Neverdead: A Mini Review (All You Need To Know)
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To begin with, Neverdead is a unique and brand new third-person shooter IP produced by a partnership with Konami and Rebellion and directed by Shinta Nojiri, a man more notably associated with directing "Metal Gear Ac!d".
Interesting story about how our fresh-faced first time director came to get his position, and eventually make Neverdead:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/07/the-surprisingly-candid-story-of-how-neverdead-got-approved-by-konami/
Before jumping in, you need to consider three things:
1. This is a totally unique game and 2. It has an original story. You have guns and a sword and kill shit, yeah, but that's not what I meant by "unique". Your character is immortal and the gameplay reflects the grim humor of the title. If you don't know the gimmick by now, look it up. Or just click the links in the article on the page I showed. By "original" I also mean that it's new and not associated with any established franchise.
This being the case, you better be ready to give it some slack. How much? Not much. But some of the negative aspects I'll list will have to be given said slack because of the above. To prepare yourself, think of the original "Devil May Cry" game and a title that went absolutely nowhere known as "Bullet Witch". All three share similar problems (DMC1 of course being just a bit better because of the combo-loving gameplay being pretty much perfect for what it was).
3. Lastly, the game has a thin film of comedy over it's very dark story. By this I mean that, for those who aren't used to the Japanese's take on "dark comedy", you'll feel the tone is schitzophrenic and hard to follow. Should I be sad? Should I laugh? Is Bryce's (the main character) willingness to maim himself at a moment's notice funny or as depressing as a cutter? Well, it's both.
...Yeah, like I said, if you're not used to "dark comedy" you'll find both the dramatic moments and the funny moments confusing.
Now for the quick need-to-know stuff:
-The game is short, coming to literally 8 levels (each just couple hours to an hour a piece). Each level has several sub-levels, and the story does squeeze in a non-combat level a few times. Overall, though, you can probably beat the game in a day if you run through it from end to end. If you space out playtime like I do, then it has a two day lifespan. It's no JRPG, that's for sure. Still, the length is only because there are no filler levels. Yeah, you heard me. NO FILLER LEVELS. You know the ones. A level where Dante has to go from point A to point B and absolutely nothing it contributed to the plot? None of that nonsense here.
-Repeated boss battles. Everyone who played DMC1 knows this one too well.
It happens three times with a boss-like monster. Not a big problem, but not as cinematic as in DMC. However...
-...The levels each have a memorable and cinematic moment. Even when you go through the subway and sewer levels you'll find that even these both have a unique moment in them. Aside from those moments is the general gameplay, which I'll get to in a bit. Good shit, though, these special moments.
-The voice acting is very good. Probably because the cast is all A-list VAs. Matter of fact, aside from Bryce's voice actor, all of them were featured in what is likely the best voice acted game in years: Catherine. See if you can spot them!
-The story is fleshed out, but rushed, and only until the halfway point are you given a breather to finally learn just what in the blazing blue fuck is going on. Until then, you're as lost as the tan pop diva as to what Bryce and his partner Arcadia are talking about. (If you don't know who I'm referring to, them you didn't follow my advice to learn about the game's plot from another article). As for the ending, well I can assure you that there is one. It's not a total sequel bait like in Bullet Witch (I think, been a while since I played that), and there is closure, but not the kind of closure as in DMC1.
-Gameplay is fun and aggravating at the same time. At first it's fun, but as the game progresses there are certain enemies that make your limbs fly the fuck off at a moment's notice. The only way you can get a game over here is of your partner dies (see next point) or if you get sucked up by an enemy known as a Grandbaby as a head. You get one shot at timing your way out, and if you fail you. Are. FUCKED. _...Until you restart at the last checkpoint, of which there are plenty, thankfully. Now, there's plenty of times where the game will leave you alone, partnerless, and you can do your thing to your heart's content. Problem is, in order to keep these moment challenging the game needs you to become a head as often as possible (so you can feel the fear of getting sucked up by a Grandbaby, you see). Thus, the game loves to fuck with you and throw enemies at you that will, even if you're damn good, often knock your limbs off easy. Very easy. Too easy, in fact, and you'll find yourself groaning at trying to get back to your torso or waiting for the grow-your-shit-back meter to refill. Aside from this, though, it's not bad. There's 4-5 different guns and your sword is beastly, using a hacking-mechanic eerily similar to the one present in the previews of the original concept for Metal Gear Solid: Rising. There's some sword upgrade pick-ups, but they just change the look of it. Since the thing is monstrously damaging to all enemies I couldn't tell a difference in power between the upgrades. If you're not functionally retarded, the gameplay is just fine. Not combo-loving, though (aww...).
