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Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: azeke on May 24, 2013, 01:23:32 AM

Title: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 24, 2013, 01:23:32 AM
It's not everyday you buy new games (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=36196.0) or beat them (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.0). Or feel the need to ask for help (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?board=10.0).

Most of my gaming is just playing four or five random games from my collection, slowly progressing through, level by level every day.

I think we need a thread to post random thoughts about games we just play.

Last evening i played:

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Still on Grandmaster Galaxy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJWYFCutL0). I made an effort to collect all remaining stars but they weren't kidding with the very last level. Even if i stock up on some lives in the first level i still waste them on in segment with electric bars (switching from platforming to pointing action when you have to fly in space in the middle of this sequence is kinda disorienting) and last sequence with lots of turtles throwing crap at me. Also that last star coin in that level i think implies that to get it, i might need to try to save up cloud power up all the way from the beginning without getting any damage.

Rayman Origins

Steadily finishing up. This might be an issue with Wii controls (i use classic controller) but controls and physics feel somewhat even looser and floatier than before, after playing and getting the hang of Rayman Legends Challenge App. Might be because Rayman Legends tightened things up majorly or just playing with two different controllers make that much difference.

Rayman Legends Challenge App

As usual -- an hour or so to gather some silver cups, while watching (more like listening) cycling on tv.

Rhythm Paradise (Rhythm Heaven DS)

After i collected all 50 medals, game started giving perfect opportunities non-stop one after another. I still have 20 or something games not perfected. Some of them i never will i think (Moai Doo Whoop games... ugh). Guitar stuff that unlocks by the end is pretty cool. I hated guitars at first but once it clicked, i love it especially levels when you have to twang the strings with shoulder button. Sometimes i play "Rockers 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa5lAFVchGQ)" just for no reason, cause i already perfected it long ago.

It's still kinda funny how weird scoring is in this game, getting "Super" (medal) is sometimes is much, much more challenging than "Perfect" ("Shooter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unKQm5Zpzno)", i'm looking at you).

Find Mii

It's my second 3DS, so i'm still on the first game. I beat it once, but from i remember second game unlocks only after second playthrough, so that's what i am doing. I'm in the last room.

It goes without saying that i freaking love all these games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on May 24, 2013, 01:30:23 AM
I am playing Skullgirls and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Mastering fighting games is a never ending process, y'know.

I've also been playing Saints Row 3 because I like funny games where you kill cops.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on May 24, 2013, 01:45:36 AM
Super Metroid, (friggin' wall jump) Resident Evil Revelations (friggin' dodge) Serious Same BFE (friggin' lack of gonzo action so far)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Dow Jones on May 24, 2013, 01:58:14 AM
Played some MH3 using Online for the first time ever tonight and that was fucking awesome!! I also try and play Find Mii as much as possible since I didn't know before last year's Anime Expo that it existed and how to use it. So much regret but I love it now.


I also play 90's Pool on my lunch breaks. Hahaha.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 24, 2013, 07:50:48 AM
Marvel Pinball 3D is currently hogging most of my gaming (and sometimes non-gaming) time at the moment. I really enjoy the Blade and Fantastic Four tables.  My only complaint: who is this annoying Yoshidious guy who tops all my friend list scores by a healthy margin?
 ;)


For a "real" game, I'm making good progress on Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask.  Currently mid-way through chapter 4... but keep falling asleep while playing in bed.


Finally, I'm still working through Ys Book I & II on Wii Virtual Console after having started during the RFN retroactive, and have recently finished the Burnland section.  This gives an idea of how little TV time I get for gaming - unless you count Disney Princess games or Dog Island with my young daughter.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 26, 2013, 01:55:22 PM
Still making progress on Rayman (Origins on Wii and Challenge App on Wii U), SMG2 (got 241st star, didn't get the star coin).

Also.

Ghost and Goblins on Wii Arcade
My best result on one continue so far is level 5, but this morning i couldn't even get through level 3...

Tetris Axis on 3DS
Had two matches online, got my ass kicked. Apparently i even had one friend playing the same game at the same time, dammit Nintendo why couldn't you do proper invite system...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on May 26, 2013, 02:41:23 PM
Gran Turismo 5.  I recently purchased a steering wheel and pedals, and lemme tell you, racing games with a wheel is so much better than with a controller.  Makes me wish I had the room to build one of those sim rigs that some guys have.  Never really understood how some people got so deep into these games, but now I'm beginning to understand.

Also, still picking away at Far Cry 3.  It seems I'm into the homestretch of the game's storyline.  So far, the game has been fantastic.  I'm really enjoying the predator/prey setup they have on the islands.  I recall scouting around an encampment, stalking among the bushes and trees.  Little did I know, I was being stalked by a komodo dragon(a good sound system/headphones are vital)!  It attacked me, so I made a run for the encampment and headed straight towards the nearest baddie.  As I approached, I changed course and headed back into the bushes.  The dragon kept going and engaged the baddies and took out most of the encampment on its own.  Emergent gameplay ftw!  Taking over the outposts is really the highlight of this game for me.  It's a lot of fun scouting out the environment and planning your moves ahead of time, and then having to improvise when the plan goes awry.

I checked out Defiance last night as part of the free weekend on Steam.  Seems like an OK MMO, I guess, but it felt dead.  I dunno, not really worth $50.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on May 26, 2013, 03:17:45 PM
I'm really hoping once Project CARS drops on Wii U, that Logitech will put out a decent force feedback steering wheel/pedals set for the console. I can't wait to get my hands on that game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on May 26, 2013, 03:41:17 PM
Fable II - Was in the mood for a WRPG and the Sims so I decided to play the one game that adds them both together.
10000000- Nice little indie Puzzle RPG I got after watching the GiantBomb quick look.
Forza 3- Drive Club, Gran Tursimo 6, and Forza Fuve got me in the mood for a racer.
 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on May 26, 2013, 07:58:31 PM
Currently playing Tales of Phantasiap (GBA ver.), and I'm finishing up the last bit of sidequests before I take on the final area/boss of the game. Really enjoying my play-through - so much so that I can't believe I missed out on this back during its original release. Battle mechanics are great, game controls really well, characters are decently fun, and the graphics are great for the GBA conversion.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on May 26, 2013, 07:58:40 PM
Currently playing Tales of Phantasia (GBA ver.), and I'm finishing up the last bit of sidequests before I take on the final area/boss of the game. Really enjoying my play-through - so much so that I can't believe I missed out on this back during its original release. Battle mechanics are great, game controls really well, characters are decently fun, and the graphics are great for the GBA conversion.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 26, 2013, 08:39:19 PM
Currently playing Tales of Phantasiap (GBA ver.), and I'm finishing up the last bit of sidequests before I take on the final area/boss of the game. Really enjoying my play-through - so much so that I can't believe I missed out on this back during its original release. Battle mechanics are great, game controls really well, characters are decently fun, and the graphics are great for the GBA conversion.


This is a great game. It's what really turned me onto the Tales of games, and I've been a fan ever since.


That said, I seem to recall a few awkward moments where the game really didn't give you a fair idea of where to go and what to do next.  One part in particular, where you have to sleep at a specific inn to trigger a required event, forced me to check a FAQ after wasting a moderate amount of time. 


Also, voice "acting" on GBA?  That was amazing!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on May 27, 2013, 09:41:09 AM
Oh, no doubt, on the voice acting. And yeah, I've had to use a FAQ a time or two playing this game. No big deal, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BlueBerryShadow on May 27, 2013, 02:14:55 PM
Currently playing Resident Evil Revelations, Red Steel 2, Super Metroid, Metroid Other M. (First time playing any of the Metroid games, pretty decent I must say.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 27, 2013, 02:59:04 PM
Half Life Deathmatch LAN match on dm_crossfire
It's still great. Played an hour or so during lunch break with colleagues. So many memories of playing this map when i was a student...

Ghost and Goblins Arcade
Got to 4th level and then fell to platforms in the very beginning, lost all lives in there. Aside from that, 4th level is pretty easy. At least i got to practice this part.

Rayman Origins
Nothing really new -- just collecting lums.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on May 27, 2013, 04:25:31 PM
Had a hell of a time trying to contain Kevin Durant in my My Player season in NBA 2k13.  Pulled away late in the third when he was on the bench, but he was still on fire when he came back into the game.  I've been a big fan of this series since 2k11, I think, and they've really done a good job improving with each year.  I would really like to see 2k get access to the NFL license again, some day, but they've really dropped the ball with the NHL and MLB games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 27, 2013, 05:34:26 PM
2K didn't lose the NHL license, they just chose to stop making NHL games based on how poorly theirs was doing compared to EA's. That's why a few years ago they made one for the Wii but not 360/PS3, because they had no competition from EA there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on May 27, 2013, 07:17:04 PM
I've been switching between Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Resident Evil Revelaitons HD. I put Super Metroid on hold. Maybe one day I'll return to Batman Arkham City,
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 27, 2013, 07:41:41 PM
I've been playing Metroid Prime for the first time recently. I've had the Trilogy disc sitting here since it came out, and the release of Super Metroid, which I've also been playing, as well as my summer desire to play through some of my backlog, have gotten me to boot it up.

I've also been playing a trio of platformers in Super Mario 3D Land, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and New Super Mario Bros.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on May 27, 2013, 08:20:44 PM
The Prime series is magical.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on May 27, 2013, 08:25:36 PM
Yeah, I've been playing that too due to getting the Trilogy the other day. I still think that the Wii Remote+/Nunchck control scheme is better for FPS's than keyboard/mouse is.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 28, 2013, 01:42:15 AM
I'm currently playing Soul Sacrifice on my Vita, as well as Resident Evil: Revelations HD & Call of Juarez: Gunslinger on PS3.  It's unfortunate that Soul Sacrifice is as addictive as it is, because I've barely even touched the other two and both are quite good at what they aim for. In fact, I question why Gunslinger is even saddled with the Call of Juarez name, because I dismissed that game when it launched because of the bad name that series has. It wasn't until all these podcasts started talking about it and saying that it was surprisingly excellent that I gave it a try.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on May 31, 2013, 06:08:04 PM
I actually made some progress in Saints Row: The Third's story last night.  Usually when I play that game, I get sidetracked by all the craziness and end up accomplishing essentially nothing.  But I've been watching some Saints Row IV trailers, and I really want to finish up before that comes out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 01, 2013, 03:53:47 AM
In the last three days, i've played Special 8 - Crown level (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfhSQfE8eM) of Super Mario 3D Land almost exclusively. I just really wanted to beat it and be done with it.

I've unlocked it a month ago, but and finally managed to do it this morning. I think i dumped additional 7-9 hours on this.

For some stupid reason, i wanted to beat it with regular Luigi or Mario. Didn't want to do it with a racoon suit. First i played as regular Luigi, but after first day i switched to regular Mario and did it with him. It's much, much easier to do with racoon suit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikqpXDIYNFk&t=1m).

This level is really tough, guys. I think by now after playing it so many times i can write an essay about an each individual platforming challenge.

This is the kind of challenge that makes you learn a lot. Like Rayman Challenges App on Wii U taught me a lot how to properly handle somewhat obtuse platforming physics of Rayman 2d games, this level did the same for me for SML 3D Land.

I learned how to do a rolling jump (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avrHM5AH5_4) (you can beat entire game without knowing it's even there, i am not sure if it's a compliment or a slight to game designers).

I re-learned that flying goombas send you way higher up like launch pads when you jump on them with jump button already pressed (i actually sorta knew it, cause i DID beat Lost Levels which had a few levels with like this, i just didn't understood completely how it worked).

I realized how to properly use Mario's momentum in his jumps and while the difference is too fine for normal levels, that S8 Crown level really demands it.

One of the most amusing parts was the very last one with the letters saying THANK YOU!. I got to it yesterday two times, but for some reason i thought i had to jump on the actual letters and fell from them instead of getting on convenient and completely safe levitating platform below.

Also funny how i didn't realized what was i exactly am i jumping on, until after i fell from letter "Y" in THANK YOU!.

What an amazing game, what an amazing level.

Along with Gunman Clive i also downloaded 3DS demo of Rayman Origins, because i remember how i couldn't beat the Playing the Shade challenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAGcTPQmTQ) in it at all, despite trying for at least hundred times and i wanted to know if i really got better at 2d platforming a year after. Or at least in 2d "Rayman platforming" because of a slightly borked physics of it.

I beat this challenge on Wii a week ago, and this demo also took me like five tries to beat this time around.

After that i played a shooting level from the demo and while i remember having a bit of trouble collecting more than 300+ lums on this particular level, on 3DS it was reworked extensively and i got 490 on first try.

Also i was reminded again how butchered that port was.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 04, 2013, 12:03:54 PM
Pulled a couple old games off the shelf to start playing.

First up, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS). Very early on, I have to say that I'm loving the production values, but the action-based gameplay is really hurt by the touch controls. (Not that they did a bad job with touch-based controls, just that I find nearly all touch-based games to be somewhat awkward and imprecise.) Still seems fun enough and I look forward to playing more.

For console play, I pulled Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) off the shelf so that I could get enough friend vouchers stored up to unlock everything before online services are shut down - that happens at the end of the month, I believe?  It's pretty easy to get 10 vouchers to send, and luckily I've got two Wii consoles so sending them back and forth a couple of times won't take that long.  If there is anyone else (in North America) looking to exchange vouchers before the deadline, drop me a message.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on June 04, 2013, 12:18:58 PM
You might want to check JP.  He just recently started the collection and we talk about it on Nintendo Free Radio 18.

Right now, after Megaman 3 convinced me I'm bad at games, I started playing Super Ghouls N' Ghosts  because hey if your going to be bad at something be bad at the hardest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 04, 2013, 01:53:24 PM
You might want to check JP.  He just recently started the collection and we talk about it on Nintendo Free Radio 18.

Message sent. If anyone else wants some before WiiConnect dies off, I'd be happy to oblige.

Quote
Right now, after Megaman 3 convinced me I'm bad at games, I started playing Super Ghouls N' Ghosts  because hey if your going to be bad at something be bad at the hardest.

What could possibly go wrong?  Good luck with this.  I enjoy playing the G'nG series on and off, but probably have never gotten past level 3 in any of the games from the series.  Fun times.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on June 04, 2013, 02:56:27 PM
You might want to check JP.  He just recently started the collection and we talk about it on Nintendo Free Radio 18.

Message sent. If anyone else wants some before WiiConnect dies off, I'd be happy to oblige.

Quote
Right now, after Megaman 3 convinced me I'm bad at games, I started playing Super Ghouls N' Ghosts  because hey if your going to be bad at something be bad at the hardest.

What could possibly go wrong?  Good luck with this.  I enjoy playing the G'nG series on and off, but probably have never gotten past level 3 in any of the games from the series.  Fun times.
I'm already past level 4  :cool;  (with a heavy abuse of the single save state)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jvgsjeff on June 05, 2013, 07:41:11 PM
I'm playing Animal Crossing New Leaf, Kirby's Adventure, and Batman: Arkham City. Having a lot of fun with them all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 05, 2013, 09:34:13 PM
Almost done with Ys Book I & II.  Put a little bit more time in tonight, but have resorted to using a guide to get through the Shrine close to the end of Book II.  That maze-like structure is more than I'm willing to swallow for this game right now - drawing my own guide and working through what needs to happen in what order would take far longer than the game deserves.  Hope to finally finish over the weekend.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 05, 2013, 10:13:21 PM
jvgsjeff, did you import the New Leaf or do you live in Japan? Because the game is not out yet in other regions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on June 05, 2013, 10:23:08 PM
State of Decay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on June 05, 2013, 10:26:07 PM
jvgsjeff, did you import the New Leaf or do you live in Japan? Because the game is not out yet in other regions.
A retailer may have broken street date.

Since I unlocked Raid Mode in Revelaitons HD, other games don't matter. Rachael, on the scene!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on June 05, 2013, 10:54:16 PM
Dishonored, Mark of the Ninja, and Hitman: Absolution. I've been kind of addicted to stealth games lately.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jvgsjeff on June 05, 2013, 11:34:42 PM
jvgsjeff, did you import the New Leaf or do you live in Japan?

No, but I got an early copy from Nintendo to blog about my experiences with the game. (The link is in my signature if you're interested).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on June 06, 2013, 12:15:03 AM
Played a bit of Remember Me tonight after my hockey game.  So far, I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the title, especially considering some of the reviews out there.  Everything I'd seen up till now about this game looked a bit "janky".  The combat, camera, writing...  But so far, and I've only played about 2 hours, the game has been a nice surprise. 

The cyberpunk dystopian aesthetic is at times gorgeous and depressing.  The music is outstanding.  Dialogue, voice acting, and other sounds(footsteps, punches, etc...) are kind of an inconsistent mix.  Visually, the game is... stunning?  There is a weird plastic-like sheen to many of the textures, but the world, as I said earlier, is extremely well-realized so far.  There is a moment where you step out of the neo-Paris slums, and enter into the privileged area, and my jaw just fell to the floor.  To me, this moment reminded me of the first time I stepped out of the rocket and into Columbia in Bioshock Infinite.

I can see how the combat might become a chore later on, but so far it isn't terrible.  It's actually an interesting take on the system that's been done so often since Arkham Asylum, with a focus on the creation of combos.

After reading a few press reviews, I wasn't sure I would pick this game up.  I was ready to just wait until next week for The Last of Us(which has been getting rave reviews).  I ended up going on "word of mouth" from various internet people who were praising the game's ambition.

Edit: Some screenshots I grabbed from the game(click to embiggen):
(http://imageshack.us/a/img11/8027/rememberme2013060600194.th.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/11/rememberme2013060600194.png/)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img96/1845/rememberme2013060600193.th.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/96/rememberme2013060600193.png/)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img849/937/rememberme2013060600192.th.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/rememberme2013060600192.png/)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img593/315/rememberme2013060600191.th.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/593/rememberme2013060600191.png/)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 06, 2013, 09:10:39 AM
I started The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening this morning and played through the first two dungeons. I hadn't played this game in probably close to 15 years, but I remember it being really great, and so far it's living up to that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on June 08, 2013, 08:21:57 AM
I'm stuck in the last dungeon is LA.  :(


Still playing State of Decay and its a fun yet technical messy game. My main problem is outside of the basic controls there aren't any tutorials on how any of the game systems work. It took me a few days to realize I could start  upgrading my base and build outposts at different places in the environment. I haven't lost any members of my community yet, but I might have to for one of the achievements. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MukiDA on June 08, 2013, 09:56:09 AM
I'm burning through Platinum The Trinity's challenge mode in BlazBlue on my Vita. I might also wrap up the more difficult stages in Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove...
....

.....

DON'T JUDGE ME.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on June 08, 2013, 10:56:24 AM
How is that game?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 09, 2013, 02:46:51 AM
I had to wait for someone to open office doors for me and i didn't bring my 3DS or DS with me. Soooo, i played a game called "Bounce" on my outdated Nokia dumbphone.

It was kinda awesome, for ten minutes at least. Ball has two forms, different abilities for each, there are almost metroid-like maze structure, gates that you have to open by doing something on other side, jumppads and so on.

Controlling with phone buttons is awkward but it was manageable.

Yeah this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcagyakpTW0), only in black/white.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 16, 2013, 09:59:58 AM
Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC).  8 Bracelets.  #"*@$#^.   Thinking of switching to a different game in the not-too-distant future if I can't get past this roadblock soon - maybe Luigi's Mansion.


Edit: Ok, finished 8 Bracelets with a bit of perseverance, along with the rest of the stages in world 7... only find that some of the stages in world 8 make that one look tame by comparison.  Definitely dropping Luigi's Mansion into my GameCube for a while to help me regain some sanity.


On happier notes:


Still making steady progress in Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (DS) and enjoying that game completely. The parts where you have to blow into the mic are too gimmicky for my liking, but this is a fantastic game. Can't believe that it's less than $2 at Canadian GameStop stores.


Also playing a lot of Animal Crossing with my wife. She went from having virtually no interest to being quite excited to check in daily and see what's happening in our town... so that ended up being big a win, since the game is more fun when it's shared. The island is a lot of fun, and I think they did a great job balancing the new and old features. Not a revolution from what was expected, but a nice tweak on the established formula. This is a game that I'll be playing 15-30 minutes per day for many months to come.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 17, 2013, 03:46:10 PM
Since last week i've been at other city for work. It sucked working so much during E3 week with hotel's internet being somewhat spotty and internet at work restricted. At least i took my xbox with me and we played quite a lot of games with my colleague.
First we played some Gears of War 2 in co-op. It was kinda hard for both of us because of dual analogs and my friend just like me is accustomed to playing shooters on PC, but it was still enjoyable enough. Especially with some booze. Restarting missions over and over again because we couldn't understand what to do or where to go, wasn't very fun though.
I also took xbox wireless usb adapter and connected xbox joysticks to my notebook. Then we tried a few NES games on emulator in coop.
We specifically wanted to play Battletoads vs Double Dragon, because it was one of the games we played a lot as kids. We beat it within two nights but had to do savestates a lot, because we didn't really wanted to waste time and were pretty wasted themselves.
Going for more nostalgia, we also played a few levels in Battle City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_City_(video_game)). It was probably our most played game on Dendy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendy_(console)) (russian NES knock-off). Even to this day many people remember this game as simply "The Tanks game". Part of why "World of Tanks" is so popular here is because of that old pirated game that everyone played as a kid.
This night we started Lara Croft and Guardian of Light.
This game is so awesome.
Amazing co-op action, great puzzles. You can play it in singleplayer but i recommend to try to play with a friend -- it gets so much better when you're not alone when game suddenly screws you over with traps or over the action moments..
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 18, 2013, 12:08:31 AM
I've been playing a whole lot of different things lately. In addition to FIFA and Mutant Mudds on the Wii U, I've been playing a ton of things on 3DS, including a ridiculous amount of Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, replaying Super Mario 3D Land, and Picross-e, and I also went back and started up DS games Super Mario 64 DS and Advance Wars: Dual Strike again, because I clearly didn't already have enough going on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on June 18, 2013, 11:56:36 PM
It's been a while, but I jumped back into Sleeping Dogs tonight for a little bit.  I didn't do any missions or anything of any real significance, but I had a ton of fun just exploring the landscape via various methods of travel.  The game is still really pretty, and the combat system is awesome.  I love getting on a motorcycle and flying down the road at high speed and using other cars as ramps.  I know S-E has its head up its ass and all, but I really hope they greenlight another game like this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 22, 2013, 09:22:16 AM
I've finally came back from business trip.

On our last night in hotel we played some more Lara Croft (still have three or so levels left). Some really ingenious puzzles in there. I wonder if they change level for singleplayer cause while some challenges can be done alone, some require second person...

Then on the next day, we played some Contra 4 in airport while waiting for our delayed flight. Occasions like these is why i bought extra Contra 4 cartridge. We both had a blast. Not only the game itself is great by itself, it also has a huge nostalgia boost. We only got to third boss on easy and i was out of continues by then. There are some issues with shared screen, i killed my pal too many times in vertical waterfall area because i moved too far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: alegoicoe on June 22, 2013, 04:37:37 PM
Tackling Mega Man 5 for the first time and enjoying the hell out of Luigi U's short and sweet levels :cool;
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 22, 2013, 05:31:42 PM
I've basically lost ownership of my 3DS since my wife has become engrossed with Animal Crossing, but that means the TV is free so I'm turning back to console games for now.


Putting the last bit of effort into Ys Book I & II (Wii Virtual Console), having reached the Goddess Tower and climbed to the top of the Belfry. Looks like there is some more fetch questing to do before the final encounter... but this game must be just about done.  Hopefully it'll be crossed off my list this weekend?


Also started Luigi's Mansion (GameCube).  Rather enjoying this game early on, and think that what I've seen so far holds up extremely well for a launch game from two generations ago. Not sure I enjoy the game enough that I want to invest in the 3DS sequel yet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Three4Flinching on June 30, 2013, 01:45:12 PM
I´m currently playing Aliens: Infestation on DS. Think its great so far, the only problem i´m having is keeping people alive when I encounter bosses, think I have lost about 6 soldiers.


Probably my favvorite Alien game since Alien vs Predator on PC (1999), it really captures the mood from the movies.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on June 30, 2013, 02:34:16 PM
I´m currently playing Aliens: Infestation on DS. Think its great so far, the only problem i´m having is keeping people alive when I encounter bosses, think I have lost about 6 soldiers.


Probably my favvorite Alien game since Alien vs Predator on PC (1999), it really captures the mood from the movies.

I enjoyed that game too. I managed to get to the last boss without losing a character (by which I mean, I reloaded when I lost a character). When I finally did let them die in facing the last boss it was really very satisfying, lol.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Three4Flinching on June 30, 2013, 04:39:32 PM
I´m currently playing Aliens: Infestation on DS. Think its great so far, the only problem i´m having is keeping people alive when I encounter bosses, think I have lost about 6 soldiers.


Probably my favvorite Alien game since Alien vs Predator on PC (1999), it really captures the mood from the movies.

I enjoyed that game too. I managed to get to the last boss without losing a character (by which I mean, I reloaded when I lost a character). When I finally did let them die in facing the last boss it was really very satisfying, lol.


I can understand why people don´t like permadeath, but I have always liked it. For me it makes the game all the more exciting when you have to be more carful with your resources.


And in this particular game I think it lends greatly to the overall feel and suspense (allthough it´s not  real permadeath). In the movies the aliens are much stronger then the humans and there are going to be alot of casualties.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on June 30, 2013, 07:40:24 PM


I can understand why people don´t like permadeath, but I have always liked it. For me it makes the game all the more exciting when you have to be more carful with your resources.


And in this particular game I think it lends greatly to the overall feel and suspense (allthough it´s not  real permadeath). In the movies the aliens are much stronger then the humans and there are going to be alot of casualties.

I actually do enjoy permadeath in certain games. I embrace it fully, for example, in Fire Emblem. It just so happened that in the case of Infestation it was exceedingly easy to just reload the last check point as very little progress was ever lost, plus I thought it was would be really funny (given how disposable the characters are) to keep the same crew until the very end. As it turned out, I think it made the game more enjoyable. I feel that game would have been a little on the easy side had I not played it the way I did.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 01, 2013, 01:54:59 AM
New Super Mario Bros U:

I've beat all levels and collected all stars (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzYJ-79g) but still had only four stars on my save.

Apparently i also need to catch Nabbit once in all worlds, and i simply ignored him entire game. Now i first have to wait till he appears, he comes up like Perfects in Rhythm Heaven games and just like Perfects you only have three tries. It's just a hassle to play levels you already collected everything on just to lure him out and then traverse overworld (which i dislike) to the level where Nabbit is. Last time i couldn't get him in three tries and that was just groove killing.

I also played challenges a LOT. Special challenges i feel are the most fun. Simple time trials are just brutal, especially the ones in Desert world levels (what's wrong with you, designers? why do you place the most vicious and tiring stages in entire game in the SECOND world for the third time in the row?).

Also, during the challenges where you have to collect coins with Lakitu i found out that analog stick works better for flying on a cloud.

And weird (or cool?) how they hid propeller suit inside Super Star World. It doesn't come up anywhere else in the main game, except in one of the Special Challenges.

I have more notes on entire game but i'll post them once i will finish FINISH the game.

Speaking of annoying overworlds. I tried again (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=40642.0) with SMB3. Yeah, no. Still can't squeeze out any enjoyment out of this game. "Weird" jumping, more emphasis on air control, confusing overworld, baffling level design, don't like speed system and how flying suit requires levels to have runways to lift off.

While digging through my box of GBA carts further i also played DKC3 for the first time. First part with swimming Dixie was confusing (again, overworlds... this is a platform game people, why am i not platforming out of the gate?) but once i got to actual level. I enjoyed it A LOT. More so than first DKC that i beat on GBA. I just played for a few levels to test if cartridge works. Looking forward to playing DKC2, and then will come back to it later.

More GBA carts. Super Mario World. Again, played it for testing, just three or four levels. I like jumping in this game more, it feels closer to first SMB and NSMB. Spinning jump is kinda weird but okay. Yoshi doesn't float, but Luigi does. Okay, i can live with it. Also i love this music.

Gunman Clive (3DS)

It's not amazing, but hey, it's just 2 euros.

I like the artstyle. Crayon sandy look, like a Wanted poster. Wiggling texture lines also make for nice visual effect, reminds me of some of the early 90s animation.

While it's supposed to be Mega Man tribute, jumping feels too floaty for Mega Man game. And both Clive and Ms. Johnson take too much time to change direction, which can mess you up during boss fights. And overall it feels like all animations are a bit slower than they have to.

It also has that Rayman Origins disease, where everything is hand-drawn (or looks like it) and game actively hides all pixels from you which is kinda crucial when you demand pixel-perfect jumps from a player. Again just like Rayman Origins game plays like it's more suited for analog stick than D-pad, which is somewhat true i guess, considering it was a phone game with touch controls initially.

I also loved random aliens and that rider in space.

I beat as Clive in less than hour or so, and then went for second playthrough with secret character and now i'm playing for the third time with Ms. Johnson. Level 9 with a duck is pretty hard, so much spam.

Very solid game on unbeatable price.

Bayonetta (360)

God dammit, that Burning City chapter. I think i had to replay the very first part like twenty or so times to get even silver. And later even that rank was obliterated by obnoxious QTEs later in this chapter. I think i "replayed" that one QTE where i had to press X in exactly at the right moment, not a millisecond before and not millisecond after dozen times or so.

I'm getting the hang of crafting and items stuff. It was just so overwhelming at first.

Some interface issues. Like after shooting angels minigame i just don't understand how to quit without buying anything. B button requires me to spend some Sonic rings on stuff i don't really want and only then i can quit. I'd also appreciate single button press to skip cutscenes or just option to skip them all during replays.

Also i want that training loading screen accessed separately from the main menu, so that i can practice combos. Or maybe it is there, i just didn't find it.

Currently stuck on that two headed dragon boss. How many times do i have to fight him? It's like fourth time. And i didn't really enjoyed fighting him first three times.

Still despite all these issues i enjoy the game lot. I remember i said wow out loud when i entered into Paradiso garden. The environments overall look great.

Of course the gameplay is the main course in this game and it's amazing. It's not even that hard, if you're okay with getting Stone Awards. I still can't get how and when i am supposed to use guns, for now i just use them to kill groups of those flying heads. Also i during Burning City chapter i kept forgetting, charged into burning angels all the time and got burned. I just don't have the patience to lure them out for Witch Time. I also wonder if that first free torture attack that you sometimes get on the very first enemy in the area is random or it is determined by some conditions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 03, 2013, 01:27:38 AM
Bayonetta
I'm stuck on second Jeanne fight. I kept replaying her fight over and over and over until i just gave up at 1am. I think i need LOTS of green lollipops for this boss fight. Now that i figured out how to craft them and how to set them on d-pad buttons (thanks for derpy interface, Kamiya!) i can stock up on them.

I'm still playing Kid Icarus after it's lively discussion on the podcast (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=42073.msg800584#msg800584). Multiplayer is actually pretty addicting, guys.

Really reminds me of online shooter arenas. Not THAT fast, but still pretty hectic. It gets incredibly fast during melee encounters, just a hurricane of dashes and dodges and combos.

I got the hang of powers in multiplayer. It was so satisfying to get kills with "Playing Dead" power where you fake your death and become invisible for a few seconds to sneak up on unsuspecting enemy who thought he just killed you. NOPE, have drill in your face!

Also multiplayer is giving mad points for simply playing, you got hearts and sometimes bonus weapons regardless if you win or lose.

I mostly played "Dark vs Light" mode, that is basically your regular Team Deathmatch that turns into "Hunted/President" mode halfway through. I tried one round of "Free for all" but it feels completely different and is probably too hectic for my tastes. You also need to pick different weapon and power-set for this mode because what worked in slightly slower "Dark vs Light" doesn't work in Free for all.

I also started replaying story levels simply to fill up wall of achievements. I tried to beat first chapter on difficulty 9 and got through flying section which is usually harder because you have no powers there and have to rely only on your skills and twitch reaction, but i died during the short land section after that (and i didn't even entered additional arena with the tank). And died again on Twinbellows, so my final score was on rather underwhelming 7.

I also replayed that dreaded Pandora's Labyrinth chapter, and i think i am getting better with circle pad cause this time i wasn't constantly falling down from the platforms by mistake.

This game, man. So much fun.

Assasin's Creed 2

This game has problems. Starting from retarded plot (saving the world by murdering people, okay), pretty bad battle system, manipulative game systems that are designed to keep you keep wasting those hours in the game (ridiculous amount of random unrelated side missions, collectathon with weapons, feathers, clothes, paintings, codex pieces, hidden writings, buildings and statues in your home town).

But the core gameplay of simply roaming the city and climbing up buildings is just so fun. It's so fun you sometimes can't help but to take that side mission just because.

Overall i think i enjoyed platforming challenges in assasin temples more than the main story, where it's basically Prince of Persia Sands of Time gameplay. And music and visuals during the puzzles segment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ewQHsaM72E&t=19s) really creep me out. I like it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: RABicle on July 03, 2013, 08:07:50 AM
I just played through this game over the weekend. it's pretty indie, so you might not have heard of it, but it was called Portal 2, teh sequel to Portal!
Anyway it was really good. Maybe even one of the best games I've played.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 03, 2013, 10:36:56 AM
Looking at those impressions, it's a pity, Azeke, that the time disparity between our regions would make it very difficult (if not impossible) to bring you onto NFR someday.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 05, 2013, 12:05:32 AM
More notes on Kid Icarus Uprising.

Interestingly, intensity level does not actually set difficulty for the level. It does look like difficulty setting, but it's really not.

Yes, monsters DO get harder and more dangerous, but once you get through flying section, land section will let you just run past the majority of monsters and you can skip all the additional mini-bosses and optional secrets and arenas as you like.

I've been trying to beat the first level on intensity 9 and did it yesterday, After you get through sky section, i just ran, not stopping for anything, right to the boss arena. Twinbellows on 9 is rather tough, and i mostly have been dying on him during my seven or so tries to beat the level.

The game doesn't even reward you in any way except for more points for beating chapters on higher levels. I didn't get any achievements or anything for beating level on 9. Yes there are achievements requiring minimal intensity, but from what i've seen it's just measly 5 or 6.

Intensity is all about loot and points. By running past everything you miss on a lot of hearts and sometimes won't even get back the amount of hearts you put in the cauldron when you made the bet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 05, 2013, 03:11:38 PM
Finally got around to starting Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 5: Rise of the Pirate God.


Still early on (just escaped from the crossroads) and finding it to be very much "more of the same".  Telltale Games always seem to put just enough humor and interesting plot points into their games to make them worth playing, but never manage to really create interesting puzzles. Plus there are unfortunate engine glitches, more noticeable on Wii although certainly not exclusive to the system.


So even though I'm enjoying the game - a given, since I've already played through the first four parts and am now back for more - it's clearly not something everyone will like. Shame this game didn't get a retail release on Wii, as it would be much easier to recommend if the buy-in wasn't so high.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on July 08, 2013, 04:49:22 PM
Running through Persona 4: Golden on Vita now.  I loved the original on the PS2, and since I've obviously run through all the games in my backlog, I figured now would be a good time to dig into this version.  I think the silly rumour running around since someone registered the Persona5 website got me itching to play this game again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on July 08, 2013, 05:23:47 PM
More notes on Kid Icarus Uprising.

Interestingly, intensity level does not actually set difficulty for the level. It does look like difficulty setting, but it's really not.

Yes, monsters DO get harder and more dangerous, but once you get through flying section, land section will let you just run past the majority of monsters and you can skip all the additional mini-bosses and optional secrets and arenas as you like.

I've been trying to beat the first level on intensity 9 and did it yesterday, After you get through sky section, i just ran, not stopping for anything, right to the boss arena. Twinbellows on 9 is rather tough, and i mostly have been dying on him during my seven or so tries to beat the level.

The game doesn't even reward you in any way except for more points for beating chapters on higher levels. I didn't get any achievements or anything for beating level on 9. Yes there are achievements requiring minimal intensity, but from what i've seen it's just measly 5 or 6.

Intensity is all about loot and points. By running past everything you miss on a lot of hearts and sometimes won't even get back the amount of hearts you put in the cauldron when you made the bet.
I know a few levels require 9 pretty early on for an achievement.  I'll have to dig out my copy.  Though I think its good that the stronger weapons are earned with the higher difficulty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 08, 2013, 06:02:54 PM
Running through Persona 4: Golden on Vita now.  I loved the original on the PS2, and since I've obviously run through all the games in my backlog, I figured now would be a good time to dig into this version.  I think the silly rumour running around since someone registered the Persona5 website got me itching to play this game again.


What a coincidence, I am also playing this game right now. I recently got a Vita for this game and I'm really digging it. I still feel like the plot for P3 was superior though. So far this is like an anime Scooby Doo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 09, 2013, 01:13:51 AM
Well, I gave Saints Row 3 a try...and surprisingly after a few hours I was just...bored.  For all the promised wackiness, at its heart it's just another open world gangster game where you're expected to make your own fun shooting a ton of cops.  I wasn't expecting that.  I doubt I'll play much more of it.

On the flipside, I decided to finally play that $10 copy of Borderlands 2 Sony paid me to download a few months ago.  While I really didn't like the 1st Borderlands (generic environments, no memorable characters, almost no villain, and nothing of interest if you're not a big Loot fan), surprisingly its sequel is clicking with me for whatever reason.  It doesn't make sense considering Borderlands 2 just seems to be the same game, just in an Ice area rather than desert, but I think I'll be sticking with the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 09, 2013, 11:58:20 PM
Assassin's Creed II: Brotherhood
I only played first tutorial level. It looks like combat system is reworked significantly, countering feels like is now one hit kill and hey, gamepad works now! No Xpadder needed.
Oh, and thanks UPlay again for making me tinker around to even start play this. Had to reinstall the game like three times and use registry editing tools to make it all work.


Mirror's Edge
Ah, the good ol' "let's make our heroes look all kewl and young and hot and stuff and they're like totally rebeloius and fighting nazis and ****". Cheap looking flash animated cutscenes don't help, really clashes with games' otherwise great presentation.

I was using standard controller layout for tutorial and first level, and entire time pressing LB to jump was weird. It also feels like putting aiming on left stick would have worked better with this kind of game, rather than using "standard" first person shooter configuration with "LS walks, RS aims". I will experiment with other layouts next time when i will play the game.

But otherwise, really cool gameplay concept and great looking game.


Then i went just started playing whatever on Steam:

Geometry Wars 1
Good old Geometry Wars. How does second game fare? Wii/DS games? I think my local games shop had Geometry War: Galaxies for a few bucks.

Jamestown
Plot aside, plays just like a regular shooter. Co-op is nice, i want to play this with pals someday. I don't understand the system with regular peashooter shots and "special" laser beam though. Laser beam is so much better there is really no reason to use peashooter.

Also, stupid  pointer based menu controls.

Hotline Miami

Aw, yeah. The most amazing soundtrack coupled with a bug fest of game. Because this great music always makes me want to do stupid dangerous things i switch buggy Steamworks on and use game's half-baked controller support.

I think i beat like two levels and gave up on level 11 at 2 am. The level where SWAT comes in the end was pretty cool. Knocking out cops and getting away from building full of corpses was fun.

I am using owl mask, cause i want to find all secrets. Didn't really found any.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 10, 2013, 08:50:52 AM
...

Geometry Wars 1
Good old Geometry Wars. How does second game fare? Wii/DS games? I think my local games shop had Geometry War: Galaxies for a few bucks.

...


The Wii/DS games are very good.


Many different stages with special rules will either seem like a gimmick, or a great way to keep the game fresh. Same could be said about the 2-player vs/co-op modes. Depends on how dedicated you are to chasing high scores. One nice thing is that it includes the original game as well - so if you don't want to jump into the extra modes then you can just play the basic Geometry Wars.


I didn't like the control scheme on DS and would recommend the Wii version (with dual analog controls via the Classic Controller) first.  Not that the DS is unworkable or even that bad... but using 8-way shooting with buttons or stylus-based aiming just didn't work for me.


Although not certain, I'd wager that using the online high score feature works better on 360 - if only because you'll have a bigger and more active group of people playing.  I haven't even checked to see if the Geometry Wars Galaxies boards are still online for Wii.


Final comment: Galaxies probably wasn't worth the initial asking price for most people. Selling an arcade experience for a few bucks is much more appealing than $30-40.  That's a non-factor now though, as Galaxies can be found for very low prices if you look around.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 10, 2013, 11:46:53 AM
I've been dividing my time between the following for the past week.
 
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
 
This is my first foray into an Animal Crossing game, and I find myself having hot/cold streaks when playing it.  The first few weeks I owned it had me frantically working to collect as many bells and upgrade my house/complete public works projects ASAP.  In the past week or so, I've cooled to it a bit, getting a little tired of bug hunting on the island to accumulate bells, and all my house upgrades are almost 600,000 bells at this point.
 
I feel compelled to play each day to ensure progress doesn't stall, but at this point it's feeling more like work than actual enjoyment.  I may take a break for a few days to recouperate and regain interest, because I really do like the game despite these nagging problems.
 
 
Gravity Rush
 
I decided to replay through Gravity Rush after not having touched my Vita for a few months.  This game reminds me so much of Spiderman 2 in that the combat is unweildy & sloppy, the writing and storytelling are underdeveloped, the enemies are a bit too generic/bland and it's much too short.
 
But it's also like Spiderman 2 in that your character (Kat)'s means of transportation is a unique mechanic I've never seen in any game before, and it's exhilarating traversing the different parts of the city, picking things up and throwing them with your gravity fields, and compels me to continue playing despite those glaring issues.
 
Although I got this game for free as part of my PS+ membership, I may purchase the sequel, assuming the sequel is an improvement to the original to the game. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 11, 2013, 02:46:58 AM
Assassin's Creed II: Brotherhood
Seems great so far. While visuals and animation look top-notch as usual, cutscenes still look somewhat jankie like in II. Story and characters' motivation still make zero sense (why didn't Ezio kill Rodrigo? because), but who gives a ****. This is a game where i can roam around Rome and marvel at Pantheon and other historical buildings. Though when i tried to get on top of it, i discovered Ezio lost his climb-jump ability which is slightly annoying.

New slightly RTS-y features look good so far. Map is improved, now it actually shows me locations (thank god) and i can zoom in and out. Combat system actually while felt reworked at first is actually the same from ACII just with damage doubled and kill streaks. Kill streaks are cool though and help to deal with crowds of enemies.

Full synchronization stuff wasn't really demanding so far, but i heard this will become a nuisance. But so far i liked having an additional challenge put on story missions.

Mirror's Edge
I was using standard controller layout for tutorial and first level, and entire time pressing LB to jump was weird. It also feels like putting aiming on left stick would have worked better with this kind of game, rather than using "standard" first person shooter configuration with "LS walks, RS aims". I will experiment with other layouts next time when i will play the game.
Yeah, tried "left handed" layout and it's not working for me. It's a shame they don't allow to fully customize controls and we just have four presets to choose from. "Inverted shoulders" setting feels the best so far.
I only played time trial for the first level -- really helps to figure out the physics and controls.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 11, 2013, 02:48:17 AM
Damn, you play a lot of games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 11, 2013, 02:52:17 AM
Damn, you play a lot of games.
Beats sitting and whining on forums all the time.

i still sit and whine on forums anyway
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 11, 2013, 02:54:49 AM

Beats sitting and whining on forums all the time.

i still sit and whine on forums anyway


They should make that a game someday. :P
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 11, 2013, 11:41:29 PM
More Assasin's Creed 2: B. Nothing special, just good old fun platforming in tombs.

Also i found an ideal path to run through second and third levels in Ghost'n'Goblins reliably after trying out different routes in third level on my lunch break.

Now i have to train on those weird flying platforms in level 4, that's only hard part of the level, the rest is incredibly easy. Dragon snake boss is a wimp, i have no idea why Arino had so much trouble with him.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 13, 2013, 03:26:39 AM
In addition to the usual high amounts of FIFA and Animal Crossing, I've bees spending a lot of time with Sid Meier's Civilization V: Brave New World. It's really a perfect refinement of the formula, largely adding late-game conent, increasing the importance of international trade, and improving diplomacy, one of the weak points of the game up to this point.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 13, 2013, 02:15:47 PM
Sorry for interrupting that great forum drama queens fight thing you had. It's just silly weird me, talking about them videogames.

With Assasin Creed and Ghost 'n' Goblins i kinda got into medieval european kinda mood and subsequently played:

l'Abbaye des Morts (http://www.locomalito.com/abbaye_des_morts.php) -- had this free game on my disc for years. Really cool stuff. Despite (or thanks to) ZX Spectrum-like visuals, game still can bring a few lyrical and horror notes added to a pretty short but challenging game. It's Castlevania-like adventure but you have no combat you just go around and jump avoiding enemies, entire game is played on directional buttons.

Despite shortness, i am playing for a few days and still can't beat final boss.

Maldita Castilla (http://www.locomalito.com/maldita_castilla.php) -- very nice Ghost 'n' Goblins clone from the same developer. Also free and pretty cool. The effort locomalito brings into his free games is very impressive. I wish lots of commercial indie games i payed good money for, had at half of polish his games have. Game is not as brutal as any GnG but still very enjoyable.

Bayonetta -- i think i'm getting the hang of the combo system. Bayo's panthera form is pretty cool. Now i'm on a boss level which looks like another QTE-fest, i bailed out after trying to play for 15 minutes very late at night. I'll resume next day.

And of course the most medieval game of them all:

Scribblenauts: Unlimited -- it's weird that this game doesn't support controller, but considering the nature of the game it's understandable. There a few interface problems, like entering buildings and areas could have been done better, but it's not a big deal. Otherwise it look and plays just like any other Scribblenauts game, except in 1080. I filled crab cages with hamburgers and fooled fisherman. Then i got to ride king lobser, gave mob man a knife, met Shyful Shoggot, got to clean harbour from toxic wasted using black holes.

It's Scribblenauts, man.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Caliban on July 13, 2013, 05:57:03 PM
Fez because of the Steam Summer sales, and I got my Wii Classic Controller Pro working with GlovePIE so that I can play it wonderfully, and comfortably. I just need to prefect the joystick parts of the script, but Fez doesn't really need analogue control so it's no big deal for now. I'm only at the beginning of the game, but I'm impressed. Stuck on the initial stage haha, I have one last cube to find. The game has this attention to detail, care, and it seems like it might have been a pain in the ass to QA. All worth it in the end I guess.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 17, 2013, 04:02:06 AM
Spent entirety of the evening playing 3d brawlers.

First i briefly checked out MGS: Revengeance demo again, hoping i would get combat system better now that i can comfortably play Bayonetta. Nope, it still feels weird, because of no dodge action (?), which is a huge part of Bayo's combat and sword swinging mechanic still feels clunky and stops the action too abruptly. I might still eventually get the game on PC and hopefully once i put more effort into the game it will feel better.

Then four or so hours of Bayonetta. I unlocked parrying move (Mahaa-Kalaa) and while nifty, it's incredibly demanding of my reaction time. I never can trigger it on purpose and usually just don't risk it and just spam dodge.

After so many hours into the game it feels like dodge should have been put on face button or on RB because pushing trigger all the way feels like too time consuming for mechanic that demands millisecond level precision.

Another move i unlocked was turning into a cloud of bats for a moment to nullify damage when you press dodge a millisecond or so after you've been hit. Again it's waaay too much for my reaction and at first i didn't even used it, but after realizing that this basically extends the dodge time period for a few frames after i take damage i appreciate this a lot. Of course, i am not able to do this on purpose, but once in a while it activates when i'm too slow for a simple dodge or Witch Time dodge. Win-win.

I also started to mess around with different weapons and stuff. I have a fire and lightning claws, but i'm not sure how to switch them to lightning all i have so far is fire which while more powerful also slower than regular attacks. I also had a sword, but eventually i switched back to regular no weapons loadout.

I was fighting Jeanne for the third time and only then i realized that all this sick moves she did in previous encounters on me like super fast sword and parrying my attacks by creating a magical shield i can now do too! Pretty awesome feeling.

Also bosses are tedious. It just takes way too much time to deal with them, especially if you're fighting them for the first time and just figuring out what to do.

Their design somewhat makes up for it, but still, 15 minutes of doing the same stuff to kill a boss is too much.

Capcom is having a sale on Xbox right now, and i was thinking over if i should buy DMC HD collection (15$ for gold owners, which i'm not but it still shows me as 15$...) and maybe DMC4 (5$, also on Steam for the same price) while it's cheap enough. I didn't, but still downloaded DMC4 demo.

It's kinda weird how "tame" DMC4  feels compared to Bayo. Also yet another different combat system. Demo was kinda bad i wanted to check out action sequences more but it kept giving me platformy and puzzley challenges instead and even put me on a timer. It looks great though. Very clean and sharp (i wish Bayo was like that).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 17, 2013, 04:20:55 AM
Well, I'm coming up on the end of the main Borderlands 2 story.  So far, the game's...well...it's not "bad" per say.  The game's systems are certainly well-made and the shooting feels good.  But at the same time, it really feels like a game that's more addicting than it actually is fun.

It feels really good to find better guns and fill up XP bars, but at the same time none of the missions (even the side missions) have felt the least bit satisfying.  In fact, the side missions have gotten increasingly tedious since they usually mean backtracking through large segments of areas I just DID in the most recent story missions, fighting the same floods of enemies.  And the way that enemies in these areas level-up with you pretty much ensures you never feel as empowered as you should feel doing these bonus missions outside the main story.  The comedy is also really terrible, usually centered on groan-inducing pop-culture "parodies".  I do like the characters, though.  I just wish the game actually did anything interesting with them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 17, 2013, 08:07:45 AM
According to my Wii U's Activity Log I've now spent over 100 hours with FIFA 13. I really am disappointed that the game won't be hitting the Wii U this year, as I think it's one of the best uses of the GamePad I've seen. I may end up holding off on this year's version and instead sink more time into my career mode file in this one. I need to get my beloved Sounders into the Premier League and win the Champion's League with them, and that's likely to take a while.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 17, 2013, 12:39:34 PM
Picked up Dragon Quest V on DS, and can't put it down yet. The series is unabashedly old-school, but has always been right up my alley. This game in particular has done a great job of throwing you into multiple bite-sized adventures early on - so you play for a half-hour or so and feel like you've actually accomplished something. It's really a nice way to get your into the game and very different from other RPGs I've been playing recently where the main quest is so overwhelmingly large that you feel like you are just treading water for the first 20 hours.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on July 19, 2013, 04:31:57 PM
I tried to get back into Crysis 3 the other day, hoping to clear some of my backlog, but that game is the definition of generic shooter to me.  Absolutely gorgeous but devoid of fun.

I've finally managed to get my wheel settings locked in to where I'm comfortable playing F1 2012 on my PC.  I've read a lot of sim-enthusiasts aren't too keen on this license in Codemasters's hands, but I'm really enjoying the game.  Also, playing around with rFactor 2, which is an odd experience.  The game is a hardcore sim-racer that is currently in an incomplete form.  I've been having some fun tracking down tracks and cars to add to the experience, and so far, driving into walls has never been more fun!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on July 19, 2013, 05:59:36 PM
Would skip over DMC HD collection and just start with 4.  DMC 4 demo really doesn't do the game justice, the actual game has some nice combat moves/weapon switching and two different playable characters with their own style.

Really depends on the gamer though, some fans found DMC4 to easy though compared to other entries in the game.  If you're looking for a challenging game then I would go with DMC (the orginal not the reboot) or the Ninja Gaiden series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 23, 2013, 11:33:51 PM
Bayonetta

Finished it on Normal.

Epilogue was just amazing. It felt like a long tv series and in the finale they just went all in with all characters marching in a grand city-wide parade with confetti and all cast walking past you and waving at the crowds (me).

The entire time feeling was like: "hey! remember me, it's me mook #132!? Remember how you killed me? These were fun times, huh? And me, mini-boss #34! And me! And me!".

The game had like five or so endings, it was like Lord of the Rings only you didn't want to go to the bathroom.

Two credits sequences (both playable), two dance ending numbers and a motherload of unlocked content including humongous, wallpaper featuring everyone in the game (also adding to the feeling of the game saying you goodbye), music, 3d models, art gallery and hard mode.

The game deifnitely has some problems, bike and starfox levels were way too long considering how shallow and unrewarding both of them were. Some of the QTEs in the beginning (level 3 particularly) are placed so badly and are so harsh it might kill any desire to continue. But overall the game feels like it gets better as the it progresses. In the beginning you will have boss reused four times, some dodgy cutscenes and safe environments but by the end it gets so much better with everything.

Absolutely crazy designs are definitely the game's main achievement. Bosses, some levels, demons, even regular mooks look otherworldly and very original.

Such an amazing game. Will keep playing it on hard and will try to get all golden statues. I tried first level on hard and felt like it was doable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 29, 2013, 12:38:52 AM
I checked it out yesterday. My impression:

(http://gifatron.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/arrested-development-dont-know-what-expected.gif)

Based from impressions online i thought i'd see more than just a fan-made level pack. Stupid me.
Played a bit further. It definitely improves.

The final castle in the first world was actually brilliant. One level right before it had a pretty smart alternate exit placement which led to global yellow switch.

Apparently coloured switches unlock some Mario trivia at Yoshi's house. Not super substantial but okay. Though i vaguely remember yellow switch blocks appearing in regular level as well...

Music is generic in a elevator jingle sense, but that's what NSMB games' music is about so it's okay.

After beating first world, i'm again at Desert world, where as always in 2d Mario games i just lose the will to progress. Level design also crashes down to the same fanmod pack levels it had before.

I guess they only had one talented level designer and he only did castles and later levels in all the worlds.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 30, 2013, 12:34:25 AM
Assasin Creed: Brotherhood
Near the end.
Full synchronization feels like it was made to force you to play missions at least twice. Still getting those meaningless 100% and completing all random quests is probably my favorite part of the game so i don't mind much.

Economics system is kinda wonky and confusing but workable. Shop quests add another level to overall already super collectathon-ish nature of the game.

Assassin's contract management is actually pretty fun. I find myself spending too much time there.

After the ending i will still have:

Also, Ubisoft's achievements are kinda stupid. The have a separate achievement for every sequence and every Romulus lair you do. It's like "You've completed World 1! Here is your achievement!", "You've completed World 2! Here is your achievement!". What's the point of achievements if you're hitting them just going by the storyline?

Super Meat Boy
After completing the game earlier this year, i was just playing randomly beating a level or two. I got achievement for beating first world without dying. Funnily i did it without knowing, because apparently you don't have to beat final boss level in world 1. So i have wasted about three hours trying to beat all levels AND boss level trying to get achievement i already had. Ah well.
Got through seven or so of Cotton Alley levels. Absolutely sadistic stuff.
Spent an hour or so trying to get all bandages on first world. Got two (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOfGZB1YHhA) bandages (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_4uz-L6RY) i missed in dark world. Still have two bandages missing...

Milon's Secret Castle
Got to third floor today. Then i got the air balloon ship and died. Still not sure how to continue in this game. Will resume from save i made after getting to third floor.
I watched Game Center CX coverage of this game but apparently i forgot everything.
It's pretty tough, but i still enjoy the basic gameplay enough to put up with all bullshit game does.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 30, 2013, 11:02:23 PM
I finally tried Shinobi 3DS. Yikes! The game is obscenely hard (par for the course for this series) though Easy mode gives you infinite lives. I'm probably not going to finish it. In fact, I may trade it in this weekend.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThomasO on July 31, 2013, 11:59:21 AM
I'm playing EarthBound for the first time. It's fun but really frustrating at times. I reconfigured my control schemes to be more like Mother 3, so opening and navigating menus would be less tedious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 31, 2013, 01:37:12 PM
Damn... Bit.Trip Runner is absolutely kicking my ass.  I hate rhythm/timing-based games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 31, 2013, 02:04:48 PM
Then don't play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 31, 2013, 05:53:06 PM
Assasin Creed: Brotherhood
Near the end.
Full synchronization feels like it was made to force you to play missions at least twice. Still getting those meaningless 100% and completing all random quests is probably my favorite part of the game so i don't mind much.

Economics system is kinda wonky and confusing but workable. Shop quests add another level to overall already super collectathon-ish nature of the game.

Assassin's contract management is actually pretty fun. I find myself spending too much time there.

After the ending i will still have:
  • to complete romulus lairs (love PoP-style platforming, that enormous labyrinth level though... and you have to make it in 8 minutes too...),
  • get all feathers (just three left, at least there are only ten of those),
  • will ignore borgia flags, because no way i'm roaming around just to collect 60+ i have left,
  • definitely will upgrade all the buildings (almost done just 1-2 left of each type), not sure if i will get all landmarks cause they're pricey and i'm not getting enough money (and it doesn't even look like it's worth it anyway, i bought Coliseum and it's giving measly 40 florins, why bother),
  • will definitely try to get all portraits.
  • oh yeah and those Truth puzzles (not enjoying them as much as in ACII, those decrypting puzzles with weird symbols got too confusing)
  • might try to get at least some Guild mission challenges, i've already almost filled Assasin's Guild on


Enjoy the rest of the last (and only) good Assassin's Creed game.

As for me, I started playing through The Last of Us, taking death turns with my brother. Quite stunning at first, and the first few infected encounters are harrowing, but now I'm about 4 hours in and pretty damned bored. Game design is dull, and the enemies stop being intimidating after you feel out the limits of the AI.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 31, 2013, 06:40:28 PM
I've been playing a lot of smaller stuff on my Vita lately.

First, Kung Fu Rabbit, a 2D platformer with shades of Super Meat Boy that's also available on Wii U. It takes a little while to get challenging, but once you get toward the end in world 1 it starts getting hard.

Another Vita game I've been playing a lot of is Velocity Ultra. It's sort of a shooter, even though there are levels without any enemies in them. Your ship has the ability to teleport, which is necessary to get through the obstacle-laden levels as you rescue survivors of an attack. This is now one of my favorite games on the system.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 31, 2013, 07:21:30 PM
Then don't play it.


And where's the (masochistic) fun in that?


Finally got to the first boss.  The final stage of the first world took way longer than it should've.  Gotta say I'm not a huge fan of having the boss introduce new attacks close to the end that require luck or trial-and-error to get past, but at least it's quick to get back into the fray.  Not like 1-11 where every failure close to the end of the stage would require a full restart - ugh.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 31, 2013, 11:54:09 PM
Enjoy the rest of the last (and only) good Assassin's Creed game.
Nah, i loved all games so far in the series.

I like roaming cities and platforming challenges in these games too much to be turned off from the series.

I played an hour of that seemingly final sequence. It's a bunch of missions where i have to use Apple of Eden as a weapon. So terrible. Nothing is explained and they don't allow to use anything else but the Apple. Can't use my sword, can't use my dagger, can't use my crossbow, can't call for other assasins.

It would have been fine if using apple was at least fun enough by itself, but no its' mechanic is just so super clunky and stupid.

And you can't even do other stuff in the city while during this sequence, like actually enjoying the game by doing side story stuff. No, they put me in a tunnel which only goes one way and only gave me a crappy apple to work with.

Ah well. The end is near.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
I played Steam demo a bit. It looks great, very good UI. Actual battle system is decent enough, but the battles get a tad too drawn out. I got out of the village to the horse riding segment and that's where i lost interest.

Still looks like a good game. Might get it sometime in the future.

Bayo
Still trying to get those platinum statues. Still trying to just get through Vestibule (first level) on Hard. Second segment in Vestibule on hard is very different because you only have lightning claw monsters that you're supposed to finish off with torture attacks and they are THE toughest individual mooks in entire game and are impossible to pull long combos on (which you need to get enough magic points for Torture Attack).

I think you're supposed to use Dodge offset a lot but i still can't execute it reliably. It almost feels like Alfheim challenge where they teach you basic mechanics by putting in a position where you can win only by using it a lot and mastering it.

Speaking of. Alfheim challenges where you have limited punches and kicks are the worst. I think this one requires specific combinations of weapons and unlocks and i don't like when game forces me to play with different weapon/loadout/power-up.

I tried out ice skates and magical whip and they're neat but both have their downsides. Ice skates well, you're on ice all the time, kinda hard to control (at least you look FABULOUS while fighting). Whip is slower than regular fists but allows to pull enemies toward you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 01, 2013, 04:24:30 AM
A few thoughts after some Kid Icarus session on my break:

They really should have done something about 3d platforming. It's dodgy enough when you're just trying to to stay on a platform, but then there are enemies shooting at you while you can't even dodge cause you will fall off.

They should have learned a thing or two from Bayo where Kamiya made it impossible to fall from platforms during dodges.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sundoulos on August 01, 2013, 07:54:44 AM
Finally got around to playing the campaign of Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm.  I'm basically having the same problem I've always had with the series.  It's fun enough I guess, but I kist don't really care for playing as the Zerg.  I knew that buying a whole expansion that centered around them wouldn't be fun for me, but I was a sucker and bought it, anyway.   
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 01, 2013, 11:23:37 AM
I got crackdown for free on GFG so i'm replaying that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 01, 2013, 02:30:07 PM
I got crackdown for free on GFG so i'm replaying that.

What's GFG?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 01, 2013, 04:50:49 PM
Games for Gold. The xbox live version of PS+'s instant game collection.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 01, 2013, 05:21:27 PM
GFG is nowhere near on the same level of selection as PS+. Don't put them I'm the same league.

This is the point where TJ Spyke runs in and argues the fact that you can't keep the dozens of games a year you get from PlayStation Plus completely nullifies its existence.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 02, 2013, 01:27:55 AM
Hydroventure (Fluidity) on 3DS
I kinda stopped playing the game week after i got it, which i think is because when they removed metroidvania structure they also lost my long lasting interest. When playing La-Mulana and Toki Tori 2 i always kept wondering "what is there behind that rock wall? or how should get on that island, maybe i should go around it?" when i wasn't playing during the day even when i was working. That was why i basically played these games every night of every weekday until i beaten them.

3DS game lost me in the middle of Fairy tale book (second world after Dinosaur book).

It's still a great game and they added a bit more character to the art compared to first one which was dry on purpose, first game was supposed to be a schoolbook or something after all.

I can understand that they wanted make the game conform "handheld game rules" where you're not supposed to commit more than a few minutes at a time to the game, but then some of the levels get pretty elaborate and will definitely take you more than five minutes to beat like Diamond Mine level yesterday. It had at least five-seven operations you had to do in specific order and that's not counting collectible stuff on the side.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Just grabbed a few minutes in the morning before going to work. Just replaying some levels to fill achievement wall. Fused some weapons to get rid of duplicates in my weapons list. I've been playing this game on and off for more than a year, and just this morning i discovered you can actually buy new weapons. They have "First Blade" with absolutely ridiculous OP stats. It costs 145 000 hears though, and i only have 14 000 at the moment. I wonder if i will be able to use it in multiplayer matches.

Also looking up on the internet just now i discovered that the game has hidden options menu. Neat.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on August 02, 2013, 03:21:33 PM
I think I'm going to go back to BioShock Infinite on PS3. I only played it once, for about two or three hours. Then The Last of Us was available at the library, and that put the kibosh to that.


I'm also wanting to continue Ys Seven, Project X Zone and as always, Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jvgsjeff on August 02, 2013, 06:44:28 PM
I'm playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, and I'm replaying Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 02, 2013, 07:24:15 PM
GFG is nowhere near on the same level of selection as PS+. Don't put them I'm the same league.

This is the point where TJ Spyke runs in and argues the fact that you can't keep the dozens of games a year you get from PlayStation Plus completely nullifies its existence.
when you reveal your service by announcing that the first two free games are ones that have had at least 3 sequels each there really isn't much contest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 03, 2013, 09:40:25 AM
GFG is nowhere near on the same level of selection as PS+. Don't put them I'm the same league.

This is the point where TJ Spyke runs in and argues the fact that you can't keep the dozens of games a year you get from PlayStation Plus completely nullifies its existence.


I never said they were in the same league. I said they're similar purchases. Intresting to note all the games picked thus far have sequels coming out soon or is a big franchise.


Halo 3- Halo 5 and Halo TV hits next year. Most recent game was spartan assult.
Assassins Creed 2- AC4 hits this year and this was probably a ploy to get AC3 out of peeps minds.
Dead Rising 2 stuff- Dead rising 3 is a launch title.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 05, 2013, 12:02:24 AM
Unreal Tournament 99
Played a bit on LAN (Oblivion map) on work. Our corporate network fell apart so we couldn't get anything done anyway.

Had a great time. It was so sad seeing this series going down the drain with half-assed U3.

Retro Game Challenge (aka "that game with Arino")
This game (and Sakurai's games i guess) are living proofs that achievement based gameplay is as legitimate way to enjoy games as any.

The game is structured by games, and you're progressing by achieving artificial aims in them one by one.

The games are all supposed to remind of the early Famicom games. I really liked Haggleman, at first i didn't even knew about the flipping mechanic and just jumped and used my ninja stars. It was a really nice suprise when i read about the tricks with wall flipped in alphabethical or reverse-alphabethical order. And each of the game is like that -- all of them have enough content to be published as full releases in 85.

I also liked shooting games.

Boy constantly remarking on your game gets kinda grating though. I imagine it gets just as annoying with Arino's voice in japanese version.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Speaking of Sakurai's games and achievements. It's really amazing what this game does with them. I really wish Sakurai's "achievement wall" with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of side goals for you to do in a game became Nintendo's standard.

I don't even care if anyone else knows how many achievement i unlocked, i just want to have this kind of wall in say Mario games.

I didn't even played the game, i was just messing around fusing weapons to get specific weapons for achievements.

Assasin's Creed: Brotherhood
That was a baaaaad ending if i ever saw one. ACII was fantastic, it was completely out of the left field and left more questions than answers. And Brotherhood's ending was the same but it lacked that all-changing Minerva addressing Desmond moment, of course i was still surprised when Desmond killed Lucy but it just wasn't the same. It was a bad kind of WTF.

I didn't liked how you couldn't play during credits like in previous game. Ubisoft credits are so ridiculously long.

On the next day, i booted up the game to finish up some quests at 10AM and... finished at around 9PM (yeah, i know, i was as shocked when i looked at UPlay timer). And i still didn't get everything. I completed "The Truth" and it was okay, but it still didn't made the ending better.

Shop quest to get that last type of armour is bullshit. It requires shrunken head and you get one only if you invest 1 000 000 into weapon shops. Which would be fine by itself considering i now have a stable income and bought most of the landmarks in Rome, but you can invest only once in 20 minutes. And you can only give 5000-7000 florins at a time. Do they really expect me to spend 200 * 20 minutes to get that last armour?

Also names of tradeable goods are kinda funny. Budhist beads, shrunken heads, tomatoes... I am sending my four top-class assassins to Constantinople to get one tomato? Also, no game, Constantinople is not the island in Mediterranean sea.

Two of the Michelangelo's war machine missions are so broken. Controls are super clunky, which is understandable for medieval machines i guess, but they really shouldn't have put additional bullshit Full Synchronization requirements on top of it. I don't i will ever be able to do Tank mission and Flying Machine mission with 100%.

Cristina mission were meh. They tried to tell this love story throughout events of ACII, but it would have been better if they tried to integrate it more to the main story. Loading screen with Ezio constantly chasing Cristina was a nice touch though.

Overall, great game which falls a bit by the end. Few bugs here and there. But it's still worth it. ACII and/or Brotherhood are my easy recommendations for everyone.

Bayonetta
Finally made it through first level on hard. Camera in second segment is just so broken, it sways all over the place (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNm4opzJthA), it was okay with regular angels on normal mode, but these monsters with lightning claws are just so fast, keep moving all over the place, can hit you almost instantaneously, and if they will uppercut you to the air, they will do three undodgeable hits that will take at least 50% of your health.

This was seriously the hardest challenge game gave me so far. At least i'm glad to know it will get much easier after that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Morari on August 05, 2013, 05:24:03 PM
THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

--Bureau of Internet Morality
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on August 05, 2013, 11:03:06 PM
Man I had some goooood times in high school playing UT.

I finally picked up a 3DSXL for Shin Megami Tensei IV which proves that I like cutting or something.  Loving the game so far, but coming straight out of Persona 4 Golden, I miss my digital waifus.  Looking forward to beating this game and moving on to Fire Emblem, Ace Attorney, and Pokemon later this year.

Oh, I also took advantage of a promotion over at iRacing for a free 3 month subscription w/ the beginner Mazda MX-5, about 8 tracks, and a few other cars.  Haven't raced online yet - I've pretty much just been testing the cars on the tracks, but so far, I'm really digging the physics of the cars I've tried.  I get the appeal, but I doubt I'll continue with a paid subscription after the 3 month trial.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 05, 2013, 11:36:36 PM
Almost ten years ago, we used to play demo for Unreal Tournament 2003 on work. It had only one level (bunker or something) but it was all we needed.

Though this weekend i was reminded how backwards their server configuration was and always were, when we tried to set up a LAN game. I remember how confusing it was to set up dedicated server for it. Adding bots required restarting server or something.

Played some multiplayer for Assasin Creed: Brotherhood last night. It took some time to find games (played some Retro Game Challenge while the game was searching for sessions and people say they don't understand the point of handheld gaming at home where they have HDTV and a computer).

The game is more or less game of hide and seek with some tag sprinkled in with elaborate rules. It's pretty okay, though feels very shallow. At least they added some upgrades progression. Still, it's refreshing to play a game online that isn't about shooting people.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 06, 2013, 11:40:28 PM
Assassin's Creed "somebody, stop me!" Revelations:
I've barely played twenty minutes of the game and already starting to see how's it's worse from previous games. Combat system was touched again and made even more OP. Finishing animation is the same in almost all cases, and a really ridiculous one at that, where Ezio turns to the guy with his back (if he was facing him, he will turn just to do this animation), and kill the guy with a sword over his head. Facial models for some reason got even more funky looking, AC is probably the only series where with each iteration faces looks worse and worse and worse yet.

Ah well, i will try to blast through this game and III as fast as possible to prepare myself for IV.

Bayonetta
Unlocked killgore yesterday. I was like: "ahahaha, what is this?" when i tried this out for the first time. Probably the most overpowered and gamechanging weapon yet. I like it.
The main problem with this game is sequences where you make one mistake and you're dead. And most often than not, these sequences are placed right in the middle of a long level and dying there ruins your overall level score. You can miss one QTE or miscalculate how far the rolling ball from you and you're out.

It was funny when i moved myself towards the projectiles to do Mahaa-Kalaa parrying when i played a bit of Kid Icarus yesterday. Same way you  reflexively keep waggling your 3DS or gamepad in other Mario games after playing NSMB.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on August 07, 2013, 03:41:39 AM
I think Brotherhood was where I stopped having fun with the AC series.  I'm hoping that 4 does something to revitalize that for me.

I revisited Splinter Cell: Conviction today in preparation for Blacklist later this month.  The game is definitely more accessible than the previous entries in the series; I definitely feel like a ninja most of the time.  And despite the Mark system taking away control from the player, I love being able to plan out my kills and execute marks at lightning speed.  I also really enjoyed the environmental interaction during interrogations.  I'm debating which platform to pick up Blacklist on.  PC will be the best-looking, no doubt, but multiplayer might be better on PS360(likely more players).

I've actually been revisiting a lot of older games from this gen.  I recently started up Arkham Asylum(kept trying to use detective mode in Splinter Cell) and Perfect Dark Zero.  It's amazing how much games have improved over the course of just one(loooong) generation. 

i replayed Uncharted not too long ago, and man, that game's controls still suck.  Combined with the bullet-sponge enemies, it's amazing I ever finished that game.  I guess that's a testament to the storytelling ability of Naughty Dog's writers.

And with Lightning Returns on the horizon, I felt the need to catch myself up on the FFXIII series.  Then I played XIII-2 and I remembered why I never finished it in the first place.  Gads, it's a good thing X and X-2 HD are coming out soon.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on August 07, 2013, 03:47:18 AM
Skip Uncharted and go for the second one. You'll thank me later. Then skip Uncharted 3 and go for The Last of Us. Once again, you'll thank me later.


(The Last of Us is not an Uncharted sequel, in case I confused ya. :P)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 07, 2013, 04:12:41 AM
I've started playing Dragon's Crown on my Vita, and so far it's pretty OK. It has some stupid UI issues (which seems to be a recurring issue with Vanillaware games), but I'm a couple of dungeons in and I haven't wanted to break something yet or felt tempted to fall asleep.  That's a marked improvement from every other Vanillaware game.  :P: :

And yes, I'm playing as Boobie Lady right now. And yes, her walking and ESPECIALLY her running animation are downright painful to look at.  She's also kind of a hard character to use because of the way she has to continually stop and recharge her MP so she can continue attacking.  I'll probably switch to playing as the Elf as my 2nd character at some point, as she's another Ranged character and that's my preferred style of play.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 07, 2013, 11:37:22 PM
Kilgore in Bayonetta are so, so deliciously broken and awesome. I mean it's bazookas that are attached to your each arm AND leg, how cool is that?

Challenges where i had to do limited punches and kicks are now actually doable. Simplest and fastest combo of "punch-kick-punch" can halve even Brave's health meter and just obliterates lesser mook angels.

Kilgore rocket blasts are arguable stronger than actual Wicked Weaves and certainly better in terms of area of effect.

It got to the point where at all times i'm only choosing between two loadouts: guns+kilgores (little bit easier to do combos) or kilgores+kilgores (to do some real quadruple rocket damage coming from all limbs).

Ass: Revelations
Tower defense in Assassin's Creed game? What is this? Why did they do this? It sucks! Why. Why.

Otherwise, it's pretty okay so far. It's good that they changed buttons a bit and fixed some of the UI issues this series had for a while (like when you stand near shop and can't speak to an owner you have to run away from it, come back and then respective action will show up). Putting eagle sense on a left stick push is a definite improvement. I'm not convinced that dividing weapons into two circles per stick is better though. By now Ezio's arsenal is so big it's kinda hard to remember which weapon belong to which circle and which stick you should move.

Not so keen on new bombs feature. I mean it's just bombs. Yet they made entire meta game out of it. Why? There are like few dozens of different types of them in the game... How many different bombs do you really need?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 10, 2013, 08:46:32 AM
I bought Dragon's Crown on PS3 yesterday. It's pretty good. I'm still trying to get the hang of the controls. Run and attack are the same button. That's not a new concept, but I'm not sure it works as well in this game since attacking is most of what you do. I admit I'm probably just used to games that either map running to analog sensitivity or by double tapping the analog stick in the direction you want to run.

Searching for treasures is mapped to the right analog stick and moving a cursor around. It's a bit jarring, especially when you have an auto-food item that you don't want to use yet. This is most likely a lot easier to mange using the PS Vita's touchscreen.

The game is pretty tough in the beginning while trying to get the timing on combos right and getting to know the controls. I started with the Amazon. I might try the Fighter next.

The game is gorgeous, but it's obvious where a team as small as Vanillaware is limited, namely the mostly static "cutscenes." The narrator sounds like Edward Roivas from Eternal Darkness. The character designs are indeed initially distracting, but not in the way most people talk about the game. It's more comical than anything else. The character designs are, for the most part, significantly more exaggerated than most Vanillaware titles, but I actually prefer the more subdued designs in Odin Sphere and Muramasa. Still, it becomes less distracting once you delve further into the game. I stopped noticing it because things are too busy getting kicked/sliced.

Apparently, you have to unlock online multiplayer. What the what?

Unrelated: I wish Vanillaware would port Grand Knights History to 3DS. I would love to play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 10, 2013, 09:10:07 AM
Apart from going crayzee from Wonderful 101 demo, i also played Jelly no Puzzle (http://qrostar.skr.jp/index.cgi?page=jelly&lang=en).

It all started innocent enough. My colleague at work said he was playing Swapper and had a hard time with one puzzle, he then showed me solution which he thought was amazing while i guffawed at it and brought up many other games with much more BS puzzles. Then i remembered that Jelly game and gave the link to my friend.

Soon enough we all played it. I remember how i couldn't get through level 10 half a year ago. I guess i got much better cause i managed to get level 15 in a few hours.

Design in this game very impressive. Extremely hard puzzles based on a few simple rules and yet each and every single one is very unique and looks impossible at first.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 10, 2013, 02:00:46 PM
I picked up Rayman Origins for the first time in probably over a year. Man, I barely played this game back then, didn't even finish the first world. I'm not sure why, because I recall it being very good, and my playtime today solidified that. There are so many 2D platformers these days, but this one stands out with its incredible graphics and really polished gameplay.

The fact that I have so much content left in this one makes it unlikely I'll be buying Legends any times soon, but the more I play the more I'm convinced that if and when I do buy it, it's going to be on Vita. I'm not sure why, but I just really like handhelds for this kind of game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 11, 2013, 02:45:35 AM
I finally figured how to use Classic Controller in Wonderful 101 demo. Game became even more wonderful.

Watching playthroughs helped me:

http://youtu.be/eiIWeutoj4Q -- this guy made to platinum using Sword almost exclusively
http://youtu.be/lRdRo5MxaJY -- very useful tutorial

I also found Wonder Pink and Wonder Yellow. Yellow's hammer kinda sucks, it's powerful enough, but it doesn't have any combos or even launcher. Pink's whip i feel is even more useful than Sword, it can cover almost entire screen and it can even fire fireballs somehow.

Reading in-game tutorials helps. I had a real hard time in a stadium with three tanks and they just kept spamming lasers and cannonball at me, Cannonball i could deflect with pudding, but lasers kept destroying me. Thanks to a tutorial hint i now know that Sword can be used to deflect laser beams. Later enemies, scorpions are still very hard.

And they called this mission "Easy A"...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 11, 2013, 11:30:42 PM
Continuing my Platinum weekend, i was replaying Bayonetta for platinums. Took me many replays and hours but i managed to get platinums on two more levels.

It's looking good for my prospects to get all platinums.

The worst part to get platinums is easily alhfeims (special hidden challenge rooms). First of all they're all hidden and on top of that some of them are extremely hard. I remember how i stubbornly played from 2am to 4am and still couldn't make one particularly devious alfheim earlier this week.

Had to use guide to find alfheims. One of them won't even show up until you destroy one random garbage bin, major bullshit.

Alfheims that put special limitations on you require heavy exploiting of the game mechanics and more often than not -- special weapon or item. They're like puzzles that way, only you're still having trouble executing them even if you theoretically know how to do it.

Still i am so glad i got two more platinums in a day.

I also unexpectedly got a platinum rank on Wonderful 101 demo. This demo is one the best games i played this year already.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 12, 2013, 01:06:20 PM
Just four games currently.


Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Denpamen 2 (its actually what i'm playing right now)
Shining ForceL The Sword of Hajya
Defender's of Oasis


The 3DS has pretty much become my main games machine. Plan to get a Wii U this year so that might change.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 16, 2013, 07:47:25 AM
I've been going back and playing more New Super Mario Bros. U lately. I got this at launch but it got lost in all the other games I bought at the time and then never got back to it.

I'm surprised how much I'm loving this game. It's got fantastic level design, and despite still sticking somewhat to the series' visual style it tweaks it enough to look really fantastic in 1080p.

I ran into a weird instance where I must have hit a secret exit at one point so that I ended up in World 7 after only beating 1-3. And since the worlds aren't numbered in this game, they've got the weird food names, I didn't realize it was world 7 until I beat it and went back to the menu and saw the flag icons on my save file.

Really, I think this game is spectacular. I've argued that each NSMB game has been an improvement over the previous one, but I think this one takes even more of a step. I fully believe that this game deserves to be in the discussion for best 2D Mario game along with Mario 3 and Mario World.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: toddra on August 17, 2013, 12:47:46 PM
I gave up on Fall Out New Vegas, I reached some sort of dead end before the game even got interesting so I will have to start that one over from the beginning when I get around to playing it again.

I tried to get into FF12 but it is not happening so far, the story is so boring and the battle system is not much of a system. it is like just an interactive movie but all you have to do is go from one checkpoint to the next nothing to fun there.

I did try this game called Maximo and so far I am really loving that. It is a PS2 I guess remake or modern take on Ghosts N Goblins or something like that anyways its awesome and lots of fun. I like those types of games pick up and play no BS getting in the way. I like a game to have a deep story but not to get in the way of the actual game.

As soon as I get bored with that I will be either trying God of War next or if I get my 3DS before then whatever games I get with that. I took too long of a break from gaming I missed out on so much.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on August 17, 2013, 10:02:44 PM
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn open beta is this weekend, and I played a bit earlier today.  They're having a bit of trouble with their servers, but I managed to get in after a bit of initial frustration.

The game is gorgeous.  Obviously, it isn't as technically proficient as something like Crysis 3, but the artstyle really helps to mitigate some of the compromises the game has to make in order to accommodate the MMO infrastructure.  I played FFXI for way longer than I'd ever care to admit, so I'm looking forward to giving this a shot.  I didn't get a chance to play when it first released, since I wasn't PC gaming at the time, but I did get a quick look in just before the game went offline for the big overhaul.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Silenced on August 17, 2013, 10:45:19 PM
Been playing some Halo 4 matchmaking, as well as some Reach and H3 here and there (Reach only for the zombie mode, Flood is awful, and H3 for the ridiculously unbalanced Battle Rifle).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 21, 2013, 02:46:16 AM
Last Sunday, my friend came over for a few hours. He wanted to check out my 3DS, and i gave him

Kid Icarus
He said "wow!" during intro video of the game, so i guess Iwata was right in the end.
He got the hang of controls easier than me, being right handed and everything. He played most of the Viridi level (probably the most visually stunning level in the game) and died in the middle of TPS segment.

I also keep thinking about "switch the dialogue off" option that you get after beating the game. It's probably easier to concentrate fully on the game to pull of higher difficulties and/or beat some hard treasure hunt challenges with no dialogue, but i feel like i miss the banter a lot.

He also played a bit of Gunman Clive, Ducktales and because it got him all nostalgic i mentioned i have that Contra game that is very similar to NES game and we can play it together. So we played some Contra 4. So good.

Find Mii II
It's annoying how limited this game is. It's free and i don't mind it much, but it's quite fascinating how limited they made party management in these games. Sword - magic - next and that's it. You can't even view your party fully before battle starts. When battle starts you might want to use poison magic or buff magic first, but if respective cats are in the tail of the line i have keep pressing next rotating the line to get to them.

II is still much better than I because they added team ups and potions. Team-ups are great addition, i've got fifth level green Iwata and it's very handy when i get green cat to pair him with it. Didn't do much with potions, because when i start a battle i am already all out of coins i get from daily walks.

Overall, both games feels like F2P bullshit mobile games, only they extorts streetpasses and footsteps from you instead of actual money. You can only play them a few minutes a day and they're about as shallow these IAP infested mobile games.

Ducktales: Remastered
Love it. When i watched Quick Look i thought i will hate super long cutscenes, but i ended up loving them. They added to nostalgia feeling massively and added even more character to already colourful game. Cutscenes even managed to get emotional when Scrooge decides to give up all treasures to save his nephews closer to the end.

Have absolutely no beefs with design of the game, people may call it outdated, but i play NES games all the time and this game felt more natural to me than many modern games i played in the last two years.

Spending your money in gallery feels like monkey work. Why do i have to press a bunch of buttons to get all these hundreds of individual art pieces one by one? It's still a cool thing to have, i just wish it was all there in one piece without the hassle of buying everything individually.

The biggest problem for me is spotty hit detection (?). I'm not sure if it's by design or it's a bug, but it seems you can't kill enemies by pogo jumping when they're in certain animations. Like when skeleton starts to stand up, and you jump on him during that animation, YOU will take damage instead of him. It just feels weird.

Game is pretty hard, i remember how in the first two days i set it to hard and couldn't beat a single level, on third day i gave up and set it to normal.

Pikmin: New Play Control
When i got Pikmin 3 i played about an hour of it and then stopped because i wanted to play previous games first.

I beat first game and started second one. It took me one weekend and two workdays. Watching speed run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9cQtRWYBo) helped me a lot, guy was getting four parts in one day, i felt good about myself when i was getting two parts in one day! Before watching this i didn't even used horn/march ability, but it's actually crucial. Pressing A so much to do mass attack is annoying.

Camera rotation in P3 felt too jerky, almost gave me motion sickness. First thing i noticed in first game that camera controls much more smoothly.

In diary it's quite funny how serious and no bullshit Olimar is despite his cutesy appearance.

Took me awhile to get the trick for the final level, i think i wandered around it for a good hour or so...

Final challenge has that humming background noise which with lively tune makes for a unsettling eery feeling, similar to how Majora's Mask town music feels in final hours.

It took me three game days to beat final level. At first i tried to set up bridges and fight final boss, but it became apparent that defeating the boss might take entire day. So i set up bridges in one day, went to sundown and had entire next day to defeat final boss.

That boss is hard. Took me like four or so replays. I guess you're supposed to feed him bombs (or yellow pikmin carrying bombs, heh) and when he swallows it and it detonates inside, shocking him for a few seconds, and then use LOTS of regular, no-bomb pikmin to do usual tackle attack while he's dazed.

Anyway i beat him, he gives up the final piece of the ship (piggy bank! really?) and i'm out of time. Had to use third day just to pick up the last piece.

Interesting that ending video showed me entire bestiary and there were monsters i never saw, i looked them up and apparently they're only available in certain locations for limited period of time, don't think it's worth replaying some levels just to see them especially when i know they're still in sequels.

Monsters in Pikmin get scary at times, but these two bonus monsters were especially unsettling: smoke monster that comes crawling to your base and leaves poisonous trail behind it and that rock thing with eyes.

Overall, Pikmin 1 feels kinda barebones in presentation, options and content, but it's still a great, charming game. It feels like that time constraint mechanic was put in to force player to replay levels again and again and inflate playtime that way. And it worked, i think i replayed every day at least two times, first time just for reconnaissance and to plan my actions in second playthrough.

Pikmin 2: New Play Control
Just started this. Played until day 4.

Right from the start, from the intro logo game looks tremendously better visually. Intro has different seasonal variants and even the game's logo is alive. Lots of options in main menu compares to measly three in first game -- i didn't even checked them out yet, but i guess it should tell you this game is more fully featured than first.

Jump in production quality between 1 and 2 was huge. Starting cutscene looks much more elaborate, the entire game looks much better.

I like Piklopedia, it pretty neat that you can interact with illustrations in it by throwing carrots and controlling camera.

They've also touched on a game mechanics a bit, like plucking pikmins from the ground takes less time because you have two characters and throwing pikmin feels a bit faster.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 21, 2013, 03:08:50 AM
Lately I've only been playing a few games:

DuckTales Remastered - I really don't get where all the whining is coming about with this game. It's a prettier version of an old NES game, and I really don't think WayForward ever pretended that it was ever going to be much more than that. I've only completed one stage so far (the Moon), but so far I'm enjoying it.  I could do without some of the cheap deaths I've had, but once again...HD remaster of an old NES game.  The cutscenes do go on too long, but so far they haven't bothered me too much.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - I'm up to the desert portion of the game, and it's been pretty solid so far. Characters talk WAAAAAAAAAY too much and WAAAAAAAAY too often, but the battle system's as enjoyable as ever and the 3D's surprisingly good.  This game also has a mini-achievement system, because my OCD really needed that.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - I've played through 2 story missions so far, and while it's obvious that this isn't a 9-10 tier game, I've enjoyed my time with it so far. I have issues w/ the suicidal AI and the somewhat bare-bones story, but so far the game's slight strategic edge and more than a little Mass Effect-y feel is really clicking with me.  The game's definitely missing a LOT of polish, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 21, 2013, 10:41:12 AM
Animal Crossing New Leaf: slowed down to playng about two hours a day which is a better pace, so I won't burn out.


Dead Rising 2 case zero: Free on xbox live with the main game to hype up DR3. Been playing it mutiple times to get all of the combo cards and hit level 5.


Thomas was alone- Game is charming and simplistic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 07, 2013, 04:32:23 AM
Spent entire week chilling at home and playing videogames. So what i was playing.

Burnout: Paradise:
I am constantlty finding myself getting off track during races. The open world city itself doesn't change when you start a race, no arrows or fences so i was taking wrong turns all the time. It took me a while to notice that UI has special flashing signals showing when to take left or right turn.
The other thing bothering me is how you can't retry a race if you fail it. Going ALL the way back to start of the race is too much a bother.
And overall it's kinda weird how game tried it's hardest to hide menus. I am guessing it was an effort to create complete immersion but it got weird at times. Like there is no option to quit a race -- you just stop and stay that way for a few seconds and then game takes you out of the race.
Otherwise, it's a great game. I'm only competing in races and survival modes far. I tried stunt track challenge, and i was eh. Probably need to practice for it properly.

Fez:
An interesting puzzle platformer game. Nice music and sound effects. The fact that it is MADE OF ideas from Mario 64 and Zelda is highly amusing. I like how it's like Metroidvania with lots of interconnected worlds, though right now i am the stage where i'm just wandering randomly between worlds. Still figuring out how 3d map connecting worlds works and how do i go back to my home village.

Assasin's Creed: Revelaitons:
.. or how i learned to stop worrying about Full Synch and love the game. While in Brotherhood i went out of my way completing everything and doing all with 100% sync, with this iteration i kinda stopped caring.
I realize fully how the game is basically a map-pack for Brotherhood, but i still love the core gameplay of just roaming the city, now in Istanbul. Yesterday i had a mission where Ezio infiltrated a palace as singer. It already started good when i finally got a free chance to beat up musicians that previuosly bothered me so much in previous games. Even Ezio loved it. And then he started singing song while dressed as musician. Hilarious stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se4Aek5X4CM). Actual gameplay in this mission was good too, except for some weird camera stuff.
I also played three additional missions on an island with Desmond's memories, they were Portal-like with Desmond recalling his life, it was kinda cool but frustrating at times (par the course for me playing puzzle games).
I think with this one i will just finish main story in here and as less as optional stuff as i can while supresing my OCD.

Link's Awakening:
Finally managed to make a breakthough in Eagle's Tower. Last six months or so it was like this: i try to play this level, get frustrated within 10 minutes and switch to something else. Pretty typical for me and Zelda games. Puzzles just kill everything else i enjoy in them, mainly music and action gameplay.
I destroyed pillars but now i am the last floor (?) and can't figure where to go next...


DuckTales:
Stuck on that last level in vulcano. Sequences with chains just kill me. Controls when you have to jump from one falling chain to the other are just to hard for me. Not sure why, but it feels like it's designed with stick in mind instead of d-pad. Even with a stick it's not a given that won't fall down from a chain for some reason. Everything is worsened by the fact that i you fail to catch just one chain, lava under them will kill you. There three parts with chains in the last level: just before the final boss, one right after the boss and yet another sequence with even more falling chains after that. And in each you lose a life if you fail even one jump from chain to chain. I never got through the first screen of the third sequence...

Ms. Pacman:
I am playing it on Namco Museum GBA cart. It's pretty addicting and hard. Definitely feels better and more nuanced than original game. Because of GBA's resolution you run the game either with vertical scrolling (which sucks cause you lose the view of entire maze and can't plan out where you should go next) or in "fullscreen mode" when everything is extremely tiny (ms pacman is barely few pixels high). It works and controls fine though.

With all that said all these games in combined playtime didn't even made a tenth of what i played of


The Wonderful 101:
I started replaying levels looking for all collectibles and hidden challenge rooms. Some of the rooms are absolutely impossible to find. Challenge rooms in operation 4A and in 6A are making me crazy. I knew where they should be and when to look for them, but i guess i am missing for some internal condition and they aren't showing up. It's probably something dumb like in Bayonetta where one challenge room was only activated if you destroyed one random non-descript garbage urn.
I like game's achievement system, where sets of achievements unlock new playable characters. Don't know if i ever be able to unlock Bayonetta considering one of the achievements in her set is the one where you need to platinum everything in the game...

Also have a bit of TW101 picspam from my miiverse:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRHKkf4Bd2IJjj) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADYUV6oM3lgtg)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRHGPfgWDHn-Pj) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW03drgJA)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRHV_TcU4WlR7p) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEYnJWnqw)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRHZHCIOyIqUNw) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEYn_wIdw)


somewhat offtopic note:
The only reason i've found time to write all this is because i'm in the other city for family event and my five year old cousin took my 3ds to play. Funny thing is, he had some Samsung tablet, but still wanted to play with mine 3DS. He specifically asked for "Mario". I am pretty sure he only knows Mario from Mario 3D Land that i once showed to him.
So here's some anecdotal experience about how tablets overtook handhelds for you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 10, 2013, 04:05:25 PM
Injustice: Entre nosotros hay dioses (thanks Costa Rica for a free game!)

The premise of the game was always a turn-off for me (almighty heroic Batman versus evil bad Superman, eugh). I also didn't liked demo on Xbox, combat system didn't made a lick of sense. But a free game is a free game, so i downloaded it.

Plot-wise it is your regular Kingdom Come + Brave New Metropolis (great episode from Superman: Animated series) + parallel universes stuff. Dialogues are full of references to comic book stuff. I really liked some one-liners after the battle was over in story mode. Green Arrow's chapter was especially good with that.

QTEs before some battles are okay, a little bit of variety to gameplay. I still don't know what to think about actual fighting. Most of the times i find myself on relying on one universal combo (back A, down Y to juggle the enemy) that works with everyone instead of trying to make sense of special moves and combos.

Speaking of combos, some are just ridiculous. I couldn't even do few last tutorial combos. Had to beat Supes for 15 minutes or so to execute X, X, back forward Y by some chance.

Because there is no no separate button for blocking, i never do. Just jumping away feels much simpler.

I got used to weird X Y A three button system but B button that switches stances or something feels useless.

I also have problems with executing "back forward" combos on a stick -- my character just jumps instead sometimes. It's probably something with me, because i have the same problem on all fighting games on all systems be it Street Fighter on 3DS or Tekken on Wii U.

Some of the special moves feel pointless, like Cyborg has two special moves with hookshot to jump away from an opponent. Why? What for?

Well at least story mode is still fun. DLC Advertisement in the beginning is annoying though.

Etrian Odyssey: 4 demo
Used one of the three tries, game is rather slow paced, so it took me three or four sessions to finish just the demo.
I really like the music in this game. The art style is also pretty charming, scantily dressed underaged girls or not. That smith girl is pretty adorable.
I was playing on casual and didn't had too many trouble, i still died two times when i got too cocky with FOEs but judging from the demo it looks pretty doable.

Overall i liked it. Might get the full game some later time.

Guadia Quest (DQ-like RPG in Retro Game Challenge DS)
It's cool how they included a full RPG in there. And it's not even the last game. It definitely feels like the JRPG from 80s with all menus and random encounters. Guadia system feels underdeveloped though, once you get your guadia, he just sits there in the slot and randomly attacks your enemies. Or not.

Oh and also some Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta, but really haven't much to say -- i was just going for the remaining achivements and collectibles in both.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on September 10, 2013, 10:31:12 PM
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Reboot. v2.0. Eorzea has changed, and the planet of Hydaelyn is all the better for it. I played v1.0 from the very inception, and to see all of the changes that have taken new shape and form is quite incredible.

The first thing that struck me were the intuitive opening game mechanics. Everything is set up, step-by-step, to pull the player into how everything functions. Whenever a new mechanic presents itself, a pop-up dialogue box will appear teaching the player about the new function. Very, very user-friendly.

But most importantly, the game's lore and beginning story is what has pulled me in the most. v1.0 had a small bit of story - Director Tanaka truly tried creating something unique...I just assume he got lost in the process of trying to bring everything together. But Yoshida? No way. This guy has everything under control. Battle mechanics, story, play control, the world - oh god, the WORLD. Eorzea has never looked better. Every area feels incredibly organic, and every small, tiny facet of detail oozes with charm. And the new Luminous graphics engine does this game justice.

I'm sure I've already clocked in over 30 hours since launch last week, and I still cannot get enough. I log in, and there's just so much to see and do. I can only imagine what the first expansion is going to bring - new lands to explore, new storyline elements, new weapon classes/jobs. I can't wait.

Naoki Yoshida, you are a godsend. Thank you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 11, 2013, 02:56:14 AM
I'm currently actively playing 3 games:

Rayman Legends (Vita) - I'm enjoying it, but not as much as Origins. There's just something about the worlds this time that's not clicking with me as well as the 1st game. Plus, I really don't like the Murfy stages, which slow a relatively fast platformer down to a tedious crawl controlled by idiotic AI who get to do all the fun Rayman stuff while you're left poking at the screen.

Killzone Mercenary (Vita) - It only took 1.5 years, but the Vita finally has a quality FPS to call its own. Running on the Killzone 3 engine from the PS3, this game seems impeccably polished and the shooting just "feels" right. I have some issues with the controls, but so far I'm digging this game. I can see me getting a lot of play out of the SP doing "contract" mode, too, which is a GoldenEye style mission replay with special conditions.

Puppeteer (PS3) - I've only completed the First "Act" but this is easily proving to be one of the most charming games I've played all year. It's an exceptionally easy game made with children in mind, but it has that right touch of dark fantasy and imagination that I think can appeal to a wide audience. It's also so visually interesting with how committed it is to the whole "puppet stage show" presentation, with the "sets" rapidly changing and morphing to suit the current "scene" as the narrator keeps the story moving. There are plenty of secrets to find to prod you into replaying stages, and even the extras have a nice level of polisht o them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on September 11, 2013, 03:01:10 AM
Once I can play KZ:Merc on my Vita TV, then I'll be happy. For some reason the controls felt really bad to me so I ended up playing three minutes of the beta and deleting it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 11, 2013, 03:17:14 AM
Once I can play KZ:Merc on my Vita TV, then I'll be happy. For some reason the controls felt really bad to me so I ended up playing three minutes of the beta and deleting it.

Considering the ENTIRE menu interface is touch-based, I don't think that would work too well on the Vita TV right now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on September 11, 2013, 03:33:22 AM
Can't I just use the built in cursor interface to bypass that?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 11, 2013, 03:36:34 AM
Can't I just use the built in cursor interface to bypass that?

Depends on whether Sony really wants you clicking your sticks EVERY time you pause the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: brianblivesay on September 12, 2013, 08:18:54 AM
;D -What are you playing?- :Q
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on September 12, 2013, 01:41:21 PM
Finally installed Battlefield 3 on my PC, thinking my little laptop couldn't handle it... I was right. On low settings at 720p I could get around 25 FPS max. If I enter a huge area that Battlefield is known for? 15-18 FPS. I mean, it's doable, but I think I'll just go back to the PS3 version until I can get it to run better.


And just for shits and giggles I ran it at 1080p on Ultra and got around 5 FPS. But damn those five frames were fucking beautiful.


Also been playing a deluge of JRPGs on my PSP and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 12, 2013, 02:41:13 PM
The story for me the first run left me scratching my head in a mass of confusion, so what I've done is read through game faqs, wiki, etc. on the history and in combination of beating it once and now knowing even more backstory the games really gelled perfectly.
Yes, story is quite incomprehensible. Watching game's director commentary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvSd4kcfdk) helped to give it a bit more sense, but even after watching most of it it still doesn't quite feel complete. Thankfully Kamiya's next game (W101) has a much better plot.

After playing the Wonderful 101 demo three times I've noticed similar instances with what Platinum has done there too.
Yes, they're very, very similar. I even created a thread (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=42496.0) where i talk about comparison between two games.

Okay, my own update.

Injustice. Beat story mode (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.msg809651#msg809651), but probably spend a bit more time with it with missions and stuff.

Pacman Championship Edition DX
It took me a while to get into this game. But after i understood what i am supposed to do in each mode, i started enjoying the game a lot. Scoring system is kinda obtuse which is probably why getting into higher part of the leaderboard was rather easy -- not many people made sense of it i guess.

WarioWare: Twisted
I thought i beat this game a year ago! Apparently not. Recent NeoGaf discussion mentioned some "Mewtroid" mini game, so i checked that and it's not unlocked yet in my game. So now i want to get it, but the problem is i don't know which mission i still haven't beaten: none of them shows as new or as unfinished...
Still it was nice to play it once again. Such a great game.

Fluidity: Spin Cycle
Kinda forgot that i had on my 3DS. I never had with previous game, as with other Metroidvania-style games, i kept playing it no-stop until i beat it. The sequel lost interconnected world and i guess lost my long term interest. It's still a quality game though.

I was just gettting 5 stars on a few previous levels. Some of the levels are pretty hard to 5 star -- they're big and you need to do a lot of different actions towards final goal. And just one mistake and you can say your fifth star goodbye.

Ikaruga
Praised be Costa Rica, giver of free games!
I already have Gamecube version, but it's more convenient to have on Xbox (my wii is in other room connected to other TV). Of course, unbeatable price of nothing helps too.
Ikaruga... It's Ikaruga, man. Aspect ratio is a bit different but it's otherwise it's still the same game.
I probably should play it properly, constantly changing polarity and stuff and gathering chains, but i am just playing just as a regular shmup and still have fun. I don't think i ever got through past second level on any versions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 18, 2013, 04:47:17 AM
Kid Icarus: Uprising
I've finally did it. I beat level 7 (the one with Thanatos) in less than 15 minutes. I think i've spent majority of my lunch breaks on work in the last two months trying to do that.

It was so hard because of two reasons:
1) that one platforming sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6daPJRC8jKw&t=15m) where one wrong movement of a circle pad will kill you instantly and you will have to repeat this whole sequence from the start. That takes lots of precious seconds and even minutes if you screw up there.
2) The level almost has no straight corridors that you can run through using super speed items. The majority of the level consists of halls that are closed down until you kill all monsters in it. Also elevator segment and part where you move on rails also have fixed speed. Player simply doesn't have enough areas that he can boost through to cut his play time.

Ah well, at least i got two achievement for it: the one for doing the level in less than 18 minutes and the one for doing less than 15 minutes.

There is a third achievement on this level that asks you to see Thanatos' all forms before defeating him but i was never able to do that for some reason. He always mixes up his forms and always skips one in my playthroughs. There is probably some trick to it...

Wonderful 101
Still collecting Platinums on Normal. Hadn't even touched Hard mode aside from one mission i did by mistake. Funny thing is i didn't realize i am doing level on Hard until almost the very end.

I've played W101 for 65+ hours since i got it, and only have 87 something heroes. No secret characters yet, though i am one achievement away from two of them. These are some tough achievements though.

Bayonetta
Same, collecting platinums on Normal. Last thing i did was getting platinum on Temperantia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5RmEpJkP9U) boss fight. That was kinda annoying because i just couldn't NOT to mess up a bit and always got hit and even a small damage downgraded me to Gold instead of Platinum.
In the end i managed to get Plat with bigger combo rank outweighing some small damage. This boss has  (by force) taught me how to preserve your combo meter and how to spam my magical force fields against his eye laser attacks. I had to resort to using butterfly ability that absorbed some damage from bosses lightning fist attack from afar that he does after you rip his one arm. Had a lot of problem getting the timing of the dodge for this attack and then just gave up and used butterflies.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 18, 2013, 08:10:27 AM
I'm currently playing Kingdom Hearts HD and...I'm finding myself wanting to play something else instead. I really didn't like the original Kingdom Hearts when I first played it on PS2 and I still find it pretty "meh" now. The camera is awful, the combat lacks almost any kind of punch, the level design sucks (even by Kingdom Hearts standards) and even then the story was all over the place. Still, I really liked Kingdom Hearts 2 (and Birth By Sleep) despite all the harm it brought to the series, and it was good to get a refresher.

I also finished Killzone Mercenary. Excellent game. Not much more I want to say about that game for now till the next NFR recording.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on September 19, 2013, 03:38:36 AM
Can't disagree. Kingdom Hearts I has almost painfully slow combat and whenever I go back to it, I am surprised by how little you can do compared to KH II and above. You could say they matched the series' growing craze to its combat system.

Currently playing something faster-paced, namely Ys: The Oath in Felghana, which I theoretically have finished, but since Falcom is apparently a bunch of jerks, I need to replay it on every difficulty to get access to all of the bonus content.

Hooray for New Game+ at this point, because importing stats, cash and weapon lv. makes it less tedious to do the easier difficulties
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 19, 2013, 03:48:22 PM
Kid Icarus: Uprising:
Replayed Medusa's final fight (level 9). I actually played it just once more than a year ago and apparently i never touched it since, becase forgot everything about this level.

This level is being final one, we even get the same "villains parade" thing that Kamiya's games have too, where designer wants to evoke a feeling of accomplishment and even pride of how far you came from humble beginnings in the first level.

Because i am playing KI: U, Bayonetta and W101 back to back to back they kinda start to blend in for me -- they're are all skill based action games with almost endless achievement based replay value. I even found out how to block projectiles in Kid Icarus which brings these 3 games even closer. All these games in their finals bring all the monsters you encountered in the game in chronological order and throw them at you -- not even for the challenge of it, but to cause a short term nostalgia where you think of "simpler times" in level 1.

Medusa's level brings out entire parts of previous levels and i really liked how they were toned down both in colour (almost black and white) and in sound (background sounds and music are heavily dampened and bosses are completely silent). It gives the same eerie feeling that drown Hyrule castle in Wind Waker gave.

Medusa explains how she recreated parts of previous levels and resurrected previous bosses and that sets up the fact she is fake too and was created exactly the same way very nicely.

Final credits also contribute to the feeling of eeriness. Palutena's and Pit's laughs sound more weird than genuine and we very soon get to know that "final" level was merely just a third of entire game and that Medusa was just a ruse all along created by the actual main big bad.

Medusa's level takes ridiculous amounts of time (as final level should) and i failed to make it in 35 minutes and that's easier achievement of the two for this level, the other one requires you to finish the level in less than 25 minutes. There's also achievement for beating it without special weapon and armour you get just for this mission.

Anyway, such amazing games. All three of them.


Fast Racing League (WiiWare on Wii U)
This was the first time i played the game with wiimote+nunchuck and found that this option just feels better that classic controler that i used before. Yes, you change polarity by waggle but it's totally fine.

Just like with F Zero GX, i hit my ceiling pretty fast. I'm at the second cup and i'm completely outmatched by bots. Environmental hazards on third and fourth tracks just kill any chances for me to get even in top 5 and that's not guaranteed even on much safer first two tracks. Maybe i should practice on single races more.

I also wish this game had strafing mechanic like F Zero had, that would probably make car handling a bit easier... As of now turns just feel to drastic at times.

Rayman Legends (xbox 360)
Thank you, Bosnia for a free game! Seriously, what's up with all these free games on Xbox Live lately?..

I already have paid for Wii U port, but a free game is a free game. I will still going to play it on Wii U when the disc will arrive. I mostly just wanted to try out the replacement control scheme for Murphy levels that they did for Xbox and PS3 ports.

And now that i played it -- i love it. It not just adds a new wrinkle to old and tried running and jumping -- it adds completely new rhythm element to it. Touch controls in Wii U version were workable but they were really the same idea that NSMBU already used. This, though is really cool i think.

Playing this game on Xbox controller is interesting. First, with movement it definitely feels like 360's stick is how the game was designed to be played with (considering that Origins was originally XBLA game). On the other hand, using trigger to run doesn't feel as good as using ZL on Classic controller. And because face buttons are all used up (B is for all things Murphy does, A is jumping, X is slapping, and Y is... Y only works in menus actually) there is just no other button to put "run" on.

Because of how Murphy function is replaced i wonder if lum rankings on Wii U are different because touch controlled Murphy simply has more possibilities to get lums -- like tickling skeletons hanging from the ceiling or squashing bugs crawling on walls.

I also love, love, love stop-motion looking eating animation in mexican death/food world. And i never expected to see Half Life enemy in this game. I like how some levels now have flying heart in the loading screen -- grabbing that becomes a micro game on it's own with a very real reward because you get lums if you grab a heart and then get another heart .

Ropes are still wonky, just like they were in Origins. Animation where they give me awards after each level seems superfluous since they already showed me what trophy i get when i enter the exit. They also lost entire timer mechanic which is a shame because that basically doubled levels in Origins -- you had to play all levels in two completely different ways -- first as a collectathon, then like a speed runner.

And now the bad part -- the game feels way too short, it could be just me becoming better at Rayman's controls, but i just 100%-ed half of the first world in less than a hour and it doesn't feel like the game has as much content as Origins did. Even if you simply count lums on paintings, "Back to Origins" is 270 something while all other worlds combined that i see so far don't even make a 200 combined...
I honestly start to doubt if they indeed had a full game back in February, because even THIS doesn't feel like a full game compared to Origins. They added some levels from Origins and now these reworked levels make for half of levels in a game, seriously? What did you had before then?

Rayman Legends Challenge app (Wii U)
Just checked it out to see if challenges are stil online. When i tried to launch it Wii U started downloading update for it, but i ignored it and just ran the app leaving update to download in background.
Challenges are still there, though it became ghost town now. Maybe this "update" will remove challenges or something.


Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Wii game on Wii U)
Finally managed to push through one nasty part where i had to push two panels in quick succession while juggling my tornado and flying bubble powers.

Only to get stuck again 10 minutes later on yet another nasty puzzle. Puzzles in this game annoy me even more that Zelda's. LoZ puzzles at least adhere some logic (if i will understand this logic is another question). Puzzles here are more like chess problems only there are like dozen pieces on the 20x20 board instead of two-three on 8x8 board. Very time consuming to go through all combinations and wonky controls don't help solving at all.
I'm at the puzzle with coloured jem stones that i need to rotate.

Cover says that has original game is included -- i'm guessing it will only unlock after i beat the game, right?
I also tried Sands of Time costume -- it's pretty funny how they didn't bothered to update the model and now it looks too blocky compared to everything else.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on September 19, 2013, 04:08:38 PM
Got my copy of GTA V today, so I'll be able to take a break from poopsocking it in Final Fantasy XIV.  Man, that game is great, despite every effort by Square-Enix to sabotage it.  The MMO community is just as I remember it; a disheartening blend of assholes, noobs, try-hards, and some decent folk looking to have some fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on September 19, 2013, 06:48:11 PM
Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Wii game on Wii U)
Cover says that has original game is included -- i'm guessing it will only unlock after i beat the game, right?

No, should be available. I have played it  but have not finished the main game. I can't remember how you access it but fiddle around with the menus. It is there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on September 21, 2013, 06:10:22 PM
Got my copy of GTA V today, so I'll be able to take a break from poopsocking it in Final Fantasy XIV.  Man, that game is great, despite every effort by Square-Enix to sabotage it.  The MMO community is just as I remember it; a disheartening blend of assholes, noobs, try-hards, and some decent folk looking to have some fun.
What server are you playing on? Sounds like the wrong one. Join my Backloggery gang and I (Lindy's with us, too!) on Hyperion. LOTS of helpful folks there.

But yeah, FFXIV is great.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 23, 2013, 08:38:51 AM
I put more time into Mutant Mudds yesterday than The Wonderful 101. Mutant Mudds is deceptively difficult. Some of those jumps are out of contreze. I like it and I paid so little for it. My plan is to beat both games before I get The Wind Waker next weekend. I hear The Wonderful 101 is a pretty short game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 23, 2013, 11:43:01 PM
I hear The Wonderful 101 is a pretty short game.
You've been lied to:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRImGXQb5vI7BX) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADYUV6opgNiJA)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 24, 2013, 07:23:05 AM
Are you trying to get/unlock everything? I'm just trying to beat the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 24, 2013, 07:35:35 AM
Are you trying to get/unlock everything?
Unlocking everything is nearly impossible, but yes.

I'm just trying to beat the game.
That will take you about 15+ hours.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 24, 2013, 07:53:34 AM
I'm just trying to beat the game.
That will take you about 15+ hours.
Then, no, I wasn't lied to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 24, 2013, 08:27:26 AM
It'll take you longer to "beat" W101 than Eternal Darkness (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=37892.msg803461#msg803461), that's for sure. So i guess that makes Eternal Darkness a micro game then.

google search is fun (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hours+to+beat+adrock+site%3Awww.nintendoworldreport.com%2Fforums)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 24, 2013, 09:01:28 AM
I don't really understand what you're getting at or why you're being so snide about this. Yes, I completed all three paths of Eternal Darkness in about 15 hours. What exactly is your point? What does Eternal Darkness have to do with anything? If you're merely pointing out that I took the time to play through all three paths in ED and I only want to complete W101 once, keep in mind that I just turned 18 when I played through ED. I don't have as much time to spend on video games at 29. I really just want to finish W101 at least once before The Wind Waker comes out so as not to increase my backlog.

And by the way, posting LMGTFY only works when someone didn't google something they easily could have which isn't the case here at all. I swear, your posts just don't make sense to me sometimes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 24, 2013, 10:21:52 AM
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

I love this game, but circumstances made it so that I just couldn't dedicate the time/effort to finish it off.  That's about to change (I hope).

After nearly a year-long hiatus, I've gotten back into the game. My latest save file had me start off at Machina Village, and now I'm about to enter Prison Island.  There can't be much more in the game... however, I admit to being surprised at how much content remained already. Getting carried away with exploration and rebuilding and as many side-quests as I can find has that effect though. (Roughly 120 hours spent in-game so far. Not close to getting 100% but I've been pretty thorough for an initial play through.)

At this point, the game is dominating my free time to the point it's disrupting my sleep. Not sure if I want the experience to end... but absolutely thrilled to be closing in on the ending.  Haven't enjoyed a video game this much in a long, long time.


Toki Tori 2+ (Wii U)

Heard good comments about the "open world" structure from people here at NWR, and their recommendations were right on the money. Not playing too seriously yet - just messing around a little and will probably put it down and restart later on - but have absolutely loved what I've played so far. Little things like learning different songs on your own (experimentation or observation) and searching for different paths to explore really make this game enjoyable for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 24, 2013, 10:26:21 AM
^ i'm just noting that you consider game with initial playthrough worth of 15+ hours as «short», yet at the very same time think of 15 hour 100% playthrough of Eternal Darkness as significant timesink.
I used lmgtfy because forum didn't allow me to post regular long ass google link, bbcode parser just broke halfway through
 
Aaaanyway, back to topic. Apart from P* stuff, lately i've been playing:

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands
I don't know. I play this game for 40 minutes and then i just kinda don't want to. I came back to this game after not touching it for a year, was camera as bad back then? Or did new abilities i unlocked add too much 3d complexity to the levels? Did Ubisoft just ran out of QA budget halfway into the game?

My problems is that camera where you enter the bubble is always looking the opposite way where you want. Manual camera control is also rather cumbersome to work with because of slow pointer controls. Camera becomes even more problematic where they fix it in specific spots during battle sequences.

Still, it's a nice game. But i'm fully expecting it will take another month to finish it at this pace i'm going. So no «lightning fast» achievement for beating the game in less than 10 hours for me. Speaking of achivements, this game has lots of them. I'm guessing they unlock concept art and developer videos, cause that's all locked for me.

Some of the later locations are very nice looking at least. Water temple and Sky temple are very beatiful, jaggies or not. Even random rabbid in the sky didn't spoil the view.

I also appreciated how they based art style of the game around distintly Persian/Babylonian designs and not on Arabian Nights like before.

Desktop Dungeons: Endless Beta
It's a crime against gaming humanity that developers are taking so much time turning their amazing freeware roguelike/puzzle mashup into fully featured game. Their freeware version already was filled to the brim with content 4 (four, i repeat f-o-u-r) years ago.
I appreciate that they're adding even more features, tutorials and nice new art. But this has to end somewhere.
I shouldn't be complaining because i am in paid beta program (that was before i started hating kickstarter and i think that was even before kickstarter even emerged) meaning i get to play their game throughout development cycle.
But it's such a pity more people don't know this game and instead are playing and praising hundreds other kickstarter roguelikes, that suddenly became in vogue while DD was and is in development.
As to actual game -- well main gameplay of DD hasn't changed they just added lots more «singleplayer» missions, as in not randomly generated. Each class now has a set of predetermined missions you can take to win more preparation stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on September 24, 2013, 10:49:56 AM
Desktop Dungeons is still not gold?! I played that a couple years ago when it was free and it was pretty nice, burned a couple hours. It was pretty much fully featured at the time. I couple more classes, maps etc, it would be ready to sell for real money. But 4 fucking years? The hell are they doing?

Playing Ace Combat 3DS. 44 hours in, all planes unlocked, not all weapons and colors. Some of the medals are really obtuse and I have no idea how to get them without looking it up. Nice game to whip oprn and play a quick session before closing the lid.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 24, 2013, 11:36:24 AM
^ i'm just noting that you consider game with initial playthrough worth of 15+ hours as «short», yet at the very same time think of 15 hour 100% playthrough of Eternal Darkness as significant timesink.
No. I didn't. And I would appreciate if you would stop putting words in my mouth in an attempt to make me sound like a hypocrite.

Looking at the link you provided, I made no claim that Eternal Darkness was a "timesink." I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion when that wasn't even that point of that post* and no comment was made on the matter. However, to address that, I wouldn't consider 15 hours to be a "timesink." Even in 2013 when I don't have oodles of free time to spend playing video games, I think I can set aside enough hours within 12 days or so to complete The Wonderful 101 (and Mutant Mudds Deluxe). That's the entire point which I addressed in the post you originally quoted yet seemingly did not read entirely.

More importantly, I'm not really sure why you're so focused on me saying I heard the game was short (and bear in mind 15 hours to complete The Wonderful 101 is your estimate, not mine as I have yet to complete the game). Regardless, a game being short is not inherently a negative comment about its quality. My favorite game is Super Metroid. I originally beat it in around seven hours. I have beaten it in less than two and a half. I consider all that time to be the best hours I've spent with any video game.

*I remarked that I didn't believe Precursor Games' estimated completion time using my actual completion time of Eternal Darkness put up against the estimated completion time by some of the same people
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 28, 2013, 12:40:10 PM
Viewtiful Joe
I ordered GC version about the same time i started playing W101. I finally received it this morning.

Only managed to beat first boss. That helicopter gave me quite a beating. At the start VFX meter isn't very big, so i didn't have enough slo–mo to dodge through its bullets.

You definitely can see the foundations for later Platinum Games stuff in here: timing based dodge mechanics, shop for upgrades, combos and rankings for each enemy encounter.

I also tried Devolution on Wii U with this game and it works great. But i will still probably keep playing it on Wii, because Gamecube controller feels slightly better for this game (if only GC had workable d-pad then it'd be perfect).

Beat City
What a weird game. First minute i started the game i had no idea what's going on. It was like, cutscene then loading screen (loading in DS game?!..), then another cutscene, then another loading, then another cutscene. What was that?..

Actual game, once you finally get to it, is a Rhythm Heaven clone. Music isn't as catchy, it's just rather generic electronic beats.
Instead of of showing us some animation to go along with song, Beat City shows pulse-like line like in more traditional rhythm games.

lt's a poor man's Rhythm Heaven, but it's more than fine by me, considering i did get it on poor man's price new.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Trying to beat level 2 on 9th (hardest) difficulty. «Nothing harder» is right. You need to pick your gear and upgrades very meticulously, if you want to get through.

Flying section is the easiest part - spheres will help to get through the most spammy sections where you get about five or so enemies at the same time and at this difficulty even the weakest eyeball-like enemy emits up to five bullets.
The hardest sections are the fight when you meet Magnus and after that - boss battle with Gaol. My latest strategy is to use Trade-off ability when you sacrifice all your health toward increased attack and speed right before the boss. Then i restore all my health back with drink of the gods that is always there right before the boss room and still have a few minutes with upgraded stats.

Wonderful 101
Achievement hunt! Did the one where i had to do no damage run on maglev section. It had one neat gotcha moment, where right after cutscene ends, a rocket is flying right at you and you need to react in a fraction of second. Last part of maglev segment is especially overwhelming with all rocket spam you need to avoid while reflecting occasional laser beams.
The other achievement was kinda BS. I understood from the name that it's something to do with rides on 2–B. What i didn't get was that i am supposed to enter last after all my team on both rides. Fidgety Unite Build also doesn't help.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on September 29, 2013, 01:23:27 PM
Started playing Shadow Warrior today.  It's pretty fun and looks great.  I got a kick out of Lo Wang's cheesy wisecracks, and the old-school healthkit gameplay is a nice switch from regenerating shields that FPS games seem to be unable to stray from these days.  I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to set the FOV at, as everything I do seems to warp the edges of the screen when I move, and it's making me feel a bit queasy.  Also, the controls feel a bit floaty which seems at odds with the old-school nature of the game, though, that could just be my keyboard acting up on me.

Melee combat is satisfying, which you can't always say in first-person games.  I've unlocked a few combos so far, and they work as intended.  I don't know why, but there was an option in my menu to swap out the normal katana for the Saint's Row purple dildo bat, which I obviously used.  It's stupidly fun to decapitate enemies with that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on September 29, 2013, 01:32:26 PM
Halo Combat evolved anniversary, Ascend Hand of Kul, and Temple Run. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 29, 2013, 01:50:24 PM
After recently finishing Saints Row 4, I'm playing Lost Planet 3 and...it's actually pretty good, if you can look past basically how uninspiring the gunplay is. I really like what they've done with the story and characterization, and the world has a very "lived in" feel to it that clicks with me. Plus, it puts me in the cockpit of a giant mech within the first 30 minutes of play.  :P:
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 02, 2013, 01:39:30 AM
Listening to Radio Free Nintendo episodes 351 and 352 inspired me to try:

Ninja Gaiden (NES):
Are people calling this game one of the hardest games of all time serious? After Ghost'n'Goblins this game is a breeze. You have something like 15 freaking health points, with that the game might as well play itself for you.
I got to third level's boss on my first try. Of course i died like four or five times but never ran out of continues (from GameCenter CX footage i vaguely remember that continues are limited).
Of course it's tricky and constant enemy spam is cheap in this game. But hey so is your Sonic like move where you jump spinning with your sword. Half of the "hard" platforming sequences with instant death i just ran through not stopping for nothing.
I didn't even used any of my power-ups, simply didn't figured out how to use them.

Still, i liked this game a lot. Even comparable easiness of the game is rather enjoyable because you feel like unstoppable robot with infinite health just powering through everything.

Also, on somewhat related note, after discovering a wonderful genre of 3d beat-em-ups with Bayonetta and W101, i'm thinking of getting Ninja Gaiden Black from 360 marketplace. Which is really stupid of me considering i'm already drowning in games across seven platforms (GBA, DS, 3DS, GC, Wii, Wii U, PC).

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Wii):
It was the first Wii game i tried on Wii U's Gamepad. Playing it like that with Gamepad on my bed and me sitting nearby crouching with wiimote and nunchuck was one of the weirdest gaming experience i had in a while.
Door puzzle where i needed to connect dots on rotating disc was a great test for Gamepad's built-in sensor bar. It worked great.
As for the game: i beat last tower of the god and i think i am at the final boss.
These two last temples were seriously gorgeous looking. Broken camera or not.

Ghost'n'Goblins: Arcade:
This made a nice contrast with somehwat easy Ninja Gaiden earlier. Good ol' GnG, you hate me so much. By now i figured out strategies and routes how to get to level 4 reliably and i once got to level 5.
And yeah, playing it on a gamepad on my lap with classic controller in my hands was just as weird.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on October 02, 2013, 11:20:07 AM
Final Fantasy XIV. I'm actually surprised about how much fun I'm having. I'm a Cat-Girl Lancer. :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on October 02, 2013, 05:32:56 PM
I've been on a break from FFXIV lately, just so I can get to some of the other games that are releasing now.  This next little period is insane, and it looks like it'll just get worse.  I know some people who are already burning out on the endgame in XIV, and some people are getting sick of the "elitists", so it'll be nice to hide away from some of that for a while.  I took my Bard to 50, and I haven't yet completed the main story, but it has been great so far.  I've seen people say that XIV is this gen's best FF, and I can't really object to that(though, with XIII and XIII-2, that really isn't saying much).

I've shelved GTA V for now.  The game is technically a marvel.  Yes, there are framerate issues and such, but I think the game looks incredible for the systems it it on.  After playing Saint's Row IV, travelling between missions feels like such a chore in GTA and even being able to swap between characters doesn't really help all that much.  I was surprised by how much I liked the dialog and the over-the-top characterizations of all the side-characters.  I still hate the driving controls, and the PS3 controller isn't helping much there.

I got a chance to try out both this year's PES and FIFA games for the PC.  I liked last year's PES game more than FIFA, but felt FIFA's overall presentation was far superioir to PES's.  This season, both games are actually quite different.  FIFA feels like it's taken a step toward PES territory, with the way the players move and feel, imo, while still keeping the advantage in presentation.  It was really quite jarring to go from one to the other and see just the differences in presentation and how much more polished FIFA is.  That said, I think both are great games, it's a shame that Konami didn't make PES easily available via digital download on PC(still not on Steam afaik).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on October 02, 2013, 06:07:29 PM
Final Fantasy XIV. I'm actually surprised about how much fun I'm having. I'm a Cat-Girl Lancer. :)
OBLIVION! What server, yo?! Join Hyperion!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on October 02, 2013, 06:21:38 PM
I'm in Mateus. :( I'd have to create a completely new character to join up with you, right?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on October 02, 2013, 06:53:53 PM
Beat the living **** out of XCOM. Lost two countries because they're pansies. Ended up with a full team of psychic ballers but lost all but three during the final stage. Double tap for the win though!

Great game. I got lucky plenty of times until eventually I couldn't be stopped (sans the last level). Murdering aliens with my mind powers.

One thing I hated though, was that I couldn't discontinue my mind-meld with an enemy. So if I didn't get them killed in four turns, they would turn against me. So I pretty much I had to use them as a suicide bomber, which is fine, but when they're the last dude on the map, it's just an inconvenience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on October 03, 2013, 12:30:58 PM
I'm in Mateus. :( I'd have to create a completely new character to join up with you, right?
Nope. In a few days, the World Transfer service is going to open up, and for the first five days, it'll be free to transfer over one character of your choosing. Go for it. We have a blast on Hyperion!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on October 03, 2013, 02:59:23 PM
Okay, cool. I'll be sure to join you when that goes live.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 03, 2013, 05:00:59 PM
That actually reminds me.  Is Hyperion stable yet?  Is it past the initial MMO launch rush?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 04, 2013, 12:25:00 AM
Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Wii)

Wow, that ending went all Majora's Mask on me. Really creepy and weird. I didn't even understand what exactly happened and had to read the description on Wikipedia.

Final boss turned out to be a mess. It's quite apparent they just stopped caring by the end of the game -- lots of unpolished moments. I basically had to do three same actions and each time they showed me the same cutscene. There were very slight variations, but it just felt extremely lazy.

I remember listening to rather lengthy discussion of this game on one of the podcasts, but now i can't find it here. Forgotten Sands isn't even in the database and my Google skills are failing me.

Can anyone help me out or i am imagining things?

Oh and i still can't unlock anything, no developer diary, no art, and most importantly -- no original game. What's up with that? What am i supposed to do there?

I also tried additional "secret maps", hoping beating them will unlock me original game.

Damn that speedrun challenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y_HBbiaEHs) is absolutely brutal. Also it's funny how little they cared about this post game stuff, because this particular speedrun challenge looks unfinished, looking almost like Portal or Mirror's Edge with it's sterile environments with no textures on them.

These levels feature pure 2d and 3d platforming which was always my favourite parts of both Prince of Persia and it's sister series Assassin's Creed.

There is no way i am going through main game again, achievements or not. But i think i will spend a few more days trying to beat these "secret map" levels.

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords (aka Two Thrones, Wii version)
I am not sure if i will start the game proper right after finishing another PoP. I just checked if the disc was working after getting the game.

First of all, yesh, this game looks rough. Models are almost PS1 level. I remember playing Two Thrones on my PC, and i think it was rather a beautiful game for its time. Also apparently this game only support 4:3 aspect ratio (or it could be a glitch in the latest firmware update that changed a lot in Wii mode).

Controls feels surprisingly great though. Even better than in later Forgotten Sands. My main problem with PoP: FS controls was that prince was too eager to run up the wall -- basically if you just run into it, he will start doing that wallrun thing. In Rival Swords, prince is doing wall run only when you hold B button and it feels much better for me.

Surprisingly, camera also feels better, even with wii controls. When you twist wiimote, camera rotates left and right, which is great because it's quick and doesn't interfere with any other buttons. You can run and jump and control camera at the same time. Feels so much better than camera control in Forgotten Sands where you had to stop and then work with unwieldy and slow pointer controlled camera.

I never finished that game on PC so now i am looking forward to beating it properly. Sometime next year...

Donkey Kong Country Returns (3DS)
That Donkey is a huge bulking monster with lots of momentum. This game is even more momentum based than recent Rayman games. I don't remember him having THAT much weight in the first DKC game...

Speaking of old DKC games, i probably shouldn't have started this game, and should have tried to beat DKC2 and DKC3 on GBA first...

Controls are kinda weird: default scheme with circle pad is workable but it doesn't let you control the game with D-Pad. Why. Alternate control scheme with D-Pad changes all the button layout and now you have to use shoulder buttons to stomp and stuff. Again, why? After playing a bit i got used to playing with circle pad, but i wish i could use d-pad with normal button layout.

Still a great game, lots of secrets. Time attacks are very challenging and basically are made for you to break the game's system's apart -- just like with Rayman, only in time attack i started to get platforming in this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on October 04, 2013, 09:22:24 AM
That actually reminds me.  Is Hyperion stable yet?  Is it past the initial MMO launch rush?
Yes, absolutely. I mean, sure, there's going to be maintenance to all servers in time. But as far as the initial instability and login errors are concerned...it's all fantastic now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 04, 2013, 08:39:30 PM
The Wind Waker HD
I barely remember anything about this game. It's practically brand new to me. Granted, I only completed the GameCube original once because I was in college at the time (I started it again once or twice, but never got far), but I figured something would jog my memory. I spent like an hour running around Windfall Island because I didn't know where anything was (and I was trying to find all four Killer Bees).

And goodness, this game's art just really pops in HD. I'm not one to gush over graphics especially since I've had a PS3 for over four years. It's definitely Wind Waker's art. I want to pop in the GameCube version just to compare.

The music is just amazing. I was a bit worried that my memories of the game wouldn't hold up and my favorable opinion of the game was mostly nostalgia, but I'm digging it and I've mostly just been putzing around. I was supposed to rush to find Tetra, but I gathered some pigs and literally threw them in a pigpen instead.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on October 04, 2013, 09:03:40 PM
I'm not one to gush over graphics especially since I've had a PS3 for over four years.


heh
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 04, 2013, 10:28:09 PM
HD is just part of gaming now. I look back at the progression of graphics from a few pixels to the HD era. We've come a long way, but the longer you're exposed to something, the less you appreciate it. However, great art design, to me, can be timeless. The Wind Waker definitely has that appeal. We've all seen HD collections of PS2 games. They don't hold up as well as The Wind Waker. Update Twilight Princess (and possibly Skyward Sword), it wouldn't look as good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on October 04, 2013, 11:00:31 PM
My "heh" was more to the fact that a seven year old console is what got you used to "good" graphics.


And you must not have seen TP or SS running on the Dolphin. Far more stunning than WW, imo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 05, 2013, 12:30:18 AM
I don't play games on PC though I've watched my brother game on PC for the last two years or so. I've mostly been exposed to PS3 which still look good to me. PC games look better, but they don't make PS3 games looks bad. Mainly, I've just gotten used to seeing games beyond standard 480p be it on PS3 or PC and I find myself less impressed by graphics. I know that makes me sound spoiled, but it's also helped me appreciate art design more. It's just far more important to a game's look. Something like Wind Waker still holds up even for a 10 year old game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 05, 2013, 11:33:35 AM

Just started playing through Dead Space: Extraction (Wii).


It's not a proper Dead Space which is a disappointment in many regards but it looks good (enough), plays well, and tells a fun story (so far). Shame this game took so much flak on release. Maybe on-rails shooters aren't for everyone, but I think it's turning into a pretty fantastic experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 05, 2013, 09:59:13 PM
HD is just part of gaming now. I look back at the progression of graphics from a few pixels to the HD era. We've come a long way, but the longer you're exposed to something, the less you appreciate it. However, great art design, to me, can be timeless. The Wind Waker definitely has that appeal. We've all seen HD collections of PS2 games. They don't hold up as well as The Wind Waker. Update Twilight Princess (and possibly Skyward Sword), it wouldn't look as good.

I'd actually argue the Sly Cooper games hold up as well, and for much the same reason: they used very similar cartoony art styles that hold up well over time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 06, 2013, 09:31:08 AM
I'll take your word for it as I didn't know about the Sly Cooper collection. I was specifically referring to the collections with more realistic, non-cel shaded stuff like God of War, Devil May Cry, and Metal Gear Solid. That's also why I brought up Twilight Princess as a point of comparison.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on October 06, 2013, 04:34:51 PM
Picked up Game Stock Car 2013 and played a bit of it recently.  It's really nice to play a racing game with tracks that I haven't seen much of since these seem to all be located in Brazil.  The game is based off the rFactor 2 engine, I believe, and it shows.  The game is fairly utilitarian graphically, but the physics simulation is great.  I've had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to set this game up to work with my G27 as the menus don't seem to be very helpful.  I really would like to figure this out, because as it is now, throttle and brake inputs feel almost digital and it's near impossible to get the amount of control I want.

Finally got my confirmation e-mail from the Race Room team.  Despite being a time-trial game f2p game, Race Room is actually quite fun.  The handling and physics seem pretty good, and the game in general runs like butter.

I was looking forward to the new console launches specifically for Forza and Drive Club, but these two games are really dulling any enthusiasm I had.  Assetto Corsa and Project Cars and the fact that there has been little info regarding compatible wheels on the new consoles will make it even easier to put off purchasing the two consoles for a while.

Necroed: Egads, GSC 2013 is fricking amazing, Forza can go EABOD.  As earlier, the graphics engine is ancient and the UI is unintuitive like I've never seen before.  For some reason, brakes were assigned in my control settings to some unknown input, and always at 100%.  Once I fixed that, I fell in love with the handling simulation in this game.  Momentum and balance play a huge factor in cornering - poorly timed shifts can to throw the cars off if you aren't careful.  If Reiza ever get big enough to make a big-budget AAA racer, I think they would have the hands-down best product out there.

Also been trying to get gold medals in the Challenge portion of F1 2013.  I've seen people say that this offering is akin to a roster update in sports games, but I feel like the changes Codemasters have made to the handling and tire modelling are quite significant.  It is much easier to lose your back end if you aren't careful on the throttle, and tire-wear is much more harsh.  If you aren't smooth with your inputs, you can easily burn through good tires in a few laps.  Understeer in 2012 was definitely an issue, but it seems much better in 2013.  Ultimately, this series is a great middle-ground between true hardcore racing sim, and arcadey racers.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 17, 2013, 11:38:39 PM
Bastion:
Started this game properly. Wow, gamepad controls are pretty bad. It defaults to auto-aiming and in default configuration was buggy or something, because alternate attack wasn't working at all for me until i set it up properly myself.

It's a shame because the game is great with keyboard and mouse, i really wish they could make a better control scheme for it.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations:
You know what. Aside from usual Ubisoft jank, it's actually pretty great. The music is really good, II only had one good track in the beginning (main theme), and i don't remember anything from Brotherhood at all. Revelations already had two music pieces i really liked so it's already beating all other AC games for me.

Galata Tower sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msw0I5VDplw) was also pretty cool. I know, it's cinematic garbage with super dilluted 3d platforming and i as mainly Nintendo guy, supposed to hate it. But i enjoyed it, what are you going to do?..

Bomb system is retarded and i don't use it at all. And it seems they knew that most players would ignore it because in one mission where i had to use bombs they placed a box with four of them just in case i didn't had any.

Moments where some random templar assassin creeps up to me and tries to stab me are very intense. Music goes all Hitchcock and you have a second or so to react. They also happen in the most unfortunate moments: like during one stealth mission this guy tried to kill me and i had to defend myself ruining my cover.

Wonderful 101:
Still takes up most of my gaming time. Unlocked four or so secret characters by now. Got 82 achievements out of 101. Filled almost entire row for normal difficulty with plats. Only have 9-C and 8-C left.

Replaying finale boss for the second and third time was just as hilarious and amazing. When you can't help but tear up from awesomeness even on replaying the finale you know this is a special one...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 18, 2013, 01:15:12 AM
Puzzle Kingdoms:
If you didn't knew this game is made by creator of Puzzle Quest, same cheesy kinda-bad artwork would clue you in:
(http://s019.radikal.ru/i611/1310/76/105d5218147d.jpg)
Also has the same generic fantasy type "plot", if you can call it that.

They changed puzzle system for this one and it took ten or so minutes for me to figure out. It went from Bejeweled system to sorta Yoshi's Cookie where you have to move entire rows and columns.

Previous Puzzle Quest games felt too random at time because of random puzzle pieces that fell from the top and sometimes could combo in a very unpredictable manner. So it was kinda hard to fight with any strategy in mind, when your AI enemy could get a lucky strike of 6 or so combos, fill in all attack slots in one turn and then demolish you in the next one. Spells that randomly changed the board also didn't help.

With this new system randomness is a bit more controlled. Strings of three or more combos are extremely rare. Also the board shows you what piece is going to appear from each side so you can plan ahead accordingly:

(http://s005.radikal.ru/i209/1310/7d/2ebbc7c3d200.jpg)

It's an okay game, just what i need to spend my lunch break on work. The biggest problem for me so far is special mini-game where i have to destroy all the pieces from board -- i just can't destroy all of them because when you move pieces you always add a new piece on the board.

Viewtiful Joe:
Got zoom power. Now that i have full powerset combat system becomes kinda messy and doesn't feel as tight as in other beat'em ups. It just feels like there are too many options for you at any given moment.

It IS limited with extent of your gauge and i know you're supposed to string your attacks and constantly keep restoring your gauge with bottles from destroyed enemies to get huge points. But this system just didn't clicked with me yet.

Flying bus puzzle was kinda annoying. You do realize you need to use power to solve it, but which one and at what moment? Those two pink robot girls were also annoying. I did beat them but it felt like i missed some trick.

Currently i'm on a hotel level.

Super Smash Bros Melee:
While i am playing GameCube games, i decided to go back to this one and try to figure out how to actually play it again. I watched great documentary about Melee (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tgWH-qXpv8&list=PLoUHkRwnRH-KTCH3tJ9WvsWWPEgUu-y6d) and it kinda hyped me up.

I tried to play Smash games, many, many, many, many times. Could never understand it. The second when i push my stick up and my character jumps, my brain just breaks.

Still don't understand if i can do smash attacks in the air or not. Can't even do smash attack reliably on the ground.

The game is so reliant on stick movement and it's intricacies and it's probably my biggest hurdle.

Apollo Justice:
It feels like writers are just doing combinations by now.

The usual scheme is that we have innocent defendant who we have to prove is not guilty and witness who was the killer. I think starting with third (?) game they really started to play around with the formula. We got guilty defendants that we had to prove are NOT guilty, we had guilty prosecutors and finally with this one we got guilty attorney. The next game should finally make the judge a murderer -- he's the only one who they haven't played with.

First case already was pretty hard, probably one of the most contrived ones in the series.

Watching Trucy and her cute animation when she steps from heel to toe, made me realize series has became like an japanese idols group where they constantly have to "update" their girls roster, because previous ones cross magical 21 years limit and becomes "too old". When you look at it that way she isn't all that different from Maya, her animations and reactions are very similar, same fighting pose with her fists, same sulking pose and all.

And of course newest game feature a new girl, who is also quirky and energetic and has sunny attitude. I'm onto you, Capcom, you won't trick me again with your moe ways...

Link's Awakening:
I've just beaten Face temple that was a huge maze spread on to three-four levels, and now i'm at the last dungeon and it's an even bigger maze. Ugh.

What's most annoying is that mini-bosses keep respawning so you have to kill them again and again when you're simply roaming between rooms trying to figure out where to go.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on October 19, 2013, 10:13:56 PM
Man, I feel like I've said this before, but Game Stock Car 2013 is the best racing game I've played in a long time.  I just started futzing around with karts, and I'm having way too much fun throwing these things through these tracks.  Karts are super light, and, with the track designs, really zip around.  The extremely tight steering radius takes some getting used to, and even though I still really suck, the bendy tracks are just a riot to navigate.  It really makes you work to find and hit your apexes, and plan a few steps ahead just to set yourself up for the next corner.  I haven't even tried the F1/F3 or the Minis yet, and I've barely started messing around with the namesake stock cars.

For under $30 this game really delivers on content.  And since it's on PC, you can count on a ton of community mods that you can pick and choose from to customize your experience to your own liking.  rFactor 2(GSC uses the rFactor engine) is a great racing sim, but the experience is brought down by the fact that it is currently unfinished and relies almost completely on user-generated content.  GSC 2013 is fantastic right out of the proverbial box.

I also started to replay Apollo Justice a few weeks ago, but didn't get very far since the last two months have been absolutely nuts for games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 20, 2013, 09:35:51 PM
I picked up the The Bard's Tale in the latest Humble Bundle and am playing it in Linux. Great sense of humor, I can see why it has such a good reputation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 21, 2013, 12:15:26 AM
Assassin's Creed: Revelations:
Finished. People who said it was a bad game, can go and eat a bowl filled with something nasty.

It's a great game. My favorite story in entire series so far, great ending and the best ending sequence gameplay-wise of all AC games.

II and Brotherhood had great endings, but it was crazy story twists that made them good. Gameplay was really, really lacking in both.

The ending in Revelation starts as your regular carriage mission and then they turn it on it's head and it becomes something great and crazy. And then it becomes even more crazy in the end. Loved it.

Portal-like levels where we get to know Desmond's and Clay's lifestories were kinda stupid. By the end their sound effects and visuals got too disturbing and i still have to finish Clay's two last levels because it got tad too intense for me (those flashes in church, ugh). Ending of Desmond's missions was great though.

Altair's missions were okay and the final sequence with Ezio lightning the torches and Altair putting them out in the past was wonderful.

Music was also pretty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWd2FyWdphk&list=SP6350E05FACAB726D) cool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnsKBsfpAjM&list=SP6350E05FACAB726D).

By the end, i actually started using bombs and they weren't all that bad and pretty useful. It's still stupid they put so much effort on bomb crafting system.

The only genuinely bad parts in the game were tower defense sequences. But i only played them whopping two times during my entire game. Which is again stupid that they made entirely new gameplay system for something i spent about ten minutes in total. I "won" first tutorial-like tower defense mission and lost the second one. After i lost my assassin's den, it took me about two minutes to recapture it, which made this whole sequence even more moot and pointless.

The main part why i enjoy series so much -- 3d platforming is still very much there, and this time they toned down full synchronization considerably, which made it a bit less annoying.

Revelation probably DOES have less content that previous game but do you really want even more collectathon pieces and more generic thief/mercenary/romani missions? I still collected all 100 animus fragments, not for the stupid UPlay achievement, but because i simply enjoy traversing the city by itself.

Assassin's Creed III (Wii U):
This is my first AC game on console and wow... It looks like that bowl of something nasty! I shudder to think how it looks like on 360 and ps3...

Even rather drab Revelations with it's grey/black colour effect was still a great looking game and II and Brotherhood were outright gorgeous looking on PC. Now, this?.. Framerate, jaggies all over the place... I think it's better to play it on gamepad because it's lower resolution hides these flaws much better.

I now have to think long and hard if i will still want to get ACIV on Wii U or should i go back to superior looking PC version...

I am still very early in the game and map hasn't even appeared yet. I really want to see how they did map management on gamepad.

Mario Kart Wii:
Had friends coming over. At first we wanted to try some racing game and i discovered i have no split screen PC racing games! Burnout Paradise has no split screen and has some weird sound issues anyway. After searching around i just gave up and booted up Mario Kart.

It was my friend's first time playing it and he didn't understand much what was going on, and i also completely forgot how to drift. We still had fun.

Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
That sword boss was really great. And i love how vertical the game gets, especially with Dixie where you climb way up and then jump off and glide down to get to places you can't with Diddy.
First game feels almost pedestrian in comparison, seeing how non-linear DKC2 is.

I level warped in four levels or so, which felt cheap, because i didn't actually beat the level -- i just found a secret that teleported me to the end of it. I feel like actually replaying them to get as much stuff as i can.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 21, 2013, 11:40:31 AM
I picked up the The Bard's Tale in the latest Humble Bundle and am playing it in Linux. Great sense of humor, I can see why it has such a good reputation.
Is this a remake of the old Commodore 64 game? I loved that game as a kid.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 21, 2013, 02:20:09 PM
I believe it is a "reimagining" It originally came out in 2004 and pokes a lot of fun at common RPG tropes, like killing a rat in the cellar and opening chests in people's home. It looks like it comes with the original three games from the 80s but I haven't tried them yet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on October 21, 2013, 09:25:41 PM
I played it on Android. It's actually quite deep.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 22, 2013, 12:50:47 AM
Assassin's Creed: Revelations:
Done. Finished Clay's missions. It was pretty stupid. Stupid ending, rather stupid and unnecessary revelation about the traitor in previous games.

Eh, whatever. I guess these missions are supposed to replace puzzles. Well they definitely cranked up weirdness for these ones.

Assassin's Creed III:
I got over performance hit from PC versions and can play the game without constantly wincing now.

Got to Boston. Map on Gamepad is too zoomed-in, i wish it was displaying bigger part of the city so that i could look further than one block around me.

UI is kinda weird. I don't like how they display historical data. Firstly, the picture and text are angled and take a small part of the screen.

(http://s018.radikal.ru/i528/1310/98/2994d1132d1bt.jpg) (http://s018.radikal.ru/i528/1310/98/2994d1132d1b.jpg)

So much space is wasted. It's hard to read that small font on TV, so i have to lift gamepad closer to my eyes and read it there. Another thing is that you have to press B four or five times to exit from this screen now.

On the other hand they added notifications list, so you can always bring back database entries you missed when you didn't feel like reading. That's cool.

Controls feel a bit more touchy-springy compared to previous games. Your character is too eager to jump over stands and fences when you hold ZR. I will probably get over it.

Other than that it's fine so far.

Rhythm Paradise (Rhythm Heaven) DS:
I got "Superb" on all mini-games half a year ago and so now i am just collecting missing "Perfects". Still got about 10-20 of them. As i said it turned out that in some mini games "Superbs" are much harder than "Perfects", so eventually i will do it.

People who said touch controls didn't work as accurately as they could are wrong. Big gimmick of this game was using touch controls in a very unusual way that requires some practice to master. It is accurate, and even then timing is actually pretty generous (Rhythm Heaven games for GBA and Wii are much stricter with timing).

Like, doing the action not when stylus touches the screen, but when you lift it. Or guitar mini-games when you have to strum it in a very specific way. I'm guessing as usual this went beyond reviewers' learning capabilities and they chose to blame the game instead.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 22, 2013, 07:21:53 AM
I was baffled by how much worse nearly every element of AC III is compared to II-rilogy. The parkour controls are worse, the menu system is terrible, the combat is even awfuler than usual, the cities are lame, the side missions stripped down and lazy, story incoherent and hard to follow, main character boring, I could go on and on. I loved Brotherhood, but after III I don't think I'll be touching another game from this series.


Oh also, you're spot on about the Gamepad map. A persistent interactive map could have been a game-changer, but instead they slapped on an ugly, slightly expanded, untouchable minimap. Yech.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 22, 2013, 07:37:55 AM
Oh also, you're spot on about the Gamepad map. A persistent interactive map could have been a game-changer, but instead they slapped on an ugly, slightly expanded, untouchable minimap. Yech.
Dammit, i was hoping this map was so empty and busted because i haven't unlocked something yet. I'm still very, very early in the game.

Imagine playing AC and just looking down and seeing all targets and icons all around you. And they really should add multiple targets, it's stupid that they haven't done this after so many games. Like you can mark one target as your current one and a few others nearby that you plan to do after.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jarodea on October 22, 2013, 09:24:49 PM
This thread started in May, well it's not too hard to sum up the games I've played since then (bold are games I am currently playing):The only one I've beaten is Gunman Clive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 24, 2013, 02:41:10 AM
Enough Plumbers (http://notdoppler.com/enoughplumbers.php):
I have dim memories of playing this game years ago and after watching Patrick checking out second one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTuABkiqc8&t=26m39s), i wanted to play them both again.

What an inventive little game! Really interesting puzzle platformer with cloning mechanics. I was stuck on level 14 for a while, but the final solution turned out to be much easier than i thought.


Ninja Gaiden (NES):
I'm on level 5 (meaning that when i start the game from the beginning every two days or so on my breaks, level 5 is now when i give up). Need to figure out how to do that wall to wall jump. You know the one. Yes, THAT one.

The game is all about patterns, all enemies have predetermined behaviors and they're all very simple to kill individually. Some trouble might start when the game starts spamming them but "don't stop for nothing and keep running" mantra works for majority of the game.

Despite that enemy behaviors are wildly different, majority of them are killed if you simply stop for half a second and slash (range on this sword is bigger than you think). Birds are easy, either duck and wait for them to fly closer and slash or jump over them and let them fly off screen.

Speaking of screen, screen border is actually your main weapon in the game, not only you can simply ignore most enemies by running past them or just by letting them run off screen themselves, you can even abuse it to change the position of especially uncomfortable enemy.

There is one dude in the beginning of level 5-1 who is standing on top of a pillar and throws knifes at you. He is rather bothersome, but you can manipulate screen border near him a bit and he will fall off that pillar. Level 5 also introduces white dudes who throw boomerangs at you -- so far they're the only enemy that you NEED to use power-up against.

Because i have big health bar i find that strategy "harm yourself to abuse invincibility state" (thank you, La Mulana, for teaching me this!) works wonderfully in this game.

Assassin's Creed III:
The beginning of this game is weird. It takes them three hours or so for them to give me full access to the city, before that i just go from mission to mission. Just roaming the city and collecting stuff is one of my favorite things to do in the series and they won't let me until i am done with all tutorial missions.

Even when they give me access, it still feels rather empty:
I don't even know what viewpoint synchronization does anymore, because it sure doesn't unlock any shops that's for sure.

Fast travel system... I still didn't figured it out how to actually use it, so i won't whine much on it yet, but i just hope that you don't actually need to roam around in this underground maze every single time you want to move to point to point. Because that would defeat the whole point of "fast" travel system.

Full synchronization on fort siege mission was annoying. But at least it made me learn some new moves. I like new cornering mechanic and how you can whistle to attract guards. But human shield mechanic is a pain to use, and it's always better just to run away when you see guys starting line fire.

Rifles take too much to reload. I mean what happened, Ezio and even Altair had much better guns with zero reloading time. I know, i know: "MUH REALISM", but this is a videogame. At the very least, they could have added some kind of active reload system from Gears of War to it -- that might have made it more fun. So far, it's better to fire a rifle, ditch it and then pick up another one from corpses that you don't have to reload.

It was kinda funny in this mission how one of my men climbed on top of a roof, positioned himself right above the guard and then jumped off it to kill... a dog standing nearby. Really? I'm not even sure if it was a bug or something but it was funny either way.

Franklin's speech about picking older women for lovers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JzXG-G3Asg) was absolutely hilarious. It turned even more hilarious when i googled around and found out it's 100% real (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advice_to_a_Friend_on_Choosing_a_Mistress).


Scribblenauts Unlimited (PC):
A perfect opportunity for my new wireless keyboard and mouse. I tried to play it before but it was hard to play with my setup -- i really don't want to play games on my monitor anymore and my TV is in across the room from my PC.

First time when i tried to play i couldn't really understand the controls, it just didn't make sense. Yesterday i finally got it: the game was made with Wii U touch controls in mind first and foremost and in PC port they didn't bother to change them at all. So this game is actually most controlled by mouse mostly and keyboard is only used for typing.

But controls aside -- this is such a great game. So much fun and charm. Now that i am actually playing it i love it so much and i am so sad that Wii U version was delayed to in Europe until it became completely irrelevant. I could have played this wonderful game on Wii U launch a year ago... In August, i finally caved in and got Steam version on sale for 4 bucks. I would had zero problems with buying this great game fully priced a year ago, WB. Your loss, once again.

I love humour in this game so much. like there are lockers at fire fighters station. What's inside them? Mini giraffe, hungry platypus that will eventually eat said giraffe and a pink fireman helmet.

Most of the puzzles are very easy and but still very fun. Like when you give fire fighters' mascot dog a little helmet of its own, a little fire truck will appear and then the dog will get into it and ride away!

And i love how game is both a guided experience and at the same time gives player some freedom to have fun. I had one mission where i had to make pizza and after i gave the cook tomatoes, dough and anchovies (whatever that is... i only know that from movies), he asked me to add special ingredient of my own.

Of course, being mature well-adjusted adult i am, i added boogers to the mix. Guy who ate this pizza enjoyed it well enough.

Some puzzles didn't really made sense though. Like most of art gallery. It felt like for some paintings, anything could do. When gnome asked to add something on the painting i randomly added a rat and it worked. So either this was a very well implemented Pratchett reference (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfs_(Discworld)#Cuisine) or anything would have worked.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on October 24, 2013, 05:53:21 PM
Currently playing Pokémon Y. Let me tell you, Pokémon is far less monotonous when combined with Jack Daniels and Gypsy Punk.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ymeegod on October 25, 2013, 05:32:07 AM
My titles for the week:

Metro: Last Light (360)--loved the first 3/4 of the game but then the story takes a dive in the wrong direction.  Still once in awhile an linear story driven fps is what I need and this filled the void.

Disney epic mickey castle of illusion  (3DS)--talk about disappointed.  Didn't have the Disney 'charm'. 

Devil Survivor 2 (3DS)--kept dying due to cheap shots by the AI and overwhelming boss battles.  Wouldn't have minded so much if they just included an retry option but they don't.  :( 

Ratchet and Clank All 4 One (PS3)--a lot of people bash this game as being the worst in the series but I enjoyed even though I played it offline with just the AI :(.  Captain Quark needs his own game.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 26, 2013, 05:06:23 AM
Candy Box 2 (http://candybox2.net/):
This game absolutely annihilates my productivity at work lately. I can't get anything done for two days now.

I played first game (http://candies.aniwey.net/) and overall liked it, though it was very obtuse and very grindy at first. While second game also has some slow waiting moments, but in 2, even grinding became so much fun.

Not sure if they made it more clear or i got smarter, but with Candy Box 2 i understood everything pretty much right away. After struggling previously with 1, i know what kind of screwed-up logic it expects of me now, so in first day i breezed through starting phases and puzzles very quickly.

Then i left my work PC on for the night, so that game would keep harvesting candies and lollipops. That helped somewhat in the first game, because you could boost your health with lots and lots of candies, but not so much in 2 -- now all encounters are designed to be impenetrable if you're trying to force yourself through. All of them require you to get some specific item or new ability or potion or something.

Back then, playing 1 i gave up on Developer that comes after Satan in Hell. On 2, i got to castle, and then to Developer again, who feels like final boss, because he has has infinite lives (not just ridiculous amounts like billion or something, it actually says "so much hp!" in his healthbar). Still, looking at my inventory, i still have ways to go, because i barely have 15% of all items in the game.

Just now, on the third day, i came to work and saw some more things to do in this game. What a delightful little HUGE game.

Arkanoid DS (with Taito Paddle controller):
Finally got my order (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=36196.msg810477#msg810477) delivered.

Dial feels kinda loose... I read up other impressions and people on forums said that wheel is supposed to have some resistance to it. The one i have -- you can touch it and it goes spinning and spinning.

It still works great though. I prefer to hold with two fingers, but when i gave it to my friend he started to move it with just one finger and it worked for him just fine.

Game itself, well it's Arkanoid, pretty much the same game we played on NES. Same music, same gameplay. There was one weird thing about first levels though -- they don't take entire screen width which is weird considering already low resolution of DS. Hopefully it gets wider so that you can really use that dial.

Dial really make a difference for a game like this, now you can move your ship pretty much instantly across entire field AND still be very precise.

Ass 3:
Full synchronization is so painful in this game. Even the most simple missions become aggravating if you go for 100%, because you have to figure out all the intricacies of controls and all "AI" patterns. I'm on 4th sequence and i think i replayed every mission in sequences 2 and 3 at least 5-10 times to get full sync. It was mostly because of controls and just general lack of polish.

Brotherhood also had that flaw -- that game also had missions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoKyA1i1E-k) that had completely broken and unrealistic full sync requirements that were nearly impossible to execute with controls of the game. It's like these requirements were written by a person who never actually played the game (which might very well be true considering ridiculous sizes of AssCreed development teams). Fortunately these missions were all optional stuff.

III has these kind of missions right in the beginning of the story, where you just getting to the grips with new controls and mechanics. SO ANNOYING.

In one mission (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O8ixh7reIA) i really wanted to maim and kill every single soldier in that fort (including George Washington and John Fraser) because it wanted me to be completely stealthy, not to be detected and not kill anyone. And it's almost impossible to stay stealthy with these controls -- like, i am hiding in a bush and then make a run for the next bush. I jump over the fence... and cling to a nearby wall instead of hiding in the bushes that are right freaking there. Or i am hiding in the bushes and touch some random barrel or a rock and now Haytham starts climbing this thing, ruining his cover.

They also removed neat stealth feature that Revelations had. In eagle vision you could see trails and routes or the guards so that you could plan your actions. But now it's gone.

Yes, let's make a game with emphasis on stealth and remove stealth features and make new controls that are literally antithetic for all things stealth!

Just now writing this, from the comments of the video linked i knew that i should have switched to fists -- then i could attack guards without killing them. I suspected as such but never actually tried it and thanks game for never telling me this.

Even after doing all these optional objectives you're not done -- you have to find a way out of fort and meet with that indian lady. First time i did all that stealth mission by some miracle and then i thought it was all over and then just ran out of fort and towards her. Of course all the soldiers in the fort saw me and ran after me.

Let me tell you something -- these guys are just relentless. It's very hard to lose them in the forest and the worst part was when i met indian lady and.. she started to fight redcoats that are chasing me. Of course i HAVE to be anonymous to finish this damn mission so i started running circles trying to lose them BUT apparently Zio once she started fighting she keeps fighting, and she started following these redcoats! It was so stupid. I need to become anonymous to talk to you and but i can't become anonymous because you keep following these soldiers! UGH!..


... Woosah... Woosah...

But at least i now figured out that new fast travel system. It's actually very good! You need to unlock new teleportation points by wandering in a maze but once you did you can then move to this point at any moment in the game from the map. Very handy.

Last night i finished Haytham missions. Let me tell you, it was like 2 am and i was very tired and sleepy and but DAT ending made me go "WAIT, WHAT?!" along with Desmond. I literally sat up in my bed. I now vaguely remember something about that reveal before game's release, but thankfully i forgot all of it. Man, it was a great moment!

It pumped me up enough to stay for two more hours playing as Haytham's son. I really liked new tree climbing mechanics -- it's so fast and smooth. Hunting.. was eh, it's okay i guess.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on October 27, 2013, 12:42:00 PM
Been playing some Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl in the new Story Mode. Which isn't bad, but isn't the best thing to happen since the invention of sliced bread. It's what I'd call "a safe bet" and somehow goes to show that it is not the best idea to write a story on top of an existing game from a franchise where FF–esque storytelling was never a part of the engagement.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on October 27, 2013, 02:24:57 PM
Last night i finished Haytham missions. Let me tell you, it was like 2 am and i was very tired and sleepy and but DAT ending made me go "WAIT, WHAT?!" along with Desmond. I literally sat up in my bed. I now vaguely remember something about that reveal before game's release, but thankfully i forgot all of it. Man, it was a great moment!

It pumped me up enough to stay for two more hours playing as Haytham's son. I really liked new tree climbing mechanics -- it's so fast and smooth. Hunting.. was eh, it's okay i guess.

I've been thinking about that reveal for quite a while now, and I was wondering what kind of impact it would have had on someone who hadn't played any of the previous games.  I thought it was pretty cool the way they played around with my expectations like that.

I've read some reviews for Arkham Origins, and it irks me that so many outlets are down on this game just because it doesn't change anything about the series.  So far, I'm having a great time being the gotdamned Batman again.  Not every game in a series needs to be a revolution for it to be a solid outing.  Of course, 25% off, and being visually stunning on PC helps a lot.  There isn't too much to say about the game, since it's so similar to Arkham City, just bigger.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on October 28, 2013, 03:04:38 AM
I can understand why Origins is getting marked down. Yeah, you are the GODDAMN BATMAN, but it is too much of the same too soon without the level of polish or innovations the previous games have. It is a game in search for a reason to exist outside of more money and it doesn't have one. It got pushed out the door because it's almost time for next gen and the accounts say that to maximise our profits we should use the engine one more time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 28, 2013, 02:09:02 PM
I think there are some nice refinements in Origins. The side missions are better integrated into the story, the design of the characters is generally better, and I think the story is more enjoyable (so far).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 28, 2013, 08:10:04 PM
Last night i finished Haytham missions. Let me tell you, it was like 2 am and i was very tired and sleepy and but DAT ending made me go "WAIT, WHAT?!" along with Desmond. I literally sat up in my bed. I now vaguely remember something about that reveal before game's release, but thankfully i forgot all of it. Man, it was a great moment!

It pumped me up enough to stay for two more hours playing as Haytham's son. I really liked new tree climbing mechanics -- it's so fast and smooth. Hunting.. was eh, it's okay i guess.

I've been thinking about that reveal for quite a while now, and I was wondering what kind of impact it would have had on someone who hadn't played any of the previous games.  I thought it was pretty cool the way they played around with my expectations like that.

I've read some reviews for Arkham Origins, and it irks me that so many outlets are down on this game just because it doesn't change anything about the series.  So far, I'm having a great time being the gotdamned Batman again.  Not every game in a series needs to be a revolution for it to be a solid outing.  Of course, 25% off, and being visually stunning on PC helps a lot.  There isn't too much to say about the game, since it's so similar to Arkham City, just bigger.


The problem with the reveal in AC III is that it could have made the game much more interesting if they'd just stuck with the premise that you were playing for the other side. All kinds of ludo-narrative interest there! Which could have been more complicated and engaging than the famed over-rated Bioshock hat trick.


I haven't played Arkham Origins, but I'm encouraged by some of the low-end reviews. It reeked of an expansion pack cash-in from the moment it was announced, and the usually PR-arm aligned Gamespot had the guts to give it a 6/10 for being lame. It's time for reiteration to get lashed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 28, 2013, 10:28:30 PM
Zenonia (3DS) - Meh.  For a game that won a handful awards as an iOS title, I can't really say it's worth playing on your 3DS. From the terrible translation work to the grind-heavy, generic gameplay there just isn't much here to draw you in. On the upside, it is a pretty harmless hack-and-slash that will eat up a bunch of time and isn't actually "bad"... just not the best use of your time or money in my opinion.


Liberation Maiden (3DS) - Probably enjoying this more than I should be. It's pretty mindless action, and I doubt I'll drop significant time into it beyond the initial playthrough... but I like the production values and find the controls to be pretty tight with the circle pad. If this game was much longer I'd probably enjoy it less. Glad I purchased it on sale due to the short length, but still would recommend giving it a shot if the concept (flying a mech over future Japan blowing up lots of stuff in a full 3D environment) sounds interesting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 30, 2013, 12:40:09 AM
Candy Box 2 (http://candybox2.net/):
Okay, this here, this game is one of the best games i played this year. Guaranteed top 10 spot from me.

Under the unassuming ASCII-aesthetic hides Skyrim made in browser. And probably it will take you about the same time to finish it, too. I still haven't closed the tab that i opened last week when started the game. Of course most of it was me just standing and grinding for candies and lollipops (very convenient that you can just leave it and do other things, like you know work, while the game plays for you).

As i said despite that combat is very basic, developer still makes some absolutely mindblowing things with it. All battles are either won by grinding or by applying some crazy new trick using items you have.

Two days ago i was stuck and then had to resort to wiki (http://wiki.candybox2.net/). Oh my...

There is so much stuff in it. And the solutions... Wow.

Also -- start clicking everywhere you see. Because i didn't and i was out of a very crucial items very early in the game and later even didn't realize i had entire new area available for me -- i simply didn't recognize it as a place i can go to (ASCII graphics, what are you going to do).

Assassin's Creed III:
I am starting "to get" the controls. Finally. It seems like Ubisoft's solution to scarcity of buildings in colonial America's setting was to make character able to jump across the widest streets. Even if you won't make it, you will land on the street after falling of a roof with seemingly no damage.

About the first stealth mission that i had so much trouble with (because of broken AI and controls that are anti-stealth). There is a person who posts very extensive videos about ACIII stealth missions (http://[url=http://www.youtube.com/user/InTehVaria/videos). He has a lot of insight into the game's (broken) systems and employs them to do perfect runs of stealth missions.

Story... Is okay i guess. I found it kinda weird when game made a small time skip and after teenaged Connor we now have gruff buff Connor seemingly in his thirties now. Okay whatever.

I don't yet understand "restoration of Davenport's mansion" thing. I realize it's replacement for upgrading your town in ACII but i just don't feel it for now. I especially don't like how you have to move from captain's hut to Davenport's mansion back and forth constantly. Either on foot or by water it takes too much time.

Played first naval mission. It was very cool, if a bit shallow. Seeing my crew duck under the fire while my ship is getting shredded by cannonballs is really, really cool.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 31, 2013, 03:09:30 AM
Pikmin 2 (Wii):
Still can't get over how good this game looks. Those flower petals and seasonal changes every time you boot the game...
Messed around for an hour trying to progress. I only have purple, white and red pikmins. I can see an area with blue pikmins and their onion but can't get there yet. I also have electric gates but no yellow pikmins yet.

Also i forgot how to dig up stuff. My treasure meters goes crazy dinging and i don't know what am i supposed to do. Been a few months since i played it.

Enough Plumbers 2 (flash game (http://www.notdoppler.com/enoughplumbers2.php)):
Started sequel right after beating the first one yesterday. Graphics and animations got much better, and backgrounds and overall style have a bit of Paper Mario look.

Just looking at level select screen you can see the improvements: leaderboards of sorts, more levels and possibly hidden world behind pink tube on the ceiling (?):
(http://i056.radikal.ru/1310/5f/00e099962c36t.jpg) (http://i056.radikal.ru/1310/5f/00e099962c36.gif)

New power-ups are very cool, i liked level with space man where entire level was mirrored horizontally.

Level 9 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmm4F1npN1c&t=3m48s) was so manic and crazy, i still don't understand how i managed to beat it.

Bayonetta (360):
I am trying to get Platinum on Gates of Paradise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FIFeGw1Kv4) for a few months now. It's not supposed to be THAT hard and it's not the longest level in the game. I've already platinum'd much longer and much harder levels by now but i have big problems trying to plat this one.

The first hurdle is that alfheim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FIFeGw1Kv4&t=6m44s) where you have to make five torture attacks. For some reason, if torture attack doesn't kill the enemy it won't count. This additional requirement demands very deliberate magic use from the player. You even have to incorporate taunt-dancing to increase your magic bar into your tactics to properly finish it.

Still, the best way to increase magic is to hit enemies, so for this level you have to use the fastest weapon you have, preferably the one that has small damage (so that you won't kill enemies too fast leaving you without the chance to execute torture attacks on them). Guide recommends using sword, but i am using lightning claws.

Even verses after that alfheim are troublesome: right after that you have two pairs of Graces and Glories (http://bayonetta.wikia.com/wiki/Grace_and_Glory) (as in -- four fastest and the most dangerous enemies in the entire game, yes, including bosses). By this point i already beat one pair of them in the alfheim but i did with torture attacks in mind so switching to regular fights where you just have to kill as fast as possible and don't have infinite retries is desorienting.

And after that i still have more troublesome verses. I am especially bad at laser corridor sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FIFeGw1Kv4&t=28m56s) -- simply because i don't really have much opportunities to train for it because it is so late in the level.

Also it's funny how Bayonetta is still the only game that makes me literally sweat. I have to wash and change after especially intense sessions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on November 02, 2013, 01:22:56 AM
I picked up Splinter Cell Blacklist shortly after launch for the PC, but there were some major issues with running the game in DX11.  I couldn't get the game to start up without crashing, so I angrily put the game aside, hoping for some patches.  I decided to boot the game up tonight, and after patching the game, everything seems to run fine now. 

I probably enjoyed Conviction more than most people, but I can see why people were upset with the direction the series took.  So far, I'm really enjoying Blacklist, with the exception of the new VA for Sam Fisher.  He isn't bad, it'll probably just take some more getting used to.  I really like the way the game is balanced toward the three play-styles; it really feels like you can play whichever way you choose.  Personally, I enjoy the "Panther" play-style the most.  Ghosting missions can be tricky in spots, but it's definitely a very rewarding feeling when you get a section right.  I'm curious if anybody actually predominantly uses the "Assault" style; I don't feel those kills are at all satisfying.

I was really ticked off at Ubisoft for releasing a broken game on PC for a while there.  While all is not forgiven, being able to play Blacklist is making me feel a lot better.  The game feels a lot more complete than the previous games, while the balance between the different play-styles is, to me, easily the best.

Edit: Still loving the game so far, trying to Ghost as much as possible creates a lot of these incredibly tense moments that are so much fun.  I find it helps to be decisive in your movements, as it seems that any kind of hesitation or delay on my part always ends poorly.  Movement on the left joystick is a bit touchy for me.  I kind of wish the pressure sensitivity for the different speeds Sam can move at could be adjusted.  I feel it's too easy to get up to a running speed, while the sensitivity range for crawl speed is too small. 

Conversely, I've just completed a section of forced combat that was just... dreadful.  I get why they put these sections into the game, I just hate them.  Normal levels are designed to be a sandbox for you to play in, with plenty of options for stealth and general ninja-ry.  The forced combat sections remove way too much of the freedom and I felt like I had to cheese the game to get through them.

Speaking of cheesing the game, some stealth elements are way OP.  I was doing one of the side missions for the cyberhacker dude(can't remember his name) in Pakistan, and it's basically horde mode.  I found a stairwell with a pipe running along the ceiling that I could cling to, with a dark corner to hide in.  I could basically hide on the pipe and, with enough patience, defeat all enemies.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 03, 2013, 03:41:38 AM
SteamWorld Dig (3DS eShop):  So this game received a lot of positive word of mouth. I wanted to try, but was a bit skeptical that it would live up to the reviews. Glad to admit that I was wrong: the game deserves every bit of hype it's received.


My only complaint is that digging starts off a bit slow... but a steady stream of power-ups helps to make the game more complex as you progress, and new environments and caves to explore ensure it stays compelling. This is one of those rare games that I've had a hard time putting down, playing late into the night at twice so far when I really should've been resting. Even typing this up makes me eager to go play again right now... in fact, I think I will. You should too!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on November 03, 2013, 12:54:42 PM
Battlefield 4 on PC.  I'll admit to being one of "those" people who actually enjoys the single-player campaigns of these kinds of games.  I've heard this one is really short, but from what I've played it is a massive improvement over Battlefield 3.  I still don't like the tendency of these games to just drop you into a random soldier's life with no explanations.  I often feel little connection to the story because the game drops you into these campaigns with no clues as to what the heck you're doing.  Sometimes, you don't have any idea who you're shooting at, or why.  It gets worse when, as the story progresses, things actually get even more vague and aimless.

Only played the first mission so far, but everything feels a bit tighter than in 3.  I'm having much more success picking off enemies, and graphically, the game is just tits.  One thing I don't like is the suppression system.  When you are taking fire, stability is significantly reduced, and it feels like no matter where you aim, you will miss.  It's a feature that's been around for a while, and has been tweaked endlessly, but it seems that no matter how they tweak it, they can't seem to get it right for everybody.  YMMV.

If you've played one of these types of games before, you know what you're in for: big set pieces, plenty of explosions, and spotty AI.  These kinds of campaigns are all about "go big or go home" and technically, Battlefield 4 is backing that up.  The way this game looks, it has no right to be running 1080p/60fps, but it is, and that astounds me.  If the PS4 can match/approach this, it'll be a fantastic launch title to add.

I've only been playing the game through my TV speakers so far, but I'll try with my headphones later.  So far, the sound is, as expected, excellent.

I like the scoring system they've added to the SP game from MP for your actions.  Headshots are worth more than regular kills, you can get points for "squad kills" which I assume is just another way of saying assist, and there are bonus points for killstreaks.  I don't remember, but I think that's a new feature for SP.  I believe mission scores are linked to SP weapon unlocks, so there is an added incentive to perform better during your missions.

For as much flak as these set-piece shooters receive, I usually enjoy myself for however little time they last.  It really is like being in a Michael Bay movie.  Or course, the real meat of these games is in multiplayer, which is another beast altogether.  EA are having issues with their PC servers, don't know if that is happening for their console versions, but they had plenty of issues with Battlefield 3 servers, too.  It reminds me of just how crappy an online-only console would have been.  I remember Battlefield 3 had an issue where I(and just about everybody else) couldn't get into a match for over a week, though, that was apparently due to hackers.

On a side note, I really miss arena shooters like UT.  I understand that the proliferation of console shooters(and the subsequent rise of controllers) means that there is less appetite for that style of game, but I really wish somebody could revive that genre.  I'm really hoping that Titanfall can approximate that style of gameplay, which CoD multiplayer actually does feel like at times.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 03, 2013, 11:55:32 PM
Bayonetta (360):
This weekend was all about Bayonetta. Got platinums one two levels and now working on the third one.

Facing Grace and Glory -- most challenging enemies in Bayonetta, made me appreciate Kamiya's attention dispersion trick he does to make his games hard.

You can't concentrate just on one enemy you're currently fighting, other guys on background aren't gonna just wait and stand there. You have be aware of where they are and if they're about to launch their attack.

Grace and Glory make this task especially hard. First of all, they always come in pairs. Secondly, both of them are the fastest enemies you'll ever meet. They strafe and jump all around the arena even if you manage to catch one of them in your combo the second one can still get you from where you don't see him and will kill you in three undodgeable hits.

And the worst thing, is in later levels, you will get to meet Gracious and Glorious (http://bayonetta.wikia.com/wiki/Gracious_and_Glorious) who are same enemies but removed of one single weakness regular GnGs had -- now it's nearly impossible to pull Witch Time on them. These two are the only thing between me and Platinum rank on "Paradiso: Sea of Stars".

You can see it as early as Viewtiful Joe. Wonderful 101, as the most recent game is ALL about dispersing your attention. You see the entire battlefield and have to look out for everyone.

Also i randomly found out that you can teleport (http://bayonetta.wikia.com/wiki/Umbran_Spear). I am playing this game for almost a year now and only now figured it out. What a game. Also description for this ability is absolutely terrible -- when i bought i had zero idea how to use it.

Assassin's Creed III (Wii U):
That combat system... is ridiculous. You can just spam counter button and pull of ridiculous kill streaks. I even got to use human shield mechanic a few times. It's still super janky and unreliable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 05, 2013, 01:42:45 AM
AiRace Speed (3DS):
This has become my new game to play while in toilet. Previous holder of that dubious title was Zen Pinball. Online leaderboards make both these games very addicting. I am constantly motivated to shave off one more millisecond off my friend's time to be number 1. Only to find that he/she improved my time even more on the next day.
Some funny achievements there too, like crashing right before the finish.

Rayman Legends (360):
I really like "replacement" control scheme for touch-based Murphy levels. I played Rayman Challenge and also own full game on Wii U, so i can actually compare. That's why i decided to finish singleplayer on 360 first, and then i miiiight do the same on Wii U...

Interestingly, online stuff on 360 is less smooth than on Wii U. When i entered Challenges mode, there was a loading screen to connect to Ubisoft servers, while Wii U version never does that, you just enter it and bam -- you're there. Weird.

Going from Wii Classic Controller and GamePad to Xbox controller to play Rayman is a bit weird at first, but doable. Mainly i missed d-pad.

Still can't get over how much the game seems to be lacking in content compared to Origins. Third of the levels is ripped directly from Origins and yet they still have less teensies to collect than previous game did (teensies here are like stars in Mario 64)? And not only teensies, but Legends also less worlds (again, one of the worlds is Origins levels)?

The game is still very solid though. Music is great if a bit rehashed from previous game (or it's just because i played Rayman Challenge App too much and hear all these tracks there).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on November 05, 2013, 12:39:32 PM
What is the replacement control scheme for Murphy levels?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 05, 2013, 01:53:53 PM
Originally on Murphy levels, you control things by touching and dragging stuff.

On 360, PS3 and i'm guessing PC, you control your character as usual and just have to press B button to move things around in predetermined manner.

I really like it because that way you're not losing control and still platforming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on November 06, 2013, 11:26:12 PM
So, I've been playing CoD: Ghosts on PC since GMG had a pretty nice deal on it.  There have been rumours that the Xbone version has a pretty steady framerate, while the PS4 version has a few framerate drops here and there.  I'm inclined to believe that, because, for whatever reason, Ghosts runs crappier than BF4 does on my PC, and that's just silly.  The game looks okay, but you can definitely see it's current-gen heritage.  At times, it feels like they just threw some effects in because they could, without really giving much though to optimization.

The campaign starts off pretty awesome, in my opinion.  It's like the team thought "Well, we've done nukes before, what can we do to kick it up a notch?"  Giant space lasers, thank the Good Lord Reagan.  The general plot of the game so far is more interesting to me than the previous entries in the series, but the execution is as ham-fisted as usual.  The Giantbomb guys were saying they took the shortcut to making you care for the characters by making them familial connections... and a dog.  I think I agree with that assessment, and it isn't a really effective technique, really.

I think I enjoy the MP from CoD more than I do Battlefield's.  While Battlefield effectively mimics large scale warzones, the fast-paced gameplay of CoD really does remind me of old-school arena shooters, minus obvious things like rocket-jumps.  I think everybody knows what they're getting into with the CoD series, and if you aren't already tired of it, you've already probably bought it.  I was just trying out the new "Extinction" mode and it was a lot of fun.  It isn't very different from the other wave-based survival modes that have been packaged into games lately, but I do think this one is worth playing.  I dunno if previous versions had them(Black Ops II did), but Ghosts gives you the ability to play MP matches against bots, if that's your thing.  I played a few rounds of free-for-all earlier, and the bots are competent.  I tried an 18-player match on one of the larger maps, and it was just a clusterfark.  There seem to have been a lot of complaints about spawning in this game, and I totally agree.  It feels like spawn points are poorly thought out, and I swear I saw multiple people spawning together.  I tried a 10-player match on the same map, and I had a much better time.  I never went too long without seeing any action, but there was time to strategize and build some tension.

