerator Rifle has a bunch of tells, fortunately. Benoit's has a giant laser sight and you'll here it charge-up to tip you off. Also, he takes a significant pause to reload the gun. Best bet: Get him shooting until he burns the clip and run out to where the PTC mercs are landing. And you're going to have to do that a lot, 'cause they are always landing. Best weapons to carry here is an assault rifle paired with a rocket launcher and the Porcupine VAN-Guard. In the video I ran with a secondary rocket launcher to help draw out the first segment a bit longer. Plus the semi-auto shotgun is great at quickly taking down mercs that have already landed.  Once you've caused enough damage, the intruder goes down.  Benoit hops off and the second and final stage of the fight begins. This time, he acts even more like a player character... but with a... like, Game Genie, or something actviated. And, uh... hold on, more trash talk:  Uhhh... I had a tasteless joke planned for this part but crow and CJacobs already went ahead and made them all in the video, so... let's just focus on the task at hand:  Hell, yeah! But not as easy as you might hope. Benoit has the infinite ammo and VAN-Guard cheat on. Fortunately, he's ditched the Accelerator Rifle and is now using small arms. The Carapace makes it annoying to hit him, but now he's vulnerable. And, well, the player will know the Carapace's limitations too, so we can work around that. You can plink away at his feet, wait for him to start firing and drop the shield, or lose him around the dropship and shoot him in the back.  Stick to shooting, though. Benoit doesn't take kindly to Brutal Melees. If you try and get close, he'll slap you away like so. You can sneak up and give him a shot from behind, but that only causes a bit of damage before he slaps you away again.  Though I did manage to luck into landing the killing blow with a kidney shot. Not planned! Just trying to knab the trophy for doing that--  --which I did! Woo! Same deal as phase 1, though. Avoid him while you fight of the PTC mercs. When you have a moment to breathe, get some hits in. Like Danner, Benoit can tank a whole lot of bullets. Thankfully, he's only got cheat codes for ammunition and doesn't have regenerating health  Once he's down, you have the choice of shooting him--giving a rather fitting, if unsatisfying finish--or doing the final interrogation.  Danner is pissed, though, so Benoit gets a customized interrogation animation.  Danner just slugs him. The blood sprays everywhere.  That's got to have loosened a tooth...  I appreciate that the blood is persistent. Also that Benoit is still ready with a quick threat. It's the small details! One headbutt and a bit of slapping around later--and because this is a mobile game and people will need to eventually turn off their Vita--Benoit realizes there's really no arguing with Danner and capitulates:  And, you know? Not really a bad offer. In fact, Benoit's been running a real scam with the PTC and the other major galactic PMCs. They've literally been playing all sides of the conflict, be it ISA, Helghast, or rebel armies on Earth's outermost colonies. There's no time in-game to comment on it, but intel reveals all his backdoor dealings. Benoit doesn't give a fu--  "It wasn't supposed to be lights out for ME, Danner!" --oh! And he's dead. You know the game is over now because Danner leaves his knife behind.  Benoit is dead, his JMR is deactivated, and whatever else technology he had that was keeping the X-01 is off. With the laboratory about the crash and burn, Justus and Danner waste no time hopping onto the dropship.  As we take off, Blackjack reminds Danner to ditch the virus. The C4 last mission took care of everything in the vault. All that's left is this sample vial right here. Danner does the right thing.  Doesn't really matter if it's from altruism or spite or greed, does it?  The X-01 finally collides with the Maelstra Barrens and the dropship is away. This whole mess with planet-killing viruses is over. Until, of course, Shadow Fall.  Commander Blackjack gives us our outro briefing. As I said in the video, I love that he conflates the "right" thing with the "profitable" thing. With Danner being a silent protagonist, there's no way to correct him or point this out. We are just meant to take Blackjack's statement at face value and keep our judgements to ourselves.  We get a glimpse of Alpha Squad and Blackjack making light of one of the most intense and impactful scenes of Killzone 2--which is hilarious and great! Blackjack, and by extension Killzone: Mercenary, got no respect for the lore!  