-The partner AI is good. REAL good. Arcadia is as badass as the main character, if not more so, and she takes hits like a champ. When she's downed there's a little meter that slowly fills above her. If you don't revive her (just help her up) in time, she dies.
...I think. To be honest the meter is very slowly refilling and it only takes a button press even as a torso to revive her, so I never found out. Also, her AI is so good she rarely got downed outside of scripted events.
-Upgrades and weapons. You find weapons in glowing auras as you progress. Sword upgrades are often out of the way. There's a shitton of red wings that help you get 50xp a pop, and killing enemies gives you xp. You use it between levels or at any given time with the Select button to buy abilities. Aside from a few abilities, however, they're mostly useless. Some are fun, like the explosive limbs upgrade, and some are necessary so you don't pop a blood vessel screaming, like the "Healing Bullets" upgrade (which really just turns off Friendly Fire). Each upgrade takes up a certain number of slots, of which you start out with I think 10 or 11, and can upgrade from there whenever the option pops up.
_Sadly, the option doesn't always pop up at the end of a stage, and so you have to be smart about what abilities you allocate. ...Though not really, since you can switch out abilities you've purchased and purchase new ones just by pressing Select. Seriously it's that simple, and kind of defeats the purpose of having only a select number of slots.
-Polish in the game is pretty damn good for a title like this. You can tell there's a month or just a couple extra weeks would've helped clean up a few of the mouth gestures or the conversation pauses, and (at least on the PS3 since that's what I bought it for) there's a handful of screen tearing at certain moments, but overall you've got a pretty well crafted game here. There's also a couple of nifty things in a certain repeated location you can do that'll probably give you a few chuckles.
-Enemies have a good variety. It's a lot like DMC in how it'll have the same enemies, but give them a new gimmick of some sort. There's plenty of enemy types, though, so don't worry there. Couple with how many you'll have in an area and how destructible everything is, and you've got a fun time.
-And lastly, if you haven't figured it out, it's a game that is (likely unintentionally) satire without being stupidly obvious. As much hate as I'll get for saying this, No More Heroes was stupidly obvious. When certain lines of dialogue break the fourth wall in Neverdead, it doesn't segment the flow of the narrative or feel forced for comedic effect. It's just sort of a wink, whereas No More Heroes punched you in the face.
With an interesting protagonist, some genuine laughs, some genuine drama, and no fucking tired and repeated cover-shooting in sight, Neverdead is unique and well done, despite clearly being made as a project that likely will never get a sequel (and doesn't really need it either, since, as I said, it has an ending...even after the credits).
Interesting story about how our fresh-faced first time director came to get his position, and eventually make Neverdead:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/07/the-surprisingly-candid-story-of-how-neverdead-got-approved-by-konami/
Before jumping in, you need to consider three things:
1. This is a totally unique game and 2. It has an original story. You have guns and a sword and kill shit, yeah, but that's not what I meant by "unique". Your character is immortal and the gameplay reflects the grim humor of the title. If you don't know the gimmick by now, look it up. Or just click the links in the article on the page I showed. By "original" I also mean that it's new and not associated with any established franchise.
This being the case, you better be ready to give it some slack. How much? Not much. But some of the negative aspects I'll list will have to be given said slack because of the above. To prepare yourself, think of the original "Devil May Cry" game and a title that went absolutely nowhere known as "Bullet Witch". All three share similar problems (DMC1 of course being just a bit better because of the combo-loving gameplay being pretty much perfect for what it was).
3. Lastly, the game has a thin film of comedy over it's very dark story. By this I mean that, for those who aren't used to the Japanese's take on "dark comedy", you'll feel the tone is schitzophrenic and hard to follow. Should I be sad? Should I laugh? Is Bryce's (the main character) willingness to maim himself at a moment's notice funny or as depressing as a cutter? Well, it's both.