So far, Ghosts is... meh.  I don't think I would recommend it as a next-gen title, unless you have to get your fix and you are abandoning current-gen completely.  I'm fairly certain that Xbox Live and PSN communities will be strong for the foreseeable future.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 07, 2013, 12:49:28 AM
Luigi's Mansion 1:
Ehmm... What's up with these controls? They don't feel good in either "standard" or "sidestep" variant. It's like they put RE style tank controls on BOTH sticks.

This is what messes me up when catching ghost. Or they just break away randomly and then you have to do the routine where you stand with your flashlight off in the middle of the room luring ghosts out again.

Bayonetta:
Got Plat on Temperantia level and then got Pure Platinum on Prologue for the heck of it.

Unlocked Sai Fung (Bruce Lee style gun nun-chucks). They are very cool looking (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q45V7PEpMQ), but so, so weak. Not even all that good to raise combo points -- lightning claws are still better.

After struggling in Alfheims enough, i finally caved in and started using cursed sword Shuraba. It's SO much easier now. Sword is very fast and has very different combos from other weapons and that throws me off a bit.

After figuring out teleportation trick i started using Z targeting in this game more. Dodging with Z targeting (RB, then press B when someone attacks you) is more precise and much faster than pressing right analog trigger. Still it's not ideal to constantly keep focusing, so i sometimes switch between two and change my fingers positions accordingly.

Made a quick reconnaissance run into Broken Sky level. Seems doable enough. Jeanne's hair weaves that keep destroying the plane while i'm going though the level are annoying though.

With that i have only 3-4 levels left from full Platinum on Normal. Tower to Truth is gonna be rough, but aside from that -- should be easy enough. Couple of boss levels, one gimmick Space Harrier level. The end is near.

Super Mario Land 1:
DAT third world. All these random easter island statues running and flying around...

I kinda like how different the game feels. Not physics, no, it sucks. I mean levels that are designed completely differently than in other Mario games.

All other Mario games make their levels allowing and encouraging you to just run through them, pressing run button all the way.

SML constantly stops you. Enemies are positioned to kill you if you try to run through them head on. It more like a Sonic game in that regard.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on November 10, 2013, 01:01:24 PM
Call of Duty: Ghosts - for all the flak this game is getting(and deservedly so), there is a core here that is fantastic.  The tech issues are well-known, the netcode is as it always has been, but the game just feels tight when you get into it.  I got a message upon startup saying that new automatic graphics optimization settings were available, and I decided to let the game choose mine.  It turned down the res and graphics options and made everything look like a pixelated mess.  Strangely enough, it was easier to spot and target enemies at mid-long range.  It kind of reminded me of days past when people would play FPSes @ 640X480 for the faster framerate and being able to better discern enemies from the environment.

Battlefield 4 - good lord, EA have released yet another buggy mess.  However, when everything works as it should, the experience is unrivalled.  Level destruction and deformation is awesome, and maps often look completely different at the end of matches.  It is almost crucial to play this game with a group of friends in a squad just for the advantage that being able to communicate and support each other takes the game to a whole new level.  "Levolution" feels like it's being ignored by the community right now, partly because the skyscraper crashes servers, and partly because after a while, it loses some of the "wow" factor.

Ace Attorney 5 - I'm slowly digesting this one; I just started the third episode.  I love the charm and personality of the series, and it's packed in this game, too.  I love the graphic style, and the animations are great.  The localization is a bit spotty, as I've noticed numerous errors already.

Assassin's Creed III - After watching a few Let's Plays, I'm really excited to play Assassin's Creed IV on PC.  I'll be getting a new video card next week, and it comes with a code for ACIV.  In the meantime, I restarted III on PC, and so far, it's better than I remember.  It might be because the Haytham part was the best part of the game, but I'm also playing the game a bit differently.  I'm going for 100% sync on missions, and really trying to get the most out of how those missions are designed.  I don't know how far I'll get before the 22nd, but hopefully I can get more out of this run than the first.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 12, 2013, 02:00:52 AM
Bayonetta:
This is gonna sound weird, but Bayonetta actually makes for a great pick up and play game.

You can catch 10-15 minutes before going to work and then resume the level after getting home in the evening. Missions within levels are pretty short and you're free to turn off console between missions to resume next time.

And it's more or less endless: there are always things to strive for: if you're done platinuming (i'm almost there, i'm in the middle of Tower to Truth and it looks promising enough and after that only two boss level left) you can go for Pure Platinum, if you did that you can go for harder difficulty and so on.

This makes me wish Kamiya made 3DS game in this style.

Space Harrier tribute level that i Platinumed this saturday is actually not that bad. Once i understood combo system, it became much more enjoyable than on first playthrough.

Earthbound:
Starting to enjoy it more. I usually don't like RPG (or anything with numbers). Finally getting into game's humour.

Dark Souls (PC):
In what world this can be considered a "hard" game? Hype around this game is stupidly ridiculous. I am really starting to suspect people who think this is supposed to be hard don't really play videogames much at all.

Yes you die, a lot, but your death means so little -- you keep all your items and stats, you even get your potions refilled. The only thing you lose is money (souls) and your time.

Just don't act stupid and you'll get through. Yes, there are some traps, but they're not even the same galaxy as, say, "La Mulana" or "Milon's Secret Castle". And again, you can resume all your progress by coming back anyway.

Black Mesa:
I was stuck in fridge for some reason. And just as i got out of it, game crashed on me.

I started playing it year ago trying to get more comfortable with dual analog controls on FPSs (my idea was to pick the game that is slow enough for me cope with unnatural controls), HL2's controller support isn't perfect but workable.

Link's Awakening:
Did color dungeon, it's pretty insignificant both as a dungeon and with it's reward.
On the last boss.

Super Mario Land:
Also on the last boss. I didn't expect him just to pop out right after i beat previous one. I was all prepared to to see Daisy turn into monster once again, but nope -- new boss. Classic Arino moment.

Viewtiful Joe:
Got through Hulk Davidson. His level was pretty annoying with puzzles. Hulk himself was pretty tough (he's fun though), but it becomes doable once you figure out patterns. Videogames! And of course, this game has a shmup level too...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on November 12, 2013, 06:57:54 AM
KINGDOM OF ALAMOR

Playing this because it was free on PSN Plus. Gotta say, it's pretty entertaining. It's like an RPG and God of War were mashed together. I like the fact that I can reset all my level up points at any given time for just some cash. That means I can go stealth mode for part of the game, pay some money and reset, go beast mode with a great sword, pay some money and reset, and then destroy people with meteors as a sage. Nothing is set in stone.

The gameplay is really the only reason to play this game. The story is more of the same J.R.R. Tolkien-esque bullshit of evil races, smart small races, monsters and beasts. The gameplay, however, is fun. Simply that; it's fun. I like how can I change my approach at any moment. I also like that there is an incentive to use all of your talents. Doing racks up a bar much quicker than spamming an attack and at it's peak, you can go Super Sayain.

Anyway, check it out if you like RPGs and God of War and free.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 13, 2013, 12:52:19 AM
Bayonetta:
Platinumed Tower to Truth and now i am just two boss levels away from full platinum row on normal.

Feels pretty good.

While i am 97 hours into the game i still didn't use most of the weapons. i only used guns, shotguns, bazookas and lately lightning claws. Still have to learn how to use whip and sword properly.

Dark Souls:
Played for another hour. Killed that tall black armour dude. Used the same trick as before for both previous bosses: lured him out and positioned him near ladders, then climbed to the roof (he can't climb) and jumped off swinging with an axe. Then few dodges and i repeat the routine.

Now i think i have to kill that steel boar thingy. Game gave me special skulls that attract monsters and i tried throwing them from the bridge above hoping boar will stand where i will be able to do the same jumping trick, but no dice.

Still have no idea what humanity system does. Or kindling. Or reverse hollowing. Sometimes i get humanity as an item and sometimes it just says i have 1 humanity.

Whatever.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on November 13, 2013, 03:05:28 PM
Bayonetta:
Platinumed Tower to Truth and now i am just two boss levels away from full platinum row on normal.

Feels pretty good.

While i am 97 hours into the game i still didn't use most of the weapons. i only used guns, shotguns, bazookas and lately lightning claws. Still have to learn how to use whip and sword properly.

Dark Souls:
Played for another hour. Killed that tall black armour dude. Used the same trick as before for both previous bosses: lured him out and positioned him near ladders, then climbed to the roof (he can't climb) and jumped off swinging with an axe. Then few dodges and i repeat the routine.

Now i think i have to kill that steel boar thingy. Game gave me special skulls that attract monsters and i tried throwing them from the bridge above hoping boar will stand where i will be able to do the same jumping trick, but no dice.

Still have no idea what humanity system does. Or kindling. Or reverse hollowing. Sometimes i get humanity as an item and sometimes it just says i have 1 humanity.

Whatever.


I would highly recommend playing through Dark Souls with a guide. It's systems and items and whatnot are just too arcane otherwise, especially if you're playing offline. But here's one tip: do NOT use the Fire Keeper Soul you find in the church, give it to a Fire Keeper to boost your estus.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 14, 2013, 11:24:17 PM
I would highly recommend playing through Dark Souls with a guide. It's systems and items and whatnot are just too arcane otherwise, especially if you're playing offline. But here's one tip: do NOT use the Fire Keeper Soul you find in the church, give it to a Fire Keeper to boost your estus.
I had no idea what you just said, but thanks i'll keep that in mind.

Manual that comes with a game is a joke, twelve pages and only one has anything to say about game's mechanics. Everything else is keyboard controls (that i don't use) and online stuff notes.

Bayonetta: (360)
Done. Platinumed last level, unlocked Jeanne, unlocked endless Angel Slayer mode (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcoFOosS9U).

Tried out playing as Jeanne. It's kinda funny to see two Jeannes in cutscenes. She loses Witch Time on dodge (still can do it by parrying with Mahaa Kalaa though), but instead you're getting infinite dodges.

Also tried out sword in Angel Slayer. Wow, it's actually easy mode -- you can just spam X and will have endless ridiculous combos.

Not sure if will go for hard playthrough. My entire platinum run clocked to seven hours, so realistically i might do it in one two days. Maybe to prepare for Bayonetta 2 sometime next year.

But for now -- i am done. Wow. Put over 100 hours into it.

Punch Out!!: (Wii)
Played it on GamePad while watching TV. Not sure if i got better or GamePad has less lag than TV but i did better than last time i tried it on Wii U.

Because i was constantly distracted by TV i noticed that theoretically you can play blind jut going by sound cues, similarly to Rhythm Heaven games.

I'm stuck on contender mode Hondo. His hondo rush move is what does me in. At least i am able to properly block half of the times now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 17, 2013, 11:13:40 PM
Ninja Gaiden (NES):
Got to fifth boss, big gladiator dude. No idea how to dodge his fireball attack or if i even can.

Punch-Out!! (Wii):
Yep, TV lag is definitely there. Switching between Gamepad and my TV made it really obvious. My plasma ideally should have very little lag in game mode, but it's there. Maybe it's something to do with Wii mode...

Skullgirls (free weekend on Steam):
Couldn't even get through first stage in story mode. Impenetrable.

Viewtiful Joe (GC):
Breezed through shooting sky stage and spent a few hours fighting shark boss. His fight made realize how cramped the screen really is in this game. Joe is relatively big and he can jump as high as entire screen, so visible area is very limited.

Shark dude and Hulk Davidson both have very fast attacks that can span many screens and ideally you should be able to tell where they're coming from at any moment. But when they go off screen, you can't see them and when Gran Bruce appears on screen with his chomp attack you barely have a second to react and dodge it.

Sound cues help somewhat, but i wish there was an option to mute music a bit.

Solution for shark boss is to be aggressive. He replenishes his health so you need to deal as much damage as fast as you can. You need to spam zoomed-in kicks and keep hitting him at all opportunities.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on November 18, 2013, 07:33:18 PM
Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies: Just beat the third episode, and I'm am, once again, totally in love with the series.  There is so much wackiness stuffed into each of these characters, I'm wondering if the creators of this game got into Rob Ford's personal stash.  Every episode so far has managed to make a character my favourite with each quirk. 

Also, my new video card arrived today.  Special thanks to Canada Post for updating their tracking system to show that it was delivered Friday afternoon and making me lose my **** over the weekend.  Redeemed my Assassin's Creed IV code, and now I'm just waiting on uPlay to let me activate the game.  In preparation for this game, I almost beat Assassin's Creed III again; I'm very near the end, but I don't feel the need to push through completely.  I found this run much more enjoyable than my first, possibly due to skipping every optional quest.  I found that I enjoyed Connor's character much more this time(mostly when he was an "adult").  The biggest complaints about this game still exist.  The intro/tutorial section is way too long, and some of the mission failstates aren't exactly clear.  I feel like the AI's detection ability isn't consistent enough to make this a legit stealth game ala Splinter Cell.  The naval battles are awesome, and they looked great on my PC.  I hope that ACIV actually improves on that, and by all accounts, they have.  Free-running is mostly good, with the occasional times where I would want to go one way, but the game would interpret my input completely differently.  I think the game could have done a better job of helping you keep track of enemies in combat.  There were occasions when enemies would be off-screen, and it would be really hard to see when they were going to shoot you in time to take action.  Eventually you kind of get used to working around that, by being more aware of your environment, and limiting your exposure to those situations.

Also wanted to mention that, to celebrate the release of NFS: Rivals, I jumped back into Most Wanted for about 20 minutes.  I didn't do any races/events, I just drove around the city.  At first, I couldn't get the hang of the controls: a) since I've been playing so many sims with my wheel recently, and b) the handling model feels so foreign to me.  It took me about 2 minutes to get reacquainted with the handling and controls, which is definitely a credit to the system.  I'm not sure the same could be said the going back the other way.  Still not sold on Rivals, hearing that the framerate is locked to 30fps on PC is kind of a bummer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 18, 2013, 11:52:55 PM
^ It's actually very cool how videocard manufacturers bundle games with their stuff. That's how i got Brotherhood.

While AI in ACIII does ruin stealth i think controls are an even bigger problem.

Split Second (PC):
I think we and my pal have finally found our split-screen racing game.

We also tried out Blur, but it felt off, mainly handling and weird drifting. It was still fun enough in "poor man's Mario Kart" way.

So, Split Second. Explosions and stuff. You're like "oh, oh, i wonder if i can crash this tower!" and "look at this hanging truck! and BAM here it goes down". It's pretty Bay, i know, but i am not judging.

Bad thing is that you have to unlock most of the stuff in single player. And there is no local co-op campaign. So if you just want race with a pal from the get go you only have three maps and three cars to choose from.

Whatever, it's still fun.

Punch Out!! (Wii):
Finally beat up Hondo in title bout. Had to prolong till round 3. Knocked him out two times in first two rounds but couldn't do it third time -- not enough time and Hondo Rushes that are nearly impossible to block (especially coupled with TV lag).

At least he had enough in third round and didn't get up after his fifth KO.

According to his profile it took me 50 or so tries to beat him. I'm pretty sure i had less trouble with Sandman before. Title bout mode Kaiser was also surprisingly hard as i remember (he had unblockable instant knock-out attack).

I am now fighting Bear Hugger. Oh man. That squirrel of his (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC4OdtmwnnU). Super entertaining fight. It's not just adorable, it's also a gameplay element -- you have to watch out for that squirrel to know that this is a delayed attack.

Animations in this game are just amazing. And so full of little details. Like Hondo reading his "manga" comic books in between rounds. You can even tell that he reads it from right to left!

And the moment you're knocked out camera instantly flies away from your view to show you falling down -- it's so fluid it really takes you away by surprise first time this happens.

And recovery after almost knock-down (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XCSB16vlgY). Very empowering.

I am still not sure how energy system works (that number inside heart near my health). It's probably something like stamina in action games.

Probably the only thing i don't like about this game is pointer controlled menus. It's a small nitpick but i just don't like that i should constantly switch between NES style and vertical orientation all the time.

God of War (uh... PCSX2, i guess):
Oh man, so much macho bullshit. Rather laughable at how hard they try. Voice acting... Kratos is better than others, but some of the gods are pretty bad.

Gameplay wise, it feels rather shallow after playing VJ, Bayo and W101. Maybe combo systems will get more involved later on.

I'm still not comfortable with dodge put on right stick. Fixed camera also messes me up a bit. Probably that's why took me too much time to take down Hydra.

Levels have alternate routes? From what i see there are two ways to go into Athens. Cool, i guess.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on November 22, 2013, 11:11:48 AM
The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds (3DS)

This is probably the game that comes closest to what I want Zelda to be. It is non–linear save for a few dungeons, none of the items are completely limited to a respective dungeon (like in Twilight Princess, where you had an item and never used it again after finishing "its dungeon"), they do fun new stuff with the items, the music is awesome, the dungeons have some neat extras that reward exploring, rupees are worth something again (yay), gameplay is fast–paced, there is only very little you need to do before getting to a dungeon... I'm in love with this.  :D
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 22, 2013, 02:08:27 PM
My PS+ Membership has resulted in me having more games than I can probably ever get around to playing, but I decided to dive into Hotline Miami for the Vita.  I hadn't heard anything about the game before playing it, but I have to say I've really become enthralled with it.
 
There's some thin storyline of the main character being a vigilante/serial killer who wears animal masks taking out houses full of henchmen (Russian mob?), which is also interlaced with short segments occasionally depicting you talking to 3 people in a dark room wearing animal masks while they speak in vague questions & accusations. 
 
The gameplay?  It's like if you took the controls of Smash TV, and instead of being in one room with waves of enemies, you have to navigate a building to take-out armed enemies & animals (so far, I'm not sure if there are more enemy types later in the game).   You can use doors to stun enemies, and you can use weapons (pipes, clubs, machetes, swords, guns) to take out enemies, but guns make you more easily detectable from enemies nearby.  I have a few gripes with the gunplay, but all in all it's very addicting to string together kill combos & clear-out a floor in a quick, efficient manner.
 
Definitely would recommend this to anyone to try out, as long as you don't mind a violent game.  Definitely don't pass it up if you have PS+.
 
 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 22, 2013, 10:48:45 PM
It's a crime to write about Hotline Miami and not mention it's amazing music. These tracks coupled with overall atmosphere will make feel you like serial killer yourself.
Music is the best part of it, considering gameplay while very good was hampered by numerous critical bugs in PC/Steam version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on November 23, 2013, 04:01:03 AM
Played two games with my cousin tonight:

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (PS3) suprisingly good! At least the first couple of hours. Great looking, with a charming protagonist and an intersting environment. This is the first AC game I have played since AC1 (which I didn't care for) Maybe I will pick it up for the Wii U.

Young Justice: Legacy Think of the graphics of the early PS2 with some of the worst looking cut scenes I have ever seen. The brawler style game play is also clunky, boring and repeptitive. Too bad. The Wii U didn't miss anything!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on November 23, 2013, 07:18:55 AM
Super Mario 3D World
It's bangarang.

Peach's floaty jump isn't as useful as it was in Super Mario Bros. 2, mostly because it doesn't last long. I may switch to Mario because Peach is noticeably slower than the other characters. I'm still trying to get the hang of the cat suit. Sometimes, I press the wrong button when trying to climb.

It's obvious that the game was built for four players so the stages feel rather large while playing solo. I wouldn't necessarily call that a negative. It just makes avoiding enemies a lot easier than it was in Super Mario 3D Land. That makes the game even easier than Mario titles typically already are. It may (and probably will) get way more difficult later on.

The graphics are excellent. They're as good as graphics in a Mario games are ever going to get unless Nintendo changes the art direction. There are no jaggies or pop up and from what I've read, the game runs at 60 frames per second all the time, even when there are things everywhere. Not that Mario games will never impress again or can never improve in terms of graphics (since what can be done with art can't really be quantified), but the art direction doesn't really lend itself to looking better than it does here. For what Nintendo has been going for with the Galaxy games and 3D Land, they topped themselves off with 3D World.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 23, 2013, 07:35:55 AM
It's a crime to write about Hotline Miami and not mention it's amazing music. These tracks coupled with overall atmosphere will make feel you like serial killer yourself.
Music is the best part of it, considering gameplay while very good was hampered by numerous critical bugs in PC/Steam version.


You're absolutely right.  That music is what really brings you into the game and makes it so atmospheric.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 29, 2013, 02:25:55 AM
Bravely Default (demo):
Know what? This feels a lot like mobile game. Like you can unlock stuff with time using your streetpasses to speed it up (and full game can use real money for that?). And you can use your sleep time? Definitely sounds like mobile game.

Otherwise it's a regular RPG with new gimmick -- brave and default system. It's really cool how you can abuse braves and kill lesser monster in one hit.

Interface was kinda confusing at first, but it's actually really fast and comfortable.

I really like how models of my characters change depending on jobs. I chose one of my guys to be performer and now he looks like Elvis and other funny anachronistic stuff like that.

I'm on devil girl boss in demo. She keeps killing my dudes with hurricane spell in one hit. Maybe i need to level up to get through her...

Sonic: Lost World (demo):
Hey, this is actually a very nice game! Looks nice and finally -- it's a 3d Sonic game with controls that work (for me). I usually play it like Mario -- slowly and methodically collecting stuff, usually on first running speed (pressing ZR).

First level alone has like 20 alternate routes, lots of replay value, maybe even too much because collecting all the red stars will take you five-six replays of the same level.

Mii Force (3DS streetpass game):
Also feels like mobile game because of how it keeps eating your streetpasses and coins to keep playing.
The game itself is very solid shooter. Rotating slots mechanic is really cool. Achievements and hats as per usual for streetpass games.

Probably best streetpass game of them all.

Toki Tori 1 (Wii U):
After enjoying Toki Tori 2 so much (second best game on Wii U, after Wonderful 101), i had to buy and play first game (and it's just 2 bucks anyway). TT1 is very different from second game which had metroid elements and had no items, first game is more like a regular puzzle platformer. The only thing common is main character and how hard some of the puzzles are.

It's really cool that game has touch interface. Makes for a great game to play while you eat/watch TV.

Ninja Gaiden:
Still on final boss. Finding new patterns to level 6 enemies so that i could get through them reliably.

Oh and 4-2 music is great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_D_YKnwi0).

Viewtiful Joe (GC):
Took me entire evening to beat Another Joe's level. It was so, so annoying. Both puzzles on the level and the boss himself. Cramped screen and bosses just keep running away from you and you have to look for them...

I will keep at it, but now i really don't think i will finally meet the point where i will start to enjoy this game more. Combat system just doesn't feel as good and fluid as in Bayo or W101. Maybe it's because the main gimmick are mode based (slow, speed, zoom) put on top of regular punches or kicks instead of fully fledged combo and weapons system.

Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
Bought it this morning the moment it went online on PAL eShop. Had to get up at 6AM for this. I had to go to work so didn't had much time to play it.

I only played 1-1 with and tried out all available control options: gamepad, wiimote (workable enough if you don't have anything else), wiimote+nunchuck (controls almost the same as in Mario Galaxy games only crouch is now put on B button), wiimote+classic controller pro (same as gamepad, but it's really cool that it is supported at all).

My favorite one is probably wiimote+nunchuk (simply because it's the lightest and the most flexible option) though pressing B to crouch is kinda disorientating at first.

I already made arrangements and am going to play it with my two pals tomorrow. Can't wait.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 04, 2013, 05:26:05 AM
Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
It feels like evolved 3d Land. First worlds are already harder than 3d land's regular level so far, so that's good.

3d Land's levels were like SMB1's linear levels stringed onto a 3d wire. In 3d World, levels are built similarly only now there are shoebox-like square/rounded arenas placed between simple lines. Because of a multiplayer, game provides more wide environments and wants to you to roam around there for a bit and not to breeze through it as you could in more "corridor"-y 3d Land. I am guessing this is why roll jump was nerfed that much. It went from the fastest and longest jump to roughly the same as regular long jump.

As i learned by 3d Land i am now playing for full completion right from the go, because i fully expect that at some moment the game will require me to to collect everything, as in: find all green stars, collect all stamps, get all golden flags and finish all levels with all characters. So if i don't get all three stars and stamp and golden flag in one go, i switch to other character for second or third runs.

6-1 level stamp was really, really EVIL (you can barely see it even by rotating camera in free mode) and i still can't find 6-3 stamp!

Beep-bopping blocks level was amazing. Especially amazing if you got a lot of clones and/or playing with someone.

Double cherry is really fun and inventive. It's cool that you can manage your crowd somewhat, like change their formations from one line to rectangle or square by bumping into walls.

I like how many things that look like are only available with cat suit can actually accessed using other techniques, like spin jump (done exactly like in Sunshine). You can even reach the tip of a flagpole from the ground using it, provided there is a wall nearby.

I wish there was option for split screen considering we were playing two player and we could have each screen for themselves.

Uncharted 2 (friend's PS3):
Checked out a few of PS3 games. Seeing how U2 is hailed as one of the bests, i played it for a few hours.

I am very underwhelmed.

First gripe started even before i started the game, when my friend showed me where he is on his save. Main character didn't look like he is "inside" the environment, it felt he was a balloon floating a centimeter above the floor. The feeling got even stronger when i actually started playing the game myself and entered the building (earlier sequence when he was walking on snow was fine). My dude just doesn't feel like he belongs the moment he enters the building.

There was no bumping into the wall animation which helps to anchor the character as a physical object constrained by the walls and not as a 3d sprite that flies around and freely clips through geometry.

3d platforming feels janky, even the worsts Prince of Persias and Assasin's Creeds feel better. ACIII controls are pretty bad (for stealth that is) but even they are miles ahead of what i was given to work with in Uncharted.

Starting from the most basic things like movement of the character the game kept disappointing with basically every aspect. Wonky stealth controls... Mashing button as a combat system, really?

Enough plumbers 2:
Speaking of clone Marios.

Last levels get pretty hard, some of the have to be done in five-six steps. I was stuck on level 20 for a few days. Of course, it was because i was overcomplicating things. The actual solution is shorter than mine while i added two unnecessary steps.

Level 22 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaSf39SrZ4&t=15m45s) was hilarious.

Bravely Default (demo):
I grinded for a few levels and beat devil girl. Abusing braves and then splurge with four attacks in one turn while fun can get pretty dangerous. For bosses it's sometimes better to keep defaulting with physically weak characters to keep them out of danger and keep dealing some damage over many turns with more durable fighters.

I maxed out my first selection of jobs and switched to others. Streetpass relay trick helped me restore my village and unlock all the stuff.

This demo already feels like a full game and i didn't even visited all locations that are in the game.

I am now facing rock boss and he is almost impenetrable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on December 04, 2013, 10:34:50 AM
There was no bumping into the wall animation


That's incredibly hilarious because yes there is a wall animation. It's one of the awesome things that Naughty Dog has in there PS3 games (I don't think U1 had it, however). U2, U3, and The Last of Us has has that sort of animation. The Last of Us has even more than just wall clinging.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Dow Jones on December 04, 2013, 05:06:37 PM
The Walking Dead: Season 1 on Vita.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 04, 2013, 09:09:55 PM
Okay, after a long hiatus (aside from playing through Last of Us with my brother over the summer), I borrowed/bought some PS3 games to get a mainstream fix and check out a few titles in which I've been interested.


First up, to address Azeke and Oblivion:

Uncharted 2:

I'm a few hours in and also underwhelmed. I agree with Azeke, in that it feels like there's a two-inch air-hockey table buffer around the character at times, kind of reminiscent of early Tomb Raider games (e.g.). It's not a big deal, it just highlights the general lack of interactivity most graphics heavy corridor games of the previous generation (if you can say that now). Controls and camera feel a bit chunky. When the game is linear I wish it was less so, but when it's more open (stealth) it's extremely frustrating. It's not nearly as dour and self-important as Last of Us, but the basic movement and action are not as solid. Soundtrack is really good though! I'm going to keep going with it and see if it grows on me.


Dead Space 3:


Picked this up for cheeep used, which was the only way I was going to bother after the pretty negative fan reaction. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the game (I think), about to head to the planet (I hope). I actually haven't noticed much of the decried co-op-y-ness so far, unless it's taking the form of all-around lackluster design. So far in the first part of the game in the derelict armada it's a spiritless retread of Dead Space 1 without the novelty or tension. In general, I hold video game stories to porn standards: unimportant unless distractingly bad. It's distractingly bad here. The game opens with a summary of the first two games that appears to completely retcon the lore and render the previous action on The Sprawl pointless, unless that already happened in prior DLC or motion comics or some ****. Also, the fact that 200-year-old ships are chock full of compatible ammo, benches, and suit stations is just dunderheaded.


The crafting system is needlessly complex, and feels like the designers just outsourced design and balancing completely to the user. No new enemy types or gameplay elements after four hours. I'll probably finish it just to complete the apparently moth-balled series, but so far: boo. Extraction remains the best game in the franchise.


GTA V:

Picked up from a save file midway through the game, because I don't give much of a rat's ass about the series, having hated previous entries, but wanted to experience the cultural zeitgeist. I was surprised, however, by how much they've improved the car handling. It's no longer frustrating and awful to drive around, largely because of the very smart move to make the cars nigh-indestructible. No more constantly flying through the windshield or catching whips on fire. The on-foot stuff is also better, a big step up from the in my opinion unplayable third-person shooting of GTA IV. Also, the reviews weren't kidding, the environments in the game are shockingly pretty at times.


It's unfortunate then that the characters and story are insufferable. Unbelievably crass and juvenile. At the same time, the game is very story focused, so it's difficult to ignore. Also, the character models and animations mostly look like garbage, which stands out like a sore thumb against the technically outstanding environments. A very odd duck, this game. I put about five hours into it, and will probably call it a day.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on December 04, 2013, 09:32:13 PM
You guys are silly.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 04, 2013, 10:21:15 PM
Oh sweet merciful Jesus, I just hopped back into Assetto Corsa's early access, and WOW, what a difference a few weeks makes.  Kunos have promised to keep updating the game on a regular schedule, and so far they have delivered. Anti-aliasing options have been improved and the effect on the game's visuals is dramatic.  They've also seemingly further optimized the visuals and improved the framerate on a lot of people's rigs.  The game looks fantastic, though, it will be interesting to see how it performs when you are doing more than just time-trials.

I feel they've made some improvements to the force-feedback through my G27 setup.  In a lot of sims, I feel like the FF is far too... stiff, I guess, but here, it all seems to feel appropriate to the driving conditions.  Whether you're eating too much of the kerb, or locking the wheels, it feels like everything is being transferred to your hands.  I'm having a hard time deciding which game does it better right now, this or Game Stock Car.

They've added a few new tracks, and some new cars.  I think there are 15 cars now, and maybe 9 tracks or so.  Each car they've decided to introduce to the game has been pretty different, so that everybody can have a car to suit their own tastes.

That said, the game still is just in early access.  I'm not sure when exactly the team have targetted a final release, nor do I know what level of completion the game is in.  There are still a few rough edges that need tending.  I noticed during replays, that shadows and reflections have a tendency to pop in and out, randomly, which is a little jarring.  Many of the off-track details seem unfinished.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img35/2624/n7sx.png)
 (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/n7sx.png/)
Need for Speed Rivals PC - picked this one up during one of the Black Friday online deals for $25.  I heard that there was a command line entry you could input to force the game to run at 60 fps, but I forgot to do so and ended up playing at 30 fps.  To be honest, I was underwhelmed with the graphics.  It doesn't seem to be much of a progression from Most Wanted, but I'm looking forward to bumping up the fps to see if that doesn't help things a bit.  The unskippable tutorials at the beginning of the game are atrocious, and put Nintendo tutorials to shame.  They take so long, especially when you just want to jump in and wreck ****.  Once they're out of the way, though, the game is a lot of fun to play.  It was kind of fun to know that the cops that were chasing me right out of the gate were live players, and matching wits with them was a lot of fun.  It was very fitting for me when I managed to escape my first few chases, and gain some SP, only to lose them all wrecking in normal traffic on my way to a hideout.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 05, 2013, 01:05:08 AM
I wish i could see that wall bump animation. I still can't see it on video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmoFZv5VlrM&t=1m09s) of the first levels with the player who plays the game like me -- constantly running around and bumping into walls.

I am not talking about wall clinging animation that you do by pressing a button, that's a duh and not awesome because everyone does that today. I am talking about a passive ability like in Assassin's Creed games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on December 05, 2013, 12:56:57 PM
Killzone: Shadow Fall (online multiplayer)

When you suck as much at First-Person Shooters as I do these games can really grind you down. I've put maybe 10 hours into the online portion of Shadow Fall and I'm absolutely done with it. Half the time I have no idea why I died or who killed me. Everyone else seems to be bullet sponges while I appear to go down in one shot. I appreciate that in reality there is no difference between the damage I take and the damage everyone else takes and that this perception is merely the product of me sucking ass, but the point stands, when you aren't very good at these types of games the perception is that everyone else appears capable of surviving an encounter whilst your avatar appears to have a target tattooed to their forehead.

Let me put it this way, playing Shadow Fall over this past week has given me a new found appreciation of why Nintendo has removed competitiveness from Mario Kart. Losing is fine. Losing often can be frustrating. Losing constantly? Well, that's just not fun.

The truth is that I'm just not a very competitive person, and that mentality extends to the way I play games. As with Fighting games, I find First Person Shooters to be incredibly stressful and spending hours online dying over and over again is pretty demoralising. I like to check in with the genre every couple of years out of curiosity, hence why I picked up Shadow Fall, but I think my curiosity has been satiated.

These games aren't for me.




On a brighter note - Resogun, Flower and Soundshapes are all delightful!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 05, 2013, 02:13:33 PM
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)


So this has been sitting on my shelf for a while, but gaming time has been pretty limited and it never seemed like the "right time" to start playing another Mario game.  Wow.  I feel like an idiot of having something so amazing just sitting there, not being actively enjoyed. 


This game is utterly fantastic, and even though I really liked Super Mario Galaxy it's hard to think of anything the sequel doesn't improve upon.  The best part is that my kids actively request that we play a level every day - it's just as exciting for them to gather stars and see what challenge Mario will find next as it is for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 06, 2013, 04:35:30 AM
Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
After "finishing" the game, i can now say that bosses are kinda bad in this game. Mostly because there aren't really all that many of them. Galaxy 1 and 2 i think had more and all were very different.

Car boss encounter takes way too much time. Square boss was probably the best.

I think i liked 3d Land bosses more simply because it reproduced SMB1 boss battles with the bridge and a button and made it work and also because of the final final boss level. I remember that i was really blown away with awesome music, scenery and tenacity of the boss who just wouldn't give up.

Final final boss level in 3D World is very cool and it makes a lot of sense for what the game is, but i wasn't as amazed by it. Probably because it wasn't non-stop run as 3d land's battle and i was constantly forced to stop and wait.

I still hadn't reached final final final level, so that may change though.

I like how game gets trollish at times. Not as trollish as "I wanna be the guy" or Cat Mario (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Eyz8HgA_A) but it does have it's fair share of tricks. Like if you enter the stage and see flagpole right away, there's going to be more to it than meets the eye. And that even happens more than once.

Still can't find the damned stamp in 6-3, at least i can grind there for lives while i am looking for it after few later levels demolished my lives counter (namely Red Hot Run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQTdHLTCU8) and Grumblump inferno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1BcbAZl6DM) [if you click on this video, humanity will be wiped from history because of intensity of the spoilers within, so please don't]).

Double cherry is very cool and but kinda underutilized. Game encourages you to get an army of clones and spam fireballs but apart from that there are no advantages to having a lot of clones. So they put gates that block you from getting stars and stamps that require you having clones inside the level to justify having this power-up.

Boomerang still remains the most useful power-up.

Rosalina's spin move makes the game closer to Galaxy because you now can be more sloppy and not forced to jump on everyone's head. Rosalina's Fire dress is even more gorgeous that Peach's.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on December 06, 2013, 02:07:28 PM
State of Decay Breakdown

I picked up the DLC for State of Decay and I've been playing that a bit off and on. This new game mode is pretty fresh being more sanboxy style horde mode to what I would consider my current GOTY. Its been a slow burn however with Permadeath in this one being much more serious than in the base game.

My one complaint I have which is that some of the systems have this type of in Game free to play style mechanics. I went to make a Watchtower for my base yesterday and it said it would take an hour in real time to build. But if I had a party member who knew carptentary I could pay the in game cash to complete it automatically. You never play real money but it can be a bit annoying.

I'm still on the first Breakdown level and I'm playing it safe not really going out at Night yet until I move to another base.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 06, 2013, 03:10:30 PM
Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
After "finishing" the game, i can now say that bosses are kinda bad in this game. Mostly because there aren't really all that many of them. Galaxy 1 and 2 i think had more and all were very different.

Car boss encounter takes way too much time. Square boss was probably the best.

I think i liked 3d Land bosses more simply because it reproduced SMB1 boss battles with the bridge and a button and made it work and also because of the final final boss level. I remember that i was really blown away with awesome music, scenery and tenacity of the boss who just wouldn't give up.

Final final boss level in 3D World is very cool and it makes a lot of sense for what the game is, but i wasn't as amazed by it. Probably because it wasn't non-stop run as 3d land's battle and i was constantly forced to stop and wait.

I still hadn't reached final final final level, so that may change though.

I like how game gets trollish at times. Not as trollish as "I wanna be the guy" or Cat Mario (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Eyz8HgA_A) but it does have it's fair share of tricks. Like if you enter the stage and see flagpole right away, there's going to be more to it than meets the eye. And that even happens more than once.

Still can't find the damned stamp in 6-3, at least i can grind there for lives while i am looking for it after few later levels demolished my lives counter (namely Red Hot Run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQTdHLTCU8) and Grumblump inferno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1BcbAZl6DM) [if you click on this video, humanity will be wiped from history because of intensity of the spoilers within, so please don't]).

Double cherry is very cool and but kinda underutilized. Game encourages you to get an army of clones and spam fireballs but apart from that there are no advantages to having a lot of clones. So they put gates that block you from getting stars and stamps that require you having clones inside the level to justify having this power-up.

Boomerang still remains the most useful power-up.

Rosalina's spin move makes the game closer to Galaxy because you now can be more sloppy and not forced to jump on everyone's head. Rosalina's Fire dress is even more gorgeous that Peach's.


I actually think the bosses are better than Galaxy, largely because you can wipe most of them out very quickly, which becomes its own thing (as I discovered in the Boss Blitz level). There's also some way to take out car Bowser really fast that I did once but have no idea how. Final boss was quite cool, but yeah, I was expecting a final tier to it that didn't arrive. I like the double cherry; like most of the power ups, it's fun in its own right even if the practical goal is just to get to a certain point with the power-up intact. I more so dislike the later instances where you have to go into a level with a power-up that isn't available in-level, which felt a bit cheap to me. But this only happens 3 or 4 times as I recall.


I'm starting to doubt if I will actually be able to beat Champion Road. I got to the first green star once out of maybe 50 attempts. This is a first for the Mario series for me, discounting NSMBU challenges.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 07, 2013, 06:38:19 PM
Picked up the DLC episode for Phoenix Wright. I've only just started it, and already my brain is all "WTF?!"  Really digging the wackiness in the episode so far.

I found out how to "unlock" photo mode in Assetto Corsa, and, while it was something I only played with in Gran Turismo 5 in passing, I feel like the options presented in AC might help make it a bigger feature for me.  Being able to change the time of day, and even the position of the sun really provides a new dimension to take really killer pictures.  When Kunos add a livery feature, I can see myself losing hours just trying to find that perfect shot.  The devs released their 0.3 update on Friday, which added two new tracks, including the big-boy layout at Silverstone, and I think two new cars, including the McLaren MP4.  My favourite combo right now is running the P4/5 Competizione on Silverstone GP, those S-curves are just too much fun.

Picked up Injustice Ultimate Edition for $25ish from the Steam VGX sale last night.  It's a fun fighter, I'm liking it more than MK so far.  I really like the interactive sets.  Didn't get to play it much last night, so I'm looking forward to getting deeper into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on December 08, 2013, 01:15:18 PM
In addition to Super Mario 3D World, I don't know why, but I'm a sudden kick of playing GameCube games. I've put a fair amount of time into Star Fox: Assault, which I've gotten all bronze medals, almost all of the silver medals, and Wolf unlocked in multiplayer. Going to go for all flags and the rest of the silver medals now.


A game I began last night was Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. I remember enjoying it when it came out, and I'm having fun with it. Wish I could do multiplayer, though.



I started Custom Robo the other night, which is a game I got in a trade. Never played it before, unlike Star Fox Assault and Crystal Chronicles, so I'm interested in getting more into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 08, 2013, 07:43:41 PM
That's funny, for my own nostalgic kick, I went and installed UT2004 last night and had a blast playing Face3 instagib + low-grav against bots.  It's no match for the original Face, but boy did I miss that style of game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 08, 2013, 08:48:18 PM
I played NHL '94 last night. That is the first hockey sim I've ever played. It was so slow, but I won 1 to 0.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 08, 2013, 08:55:32 PM
Have you played the NHL 94 mode in NHL 14? It's fun, but it feels mostly like a stripped down NHL 14 with a few presentation tweaks.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 08, 2013, 09:25:52 PM
Nah, my friend and I played the old SNES version. I had no idea who any of those players were. I don't really follow hockey though I won Flyers tickets at work last year and that game was awesome. I appreciated hockey a lot more after that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 08, 2013, 09:32:20 PM
Oh god, the SNES ones were awful. That console was better than the Genesis in most ways, but EA's sports titles were just so much better on Sega's platform.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 08, 2013, 10:30:34 PM
Blast processing at its finest!

I finally played Kid Icarus: Uprising. It's good, but the controls are terrible... for a left handed person. I can imagine it being pretty good with the Circle Pad Pro XL. Right now, it feels like I'm trying to write with my right hand. I'm considering just buying the Circle Pad Pro XL just so I can actually enjoy this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 08, 2013, 10:36:16 PM
I finally played Kid Icarus: Uprising. It's good, but the controls are terrible... for a left handed person.
It works good with finger/thumb stylus if you have original 3DS (also left-handed). 3DS XL's touchpad got too big so right thumb can't reach the entire area of it now.

I recommend putting the system on your lap to move the weight off your left hand.

Also Kid Icarus is an amazing game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 08, 2013, 10:45:56 PM
I don't have the thumb stylus and I gave my original 3DS to my brother anyway.

I was using the stand that came with the game which works well, but it's unusable with either Circle Pad Pro. I wish Nintendo molded the peripheral to fit into the stand. Oh well. I'll probably prop my elbow on the arm of my couch.

I didn't really want to buy the Circle Pad Pro XL. Between this and (eventually) Monster Hunter 4. It may be worth it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Halbred on December 09, 2013, 10:04:33 PM
NINJA BIG BOOBS

Uh, I mean Senran Kagura. It's actually pretty fun. Mindless hack 'n' slashing with good character progression. I'm working on grinding all the girls (sigh) to their highest Yin/Yang attributes. Yeah, the game is 110% cheesecake, but that's what I like. Maybe not worth the asking price, but you ARE getting two surprisingly large games for that $30.

METAL GEAR RISING: RAIDENVENGEANCE

Only a few missions in, but I really like it. The world of MGS4 through Raiden's eyes is really cool. You take down an advanced Metal Gear RAY in the first mission, and from what I hear, it only gets crazier from there. Platinum's imprint is everywhere here, but I do miss some of the other MGS characters--you'd think they'd be more involved after the fall of SOP, but whatever. It's very enjoyable.

LINK BETWEEN WORLDS

Beat it 100%, went back for Hero Mode but didn't stick around long. You get killed so very easily in Lorule it's not even fun anymore. Still, this is one of the best Zeldas in recent memory and certainly the best 2D Zelda since Link's Awakening. I'm also playing Oracle of Seasons and I'm not liking it very much.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 12, 2013, 07:36:50 PM
I'm weak.  I said I wouldn't, that I had enough racing sims on PC to get me through.  But I went and bought Gran Turismo 6 digitally.  It's a bit of a departure from the handling models in the PC games I've been playing, but it's a lot of fun.  The menus are much quicker and responsive than GT5, and load times in general are vastly improved.  The game looks and runs pretty well, and I haven't run into too many framerate issues.  I really like the new suspension model, even though it has some serious issues(braking downhill tends to send the ass-end of cars airborne).  The AI is... special.  When you're behind them, they are fairly tame and waiting to be passed.  As soon as you make your move, they become much more aggressive and seem to disregard racing etiquette altogether.

The nature of these games(in early career mode, at least) is to provide a decent racing experience in short bursts.  A lot of the early races are short, 2-3 lap affairs.  In these situations, the AI can't be too realistic, or else you wouldn't have much chance since you always start in last.  The way these events are structured tends to encourage racers to exploit the handling system which has always favoured overly-aggressive driving, and practically drifting through turns.  It all makes for a much more immediately rewarding racing experience than some of the more realistic sims out there.  I found myself dive-bombing the AI through corners that no real racer would ever dare make a pass attempt and loving every second of it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jrlibrarian on December 16, 2013, 03:21:32 AM
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

I picked this up a while ago in a Steam sale, but just got around to playing through it the past two nights. The references and jokes were amazing, and the game itself was obviously very well-made, as it was a mod of the Far Cry 3 engine (which I still need to play). I didn't bother freeing all the garrisons or anything, since the payoff wasn't anywhere close to worth it.


On a different note, maybe it's just cause I recently played the new Tomb Raider, but using the bow and arrow in this game felt way more satisfying than using any of the other weapons, the Killstar notwithstanding.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on December 16, 2013, 09:11:05 AM
World of Tanks. Played a couple hours. An alright time waster. Had a look at the money store. The prices were at the "Go get fucked level". A very expensive free to play game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 19, 2013, 03:26:52 AM
Things i played last week or so.

World of Tanks (Xbox 360 version):
It's kinda shallow. Nothing really to it -- just a regular third person shooter of sorts with tanks of course.
It's alright i guess, but i don't see myself really getting into it.
Played Mii Force while in the lobby waiting for a game to start. Had a lot of streetpasses this weekend.

Scott Pilgrim (Xbox 360):
Got it for 2.5 bucks. Tried out online co-op mode. Super laggy. Whatever, it's more than worth it for singleplayer alone.

Also good if i will have friends over -- though just a demo was fine for that as is -- this demo is so long i never really went into demo limits playing for an hour or so with friends.

Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
I finally gave in and check a few hints for stamp in 6-3 (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFIYjJaEg). Finishing off last stars and stuff.

Assassin's Creed III (Wii U):
OMG. Had a marathon of playing it for most of my waking hours for four days straight.

Such a gargantuan game. So many things to do -- so many collectables and stuff. By the end had to consult internet constantly -- for collectables that are hidden or broken and for full sync requirements that i couldn't figure out.

Finished the story and it's not good. Just like in all other Assassin's Creed games, i guess (except probably Revelations). Chapter with father and son was the best probably and that chapter 3 twist was really good. But apart from that -- very dull.

I didn't do any naval missions until almost the end and then did them all in a matter of few hours with full sync. Ironically the tutorial naval mission (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFIqfCKpQ) was the hardest one to full sync. There was also another one later which had another stupid full sync requirement but it wasn't super bad.

Other than that all other naval missions went in a matter of minutes. Which was probably why people liked them so much. Oh and rogue waves:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRQH6roKLTtKW2) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFIqed_BA)

Homestead mission were another good part. I actually liked them: they were basic enough and you felt like you're making a difference of sorts. I even liked missions where i had to stalk these people while examining their daily routine: it had that feel of chill country life to it. Though Norris did annoyed me somewhat with his laziness and refusal to do anything of note.

(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzROswP0quwn5J3) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW4BX1eew)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRO_h9MiYCqu6k) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFIZONG7w)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRO_oV0u6uNSbZ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFIgV6OQw)


Around 90% and 40+ hours into the game i discovered that the game actually has a notebook where you can look up your progress on missions. Stuff i found there made really depressed...
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRQIY34IHA_1dJ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFIjU8wwg)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRQGGGYizIzt3f) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFIqV9ekQ)
I think doing these missions objectives and collecting stuff took the overwhelming majority of the entire playtime. Delivery requests, hunting map (oh god), feathers, pivots, underground map, chests (including that last one that is hidden and not depicted on any map)...

And i am still 1% away from 100%!

I need to finish thief missions and the last frontiersman objective that requires me to reveal all the maps. And by this point i just don't i know if i have it in me to do it. Because i did and collected everything else by this point i can't even combine activities and basically i have to run all over the cities and frontier to uncover all gray areas. And i just don't know...

I don't like how B makes horse rear because i constantly keep pressing it.

Checked out multiplayer. It became so cluttered, there so much stuff, social and so many modes compared to Brotherhood's multiplayer which was kinda empty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on December 19, 2013, 11:36:12 AM
Animal Crossing New Leaf
Etrian Odyessy IV
Denpamen 2
Space Harrier 3D
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 20, 2013, 08:54:21 PM
Some new games to wash out the blang blang I've caught up on already during my PS3 foster parenting:


Guacamelee:
This was on sale on the PSN store so I thought I'd give it a shot. It looks/sounds very good, and is scratching the Metroid-style game itch, probably moreso than it would otherwise given the drought of titles like this. I like the chicken and dead world switching mechanics, very smooth, with some tricky platforming. The game seems very short, though, and relies too much on gauntlet rooms as padding. The controls also feel a little bit loose to me, but not a huge deal. So far I'd say this succeeds on style over core gameplay, sort of the opposite of Shadow Complex. Mostly it has me aching for a new 2.5 Metroid picking up after Fusion. 


Heavy Rain:
My first David Cage game since Indigo Prophecy, which I thought was pretty terrible outside of its atmosphere. So far Heavy Rain is super dopey and slow paced, but has a lot of camp value in the stilted dialogue and melodrama. I have a weird hate/love thing for this kind of game, but will assuredly finish it. I'm trying to turn it into a sociopathic behavior simulator to see if I can affect events at all. My favorite run was as the private detective: I forced my way into that prostitute's apartment, asked her no questions as she shouted at me to leave, had an asthma attack, and then walked away as some guy attacked her.


The Wolf Among Us:
I've read the comics up to current issues, so it's weirding me out how they're deviating in some very fundamental ways from the source material while using some of the major characters. This version of the Fable-verse is very grimy and noirish, lots of cursing and wife-beating type violence. Not digging it so much, but will play the next chapter. As always with Telltale, gameplay is meh, but remains weirdly compelling and runs on my shitty old laptop.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 21, 2013, 10:44:40 PM
Finally picked up Tearaway during the PSN sale for $17.  The game is full of charm and personality, and I can see why so many people have fallen in love with it.  The creation aspect of the game is integrated really well, and is actually a lot of fun.  At first, I didn't think I'd care for it, but it's quickly become my favourite part of the game.  The camera integration hasn't done much for me, though, but maybe that changes later in the game.  I've heard a lot of praise for the rear touchpad integration, but to me, it's a bit inconsistent.  Maybe it's my Vita, but I'm having trouble getting it to consistently register my touches, especially on inputs that require me to press and hold the touchpad.  The actual gameplay, so far, is ok/good at best.  I don't feel all that connected to the gameworld, and I'm having some difficulty feeling the motivation to keep moving forward.  The levels are mostly seamless, but they feel disjointed, and somehow just disparate.  To me, the creation system is where I've had the most fun.  It feels like a system that becomes more rewarding as you put more effort into it.  Penis-snowflakes are great and all, but as soon as you step out of your twelve year-old self, seeing your imagination rewarded so immediately is a great joy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 23, 2013, 05:56:27 PM
As stated in another thread, I just received my Circle Pad Pro XL in the mail so I tried out Kid Icarus Uprising immediately. Right now, the controls are just a different kind of weird. Aiming is better, but moving Pit is now awkward. I heard the controls take some getting used to either way so I hope it's just a case of learning the controls rather than me being especially uncoordinated.

I've been getting through the game okay, but Pit looks like a drunk person while I'm fumbling with the controls. It's still fun though. The style and gameplay are certainly unique. The Circle Pad Pro XL can kind of fit on the 3DS stand, but it's not as sturdy. I just gave up and propped my arms on pillows.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 24, 2013, 12:14:03 AM
^ Kid Icarus is one the games that use analog controls to distinguish walking and running (http://aztez.com/blog/2013/03/14/walking-and-running-implementation/). On top of that it also throws Sakurai's signature dashing mechanic which i never understood in any of his games.

It won't be much of a problem on earlier levels but in some later levels will require at least some precise positioning of yourself so it's better to get with the grips with it. And of course it's crucial in multiplayer.

As to what i played.

Super Hexagon:
After some fumbling with drivers (Seriously? THIS is the game that crashes unless i have newest video drivers installed? Out of all 70+ games i have on steam? This is the one? Installing new AMD drivers snowballed into installing some other crap i don't want, like .NET Framework 4.5 that surprisingly requires 3 Gb of free space on hard disk? That night was just a constant stream of "Seriously?").

It's mostly the same game as free flash game Cavanagh posted on his site (http://terrycavanaghgames.com/hexagon/). First "level" is virtually that -- same music and patterns + crazy tilting for extra confusion. Two later levels add more patterns and even more confusing effects. I can't survive for more that 2 seconds  on the hardest one that is available to me (Hexagonest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrPXBSh4mqU)).

I should probably play it with a keyboard -- trying to play it with bumpers on xbox controller just doesn't feel right and i constantly make mistakes. My record on flash version is 50 seconds and i can't do even half of that on Super Hexagon's first level -- maybe it's controls or extra confusion effects or slightly larger hitbox not sure.


Super Mario 3D World:
Beat "Blast Block Skyway" yesterday after whining (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW4bmR2pg) about (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFI1u8Pqw) it on miiverse. I always had big problems with disappearing blocks (Mega Man's disappearing blocks are fine because they're very slow). The solution is to adapt to their fast rhythm and do small jumps to synchronize with the beat.

After unlocking the very last last last world i beat the last Toad level (pretty cool one) and played a bit of Champion Road. The beginning isn't too bad but then -- disappearing blocks again... I looked up the video walkthrough, but dude was using racoon suit which is kinda cheating. I want to beat it with regular Mario like i did with final secret level of Super Mario 3d Land (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfhSQfE8eM).

With final world unlocked i am going into the phase where i start replaying levels with all characters. Thankfully i already beat a few of them with all characters already because i deliberately changed characters when replaying levels for stars or stamps. Some of the earlier easier level i obviously cleared with just one character i gather i am going to just breeze through them.

Some people consider it a chore but i don't think of it as one. I am still playing a videogame. Still having fun. I am thankful that the game gives me semi- meaningful reason to keep replaying levels. I do wish i didn't have to beat mystery houses with all characters too though.

Hotline: Miami
They updated it. Yay? Maybe they finally fixed all the bugs?.. Year after release?

Now the game shows me some configuration screen that isn't controller friendly...

My save is now gone. Well not a big deal but it's just yet another additional bug.

Even said configuration screen doesn't even work properly! I set the option to switch bumpers and triggers buttons and it did nothing. V-sync option also doesn't work.

On top of that when i restarted it, the game deleted save again and started from the beginning again.

What a piece of ****. If not for the soundtrack i wouldn't even bother.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 24, 2013, 10:53:00 PM
Gran Turismo 6
It's been a few weeks since I booted the game up, but the changes that PD made to the economy got me back in.  I'm happy to see the daily log-in boosts reinstated.  The game still feels really good, though I feel like the tire model is a bit spotty.  The AI is the weakest part of the game, still, and I hope that any future iterations work on that aspect of the game above adding new cars.  The AI has a tendency to be far too conservative when they're ahead, and far too aggressive when they're behind.  They seem to completely disregard me when they are trying to pass me, and I've often been plowed into by AI hell-bent on making the pass.  I've heard a few people in various podcasts describe the early game in the GT series as a perfect tutorial for beginner drivers, and I couldn't disagree more.  While the system is great for helping beginners come to grips with the handling model and the various physics systems, the short duration of the races, and the motivation to finish first is much more likely to teach beginners to be overly aggressive instead of proper race etiquette, imo.  The fact that they've gated online behind these early races just makes that more of an issue.  To me, I'm more interested in race strategy then in divebombing and sliding through corners.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
I've got a few days off work for the holiday season, and, as such, I've decided to clear out some of the games I started and never finished.  CoJ was one of those games since, at the time, my mouse was really crap and it really hindered my performance.  I jumped back in this morning, and I remembered just how awesome this game was.  For an ADS shooter, the gunplay is remarkably crisp and satisfying.  The game is fast-paced, and the scoring system is rewarding.  I think I'm close to the end, since it's starting to feel repetitive, and from all accounts, the game doesn't overstay its welcome.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 26, 2013, 09:56:52 PM
I've revisited Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. My goodness, trying to get an S on some of those stages is ridic. I would prefer to unlock everything by playing through the game, but I may just use up Play Coins since I'm not really using the Play Coins for anything else. Right now I have 299 and I'm completely finished Find Mii I and II.

I also played some Resident Evil: Revelaitons on Wii U. I'm still in the middle of Trench difficulty in Raid Mode. I feel like it's more difficult to upgrade than on 3DS. One, you can't use Play Coins to buy weapons. Two, the cost of upgrading things might be higher though it's been a while so I may be imagining things. I've never actually played the Wii U version online. That could make things easier. I don't remember having this much trouble on some of the stages in the 3DS version and I didn't have the Circle Pad Pro.

Also, I've put Kid Icarus Uprising on hold. I haven't had the urge to continue playing even though I know I have to I'm order to get used to the controls.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 26, 2013, 10:41:11 PM
Super Mario 3D World, Rayman Legends (Wii U), Battlefield 4 (PS4).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 26, 2013, 11:56:18 PM
I've been playing a lot of FIFA 14 and Madden 25 on PS4. I basically bought the console because of the convenience of remote play in sports games, and that's allowed me to sink a lot of time into them. I'm really enjoying both of them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on December 27, 2013, 09:29:26 AM
Bioshock (Steam sale), Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, and Super Mario 3D World are my current Now Playing titles. I'm seriously impressed by the scope and atmosphere in Bioshock. It's groovy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 27, 2013, 10:51:26 AM
Insano, playing on the toilet much?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 27, 2013, 05:30:04 PM
Insano, playing on the toilet much?

No, mainly just in other parts of my house.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on December 28, 2013, 04:35:49 PM
Started playing a point-and-click adventure game called The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav.  The art style is beautiful, and the animation, while somewhat "incomplete", fits the art style once you get used to it.  The dialogue is fairly well-written, and the voice acting is mostly good.  I have encountered a few lines that don't really match the context of the game, but so far it has been a positive experience.

The puzzles are pretty well-integrated, with plenty of clues to point you in the right direction.  I've found myself stumped a few times, but that's nothing unusual for this genre.  I haven't played many "modern" p&c adventure games, but the increased graphical fidelity makes pixel-hunting much more of a chore.  I find myself just automatically hitting the "highlight everything you can interact with" button instead of just waving my cursor around aimlessly.

(http://imageshack.us/a/img560/1961/bsfu.png)

(http://imageshack.us/a/img834/4871/nj0r.png)

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on December 28, 2013, 04:49:01 PM
Been playing Skyrim: Legendary Edition and Tales of Xillia.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 28, 2013, 09:25:42 PM
Been playing Mutant Mudds (3DS). That game gets a lot of love... but I'm not feeling any.


Difficulty is almost always of the "cheap" variety, with projectiles from off-screen enemies being one of my least favorite ways to die. Controls are ok, but have a bunch of little oddities (small extra height boost from jetpack, weird momentum) that makes everything feel slightly less natural and tight than I like in a platformer. Level design is more often boring than anything.

Feels like a throwback to the Commander Keen-type platformer, so maybe if you have nostalgia for old-school PC platformers it would be more appealing? Although they were fun back in the day, I have no interest in revisiting those games and now wish I had listened to my gut after playing the demo and skipped this game despite the strong reviews it had garnered from some corners.
 :(
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 31, 2013, 02:59:02 AM
While listening to old RFNs I got to the Super Metroid Retrospective episode (142) and after about 20 minutes of it I picked up the GamePad sitting next to me and started up a new file of the game. Every time I play this it strikes me how quickly it starts; you get the morph ball and two missile tanks before you hit the first save point. I've never actually completed this game, even though on my first ever playthrough on the Wii VC release I got all the way to the beginning of Tourian before drifting away from it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: UncleBob on December 31, 2013, 08:24:32 AM
Been playing Mutant Mudds (3DS). That game gets a lot of love... but I'm not feeling any.


Difficulty is almost always of the "cheap" variety, with projectiles from off-screen enemies being one of my least favorite ways to die. Controls are ok, but have a bunch of little oddities (small extra height boost from jetpack, weird momentum) that makes everything feel slightly less natural and tight than I like in a platformer. Level design is more often boring than anything.

Feels like a throwback to the Commander Keen-type platformer, so maybe if you have nostalgia for old-school PC platformers it would be more appealing? Although they were fun back in the day, I have no interest in revisiting those games and now wish I had listened to my gut after playing the demo and skipped this game despite the strong reviews it had garnered from some corners.
 :(

Agreed.  I did enjoy Mutant Mudds before the released all the extra levels - but the new stuff was so punishing and repetitive that, sadly, I never finished it and don't really intend to.  There's "I'm going to make this jump hard" challenging, then there's "I'm going to make this jump require pixel-perfect accuracy and missing it is going to delete your save file and make you start over" challenging. ;)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Halbred on January 12, 2014, 09:31:47 PM
I'm slowly working through Metal Gear Rising: Raidenvengeance. It's really good, although I'm having trouble getting the hang of blocking effectively. The TMNT2/Vanilla Ice reference in the sewer level made me laugh out loud.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: smallsharkbigbite on January 12, 2014, 10:57:12 PM
Agreed.  I did enjoy Mutant Mudds before the released all the extra levels - but the new stuff was so punishing and repetitive that, sadly, I never finished it and don't really intend to.  There's "I'm going to make this jump hard" challenging, then there's "I'm going to make this jump require pixel-perfect accuracy and missing it is going to delete your save file and make you start over" challenging. ;)

Mega Man's one of my favorite all time franchises and I really felt the Mutant Mudds love.  I doubled up on the Wii U version when it was on sale and I got through it a 2nd time.  It was really challenging at points but I felt the controls were fair and I couldn't blame deaths on them.  If you are digging the game at all, but find it too challenging, pick up the Wii U version.  It's alot easier since it has mid-point saves within levels.  I breezed through it after working to get through some of the 3DS levels. 

I'm playing GT6 too.  I didn't start it until after Christmas but it does start slow and give few credits.  I really enjoy the game, but the AI is a sore point.  I just like all the great cars, great physics, and the challenges.  The online challenges really add alot since you can get some easy money and they are generally more fun than the early challenges I'm going through now.  I did find it amusing that the top cars cost $20M dollars and Sony is trying to sell DLC at $7M for $50.  So if I was trying to get 1 of the prestigious cars (not necessarily great cars), I could pay about $150 and download it.  Seriously would anyone do that? 

I actually jumped back into GT5 a little bit too.  I was trying to catch up on online races and try to get the last few trophies I had.  GT6 is really a minor step over GT5, but I have dozens of hours in 5 so I'm sure I'll get my monies worth in 6.

I'm playing NR2K3.  I'm in my 5th season of my career.  I love the customization of this game.  If you don't like the way the AI races, you have many tools to tweak it and get it to be near perfect.  The more seasons I get in the more tweaks I get in leading to a really challenging solid game.  I started my career in 1993 because Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon were rookies that year.  I won the championship in 1996 for my first championship, but after 18/32 races in 1997 I'm lagging in points tied for 3rd.  I'm just struggling with consistency this year.  My championship year I only had one DNF, I already have 4 this year (just blew up at Pocono) and I have a long road to try to get another championship this year.

Risk 2 - I really have fun playing the same time risk.  This is my typical time killer game if I don't want to get too involved in a game. 

Demon's Crest - Just picked it up, I've been looking for a decent price since I recently learned about this game.  I haven't played it much, but it seems really solid from what I've seen and I'm happy I tracked it down. 

Plants vs. Zombies 2 - This is really the first F2P game that I've liked.  Playing endless modes are an easy way to get additional coins to use to get by difficult levels.  The game in general is much more difficult than the first, but I thought the first was too easy.  I also appreciate all the gameplay elements that they've added.  I think they've done a great job.  I'm about a third of the way through, we'll see if I get annoyed by the F2P elements and change my mind. 

Ken Griffey Jr Baseball SNES- Just completed a season of winning the world Series with the Indians.  It was the best season I've had with it.  I started 18-0 before losing my 1st game.  I finished the regular season 24-2.  I rolled through the playoffs 11-1.  Had some really great games despite my stellar record.  I think this is still one of my favorite baseball game to date.  So easy to get into and still challenging to win.

NHL 97 Gen - I'm working through a season with the Bruins.  I'm 58-9-3 right now.  I'd love to get to 70 wins, we'll see.  This is a long term series, I generally cut off my seasons and enter playoffs sooner, but I wanted to get through one complete season.  I went through a stretch of like 23 unbeaten games when I was playing it more regularly.  Now that I play only a couple of games a week, I'm more susceptible to losses. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 13, 2014, 01:52:43 AM
Long holidays, not much work, so i'm playing loads of games.

R-Type:
Lots of depth with force usage -- you can keep it as Gradius style option as additional cannon, you can use it as a sort of melee weapon, throwing it back or forward, or if you attach it to your nose or tail it will be like a shield of sort. Really loving it though i am very easily overwhelmed against bullet spam and die a lot.

Kid Icarus: Uprising:
hit 50 hours (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFJ50dB_Q), almost cleared out first achievement wall. Work is kinda slow these days, so i'm mostyl just sitting in the office playing it.

Wonderful 101:
Got platinums on entire normal row (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFJXIXjDQ). Went through entire hard mode (didn't care for ranks, so it's mostly silver and even some consolation prizes -- but whatever). Started 101% hard and honestly it's not as hard as i expected.

Punch Out!! (Wii):
Got to Soda Popinski title defense. Absolutely impossible. Soda in his first fight had some pattern in attacks that was the only thing that allowed me to bring him down, now his attacks are more unpredictable and he hits almost instantaneous. Very hard. So far i'm just practicing for his fight and doing exhibition matches with previous fighters for achievements.

Swapper (PC):
No controller support, huh? Played for twenty minutes or so until it became uncomfortable to play on keyboard and mouse that are placed sideways from my TV. I really need some kinda of table in my room, so i could put keyboard and mouse in front of TV and play more PC games, especially shooters that i almost stopped playing after TF2.

As to game itself: really like the look. Though spaceman running backwards looks kinda silly. My friend played this game and really loved puzzles in this game for how ingenious they were. I wasn't impressed when he showed me one. That's probably my main reason to play it: so i could compare my experience with his and with Toki Tori 2 which is an AMAZING puzzle platformer and one of the best games of 2013 for me.

Papers Please:
It's probably the first thing that was made in the west that treats this subject right. For someone who grew up in Soviet Union i know this stuff all too well: absurd bureaucracy, power abuse, complete dehumanization of the system. I might even say it's still very much there.

The music and sound effects remind me of Kin Dza Dza (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfB4JJHxlRQ) (caught it on TV last week, rewatched it for like hundredth time, absolute masterpiece. Too bad it is completely inaccessible for most westerners).

What i appreciate the most about Papers Please is the humour: it really is the best thing to cope against the System. You could just paint an oppressive bleak painting but who'd ever want to play that?

Even the control system adds to the general feeling of clunkiness of the entire thing. All that papers cluttering your table and how you have to constantly move them around with your mouse.

By the way the best strategy is to keep your family hungry and give them food on each second day. That way you'll be able to save enough money for... for what passes in this game for a "good" ending.

Republia Times:
Precursor to Papers Please: simulator of newspaper editor. Has the same overall feeling and message. Also recommend it.

Hotline Miami:
"Beat" it, i guess. Played through entirety of the game with controller, which is probably not the preferred experience but whatever (it probably made bosses much harder that it should have been).

I mostly played with melee weapons: knifes, bats or just bare fists resorting to guns only when i had to -- against huge guys or if enemy placement just doesn't allow me to sneak in and kill him without anyone noticing. The only gun i liked to use was the one with silencer -- that way i could take almost anyone and no one raised an alarm.

Story is incomprehensible but who cares. Music is great, atmosphere is almost hypnotic and really puts into blood filled rush like nothing else.

Too bad about constant bugs, crashes, save losses, no steamworks support, no steam big picture support and other performance problems.

Hydroventure: Spin cycle (aka Fluidity: Spin cycle, 3DS):
First wiiware game was so, so good. When they made second one "better fit for handheld experience" dividing one interconnected world into many smaller levels they largely destroyed a lot what made the first game so good. Now to collect everything you have to replay same levels doing the same stuff over and over again, oh and also you have to be perfect about it so you can get five stars.
Year after i got it i barely got through second world -- replaying the same levels to collect stuff is just not fun at all (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEc3eUILQ) D:
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 13, 2014, 01:19:15 PM
...

Hydroventure: Spin cycle (aka Fluidity: Spin cycle, 3DS):
First wiiware game was so, so good. When they made second one "better fit for handheld experience" dividing one interconnected world into many smaller levels they largely destroyed a lot what made the first game so good. Now to collect everything you have to replay same levels doing the same stuff over and over again, oh and also you have to be perfect about it so you can get five stars.
Year after i got it i barely got through second world -- replaying the same levels to collect stuff is just not fun at all (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEc3eUILQ) D:


I know some people prefer the portable sequel, but I totally agree with your assessment. It's still a nice design and has some good ideas, but is just not particularly fun for me.


Replacing exploration and experimentation with time challenges, and forcing players to replay levels multiple times since they won't have necessary power-ups in some cases the first time, is a huge turn off. I much preferred the open world design from the original game - even though I ended up revisiting the same areas multiple times when searching for secrets.


Anyone looking for the best version of Fluidity/Hydroventure should really look to the WiiWare release.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on January 13, 2014, 02:58:36 PM
Animal Crossing: New Leaf and pretty much only New Leaf. I now have 270 hours logged onto this sucker. You'd think I'd be near finished but nope, still have a lot to find and do. Waiting for Gracie to show up for one last fashion check so I can finally open up the final Nookling Shop upgrade. I do wish this game was faster at giving you the products you want. I've been buying Fortune Cookies for 4 months and still have not got a Super Star. I've gotten everything else two times over. How long must I keep buying these things to get it? C'mon already!

That said, I did pop in Donkey Kong Country Returns a couple weekends ago. I've been wanting to play this for months but put it off with other games and finally said, heck to it, just do it and went through the first couple worlds. Overall, I like what I've seen. The Time Trial challenges are nuts though. Holy! Talk about your hardcore gaming experience right there. Still, I'm loving the nostalgia factor that Retro has done with this game while incorporating their own spin on it. I'm even more pumped about Tropical Freeze even if I end up putting off playing it for a while like this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on January 19, 2014, 03:53:58 AM
I downloaded Warframe on PC the other night, and gave that a quick shot.  The game is barely competent.  The jumps are typical MMO-floaty, and the targetting feels really loose.  Presentation is acceptable, but I don't really know what's going on.  As it stands, the game dropped me from a tutorial mission, into a mission, and I'm not exactly clear on what's going on.  So far, it seems like all I need to worry about is shooting at things that move.  I did notice the chatlog being spammed by WTS and WTB requests, so it felt just like any other MMO in that regard.  I think the devs really took advantage of teh F2P model, since the game already feels single-minded in its determination to get you attached to the loot-grinding system.  Not sure if I'll give this another shot, since I don't have anybody to play it with right now.

Kunos just released a new update for the Assetto Corsa early access, which, along with several tweaks to the gameplay, added a new BMW as well as some AI events.  In total, there are 4 races that have AI in them now, none of which you are able to change the options(number of laps, time of day, etc...) for, with the exception of AI difficulty of course.  I think the number of AI is limited to 11 as of now, but that may change in the future. 

The AI is, for the most part, ok.  At best, it doesn't match up to the best human drivers, but for a novice like myself, that isn't the biggest concern.  I prefer an AI that is more interested in providing a solid racing experience, and for me, that means they aren't perfect, and that they do follow some amount of racing etiquette(even if I don't).  So far, in that sense, the AI is on the right track.  I've seen AI opponents push too hard, and brake really late, locking up the wheels and sending smoke everywhere, losing precious time.  I've seen some AI miss an apex and hit kerbs hard enough to balance on two wheels for a few seconds before landing and continuing on their way.  I've tried to pass AI, and sometimes, it feels like they actually try to defend their positions.  I've even had the impression that some AI were actively making the effort to not send me into the wall(Shift 2 Unleashed, and the Gran Turismos are really bad for this).  All in all, there's plenty of room for improvement, but the potential is definitely there.

On top of those additions, the team at Kunos have added a new tire model, and it definitely feels like they've tweaked the FFB for wheels.  I also feel like the graphics have been further optimized, as I'm noticing less and less detail pop-in during replays.  The framerate also feels like it's more solid now than ever.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Weetrick on January 19, 2014, 02:29:40 PM

I watched a lot of AGDQ this year and discovered an appreciation for speed-running, so I dug out my old consoles to replay Super Metroid, Goldeneye and Donkey Kong Country!


For modern games, I've been playing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Wii U). I really like it, but I'm confused at the critical response to this game. A lot of critics say ACIV "saved the franchise", since ACIII was so poorly reviewed. I don't get it, since I feel like ACIV has a lot of the same problems and frustrations that ACIII has - weird controls, annoying tailing/eavesdropping missions and instant desychronization. Personally, I enjoy both so I don't understand the huge difference in critical opinion.




World of Tanks. Played a couple hours. An alright time waster. Had a look at the money store. The prices were at the "Go get fucked level". A very expensive free to play game.
World of Tanks (Xbox 360 version):It's kinda shallow. Nothing really to it -- just a regular third person shooter of sorts with tanks of course.It's alright i guess, but i don't see myself really getting into it.


I was wondering why they made such a big deal when they announced this was coming to X360.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on January 19, 2014, 03:29:31 PM
Played WoT a little more and the irritation really started to set in to the point I have just stopped. In order to force a lot of very different "tanks" to "Play" together in nice looking tiers and classes. There is a stealth/sight system instead of a normal, "If I can see it, I can shoot at it" type gameplay. Each tank has a camo/sight range which is completely arbitrary which means if someone else "spots" someone, you can see them, but it gets ridiculous when they leave sight range where they "Disappear" despite driving off in an open field with you pointing the gun at them.

You don't have to do any ranging and shooting is all about camping. Point gun at tank, wait for the circle to shrink fire, server randomly places shot in circle, some black magic armor/deflection angle numbers crunched, damage done, repeat until dead. All of this is suppose to make it so historically good tanks don't dominate other tanks of the same "Class" that were straight up awful. But it removes the unique functions of each tank and takes most of the skill out of shooting.

Then there is the EXP grind system with the money mill. The grind is crazy long. The gameplay modes doesn't ever seem to be more than Team deathmatch with a base flag to help break dead locks. So no Battle of the Bulge or Operation Babarossa for you. Just buch of dudes one side, more dudes otherside, ??, Profit?!.

Don't play this if you have a liking for anything other than the most shallow aspects of "tank" combat.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 19, 2014, 11:34:21 PM
World of Tanks is HUGE.

Like a few times bigger than WoW as far as i know.

The most interesting aspect of it is clan metagame. From what i've been told there is an incredibly developed system that allows you to join clans, then you're given territory (as in actual real world territory, like Moscow oblas') and neighboring clans can challenge you, so if they win they take over.

I'm not super interested in the main gameplay itself but that metagame sounds interesting just looking from an outside. Similar how you read about what's going on in EVE Online, even if you know you will never actually get to play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 20, 2014, 02:41:38 PM


For modern games, I've been playing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Wii U). I really like it, but I'm confused at the critical response to this game. A lot of critics say ACIV "saved the franchise", since ACIII was so poorly reviewed. I don't get it, since I feel like ACIV has a lot of the same problems and frustrations that ACIII has - weird controls, annoying tailing/eavesdropping missions and instant desychronization. Personally, I enjoy both so I don't understand the huge difference in critical opinion.



I swore I was done with the series after III, which I thought was a total mess, but IV came with my new souped up laptop, and I put it on to test out the graphics capabilities, and ended up getting hooked, which I did not think would happen.

While it does have the issues you mention (parkour movement feels broken at times) I think it manages to improve open combat, which was horrible in III, which makes the game much less of a chore to play. The expanded foliage cover system also makes stealth approaches to missions viable, which was not the case in III. Finally, IV is just a much more pleasant game world. Pretty tropical islands and sunsets and whales and stuff instead of grim colonial America. (You an go to New York, but it's half burned down!)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on January 20, 2014, 03:04:30 PM
I have been playing way too many games at once:


Saints Row IV
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Cave Story 3D
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
Shinobi (3DS)


And I still have Dragon's Dogma checked out from the library!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Caliban on January 20, 2014, 08:15:54 PM
Unepic. I'm enjoying it. Made me laugh a few times from the banter between the two characters. Nothing special in terms of gameplay mechanics so far. I would say it's Demon's/Dark Souls in 2D, but the mood isn't as brooding.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 20, 2014, 09:52:10 PM
Unepic. I'm enjoying it. Made me laugh a few times from the banter between the two characters. Nothing special in terms of gameplay mechanics so far. I would say it's Demon's/Dark Souls in 2D, but the mood isn't as brooding.


I'm very curious about this game, but have enough of a backlog that playing what I've already got sounded like a smarter option. Looks interesting though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 21, 2014, 04:35:34 AM
Rhythm Heaven (DS):
After i got "Superb" on all mini-games, all that is left is get "Perfect"s on remaining 16 mini-games. I've been trying it for a few months, and now i finally did perfect on "Shooter 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxfUxSrpFN4)".

It shouldn't be that hard, because i've achieved superb's on all of them before and superb's are actually harder to get than perfect, but i guess i just lost my rhythm sense over the months. I try to do one, fail, and just turn it off for a month or two...

Drummer's duel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddbVFuwW9aY) seems to be absolutely impossible to perfect (because of fast rhythm variations near the end). But Love lab (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLFsZnnvq8A), Moai De Whoop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YImQl5jyUW4), Splashdown 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egcoNvXx3mU), Glee Club 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVh7D95cZ08) -- all seem very doable, i just have to keep at it.

Trials: Evolution (PC):
This game is super dumb fun. You can't help but holler and go yeah along with biker dude as he's doing mad jumps and crazy flips.

Some of the gimmick levels can be a miss, but i loved the one where you have to carry a bomb.

It's just such a shame Ubisoft decided to move the series to iOS/Andoid rather than 3DS... The biggest disappointment of last E3. It would work so great...

Dark Souls (PC):
Game finally started to open up a bit. I've opened most of the doors in undead burg. Met Capra Demon -- yeah, i will get to him later once i level up a bit and figure out all that magic stuff.

I've met sorcerer and the other dude who promised me miracles, not quite sure what's difference between them are but whatevs. Also apparently there are different kinds of miracles and different kinds of magic depending on which school or covenant you join?.. I'll figure it out eventually i guess.

Saw the priest dude in the church who shoot lightnings. From afar. The other stone headless dude who also shoots lightning was awaiting me under the smithy -- i tried to hit him but i guess he's inulvnerable or something. I just ran past him and got to forest. Then i wandered there a bit, killed a few trees until i met two huge undead knights who engaged me from both sides of the corridor... Yeah...

I also wandered a bit around Firelink Shrine. Apparently the giant crow that carried me here is still sitting there. For some reason i never noticed it, though i did hear it screeching.

Walked around the graveyard under Firelink shrine. Skeletons are annoying and apparently can only be killed by riposte. It's cool i guess, but very hard to pull of when you have a few of them on you.

By the way riposte sound effect is one the most satisfying sounds ever.

Apparently there is something wrong with PC version because i have a rather noticeable sound lag which throws me off a bit when i climb ladders and hear someone's steps. These are actually my steps they just sound a second after they should be.

Visited New Londo Ruins, but didn't found enough bravery in me to cross the bridge across the bog. Probably the creepiest area of them all so far, ugh.

Viewtiful Joe (GC):
I finally gave up and restarted the game on Kids difficulty. I was on level 5 and it's not even that super hard, but just EVERYTHING from enemies unpredictable patterns and stage hazards kept annoying me to no end. Got through first two levels on kids difficulty in half an hour and will probably finish the game that way.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on January 21, 2014, 11:42:32 AM
Dark Souls (PC):
Game finally started to open up a bit. I've opened most of the doors in undead burg. Met Capra Demon -- yeah, i will get to him later once i level up a bit and figure out all that magic stuff.

I've met sorcerer and the other dude who promised me miracles, not quite sure what's difference between them are but whatevs. Also apparently there are different kinds of miracles and different kinds of magic depending on which school or covenant you join?.. I'll figure it out eventually i guess.

Saw the priest dude in the church who shoot lightnings. From afar. The other stone headless dude who also shoots lightning was awaiting me under the smithy -- i tried to hit him but i guess he's inulvnerable or something. I just ran past him and got to forest. Then i wandered there a bit, killed a few trees until i met two huge undead knights who engaged me from both sides of the corridor... Yeah...

I also wandered a bit around Firelink Shrine. Apparently the giant crow that carried me here is still sitting there. For some reason i never noticed it, though i did hear it screeching.

Walked around the graveyard under Firelink shrine. Skeletons are annoying and apparently can only be killed by riposte. It's cool i guess, but very hard to pull of when you have a few of them on you.

By the way riposte sound effect is one the most satisfying sounds ever.

Apparently there is something wrong with PC version because i have a rather noticeable sound lag which throws me off a bit when i climb ladders and hear someone's steps. These are actually my steps they just sound a second after they should be.

Visited New Londo Ruins, but didn't found enough bravery in me to cross the bridge across the bog. Probably the creepiest area of them all so far, ugh.



How cute. <3 If you ever need something explain without spoilers, I'm your guy. The twenty things you brought up in that post I can explain.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 23, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
My backlog is too massive for me to have any real hope of playing through all of it, but I've decided to at least try. I started a couple things that I had sitting on my 3DS in the last few days.

First, I started playing through my Ambassador copy of Metroid Fusion. As I said in the other thread, I recently beat Super Metroid, and I was still in the mood for more so I moved on to this. It's a significant improvement over the SNES game in a lot of ways, and the story stuff isn't really bothering me too much, so I'm having a really good time with it.

Then, I began The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I'm somewhat infamous around these parts for my hatred of Link to the Past, and I've been meaning to go back and try it again lately but Nintendo refuses to release it on the Wii U VC, so I caved and began this game which I bought at launch for some reason. I'm barely into it, but so far I'm enjoying it.

Finally, I started the Bravely Default demo. This might seem counterproductive as it would seem to increase my backlog, and it has. As someone whose only real experience with JRPGs is the original Final Fantasy, the old-school nature of it makes me feel right at home. I've always been fascinated with the concept of job systems, and this seems like a good place to start. It's brutally hard; my party has been wiped out multiple times already, but I'm really liking it and now plan to pick the game up upon its release.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 23, 2014, 07:48:36 PM
To keep up my streak of digging into my backlog, I booted up Rune Factory 4. I'd always been intrigued by the series, being a pretty big Harvest Moon fan, but had never gotten around to playing one until now. Wow, there is a ton of stuff going on in this game. It takes Harvest Moon and then slaps on Diablo and SimCity to give you tons of different things to do. I've only scratched the surface, but I like it so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 26, 2014, 01:08:27 AM
Assassin's Creed IV:

I've gone into several times already, but to summarize my opinion of this series I thought ACII was good, but kind of empty, AC: Brotherhood was truly great, AC: Revelations was starting to wheeze, and ACIII was a mess and a chore to play.

I started IV to test out my new souped up Asus laptop, and got hooked against my expectations. The environments are beautiful and the radically open structure of the game is refreshing compared to the frog march of ACIII. I thoroughly enjoy all of the naval aspects, and the sense of powering up your ship as you go along is really satisfying. I also think I'd play a full-length whaling simulator, but I do love me some Moby Dick. The story is basically nonexistent/incoherent, which is fine with me, as it's not taking itself as tiresomely serious as ACIII, and Edward Kenway is amiable enough. As a bonus, there's no ludonarrative dissonance about senseless amoral killing because you're a pirate! There are some truly awful tailing/eavesdropping missions, though. It's clear at this point that they need to junk most of the standard gameplay design that hasn't evolved since II.

I actually like the meta-game stuff, which seems to be a standard complaint about this game. It's actually kind of funny, with employees complaining about how restrictive the settings for the series are and how annoying it is to pump out a new game every year. And there are some surprising connections with the present day narrative of past games, on top of a fun little espionage simulator (kind of like a light version of the home office in Deus Ex).

My biggest complaint at about the halfway point for main missions, side activities and collectibles is that there's just too damn much to do. I'll probably put 60 hours into this thing. I feel like they could shave off 30-40% of the activities and have the best game in the series. As of now I'm starting to get burnt out on picking up all the random chests and animus pieces scattered about, and I've barely touched the Assassin missions or underwater levels. Plus the second wave of naval and ground assassination assignments. And there's also the whole Kenway's fleet thing that I haven't touched because I refuse to engage with uPlay crap.

Even if you're weary of this series, I'd recommend giving it a shot, especially if you can resist collector-itis.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on January 26, 2014, 01:42:35 AM
Tales of Vesperia
Xcom enemy Unknown
Fire mblem Awakening.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 26, 2014, 03:37:04 AM
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii):
Got one perfect and a two superb medals. Playing the game on Wii U GamePad is such a joy -- you can plug headphones and you don't need to look at or move wiimote at all because it's all button based. Playing on gamepad also diminishes lag greatly which is crucial for this kind of game where you can be off by a few milliseconds and it's game over.

Such a great game. People praise EAD for being the best in the business, but for me Nintendo SPD with Rhythm Heaven and WarioWare series is just as good if not even better at what they do.

Still have three last medals, but they are Remix 9, Remix 10 (sooo long!) and Love Rap 2. The timing for beats in Lover Rap is almost impossible. I have no idea how i got Superb on the first one.

La Mulana (Steam):
I have no idea why i'm replaying this after beating it on Wii. For achievements, maybe? Looking at the clock at my save i might have a chance at beating the game in 10 hours should i choose to continue (getting achievement for beating it in 8 hours doesn't look probably because i remember how much i still have ahead of me).

I beat three bosses so far, unlocked seven or so levels (that's maybe half) -- all within three hours. Have fourth boss ready waiting for me, but i need to find one specific weapon to deal with him.

Music is still awesome, game is still awesome and now that i vaguely remember solutions to puzzles from last year, game becomes even more enjoyable. Until one of the bats of birds hit you...

FEZ (Spreadsheet edition):
"Beat" the game as in collected enough stuff for game to show me 2001 style ending. Now i am solving remaining puzzles. I have 30 cubes and 11 anti-cubes. I've cracked one code but still have a numerical system and alphabet to figure out.

I remember how people noticed that FEZ was the first game in year that forced them to use actual pen and paper to solve puzzles and decrypt made-up languages. These guys you obviously never played La-Mulana which has not one but two made-up languages.

I'm not sure if i feel like doing the frequency analysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_analysis) for the language in FEZ, but i might have need to, cause i'm running out of options.

It's kinda lame that the solution to a number of puzzles is just pressing buttons in specific order, i prefer you would actually interact with a world somehow like in Toki Tori 2 (which has became THE game for me to compare all other puzzle platformers to).

QR codes are kinda funny: creator probably thinks everyone has iPhones or something. Whatever, i used 3DS to solve them.

Music is very 80s, with emphasis on spacey electronic stuff. Funny how so many games have started doing this: Hotline Miami, Blood Dragon.

Currently stuck in red room, which is probably the hardest level platforming-wise in the game. You have to be very precise with timing and be quick because water is advancing from below.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 31, 2014, 02:52:36 AM
AiRace Speed:
Finished all tracks, still have about five last gold medals and four or so achievements...

Wonderful 101:
Getting through 101% hard and collecting last achievements. Achievement requiring you to basically play the game for yet two more times on easy and very is gonna suck... Got all wonderful and geathjerk files, but i am still missing last underground hidden item...

101% hard despite the name isn't super hard. Removing slowdown when drawing actually doesn't do much a difference -- or i am simply became that good. Yeah -- no game still kicks my ass every now and then. Still, i got two platinums by just playing and not going for score, so i don't suck completely...

FEZ:
Got all golden cubes, still have 8 last anti-cubes left... Magnet puzzles are one of the best uses of rumble feature, probably ever. I wonder how people playing with keyboard are supposed to solve this...

I got all artifacts and have a book that i can use to decrypt the language but i couldn't be bothered.

If the last cubes will turn to be unsolvable unless you start decrypt, i will probably leave it as is and claim the game finished -- after all, i already got one ending. Or just look up solution...

La Mulana:
Still re-playing. Got majority of the main weapons: axe, knife and such. I can get chained whip that is way too much hassle to struggle with somewhat broken controls to get to the area -- i remember first time it took me hours if not days to get there...

Opened majority of the worlds. Killed third and fourth boss, have fifth, Viy, coming up -- only have to find Ankh somewhere to summon him -- pretty sure i should get it from other world, probably Endless Corridor...

The puzzle in Endless Corridor where you have to touch portal in specific order is annoying because it's the first one that requires you to start decrypting the first language of La-Mulana, piece the info from two random tablets from two different worlds together and then actually find a way to execute it properly. By some miracle i managed to do it without knowing any of that in WiiWare version. This time i guess i will just look up the solution -- after all i am trying a speed run of sorts.

I am six hours in and i don't think i will be able to do it in ten... Still achivement for 14 hours might still be good enough.

Dark Souls:
Game has surprisingly many 3d platforming challenges despite not really built for that. Clumsy controls get somewhat cumbersome when you need to land on a small platform by jumping or rolling into it from the ledge above.

Found way to come back to Undead Asylum -- it's cool that tutorial area after you leave it is getting populated by much harder enemies. Thing with an egg that trades things with you is pretty stupid -- apparently you have to quit the game and load it again to finish the trade? Yeah...

Level up dialog sucks: i still don't understand how many souls exactly i need to level up or to boost my stats. I grinded souls a bit (the area where dragon keeps killing dudes for you on a bridge helps) and boosted my faith and affinity so now i can use magic. At first reading how many uses scrolls have i thought that it would be useless, but uses actually replenish at bonfires so that changes things drastically.

Explored graveyard a bit -- those giant skeletons... Got to catacombs and found myself on a ladder between two skeletons. Yeah...

Bit Trip Runner 2: Rhythm something something funny subtitle:
Got the game on sale on eShop last night. Ended up playing for three hours after starting it (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFKzHuhnw)... Great, addicting game.

Visual get somewhat busy for me though. Sometimes my vision gets confused as what obstacle exactly is coming up next and i mess up (or i just suck). Despite featuring simpler visuals, retro levels have even more of that -- you can easily miss a golden brick because it blends with a background (or it was the intention?).

Leaderboards amongst friends is a very cool feature -- even somewhat generic games can becomes very addicting simply because you want to trump your friends' records over and again. I had it with AiRace Speed and Zen Pinball and looking at yet another competition here...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on January 31, 2014, 07:57:49 PM
I just put a few minutes into A Link to the Past. Still good though I forgot how limiting the save feature is especially after playing Link's Awakening not too long ago. You can only start from Link's House or the Sanctuary even when you save in a dungeon. Boo/hiss
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on January 31, 2014, 09:27:05 PM
Isn't this why restore points exist?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on January 31, 2014, 11:57:34 PM
Yes, azeke, that's the point. It was just like that in the original game. (Er... if the fourth in the series can be the original game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 01, 2014, 07:47:15 AM
Isn't this why restore points exist?
Yes, probably. I went right for the save option due to force of habit. I was only pointing out how I forgot about A Link to the Past's save structure. I haven't played the game in over a decade. I thought it was like Link's Awakening where you start from the last entrance you used.

I'm also not used to Link's sword. It's much smaller than Link's Awakening. I've forgotten quite a bit though I remembered to pull the left switch in one screen because the right one released snakes. I'm pretty excited about rediscovering the game.

I ran into a bit of retconning already. Someone mentions the legend of how the Master Sword was forged which isn't how Skyward Sword tells it. I guess you can explain that away by saying the person was retelling a legend which changed over time as oral history often does. It seems far more likely that Nintendo's attitude was just, "Meh, story..."
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on February 03, 2014, 09:20:54 PM
Hurrrrr...

So, EA/DICE decided that it would be a good idea to run a player appreciation event during the entire month of February, y'know, since they've fixed everything.  They're probably trying to drum up sales of BF4/Premium, as well as get some people back into the game who left during the shitty launch.  Pachter speculated, and EA said as much, that the troubles they've had with the BF4 launch have not affected sales, but I'm sure the higher-ups at EA are smelling another worst company in America(however deserving they may be) award.

So, like a sucker, I decided to give it another shot.  Played a few matches over the weekend, and things went pretty well.  I mean, I still suck, but the game seemed fairly stable.  I didn't encounter much rubberbanding, or anything out of the ordinary.  So, today, I figured I'd get my frag on.  First match went well, but the last few have been frustrating.  I've had crash-to-desktops(with the lovely error message that "something went wrong"), sound glitches, textures not being drawn properly, and for a while I was unable to connect at all until I restarted the Battlelog client.  Not a great way to try to promote your game.

Gads, the game is so bloody fun when it's working, it is really tragic that the game is still having issues 3/4 months after launch.

The Last of Us - With the Left Behind DLC coming out on the 14th, I've gone back to revisit one of my favourite games of 2013(and the generation).  It's actually kind of a strange feeling playing a game like this when you are already familiar with its various systems.  I find myself moving with much more purpose through all the stealth portions, and spending much more time trying to enjoy the environment and stumble upon any little tidbits I may have missed on my previous runs.

I made it to the hotel, just after leaving Bill, and I hit a bit of a roadblock, much like I did the first time I played it.  I didn't like this section before, and it seems I still don't like it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 03, 2014, 09:40:05 PM
I feel the same way. II recently finished my sixth or seventh playthrough and I basically spent my playthrough slowly exploring the whole damn game.


However, I disagree about the par you are at, but I was one of those fucking crazies that beat the game on Survivor.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on February 03, 2014, 10:27:10 PM
Bit Trip Runner 2: Rhythm something something funny subtitle:
Got the game on sale on eShop last night. Ended up playing for three hours after starting it (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFKzHuhnw)... Great, addicting game.

Visual get somewhat busy for me though. Sometimes my vision gets confused as what obstacle exactly is coming up next and i mess up (or i just suck). Despite featuring simpler visuals, retro levels have even more of that -- you can easily miss a golden brick because it blends with a background (or it was the intention?).

Leaderboards amongst friends is a very cool feature -- even somewhat generic games can becomes very addicting simply because you want to trump your friends' records over and again. I had it with AiRace Speed and Zen Pinball and looking at yet another competition here...

Yoshidious aka Greg 'The Sweet Prince' Leahy seems to be the reigning king of Bit Trip Runner.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on February 04, 2014, 06:11:26 AM
The Left Behind DLC replaces every character model with Kirk Cameron.

You're welcome. :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 04, 2014, 10:31:43 AM
Wait what
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on February 04, 2014, 11:39:08 AM
Lol, I just got that.  Will the infected be feeding on party-sized subs?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Br26 on February 04, 2014, 06:10:30 PM
Total Extreme Wrestling 2013, by Greydog Software. I think only the nerdiest of wrestling fans have heard of it, but I can spend all day buidling my promotion and getting my guys over. Think the GM mode in the WWE games but far more extensive. Tough learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on February 04, 2014, 06:15:35 PM
Bit Trip Runner 2: Rhythm something something funny subtitle:
Got the game on sale on eShop last night. Ended up playing for three hours after starting it (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFKzHuhnw)... Great, addicting game.

Visual get somewhat busy for me though. Sometimes my vision gets confused as what obstacle exactly is coming up next and i mess up (or i just suck). Despite featuring simpler visuals, retro levels have even more of that -- you can easily miss a golden brick because it blends with a background (or it was the intention?).

Leaderboards amongst friends is a very cool feature -- even somewhat generic games can becomes very addicting simply because you want to trump your friends' records over and again. I had it with AiRace Speed and Zen Pinball and looking at yet another competition here...

Yoshidious aka Greg 'The Sweet Prince' Leahy seems to be the reigning king of Bit Trip Runner.
He's the King of Star Wars Pinball too. I hate that guy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 05, 2014, 12:14:41 AM
He's the King of Star Wars Pinball too. I hate that guy.
Befriend me, see my Zen Pinball 3D scores and weep ;p

Super Meat Boy:
Finishing up dark world and collecting bandages. I switched to using right trigger as run button because weird SMB physics often requires you to switch "run mode" on and off independently from jump button and that is hard to do when you're doing it with one finger. Now i can do it with run on pointer finger and jump on my thumb. Run mode even feels like it is analog controlled (?!) -- as i said weeeird platforming physics.

La Mulana:
Five bosses done (http://steamcommunity.com/id/azeke/stats/LaMulana). With 8 something hours on my save and there is no way i'm doing the rest in remaining 2 hours.

Did special effort to do "Run to Ruin" achievement which requires to do one puzzle in a hard way instead of much easier solution involving hidden passage through a wall. That requires mastering (again) weird platforming physics of La-Mulana -- you need to make effort to abuse double jump momentum and avoid falling off platforms because that takes way too much time and you need to loop around entire level filled with spikes and platforms in 16 seconds.

I did it because i remember doing it in WiiWare version (for the hell of it, because obviously it doesn't have braggable achievements) and boy it was SO much easier to do with Wiimote compared to 360 controller. While i generally use left stick, i was forced to use 360's abhorrent d-pad because as bad as it is, it's still a d-pad and thus will never mess up inputs and press "down" or "left" unless i really meant to do it, like 360's stick tends to do.

Bit Trip Runner (PC and Wii complete version):
Speaking of wiimote superiority.

I started playing first game on steam because i loved playing second on on Wii U. Within one day i beat first world and got to later levels of second one. Then for the heck of it, i checked out Wii version on Bit Trip Complete disc.

Maaan, within the hour i beat world 1 AND 2 and got to the half of world 3. It's not because i already memorized sequences -- it's simply because of controller (and/or maybe lag?).

Wiimote's mushy buttons are so much better for this than 360's clicky buttons, it's not even funny. It's much easier to mash them very fast (which you will do in Runner often) when there is basically zero effort to press buttons and they're basically "transparent", compared to 360's buttons which you need to put some however small force to "penetrate" to make them click and then they even have very small but noticeable cooldown time to "unpress".

It gets crucial when you need to press A button four times within half a second. I casually do perfect runs on Wii version while i struggled to even beat same levels with 360 controller on PC.

I can't even do it with a keyboard in Steam version -- because keyboard's space button is even more clicky and has even bigger travel distance to press and unpress.

SpaceChem (Steam demo):
I always wanted to get into it but it just looked so intimidating. Yesterday i watched this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTRt0gtNSVk) and it explained mechanics of the game enough for me to start it.

It feels like... work. Not because it's tedious or boring but because that exactly what i do for work. I am programmer and i get paid to solve problems exactly like that. I still enjoy SpaceChem, a lot, just as much i do enjoy devising good algorithmic solutions and implement them in my project AND get paid for it. So it feels weird to do this for fun and spend brain cells that you otherwise save for work. I might never actually buy full game because of this...

It doesn't feel like that with other puzzle game, because Spacechem is probably as close to programming as game gets -- it's basically post machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post–Turing_machine) and it's complete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_completeness) meaning that you can compute anything with it if you put enough effort.

Interface is weird and needs a bit more polish but workable. Game is borked at the moment (http://steamcommunity.com/app/92800/discussions/0/630802979715100397/) but there's a workaround.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on February 05, 2014, 01:23:35 PM
He's the King of Star Wars Pinball too. I hate that guy.
Befriend me, see my Zen Pinball 3D scores and weep ;p
I shall do just that! I am always up for some more self-loathing.
Or you can send me a req: Sensei-K
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 05, 2014, 01:52:32 PM
Quote

SpaceChem (Steam demo):
I always wanted to get into it but it just looked so intimidating. Yesterday i watched this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTRt0gtNSVk) and it explained mechanics of the game enough for me to start it.

It feels like... work. Not because it's tedious or boring but because that exactly what i do for work. I am programmer and i get paid to solve problems exactly like that. I still enjoy SpaceChem, a lot, just as much i do enjoy devising good algorithmic solutions and implement them in my project AND get paid for it. So it feels weird to do this for fun and spend brain cells that you otherwise save for work. I might never actually buy full game because of this...

It doesn't feel like that with other puzzle game, because Spacechem is probably as close to programming as game gets -- it's basically post machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post–Turing_machine) and it's complete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_completeness) meaning that you can compute anything with it if you put enough effort.

Interface is weird and needs a bit more polish but workable. Game is borked at the moment (http://steamcommunity.com/app/92800/discussions/0/630802979715100397/) but there's a workaround.

You ever hear of this? http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/01/robot_odyssey_the_hardest_computer_game_of_all_time.html

Games:

Tomb Raider


I'm liking this game a lot more than I expected. Tons of stuff to scrounge around for, puzzle caves, constant XP boosts. It feels like a non-sleazy way to juice the players brain for reward dopamine constantly, without resorting to Assassin's Creed style gamification. Shooting gameplay is kind of lame, but unfortunately par for the course these days.

Metro: Last Light

I had the impression that this was sort of a more approachable take on Fallout, but so far it's an extremely linear shooter of the older school variety. You can take a ton of damage, which makes things flexible, so that's kind of refreshing in the context of today's military shooters and cover shooters. Looks really nice on my PC. Not lighting my world on fire, but I'll most likely finish it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on February 06, 2014, 10:43:06 PM
I played Outlast on PS4 for a good 10 minutes before I realized I can't play the game for the same reason I can't bring myself to watch horror movies anymore: I don't like being startled/scared.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 07, 2014, 01:03:05 AM
You ever hear of this? http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/01/robot_odyssey_the_hardest_computer_game_of_all_time.html
No (born and raised in Soviet Union, remember?), but it looks interesting enough. Though it seems there is no modern port of it to any platform. There was some guy who said he's done homebrew DS port of it but he's gone silent since 2009,

I played Outlast on PS4 for a good 10 minutes before I realized I can't play the game for the same reason I can't bring myself to watch horror movies anymore: I don't like being startled/scared.
Same: i have no idea why i bought Fatal Frame 2 on Wii -- because i don't see myself playing it in any near future because of this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ymeegod on February 08, 2014, 07:37:53 PM
Throwing in the towel on Project X Zone.  I'm not even at the halfway point yet (but I'm at 20 playing hours) and the game is tiresome at best.  To many characters, little backstory, and there's really no strategy needed. 

Instead I'm finally getting around to playing Mario and Luigi Dream Team. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on February 09, 2014, 11:27:33 PM
Total Extreme Wrestling 2013, by Greydog Software. I think only the nerdiest of wrestling fans have heard of it, but I can spend all day buidling my promotion and getting my guys over. Think the GM mode in the WWE games but far more extensive. Tough learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's fun.


I played the free version (2005?) and it was alright. It's insanely niche but it scratches an itch. I'm downloading WWE 2k14 just so I can get my hands on the Universe mode, while at the same time being able to hop in a play a match or two.


Knytt Underground
This game is consuming me at the moment. Chapter 3 is such a massive map. I've clocked in approx. 10 hours and I still have only 60% of the map uncovered and I've only rung two of the six bells. But I haven't felt cheated by the game in any way. Partly because I'm still discovering new rooms every time I fire up the game. And the puzzles and challenges keep coming in such a way that make the game easy to digest in quick hourly bursts.


Lego City Underground
Very funny and entertaining game. I'm currently sticking to the story, but with what I'm seeing of the open world so far, I could very well spend tons of hours finding everything. It's just a question of if I want to.


F1 2012
Loved playing the Dirt series on Xbox. Codemasters works wonders with these niche simulation games. Since I'm already an F1 fan this game is right up my alley. It's perfect once it clicks, but it does have a steep learning curve, even with some assists turned on.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 10, 2014, 12:15:08 AM
Wolf Among Us (first free episode on Xbox360):
Abysmal performance: jittery animation, eye piercing framerate, loading screens that take about the same time as scenes they load in.

Absolutely mindblowing to see these hacks getting critical recognition while they keep producing broken products game after game after game.

Art style is very cool though, and 80s theme that somehow became all the rage recently is appreciated. But it's a shame seeing it wasted on such a dreck.

Rayman Legends (Xbox360):
Beat Luchador boss -- it begins exactly like one of the bosses in Super Meat Boy and but later part is different. Noticed some slowdown when lots of fireball appeared at once -- now i want to check out how the same part perform on Wii U.

Played Mariachi Madness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9yxnJ_3IPA) which is amazing like all musical levels. I can't say that musical levels is the best thing in this game because there is only one level per world in this game and five levels is less than 1 percent of the entire package, but they're nice distraction.

Wonderful 101:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzReZkbASxhw0tQ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEd0zlv1g)
After 130+ hours, i'm at the last stretch. Only have the last grand finale operation and epilogue left on hardest difficulty.

Unlocked Rodin -- he's amazing and probably the most useful of all secret characters so far. Lots of damage AND combo points: been getting platinums without even trying (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW6vzxJBg) with him.

Metroid (3DS VC):
Restarted it. This time with a printed map by me -- because aint nobody got no time to deal with no in-game map. Got batteries, rockets and L thing (whatever it does) by memory and used map to get freeze ray.

Had a few friends coming over this saturday: played some SplitSecond then

Super Mario 3D World:
Weirdly, Plessie level that is usually kinda boring to play by yourself becomes very fun in multi. We all had to coordinate to decide which way to go and often went laughing like "where are you going, man?".

Also later, i showed them Beep Block Skyway (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2A0eMd69A4#t=7m05s). As great to play it by yourself it becomes exponentially more fun to play with three people with each one having a crowd of clones.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 14, 2014, 02:49:01 PM
Maverick Bird (http://terrycavanaghgames.com/maverickbird/) (free web game):
Great music. Cavanagh is master of making you trip through the game with his signature psychedelic visuals and sound effects. The feeling when you literally pierce your previous score with a sound effect and music and colours change really messes you up in a good way. My highest score is 23.

Jelly no Puzzle (pc freeware, also has HTML5 web version (http://martine.github.io/jelly/)):
I was stuck on level 19 for a few months now, trying and failing to solve it on my lunch breaks. FINALLY, was able to break it yesterday and immediately solved a dozen levels after that. A few of them were very easy. Got to level 34.
Generally to solve the level in this game you need to find the only possible final configuration that jellies have to be in and then go backwards from that to figure out a way for you to position them in that configuration.
Also remember that puzzles in this game are designed in "rigid" way like a diamond -- can't add anything and can't remove anything without ruining it. Every single thing is important and often the parts of the level that you don't understand why they're even here turn out to be the key to solution.
By the way i checked if HTML5 version works on Wii U or even 3DS. For some reason it almost works on 3DS (you can click on blocks moving them left, but there's no way to simulate right click to move blocks to the right) but doesn't work at all on Wii U.

The Swapper: (Steam)
Controller support that they added is rather clunky.  Feels almost like playing the game with XPadder profile. Still it's workable and i appreciate they added it.
As to gameplay itself. Puzzles in this game are nothing like puzzles in Jelly no Puzzles. They are extemely "loose", meaning one can solve them all without knowing any rules and just by messing around.

In fact that's exactly how i am playing the game. I still don't know and don't care to know what each coloured rays of light do exactly -- what for if i solved every single puzzle in the game without this knowledge just by messing around mindlessly?

Still, the atmosphere and sci-fi theme are very cool.

Super Mario Bros Deluxe (3DS VC game, free game for registering NNID):
It's SMB, alright. Ridicilously small screen of GBC definitely gets in a way. And the worst part isn't even that you can't see too much ahead but that you sometimes can't see what's on top of you and what's right below. You can stop and press up or down to scroll screen vertically, but that's not always possible.
I'm mostly playing it to replay Lost Levels that are supposedly included in this version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on February 14, 2014, 08:09:52 PM
As of two weeks ago, I started back playing Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. My curiosity piqued a couple of fortnights ago with the imminent Patch 2.1, A Realm Awoken, and now I've jumped head first into all of the new content. And wow, are there tons of it. New Hard Mode dungeons based on previous low level areas, Copperbell Mines and Haukke Manor, the Crystal Tower raid dungeon (incredible, really), and the new Duty Finder Roulette - which allows for obtaining the highly sought after tomestones of mythology and philosophy...a currency used to purchased higher level and better overall gear. New questlines have been created extending the original 2.0 release's story, too. Oh, and there's the new Lion's Den PVP area which I haven't even participated in yet.

So much new content. Seriously, join me on Hyperion! We'll have a blast.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on February 14, 2014, 08:55:19 PM
Recently I've been playing these games:

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (PS3) - I find it funny how I used to rent games at Blockbuster for exorbitant cost and now I can just check out games from the library, have them hold titles under my name, ask for specific games if they don't possess them yet, etc.

Anyway, about the game, it's nice to see the series go back to its roots after two admitted failures of the franchise. It's a short game, maybe five hours, but there's the series mainstay challenge mode to add more time to the game.

Shinobi (3DS) - I don't care for particular parts of the game (tilting the 3DS to dodge rocks down a water slide), and levels are too long, meaning if you die, you basically have to redo 10-50 minutes of gameplay. At least, that's how it is in every mode besides Beginner. That mode offers unlimited lives. The action is awesome, I feel like a badass beating down foes, parrying, wall jumping, etc. Wasn't a bad buy at $15, even though I know it is available for much cheaper elsewhere.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) - Loving my town. It looks so awesome. There's something truly cool about putting a lot of effort in something and over time it becoming something really remarkable. It's a good feeling.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (GCN) - Playing this game solo, as the requirement for multiplayer is way too much money. Still, I love this dungeon crawler with hack and slash gameplay. The soundtrack is one of my absolute favorites. So earthen and rustic. The game's visuals still look pretty impressive to this day.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 14, 2014, 10:26:55 PM
Darksiders II (WiiU)

What a strange platypus of a game this is. Sort of Zelda, sort of Lords of Shadow, but with a gun mechanic and a loot-based RPG system and a Prince of Persia traversal backbone. Here I was expecting a relatively straight Zelda clone.

I'm about halfway through and I'm having an assortment of issues with it. The combat is mostly a pain in the ass, and the gauntlet rooms drive me nuts. You can't shield, only dodge, and it's hard to keep track of the damage you take as there's little feedback. I find myself dying unnecessarily after getting picked at by crowds and not realizing my health is plummeting until it's too late.

The style of the game is kind of terrible, like it was based on prog rock album covers. It's saved somewhat by Death's entertainingly campy delivery. Big chunks of the game world are kind of bleak and uninviting, though, which makes the game less appealing to pick back up after a gap. And there's not much to do outside of dungeons, so it's just kind of one to next to the next.

Overall the controls feel a bit laggy, the reticule is slow and clumsy, and Death runs too slow, which can cause impatience in the sprawled out dungeons. There's also an absurd amount of crap loaded onto the controls, and it's kind of impossible to fight fluidly while using different abilities because you have to think about which of five or six combinations of shoulder buttons to hold down.

Outside of weapons the gear system feels kind of pointless, as Death never seems to get appreciably stronger as I go along. The skill tree is also a bit of a whiff, I almost never use those abilities.

On the whole, though, I'm enjoying it, because it's core is basically Zelda-dungeons with Prince of Persia sprinkled on top, and the level design is quite well done. In a world where games like this were still being made regularly, I'd probably not like it nearly as much, but this is probably about it until Zelda WiiU. I'd say the whole is substantially better here than the sum of the parts.


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 14, 2014, 11:55:17 PM
Titanfall (beta) - XBox One

Technically I'm just downloading it right now, I'll probably put up a Twitch stream tomorrow night.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 15, 2014, 12:18:33 AM
Good luck getting into a game. Server failure is pretty common right now. More like Titanfail amirite?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on February 15, 2014, 03:25:10 AM
Don't worry, this is EA we're talking about here.  I'm sure everything will be running fine by the time the game launches...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 15, 2014, 11:12:58 PM
I'm playing Danganronpa on the Vita. If you love Virtue's Last Reward and Phoenix Wright, go buy this game. It takes the best aspects of both and blends them together in a very delightful mix. There's even a bit of Persona in there with the way you can spend time with characters to gain skills & stats for use in the courtroom sequences. Hell, its court battles blow the **** out of Phoenix Wright's increasingly stale version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on February 15, 2014, 11:32:52 PM
I watched the first few episodes of the anime, but it didn't really catch my attention.  If I didn't find the anime all that exciting, is the game any different?

Also, *facepalm* at the Titanfall beta.  I signed up for the PC beta, and I've now received TWO Xbox One beta keys, this latest one coming after the announcement that the beta will be open to all on the Xbox One.  On the bright side, apparently they are planning on opening the beta up on PC, too, leaving some seriously salty people who paid for beta codes.

I've heard that Titanfall succeeds at making noobs feel better about their crappy skills, which is great since I'm a noob.  I was playing BF4 and got my ass reamed by some 12 year old for hurting the team, despite having a score in the top-10 on a large conquest map.  I kind of remembered why I stopped playing online for over 10 years.

I played a bit more of Call of Juarez: Gunslinger today.  I really like this game in bits and pieces, but the formula wears thin after 30-45 mins.  Then it gets put back into the backlog until I feel like playing it again.  The game manages to recreate the feel of some of those old lightgun games, which is really damned awesome.  I think the game sometimes pulls you away from the experience a little too often with the narration of the storyline.  Sometimes, with a game like this, you really just want to get in and blast away.

And after a bunch of time with Assetto Corsa and Gran Turismo 6, I tried to put a bit of time into F1 2013.  Boy, Codemasters's force feedback and wheel simulation is terrible after playing the two aforementionned games.  I tried forever to dial in a setting that I would feel comfortable driving with, but I could never get it right.  The feedback feels incredibly delayed at times, and sometimes disappears altogether.  It took me a while to realize that I'd need to go into my wheel's settings and change the degrees of rotation manually, which helped immensely.  After spending a while with a bunch of different racing games, from Gran Turismo to rFactor, I can really understand the disdain for Codemasters latest games from the hardcore sim community.  The games are great fun for the uninitiated, but once you expand your horizons, it seems impossible to go back.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 15, 2014, 11:41:02 PM
I watched the first few episodes of the anime, but it didn't really catch my attention.  If I didn't find the anime all that exciting, is the game any different?

I haven't seen the show, so I couldn't tell you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 16, 2014, 02:33:58 AM
Also, *facepalm* at the Titanfall beta.  I signed up for the PC beta, and I've now received TWO Xbox One beta keys
You should sell those, make some money.

I've heard that Titanfall succeeds at making noobs feel better about their crappy skills, which is great since I'm a noob.
Well the first weapon in the game is a smart gun, which has a reticule taking half of a screen and it auto-aims to everyone who gets inside it. It makes sense because this is a game made to be played with incredibly crappy dual analog control scheme on consoles.

This reminds me of how i loved TF2 because of how less demanding on your aiming skill it was. There were maybe two classes where your mouse twitch reaction made a big difference.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on February 16, 2014, 08:34:23 AM
Also, *facepalm* at the Titanfall beta.  I signed up for the PC beta, and I've now received TWO Xbox One beta keys
You should sell those, make some money.

It'd be worthless. They opened the beta for everyone on Xbone.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 16, 2014, 08:55:04 AM
Etrian Odyssey Untold (3DS) is pretty much spectacular. Granted I have a thing for old-school dungeon crawlers... but they did a great job polishing the game and giving some narrative to make it easier to start playing with a "standard" party.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 16, 2014, 11:09:38 AM

Well the first weapon in the game is a smart gun, which has a reticule taking half of a screen and it auto-aims to everyone who gets inside it. It makes sense because this is a game made to be played with incredibly crappy dual analog control scheme on consoles.


Your console hate literally makes no sense when the same gun is present on the PC version. PC master race fail
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 16, 2014, 12:03:27 PM
On a side note, the game really isn't that fun. Granted I only just played the tutorial and one multiplayer match (which I got into instantly), but I don't see this being a $60 game, especially with no single player mode. $40 would be more like it. I guess it's kind of cool that they added a double jump and wall running, but you look absolutely retarded running (while you can't aim), but wall running and jumping has your gun right in front of you. Again, I only played one match, went 5 and 10 on minion kills and had one titan kill...but I turned it right off after that match.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 16, 2014, 12:35:12 PM
On a side note, the game really isn't that fun.
Granted i didn't actually played it myself and don't see myself ever paying EA for it but i really liked what i saw from Giant Bomb's footage.

It's fast like UT but doesn't seem like a endless slog of die-shoot-die-shoot-die like CoD seems to be.

Traversal options remind me of Unreal Tournament, of course UT had way more tricks -- like you could do double sidejump, then wall jump, then do another double jump off that. All the while shooting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on February 16, 2014, 01:58:11 PM
Yeah, that's about my impressions, too.  I finally got my PC key and I played 4 matches.  The game is fine, but I doubt it would hold my attention for very long.  The game is best as a pilot, as the traversal system is actually pretty fun.  I really enjoyed playing cat and mouse with the mechs, and the system of wall-running makes it much more difficult for them to anticipate where you will attack from.  There were a few times when my mech would be ready, and I would ignore it because I was having way more fun playing on the ground.

Also, I refuse to call them anything but mechs.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 16, 2014, 02:22:29 PM
Are they not called mechs in game?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on February 16, 2014, 02:28:26 PM
Are they not called mechs in game?
Thats the joke.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 16, 2014, 02:33:17 PM
I wonder what they call those things in the game TITAN fall. Jebus H Cripes. I guess having it "fast" like UT is necessary for a multiplayer-only game, but you just look stupid running and jumping with two hands on a pistol in front of you that shoots JFK-style magic bullets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on February 16, 2014, 04:08:27 PM
No need to be an ass, Brandogg. It was an honest question, you could act like a decent person and either answer it or ignore it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 24, 2014, 12:36:14 AM
The Last of Us
This is a really great movie I'm supposed to be playing...

The gameplay so far is pretty shallow: walk, hide, press the square button a bunch of times. The Last of Us does a lot in terms of advancing the cinematic element in games, but I also think that's exactly what's wrong with the industry these days. Games are far more focused on telling a story than being fun, instead of telling a story AND being fun or even just being fun. Maybe I'm just an old man at 29 and I just don't get modern video games. I cherish the gameplay parts more than anything else. I'm have some difficulty staying engaged when I feel like I'm barely doing anything interactive. I'm going to stick it out for now; I just hope it gets better (from what I hear, it does). If it doesn't, I'll probably just watch the cutscenes on youtube.

Also, a lot of "fucks" in the dialog. I use the word so it's not about being offended by it or anything like that, but I find it distracting when used excessively.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
I was hoping I'd like the art style more in person. I don't. It's an odd choice. Nintendo wanted to make a sequel to A Link to the Past, but the game doesn't capture the spirit of its predecessor. If they weren't going to match the look, I don't know why they didn't just go with the toon style. A Link Between Worlds looks so generic.

More importantly, the stages are a bit more confusing than A Link to the Past. I had some trouble knowing where I could even go as some paths in dungeons aren't especially clear. I found myself running in circles not knowing what to do. Maybe it's easier with 3D on (I always leave it off). Hyrule feels smaller, but that might just be because the view is zoomed in and Link runs faster. The sliding screen is clearly a throwback to A Link to the Past, but it makes less sense here because the map isn't split into a grid.

The game is a bit directionless. Fans have wanted less handholding, but this is perhaps overdoing it as there's barely any hint of where to go next. I'm supposed to collect two more pendants. I've just been running around, cutting grass/bushes, and collecting rupees since I have no idea where to go or what to do next. I think I need flippers, but I need the Pegasus Boots first. I happened upon the power glove and suddenly Ravio is selling **** out of my house. Sure, okay. There's no real indication that I was supposed to do that. Most Zelda games pick up after the whole collect-three-artifacts-then-watch-a-major-plot-point happens so I just need to soldier through until then.

The Master Sword was mentioned already (and Link is holding it in promo art) so I presume it shows up later and no longer sleeps forever. Nice, Nintendo. Really doing a bang up job adhering to that official timeline.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 24, 2014, 02:52:19 AM
This is a really great movie I'm supposed to be playing...

The gameplay so far is pretty shallow: walk, hide, press the square button a bunch of times. The Last of Us does a lot in terms of advancing the cinematic element in games, but I also think that's exactly what's wrong with the industry these days. Games are far more focused on telling a story than being fun, instead of telling a story AND being fun or even just being fun. Maybe I'm just an old man at 29 and I just don't get modern video games. I cherish the gameplay parts more than anything else. I'm have some difficulty staying engaged when I feel like I'm barely doing anything interactive...
My main problem with this trend is that the people who do this kind of games and and people who consume and like it seemingly lost ability get emotion and satisfaction out of the gameplay itself as a process.

Gameplay for them is something you have to suffer through, a token lip service you OUGHT to have, means to the end to tell their pretentious story. It would be justifiable somewhat if at least their stories were any good, but nope, these stories would have got them F at most at middle school literary classes.

Developers don't know anymore how to make player feel empowered, except that to show him a pretty CGI movie when your avatara does something awesome and player is fed awesomeness through this surrogate.

Videogame is a dance, a waltz between player and a game/developer where one partner completely dominating the other just makes for a sour experience.

A few notes on what i've been playing.

La Mulana (Steam):
Beat Baphomet and Palenque. Baphomet was pretty hard, Palenque was very easy. It was funny that i remembered that both of them have one last trick they try as they're dying and i knew what i have to do to survive.

Now, i have one boss -- Tiamat, then short boss rush and then final boss. As i remember from first playthrough, Tiamat is the hardest boss in entire game, even harder than final boss. And considering final boss has almost ten final forms, you can imagine what a hell it was to beat Tiamat the first time...

Also, as i was looking up puzzle solutions that i forgot from last year, i found that there is some sizable speed running community around the game. The current record holder completed the game in less than two hours (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4a4O0HwstA) which very, very cool and totally doable by anyone actually, if one spends enough time with planning.

I don't think you even need to do any sequence breaking or resort to glitches because the game is already extremely non-linear.

Mega Man I:
Beat all robots which as i understand is not super hard. I do the same stupid routine with I and II -- i beat all nine robots then unlock Wily's levels and then stop for some reason and then a few months later i start over.

In 1, i am now stuck in the very first Wily level with the green flying platforms. It's kinda annoying that they're uncontrollable and when they don't align for you to jump on and progress though this hall level full of spikes. And then you just wait and wait for them to stand in a position and they never do...

Wonderful 101
Unlocked last 101st achievement, unlocked Kamiya (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW6-E9cTg) and Bayonetta. It was cool.

Pikmin 2 (Wii version):
I just can't get over how great this game looks. Those rose petals, smoke, water and lens flare when rockets take off...

And the game itself is no slouch. You can argue if Pikmin is RTS or not but it definitely can get just as addicting. I stayed up to 4 am playing it. At Sunday night. Fully realizing i will have to be at work merely a few hours later. And even at work you can't help but to think about strategy and how you should tackle the next day.

I don't like how the only way to get white and purple pikmins is to go underground, get through a few floors, find flowers, and feed regular pikmin to flowers there. But it's not a huge deal and some floors have direct exits to surface so you don't have to go ALL the way down and kill the boss again to get out.

Dungeons themselves are kinda weird, timer stops there and you are saved after each floor (thank god, because some of them are so deep, nine floors or even more, seriously?) but you don't get reinforcements. So you need to enter with a lot of pikmins. And you need specific pikmins in your party too. More than once i found that i need white pikmin to progress or dig up treasure after i entered the dungeon.

Olimar's journal is weird and touching at the same time. One time you read how Olimar thinks about his family or how adults lose childish innocence of looking at starry sky and then he writes something goofy. And now as i unlocked "Sales pitch" where robot adds his commentary on top of Olimar's comments and they're just as amusing.

Interesting how treasures are actually grouped thematically and if you finish collecting it all in one theme, you upgrade some ability like stronger punch or better traction on ice.

I really liked how different enemies are. Not just "here is red monster, kill it with red pikmins, here blue monster kill it with blue pikmin". There is an enemy that is best to kill without any pikmin, just by yourself. There are enemies that don't harm your pikmin but actually upgrade them.

DoDonPachi DaiOuJou (MAME):
I've actually been playing this and other shmups on and off few a few months now.

They're actually amazing. I highly recommend anyone to try them out if you can (plan to get one of the Cave's 360 games soon). The feeling when you finish a level without dying and without using bombs is really something else. It's just so exhilarating when entire screen gets covered with bullets and yet you find openings, survive and destroy everything.

I also really like mechanic where mashing shoot button does one type of fire and and holding is something else like laser.

At first this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vNuz4OEDJk) seemed absolutely impossible and completely overwhelming visually but now i can totally do it and i am not even THAT good at videogames to be honest. Cave's shooters have a "heart" for a hitbox meaning that only the center pixel of your ship matters and you actually can be a little sloppy dodging things. It's very doable.

I also play a bit of Toaplan shooters, namely Truxton and they're much harder mainly because your entire ship is the hitbox and if anything touches like your wing you're dead. So you can't be sloppy at all. And while there are only like ten or so bullets on screen at a time dodging them is harder because they're faster and again larger hitbox.

Toaplan shooters also have that quirk that they don't have auto-fire button on purpose and you're supposed to mash button the entire time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 24, 2014, 04:46:47 AM
This is a really great movie I'm supposed to be playing...

The gameplay so far is pretty shallow: walk, hide, press the square button a bunch of times. The Last of Us does a lot in terms of advancing the cinematic element in games, but I also think that's exactly what's wrong with the industry these days. Games are far more focused on telling a story than being fun, instead of telling a story AND being fun or even just being fun. Maybe I'm just an old man at 29 and I just don't get modern video games. I cherish the gameplay parts more than anything else. I'm have some difficulty staying engaged when I feel like I'm barely doing anything interactive...
My main problem with this trend is that the people who do this kind of games and and people who consume and like it seemingly lost ability get emotion and satisfaction out of the gameplay itself as a process.

Gameplay for them is something you have to suffer through, a token lip service you OUGHT to have, means to the end to tell their pretentious story. It would be justifiable somewhat if at least their stories were any good, but nope, these stories would have got them F at most at middle school literary classes.

Developers don't know anymore how to make player feel empowered, except that to show him a pretty CGI movie when your avatara does something awesome and player is fed awesomeness through this surrogate.

Videogame is a dance, a waltz between player and a game/developer where one partner completely dominating the other just makes for a sour experience.



Totally agree. Even some reviews that lauded TLOU had offhand comments like "sure, the game is completely mediocre, but it's got an Oscar-worthy story!" Even if that were true it would be a completely misguided way to design a video game. And as you said, the stories are terrible. TLOU's script it abysmal. I really think game journalism is the lowest form of entertainment journalism, which itself is famously a joke. Read a book, people, learn what actual good writing is. I think this whole topic was best summed up by a game developer giving an interview once who said something along the lines of "Games and narrative don't go together like peanut butter and chocolate. They go together like peanut butter and tuna fish."

Game!

Puzzle Agent:

Weird little Layton clone with an intentionally lo-fi look to it. I enjoyed the one Layton game I played, but the formula wore thin for me halfway through. Puzzle Agent avoids this problem by being 2-3 longs, and it felt like a refreshing trifle as a result. Some of the puzzles do a poor job of explaining what you're supposed to be doing, but the hint system is always there to belay frustration.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 24, 2014, 07:44:23 AM
Read a book, people, learn what actual good writing is. I think this whole topic was best summed up by a game developer giving an interview once who said something along the lines of "Games and narrative don't go together like peanut butter and chocolate. They go together like peanut butter and tuna fish."
I don't agree with this at all. Just because a book is printed and published doesn't mean it's good. The Da Vinci Code is well researched, but I wouldn't call it good writing. In fact, at that point, Dan Brown wrote two books with the same structure, including The Da Vinci Code's prequel, Angels and Demons (the other was Deception Point or something). I didn't even bother reading Brown's two follow-ups.

More apt to this discussion, I think you can have narrative in video games, but developers have to be smart about it. Super Metroid's story is pretty minimal and the development team made a lot of smart choices. The trick is to use gameplay as an impulse. Samus gets the strongest weapon in the game after the baby Metroid sacrifices itself. Who doesn't want to murder the **** out of Mother Brain at that point? Instead of watching the encounter, the developers hand the reigns over to the player. That's the difference between that scene in Super Metroid and that same scene all stylized in Other M. And brevity isn't necessarily the key to a successful game narrative. Rather, involving the player and making them feel that their actions matter is.

And no, quick time events do not count because they're very shallow attempts at player input. There's a scene at the beginning of The Last of Us where Joel kicks through a windshield except you have to press a button a few times. That's insulting to me as a player because Naughty Dog took that much longer for me to get to actual gameplay. Developers get so wrapped up in making movies that they seem to forget why they even have a job.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 24, 2014, 03:39:58 PM
Read a book, people, learn what actual good writing is. I think this whole topic was best summed up by a game developer giving an interview once who said something along the lines of "Games and narrative don't go together like peanut butter and chocolate. They go together like peanut butter and tuna fish."
I don't agree with this at all. Just because a book is printed and published doesn't mean it's good. The Da Vinci Code is well researched, but I wouldn't call it good writing. In fact, at that point, Dan Brown wrote two books with the same structure, including The Da Vinci Code's prequel, Angels and Demons (the other was Deception Point or something). I didn't even bother reading Brown's two follow-ups.

More apt to this discussion, I think you can have narrative in video games, but developers have to be smart about it. Super Metroid's story is pretty minimal and the development team made a lot of smart choices. The trick is to use gameplay as an impulse. Samus gets the strongest weapon in the game after the baby Metroid sacrifices itself. Who doesn't want to murder the **** out of Mother Brain at that point? Instead of watching the encounter, the developers hand the reigns over to the player. That's the difference between that scene in Super Metroid and that same scene all stylized in Other M. And brevity isn't necessarily the key to a successful game narrative. Rather, involving the player and making them feel that their actions matter is.

And no, quick time events do not count because they're very shallow attempts at player input. There's a scene at the beginning of The Last of Us where Joel kicks through a windshield except you have to press a button a few times. That's insulting to me as a player because Naughty Dog took that much longer for me to get to actual gameplay. Developers get so wrapped up in making movies that they seem to forget why they even have a job.

By "read a book" I meant "read a good book." I truly think that a lot of people praising modern day video game storytelling and saying things like AMC tv shows are the new Dickens probably haven't touched a literary novel outside of maybe having to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Scarlet Letter in high school.

I agree with you about Super Metroid, though; that's the type and weighting of narrative I care to see. Another good example I would site is Half Life 2. The story is fairly minimal and you rarely ever loose control. There's still that "walk along with your gun down as sometimes jabbers at you" thing that has gotten out of hand in recent years, but it's implemented well in HL2.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on February 24, 2014, 05:48:50 PM
Horton Hears A Who has more depth and charm that the entirety of The Last of Us' story.  :cool;


Onto something more serious,


Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - going to do my challenge mode run now


Kung Fu Rabbit - Liking this game. I thought it'd be over quickly, but there's more than meets the eye.


Yoshi's Island DS - Playing this in anticipation for Yoshi's New Island. I remember disliking the music when I originally played this game when it released, but I'm sort of finding myself humming along to many of the themes. That said, these new themes don't hold a candle to the SNES original. Also, this game is DARN HARD.


Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - My brother and I have made it halfway through World 3. Loving this game more than the original.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 26, 2014, 01:26:34 AM
A few updates from my last night:

Pacman Chamionship DX+ (Xbox 360):
I really like frantic and hyper nature of this game. Neon-styled visuals and effects also add to effect when you chomp down a line of hundreds of ghosts and suddenly speed up to twice the original speed.

It's kinda shame how little actual content game has. It's basically 7-8 maps and then bunch of time trials and other goal based challenges put on each map. But -- that's understandable -- not much you can do with Pacman without starting to change the main gameplay way too much.

Getting into top 5% of world leaderboard isn't super hard (i suspect it's because majority of players simply never bothered to go that far) but it still feels good. I got "S" on challenge where i have to collect 34 apples as fast as i can. After making sure i woke up as much ghosts as i can at the start to gain speed i got to 2:48 (original default time was 3:40 something).

It's stupid that apples are lined up in two rows on the left and right sides of the screen with separate counters so you can't just look there and immediately tell how much apples are left.

And i am still on the first map. I unlocked second map and but haven't started going at it. So completing everything will take me a while.

Mega Man I:
Beat Yellow Devil. I used emulator with save state right before his room to train for his attack pattern and memorize jumps sequence and now i can do it on first-second try starting from the beginning of the level.

Now i am facing some bubble machine -- it appears to be impervious to anything except blocks you throw with guts. Don't know exactly what i have to do here but will figure it out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on February 27, 2014, 02:13:07 AM
Mario and Luigi: Dream Team

The opening 5 hours of this game have been very slow. I'm enjoying the aesthetic and there have been a few chuckles, but I really wish the complexity of the mechanics had been doled out quicker. The game clearly acknowledges that people might already have experience with the series, as evidenced by the fact that it allows you to skip certain tutorials, it's just a shame that Alphadream did not take this idea a step further by allowing experienced players to jump in at the deep end.

Seems like an enjoyable game though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 27, 2014, 02:25:41 AM
I am playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, and apart from a handful of signposting issues and a couple bad stealth sections, I've just been loving this game. The move to a Metroid-style series of connected areas (dare I call it... :cool; ...a Metroidvania?  :P: ) really did wonders for improving the game's pacing while really ratcheting up the exploration aspect. As for the combat, I'm not sure there's a development team in the industry better at stressing the sheer physicality of combat than Mercury Steam. There's just something about how the game is animated and framed (along with the controller rumble) that makes attacks just feel like they have a real weight and power behind them, and it feels really good.  I'm also digging some of the stuff the game's doing with the story, particularly with how Dracula's Castle is more framed as a barely-held-together representation of Dracula's mind than a physical location. Previous Castlevania games have made reference to something like this before, but it's actually a major aspect of the game here.

So yeah, **** the reviews. Lords of Shadow 2 is a blast, IMO.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ymeegod on February 27, 2014, 07:30:07 AM
"Mario and Luigi: Dream Team"

LoL, at the 40 hour mark myself and just entering the last stage--so far it's a lot better than M&L: Sticker Star but not as funny as M&L: Bowser's Castle.

The badge system works a bit to well, namely I upgraded it so I couldn't take damage for 18 total rounds :0 which only left the Gaint battles which were a pain because they focused on the tilt and touch functions of the 3DS.

Overall I'm enjoying the hell out of it and should be finished with it by lunch today.

------------------------------------------------ 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Dan Laser on February 27, 2014, 05:05:22 PM
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

I was stuck around the same place as you as well. I ended up just going to the hint guy just north of the village for help. I’m now past all that stuff and enjoying the game again!

You’re probably past it now, but if not: you don’t need the Pegasus boots, but you do need the flippers. To get the flippers you need to get to the Zora’s domain to the north east of the Witch’s house. Find the frog zora guy east of the witch’s house and merge with the wall to get to the other platform to the north. Keep moving north until you find the waterfall and run into the thief. Go inside to talk to the Zoras.

If you’re just trying to find the item for the Zoras, you buy the smooth stone back in the village from the guy sitting out on a carpet (usually just has a heart for sale). He’ll call you over telling you he has a new item when you get near. You don’t need to catch the thief guy.

Please ignore if not interested in the help...

I started Oracle of Seasons a while ago and I'm having the same problem of not know where to go. It's hard getting back into the game after putting it down for a while. I miss Navi!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on March 02, 2014, 10:01:08 PM
Started-up The Last of Us on Friday.  Without trying to spoil anything, that damn prologue hit me much harder than it would have if I weren't a parent.  I don't find the gameplay particularly amazing, but I'm pulled into seeing what happens to these characters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThomasO on March 04, 2014, 12:45:25 AM
Finished Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, nearly 2 years after buying it. The story completely blew my mind. Will be getting the sequel once I drain some of my gaming backlog.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on March 04, 2014, 12:57:12 AM
Started-up The Last of Us on Friday.  Without trying to spoil anything, that damn prologue hit me much harder than it would have if I weren't a parent.  I don't find the gameplay particularly amazing, but I'm pulled into seeing what happens to these characters.

Gotta disagree about what you think of the gameplay, but I look forward to see what you think about the story. Some advice: slow down. Walk through all non-combat moments in the game. It allows you to relax and explore the area better, and you might even set off new interactions between Joel, Ellie, and the various characters you meet on your journey. Even after a fight, I tend to look over the battlefield for secrets, supplies, and character moments that I might miss.

Oh, and turn off Listen Mode. It makes it a far better and more balanced game.

Finished Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, nearly 2 years after buying it. The story completely blew my mind. Will be getting the sequel once I drain some of my gaming backlog.

God, what I wouldn't give to experience that amazing game again. I think I played it... two years ago on vacation in Florida and loved every damn second of it. Have fun with the sequel!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 04, 2014, 01:19:50 AM
Finished Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, nearly 2 years after buying it. The story completely blew my mind. Will be getting the sequel once I drain some of my gaming backlog.


The second game is also well worth playing!


I think they improved gameplay in a lot of good ways, making the game a better overall experience. But the story isn't as twisted, which was a disappointment. (It's still pretty twisted mind you - just not as twisted.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on March 04, 2014, 01:25:18 AM
Yeah, I felt like the lack of "gruesome-ness" and overall crazy awesome twists in the second game didn't make it as intense for me.


Don't get me wrong, I still loved the second one and I hope they get the third one off the ground, but the first one had this... magic that can't be replicated.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on March 04, 2014, 12:52:34 PM
Started-up The Last of Us on Friday.  Without trying to spoil anything, that damn prologue hit me much harder than it would have if I weren't a parent.  I don't find the gameplay particularly amazing, but I'm pulled into seeing what happens to these characters.

Gotta disagree about what you think of the gameplay, but I look forward to see what you think about the story. Some advice: slow down. Walk through all non-combat moments in the game. It allows you to relax and explore the area better, and you might even set off new interactions between Joel, Ellie, and the various characters you meet on your journey. Even after a fight, I tend to look over the battlefield for secrets, supplies, and character moments that I might miss.

Oh, and turn off Listen Mode. It makes it a far better and more balanced game.

I just got to the point where you're teamed with Ellie, so I don't think I'm rushing.  Given that I'm this early in the game, I'm sure I haven't played long enough to get the nuances of the gameplay, so I'll reserve judgement on that.  Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely try to pace myself.
 
I'll post back with more thoughts once I've gotten a chance to play more this upcoming weekend.
 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 05, 2014, 02:09:13 AM
Batman: Arkham City (Wii U):
I was stuck trying to enter police department because i thought i was supposed to do something with remote batarang. What i needed is to slide under the gate and because i played tutorial a long time ago i simply forgot about sliding.

Framerate is still bad and sometimes gets almost headache inducing.

Combat system is still meh and while it looks kinda fluid, it's very, very underdeveloped for something that makes for a bulk of the game. While counter move and cape move are instantaneous, dodge jump move is almost Monster Hunter slow (i.e. you have to commit to jumping two seconds before you will actually do the jump).

The whole system just doesn't gel with it's own parts and instead of clockwork mechanism of DMC/Bayo/W101 style games where each part of the combat fits right into it's own place, clicking with all others, in Arkham games we have a hulking shakey-wobbly Frankenstein monster of conflicting ideas.

It's still perfectly workable and gets enjoyable at spots.

Touch controls for switching weapons are stupid. They kinda sorta tried to design them so you could access them with your thumbs without changing the grip on gamepad, but it clearly doesn't work.

Open world looks like became the "go to" solution for publishers to inflate the longevity by throwing hundreds of their developer designing side-missions and putting random collectibles all the big map. At least Assassin's Creed has some variety to their missions. With Batman it's either beating dudes up or dealing with Riddler's BS, solving his puzzles. That's it.

It's more or less the same game as Asylum only a bit bigger. It's dumb, shallow but enjoyable enough, i might even go for 100%.

Oh and i loved what little i played with Catwoman, she plays especially like Spider-man with her whip. For some reason jumping with her across roofs makes my fear of videogame heights crop up every time despite mechanic being more or less identical to Batman's. Maybe it's because Batman looks more like a huge umoving jumbo jet while flying, while Catwoman swirls and rotates all the time.

Pikmin 2 (Wii version):
Stuck in the long, long underground cave. Lost most of my 100 crew to exploding monsters, purple and whites among them. And seemingly i still have more floors to clear. Not sure what i should do: try to soldier on or just give up and restart and collect all treasures all over again.

Also, Gatling Groink is the weirdest monster in the gamed filled with weird monsters. Just look at this:
(http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/302/b/5/gatling_groink_by_paperskink505-d5jd1d4.png)
Fish with legs. With fire spewing cannon for a mouth. And glass armour on it's face. Yeah.

Fire Emblem: Shadow dragon (DS):
Finally made some progress. Was stuck on one map where i was constantly losing someone.
Now i am at mission where Gharnef is chasing me. He's completely invincible so if he reaches anyone it will be instant death for this character. He chases me for a few turns and then just goes away.

At first i tried splitting my army on two groups: slow and fast and tried to lure Gharnef away from my vulnerable slow units. This didn't work.

Then i figured out that i don't HAVE to go into mission with ALL of my guys, so i just picked skeleton crew with my fastest guys (four pegas riders, Marth himself, very fast archer and merc). They're still slower than Gharnef, but at least they can run for a while until he gets bored chasing me and teleports away.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: kbaker2002de on March 06, 2014, 12:31:54 AM
Hey guys, I don't really come around here often...ok basically never.  I have had a login for several years and have like 5 posts to my name.  Anyway, just excited to have a board to come in and interact with other gamers.


So I have been playing Thief, the new rebooted game from Eidos.  I have played it for about 12-13 hours, I am 4 chapters into the game's story, and I have cleared about 6 different side missions and have 10 more on tap I can do before moving on to the next story.  I also have the Bank Heist mission that was part of my purchase.  This game has been getting a lot of crap in the press, but I am really liking it so far.  I don't have a lot of complaints about the story, and there is so much content, that if you should be able to find something you like.  I remember the original Thief: The Dark Project, and it is one of my favorite games of all time.  I think some of the hate on the game is that it is too linear compared to that game.  This game is going for a similar vibe to what they did in Deus Ex:HR and in a way with Tomb Raider.  Which is a kind of Open-Linear style of gameplay.  You are basically going to go from point A to point B to point C, but you do have a lot of hidden passages, alternate routes and options of how to deal with guards and such.  So far I think if you know that going in, you will be very happy with Thief.  I am very happy with it so far, and if you liked the original Thief and you liked Human Revoluion, I think you will be pleased with Thief, especially if you get a good deal on it.


Caveat, I am playing this on PC through Steam.  I have read the console versions have a lot of issues.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 06, 2014, 02:44:32 AM
I'm a couple of missions into Thief on PS4 as well, and...sadly...it's not really clicking with me. I'm not exactly sure what it is about the game that's not working, but there's just a certain...lack of forward momentum and somewhat poor level design that keeps me from getting sucked in.

Incidentally, I finished Lords of Shadow 2 the other day. It ends on a total anticlimax, but I still really enjoyed the game. I'm replaying it now on the hardest difficulty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on March 06, 2014, 08:54:14 AM
Still playing through Danganronpa on the Vita, wrapped Chapter 3 last night... and all tasks at hand appear to have been completed. I know who I *want* to get bumped off next, but it's probably not going to happen because this game loves kicking you in the nuts with steel-toed boots.

I've also been doing mono-type runs of Pokemon X and I'm not sure what type I want to do next. Prove democracy works, will you?  (http://strawpoll.me/1260835)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 08, 2014, 07:28:38 PM
South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC):

Finished the game this morning, and as reported it is pretty short for an RPG. I wouldn't have a problem with this, except that the gameplay somehow manages to feel padded over a 12-hour experience. The core Paper Mario combat is okay, but the default difficulty is laughable, and the game douses you in equipment, patches, perks, strap-ons, etc., that let you completely steamroll enemies at every stage of the game. I think I died maybe twice the whole game, both times out of impatience.

The script for the game was hyped, and though visually the game is extraordinarily close to playing the show, I found the writing to be a real let-down overall. The plot is cobbled together out of recycled narrative components from the show, and never establishes a unique identity. A lot of the dialogue is fairly perfunctory, and given how long this game was in development there's surprisingly little interaction with NPCs outside of a handful of very barebones sidequests.

The game is at its best when it's giving the South Park treatment to video game tropes (audio logs on the spaceship, Planned Parenthood, Canada), but these moments are unfortunately rare.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on March 09, 2014, 05:23:04 PM
I also got to play the first little bit of South Park.  So far, I'm liking its humour.  It really is mostly fanservice so far, but I like the series(mostly) so that isn't a bad thing.  The combat system is a bit "simple", but that isn't a bit issue for me, tbh.  Honestly, all the complaints about the game being a bit short, right now, feel a little bit unjustified.  I can already see a game like this being shoved full of filler to pad out a 30+ hour experience really wearing out its welcome.  I'm looking forward to a game that I'll be able to pick up here and there and get a few laughs.

In anticipation of Dark Souls 2, I just started up a run of Dark Souls.  Been a while since I played last, and it took a while to get used to the controls and interface again.  I really hope they do a good job of communicating some of that vital information in the sequel, as I think it should be possible to do so without dumbing down the game.  I think some of the game's "intentional" obscurity falls into the trendy "hipster"mindset of being a part of some secret society that few others "get".  I'll have a bit over a month before the sequel's release, though, since I'm holding out for the PC version.  Hopefully, they've learned their lesson and the PC "port" isn't complete ass.

I picked up Thief on launch day, and tried to get into it.  The game featured a sound bug right out of the gate, and I had no dialog.  It was incredibly annoying, so I haven't played it since.  There's been a patch since, but I haven't tested it to see if my problem was resolved.  Many people are bemoaning the fact that this game is not a "Thief" game.  I was hoping to approach the game with an open mind, but that day one bug is hurting the game's chances in my books.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on March 09, 2014, 07:31:57 PM
In anticipation of Dark Souls 2, I just started up a run of Dark Souls.  Been a while since I played last, and it took a while to get used to the controls and interface again.  I really hope they do a good job of communicating some of that vital information in the sequel, as I think it should be possible to do so without dumbing down the game.  I think some of the game's "intentional" obscurity falls into the trendy "hipster"mindset of being a part of some secret society that few others "get".  I'll have a bit over a month before the sequel's release, though, since I'm holding out for the PC version.  Hopefully, they've learned their lesson and the PC "port" isn't complete ass. one bug is hurting the game's chances in my books.


lawl. What vital information did you feel that they didn't explain to you?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on March 11, 2014, 06:15:40 PM
Just a lot of stuff regarding the interface, menus, and even lore that didn't seem like they were properly explained, but then again, that was part of the game's charm.

Jumped into Titanfall's "campaign", and it's even worse than what CoD and Battlefield usually have to offer.  The multiplayer stuff is fine, but I still think Respawn would have been better off keeping the crap AI out.  They clutter the games too much, and that's coming from someone who sucks online who supposedly gets the most out of the bots being there.  The game is ugly as sin, and the fact that there are reports of uneven framerates on the Xbone really says a lot.  I haven't had many issues with framerate, aside from some random stuttering.  I've heard that can be fixed by forcing some graphics options outside of the game.

I have had a few connection issues.  I wanted to play the game at midnight launch(had it preloaded) but I couldn't connect to the servers.  When you select "Play" the game brings up a dialog that says "Attempting connection 1/10" or something, all the way up to 10.  The game had to probably go through that process 5 times before succeeding, where a screen would pop up saying "Initializing" and then nothing.  I tried that 3 times before going to bed last night.  My first attempt to connect to a game after work today resulted in me getting dropped just as the game began.  Since then, though, it's been smooth sailing, which, with EA's record lately, is remarkable.  I guess MS's Azure servers are a success.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 14, 2014, 01:19:30 AM
Catherine Demo (Xbox 360):
Hey, it's Pushmo with some dating sim and some anime stuff!

Constantly doing quarter rotation with a stick in puzzle parts gets old after some time, i guess this is why they recommend d-pad in controls screen.

Mass Effect 1 (PC):
Even after i stopped bothering trying to make gamepad controls work on PC, i still can't play it.

I get to first fight in the super long corridor and i just give up. Here:
(http://i.minus.com/i2jYydUZctV03.jpg)
Nothing feels right at all. I tried to get through it like five times and lose any drive to play any longer within a minute.

Devil May Cry 1 (PCSX2):
After trying to play a few missions, i changed default PS2 controls (jump button on triangle [Y on xbox]? really? and sword button on circle [A on xbox]? seriously?) to something closer to standard modern layout.

But even after that it all feels so archaic. I played NES games that feel more modern than that.

Options for crowd control are very limited, it's closer to say Battletoads rather than Bayonetta in terms of combat options.

I loved to abuse combo with leg sweep in Bayo to incapacitate multiple enemies around me, freeing myself to deal with other guys. DMC1 has nothing of the sort. From what i see, there is just one combo of dubious usefulness (?).

And are there really no distinction between hard and light attacks?

Even movement doesn't feel right, Dante moves too slow. And camera jumps between perspectives and confuses your movement constantly.

Beaten Phantom after dozen or so tries. My problem was that i was trying to roll too much instead of regular jumps. You only need to roll sideways when it spits fire at you or does that fire column attack. Also started using Devil Trigger to heal myself.

Trees in in that boss arena coupled with dodgy camera also got me in trouble a few times. Another problem i had with this boss is that he doesn't have unique sound cues for each of his attacks.

Ninja Gaiden (3DS):
Final boss' first form where it slides left and right on the ceiling spewing fireballs was very hard.  You need to figure the right movement pattern to dodge fireballs AND to find an opening to damage it.

But i did and got to final boss' final form. The way alien's head detaches and just scurries away after you hit it enough times is pretty funny.

When you die on this boss and get sent all the way to the beginning of level 6, isn't actually much of a punishment once you realize this is an opportunity to stock up on magic for boss fight.

Ninja Gaiden (Retro Achievements!):
I really liked the idea behind Retro Achievements. So i tried it on Ninja Gaiden (http://retroachievements.org/Game/1859).

Unfortunately it doesn't work from my work network (proxy stuff), so i had to wait until i get home. Even then it took me a while to set up their modded NES emulator, default settings are a mess: video isn't showing, sound is garbled and you need to set up gamepad controls manually. So nothing really works out of the box.

Whatever, i finally booted NG and played it for 15 minutes and got dozen or so cheevios. Cool stuff.

I kinda want to create and upload achievements for some other games now, namely Rhythm Heaven for GBA...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ymeegod on March 14, 2014, 06:57:50 AM
Started Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus and was surprised to find out how short this game is.  Nearly done and I only have 5 or 6 hours into it.  R&C 1-3 were something like 15-20hr long for me so this is only 1/3 that?  Not sure what's going on but it seem like platformers are getting shorter.  SM3D World and Land were both 10-12 hours to completely unlock everything yet SMG or even Sunshine were 20+ hours easily.

Anyhow, other than it being extremely short--it's also a bit dull.  There's only a couple of funny moments which is kinda at odds with the whole series.  Why does this game take it so seriously.  Can't recommend this one.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 14, 2014, 05:46:39 PM
Cave Story 3D
Instead of playing through my backlog, I borrowed another game from my friend. Anyway, the game hasn't hooked me yet. I don't get the hype, but I'm willing to give it a chance.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on March 14, 2014, 06:16:35 PM
...

Mass Effect 1 (PC):
Even after i stopped bothering trying to make gamepad controls work on PC, i still can't play it.

I get to first fight in the super long corridor and i just give up. Here:
(http://i.minus.com/i2jYydUZctV03.jpg)
Nothing feels right at all. I tried to get through it like five times and lose any drive to play any longer within a minute.

...
Really,  I liked the controls in the first one.  To the point that I take out large creatures I was suppose to use my Tank on with my on foot weapons for extra XP.  I didn't play them all on PC and I do hate Dual Analog gun controls so I'm not that great of a measuring stick.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 14, 2014, 07:22:59 PM
Cave Story 3D
Instead of playing through my backlog, I borrowed another game from my friend. Anyway, the game hasn't hooked me yet. I don't get the hype, but I'm willing to give it a chance.

I didn't really get the hype either. I went in expecting a Metroidvania game, and it . . . isn't that. It's closer to something like Master Blaster or Rambo NES.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 14, 2014, 09:21:06 PM
the most current game I play semi-regularly is AVGN Adventures. I am sort of in between homes right now so my PS2/PS3 are not accessible so I am left with my very non-gaming laptop and a Game Boy Color I picked up last week used. I guess you could count Tetris, I play that nightly on the GBC.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 20, 2014, 01:49:31 AM
Caesar III (PC):
Love, love, love this game.

Background: i started playing this game when i was still in school. In fact, i played it in school. I've probably replayed the game ten or so times in 15+ years since. Never managed to go further than fifth or fourth level, but it was more than enough.

This is a big reason why i love ancient roman historical stuff. Rome: Total War,  Rome TV series and all other documentaries, some odd books here and there.

The voice acting gave this game a great atmosphere with each person walking your streets expressing his own opinion on your city in somewhat cartoonish voices.

I knew of other games in the series: Zeus, Poseidon, Pharaoh and Cleopatra but didn't play them. However i did buy Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor:_Rise_of_the_Middle_Kingdom). One of the first games i bought in fact. Mind you, this is big because it was piracy ridden post Soviet country in the early 00s.

So i played that. It was also cool, but trading roman setting for chinese didn't do much for me even if i admit the Emperor has a lot of improvements over Caesar.

I gave the disc to my brother and i remember how he was obsessed with it, he said it literally blew his mind when the game showed him "how society works" with all these chains of production (wheat is gathered in the fields and goes to mill, resulting flour goes to bakery, bakery makes bread that then goes to market and is then getting distributed among locals).

Sometime around that time when i was playing Caesar again, i realized how actually mathematical and geometrical it is. The game is built on "agents" distributing different kinds of resources across your city so planning the most efficient routes in advance for your agents is crucial. You also need to plan the layout of the city, like this will be an industrial area and this will be your prestige district with villas or regular condos where the bulk or your workers will live.

Despite very mathematical engine behind the game, the game is kinda broken. In later missions you will find yourself fighting the engine quite a lot, trying to make your agents go the way you want them and finding out that you have nearly no means to control their movement at all (this is one of the improvements Emperor does).

The game turns into playing with an extremely tall tower of Jenga where you can place one innocent looking road and it will ruin your entire city because agents will start going there instead of distributing resources where they're needed and then your apartment complexes will start to crumble because they lack pottery and other BS like that and you will lose 200 of your working force just like that.

And you might never recover from this because if you lose that many workers and your entire infrastructure falls apart you have little to no wiggle room to dig yourself out of it.

Stability becomes very crucial later in the game, and achieving that kinda requires you to break the engine apart and find ways to abuse the way it works, almost puzzle like.

Like take this design:
(http://i.minus.com/ivBu9z80Fd5Br.jpg)
Living complex in the centre is provided water by a single fountain. It houses thousands of workers and has access to everything roman citizen needs. It's quite brilliant.

And that's not even touching the employment system and how sometimes you need to place one scrappy tent near new workshop or something to make it work because otherwise no one comes near it.

And yeah -- military system! There's something like an RTS in there. It sucks, honestly. Good thing you can mostly avoid it.

So now i want to actually finish it. And then play Zeus, Pharaoh and whatever other similar games i can find.

Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
Finished last Marathon level (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-noMMlhFaEU). For some reason i finally managed to do it after i came back after partying with friends slightly drunk. Maybe i should drink it more often?.. Nah. More likely i reached critical mass after playing this level for that many months.

I'm also making progress on Champion's Road (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW8R2YEcw). I got to the first green star. That's my method to pass through ladder of disappearing blocks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSTpvzY77eA&t=46s). I've also seen runs when people use spin jump (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9TKNNQeDw&t=2m) or crouch pound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gVS15WODpQ&t=33s) to get through the very last step.

Oh and of course, i'm not using power-ups.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on March 20, 2014, 08:19:44 PM
M&L: Dream Team - I seriously need to put a bullet in this game tonight. Will it ever f***ing end?!

It's certainly not a bad game, but MAN does it wear out it's welcome. I was ready to slap a bow on this thing 30 hours ago!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on March 20, 2014, 09:01:51 PM
Dream Team Live Update

Boss Battles which involve motion controls, quick time events, and failure states which result in the same animations looping over and over again...not fun.

REPEAT! NOT FUN!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ymeegod on March 21, 2014, 08:50:46 PM
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Loved the ship battles, diving, and spear fishing but there's always a downside to assassin's creed--the story.  The "future" missions always sucked but now they made it into a mockery with a bunch of minigames like Frogger for one.  Wish I could have skipped them altogether.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on March 21, 2014, 09:34:19 PM
South Park: The Stick of Truth.


It's essentially a Paper Mario game in disguise as a long episode of South Park.  I mean that in the best way possible.  Although the gameplay is simple, if you're a fan of South Park episodes where they go off the deep end a little, you'll enjoy this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 26, 2014, 05:24:20 AM
Assassin's Creed: Liberation (PC):
I'm at 50% and still the game is tutorialising me... Though truth to be told it is supposed to be short and with so many gameplay mechanics it's understandable that tutorials, when paced out, will span for a good chunk of all playthrough time, compared to a more full fledged game where it will only take you about 20% of the playthrough in the beginning.

There are very few moments when i am left alone and free to do what i actually enjoy in the AC games -- randomly wandering the city collecting stuff. In Liberation you're mostly walking between one bubble floating in the air to the other.
(http://i.minus.com/jejibSpoRNjUe.jpg)
^ that's what you'll be doing for the majority of the game. Walking towards the bubble.

Graphics is pretty good and i really like the lightning and brighter colouring compared to somewhat dour and grey III.

Chain kill mechanic is kinda stupid and i still don't understand when exactly it activates. Persona system is okay but nothing special. Full sync requirements are much more lax than in II or III. And even with that there were two or three full syncs that were pretty hard to achieve.

When Gerald character (http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grald_blanc_acl_render2_8852.png) who is a David Bowie lookalike spoke i got all confused, because i was kinda expecting to hear goblin king Jareth's voice but instead he is your soft-spoken regular "french coward" type of guy. Ugh.

Super Mario 3d world (Wii U):
After doing no power ups run on final final final level of Super Mario 3d Land (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfhSQfE8eM), i felt like i could write an essay on it: how one should tackle each of the sections, why and how particular tricks one needs to do with which character -- this level was so demanding, one needed to know all the tricks and get to know the game physics inside out to beat it without using power-ups.

Champion's run in 3d World (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIYvd5aqeV8) turned out to be much, much, much harder. I am pretty sure i spent more time playing this level alone than all other levels in the game combined. After finally beating this level with regular Mario i feel i can write not just an essay, but a novel on it.

The interesting thing about it is that around halfway in Champion's run it's better to change your grip from stick to d-pad because the challenges kill you instantly if you do the slightest analog movement in the wrong direction and you only need to move in cardinal directions anyway.

Now to do Champion's road with all other characters...

Ninja Gaiden Black (played on Xbox 360):
Such a smooth, smooth game.

Interesting how NG treats it's camera. God of War and Wonderful 101 place camera way up removing all camera control whatsoever, Bayo/DMC and other clones place it behind the character and a bit higher, but Ninja Gaiden places camera very low for character action game -- around chest or even waist level.  It sounds like it's not going to work especially with how much time you spend indoors inside cramped rooms, but it works fine.

Game is pretty lax in terms of difficulty and rankings: i am playing it for the time so i kinda noobing around and of course i have a very limited arsenal but even then i got "Master Ninja" and "Greater Ninja" rankings, which are the best and the second best ranks.

Compared to say Platinum games NGB is very smooth, not just with difficulty, but also in terms of pacing: lots of save points and always a save point right before the boss, lots of items, everything feels very streamlined.

Use of items is a big "no-no" in Platinum games, but NG doesn't care that i used life potion to restore my life and stil gives me "Master Ninja".

It's also very light on tutorialising (again compared to Platinum games), you have a lot more abilities unlocked right away and noone is teaching you how to move with left stick and such.

After finally playing it i see it as a bigger precursor to Bayo than DMC1, DMC1 despite starting the series and the entire genre feels positively ancient, while NGB and Bayo are very alike with combo systems and it feels Bayo took a lot more from it than from other games.

Even their stories so far are kinda similar: Bayo and Ryu both come to some mysterious closed off country. Bayo arrives by (awesome looking) train, Ryu comes by awesome Hindenburg clone that in the end (of course) blows up in a spectacular fashion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAHdo5aCBBM&t=7m50s).

So far i am having some trouble on chapter 4 with three ninjas who throw sticky grenades at me...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on March 26, 2014, 12:41:49 PM
Pokeymans Y
I have never played a pokeymans game before. Got this one for free through a Club Nintendo offer. So far, I am enchanted. Really enjoying it. My frog friend Froakie is already a badass and I caught and am leveling up that adorable Pikachu (peek-at-you). Everyone is so nice in the game. It is adorable in the same Japanese-y way as Attack of the Friday Monsters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 28, 2014, 04:52:25 PM
Ninja Gaiden Black (played on Xbox 360):
Still wandering at Treion city. After dying a LOT to black ninjas with sticky grenades i more or less learned how to deal with them.

Game is kinda random. Sometimes things works, sometimes they don't. While combat system is definitely polished, it doesn't have the feel of the clockwork mechanism of Platinum games combat systems, where every single little part clicks with all others.

Sometimes i have the easiest time just spamming X with nunchucks at black ninjas, sometimes same black ninjas kill me in less of a second.

Whatever, after spending a few hours at chapter 5 i had enough and decided to start skipping fights that i am not sure i can win and just run past enemies i can skip. In that sense it got kinda similar to NES game.

After that there are three raptor thingies who are also pretty tough (though abusing flying swallow helps a lot), and when you defeat them and think that this is all, you get chapter's real real boss appear.

That thing has absolutely ridiculous amount of health and my hits can barely take away 2% of it at a time. Maybe it's Dark Souls type of deal and i should just run away from it?

Shinobi (arcade, III and Revenge):
While i am in the mood for ninja games, i checked out NG's main competitor. As it turns out, it's also pretty cool series.

Arcade game, while understandably barebones, is very cool, rather difficult (not as hard as NG games though) and lots of dirty level design tricks to make you lose.
Revenge on Genesis is kinda eh.
III though i loved from the first level. Great music, great controls, smart level design. I should buy 3DS Classics port sometime.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: terribledeli on March 28, 2014, 07:28:02 PM
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls at the moment. The 2.0 patch really made the game.(Though, I always felt it was a worthwhile play. Not nearly as bad as folks complained it to be)

I booted up Dr. Mario on the Wii U VC yesterday as well. Played around for about 5 minutes then turned it off. It's the still the same I remember it. Still don't care for it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on March 28, 2014, 08:00:01 PM
I'm currently enjoying my new PS Vita.

I have nine games for it already, and I keep skipping around to each one. Some time into this one, some time into that one, etc. I'm currently devoting the most time to LittleBigPlanet PS Vita and ModNation Racers: Road Trip.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 28, 2014, 09:51:51 PM
Rayman Legends (PC)

First off, I didn't love Origins. The basic gameplay felt pretty samey to me, and the controls seemed slightly off. I'm about halfway through Legends and it's a measurable improvement in some ways. Controls feel better, and I like that they modified the lum/teensy gathering stuff to get rid of floating bubbles and other time-limited lum chains. That **** annoyed the hell out of me in the first game.

I'm playing exclusively as the viking girl (and mods), as I find Rayman and his buddies to be ugly mofos, so that's an improvement (though extremely cosmetic). The music is great, better than the first game, though I find the actual music levels quite underwhelming, especially compared to the treasure chases from Origins. Also, the bosses so far flat out suck. I'm glad they replaced the mosquito schmup crap with a fist gun with regular platforming, but I really don't like that all the bosses are designed around this power-up. Overall level design is better than Origins, with more focus on dynamic levels rather than the lame powers of the first game (the quicksand level is a particular highlight in this regard).

The floating frog fairy levels, however, are kind of terrible. I could see how they could be fun in coop with touch controls, but single-player on a gamepad is miserable, outside of the race levels, where it becomes more like Bit Trip Runner.

Finally, it's frankly bizarre that over 1/3 of Legends' content is composed of levels from Origins. I can see having one full-length bonus world made of Origins best-ofs, but as is it practically feels like an in-game port of the original. Great for people who didn't play Origins, but a real slog for vets. Plus these levels bring back the mosquitos and timed lums and whatnot, which I wanted to forget. I guess this is what happens when a completed game gets delayed by 8 months and the team has to keep busy with something.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Halbred on March 28, 2014, 11:17:32 PM
Yeah, they basically crammed all of Origins into that game, even the mosquito shooter levels. It's kinda strange.

Tonight I'm going to put a bow on Burial At Sea (episode 2). I like it much more than the first episode or even Bioshock Infinite generally. The stealth stuff really works, the story hooks into that of Bioshock 1 very well, and it's actually pretty lengthy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on March 29, 2014, 03:03:22 PM
Yeah, I skipped the first Bioshock Infinite DLC, since most people were saying it wasn't that great.  I've heard that the second DLC is actually pretty good, so I picked up the season pass and started on the first DLC last night.  Combat is still meh, but the environment is, as always, phenomenal.  I really like the style in the game, and Elizabeth's new design rocks.  After playing so many modern shooters recently, I find myself continuing to use right-click to ADS, only to toss out a vigor.  That's a bit annoying, but I'll eventually adjust.

FFX Vita - Taking this one pretty slow right now.  Just made it to Luca, and the game holds up pretty well to me.  The FMV cutscenes are gorgeous, though I don't really know if they've been tweaked other than to make them widescreen.  The work done to the main characters' faces is very much appreciated, though there are times when they look a bit odd.  Most NPC characters look downright ugly in comparison.  There are some spots where the framerate seems to take a hit, but it really isn't much of an issue.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 29, 2014, 07:02:18 PM
I was about to finally play Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - The Crystal Bearers, but the batteries in my Wii Remotes are dead and I currently don't have any extras at home. It's possible in the near future that I post in the "What is your most recent gaming purchase?" thread that I dropped $40 on Nintendo's Official Wii Remote Charger.

/first world problems

Anyway, I just got back into playing Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I finally beat the temple stage that repeatedly frustrated me to the point where I put the game down for months. I'm currently in the Forest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 31, 2014, 01:19:19 AM
I was about to finally play Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - The Crystal Bearers, but the batteries in my Wii Remotes are dead and I currently don't have any extras at home.
AAA batteries in game controller are such a hassle to deal with. Replacing them, keeping track of them, recharging them. My rechargeable batteries i got 1-2 years ago are now going dead, so now i'm have to buy eneloops, because they apparently last longer.

Assassin's Creed 4 (Wii U):
Just started it, will come back to it after i deal with Liberation.

Game's nice, lots of improvements all around.

Circular menu(s) to switch weapons is gone. Two weapon circles (Revelations added second wheel) worked okay, but you needed to go into a separate screen to manage it, using just d-pad right from the game is much faster and smarter.

Artstyle is bright and colourful, which is good after dour III. Colours are so intense you can even feel how houses are scorched under the sun.

Framerate seemed okay at first, but has started to dip to III levels. Console-gaming...

I like separate sub window showing how many collectables you got in this area and how many are missing. These guys sure know how to pander to their audience. Good, because i am one.

I also loved how you could start collecting, syncing and jumping from high places right after you start the game. In earlier games it could take you a while to start the now all too familiar routine.


Super Mario 3d World (Wii U):
Just trying to finish Champion's Run with remaining characters (no power-ups). While doing that i checked out time attacks. Learned a few new things about how running works (THIS GAME, man).

Running physics is actually rather different from Super Mario 3d Land, rolling jumps are NOT faster than long jumps and regular jumps with running boost on are faster than anything else (trying to do anything else but regular jump will stop your running boost, so don't do that).

Another thing about running boost is that cats apparently get to it faster than regular characters. Running on all fours has it's advantages.

I messed around on the first level trying to minimize my time and best i could do is 53 seconds with Cat Toad (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAC_UqFNDW9vLw). Then i checked out speedruns youtube. Oh man...

Stuff these guys do is absolutely bananas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcV_9ggi4QA). And this is done with Peach who is usually slower than any other character! It's almost like Jungle Beat speed-runs where players never touch the ground until the very end of a level.

Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox 360):
Basically spent all my weekend playing it. Didn't notice i stayed up until 4am today.

Bosses are actually not super hard, they have patterns, the hard part is staying alive because if any of their hit usually you will take up to 75% of your health.

You need to drink elixirs constantly to replenish health. I wish i didn't have to press Start everytime to do it, but what are you going to do. They could have used d-pad for that, but they didn't. Ah well. Switching weapons on the fly with d-pad would also be nice.

The segment where you need to blow up tower with arrows was very annoying, because of archers who keep shooting you back. You have about a second to aim for the tanks on a tower before archers will shoot at you and you can't even kill all archers because they respawn.

One thing i like about 3d platforming in this game is how slashing your sword during the jump adds a bit of forward momentum, similar how it works in recent Rayman games.

I loved how ingeniously the game showed me i could do that. The button for sword slash and opening crates is the same (X). There was a balcony that can only be accessed using this trick. They put a crate right on the edge of it, almost like tempting me to try to open it while jumping near it. I tried to do that and i did slashing in the air trick. Niiice.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on March 31, 2014, 12:10:59 PM
REMEMBER ME

It's a game revolving around, you guessed it, memories. You use them to solve problems and traverse the story. For example, you steal a guards memory in order to access restricted areas. My favorite part about the game though is remixing memories. The game has you go into a persons memory and change little things that ultimately change the entire memory. For example, you'll remix someones break up. The break up originally was 'peaceful', meaning the woman just walked out. But when you're through with it, changing small things like the location of a chair to, more importantly, the safety on a gun, it ends up incredibly violent. This in turn changes the real world consequences and allows you to progress.

But even after all the cool little things you do, the game is a bit empty. It never really busts through the barrier into awesomeness. Even the fighting, which is pretty damn cool, could have been way better.

I'd like to see a sequel if only to have them less restrained by the conventions they placed in the first game and to experiment with the mechanics they built.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on March 31, 2014, 04:28:16 PM
I loved Remember Me, especially considering it was a new IP from a new studio.  I found the choice of a biracial woman to be both risky, and fresh at the same time.  DontNod went into some sort of restructuring called "Judicial Reorganisation" earlier this year, which a few publications reported as bankruptcy at the time.  I'm not exactly sure what the full story is with their studio, but I am hoping they get another chance to make something.  Remember Me was far from perfect, but I definitely saw some potential in it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 03, 2014, 04:38:44 AM
Knights in Nightmare (DS):
This game has three separate submenus for tutorials.

Because it needs them. Such crazy and such crazy complicated game.

While at first the mish mash or turn based stuff and bullet hell shmup sounds pretty cool, they put even more systems on top of that that's just complicating things for no reason. And then they do it yet another five times.

I really dig the idea, i really do, it's super interesting, but come on... Still, i want to crack this game.

Jam with the band (DS):
Had the cart for a while but with recent news of wifi connection going down, i knew i had to downloaded a few tracks until it's too late.

Selection of downloadable tracks isn't super big (around 300+ tracks), though there some really neat songs uploaded by people, things like Queen's songs and pop stuff.

Midi audio quality is disappointing.

The game must be fun in company, where you can divide instrument parts between your friends and then play it all together like an orchestra.

In actual game i'm pretty rubbish so far. I can do the simplest one button stuff (thanks, Rhythm Heaven), but once they add d-pad buttons corresponding to different notes (closer to regular Harmonix type of rhythm games) and i just can't do it any good. I will keep trying.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES):
Very random game, new features seem to add more randomness than i can handle.

Shadow copies give me more attacking power but that also means i no longer have reliable and predictable enemy movements. Wind is adding even more randomness now my movement depends on external factor that i can't control at all and have to wait a lot for it to change. My "don't stop for nothing" strategy from first game just crashes and burns there.

I still can't progress further that that wind level...

Don't really like bigger emphasis on on scaling walls, especially combined with wind blowing -- yet another unreliable part of the gameplay added.

And why in the world my UI is all rainbow-like?

Bayonetta (360):
Somewhat randomly felt the need to play it again last night.

Yep. This game is still:
(http://gifrific.gifrific.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Magneto-perfection.gif)
Did level 1 on hard for platinum rank. Then did it again because i forgot to save... Not even slightly annoyed at that because i enjoyed it both times.

While listening impressions about sound design in Lords of Shadow (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=44150.0) reminded me of Bayonetta's sound effects.

So i rewatched "The Lost Chapter - Under Extreme Conditions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcoFOosS9U)" combo video to remind myself how the game sounds like.

(i get so HYPE when re-watching this video every time, my fingers are moving by their own, and that is a mere shadow the HYPE that overwhelms me when i'm actually PLAYING and in the zone and in control of this chaos, i couldn't help myself but to fist pump during moments of especial badassery in this video)

So sound design in Bayonetta. Immaculate. Of course like with every other part of the game it's a part of a gameplay (sound cues that are warning you of incoming enemy attacks), but sound effects also contributes to the feeling of empowerment: grunts Bayo/Jeanne do (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KiAi) (think Bruce Lee grunts/screams), even the voice chosen contributes.

It's a commanding voice of the slightly older woman (not in story BS like "she's like 700 years old but looks like seven!". Her voice actually sounds in her thirties-forties. Yes she does sound like a teacher/librarian, but it's a good thing because this is the voice of authority, you almost instinctively cower when hearing this kind of old lady-ish sounding voice. When casting Umbran Elder, they even specifically asked for a very commanding, dry official sounding teacher/school principal voice, and you definitely feel the power and authority when she announces that you died (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJ3pQ-6-z4).

I am trying to bring a bit of variety to my combos and learn more techniques, but so far i almost instinctively keep defaulting to my 2-3 preferred old reliables ones. I also want to learn other weapons, so far i employed a whip on alternative loadout and try to pull some enemies towards me and then do the usual combo with regular loadout.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on April 03, 2014, 10:16:20 AM
Nerd.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 03, 2014, 10:00:54 PM
Arkham Origins (PC)

Against my better judgment I bit into this one, particularly as I'm not sure I'll be able to get Arkham Knight to run on my computer and I have no intention of buying a PS4 or Xbone at any point. Anyway, the opinions about this game seem to have bounced back a bit, and I recall a number of outlets claiming that it had a better narrative flow than the wobbly AC.

Pretty bizarre experience. On one hand, I was compelled to play through the whole thing based on the exhumed Rocksteady skeleton, but I also hated myself for doing it at points. I actually didn't mind that most of the map was recycled, as the tone of the environment was sufficiently different, and the focus was on missions (though it was laughable that they included the steel mill again). But boy, did they bork the combat. Counter system felt borderline broken, and given the huge emphasis on large crowds it was extremely difficult to keep combo chains going. I did manage to get the 30x challenge, but the 50x was in no way worth trying for. I eventually gave up on approaching the combat skillfully and just crutched by on the electro gloves.

Riddler challenges were 9/10ths insanely easy to the point of bafflement. Like, just blow open a plywood shed, or literally just press a button nearby. Crazy how half-assed the implementation was. Why even bother? Also nuts is the sequential challenge tree system, the a-la-carte AC version was leagues better. How is level 9 of combat "knock down two guys while sliding" and level 4 of stealth "complete a predator room without being seen"? Did they assign different teams to each tree?

And the story and writing were completely awful, to the point of distraction. It makes AC look like it was written by Warren Ellis. And the boss fights were either straight terrible (Deathstroke, Copperhead, final Bane) or super dull (enemy gauntlets). The actual missions were okay, if a bit uninspired design-wise, but the super-long hotel sequence almost got me to walk away. And I am truly ashamed of myself for going back into the hotel to grab missed enigma packs. Never again, I say to bullshit collectibles, never again!

I'd skip this one. Arkham Knight is pretty much guaranteed to be much better, even if it's on par with City. Asylum: 9, City: 8, Origins: 5.


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 04, 2014, 01:38:07 PM
Bayonetta will have its time with me eventually. I have the game installed on my PS3's HDD. I just haven't gotten around to it, largely because I had a really bad experience with the demo. In the demo, it felt like the game relied on dialing-in an endless list of combos, and that just didn't click with me. However, the new Devil May Cry and the Lords of Shadows games show that I can really get into those games if I'm in the right mood and the game is designed so you don't have to remember & execute flawlessly 5 billion combos like a fighting game tourney player.

But yeah, my recent experience playing Lords of Shadow 2 really reminded me of just how much impact really strong sound design and animation can have on a gameplay experience. I'm not sure if it really came across well in the podcast, but movement in the LoS games has a real weight; momentum; and power behind it that you really don't see often executed well in games.  And when you strike something in that game, the sound perfectly conveys that (particularly the synchronized block, where the game slows just a tad and there's a loud, ringing "CLANG!" that just sounds so satisfying).

As for what I've been playing, I've been playing some Final Fantasy X HD on my Vita and I just started Infamous Second Son last night. I'm saving a lot of my thoughts for the next show, but FF X plays very well on Vita. The way that game was designed, it's a very natural fit. As for Infamous, I'm really enjoying it...but the Open World stuff is pretty obligatory and it's pretty clear from the glitches I've already seen that this game came in pretty hot.

And by the way, Sony REALLY needs to find a better button icon to display onscreen to indicate the Dualshock 4's touchpad than a big black box. Seriously.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on April 04, 2014, 04:23:30 PM
The only game I been playing is that FreezMe demo someone posted a link to, other than that I will be in my own place again next weekend so my PS3 is coming out of the closet finally and will get some real use. My backlog is real long at the moment so I have plenty to look forward too. And I try to get around to AVGN Adventures once a week but I haven't this week. Only because its the only game I can play without internet and I have a connection but it is too slow to do much with. Even Netflix times out most of the time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 07, 2014, 03:02:06 AM
La mulana (PC, Steam):
Yesterday, i read a wikipedia description on some other unrelated game (Alien Soldier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Soldier)). It's said that this game is known for having "unprecedented" number of boss battles. Whopping 32. I don't want to doubt a game that i didn't played (yet), but why La Mulana isn't as known for it's boss battles then, if it has more sub-bosses (http://lamulana-remake.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Sub-Bosses) and that's WITHOUT counting 8 main bosses? And you can't dismiss them because they're "sub" bosses: some of them can easily be final bosses in some 8/16-bit game.

