I agree that a flawed product is typically better fodder for analysis than either something “perfect” or “abysmal”, and hey, if the scale works for you, don’t let me yuck your yums. You had the courtesy to explain what the ratings mean, which is more than many such systems give you. I think I am simply preconditioned to equate a ten point system as roughly analogous to school grades, e.g. 6 represents the lowest “passing” grade, so I was taken aback by your system.

ETA a minor note for your consideration: pre designating your ratings as 4-7 sort of boxes you in as a reviewer. I think the premise of “I’m going to examine games whose reception was tepid to lukewarm” is valid and interesting. However, your rating scale operates on a preconceived notion that the reception these games received was correct and that, by virtue of your having selected the game for review, it will be a 4-7/10 game. Of course, I’m sure you’re willing to color outside of the boundaries of that range if you feel moved to do so by a gameplay experience, but I felt it should be point out that even titling your post “Mid Game Reviews: XYZ” is something of an argument, for better or for worse. I know seeing “mid game” and “dark forces” in the title got me to click, again, because my nostalgia for the game overrides any desire to do an objective assessment (which, to be clear, is a me problem, not you). I’m just imagining a post like “Mid Game Reviews: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time” and the sorts of response that would evoke, even if your review was “idk how this ended up in my queue, this is a masterpiece 10/10”. Do with this perspective what you will.

Correct.

I think they’re implying you’re making a distinction without difference. OP states the Anti-Federalists opposed the adoption of the Constitution, which was largely modelled after the constitutional monarcy of England. You clarified that they didn’t object based on the system’s model, but rather on the basis of all centralized government being bad. Their response is basically saying, yeah man, the Anti-Federalists were against centralized government , that’s what I said.

I am inferring that OP believes that they had the right of it in the first go, no centralized government is preferable to any centralized government, specifically because of how centralized governance encourages the consolidation of political power into parties.

I’m not nearly well versed in this time period to dissect that argument in detail, but I believe your rebuttal that their plan had been tried under the Articles of Confederation and found wanting, hence the whole debate about the Constitution to begin with, is a fairly succinct counterargument to the position I am sketching out on their behalf (read as: the strawman I have set up).

All of which is to say, I’ve expended entirely too much mental bandwidth on this interaction and need to go touch some grass for a bit.

Thank you for your review. I disagree with your conclusion wholeheartedly, but I acknowledge the role of nostalgia in my personal estimation of the game.

However, I have to know: why 7-4/10? What purpose does that scale serve, especially if a 7/10 is a game “every gamer should try”.

I mean, I get it, you’re focusing on “mid” games, so your scale reflects that focus. But, if the top end of your scale is a game you believe should be universally beloved, well, it’s not a review of a “mid” game anymore. Unless you think that an 8/10 is a game that not just every gamer should play, but every person. In which case, what is a 9/10, or, God forbid, a 10/10?

In conclusion, a Brennan Lee Mulligan rant about arbitrary points systems.

I would also suggest finding boutique retailer you vibe with. The Criterion Collection is oft cited, but it’s not the only game in town. I was looking at what was out there last year and these were a few of the retailers that stood out to me.

Kino Lorber: Similar to Criterion in its seniority (started in 77) and art house focus. However, it seems as though their collection has become fairly diverse over time. I saw a 4k of Ben Affleck’s Reindeer Games listed next to a Blu-ray of an Italian film I’d never heard of from the 70s, so who knows what you might find.

Arrow Video: UK based company, seems to operate in the same sort of genre space as Shout Factory in the US, with an emphasis on premium box art and pack in bonuses like posters and other bits and bobs. Runs a 2 for $60 UHD Bundle promo pretty consistently on their website. Seems like it’s 2 for £40 on the UK version of the site.

Indicator Films (I swear this used to be its own label, but it seems to have been purchased by an entity called Powerhouse Films Ltd.). Another UK based label, seems to have themes for its offerings. Currently, they categorize their catalog in to Film Noir, Hammer Films, Ray Harryhausem, Mexico, Ozploitation, and Jean Rollin. So, covering a lot of bases there lol.