...Yeah, like I said, if you're not used to "dark comedy" you'll find both the dramatic moments and the funny moments confusing.
Now for the quick need-to-know stuff:
-The game is short, coming to literally 8 levels (each just couple hours to an hour a piece). Each level has several sub-levels, and the story does squeeze in a non-combat level a few times. Overall, though, you can probably beat the game in a day if you run through it from end to end. If you space out playtime like I do, then it has a two day lifespan. It's no JRPG, that's for sure. Still, the length is only because there are no filler levels. Yeah, you heard me. NO FILLER LEVELS. You know the ones. A level where Dante has to go from point A to point B and absolutely nothing it contributed to the plot? None of that nonsense here.
-Repeated boss battles. Everyone who played DMC1 knows this one too well.
It happens three times with a boss-like monster. Not a big problem, but not as cinematic as in DMC. However...
-...The levels each have a memorable and cinematic moment. Even when you go through the subway and sewer levels you'll find that even these both have a unique moment in them. Aside from those moments is the general gameplay, which I'll get to in a bit. Good shit, though, these special moments.
-The voice acting is very good. Probably because the cast is all A-list VAs. Matter of fact, aside from Bryce's voice actor, all of them were featured in what is likely the best voice acted game in years: Catherine. See if you can spot them!
-The story is fleshed out, but rushed, and only until the halfway point are you given a breather to finally learn just what in the blazing blue fuck is going on. Until then, you're as lost as the tan pop diva as to what Bryce and his partner Arcadia are talking about. (If you don't know who I'm referring to, them you didn't follow my advice to learn about the game's plot from another article). As for the ending, well I can assure you that there is one. It's not a total sequel bait like in Bullet Witch (I think, been a while since I played that), and there is closure, but not the kind of closure as in DMC1.
-Gameplay is fun and aggravating at the same time. At first it's fun, but as the game progresses there are certain enemies that make your limbs fly the fuck off at a moment's notice. The only way you can get a game over here is of your partner dies (see next point) or if you get sucked up by an enemy known as a Grandbaby as a head. You get one shot at timing your way out, and if you fail you. Are. FUCKED. _...Until you restart at the last checkpoint, of which there are plenty, thankfully. Now, there's plenty of times where the game will leave you alone, partnerless, and you can do your thing to your heart's content. Problem is, in order to keep these moment challenging the game needs you to become a head as often as possible (so you can feel the fear of getting sucked up by a Grandbaby, you see). Thus, the game loves to fuck with you and throw enemies at you that will, even if you're damn good, often knock your limbs off easy. Very easy. Too easy, in fact, and you'll find yourself groaning at trying to get back to your torso or waiting for the grow-your-shit-back meter to refill. Aside from this, though, it's not bad. There's 4-5 different guns and your sword is beastly, using a hacking-mechanic eerily similar to the one present in the previews of the original concept for Metal Gear Solid: Rising. There's some sword upgrade pick-ups, but they just change the look of it. Since the thing is monstrously damaging to all enemies I couldn't tell a difference in power between the upgrades. If you're not functionally retarded, the gameplay is just fine. Not combo-loving, though (aww...).
-The partner AI is good. REAL good. Arcadia is as badass as the main character, if not more so, and she takes hits like a champ. When she's downed there's a little meter that slowly fills above her. If you don't revive her (just help her up) in time, she dies.
...I think. To be honest the meter is very slowly refilling and it only takes a button press even as a torso to revive her, so I never found out. Also, her AI is so good she rarely got downed outside of scripted events.
-Upgrades and weapons. You find weapons in glowing auras as you progress. Sword upgrades are often out of the way. There's a shitton of red wings that help you get 50xp a pop, and killing enemies gives you xp. You use it between levels or at any given time with the Select button to buy abilities. Aside from a few abilities, however, they're mostly useless. Some are fun, like the explosive limbs upgrade, and some are necessary so you don't pop a blood vessel screaming, like the "Healing Bullets" upgrade (which really just turns off Friendly Fire). Each upgrade takes up a certain number of slots, of which you start out with I think 10 or 11, and can upgrade from there whenever the option pops up.