Ah well.

Chakram (ring boomerang) is amazing, i should have used it more last time, it's VERY powerful and it comes back to you after bouncing off the wall so you don't have to buy many of them (1-2 is more than enough). Very useful against sub- and main bosses. Chi Yu (http://lamulana-remake.wikia.com/wiki/Chi_You) and Neptune sub-boss (http://lamulana-remake.wikia.com/wiki/Kulullu) were extremely hard to beat with regular weapons as i remember. It became much easier to kill them with chakram rings.

Beat final boss again. It is rather easy now that i remember all the patterns. So my final time is 14+ hours (this time doesn't count replays, so actual total time should be longer, around 30 hours, because sometimes i redid some parts trying to make better time). Couldn't get achievement for beating the game in 10 hours but making it in less 20 is nice enough.

I set up the ideal software combination that upgrades my character to the max. NOT coincidentally it fits computer's entire memory exactly, leaving zero MBs. Very cool, very japanese design, everything just falls into place.

Final boss itself. Some of her forms and the way she ultimately dies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4HpDNrHHP0&t=5m30s) are VERY disturbing. Entire game is kinda like that. A mix of religions and myths all over the world with a bit of "ancient aliens" story to spice it all up. Cool and kinda scary.

Of course as you kill the final boss entire ruins start to crumble and here the funniest part starts because you need to run for your life across all the levels back to the surface.

OF COURSE the most obvious exit gets blocked, then you remember one random hint NPC says to you and go there.

OF COURSE the most obvious route to this place also gets blocked. I laughed as my body got crushed by a trap that wasn't there before. Oh La-Mulana, you so crazy!..

I figured it out on third try, though i think i used an other way year ago when i beat it on Wii. And it's one of the great things about the game, extreme non-linearity, huge sprawling levels all interconnected with each other in mind-bending ways.

And this final escape is the ultimate test of your knowledge, because you need to figure the fastest way through different levels. I remember how i went for groceries yesterday and kept making routes in my mind while i was going to the market.

And with final boss gone here starts the actual reason i started replaying the game on PC. Hell temple (http://lamulana-remake.wikia.com/wiki/Hell_Temple). It wasn't available on Wii release.

I unlocked it. Read the instructions how to do it from the wiki and as per usual with this game, there is NO way one can figure it out by himself -- SUPER obscure and arcane stuff. Even simply getting there is nearly impossible.

If you can't tell by it's name it's an extremely hard additional level. Well it's not that bad. The moment where you fall down in the pit the first time and the writing HELL gets written on the wall is even pretty funny.

Enemies while tougher than usual, are not that bad, puzzles as per usual are the hardest part. I figured out the puzzle with a grenade and but now i am stuck on the room with four pillars.

At least i after i beat the game i can forget worrying about time and just keep solving Hell Temple room after room at my own pace.

Shinobi III (Genesis):
The game is kinda "cinematic". I really love the beginning, when you first go in the forest, leaves are flying around, and then you enter a cave and torches light up on the walls. And the entire game is like that: forest, then cave, then horse chase, then volcano and so on. Great variety of environments.

Jumping is kinda stiff and wall jumping requires some practice. Took me some time until i learned how to do the elevator level.

Also i constantly forget i can block in this game.

Flying brains in the lab level really like to exploit your moving deficiencies, constantly doing "cross-ups (http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Cross-up)" and flying at you when you jump from below and can't block.

I got to Alien brain boss and it killed me. Pattern is kinda hard.

Ninja Gaiden II (NES):
Hey, i can actually scale walls up and down! That changes EVERYTHING.

I was having a lot of trouble on wind level because i thought i have to jump to scale up the wall because that was how it was in the first game. But now i can just freely scale up and down everywhere!

I got to the level with water streams flowing everywhere. Yet another mechanic to screw up my movement, ugh...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 08, 2014, 12:03:13 AM
Spent last night trying get through two Gamecube games for the Nth time in years.

F Zero GX:
Still stuck on story chapter 3. How?!. I'm doing okay until second lap, but then they start boosting i am left behind. If i do the jumping on platform trick i can gain something but then they still overcome me.

As far as i can see from youtube videos, i need to glide down to minimize my air time during jumps. Okay, i did that. For some reason controls just don't feel good when i do that (also doesn't help that it's done in very brief segments and kinda hard to practice) and i am pretty sure after i do that once, during the next jump game thinks i am still tilting the stick down when i am not and that just messes me up completely.

Viewtiful Joe:
Still just annoying as i remember. I understand the game mechanically (after all i got to level 5), but nothing feels good.

I am completely baffled on what i am supposed to do when enemies circle you from both sides and do attacks BOTH low and high with no opening, what can i do then? Jump out of the way? But WHYY, that makes no sense!.. Why can't i stay there and do something?.. Is there REALLY no other way?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 08, 2014, 11:55:43 PM
^ small update on both games from last night.

F Zero: beat story chapter 3. But i didn't feel like i achieved or learned anything: i was doing the same thing, just got lucky i guess.

Viewtiful: beat first part of level 5 and got on a train. I watched Viewtiful Joe speed-run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo5agDyzTxM&t=4m) on work to figure out why i am so rubbish in it and how i can get better. It's not a good tutorial material though, with all crazy semi-glitches this speed-runner does.

At least i learned how i should use zoom to do extra damage. So the system so far looks like: slow-mo for defense, zoom for attack, and super-speed is to kill lesser mooks faster.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: nickmitch on April 11, 2014, 03:34:48 PM
Finally playing 3D World.  I got through the first two worlds.  The cat suit feels OP.  I think I've already lost interest in getting all the green stars.  Maybe I'll go back for them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: terribledeli on April 11, 2014, 11:35:24 PM
Running through Mach Rider. I had intended to play some Disney Magical World but with only one save slot, I'm giving the opportunity to my wife.

A tad disappointing there isn't more than one slot, and it appears to be likewise for Tomadachi.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 14, 2014, 10:28:31 AM
Disney Magical World
Finally finished all the "prologue" stickers and the freedom of the game has opened up nicely. I wish the music would change  more often but other than that, the game is scratching my "charming-game-aimed-at-preteen-girls-that-I-am-embarrassed-to-be-playing-but-damn-it-it's-fun-so-screw-you-all" itch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on April 14, 2014, 05:45:46 PM
Like Fatty, I'm also playing Disney Magical World. However, after my first night of playing it, I've been distracted with Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (I went back to it after a two year hiatus, and am loving the crap out of it-- probably my favorite rhythm game ever made), and some Vita games.

I've been creating stuff in ModNation Racers: Road Trip, I beat Resistance: Burning Skies, and I started Tearaway.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on April 14, 2014, 07:25:49 PM
Still going back to Battlefield 4 multiplayer, which is amazing since I'm still really bad at it.  I still really enjoy the class-based combat, even if a lot of what you're doing is still "See man, shoot man".  The bugs are still there, though, apparently DICE have discovered that their server infrastructure was inadequate for the game, which they say is causing a lot of the issues with rubberbanding, and hit reg, and possibly other bugs.  They are currently beta-testing the new servers, which are searchable in the server browser.  Really shady of EA to publish two major titles within 6 months of each other, at full price, both of which seem unfinished.  Titanfall launched without things like private servers, and custom games, which are being added via patch, and everybody knows what's up with BF.  Shady, but not at all surprising.


Infamous Second Son - I just got my third power, and I feel like the game moves along at a really brisk pace, even when you are trying to 100% the areas.  I feel like many of the complaints I had about the first Infamous game are alleviated by the DS4 controller, which I really dig.  I wasn't overwhelmed by the visuals, but I've been playing on a decent-spec PC for a little while now, but they are very nice.  The particle effects are great, and the framerate, while variable, is fairly steady.  There are definitely moments that the game seems to chug along, but they are extremely rare, in my experience.  I wish the game could do a better job with the morality system.  Everything seems way too black/white, and doesn't really seem to fit any context.


I still have issues with the combat, and the way encounters play out.  There hasn't been enough enemy variety, and the way encounters play out doesn't leave much in the way of strategy.  You basically just "Pew, pew pew" your way through the city until everything is dead/subdued.  The few boss fights I've encountered have been extremely annoying, and the last boss I fought made me want to throw that conduit into a deep fryer.  I haven't even died during one yet, they are just really annoying.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 15, 2014, 12:41:07 AM
^ i've seen few Infamous quick looks, combat there made AC's braindead combat look good. Speaking of..

Assasin's Creed IV (Wii U):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRyTaH41o3UBQA) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW9SQB99Q)
As i said earlier, ACIV is very, very streamlined, lots of bullshit cut out. Losing the chase is pretty easy and you never become infamous no matter how many people you kill. Teleporting between sync points is a great addition.

Naval battles. I haven't yet got it fully yet, but i think i liked it in III more. Choosing between chain, fire and normal shots added a bit of a strategy to it and in IV you can't seem to do it. Like you could incapacitate one ship with chains destroying it's sails, fight another ship and then come back to finish off the first ship. Another thing is that ship now upgrades like a character in RPG and has levels and damage points, so at first you're very underpowered against ships with higher levels.

I 100%-ed two towns out of three during my first three hours and was even proud of it for a little while, until i zoomed out of city map to global map and realized that towns are but a very small part of a full picture. Carribean is full of Wind Waker-like small islands with random stuff put on them.

I really wish they added ability to just teleport to my ship instantly from wherever i am. Swimming back to my ship after i got one chest from a small island feels like exactly the bullshit time wasting that other parts of the game has slimmed down otherwise.

For some reason i always really, really liked transitions from on-foot sequences seamlessly to controlling vehicles, whether on screen or in videogames. Like Jackie Chan fights a score of dudes and then jumps into a car (through a window) and speeds away. All within one shot. Same how i fight some dudes, grab what i need, jump off a cliff into the water, swim back to my ship, take the wheel, my crew greets me and i resume with my pirate raids.

(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRyRt0YdvcKLYb) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAhUqFNwhewUA)
^ the first moment when you activate travel speed, camera zooms out to ship view and my crew started singing was really something magical.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (Wii):
How do i smash? No seriously, i can't get it right and do it maybe one time out of three at best.
I think almost accustomed to weird movement of the game with jump put on stick. I should practice a bit more with targets.

La-Mulana (Steam):
Pushing through Hell Temple.

Met the first boss in hell, he is evilly placed to throw me into the pit constantly, i got tired of that and just used time stopper and killed him.

Now i am stuck in yet another puzzle segment. Then one with six blocks floating in the room.

Before that there was a very funny trap where out of a blue a huge arm appearred where the exit should have been, and punched me, sending me down in the pit again. I even got an achievement for this: "Welcome to La-Mulana, part IV: Super Punch".

Dark Souls (PC):
I shouldn't have been that afraid of the priest in the church, he dropped dead very fast. Now facing bell gargoyle on the roof. Even from the cutscene you can tell that this boss is a dual one, all gargoyles on the roof are grey stone, but the two of them are black and only one of them awakens in the cutscene, so i only nodded when second gargoyle flied in when i hit the first one enough times.

Ceasar III (PC):
Got to Miletus. When game gives me choice to choose between peaceful and warring province i always pick peaceful to avoid horrible RTS stuff, though i know i'm only delaying the inevitable because later levels have mandatory invasions in your cities.

The hardest part of entire game is remaining stability in your living areas with balancing food and wares to provide everything to keep it at the same level without downgrading. That's why growing your city is so hard, when you add new districts this disrupts your already working infrastructure and can even ruin it completely.

The cheap trick to finish levels is when you need additional 100 people to meet the requirement for the next level and you instead of growing your city in gradual way, you can just flood the entire area with cheap hovels with no regard to stability whatsoever. Once population reaches required level you just accept the promotion and leave this unstable mess for the next governor to sort out.

Another trick on how you can fight instability when growing already existing districts, is simply not doing it. You can create a simple small self-sustaining isolated village with everything in it sorted out. And then build yet another one away from it completely disconnected from it.

Divide and develop. You can have main living district, the other is industrial district and they have no road connection whatsoever. Interesting thing about this trick that you can still conjoin them somewhat, not with a road but with a building, like road on the left side of a building leads to the living district and road on the right side goes to industrial naval yard area. That way you can place warehouse that will get goods from industrial district and that will later be distributed in living area despite that there are no road connection between them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 15, 2014, 01:26:54 AM
Still playing Knack. I'm trying to make it my 1st PS4 retail game Platinum, a task made fairly annoying by required collectibles that seemingly have a 1% drop rate. Still finding it oddly enjoyable and relaxing despite its faults. Still playing Final Fantasy X HD on my Vita (oddly, I haven't even played my PS3 version yet beyond checking it for installs). Nothing else of note right now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 15, 2014, 02:12:16 AM
@azeke

Yeah, naval combat takes some adjusting in ACIV, it's all based on camera movement now instead of switching ammo types, which . . . sort of makes sense once you get used to it, but makes multi-tasking in battle somewhat cumbersome in complicated scenarios like heavily defended forts.

For my part:

The Cave (PC):

Once again I fell for the old Double Fine trick of a seemingly cool concept on paper that faceplants on execution. This was their last chance for me, especially after I paid full price for fucking Stacking. The core adventure game stuff is pretty easy/mediocre, and the powers given to the individual explorers feel like an afterthought. I wouldn't have minded this game so much, except that traversal is mindnumbing and ladder-climbing in particular is maddeningly slow. Skip this!

Resident Evil: Revelujuahs (PC)

Not sure how I feel about this one yet. I dig that they moved back toward a strong sense of place and locked door progression, but the aiming feels slightly off to me, which is especially irksome given how wobbly the ooze monsters are. I gave the first comm officer boss a few shots and got wasted bad, this after the game was super easy up to that point. Not sure if I'm going to go back any time soon. I do like the scanning aspect, but wish it was more robust, with lore and enemy data and stuff included. Also, the flashback episode was atrocious, and what I assume RE6 is like.

Outlast (PC)

This game is wildly derivative of Amnesia, which would be embarrassing, except that I think this game takes the concept and puts it in a more interesting and varied environment with more articulated gameplay and better pacing. In Amnesia, I got bored halfway through once I figured out the essential phantom toothlessness of the monsters and the lack of progression danger. Outlast fixes those problems with persistent enemies and black-out lighting conditions, and creates some real tense situations as you're bolting away from psychos and looking over your shoulder, trying to get to the next whatever to hopefully checkpoint and take a breather before the next atrocity.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: magicpixie on April 15, 2014, 09:35:11 PM
I played a bit of the demo for Tesla Effect, the new Tex Murphy game.  I've never played any of the previous games, but I got some correspondence from Atlus advertising the game which got me interested.


I enjoyed what I played so far.  It's full of cheese and the puzzles seem like they could be fun.  Unless the game turns out really bad at release, I'll probably be picking this one up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on April 20, 2014, 10:10:59 AM
Seriously. **** you, 5-K Blast & Bounce.
I finally completed this level again with all puzzle pieces; this time in Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. Never playing that stage again.

Pro-Tip Frustrated player-tip: Do NOT attempt to play through this stage without Diddy. If you die and have to restart the stage without Diddy, just reset and save yourself the frustration. There are no DK barrels here. You don't have a choice in Mirror Mode since Diddy is inaccessible and you only have one heart. F that right in the face. If you're azeke, just proceed as you normally would. I'm sure you'll be just fine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 21, 2014, 12:29:29 AM
^ i don't know where you got the idea that i'm any good in DKC Returns. DK's humongous weight and momentum is killing me there.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass:
Welp. I wasn't expecting to play a Zelda game this year, but here i am.

I actually really like it. There is less puzzle bullshit and game moves along at a much steadier pace: i constantly keep getting new gameplay types and new stuff. It's a welcome change, considering usually Zelda games take me years to finish (not metaphorically).

First stealth section was pretty intense but i did it with ten seconds left on first try.

Bayonetta (360):
I am doing platinum run on Hard difficulty. I don't think it even gives an achievement or something, i just do it for fun. As usual, level 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sXP_iJp2_c) was pretty tough to get Platinum because of how excruciatingly long it is. On Normal it took me an 1 hour 3 minutes (!), on Hard it was 39 minutes (because i got better + enemies are different).
Boss level (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnf3HFLtugA) right after was a breather, takes just 5 minutes. I got Platinum, but felt bad about it because i found out that i was just a hair off a Pure Platinum there (i needed 10'000 combo points more on combo for Pure).

Tropico 4 demo (360):
While i'm in a city building mood playing Caesar III on work, i wanted to check what options i have if i want to play similar game at home (as in: on a couch with a controller). Tropico 4 is what i found.

Controls are kinda weird and the camera zoom is backwards. Lots of things put on a d-pad which is not ideal on 360 controller. Still it's workable.

With tasks constantly coming in, you feel like you're doing a lot of busy work, it's almost like a Facebook game (not a good thing), especially considering there isn't much to building in this game -- you just put stuff on a map and that's it. You don't have to ponder on it's place in infrastructure, care about road access and manage distribution chains: most of it is done automatically.

I am still interested and i really like humour and portraits in this game:
(http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/vC1ttZ7kIkI/maxresdefault.jpg)

I have full version on Steam, i might research it's controller suppport or just wait for 5.

Rayman Legends (360):
Completed James Bond world. Stealth gameplay is pretty cool and probably the best original thing in this game which otherwise is kinda lika level-pack for Rayman Origins.

Got a few achievements. A few achievements require me to beat friends' scores on Challenges, but i don't have any friends set on 360. Anyone has Legends on 360 and cares to play challenges with me (https://live.xbox.com/en-US/Profile?pp=0&GamerTag=azekeprofit)?

Oh and i had a friend coming over, we played Samurai Gunn and Nidhogg. Both great fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on April 21, 2014, 12:19:30 PM
If you had a gaming computer I might suggest the Anno Series to you Azeke.  From what you said above it may be your cup of tea.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 22, 2014, 12:45:47 AM
If you had a gaming computer I might suggest the Anno Series to you Azeke.  From what you said above it may be your cup of tea.
I have a great gaming PC which i play lots of games on, but i completely lost the wish to play on kb/m setup unless i'm at work where i am contractually obligated to sit staring at the monitor for hours.

My work PC isn't good enough to play even Samurai Gunn and that's excluding other complications such as the need to actually do some work.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 22, 2014, 04:12:22 PM
I am obsessed, obsessed, with Disney Magical World.
It is sad, really.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on April 22, 2014, 04:12:36 PM
Assissan's Creed Freedom Cry.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 26, 2014, 08:39:55 PM
Knytt Underground (WiiU):

I didn't really know what to expect from this game, and was hesitant given the indie burnings I've received in the past, but I kind of love it. The first two chapters came off like a pretentious flash game, and I was pissed, but once the actual game kicks in it's kind of awe-inspiring. I don't even really know how to describe it. And I still don't really understand what's going on and I've gotten through half the map. Surprising **** is still popping up. So far I'd put this in a similar league as Toki Tori 2, way above Trine 2 and Mutant Mudds.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 26, 2014, 09:00:43 PM
I've been playing Final Fantasy X HD on my Vita...a LOT of Final Fantasy X HD, actually. How much? Here's a hint: I've fully powered-up all 7 Celestial Weapons (as well as captured 10 of every monster in the game for the Monster Arena). I've never done that before, nor will I ever do it again. If you're at all familiar with Final Fantasy X's post-game content, you know how ridiculous that gets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 26, 2014, 10:14:55 PM
So playing Super Mario World 3D (Wii U) with my kids has been the only gaming I'm into lately. My 3 year old daughter is getting surprisingly good, but we've around world 3 or 4 the stages have gotten tough enough that she's not going to make it much further without a good deal of bubble/carrying through some of the tougher parts of each stage. Still, I'm pretty proud of her.


Since the kids aren't getting much further, decided it was time to start my own save file and push through some levels. Since I was already familiar with most of the early content, got to about 79 green stars this afternoon. Will start pushing into new content soon, and am looking forward to whatever crazy ideas are shown off next.


Oh, and in case there was any doubt: this is a fantastic game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on April 26, 2014, 11:15:47 PM
I've been playing Final Fantasy X HD on my Vita...a LOT of Final Fantasy X HD, actually. How much? Here's a hint: I've fully powered-up all 7 Celestial Weapons (as well as captured 10 of every monster in the game for the Monster Arena). I've never done that before, nor will I ever do it again. If you're at all familiar with Final Fantasy X's post-game content, you know how ridiculous that gets.


Dude. Holy fucking ****.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 28, 2014, 01:00:59 AM
La Mulana: HELL TEMPLE (Steam):
I've basically spent my entire weekend playing in one excruciatingly hard sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsMler5TpR8) and the worst part is rooms after that are not as hard but if you mess up and fall down you will be sent back and will have to redo the hard part again.

It took me most of my saturday to learn how to get to where i stand here:
(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/3335223429635079198/B74EBBA858842F2A7E64E7033025CAA473BD12F5/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=253772649)
The other half i spent trying to learn how not fall off it because of charging monsters in the next room.

Then i spent my Sunday trying to learn the right jumps here:
(http://cloud-3.steampowered.com/ugc/3335223429631104705/0B20FF01802B1B3777580412F23476ACB5360286/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=253718794)

Progress is extremely slow because one little slip up and i am redoing previous spike room again and that requires from 3 to 15 retakes (STILL, after basically spending a entire day in there).

This is unbelievably hard and grueling, dark souls my ass.


Caesar III:
It's 216 BC, i am governor of Miletus and Caesar seriously hates me. I've stupidly imported too much marble and overspent. Took two loans from him and couldn't return the debt (was a bit too busy trying to, you know, feed my people and repel barbarians).

So Caesar's all like: "okay, i'm through with you" and sent an army to arrest me. I am still deeply in debt but thankfully i have built an efficient weapon infrastructure and organized trade with other cities so that will give me some money (too bad traders come too infrequent).

But the most of my weapons goes to building an army. Two infantry legions and one unit of skirmishers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velites).

Despite hating my guts and sending punitive detachment after me, Caesar still sends requests to me to deliver certain goods in time. Fish, weapons, furniture, whatever i got. Had to built and entire new industrial district for furniture alone. And i can't even use it myself, because people start demanding furniture only after they get enough pottery and i can't get that because i have no clay around me and should import it. Which i am not going to do because i am trying to make money, not spend it.

I raised taxes a bit and decreased monthly pay and also started to turn off industries more often. After i sent furniture to Caesar i turned that industry off completely to save on wages and that also freed me more men for building weapons.

So roman legionaries finally came. I knew where they will be coming from and placed my guys there. At first i wanted to cut down all shrubbery around me but then i noticed soldiers can't go through it, so i decided to use it. I placed my infantry legions in the bottleneck between two trees and put skirmishers behind them.

And it worked, it was like Thermopylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae) in miniature. Three heavy legions one after another trying to come through and dying under the rain of javelins.

Caesar instead of getting more angry at me, started to respect me more and my favour with him gone up, kinda funny but makes sense from gameplay side.

So now i've largely fixed my economy, amassed a good army and now all i have to do is to do all Caesar's deliveries and shower him with gifts to get in his good graces and i should be set.

Rayman Legends (Xbox 360):
Whoever called these levels "8 bit" has obviously no idea what 8 bit is. Filters are very disorienting, sometimes i even started to feel physically ill a bit. Last "8 bit" level (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ol6LiPpBls&t=25s) is very cruel because filters become so intense in the very last second you can't see a thing and don't know what to do. I had to redo regular filterless version of this level to see what i need to do there after failing three times on the last meter.

Apart from that timed invasion are also pretty tough, i got lucky on few and got golds on first tries but most of them require many playthroughs. Infiltration Station invasion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_74L3V8I1DI) is the last level where i STILL can't get gold on, despite trying for a few hours. Apart from that, i got diamond cups on all worlds.

Though, i didn't touched Origins levels at all and will have to do those to get all 700 lums. Doing every other level nets you around 400 lums, leaving 300, almost half for playing rehashed levels (no, i am never letting this go, Ubisoft).

Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS):
Seriously loving this game. It moves swiftly, constantly throwing new mechanics at me. Everything in it is based on drawing scribbles on maps which is inherently fun.

Romanos shooting range min game is super fun.

And now i know where Ridiculous Fishing stole it's gameplay idea from.

Ghost and Goblins Arcade (MAME):
My strategy to make enemies disappear with a screen border is just as successful here as with Ninja Gaiden. The best strategy to beat red devils is not to fight them but to wake them up and then jump off of descend to somewhere making as much vertical space between you and the devil as possible and that will make the devil disappear.

Using this strategy and after finding the best routes i can safely get to level 5 on one life.

Level 5 is probably the hardest, especially that one place where you need to climb up but golem is standing right on top of the ladder so you wait until he moves to the right all the while enemies keep respawning. Even the music changes in that spot to be more dramatic.

The worst part is when you climb the ladder and because of controls you sometimes get stuck at the end and can't move out away from the ladder for a second leaving yourself with literally your pants down against the monsters.

Level 6 is funny at how seemingly impossible it is, it's filled with level bosses now turned mooks. Still i figured some robust strategies.

I looked up NES game playthroughs and it seems to somewhat different from arcade game and seems to be even harder with more troll items spread around.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 30, 2014, 07:10:36 PM
My youngest and I pulled out Let's Tap last night for a few rounds. That game is so dumb it's fun.


And that theme song. Who wouldn't smile?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 01, 2014, 12:53:11 AM
Super Hexagon (Steam):
Got 60 seconds on Hexagoner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCytd04_G_I). I did it earlier on work pc, but it turned out to be much harder on my home setup due to rather significant lag (around .1 or .2 of a second).

I am guessing it's a combination of wireless keyboard and plasma tv... I tried to play it with xbox controller and has a bit less lag and feels like workable but i still don't feel as comfortable with it as with regular arrow keys on a keyboard.

The game is all about those milliseconds, you already have to waste some time on trying to recognize the next pattern and do it in less than a second. Adding any more lag on top of it makes so much harder.

Now doing Hexagonest -- i had 29 seconds on work pc, but at home i can only muster 12.

Can't even think about doing Hyper versions yet, ugh.

Smash Bros Melee:
Still have hard time with controls. Doing target practice kinda helps but i still have numerous troubles trying to adapt. They seriously need to an option to remove jumping with a stick. I also can't reliably turn around on the ground and seemingly can't turn around in the air at all (maybe yet another dedicated button?). Still can't smash reliably.


Caesar III:
Finally beat Miletus. The final stretch to get 5000 people was pretty tough because expansion in this game without ruining your already working infrastructure is tough.

Stupid market lady stubbornly kept going for the fruits from across the city despite having a granary full of fish round the corner and a district with starving citizens.

To get enough points for culture to beating this level i built some theaters and academies in the middle of nowhere, few miles from any living districts. Apparently this culture meter doesn't care if anyone actually attends these buildings just as long as they're here.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 02, 2014, 03:01:31 AM
I Platinum-ed South Park: The Stick of Truth the other day (#89, btw), and it's...incredibly "meh". I love how the game plays, but it would have been a much better game without the South Park license IMO. Much like the show it's based on, it often mistakes "crude & disgusting" with "clever & edgy". I can't hate the game for being true to the terrible show it's based on, but for a comedy game I found it surprisingly lacking in actual humor.

Still playing Final Fantasy X HD. Closing in on that Platinum, though it's all grinding spheres from here on out. Also playing Child of Light, a game I'm really trying not to say "meh" to but it's kind of hard not to. The game is gorgeous and I love the musical score, but there's kind of...nothing to the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 04, 2014, 12:58:13 AM
 King's Bounty: The Legend: (Steam)
After watching my friend playing Armoured Princess and beating it, i decided to come back to first game that i never finished way back when it came out.

Already put around 30 hours into it and feel like i'm maybe half way in.

It plays like Heroes Of Might and Magic only with one character. HoMM is my kind of RPGs and i honestly had no idea any other kinds of RPGs even exist (jRPGs? Eh, don't get them... WRPGS? Nope). Played some of HoMM III, a LOT of IV (still don't understand the hate it gets) and a LOT of V. It helps that HoMM IV was my first game i ever bought with my own money.

My friend says that one of main differences between KB and HoMM is that it's less intense: HoMM has several enemy AI players taking turns and they roam around and can capture our bases and castles at any time, so you always have to manage garrisons and resources.

KB doesn't have that so all you have is just enemy troops walking around the map. Still, it's is pretty engaging. And you get enough management with your character, his upgrade trees, spell book, rage spirits with his loot and even his family (wife and kids add to different stats).
(http://legend.kingsbountygame.com/img/scr/scr07_lo.jpg)

The main constraint you're gonna have through entire game is "Leadership". It limits the amount of units of one type you can have. So you can't raise a huge army even if you have 100k gold.

Another reason you can't have huge army is because everything is finite. Including units. If your Inquisitors will keep dying and you will keep restocking them at one location soon enough they will simply run out there and you will have to either find another place which sells Inquisitors or switch to another unit type.

Your stack is rather limited, so as you burn though units you will keep rotating through many, many types of units depending on where you are and how easy it is to restock them.

I am playing as mage and he is appropriately very weak. So even regular wandering mooks are too strong. Lots of avoiding and running away until i find one enemy that shows up as "weak" compared to me and crushing him. One by one you keep leveling up until you clear the entire location.

At first you want to keep your losses to minimum (ideally noone should die in your battles) because first ten or so hours money will be so scarce you could simply end up with no money to restock your army sufficiently for the next challenges.

After a while you will start to do a lot of quests with mad loot and visit other areas where money is literally lying around on the ground and cash will stop being a problem.

At that point i change my strategy and instead of running away from everyone stronger than me i start to attack them. Sure, i lose significant part of my army, but with 100k of gold i can restock all of them anew ten times over. And of course targeting harder enemies gives much more experience.

Rage mechanic is interesting, it's basically magic but instead of mana it takes rage, which you get only when you inflict lots of damage or receive it. And it naturally subsides as you roam the map, so i guess it's meant to force me to NOT to come back to closest friendly castle and replenish my 1 archer i lost and instead rush to another battle right away while i still have enough Rage left.

This time i am playing in english (game originally made in russian) and had to smile at translation errors, like children calling me "uncle" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RussianNamingConvention). Another thing lost in translation is russian/soviet culture references, so if you see a pirate swearing by his cocked hat while he's not wearing any -- blame translators.

While the story and setting aren't super original, some of the dialogues and quests are kinda funny. Texts in dialogues seems to be forte of this developer -- my pal (guy who i watched playing Armoured Princes) LOVES text quests in Space Rangers series by the same studio. Lots of weird and funny stuff there.

Unfortunately the game doesn't have controller support and has other problems like black bars on widescreen displays. Probably the first game in two years where i was forced to actually sit by my home PC to play it. Because i am so close to my big monitor i even get some motion sickness when i rotate camera and rather intense rotation speed doesn't help. Still, ultimately it's worth it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 05, 2014, 01:51:27 AM
Finished Child of Light the other night. To say it was a disappointment would be an understatement. That game just drags in its 2nd half, as the enemies just get increasingly annoying & the game just stretches on with no end in sight and all for a story that makes no goddamn sense. Bleh. Nice music & visuals, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Halbred on May 09, 2014, 10:22:12 PM
Way too much review stuff:

Mega Man 2 (GB Virtual Console): It's terrible.

Mega Man 3 (GB Virtual Console): It's great.

Moon Chronicles Episode 1: It's awesome.

Amazing Spider-Man 2: It's a shocking downgrade after ASM1.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 11, 2014, 01:22:01 AM
Controlling seemingly uncontrollable and mastering the impossible is a much better power fantasy than buff dude killing dudes. Think operator from The Matrix -- at first you only see incomprehensible stream of green letters but as you spend more time with it you start to see it and control it.

This is the reason i started to gravitate towards games where at first you go "WTF is going on?" but then as you play more it clicks and you start to master it. Things like bullet hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSUkmUiv83s) or intense (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcoFOosS9U) hack'n'slash (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYQWf6iyvB4) games.


Super Hexagon (Steam):
Super Hexagon is like that -- at first it seems completely impossible, but as you spend more time with it, it becomes bery doable. My friend asked what is my record on regular Hexagon mode, and when i said it's 100 something he couldn't believe it (he's still in the early phase so it seems impossible to him).

I play Super Hexagon as a rhrythm game because i just not that fast (my brain is the biggest lag here) to react as i go, so i memorize patterns and then try to execute motions without much of a visual feedback because it goes way too fast for me to actually analyze the situation i am in.

It works out for me in 70% percents of situations.


King's Bounty: The Legend (Steam):
Spent yet another 30 hours. Largely cleared out most of the areas, now working on Elven forest and Land of the dead. Still have Demonis which i haven't even visited yet.

Some of the story stuff in quests gets kinda funny (pirate asking me to send dowry decades late after he wed other pirate's daughter, me carrying flags between three toads) and kinda sad (elven dude mourning over his beloved's grave and asking me to take revenge on bandit who killed her and i do that, come back and see two graves).


Pikmin 2 (Wii):
Playing Wii games on Wii U has one cool feature: you can output your sound through gamepad, mute the sound on TV completely and play with headphones. Very nice if you want to spend a night playing games and don't want to wake anyone up sleeping in the house.

On the game itself. Diving into dungeons is kinda scary, because you're going deeper and deeper and monsters get stronger and stronger and there is no way to replenish your pikmin, so you have rapidly dwindling party. This is even more stressful than timer. Same challenge as roguelikes, even dungeons are randomly generated too. At least from time to time you encounter direct exits to surface where you can bail out and still keep your loot.

Last time i left the game i was in a situation like that where i was in a very deep dungeon, seven or eight floors in, and had only about 30 pikmins left against that walking fish that spits out bombs. I've amassed a lot of stuff and was afraid i am going to lose it all.

In the end it wasn't as bad as i thought. Fish with legs died pretty quickly and the floor directly below had an exit to the surface so i gladly jumped there. I think that loot i saved from this one run alone (and that dungeon yet isn't exhausted yet, it goes way deeper that that) easily amounted for 50% of the debt at least.


DMC HD Collection (360):
When Ninja Theory said they want to make DMC game for 21 century they got comments that DMC1 IS from 21st century, but i am guessing these smart alecks haven't actually played DMC1 recently. Today, DMC1 plays archaic, and feels like game from 94 not from 2001.

Platforming, horrendous fixed camera, controls (HD collection fixes them somewhat compared to original PS2 release, but they're still wonky), graphics, "maze exploration" level design, generic trash music -- all of this feels like "mammoth's ****" old playing today.

Ninja Gaiden Black is a rather shameless ripoff of DMC1 -- but it can be picked up today and it will play and look just as great as the day it came out, everything, every single thing DMC1 did that made it feel so dinosaurically archaic today NGB fixed or did better.

As i get more abilities game starts to open up as par the course, but still it feels barebones in terms of combos -- there are basically two -- one where you mash the only sword button and the one with pause after two slashes. Of course i don't need hundreds of combos, as any hack'n'slash player you just play and pick three-four of your faviouties and keep using them, but here i don't have any choice. Mainly i am missing combos with area effects, like roundhouse leg sweeps.

The worst thing of the combat is that there almost no tools of defense, the best defense is always just jumping away. Roll is kinda useless -- it can be used against specific types of attacks but even for that attacks regular jump is unquestionably better.

Oh and underwater sequences are just criminally bad. No option to fix inverted by default controls and half baked attack method with underwater gun that just doesn't feel any good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 11, 2014, 08:12:45 AM
Finally starting The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC). The game is still beautiful and plays well most of the time. Just got Din's Pearl and moved to the next island before calling it quits for the moment.


One complaint: is it my imagination or is the camera quite bad? Seems to require lots of "babysitting" if you want a good view of what's going on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on May 11, 2014, 03:07:15 PM
MLB The Show 14: 25th first round draft pick to the tigers.

Child of Light
Stick it to the Man.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on May 11, 2014, 05:32:30 PM
Playing Child of Light on Wii U alongside my still ongoing FFXIV journey to farm tomes for Atma books.

Child of Light...initial impressions after just a few hours of play? Battle mechanics are great. I love using Mr. Firefly to slow down one mob to advance my party members' "turn" to allow an attack that then counters the mob being slowed - knocks them back, causing them to have to restart their attack. It feels great when done correctly. Game oozes charm, and I actually like and appreciate the rhyming in all of the conversations. Different is good. Look on the outside of things to appreciate them.

Might pick up Kirby: Spicy Chicken Sandwich next week!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on May 11, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Child of Light

I think I'm enjoying this a game a little more than some people appear to be.

While the first few hours were appealing simply because of the art, in the last 5 hours or so the mechanics have revealed themselves and I'm getting a real kick out of the battle system. At first the tactics seemed limited by only having two active party members, but as the cast of playable characters grew I realised that you can swap out party members without wasting a 'turn' meaning that your full roster is available to you at all times. Switching between characters who can hinder enemies, gather aggro, deal elemental damage etc is nothing new, but the system in Child of Light for jugging these dynamics two characters at a time is immensely satisfying.

The two active party member system, combined with the action bar mechanic for 'casting', can sometimes lead to odd situations such as casting a heal spell on a party member that then dies before the spell can be completed, only to have all 3 enemies take aim at the remaining party member and wipe them out. With better planning and orchestration, however, scenarios like this are uncommon.

I'm really not a fan of the writing, which feels stilted and forced, and the story is what it is, but the music, art and mechanics are all superb.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on May 18, 2014, 11:14:34 PM
I'm playing two games primarily now, with some Mario Golf: World Tour sprinkled in occasionally.

Disney Magical World (3DS)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Wii U)
- Checked it out from the library. Was surprised to see it available and just hanging out on the game table!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 20, 2014, 06:50:08 AM
Earthbound (Wii U):
I finally got the second party member. Took me 8 hours to get there. 8 hours of just roaming around and pressing A button aimlessly.

At least now the main constraint of ridiculously cluttered inventory is eased somewhat.

I would have liked the beginning with just one character if i started as Jeff, his solo segment was way more interesting and funnier too.

Zombie dogs in Threed are no joke. They poison you, deal lots of damage and i think they also cast a few other negative effects (?). And these effects stack too. What is this, Dark Souls? I got poisoned, possessed and got homesick all at the same time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 21, 2014, 01:06:47 AM
Super Street Fighter 4 (3DS):
Tried again to progress with Trials mode. Combos after level 7-8 start to demand frame perfect accuracy and that's just something i am completely incapable of doing it seems (so far).

I remember i barely finished tutorial in King of Fighter XIII demo (13 hits long combos by the end, very accurate timing required), Skullgirls demo (same) and Injustice (same, it took me almost an hour to beat because of one extremely long and demanding combo in the end).

I looked up videos of how i am supposed to do that and it was very amusing to see how he uses controllers (both PS3 and Xbox360) as arcade fight sticks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z24Y5eYIRlc

Still not much help, because in the end regardless how you hold your controller/system and how you set your button layout, it still bottlenecks at my subpar reaction time. Accuracy of 1/60 a second seems unreachable.

Zack and Wiki (Wii):
That voice acting, ugh. Everyone going ~uguuu and utter other disgusting anime sounds.

Puzzle stuff is pretty good, but everything around it seems to be designed badly. A lot of stuff is timed: torches that light the dark cave where you need to solve the puzzle in go out after some time. Savage that you have to knock out with a bomb to use his fishing rod will eventually come into his senses and attack you. So you have a very limited time to figure out motion controlled mini-game and keep track if dude is going to wake up so you can run away. And then you need to redo bomb and worm routine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq04WPbyUbA) all over again.

I think it took me 6-8 retries to finally catch that damned fish, very tedious and annoying.

The other issue is insta-deaths. So you trial and error through the puzzle and something unexpectedly kills you. Then you're presented with choice: either spend some coins to revive yourself and continue from the same spot or redo the entire level again which might take up to five minutes and is just not very fun because you're repeating the same stuff.

Why even give the choice? Are they implying i will be rewarded somehow if i never spend a single coin on hints and continues? So i should never continue and always redo all levels each time i die, which is super tedious? And if there IS a reward for not spending a single coin what exactly they are rewarding me for? My stubborness and OCD? Certainly not my intelligence because you can just trail and error my way through everything granted if i always redo the levels.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on May 21, 2014, 01:20:33 AM
I liked the graphics in Zack and Wiki. Not all the character designs, but artistically it reminded me a bit of Wind Waker. The final level though, sheesh!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 21, 2014, 01:02:55 PM
Zack and Wiki is one of the games of the Wii in my book, y'all must not have played much in the way of old-school PC adventure games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on May 21, 2014, 03:44:12 PM
Zack and Wiki is one of the games of the Wii in my book, y'all must not have played much in the way of old-school PC adventure games.


The motion controls at the end are awful, imo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on May 25, 2014, 02:18:13 PM
Was having a great time with Bravely Default until I got to chapter 5--man talk about killing the game.  Not only do you have to repeat dungeons and bosses but they amped the enemies too much==requiring to grind quite a bit.

Grinding wouldn't be much of an issue but there's no "smart" AI autobattle system in place, you can only mimic your last moves which is nice enough for the first 1/2 of the game but at this point in chapter 5 enemies can easily knock out your entire party if your not careful. 

Think I'm going take a break from it and play some Injustice since I just bought that for the PC during Amazon's sale.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 25, 2014, 03:03:22 PM
So yeah... Pikmin 3 is quite awesome.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on May 25, 2014, 10:10:02 PM
Zack and Wiki is great...that is all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 26, 2014, 12:56:04 AM
Mega Man 1 (3DS):
Ooooooh, i get it now.

Flinging concrete blocks against Cutman works because "rock beats scissors".
Throwing boomerang against Elecman works because "cutting the wire".

Neat.

Another neat thing is that you can beat all bosses with just regular peashooter. Well maybe except for Fire Man. I might have to learn how to do that soon, because i remember from my previous playthroughs there will be a boss rush near the end of the game, and Fire Man will be one of the lasts and i usually lose too much of energy  fighting bosses before him. I distincltly remember having Ice beam almost at zero for some reason...

Ninja Gaiden 1 (3DS):
They finally activated access for 3DS owners for entire NES trilogy (after some whining on my part). For some stupid reason, you could only post screenshots of Wii U ports before.

Played it a bit just to test it out:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR9q_qc0_Vu0or) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADtU2ySaWvOCg)


Metroid (3DS):
After almost 1 year of not wanting to play this game (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=40194.0), i realised i'm not gonna progress at all unless i cave in and start using map with everything mapped out.

I could have persevered, if not for the copy-paste nature level design where entire parts of the levels are cloned hundreds times. And parts that aren't copied are not designed well to begin with. Who thought climbing that huge vertical pillar with disappearing blocks is gonna be fun?

So yeah, whatevs. Got pink suit, lots of rockets, sonic spin attack.

(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR9z6X4PIddXn1) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEiM1zUiQ)

Having to switch out between wave beam and freeze beam by going back to statues is stupid.

Got to Kraid and kill him. I used original and sophisticated strategy of going right towards him and spamming wave beams and rockets at his face. From what i can see (i watched Metroid episode of GameCenter CX [ugh that horrible TV Nihon "translation"]) all bosses in this game can be beaten that way. And it's not like bosses themselves do any smarter -- they also just spam **** at you with no rhyme or reason.

Metroid 2 (3DS):
Checked out second game. I think i like controls in this game more. Your character is bigger and jump is shorter -- which is good in my book because i don't like emphasis on air control. Also you shoot things under you by jumping and shooting down like in Contra.

Not looking forward to getting lost again, because this game also doesn't have built-in map.

Also playing (all on 360):
Rayman Origins -- challenges and finishing "Back to Origins" levels.
Bayonetta -- getting platinum ranks on Hard -- got it all up to level 7, thinking of doing "complete the game in 3 hours" challenge on easy
DMC HD Collection -- doing recon runs, i play the game using continues and without saving between missions and progressing as far as i can. After dying on my last continue i restart from the last save for real without using continues and knowing what i have to do. Got to hall with a poodle and four shields. I spent half an hour there hitting shields and thinking this is a puzzle of some kind. Apparently, all i had to do is to walk up to poodle and press Inspect button. Yeah.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 29, 2014, 05:37:13 AM
Wash_Doge (PC):
Let's say i had an opportunity to play the beginning of a game for a few hours.

It's ogre. Boring and kinda pointless.

If i wanted to play GTA, i would actually played GTA. But i don't want to play GTA. So why should buy this, obviously inferior GTA?

Graphics is underwhelming and even on ultra setting on PC don't look even remotely new or anything i haven't been already seeing on PC for many, many, many years now. ACII, III or IV look about the same and have bonus points for having setting much more interesting than generic concrete block-fest city.

I actually liked cover and takedown mechanic, it's much more intuitive and fluid compared to say Uncharted. Hacking is okay but incredibly shallow -- it all defaults to pressing X button from time to time. AR mini-games are kinda funny but also incredibly shallow and unsubstantial.

Random generator that makes biographies for people on the streets is kinda funny in a random way, like i met a rapper on the corner who is apparently software developer AND a little league coach. Or a chinese nation of islam member.

Driving controls suck at first, but it gets a bit more manageable after half an hour. Hacking during driving is kinda bad, because if you use it to lose chase (setting trafic lights to cause jams or activating road blockers) you need to look back to time it right and that will often lead to you crashing into something because you weren't looking where you're going.

Even just moving around feels wrong. Finding stuff and people in the environment is especially tedious. Profiler should help you with that but if anything it only gets in a way -- you constantly scan the same people and can walk right past the person you were looking for many times and profiler won't lock on him.

Assassin's Creed IV (Wii U):
Got awakened in the middle of the night by a neighbour watching a rather loud talk show, so i spent rest of it playing AC with headphones on.

As per my routine, i try to delay doing story missions as much as possible while doing extra missions all around the sea. ACIV has a lot of stuff to collect and it distributes them on hundreds of different small islands. Navigating to these islands and then coming back to my ship is kinda tedious. I try to save time by using fast travel but then i end up just spending almost the same amount of time in loading screen.

Story stuff is okay. Even out of Animus part got kinda interesting, i received ability to hack into other people's computers and those weird puzzle mini-games are back. I actually liked them a lot in II and Brotherhood especially that creepy background music.

Don't like RPG progression, in ACIII once you're fully equipped you could actually take down any ship you want, but not anymore no, now you have to level up and have no chance against level 574 frigate. There is no skill involved and it all just depends on how many hours you put into the game.

Game looks great in comparison to Watch Doge, even on inferior console hardware:

(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR-sdX802tSRMm) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEig10SbA)

So lush and colourful.

Mega Man 1 (3DS):
Started dr. Wily's levels.

The part where i wait for green guys to come down is still annoying.
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR-boiEN5wZCyg) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW_AisK7Q)

Got to Yellow Devil and started training on him using save-state (because eventually i want to do that in one go, starting from picking Wily in the menu and up to the ending without continues):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR-cZMcTqSQGg4) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEiaWhKIQ)
I even tried to do my own made up challenges like killing him without taking damage or killing him with a regular peashooter gun. If NES Remix had these kinda of challenges i would have bought it right away, but alas...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: shingi_70 on May 29, 2014, 06:37:34 PM
Watch_Dogs:


Then game looks pretty great, but i'll admit it doesn't look like it did in the orginal reveal (but to be fair anyone who is surprised, or expected it to look like the reveal is dumbass.) Game is fun and stealthing around is pretty rewarding. I had to put it down after getting to greedy after blacking out and running into some guys who killed me. I concur that moving feel off but only when your in a fire fight and trying to move in and out of cover.

[/size]
Knack- I needed a pallte clenser after watch_dogs and I fotgot i'm playing on hard. I just hit a check point getting to the third section of chapter 4.[/size][size=78%] [/size]
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 02, 2014, 03:26:46 AM
Batman Arkham Origins (Wii U):
Cutscenes are amazing, action, lightning, camera angles are just unbelievably good:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR_r_PEkAi5fTI) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEi26OvVg)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR_jSL0V4Fmgsi) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACaU2yRq0wXQw)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR_LxO4m0fEn6P) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaW_HjSfFA)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR_OStYeOmvnSJ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACaU2yRoeZ4gg)


Map on gamepad is really good, it's probably the only open-world title on Wii U that actually uses touch on gamepad -- you can set targets and fast travel just by touching the destination. That's cool.

Looks a bit better than Arkham City and framerate is definitely higher. It still starts to lag during battles with big crowds though.

Challenges are very cool. I never bothered to do those in Arkham City because they were just a bunch of rooms and a bunch of dudes you need to beat up. Now there is some linear progression to them and actual targets you need to hit so you feel you achieved something each time.

I kinda miss riddles that asked you to scan specific unique parts of environment be it special poster or statue or whatever. Those were kinda cool because they required designers to keep putting unique stuff in each place. Now all posters are mostly the same. The places are still packed with lots of stuff to look at though if that your thing, it's just that there are no point to it.

ACIV (Wii U):
Naval missions just get in a way of my enjoyment at this point, i see a fort and it's crazily defended: lots of cannon batteries, mortars, and even a navy of gunboats of it's own. I try to attack it and fight for five minutes and die because my cannons and hull armour doesn't have enough levels. I do that three times and just switch to something else...

Skulls of Shogun (Steam):
Pretty good turn based strategy game. Lots of angry birds-like crap which is offputting. Three star achievement system on each level, also pushing you for spamming stuff on facebook or something.
Another problem is that these three stars are kinda forcing you to replay the level but tutorial parts in the first levels won't turn off and there is no fast skip cutscene button combination from what i see.
Really like controls, it works pretty good both on mouse and controller.

Metal Slug 3 (Steam): emulation controller buttons are set weird by default, but workable
Smash Bros Melee: getting the hang of this. Even the jumping with stick almost stopped being a problem.
Mega man (3DS): still fighting yellow devil. Killed him with mega buster but took damage so i guess i'll keep at it until i do perfectly. Because why not.


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on June 07, 2014, 05:39:33 AM
In the beginning of ACIV the navel battles were pretty much one sided but once you do more of the main campaign, more weapons upgrades become available and you can easily knock out all those bases.  For now you should just focus on the smaller islands for quick cash and animal skins.

Finished up a couple of games this week:

Bravely Default (3DS)--man I was so loving this game up until chapter 5 when the story just takes a nose drive.  Hell not only did the story staled but there wasn't any new areas to even explore.  So for 2nd half of the game you just played repeated dungeons and boss battles (some of them you fight 5 freaking times). 

Super Mario 3D Land (WII U)--loved it.  Only gripe was the game was a tad bit easy with only one or two stages that even slowed me down.  Wished it had online so I could try the MP, couldn't get any of my friends to even look at it (COD whores the lot of them).

Thief (PS4)--sadly disappointed with this title as well.  The map system is a joke with a lot of places end in an deadend, forcing you to find hidden way around which was fine at first but there's no way to mark those "exits" so you'll end up having to hunt them down again and again while you do send missions.  Really wished for quick travel.  The story was forgettable, the characters undeveloped, and the gameplay was more or less the same ole stuff. 



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on June 07, 2014, 12:43:57 PM
I sampled a little of Wolfenstein: the New Order and Watchdogs last night. both on someone else's PS3

Wolfenstein - A little glitchy, a little obtuse. Some really annoying AAA-isms like quicktime-ish events, and 'quicktime events that have no meaning because they just activate a cut scene' Shooting itself was decent, Rage style level design with every room being unique.

Watch_Dogs - Like the concept, but the open world gameplay may not have been the best fit. Stealth control is a little awkward, but that may be because I'm currently playing a much better stealth game (Deus Ex) Graphics are decent but obviously pared down from previous reveals.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 12, 2014, 12:12:21 AM
Aside from staying up all night to watch Treehouse Live (http://www.twitch.tv/nintendo/) (AMAZING coverage, hours upon hours upon hours of new gameplay vids, LOVED Kirby, Yoshi, Bayo 1 and 2 footage yesterday) i also played some actual videogames:

Mario Kart Wii:
Played a few races with my nephew. Motion controls are totally workable, even learned how to drift with them properly. We got so carried away, i missed first 20 minutes of MS yesterday.

Batman Arkham Origins (Wii U):
One particular story segment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPltgOzumNE) made me very happy, it pulled from many comics stories at the same time and interweaves them all in a very smart way.

Combat system is getting troublesome enough to a point where i just want to avoid battles entirely. Main gripe is when you try to do ground takedown someone will always try to hit you and even if you press counter button you won't block because takedown animation is still going

Bosses are usual western developer style bosses -- as in brain dead awful. Just keep railing on them until they die, no imagination used whatsoever. I can only guess that weird people who liked Mr. Freeze boss in City have never played Platinum game (or just any japanese game in general) in their life.

I was stuck on Deadshot "boss" encounter which takes a lot of time and was very annoying because it was heavily based on "stealth" -- i.e. mindless repetition of the same actions and lots and lots of waiting.

Super Mario World (GBA):
Love cartoony look, lots of very cool animations. Music is also great.

Weird that i played through three worlds and don't remember going into a single pipe. Don't understand the purpose of spin jump, aside from destroying blocks under me, isn't it otherwise the same as short hop?

Cape is okay for slowing down my fall, but i don't like that it sends me too high bumping into the ceiling if i go too fast, i lose nearly all control over Mario and can't see where i am going to land especially when i'm on new level and don't know what's below me.

Levels feels about right in length, compared to 10 seconds levels of SMB3. Control at first feels just as fidgety and loose as SMB3 and at first i was constantly overshooting jumps but eventually i got a hang of it.

This game is definitely made with "run and stop, run and stop" design in mind. And even if you still run SMW won't punish you for that.

Had a trouble with third castle, the last stretch up to Lemmy's castle and castle itself. Good that GBA version never sends you back after running out of lives, it even resumes from checkpoint inside the level.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on June 12, 2014, 02:25:18 AM

Batman Arkham Origins (Wii U):
One particular story segment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPltgOzumNE) made me very happy, it pulled from many comics stories at the same time and interweaves them all in a very smart way.

Combat system is getting troublesome enough to a point where i just want to avoid battles entirely. Main gripe is when you try to do ground takedown someone will always try to hit you and even if you press counter button you won't block because takedown animation is still going

Bosses are usual western developer style bosses -- as in brain dead awful. Just keep railing on them until they die, no imagination used whatsoever. I can only guess that weird people who liked Mr. Freeze boss in City have never played Platinum game (or just any japanese game in general) in their life.

I was stuck on Deadshot "boss" encounter which takes a lot of time and was very annoying because it was heavily based on "stealth" -- i.e. mindless repetition of the same actions and lots and lots of waiting.


See I agree with your general assessment of stealth gameplay, but I really liked that Mr. Freeze fight. It was cool that you had a challenger who was just too strong to face head-on, and it dovetailed with the stealth orientation of the gargoyle room stuff. There's nothing in Origins that even compares in my book. There isn't a single decent boss fight in Origins, and that much heralded Deathstroke fight is just a fucking pain in the ass. And sure, that Joker fight at the end of Asylum was pretty dumb, but sheesh, compared to the end of Origins...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 12, 2014, 02:41:37 AM
Deathstroke fight was basically a glorified QTE sequence.
And you know what? It was the most fun i had with the boss in entire Arkham series.  Production values with crazy good graphics in cutscenes elevated that otherwise tepid Dragon Lair style encounter.
I accept that Arkham games are very, very low brow kind of deal, but once in a while i can't help to supress comparisons to other much, much, much better designed games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 12, 2014, 10:25:05 AM
Super Mario World (GBA):
Love cartoony look, lots of very cool animations. Music is also great.

Weird that i played through three worlds and don't remember going into a single pipe. Don't understand the purpose of spin jump, aside from destroying blocks under me, isn't it otherwise the same as short hop?


I would advise you to keep checking pipes. I think every level can probably be completed  without entering a pipe if my memory serves me correct but if you keep checking them, you'll find some that contain bonuses or alternate exits to new areas.

As for the spin hop, it doesn't have a lot of use but it's main function is that it allows you to jump on spiked enemies without getting injured and on a spiny, you can keep hopping on it infinitely as long as you keep moving along with it. Otherwise, the spin jump just blows things up. For instance, on the purple dragon enemies, instead of taking two jumps to kill, a spin hop blows them up in one jump. Likewise, if you jump on a Banzai Bill, it just falls off screen but spin hopping on it will blow it up.

However, maybe this is spoiler-y for you and you weren't actually looking for this info right now when posting those thoughts. In which case, sorry.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 12, 2014, 10:58:35 PM
Yeah that spin jump doesn't sound like super useful. I do use it sometimes for short long jumps though.
However, maybe this is spoiler-y for you and you weren't actually looking for this info right now when posting those thoughts. In which case, sorry.

No, i'm not crazy enough to scream "life destroying spoilerz!" when someone shares useful Mario information with me.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 13, 2014, 12:18:06 AM
Yeah that spin jump doesn't sound like super useful. I do use it sometimes for short long jumps though.
However, maybe this is spoiler-y for you and you weren't actually looking for this info right now when posting those thoughts. In which case, sorry.

No, i'm not crazy enough to scream "life destroying spoilerz!" when someone shares useful Mario information with me.



Well, it was more about the pipes and alternate exits. If you aren't too worried about it, I'll mention this is the game that started the trend of ghost houses having alternate exits which the NSMB series has carried on with.

Super Mario World was the first true gaming experience I had. I'd played other NES games before of course like the Super Mario Bros. 1 and other things but that was always when visiting with someone and so in short periods. I wasn't able to really sink my teeth in and see a game to completion. With Super Mario World, I finally had that opportunity and it took a few months as I learned to develop the hand-eye coordination and controller memorization that you need to succeed. So, one time, when I messing around in a level with the cape, I was stunned to find a key and keyhole. Of course, such a thing would be obvious for me to find now. There were signs that a secret must be nearby like the outline of invisible blocks which for whatever reason, I'd never thought much about before. And when that key led to a brand new area on the map, it blew my mind. I'd just discovered this amazing secret!! And it led to another level and then another level. It took a long time to end up finding all the levels and secrets but every discovery of a new level was always a thrill as a new portion of the map was now used and more and more alternate routes opened up.

However, since you are quite familiar with video games, and even though this is your first playthrough of SMW, it probably won't feel as revolutionary as that and you'll probably clue in on some of the hints available. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if you have to do more exploring than most other Mario games require. When you mentioned going through the game without really going through many pipes, it just took me back to that time when I thought I'd beat the game and followed the path to Bowser through only to discover much later all that I had missed and all there was yet to see.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 15, 2014, 11:47:33 PM
Crimsonland (Steam):
Bought immediately as it hit steam. I owe developer many, many hours back from decade ago so i was glad to give him some money back.

First levels are carbon copies of the levels from old game. I smiled as i kept recognizing them: "oh yeah, that was cool".

Of course main event isn't even singleplayer levels, because after you beat them you start going for score in survival mode -- i remember hitting a million and witnessed my friend doing 2 million run. Game really becomes all dependent on bonus power-ups at that level (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qesk1y5dzM0) and you start to kill more monsters with nukes, ion chains and other power-up that pop-up on the map rather than with your weapon.

Batman Arkham Origins (Wii U):
Finished story. Of course, there is a ton of stuff left to collect and i will do that.

Firefly boss battle was pathetic how scripted it was.

Finally figured out timing on critical hits.

Many people praise batman combat system for how "fluid" it feels but after Bayonetta it feels almost as stilted as Monster Hunter because counter button DOESN'T cancel from any action like dodge in Bayonetta.

Did some combat challenges but no way i am doing the rest of those 100+ missions with this broken ass combat.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on June 16, 2014, 12:37:43 PM
Played the Destiny Alpha this weekend.

I enjoyed it as a Titan.  It felt a little slower pace then some of your other FPS's but that was good for me.  The environments look good and once your on the ground there isn't any loading.  Anything periphery to the main gameplay needs fleshed out more.  Especially your team communication options.  There is a lot of depth that at the moment is a little more hidden than it should be but I expect that to be fixed by beta.  In general it was stable.

The PvP is well PvP.  Control is Capture points but they really only add bonuses to your kills.

In general though I felt the Alpha really didn't have enough content in it to make a truly informed judgement on it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 30, 2014, 12:03:49 AM
Crimsonland (Steam):
Good ol' Crimsonland. I am still getting through main campaign. Also doing "not a scratch" challenges for previous levels, because because.

Considering this reboot is almost a verbatim copy of the old game the same problem remains true for the remake as well. Game is too dependent or random drops -- getting bad weapon (like flamethrower or a blow torch which is even worse) will mean you'll die in 50% of times. Sometimes it takes around 5 retries until you get a good weapon for this level.

Conversion to game controller went smoothly, though a few mouse dependent power-ups were redesigned.

Because aiming reticle is so close to you when you play with a controller and both are circular sprites i often found myself confused between them when there was too much going on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 01, 2014, 08:13:25 AM
Crimsonland (Steam):
Finished quest on normal. Now i can start the real game -- survival mode. And doing some "not a scratch" runs on previous levels.

Desktop Dungeons (Unity web game):
I just want to have a casual 15 minute battle like i did with freeware version. I want to pick my class and go. But no-o-o-o, now you need to log in and there are so much stuff in the menus i am lost before i even start.

I did a few of the class challenges, but seem to stuck on Fighter Gold (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59hzHWbI9Bs). That kind of RPG min-maxing is completely beyond me it seems.

Really don't want to buy any preparation items for class challenges (because they cost gold and i don't want to spend any) but it seems impossible without them. This is personal annoyance of mine because i don't like to use items in games.

At least i managed to have a a good run in regular quest on normal difficulty and opened a new dungeon.

MGS: Revengeance demo (Xbox360):
I was trying this demo many times over the last year, because i know i will play the full game eventually as a fan of Platinum games. Yesterday, on seventh (?) try, i think i finally got the most basic understanding of how it plays and feel confident enough to make some comments.

Camera AI is absent completely, which is disappointing after Bayonetta where you could complete the game without touching right stick once. People compare camera in this game to Ninja Gaiden Black which isn't right, because NGB actually had rather "smart" camera -- as in it actually moved on it's own accord sometimes to give you a better view instead of you having to babysit it at all times like in Revengeance.

Parrying is weird. Combos are super weird, i've found stinger move and found cyclone sweep move, but couldn't find launcher combo that i've seen in the videos. Dodge by pressing A+X is also weird.

Overall combat system just doesn't make an entire solid picture for me yet, so far it's just separate puzzle pieces.

Cornerstone of all combat systems is defense, and so far i see three (four?) defensive moves 1) ninja run which is baffling so far, i mean it works but why is it here to begin with? 2) 3) blocking and parrying 4) dodging by A+X. So far they just haven't fell into place.

Why do i have to kill rocket launcher guys first before i engage cow robots -- i don't want this "stealth" BS in muh action game. Why can't i go in guns blazing and simply block rockets that these guys shoot from afar?

Blade mode kinda bothers because how it dominates the game at the expense of hack'n'slash in this supposedly hack'n'slash game. It bothers me even more when i watch videos from top players and find that most of the time of the video was spent in blade mode and in other similar QTEs.

And this blade is just a very counter intuitive control scheme -- you're controlling two analog sticks at the same time and it's kinda awkward on both settings: i do seem to be doing better with left stick on blade and right stick on camera though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Eiksirf on July 01, 2014, 12:39:50 PM
On Xbox 360, I'm currently playing through Dead Island. Playing with my wife, who's hooked even more than I am. It's a lot like Far Cry 3, which we loved, but with more uneven difficulty, and less developed storyline/characters.

(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/527647-dead-island-windows-screenshot-dancing-no-sir-that-guy-is.jpg)

On Nintendo 3DS, I'm roughly less than half way through Zelda: Link Between Worlds which is a much more open world environment than I expected, so I'm really enjoying it. I also never finished Link to the Past (tried twice!) so I don't even notice much of the lifted environments.

(http://lusipurr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/A-Link-Between-Worlds-Screenshot-02.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 08, 2014, 01:52:04 AM
Mii Force (Streetpass Squad) (3DS):
I really like replaying rollercoaster level (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSxECRq60pI). Entire game is very reminiscent of 16-bit shmups (Gradius, R-Type) which is good and this level is my favourite one so far.

Cool music, great colourful, neon-y environments and level's gimmick when you're tethered to rollercoaster line is very neat. There are a few alternative routes that you activate by blowing up arrows. It's very cool when you make loop-de-loops on a rail and entire level rotates around you.

Basically each level has gimmicks like that aside from general gimmick for entire game that you have many slots for many different weapons that shoot in many directions and you can rotate changing directions of your shots.


Viewtiful Joe:
Unfair off-screen attacks!.. Enemies that swarm on you with no chance to retaliate!.. Overwhelming visuals leaving with no idea what's going on!.. Enemies and bosses with obtuse attacks that require very distinct techniques that you're forced to look up in the internet to beat!.. Game that leaves you completely in the dark about 90% of it's systems and how you're supposed to play!.. Annoying environmental puzzles!.. Bosses that take WAY too long to beat!..

Sounds familiar? That's not what you think it is. These are my general complaints on Viewtiful Joe. The difference between basically identical popular complaints on Wonderful 101 is that one can totally overcome them with a bit of effort, while all these still remain relevant for VJ even after i put many, many hours into it.

Along with environmental puzzles (which are traditionally the most off putting element for me in action games), Cromarties (http://viewtifuljoe.wikia.com/wiki/Cromarty) are where the game becomes way too annoying for me.

After trashed by swarms of them, i gave up and looked up their attack pattern in the wiki (first two hits are random, one hit after that is reverse of second hit and the last hit is the same as second hit). How am i supposed to figure out THAT in the middle of a battle? Cromarties LOVE to surround me, and i am completely at loss there, jumping out of the way works but i just feel very stupid and not viewtiful at all doing so.

Train level: after dying due to timer a few times, i started ignoring everyone and just ran past most of the guys. Beat Alastor at the end of train level on my first try though i did use "take two".

Aside from complete obtuseness of the game the other thing i don't like is the sound: music is too loud and i can't hear any of the voices. And even beside that there is an overall "off", echo-chamber feeling with all sound effects. At least the music isn't as aggressively terrible as in DMC1.

While i got the combat system enough to comprehend what's going on in videos like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_YpZxIC69o&t=1m30s) i still can't exactly pull combos like that. So far my general strategy start and ends with "put one guy into stunned SLOW! mode and then just go zoom and hit em with million punches. Then repeat with all other guys, one by one".

Now doing boss rush. At first i completely forgot how to beat even the first boss, it was a full year by now. After spending most of my Sunday playing it, i managed to get until fourth boss, Another Joe. Because i remember him being completely impenetrable for me due to baffling attacks that make zero sense, i looked up walkthrough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoBqqEkb-Ck) which of course contained ways to beat bosses five times faster than how i did it.

Looking back i realize it was a mistake to start on adult mode.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 14, 2014, 01:27:14 AM
Mii Force (3DS streetpass game):
Weird. I beat the last level in Oceania but new level hasn't unlocked. Do i have to collect all diamonds on all levels to progress or something?

Viewtiful Joe:
Spend most of my weekend finishing up the game.
Beat Fire Leo. It was enraging and then enraging twice as hard when i knew how to beat him because i completely forgot about red hot mode and never used it until this boss fight.
Now doing the final boss. He's also annoying like pretty much everything else in this game.

God Hand:
As i finish one Clover game, i checked out another. What can i say?

It's a hard game. It's a hard game. Ball-bustingly hard game. Ball-bustingly hard game. But fair. But fair (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY90Jl-W6Bg).

Love the music and little dancing animation main character does. Gameplay feels great from what little i played. Can't wait to start this proper.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 14, 2014, 07:45:52 AM
God of War Ascension
Nothing especially new here. I haven't played a God of War game in a while so I kept instinctively using the right analog stick to adjust the camera. There are too many instances where the camera will pan out really far just to show you Sony Santa Monica's huge set pieces. Nice graphics; it just sucks for gameplay. Speaking of, very few meaningful additions, just a lot of mashing the Square button until the enemies are gone and whatever is sealing me in that room goes away. The Amulet of Uroboros adds some nice puzzles so far. It reminds me of The Amulet of the Fates from God of War II, just fancier.

They're trying to give Kratos more depth which is appreciated if ultimately useless. After five games, he's mostly just "that angry guy." His motivations have been known since the original, but I don't think it's enough to carry six games without a true character arc. Ascension suffers the same problem as Ghost of Sparta. Once they showed how it all ends in God of War III, I'm finding it hard to care about the story. The tricky part about writing prequels is that they're tasked with keeping the audience interested without contradicting known future events. While there have been no contradictions so far, the game is barely keeping me interested. It doesn't use Greek Mythology as well as God of War II and III. At this point, I'm not sure there's anything that could really blow the whole series open besides Athena being the mastermind behind everything which would cause all kinds of problems with the rest of the series.

Ultimately, Ascension isn't terrible; there's just nothing new here even by God of War standards. I may even be too lenient on this because I'm borrowing this from a friend. I'm extremely glad I not only didn't buy this game but didn't buy it at full price.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Eiksirf on July 14, 2014, 12:20:46 PM
I'm taking my time with Shovel Knight for 3DS. I thought it might be too challenging, but infinite lives and a fair number of continue points keep things balanced. The platforming is reminiscent of Castlevania, but toned down a bit on the action and stepped up a bit more with the jumping. The levels are laid out on an overworld and some village areas are a lot like Zelda II. Another fun thing is when random battles appear on the overworld map, the icon for that character slides around between the levels a bit before settling on a space, just like the enemy overworld encounters from Super Mario Bros. 3.

(http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2013/03/shovel_knight_confirmed_for_wii_u_and_3ds/large.jpg)

I spent the rest of my eShop money on Monster Manor for the StreetPass plaza. It's hard to explain, but it's more involved than Find Mii. It works fair just using play coins, so you don't really need a lot of StreetPass activity to try it. Each character you meet gives you a colored shape that you plug into the floorplan of the manor. This lets you explore that space, and you're looking to find stairs to the top floors, build rooms to get treasures, battle ghosts and upgrade your character with the rewards you find. Pretty involved for StreetPass.

(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/07/streetpassghost.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: RarityGamer on July 14, 2014, 02:26:38 PM
Mario Kart 8

Meh, already traded it in. Lacks sense of speed, unimaginative and creative tracks, the same unbalanced weapons and dodgy AI at 150cc. I'm sticking with Sega All-stars Racing Transformed.

Sonic Lost Worlds

Apart from the odd parts here and there, I've really enjoyed this. The controls work well and the switch between the precise platforming and running mechanic was done well. I'm not a fan of the whole Mario Galaxy style of levels, but the games still fun :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 21, 2014, 01:50:38 AM
Devil May Cry (Xbox360):

Beat Nightmare, then Nelo Angelo, then Nightmare again. Now i am at what feels like the final level.

Currently there are 3:30 hours on my save and but you can safely make it 30 hours because me being me, i playing it without spending continues. That results with me retrying some of the missions at least five-ten times until i can do them in one go, without dying.

Another stupid thing i did was ignoring items in shops, because while one should definitely ignore health items and such, i shouldn't have ignored blue orbs and purple orbs. These upgrade my healthbar and devil trigger bar, so i was stupid not to get them earlier.

Trying to beat final Nelo Angelo with just three devil trigger letters is pretty painful.

With finale of Viewtiful Joe still fresh in my mind and with endings of Bayonetta and W101 that are burned inside my brain forever, i am playing last level of Devil May Cry and it's pretty amazing how strict Kamiya adheres to his own formula all throughout his games:


When i will get to play Resident Evil 2, i will be disappointed if there will be no finale in space with characters shooting flying space zombies.

Also when playing last battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBi9mb2A5uA&t=9m55s) i had a thought that God of War creator took epic, somewhat greek feel of it, threw out everything else (including combat complexity) and spread it out for four games.

Constantly doing pinching motion where you press right bumper and press another button to roll, shoot your gun or do any other sword move is messing up with my fingers. When "pinching" i press buttons too hard and now my fingers hurt a lot after playing the game entire weekend.

I also briefly tried out DMC3. Oh my god, that intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6YMXXutxI8)! Absolutely amazing. I can't wait to plough through DMC2 (ugh) and finally get to 3.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 22, 2014, 12:55:13 AM
Devil May Cry (Xbox360, HD Collection):
Disaster.

As a part of test run for the final mission i beat it and without giving it a thought saved OVER my main save. The game started over on hard difficulty and upgraded Dante and now my save that starts from final mission is gone.

And i worked so hard for it, doing one life run (no yellow orb continues)! And it saved that i used one continue, so i didn't get achievement for doing it in one life.

Thankfully, not all is lost, i found my save from Saturday which is four levels and two bosses before the final level. Better than nothing. I guess i will continue from that.

I tried out hard difficulty, it's rather easy now that i have Dante upgraded with most of the moves. Got S rank on mission 1, just for kicks.

Then started the game on normal and got S rank with "new Dante" (blank slate, no moves except for the most basic ones).

I can see myself doing this, S ranking entire game. I definitely enjoy this game way more than Viewtiful Joe, maybe it's 2d/3d thing. Even with horrible fixed camera angles and a rather limited moveset i just like playing DMC1 more.

Actual ending is surprisingly melodramatic. Dante who before that was a rather generic character with some rare flashes of amusing cockiness, suddenly became all feely-touchy. Whatever. Game is still cool.

Devil May Cry 2 (Xbox360, HD Collection):
Oh wow.

Game still has some of the combat complexity of the first game, but you don't have the chance to use it properly because enemies fall apart if you as much as fart in their general direction. There is no reason to use anything. Just walk around and press sword button from time to time.

RPG levels on swords and guns are baffling. Why would i upgrade them if i already one hitting all enemies in this game? And in general i find that RPG progression where you just boost your stats has no place in action games. It's much more rewarding to get new moves and weapons to diversify combat rather than just get stupid +20% to your attack.

Prince of Persia-style parkour is weird. It's cool that i can run up the wall and jump from it and shoot monsters below me when i am in the air, but what's the point?

I am starting to get why this game is so loathed.

Sengoku Basara 3 (Wii):
Played a bit. Combat system is solid but it feels like it's completely wasted during the main combat where you just mash buttons killing thousands of helpless soldiers.

You have guard, evasive rolls, air recovery, light and heavy attacks but you don't NEED any of that to slaughter armies of nameless minions.

Boss fights at the end of the missions are cool though and definitely feel very well designed.

I definitely like outrageous characters more than sour, serious dudes. The contrast is very striking compared to rather restrained Dante of DMC1 (i know he got way more cuhrrazee in DMC3 and i love it). Maedas are hilarious (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxkKafIvqiA&t=2m54s).

Cutscenes and graphics are very impressive for a Wii game. Game plays great and smooth. Even local splitscreen looks decent enough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 22, 2014, 08:59:52 AM
Shadow of the Colossus (PS3 Remaster)

I don't know if I'm going to finish this game. It's just 16 boss battles in a row (after a long and pointless run on your horse with no enemies anywhere), and every boss is basically the same thing. This game gets way too high of reviews as far as I can tell.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 22, 2014, 11:34:23 AM
But what about the feeeeels the game gives you on your ride to your boss battle? ;)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 22, 2014, 11:50:41 AM
Okay, so Shovel Knight is very good. I seem to like these modern retro-styled games more than the old games they're "inspired" by.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on July 22, 2014, 01:15:00 PM
It's like modern silent movies. Mel Brooks did a silent movie comedy in 1976 called Silent Movie and then there was The Artist in 2012 as another example. In both cases, those movies are much better than the actual silent movies made in the early 20th century. And that's because there has been so much learnt in film technique, acting, direction, cinematography, effects, you name it. So, when these modern design techniques are applied to a silent movie, the result is that they are more engaging than the earlier films they are doing an homage to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 22, 2014, 01:43:47 PM
That makes sense.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 23, 2014, 12:25:49 AM
It's like modern silent movies. Mel Brooks did a silent movie comedy in 1976 called Silent Movie and then there was The Artist in 2012 as another example. In both cases, those movies are much better than the actual silent movies made in the early 20th century. And that's because there has been so much learnt in film technique, acting, direction, cinematography, effects, you name it. So, when these modern design techniques are applied to a silent movie, the result is that they are more engaging than the earlier films they are doing an homage to.

Fantastic answer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 25, 2014, 02:20:19 AM
DMC HD Collection (Xbox 360):

DMC1:
I didn't take shotgun on my first normal run, so it made some enemies and bosses a bit harder than it should. It can be replaced somewhat by grenade gun but there are some tricks you can only do with shotgun.

I finished final boss on one life and still didn't get achievement for completing the game with no continues. I am guessing i accidentally used one continue somewhere and saved it.

Ah well. I guess i will do "one continue" run on hard now. Also trying to get S ranks, collect blue orbs and do secret missions. S ranked first two missions so far, not sure if i will commit to S ranking the whole thing because i know next missions will be much harder even though i am sufficiently upgraded now.

Stupid thing is i forgot to take shotgun again.

DMC2:
Did second mission. Game is still rather boring.

Fighting the temptation to unlock hard mode with cheats and play on that, because otherwise enemies just stand there looking at me without even trying to attack.

DMC3:
Played first few missions again to dissolve aftertaste of 2. This time even got to first boss. Still fantastic.

These first missions are very relaxed even if there are more enemies and they're more eager to swarm you, they don't actually do much. I barely have to roll. So far it's big contrast from DMC1 and Ninja Gaiden Black where enemy pressure is much more harsh and you generally have way less freedom to do combo styling.

Fantasy Zone II (MAME):
This is tough. And weird. Addictive though. I can only get to second zone and then i die because new enemies have weird patterns and stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on July 25, 2014, 07:38:19 PM
New Super Mario Bros U I got the game free for buying MK8. I seems a little ho-hum so far. I don't like the jumping physics, bring back the crispness of SMB1 jumping.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 28, 2014, 09:11:57 AM
... I don't like the jumping physics, bring back the crispness of SMB1 jumping.


I said something similar recently and was nearly crucified for it. The NSMB jumping physics don't feel good to me at all - they feel mushy and a bit floaty - but apparently many people love them.  Guess it depends on what you are used to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 31, 2014, 04:04:16 AM
Ninja Gaiden 3 (360 demo):
What a mess of a game... After a few minutes it quickly devolved into me just pressing random buttons, and not even touching left stick.

And that battle in the fog... What was that about?

Dragon's Dogma (360 demo):
Messy, but charming. Climbing on top of bosses is pretty fun but again messy and i don't understand how coop with pawns works. Combat system is kinda interesting.

Ghost and Goblins (MAME):
Playing a bit again. Can consistently get to 4th level on one life and then i start to fall apart, usually lose one life on 4 and then lose the rest on 5. I still can't break through that chokepoint where i have to climb the ladder with ogre walking around right near it.

DMC HD Collection (Xbox 360):

DMC1:
S ranked up to mission 10 (hard). Tenth was pretty hard to S rank, because of short time restriction you don't have enough time to get enough red orbs, so your only chance is to get through mission unharmed and get bonus from that. That is problematic because there are two Shadows -- one of the hardest enemies in entire game.

DMC2:
Killed monkey boss just by shooting it to death. Hydra boss in the next mission was harder to deal with, you first have to deal with it's tentacles and then come up close to it's head, it was kinda sorta neat actually. Demonic tanks (sic) in the next level were pretty easy, but demonic helicopter killed me and then i fell asleep because it was 2AM.

Super Mario Deluxe (3DS):
Ridiculously small screen is a big problem, so you have to be very cautious or just memorize all the levels.

Got to 5-1 on one life, i guess i am now trying to to beat it on one continue then. I might even try to do the same with Lost Levels when i will unlock it (yeah no, fat chance of that without grinding 1ups).

Extra modes in this game are as much if not more fun than actual game:

Very fun.
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSOHNIotCXGAZg) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADtU2yUZ577sQ)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 31, 2014, 01:44:34 PM
Final Fantasy VII (PSOne Classic)


Wow. This game is supposed to be a classic... but I'm totally not feeling it.  I'm about 2 hours in for the third time. Both previous attempts to play through were abandoned because the script/translation is terrible, and neither the plot nor characters are the least bit compelling early on. Instead, everything (plot and character development) feels forced and completely linear.


I keep coming back to FF7 because of how often people rave about it, but every time my conclusion is the same: people raving must be viewing the game through rose-colored glasses or just have very different taste in games than I do.


Can anyone give some encouragement?  Will this game improve dramatically if I keep playing, or should I cut my losses and move on?


(For reference, I do enjoy classic JRPGs. I have played through and enjoyed all prior Final Fantasy games, the majority of the Dragon Quest series, and many others like Breath of Fire and Suikoden. It's not an issue with genre - just with this particular game.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 31, 2014, 01:48:33 PM
VII is one of the most overrated games of all time. Second and third only to Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye 007.

If you aren't enjoying the beginning of VII, it's all downhill from there. The game only gets worse and worse.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 31, 2014, 02:02:15 PM
VII is one of the most overrated games of all time. Second and third only to Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye 007.

This is the part where I make a crack about your age and then you get all angry and defensive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on July 31, 2014, 03:25:59 PM
VII is one of the most overrated games of all time. Second and third only to Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye 007.


BigLebowskiYeahWellThat'sJustLikeYourOpinionMan.jpeg
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 31, 2014, 05:54:53 PM
You had to play Final Fantasy VII back in that generation to appreciate it. I didn't play it until 2000 which was pushing it. I played Final Fantasy IX first which made a few important changes (like not forcing you to watch summons every time). And I didn't care until the end of disc one when Sephiroth kills Aeris. If I was trying to play it today, I'd never get anywhere.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on July 31, 2014, 08:29:11 PM
VII is one of the most overrated games of all time. Second and third only to Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye 007.

This is the part where I make a crack about your age and then you get all angry and defensive.

*gasp* I am not THAT predictable...

 ;D
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on July 31, 2014, 10:15:18 PM
You had to play Final Fantasy VII back in that generation to appreciate it. I didn't play it until 2000 which was pushing it. I played Final Fantasy IX first which made a few important changes (like not forcing you to watch summons every time). And I didn't care until the end of disc one when Sephiroth kills Aeris. If I was trying to play it today, I'd never get anywhere.
Disagree. I played it around 2011 when I finally found a copy cheap enough. It is a magnificent game. Better then most of the other titles. But I'll agree that disc 1 is boring. I hate the entire beginning of the game, particularly everything about Aerith and Midgar.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Nile Boogie Returns on July 31, 2014, 11:01:08 PM
Watching my son play Sin & Punishment 2 is like baking a pie with fruit from a tree you planted.




Currently playing Sin and Punishment 2 and remembering why Treasure was/are the best at what they do.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 02, 2014, 08:16:28 AM
Mario Kart 8.

**** my face, this **** is insane. The courses just want to **** with you on every level. Anybody who says this is stagnant need some brains beaten into them. I can't believe that after so many years, over so many games they can still surprise. The speed and tension is in your face. I find myself constantly over gripping like I am trying to break the laws of physics.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on August 03, 2014, 04:17:19 PM
I said something similar recently and was nearly crucified for it. The NSMB jumping physics don't feel good to me at all - they feel mushy and a bit floaty - but apparently many people love them.  Guess it depends on what you are used to.
Much as I like the NSMB games (for the levels and multiplayer), I agree that they don't control too well. I miss the sharp control of Super Mario World, and I have no idea why that didn't become the standard of control for not just Mario, but all platformers to follow.

Can anyone give some encouragement?  Will this game improve dramatically if I keep playing, or should I cut my losses and move on?
Myself, I felt the first 8 or so hours were the best part of the game. After you leave Midgar is when I felt things started going downhill. On the opposite end, some people feel the game gets better as you go, so who knows, maybe you'd be one of them.

There's also that you may want to beat the game just so you can say you beat it, and then be able to talk about one of the most influential games of all time. If you're into something like that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 04, 2014, 12:27:33 AM
Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox):
I come back to it after not playing for a few month and it still feels great.

Technically you can get through most of the encounters just by holding block and spamming izuna drops and flying swallow but it's so much more satisfying to pull off counters and just being more offensive even if the game severely punishes you for it.

Beat eel min-boss (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=1h06m14s) and then did it again only with two eels -- have to keep track on both eels at all times, but they're not too bad, apart from forcing to multitask they have an easy pattern. Then beat claw monster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=1h14m).

And now underwater sequences. Ugh. Of all things to copy from DMC1 they could have at least cut THAT, but no-o-o-o...


New Super Mario Bros U I got the game free for buying MK8. I seems a little ho-hum so far. I don't like the jumping physics, bring back the crispness of SMB1 jumping.
I find the NSMB series the closest to SMB1. I find myself overshooting and having to adjust my position constantly in all other 2d Mario games. In SMB1 and NSMB i jump and land exactly where i wanted to.


Devil May Cry 2 (Xbox 360):
Lucia controls faster than Dante but the combat is still clunky. Mainly because dodge button is B instead of a trigger and on top of that you can't even dodge out of the middle of combo, so it's doubly worthless.

I literally fell asleep during Lucia's mission 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zuNDi2xiJA&t=2m09s). Seeing Armor of God 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkXCxFEQ3AY&t=5m31s) reference with aerodynamics test plane was cool though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 04, 2014, 12:41:56 AM
Playing a bit of Wind Waker HD which I finally picked up and honestly, eh, it may be the weakest of the 3d Zelda's I've played (excluding Skyward Turd.)

So far I only have Majora's Mask left to play but I'm not paying for the VC release if there is still talk of a remake.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 05, 2014, 05:08:37 AM
With all the excitement about the announement of Renegade Kid's new project, I thought I'd go back and play the last thing of theirs I bought and then proceeded to never play: Moon Chronicles. It's certainly a neat little game: an old-school corridor shooter, but that's something I've been kind of in the mood for. My issue is I'm having trouble getting a good feel for the controls, even with the behemoth of the Circle Pad Pro XL strapped on. Not sure if that's the game, the hardware, or me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Eiksirf on August 08, 2014, 01:36:45 PM
Super Mario Deluxe (3DS):
Ridiculously small screen is a big problem, so you have to be very cautious or just memorize all the levels.

Got to 5-1 on one life, i guess i am now trying to to beat it on one continue then. I might even try to do the same with Lost Levels when i will unlock it (yeah no, fat chance of that without grinding 1ups).

Extra modes in this game are as much if not more fun than actual game:
 
  • collectathon levels where they hide special coins and yoshi egg all over standard SMB levels and you need to find them AND hit the score.
  • boo races with all new levels[/l][/l][/l][/l]
I missed this one, this game sounds awesome. 3DS eShop, I assume?

Etrian Oddysey Untold: The Millennium Girl

I'm playing through the story mode of Etrian Odyssey for the first time. A unique hook is that you use the touch screen to map out the labyrinth levels where the game's RPG combat takes place. There are lots of little quests to take for extra XP, but the combat tends to fall somewhere between grinding and tedious. I'm not sure how far into the game I am, but I've already sunk hours going back and forth between the first 8 similar levels and the village. The anime is cool and there's more voice acting than I expected.
[/list]
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on August 09, 2014, 12:14:09 AM
Fez (PS4). I just downloaded and started this game probably less than an hour ago. It's pretty cool - kind of annoying, but I hope I finish it. I also hope it doesn't take that long to finish. PS Plus Instant Game Collection is great, especially when you have a PS3 and a PS4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on August 09, 2014, 01:06:50 AM
Cool... but annoying?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 09, 2014, 02:20:57 AM
Fez (PS4). I just downloaded and started this game probably less than an hour ago. It's pretty cool - kind of annoying, but I hope I finish it. I also hope it doesn't take that long to finish.
Main campaign took me about 15+ hours.
Puzzles are often way dumber than you think, most of them just ask you to input certain button inputs at a certain place.
Keep your iPhone nearby.
New game+ is basically a new game hidden inside the main one, but it will require way more time investment than it's worth.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on August 09, 2014, 08:03:18 AM
Final Fantasy XIII: Plot is crap, main game is awful, battle system is fine though. Post game is amazing. Why the hell I have to slog through the entire game to just to enjoy it is beyond me. This game did not warrant two direct sequels. Still, I invested myself in this game so I'm going to probably buy the sequels.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 11, 2014, 01:33:53 AM
Aside from finishing up DMC1 (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.msg844485#msg844485).

Fantasy Zone (MAME):
Horizontal movement it's like a swimming in a ocean, speed is annoyingly variable because you're constantly fighting the flow and it changes back and forth so it's hard to adjust to this.
It's pretty hard. So far i got to level three and was one UFO away from seeing the third boss.

Fast Racing League (WiiWare):
Completed A set of challenges! They really should have added a few invisible walls in some of them -- i cheated with one challenge by simply jumping off one side of a road and landing further down on the spiral shaped road.

I still can't beat second cup though.

Mega Man 1 (3DS VC):
Stuck on second boss rush, the biggest problem is fire man. He destroys my healthbar and i don't have health enough left to beat Wily's machine.

Logical way to counter Fire Man is use ice beam but i wish i could use Ice Man's ability to float in the air, but i am guessing i can't actually do it, so all you have to do is spam ice beams.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 18, 2014, 03:08:05 AM
Spent most of my last week going through

DMC3 (360):
Game has great cutscenes that are not only amusing but are also showing gameplay features -- even with how outrageous these videos go, there will always be some move in the cutscene that you can actually do in-game, it's almost a tutorial in sense.

Game has many minor changes that just make sense and were long due for the series -- mission select right from the start, total ranking screen right from the start, lots of little things that just make playing the game much more pleasant.

Combo bar which shows how much time you have left until your combo dies is taken straight out of shmups. It's cool how combo mechanic forces you to diversify your moves because spamming the same move will lead to your combo downgraded.

It kinda bugs me how controlling the game is tied to RB button. Many moves including dodges are done with a combination RB and face button pressed and left stick pushed in some direction. So you're gonna be awkwardly clutching your controller lots of times while playing the game. It just gets physically tiring a bit. Playing Bayonetta again this weekend felt almost liberating after DMC3 because it doesn't require holding RB at all (jumping back into DMC3 required relearning controls though, because my fingers were still in Bayo mode and i kept pressing wrong buttons).

Targeting is kinda cumbersome to work with in big crowds though. Lots of time i had the wrong move coming out because game targeted the wrong enemy. Not a big deal though, because regular encounters with mobs in DMC3 are pretty easy (at least on normal). Only the bosses are actually hard and can kill you.

Simple jumping feels more efficient than rolls to evade attacks, because jump is one button and roll is again a combination of RB, jump button and left stick pushed left or right. As it happens jump has some invinciblity just like roll, so so far simple jump feels like the better way to dodge attacks.

Killed Virgil on first try, i used the dumbest strategy there is -- hit him, if he parries, roll away and hit him again. Nelo Angelo boss fights, who is a similar sword wielding boss and is the same character in DMC1 were more intense, varied and fun. Virgil 1 was kinda disappointing, but i expect next fights with him to be better.

Nevan was fun and cutscene you get after you defeat her was AMAZING (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB2wHzkoR1M&t=32m20s). And, again, all that coolest stuff in the cutscene Dante just did? All playable! And that makes it a million times better.

After that was Godzilla dragonfly monster. Had to switch to Trickster for that one because of explosion attacks it does when i try to get close to it. Dashing away with Trickster made this boss much simpler.

Now i am up to mission 12. And have to fight some kind of horse carriage from hell. Fun times.

Bayonetta (360):
Squeezed some Bayo time in between DMC3 sessions.

I Pure Platinum'd Prologue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgOxQrJFKyg) on Hard and it was pretty painful, lots of retries. You need to move strategically around graveyard so that you combo doesn't die during all three waves. Combo limit for plat on Verse 1 is pretty harsh. Thankfully on Verse 2 combo ain't no thing, but it's still hard because you're facing Gracious and Glorious which are the hardest enemies in Bayo (WAY harder than any of the bosses except Jeanne or any other mooks, because of how fast they are).

Then got Platinum on Route 666 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSphmGNCZvk) which was just as hard. Verse 1, again, wants to never drop your combo for entire duration despite that there are enemies standing WAY away from you shooting fireballs that you can't get to quick enough without your combo dying. And Verse 2 was just a nightmare with three Gracious and Glorious AND a traffic that harms you if you're not careful. I kinda cheezed it with shotguns because their shots stuns and that stops their ultra fast attack patterns.

And finally i Platinum'd Remembrance of Time. The highlight there was Alfheim where i fought two Jeannes. Remember Gracious and Glorious? Jeannes are just as fast if not faster AND have have attacks that they can activate from afar. HAVE FUN.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 19, 2014, 01:06:43 AM
Last night.

DKC2 (GBA):
Bramble Scramble should be taught in schools. As an example how not to design platforming levels.

Organic artstyle that makes judging if whether you're gonna hit the obstacle or not harder than it should be (many years later Rayman did the very same mistake).

Most of the level you spend flying with the parrot who also has his own hitbox, so now you're twice as big. That makes a problem with undecipherable hitboxes on surrounding vines even worse.

Background is visually busy and sometimes makes it hard to see enemies.

Cheap offscreen attacks by dragonflies. And you need to attack enemies who are offscreen as well.

Unintuitive controls when moving from vine to vine when they're crossed:
(http://www.mariowiki.com/images/3/3d/BrambleScrambleL365.png)
^ screenshot is from Gameboy game, but these intercrossed vines are in SNES/GBA version too

Apparently i can only move from vertical vine to horizonthal vine only if i am positioned right. Before that i thought i had to jump off it which in half of the times lead to me hitting ceiling spikes.

Took me a few months to get through this level. I usually played it a few times, died and then put it aside for weeks.

DMC1 (360):
I have no idea why am still playing it. I guess it's THAT good.

I was just playing on Dante Must Die mode and tried to fill up encyclopedia of enemies which gathers information about all attacks they do and all tricks you can do to kill them. I still have a few entries not filled up. The only way to fill up entries is either to get hit by these attacks or to discover and execute these tricks -- then they will be recorded.

While i am at it, i also S-ranked first and second level. Took me a while to kill Phantom on DMD. He hits really hard on this difficulty, so you have to be very safe (or extremely reckless to destroy him with the fastest time possible).

DMC3 (360):
Defeated horsie from Hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UIlVRUdqoY&t=18m55s). Cheesed it by dashing around with Trickster style and by shooting from afar with Spiral (sniper rail gun). Jumped on top of a carriage a few times and did a decent damage on top of it.

Next boss is Vergil 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cWM9lhEg8c&t=16m22s). Vergil 2 obtains a new weapon which is extremely similar to Ifrit from the first game, which was the best weapon to use against Nelo Angelo (Vergil) in the first game.

Now Vergil has Ifrit-like weapon with the same charged combo, same uppercut and most importantly -- the same divekick that i loved to abuse so much against him in DMC1. The tables has turned and now i am the sword wielding guy against hard hitting gauntlets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on August 19, 2014, 08:02:17 AM
The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - dope ass game. Been stuck at the part where you first encounter a bunch of runners and a clicker for a bit...gotta come up with a strategy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 19, 2014, 12:20:06 PM
Ogre Battle 64. Been trying to grind some of my weaker dudes so that I'm not so overall underleveled.

But what's this? A TBS game with a story that (mostly) isn't country A has invaded country B? Say it isn't so. What madness.

I do love how they first introduce the ogres by basically having a rebel soldier find a dead imperial soldier and starts wondering how he died given that the rebels had just arrived and then another imperial screams for help
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 19, 2014, 09:36:18 PM
I finally opened Darksiders 2. Meh...

I was surprised there were no updates, mandatory or otherwise. I have no idea if that's because THQ is no more and the updates were yanked or if there never were any to begin with. I'll look it up, but I'm already typing this.

I'm going to give it more time. So far, it's pretty boring. I don't really care for Death. I liked War in the original more, and I would have preferred Fury over another overly-muscular dude. Then again, I have a feeling Fury would have just been scantily clad and heavy-chested and frankly, these kinds of character design cliches are tiresome. The voice acting and narration are way too over-dramatic. I feel like Vigil Games thought their story was grander than it actually is. And they cheat right in the beginning. After the first boss, Death is whisked away to a world than isn't Heaven, Hell, or Earth. What the fuc...

Still, I paid $10 for this game. I'm nitpicking so far. Ultimately, even if I don't finish it, I won't regret picking it up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on August 19, 2014, 09:39:02 PM
I was trying to finish Depression Quest.  Didn't realize it didn't save my progress ... Which is depressing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on August 19, 2014, 10:35:17 PM
I was surprised there were no updates, mandatory or otherwise. I have no idea if that's because THQ is no more and the updates were yanked or if there never were any to begin with. I'll look it up, but I'm already typing this.

THQ went belly-up within a few weeks of the Wii U's launch, so they wouldn't have had a chance to get anything through Nintendo QA if they even cared to. I've had several clipping issues and at least two hard locks, which is apparently only an issue in the Wii U version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 20, 2014, 12:21:52 AM
I'm playing the AC IV and Call of Duty Black Ops II I just got in the mail. They are like Summer Blockbusters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 20, 2014, 01:25:44 AM
Ogre Battle 64. Been trying to grind some of my weaker dudes so that I'm not so overall underleveled.

But what's this? A TBS game with a story that (mostly) isn't country A has invaded country B? Say it isn't so. What madness.

I do love how they first introduce the ogres by basically having a rebel soldier find a dead imperial soldier and starts wondering how he died given that the rebels had just arrived and then another imperial screams for help

This is one of the best games ever, but super hard. Beating this ranks for me along side with unlocking T.T. in Diddy Kong Racing as one of the hardest things I've pulled off. I highly recommend looking at a guide to the bevy of secret game systems/hidden characters as it makes the game a lot more fun and beatable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 20, 2014, 01:32:28 AM
I finally opened Darksiders 2. Meh...

I was surprised there were no updates, mandatory or otherwise. I have no idea if that's because THQ is no more and the updates were yanked or if there never were any to begin with. I'll look it up, but I'm already typing this.

I'm going to give it more time. So far, it's pretty boring. I don't really care for Death. I liked War in the original more, and I would have preferred Fury over another overly-muscular dude. Then again, I have a feeling Fury would have just been scantily clad and heavy-chested and frankly, these kinds of character design cliches are tiresome. The voice acting and narration are way too over-dramatic. I feel like Vigil Games thought their story was grander than it actually is. And they cheat right in the beginning. After the first boss, Death is whisked away to a world than isn't Heaven, Hell, or Earth. What the fuc...

Still, I paid $10 for this game. I'm nitpicking so far. Ultimately, even if I don't finish it, I won't regret picking it up.

Yeah, I really couldn't get into this. It's not much of a Zelda clone, all told. It's really combat heavy with a not-great combat system, and it's approach to puzzles is more God of War than Zelda. I quit after I hit a get-three-things quest inside of a get-three-things quest in a generally shitty environment. Nonetheless, I guess this as close to a Zelda-clone as we get these days. I kinda feel the same way about Okami, which I thought was painfully mediocre on the actual gameplay, but nonetheless deserves a soft clap for trying to spread a form.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 20, 2014, 11:58:48 PM
Dark Souls (PC):
Spent last night going at Bell Gargoyles. As a single entity gargoyle isn't too bad, but of course as one can tell from the introducing cutscene the second one joins in the fun once once the first gargoyle goes down to 70% of health (or is it timer based?).

This boss fight is clearly made along the template of Agni & Rudra (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9PXAO3_k9g). Two bosses, with somewhat limited set of moves (so that you can find openings, keep an eye on both of them and not get too overwhelmed).

Of course, Dark Souls, being the game it is, is around 10 times slower than DMC3. And you have less operating space on the roof fighting BG, because you can fall off the edge (pretty sure i died from that more often that from gargoyles themselves). Also in DMC3 (as is the case with all bosses) Agni & Rudra actually evolve and go through phases gaining new moves, while Bell Gargoyles' attack patterns stay the same.

The best way to fight A&R is actually to stand between them (because they harm each other and camera handles better that way), while this is a big "no-no" with Gargoyles (which is kinda more logical). Camera can also be a problem with Gargoyles, so once in a while you need to remove lock-on or switch it to other gargoyle.

I used Halberd which is extremely slow but this isn't a big problem against BGs because they're even slower. Usually i could manage to get first BG to 30-50% but then got caught by fire from the second. So i grinded a bit, upgraded Halberd, picked another armour with a bit more fire resistance and finally killed them.

I guess now i have to go underground, which i tried to postpone as much as possible. That place is creepy, yo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 22, 2014, 01:17:46 AM
Good Heavens, AC IV is like Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Is this the best game of the series?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 22, 2014, 01:33:23 AM
Good Heavens, AC IV is like Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Is this the best game of the series?
Best would be ACII or Brotherhood.

ACII is super cool with gorgeous Italian architecture that you can actually climb all over and stuff. Brotherhood is virtually the same game, but polishes a few things over II.

Revelation is again, the same game, but it probably has the best story of them all.

Naval stuff in IV is cool at first but gets obnoxious later on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 22, 2014, 01:44:22 AM
Maybe I should pick up ACII. The parkour is getting on my nerves. That and the collectathon that makes Star Fox Adventures look streamlined.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 22, 2014, 01:49:25 AM
Maybe I should pick up ACII. The parkour is getting on my nerves. That and the collectathon that makes Star Fox Adventures look streamlined.
This is actually why i enjoy AC series to begin with. So if you don't like these elements, i don't think you'll like any of them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 22, 2014, 02:04:19 AM
I would like the parkour if it didn't seem to get in the way so often. I'm trying to catch a courier and suddenly I jump and climb up the wrong ledge or get to close to haystack and dive in. I think it would actually work better if the environment was a little simpler.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 24, 2014, 02:25:09 PM
I was going to go back and start up the copy of Galactic Civilizations II I got on Steam a while back but I got tired of jumping through the hoops of its DRM to get it to start and switched to the similar Endless Space instead. I'd describe it as the space 4X equivalent of Civ V, a bit streamlined with a simple and straightforward interface.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 24, 2014, 03:07:02 PM
I have had Endless Space for a long time, but the big problem with the game is combat. Nice to look at, but the fundamentals are so simple that you end up pretty much doing one thing. Get bigger ships, lasers and stick a combat hero on it, then go to town. Except that fleet strength isn't invasion strength so now you have to get another dumbass fleet to finish things off and it can take ages. Then there's the AI fleets you can't catch because they keep moving.

Everything else about it is good, but damn the combat.

Playing Napoleon Total War. Napoleon just about walks over just about everybody as long as you don't do anything dumb like not resting or challenge an army that has so many dudes that it can physically surround you and/or have another full stack of reinforcements at which point you run out of ammo. Massive killing fields with 20-1 K/D being fairly normal.

With the other generals you have to be a little bit more careful and pick good terrain since your not likely to stock them with the best dudes nor is the general the best.

The AI gets pretty funny at the end when you run up to huge full stack peasant armies sometimes without a proper general. The sheer number of bodies thrown at you is a real threat just from the attrition if you don't set up kill zones and have cavalry to shatter their units. Nit of good fun that can be had for pretty cheap.

(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/28465633956137245/5E7930BDD2A5AFA8FF5D0C2992DAB9955AEE0CF9/)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 25, 2014, 12:30:25 AM
^ i fell off Total War series after playing LOTS of Rome and Medieval II.

Some of these days i will come back to it to try either Empire or Shogun II. Apparently, Rome II was a dud which is a huge shame.

Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
Still the same complaints. Artstyle makes it too hard to judge where the platforms start and ends (which is kinda crucial in platformer game). I am at Mudhole March, and there are a lot of jumping on narrow lily pads.

Not only these lily pads are circular and have hard to discern hitboxes, control issues also make it harder than it should be. When i press B (or whatever roll button is) in the middle of a jump and land on a pad after that, Diddy will do the roll because it's saved in a queue of commands or something. Obviously that leads to Diddy slipping off the edge.

Dark Souls (PC):
Messing around. I was trying to kill that Black Knight on top a tower, but kept failing, so i changed approach and picked Thief's light armour.

Additional perk of Thief armour is that now you can get to enemies almost point blank without them hearing you. So this time i sneaked up to Black Knight, executed backstab with an axe and ran away. He chased me for a while on a winding stairs (the camera is so awful in there, very hard to see if BK is coming down), but then stopped and resumed his post on the tower.

I sneaked up to him again and did another backstab. After that he chased all the way down and i did the finishing blow as he was exiting the tower.

Then messed around with dragon on a bridge. You can goad to land on a bridge and then, when he is on the other side of a bridge you can make a run for it and reach the other side (saw it in a let's play, no way i could figure it out).

Area you unlock there is kinda useless because there is nothing in there. Some loot like Claymore -- too bad i can't wield it. Also it unlocks a new shortcut between areas but it's not too important.

Devil May Cry 3 (Xbox 360):
One thing i didn't mentioned before is that game looks gorgeous. Sure, DMC1 was also nice looking in spots and gothic artstyle and foreboding atmosphere really carried the visuals, but it was still carrying too much of a Playstation 1 jank.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/Capcom_DMC_Concept_Art_011.jpg)
^ even to this day, lots of games in similar setting (like say Dark Souls) look empty and drab by comparison to DMC1 with it's extremely rich environments.

DMC3 has similar gothic atmosphere with super detailed backgrounds that DMC1 had, but now it's all polished and actually looks like and plays like a modern game.

Getting S-ranks in this game will be much harder, all you needed to do in DMC1 was to hit time and orbs requirements, but now it's time, damage, orbs AND combo. The last one might the hardest to pull off because it forces you diversify your moves and relying on the same ones will lead to your combo dying.

I am near the end of a game and (OF COURSE!) it's a Boss Rush. Remember these bosses you had difficulty to defeat one by one, now you fight them all one after another. Oh joy. At least now i have some health refills between bosses and can't restore some of my life with devil trigger, Viewtiful Joe or Mega Man didn't have any of that in their versions of Boss Rush.

8 (eight) bosses in a row. Are you kidding me, Capcom.

Okay, it's actually not TOO bad, some of these bosses are kinda pushovers and with some i had enough practice to kill them reliably (Nevan). It's still extremely hard though especially with health dwindling after each boss.

Devil May Cry 4 demo (Xbox 360):
I remember checking out demo year or two ago, when i was only starting out with CUHRAYZEE genre. I wanted to compare my impression now that i am very well versed in it.

DMC4 looks gorgeous. Super clean and bright visuals - something i wish Bayonetta had. It almost makes DMC3 look bad, and 3 is a beautiful game to begin with.

Both levels i was playing with Nero and while somewhat similar to Dante he is generally slower, which i kinda like and has grappling and throwing mechanic which is okay i guess.

Level design is now much more open this time which reduces camera problems significantly. Games in this series kinda like to get into cramped spaces (castle corridors, winding stairs and such), it's about time they shed that element for better playability.

Also:
Rayman Legends (360) -- finishing "Back to Origins" levels. WHY, Ubisoft.
Devil May Cry 1 (360) -- finishing S-rank run on Dante-Must-Die mode and trying to complete files on all enemies. Apparently some moves you can only be performed on one difficulty and don't appear on other. So even after completing Dante-Must-Die mode, i will have to carry on with Normal mode (again) to do these moves for encyclopedia.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oblivion on August 25, 2014, 12:34:57 AM
Dark Souls (PC):
Messing around. I was trying to kill that Black Knight on top a tower, but kept failing, so i changed approach and picked Thief's light armour.

Additional perk of Thief armour is that now you can get to enemies almost point blank without them hearing you. So this time i sneaked up to Black Knight, executed backstab with an axe and ran away. He chased me for a while on a winding stairs (the camera is so awful in there, very hard to see if BK is coming down), but then stopped and resumed his post on the tower.

I sneaked up to him again and did another backstab. After that he chased all the way down and i did the finishing blow as he was exiting the tower.

Then messed around with dragon on a bridge. You can goad to land on a bridge and then, when he is on the other side of a bridge you can make a run for it and reach the other side (saw it in a let's play, no way i could figure it out).

Area you unlock there is kinda useless because there is nothing in there. Some loot like Claymore -- too bad i can't wield it. Also it unlocks a new shortcut between areas but it's not too important.

One: you need to learn to parry. Makes the entire game easy mode.

Two: that area is far more important than you realize. I won't spoil it though. You'll have to figure it out on your own.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 25, 2014, 01:06:59 AM
I have had Endless Space for a long time, but the big problem with the game is combat. Nice to look at, but the fundamentals are so simple that you end up pretty much doing one thing. Get bigger ships, lasers and stick a combat hero on it, then go to town. Except that fleet strength isn't invasion strength so now you have to get another dumbass fleet to finish things off and it can take ages. Then there's the AI fleets you can't catch because they keep moving.

Everything else about it is good, but damn the combat.

You just described Civilization's combat pre-V. It's never really been the strength of the genre, although I think Civ V does a good job of adding tactical depth. I've never played any of the Total War games because I've never cared for real time strategy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 25, 2014, 01:40:57 AM
I really like Civ 5 combat since actual tactics come into play instead of "Death Stacks". Making breakthroughs, exploiting weaknesses, good terrain, divide and conquer. You could have WW1 situations where you have to grind away until the other side gives or lighting war then move on to combine arms. I just wish you could swap positions of two units without having the need for a third space.

In the Total War series only the tactical battles are real time, the rest of it is a heavily streamlined 4x. You can auto resolve them if you want although the computer will cause a lot more casualties on your side than taking command yourself or have you lose a battle you would have otherwise won. Plus the battles go slow enough that it's almost turn based and you can still go slower by setting it at half speed if not outright pausing it. It doesn't have Starcraft's level of mirco management outside of properly sighting cannons so they don't shoot into the ground in front of them or the odd situational uses of certain manoeuvres.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 25, 2014, 01:46:02 AM
Going way back, Master of Orion II had really tactical combat. It was also a pain in the ass with anything beyond relatively small fleets because it would take forever to finish a battle. I'd like to see someone come up with a Civ V-style system for a space game that was tactical, but not overly so.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: harvjones on August 25, 2014, 04:56:46 AM
tell me how i parry in sorcerer ??
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 25, 2014, 10:38:31 AM
So not only is the main game in Contra 4 (DS) awesome, but so are the unlockable bonuses included.
Getting the NES versions of Contra and Super C on my 3DS is tremendous added value.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 25, 2014, 01:38:35 PM
Getting the NES versions of Contra and Super C on my 3DS is tremendous added value.
Do they have download play like the main game?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 25, 2014, 02:31:07 PM
Getting the NES versions of Contra and Super C on my 3DS is tremendous added value.
Do they have download play like the main game?

Will double-check to confirm later in the day, but I believe the answer is no (effectively limiting the emulated versions of Contra/Super C single-player affairs).


Edit: Confirmed lack of multiplayer for bonus games via Google. Not a deal-breaker for me because I'd be playing them solo either way.  But does the main game do download play? I thought it required multiple game cards.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 26, 2014, 01:39:24 AM
Bit Trip Runner 2 (Wii U):
The game is actually a bit deeper than it looks. It's not just "press buttons in predetermined order in a specific rhythm". Some golden bars are trickier to get than just "jumping gud". Like this gold bar here:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSXR85c79BVq_u) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACaU2yUaKMK7Q)

Regular jump to get this gold piece would leave you an extremely narrow space to duck under enemy floating right after. The best way to do this is to jump AND kick in the air, because kick apparently some of the jump's animations shorter.

In the first game i used kick so that i could catch some gold bars with my leg (that was before i knew i could prolong jumps by simply holding the jump button).

And there is also dancing. Usually when you have any flat stretch of free land you need to dance to get additional points. Dancing also works on descending surfaces.

Getting good scores is kinda addicting, especially with friends' scores showing up before the level to give you motivation. But it does gets tedious after an hour or two.

Viewtiful Joe 2 (Gamecube):
Pretty much the same game as original, with all good and bad. Annoying environment that keeps harming me when i am in the middle of the battle are still there. Puzzles now have hints that activate after a while, and that's a good change from 1, because i can't stand puzzles in action games.

Another good change is that Silvia is now distinctly different character and she has some neat moves. Just her guns alone are very cool to use.

Starting tutorials are now actually spelling out the most important game mechanics to you instead telling uselessly telling how awesome Joe is. If only 1 did that i would have liked it more...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 27, 2014, 01:26:59 AM
in chapter 1 of Ogre Battle 64 I managed to find a young dragon named Arcadia and was able to convince him to join me. I ended up reclassing Opal (she was an archer at the time and the only female member of my army with a good strength stat) into a dragon tamer and.helping the Dragon grow to the point where it became a red dragon. I then wound up putting Opal in a unit with a Cleric and an archer and called it a day.

Now today (around mid Ch. 2) I stumbled upon a Thunder Dragon who was happy to join me so I had to kick the Cleric and Archer out to make room. Now I immediately realized that a 3 member unit is a bit of a risk zone so I did some training.

The next story battle Opal got into a fight with someone and both dragons evolved to their final form. so I reorganized the unit to something like this because I wanted to test out their new back row attacks. (Which basically hit everyone in the enemy unit and have a chance of inflicting a status effect, Flarebrass's Crimson Note can lower attack while the Quetzalcoatl's Radient Gale has a chance to stun an enemy.

Dragon = D.                 D - X - D
Empty = X.                   X - X - X
Opal = O.                      X - O - X

Now I was worried that Opal would be just annihilated due to her lack of defense but she didn't have to worry about anything because the two dragons just made sure that anyone who survived their onslaught was either stunned or had a lowered attack.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ainimama on August 27, 2014, 03:07:56 AM
Bleach Online  (http://www.gogames.me)- PC
MH4-3DSLL
SSD-PSV
D3-PS4
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 31, 2014, 07:33:27 AM
EA gets a lot of **** for being lazy with Madden and not doing much to improve the series because they don't have to due to being a monopoly, and a most of that's legitimate criticism, but I have to give them credit for doing a pretty fantastic job with this year's version. Madden NFL 15 (on PS4 at least) is the best football game in a long, long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 31, 2014, 07:38:20 AM
Long weekend, lots of gaming ahead!

Bit Trip Runner (Wii and Steam):
Finishing up on Wii, i think i only have four levels left. These last levels are hard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u7iSPv9JZw). First part of Gauntlet with small cubes moving in a sine shaped formation is already the hardest game ever been.

Also tried PC version again, it's still unplayable laggy mess. I really should look into what is the source of the lag on my setup on timing sensitive games like Bit Trip and Super Hexagon (i use the same plasma TV for PC and all consoles, Wii included, why PC has such a big input lag?).

Desktop Dungeons (Steam and web version):
My problem with new commercial DD release compared to free version (http://www.desktopdungeons.net/media/) is that new Desktop Dungeons has so much content it completely underwhelms going from somewhat barebones freeware.

Free version was perfect for lunch breaks where you didn't want to mess around you just hit "Adventure!" and played the game. It was simple and it was fine.

Commercial release added a behemoth of new options, systems, new metagames, new levels, new quests -- ridiculous amounts of content.

And levels demand mastery of these new systems from you, so you can't cheese levels on "Hard" anymore, you have to actively use all tricks in the book to even get to the boss, only to discover he has 1000 health and 200 attack (while you rarely reach 100hp even at level 9).

My favorite dumb strategy of using orc assassin (sacrificing spells you find in the dungeons to get experience + assassin kills anyone with lower level instantly no matter their HP) now fails most of the times.

Tutorials are great for learning these systems. I just finished tutorials on slowing down enemies and it was very enlightening. And there are about 20 more tutorials to finish.

Of course you can just play the game, but eventually you will face impenetrable wall and will have to learn.

Fantasy Zone (MAME):
Finally got to boss 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bUtUgnvrMo&t=7m32s).

It's quite tricky because the order your destroy his cannons matters, it's also the first boss where bombs become viable.

In his final phase he starts moving like crazy, and that's why i haven't killed him yet even he only had one cannon left.

Devil May Cry 3 (Xbox360):
Beat the game on normal.

Cube room with lots of platforming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqLvfCLElkc&t=10m32s) wasn't that bad, i guess practice with 3d Mario games helps (even if DMC camera is honestly awful by comparison to Mario's).

Killing 8 bosses in a row took me entire evening. The main trick was to sparingly use health refills and alternate between hard bosses (Beowulf, Agni&Rudra, Geryon, Cerberus) and easy bosses (Gigapede, Nevan, Doppelganger, Leviathan's Heart). Or you can cheat a bit and buy blue orb to refill health in the middle of a mission.

Also before all bosses there is chess board where you fight all pieces.

(http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090108171201/devilmaycry/images/5/5f/DamnedChessboard.jpg)

It might get challenging at first (Queen is especially dangerous as is expected from chess queen). And in general i really liked how that level actually follows real chess rules, like when you try to attack the King he does castling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castling) and exchanges positions with a rook to protect himself. And when you kill the king all other chess pieces fall apart.

Fighting against the entire chess board is a really good practice to get in a rhythm with combat system.

DMC3 is much harder to keep combo going because moves get "stale" and you can't repeat them. And dodging is a bigger problem than in 1. Probably because it's hard for me to judge positional controls on 3d plane instead of sideways rolls i too often do backwards roll. In 3, it is much slower that sideways roll and that messes me up a lot. That's why simple neutral jump is almost always safer option of defense.

Penultimate boss was pretty awful, but it was saved somewhat by story importance because we had two brothers fighting together taking down the main villain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l512QrqpoC8). From the start to the end it was very HYPE, even if the boss was lacking from gameplay perspective.

And the final mission which is a last showdown between sons of Sparda was the perfect culmination for the game. Again as it's always with Vergil, Beowulf and it's divekick saves the day in that fight.

After that i completed last remaining secret missions. Secret mission 4 was a nightmare: your only option is either to use a glitch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjxpdPlytrI&t=5m49s) or to use a weapon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPZWZ0sejZI&t=16s) that you don't get until way later in the game. I did it glitch way, because i simply didn't think to use bazooka there.

Also i started Vergil campaign on hard and started S-ranking mission on normal. Hitting enough combo and getting no damage in entire level is pretty hard, but i feel like i am getting better with each attempt.

These kind of action games (DMC, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden, Wonderful 101) usually take way more 100+ of hours to truly master and i am fully willing to commit to that, because it stays fun all the way. And they never really "end", in some sense these aren't really games but musical instruments of sorts. You can never stop getting better at playing guitar or piano -- there is always room for improvement. It's the same with character action games. Even open-world games with their mind numbing collectathon can't reach that many hours of playthrough.

I am still playing DMC1 (finishing Dante must die run), still playing Bayonetta 1 (Platinum run on Hard), still playing Wonderful 101 (getting Platinums for the rest of the board). I guess i am now adding DMC3 to this rotation.

Devil May Cry 4 (Steam):
I just couldn't help myself. Right after finishing DMC3 on normal i turned my PC on, downloaded the game and started it right away.

(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/571150574240085566/3EA9D5DAB7AB1E0F110F94CA840712C6F6BD641B/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=307048361)
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/571150574313897952/FBDE06B42738453FFB7CA1BBA9F907BB2B879772/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308195190)
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/571150574313918423/AE9F846A0E67132F737453BE40D461DE3AB668A4/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308195467)

So beautiful... One of the most gorgeous games i played so far. Runs great (it was hitting 500+ fps on highest settings until i limited fps to 59 because my TV can't handle more anyway). It tends to crash with DirectX10, but runs completely fine with 9.

Game itself... It's DMC -- we have a new character, so combat system is refreshed a bit, he has new grappling moves and hookshot functionality (from what i remember from the demo, reboot DMC had it too and overall that new game took the most from 4 than from any other games in the series). Getting high combo ranks feels easier here than in 3.

My big problem with DMC3 was that Dante always had to do that breakdancing move when he got up after hit by enemies. So recovery was taking more time than i liked. In DMC4 Nero never falls down on his back and recovery is shorter (almost like Bayonetta who always lands on her feet), so that's a welcome improvement.

One thing that bothers me so far is that these first mission have a lot of platforming. DMC as a series was never good at platforming and this game is no exception. It's pretty bad, why they thought it was a good idea to add these elements i don't know. It's fourth game in the series already, and jumping still sucks as much as it did in DMC1.

Another baffling element is how empty the game feels, sure i appreciate that areas are now much more spacious because it's easier to control camera that way, but i don't like when i have to run around in empty corridors back and forth that much.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 02, 2014, 12:32:38 AM
Bit Trip Runner (Wii):
It's a perfect game to put on Gamepad (through Wii mode, which is a bit of hassle to set up) and play while listening to some sports (be it cycling or sumo).

Beat "The Gauntlet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u7iSPv9JZw)". Very annoying especially when i set it on Hard and on that mode if you miss even one gold bar, you're back at the start of the level. Took me a while to realize that, i even thought my game is glitching or something because i was doing fine but kept getting dragged back to the start because i was skipping gold.

Next level, "Beginning of the end (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDu0g8Sn9gI)" is even harder. Sine-shaped formation (the most demanding sequence timing wise in the entire game) is now in the middle of a the level which is much worse than Gauntlet where it was right at the beginning.

Desktop Dungeons (Steam and web version):
I wasn't kidding that tutorials show you some mindblowing stuff:
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/571150574331328823/C95960B6976A7F6435E1BB4CCE6CF6C55F095D47/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308453714)
Some of these tutorials are pretty hard as puzzles by themselves. Almost to the level of deviousness of Candy Box 1/2.

Devil May Cry 4 (Steam):
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/571150574330154424/3AE1B18F63804D0C6E09F91AFE9CB05F62756409/1024x576.resizedimage) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308430872)



Devil May Cry 2 (HD Collection, Xbox360):
Why am i doing this to myself?

Oh right.. Achievements!

"S-ranking a mission" -- thank god that they don't require you to S-rank entire game with that borked combat system. Trying to do it in one mission is hard enough as is.

You need to abuse that stupid system to make it work. Because you can't dodge out of a combo, you need to keep them as short as possible, basically it's the cycle of "do one-two hit by slightly tapping sword button, dodge away, shoot to keep combo going, when you see the opening, start hit'n'run routine all over". It sounds more exciting that it is.

I S-ranked mission 2 with Lucia. Doing it with Dante will be a bit harder because his moves are even more "stiff". One way to do it is just keep shooting and dodging (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QACBs5E1CZ4&t=41s) which is just ugly and very unsatisfying.

Because Lucia controls better than Dante AND her campaign is notably shorter i will finish Hard with her, then probably use cheat to unlock Trish, who i hear controls even better than Lucia and then do Must Die difficulty with her.

After doing that i will only have Bloody Palace-related achievements left.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jimihan on September 02, 2014, 07:10:10 AM
Now I'm playing Watch Dogs(PC awesome game)  and Contra 4 (DS) .
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 02, 2014, 08:06:44 AM
I'm currently playing through Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. I picked it up again because I ran out of 3DS games to play while waiting for laundry. I remember very little about the game so it's almost new to me. There's a lot of grinding which oddly, I don't really mind. I spent half an hour last night doing the Blood Money trick, equip the Mimic soul (which gives you money for taking damage) and jump into spikes right next to a save room, heal and repeat. Otherwise, it's pretty impossible to get the $300,000 Soul Eater Ring on a normal play through. I don't think I got the Claimh Solais the first time I played Dawn of Sorrow like nine years or how ever long ago that was so I'm going for it this time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 02, 2014, 09:33:29 AM
... and Contra 4 (DS) .


Nice! Someone else digging this game - at least I hope you are digging it.


I'm loving the challenge mode right now, and have finished about 20 of the various challenges to get a handful of unlockables released. Things are starting to get tougher though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 02, 2014, 10:44:39 AM
I completed all the challenges , but I have never able to beat the campaign. Contra 4 is appropriately impossible.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on September 02, 2014, 01:24:16 PM
Contra 4 is suprisingly easier than Contra 3. You have more options in 4 and some weapons almost break the game. You also don't have to deal with the not so enjoyable mode 7 levels which can be hell on the eyes especially with the spinning boss from hell. Overall Contra 4 is just a fairer game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Manthony Chopkins on September 03, 2014, 12:50:46 AM
Currently playing through Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. I love a good puzzler and Layton always delivers. Plus, whenever I listen to the music it always reminds me of Dark Cloud 2 for some reason.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 08, 2014, 01:00:09 AM
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS):
One of the traps that always gets one of my characters killed is when i move my characters right to the border or enemies' reach but then when i move other units that were inside it, reach gets much bigger because enemies now don't have to bypass them. This leaves my character that was previously on the border open for the kill and i can't even move him/her away because i already used his turn.

I kept making this stupid error and got my characters killed again and again last night. Still stuck on chapter 16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGLct7ASTQ) because of that. It isn't even that hard -- i killed most the army there but i also want to recruit guys from the villages on the up left and that means i have to drag Marth there and because of constant reinforcements he can't go alone and needs an entourage to protect him.

Cycle of repeating the same actions, doing stupid mistake or getting a crit and resetting because you lost a character is tiresome.

Bayonetta (360):
I started watching LP by yoshesque (http://lparchive.org/Bayonetta/) again, which i initially dropped after seeing it was PS3 version. She eventually did switch to 360 later on... It wasn't really all that informative for me until the very end of chapter 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eMI21rFWmU) where they showed me the location very last witch tomb i was missing.

"Chapter 3: Burning Ground" is probably the level that i spent most of the time playing and replaying because of how tough and demanding first few missions are. It also has instant death QTE in the middle, but it stops being a problem after a few playthroughs. As far as i remember it took me a few weeks and countless retries to get platinum on Normal. I am so sick of this level.

Now that i have the motivation to play it again (to get to the last witch tomb) of course i made it a Pure Platinum run (on Hard). Because i hate myself or something.

It took me most of my Saturday, but i did it. It was a good opportunity to practice with Shuraba (katana sword).

Shuraba (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvDxv2Qhrhw) is very weird, despite visual similarity it doesn't play like Dante with a sword at all. There is a Stinger-like move where Bayo lunges forward and some combos with pauses are somewhat similar to combos from DMC1 and DMC3 but it feels much more faster and not as deliberate.

I also learned to how to use Evil Harvest Rosary (leaves explosive balls after you dodge) and Pulley's Butterfly (you can take a few hits without them counting as damage).

Getting Pure Platinum AND the achievement for finding the last witch tomb was very satisfying.

Because i spent so much time and so many retries on that chapter i racked enough points to afford Platinum Ticket which unlocks secret and the hardest boss of the game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG-ocYMf0Xw).

To say that this boss is absolutely ridiculous is an understatement -- instant attacks, ludicrous damage and very small openings.

DMC1: still S-ranking Dante-Must-Die mode.
Desktop Dungeons: still finishing tutorials.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on September 09, 2014, 12:59:40 AM
Contra 4 is suprisingly easier than Contra 3. You have more options in 4 and some weapons almost break the game. You also don't have to deal with the not so enjoyable mode 7 levels which can be hell on the eyes especially with the spinning boss from hell. Overall Contra 4 is just a fairer game.

Contra 4 is easier when you get good at it, but Contra 3 is the more forgiving game overall.  Contra 3 allows you to set your lives up to 7 on the options menu, even on Hard mode, unlike Contra 4 that makes you start with 3 on Hard no matter what.  Your default weapon in Contra 3 is also much better then your default in Contra 4, which makes boss fights easier in Contra 3 if you die during them.  It also helps that you have bombs in Contra 3 as well which also helps during boss fights since you get a new one every time you die.

So yeah, Contra 4 is easier when you're able to keep your maxed out weapons, but if you lose those weapons, especially later on in the game you're kind of screwed at curtain parts, where Contra 3 is harder overall but if you lose you weapons because you died, you're not as screwed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on September 09, 2014, 12:40:13 PM
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS):
One of the traps that always gets one of my characters killed is when i move my characters right to the border or enemies' reach but then when i move other units that were inside it, reach gets much bigger because enemies now don't have to bypass them. This leaves my character that was previously on the border open for the kill and i can't even move him/her away because i already used his turn.

I kept making this stupid error and got my characters killed again and again last night. Still stuck on chapter 16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGLct7ASTQ) because of that. It isn't even that hard -- i killed most the army there but i also want to recruit guys from the villages on the up left and that means i have to drag Marth there and because of constant reinforcements he can't go alone and needs an entourage to protect him.

Cycle of repeating the same actions, doing stupid mistake or getting a crit and resetting because you lost a character is tiresome.

Git gud n00b, it's horrible gamers like you that ruined future Fire Emblem games with casual whiny little entitled baby mode. :smug:

the sad thing is there are still idiots who think that way
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 09, 2014, 09:25:30 PM
I'd have more sympathy about the Fire Emblem stuff except he knows it's his own fault for repeating dumb mistakes. Get good, indeed.


So about to start a couple of new games after finishing off what I'd been playing:


Top of the list is The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (GCN). Won't be the first time I've started, but always got pulled away before finishing. That's ok though - this is one of my favorite superhero games so replaying the opening levels doesn't hurt a bit. hopefully I'll see the finish this time!


Next up is Nightshade (NES). Fond memories of playing this way back in the day will be put to the test. At one point I could take down 3 out of 4 crime lords and really start to put the squeeze on Sutekh. Hopefully the odd combat controls will come back to me without too much difficulty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on September 12, 2014, 09:35:37 AM
I'd have more sympathy about the Fire Emblem stuff except he knows it's his own fault for repeating dumb mistakes. Get good, indeed.
Hear that Azeke? It's all your fault that the knight on the top right corner of the map managed to get a crit despite the fact that had he not gotten a crit he wouldn't have been anywhere near being able to kill you.

git gud

Next up is Nightshade (NES). Fond memories of playing this way back in the day will be put to the test. At one point I could take down 3 out of 4 crime lords and really start to put the squeeze on Sutekh.
(http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130820212053/tardis/images/4/45/Sutekh.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on September 12, 2014, 11:08:05 AM
The trick in Fire Emblem is not to try to balance out your characters.  To many people switch low level party members in to try to level them up (or to get extra dialog) but to win at FE you're better off just overcharging the same damn party members you start with. 

For example in FE Shadow Dragon my Able and Frey were freaking beastly--and my Marth had his stats maxed out at that point.  Also key tip in FE is feed only your main character boasting items since your required to use them anyways and try to get them in early fights to level them up faster.  To many people avoid using Marth because if he dies, game over, but you really should boast him in early missions just to make the game that much easier in the end.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 12, 2014, 01:27:55 PM
I'd have more sympathy about the Fire Emblem stuff except he knows it's his own fault for repeating dumb mistakes. Get good, indeed.
Hear that Azeke? It's all your fault that the knight on the top right corner of the map managed to get a crit despite the fact that had he not gotten a crit he wouldn't have been anywhere near being able to kill you.

git gud
...

Oh, I have lots of sympathy for dying from critical hits or surprise attacks... it's terrible when that happens. But moving units in the wrong order and leaving enemies unblocked so they can reach people previously assumed safe? Tactical errors in a tactical game don't make me feel bad at all, especially when that error has been repeated and the player admits they should know better.




Back to playing Monster Hunter 3 Ulitmate, doing high-rank quests in solo mode. Really should get online, but nobody on my friends list seems to play at the same times that I do so it's been mostly a solo act.  Still TONS of content to enjoy though.


Grinding a bit now to improve my bow collection. Feel like I really need to keep on top of having good elemental bows for different foes - otherwise I'm not skilled enough to finish some of the multi-monster challenges fast enough. Missions always become much easier when you go in properly equipped.


Also wondering when to start building armor to get new skills. It will have to happen before long, but until deciding which skills to target I'll keep rocking the (upgraded) leather armor that I started the game with.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 18, 2014, 01:41:49 AM
DMC3 (Xbox 360):
Turbo mode! Such a simple change -- boosting the game speed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA7UzCTA9qU) makes for a such a big difference! Game's now much more reactive and you have no time to think at all and just go and hit things which is great.

Even getting higher combo stops being a problem in that mode because you're just attacking relentlessly, non-stop.

I tried it on two first levels and got S rank easily, while it was somewhat a problem for me before on normal speed.

The game on normal now feels like like a snail pace by comparison, like "get on with it already!". Don't think i am coming back to normal speed.

Pikmin 2 (Wii):
Paid off the debt, but of course game doesn't even remotely stops there. Credits scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-aKa6feMNo) was pretty cute though.

I unlocked new area and even from the start i see a dumbbell that will require me full 100 crew of purple pikmin (!) to lift. And then there is a Chaos Cave where the game specifically warns you how how hard it is.

Piklopedia is still great, probably the best thing in entire game (mainly because main gameplay is marred by caves tediousness). The writing is even better than in 1, really love it. Sometimes it's just Olimar going on about his feelings, or sometimes it's him trying to figure out the purpose of the objects he collects. Even the names of the objects are funny.

Quite a lot of ads with real companies in there. It's not super obstructive, and does help to root the planet to our world, but when you look at 7up bottle cap and read how it makes Olimar thirsty you can't help but roll your eyes a bit.

Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox 360):
Aw yeah!.. Because i haven't played it for a few weeks i replayed the first level to get into the Ninja Gaiden groove.

First level in NG is so great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNeYhBOqwbs&t=4m10s). Game isn't as outrageous as other CUHRAYZEE games, but it makes up for it with unique feeling of being ruthless badass ninja. You can compare wackyness of DMC/Bayonetta/W101 to Jackie Chan while NG would be like more serious Jet Li or Donnie Yen.

It just feels so good to get back into it. I played first level once and then replayed it again and again trying for better rank (though NG series has way less emphasis on getting good ranks than Clover/Capcom/Platinum games).

The great thing about NG combat system is how intuitive it is. You can understand it in 10 seconds, don't even need to look up combos. But there is still an abyss of combat depth in there, i only now understood how to use charged heavy attack and Ultimate Techniques, even if i got through half of the game just fine without it. But now that i learned it, it makes a tremendous difference.

I got through underwater part (ugh developers, why do you keep adding these segments?) and beat boss after that, Doku. I stupidly used up most of my life refilling vials (NG games aren't balanced around not using items like Platinum games, so you can and SHOULD use life potions) and had only half of my lifebar.

After a dozen or so tries i figured out simple strategy of waiting for his attack, rolling sideways and hitting with a charged heavy attack. It was almost disappointing how easy it turned out to be.

After that was a puzzle with levers and flying platforms. I spend like 20 minutes on the boss himself, and then 40 minutes on trying to solve that puzzle. And i still couldn't do it, i just gave up and went to bed. I don't know what is it with me with puzzles in action games and why i am so completely inept at them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 22, 2014, 01:41:20 AM
Stealth Bastard Deluxe (Steam):
With sequel coming to Wii U soon (and exclusively for some reason), and remembering how much fun the first Fluidity by the same studio was, i felt i had to play first game eventually.

Shadow mechanic is similar to Mark of the Ninja. MotN had brawler as basis and you had to kill mooks from time to time, while SBD is regular platforming where you don't engage enemies at all.

Gameplay grading depending on time and how stealthy you were keeps you replaying levels for S-rank. There is also hidden helix in each levels. Completing the game 100% will take you quite a lot of time. According to Steam i played for 5 hours and only 100% first world (there are six i think). That's not counting community levels.

As you play levels, special equipment unlocks. Stuff like decoys and teleporters can sequence break the game in a big way. A level that took you around 40 seconds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oFMuVMCMBQ) can be beaten in 6 seconds with equipment. Obviously, S-ranking with equipment is impossible, that would be too easy.

It's pretty cool, but it can get repetitive as all stealth games tend to be, especially when you're replaying levels 10-20 times in a row doing the same actions and perfecting your play.

Mega man (Retro Achievements (http://retroachievements.org/user/azeke) NES):
It's surprisingly playable with 360 stick. Still can't figure out how to make that darn emulator play in fullscreen, though.

There are some cool achievements for Mega man 1 in there, like taking no damage against Yellow Devil. No achievement for for not taking damage AND killing him with regular gun though.

I plan to do the same as i did with Ninja Gaiden -- i will do practice runs on 3DS version and will redo the game on raNES for achievements.

Devil May Cry 4 (Steam):
Major progress. Went through a score of levels and bosses. Echidna i killed on first try, had 5% health left though.

Credo boss fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3uvcUCidpE&t=13m26s) was super, super fun. Loved it, especially the moment where you wittle down his health to 20% and boss changes ALL his moves to completely new, more aggresive ones. Had a hearty laugh when i got too used to his first set of patterns and was getting killed by second phase again and again. Took me 5-7 tries. Lots of fun.

Then was Agnus -- an okay boss, but nothing special (funny character though). And then came Dante 2...

My god, Dante's second boss fight. He is one of these annoying "perfect bosses" where to all your advances he has perfect canned response with very little (or no) room for recovery. I eventually found the pattern, (leap at him with a sword at certain distance so when he jumps with a sword i go under him and end up behind his back when he lands and do a combo) but it took more than an hour though. You can't shoot him, you can't hit him (he will hit you faster), you can't shoot him in the air (he will shoot you faster), you can't hit him from above with a sword (he will dodge and will do the same to you, only YOU can't dodge).

Apparently i was supposed to use Buster which i admit i constantly forget to use, but i did try it on Dante and could never figure you the timing.

Ah well. Finally beat him, with fingers all aching at 2AM, checked out next mission, looked how next boss looks like and called it a day.

Some of the secret missions were annoying too, especially the ones where jumping was required. Some other secret missions are gimmicks -- they require to use one specific ability and it's not even that hard once you figure it out. Like you need to use Hold ability in secret mission 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn2gGeP1OUQ), stupid thing is outside of this mission this ability is useless otherwise.

And it's kinda how the whole game is, small oversights and general feeling of incompleteness here and there. Nero has way less moves than Dante in DMC3 (not "curhayzee" enough) and only has one weapon and one gun (even after i got Yamato it only actvates during Devil Trigger as an assist, nothing more).

I fully realize that the game soon should make a switch from Nero to Dante and he will have most of his DMC3 arsenal (at least i hope so), still that's the first half of the game, spent with a character that feels way more limited than Dante in previous game.

When Dante as a boss started switching styles, i wanted to be in his place -- to have an access to all his arsenal of moves. Should be soon though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 24, 2014, 05:04:04 AM
Mega Man (3DS Virtual Console):
Beat it. Not "beat it" beat it, but just got to the ending. I will consider it beaten when i will get good enough to beat it in one go.

People who call it "****" (one of the recent NWR podcasts) are crazy. It's an exceptional game.

It's just that sequels do everything better -- boss and level design is tighter, production values are higher, music is better (even if original game's music was already great) and so on. But that doesn't make I a bad game at all. Mega Man 2 wouldn't exist in the first place without the foundation of 1.

There is some random factor with flying platforms though (later half of the Ice Man's stage) -- you can't control them and just have to wait until they got into a position. Things get worse with wonky hit detection -- sometimes you're just standing still on the platform but it shoots and for some reason game thinks you got hit and you fall down right through the platform to your death.

Random factor also happens with some bosses like Guts Man -- depending on his actions sometimes there is no way to defeat them with no damage. I thought that Fire Man was that way as well, but today i finally found the pattern and now can kill him with no damage taken.

Some technical problems namely, slowdown that happens when robot gets destroyed (white balls across the entire screen) is annoying -- you can't pause during it so you have to wait until this effect disappears to do anything.

It's not just annoyance, this slowdown can kill you in the transition between Dr. Wily's forms. Took me a few weeks to figure out how not to get hit by Dr. Wily's first form attacks. Once i discovered how effective scissors are against him, it got even easier (used electric attack before that which also adds it's own slowdown).


Devil May Cry 4 (PC, Steam):
I will never stop marveling how great the game looks:
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/548634682781423274/DEEE406D03D3725DB678C331A70643B571BBE52C/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=316489787&insideModal=1)
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/548634682806167145/EE0F43DDFAB612F3A5A0E46CFB192DF328B06B77/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=316953062&insideModal=1)

After one last boss with Nero:
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/548634682860608094/602AF3C5A708F32A99E977CFBD19C4FC611C7D75/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=317800725&insideModal=1)

... finally the great switch happened -- i finished with the first part with Nero and can now play as Dante.

It's almost a culture shock to go from Nero to Dante who is very simlar to DMC3 Dante. And not just DMC3 Dante but also Dante who can switch styles at any given moment of time (not just between missions). Switching with d-pad takes a bit getting used to, it's a bit of paradigm shift coming after DMC3. Dante is largely the same only feels a bit faster than in 3, even if we compare them at normal speeds.

Defeating the same boss (Echidna) with Dante this time was very weird, because i am now missing Nero (despite whining before how inferior he is compared to Dante), especially his Buster move.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 25, 2014, 12:12:24 AM
Vanquish (Xbox 360):
Did i "got gud" in the last two years? Last time i tried Vanquish two years ago (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=39687.msg763308#msg763308) i couldn't even get through tutorial.

This time it took me about 10 minutes to learn controls. Compared to other Platinum games, it's shockingly not complex at all, almost shallow.

The feel of crazy, exhilarating action is still the same though:
(http://thecontrolleronline.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Vanquish_1.jpg)
(http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp236/Linkyshinks/Vanquish%20PG/2132409368_full.jpg)

Wow, what a game.

Most of other Platinum games' "lineage" comes from from Devil May Cry and even from earlier series like Mega Man and Final Fight. Bayonetta 1-2 and Wonderful 101 are like that.

This game is completely unlike them. This game is rooted in shoot'em up genre like Gradius and R-Type, it only pretends to be Gears of War-like cover based shooter on the most superficial level (speed up GoW up to 10x and get high on top of that -- THEN you're pretty close to Vanquish).

Despite controls being standard for any third person shooter, the game is designed around non-stop action, stuff constantly exploding and you sliding around all this chaos like a maniac:

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sqllius/Untitled-1.gif)

I hate console shooters for how brain dead primitive they are (Gears of War gets a pass from me for being so dumb it becomes good, also active reload), even on PC the last FPS i liked was TF2 five years ago.

This is still not as deep as Bayonetta/W101/NG, but it does it's best with shooting genre to make it as close to "cuhrayzee" action as possible.

The game is built very tightly around non-stop exploding action, it has that "arcade" feel that makes you keep playing it and re-playing it. I started playing it at 8PM last night and had to force myself to stop at 2AM.

What a great game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 25, 2014, 09:25:36 AM
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (GC)


This is such a fantastic action/brawler game, and one of my favorite superhero games ever made. The freedom of movement and somewhat open structure are really appealing, and the combat ramps up nicely with tons of different combos and special moves you can learn.


I'm really enjoying my time with it again... but those load times, oh my!
No wonder I never seem to be able to finish this game off. The worst is how much loading happens for every short challenge mission (which are fun enough you want to do them, but waiting 5+ seconds when starting/restarting/ending is an absolute momentum killer).


People sometimes ask what old games deserve a remake. This is it for me. Improve the graphics and get remove or reduce loading times, and I'd be happy to re-buy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on September 25, 2014, 02:17:59 PM
(http://thecontrolleronline.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Vanquish_1.jpg)
(http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp236/Linkyshinks/Vanquish%20PG/2132409368_full.jpg)

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sqllius/Untitled-1.gif)
Those Pictures make me want to play this game now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on September 26, 2014, 06:34:23 PM
I have been playing Super Mario 3D World since I got my Wii U past all those annoying updates. All I can say is this is the best damn Mario game ever made and every single Mario fan, Nintendo fan, and gamer period, needs to be playing this game right now. Stupid ass youtube videos don't do it justice damn it you need to hound your friends show them this game and get more people to buy it so that Nintendo learns that THIS is how you make a Mario game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 26, 2014, 06:37:48 PM
I've disagreed with marvel_moviefan in the past, but in this case I am 100% onboard with him.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 26, 2014, 06:56:16 PM
Bang on, Azeke, I'd rate Vanquish as one of a handful of truly notable games from the PS360 generation. And it actually manages to be funny a few times!

I've been skipping around between a lot of stuff, so I'll just toss out a few brief appraisals:

Pushmo World (Wii U):

I didn't actually know what this game was like, and was sort of disappointed to find that it's kind of a "Catherine" like platform positioning thing, but I've gotten through about 2/3s of it and find it to be pretty satisfying. I feel like there's a little something missing that makes it propulsive to keep playing, but good for dropping in a half-hour here or there. Some of the harder puzzles are getting scary.

Splinter Cell Blacklist (Wii U):


I saw this was $20 on the eShop and bought it on a whim, as I enjoyed Conviction well enough for what it was, and my little brother wanted a more mainstream-type shooter game to tackle on the couch. Turns out there's no local co-op, so I did not do my research properly. But the game is still pretty good, fluid and satisfying, less action-scripty than Conviction. Tons of content, though a lot of the side missions seem to be lame "survive twenty waves" type things that don't gel with the core stealth emphasis. Looks great on the Wii U, but some pretty massive load times. Worse than Deus X.

Five Nights at Freddy's (PC):

Played this on the big screen with the lights out with my brother. It's a small-scale survival horror game where you're the night watchman at a Chucky Cheese type joint, where the animatronic animals come to life at night and try to kill you. We played it for an hour, couldn't get past the second night, and will probably not touch it again. But I legit screamed three or four times, so I'd recommend it as a one-off experience.

Adventures of Lolo (Wii U):

I always wanted one of these games as a kid, but could never get a hold of a copy. So I was pleased to see this on the virtual console. Great little game. You can beat it in about 4 hours, and the puzzles never get too crazy, but it'll definitely slow you down a few times. Plays and looks good for an NES game, though the repetitive music might drive you crazy. I'd say this is a must-play for anyone who likes the Chip's Challenge type of puzzle game.

Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails (Wii U):

Bought this months ago while drunk, found it utterly confounding, and didn't pick it up again until recently. I "get it" now, but something about the game really rubs me the wrong way. Controlling your gyro-cat feel like you're fighting the physics rather than interacting fluidly with the traversal system. It also gets really hard really early, and has very stringent level path locks. I'm maybe a quarter of the way through and I'm not sure I can even unlock any more levels. The boss-mouse goals are particularly aggravating. I would take a good hard look at a video review of this before buying, as in my case it is fundamentally not my kind of thing but I made an impulse purchase based on the strong reviews.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 30, 2014, 02:16:22 AM
MGR (Xbox 360 demo):
Yesterday i watched a few combo vids including ones with MGR. This is the combo video i liked -- little to no QTE and Blade mode is only used to cancel out long animations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axg97eII5GQ

And this combo video i shrugged at -- it just transitions between one Blade mode to another Blade mode(though slashing two bullets in the beginning was cool):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnNyPArx_sQ

That inspired me to have another go with the demo. I still don't plan to start the game proper, just want to finally understand combat system. Still not feeling it, but i checked out blade canceling and it's indeed very useful even on the most basic level.

What really bothers me is that Raiden moves during slashes, it's very disorienting. Also B button doesn't seem to do anything. Sure you use it to activate finshers, but it's not used at all during other times. Feels like a waste of button.


DmC (demo of the reboot, 360):
And while i am replaying old demos, i decided to try DmC demo again, now that i played all previous DMC games.

Just like before i really like art style. It's bright, brash, in your face -- i love it.

Controls work, but it's hard to adjust after playing DMC3/4. Fingers reflexively keep trying to do old DMC stuff and i keep messing up. Button layout feels all over the place -- two dedicated dodge buttons, both triggers are used to switching between two types of weapons. It just feels like they wasted FOUR buttons on such trivial stuff like switching weapons and dodging.

Button layout is very important for action games, your character has dozens and dozens of moves at his/her disposal, effective and ergonomic distribution of functions on controller buttons is crucial. Bayo did it brilliantly, overloading different functions on the same buttons depending if you press them, hold them or double tap them.

DmC tries to remove combinations of button presses with stick movements. That is not what i wanted DMC series to fix. My problem with DMC3/4 was how most of the moves are tied to constantly pressing RB, which leads to me clutching the controller way too hard. Also you need to HOLD triggers while using your angel/demon weapons which is the same problem as before.


Fantasy Zone (MAME):
Level 2 and it's boss are still the hardest, because of those random things in foreground that obstruct your view and make it hard to see your ship. Boss 2 is also hard with it's bullet rain, you have to dodge this spam while shooting for quite a while. You can try to bomb him from above but it's kinda risky.

Level 4 -- laser is really good in this level and overall laser looks like the best upgrade so far, i tried 7-way shot and it's good but way too expensive and still worse than laser.

Got to boss 4, died first time because i didn't expect his attack, but it was actually pretty easy. After bullet hell of Cave shooters, boss 4 is nothing.

Got to level 5, the spam that was already getting ridiculous in previous levels is just off the charts there.

I think i am now ready to take this game to 3DS, release 3D Classic release on PAL eShop, SEGA!.. Or do retail release (http://segabits.com/blog/2014/09/26/sega-3d-reprint-archives-officially-announced-with-boxart-by-ken-sugimori/) like in Japan, i was gonna buy Streets of Rage and Shinobi ports either way. SEGA pls.


Vanquish (360):
Smoking a cigarette while in cover reminds me of that preview of Devil's Third Nintendo did during E3. This small feature is actually making me excited a bit for Devil's Third, just out of crazy hope that Itagaki once again will ripoff ex-Capcom developer to create an action game masterpiece of his own, like he did with Ninja Gaiden taking the template of Kamiya's Devil May Cry.

Weapons upgrading system kinda weird, it's a bit of a hassle too when you find two weapon drops of the same type and then i just feel i have to go back and forth to upgrade that weapon even if i don't even use it.

I still mostly go with standard weapon layout: assault rifle -- for precision and long range, heavy machine gun -- mid range and damage and shotgun -- for ridiculous damage up close. For some areas with bigger enemies, i swap out weak Assault rifle with something stronger like LFE gun.

Polished weapon balance reminds me of Unreal Tournament. They even have some similar weapons like disc gun. Just like in UT, in Vanquish your movement matters more than your aim and some weapons don't require twitchy aim (though it helps of course).

By Act 3, i upgraded shotgun fully and it is now absolutely ridiculous, it shoots as fast as a jackhammer. Extremely useful to take down bosses and Romanovs.

Romanovs at first used to be a problem, but now i can take down four at a time. LFE gun helps a lot, because it can knock out scores of them and shotgun to finish the job while they're lying down and can't do anything.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 02, 2014, 04:09:14 PM
More catch up, themed around Indie disappointment:

Stick it to the Man (WiiU):

I read some positive reviews of this, praising its script and quirky adventure-game mechanics. What I got was a short, painfully unfunny, painfully easy 2D adventure-lite. I felt like I spent half the play time standing around and listening to agonizing thought-dialogue that rarely had any bearing on the puzzles, which required almost no thought to solve anyway. Skip this ****.

Thomas Was Alone (PC):


Again, saw positive marks, and avowals that it was actually a game and not just a medium for a pretentious amateur writer to tell an "interactive story". There is a bit of meat to the platforming with a mild puzzle element, but it's overall not super compelling, and never gets to a satisfying challenge/reward level. The story is kind of interesting in concept, but overbearing in execution, with the standard posh British narrative (why has this become such a indie game trope?) gabbling all the time. The game manages to wear out its welcome while being fairly short.

The Fall (WiiU):

I was skeptical of this one, and its reviews are pretty mixed (6-9), but decided to give it a shot in this barren retail period. It's actually got one of the more compelling narratives I've seen in a game, in as much as it's directly tied into the set-up and gameplay progression. Good atmosphere, and some clever if not-too-hard adventure style item-based puzzles. The combat component kind of sucks, and happens too often, but it sort of works in the context of being in an emergency situation in an unpredictable and hostile environment. BUT the game ends abruptly on a "to be continued" cliffhanger. I had no idea this was supposed to be episode one of a multi-part project (the eShop description doesn't say this), and within the game itself you haven't unlocked several of your restricted abilities yet, so I was expecting another two hours or so of game. This soured me retroactively on the experience. I'd pick this up on sale, but I don't think it's worth the asking price as is.

Teslagrad (WiiU):

Again, mixed reviews, but I've been itching for a Metroid-style game, and decided to give it a go, despite being burned a number of times recently. It's . . . okay, as a most-positive appraisal. It looks good, with some neat animated characters (that need more frames of animation, but this could be a style thing), and controls well enough. I saw complaints about the map system, which does suck, but it's fairly inconsequential, as the progression is entirely linear. The bosses are indeed a bit aggravating due to the one-hit kill set-up, but not actually that hard, and are fairly in-line with the difficulty of the platforming. But the buik of the game is composed of fiddly magnet polarity physics puzzles, which is not my cup of tea. It never feels like you're exploring a mysterious castle so much as completing platform challenge after platform challenge, which gets grating. I felt similarly about Guacamelee, but that game pulls off its Metroid-lite aspirations with more panache. After you beat the final boss you get plunked at the beginning of the progression, with the encouragement to go back through it again to pick up the collectible scrolls that were inaccessible the first time around. Not sure what the end-game for doing this is, but I hope it's better than the "reward" for 100%-ing Guacamelee.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Manthony Chopkins on October 02, 2014, 06:43:10 PM
Hyrule Warriors!! It's everything that I thought it was going to be! There is a lot more content that I thought it was going to have too, so I'll be plugging a lot of time into this. Fingers crossed that Groose is an unlock-able character.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 07, 2014, 12:19:38 AM
Donky Kong Country 2 (GBA)
This game is hard. I think i even started to look forward to minecart levels, because those are WAY easier than regular levels where i can spend up to 40 lives just to get to the mid-level checkpoint.

Level map is confusing, in Gloomy Gulch i couldn't figure out where to go and went to Klubba's hut thinking i have to go through there, unlocked secret level from there and went there thinking it's part of Gloomy Gulch.

The level i unlocked was Fiery Furnace (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOpC48aXX2Y). Man, the timing on those barrels was unbelievably tight. The most reliable way to get through one part was to float with Dixie then get hit with a wasp on purpose and get an extra jump with Diddie that way.

The fact that i didn't know you can kill porcupines by rolling into their heads didn't help too. I only figured it out somewhere in Castle Crush...

Gunstar Heroes:
Frenetic action, fast, crazy, full of explosions, basically Contra on speed. Love it.

Underground level was amazing, especially with train full of mooks and they do all kinds of funny stuff, like there is fire in one of the cars and they just back and forth panicking, or how M. Bison clone starts to throw mooks out of the window at you:
(http://l.j-factor.com/gifs/GunstarHeroes-SmashTrain.gif)

Made a note to buy this game properly on Xbox 360 for achievements and stuff.

Hard Corp Uprising (demo on Xbox 360):
This... looks and sounds terrible. How can people even compare this to main Contra series, i have no idea.

Contra 4 looks, plays and sounds exactly like Contra, this does nothing of the sort.


Vanquish (Xbox 360):
Not only it's unrelenting non-stop exploding action throughout, but it's also hilarious. Love Burns.

"Unknown" boss and the funny scene right before him (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8nkeCWESOY&t=25m15s) were really cool. "Unknown" has a very original look (literally made of GUNS), the way it moves is unnerving and funny at the same time. And once you dismantle the guns surrounding the core and see the core limping away from you on it's tiny legs -- it's hilarious.

"Spacey" part was also great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_YwQ-uIodQ&t=13m7s). People who say his game looks generic have no idea what they're talking about.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 07, 2014, 04:05:03 AM
I've finished Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. While I like the game, it's not the gift from God everyone has made it out to be after Destiny turned out to be a colossal piece of ****. The much-vaunted Nemesis System only really comes into play if you're really terrible at video games, so it pretty much vanishes after the first 1/4 of the game when you gain a decent number of skills and perks.  It completely vanishes in the game's second half when you have the ability to Brand Orcs and have them do your bidding, since the game basically becomes just running up to every Orc Captain; blasting it down to 1/4 health; Branding it; and then walking away. My main issue with this game is that this is an open world game with large-scale mob combat and...absolutely nothing else. There is no gameplay variety whatsoever, so the game really feels like it's dragging before you even get out of the first of the two areas.

And **** that sequel-baiting ending. Calling it "half-assed" and "thrown together at the last minute" would be being extremely kind to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 07, 2014, 04:08:48 AM
That's bumming me out a bit, i watched a few videos on this game and got very hyped to play it (probably sometime next year).

I love Assasin's Creed games and like Batman Arkham games. 100%-ed most of them.

So a combination of the two in Shadow of Mordor with a bit of original ideas thrown in sounded like a winning formula for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 07, 2014, 12:50:40 PM
I got into NES Remix yesterday and pretty much can't stop playing. I also been getting real far in Super Mario 3D World I am up to the lava land map I think it is the last map I am not sure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 07, 2014, 01:34:03 PM
I also been getting real far in Super Mario 3D World I am up to the lava land map I think it is the last map I am not sure.
You're not even close to the end.

This world does have some of the hardest levels in the game: the one with a dice and the one where you run on boosters non-stop.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 08, 2014, 09:28:41 AM
I've finished Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. While I like the game, it's not the gift from God everyone has made it out to be after Destiny turned out to be a colossal piece of ****. The much-vaunted Nemesis System only really comes into play if you're really terrible at video games, so it pretty much vanishes after the first 1/4 of the game when you gain a decent number of skills and perks.  It completely vanishes in the game's second half when you have the ability to Brand Orcs and have them do your bidding, since the game basically becomes just running up to every Orc Captain; blasting it down to 1/4 health; Branding it; and then walking away. My main issue with this game is that this is an open world game with large-scale mob combat and...absolutely nothing else. There is no gameplay variety whatsoever, so the game really feels like it's dragging before you even get out of the first of the two areas.

And **** that sequel-baiting ending. Calling it "half-assed" and "thrown together at the last minute" would be being extremely kind to it.
So your saying that its Hyrule Warriors without the over the topness and brevity?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on October 08, 2014, 01:42:06 PM
Playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 from Xbox's Free Games with Gold. This game is so much better then BF3 in so many ways. The campaign characters have development aside from throwing the **** everywhere in every sentence and its actually good. The MP requires you to use the environment as camouflage instead of clipping through walls. It just feels a lot better and is more fun.

Animal Crossing New Leaf honestly seems like a really fun game, but I don't think its my cup of tea. I'll keep playing to see if I end up liking it or not, but I don't know.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 08, 2014, 01:48:50 PM
I've finished Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. While I like the game, it's not the gift from God everyone has made it out to be after Destiny turned out to be a colossal piece of ****. The much-vaunted Nemesis System only really comes into play if you're really terrible at video games, so it pretty much vanishes after the first 1/4 of the game when you gain a decent number of skills and perks.  It completely vanishes in the game's second half when you have the ability to Brand Orcs and have them do your bidding, since the game basically becomes just running up to every Orc Captain; blasting it down to 1/4 health; Branding it; and then walking away. My main issue with this game is that this is an open world game with large-scale mob combat and...absolutely nothing else. There is no gameplay variety whatsoever, so the game really feels like it's dragging before you even get out of the first of the two areas.

And **** that sequel-baiting ending. Calling it "half-assed" and "thrown together at the last minute" would be being extremely kind to it.
So your saying that its Hyrule Warriors without the over the topness and brevity?

No, unlike Hyrule Warriors there IS actual ambition to the game and what story there is is actually pretty good. The game's systems just don't mesh together in a way that they fulfill the game's potential. But in terms of gameplay variety, it's not that much better than Hyrule Warriors, yes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 08, 2014, 09:41:42 PM
I been wanting to put in Hyrule Warriors but I can't stop playing SM3DW and NES Remix 1&2. I finally have a Saturday off for the first time in ages so I will see if I can get to it this weekend, if I am not bogged down in school. I did poorly on my last paper so I really need to do better though.

Currently I have yet to play Wonderful 101, Hyrule Warriors, Nintendoland and Avengers battle for Earth. After I get through with Mario 3D World, DK Tropical Freeze, and NES Remix, I still have New Super Mario Bros, and New Super Luigi to get through so its not looking like I will even get to any of those other games for a while.

It was like this when I got Wii, I got really into Wii Play and couldn't stop playing that forever but then one day I just turned it on and lost interest I expect that to happen with NES Remix sooner or latter. Considering I still regularly replay Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64, its not looking like I will ever get bored with 3D World.

I also have been contemplating just getting Destiny now on PS3 or pick it up and a PS4 for Christmas.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 08, 2014, 10:49:55 PM
I've been playing Metroid Fusion on the Wii U Virtual Console and I've gotta say the more I play this the more I think it's a better game than Super Metroid. People complain about its linearity but Super isn't really any less linear unless you're going out of your way to sequence break, and the control setup, despite having two fewer buttons to work with, is so, so much better. Can't wait until Zero Mission hits the service as I've never had the chance to play that one and it sounds like it's even better.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 09, 2014, 08:27:33 AM
I didn't mind the linearity. Despite an eight year gap, Fusion advanced the series very little beyond ledge grabbing and a few tense moments where Samus runs away from the SA-X. That doesn't make it a bad game and I really like Fusion. However, it's primarily why I hold Super Metroid in a much higher regard.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 09, 2014, 09:05:58 AM
I've been playing Metroid Fusion on the Wii U Virtual Console and I've gotta say the more I play this the more I think it's a better game than Super Metroid. People complain about its linearity but Super isn't really any less linear unless you're going out of your way to sequence break, and the control setup, despite having two fewer buttons to work with, is so, so much better. Can't wait until Zero Mission hits the service as I've never had the chance to play that one and it sounds like it's even better.
Having played through Fusion before finally beating Super Metroid, I'm with you on this.
The big thing about is I don't get lost as often.  That right there made it a lot better game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ObbyDent on October 09, 2014, 10:29:47 AM
Why does a new game need to advance the series? Why not just make another new game?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 09, 2014, 11:43:53 AM
Doesn't need to, but I'd like it to. Keeps things fresh.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 09, 2014, 12:22:50 PM
Why does a new game need to advance the series? Why not just make another new game?

Yeah, especially when there was an 8 year gap between Super and Fusion.  It's not like we were overwhelmed in 2D Metriod games during this time.  Hell, its been over 10 years since the last 2D Metriod these days, I wouldn't mind getting another one right now even if its gameplay is similar to Supers as well.

When there's gaps that long between installments, I'm not sure how anyone can get sick of the gameplay unless they're playing the previous installment over 9000 times during said gap in which case it's there fault, not the developers.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 09, 2014, 12:45:48 PM
I might have enjoyed Fusion more if I hadn't played Zero Mission first. 


For me, Zero Mission was extremely close to my ideal Metroid. It didn't bring a lot of innovation to the series, but did bring all of the best parts of the series together into a finely tuned experience. My only complaint was that it felt a bit "hand holdy" with the mapping system - if there was an option to turn off the hint system of where players needed to go next, that might have been preferable.


Fusion plays similarly in many regards, but falls short due to the little details. Writing didn't impress at all - a real disappointment because the story had potential and exploring the idea of an overpowered, evil Samus that must be avoided and hidden from is a great concept. Backtracking felt worse here than in other Metroid games, although in retrospect the hidden connections between different sections of the map aren't lacking. There were also one or two spots where I remember getting stuck looking for obscure hidden passages - something common for the series, but that just didn't seem to be as nicely handled in Fusion as in other games.


Someday soon I'll play through Fusion again. Maybe it will hold up better than my recollections do.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 09, 2014, 12:56:17 PM
When there's gaps that long between installments, I'm not sure how anyone can get sick of the gameplay unless they're playing the previous installment over 9000 times during said gap in which case it's there fault, not the developers.
That's pretty terrible reasoning. The length of time between releases shouldn't stop developers from innovating. There was a five year gap between the original and Metroid II. They made some significant improvements and it is a much better game. Three years after that, Super Metroid is even better. If you can improve things, even if it's already great, why wouldn't you do that?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 09, 2014, 03:40:04 PM
I didn't mind the linearity. Despite an eight year gap, Fusion advanced the series very little beyond ledge grabbing and a few tense moments where Samus runs away from the SA-X. That doesn't make it a bad game and I really like Fusion. However, it's primarily why I hold Super Metroid in a much higher regard.

I think the platforming in Fusion feels a lot better than it does in Super. You mentioned the ledge grabbing, which is a nice addition, but Samus in general feels more natural to control. It's a fair point to say it didn't really change that much, but given the context of the release I don't have a huge problem with that. It's kind of like Pikmin 3 in that it's more of a refinement of its predecessors than a major change, but it having been so long since the last ones and there having been so few of them up to that point, combined with how high quality it is, makes that okay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 10, 2014, 05:10:11 AM
Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
Finished with 59%:
(http://thewiredfish.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/dkc2-ending.jpg)
Will i go for full completion? Nah, but i will try to check out more levels in the Lost World.

Overall, the best part of the game were bosses -- easy to figure out, rather imaginative, lots of phases (i like that). Even some story progression in their design like you kill a bird boss and see it's ghost flying away, and then that ghost bird comes up later as a boss.

Penultimate boss was very similar to Donkey Kong 94 final boss (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1MMbDG_2uI) (still the best DK game i played).

Toxic tower was annoying because when you jump high with snake, you can't see where you are going to land (similar issue in SMB3) so there were lots of blind jumps. But the later half of that level turned out very cool because i was using all of my animal buddies came back there, so it was nostalgic in a way, as a last parade of sorts.

Minecart levels were okay -- it's just jumping. Flying levels were slightly annoying because of your hitbox doubles and levels usually have maze-like structure (especially that last race with a bird that you have to win to proceed, good for farming lives though).

Regular levels were the hardest of all, i was constantly missing platforms. Characters moving when i just press B to prepare to run was annoying.

Bayonetta 2 (demo on Wii U):
AWWWW YEAHHHHHH! The witch is back!

It doesn't feel good playing it on a Gamepad. It's probably my grip or hands but it's just too hard to access L and R shoulder buttons. And for a game like Bayonetta you need all the buttons. I had to set controls to Classic Controller and type B so that it matches button layout of original game on Xbox. Stick on CCPro is a "looser" than on Xbox which isn't a problem at all, and lack of analog triggers actually works as an advantage. Playing it that way feels even better than on Xbox.

Took me a while to adjust to new attack timings, i had re-develop new reflexes when to press dodges at the right time all over again.

Demo doesn't have abilities from late game, and i guess i got too used to rely on stuff like Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa (parry/deflect type thing) and Kilgore (rocket launchers).

At least the most basic "bread and butter" combos still work -- ol' reliable PPPPKKKK... that ends with flurry of wicked weaves is there. My favourite PPPKKK roundhouse sweep is still there (it looks slightly different, but works the same). Aside from basic PKP which throw enemies away from you with a weave they also added PKK which launches an enemy into the air. And in general a lot of combos now feature launching finishing hits.

The whip and the ability to pull enemies towards is there. It feels good to launch an enemy into the air, finish him with a long combo, then instantly switch to whips and pull another mook from the ground towards you and keep your streak going.

Now i can try to do stuff like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcihhXg8j_o) or this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsXV7HuZgu8) myself. Okay, not really, i actually can't, there are some moves that are not unlocked in this demo (Afterburner Kick, teleport and others).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 10, 2014, 12:16:06 PM
In the stark light of an attempt at objectivity, I think you could make a strong argument that Zero Mission is the best 2D Metroid game. Some of the late-game secrets are mindblowing, and everything about the game is designed like a dream. Plus the crazy sequence-breaking you can do. Though nothing is technically a huge leap for the series, the concept of approaching a remake like this is pretty damn cool.


I also like Fusion a lot, and don't mind the more linear take on the formula. SAX is rad. I like less the Mega Man mini-boss style boss enemies, that devolve into races to see if you can pump enough missiles into them before they can kill you as opposed to learning more complex patterns. It's been brought up here before, but maybe the biggest quibble about Fusion is that the game is explicitly about Samus merging with a Metroid, and yet the game doesn't incorporate this meaningfully into the gameplay/ability system. Like, cluster missile you need to use twice, yay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 10, 2014, 12:24:23 PM
I think that's a fair criticism. The story conceits in Fusion do a good job of justifying a lot of the usual series tropes like reacquiring your powers and replenishing health and missiles, and it's a nice touch that you start out very susceptible to cold temperatures because of it, but it seems like they could have taken the "Fusion" aspect a lot further. In the end it's largely a vey traditional Metroid game, whereas the plot had the potential to be a lot more than that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 10, 2014, 01:33:46 PM
Shouldn't Samus get the ability to feed off of other things life force.  Though I guess that would make her a stone throw away from being the Nintendo Succubus.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 10, 2014, 04:47:58 PM
People complain about its linearity but Super isn't really any less linear unless you're going out of your way to sequence break,
It's more about how Fusion usually blocks off areas, preventing the player from exploring to look for hidden items and returning to areas with new abilities and such. There's less freedom in Fusion in that sense. I also didn't feel like the world design was as good as Super either. The controls in Fusion are certainly sharp and smooth though, no argument there. I still think it's a good game but it doesn't have the right balance of action and exploration/freedom for me.

Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
Finished with 59%:
I think some of the issues you talk about are made worse in the GBA version, where the viewable area is smaller than on SNES.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 10, 2014, 09:21:26 PM
Fusion was the first Metroid game I ever played. I loved it but I got stuck and then got bored. I couldn't stop playing Super Metroid when I got it until I beat it then went back and beat it again to get 100%. It has been a while since I played either game but I think what I liked better about the SNES one was the controls and the atmosphere if I remember correctly. I also loved the music.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 12, 2014, 02:30:50 AM
I've been playing some Diablo 3 on the PS4 with my cousin. Fun coop game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 12, 2014, 04:13:16 AM
I've started playing Alien: Isolation and...this is definitely an acquired taste. I'm up to Chapter 5, and I'm not sure it's my kind of game yet, mainly because it feels like the game gives you a great deal of tools at your disposal for the expressed purposes of punishing you with instant death-by-Alien if you actually use them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 12, 2014, 01:40:02 PM
Playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS) and finding it... "ok".  Doesn't live up to the cult hype, and feels rough compared to the sublime writing in Ghost Trick (DS), which I thought was supposed to be similar.  Despite the let down it's still a good story and has plenty of time to go off the rails (in a good way) as I get deeper into the game - only mid-way through the third chapter right now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 13, 2014, 01:53:25 AM
I put some serious time into Shovel Knight and Dr. Luigi today. That is another amazing game on the console more people need to know about.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 13, 2014, 08:22:54 PM
One of the seemingly dozens of space games that have been Kickstarted, Starlight Inception, had been sitting on my Vita unplayed for months until tonight. The game was apparently a complete mess at launch, but received a pretty massive patch later on, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's got a real X-Wing/TIE Fighter vibe to it, which makes sense given it was made by some of the people involved in those games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 13, 2014, 09:26:52 PM
Bayonetta 2 Demo Presented by (http://img1.mypsd.com.cn/20101227/Mypsd_6725_201012271916020005B.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 14, 2014, 12:12:48 AM
Playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS) and finding it... "ok".  Doesn't live up to the cult hype, and feels rough compared to the sublime writing in Ghost Trick (DS), which I thought was supposed to be similar.  Despite the let down it's still a good story and has plenty of time to go off the rails (in a good way) as I get deeper into the game - only mid-way through the third chapter right now.
It takes some time to establish characters and arcs. Once the game accumulates enough characters and long standing mysteries, it starts to interweave them in wonderful ways.




Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
I was watching GameCenter CX episode ass i playing the game. After i finished the game, i then watched the last episode and found out that Arino was forced not to stop after beating K. Rool and had to go to Lost World. Paused the episode on that moment and started playing DKC2 again to do the same.

You need to collect Kremkoins to unlock levels in Lost world. I already unlocked and beaten one, so that leaves four levels and a secret boss.

Collecting Kremkoins is tedious. There is nothing worse when i re-play the same level looking for secrets, find secret room and in the end see that i already got this particular Kremkoin earlier.

I wish Cranky's hints were saved somewhere, i bought a lot of them in the beginning of the game and by now completely forgot what was he talking about.

Vanquish (Xbox 360):
Finished the game and started Hard. The plot is stupid but loveable, similar to "so bad it's good" B-tier movie or Jack Bauer 24 series.

Penultimate boss was pretty hard, because for the first time in the game you were actually killing people instead of robots and i wasn't too keen on that. Once i stopped caring and started prioritizing killing guys it went much smoother.

The final boss wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. I was very careful (read: cowardly) and mostly was sliding away, only occasionally shooting cheap shots with Assault Rifle in slo-mo (probably the only boss where Assault Rifle is the best).

The end was okay though i could live without the QTE. Ending movie was kinda baffling for how awkwardly it was directed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnxbiX04BBg&t=41m). Smash bros style credits sequence was okay.

Bayonetta 2 (demo on Wii U):
Disregard what i said about Gamepad not being fit for the game. I just needed to play it a bit and clicked. It works great, even on Gamepad small screen.

Because of demo launch restrictions i had the console on since friday. Yesterday i decided i have squeezed enough from the demo after practicing enough to get Pure Platinums (http://abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_01vmpy1.jpg) on each verse consistently (not during the same run though).

I checked in the Applications Log: between two demo launches, i've spent 12 hours there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 14, 2014, 01:47:31 AM
I've played some more Alien: Isolation and...****...this is probably the most never-wracking game I've played all year.  I'm really digging this game, but MAN...you REALLY have to be willing to buy into what Sega's selling. This is a no-holds-barred survival horror game, where it's very common to spend the better part of a half hour sneaking under tables, crafting makeshift equipment on the move, and slinking around corners while constantly crouch-walking and listening on your motion tracker for any sign of the one-hit-kill menace...and then sighing for relief as you claw your way to your first save station in the last 45 minutes. I'm playing the game on EASY and I'm still dying quite frequently, even now that I have Spaceballs: The Flamethrower.

For better or worse, the developers totally nailed the authentic Alien horror experience. If you enjoy that kind of experience, you'll love Isolation. If not, you'll despise it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 14, 2014, 10:52:00 AM
Been playing Minish Cap, ostensibly to get some time in before my Club Nintendo post-play survey expired. Then it expired before I filled it out. Whoops.
No matter, Minish Cap is surprisingly charming and fun. So far, I am liking it better than Link's Awakening which I found got tedious nearer the end. I am just past the first dungeon and making my way the next challenge. I am playing it on Wii U. I've had it on 3DS since being "gifted" it as an Ambassador but never got round to it. I have played the Wii U version both on the big screen and on the gamepad. Both experiences are very satisfying.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 16, 2014, 12:15:59 AM
Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA):
Beat Lost World tire level (Jungle Jinx), was pretty fun. Not as unbelievably hard as Fiery Furnace, but still extremely hard. I vaguely remember similar levels in DKC1 where you jumped on monster truck tires.

Back to collecting Kremkoins to unlock the next Lost World level, i guess...

Vanquish (Xbox 360):
(http://www.quickmeme.com/img/89/8933bcedfccd0b52b739d197f5315bd9a30c644eac5b429accf8de9883af019d.jpg)

I've spent almost three hours last night trying to beat Tactical Challenge One (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFAho1qiU4E). It's the first and the easiest one and it's already kicking my ass.

Enemies are EXTREMELY aggressive, way more so than even on Hard. If you show as much as a toe out of a cover all 5 mooks will instantly home in on you. You need to memorize that map layout, where the covers are (not thigh-high puny covers, big ones, containers and tanks that you can semi-safely stand behind while shooting at one romanov knowing that the other two romanovs across the map can't hit you) and meticulously plan out your weapon choices, and how you move during every second of the level just to beat it.

Grenades suddenly become the most valuable weapon you have -- you don't really need to use them in the campaign, but in tactical challenges it's the only way to supress waves of incoming enemies. Top players can time grenade throw into the teleporting sphere so perfectly it blows up at exactly the moment robots are teleported in, before they can spread out all over the map. They just throw it at the sphere and slide away dispatching other enemies, knowing that when it will blast off three seconds later, it will kill the entire incoming wave.

Level design really shines through in how waves are designed, one of the hardest waves in the whole challenge is 3rd where you get three packs of flamethrower Romanovs with couple of yellow robots. Individually these enemies are not that hard to kill even if they are bullet sponges, but put in this particular combination -- it's harder than any boss in single player. Oh and there are three packs of them. If you as much as stand in the wrong place when this wave is teleporting in (like between two spawning points) you will be dead in two seconds.

And finally in the end you face Boogie with two Romanovs. Romanovs are not a problem and are easily killed by leftover walking turrets from the last wave, but Boogie... I fought TWO of them in the story simultaneously and it wasn't half as hard as this one. It is more intense because i've spend like 20 retries and 2 hours on this and if you die on him, you will have to start all over again. I usually get to him by 7th minute and spend the same time just trying to kill him alone.

So far i only managed to do it once with 15 minutes. Watching how people do it in 4 minutes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSlrg-TtfNc) or in even less (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDlZzwod2YQ) is very enraging enlightening.

Diablo 3 (360 demo):
I miiiight get the full game to play with my friend (without local co-op i wouldn't have even bothered), so i decided to check out how it plays.

Oh boy. The deeper i get into japanese action games the biggest dissonance i start to feel each time when i try to play games with more primitive combat. I really try to shake the feeling "this combat is mindless, amoeba-level button mashing with zero thought put into it" and give it a fair shake, but it's getting harder and harder each time.

Button layout is okay, i guess. UI looks competently done for a console game. From the way the game looks you expect it to be twin stick shooter, but it's not, right stick is only used for rolls. Resolution is pretty low, but otherwise it plays fine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 16, 2014, 08:20:11 AM
I had forgotten how fantastic the music in PictoBits is.  Fun little game (maybe less so after everything is unlocked) and quite challenging when you try higher-level Dark stages... but the music makes the game for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 17, 2014, 10:07:04 AM
I started up The Evil Within last night and...wow, this game looks like ****. Seriously, this thing takes up the max 50 GB a dual layer Blu Ray can hold, and I've seen better-looking PS3 games at a fraction of the HDD size and without having to hide its engine problems behind forced letter-boxing.

There's also some just plain technical incompetence. Take this image for instance, which I snapped 5 seconds into the game when I accidentally walked right through my "partner" NPC:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0HPjhqIgAEJrwm.jpg:large)

As for the game itself, it has a really slow wind-up, but once it gets going it's basically a less-interesting incarnation of Resident Evil 4. I enjoy the focus one exploration and adaptation, but it just doesn't have the magic RE4 did when I first played it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 18, 2014, 04:18:11 AM
I went back and played a decent chunk of Super Mario 3D World tonight. As time passes, I'm becoming more and more comfortable saying that's my favorite game of all time. Perfectly distilled platforming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 18, 2014, 09:29:29 AM
I went back and played a decent chunk of Super Mario 3D World tonight. As time passes, I'm becoming more and more comfortable saying that's my favorite game of all time. Perfectly distilled platforming.


Not sure it's my favorite game of all time, but certainly couldn't begrudge anyone who feels that way.
Super Mario 3D World is fantastic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Sarail on October 19, 2014, 11:04:51 PM
As always: Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn. After acquiring full Sol tome armour from Hunts, Duty EX, Primal HMs (basically anything that grants Soldiery tomestones), I started seriously pushing to complete Beastmen quests. And as of two days ago, I finally completed them after starting them earlier in the summer. There's five sets of beastmen tribes currently in Eorzea on the lower continents - Ixali, Kobolds, Sahagin, Amal'jaa, and Sylphs. And there's a bit of a surprise once you get all five to rank 8 (Allied standing.) Incredibly rewarding quest line and added items. And much respect for Yoshida and crew for pushing that surprise at the end of it all, as well. That kind of stuff is desperately needed in the gaming industry.