Then we get a screenshot of Killzone 3's opening, showing the fascist hell Orlock is about to rain down on the surviving ISA. And all Blackjack can do gleefully wax about how much cash he's going to make. It feels very meta. The Killzone series as a whole puts on a great show about how "War is hell" and here Mercenary is basically saying "Killzone is hell." It feels good to end the LP series on this game. (Which we totally did--we finished recording Shadow Fall before Mercenary, so this video is chronologically the last in the entire LP series. It's just that Shadow Fall was further behind in updates, so we've got a few more to get to before everything is truly done).  And if you want to know what happens to our protagonists, well, Blackjack erases their identities and gives them a clean start. This is probably the best ending of any Killzone to date. No tragic endings, no Pyrrhic victories, no "but what comes next" speeches--Danner gets off scot-free. Best of all, Justus gets a chance to have a new life--hopefully far away from mercs and the whole ISA/Vekta war. I hear Gyre is nice this time of year. (As an aside, crow mentions it in the video, but it's really funny just how much the ISA and Helghast undervalue Danner.)  That's all, though. Files are sealed.  Blackjack makes a quip. Our quirky arms dealing side character has come out on top.  Well done, Blackjack. Well done.  Interesting choice to introduce new gameplay mechanics in the final mission--but at least they give you more than one opportunity to make use of them. Basically, Justus is now starting to pull his own weight. In the dual heavy fight, he will run along the catwalks and drop these dangling explosive barrels:  It's not instantaneous--it takes him a moment to start doing it and then to move between each one--aaaaand it takes a bit of maneuvering to get a heavy positioned properly for it to even be useful--but it's something. All about the details. That and it preps you for the explosive fuel rods in the final fight:   Not sure if this was a feature intended to be more fleshed out. My best guess is that Justus helping out against Benoit was initially planned, but then the devs figured they should introduce the mechanic a bit earlier on so players weren't caught off guard. Doesn't work the best, as it's easy enough to kill the heavies without dragging the fight out that long. Ah well. Report KL78B "You are not popular, Danner — and now it rub off on me. Pah! I am like shadow — you can see, but cannot touch." —Blackjack I appreciate that the Helghast intelligence documents continue to be pretty useful. Lots of good lore! Also, this is one of the few times Blackjack sounds genuinely annoyed. And, well, makes sense. He's certainly made a name for himself, even go so far as to poke at Earth. That's... actually impressive. The Helghast weren't even willing to go poke at Earth, remember? In Killzone 1, they just wanted to steal the ISA's laser satellites and squat on intergalactic shipping lanes. They weren't willing to head to Earth themselves, online or otherwise. But also, it's nice to know that Blackjack was genuinely throwing in all his cards with Danner. That wasn't a ruse. Blackjack pissed off the ISA and he pissed of the Helghast, enough that both groups were trying to find him. And in Alpha Centauri that's... well, every major political nation. Like, it's the Space Cold War and he's got Space USSR and Space USA agents trying to stop him. quote:MILITARY INTELLIGENCE REPORT - #KL78B Eschaton Impact "As I thought. If Kratek gets the virus, he will USE it against Vekta kill - millions of innocent people. Is slaughter, not war." —Blackjack This one is unsurprising, but it's nice to have in-universe confirmation that, yes, Grey and Kratek were both monsters. quote:TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY, Blackjack Communications "I supply poo poo load of stuff to Benoit and his men - but not after he stab you in the back. I am ethical businessman, no?" —Blackjack Ha, more ethical than Benoit at least. If you were wondering what guns the PTC mercs and Benoit had on them in the final battle, here's their load out. Although I am pretty sure Benoit also had a submachine gun, as he's definitely shooting something automatic when he first hops off the intruder. Blackjack also confirms that Benoit's JMR is special. Don't recall any anti-missle flares coming out of the intruder, though. Don't recall if that's perhaps unique to rocket launchers. Ah well. quote:MILITARY INTELLIGENCE - COMMS Project Red Dust "poo poo. This bioweapon is not the only WMD the Higs have up their sleeve. World is gone CRAZY my friend." —Blackjack This bit of lore is really for the people who have only played Mercenary. Any Killzone 2 or Liberation alumni already know all of this and wouldn't have been surprised by the nuke. quote:TO: HELGHAST HIGH COMMAND Assault Force Orders "Ha! I was right - Kratek plan to kill you and the boy once he have the bioweapon. Is not good to welch on deal this