_Sadly, the option doesn't always pop up at the end of a stage, and so you have to be smart about what abilities you allocate. ...Though not really, since you can switch out abilities you've purchased and purchase new ones just by pressing Select. Seriously it's that simple, and kind of defeats the purpose of having only a select number of slots.
-Polish in the game is pretty damn good for a title like this. You can tell there's a month or just a couple extra weeks would've helped clean up a few of the mouth gestures or the conversation pauses, and (at least on the PS3 since that's what I bought it for) there's a handful of screen tearing at certain moments, but overall you've got a pretty well crafted game here. There's also a couple of nifty things in a certain repeated location you can do that'll probably give you a few chuckles.
-Enemies have a good variety. It's a lot like DMC in how it'll have the same enemies, but give them a new gimmick of some sort. There's plenty of enemy types, though, so don't worry there. Couple with how many you'll have in an area and how destructible everything is, and you've got a fun time.
-And lastly, if you haven't figured it out, it's a game that is (likely unintentionally) satire without being stupidly obvious. As much hate as I'll get for saying this, No More Heroes was stupidly obvious. When certain lines of dialogue break the fourth wall in Neverdead, it doesn't segment the flow of the narrative or feel forced for comedic effect. It's just sort of a wink, whereas No More Heroes punched you in the face.
With an interesting protagonist, some genuine laughs, some genuine drama, and no fucking tired and repeated cover-shooting in sight, Neverdead is unique and well done, despite clearly being made as a project that likely will never get a sequel (and doesn't really need it either, since, as I said, it has an ending...even after the credits).
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Very nice Review.
If there something about the game I didn't like, It was the controls, other than that, I felt it was paced greatly, The 8-10 hour campaign might not be worth 60$ but hey, Its fun 80% of the time, Sorta wish those head-eaters would be less annoying though.
If there something about the game I didn't like, It was the controls, other than that, I felt it was paced greatly, The 8-10 hour campaign might not be worth 60$ but hey, Its fun 80% of the time, Sorta wish those head-eaters would be less annoying though.
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The professional reviews haven't been so kind to it. As much as I will praise "unique, funny, fresh," you really need to have a solid core behind it or you'll be dead in the water. Neverdead... apparently isn't so great on that front.
I'll probably wait for a demo of some kind, because this has been on my watchlist for a while. I'm just not sure if I can trust it. I've seen both positive and negative words about this game and it seems to me like being skeptical is wise. Which is disappointing! Because I'd so love to throw my support being "unique, funny, fresh"! But I just don't think I can. It's obviously going to be more enjoyable a failure (if it is a failure) than the paint-by-numbers third- and first-person shooters that have come out (like Homefront and the like), but... this one is setting itself up to be a true disappointment. I'm saddened.
...I'll second though, is a nice review indeed. Comprehensive and exhaustive. Just the way I like it.
I'll probably wait for a demo of some kind, because this has been on my watchlist for a while. I'm just not sure if I can trust it. I've seen both positive and negative words about this game and it seems to me like being skeptical is wise. Which is disappointing! Because I'd so love to throw my support being "unique, funny, fresh"! But I just don't think I can. It's obviously going to be more enjoyable a failure (if it is a failure) than the paint-by-numbers third- and first-person shooters that have come out (like Homefront and the like), but... this one is setting itself up to be a true disappointment. I'm saddened.
...I'll second though, is a nice review indeed. Comprehensive and exhaustive. Just the way I like it.
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Ive been hearing a lot of good things about this game and thanks for the insight, im probably going to rent it instead of buying.
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SeventySevenMillion wrote...
Very nice Review.
If there something about the game I didn't like, It was the controls, other than that, I felt it was paced greatly, The 8-10 hour campaign might not be worth 60$ but hey, Its fun 80% of the time, Sorta wish those head-eaters would be less annoying though.
The controls get a lot better with upgrades. The upgrades for long-distance blade slashing (where Bryce just slides across the stages between slashing enemies), the upgrade for keeping the cross-hairs tight(er) for extended shooting without stopping, and the upgrade for how far your limbs fly off after you've been dismembered collectively make the gameplay a lot better. I wouldn't say it's bad otherwise, but yeah, without a few choice upgrades I agree that the controls can feel somewhat unresponsive or wonky at times.