Revisiting: Dungeon Defenders. My brother convinced me to rejoin him on his crusade to levelling a character to lvl100, and I had completely forgotten how much of a total romp this game can be. It's crazy fun. I'm not so much a tower defence kind of gamer, but I make an exception for this game. It looks and feels like a Nintendo game, and that's probably why I adore it so much. Anyway, to keep it brief, my brother and I have been trying to level quickly and gain Mythical armour - the next step in armour once you hit lvl75. I've got three of four pieces now. :)

Brand new: Super Smash Bros. 4 (3DS). First thing's first - I'm a competitive player of Smash. I love it, and I don't know why. It's a thrill. One-on-one, no items (except Smash Ball), and any stage goes. That's my motto. I've made a finalised tier list now concerning my personal choices amongst grouping fighters in a 'Best/Great/Good/So-So/Awful' category, and so far, my personal tiers are as follows:

Best - Zero Suit Samus, Diddy Kong, Koopalings
Great - Bowser, Pac-Man, Link, Pit, Palutena, Robin, Fox, Pikachu, Wii Fit Trainer, Mii (Brawler), Falco, Wario
Good - Villager, Greninja, Captain Falcon, Mario, Sheik, Ike, Kirby, Meta Knight, Olimar, Mega Man, Jigglypuff, Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt, Mr. Game & Watch, Mii (Gunner)
So-So - Luigi, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Toon Link, Marth, King Dedede, Little Mac, Charizard, Lucario, Shulk, Dark Pit, Ganondorf, Lucina, Mii (Swordmaster)
Awful - Peach, Yoshi*, Zelda, Samus, Sonic, Ness, R.O.B.

*Scott Thompson (oksoda) is a BEAST with Yoshi. I do not understand this. It's incomprehensible. Really.

And if you'd like to come Smash my head into the stratosphere with me as any of my three 'Bests,' then by all means, please come do it. I welcome all challengers. (I'm terrible, really.)[/b]
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 20, 2014, 12:13:15 AM
I have finished Alien: Isolation and...I'm exhausted, and the game went on about 3-4 game hours longer than it needed to. The development team made an unusual choice with the Xenomorph mythos, obviously basing it on the deleted scenes inserted in the Director's Cut of Alien.  I'll be interested to see how "canon" the Alien fanbase treats this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 20, 2014, 09:30:21 AM
And if you'd like to come Smash my head into the stratosphere with me as any of my three 'Bests,' then by all means, please come do it. I welcome all challengers. (I'm terrible, really.)
I'm down. Maybe I can change your mind regarding Lady Fire Emblem (AKA Lucina). I'm not great either. In Classic Mode, I've only been able to max at 7.0 difficulty. I've seen video of someone beating 9.0 without damage.

I don't want to get too into it here. I've been keeping all of my Super Smash Bros. for 3DS thoughts in the threads Khush created in Handheld Gaming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on October 20, 2014, 01:13:16 PM
Don't hold back on my account. I believe in freedom of discussion and thread derailment. I'm surprised there hasn't been a matchmaking thread created for the game though. I'd have thought more people on this site might be wanting to compete with each other.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 22, 2014, 02:37:48 PM
Since Nintendo finally set it up so you can play Off-TV in Wii mode without having to initiate it via the TV, played about half a dozen stars into Mario 64 tonight. Great game, but I'd kill for a 3DS-eShop remake that's basically all the extra content and enhancement but with proper controls.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 22, 2014, 03:30:15 PM
Pandora's Tower (Wii):


I picked this up for cheap at Fry's many moons ago, and finally got dry enough to give it a go. I actually dug the game, despite some of the pretty obvious criticisms, such as the fairly crappy graphics, low enemy count, repeat dungeons, sluggish controls, and annoyingly long boss fights. Working through the towers is fun, though, and I enjoyed the process of unlocking shortcuts to make runs back to the Observatory less onerous. Interacting with the environment and the enemies with the chain is satisfying and tactile (though swinging from grapple points fucking sucks). I even got OCD about maxing out the bond meter with Elena and crafting ingredients to upgrade weapons. I haven't really played a non-Nintendo Japanese console game in some time, so despite shortcomings I found this game refreshing.


That is, until I encountered a game-breaking bug in the final two dungeons that hard-freezes the Wii U (and Wii, based on forums). There was a workaround that let me get past this, but, on my final jaunt back to the observatory to feed Elena and rest, the workaround stopped working. I had all eight chains destroyed, and was on the doorstep of the boss. I spent over two hours trying every possible workaround posted, but to no avail. You have to beat the final twin dungeons in at most three runs, or you're fucking stuck. Apparently this was some problem with converting the game from PAL, and there is no solution. I put 20 hours into this goddamn game. I would not advise buying it under any circumstances with this glitch looming.


Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze (Wii U):


Picked this game back up after completing an initial run upon its release. I spent a good chunk of time going back and picking up missing puzzle pieces, a few of which were, like, jaw-dropping in obscurity, beyond anything in the first game (I'm looking at you Busted Bayou and Sea Stack Attack). I've now moved on to a Hard Mode run, and holy hell, I think it's actually more intense than the first game. The lack of checkpoints is alleviated somewhat by the selectable kongs, but I've spent over an hour on individual levels, and I came very close to throwing the gamepad during the Owl boss. Still, the design really shines in this mode, activating a level of consideration that usually doesn't factor into a regular playthrough. I'm about halfway through, and I'm already having doubts if I can get to 200% without harming myself or others. Frederick will be a nightmare.





Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 22, 2014, 11:43:29 PM
I've played The Legend of Korra, which is a terrible game with godawful checkpointing and encounter design, as expected of Platinum Games.

On the positive side, I've also played a lot of Peggle 2. It's just more Peggle, but it's just as additive as the original game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 23, 2014, 12:21:27 AM
Pandora's Tower (Wii):
...
That is, until I encountered a game-breaking bug in the final two dungeons that hard-freezes the Wii U (and Wii, based on forums). ... Apparently this was some problem with converting the game from PAL, and there is no solution. I put 20 hours into this goddamn game. I would not advise buying it under any circumstances with this glitch looming.
...


One of the rare cases where I'm still glad to have imported a game after a local release is made available.
Really a shame about the bugs in the North American release.  :(



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on October 23, 2014, 01:53:09 AM
EXCITE TRUCK

I have some downtime so I've been playing some video games again. Immediately chose to play Excite Truck. I already beat the every living **** out of it, but I don't remember a thing except how incredible the last track was.

My god. I forgot how hilarious this game is. And how much it looks like ****, but I could care less. It's like they took a child's imagination playing with tonka trucks and put it in video game form. It's insane. Nothing is realistic except for basic physics, like water is wet and gravity makes things fall. And nothing stops you from constantly flying through the air flicking off birds while you sail over forests. mountains and lakes. It's amazing. And when you get even decent at it, you never ever lay off the gas or the turbo.

Now there are some definite cons, such as recycling tracks by running through them backwards, flying into barriers that clearly are only there so you don't skip a fourth of a track, or the controls getting in the way sometimes. It can get pretty frustrating or monotonous, but it's fun. It's fucking fun. And I still haven't made it to the final race. They definitely saved the best for last. I can't wait.

And I can't believe this was a launch title. Solid, solid game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 23, 2014, 10:39:18 AM
Play Excite Bot.  They sat down in the room and asked what could make this crazier.  Then did it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on October 23, 2014, 12:50:57 PM
I'm planning on playing it next!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 25, 2014, 05:57:23 PM
Uh-oh! Looks like I've decided today is a good day to venture deeper into the bowels of the NWR forums!  I believe this is a good place to start as any, as the subject is broad and the points don't matter! I'll catch you folks up on the last... I'unno, 5 things I've been playing, because otherwise it'd be clogged with Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Shantae...!

1. Starbound

I decided recently it was time to start a 4th character and play the game vanilla since they are talking about updating it to 1.0 very soon. That being said... I'm not noticing anything different in the progression or recopies available to this new character. Have I missed a patch somewhere? it still says the version is Enraged Koala. the only thing I've noticed that's new is that some weapons now aim where you have your mouse cursor pointed ala' Terraria.

For the uninitiated, that's really what this game is. It's a Sci-fi spiritual sequel to Terraria where you choose from one of six alien races and end up orbiting a random planet with no food, no fuel, and little more than a flash light, a matter manipulator, and a rusty sword to defend yourself, and... while there are bosses and progression as you craft and find better swag, it really doesn't have a ton of structure. Sand box funtimes, pretty much. makes for an excellent podcast game still, even if I don't find myself enamored with the game like I did my first time through.

2. Batman (NES, Sunsoft)

I was at my local flea market a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a copy of this for $5 and immediately demanded to take it home...! I used to rent this all the time from Dollar Video back when I was like... 7? 8? holy wow.

Sunsoft is a really hit or miss developer, and Batman, while being brutal beyond words, is up in that upper tier of the third party's achievements along with the likes of Blaster Master and Journey to Silius. the game has a lot of parallels to Ninja Gaiden with being an action platformer that sports an emphasis on Wall Jumps, managing sub weapons and ammo for them, and very evil enemy placement. Also, it has a bitchin' soundtrack. Pretty much, before Rocksteady got into the batman game business, this was THE game to play starring the Dark Knight.

3. Kirby Super Star

Speaking of games I used to rent all the damned time at Dollar Video on nights my parents felt like getting a large Deep-Dish pizza and renting an action movie that has possibly more cheese in it than the Chicago-style pie, I used to rent Kirby Super Star all the time! While I didn't stumble upon it at a flea market on the cheap, I did happen to have enough coins after Super Smash Bros. and Azure Striker Gunvolt to get this pillar of fine gaming from Club Nintendo!

Full Disclaimer, Kirby Super Star is one of my favorite games of all time. currently sitting at #7 on that list, which while some would argue is pretty far down, I've played a crapton of games. Kirby Super Star is by and far my favorite Kirby Game, and... actually, I feel it was VERY appropriate for Club Nintendo to feature it at the same time Super Smash Bros. was coming out, because I feel Kirby Super Star is not only the genesis for Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, but also for Super Smash Bros...!

A. The physics for the platforming controls in a Kirby game are surprisingly similar to those in the Smash Bros. games. of course, this isn't a surprise consideirng the release of Kirby Super Star and the development of Dragon King for the SNES Super FX chip lined up quite well. of course, Dragon King would get moved to the N64, and eventually Sakurai would get the green light to let pre-established Nintendo characters become the fighters instead of the generic polygon fighters.
B. Blocking was introduced in Kirby Super Star by using the L and R buttons. When Kirby has the Mirror ability copied, this becomes a bubble shield that takes no chip damage.
C. The various characters that appear at ringside of the Mt. Dedede arena and the Megaton Punch arena, as well as the goodies found in the Great Cave Offensive show an interest to at least in some comical fashion to tie Nintendo universes together. This is actually furthered in KDL3 where Kirby Meets up with the characters from Shin Onigashima, Professor Hector, and Samus.
D. Copy abilities gained multiple attacks that all depended on a directional imput+ hitting the attack button. this would of course become the basis for the fighting system in Smash Bros games after a bit of further fleshing out.
E. The obvious inspiration that The Arena and the Music from the rest areas in Great Cave Offensive had on Melee's All-Star mode.
F. Kirby Super Star is the first example of a UI feeling like a Sakurai Menu. granted, he wouldn't get his flair for the truly abstract until Melee and Kirby's Air Ride, but the Corkboard menu separating Kirby's various adventures and the unlockable options and mini-games into buttons feels VERY much like something you'd see in Brawl or Smash 4.
G. Kirby's Super Star featured the germination of Kirby's various attacks having specific damage values and enemies in a kirby game having an HP bar that could be mapped by using attacks on the computer virus boss. This is a bit of a stretch, but I feel the idea of attacks in Smash Bros. games doing % damage could easily have come from this.
H. The eb and Flow of Master+Crazy Hand, Subspace bosses, and Master Core all REALLY feel like Kirby Bosses, particularly with Wham Bam Rock and Master Hand having so many similarities, Tabuu taking straight from the Kirby rulebook of teleporting around like a nut before doing sort of attack that finally gives him a vulnerable moment, or some of Galleom's attacks feeling very similar to the Heavy Lobster.

4. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Still playing tons of Smash Run, still playing lots of intensity 9 Classic to get good equipment and such. I do like that from what I've peeked at SmashBoards, they are very seriously considering having a custom move Meta, and Nintendo's recent tournament really supports it as well. I feel Custom moves, Equipment, and Amiibo are probably going to be some of the finer points of the Smash 4 body as a whole, but people will continue to snob on these excelent additions because they dislike change or having to adapt to more content.


5. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Shantae is my #2 favorite game of all time. it is a flawed but beautiful little gem that OOZES personality and charm. It has a fun little narrative and it's very meta and self-aware. Also, it's the game that Castlevania 2 should have been.

Pirate's Curse feels so much more focused...! I'm glad Wayforward took the extra Dev time on this one, because it feels like a MUCH better version of Risky's Revenge. getting around is easy, the combat somehow feels even snapper, the game already has a better difficulty to it, and the pirate abilities feel  so darned natural.

I also learn that we're FINALLY learning more about some of the supporting cast of these games. I feel like I know more about Sky, Uncle Mimic, Rottytops, Mayor Scuttlebutt, and most importantly Risky then I ever did before...! Things feel so much more fleshed out, and it's great...!

So is the soundtrack. and the 3D effect. and the return to a ore balanced version of shantae 1's item system. and so much more. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is easily the best of the trilogy thus far, and may just end up dethroning the original GB title from my list.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on October 25, 2014, 06:17:12 PM
Play Excite Bot.  They sat down in the room and asked what could make this crazier.  Then did it.


Without a doubt one of my favorite arcade racers ever. I would kill for a sequel. Speaking of which, are you sure Oblivion is back? Mwahahaha!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 25, 2014, 07:08:22 PM
Uh-oh! Looks like I've decided today is a good day to venture deeper into the bowels of the NWR forums!  I believe this is a good place to start as any, as the subject is broad and the points don't matter! I'll catch you folks up on the last... I'unno, 5 things I've been playing, because otherwise it'd be clogged with Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Shantae...!

1. Starbound

I decided recently it was time to start a 4th character and play the game vanilla since they are talking about updating it to 1.0 very soon. That being said... I'm not noticing anything different in the progression or recopies available to this new character. Have I missed a patch somewhere? it still says the version is Enraged Koala. the only thing I've noticed that's new is that some weapons now aim where you have your mouse cursor pointed ala' Terraria.

For the uninitiated, that's really what this game is. It's a Sci-fi spiritual sequel to Terraria where you choose from one of six alien races and end up orbiting a random planet with no food, no fuel, and little more than a flash light, a matter manipulator, and a rusty sword to defend yourself, and... while there are bosses and progression as you craft and find better swag, it really doesn't have a ton of structure. Sand box funtimes, pretty much. makes for an excellent podcast game still, even if I don't find myself enamored with the game like I did my first time through.

2. Batman (NES, Sunsoft)

I was at my local flea market a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a copy of this for $5 and immediately demanded to take it home...! I used to rent this all the time from Dollar Video back when I was like... 7? 8? holy wow.

Sunsoft is a really hit or miss developer, and Batman, while being brutal beyond words, is up in that upper tier of the third party's achievements along with the likes of Blaster Master and Journey to Silius. the game has a lot of parallels to Ninja Gaiden with being an action platformer that sports an emphasis on Wall Jumps, managing sub weapons and ammo for them, and very evil enemy placement. Also, it has a bitchin' soundtrack. Pretty much, before Rocksteady got into the batman game business, this was THE game to play starring the Dark Knight.

3. Kirby Super Star

Speaking of games I used to rent all the damned time at Dollar Video on nights my parents felt like getting a large Deep-Dish pizza and renting an action movie that has possibly more cheese in it than the Chicago-style pie, I used to rent Kirby Super Star all the time! While I didn't stumble upon it at a flea market on the cheap, I did happen to have enough coins after Super Smash Bros. and Azure Striker Gunvolt to get this pillar of fine gaming from Club Nintendo!

Full Disclaimer, Kirby Super Star is one of my favorite games of all time. currently sitting at #7 on that list, which while some would argue is pretty far down, I've played a crapton of games. Kirby Super Star is by and far my favorite Kirby Game, and... actually, I feel it was VERY appropriate for Club Nintendo to feature it at the same time Super Smash Bros. was coming out, because I feel Kirby Super Star is not only the genesis for Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, but also for Super Smash Bros...!

A. The physics for the platforming controls in a Kirby game are surprisingly similar to those in the Smash Bros. games. of course, this isn't a surprise consideirng the release of Kirby Super Star and the development of Dragon King for the SNES Super FX chip lined up quite well. of course, Dragon King would get moved to the N64, and eventually Sakurai would get the green light to let pre-established Nintendo characters become the fighters instead of the generic polygon fighters.
B. Blocking was introduced in Kirby Super Star by using the L and R buttons. When Kirby has the Mirror ability copied, this becomes a bubble shield that takes no chip damage.
C. The various characters that appear at ringside of the Mt. Dedede arena and the Megaton Punch arena, as well as the goodies found in the Great Cave Offensive show an interest to at least in some comical fashion to tie Nintendo universes together. This is actually furthered in KDL3 where Kirby Meets up with the characters from Shin Onigashima, Professor Hector, and Samus.
D. Copy abilities gained multiple attacks that all depended on a directional imput+ hitting the attack button. this would of course become the basis for the fighting system in Smash Bros games after a bit of further fleshing out.
E. The obvious inspiration that The Arena and the Music from the rest areas in Great Cave Offensive had on Melee's All-Star mode.
F. Kirby Super Star is the first example of a UI feeling like a Sakurai Menu. granted, he wouldn't get his flair for the truly abstract until Melee and Kirby's Air Ride, but the Corkboard menu separating Kirby's various adventures and the unlockable options and mini-games into buttons feels VERY much like something you'd see in Brawl or Smash 4.
G. Kirby's Super Star featured the germination of Kirby's various attacks having specific damage values and enemies in a kirby game having an HP bar that could be mapped by using attacks on the computer virus boss. This is a bit of a stretch, but I feel the idea of attacks in Smash Bros. games doing % damage could easily have come from this.
H. The eb and Flow of Master+Crazy Hand, Subspace bosses, and Master Core all REALLY feel like Kirby Bosses, particularly with Wham Bam Rock and Master Hand having so many similarities, Tabuu taking straight from the Kirby rulebook of teleporting around like a nut before doing sort of attack that finally gives him a vulnerable moment, or some of Galleom's attacks feeling very similar to the Heavy Lobster.

4. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Still playing tons of Smash Run, still playing lots of intensity 9 Classic to get good equipment and such. I do like that from what I've peeked at SmashBoards, they are very seriously considering having a custom move Meta, and Nintendo's recent tournament really supports it as well. I feel Custom moves, Equipment, and Amiibo are probably going to be some of the finer points of the Smash 4 body as a whole, but people will continue to snob on these excelent additions because they dislike change or having to adapt to more content.


5. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Shantae is my #2 favorite game of all time. it is a flawed but beautiful little gem that OOZES personality and charm. It has a fun little narrative and it's very meta and self-aware. Also, it's the game that Castlevania 2 should have been.

Pirate's Curse feels so much more focused...! I'm glad Wayforward took the extra Dev time on this one, because it feels like a MUCH better version of Risky's Revenge. getting around is easy, the combat somehow feels even snapper, the game already has a better difficulty to it, and the pirate abilities feel  so darned natural.

I also learn that we're FINALLY learning more about some of the supporting cast of these games. I feel like I know more about Sky, Uncle Mimic, Rottytops, Mayor Scuttlebutt, and most importantly Risky then I ever did before...! Things feel so much more fleshed out, and it's great...!

So is the soundtrack. and the 3D effect. and the return to a ore balanced version of shantae 1's item system. and so much more. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is easily the best of the trilogy thus far, and may just end up dethroning the original GB title from my list.



Kirby Super Star is also one of my all time favorite video games ever. It is in my top five for SNES and easily top ten all systems. It is also the ONLY Kirby game I have ever played that I actually like, unless you count Smash Bros. games as Kirby games.

The game I been playing lately is called Mighty Switch Force and Mighty Switch Force 2 on Wii U. I downloaded them as part of my deluxe digital promotion/shopping binge last couple of weeks and they are pretty fun.

I also spent some time replaying Super Castlevania 4 SNES on Wii U. Either its a lot harder than I remember it being, or the Game Pad is not a good controller for that game. I haven't tried Wii Classic Pro so I don't know if that works with Wii U Virtual Console or not. Maybe I should find that out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 25, 2014, 07:22:05 PM

2. Batman (NES, Sunsoft)

I was at my local flea market a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a copy of this for $5 and immediately demanded to take it home...! I used to rent this all the time from Dollar Video back when I was like... 7? 8? holy wow.

Sunsoft is a really hit or miss developer, and Batman, while being brutal beyond words, is up in that upper tier of the third party's achievements along with the likes of Blaster Master and Journey to Silius. the game has a lot of parallels to Ninja Gaiden with being an action platformer that sports an emphasis on Wall Jumps, managing sub weapons and ammo for them, and very evil enemy placement. Also, it has a bitchin' soundtrack. Pretty much, before Rocksteady got into the batman game business, this was THE game to play starring the Dark Knight.

3. Kirby Super Star

Speaking of games I used to rent all the damned time at Dollar Video on nights my parents felt like getting a large Deep-Dish pizza and renting an action movie that has possibly more cheese in it than the Chicago-style pie, I used to rent Kirby Super Star all the time! While I didn't stumble upon it at a flea market on the cheap, I did happen to have enough coins after Super Smash Bros. and Azure Striker Gunvolt to get this pillar of fine gaming from Club Nintendo!

Full Disclaimer, Kirby Super Star is one of my favorite games of all time. currently sitting at #7 on that list, which while some would argue is pretty far down, I've played a crapton of games. Kirby Super Star is by and far my favorite Kirby Game, and... actually, I feel it was VERY appropriate for Club Nintendo to feature it at the same time Super Smash Bros. was coming out, because I feel Kirby Super Star is not only the genesis for Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, but also for Super Smash Bros...!



Yup, Batman is pretty great, owned it as a kid, played it a ton, rarely ever made it past that friggin machine boss at the end of the second level. This would be a great game to offer a second life with restore points, but I'm sure it's a licensing nightmare.


On the other hand, am I the only person who doesn't like Kirby's Super Star? I like Dreamland 2 a lot, but Super Star does nothing for me. It feels like an unsatisfying collection of minigames without the progression or heft of a full-on Kirby game. I've been baffled for years why some people hold it as not just the best Kirby game, but one of the best games ever.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 26, 2014, 12:39:59 AM
Pandora's Tower (Wii):

You have to beat the final twin dungeons in at most three runs, or you're fucking stuck. Apparently this was some problem with converting the game from PAL, and there is no solution. I put 20 hours into this goddamn game. I would not advise buying it under any circumstances with this glitch looming.

That's not true though.  If you keep reseting your system it'll eventually let you through.  The more runs you do the less likely the workaround will work, but if you keep reseting, eventually there will be a time the glitch doesn't happen and you can finish those towers even after 3 runs.  It took me more then 3 runs to beat it and I ended up resetting I'm sure a dozen times but it's still possible to get through the towers. 

Of course be sure to get all the dungeon exclusive items before you beat the final boss in the 13th Tower since on New Game + the glitch will work 100% of the time, making it impossible to revisit the 11th/12th towers again.  Luckily on New Game + you can go to the 13th Tower whenever you want so the game won't lock you out of being able to get all the different endings, but the 11/12th tower will be.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on October 26, 2014, 02:25:30 AM
3. Kirby Super Star
Full Disclaimer, Kirby Super Star is one of my favorite games of all time. currently sitting at #7 on that list, which while some would argue is pretty far down, I've played a crapton of games. Kirby Super Star is by and far my favorite Kirby Game, and... actually, I feel it was VERY appropriate for Club Nintendo to feature it at the same time Super Smash Bros. was coming out, because I feel Kirby Super Star is not only the genesis for Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, but also for Super Smash Bros...!


I'm with you 100% on this. I've told friends of mine the same thing and I'm sure I've posted it here before when talking about this game. I never realized it at first but some time after playing Melee, I took Super Star for another spin and was amazed at all the connections I could see between it and Melee. Although the more one plays any game by Sakurai, the more connections you'll see between them all. Another thing you didn't mention in your list of similarities is how similar some of the attacks from various powers are to other fighters in Smash bros.

Kirby Super Star was the first Kirby game I played. I was interested in it because of the commercial advertising how it was 8 games in 1. Super Mario All-Stars was 4 games in one so it sounded like a heck of a package. Although when I first saw how short Spring Breeze and Gourmet Race were, I didn't think the whole 8 games thing was that special. However, the first time I played Revenge of Meta Knight, my mind was blown. That was incredible and, even now, there's something special about that game. It had an intensity to it. There was a ticking clock. You battle through and disable all parts of the Halbred to bring it down. You have the various villains talking and giving you their perspective of the events as you work to bring them down. The climatic battle with Meta Knight and surprise reveal of him without a mask leading to more questions and then the desperate race off the sinking Halbred to the lonely seaside ride of credits. I wanted to know so much more about Kirby and who Meta Knight was and why he wanted revenge. Sadly, I found out there were no answers on that front leaving it to always be a mystery.

I've played nearly all other Kirby games since then. While most have a lot of charm and elements that make them enjoyable, I've always been disappointed at how they can't compare to Super Star. The more I played other Kirby games and then went back to Super Star, the more I appreciated it. It is a game bursting with ideas and because it keeps things short, it doesn't wear out its welcome. The amount of copy abilities which have many different move sets, the helper AI that is actually pretty decent, the different game ideas, Milky Way wishes and its unique idea of Kirby getting his abilities, or Marx who I've always wanted to see return. And the music. I was just starting to appreciate music more because of the Donkey Kong Country games and I found the music in Super Star to be top notch. The save room music in The Great Cave Offensive which has been used in Smash Bros. All-Star mode rest area was so beautiful to me. I would just stay in those rooms and listen to the music repeat for awhile because it was so dreamy with a slight sadness to as well. (Much like the jingle that plays in Super Metroid whenever you get an item or upgrade. It starts out like a cheer of success but seems to end on a sad and lonely note.)

I don't repurchase games. In my personal game collection, I have very few duplicates. The ambassador games on 3DS is probably 90% of the reason I have duplicate games. Kirby Super Star Ultra is a duplicate game I was happy and willing to purchase. It's the best Kirby game and my SNES cart is a bit wonky plus this was the Ultra edition with new content. I just loaned it out to a cousin of mine who had never played a Kirby game and told him to give it a try. I was glad HAL went back to that game as I hoped it might cause them to understand why it was so exceptional and start making Kirby games to equal or exceed it. Whether that had a factor or not I can't say but since it's release, there have been a lot of good Kirby games made so I like to think it had a part in that. Good stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 26, 2014, 03:00:44 PM
I first bought and played Kirby Super Star shortly after Super Smash Brothers Brawl came out, and people were talking about the similarities between it and the Subspace Emissary. Since I didn't like the SSE, I was curious if Super Star handled things any better. I don't remember if the game was on the VC at this time in 2008 but either way, I wanted the original SNES cartridge.

It has an interesting setup but the various games don't play as differently as I thought they might. The MetaKnight one feels different, but the rest pretty much play the same. I do like how Spring Breeze is a semi-remake of the original Kirby's Dream Land, that was clever. But it doesn't really matter that they aren't so different because together, they still form a solid Kirby game. I liked the different powers that the game introduced, there were some fun ones, and I also played the game in co-op with made it a lot more fun. But I liked to play as the partner instead of Kirby since the partner got to be different characters. I also liked how there was some exploration elements in Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes, I liked those the most since they had a little more depth than the others.

While the menu in the game may be a bit non-standard, it still has a theme and the icons are still more unified shapes, with all of them being squares, maybe a few rectangles. This menu still works fine, and is a far cry from the mess of more recent Smash games which are just a bunch of random shapes haphazardly plastered onto a screen, and also run several pages deep. But I think the menus for Brawl, Smash 4, and Kid Icarus Uprising were deigned by Sakurai's wife, someone who probably has never played a videogame in her life.

I actually just got the game from Club Nintendo when it was offered, mostly for the DDP points but I still made a run through it. Then I decided to sell my SNES cartridge, since I not only have it on Wii U but also in the Kirby collection for Wii. I also have the DS game too, but haven't tried it yet.

A little after I first played Super Star, I wanted another Kirby game. I had just gotten a bunch of Wii Points from something, so instead of tracking down an SNES cartridge of Dream Land 3 (which was kinda expensive) I downloaded it on Wii VC. I ended up liking this one more than Super Star and it remains my fave game in the franchise. I find the art style very charming and unique, plus the sprites are smaller so more can fit on the screen. Super Star sometimes feels claustrophobic with how huge everything is, it can be tough to see full areas and what's lurking just off the screen. The design of the game feels more focused and tight, which is another thing I appreciate, and I also liked the animal buddies and seeing what they can do with each power. This game was a lot of fun to play in co-op as well.

Super Star would probably be near the bottom on my own list of Kirby games but I do still think it's a good game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 26, 2014, 07:11:34 PM
I am curious if other people who rate Super Star so highly are like me, it was their first Kirby game and the one that set the standard? I know I got it in a weird bundle for Christmas one year with a brand new smaller SNES 2, the weird part was I already HAD a Super Nintendo and my parents somehow thought it came with all the games pictured on the back so to them they were just buying a box of games. I ended up loaning my previous older SNES model to my sisters and making the smaller one my primary Nintendo console, my secondary console altogether as I was a Genesis first guy back then.


Anyways back on topic, I had a really hard time getting into other Kirby games after spending so much time with Super Star. Some of the mini games barely counted as games but the main games were pretty good on their own. I had the one on N64 and a couple of the Game Boy games and I just couldn't get into them the same as Super Star.


Also the GBA version is funky the controls are backwards and not customizable, maybe on Wii U they might be customizable but I don't think that version is on Wii U I am not sure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 26, 2014, 09:55:41 PM
My first Kirby game was actually KDL2. I think that might be why KDL3 didn't wow me as much when I rented that. I also really liked the partner system in KSS and you didn't need to get an animal Helper+a copy ability to get what you want, and get multiple moves to use with that power you want in Super Star.

I also agree that the short snippets of interesting ideas is what makes Super Star such a breath of fresh air. taking the same engines and doing stuff  on the periphery is really facinating, and Spring Breeze kinda works as a frame of "Okay, this is what Kirby Games normally do, and all these mini-games are going to do something different!"
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 26, 2014, 11:42:35 PM
My favorite Kirby is Return to Dreamland since it takes the gameplay Super Star started and puts in a bigger Kirby game that also has a great challenge as well.  The challenge rooms in Return to Dreamland alone are more fun to me then anything else Kirby related since they finally give players are real reason to get good at using Kirby's abilities. 

I've always liked Kirby games, but the biggest problem is they're just way too easy.  Even Super Star which is great and all, is still extremely easy (except for the True Arena in Super Star Ultra).  The challenge rooms in Return to Dreamland finally gave something for a more skilled gamer like me to really enjoy after playing the main game.  Of course even with the main game, I loved that Return to Dreamland also included a EX mode after you beat the game that made all the bosses much harder with entirely new attacks as well.  This made the True Arena in that game a blast to play as well.


I still haven't played Triple Deluxe for the 3DS but I've heard it does similar things so it could replace Return to Dreamland after I eventually play it.  For now though, Return to Dreamland is still king.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 27, 2014, 12:44:35 AM
My favorite Kirby is Return to Dreamland since it takes the gameplay Super Star started and puts in a bigger Kirby game that also has a great challenge as well.  The challenge rooms in Return to Dreamland alone are more fun to me then anything else Kirby related since they finally give players are real reason to get good at using Kirby's abilities. 

I've always liked Kirby games, but the biggest problem is they're just way too easy.  Even Super Star which is great and all, is still extremely easy (except for the True Arena in Super Star Ultra).  The challenge rooms in Return to Dreamland finally gave something for a more skilled gamer like me to really enjoy after playing the main game.  Of course even with the main game, I loved that Return to Dreamland also included a EX mode after you beat the game that made all the bosses much harder with entirely new attacks as well.  This made the True Arena in that game a blast to play as well.


I still haven't played Triple Deluxe for the 3DS but I've heard it does similar things so it could replace Return to Dreamland after I eventually play it.  For now though, Return to Dreamland is still king.


I guess I should point out my main issue is I don't buy hand held machines anymore and even when I did I wasn't that big into portable gaming so I miss out on the vast majority of the "good" Kirby games as a result from what I hear. My experience is limited mostly to the console games. I am considering getting a 3DS Xl at some point though so that might change in the near future.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 27, 2014, 11:16:32 AM
I guess I should point out my main issue is I don't buy hand held machines anymore and even when I did I wasn't that big into portable gaming so I miss out on the vast majority of the "good" Kirby games as a result from what I hear. My experience is limited mostly to the console games. I am considering getting a 3DS Xl at some point though so that might change in the near future.

Return to Dreamland was a Wii game.  You own a Wii U so it can still play the game, so if you love Kirby, try to find a copy of Return to Dreamland.  It was a 2011 release so some stores might still have it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 27, 2014, 12:14:51 PM
Return to Dreamland is a rare-ish Wii game. I never see it at the various Gamestops I walk in briefly to get Streetpasses. My friend's Play N Trade hasn't had it for ages. It's still over $40 used everywhere I've looked. On Amazon, it's between $80 to $100 new. I haven't checked Target in a while, but it wasn't there last time I checked.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 27, 2014, 02:08:58 PM
we don't have a very solid Wii used game scene around here, gamestop has put all Wii stuff into the bargain clearance bins already and Wii U stuff is very slim pickings. I will keep an eye out for it, I am still looking for a copy of DKC Returns and New Super Mario Bros. Wii those are top of my list right now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 27, 2014, 02:34:51 PM
Kirby's Return to Dream Land was on clearance late last year and early this year, so I don't think stores still have it anymore. I was fortunate enough to see a new copy for $30 before things got insane, though that was still more than I was hoping to find. I'm not really sure why it's gotten expensive, I'm pretty sure the game sold decently around the same number of copies as Kirby's Epic Yarn which is dirt cheap now. I think for whatever reason, Kirby games just have this reputation of being valuable even when they're not rare.

I've seen a few used copies of the game recently in GameStops and I think they were $49.99 or something insane like that.

In any case, I like the game too, it's another fun co-op romp. I've played only with 2 players however, though I'm not sure if there's enough to do in the levels to make it be entertaining for 4 players. The challenge stages are a lot of fun also even though they are limited to one player, in fact part of the reason I bought Kirby's Dream Collection on Wii is that it had some new challenge stages in it.

I am curious if other people who rate Super Star so highly are like me, it was their first Kirby game and the one that set the standard?
I actually had a thought about this, but my previous post was already way too lengthy. I think that definitely could be a factor for some people, because the first game someone plays in a series is going to be introducing the most new stuff, making it the most novel experience. Take me for example, my fave Pokémon game is still Gold which is also the first one I played, and I think the reason it was the most enjoyable to me is because it was the freshest. Mind, I don't think there's anything wrong with this, just that it's something worth acknowledging.

The problem I have with the powers in Super Star is that it's tough to remember all the moves for each power, and it's annoying to pause the game all the time to check them. Sometimes simple is better. Most of the extra moves aren't very useful anyway.

My first Kirby game was the original Dream Land game on Game Boy. It's definitely not my fave though, because it's pretty short and Kirby doesn't even have copy abilities yet. My second was Kirby's Adventure on NES which was a lot more fun, and then Super Star was my third.

My own personal ranking of fave to least-fave Kirby games I played would probably be:

Kirby's Dream Land 3
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (this would probably be #1 if it had co-op)
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby Triple Deluxe
Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Block Ball
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 27, 2014, 03:47:47 PM
Always wanted to play the 64 one but I just haven't.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 27, 2014, 07:30:41 PM
SO many people are crazy about Kirby 64, but I'm kinda... Lukewarm on it. Kirby feels SUPER sluggish in that game and the Copy ability combination gimmick just seems like an extension of the ideas in KDL2 and KDL3 with the animal helpers augmenting a copy ability, but without say... having to have the quirk of trying to control Kine on land to enjoy the awesomeness of exploding lightbulb missiles. (That's actually what inspired Bright Man's Light Manbow ability in Rockman 4 MI. I think after I'm done with this post, I'm going to make a thread about Rockman 4 MI.)

Kirby 64 still has a bitchin' soundtrack that I am so glad got a ton of love in Canvas Curse and I hope Rainbow Curse handles music in the same way. I just like Kirby when he's wearing hats and has multiple functions to his Copy abilities. Return To Dreamland is probably my second favorite game in the series, then a tie between Adventure/Amazing Mirror, and then probably Canvas Curse.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 28, 2014, 11:22:47 AM
Pandora's Tower (Wii):

You have to beat the final twin dungeons in at most three runs, or you're fucking stuck. Apparently this was some problem with converting the game from PAL, and there is no solution. I put 20 hours into this goddamn game. I would not advise buying it under any circumstances with this glitch looming.

That's not true though.  If you keep reseting your system it'll eventually let you through.  The more runs you do the less likely the workaround will work, but if you keep reseting, eventually there will be a time the glitch doesn't happen and you can finish those towers even after 3 runs.  It took me more then 3 runs to beat it and I ended up resetting I'm sure a dozen times but it's still possible to get through the towers. 

Of course be sure to get all the dungeon exclusive items before you beat the final boss in the 13th Tower since on New Game + the glitch will work 100% of the time, making it impossible to revisit the 11th/12th towers again.  Luckily on New Game + you can go to the 13th Tower whenever you want so the game won't lock you out of being able to get all the different endings, but the 11/12th tower will be.


I dunno, dude, I must have tried at least twenty times going through all of the methods I've found posted. From what I pieced together on various forums, it seems that Elena will only go through so many generic "bonding" cutscenes between each master flesh feeding, and after I ran those out (and making flesh rot when going to 11/12 stopped working), it was hard locks all the way.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 28, 2014, 12:41:26 PM
I dunno, dude, I must have tried at least twenty times going through all of the methods I've found posted. From what I pieced together on various forums, it seems that Elena will only go through so many generic "bonding" cutscenes between each master flesh feeding, and after I ran those out (and making flesh rot when going to 11/12 stopped working), it was hard locks all the way.

Oh, that might be part of it.  My first time through I didn't get all the bonding cutscenes.  I just made sure I was at least high enough so I could reach the 13th Tower my first run but not much higher.  If the cutscenes are somehow effected to the glitch, I didn't see all of them so the glitch was more random for me making the towers still beatable, but if you saw them all, then you're probably locked out.


I guess the message for anyone who hasn't played the North American version yet is to not spend much time with Elena your first time through and make sure you got all the exclusive items from the 11th/12th Tower before you beat the boss of that Tower, because in New Game + you can never revisit those towers ever again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 29, 2014, 01:20:01 AM
I've been playing some Sunset Overdrive, and while my overall impressions of the game are very positive, I just don't want to play this game on an Xbone controller. I despise that thing's LB & RB buttons, which feel about as painful to press repeatedly as the GameCube Controller's Z button was. Naturally, Sunset Overdrive has you pressing those buttons a lot to switch weapons and boost on grind rails.

That aside, I love the way movement through the city just flows as you easily switch from grinding on rails to boosting on cars to wall-running to wall jumping. The combat feels pretty loose and not terribly satisfying and to me the skill system takes way too much effort to raise the meter, but overall this feels like the Ratchet & Clank game Insomniac's been trying to make since A Crack in Time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on October 29, 2014, 01:37:06 AM
I started 1001 Spikes and catching up on my Virtual Console by going through the old Mario games and Castlevanias in order.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 29, 2014, 03:38:16 PM
Shantae (3DS VC) - I've long been interested in trying this series, and the release of Pirate's Curse seemed like an ideal time to finally dig-in.  Although a (relatively) recent podcast decried some of the design decisions, so far I've been nothing but impressed given the time/tech limitations of when it was originally released.


Playing through the second temple now (not sure how many there are, guessing four or five) and looking forward to the reported improvements that other games in the series have made.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 29, 2014, 03:48:36 PM
It's a shame they didn't bother to fix the freeze glitch in Pandora's Tower because it sounds pretty nasty and game-breaking. One reason I haven't played it yet is because I was hoping someone would find a sure-fire way to avoid it, or someone would make a homebrew patch to stop it from happening, but it looks like neither of those things happened. I may end up not playing the game because I have a low tolerance for glitches.

SO many people are crazy about Kirby 64, but I'm kinda... Lukewarm on it.
Yeah, it is odd how slow Kirby moves in that game, not sure what they were thinking on that one. I do find it interesting how you find that many people love the game, because my experience is the exact opposite; most people don't like Kirby 64 very much that I've seen, and they say the same thing you said, that Kirby is slow. I think they said other things too but I don't remember.

What I really like about Kirby 64 is the level design, it's "2.5D" as Nintendo liked to call it at the time. Basically, even though movement was in 2D, the levels still utilised the third dimension to have things like winding pathways or stuff pop out of the background. I was disappointed that Return to Dream Land didn't build on this idea and was strictly 2D. Triple Deluxe has a few elements that use the extra dimension, but still not to the extent that Kirby 64 does. I'd love to see a new Kirby game that builds on Kirby 64's level designs.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 30, 2014, 12:12:42 AM
Have you ever played Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, Mop It Up? Ironically, I feel that Klonoa draws a lot from Kirby, and then Kirby 64 has the same sorts of levels, but without the ability to interact with the foreground or background, which is really a shame.

Ejamer, Shantae is my second favorite game of all time! the things that Johnny are irked by are things like the blind jumps and the need to grind and Shantae's attacks lacking range. The blind jumps are actually mitigated by investing in Float Muffins.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 30, 2014, 12:53:14 AM
Float Muffins sound delicious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 30, 2014, 02:34:34 AM
Float Muffins sound delicious.

They are so delicious that they let you bounce out of bottomless pits while you're on the sugar high they provide. They also make an excellent sequence breaking tool.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on October 30, 2014, 09:16:03 PM
Beat the ever living shite out of Excite Truck. It was much easier than I remember. And that last level, while cool, just wasn't as cool either.

I tried Excite Bots but didn't really get into it.

I've been playing a bit of Fire Emblem 10 also, and it's a decent game. The strategy is tough but fair. If you die, it was because you fucked up and need to plan better. I like that. It's pretty hard to use anyone who can't take a punch though. So you get into these grooves of using the same people over and over again to take down pretty much everyone.

The signature series staple of having someone die and stay dead still infuriates me to no end, and not because I suck and it takes me a few times to know how to win, but because I can't simply restart the chapter. I have to either send my players to their death in a step by step process of suicide or reset the game. It's bullshit and a waste of time. It's honestly so maddening that I haven't touch the game in weeks.

I'm still in the mood for an RPG. I like strategy, so I may check out BWii or Xenoblade. I remember PRO loving BWii so I'm leaning towards that.

Though if anyone knows any great puzzles games, the head-scratching type, I'd be down for that too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on October 31, 2014, 10:55:31 AM
BWii is more of an Action Squad Game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Manthony Chopkins on November 01, 2014, 12:08:53 AM
Playing the new Shantae game! So much fun. Some of those heart squids and tinker bats are cleverly hidden. I also downloaded Woah Dave! last night. Very simple and addictive. Still trying to unlock Bonkers mode. It gets crazy on normal so I can't imagine the intensity of Bonkers difficulty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on November 02, 2014, 12:26:05 AM
I downloaded some PS1/PS2 classics last night and as I was waiting for them to download and instal, then update and re-install, I got into some Symphony of the Night. I thought I beat that game till I went online and discovered to my shock I wasn't even close. I mean why let you beat the "boss" then roll the credits if you didn't actually beat the game? So I discovered to my shock (and delight) there is a second castle that I now have to explore and I don't know why I never new that. Anyways thanks to AVGN for mentioning it in one of his recent videos I have been having a lot of fun playing the second half of a game I thought I had beaten long ago.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 02, 2014, 01:13:58 AM
Loooong gaming vacation comes to an end. Two full weeks gaming more or less non-stop. I was mostly playing Bayonetta games (1 on 360, and 1+2 on Wii U), but also some other games in between:


Bastion (Steam):
This game works great to cool off and relax a bit after super tense Platinum game session. It can get pretty intense itself:
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/548638296749348051/B6A7E112E7CDE2E91634F0B52BCB017D2AE8D266/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=334521068)
but nothing on the levels Bayonetta reaches.

Ron Perlman sound-alike's narration is soothing. His voice and game's distinctive visuals work great together.

Gameplay is nothing special, especially on a controller where you don't even have to aim. Shield and it's timing based counters add some element of depth though.

I tried to activate four Idols at once for greater challenge. Yeah no, the very first pack of birds on the level kills me on these settings.


Bayonetta (360)
Got all platinums on all levels on Hard difficulty. It went easier than i thought.

Level "Tower to truth" is ridiculously long, and was very hard to platinum on Normal. Now, on Hard i know that if i can get Pure Platinums on a few easier verses i can relax a bit and get a few golds and silvers because it will average out to overall level Platinum in the end.

After that Lumen Sage boss turned out to be complete cake. I got Gold on him on first try, just by flailing Sai Fungs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4c60hov2-c) like a mad man and blocking everything he tries to send at me. He was like a toy in my hands. Got Platinum on third try.

In the final boss fight where i hit God so hard her soul flies away from her body and i have to direct it to the sun i kept crashing into various planets. First it was Neptune, then i destroyed Mars twice. Each time i was forced to turn off the console and then restart it because if i fail this part -- it will destroy my overall rank because this is considered "death" and i will have to redo the entire epilogue. So i had to turn the console off before planet death cutscene ends and it saves over, recording my "death".

That final boss has a lot of cheap things like that -- one particular attack (black hole that sucks you in) is also one hit death and i also had to retry this verse a few times because i was afraid it is just about to get me so i didn't risk it and restarted the verse.

Last two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5DBbx3ApJM&index=20&list=PLA417E5E5D903F09D) alfheims (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnDF8CMQtMc&list=PLA417E5E5D903F09D&index=21) were very hard to platinum. I think each took like an hour or even more. Not only they have special conditions (like "no witch time" or "only wicked weaves can harm enemies") but on top of that all enemies are on fire so you can't even touch them. These alfheims forced me to learn dodge offset though and that is a good thing for future Non-stop Infite Climax run.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 05, 2014, 11:36:48 PM
Rose & Camelia (http://nigoro.jp/en/games/rose/) (free Flash game):
Hilarious game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ForcJDk7s). Nothing mindblowing but really good for a laugh.

The absurdity of a young common-born girl slapping ladies of an old powerful family to earn their respect makes up for primitive and somewhat clunky gameplay. It's kinda sorta like Punch-Out only with mouse cursor. You can slap, dodge and even counter attack. Later enemies add some variations on this.

I also played second game (http://nigoro.jp/en/games/rose2/) and La Mulana mod (http://nigoro.jp/en/games/rose_l/), all just as entertaining. Gameplay is the same just with different cutscenes and dialogues.

Rhythm doctor (http://fizzd.itch.io/rhythm-doctor) (free Flash game):
Amazing game.

I haven't even seen it all, just first two levels and a boss. And what a boss it is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Bzsb1fyRs)!

Anything inspired by Rhythm Heaven is gotta be good, but this is just amazing. Such a simple and seemingly rigid formula "press space on seventh beat" is twisted in each level into something new and exciting, combined with great original music.

There are some techincal problems with it being flash game (some browsers and plugins shenanigans), you're probably better off downloading offline version.


Shovel Knight (3DS):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSn2rpAcVPPHBA) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEyXtL-0g)

Had only 10 minutes to play before going to work, but it's great so far.

In the menu, B works as "ok" and A works as "cancel" the same how it is on Xbox button layout. Not a huge issue, just a bit confusing at first.

Because i spent some time figuring this out i went into actual game playing with only A and B, which was a mistake. Too many times i had to press button to check which button does what. This button confusion actually helped me when i wanted to jump over Black Knight's fireball but ended up reflecting it instead.

I was actually supposed to use X and B button layout, like with most 3DS games, duh.

Because i've seen lots of videos of this game i know you can destroy checkpoints for more points, but couldn't do it in there (maybe you need to beat the level once to be able to do this?).

Really like 3d here, it works great with background parallax scrolling.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on November 06, 2014, 08:27:03 AM
Because i've seen lots of videos of this game i know you can destroy checkpoints for more points, but couldn't do it in there (maybe you need to beat the level once to be able to do this?).


You can't break the checkpoints in the first level. But you can in every other level.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 08, 2014, 09:20:17 AM
I complained on Twitter yesterday that Mario games could be too slow at times. EAD Tokyo apparently saw that, went back in time, and made Bowser World Level 3 in Super Mario 3D World. You basically have to run full speed the whole way, with tons of boost pads and tight corners. I died dozens of times before making it through, and I absolutely loved it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on November 08, 2014, 10:25:27 AM
I complained on Twitter yesterday that Mario games could be too slow at times. EAD Tokyo apparently saw that, went back in time, and made Bowser World Level 3 in Super Mario 3D World. You basically have to run full speed the whole way, with tons of boost pads and tight corners. I died dozens of times before making it through, and I absolutely loved it.


whats your take on Sonic games then?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 08, 2014, 10:53:40 AM
No Sonic game has anywhere near as good level design as 3D World. I also wouldn't want every level to be that way, which modern Sonic games tend to be if you leave out the werehog stuff or whatever other awful gimmicks they include. I really enjoy the Genesis games, which aren't completely about speed and have much better level design than any Sonic game in the last two decades.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on November 08, 2014, 08:23:32 PM
I just finished Teslagrad on the Wii U, and now I'm investing more time into The Swapper. From one puzzle platformer to another!

I'd really like to get back to Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call and Fantasy Life soon.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 09, 2014, 06:56:58 AM
Continuing my run of going back to games I absolutely adored but drifted away from for some reason, I got back into Pikmin 3. This really is a perfect synthesis of the ideas of the first two games. There's a time limit that pushes you forward, but it isn't as hard and fast as the original. The ability to multitask returns, but this time the game actually designs puzzles that force you to use it. And this is one of the few first party Wii U games that really benefits from the GamePad, even (especially) while using the Wii remote and nunchuk controls.

I was a massive fan of the first two games, and this game is the best one yet. I hope we get to see another one some day.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on November 09, 2014, 03:15:05 PM
Continuing my run of going back to games I absolutely adored but drifted away from for some reason, I got back into Pikmin 3. This really is a perfect synthesis of the ideas of the first two games. There's a time limit that pushes you forward, but it isn't as hard and fast as the original. The ability to multitask returns, but this time the game actually designs puzzles that force you to use it. And this is one of the few first party Wii U games that really benefits from the GamePad, even (especially) while using the Wii remote and nunchuk controls.

I was a massive fan of the first two games, and this game is the best one yet. I hope we get to see another one some day.


I'm with you for the most part, but I think Pikmin 3 is almost the perfect synthesis of the first two games. The fruit system is in theory a pretty ingenious blend of the structure of the first two games, but it whiffs a bit by making fruit too plentiful/easy to get. I had like over 30 days of juice when I beat the game. Outside of that one section midway through, I felt very little pressure to work efficiently. This made a lot of the multitasking ability fairly moot in my book.


So basically while I am a fan of each Pikmin game released so far, I still think we're waiting for the king to arrive and perfectly calibrate the gameplay with time pressure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 17, 2014, 01:25:44 AM
Devil May Cry 4 (PC):
Beat the game on normal. Ugh...

Such a great combat, cool new weapons. But the game itself...

Man, it gets aggressively terrible by the end. The rehashing in the second half is atrocious: enemies, locations, bosses are reused (and then resued AGAIN in a boss rush!). The final bosses were also pretty bad.

Also got S-rank on level 2. Took me a while. I constantly kept getting A on orbs because i was missing the spot at the top of tower (have to execute a very clunky jump with guns to reach it). The whole orb collectathon is annoying -- why do i have to do this and collect EVERYTHING while on timer? In an action game to begin with!

Checked out "Hard" difficulty (Son of Sparda). It feels a bit easier to get S rank on combo simply because there are more enemies and they don't die if as much as fart at them, so you can style on them and get considerable rank.

Assassin's Creed 4 (Wii U):
I am repeating myself, but naval stuff gets in the way. You can't go into many ports because ships defending are way over leveled than your ship. To clear sea map you need to destroy forts but i can't destroy even "medium" forts.

I tried attacking some of them for a few hours. It's no use until you fully upgrade. And to fully upgrade you need to get elite plans for for your ship weapons which are located on islands defended by forts and ships that you seemingly can't defeat without these plans.

After getting frustrated with naval battles, i just default into regular AC collectathon routine. it may be the same mind-numbing stuff as it always been, but it's still satisfying enough to be worth it.

My frustrations with underleveled ship might be because i actively avoid progressing through the story in favour of collecting stuff and doing side-missions, but it has neven been a problem in any other AC games so far: i could always go into any side mission, any time.

Kenway's Fleet component feels like mobile free to play game, it even has gemstones. The gameplay is shallow and everything is made slow on purpose.


Also playing some Desktop Dungeons on lunch breaks on work and some Bayo 2 in bed before going to sleep (still going through story mode).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 17, 2014, 02:35:25 AM
I've been playing some Tales of Hearts R on Vita. The battle system is as fun as ever and the game runs quite smoothly & looks alright, despite being a remake of a DS game. What fills me with "despir", though, is the game's translation. Given that Bandai Namco was too damn cheap to dub the game, you'd think they'd put all their effort into making sure the text was properly polished. Well, it's...

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2njuuZIUAAOMKF.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2nlKf0IYAELReo.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2noC1PIQAAH4zF.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2nvodsCIAABeJg.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2oAHAIIUAAXbXa.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2oBNdWIQAE0MR9.jpg:large)

...not.  But hey! You can buy a $30 DLC Season Pass to make what was already an incredibly easy game even more stupidly easy with a mountain of stat & gold boosts, SO I GUESS BANDAI NAMCO SKIMPING ON AN ALREADY BAREBONES LOCALIZATION WAS JUSTIFIED!

And with that, I leave you on one final image from RPGamer's review of the game:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2n05AiCUAEbrg6.jpg:large)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on November 17, 2014, 06:53:46 PM
Have you ever played Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, Mop it up? Ironically, I feel that Klonoa draws a lot from Kirby, and then Kirby 64 has the same sorts of levels, but without the ability to interact with the foreground or background, which is really a shame.
I missed this somehow, better late than never I guess. I didn't play this exact game, but I played the Klonoa game on the Wii which I believe is related to in some way. Some kind of remake perhaps? In any case, it did indeed have some good level design, but the gameplay itself is a bit one-note, especially compared to something like Kirby. It's been a while now though so I don't recall much specific about the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 19, 2014, 01:36:21 AM
So in a 2 week span of huge releases that includes Call of Duty; several Assassin's Creed games; the Halo Collection; Tales of Hearts R; Far Cry 4; and Dragon Age: Inquisition, naturally the game I've been playing has been...LittleBigPlanet 3.  :P: : This one's made by the team that did the excellent Vita LittleBigPlanet, and this feels like a further extension of that game. The jumping's been tightened up a bit (Oddsock feels like a perfect union of Mario's jumping with Rayman's speed and wall traversal), the level design is actually enjoyable to traverse and full of new and different things to do, and the presentation is is just really well-done (with some particularly excellent usage of 1950s music).

One odd thing, though: the various "areas" are now broken up into stages linked by a hub level, with NPCs and sidequests. You even have a quest log!  :Q

I said back at E3 that Sumo Digital making this game meant it was in serious danger of actually being good, and I'm happy to see that seems to have proved true. We'll see how long the game can maintain this pace.

And oh yeah, if you pre-ordered the game, you got this:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2vpxWtCMAAZrv2.jpg:large)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on November 19, 2014, 09:05:12 AM
And we will call it Broodling.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on November 19, 2014, 11:23:32 PM
My current rotation is:

Bayonetta 2 - started as soon as I finished the first game. Finished the prologue, and I'm already loving the Umbran Climax and how it integrates with the rest of the combat.
Mario Kart 8 - at least a few matches online.
Zelda: Minish Cap - Downloaded, not played yet.
Zelda: Link's Awakening - Played like, 5 minutes so far. So...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 21, 2014, 12:45:58 AM
Aside from Pure Platinuming Wii U Bayo (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=44735.msg854488#msg854488)...

Ninja Gaiden Black (360):
What an incredibly polished game. Itagaki had a very clear vision of what this game should be. NGB commits to the vision of badass somewhat realistic ninja and executes it very well. Animation flows between stances realistically and sword doesn't just appear from nowhere, Ryu takes his sword and sheathes it back when he's not using it as you walk or run. Purposedly omitting some wacky combat stuff of Devil May Cry gave Ninja Gaiden Black rather unique "grounded" feel among similar action games.

I've finally defeated second boss fight with Alma and entered the pyramid. It feels like the final level. Also it got kinda scary with bugs and spooky music so i went to sleep.

Alma scorpion form was an incredibly tough boss. A lot of her attacks are very hard dodge. But once you stun her with wind run + flying swallow, you can take up to 40% of her life in one combo as she lies.

For how hard this boss is, she sure is pretty weak. If you luck out to dodge all her attacks and not whiff yours you can defeat her in less than a minute (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=99m30s). But if you err just once she can one-hit kill you in less than a second. So either way this whole fight takes less than a minute long and it was kinda annoying to spend more time getting to the boss after dying and continuing than on the boss itself.

Fantasy Zone (MAME):
I've found how to defeat snowmen boss in level 5:
(http://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/e/ec/Fantasy_Zone_stage_polaria_boss.gif)
Apparently once you kill enough of them you can just avoid their shots and after some time they stop shooting. "Avoid their shots" is easier said than done though, considering the bullet spam. One way to stay alive is to go behind the big snowman and to keep constantly circling around them. That is if there is any room for you there, sometimes big snowman refuses to move forward and you die because you have nowhere to do.

A-a-and as i suspected, level 6 gets even more more obnoxious with bullet spam...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on November 21, 2014, 11:52:56 PM
L.A. Noire- Half way through homicide cases. Story drags a little, but still a lot of content. The game is genius at a lot of points and then sometime just plain ridiculous with the clues. You see a pencil and paper, pick it up, and then just write out the secret message. Because Phelps felt like it. Yeah, sure, no normal person would make that connection. You also see a water heater that was installed two days ago, but yet it is torn apart and for some reason just decide to fix it and get a clue.

Great game to invest time into though. I'm loving it, the humor, the music, the look of the cars and the city, and it does an excellent job of replicating the time period. Beautiful game. (Phelps was a stuck up little ass in the beginning. Now he is just always angry)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on November 22, 2014, 07:24:59 AM
I was trying to play Wolf Among Us but after losing my progress in the room with the bloody bed when it locked on the ending cutscene of the episode and the ability to skip cutscenes not in the game coupled with how hard it is to find time to play this game the opportunity cost for this game had skyrocketed.  Telltale you are now in the same space as BioWare.

Fool me once shame on you Fool me twice were done.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on November 23, 2014, 01:05:28 AM
I got back into Super Mario 3D World after taking a couple of weeks off. I also have been really getting into Symphony of the Night now that I FINALLY figured out how to get to the second castle, something I didn't even know existed.

I also dug out my USB arcade joysticks and loaded up the MAME program for some arcade action this last week, lots of classics mostly TMNT and Bust A Move though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 26, 2014, 01:16:51 AM
I have finished episode 1 of Telltale's new Tales from the Borderlands series (PS4 version), and...wow, that was surprisingly good. For one thing, it's the first Telltale game I've ever seen where there were no major technical issues. Yes, even in the game's 2 major setpiece action sequences, there was no framerate stuttering or weird model glitching. I heard some minor audio glitching and I think I saw a guy talk once without moving his lips, but overall the game is just solid on the technical side. On the artistic side, the environments are way larger and way more detailed than previous Telltale games, and the game just has a really fun "heist movie" feel to it.

Besides the really funny "unreliable narrator" aspect to the story (the story's told by 2 characters, and they pretty frequently call each other on their B.S. if you push the story just a little too absurd), I really like that Telltale seems to have brought the whole "choice" aspect of their games back, albeit in a largely cosmetic fashion.

Now let's see how they **** it all up in Episode 2, particularly on the technical side.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 02, 2014, 02:24:35 AM
Zen Pinball (Wii U and 3DS):
I spent a LOT of time on playing Excalibur table (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN7UE6Ptd94) on 3DS game. It's always my goto game when i need to kill a few minutes.

That's why i felt like checking out how the same table works on Wii U.

First of all: man, Excalibur table alone costs as much as entire 3DS game (with four tables). I guess they realize that it's their best table and they can get awat with pricing premium for it... And that entire "free-to-play" structure is kinda iffy, especially with awkward implementation on Wii U...

Then there are controls. It's weird that on 3DS you can control flippers with d-pad and face buttons but on the supposedly superior home console version you can control flippers only with awkwardlly placed shoulder buttons. Another weird control decision is taking out launching based on for how long you press A button. Now when you press A, you launch always it with 100% force and if you want more precise you need to use either right stick or touch screen and neither are as precise as it was on 3DS.

That's two strikes against Wii U version already.

Obviously the game looks better on console, but i would trade 3d for of all this bloom in an instant. 3d in Zen Pinball DOES actually enchance the gameplay, while all this shinyness of the table is just overwhelming sometimes.

And final and the biggest problem for me is that physics is very different on Wii U port. I don't know what it is or why -- but i am really struggling to reach my regular points. On 3DS version i can casually reach 10 millions no problems but here everything is off and i can't put the ball where i want. Some ramps have suddenly became completely inaccessible for some reason.

Maybe factory settings between two versions are different and maybe it's 3DS version that is in the "wrong" here, but i don't care -- 3DS version feels better for me.

So for nearly the same price you Zen Pinball 3DS plays better AND has more tables than just buying one Excalibur table on Wii U.

Red Remover (free flash game):
(http://abload.de/img/clipboard0152x4s.jpg)
Not even close to Jelly no Puzzle (http://martine.github.io/jelly/), but an okay puzzler to waste a few hours on...

It's physics based so that's already a big minus, because of the randomness factor that real-time physics adds. It simply doesn't feel as good to solve this kind of puzzles.

I solved all levels and got all pars, but i didn't go for "bonus mode" completion. This "bonus mode" simply to makes levels dark outside of a small circular area around the cursor. This is simply not fun and adds nothing to already lacking gameplay.

Ninja Gaiden Black (360):
After dealing with all annoying bugs in the pyramids, i entered labyrinth with even more annoying ghost fish. It's not even that hard, just annoying-- they zone in on you so fast, your only option not get bitten to death is just to keep running, jumping and slashing with a sword non-stop.

In the end of a rather short labyrinth level there was a ghost boss (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=1h48m43s). He was even harder to get any hits in than Alma-scorpion. Had to resort to using lots of health potions and even had to use a ninpo magic a few times -- to avoid getting caught in his inescapable unblockable attacks (Alma had only on inescapable attack -- this boss has like three).

Whatever, i somehow defeated him. I don't really feel good about how i did it spamming health potions and such, maybe i will try to do it properly on replays...

After that i entered some kind of tower, just a few floors with regular monsters (some bugs and dinosaurs). It felt doable but it was too late and i was exhausted so next time...

Legend of Korra (Steam):
Game's achievement for completing all tutorial is glitchy and sometimes doesn't activate even after you complete story mode. Sometimes you need a few playthoughs to get it. So i decided to start the game afresh. And because i am a masochist i picked Extreme difficulty.

Enemies are absolutely relentless in this mode, easily on the levels of Ninja Gaiden enemies -- very little breathing room and you have to abuse mechanics a LOT just to say alive. Took me a few hours just to get through first two levels.

Also tried Pro-bending mode on Captain difficulty. That was even harder. Because i nullified my earth- and fire- bending levels when i restarted campaign, Mako and Bolin became useless -- their power depends on my bending levels. I managed to beat five teams and then got crushed by the very last one.

On this difficulty enemy players start to actively use their own counters, and sometimes it turns into a game of ping-pong with me and him/her sending the shot back and forth. With each deflect the shot become stronger until on fourth counter it turns red and if you get hit by it you instantly get knocked back no matter your health.

Also on this mode targeting really becomes important, so that you focus all your team shots on one player to overwhelm him.

Very frustrating. I think i need to replay the story a bit to upgrade my bending levels and then come back to pro-bending later.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 02, 2014, 12:42:35 PM
Re: Zen Pinball on Wii U - you aren't alone in finding the 3DS versions better. Part of this is inevitably just what people get used to first... but I also had a hard time adjusting to the Wii U version. The problems you mention all exist, but I also couldn't find a view that was really comfortable with.


That said, the portable version have their own issues. The Empire Strikes Back table from Star Wars is broken in at least one spot, and some of the other tables have wonky moments too. Doesn't seem to be any fixes on the way either.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on December 02, 2014, 04:23:49 PM
I decided to run through my Virtual Console copy of A Link to the Past I bought forever ago. I started it a while ago then put it down. I don't remember the last time I played through the entire game. It may be over a decade at this point. I don't know where anything is anymore. Some parts are familiar, like I know where Hyrule Castle and the Lost Woods are located on the map, but I'm drawing a blank on how the screens are organized. Whatever. It's like new to me then. I'm taking a lot of hits because I'm not used to the mechanics anymore.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 02, 2014, 08:24:25 PM
The Walking Dead: Season One (Xbone)

Awesome game. Haven't had time to get into a game for a while, got both seasons (and 400 Days) on XBL Games with Gold for $25 combined. A little ways in to Chapter 2, excellent writing so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 02, 2014, 11:10:35 PM
Assassin's Creed Unity (PC):

Took the plunge against my better judgment, mostly because my computer came back from the Asus repair nightmare labyrinth and I wanted to put it through the paces.

Despite the online caterwauling about performance issues, I'm running it on high/ultra with better load times than previous entries and an almost consistent frame rate (it chugged for some reason in the underground rat king mission). Jaded as I am, I was actually impressed by the visuals for the first hour or so. The main character animates very well and the clothing textures/physics are probably the best I've seen. The lighting is also pretty damn good.

That's about it for the positives, though. They've revised the movement system yet again, and somehow made it worse than AC III/IV, which in turn was worse than the Ezio games. The down-climbing is theoretically an improvement, but everything is so goddamn sloppy that it really doesn't matter. They've also chucked a bunch of options from combat and "stealth" that make things a chore in various ways. It's harder, but not in a good way.

For all the blather about the improved mission design, I'm about 1/3 through and I'll be damned if I can discern a significant difference. There are still tailing missions, still insta-fail stealth stuff. A few bits didn't end the mission if you get caught, but instead eject you from the area, but really it just takes more time and is pointless.

Having spent a month in Paris last year, I am personally not a big fan of the city's aesthetic, but beyond that, the "true scale" thing just makes it a pain in the ass to move around a lot of the time, given the pokey climbing animations and wide streets in many areas. And most of Paris looks the same outside of major landmarks, with a dusty beige color palette. (Curiously a brief interlude into the 1890s looked way more vibrant and inviting. I'd rather play a game then!)

They've also spent less effort than ever explaining all the side crap and even the main plot. After the perfunctory opening stuff, it just plops you in the city with a nauseating array of mission icons. There's no indication of what anything is or what it does, often even after you activate tasks. Like, I walked up to an interaction point on a random short bridge, was presented a Nostradamus poem, and told to "solve" it. At least in previous games they'd have you talk to somebody to give you some rotecontext. Not so in Unity! When I wandered into what I guess is the home base of the game, the main character was almost literally like "yeah yeah, I get it, upgrade ****, get more revenue, later, not going to bother even asking your name".

Skip this ****! Don't do what I did!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 02, 2014, 11:35:55 PM
Re: Zen Pinball on Wii U - you aren't alone in finding the 3DS versions better. Part of this is inevitably just what people get used to first... but I also had a hard time adjusting to the Wii U version. The problems you mention all exist, but I also couldn't find a view that was really comfortable with.
View 6 (or 7?) i think works very well, i usually prefer camera that moves with the ball but still gives enough view of the table itself.


That said, the portable version have their own issues. The Empire Strikes Back table from Star Wars is broken in at least one spot, and some of the other tables have wonky moments too. Doesn't seem to be any fixes on the way either.
Yeah, it seems like after a while they abandoned 3DS version which is a huge shame.

I have no interest in playing anything else besides Excalibur from Zen. Even tables in 3DS version (except for Excalibur) are kinda bad (Shaman, Earth Defense Force and something Indiana Jones-like). I played a bit of Marvel tables and they were all pretty meh, Ironman table was kinda okay, but still underwhelming.

I played Mars table on Windows 8 version a year or two ago (it was free at the time) and it was solid enough but still nothing exceptional.

Also just last night i specifically tried out Pinball FX2 version on 360. For some reason, physics on that version feel exactly like in Zen Pinball 3DS port. Even when playing with 360's analog triggers ball goes exactly where i want it to go on Excalibur. So whatever they did on Wii U, it didn't happen on 360.

Also it's not as bloomy and bright as Wii U port, it feels a bit more subdued and "comfier" somewhat.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on December 03, 2014, 01:43:34 AM
I have finished the first episode of Telltale's new Game of Thrones series and...well... :Q at that ending. If you had an issue with the lack of meaningful moral choices and big "watercooler" discussion moments in Telltale's last few series, you'll certainly get them here!

Also, the real Dinklege decided to show up for this game, not the fraud we got in Destiny. That said, as much as I got into the storytelling in this game, it is kind of shockingly ugly. Telltale went with a realistic art style, and with their limited technical prowess we ended up with a game that looks like it should have been on the PS2. It especially looks awful in their recreation of the iconic show intro.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B35_EOsIgAAAYkD.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B35bwG_IUAAvyji.jpg:large)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 05, 2014, 03:32:30 AM
I love that there's a company like Nintendo out there who's willing to go all-in on a concept like Captain Toad as a full game. I'm absolutely in love with this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 05, 2014, 10:43:52 AM
broodwars what are you playing the game on? I've been watching videos on YouTube and it looks fantastic. Sure the intro isn't as pretty as the show, but it's still pretty impressive with all the animation they did. The background imagery in the intro is just about as bland and jagged as it is in the game too, though that's definitely a penis pointing towards the west end of Ironrath.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on December 05, 2014, 02:47:32 PM
He's playing on PS4 I'm sure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 15, 2014, 01:44:58 AM
Bayonetta (360):
Very few things left to do in this version:


God Hand (pcsx2)
What a stupid, stupid game.

I love it.

Most of the moves are done like in smash bros -- a directional input plus a face button. But it still deep enough to stay interesting and is immensely satisfying.

First demon enemy is a tad too fast for me to react and i can only defeat him abusing god hand and by hitting him as he's down. Dodge is still a bit hard for me to do, because you need to move your finger from face buttons to right stick and that's why tend to just jump away from enemies rather than staying and dodging.

One of the most useful tricks in God Hand is to use roulette to reorient yourself instead of 180 turn. Roulette automatically targets on the closest enemy and then you can just cancel it without actually activating roulette move.

Speaking of 180 turns: each time camera makes jerky movement in this game i get motion sickness from it. That's a shame because otherwise the game is super funny and super fun to play. Even watching let's plays makes me dizzy slightly.

I really like side stuff like you can save random peasants and they will give you health and sometimes you need to do some kind of quest to save them like one peasant gets poisoned and you have to scour the level and find the antidote. It's not structured like missions on the menu or something, just a random side stuff you can do.

QTE are activated when you mess up and let the enemy trying to grab you. These QTEs give you chance to recover from that and they're extremely fast less than a fraction of a second to activate. And some counters come even faster like the counter against the first demon.

There are also pummelling QTEs when you stomp an enemy into the dirt and that's how i deal most of the damage to demons. I launch them into the air, get some hits in as they're floating in the air and as they fall i keep kicking them as they're down.

Combat system while not hard to figure out, actually has a lot of depth in it. Lots of context dependent stuff in there and you can combine moves in a very cool and flashy looking ways: like you can uppercut an enemy, juggle him for a while and then kick him while he is in the air and send him flying into the wall knocking other enemies along the way.

It's kinda hard for me to activate running mode with analog stick, maybe it's better on dualshock controllers. I can see people starting to run almost with no windup but i need some fast lane to start running.

Legend of Korra (Steam):
Finished on Extreme difficulty (starting from scratch).

Say what you want but Platinum knows how to do a satisfying videogame endings. They always reward you by upping the scale thousandfold and turning you into some kind of overpowered god so that you can go wild on the final boss and then to finish it up they give you easy mission to cool down during the credits. And they always do "Thank you for playing!" kind of message.

Extreme difficulty from scratch is completely unbalanced, and the only way to beat it is to abuse finishers and by parrying everyone and everything.

With normal healthbar if you miss even one hit you can die in two seconds, because as you're stunned everyone else will gang up on you. All enemies are become complete damage sponges and are much longer to kill than on normal mode (even with super-charged attacks!). The best option is to get a Talisman that halves your health but gives you twice the attack power. At this rate it doesn't matter if you go down in one second or two seconds (if you allow an enemy to hit you even once, you're gonna die either way), but boosting your attack is the only way to kill them in reasonable amount of time.

On Extreme difficulty, waterbending becomes the most viable because of it's long range and you can use super strong finishers whereever you are -- if you managed to stun an enemy, you just press B and he and everyonw standing close to him gets washed away by my finisher.

Firebending also gets cooler because if you spam it, it interrupts enemies' attacks and more interestingly it has a weird teleporting effect where after second or third hit in the combo you magically teleport towards the nearest enemy. Why? Probably to balance out that firebending is really bad at long range.

Speaking of teleporting, the air scooter talisman that you unlock for completing pro-bending at the highest difficulty does something like that. If you dodge an incoming attack you time slows down and you magically get carried away towards the enemy who attacked you. It gets the most weird when you dodge projectile from an enemy who is very far from you. It's like everything stop and an invisible hand grabs you and moves you towards the enemy. It's kinda like Vergil "Dark Slayer (http://devilmaycry.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Slayer_Style)" teleport.

I STILL didn't unlock the achievement for doing all the tutorials -- there is some bug with it, and do this you might need to delete your save files or something and restart the campaign again, but i am not sure if i even want to at this point...


Stealth Bastard Deluxe (Steam):
No Guts, No Glory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmmHyHAOrpE&t=16s) part in 2-9 took me a lot to figure out, i tried to solve it a few times last month, but then last night i retried and randomly decided to jump instead of crouching and it worked.

Also progressed a bit into world 4 and S-ranked a few levels in world 3.

By this rate it will be a LONG while until i S-rank the first game and then will be ready to move on to the sequel on Wii U...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 16, 2014, 08:52:36 PM
Fire Emblem (GBA via WiiU):

I was hesitant on this, having never played a game in the series before, and also thinking I probably didn't have the patience to tackle a genuine strategy game at this point. But then four hours went by in a blur and I am now hooked on it in a way I haven't been with a game since, I dunno, Little King's Story? The core gameplay is streamlined just enough to keep you restarting checkpoints every time your crappiest dude/ette dies, while allowing for satisfying tactical engagements. The AI feels kind of sluggish and dopey until it smells blood and then all of the sudden a mage runs at a wall to wipe someone out you didn't realize was in range and that's 20 minutes of lesson learned. The options are surprisingly robust for a GBA game, too, text speed, game speed options, UI options. The dedicated explanation button also ensures that you're never in the dark about any stat category or item.

Some quibbles that I'm curious about whether or not they're cleaned up in later games:

-It's occasionally but very annoying when the cast swaps around and you lose personnel you've been keeping carefully leveled. I wish the cast was more stable and less redundant in certain categories (no thanks third axe guy/second crappy archer; where's my little dancing fife boy?!), but that would probably clash with permadeath.

-Attacks seem to whiff too often, even with no terrain or weapon disadvantages. Makes archers even more marginal.

-Random reinforcements from the edges of the map can screw you over if you haven't already played a scenario and know to expect them.

-Main avatars (Elliwood, Lyn) are unpleasantly weak and remain anemically leveled due to risk aversion. Not asking them to be Markuses, but they feel more like liabilities than protagonists most of the time.

-Speaking of which, Markus and a few others are ridiculously stronger and more versatile than anyone else. It's quite difficult at points not to just steamroll the enemies with your tanks and thus unbalance things even more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on December 17, 2014, 02:45:35 AM
"Random reinforcements from the edges of the map can screw you over if you haven't already played a scenario and know to expect them. "

Yeah, they never really address this with the series, but in later games they usually allow you one turn after enemy respawns.  In the first game they respawn and it's their freaking turn :( which is annoying as all hell in the later chapters.

The archers get an long bow which is quite deadly since it allows them 2+ attack range so they can attack without worrying about the counterattacks. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on December 17, 2014, 03:15:00 AM
Fire Emblem (GBA via WiiU):

I was hesitant on this, having never played a game in the series before, and also thinking I probably didn't have the patience to tackle a genuine strategy game at this point. But then four hours went by in a blur and I am now hooked on it in a way I haven't been with a game since, I dunno, Little King's Story? The core gameplay is streamlined just enough to keep you restarting checkpoints every time your crappiest dude/ette dies, while allowing for satisfying tactical engagements. The AI feels kind of sluggish and dopey until it smells blood and then all of the sudden a mage runs at a wall to wipe someone out you didn't realize was in range and that's 20 minutes of lesson learned. The options are surprisingly robust for a GBA game, too, text speed, game speed options, UI options. The dedicated explanation button also ensures that you're never in the dark about any stat category or item.

Some quibbles that I'm curious about whether or not they're cleaned up in later games:

-It's occasionally but very annoying when the cast swaps around and you lose personnel you've been keeping carefully leveled. I wish the cast was more stable and less redundant in certain categories (no thanks third axe guy/second crappy archer; where's my little dancing fife boy?!), but that would probably clash with permadeath.

-Attacks seem to whiff too often, even with no terrain or weapon disadvantages. Makes archers even more marginal.

-Random reinforcements from the edges of the map can screw you over if you haven't already played a scenario and know to expect them.

-Main avatars (Elliwood, Lyn) are unpleasantly weak and remain anemically leveled due to risk aversion. Not asking them to be Markuses, but they feel more like liabilities than protagonists most of the time.

-Speaking of which, Markus and a few others are ridiculously stronger and more versatile than anyone else. It's quite difficult at points not to just steamroll the enemies with your tanks and thus unbalance things even more.

MagicCow, welcome to one of my favorite games from my childhood! let me go over some things to try and better help you in your journey through Elibe!

-Attacks whiffing is a fairly standard thing, and it takes characters having high skill Vs. the opponent's speed stats to get decent hit rates. Still, the Random Number Generator in Fire Emblem is not to be trifled with. often times, if you feel a move is going to be too risky to rely on a roll of the dice, reassess the situation and maybe use somebody to draw the enemy to a choke point or a similar point of advantage?

-the cast swaps once in your transition from Lyndis to Eliwood's stories. there's an unlockable hard mode that centers around Hector, but that runs in paralell to Eliwood's story and has many of the same maps, but has the benefit of playing as Hector, who is actually insanely good for a lord character, who are traditionally best treated like your king in chess. even still, Lyn is passable due to having high speed and skill growths like a myrmidon, and her Mani Katti/Sol Katti give her advantage properties Vs. Units a normal Myrmidon/Swordmaster would struggle upon. Eliwood does suck, though. :C

-protip; take any and all weapons of of Maracus. do it now. seriously. don't let him kill any more enemy units. See, Fire Emblem's level up system is another layer that some people will reset a chapter over just like a unit death. each unit gets assigned what is called Growth rates. these will be the percentage that your character will get a stat point in a stat upon level up.

Maracus is a paladin, which is the promoted version of a Cavalier. as you were taught with Wallace in the Tutorial, a unit may go to a max level of 20, but can use an item to promote as early as 10, thus missing out on 10 levels of rolling the dice for growth.

Maracus' Growths:

HP: 65 %
Strengh: 25 %
Skill: 50 %
Speed: 25 %
Luck: 30 %
Defense: 15 %
Resistance: 35%

By comparison, let's look at say... Lowen? (Who's not super great by any stretch of the imagination but gets 10 extra chances to roll the dice for level ups as a Cavalier before becoming a paladin himself):

HP: 90%
Str: 30%
Skl: 30%
Spd: 30%
Lck: 50%
Def: 40%
Res: 30%

Keep in mind that if you want a more offensive cavalier than Lowen, you also have the option of Sain when he rejoins, as he has much better STR and Skill growths.

- Rebecca is like... my favorite character and has something like the third highest speed growth in the game. But yeah. redundant classes is for having a back-up or an alternate set of growths to play with upon repeat playthroughs. you will NEVER get 2 bards/Dancers at the same time, because that'd mean they'd be able to rescue units, and recharge each other's moves for free experience and carry a unit across the map in a single turn to assassinate the boss for the cost of nothing.

That being said, you are spot on as far as a certain character or two. in one case, they have a guy whos' the only unit of his type you can get in the game and he has a class of weapons he uses all on his own. of course, this could be due to the fact that the game this is a prequel to has about 3 or 4 playable shamans.

-As a general rule of thumb, don't leave weaker non-merlinus units by the sides of a map, or by a stairwell.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 17, 2014, 03:26:48 PM
Thanks for the rundown! Here I was thinking that this game was bereft of the kind of opaque systems that undergird Ogre Battle, but I had no idea about the leveling growth rate stuff. Definitely would have made different choices had I been aware. So what I'm gathering is that you don't want to level people up to a higher class as soon as you are able, because you're permanently forgoing the stat boosts that come from levels 10-20 in the novice class? Drat, I was really itching to get another dread knight going with Oswin after Wallace went Mia at the act switch.


Also, good call with stripping Markus of his weapons, I totally hadn't thought of that, keeping him as a shield (plus you can always slip him a lance to take out a boss if you're in desperate straits).


Do you think it's wise/viable to just concentrate on levelling up a core group of 10-12 folks with the assumption that I won't allow any of them to die? I imagine I will have to whip out specific characters now and then for the narrative, but I should be able to just treat them like escort burdens.


Specifically: Is there a reason I should keep both Serra and Priscilla in rotation? Priscilla just seems better with the increased mobility.


Also: I realized I've been ignoring the affinity system. Is there a compelling reason to bother paying attention to this? It's definitely the least explained of the game systems and I can't tell if it affects battle outcomes, or how to build affinity or keep track of relationships.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on December 17, 2014, 04:55:13 PM
Do you think it's wise/viable to just concentrate on levelling up a core group of 10-12 folks with the assumption that I won't allow any of them to die? I imagine I will have to whip out specific characters now and then for the narrative, but I should be able to just treat them like escort burdens.


Specifically: Is there a reason I should keep both Serra and Priscilla in rotation? Priscilla just seems better with the increased mobility.


Also: I realized I've been ignoring the affinity system. Is there a compelling reason to bother paying attention to this? It's definitely the least explained of the game systems and I can't tell if it affects battle outcomes, or how to build affinity or keep track of relationships.

That's generally how I do it. Besides the special arenas you'll be finding, the beauty of Fire Emblem is that EXP, Weapons, and money are a trifecta of resources that needs to be managed. Enemies are finite, as are your weapons, which in turn makes you want to ration out that sparse amount of EXP. This leads to you not wearing through one weapon type too quickly, and keeps you from having to go to shops as often. Also, that's how I feel the game gets a lot of it's replay value is that you want to use different combinations of folks, get them to support with one-another, etc. Serra and pricilla are kinda a preference thing. Serra probably becomes the best non-Athos user of light tomes after she promotes, while Pricilla does have all the advantages and disadvantages of being on a horse while gaining Anima Magic when she promotes. Pricilla also has the advantage of being a good pair-up with Raven, who is probably one of the better melee guys in the game.


As for affinity, all it really does is give a small stat boost to whoever matches the tactician's affinity, and determines what a character conveys stat-wise to someone else whom they have support with. As for support, it's a system that was introduced in Fire Emblem 4 and probably my favorite part of the series. essentially, if you have units spend turns next to each other and they're compatable, they'll slowly gain points towards a support rank up. support ranks are gained by taking a turn to perform what is essentially a mini-dialogue between two characters that often reveals telling things about their character. after the support conversation, when those two characters stand adjacent to each other, they will give each other certain stat bonuses. each character is only allowed a certain ammount of support conversations per playthrough, and the game records what conversations you've unlocked previously.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 19, 2014, 01:14:58 AM
Lara Croft: Temple of Osiris (Steam):
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/552019793044512805/759A642DFDF3C36E499BA6B5F880AC35AC44F543/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=357095835)
Sequel to the great Guardian of Light. I planned to come over to my friend's and play it there but apparently the game requires DirectX 11 and his videocard can't do it. We played some other games instead and next day we went to my place to actually play the game.

First striking impression is how small characters are:
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/552019793044536683/7C911B6B3A78C78ED87AFEC1DC87F841ACF3A498/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=357096118)
(http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/552019793044552584/5E65B1C311351AF4D1BC4932D3430AC1146F9920/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=357096310)
Obviously game is four players now and environment and camera accomodate for that but sometimes this just makes it hard to find your hero on the map. It wouldn't be so bad if only the game didn't add "depth of field" filter on top of things so if you're far away from the camera you will turn into a blurry mess and will barely see yourself:
(http://abload.de/img/vf_laracrofttempleofolsr9x.jpg)

Otherwise it's still the same game. Despite that the game is playable with four players in co-op, you only have two characters with distinct abilities. Modern people: Lara and Carter have torch and a rope and egyptian gods (Horus and Isis) have magical staff and shield. If you're playing by yourself you get a mix of both sets of abilities -- enough to complete the game and solve all puzzles. It feels like Temple of Osiris is designed around two players just like Guardian of Light, if played with three or four players some people will be kinda redundant...

The same smart design that allowed levels and puzzles scale up and down depending on number of players is still there. Obviously co-op is preferred but the game is great even in singleplayer.

Loot system is kinda weird -- you collect points and jems (i still can't grasp if jems are a separate currency and how exactly they are converted between each other) and you can pay some amount of jems to open chests at the end of the level and in the hub for unlocks.

The game now has a hub world instead of a simple level select like it was Guardian of Light. It's cool i guess.

System of per-level challenges is still more or less the same: "beat level in X minutes", "collect 85 000 points", "do one particular thing". There is quite a lot to do if you care to get them all. Even hub world has some challenges.

Overall -- it's pretty much more of Guardian of Light -- and that's exactly what i wanted.


Crimsonland (Steam):
This was the game we played when my friend's PC coulnd't run new Lara Croft.

Playing it in co-op is cool, but the game wasn't designed for it, it mostly feels like you're playing by yourself. You can't revive each other when you die or give health or something, there is no in-game interaction between co-op partners.

Probably the most interaction you get in co-op is when you choose perks in survival mode because perks are shared between all players.

Ater i got the game on Steam, i was mostly playing campaign, and forgot that the actual meat in the game is survival mode when you just try to survive for as long as possible and keep getting perks all the way. I remember how after first million points the game was less about shooting and more about being lucky and grabbing the right perks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6H8EKiSU6o&t=6m) (mostly nukes and ion lightnings).

Even before that the game depends of luck and randomness a lot -- which weapon you're gonna get basically determines how long you will last.

Also we played some Gang Beasts and Samurai Gunn -- both are super fun.

Ghost and Goblins (MAME):
I laughed when saw the second part of 6. Red devils spawn out very close to each other so if you try to run away from the first you will only spawn second one. You need some careful traversin to despawn them both -- thankfully level 6 is very vertical so despawning red devils is as easy as jumping down the put in the middle. It's easy enough but requires a lot of time luring both of them out, running away from them and then coming back after they disappear.

After that are two big red devils previously one of them was a boss of level 5. Individually they're not hard to deal with, but two of them at the same time and not having much horizonthal space is pretty hard.

After some save scumming (only for training though, i fully intend to do proper run from the beginning later), i managed to kill them and then came the best part: i died because apparently i was using the wrong weapon. Game said: "this weapon has not effect try again with shield".

Capcom...

(http://media.tumblr.com/88b459dfadcdb51cb01afd3f86176152/tumblr_inline_mrwznlfFzL1qz4rgp.jpg)



Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Wii U):
Finishing up. I captured all the forts, got around 80-90% of all collectibles and only have three chapters to go in the story.
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSwnuigDsUNJVR) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACXVHhg61JkZw)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSwlNOw3rzsLm0) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE2XZ0xYQ)

Full sync is very easy for the most part, but a few missions in chapters 8-reminded me of the crazy full sync requirements from II/Brotherhood. Like there is a long mission and at the very end there is one condition that you need to fullfil as you're killing the last guy. And if you mess up, cutscene where you talk to him as he lies dying starts immediately and you can't press menu from that so if you messed up you can't retry from the last checkpoint and have to restart from the very beginning of the memory.

I even had to exit into Home menu once and then restart the game when i killed one guy "the wrong way".

Once you upgrade your ship naval battles stop being annoying and become boring instead. Now i mostly avoid boarding and just sink all ships because boarding takes too much time.

RPG leveling systems bolted on naval stuff was a huge mistake -- it made it too hard in the beginning and too boring in the end...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 19, 2014, 01:24:16 AM
Ghosts 'n Goblins = awesome. AVGN beat it on his show once (NES version).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on December 19, 2014, 05:23:22 PM
I been playing Watch Dogs on PS4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on December 19, 2014, 07:55:24 PM
I'm playing... FF9 for the first time since it was new. it doesn't quite take as long as I remembered to hit it's stride, although I did spend 2 hours of in game time playing a stupid ass jump rope mini-game! so much for Excallibur 2!

other than that, I've been trying to practice for when I eventually record Armored Core to commentate over that. warming up to dark souls agian after lending that to my sister's boyfriend, and uh... yeah.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on December 20, 2014, 05:23:50 AM
Got bored with Watch Dogs, started Destiny last night. Also going to check out Minecraft today and see what all that hype is about.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on December 22, 2014, 01:32:13 AM
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/ClexYoshi/ArmoredCoreScreenshot2014-12-2121-34-38_zps370564f9.png) (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/ClexYoshi/media/ArmoredCoreScreenshot2014-12-2121-34-38_zps370564f9.png.html)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

I really, REALLY hate Chocobo Hot and Cold.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on December 22, 2014, 07:33:37 AM
CoD: AW- Actually really fun though the only CoD games I've played online are this and MW.

Half-Life: Opposing Force
- New weapons are nice, new ideas are great, new enemies are cool, seeing Black Mesa after Xen is awesome, the game is all around harder, and other new features are added. This expansion is better then the base game!

@Clex- Would you believe me if I told you I invested well over 80 hours into that mini-game just to get everything? Because that mini game is a nightmare.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on December 22, 2014, 08:08:23 AM
Got bored with Watch Dogs, started Destiny last night. Also going to check out Minecraft today and see what all that hype is about.

I like Destiny, but it's mostly because I have people to play with from time to time.  Some of the best content is gated to people who have enough high level friends to play the strikes & raids with, which is really unfortunate.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on December 22, 2014, 09:44:51 AM
Got bored with Watch Dogs, started Destiny last night. Also going to check out Minecraft today and see what all that hype is about.

I like Destiny, but it's mostly because I have people to play with from time to time.  Some of the best content is gated to people who have enough high level friends to play the strikes & raids with, which is really unfortunate.
Yes, yes it is.

I've been playing Civilization Beyond Earth.  It feels like a mess compared to what I'm use to in a Civilization game.  Man it is Slooooooooowwwwwwwwww.  I've been playing on Standard.  To put it in perspective there is only 1 speed faster and then there I think 3 more modes that are slower...  Technology doesn't feel as varied.  Affinity system takes forever to kick in.  Cities are well there bad.  Easily my least favorite city layout of any civilization game.  There are tons of logical but arbitrary feeling constraints.  I finally beat a map and the victory was just like getting a wonder which is like having an encyclopedia read to you.  Water Aliens are so strong to the point of making Naval units almost useless.  Spy systems ramps up so slow that you've probably won in the time it takes it to become actually useful.  UI is placed where the hot locations are to move the map.  Finding all you military units is more complicated than it should be.

It's just a hot mess.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on December 22, 2014, 10:39:48 AM
Got bored with Watch Dogs, started Destiny last night. Also going to check out Minecraft today and see what all that hype is about.

I like Destiny, but it's mostly because I have people to play with from time to time.  Some of the best content is gated to people who have enough high level friends to play the strikes & raids with, which is really unfortunate.
Yes, yes it is.


I'm a horrible e-friend.  I've told you several time's id be up for running strikes with you, and haven't gotten around to it.  I'll send you a team invite next time I see you online.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on December 22, 2014, 10:56:27 AM
@Clex- Would you believe me if I told you I invested well over 80 hours into that mini-game just to get everything? Because that mini game is a nightmare.

yes, yes I can. I put in 5 last night trying to get the river chocograph. yes, I knwo this is a foolish endeavor for trying to get excallibur II, but I'm the kind of person who lets the game clock run while i do errands or check tumblr.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on December 28, 2014, 09:47:13 AM
started Knack, its more my type of game liking it so far. also addicted to minecraft
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on January 05, 2015, 10:27:27 AM
Persona Q: Choose Persona 4 cast because they are from the better game and I like them more. Second dungeon was pure fanservice. You are supposed to answer questions to find your soulmate from the cast. I thought the questions had right and wrong answers until like question 9 when they told me it didn't matter. Surprisingly, I ended with Rise, who I actually choose in Persona 4 as a girlfriend anyways. Going into the third dungeon which is supposed to be the usual obscurely hard Shin Megami Tensei type.

And I fucking hate Teddie in this. Why did they make him so annoying?

Fantasy Life: Grinding as a Paladin, Miner, and Woodcutter was fun. Now I'm doing Carpenter/Blacksmith and all the materials I sold, I now need. Fun game though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 05, 2015, 06:52:15 PM
New Year's catch up! Bear with me!

The Swapper (PC):


I was skeptical of this one given reports of it having fiddly physics-type puzzles, which I dislike (thought Trine 2 was awful), but came away pleasantly surprised. The puzzle apparatus is a bit limited with the light color system (which also makes no sense), and there is some dexterity involved, but there are also concrete solutions to the puzzles, which can get pretty diabolical. I'm not super enthused to finish out the back half of the game, but I think it's pretty decent. Also can't imagine using a controller for this, I wager it could negatively impact the experience, especially with the "jumping" system.

Shantae and The Pirate's Curse (Wii U):


Never played on of these before, and the price tag gave me pause, but I am really digging this game, probably the best Way Forward joint I've played. The sprite work is gorgeous, and the colors pop beautifully. It reminds me of Capcom's Disney SNES games, particularly the ones you can't, erm, play in the States: http://youtu.be/G1uUZKBgKog

There's a good amount of variety in the "missions" on the islands, which keeps the core experience feeling fresh. Some of the hidden stuff must be pretty damn well hidden too, given my current completion of some of the islands. Getting some Zero Mission vibes off the dash boots I just acquired. This game really makes me want Nintendo to do a lush sprite-based game again. Enemy design is hit or miss, with some generic bosses particularly, but so far it's feeling like a 9/10. Probably will get 10-12 hours out of it.

Ducktales Remastered (WiiU):


Bought this for $6 and change from an eShop sale. This is the dark side of Way Forward. Maybe the original NES game just sucked, but I really cannot get into this one. It's way too unforgiving on normal. I died on the final boss of the mine level and was shocked to see that I'll have to do the whole damn level over again. Also, the cheap low-poly 3D backgrounds were a horrible choice. It makes the plane of interaction feel really rinky dink and clashes horribly with the pretty-good sprites. Cranky's cane from Tropical Freeze is also a much better iteration of Scrooge's movement schtick.

Shadow of Mordor (PC):


I'm ashamed that I finished the side missions on this game. This is seriously like 1/3 of a title. They built the environment and combat system but missed 1/3: actual structured missions to comprise a non-laughable campaign and 1/3: anything to fucking do besides combat. Like, Batman combat is fine and all, but it's just one of the things you do in that game. I don't understand how someone came away from the Arkham titles and was like "these are good, but lets cut out all that padding in the form of varied gameplay and environmental interaction". I guess the nemesis "system" is supposed to make up for it, but good lord, it's a complete joke. There's almost nothing to it. I feel like to be impressed by it you would also have to find furbies and tamagotchis impressive. It is the blandest form of procedural content imaginable for a game of this type. And the command chain just repopulates rapidly, so there's not even a temporary sense of accomplishment, it's pure grind for the sake of it, with generic loot drops to boot. Blech. I really don't understand how this is getting game of the year nods.

Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii):


Got this sealed "used" copy for about $8 from Gamestop. I've never tried the series before, but was interested conceptually. Good lord, is this game hard. It took me the better part of an hour to beat the first monkey golf level, and I've thus far only been able to get three medals with about 2/3s of the levels unlocked. Monkey Clock almost broke me. Unlike pretty much any other music game, though, I think this is actually instilling a sense of rhythm into me. I'll probably never be able to finish it, but I'm lightyears ahead of where I started. Also, fun to break out with drinking company, it really flummoxes the hell out of people while having the simplest input method possible.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 06, 2015, 01:32:54 AM
The Swapper (PC):
Also can't imagine using a controller for this, I wager it could negatively impact the experience, especially with the "jumping" system.
Controller support on PC did felt tacked-on (felt like a simple XPadder profile), but it was workable.
I wonder if Curve Digital retooled controls for console ports.

Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii):
Good lord, is this game hard. It took me the better part of an hour to beat the first monkey golf level...
Check your TV settings, set it to "Gaming mode" if available. By default, modern TVs add various postprocessing filters which add lag that destroys games based on accurate timings.

Also i have no concrete proof, but i have a feeling that Wii mode on Wii U lags by itself. Punch-Out!! for example feels more responsive on Gamepad than on TV while i am in Wii mode.

Bayonetta 2:
Collecting Pures:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSyq-psguCwSYw) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE3YZd1XQ)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSzdiwEGCWCTnr) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAtVHhhwActeA)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSz5x8MGrWZrkJ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE37z11GA)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzSz7ZfkkxE_DEq) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAtVHhhzyruIg)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS0Puckvu4-tLg) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE4EDssKQ)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS0U2XsvXCOzEK) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE4HB2bkA)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS0gV6k05KFeBJ) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAtVHhh4oXbog)

The biggest roadblocks are Masked Lumen fights so far, i somehow managed to Pure Platinum the first one, but now i am struggling against second one and it's a nightmare.

First battle against Masked Lumen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlCa6WCJXek) is an overload on all your senses. It's probably the most epic encounter you ever face in the game and on the most amazing looking and sounding duel fights in gaming. From rather regular fight in the city it escalates into a cataclysm of Biblical proportions culminating in flying sequence where you fight Lumen between huge angelical and demonic entities as they also fight each other.

This visual overload makes it very hard to keep track of Lumen especially with variety of teleporting attacks he has. His attacks are just too hard to discern in the chaos, especially in the later flying segment.

To get Pure Platinum you should get no damage AND get enough combo points. No damage on Masked Lumen is already one of the hardest challenges i've ever faced. The problem is Masked Lumen's has both instant AND super delayed type of attacks and both are extremely hard to dodge. Sometimes he activates his summon AND immediately attacks by himself. His summons are huge and can cover the entire screen obstructing the view so even if you dodge his summon you may still get hit by Lumen himself in a attack that you had no chance of seeing. One particular attack (spear throw teleport) even has no wind-up and no audio tell. You just have to expect that at any second he can chuck his spear and it will instantly hit you, ruining your Pure Platinum.

(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS1jCNYvtkabtk) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE4o-AKAw)

And dodging Lumen's attacks is just the half of the challenge. Getting Platinum combo on him is even harder. The only way to damage Lumen is to enter Witch Time, in normal mode Lumen is either ethereal (attack just go right through) or he dodges and instantly retaliates. That makes combo points requirement extremely hard to hit, because you only get combo points when you hit an enemy and Lumen dodges everything unless in WT.

Making bosses vulnerable only during Witch Time is one of the worst design decision of this game. This ruins flow of the battle where you are basically doing the same thing whether you're in normal or witch time. Now you have to behave completely defensively when in normal mode and completely offensively during WT. Because WT is rather short that makes you switch between two strategies constantly and this ruins the flow of the battle turning it into an epyleptic seizure instead of a fluid dance-like encounter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybnx22tMEyI) without interruptions.

I am currently stuck on second battle with Masked Lumen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeW0seVIcUw). Been trying to Pure him few three days now. My thumbs hurt.

Also played some Tag Climax online co-op mode. It's kinda cool, but bosses AI and isn't really designed around it. Me and my partner managed to saw Rodin to death simply by constantly stunlocking him with chainsaws.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 06, 2015, 04:58:26 PM
Quote
Also i have no concrete proof, but i have a feeling that Wii mode on Wii U lags by itself. Punch-Out!! for example feels more responsive on Gamepad than on TV while i am in Wii mode.
 

I know they did tests early on and the signal to the Wii U Gamepad did have less latency than to a LCD.

My friend used to have a 27" HD TV CRT, I bet it would be valuable to some nowadays, with the lowest latency being on CRT.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 06, 2015, 06:54:43 PM
Quote
Also i have no concrete proof, but i have a feeling that Wii mode on Wii U lags by itself. Punch-Out!! for example feels more responsive on Gamepad than on TV while i am in Wii mode.
 

I know they did tests early on and the signal to the Wii U Gamepad did have less latency than to a LCD.

My friend used to have a 27" HD TV CRT, I bet it would be valuable to some nowadays, with the lowest latency being on CRT.

Huh, had no idea. I couldn't find any kind of game mode on my TV, but I'll give Rhythm Heaven a shot on the gamepad and see if I notice a difference. If there's any game to test it with, it'd be this one.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 06, 2015, 09:33:11 PM
Here we go: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-16-wii-u-gamepad-wireless-latency-is-less-than-many-hdtvs
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on January 07, 2015, 03:20:27 PM
Quote
Also i have no concrete proof, but i have a feeling that Wii mode on Wii U lags by itself. Punch-Out!! for example feels more responsive on Gamepad than on TV while i am in Wii mode.
 

I know they did tests early on and the signal to the Wii U Gamepad did have less latency than to a LCD.

My friend used to have a 27" HD TV CRT, I bet it would be valuable to some nowadays, with the lowest latency being on CRT.
I probably still be using my CRT if it had an HDMI port...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 10, 2015, 01:37:23 AM
Playing quite a few things right now actually...

Assassin's Creed Black Flag (Xbone)
Dead Rising 3 (Xbone)
MGSV Ground Zeroes (PS4)
Rayman Legends (Wii U)

I let Rayman get away from me for too long. Such an awesome game.

And the CRT HDTV probably wouldn't be worth that much (check eBay), probably around $50. CRT HDTV's can't display 1080p (or 720p, at 720p) and don't have HDMI. The only value they have these days is being able to play light gun games on them (or actual NES/SNES/N64 hardware, but emulation on an HDTV with shaders will look better).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 10, 2015, 06:43:37 AM
Yes, but the CRT will have the lowest latency for things like Punchout.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on January 10, 2015, 07:21:02 AM
still addicted to Minecraft, took a break to try a Tetris game on PS4, Tetris Ultimate or something like that, it was alright typical Tetris didn't play it much but was glad to have it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 14, 2015, 08:13:48 AM
Finally tried the demo for Lucadian Chronicles on Wii U.  It's actually pretty good... not what I expected, but fun and easy to play casually since you kind of set up your plan and then let the results play out.  Definitely good enough to spend time with the free version. and if you enjoy it then the full experience is just $8.  Odd how nobody is talking about the game though - I hadn't seen a single review until actively searching, and even then only found two.


Not sure if I'm buying or not, but the demo was good enough to move it onto my wishlist for now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 15, 2015, 02:23:30 AM
Thomas was alone (Steam):
Meh.

It's so hard for me to play this game. I usually play this in sessions of 20 minutes because that's how fast debilitating boredom sets in.

To compensate for a dull gameplay, a bunch of Little Big Planet voices pretend they can give captivating The Office-like "characters" to a set of coloured rectangles, but it's not working on me.

Captain Toad (Wii U):
No title screen and no attraction screen is a bummer. The game hasn't even started yet, but it already gives me an impression of an eShop title.

The game itself is exactly what i expected and it's great.

The only problem so far is that there are two zoom modes for the camera and both are bad. One makes Toad barely visible (especially on a Gamepad screen) and the one is way too zoomed in.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 16, 2015, 01:33:47 AM
For some reason I've gone back and have been playing Super Mario Galaxy 2. I probably don't have to tell anyone here that it's a fantastic game, but I've really been struck by the presentation. I'm a huge fan of 3D Land and 3D World, and still prefer their level design, but the absolute spectacle of the Galaxy games is just incredible. This is really making me hope we don't have to wait too long to see EAD Tokyo go all-out with the franchise like this again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on January 16, 2015, 04:53:00 PM
I'm going to beat Fantasy Life's campaign tonight. I'm going to continue the side content that makes up the meat of the game. That'll be my 550th review for my site, which makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life. ...Nah!

I'm also completing the final contracts in Killzone: Mercenary. They're the same levels as the campaign, but these contracts have different objectives you have to do in one of three categories: Precision, Covert, and Demolition.

LittleBigPlanet 3 is a pretty big disappointment and continues to spread my dissatisfaction with Sony. The game was obviously rushed to launch in the holiday seasons, glitched levels, buggy transitions, and more. I'm excited to create my own levels, but I hope there's no glitches with the level creator.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 22, 2015, 02:13:27 AM
Since the second wave of Lucasarts games just hit GoG, I decided to finally go back and play the one I bought from the first round, TIE Fighter. Took a little work to get it running right and recognizing my joystick, but once I did it was a lot of fun. Very dated graphically, but still a great experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on January 23, 2015, 12:09:56 AM
I have a bunch of new stuff (read: old that I'm playing for the first time) that I'm playing.


Ape Escape: On the Loose is my first entry in the series, and I'm really digging it. Liking the level design, the puzzles involved in getting and finding the monkeys, and since I've never played an Ape Escape game, I can't say I miss two analog sticks, as I didn't grow up playing the games.


I finished Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal last night, and I'll post my thoughts in the other thread.


I'm also skate-first into Jet Set Radio HD on the Vita. Somewhat frustrating to make it to higher locations (i.e. falling at the last possible moment, requiring you to make your way all the way up again is annoying), but it's fun overall.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 23, 2015, 12:27:23 AM
Guacamelee is making me angry. I may not come back to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on January 23, 2015, 01:22:17 AM
I'd say stick with it. But yeah, the game has some really bad habits that bring it down. It was charming enough to pull me in every time though. YMMV.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on January 23, 2015, 01:30:44 PM
Guacamelee is making me angry. I may not come back to it.
Get a Coop Partner.  Doesn't matter who, mine was my son who was 3-4 at the time.  It helps.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 23, 2015, 10:29:30 PM
My problems with Guacamelee are that the combat stopped evolving several hours ago, and the enemy rooms they are constantly throwing at me aren't really difficult, just tedious.

What is difficult is the jumping puzzles, oh man! Left-right b-pause-b right trigger to dimension swap, up A! after awhile, I started thinking it's just bad design having to two different buttons and a shoulder trigger to jump where you need to go.

The story, the style and the color are all enjoyable though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BlkPaladin on January 24, 2015, 08:44:55 AM
I'm currently playing Heroes of the Storm, I was a sucker and bought into the beta, though the character pack and mount is about worth it. It's an enjoyable game.... I wish I had people I know to play with though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ceric on January 24, 2015, 09:15:46 AM
I'm currently playing Heroes of the Storm, I was a sucker and bought into the beta, though the character pack and mount is about worth it. It's an enjoyable game.... I wish I had people I know to play with though.
If you count forums I've been in the Beta, though I stopped a little, and we can play if you want to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 24, 2015, 11:09:35 PM
Bandfuse: Legends of Rock

I always wanted to try one of those "real guitar" games, and well, it's pretty awesome. It was $2.97 brand new for PS3 at GameStop too. I'm going to go back tomorrow and get more copies if they have any left.

I also have Rocksmith (original version) for Xbox 360 coming tomorrow from Amazon (free Sunday delivery with Prime wha-what?!!). I got the original since it was only like $35 with the cable.

Also, you'll notice that these are the PS3 and 360 versions, and not the PS4 and Xbone versions - because they do not have analog output and the audio lag will make the game basically unplayable through HDMI and slightly less so through optical audio output. You can adjust the video lag, but the audio cannot be corrected because the sound originates with the guitar, so you have to use analog output.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 25, 2015, 01:20:48 AM
Just a little update - it's really almost unplayable unless you use headphones, or an SDTV, or a PC monitor with analog speakers. Kind of sucks, but it sounds amazing in my Turtle Beach 5.1 surround headphones. Come to think of it, Rock Band would be much better suited for headphones too (drums at least)...glad I'm hooking the old consoles back up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on January 25, 2015, 07:00:07 AM
I dusted off my USB hard drive that stores all my, um images, and decided to **** the VC and go back real gaming the way its meant to be, on a Windows PC. I played a couple of hours of games that will never release on the Wii U because Nintendo = dumb fucks. I also decided that I am spending, at least some of, my tax refund on a new gaming PC.


I also spent some time trying to get into Tetris on PS4, it's not the best version of Tetris I have ever played but its close to the worst. Makes me miss the old Atari bootleg version even.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 25, 2015, 12:15:51 PM
Is that the Ubisoft Tetris? Everything I've seen of it makes it look Horrendous. The Puyo Puyo Tetris out of Japan looks awesome though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on January 25, 2015, 07:21:58 PM
It's called Tetris Ultimate or something like that, its awful I hate it. The controls are sluggish, the music is warped which I despise, the options are not easy to navigate or configure, well not overly complicated but not as simple as a game like Tetris demands, its Tetris but its not a very good port. You have to beat level 15 just to unlock the normal mode most people play. Its frustrating because at level 10 the bricks practically drop straight to the bottom and you cant adjust difficulty like normal Tetris games. I am usually pretty good at Tetris but this one is just not that fun. And yes it is by Ubisoft.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 25, 2015, 11:49:34 PM
This is the Tetris I want to get. It's Japan only and physical disc only because of the Ubisoft exclusive deal. PS3, PS4 and XB1 are region free, so it's a hot import item.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on January 26, 2015, 12:17:31 AM
So, I went to the Flea market and picked up a few things;

Aliens Infestation for the DS, which I have always been curious about as a Wayforward Game

Thunder Force 3, which HOOOOOOOOOOOLY **** that's a fun but kinda expensive game, but still quite a nice prize for my genesis colection

and...

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/ClexYoshi/SNESMod_zps229137cb.jpg) (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/ClexYoshi/media/SNESMod_zps229137cb.jpg.html) I modded my SNES for Super Famicom games! :3 FF5 was a cheapie, and I've played it enough in english.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 26, 2015, 08:20:32 AM
This is the Tetris I want to get. It's Japan only and physical disc only because of the Ubisoft exclusive deal. PS3, PS4 and XB1 are region free, so it's a hot import item.



This looks really fun. Wish we got it here in North America!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on January 26, 2015, 05:39:04 PM
I modded my SNES for Super Famicom games! :3 FF5 was a cheapie, and I've played it enough in English.
An interesting idea. Even if I played it before I don't think I could enjoy playing an RPG where I can't understand a lick of it. I'll have to stick with the GBA version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 27, 2015, 04:41:13 AM
Captain Toad:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS5gKYsKJvyuOv) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE6ZTifZg)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS46ewUHOa6BqA) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACXVHhiHCpWvQ)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS7Th8UVuCBgie) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAtVHhiyFsUeQ)
Beaten first book and got first credits. Also tried my hand at speedrunning levels, i wonder if i will get some kind of mark if i will speedrun all of them... Getting minimal time on some of them requires quite the finger gymnastic, even comparable to Devil May Cry 4 levels of finger tangling: you need to hold run bytton AND rotate camera AND touch blocks on the gamepad screen at the same time to reach low completion times.

Probably the best way to play this game is on gamepad while watching TV. It's not involving enough to be played completely zoned in, but it's still fun enough.

Bayonetta 2:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS2zh-wu1jps9Z) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACXVHhh1maDPw)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS3goQMjgC9AGj) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACXVHhh7iU8HQ)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS3rzSkmVeHUtX) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE5jsgn0Q)
a-a-a-aaaand i got stuck on Chapter X. Cue TWO WEEKS of retrying:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS4T_oMRwYlahA) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE50OZuPg)(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS5i0kMs7BKU7b) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAAEVHhiGsHHZg)
^ all because of that blasted 12th verse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V22WYd_sKj4&t=16m36s) where camera completely shits the bed.

Until finally:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS61Xm0xCq-zMy) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE6-S1qwg)

After overcoming that huge roadblock, Alraune was pretty hard but at least she wasn't outrightly broken as Verse 12 on Chapter X or Masked Lumen so it was fair game:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzS7ttRIBXwtKoo) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE7ZH1wLA)
She is probably the best boss in the entire game -- no bullshit and gimmicks, just a simple traditional vanilla 3d action game boss.

Witcher 1 (Steam):
So terrible.

I can't believe this game came out in 2007. I've played games from 80s that had less jank that this turd.

Camera is bad, controls are awful (both options), combat system is laughable. Models look okaaaay i guess.

Story -- there isn't much of it in the first tutorials sections, but it's nothing special so far. Also i actualy read the entire book series (and i don't think it's all that great).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on January 27, 2015, 07:17:37 AM
I modded my SNES for Super Famicom games! :3 FF5 was a cheapie, and I've played it enough in English.
An interesting idea. Even if I played it before I don't think I could enjoy playing an RPG where I can't understand a lick of it. I'll have to stick with the GBA version.


That was one of my motivations for taking a Japanese course in college. Waste of time when it was all said and done I can't remember hardly any of the language just more about their culture and history. It was a fun class but really hard language to learn.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 28, 2015, 01:31:46 AM
Rocksmith - holy ****, this game is amazing! This is exactly what Guitar Hero/Rock Band should have been. Of course, there is no support for drums (like Band Fuse it's just guitar/bass/vocals), but other than that it's essentially the perfect music game. I don't have the 2014 version yet (tomorrow), but the music included is awesome too, and there's a lot of good DLC. I wish I would have picked this up when it first came out (though it was $30 for the game with the cable, so hell of a deal) but I probably would have spent too much time playing it.

If you play guitar and have an Xbox 360 or PS3 I absolutely recommend this game. Just, again, bear in mind that you need to use analog (as in most likely not even with a surround system, even if it's analog because of the DAC that will cause a delay) audio. I'm using the Turtle Beach Ear Force X31 headset - with the PS3 and optical audio there is actually zero latency, but the Xbox 360 creates just a *tiny* bit so I use analog. Either way it's an amazing headset and it still sounds great (the music is all in stereo anyway).

If you have PS4/Xbone *and* Xbox 360/PS3 I *still* recommend the PS3 or Xbox 360 version because the new consoles do not support analog output.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 28, 2015, 06:41:12 PM
I played the Codename S.T.E.A.M. demo (only available through GameStop). It's good, and it supports the Circle Pad Pro for camera control like all good games do. Also, it's a very long demo: at least 6 maps long. On the flipside, it's a deceptively hard demo: the enemies are very fond of ambushes and easily outnumber you 5:1 by Map 6, and your characters kind of suck at Overwatching (I once saw an enemy stand by a corner of a box where they could shoot my guy, but my guy couldn't shoot back because they couldn't "see" them, despite them having clear line of sight. The demo's sold me on the main game, though.

On a side note, this is a VERY Intelligent Systems game, right down to the AI taking 5 minutes to take a turn and also making sure to wait on delivering a killing blow till their very last character they can move.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 29, 2015, 11:52:50 PM
Codename Steam (demo, 3DS):
This what happens when Intelligent Systems decides to rip-off both Valkirye Chronicles and Gears of War...

It's pretty cool and camera control on face buttons works a lot better than i thought (i usually hated it in DS and PSP games).

Turn based movement based on radial distance from the starting point is pretty cool (check out "Skulls of the Shogun" -- it has the same system). What is different is how the game commits to third person shooter perspective all the way, removing overhead view completely. Getting to high places becomes very crucial and abusing overwatch to stun or kill all incoming enemies as they come in view is super useful.

You can kinda "wander around" collecting coins and stuff as long as you are in the circle, but that isn't completely free -- you can get caught by enemies' overwatch if you're not careful.

I like coins and steam mechanic and how you can min-max it by abusing checkpoints and save columns. You can turtle and mostly stay in one place and rely on overwatch to kill off enemies or do a mad dash towards the goal eating all the damage but eventually reaching it and winning the level.

Game looks like N64, but some of the presentation is genuinely nice. UI feels great, but it's way too easy to press L by accident and randomly shoot into the wall, wasting steam.

Waiting on enemy movement phase is definitely way longer than it should be, it kinda kills the momentum. That's really the only big problem, i wish it was addressed in the full version...


Punch Out (Wii):
Still trying to beat Soda Popinsky on Title Defence.

I can reliably knock-out Soda two times in the first round, but then it's not enough time to drop him third time for TKO. Ad come second round Soda changes his patterns completely and that's messes my reactions big time. It feels like Soda's second phase was designed to hit me each time while i am still in first phase mode...

Practice mode is useful but it's kinda hard to train when you have infinite health.


Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox):
I am at the finish line.

I stopped playing when i reached the tower and died there for the first time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=1h51m37s). Then after few months i was ready to tackle it again. A-and -- it's not that hard at all. More like annoying with ghost fish and bugs that stun lock you. But if you abuse essence to get Ultimate Techniques one after another ("UT chaining") it becomes trivial. I didn't discover UTs until i got to 70% of the game, and i almost glad i didn't.

UT chaining sometimes feels like "cheesing the game" a bit too much. Though with how few combat options NGB gives you, you have to take what you're given, abusing flying swallow and other moves that are way too OP and almost mandatory.

Okay so tower was relatively easy. No i got to boss rush (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgze5EC_vM&t=1h57m39s).
First tentacle boss is pretty easy -- can't believe i was stuck on him for days year ago... Also he gives health orb so you can even intentionally prolong the fight and farm HP from it.

The second boss is snow yeti worm boss. Lunar seems to be the best weapon against with long range and fast attacks. He's slow and all his attacks can be dodged if you're careful. He still hits very hard and can take up to 70% of my life.

Third boss is some kind of devil that mostly floats in the air only occasionally attacking and constantly respawning smaller mooks. I kept using lunar on him and it was decent enough (especially when he's flying because it's hard to reach with with regular dragon blade, but lunar can get a few hits in). I am thinkig of maybe killing mooks for essence and then trying to do Ultimate Technique on him. Usually UT on a boss can take up to 50% of their HP (that's what i am talking about UTs making the game "too easy"). It's hard to pull off though -- you need boss placement, essence placement line up just right to do it.

He's still hard because he shoots fireballs every few seconds, i never managed to get him lower than 70% until i die, but it all seems doable.

I expect a few (new or reused) bosses after him and that should be it...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 30, 2015, 12:21:34 AM
I found the lack of an overhead view to be a major problem with the STEAM demo, as it makes trying to aim the Bear Bomb more of a colossal headache trying to fight the camera than it should be. It's also really hard to get a feel for what are areas where you or an enemy can be & what are not without an overhead view so you can 'see the board'. Also, I'm really not a fan of Overwatch being an automatic "stop them in their tracks" action. In something like Valkyria Chronicles, you'll get shot by enemies as you pass by, but it's not a guaranteed maximum damage. Running to cover is an option. In STEAM, it's way less forgiving, making it more akin to something like XCOM. I kind of feel that if Overwatch is an automatic stop, it should at least guarantee maximum damage, but there's still a dice roll being performed in combat. I found my characters were never getting a confirmed kill on Overwatch, where the CPU was always getting it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 30, 2015, 12:36:28 AM
I found the lack of an overhead view to be a major problem with the STEAM demo, as it makes trying to aim the Bear Bomb more of a colossal headache trying to fight the camera than it should be.
You can change the angle of bomb toss by pressing R.

It's not a "colossal headache".

I found my characters were never getting a confirmed kill on Overwatch, where the CPU was always getting it.
Overwatch is always a guaranteed stun at least, for what i seen.

Also i never had characters dying on me, it was close a few times, but i was using coins to refill health at the nearest save checkpoint. Also in the last mission i played i got surrounded by enemies from all sides and seeing no way to kill them all, i just ran to the goal with Henry taking a lot of damage but reaching it in one turn and winning overall.

I still have to finish the demo though.

PS.

Also i freaking love jumping down animation and verticality in general. I also LOVE than you can kick your own teammates nudging them towards the goal.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on February 02, 2015, 11:33:46 AM
The 404 page (http://www.platinumgames.co.jp/404/) on Platinum Games' website leads to a browser game featuring Bayonetta. It's called "Angel Land". It's hard. My best score was 4700.


(http://i.imgur.com/t1P3TsI.png)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on February 04, 2015, 01:05:40 AM
downloaded some new texture packs for Minecraft so been getting addicted to that all over again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on February 08, 2015, 12:35:51 AM
okay, so I've been playign a large swadth of thins since I last posted in this thread... part of this is because I got a PS4.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker: This game fatigues me very quickly for some reason, which is weird given the pace. I suppose this is a case of "Be careful what you wish for," because I've had it for a month at this point and I've only had the energy to chip at it bit by bit by bit.


Metroid Prime Trilogy: I wanted to get it while it was $10. I started Metroid Prime 1, which I hadn't played since it was new, and got up to the Varia Suit before saving and putting it down. I did it for a stream,a nd honestly I was pretty distracted through most of it because my friend decided to let a stupid kid into the call who spent the whole time bitching about Battlefield Bad Company 2.


Sid Meyer's Civilization Beyond Earth: this is decent fun. never really sunk my teeth into a Civ game, and it's fairly enjoyable, even if I don't know what in the heck I'm even doing.


Wario Land 2:  I have a LOT to say about this game. I had an interesting history with Wario's games, having played Super Mario Land 3, Virtual Boy Wario Land, Wario Land 4, Wario World, and Wario Land Shake-it! I've somehow avoided the immortal Wario games and... now I'm kinda glad I did. I do not like Wario Land 2. more than most video games I have played, I feel like Wario Land 2 serves to waste my time. Nondescript breakable floor and wall tiles that lead to secret exits? check. absurd levels of knockback with very annoying enemy placement? Check. a very obnoxious system of screen transition? Checkcheck!

without the exploration and kleptomania that comes with this game, it'd be obscenely short. if Bosses, enemies, transformations, and the myriad puzzles and secret rooms didn't serve to waste your fucking time, this would be SO short. not to say there aren't shining beacons of good level design that require you to carry enemies to a spot to bounce off of them or break walls only enemies can, but more often than not, this game is just out to troll you.

Wario's controls are VERY stiff. it took me some time to figure out that there was a high jump by holding up on the D-pad before jumps. wario also has a weird thing where the first step he takes before moving is slower than when he gets going. it doesn't feel like a momentum thing, just a jarring thing with his movement. or the brief pause he takes while landing from one of those aformentioned high jumps. there's so much awkwardness that leads to the one second you need to get smashed in the head by a beer bottle and go tumbling down 5 screens.

It's a game that has a style to the presentation that I like, and the music has been a delight, but... I will take Wario Land 4 over this any day. Wario Land 4 didn't waste my fucking time and insult my intelligence by having me repeat rooms because some asshole enemy hit me and I sprang all the way back to the top of the room.


Guilty Gear Xrd Sign: this is the long-awaited sequel to the grandaddy of air dashers, and it looks stunning and feels great to boot. I really do forget half the time that the characters are 3D Models and not high quality sprites. I'd really love to see if Arc System Works' animation style could be applied to other games, because it just looks gorgeous.

I... honestly never played Guilty Gear or Guilty Gear XX Sharp or any previous entry in the franchise, so I have a lot of catching up before I really am confident to face others. So far I'm liking Slayer and May. I need to try the whole cast and see who sticks out for me.


P.T.: O-oh god... OH GOD!!!


Rogue Legacy: Everybody has been telling me I'd love this game and to give it a shot. I'm very much in the James Jones camp when it comes to my idea of the Roguelike, and making a metroidvania game into a roguelike does not titillate me, especially when the myriad descendants of you who have to blindly rush to their deaths for some... family tradition honor BS have a run cycle more embarrassing than the 'I **** myself' jog that monster hunter characters have, and they wield a sword with the finesse of Skyward Sword link. I don't have a good feel for the sub weapons, nor the down stab. I really don't like entering a room and getting blindsided. it is a really shitty feeling when I've ventured where I was not supposed to and died because roguelikes do not allow for any sort of level memorization, which is very much a key part of the 2D platformer experience. I'm just looking forward to grinding out all the upgrades so then I can start using the one guy to lock down the castle. unfortunately, I don't know if I'll have the patience to stick with this one.


Aliens: Infestation: However, this is a pretty sweet metroidvania. setting aside the fact that a lot of your upgrades are glorified keys. I like this one a lot, although again... I need to play it mroe after I force myself through the rest of Timewaster McGee 2 and the other **** I am playing at the moment.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 16, 2015, 10:37:48 PM
I'd like to strongly and passionately urge everyone here to play Freespace 2. It's simply incredible. The game's fairly cheap on GoG and the fan-made source code project really does wonderful things to upgrade it, but the one caveat is you really need to play this game with a flight stick. It technically works without one, but it really doesn't.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 16, 2015, 11:33:44 PM
I'm just about done with a playthrough of Baten Kaitos Origins (GameCube) on my Wii U. The game holds up remarkably well, despite some frustrating dungeon designs. Monolith's strength for designing interesting worlds is quite intact, and the story is arguably better than what I played of Xenoblade.

I also have been putting a little bit of time into Guilty Gear Xrd SIGN, which was $24 in the recent PSN Flash sale. It's way too technical a game for me, but I've enjoyed the flashy fighting system and the characters are all distinctive. Just about to start the Story mode, actually, after doing an Arcade run as Elphelt, who has a similar fighting style to Noel from BlazBlue so I had an easier time learning her moves. If I had paid full price, I'd feel ripped off, but the price was right with the flash sale so I can't really complain.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on February 17, 2015, 08:35:25 PM
Baten Kaitos Origins. Gotta find myself a copy of that!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on February 17, 2015, 10:30:06 PM
I sampled Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures on Wii U for the first time yesterday. It was okay not great but okay. I put in about an hour and then got bored but I might go back to it some day.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 18, 2015, 01:00:04 AM
I've started playing a cool little game on my PS4 that just came out today out of nowhere called Hand of Fate. It's Dungeons & Dragons tabletop mixed with collectable card games and rogue-likes, and the end result is something pretty cool. The dealer plays the role of dungeon master, narrating your adventure and providing descriptions of events and color commentary. You travel through "dungeons" represented by event cards drawn from both yours and the dealer's decks, trying to get to the end of the dungeon where the boss monster resides. When you pull a battle or trap card, the game switches to a 3D environment where you dodge traps and slay enemies using a combat system similar to the Batman Arkham games, but nowhere near as polished. You collect gold, find treasure, and have grand little adventures. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's like Crimson Shroud on the 3DS, only good and with a budget greater than $5 (this was a Kickstarter game). It's only on PS4, Xbone, & PC right now, but apparently there's a Vita version coming in the future.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 18, 2015, 09:13:17 PM
Here's a couple of things:

Alien: Isolation (PC):


To start off on a positive note, this is the best running modern PC game I've ever encountered. Optimized to all get out, I can run it on high/ultra at 60 fps on a mid-decently specced laptop. If you're interested in the game, I'd go with PC.

That said, I'm about five hours in and don't know if I'm going to go back to it. I was concerned it would be too stressful, but I'm playing on normal and it's mostly kind of boring. I've only run in to the alien a few times, and avoided it by sitting crouched for a minute and then creeping in the opposite direction until I'm out of the area. I've died from HVAC shafts, but those seem to be static and are more annoying than anything. The droids have been the main antagonists aside from the handful of human encounters, and they're pretty annoying as well. I get that you shouldn't be able to kill the alien, but the gun should at least take out the droids. Offense is really fucking feeble. The ship feels like a collection of generic grey corridors thus far, with a plasticy sheen on everything, so I'm not really getting the atmosphere praise.

Life is Strange (PC):


I finished the first episode tonight, and thoroughly recommend this if you enjoy trying lower key games while, er, listening to jazz. I thought the second season of the Walking Dead and the Wolf Among Us were trash, but am nonetheless bizarrely attracted to this style of game. Thankfully Life is Strange has the bare minimum of gameplay to actually engage as a game, with a potentially interesting but woefully under-developed rewind mechanic.

I always try to play these things as sociopath simulations to see how bad the game will try to get me to feel about my "choices", and there's some potential here. I felt like it made me undo a few things I wanted to let slide to make my character as shitty as possible, but according to the summary at the end I didn't actually have to, which is perplexing, because in a few of those "choice" cases I swear I had no interactivity point to progress until I did the "right" thing. Would be pretty gross if the summary was partially fake. The writing is comically awful, which is a plus if you're in the mood. I'm assuming, though, that as this goes along it'll fall into the usual Telltale trap of it becoming extremely obvious that your "choices" were meaningless, but maybe this one'll do it right! Or at least get to a David-Cage-level of illusion by including failure states for storylines.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 19, 2015, 01:42:44 AM
MGS: Twin Snakes (GC game on Wii):
Why controls in ALL MGS games i've tried are always so consistently BAD. So unbelievably terrible and awful. It's like a moron who designed this UI and controls had a bullet point to make as much basic mistakes as possible and he exceeded the plan.

On a platform that has two analog sticks (PS1) it was a game that uses Ikari Warriors (on NES) style shooting with some auto lock-on that barely works... Scrolling between weapons and equipment is reversed -- it goes up when it you expect it go down. Why? Because. Crouching is bad. Sticking to walls activates when you just want to open a cabinet.

Because controls are barely functioning bosses and enemies were designed around it, so everything is majorly slowed and dumbed down. Instead of, you know, -- FIXING the damn controls. Bosses take into account that you will spend some time struggling to do the most basic stuff and spend more time talking than actually fighting you. Because of sacrificed gameplay design bosses often turn into just mind-numbing trial and error, until finally game takes pity on you and spells out one way to defeat the boss through the character on a radio.

Speaking of talking -- dialogues are terrible. I am guessing all these random speeches about the most random things might have been impressive and profound for a teenager who never opened a single book in his entire life, but nowadays it's all just eye-rolling material.

Voice acting... I can make some allowance for the state of VA in videogames at the time, but i can't justify how awful Snake sounds all the time. In every single phrase he sounds like he is extremely constipated and tries WAY too hard to sound badass. Again, this might have worked on impressionable teenager back in 1996, so i dunno.

From i've seen MGS realy like to remind you how you're actually playing a VIDEOGAME (despite long cutscenes and dialogues dominating over sparse gameplay) -- characters giving out tips won't shut up which buttons you need to press on a controller and stuff and the boss i defeated last night had a gimmick that was ALL based around that (Psycho Mantis).

It's cute the first time it happens, but it gets tiresome when they repeat it again and again. Okay, i get it -- it's a VIDEOGAME (not a good one, mind you) -- i get it! Stop with the winking already.

Captain Toad:
I think 100%-d first book with Toad, but it feels like it's missing yet another mark or something. Maybe they will add yet another gimmick to force me to replay the levels?

I will reiterate my point about speedrunning levels with touch mechanics -- some ridiculous finger gymnastics required:

Left hand:
Control left stick with index and middle finger
Use your thumb to touch occasional stuff on touchscreen

Right hand:
Press one or two face button with your thumb
With forefinger in a claw position you control camera on right stick

Also while speedrunning i found a flaw with controls in this game.

Climbing ladders is kinda interesting with how many games have trouble with it. It's problematic in Ghost and Goblins, in La-Mulana and many other retro platformers. But it's surprising to find such a mistake in EAD game, of all studios.

When you're climbing ladders and change camera angle your character may stop climbing up because direction you're pushing left stick has become "wrong" to climb up. This was quite an annoyance in some levels where i had to actively control camera all the time to see where i am going.

DMC2 (360):
S ranked mission 1 with Dante -- it's very hard to achieve not because the game is hard, but because combat system is completely borked.

WHY. Why am i still doing this? Oh right -- achievements... I am not looking forward to the one where i have to beat 9000 levels of Bloody Palace mode -- by my estimations it will take 2 hours (in one sitting obviously).


DMC1 (360):
Dante Must Die -- the hardest difficulty of the game. On my way to S-ranking DMD (already s-ranked entirety of Hard), i hit a wall during first Nightmare boss fight in mission 16. I dedicated a night to it and looked up how other (http://speeddemosarchive.com/DevilMayCry.html) people do it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrCUGyRiJc).

This boss is quite tricky -- there are orbs that change colours and may break depending on which attacks you're doing, this impacts how much damage they take. The worst thing about orb status is that it is saved between ALL boss encounters so you have to be aware that you might make boss fight 3 WAY too difficult for yourself if you are not cautious in boss fights 1 and 2. There is also a strategy to WHEN exactly into the fight you let Nightmare eat you and how it affects orbs...

Anyway i figured it out and finally got S-rank.

The problem is, next mission is the final encounter with Nelo Angelo who is the hardest boss of the game. Even surviving him is an achievement by itself, but i also have to do it in time and with enough orbs collected to get that coveted S-rank...

These final missions starting from 15 are all pretty hard because they just throw all bosses at you one after another -- Griffon, Nightmare, Nelo Angelo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on February 22, 2015, 09:33:59 AM
A few friends and I have been putting a bit of time into Payday 2.  For those not aware, the simplest explanation is it's a 4-player co-op shooter game where you play as robbers, most often either robbing a bank or jewelry store.  There are several different levels with varying objectives that usually devolve to "wait for your drill/equipment to finish unlocking a door/computer to get the cash/jewelry/data disk/etc while defending it from police raids, and restarting the equipment when it gets jammed.  Once complete, haul the loot to your escape vehicle.


In-between missions you get experience to level-up one of four different character types you choose, and can upgrade weapons/equipment/masks/etc.  It's a game that's fun with other people in doses, but not quite as fun if you're stuck playing with the dumb-as-rocks CPU teammates.  Good for a free game through PS+ though that i had in my backlog to give a try.




Other game i've been playing is Fallout: New Vegas.  At the behest of one of my friends, i'm giving Fallout series a 2nd chance after not caring much for Fallout 3.  So far, the Wild west aesthetic is helping me a lot in keeping interested in the game, but I'm encountering some of the same issues I have with the game.  Specifically:


I'm seeing this game through just to see if my opinion of it changes, as I gave up on Fallout 3 after about 10 hours.  Maybe some of these things are alleviated after leveling up for a while & using points towards certain traits/skills. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on February 22, 2015, 03:11:28 PM
In regards to Payday 2, for the love of God, play it on PC unless you have absolutely no choice in the matter. The consoles are hopelessly behind in bug fixes and content. Lolmonade mentions there are 4 skill trees to put you points in, but in the PC version there are now 5 trees and a perk system. That is just one of the massive number of new additions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 24, 2015, 04:21:22 PM
Grow Home (PC):


I like the concept of this game, and appreciate its aesthetic, but by gory this feels like the team took an alpha build to a Ubisoft Vice President who took a glance while on the phone and then stamped it for publication. The controls are friggin' abysmal, which renders every moment of the game a chore. It might have been more tolerable if the basic jet pack wasn't nearly worthless, but it takes fully upgrading it to provide basic functionality. But seriously, I don't know how they released the game in this state. Your robot feels like one of those springy toy things where you push the bottom or press a button to release the tension keeping it upright: [size=78%]


The physics are also abysmal and feel really inconsistent, with the robot sometimes floating around like he's in low-gravity, and other times dropping off a vine like a rock when you think you have a solid grip. Also, while the gripping mechanic seems kind of clever at first, it gets tiresome real quick, especially with 360 triggers. Finally, it was a really, really dumb call to make the floating mechanic based on a depleting resource.


I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream (PC):


I've had this on my radar for a long time, but hadn't picked it up because for some reason I thought it was an early 3D PC game, and thus probably unplayable today. But it's on GOG, and sprite-based, so I snapped it up. Definitely one of the weirder games I've ever played. On the gameplay merits it's an okay point and click, but the atmosphere is one of the more unique and harrowing of any game I've played. The nightmarish structure of the characters' existence also allows for a cool gameplay hook where you can fail the episodes repeatedly as you try to figure the way out of the scenarios. Kind of like a sci-fi horror-themed Groundhog's Day, where you can commit atrocities. There are some really annoying bottlenecks, though, Broken Sword style, where you've seemingly tried everything, but it turns out you have to talk to character X twice, look at thing you've already looked at, talk to character Y, look at thing again, e.g.[/size]
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 25, 2015, 01:47:28 AM
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (PC version):
It's a miracle that the game from 2002 can be run on modern PC and how little fixing it needs to run. Just apply videocard patch, audio patch and boot up xpadder profile to fix non-working triggers. That takes less time that it took me to write this sentence. Compared to some other games from early 00s, it's a breeze.

Controls are better. Wait no, they're not "better", it's just now you have more moves. Some of the stuff i know from Twin Snakes like tackling, but things like leaning, shooting from a corner, dedicated lock-on button, hold up is all new.

Sneaking from behind and breaking people's necks is still the most efficient way to deal with mooks though. Grabbing is improved and now you don't have to be exactly behind them to do it, but on the other hand -- enemies can now duck to evade your grapple.

Hold-up procedure is ridiculously, excrutiatingly complicated: you sneak to the guy point a gun at him, threaten him for a bit so that he would give out his dog tag and then either knock him out or kill him. During all this, you have press, hold and release up to FOUR buttons in a VERY specific order. Things only get more complicated if you don't have non-lethal gun and don't want to actually shoot the guy (whether out of pity or just don't want to give out your presence with the boom). The only reward for all this is a collectable dog tag. I tried to do this for a while until i said screw it and just started to break people's necks like usual.

Leaning is also kinda wonky.

And you still can't do anything with guys that are lying on the floor. It was the same in the first game: say you knocked out a mook and he's out on the floor. But i see that he's gonna wake up soon (you can tell by the stuff that's orbiting his head) and you can pick up his body from the floor and drag him around but you CAN'T finish the job by strangling him -- you have to wait until he wakes up and stands up, THEN grab him and break his neck.

So yeah, combat now has a lot more options, but the controls also became even more needlessly complicated.

MGS games are big on movie references. First game was a lot like Rambo III: Hind helicopter, electric torture sequence, headband, shirtless culmination. Also some fun with names Hal/David and Jack/Rose from 2. The last reference is especially random because that's the last movie you expect to be referenced in a game about secret spies.

Writing i think got better -- a bit less repetitions of what was just said, less "huh"-s. And more importantly -- game is funnier, with stupid dialogues (Otacon trying to be funny with chinese proverbs) and LOTS of situational humour (naughty posters). Game scenarios are also pretty amusing by themselves -- like you trying to sneak around 100 marines as they watch a presentation on a huge screen.

No tryhard teenage level "deep thoughts" so far...

Before starting the first game i kinda looked down on the series based on it's reputation ("too many cutscenes, stupid writing"), and while it's definifitely true, the gameplay is still fun  by itself. Well as much fun as "stealth" game can be with all this waiting.

Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake eater (3DS demo):
Actually that's my second time trying out this demo. My first time was two years ago, when i had no idea what MGS is. Now as i am starting to getting into the series, i decided to try the demo again to see how's the port on 3DS. Back then i didn't last even ten minutes -- because of (again!) baffling control scheme and overall complete misunderstanding of what i have to do.

Framerate is VERY bad, almost headache inducing, still undecided if i want to buy it or not, but i see it for 8 euros so it's tempting... It's not helping that screenshot functionality is disabled on game's official MiiVerse -- i really like this feature.

Now as i have an experience with both MGS1 and 2, i can see what this demo is about.

The biggest change is perspective and control scheme. MGS1 and 2 were mainly top-down with separate first-person 3d view. Top-down perspective was kept almost as a legacy from 8-bit games where series has started.

MGS3 changes things by ditching top-down perspective completely and introducing third-person perspective with camera control on a right stick. Because 3DS didn't have second stick you use face buttons. Camera never moves by itself so you constantly have to change it. Since face buttons are occupied by camera control, most of the actions are done on d-pad, it works decently enough but moving left thumb from circle pad to d-pad so often is cumbersome.

STILL even with actions put on a d-pad AND camera control on face buttons, MGS3 controls the best of them all so far. It's a bit closer to "traditional" third person shooter setup than the monstrocity of top-down/first-person mix in previous games.

You can now quick switch in a cycle of three items or weapons which is a HUGE improvement. You can set different quick switch settings for items and weapons which is also a very smart addition: three-way switching makes more sense for items, while two-way equip/unequip cycle works better for weapons.

I will run through a demo a few more times to decide. So far the only big downside is framerate...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on February 26, 2015, 12:36:44 AM
Dragon Age Inquisition PS4. I just got this over the weekend. I am torn I am liking it so far but it reminds me of Fable 2 but not in a good way. I will keep going for now its the first game I have actually gotten into in a long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on February 28, 2015, 02:34:40 AM
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia:

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/ClexYoshi/WP_000439_zpsxlcoo7xk.jpg) (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/ClexYoshi/media/WP_000439_zpsxlcoo7xk.jpg.html)

... or maybe I'm not actually playing it.

Pokemon X Version:

I started trying to Masuda Method again and immediately remembered why this is a dumb idea. I probably haven't fought an actual pokemon battle in a very long time.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS:

Grinding for equips. WHY.

Pokemon Trading Card Game:

There is a whole thread that I have taken over in my incessant gushing over the game.

There's been other stuff too, but I probably shouldn't talk about that on this particular forum.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 06, 2015, 12:02:36 AM
Unreal Tournament (alpha, PC):
(http://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Outpost23_03.png)
It's still the same Unreal with a prettier graphics. Which is exactly what it needs to be.

Unfortunately the only available servers are in US so all of them have stupidly high ping values (>100) and this is completely unplayable for twitch shooter.

But with how rusty i got not playing FPSs in almost two years, i was fine playing offline with bots for an hour.

Sound effects are kinda off, but it's expected for an alpha. But otherwise it's perfectly playable and very enjoyable Unreal.

All the classic weapons are back but they also tweaked some of them, like Stinger minigun alternate fire is now some kind of charged shot (?).

Looks great, plays great and completely free. Highly recommended if you have 7Gbs of traffic to spare.

They kinda want to replicate TF2 success with making their base game free and selling cosmetic items, but i do wonder if it's too late at this point.

Shovel Knight (3DS):
Later parts of the game have really cool level mechanics and unlockable contraptions.

Like mechanical gear thing that can roll over spikes and jump by itself and destroy everything in it's path. Or flying ice statues that you can push around and they emit rainbows after them that you can use as platforms. Propeller sword and dust knuckles are also very ingenious ideas.

Seeing so many original ideas in such an old genre as 2d platformer is very impressive.

Levels get much harder too. Propeller Knight and Polar Knight's stage were pretty hard.

Challenge levels with propeller sword and dust knuckles were even harder to do on 3DS small d-pad because you do constantly go from pressing down to pressing up, then left and then up and down again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on March 07, 2015, 01:52:19 AM
Virtual Boy Wario Land: (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/ClexYoshi/VirtualMan_zpsmlsbrwns.png)

I love drawing this fat bastard. <3

Not playing this on the big red itself, but after wanting to test out the New 3DS XL's web browser playing 3D Youtube videos, I looked up videos of Virtual Boy Wario Land, and... it is really impressive. so impressive that I found an Emulator and adjusted it so it displayed in Black and white instead of Black and red to avoid the ice cream headache that comes with playing this game on it's intended hardware (my virtual boy is currently missing the eye cover, so it's not very playable at the moment too.)

Wario Land on Virtual Boy is a short, but elegant game. while it lacks the backtracking of it's Super Mario Land 3 counterpart, it has levels that just FEEL vast because of the 3D effect and the novelty of exploring the backgrounds. It's an effect I strangely... didn't get with Mutant Mudds. maybe it's because this game's art direction is fucking amazing. Wario looks really detailed and even things on the sprites like the curvature of pipes, wario's arms, and a few details on the enemies pop. there's a ton of paralax even on layers of background that Wario or enemies don't directly interact with, and the smart use of mostly black with use of highlight gives the game a high and striking contrast.

I think Wario is at his best with powerup systems that mimmick a Mario Game rather than immortal Wario or the health bar from WL4/Wario World/Shake-it. it just feels great to get a new powerup. the sound effects are wonderful, the gameplay feels responsive and not like Wario feels too heavy or such. Bosses are inventive thanks to the use of the multiple layers, and just... I love this game. I really would love to see this game get reverse engineered or remade. It makes me question why the 3D Classics strategy died before this game could make it to the 3DS, because it looks and sounds and plays amazingly.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse: THis is probably a game that if you wanted it, you probably already have it. it's flawed. the camera is wonktastic and fails to keep up with the speed of the action. there is a lot of grindy tedium as the game is more an RPG, but one that actually works (Unlike Legacy of Goku or Dragon Ball sagas)

there's kinda a simple joy in making an OC for a story you have seen a million times over and having them try and set the story as you know it right. Love for the franchise is mandatory here, though. this isn't like the Scott Pilgrim Game or something like that. it won't get you in at the base level, and a lot of **** wont make sense unless you know these characters or how these events are supposed to occur. Likewise, there's a lot of stuff one just... wouldn't understand without a franchise wiki open or an extensive knowledge of the show. an example is sometimes a piece of equipment will say "Boosts all Krillin related Skills!" or something, but... then you have to think of what attacks Krillin prominently fought with in the show besides maybe destructo disc or the Kamehameha. this gets worse when you get to characters that have attacks that aren't as obvious. (Like say... Berter and Jayce).

I do like the gameplay, for as over-complicated the controls are. you have standard attack, heavy attack, Jump/upwards flight, and generic Ki blast on the face buttons, L1 blocks, R1 toggles lock-on to an opponent, L2 allows quick flight, and R2 changes the face-buttons to the super skills you've equipped. this can range from Kamehameha to crazy melee combo attacks that consume Ki to energy charging, instant transmission, solarflare, and even the Parapara bros. dance (which besides trolling is actually really good because you can essentially stun-lock an opponent into Parapara dancing and remove them from a fight or leave them open to a friend's ultimate attack. also, the epic trolling of Dragon Ball GT's lowest point tastes so sweet.)

D-pad has a bunch of stuff like quest logs, items, use of your scouter, chat fuctionality...

and then descent from flight is L3. which is kinda important if you don't want to be stuck up in the sky.

of course, things like grapples, guard breaks, launchers, ultimate attacks, etc. are all button combos.

once you get used to the controls, the game is pretty fun though! it's great playing with friends, and the whole game has this quasai MMO thing going on, with quests having a pool of drops you could get and the hub world having online connectivity and such!

but therein lies the game's biggest failing inasmuch that the online servers are VERY bad. you will frequently get booted back to the main menu from the hub world, even during SINGLE PLAYER because of server issues. DiMPS obviously did not expect this game to do as well as it did, and as a result this game is CONSTANTLY booting folks because the server just cannot handle how many folks are playing the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 07, 2015, 10:23:10 PM
I been playing Mario Vs. Donkey Kong on Wii U, I got through the first world and started the second world. This is my first Mario vs. DK game of this type and so far I am kind of liking it. It is nothing like I expected. It has a very cool old-school vibe going like a classic Donkey Kong or even old school Wrecking Crew going on in some ways its pretty dang fun.


I am actually starting to get somewhat excited for Mario Maker. I think that there is a very real chance that Nintendo can win over the retro gamers this generation if they really push that theme. I just hope they realize that retro *is* their calling card and give up chasing the hard core crowd once and for all and stick to doing what they do best.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on March 07, 2015, 10:38:33 PM
Try out my levels, marvel! And let me know if you create anything!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 07, 2015, 10:53:10 PM
did you add me as a friend? I haven't even checked I think I have Miiverse stuff turned off.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on March 07, 2015, 10:57:00 PM
Pretty sure I did! If not, you are allowed to shame me in front of all NWR. *nods*
The best way to see friends' levels is to follow them, but that requires the Miiverse functionality. To share levels, you have to post to Miiverse. That's where your level gets comments and stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 07, 2015, 11:14:39 PM
it could be my fault, I had miiverse disabled and I might have not even checked to see if I have friends, I honestly rarely boot up the Wii U hardly once a month, if that. Usually just to go into eshop and not nearly as much since the digital promotion has run out and now Club Nintendo is worthless. I will check right now stay cool.


It shows I have 0 friends on Miiverse I am not sure how this works there is no add friend option. Is it like Wii where we have to swap friend codes or some such?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on March 07, 2015, 11:29:42 PM
I see you figured it out if your PM was truthful and you did send me a request. hehe
I haven't sent a request to someone for a while, but I'm pretty sure you can look up names in Miiverse, send a friend request with a message posted, and then you're good to go. You can also add friends in the Friend List which is the orange rectangle with a smiley face on the Wii U main menu and GamePad menu when you press the HOME button. I might be mistaken on it being on the main menu since my memory sucks. I'll add you when I boot up the system to create a new level tonight. Thanks, man!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 09, 2015, 11:42:57 PM
well the PS4 was still acting up today and the kids were hogging the Wii U so I played some Final Fantasy 7 on the PS3. I forgot how preachy that games was.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: iandemel on March 11, 2015, 03:48:28 PM
I've been playing * The Last Door: Collector's Edition. That opening....man. Old retro graphics with modern lighting effects. It's a drag and tap puzzle with an interesting story.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on March 12, 2015, 12:49:11 PM
Metroid Prime 2 - Quite a fun game so far. Just got through some worm boss and am in a jungle area. The dark world/light world stuff has been fun. But play sessions are too long. I wish there were more places to save or that already discovered ones weren't so far away and hard to get back to.

Ocarina Of Time 3D - I got through first three things and am now following a guide for all the Skulltulas and heart pieces and planting all the beans before getting old. Then I'll probably drop the guide. No point in getting over 50 Skulltulas and I'm at 43 or something. I still can't decide how I feel about this game. It's generally fun and I appreciate the innovation. But I have no nostalgia for it like others do. It's a solid Zelda game but doesn't bowl me over. Sometimes it's boring.

De Blob 2 (PS3) - Man I love the De Blob series and I wish it would come back. The platforming mechanics are still a little clunky and could be improved but at least you can jump with a button this time instead of a motion gesture. And the camera still needs a bit of work. I'd like to be able to zoom out more. And the time limit structure is annoying instead of challenging. But with those gripes aside, I love the look of the game and I love, love, love the music and the way it is used. The soundtrack is great to begin with and then changes dynamically as you play, with different instruments that support the music assigned to different paint colors that come in as you paint stuff. And the soundtrack builds in complexity as more of the environment gets painted. You hear your progression and it is so satisfying. That is the chief draw of this game for me and it is so good and so fun. I wish this music progression concept was in more games, or that there would be more De Blob games with more great new jazz/funk music.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 12, 2015, 03:23:25 PM
OniOri and the Blind Forest (PC):


The opening of the game, while boring and too long, really highlights the quality of the animation. After that, though, it zooms out and loses distinctiveness, especially as every area I've been to so far is some variant of "gloomy grotto". As for the game itself, it is so far a pretty uninspired Metroidvania title. The upgrades are littered around perfunctorily and I dislike the amount of combat involved, especially as it's often hard to see enemy projectiles. The save system is interesting (you have a dedicated button that draws off of your "special" energy), and I'd like to see more games try something similar, though I have lost significant progress at a few points because I was bopping along and forgot to "quicksave", and there are very few organic checkpoints. Also, it's pretty irritating how short the character's jump is, even once you unlock double jump.


The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS):


I finally got bored enough to buy a New 3DS and work through its catalogue (and whatever DS games I missed, I suppose). The 3D isn't critical for this game, but it is very engaging. I made the mistake of picking Hero Mode on first blush, which made the first hours of the game until I had built up some hearts quite frustrating, especially with the first dungeon and no fast-travel yet, many slogs from homebase with the re-rented arrows. Still, though, I quite like the game so far and really dig the unguided nature. I spent a few hours just wandering around, digging up a few secrets, seeing what there is to see, making pin notes. I'm now past the second dungeon, and wish Ravio would go ahead and let me permanently buy items already. The wall mechanic is pretty neat as well, and I like how pervasive it is (sort of similar to Minish Cap and shrinking), but there are quite a few points where they arbitrarily block painting traversal with rocks or sconces. The art style on the characters is a little funky, but I understand why they went with it (though it might have been a good idea to limit camera shifts from the overhead; the story is as bare-bones as it comes, so no real need for "directed" cinematics). Excited to get deeper into this one.


Super Mario 3D Land (3DS):


The second game I bought with my 3DS. I'm three worlds in; it's dead easy and not as fleshed out and impressive as 3D World thus far, but damned if the 3D doesn't elevate the whole experience. I feel like I'm playing with an awesome hologram toy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 12, 2015, 07:17:27 PM
I've been playing Resident Evil 5 (Platinum #111), Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil Revelations 2 (Episode 2-3), and Ori & The Blind Forest lately. RE5 holds up really well, RE6 is better than I've been led to believe (but it's still a very problematic game), and Revelations 2 wavers from episode to episode. In general, Barry's campaign has been way better than Claire's, at least until this most recent episode. I really like the story beats in that game, but the game in general is just lacking 2-3 layers of polish (especially after replaying RE5). As for Ori & the Blind Forest, I finished it last night and greatly enjoyed it, though I find the opening to be emotionally manipulative and not at all indicative of the rest of the game. You can't just go from "Grave of the Fireflies" to ****ing Contra and not expect tonal whiplash.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 12, 2015, 10:05:02 PM
though I find the opening to be emotionally manipulative and not at all indicative of the rest of the game. You can't just go from "Grave of the Fireflies" to ****ing Contra and not expect tonal whiplash.

Ha, yeah, I was shaking my head at that intro and then transition into what the game is actually like. It's telling that the game is getting a lot of praise for emotional nuance from the gaming press.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 12, 2015, 10:35:36 PM
though I find the opening to be emotionally manipulative and not at all indicative of the rest of the game. You can't just go from "Grave of the Fireflies" to ****ing Contra and not expect tonal whiplash.

Ha, yeah, I was shaking my head at that intro and then transition into what the game is actually like. It's telling that the game is getting a lot of praise for emotional nuance from the gaming press.

There IS some really well-done emotional nuance in a handful of cutscenes very late in the game and the game as a whole is very moody. It's really just the transition from the prologue to the main game where you have that whiplash.

I do, though, take severe umbrage at how the game lies to you at the beginning of the game. The game goes out of its way to make you think the mother character died at the beginning, but around the middle of the game you see her running around again and she plays a very pivotal role in the ending.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 17, 2015, 03:08:55 AM
Zombie Incident (3DS eShop):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzTFhS6w48br4cF) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE_6NzBwQ)
Neat little game. It has MSX-like graphical style, definitely reminds me of original La-Mulana PC release before it got graphical upgrade with WiiWare version.

Gameplay is pretty basic -- you just jump on enemies a few times until the die. Clear the room, move to then next. If there is a door in the room, it opens up when you clear it. Inside is a star that upgrades your "class" so you can to take down stronger enemies. There is a map on the bottom screen so you see which rooms you cleared.

It's all pretty simple, the only problem when you jumping through upper to upper border you get a glimpse of room above and then you immediate fall down and screen changes to lower room. This flicker with screen switching is very annoying.

Metroid 2 (Gameboy VC on 3DS):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzTFZ4s4J8eJOvT) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKE_2zQxJQ)
I didn't even realized that rooms in original Metroid NES game only allowed either horizontal or vertical scrolling but not both. It seems like by second game Metroid team overcame this limitation and started to design huge cavernous 2d spaces as a compensation.

It's a cool game and probably better than first, but it still lacks the most important feature -- in-game map. I have like 35 or so metroids left to kill and i have no idea if i killed all of them in the area i am. I printed out spoiler-free map from Nintendo Power, but it's so featureless i can't even tell where i am on this map.

Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360):
(http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/865/865617/ninja-gaiden-ii-20080409053745533.jpg)
I think i like the look of previous game, Ninja Gaiden Black better... It was so much cleaner looking, and looked (still does!) like an exceptional looking OG Xbox game, while II looks like dime-a-dozen 360 game with shiny plasticky models and jaggies all over the screen. Garish menus and typography also look weird after simple if unremarkable menus of NGB...

In NGB enemies were much easier to distinguish. Even black enemy ninjas were very easy to tell apart from Ryu, because Ryu's model is very detailed while black spider ninjas used to be so simple in design. Now with the power of 360, all enemies have detailed models and i constantly lose track of Ryu because he is black clad ninja among the crowd of black clad ninjas.

Delimbing is NGII's new feature. Now, when you slash at enemies they sometimes lose their limbs -- leg or an arm. When this happens, enemy goes into suicide mode and tries to get to you and and if he does he explodes. You need to press Y near delimbed enemy to activate finishing sequence, it happens happens automatically after you pressed the button and you're invincible during it.

It is satisfying to do, but not when it happens too often. The effect is greatly cheapened when you just pressing Y going from one delimbed enemy to the other killing them instantly. Sometimes it feels like enemies are made out of dough and lose limbs way too easily.

I originally started on Warrior difficulty but then i saw that there is a specific achievement for completing the game on Acolyte and restarted on that. Either way i didn't feel like i am in danger mostly because of regenerating health and Ultimate Techniques getting significant buffs (UT charging not stopping when hit, charging itself is also much faster than in NGB even with armlet on). I am in the middle of Hard campaign on NGB, so maybe that's why i don't feel challenged. But still, it's stupid when i just do charged UTs and kill the first boss in 20 seconds. Even on Acolyte that is like Kirby levels of easy.

Also the game has super tight analog deadzones for some reason. Both of my 360 controllers are now a bit loose and "drag" but it's not a problem in most games. It only becomes noticeable in Geometry Wars (on PC) and here. So because of that Ryu randomly starts to walk when i am not pushing the stick.

Metal Gear Solid 2 (Xbox 360, HD Collection):
Decided to mess around in the tanker, collecting dog tags. Not sure if i start replaying the game proper non-lethally, but it's tempting because there is an achievement for this...

360 version has a few neat control additions. Where previously it was a hassle to lower your gun without shooting, now you can just click left stick. This trick also makes hold-up procedure a bit easier with less finger twisting. Though i found out that this new control option doesn't work as well in the holds where i am in the dark among hundreds of marines and trying to do hold-up procedure on one of them. You can't afford to make any noise whatsoever or all hundred marines will notice you and you will see a field of exclamation marks:
(http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23588264/images/1362966247406.jpg)

Metal Gear Solid 3 (Xbox 360, HD Collection):
(http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/metalgearsolidse3a_033104_inline_01_1080789709.jpg)
It's very cool to see how this series keeps evolving. In 3, you have two life bars instead of one. First one is the actual lifebar and it regenerates by itself. Second one is stamina. Lower stamina means lower regeneration, and overall your lower perfomance.

This two lifebars system actually appeared in MGS2, but was BOSSES who had them. Because 2 was designed as the first MGS game where you could do completely non-lethal run bosses had second life bar that could only be depleted by tranquilizer and other non-lethal weapons. Later, it was retroactively included into Twin Snakes.

Now in MGS3, YOU have two lifebars. To compensate for constant regeneration, now there are very few ways to directly heal your lifebar. Compare that to previous game where you could find dozens of rations laying everywhere and you can heal yourself with them anytime. Food that you find increases your stamina but doesn't directly heal you. The best practice is to hunt and always keep plenty of food on you to keep your stamina high at all times.

Inventory and weapons menus are now two-tiered as well. First tier is set of things that shows up in-game. But your full inventory is only available from menu. So you can't pick up a shotgun and use it right away -- you have to go to menus and set this shotgun as one of the eight objects available to you in-game.

Besides inventory you also manage food, camouflage and curing from the menu. You will spend a LOT of time in there doing the simplest menial tasks, like eating, changing your outfits and so on.

I really like how easy it is to slam enemies into the ground, knocking them out instantly. In MGS1 and 2 there were a lot of stupid restriction about throwing (your position, enemy position and even alert status, i think?) and even then it didn't felt reliable. In MGS3 if you run up to an enemy and tap B you will slam an enemy 100%.

I am ten or so hours in, and have fought three bosses so far. There are no try hard philosophy so far and more funny random banter is which is a huge plus. I am doing non-lethal run, which is probably not a good idea for a first playthrough, but whatever.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 19, 2015, 12:58:30 AM
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (360):
This guy.
(http://media.psu.com/media/articles/image/MGS_Boss_The_End.jpg)
This fucking guy.

The End is often quoted among of best bosses in history of videogames.

The praise is justified.

It was so awesome, i stayed up to 3AM fighting him and then stayed up all night doing it all over again partly because i missed additional stuff and partly because i wanted to it again -- it was THAT great. This boss fight breaks so many rules, it's unconventional, prolonged AND intense all the way through. I barely made any work done next day for obvious reasons but it was worth it.

I checked by my save file time and first time it took me an hour and ten minutes. Second time i made it in half an hour.

Because i am doing non-lethal run i am restricted to my tranquilizer rounds. When i begun The End boss fight i had 40 shots. I usually run out of them half way into the battle and after that sniper duel morphs into running around after The End and trying to fight him with bare hands.

Reading afterwards all other possible ways to defeat The End was mind blowing. So much out of the box thinking went into designing this.

The boss after The End was so, so terrible. Not just in comparison, but like really, really terrible. It reminded me of awkward, annoying boss fights of MGS1 more than anything else.

It took me more time to kill him than The End and i was NOT having any fun during that. Because The Fury in contrast to The End actually aims to kill and he can do it very quickly, especially annoying because you're very limited in ways you can heal your life bar. I had two life medicines and it was not enough. The Fury kept finding me before i could naturally regenerate the damage he did to me. I was dying and restarting a lot.

And then i had to do it again, because just like with The End i forgot to pick up stuff The Fury drops after he dies.

These rewards for defeating bosses non-lethally are kinda in-game hacks -- you get some of the abilities of the bosses, like there is one that can makes you almost invisible. The reward The End leaves after him is his sniper rifle, which makes next boss a bit less painful to deal with. It's almost like Mega Man in a way.

Generally for all bosses thermal goggles is usually a game-breaker, because it eliminates a lot of challenge from most of them.

Shovel Knight (3DS):
Finished.
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzTIHlaUl-QVkKd) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKFA775GJw)
I will go for NG+ and will try some of achievements about finishing the entire game with various conditions (not dying in entire playthrough would be too hard, but no using any relics or not buying anything seems doable).

Bosses and levels have that Mega Man 1 wonkyness that was polished away in Mega Man 2, sometimes it felt like there is no way to avoid certain attacks and bit too much randomness.

Great game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 19, 2015, 12:59:52 AM
Played through the FF 15 demo and...*sigh* it's a good demo for a pretty ****ing mediocre game that tries swings desperately to rip off a Western Open World game, and merely lands a single base run. The combat is godawful, with the camera rapidly swinging all over the place as your character take turns swinging at thin air because in the time it took to wind up your swing the 10 dudes swarming you already ran past you. This leads to combat taking for-****ing-ever to finish because you spend 5 minutes every battle just trying to HIT the enemy, chipping away at their HP so you win a battle of 1,000 cuts.

It's a large open environment, but the only fast travel is back to the last camp you used so you spend 99% of the demo walking, getting ambushed by enemies, 5 minute battle, more walking, more ambushes, wash, rinse, repeat. It's monotonous as ****, and I hope you loved the repetitive battle chatter in Xenoblade because this game does that, too but somehow manages to be more generic and less endearing about it. To be frank, the game looks like a mid-tier PS3 game, and it runs like a low-grade PS3 game, with many framerate issues and character dialogue just not playing on cue.

There is precisely one good moment in that demo, and it's right at the very end when you summon the most badass Ramuh the series has ever had.

So yeah, the game sucks but the demo does a very good job at letting you see the many different ways it sucks.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on March 19, 2015, 01:52:27 AM
The Wolf Among Us is Telltale's best game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on March 19, 2015, 07:10:55 AM
Any game where the text language changes in the middle of a bloody scene can't be "the best" anything.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: marvel_moviefan_2012 on March 19, 2015, 02:32:57 PM
why do I get the impression Azeke is the only real gamer left around here?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on March 19, 2015, 03:08:08 PM
Because you've never read my New Leaf thread?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on March 20, 2015, 10:04:36 AM
Any game where the text language changes in the middle of a bloody scene can't be "the best" anything.

I haven't heard of this bug. Is it PC only?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 20, 2015, 11:32:10 PM
I'll bite.

I've been juggling a few titles ever since I got my PSTV (lightning deal on Amazon, cost me 45 bucks with a DualShock and a copy of the Lego Movie- the Game). Nothing has grabbed me firmly enough to try to focus on completely.

Ironfall: Invasion-
The game performs well and looks decent despite its generic art style- but the thing I enjoy most about Ironfall is how low-budget the game feels. It is an incredibly well-made game and I find myself constantly surprised with the amount of touchscreen implementation and weaponry, however it features some awful voice acting and story. That almost comes off as charming, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my time with Ironfall. The glaring flaws are the low amount of ammo for the most interesting guns and that the campaign levels are too damn long.

Ys Seven-
I'm a big Ys fan. So when I finally got my PSTV I was excited to see what I had missed out on in Ys Seven and the. Oath in Felghana. The earnest story, kick ass music, and tense boss battles are all here, but the skill system is a bit disappointing and grinding those abilities never feels satisfying. I'm nearing the halfway point I'm the game and I'm starting to feel a bit of a grind.

Pokemon Shuffle-
I hate this game. I hate it because some I the stages feel cheap and the design practically begs for your money. Not having spent a single dime on the game, I feel a bit frustrated with those design points but honestly... The game is quite addicting and I enjoy the team building aspects. I don't like the current challenge for Lucario's Mega Stone, however.

Iron Combat: War in the Air-
Teyon released this title on the 3DS eShop on Thursday, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't roped in by the premise. Transform from girl-mech to jet and destroy tons of ****- it's like Liberation Maiden but a little more linear and a little more customizable. There's a lot of design choices that build the backbone of the games mechanics that are a bit questionable, but ultimately, it's fast paced and the boss battles are very fun. It's a sleeper indie title.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on March 20, 2015, 11:32:37 PM
Any game where the text language changes in the middle of a bloody scene can't be "the best" anything.

I haven't heard of this bug. Is it PC only?

360 version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 21, 2015, 12:14:08 AM
Whoever directed and edited the opening cutscene to Final Fantasy Type 0 HD should be dragged out into the street and shot. I haven't seen that many pointless fades to black since the ending of Return of the King.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 22, 2015, 12:02:39 PM
For reasons unbeknownst to anyone, including and especially myself, I spent a good chunk of the morning playing Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. I remembered liking it when it came out despite generally mixed reception, and I still like it now. It really is spectacular how poorly it runs on the DS considering it's an entirely 2D match-3 puzzle game, but if you get past that, which I did, it's a nice evolution of the Puzzle Quest formula, and I always prefer generic sci-fi to generic fantasy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on March 27, 2015, 12:11:17 AM
System Shock 2: Worse thing so far about this game is the physics. They feel bloated and floaty. That is the worse thing about the game so far. You like Bioshock gameplay? Well, add attributes and an actual survival horror theme and you have System Shock 2. You get a choice on how you build you character by choosing his career (think Mass Effect career building, except it affects your attributes). Then you get called on a ship where **** hits the fan. Haven't gone really far into it, but there is more enemy variety in this game then in Bioshock. Your casual enemies are there called hybrids (think splicers), you have monkeys with psychic powers, and suicidal robots that run up to you. Lot of dark corners and hallways too. Something I know called midwives you eventually meet. Really fun game so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 27, 2015, 05:04:34 AM
Assasin's Creed: Rogue (PC):
Here we go again!
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SN_Sn3iHf18/maxresdefault.jpg)
Graphics looks great though water looks like goo, even on the highest graphics settings. Outside of sea it looks fantastic. It looks less plastic-y than ACIV:Black Flag and Freedom Cry sometimes become.

It's set in exactly the same location as ACIII and it makes a great contrast with how bland it looked. I mean it's still similar looking forest, but it looks a bit more colourful.

Outside slightly upgraded graphics -- it feels like ACIV mission pack for better and worse. Collectibles, naval stuff, free running -- good ol' ACIV.

When i was playing tutorial mission, one soldier noticed when i was jumping from tree to tree, got a bit close to investigate and stepped over a bonfire. That set him on fire and he died. Oh, Ubisoft. It least it was funny and ultimately helped me to full sync the mission.

Metal Gear Solid 2 (HD Collection, 360):
Parallel to playing and finishing MGS3 (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.msg866814#msg866814) i replayed MGS2. This time i tried non-lethal approach and it was much easier than i thought it would be. Maybe i finally got accustomed to weird MGS controls. Game gave me "Pigeon" rank.

Then i tried out extra VR missions. They give you small isolated areas and you need to sneak past guards in there with various conditions. Figuring out ways to do this can get pretty fun.

Super Spy Hunter (NES):
Cool vertical shooter from SunSoft. I saw it last week on GameCenter CX and immediately recognized because it was one of the few games i played on Dendy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendy_(console)) as a kid.

It's a vertical shooter, but instead of set in space you're a car on a road. Road speeding by makes for a more exciting background than just parallax scrolling stars.

There are also a lot of obstacles and various conditions, like road gets icy, or you ride on the roofs of moving trucks, or you jump high in the sky and then have to land back on a track. Doesn't sound like much but i really like the feel of speed and exhilaration these gimmicks bring.

Two cannons that you can rotate are a cool mechanic, but you're better off picking up "C" power-up as soon as you can so that it starts to auto-aim and then just never stop shooting.

It's not bullet hell shmup, but it numbers of enemies and shots can get overwhelming sometimes and it's very satisfying to tread among the patterns and finding out the best way to beat level and kill bosses. I'm up to Boss 3 so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 27, 2015, 06:32:45 PM
3DS-a-palooza!

Super Mario Land (Gameboy VC):

This game is friggin' surreal. It feels like it came from an alternate dimension, or a 1001-game-device hack from Hong Kong. It preserves the SMB physics and play-style, but is populated by bizarre and tiny Gameboy variants of franchise staples. Turtle shells explode and are not kickable. Platforming paths are often abstruse and ad-hoc feeling. The controls aren't responsive enough which makes this fairly un-fun, but fascinating. There are even shoot-em-up sections! I'd like to see Nintendo mine this for it's out-there themes, like Ancient Eygpt and Easter Island.

(http://beepsandboops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/marioland05.png)

Metroid II (Gameboy VC):

I only put an hour or so into this, and it's not quite what I expected. It doesn't feel as daunting and claustrophobic as the NES original (which I contend is still perfectly playable), probably partially due to limited on-screen sprites and more cavernous level design. It plays a bit closer to Super Metroid than I anticipated, partially due to the more modern-feeling spider ball ability. I probably should be keeping a map, though I've done a few satisfying bomb jump sequence breaks to get missiles and energy tanks. The Metroid extermination game structure is also pretty cool, and something I wouldn't mind seeing the series try again. (Or just legit remake this one a la Zero Mission).

Mole Mania (Gameboy VC):

This game is right up my alley, kind of an Adventures of Lolo with a Nintendo adventure spin and mechanical polish. It's already challenging in the first "world", and has a collectible element that gives it additional meat. Muddy for Smash!

Gunman Clive (3DS eShop):

I'm probably half-way through and enjoying it enough for it's price tag. I like the look, and there are some nice flares of creativity (train boss). Clive moves a bit slowly, and the level resets get annoying in platforming-heavy areas, but otherwise it's a fun hybrid of Sunset Riders and Mega Man.

Donkey Kong '94 (Gameboy VC):

I was probably most excited for this game of anything on the Gameboy VC given its cult status, but I'm not quite seeing what the fuss is about after the first few worlds. I mean, it's an interesting experiment in taking the arcade game and expanding it into a "real" adventure, but the stiff movement and jumping doesn't translate super well to this kind of experience, and I would also hesitate to call this a puzzle platformer. The headstand is a cool mechanic, though.

Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS):

I was not super enthused about this one following the thoroughly pointless Return to Dreamland on the Wii, but I'm loving this game right off the bat. The wide variety of powers and the Smash-like movesets they confer really make the game a pleasure to play, combined with a constant introduction of novel gameplay elements and the well-done background-forefront interaction design. I thought the hypermode element would be akin to the crappy super mushroom from NSMB1, but it's actually quite fun and a great way to break up the levels. The game's super easy through the first two worlds, but I don't even mind. I would already rate this as the best traditional Kirby game since Dreamland 2.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on March 27, 2015, 10:11:55 PM
Finally gotten around to playing Destiny and I knew I would be disappointed with the story but man, that story was rubbish.  How the hell can you spend 100+ million on development and not put a single thought into plot? 

Also didn't love the grindfest the game turn into at lvl 20.  For those that never played the game, your exp is capped at level 20 but you can still lvl up your character to 32 with armor upgrades but that's where the game is broken.  For one you have to GRIND the **** of the game to BUY anything from a AI seller; there's no trading system so that's out; and finally the deal breaker for me, the loot system.  WHY the hell was I getting legendary items for other classes but my own? (^%*&) $*.  Can't sell them and can't wear them but they do look might terrifying in my INVENTORY. 

I'm used to grinding in RPGs but why the hell am I doing it in action games (GTA ONLINE, DESTINY). 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 30, 2015, 01:29:30 AM
Super Mario Land (Gameboy VC):

...It preserves the SMB physics and play-style...
? SML physics are absolutely nothing like traditional SMB1.

Donkey Kong '94 (Gameboy VC):
...but the stiff movement and jumping doesn't translate super well to this kind of experience...
?? Physics are not like SMB at all, but they're not bad at all. As one can guess from name alone it comes from Donkey Kong and has DK arcade specific things like fall damage, that was abolished in Super Mario series. But they're massively expanded upon, like you can roll out of a long fall.

DK' 94 rivals SM' 64 in terms of how many moves Mario has. It's not just handstand. It's back flip (somersault), triple jump, jumping INTO handstand, jumping OUT of a handstand, rolling and many other moves.

And they're all available to you from the get go -- it's not like you're unlocking them as you go. Every four levels you're shown a new move or a new gimmick. DK' 94 manages to keep it up for the entire duration of relatively long game. That's the level of creativity Galaxy games have where they invent a cool gimmick to play with for one-two levels and then drop it.


Borrowed PS3 from a friend to play some exclusives (mostly for MGS4):

3D Dot Game Heroes:
Character creator was pretty amusing. One thing that makes it stand out is graphics -- i really like water ripple and voxel destruction effects. Otherwise it's a very straightforward Zelda 1 clone.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots:
It's quite amazing how each MGS game manages to have broken controls time after time after time. MGS3 (or MGS3 on 3DS) was probably the closest series ever got to having comfortable controls. I would be completely fine if that control scheme was used in MGS4 intact.

But noooooo... MGS4 changes controls make them closer to traditional console FPSs and in result you get an unhappy medium that screws over both newcomers to the series (while tweaked around, controls are STILL way too unconventional) AND longtime players.

Third person camera worked in 3, because you mostly operated on wide areas outside. Even occasional buildings and corridors were very wide to allow you easily manipulate the camera. While 4 is full of cramped, tight passages and corridors and babysitting camera there is major problem.

Also there is something wrong with lying down, crouching, standing cycle on X. It was a problem even in MGS3 but it has become especially bad in 4. I constantly randomly lie down or crouch when i just want to stand up during combat.

It's cool that you now can move while aiming but i don't think it was worth losing aiming with the left stick. I am considering activating auto-aim option, because i am rubbish with aiming on the right stick.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on March 30, 2015, 01:34:10 AM
Conception II (r18+ON ESHOP WAT?)
Mass effect + Etrian Odyssey + hentai + Conception II
Seriously tho it is a good game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 30, 2015, 09:52:24 AM

? SML physics are absolutely nothing like traditional SMB1.

?? Physics are not like SMB at all, but they're not bad at all. As one can guess from name alone it comes from Donkey Kong and has DK arcade specific things like fall damage, that was abolished in Super Mario series. But they're massively expanded upon, like you can roll out of a long fall.

DK' 94 rivals SM' 64 in terms of how many moves Mario has. It's not just handstand. It's back flip (somersault), triple jump, jumping INTO handstand, jumping OUT of a handstand, rolling and many other moves.

And they're all available to you from the get go -- it's not like you're unlocking them as you go. Every four levels you're shown a new move or a new gimmick. DK' 94 manages to keep it up for the entire duration of relatively long game. That's the level of creativity Galaxy games have where they invent a cool gimmick to play with for one-two levels and then drop it.


Super Mario Land absolutely attempts to play like the original Super Mario Brothers. It doesn't do a particularly good job given the controls and level design, as I said. Now Super Mario Land 2 is a whole different kettle of fish, and feels a lot closer to a Wario Land game than I expected.

And obviously DK 94 is based on the arcade game controls, that's what I said. I guess I haven't gotten to all of the move reveals, but it all seems to revolve around the handstand, which I mentioned as the hook. Overall, though, it still plays like stiff DK arcade. The level design thus far is pretty much just "pick up thing, get to end of level", which is why I'm not going over the moon for it, but I will definitely finish it out in hopes that it'll grow on me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 02, 2015, 10:57:24 PM
I'm 30 stars into Super Mario 64 on the Wii U Virtual Console. I'm loving the game almost as much as I'm hating the camera.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 02, 2015, 11:12:12 PM
Yoshi's New Island (via Club Nintendo's Platinum-colored table scraps) - not as terrible as I've been led to believe. I despise how there's only the exact number of red coins/stars in a given stage, so if you miss one you might as well just restart the stage because there's no point in continuing, but that's a Yoshi series thing in general. Also, because the circle pad is a piece of ****, I've probably lost a couple dozen lives to accidentally sending Yoshi into a butt stomp mid-air when I was trying to steer him during a flutter jump. Overall..."meh" so far (cleared the 1st world with all stars/coins/flowers), but I was expecting worse.