way." —Blackjack Another utterly unsurprising reveal about Kratek. We all saw it coming. quote:ORDERS TO SENIOR OFFICERS, Retirement Plan "With Benoit dead, is plenty of business for merc -- IF you get out alive!" —Blackjack Benoit, you glorious bastard... This is one of my favourite intels in the whole game. Guerrilla Games has always been pretty good about background lore. It's too bad it took them until now to realize it. Mercenary, Shadow Fall, and Horizon: Zero Dawn all have great lore and logs. The older Killzone games could have benefitted from stuff like this in game. I mean, it was always there, just hidden away in instruction manuals or no defunct websites. It's lore like this that makes we wish there was some sort of strategy game in the Killzone universe. Give me a Killzone 4X or RTS. I'd play it. quote:TO: THE CEO, ECLIPSE FORCES, THE CEO, And with that, we're done... Thanks for getting stuck in the Killzone with us! ... More like "Exeunt Wounds", am i rite? Sally fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Apr 12, 2024 |
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Sep 15, 2021 07:22
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gonna fill out the Miscellaneous section later. just wanted to celebrate Merc being done... gently caress you Benoit, you glorious bastard!
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Sep 15, 2021 07:23
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So why did Blackjack want Justus extracted instead of just made unavailable to the Helgans/ISA via numerous available methods?
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Sep 15, 2021 08:16
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The Lone Badger posted:So why did Blackjack want Justus extracted instead of just made unavailable to the Helgans/ISA via numerous available methods? Maybe he also has a heart of gold and doesn't want an innocent kid to suffer? Maybe he figures that a half-Vektan, half-Helghast kid can be a useful resource later on? Maybe this was Danner's condition for leaving? Who knows! This was a hell of a game, Sally. Beyond "Killzone is hell", the point also seems to be "The war between the ISA and the Helghast is dumb and only underlines the futility of war in general".
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Sep 15, 2021 09:48
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The kid is technically still carrying the key to a WMD around in his bloodstream. Everything says that was the only location the virus was stored, but everyone in killzone is a lying bastard. Keeping the kid alive, with an identity and at a location known only to Blackjack might prove valuable later. The cost of doing so is negligible. Also, it keeps Danner on-side and Blackjack probably wants to use him later.
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Sep 15, 2021 12:38
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The Lone Badger posted:So why did Blackjack want Justus extracted instead of just made unavailable to the Helgans/ISA via numerous available methods? Maybe he's called Blackjack because he's taking the kid out of the Killzone till he's 21 and can get crunk with the other mercs
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Sep 15, 2021 13:57
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Five down, one to go...
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Sep 15, 2021 19:37
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That just mean you have to play the whole series again. 
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Sep 15, 2021 20:31
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Back Hack posted:That just mean you have to play the whole series again. I'M ON IT CHIEF
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Sep 15, 2021 20:58
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Justus seems like a smart kid with a bright future if he's given a chance. And he would likely be very loyal to anyone he can respect and trust, given the poo poo he's been through lately. Although I admit that this is an incredibly naive viewpoint. Many other points made here are probably more likely due to the fact that the chance for huge profits for little risk is high. Also, benoit's death reminds me of Riddick. You keep what you kill. But is it worth holding on to?
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Sep 16, 2021 09:39
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At this point, Danner is probably doing alright for himself, if he leads a band of mercs while the Killzone war is happening and has a good relationship with the main black market arms dealer. Of course it's worth it.
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Sep 16, 2021 09:58
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