Severin Films, Vinegar Syndrome, American Genre Film Archive, and many others, specialize in the sort of schlock that gave rise to the Video Nasties, a reference I make having never lived in the UK, nor been alive during the time period that term was originated, so forgive me if I’m off the mark on its usage lol. To greater or lesser degrees these focus on the typical genre trifecta of action-horror-sci fi, with some light toe dipping into erotica, which is something to be aware of if you do your Blu-ray shopping at work, like I tend to do lol. Some boutiques are on a strict “check from home” regimen lol.

I check blu-ray.com with some degree of frequency. I’m not sure how reputable they are as a review website, but they appear to fairly objective with their assessments of A/V presentation, citing metrics that sound legit to my otherwise clueless ass. I will say that, subjectively, I tend to agree with their assessments, so I think they’re onto something.

Their “deals” section is pretty hit or miss, but they’ll occasionally do news post if a particularly good sale is going on somewhere. Similarly, I keep tabs on Criterion to catch any discounts they throw down.

With that being said, the majority of my acquisitions have been from local book resellers, the occasional yard sale, and impromptu bargain bin dives while passing through a retailer. For example, my 4K steel book of Magnificent Seven was marked down to like $12 in a big tub of random DVDs and Blu-rays. I had to look up this particular release in the store (on blu-ray.com) just to be sure I wasn’t getting scammed with an inferior cash grab transfer. I also picked up a similarly priced 4k steel book of The Lair of the White Wyrm, which was a total impulse buy on the basis of it being $12 and looking nutty as hell.

So, it’s a lot of luck, and I only own a dozen or so 4k discs, despite having started obtaining them several years ago, well before owning the requisite playback equipment.

Congrats! I’m in a similar position, recently acquiring a 4k player myself. I’ve been assembling discs as I’ve come across deals. Movies which I think really benefit from the 4k treatment include:

• Lawrence of Arabia. Ideally, the first time anyone sees this movie would be on an IMAX screen. My first viewing was with 720p DVD rip watched on a cracked tablet screen, and it was STILL visually impressive. Watch it on a scale commensurate with the story itself, and it’s quite possible some sequences will take your breath away.

• The Magnificent Seven. Similar vein as Lawrence (sweeping widescreen shots of desert locales), but a little grimier. The whole image has this really lovely texture and vivaciousness to it. I particularly enjoy the latest releases new color grade, which lends further vitality to the picture, emphasizing the panoply of color in many scenes through increased saturation and dynamic range. It does not tread into cartoony, Technicolor excess though, instead feeling “just right” to my eyes. Like how I remembered the film looking, rather than how it actually appeared on my old DVD release of the movie. –> Addendum to the above, the Criterion release of Seven Samurai is also worth picking up. It a perfect example of how good an “old” black and white movie can look.

• Blade Runner. It’s a movie driven by vibe and aesthetic as much as plot, if not more, and the clarity of an HDR 4k picture enhances those features. Those aerial shots of LA, where you can see every little detail of the miniatures, down to each individual window of the Tyrell megastructure, are, again, breathtaking.

• Alita: Battle Angel. A 21st century update of the cyberpunk aesthetic, but looked at through the maximalist lens of anime/manga, as opposed to the brooding noir tone of the Blade Runner. I don’t know when the next time we’re going to get Jim Cameron levels of production value in a cyberpunk setting any time in the near future, so I appreciate being able to pick out all the little details in the background of the frame, as well as the heightened impact of the crystal clear action sequences (thinking of the rollerball death match race sequence in particular).

Now, clearly this was never going to be a release which had oodles of effort put into its bonus features, but is it pretty standard that new releases on home video no longer have commentary tracks? That was the best part of the DVD boom.

I can understand all the creatives involved wanting to get as far away from this radioactive bomb as possible, though.

Very exciting stuff. I was looking for physical copies of some of Woo’s early films last year and, as you say, the landscape is a mess. I wound up just sticking with my old torrent copies, since those were a known quantity. Here’s hoping Shout is able to put together some decent releases.