The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Wii U) - It's a game worthy of the license. It's hard as hell (I died over 207 times on easy), but if you play on Easy like I did it's very do-able since you have unlimited lives and there are frequent checkpoints. Once I settled into the old school mode of accepting that everything in the game was going to try to screw me over in one way or another and to anticipate that, I didn't have too much trouble outside of the final boss (which is probably where the lion's share of those 207 deaths were). Fantastic soundtrack, btw.

FF Type 0 HD (PS4) - I'm 4 chapters into the game, and it's just...not...clicking with me, at all. I come to Final Fantasy for the story and characters, and both are barely present so far. So far, it's just another generic Japanese game about high school students and time management, with some combat thrown in. I do really dig the combat, though.

Life is Strange Ep. 2 (PS4) - Kicks ass, but don't expect big fate of the world sort of storytelling.

Sunset Overdrive: Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines (Xbone DLC)- BEST FINAL BOSS FIGHT I'VE SEEN ALL YEAR with B-Win. Now THAT'S how you end a game's run by dropping the mic. No question.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on April 03, 2015, 05:54:48 AM
I gave up Yoshi's New Island on World 5; Arzest really needed to step up it's game because this one was bland.  it's not broken by any means but it's so "been here done that" gameplay that I kept falling dozing off. 

 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 03, 2015, 07:55:10 AM
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) - Super glad this was a Club Nintendo reward instead of actually paying for the game - the Donkey Kong Country series has never been something I enjoy very much and it looks like nothing has changed.  But it sure looks pretty.  Shame there are such lousy loading times though. Nothing else on my hard drive seems to be problematic, but there have been a bunch of 5-10 second loading delays between levels early on for DKC:TF.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GaziSalahuddin on April 06, 2015, 12:12:58 PM
Now i am playing GTA III and Prince of Persia T2T. Both games are enjoyable and challenging. I am very excited to finish them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 07, 2015, 11:57:40 AM
Started Bloodborne last night.  I only played the Demon's Souls game before this, so that's my only point of reference.  The game looks great, also move a bit quicker & more fluidly than Demon's Souls.  It seemed easier to traverse the first level, so I got overconfident and got mauled by a group of zombie/infected villagers.  I have the thing that looks like a giant hacksaw attached to a stick as a weapon, works well so far.
Instead of a parry, you have a gun that acts as a stun weapon to open enemies to attack, but you have to find ammo.  It's an interesting wrinkle, and it makes me nervous to use it too much so I don't have it for when it's necessary.  You can use pebbles to throw at individual enemies & lure them one by one instead of facing a whole mob.  In fact, you're risking a very likely death if you take more than one or two enemies at a time.
 
Common gripe that's unacceptable to me - load times between deaths are miserable.  I'm talking 15-30 seconds miserable.  In a game where you're prone to dying this often, that's far too much of a stopping point between deaths.  It needs to be closer to something like Rogue Legacy where once you die, you can in a few seconds start again.  This might keep me from playing for extended periods of time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on April 07, 2015, 12:16:26 PM
From Software said they are addressing the load times and will fix that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: SgtFlowers on April 07, 2015, 02:58:02 PM
I bought Titanfall for the 360 on sale and just started playing it. Besides the online thing and a slight no story mode, its really fun.


The free running in this game is smooth and when you practice enough you'll be able to get across the map in no time. The titans are fun to utilize in this game. you can pilot the mech, have your titan follow you, defend spots, or make it a portable nuke. The guns are also great in this game, I personally love the smart pistol as it locks on to targets and shoots them for you saving you time and effort.

Titanfall is fast paced and fun, and for being a mash up of first person shooters and mirror edge running mechanics
, the game does not falter. Using the traditional restricted first person view combined with high speed movement and simple gameplay mechanics, this makes the gameplay amazingly enjoyable, creative, and a smooth experience.

The big down side ive seen besides the always online was that Titanfall's graphics take a big down turn a times. I figure this has to do with the game connecting to the servers, but man it starts to look like star wars republic commando at times.

On a side note, if you have or get the game used or new, the dlc maps are all free at the moment. Its for the one year anniversary of this game so they are celebrating by giving away the maps.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 07, 2015, 11:37:07 PM
Been playing more FF Type 0 HD, and I'm near the end of the game. Man, it is seriously depressing me how utterly mediocre this game is. I really want to love this game because I do love the combat, but the design of everything else is incredibly weak and the story and characterization borders on nonexistent. EVERYTHING about this game is withheld for New Game+, which makes End Game play especially depressing because there's nothing you can do and nowhere you can go without getting wasted by enemies 30 levels stronger than you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Manthony Chopkins on April 08, 2015, 12:12:55 AM
I nabbed an old PS2 off Ebay. It came today and I put my copy of Dynasty Warriors 3 in. System works well. I also found a handful of old PS2 games in my basement. highlights include:
- Metal Gear Solid 2
- Shadow of the Colossus
- We love Katamari
- Timesplitters: Future Perfect


I also have Dark cloud 2 coming in the mail soon!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 08, 2015, 12:23:48 PM
Elliot Quest (WiiU):

I have a weird conflicted relationship with this game. I've put probably 15 hours into it, and I am basically wallowing in despair, but keep playing. It's glitchy as hell, and I wasted a lot of time earlier on because I didn't realize I had been glitch warped to an area I wasn't supposed to be yet, and felt lost and confounded. The difficulty spikes are brutal with each new spur you access off the main map. Enemies are arrow sponges even after you upgrade your weapon, they do tons of damage even after you upgrade your armor, and you never feel nimble enough to deal with the projectile hell screens that pop up more frequently as you go along. Progression is completely obtuse. Like, I think I could beat the game at this point, having cleared the four temples and gained access to the red forest island, but I have only four of the crystals, and tons of paths are blocked by crystal gates all around the game. I have no idea where the missing crystals could be, as I've combed every area I can access and can't find more of them (or even the second one, which I missed and can't find). There aren't any faqs up, and given the game structure it's really hard to sift out useful directions from forum posts. Most of the gated areas you can return to in previous areas just lead to useless treasure chests or tiny magic meter expansions.

Today I found the last four-crystal gate I hadn't opened, having forgotten about it, and went through an annoying bubble-jumping sequence only to discover . . . another chunk of the island I didn't know existed, apparently the hardest yet from what little I poked into the new areas. Instead of excitement I feel only dread. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on April 08, 2015, 12:54:58 PM
From Software said they are addressing the load times and will fix that.
Maybe don't release the game when is has such unacceptable load times?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 08, 2015, 05:35:04 PM
From Software said they are addressing the load times and will fix that.
Maybe don't release the game when is has such unacceptable load times?


Yeah….I'm glad they're going to address it in some undetermined amount of time in the future, but for now, it's really frustrating how much time is spent sitting there staring at a load screen.  I don't know if Triforce Hermit was necessarily trying to be dismissive of the complaint, but I don't know why anyone would be ok with 30 second load times each time you die in a game series that's explicitly known for how often you die.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on April 08, 2015, 07:31:52 PM
I wasn't trying to dismiss it. Hell, 30 seconds to respawn in any of their Souls-esque game would be hell. I was just informing they plan on fixing it, instead of just leaving it.

I think From Software likes to hit the early year release. Like all other developers, they just plan to patch it later because hitting a set release date > finished product on release.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GaziSalahuddin on April 10, 2015, 12:49:32 AM
I am playing Tomb Raider. This is a very nice game. The main female character is Lara Croft.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 10, 2015, 12:30:27 PM
Elliot Quest (WiiU):

Update:

So after about 20 hours, and having finally gotten enough crystals to access a new set of areas, I got glitched into a zone that I can't escape and walked past a save point before I realized it. So there goes the whole fucking game. No way I'm going to restart, particularly after this glitch bullshit, which, who knows, could happen again in some other form. This is seriously the worst QA I've ever encountered in a game, not just this final incident but all over the place.

Seriously DO NOT BUY THIS GAME unless the developer pushes a major patch. I pinged him about my issue on Twitter but I'm not holding my breath.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on April 10, 2015, 01:35:13 PM
Gah, that sucks dude.


I'm playing Box Boy! right now and I'm loving every minute of it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 10, 2015, 06:47:48 PM
Second Elliot Quest Update:

The original developer and port house responded that they had just pushed a new patch today that prevents the trap glitch, and fixes it for those who are affected. I booted it back up, installed the patch, and saw no difference. The original dev said to try it again, and when I booted the game back up it froze on the splash page, threw up an error, and hard locked the WiiU. This repeated on subsequent attempts, and after power cycling.

What an exciting chronicle!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: animecyberrat on April 10, 2015, 09:37:11 PM
downloaded Super Mario 64 virtual console been playing that lately.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Silenced on April 11, 2015, 10:38:30 AM
I fell back into playing old school Runescape. It's like losing your teachings from rehab and going back on old habits.


I need help.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 12, 2015, 05:28:56 AM
I started up Borderlands: The Handsome Jack Collection tonight. The gear grind/shooter combo has always appealed to me, even though I've owned games in the series without playing much of them. I got this one because it has cross-save with the Vita version of BL2, which is the one I'd played the most beforehand.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on April 13, 2015, 10:39:29 PM
Super Punch Out

Man, I love me some Punchout, but I never played this one much.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 16, 2015, 12:56:04 AM
MGS4 (PS3):
After growling through three games Snake's voice completely falls apart here. Before he sounded like he was constipated 24/7, now it's like actor is having a stroke and gurgling out barely intelligible words.

As to game itself. Act 1 and 2 were petty cool. The gimmick with you directly changing the outcome of battle is pretty neat. It's an evolution of you changing the conditions in MGS3 by blowing up warehouses. Too bad you can only take side of the rebels, but ah well.

Act 3 was just an everyone's favourite Assassin's Creed style tailing sequence and another chase sequence on bike that was already getting too old after MGS3 and MGS1. Oh and a couple of hour long cutscenes.

I am not gonna criticize game just for having long cutscenes alone, but you gotta make them worth it. Make them fun and interesting. MGS4 cutscenes become atrocious halfway in. And the story... None of the motivations for characters make a lick of sense, entire plot is an incomprehensible mess (so far). Weird motion capture goofs are also annoying (or maybe it's me misunderstanding japanese body language, but either way in "dramatic" scenes, characters emote VERY unnaturally).

I am at Act 4 so far. It is pure nostalgia pandering, you even get audio flashbacks from previous game. Seeing an old level with PS3 level tech is pretty cool.

Bosses. Laughing octopus boss was eh. Raging Raven was terrible, very annoying. It was like Pac-Man style bosses of MGS1-2 only now you have multiple levels to operate on.

Once you defeat the boss you get a scene where beauties dismantled of their gear try to hug you or something. It's baffling. Their backstories are baffling as well. Am i supposed to laugh at edginess of these stories or something? Cause i want to.

Cutscene with Raiden taking on metal gear cows was very cool. I now i see where Revengeance's moves are coming from.

Also playing Fantasy Zone 3D Classics on 3DS and Super Spy Hunter (got to level 5, it's either ridiculously long or i am misunderstanding something) and DMC1 (finishing up S-ranking Dante Must Die mode, currently on penultimate level).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 23, 2015, 10:16:03 PM
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (3DS) - What a weird little game.


I'm enjoying my time well enough to keep playing, despite some unfortunate design decisions - sudden death falls, pointless (but mandatory) quick-time events, unlimited lives during boss fights, etc. The combo system for combat is interesting enough, and the overall castle design is decent so far... yet I still feel let down by the whole experience so far and keep wishing they used nice sprite work instead of the somewhat ugly 3D models (even though it doesn't really matter much since the game design is all 2D level layouts so far).


Maybe a victim of high expectations?  Regardless, I'd still say the actual game is leaps and bounds better than the demo that was released - and am glad to have picked it up on sale a while back.  Looking forward to getting further into the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 23, 2015, 11:03:51 PM
Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas (PC):

I picked this up based on some fairly positive reviews I'd seen, calling this a satisfying Zelda-esque occupying a space somewhere between the top-down and 3D games.

This game has made me realize just how good even the "disappointing" Zeldas are, if this is what's considered a competent take on the genre. It plays more like a generic kid-oriented dungeon crawler than an actual exploration-based action adventure game, and every single element of the limited gameplay is handled poorly. There's zero challenge, almost nothing that could be legitimately considered a puzzle rather than a transparent obstacle, logey controls, crummy art design, an annoying and constraining isometric perspective, painfully bad writing/scenarios, ultra-boring ocean traversal that makes Phantom Hour glass's sailing look like a simulation in comparison, useless items and spells, one collectible that is viscerally unpleasant to collect.

There is actually one decent island that I just hit near the end (I think), but it is apparently optional and very different than any of the other "dungeon" areas. I don't know if I can even bring myself to bother with the last area.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on April 24, 2015, 01:39:52 PM
Mortal Kombat X, it's awesome.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 24, 2015, 05:40:52 PM
Had a nice long Smash Bros Wii U session with my two offspring and a Link Amiibo last night. Much laughs were had by all. Especially when the Amiibo sometimes won!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 24, 2015, 05:42:18 PM
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (3DS) - What a weird little game.


I'm enjoying my time well enough to keep playing, despite some unfortunate design decisions - sudden death falls, pointless (but mandatory) quick-time events, unlimited lives during boss fights, etc. The combo system for combat is interesting enough, and the overall castle design is decent so far... yet I still feel let down by the whole experience so far and keep wishing they used nice sprite work instead of the somewhat ugly 3D models (even though it doesn't really matter much since the game design is all 2D level layouts so far).


Maybe a victim of high expectations?  Regardless, I'd still say the actual game is leaps and bounds better than the demo that was released - and am glad to have picked it up on sale a while back.  Looking forward to getting further into the game.
I liked the demo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 24, 2015, 09:52:21 PM
I still contend that the 3DS version of that game is the superior version to play, if only because Mercury Steam did some really cool tricks with the 3D that just weren't possible in the HD version. Plus, the 3DS version had the QTEs, which the combat feels really neutered without in the HD version.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 25, 2015, 07:39:54 AM
I decided to pick up a couple games I've had sitting on my Vita for a while for the first time tonight, with mixed results.

First, Spelunky. I have friends who rave about this game, but I just can't get into it. I get what it's going for, but for whatever reason it's not clicking with me.

Second was Stealth Inc. I know the sequel got a ton of rave reviews, and have meaning to get around to this one which I've had for a while, and I'm really glad I did. Pretty excellent little puzzle platformer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 28, 2015, 12:30:28 AM
Stealth Inc. I know the sequel got a ton of rave reviews, and have meaning to get around to this one which I've had for a while, and I'm really glad I did. Pretty excellent little puzzle platformer.
I wouldn't say rave reviews. Stealth Inc 2 is alright, better than first game for sure.

First game's problem is how tedious it becomes -- lots of repetition and memorization required to S-rank levels.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 28, 2015, 01:02:11 AM
I've been playing a ton of Borderlands 2 via the Handsome Collection on PS4, so I finally played all the DLC I never got around to originally. Suffice it to say that if you ever play the game, play Tiny Tina's DLC (which is easily the best content in the entire game); the 3 holiday DLC; and then go play something else because the rest of the DLC just isn't worth it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2015, 12:08:04 PM
Been playing Story of Seasons lately, and as a longtime fan of the series (for those who are unaware, this is effectively the newest Harvest Moon game, though Natsume, the previous publisher of the series in the west, is no longer doing it but still owns that trademark), I think this is easily the best one they've made in a long time. It retains a lot of the customization of the previous 3DS installment, A New Beginning, but fixes the horrifically slow pace that game had in the beginning. Does enough new to feel fresh while doing pretty much all the standard stuff right.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on April 28, 2015, 02:57:24 PM
Pokemon Shuffle is like Candy Crush but different. Apparently there is a lot of strategic depth to this game, but I don't know anything about Pokemans. I just want to capture Meowth.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 28, 2015, 10:00:52 PM
Fluidity (Wiiware):

This one's an odd duck. I kind of like everything about it except for actually playing it. The concept is great, and they nailed the (I think) unique aesthetic, and it controls well for being almost completely physics based. But I can't put more than a half hour into at a time before becoming frustrated and fatigued, especially as the game ramps up in difficulty quickly and requires some precise maneuvering. Jumping, in particular, tends to hobble the experience. Just making that a button press would ease things up considerably, but I supposed wouldn't really jibe with what they were going for here. Overall it kind of feels like playing a pinball game.

One thing that is definitely whack, though, is that they don't show you how many puzzle pieces you have left on the map, while they do so for rainbow drops and flowers. This is kind of baffling, and will probably lead me to ignoring this collectible, which is unfortunate, as they tend to be the most challenging/interesting to grab. Alas, they seem to only be used for unlocking deeply unappealing minigames, so not a huge lost I suppose.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 04, 2015, 06:15:34 PM
I finally got around to starting Mass Effect. This game was the main reason I bought an Xbox 360 back in 2008, and then I never got around to it until now, and I'm actually playing it on PS3. I'm going with a female Shepard, with the Renegade path. So far I'm liking it a lot. I wish more games would use the sci-fi setting, I'm so sick of every RPG being swords and magic fantasy. The story's well-crafted, well-acted and compelling, and the shooting action is pretty solid. Really excited to get more into this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 04, 2015, 09:19:29 PM
What year is it?  ... Because I just spent $60 on WiiWare.   :Q


* And Yet It Moves - Yes, I could (already did) buy for less on Steam, but I much prefer couch gaming and the greatly improved controls and extra levels make this version more desirable anyway.
* Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth - Given all the recent Konami news, this was my impetus for buying Wii Shop credit. Of all games in the ReBirth series, this classic Castlevania throwback appeals to me most and I didn't want it to disappear before I could buy.
* Dive: The Medes Islands Secret - Always curious about this WiiWare exclusive and decided to finally pull the trigger. I'm always a fan of exploration-heavy games and this sounds like it fits the bill.
* Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord - Another WiiWare exclusive, in the same family (but with totally different gameplay) as My Life as King. Shame there is so much DLC, because it's extremely unlikely I'll ever care enough to buy in. Apparently the game is great even without the extra content though.
* Let's Catch - Because WTF. Seriously, WTF...
* Max & the Magic Marker - This was the odd title. Not a WiiWare exclusive or even "best" on the platform... but seems like a fantastic game to play with my kids.


This wasn't a good investment, but my tax refund just came in and there are a bunch of these games that just can't be found elsewhere.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on May 05, 2015, 02:51:50 PM
ejamer, NyxQuest is a very good WiiWare game. I think it is related somehow to Dive (developer or engine or something). I think it is better than Dive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on May 05, 2015, 07:36:22 PM
I finally got around to starting Mass Effect. This game was the main reason I bought an Xbox 360 back in 2008, and then I never got around to it until now, and I'm actually playing it on PS3. I'm going with a female Shepard, with the Renegade path. So far I'm liking it a lot. I wish more games would use the sci-fi setting, I'm so sick of every RPG being swords and magic fantasy. The story's well-crafted, well-acted and compelling, and the shooting action is pretty solid. Really excited to get more into this.

I liked Mass Effect so much that I powered through all three games one after another which I've never done with any game series ever.  I find it interesting when I read about males playing as a female Shepard.  Not that I'm being sexist, I just thought the idea was that Shepard is YOU.  I played a male Shepard because I'm a male and I tried to make him look somewhat like me and I made the decisions that I would have made.  I think that's why I connected with the game so much.  But then if you're trying to go down the renegade path (I'm assuming you're not an evil person in real life) then it would be more playing a character than yourself in which case you might as well craft whatever Shepard you want.

Right now I'm playing the Final Fantasy X Remaster on the PS3.  I never played it on the PS2 and I feel like I would have enjoyed it much more had I played it when it was current.  Many of its noteworthy features like full 3D and voice acting are all very routine now so now this is a very linear RPG with an annoying main character and some melodramatic story involving daddy issues.  It's the sort of teen-focused nonsense that would have probably gone over well with me in high school but seems really dumb now.  Oh and I'm playing this shortly after going through Mass Effect which has a much MUCH better story.  Story isn't everything, except in FFX it kind of is.  The game so far hasn't given me much time to explore at my own pace and get into the battle system like Bravely Default did.  Instead I'm quickly whisked from place to place where the battles seem more like padding before continuing on to the next cut scene.  Again that's an RPG approach I liked when I was a teen but today I tend to prefer RPGs that focus more on the strategy of battles and classes and such.  Had I played this game back in 2001 when I was barely 20 I would have thought it was awesome.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 06, 2015, 10:54:35 AM
Right now I'm playing the Final Fantasy X Remaster on the PS3.  I never played it on the PS2 and I feel like I would have enjoyed it much more had I played it when it was current.  Many of its noteworthy features like full 3D and voice acting are all very routine now so now this is a very linear RPG with an annoying main character and some melodramatic story involving daddy issues.  It's the sort of teen-focused nonsense that would have probably gone over well with me in high school but seems really dumb now.  Oh and I'm playing this shortly after going through Mass Effect which has a much MUCH better story.  Story isn't everything, except in FFX it kind of is.  The game so far hasn't given me much time to explore at my own pace and get into the battle system like Bravely Default did.  Instead I'm quickly whisked from place to place where the battles seem more like padding before continuing on to the next cut scene.  Again that's an RPG approach I liked when I was a teen but today I tend to prefer RPGs that focus more on the strategy of battles and classes and such.  Had I played this game back in 2001 when I was barely 20 I would have thought it was awesome.

*shrugs* I didn't play FF X until something like 6-7 years after it came out, and it's still my favorite Final Fantasy, so to each their own. To me, Yuna's story in that game is probably the best story the series has ever done, and the way every character in your party is woven into it really clicked with me. As for the story leash, that'll loosen once you reach the Calm Lands, and it will come off altogether after you reach Zanarkand.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 06, 2015, 10:57:10 AM
As for me, I've been playing Bloodborne, Broken Age, and Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. So far, I'm enjoying Bloodborne as my first entry in the "Souls" series; Broken Age is visually stunning but I'm not in far enough to say more than that; and The Old Blood is not as good as The New Order (it has very little downtime and storytelling, which I thought really set The New Order apart) but it's still a pretty decent shooter.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on May 06, 2015, 03:40:29 PM
I'm playing two 3DS eShop titles, BoxBoy! and Bloo Kid 2 currently. Mario Kart 8 is getting a rebirth of play time in our household due to the new DLC and 200 cc.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 11, 2015, 04:22:54 AM
I've been playing Borderlands 2 on the Handsome Collection on PS4, and tonight I took advantage of the cross-save ability to continue my game on the Vita version. The Vita game didn't get a great reception when it came out, but I think it works pretty well (though I believe they've improved the performance via patches since release). It feels like the same game on a smaller screen, and the control setup they've implemented works about as well as it probably could given the lower amount of buttons.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on May 11, 2015, 05:35:50 AM
Valkyria Chronicles so far is very enjoyable. Combat feels fun enough right now that I don't mind retrying for a A rank in a mission. The leveling system is a wonderful idea because then I don't have to pull out other units when one dies to replace them with a low level one. And unit variety is nice.

I've only had one problem with the PC version is it randomly closing itself making me lose all my save progress up to that point. Annoying because I didn't know how to save until after it crashed and I had to do the tutorial all over again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 12, 2015, 01:07:16 AM
Finished my playthrough of Bloodborne. Overall, it doesn't have me clamoring to play the actual Souls games, but I really enjoyed the game despite the story being so obfuscated you can't even draw your own conclusions. It scratched some very particular Metroid; Zelda; & Castlevania itches, and despite the Souls series' reputation the difficulty in Bloodborne is hard but surprisingly manageable. I've seen worse: I beat Dead Space 2 on Hard Core mode, where any enemy could kill you in 1-2 hits and you could only save 3 times. I even managed to walk away with one of these (and this was by no means an easy one):

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CExW34gUkAAHAia.jpg)

Platinum GET!!! (#114)  ;) And yes, I played through the entire game with the Threaded Cane, which is a cane that transforms into a whip. Because it's basically a 3D Castlevania game.

I think I'll be taking a break from heavy gaming for a while, though. Bloodborne was an exhausting endeavor (honestly, I didn't think I still had those kind of reflexes after Tropical Freeze gave me so much trouble) so I need to play through something relaxing & kind of easy next. Not sure what just yet, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 12, 2015, 02:06:42 AM
Dragon's Dogma (PS3):
Attempt to make the first action RPG with combat that doesn't suck ass is commendable, but the headache inducing framerate and RPG grind tropes made me scratch it off my "to buy in the future" list.

I was already struggling with painful framerate but when they asked me to collect five specific flowers that only appear in some area only during the night i lost all interest.

Sengoku Basara 3 Utage:
Played japanese version a bit. All menues are in moon, so it took me a while to start the campaign. Fortunately my random pick ended up to be Mogami Yoshiaki.
He is super funny and super fun to kill hundreds of poor mooks.

Not gonna start playing Sengoku Basara proper, but it's cool to give it a look to see what's it about.

I changed my work PC and now i can finally login into steam directly from my workplace. Now i can play Steam games on lunch breaks. This should do some good for some of my neglected steam games, like Stealth bastard Deluxe. I S-ranked half of the game due to this.


Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PPSSPP):
"Body dragging simulator" moniker is right. Most of the levels are pretty small and missions are pretty brief but the majority of it you will be spending dragging bodies to the truck of closest box.

Managing your growing army of soldiers with random animal names gets tedious, ultimately you don't really need it though, except for spy units.

Playing as other characters somewhat breaks the monotony though. It's pretty funny to play as a wimpy scientist or a nurse taking down bosses.

I've defeated two bosses so far, and both took me a few restarts and i had to sacrifice a few of my guys to finish them. Their design is nothing special -- you just run around the corner and as they come out you shoot them. I didn't even bother with trying to do this non-lethally (but apparently i should have because if you defeat first boss non-lethally you recruit him as a playable character).

Overall the game is quite boring but sometimes you can do some neat metal gear things. I actually don't mind comic book style story cutscenes and the story is okay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on May 13, 2015, 06:07:19 AM
Finished up Bayonetta 2, loved the combat, but the plot left me feeling like this:
https://i.imgur.com/arm9bH9.png
(https://i.imgur.com/arm9bH9.png)

Who writes this stuff? 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 19, 2015, 12:42:55 AM
GTA V (PC):

I thought I'd give a full play-through of a GTA game another shot after starting and stopping IV two or three times and hating it, and playing a few hours of V at my brother's house and finding the mechanics much improved.

As before, I find the driving much more tolerable than in the last game, but chase missions remain incredibly aggravating given the remaining underlying sloppiness and busy roads, with the added unwieldiness of shooting while driving. And it feels like every other mission is a chase mission so far. Every side mission I've tried has been a painful "parody" of some personality trope with shitty/annoying objectives. The main mission design has also been terrible in the first four for or so hours, though I've yet to start the first jewel heist, mainly because I ran out of mission markers and don't know what I'm supposed to do next. I ended up setting the aim-assist to basically automatic just so I don't have to sit through any on-foot section of the game twice. The in-mission dialogue is often unbearable, shifting wildly between awful frat humor, social "criticism", and what I think is supposed to be meaningful interaction between characters.

Still, though, the game is beautiful and at times jaw-droppingly detailed. Playing it is kind of depressing because I feel like the priorities are so botched.

Axiom Verge (PC):


I thought I would take a quick break from GTA V to try out the latest retro indie Metroid-a-like contender, and ended up getting completely sucked in. At about halfway through map exploration, I'm confident in calling this one of the few games to get anywhere near Super Metroid. And perhaps ironically, it might be the most slavishly derivative Metroid clone yet, in terms of aesthetics, world design, and controls, and yet somehow manages to feel fresh and surprising. It also might be the only game I've played that meaningfully incorporates its pixel-art into the gameplay and thus justifies the retro styling. The music is also excellent all around and contributes greatly to the atmosphere. I have no idea how the quick-select weapon function is supposed to work, but other than that I can't think of a single misstep or flaw. Totally blows recent lauded games like Ori and the Blind Forest and Guacamelee away. Probably also better than Shadow Complex, but we'll see.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 21, 2015, 11:10:15 PM
I started up Galactic Civilizations 3. This is a game I was immensely excited for, and I installed a Windows partition on my computer specifically to play it. Even with those lofty expectations, I am absolutely in love with this game.

I've never actually played a game in this series before, but I've sunk hundreds of hours into Master of Orion 2 and other similar games, and I can already see myself doing the same here. It's a bit different structurally from those games, with an open map instead of jumping from star system to star system, and  I really like that. It seems to offer a lot of depth, but lays it out in a way that makes it pretty approachable.

It's already getting hooks in me, with the whole "one more turn" urge very strong. I'm extremely excited to play more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 22, 2015, 01:57:26 PM
So this isn't a game persay, but I have tried *VR*

A friend of mine running a tech start-up mentioned he had a unit, believed in the medium, and let me stop by his office last night to try it out. I was somewhat disappointed to see it was a GearVR and not the most recent Oculus dev unit, but he assured me the >$1000 phone hooked up to it produced a slightly better experience than the first Oculus that he'd tried elsewhere, though purportedly not as good as the most recent one.

So anyway, he explained the interface, plopped it on my head, and dropped on noise-canceling headphones to boot and let me have at it. I've been highly skeptical that the technology as currently formulated actually achieves the mystical "presence" spoken of. But it kind of does. The head tracking was immaculate, and goes a long way toward putting you "in" a virtual experience. I found this to be the most surprising part. I lost track of my meat-space bearings pretty quickly, though I had to avoid trying to look at my hands, as it kind of fucks with your head and sabotages the effect.

I tried a number of demos, but the undersea perspective one that I've seen written up elsewhere is definitely the most impressive. I was actually startled by a shark banging into the dive cage I was standing in. Even better were the dolphins, who swim right up in your face and actually feel like they're full-dimensioned animals cavorting around you. I would liken it to the moment of "startle" you first get in a full-on Imax 3D screening, when something flies in your face (plane wreckage in Superman Returns, e.g.), but actually persistent and solid. A hologram versus a magic-eye picture allusion you can wobble on for a few seconds.

Nothing else was as impressive. I watched a few omni-directional camera clips, but these looked grainy and felt kind of tacky (think the panoramic videos on WiiU, with your head as a camera). I booted up a few games, but they were fairly shitty looking and more similar to playing a N3DS than not, again with your head as a camera. Temple Run VR was the most involving, as you could look around behind you and see the monster chasing you, but it made me nauseous and wasn't compelling as a game.

After about 25 minutes my eyes would only focus with great effort and I felt increasingly carsick, which lasted for about ten minutes after I took the goggles off. Overall I would say that there is the kernel of something worthwhile and "new" in VR, but at least in the unit I tried it feels kind of like a giant engine powering a dim lightbulb. Long ways to go. I also really wanted to walk naturally, and every time I did so instinctively the whole thing went haywire. Ditto again for hands. There are quite a few hurdles to clear, and I'm not convinced something like an omni treadmill or a positional tracking black box space is a real answer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 29, 2015, 01:00:47 AM
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (360):
I like it so far.

It's Portable Ops done right. Just like in PO you have a base that you can manage and assign people to upgrade your equipment. Good thing i can just use auto-assign, because i don't want to deal with stats anymore.

No need to drag bodies anymore -- just attach a helium balloon to an unconscious dude and he'll fly away right to your base. In fact, you can't drag bodies at all. Andi t's okay since fulton recovery makes it obsolete, but i really wish i could at least drag dudes that i am choke holding.

For the first time in the series, you can retry missions to get better ranks. It's a smart usage of portable format where they make short missions and you're graded after completing it. I can see how people could spend so many hours with that game.

Controls are very easy, it feels like it was tailored for PSP and aiming is very generous which is good i guess. Three variants of control schemes is also appreciated: there is one for MGS3 one for MGS4 and one for Monster Hunter (?). I used MGS3 scheme but then switched to 4.

I do wonder how useful new feature of chain CQC take downs is, especially that there is an achievement for slamming seven dudes in a row? Do they expect them to randomly stumble upon on a crowd of guys who will just stand there waiting for their turn to be slammed into the ground?

Models in-game look worse than Portable Ops which was stealing them wholesale from MGS3, but the game overall looks much better, because it's not just drab concrete walls and containers anymore.



Uncharted 1:
Shooty bang bang is really getting old. I like environment and overall feel of adventure, but it's ruined with formula of coming to a new place then getting locked and surrounded by crowds of goons that i am supposed to slaughter. It works in action games when actual combat gameplay is good, but third person shooting is bad in general and especially terrible here. I try to go for melee once in a while, but get killed as i am finishing my automatic combo.

Platforming is also pretty wonky. I have compared how movement and hitboxes in Uncharted 2 feels floaty and not really rooted in the environment, especially compared to say Assasin's Creed. It's not fair to do the same comparison with Uncharted 1, because AC1 and UC1 came out the same year, but you can compare it to previous games Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia. And it's pretty bad in comparison to those PS2 games. sometimes it feels like Drank is not really walking and jumping but rolling and bouncing in an invisible hamster ball.

What i like how game unlocks extras as your get collectables. Not sure if that was intentional but after i unlocked the first "making of" video, all gameplay footage in it was from the parts i already did, thus avoiding spoilers. Also nice Wind Waker poster, random Naughty Dog designer.


Super Meat Boy (Steam):
Started randomly playing it again on work and i realized how much stuff i still have to do even if i "beat" the game. Playing it on a keyboard was awkward and you can't rebind keys to more comfortable ones layout. Run button is on Shift, so i have to use my pinky or ring finer to press it.

It has stupid amounts of content most of which is nearly impossible to beat -- all the more challenge for those who want to do it. And achievements are even crazier.

But i kinda went for the "simpler" ones. I already did the one where i had to beat all levels in the first world without dying. So i picked up from there and did the same for second world.

I am not really good at reacting on my legs, and i mostly rely on my reflexes and repetition of patterns.
To do "hospital boy" (achievement for beating second world without dying) i had to memorize all the actions and find the most safe approaches to do all 20 levels. After doing hospital boy, i started doing the same dark world version on the first world.

It's very repetitious but i kinda like it. And it's much easier to do than just trying to beat impossible later levels. I don't think i beat a single set levels in warp dimension. I completed a few retro worlds though.


Fire Emblem: Shadow dragon:
I recruited Tiki.

I didnn't leave her map right away and collected all the stuff opening all rooms and chests. There were a few master seals and bullions which will come in handy cause i am running out of weapons.

All inventory management and levels and number are really tiring me out. But you kinda have to do that everytime you start a chapter.

Also i randomly warped Marth into the sea, and the game didn't crash or anything, Marth just stayed there and was able to walk on it sea surface back to the shore.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 31, 2015, 10:51:38 PM
I'm struggling to think of a more boring experience I've had lately than playing through Halo 1 CE's SP Campaign for the 1st time, especially after playing through Halo 3 ODST for the first time just last night. Just a lot of big, empty, monster closet-infested areas that remind me way too much of any area of Doom. For a game that sparked so much, I'm kind of shocked by how little is in here. There's no real sense of "place" and you don't really see any characterization whatsoever. And they spun books off of this ****. Unbelievable.

And yeah, I will go to the mat to defend the nature of the Call of Duty games at times, but the "URAH!" tone of both this game and ODST really irks me. Everything I've seen about this nature pretends that it's some epic Sci-Fi experience, and then you play the games and it's Starship Troopers.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 01, 2015, 06:09:12 PM
I'm trying to balance my time between the single player and multiplayer pieces of Splatoon. It's hard to shy away from multiplayer because I want to keep ranking up and earning money.

I'm also playing Puzzles & Dragons, both games in the double pack, and trying hard to up my ability to pull off at least 3+ combos more effectively and often.

Fossil Fighters: Frontier I'm about 24 hours into, and I'm enjoying it. Digging can become repetitive, so I'm trying to pace myself to not wear myself out on the game. However, I want to see the ending since I've come so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 02, 2015, 01:13:07 AM
With the recent Humble Nindie Bundle, I've acquired a number of games I already own as well as some new ones at greatly reduced prices- so I've dipped a bit into Stealth Inc. 2 and Olli Olli. Both are quite good, though I'm gravitating more towards Olli Olli because it's been a while since I've played a skateboarding game. Stealth Inc. 2 is fun but I find the structure a bit weird, I'm still early in the game so I won't pass judgment on it yet.

I've also been slowly chipping away at Box Boy for a while, and tough I find the bite-sized worlds rewarding and the numerous puzzle gimmicks impressive, I'm starting to become tired of the formula and I really just want it to end. I'm somewhere around world 16 and I feel as if there's no end in sight, though it was a relatively low-priced game.

Like Phil, I've dipped into both versions of Puzzles and Dragons. I started with Z and then finished the first region before switching to Mario edition, and I find both charming in their own ways, though I'm not sure which I prefer more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 03, 2015, 03:00:38 AM
Just a brief update on my playthrough of the Halo Master Chief Collection, but I've played through Halos 1-3 ODST and am now near the end of Halo 4:

Halo 1 - sucked. Also, **** the Flood.

Halo 2 - average. It tried to incorporate more storytelling and actual characterization (and the new cutscenes from Studio Blur are amazing), but the actual story is all over the place and expects you to just accept certain aspects rather than showing or explaining them. Also, the Flood are back. See Halo 1 for more on that.

Halo 3 - average. Less storytelling than in Halo 2, oddly enough, but better level and encounter design. However, all logic; reason; and good game design go flying right out the window when the Flood show up...again, more cheap and annoying than ever. REALLY see Halo 1 for more on THAT.

Halo 3 ODST - I actually liked this one. Above average. The game's on the short side, but I like how the game incorporates storytelling into its world design, and how combat is often quite optional. It also has one of the more coherent stories in the series, even if no other game in the entire franchise references it or anything you do in it. Also, THE FLOOD AREN'T IN IT.

Halo 4 - OK, I'm really surprised how much I'm digging this one, considering I wasn't so hot on it when it first came out and I played an hour or so of it. For one thing, it can't be understated enough how gorgeous this game is. Compared to Halo 3, it looks like a ****ing Xbone game. And I'm not just referring to polygon counts and shaders. This game's artistic design is just incredible, as to be expected from the folks who once made Metroid Prime in largely 9 months. So far, the levels have had varying scenario types, so (unlike nearly every other Halo game) you don't spend 99% of your time running into a room; watch it flood with enemies; massacre them; wash; rinse; repeat. The storytelling is well above-average, with easily more actual characterization for Cortanna and Master Chief than in the rest of the series combined. It also helps that those two talk fairly constantly, as opposed to previous games in the series where MC only talked maybe 3 times in an entire game and you rarely saw Cortanna at all.  Also, the new enemy type (the Prometheans) are The Flood done right (who, by the way, AREN'T IN IT), and they're actually fun to fight instead of frustrating.

So yeah, so far the MCC may be the biggest and best collection of mediocre titles ever assembled on a disc, but at least Halo 3 ODST & Halo 4 have been the saving grace.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 03, 2015, 05:28:34 AM
Convoy

VORRROORMMMM VOORRROOOMM VROOROORM

What do you mean you want a mini review?

VVVORRMM VORRRM

It's a bit ugly, but the gameplay is pretty solid. It's FTL-like, but not nearly as brutal as it doesn't have the tight tolerances that FTL has which requires near perfect play even on normal. The event tree's results are pretty much random outside of a same handful, where in FTL most of the event trees are fixed.

There also is't any running away, once combat starts, it's do or die. Another problem is armour which is sort of like shields become near useless about half way through the game as it gets shredded and there is nothing you can do about it. It becomes a DPS/healing fight opposed to FTL's deeper and more clever combat where it is more than possible to not take any damage and are encouraged to so do. There are actual shields ingame, but the enemy will almost always gun for your MCV meaning any shields you can place on it gets dropped very quickly just from the amount of damage from the opening salvo.

That said there are some clever things in this game. Ramming is something that is quite viable and sending bandits into walls or off cliffs never gets old. The Boss fights are a hybrid of pattern recognition moment ot moment manoeuvring. It offers more over-world freedom with no hard time limits, although there are some soft ones. Jostling for position for line of sight or to ram is speed chess like, although there is a pause if you want to take your time.

If you want a SUV based rogue-like with a handful of pop culture references this is your game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 03, 2015, 12:17:02 PM
I've heard Halo: Reach is one of the better titles in the series, Broodwars. If you feel so inclined, you should check it out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 03, 2015, 12:24:30 PM
I've heard Halo: Reach is one of the better titles in the series, Broodwars. If you feel so inclined, you should check it out.

Funny...Reach was actually my first Halo game many years ago when I borrowed it from a friend at work. Got a few missions into it, and it really didn't click with me. Now, that could be because at that time you couldn't swap Halo's wonky control scheme with the now-standard CoD one. It could also be because it was a prequel to a lore I wasn't familiar with at the time. Regardless, when Reach is added to the MCC (which is inevitable, really, give that it's the only FPS title in the series not in the collection now), I'll give it another shot.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on June 03, 2015, 12:41:18 PM
I find it hilarious that your statements on the Halo games goes against what the entire fan base believes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 03, 2015, 12:58:35 PM
I find it hilarious that your statements on the Halo games goes against what the entire fan base believes.

Regrettably, recent visits to the Master Chief Collection's GameFAQs board have made it clear that the Halo fanbase is perpetually 8 years old and despises change of any kind. I nearly did a spit take when I saw one of them claim that Halo 3 looks better than Halo 4. -_-'
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on June 03, 2015, 03:08:02 PM
I find it hilarious that your statements on the Halo games goes against what the entire fan base believes.

Regrettably, recent visits to the Master Chief Collection's GameFAQs board have made it clear that the Halo fanbase is perpetually 8 years old and despises change of any kind. I nearly did a spit take when I saw one of them claim that Halo 3 looks better than Halo 4. -_-'
They are all Halo 3 obsessed. I believe the first two were the best in the series. Halo 3 is really bland and bad. Truthfully, everything past Halo 3 is actually bad because I personally think the series is dead.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 03, 2015, 03:26:20 PM
Never liked the Halo series. Couldn't figure out what the hook was. When I played it on PC, the controls were unimpressive, the enemies were bullet sponges, the level design was awful, weapons lack punch, sound track was ok, but felt repetitive quite quickly. Oh and **** the flood.

If this was your first FPS and never developed any perspective, then I guess your stuck?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on June 03, 2015, 04:26:59 PM
Yeah, I'll jump on the bandwagon here and say that I also never understood what the big deal about Halo was. I played through 1 and 2 near release, and then years later got Halo 3 from Gamefly and got bored after two hours and couldn't bring myself to slog through one of these games again. I also have the apparently uncommon opinion that 2 was significantly better than 1, because the Arbiter was an actual character with an interesting ability, and you could skip the atrociously un-fun Flood because they were fighting the bad guy aliens.

I also have more strongly negative feelings toward this franchise than I would otherwise because it standardized game design concepts that should not have been standardized, like health regeneration and only being able to hold a few weapons. Finally, I remained baffled that people hold the art design of the Halo games in such high regard. It's always looked like a generic fake video game you'd see someone playing for a few seconds in a movie or commercial.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on June 03, 2015, 07:35:15 PM
Eh, not everyone's slice of cake.

PC versions of Halo are universally bad.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 03, 2015, 07:42:03 PM
They might be bad ports, but it had nothing to do with the mediocrity of the games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 04, 2015, 03:56:39 PM
Visually, I thought Halo 1 & 2 Anniversary looked "fine". Nothing especially exceptional, but they got the job done. Halo 3 just looks terrible, though: a relic of being an early-gen 360 game, looking particularly muddy. ODST looks better, but not by much. Halo 4's really the only one of the bunch to marry fantastic artistic direction with technical prowess.

From a gameplay perspective, I really don't think any of the Halos stand out as being particularly noteworthy. Frankly, I don't understand the attraction this series has gotten, as its insistence on "shoot from the hip" and generic monster closet design is particularly dull. ODST & Halo 4 tried to change things up with more varied scenarios that incorporate a variety of vehicles and environments with varying elevation and tactics, but they still feel constrained by the Halo legacy. I've noted this on Twitter, but the Halo series has to be the only series I've ever seen where its fanbase is fighting to keep it from becoming more strategic and interesting.

It's certainly been an interesting experiment playing these games, as you can pretty much see the gradual evolution of the shooter genre over the course of the series. I can certainly see how the lore sunk in with some folks, as there's a rich universe to explore here that's...almost nonexistent in the games themselves. I still don't get the insane fervor for the series itself, though. Everything it does has been better done in other shooter series like Killzone; Resistance; GoldenEye 007; Perfect Dark; CoD; etc.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on June 04, 2015, 11:26:58 PM
Viewtiful Joe:
I came back to this to see if i got better at action games enough to appreciate playing this game more.

Nope i am still incompartible with it, it seems.

Same complaints: obnoxious environmental hazards, claustrophobic screen not showing you the entire area -- i just can't jel with this game.

I am at the beginning of second level and i am already facing a roadblock -- two cowboys that can shoot you offscreen. So you have to go by audio cues and time activating slow-mo just right and you have to account that there are two of them. Usually i just run out of juice and then run around in civilian form until i get killed by a shot from off screen.

There is an optional fight before two cowboys and boy it's a slog. Four black mook and two flying bombers after a while two mooks come in to play. One of with grenade launcher and the other homing rockets launcher. You really need to be "on it" constantly to know where guys with grenade launchers come in because you need to give them full priority or they will kill you simply by moving towards the edge of a screen and shooting you dead from there.
incompatible

Super Mario World (VC on Wii U):
Used Club Nintendo points to get it for free on wii mode and then transferred it too Wii u for 2 euros.

It's okay i guess (i'm in a cave, i think it's third world). Feels less momentum based that 3 so that good, but Mario is still a bit too slide-y for my tastes.

There are still too many open spaces with nothing going on especially in pipe shortcuts, i don't get it. What's the point of creating a pipe shortcut only to place a few coins in there?

Stealth Bastard Deluxe (VC on Wii U):
5-6 is a level meticulously designed to be as annoying as possible. First part is very finicky and requires very precise movement, second part is a slow ass slog taking a minute where you are manipulating robots and switches and mostly just stand there waiting for things to happen. It's also very trial and error and not very puzzley at all.

I gave up and just looked up the solution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjdw4KDqBqw). I'm glad it's over.

Also some Bayonetta (finished tutorial (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKFHYlmnpw)) and some Super Meat Boy (collected 50 bandages and currently completing Dark Work Salt Factory).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 05, 2015, 12:28:35 AM
Halo is highly regarded mostly because of it stable multiplayer scene, I think. I has a lot of options and has always been reliable, so consumers feel they can trust it.

I've never heard a single person praise the single player campaign, so that's my assumption.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 05, 2015, 01:33:04 AM
I appreciate its "shoot from the hip" nature, pretty much specifically because it's different from other things. Aiming down sights gets old after a while.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on June 05, 2015, 01:38:06 AM
Sometimes in Viewtiful Joe, you just have to button mash your way to victory.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on June 05, 2015, 01:57:48 PM
Halo is highly regarded mostly because of it stable multiplayer scene, I think. I has a lot of options and has always been reliable, so consumers feel they can trust it.

I've never heard a single person praise the single player campaign, so that's my assumption.
Maybe its just nostalgia, but the campaign with someone on the couch with you is really fun. I never played the multiplayer until like 2011. Level design and story are more or less ****, but it was still fun.Then again, I'm not the average Halo fan either since I think Halo 3 is crap.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on June 12, 2015, 04:46:30 PM
@Azeke per Viewtiful Joe, I'm fascinated that you're relatively down on this game. Like, I felt like W101 was essentially impossible for me to ever get good at given how chaotic it is and how many moving pieces are in play at any given time, but I understand this as a personal limitation. But I was able to complete a rainbow V run on Viewtiful Joe when I was in college.

I've been playing:

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS):

I'd heard not-so-great things about this game, but given that Bowser's Inside Story is one of the best RPGs ever made in my opinion, I went in optimistic. But yeah, the standard complaints are pretty glaring. The game feels like you're moving through molasses somehow with everything you do, from drawn-out battles, slow movement speed in the overworld, laggy menus, cumbersome Luiginary object sections, dull "story" scenes, overabundant tutorials, etc. The 2D dream world sections are also consistently boring, a real shame given how the Bowser gut elements really shined in the last game. I actually do like the articulated sprite approach to the characters in the 3D environments, but the overall art design is quite bland. Lastly, the witty and subversive writing the series is known for is very toned down this time around, with only that golden globe helper guy poking through. I'm about halfway through, and I'm thinking I might just walk away.

The Witcher 3 (PC):

I'd never been interested in this series, what I gathered was a fairly technical PC-ey take on the genre, but I gave this a shot given the very positive critical and player consensus. I was surprised by how much I liked the opening section of the game leading up to the griffin hunt. It looks really good, imbues the world with a unique, colorfully melancholy tone based on swampy psuedo Eastern Europe locals. Pandora's Tower did enough to familiarize me with crafting systems, so it's not overwhelming as I'd feared. Now that I'm in the first full-sized region, though, I'm getting bogged down quick, with close to 20 quests backed up in the log, and no clear direction about where to go next on the main story line with the Bloody Baron. Similar to Assassin's Creed, the controls get more and more aggravating as the game goes on, to the point where I dropped the difficulty because I was sick of dying in sloppy, staggering fights. And the more I play, the more the veneer of the game wears thin and it feels more like open-world game 439. I like it a good deal more than Elder Scrolls or Fallout, but suspect that I will become fatigued before the end.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on June 26, 2015, 01:16:12 AM
Whatever, I'll post twice in a procedural update:

Witcher 3 (PC):


I got properly hooked into the Velen main plot structure, and was really impressed with how the various quest lines meshed together and how much you could affect the outcomes, either through immediate action or long-strung-out consequences. It elevated the experience above the gameplay fundamentals, which remain kind of shitty, and it's very rare at this point that I'll take that trade. But then I went to Novigrad and spent six or seven hours in that ecosystem, and my enthusiasm for the game died off swiftly. The intricate quest design went to hell, I guess because you're in a city and it severely restricts what can happen with the game engine, and it became a terrible dot chasing slog between dialogue scenes with a few perfunctory enemy clots. (Also, fist-fighting in this game is fucking worse than Assassin's Creed 2.) I finished that main thread and resolved to do no more sidequests, and then went to Skellige, but when I saw it was another huge-ass map with a wintery mountain theme, I just turned it off. Might not ever boot it again.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team (3DS):

I walked away from this at about the same time I started Witcher 3, and then went back to it after I walked away from Witcher 3. Compared to the fastidiousness of the Witcher game and long blank periods of traversal, I found myself enjoying this game more than I did initially. All the original complaints still stand, but I've been picking up the 3DS and playing twenty minutes at a time here and then, and find it far more tolerable as a result. The New 3DS boot times and sleep mode are big contributors, and I also don't have to keep track of jack ****. I find myself trying to nail Expert Challenges for a session, because the basic fusion of action-RPG and turn-based elements are genuinely fun in small doses. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on July 05, 2015, 06:28:33 PM
Spent time with Batman: Arkham Knight It's a decent game, but probably my biggest disappointment of 2015. The Batmobile man, the Batmobile. There is no need to jam it into so much of the action. I don't play Arkham games to play Tank Battle! Why does Riddler care about the car?

On a positive, the game is beautiful and a technical marvel. (PS4) The combat feels good, and there are plenty of little treats they threw into the background for Batman fans.

The tone of the game feels weird though. You know what it felt like? It felt like the last season of a great TV show that has went on too long and half the original cast has moved on and you don't care anymore and just want it be over.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 05, 2015, 07:14:53 PM
I was pretty disappointed in Arkham Knight as well. Personally, it's possibly the weakest of the Arkham games, even worse than what I played of Origins. There's just nothing "special" about anything you do or who you interact with, as the villains just feel thrown in without a care to how they're used. And yeah...the Batmobile. I like it, but the game uses it as an excuse to turn BATMAN into a SHOOTER as you spend 50 hour blowing up wave after wave of generic tanks. I'm not sure it's my BIGGEST disappointment this year (FF Type 0 HD makes a pretty solid case for it), but it's down there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on July 06, 2015, 10:12:57 AM
Payday 2 (PC): I think I'm in love. Game is buggy more often then not, but the concept and execution of heists is done so much better then GTA V's. Beautiful game but need to be tweaked a lot.

Don't like how it has raped my HDD though with the amount of space it is taking up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 06, 2015, 11:50:12 AM
Yeah, my brother picked up an Arkham Knight PS4 last week on a whim, and I've gotten about halfway through most of the content threads. It's a really odd experience and often downright depressing. It looks great technically, it plays as smooth as ever, but the whole thing feels like its struggling for a reason to exist. The batmboile is actually integrated very fluidly into the controls and game systems, but absolutely sabotages the overall experience through the insecure idiocy of its constant inclusion. I usually wouldn't bother complaining about Video Game Logic (TM), but this is Other M levels of bad. Almost every problem or obstacle has Batman go "Hmmmm, what can I do about this . . . I know, I'll jump the batmobile in here in a ludicrously over-elaborate fashion so I can use its jumper cables, nevermind about that batwing."

The side missions are also really wan, open-world-itus activities for the most part, chase 8 transports, beat up 25 checkpoints, clear ten towers, etc. There are very few indoor areas comparable to the intricately designed highlights from previous games. There's also a number of new modifiers and enemy behaviors for the brawling that make the whole process too chaotic and fiddly to manage, on top of fights being much rarer now in favor of batmobile, so you never quite get polished.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on July 06, 2015, 12:57:47 PM
Payday 2 (PC): I think I'm in love. Game is buggy more often then not, but the concept and execution of heists is done so much better then GTA V's. Beautiful game but need to be tweaked a lot.

Don't like how it has raped my HDD though with the amount of space it is taking up.
Wait till you get a 30MB update then call it rape. Love the game, but the updates...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 06, 2015, 07:09:56 PM
I burned through The Walking Dead: Season 1  on PS4 pretty quickly once I got invested into the story.  Played it a 2nd time with my wife once I knew it'd be something up her alley.  From a storytelling standpoint, this game deserves all the praise it got.  I'll make mention that we had a few technical problems that soured the experience playing through the 2nd time with my wife:



Once we finished up the 1st season and the 400 days DLC, we've started up on The Walking Dead: Season 2.  Immediately the game seems to be a bit cleaner looking & detailed.  The button prompts are also a bit different, as well as adding directional movement QTE to the gameplay moments.  Admittedly, I don't think this is a good addition. 


The story has been ok so far, with playing as Clementine working better than I would have expected to both from a storytelling standpoint and doing a good job of instilling a sense of dread. The first episode has some bad pacing issues in the beginning, along with some events that seem disjointed/purposeless, but picks up as you near the halfway mark.  The 2nd episode has a surprise reveal that I still don't understand how it's possible given the events of the first season, but am curious as to if they'll better reveal how Kenny survived either scenarios Lee gets separated form him.  I'm still enjoying the 2nd season, but there's a little bit too much disjointedness so far and less a reason to be invested as in the first season.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 09, 2015, 03:16:29 AM
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (360):
This is a weird game.

It sound paradoxical but Portable Ops -- a lazy cash-in cobbled together of MGS3 models and a cheap rope felt more of MGS game than this.

Peace Walker changes every single game mechanic:
"Bosses" so far are all just mechanized war vehicles (tanks, LAVs and other similar machines), so there is no personality attached to them, no backstory and no Assasin's Creed-style final speech because it's just a helicopter or something.

These bosses feel like they've either been design around co-op exclusively or with a monumental grind in mind. You only have two weapons -- even less than in Portable Ops! And if you want to take down "boss" non-lethally you need to dedicate one of the slots to either Mosin-Nagant (tranquilizer shooting sniper rifle) or tranq gun.

Weapon limitation wouldn't been as bad if you didn't went out of ammo not even 10% into the fight. So i suspect they want you to level-up your weapons until it becomes good enough so you can kill bosses in one go without calling for support (which reduces your rank). Or just play with three buddies.

If boss has troops accompanying it the only way to approach the battle is to throw a smoke grenade and then take down the troops one by one and send them flying into the air by attaching balloons to them and repeat until there are no more reinforcements.

This is a shocking downgrade in boss design both from gameplay and writing viewpoints. Previous games all had some outrageous great diverse characters that sometimes were even fun to fight mechanically.

Here -- have a tank or something, i dunno.

I actually really like hand-drawn cutscenes, It's actually 3d in-game cutscenes that look bad for me -- because of the same Snake's absent never-changing face, no emotion no nothing, it's like a dead mask. Very distracting.


DMC3 (360):
Spent a lot of time playing and finally after about 3 years and 100+ hours of playing i can say that i am officially mediocre at it. Yay. I S-ranked normal campaign but it took me a ridiculous amount of time and retries.

My main problem is how DMC3 commits you into animations only allowing to get out of the combo in certain windows, so you have to know when exactly is the next opening in a combo and to time them to stay safe and not get hit. In Bayonetta and NInja Gaiden you roll away whenever you like, but in DMC there are moves where you are locked in and can't do anything if you see a demon attacking.

Eventually i just started to completely stop attacking a full second in advance when i see an enemy starting a swing at me. So i just stand there and wait until attack comes and then i do short jump (the most safe evasive move).

Playing this type of game makes me rethink entire Bayonetta combat because of how elementary Witch Time makes it -- basically each time you dodge all enemies get become immovable for about three seconds. Only on Non-Stop Infinite Climax where Witch Time is disabled you get closer to how DMC3 plays on even on Normal.


Assasin's Creed: Rogue (PC):
Game is like a mish mash of all previous games: building city from II is back, and so are random assasins from Brotherhood, but you also have managing fleet from III and IV and overall setting and even characters from III.

Seeing features from II cropping up in this game made me retroactively realize how much of a gamechanger III was. It dropped so much from previous games and it all stick so now seeing "old features" coming back and merged with post-III series is jarring and weird.

By now i am fully a templar for all intents and purposes but game still pretends main character can't put 2 and 2 together and doesn't know it, despite that my new clothes have a templar cross and i a have been killing "bandits" with assasins flags for a while now.

Motivation for main character for going rogue was kinda weak and amounted to simple miscommunication.

Weird how assasins that come up randomly and try to kill me are all identical, scruffy looking women, maybe Ubisoft just made one model and didn't felt like doing another one


Super Meat Boy (Steam):
This game took over my lunch breaks for the last weeks.

In a way this is as much of a grind as managing mother base or launching ships in Cormac's fleet minigame because it's almost endless too -- collecting bandages, unlocking characters, finding and beating warp and glitched levels, getting A-rank times on everything, and each of these little goals may take hours to do because of how stupidly hard it became it this point.

It's obviously much more involved than just staring at TV watching some numbers change though. Beating all levels in a world in one go requires an average player like me to figure out the most safe patterns and play each one of them for hundreds of times.

Most of the characters feel like useless gimmicks, but Ogmo (from Jumpman free games, i actually played several of them before that, they're pretty cool) feels like a full upgrade over regular Meat Boy. It also seems like some of the bandages can only be reached with Ogmo's double jump. Not only Ogmo's double jump gives a lot more mobility but you also get a lot more control because second jump nullifies your momentum in the air.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 10, 2015, 08:49:08 AM
Taking a break from meatier games before delving into The Last of Us: Remastered, I've been burning a lot of time into Rocket League on PS4.  Very surprised it was announced as free for PS+ on release, as I was mulling over buying it outright. 
 
The game is like an over-the-top car version of soccer.  The games range from 1v1 to 4v4, but the online games & league mode are the most fun to me in at least a 3v3 mode.  You play on a field surrounded by a cage which you can drive up and across.  There is a boost gauge you fill by running over yellow markers on the ground, whcih are good to catch up to a runaway ball, or if you're aggressive, you can boost fast enough to destroy opponents' cars if you ram into them.  You also have a double-jump that works pretty well for both blocking shots and turning yourself around if you find yourself facing the wrong way.  Games last 5 minutes, which given the fast-pace nature of the game is perfect for a very frantic, generally high scoring game.
 
Fun game.  Don't hesitate to download if you have PS+.  There have been some occasional challenges in the servers showing offline for the game occasionally, but i'm hoping that's a temporary problem due to the game coming out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 12, 2015, 04:26:49 AM
Gotta chime in again about Arkham Knight (PS4):

I'm about 80% done with the content, keeping pace with story progression. It's really just kind of a weird fart of a game, with insane production values. And worse character art design than ever, replete with absurdly bad faces.

I'm overall kind of shocked at how thin most of the main and side missions are, with an aching lack of defined "levels". In one sense I admire that they took the game in such a direction to avoid repeating the open world formula for the third time with the franchise, but it necessitated making the "world" a contiguous space. As a result much of the city feels like it's part of a construction zone with open tower heads and bizarre cut-away spaces that accommodate the fluidity while rendering most of the play space generic and illogically constructed.

Like, so far the only bit that felt like the beautiful core of the first Asylum game was the airship segment, because it was contained, specifically designed, and could not factor in the batmobile, while still introducing a novel environmental control factor.

To me, the first Asylum game felt like Metroid Prime, a joyful leap into a new idea of 3D game design. Knight feels like if Metroid Prime 4 came out and it played like a Battlefield game half the time while dragging along vestigial elements of the original formulation.

A much better tack to take with the game would have been to base it around the team-up elements, which currently act as novelty set-pieces. The instinct with the batmobile, to expand the scale of challenges and involve a second actor in environmental interactions, is sound and compatible with Batman's MO, and would have been far better realized with a batpool of allies you accumulate whom you can switch to as seamlessly as you can call the batmobile, each with different abilities and fighting styles.

I even kind of minorly enjoy the tank **** but it doesn't jibe with the rest of the established gameplay at all and is the knuckle of the whole enterprise. This is reflected I think in the paucity of gadget and upgrade stuff. A significant chunk of the upgrade tree is dedicated to throwing gadgets at punks as you're gliding toward them, a very edge-case scenario that is almost never necessary. Other upgrades revolve around tetchy super-charged finishers and such other contextual scenarios that don't meaningfully rejuvenate the base hook of combat or sneaking.

I'm also bewildered that two of the functions on the gadget wheel are completely optional to the plot (and side plot) and are extremely easy to miss. I happened to find both but if I hadn't I would have had no clue where to seek them without cheating and would be friggin baffled and confused about certain obstacles. Like, if you could find the electro-gloves optionally, that you could activate or not, that would have a major drawback but would change the fighting tactics, that would be a fine bonus for the fastidious, but the goddamned electro-gun and freeze grenades? C'mon!

Of staleness also was the rogues gallery, with noticeably worse and Kindergarten-level characterizations. But I was absolutely delighted when Professor Pyg showed up, I think for the first time outside the comics, even if they whiffed the execution in most ways. I wish more of the game had drawn from Grant Morrison-era Batman. As to the identity of the Knight, this was embarrassingly obvious from this first minutes of his appearance in the game if you have any familiarity with Bat-lore, like even from just watching the cartoons. And from there it gets even more insanely obvious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 12, 2015, 09:41:33 AM
I wanted to talk a bit about Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze for a second.

I got this game for free thanks to Club Nintendo, and while I would say it's an incredible platformer with the right level of difficulty, I probably never would have played it if it didn't include co-op. I enjoy banging my head against the wall with RPGs, but not so much with platformers, and there's a number of areas in this game so far that I simply would not have had the patience for if it weren't for the inclusion of a determined friend. Also, I have not once been to a secret level because of how insanely difficult it is to find puzzle pieces. That IS how you get to secret areas, right? They aren't just mocking me for getting through the level without exploring every nook and cranny?

The soundtrack is also wonderful, and I've not yet felt like the underwater segments have been overused (I just reached world four). Autumn Heights was absurdly difficult, but the next world (Savannah-something-or-other) was very easy and a great release in terms of difficulty and visuals. The bosses are also something that I would become far too aggravated with if going alone- they are just so damn annoying.

But I can honestly say that I'm enjoying this game, and never having finished Returns, I am much more open to checking that game out again after I complete this one. It might be a rough transition because of controls and graphics, but I feel like I owe it to the series after having played what might be my favorite platformer in a long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 12, 2015, 04:21:45 PM
They also used Professor Pyg in the Beware the Batman animated series, although (because it's a kids show) he's substantially toned down from his comics incarnation to be an animal rights nut.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 14, 2015, 05:32:20 PM
They also used Professor Pyg in the Beware the Batman animated series, although (because it's a kids show) he's substantially toned down from his comics incarnation to be an animal rights nut.

Ha, wow, and I thought they'd pussed out on him in Arkham Knight. Motherfucker is dark, these are the dolls:

(http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/18154/3838663-professor_pyg_0001.jpg)

Also, correction to my previous comments: the electricity gun is required for the endgame missions, you can just find it at any point in the game. In my playthrough upon being warned by Alfred of extra tricky traps, Batman says something like "Good thing I already found it!" It's still a bit silly, and ice grenades are completely missable (and one of the most useful gadgets when you're dealing with mixed crowds with unpunchable WWE guys).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 25, 2015, 10:27:43 PM
Super Mario Sunshine:

Holy god, how the hell is this camera this bad? After playing about 80 stars into Mario 64 upon its Virtual Console release earlier in the year, I can decidedly say this game's camera is considerably worse. I just can't get past it, even with the fudge of the hover nozzle the platforming here is quite a bit less precise than something like Galaxy. I'm not sure I can make myself go on with this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 26, 2015, 08:44:46 AM
Re-playing Half-Minute Hero (PSP, playing via PS TV). Anyone who played and enjoyed 8-bit RPGs will (probably) love this game. The main mode is really a puzzle game based on RPG tropes more than an actual RPG, but is quite funny and very easy to play in short bursts. There are a handful of other modes in the game that really help give the game a lot of variety.  Apparently this game was a massive retail failure - that's a shame because it is a really great, really quirky title.


Also playing The Walking Dead: Complete Season 1 (Vita, playing via PS TV). Part way through the first chapter and enjoying it. Definitely not charming or relaxing the way Half-Minute Hero is, but still engaging. There are some minor technical issues with the Vita versions... but I expect that from TellTale games regardless of platform.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Dasmos on July 26, 2015, 10:25:07 AM
Taking a break from meatier games before delving into The Last of Us: Remastered, I've been burning a lot of time into Rocket League on PS4.  Very surprised it was announced as free for PS+ on release, as I was mulling over buying it outright. 
 
The game is like an over-the-top car version of soccer.  The games range from 1v1 to 4v4, but the online games & league mode are the most fun to me in at least a 3v3 mode.  You play on a field surrounded by a cage which you can drive up and across.  There is a boost gauge you fill by running over yellow markers on the ground, whcih are good to catch up to a runaway ball, or if you're aggressive, you can boost fast enough to destroy opponents' cars if you ram into them.  You also have a double-jump that works pretty well for both blocking shots and turning yourself around if you find yourself facing the wrong way.  Games last 5 minutes, which given the fast-pace nature of the game is perfect for a very frantic, generally high scoring game.
 
Fun game.  Don't hesitate to download if you have PS+.  There have been some occasional challenges in the servers showing offline for the game occasionally, but i'm hoping that's a temporary problem due to the game coming out.

Rocket League is great fun. Best new multiplayer experience I've had in a few years I think. Very simple to pick up, but difficult to master. They've seemingly got past all their server issues as I haven't experienced any for a while. Get this one PS+ owners before it costs money!!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on July 26, 2015, 11:20:17 AM
Mario and Luigi: Dream Team (3DS):

I walked away from this at about the same time I started Witcher 3, and then went back to it after I walked away from Witcher 3.


I'm ashamed to say Dream Team is the only game I've ever stopped playing after sinking 30 hours into it.  I just couldn't take it any longer.  I don't play many games, and therefore don't regret time spent playing games that often, but this was a major regret.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 26, 2015, 02:48:49 PM
Batman Arkham City (PC...through Nvidia GRID on my SHIELD Android TV)
Started playing this on Xbox 360 with my nephews over vacation. Awesome game and series...gonna pick up Arkham Knight for PS4 soon.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 27, 2015, 12:41:56 AM
Super Mario Sunshine:

Holy god, how the hell is this camera this bad? After playing about 80 stars into Mario 64 upon its Virtual Console release earlier in the year, I can decidedly say this game's camera is considerably worse. I just can't get past it, even with the fudge of the hover nozzle the platforming here is quite a bit less precise than something like Galaxy. I'm not sure I can make myself go on with this.
The camera is sensitive enough that you can wipe it to get a better angle during fast-paced platforming. A rookie mistake most people make with the camera in Sunshine is keeping it insanely zoomed out when it excels in the mid range. There's a certain rhythm to Sunshine, especially when using the hover nozzle, that allows for multiple camera readjustments. If positioning the camera isn't important to you in 3D platformers, then I can't really say much more to convince you of its merit.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Woof. I've played Splinter Cell briefly with a friend, doin local co-op, but he more or less guided me though the level and I did as I was told. With the recent Ubisoft sale I decided to give this series a proper go. The game seems to delight in throwing the player into crappy circumstances with under leveled abilities and taunting them with objectives they could in no way complete with a particular play style (ghost, panther, and assault). That being said, when the game does give you time to plan out approaches and hide yourself and your gadgets properly, it's extremely rewarding and satisfying. I was a bit embarassed playing co-op online however, as I was unfamiliar with the map and died many times in different ways. In any case, the missions have been mostly fun so far but I'm going to grind some money so that I'm better prepared for what is to come.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 27, 2015, 01:28:09 AM

The camera is sensitive enough that you can wipe it to get a better angle during fast-paced platforming. A rookie mistake most people make with the camera in Sunshine is keeping it insanely zoomed out when it excels in the mid range. There's a certain rhythm to Sunshine, especially when using the hover nozzle, that allows for multiple camera readjustments. If positioning the camera isn't important to you in 3D platformers, then I can't really say much more to convince you of its merit.


Yeah, I've said this before on this forum in other contexts, but Sunshine is actually an important game in design history for its radically hands-off approach to the camera. Controlling the camera is part of controlling the game. Virtually every 3rd-person game at this point just assumes that you're babysitting the camera most of the time on the right stick as a primary function. Interestingly Nintendo did a total 180 away from that in the 3D Mario games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 27, 2015, 05:39:48 AM
Maybe it's just because I've been playing a lot of Galaxy 2 lately as well, and in that game the camera just works, without any micromanagement.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 27, 2015, 07:23:28 AM
Because the level design is markedly non-three-dimensional in Galaxy, in that it's perspectives are focused on showing you only what you need to see rather than letting you see what you want to see. In playing Super Mario 3D land, I noted how obvious the hidden stars are, or how simplistic the paths to obtaining them can be. Because you become so accustomed to not-seeing what you want in those titles, it's now obvious where things are hidden. This has an adverse effect in Sunshine, where secrets are hidden in much more obscure places because it's so easy to spot things with your camera.

There's a definite trade off in specific titles, but Sunshine's movement and caned a systems are far nore impressive than subsequent titles in the series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 27, 2015, 07:35:16 AM
Yes, the way it works in Galaxy is certainly because the more linear design allows them to tailor the camera better to certain situations. But the fact that Sunshine's more open and ambitious doesn't negate the fact that its camera system is an atrocity. This game could really use a Wind Waker-style Wii U remake with a better camera and replacing the blue coin system with actual levels.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 27, 2015, 08:06:48 AM
You use the term "atrocious" quite freely. What exactly is so bad about it? It has centering, focus, and free handling modes.

Galaxy's camera has far worse flaws, in my opinion.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on July 27, 2015, 11:05:03 PM
Galaxy's camera has far worse flaws, in my opinion.


Yeah, like you can't really move it at all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 27, 2015, 11:43:04 PM
There is nothing impressive about camera logic in Sunshine.

Because there is none.

It just trails behind unless you take control of it. 64 had more camera AI than this.

Stockholm syndrome-ing oneself into liking this kind of camera doesn't make it good.

There was little to no polishing done on camera. Just on like the rest of the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 28, 2015, 12:45:09 AM
About 40 stars into my replay of Galaxy 2, I can honestly say I haven't yet run into a situation where the camera really bothered me. You can't control it, but I've never felt like I needed to. Compare that to it making me rage quit during the 5th shine in my Sunshine playthrough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 28, 2015, 03:06:50 AM
Ah, see... Camera AI is another story. Yes, there is little camera AI. I guess I just prefer direct control, especially in exploitable environments, which the galaxy games do terribly. I see my appreciation of the camera and its functions no differently than how some people play through flawed character action games and convince themselves the poor design choices are worth appreciation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 28, 2015, 03:56:12 AM
Yeah, in terms of control Sunshine's lightyears better than 64, in the sense that you can actually control it effectively with the C-stick, I just felt like it needed too much babysitting and had a bad habit of shifting around on its own when I really didn't want it to. Maybe if I stick with it I'd get used to that, but I'm not sure I feel like going through that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 28, 2015, 05:13:20 AM
I just felt like it needed too much babysitting and had a bad habit of shifting around on its own when I really didn't want it to. Maybe if I stick with it I'd get used to that, but I'm not sure I feel like going through that.
Camera isn't even the main problem of Sunshine.

The man problem would be uncharacteristic lack of QA and polish for Mario game. Then gimmicky levels with physics that doesn't work at all yet still ended up in (watermelon, pachinko). Misaimed attempt for a story.

I remember Michel Ancel's interview when he mentioned that when that Miyamoto mentioned Beyond Good and Evil and had the gall to say Ancel that he should have looked at how camera doesn't work in Sunshine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on July 28, 2015, 08:43:33 AM
The man problem would be uncharacteristic lack of QA and polish for Mario game. Then gimmicky levels with physics that doesn't work at all yet still ended up in (watermelon, pachinko).


I knew that watermelon level was bad even as a teenager playing Sunshine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BiteThePillow on July 28, 2015, 09:56:34 AM
Ugh, the fruit and Yoshi should have been omitted entirely. Sunshine kind of reminds me of Jak and Daxter, how the fun parts were really fun, but the bad parts almost made me snap the disc in half.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on July 28, 2015, 01:38:35 PM
Mario Sunshine is the reason I have no problem with Nintendo either delaying games like the upcoming Zelda, or using DLC to add to them like Splatoon.  Sunshine is so blatantly rushed and unfinished it's not even funny.  Yes Wind Waker was also unfinished but at least the content in that game wasn't as broken and terrible as some of the stuff in Sunshine, and some of Wind Waker's biggest flaws were a lot easier to fix like improved sailing and making the Triforce quest less tedious like they did in Wind Waker HD.

This is probably why they haven't bothered to release an updated version like Wind Waker since the amount of work to bring Sunshine up to par would basically require them to turn it into a completely different game by the time they were done and that kind of effort is better spend on just making a new game anyway.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 29, 2015, 05:00:01 AM
I just finished Life is Strange Episode 4, and...wow. Just...wow. If you haven't gotten into this series yet and you like adventure games, you really need to play Life is Strange. It's one of the most emotionally effective games I've played all year. I just hope the final episode (TBA) manages to stick the landing, which is often a problem in detective thriller stories like this. *cough*Heavy Rain*cough*

I'm going to be playing the new King's Quest next, now that Sony finally fixed their pre-order screw-up. I've never played a game in this series, and this one just looks fantastic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 29, 2015, 06:58:45 AM
I just finished Life is Strange Episode 4, and...wow. Just...wow. If you haven't gotten into this series yet and you like adventure games, you really need to play Life is Strange. It's one of the most emotionally effective games I've played all year. I just hope the final episode (TBA) manages to stick the landing, which is often a problem in detective thriller stories like this. *cough*Heavy Rain*cough*

I'm going to be playing the new King's Quest next, now that Sony finally fixed their pre-order screw-up. I've never played a game in this series, and this one just looks fantastic.

Got a few questions for you on life is strange:
 
What's the gameplay like compared to say, a telltale adventure game?  Wiki makes it seem the rewind feature affects the outcome, but are there decision trees in dialogue and/or the actions you take?
How long has each episode been?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 29, 2015, 12:58:50 PM
I bought N++ on PS4, and holy **** is this game not screwing around. Even in the tutorial-ish levels I'm often dying several times. I was a big fan of the original, and so far the only thing I can complain about here is it's not on Vita. Pure hardcore platforming goodness, and there are apparently literally thousands of levels to go through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 29, 2015, 01:17:58 PM

Got a few questions for you on life is strange:
 
What's the gameplay like compared to say, a telltale adventure game?  Wiki makes it seem the rewind feature affects the outcome, but are there decision trees in dialogue and/or the actions you take?
How long has each episode been?

Don't want to step on Broodwars' toes, but I'd say the gameplay is comparable to the first season of Walking Dead, where there were actually kind of puzzles and you sort of had to do stuff to progress. The rewind feature is the gameplay hook, and the game structures the occasional obstacle around it. I've only played the first three episodes, but each has been around 3 hours if I recall correctly. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 29, 2015, 01:50:50 PM

Got a few questions for you on life is strange:
 
What's the gameplay like compared to say, a telltale adventure game?  Wiki makes it seem the rewind feature affects the outcome, but are there decision trees in dialogue and/or the actions you take?
How long has each episode been?

Don't want to step on Broodwars' toes, but I'd say the gameplay is comparable to the first season of Walking Dead, where there were actually kind of puzzles and you sort of had to do stuff to progress. The rewind feature is the gameplay hook, and the game structures the occasional obstacle around it. I've only played the first three episodes, but each has been around 3 hours if I recall correctly.

To add on to that, there are definitely branching conversation paths you can take, which the rewind feature lets you explore a bit (though sometimes the game will lock you into a series of choices w/ an area transition).  And while there have definitely been puzzles, most of them are minor ones centered around "how do I get this item to this location when this event or obstacle is in my path at this point in time?" And yes, I've found the standard episode length around 2-3 hours, depending on how thoroughly you explore, how deep you go into conversation trees, and how many optional conversations you engage in (compared to Telltale's games, there are a LOT of NPCs you don't "have" to talk to, but who offer information or minor choices that pay off in later episodes).

That does change significantly in Chapter 4, though. There are some pretty significant logic puzzles and one MAJOR, intricate Sherlock Holmes-style investigation puzzle you need to do where you take all the clues you've gathered across the previous episodes & form a deduction from them. Also, episode 4 is quite a bit longer than the previous episodes, clocking in at around 4-5 hours for me.

It's also worth noting that, unlike Telltale's games, Life is Strange actually...functions on a technical level. Aside from a framerate issue I ran into that was related to my PS4 just being on too long (which I resolved with hardware reboot), I haven't run into a single crash, weird jank, or choices not carrying over correctly.  The only serious flaw I've run into on a presentational standpoint is that character lip flaps just don't sync to the dialogue (and there's a bit of a "dead eye" problem with the models, where character just stare at you during conversations). They never have, and the developers have acknowledged their engine just can't do it. It's just one of those things you have to overlook in favor of just really solid storytelling and characterization.

I will say this, though: don't go into this series expecting heavy action. This is very much an "indie movie"-style adventure game, with a focus on character interaction and mood rather than "OMG!IT'SAZOMBIE!KILLIT!" It's a slow burn that I've found very rewarding to come back to every few months when a new episode releases and just enjoy "being in the moment" with the characters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: stalfo on July 31, 2015, 02:47:12 AM
Hey everyone, been playing a few games. SMT Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker and Rhythm Heaven. Both first games I've played in their respective series.


I'm really enjoying Devil Survivor 2, put about 22 hours into it so far and enjoying the gameplay and the story. Although there are times when it can get frustrating because you just get dominated and have to restart a level. Its has the famous demons and fusing systems in the game, but this time you summon them through your cell phone. The 3D is pretty much useless because the top screen is mostly just stats for the demons and the action takes place on the touch screen, yet ironically enough you can't use the stylus to navigate the map during battles. The sound track is pretty great and the voice acting isn't bad, but the overall volume of the game seems to be a little low to me. Overall though, I'm really enjoying it.


After hearing a lot of talk about the new Rhythm Heaven game, I decided it was time for me to pony up and get the original for the DS. This game is so whacky and fun I absoutely adore it. I haven't gotten to far, just wrapped up the third remix and looking forward to getting more time into it this weekend. My favorite game so far is BlueBirds, that little duck giving the commands with the voice is so great.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 31, 2015, 09:21:13 AM

Got a few questions for you on life is strange:
 
What's the gameplay like compared to say, a telltale adventure game?  Wiki makes it seem the rewind feature affects the outcome, but are there decision trees in dialogue and/or the actions you take?
How long has each episode been?

Don't want to step on Broodwars' toes, but I'd say the gameplay is comparable to the first season of Walking Dead, where there were actually kind of puzzles and you sort of had to do stuff to progress. The rewind feature is the gameplay hook, and the game structures the occasional obstacle around it. I've only played the first three episodes, but each has been around 3 hours if I recall correctly.

To add on to that, there are definitely branching conversation paths you can take, which the rewind feature lets you explore a bit (though sometimes the game will lock you into a series of choices w/ an area transition).  And while there have definitely been puzzles, most of them are minor ones centered around "how do I get this item to this location when this event or obstacle is in my path at this point in time?" And yes, I've found the standard episode length around 2-3 hours, depending on how thoroughly you explore, how deep you go into conversation trees, and how many optional conversations you engage in (compared to Telltale's games, there are a LOT of NPCs you don't "have" to talk to, but who offer information or minor choices that pay off in later episodes).

That does change significantly in Chapter 4, though. There are some pretty significant logic puzzles and one MAJOR, intricate Sherlock Holmes-style investigation puzzle you need to do where you take all the clues you've gathered across the previous episodes & form a deduction from them. Also, episode 4 is quite a bit longer than the previous episodes, clocking in at around 4-5 hours for me.

It's also worth noting that, unlike Telltale's games, Life is Strange actually...functions on a technical level. Aside from a framerate issue I ran into that was related to my PS4 just being on too long (which I resolved with hardware reboot), I haven't run into a single crash, weird jank, or choices not carrying over correctly.  The only serious flaw I've run into on a presentational standpoint is that character lip flaps just don't sync to the dialogue (and there's a bit of a "dead eye" problem with the models, where character just stare at you during conversations). They never have, and the developers have acknowledged their engine just can't do it. It's just one of those things you have to overlook in favor of just really solid storytelling and characterization.

I will say this, though: don't go into this series expecting heavy action. This is very much an "indie movie"-style adventure game, with a focus on character interaction and mood rather than "OMG!IT'SAZOMBIE!KILLIT!" It's a slow burn that I've found very rewarding to come back to every few months when a new episode releases and just enjoy "being in the moment" with the characters.

Sounds perfect for what my wife & I are looking for.  I like some of the tense action stuff, but she cares more about the dialogue & story.  Not only that, but the technical failures of Telltale games make it a bit aggravating when something glitches out or loading times make everything chug.  Thanks for the details.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on August 01, 2015, 10:30:02 AM
After hearing a lot of talk about the new Rhythm Heaven game, I decided it was time for me to pony up and get the original for the DS. This game is so whacky and fun I absoutely adore it.


I just picked up a $5 copy of Rhythm Heaven Fever for Wii and love it as well.  It's one of those rare games that is fun to play and everyone in the family enjoys watching.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 01, 2015, 07:14:11 PM
After hearing a lot of talk about the new Rhythm Heaven game, I decided it was time for me to pony up and get the original for the DS. This game is so whacky and fun I absoutely adore it.


I just picked up a $5 copy of Rhythm Heaven Fever for Wii and love it as well.  It's one of those rare games that is fun to play and everyone in the family enjoys watching.

I forgot to update with my findings! I too picked up a cheap copy of Fever and enjoyed playing in on the WiiU, only to learn that there is significant lag when playing the Wii mode through the TV. Afterward I booted the game on the Gamepad, and sure enough there was a lag on the TV that wasn't present on the Gamepad. But the irony was that I had already had the "lag" timing ingrained from hours of playing, and removing it totally screwed me up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on August 01, 2015, 08:08:11 PM
On Rhythm Paradise DS I have got up to Moai Doo Woop 2 and just can not continue, the slow section completely destroys my sense of rhythm.

I will probably pick up the Wii game if/when it's put up for download on Wii U.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on August 01, 2015, 11:39:27 PM
I too picked up a cheap copy of Fever and enjoyed playing in on the WiiU, only to learn that there is significant lag when playing the Wii mode through the TV. Afterward I booted the game on the Gamepad, and sure enough there was a lag on the TV that wasn't present on the Gamepad.


Interesting.  I consider myself fairly musical and didn't perceive any lag. Maybe I'll try it on the gamepad just to compare.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 02, 2015, 03:32:52 AM
I finished the first episode of the new King's Quest earlier tonight and it's really good, though it's just baffling how you have no control over saving. On a side note, I also don't understand at all why this game isn't on Wii U. It's being released on everything, and there's absolutely nothing objectionable about it from a content perspective. Everything is over-the-top; colorful; and cartoony, with the exception of one entirely bloodless death mostly off-screen. Maybe the Wii U wouldn't be an easy port and making the game run almost flawlessly on PS4/etc. was difficult enough as it was, but like Tembo I feel like it would have found some audience on the system.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 02, 2015, 08:54:15 AM
I forgot to update with my findings! I too picked up a cheap copy of Fever and enjoyed playing in on the WiiU, only to learn that there is significant lag when playing the Wii mode through the TV. Afterward I booted the game on the Gamepad, and sure enough there was a lag on the TV that wasn't present on the Gamepad. But the irony was that I had already had the "lag" timing ingrained from hours of playing, and removing it totally screwed me up.
Yep.

Punch Out!! is also made much harder on Wii U due to this...

I have to play it on gamepad.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 04, 2015, 03:50:46 AM
Galak-Z is just about everything I could ask for in a Robotech game...that's not named Robotech. I've reached Season 2, and I'm really digging it so far. The VHS-style UI, the spaghetti-style missiles, the pinpoint precision of your ship's turning ability, epic dogfights, and transformable-****ing fightercraft?!!! Yeah, this is my kind of game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on August 04, 2015, 12:46:53 PM
Quote
The Playstation Vita version [of Galak-Z] was cancelled
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Sounds like a game right up my alley. Eventual Windows release, I suppose... *sigh*
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 04, 2015, 10:00:59 PM
I've now spent a good half hour or more on one single N++ level on several different occasions, and I'm still fairly early.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 06, 2015, 12:22:55 AM
Playing

Binding of Isaac (original Steam release):
I know about Rebirth, but i feel like original flash game is fine as is. Despite DLC and remake coming since then original still has lots of content and is pretty cool by itself.

When i got the game originally, i beat it once and didn't feel compelled to replay it. But now, many years later i feel like getting as many achievements as i can and just like Super Meat Boy it has a lot of them.

I unlocked few more characters and interested to see all unlocks the game has.

Captain Toad:
Finishing up.
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/MlWA7730r84i8XBmUE)
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/MlWA7730tjIndTMUJF) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKFIuAdMuw)
I completed first two books and now finishing speedrunning third.

Bonus books challenges might be the hardest of them all, simply because how tedious they become especially because they all happen in the same levels only slightly rehashed.

Stealth Bastard:
S-ranking later levels (world 5 and up) is becoming ridiculous. Time limits became too tight and impossible to meet unless using almost-glitches stuff. I wonder if they didn't test it properly or fully intended it to be this way.

I was stuck on 5-7 for a few weeks until i gave up and looked it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDoqDxMBs5c -- super tricky jump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT0OdPf8h4U -- did it this way

Same was with 5-9.

I think the main problem is how rigid stealth mechanics are. All levels are puzzles that you can solve only in one way, and it also requires high execution skill so there will be a lot of repetition until you get it right. Rigid nature of enemies also doesn't allow for manipulating them in your favour which is often half of the fun in other stealth games, like MGS.

Metal Gear 1 (MSX game through HD Collection):
This game makes me feel tired. I appreciate how innovative the main idea, but it doesn't excuse insane backtracking and obtuse puzzles. It goes beyond simple Metroidvania formula with 8 (EIGHT) keys that unlock various doors all over the maps. By the end of the game all those separate keys will take half of your inventory.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 06, 2015, 07:08:41 AM
Finished my replay of Conker's Bad Fur day via Rare Replay and...wow. I had mixed feelings on that game to begin with, but man that game is a piece of irredeemable, singing **** now. Plus, in Rare Replay you take its unfunny gross-out humor; terrible camera; and poor scenario design, and you get to marry it with a controller the game was simply not designed for. The end result is that any time you're in a shooter sequence or a time when you need to aim a projectile, your aim swings wildly all over the place with the slightest stick movement because the Xbone control stick is simply better than the N64 one and the devs really didn't compensate for it.

And don't get me started on how godawful the shooter controls are later in the game when you have to move with the right stick and aim with the left.

Speaking of which, though, just this morning Microsoft released a patch that dramatically fixes the controls in Jet Force Gemini, and wow do they make a difference. Now instead of switching sticks when aiming, you can always just use the left stick to move & the right stick to aim. You also have Jump now on the A button rather than...Up on the Right Stick (because the original controls map all the original C buttons to the right stick). It can't be understated how completely that changes the overall experience, even if the character movement is still pretty twitchy.

And yes, Rare Replay in general is pretty awesome. There's an insane amount of attention to detail in the presentation, though I wish their N64 emulator was...a lot less faithful (Conker's framerate constantly chugs, true to the original). Also, I'm sorry, but all the Spectrum games suck. Every single one of them. And **** Battletoads on the NES. Seriously, I've never seen a game so gleefully eager to instant kill you in my entire life. I don't think it's actually possible to beat that game, even with Rare Replay's pre-N64 game Rewind feature (which lets you always rewind about 30 seconds of gameplay in the past).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on August 06, 2015, 08:30:14 AM
And **** Battletoads on the NES. Seriously, I've never seen a game so gleefully eager to instant kill you in my entire life. I don't think it's actually possible to beat that game, even with Rare Replay's pre-N64 game Rewind feature (which lets you always rewind about 30 seconds of gameplay in the past).


At the Classic Games Fest in Austin a couple of weeks ago they had a station to challenge people just to beat the speeder bike level.  I never saw a single person do it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 06, 2015, 09:09:01 AM
And **** Battletoads on the NES. Seriously, I've never seen a game so gleefully eager to instant kill you in my entire life. I don't think it's actually possible to beat that game, even with Rare Replay's pre-N64 game Rewind feature (which lets you always rewind about 30 seconds of gameplay in the past).

At the Classic Games Fest in Austin a couple of weeks ago they had a station to challenge people just to beat the speeder bike level.  I never saw a single person do it.

Speeder bike level isn't that hard (although like many levels in the game, memorization of the patterns helps a lot and beating it first go would be very difficult).

But there was one level late in the game that had you holding onto some kind of unicycle-like device and running from some kind of circular death ball. Never could figure out the controls there, and it always brought an end to my game...

Just did some research - the stage I couldn't beat was called Clinger Winger, and was the penultimate stage. Really, I just didn't understand the controls as a kid, and because it's a quick instant death that stage would always be the end of me.  It's a shame there wasn't some kind of practice mode that would let you skip to levels you needed practice on.


Edit: Worth noting that I don't mind at all using in-game warps to get to different levels. Don't think I ever played through from the first stage to Clinger Winger without skipping levels. That would be pretty crazy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 06, 2015, 03:37:52 PM
Man, Jet Force Gemini holds up way better than I was expecting now that the controls have been retooled for a dual-stick controller. There's just this constant feeling of momentum, the weapons & enemies scaled-up so quickly, and the level design's unexpectedly excellent for an N64-era shooter. I'm really having a blast replaying it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Louieturkey on August 06, 2015, 08:25:43 PM
I've been playing Sly 3 with my son.  He loves the Sly games and keeps replaying stuff over and over again.  Still kind of enjoyable even with all that.

My last game I played for myself is Beyond Good & Evil HD.  I'm loving this game more each time I play it. I really wish Ubisoft would finally announce the sequel.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 07, 2015, 12:54:59 AM
Rocket League (PC):
Played a few matches with a friend. Very accessible which is a must for couch co-op game where you don't want to waste ANY time explaining game rules and controls. I just said "soccer with cars" and he got it.

It could be that i still haven't figured out how to handle cars but it feels a bit random. Team work when it happens still feels good. We mostly played 2vs2 against bots and some 1 on 1 against each other. Also tried out 3 on 3 but that felt way too random.

The only small problem was that UI text was way too small, though it might be splitscreen issue.

Pre-ordered Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom-Pain on Steam and got it's demo Ground Zeroes for free:


MGS now controls just like any other standard third person shooter.




Good!

Finally, MGS has shed it's ridiculous control schemes. Especially with separate weapons and items switching on shoulder buttons -- an atavistic a vestigial relic coming from PS1 MSX (!). Decoupling lunge action from crouch/prone button is also a huge improvement -- no more crouching when you want to roll or vice versa.

Controls until GZ have all been of varying flavours of terrible. Ground Zeroes is literally the first time controls stopped being a hindrance in the series.

And in general, there was some serious redesigning made to the formula. The base that you're sneaking around is huge with lots of vast spaces. Soldiers are placed relatively sparsely and are seen and heard from afar despite you not having any radar equipment.

Taking cover is semi-automatic and you basically get glued to walls and objects automatically, there is no dedicated cover button.

Reflex mode is a neat addition that helps to overcome general inadequacy of all console third person shooters with limited visibility and action.

One playthrough is so short the game can be called a demo, but it's one of the most enjoyable, fun and intense 83 minutes i spent playing a videogame.

The story is very, VERY dark. Much more so than any previous games in the series. Tortures and rapes for everyone.

It's very fascinating how this one hour game crams in most traditional elements of other games in the series, from initial infiltration to vehicle escape sequence and story twists.

I highly recommend anyone to play Ground Zeroes despite it being heavily tied to Peace Walker story-wise. Improvements in controls and overall gameplay i think will be worth getting spoilered by PW's ending. Oh and it looks amazing graphically, that helps too.

Will try to 100% GZ while excitedly waiting for Phantom Pain...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on August 08, 2015, 10:21:05 AM
Metro 2033 Redux: It is like Fallout except it is polished, has a better story, more creative, and overall better everything (gameplay, physics, scavenging element, etc). But yet it isn't open world so it isn't therefore super popular. I'm enjoying the environment in the game a so much though. Your main character doesn't speak, but you can find notes that give his views on current events which is probably for the best since it goes into more detail then dialogue could.

MGSV: GZ: I just finished the only worthwhile parts of the game. The main mission and the two side ops, Jamais Vu and Deja Vu. These are the reasons to own the game. Main mission for obvious reasons, Deja Vu for great fun fanservice, and Jamais Vu because it changes up the formula of sneaking for an S Rank and is fun. Supposedly there are bonus in PP for a ton of stuff you do in this game so if you want that, then you have more then the 30 minutes. People who call this a demo don't even bother with half the game. Short? Yes. A demo? No. But I still have like 17 hours in it so far. Haven't done any of the other side ops except one.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein
: PC version crashes a lot on newer systems. I've tried patches and fixes, but nothing works. From what I have played, this is a great game and I enjoy it a lot. Maybe because I've have a WW2 itch that needed to be scratched, but I'm loving what I am playing. I just wish it didn't crash so much.

Chivalry Medieval Warfare: High skill curve. Bad players are too easy and don't help you get better and good players are assholes who use advanced tactics making it hard to learn. But killing is extremely satisfying because of how difficult it first is. Extremely fun if you can get into it. The game is ambitious for an indie title, but it is still and indie title. GPU/CPU intensive and extremely reliant on internet speed so it sucks for me most of the time. Horde mode is...interesting in this to say the least.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on August 08, 2015, 06:09:09 PM
Still playing Arkham City...trying to get 100%. I have Arkham Knight on deck, and a **** ton of other games I bought a while ago that are still in the wrapping...Alien Isolation, WWE 2K15, Tomb Raider, GTAV, Watch_Dogs, The Evil Within, Forza 5, Dead Rising 3, The Last of Us....
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 09, 2015, 04:30:25 PM
You know, Grabbed By the Ghoulies isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's just kind of...boring and disjointed, feeling like a game slapped together from mismatched parts.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 10, 2015, 02:23:14 AM
Finally tried out Rocket League after being relentlessly badgered by a friend of mine, and I've gotta say, yeah, it's pretty good. Simple mechanics, but executed very well, and extremely addictive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Louieturkey on August 10, 2015, 08:04:36 PM
I don't know if I'll ever stop playing Sly Cooper games.  My son fell in love with them again when he realized I had the HD Trilogy of the first 3 games.  He never actually played these, just watched let's plays or speedruns on youtube.  Now that I have it, he's constantly asking me to help him with it.  I don't mind as they are quite fun games. I guess we're going back to Thieves in Time tonight though.

At some point, he'll remember that he likes Disney Infinity and will want to play that all the time again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 10, 2015, 10:08:30 PM
I finally started up New Super Luigi U, which I've had since it came out but was holding off on until I beat the Mario campaign, which I did a few months ago. I really wish I'd come to this sooner, because this is really my kind of game. I was a big fan of NSMBU, but the shorter, harder, faster-paced levels in this give it a Super Mario Bros. 3 kind of feeling, which I prefer to the Super Mario World style of NSMBU.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 11, 2015, 04:20:56 AM
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture has a ****ing amazing soundtrack, particularly when it comes to choral pieces. The game itself? Well...it's an acquired taste. It's essentially a well-acted Radio Drama you have to walk very...very...very slowly through to witness play out in scattered segments. It's clicking with me, but I can see how it would piss some other people off. That said, it's WAY more compelling that something like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, which I recently played through and found profoundly boring. It helps that the game's art direction is fantastic & the radio drama portions come fairly often as you explore.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on August 11, 2015, 07:31:06 AM
Finally tried out Rocket League after being relentlessly badgered by a friend of mine, and I've gotta say, yeah, it's pretty good. Simple mechanics, but executed very well, and extremely addictive.

Rocket League is my "I can't stop playing this" game right now.  It's silly fun, and is so satisfying when you make a really good save, demolish someone else's car, or contribute to a goal in one way or another.  Thankfully, most games I've played online have been pretty close, many going into overtime, so the population right now must be even-handed enough at the moment.
 
Only gripe I have about the game is the online matches are almost unplayable if you have even one person with a bad Ping.  And when that happens, your car starts acting like it's possessed, shifting into the floor, shifting left and right in a stutter-motion.  .
 
That, and I'm probably done with 4v4 unless I want utter chaos.  1v1/2v2 seems a bit bare on the field to me.  3v3 is just the right mix of silliness & potential cooperation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on August 13, 2015, 06:18:40 AM
gosh, it's been a while since I've posted in this thread, but I'm quite bored right now, so...


Legend of Dragoon: This game holds up better than I would have thought and is kinda a true lost gem amongst JRPGs. I paritcularly like the way it handles Random encounters, what with the whole encouter risk meter the game has going on. It's also worth noting the Addition system being right at home in an era that would soon unleash Paper Mario into the world. This game is kinda like if Sonic Chronicles was good and made by Sony or something. even that description is a bastardization, but damn, this is a fine JRPG.

Senran Kagura Burst: I want to take a drill and detach alaska from the rest of the US and then reattach it to Hokkaido.

Really, I don't know what to make of this game yet, although I have strong impressions already. Radio Trivia actually pushed me over the edge to try it, so... yeah.

Dark Souls... Again.: I really cannot get enough of this game. it's amazing and I love it to death. <3 although man, it's kinda rough going back to it after you're used to the speed that Bloodborne moves at.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BiteThePillow on August 13, 2015, 04:20:41 PM
To me, Legend of Dragoon felt a little... manufactured, as if Sony were ticking boxes to clone a successful JRPG based on what was hot at the time. Maybe I judged it too soon. I only put a couple of hours into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pinny on August 13, 2015, 11:02:59 PM
I like playing games, shooting games such as counter is a challenging task to do. During the game, it's a thrill. Stimulation caused a lot all the time. It's fun and I am also a game that can be played with family. Do you believe that it helps the kids with my intimate time together. Play Together It is good for me. Do you think it's interesting, too?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 14, 2015, 12:36:05 AM
*looks at above post.* Honestly, I can't tell this time if that's a very good spambot or a badly-translated real poster, because that post is incoherent but actually on-topic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 14, 2015, 07:23:53 AM
Finally playing through Mega Man X (Wii U Virtual Console).  I've played little bits of the game multiple times previously, but never really sat down and gave a concerted effort. Now that I have started, surprised at how easy the game is... difficulty just feels really low compared to the 8-bit Mega Man titles I'm used to.


Still fun enough, but I think I prefer the non-X series.  Do later entries get better, or keep the same feel?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BiteThePillow on August 14, 2015, 08:01:20 AM
Finally playing through Mega Man X (Wii U Virtual Console).  I've played little bits of the game multiple times previously, but never really sat down and gave a concerted effort. Now that I have started, surprised at how easy the game is... difficulty just feels really low compared to the 8-bit Mega Man titles I'm used to.


Still fun enough, but I think I prefer the non-X series.  Do later entries get better, or keep the same feel?


Stick with it and it will get harder toward the end. The Sigma's Fortress bosses can be kind of tough, and Sigma himself is difficult the first few times (obviously not using hadouken on everything will help). But you are definitely right about the low difficulty when compared to the MM games. Yet, I have heard plenty of people tell me how MMX is brutally difficult. One of my brothers even says it's one of the hardest games he's ever played. I told him to go play MM1 and get back to me on that.

I dabbled in MMX 2 and 3, when I played the Gamecube collection at a friend's house years ago. They seemed much more challenging from the beginning, and the bosses are quite varied in how you have to fight them. But the difficulty may have stemmed partially from the Gamecube's crappy controller configuration. According to Johnny Metts and James Jones on the RFN podcast, the games are only good through about MMX4, then the series goes to ****.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 14, 2015, 08:54:05 AM

Well, I've been going through Sigma's fortress (I think that's what the bottom right corner space is?)  and have gotten through the first three stages easily enough.


Ok, there was one jumping moment that was super annoying and made me wish there was some kind of improved jumping upgrade... but that was more annoying than truly difficult.


I like the way that bosses get interspersed in these stages as mini-bosses you have to battle, and the actual boss designs have been interesting enough. The levels just feel very short and sparsely populated.  That will probably change before the end though.


Also worth noting that the game wasn't that easy before getting some of the power-ups. Easier than 8-bit games, but I died a few times getting started.  But a few health bonuses helped a lot, and then I found out that the two energy tanks I had been hoarding for the end-game were refillable... well, that was the end of any meaningful challenge (so far).


Quote from: BiteThePillow
... I told him to go play MM1 and get back to me on that.  ...


Hahaha... you didn't at least start him with the (relatively easy) MM2?  Meanness.

...  According to Johnny Metts and James Jones on the RFN podcast, the games are only good through about MMX4, then the series goes to ****.


Fair enough. I have 4 and 5 on PSN after a big sale a while back. Considering the price, even if the series did go to **** they should be fun enough to justify the purchase.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 14, 2015, 12:04:50 PM
Mega Man x is great. I played through 2 a little while back on the VC, and thought it was significantly worse. From what I've gathered, it just goes downhill from there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on August 14, 2015, 12:42:11 PM
Mega Man gameplay has never really clicked with me. Tried Mega Man, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero... my friend told me that, since I like RPGs, I should give Battle Network a try but I've been so consecutively let down by the series I am hesitant.

Mega Man-alikes do nothing for me either. Tried Shovel Knight. Great soundtrack, mediocre gameplay. Azure Striker Gunvolt was terrible, and I fully expect Mighty Number 9 to be awful as well.

As for me, I'm still chipping away at Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and enjoying it for the most part. It's just a terribly slow game. The characters are either dull as a brick or trying too hard. Gameplay is solid, much like Conviction, the game I played before this one briefly. I also just recently finished the original Phantasy Star, which I quite liked, but it had some serious dated aspects that made it hard to love. I'm moving on to Phantasy Star II right now and I'm blown away by the upgrade in presentation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 18, 2015, 11:43:51 AM
EA has apparently been paying attention to how much I play FIFA, because I was invited to the FIFA 16 Career Mode Beta. I was already 100% onboard with giving them my $60 on day one next month for it, but what I've played so far gives me absolutely no reason to reconsider that. The ability to train individual players in specific areas really is a game changer for how to approach this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 19, 2015, 01:17:44 AM
I've slowly come to the conclusion that I'm just kind of done with a lot of genres/trends in video games, and am going to wipe up some stuff I've had sitting around (or have meant to play for a long time) and find more productive uses of my time.

Here's the current wave:

De Blob 2 (Wii):

I bought this for $2 and change months ago, and finally fired it up this week after having somewhat enjoyed a rental of the first game when it came out years ago. I'm about halfway through and don't know if I'll continue. Having the jump function on a button is certainly an improvement, but the core gameplay is extremely thin and repetitive and has barely developed at all over the course of the campaign. It's been a long time since I played the first one, but I seem to remember it having more going on, or better integration of the musical aspect, or something. The 2D bits also get extremely tiresome very quickly.

Dust: An Elysian Tale (PS4):

I saw this kicked around on lists of good Metroidvania titles over the years, and finally picked it up on a sale off the PSN. I've beaten it, and kind of minorly enjoyed it in a way that I can't really justify, because it basically sucks. The combat, which is most of the gameplay, is very shallow and it's often difficult to tell what's going on with all the sprites rolling all over reach other. The platforming straight sucks, and the art design has an unpleasant disconnect between the characters and the environments that makes it feel very stiff and "budget" overall. Also, way too much story and dialogue with insufferable characters. The "Metroid" elements are perfunctory and unnecessary, mainly just there to prop up a gear/crafting system that didn't need to exist.

Sanitarium (PC):


I've seen this listed as a horror/adventure gem, so I gave it a shot off GOG. While I liked the atmosphere at approach to the genre at first, the game degrades steadily as it goes along. It also relies heavily on awful "puzzles" that involve interacting with an obtuse mechanism and fiddling with dials and buttons and levers and **** toward some unclear goal. Probably my biggest pet peeve with the adventure genre. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is a much better take on this kind of niche. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 27, 2015, 10:54:14 PM
Following up on my clearing house run:

The Talos Principle (PC):

This has been on my radar since it came out, but something about the descriptions of it made me wary. But with The Witness coming out who-knows-when, I decided to give it a shot.

I have real mixed feelings on this one. I'm glad it exists, and I've been extremely absorbed by it for most of my playthrough thus far, but I really wished it was better. When it's on, it's on, but I've hit too many bullshit puzzles at this point to give it a hearty recommendation. There have been a few cases where I've just looked up the vanilla answer, because I knew I could acquire the sigils using "meta-puzzle" exploits meant for the secret stars, and every time I've done so I haven't felt bad about it because I was stuck due to pretty lame design choices. Like, basic properties of the game not being made clear, solutions hinging on elements that you're trained to interact with in certain ways being different in one-off situations, intentionally misleading stage design, the fact that you can cheese through certain puzzles without it being entirely clear if it's intended or not. Also, overall, wayyyyy too many laser puzzles.

As for the secret stars, which I assume are necessary to unlock the top of the tower, they're cool in concept, but I've forgotten where so many of them are after having spotted them on the first run-through that I'm just going to use a guide to clean them up. And also because they involve going back through old puzzles to dig out elements and align lasers and such, and I don't have the patience to grind back through tons of levels just to locate star locations to begin with. (Plus, also, I looked up the clock puzzle because I thought there was a glitch and boy was that fucking silly.) I've gotten 9 on my own so far, though, and that's good enough for me.

I like the scenario, but they overdo it with an avalanche of text modules that become repetitive and meaningless. The background and "philosophy" also don't develop at all after the first third of the game, so it becomes increasingly irritating to read the same Problems of Philosophy 101 stuff over and over again, without any actual meat added to the apocalypse pre-history.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 31, 2015, 09:16:07 AM
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has drawn me back in thanks to the Capcom sale letting be download the game to 3DS.


I'm up to Mark of a Hero, and admit to having some trouble... as a Bow guy, it seems hard to get enough damage done in time. I checked online and the preferred "solution" seems to do the quest with G-Rank gear. That seems kind of like cheating when it's only a High Rank quest, and sounds like it would take me a lot of grinding. Meh.


That said, I only tried the quest once before deciding to go upgrade my (High Rank) weapons and armor. Will probably try again soon, after getting back into form after a few months of not playing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 01, 2015, 08:31:56 AM
Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain (Steam):
(http://www.gameondaily.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ishmael-metal-gear.jpg)
Downloaded the game on work. Work internet downloaded 20+ Gbs in minutes, my home computer by comparison spent entire day downloading the game (i initiated it from work on home PC with steam). It should be finished by the time i come home.

Only had the time to play for an hour during lunch break and that wasn't enough to complete prologue. It is a tutorial type mission where both you and a playable character go being an immovable plant to being able to control eyes, then you start to move and walk and so on. This is kinda smart.

As you learn controls you are being hounded by killer squad, supernatural freaks, and accompanied by a mysterious partner who is implied to be a figment of your imagination. Adding to the paranoia is that i am not even completely sure WHO i am playing.

Weird how default Y-axis setting is reversed, seriously threw me off. Also i see they fixed the bug with mouse cursor constantly appearing.

Good stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 04, 2015, 12:54:06 AM
More
Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain (Steam):
What else?

This game will likely take over ALL of my gaming time for the next month or so. And even my non-gaming time -- i am also playing this game on work during lunch breaks and before official work hours start. Work bus gets me to office earlier and that means half an hour more MGSV time for me.
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/431571960808727409/4E8837C266015973EFC9C78A64351DD0F28A7893/)
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/431571960808721861/2AA88FB7983957169363B21B6945A029C38072D6/)


Quote
Weird how default Y-axis setting is reversed, seriously threw me off. Also i see they fixed the bug with mouse cursor constantly appearing.
Apparently this happened because when doctor asked me to look up i accidentally moved my mouse down and game decided that i want it reversed. Kinda clever.

One of the harder missions so far was when they wanted me to destroy tanks:
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/431572596302360133/09B49488AB2018F42FE88E7515E5C6B62C0441F5/)
My strategy was to put horse in the middle of a road so that tank convoy would stop right on top of my mine C4 mines.

But then grinding reared it's head. At the beginning all the equipment you have is low-level and very weak. I wasted four C4s (entire arsenal on level 1) on one tank and it still wasn't enough to destroy it and convoy consists of TWO tanks and a truck.

I was forced to transfer more guys into R&D department, upgrade C4 and develop some basic rocket launcher -- to dispatch second tank.

Outside of mission structure and grinding TPP also inherited another part of Peace Walker. Snake's face is completely blank and emotionless all the time, and it's just as distracting here.

Even you expect him to express something, ANYTHING, he is still completely dispassionate. Even when D-Dog joins you, which is a very touching scene he's still standing there like "whatever".


In the first mission you get D-dog, it becomes striking how vast Afghanistan area is, simply because you can't ride your horse and have to run around more. I did it for a while until i said enough and called my horse back. Missions also sometimes leave you as far as 5 kilometers away from destination, so that you could do some additional sub-mission on the way there.

Ground Zeroes' base was around 300 meters squared, while TPP's Afghanistan is at least 4-5 kilometers squared. And most of it are rocks and dusty roads. All the action concentrates in outposts, bases, small villages. The only thing you can do while crossing plains is to collect some plants and micro-manage your base and it's rather tedious.

Apparently there is some fast travel system but from what i see it puts you right into the middle of a base surrounded by dozen guys and with limited ability to do recon. Ideally what you to do is when entering base is to find some high place nearby and look around marking everyone and everything.

Side-ops are placed all over the map and you are not ranked on them. That's fantastic. Grinding for S-ranks on side-ops in Peace Walker was terrible, soul-sucking grind. Now, you can do them just by entering designated area as you just ride around, so you can complete several of them at once.

They changed voice command menu and now you have additional action to confirm your command, it was bothering me because it was so easy in Ground Zeroes. I am guessing with so many new voice commands (like dedicated command ordering your horse to defecate) they wanted to prevent false positives.

Game wanting to be always-online is annoying because Konami's servers don't work half of the time and if they do, online adds noticeable lag to your UI. Simply opening your map may take you up to 10 seconds. Thankfully you can go offline and it plays just fine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 19, 2015, 12:05:37 AM
Continuing my elongated tying off of the hobby, here are a few more entries, with a theme!

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS):

I played the first game upon release (rental, thankfully) and remember finding it kind of fun, but very underbaked as a full release (thought it would now fit nicely in the Captain Toad tier that Nintendo has created). Nonetheless, I'd read some pretty positive impressions of this game, so picked up a copy.

I was kind of in love with it for the first two locations, and then partway through the clock factory I started to get impatient with the movement and pacing, and got really pissed off at the boss. Still, I do enjoy how tactile the game is and how it replaced the more dexterous ghost fights with increased interactivity and more puzzle-solving. I just wish that more of the missions did more with path gating, as I'm getting OCD about sweeping back over old territory to find Boos and such.

The 3D on this game is also great, works really well with the diorama style of the perspective, and in practice it's actually harder/worse to play with the depth off. Also, this feels a bit more like an Elebits-style game, where you're rooting through every available cranny trying to boost your score than the semi-action approach of the first game, and I think it's definitely an improvement. I'm going to give it a bit of a break and hopefully get some of my initial enthusiasm back. (I probably played it too much in a short span of time.)

New Super Luigi U (WiiU):


I had always intended to get this, but my brother sold my copy of the base game while I was on extended vacation, and after that I never spotted a stand-alone copy. Which are now apparently semi-rare, as I had to pay near $40 online for a used copy with shipping (Nintendo very frustratingly doesn't have a stand-alone eShop version).

So playing this for the first time today, during the first two worlds, I was like, this isn't that hard and is going incredibly fast, and then by the end of the water world I was sweating and thanking the stars that I managed to beat the final level with no lives left. I'm getting totally taken apart in Soda Jungle and have taken three continues. This game might actually be too hardcore for me.

Some observations relating back to the original game(s):

-The whole "only save when beating a fort or castle" thing is fairly innocuous in the base game, but is increasingly frustrating here. It was a bit of an irritating anachronism before, but now it's far more aggravating. I'm not even bothering with the star coins for the most part, in favor of just beating the game to unlock the free save.

-The art style: This and Nintendo Land were kind of baby's first HD game for Nintendo, and I think it manifested in making things overly clean, short of glossy and flat. A lot of the actual art and modeling is good, but would have benefited from sturdier textures and less school-photo-y lighting. It's jarring to see the heads on the airships; it would've been great if everything else in the game had that kind of unique grain. (Ditto Nintendo Land in some spots).

I do think they've made it past this pretty quickly though. Mario Kart 8 has a similar approach in a sense, but manages to pop much better, and 3D World has a very warm and textured presentation.

-Mini-Mario Pipes: I've spotted a few of these in alternate exit levels from the vanilla game, and it is disappointing. The Mini-Mario exits from the original DS game were one of the lamest elements of that fairly lame game, and I'm sorry to see that repeating here as an arbitrary gate that requires coming into the level with a rare/post-game item.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on September 19, 2015, 02:46:33 AM
Phoenix Wright :Trials and Tribulations.

Wow this game is getting real dark. This is going to end depressingly dark. Then on to Edgeworth investigations

Metal Gear V: TPP

I am both impressed by the little details like that little tune when getting on the horse and the designer's method to balance out Quiet by making here annoying to work with and lack of built-in transport the horse provides. That said, being open world brings alone it's inherent issues which is dead space which leads to commuting. Thankfully the maps are small compared to other games of it's type and areas of activity are clearly defined which lessen these negatives.

There are a lot of real time helicopter transitions which is there to no doubt to cover for the slower drives found in the consoles compared to an SSD where it should be near instantaneous, however they cleverly hide would have been dead space by giving you management tasks which materially effect the world. Managing your staff, developing new weapons, expanding the base, detailing missions, listening to tapes.

It also helps that this game has an incredible amount of content which you can go back to with better equipment so you can get higher ranks, and you still get rewarded something for completing them like money, more staff, missing blueprints you missed the first time round.

I haven't even touched on the multiplayer yet as I haven't reach that point in the game where that unlocks, but they just announced a dedicated mutli game which I will get for free, so this is excellent value at full price.

That said, $100USD is crazy steep, but I paid $100NZD which is one of the few times a game has been cheaper here instead. Same thing with XCOM 2, **** that **** is expensive.

GOTY material alone with games like Invisible Inc. Highly recommend both.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on September 19, 2015, 09:23:50 AM
I was kind of in love with it for the first two locations, and then partway through the clock factory I started to get impatient with the movement and pacing, and got really pissed off at the boss.


I loved the pacing throughout.  It was sort of a respite from the fast-paced games I had been playing at the time.  The only boss I really hated was the ice boss...it probably took me a dozen tries (or more) to beat it. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 19, 2015, 10:50:56 PM
I was kind of in love with it for the first two locations, and then partway through the clock factory I started to get impatient with the movement and pacing, and got really pissed off at the boss.


I loved the pacing throughout.  It was sort of a respite from the fast-paced games I had been playing at the time.  The only boss I really hated was the ice boss...it probably took me a dozen tries (or more) to beat it.

Yeah, I mean, I definitely find it refreshing for the most part. Partially it's an OCD thing on my side, where I will comb over every available room during every mission, but the fact that I'm able to do so is a design thing that I wish they had tightened up to save me from myself. The clock boss I found very frustrating partially because if you lose you have to start the whole mission over again with the elevator and such, and each run took about ten minutes three times before I beat it. Also, with the more intense ghost fights popping up, the limitations of the circle pad/lack of a C-stick is becoming more problematic.

Still a very good/unique game, though, and a notable improvement over the first outing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 25, 2015, 06:30:42 PM
Another report as I titrate down, this time with a vague time travel theme:

Super Time Force Ultra (PS4):


This was on my radar, as I'm interested in games doing more with temporal elements, and it popped up on PS+ so I gave it a download. First thing, this is pixel art done right. It's not trying to ape the aesthetic of a particular nostalgia platform, but instead uses the style to create a fresh visual approach that couldn't have been done in the olden days. So thumbs up there. Thumbs down for the attitude and "lol speak" writing, which is both overbearing and insufferable.

Gameplay wise, it's a bit of a uncomfortable mash of puzzle, strategy, and Metal Slug. It can occasionally be very satisfying to achieve effective time loops on discrete portions of levels, but for the most part the design is pretty bland and linear, making the prospect of replaying a long-term loom unexciting. I like that there's a wide selection of characters, but most are useless and it's easy to find a dependable handful and grind through most sequences. The boss encounters are better executions of this tight-time formula, but get kind of samey themselves. Overall I'd be interesting to see this time mechanic used in a slower-paced, more puzzle focused game.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS):

This frequently pops up on best of DS lists, so I ordered a copy recently with some Amazon gift certificate money. I really didn't know much about it, and have been a tad nonplussed to find that it's basically an unusually interactive visual novel. There's a lot of potential in the actual ghost-tricking gameplay portions, but the solutions thus far tend to be very straightforward and don't really take advantage of the adventure game template of having access to multiple locations. I also really wish you had a free hand to fast-forward and rewind in the timed portions, and rewatching narrative bits is very tiresome.

The art and animation is pretty great, however, and I actually do appreciate the density of the story and how much it loops back on itself. This is a very rare case where I'm genuinely curious about where the story of a video game is headed. There's a bit too much anime flamboyancy on the margins, but it could've been a hell of a lot worse.

Soma (PC):

One of the few new games I've been looking forward to. Despite the fact that I found Amnesia pretty underwhelming, I thought the original teaser for Soma was killer. I avoided media about it afterward, and I've been a bit disappointed to find that it has taken a significantly different tack than was implied. Overall it's quite engaging, but is more of an interactive narrative than something like Outlast or Amnesia. I tend to give this approach more of a pass when it comes to the horror genre, as it's the best fit for this kind of media meld, and the scenario here is fairly interesting, with a strong (if a bit over-familiar) atmosphere and detailed environments. There is the odd bit of Amnesia gameplay peppered about for short segments, and light puzzles here and there, but I have yet to feel any real pressure.

Boy am I glad that the events are real, and that the game isn't a manifestation of mental illness/trauma. But I am also disappointed that the deluded robots aren't hideously transmogrified humans, and are instead just misappropriated brain scans.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on September 25, 2015, 07:17:17 PM
Ghost Trick is so good and it only gets better, RFN game of the year 2011 no less.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on September 25, 2015, 08:39:03 PM
Until Dawn is what Heavy Rain should have been.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on September 27, 2015, 05:20:48 PM
Suikoden on my PS3 (PSone classic). Just got my base and I'm now beginning to recruit characters. Let's see if this keeps being as good as the first few hours were.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 28, 2015, 03:06:41 AM
I just finished SOMA myself on the PS4, and..I really didn't like the game. The science fiction part of the game was fine, possibly even great. However, it's just bogged down by tedious, unpleasant, repetitive horror hide & seek sections that add nothing to the game. The enemies aren't even scary, just annoying.  Hell, the game doesn't even bother to explain one of the biggest aspects of that horror element, despite it having a "resolution" near the end of the game. So much of the game is just spent fumbling around in samey underwater sections looking for something you can do that I just could not get into the game.  It also doesn't help that the game runs like ****, with the game constantly freezing every 5-10 seconds to either load more area or autosave.

Overall, SOMA just feels like a big bucket of ideas just thrown together with no regard to how they work together. It's a mess, and I really didn't enjoy it. The whole experience feels like a half-assed Alien: Isolation clone tacked onto a genuinely cool hard science fiction story.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on September 28, 2015, 07:22:27 PM
Continuing my elongated tying off of the hobby, here are a few more entries, with a theme!

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS):

I played the first game upon release (rental, thankfully) and remember finding it kind of fun, but very underbaked as a full release (thought it would now fit nicely in the Captain Toad tier that Nintendo has created). Nonetheless, I'd read some pretty positive impressions of this game, so picked up a copy.

I was kind of in love with it for the first two locations, and then partway through the clock factory I started to get impatient with the movement and pacing, and got really pissed off at the boss. Still, I do enjoy how tactile the game is and how it replaced the more dexterous ghost fights with increased interactivity and more puzzle-solving. I just wish that more of the missions did more with path gating, as I'm getting OCD about sweeping back over old territory to find Boos and such.

The 3D on this game is also great, works really well with the diorama style of the perspective, and in practice it's actually harder/worse to play with the depth off. Also, this feels a bit more like an Elebits-style game, where you're rooting through every available cranny trying to boost your score than the semi-action approach of the first game, and I think it's definitely an improvement. I'm going to give it a bit of a break and hopefully get some of my initial enthusiasm back. (I probably played it too much in a short span of time.)



Interesting you say that, I am stuck at the Clock factory boss and haven't retried to beat him more than half a dozen times. The five minute slog you have to go through each time you fail to get back to the boss Gauntlet is irritating. I don't like the camera angle on that fight either.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 28, 2015, 09:46:42 PM
I just finished SOMA myself on the PS4, and..I really didn't like the game. The science fiction part of the game was fine, possibly even great. However, it's just bogged down by tedious, unpleasant, repetitive horror hide & seek sections that add nothing to the game. The enemies aren't even scary, just annoying.  Hell, the game doesn't even bother to explain one of the biggest aspects of that horror element, despite it having a "resolution" near the end of the game. So much of the game is just spent fumbling around in samey underwater sections looking for something you can do that I just could not get into the game.  It also doesn't help that the game runs like ****, with the game constantly freezing every 5-10 seconds to either load more area or autosave.

Overall, SOMA just feels like a big bucket of ideas just thrown together with no regard to how they work together. It's a mess, and I really didn't enjoy it. The whole experience feels like a half-assed Alien: Isolation clone tacked onto a genuinely cool hard science fiction story.

I see what you mean and for the most part agree with these criticisms. Right after I picked the game back up from that post, I encountered the hour-long Outlast section, which was just a pain in the ass, and kind of bizarre given that nowhere else in the game is there an extended "horror" sequence like that. I was fine with that gameplay popping up here and there for a few minutes to add some texture/fiber to the interactive narrative approach, but they really should have stuck to that mix.

I did, overall, enjoy it though, as I thought the actual story and most of the progression was well done, but only if you look at it as a souped-up walking simulator, which I was fine with in this case. It didn't rely on twists and I thought it filled in its details well as it went along. But yeah, they totally dropped the ball with the Wau confrontation and the phantom guy. There really needed to be something else going on there, or a much better conclusion to that thread given that the Wau is the ever-present antagonist.

@shyguy

Yeah the clock boss is pretty awful. This game really shouldn't push dexterity based scenarios like that gauntlet given the control limitations. Should've been scrapped at the drawing board. The ice boss is also fairly shitty for different reasons, but it only took me two tries and didn't have the extended lead-up. I'm now on the last mission before the final boss, which is another enemy rush type situation, and failing it twice so irritated me that I haven't picked it up again. I'll finish it at some point, but my enthusiasm for the game only kept dropping after my first posts. I did like the motif of the final mansion, though.

I think this is a case where they haven't nailed the franchise yet. A full console game with the controls and pacing of the first game, combined with the expanded gameplay and puzzles of Dark Moon could be great, especially with full horsepower to juice the atmosphere and include better physics.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on September 29, 2015, 03:41:49 PM
I'm still addicted to making levels in Super Mario Maker. hehe
Other than that, I'm still in the middle of my Little Battlers eXperience save data (on episode 8, I believe), and started Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on Friday.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on September 29, 2015, 11:52:18 PM
Right now my current rotation consists of:


- Life is Strange (PS3) - need to start Ep. 4 before the finale releases.
- Lost Dimension (PS3)  - close to finishing my first playthrough.
- Super Mario Maker (Wii U) - Going to be there for a while.
- Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Wii U) - finished the second set of levels.
- Dirt 3: Complete Edition on Mac (Steam) - just for kicks, never finished the game on Xbox 360.
- Mario's Picross (3DS) - my break game at work.


I'll start up Mario Tennis for the retroactive now, and I'll occasionally be playing Splatoon and Smash Bros every once in a while.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on September 30, 2015, 12:36:36 AM
Metal Gear Solid 5 is not my thing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 30, 2015, 01:01:54 AM
Metal Gear Revengeance:
I always had the hardest time trying to get into this game. For two years now i was occasionally playing and re-playing demo on 360 every few months only each time leaving completely confused by it.

Now that i started playing full game, i realize it's not me. It's the game.

Revengeance makes a number of weird showstopper design goofs right from the get go. Not just for an action game which demands a lot more from both designer and player but these mistakes are so basic and "videogames 101", it's baffling.

For one, camera is completely busted and unplayable in default state. It starts to move on it's own when not asked and stays completely still when you want it to move. Camera thinks that putting a main character on aesthetically pleasing 3/4 position on screen and keep an angle that is strictly horizontal more important than you know, SHOWING ME WHAT I AM FIGHTING.

I generally never touch right stick to realign the camera and usually rely on camera AI and use manual locking-on if i stop seeing any enemy. I expect the game then to lock-on to some enemy and show them to me. Even since lock-on was invented in Ocarina of Time "lock-on" function was meant to inform the game that i want this particular enemy to stay in my viewpoint at all times.

In Revengeance "lock-on" is not even a recommendation for the game to change the angle. You can lock-on and the camera will ignore it and refuse to show me locked-on enemy or ANY ENEMY for that matter. What's the point of lock-on in this game then if it literally does nothing and actively ignores the function it was invented for?

Thanks to me playing on PC i was able to mod (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADXa33dK744) the game and "fix it".

I also personally dislike how main character is so squirrelly and moves semi-randomly in the middle of his attacks. How am i supposed to properly position myself if Raiden constantly moves all around the place? Also the way how you magnetically snap to enemies Batman-style is yet another way how this game thinks it knows better than you, along with camera with attitude.

Another problem is timing for parrying. It's kinda insane. I am used to parrying at the last possible moment from other action games. But in Revengeance this doesn't work because you have to get into parrying stance FULL SECOND before an attack. I expect the game to be faster than that and parry at the last third of a second and it fails and i take damage. Because i am too fast.

Also having to attack for parrying and having automatic snapping on to enemies basically forces you to mindlessly spam light attack. Maybe that's exactly what they wanted to do?

Another problem is enemies that shoot at you from distance. How are you supposed to take no damage if when i am fighting some group of dudes three new guys appear across the stage and start shooting at me? Ninja run at them? Okay, but then previous group of dudes start shooting at me. And when i run up to new guys i have to stop ninja running and can take cheap potshots. It seems like the solution is to constantly cause parry QTE during which you are invincible but it feels so dumb.

The problem with shooting enemies becomes 10 times worse when they have RPGs. Then you just die. Unless you do stupid "stealth" option to dispatch them one-by-one which feels like a complete lip service and feels completely alien in this game.

This game is one of the very few action game that doesn't make enemies more passive when they're out of camera viewpoint. In other action games camera AI and enemy AI synchronized to always give you a fair challenge to avoid attacks coming from blind spots. Revengeance ignores that established convention, so there will always be tons of bullets and rockets flying at you from offscreen.

Attacks that cause you dizzied and force you to do wiggle stick QTE are plain annoying. Attacks that shoot 100 hundred rockets at you at once and you are supposed to use blade mode to cut them in air are baffling too, because how am i supposed to get them all in blade mode without just spamming light attack in random direction?

I really hope i can jive with the game more than i am right now.

Game is praised for it music, but so far i only liked Mistral theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-rj8HVW3PQ). Previous boss track where i fought Metal Gear Rex was just some generic buttrock with some dude screaming something unintelligible.


Metal Gear Solid V:
Got the first "ending". It was stupid and bad.

Then the game kinda falls off even lower.

Cue 30+ hours and 50 side-ops later i reached second ending. It was so unsatisfying and completely pointless.

Then yet another 10 hours later i reached final mission with Quiet. It was enraging because you HAVE to have completely upgraded rocket launchers or you will die. And i entered this mission without knowing that so for a few days i tried to do this mission without upgraded rocket launchers which was a exercise in frustration. I couldn't even exit the mission to do it at later time more prepared because for this mission (and this mission only) option to abort mission is disabled. This is ultimate bullshit.

At least gameplay is still very good and redeems everything else.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 30, 2015, 03:32:46 AM
Persona 4: Dancing All Night is...intense. I don't know how all those people in my Twitter feed have managed to earn "King Crazy" on some of these songs. The best I've managed on any of the songs on "Easy" is "Brilliant" (the 2nd-best ranking). So far, I really like the game, but the track list is really repetitive. The vast majority of the track list feels like remixes of the same 3-4 songs. They're really good remixes, but there's only so many times you can hear the opening to Persona 4 remixed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on September 30, 2015, 05:32:16 AM
I never got King Crazy myself, but I think it's a combo of getting all Perfects and difficulty level.

And you'll get a little more variety once the songs from Story Mode unlock.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on October 01, 2015, 02:03:51 AM
My current rotation of games is:

Super Mario Maker, which is thoroughly depressing.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD which is enjoyable and much more streamlined, it's keeping a good sense of momentum going.
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, which is frustrating, but more enjoyable than the original campaign because of its customization.
Elliot Quest, which is brutally hard but so amazingly rewarding. This is the title that I play the least because it wears on me the most.
Phantasy Star 2, which is incredibly equipment-oriented, but really quite nice.

I'm trying to do a sweep of the games that have been updated and some that are in my backlog in preparation for the doozy that is going to be Legend of Legacy, Fatal Frame, Rodea, and Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on October 02, 2015, 05:57:28 PM
Still playing Suikoden.

I think I'm almost done with the game, though now it appears I need to stop to get some of my weaker characters ready (around Lv. 50) for the next army battle. The two things that aren't really that great about this otherwise very good game are the inventory and party management.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on October 02, 2015, 07:09:09 PM
My current rotation of games is:

Super Mario Maker, which is thoroughly depressing.



Why is it depressing?  Because it's hard to find good levels or hard to make them?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on October 05, 2015, 08:36:46 AM
Hard to find good levels, but also no one seems to want to play mine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on October 05, 2015, 08:58:47 AM
Dark Souls (PC): Not sure how this is a bad port. Got DSfix, got Watchdogs, got a PS2 controller working with a Xinput emulator and everything works perfectly. I've fallen through the ground twice and sometimes the game "freezes" you at a bonfire, but aside from that I've had a better experience then I have on console.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 05, 2015, 12:25:09 PM
Hard to find good levels, but also no one seems to want to play mine.

Ars Technica has a pretty interesting breakdown of how the "cream" rises to the top in visibility in Super Mario Maker.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/how-to-make-a-popular-super-mario-maker-level/ (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/how-to-make-a-popular-super-mario-maker-level/)

In case you don't want to bother, the TL;DR version is basically doing one or all of the below:



- Be one of the first people to make a popular level when the game released, then have your followers in-game continue to star your new levels.

- Be a youtube personality or someone with an outlet that gets attention, then advertise your levels via lets-plays on your channel.

- Have levels completely devoted to letting you get the amiibo costumes.





It's disappointing, if maybe not all that surprising that it's unlikely for your level to get exposure based on these factors alone, unless Nintendo does some work to change how you can search and providing a better algorithm for the trending levels.  That said, I think the entire article is worth a read.




Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 05, 2015, 01:10:27 PM
Good link to the arstechnica article.


What disappoints me most isn't that numbers are proving out my fears of what people are uploading during their chase for stars (ie: levels that I don't want to play), but the comments sectino where people defend no-touch, auto-scrolling levels getting rated higher than interactive stages because they are "works of art".


Some of those comments are made tongue-in-cheek... but not nearly enough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 05, 2015, 02:49:28 PM
Good link to the arstechnica article.


What disappoints me most isn't that numbers are proving out my fears of what people are uploading during their chase for stars (ie: levels that I don't want to play), but the comments sectino where people defend no-touch, auto-scrolling levels getting rated higher than interactive stages because they are "works of art".


Some of those comments are made tongue-in-cheek... but not nearly enough.


Just further illustrates to me the absolute need for there to be tags that users can use in describing games (autoplay, Amiibo, Maze, etc), and then let users filter/sort the levels by those filters.  I have no idea how hard that is to implement, but it's absolutely necessary for a game like this to stay fresh.


I don't think anyone expects mostly Mario quality levels to be made with this editor, but I'd much prefer to tailor the level selection based on my interests, and while I'm sure it takes lots of time and effort to make them, autoplay or "just hold right" levels lose their novelty to me pretty quick.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on October 05, 2015, 04:55:00 PM
Hard to find good levels, but also no one seems to want to play mine.


PM me yours, buddy. I'll play 'em and even give you my thoughts (the latter might not be so exciting to you, though. haha)!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on October 06, 2015, 12:18:05 AM
I can attest that I made a level with Shulk in it (thoroughly mediocre, but I did it just to test out some things) and until this weekend it was my most starred level.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 07, 2015, 12:44:15 AM
Transformers Devastation (PC, Steam):
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/392169271210652019/FEB257ACA710088A8F732BA6681C7ED29B4D5918/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531023681)
I was afraid to raise my expectations about this game after Korra, but judging on few first hours it's a better game.

Korra and Revengeance had a major combat debilitating flaw -- enemy design favored parry/block so much there was no reason to use anything else. Combat devolved into sequence of baiting enemies into parries, executing invincible QTEs and repeating ad nauseum.

Transformers is based more on Bayonetta and the main defense mechanic are dodge, witch time and dodge offset (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOVVmm4KOm4) with vehicle attacks as combo finishers.

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/392169271210638593/70C957E46203072374883AD4AA5DB6F51F74F86D/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531022267)

You can string vehicle attacks into rush attacks which also helps to isolate enemies -- this helped immensely in a mission against all six of Constructicons at once (not my video, but the same mission):


There are also some mechanics with shooting, something like Vanquish style, maybe? I've seen people rolling going into slow motion and headshotting robots like that.

Loot system with hundreds of weapon thrown at you is rather overwhelming, it also seems to have Kid Icarus style fusing or something? I looked at it, got lost and just left my default weapons as they are.

I also abstained from upgrading my weapons. RPG style leveling up and plain damage upgrades seem like was their sacrifice to general audience to ensure lil' Timmy can still have fun with the game without actually learning how to play by upgrading everything and killing everything in one-shot.

I really like how game deals with offscreen projectile attacks by showing enemy lock-on on you, giving you enough time to dodge in time.

I am still getting used to transforming by holding dodge button, it'd have preferred double tapping dodge like panther in Bayonetta.

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/392169271210645849/6A493CD6695D8D609CDBABD1D2BC1D07B44019A2/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531023047)

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/392169271210651172/4395353CDDAAF1DC500BC4779022B29A2A2B75A3/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531023590)
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/392169271210649279/1D4B74FA935A72FA7FB9CABEE8B50A28DD9FF52F/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531023408)

Unfortunately game has no cloud saves, so this means i can't play at home then resume my campaign during lunch break at work. I guess i could copy my save file manually...


FINAL BOSS (PC, free (http://se-made.com/)):
What an amazing shmup.


I've rarely played an official game with so much polish much less some random freeware game. Graphics, music, controls, animations even UI seem to have been polished to a sheen.

I love it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 07, 2015, 11:18:11 PM
I've been playing Super Meat Boy again with its launch on Sony platforms. The big story has been the fact that they had to change the soundtrack, which doesn't bother me at all, and other than that it seems to be a fantastic port both on PS4 and Vita. It's the same amazingly tight and brutally difficult platforming as ever, which I'm loving all over again, especially since it has seamless cross-save between the two versions, letting me pick up my save wherever I am.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 08, 2015, 12:50:01 AM
I've went back to Metro 2033. It's not a bad little FPS.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 09, 2015, 08:09:18 AM
I've been playing Super Meat Boy again with its launch on Sony platforms. The big story has been the fact that they had to change the soundtrack, which doesn't bother me at all, and other than that it seems to be a fantastic port both on PS4 and Vita. It's the same amazingly tight and brutally difficult platforming as ever, which I'm loving all over again, especially since it has seamless cross-save between the two versions, letting me pick up my save wherever I am.

Yeah, Reddit seems to be all up in arms about it, but I played it on mute on PC, so it doesn't bother me any.  Super Meat Boy is a game that's perfect for playing while listening to your own music or podcast.  That, and it's so much more enjoyable playing with a controller.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on October 09, 2015, 10:47:35 AM
Coming from a fan of animation and a number of the voice actors in Transformers: Devastation (including the source material), the voice acting seems very subpar and the cutscenes editing is quite bad.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Dasmos on October 12, 2015, 09:55:08 PM
Did anyone get into the Star Wars: Battlefront beta much? I really enjoyed it, definitely captures that Star Wars feel. Some ironing out of some balancing issues and spawn issues and it'll be a lot more enjoyable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on October 13, 2015, 11:35:28 AM
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PC): Really solid JRPG so far. Decent story. Decent battle system. Nice length of content. Characters are enjoyable. Detail in lot of places. Not the best ever made, but I would rate very highly.

Did anyone get into the Star Wars: Battlefront beta much? I really enjoyed it, definitely captures that Star Wars feel. Some ironing out of some balancing issues and spawn issues and it'll be a lot more enjoyable.
My friend played it. Said that it is a horribly balanced mess right now, but definitely enjoyable. Still very excited for it myself.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ymeegod on October 14, 2015, 02:23:19 AM
Throwing in the towel to Freedom Wars (PS Vita).

Man, so many things went wrong with this one.  You get to a point (2/3) towards the end when the level just SPIKES to insane levels.  Item drops are random and you can't buy anything decent so you're relying on upgrading your weapons which requires resources that are on certain level/maps but the game doesn't tell you what'll you'll find on what levels, you'll need a guide.

Hell, there's NPC's that trade with you can't even see what they are offering you in return.  For example, I give this one fook an extremely rare item and in return he gives me two shitty low teir items.  Since you're trading BLIND with no way to backout of a trade you're either need the GUIDE or not bothering to trade at all.

You fight the same enemies on the same maps, only difference is their HP keeps going UP. 

And lastly, you can't upgrade your basic stat (HP) which means even the lowest teir soldier can kill you. 

-----------------------------------------------

Stay away from this Nightmare of a game.
------------------------------------------------
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2014/07/playstation_vitas_freedom_wars_attracts_criticism_due_to_fierce_difficulty
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 15, 2015, 12:17:45 PM
Did anyone get into the Star Wars: Battlefront beta much? I really enjoyed it, definitely captures that Star Wars feel. Some ironing out of some balancing issues and spawn issues and it'll be a lot more enjoyable.
I watched some videos of people playing. It looks great, art style and all that. But it just seems to be yet another modern, online FPS. I really like all things Star Wars but am lukewarm on FPS's. I won't rush out to get a PS4 just for Battlefront. I want a SW adventure-type game, I do.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 15, 2015, 01:12:22 PM
Did anyone get into the Star Wars: Battlefront beta much? I really enjoyed it, definitely captures that Star Wars feel. Some ironing out of some balancing issues and spawn issues and it'll be a lot more enjoyable.


I burned about 30 minutes playing it.  It's a good game, it's just that if you know how Battlefield games play, you know what you're getting into, just with a layer of Star Wars Paint on it.  It's kind of neat to play a game in the Star Wars aesthetic, but overall just solidified why I feel I made the right choice in not preordering.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 15, 2015, 01:27:37 PM
This article (http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/12/9511269/star-wars-battlefront-beta-preview) on SW Battlefront made me slightly more interested in it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on October 15, 2015, 08:35:58 PM
playing a lot of Payday 2 and War thunder on steam lately great games, especially Payday 2 probably my most played on Steam now and for a guy who has over a 1000 hours on Gary's Mod...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on October 18, 2015, 11:25:18 AM
Alundra on PS3/PSV. Picked it up again after Gui spoke of it and to some extent I curse the mixture of pride and patience that I have invested in this. I have now finished ~10 dungeons and the last two "major" dungeons were really annoying, the first one moreso because it is really heavy on combat and the enemies there are hard to defeat and I ran out to buy healing items two to three times to actually get to the boss.

I will take on another "dream dungeon" later on and then I'll be more or less done with the game for now since it is getting increasingly hard to keep me engaged with the redundancies this game presents you with.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 20, 2015, 04:52:51 PM
Finishing up my rounds on the 3DS, only a few more titles to go and I will likely sell the puppy.

Fire Emblem Awakening:

So after becoming really absorbed in the virtual console release of Fire Emblem GBA, I grabbed this awhile ago and have only just gotten around to it in the last few weeks.

First of all, I sort of ruined the experience for myself by going with casual mode. I'm about 3/4s of the way through the game and I am just steam rolling through. On the other hand, I don't think I'd have the patience to deal with permadeath and re-doing entire levels at this point (I leaned on save states with the GBA game). I really wish they had included a middle-tier semi-casual setting that would include permadeath but also allow you to save a few times on a level.

Other than that, it's more Fire Emblem, and I'm not sure I need to play another of these games after this one. It does seem like they stripped out some of the more interesting environmental elements to levels in this game, and it's really irritating that most of the paralogues are gated behind grinding support relationships rather than achieving specific goals within maps. Easy and unlimited access to shops also takes the pressure off of item management. I was somewhat hesitant toward this game due to the 3D, but it actually snaps in and out of battles very fluidly (especially holding fast-forward) and there is a bevy of presentation options.

Chibi Robo: Zip Lash:

So halfway through this game is . . . okay. It plays well enough and I enjoy digging the collectibles out of the levels. Visually it's quite bland and the levels all feel like they're constructed from generic block sets. I actually don't mind the vehicle sequences I've encountered so far outside of the skateboard run and its lack of checkpoints. As has been copiously noted, the destination wheel is totally dumb and pointless. It wouldn't be that much of a hassle, except that getting in and out of levels is such a slog anyway, especially if you're leveling up the Amiibo. I would probably be less pleased with the experience if I hadn't gotten the bundle for $30.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on October 26, 2015, 12:17:35 AM
Metal Gear Revengeance (Steam):
Action games demand a lot more from both player and game design. Game has to be fast, fair and provide a freedom of options at every given moment.

Revengeance has some elements of that, but fails to bring it together. The biggest problem (one of the very, very many) is camera. It's not a even a design flaw. No designer in his right mind would knowingly sat down and designed most frustrating and malevolent camera in action games genre. They ran out of time or lacked people or something. It's an obvious bug. It's not supposed to be that way:

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/394420436263778338/11B9917F6497F5079960D969D62C363825621318/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=528940391)
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/394422442015422260/6428375C5863004BAA9F55A5A9113EFD0999FFAE/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=540853546)
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/394422442018428846/D43E9ED28486D35B96A92EAC3A576E6DE59A11F6/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=541457385)

The problem is actually three-pronged. In action games camera AI, enemy AI and lock-on mechanic are all interconnected always ensuring player doesn't get offscreen attacks and can see what's going on.

In this hot mess of a game, all three components **** the bed individually in spectacularly fashion and also fail to interact between each other. Lock-on completely overrides manual camera movement and thus becomes unusable in groups with more than one enemy (read: all of them). Camera fights you all the way through the game, and enemies are just fine with attacking you from off-screen.

At least i finally discovered "the secret" behind MGR. To parry you actually don't need good timing or deliberate attack patterns, which is what i expected coming from better designed games.

Apparently you just need to mash! It's that easy. When you see incoming attack jerk stick into the enemy and when you see Raiden go into block position, keep jerking the stick.

No wonder so many people like this game.

The other "secret" was that you're supposed to level-up your weapons, which is an outrageous proposition for an action game, because if you allow blatant damage boosting you can kiss your game balance goodbye. For example you can't properly set fixed time limit for getting highest rank because fully upgraded sword will kill a boss twice as fast. Unless you are setting the limit with fully upgraded stats in mind from the beginning but then it's even worse because you are now forcing players to grind and make it impossible to do a "perfect run" on single playthrough.

Concept of "perfect run" is also ruined by another design goof: shooting enemies. How are you supposed to "perfect" the game where most of the enemies can randomly decide that it's time to shoot at you and do 0.2% of chip damage to you ruining "no damage" bonus?

Sub-weapons (rocket launchers and grenades) also haven't been polished much. They just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game and when game forces you to use them it (save a civilian by shocking soldiers about to shoot him or shoot down flying enemies) it just becomes frustrating.

I've beaten it once and went on to Hard difficulty. Fully upgraded sword and mashing "technique" makes bosses on second playthorugh compete joke. I got no damage on Mistral in less than a minute.

Oh and unfortunately Mistral theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLvgvsI5jAg) turned out to be the only good theme song in this game.  All other songs continued to be cacophony with vocalist screaming his ass off.

Other bosses were fine i guess. Solid Platinum bosses, some nice use slicing mechanic. I kinda liked Sundowner boss fight in that regard.


Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain (Steam):
Grinding (http://abload.de/img/clipboard017cpd4.jpg) my ass off.



Wings of Vi (demo on Steam):
(http://www.newgamenetwork.com/images/uploads/gallery/WingsofVi/wov_03.jpg)
This seems like a good La Mulana replacement while i wait for a sequel.

It has similar hard difficulty and weird jumping mechanic.

Only Wings of Vi has some generic indie-game sprites, while La-Mulana had a more distinctive look based on images of various mythological creatures from around the world.

Outside of that this looks like a game for me.

Binding of Isaac (Steam):
(http://abload.de/img/bindinginsanityxrohg.jpg)
wut

Binding of Isaac continues to be a great lunch-break waster on work.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 26, 2015, 06:22:08 PM
Finishing up my rounds on the 3DS, only a few more titles to go and I will likely sell the puppy.
Do you sell all of your games when you finish them once, or do you not like the 3DS specifically?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on October 26, 2015, 09:15:33 PM
Middle Earth Shadows of Mordor.

If Batman murdered everyone in a flurry of steel and bone, it would be this game. The story so far has been forgettable at best likely from stretching a couple of paragraphs of the source material into it's own mini-epic. It has far less collectables, which is nice compared to the Batman games where there were far too damn many of them.

I still prefer the Batman games as the AI state changes as you pick dudes off, not that shanking a guy in the kidneys before silting his throat isn't enjoyable, it's different.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 26, 2015, 10:22:29 PM
Finishing up my rounds on the 3DS, only a few more titles to go and I will likely sell the puppy.
Do you sell all of your games when you finish them once, or do you not like the 3DS specifically?

I pretty much sell everything off when I'm done with it if I can get physical copies, as I don't really replay games at this point. I actually like the 3DS fine for what it is, but I'm not really into handhelds and mainly picked up a unit to play through the exclusives now that the console has mostly run its course. I probably should have looked into the library more closely beforehand, as it's surprisingly thin compared to the DS. As of now I think I've got Kid Icarus: Uprising, Metroid II on VC, and Box Boy on the eShop and I think that's about it. I wanted that DX version of Monster Tale, but it's apparently vaporware.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on October 26, 2015, 10:53:12 PM
My 3DS is basically a Fire Emblem (and Rhythm Heaven, when it comes out) machine, and I've only had it for a year.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 26, 2015, 10:54:11 PM
I've played through the PC "prototype" demo for the Valkyrie Profile-style 2D action RPG Indivisible that's up on Indiegogo, and holy **** that game is legit. It looks fantastic and plays very fluidly. Honestly, I'm not sure why this game is up for crowdfunding. You'd think with a showing this promising that it would already have a publisher.

If you're interested, the prototype's up for download on their Indiegogo page.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on October 28, 2015, 02:30:47 AM
I had a gift card and decided to burn some money by downloading some DLC for Fire Emblem Awakening. I'm doing my second playthrough and I love these extra classes. As a big FE fan I would say the two DLC chapters are worth it for the new classes. I do not plan on buying any of the others. Dread Pirate uses swords, axes, and magic. Princess Bride uses lances, bows, and staves.


Playing this just excites me more for IF. Can't wait for it to hit our shores.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: AnGer on October 28, 2015, 12:57:14 PM
Played the demo for Stella Glow, Atlus's upcoming "RPG for pervs" (Guillaume)...

...and if I was not sold on this game already, I would probably skip it after playing the demo. If The Legend of Legacy's demo was meaty, this is rather skin-and-bones - there is so very little to do here except for moving through the prologue of the game proper. Which was, again, fine in TLoL's case since the demo just throws a lot of what makes up the core of the game proper, but here I wish they had gone with something separate to allow more insight into more of the mechanics.

Talking of the demo itself, the gameplay is decent, but has brought nothing new to the table so far. It's a tactical RPG in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics, bringing along even many mechanics from that game, i.e. positioning being relevant to damage taken (and whether or not your main character can execute a counterattack), though its leveling is lifted from Fire Emblem - each action nets EXP, taking down an enemy gives you some more and it seems scaled according to the difference between your level and your enemy's. The visuals are also decent, the character design is not stunning per se, but nicely done and less cheesecakey than what I would expect from an Imageepoch game, though the hero seems a bit bland in this. Oh, and bring on the trope counter, because this beginning has you play as an amnesiac (!) who for some reason is the best hunter in the small village he lives in (!!) and lives with a girl who kind of likes you but is a bit aloof about it (!!!). Also the village goes to hell after a witch starts singing. And there are ungodly amounts of text, but there's a text skip feature and autoplay.

Presentation-wise it is acceptable, keeping in mind though they had considerable budget problems when finishing this (Imageepoch went broke while wrapping up this game). The dub is... it is Atlus USA's own dub, so you will probably recognize some voices from other games they localized (I believe the main character is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal). What is really good is the music. Yasunori Mitsuda has not brought his A game so far into the demo, but I found the menu theme good enough to just put headphones on and just listen until the loop restarted.

If a demo's goal is to sell you on a game, this does not really cut it. If you are not sold on this game already or can look past some of the contemporary anime clichés the story in the prologue offers, then I do not believe this demo will make you desire Stella Glow.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on October 28, 2015, 04:11:12 PM
I just started playing Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil edition, or whatever it is called, on PS4, and New Super Mario Bros. U for Wii U. I am addicted to Diablo 3, NSMBU, not so much.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 31, 2015, 06:05:11 PM
I'm playing Costume Quest for Halloween! Death to Grubbins!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on November 01, 2015, 01:31:27 AM
I'm currently playing two games. First, I'm playing Yoshi's Woolly World with my older brother, and I must say, in many ways it surpasses Yoshi's Island. Forget it being a worthy successor. It's more than that to me.


I'm also playing The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. Unfortunately, I don't think many if any here have it. At least they aren't wanting to play online with me.  :'(
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on November 02, 2015, 12:08:07 AM
Nice to hear the praise for Wooly World. I'll probably borrow it from my sister after she is done with it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on November 02, 2015, 06:47:31 PM
Picked up Skyrim for $2 on steam, holy **** it is good already 50 hours put into the game, stuff Xenoblade chronicles, this is better!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 11, 2015, 07:34:50 PM
Because I was sick of waiting for a new entry in the series I've been going back and playing Advance Wars: Dual Strike for DS.

I would have preferred one of the GBA entries, but I chose the one I had an easy way to play portably. This entry in the series always felt too cumbersome, with some of the new mechanics not working that well. The CO super powers are just so immensely overpowered, and some of the new gimmick units don't seem that well thought out.

Really wishing one of the GBA games had been in the Ambassador program, or that Nintendo would put GBA games on the 3DS where they belong.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on November 11, 2015, 08:17:45 PM
Do you like Dual Strike over Days of Ruin? I prefer DoR myself.


Hopefully we get a new one after IS finishes wrapping up Fates DLC development.


Advance Wars and Battalion Wars should both get new titles.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 11, 2015, 08:31:32 PM
I respect what Days of Ruin was going for, and it's always nice to see Nintendo take some chances with their franchises and try something new, but I wasn't really much of a fan of the end product.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on November 12, 2015, 02:04:35 PM
I'm playing Mini Metro and I'm hooked. I mean, look at this:

(http://i.imgur.com/GeQzVRR.gif)

It's totally up my alley. The difficulty curve is a little high, but I feel like I can sink tons of hours into a transportation sim, specially one that looks as clean and good as this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on November 17, 2015, 02:29:03 PM
Because I was sick of waiting for a new entry in the series I've been going back and playing Advance Wars: Dual Strike for DS...
Just a couple of months ago, I finally obtained all 300 medals in this game, and after spending so much time with it I think it's actually become my fave. I really started to appreciate the variety in the COs, and all of the combinations in mixing and matching them. I actually don't mind that the strategies shifted in focusing on managing CO powers, as this changed up the way I played this game compared to the first two games; I prefer this to the game just being "more of the same." Sure, some things could be better balanced (the Black Bomb for example is ridiculous), but I actually didn't find the balance to be as bad as I originally felt, most things can be overcome with careful planning.

I can respect if someone didn't like the changes though, it certainly gives the game a different feel from the first two in the series. And I'd still probably say Advance Wars 2 has my fave campaign, but as a complete package Dual Strike has a lot to offer and is great.

I haven't yet played Days of Ruin, but I do own that game as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 17, 2015, 04:33:15 PM
I'm playing Ar Nosurge Plus on my Vita. It is...umm...

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CT0Gyn9WcAEkz1Q.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CT889HfXAAEbDEB.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CT_cQf-WoAAXwJw.jpg)

...weird.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 24, 2015, 11:38:08 PM
Super mario deluxe (3DS VC):
The deepest i went is world 6 before i ran out of lifes. I eventually want to beat this game (no warps obviously), it feels doable.

Additional collecting coins and yoshi eggs mini-game is also very addicting

After playing like that for a bit, SMB2: Lost Worlds unlocked, but it's weird because i distinctly remember SMB2 having boost jump and even relying on it in some of the level design, but i couldn't make it there. Weird.

Legend of Zelda: Spirit tracks (DS):
I beat one dungeon and started another.

Flute thing isn't as much as bother for me because i mostly play this game on a bus and the noise makes game think i am blowing into the microphone all the time and all i have to do is just press the right tube.

Game picked up 3d-ish over the shoulder camera look of the final area of Phantom Hourglass and uses it a lot more, it's still neat. You can't rotate the camera, but otherwise it's fully 3d view and movement.

Zelda is especially cute in this game.

God Hand (PCSX2):
This game still makes me sick. Something about it's camera movement gives me motion sickness after 20 minutes or so of playing.

It's a shame because the game otherwise is amazing. It's stupid, ridiculous and challenging -- i.e. everything videogames should be.
(http://lpix.org/2055587/kickmesign.jpg)

The game feels very much like 16-bit era beat'em'up in 3d in that how overpowered dash moves are. In Battletoads you had to dash and tackle enemies all the time, God Hand is more complex than that, but dash kick is still one of my main tools of dispatching baddies. Launching enemies around and bounce them into each other is also kinda similar to Viewtiful Joe.

Dashing is kinda a problem with 360 controller, because i constantly whiff pressing up up on a stick. Dashing and even tank controls make a lot more sense when playing on d-pad, but with 360 controller it's not an option. I tried different options like wii u gamepad (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=47751.msg885279#new) and even keyboard. Keyboard works especially well, because game doesn't need analog input.

Frist area is quite a challenge and doesn't leave a good impression, you have to wrestle with both unorthodox controls, unusual camera while enemies seem to be completely relentless -- especially that first demon. Even figuring out  the default moveset and how to use took like a week.

After beating first chapter and unlocking more moves i am astonished at the depth. The amount of customization is mind-boggling. You can make your moveset consist of only Pimp moves, or make Gene only use drunken kungfu moves.

My latest infatuation is mule kick which is exactly what it sounds, looks deliciously stupid AND is useful to juggle baddies.

Also playing: Bayonetta (NSIC Pure Platinum), MGSV (completing S-rank and stuff).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on November 25, 2015, 03:24:28 PM
I'm still making steady but slow progress in Tri Force Heroes, but the game that has my attention for the most part is Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden. I'm not a huge fan of the source material, and the 20 fighters might seem a low amount especially compared to the 3D fighters, but then again, the sprites are more complicated to make than 3D models. Anyway, I'm really digging the fighting system. I finally figured out how to Ultimate Combos, and that made me so happy! I'm now unlocking new assists in Adventure Mode, which is a blast. I'm hoping online play hits the West like it is going to in Japan soon.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on November 27, 2015, 09:17:16 PM
Winding doooown:

Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS):


I was actually looking forward to this one to scratch a Star Fox type itch, and despite some of the mixed reactions I'd seen quite a few comments from people who loved it and thought it was one of the best games in the 3DS library. I'm maybe 25% through and I can honestly say that I almost hate it and probably won't finish it. The flying bits are okay, but very simple, and it's hard to tell why and how I'm taking damage a lot of the time. But the ground stuff is miserable. I find it impossible to regulate walking vs. running vs. dodging, or how jumping works in platform sections, and the aiming being tied to the same controls as the camera just make it a fucking nightmare. The presentation has been much vaunted, but I find the game generally ugly/generic looking and the constant dialogue to be distracting in a game that is already hard to track what is going on on a second to second basis. I would go so far as to say that I'm very surprised that Nintendo shipped this game in this state, as anything other than a paean to their respect/need for Sakurai.

Box Boy (3DS):

I was also looking forward to this, but at about halfway through I'm finding it pretty boring. It's hard to even call it a puzzle game at this point given how easy it is, even including collecting the crowns. It looks good and has a catchy soundtrack, but my progress has thus far been perfunctory. Not a huge disappointment, though, given that it was cheap in the first place and discounted for the Black Friday period.

Tales from the Borderlands (PC):


I had no intention of bothering with anymore Telltale stuff, but there was a gap to fill on Thanksgiving, and I'd seen a number of positive reports about this one vs. the other recent Telltale stuff, so I bit the bullet and played through the first episode with my brother after dinner. He's a big fan of the actual games, which I haven't played, so I thought it was likely he'd enjoy it, but damn, this is like even lower down the totem poll of interactivity than anything I've seen yet. We managed to have some fun by just choosing the silence or timeout option for most everything and watching how the game awkwardly fails to compensate for this, and also testing what quicktime actions actually matter (a surprising amount don't!). This isn't even really a video game so much as a bad low-fidelity CGI movie that demands that you register attention once in a while.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on November 28, 2015, 09:41:00 AM
Just started playing The Last of Us (PS4) again after putting it down for a year because I got stuck in one place. Took me 5 minutes to figure it out this time.

Just ordered MGSV The Phantom Pain and Uncharted Collection...couldn't pass them up for $27 each.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on November 28, 2015, 11:09:15 AM

Box Boy (3DS):

I was also looking forward to this, but at about halfway through I'm finding it pretty boring. It's hard to even call it a puzzle game at this point given how easy it is, even including collecting the crowns. It looks good and has a catchy soundtrack, but my progress has thus far been perfunctory. Not a huge disappointment, though, given that it was cheap in the first place and discounted for the Black Friday period.


For me, the first six or seven worlds were really easy, but the difficulty started to ramp up (especially getting  the crowns) around world 8 or 9.  I mean, it was no Toki Tori, but I found it challenging enough at that point to be enjoyable.  I think there are 20 worlds total.  I just played it for a couple of hours on plane for the holiday. It's perfect kind of game for that setting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on November 28, 2015, 08:20:03 PM
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam): Don't care what people say, I still love this damn game so much. Having a blast playing through it again. Going to try to 100% it which I never did on Gamecube. Only negatives I have about it is the bad voice acting and stage glitches with Sonic. Doing Big's B and A levels next then I got everyone's done. Not looking forward to it, but once it is done, I never have to go through it again. Chao raising addicting as **** still, but lack of "exit stage" button is irritating as **** once I get the animals I need and want to get out.


Otherwise, I still love the this game.



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 28, 2015, 11:34:08 PM
The announcement of the original games coming to VC got me in the mood for Pokémon, so I dug out Pokémon HeartGold. That generation was always my favorite in the series, but even the remake is feeling a bit antiquated, making me want to jump to one of the newer games, and think twice about buying one of the VC releases.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on November 28, 2015, 11:55:18 PM
To be honest I feel that in some ways the games succeeding it are lacking though. The seemingly random removal of features like the ability for Pokemon to follow you, the pokephone, the pokeradio, the ability to play retro or modern music, the pokewalker, the ability to rematch gym leaders and a bloody toggleable run button!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 29, 2015, 12:04:44 AM
I finished the Bloodborne "The Old Hunters" DLC earlier tonight. It was brutal, especially the last few bosses, but overall it was nice to return to the heavy exploration & methodical gameplay of Bloodborne again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 29, 2015, 12:22:59 AM
To be honest I feel that in some ways the games succeeding it are lacking though. The seemingly random removal of features like the ability for Pokemon to follow you, the pokephone, the pokeradio, the ability to play retro or modern music, the pokewalker, the ability to rematch gym leaders and a bloody toggleable run button!

Yeah, they're missing some stuff, but things like going back to TMs being single use bugs me, and realizing I won't be able to use the online trading since the Wi-Fi Connection got shut down is annoying.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on November 29, 2015, 05:44:19 PM
Crap, I forgot that HG/SS were on WiFi Connect.


Like you, I'm feeling more pushed to pick up a new game like the Ruby and Sapphire remakes over replaying the old ones. It's a pity because I thought HG/SS were very fun titles.


I know it is a bit "backwards", but I was hoping for a re-remake of Fire Red, Leaf Green, or a Special Pikachu Yellow on the 3DS just to get those classics in a modern (read: playable) form.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 07, 2015, 12:38:27 AM
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS):
There it is. This is the crap that destroys my all and any enjoyment of this series.

I needed to get regal ring (https://www.google.kz/search?q=regal+ring+spirit+tracks) and couldn't understand what game wanted me to do. Remembering how much this series likes obscure puzzles blocking your progress, i gave up after 15 minutes and googled it.

Yep, it was one of those. Had to go out of my way to another village to get second song too.

And even with unlocked teleport gates, it still took me too much time to go back and forth for my liking. Or maybe it felt like that -- not sure. It just feels like it takes more time going from place to place that in Wind Waker or Phantom Hourglass. And i generally like trains.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PC):
Completed Hard and got "no damage" on final boss. It was surprisingly easy. Once i figured out how to stop him from regenerating health -- it was over for him. I kept doing so much damage he was stuck repeating the same QTE attack over and over. That QTE attack wasn't even hard compared to Sundowner's.

After that i wanted to check out how Very Hard feels like and started new game. Very Hard makes all enemies extremely aggressive and they attack all at once.

And this is where MGR's combat design and camera that were a mess on previous difficulties fall apart and **** the bed completely. Ferociousness of enemies leaves no openings for you to attack and their boosted defense doesn't allow you to stun them to stop them from attacking.

Insane enemy pressure is reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden but NG WAS actually balanced somewhat and provides a wide array of moves and tricks to cheese past everything. Half-baked design of MGR does none of that.

On top of that i discovered that i when hit "New Game", i somehow erased my progress on Normal and Hard. At least i can use Konami code to unlock all difficulties and DLC campaigns back. But i still have to upgrade my character and buy everything all over again.

MGR DLCs:
Bladewolf has like 5 moves. Moveset is very primitive but sufficient i guess. Apparently this campaign is more concentrated on platforming and stealth. Platforming is still kinda bad as in any other Platinum game.

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/1c164fb48e10b8200280fa0ed484cbec/tumblr_mivih7exGp1ro156wo3_500.gif)

Jetstream Sam's DLC campaign is arguably better than main campaign. Sam's moveset while still very small by action game standards is completely different from the rest of the game and enemies are largely redesigned to be harder. Combat is designed around heavy attack charges and adds taunt system. Also when thrown into a wall Sam can recover and wall jump back with counter attack.

Sam's campaign has the same final boss and it's pretty good and is much harder. Boss grapple attacks are hard to dodge and these grapples come in series and becomes insanely fast in later parts of the fight.

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/WVW69ioeM2MkgjfZ00)
FINALLY, after almost a year after starting i completed Pure Platinum run.

Final boss was a major roadblock and it was a concentrated essence of this game mistakes in enemy combat design -- no or confusing cues for incoming attacks and attacks come way, WAY too fast to react, insane armour on boss and over reliance on Witch Time.

All this makes attempt to Pure Platinum it extremely un-fun and turns boss fight into endurance test until you just fluke out and get a sequence where you didn't get caught by one of the several instant attacks.

In that year i Pure Platinumed Bayo 1 on normal, hard, and in the middle of doing the same for NSIC (a feat i once thought to be beyond my meager action skills). Bayo 1, unlike B2 and MGR for that matter was balanced properly across ALL difficulties so that it stll stays challenging, diverse AND fun all the way through.

I still have Bayonetta 2's Rodin and few of achievements to do, so i will come back to it sometime later, once i forget the sour taste of that final battle.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 09, 2015, 11:37:52 PM
Azeke, aside from the train stuff, which I initially liked more than Phantom Hourglass boating but got bored with it, how would you compare it to PH? I thought the actual design of the dungeons and caves was considerably better, though I actually liked the Temple of the Ocean King, and wished they kept it up. The Spirit Tracks equivalent feels watered down and thus less interesting.

Updates from prior complaints:

Kid Icarus Uprising:

About halfway through the game I realized there were sensitivity settings for the touch screen camera/reticule, and cranked them to the max. This makes the ground portions actually playable, but the circle pad movement still blows, and I take tons of damage every time there are pits or electric floors or lava or whathaveyou. While I'm enjoying it more, and find the weapon crafting kind of addicting, I will be relieved when it's over (it seems to go on forever).

Box Boy:

The difficulty picks up in the last few worlds, but it took way too long. The final world, however, is busting my balls, and I wish the game had gotten there earlier.

And a new old one:

Blaster Master:

I gave up on this on the Wii Virtual Console, couldn't get past the third dungeon without running out of lives, but upgraded to the WiiU and gained save states. I was digging going back through it and finally getting past the third dungeon, but then I couldn't figure out what the hell to do and had to look up the entrance to the fourth area, which is basically impossible to find without the pack-in map. After that I was still enjoying it without leaning too hard on save states, but the last third just becomes ridiculously hard, particularly the bosses, and by the end I was spamming the **** out of the states to the degree that it was kind of pointless. Interesting dive back into the NES era, but I couldn't really recommend playing the original game in earnest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 10, 2015, 12:04:21 AM
how would you compare it to PH? I thought the actual design of the dungeons and caves was considerably better
About the same, i guess? Spirit Track dungeons feel a bit too short maybe? I've completed three dungeons and am pretty sure none of them had more than 4 floors.

though I actually liked the Temple of the Ocean King, and wished they kept it up. The Spirit Tracks equivalent feels watered down and thus less interesting.
Spirit tower is interesting because you don't HAVE to come back to lower floors after you completed them, but if you WANT to backtrack there are a lot of stuff hidden for you. On first two lower floors around HALF of the area is inaccessible unless you have later game unlocks.

Spirit Tracks even pulls this in dungeons where first dungeons have random cracked walls and areas where you can only swing with whip.

The problem is that rewards are disappointing -- it's the same pointless "loot" relics from WW and Phantom Hourglass, stuff like Staflos skulls and like.

Quote
Kid Icarus Uprising:
About halfway through the game I realized there were sensitivity settings for the touch screen camera/reticule, and cranked them to the max. This makes the ground portions actually playable, but the circle pad movement still blows, and I take tons of damage every time there are pits or electric floors or lava or whathaveyou.
Circle pad kinda sucks for fine analog movement, but i found that you just need to make your movements more elaborate rather than keep jerking the nub all the time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on December 14, 2015, 04:12:48 PM
100% Orange Juice (Steam): Short version, it is anime Mario Party except it is better and more in-depth.


Long version, it is a party game which offers a lot more characters then Mario Party, while also giving each one their own playstyle. The girl I play, I have the cards set up so that she lowers her defense, which in turns raises her attack due to her trait. Another girl is built around blowing herself up and taking you down with her. One guy is built to tank damage and you can switch it so he deals very good damage at the cost of his defense. Everyone builds a card deck before the game starts that suits their character and it goes into a pile and draws are random. It is extremely RNG and this either is good or infuriating at times. Overall, for me it is addicting fun. It doesn't do anything wrong. It is simple, fun enjoyment that the Mario Party games are supposed to offer, but don't for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on December 14, 2015, 04:26:31 PM
The only Mario Party clone for me is Dokapon Kingdom. This is what would happen if Square shoved a JRPG into Mario Party. You fight monsters as one of several typical classes, level up, conquer kingdoms to get more loot, and prank your friends in the most delightfully devious ways. Beat a friend in a pvp duel? Graffiti their face, rename their character to "Vacuum Cleaner", or steal their goodies.


There is even an "end game" boss you get to fight if you progress through the game board/world far enough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 14, 2015, 07:41:16 PM
The only Mario Party clone for me is Dokapon Kingdom. ...

Boldly advertised as "the friendship destroying game" on the back of the box.
It lives up to the hype, and is awesome.


---


Started playing Mega Man V (Gameboy game via 3DS virtual console) and am enjoying it. Portable Mega Man games were playing with some tight system limitations, but still have a lot of neat ideas. Definitely worth the couple of bucks it takes to download them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on December 16, 2015, 04:40:40 PM
I just started getting into Street Fighter X Tekken on PS3. I have had the game for a while but just not got around to playing it. I am really liking it a lot. I think the custom costumes are a little limiting and the auto combos can be annoying I am enjoying the game and will give it a lot more play time this weekend when I get through these week's paper.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on December 19, 2015, 10:55:07 PM

(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y362/tophatant123/1299590-art__1__zpsorgufjtp.jpg)

I have been playing pass the controller co-op with the story mode of Job Island: Hard Working People also known as Help Wanted: 50 Wacky Jobs. It's a Hudson Wii Minigame collection, on the surface it would sound to the common man that this is just some bargain bin kusoge, however that is not the case. This here is a bona fide diamond in the rough, a Wii hidden gem. The premise is that the Earth is being attacked by a series of objects from outer space, from a meteor to Ramen to a Magical Girl ect... to (final boss spoilers) a giant phallus . Each item has a number of hit points and a timer that counts down the days until impact eg Dawn of the First Day 72 hours remain. The idea is you play a minigame each day to accumulate money so that you can buy items on the TV shopping channel, money spent on the shopping channel translates into points that allow you to buy items that can repel the objects in space. The minigames themselves are take it or leave it, but your performance directly correlates to how much money you earn and how much resources you have to play around with. It's bizarre how much thought has been put into the strategy layer of the game but I'll try to break it down.

- The week consists of 6 work days and a Sunday which you can use to explore the town and use the shopping channel.
- You can choose to skip a work day to use the shopping channel but you will be missing income for that day.
- Items from the shopping channel take a day to arrive.
- From the channel you can buy single use support items that make jobs easier allowing you to make more money but only give 10% of the price as loyalty points, you can buy outfits that let you take on different jobs but those only give 5% points, and lastly there are mementos that just act as decoration for your house so don't serve a gameplay purpose but give 15% points.
- Points are spent on the points channel on single use weapons to destroy the space debris, weapons have an average damage value, amount of days it may repel the object and an accuracy.
- As you get better at jobs you fill out a meter that once filled will give you a big promotion bonus but makes the job progressively harder.
- Random events will often occur at the start of the day that act like chance cards in Monopoly, some buff or debuff you for the minigame, some give challenges to meet for a bonus and they are generally used to encourage you to try out different minigames.
- Space objects come super fast making everyday count.
- Interstitial "break scenes" come around every once in a while with quirky Japanese nonsensical humor.
- Guest appearance from Takahashi Meijin.
- Artstyle and writing are charming as ****.

(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y362/tophatant123/WII35.rev_job.gr_06--article_image_zpsgwclbteo.jpg)
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y362/tophatant123/large_zpste65dweb.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 20, 2015, 12:50:55 AM
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y362/tophatant123/1299590-art__1__zpsorgufjtp.jpg)
Artstyle looks very similar to WarioWare stuff. Interest peaked.

Is it playable in singleplayer?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on December 20, 2015, 09:44:30 AM
It's predominantly single player.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on December 20, 2015, 02:52:30 PM
I think you just sold me on this game. I'll have to check it out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on December 20, 2015, 07:57:13 PM
I started two new games this weekend, first, Super Mario Maker for Wii U. I am pretty much loving this game a lot.
Second I downloaded Katamari Damacy PS2 for my PS3 a while back and finally got around to playing it. It is somewhat fun and I want to get more into it, but I am really hating the frustrating controls so if I don't start to get the hang of them soon I might give up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 21, 2015, 01:35:52 AM
Brothers: Tale of 2 sons (PC):
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/400056371814233530/EF2745A76B9A40C630E6914589D2D02B3C58303F/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=574592726)
It's an okay game i guess.

Alright, not just "okay", it's very well made, good puzzles, good artstyle, everything works and it does well on it's "controlling two characters simultaneously" gimmick.

But it's just so derivative from ICO from gameplay to types of puzzles you solve!..

Another problem is characters speaking some imaginary make-believe babble (like in Animal Crossing). I think this is devaluing their story. If they wanted to go full artsy-fartsy and make a game without any words -- they should have done exactly so, instead of making characters going "lalalala-nanana-bububu" all the time.

Or if they wanted to make it sound natural but still make it so player doesn't understand the speech -- they could have used some real language, like Danish or Icelandic or something obscure like that.

And because that they're speaking nonsense, characters HAVE to exaggeratedly emote and overact to compensate for speech not carrying any meaning, which makes it look like a cheap puppet show.

Some great looking locations tho. Giants' battlefield looked especially haunting.

Pinball Arcade (free version on Steam):
(http://i.imgur.com/mgHbiTZ.jpg)
Because i have one of my monitors on work in portrait mode (more optimal for coding), i decided that i might as well use the opportunity to play some games that are designed for vertical layout, like vertical shmups or pinball games.

I played a LOT of Zen Pinball on 3DS (still my favourite version and STILL one of the best uses of 3d) and knew of Pinball Arcade but never tried it before.

While Zen Pinball designs their own tables from scratch, PA team is all about being realistic and licensing and re-creating real tables. I personally don't have much of a history playing pinball myself (hard to do that growing up in SU), but i know of several famous pinball tables thanks to CGR (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzh0zJEcoc).

It plays great in vertical mode. And you get a free table, that's nice (Zen Pinball on 360 and Wii U doesn't, though i got a free Mars table when i downloaded the game from Windows 8 store few years ago).

Can be the physics being different from Zen Pinball or my work PC having a weak video card, but there is a lag of some sorts. It takes a fraction of seconds for bumpers to react and overall it feels a tad more sluggish.

Free table (Arabian Nights) is pretty cool, but i wish other tables weren't so expensive. And you can only buy them in bundles or in pairs or something. I specifically looked up Black Hole and it was 7$ or 10$ which is a bit too rich for me (getting Zen Pinball on 3DS with four tables for 4 or 5 bucks might have spoiled me). Especially with the way how my local currency keeps decreasing in value and my potential online purchases keep getting more and more expensive with literally each day...

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PC):
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/400056371816803408/15BDC233C89AED9CAC56DFE2FF88F4E4E7293F00/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=575117848)

This is a badly designed game. And the deeper you go the more flaws and gaping design mistakes you see. Terrible camera and awful lock-on mechanic is but a beginning in a long line of MGR's mistakes.

Game is too stun happy, enemies can stun or grab you and you get "waggle the stick" QTE which is always annoying in action games and is especially bad in here because how long it takes you to recover. At least in Bayonetta you could recover instantly by parrying incoming attack even when you were caught in some trap status effect, but you can't do this in MGR and will have just take a hit.

Enemy design is also varying shades of terrible. Game balance caters to much into you baiting enemies doing some attack that is vastly preferable for you while some attacks are so bad you might as well restart right here and there and wait until almighty RNG gives you enemy behavior that you want. You are at the mercy of enemy AI. Which is completely contradictory to the entire idea of action games where you are the god that controls the battlefield and if you have the skill for it, you can respond to anything your enemies throw at you.

Then there is leveling up weapons mechanic. This ruins game balance on both ends of player-designer relationship. For player: why bother learning the game if you can just upgrade your blade to level 5 and be overpowered? And for game designer: why bother designing bigger challenge for player on harder difficulty if you can just boost enemy HP to accommodate that your sword can have 5 times more damage points than in the beginning?

Leveling up in RPGs is a mechanic that provides sense of progression and rewards player for time spent by simply increasing some arbitrary number in the system.

While in proper action game design all progression happens in player's mind. Player learns new tricks and hones his skills and reflexes. There are no artificial barriers like grinding gates, once you acquired proficiency in that game you can start a new save file and beat the game 100% in one go, without needing some kind of late game equipment.

MGR is only balanced with one difficulty in mind -- Hard mode. Starting from Very Hard there is zero balance, just enemies having 10x HP and 10x attack power. There was so little balancing consideration made for Very Hard and Revengeance modes, VH is ended up harder than the last difficulty mode -- Revengeance.

I made a mistake thinking i can beat this unfair mode by entering Revengeance difficulty with non-upgraded sword and no late-game weapons. It was a shitfest.

On Revengeance mode with standard equipment your damage output, your mobility options, game's camera are all inadequate. Regular slash with level 1 blade does less than 1% to bosses. Less than one percent. Dodge move is way too slow for you to dodge when more than one enemy keep relentlessly attack you forcing you into endless parry war that you can't escape from. Camera reaches new levels of videogame sabotage when all enemies are 100% aggressive and keen to attack you all at once from all sides.