Oh, and to regenerate your limbs, you have to hold the left thumbstick down, not just press it. You probably already knew that, but I only figured it out halfway through the game before I beat it, so I thought I might mention it.
And thanks for the complement, mate!
Andy 117 wrote...
The professional reviews haven't been so kind to it. As much as I will praise "unique, funny, fresh," you really need to have a solid core behind it or you'll be dead in the water. Neverdead... apparently isn't so great on that front.I'll probably wait for a demo of some kind, because this has been on my watchlist for a while. I'm just not sure if I can trust it. I've seen both positive and negative words about this game and it seems to me like being skeptical is wise. Which is disappointing! Because I'd so love to throw my support being "unique, funny, fresh"! But I just don't think I can. It's obviously going to be more enjoyable a failure (if it is a failure) than the paint-by-numbers third- and first-person shooters that have come out (like Homefront and the like), but... this one is setting itself up to be a true disappointment. I'm saddened.
...I'll second though, is a nice review indeed. Comprehensive and exhaustive. Just the way I like it.
Hey, thanks for the complement too, mate.
I will say that you're definitely wise to be skeptical (I was too), but to be honest I don't think it's best to go by what the majority of reviewers say. A lot of the naysayers you'll find on Metacritic are the same companies that get paid on the sly to say if something's good or not, or only say it's good if the public thinks so already. It's always best to go to forums and see what folks are saying personally. It's why I did this review, because there were several factors a lot of reviewers were leaving out or getting wrong.
If you can rent it, then that's the best choice to see if you want to buy it eventually. If you can't, then I'd say wait until the price drops a bit. Don't go used, though, since Gamestop seems to be really trying hard to get $60 in their pockets. A used game now goes for anywhere between 50-55 bucks (if it's not an old title). It's ridiculous!
Might as well buy new with a price drop. If by then you're still interested, then you'll likely have a good time.
Sneakyone wrote...
Ive been hearing a lot of good things about this game and thanks for the insight, im probably going to rent it instead of buying.No problem, and yeah, since it's not a long game I'd say renting is a good option.
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MegaTenLove wrote...
SeventySevenMillion wrote...
[quote="Andy 117"]The professional reviews haven't been so kind to it. As much as I will praise "unique, funny, fresh," you really need to have a solid core behind it or you'll be dead in the water. Neverdead... apparently isn't so great on that front.I'll probably wait for a demo of some kind, because this has been on my watchlist for a while. I'm just not sure if I can trust it. I've seen both positive and negative words about this game and it seems to me like being skeptical is wise. Which is disappointing! Because I'd so love to throw my support being "unique, funny, fresh"! But I just don't think I can. It's obviously going to be more enjoyable a failure (if it is a failure) than the paint-by-numbers third- and first-person shooters that have come out (like Homefront and the like), but... this one is setting itself up to be a true disappointment. I'm saddened.
...I'll second though, is a nice review indeed. Comprehensive and exhaustive. Just the way I like it.
Hey, thanks for the complement too, mate.
I will say that you're definitely wise to be skeptical (I was too), but to be honest I don't think it's best to go by what the majority of reviewers say. A lot of the naysayers you'll find on Metacritic are the same companies that get paid on the sly to say if something's good or not, or only say it's good if the public thinks so already. It's always best to go to forums and see what folks are saying personally. It's why I did this review, because there were several factors a lot of reviewers were leaving out or getting wrong.
If you can rent it, then that's the best choice to see if you want to buy it eventually. If you can't, then I'd say wait until the price drops a bit. Don't go used, though, since Gamestop seems to be really trying hard to get $60 in their pockets. A used game now goes for anywhere between 50-55 bucks (if it's not an old title). It's ridiculous!
Might as well buy new with a price drop. If by then you're still interested, then you'll likely have a good time.
I always tend to take both professional criticism (not scores) and public opinions (forums and such) on board, then amalgamate it. Don't worry, I'm not "siding" with critics, or what have you; but when they're giving it scores as low as TWO OUT OF TEN (ouch!), then... what choice do I have? ...as for Metacritic, I tend not to touch it. It's meant to be an average, but it actually weighs certain critics scores to be worth more. That's not an average. It's blatant bloody cheating, and it's how "bad" games that get, say, 3 positive reviews and 10 negative reviews manage to stay in the green. It's ridiculous. I hate Metacritic.