I spent almost a week trying to S-rank first level. Somewhere in the middle i realized this is a fool's errand, but by this time you would rather finish this "as is" rather going through it all over again. I scraped by most of S-ranks by getting "no damage" bonus on regular missions (because with that lacking equipment i inevitably fail a few requirements on some missions). Mission with two helicopters was a complete randomfest. I only S-ranked it because I baited one helicopter's missiles into another which destroyed it instantly and then after just killed remaining Hammerhead.

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/400056914957074144/5498D3569691AC2B9BD83B22AEB90FAB2244A839/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=576398720)

And then Mistral at the end was an entirely new levels of bullshit times ten.

First of all -- she is too slippery and likes to jump away and do her unstoppable disorienting wheel attack. To stop her from doing that you always need to get up to her face and do specific combination of slashes and blade mode to bait her to attack instead of slipping away.

To do ANY damage to her AT ALL you need to Perfect Parry her attack three times in a row crushing her staff, only after that you get to damage her finally. To do perfect parry just once you need to parry within 5 frames of her attack. That's 1/12 of a second. And you have to do this THREE TIMES IN A ROW just to even START to do ANY damage.

Oh and just wailing at her while she lost her staff and is vulnerable not gonna work because of minuscule damage output of level 1 blade (>1% of her health).

The only way to do considerable damage to her is bait her into running up to one of the tripods that run around us and throw them at me. Then i have to Perfect Parry that swing again while standing near to her to do 20-30%.

If that is not enough, positioning myself near tripods is very dangerous because of how grab happy tripods are. Depending on AI tripod might jump at you at any random moment incapacitating you and ruining S-rank.

I finally managed to luck myself into doing all this, but i am not doing this again.
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/400056914957089509/E285671DC6547132CB96D5215041F7B7827E5086/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=576400631)

I will grind and buy all the possible overpowered weapons to cheese my way through remainder or RV difficulty from now on, because i have had it with this game.

I watched several playthroughs of Revengeance difficulty and none of them even attempted to do this insanity -- going into RV mode with level 1 blade and no late-game weapons. All of them used ripper mode, pincers, sais and had fully upgraded health and energy -- while i had none of that. And these guys are better than me!

Ugh.

Have a nice screenshot. It's from VR missions:
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/400056914962197210/8A8FE1535E85188888705AF38068F8123E0C1449/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=577224834)

Also playing: Stealth Bastard Deluxe (got all S-ranks up to world 6), Bayonetta 1 (70% into Pure Platinum Non-Stop Infinite Climax run).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on January 01, 2016, 07:39:34 PM
Earthbound Beginnings/Mother: This game is archaic yes, but it is still pretty easy to get into and has aged a hell of a lot better then most games from the NES era. Inventory management is annoying, but money management is well done which 90% of RPGs fail to do. Loving the game though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 10, 2016, 10:23:44 PM
Grim Fandango is a fantastic game, even with some of the really obtuse puzzles.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 11, 2016, 01:02:25 AM
Downwell (Steam):
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/364029569321232983/D72663721F2FA19300620C7F6123951F2B86CDD8/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593296177)  (http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/364029569321234711/EF059E5A8CCA685F06216735348777714D328416/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593296299)

Great little game. Stringing combos of jumps and kills without touching the ground at first seems impossible, but once i learned to hover in the air with prolonged fire and bounce off random environment it looks more viable.

Also, it's yet another game that supports vertical monitor resolutions. Pixels are huge and the game almost worse for it because eye has to travel a lot to see the entire screen. But i like this gimmick so far.

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/364029569321235053/B544B5676F3D2E6E3E376675F23EA1B303E4FBB1/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593296320)  (http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/364030021209514191/055DF5B5D32C668D281851C88B31FF77E2386B8C/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=594191970)

Fast Racing League (WiiWare):
Decided to put more time into original game with sequel coming out.

I am bad at racing. But i can get a little better if repeat tracks and memorize what i have to do.

I usually take the heaviest car with big max speed and take initial lead ("you are five seconds ahead!") and just never give it up until the end. This works for cup for rookies, but on later cups AI cars are faster and MUCH more aggressive and they constantly keep messing my trajectory. Getting an early advantage seems impossible.


Trackmania Stadium (free demo on Steam):
(http://i1.wp.com/www.gamingcypher.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TrackMania-Stadium2.png)
Jeff's got a point. This is very cool.

Soothing and almost hypnotizing casual atmosphere of going from map to map and listening to all the random audio tracks coupled with insane trick racing and trying to figure track layout and get a better time.

And it's completely free! It's a demo, but for what's it's worth, it's all you need to connect to servers, listen to music and race on looped tracks.


Assassin's Creed: Unity (PC):
(http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00017bxr83.jpg) (http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00017bxr83.jpg)
(http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00005n7pps.jpg) (http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00005n7pps.jpg)

Game looks amazing, but MAN, that hitching!.. I even bought more RAM and got it up to 16 Gb and it sorta helped but performance is still bad. I got better performance playing Assassin's Creed games on 360 and Wii U which before Unity were the lowest bars for me. Even besides atrocious performance, there are loads of many other problems.

Climbing has been revamped but it was made worse if anything. At first, "press this button to go up" and "press this other button to go down" make sense, but after playing for a bit your realize that in most cases these buttons are interchangeable and sometimes aren't even needed. If you need to jump off a roof, nudging the stick pressing either buttons works. Then what's the point of all this? Why go and ruin one of few good things the series still has going for?

Another problem is how game LOVES to take control over my camera. Yes, there is a superficial reason to change the angle when i am descending from a building to show off my character parkour skills, but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to rotate the camera when i am simply opening a chest.

Combat is also awful. Combat in the series has never been good, but at least it did the job done. Until this game combat has never was been actually so actively terrible. It is so slow i thought it was actually one of the game's performance problems. But NO -- it's actually going as intended! Yes, regular slashes ARE supposed to take five seconds of uninterrupted animation!

There is also some RPG loot progression which is so bad, you're pretty much barred from going anywhere out of the starting island. What's the even point of all this then? Why do you give me access to full Paris if i am so underpowered i die literally in one hit/shot in 90% of the areas?

Another thing they completely botched is stealth. They even made one dedicated button which only does "stealth". It's godawful and not worth it.

The only redeeming quality this game has is it's amazing visuals. Visuals when you enter some palace are outstanding and colours are vivid. Faces still look a bit dead though, and hair still look like a plastic goo plastered on top of people's heads.

The scale of the city is very big and mobs are bigger than ever. However to achieve this they added almost N64 fog around 5 districts wide around me which becomes visible when you synchronize on top of a tower.

Effect when camera makes a panoramic view and then instantly enters you PoV is pretty sweet, even if my PC chugs trying to render all of the Paris districts. Similarly when you see (now 3d) city map and go back to your character.

(http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00012fmpig.jpg) (http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00012fmpig.jpg)
(http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00015u8rz1.jpg) (http://abload.de/img/2015-12-18_00015u8rz1.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 11, 2016, 08:19:30 AM
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (DS) - Really enjoy the DQ series, and finally getting around to this entry (partly because there are supposed to be two more games in the series released for 3DS this year, which of course I'm going to add to my backlog). It's living up to expectations perfectly so far - a charming game with a fun story and classic, old-school RPG mechanics.


Contra 4 (DS) - One of the talkback threads recently included a complaint about Contra not being available on Virtual Console yet, which made me go back to this game and play around for a while. Damn. What a great piece of work for Contra fans. The main game is a solid entry with lots of fun levels. The challenge mode stages are fun and give the game a different feel. And the bonus content that can be unlocked - including NES versions of both Contra and Super C - is like a (all too brief) love letter to fans of the series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 11, 2016, 10:25:14 AM
I've been playing Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town on the Virtual Console. I'm a big fan of the series, and this entry is probably my favorite of them all. A couple aspects of the game haven't aged that well compared to ones that have come since, in particular the fact that items in your inventory don't stack, and the controls aren't that intuitive due to the lack of buttons on the GBA, though I've been able to mitigate that a bit with the VC's button remapping.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 18, 2016, 11:42:36 PM
A few winter games:

Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU):

So, first off, I really don't like Yoshi's Island. The gameplay hook was basically just annoying OCD stuff without anything exceptional to really balance it out, plus the baby mechanic was horrible.

Thus, I was planning on skipping this one, but I love the previous two Good Feel games, and I got a deal around the holidays for $26 or so for Woolly World, so I went for it. And damn, it was great, way better than the original game, and gorgeous to boot. They achieved a level of tactility with the game world where it really felt like you were interacting with these home-craft dioramas. I'm not even sure how, but Good Feel managed to make the base YI gameplay extremely satisfying (though this was certainly helped by keeping collection progress through subsequent level runs). They pulled off a similar trick with importing the shitty hook from Warioland 4 and making it shine in Shake It. Just a great studio.

Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU):

Strange one, this. It's got issues, like terrible, gameplay-affecting pop-in, horrendous character models, insufferable writing, annoying menu stuff and party management, etc., but it overall really nails the concept of landing on an alien world and carving it out bit by bit. The general lack of story is a plus in my book given how shitty videogame/anime stuff tends to be. I can't say that I have a strong grip on the (too many) game systems, but I'm hoping I can brute force my way through it to an extent.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on January 21, 2016, 10:12:01 AM
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War: I've been craving Fire Emblem, real Fire Emblem, and Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn are obscurely expensive. So I figured why not try FE4. I'm having a blast with it. Story is good ol' Fire Emblem at the core and has a nice twist half-way through. Generational children are in this (the first one to do so I think). I love it.

Mother 3
: I can see why people hold the game in high regard. It is REALLY good. One of the better JRPGs I've be played in a long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on January 22, 2016, 11:48:04 AM
Phoenix Wright Trilogy on 3DS. Perfect commuter game. Makes me laugh.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 24, 2016, 09:49:33 PM
God Hand (PCSX2):
(http://orig02.deviantart.net/43ee/f/2013/209/f/3/godhandgorilla_by_kimbia28-d6fj2fz.png)

Spent most of my weekend fighting mooks with spiked traffic cone hats, mooks with giant boomerangs, mexican demon called Elvis who has amazing introduction and kick-ass music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXB-6VVSRhY),  and finally -- masked gorilla (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ5jjWLJonY).

Tanks controls... It's so annoying that i can't simply GO in a direction I WANT and actually SEE where enemies are. That gorilla has grabbed too many times because i was doing u-turn to run away from him and he jumped at me and i couldn't even see him coming because i turned back on him.

Automatic lock-on is a bigger problem because sometimes i want to target enemy that is NOT the closest to me but the one a bit to the side, but stupid game keeps thinking i want to attack that fat guy and not lady mook behind him. So i jump at him and obviously he easily blocks my kick.

Maybe i am too "run and kick" happy. I should probably stay in one place more and let enemies come to me instead or running all over the place only to let myself surrounded.

Because enemies will easily overwhelm you if there are more than 2 of them (and 2 is already pushing it for me), i go for cheesiest strategy of luring mooks to myself one by one. Sure if i was actually gud at this game i could throw scores of enemies everywhere, Viewtiful-style, but alas. Dispatching them one by one in the cheapest way possible seems like the best i can do.

My general strategy is to do that for a while until i accumulate enough energy for invincible overpowered God Hand mode and then i just go to town at the toughest enemies at the map. God Hand duration lasts enough to kill several mooks.

Usually God Hand meter fills very slowly when you attack and dodge enemies, but there is "Yes Man Kablaam" move which gives a lot of energy if it connects. If -- because that move is ridiculously slow:
(http://lpix.org/2089905/YMK.gif)
But it can be done if you dizzy then enemy first. On fat guys you can do up to 3 "Yes Man Kablaams" to fill meter almost completely.

I usually try to not to use overpowered roulette moves -- not only because i am too gud at this game (i am not), but also because roulette orbs are very rare in this game. The best use for roulette moves is too use them to reorient yourself.

The game has dynamic difficulty. The better you do the hardest the game gets -- from level 1 where enemies barely put up any resistance to fourth level called "Die!" where each mook is faster than me, can counter attack all of my cheap tactics and generally stonewalls me. When i have enough of me dying to the lowliest thugs at level die, i swallow my pride and activate "grovel" move to drop difficulty back to level 1. But because enemies are such pushovers at level 1 it doesn't take long for game to notice that i am doing too good for it's comfort and increase the difficulty again.

Such a great game.

Faster than light (Steam):
Randomness is inherent part of the roguelikes. However too much randomness is annoying.

In FTL, i constantly get events that are complete crapshoot where i have 0% chance of surviving them. The very same event that was ended up favourably last time ("do you want to help colonists fend off alien spiders?") might kill my crew member this time and when that happens i just restart right away -- it's pointless to go on.

Controls are very PC, mouse and keyboard, lots of keyboard shortcuts. Sometimes this complexity gets in the way, especially when you're in battle.

Economy seems wack. There is absolutely no way for me to collect enough scrap buy ANY upgrades in the first sector. The best i can do is to buy some fuel and repair my hull a bit and proceed further, praying RNG would be merciful for me.

I can only either upgrade my ship or buy upgrades. There isn't enough scraps to do both.

Binding of Isaac (Steam):
Yet another roguelike with lots of randomness.

However! FTL could learn from BoI in terms of designing encounters. First of all encounters are "fair", and if you really want want you can survive anything or just run away.

Secondly, "luck" is an exposed stat in BoI and you can and should manipulate it. You're not at the mercy of RNG -- you can actually tip the scales.

That is why "Cain" character who has "lucky foot" item from the start is the best character in the game. He gets the best chests, pills are always good for him (without luck on your side pills might as well stunt or kill you). Even if he only has 2 hearts instead of 3 at the start it all pays off even as early as level 1.

One thing i didn't realize is that keys are the most important resource in this game. Each level has golden room with an upgrade, the best strategy is to collect keys and keep opening these rooms and constantly upgrading yourself.

Bosses are also possibilities for upgrades. After you kill them sometimes you get heart container AND in devil room you trade these containers back for more upgrades. Because of Cain's boosted luck you can easily have up to six hearts as easrly as level 2 and you can safely give up some heart containers for really powerful devil upgrades.

This leads to some really crazy stuff the further i go:
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/364030469398469032/6B5064898E7CAE1EC2D51A1887E0A3C6F26CA65A/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=598362089)

I've "completed" the game four times now. Apparently each time i get new ending and according to achievements there are 10 of them?..

First it was Mom, then Mom's Heart, then i fought Satan in Sheol (to even get there i had to use shovel to dig deeper after completing Womb level, and it seems like it is the only way to get there) but i suspect there will be more final bosses after it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on January 25, 2016, 04:36:09 AM
FTL is a weird beast. With some ships the RNG makes a massive difference, some the RNG has almost no effect due to the tactics you employ. The events are semi-fixed so you can learn or look them up. If you get a blue option it is always going to work out for you. The spider one is quite common and you never fight the spiders without a blue option as it is always a losing proposition.

As for scrape the first thing you should upgrade is shields by one and the power to run them. You can get one power from deactivating the medbay. Upgrading the shields first mean sectors 1-3 you are for most part invincible. Buying parts isn't going to be a priority ever compared to say getting more power or getting a really nice weapon. Don't spend your cash on repairs too early as that is money that is not improving your ship and the same for fuel.

The best way to take out a ship is to hit the shields first, then switch to weapons, once they are both weaken or destroyed you can take your sweet time killing them. If you have a Teleporter and the crew to use it, it is a gamebreaker(Mantis ship almost always wins). Killing the crew nets you more cash than blowing up the ship. Also learn when to run from a fight, sometimes it is better to run as it will cost you more to kill than you will get from a kill like if it is an auto scout loaded with nothing but missiles.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 26, 2016, 11:58:34 PM
FTL:
I usually deactivate sickbay and bump up engine because it doesn't require any upgrading.

Upgrading shields to level 2 is quite expensive -- you need 50 for two bars of reactor and 50 for shields themselves.

RNG complaint is quite common, and it is annoying to see people disregard it as "git gud scrubs". If i die in 9 out of my 10 attempts and don't even have anything to show for it (no permanent upgrades), this is not "apply more skill" or "you've made a mistake 15 minutes ago somehow learn from it", this is just wasting my time.

I have engi ship and it's ability to heal my crew wherever helps against boarding parties. Cutting deals, especially with slavers seems like the way to go. If anything i gain more resources from deals than from annihilating everyone.

God Hand:
Mad midgets fight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKzB65qpRs) is beyond annoying.

Sheer chaos of five midgets running at you from all sides, stunning you constantly, this a clusterfuck of a boss fight. This is barely playable, within two seconds you can get stunlocked and dizzied and get your health reduced to zero.

The only way to survive is to cheese your way through by activating god hand from the start getting some damage in, activating super damaging two orb area of effect roulette power while midgets are still around me. Because that is not enough to kill them, you then have to run around and pray their forehead lasers won't hit you, find god hand refill hidden in one of the barrels and do it again.

A single midget poses no threat -- just keep punching him and he is getting juggled in the air helplessly. But with five of them constantly attacking and stunning -- it was a very frustrating night. I read advice on gamefaqs to start using multi-hit moves and it helped, it was kinda obvious in retrospect: when a midget runs at you you can safely spam barrage of punches at them and they will be juggled, you can only do that for about 1-2 seconds though because other midgets won't stand idly and will likely stun you if you stand in one place for too long.

These damned midgets took me almost entire night.

Shannon boss fight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR8iW4VVSIU) after that was okay. Intro and post fight cutscenes are still amazing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on January 28, 2016, 06:45:23 PM
FTL

Shooting Slavers is great, usually if you hurt them enough they offer you one for free.

Cut engine power for shields unless they have missiles.

Sometimes your death will be completely BS, but this game isn't as bad as some out there like The Darkest Dungeon which is completely BS as every choice will lead to a **** up. I hate the Git Gud crowd since they never realise other people aren't masochists nor understand difficulty is one element of a wider system.

Depending on the ship doors are a great upgrade as it lets you flush boarders and put out fires real quickly without risks to your crew.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 28, 2016, 07:51:00 PM
I've been playing Metroid: Zero Mission since it came out on Virtual Console. I'd been looking forward to playing this for a long time after loving Super and Fusion, and despite how much I built it up in my head over the long wait for it to hit the service in North America, it has easily surpassed my expectations.

I haven't been blown away by a game like this in a long time. It takes the best aspects of both its predecessors and forms the perfect distillation of the Metroid formula. Quick pace, tight controls, absolutely nailing the feeling of progression and empowerment the series is built on. This is already one of my favorite games ever.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: riftzzz on January 30, 2016, 05:45:33 AM
I'm playing Mortal Kombat X
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 30, 2016, 07:47:07 AM
I've been playing Metroid: Zero Mission since it came out on Virtual Console. I'd been looking forward to playing this for a long time after loving Super and Fusion, and despite how much I built it up in my head over the long wait for it to hit the service in North America, it has easily surpassed my expectations.

I haven't been blown away by a game like this in a long time. It takes the best aspects of both its predecessors and forms the perfect distillation of the Metroid formula. Quick pace, tight controls, absolutely nailing the feeling of progression and empowerment the series is built on. This is already one of my favorite games ever.


Interested to hear more impressions once you finish the game. Zero Mission is one of my favorite GBA games, and neck-and-neck with Super Metroid for best in the series in my mind. 


It's not perfect. I don't love the final section in replays, although enjoyed it the first time through. There is also one specific "bomb the hidden passage" moment that I didn't love... but that seems to be pretty normal for Metroid games too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesGoblin on January 30, 2016, 07:44:16 PM
Some emus (say, Warhammer Online <3 ) - I'm basically waiting for couple PvP MMORPGs that will be launched 2017, or - god forbid! - later.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 04, 2016, 02:22:05 AM
Super Smash Bros for (Wii U):
I still suck at these games. Despite many hours spent with Melee i never understood it's controls.

No idea why i thought it would be different here.

I have trouble moving, turning around, jumping (neither setting feels good if leave tap to jump i start to jump when i don't want to, if i disable it i start tapping), attacking, blocking and roll.

I bought this game only because of Bayo DLC. I think it would have been better to just buy DLC without the game.

I like included trailers and music at least.


Yoshi's Woolly World:
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/WVW69i2pJmUQ9r6-J4) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACXVHhpJqoqUA)
Yoshi's Island is a game that when i played for the first time made me realize this Nintendo thing is something pretty special. It didn't even mattered that i was 27 at the time and that it was 2009 and not 1994, and that i played the game on inferior GBA and not on SNES -- the sheer creative charge of this was such it still shocked me. Before that i've never seen games where every single level introduces new gimmick and then subverts within that same level. It was a revelation that there can be games designed with such talent and meticulous polish.

I was very close to 100%-ing original YI (lost ambassador 3DS), but i think will be able to do it with game -- especially because you don't have to do all in one go.

It could be my eyes, but games in 60fps looks more vivid, "brighter" to me even if actual video settings are the same. Coupled with Woolly World's already bold colours it's almost blinding. Now i want to see how Kirby's Wii U game will look on my Plasma.

Super Mario Maker:
The game feels it was made by WarioWare team rather than usual Mario crew.

Weird loading screen, title screen that you can tinker with, weird UI, even included levels from "10 Mario challenge" are more akin to WarioWare micro-games rather than full Mario levels -- they usually have one gimmick and usually end right after you "solved" it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 04, 2016, 04:24:31 AM
Klaus

This is a pretty neat little puzzle platformer for PS4, but the overwhelming feeling I get from it is that it really should have a Vita version. It makes extensive use of the touch pad on the Dual Shock 4 (the only game I've played to use it in a non-trivial manner), in ways that would be perfectly suited to an actual touch screen, or even the Vita's back touch. Regardless, it's a nice mix of puzzles and platforming skill, which I'm enjoying quite a bit so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on February 04, 2016, 12:24:15 PM
I finally got my internet at the house so I was able to start downloading some of the games I got for Christmas. I started with Mortal Kombat X. I have to say I like it, it's Mortal Kombat, but as been the case for a while, I am having more fun unlocking crap and exploring the krypt than I am actually playing the proper fighting game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on February 04, 2016, 12:29:24 PM
Playing XCOM 2 once it's downloaded. **** is going to be great assuming there aren't any show stopping bugsthere are always show stopping bugs.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 09, 2016, 03:56:43 AM
I've been playing Metroid: Zero Mission since it came out on Virtual Console. I'd been looking forward to playing this for a long time after loving Super and Fusion, and despite how much I built it up in my head over the long wait for it to hit the service in North America, it has easily surpassed my expectations.

I haven't been blown away by a game like this in a long time. It takes the best aspects of both its predecessors and forms the perfect distillation of the Metroid formula. Quick pace, tight controls, absolutely nailing the feeling of progression and empowerment the series is built on. This is already one of my favorite games ever.


Interested to hear more impressions once you finish the game. Zero Mission is one of my favorite GBA games, and neck-and-neck with Super Metroid for best in the series in my mind. 


It's not perfect. I don't love the final section in replays, although enjoyed it the first time through. There is also one specific "bomb the hidden passage" moment that I didn't love... but that seems to be pretty normal for Metroid games too.

I finished it up tonight, and I'm extremely happy with it. The Zero Suit portion was very reminiscent of the SA-X segments in Fusion, which I thought were one of the coolest aspects of that game, then when you get the full suit back and going out of your way to track down and kill every space pirate you find because of how easily you can mow down the guys you had to tiptoe around. My only real complaint with the end game is the final mecha Ridley boss fight, which wasn't that interesting and felt pathetically easy.

I'll say right now, this is my favorite Metroid game, and my favorite GBA game, and toward the top on a lot of other lists. I'm on such a high note with it I've got the urge to jump back and replay Fusion or Super because I'm just in that kind of a mood.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 09, 2016, 10:52:55 AM

Lunar: Dragon Song (DS) - Found this game for $1 at EB Games a while back.  Reviews were very poor, and it seems like few people enjoyed the game.  Although it's got some odd quirks, the experience has definitely exceeded my expectations.


There are a lot of unusual systems in play for the game. During battle, you can choose whether to gain experience or items. You don't amass gold for victories, but can use the items collected to complete "deliveries" that net you significant value. If you choose to gain experience, you can remove all enemies from an area and once they are defeated you can open secret chests (if you find any)... but between each battle a clock starts ticking down and if you don't start another battle before it ends then a defeated enemy will respawn. All enemies can be seen on the screen and avoided, but running to get past them will slowly drain HP.


The story is only mediocre, but it's been an interesting game over the first few hours. My biggest complaint is pacing: maybe it's because I'm just figuring out the systems in play, but everything seems to take much longer than I'd like.


Still, great value for a buck so far! Initially planned to get rid of the game quickly, currently having second thoughts and might hold onto it instead.

... Metroid: Zero Mission ... takes the best aspects of both its predecessors and forms the perfect distillation of the Metroid formula. ... one of my favorite games ever.


This is exactly how I feel about it!  (Sorry for the judicious edits - but I don't think anything is out of context in a bad way.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 09, 2016, 11:55:29 AM
I have no objection to your edit. Also, an addendum to my closing comments on Zero Mission, I was so excited for Metroid that I just played through the entirety of Metroid Fusion in more or less one sitting. Also a great game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on February 09, 2016, 12:03:01 PM
Finished up the first three cases in the Phoenix Wright Trilogy on 3DS. Still makes me smile. Taking a break though for a bit.

Now trying my hand at Fire Emblem Awakening. Been on my to-play pile for awhile. I made a bit of a run into it quite awile back, made it to chapter three but then stepped away from it for whatever reason. Starting it over now. We will see if it grabs me or not.

Also been playing some Lego Marvel Superheores on Wii U. That's fun. Just a chapter here and there. It's good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 09, 2016, 02:10:34 PM
I'm currently on the Metroid hype train myself, having played about three hours of Zero Mission last night.

I'll be going back to restart Super Metroid after this (my current save file is hunting for powerups right before Ridley, who I just can't seem to surmount, and I fear I'd be a little lost trying to jump back in) to better weigh the two evenly. Right now, Zero Mission is kicking major ass and it's looking more and more like one of my favorite titles in the franchise, but I also felt the same way about Super as I was playing through that, so I'd like to do a back-to-back to get my thoughts compiled.

I will say that I'm not a huge fan of Fusion, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 09, 2016, 02:16:26 PM
I have been playing Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth on my Vita, and it's been pretty excellent so far (11 hours in). It plays like a combination of Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, and the Mega Man Battle Network games. I have some issues with how the story has progressed & the total crap-shoot that is getting the Digimon you like in Digi-volution (since Digimon you don't have are all in silhouette), but I'm rather enjoying the game so far and I haven't been into Digimon since the series was originally on TV.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on February 10, 2016, 12:34:41 AM
My only real complaint with the end game is the final mecha Ridley boss fight, which wasn't that interesting and felt pathetically easy.

Actually this one of the best things about the game.  If you 100% all the items the Mecha Ridley fight becomes a lot harder.  He's more aggressive with faster attacks that cause more damage and take more hits to kill.  Normally he takes 5 Super Missiles to the core to kill while with 100% items, he takes 15 Super Missiles to kill.

That's one of the things I really like about Zero Mission is they realized previous Metroids were really easy if you go for 100% and did something about it in this game.  So the final boss who's normally really easy, becomes challenging if you play the game in a way that normally makes it a cakewalk.  This makes the get 100% items in under 2 hours challenges really exciting since they have a great finish, especially on Hard mode since you have less missiles to fight and Samus takes even more damage on that mode.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 14, 2016, 07:23:26 AM
I've been getting back into Pikmin 3. Despite how huge a fan of the series I am and how much I liked what I played of this one, I didn't get too far into it before drifting away. Playing it now, though, I really don't understand how that happened, because I'm really loving it. It's kind of giving me the same feeling I got from Zero Mission, of this being the perfect synthesis of ideas from previous games in the series. Hopefully that new Pikmin game is still coming this year, because I have a feeling I may burn through the rest of this one.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 14, 2016, 10:23:54 PM
I picked Majora's Mask 3D back up again. I put it down because I was at a point where I needed to complete some mini-games on all three days and the first one was destroying some targets with a bombchu. It only took about 10 to 15 minutes, but I got the hang of it though I couldn't do that twice in a row. The mini-games on the other days weren't nearly as bad. Overall, it wasn't terrible, just annoying enough to cause me to stop playing for a month or so.

That pretty much sums up my relationship with Majora's Mask. It's good; I just can't love this game. There are parts that are absolutely brilliant (notably Stone Tower and the Anju/Kafei side quest) then there are parts that drag or are flat-out awful (notably 90% of the mini-games and almost all off Great Bay). Swimming is fucking terrible. It's made worse with the sub-par camera, and I'm playing the game on a New 3DS XL. The C-stick is largely fine for just about every other part the game. There's this one mini-game where you have to follow these beavers through underwater rings four times in a row to get a heart piece (you get a bottle after the first two rounds). WHAT THE FUC... I don't even remember this Superman 64 bullshit in the game. I've only completed Majora's Mask once back on Nintendo 64 (I started it on GameCube then quickly abandoned that idea). I got all the masks, but I don't know if I got all the heart pieces.

Like Ocarina of Time 3D, I wanted to use this opportunity to 100% Majora's Mask. Some of the side-quests and heart pieces are infuriating. Right now, I have to jump down some well then head off into one of my favorite dungeons on the entire series: Stone Tower. I haven't played it in over 15 years so I hope it holds up. If I had to guess, I probably have like six or seven hours left.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 15, 2016, 12:48:59 AM
@adrock: But you have to admit that Majora has the best shooting gallery of any Zelda game. I enjoyed the motion aiming of Skyward Sword enough to find the pumpkin shooting game extremely engaging despite how laughably basic it was. Imagine something as articulated as the MM shooting gallery with pointer shooting!

The Witness (PC):

I'd been looking forward to this game since its announcement, and paid full-price day one which is a real rarity for me.

Given sensitivity for this game, spoilers:

This game has gotten both really bad and perfect scores, and somehow it accomplishes both at the same time. I went through phases where I was hating it that would suddenly switch to finding it life-eatingly compelling. Eventually the good outweighed the bad, though the bad is fascinatingly hard to qualify, until the very end of the game. I finished every single goddamned panel of the game by myself (though I admit to having to look up how to unlock the entrance panel to the "post-game" caves), only to hit a wall with the "challenge" thing at the very end. The game inexplicably runs like **** on my computer, even on low settings, so the time trial random generation garbage is just impossible (or impossibly frustrating for me). I find this borderline heartbreaking after having put so much energy into methodically conquering the game, only to never be able to truly complete it.

Granted, I am nowhere near 100% on the "+" environmental puzzles, but I've got like 85% after combing the island as much as I care to. I know of about 5-6 more I haven't gotten because they're too much of a pain-in-the-ass to do, especially in the face of not being able to complete the challenge. The rest are mostly I imagine just not peering at the correct angle from random arbitrary points, and having looked it up, getting all of them doesn't even do anything. Odd experience overall. I don't regret it exactly, but I do wish it had turned out differently in a number of ways.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 15, 2016, 06:22:52 AM
@adrock: But you have to admit that Majora has the best shooting gallery of any Zelda game. I enjoyed the motion aiming of Skyward Sword enough to find the pumpkin shooting game extremely engaging despite how laughably basic it was. Imagine something as articulated as the MM shooting gallery with pointer shooting!
I don't know about the shooting gallery being the best in the entire series, and not because I necessarily disagree with you. I just don't remember the others. In any case, yes, the shooting galleries in Majora's Mask 3D are very good. They're better with motion controls too which I normally have turned off.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on February 15, 2016, 04:41:50 PM
So I've been addicted to the phone game Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes for the past month. Though made by EA, it is both fun and gives enough stuff for free to play people to get enjoyment out of it. There appears to be a nice balance of quality units for both free and paying players. If you do decide to spend money, the consensus is to buy the initial darkside pack for $5. Best bang for your buck and one of the only reasonably priced bundles. I chose to pass on it but this is the first game I have been tempted to drop actual cash on. I also like the number of characters included. It is a turn based squad RPG. Very fitting for the series as it hearkens back to KOTOR.


I also got Lego City Undercover as a Valentines gift from my wife. Seems to be a fun GTA/Sandbox style game so far with a lot of potential. Kind of nice to have a big Lego game that is original Lego content in a modern setting. I love the licensed titles, but this is a breath of fresh air, though the loading times are atrocious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on February 19, 2016, 04:42:46 PM
My birthday is in December so with that and Christmas I tend to get a big blob of games around the same time.  My brother got me Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2.  Initially I just gave it a go about a week ago since it was a used purchase and I figured I should make sure it actually worked before it was too late to return it.  I was currently playing Xenoblade X and I wasn't expecting to take a break from it.  But I am.  DQ8 is just too charming so I'm engrossed in it.  I won't have time today to play it and that is annoying me so that's when I know it's a good one.

I have not played the Dragon Quest series that much.  I have the first two games for the NES but they're pretty primitive, though I did spend a really fun afternoon with the first game when I first started collecting NES games.  The series conservative reputation always made it seem less interesting than the very flashy Final Fantasy.

But I think I kind of understand the appeal.  The simplicity has made it very easy for me to immediately get the combat and the gameplay.  It's very by-the-books RPG but it's done very well.  Meanwhile I still don't quite feel like I understand half of what's going on in Xenoblade.  One thing I really like, and I liked this about Bravely Default as well, is that it is truly turn based.  Once Final Fantasy introduced ATB so many RPGs have a realtime element to their combat but I find that misses the point.  I don't have great gaming reflexes.  The appeal of an RPG is that I can take my time to decide what to do next and that is lost in realtime RPGs.  And many of them make you go through menus in realtime.  What?!  Why would I want to play a game where maneuvering through menus efficiently is a required skill?  I might as well play typing tutors if I want that.

The whole thing is also very user friendly in that the only real punishment for dying is losing half of your money.  You keep all the items and experience you obtained.  So if your skill at the game is terrible you can still succeed through sheer will.  You could in theory die at a boss, go back to fight him again, die, go back to fight him again and just do it enough times that the experience you gain from the trek back to fight him would put you at a high enough level.  You still lose time so you are still penalized but it's more of a matter of trying to do better to get to the next part in a more efficient manner instead of "oh **** I have to do all that over again" which I find I have little patience for dealing with in adulthood.  The financial penalty also adds a certain gambling element.  Many times I'm debating about whether to return to town because I'm saving up for some item and don't want a death to ruin that.

The story is also more old-time whimsical fantasy without all the angst and, well, trying to be so damn cool that RPGs have had since FF7.  I'm not a teen anymore.  I don't care what's cool.  If anything I find cool annoying.  The game isn't trying to be cool and has very traditional gameplay - it's appealing to me because I'm an old fart! Ha!

I'm now thinking I should look into getting DQ9 on the DS afterwards or the remakes of the older games.  Should I just spend the year playing the whole series?  The game is working for me enough to that that thought crosses my mind.  With this showing up on the 3DS this year, if they don't screw up the port, I would recommend checking it out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on February 19, 2016, 06:23:27 PM
For a while Dragon Quest 8 was my go to podcast game, once you're out of town there is little to no reading that would mess with the other side of your brain that's listening to the podcast, and the parts where it requires full concentration are clearly defined. Xenoblade on the other hand has a lot of inventory management and talking with people in NLA and out in the field, meaning I'm more engaged but can't really multitask.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on February 19, 2016, 10:22:27 PM
I'm now thinking I should look into getting DQ9 on the DS afterwards or the remakes of the older games.  Should I just spend the year playing the whole series?  The game is working for me enough to that that thought crosses my mind.

Well the remakes on the DS are all pretty similar gameplay wise so if you like one you'll probably like the others.  I'd recommend DQV the most since I feel it has the overall best gameplay of the 3 remakes as well as the best story.  If you like it then IV and VI should be a no brainer.  Plus IV and V aren't too long so it wont require a huge investment.  DQIV is only about 20 hours to complete and another 5 if you want to complete the post game quest which gives you a happier ending.  DQV will take around 30 hours but the storyline has several timeskips and pretty engaging for a Dragon Quest so it'll go fast.  DQVI though can take around 50 hours and can get kind of grindy depending on how you want to develop each of your characters because of the job system, but if you like the gameplay from the previous games it's still worth a playthrough.


So it's take about 100 hours to play all 3 of the DS remakes, which isn't that bad considering it's 3 different games and the battles move really fast as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 19, 2016, 10:36:18 PM
...
I'm now thinking I should look into getting DQ9 on the DS afterwards or the remakes of the older games.  Should I just spend the year playing the whole series?  The game is working for me enough to that that thought crosses my mind.  With this showing up on the 3DS this year, if they don't screw up the port, I would recommend checking it out.

I'm also a big fan of the DQ series for many of the reasons you describe.

However, even though I adore the series it tends to leave me wanting some variety after extended play. For me, playing one game from the main series per year has felt just about right and kept the whole experience from feeling too "samey".

I would definitely recommend the DS remakes of IV through VI and also Dragon Quest IX very highly. Many people say that V is the most interesting. Not sure it was my favorite, and I seemed to enjoy VI more than most (grinding didn't bug me since it was often done while watching sports on TV or listening to podcasts). IX is fantastic but felt very open and non-linear compared to the narrative-driven style of older games - maybe I'm misremembering though, since it's been a long time since I went back to IX?

After finishing the last DS release last month, the upcoming 3DS remakes will be arriving at a perfect time!
 :)


---


Oh right - was going to post about what I'm playing...


Gave up on Lunar Dragon Song (DS) after getting about 80% through the game (based on GameFaqs check).

I actually liked a lot of ideas in the game, but there were just too many little problems to care about seeing it through to the end. The AI targeting (for friendly characters) during battles is garbage and slows everything down. Having expensive equipment randomly break and leave your characters exposed wasn't a good system. The "delivery" system to earn cash is a neat idea, but also time-consuming and not particularly fun. In the end, this game just doesn't respect the player's time.

Those things combine to make the in-game systems not as good as they probably should be... and topping everything off, the story is pretty poorly told and not all that interesting.

Probably sounds like I'm hating on the game a lot... but that's not really true. The game had lots of neat ideas, and was fun to play while figuring out how everything worked, but it also had flaws and simply couldn't compel me to play until the end. I'd love to see someone take some (not all) of the ideas used here and reuse them in a game with more polish.

Not recommended, but I think that the bad reputation this game has is (mostly) undeserved.



Now I'm moving on to another poorly rated DS title: Battles of Prince of Persia.  This game is clicking with me more, although I'm still early on.

One of my other hobbies is board games - including some big, complex wargames that simulate real life battles. Why do I mention that?  Because Battles of Prince of Persia feels a lot like a digitized very of one of those games. Terrain modifiers, unit facing, broken or spent units, command ranges, zones of control, etc etc... if you have played wargames then a lot of what happens in this DS title will be very familiar.

Additionally, turns are a series of card-based choices where you spend each card either as an "event" or for a number of operational points that can activate units for movement and/or combat. This is a very similar system to many of my favorite wargames.

This feels like a very niche game, but so far it seems to be my niche. Sure, I'd rather have a digital version of Hannibal Rome vs Carthage, Paths of Glory, or We the People (go look them up at www.boardgamegeek.com (http://www.boardgamegeek.com) if you want details) but that's just not going to happen. This weird little Prince of Persia spin-off isn't great but is at least interesting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on February 19, 2016, 10:55:18 PM
The story is also more old-time whimsical fantasy without all the angst and, well, trying to be so damn cool that RPGs have had since FF7.  I'm not a teen anymore.  I don't care what's cool.  If anything I find cool annoying.  The game isn't trying to be cool and has very traditional gameplay - it's appealing to me because I'm an old fart! Ha!


This. I miss the old fantasy setting and story for RPGs. No one does it anymore. That is why when I recently played Ys the series was a huge hit for me. It is textbook fantasy. It was a major appeal of the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 20, 2016, 10:55:29 AM
Oh, Ys Book I and II were so delightfully simple. Not sure if I can say the same about later entries in the series.

They also take actual skill to play.

I like when my RPGs try to be different, but I see your point in wanting something classic. One of the reasons I find Final Fantasy titles beyond V so hard to get into is because they're self-contained universes that have a lot of technical aspects to them. I couldn't believe there was a lore section in Final Fantasy XIII's menus, but I suppose that's only one of the glaring issues that game has. Games like Etrian Odyssey, which have relatively tame settings but absurd sci-fi aspects, are enjoyable when the story is light. Likewise, I've found Shin Megami Tensei's universe very engaging. Yes, Shin Megami Tensei, not Persona.

Mostly I like stories that are told genuinely. It's one of the reasons I like The Last Story, hate to bring it up again. It is cliche'd and actually has some Final Fantasy-like sci-fi twists, but the characters are very genuine and enjoyable. The European accents really only add to the experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on February 21, 2016, 04:20:53 PM
I just started my annual replay of the NES Zelda titles. I am going to beat them both and then go through the different ones I have on Wii U virtual console, before digging into Wind Waker for a serious run once and for all. I figure if I can ever get past that stupid pirate island part that always makes me lose interest I might actually get into the game this time. I decided to play them in reverse order though so I am starting with Zelda II and if, and ONLY if I finally beat that son of a bitch will I replay Zelda NES again. I have beaten only two Zelda games in my lifetime, original and Link to the Past. I was on the final dungeon area of Minish Cap when my save got deleted, stupid sister! and I could never bring myself to go back to it after that.

So this weekend I am playing Zelda II on the NES, until I beat it or until I get bored.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 21, 2016, 04:56:05 PM
Minish Cap has a great final boss that's uncharacteristically difficult. At least, that's what memory tells me. I might have to go back to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on February 21, 2016, 07:50:48 PM
I thought all Zelda final bosses are difficult? Maybe I haven't played enough Zelda games to the end it would seem. Also it didn't as long to get bored as normal. I could blame it on the weather but the weather has been nice, so I have to place the blame on the headcold that decided to sneak up on me this weekend and screw with my brain.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on February 22, 2016, 01:06:17 AM
Minish Cap has a great final boss that's uncharacteristically difficult. At least, that's what memory tells me. I might have to go back to it.

Yep, you're remembering it right.  The final boss fight for Minish Cap was awesome and by far the best in the series because of it's challenge.  Plus it's still the only Zelda final boss that requires you to use almost every item you've got during the game throughout the fight making it so much more satisfying. 

Hopefully Fujibayashi will make something like that in 3D with the upcoming Zelda.  I was really disappointed with Skyward Swords final boss fight being just a boring sword fight after the awesome final boss fights he made in the Oracle games and Minish Cap.  I'll let it slide for now because Skyward Sword was his first 3D Zelda so hopefully since he's more experienced with 3D design now he'll go all out for the upcoming Zelda and deliver on making a great final boss again.



I thought all Zelda final bosses are difficult?


Nope, most final boss fights in Zelda games are pretty easy.  Anyone that has a remote understanding of the games mechanics by that point can easily overcome them and most are no different then the average boss fights you do earlier in them.  The only exceptions are the Oracle games, Minish Cap and Spirit Tracks since these games actually try to demand more action from the player then the rest of the game did by creating clearly harder and more challenging experiences then anything else the player has done before. 


Of course I'd also add Zelda 2 as well since I consider the Thunderbird to be the true final boss in that game since he's hard as **** and just one room away from the official final boss Shadow Link who most people can easily cheese, but come on, you have to beat the Thunderbird first and he's a real asshole.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: michaelbaysuperfan616 on February 22, 2016, 10:10:40 AM
I guess I just don't have enough experience with them but I was going off old G4 videos and some youtube videos that I remembered watching.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 24, 2016, 12:05:41 AM
Devil May Cry 3 (360 through HD Collection):
Most of my gaming time last two weeks was occupied by other Capcom action game, and while recovering from beatdown it gave me, i decided to continue progressing through Hard campaign with Dante. Initially i wanted to complete Hard with Vergil, but his controls are just messing my brain (mostly three way switching, i keep confusing which weapon i have at the moment even with just two weapons in rotation, let alone three).

Man i forgot how taxing this game on wrist. Constantly keeping devil trigger button, gun button, and actively holding and release lock-on button -- finger jumble.

Transformers: Devastation (Steam):
Not sure why i dropped it really.

I picked it up last night and apparently i was at what feels like tail end of the game with all bosses all coming at me one after another.

Blitzwing was especially cool.

I mean he can transform into Jet that bombs ice shards AND he can transform into Tank that is all on fire AND in humanoid form he can fire his cannon AND in slo-mo you can actually catch his projectile as it is leaving the barrel AND hit him with it (!!!!):

And other bosses are no slouches too: fighting Starscream in warp space (dat theme tho (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsgRt4fm0Y)), Menasor that is the size of skyscraper but acts, moves and dodges as fast as a regular sized enemy, some other robot who transforms into lazer gun making all kinds laser fences all over the arena.

Also during breaks on work

Binding of Isaac (Steam):
After registering 134 hours, i can say that this game is a'ight:
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/317871932007014461/F5BE3CC8AD6E221BA820196162FA193108E3626B/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=626113179)
Due to Steam achievement shenanigans (old Flash version is kinda buggy) my game didn't count several complete playthroughs (all the way down to Mom's Heart and even lower down to Satan). My stats stubbornly kept saying i only killed Mom 4 times. I had change my Steam cloud setting for kill stat to finally start counting right.

Crypt of the Necrodancer (Steam):
Great game, great music:

One interesting aspect is how this game does metagame. In Binding of Isaac you can literally manipulate your luck in your favour to get better item drops. In Crypt of Necrodancer you can go to Janitor and eliminate unneeded or simply weak items from item pool completely.

And the main gameplay is very original too.

Pinball FX (Zen Pinball) (Steam):
Bought several Zen Pinball tables on sale for 2+ bucks, including my favourite, Excalibur:
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/317871932007749028/3B1F74FC14EDD763ADDB8EEB9CE292A86FF620C0/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=626191598)
This port doesn't seem to be affected by weird physics of Zen Pinball 2 and plays more or less like 3DS port (my preferred version). Initial ball launching is a bit harder to time skillshots out of the gate, but everything else "feels" the same.

And obviously it looks nicer because it is on PC and i am using vertical monitor to play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on February 28, 2016, 11:24:27 PM
I think I'm done with Undertale. The game is well written and just oozes charm in every direction. I just don't have the patience to sit and restart boss battles that only get tougher and tougher while you have to stick it out with your base set of stats in order to achieve the "good" ending. I really don't want to sit here for an hour and not feel like I've made progress. Which is a shame because the game is good and there's good stuff to be found. It's just that one sticking point, I guess.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 29, 2016, 07:59:51 AM
Finally started Telslagrad (Wii U).


When this was first coming out, I really liked the art style and thought the developers had some great ideas. Using magnetic/electric powers in a platform/puzzle game seemed extremely promising. But somehow it fell off my radar for a while and - even though I owned the game - never quite made it onto my "now playing" list.


Having finally dropped a few hours into the game, I'm not really impressed. There isn't anything bad to complain about... but controls feel a bit loose and level design has mostly been "meh" all around.  It's still early enough that things might improve - but they also might not get any better, which tends to be common in my experience with indie games. If anything, they tend to start out better and go downhill.


Overall I do like the game, but don't love it and can't help but feel a bit disappointed - even though that is my own fault for going in with relatively high expectations.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 29, 2016, 04:28:57 PM
I had the same exact experience with Teslagrad as you, ejamer.

If anyone is interested, my review can be found here. (http://nerdraeg.blogspot.jp/2015/01/review-teslagrad.html)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on February 29, 2016, 08:55:03 PM
I had a bad time with Teslagrad, mostly because the game had a habit of hard locking at some crucial times when I was stuck on a particular platforming challenge. The constant failure + that grating sound when your console hard locks just killed it for me. Which is a shame because the game looked good and there was something there that could have resulted in a good game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 29, 2016, 09:05:08 PM
Yeah, I think I chimed in before, but Teslagrad might be my most rued eShop purchase. I don't think it ultimately even had that great of an aesthetic and the animations were distractingly un-filled in. I felt like half the game was just dicking with fiddly physics ****, probably my least favorite thing to do in puzzle-oriented games. Did anyone collect all the scroll thingies and get to the real final boss? I gave up after I saw what the shaft race one entailed and just looked it up, and it seemed like 4X worse than any other boss.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 29, 2016, 11:14:32 PM
The shaft scroll was agonizing to obtain and I completely agree on the physics- I'd rather a game force me to do something with strict guidlines than make me continuously struggle to make them work JUST RIGHT because of how unpredictable they are.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 02, 2016, 07:47:35 PM
I had a bad time with Teslagrad, mostly because the game had a habit of hard locking at some crucial times when I was stuck on a particular platforming challenge. ...


I had no issues with hard locks in Teslagrad... until the final boss. I knew his patterns and was ready to finish the game, but twice the game hard locked just before I could get the final hit.  Kind of sums up the overall feelings I have about the game - it's so close to being good, but can't quite cross the finish line.


In the end I'm glad to have played the game despite it failing to live up to expectations. The experience was short enough that I could plow through rough spots, and it's not that rare for indie games to be better in concept than execution.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stogi on March 02, 2016, 08:08:18 PM
Anyone have XCOM 2? Thoughts?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 02, 2016, 08:48:44 PM
Anyone have XCOM 2? Thoughts?


Terror From the Deep kicked ass. Still can't believe that I beat it, and the final mission had a great surprise.
That's probably not what you're asking though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on March 02, 2016, 11:57:52 PM
Anyone have XCOM 2? Thoughts?
Anyone have XCOM 2? Thoughts?


Terror From the Deep kicked ass. Still can't believe that I beat it, and the final mission had a great surprise.
That's probably not what you're asking though.
LOL

But for reals, it is badass. Every aspect of gameplay is much better than is better than XCOM 1. You have so many options and toys to commit war crimes against the alien scum. Mods are great as they really enhance the game. The voice packs are nice on PC as they are flaky on Mac at this time. Question do you like timed missions? THere are a lot more of them and some people will bitch endlessly about them even though it is an integral part of the gameplay.

There can be quite a lot of bugs though and right now Mac is slightly ahead on squashing them. CTD, gameplay bugs, UI pauses. If you can tolerate them then get the game otherwise wait for the patches.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on March 03, 2016, 09:20:47 PM

I had no issues with hard locks in Teslagrad... until the final boss. I knew his patterns and was ready to finish the game, but twice the game hard locked just before I could get the final hit.  Kind of sums up the overall feelings I have about the game - it's so close to being good, but can't quite cross the finish line.


I had this exact same experience.  The other problem for me was the controls. Teleportation had to be really precise...especially on that final boss.  It took me forever just to get close to beating him.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 06, 2016, 10:48:19 PM
I played a lot of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U this weekend. I'm really close to completing all the challenges in the 3DS version. I managed to finally beat Classic on 9.0 intensity with a heavily customized Ganondorf. Master Core is such an ass. The only challenges I have left are the ones that will naturally take forever: collect all Smash Run powers, collect all custom outfits, headgear, and special moves, and play Smash mode for 50 hours. I have six trophies left, one of which is behind one of those challenges.

As for the Wii U version, I'm no where near completing anything. I started going through the challenges. I have like 80 of the 140 completed. Some of them are pure silliness. I've referred to The Youtube and The Google many, many times. Some of the challenges are probably not going to happen. I had a bit of trouble clearing solo All-Star Mode in under six minutes with Shulk. It would have been easier had I done this prior to the DLC character releases. That took over an hour. How long will it take to complete Trophy Rush with Dr. Mario after getting eight fever rushes? Or clearing solo Classic Mode on 9.0 intensity without losing a single life? I don't think I have the patience for that. Mainly I want to unlock all the music which requires me to run through all the modes I've largely ignored since the game came out like Special Orders.

After three and a half years, I finally got to the opening title in The Last Story. I was very tempted to start Twilight Princess HD, but I held off because I really want to play through my backlog. Anyway, it's a bit difficult to comment on The Last Story considering I'm only like an hour in. I don't fully understand the battle system yet though that always takes some time. I'm using the Classic Controller Pro which is an adjustment. On a related note, I'm glad that I'm finally using the Wii Remote rapid charging cradle/rechargeable battery I bought last year.

The music is pretty excellent so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 06, 2016, 10:57:25 PM
Music is Nobou at his best. One of my favorite of his soundtracks.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on March 07, 2016, 04:19:07 PM
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest- Yes I know I bitched a lot, but I figured I'd give Conquest, the one aimed at old FE fans, a shot. I started on Hard mode and holy **** this is actual Fire Emblem. With minimal anime cringe so far. Love it, I'm stuck on Chapter 9 and it has been a slow process, but it is a fun challenge. They did a much better job of balancing the game, enemies finally pair up, and abilities are better applied to enemies. Deciding whether to pair someone up or have them side by side matters a lot. I'm happy with it. Hoshido is still casual trash, but I love this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 08, 2016, 11:05:44 PM
Screencheat on my PS4:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdE579iWwAEXDzN.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdE0Xo8WIAAOCNH.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdE2DCEW8AA68fL.jpg:large)

It's a silly game.  :P:

It's a very fast-paced split-screen multiplayer shooter based around one simple concept: cheating by looking at your opponent's window. Why? Because all the players are invisible. It's an amusing spin on MP, and the shooting has a nice retro feel to it that reminds me a lot of N64 GoldenEye. I could see it being a great party game. The game does have online play, also, though I haven't heard anything good about the online servers.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 10, 2016, 08:16:00 AM
Not sure what to play lately, so am messing around with a few older games (and casually playing one new game). Using my PSP Go a lot because of the convenience - easy to carry with me, or can connect to a TV, and gives me the ability to slip into sleep mode when something more important interrupts.


Crash Team Racing (PSOne Classics) - Meh.  Racing games don't do a lot for me, but this is the perfect kind of game for my mood right now: very light and easy to play in short bursts. The rubber banding AI is crazy (as was the trend when this released, I believe) but there is still enough going on with racing/controls to keep it interesting.  As good as Mario Kart? Ehhh... I don't think so, and especially graphically it's way behind, but it's still a good game.


Rayman 2: The Great Escape (PSOne Classics) - Lots of great ideas on display, but maybe too ambitious as some ideas work out better than others. Still a nice throwback to classic 3D action/platforming - always wanted to play this game back in the day, might have even owned it on N64 at one point, but never got around to playing beyond the first level or two.


Unfortunately, the PSOne version appears to be a bad port. I vaguely remembered the game looking and playing better than it does here, and checking online suggests that I'm right: level design and graphics both seem downgraded, although the voice acting that surprised me here wasn't in N64 release (I'm neutral on that addition - but pretty down about the graphics and gameplay cuts). Has anyone here played the 3DS release?  I've read differing reports about the quality of that version, but wouldn't mind owning a better release of the game.


Dragon's Crown (Vita via PSTV) - Had been playing the D&D: Chronicles of Mystara game on Wii U, but shifted to this game because it can be played from bed for a few minutes at a time before I fall asleep. Still early in the game, but enjoying it so far. The art is absolutely gorgeous, although if too many characters get on screen at once you basically can't see what's happening.


I wish the camera was zoomed out slightly - although the over-sized characters look great, there just isn't enough screen real estate to make the most of the gameplay/graphics. Maybe the PS3 version is better in that regard and this is an artifact of playing a portable game on a big screen?


The game made waves due to very over-the-top character design; I'm not offended or affected by it (although admit that there is clearly more jiggle on display than there needs to be) and find Dragon's Crown to be a refreshing contrast from Nintendo's "we have to think of the children" localization efforts.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on March 10, 2016, 12:34:43 PM

Rayman 2: The Great Escape  Has anyone here played the 3DS release?  I've read differing reports about the quality of that version, but wouldn't mind owning a better release of the game.



I do. It was actually the launch game I bought with my original 3DS because the launch line-up was rather weak and I always heard that Rayman 2 was supposed to be a really good platformer from the 64 era. Of course, with how much the game has since dropped in price from its original release, I do regret purchasing it so early at that cost. Yet, I can't deny that I did enjoy it and even though it has some rough spots, it is a pretty entertaining platformer. This is the brief review I gave it on my Backloggery page:

Quote
I give this game a 3.5. It has a lot of diversity and I did like the 3D effect. I'd never played it before but I'd remember hearing good things about it way back when it was first released. It definitely shows it's age not just in graphics but also in the controls especially in The Iron Mountains when racing on top of a rocket. That said, I still had a good time and quite enjoyed it. Music was also quite good in many areas.

Honestly, I liked to use this game as an example to show other people the 3D effect of the 3DS for the first year of the system. Even though it is the chunky 64 type graphics, the 3D effect works pretty well with them and this game really helped sell me on 3D being a great fit for games. If you like the 64 type era of platformers with big spaces and collectible hunting, then you should still find enjoyment with Rayman 3D and will appreciate that we have the circle pad now for handheld gaming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on March 11, 2016, 08:52:02 AM
I'm finally getting around to playing Link's Awakening DX for the first time (one of the few Zelda games I haven't played).  I'm only at the golden leaf quest (before the third dungeon), but have pretty much enjoyed every aspect of the game so far.  I love the item that allows Link to jump, the bizarre 2D platforming sections, and even the part where Link carries the chain chomp around.  As other people have said, the game is challenging, but doesn't seem unfair so far.  My only big complaint is that you only have two buttons to map to items.  Obviously, this is a Gameboy limitation, but it is pretty tedious to have to constantly remap items.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 11, 2016, 08:59:13 AM
...


You've convinced me to keep an eye open for the game. When I find one at a decent price, will definitely pick it up.
(It's $7.50 on eShop now, but I'd rather get a physical copy and figure it shouldn't be too hard to find one for $10 or $15 eventually.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 14, 2016, 06:46:35 AM
Paper Mario
I wanted to play something lighthearted, Paper Mario has been sitting there on the Wii U menu screen for months. I haven't played the game since 2001, and I barely remember any of it. I also wanted to play through it before starting The Thousand Year Door which I'll get to after The Last Story and Snake Eater 3D.

Anyway, the graphics are dated yet they surprisingly hold up for an N64 game thanks largely to the art style. The prologue isn't great if only because you don't have the Lucky Star item yet which is what makes the entire battle system interesting and fun. After going through Dry Dry Desert one screen at a time, I finally got to Dry Dry Ruins before switching over to...

The Last Story AKA Side-Quest: The Video Game
I'm still on Chapter 4. I've been actively avoiding Dagran to explore Lazulis City which is super-daunting. I'm still having some trouble getting around. Generally, this is where I stop playing RPGs. While I realize that they take time to get going, I get impatient, plan to go back to them then never do. Surprisingly, I didn't mind this errand chapter. First, it's Chapter 4 and the game gave you a taste of the battle system and actual gameplay before this. Second, unlike Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword for example, running around talking to people and collecting stuff was largely optional and I always knew what I had to do to advance (Dagran finds you while you're wandering the city and you can either go with him immediately or putz around some more then meet up with him later). I think the point of and much of the charm in The Last Story is that the main hub feels like a bustling city with people rather than mere NPCs living in it. The game largely succeeds here though it may be limited by the budget and (potentially) what the Wii allows. Some people have voice clips and others don't. While it's hilarious and at least thus far, pointless than you run into people and they react, the voices repeat. Also, you can shoot banana peels at people's feet, and they fall. Why? It was a funny little detail that didn't go unappreciated like hitting your head on low signs.

I still have a couple things to do before actually advancing the story. It requires me to Seek things on the ground. I need to give this guy iron and copper (I have the former). I'm not a huge fan of finding things on the ground because you have like a second before they go away. I don't get that. Despite doing very little in this chapter besides running around and getting lost, I'm enjoying The Last Story so far. As far as criticisms, the world and inhabitants could use more color, and the character designs are nothing to write home about (not terrible, just not particularly memorable or distinctive). Zael and Dagran's designs are rather boring. Syrenne is the only one that stands out, due mostly to the large tattoo and having some color to her design. She's the most interesting character so far since everyone else is either a sock puppet or generic anime trope. Even then, Syrenne falls into anime trope territory, but at least she has some personality. I don't know if this gets grating further into the game. Right now, I don't mind the tough girl/heavy drinker type. I'll give the game more time before I form any definitive opinions about the characters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 14, 2016, 01:06:26 PM
The characters will really grow on you. Trust me. Also, you've barely met some of the more interesting characters, in terms of design. If you're looking for color, I have some good news for you, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Needless to say, you'll be getting it soon enough.

Also, the seeking system might feel a bit weird and uncomfortable at first, but once you find the prime seeking spots (there's a few alleyways that are built really well for chaining drops), you'll find how ridiculously easy the system is, and how you can really achieve material grinding for a number of quests and such in two or three minutes. I'm not sure if the game explains it, but if you continuously spot seeking points on the ground within close succession, the more rare the materials become.

I'd recommend, after every "story-based" chapter, trying to look around for townsfolk and such, because some of them offer "side quests" that are actually full chapters based around neat combat gimmicks. As I said, you won't fully obtain the best parts of the combat system until around chapter 10.

UGH I want to replay this game now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 20, 2016, 03:44:24 AM
Lately I've been hooked on Story of Seasons for 3DS. I got this when it came out and played it a bit, but drifted away despite enjoying it. Now that I'm back to it I really don't know how that happened.

For those who don't know, this is the new Harvest Moon game. Marvelous, who always made the series, decided to start publishing them in the west themselves, but couldn't call it that because Natsume still owns that trademark. This game is a fairly natural evolution of the previous game in the series, released here as Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, but it fixes a lot of the issues I had with that title.

My biggest complaint with the previous game was that it took too long to get going. The series has traditionally been somewhat slow-paced, but that game took it to too much of an extreme. This game gets you going at a considerably better pace. Like A New Beginning, this game is heavily based around customization, with the ability to craft dozens of different items to improve and alter your farm.

Only being able to buy and sell things (with a few exceptions) on certain days when various traveling sales caravans are in town starts out as an annoyance, but I've come to really enjoy how it makes you rethink your approach to the game. If they're going to be here on Thursday, you have to base your schedule for the few days prior to that around maximizing what you get out of that opportunity. It's a nice way to add variety to a series that can sometimes feel like just doing the same thing over and over on an endless loop.

This is my favorite game in the series in a long time, if not ever. It offers the right mix of depth and accessibility, streamlining aspects that needed it without feeling dumbed down in any way. I'm interested to see what they're going to do with the recently announced sequel, as for once there's nothing I can really point to that needs to be changed or fixed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 20, 2016, 12:52:00 PM
I'm simultaneously playing Mutant Mudds Super Challenge and finishing up Elliot Quest in preparation for Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus launching soon on Wii U. As I've stated before, I'm a huge Mudds fan, and the difficulty of Super Challenge doesn't bother me all that much. Playing without checkpoints is how I did the original, and I find that utilizing them really strips the game of most of its challenge.

Only just started playing World 2 (made sure I unlocked everything in World 1 before progressing), and the only weak point I can really cite was the boss of World 1. It just felt a bit haphazard and the mechanics and animations were a bit too punishing without being able to use pure skill to maneuver around them. That's disappointing, especially after the very decent boss battle(s?) of Xeodrifter, which had really tight, but well-telegraphed attack animations. Hoping this improves slightly as the game goes on.

Speaking of reading boss animations, Elliot Quest continues to frustrate and delight with its massive overworld, varied stage design, and surprisingly deep side quests. This is a more polished version of Adventure of Link with lots of charm and brutal boss encounters. I'm only attempting a 100% completion because of the karma system, though I may stop before getting all the heart pieces- then again, maybe not, because you need as much health as you can get in this game. Dr. Metts talked about this before he departed RFN, but I highly recommend it as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: stalfo on March 21, 2016, 05:05:53 PM
Like Evan I'm also playing Mutant Mudds Super Challenge and man what a super fun game. It is a difficult title and you'll die a lot (don't worry it reminds you exactly how many times with the death counter), but I'm still having a lot of fun. Most of the challenge is tough, but fair although the one boss I've encountered so far was the only thing that has really gotten me frustrated so far.


I just wrapped up Conquest yesterday afternoon and enjoyed it a fair bit more then I did Birthright. Going to give myself a week or two, time to jump into Hyrule Warriors Legends before coming back to wrap up Revelations. Then I'll likely ping pong between Revelations and Legends and hopefully wrap them both up for the release of Bravely Second.


Also been jamming out on some Pokken Tournament and liking it a lot. I said in another thread, I'm shocked at how much my sister and GF are loving the game despite not being very big into gaming at all. Hopefully I can practice up and play some other forum users! If you do read this and want to battle hit me up! Prob respond quicker on twitter @case_jets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 22, 2016, 09:11:38 PM
Has anyone else played The Swindle?  Picked it up during the (ongoing) Curve Games sale on Wii U and am completely engulfed by it.  This is the first time in a long time I've exhausted the GamePad controller in an evening, and feel bad that I can't keep playing.


Procedural levels, a pretty big set of unlockables, a need to figure things out yourself... it's not an easy game so far, but is incredibly entertaining. My only complaint is that I feel like the controls are a bit wonky, but as you upgrade your character that gets better so I'm assuming it's mostly intentional during early levels.


I like how spectacularly I can fail in this game. It's slow paced most of the time, as you plan and observe. Then has tense moments of quick action and (if you set off the alarms) desperate escapes. Getting just a little bit more money, even though you know you should cut and run with the loot you've already gathered, is always so tempting.


Anyway, thought it worth posting about. People should check out the trailers and consider giving this game a shot. Well worth the low asking price right now!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on March 22, 2016, 09:52:51 PM
I thought about buying it on the last sale but I had too many games on my backlog to justify getting it. I really want to play it though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 22, 2016, 10:31:29 PM
It's on sale right now? I might have to get it. I heard mixed things about it (namely, that is was too difficult) but the premise seemed super cool to me, and difficulty has rarely stopped me before.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 23, 2016, 02:14:51 AM
Instead of playing one of the multiple Fire Emblem titles I own but haven't started, I've been going back and playing Advance Wars: Dual Strike. It's really good, but my god, the CO powers are just ridiculously unbalanced in this game. This game got a little too complicated for its own good, with certain concepts either not fleshed out enough, or, in the case of those powers, fleshed out too much. Despite all that, though, I'm really loving that, and wishing Nintendo would have Intelligent Systems take a break from the stream of Fire Emblems to crank out a new entry in this series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 23, 2016, 08:57:31 AM
It's on sale right now? I might have to get it. I heard mixed things about it (namely, that is was too difficult) but the premise seemed super cool to me, and difficulty has rarely stopped me before.

It is on sale now until (I believe) the end of the month.  I think it was something like $5.

The game is difficult, and some people will probably really dislike the way it's structured. The trick is that you have 100 total attempts to pull off the ultimate swindle - but before you can even attempt that mission you need to do a bunch of smaller jobs to earn cash, buy upgrades, and unlock new levels. Every run you go on counts towards that 100 limit, whether you are successful and earn a bunch of cash or fail and come back empty-handed (or worse).  There is also a definite learning curve, which means you'll probably have to start from scratch (ie: no power-ups, stealing from the slums again) at least once.

In addition, the game punishes taking too many risks pretty harshly. You build up a multiplier for every successful swindle but that bonus value gets reset (in addition to earning no money and getting one step closer to the end of the game) every time your thief gets caught or dies. You don't lose any cash previously banked, and purchased upgrades carry over to your next thief - but since money is required to unlock everything, you really need to decide when to cut and run or it will cost far more than you'd expect.

Summed up: This is a game where you can't slowly grind to a win. That flat out won't work. You must continually improve and minimize mistakes to be successful. You need to spend time with the game and (most likely) start over at some point before you'll have the skill and knowledge required to win.

Neither of those detract from the high points for me, because I enjoy each stage individually and don't yet feel a need or expectation to win everything. But I can see how some people would get frustrated with those design choices.


Update: Almost done the game, I think. With roughly 50 days left (after using the hack station to buy some time extensions) I've got all power-ups and am ready to hit the final stage - but am running into some problems.  On more than one occasion, my console has frozen playing late-game levels. It makes me pretty nervous to pony up for the final approach, since you essentially lose a level when it happens.

Ugh... after having similar issues with Telsagrad I was really really hoping for this game to play smoother. Still loving the overall experience (despite mildly clunky controls and a few frustrating bugs) and recommend the game, but this is a real bummer and needs to be mentioned along with any sort of recommendation.


Update #2:  Giving up at this point. One in three runs seems to end with my console hard-locking, which the game treats the same as dying despite me not doing anything wrong. Very frustrating to do a successful Bank run to earn enough cash only have the game freeze during the opening room of The Swindle... twice, in immediate succession.

Still like the game, and want to play more... but the technical issues are inexcusable and frustrating enough to overwhelm my desire to see the end. It's a real shame too - but 8+ crashes over the course of today (and a few earlier) is too much to just overlook and forgive.

Really not feeling much love for indie games right now.   :(


Final Update: Beat the game properly after multiple attempts.

Seem like the crash is related to hacking drones (maybe) while in a really busy level? Or maybe related to remote detonation? Ok, I still don't know what's causing the crashes... but I did report my issues to customer support with Curve Digital and they were communicative and very pleasant. Doesn't get rid of the problem, but my fingers are crossed for an eventual patch.

Having finished the game, I've gone back several times for more.Still think it's a heck of an experience, despite my excessive complaining about the bugs.  (Oh right, one other bug to report. Sometimes when you blow up certain sections of the level, spikes aren't visible but still exist. Yep, that sucks too.)


I still recommend the game cautiously, as long as people are aware that this (in my opinion) wonderful game is hampered by some unfortunate coding issues unless a patch arrives.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 27, 2016, 04:14:21 AM
I've been playing a lot of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, which I picked up a few days ago. Didn't care for the 1st game due to the extreme lack of SP content and the really forced microtransactions, but the upgrade was only $8 after some trade-ins and the reviews were good. So far, I'm really digging this version. Calling the non-MP content in the game "single-player" is a bit much considering so many of the missions are just variants on the wave-based Garden Ops, but the fact that you now have this large open area to run around; explore; and get used to the characters makes a big difference to me. The microtransactions are also gone. Plus, I love the character design and the whimsical style of the game's flow. One thing I don't understand, though, is why the game requires an online connection to even get past the title screen.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on March 27, 2016, 10:12:30 AM
Modern gaming, everyone!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on March 31, 2016, 11:09:44 AM
Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo
You'd think the demo for the next Final Fantasy would be a big deal, but it's kinda buried in the PlayStation store. Anyway the demo it's self left me impressed, you get to play around with a few tech demo-y stuff and get a feel for the combat. You assign items to four slots that can be equipped with the d-pad and hold circle to attack or square to dodge/defend, then later in the demo you get the ability to with triangle throw your sword and teleport to it's location. It's fairly simple but I think I'm going to have to play some more to get a better feel for the timing which is where I think the nuance of the combat will lie. Two touches that I really appreciated were the rain that looks and sounds wet, and the animations for going up and down stairs.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on March 31, 2016, 06:36:40 PM
Instead of playing one of the multiple Fire Emblem titles I own but haven't started, I've been going back and playing Advance Wars: Dual Strike. I'm really wishing Nintendo would have Intelligent Systems take a break from the stream of Fire Emblems to crank out a new entry in this series.
At least the "casual" setting in the recent Fire Emblem games makes them play a little more like Advance Wars.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 01, 2016, 08:17:14 AM
...
I have been playing pass the controller co-op with the story mode of Job Island: Hard Working People also known as Help Wanted: 50 Wacky Jobs. It's a Hudson Wii Minigame collection, on the surface it would sound to the common man that this is just some bargain bin kusoge, however that is not the case. This here is a bona fide diamond in the rough, a Wii hidden gem.
...


After TOPHATANT123's mini-review convinced me to buy this, I have been playing the game with (and sometimes without) my kids.


Totally agree that it's a hidden gem.  Single-player (or "pass the controller") mini-game collections won't appeal to everyone, and if you hate the concept then stay away... but it's a really well made mini-game collection and wonderfully cheesy. Some of the games devolve into just finding the right motion to be consistently recognized, others into flailing silliness, while a good bunch use motion in very limited ways or not at all. Some are easy, some are hard, some are fun and others a bit lame - it's a really good mix overall, and there is no shortage of variety. (I'm a fan of the dairy farmer job personally. It totally cracked me up.)


Thanks for bringing it up previously, because otherwise there is no way I would have bought in. Totally worth the $8 or $10 bucks it cost to get a copy shipped across the border from eBay.com.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 10, 2016, 12:06:17 PM
Started playing Persona 3 Portable (PSP Go).  Still too early to give any meaningful comment, but so far I like it.  It's been a while since I really felt drawn into an RPG this way.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThePerm on April 10, 2016, 06:55:05 PM
Right now I am playing Stronghold Kingdoms. I want NWR people to play. I think we can take over a certain portion of the map if we work together. I am making a thread for it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on April 16, 2016, 04:19:58 PM
I visited an arcade last week for the first time in awhile, felt good.

Played:
Time Crisis 5, - still don't like the foot pedals
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/tc5cab_zpsz13gyjdg.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/tc5cab_zpsz13gyjdg.jpg.html)
Star Wars Battle Pod - That was a great experience, the screen wraps around you.
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/SWBattlePod-610_zpskpj7fr8d.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/SWBattlePod-610_zpskpj7fr8d.jpg.html)

Batman Arcade - Letting you choose your preferred version of the Bat-mobile is a nice touch.
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/859425_orig_zps41wzixps.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/859425_orig_zps41wzixps.jpg.html)

Tetris Dekaris - That was weird, giant joysticks that rumble when you get multiple line.
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/P1030753_zpsuffkglpj.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/P1030753_zpsuffkglpj.jpg.html)

School of Ragnarok - It was all in Japanese, so I don't know what it was about, but it was an interesting... fighting game? My cousin really liked it, so anyone know if it is coming to the US consoles or PC?
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/screenshot-large-293_zpsfciv5cma.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/screenshot-large-293_zpsfciv5cma.jpg.html)

Mario Cart DX was busy. :(



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on April 16, 2016, 06:27:59 PM
What?!? No DDR machine? Arcade fail!

Though it still looks like a fun time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on April 16, 2016, 06:52:04 PM
It's kind of in your neck of the woods, Stratos. It was on top of the Westfield SouthCenter in Tukwila.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on April 16, 2016, 06:54:14 PM
Oh! I think I've been there before! I had some leftover tokens kicking around for the longest time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on April 21, 2016, 12:53:19 AM
My favorite game crass of clan, other wise igi1,igi2 and everything
if you need any online service ,you can visit this site


Crass of Clan must be a new game. Probably hiring Kate Upton for their ad campaign too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on May 01, 2016, 09:03:10 PM
Kirby Return to Dreamland: Bought it on Wii U VC. I love it. This is one of my absolute favorite Kirby games since Super Star Ultra. Great fun with other people, the difficulty curve is slow, but steady. The gears are easy to find which isn't nearly a bad thing. The game looks beautiful as well.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
: Good game, neat idea with the ability combining. Shards are well hidden. Not one of my favorites, but certainly a very good game.

No More Heroes
: Are framedrops normal or is it just because I'm running it on the Wii U? Anyways, this is a unique game, probably Suda 51's best. Motion controls work naturally with the game. I don't like many games of this genre, but this is one of the best games I've played.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 01, 2016, 11:52:38 PM
As I mentioned in the "last thing you purchased" thread, I picked up Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus and I've been chipping away at it for a few days. If you like great atmosphere, lovely sprite-work, and Adventure of Link, this game is right up your alley. It has an Ocarina of Time-ish musical mechanic, called the Musicon, that's actually used to speak to characters and interact with the game world- sometimes, it works spectacularly, other times, it's a bit wonky. But the way they utilize dungeon "unlocks" as well as the Musicon is really novel and it gives the game a unique feel. It is a sequel, but they explain the plot of the first game at the beginning, and the first title is a point-and-click adventure, so you're not missing anything iterative.

However, I began to encounter a number of game-crashing bugs about halfway through the title, which is extremely aggravating. The only thing you can do, at least until Check Out My Game releases another patch- is save each time you do something you think is important so that you don't lose that progress. The bugs occur randomly and are usually caused by screen transitions.

I would recommend this game without hesitation if it weren't for its buggy state. The Wii U now has two great Adventure of Link indie titles (this and Elliot Quest, which coincidentally used to be just as buggy) that are reminding me of how much I love that game. If people continue to mimic that formula, it might overtake Metroidvanias as my favorite type of game design.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 13, 2016, 01:44:40 AM
I've been playing Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising lately. This is the only game in the series (of the ones released in the west) that I didn't get when it came out, so I'm playing it for the first time now on Virtual Console. Now that I'm playing it, I really wish I'd done so sooner. I think this may be my new favorite in the series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on May 19, 2016, 04:40:30 PM
I've been playing a lot of PS2 lately for some reason.  I recently moved it from my living room TV to the basement TV so I'm thinking my new found freedom to enjoy it privately without disturbing family members is a big factor.  Though unfortunately this involved switching from a CRT to an HDTV.

I recently snagged a copy of Burnout 3 for $5.  A friend of mine had one of the first two Burnouts on the Cube and I remember liking it a lot and the reputation was that THIS is the one to get.  It's a lot of fun though I tend to swear a blue streak whenever I crash, which is a lot.  The game constantly gives you points which earn you new cars and such.  It's kind of gives me an RPG feel and it's nice to always feel like some progress is being made even if I fail to medal in an event.  I have only a couple of beefs with it.  The music is what I would call brat rock.  Just all this pop punk stuff that was popular at the time and I can't imagine anyone over the age of 20 admitting to liking.  Not my style at all, though when I'm in the race I don't really notice it, it's more in the menus that I do.  I also suspect that as I've gotten further in the AI is cheating.  I had a time where I failed because a semi in the opposing lane swerved into me causing a head-on collision.  There are some events that don't give a lot of flexibility for comebacks.  There's a GP mode where you due three races in a row.  I will routinely finish first in the first two and get last in the third with the CP opponents running me off of the road.  There is also an elimination race where the last place in each lap is eliminated.  Surely enough I'm in first for the first lap and ten seconds from the finish line I get bumped right into an oncoming vehicle, literally every other car passes me as I crash, and I get eliminated.  This has happened three times in a row on a race I've been playing.  I might as well be getting hit with blue shells.

So the place I bought Burnout 3 from was offering 2-for-1 so I looked in the bin for another $5 to game and found GTA: Vice City, greatest hits version with no manual.  Now I have never played a GTA game before.  So let's see what all the fuss is about... hmmm, this kind of sucks.  I really wonder if this game is just really dated now and would have impressed me if I played it when it was current.  The cutscenes and story are all very cool, even if they're hard on the eyes these days.  Unfortunately the controls are just really terrible.  It's hard to aim, when I try punching someone I'm just as likely to punch the air next to them.  Ever try playing a 3D Zelda without using Z-targeting?  That's basically how this plays.  I figured the driving would be good but it really doesn't feel right, particularly since I was just playing a driving game.  First time on a motorcycle and I just outright missed a turn and crashed into water and died.  I've crashed into water a couple of times now and didn't even realize there was water in front of me.  Much of the appeal is that there's this vibrant city to play in but I'm guessing this doesn't hold up.  I find it hard to make out what's what and the city seems so empty.  There also feels like a lack of things to do which goes completely against my expectations.  I got tired of repeatedly failing a mission due to the inability to aim so I started just fucking around.  I beat up a few people, ramped my car over jumps, but quickly got bored.  So, GTA fans, are these shitty controls just a PS2 era thing or does GTA V control like this?  I'm assuming the game seems empty because it's an old game and it felt content rich at the time.  But, yeah, for a game that got so much praise at the time I'm really disappointed.  I don't really have any desire to continue playing it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 19, 2016, 07:14:08 PM
I've tried, once again, to get into the Mega Man franchise with Mega Man Battle Network 2. I was recommended this title over the first in the series because, like most Mega Man series, the second entry is where the gameplay supposedly gets much tighter and comes into its own.

That being said, this title seems to take the typical bullshit staples of the series- time-based rankings, weakness oriented boss and enemy encounters that are extremely strict, and the constant nagging reminder that you could do way better if you adhered to its mechanics, but with the additional tedium of grinding atop that! The dialogue and plot are atrocious, but the actual combat is quite nice- if only there wasn't an absurd amount of grinding necessary to get passable rankings for it. While I'm enjoying the twists on the RPG formula, too many are merely substitutions for long-standing concepts from the genre and aren't necessarily better. Battle ranking, for example, should push players to get better but not necessarily lock out enemy drops behind high ranks.

In other words, this is a game that, in my youth, I likely would have accepted and adapted towards because of how much I like the actual combat- but being older, sort of wiser, and more aware of when this franchise goes out of its way to waste my time, I likely won't be getting much deeper into the series after beating the final boss, unless it shakes up the formula in a very interesting way.

Also, I hate Mega Man.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 19, 2016, 08:19:57 PM
@IanSane

I've posted somewhere on this thread before, but like you I basically find the "classic" 3D GTA games unplayable beyond fucking around for a bit. But even that is limited by parts of the cities being gated behind mission progress, and gets boring quick anyway. I don't think GTA IV is any better, either, and has an extremely frustrating lack of checkpointing to boot. GTA V is the only one that I found functional enough to finish. The driving is actually solid, your vehicles don't flip and blow up at the slightest bump, and while the on-foot stuff is still stiff and laggy, the aiming system essentially automates this part of the game, and missions are designed around that automation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on May 19, 2016, 09:41:33 PM
I beat Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS) last night. I don't have the urge to do any post-game stuff since that's a lot of farming stuff which isn't the best part of the game despite the Story of Seasons relationship. I'm also playing Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS), my physical copy of Pokemon Rumble World (3DS), and Disney Art Academy!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on May 19, 2016, 09:59:25 PM
Infinifactory.

Build junk for your alien overlords using blocks. Sometimes the solution is blatantly obvious, other times you're come close to bending the rules to get it built. Everything has multiple solutions which is sort of represented by how the game is scored which is mostly there for your personal satisfaction than anything else other than some achievements. Like the engineer axiom Fast, Cheap, Good, the scoring is based on Cycles "Fast", Footprint "Good", Blocks "Cheap", pick two and you get to maximise one.

Later puzzles take hours to complete as you assemble the machine, work out the bugs and straight up demolish sections that can't work like you thought.

You build up a collection of common ways to construct counters, splitters, combiners, dismantling, inserters, movers and logic circuits so you can solve things more efficiently.

A fair number of the objects look simple to build but when broken down into steps needed to assemble, it gets crazy fast. It would be a massively easier if parts had an upward facing element instead of just side and downwards. Some assemblies you just throw the intended solution out the window by demolishing most of your feed object which you are suppose to keep together and just reassemble the individual pieces you create out of whatever process you put the through.

Other times you find the game highly encourages you to be extremely wasteful to the extreme(as a joke) like processing ~5% of a whale to make the product or destroying entire trees to make juice and a base, not the container itself out of the tree. You throw away about 85% of it as the process you have to put it through just doesn't remotely go fast enough as you have to put it through a machine you have no say on.

After you're done, you go can back to earlier puzzles with new tools and see if you can come up with a better solutions or optimize existing ones.

Highly recommended if you like 3D puzzle games with multiple solutions and a bit of Portal-ish story telling.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ellanshow7 on May 20, 2016, 06:30:23 AM
I'm back to playing Mario Maker.  ;D
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 21, 2016, 09:50:10 PM
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC):

After ultimately finding The Witness to be a letdown, I saw some talk online about this game, another long-gestating puzzler by an auteur figure.

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4_QgJYxchUM/maxresdefault.jpg)

It looks extremely basic in screen shots, and also while playing, but there's a strange unity at work here between content and presentation, augmented by a touch of uncanniness from the fairly unique "open world" presentation of the puzzle scape, where every individual level is part of a continuous landscape that falls away around the boundaries of each challenge.

In a sense this is something along the lines of Adventures of Lolo, in that you're primarily pushing around objects to achieve a goal, here being to cook both sides of every sausage by rolling each of two squares on each side over a grill tile (and there are multiple elevations at play). The first world gives something of a false impression, seemingly by design, implying that the game is one of those brain teaser type things where you move a larger piece through smaller pieces by shifting the smaller pieces around it. There's much more going on, however, that unfolds smoothly and at times astonishingly as the game progresses.

It's interesting that for all the put-on majesty and bluster of the Witness, it spends a huge amount of energy stringing out fairly basic and largely contextless brain-teaser style grid puzzles, that too often feel like you're doing an exercise book your grandma gave you as entertainment. Stephen's Sausage Roll is kind of the opposite, with a very humble veneer and seemingly simplistic gameplay that unfolds into a stunning array of creativity and solutions that feel exquisitely satisfying.

I will say that the controls are a little odd and unintuitive at first, but it becomes clear as the game develops that this is absolutely the way it had to be. Less defensible are certain arbitrary nuances of advanced mechanics that feel overly limiting for the sake of solution complexity only being able to step off of sausages "hot-dog" wise, sausage balancing on fork tines, for instance, but eventually I stopped noticing this stuff as the rules and techniques became ingrained.

It's pricey at $30, but you can also spend hours on individual puzzles, and there are dozens.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 31, 2016, 02:05:46 AM
I'm finally getting around to playing probably the biggest game on my pile of shame, Metroid Prime. I'm up to Phendrana Drifts, and I just got the thermal visor, and while I'm liking the game, I don't like it as much as the 2D games and I'd definitely still vote for Super Mario Galaxy for Game of the Decade.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 31, 2016, 07:43:08 AM

So close to finishing off a bunch of games:
* Persona 3 Portable (PSP Go) - Not living up to the hype for me (people were selling it as one of the best RPGs ever) but still very good and has been fun to play.
* Shantae & The Pirate's Curse (Wii U) - Found all the bats and have cleared the path to the final island. My kids want to watch the final battle though, so even though I'm close it might be a few days before I can play further.
* Help Wanted! 50 Wacky Jobs (Wii) - As it always does with this genre, the luster has worn off this mini-game collection and I'm ready to finish off the story mode. Still a solid game though, and I'm glad it was brought up here in the forums because otherwise I never would've known about it.

I'm finally getting around to playing probably the biggest game on my pile of shame, Metroid Prime. I'm up to Phendrana Drifts, and I just got the thermal visor, and while I'm liking the game, I don't like it as much as the 2D games and I'd definitely still vote for Super Mario Galaxy for Game of the Decade.


I hear you.


I've played Metroid Prime multiple times, starting over ever couple of years and getting a bit deeper in each time.  Still haven't come close to finishing it though.  As much as I like Metroid Prime, I still prefer the 2D entries for the series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 31, 2016, 11:14:42 PM
I'm trekking through a very specific, somewhat empty version of Hyrule for the third time in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD.

The textures are quite nice, but the lighting engine seems determined to screw them over during daytime/twilight sequences, where the image looks insanely over-exposed, and that's putting it gently. However, it's most intimate moments, including the darkness of dungeons and the night, really allow the game to shine, and some daylight sequences look quite nice. The game looks sharper, and there's little wrong with that- though some of the characters were specifically lumpy, there's not too much that is out of place here. I am enjoying the finer details of the story that I missed the first and second time, whether it's choreography of certain cutscenes, or really, the dungeon design in general. It's damn good. Having played quite a chunk of Zelda since the last time I popped Twilight Princess, I'm impressed with how organic and delightful much of the dungeon design is here, and I've only gone through the first two. I'm very excited to start (and finish) the water dungeon tonight, as it's always been a favorite of mine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on June 01, 2016, 09:00:34 AM
I'm very excited to start (and finish) the water dungeon tonight, as it's always been a favorite of mine.


I agree. The water dungeon in TP is fantastic. It makes you think without being overly frustrating (unlike many water dungeons in the series). 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 01, 2016, 12:45:30 PM
I'm finally getting around to playing probably the biggest game on my pile of shame, Metroid Prime. I'm up to Phendrana Drifts, and I just got the thermal visor, and while I'm liking the game, I don't like it as much as the 2D games and I'd definitely still vote for Super Mario Galaxy for Game of the Decade.

This one surprises me. Haven't you played Metroid Prime 3 before? Or the Wii Metroid Prime Trilogy? Or have you never played any Metroid Prime game before? I just feel like you've talked about the series and games before.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 01, 2016, 12:54:59 PM
I'm finally getting around to playing probably the biggest game on my pile of shame, Metroid Prime. I'm up to Phendrana Drifts, and I just got the thermal visor, and while I'm liking the game, I don't like it as much as the 2D games and I'd definitely still vote for Super Mario Galaxy for Game of the Decade.

This one surprises me. Haven't you played Metroid Prime 3 before? Or the Wii Metroid Prime Trilogy? Or have you never played any Metroid Prime game before? I just feel like you've talked about the series and games before.

I bought Metroid Prime 3 when it came out and played part of the way through it. This also isn't the first time I've started the original. Like I said in the post, it's just never really grabbed me enough to make me want to finish it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on June 01, 2016, 07:59:19 PM
Playing FE:fates:conquest, and Fallout 4: Far harbour.
Fates is great but no gay marriage :(, Far harbour literally doubles the already huge Fallout 4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on June 02, 2016, 12:03:38 AM
Playing FE:fates:conquest, and Fallout 4: Far harbour.
Fates is great but no gay marriage :( , Far harbour literally doubles the already huge Fallout 4.


Yes there is. If your avatar is male he can marry Niles.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 02, 2016, 12:14:13 AM
Why is everyone so obsessed with the gay marriage? Don't forget FemCorrin can marry NotTharja too. Even though Soleil makes more sense story wise to swing both ways.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 02, 2016, 08:33:43 AM
Why is everyone so obsessed with the gay marriage? Don't forget FemCorrin can marry NotTharja too. Even though Soleil makes more sense story wise to swing both ways.


Does it matter why?
It's not a selling point to me either way, but wouldn't begrudge anyone who feels it matters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 04, 2016, 10:54:20 AM
It isn't a selling point for me either, I just find it interesting that more people appear to be concerned about the gay pairing than the lesbian one.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 04, 2016, 03:27:26 PM
I have LEGO Avengers for the Wii U checked out from the library that I have yet to even start, yet I've renewed it four times now. I think it would be best this weekend to start that! :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 04, 2016, 04:27:37 PM
I still need to get that one. Most recent LEGO game I got was LEGO City Undercover, which is a fun GTA style sandbox game which includes LEGO building mechanics.


I have played Avengers at my folks house and it is a fun co-op adventure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 04, 2016, 05:11:03 PM
LEGO City Undercover is my favorite LEGO game by far. Didn't get anywhere near as tedious as other games, and I loved how dense the city was.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 04, 2016, 08:39:47 PM
Its been a blast so far. Really, the only thing I think it lacks is a co-op mode. It would have been easy to implement and added a lot of fun and replay value. I've had so much fun in the overworld of LEGO Lord of the Rings/Hobbit that it is just a shame it couldn't be done in this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 07, 2016, 06:35:03 AM
Wasted

It's a first person Rouge like. The penalty for death is pretty rough as you lose all items being held outside of unique and all perks acquired. the first 6 levels are pretty easy but later levels start getting a little rocket taggie and they start having faster reflexes.

A lot of fun though. Getting it from humble bundle monthly is pretty good. But I am not getting next month. I really don't want Hurtworld. Hurtworld look like all the suck.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 07, 2016, 05:35:56 PM
FFFFUUUCCCKKKK.

I had this demi-god character killed when half a dozen robots bum rushed me with lasers. I took a couple of them out but by the time I noticed there were more behind them I was stun locked and out of heals. Time to grind those powers back. At least in the second bunker the good stuff has been moved up a level.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: King Dedede on June 09, 2016, 10:02:36 PM
Currently I'm playing through Darius Burst Chronicle Saviours, it's been a pretty good time (about 50 hrs into it already). Trying to 1CC the hardest route in Arcade mode at the moment with one of the "vanilla" ships that don't have any of the special mechanics introduced in the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 10, 2016, 07:19:02 AM
For anyone who likes old-school gaming, and who are gluttons for punishment, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP) is awesome.


One nice part is that it works well as a portable because you can save between levels and it's got a generous continue system. That doesn't remove the cheap moments that are a series staple, but makes steady progress much easier.


Really enjoying this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on June 10, 2016, 07:40:45 AM
For anyone who likes old-school gaming, and who are gluttons for punishment, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP) is awesome.


One nice part is that it works well as a portable because you can save between levels and it's got a generous continue system. That doesn't remove the cheap moments that are a series staple, but makes steady progress much easier.


Really enjoying this.

I love this series the way some people love Mega Man. I hope Capcom's spring investor disclosure regarding utilizing more old IP means that more of the games will be ported to the 3DS. I'd love to play this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on June 14, 2016, 01:43:51 PM
Now I have never played a GTA game before.  So let's see what all the fuss is about... hmmm, this kind of sucks.  I really wonder if this game is just really dated now and would have impressed me if I played it when it was current.  The cutscenes and story are all very cool, even if they're hard on the eyes these days.  Unfortunately the controls are just really terrible.  It's hard to aim, when I try punching someone I'm just as likely to punch the air next to them.  Ever try playing a 3D Zelda without using Z-targeting?  That's basically how this plays.  I figured the driving would be good but it really doesn't feel right, particularly since I was just playing a driving game.
I remember playing the original GTA III not long after it first came out, maybe it was 2003 I think, and I had the exact same thoughts you're having now. The controls were just so terrible that I just couldn't have fun with the game. I have always felt the popularity of the GTA games (at least from that era) were due to the promise of the huge (at the time) worlds, and somehow it was enough of a draw for people to overlook how terrible was everything else. I'm not one such person however.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 14, 2016, 04:58:46 PM
I feel like E3 this year gives people an idea of what the industry could look like if Nintendo went 3rd party with Nintendo having such a low presence and just focusing on a few games. Which is why, even if future hardware releases were Wii U level sales, I would hope they never stop providing their own hardware because what they do continues to interest me more than anything presented here by Sony or MS.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 14, 2016, 06:19:06 PM
I have to agree with you. While there are some games on other systems that pique my interest, nothing compels me to choose their games or non-Nintendo consoles over the Nintendo options. Being someone with both limited gaming dollars and time I go straight for the Nintendo goods first and pick up any other stuff far down the road used or clearance priced. If I really want something non-tendo I can usually grab it for PC and enjoy it there.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on June 14, 2016, 07:33:14 PM
I tried the Doom demo, best FPS I have played in awhile. I will pickup it up on sale sometime.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 18, 2016, 05:21:59 PM
I feel like E3 this year gives people an idea of what the industry could look like if Nintendo went 3rd party with Nintendo having such a low presence and just focusing on a few games. Which is why, even if future hardware releases were Wii U level sales, I would hope they never stop providing their own hardware because what they do continues to interest me more than anything presented here by Sony or MS.

Thing is, there actually is a lot of variety on the other consoles. Sony & Microsoft just inexplicably choose not to show it at their conferences. It's particularly head-scratching in Sony's case since their Gamescom showings are usually the exact opposite of the type of stuff they show at E3, and typically show a great deal of variety. Hell, they could probably do a whole conference just on the JRPGs that hit the Vita & PS4, but Sony apparently doesn't care.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 18, 2016, 09:51:24 PM
What the heck? I could have swore I made that post in the E3 2016 thread after Mop it up commented on how disappointing this year's E3 has been. So weird. I really am losing my mind.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on June 19, 2016, 04:03:24 PM
Resident Evil 7 demo - eh, PT is better, so far. Hopefully there's more to find in it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 19, 2016, 05:20:04 PM
Been playing some Overwatch and...meh. What's here is good, but with only 2 (extremely similar) modes and an abysmal unlock system, I can't recommend what's clearly only 1/4 of a full game. Go play Garden Warfare 2 instead, which is a far better game and has at least 5 times the content of Overwatch at 2/3 the price. It also doesn't have the extreme spawn-camping problem that Overwatch has, not to mention a highlight system that only gives a damn about turret-based heroes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 20, 2016, 08:33:35 AM
I started up Twilight Princess HD and I've now played as far into it as I did before I stopped 10 years ago, which wasn't very far. The opening sequence wasn't as painful as I remembered it being, but it was still overly padded.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 20, 2016, 12:50:30 PM
I just started it yesterday too. Other than the goat herding being bit odd I'm didn't mind the intro too much. It blends the tutorial into the story well enough.


I only ever played it once through on Gamecube so this feels rather fresh to me. Between this and an incomplete Majoras Mask 3D I'll be tided over on the Zelda front for a good while. If I happen to need more Zeld I can always pick up Wind Waker HD, which I never played. That game was also only played once through.


After seeing Breath of the Wild I'm more okay with the 2017 delay, especially with a number of quality Zelda remakes in my to-play list.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 20, 2016, 01:18:51 PM
Twilight Princess HD was so much better if only due to the fact that treasure chests had more than rupees in them, and if you have too many rupees, you didn't have to put them back. But Epona's handling is worse in this version for some bizarre reason.


I'm at 88% in Kirby: Planet Robobot. I did The Arena, the 3D mini-game, and have but one quest to go in Team Kirby Clash. Also have the mode as the other playable character halfway through.


Then there's Chronicles of Teddy on Wii U, which I'm enjoying. I hope to start TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan this week as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 23, 2016, 04:15:30 PM
Still playing PvZ: Garden Warfare 2, and it's still a great family-oriented shooter. Not too much more to say about it till the upcoming major content update arrives. However, I do think if you enjoyed Splatoon, you should check that game out. While much more of a shooter than Splatoon is, there's a big emphasis on rewarding support play so even if you're not a master gunner, you still feel rewarded for contributing.

I got my backer code for the PS4 version of Mighty No. 9 and...I have to be honest here: while I think the 55 Metacritic is an accurate summation of the game, I can't agree with all the hatred this game has been getting. Yes, the production values are laughably low. Yes, some of the levels are full of some really cheap instant-death traps. Yes, the game does a really bad job of explaining its mechanics if you don't read the continually-updated "tips" section of the game options. However, despite all that...I still kind of like the game. There's a great sense of momentum to stringing together absorption combos and just trying to blitz through the stages, and the addition of boss powers (which were not in the Beta or the Demo) makes a HUGE difference in addition much-needed attack variety. Before I played this game, I played a bit of the MM Legacy Collection to refresh myself on the series (playing MM 4 & 2, if you're curious), and to be frank I see a lot of the cheap design people complain about in MM9 ALSO in those classic games as well. I can't call the game any better than "mediocre" because as decent as the gameplay is, the rest of the game really does drag it all down. However, I don't think it's fair to say that there's no fun to be had blitzing through the levels and trying to improve your score.

By contrast, I also played the Bloodstained demo on my PC, which barely runs even at low settings. My PC's simply too underpowered for it. However, the game looks great, and if you're a post-Symphony 2D Castlevania fan this game is exactly what you expect it to be. Weirdly, though, that's something that kind of bugs me: the enemies look & act exactly as you expect, the UI design is exactly as you'd expect (right down to the font), the music sounds exactly as you'd expect, and the gameplay loop is an exact clone of the handheld CV loop. It's all polished, looks, sounds, and plays exactly as you remember the handheld CVs playing...and that's kind of it. For all its faults, Mighty No. 9 at least tries to be more than just a Mega Man clone. Meanwhile, Bloodstained seems content to merely being an exact clone of CV: Aria of Sorrow/Order of Ecclesia. Is that a bad thing? No. I paid the man to make a Castlevania knock-off, and that's exactly what he did. I guess I forgot just how the stale regurgitation of that formula drove the CV franchise into the ground.

In some ways, it kind of reminds me of watching a Disney Marvel movie: you'll get exactly what you expected, but at the same time you won't see any surprises or any attempt at the director putting their own mark on the experience. You get an exceptionally-packaged, expertly-crafted experience designed to cater to a very specific group of people with very little creativity. Like the CV games Iga made, it just...exists.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 23, 2016, 06:10:55 PM
I'm ok with that description of Bloodstained, and excited to play the game.


It might seem unfair to say there will be no surprises based off a few minutes of a demo that your PC isn't really equipped to handle - but it's probably accurate also.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on June 23, 2016, 10:24:42 PM
I have a Bloodstained demo code that I'll probably give to my brother since I have a six year old Macbook and it wouldn't be powerful enough to run the demo.

I'm also okay with broodwars' description. We haven't had an IGA Castlevania in almost a decade. If Bloodstained sticks close to the formula, that's pretty much all I wanted and the entire reason I pledged to the campaign. I wish there was an NX version with a way to transfer my Kickstarter bonuses.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 23, 2016, 10:43:15 PM
Make no mistake: the Bloodstained demo is excellent. If you're a 2D Castlevania fan and you were concerned (after the failure of some high-profile Kickstarters) that you were being sold a false bill of goods, you can rest soundly.  I think Shovel Knight changed how I look at these nostalgia-based Kickstarter projects. Shovel Knight is very clearly based on the design of experiences like Duck Tales and Mega Man, but at the same time there are changes to those formulas that give SK its own identity. It is showing a classic game through the prism of modern design sensibilities.

Bloodstained, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have an identity of its own so far. Add the Castlevania license and recycled Rondo of Blood sprites,  and it's the same game as Order of Ecclesia...which was the same game as Portrait of Ruin...which was the same game as Dawn of Sorrow...which was the same game as Aria of Sorrow...etc. It doesn't feel like a modern look at where the 2D Metroid-style adventure game could go next by an artist freed of his corporate shackles. It's just..."another one of those." As "another one of those", it's excellent. It shows in every way that it's made by veteran designers who know exactly how to make that style of experience. I'm just curious if it'll have anything of its own besides "#FucKonami" by the time it releases.

On a side note, I have similar concerns about Yooka-Laylee, which I also backed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on June 24, 2016, 11:22:20 AM
I'm just curious if it'll have anything of its own besides "#FucKonami" by the time it releases.

Probably not considering everything you described previously is the reason for this game existing.  IGA wanted to make more Metroidvania's but Konami wouldn't allow it so he left to make the exact same game, just without the Castlevania license.  I wouldn't exactly hold it against the game since they were very upfront about it from the beginning.  It's the exact same kind of game he and the fans want and will be as close to the real thing they can make without being sued by Konami.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on June 29, 2016, 06:30:22 PM
I decided to try out the 3d Classics version of Kirby's Adventure on the new 3DS and that 3d effect is very impressive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 29, 2016, 08:44:11 PM
Dropped Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate back into my Wii U for some G-ranked missions.  This game is so good.


It really makes me wish that later entries in the series also received console editions - Monster Hunter plays perfectly well on portables, but experiencing the epic battles on a big screen (with big sound) is wonderfully entertaining.  It's also nice that, despite having dumped a couple hundred hours into the game, there are still challenges I've yet to take on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 01, 2016, 01:29:36 AM
Dropped Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate back into my Wii U for some G-ranked missions.  This game is so good.


It really makes me wish that later entries in the series also received console editions - Monster Hunter plays perfectly well on portables, but experiencing the epic battles on a big screen (with big sound) is wonderfully entertaining.  It's also nice that, despite having dumped a couple hundred hours into the game, there are still challenges I've yet to take on.


I'm hoping that this is fixed with MH5 going to NX, especially if Nintendo goes with the scale-able cross compatibility route.


If you want I'd live to join you for some hunts some time. I've been itching for some console MH action and I still have a few things I need to finish in 3U.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on July 01, 2016, 02:18:23 AM
Playing Kirby's Dream Land 2. Maybe the Dreamland games just work better on a small screen but I'm liking it a lot better than Dream Land 3.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 01, 2016, 03:50:16 AM
I started playing Zero Time Dilemma tonight on Vita, and an hour or two in...I hate this game. No, really, I DESPISE this game. 999 may have played like **** and was written by someone only vaguely familiar with the concept of human interaction, but at least it had an interesting premise and a solid setup. Virtue's Last Reward may have been up its own ass in terms of its convoluted writing, but at least it had an understandable flow. But Zero Time Dilemma? No, Zero Time Dilemma wants you to go **** yourself, because it's told in random order with NO establishing scene getting the player up to speed on what's happened between Virtue's Last Reward and this game. No, not going to do it. Virtue's Last Reward was bad enough with the parallel timelines nonsense, but I draw the line at a story pieced together by shredding up the script pages and throwing them up in the air. **** this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 01, 2016, 05:28:28 AM
Wow. I had always meant to get into that series, but I may just skip it entirely if it ends on such a sour note. Though I guess I could just play the first and pretend there are no sequels, but that never feels right. Is it worth trying the first on its own?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 01, 2016, 10:26:54 AM
Wow. I had always meant to get into that series, but I may just skip it entirely if it ends on such a sour note. Though I guess I could just play the first and pretend there are no sequels, but that never feels right. Is it worth trying the first on its own?

Honestly, I'd just skip the first game. It's a terrible game that has a grand total of one good moment there at the end. You're better off playing Virtue's Last Reward, which recaps the only important details from 999 and is a far better game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 01, 2016, 10:38:54 AM
Wow. I had always meant to get into that series, but I may just skip it entirely if it ends on such a sour note. Though I guess I could just play the first and pretend there are no sequels, but that never feels right. Is it worth trying the first on its own?

Honestly, I'd just skip the first game. It's a terrible game that has a grand total of one good moment there at the end. You're better off playing Virtue's Last Reward, which recaps the only important details from 999 and is a far better game.


I disagree slightly - the first isn't terrible if you view it as a visual novel. But the branching paths have a horrible implementation that will end up wasting far too much of your time if you want to play through normally. I think the iOS version actually works as a visual novel, and if so would be a decent way to get into the series.


The second game had a less interesting story for me, but much better gameplay mechanics. I thought it was good, although a slight letdown from the story in the first game. If only playing one game on your 3DS/Vita, I would opt to start here.


I haven't tried the most recent game.  Probably will at some point...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 01, 2016, 10:44:26 AM
...
If you want I'd live to join you for some hunts some time. I've been itching for some console MH action and I still have a few things I need to finish in 3U.


I'd be game for this, but have a hard time scheduling sessions (or playing at decent hours of the day) because of family commitments. 


What were you looking to finish off? 


I'm just bumming my way though the early G-Rank quests now, so not an accomplished hunter. No special goals for me, although getting some upgraded armor would be good. (Usually prefer to not get hit, but being rusty and moving into G-Rank is making that harder than it used to be.)  Bow user, decent but not great (need to be more efficient and up damage output or will run into timing issues with 3+ monsters in a quest). Usually play solo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 01, 2016, 01:12:27 PM
Got rid of my copy of that POS and picked up a copy of Kirby Robobot instead. I really liked Triple Deluxe, and it would be pretty hard for Robobot to anger me like ZTD did.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 06, 2016, 03:34:20 PM
So yeah, I like Robobot, though not as much as Triple Deluxe. The level design doesn't feel as interesting, and the secrets aren't as well-hidden.

Lately, I've been playing some Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and it's incredibly...OK. I wasn't a big fan of the original game, but this one's clicking with me so far. I'm not quite sure why, though. The controls are pretty much the same, outside the new grappling hook feature I really like. The open world is incredibly tacked-on and repetitive, but I do like stumbling across secrets as I'm making my way across on some mundane errand. The music flat-out sucks, which is a shame considering "Still Alive" was so great in the original game. Really, my only huge complaint is that the time constraints on the timed missions are insanely tight, seemingly designed to be only beaten with a fully decked-out Faith.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 07, 2016, 11:13:24 PM
I'm finally playing Pocket Card Jockey, and I'm really liking it. Conceptually it makes no sense but it's extremely addictive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 07, 2016, 11:51:53 PM
Finished Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and it was...OK, I guess. I don't think the shift to open world really added anything to the experience in the end, and the story is just 'meh" from beginning to end. In fact, I find it hilarious that Anita Sarkeesian allegedly signed off on this game's story, given that the game damsels 2 men and fridges one of them as well. This from the lady who stated that the use of these tropes is wrong "for any gender." Hypocrite.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 17, 2016, 10:48:44 PM
Resident Evil 5 (PS4). My friend brought it over and we played for 8 hours straight yesterday. We're about 80% done, probably gonna finish in a couple days. I think it's a pretty great game - definitely more action than horror survival, but it's an excellent co-op game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on July 20, 2016, 11:06:11 PM
Just finished re-learning the super basics and doing the one star quests in Monster Hunter Generations. MH4U was my first Monster Hunter game and I was enjoying it, but I stopped around the 15 hour mark (which is to say before I really got into learning much beyond the super basics) because I was swamped in games that I just wanted to play more than it. Like most reviews have mentioned, this feels like nearly identical to MH4U (at least at the basic level beyond things like Hunter Arts and Hunting Styles) and I'm enjoying it much the same. It feels like a good game to play regularly on the side and hopefully taking that approach instead of trying to blast through it in a short period of time like I do most games will help me stick with it. If anyone wants to jump online later, let me know!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 21, 2016, 11:02:24 PM
...
If you want I'd live to join you for some hunts some time. I've been itching for some console MH action and I still have a few things I need to finish in 3U.


I'd be game for this, but have a hard time scheduling sessions (or playing at decent hours of the day) because of family commitments. 


What were you looking to finish off? 


I'm just bumming my way though the early G-Rank quests now, so not an accomplished hunter. No special goals for me, although getting some upgraded armor would be good. (Usually prefer to not get hit, but being rusty and moving into G-Rank is making that harder than it used to be.)  Bow user, decent but not great (need to be more efficient and up damage output or will run into timing issues with 3+ monsters in a quest). Usually play solo.


Sorry, thought I replied to this but guess I didn't. I'm mostly hoping to clear the last G-Rank, hunt some Brachy and Abyssal Lagi, and just enjoy MH on the big screen in HD while dabbling in weapons I nver fully got into before. I really wish we could get a new console Monster Hunter (hoping Nintendo can pull off getting MH5 on the NX).


I'm most free on Mondays and Tuesdays, but I could also find time Saturday and Sunday afternoon/evening.


Just finished re-learning the super basics and doing the one star quests in Monster Hunter Generations. MH4U was my first Monster Hunter game and I was enjoying it, but I stopped around the 15 hour mark (which is to say before I really got into learning much beyond the super basics) because I was swamped in games that I just wanted to play more than it. Like most reviews have mentioned, this feels like nearly identical to MH4U (at least at the basic level beyond things like Hunter Arts and Hunting Styles) and I'm enjoying it much the same. It feels like a good game to play regularly on the side and hopefully taking that approach instead of trying to blast through it in a short period of time like I do most games will help me stick with it. If anyone wants to jump online later, let me know!


I still have not fired up my copy but I will have to add you so we can hunt some time. I'm also open to playing the older games so if you wanted to go back and finish 4U I'm game for that as well. There is always plenty for me to do in these games and I can just enjoy the thrill of the hunt and weapon collecting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on July 22, 2016, 03:21:44 PM
Sounds great Stratos, I added you (my 3DS friend code is 0190-0807-1525 - ami). MH4U would be tough for me now because I got it digitally and my SD card is packed. I'm down to play to Generations most evenings for the next little while though. Let me know whenever you wanna jump online.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 24, 2016, 12:50:44 PM
Love Lego City Undercover! The only thing it is missing is a 2-player co-op mode like all of the other games have. Maybe we can get a sequel for the NX?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 24, 2016, 04:13:11 PM
I have played about half of the Battleborn campaign (the game is currently on a PSN Flash sale), and...this game has a lot of problems, but I kind of like it. It's not on the level of Overwatch or Garden Warfare 2 in terms of sheer polish, but it is its own game with its own unique qualities.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on July 24, 2016, 07:47:26 PM
I finished off Tearaway: Unfolded (i.e. got the Platinum), so that was fun. I'm also playing DOOM, and that is a real fun one. I've honestly never played the original, but this new one has me quite interested.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on July 24, 2016, 07:51:26 PM
Life is Strange: Episode 5
Can't wait to jump in the ending of 4 was the biggest wtf moment in gaming I've come across so far. (hint don't watch spoilers play the game)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on July 25, 2016, 04:43:04 PM
Played a lot more Monster Hunter Generations over the past few days and, ever since I started playing last week, I got the impression that the visuals weren't as good in Generations as they were in MH4U. I wasn't totally sure and I couldn't go back to MH4U to compare the two, but Digital Foundry put out a video a few days ago that explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orbz3Astxx4. No New 3DS enhancements for the visuals this time around. That's a bit of a let down and, evidently, it is at least somewhat noticeable if you played MH4U on a New 3DS.

It doesn't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things though and I'm still enjoying the game. Having pretty much finished all of the two star quests and moving on to the three star bunch, I've reached the point where using the Hunter Arts properly, using traps, mounting monsters, managing inventory before and during a quest, etc., start to become important (at least for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience with the series like me) to get the bigger monsters to go down quickly. I'm starting to see how successfully hunting the more difficult monsters can get to be really satisfying and I'm looking forward to starting the high ranked quests at some point. The game has continued to be really fun so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 27, 2016, 04:53:22 PM
Super Meat Boy (Steam):
Finally unlocked achievement for completing all of world 4 levels ("Hell") without dying after like a week of training and finding the safest routes.

Just today i was so close -- i beat 19 levels in one go and died stupidly on the last, 20th level. Then this night i finally got it but the way it unlocked was strange because achievement appeared when i was only halfway into the world. As it happens -- i don't have to go sequentially and technically can do these levels in the world in any order, as long as i don't die. That might have saved me a LOT of time if i knew that before, because with this trick i could do hardest levels first and then just breeze through easy ones at the end...

Also thanks to latest speedrun on Games Done Quick (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJbj4O5TmLE&t=29m53s) i finally beat Dark 4-11 "Surrender" level. I think i stopped playing SMB last year because i just couldn't figure it out.


Spelunky (free version on PC):
(https://abload.de/img/spelunkyfish89lbq.jpg)
I tried it several years ago, but i didn't understand it back then. Now, when i know more how roguelike games are designed to be replayed, i got into it more.

Jumping and running controls are very, very weird at first. They make more sense on controller but even then there will be occasional slip-ups because main character slides like crazy even when you're not running.

So far i unlocked Jungle shortcut and got to Ice Cave several time and that's where i usually fall down into the endless pit.

I wished items made more difference -- for example in Binding of Isaacs items you get into a run create incredible gameplay diversity, but in Spelunky platforming never really changes.

Orbit or Beat (free online flash game):
Rhythm Doctor (https://fizzd.itch.io/rhythm-doctor) developer mentioned this game as an example of "actual rhythm game" akin to his own RD or Rhythm Heaven:
http://www.zuzunza.com/myflash/game_detail.html?game_id=562091
It's very cool, but i wished it was one button instead of two buttons that you have to press by turns (left/right or up/down). These turns get very, very confusing when rhythm gets faster and especially when changes from offbeat to beat and back again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on August 03, 2016, 04:39:11 PM
Played through the first two worlds of Yoshi’s Woolly World over the past couple of days and I’m really liking it so far.

I love the fact that the main collectibles are your fellow Yarn Yoshi that have to be knit back together. The thing that often bothers me the most about games like this is that the main challenge for experienced gamers is behind getting the collectibles, yet there’s rarely any compelling reason from a story or gameplay sense to collect all of them. I really appreciate the fact that Good-Feel made enough of an effort for it to be mean something beyond just satisfying the completionist in me.

One thing I’m not as much a fan of is a lot of the collectibles being found through the clouds that only appear once you touch them. If the challenge in the game is behind getting all of the collectibles, fair enough. But taking that approach and then adding an element of monotony, rather than any real test of skill, is a poor choice; at that point the only thing that’s being challenged is your patience. That’s my only real complaint so far. Platforming and dispatching enemies aren’t much of a challenge, but I already knew that would be the case well in advance so it hasn’t been an issue.

Of course the visuals and the music are amazing, and that’s where the game really shines. The attention to detail is really impressive and, so far, the music is as great as I was led to believe. If soundtracks are included as My Nintendo rewards somewhere down the line, Woolly World needs to be part of the first wave.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on August 03, 2016, 05:18:13 PM
One thing I’m not as much a fan of is a lot of the collectibles being found through the clouds that only appear once you touch them.
Yeah, I ended up just using the badge that makes these automatically appear when I first played a level.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on August 03, 2016, 05:34:10 PM
Thanks for the heads up, I didn't even realize there was a badge that does that. It's a shame because in a lot of instances the clouds are cleverly placed so that you'll run into them if you're collecting the beads or hitting an enemy, but I find myself running into empty areas or throwing balls of yarn at thin air just to see if there's a cloud there much too often. I might just start using that badge now if it gets worse in the later worlds.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 03, 2016, 10:17:05 PM
I'm a big fan of Good Feel and Woolly World is another knock-out. I actually enjoy the cloud stuff, as I felt it lets the game get into your head in a pleasurable way. The only thing it really prevented me from doing without going through a stage three times was collecting all the coins or whatever that unlock the stamp, but I only really cared about the yarn bindles and flowers (or whatever it was that opened up the secret levels).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on August 04, 2016, 12:16:50 AM
Thanks for the heads up, I didn't even realize there was a badge that does that. It's a shame because in a lot of instances the clouds are cleverly placed so that you'll run into them if you're collecting the beads or hitting an enemy, but I find myself running into empty areas or throwing balls of yarn at thin air just to see if there's a cloud there much too often. I might just start using that badge now if it gets worse in the later worlds.

My first time through the game I just tried to find everything I could and usually ended up getting 18-19 stamps each stage.  I tried to find the one's I was missing after I beat it without using the hidden cloud badge but after a while literally every hidden cloud I missed my first time was some randomly placed one that I had to keep obsessively scrub every inch of the level to find.  So I had no problem just using the badge to help find the rest since most of the ones I missed were usually in pretty random locations anyway.

So you're not really missing too much if you use the badge to find the hidden clouds and it will save your sanity in the end.  Plus the platforming challenges do pick up in the latter worlds so getting 100% in the later levels becomes more platforming skills compared to the earlier worlds where their only real difficulty relies more find the hidden objects, so finding the hidden clouds in them isn't as important to contributing to the overall gameplay as the early ones.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on August 04, 2016, 12:27:13 AM
Playing the original Legend of Zelda for a review. egh I don't want to do this...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on August 04, 2016, 08:48:35 AM
Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven: Eh, it has better story then Rune Factory which isn't saying much. The combat is tedious and oversimplified. I hope it picks up and gives me something. The commander enemies take too long to kill. The generators take too long to kill. Battles feel really boring as it is just trading punches with an enemy over the course of 20 turns with no real strategy. There is no way to grind levels really to improve. I thought it was going to be an inn/business sim? It isn't (that I've found yet). Which really....ugh. Wasted potential overall.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 25, 2016, 12:37:10 AM
Playing Daxter (PSP).  Went in with relatively high expectations, as the game did very well critically and is often lauded as one of the best on PSP. Gotta say, I'm not impressed at all after the first 33%.


Camera is poor, controls and collision aren't very sharp, and story is an almost non-existent mess where you just hop from one stage to the next without any meaningful progression. Levels are very linear, feel repetitive because the goals rarely change much, and remind me of playing stripped down versions of N64 collectathon type games (not a compliment). There are often lame QTE-style mini games, which aren't particularly fun, and failure often means you have to try again until pushing through successfully.


All those complaints aside, it's not actually a bad game and I'm content to keep playing. It just completely failed to live up to expectations of being something truly special on the PSP. Seriously: look at summaries from the Metacritic critic review, and then play this game. What kind of kool-aid were those nuts drinking?  If this is the best action/platforming the PSP has to offer then maybe it's a good thing that I've been viewing the system primarily as an RPG machine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 25, 2016, 02:53:53 PM
Deus Ex: Human Revolution DC (PS3) - I never asked for this game's wonky stealth. Decided to finally play the DC ahead of Mankind Divided. So far, it's just reminding me how much I hate constantly Save Scumming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 25, 2016, 05:31:34 PM
DE:HR was the game I asked for. Not too sure what you are on about regarding stealth. Their vision is pretty game normal. I have hidden people behind couches since they didn't patrol far enough to crest it. Stashing people into all the vents of the police station is a good laugh.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 01, 2016, 04:14:46 AM
Codename: STEAM (3DS):

I bought this for $11 off of an Amazon sale a while ago, but only booted up the game in the last few days after I bricked my computer.

I'm about 2.5 hours in and here are some thoughts:

-The much derided art style looks fine when actually playing the game. You kind of need the sharp, thick edges to negotiate the detail of the game.

-I'm playing it on a New 3DS with the patch, and the wait times between turns are not an issue at all (though that must have been game-breakingly shitty without the 3X fast-forward).

-Though the enemy turn speed isn't an issue, it does highlight what feels to me like a broken element of the design. You can't see what the enemies are doing, but the camera tweaks around spastically while they're moving, highlighting the frustration of walking into ambushes and sniper traps.

-Which leads me to sniper traps. I don't know if this is an overwatch thing I don't understand or what, but these are total bullshit. Especially when they nail you twice for trying to back away from the vantage. It adds an unpleasant guess-and-check element to the proceedings.

-Once you get a crew going and can start actually implementing strategy, it's actually pretty fun, but the third person perspective guessing game element can make it very frustrating very quickly when you get ambushed and mooks hop in off the side of the map. It makes one of the more annoying elements of Fire Emblem even worse.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 04, 2016, 12:42:38 AM
Dropped STEAM for the time being to tackle

Obduction (PC):

This is the last long-in-gestation game that I've actually been looking forward to, especially after finding The Witness an ultimately hollow experience and Inside to be something of a whiff. Myst and Riven are formative experiences for me, but neither Cyan nor the Myst series hit the mark again. But then this looked really good!

I'm about 1/3 of the way through (I think), and so far it's pretty okay. It doesn't really feel like a Myst game as much as one of those forgotten Myst-a-likes, but with better art design and production values. It seems intimidating at first (in a good, Riven-like way!), but so far the solutions have turned out to be fairly underwhelming (the passcode series in the town particularly did not feel up to Riven standards). The second cliff/mechanism world is really cool in concept and scope, and I thought the game was ramping up when I got stuck for an hour with no idea how to proceed, but then it turned out that I missed an easy-to-miss sub-lever that lets you straightforwardly turn on everything on in the level.

There's even a joke about the lack of complexity! There's a console in the mechanism world that's connected to a staircase you need to drop down. The console is covered with dozens of buttons and switches, a keypad with a 20-digit entry panel, and a light array that seems to turn off bulbs at each input with no rhyme or reason. I assumed this was a tough-ass obstacle, and that I would collect clues as to the console's operation. But then later you find out that it's useless, and just acts as a counterweight to the staircase, which is dropped with a simple crank from above.

I'm assuming it's going to steadily get harder, though. Another issue, however, is related to the core "obduction" conceit of the game. This allows for cool visuals and world design, but the warp points from touching the membrane are an irritating constant. There's enough to keep track of without remembering how all the wormholes link up, and I missed an important chunk of the town for a good long while because I missed a portal I thought I had already tried. Overall it just makes navigation more cumbersome and space-intuition more difficult without an interesting gameplay payoff so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 04, 2016, 09:49:10 AM
So I've started playing God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP).  The sense of scale with bosses in the game seems impressive, and I like the overall staging of levels. Technically it seems great too. But the proliferation of quick-time events during battles is ridiculously annoying, and the combo system early in the game is incredibly bland and repetitive. (My guess: only one of those things will change later in the game?)

Also, this game is proof that M-ratings should be called something other than "mature". Quick time events to get bonuses from moaning, submissive, naked slave girls who thank you for you attention afterwards? Really? I've only played halfway through the first level, and feel like this is an embarrassing way to start the game. It's not "offensive" to me only because it's not important enough to get upset about - but this kind of teen male fantasy bullshit is what's wrong with the industry if they want big budget games to be taken seriously.


(Boobs in games are ok. Sex in games is ok. But that particular scene is horribly misplaced in any work that intends to be more than cheap thrills for a very specific audience.)


Edit: Further in now, and enjoying the game more as I go. No repeats of the ridiculous sex slave fantasy so far (which is good), improved combo systems unlocked as you go, strong action overall. Still too many quick-time events for my liking but the rest of the game has been strong enough to make up for that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 05, 2016, 07:00:53 AM
Picross 3D: Round 2

I'm honestly not sure there's any way I could be happier with this game. It's everything I could have wanted in a sequel to the original Picross 3D. Having multiple colors to work with adds a really interesting new layer to the game, and they've made some smart interface tweaks, in particular the bomb feature that automatically breaks blocks in rows marked 0, which could get tiresome to do manually before.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 09, 2016, 09:01:14 PM
Tried playing Star Wars: Battlefront II (PSP) but quickly realized this is a game that has no value for me and moved on. I'm not saying it's bad... but it certainly didn't seem worth playing and I regret spending 30 minutes hoping it would "get better" before moving on.


Instead, planning to spend some time with Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins (PSP) which is right up my alley. Old-school action platforming with intentionally cheap enemy placement - but with the difficulty tempered by giving you a generous amount of extra lives, plenty of checkpoints, and as many continues as you need.  Only about to start the third level, but so far this game is (for me) fantastic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 13, 2016, 02:57:15 AM
Rayman 2 (PC):

I somehow managed to never play the 3D Rayman games despite the fact that they are commonly ranked along side Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie as the best of the dearly departed genre. So when I saw this on sale for $1.97 on GOG, I decided to fill in my historical gap.

I'm about halfway through, and I think I'm about to give up. It's actually more like the obstacle course PS1 mascot games than something like Mario 64 or Banjo. And I can definitely see why Nintendo did not take this approach at the time with as yet unrefined 3D action game components. Early on when doing the fairly linear regular platforming the game is decent, as Rayman controls fairly snappily (though I'm not wild about the toggle on copter spin, it feels pretty wimpy). Combat encounters are terrible but not that common. The game totally turns into a tooth-grinding mess whenever it tosses in "variety" stuff, like riding rockets, skiing, or rolling on plums. Every one of these sections is terrible and they only get more unforgiving as the game progresses. Additionally, the levels get longer and the platforming also gets unforgiving when combined with a typically bad 64-era camera and obnoxious life/respawn system, and the issues with this approach to a 3D platformer becoming more glaring.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: supermario2k on September 13, 2016, 01:42:34 PM
I been watching a lot of Youtube videos, AVGN, CUPodcast, Pat the NES Punk, Chrontendo, lately and they have renewed by interested in retro Nintendo so I been playing a lot of Wii U recently. Some virtual console. some Duck Tales Remastered, (okay I have it on Wii U but I play it on PS3 because I had it there first and am trying to unlock everything still) and a lot of NEX Remix and New Super Mario Bros. U.

I am starting to realize that I don't care if Nintendo gets all the games the other guys get, I am still going to buy a Playstation down the road when I am ready but Nintendo comes first. Always.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on September 13, 2016, 07:37:16 PM
You should watch JonTron and Gamegrumps if you like Let's Plays.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: The Lucky Moose on September 14, 2016, 06:58:31 AM
Deus Ex Mankind Divided. It's cool, but it's technically rough, feels very sloppy occasionally.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on September 14, 2016, 08:49:00 AM
Rocket league, rocket league, and more rocket league.  Partially because I'm working on getting the old lady aesthetic out of the house I bought and have limited time.  But I've gotten more play out of something I got for free through PS+ than I have in so many games for a long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on September 14, 2016, 08:32:42 PM
Just finished Mass Effect 3. With all the dlc. The Citadel DLC makes up for the shitty endings, it was brillant.Speaking of endings I picked the red one. You guys?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on September 14, 2016, 09:27:52 PM
I wanted the green ending but I didn't have enough points, some of which were because of decisions I made and some of which were locked behind multiplayer, so I also went for the red ending.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on September 15, 2016, 08:38:35 PM
Spoilers:
Red pisses me off because it kills the geth after I spent like 3 hours saving them and the quarians. And Shepard does survive if you pick red... but is that worth it? now the cycle of death will continue in 1000 years. So maybe green would be the best option?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on September 15, 2016, 10:29:04 PM
I wanted the green ending but I didn't have enough points, some of which were because of decisions I made and some of which were locked behind multiplayer, so I also went for the red ending.
You don't need to do multiplayer it's entirely optional I didn't and got the "best" ending.
What sucks is that EA has said that 4 will contain NONE of your past choices in the trilogy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on September 16, 2016, 01:27:55 AM
Deus Ex: Invisible War might have been a bad game but having all 3 endings happen took alot of guts and some solid writing to happen. I haven't played DX:MD yet as I am waiting for the Mac version so I don't know if they did the same thing for it. The endings aren't mutually exclusive so there is room for that to happen.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 16, 2016, 08:23:06 AM
Final Fantasy (PSP) - Playing through to relive memories of this game from the NES days. This remake feels like a great way to go through the game - smoothing out some rough points and (I think) making the game a bit easier to get through - but it is still a very primitive JRPG. Too much grinding with frequent random battles, a pretty weak story line, and constant fetch quests having you backtrack between locations. None of those points is a surprise, but I had forgotten much of the game over the years.


I'm not having a bad time with the game, but it's hard to recommend for anything beyond curiosity or nostalgia. You can get much more interesting experiences from the NES era, with both Final Fantasy 3 or Dragon Warrior 3 jumping to mind as huge improvements over their predecessors.


One annoying issue with this port are the constant load times - sure, it's only a second or two, but it happens every time you open a menu, go into battle, look at your map, or return to main screen. Waiting an extra second or two doesn't seem that bad initially... but those seconds start to add up quickly.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on September 16, 2016, 04:17:36 PM
I grabbed the Capcom PS3 Humble Bundle a few weeks ago mostly for Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.  I played the Saturn import version of it as a retro gaming con months ago and I was planning on getting it but never got around to it until now.  I figured with that and the sheer amount of other well regarded games being included that the bundle would be the way to go.

I've started playing another game that came with the bundle: Okami.  So I'm wondering why I didn't play this when it was brand new or when it came out on the Wii.  I knew it was critically acclaimed and I knew it was a Zelda clone and I love Zelda.

This game pretty much IS Zelda and scratches all the same itches.  I find most Zelda clones are just not as good as the real deal but this one is.  Actually the cel-shaded graphics are more interesting than Wind Waker's and the brush mechanics make the gameplay less formulaic than Twilight Princess.  I haven't finished the game so I suppose it could fall off a cliff at some point but so far it might be that the best Zelda of the Cube generation was a PS2 game.

Now I'm sure others have pointed this out but the similarities to Twillight Princess are too obvious to ignore.  Both have sidekicks riding wolves and areas that are under some curse of sorts when you first enter them.  The battles in Okami are in enclosed areas with a force field surrounding them and so too are battles against Twilight Realm baddies in Twilight Princess.  Those all seem too specific to be a coincidence but the two games came out only seven months apart with Okami coming first.  Surely Nintendo didn't have enough time to rip off these ideas, particularly when they delayed TP to coincide with the Wii release and thus would have had the core elements in place much earlier.  Or did they show these in a really early E3 demo and that gave Capcom enough time to steal them for Okami?  Since Capcom worked on Zelda games for the GBC and GBA I wonder if they found out about these elements during that time and used them for their own off-brand Zelda game.  Or maybe Nintendo and Capcom had discussed collaborating on a console Zelda and brainstormed these ideas together and then both used them in their own titles after the collaboration fell through?  It's just unreal how many very specific similarities there are.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 17, 2016, 09:54:39 AM
I guess this is my Batman (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.msg903310#msg903310) month (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=41328.msg903485#msg903485).

Batman: Arkham City (Wii U):
(https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/WVW69joQA9grqe0xlo) (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAADAAB2V0e-bIo3ww)
I am playing a bit of New Game+. When starting it i was relieved and almost disappointed (almost) that the game doesn't force you to collect trophies all over again. It's been years when i completed it and doing that insane collectathon all over again would be kinda nostalgic.

Man that "console" framerate... At least combat was made better, but low 20 frames per second makes it worse than it is.

Because NG+ has no collectibles it's more of a linear story (whereas playing "normally" i would more likely to postpone doing story missions for as long as possible), though i did notice game asked me to do some VR mission so maybe i have to re-do some side-missions...

Arkham Knight had changed button layout somewhat, so re-learning stuff for Asylum was kind weird. It got weirder when i had to re-learn again for City where buttons were re-arranged again.

Oh and i am also playing that Batman game on 3DS. It is eh, and i constantly find myself confused with it's 3d directions that are actually 2d.

Oh, and 3DS game also has somewhat different buttons, like having to press A for crouching.

Playing so many similar games with kinda similar but still different button shortcuts makes my finger memory very confused.


Shadow or Mordor (Steam):
You don't know how good you have it in one series, until you play a game which rips it off and kinda does badly.

Getting surrounded by hundreds of orcs is just not fun. At least Batman games have other activities you can do
(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/262721955357762722/F1B76EAEAF533B119E75C4537C98B0B94DEB56D3/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=764925866)

I am constantly harping on Batman combat and here is a game where the entirety of gameplay is nothing but killing baddies using Batman style combat. That is literally ALL you do.

Good job, Monolith.

The game is not exactly a looker:

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/262721955355625800/D1D0BE48587A4ACD4F9A5EB54B7864833CBD2E97/) (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=764603442)

It also lacks what i really enjoy in both Assasin Creed and Batman games -- layered 3d architecture for me to climb. Mordor is mostly completely flat. The map is also rather small, but it is very densely populated which is more of problem because you are constantly surrounded by endless army of orcs and you can't kill them all ever. There will always be 100s of orcs around you no matter what you do.

Nemesis system is kinda cool in principle but it is a poor replacement for proper bosses. Why should i bother gathering intel on some Warchief learning his weaknesses if i can still just walk up to him and kill him regularly in combat?

Were people THAT enticed by WB bribing them to prop that game up to make it their GOTY? Many publications and awards did it, passing over Bayonetta 2 which while an inferior to first game still is much more solid action game and a shining beacon of game design and polish compared to this mongrel of Assassin Creed and Batman which lacks most things that i like from both series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on September 17, 2016, 01:05:36 PM
Deus Ex Mankind Divided. It's cool, but it's technically rough, feels very sloppy occasionally.

how is it compared to Human Revolution?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on September 25, 2016, 04:41:45 PM
Catrap is the most stupidly addictive puzzle game I've played in ages.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on September 25, 2016, 04:46:14 PM
I finally opened Monster Hunter Generations so if anyone wants to play I should be ready to go online soon. I started a Gen thread for discussion too in the handheld section in case we get a bit of a following going.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sudoshuff on September 27, 2016, 06:58:21 PM
I've started playing another game that came with the bundle: Okami.  So I'm wondering why I didn't play this when it was brand new or when it came out on the Wii.  I knew it was critically acclaimed and I knew it was a Zelda clone and I love Zelda.


I was in the same boat.  I never played it simply because I wasn't in the mood for another Zelda-like game with a wolf (and I played Twilight Princess first).  Nice to hear you're enjoying it though...after I finish Skyward Sword I'll need something to fill the time between now and the NX (and unplayed Wii games are a good way to go). 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 27, 2016, 08:15:31 PM
I really think Okami is worse than any 3D Zelda game by a distance. The design of most areas is barren/repetitive, the paintbrush control is lousy (on Wii at least, but I have a hard time seeing how this isn't a stupid/cumbersome item system with a control stick), puzzles/dungeons are perfunctory, there's way too much awful dialogue and cut scenes, and the GTE sequences are some of the worst I've encountered. It's also stretched out past the breaking point given how shallow it is. The final boss was cool, but that's about the only positive I can recall. This falls under the umbrella of games that are overpraised because they're similar to a Nintendo-designed game but not made by Nintendo (Looking at you, every Rayman game.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on September 28, 2016, 10:14:15 AM
Catrap is the most stupidly addictive puzzle game I've played in ages.
But the most important question is:
Do you pronounce it cat-trap or cat-rap?  :P:
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 28, 2016, 07:39:43 PM
Ugh... after beating a few recently, having a hard time picking up a new game right now. Just too much other stuff going on.


That said, still managing to enjoy a few bite-sized games thanks to PICO-8 -- a computer-based "virtual console" that makes it easy to develop, share, and re-work simple games.  (link: http://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?cat=7&sub=2)


A PocketChip portable computer from KickStarter arrived recently. The computer is kind of like a Raspberry Pi, but with some built in storage, wireless, and bluetooth. Then that chip is dropped into a simple interface (with touch screen and keyboard) so that you can easily use it while on the move.  Pretty geeky... but perfect for playing and developing PICO-8 stuff...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 03, 2016, 09:55:31 AM
Finally settled on a game to play:


Scurge: Hive (GBA) - A couple hours in, and this is just a great action title. Remember making comparisons between this game and an imagined isometric Metroid, and that still feels apt. Plenty of exploration in an isolated lab, but a strong focus on fast-paced action and a few gentle puzzles along the way.  The different weapons are enjoyable to switch between.


One interesting thing is that you have been infected upon landing on the planet, so are essentially on a timer - if you don't find a save/heal point quickly, the growing infection can start to cause rapid health loss, so you end doing quick runs into different rooms to always find that next checkpoint. Level and enemy designs are solid. Even though I'm not usually a fan of isometric perspective games, this is really good.


Also spending some time with Lego City Undercover (Wii U) for the retroactive, and having a great time just exploring the world and finding stuff we missed when focusing on the story initially. It sounds lame, but this remains one of my favorite Wii U exclusives - it's just such a cute and enjoyable virtual world to be in, and it's filled with stuff to see and do.


Finally, playing a few games with my kids: 
* Pikmin: New Play Control (Wii)
* Scooby Doo and the Spooky Swamp (Wii)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on October 07, 2016, 12:27:02 AM
Been playing Nano Assault EX and my C-stick mod makes it an absolute dream to play.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on October 10, 2016, 01:43:53 PM
Been playing a bit of Kirby's Block Ball on the 3DS VC. It started off slow but then I got to the first boss battle where things started to get interesting.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Oedo on October 24, 2016, 06:45:26 PM
After seeing the new Mario Kart footage in the Nintendo Switch reveal, I had the sudden urge to go back to Mario Kart 8 and played it for a few hours over the weekend. Man, I forgot how frustrating this game can be. The blue shell nonsense has been covered more than enough times and I can usually brush it off, but when I get hit with a blue shell, followed by a red shell, followed by a green shell all within ten seconds on the final lap of a race, that's just silly. The randomness does lead to some funny moments like someone sniping a banana peel I was about to slip on and accidentally saving me, but it definitely needs some rebalancing.

That aside, it's still a really fun game and I'll probably keep playing it some over the next little while in between the other games I'm playing. It still looks great as well, so I wouldn't be surprised if what saw in the Switch trailer was an enhanced port and not a full-fledged Mario Kart 9. At the very least, I think it's safe bet that the Switch game will heavily leverage Mario Kart 8.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on October 24, 2016, 09:47:03 PM
I'm playing Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, and it's a great improvement over the original. The levels have more exploration to them, a lot with verticality which is great. There's a reason to explore the levels for medals, as some of challenges in the game require them. Plus, to do challenges, all you have to do is beat a level once, and then instead of picking which challenges you want to try (like you did in the original, but you could only do a max of three at a time), you can just try as many challenges as you want in one run to unlock new content.

Copen is really fun to use. It's a joy dashing from foe to foe without touching the ground in order to get more points. Speaking of points, the grading system is much kinder, so getting S ranks isn't a huge pain this time around. It isn't automatic, of course, so you will need some level of skill to acquire them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TGT on October 25, 2016, 07:45:28 AM
I'm still playing Metal Gear Solid 5 for my blind timeline playthrough of the Metal Gear Franchise.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 25, 2016, 08:55:43 AM
Prompted by the recent reveal, I went back into my backlog of unplayed games and started up Red Dead Redemption.  Droves of friends have been touting this game as a "one of the best games of all time" candidate.


Firstly, this game is essentially Wild Wild West GTA.  While this would be aggravating to me, the A) Fact that it's a sprawling landscape with little traffic, B) Riding Horses instead of driving cars, and C) The Western motif deviate it from a formula I don't like enough to make it an overall good experience so far. 


John Marston as a character is relatively uninteresting so far.  I expect or hope he gets some depth throughout the game.  Alluding to a shady past isn't enough for me.


Bonnie can go catch her own damn cattle from now on.


That said, the characters outside of Marston are relatively interesting and varied.  I think if this game latches onto me, it'll more be because of them than anything else.


Finally, the gunplay is pretty satisfying, and this is a case which I think the way the reticle locks-onto the enemy works really well.


I'll have more thoughts as I get farther than 5 hours in.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on October 25, 2016, 01:00:41 PM
I was playing Castlevania III: Dracula's Quest for some Halloween themed gaming. I had planned on beating it, but I'm stuck on the Block 7 final boss. I can kill it with 2-3 ticks left on the game counter, but the game charges the post-death animation sequence against the player, and I can't seem to squeeze anymore ticks out of what I have left in the save state. My interested has dwindled too much to enjoy restarting the level. My larger ambition was to play through four times using each playable character full time from the moment they are recruited. This was my first time playing, and I didn't do any initial research, so I realize now that I may have made my life substantially harder by trying to clear it first with the combat gimped Grant DaNasty.  I still want to try something similar, but probably with more switching back with Simon Belmont, and I'm going to slow play it over several months or even years.

I do enjoy the improvements to the game from the original Castlevania quite a bit. Obviously, the new characters and branching paths add a lot more depth to the game play, as well as substantial replay value. But equally important is the greater clarity of the environment vis-a-vis the sprites. There is far less bleed in this game and far better color and shading juxtaposition. There isn't the same saturation of drab yellow and brown everywhere either. Even if the game is just as hard as the original, the combat and platforming seems fairer since you can see everything more easily. For me, the background design of the environments have always been the star of the NES portion of the series anyway, and CIII is a substantial upgrade in that area.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 25, 2016, 02:41:59 PM
Prompted by the recent reveal, I went back into my backlog of unplayed games and started up Red Dead Redemption.  ...
 the gunplay is pretty satisfying, and this is a case which I think the way the reticle locks-onto the enemy works really well.
As I recall, if you sort of double tap the gun/trigger button it will do "snap-to" aiming. This saved the game for me. The aiming reticle is super tiny and very hard for me to see, and I don't give a crap about making headshots and whatnot. So the snap-to (borderline cheat) was a good option for me. Double-tap and start shooting, occasionally making minor adjustments with the control stick when more precision is absolutely required. Without that, the game would have been not-fun, despite all the high-quality trappings.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 25, 2016, 06:07:17 PM
It's been a while, but as I recall the Red Dead shooting system keeps evolving quite a ways into the game as the Dead Eye ability expands.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 25, 2016, 06:20:49 PM
Oh yeah, Dead Eye is cool too. I was just talking about "regular" shooting in the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 26, 2016, 08:56:26 AM
Ugh. Got sucked back into Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U) again. Some of these G-rank quests where you have to beat between 2 and 4 monsters in a time limit can be tough for a mediocre bow user fighting solo.  I feel tempted to cheese my way through some of the fights... but don't really enjoy fighting that way.


Anyway, not really playing with any goal in mind. Just trying to clear out any quests that I had skipped previously.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on October 26, 2016, 08:42:17 PM
Just finished Mega Man X and Katawa Shoujo, the latter is a very powerful visual novel/dating sim. It focuses on disabilities and how people cope with them, very good ****. It hits very close to home. Check it out its a free download. A love it so much I think I've figured out what my next review is.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 27, 2016, 08:41:19 AM
Prompted by the recent reveal, I went back into my backlog of unplayed games and started up Red Dead Redemption.  ...
 the gunplay is pretty satisfying, and this is a case which I think the way the reticle locks-onto the enemy works really well.
As I recall, if you sort of double tap the gun/trigger button it will do "snap-to" aiming. This saved the game for me. The aiming reticle is super tiny and very hard for me to see, and I don't give a crap about making headshots and whatnot. So the snap-to (borderline cheat) was a good option for me. Double-tap and start shooting, occasionally making minor adjustments with the control stick when more precision is absolutely required. Without that, the game would have been not-fun, despite all the high-quality trappings.


Yeah, that has been a godsend.  This game can't be played like a general 3rd person shooter.  Like you said ,the reticle is too small, and maybe it's just my game settings, but anytime a mission has taken place at night, enemies are near impossible to see.


The Sheriff missions are much more fun than the Bonnie missions at this point.  Just met the crazy treasure hunter and snake oil salesmen as well, so there's finally some more fun personalities to interact with.


Red eye is pretty darn useful, there's been a level so far with hordes of bandits coming at me, really useful in downing a handful of enemies real quick.  Makes me think there'll be several levels like that.



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 29, 2016, 03:06:47 AM
I tried PS VR tonight. The picture is a little off. like 3D.  It's kinda neat, but not there yet for me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on October 30, 2016, 07:42:24 PM
I tried PS VR tonight. The picture is a little off. like 3D.  It's kinda neat, but not there yet for me.
Why do you hate the future? :smug:
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 30, 2016, 08:07:37 PM
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k302/shyguy70/Fight-the-Future_zpsiaze7jf7.jpg) (http://s91.photobucket.com/user/shyguy70/media/Fight-the-Future_zpsiaze7jf7.jpg.html)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 30, 2016, 09:43:17 PM
I've played this game before, 20 years ago when Virtual Reality was supposed to be the future of gaming, TV, the internet, and everything. That failed because it was ridiculously expensive and the technology wasn't anywhere near ready at the time.


Then 5 years ago 3D was the future. Of course most people weren't that interested once they saw the hoops required to make it happen - who wants to wear special headsets/glasses just to watch TV?


But I'm sure things will be different this time around.  At least the technology is much closer to being ready than it was years ago.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: supermario2k on October 31, 2016, 06:33:54 PM
I've played this game before, 20 years ago when Virtual Reality was supposed to be the future of gaming, TV, the internet, and everything. That failed because it was ridiculously expensive and the technology wasn't anywhere near ready at the time.


Then 5 years ago 3D was the future. Of course most people weren't that interested once they saw the hoops required to make it happen - who wants to wear special headsets/glasses just to watch TV?


But I'm sure things will be different this time around.  At least the technology is much closer to being ready than it was years ago.


While these are all legit comparisons, they fail to describe what people who are into VR want. A much deeper and more immersive experience. Yeah 20-30 years ago the tech was not ready, but at least people were trying it. But maybe the reason the tech wasn't ready was because the two companies that were working on it, Atari, and Sega, fell into dire financial straits and had to shift focus? If They both went forward with their VR plans and managed to get something workable then it might have evolved more naturally by now. Who knows? But we do know that it was expensive as hell back then, know what else was expensive as hell then? HD, and LCD screens. None of those are expensive these days, technology moves forward.

VR is not going to replace TV, I think people who think that are dumb. There I said it. I didn't want to but you are dumb if you think anyone is expecting VR to REPLACE TV. It is not going to do that, it is going to be there to compliment TV. VHS had a 30 year lifespan and it was a terrible product. DVD is going on 20 years right now, still not a perfect product and yet people still buy it.

The difference between 3D and VR is 3D nobody was asking for that, ever. People have been wanting VR for a long time its just been out of reach for a long time. 3D was bad, because they, the tech companies, were expecting it to replace HD. It didn't. VR is not going to replace HD, it is not going to replace TV, it is going to have a place in the market forever moving forward. While people don't hook boxes up to stream movies off cassette tapes anymore, they do still hook boxes up to stream content to their TV's. And while not everyone is going to want the individual and immersive experience of VR, enough people will want it not all the time, but enough of the time to keep it around. Pokepal fan **** off, I get it your a dick we all know it but you can't predict the future anymore than I can stop acting like you can dude. But I do think that the people who don't want VR, fine nobody is going to force you to, this is different entirely than 3D so stop comparing it to 3D.

But the people who do want it are going to keep asking for it and will enjoy it. Don't like it don't buy it but Jesus stop shitting on the people who do like it!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 31, 2016, 09:43:11 PM
...
The difference between 3D and VR is 3D nobody was asking for that, ever. People have been wanting VR for a long time its just been out of reach for a long time. 3D was bad, because they, the tech companies, were expecting it to replace HD. It didn't. VR is not going to replace HD, it is not going to replace TV, it is going to have a place in the market forever moving forward. ...

This seems like a good point.

While I'm still unsure that VR tech is ready for mainstream acceptance, I agree it's something that people do want. Even if it fails to take off and become a permanent thing now (which is kind of my expectation) it will just keep coming back around until the experience is cheap/convincing/compelling enough to stick around for good... It's only a matter of time.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Pokepal was just messing around. Don't get pissed, he's just yanking chains to yank chains. :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on October 31, 2016, 10:59:45 PM
I like 3D in my games as it works really well for that use case, just not really for films, almost nobody does it right and the closest is Dredd. Even then elements of it didn't quite work.

Home VR isn't very good right now and needs another generation or 2 to shake things out. The uses will be pretty much limited to "Cockpit" and "Walking sims". You simply need too much hardware and space to expande the use cases.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: supermario2k on November 01, 2016, 01:51:48 PM
I know that, Pokepal just feeds on my daily **** you's so he'd starve to death if I neglected him.
Sorry guys its been a tough week at work, we're cover a murder trial and we're a small community paper so its very sensitive and emotions are running high all around. I'll probably be much calmer once this passes and Nov. 9 rolls around. Working in a newsroom is great except during an election cycle.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 01, 2016, 03:21:54 PM
Playing New Super Luigi U (Wii U).


Not really a fan of the whole "New Super Mario Bros" series - the controls always feel kind of off, and in this particular case worse than usual.  But the games always manage to show off some interesting levels and I do like the short time limits in play with the Luigi version.


I haven't played New Super Mario Bros U yet. Are the levels identical in these games?  I'm assuming they are more like remixes than direct copies...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 01, 2016, 03:46:48 PM
The Luigi game is a completely different set of levels from the Mario version. They're not remixes, the Luigi levels are significantly shorter and more difficult. New Super Mario Bros. U plays like Super Mario World, New Super Luigi U plays more like Mario 3.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 01, 2016, 06:51:56 PM
The Luigi game is a completely different set of levels from the Mario version. They're not remixes, the Luigi levels are significantly shorter and more difficult. New Super Mario Bros. U plays like Super Mario World, New Super Luigi U plays more like Mario 3.


Excellent - good to know!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on November 02, 2016, 06:07:20 AM
Picked up Supar Meat Boy on the Steam Halloween sale for $3.50, ready for some balls deep difficulty!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 06, 2016, 01:21:08 AM
I'm finally getting the hang of FIFA 17. People like to claim sports games don't change from year to year, but I went from dominating in 16 to finding it almost impossible to score in 17 because of the tweaks to the game engine. I'm finally getting into the groove with it now, which is good since it's probably the game I'm going to play the most over the next year.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on November 06, 2016, 10:35:33 AM
Picked up Warioware for the DS for $4, and the new doom for $28. Hope to enjoy both.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on November 06, 2016, 07:22:58 PM
Owlboy (PC):

Another years-in the making indie darling, another dud. I hadn't heard of this before the release praise, at least, so there's no weight of disappointment here as with The Witness, Obduction, and to a lesser extent Inside.

I really need to learn to ignore indie game reviews. Owlboy has meticulous pixel art, but the general art design is fairly bland and repetitive (similar to Ori and the Blind Forest in that respect). The music swings wildly between chiptune type stuff and what sound like Andrew Bird tracks. There is way too much "story" for what I took to be an action adventure game from the trailer. It constantly jerks the control away from you to have the characters blather. Like Undertale, it treats emo "feels" baiting as profound, but it comes off even worse in this context given the genre of the game. And like Undertale it injects fedora-humor in at regular intervals.

And those are the aspects that seem to be universally praised!

The game itself is painfully mediocre. The controls are fiddly, the combat starts out as a chore and becomes insufferable. Level design is bland and it's hard to say what gameplay even really consists of; it'd be a stretch to call much of anything in the game a puzzle, moreso just very obvious obstacles that, again, feel like a chore to get past, and there isn't any platforming because you fly. There's really hardly anything to it. Oh, but there are regular stealth sections, which are predictably terrible.

All in all I have no idea how this game took so long to make. I think I'm near the final area, but I am having such a bad reaction to the game and its reception that I don't know if I'll bother to finish.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on November 08, 2016, 05:12:54 AM
just finished sun and moon demo and oh my god, the game tells you the god damn what's super effective and whats not now! AGRH! And Team Skull walk cycle! XD I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Other  then that ready for some new pokemans.


It"s like if eminem did drugs, got drunk and decided to show people what "walking" is. All set to bad no lyric "rap" music.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 13, 2016, 09:25:33 PM
Moved to Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze (Wii U).  This isn't a series I'm usually big on, but I can't deny the quality after playing through the first world of stages.


The constant delays for loading are unfortunate though - LEGO City Undercover remains king of the loading screen, but at least that game could let you play for a significant amount of time between seeing loading screens pop up. Here it feels like you are waiting for content to load every couple of minutes, which is a huge pet peeve for me.


Got this game for free through the old Club Nintendo rewards. Makes me nostalgic for a rewards program that would offer me rewards I might actually use...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 13, 2016, 10:07:48 PM
I started up Mass Effect in backward compatibility on Xbox One now that 2 and 3 are available there as well. This isn't the first time I've started the game, but I never got more than a few hours into it despite it being the main reason I bought an Xbox 360 eight years ago. I'm really liking it so far, going with a female renegade Shepard. I'm a loose cannon who plays by her own rules, but damn it, I get results!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on November 13, 2016, 10:19:47 PM
Just been playing a bunch of PSVR demos. It sounds cliché, but the immersion is second to none. Sure the display could be higher-res (especially with the PS4 Pro out now), but the experience is incredible. It's hard to go back to non-VR games after this.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 14, 2016, 08:19:42 AM
Just been playing a bunch of PSVR demos. It sounds cliché, but the immersion is second to none. Sure the display could be higher-res (especially with the PS4 Pro out now), but the experience is incredible. It's hard to go back to non-VR games after this.


Ugh... I'm still skeptical about VR providing experiences that I'm keen to play, but really need to try this sometime. Reactions have been much more positive than I expected they would be.


(Only "ugh" because if it lives up to the hype I can't afford buying in anyway.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on November 14, 2016, 08:19:41 PM
I honestly bought it fully content with the idea that I'd just try it out for the weekend and return it to the store, but it's simply awesome.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on November 15, 2016, 10:08:54 PM
VR works for some games, but not all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 15, 2016, 10:57:44 PM
VR works for some games, but not all.


As a huge 2D platformer fan, I'm not quite sold on it.  But obviously I'm a bit biased there...  ;D
Kidding aside, what games/genres benefit from it most? 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on November 17, 2016, 04:03:00 PM
Moved to Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze (Wii U). This isn't a series I'm usually big on, but I can't deny the quality after playing through the first world of stages.
Even if you're not into it, it's worth sticking it through to the end if for no other reason than the music. There's some incredible stuff later in the game!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 22, 2016, 09:09:27 AM

Started playing Vagrant Story (PS One Classics, via PSP) and am enjoying the game in the very early stages. Don't really know what I'm doing and might read the manual to help figure things out.  Haven't really gotten into weapon customization yet, although have heard that's a big part of the game. Did start trying to combo attacks though, which is kind of fun.


Seems prime for a remake - although maybe being widely available through PSN makes that unnecessary.

Moved to Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze (Wii U). This isn't a series I'm usually big on, but I can't deny the quality after playing through the first world of stages.
Even if you're not into it, it's worth sticking it through to the end if for no other reason than the music. There's some incredible stuff later in the game!


Music is very good... but I still really dislike the game (after getting mid-way through the 3rd world).  Too often if feels like level design is simple but I'm spending time fighting controls instead of trying to beat the stage. That's frustrating.


Are 10-second loading times normal to enter or exit a stage, or are they a result of having the game on my hard drive instead of directly on the Wii U?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on November 24, 2016, 01:57:57 AM
Almost finished with Disney Magical World 2. One of the proud ~10,000 who purchased a copy last month! I have 95/100 stickers, and I wasn't keeping track of how many total stickers were in the game. Thus, I'm surprised how close to the end I am after just about 24 hours of playtime. Really love the customization and how every little thing you do makes some sort of progress, whether it's to get new materials, craft new items, or get closer to gaining a new sticker.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: jvgsjeff on November 26, 2016, 02:46:25 PM
Almost finished with Disney Magical World 2. One of the proud ~10,000 who purchased a copy last month! I have 95/100 stickers, and I wasn't keeping track of how many total stickers were in the game. Thus, I'm surprised how close to the end I am after just about 24 hours of playtime. Really love the customization and how every little thing you do makes some sort of progress, whether it's to get new materials, craft new items, or get closer to gaining a new sticker.

There are actually 130 stickers this time. I just hit 106, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. Although I am the type that tries to complete my item collection, so it may take me a while yet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on November 26, 2016, 04:51:13 PM
Haha. I got to the credits after 30 hours, so I'm satisfied with putting the game aside for now. :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 02, 2016, 12:06:24 PM
I honestly bought it fully content with the idea that I'd just try it out for the weekend and return it to the store, but it's simply awesome.


What games/demos were you playing?


Had a chance to play with PSVR for a while, and didn't really care for it.  (Despite my negativity earlier, I was really surprised at what a letdown it was. I had fully expected that trying it would convince me PSVR was awesome.)


Is there such a thing as Virtual Uncanny Valley? Graphics aren't good enough to convince me anything is real, and gameplay also rung hollow most of the time. Many of the games tried to be immersive, but had such strong limitations on how and what you could interact with in-game that they lost much of the value. The Kitchen demo wowed my cousin, but left me extremely underwhelmed, as it was hardly more than a cut scene where your head controlled the camera.


I didn't love the sense of isolation you get when playing with a pretty massive headset on, and that put a real damper on any same room multiplayer. The most fun we had was probably Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes... but VR was very clearly a gimmick there.


I don't know. Maybe I'm biased because VS is way outside of my price range, but head-based motion controls to manage a camera just isn't something I'm looking for. It's also very rare that I want to completely isolate myself in a virtual world the way VR demands. Guess I'm getting old.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 03, 2016, 02:23:52 AM
La-Mulana (PC):

So I've been interested in this game for a long time, but was put off by the alleged extreme difficulty and abstruse puzzles. GOG had a flash sale last week, however, and I bit the bullet at $4.

I'm about three hours in and my feelings are decidedly mixed. I very much enjoyed completing the initial ruins zone (and didn't realize I could leave through the area exits), as I chipped away steadily figured out the grammar of the world interaction and the logic to the clues, while picking up some vital items. Controls are a tad stiff for the genre, but serviceable.

But then I beat the first boss and have pushed out the walls, so to speak, with grail warps into four or five other areas. With the increased scope I've lost serious track of any clue logic and don't have a clear sense of what I'm supposed to be doing or why, other than eventually killing the boss in each sector. Like, the last time I played I wandered into some labyrinth zone and stumbled into a shop that's selling a helmet that will let me progress through a waterfall on the other side of the world. Glad to get the hat, but I could use more rhyme and reason to the progression. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: francisbaud on December 04, 2016, 12:32:21 AM
Not playing anything right now. The most recent game I've played was League of Legends, I spent several hours earlier this year on that game. I'm pretty bad at it though and I keep dying. I've also tested 2 indie MMORPGs in development, CU and CF.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 04, 2016, 04:05:56 PM
La-Mulana (PC):
...


Although I've only played the WiiWare version, I hold the game in high regard (despite some real love/hate over the obtuse puzzles).   I liked the way you could explore and try to learn from the environment in many different areas, how the game layered puzzle on top of puzzle, and how delightful it was to uncover secrets one by one until you had mastered a whole section of the world.  I even kind of enjoyed the decidedly old-school controls that work pretty well once you master them.


But the obtuse design doesn't get better with time - in fact it sometimes gets worse. After uncovering the truth about Eden, I had absolutely no idea how to progress further in that world... and to this day still haven't figured that secret (or many others) out.


I did hear from a friend that there is no "solution" though, and that's it's essentially totally random if you want to progress. I'm not entirely sure that's true, because this game hides many solutions to puzzles in places you wouldn't think to look (background artwork, clues given in entirely other parts of the game world, etc).  Moral of the story?  Don't be afraid to use an online guide if you want to progress deep in to the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on December 04, 2016, 05:13:04 PM
Tropico 5 has consumed me. The best "City-Sim" out there right now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 05, 2016, 12:57:57 AM
La-Mulana (PC):
...


Although I've only played the WiiWare version, I hold the game in high regard (despite some real love/hate over the obtuse puzzles).   I liked the way you could explore and try to learn from the environment in many different areas, how the game layered puzzle on top of puzzle, and how delightful it was to uncover secrets one by one until you had mastered a whole section of the world.  I even kind of enjoyed the decidedly old-school controls that work pretty well once you master them.


But the obtuse design doesn't get better with time - in fact it sometimes gets worse. After uncovering the truth about Eden, I had absolutely no idea how to progress further in that world... and to this day still haven't figured that secret (or many others) out.


I did hear from a friend that there is no "solution" though, and that's it's essentially totally random if you want to progress. I'm not entirely sure that's true, because this game hides many solutions to puzzles in places you wouldn't think to look (background artwork, clues given in entirely other parts of the game world, etc).  Moral of the story?  Don't be afraid to use an online guide if you want to progress deep in to the game.

Thanks for the response, that's pretty much as I expected. I'm about six hours in, not as far along as you got, but I think I've seen nearly every area to some extent. I've got a boss waiting in the Sky Spring that seems intimidating, and a miniboss in the Twin Labyrinths that seems impossible with my current equipment (I think I've got about half the items/weapons), but other than that I'm just wandering around. I haven't quite gotten stuck, and there's some more stuff to go back over with my newer gear, but I pretty much gave up on trying to follow the clues. There are just too many of them, and even my expanded recorder filled up almost immediately. At this point, they mostly seem way too vague to be worth thinking about, and several I've only realized what they meant after I randomly or intuitively uncovered the secret.

I feel like in another two hours or so I'll hit the limit of what I can blunder through on my own, and therein lies the predicament you mentioned about guides. The game itself isn't all that "fun" on a mechanical level (and the fucking knockback is starting to drive me nuts), so looking up the solutions seems like it would render the experience pointless. I guess we'll see if I'm up to the challenge!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on December 05, 2016, 04:52:07 AM
On obtuse puzzles in La Mulana: the most absurd ones are nearly at the end and so you don't even know the full extent of it.

(http://i.imgur.com/mFJxqwT.png)

I highly recommend not to even bother with giant scales room and with yellow medicine and just look it up. Mantras -- another late-game BS puzzle are actually very to cheese so they're okay.

miniboss in the Twin Labyrinths that seems impossible with my current equipment (I think I've got about half the items/weapons)
If you talking a time-stopping bird, you can kill it without specific item (there is even achievement for it) -- it just requires a study of it's patterns and a bit of premonition on your part.

There are just too many of them, and even my expanded recorder filled up almost immediately. At this point, they mostly seem way too vague to be worth thinking about, and several I've only realized what they meant after I randomly or intuitively uncovered the secret.
Make notes, it's much easier than clunky in-game recorder.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 05, 2016, 07:43:08 AM
...
Make notes, it's much easier than clunky in-game recorder.


Agreed, although wish I came to that conclusion sooner when I was playing.


Despite some issues with the decidedly old-school and sometimes obtuse design, La-Mulana remains one of my favorite WiiWare games because it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, and kept me busy exploring the in-game world for quite a few hours, always trying to solve that next puzzle and progress a little bit further.  (For reference, my other favorites include Fluidity, World of Goo, the Bit.Trip series, and Lost Winds games. Good company, even if La-Mulana clearly isn't at the top of that list.)


Isn't La-Mulana 2 supposed to be out soon? Or maybe it already is? I remember it had a KickStarter a couple of years back, and the game must be getting close.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on December 05, 2016, 10:13:18 AM
Continuing with my playthrough of Red Dead Redemption.  I just got to the point where you cross the border to Mexico.  That raft mission I found completely miserable, particularly because 1) they give you almost no good option for cover, and 2) I've for the life of me cannot figure out the right brightness/contrast settings to make everything visible in this game.  The second I adjust everything to look clear, I go to another area where everything is a dark, muddled mess.  I'll need to fiddle around with it more.


That said, after the mission, the transition with the song backdrop felt awesome.  This game is doing a good job of making you feel like you're on a sprawling epic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: supermario2k on December 05, 2016, 04:02:30 PM
I gave up on Super Mario 3D World. I got bored. So I moved on to Super Paper Mario. I got bored with that real quick so I moved on to Mega Man 8. I got bored real quick so I put in Gremlins DVD and had more fun with that than all those games.

Gamer is not the best word to describe me, compulsive collector who used to be a gamer maybe.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on December 06, 2016, 12:06:35 AM
I gave up on Super Mario 3D World. I got bored. So I moved on to Super Paper Mario. I got bored with that real quick so I moved on to Mega Man 8. I got bored real quick so I put in Gremlins DVD and had more fun with that than all those games.

Gamer is not the best word to describe me, compulsive collector who used to be a gamer maybe.

If you enjoy movie commentaries, I recommend the RedLetterMedia commentary of Gremlins ;)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on December 06, 2016, 03:45:05 AM
Just finished CoD MW2.
I know, i know, i said i hate CoD and i do, the new ones.
I love the original and world at war. But i hate pretty much every other one. But my friend said this one has one of the greatest plot twists of all time! And i mean it has a good twist don't now about all time though... Still i enjoyed my time with it, so that's saying something. That for once i wasn't burned by CoD.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: supermario2k on December 06, 2016, 10:48:38 AM
I gave up on Super Mario 3D World. I got bored. So I moved on to Super Paper Mario. I got bored with that real quick so I moved on to Mega Man 8. I got bored real quick so I put in Gremlins DVD and had more fun with that than all those games.

Gamer is not the best word to describe me, compulsive collector who used to be a gamer maybe.

If you enjoy movie commentaries, I recommend the RedLetterMedia commentary of Gremlins ;)

I do like movie commentaries but I hate that guy, he hates Star Wars and that's not excusable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 07, 2016, 03:06:56 AM
On obtuse puzzles in La Mulana: the most absurd ones are nearly at the end and so you don't even know the full extent of it.

(http://i.imgur.com/mFJxqwT.png)

I highly recommend not to even bother with giant scales room and with yellow medicine and just look it up. Mantras -- another late-game BS puzzle are actually very to cheese so they're okay.

miniboss in the Twin Labyrinths that seems impossible with my current equipment (I think I've got about half the items/weapons)
If you talking a time-stopping bird, you can kill it without specific item (there is even achievement for it) -- it just requires a study of it's patterns and a bit of premonition on your part.

There are just too many of them, and even my expanded recorder filled up almost immediately. At this point, they mostly seem way too vague to be worth thinking about, and several I've only realized what they meant after I randomly or intuitively uncovered the secret.
Make notes, it's much easier than clunky in-game recorder.

Ha, thanks Azeke, that makes me feel a little better about this. I've saved (but spent more than) eight hours in the game now, and hit my breaking point a little bit back. I felt walled-in, but had access to a main boss (Bahamut) that I couldn't beat, and thought it was a bottleneck. So I looked up tips about beating it, and saw the axe mentioned as the best approach. But I didn't have the axe, and apparently I should! I tried to look up a hint, as I was pretty sure I hadn't found any clues about it, and of course just saw the answer immediately: it was behind a breakable wall in a random room that I thought I had already stress tested. And using it I could beat the fish boss. And felt weird and shitty about it.

From there, I pushed out a good bit further (and spent like a fucking half-hour getting the chain whip), but have now gotten deeper into the mirror worlds, and again don't know what the hell is going on, but know where I can keep pushing. As a corollary, a big chunk of this post-Bahamut progress was accidentally figuring out the giant statue behavior after screwing with the sky disk. Here I had thought it wasn't activated, because I was overthinking the clues!

So basically this game is driving me crazy and I'm developing the Helsinki Syndrome alluded to. I technically haven't cheated on a puzzle/progress yet (unless I did that unwittingly with the axe, but even still it seems to be optional), but good goddamn do I wish I had the clue-referenced upgrade to fast-travel to the mirror zones. Temptation to cheat rising.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 07, 2016, 08:42:12 AM
"Cheat" isn't the right word in this case. I much prefer "collaborative puzzle solving".
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on December 07, 2016, 07:58:14 PM
I started Chrono Chross today. It's not exactly a game with a golden reputation but it seems like it should be a fun time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on December 08, 2016, 12:06:50 AM
Let me know how well it plays. I picked it up new a few years back and never got around to playing. I liked the design choices, but was bothered about the lack of connection to the first title. I might jump in soon if it is still in a "playable" state (not too terrible load times, not so jaggie I could be cut by someone's hair).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on December 08, 2016, 12:46:54 AM
The problem with Chrono Cross is it never should have been a sequel to Chrono Trigger.  The gameplay is great and the soundtrack is amazing but the connection to the first game is just terrible and makes the overall story a mess.  The story should have been it's own unique thing which it was at first and was pretty good until it tries to connect with the original at which point it jumps the shark straight to the moon after that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on December 08, 2016, 05:59:11 PM
So they should have done what Fire Emblem/Zelda/Mario/Final Fantasy do and just make each game a stand-alone story (obviously not counting direct sequels). Could have been the start of the Chrono series, a place where Square could feel free to experiment with the RPG formula versus the almost archaic Dragon Quest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on December 08, 2016, 10:22:50 PM
So they should have done what Fire Emblem/Zelda/Mario/Final Fantasy do and just make each game a stand-alone story (obviously not counting direct sequels). Could have been the start of the Chrono series, a place where Square could feel free to experiment with the RPG formula versus the almost archaic Dragon Quest.

That's exactly what they should have done.  The original Chrono Trigger worked perfectly as a standalone story and didn't need to be expanded on.  Had Cross been it's own thing we could have had a pretty interesting series of unique RPG's.  Instead the decision to say "**** you" to the Trigger fanbase by the **** they pull in the second half of Cross pretty much killed the franchise.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 14, 2016, 11:38:53 PM
"Cheat" isn't the right word in this case. I much prefer "collaborative puzzle solving".

Well I've definitely cheated now. I beat my 5th boss and got into the Tower of the Goddess, but couldn't figure out how to turn it on with the water system from the clues. In one sense I overthought it, because I thought the lake that was referenced wasn't the same thing as the sky spring area. But in another sense, I probably never would have figured it out. It involved climbing down into a breakable pot (which I didn't know was anywhere near possible in terms of interaction in this game), and walking through a false wall that even after the fact I don't see how the clues pointed to.

So I made it like 13 hours and have officially given up on solving **** myself. Azeke was 100% right about the scale room, which as far as I know I didn't find more than two clues about the weight system for a one-chance puzzle. After breaking on the Tower of the Goddess, I soon also broke on the fruit of Eden puzzle, which I actually am kind of angry at myself about, because I was close to "getting" it, but didn't realize you could scan certain kinds of background details.

On another spur, I finally found the mother statue, and went through the room with the multi-color sperm flying around, and tried to use the statue on it, but it didn't work. So I looked it up, and it turns out I was doing the right thing, but just didn't do it enough times, or something? I give up.

I'll see if I even have the dexterity to finish the game with guide support. As of now, I am in a way kind of in awe of the construction and complexity of the game, but it's so fucking obtuse that I kind of also hate it. And really a lot of my frustrations could be alleviated with a much better log system. It really wouldn't take anything away from the project to be able to actually review the data you collect without having to manually write every little thing down in case it turns out to be important hours down the line.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on December 15, 2016, 03:49:02 AM
Monae: Quarter-Genie Quadling

I get it. Shantae will never be as good as Metroid, so why put so much effort into Metroid-like maps? Instead of having interconnected, labyrinthine maps and dungeons (what I considered to be the highlight of the franchise), Quarter-Genie Quadling is an action platformer centered around gated power-up acquisitions contributing to developing level design... sort of. See, QGQ uses these gated power-ups to siphon players through specific set-pieces while leaving other areas untouched, for better or worse.

The problem with this idea is that, while QGQ utilizes some clever transformation tricks in order to slowly trickle new areas for the player, there's some particularly boring implementations of the idea in the form of "genie rooms" that serve as straightforward and boring gates to additional power-up abilities. They're aesthetically bland atop lacking any sort of creativity, which is odd, considering a lot of charm of Wayforward games comes from their unique flair. In fact, a lot of what is on display here is pretty standard for the Shantae series, but that means it's "standard" Wayforward. The dialogue is as sharp and quirky as ever, the locales have some interesting gimmicks and do a good job of telling a narrative. And yes, there's some transformations, too.

But in every way that QGQ takes a step forward for the franchise- turning it into a "exploration action platformer," stripping down the previously-convoluted sidequest design, and amping up the amount of transformations, there's just as many odd choices that either remain glaringly old-fashioned, or just straight-up bizarre: the over-reliance on dialogue despite levels having clear narratives, the generic boss design that strays from transformation usage and becomes ridiculously damage-sponging, the odd gating of power-up expansions and some very disappointing and useless additions, and Wayforward's morbid fascination with STEALTH MECHANICS. And then, there is the most damning and backwards design choice of all, being a lack of mapping in an exploration- and backtracking-heavy game design. While the nooks and crannies you may find in levels and the way they are slowly revealed is pretty novel, not having the ability to keep track of secrets already found and paths not worth retreading save for a completion-chart on the world map is disappointing.

I'm nearing what the characters in QGQ are calling the "END" (in typical, Wayforward fourth-wall breaking fashion), I have only played as Shantae herself, and I know that there are other modes to explore once done. I might be jumping to conclusions a bit too soon, with the remaining two modes possessing a hefty chunk of unique content that will provide a Sonic 3 and Knuckles sort of expansive experience, but so far, QGQ is an acceptably tame, and imperfect, Kickstarter project. It's cute, and the visuals are certainly top-notch, but it does little to evolve the series in any sort of meaningful direction. Shantae and the Pirates Curse remains a superior title in my eyes, but again, these are developing opinions.

Long story short: unless you already enjoy Shantae games, this is a hard sell, but even if you do, you'll find little outside of dialogue and fundamental mechanics that feels familiar.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 28, 2016, 12:56:48 AM
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

I've never actually played through this game before, which is a shame, because it's absolutely amazing. I'm probably close to halfway done (3 pendants and 3 crystals), but this could end up rivaling Ocarina of Time for greatest of all time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on December 30, 2016, 03:24:52 PM
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

I've never actually played through this game before, which is a shame, because it's absolutely amazing. I'm probably close to halfway done (3 pendants and 3 crystals), but this could end up rivaling Ocarina of Time for greatest of all time.

Yeah, it's probably about 10 years since I first played Link to the Past myself. It was the first Zelda game I played and it was the GBA version. I felt stupid for having missed out on it all the years I grew up with an SNES. Same thing with Super Metroid. I was addicted to Link to the Past for a week or so as I fully beat it. Wanting more Zelda action, I then went with Wind Waker and ended up liking it even more. Followed that up with Ocarina of Time a bit later and then Twilight Princess before going on a long break from the series. But Link to the Past got it going. I loved exploring through that game. I'd poke every wall for a possible hollow hiding spot and dig up all the ground to make sure I didn't miss a secret somewhere along the way. The light and dark world concept. It still holds up well after all this time. If I hadn't started playing Majora's Mask 3D in the past week and half, I'd have probably named it my second favorite Zelda experience but, depending on how I feel when I finish up MM, it may drop down to 3rd.

Majora's Mask is the first Zelda game since Wind Waker that I thought could challenge it for the number one spot of favorite Zelda game. However, now that I'm about 75% done the game, I don't think that's going to happen. Still, it's really reinvigorated my interest in Zelda games again and made me excited about playing other games I've yet to get to in the series. It's a great twist on the formula which is something Nintendo's sometimes struggled with in trying to keep the series from becoming stale.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on January 01, 2017, 04:45:31 PM
Shovel Knight: Finally got around to it, now I see why everyone is in love with this game. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Dark Souls 3: Just from 5 hours in, it is better the Dark Souls 2. Not Bloodborne or DS1 level, but still enjoyable.

Xanadu Next: If anyone ever liked any of the Ys games or Legend of Zelda, give this game a shot. It is extremely good and the plot setting is fantastic. You unravel the mysteries of the island you are on through tomes and memoirs you find. The lore I've seen so far is really good and classical fantasy. Gameplay is top-down perspective, you use your mouse to move and attack. Keyboard to quick select spells/skills and to quick use items.

This a Falcom game through and through. And that is a good thing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 01, 2017, 05:28:52 PM
Super Metroid (SNES)
Similar to my LttP story above. Never played this seriously before, and it's absolutely amazing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 03, 2017, 08:54:34 AM
Super Metroid (SNES)
Similar to my LttP story above. Never played this seriously before, and it's absolutely amazing.


I had played Super Metroid for a few hours and remember really liking it, but put it down and never picked it back up for some reason.  I should go back to that.  Have you beaten it?  Or are you still working away at it?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 03, 2017, 10:51:34 AM
Still working at it. Don't think I'm too far in right now...Have Power Bombs, Dash, Ice Beam...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 03, 2017, 11:58:12 AM
Still working at it. Don't think I'm too far in right now...Have Power Bombs, Dash, Ice Beam...


Playing both Link to the Past and Super Metroid for the first time over the holidays makes me envious - definitely a lot of great gaming there!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 04, 2017, 02:13:17 PM
Started playing Final Fantasy VI (Vita) for the first time in anticipation of having some down time starting Friday due to a vasectomy.  After 1 1/2 hrs in, I can say this much:


The pace of the storytelling and events so far are going at such a breakneck speed, which is a welcome thing.  At that point, I've already gone through 3 boss battles and a second dungeon.  A GREAT reason why they can do this is the opening scrawl of world building around the events , and the game giving a 1 or 2 sentence summary of a character's background before being introduced as a party member.  The downside of this is that the character relationships seem inorganic and trust exists between party members for flimsy reasons at the moment, IMO.


This game looks gorgeous for a game of its time, and the Vita screen is a perfect method to play this in.  The music is great too, but the vita speakers leave something to be desired.  Oh well, headphones for me.


Didn't realize how much I missed turn based RPG combat. 


Maybe it's just me, but I find the dialogue a bit silly/bad, even for older games standards.  Maybe bad translation? 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 06, 2017, 12:24:04 PM
I started playing Stardew Valley, though I'm torn as to whether I should keep playing or stop and wait for the Switch version. As i was led to believe, it's a really good Harvest Moon clone, and that's a style of game I'd much rather have on a handheld. The problem is if the Switch version is coming at or near launch it'll be coming around the same time as the new Story of Seasons, and I don't know that I want to be playing two Harvest Moon games at once.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 10, 2017, 09:03:33 AM
I started playing Stardew Valley, though I'm torn as to whether I should keep playing or stop and wait for the Switch version. As i was led to believe, it's a really good Harvest Moon clone, and that's a style of game I'd much rather have on a handheld. The problem is if the Switch version is coming at or near launch it'll be coming around the same time as the new Story of Seasons, and I don't know that I want to be playing two Harvest Moon games at once.


I got Stardew Valley as well.  My thoughts exactly on thinking that game makes a lot more sense on a portable way to play games, I found myself digging for an old laptop I had in my closet so I could sit on the couch or in bed while going through one more day of the season without having to sit in my office chair.


To be honest, Its the kind of game I wouldn't mind double dipping on to get on the Switch.  I also felt myself getting a little annoyed that I couldn't work on my farm last night because my wife had started sinking her teeth into the game herself, so in a way I suppose it would benefit me to get a 2nd copy on a different platform, anyway.  My only concern would be whether the developer plans on releasing additional content for the game and if some versions (PC, namely) will end up with a larger breadth of content.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on January 10, 2017, 06:59:25 PM
I'm playing a game called Rogue Galaxy on PS2. It's really damn good so far, I'm on the second chapter.


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 29, 2017, 05:47:09 AM
Since the developer confirmed Stardew Valley isn't coming at Switch launch and made it sound like that version isn't that far along, I caved and started playing it elsewhere.. It's really good, though I feel like it's been oversold a bit. It's a very good Harvest Moon clone, but isn't the revolution some people made it out to be. i get the impression a lot of the people playing this hadn't played a Harvest Moon game in a while, because outside a really nice art style and a more fleshed out mining system than some of the recent games, it's really not better than something like Story of Seasons. I'm enjoying it, and will continue to play, but it's kind of a letdown after all the hype.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on January 29, 2017, 09:34:27 AM
Thanks for the tip Insano, I was on the fence with Stardew and will probably pass it up for Story of Seasons.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 31, 2017, 07:35:50 AM
Update on Stardew Valley: This game is really starting to get its hooks into me. This game, while very derivative, is incredibly well-crafted. It pushes all the right buttons for Harvest Moon fans, and everything I've seen so far is really fleshed out and deep.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 31, 2017, 08:56:30 AM
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (GBA) - Just started the game (again) and have enjoyed the early moments. Absolutely loved Bowser's Inside Story because of the delightful presentation and humorous story, and this precursor to that adventure feels like familiar territory in that regard.


Although I've been playing through my GBA collection with an intent to get rid of it afterwards, there are a few keepers. (For example, I expect to always hold onto a GBA Micro with the Final Fantasy 4 and 6 remakes. Those games were some of the first RPGs that I fell in love with during the SNES days, and having these highly portable versions available is a point of pride for me.) This game feels like it might fall into that category? Guess I'll have to play more to find out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on January 31, 2017, 11:46:49 AM
Just send all your GBA games to me. My backlog consumes all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on January 31, 2017, 02:56:03 PM
Yo, I'm about 80% through Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and I honestly don't know how much longer I can go on.

The action in this game is so boring, the plot, so bland. On one hand, sailing around the sea in my unstoppable god-killing machine, The Jackdaw, is fun, if only because nothing except legendary ships can stand in my way (and some of those are cheap as hell. Seriously, armor everywhere except on the back? That's ridiculous!), and collecting things certainly is... time consuming, but the fact that very few collectible items contribute to tangible upgrades and the world-building is so unnecessarily dense, the reason I've been playing this game for the better part of a year and a half in between much more exciting releases is because it wears me out so much. Yet the completionist, obsessive-compulsive part of me wants to stop at every sliver of beach to pick up stupid treasure chests and Animus fragments.

Also, the controls are wonky.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 31, 2017, 08:37:18 PM
Yo, I'm about 80% through Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and I honestly don't know how much longer I can go on.

The action in this game is so boring, the plot, so bland. On one hand, sailing around the sea in my unstoppable god-killing machine, The Jackdaw, is fun, if only because nothing except legendary ships can stand in my way (and some of those are cheap as hell. Seriously, armor everywhere except on the back? That's ridiculous!), and collecting things certainly is... time consuming, but the fact that very few collectible items contribute to tangible upgrades and the world-building is so unnecessarily dense, the reason I've been playing this game for the better part of a year and a half in between much more exciting releases is because it wears me out so much. Yet the completionist, obsessive-compulsive part of me wants to stop at every sliver of beach to pick up stupid treasure chests and Animus fragments.

Also, the controls are wonky.

This game was something of a "watershed" for me. For the first two-thirds or so I greatly enjoyed the sailing, whaling, fort attacks, treasure dives, large scale ship battles, etc., and paid little mind to the lousy but kind of ancillary main mission line. But I made the terrible mistake of 100%ing it, and by the time I swam to my last sand bar to open a pointless chest it burnt me out on this type of game forever, or at least playing this type of game with OCD. I managed to finish The Witcher 3 and AC: Unity, but found the sprawl of those games at time sickening, and those were the last two open worlds I've bothered with. I'm actually a bit worried about Breath of the Wild as a result . . . 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on January 31, 2017, 08:48:27 PM
At least Breath of the Wild seems to have elements other than the characters that react to physics. Also, I feel as though Nintendo isn't stupid enough to include shrine bonuses that contribute little to character progression.

At least, I hope.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 01, 2017, 03:38:15 AM
I hope too! Red Dead Redemption is still the only open world game I look back on fondly, and it would be difficult to establish just why that is. Certainly Zelda will be very different, but I hope the team has that game in mind to some extant. They managed to make riding a horse for tens of hours fun.

But now for my own entry!

Resident Evil 7 (PC) (spoilers?):


I haven't played a major studio game in a long time, and I am a big RE fan up til 5  (which I disliked so much I never even tried the maligned 6 out of curiosity), so I pulled the trigger on this and was delighted to find it ran well at medium settings on my untested laptop. Loads super fast off the SSD too!

I think I'm about a third of the way through at about 4 hours (two sessions). I kind of fucking hate it! It's technically competent (and again is surprisingly well optimized, which is rare), but it's pissing me off in a weird way.

The first chunk of the game feels like the VR analog of watching a bad 3D movie on a 2D screen, with **** being thrust in your face, extended bits where you lose control or have very limited control while animations and "story" moments play out. It does open up at a point and has a structure a bit more like a traditional Resident Evil game.

But it's really not working so far. The setting is bland (and has noticeable repeating assets), an uninspired combo of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and older RE games (I've yet to see anything I thought was strikingly done or original).

It's small on purpose, but by insisting on old-style RE progression design (within pretty narrow ranges) it makes it feels oddly absurd and on rails. I think it might be the first-person apparatus, it really highlights the sillyness of special keys and puzzle objects and magical item boxes. The circuitous routes become annoying and repetitive in a way that they don't in the classic games.  It certainly doesn't help that the evil family is extremely cartoonish, and that you are dousing yourself in magical healing juice and having body parts slapped back on.

The combat feels pretty shitty, retains some sluggishness from the older games but applied to a first-person perspective and focused on aggravating enemies who sway around the reticle (coughRevelationsGooMonstercough). And it's often unclear what the rules are surrounding monsters, so resource management feels haphazard. For instance, I suddenly hit a sequence that threw enemies at me like a classic game, and I burned all my ammo blundering through it. Instead of reloading the save, I just kept blundering, had to run past enemies, ended up in a silly ass boss fight I blundered through, found the enemies gone afterward. So how long do they stick around? Do I have to kill anything other than family members in clunky, partially scripted boss fights? I don't know.

So far I'd describe it as an unpalatable mixture of Condemned, Outlast, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and one of the Revelations games.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 03, 2017, 07:39:29 PM
Didn't think I could enjoy Tropical Freeze any less... but now I've hit the ice levels at the end of stage 5 and start of stage 6.  Whoever thought that making momentum and controls even worse in a platforming game like this deserves a stiff slap with a halibut.


Glad I got this game for free from Club Nintendo, because the idea of paying for this (admittedly quite pretty) dreck would drive me nuts. Not enjoying my time with the game at all, but too stubborn to quit.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: RarityGamer on March 05, 2017, 08:40:44 AM
Been playing some older games lately and having a blast.

Dreamcast:

Power Stone - still great and a real shame we haven't seen more of this series
Silent Scope - arcade fun
Sonic Adventure 2 - Still a fun game to play around with. I actually completed the whole story again. The story is tosh, but I enjoyed the gameplay for the most part. Think a lot of people just jumped on the Sonic franchise because...well, some people are sad like that.

Shenmue 1/2 - itching to play the third later this or (most likely) next year.

Wii:

Nights - awful script and voice acting, but a fun game.
Ghost Squad - brilliant on rail shooter


If any of you wanted to pick up a certain wii game, now is the time. People are still trying to get rid of them all and they're going cheap. It won't be long however till they start getting more expensive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on March 05, 2017, 04:34:25 PM
Been playing some older games lately and having a blast.

Dreamcast:

Power Stone - still great and a real shame we haven't seen more of this series

Great game yeah! Did you ever get a chance to try the sequel? I never did but it supposedly supports 4-player too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Triforce Hermit on April 03, 2017, 10:36:48 AM
Picked up Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Hd Final Mix (damn that is a mouthful) last week. Square was smart to rerelease all of this as I am rekindling a lost love. For the first time after numerous playthroughs I 100% KH1. Watched the 358/2 Days cutscenes and kind of want to get the game now. Going to start playing ReChain of Memories for the first time so this isn't entirely nostalgia riding. Will probably grab the 2.8 game afterwards as I never got Dream Drop Distance.

I didn't care for KH3 before I got this since it had been 6+ years since I played a KH game, but now I'm back. For all the cheesy dialogue, voice acting, and story.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 03, 2017, 12:10:59 PM
Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) - Keen to sell off my old PSP, but really wanted to try this well-regarded RPG first. Early going it's been a bit heavy on dialogue, but I like what I've seen and am keen to play further.


Runner 2: Big Crazy Subtitle (Wii U) - Has gotten better as I'm a bit further in (fourth level now). Boss stages have been pretty garbage, but otherwise it's been a decent enough game. I'm kind of opposed to runners and rhythm games in general because I don't consider timed button presses to be much of a game... but love the Bit.Trip series and am happy to make an exception here.


Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U) - Still playing with the kids. They've made me promise not to play without them, so we haven't really accomplished anything yet other than getting off the plateau. Seems like a good game though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on April 08, 2017, 02:53:47 PM
I've been hitting up Starbound 1.0 pretty hard. I played a TON of this game in it's earlier stages, and I gotta say, I think all the testing and feedback they got on earlier versions of the game really paid off and it feels great now!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on April 11, 2017, 12:14:34 AM
Well, you'll never guess what I've been playing.

Paper Mario (Wii U Virtual Console):
Even though I hold The Thousand Year Door in very high regard, I have a lot of love for this N64 title. In fact, returning to it recently has left me quite impressed, especially in terms of the progression from the first entry to the second. While I do think that the Star Power system is somewhat flawed (executed much better in the sequel, with 'stylish' moves increasing star power gained- this is exactly how I would want a MP system to function in an RPG of my own design!), the pacing of the game, as well as its customization options, are top-notch. There's a lot of freedom of choice, here, and alternatives for players to take should they want to build Mario in a certain way. Of course, the partner characters don't operate as independent characters from Mario, and one might argue that they serve the same purpose as the Pixls of Super Paper Mario. However, the variety in their method of attack and separate usefulness in both combat and traversal makes them feel like separate entities, and gives them identities, unlike the Pixls. Of course, the partner system was expanded in the sequel, which contributed towards the modification and balancing of the item system.

Overall, its great to return to this game and see all the brilliant touches in the vignette design and aesthetic Intelligent Systems was going for, as well as the solid combat foundations which were improved upon, and then unceremoniously ditched in later entries. It also makes me hate Sticker Star and Color Splash more!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 17, 2017, 02:33:43 AM
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC):

Got this for like $1.50 on a GOG sale at some point, and finally booted it up. I'd consistently heard that this is one of the best Bioware-style RPGs; I really liked Mass Effect 2 while hating 3 and thinking the new one looks terrible, so I'd been hopeful about KOTOR as a pre-lapsarian sci-fi treat.

But man, this really feels like a relic of when a "PC" game was partially a genre description. It's ugly as hell in that weird bad early PC 3D game way, incredibly clunky to control, and utterly festooned with annoying systems, a billion stats, and endless micromanagement, with stupid dice role combat (hitting a mutant dog with a lightsaber point-blank, "miss" "miss"). I get now why this would be appealing to people into this level of role playing, and you seem to have an interesting level of control over your character's alignment (I enjoyed successfully lying to the Jedi council about my intentions to become a Sith mass murderer), but damn this thing is a headache to actually play. I impressed myself by getting through the opening world, but now I'm on Dantooine and looking at another hub full of annoying monster enemies that take too many resources to avoid taking damage from during combat or else healing from combat. And a lot of the more seemingly fun stuff, like hacking solutions and such, takes an obnoxious amount of resources to mess with. I guess I could be playing it wrong or something by auto-leveling, but it's too niche/archaic for my threshold. Similar to System Shock 2 in that respect. So that's probably it for me. 

Yooka-Laylee (PC):

And my current jam. I did not have any particular hopes for this one and find the naked nostalgia pandering kind of distasteful, but as a platformer fiend I figured it would be a time sink at least. At about 5 hours in it is that, and I will probably at least clear the minimum page collection threshold to get my money's worth. But boy, this is kind of depressing/cringey. Something about it feels like watching people re-enact a Monty Python sketch. Plus it does not feel good to play a lot of the time just on a visceral level, and the actual act of collecting stuff is weirdly lacking that good old dopamine punch. There's a large variety of activities to do, but few of them are particularly fun. The worlds so far evoke that mildly nauseating Banjo-Tooie feeling of being lost among a big scramble of ****. Like, oh here's some locked gim-gam I can't get yet, and will have to come back for, except I will never remember where this is. On top of that there's an unpleasant gummy feel to the whole enterprise, with its shitty camera, clumsy non-platforming-activity controls, annoying save system, inability to skip through cutscenes and certain (random?) dialogues, inability to resent mini-games after fucking them up off the bat, etc. Regardless of where you come down on the value of a slavish recreation of a collect-a-thon, there's just a ton of **** this game could and should be doing better that wouldn't diminish any Banjo-clone authenticity.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on April 25, 2017, 11:38:29 AM
Figured I'd kill 20 minutes by trying something new, so I downloaded the demo for Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate on Wii U. Well, I've heard on the RFN podcast how awful these demos supposedly were, and I can confidently report that they indeed are. Allow me to describe its crapness.

The demo gives you 2 quests to try, an easy one and a hard one, you select a class/fighter and then you're off. No explanation for controls, no way to check the button mapping, the options screen only lets you switch controller and language. Great start.
So there's like 30 classes it seems (not at all overwhelming), I just picked the top one (swords & shield) since I figured it'd be a nicely average class. They send you off with 2 lil' Turtwigs to find what turns out to be a giant gerbil, and you need to kill it in 20 minutes.

So while I'm sure/hopeful this is just a demo thing, the controls are pretty awful here. Why is the camera mapped to D-Pad and right stick? Why is the X-axis not inverted like it should? Why does moving the y-axis just toggle between three levels of zoom (ranging from decent to awful)? And why do we also have the L button to center camera behind our dude? Seems like overkill.
Could've really used the d-pad to cycle through potions, instead of the weird "hold L, then cycle left or right with the Y and A buttons" thing they have going on now. For those keeping track, yes the L button serves two purposes, but we also have two trigger buttons doing nothing it seems?

Furthermore you sword & shield dude appears to have no way of defending with his shield, so that's great. Attacks are really slow, and although there's some heft behind them, I just can't see myself getting into such a slow system. Especially since thanks to the fast enemy monster and slow camera you'll frequently miss too. It just feels a tad sluggish sadly.


Then the world the quest is set in is pretty sparsely populated with just a few animals, and like 9 different zones all connected through brief loading times. Really annoying because the monster runs away every now and then so you gotta chase it through these loading barriers, ugh.
Lastly I wasn't sure what your little animal buddies are supposed to be doing, sometimes they create puffs of green smoke or suddenly disappear, other times they spout "cutesy" dialogue boxes that already felt grating after the demo was over.

TL;DR: I think I can see the appeal of Monster Hunter, with its crafting and very frequent bossbattles. The slow combat is probably meant to be quite deliberate instead of the Soul Calibur button mashing approach I was going for. But this demo really solidified why it isn't for me, which I'd already expected. If there's gonna be one on Switch I hope for any new fans trying out that demo that Capcom puts more effort into it though, I can't really see anyone being won over by this demo... Rather the opposite in fact. But I'm glad it gave me the opportunity to try out a popular franchise at no cost, even if it didn't sell me on the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on April 25, 2017, 07:57:26 PM
Furthermore you sword & shield dude appears to have no way of defending with his shield, so that's great.
When your weapon is drawn, hold R to block.

If I recall, the only thing that ZR and ZL are used for is during swimming, to move directly up or down.

I didn't like the game mechanics at first either, and even now I still think some things are stupid. But I've come to appreciate them more for the planning and strategy they can provide, and how success can't be had from mashing buttons and tanking hits. Plenty of other games allow me to do that already. It was quite some time before I got to that point however, and I know I can't recommend a game based on giving it a lot of time to get into it. Not when so many other games can provide fun much earlier.

Still, if not for having a group to play with then I wouldn't bother with the series, so if you'd just do single player then I would personally say it isn't worth it at all for single player. It can be fun in multiplayer though which is what the game is designed and intended for. The demos for MH4U and MHGen actually let you play online, so they can provide a better taste of what the game is really like. I have no idea if that online functionality was only temporary, however.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on April 26, 2017, 08:51:30 AM
When your weapon is drawn, hold R to block.

If I recall, the only thing that ZR and ZL are used for is during swimming, to move directly up or down.

Ah okay thanks! Weird, you'd think I would've figured out the shield at least. There was no water in the demo level I don't think, so that explains not figuring out the triggers. Pretty cool that they let you swim and presumably hunt for oceanic monsters?

And yeah I mean it was more about just trying out something that's popular for me. I'm not really the type of person to regularly play online with friends, so Monster Hunter just isn't very suited to the way I play videogames. Can deffo see why it took off on portables, the relatively short and sectioned off quests probably make it much easier to dip in and out of for short periods of time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on May 03, 2017, 03:46:42 AM
I'm going through Apollo Justice right now and my goodness the Ace Attorney series just dived right into madness like scrooge mcduck into his money bin after the third game. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on May 03, 2017, 08:09:38 AM
SPARK THE ELECTRIC JESTER!!!


I know what this game looks like, and... it fits that label far more than Freedom Planet does. However, Spark actually borrows a ton from the Kirby, games, particularly from Super Star and the Return to Dreamland-likes. Give it a shot, folks! It's hella fun!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 03, 2017, 09:45:04 AM

All gaming time is being spent on Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U) right now.


Twice caught myself playing until early the next morning by accident as I'm having a hard time putting the game down. Not pursuing main story developments very much yet, mostly just exploring the game world and doing secondary stuff - although starting to run low on non-quest things that I care about.


Very much getting a Xenoblade feel from the game where you go somewhere just to be there - climbing mountains, crossing lakes, exploring ruins, etc. The only concern I have at this point is the balance between story/exploration: I loved Xenoblade in part because it told a stronger story and forced a mix of narrative and exploration instead of focusing on one or the other. Zelda might be a little bit too open for my preferences - although it's still a breath of fresh air right now and deeply enjoyable.


Kids still engrossed by the game, but we've comfortably broken away from the "don't do anything without us, Dad" condition.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 05, 2017, 07:10:22 AM
Man, ejamer, I'm really excited to play BotW, because that is exactly what I want out of an open world game. I'm intrigued by the DLC map features and hope for a GOTY or deluxe edition when I get it in 2018 or 2019. I've since played through LttP and Link's Awakening, but for the longest time LoZ and LoZ:AoL were my formative Zelda experiences. For me, the adventure in Zelda was found in exploring the overworlds. BotW sounds like it will play in reality like LoZ did in my imagination.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 05, 2017, 07:12:53 AM
Pokémon Black should be arriving today. In the past 15 months or so, I've played through the main games of X, Alpha Sapphire, and Moon, as well as substantial parts of all three post-games.

I've been really surprised at how satisfying I've found playing Pokémon essentially as a table-top RPG simulator. The broad variety of Pokémon designs, typings, and move sets offer an equivalency to character classes, and the game settings act as adventure modules.

My favorite part is how it imperceptibly layers meaning on subjective aesthetic choices. I find myself caring about the Pokémon I raise as I would other fictional characters, despite them totally lacking any narrative context (I mostly ignore or compartmentalize the lore/story, but very much enjoy the random NPC dialogue).

I play X the most. I suspect it's because of the setting. France is one of my favorite places in the world, and Paris is my second favorite city after New York. Kalos effectively evokes French elegance and elan and it provides a beautiful backdrop to run my teams through.

I'm really excited to explore Unova. I'm intimately familiar with all the real world towns and neighborhoods listed in the bulpapedia article. I'm hoping it resonates like Kalos does, because I'd love to try to integrate it into a larger campaign spanning the other titles.



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on May 05, 2017, 12:30:57 PM
BW1 are my favorite single player games in the series. it brought me back strangely enough, to the sort of RPGs I was playing at the time on Playstation when Pokemon Red and Blue came into my life. it's good stuff. sadly, I don't think you'll get the exact same magic out of BW as someone going in generational order will.

See, Unova is set up so that there is no reused pokemon. Sure, this means that some of the new pokemon have a lot of overlap with older equivalents such as Rogganrola being very similar to say... Geodude, but GOSH I love BW SO much.

Also, I like the BW Meta. complain all you want folks, I'd rather have Weather wars than Megas because at least with Weather Wars, you have to think about how your team synergizes with and against weather. :P
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 05, 2017, 04:05:09 PM
Cool, I had remembered you mentioning before how much you liked it. I've done some reading and I understand how much of a departure Gen 5 was. To be honest, what has me most worried about going backward is the lack of passive experience share. Grinding up is already a bit of a chore.  But since now I know what I want out of Pokemon games, I can make better initial choices about the team I'm going to run.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on May 05, 2017, 04:19:43 PM
There's a reason I nominated Black and White for retroactive. I'm just going to say that now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on May 05, 2017, 07:11:09 PM
There's a reason I nominated Black and White for retroactive. I'm just going to say that now.

Off-topic, but I really want a side-by-side comparing retroactive of Black & White and Doshin the Giant.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Black_%26_White_Coverart.png)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on May 06, 2017, 12:05:51 AM
ooh, real Peter Mollyneaux bullshit Vs. faux-Peter Mollyneaux bullshit as seen through the lens of japanese people!


BW is indeed probably the most grind-tastic game thanks to the scaling EXP curve (especially post-game!), but at least grinding can be mildly interesting thanks to being able to bop Audino for big chunks of EXP.


... also, Still lovin' Spark the Electric Jester. @_@
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 06, 2017, 12:10:21 AM
Black and White were rivaled only by Sun and Moon in their awfulness. The Unova region is all style, no substance or complexity. The music is bad, the story is bad, the region is bad. The only thing that redeems those games *was* the feeling that you were seeing all new Pokemon until defeating the Elite Four.

Black 2 and White 2 apparently made better changes, but like Sun and Moon, I was much too soured by the first version to even consider getting anything else in the generation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on May 06, 2017, 04:34:15 AM
The music is the best in the entire series.
I fixed that for you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on May 06, 2017, 05:55:00 AM
I beg to differ on the soundtrack, in my humble opinion. I also quite enjoyed Bianca's character arc, as well as how prevalent Team Plasma is and how their agenda is thrusted to the forefront at all times. it's a far more focused adventure than say... X and Y. that being said, I can admit some faults with the gen 5 games.

Gen 5 is about where Gym leaders all started to blend together in my head, although the Gen 5 Elite Four is one of the strongest groups there. Alder is also an INCREDIBLY bland champion, but I blame that as a small sacrifice to further the laser focus on Team Plasma, N, and Ghetsis. I think it's telling that showing N's coronation in the opening FMV was such a primary focus.

I had to stop myself there. I actually wrote a long diatribe that may have risked derailing this thread.

The important thing to take from this, Rygar... Generation 5 of Pokemon is INCREDIBLY polarizing. Fans of BW are seen by the folks at the Pokemon 4chan boards as annoying as the dreaded Genwunners.

... which I hope I don't come off as being that annoying.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 06, 2017, 07:55:36 AM
Not at all Clex, I always appreciate your insight. From my perspective, these disputes seem to be narcissism about small differences when expressed with a hostile level of certainty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 06, 2017, 08:26:57 AM
I'm already enjoying it by the way:

(http://www.unikgamer.com/characters/face/hilbert-aka-black-1076.jpg)

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/3904338834_bda40f97f3.jpg)

Close enough for me  ;D

Edit: I didn't realize the Coney Island Tillie pic isn't working till I logged in on my work PC. Intended or not, I'm taking Black's hair as a homage:

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/13548547704_0d67afe139.jpg)

(http://www.brooklynatlantic.com/images/528_lp-coney-island-luna-park-nyc.JPG)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 06, 2017, 12:23:45 PM
I thought Bianca's character arc was non-existent, again, unless you played B2W2. However, I firmly believe overarching plot is just awful, and I don't understand the praise any of the characters receive. When I had heard Game Freak wanted to focus more on story in the future, I had hoped they would actually put a decent effort into crafting the narrative. Instead, we got some "chosen one" bullshit that is shoved in your face in every town and detracts from the spirit of the series. Team Plasma is comically dense, to the point where it loses all realism, and N is... well, there's a ton of things that could have been done with his character that are sadly wasted thanks to the BIG TWEEST at the end, which, by the way, invalidates the main villain totally. That a man would spend a good portion of his life raising a child to become the "king of Pokemon" only to throw a hissy-fit right at the end of things is absurd.

I understand that Pokemon is a child's game, which is largely why I have started to move on from the series and focus more on games like SMT, which, while not much more mature, at least attempt to create more interesting settings and narratives, atop being more compelling monster-catching games. But Black and White was the first time I realized that the series was not growing with me, and that Game Freak was content with slapping a narrative atop their 8 gym formula and calling it a day. Likewise, the story commits the same sin that Sun and Moon do in terms of placing false assumptions on the player: I don't want people to praise my values or beliefs in Pokemon, I don't want them to say I have such a strong bond with them, I don't want them to tell me my bond is strong enough to dance stupid dances with my Pokemon, or that watching me gives them the courage to express themselves- I want to wreck every trainer mercilessly and show them how much better I am, while catching and developing a team that's aesthetically appealing to me. The previous Pokemon games were satisfying to me because the adventure was straightforward and the actions the player performed seemed logical.

I really appreciated the commitment to only having a new generation of Pokemon roaming Unova, but almost every other aspect of Black and White did not appeal to me. While X and Y were certainly no better in the story department, there narrative was at least less-intrusive and separated the Elite Four and Champion from the wackiness of the villain's plot. Anyway, I understand I've rambled a bit, but I guess it just boils down to me becoming disenfranchised with the series as a whole. Game Freak has extremely solid fundamental gameplay that they have kept relatively sacred, but almost every other part of the series has become alien and unappealing to me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rygar on May 06, 2017, 01:40:54 PM
I want to wreck every trainer mercilessly and show them how much better I am, while catching and developing a team that's aesthetically appealing to me. The previous Pokemon games were satisfying to me because the adventure was straightforward and the actions the player performed seemed logical.

This is essentially my game world more-or-less as well. There's probably something to my coming to this franchise in middle-age that makes it easier for me to just ignore the narrative and build my own head-lore. I'm not the intended demographic and I don't expect any video game to have a sufficiently layered story (ala Disney or Pixar) that appeals to both young children and adults. In general, I think the medium has an inherently limited narrative ceiling. I used to think of video games as being on a continuum of literature and film, but now I believe they are more similar in kind to music or material fine arts like sculpture or painting. For me, video games are much more effective at engendering gut-level emotional reactions than they are at providing conceptual insights.

I understand that Pokemon is a child's game, which is largely why I have started to move on from the series and focus more on games like SMT, which, while not much more mature, at least attempt to create more interesting settings and narratives, atop being more compelling monster-catching games.

I'm hoping to get into SMT eventually. Pokémon is very easy to fit into my weekly gaming allotment and I've been a little worried about getting bogged down in what appears to be a significant time investment in figuring out how to play SMT.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on May 08, 2017, 02:18:49 PM
I'm not one to buy incomplete games usually, and I've only kickstarted one game, but after seeing an interesting video of the game on Giant Bomb, I installed and gave Playerunknown's Battlegrounds early access game a shot.


For the uninitiated, PB is a 100 person 3rd person shooter deathmatch game.  The game starts with a plane flying across the map, and you choose when to exit the plane and parachute down.  You're sent in with only clothes, and have to find weapons and additional gear once you land.  The maps are really large, with houses/buildings that'll have weapons/gear, and vehicles littered occasionally across the map.  That said, MOST of the map is fairly barren, save some trees or brush. 


The goal of the game?  Be the last man standing, because there are no respawns once you join the match.


You'll rarely run across other players on the map starting out, but what'll happen over time is that they start restricting the play area by an invisible line on the map that you can see by a blue wave effect going towards you if you're close to the edge of the play area, shrinking the play area throughout the match.  If you try to stay outside the play area, the game will start whittling down your health until you eventually die.


Gameplay wise, the gunplay is just OK.  Movement isn't bad, but not great.  There's a bit of jank to the movement around and across the map (I think Payday is a good comparison). 


That said, the fun of this game is the tension that comes from you being engaged in such a large matchup, knowing how finite resources and your one life in that match is, and determining risk vs reward.  There's a house in the distance and you need a weapon, but will you get noticed and shot by someone nearby if you try to attempt it?  There's a car nearby that will help you move quicker, but that makes you stick out like a sore thumb on the map, could be an easy target for an experienced sniper.  See someone walking by?  You can try to sneak up and surprise them, but if you're not a good shot, you find yourself on the wrong side of their gun.


For each match, you get in game currency to buy crates (stop me if you've heard this one), that look to unlock additional cosmetic items you can have your character start with in-game. 


I've lasted as long as 31st person left on the map.  There's a nagging carrot i'm trying to grab with each match that makes me want to come back.  $30 is kind of a high reach for an early access game, but it's been a fun experience so far if you know what you're getting yourself into.


 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 21, 2017, 04:49:13 AM
In the aftermath of the NFL draft and how highly my Browns were graded by just about everyone, I've gotten back into Madden 17. The great thing about modern sports games is they all include some form of community roster sharing, so I was able to download an updated file that includes all of this year's draft picks that someone went in and meticulously created by hand.

Returning to this game, I'm reminded just how good it is. Madden is a series that was derided for years, partially for good reason and partially by people who resent EA's exclusive deal with the NFL. The last couple years, though, and particularly last year, EA has put out an exceptional product, arguably the best its ever been. All the mechanics work pretty well, and no part of the game feels overpowered and/or broken. Playing this more now really makes me wish this year's entry was coming to Switch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on May 21, 2017, 12:49:19 PM
@lolmonade So... The Hunger Games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on May 23, 2017, 11:51:45 AM
@lolmonade So... The Hunger Games.


I've heard comparisons to The Hunger Games and Battle Royale in terms of premise.  I've seen neither but from what I know, it's accurate enough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 29, 2017, 06:15:27 AM
I started up Minecraft on Switch and I'm kind of blown away by how much the game has changed since the last time I played it years ago. Villagers, experience levels, enchanting, and more are all new to me, and even going through the tutorial it's pretty overwhelming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 29, 2017, 06:57:40 AM
I still don't "get" Minecraft - which feels disappointing. I appreciate the way that survival mode offers some threads of Rogue-like gameplay (randomly generated world with some standard goals; highly interactive objects creating a lot of emergent play) but just don't find it very enjoyable. Not the right game for me, I suppose.


What have I been playing?


Mostly still Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U). Despite seeing the end credits roll, there remains plenty of interesting areas to uncover in the game world. We are working towards freeing a third divine beast, but often get side-tracked along the way.


When not playing that game, I've been enjoying From the Abyss (DS). It's not a great game, but is easy and a pleasant way to kill a few minutes at a time. Although the game feels a bit grind-heavy at times, leveling up and upgrading your character skills are always enjoyable. The game only cost a few bucks so is out-performing expectations quite easily.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on May 31, 2017, 09:15:16 PM
I still don't "get" Minecraft - which feels disappointing. I appreciate the way that survival mode offers some threads of Rogue-like gameplay (randomly generated world with some standard goals; highly interactive objects creating a lot of emergent play) but just don't find it very enjoyable. Not the right game for me, I suppose.
Have you tried it in multiplayer? For me, it's in that category with games like Animal Crossing in that the game itself is nothing special so it's boring in single player, but it can be a lot of fun in multiplayer as we create our own experiences together.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 01, 2017, 10:33:46 PM
I still don't "get" Minecraft - which feels disappointing. I appreciate the way that survival mode offers some threads of Rogue-like gameplay (randomly generated world with some standard goals; highly interactive objects creating a lot of emergent play) but just don't find it very enjoyable. Not the right game for me, I suppose.
Have you tried it in multiplayer? For me, it's in that category with games like Animal Crossing in that the game itself is nothing special so it's boring in single player, but it can be a lot of fun in multiplayer as we create our own experiences together.


This is a good and valid point. I haven't, and that would probably make the game more appealing.
Actually, survival mode should still appeal to me also - it ticks off lots of boxes that normally appeal, so I don't know why I'm not more attracted to the game. Probably I'm just too lazy to get over the learning curve.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 02, 2017, 01:23:44 AM
I love survival, but it is all about the multiplayer in Minecraft. Even if I'm not directly interacting with others, I like the thought that we are all in the world together and can come to each other's aid and build things like towns and cities where each person builds a specific part of the infrastructure.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on June 02, 2017, 03:22:24 AM
Last time I played Minecraft I did survival on the Android version at some point after they added in unlimited sized worlds.

I wound up finding a somewhat snow covered village near where I spawned and I basically camped out there while I slowly built myself a castle on top of a nearby hill (there were these weird towers of ice directly behind the hill which along with the castle over the village wound up looking absolutely incredible.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 02, 2017, 05:51:25 AM
I tried Minecraft with some friends well before 1.0 and it didn't grab me at all. Without mods it was a shallow content-less nothing with bugs and a memory leak bad enough to flood a town that they didn't fix for years because they were incompetent.

Other far more focused voxel games play much better or games in general that blast past whatever it is trying to do.

Minecraft maybe the original or close to it but it has been superseded massively by everything else. Minecraft only now continues because of momentum as it coasts along doing not much to improve itself.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 02, 2017, 06:24:53 PM
Oohhboy, what alternative voxel games from Minecraft do you recommend?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on June 02, 2017, 07:31:34 PM
Oohhboy, what alternative voxel games from Minecraft do you recommend?
Have you tried Terraria? It's 2D side-scrolling instead of 3D, but it's pretty fun and also has multiplayer. It will be heading to Switch at some point, also.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 02, 2017, 09:17:58 PM
I think I own Terraria on Wii U already. A little disillusioned that it doesn't have pointer controls. Hoping that we can see more games on the Switch with pointer controls, as it is the closest thing to a mouse on a console.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on June 06, 2017, 12:01:52 AM
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Rocksmith 2014 (PC).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on June 06, 2017, 08:10:03 AM
I personally prefer Starbound for it's myriad ease of fast travel options, it's colorful Lore, and the fact that it's primary terrain destruction/resource collection tool is both long range and doesn't have durability tied to it. really, nothing in the game has durability tied to it. the only survival-y thing that's in the game is the hunger meter if you choose a higher difficulty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on June 10, 2017, 10:17:47 AM
Started playing Dirt 4 last night and I must say it already feels like an improvement over last year's Dirt Rally. The wrapping around career mode feels way more fleshed out and I think it's probably the best one since Dirt 2. The driving feels very nice and I think the procedurally generated rally courses might be the best thing that ever happens to the series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 10, 2017, 01:08:13 PM
I've been playing Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) lately and enjoying it a great deal. This is no surprise as I sunk far too many hours into the original GBA Advance Wars.


Dropping the swingy CO powers is ok with me, although maybe they make a return later in the game? I'm not very far in yet. The art style is a fine change, but I think the main interface is a bit of a drag compared to the previous game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on June 10, 2017, 01:33:33 PM
Dropping the swingy CO powers is ok with me, although maybe they make a return later in the game? I'm not very far in yet.
They do, but they're generally less powerful and more situational.

While I do like some of the refinements the game made to the gameplay, overall, it's probably my least fave in the series. I'm just not a fan of bleak art styles and settings, and the game feels somewhat devoid of content after the stuffed and awesome Dual Strike (though to be fair, the online features are gone so that part of the game's value is lost).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 10, 2017, 08:52:21 PM
I like DOR's gameplay the best but as said before it is lacking post game content.

One of the best changes is how aircraft carriers work. Instead of launching and having to wait a turn the aircraft become an extension of the carrier allowing the plane to attack on the same turn it launches. The carrier itself loses all weapons but it's utility goes through the roof and makes you feel like your running well oiled air group.

In addition to is is the "Sea plane" that is built on the carrier and there is only material for 2 per carrier. It looks like an a - 10 and it can attack anything at the price of not being excellent damage of it's specialised counter parts and really low fuel amount, expense and limited numbers.

It makes carriers and it's attendant aircraft plus escorts the most expensive thing in the game. But when you have it you get to roll that combine arms machine more powerful than any CO power.

BB's also got buffed by allowing it to shoot after moving is another favourite.

Never really used the anti-tank much I almost always fought an offensive war and if I needed to block I would just use faster more flexible tanks that I know will be useful again on the offensive.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Plugabugz on June 11, 2017, 06:55:51 AM
I bought Danger Zone, which is essentially Burnout's Crash Mode made by the founders (and some ex-developers) of Criterion Games. I'm having far too much fun with it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 11, 2017, 12:13:34 PM
Does it have a 1980's Fighter Jet themed soundtrack?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 11, 2017, 01:58:55 PM
...
One of the best changes is how aircraft carriers work.
...


Just started using sea units and got a rude awakening about how much more effective they are.
I like it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 11, 2017, 11:35:56 PM
The navy in DOR is fleshed out unlike the previously where they were tacked on.

It was silly that the best thing to use on a cruiser was another cruiser as that was the one thing that could catch it and not get mauled in the counter attack.

Bloody Dusters are such a pain as the AI really likes them as they are affordable. I use them once in a while as air defence against choppers and to finish off infantry I bypass but the AI uses them to do just enough damage to soft targets for you to consider them offensive combat ineffective.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 12, 2017, 01:46:36 PM
Brought Strafe and had a few hours with it. Nearly beat it. It has had a couple patches so my experience is somewhat better than a lot of the other reviews have of which many were to the point of being vindictive.

It is honestly a pretty damn solid game. The shooting sounds could do with a little bit more bass but are otherwise intentionally unintrusive as this is the one thing you will be hearing the entire run so I see it as a positive.

The shooting itself is pretty good. The shotgun satisfyingly throws corpses back. Explosions just throw bit everywhere. The railgun really lets you break the game early on but loses it's utility late game if you don't get in head shots. The machine gun starts fairly weak but once upgraded is a beast that can take on all targets.

I wouldn't mind seeing more mods for the guns and more items to buy. There are a bunch of nit picks but the devs are very active looking into every aspect of the game with an eye for improvement beyond bug hunting.

For me it doesn't deserve getting a mixed review rating on Steam. It's a good game but it looks like the players put the marketing before the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 26, 2017, 08:50:26 AM
Been playing a lot of Injustice 2, and overall I like it a lot better than the 1st game. Outside of Brainiac being a cheap, cheating mother****er, I think the story mode is Mich better this time, there's way more SP content this time, & the character designs & overall personality seem to be dramatically improved over the 1st game.

Also nearly done with Tokyo Mirage Sessions, & oh boy does that game just Turbo off a cliff after CH. 4. Repetitive, boring, & just filled to the brim with padding. What could have been an excellent 30 hour game becomes a mediocre 60 hour game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 26, 2017, 01:16:00 PM
Business trip meant some time on my PSP Go while travelling - although I spent far more time reading books than playing games.  When I did play, it was Metal Slug X (PS One Classic).


Fun game, tons of character. I never know quite what to think about playing challenging arcade experiences on the go like this though... With unlimited continues, the risk of death is lost and so the whole nature of the game is changed. You can challenge yourself to reduce the continues used, or restart after a certain number of deaths, but it still doesn't feel as intense.


That said, still totally recommend pretty much anything in the Metal Slug series. Very nicely made games!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 27, 2017, 09:51:17 AM
Ori and the Blind Forest's gameplay isn't unique (It's good, just not unique)- It's a 2D "metroid-vania" in that you explore a map, defeat enemies, and unlock abilities that then create ways for you to open new paths and progress further.  What makes this game special is its detailed and beautiful animation/art style, its wonderful music giving the game a perfect tone, and just the right amount of narrative to make you want to progress further to see what happened in this world.


Strongly recommend for anyone here who hasn't picked this game up yet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 30, 2017, 05:43:50 PM
I'll just list with a thought or two for each:

ARMS - Been playing this a lot for review for today. I managed to beat Round 4 of the Grand Prix without needing to rematch! Thankfully Skillshot didn't pop up. I suck at that mode!

Ever Oasis - It starts out really slow as it needs to teach a lot of systems to the player, but when you're let loose with more freedom, it builds up to a fun and engaging pace.

Oceanhorn - I'm playing this for the third time -- the first on iOS, the second on PS4 with a Platinum, and now Switch. This is a review build, and I'm enjoying it like I did with the PS4 version. The portability really rules!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- After not playing since mid-April due to other games, I finished up the Gerudo Desert main quest by talking to the princess there, wrapping things up, and then doing a sand slug race for a shrine prize. Won't bother with any DLC, as I don't think it's free?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on July 02, 2017, 05:48:18 PM
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - After not playing since mid-April due to other games, I finished up the Gerudo Desert main quest by talking to the princess there, wrapping things up, and then doing a sand slug race for a shrine prize. Won't bother with any DLC, as I don't think it's free?

Yeah the DLC comes in 2 packs but you can't get either separately, so you need to buy a Season Pass for 20 bucks I believe. I'm kinda curious to see how well they will do with those, only one of the two contains actual story stuff, so I imagine most people would hold out for that (if they need more Zelda this year at all).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 02, 2017, 09:16:45 PM
Breath of the Wild.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 04, 2017, 03:32:10 AM
Playing Crash Bandicoot 1 for the first time via the PS4 remaster/remake collection, and it's...interesting, and often infuriating, but not bad. I actually see a lot of influence from the original Donkey Kong Country, & the remastering is quite lovely.

I'm about halfway through, and so far I'm enjoying it, although certain stages (I.e. "Path to Nowhere") can **** off with their completely B.S. level design.

Also tried out Half-Gone Heroes (GS has the non-Switch versions on sale for $9.99). It took me some time to get used to the interface & the controls, but once I did it really clicked with me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 04, 2017, 04:32:54 AM
I also actually played some of the first Crash game (original PS1 game).

It feels very barren and derivative, it's a textbook edgy mascot platformer (with even more primitive moveset than even DKC1 that it directly copies) and the only new things level to level are just new camera gimmick that they throwing at the player, figuratively and literally.

Movement and jumping also feel amateurish, a notch worse than in Rare's games -- which already in my opinion wasn't good enough.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 04, 2017, 10:12:44 AM
I tried playing some Crash games recently, and concluded they must be one of those things you got into "at the time".  Now they feel like bad precursors to simple 3D runner games, which are pretty much garbage in my opinion. (Of course, those games are popular enough now that maybe my opinion just isn't worth much.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 04, 2017, 10:31:55 AM
Well, I'm coming from the perspective that I never played these games back in the day, and no one outside Nintendo really makes 3D Cartoony Platformers anymore. I still have my gripes with the game, but overall I'm finding the experience kind of refreshing. It definitely helps that Vicarious Visions did a fantastic job completely overhauling the scenery.

Still, WTF with these bosses? The 3rd one's alright, but the 2nd one is incredibly annoying, and the game gives you ZERO hints how you're supposed to hurt the 1st. It turned out I had the right idea, but you can only hurt him from one specific spot & there's no clear indication of this.

And whoever designed the secrets requirements in Crash 1 can **** off.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 06, 2017, 09:16:50 AM
Well, I'm coming from the perspective that I never played these games back in the day, and no one outside Nintendo really makes 3D Cartoony Platformers anymore. I still have my gripes with the game, but overall I'm finding the experience kind of refreshing. It definitely helps that Vicarious Visions did a fantastic job completely overhauling the scenery.

Still, WTF with these bosses? The 3rd one's alright, but the 2nd one is incredibly annoying, and the game gives you ZERO hints how you're supposed to hurt the 1st. It turned out I had the right idea, but you can only hurt him from one specific spot & there's no clear indication of this.

And whoever designed the secrets requirements in Crash 1 can **** off.


Sounds like the perfect kind of game to rent.  The first console I bought with my own money was the Playstation 1, but I never got around to trying it.  I checked my local rental store on release day, but someone had already borrowed the copy :(
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThePerm on July 09, 2017, 09:22:33 AM
Currently playing Mad Max for ps4. It started off kinda slow, but then got really good. It has a lot of the stuff I liked about Black Flag as the focus. The only complaint I have so far is the frame rate slowdown in a specific region of the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 09, 2017, 11:20:57 AM
Cheating a bit here since I haven't actually started yet, but later today planning to start Trauma Center 2: Under the Knight (DS). Big fan of the series on Wii, but haven't played on DS before. Imagine the gameplay transfers over well - and wasn't it originally a DS series anyway? Looking forward to playing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 10, 2017, 08:00:51 PM
It was originally a DS series. TC1 was on DS and then ported to Wii as Second Opinion. Then we got TC New Blood on Wii and TC2 on DS. Lastly there was Trauma Team, which broadened the subject to other areas of medical science (one or two were meh, but there were at least 4 modes that were fun).


All of them were quite fun, and I liked to co-op features that were offered on the Wii Versions. I never finished any beyond the first, so I'll have to take some time to dig back into them.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 11, 2017, 10:30:59 AM
I've been playing Cave Story on Switch. I've owned the game in several forms over the last decade, but this is the first time I've played a significant way into the game, and I'm really wishing I'd gotten around to it sooner since I'm enjoying it so much. Satisfying action and just enough exploration/puzzle solving to add flavor without being too frustrating. I love the subtle stuff like the machine gun jet pack mechanic.

Between this and Minecraft Switch is turning into a system where I actually play things I've been meaning to get around to for years, with Shantae probably next on that list.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 11, 2017, 03:10:21 PM
Playing Tokyo Xanadu on my Vita. It's basically a less-stylish (but much less stressful) take on Persona w/ real time combat. I completed CH. 2 last night, & so far it's clicking w/ me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 11, 2017, 03:18:42 PM
I've been convinced to pick up Minecraft yet again on Switch, thanks to the promised parity updates and some friends who want to play, so I'll be joining the Minecraft-Switch bandwagon soon.


Planning to pick it up when the update hits in hopes that is when the physical version drops, though I'll go digital if it doesn't drop in August.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 11, 2017, 03:45:36 PM
I'm playing Red Steel 2 because modern video games are garbage.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on July 11, 2017, 05:35:58 PM
I'm playing Red Steel 2 because modern video games are garbage.

Picked this up a while back for cheap and of course never looked at it since because I'm planning my 15 minutes of reality TV fame on the show Hoarders. How is it though? I heard the first one was utter tripe, but the second one looked decent and cartoony. D'you think it delivers on the promise of Motion Plus?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: King of Twitch on July 11, 2017, 06:43:43 PM
Got Retro City Rampage on the Steam sale. Funny as heck, some good challenges, but too many frustrating ones. Kept trying out new styles of gameplay every so often, but never takes the time to do them well or better than before. I respect the quality of work done and variety, but I wouldn't say it's great, just very good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 11, 2017, 08:48:52 PM
I'm playing Red Steel 2 because modern video games are garbage.

Picked this up a while back for cheap and of course never looked at it since because I'm planning my 15 minutes of reality TV fame on the show Hoarders. How is it though? I heard the first one was utter tripe, but the second one looked decent and cartoony. D'you think it delivers on the promise of Motion Plus?


I remember it controlling well, but I never got far into it. One of these days I'll go back to it and play it all the way through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on July 12, 2017, 08:05:24 PM
In all seriousness, Red Steel 2 is an enjoyable action game. Much more reliant on swordplay than gunplay, which I personally found surprising, although I can understand why the release of the MotionPlus caused this design philosophy.

Each "chapter" is divided into a large, interconnected portion of the city that the Drifter inhabits, and there are multiple side missions, currency, and collectibles to be found scattered throughout these areas if you don't want to move on to the next story beat. I was surprised by how well-designed these environments were, and I like that there are specific areas in which enemies repeatedly spawn so you can practice your combat skills.

About a third into the game, you unlock the parry function, which becomes pretty crucial henceforth. The one-on-one engagements with tougher enemies are quite good, and even in groups, there are special unlocks that can allow you to bounce between multiple combatants and really control the battlefield. That's not to say the game isn't difficult- there's a number of enemies with very punishing moves that execute quickly and can take off chunks of health. But by exploring areas and gathering currency you can try to stay ahead of the enemy progression.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through the game and I'm pleasantly surprised by how good it is. The story is forgettable, but the gameplay is very tight. Lots of sensitivity options, although the downward slash killing blow does require a bit of energetic swinging to execute, which is actually quite satisfying in its own way. The game very much reminds me of Zombi U in several ways, so your mileage may vary in that respect. However, I am quite fond of that game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 12, 2017, 09:13:24 PM
Been playing the PS4 version of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron off & on. I loved this game back on PS3 and...yeah, it holds up. I'm still not a huge fan of this game's art style, but damn if it doesn't have some fantastic sequences.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on July 13, 2017, 01:36:03 AM
I only played a few hours of Red Steel 2 but it was fantastic from the get go.

Game literally starts with you strapped to car and then getting dragged through a dry bottom of channel while shooting and slashing debri.

I think the director of Red Steel 2 is still at Ubisoft and he did that For Honour game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 15, 2017, 12:02:49 PM
I picked up Prey 2017 on the Prime Day sale, and it's surprising me. I HATED that demo, mainly because the demo was 90% loud noise & flashing lights, which has been SIGNIFICANTLY lessened in the current patched version. I'm really diggging the exploration & how it isn't as restrictive as Dishonored or something like Deus Ex.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on July 15, 2017, 03:08:45 PM
Half-genie heros are the catalyst unto which that will move me to get games, and thusly I got Blaster Master Zero. I have no nostalgia for the original Blaster Master. I'd sooner play Gimmick! or Batman than Blaster Master, if i'm to be quite honest.

That being said, I think Inti-creates has done a wonderful job here and managed to impliment some of Shantae's abilities than even Wayforward has in some of their games (Elephant Shantae is probably my second least favorite Shantae transformation, and OH man is it incredibly useful in Blaster Master thanks to good implimentation!). I also feel like all these DLC characters are immediatley better than Jason on the sheer fact that there's no fall damage rediculous bullshit going on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 15, 2017, 05:17:07 PM
Last game I beat - Breath of the Wild...currently playing - Breath of the Wild.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 17, 2017, 04:31:55 AM
I've been playing Death Squared , which recently came out on the Switch eShop. It's designed for multiplayer but I've only had the chance to play solo so far. It still works really well that way, though. The game involves getting a pair of blocks to their respective goals, navigating a series of hazards that require precise coordination to get through.  I'm enjoying it a lot, but I'm only about a quarter of the way through the puzzles and they're already getting fairly challenging.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThePerm on July 17, 2017, 01:52:31 PM
I know I'm pretty late to the playstation party....

bought Last of Us: Left behind on sale for $4.99

then bought Last of Remastered for 19.99....found out I could have just bought Last of Us Remastered and it would have came with.

Damn Sony store not being explicit or smart about bundling. I had almost did the same thing with Never Alone, but by the time I was sure on how I should purchase the game the sale was over.

So, I wasted 5.99 and 20GB of space. When I'm done with the game I'll sort out the hard drive.

After several days of gameplay hours I beat Mad Max. I have nearly everything. It was really fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 20, 2017, 09:08:31 AM
Although we beat the final boss a long time ago, we just passed the 50% mark on Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U) last night. No way this is getting to 100%.

With one Divine Beast left to free, and plenty of small quests that we might (or might not) try to resolve, aiming for 60% seems reasonable. It really feels like a game that could be played for much longer if we wanted.


Additionally, Trauma Center 2 (DS) is hard as balls. I remember the Wii games being tough... but feel like this one is a step further. Maybe I'm just getting old.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on July 22, 2017, 10:48:37 PM
It's not just you. I got to the final hidden levels of the first Trauma Center and beat most of those, and TC2 still knocked the stuffings out of me halfway through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 24, 2017, 10:45:50 AM
With all the Injustice 2 I've been playing lately, I thought I'd pick up MvC3 Ultimate off the PSN sale. Yeah...that was a mistake. I could not have bounced off that game harder. I forgot that this was one of those ****ing elitist fighting games that insisted in coding the move lists in terms of "L, M, H, S", not " Square, Triangle, Circle, X". Sorry, but it's hard enough remembering fighting game move lists without ALSO having to add in the extra step of translating B.S. fight stick controls.

Seriously, take the extra effort & code the move lists in understandle console-specific button callouts.

I also finally took up & completed an old challenge: beat Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix in under 15 hours with only the starting equipment & no deaths. Yeah...even if Kingdom Hearts 1 was a good game (and it's not), that still wouldn't be fun. I had forgotten how absolutely, stupidly brutal parts of that game are.

Still have to do a real run of that game where I'm not skipping all the cutscenes as part of my "replay all the KH games in Chronological Order" project before KH 3 releases.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 25, 2017, 12:03:17 AM
I'm trash at Splatoon 2.

Also, I couldn't connect to an online match, but my Switch was connected to the internet, and I had just downloaded updates on 3DS and Wii U. I'll try to figure that out tomorrow unless anyone here has any suggestions other than unplugging my modem/router and plugging it back in.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 03, 2017, 10:17:12 PM
I looked over my Amazon pre-orders and I realized that I have four games scheduled to come out this year (I'm mildly skeptical that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still a 2017 game) so I'm making a concerted effort to complete Cave Story+ on Switch before returning to Breath of the Wild.

F you, Machine X. I'm past what I presume is a pretty pivotal section in which I lost Curly Brace. I have no idea how much longer this game is. Overall, I can see why it has a following. Cave Story+ is good, and it's impressive that the original was developed by a single person. I'll give more in-depth thoughts once I complete the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 04, 2017, 12:00:22 AM
Been playing a lot of Sundered. I like it, but it's WAAAAAAAAY more combat-focused than you'd expect for a Metroid game. It's absurdly punishing unless you just grind out your stats.

Just started playing Pyre. I found Bastion mediocre & Transistor just awful, but I'm digging this strange hybrid of a visual novel & basketball.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 04, 2017, 12:15:15 AM
Tumbleseed Four Peakes update:

I tried out the update yesterday and yeah it's much easier now.

However i noticed that professor started asking me to do quests i've already completed so maybe my progression was erased or something. Not a big deal -- they probably re-balanced that too.

PS i tried to post in relevant Talkback thread (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=52530.0#new) but it wouldn't let me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 04, 2017, 12:16:32 AM
I played Bastion and got to the end ages back. I agree that it is mediocre. I can't place my finger on why it isn't a good game. The only real thing I remember about it is the narrator and the unbalanced weapons. It was probably seen as "Good" back then as the market isn't as crowded as it is now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on August 05, 2017, 01:54:59 PM
Also, I couldn't connect to an online match, but my Switch was connected to the internet, and I had just downloaded updates on 3DS and Wii U. I'll try to figure that out tomorrow unless anyone here has any suggestions other than unplugging my modem/router and plugging it back in.
A bit late, but I have one possible suggestion. If you always keep your Switch in sleep mode instead of powering it off, then try turning it off completely and turning it back on. I've heard that being on (including sleep) for too long can cause connection issues, for some reason.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 08, 2017, 10:42:16 AM
Played a few hours of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice last night after it unlocked. So far, I like it, but much like Ninja Theory's previous works this is going to divide people.

The visuals, sound, and voice acting are just outstanding. This game does this weird thing with Senua constantly hearing the voices of the dead as she journies into Hel. They taunt her, warn her, mock her, and even talk amongst themselves constantly, often overlapping. From a narrative perspective, they voice Senua's doubts. From a gameplay standpoint, they're the game's guidance system: they nudge you towards puzzle solutions & they act as alerts in combat.

For example, if an enemy's about you hit you from behind, you'll hear The Voices whisper "BEHIND YOU!" When a boss is gearing up a big attack you need to interrupt, they'll yell "STOP HIM!" You get the idea.

The combat's...OK. It reminds me of Sands of Time in feel & Heavenly Sword in execution.

I'm only a few hours in, and I'm enjoying it...but this game has had some annoying pixel-hunting perspective puzzles that remind me uncomfortably of Other M. The game also starts out in a really confusing manner and a lot of the dialogue can be hard to hear & understand due to everyone whispering everything, including Senua.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on August 08, 2017, 09:45:20 PM
I'm playing Infinite Minigolf, Death Squared, Slime-san, and soon Retro City Rampage DX for review. I'm a little stressed because I've been depressed this past week and I don't want to be blacklisted for taking too long.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on August 09, 2017, 12:43:20 AM
Who are you reviewing the games for?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on August 09, 2017, 03:31:45 AM
They're for my site, SuperPhillip Central, but I don't want to make the devs/pubs wait too long for the reviews for fear they will not give my requests the time of day any longer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 16, 2017, 07:37:35 AM
Nearing the end of Undertale on my Vita and...really? This is what the internet lost its mind over a few years back? This totally average, borderline dull, gaming culture wank-a-thon? Really?

IMO, the Pacifist run (which OF COURSE you do first, since the Internet's already ruined what happens if you don't for the last 2 years) is probably the most boring way to play through this game. Sure, you aren't leveling, but since the enemies aren't appreciably increasing in difficulty either it doesn't really matter. Since you're not killing anything, none of the game's RPG subversions kick in, either, making it just bland & forgettable.

Doesn't help that the music's practically inaudible on Vita, too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on August 16, 2017, 08:18:05 AM
Nearing the end of Undertale on my Vita and...really? This is what the internet lost its mind over a few years back? This totally average, borderline dull, gaming culture wank-a-thon? Really?



lol, two of my friends have been arguing this over gchat.  One of them LOVES this game as a humorous send-up of old school RPGs, the other one bought it on PC and thinks it's boring as sin. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 16, 2017, 12:06:09 PM
Nearing the end of Undertale on my Vita and...really? This is what the internet lost its mind over a few years back? This totally average, borderline dull, gaming culture wank-a-thon? Really?
...


I've found that this sentiment applies to most indie darlings.
Some manage to be clever in the moment, but most are utterly forgettable.


There are exceptions. I still think World of Goo is a fantastic little title, for example.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 16, 2017, 05:01:42 PM
FTL is another. I only saw a couple of screen shots and the trailer but I knew I had to get this game. It is easily one of my most satisfying gaming purchases I have ever made.

Back then I heard it from the word of mouth unlike these days where it is far to easy to over-hype games because it gets you clicks.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 16, 2017, 07:39:15 PM
FTL is another. ...


FTL probably won't appeal to everyone, but I agree that it's pretty sweet! Hits all of my personal gaming soft spots.


There are definitely some deserving of praise - but unfortunately many others with pretty art or a single good idea that lack enough real gameplay to be worth coming back to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 16, 2017, 09:41:51 PM
Usually, we'd use the other thread for this, but since it's being talked about here, I thought I'd wrap this up here: I've beaten Undertale now. Twice, technically. The first time I cleared it, it turned out I'd missed a sidequest so I hadn't unlocked the True Ending.

So I got a terrible ending preceded by an absolutely AWESOME, insane Final Battle.

So out of curiosity, I looked up what I'd missed, reloaded my save, did the thing, and beat the game again.

This resulted in a FANTASTIC ending preceded by a DIFFERENT completely nuts Final Battle.

Unfortunately, that kind of sums up my problem with Undertale: it has some INCREDIBLE moments, but unless you are playing a VERY particular way, you're not going to see all the crazy stuff that makes this game memorable. It's 6 hours of mediocrity with a badass last 10%, and that really doesn't cut it with me. It's by NO means a bad game, just very average.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 16, 2017, 11:21:28 PM
Got to the last area of Cave Story+. This is difficult.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 17, 2017, 01:42:21 PM
Yeah I actively wanted to punch Undertale. It was the most fedora-y game I've ever played, and the fawning reception it continues to receive says a lot about video game enthusiast culture.

I played a game!

Hellblade (PC):

This was okay. Strong presentation, kind of a Conan/Beastmaster grounded fantasy vibe, some neat effects and visual sequences. It's about as close to a walking simulator as I can engage with at this point, saved by some basic puzzle activities and combat, though I could have done with about half as much as the latter and twice as much of the former. People going nuts over the story and themes are once again demonstrating how low the bar is for the medium, but it works well enough. Too many cut-scenes, though, and they say the word "darkness" about 1,000 times too many.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 17, 2017, 05:40:25 PM
Yeah I actively wanted to punch Undertale. It was the most fedora-y game I've ever played, and the fawning reception it continues to receive says a lot about video game enthusiast culture.
Haha, may I ask what you mean by "ferdora-y"? I haven't played the game, but my brother sent me a Youtube video of the final boss music. Goddamn, it's so good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on August 17, 2017, 06:19:34 PM
I believe he means it is "hipster-y".
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 17, 2017, 07:20:02 PM
No! Not hipster! Fedora!

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/7040939/14-fedora-lords-who-should-be-banned-from-the-internet
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 17, 2017, 07:40:38 PM
That was the impression I got. I generally associate fedoras with the hapless "nice guy" who says "m'lady" and doesn't understand the inconsistency of trumpeting his own niceness versus calling women bitches when they rebuff his (usually unwanted) advances. That said, I don't know what that means in regards to Undertale. I thought the game was about a human falling into the world of monsters. Is the main character a Fedora Lord®?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 18, 2017, 02:58:43 AM
I mean, that link was probably too focused on romance stuff, but I'm talking about the sort of dudes that fit that profile, their attitude, aesthetic, and humor. I would venture to say there's a lot of overlap with like Hot Topic emo-punks. Theater techs is another proxy. Sensitive redditors. Like, people who quote Monty Python sketches at length, say things like "you amuse me", post anime reaction .gifs. I'm kind of punching down here, but it's not really straight nerd-dom either, as it involves a particular mix of pompousness, unintentional cringe humor, and twee sensibility. Fedoras are kind of an ineffable symbol of this (cringe), and I found that Undertale exuded that ethos with every fiber of its being, on top of being a plodding, shitty game.

If it was a hipster thing that would be a major step up (though still bad), because at least the pretentiousness wouldn't be so stunted and insular. I might be too old at 31, but having spent a decade-plus in the hipster hotbeds of a small liberal arts college in the NE and Brooklyn, I can say that I've never encountered a video game hipster. Video games were considered one of the lamest forms of activities by these people, outside of nostalgia Goldeneye or whatever. No contemporary discourse.

The most hipster game I can think of is probably Journey, but you've got to own a console to play it, which excludes the majority of that demo in my age group/social sphere. The (few) people I know in meat space who keep up with games at all do so in a sort of sullen secrecy, treating it almost like porn (as do I; posting here is my only outlet).

And really a hipster gaming posture would be like, this one ColecoVision game forecasted the contradictions of the medium in 1983. Or even like Deadly Premonition is vital programming, which attitude does exist to an extent, but not really as part of a developed aesthetic/academic posture toward video games as far as I've seen. My hipster opinion would be that Stephen's Sausage Roll is one of the most important games ever made. And that Toki Tori 2 is the best game of its generation. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on August 18, 2017, 03:26:01 AM
No! Not hipster! Fedora!

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/7040939/14-fedora-lords-who-should-be-banned-from-the-internet

Learn something new everyday even if you'd have rather not.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 18, 2017, 08:36:01 AM
I mean, that link was probably too focused on romance stuff, but I'm talking about the sort of dudes that fit that profile, their attitude, aesthetic, and humor. I would venture to say there's a lot of overlap with like Hot Topic emo-punks. Theater techs is another proxy. Sensitive redditors. Like, people who quote Monty Python sketches at length, say things like "you amuse me", post anime reaction .gifs. I'm kind of punching down here, but it's not really straight nerd-dom either, as it involves a particular mix of pompousness, unintentional cringe humor, and twee sensibility. Fedoras are kind of an ineffable symbol of this (cringe), and I found that Undertale exuded that ethos with every fiber of its being, on top of being a plodding, shitty game.
This was a great response. Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I've been curious to see what all the fuss regarding Undertale was all about. If I eventually get around to playing it, I wonder if I'll feel the same way. I mean, I've read how the game kind of uses your save file in a unique way and that you have to play the game at least twice to see the true ending (as well as hear the aforementioned baller final boss music) which may be a deterrent in starting Undertale. I generally don't make time for multiple play throughs of a game unless I feel like it's transcendental, or I liked a game and many years have passed.

Recently, I started Castlevania: Circle of the Moon since I haven't beaten it in over a decade and Cave Story+ is killing me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 18, 2017, 09:12:36 AM
I mean, that link was probably too focused on romance stuff, but I'm talking about the sort of dudes that fit that profile, their attitude, aesthetic, and humor. I would venture to say there's a lot of overlap with like Hot Topic emo-punks. Theater techs is another proxy. Sensitive redditors. Like, people who quote Monty Python sketches at length, say things like "you amuse me", post anime reaction .gifs. I'm kind of punching down here, but it's not really straight nerd-dom either, as it involves a particular mix of pompousness, unintentional cringe humor, and twee sensibility. Fedoras are kind of an ineffable symbol of this (cringe), and I found that Undertale exuded that ethos with every fiber of its being, on top of being a plodding, shitty game.
This was a great response. Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I've been curious to see what all the fuss regarding Undertale was all about. If I eventually get around to playing it, I wonder if I'll feel the same way. I mean, I've read how the game kind of uses your save file in a unique way and that you have to play the game at least twice to see the true ending (as well as hear the aforementioned baller final boss music) which may be a deterrent in starting Undertale. I generally don't make time for multiple play throughs of a game unless I feel like it's transcendental, or I liked a game and many years have passed.

Recently, I started Castlevania: Circle of the Moon since I haven't beaten it in over a decade and Cave Story+ is killing me.

You can literally just reload your save & beat it again if you've fulfilled the conditions already for the True Final Ending.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on August 18, 2017, 12:05:42 PM
I haven't played Undertale and honestly hadn't even heard of it until it won some "best game ever" poll like three months after it came out.  I instinctively was disinterested due to that kind of hype.  It's hard to take hype of indie releases at face value because, frankly, if an indie game didn't have a devoted fanbase pumping its tires you wouldn't even have heard of it.  There is a bigger incentive for the fans to effectively advertise indie games than there is for mainstream games.

This brings up an interesting phenomenon.  I feel with indie games in general I'm pretty out of the loop despite being very in the loop in regards to gaming otherwise, at least in terms of knowing what games are coming out and what's getting good buzz.  I feel like my parents probably did when suddenly I'm listening to rock music that they're completely unfamiliar with and frankly don't really get.  Videogames are now old enough that there can be generation gaps.  When I was a kid there was no other generation playing videogames.  I didn't know anyone's parents that played games and seemingly everyone that did play games was within a ten year age range of me.  I was born a mere four years after the Atari came out and aside from home Pong there essentially was no home videogame scene before then.  Now I'm old enough that kids born the year I graduated high school have graduated high school themselves.  That's a whole different group of people playing games that were raised in a completely different world and they like different music and movies than me so why wouldn't they also be enamored in videogames that I don't "get"?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 19, 2017, 09:43:46 PM
I'm trying to play through FF 12 Zodiac, but unfortunately most of the improvements are extremely minor. I ****ing hated the PS2 version, & I'm just bored with this remake. It speaks VOLUMES that the biggest change in this version is the ability to speed the game up to 4x speed. The devs knew how goddamn boring this game is to watch play out, so the only way to improve it was to let you just fast-forward it. I really wanted to give this game another chance because so many love it & the Zodiac changes were supposed to improve so much...but it's pretty much the same ugly, boring game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 19, 2017, 10:33:31 PM
I thought the biggest change was that Square Enix fixed Vaan's weird abs.

That's a shame about Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age though. I couldn't get into it, but my brother loved it on PS2.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 20, 2017, 10:17:35 AM
I'm really digging Sonic Mania right now. As someone who grew up with the series I can honestly say this is the first game in over 20 years to really get the feel of the series right, even though this specific approach has been tried before. It's a great blend of remixed themes from the old games but with enough new ideas to feel fresh. My favorite moment so far has to be the final boss battle of Chemical Plant Zone where you have to win a round of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on August 23, 2017, 12:22:42 AM
Back to Brutal DOOM or it's far more expansive offspring Project Brutality. Combine it with the Hell on Earth map campaign by the same author and you have a what should be sold as a retail game given it's quality and extensive of content.

New enemies, weapons, animations, better tuned difficulty, upgrades, secondary features to help you survive.

Add the Ultimate DOOM Visor if you like a more complete modern look with those sweet Metriod visor effects. The default setting is for maximum realism as visor damage and liquids stay on the visor making each hit more and more difficult for you to play.

Get it here http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/downloads
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 24, 2017, 12:22:52 AM
Technically, I completed Cave Story+ since I got the Bad and Normal endings. I'm currently in Blood Stained Sanctuary. I'm already not great at video games so the faulty D-Pad on the Switch Pro Controller is making this more difficult than it already is. I think I can get through this because Cave Story is a keep-failing-until-muscle-memory-gets-you-through-this-total-bullshit-area kind of game. I've failed countless times because I really need the booster to work flawlessly, and it doesn't due to the D-Pad. I haven't tried the Joy-Cons so maybe I should.

I'm torn between finishing this and just giving up because I'm tired of looking at this game. I'd like to jump back into Breath of the Wild.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 24, 2017, 07:05:46 AM
Technically, I completed Cave Story+ since I got the Bad and Normal endings. I'm currently in Blood Stained Sanctuary. ...


I still haven't beaten that game's final ending. The ultra-challenging last levels aren't really enjoyable for me, so usually ends with me giving up after a handful of failures... but every now and then I go back to try again on a whim. Maybe I'll just YouTube that ending at some point and be done with it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 24, 2017, 08:58:45 AM
I still haven't beaten that game's final ending. The ultra-challenging last levels aren't really enjoyable for me, so usually ends with me giving up after a handful of failures... but every now and then I go back to try again on a whim. Maybe I'll just YouTube that ending at some point and be done with it.
I've done this many times before. I prefer not to since I have no idea what I'm doing when I revisit the game. That's why I never completed Champion's Road in Super Mario 3D World or like the last 1/3 of Skies of Arcadia Legend. Sometimes I restart a game entirely to commit to finishing it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on September 03, 2017, 07:39:22 PM
Had a brief go at F-Zero GX again today, but Christ is it tough! Used to be pretty good at the grand prix mode at least, and cleared most of them on all difficulty levels. However today I just played on novice and totally game over'd on the third cup already! And even if I was careening off the track at breakneck speeds, the A.I. was really good at keeping up until the finish on some tracks. Even had to settle for 2nd or 3rd a few times.

This game is so great though, I love the hyped up music, sound design, the scoring system and especially how it'll highlight your closest rival. It's really enjoyable to run them off the track, and immediately see the rival indicator switch to the car that's one place further removed from yours in the championship. Especially on the lava field track it's super fun to chase after cars and try to ram them out of the race.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: King of Twitch on September 07, 2017, 11:29:55 PM
@Steef: It's so so hard even with practice, but knocking out rivals one by one to stay atop the rankings is such a great feeling.

I got NFS: Hot Pursuit this summer on a steam sale for $5 and just started playing it. It came out in 2010 but it's still got some epic looking scenery. The courses are just the right length, with winding scenery full of eye popping depth (it came out in 2010 but I still think it's a beaut). There's a time limit in each course that awards points if you do well, which unlocks more and more cars, so this game is constantly announcing more unlocks with flashy, whizbang looks at the hawt, licensed high-end cars and true to life stats.

I love the balanced challenge and enemy AI. It's not easy to nudge them into traffic, and even with a crash, you or other racers can still manage to come back. Of course you can also play as the cops and smash things up if you're into rough justice. Great way to get your aggression out til the next F-Zero.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 08, 2017, 11:23:58 PM
I've been playing through Knack 2, and IMO it is a dramatically better game than its predecessor. For one thing, the designers made an effort to finally rebalance the gameplay in favor of something akin to the LEGO games. In the first game, you died in 2-3 hits, no matter how many relics you had or where you were in the game. And when you got hit, that damage was persistent until you either found more relics, you hit the next area, or you died and respawned at the last checkpoint. Now, when you get hit, you lose a pile of relics & get smaller as usual, but if you can avoid damage for a few seconds, the relics fly back on and reattach, essentially giving you regenerating health.

The game also plays a lot more with alternating size & scale. Outside of the Stealth Knack sequences in the first game, you always started a stage small & progressed through the stage progressively growing larger. It lacked variety. Now, you can shrink back down to Little Knack at any time to fit through small holes & find secrets or to navigate puzzles.

Oh yeah, there are actual puzzles & platforming now. They're basic, but I find them satisfying enough.

You also have a skill tree of stat boosts & new moves you acquire by progressing through the story & finding XP crates.

So far, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the game, but I like it so far. I think Sony actually hit the "all ages cartoons platformer" mark they were aiming for, especially since you can play it local Co-Op. I'd recommend it for kids or the Young At Heart (TM).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on September 09, 2017, 01:49:08 PM
I love the balanced challenge and enemy AI. It's not easy to nudge them into traffic, and even with a crash, you or other racers can still manage to come back. Of course you can also play as the cops and smash things up if you're into rough justice. Great way to get your aggression out til the next F-Zero.

Did you ever play any of the Burnout games? Particularly 3 or 4? Those weren't on Nintendo consoles sadly, although 1 and 2 were. It's from the third one onwards where they really allow you to run other racers off the track and send them flying, so that one's probably the coolest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 13, 2017, 04:36:17 AM
I picked up the Switch version of Rayman Legends, and so far it seems like a very good port of a very good game. It's another example of a game I've owned before but didn't play much of, and I'm hoping that like with Cave Story and Shantae before it, having it in this form factor will be the impetus I need to really dig into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on September 13, 2017, 04:40:31 AM
Really? r/NintendoSwitch and Digital Foundry are crapping all over the Switch Edition, with many saying the Wii U version is superior, though reddit tends to house a lot of graphics snobs (they shat on Lego City Undercover due to a sub-par framerate, and that game was fine).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 13, 2017, 04:45:16 AM
I hadn't seen that. I haven't noticed any technical issues or anything, the only sort of downside is that you can't use the touch screen stuff, which is mostly automated even if you're playing in handheld mode, though a lot of people might prefer it that way. Looking around it seems like it's getting pretty good reviews from most outlets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on September 13, 2017, 04:47:58 AM
Hopefully its just the elitist folks poo-pooing it then.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BENbHo5cvck
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on September 13, 2017, 07:41:10 AM
Murphy levels in Rayman Legends are BETTER with button controls than with touch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 13, 2017, 07:43:24 AM
Like I said, a lot of people probably prefer it that way, but I'd like the option.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on September 14, 2017, 09:25:43 AM
Destiny 2 is my mainline game currently.  If you didn't like Destiny 1, you're probably not going to like Destiny 2.  That said, for me, it's some of the best feeling shooter mechanics mixed with light RPG elements that keep me engaged for quite a while.  The story is still generic, but it isn't incomprehensible like the first game, has a start and conclusion, and each level feels so much more full compared to the threadbare levels in Destiny 1.  The few strikes I've played feel so much more interesting than the ones in Destiny 1, namely in how different they feel from the general overworld.  You're still going to be grinding rep to get better gear to beat more difficult monsters and get better gear to play strikes to get better gear so you can attempt the raid, but it is a lot closer to reaching the potential I saw in Destiny 1.




I purchased Absolver, I like what I've played so far in my limited time, but don't have enough under my belt to give an informed opinion.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 14, 2017, 11:02:25 AM
I liked Destiny 1 but didn't play very far into it. That series is something I'd really love to see ported to Switch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on September 14, 2017, 11:14:04 AM
I liked Destiny 1 but didn't play very far into it. That series is something I'd really love to see ported to Switch.


Given they dropped last gen (PS3/Xbox 360) partway into Destiny 1, going as far as to not offer some of the late-life DLC, I suspect they're not going to port it to Switch.  Moreso because they seemed to be going in the opposite direction in supporting the PC, with pretty incredible graphical upgrades and FPS improvements.


I'm playing on PS4 because that's where most of my friends are playing, but that PC version is pretty.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 14, 2017, 03:23:13 PM
Lots of new game playing lately:


Never Alone (Wii U eShop) - Typical indie game in some ways: very pretty artwork, and nice storytelling. But the actual gameplay is clearly subpar. I'm happy to own/play it, but couldn't recommend it to others without caveats.


Rush (Wii U eShop) - Too easy so far, although I'm only about half-way through. Still a fun diversion. Makes me wish that ChuChu Rocket would get a proper re-release somewhere.


Ys Memories of Celceta (Vita/PSTV) - Just started, so not a lot of comments yet. Like what I've seen though. Opening has been fun and easy so far.


Picross 3D (DS) - Enjoyable, but the magic of seeing those blocks chip away is starting to wear off. Despite starting to feel stale at the half-way point, still find myself oddly compelled to keep working my way through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on September 16, 2017, 09:16:57 PM
If you don't own Chicken Wiggle you need to fix that now. That game is amazing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: King of Twitch on September 21, 2017, 12:36:08 AM
I love the balanced challenge and enemy AI. It's not easy to nudge them into traffic, and even with a crash, you or other racers can still manage to come back. Of course you can also play as the cops and smash things up if you're into rough justice. Great way to get your aggression out til the next F-Zero.

Did you ever play any of the Burnout games? Particularly 3 or 4? Those weren't on Nintendo consoles sadly, although 1 and 2 were. It's from the third one onwards where they really allow you to run other racers off the track and send them flying, so that one's probably the coolest.

I liked the game but was a little miffed at first that there was a cutscene at every crash. NFS: Hot Pursuit does the same and it's kinda cool but kinda frustrating to suddenly go from cutscene back to driving really fast.

Other nitpicky things have cropped up since I became a NFS fiend:

*Some races have rubberbanding AI. They'll be hard in the first third and last third of the race, give you a break in the middle, and force you to do the last third perfectly.
*Others only allow you to win with the "right" car, no matter how well you drive, even if the cars are closely matched
*Enemy drivers frequently make tight turns perfectly and somehow end up going even faster afterwards >:-|
*Time limits for medals can be brutal, even with frequent trial and error and incredible driving
*Shortcuts are often not shorter (which is stated in the game) but they're also too narrow to use and the game doesn't make it easy to see ahead sometimes. Loading or framerate issues? Not sure
*There are brief parts of some levels where a whole panel of the screen doesn't load or flickers, which is not acceptable!
*Wish load times were a little faster considering all the retries
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on September 24, 2017, 11:21:50 AM
I liked the game but was a little miffed at first that there was a cutscene at every crash. NFS: Hot Pursuit does the same and it's kinda cool but kinda frustrating to suddenly go from cutscene back to driving really fast.

Other nitpicky things have cropped up since I became a NFS fiend:

*Some races have rubberbanding AI. They'll be hard in the first third and last third of the race, give you a break in the middle, and force you to do the last third perfectly.
*Others only allow you to win with the "right" car, no matter how well you drive, even if the cars are closely matched
*Enemy drivers frequently make tight turns perfectly and somehow end up going even faster afterwards >:-|
*Time limits for medals can be brutal, even with frequent trial and error and incredible driving
*Shortcuts are often not shorter (which is stated in the game) but they're also too narrow to use and the game doesn't make it easy to see ahead sometimes. Loading or framerate issues? Not sure
*There are brief parts of some levels where a whole panel of the screen doesn't load or flickers, which is not acceptable!
*Wish load times were a little faster considering all the retries

Yeah agreed on all counts really! Burnout is pretty frustrating for sure, but I guess there's not too many games out there like it unfortunately. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted are both by Criterion I think, so they're basically other Burnout games. But despite its many flaws I feel like Burnout 2 and 3 really nail that white-knuckle exuberance by balancing risk and reward so well. Just a shame the A.I. opponents are clearly cheaters haha.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 27, 2017, 01:20:25 AM
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle

A - Ranks
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH



The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Korok Seeds
uuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


Help me I'm caught in completionist hell. :C
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 27, 2017, 07:35:12 AM
Just started Chrono Trigger (DS) again. Although I've played it once or twice before, it was never at a time when I could really put more than an hour or two into the game before having to set it aside for various reasons. Fingers crossed that this will be the first time actually finishing...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on September 27, 2017, 05:51:38 PM
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle

A - Ranks
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Korok Seeds
uuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Help me I'm caught in completionist hell. :C
Just stop it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 28, 2017, 07:53:33 AM
Just stop it.


Yes - but only after you have everything. You must collect them all.


--


By the way, even though still early in teh game, Chrono Trigger is really good.
Everyone should play this at some point. What's that? Everyone else already did..?


Really regret not putting more effort into this sooner. After just a few hours, it's easy to see why it's got a huge following.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 28, 2017, 09:00:13 AM
So... it's 7 AM. I never expected my quest for Sonic Adventure 2 completion to devolve into an excercise in (basic) Genetics less consistent than Pokemon IV breeding.

Did you know that Chao for some @(%*#!ed reason not only keep data for dominant and recessive genes, but they also keep that data for any stat of theirs you've upgraded via this game's arcane and ophuscated transformation system where you have to keep track of hidden values you get based on the last animals you fed it?

I'm shocked at how this stuff works and the level of documentation that's required to digest to understand it. It might just be my 7 AM exhaustion from this crazy crap, but Chao Garden may have a more complex metagame than Pokemon given the amount of fooling around and save scumming and keeping track of which chao you've given what to keep track of this crap.

Oh, and there's also two HIDDEN stats that effect your Chao's AI during races and such.

And chao can permadie, but you have to have messed up pretty bad for your chao to permadie


That, or leave the game running for like... 6 hours inside Chao garden without interacting with your chao at all.

it's crazy how much manipulating the clock and mindless yet mindful busiwork go into this nonsense. if you attempted to play Chao garden the way the game intends you to by finding a chao key and beating a stage and feeding your chao the random chaos drives and animals you find along the way? you'd both get pretty random results and basically make no progress.

like... you have to be in the garden for time to pass there. which is nice, I guess. it'd suck if you sat there grinding at Route 280 A-ranks only to come back to your chao having all died/reincarnated.

At the same time, sitting around watching a chao sleep is about as exciting as hearing your grandfather's story about how he used to work at a watch factory for the hundreth time.


At least this chao stuff is making for pretty good podcast listening.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 28, 2017, 09:54:32 AM
Yeah, the chao stuff in that game is really extensive. Are you using the GBA connectivity with Sonic Advance? I spent a ton of time with that what seems like forever ago
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 28, 2017, 02:49:44 PM
I'm playing it on Steam. which actually has some inaccessable content, such as the jewel chao from the GBA games, the Tails Chao you get from Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 &2 (which is the chao I used back in the day for all the chao race and karate BS because it's pretty much a pre-baked nearly min/maxed chao) or a few other bits of functionality... and they also introduced a couple of new graphical glitches too, such as two-tone 'shiny' chao that you breed glowing like solar babies.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on September 28, 2017, 04:09:44 PM
I saw your post the other day and was going to talk about getting all the A ranks in Sonic Adventure 2. It's not as bad as it sounds. The only thing that got to me was Chao grinding and harvesting crystals to increase their stats. That was the worst part of A ranks for me. With Knuckles and Rouge, you start learning when emerald pieces will keep spawning so you can get better at the. Tails and Eggman is just about getting large combos by locking on to multiple enemies. Shadow and Sonic are a bit tougher with needing to get points and finish fast but it gave you a glimpse of what those levels could be or were meant to be with fast speed if they weren't so glitchy. The driving levels of Tails and Rouge were a bit annoying as well particularly when required not to touch anything with your car.

As for Korok seeds, I'm almost at 700. Yeah, the hunt can be tedious some times but at least I'm still discovering new places and hidden touches in the game that I probably could have overlooked without that goal. Hopefully you are still finding other little neat moments as you conduct your search. I think I've been smart to still have some shrines and a divine beast to complete as I appreciate the chance to do something else besides scan the landscape for Koroks as I keep playing. There are 3 side quests I still need to find too but I doubt they'll take too much time at this point.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 28, 2017, 06:16:44 PM
yeah, korok seeds I can sit down with a map for 10 minutes and figure stuff out.


I think that it's not so much the ranking system in general, but specific offenders. Sand Ocean is a strange level where there's not enough enemies to combo to win on score bonus alone, so you're reliant on ring collection and Time Bonus to get you over the line there.

Mission 5 on Egg Quarters features a stupid gimmick where you have to have Rouge grab bombs that Cocoanuts throws at her and then bring them to to the designated spot. the problem is collision with picking stuff up, weather you'll do the pickup command or just attack the bomb, weather or not the bomb will explode immediatley after cocoanuts throws it, or weather the bomb will clip through the floor, and even WHERE Cocoanuts throws the bomb is a complete crap-shoot.

some of the score or time requirements for Sonic and Shadow's stages are crazy. Metal Harbor boils down to if you have the level perfectly rehearsed. it feels like you don't get the A-rank unless you get a perfect storm of rings, grinding the little rails on the bends getting ALL the homing attack chains, and getting that top part of the rocket at the end of the stage, and a hardy enough time bonus. it's technically possible to beat it without getting the top half of the rocket, but you literally have to bounce braclet into the jets flying overhead to get enough points to actually pull that out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on September 28, 2017, 08:25:11 PM
By the way, even though still early in teh game, Chrono Trigger is really good.
Everyone should play this at some point. What's that? Everyone else already did..?


Really regret not putting more effort into this sooner. After just a few hours, it's easy to see why it's got a huge following.

Yeah Chrono Trigger has tons of heart. I too played it first on DS and initially intended to blaze through it as fast as possible. However, once a lot of the character-specific sidequests opened up I did them anyway and I would highly encourage you to do the same. I won't say which ones, but there's a few pretty impactful ones that really grew my affection for the characters.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 28, 2017, 08:34:07 PM
By the way, even though still early in teh game, Chrono Trigger is really good.
Everyone should play this at some point. What's that? Everyone else already did..?


Really regret not putting more effort into this sooner. After just a few hours, it's easy to see why it's got a huge following.

Yeah Chrono Trigger has tons of heart. I too played it first on DS and initially intended to blaze through it as fast as possible. However, once a lot of the character-specific sidequests opened up I did them anyway and I would highly encourage you to do the same. I won't say which ones, but there's a few pretty impactful ones that really grew my affection for the characters.

I played Chrono Cross before I played Chrono Trigger on an emulator. CT was one of my first Emulator games, funnily enough.

Yeah, it's pretty great. Chrono Cross is too as long as you're willing to plug your ears and try and forget that it's the sequel to Chrono Trigger.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on September 29, 2017, 12:34:00 AM
I've heard people say its best to think of Chrono Cross as an "alternate reality/universe" similar to how most every Fire Emblem game is in its own world with shared themes across the games. Still have an unopened copy of Chrono Cross sitting on my shelf for the PSX, never set aside the time and eye stamina (from the 32-bit jaggies!) to actually give it a go. Though some of the designs are neat.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on September 29, 2017, 12:57:10 AM
Space Engineers.

I hate MineCraft and I don't stand for the mods. However this gets away from the Feed the Beast BS by not having to build a busy work factory something that Factorio does so much better which is fun without things being arbitrary. You can focus on making cool machines that move around to solve your problems and make things increasingly efficient rather than the other way around.

From the Depths is also very similar sans most of the resource gathering. The problem that needs solving is how to kill things better with the vessel of your choosing.

It is still early access despite years of continued development. It does have a problem with breaking mods regularly as they swap out API's for something better hampering mods. Not to say they don't give warning as give a grace period when possible.

One of my most favourite mods right now is just a script that makes wheeled vehicles a joy to drive. Without it is is very problematic as finding that settings sweet spot just to make one functional is very hard to impossible given the changing terrain. Then there is the matter of whenever you make changes to the bricks you suddenly now have to rebalance everything again. So this script is a godsend. One extra cute feature htey threw in is stop lights which is just great.

Just in case someone here wants it it is call the Driver Assist System or DAS. It is still in active development with excellent turn around on bugs measured in hours.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 29, 2017, 04:54:10 AM
I've heard people say its best to think of Chrono Cross as an "alternate reality/universe" similar to how most every Fire Emblem game is in its own world with shared themes across the games. Still have an unopened copy of Chrono Cross sitting on my shelf for the PSX, never set aside the time and eye stamina (from the 32-bit jaggies!) to actually give it a go. Though some of the designs are neat.


Huh, that is a not bad way to think about it! Too bad the DS remake of Chrono Trigger goes out of it's way to add extra bits to better set up the events of Chrono Cross.


It's a weird one. it's not that it's a bad narrative, but it attempts to recontectualize and rationalize some things. It's a game essentially about the the fallout of time travel and trades it's whimsy for brutal reality where the cast of the original game minus maybe Ayla and (maybe) Magus all met pretty grim fates, you play as a kid who finds out his continued existence threatens the fabric of reality and time, and your main love interest type character is a pile of tragedy severalfold due to her ties with the Chrono Trigger cast. It also tries to go on to explain crap like what happens with the Reptites, the fall of Guardia, and lots of other very convoluted bullshit.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on September 29, 2017, 02:17:13 PM
Bummer. I never finished the DS version more than once a long time ago so I don't remember the changes. Sounds like a typical sequel to a well received stand-alone narrative: convoluted, overly complicated, and takes itself way too seriously.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on September 29, 2017, 04:33:43 PM
Chrono Trigger DS features an extra endgame dungeon that sets up Dalton as having survived the whole Zeal thing and foreshadows the idea that he brought Magic and Zealian technology and funds to begin Porre's coup against the new rule of Guardia, AKA King Crono and Queen Nadia.

There's also the matter of the new ending, wherein Crono and the gang fight a souped up version of Lavos fused to Schala to form the Time Devourer. Magus desires nothing more than to free his sister from the beast, and when you manage to fight it back, the ending you get involves Magus getting amnesia from his encounter with the Time Devourer, which allows for the 'Magus is Guile' connection to be far stronger.


This, coupled with some FMVs that were from the PSX version as extras are the sorts of retcons they've done to make Chrono Cross work. Then again, Retcons are kinda the name of the game if you know anything about Radical Dreamers, which just straight-up got retconned out of existance because the guy who wrote the scenarios for these games wasn't satisfied with how his little satellaview exclusive Chrono Trigger fanfiction played out.



... what? this is the what are you playing thread? Right, sorry.


Still chipping away at the mountain of WTF that is Chao Eugenics.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 03, 2017, 09:02:05 AM
Been playing Cuphead for Xbox One. This game is the reason why I got an Xbox One a couple years ago, and I have to say it is well worth the wait. Not only is it beautifully animated with a creative visual style but it is extremely addicting. The game mostly centers around gigantic, multi form boss battles rather then traditional run n gun platforming levels but there are some of those as well sprinkled around the game world map, they are also optional too, though I highly recommend you play them, some of them are really fun (though, like the rest of the game, challenging with no checkpoints) and they have coins sprinkled throughout them that you can use to buy upgrades. Really though the star of the show (as it should be) are the boss battles which are varied and punishing. Though if you want to lower the difficulty you can, but even at that they still aren't easy, it just limits what they can do and the forms you have to battle through to defeat it. Be warned though, you cannot get to the final boss unless you beat the bosses on the standard difficulty.

If I were to compare the boss battles to another game it would probably be Treasure's old games, especially Gunstar Heroes. Also while they can be difficult it is the good kind of difficulty in that you feel motivated to go back and continue learning their patterns. They have no health meter, the only way you know how close you were to defeating it is if you die, it will then show a progress graph with a finish line which is a unique way to track how well you did along with how close you were to defeating the boss, not to mention it limits screen clutter which is a good thing considering what the bosses can throw at you.

Beyond gameplay though the visuals are beautifully animated, and the sound design is top notch as well to immerse you in the 30s animation style they are going for.

Anyway, I'm having a wonderful time, I wish it would come out on Switch and PS4, but it appears it is solidly a Xbox one/PC exclusive. Would be the perfect game though for Switch though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ClexYoshi on October 03, 2017, 02:59:13 PM
I've broken out of the duldrums of completing Sonic Adventure 2 after having finished all the Chao garbage, and I've been playing...

A Boatload of fan games! namely from the Sonic Amateur Game Expo (SAGE) 2017 showcase! but also one or two distinctly non-sonic games.

I'll not go into too much detail about a lot of 'em becaus ethere's unfortunatley not a ton that stands out from the pack this year as there was Last year. lots of stuff either made on Sonic Worlds or just GameMaker Studio or such. there's a really bad Unreal 4 3D sonic game, and something I thought might have the potential to be the next Freedom Planet (Freedom Planet originally was shown at SAGE 2012), but was total bunk... there's 3 games I'd like to highlight from that here quick.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 HD

IT'S BACK FROM THE GRAVE, BBY.

Sonic 2 HD was a project started in 2011 or so  and essentially redid the assets of SOnic 2 in a vectorized style with tons of frames of animation added in to give the game a very... moving cartoon sort of look? while still staying as faithful to the original animations in the game and the art style as possible. there was an Emerald Hill demo back in 2012, and then the team broke up for some reason.

Thankfully, a couple of the alumni from that original team (Tom Fry, Jared Kasl, and Tee Lopes) would go on to form Pagoda West Games, and eventually bring their animation, programming, and musical expertise to Sonic Mania.


With a fair bit of the ground work laid out, a new team has been formed and knocked out a new zone in the form of Chemical plant, as well as finishing work on Hill top (which was hidden in the debug code for the demo the original team put together, since it's blue Emerald Hill)

Sonic feels decidedly a little heavier here than normal and takes a bit to get going at even a decent clip, and there's a couple of small things that are off here and there, but for the most part, it's Sonic 2 level design, sonic 2 enemy behavior, and... really, everything you'd love about Sonic 2 so far. I'm kinda lukewarm on Sonic 2, but i can't deny how amazingly clean and well animated the art is here and how good it feels.

Petit Hedgehog

This one crushed my soul, because it just... seems like it's still too early to really properly judge it, as the engine is still buggy as all hell.

Petit Hedgehog, as it's called right now, is a Sonic game that has a really unique and neat sprite style (lots of solid colors without shading, decidedly bright color palette) along with playable Sonic and Shadow. listening to the hissy compression on the sound effects, the music, and the really oversaturated and bright color palette, it's clear that this game is meant to be in the style of a long-lost GBA game, and really tries to channel the spirit of the sonic advance games.

the problem is it lacks gamepad support or really the ability to rebind your keys. Jump is mapped to SHIFT, which is extra cruddy because of course, you activate sticky keys all the dxamned time trying to rev up the spin dash. it's also buggy as hell... sonic gets a blue trail that follows him as a graphical effect when he moves really fast, but it kinda wiggs out and doens't properly track where he's coming from when you first pop into it... and there's also lots of collision errors and eventually it crashed, so...

Sonic World

This is better than it has any right to be, and it's still kinda atrocious and really just needs a team of QA guys. Sonic Worlds is a Unity powered cluster **** of 3D Sonic past, present, and future.There's a roster of 42 unlockable and playable characters. That's more Characters than were in the base game for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, all with different attributes, abilities, voice acting, and techniques to help them get through the game's 58 stages, which all have 5 missions, and target S rank requirements... and pretty much, the stages are designed so any of these characters can get through them in some form or another!

In spite of my attempts to do so, I cannot seem to get the engine to just bug the **** out. the physics engine is usually pretty good about orienting you on a slope if you have the momentum to do so, and things don't feel as noodly as they do in the adventure games, but it's not like boost formula Sonic where you feel like you're controlling a car and not a platformer character. so far, I've only found one instance where I got caught in a spot they clearly missed in playtesting where i got stuck with a character who had an obnoxiously low jump height and I couldn't get out.

This game has a fully functioning Chao garden also.

that being said... the level design and enemy AI can be... hit or miss. some levels just SPAM enemies or are obnoxiously long. others are based on the level design from Sonic 3D blast, which was a game not menat to handle the speeds you can travel here. some levels are obnoxious to clear unless you're playing certain types of characters. also, all the boss fights and quite a few of the 'mach speed' style stages are obnoxiously difficult.

The devs here clearly seem to be focused on pushing quantity of content here, and not quality. I still however, find a perverse pleasure in playing Tiara Boobowski, Ray the Flying Squirrel, and Honey the Cat in a Sonic Heroes style team-up through Westopolis Zone from Shadow the Hedgehog.


I'll make a seperate post to talk about the non-sonic fangaming I've been doing once someone else posts.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on October 13, 2017, 04:46:51 PM
Been playing Sakura Samurai for the 3DS. Not bad. I'm about 3/4 of the way through world 2 and I am just about done with the grind of increasing difficulty but basically same-ey gameplay. Not sure if I will continue much longer. But it's been fun and satisfying to get there. Not bad for a cheapie.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 14, 2017, 05:18:13 PM
Played about 7-8 hours of Evil Within 2 last night...in a row. I never do that anymore. I think I might like it. :P

Wasn't a huge fan of the 1st game, but the sequel makes some changes to its environment & structure that bring it MUCH closer to something like Silent Hill. In fact, I get a real Silent Hill Downpour-esque vibe from what I've played, with how you can pursue the main quest in the town or go off exploring to find these hidden side quests with ammo caches & upgrade material. Meanwhile, these insane rage zombies skulk around the alleys.

I'm not sure so far if it's an overall better game than the 1st (the side content's not as developed as I'd like), but this is definitely a type of experience that suits me better.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on October 19, 2017, 09:54:59 PM
Been playing my 3DS with headphones to distract myself from flies & annoying co-workers during lunch break lately. Finally got around to beating Kirby Triple Deluxe 2 weeks ago. Now it's all about looking for those darn stars. Ended a long hiatus from Monster Hunter 4U yesterday though.

On the home front it was Muramasa: The Demon Blade on Wii before Pinball FX 3 came out on PC.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on October 21, 2017, 10:16:28 PM
I've been playing through Knack 2, and IMO it is a dramatically better game than its predecessor. For one thing, the designers made an effort to finally rebalance the gameplay in favor of something akin to the LEGO games. In the first game, you died in 2-3 hits, no matter how many relics you had or where you were in the game. And when you got hit, that damage was persistent until you either found more relics, you hit the next area, or you died and respawned at the last checkpoint. Now, when you get hit, you lose a pile of relics & get smaller as usual, but if you can avoid damage for a few seconds, the relics fly back on and reattach, essentially giving you regenerating health.

The game also plays a lot more with alternating size & scale. Outside of the Stealth Knack sequences in the first game, you always started a stage small & progressed through the stage progressively growing larger. It lacked variety. Now, you can shrink back down to Little Knack at any time to fit through small holes & find secrets or to navigate puzzles.

Oh yeah, there are actual puzzles & platforming now. They're basic, but I find them satisfying enough.

You also have a skill tree of stat boosts & new moves you acquire by progressing through the story & finding XP crates.

So far, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the game, but I like it so far. I think Sony actually hit the "all ages cartoons platformer" mark they were aiming for, especially since you can play it local Co-Op. I'd recommend it for kids or the Young At Heart (TM).

What a coincidence! I have this checked out from the library right now, and I finished the first two chapters of the game. I'm enjoying it, but I can't comment on any improvements on the original Knack since I didn't play it. Seems like Knack left quite a bad taste in most PlayStation 4 owners' mouths. I guess that's why this sequel bombed everywhere. I've read that the game sort of overindulges on its story length, making the game sort of feel like it goes on for longer than you'd expect.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 21, 2017, 10:25:44 PM
I've been playing through Knack 2, and IMO it is a dramatically better game than its predecessor. For one thing, the designers made an effort to finally rebalance the gameplay in favor of something akin to the LEGO games. In the first game, you died in 2-3 hits, no matter how many relics you had or where you were in the game. And when you got hit, that damage was persistent until you either found more relics, you hit the next area, or you died and respawned at the last checkpoint. Now, when you get hit, you lose a pile of relics & get smaller as usual, but if you can avoid damage for a few seconds, the relics fly back on and reattach, essentially giving you regenerating health.

The game also plays a lot more with alternating size & scale. Outside of the Stealth Knack sequences in the first game, you always started a stage small & progressed through the stage progressively growing larger. It lacked variety. Now, you can shrink back down to Little Knack at any time to fit through small holes & find secrets or to navigate puzzles.

Oh yeah, there are actual puzzles & platforming now. They're basic, but I find them satisfying enough.

You also have a skill tree of stat boosts & new moves you acquire by progressing through the story & finding XP crates.

So far, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the game, but I like it so far. I think Sony actually hit the "all ages cartoons platformer" mark they were aiming for, especially since you can play it local Co-Op. I'd recommend it for kids or the Young At Heart (TM).

What a coincidence! I have this checked out from the library right now, and I finished the first two chapters of the game. I'm enjoying it, but I can't comment on any improvements on the original Knack since I didn't play it. Seems like Knack left quite a bad taste in most PlayStation 4 owners' mouths. I guess that's why this sequel bombed everywhere. I've read that the game sort of overindulges on its story length, making the game sort of feel like it goes on for longer than you'd expect.

Yeah, the game definitely goes on long after it's run out of new ideas. Hell, the last move you get in the game just exists to remove the thing that artificially makes the endgame enemies invulnerable. Still, overall I thought it is an admirable effort.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 22, 2017, 05:26:13 PM
Not sure which DS game to play next. Any thoughts on the following games?


Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Hotel Dusk
Trace Memory
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks


I'll be playing one from that list, but not sure which.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 22, 2017, 08:30:13 PM
Personally, Spirit Tracks is at the very bottom of my list of Zelda games. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. This is coming from someone who liked but didn’t love Phantom Hourglass.

Hotel Dusk. Just go with Hotel Dusk. I started but never finished it. I still have it somewhere.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 22, 2017, 09:04:16 PM
...
Hotel Dusk. Just go with Hotel Dusk. I started but never finished it. I still have it somewhere.


Works for me.


So I'm about to start Hotel Dusk.  Started playing it once before, and found the style and gameplay extremely appealing. Not sure why I stopped, but it's been long enough that starting over will be like a new game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on October 23, 2017, 01:59:24 PM
Not sure which DS game to play next. Any thoughts on the following games?

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Hotel Dusk
Trace Memory
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

I'll be playing one from that list, but not sure which.
I haven't played any of them, so I can just say that it depends on what kind of mood you're in. Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory are more laid-back games, whilst FFCC and Zelda are more action-y. And Zelda requires use of the stylus the whole time, so you've gotta be prepared for that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on October 26, 2017, 10:32:33 PM
UGH! Rings of Fate is awful. Sorry excuse of a sequel to one of the greatest multiplayer Final Fantasies of all time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 14, 2017, 09:25:08 AM
Hmm... I keep trying to play Hotel Dusk, but falling asleep after 10 minutes. It's been good, but not a "play before bed" kind of deal. Sort of wishing I had picked FFCC: Ring of Fates, despite the warning above... :)

Anyway, so while I'm still working on Hotel Dusk, also playing a few others:


Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita/PS TV): Graphics aren't that hot, but I'm enjoying this simple RPG/hack-em-up. Nothing too strenuous really happens in the game - just explore the map, take on simple quests as they appear, and occasionally wail on a oversized enemy or boss character.

Currently trying to find out what's poisoning the water supply of a nearby town. Not being able to just stop moving and auto-heal inside dungeons is a welcome change from the slightly too easy overworld.


Toejam & Earl (Wii VC): Picking this game up again solo, after finally moving past the tragic story of playing this co-op with my brother-in-law.

He had played as a kid, but never beat the game. Seemed like a fun thing to do together. Anyway, we had been playing TJ&E for a few sessions already, and were making good progress. Every time we'd hang out, we pick up where we left off - the automatic save state of Wii Virtual Console was great - and rip through a stage or two.

At this point, we had played on-and-off for a few hours, collected about 75% of the missing ship parts, identified all but one or two of the presents, earned a bunch of extra lives, and were pretty much sitting pretty to get things finished off. Until that fateful evening when extra company arrived and, instead of pressing Home and quitting the game to save our state, we accidentally turned off the Wii directly and lost all progress. That was it - we just never went back.

My kids are watching, and think it's weird all around. Playing co-op would be a lot better, but I'm enjoying the solo romp and it's still a fun game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 21, 2017, 08:33:58 PM
Still working on the games listed above, but also playing...


Lords of Thunder (Wii U Virtual Console) - Glad to find out this was finally ported over to Wii U. Not because of emulation quality, obviously, but it is much more convenient to play now.


NintendoLand (Wii U) - Still not a system seller for me, and a couple of the games just aren't fun to play - but this mini-game collection makes great use of the second screen and is lots of fun. Together with my kids, we've been loving Animal Crossing Sweet Day and the cooperative portion of Pikmin Adventure over the past week or two.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: rvbykyle on November 22, 2017, 08:26:55 PM
Pokemon Ultra Sun: the last core series for 3DS. Feels like a complete version of Pokemon Sun. It's a bit disappointing that it's an alternate take of the 1st installment rather a sequel like what happened with Black and White 2. Nothing much to offer aside from new Ultra Beasts and mini game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 29, 2017, 03:37:55 AM
I've built up quite a backlog of Switch eShop games and I'm trying to work my way through them, and as part of that tonight I started up Ironcast. My first reaction is I wish I got to this one a lot sooner. Really interesting mix of tactics and puzzle gameplay. I've been in the process of of trying to put together a top 5 eShop games of 2017 list and this game has immediately shot itself into contention for that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 31, 2017, 09:01:47 PM
I've been revisiting Wii mode on my Wii U, and enjoying a whole bunch of weird old stuff.
* Toejam & Earl (Genesis VC) - Died: bees stung me until I fell off the edge of the earth, and then the boogeyman got me. Didn't have the gumption to start over again.
* Soldier Blade (TG16 VC) - Wow, this seems easy after playing Lords of Thunder. Still fun though.
* Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare) - My kids thought it would be run to revisit this game. They were right. Not a brilliant game, but the magic marker portion is clever and enjoyable.
* Ubuntu (WiiWare) - Love the board game this is based on, but it's a shame the WiiWare version feels so half-assed. The story mode is just odd, and the controls aren't nearly as smooth as I'd like. Still playable though, and still fun enough that I don't regret spending some more time with it. Interesting to note that a few neat board games were released as WiiWare - this, Penguin & Friends (which is a video game version of "Hey! That's My Fish"), and also Jungle Speed.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 01, 2018, 01:31:29 AM
* Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare) - My kids thought it would be run to revisit this game. They were right. Not a brilliant game, but the magic marker portion is clever and enjoyable.
The sequel to this game is on the Switch and there is a demo. It looks like a standard puzzle platformer this time, without elements of drawing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 01, 2018, 10:10:48 AM
* Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare) - My kids thought it would be run to revisit this game. They were right. Not a brilliant game, but the magic marker portion is clever and enjoyable.
The sequel to this game is on the Switch and there is a demo. It looks like a standard puzzle platformer this time, without elements of drawing.


Neat - didn't realize it had a sequel.
(I don't own a Switch, so doesn't help me... but the original game is interesting enough despite the kiddie graphics that I'd be keen to see how the sequel turned out.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 03, 2018, 11:20:44 AM
In taking my kids to the library so my kindergarten-aged son has books to read for homework, I stumbled across a section of video games they offer to rent at $1/week.  I heard Gui on RFN mention his library before, but figured my small library wouldn't have anything like that.  This is a big get for me since i'm looking to downsize my video game expenses, and if I can rent some of the bigger games it'll open up my finances a bit to try out some of the more interesting indie fare that bubbles up as a "must-play" on lots of sites GOTY lists.


That said, this gave me an opportunity to start on a game I missed last year, Horizon: Zero Dawn.  I waited on it because I was devouring Zelda:BOTW at the time, and since I missed out on the $20 sales going on over black Friday, a rental at this price is perfect.


This game's world has left a great first impression at the roughly 8-10 hours in i'm currently at.  There's a lot of mystery of what happened to a society that once was advanced but now is back to tribal forager/hunter sects.  The characters you interact with all seem to have a distinct personality, even if they're one-off characters used just to give you a side quest.  Most of the characters during interactions look fantastic (i'm on a base PS4, not a Pro).  I'm so eager to keep exploring the different quests to uncover more of the world, the people, and this dynamic of cult-like religions vs skeptic that seems to be an undercurrent of the tribes.


Strangely, the combat is where I've struggled a bit so far.  This game does have a bit of an issue where these robotic animals are roaming through most of the world, and if I'm eager to just get to the next story beat, it can get distracting and aggravating to get pulled into an encounter when I don't intend to, but I am now able to get a mount, which helps mitigate those issues.  Beyond that, I'm interested in exploring more of the weapon types and traps to see how I can chain together a fight to bring down these bigger monsters, so I'll reserve judgement on this until I get better engaged in the combat and have more time in hand. 


overall, glad i waited on this game, not because it isn't a quality game, but more because the space between when I played Zelda and this lets me judge this game more on its individual merits rather than compared to how refreshing Zelda felt.


Question - I have Persona 4 golden I've yet to play, but my Library also has Persona 5.  Any suggestions for someone who hasn't played a Persona on where to start?



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 03, 2018, 02:17:12 PM
Question - I have Persona 4 golden I've yet to play, but my Library also has Persona 5.  Any suggestions for someone who hasn't played a Persona on where to start?

Coincidentally, I just started Persona 5 last night, so I might be able to advise you on this since I've played all the post-3 Persona games (except, ironically, Golden).

IMO, Persona 4's one of the best games ever made, and Golden is widely considered the definitive version of it. If you're looking for the "best" Persons game, it's impossible to argue against Golden.

That said, Persona 5 does have some tweaks that, IMO, make it a BIT more newcomer friendly. For one, it has a modern UI & Fast Travel (I don't know if Golden added Fast Travel). Also, the Persona games are NOTORIOUS for how slowly they begin, but P5 seems to have the fastest start of all of them so far. P4 will have you in dialog boxes for hours before your first battle. P5 throws you into combat very early on, so you see both halves of the game quickly.

P5 also gives the player a bit more control over certain aspects of combat than P4 did. P4 used a chance game to acquire Personas. P5 uses the annoying SMT Negotiation system, where the player has full control of the outcome. I prefer the chance games, but it does open up the game a bit. Also, in P4 all the dungeons are randomly generated, but in P5 the story dungeons use set layouts. Stuff like that.

P5 is excellent so far, but if you have the time I'd recommend Golden over P5. I prefer its tone & characters more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 03, 2018, 04:08:41 PM
Thanks for the overview.  I'm tempted to start with Persona 4 just because I have it.  When you say there are hours of text dialogue before you get into the gameplay, are there save points through that?  Only concern now is that my gaming free time is roughly 1-2 hrs an evening, so might be a tall ask if I have to play 4-5 hrs straight without a save in that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 03, 2018, 04:58:29 PM
Thanks for the overview.  I'm tempted to start with Persona 4 just because I have it.  When you say there are hours of text dialogue before you get into the gameplay, are there save points through that?  Only concern now is that my gaming free time is roughly 1-2 hrs an evening, so might be a tall ask if I have to play 4-5 hrs straight without a save in that.

The Persona games from P3 onward are divided up into days on a Calendar, and every day (including the opening hours) let's you save at least once a day. So no, you don't have to play it all at once. P5 let's you save at any time outside of dungeons, but even P4 golden is still on the save point system.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on January 11, 2018, 02:56:32 PM
Fell down the XType+ hole again yesterday, figuring I'd "just play for a single round", and suddenly 3 hours had flown by. This game gets me focused in a zen-like trance like almost no other; it's crazy addictive and I don't even like highscore/leaderboard games. I tried the replay feature yesterday, looking at the highest rated player's run and it's just mesmerising to fast-forward through someone clearing 31 levels -- I've never gotten past the 15th. Remains a fantastic game at an unbeatable pricepoint; the browser version (http://phoboslab.org/xtype/) is free, even.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 12, 2018, 07:42:12 AM
Fell down the XType+ hole again yesterday, ...


This really is one of the best bargains on the Wii U (which I assume is where you played it).
Is a Switch version coming at some point? For a couple of bucks, this sweet little shooter is a wonderful diversion!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on January 14, 2018, 08:15:40 PM
By the by, in case anyone wants to know, Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates is a hot mess of story and character but decent character customization and dungeon design, but Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time is one of the best action RPGs Square Enix has ever produced, with amazing multiplayer, great character customization, fabulous dungeon design, and an antagonist with the best sense of fashion in history.

Yes, I'm placing it above Kingdom Hearts, because it actually has a decent narrative.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on January 15, 2018, 04:28:32 PM
I'm currently playing Virtue's Last Reward for the 3DS, which I got for Christmas.  I finished it's predecessor 999 last year.  One thing I'm really liking about Virtue's Last Reward is it has some significant QoL improvements.

These games have lots of times where you have to make choices and the plot goes in a different direction depending on what you pick.  To get the proper ending you have to make the right choices.  While I haven't finished VLR yet in 999 you actually have to go through the whole game at least twice to get the good ending.  But this was kind of a pain in the ass as you had to start over again each time.  Yes, you can fast forward through the story parts you already saw but you also had to solve the puzzle rooms each time.  So even though I know how to solve it I have to go through the whole thing to solve it again.  After going through in a way to get every puzzle room and getting bad endings every time I eventually looked at a non-spoiler walkthrough to see what steps I had to take.

VLR improves on this by offering a flow chart showing all the places where things split based on your decision.  At any point you can return to a prior point.  This has done wonders for the game!  Now whenever I get a bad ending I can just pop back to a prior point and see where that leads me without having to repeat the whole game to that point.  There still are some parts that repeat regardless of the choice you make but it is leagues better than 999.  Another major improvement is that all the paths lead to unique puzzle rooms so you don't have to play the same ones repeatedly like in 999.  This also means more puzzle rooms which is great because they're my favourite part!

I'm trying to get my brother to give this series ago as I think he would like them but recommending the first game now with all of its annoying repetition feels like a hard sell.  "Try this game.  You'll mostly like it but it will annoy you a fair bit as well but it's all worth it because its sequel is better!"  The thing is that there are storyline cues in the sequel that won't really make much sense if you didn't play 999 first - plus it will spoil 999's story if you decide to go back and play it so jumping right to VLR doesn't make sense.  Apparently the Vita/PS4 port of 999 has the flowchart feature but then I have to convince him to buy a new game instead of just borrow my DS copy.

Anyway, it's a great game so far and once I beat it I'll probably buy the third game Zero Time Dilemma.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on January 15, 2018, 10:37:56 PM
I kind of hope the Nonary Games collection (or even 999) get ported to Switch because of the flowchart being backported in. But VLR is fundamentally unplayable without it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on January 16, 2018, 02:35:03 PM
By the by, in case anyone wants to know, Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates is a hot mess of story and character but decent character customization and dungeon design, but Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time is one of the best action RPGs Square Enix has ever produced, with amazing multiplayer, great character customization, fabulous dungeon design, and an antagonist with the best sense of fashion in history.

Yes, I'm placing it above Kingdom Hearts, because it actually has a decent narrative.


Really? I might have to pick it up on the cheap. I adored the original, but Ring of Fate was so awful I abandoned the series. Does the online still work or is that dead?




I dove back into Fire Emblem Warriors now that there are some new heroes, and It is nice having some spear wielders. Given me a bit of extra life for the game, so I'm working on unlocking Lyn in History Mode, and its a pain in the ass. I just want Owain and Minerva from DLC and I'll have all the characters I would want to play as. I'm really hoping for another wave of DLC, but with the Hyrule Warriors port coming soon (and the hints dropped by the devs), I suspect development on FEW is complete, and we are more likely to see a sequel in 2019. Ah well, at least there are enough character between the main game and the DLC I care enough about that I can field a full team of "likeable" units.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on January 16, 2018, 04:33:40 PM
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time was Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, so it's dead. It may be possible to run a homebrew server with the Wii version, but I haven't looked into it. My friend and I put over 300 hours into the game, I had the Wii version, it was a lot of fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 18, 2018, 02:39:47 PM
Ugh.  Finally started playing Zora's Revenge: Star Tropics 2 (NES).
It's not very good.

The first game used a square grid that limited movement. That's replaced with a free movement system that allows diagonals - but it also makes movement less predictable so you end up fighting the controls as often as the enemies.

Instead of light RPG trappings, the game and story have been turned into linear events. There are fewer puzzles and secrets to uncover. The game overworld offers nothing of value, so I don't know why it wasn't just replaced with cut scenes.

The game is still playable, and I'm going to finish it off because it also seems relatively short... but it's impossible to recommend to anyone who isn't an longtime fan of NES games (or of Star Tropics in particular).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on January 19, 2018, 02:20:06 PM
That's a shame, StarTropics 2 is actually one of my fave NES games. I find your complaint about the lack of grid-based movement to be interesting, as I've always felt the control in 2 is way better than 1. I never experienced any issues moving or jumping in the levels, it all felt intuitive for me. In the first game, the strict grid was a detriment since it made moving away from enemies a lot harder than it should be. The sequel overall feels a lot easier and less cheap due to the superior control, though it's still no pushover of course.

It's been a long time since I played the first game, but I don't remember there being anything interesting happening between the dungeons. I'm fine with the linear structure of 2, but then again I'm also someone who has never seen linearity as a bad thing.

2 also has some of my fave tunes on the NES, it's got a nice soundtrack.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 19, 2018, 03:32:46 PM
For reference, my disappointment with Star Tropics 2 might be unreasonable.


The game fails to live up to my expectations, but those expectations were based entirely off nostalgia for the original - which probably wouldn't hold up all that well today if I were to play it.


@Mop it up: You are probably right about nothing cool happening between action stages in the original. My memory was that there were more puzzles/secrets in the original overworld - a music puzzle and some mazes come to mind - but that might not be accurate. And while some of the (bad) humor is appreciated, the overall story/theme feels more random when jumping through time.


If I had gone into the game expecting an isometric action adventure, with a very silly story and more focus on action than adventure, then my impressions would probably be better.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on January 19, 2018, 09:22:55 PM
I finally have a way to play Sonic 06 for myself. What a game. What a game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on January 20, 2018, 09:52:20 AM
Played Rocket League on Switch. The first time I saw my friend play this, I didn’t understand why people were so into it. Rocket League is really fun. As expected, I’m awful.

I was also forced to play Cuphead. ****, that game is difficult.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on January 20, 2018, 12:59:07 PM
I played Cuphead and got to the next to last boss (which most people say is harder than the final boss) before tapping out. Still got farther in that I thought I would. And most of the boss fights were very enjoyable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on January 20, 2018, 11:31:41 PM
Rocket league like any sports or game has a learning curve. I find the problem for me beyond me sucking is the high level play is absurd. With other sports after learning the rules and playing some games you get an idea of what is happening so when you watch a pro game you have a feel for it.

Not so with RL, it feels BS with flying turbo boost. That aspect of the game is pretty much useless to me as even in the tutorial I barely managed to execute any reasonable moves and that require a lot of repetition just to do it once. It lacks the easy to start, hard to master. It's more stupid hard to start, disgustingly horrible to even consider mastering. Win or lose you don't know why.

It also lacks any sort of skill transfer in or out. Whatever you know about driving or piloting is inapplicable to this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on January 20, 2018, 11:45:25 PM
Yeah, that’s a pretty accurate description. I still liked it though it’s another game I’m probably not playing alone so I doubt I’ll ever get decent at the game. For me, the local multiplayer aspect is making it worthwhile to me.

Same with Cuphead. It’s so difficult that I’d be screaming profanity at my TV at home. With a friend, it’s a completely different experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on January 22, 2018, 08:43:29 PM
I feel like coop Cuphead is insanely harder than solo.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on January 23, 2018, 12:03:22 AM
Probably depends on the skill of your playing partner.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on January 23, 2018, 09:52:12 AM
I feel like coop Cuphead is insanely harder than solo.
I haven’t played solo. I’m basing my expectations on my self-observed limits of personal video game skill (which is low to medium). Parrying a partner’s ghost to stay alive is something my friend and I did often through several stages.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 23, 2018, 12:51:41 PM
The middle 1/3 of Persona 5 is exhausting. The dungeons remind me a lot of the puzzle dungeons in TMS: they go on for so long that I've long since stopped caring & really start resenting the game by the time it's finished. Just constant Rules of 3s on top of Rules of 3s on top of Rules of 3s leading to a grueling 5 hour dungeon crawl for what should be a 1.5 - 2 hour dungeon.

And because SMT refuses to allow auto-saves or battle restarts outside the lowest difficulty level, enemies opening a battle by going after your MC can easily lead to a Game Over where you lose an hour of playtime since your last save room. It's just needlessly punitive & disrespectful of the player's time.

And good god I LOATHE the game's framing device, which spoils major plot points up to a dozen hours before they occur. The Social Links are also incredibly samey & redundant of previous ones in the series.

I still like the game, but it's easy to see why it turned off so many fans. Writing-wise, it's a huge steps down from P4.


As for Cuphead, the last regular boss I have is the mad scientist in the giant robot, and I just can't get past it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 23, 2018, 01:23:10 PM
So I've played enough Risk of Rain (Vita) now to have an opinion.


It's pretty good, but also seems kind of throw-away. Luck plays a large role in how long you'll last because some pick-ups are notably better than others... but even with bad luck you can last a good long time if you play well. The action is solid and there are plenty of characters with significant differences in how they play. The number of weapons and items that might be available (many locked when you first start playing) is enough to bring you back repeatedly. One of my favorite parts is a pretty solid soundtrack tying the whole package together - although I the music might wear thin over time.


I like it, and expect to drop a bunch of hours playing.
Is it worth recommending? Depends on what games you like. This isn't a universal "go play this game" experience... but it's pretty neat and probably worth a try. Just realize that most classes take a bit of effort to learn how to play effectively, and that you'll probably die a bunch while learning.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 23, 2018, 02:25:14 PM
I found co-op Cuphead to be so hard as to not be worth bothering with (though granted, I haven't been 100% sober the times I've tried it). Both myself and by partner had both beaten the game, and we were struggling badly to get through the first world. The extreme health buff of the bosses in combination with having to navigate around each other and the extra visual confusion is just too much, though the ghost parrying is a neat idea.

@broodwars Yeah, the robot is a major pain in the ass. I think the regular mode difficulty is kind of overblown, but the first stage of the robot and the dragon were definitely chokepoints for me. Part of the issue with the robot is that there's really poor visual feedback for the "shrink" function.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on January 23, 2018, 03:22:28 PM
While I have no particular exposure to Persona Dungeons or structure, something I would note about TMS' dungeon design is that it is more or less all the content of the game. The hubs are extremely small and there's very little NPC interaction to be had, so their extended structure and length seems justified. Maybe that isn't the case with P5.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 23, 2018, 04:27:33 PM
While I have no particular exposure to Persona Dungeons or structure, something I would note about TMS' dungeon design is that it is more or less all the content of the game. The hubs are extremely small and there's very little NPC interaction to be had, so their extended structure and length seems justified. Maybe that isn't the case with P5.

Yeah, P5 has a much more elaborate town structure than TMS has. The way that P5 likes to break its dungeons into 3rds, each of which requires you to complete 3 puzzles in a room or hallway broken into 3 chunks just reminds me of TMS' dungeon design.

In TMS' defense, what takes so long there is that battles take 5x longer than they need to because of all the session chaining.

In the previous 2 Persona games, these dungeons were randomly generated hallways & rooms without puzzles. You just explored & slaughtered through them to the end. P5, however, has set layouts with elaborate puzzle or sleuthing sections.

For example, one of the later dungeons had me going through a spaceport, which was divided into a Barracks, a Factory, & a series of airlocks to reach the final room.

To get into the factory, you had to go through 3 sets of interlocking hallways & rooms in the Barracks, gathering clues to determine which larger enemy to take out for a key. You then move into the next set where you backtrack through both areas doing the same thing. You then move into the LAST set where you do it all over again.

Then you gain access to the factory, where you try to cross 3 sets of conveyor belts by stopping, destroying, & crossing presses & work arms.

Then you gain access to the airlocks, which are 3 sets of switch-based mazes with doors opening & closing depending on how you enter them & which switches are flicked.

ALL THIS for one dungeon, and if you want to play efficiently you're doing this in ONE 4-5 hour run, with NO resupply. And that's not taking into account the time you lose when a new enemy party-wipes you. It's pure tedium.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 24, 2018, 09:31:17 AM
Rocket league like any sports or game has a learning curve. I find the problem for me beyond me sucking is the high level play is absurd. With other sports after learning the rules and playing some games you get an idea of what is happening so when you watch a pro game you have a feel for it.

Not so with RL, it feels BS with flying turbo boost. That aspect of the game is pretty much useless to me as even in the tutorial I barely managed to execute any reasonable moves and that require a lot of repetition just to do it once. It lacks the easy to start, hard to master. It's more stupid hard to start, disgustingly horrible to even consider mastering. Win or lose you don't know why.

It also lacks any sort of skill transfer in or out. Whatever you know about driving or piloting is inapplicable to this game.


So....bear in mind i'm roughly gold rank after probably a good thousand hours in Rocket league between PS4 and PC, so definitely not top tier.  But mastering flying boost is something IMO that is much less important than figuring out good field positioning, the right time to be aggressive vs when to try and counter your opponent, and if you're playing 2s or 3s - proper cycling of offense and defense positions. 


Really, you see these gifs online of air ballers flying the ball all the way across the field, I think that represents the top 1% of players.  I think if you work on the above, as well as figure out enough of flight to hit air balls towards the goal or make saves, you'll be in good shape.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on January 24, 2018, 05:38:48 PM
The game fails to live up to my expectations, but those expectations were based entirely off nostalgia for the original - which probably wouldn't hold up all that well today if I were to play it.
It makes some sense, the sequel has a different feel to it so I can see how a fan of the first game would be disappointed in it. Myself, I never played either game when I was a kid, so I had no expectations for them.

One thing I'll say though is that the story is probably better in the first game, though it doesn't really bother me. Some of the events in the sequel skew more towards a forced ripoff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on January 25, 2018, 01:28:14 PM
So....bear in mind i'm roughly gold rank after probably a good thousand hours in Rocket league between PS4 and PC, so definitely not top tier.  But mastering flying boost is something IMO that is much less important than figuring out good field positioning, the right time to be aggressive vs when to try and counter your opponent, and if you're playing 2s or 3s - proper cycling of offense and defense positions. 


Really, you see these gifs online of air ballers flying the ball all the way across the field, I think that represents the top 1% of players.  I think if you work on the above, as well as figure out enough of flight to hit air balls towards the goal or make saves, you'll be in good shape.


Positioning is so key in Rocket League, but most people just want to be the dude after the ball. And most matches end up being like a children's soccer game. Everyone running after the ball. Once you start to recognize the angles the ball takes once it goes into a corner you can start to learn where you need to be to score goals or to have key scoring chances.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 26, 2018, 09:01:54 AM
So....bear in mind i'm roughly gold rank after probably a good thousand hours in Rocket league between PS4 and PC, so definitely not top tier.  But mastering flying boost is something IMO that is much less important than figuring out good field positioning, the right time to be aggressive vs when to try and counter your opponent, and if you're playing 2s or 3s - proper cycling of offense and defense positions. 


Really, you see these gifs online of air ballers flying the ball all the way across the field, I think that represents the top 1% of players.  I think if you work on the above, as well as figure out enough of flight to hit air balls towards the goal or make saves, you'll be in good shape.


Positioning is so key in Rocket League, but most people just want to be the dude after the ball. And most matches end up being like a children's soccer game. Everyone running after the ball. Once you start to recognize the angles the ball takes once it goes into a corner you can start to learn where you need to be to score goals or to have key scoring chances.


You're not wrong about the way others play.  That said, unlike Overwatch, even if your teammates aren't playing well, you playing this role well and positioning yourself for good counter-hits CAN swing the momentum of a match.   
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 26, 2018, 10:37:56 AM
Nearing the end of P5 (11/27), and thankfully the Casino dungeon was a LOT more enjoyable (and shorter) than the preceding dungeons. The story does a lot of cheating in regards to its reveal of the Killer this time, but it kind of works.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 29, 2018, 03:24:38 PM
After toying-around with the beta, and in spite of not being a big Anime fan, I picked up Dragonball FighterZZZZZZZZZ on Steam.  I've been in a drought for fighting games since I was disappointed with Street Fighter V, and REALLY didn't like how Marvel v. Capcom: Infinite felt, as well as how ugly the characters kind of seemed, everything just felt like a step back from 3.


For starters, this game is beautiful.  The characters are stunning, vibrant, and all look the closest to their Anime counterparts that I have ever seen in a video game.  The attacks all look great, and are just as flashy and exaggerated as you'd want them to be.  The backgrounds are a little more hit-or-miss in how chunky or drab things look, but it's really only noticeable when you're not moving, which is extremely rare.  Regarding sound, the announcer is energetic and excited without being annoying, the effects match what I recall from the show, and the voice actors from what I hear pretty much sound the same as I remember (outside of kid Gohan, VA change?), so if they aren't all original, they're a close enough analogue.


Gameplay-wise, with the caveat that I'm not a pro fighter, this game feels like the Marvel v. Capcom I've been missing since 2.  The movement is frantic without being overwhelming.  The special moves seem to be mostly constrained to Hadouken-type quarter circles, and there are both traditional move chains or a pre-set combo you can play by hitting one button repeatedly (although the damaged received by this is less than doing it proper).   There are block-breakers, combos you can chain by tagging in your other players, and cancels that all feel useful in their own way. 


Here's my only real grievances - the story mode and the way lobbies are set-up.  The story mode is a flimsy map you have to make selections across to encounter various battles prior to particular map points that enact a story beat.  It acts as an ok tutorial, but it has an awful lot of bloat IMO and not worth it.  The writing seems like they're working real hard to make fun of themselves quite a bit, which is not quite what I was looking for as someone who hasn't been engaged in this franchise in a while.  I'll go to Dragonball Z Abridged if I want to see someone make jabs at DBZ. 


Regarding the lobbies - rather than being assigned a lobby when you first login, the game makes you select one.  One of the problems is that the game seems awfully popular (or they didn't plan for this many people), so you have to select from a list of lobbies to get logged-in, often times being full before you're able to select it.  I'd really appreciate just having an option to just select a mode/match type rather than have to go through their Chibi world to do so. 


Those are really minor quibbles compared to what I've experienced of the game.  Super happy with it so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 31, 2018, 02:28:44 AM
I've beaten Persona 5. My game clock sits at 98 hours. This game would have been twice as good if it were 40-50 hours shorter. The game's full of padding, both in the dungeon crawling & in the lengthy plot conversations scenes that often spend the better part of 10 minutes going nowhere & saying nothing interesting. I still like the game overall, but it's in some ways both the strongest of the P3-era Persona games... and the weakest.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 31, 2018, 11:49:48 PM
After listening to Shantae podcast with creator of a game and how much work it was to make it all work on 8-bit machine, i remembered first Gameboy Color game is on sale for 3DS and so i bought it.

Matt Bozon talking about technical tricks they did to overcome GBC restriction was compelling to me because i actually was reading up on NES development out of curiosity this week. Really neat stuff all around.

But the reason what pushed to look into NES development because i am playing a "programming game" TIS-100 which is basically a CPU and in many respects it's super constraints and you have to do similar insane tricks to make it all fit to execute problems game asks of you. So i wanted to see how my experience of compressing and re-using the code of TIS-100 compares to developers' of earlier 8-bit machines.

So i played some Shantae and it's a very neat game, but the opening level is definitely pointless big as Bozon admits. Pixel art and animations are cute.

As always Binding of Isaac is a mainstay, last time i checked i have over 500 hours on Switch port. I just play a daily game to reach "beat 30 dailies" achievement and unlock "Broken Modem" item.

My "main" game these days is Punch-Out for NES. I bought the game for 3DS and also play it on retroachievements (http://retroachievements.org/user/azeke) emulator. Yesterday i finally beat Mr. Sandman for the first time. It took me like a week to learn how to dodge his series of super fast uppercuts from left-right.

Other games i played are:

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on February 04, 2018, 09:53:07 AM
Plan on getting a Switch this year so going on a farewell tour with the original Mario Kart 8 lately. Glad to see things are still pretty active online despite Deluxe's release.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: JollyRogger92 on February 09, 2018, 07:15:51 AM
After watching some Persona 5 on cohh twitch channel i decided to buy the game - I really liked the plot and wanted to try it out myself. I was worried that the game would incomprehensible to someone who has never played and knows nothing about any Persona game, but I'm doing perfectly fine for the first few hours of the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on February 11, 2018, 12:25:19 PM
So.

Darksiders.

I plan on doing a much more substantial write-up for this series in the long run, but I'm playing Warmastered Edition for Wii U after having played the Deathinitive Edition maybe... gosh, three or four years ago? I wasn't too keen on that game, but I've since warmed up to the series because there's nothing else really like it out there, and the difficulty is surprisingly satisfying. Dodge mechanics are great, the puzzles are straightforward but there's plenty of side content to be exploited, and the second game has a great alternate weapon system, in particular.

So I booted up Warmastered as was immediately like "oh right, this was the first game." There's some pretty bizarre choices here, as the tutorials teach you to dodge before blocking, because the first set of mid-tier enemies you encounter have unblockable attacks. It sort of weirds me out that you would choose to do this in an action-adventure game, but then I remembered ultimately Darksiders doesn't really know what it wants to be. Is it character action? Well, there are launchers, but the aerial combos are pretty awful from the opening because they leave you vulnerable to attack. There's a combo meter, but it really doesn't contribute to any sort of rank or reward system. There are parry mechanics, but the window for execution is very long. The low-tier enemies can be instant killed with a single input. So if that's not what it wants to be, then is it an action-adventure akin to Zelda? Eh, kind of. There's a lot of telegraphing that goes on in the puzzle design that doesn't encourage player thought, but there are some side-puzzles that are kind of neat and open up new rooms and such. The dungeon design is pretty painfully linear, and so far, the inventory additions have been a bit rote and bland. The game's boomerang is neat, though.

So what is Darksiders, really? Well, I think it's simply a game that has one foot in a pool of character action and the other in action adventure. Neither is particularly outstanding, but they also aren't offensive. The narrative is just dumb, so you certainly shouldn't be playing it for that. There's some mythology and I can respect the series for going all in with regards to aesthetic and world-building, but there's little of real substance. There's a lot of in-game currency to be had, and most of it is spent on unlocking further combo chains for combat, but the way the weapon level-up system works is a bit ass-backwards and doesn't promote neat combination attacks. I'm certainly going to beat the game, but there's a lot of potential here that feels untapped in ways that the sequel partly improved, but also ignored.

Also, I'm hoping Darksiders 3 comes to Switch so I can ruthlessly critique that, as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on February 11, 2018, 03:01:34 PM
I was worried that the game would incomprehensible to someone who has never played and knows nothing about any Persona game, but I'm doing perfectly fine for the first few hours of the game.


I remember having the same concerns before trying out Tokyo Mirage Sessions (which is a sort of Persona spin-off), but yeah it turned out the entry barrier was pretty low after all! With the exception of Xenoblade and possibly Monster Hunter I feel like many JRPGs lately have started to make real strides when it comes to accessiblity for newcomers.


So.

Darksiders.


Looking forward to reading more extensive impressions. I got Darksiders Warmastered in a recent sale as well. Haven't booted it up yet, but it looked both intensely dumb (hate the overdesigned characters) as well as kinda fun (again in a stupid way). Have heard the Zelda comparison before though so I won't start it for a while still, since I'm about a quarter way into Breath of the Wild and will probably want a break after that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 19, 2018, 07:45:22 PM
So I really enjoyed Boom Blox on Wii. It was simple, but well executed and felt like they packed in as much content as possible around the key concept of knocking over a tower of blocks.  So I was curious to see how Boom Blox Bash Party (also Wii) would improve on the formula since it received higher ratings.


Initially, things seemed pretty normal. A few new concepts thrown in, and it felt like they lost focus somewhere along the way because there was a lot of time spent on ideas that weren't as good or "pure" as they focused on in the original. Then I got to the UFO levels, where you have to knock over blocks before UFOs can steal them. I'm not saying the entire game is garbage, but enough of the levels in there fit that description that my interest in playing further has been absolutely murdered.


Normally I won't abandon a game after getting more than 75% finished. Bash Party did it, though. Recommendation? Stick to the original game, or bring this one out just when you want to try the multiplayer.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on February 23, 2018, 12:44:56 PM
So I was curious to see how Boom Blox Bash Party (also Wii) would improve on the formula since it received higher ratings.

Initially, things seemed pretty normal. A few new concepts thrown in, and it felt like they lost focus somewhere along the way because there was a lot of time spent on ideas that weren't as good or "pure" as they focused on in the original.
Interesting you would say that, as I felt the sequel did a mostly good job avoiding the types of levels which felt borderline broken in the original Boom Blox. Not to say there aren't still some with frustrating mechanics, but on the whole the level design felt a lot more solid to me. Though, I still find both games to be lacking overall, but I liked the sequel better.

0 for 3 now, yikes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on February 23, 2018, 08:30:05 PM
I would love a new Boom Blox on Switch. Those were great party games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 24, 2018, 09:37:13 AM
Put some time into Axiom Verge on Switch. It’s basically Metroid.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 26, 2018, 02:27:04 AM
Assassin's Creed: Original! (PC):

So I'd sworn off  this series after really disliking Unity, and as part of a general determination to not waste my time with these treadmill open world games. But I just got off a long work project and had a hard hankering for a big old bloated AAA western studio game, and Origins was really well received, and well . . .

I'm like 12 hours in. I kind of hate it and also find something deeply satisfying about fucking with a big checklist, quest marker-chasing game like this after having avoided it for two years.

-Positive: It looks really good on medium-high settings and runs shockingly well on my mid-range Acer laptop. I actually only pulled the trigger with the idea that it wouldn't even be playable. I think I've got it at 720, but my screen is two feet from my face and I don't even notice.

-Negative: The game isn't really fun to play on a moment-to-moment level. Everything basically works, though your character feels a bit like a hunk of meat you're throwing around, and the lack of a sprint function on either foot or camel gives things an overly sluggish feel, especially when the game in so massive and involves so much running back and forth between objectives.

-Positive: I was really not enjoying the opening sections, and I stopped to just ride a camel across most of the map, and there was something weirdly impressive and satisfying about it, and it kind of smoothed out the "come up" of engaging with the game.

-Negative: Egypt is kinda boring, predictably. Only a few small low-height urban areas, lots and lots of desert with absolutely nothing in it (realistic!), many copy-and-paste riverside farming areas, 95% stupid bandit camps and military forts.

-Positive: No more climbing futzing, which reached a nadir with Unity!

-Negative: They solved the climbing problem by basically just wrapping a climbing mesh on everything. Outside of the occasional pillar or unique object, the world feels like it's made of some chintzy sub-fabric that you can generically scramble around on. Nothing like the actual platforming and climbing puzzles of the Ezio games remains, and it really takes meat out of the experience.

-Positive: There's lots to do, and they manage to sift around sidequests and generally funnel progress in a way that takes you through most of the points of interest.

-Negative: There are very few types of activities. Investigations are a joke, and almost all missions end up killing bandits or otherwise engaging in combat.

-Positive: There's a cut-away with a rowing galley ship in the Aegian Sea that makes me wish I was playing a Mediterranean 0 BC Black Flag instead.

-Negative: Stealth options feel very gimped, and it feels futile to try to approach most situations this way given the general design and geography. So it's combat focused with all the weapons and everything, but it manages to feel very shallow and annoyingly resistive at the same time (a different mix from the equally bad Unity combat).

-Positive: They got rid of the awful Unity garter belts-and-wristband armor system and just reduced everything down to basic attributes like armor, attack strength, and quiver size.

-Negative: This involves an annoying crafting and loot system that I'd really rather just not have to pay attention to and earn upgrades through actual game tasks. But alas

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 16, 2018, 02:17:25 AM
As promised:

Celeste (PC):

So I saw this get some heat and checked it out because I hadn't played a challenge platformer in a while. I found it complexly insufferable. On a handling level, it's technically okay. I think it mis-apprehends the sense of weight and precarity that made Super Meat Boy so good. The cling mechanic lends a weird constipation to the flow of the platforming. The centerpiece boost mechanic is I think fundamentally not a good core platforming tool. The directional inputs are too fiddly and the constant jolt of rigid movement (with its own timer) doesn't work for me in a twitchy context. Add to that, the levels are very long and uneven, with occasional grating gimmicks. And there's a super-cringy fadora-emo narrative that frequently intrudes. I kind of hate it.

The End is Nigh (PC):

Somehow despite loving Super Meat Boy I lost track of this one, until playing Celeste and wanting to cleanse my palate. It makes an intriguing decision to maintain the general feel and exhilarating air control of SMB, but takes away wall jumps. In the place of wall jumping there's an edge grip mechanic that facilitates different kinds of jumping and space engagement. It might sound minor in the abstract, but it leads to a significantly different experience, extenuated by a branching world-scoped level structure instead of the microshots of SMB. I would say it feels a bit "small" for some reason, but it plays like a dream and I managed to beat the final Nevermore chapter. Which was facilitated by a brilliant engagement system in the form of collectible tumors and carts. You can collect a tumor in every level, and it turns out that these are a life cap in the "dark world". The retro challenge carts, if you can beat them, give you a pool of lives on top of this for the crowning sequence. Plus there are some extra-dick hard cartridges you can do if you really want to hurt yourself. There's a pleasing sense of humanity to completing this game that wasn't present enough in SMB, in which Cotton Alley mocks, even if you beat the dark world version of the main game.

I can see complaints about the black and white art style of the game; I think it meshes with the irino-grim perspective and manages to communicate everything it needs to (and contrast is a significant element of the "hunting secrets" part of the game), but you know maybe some color wouldn't have hurt.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on March 16, 2018, 08:09:21 PM

So I really enjoyed Boom Blox on Wii. It was simple, but well executed and felt like they packed in as much content as possible around the key concept of knocking over a tower of blocks.  So I was curious to see how Boom Blox Bash Party (also Wii) would improve on the formula since it received higher ratings.


Amusingly I just finished this up recently as well. We must have been the only people on Earth playing Boom Blox 2 in 2018 haha. Didn't do all of the bonus levels for basically the same reasons you named.

I never played the first one, but yeah didn't really like this one. It has that weird thing going on where it feels curiously MORE dated than many Gamecube releases. The presentation with its still images and low-tier animation are a bit on the lazy side and the whole thing just looks really rough and a bit garish.

I'm glad many people had fun with this series back in the Wii heydays, and I'll even admit the multiplayer was mildly amusing for half an hour. But on the whole it's a functional, but pretty flawed experience. Two stars.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on March 17, 2018, 12:19:43 AM
Let's give a bit of an update, shall we?

I find Darksiders: Warmastered Edition to be painfully tedious. You know what would be neat? If the combo counter in the game meant anything. That would encourage me to play a lot more aggressive/careful instead of slapping on the life-leech enhancement onto the sword and going to town.

I got the Hookshot, which ended up contributing to the dungeon and boss battle that felt the best realized out of all those I've seen in the game so far. Most of the dungeons have a derelict, post-apocalyptic feel, but this one in particular is pretty different from the others in terms of aesthetic and design. There's a fair bit of backtracking in it, as well, although that doesn't necessarily mean dungeons are interconnected in any sort of non-linear fashion. I'll definitely get into this in a later, more wordy analysis, but for a combat-oriented, heavily linear Zelda-like, it's inoffensive, but it's just so bland and tedious that it's hard to get through.

So, in the meantime, I've returned to Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

I absolutely adore this game, although in reality, it's a far cry from a strategy game. Yes, you can experiment with your team setup and loadout in order to take on levels in different ways, but from a certain point in the narrative onward, it is pretty evident what members will be of most use to you. In truth, the game doesn't really let you play with options until you go out of your way to obtain all of the hidden gears in each level, as the last boiler that it unlocks adds incredible utility to any wearer that it really opens things up. Likewise, there is a steep currency grind in order to unlock all of the weapons, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to equip some of the support members with useful weaponry until you've put a fair dent into that amount.

Some people say that Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is too hard. Those people are dumb. The game is extremely generous with how it lets you deal with enemies, and the only area where I would say it gets relatively punishing is when it throws large amounts of overwatch-immune enemies at you. Which is like, in three maps. There's plenty of strategy to be found, but if you want to maximize your currency gain, you have to play the levels in a rather conservative manner, which the game doesn't appreciate. People seem to have an issue with how enemies continuously spawn in this game, but I don't understand why- they offer more currency, and often go down in a hit or two.

There's so many mechanics that are really fantastic, here: overwatch is nothing new, but it works well, the stun mechanics are great, the passive abilities are underrated (and a great way to buff your team for the skirmish), weapon types have great variety and utility, and movement is super fun. I wish more people had taken the time to check this game out, as it's hard to find anyone online, which is a whole other aspect of the title.

Oh yeah, and you pilot a train that transforms into a GIANT MECHANICAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on March 17, 2018, 07:00:17 PM
I'm at the point in Toki Tori 2 where things really open up. It's a really good gane to have on the switch and just pick up before bed to chip away at.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 18, 2018, 11:16:45 AM
I've been playing a ton of Nioh on the PS4 after the complete edition was on sale for about $25 on PSN a few weeks back. The game has some serious storytelling problems, but I'm finding the combat very satisfying. Like Bloodborne, the game really emphasizes aggressive combos & stance changes over defense & evasion. The level-based format also really allows the game to have wildly divergent locations without having to worry about how they all link up.

The big downside to all this, though, is that the game's sidequests largely re-use locations from the main campaign, in many cases multiple times. This can lead to the game feeling a bit repetitive. The game also focuses way more on loot acquisition & management than I care for in this type of game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on March 21, 2018, 10:40:49 PM
Since my job has moved back into our old building, old rules are back where we have a ban on devices that record or potentially connect to the internet. This leaves out my 3DS, but I dug out my GBA SP & since the jerk boss that banned that for no reason no longer works here, we're back in action! With only a 30min lunch, I've been leaving the deeper games at home. Still...

Metal Slug Advance- Apparently using actual controllers on Wii & PC have spoiled me because I'm struggling on the first boss of this game when I know I got further than this back when I first got it.

Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo- Still don't like the game, still suck at it, but until I can find where I put Kirby's Star Stacker...

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 22, 2018, 08:44:19 AM
... dug out my GBA ...


Nice!  GBA was such a sweet little console. I've still got my much-loved GBA Micro downstairs with the Final Fantasy ports and Atari Advance, just waiting for a good reason to bring it out again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on March 23, 2018, 09:03:49 AM
Monster Hunter: World is great.  You should play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 23, 2018, 10:55:23 AM
Monster Hunter: World is great.  You should play it.

I would, but there's too much expensive other stuff coming out right now (No No Kuni 2 just came out, along with Burnout Paradise, and I still have My Hero Academia S2 & God of War in April). I probably won't be able to afford it till May, let alone have time for it.

Finished Nioh. That game gets super loot-grindy in New Game+ & the DLC in a way that really doesn't click with me. The game overall is excellent, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on March 23, 2018, 10:59:42 AM
Monster Hunter: World is great.  You should play it.

I would, but there's too much expensive other stuff coming out right now (No No Kuni 2 just came out, along with Burnout Paradise, and I still have My Hero Academia S2 & God of War in April). I probably won't be able to afford it till May, let alone have time for it.


Understandable.  I'm waiting on Burnout Paradise til I can find it for $20.  Still undecided on God of War, but the gameplay trailers have looked better than I expected it to.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 18, 2018, 03:01:23 PM
Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiWare) has been on my "should play" list for ages, but I never seemed to get more than an hour or two into the game before being interrupted and moving to something else.  Finally sat down long enough to get into the game, and kicking myself for not doing it earlier because I'm having lots of fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 20, 2018, 10:32:04 PM
Monster Hunter: World is great.  You should play it.

I would, but there's too much expensive other stuff coming out right now (No No Kuni 2 just came out, along with Burnout Paradise, and I still have My Hero Academia S2 & God of War in April). I probably won't be able to afford it till May, let alone have time for it.


Understandable.  I'm waiting on Burnout Paradise til I can find it for $20.  Still undecided on God of War, but the gameplay trailers have looked better than I expected it to.

Put a few hours into God of War tonight before I had to put it down out of fatigue, and...yeah...it's excellent, and the press who rushed to put out spoiler-rific headlines on their websites & social media feeds to farm clicks (namely USGamer), can go **** themselves.

I've mainly been playing Ni No Kuni 2 &...yes, Monster Hunter World.

Ni No Kuni 2 is good, but it has no real surprises whatsoever. The plot plays out pretty much exactly as you think it would, the characters are so one-dimensional they make the cast from the first game look nuanced by comparison, and the game is incredibly...stupidly...easy. That said, it's a very comfortable game to play, something you can just throw in & relax with for a few hours. And while I have issues with how blurry the edges of the character models are, the game does have fantastic art direction.

As for Monster Hunter World, I've put over 40 hours into it, and it's really not my thing. The big weak point is the combat, which feels clumsy & random next to games like Bloodborne or Nioh. It doesn't help that the lock-on camera actually makes combat worse by not locking your character into a dueling stance. It feels like you spend 90% of your time chasing after a monster, you mash away at it and watch meaningless numbers fly by (because there's no indication of what kind of damage you're doing relative to the monster's health pool), the monster runs away, wash, rinse, repeat.

The setpiece battles are nice, and I feel like I could really get into this game if it wasn't so clunky.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on April 22, 2018, 03:34:44 AM
Dammit ejamer now you got me doing it!

Shantae: Risky's Revenge(Director's Cut) - Steam

As fun as this game is, one part reaffirms my dislike of coffee. I know I have one of the sequels from the WiiU eshop. If I ever finish this, I should give that a go one of these days.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 22, 2018, 06:32:42 AM
Dammit ejamer now you got me doing it!

Shantae: Risky's Revenge(Director's Cut) - Steam

As fun as this game is, one part reaffirms my dislike of coffee. I know I have one of the sequels from the WiiU eshop. If I ever finish this, I should give that a go one of these days.


Awesome!  I just finished Risky's Revenge, and definitely enjoyed it. It's a short experience, and only took about 6 hours playing at a very leisurely (and often interrupted) pace.


There are a couple of fetch-questy moments that could have been annoying, but didn't bother me at all. Maybe playing lots of retro games helped, since as I always seemed to find just what I was looking for without any trouble. In one case I even had all the golden MacGuffins before they were even requested.


Hope you enjoy the game as much as I did!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 22, 2018, 08:58:14 AM
Monster Hunter: World is great.  You should play it.

I would, but there's too much expensive other stuff coming out right now (No No Kuni 2 just came out, along with Burnout Paradise, and I still have My Hero Academia S2 & God of War in April). I probably won't be able to afford it till May, let alone have time for it.


Understandable.  I'm waiting on Burnout Paradise til I can find it for $20.  Still undecided on God of War, but the gameplay trailers have looked better than I expected it to.

As for Monster Hunter World, I've put over 40 hours into it, and it's really not my thing. The big weak point is the combat, which feels clumsy & random next to games like Bloodborne or Nioh. It doesn't help that the lock-on camera actually makes combat worse by not locking your character into a dueling stance. It feels like you spend 90% of your time chasing after a monster, you mash away at it and watch meaningless numbers fly by (because there's no indication of what kind of damage you're doing relative to the monster's health pool), the monster runs away, wash, rinse, repeat.

The setpiece battles are nice, and I feel like I could really get into this game if it wasn't so clunky.


Ah, sorry to hear that.  Yeah, the combat isn't as elegant as other series, but playing with friends, those set piece battles, and how your hunt can get entangled with other roaming beasts makes the game really feel fresh and dynamic in a way to me.  I actually thought this Monster Hunter game has a lot less time chasing down monsters than prior games I've played, but maybe it's just because each hunt's map isn't as segmented by load screens as prior games were.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 22, 2018, 10:34:34 AM
I'm about maybe 6 hours into Nier:Automata (PS4), and I'm really liking where it's going so far.  Since most podcasts I heard last year made it sound like the early parts of the games were slow/boring, I'm really pumped to see where the story takes me as I get deeper into it.


The gameplay is broken up into different parts.  The majority of it plays out like the original Devil May Cry, 3rd person action game, chain combos to kill enemies and timing dodges.  BUT, there are sequences where you jump into a small mech and the gameplay suddenly changes into a side-scrolling shooter.  None of these gameplay sequences are incredibly deep, but I enjoy them enough to where it hasn't gotten grating so far. 

There's just also been clearly a lot of thought put into small details of this game I appreciate.  Part of how you level up is by using slots in a bar on your menu to add certain ability chips.  BUT, part of that bar includes things from your HUD (life bar, exp bar, mini-map, sonar) so if you want to be really chancey, you can remove those slots to add extra buffs or abilities.  A really funny thing I encountered is that you can remove your "OS" chip, and that automatically kills you and acts as one of the many "endings" you can get to in the game

There's just a lot of funny little details like that I'm really appreciating in this game.  Given the buzz this game had last year, I'm looking forward to diving deeper into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on April 23, 2018, 10:14:58 AM
@ejamer

Just finished it & I did! Still some locked achievements, but I'm not worrying about all that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 26, 2018, 12:18:03 PM
I drilled down to ending A of Nier:Automata and started on story B this week.  Where you play as the android character 2B in the first run, you play as her partner 9S in the second.  Although you are playing through nearly the same story beats so far, his character has much different combat abilities, AND the player perspective of the actions you're taking through the game so far have shifted somewhat by the way his abilities interact with enemies and the additional snippets of information you're given through him. 


This game is sucking me in more than I anticipated, now i'm delaying progressing in the story further so I can seek out side quests, which so far from what I've seen also serve to flesh out some of the larger narratives as well (tried-and-true trope of "what makes us human", mostly).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 26, 2018, 01:26:37 PM
Man, Ni No Kuni 2 has absolutely no ambitions towards taking a single creative risk. *sigh* In CH. 9 (the Final Chapter), and it's so lacking in compelling motivation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on April 27, 2018, 08:16:35 AM
Man, Ni No Kuni 2 has absolutely no ambitions towards taking a single creative risk. *sigh* In CH. 9 (the Final Chapter), and it's so lacking in compelling motivation.


You speaking narratively, or gameplay-wise?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 27, 2018, 09:26:48 AM
Man, Ni No Kuni 2 has absolutely no ambitions towards taking a single creative risk. *sigh* In CH. 9 (the Final Chapter), and it's so lacking in compelling motivation.


You speaking narratively, or gameplay-wise?

Both, really. The gameplay is bog-standard JRPG outside of the Little King's Story-style RTS sections that are largely optional.

Meanwhile, the story is a 40 hour Care Bears movie. No edge to it whatsoever. Fluffy & tasteless.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shuford on April 28, 2018, 09:35:47 AM
I've been playing the new God of War, or Dad of War, as people are calling it lol. What a fantastic game. They outdid themselves this time. It pushes the boundaries of single-player game experiences, I truly believe that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on April 28, 2018, 08:52:18 PM
I'm happy to see how well Dad of War turned out. Definitely planning to pick up a PS4 for non-Switch titles after I graduate and this sounds like a great one to add to the pile.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on April 30, 2018, 11:56:37 PM
Outside of the "one-shot, no-cut camera" aspect, how exactly does Dad of War push any boundaries? I'm not trying to be snippy, because I haven't read a single review (save one, which was overly critical) that gives any other evidence outside of that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on May 01, 2018, 06:06:29 AM
I wouldn't expect much of an answer. I'm pretty sure Shuford is a spambot / shill account. Not the first time a spambot account has come in here and praised a game (and pretty sure it's always a non-Nintendo game which shows you how the other companies try to promote their stuff) that's a high profile release. Unfortunately, I can't find definitive proof of it or I'd ban it. E-mail seems pretty sketchy to me but other sites don't have it coming up in their databases as spam. But it is on topic and a coherent post so, as nickmitch has posted in a previous comic, I guess we're winning in the spambot battle. Hoo-ray.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on May 01, 2018, 10:47:16 AM
Yeah...I really like God of War 2018. To me, it's what Breath of the Wild should have been, with its linear-yet-open world design & heavy focus on story. But it's not really boundary-pushing. In fact, it reminds me of a very polished Darksiders 2.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on May 13, 2018, 01:47:50 PM
Okay so I already had no life to begin with but I decided to get into Minecraft PC version. The odds of me ever going back to work and moving back out on my own are next to zero now. Why is this game allowed to exist?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on May 13, 2018, 02:00:18 PM
Depending on what you are looking for there are much, much better games of that type than Minecraft out there. Most transcend being called a clone. When I last played MC on PC which I thankfully didn't have to pay for it was a buggy, unoptimised mess with no content. Go look for something that caters to your exact requirements then complain about having no life and crimes against humanity.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on May 13, 2018, 02:24:09 PM
I play the Sims also so there is that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on May 14, 2018, 07:11:22 PM
Depending on what you are looking for there are much, much better games of that type than Minecraft out there.
Out of curiosity, which ones do you have in mind?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 14, 2018, 09:39:38 PM
I have been writing impressions of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, tweeting out pictures of Etrian Odyssey and videos of Heart and Slash, and praising The Alliance Alive on ththe forums, so it may surprise some of you to hear that I’ve been slowly chipping through Resident Evil Revelations 2 in my free time.

I’m not the biggest Resi fan, but I did thoroughly enjoy my playthroughs of the Story and Raid Modes for the first Resident Evil Revelations, which was oddly episodic but not really in comparison with this game, which is very much episodic and weird. I would absolutely love to play this game co-operatively, as I think the dichotomy between the attack and support characters is really fun and different, the only problem is that the support characters are mostly useless in the story mode. They are best utilized when fighting clumps of enemies, but their lack of viability is truly evident during boss fights. The gameplay does manage to be rather evenly split, however, which is neat and fun and justifies the differences between the two characters.

I am in the latter half of the game, now, and while the story hasn’t been as fun or interesting as the first Revelations, I’ve enjoyed the variety present in the campaign. It’s not the best Resi I’ve played, but it works well enough to get a solid thumbs up from me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on May 14, 2018, 10:13:19 PM
If you want an increasingly advanced military industrial complex which promotes you automating almost everything with an end goal of calling down a satellite strike while defending yourself from attack? Fortress Craft Evolved.

Build war machines with near complete AI control to manually running the vehicle limited by your imagination, computing power and engineering skills? From the Depths.

Space Engineers for a far less combat focus which leans towards making badass mining machines by how it plays. Hence engineers.

Terraia for a killing things as the only goal in a 2D block environment. All the crafting and digging if just so you can better kill things so you can harvest them to kill more things. Did I miss that you kill things?

Starbound. The above but far less killing and lots more exploration. Has serious slowdown issues if you automate your home base production and requires some mods to get the most out of it.

All of the above are multiplayer ready.

If you have more generous restrictions.

Rimworld. Overhead 2D block environment where you play overseer to a bunch of crash survivors rather than building anything directly. Has end goal of get your ass to Mars off the planet to anywhere else. Or not. You can stay fighting off larger raids. Essentially a far, far more easily playable Dwarf Fortress.

Infinifactory to build a crazy assembly line to solve puzzles with 3D blocks. I highly recommend this if you like puzzles. There are multiple solutions each with three scores you can pursue. As long as you can assemble the item you can optimise to the bare minimum or make it as inefficient as you like.
That's just the ones I have played, own and would recommend with a caveat or two as noted. I am pretty sure you can find one that will meet your needs.

Exception: Dwarf Fortress. Due to the extreme learning curve(wall) it requires serious dedication to get anything out of it. It is very hard to recommend to just anybody as you really need the mindset to deal with it. It's a good game but I am just not willing to put that much effort to learn how to play.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on May 14, 2018, 10:33:50 PM
None of that sounds like how I play Minecraft. Creative mode, I play god. I start with a blank world. Build mountains, brick by brick, then rivers, then forests. Then when I am in the mood, towns. After I get bored I destroy it all and start over. No online ever. I don't play any game online hate it, not skilled enough so never any fun. I hate dying a thousand times then being called noob for sucking. No thanks.

I also play Sim City similarly but it's not as open ended as Minecfraft. I created a map once, populated it with villages, forest mansions, etc., then flooded the whole world, brick by brick Noah's arc style. Then I did he same thing, with lava. Yeah, I uh, have no life.

I do play Harvest Moon games too but I don't have access to any of my consoles for the near future.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on May 14, 2018, 10:51:53 PM
If you want to paint with blocks in 3D MC is pretty much the OG choice. If you want more you need something other than MC or it's direct clones or available mods.

I don't like MC because it is so goalless. I am plenty imaginative just not in a directly artistically. Think more art from adversity and engineering needs. Doesn't help I can't draw a damn and don't find much pleasure in making art for the sake of it.

When I say multiplayer ready it mean you can do so, not that you should or must. They all play great on singleplayer. Some have creative modes. MC is multiplayer ready if you didn't know.

I forgot Factorio. Build a MIC is overhead 2D with the result functioning and looking like a computer chip.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on May 14, 2018, 11:41:11 PM
yeah cool sounds like we're playing it for different experiences. Cool suggestions, and yes I am well aware of Minecraft being multiplayer, it reminds me that every time I log in.

I could also point out that I don't really play the Sims. I just like creating new Sims and dressing them up in cute outfits. I usually do the same in RPG's with character customization. I spend all my time creating the perfect character, then play for a few minutes, usually a half an hour or so get bored and start over.

The only traditional video game I play regularly is Super Mario World, usually run through that twice a week.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on May 21, 2018, 11:52:49 PM
Wizard of Legend feels pretty good in handheld more on Switch. I'm still pretty bad at the game, I've only gotten past the 1st world boss once in my 10 runs, but I'm still getting the hang of it and trying to optimize my loadout. But the combat feels pretty satisfying and the boss fights are very good. Also I'm still pretty wear overall so I still need to grind for better equipment
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on May 26, 2018, 10:16:20 PM
I just reinstalled Fallout New Vegas. I bought it brand new when it came out and then never played it.  I also bought the Assasin's Creed collection but I lost the CD and can't for the life of me remember if it was tied to an account or not, if so which account. It clearly wasn't Steam or Origin because I would have found it in my library. I didn't have GoG.com back then and it's not showing up in my library there either. If I don't find the CD I might turn to shadier methods cuz I am not rebuying I game I already paid for.

I was playing New Vegas and it just closed on me no warning. I think it was because while I was playing I had Fortnite downloading in the background and it must have kicked me out.

I also finally redeemed my Windows 10 copy of Minecraft. Without sounding like I am too obsessed, I did like this version better than the Java version but honestly at this point they're all about the same experience. The only one I truly despise is Pocket Edition.

I also updated Pokemon Go for the first time since I moved. This town is so small they have 2 pokestops. Both are on opposite ends of the town. It's not a big deal, I don't mind walking to the post office most days (plus need the exercise) but it's a very big hill so most days I just drive. I know I need to start getting back in shape, it's just hard to get motivated to do anything these days.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on May 26, 2018, 11:59:02 PM
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

So yeah, looks like IGA finally got to do the Castlevania 3 remake he always wanted to.  This is basically like Mega Man 9 for Castlevania, except under a different name so Konami can't sue.  The level design is exactly what you'd expect from a pre-SOTN Castlevania and in some cases almost feels like they copy and pasted from Dracula Curse.  The controls and gameplay for 3 of the characters is also nearly copy and pasted from Dracula's Curse as well.

But hey, I'm not complaining.  As a big fan of the pre-SOTN games, I'm really enjoying it since it's literally like playing a new version of Dracula's Curse so it's all good to me.  I beat the Normal mode and unlocked Nightmare and it looks like there's another mode to unlock as well, which I'm guessing I'll get after beating Nightmare.  So for 10 dollars I'd say it's certainly a great value for anyone that's a fan of the older pre-SOTN Castlevania games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on May 27, 2018, 05:13:50 PM
I’m waiting for my Kickstarter code for Curse of the Moon on Switch. I gave the temporary Steam code to my brother. I’m glad to hear it’s good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on May 30, 2018, 10:15:53 AM
I'm a bit shocked there's no actual thread for this game, but I managed to snag Mario and Rabies: Kingdom BWAHtle physically for half price. While I am all about supporting the developers, I wasn't sure if I would love this one despite the very solid reviews so I wanted to be tentative with my purchase. As it turns out, I'll likely spend the difference picking up the DLC for this game.

I'm about three-fourths of the way through the main story, with only Yoshi left to unlock, and I'm very pleased with the game, so far. The maps are very varied and have great vertical structure, the enemy types are well-established and build upon themselves in new and meaningful ways. The variety in mission objectives is nice too, and can often shed light on what sort of team makeup the player needs to consider utilizing. The only aspect I wasn't too keen on were boss fights, as several of them either introduce new mechanics or have very gimmicky abilities not seen elsewhere, and never truly display their health bar in full. The movement mechanics are great, but I was hoping more characters would utilize the stomp jump ability more, as that has very clear ties to the Mario universe. The differences in weaponry and ability make both Mario and Luigi stand out, however, while some other characters get a bit lost in the shuffle. The character archetypes are quite unique.

That being said, I'm not at the end yet, but depending on what kind of battle I face, my teams are:
Distance/Raw Damage/Long Battles: Mario/Luigi/Rabbid Luigi
Escorts: Mario/Peach/Rabbid Mario
Bosses: Mario/Luigi/Rabbid Peach
Wizard of Legend feels pretty good in handheld more on Switch. I'm still pretty bad at the game, I've only gotten past the 1st world boss once in my 10 runs, but I'm still getting the hang of it and trying to optimize my loadout. But the combat feels pretty satisfying and the boss fights are very good. Also I'm still pretty wear overall so I still need to grind for better equipment
I've reached, but never defeated, the third tier boss several times. If you're looking to get far, I recommend Aegis Shield very strongly, as well as a basic or Signature AoE. I often run Relic discount as my starting equipment in order to pick up as much equipment as possible, though for a while I was rocking the Grit Cloak and defense boosting relic.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 01, 2018, 01:25:52 AM
I've rolled credits on Detroit: Become Human, and...wow, that was actually pretty exceptional. I've had a mixed history with David Cage's games. I liked Heavy Rain, but it had some pretty terrible writing & that plot twist at the ending makes no sense whatsoever. Beyond: 2 Souls had some spectacular setpieces, but the way it told the story out of order meant that your choices never actually meant anything since the devs couldn't guarantee a linear progression of events. It also had some really stupid QTE design.

Detroit feels like a refinement on Heavy Rain, both in terms of controls & pacing. The game flips between protagonists every chapter, and it does a great job of keeping the momentum going. It also helps that...outside of one critical plot element that is never explained, the 3 plot lines are well-written despite falling back on cliche from time to time. The game has countless branching points that I could see leading to a great deal of replayability. The game will often stick you in a situation where it presents you with 4-5 things to do, and it only allows you time to select 2 or 3 of them, and the game keeps track of that. It also tell you it keeps track of that via the in-game flow chart.
Aside from a bit at the end where one of my earlier choices doomed a few of my characters to die that felt really cheap (I certainly rectified that once I rolled credits), I came away from this game quite satisfied. Highly recommended.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 01, 2018, 09:41:11 AM
I've rolled credits on Detroit: Become Human, and...wow, that was actually pretty exceptional. I've had a mixed history with David Cage's games. I liked Heavy Rain, but it had some pretty terrible writing & that plot twist at the ending makes no sense whatsoever. Beyond: 2 Souls had some spectacular setpieces, but the way it told the story out of order meant that your choices never actually meant anything since the devs couldn't guarantee a linear progression of events. It also had some really stupid QTE design.

Detroit feels like a refinement on Heavy Rain, both in terms of controls & pacing. The game flips between protagonists every chapter, and it does a great job of keeping the momentum going. It also helps that...outside of one critical plot element that is never explained, the 3 plot lines are well-written despite falling back on cliche from time to time. The game has countless branching points that I could see leading to a great deal of replayability. The game will often stick you in a situation where it presents you with 4-5 things to do, and it only allows you time to select 2 or 3 of them, and the game keeps track of that. It also tell you it keeps track of that via the in-game flow chart.
Aside from a bit at the end where one of my earlier choices doomed a few of my characters to die that felt really cheap (I certainly rectified that once I rolled credits), I came away from this game quite satisfied. Highly recommended.


Awesome.  I'm not rushing out the door to get this game, but if you're saying it's more in-line with Heavy Rain than other David Cage games, I'm in. 


Twitter sure loved raking this game over the coals at release, but I can overlook some cringe-worthy dialogue and heavy-handedness in story telling if the overall narrative is engaging enough in these kinds of games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 01, 2018, 10:53:02 AM
I've rolled credits on Detroit: Become Human, and...wow, that was actually pretty exceptional. I've had a mixed history with David Cage's games. I liked Heavy Rain, but it had some pretty terrible writing & that plot twist at the ending makes no sense whatsoever. Beyond: 2 Souls had some spectacular setpieces, but the way it told the story out of order meant that your choices never actually meant anything since the devs couldn't guarantee a linear progression of events. It also had some really stupid QTE design.

Detroit feels like a refinement on Heavy Rain, both in terms of controls & pacing. The game flips between protagonists every chapter, and it does a great job of keeping the momentum going. It also helps that...outside of one critical plot element that is never explained, the 3 plot lines are well-written despite falling back on cliche from time to time. The game has countless branching points that I could see leading to a great deal of replayability. The game will often stick you in a situation where it presents you with 4-5 things to do, and it only allows you time to select 2 or 3 of them, and the game keeps track of that. It also tell you it keeps track of that via the in-game flow chart.
Aside from a bit at the end where one of my earlier choices doomed a few of my characters to die that felt really cheap (I certainly rectified that once I rolled credits), I came away from this game quite satisfied. Highly recommended.


Awesome.  I'm not rushing out the door to get this game, but if you're saying it's more in-line with Heavy Rain than other David Cage games, I'm in. 


Twitter sure loved raking this game over the coals at release, but I can overlook some cringe-worthy dialogue and heavy-handedness in story telling if the overall narrative is engaging enough in these kinds of games.

I feel like the gaming community just finds it hip to hate on David Cage, but I've always enjoyed the earnestness of his work. I will say that the majority of the cast being androids is particularly conducive to Cage's odd writing style. It makes it easier to excuse when you run into an awkward line of dialogue or voice acting that's just a little "off".

Jim Sterling hated on the mundanity of your tasks in the early chapters, but he seems to forget that those are not only there to establish tone & setting, but also to get the player used to the controls & different types of QTE inputs in a stress-free scenario.

In general, though, I thought the racial & domestic abuse elements in the story were handled well, and there aren't any out of nowhere moments like the sex scene in Heavy Rain or the Native American demon exorcism (yes, really) in Beyond. It's just consistently good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 01, 2018, 01:22:22 PM
I've rolled credits on Detroit: Become Human, and...wow, that was actually pretty exceptional. I've had a mixed history with David Cage's games. I liked Heavy Rain, but it had some pretty terrible writing & that plot twist at the ending makes no sense whatsoever. Beyond: 2 Souls had some spectacular setpieces, but the way it told the story out of order meant that your choices never actually meant anything since the devs couldn't guarantee a linear progression of events. It also had some really stupid QTE design.

Detroit feels like a refinement on Heavy Rain, both in terms of controls & pacing. The game flips between protagonists every chapter, and it does a great job of keeping the momentum going. It also helps that...outside of one critical plot element that is never explained, the 3 plot lines are well-written despite falling back on cliche from time to time. The game has countless branching points that I could see leading to a great deal of replayability. The game will often stick you in a situation where it presents you with 4-5 things to do, and it only allows you time to select 2 or 3 of them, and the game keeps track of that. It also tell you it keeps track of that via the in-game flow chart.
Aside from a bit at the end where one of my earlier choices doomed a few of my characters to die that felt really cheap (I certainly rectified that once I rolled credits), I came away from this game quite satisfied. Highly recommended.


Awesome.  I'm not rushing out the door to get this game, but if you're saying it's more in-line with Heavy Rain than other David Cage games, I'm in. 


Twitter sure loved raking this game over the coals at release, but I can overlook some cringe-worthy dialogue and heavy-handedness in story telling if the overall narrative is engaging enough in these kinds of games.

I feel like the gaming community just finds it hip to hate on David Cage, but I've always enjoyed the earnestness of his work. I will say that the majority of the cast being androids is particularly conducive to Cage's odd writing style. It makes it easier to excuse when you run into an awkward line of dialogue or voice acting that's just a little "off".

Jim Sterling hated on the mundanity of your tasks in the early chapters, but he seems to forget that those are not only there to establish tone & setting, but also to get the player used to the controls & different types of QTE inputs in a stress-free scenario.

In general, though, I thought the racial & domestic abuse elements in the story were handled well, and there aren't any out of nowhere moments like the sex scene in Heavy Rain or the Native American demon exorcism (yes, really) in Beyond. It's just consistently good.


I would say generally I find David Cage's work a little heavy handed, but not every game needs to be so subtle with their message that you have to search for it.


I think the mundane tasks are important for these games, much like in the way when you're playing Life is Strange, you may go through a chain of actions that don't have much value other than to ground you in the character. 



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 01, 2018, 04:53:10 PM
The Adventure genre (in its traditional definition) is the best method of creating interactive storytelling that exists in the medium because it has the ability to focus on mundane elements of life in ways that other genres and fans of said genres don't wish to engage with. It is often utilized to enforce a sense of context and place. That being said, just because the genre has had many successful narratives and provides some of the strongest foundations for creating strong narratives doesn't mean the quality of storytelling is exceptional by any means. Saying Cage's writing benefits from Detroit's subject material is more potent an insult than any of the controversy the man has created with his comments on subtext and meaning.

The truth is, very few video games have truly compelling narratives. Many are elevated by the way their gameplay enhances the narrative. If you want a good story, watch a movie, read a book. If you're willing to acknowledge that video game narratives are inherently mediocre, you'll likely be able to enjoy them and forgive them for their flaws far more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on June 01, 2018, 06:26:47 PM

Who here played Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit? I saw it for original Xbox recently, was kinda tempted to pick it up? I remember the podcast having some nice things to say about it, while also ridiculing everything after the first two hours haha.

The truth is, very few video games have truly compelling narratives. Many are elevated by the way their gameplay enhances the narrative. If you want a good story, watch a movie, read a book. If you're willing to acknowledge that video game narratives are inherently mediocre, you'll likely be able to enjoy them and forgive them for their flaws far more.

Yeah I think I agree with this. Had hopes for the medium for a long time, but honestly the best stories in games just leave a lot up to suggestion, really. Super Metroid and Prime leave a lot of room for people to fill in the blanks if they want. There's some RPG stories that are good, Chrono Trigger's sidestories at the end come to mind, but a lot of RPGs are also just drivel.
The adventure game genre was at least committed to humour if nothing else. Beneath A Steel Sky's plot is truly kind of dumb, but there's enough jokes to carry it. I know you hate Mario Colour Splash, but isn't that also an adventure game of sorts? The dialogue is on that level at least.


On the other end, one of my favourite things about games is the truly bizarre stories they do attempt. I had to read an explanation after Sin & Punishment N64 as it was just so baffling, for example. A while ago I finished Final Fantasy VIII and it was so laughably incoherent by the end it was really quite perplexing. Sure there's tons of bad movies, but not often this convoluted.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 01, 2018, 06:30:21 PM
There is no reason why video games can't have a good story and have it told well. Some genres are easier than others like adventure games which have much in common with CYOA books or Comics/Visual novels. Others need not story or has it as an excuse/window dressing plot.
There are obvious changes that need to be accounted for like player agency and the inability to control pacing with the story only moving as fast as the player. It also presents new opportunities like improved immersion or author less stories or the unreal because it's a game.

Videogame stories have much to learn from the old arts and is an immature art still under going great changes. However there are things that transcend mediums both positive and negative which gets dismissed because it's a videogame and the acceptance of mediocrity.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 01, 2018, 10:06:45 PM
Just because all of those aspects can potentially be utilized in order to create compelling video game narratives doesn't mean they actually are on a consistent basis.

The independent scene is known for pushing narrative and gameplay concepts to their extremes in order to create memorable experiences. A fine example of this would be the recent What Remains of Edith Finch, which has a fine narrative that is a bit convoluted but is enhanced to an extremely impressive degree by its gameplay. Like I said, it's best to accept that a sizable portion of movies and even literature have mixed narratives, but they've been around for far longer than video games.

Like Steef mentioned, games also benefit from their absurdity and fantasy. I'd argue the majority of video games focus on fantastic themes and concepts because of their nature, and despite the fantasy genre being quite rich, few games strive to grasp at grand themes, preferring instead to just be compelling adventures. Sin and Punishment and its sequel are enjoyable because they are so bizarre, and that aspect is enhanced by the cuh-razy cabal shooter mechanics and set pieces. The games journalism sphere would argue that new and innovative stories are being told via the medium every year in big budget gaming, but this is quite obviously a marketing strategy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on June 02, 2018, 12:09:26 AM
I don't want story in my video games. FF7 made me cry like a baby. I still choke up every time I replay it. (And I had already read the spoiler in the strategy guide while I watched my sister play through the game before me.)
I prefer my games to be happy, colorful and easy to pick up. That is why I come back to Kirby, Mario, Sonic, Minecraft, Tetris and TMNT games. Those are happy games.

The only time I enjoyed the story in a video game and it didn't leave a gaping hole in my heart when it was over was Toe Jam and Earl 2 Panic on Funkotron, the ending in that game made me feel just groovy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 02, 2018, 04:47:51 AM
Yeah AAA stories are pretty creatively bankrupt, usually pulling straight from the movies without any real consideration for the transition and willingness to go for cheap shots. *Looks at COD*. There is a reason why people dislike Far Cry 5 for needlessly removing player agency just to have a cut scene, a game where player agency is the bedrock.

There are stories that only work inside a game for example Deus Ex series. If you try to translate that back into a more tradition media it doesn't work as the story isn't just in the text but in player actions. The story is embedded into the level design, each air vent, the walls you punch through or computer hacked, newspaper read. The story is co-operatively authored by you and the game creator. They are also unique in that every plot line, the what ifs are equally valid.