As for the price. I live in Australia, and new titles sell for $110 a pop. I am so not ready to lay that down on a reportedly not-that-good game. $60 seems a bargain, almost, but $50 is really the sweet spot for me. I really think this game will be enjoyable, mind; I've been playing Suda 51 games recently (Shadows of the Damned in particular) and its sense of humour really reminds me of that. It also, as I said, is a fresh, unique, and funny IP, and I really want to support it on that basis alone.
I'll be picking this one up. But I'm scared for it. I'm scared it'll actually not be very good - high chances. And I'm scared because it's set to flop so hard that any other company even remotely interested in following suit and releasing more original content will just say "nope" and stick to their CoD clones. It's saddening. Everything about this title has been disappointing and I so hope it lives up to its potential.
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Andy 117 wrote...
I always tend to take both professional criticism (not scores) and public opinions (forums and such) on board, then amalgamate it.
Nice to hear! More should do the same. I get where you're coming from, mate.
...as for Metacritic, I tend not to touch it. It's meant to be an average, but it actually weighs certain critics scores to be worth more. That's not an average. It's blatant bloody cheating, and it's how "bad" games that get, say, 3 positive reviews and 10 negative reviews manage to stay in the green. It's ridiculous. I hate Metacritic.
What the blazing blue fuck?! Seriously?! I never heard of that! Should've known the idea of a truly "objective" rating system was too good to be true. Thanks for the heads-up. Puts things into perspective.
As for the price. I live in Australia, and new titles sell for $110 a pop. I am so not ready to lay that down on a reportedly not-that-good game. $60 seems a bargain, almost, but $50 is really the sweet spot for me. I really think this game will be enjoyable, mind; I've been playing Suda 51 games recently (Shadows of the Damned in particular) and its sense of humour really reminds me of that. It also, as I said, is a fresh, unique, and funny IP, and I really want to support it on that basis alone.
I'll be picking this one up. But I'm scared for it. I'm scared it'll actually not be very good - high chances. And I'm scared because it's set to flop so hard that any other company even remotely interested in following suit and releasing more original content will just say "nope" and stick to their CoD clones. It's saddening. Everything about this title has been disappointing and I so hope it lives up to its potential.
I'll be picking this one up. But I'm scared for it. I'm scared it'll actually not be very good - high chances. And I'm scared because it's set to flop so hard that any other company even remotely interested in following suit and releasing more original content will just say "nope" and stick to their CoD clones. It's saddening. Everything about this title has been disappointing and I so hope it lives up to its potential.
Oh, Australia. I see. Your tentativeness is even more understandable, then. Personally I'm glad you want to buy the game, and it is well worth 60 bucks going by your system, but not the full price it would be for you. It has all the stuff needed to be a good game and is one, but I don't know if it's $110 good.
I'm not currency savy so I can't really say, but the idea of buying it for so much cash is a hard one to swallow for me. Maybe it would be best to just wait until a price drop, even if you want to support it like I did.
To be honest, though, I think no matter what we do the game won't be considered a hit in any regard. It's a shame, too, since the style of the free-flow action game just seems to be getting progressively more suffocated by the gray cover-shooters littering the market. As much as Binary Domain seemed like an interesting story and the cinematics seem like it'll be told well, the gameplay is literally every cover-shooter on the market (aside from the consequence system), so I went with Neverdead instead. It's a breath of fresh air in a lot of regards. Though, again, I can't see paying $110 for something that's just short of 11 hours.
If you want a game that has also has a surprisingly good story and has a longer lifespan for your buck, I'd suggest waiting for "Tales of Graces F". Or importing it from the states once it's release in March (15th I believe). That game has 50+ hours and an extra 20-30 for an additional epilogue they wrote for it due to it being released on the PS3. But that suggestion is just because I'm taking how much games cost in Australia into account and I'm a bigger JRPG fan than shooter fan.
Your choice it yours, mate, and I hope you can feel content with whatever decision you make! Just glad I could help somehow.