If you translated a Deus Ex play through the movie would be a mess as player agency depending on game skill JC/Adam would be a badass spec-op or keystone cops. Deus Ex removes morality leaving that to the player by allowing you to kill just abut everyone which means the movie version would show our protagonist as some sort of next level confusion psycho arbitrary killing everyone in their way one minute then taking great efforts to save people. The movie must make the choice right from the very start.

Bizarre games embrace their excuse plots like Machete kills, Commando, Hobo with a shotgun. The connective tissue for those games is the gameplay reinforced by the environment's ambience landmarked by bosses. Contra 3 Alien Wars as a movie would have the audience walking out of the theatre at the experimental absurdity while as a game it's badass. Part of this came from the old material that came with the cart where they felt obliged to give it more plot for whatever reason so you had nonsensical blurbs about what you are doing.

The thing with most happy games is that for most part there isn't much of a plot, it's excuse plot in it's maximum purity. The princess has been kidnapped, rescue her in the next castle. You either rescue her or you don't. There is no message, no morality, no alternate takes, just point A to B. There is nothing to be sad about other than your own failure to make it through a level. *Insert flying controller*

It the case of Tetris I am not sure why you call it a happy game or any thing to do with story. It's ambience. Is a jigsaw puzzle a "happy game"? eh? It's more meditation than anything else.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 02, 2018, 06:49:49 AM
Well, I'd say Tetris is an arcade experience, designed around score-chasing. It does have a level of rhythm and nuance that allows players to get into a groove- I think some of the most successful arcade games do have this, as falling into a pattern is far more cathartic and engrossing than games that constantly interrupt your flow.

Reaching a state of flow is often the objective in arcade-style games, however, and it can also be seen somewhat in rogue-like experiences. It's a term I often associate with momentum, where the player is engaged enough to keep gameplay flowing at an enjoyable and and well-executed rate. Sometimes, flow is achieved very easily thanks to developer intent and game design- Super Mario Bros. and its 2D platforming ilk often come to mind as an example, as their controls are responsive and have an intrinsic logic to them. In contrast, the newer Donkey Kong Country games are designed to have an unfamiliarity to them, requiring chaining of inputs and combinations of techniques that feel uncomfortable or alien for players who are familiarized with Mario's platforming systems. The result is all the more memorable because of it.

RPGs are often a pretty fascinating case study of flow, as they gradually layer on skills and abilities made to assist in reaching flow while also having loot and gear systems that artificially hinder flow.

...I'm rambling.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on June 02, 2018, 03:21:50 PM
Arcade games among others tend to put me in a meditative state or as others might call it "The Zone", "the perfect play", Zen.

You become one with the game, your response can become unreal, capable of super human feats in precision, speed, perception, foresight and focus unfazed by outside influences. If not super human definitely well beyond what you think your limits are. I have rarely reached states where the game or sports seemed to slow down or saw the future in perfect clarity as if it was now.

This is completely different from immersion where you buy completely into the reality of the work presented to you during the running time. This transcends all mediums. Have you ever gotten lost reading a book or poem? Fully invested in your imagination of the world driven by the author? Shed a tear to death of a character as if they were real?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on June 03, 2018, 10:44:00 PM
I guess I can agree with that assessment. I just don't normally put this much thought into what makes me happy. Tetris is bright, colorful, repetitive, fun music, has a happy ending (I play the Game Boy version)I guess it has a story but it's not essential to the enjoyment of the game.
I feel things. I got hurt a lot in life. I avoid media experiences that put me back into those experiences. I actually do get inside the medium, the story, that is why I avoid anything that makes me hurt.I am damaged. I make no secret of that. Remove that, remove my personal experience and discuss story in games, I can give that a shot.

I avoid them for those reasons. But, I can comment on the ones I am familiar with.
Mortal Kombat comes to mind. The original arcade game presented a mythology I was fascinated with. It was the characters and the story that drew me in. The violence was therapeutic but the story is what kept me coming back.
In the original arcade game the story was depicted using static cut scenes. It was enhanced by the game play but it was possible to play the game and not care about the story, or even pay attention to it at all.
I can also think back to Centipede. The story for that game was told in the instruction book. Giving the protagonist a reason for needlessly shooting insects for no good reason made it more interesting. Most people can get motivated to kill insects without motivation. I think, maybe those of us who remember a time before video games had a story aren't as drawn to the ones who do because we've been spoiled by pure video games where the game play was all that mattered?


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on June 04, 2018, 08:59:36 AM
I put some time into Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. I’ve been playing on Veteran. I’m tempted to look up if there are bonuses for playing on Veteran. If not, I’ll switch to Casual. I got to Stage 4. I’m definitely a post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania fan. I struggle with platforming when there are Medusa Head-like enemies flying around.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on June 04, 2018, 01:42:43 PM
I put some time into Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. I’ve been playing on Veteran. I’m tempted to look up if there are bonuses for playing on Veteran. If not, I’ll switch to Casual. I got to Stage 4. I’m definitely a post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania fan. I struggle with platforming when there are Medusa Head-like enemies flying around.

The later stages really ramp up the platforming difficulty so switching to Casual might be preferable to you.  Especially if you try a Zangetsu only run since some of the checkpoints are character related so Zangetsu only reduces the amount you'll get in the levels.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 09, 2018, 01:29:39 PM
Started playing some Vampyr last night (the latest game from the Remember Me & Life is Strange Devs), and so far I have really mixed feelings about this one. The game is kind of the embodiment of "Euro Jank": a very thoughtful & deep construction of an interesting world w/ interlocking mechanics, but it also runs like garbage."

I really dig how the different NPCs play off each other in realistic ways with interlocking relationships. If you're playing Evil, you're exploiting those relationships to add more XP to the pot those NPCs award when you decide to drain them. If you're playing what Vampire: the Masquerade deemed "the Path of Humanity", you're doing sidequests; curing citizens of their ailments; & gaining that info for miniscule XP that keeps you in the game since you're not embracing anyone. It leads to a very living world.

Unfortunately, then you get into combat, easily the worst aspect of the game. It plays like a half-assed Dark Souls, but is so easily exploitable that I'm taking out guys 14 levels higher than me simply by isolating & stun-locking. This hurts the moral choice aspect of the game because I'm not feeling tempted to drain the NPCs. I'm getting along just fine without them.

The game world is also incredibly annoying to navigate: sometimes you can bampf over to a far off platform or high ledge, and sometimes you can't for purely arbitrary reasons. The environment is also FLOODED with locked gates and doors, leading to both a great deal of frustration getting lost in the city AND hilarity because it brought back memories of running into " JAMMED!" and "WON'T BUDGE!" every 5 seconds in Clive Barker's Undying. I literally spent 1.5 hours circling through the city trying to get back to the starting location because I missed one door off to the side that was the original way I got in. And all during this, the game is easily running at sub-30 FPS with LONG load times.

Oh, and you can only spend your XP when you rest for a night in a safehouse, which doesn't sound bad until you realize that this game's world functions on a hidden timer, with NPCs dying of illness or assault unless you find & aid or cure them first. So you can do what I did last night, running around the city doing quests & racking up 4,000 XP, rest for a night so I can raise my level from 6 to 12, and then suddenly the game tells me that a citizen I never saw died of an illness during the following day, and now their story content is just gone. It's a goddamn trap.

So yeah...that's Vampyr. Now I'm looking at starting over because  trying to keep all the citizens alive my 1st play through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 11, 2018, 12:21:08 AM
I've been playing a lot of N++ lately. I've finally completed the Intro section, which is 25 sets of 5 levels, and am now moving on to the next part. The "really hard short-level platformer" is a genre that's very strong on Switch, but this one is refreshing for not focusing as much on speed as some of the others. It's a very deliberate game that's more about building the right kind of momentum than blasting through at top speed. Getting all the gold pieces can be really tough, especially in a certain few levels, but I keep getting drawn back into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 24, 2018, 09:27:41 PM
I've been trying to sink time into Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Challenge Mode, but it's been very difficult. I caught a bug recently, and its wormed my way into my heart. Now, I come to talk about Hollow Knight.

Quite frankly, I adore this game. The moodiness and atmosphere is just sublime, probably one of the best aesthetic combinations I've seen in a long time. The OST matches the mood of every area almost perfectly. The combat is methodical and fair. The exploration is constantly rewarding, yet melancholy and isolationist, even with a diverse cast of NPCs. This, people, is how you do Metroidvania.

I have played so many attempts at the genre- if you can even call it a genre- honestly, I prefer exploration-based action platformer. Too many rely on kill rooms and over-extended linear design, sometimes using character progression in all the wrong ways. Not Hollow Knight. The difficulty isn't as brutal as Dandara thanks to the amazing Soul System, which grants heals in a way that can prolong extended fights and rewards aggression. It's map is expanse, but uses a combination of purchase-able maps and player curiosity in order to extend the experience of discovery. The economy is just extremely valid yet completely balanced by the "regrets" system.

I could go into the actual level design, which is just brilliant and looping in ways that I loved about Atooi's Xeodrifter but on a much greater scale. I could touch on the enemy design and attack patterns. I could talk about the lore. But I don't want to give too much away. This is a game that needs to be played, and I am so glad I chose to hold off on watching gameplay and reading any spoilers. Hollow Knight is a delight.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on June 25, 2018, 09:05:10 AM

I've been trying to sink time into Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Challenge Mode, but it's been very difficult. I caught a bug recently, and its wormed my way into my heart. Now, I come to talk about Hollow Knight.


Is this the one that's really difficult or am I confusing it with Ori in the Blind Forest?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on June 25, 2018, 03:21:31 PM
Hollow Knight is the game that AdmanAbou says in his review of it for this site:

Quote
I have “so frustratingly hard that I cannot recommend this game” angrily scrawled in my notes, and the quest for the true ending remains locked behind a stupid, cheap, BS fight with a giant mantis whom I hate so, so much.

That said, he did give it a 10 so he ended up recommending it after all but that doesn't negate that fact that he found it quite difficult.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 25, 2018, 06:04:11 PM
Yeah, I’m not entirely sure I agree with that assessment, but the way this game cushions Death (in a similar fashion as Dandara) makes it feel much more manageable. Dandara often felt like smacking your head against a brick wall, this one feels more like sponge.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 25, 2018, 06:34:46 PM
I beat the 1st 2 bosses in Hollow Knight, and I don't much care for the game. The absolutely idiotic way the game handles its map system just makes every new area feel like you're aimlessly wandering until you find the map seller & a bench. It's Dark Souls-level of punishment without Dark Souls' more forgiving check pointing & navigation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on June 26, 2018, 04:19:55 PM
I’m sorry you don’t enjoy being lost.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: segagamersteph on June 28, 2018, 12:46:28 AM
I tried to download Pokemon Quest and it told me my phone is not compatible. I downloaded it for the Switch instead. I might try to put some time into it later this weekend.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 28, 2018, 10:49:40 AM
Since it's a demo/teaser for Life is Strange 2, not sure if it belongs here or "last game you beat" thread, but I played through The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit last night.


I'm a little frustrated after having gone through it.  Based on the trailer they released at E3, I was hoping for a departure from Life is Strange's generally downtrodden/heavy narrative choices.  It was definitely a bait-and-switch, as you're playing a child Chris who lives in a tiny trailer home with his father, a broken alcoholic man after the loss of his wife.  A child who uses his imagination as a coping mechanism for a lost mother and an at-best absent father.


It's still a good experience if you like LiS, but instead of giving you a guided narrative with step-by-step actions to take, they give you a list to do and let you do it in order. you choose  I clearly ran into some of the emotional gut punch stuff early, which put a bad tone on the silly/fun stuff you do on the list afterwards.  Think they could have better made it a crescendo if they gave you an order to complete the tasks in.


Still recommend.  Still a good thing to spend a couple of hours with, and definitely whets my appetite for the 2nd season.  Just think the trailer they released threw me off my expectations.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 28, 2018, 11:09:08 PM
I just finished Captain Spirit as well, and I found it rather tedious and pointless. The checklist design of the game just emphasizes how the game is all about aimless wandering. I actually got stuck for a long time because I couldn't find one of the key items to complete Chris' costume. I had to look up online where it was because I got tired of walking through the same 3 areas in circles for an hour.

When the actual plot arrives after 2 hours of aimless, boring wandering, I just rolled my eyes because it's the obvious storyline for a single father who recently lost his wife & succumbed to alcoholism. It's so by-the-numbers & blatant it makes David Cage look subtle by comparison.

The ending teases something actually interesting happening in Life is Strange 2, which tells me nothing because that's kind of the minimum one would expect from a sequel to Life is Strange.

Meh. I like adventure games, but I like them to have a point & tempo and this really...didn't have that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 29, 2018, 09:38:00 AM
I just finished Captain Spirit as well, and I found it rather tedious and pointless. The checklist design of the game just emphasizes how the game is all about aimless wandering. I actually got stuck for a long time because I couldn't find one of the key items to complete Chris' costume. I had to look up online where it was because I got tired of walking through the same 3 areas in circles for an hour.

When the actual plot arrives after 2 hours of aimless, boring wandering, I just rolled my eyes because it's the obvious storyline for a single father who recently lost his wife & succumbed to alcoholism. It's so by-the-numbers & blatant it makes David Cage look subtle by comparison.

The ending teases something actually interesting happening in Life is Strange 2, which tells me nothing because that's kind of the minimum one would expect from a sequel to Life is Strange.

Meh. I like adventure games, but I like them to have a point & tempo and this really...didn't have that.


Yeah, it was telling the thing was hidden in the "Demo" section of PSN, rather as a game.  Maybe they felt like since it had its own isolated story of sorts that they could tout it as something more, but this is very much a Demo for the 2nd LiS game.  It's missing decisions that actually seem important, and it's a very quiet story even by LiS standards. 


I told my friends to use a walkthrough if they want to play it, because I had that very same problem you did with the costume.  I found all the costume items, but overlooked you having to hold L1 (or is it R1?) to open up the special "Captain Spirit" button prompts  you need to.  The marker was a little too subtle for me until I was about halfway through.  Not only that, but the padlock and phone passwords seemed a little too obscure for me to figure out.


I kinda disagree with your characterization of Captain Spirit's story (especially that it's David Cage-ian, if we're using that as a pejorative).  LiS 1 used pretty typical tropes too (Chloe being an angsty rebellious teen after losing her dad/constant struggle with the stern Man her mom is dating/lots of the Blackwell student population fitting into typical cliques), but the well-thought out parts of the storytelling has always been around the character building that comes form you exploring, having your character observe and make commentary on things in the environment, how the characters interact with you and the decisions you make, and those choices also giving a tilt to the kind of personality the protagonist has.


I'd suggest Captain Spirit is a half-success in that regard.  Chris' character is well developed, he's a believable child in that situation, struggling with the loss in his own way that a child would - deeply affected by his Mother's loss and his father's absence/abuse, but resilient.  He loves his father because any child that age would, even in those circumstances, which makes it heart wrenching if you choose to try and be helpful.  Both this and David Cage games like Heavy Rain use the mundane tasks as part of the story, it's there for pacing as well, but especially in LiS games, it's all about how you build the characteristics of the protagonist.  You can choose to go to breakfast the first time your Dad calls out to you that breakfast is ready, or if you dawdle, the third time he'll threaten you if you don't come out.  You can choose to do all the chores your dad should be doing as the parent, or run out and start your play, you can cover for your Dad when the neighbor comes to the door, or you can not try, you can call out your dad on his daydrinking, or you can be quiet about it.  You can sneak a cigarette, or not touch them.  Things that don't have consequence in the larger story, but all small actions that build the larger tapestry of the character you're playing.


Was the game fun to play blind and trying to fumble around blind?  No.  If you find a site to give you a step-by-step of how to progress the demo, I think it's worth going through to whet your appetite, and has some tough moments (I teared-up when you find the secret treasure, it doesn't hurt that Chris reminds me a lot of my oldest son). 


What I'm really curious about is how the demo ended.  Are we to believe that Chris awoke some power in a tense moment to save himself?  Or was his neighbor kid who witnessed it actually the one with powers?  Is this going to be about a younger set of kids than LiS1 and more like the age of the kids from Stranger Things, or is there going to be a time skip from this demo so they're teens? 


Either way, the table is set for LiS2, and i'm looking forward to the full game, which I expect will have less of these problems.




Looks like I had this game on my mind more than I thought.  Sorry for the dissertation.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on July 01, 2018, 01:49:19 AM
I'm still playing Battle Chasers: Nightwar and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The back half has started to get grindy though, so I hope it doesn't detract to much from the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on July 02, 2018, 12:15:05 PM
Donkey Kong Country (original, SNES). Classic game, forgot how hard it is...I think I'm at 22%.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 03, 2018, 12:05:10 AM
Been playing a fair amount of Switch stuff lately, but I already talked about Splatoon 2 & its DLC in the official thread.

One thing I didn't expect to get really into was the Mario + Rabbids DK DLC. I kind of bailed on the main game towards the end of the 2nd world just due to all the other stuff there was to play, but I got the season pass back when the game came out so I figured...sure, why not try the DK DLC since I own it anyway and it's standalone.

It's interesting. It addresses some core issues I had with the main game (the multi-battle gauntlets & the really stupid upgrade system) while creating new ones (i.e. the game railroading you down a series of battles with the occasional puzzle & no optional challenges until you beat the game). I feel like focusing on 3 characters leads to maps being better-designed to make you really learn the characters. It's also way easier than the main game is, IMO.

I'm towards the middle of the 4th & final chapter of the DLC, but it's well-made. Some of the Perfect requirements in that chapter are really insane, though.

On the PS4, I was always curious about Gundam Versus as a casual fan of Gundam (i.e. 8th MS Team, 0083, Gundam Wing, & Gundam Seed), but I'd heard that it was nowhere near worth full price. Well, the game went on sale today at GS for $20, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Wow, this game is bare-bones: challenge stages, horde mode, & online. That's it. They also spent a whole $5 on the localization, as all the dialogue is in Japanese with NO subtitles outside of your helper character (who just spouts the same 5 lines regardless of the situation). I'm surprised the menus are even in English, Bandai gave so few ****s. There is a tutorial mode that pretty much involves just scrolling through pages of text and then destroying a 1 HP enemy when you want to move on. The in-game UI has no button prompts telling you what icons on your screen represent which buttons.

One thing I was not prepared for is that the game still has to do an install after it does the main PS4 install. Oh, but don't worry, the game will throw you in a combat arena to beat up on a couple of AI opponents while it takes 10 minutes to do the second install...while the same 30 second loop of the terrible original 70s Gundam theme song blares in the background. On top of that, the game doesn't even try to teach you have to play the game. You just hammer buttons & eventually figure out how the controls work.
Oh, but I hope you don't take that 10 minutes of required play as an example of how all the mobile suits play...because while the RX-79 you play in the install period has a pretty basic move set, it's also the only suit I've seen that plays like that. If you like a particular suit from a particular series, be prepared to spend a lot of time learning how to play it. I assumed that 8th MS Team's RX-79 Custom would play like the RX-79 original, but no. It doesn't. It's a range-oriented build where you swap between equipment in your backpack to switch between mid-range & long range attacks. You only have a token charge attack with your beam saber. Seed's Strike Gundam has 3 different modes you switch between for aerial combat, melee combat, & ranged combat. Etc.


Combat is pretty basic: drop into a combat arena, the enemy drops into the arena, and then you attack the other suits until they're dead. It's quick & arcade-y, and there's charm in that. For $20, you could do worse.
Oh, but I hope that you're not a G Gundam fan, because both of its suits in the game are DLC. Because.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 09, 2018, 12:59:49 AM
Crash Bandicoot Trilogy: Recootered (PC):

As far as I can recall, I never touched this series on the original Playstation platform, so I figured I might as well dip my toes in after condescendingly dismissing it for years.

I'm nearing the end of the first game and . . . yeah, I was mostly right so far. When it's 2D it at times approaches the level of okay-ish Donkey Kong Country clone (right down to the jungle theme), but the "3D" levels range from annoying to awful, particularly the bridge, boulder chase, and animal riding outings. Having to break all the boxes in a level to get the gimgam is an obnoxious hook in a forward-momentum-based design like this, and as far as I can tell the game doesn't explain what the gimgams do or which levels have alternate paths (that also prevent you from getting all the boxes on first runs without indicating why). The Cooter himself also doesn't feel great to control, I'm assuming because it's kind of an awkward middleground between 2D and 3D movement that has to work for both styles present in the game. There is still something a little compelling about a challenging, semi-competent platformer, though, which I've been starved for. Supposedly the sequel is a big improvement, so I'll give that a shot at least. As of now, though, particularly given the mash-up of shiny HD graphics and very limited gameplay, I'm reminded of junky games my nephews play on their tablets.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 09, 2018, 11:38:21 AM
Freedom Planet (Wii U)


Haven't played a real game in a while, but enjoyed dropping a couple of hours into this silly romp over the weekend. It controls very well, with bright and fun graphics. Individual stages might be a bit too long, and (despite aiming for a "so good it's bad" story) the narrative is mostly just bad. The ridiculous voice acting is entertaining though.


Really glad to start playing this, as it seems to be just what the doctor ordered: a welcome return to fun in gaming after playing many games that took themselves too seriously.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on July 09, 2018, 09:13:50 PM
I tried Prey and I kinda like it. Feels like Deus Ex meets Bioshock.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 10, 2018, 12:51:53 AM
I've been playing Unravel 2 off & on since it released at E3. I just finished it, and it's...OK, I guess? It's certainly pleasant, gorgeous to look at, and a MUCH faster game than the first Unravel. It also feels like it features a lot more swinging on hooks Bionic Commando-style & less physics-based stuff than the 1st game did.

Where I feel like the game falls flat on its face is the story. It makes no goddamn sense. Something about kids escaping an orphanage & taking down an evil logging company, which results in a forest fire? Hell if I know. The story's so spectacularly vague, it could be a lost Captain Planet episode. That's especially weird because Yarny was a metaphor in the 1st game for the threads that bind us to others over our lives, and we followed a family over the course of their lives. But Unravel 2? I have no idea what this game wants to say, because the text pop up that appears before the credits seems to have nothing to do with what I saw & did over the course of the game.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Unravel 2, but despite it being a better "game" this time it feels like it lost a lot of what made the 1st game memorable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 13, 2018, 08:56:54 AM
My friend gave me a Resident Evil Revelaitons 2 code for Switch. I bought a 128 GB micro SD card because I only had 14 GB of internal storage left. The download took almost three hours.

I feel weird complaining about a free game. RER2 appears to be lower budget compared to the first game though it’s been a while since I played it. Claire’s design is off. She looks like someone cosplaying as Claire.

I didn’t get very far. The load times are atrocious. I timed loading from the last checkpoint, and it look over a minute. That’s pretty much all I need to know about this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 13, 2018, 10:59:47 AM
My friend gave me a Resident Evil Revelaitons 2 code for Switch. I bought a 128 GB micro SD card because I only had 14 GB of internal storage left. The download took almost three hours.

I feel weird complaining about a free game. RER2 appears to be lower budget compared to the first game though it’s been a while since I played it. Claire’s design is off. She looks like someone cosplaying as Claire.

I didn’t get very far. The load times are atrocious. I timed loading from the last checkpoint, and it look over a minute. That’s pretty much all I need to know about this game.

I can't speak for the Switch version, but I remember the Vita version being a bad port, too.

Meanwhile, I loved the PS4 version & didn't see the technical issues you saw there so... *shrug* ?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on July 18, 2018, 11:46:08 AM
I've returned to No Man's Sky for a third time. This time I think it might finally stick. The game will get an update next week that adds mutiplayer, third person views and expanded base and freighter creation. I think Creative mode now might be well worth playing if you don't want to deal with the survival/resource management bullshit the game threw out at first.


Some pictures of my still-in-construction base.


(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DiXIXG4XUAAO_-L.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DiXIqC3XkAAyVre.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 18, 2018, 12:11:32 PM
I bought it when it came out and enjoyed it back then, but I haven't played it in a while. This update is making me want to go back to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 18, 2018, 01:54:01 PM
I bought it when it came out and enjoyed it back then, but I haven't played it in a while. This update is making me want to go back to it.


I waited to pull the trigger til it was $20, but I had fun with it.  Or maybe it'd be more honest to say that it was calming to explore the worlds and trapse around a bit while tinkering with the base building. 


I don't know much about the update, but the talk has also made me interested in spending a little more time in it soon.  It's just a really good, chill game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 19, 2018, 12:19:47 AM
Been bouncing off a lot of stuff lately since E3. Outside of a recent replay of the Devil May Cry reboot's Definitive Edition, nothing's really stuck with me between Octopath, Captain Toad, SW Battlefront 2, etc.

On a whim, I decided to finally try that copy of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT that I picked up months ago and never touched, and I'm surprised at the simple fun I'm having with it. You jump into a match, you dash at a chosen opponent, and you wail away at them with either an attack that lowers their defense and raises your attack but does no actual damage or an attack that does pure HP damage relative to those previous 2 stats but leaves you wide open for a counterattack. It's quick, simple fun I find pretty addicting. There are even little in-jokes like Tidus's line if you summon Ramuh ("Show them how hard it is to dodge lightning!").


The story mode's entertaining in its absurdity (just seeing the characters bounce off each other is amusing), but in a head-tilting decision Square Enix decided that you could only unlock story mode sequences by grinding first for a special currency in online matches or offline gauntlet runs. It's really terrible.

I also wish the matches had more stages. Final Fantasies 1-14 & Tactics are all represented here in large, gorgeous stages evocative of their respective games, but oddly neither FF 15 nor Type 0 have stages despite them each having a character in the roster.

On a side note, there's a special place in Hell for the person at Square Enix that decided that every treasure, unlock, etc. also be accompanied by a Moogle voice actor going "KUPO" or "KUPOKUP!" When you have 5-10 unlocks every gauntlet run & you HAVE to page through them all, you WILL want to throw your Dualshock.  :@
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on July 19, 2018, 09:42:41 AM
Dissidia NT is that arcadey fighting game right? With all the numbers constantly flying around? I could see that being fun yeah. :)

I just (re-)started Donkey Kong Country Returns, never made it very far first time I tried it a few years back. I think I might be about half-way now, just passed the Cave world. Some of those minecart levels and rocket barrel stages really don't allow for anything less than perfect timing it seems huh.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on July 19, 2018, 10:23:20 AM
I picked up Breath of the Wild after about a year based on my previous auto-save. I stopped playing after getting the Master Sword because life got in the way. I only completed one Divine Beast. I was mostly wandering around, collecting Korok poo, and finding Shrines along the way. Surpringly, it didn’t take too much to get back into the game.

I dabbled in Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy and Sonic Mania Plus. I’ll have to circle back to those games, but I’m having trouble adjusting to non-Mario platformers.

I also “played” Octopath Traveler. I started with H’annit because she was furthest north and I figured I’d go clockwise. This is another game I’ll probably have to revisit. I’m about to cancel my Dragon Ball FighterZ pre-order. I have too many games currently.
I just (re-)started Donkey Kong Country Returns, never made it very far first time I tried it a few years back. I think I might be about half-way now, just passed the Cave world. Some of those minecart levels and rocket barrel stages really don't allow for anything less than perfect timing it seems huh.
Yes, it’s incredibly frustrating. I enjoyed the game overall even if I sometimes wanted to throw my controller into the sun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 21, 2018, 04:05:40 PM
Well, Dissidia NT's Story Mode goes in a really weird direction as it goes on. The story fractures into 4 separate paths early on, and when you reach near the end of each respective path, you need to fight one of Final Fantasy's summons (or in the case of Lightning's path, 4 of them) in a 3-on-1 duel.

And oh boy...are these fights NOTHING like the rest of the game. Dissidia NT as a whole is a wacky, cartoony, button-mashy battle royale where 6 character run around hitting each other until they can REALLY hit each other. But these Summon Boss fights? Oh no...they're not Battle Royales at all. You see, Team Ninja made this game, and Team Ninja decided that what the story mode really needed are boss fights with heavy pattern recognition, multiple phases, a totally different damage mechanic, & the bosses able to essentially one-hit kill you on a whim.

Yes, what's essentially a light-hearted Smash-style affair suddenly turns into Dark Souls in these encounters. What. The. ****? Each Summon presents their own delightful little problems, but easily the worst of these I've encountered was Ramuh.


The dude can hit anywhere on the field on a whim, and in his second phase he can easily kill you in seconds when he winds up Judgement Bolt or his big full-stage slam move.

I've managed to take down 5 of the Summons, and Ramuh was easily the worst. Ifrit & Odin look intimidating, but if you pick the available spellcaster you can hit them from mid-range without too much problem. Alexander was tricky, but once you get his patterns down he's not too hard.

Unfortunately, the remaining 3 have to be taken down with melee characters, and I can't imagine a worse way to play these battles. I only took down Bahamut because Noctis' Warp ability lets him essentially hold at mid-range & bamph in when there's an opening & then out again. I have to take down Shiva with Leviathan with pure melee characters, though. That's going to be...fun. -_-

Edit: Shiva & Leviathan down. Turns out that Shiva is really weak to Cloud's aerial attacks, and even with her 2nd phase leading to another Shiva joining the fight it wasn't too bad. Leviathan was more annoying, but thankfully at this point I had my AI characters leveled-up pretty decently so they were able to keep him distracted long enough for me to do some decent damage.

That just leaves the Final Boss of Story Mode: Shinryu.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on July 23, 2018, 10:06:00 AM
I'm currently into Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC) after a friend of mine extolled the virtues of the game for the past 3 months to me.  I guess it'd be classified as a turn-based/Strategy RPG, as battles play out on a top-down plane with the typical move priority/elemental damage stuff into play, but each character has both a physical damage meter and a magic damage meter before you start whittling away at their actual life bar.  This creates a dichotomy where you want to focus-in magic attacks on one enemy, and your melee attacks on another enemy, otherwise you'll have each hitting away inefficiently at one enemy to take down two different shields before getting to their actual health.


The game tutorials nothing to you outside of pop-up buttons as you encounter something new for the first time, generally leading you to have to learn by trial-and-error or experimentation.  As you interact with NPCs between the battle sequences when you're exploring the world, the character building is largely dependent on what dialogue choices you make more than the game explaining the story to you.  Your race, class, and abilities also provide additional dialogue options and benefits depending on who you're conversing with, and sometimes affect the outcome of missions, as well as conditions which a battle might start. 


Generally speaking, Divinity is slow paced, and that coupled with how much the game focuses more on the character interactions than the battle system itself makes it feel like a dense experience.  I've put close to 20 hours so far and I'm still only in the first act.  I'm close to being ready to close the first act, but I also have a handful of missions that haven't been completed, so I could still be 2-4 hours away before being ready to close the door on this act. 


Overall, I've enjoyed the experience so far, but your miles may vary depending on how much patience you have with learning by trial-and-error rather than having things explained to you.  I've already seen how early decisions i've made have closed doors on possible missions, so if you go in blind, it also creates an opportunity to replay the game and have different outcomes.  We'll see how I feel about replaying this game if it turns into 50+ hours to complete.  That said, maybe the second run-through would be much more streamlined going in with a full understanding of how the systems work.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 29, 2018, 11:45:24 PM
Started playing the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 on PS4 today. Would have gotten it on Switch, but I hate how the buttons on the Joycons feel with action games. Very hard & clicky.

The 1st X game is as perfect as it always was, and my memory of it & all its secrets is just as clear now as when I beat it every day back in my school days. My only real issue with it is one that was also a big problem at the time & no one's addressed it now: Hitting Circle to dash is carpal tunnel inducing, and it's ridiculous that you can't map dash to R2 (or to R1, with your weapons on L2 & R2). The most crucial move in the X series is the dashing jump while holding a charged buster so you can kill enemies in the air, and doing that requires one of 2 agony-inducting finger combinations:

1. Holding Square with the tip of your thumb & then using the joint on your thumb to hit X & Circle

OR

2. Holding Square with your thumb & hitting X & Circle with your index finger.

It feels like performing the Monster Hunter "claw". Yeah, I can do it, but it's needlessly painful considering the modern consoles have multiple triggers you could map the Dash to. But you can't in at least X1 because...the Super Nintendo didn't have an additional trigger, & Capcom couldn't be bothered?

I started playing X2 following X1, and it's still not a game I care much for. Something that the later games got really obsessed with is arbitrary time restrictions in order to unlock the "true ending", and that nonsense started here with the hunt for Zero's parts. After your 1st 2 bosses, you have 3 sub-bosses that jump from stage to stage, and you get one shot with each of them. If you ignore them or fail to beat them, they run away and you lose out on the true ending.

Sorry, but the entire fun of the Mega Man franchise is playing "your way", and stuff like this forces you to play through the game in a set order with arbitrary restrictions. It's just not fun, and it's not the last time the X series would pull this nonsense, either.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on July 30, 2018, 11:22:05 AM
Are the MegaMan X games on virtual console of Wii/3DS/Wii U? Cos then you could remap buttons right? Kinda bizarre if virtual console releases would be better than retail products, mind.
I've never played any of the Mega Man games, kind of a weird series to miss out on really. (Never played Resident Evil either despite owning the remake on GC, but that's even further off-topic.)

What's the best and easiest of the Mega Man games if I wanted to sample the series just once? I know 2 and 3 are considered the best, while X1 is probably the best looking right? I'm not super thrilled about the series' purported difficulty though, I'm still chipping away at Donkey Kong Country Returns atm and it's kicking my ass every third level it seems haha.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 30, 2018, 11:34:47 AM
Yeah, I never touched the PSX Mega Man X games, but played 2 and 3 and the WiiU VC and was pretty underwhelmed by both. The general progression design is a weird step down from X1's boss-defeat level effects. I almost prefer Mega Man and Bass for the visuals.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on July 30, 2018, 12:39:31 PM
What's the best and easiest of the Mega Man games if I wanted to sample the series just once?
Mega Man 2 is the one which was made easier for the NA audience, so that would probably be a good place to begin. If you can complete Metal Man first and get the Metal Blade, it makes most of the game trivial. Another bit of advice is that you'll probably want Item 2 before you play Heat Man's stage.

Mega Man 3 is probably one of the tougher games in the series due to the haywire difficulty of the later stages. Likely not a good start point for a newbie.

After 2, Mega Man 5 is fairly easy as well, due to how absurdly powerful is the Mega Buster's charge shot.

The original Mega Man may still be the most difficult of the bunch, in part due to the quality-of-life improvements brought by the sequels (the original has no password system, no energy reserve tanks, wonkier physics, etc). Probably not good to start with the first game even though it's the first game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 30, 2018, 04:52:19 PM
What's the best and easiest of the Mega Man games if I wanted to sample the series just once?
Mega Man 2 is the one which was made easier for the NA audience, so that would probably be a good place to begin. If you can complete Metal Man first and get the Metal Blades, it makes most of the game trivial. Another bit of advice is that you'll probably want Item 2 before you play Heat Man's stage.

Mega Man 3 is probably one of the tougher games in the series due to the haywire difficulty of the later stages. Likely not a good start point for a newbie.

After 2, Mega Man 5 is fairly easy as well, due to how absurdly powerful is the Mega Buster's charge shot.

The original Mega Man may still be the most difficult of the bunch, in part due to the quality-of-life improvements brought by the sequels (the original has no password system, no energy reserve tanks, wonkier physics, etc). Probably not good to start with the first game even though it's the first game.

Personally, I would vouch for Mega Man 4 as a good starting MM game. It's the one I owned from the original series growing up, and it's not particularly hard. Hell, you kill the final boss by basically walking into him while holding a button.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on July 30, 2018, 06:19:55 PM
I had actually considered mentioning MM4 since it's one of my own personal faves and has one of the best sets of weapons in the series. But MM5 is more straight-forward which is why I chose that one instead. MM4 would probably not be a bad choice, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on July 30, 2018, 11:47:12 PM
I started playing X2 following X1, and it's still not a game I care much for. Something that the later games got really obsessed with is arbitrary time restrictions in order to unlock the "true ending", and that nonsense started here with the hunt for Zero's parts. After your 1st 2 bosses, you have 3 sub-bosses that jump from stage to stage, and you get one shot with each of them. If you ignore them or fail to beat them, they run away and you lose out on the true ending.

There is no true ending in X2.  The only thing that happens by defeating all of them early on is you don't have to fight Zero at the end of the game, making the last level easier since it's only 2 bosses in a row instead of 3 now.  The actual story ending is the exact same whether you get all of Zero's parts or not.  I would argue people are better off ignoring them since the Zero fight at the end is a better fight then any of the X Hunters.

This is why I don't get how some act like the X Hunters ruin X2 when they a 100% optional part of the game.  Yeah they could have been implemented better but they're not really contributing much to the game whether you fight them or not.  It's not like X3 which requires players to fight Bit and Byte who can randomly appear after the 2nd boss fight and if they don't have the right weapons or upgrades yet can completely ruin that stage run making the experience really frustrating the first time through.  Especially since X3 thought it was a good idea to increase the damage normal X takes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Wah on August 01, 2018, 04:58:03 AM
KNACK 2 BAYBEEEE
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on August 14, 2018, 10:59:37 PM
Ninja Gaiden (NES) - **** this game is hard (until you learn how to play it)! Currently stuck on the second to last boss fight, debating on just dying so I can come back and one hit kill him with the jump slash. Such a great game though...they should make a new 2D Ninja Gaiden, arcade-style like the originals.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 14, 2018, 11:23:00 PM
The best weapon in NES Ninja Gaiden games is not a sword nor magic but the edge of a screen. You can kill most the enemies (including birds and the most pesky ones standing on pillars) by just moving left and right so they just despawn.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 15, 2018, 09:10:39 AM
I’m slowly but surely making my way through Breath of the Wild. Not finishing this game has brought me great shame.

I definitely wouldn’t go through the game the same way. I prioritized Korok Seeds because I like exploring, and I spent Spirit Orbs on hearts first until I had enough so the Master Sword didn’t kill me. I plan to replay Breath of the Wild, maybe after purchasing the DLC. The game really opened up once I got the Snowquill set and at least one extra Stamina Wheel. Exploring for Korok Seeds and Shrines would have been a lot easier.

Currently, I’ve completed Vah Ruta (Mipha) and Vah Medoh (Revali). I wanted to go into Death Mountain before heading West except the heat depleting my health was stressing me out so I may do that last. I’m trying to upgrade the Ancient set except the Guardian Stalkers are being selfish and not dropping Ancient Cores. Also, I was trying to complete the Hyrule Compendium except I forgot to take a picture of Windblight Ganon. I know I can buy the pictures later; I was trying not to. Taking a picture of any flying insect is f-ing absurd.

How is the DLC? Does it change the experience of the main game a lot?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 15, 2018, 01:37:45 PM
... How is the DLC? Does it change the experience of the main game a lot?


We've been finishing up some old quests and things from Breath of the Wild recently too, and debating whether to purchase the DLC... but it's pretty expensive and didn't seem to add that much. Curious to hear from other NWR forum-goers about whether the cost is justified.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on August 15, 2018, 03:46:31 PM
How is the DLC? Does it change the experience of the main game a lot?

To me the DLC makes the game feel more complete.  It gives the game some needed endgame content that's more challenging then the rest of the game that builds on what you've done throughout the game.  You get 16 new Shrines which I feel are easily the best in the game as well as a new dungeon which I thought was great as well.  The boss of the dungeon is also by far the best boss fight in the game.

I also really loved the Trail of the Sword challenges since they basically require you to have truly mastered the mechanics of the game.  It's basically the Zelda equivalent to Perfect Run/Champions Road that I always hoped Zelda games would start doing as well after the Mario team introduced them in Galaxy 2 and now finally got in this game.

To me if you really love the game and want another 12-15 hours of more challenging content, the DLC is easily worth the price.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 15, 2018, 10:58:17 PM
We Happy Few - Picked this one up on PS4 out of morbid curiosity, and I've reached the 3rd major area (Maidentown). So far, I'm not sure what to make of the game. I'm not having an unenjoyable time with the game. In fact, this is the furthest I've ever gotten into a Survival Game, and the story is excellent. Unfortunately, all the stuff around the story...isn't. Suffice it to say I've spent a lot of time dancing around really dumb enemies poking at them with my non-lethal umbrella and collecting a whole lot of crap so I can haul it to a locker so I can make 1-2 things I actually want and tons of stuff I don't.

Onrush - I just picked this one up today because it was on sale & with a $10 coupon I could get it for $30. I put a few hours into its campaign mode, and so far I'm quite enjoying it. It's from the makers of DriveClub...except it plays absolutely nothing like DriveClub. It's an Arcade-y racing game where the only buttons you need to worry about are Brake; Accelerate; boost; & ultra-boost ("Rush" mode).

The game plays like if you combined a racing game with the sensibilities of a team deathmatch multiplayer shooter like Titanfall and then took away the guns & the finish line. You play on one of two teams that go roaring around a looped off-road track trying to knock out the other racers & perform tricks & combo chains. To spice things up, there are dumb "fodder" enemies there for the sheer purpose of you crashing with a single touch to get more boost energy (hence the Titanfall comparison). Each type of vehicle functions like a "Class" in a MP shooter, with each vehicle having certain roles & special abilities that activate when you fill your "Rush" meter by constantly using your Boost.

I've seen a handful of event types so far: a "Best of 5" round mode where each team attempts to reach a certain number of points first; a "Best of 3" mode where each team attempts to extend a timer by repeatedly driving through a series of gates; and a unique mode where everyone starts with 3 lives & the weakest vehicle in the game for combat (the motorcycle). When you die, you have to move up to the next slowest vehicle class (but with more combat ability). First team to lose all its lives loses. When you lose all 3 lives, you move to the slowest vehicle class & play the spoiler.

So far, I'm liking what I see. The game has an attitude to it that reminds me of Split/Second, a racing game I loved on PS3 that also colossally failed because it was too unique from standard racing games. *sigh* However, I do think $30 is around what the game is worth, because already the game seems very limited (also like Split/Second).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Soren on August 16, 2018, 09:06:18 AM
I played the OnRush beta a while back and while the racing felt good I didn't see how the modes they had could keep me engaged for long.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on August 16, 2018, 10:17:19 AM
After really liking The Last Story, I moved on to Pandora's Tower. Did anyone here play that? I could really use some advice, because I'm now in the sixth tower and even the most basic enemies are routinely wrecking my ****. Already died five time without even making it to a third room, it's ridiculous how much the difficulty has suddenly spiked. The GameFAQs for this one are really bad unfortunately.

I'm constantly short on absolutely everything, too. Money, useful supplies, healing items. I've upgraded the sword just twice, purposefully not upgrading the dual-blades or scythe. Did you guys & gals struggle this much too, or am I just really really bad at it? Are you supposed to just dodge-roll everywhere? Do they expect you to return to previous towers and grind for scraps? I'd assume not because the cash drops are pitiful and everytime you venture to a tower you're also risking Elena's transformation gauge...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 16, 2018, 10:49:02 AM
I played the OnRush beta a while back and while the racing felt good I didn't see how the modes they had could keep me engaged for long.


The Single-player mode attempts to make up for the low number of game types by putting in side objectives ("total X number of fodder, drive through X number of gates consecutively, shield teammates X number of times, etc." & forcing you to use different car classes with specific loadouts. I'm concerned at how much longevity this will give the game, but I'm enjoying it so far. Honestly, this is a game that could really use a Mario Kart-esque Battle Mode or Split/Second's course-altering Power Plays.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 16, 2018, 11:48:36 AM
After really liking The Last Story, I moved on to Pandora's Tower. ...


Just want to mention that I love seeing your reports about a bunch of old Wii games.
I haven't had much time for gaming lately - but have a whole shelf of Wii games still waiting for my attention so am living vicariously through your reports.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on August 16, 2018, 07:51:21 PM
After really liking The Last Story, I moved on to Pandora's Tower. Did anyone here play that? I could really use some advice, because I'm now in the sixth tower and even the most basic enemies are routinely wrecking my ****. Already died five time without even making it to a third room, it's ridiculous how much the difficulty has suddenly spiked. The GameFAQs for this one are really bad unfortunately.

I'm constantly short on absolutely everything, too. Money, useful supplies, healing items. I've upgraded the sword just twice, purposefully not upgrading the dual-blades or scythe. Did you guys & gals struggle this much too, or am I just really really bad at it? Are you supposed to just dodge-roll everywhere? Do they expect you to return to previous towers and grind for scraps? I'd assume not because the cash drops are pitiful and everytime you venture to a tower you're also risking Elena's transformation gauge...
I played the game twice back-to-back a couple years ago and absolutely loved it and I don't remember it being that difficult. I don't remember any specific tips or anything but I remember that I never had to grind.

There is a timing based charge attack, are you doing that correctly?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 17, 2018, 01:59:06 AM
Pandora's Tower warning: You can **** your save over right near the end of the game based on a few factors, so I recommend leaving your monster lady love alone as much as possible in case you need to activate one-off interaction scenes to get through a glitch that stops you from going into the last tower(s).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on August 17, 2018, 02:28:24 PM
Just want to mention that I love seeing your reports about a bunch of old Wii games.I haven't had much time for gaming lately - but have a whole shelf of Wii games still waiting for my attention so am living vicariously through your reports.


Thanks! I basically missed out on the entire Wii generation back in the day, dropped out of gaming for quite a few years. What I like a lot about Wii is that many of its games seem designed to be played in shorter bunches. Lots of them are level-based still, so if you have more time again in a while, maybe start with something like that? There's plenty of games you can fire up for 15 minutes and put down again.
I played the game twice back-to-back a couple years ago and absolutely loved it and I don't remember it being that difficult. I don't remember any specific tips or anything but I remember that I never had to grind.There is a timing based charge attack, are you doing that correctly?


I'm definitely not doing charge attacks enough, no. I grinded for 30 minutes to get some money and materials to make an armour now, added 120 defence points so hopefully that should help me out. The freaking boss just broke my sword too, like thanks a bunch swamp thing. I think I just have to accept I'm really bad at this game. The chain is probably better used to keep enemies away while dealing with other ones, I think I went in too much with a hack&slash mentality.


Pandora's Tower warning: You can **** your save over right near the end of the game based on a few factors, so I recommend leaving your monster lady love alone as much as possible in case you need to activate one-off interaction scenes to get through a glitch that stops you from going into the last tower(s).


Yeah I saw the glitch warnings, thanks! Someone on GameFAQs suggested it might be the opposite, where if you have a whole bunch of interactions left, the game crashes because it has all those stored. We'll see I guess, first I even need to get there - spent nearly three hours today on the sixth Tower, so it's a while off still.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 18, 2018, 02:31:25 AM

Yeah I saw the glitch warnings, thanks! Someone on GameFAQs suggested it might be the opposite, where if you have a whole bunch of interactions left, the game crashes because it has all those stored. We'll see I guess, first I even need to get there - spent nearly three hours today on the sixth Tower, so it's a while off still.

In my case I got the hard lock glitch and had no remaining interactions, so [shrug emoji]. Alls I know is that I tried for hours to get around it and had to give up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 18, 2018, 04:30:59 PM
I had imported Pandora's Tower before it released in North America, and wonder if I should just play that version instead of the local one. Apparently it didn't have the same problesm.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on August 18, 2018, 09:32:04 PM
I had imported Pandora's Tower before it released in North America, and wonder if I should just play that version instead of the local one. Apparently it didn't have the same problesm.

The Japanese and PAL versions do not have the glitch so if you have one of them play that version instead.  Since NOA didn't want to localize the North American version, they allowed Xseed to bring it over instead like with The Last Story.  But unlike The Last Story, Xseed somehow accidentally introduced a major glitch and never bothered to playtest the entire game before releasing it since it's a glitch that will effect 100% of everyone who plays it if they reach the 11th and 12th towers.  Or they did notice but decided the cost to fix it wasn't worth it which would be even more scummy to do.

Hopefully the game either gets an HD remaster or another release on the Switch so the glitch will finally be fixed for America or we can all easily get the PAL version.  I had to reset my Wii over 20 times to eventually get through the last towers but it's an experience I don't want to recreate.  Which sucks because the last 2 towers that the glitch affects were some of the best parts of the game.  Pandora's Tower is a great game but that glitch is what stops me from replaying it even though I'd really like too. :'(   
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 19, 2018, 01:17:06 AM
I'm plunking away on Wolfenstein: the New Order whenever I boot into Windows. I'm beginning to think the game is good but not great. It feels like it keeps pulling me away from the core first person shooter component to do dumb stuff like forced stealth or interactive cinematic moments. Ammo is also too scarce.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on August 20, 2018, 11:40:31 PM
Still plunking away at Onrush, and I've made significant progress both in online play & SP. I'm really enjoying the change-up to the usual racing formula, and it's easily one of the most entertaining games I've played all year.

Unfortunately, it's also one of the most needlessly frustrating. For one, despite the game having 4 different modes (Overcharge, Countdown, Switch, & Lockdown), the Ranked online season play (which is the only online available right now while the Ranked mode is in-season) really only has 2: Switch & Lockdown. I've only seen Overcharge a few times online, and I've never seen Countdown online. That's especially impressive considering that the ranked season matches are automatically generated. Players don't get to pick anything except their vehicles.

Granted, Lockdown & Switch are the 2 best modes in the game, but this game has enough issues with repetition already without deliberately making it worse. That's assuming you can even get into an online match, though. Right now, you have about a 20% chance of getting matched into a brand new match, about a 60% chance of getting matched onto a losing team in a match that's about to wrap (hope you don't mind losing an online rank!), and 20% chance of getting matched into a match that's already ended (thus starting the entire process over). Oh, and I hope you won that match you got thrown into the last minute of, because otherwise you get none of the progression currency that's used to unlock the rewards from the online season.  This is a team-based game. That is bullshit.


Oh, and that's assuming that the Codemasters servers actually hold up, because they frequently disconnect immediately after matches or during matchmaking. And SPEAKING of those servers, this game requires an always online connection to even play the Singleplayer events. Why? I have no goddamn idea. I've been kicked out of Singleplayer matches because the servers hiccuped, and it's maddening as hell.

It's a real shame, too, because the actual gameplay is phenomenal. Your cars are made of paper mache online so the slightest love tap kills you, but the sheer energy & physicality of the game is infectious. Despite the limited number of tracks, they can experience shifts in daylight & weather conditions over the course of a race that can radically change up how the match plays. There is genuine creativity and willingness to experiment, and it's all wasted on a game that is needlessly crippled by stupid decision decisions outside of gameplay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 24, 2018, 03:25:15 AM
My HORI left Joy-Con with a real d-pad finally came in, and I've been going back and playing things with it to test it out. It feels really good, I'm having a great time with it on things like Celeste and Dead Cells. If you like 2D games and play your Switch in handheld mode a lot of the time definitely check it out when they release the western version next month.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on August 29, 2018, 09:02:54 AM
Into the Breach had a stealth launch yesterday, which was a turn-based strategy game I had been waiting to see if it'd make its way over to Switch or tablets. 

You select regions of a map where enemy bug monsters are popping up in waves, and your primary objective is to keep cities on the map safe from harm controlling 3 different mechs/vehicles.  There are usually secondary objectives as well (protect these units, destroy this item, etc)  The bugs will set themselves up by moving and targeting a town or character, and it'll show the path the attack will travel, including if it'll reach across the screen or just one tile.  In your turn, you can move and then attack with your units.  Priority is in protecting the buildings, as too many hits will result in game-over.  But some of your attacks have a knock-back effect, so often the best strategy is less about trying to kill enemies quickest, but targeting your attacks in a way where the enemies will target each other or fall into water which kills them.

I'm not far in, but so far, it has been great fun, something I really enjoyed toying-around with on the couch with the TV on in the background.  Exactly the kind of thing I need while I wait for Fire Emblem to show up.  If anyone was waiting on that indie game that's aping Advance Wars, I think this would be a suitable filler until that shows up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on September 07, 2018, 04:46:58 PM
Spider-Man (PS4)
This game is incredible. Definitely the best Spider-Man game ever made.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 08, 2018, 01:33:53 AM
Spider-Man (PS4)
This game is incredible. Definitely the best Spider-Man game ever made.

I'm still quite partial to Shattered Dimensions, just due to the variety of characters; styles; & locations. Still, I started playing this game after work, and I look up now and it's 1:30 AM so it must be doing something right. It's a very good game, but it's definitely full of the usual Ubisoft Open World issues (a map full of icons, radio towers to unlock said icons on the map) and Spider-Man game issues (repeating audio, repetitive side content). Still, you can't beat the sheer amount of polish Insomniac put into it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on September 12, 2018, 11:50:48 AM
Spider-Man (PS4)
This game is incredible. Definitely the best Spider-Man game ever made.

I'm still quite partial to Shattered Dimensions, just due to the variety of characters; styles; & locations. Still, I started playing this game after work, and I look up now and it's 1:30 AM so it must be doing something right. It's a very good game, but it's definitely full of the usual Ubisoft Open World issues (a map full of icons, radio towers to unlock said icons on the map) and Spider-Man game issues (repeating audio, repetitive side content). Still, you can't beat the sheer amount of polish Insomniac put into it.

How does it FEEL to explore NYC as Spider-Man in the game?  That's always been my biggest hangup in the more recent games.  I try not to idolize Spider-Man 2's swinging, but there was a momentum and speed coupled with some of the upgrades in that game that made the experience of just traveling through the city joyous.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 12, 2018, 01:26:13 PM
Spider-Man (PS4)
This game is incredible. Definitely the best Spider-Man game ever made.

I'm still quite partial to Shattered Dimensions, just due to the variety of characters; styles; & locations. Still, I started playing this game after work, and I look up now and it's 1:30 AM so it must be doing something right. It's a very good game, but it's definitely full of the usual Ubisoft Open World issues (a map full of icons, radio towers to unlock said icons on the map) and Spider-Man game issues (repeating audio, repetitive side content). Still, you can't beat the sheer amount of polish Insomniac put into it.

How does it FEEL to explore NYC as Spider-Man in the game?  That's always been my biggest hangup in the more recent games.  I try not to idolize Spider-Man 2's swinging, but there was a momentum and speed coupled with some of the upgrades in that game that made the experience of just traveling through the city joyous.

It feels excellent, as I see web swinging elements from several different Spider-Man games that give you a great deal of control over where you're swinging and where you're landing. Incidentally, I finished that game last night for Platinum #159.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 12, 2018, 02:26:10 PM
So I've finally gotten into playing Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS).

It took a few attempts, as the early going could feel rough and unforgiving and my interest flagged a bit during the first play attempt. Ok, it's still rough and unforgiving, but at least I'm enjoying the pain now.

I just started exploring the 4th land, and should still have plenty left to see and do. My characters feel powerful enough now that it's rare to have a total party kill unless I do something foolish, and more importantly they feel nicely customized to my liking. I think I whiffed on some of the subclass assignment though; or more importantly, just didn't maximize some of the usefulness of the class synergies.

I do like how the game pushes you to not just fight bosses, but plan out how to best take advantage of their weaknesses and individual quirks. There also seem to be a lot of different strategies available depending on how you've set up your party.

Anyway, good game so far. Rather enjoying it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 21, 2018, 11:21:23 AM
In the middle of Super Mario 3D Land (3DS), and rather enjoying the game.

Straight up, it's not as good as Super Mario 3D World on Wii U even though it takes a lot of cues from that game. Levels are much shorter, and tend to be a pretty narrow track - but they still feel really good with enough secrets and areas to explore, and wonderful variety from level to level.

The physics feel a bit odd - sometimes it's hard to keep a good sense of where you are going to land during jumps if you shadow is obscured for any reason (thinking of one boss where this happened) and Mario has a weighty feel that prevents him from moving as quickly as I often expect. Neither issue affects overall enjoyment though.

So far I've played through to the middle of World 7, picking up all coins and topping every flagpole along the way. Even though World 8 is the traditional end, I know there is more content in this game and I'm looking forward to things getting a bit tougher as it's been a pretty quick romp so far. Big thumbs up to this point.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 21, 2018, 11:47:42 AM
Super Mario 3D World is a better game across the board. I have fonder memories of Super Mario 3D Land because I played it first.

I’ve poured over 200 hours into Breath of the Wild. I still have to defeat Vah Rudania, but I completed everything else in that region. Otherwise, I’m still searching for the remaining Shrines and Korok Seeds. Somehow I still have like 230 Korok Seeds left. I don’t even know how that’s possible. Last night, I spent a literal hour trying to beat Blynne’s Mounted Obstacle Course. F that mini-game. The number of times my Royal White Stallion just dodged the hurdles or stopped entirely when approaching them straight-on was 10 kinds of infuriating. I got the Extravagant Bridle and Saddle, but at what cost?

Not sure how I feel about the DLC. I’ll definitely need a break from the game once I finish up the last two regions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on September 21, 2018, 12:17:15 PM
In the middle of Super Mario 3D Land (3DS), and rather enjoying the game.

Straight up, it's not as good as Super Mario 3D World on Wii U even though it takes a lot of cues from that game.
Super Mario 3D Land came out two years before Super Mario 3D World. The cues go the other way around. I like 3D Land, but I think in general the levels are way too short. Most of them take less than a minute or so to finish even on your first play through.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 21, 2018, 04:12:12 PM
In the middle of Super Mario 3D Land (3DS), and rather enjoying the game.

Straight up, it's not as good as Super Mario 3D World on Wii U even though it takes a lot of cues from that game.
Super Mario 3D Land came out two years before Super Mario 3D World. The cues go the other way around. I like 3D Land, but I think in general the levels are way too short. Most of them take less than a minute or so to finish even on your first play through.

Oh wow, I totally had that wrong... For some reason, I was imagining that Super Mario 3D World came first!
Thanks for correcting me.

Agree that levels are super short, but was ok with that because of the portable form factor. Start a new level, and you know it'll be over in a couple of minutes (literally) regardless of whether you win or lose.

And I do think it takes longer, most of the time, if you want to get all coins and the flag your first time through because there is a bit less room for error...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 21, 2018, 04:32:57 PM
The short stages worked well for a handheld game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on September 22, 2018, 12:41:35 AM
In the middle of Super Mario 3D Land (3DS), and rather enjoying the game.

Straight up, it's not as good as Super Mario 3D World on Wii U even though it takes a lot of cues from that game.
Super Mario 3D Land came out two years before Super Mario 3D World. The cues go the other way around. I like 3D Land, but I think in general the levels are way too short. Most of them take less than a minute or so to finish even on your first play through.

Oh wow, I totally had that wrong... For some reason, I was imagining that Super Mario 3D World came first!
Thanks for correcting me.

Agree that levels are super short, but was ok with that because of the portable form factor. Start a new level, and you know it'll be over in a couple of minutes (literally) regardless of whether you win or lose.

And I do think it takes longer, most of the time, if you want to get all coins and the flag your first time through because there is a bit less room for error...

I liked 3D World much more, but also played 3D World first. 3D Land feels dangerously close to the original New Super Mario Bros. to me in terms of being too bare. And like the "This food sucks and the portions are too small" joke, the post-game content is really recycled and stale. The Bowser stages were a good concept, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on September 23, 2018, 12:08:08 AM
Mario 3D World is better the first time through when collecting all the medals and stamps, but 3D Land is more fun to just replay when trying to rush through the levels as fast as possible.  The shorter more compact levels hold up better on replays compared to the larger more spaced out levels of 3D World.  With 3D Land I actually had the most fun rushing through all the levels a second time as Luigi, while in 3D World it was a blast the first time but when replaying as the other characters kind of becomes a drag over time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on September 23, 2018, 03:32:12 PM
I was wary about starting a game in this with Valkyria Chronicles 4 on the way, but I threw in Shadow of the Tomb Raider for a nice 5-6 hour stretch, and maybe it's just really low expectations after I was profoundly disappointed with Rise of the Tomb Raider...but I actually quite like this one so far.

I think what immensely helps is that there seems to be WAY less combat this time against armored goons with assault rifles. By about 1/4 of the way in, Rise pretty much became a glorified cover shooter. One of the things I REALLY liked in Tomb Raider 2013 was the scarce combat, and it was also combat that stressed movement & adaptability. In Rise, you pretty much planted behind cover, triggered the bow triple headshot, wash, rinse, repeat with wave after wave of goons. So far in Shadow, I've done VERY little combat against human characters, and what combat I've done has had a distinctly Predator-esque vibe: attacking from the shadows and vanishing back into the treeline.

Shadow has a LOT of downtime & exploration, and I love that. I wish it had the unrelenting momentum that Tomb Raider 2013 had, but this is pretty OK. What's really strange, though is that this kind of feels more like a sequel to the 2013 game than Rise did.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 26, 2018, 11:02:52 AM
I’m close to finally finishing Breath of the Wild. I went into Hyrule Castle for the Shrine there then decided to explore a bit which ended up with me pretty much clearing the whole thing minus Calamity Ganon. I almost triggered the final boss by haphazardly walking toward the Sanctum. I haven’t completed Vah Rudania yet. Hyrule Castle looks super daunting with all the Guardians Turrets/Skywalkers shooting and/or flying around. It wasn’t that bad with Link as souped up as he is at this point. Having the masks from Kilton is also helpful to avoid entire battles with groups of Lizalfos or Moblins.

Lake Tower and Faron Tower regions were the last two I unlocked. The southeast part of the map is my favorite in the game. Viewing the world from Tuft Mountain was breathtaking. Maybe I just don’t play open-world games enough, but I’ve never seen draw distance like this before. I somehow still have 62 Korok Seeds to find. Most of them are probably here. I try to find what I can on my own then refer to a map for others. I absolutely would not have found most of these on my own. It’s definitely doable to find enough without help to fully expand Link’s inventory.

One of the most understated things that I love about the game is that it acknowledges and shows that there is more to the planet/world than what Link can explore. Sure, it artificially locks Link from getting there either with that canyon to the north and northwest, and the “You can’t go any farther” message. The Zelda Encyclopedia tries to explain (not well) how the various realms and lands connect to Hyrule. I just like that I can see fields in the distance in Breath of the Wild. The world feels much less walled off than previous games even though it clearly still is walled off.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on September 27, 2018, 01:35:34 PM
Sure, it artificially locks Link from getting there either with that canyon to the north and northwest, and the “You can’t go any farther” message.
I always felt there should have been more to that message, as a way of explaining why you can't go that way. Something like "You can't leave Hyrule, get back in there and save Zelda you coward!"
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on September 27, 2018, 08:55:37 PM
Man, is Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS) ever a lot of silly fun.

I've only started the game and finished the first tank battle so far, but everything seems charming and the game feels like it will be great for quick 15-20 minute bursts.  DS had so many awesome little odd-ball titles like this, even though I appreciate the 3DS library it feels very "by the numbers" in comparison...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on October 06, 2018, 02:07:55 AM
I played a bit of Spiderman PS4 and Draqon Quest 11 at my cousin's place.

Spiderman seemed like I needed more time to get used to the controls. The camera was a little janky a couple of times as well. It didn't thrill me.

DQ XI seemed pretty sweet, if very cliche. I like the grass in that game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 09, 2018, 08:10:55 AM
Splitting time between Zelda: Majora's Mask (3DS) and Ys: Seven (PSP).

Finished the first dungeon in Zelda over the weekend, and am really hoping to stick with the game until the end this time. (Majora's Mask sits at an awkward spot in my backlog. It's a game that I've started many times but never finished - despite liking the structure and design enough to have talked multiple times about it being one of my favorite Zelda games.)

Ys: Seven was a bit of an impulse thing; picked up my PSP Go over the weekend after thinking about some of the great games for the system that I haven't gotten to. Shouldn't really have started an additional game, but got a bit carried away when looking at my backlog (and outstanding want list) for the system. Don't regret it though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 09, 2018, 10:20:05 AM
I borrowed Persona 5 (PS4) about a month ago from a friend.  I love it for what it's story has evolved into, the characters who are genuinely interesting and funny, and the way it both has these epic dungeons/battles intertwined with a relationship building mechanic that forces you to play out each day's events as a school student and making choices with how you use the limited time in each of these in-game days.

That said, being 90 hours in has highlighted why I never play these games anymore.  This game is such a time sink.  So there's this dichotomy of wanting to give Persona 4 Golden a try after this and not wanting to make another huge game commitment for a while.  I think I need a break, lol.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaymin on October 09, 2018, 11:02:26 PM
I think the ability to take P4 Golden (and, Naga willing, P5 Crimson) portable will make them a bit more playable. But I tried to play Person 3 Portable after blasting through P5 and came to a stop in about August with 130 hours between them. So yeah, hold off for a bit.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on October 10, 2018, 08:55:10 AM
I think the ability to take P4 Golden (and, Naga willing, P5 Crimson) portable will make them a bit more playable. But I tried to play Person 3 Portable after blasting through P5 and came to a stop in about August with 130 hours between them. So yeah, hold off for a bit.

Noted.  Maybe you're right that it'll be more easily consumable on a handheld untethered from a TV.  You're definitely right that i'll need a break after this. 

I have my doubts given the current state of Vita that we'll see a portable Persona 5 (unless it's ported to Switch, where I'd definitely consider obtaining), but now I feel dumb because I could have seen if remote play on Vita worked.  Could have spared my wife countless hours of my characters yelling "PERSONA!" each battle, but she also would have missed out on the awesomeness of Morgana.

Also, I'm an idiot and JUST now realized your profile pic is of the protagonist.  lol.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on October 12, 2018, 11:43:41 AM
Been bouncing back & forth between Timespinner & Beat Hazard 2(both on Steam) lately.

For a Metroidvania, I don't find Timespinner all that hard. Maybe if I were into achievement hunting I might find trouble. I've just been sidetracking on side quests before marching up to the Emperor.

Beat Hazard 2 is fun & all but I didn't try the first game until after Shadow Missions was added so it feels a bit bare bones to me at the moment. Still, getting #1 ranked in the world on obscure anime songs I found on Youtube hasn't gotten dull yet. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 13, 2018, 08:53:02 PM
Axiom Verge (Switch)

Another game I started last year. I didn’t get too far, only about an hour in per my save file. I’m about five to six hours in now. “Axiom Verge” is worse-Metroid. That isn’t necessarily an indictment on the game. It isn’t bad-Metroid. “Axiom Verge” is very good so far, but it does almost everything worse than the series that primarily inspired it. Several upgrades involve some pretty absurd nonsense. For example, one of the last upgrades I got is right out in the open albeit walled off. I have to jump diagonally at a ledge, shoot my drone against the wall, quickly teleport to the drone in the air, then teleport through said wall.

It seems as if some weapons are completely optional and as such, are very well hidden. I’m not sure which ones I actually need or if I’ve missed others. I’ll consult GameFAQs later. I wouldn’t necessarily fault the game for this because I kind of expect optional items to be hidden away. However, this leads me to something I will fault the game for. Thomas Happ developed this game by himself so no one was around to tell him that some of the level design is problematic. Something Super Metroid did really well was placing notable landmarks at certain dead ends to force it into the player’s memory. That way, when a new powerup is found, they remember to revisit said landmark. “Axiom Verge” doesn’t really have those so it’s easier to get lost. I don’t want to be too hard on Happ. It’s still pretty amazing that one man developed this entire game. Even the music is quite good though sometimes it just stops while I’m in the middle of a room. Not sure if that’s intentional or something.

Anyway, I’m thoroughly enjoying “Axiom Verge” so far. The Rusalki are really well designed, just excellent sprite work. Trace is kind of a dork though. Also, I’m not sure if Happ designed him with mutton chops or if that’s just supposed to be like a shadow on his face. I keep thinking about that Simpson’s episode when Mr. Burns repeatedly told Don Mattingly to trim his sideburns.

EDIT: I googled it. Yeah, they’re mutton chops. I suppose it’s appropriate for Trace’s personality.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 14, 2018, 12:46:03 AM
Yeah, Axiom Verge for me had a really strong first impression, and then progressively fell apart to the point where I was pretty 'meh' on it by the end. Very good presentation, deceptively banal game design. I feel like the drone upgrade kind of encapsulates the title: Cool and surprising idea that turns out to not be that interesting in practice.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: nickmitch on October 14, 2018, 05:30:24 PM
I've been playing a lot of Skyrim lately.  It's my first time playing it, but I understand it's pretty popular? 

I initially had some mixed feelings, but now that I'm deeper into the game, I do like it.  It's easy to compare it to Breath of the Wild, with that being my most recent open world experience, and in a lot of ways I can see how Nintendo perfected some aspects of the open world design.

Early on in the game, I felt constantly lost and finding myself in situations where I'm seriously under-leveled.  Quests would send you across the map, and along the way you can find caves and dungeons with bosses that are level 30+.  Not all of them have bosses, but traversing a dungeon only to turn back because the boss is too strong feels like a waste.  Once, I came across a mid boss and just had to flat out run away from it.  I used my "shout" to knock it off its platform and then just ran to the exit.  The main boss was waiting for me up some steps, but I guess the game glitched and I just arrowed it to death without it moving or attacking.

I think that was my frustration with the game.  It felt all over the place, whether I was ready for it or not.  Once I got attacked by some "cultists" and they whooped my ass until I was able to run away.  I eventually returned with some vampire lady, and she basically killed them for me.  I literally couldn't go back to that particular town for a while because I knew I couldn't kill those people.  That kept me from some quests.

The other frustration was the lack of explanations for most things.  Everytime I see a new shrine I accidentally activate it and get a new "blessing", but I don't know what they actually do, so I just kinda don't care.  Then there was the time when like 8 different NPCs told me that if I was interested in magic, I should go to the college in Winterhold.  Winterhold was so fucking far, I thought this had to be a mistake.  I tried going once, but got killed along the way too many times.  The story eventually led me there, but that felt like so many hours later.

Now that I'm deeper into the game, I'm liking it a lot more.  Actually reading through the skill trees (constellations?) and saving some "perks" got me a few that I actually make me feel stronger.  I find myself more equipped to take on stronger bosses, and I've actually killed a dragon (almost) by myself. 

One thing I've learned (finally) is which mechanics I feel comfortable ignoring and which I wanna get into.  The number of things you can develop in the game is tremendous and was actually overwhelming intially.  But now that I've decided that cooking, alchemy, and forging weapons aren't for me, I can just ignore anything related to those activities, which saves me so much carry space.  I enjoy enchanting my weapons and armor, and that's also a good way to make money in the game.

One other thing I like/don't like is that my quest list feels long as ****.  I have no clue what moves the actual story though.  I guess there's multiple stories going on?  So I'll go down the rabbit hole of a few quests, and then it'll just end.  So, I'll move to a new one, but that reintroduces the leveling issue. 

I finished one recently and felt about right, level wise.  Then I went back to one I had skipped for a while (because the quest told me to go far out to the middle of nowhere, and I had to climb a mountain, traverse some waters, and fight several packs of wolves to get to), and felt pretty op.  I killed most enemies with one or two blows. 

The lengthy quest list does make me feel like there's a lot of game left to play.  The structure also makes for some good, focused play sessions where I can just focus on or or two things and clear a quest or two in a shorter play session, or I can get comfortable and play for a bunch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 17, 2018, 10:53:11 AM
After a couple intermittent sessions of Zelda: Triforce Heroes (3DS) - some online with NWR forum peeps (thanks to Khush and Mop it up) and some at home with my kids - I'm starting to get a feel for the game.

What a weird game. It's fun if you meet the strict three-player requirement. Tried single-player for one stage, and it was a bit of a hassle. Playing in person is more fun than online, but none of the early level puzzles are that bad so online play still works well. Haven't spent any time at all looking at the story of town - just focusing on going in and doing the little adventure stages. Honestly couldn't even tell you what the story is about.

Not sure how far I'll stick with this. My kids are too young to have much gaming skill, so we can push through the early levels but challenges and later levels are probably more than they can handle. (If they could practice without me, maybe it would be doable... but the strict player limit doesn't really allow that.)  Online play with the forum peoples here is enjoyable, but that's because the people here are good people.  I don't really care about the game itself enough to dive in and get wrapped up in any specific goals.

Recommended only if you have friends to play with - preferably local, and it's really nice that they offer download play in that regard.  Going online to try the levels with random people isn't something I'd be willing to do. (That said, I'd be willing to play with anyone on these forums who wants/needs a third and isn't too concerned about doing well...)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on October 21, 2018, 01:05:35 AM
Yoku's Island Express (PC):

I haven't gotten quite the same tickle as I have off this game in a long time. I'm not a pinball person, but I did get really addicted to that old Windows space pinball game on a work laptop at one point. And I like Metroid-style design a lot when done well. And here somehow both core impulses are married and satisfied in this strange one-off hybrid.

Basically it's a Metroid game but you're a pinball and a lot of the world is structured like a pinball table. It's really viscerally fun for most of the game, and the developers came up with some ingenious concepts to make it consistently playable as an "adventure".

If pressed, I would say they lean too hard on naturalism to stitch it all together, so you never get the level design equivalent of some high-stress third-stage pinball sequence, which in the end restricts how far it develops. The bosses are big missed opportunities for this, but it's also hard to envision how to introduce significant punishment into the mix without it being maddening. Additionally, few of the upgrades are particularly pinbally, but it's also easy to conceive how problematic a real late-stage screw jump would be in this context, so there's a bit of throttled feeling to it along with a bit of an uncanny valley between genres. The last third of the game is kind of a bore as a result, but it's offset by the cleverness of some of the secret/optional sections.

But even though I have some fairly substantial nags about it, this is probably the most engaged I've been by a game since Hollow Knight originally released.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 22, 2018, 12:30:16 AM
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (Switch)

I originally pledged to the Kickstarter, choosing Wii U as my platform of choice. I was admittedly irked that Wayforward announced a physical version about a month before sending out codes. Had I known a physical release was going to happen, I would have waited. Maybe Wayforward didn’t know during the Kickstarter window. Either way, the company got my money. Twice. I picked up the physical Ultimate Edition because I’d rather have a physical version, and I knew I was more likely to actually play it on Switch. I kind of just don’t want to play games on Wii U when I can help it.

I believe I got past the second boss (Giga Mermaid AKA Giga Boobmaid on Wii U before I stopped playing. I’m well past that point, having defeated the fourth boss. Outside of some frustrating platforming, I’m enjoying the game. However, so far, it’s already worse than “Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse.” The previous entry ditched transformations in favor of pirate gear which greatly improved pacing and made for some much appreciated new gameplay mechanics. “Shantae: Half-Genie Hero” returns to transformations, and while still fun, just feels like a step back.

I should note that the controls don’t feel as tight as I want them to be. I’m not sure whether the Pro Controller’s faulty d-pad is to blade or if it’s merely making the controls worse. My Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Pro Controller seemed to fair a little better, but that may be wishful thinking.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 27, 2018, 11:53:28 PM
Because I'm late to everything and have a massive backlog, I'm just now starting The Messenger. Neal gave it a 10 for NWR and was extremely vocal in his praise for it on Twitter and in the staff Slack, and based on the first little bit of it I can see why. I don't have that much experience with things this is based on like Ninja Gaiden, but I'm having a really good time with it so far. Pretty simple mechanics, at least so far, but it feels pretty tight and I haven't yet run into any areas where it feels cheap, though I am pretty early on.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 28, 2018, 12:42:24 AM
Been on a bit of a Resident Evil kick lately with REmake 2 on the horizon & the season and all.

Thoroughly replayed Resident Evil Revelations 2, one of the games in the series I find most overlooked & underappreciated, especially in comparison to the spectacularly mediocre Revelations 1.  Ended up getting all the medals, the Bad Ending I never got before, and even beat the game in Countdown & Invisible mode to get the Platinum.

Countdown mode was...interesting. I despise speed-running in games. I prefer to take my time & explore, but Countdown mode forces you to learn how to make snap judgments and find the most efficient path through a level before that timer hits zero.  It's not something I'd ever want to do again, but as a one-off experiment it was entertaining enough, I guess.

Invisible mode was a beast of another matter, though. It's the hardest mode in the game: all enemies are set to their highest difficulty mode, and you can't see them unless Moira shines her light at them for a few seconds & Natalia does the same with her pointing.  Like Countdown, it forces you to find the most efficient path and pick & choose which enemies you're going to engage with. In some ways, it reminds me of my Hard Core run in Dead Space 2, where I had to get creative at the start of the game finding ways to exploit the system & take down enemies without using my scarce ammo supply.  Another mode I'd never want to do again, but it was certainly a unique experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 28, 2018, 12:53:29 AM
Unfortunately, I decided to pick up Revelations 1 PS4 after that, and god...every time I come back to this game, I think "this time, I'm actually going to see what people like about it", and every time that never happens.  I just despise every aspect about how this game is designed, from the bullet sponge, wobbling enemies gimped for the terrible 3DS controls...to the game's love of countdown timers & just dumping you into rooms with dozens of ambushing enemies...to some of the worst, most annoying characters to ever feature in a non-FPS Resident Evil game.

Coming to this game after Revelations 2 was especially irritating, as I'd gotten so used to running in Rev 2 and there's none of that in Rev 1. Because the 3DS didn't have a 2nd stick, Jill controls pretty much like RE4 (i.e. stiff as a board with tank controls) with only slightly more mobility afforded by the right stick.  The big draw of this game was supposedly Raid mode, but Raid mode was so much more entertaining in Rev 2 with a variety of enemies & scenarios. Rev 1's Raid mode is just the main campaign but with enemies that have visible  health bars.  I didn't enjoy fighting the spaz-tastic Ooze monsters in the main game, so why would I want to dump another dozen hours into fighting them over and over again?

Also, "Terragrigia" is still the stupidest name I've ever seen in the history of fiction.

Went on to Resident Evil 4 PS4 from there, and if there was one positive from playing Rev 1, it's that it got me used to RE 4's still controls again.  Nearing the end of the game, and while I'm enjoying it...it's hard not to see how padded this game is and reliant on gimmicks. I'm nearing the point where the game gives up even trying to pretend it's still a horror game of sorts, at least until the Regenerators show up.  Forgot how annoying the shooting galleries are without pointer controls & a reticule.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on October 28, 2018, 01:03:05 PM
Unfortunately, I decided to pick up Revelations 1 PS4 after that, and god...every time I come back to this game, I think "this time, I'm actually going to see what people like about it", and every time that never happens
For me, the appeal of “Resident Evil: Revelations” was directly tied to 3DS. The game looked amazing on a handheld in 2012. If you didn’t play it back then, much of the wow-factor is lost. When I bought the Wii U port, and the game’s warts were far more apparent. It was easier to see how much Capcom hid behind a 240p screen so the graphics were far less impressive on an HD console. The HD ports did have dual stick controls though the Circle Pad Pro helped immensely on 3DS.

Ghost Ship was the only part of Raid Mode that was really good, and even then, it wasn’t after a while for the reasons you mentioned. The lack of variety in enemies really killed it because the Ooze are just boring, low-polygon, nearly texture-less bullet sponges. Ultimately, I think you gave the game a fair shake. “Resident Evil: Revelations” isn’t that great especially by 2018 standards.

Quote
Also, "Terragrigia" is still the stupidest name I've ever seen in the history of fiction.
I’m almost with you on this except “The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks” had spirits named “Lokomo” and almost every character in the game was a train-related pun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on October 29, 2018, 01:37:24 AM
Finished my replay of Resident Evil 4 on PS4. Man...that game does not hold up as well as I had hoped.  I had forgotten that everything about The Island (outside the Regenerators) is just "the worst", and it alone must push the game's run time at least 3-4 hours. It's bad enough that the game tosses in armored soldiers, which have always been the worst part of modern Resident Evil games, but it's also where the game decides to just throw in every leftover idea in an already schizophrenic game.

"Hey, we have this idea for a boss fight against a giant monster in a giant cage, but we just can't figure out how to set it up and make it interesting!"

"**** it! Put it in right at the end!"

"Hey, we have this concept for a character that's an old friend of Leon's. He's a military dude with a blade arm!"

"I like it! We can put him right after the giant monster fight!"

"But won't that be exhausting to the player?"

"Didn't you hear me earlier? **** IT!"

"But don't we need to set this guy up at all in the story? And what's this about him having explosive drones & a machine gun?"

"****! IT!"

The entire game feels like that at times. Mikami couldn't focus on any one idea after the 3-4 different prototypes RE4 had (including 1 that became Devil May Cry), so he just decided to throw in whatever came to mind. Sometimes that led to really cool sequences, and sometimes that led to ducking in and out of cover while dudes with chain guns, dynamite, & rocket launchers rain down death from above. The game's especially fond of just flooding the area with enemies from either behind you or from above, and eventually it stops being interesting or surprising & just becomes exhausting.

And seriously, Capcom, your refusal to just remake Separate Ways is just getting embarrassing now, with all the cinematics (including ones just lifted from RE4 GCN) rendered at resolution so poor that watching them on my 1080p TV now looks like 90s-era Quicktime files.

Yes, RE4 is still a great game in its own right, but between the awful last 1/3; the lack of some gameplay perks from later games (like being able to shoot a gun & throw a grenade without diving back into menus); and the sheer length of the game, it's definitely dropped some rungs on my Top RE Games list.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on October 29, 2018, 03:08:49 AM
I picked up a physical copy of Revelaitons on the 3DS ages ago. It's pretty fun when it's the more slow paced horrory action on the ship but when it gets to the more fast paced stuff it just became really frustrating for me to try and keep up. I gave up on the mountain where dudebro gets himself injured and has to fight off a bunch of wolves. That segment just shows off how unpolished the aiming controls are for more fast paced stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on October 29, 2018, 12:04:26 PM
Finished my replay of Resident Evil 4 on PS4. Man...that game does not hold up as well as I had hoped.  I had forgotten that everything about The Island (outside the Regenerators) is just "the worst", and it alone must push the game's run time at least 3-4 hours. It's bad enough that the game tosses in armored soldiers, which have always been the worst part of modern Resident Evil games, but it's also where the game decides to just throw in every leftover idea in an already schizophrenic game.

Even back in 2005 the Island was widely considered the weakest section by far.  Most people praised the overall game for how amazing the Village was and the Castle was still mostly well loved as well but I never saw too much love for the Island.  That was usually the moment people thought it jump the shark from something still resembling survival horror into full blown action which didn't work as well since the game wasn't properly designed around being a full blown action game like the Island tries to do.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 29, 2018, 03:16:29 PM
Maybe splitting my time between too many games lately, but ended up buying a copy of Severed (3DS and Wii U with cross-buy) when it was on sale because it seemed like a good Halloween game.

Early impressions are decidedly mixed.  The art style is undeniably cool, but the environments are mostly barren and the pointer-based gameplay mediocre so far. (Just starting the third part of the crow temple, so not that far into the game.) It reminds me of the highly stylized, on-rails action game Killer 7... but super streamlined and without the crazy story that was packed into the game. Neither change is for the better, in my experience.

There are some vocal supporters of this game on the forums here, so hopefully I'll find something that appeals to me as it progresses. So far I've been mostly disappointed and am left feeling like it's a style-over-substance affair.
 :(
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on October 29, 2018, 03:54:53 PM
There are some vocal supporters of this game on the forums here, so hopefully I'll find something that appeals to me as it progresses. So far I've been mostly disappointed and am left feeling like it's a style-over-substance affair.
 :(

Aww crud, hope it picks up for you. The atmosphere really worked for me and I really dug the subtle storytelling done almost entirely through environmental cues. To me the world felt very desolate, where only scavenging creatures like the crows and vultures can still thrive while everything else slowly withers. Gave me that Metroid Prime sensation at its best times.

For what it's worth, the areas do get progressively better, but I could see this game ultimately having little wide appeal. At the end of the day it's just a first person dungeon crawler with few means of interaction and it takes a while before you get to truly desperate fights where you're stressed & scrambling to stay upright. Those instances are a bit too few imo.
Hope it grows on you (heh), but I don't know if it will ever really address your current criticisms unfortunately.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 29, 2018, 04:46:01 PM
Your description of Severed as a first-person dungeon crawler is quite apt - between the maze-like level design (although never really a maze since you've got a visible map), the simple environmental puzzles, and the set-piece battles spread out through the levels. Again, this game reminds me pretty strongly of Killer7 because of the similar gameplay elements and highly stylized graphics - have you tried that game by any chance?

I get the feeling that Severed is just not the right game for me. It seems well-made and is enjoyable enough that I'll keep playing, but just isn't quite hitting that sweet spot that draws me in for more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on October 29, 2018, 05:49:36 PM
Your description of Severed as a first-person dungeon crawler is quite apt - between the maze-like level design (although never really a maze since you've got a visible map), the simple environmental puzzles, and the set-piece battles spread out through the levels. Again, this game reminds me pretty strongly of Killer7 because of the similar gameplay elements and highly stylized graphics - have you tried that game by any chance?

I suppose on Wii U you could disable the map screen or just turn the TV off entirely, but if anything that'd probably make it more annoying to find your way... There's some puzzles which are really expedited by knowing some locations around you. What I do like about the set-piece battles is they constrain the amount of giblets in the game; if you don't pick them up often you'll be forced to make some choices in the upgrade skill tree. I think the hard mode might limit them further so you can't max out everything anymore.

Haven't yet played Killer7 despite owning it for years! Been meaning to get to that and Viewtiful Joe forever, Killer7 especially always intrigued me. Been focused on catching up on the Wii era for a while now, after that I should go back to my backlog of older titles though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 29, 2018, 06:53:22 PM
... What I do like about the set-piece battles is they constrain the amount of giblets in the game; if you don't pick them up often you'll be forced to make some choices in the upgrade skill tree. ...

Yeah - I was sort of wishing you could do more battles initially, to get some practice and improve technique. But you realize almost immediately that the scarcity of healing items (although they do respawn if you leave an area) and enemy body parts to spend for upgrades is an important part of the design.

Killer7 isn't as accessible as Severed and the controls are a bit of a mess, but I think it's worth going back to experience - especially if you enjoy weird and convoluted stories. It makes No More Heroes look absolutely tame in comparison. A lot of people expected it to be a full-fledged action game, so were disappointed that the design is closer to an on-rails dungeon crawler (which is what reminded me of this game). Let us know what you think if you do give it a shot.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on October 30, 2018, 12:04:51 AM
I never had a problem with The Island in RE4. Right from the start RE4 was a set of themed clichés each more difficult than the last. You were meant to go Rambo at TI. If you had been playing it carefully you should have had supplies coming out of the ears stocked by then without ever buying ammo.

Your play style with each set becoming more dynamic. The village was a shooting gallery. Night time brings in the full horror elements where it starts penalizing/jump scare for making head shots which was still the fastest way to kill you now dreaded. The castle has you think more where flanking, accurate location damage to use super melee moves, high power weapons were promoted including 360 Sniper noscope. Ashley forces the horror elements back with her emotional cries and hiding behind you.

The problem was that subsequent RE games learned all the wrong lessons going balls out action right from the start and stays there. Act 1 feels no different from Act 3 generic 3rd person cover/shooter. RE5 was the worse as it was a game long forced escort mission with Sheeva. Playing it on a higher difficulty with AI was near impossible. The way with how Ashley worked was fantastic! Lets give her a gun but not the brains to use it! Sheeva was a drain on supplies that was completely out of your hands and you couldn't put her in a dumpster.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on October 30, 2018, 01:09:26 AM
Your description of Severed as a first-person dungeon crawler is quite apt - between the maze-like level design (although never really a maze since you've got a visible map), the simple environmental puzzles, and the set-piece battles spread out through the levels. Again, this game reminds me pretty strongly of Killer7 because of the similar gameplay elements and highly stylized graphics - have you tried that game by any chance?

I suppose on Wii U you could disable the map screen or just turn the TV off entirely,
On 3DS you can set the action to display on both screens so you get the 3D effect off the top screen.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on October 31, 2018, 10:10:07 PM
...
On 3DS you can set the action to display on both screens so you get the 3D effect off the top screen.

I bet this would have looked fantastic in 3D, and really miss having an actual 3DS console.
Although my New 2DS XL is a fine piece of hardware, dropping the 3D screen really does have a (small) negative effect on a whole bunch of games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 05, 2018, 10:47:36 AM
So...it's Resident Evil 0's turn now and...yeah, this is another RE game I've just never liked. This is the game that pretty much embodied why the old style of RE died, from the tired enemy ideas to the increasingly tedious puzzle design to just HOW much the story makes no sense in terms of the RE lore:

I mean cmon...there was a THIRD secret mansion Umbrella mansion (if you count the Police Station) and lab under Raccoon City, this one somehow bridging the two (in ways that makes ZERO sense geographically, even if it was a nice nod to RE 2 at the time,)? Rebecca goes through ALL THAT in RE 0 yet is completely useless in RE 1? No one ever mentions Marcus or Billy ever again, yet they are pivotal to this game? Mutant Frogs, Bats, leeches, & Grasshoppers? Really?  Also, monkeys. Not mutant monkeys, no...that would be too interesting. Just regular white monkeys that serve the same role as Hunters, which is especially pointless since Hunters are in the game, too.

The big thing that kills RE 0, though, is the goddamn item management & the sections of the game where the duo have to split up & slowly trade items between each other.  The devs implemented the ability to drop items on the floor to allow players to manage items on the fly, and they removed the item boxes accordingly.

But c'mon...that's not what you used it for. You did what everyone did with that feature: you found a large central location that was safe, you dropped all your items there, and when you moved to a new area you found a new spot and schlepped everything over there. We all did it, and it adds HOURS of game time.  And SO many items in this game require 2 items spots for no apparent reason when they required only 1 in REmake.

And **** the hookshot. It's used a whole 4 times I'm the game, all 4 are story mandated, and it takes up 2 slots.

Hell, **** leech hunter, too. By far the most boring bonus game in RE history.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 10, 2018, 06:26:02 PM
I may have played a fair amount of Resident Evil Zero lately. -_-

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrrXXBbXgAAxEud.jpg:large)

Why? Well, suffice it to say that I recently watched the worst gamer on Youtube (Darksyde Phil) mash his head into the wall until he beat the game on Hard. I considered it a personal challenge, then, to thoroughly annihilate the game.

I beat it on Hard (with an A Rank, even). I beat it with an S Rank. I beat it without saving. I beat it without using healing items of any kind. I beat it only using Rebecca on the bosses.

The final boss was...interesting on Hard. I'd been running from enemies & saving ammo the entire game, but I still barely had enough power weapon ammo to bring him to his final phase. I ended up having to distract him in the final phase with just the upgraded pistol, which thankfully was up to the task.

On a side note, if you're willing to go through the 9 different realms of nonsense to unlock the infinite power weapons, RE 0 can be quite entertaining when you don't have to do any inventory juggling B.S. at all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 12, 2018, 08:58:16 AM
At the behest of some friends who love it, I've started Bioshock Infinite on PC last night.  My general impression of Bioshock 1 was that it had a great world it built, with interesting monsters and a great hook, but dragged on too long after that and generally found the gameplay lacking.

About an hour in, i'm finding this more or less the same.  Definitely looks visually better than when I played 1 on PS3 a few years ago, but seems like so far where the first game was a semi-cogent critique on Objectivism/Ayn Rand-yism, Infinite so far has been a little more focused on Religion (more specifically, some form of Christianity).  I'm waiting to see what mid-game twist there is, and whether the amount of content can be carried by the actual gameplay this time. 

Also, the melee weapon is absolutely brutally violent in how it chops up enemies.  Crazy.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on November 12, 2018, 09:36:31 AM
There is a melee execution move but it is a mystery as to how to invoke it. I just bash them like normal 95% of the time I try. The execute vigour/pack didn't help.

it's a decent enough game and the openness is a nice change from the tiny spaces of the 1st/2nd. There are some town areas where you can break into shops extra for goodies/objective which are quite fun but does Nar Shaddaa sniper syndrome.

It's a decent enough game with better controls but I don't feel remotely compelled to play it again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 12, 2018, 11:27:12 AM
There is a melee execution move but it is a mystery as to how to invoke it. I just bash them like normal 95% of the time I try. The execute vigour/pack didn't help.

it's a decent enough game and the openness is a nice change from the tiny spaces of the 1st/2nd. There are some town areas where you can break into shops extra for goodies/objective which are quite fun but does Nar Shaddaa sniper syndrome.

It's a decent enough game with better controls but I don't feel remotely compelled to play it again.

Yeah, I can't execute it consistently, but it seems like it happens often enough if I tap the key again shortly after the first time.

I'll play through it for the same reason I did the first - to see what the "twist" is in the game, and to enjoy the world built in it. 

I might see what the controller button layout is and give it a go, I'm finding I don't care for the button layout or having to do kb+m on it, and the quick movement is causing some strange unsettling of my stomach while I play.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 12, 2018, 08:00:15 PM
There is a melee execution move but it is a mystery as to how to invoke it. I just bash them like normal 95% of the time I try. The execute vigour/pack didn't help.

it's a decent enough game and the openness is a nice change from the tiny spaces of the 1st/2nd. There are some town areas where you can break into shops extra for goodies/objective which are quite fun but does Nar Shaddaa sniper syndrome.

It's a decent enough game with better controls but I don't feel remotely compelled to play it again.

Yeah, I can't execute it consistently, but it seems like it happens often enough if I tap the key again shortly after the first time.

I'll play through it for the same reason I did the first - to see what the "twist" is in the game, and to enjoy the world built in it. 

I might see what the controller button layout is and give it a go, I'm finding I don't care for the button layout or having to do kb+m on it, and the quick movement is causing some strange unsettling of my stomach while I play.

Don't bank on that twist saving the game for you. It's really stupid and doesn't really make sense, much like the plot in general.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 13, 2018, 05:42:15 AM
I'm still plugging away at Celeste. I beat the main campaign a while ago, but tonight I finished off the last of the B-Sides, the alternate, more difficult versions of the levels. According to the stats the game keeps track of I've now died over 10,000 times in this game, but I keep going back because the mechanics and the level design are impeccable.

This is the best game I've played on Switch. This is one of the best games I've ever played on any platform. And now, on to the C-Sides....
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 13, 2018, 08:29:58 AM
There is a melee execution move but it is a mystery as to how to invoke it. I just bash them like normal 95% of the time I try. The execute vigour/pack didn't help.

it's a decent enough game and the openness is a nice change from the tiny spaces of the 1st/2nd. There are some town areas where you can break into shops extra for goodies/objective which are quite fun but does Nar Shaddaa sniper syndrome.

It's a decent enough game with better controls but I don't feel remotely compelled to play it again.

Yeah, I can't execute it consistently, but it seems like it happens often enough if I tap the key again shortly after the first time.

I'll play through it for the same reason I did the first - to see what the "twist" is in the game, and to enjoy the world built in it. 

I might see what the controller button layout is and give it a go, I'm finding I don't care for the button layout or having to do kb+m on it, and the quick movement is causing some strange unsettling of my stomach while I play.

Don't bank on that twist saving the game for you. It's really stupid and doesn't really make sense, much like the plot in general.

I'll bear that in mind.  That said, what I WILL say is that Infinite is MUCH more linear than I recall the Bioshock 1 feeling, and combat seems more persistent, so it's helping a lot with it feeling like it has a good pace.  If the rest of the game feels this breezy, then I won't mind if the "payoff" isn't there. 
Title: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 19, 2018, 07:06:24 PM
Been playing a bunch of stuff lately as I took a week off for vacation that ended up being 9+ days sick in bed with the flu. Yay. -_-

The Quiet Man - Every bad thing you've heard about this PoS is true. Don't play it.

Cat Quest - I checked it out due to a PSN credit & some high recommendations from Ceric on our podcast. Unfortunately, I just found it to be a mediocre & tedious dungeon crawler that openly boasts about how little content & imagination it actually has in favor of what it hoped to have in the sequel. Easy Platinum, though.

Death Mark - Was still in a bit of a horror mood, so I thought I'd check out this Visual Novel about a continuing battle against murderous grudge ghosts. Unfortunately, I thought it was a pretty middling experience. There are 5 main storyline chapters in this game + a bonus 6th one that takes place after the main story. After the 3rd chapter, the game pretty much gives up on being a horror game as well as an adventure game whose puzzles are governed by logic. There is a very particular path you have to take through the game to get the "good" ending, and it pretty much requires a guide because of this.

Unfortunately, the more the game tries to tie up its loose plot, the less I enjoyed the game. I like where the game ended, but I don't like the crude way it got there. There's also VERY little actual gameplay even compared to other visual novels like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney, and even less actual player choice. It's also WAY lower budget than either of those games. Get it on a heavy discount or not at all.

TBC
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 19, 2018, 07:22:40 PM
Call of Cthulu - This game is just...odd. It's an Adventure game in the style of the more recent Sherlock Holmes games, but built around the setting and general concept of the Call of Cthulu tabletop game. As you quest through this VERY linear game, you earn and allocate stat points to various skills that influence your options when investigating areas or talking to townsfolk.  I really like that aspect of the game, as it encourages an almost Arkane style of playing your way through the narrative.  There's also very little combat, which serves this particular setting well.

Unfortunately, when the game breaks away from the general adventure game mold, it gets a bit tedious. There are a handful of mandatory stealth sections in the game, and while they're generally pretty forgiving a couple of them are just annoying as you run & hide from a monster that can insta-kill you ala Alien: Isolation.  I also feel like the narrative doesn't hold up as well as you'd expect from an adventure game, as the game descends into almost dream logic towards the end. That's supposed to tie into a Sanity meter built into the game, but this isn't Eternal Darkness. The game isn't really messing with "you" so much as it goes into scripted hallucination sequences with the characters. You really go into a Call of Cthulu game to experience your character going mad, but I don't think the devs really played with that concept as much as they teased they would.

Maybe I'll change my mind upon a replay, as there are 4 endings & I've only seen 2 of them. I'm curious if the game changes in any way if you avoid many of the triggers in the game that cause sanity drops on the meter, as I went full-blown for every one I could find.

Spryo Reignited Trilogy - A year ago, I played the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy for the first time via that remake, and I generally came away feeling that the games were colossal garbage and the remakes didn't really do anything to make the games more playable.

But this? This is MUCH more like it. I played a bit of the 1st Spryo years back on my Vita, and I generally thought it was OK but repetitive & ugly. Plus, it's REALLY hard to play 3D games these days that don't have camera controls similar to modern games, and the original games didn't have Dualshock support at all.

However, I'm REALLY digging these remakes, even though I still find the 1st Spryo kind of boring & repetitive. You can definitely see the confidence and ambition in Spyro 2's design, and it's the one I'm really enjoying now.  The games look gorgeous in their new art style, and the additional of modern controls & quality of life features added to the earlier games that didn't appear until the later ones make these collect-a-thons play better than ever. I can't fathom why these games aren't on the Switch, as I feel the Nintendo audience is perfectly suited to these games as fans of the N64-era Rare games.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 20, 2018, 01:36:55 AM
Every once in a while I decide to dip into my insurmountable backlog and grab something seemingly at random, and a few days ago that thing was SteamWorld Heist. Not at random, really, since I remembered it being very well received at the time, and that was truer than I thought when I saw NWR gave it three separate 9.5s from three different reviewers on the various Nintendo platforms it was released on. And after playing it, I can definitely see why. I'd always seen it described as turn-based strategy, which it is, but in a really fresh, interesting way. The very small scale with just a few characters makes it feel like nothing else I've ever played, and I've been really addicted to it the last few days.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: EllieRoss on November 20, 2018, 05:07:02 AM
Hollow Knight! This is one the best game in my opinion. It's really atmospheric and balanced. I can pass this game a few times and every time I find something new. The music from this game turns me into a little trance. Its darkness is my inspiration for other activities like my job at https://educatingessays.co.uk/ (https://educatingessays.co.uk/). Whish I had more time for playing...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on November 20, 2018, 10:44:41 AM
Every once in a while I decide to dip into my insurmountable backlog and grab something seemingly at random, and a few days ago that thing was SteamWorld Heist. Not at random, really, since I remembered it being very well received at the time, and that was truer than I thought when I saw NWR gave it three separate 9.5s from three different reviewers on the various Nintendo platforms it was released on. And after playing it, I can definitely see why. I'd always seen it described as turn-based strategy, which it is, but in a really fresh, interesting way. The very small scale with just a few characters makes it feel like nothing else I've ever played, and I've been really addicted to it the last few days.

Yeah Heist is a really solid game! I think 9.5/10 scores are a bit too generous, personally, but it's definitely very good. Who's currently on your team? I found myself sticking to a proven formation fairly early on and not swapping in new members often. Bit of a bummer because the last character you get, for example, has a really different playstyle, but by that time he'll be rather outclassed by the higher leveled/better equipped rest of your team.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 21, 2018, 01:41:40 AM
Every once in a while I decide to dip into my insurmountable backlog and grab something seemingly at random, and a few days ago that thing was SteamWorld Heist. Not at random, really, since I remembered it being very well received at the time, and that was truer than I thought when I saw NWR gave it three separate 9.5s from three different reviewers on the various Nintendo platforms it was released on. And after playing it, I can definitely see why. I'd always seen it described as turn-based strategy, which it is, but in a really fresh, interesting way. The very small scale with just a few characters makes it feel like nothing else I've ever played, and I've been really addicted to it the last few days.

Yeah Heist is a really solid game! I think 9.5/10 scores are a bit too generous, personally, but it's definitely very good. Who's currently on your team? I found myself sticking to a proven formation fairly early on and not swapping in new members often. Bit of a bummer because the last character you get, for example, has a really different playstyle, but by that time he'll be rather outclassed by the higher leveled/better equipped rest of your team.

I haven't messed with the crew much, really only when the game's prompted me to. It's mostly been the same characters, just upgrading their gear.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 24, 2018, 01:38:40 AM
So I finished the Spryo Reignited Trilogy, having 100%-ed (and sometimes moreso, since Spyro 1 & 3 had higher than 100% completion percentages) all 3 games, gotten all the trophies, & gotten all the Skill Points.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing through the trilogy, but Spyro 2 is clearly the high point of the original 3 games. It's the one with the best level design, the best scenario design, and it's the one that wastes your time the least & feels the least repetitive.  The game also has a bit of bite to it, as I actually had to work to beat a few of those later game bosses. The game kind of peters out towards the end, but overall it's an excellent game and a remarkable improvement over the 1st game.

Unfortunately, Spryo 3 is a marked downgrade from the 2nd game, as it returns to some of the formula of the 1st game like saving dragons (now eggs) and performing arbitrary tasks to unlock a balloon or similar device to take you to the next hub world.  It also saw the implementation of additional playable characters who are not even remotely as fun or fast to use as Spyro.  In fact, their stages tend to drag horrendously, as well as implementing an almost Donkey Kong 64 level of arbitrary character switching & backtracking.  There are some really aggravating minigames tied to these additional characters, too.

Spyro 3 also course corrects WAAAAAAAAY too much from the relative difficulty of the 2nd game, as the game's so unbelievably piss-easy I often found myself actively bored playing it, even compared to the 1st game.  The game suffers from the fact that it's original selling point was a series of quality of life improvements that these remakes retroactively applied to the 2 previous games, so the game's shortcomings are much more noticeable than they'd otherwise be.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing through the original trilogy in this beautiful remake form, and I'd love to see a new Spyro game in this style. We'll see the trilogy sells well enough to warrant it.  Unlike the Crash games, the original Spyro design actually holds up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on November 24, 2018, 12:20:23 PM
I remember liking Spyro 3 at the time, mainly the skateboarding mini-game in the first world really. But yeah you're completely right, it gets really bogged down with all the side characters and semi-mandatory mini-games. You can't even rush through the game since every now and then you'll need to get X amount of dragon eggs to continue to the next world.

It's one of those games I wish I never went back to when I did, really soured my opinion on it retrospectively haha.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 24, 2018, 03:55:13 PM
I remember liking Spyro 3 at the time, mainly the skateboarding mini-game in the first world really. But yeah you're completely right, it gets really bogged down with all the side characters and semi-mandatory mini-games. You can't even rush through the game since every now and then you'll need to get X amount of dragon eggs to continue to the next world.

It's one of those games I wish I never went back to when I did, really soured my opinion on it retrospectively haha.

Oh god...**** those goddamn skateboarding mini-games. They are seriously the worst, outside of the 1st area where it's just a skate park. After that first area, they expect you to win races while skateboarding at .00000000001 miles per hour, doing tricks in the air to get turbo and pretty much immediately losing if you wipe out. Those races are so slow, so boring, so poorly coded, so finnicky, and so aggravating they might just be the worst thing I've experienced in quite some time. And if you haven't noticed, I play a LOT of games.

They even stuck one of those races in the bonus world that exists to unlock the true ending. ARGH!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on November 25, 2018, 11:24:22 PM
Slay The Spire:

(https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/004/205/958/large/bruce-brenneise-promo-final.jpg?1481316483)

Such a smart game.

The design of deck building coupled to roguelike progression.

Balance curve that unlocks cards as you go introducing the player to interactions and synergies in natural manner.

Hundreds of incredibly ingenious mechanics with stacking relics, events, cards, card draw and discard piles, orbs.

Enemies' attacks are telegraphed in advance and you can gain a control over what you draw each turn so inherent RNG gets tamed but still provides fun variance.

Not taking cards, or outright removing cards from the deck is another great way to ensure you get specific cards more often -- for example the more basic Strike cards you throw away the more often other attack cards you will pick up along the way will crop up -- and ALL of them are stronger that just basic Strike card in one way or another.

Just amazing.

I've been watching this game on streams for several months now and was just waiting for a sale. -20% discount last week was basically an excuse for me to actually buy the game for myself and start playing.

Already put 20 hours into it and it feels i barely even started -- i was mostly playing just one character (Ironclad, 1 out of 3). Mostly just figuring things out. There are still other two characters, dailies, ascension mode, the real ending and achievements...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 25, 2018, 11:39:13 PM
Slay The Spire:

(https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/004/205/958/large/bruce-brenneise-promo-final.jpg?1481316483)

Such a smart game.

The design of deck building coupled to roguelike progression.

Balance curve that unlocks cards as you go introducing the player to interactions and synergies in natural manner.

Hundreds of incredibly ingenious mechanics with stacking relics, events, cards, card draw and discard piles, orbs.

Enemies' attacks are telegraphed in advance and you can gain a control over what you draw each turn so inherent RNG gets tamed but still provides fun variance.

Not taking cards, or outright removing cards from the deck is another great way to ensure you get specific cards more often -- for example the more basic Strike cards you throw away the more often other attack cards you will pick up along the way will crop up -- and ALL of them are stronger that just basic Strike card in one way or another.

Just amazing.

I've been watching this game on streams for several months now and was just waiting for a sale. -20% discount last week was basically an excuse for me to actually buy the game for myself and start playing.

Already put 20 hours into it and it feels i barely even started -- i was mostly playing just one character (Ironclad, 1 out of 3). Mostly just figuring things out. There are still other two characters, dailies, ascension mode, the real ending and achievements...

Might I suggest Hand of Fate 2, then?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on December 20, 2018, 02:12:06 PM
I was just about to start God of War and then Insomniac went ahead and released the Raimi suit for Spider-Man.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on December 20, 2018, 11:55:53 PM
I installed Alan Wake on Linux using Steam Crossover. What a time to be alive!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: johnkloen on December 27, 2018, 04:57:58 AM
I am playing final fantasy :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 01, 2019, 01:00:05 PM
Haven't done one of these in a while, but figured I might as well for this.

In the spirit of the new year, I'm trying to give a 2nd chance to franchises or games I've otherwise avoided in recent years. To start this off, I've been playing Dragon Quest 11 on my PS4 Pro, which I grabbed a Day 1 copy of a month ago when it was half off.

I had a really bad experience with Dragon Quest 8 on the PS2, which was my 1st Dragon Quest and unfortunately the one that cemented my longstanding impression that this franchise had no justification to still exist (despite generally liking DQ Swords). The game just felt "old", from the grindy gameplay flow to the ancient turn-based battle system to a story that was purely an afterthought with characters I didn't care about.

However, I put about 6 hours into Dragon Quest 11 last night, and despite some issues with continued legacy nonsense that needs to die (like them still using 8-bit sound effects and the same damn musical cues) I quite like this one.  The combat feels much faster than I've seen previously, and your AI characters can be somewhat automated so you're not just mashing on the confirmation button 50 times a fight. The new (?) Pep-Up system also ensures that battles end quicker than they did in DQ 8, since you'll occasionally get stat buffs or supermoves.

I'm not sure if the character skill grid is new or not, but I like it. It reminds me of FF 10's sphere grid or a more logical version of FF 12's license board. There's a clear indication of what's available to you and what you're working towards. I just wish you were unlocking stuff on it more often. I also like the new crafting system way more than the one in DQ 8, since there's an element of strategy to how you hammer the stuff together for extra bonuses.

Surprisingly, for as basic as it is, I also like the story that's being told so far. Rather than the in media res approach that DQ 8 took, 11 establishes why you should care about the characters from the beginning & slowly builds things up. The cutscenes have been fairly effective at conveying a fairly stock plotline in a sincere manner.

So far, the game is kind of stupidly easy, though, depending on how frequently you kill enemies & how you spec out your character. I had a boss fight recently where I put a boss to sleep & then used an attack that does 6x damage to sleeping targets. Killed them instantly. Hoping the game has more bite to it. Also, for all Square Enix's whining about streaming this game for its music, the music is pretty damn forgettable and even bad in places.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 02, 2019, 09:55:25 AM
This past weekend, I started a few games after receiving them from Santa.

Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) has been the delightful open world power fantasy I'd hoped it'd be.  Web-swinging through the city is fluid, fast, and has weight in a way that I haven't felt Spider-Man games captured since Playstation 2.  I've only used fast-travel a few times in the 5-6 hours I've played, and only because I wanted to show my wife the silly loading scenes of Spider-Man on the subway.  Since it's an original story not based on a movie and set years after his origin story, the characters feel developed and are written with a history that's alluded to, but not outright told to you, which I appreciate.  Peter Parker is a big dork in a way that's cringe-inducing at first but i've grown to find super funny.

Tetris Effect (PS4) is the second game I spent time with during my time off.  Even without PSVR, this is one worth owning if you have the faintest interest in Tetris.  The visualization effects in the background and synchronized musical notes with each movement of the tetrominoes is enough to put this over the edge from fun to transfixing.  There's also several different modes that mix up gameplay with different challenges or an "easy mode" where there's no game over for people who want something a bit more chill.  I'd end each session with my eyes burning because of how in the zone i'd get, despite never being someone who has ever had warm feelings on Tetris.  The list price ($40) feels a bit steep, but I've seen sale prices of $20 a few times, and it's totally worth that point of entry.

Finally, I spent a few hours in Persona 4 Golden (Vita) after being told here that it's better than Persona 5 on the forums here.  The characters so far seem enjoyable/not annoying, and the mystery unfolding has me engaged, but I can't deny that I miss some of the visual flair and Morgana.  I'm pretty early in the game though, and I assume it opens up a lot more once you get past the point where team members gain a Persona, so I'll reserve any real judgement til I get into the meat of the story.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 06, 2019, 07:07:21 PM
So...nearly 40 hours into Dragon Quest 11, I've completed Act...One. The game does a fake-out and world reset after Act 1 that is lame; lazy; & boring. This results in you having to retread the entire world map again (all your fast travel warp points are just gone...because) getting all your party members all over again with very few new areas to explore. Yep, you just run through the same areas again, probably running past upgraded versions of the same monsters again to get the same party members you've already used.

Yay........  :rolleyes:

I wasn't a fan of the World of Ruin in FF6 either, but at least that had new areas; new characters; and dramatically different storylines that made it relatively interesting. Here, the developers just slapped a "destroyed" paint job over the area, bump up the enemies, and call it a day.

I think I'm going to take a break from this game for a while, because this 2nd Act is just incredibly lame.  And wanna bet this is pretty much what the game's 3rd Act (which is technically all post-game content) is?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on January 11, 2019, 06:20:52 PM
I'm playing Omega Strike on Switch right now and it's... fine, I guess? It's a Metroidvania, and I at least like that it doesn't really hold you hand with where to go. The difficulty is a bit low and the main gimmick is fine, which is that you can swap between three different characters at will who each have different kinds of weaponry and abilities- there's basic, machine-gun-toting protagonist, strongman with "rolling" bullets and the ability to push blocks, and double-jumping, shotgun wielding dude. The exploration upgrades you get- at least, all that I've uncovered, about 60% into the game- are all gifted to the basic protagonist, though, which is a bit surprising, but understandable, considering he's the most bland of the three. As of yet, the game hasn't forced me to do any clever swapping between characters and is mostly straightforward, but it's enjoyable enough.

I've also played a buttload of indie titles for my writing position, but I won't get into those. Just do yourself a favor and go play YIIK when it releases next week.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 12, 2019, 03:09:12 AM
It's interesting how your enjoyment of a game can change with just the slightest change in circumstances.

You might remember that I tried playing Crash Bandicoot a year or so ago back, and I really didn't care for it. The "gotcha" design, the pinpoint platforming precision required with tricky camera angles and wonky physics, and the sheer cruelty involved in unlocking content really didn't endear the game to me.

However, as with DQ I thought I'd give the game another chance (once again via the PS4 N-Sane Trilogy Collection). Wow, what a difference just a slight change in circumstances makes.  When I originally played this game, I was still in the middle of moving, so my 55 in. 1080p TV was in storage. I was making due on this 35 in. 720p backup one that could be easily transported.

Playing the game now with a MUCH larger screen & in higher definition seems to have made all the difference in the world now that it's SO much easier to SEE the game. The platforms are easier to read, and I can actually see Crash's shadow clearly now so it's easier to judge landings. I actually managed to clear the entire game, get all the gems, & even beat the "so hard it was cut from the original game" DLC level, Stormy Ascent. And I had a pretty decent time doing it.  I also feel like the load times feel shorter than they were before, now that I have a PS4 Pro.

That isn't to say that my original issues with the game were invalid, but having a better TV definitely helped make them easier to manage. I still, however, question the severe cruelty of the game's unlockables, requiring you to Perfect Run 6 of the games stages just to earn the gems required to get all the other collectables. And if you want to Platinum the game, you have to perfect ALL the stages in time trial mode under EXTREMELY strict time limits.  In a game specifically designed to punish players taking stupid risks, it feels counterproductive to have a mode specifically focusing on taking stupid risks.

Man, now that the game's on Switch, I can't imagine the nightmare it must be to play this game on that thing's screen in handheld mode.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 13, 2019, 10:34:32 PM
Moving on from the 1st Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Edition, I've now played the 2nd to 100% completion. Mechanically, I like this 2nd game a lot better than the 1st, as there are noticeably WAY less "jump into the screen/towards the end onto a platform/box hanging over an abyss" stages than in the 1st game. Most of the stages are either side-scrolling or "jumping into the screen/towards the screen" stages where your'e more avoiding obstacles/enemies than performing pinpoint platforming over abysses. It feels like Naughty Dog was aware of the clunky nature of the 1st game's platforming & actively tried to side-step it by changing the level design.

That said, the stages are very...random now. There's MUCH less of a sense of "place" in Crash 2, and the jetpack stages outright suck. I could have also done with the bonus stages/secret exits being WAY less cryptic. I don't know how anyone thought to go some of these routes back in the original PS days.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 17, 2019, 12:36:58 AM
Well, I just finished Crash 3: Warped via the N-Sane Trilogy to finish off the collection. Overall, I feel like this is probably the best in the series. It certainly has the most variety of the 3 games, and the difficulty is WAY toned down compared to the original game and the later sections of 2.

Unlike the first 2, I actually managed to get the Platinum on this one along with 105%ing the game. The time trials were annoying, but do-able thanks to the character upgrades and generally more forgiving level design.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxFvKV_X0AAJG__.jpg:large)

Now that I've played all 3, I can say I enjoy them and the series definitely improved with each entry from its rather rough 1st outing but I'm not sure I ever want to see another game in this series. The series' design is so firmly rooted in its era of "3D games before we figured out how to do 3D games well" that I just don't see how the series can evolve past this point for a new entry.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 17, 2019, 01:35:50 PM
I sputtered out partway through on Crash 1 of the remake trilogy, just eventually got way too punishing to enjoy even playing alone.  It sounds like I might get back to enjoying it if I just skip the remainder of 1 altogether and move on to 2.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 17, 2019, 05:57:17 PM
I sputtered out partway through on Crash 1 of the remake trilogy, just eventually got way too punishing to enjoy even playing alone.  It sounds like I might get back to enjoying it if I just skip the remainder of 1 altogether and move on to 2.

2's a weird game. It's mechanically and level design-wise way better than the 1st game, but I found it a lot less charming & cohesive than the 1st game. But yeah, 2 is definitely easier than 1 (and 3 is considerably easier than 2), so if the difficulty is an issue (and it was for me) than just switching to the 2nd game seems like the right move to me. The 2nd & 3rd games are MUCH less insane murder gauntlets than the 1st game is.

I had a 20% off PSN coupon that came with my PS4 Pro, so I used it today on Onimusha, Celeste, & Y2K. Looking forward to something significantly less stressful after so much Crash lately.

And yes, I know that Celeste is not that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on January 17, 2019, 06:59:26 PM
I may or may not have let myself get into runescape for the first time in a decade.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on January 23, 2019, 12:15:23 AM
Slay The Spire (Steam):

This is the one. This the one game where i see numbers coming out of enemies and i don't discount it immediately as dreck not worth of attention. While bad games (aka RPGs) debase their game design to idiotic "see the numbers go up and maybe enjoy the cookie cutter story" Slay the Spire dodges the problem of numerical stats gracefully and brilliantly.

I don't think i've seen such a prowess of game design mastery in... maybe ever. For any type of game -- be it video, card, or board.


The genius idea of making the player build a new deck each time reveals astonishing depth of design put into each and every single card, each and single relic, each of classes, all of the enemy behaviours, interactions between all that and interactions of these interactions.

Just like Binding of Isaac where it is delightfully fun to construct a hilariously overpowered build (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSsYISa3INU), similarly Slay The Spire teaches a crafty player how to put together synergies upon synergies upon synergies to crush everything in your path and have an intense, harrowing fun while doing it.

Yes, all you do is pick the right cards for the right build -- but there are virtually endless combinations how you can "solve" enemies ahead of you. You can turtle and tank your way through the game by blocking all incoming damage and slowly chipping away at the enemy until it dies, or you can cleave and bludgeon through monsters without blocking at all (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laozG_UZn0E). And there are countless ays both in between of these edge cases and also on the side of them, like The Defect who can somewhat "randomly" output both burst block or burst damage depending how you set it's orbs up. Poison decks, Claw decks, Rampage decks, Bludgeon decks, Electrodynamics, Frost decks, Dark Orbs decks -- astounding diversity of viable builds and situations.

300+ hours and dozens of "aha!" and giddy "oh wow!" -s later Slay The Spire is by far the best (designed) game i played across 2017, 2018 and most likely 2019.

Can't wait for the game to hit Switch so i can add it to daily rotation of Binding of Isaac.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 23, 2019, 01:56:20 AM
Currently playing the Onimusha Warlords remaster. It's...well...both interesting and somewhat frustrating. It's very much Resident Evil with swords, but the combat feels like it should be a lot more satisfying than it is. It looks like the entire depth of the combat system comes down to whether you can master the quick draw technique when countering enemy attacks, as you otherwise only have a weak block and NO dodge roll. Most battles just seem to come down to wailing on the attack button until everything dies & hope you didn't run out of health because save points are scarce & you can't skip cutscenes.

Celeste - I played through the game to completion + the bonus stage & got all the collectibles, and I did it legit (without using the Assist Mode). I found the game quite addicting. It reminded me of Super Meat Boy, but with tight platforming & regular checkpoints instead of the mess Meat Boy devolved into, at least when it came to the main stages.

I didn't love the game, though, mainly due to the pacing. The first few levels are breezy enough, but from pretty much the 4th level onward they become these obscenely long murder gauntlets. Yeah, you can save & quit out at any point & keep your progress, but I would have preferred more stages with shorter run times, as some of the gimmicks WAY out-stay their welcome.  I also don't think the story is quite as strong as people make it out to be, as there are quite a few details missing and it kind of feels like the game rushes to resolve the main conflict without really delving into it.

Overall, still very recommended.

YiiK (aka Y2K: A Post-Modern RPG) - Wow, I haven't seen a game this incompetently made since The Quiet Man. Godawful voice acting that sounds like the developers did it themselves, cringe-y and self-important writing, a godawful exploration camera, a slow-as-hell combat system, and an even SLOWER leveling system just lead to one of the worst experiences I can imagine. Don't play this game.

Oh, and to make things even more charming, there's a graveyard with Satoru Iwata buried in it, and they modeled a cutscene in the game after footage of a real world suicide victim (just before the event).

Oh, you think I'm JOKING about that?  >:(

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxaUgyeXQAAK9_Q.jpg:large)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dxjl4ZGVAAA-37p.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dxjl4ZGV4AAHMe6.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dxjl4ZHUcAAw2M-.jpg)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 28, 2019, 08:44:20 PM
I've finished my first complete run through the Resident Evil 2 remake (Leon A, Claire B), and I have mixed feelings on it. It's hard to set aside my attachment to the original game here, because not only was RE2 on the N64 the first M-rated game I ever played, but it's one of my favorite games of all time. I played the hell out of it back then.

There's a lot to like about this remake. The game just looks amazing, and zombies are finally a legitimate threat again in a Resident Evil game, especially after the absurdity of RE6 where your best option was almost always to run INTO a pack of zombies & karate/suplex them to death. I thought the addition of the gunpowder system from RE3 was an inspired choice, as it leads to players having to make hard decisions on where they allocate their ammo. The police station also opens up in some surprising ways that didn't exist in the original game. They also replaced the stupid Little Shop of Horror monsters in the final area of the game with something...a lot more unsettling.

Defensive weapons are back from the 1st remake, although you can also use them like normal weapons now, so that's great.  Sherry's section of the game is also a VAST improvement over the original, where you just ran past some zombies & pushed some boxes to get a key.

However, they made a lot of changes I just plain don't care for. In the original version of the game, Leon & Claire's stories were meant to be running concurrently, with actions one did affecting the other in small ways. There was a loose, but relatively cohesive narrative. In the remake, though, Leon & Claire have almost nothing to do with each other for pretty much the entirety of the game. You solve the same puzzles with both characters the same way at pretty much the same point of the game, which makes no sense from a narrative standpoint.

The original game also had unique bosses for both characters. Nope, not now! You're fighting the same bosses with both characters, and you're fighting them in the same rooms in both campaigns with the same end result. Characters who clearly die in one story will just show up in the other's story to die in the same room they did the 1st playthrough after the same boss fight. It's lazy writing and design, especially when they already had the template of the original game to go by.

They also SEVERELY increased the section of the game that takes place in the sewers, everyone's favorite gaming environment. What was previously just a quick jaunt to the laboratory is now 30 minutes to an hour of slogging your way through bullet-spongy mini-bosses out of John Carpenter's The Thing.

I also don't want to spoil too much, but suffice it to say that there's a LOT of Resident Evil 3 in this game, which lends a certain unwanted tension towards the latter half of the police station that I don't care for, tension that would remind you of certain other recent horror games. Lickers are also damn near impossible to kill now without taking severe damage, as they're heavily armored like the ones from RE5.

The music is also practically nonexistent. I highly recommend buying the original soundtrack DLC if your version of the game doesn't have it, as the new soundtrack is so subtle I never heard it outside the boss battles & a few minor moments.

Finally, the game is super stingy with the unlocks. Outside of earning the Unbreakable knife (which IS a good unlock, btw, as it's an unlimited defensive weapon), if you don't beat this game in under 5 hours, you're not unlocking anything of value. Granted, I was taking my time but it still took me 6.5 hours to beat the game on Leon's A side, & 5.5 to beat it on Claire's B side. And on both, I was out of ammo by the end of the game so I don't know how I could have done better.

Obviously, there's still a lot to play here, and there's definitely a lot to love here. The game's also going to be getting more story content via free DLC updates later this year. I just don't think this is the instant slam dunk over the original game that the 1st REmake was to its original.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on January 29, 2019, 08:35:14 AM
There's been a lot of hype about it, and I enjoyed RE2 quite a bit as a kid but don't remember enough of it to where I think I wouldn't remember what they changed.  My reservation is more that I couldn't get past maybe an hour in RE7 because there was too much tension.  I must have turned wimpy in my middle age, because the idea of feeling tense waiting for something to jump out and scare you for half the game doesn't sound fun at all  to me.

It sounds like despite your reservations, that there's a lot to like about RE2.  Think i'll be waiting until there's a copy sitting at my library before I consider giving it a go, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on January 31, 2019, 05:57:45 PM
Kingdom Hearts 3...sure is a Kingdom Hearts game, alright. I hate to leave it at that, but after clearing 2 of the worlds (Hercules & Twilight Town), that's pretty much all I can say about it. If you like Kingdom Hearts (and I do), you'll like this one. If you don't, this won't convince you.

I really have to wonder where all the claims about this game not being as button-mashy as KH2 are coming from, because it feels EXACTLY the same as KH2 to me. At least the Gummi Ship sections are actually good this time...and still have absolutely nothing to do with the Gummi Bears. -_-

I do like taking pictures of hidden Mickeys...err..."Lucky Emblems" with my Gummiphone now (which also has absolutely nothing to do with the Gummi Bears).

*shrug* The game's perfectly fine, but I'm not seeing anything mind-blowing so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 01, 2019, 08:52:56 AM
Still playing my way through a handful of games on my own as time is available... but my son has taken a real liking to Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii) so we've spent a lot of shared time playing through recently.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 04, 2019, 01:12:04 AM
I think Kingdom Hearts 3 may be the game in the series where I'm officially "done" with the formula. Square Enix used the power of the modern consoles to make the worlds bigger, but not necessarily better. Battles are still a slog of just mashing on the X button until everything's dead, characters are still dumbasses, and the Disney Worlds still seem to have **** all to do with the main plot. Hell, the voice acting in the Disney Worlds continues to have this cold, segmented feel to it. You can feel that no one was allowed in the same time zone as each other, so there's this very "isolated" feel to it where no one's actually reacting to what anyone's saying. Add in the usual KH cutscene:gameplay ratio, and the game's just starting to feel tedious.

All of this were issues in the previous games as well, but with the smaller and shorter levels, you just blasted through it all at such a clip that it almost didn't matter. Now, however, the worlds just drag on for what feels like an eternity, compounding and shining harsh light on the problems the series has always had.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: topsurfer244 on February 04, 2019, 07:48:14 AM
so tired, nothing now :(
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on February 05, 2019, 04:42:37 PM
Yeah I basically stalled out on Birth by Sleep for a lot of the reasons that are listed above. The battle system is decent enough but I kind of lost interest when I realized that I'd basically have to start over when I get going with Terra and Aqua and based on what I've seen the three main characters in that game are absolutely fucking abysmal.

If I ever go back to that stupid Kingdom Hearts thing I was doing I'll probably just watch cutscenes for the other two stories and move on to one but honestly I realized while doing it that there are better ways to make fun of the game's plot and it's been done to death.

Someone did give me the DS version of Days over Christmas though so I might do something with that. I've heard that it's representation in the HD collections could be a lot better and the actual game feels a bit overlooked. I'll have to give it a shot first though instead of just going straight in like I did with Birth by Sleep.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 10, 2019, 03:17:45 PM
Shovel Knight (Wii U)
Actually playing it via Cemu on my arcade cabinet. Man, I've never played this game up until yesterday and it's amazing! It actually works very well as an arcade game too, so does Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, which I also started yesterday...that game is so god damn hard! Anyway, Shovel Knight is fantastic. Can't believe it's taken me so long to play it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 12, 2019, 10:52:34 AM
Still playing LocoRoco (PSP).
Although I really like the design ideas and overall style, the level design is very mediocre.
It keeps making me want to go back and replay Fluidity instead...

Looking forward to start something new after cleaning up a couple of games I was playing. Cursed Mountain, here we come!

Shovel Knight (Wii U)
Actually playing it via Cemu on my arcade cabinet. ...

This sounds like an awesome way to play the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 12, 2019, 11:46:36 AM
It really is.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on February 12, 2019, 11:50:29 AM
I found LocoRoco incredibly dissapointing. It's bright, colourful, and the music is appropriate... But the gameplay feels like an unpolished, extremely turgid attempt at Sonic the Hedgehog or something. Jump is never quite as springy as you need it to be either, and even the whole build-your-own-house stuff outside the main game is uninspired at best.

No idea how it routinely scored 8/10 and higher and why it's still prevalent on 'best of PSP' lists. Although I gotta admit most of the PSP stuff I played has been a bit underwhelming, so maybe it's just me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 12, 2019, 01:23:34 PM
I finally got around to playing through Outlast 1 (+Whistleblower) and 2.

You shouldn't. Both are incredibly tedious and repetitive, and 2 is ridiculously long for what little there is to do.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 17, 2019, 04:19:36 PM
I found LocoRoco incredibly dissapointing. It's bright, colourful, and the music is appropriate... But the gameplay feels like an unpolished, extremely turgid attempt at Sonic the Hedgehog or something. Jump is never quite as springy as you need it to be either, and even the whole build-your-own-house stuff outside the main game is uninspired at best.

No idea how it routinely scored 8/10 and higher and why it's still prevalent on 'best of PSP' lists. Although I gotta admit most of the PSP stuff I played has been a bit underwhelming, so maybe it's just me.

I tend to agree with your opinion overall, although am maybe a bit more sympathetic to the game.
It's not terrible, just not great either. Although I like the idea, the execution and level design was a let down. If I hadn't played Fluidity first, this would probably get a better reception. The different challenges and minigames in Fluidity were both big improvements also, even if the art style wasn't as quirky.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: kaijugamer on February 18, 2019, 10:24:14 PM
I'm not really sure if I wasted my day-off playing Tetris 99 the whole day and the best place I got is only Top 4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on February 20, 2019, 08:05:34 AM
I'm not really sure if I wasted my day-off playing Tetris 99 the whole day and the best place I got is only Top 4.

IMO it's only a waste if you didn't enjoy playing it.  I'd measure my fun  on that rather than if you got the win.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 20, 2019, 08:10:08 PM
Inbetween sessions of Resident Evil 2R, I decided to replay the original Dead Space via my Xbox One. I haven't played it in probably the better part of a decade, and I have to say...it really holds up, better than its inspiration (RE4) does, IMO. That's mainly due to the controls, but there's just a superb sense of "place" in the original Dead Space. The Ishimura is just a spectacularly well-realized horror game location, just lit perfectly with all sorts of secret nooks & places for Necromorphs to jump you.

Dead Space is notable for its best weapon being the 1st one you ever get, the Plasma Cutter, but I've always had a fondness for the Ripper. It just feels immensely satisfying to dissect a necromorph in seconds with a well-pathed Ripper blade.

The game does have a problem with very formulaic encounter design (i.e. "walk forward, Necromorph drops in front of you, and then turn around because there's one behind you, too."), but the game ends before that formula starts to get annoying.

I still don't care about the whole Unitology story I always felt was a noose around this series' neck, one that gets drawn to full tautness in Dead Space 3. It's also funny how wildly inconsistent this series is when it comes to the purpose of the markers. In Dead Space 1, it's a device that acts as a deterrent to the necromorphs.  In the spin-off animated films Downfall & Aftermath, it creates Necromorphs. In Dead Space 2, it also creates Necromorphs. In Dead Space 3, it both creates AND is implied to stop Necromorphs, with the real threats coming from the Necromorph planets.  :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, like RE4 Dead Space is REALLY starting to show its age now. Characters and environments are a LOT blockier than you probably remember, and there are some really low-res textures by modern standards. After a little time for adjustment, though, it holds up fine. I feel like the load times are a little shorter now via Xbone BC than I remember the PS3 version being, but overall this pretty much is the game I remember.

I'll probably replay Dead Space 2 in the future as well, another horror game I'm quite fond of.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 21, 2019, 10:54:01 AM
PlayStation Classic might have been a bit of a flop... but I'm spending a bit of time revisiting the PS1 library anyway thanks to my PSP Go.

First off, PSP Go is far better than than PlayStation Classic. This incredibly small system has a large screen and bluetooth connectivity for headphones/controllers. It can be connected to an external screen via RGB or component video cables. With my charging cradle beside the TV, it's like a very early Switch precursor that allows me to easily swap between playing at home or on the go.

Anyway, with about 35 PS1 titles on the system, I've been skipping around quite a bit. The Castlevania games make me wish more 2D games were made for PS1 since they have aged better than early 3D efforts. Playing through the Strike series of games again is a lot of fun, although I'm not sure the design holds up without some nostalgia. Speaking of which, Tomb Raider requires quite a bit of nostalgia to be palatable. Klonoa makes me appreciate the Wii remake - although the original is still very playable. I have quite a few RPGs on the console, which are harder to dive into without more time commitment.

Does anyone know if the Oddworld series of games has held up well, or if they are better forgotten? The recent(ish) revival of the series has me curious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on February 21, 2019, 12:27:58 PM
Does anyone know if the Oddworld series of games has held up well, or if they are better forgotten? The recent(ish) revival of the series has me curious.

Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus are interesting games, but they're quite difficult if I recall correctly. Gameplay was very much a trial & error affair. Your character is very weak, and minor mistakes basically always lead to instant deaths. There's far too few savepoints too, so there will be sections you'll have to repeat several times. On the upside, the cinematics hold up in that PS1 CG kind of way (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgMes_8e3AM), and the games have a dedicated fart button. Plus, mind-controlling bad guys off of ledges never gets old. I think the aesthetic is unique enough, and the story continues to have appeal in a similar way as Soylent Green does.

Abe's Oddysee was remade into Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! in 2016; it has a Wii U release for sure, don't think it's on Switch (yet). 2 Years ago the word was that Abe's Exoddus would be remade by the same team. Reception overall seems pretty positive, except by some of the stauncher Oddworld fans who dislike the bloomy aesthetic - they prefer Oddworld to be dark and grimy. Here's a long, but well-argued video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkhDrngAQZ0) comparing the orginal and the remake.

One general thing you see people annoyed about when it comes to Oddworld, is how the series has been handled. From the outset the plan was to create an 'Oddworld Quintology' - 5 games set in one universe. Oddysee and Exoddus are the only 2 which the creators say truly count though, basically relegating Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee (original Xbox 3D platformer) and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (FPS also on OG Xbox) to bonus/side games.
There's a disgruntled share of the fanbase which continuously insists the developers should focus on finishing the planned Quintology, rather than develop 2 full side games, remake the first 2 games, and trying to get a movie/TV adaptation off the ground. I don't think the Quintology will ever happen really; there was a lot of drama following EA's handling of Stranger's Wrath, when the studio basically cancelled all future projects and withdrew from the games industry entirely to focus on film/TV.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 25, 2019, 09:53:21 AM
... Abe's Oddysee was remade into Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! in 2016; it has a Wii U release for sure, don't think it's on Switch (yet). ...

Thanks for the overview! I'm still left undecided, as it sounds interesting but maybe not super compelling when I already have a big backlog. Will keep them in mind though.  A bundle of the first two games are available on PSN for $10, so there are a couple of options if I do take the plunge.

Currently playing Crimson Gem Saga (PSP). Still early on, so hard to comment too far. But the game seems like a very pleasant, old-school RPG so far. It made me realize that the vast majority of games I've enjoyed on PSP were published by Atlus... Too bad they didn't put Dokapon Kingdom on the system though, as I've been kind of missing that game after selling my Wii copy for a small mint a few years ago.

Progress on Cursed Mountain (Wii) has been limited as I just haven't had much free time in the evenings
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on February 28, 2019, 06:20:47 PM
Thought I'd give Hollow Knight another shot after it was severely discounted on PSN recently. I've played through about 5-6 areas at this point, and I'm still not fond of this game. It just feels aimless and wandering, with no real signposting or clever level-design tricks to steer players through the game world. I could be halfway through the game right now or nowhere close. I have no idea based on the upgrades I've gotten (dash, lantern, wall jump, cyclone spin, dream sword).

So far, the only guidance I've seen is discovering a few secret bosses & getting 3 big bosses actually marked on my map. The Dark Temple also got marked on my map, but when I go there there's nothing to do. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to kill the bosses 1st or not, given that there's a trophy for killing the final boss without obtaining the Voidheart 1st and I could have sworn those 3 bosses were named as keepers of the Voidheart.

Meh. It feels like someone tried to create a 2D Dark Souls game with Metroid elements without understanding how those elements work in Dark Souls or Metroid.  And seriously, screw the way this system handles the mapping system. I've cleared entire areas without ever finding the map guy, leading to me just fumbling around until I stumble across a station so I can go back to the surface and buy the goddamn map, which still only updates when I sit at benches. It's so needlessly anti-player.

Also, just what is EVEN the point of the whole Dark Souls-esque loss of geodes when you die, leading to you having to reclaim them from your corpse? This isn't the most difficult game, but it does love its enemies gauntlets & beginner's traps. And you don't get geodes back anywhere NEARLY as quickly as Souls in that series. I lost 900 geodes once because I died in a particularly tricky area, and I nearly turned the goddamn game off.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 28, 2019, 11:15:12 PM
The awful map system is what led to me putting down the game. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to it considering everything I have to play on Switch.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 01, 2019, 09:26:03 AM
My friend keeps trying to get me to play Hollow Knight since I really like Metroidvania games. It just sounds like a bad time for someone with my particular lack of skills and patience with games. There is definitely a difficulty line I don’t cross which is why I won’t even be in the same room as Dark Souls or Bloodborne. Everything I read/her about Hollow Knight puts it in the same realm. Broodwars said he “nearly turned the goddamn game off.” If it isn’t a game or series I’m super invested in, I won’t hesitate to smash the power button and eject the game from my console forever.

I’m cautiously optimistic about Hollow Knight: Silksong, and I may consider it if Team Cherry introduces some quality of life improvements to things that I’m skeptical of in the original, namely the difficulty and map. I want to have fun playing video games, and I’ve reached a point in my life where if a game doesn’t bring me joy, I just stop playing it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 01, 2019, 10:42:41 AM
To me, what separates the Soulsborne games from their imitators when it comes to death is that its punishing but not demoralizing. Yeah, it sucks that you just forfeited those 1,500 souls, but in the area you're in, a dozen or so enemy kills will get you those souls right back.

Hollow Knight, though, awards geodes from enemy kills at a rate of 2-5 per enemy kill. Anything worth buying costs hundreds of geodes. There IS a bank to store your geodes, but I didn't find it until WAY into the game. So when you die, you know you're going to have to spend hours grinding it all back up, and some enemies don't even respawn unless you sit at a bench, which are few and far between. Combine that with random difficulty spikes far away from the nearest bench, and it's just needlessly tedious.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on March 01, 2019, 11:32:36 PM
It's nice we're talking about Hollow Knight because I've spent the last month playing it and I'm about to break my Switch trying to fully complete it.  I actually agree with every thing Broodwar says but I still really overall enjoyed the game for the most part.

But if you want to fully complete the game and get the best ending, get ready for major BS.  Seriously, I want to know who thought it was a good idea to lock the true final boss behind a boss rush of EVERY SINGLE BOSS in the game, including some new ones made for the DLC as well.  Now if your fully upgraded like I am, the majority of bosses aren't that hard but there's so many it takes over 45 minutes just to reach the final set of bosses which are hard and can kill you in just a few hits if your not careful.  So if you die against the actual challenging bosses, you now have to waste another 45 + minutes just to get back to the final ones again.

I'm so close to just watching the true final boss and ending on Youtube because this is just so ridiculous.  But I've spent so much time on the game my pride just won't let me stop until I beat it myself, which is driving me insane.  Seriously, for something that was advertised as the Final Chapter to this game, it's a terrible way to end it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 02, 2019, 07:57:22 PM
Y'all are crazy, Hollow Knight is one of the only Metroidvanias that gets into the same league as the best Metroid games. It has actual open progression/exploration and feels transformatively different as your skill set expands and you approach space differently. It's tough at points, but it's not Souls-level stuff, and it has great "game feel". Mapping system is good, it put some skill back into it after the genre got overly hand-holdy. I mainly agree with the geo thing; I could have done without that trend infecting the game, but it also didn't affect me much. Don't use that bank, though!

But here's a caveat: I played the game on release and got whatever the "true" ending was at that time. I remember thinking that the game is already huge and extremely well-designed, and did not need a bunch of DLC jammed in willy nilly. But it sounds like that's exactly what happened with that boss gauntlet nonsense. Interesting in terms of preservation. Can you even opt in to a DLC-less release on any platform?

I believe they fucked Toki Tori 2 up as well and you can't get the OG version anymore.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 02, 2019, 09:02:34 PM
I took a break from Hollow Knight for a few days and then put some more hours into it today. I am enjoying it more as the game's starting to run out of areas I can wander into so the ability-gating has funneled me into certain areas. I've obtained the double-jump, the crystal heart (which enables you to blast across areas ala the speed shine from Super Metroid), and the item that neutralizes the acid pools. I'm getting through areas a lot faster, and with the health & soul upgrades I've gotten along the way I'm definitely living longer.

The music really is quite lovely, and the game has some great atmosphere. This really is, though, the definition of a game that takes way too long to "get good".  Everything this game does was done better in Salt & Sanctuary, a game that's probably half as long and twice as good.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 03, 2019, 05:31:35 PM
OK, I'm pretty sure I just hit a completion-killing bug in Hollow Knight, and if it remains that way I may be done with this game now: after finding the 3 nailmasters, I had enough Geo to purchase the remaining 1,500 geo mask fragment the shopkeeper Sly had for sale so I went back to him. He had the whole sequence with awarding me the nailmaster charm, and now he won't sell me either the remaining mask fragment or the remaining charm I hadn't bought yet. He just says I bought everything from him, so now it's impossible to 100% the game.

I sent a tweet to the developer informing them of this bug, so we'll see what they do. If it's not fixed? ****. This.

Edit: Well, I beat the Hollow Knight, and from my perspective this game is over and good riddance. I just can't be bothered to put any more time into this thing. Got all the Grubs & Soul shards, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 05, 2019, 06:25:09 PM
When I picked up Hollow Knight last week, I picked up another Indie game on sale along with it. Now seemed as good a time to play Everspace, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm playing it on PS4, but it's on just about everything at this point, including the Switch.

This is actually not the 1st time I've played this game, as I attempted to play it while it was in Early Access on Xbox One and didn't care for it. My issue at the time was that the game seemed really eager to kill me with little explanation as to how I was supposed to play it. In the tutorial area, I ran into a group of friendly craft. This being a space game, I was scrolling through my controls trying to find a way to hail them and ended up shooting them instead by accident. They immediately killed me, and I deleted the game. Playing it now that it's in final release, I still think the game doesn't do enough to explain how you should play it in a timely fashion. All the explanations ARE there, but they're dolled out over a long period of time rather than up-front so it's not clear in the early going just what you're supposed to do.

Everspace is a Roguelike arcade-ish space combat game in the vein of something like a Rogue Squadron. You play as one in an infinite series of clones of a scientist-turned-fighter pilot. Each "run" consists of warping into a system, flying around scavenging for resources, and fighting squadrons of enemy fighters (and eventually capital ships) that warp in after you. You can usually leave the system whenever you want. You just fly towards the marker on your screen until your hyperdrive finishes charging, and you're out of there. However, if you're not scavenging for new weapons, cash, weapon & equipment blueprints, and fuel for that hyperdrive, you're not going to get very far. You also can't stay in any system for very long, or else a spawn of killer enemy aces will just annihilate you.

The combat is actually very accessible, as the controls are basically Rogue Squadron with some tweaks. You steer your ship's on-screen position with the left stick, your ship's orientation with the right, and you use the triggers for your weapons. It takes some getting used to, but you'll eventually find that you have full 360 degree movement available to you at pretty much any time. Pretty much all weapons have some amount of tracking on them, so so long as your cursor is within a close approximation of your locked-on target, you're going to be hitting the enemy (though you have a smaller cursor that you can use to lead targets for better efficiency). Just about the only thing the game doesn't let you do is roll your ship, which is pretty much automatically done to keep you from inverting yourself. In my experience, this is only really an issue when navigating wreckage.

I wasn't expecting this game to feature more Sim-ish elements, but there is a surprising amount of them here. When you lose your shields and take damage, you can start taking damage not only to your hull but also your individual ship systems like engines, life support, sensors, etc. You have to use rare-ish crafting resources to repair them, the same resources you also have to spend to upgrade your weapons & shields.

What I'm finding really smart about this game, though, are the quality of life improvements tied into the progression system. For instance, there are quests from various NPCs along with the typical roguelike "challenges" ("kill X number of enemies", etc.). While the challenges have to be completed in a single run, the quests do NOT. You can even fulfill the conditions of a quest and turn the quest in on separate runs. Also, when you die, you can spend any cash from your previous run into permanent upgrades to both your pilot and ship. However, you don't purchase the upgrades in one lump sum, but instead in smaller installments. This is very smart, as it ensures that even on bad runs there's a good chance you'll be able to dump that cash into SOMETHING. You're ALWAYS making progress (at least early on), even on runs where you die in the 1st area.

On the subject of death, the game's difficulty options are wildly different, and the game encourages you to jump between them. I've found Medium to be fairly punishing, but Easy is almost insultingly breezy. I only died on Easy because I didn't know that the game didn't want me to fly through a black hole that generated after I killed a strange enemy around an alien marker (trust me, it sounds less stupid in context).

I don't usually care for Roguelikes, but this one is clicking with me and the controls are certainly a large part of that. I like arcade-style flight combat games, but after Rogue Squadron they all went in a more "realistic" style that didn't work for me. Like, Ace Combat made the right stick rotate you instead of tilting your orientation, which instantly confused me.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on March 11, 2019, 01:18:53 AM
Finishing up Assasin's Creed: Origins (already have long notes about the game for "what game did you beat" post). Only have endgame stuff left (got 100% on main map already) and doing DLC.

And of course daily sessions of Binding of Isaac, Slay The Spire with some Tetris 99 sprinkled in. I dug up my old 3DS Tetris gamecart to practice on my combos and t-spins.

Last weekend was all dedicated to Devil May Cry 5. This game... is weird. New character, V kinda sucks but massive progress on both Nero and Dante redeems it.

They finally made Nero fun -- on third attempt, after two stubs of a game (DMC4 and DMC4SE). I didn't even dabble into arms movement at all but overall improvements to movement are very big deal. Air taunt, divekick are great.

Dante... I am at the point in the campaign where the game goes full-on anime JRPG and i don't know if like it. Combat kinda devolves into watching bars getting filled up and then pressing the win button.

Still, because of general improvements to moveset i am actually getting to be somewhat okayish with Dante which is a major progress after DMC4 where controlling him felt like writing a PhD every time you had to do a move.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on March 11, 2019, 10:28:56 PM
After two weeks I've finally beaten Hollow Knight's Godmaster DLC and got the true ending.  I think it's finally time for me to stop my Hollow Knight journey.

But here's a caveat: I played the game on release and got whatever the "true" ending was at that time. I remember thinking that the game is already huge and extremely well-designed, and did not need a bunch of DLC jammed in willy nilly. But it sounds like that's exactly what happened with that boss gauntlet nonsense. Interesting in terms of preservation. Can you even opt in to a DLC-less release on any platform?

I believe they fucked Toki Tori 2 up as well and you can't get the OG version anymore.

Well the original true ending is still in the game, but the new ending basically turns it into another Bad Ending storywise.  If the upcoming Silksong sequel staring Hornet isn't a prequel and takes place after this ending then it's kind of a dick move making something this important locked behind something 99% of the players will never get to see.

I mean I feel proud that I was able to accomplish such a task but what they did is something more people really should have been able to see.

Major Hollow Knight Spoilers

In the new ending The Knight becomes an actual God and destroys Radiance for good.  The thing is this battle with Radiance took place in a different characters body, the Godseeker who the DLC added instead of the Hollow Knight from the main game.  Because of this the Hollow Knight gets to live since you freed it from the infection by destroying the source at a different location.  It ends with the Hollow Knight approaching Hornet at the Black Egg since she was already there waiting for The Knight to arrive but they never did since you once again fight Radiance at a different location if you do Godmaster.

So if the Hollow Knight shows up in the upcoming sequel Silksong and anyone is wonder how it's still alive, yeah, the new DLC ending that required 45 minute boss rush and an insanely cheap final boss is why.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 14, 2019, 09:56:00 PM
Huh. I mean, in truth I had no idea about any of that story stuff, it just really felt like it did not need another layer of cryptic **** to "complete" on top of the palace thing. As another example, I played Environmental Station Alpha last year, and was liking it a good bit, but there was so much try-hard stuff layered on to it after release that I couldn't really tell what beating the game even meant and wasn't going to chase down the super-silly stuff that got put in for people with uh, certain cognitive perspectives.


Unrelatedly:

Super Mario Odyssey (Switch):

This was the game that I was most excited about getting a Switch for. I'm a Mario die hard, and hold 3D World in very high regard, as well as the Galaxy games, and also think Sunshine is the best of its generation despite its flaws.

With Odyssey, it's a little weird. I feel like I'm being torn three ways at all times because I just want to feverishly dig out the challenges. This vaporizes time for me in a way that a game hasn't for years. I feel freed from the labor that so many AAA western games entail at this point.

But at the same time, I have some inchoate reservations about it. The levels are surprisingly small so far, and while the density is very satisfying in some ways, it ifeels like a more free-form spin on Mario 64 with less platforming skill involved. And I'm not sure if I'm totally sold on that as an approach. I've got like 1/8th of the moons, however, so I imagine my reception will evolve for better or worse.

My impression so far, though, is that, unlike any 3D Mario game, I think they might have missed the fundamental mark. The cap possession stuff is a clever evolution of power-up gameplay, but the deployment is very segmented, and seems to cry out for a more genuinely open design philosophy. I'm thinking of a better version of Banjo Kazooie, when in reality it seems more like a somewhat ungainly mish-mash of Mario 64, Galaxy, and 3D World. I suppose I was expecting a new paradigm, and I'm not feeling it so far.



Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on March 15, 2019, 12:41:49 AM
I've finally been playing Mario Odyssey myself. Just beat the game a couple days ago and have 609 power moons. I'm feeling a lot of what you are feeling as well. Despite the push/pull of attraction to the game you are sort of describing, I find that I find it hard to walk away from the game and just want to keep playing and getting those moons and exploring the levels. So, I can't deny that the game has still been compelling to play even if it hasn't been an instant love and level of amazement like Breath of the Wild was for me. That compulsion to keep playing means the game is clearly doing something right.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 22, 2019, 11:14:32 PM
The first few "board games on DS" carts have arrived, so I've been wasting the evening with Catan and Carcassonne on my handheld.

Both of these games had mostly mediocre reviews... and I can understand why. 

Carcassonne doesn't include any of the board game expansions, which is disappointing. Playing only the base game is clearly the worst version of this game, and normally I'd choose to play something else (if playing an actual board game).  However, the game includes download play so that you can enjoy multiplayer without others also owning the game, which is a nice feature, and the game still plays well.

Catan includes the Seafarers expansion and a bunch of scenarios to play through, which is nice, but doesn't offer download play and has a fwe minor interface oddities (for example, I can't find a way to erase existing save files).

However, overall I'm thrilled with the purchase of both games! They both play well and will see a lot of love at our house between me and the kids.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on March 24, 2019, 10:29:41 AM
The first few "board games on DS" carts have arrived, so I've been wasting the evening with Catan and Carcassonne on my handheld.

[snip]

However, overall I'm thrilled with the purchase of both games! They both play well and will see a lot of love at our house between me and the kids.

Nice! I remember renting Catan for PC from a library many Moons ago. My friend has a version of it on their phone, where you just pass the phone around for people's turns. A bit clumsy when it comes to trading, but it does work. Carcassonne has a Switch version too now, but I don't know about expansions for that either. Without expansions the game is much easier to introduce to people I think, so I can sorta see the logic. Would've been nice if they had been optional inclusions, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 24, 2019, 11:25:46 AM
Been playing a couple of games lately, but the one I'm going to talk about at the moment is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice since I've been playing a ton of it the last few days.

I've probably put about 12-16 hours into it so far, and honestly my impressions are pretty mixed. I like that this plays VERY differently than Souls & Bloodborne did. With the ability to grapple to many raised surfaces, there's a big emphasis on stealth and zipping in and out of bad situations once they get hairy. I like how the grappling hook makes you think about alternate approaches in the environment that result in you reaching an enemy unseen for a backstab or death-from-above instant kill.

The combat is...frustrating. This is easily the fastest combat system From Software's ever made, even faster than Bloodborne. It's very satisfying to pounce on a dude and rip him to shreds in seconds, with no stamina meter to get in your way. Breaking an enemy's posture and delivering the killing blow feels great. However, doing all this is reliant on you blocking, dodging, and parrying an enemy PERFECTLY, and Sekiro is an exceptionally difficult game even by Souls standards. For the life of me, there are certain enemy types I just CAN'T figure out, like spear dudes.

For all the hype surrounding their difficulty the Souls games are actually relatively forgiving. This is because the games use RPG leveling systems, so as hard as the games are you can usually grind your way to victory if you really need to. You can also just bash your head against the metaphorical wall over and over again as you learn the bosses' attack patterns. You can also summon aid in the Souls games if you just can't get a boss down.

Sekiro, though, has none of that. There is no leveling system, and dying repeatedly carries a penalty in the form of locked NPC quests that can only be resolved with the use of a rare item. The only way to raise your character's stats is to kill 4 bosses or find 4 of the VERY rare upgrade items hidden in the environment. And even if you DO get 4 of those items to raise your Vitality & Posture, you'll raise that stat a whole...1 point, on a 100 point scale. Beating a story boss also allows you to raise your attack a whole...1 point, on a scale I'm not sure of at this point. It's sadistic.

I'm finding the environments pretty "meh" so far. I'm sorry, but all these areas look the same and there isn't very good signposting as to where you need to go to proceed. Often, progress is locked by needing to find a new upgrade for your grappling arm, and several of the bosses I've run into so far are designed to go down easier if you find certain upgrades for it. It's still a From Software game, though, so exploration is very richly rewarded and easily the best part of the game.

Yeah, so far I like Sekiro, but I don't love it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 25, 2019, 05:39:55 PM
Dang... I forgot just how smooth the presentation is in Clubhouse Games (DS).  None of the individual games are particularly noteworthy, but as a collection they have some weight and the whole experience just feels polished. Great game!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 02, 2019, 11:24:04 AM
Hmm... not sure what to say about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS).

It's a great game from a technical standpoint, but I don't really like the small, distinct areas that you explore and jump between. This structure reminds my of Portrait of Ruin in some ways, and wasn't something I enjoyed in that game either.

Difficulty seems relative high, which I'm ok most of the time. But sometimes I hitting a tough spot and wonder if my approach to the game is wrong. Am I supposed to go out and grind instead of consistently pushing forward? Did I miss one (or more) glyphs that I'm supposed to have for this point of the game? Right now there is a boss that I'm dying at... checking online said he was "easy" but the recommended strategies were all things that aren't even possible for my character, so maybe I'm not supposed to be in this area yet? It's not really clear...

I like the game and enjoy playing, but so far it's not my favorite Castlevania.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 02, 2019, 08:10:58 PM
Hmm... not sure what to say about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS).

It's a great game from a technical standpoint, but I don't really like the small, distinct areas that you explore and jump between. This structure reminds my of Portrait of Ruin in some ways, and wasn't something I enjoyed in that game either.

Difficulty seems relative high, which I'm ok most of the time. But sometimes I hitting a tough spot and wonder if my approach to the game is wrong. Am I supposed to go out and grind instead of consistently pushing forward? Did I miss one (or more) glyphs that I'm supposed to have for this point of the game? Right now there is a boss that I'm dying at... checking online said he was "easy" but the recommended strategies were all things that aren't even possible for my character, so maybe I'm not supposed to be in this area yet? It's not really clear...

I like the game and enjoy playing, but so far it's not my favorite Castlevania.

Yeah, I've said before, it was time to retire the SOTN clone approach, but the Portrait of Ruin style is weirdly unsatisfying. I don't get the raves for Ecclesia, particularly. A good chunk of the game is mirrored content.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: oohhboy on April 03, 2019, 05:09:58 AM
Portrait is very much on the easy side. There is also little reason to use the brother unless you like the play style as the sister with magic is far more powerful with one boss defeated in seconds due to it's multi segmented nature. It makes for a very casual speed run in NG+.

The only time you will face any real difficulty is the very last of the post story end game content. The enemies do so much damage and have so much health raw magic doesn't cut it anymore.

Ecclesia is an actual challenge and the powers not really powerful with far more restricted utility so you play the game in a more traditional style. I found it more about personal skill instead of grind due to the more traditional nature. The flip side is that it unintentionally encourages you to find ways to cheese it to get past those difficulty spikes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on April 03, 2019, 08:47:14 AM
Yeah, I've said before, it was time to retire the SOTN clone approach, but the Portrait of Ruin style is weirdly unsatisfying. I don't get the raves for Ecclesia, particularly. A good chunk of the game is mirrored content.
Do you mean for Castlevania or in general? At that time, yeah, I can get behind that. Now though? It’s been so long since I’ve played one that I really want a Symphony of the Night-style game which is convenient because Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is due this summer.

If anyone wants a challenge in Order of Ecclesia, try defeating the bosses without taking damage. You get an unequipable medal for bragging rights. I’m never doing that again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 03, 2019, 08:35:36 PM
Ha, I meant for the time, after five go-rounds. But they pivoted to making Shantae-style games for the next two, which I don't think quite works.

And then Ecclesia did take-backies with that "end game".
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 07, 2019, 09:54:38 AM
I've reached the end of Sekiro, having killed every boss & mini-boss that can be killed on a 1st playthrough except the final one. I expect I'll have more to say about this game once I've completed my time with it (I do have a NG+ run in mind for the final ending and platinum trophy), but suffice it to say that I don't think it's as good as some of FromSoftware's previous work.

As a pallet-cleanser from the absurd difficulty of Sekiro, I did pick up Yoshi's Crafted World and got through most of it, collecting 4 out of the 5 gems & collecting all the junk along the way. However, I was so bored by the time I reached that point that I just traded the game in. It's not just that the game is so mind-numbingly easy that even a Games Journalist can beat it. It's just so flat and lifeless, especially after having played Woolly World. Aside from the dedication to theming, I didn't see any creativity in the scenario design, and the music is just plain godawful.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 15, 2019, 09:06:31 AM
Re: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia - having pushed through a pretty significant portion of Drcula's castle (is that a spoiler? I'm saying "no" since this is a Castlevania game) a lot of my concerns have lessened. But it still raises a bunch of questions.

Why did I have to push through so many small, disjointed areas early in the game instead of getting something larger that creates a  sense of continuity and adventure? Why did they hide the Mercury Boots so far into the game instead of speeding thing up much earlier? Why did you have to seek out all of the villagers (some of which were relatively well hidden) before getting to the "good part" of the game?

So I'm coming around on the game... but it's still got issues.

...
If anyone wants a challenge in Order of Ecclesia, try defeating the bosses without taking damage. You get an unequipable medal for bragging rights. I’m never doing that again.

Ah, didn't expect to get any of these medals until stumbling across the Wallman boss. Nice of them to throw in a tease about what's possible though!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on April 20, 2019, 05:15:56 PM
Having polished off one DS game, I'm jumping into another right away as the NWR Retrospective is covering Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks over the next couple of weeks.

I enjoyed playing Phantom Hourglass more than most seemed to. The game conceits worked pretty well, and I really liked how it was an extension (sort of) of the Windwaker world. Early impressions of Spirit Tracks aren't so kind. It feels like they are keeping a lot of the traits I didn't care for while dropping some of the unique features that I did enjoy in this game.

Dead Zelda doesn't feel cool early on, although maybe there will be some cool puzzles later? I don't know though... it feels like a mix of bad escort mission and weak attempt to hammer two-player puzzles into a single player experience.

Driving trains is actually fun. I like this conceit mostly... but it also feels very limited. Maybe I'm just too early in the game to see the value.

Time will tell. I'm just at the start, about to enter the first real dungeon, so assume that I haven't seen most of what the game will offer yet.  Future posts will be in the retroactive discussion instead of here.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 22, 2019, 09:18:01 PM
I, too, am playing Sekiro (PC).

I dragged myself through Dark Souls back in the day, and while there's obviously something compelling in there, I mostly found it be a joyless slog and was relieved when it was over. I hadn't intended to play another one of these From games, but it sounded like Sekiro stripped out a lot of the obtuse bullshit and sadistic punishment, and I'm glad I relented.

I like this game much more than Dark Souls. Just on a moment to moment basis it feels much better to play, and the grappling hook makes it fun and easy to get around the game world and avoid and escape fights as you please (often including bosses). And boy is it a relief not to have to worry about fiddly loot and builds and potentially screwing yourself over.

As for the difficulty, I initially found it overwhelming, and got destroyed by the early ogre miniboss. I put it down for a few weeks, and when I came back I dusted that goober on my second try. After that I was pretty much gliding through the game, though I tended to bolt from boss encounters and keep digging through to new areas. I finally hit a wall, though, at the bridge knight, because I hadn't actually learned the parry system and was relying on juking and jumping around, which did not work at all here. After like two hours at this chokepoint (and turning the settings down to make it snappier), I finally had a handle on the core mechanics, and realized this boss was not hard at all.

After that, I returned to the flashback estate, and killed the drunk guy on my first try. Shortly after was the apparently infamous butterfly woman, who I beat in 15 minutes. After more hours of dinking around and finding most of the health gourds, I went back to the castle and hit Genchiro, the biggest difficulty jump so far. This gave me some trouble, but after an hour I became numb to the intimidation of his final phase, and just rode the motherfucker and busted him in like 40 seconds.

I'm sure some true horrors await further in the game, but I'm feeling pretty chuffed about how I'm riding the curve. I have not hit a point as in Dark Souls with the gargoyles or Smough and Orstein where I gave myself another couple tries before I just gave up on the game entirely because it was making me miserable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on May 05, 2019, 08:17:30 PM
I'm currently playing Grim Dawn with some people online.

It's similar to Diablo, mainly a loot game. It seems a little more complex. Multiplayer is fun, but the story seems somewhat throwaway.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 06, 2019, 08:47:57 AM
Has anyone played Big Bang Mini (DS)?  Giving that a go again. It's a neat genre mashup, that feels like puzzle-bobble crossed with some kind of shooting gallery where you have moving targets, then mixes in some bullet hell elements for good measure. The soundtrack sounds pretty cool early on, and it's very satisfying from a visual standpoint.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on May 07, 2019, 08:49:33 AM
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (Switch)

I played the first three hours at regular speed before turning on 2x speed which makes this a far better experience. I’ll probably turn on 4x speed once I’m more comfortable with the game. I haven’t completed an RPG in almost 15 years. I’m aiming to finish this in the next month or so.

This feels like a 13 year old game. The voice acting and animations are both pretty stiff. The world could use more color though I expect that later in the game. I haven’t gotten many spells so the combat is pretty basic so far. I don’t have too many comments on gameplay yet. There are some quality of life things like the ability to jump down a small ledge/cliff that make the game feel aged. The inability to use the analog stick while in the battle menu is baffling because the action pauses while the battle menu is up. There may be an option to turn that off and have menu selecting happen in real-time, and if that’s the case, that’s when the analog stick should remain mapped to movement while the D-pad controls the menu even though both can’t be used simultaneously. It’s a minor criticism. I’m mostly used to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 14, 2019, 09:40:12 PM
Has anyone played Big Bang Mini (DS)? ...

Oh cool - found a random (literally) retro-styled Easter egg in this game. Unfortunately I didn't really understand what was happening in the moment, and either died or got kicked out pretty quickly... but it was very cool!

Doesn't sound like anyone else has spent much time with Big Bang Mini, but I'm really impressed overall. It's been a nice dose of arcade-like action to break up the run of longer RPG/adventure games I had been playing recently.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on May 19, 2019, 08:03:30 PM
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch):

So I've had this for four months, but only really started it this week. I was apprehensive, because Zelda games are my manna, and I was afraid the the open-world scourge had eaten its soul.

I was wrong, it's incredible. I never read much about it and only saw gameplay in trailers, but I was worried I would hate the weapon system and lack of form. But the game is completely enchanting in a way that far surpassed my diminished expectations. It somehow manages to be brush shoulders with overplayed open-world design trends, while completely reinvigorating this approach in a way that joyously communes with the very first game in the series (which is also one of the very first games I ever played). The total interrelation between landscape, control, tools, and progression is absolutely captivating, and I'm frequently delighted by the audio-visual design. The world is gorgeously realized, the characters are fantastically modeled and animated, and the minimalist piano soundtrack is perfect. 

I'm only about 12 hours in, so maybe I'll become jaded, but as of now this game is breathing into my soul. Love the shrines, love finding Koroks, love organically collecting information and environmental awareness. And I just unlocked the camera, which is yet another layer of interactivity and observational reward.

I don't mind the weapon system at all, and find it adds well-tuned risk and pressure to the massively variable path you can take through the game. It's also well balanced with the permanent nature of the stamina, health, rune, and armor upgrades.

Only quibble so far is that it really feels like there should be a dedicated recipe book/progression system, which I gather is not in the cards. But even then, the cooking system is generally freeform and intuitive enough.

I could go on and on, but I'll save energy for the game itself.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: kaijugamer on May 30, 2019, 04:15:54 AM
I tried playing NBA 2k19 on Nintendo Switch with my younger brother. Nice way to pass some time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 12, 2019, 09:57:39 PM
Started playing Mega Man 10 (WiiWare).

When this first came out, I was kind of disappointed as some of the sport-themed levels felt pretty weird, and it just didn't leave a strong first impression like Mega Man 9 did. However, this time playing through it's felt pretty good. (Granted, I started with some of the more "normal" enemies: Pump Man, Solar Man, and Chill Man.)

Even "not as good" Mega Man games are usually pretty decent, so I'm having fun. Not sure how long it will last, but as this is essentially my first time through it's nice to see some interesting surprises so far.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on June 13, 2019, 12:13:13 AM
Started playing Mega Man 10 (WiiWare).

When this first came out, I was kind of disappointed as some of the sport-themed levels felt pretty weird, and it just didn't leave a strong first impression like Mega Man 9 did. However, this time playing through it's felt pretty good. (Granted, I started with some of the more "normal" enemies: Pump Man, Solar Man, and Chill Man.)

Even "not as good" Mega Man games are usually pretty decent, so I'm having fun. Not sure how long it will last, but as this is essentially my first time through it's nice to see some interesting surprises so far.

To me Mega Man 10 is a very uneven game.  You have some great levels like Solar Man and Sheep Man, but then some terrible ones like Knife Man and Strike Man.  It feels like Inti Creates used up most of their good idea's with MM9, and was just seeing whatever sticks for this one.  Notice how some levels in this game really feel the need to drag out their gimmick, while MM9 had no problem introducing several new ones each level.

Still an overall enjoyable game but I'd definitely put it in the lower half of the Classic Mega Man series.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on June 13, 2019, 01:16:40 PM
Personally, I think that's what makes Mega Man 10 more interesting, it got pretty creative with its themes and ideas. One of the better games in the series, I feel.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 14, 2019, 09:58:12 PM
Personally, I think that's what makes Mega Man 10 more interesting, it got pretty creative with its themes and ideas. One of the better games in the series, I feel.

Just opened up the Wily stage (so all main bosses have been defeated) and would probably put it somewhere on the low end of "better games"?  It's got some creative ideas, but also a few areas that seem kind of janky - not outright bad, but weirdly balanced or just not as fun as other areas. Of course, that's probably subjective on both points. Or maybe I'm enjoying this game so much just because it's been a while since picking up a Mega Man game and my memory is hazy about the others.
*shrug*

After finding the first boss I could beat without any special weapons, it's been pretty quick progression as I only made 2 errors guessing which boss should be next in the sequence. (Sheep was successfully beaten out of order, Strike beat me so I had to come back and battle after getting a different weapon.) I kind of like it when you can guess which weapons might work - it seems like you waste less time that way, at least.

Wow, do I ever miss the mega buster charge shot though!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 16, 2019, 12:43:05 AM
Now that Square Enix is finally done making it, I've sunk 40 hours into Final Fantasy 15 and...I don't...dislike it, but man is it the most pointless game in the franchise. I'm in Chapter 3, and basically all I've done for 40 hours is screw around the open world doing sidequests. Perhaps that's not what the game intended, but if you're going to stick a continually escalating series of sidequests right in my face, I'm going to do them and if that means I'm level 50 doing a Level 19 story quest, so be it.

Not that the main plot is anything remotely interesting anyway. So far, I've seen my homeland destroyed in a mediocre tie-in movie, so I've set off on my mystic quest to scour the legendary Public Storage Units of Old to find the mystical **** my ancestors cleaned out of their garage. Hooray. -_-

The combat is fun and the music (when it's present) is nice, but man am I not feeling the "Final Fantasy" here. Say what you will about the FF 13 trilogy, but at least they kept things moving and didn't let the player just waste time doing meaningless side content for its own sake. This is basically how FF 12 played out, too, and I didn't like that one, either.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 16, 2019, 10:08:31 PM
With each new Final Fantasy release, I appreciate Dragon Quest more.
(Yes, this is equivalent to saying that I'm old and grumpy and set in my ways. I'm ok with that.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on June 16, 2019, 11:06:14 PM
Well, that puts a damper on my Final Fantasy plans. I've found that I am less and less fond of side quests in games outside of Zelda (because those are just so fun and bizarre), so these sound less appealing to me now. I just seem to prefer getting to the point in story-driven games sooner as opposed to derping around a big empty world doing meaningless side stuff.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 16, 2019, 11:20:39 PM
Well, that puts a damper on my Final Fantasy plans. I've found that I am less and less fond of side quests in games outside of Zelda (because those are just so fun and bizarre), so these sound less appealing to me now. I just seem to prefer getting to the point in story-driven games sooner as opposed to derping around a big empty world doing meaningless side stuff.

What's funny is that I've read ahead: just doing the side quests available in JUST chapter 3 (of 14) of the game set me at the level you need to beat the entire game. I'm just coasting through the game at this point.

I'm in Chapter 8 now. These chapters are REALLY short if you're just critical path-ing it. This game still hasn't presented an actual story yet.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 17, 2019, 08:06:31 PM
Got my Kickstarter backer copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon in today.

Guys...yeah, this game's the real deal, especially if you like Aria of Sorrow-style Igavania. All that extra time in development and Wayforward's additional expertise seems to have really paid off. I think you guys are going to like this one.  :D
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 17, 2019, 08:46:33 PM
Got my Kickstarter backer copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon in today.

Guys...yeah, this game's the real deal, especially if you like Aria of Sorrow-style Igavania. All that extra time in development and Wayforward's additional expertise seems to have really paid off. I think you guys are going to like this one.  :D

So disappointed that Wii U is long dead and not going to get a copy. Although not sure if the game would end up playing on that console anyway.  Very jealous.  :)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Caliban on June 17, 2019, 10:55:29 PM
I've been playing Guacamelee! 2. Good stuff gameplay wise. Lots of little video-game, and meme references too.

Got my Kickstarter backer copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon in today.

Guys...yeah, this game's the real deal, especially if you like Aria of Sorrow-style Igavania. All that extra time in development and Wayforward's additional expertise seems to have really paid off. I think you guys are going to like this one.  :D

Oh, good to know it's turned out well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 18, 2019, 09:50:32 PM
So apparently there's this delightful little...completely game-breaking bug in Bloodstained. The big "Day 1 patch" came out today, and I noticed that some of the items I'd already collected had reappeared on the map, and there were a bunch of opened chests in areas I hadn't gotten to yet...including a chest after a boss that held a plot-critical item required to access the next area of the game. Well, what can you do? Time to restart. At least I only lost a night's worth of progress.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 22, 2019, 09:40:29 PM
But are overall impressions still good, despite losing progress with the patch?  (Whispers I've heard all sound positive, but I haven't sought out any reviews yet.)


Just started playing Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (DS). Lots of fun; feels reminiscent of Puzzle Quest, but with more RPG elements and a slightly more complex puzzle system involved. Not sure why it took me this long to finally give Clash of Heroes a shot, because I knew it would be right up my alley... oh well, a good game design remains enjoyable years later!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 23, 2019, 10:19:42 AM
But are overall impressions still good, despite losing progress with the patch?  (Whispers I've heard all sound positive, but I haven't sought out any reviews yet.)

The game is superb, despite me losing all my progress with that patch. I'm near the end of the game now on the True Ending path, and I haven't had any other issues with the game since that one (and only backers who got the physical disc will ever run into it).

I've been meaning to talk about it further, but suffice it to say if you really enjoyed Aria of Sorrow, you'll love Bloodstained.

I suppose one of the new features I can talk about are the sidequest and crafting systems, which Castlevania never had. I almost never use the actual crafting system since I'm finding gear considerably superior to anything I have the recipe to craft, but I'm finding cooking in this game to be utterly addictive. You take ingredients from monster drops, and you use Alchemy to combine them in recipes to produce a variety of food like rice balls, pizza, etc. What makes cooking so great is that creating food not only restores health or MP, but the first time you eat a particular food you also receive a permanent stat buff like an increase to your MP regeneration; luck increases; etc. Over time, that REALLY adds up. And any time you cook a food; food component; or craft an item, it gets added to the shop so you can just buy it going forward. You can also use a special item in the game to break down items into their component pieces, which saves on farming rare item drops if you use it wisely.

Back at your base, there are 3 primary quest givers: one asks for an increasingly complicated series of crafted foods, and another for an frustratingly obscure list of crafted items (seriously, I'm never finding the recipes for her crap). The 3rd tasks you with avenging the deaths of various named NPCs by killing a certain number of specific enemies from around the castle. Because subtlety is this game's name, all the deaths you're "avenging" are major Castlevania characters (Richter, Trevor, Simon, etc.). That's about as close to a middle finger to Konami as Iga will probably dare ever give.

Now that I think about it, there is one other thing about the crafting system I can mention, and that's that you can expend crafting resources to boost the "Rank" of the shards you collect, adding extra effects to them like extended range, etc. One cool thing I ran into last night is that you have a series of yellow shards that provide passive bonuses, but only when equipped. However, I'd found this one that allows you to see all the breakable walls within a certain area around Miriam, and it turned out that the crafting resources to rank it up were really common. So I maxed-out the rank on that shard, and the shard turned into a "Skill Shard", which made it a permanent ability ala my double-jump. That appears to be something only the passive shards can do, but it's very much appreciated.

There are also a fair amount of secret bosses that I definitely don't recommend hunting down because they will mercilessly murder you in seconds. I found one on the train, and it didn't go well, even when I came back with late-game equipment.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on June 24, 2019, 09:07:55 AM
Got my Kickstarter backer copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon in today.

Guys...yeah, this game's the real deal, especially if you like Aria of Sorrow-style Igavania. All that extra time in development and Wayforward's additional expertise seems to have really paid off. I think you guys are going to like this one.  :D

I picked up a physical PS4 copy.  I was concerned that the performance hit of being on switch would be enough to bother me.

I'm only through the introductory section, but I agree.  The feel of movement and attack match what you're looking for in a SOTN-like, which was the most important thing to me.  Despite my misgivings about 3D models on a 2D platformer, it does actually look pretty good.  I'm eager to dig into it more fully.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 26, 2019, 01:58:34 PM
...
Just started playing Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (DS).
...

So those positive first impressions went downhill fast. What I said earlier about good game design lasting the test of time is still accurate - unfortunately opposite also holds true.

Base gameplay is still very good. But you never know when heading into a battle how strong that opponent will be, and gradations of power are hugely significant. (You can retreat from battle after seeing the level of your opponent - but doing so costs a nice chunk of the limited resources required to hire advanced units.) Winning is virtually impossible when you opponent's units have leveled up to be much stronger; they will trample your defenses and easily turn aside your attacks.

This is really frustrating, as it sets up a situation where you (mostly) have to work through battles in a particular order to build your own strength before moving forward - but without knowing which battles you have any chance of winning. Should you be taking on that rogue in the pub, or will he wipe the floor with you? Should you try to advance the story, or will that be a waste of time unless you've found a way to level up first?

So despite solid gameplay, Clash of Heroes has been outright wasting my time due to this small oversight and that's made it a frustrating experience. The weird part is that if the game was just a bit more linear it wouldn't be a problem... it's mixing in the optional battles puzzle stages that creates problems.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on July 12, 2019, 08:26:32 AM
The further I get into Final Fantasy 15, the angrier I get at how amazingly half-assed the end product came out, even with years of patches & DLC. I'm in Chapter 10, and every important event in this story happens off-screen and what DOES happen on-screen is utterly underwhelming. Remember that entire Uncharted-esque action sequence with Leviathan that S-E showed in that E3 stage demo? Yeah, none of that is in this game. The Leviathan fight is a glorified QTE where you mash ONE button.

I think I may genuinely hate this game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on July 22, 2019, 04:50:41 PM
Up next: Mega Man ZX Advent (DS).  Open world action platforming with Mega Man styling... what's not to like?  (Although maybe I'm just a bit sucky, but the "Normal" difficulty feels a lot tougher than expected. Bosses have been making short work of me on the first few tries, and progress usually requires dying/restarting a couple of times to learn their patterns. Then again, maybe that's not so unusual for a Mega Man game?)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on August 05, 2019, 02:00:50 PM
I'm playing OlliOlli, the first one from 2014 or '15. On Wii U 'cos I'm a scrub, but I bet it's on Switch already. That said, I'm pretty close to giving up on the second-to-last level in Amateur mode.

(http://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/66358/large.jpg)

It's a good game though, just very tricky. Can see this appealing to fans of precision platformers or maybe games like Bit.Trip Runner. This one isn't an automatic runner, you need to maintain your own speed, but it has some similarities in that you can't really go left. Initially you can still make sloppy landings, but you need to be pixel-perfect in the later stages. It's not frustrating luckily. Restarts are quick and it's basically always your own fault when you faceplant Skaterboi into a neon dinosaur.

The game seems deceptively simple, but isn't. All you have to do is reach the end of a stage without falling off your skateboard. Maybe grind rails & pop ollies to get over hazards. Control uses just 2 buttons too: control stick to jump and grind, A to land. Doable right?
Nah, this control setup is super confusing to me - and 5 hours in I'm still not able to get it down reliably. Why can't I use a button to jump? At least let me rebind this stuff, please! Really don't see the utility here to be honest. You can still use the stick to do different moves - Tony Hawk did this right 20 years ago! Adding to the confusion, you only use the land button on floors, not rails.
Maybe I'm just getting old.

But hey, if difficult to learn, even harder to master is your jam, go wild with this one. The artwork is okay, bit drab in the colour palette. I bet it looks better on Switch and 3DS due to the smaller screen (there's Wii U/3DS crossbuy btw). The soundtrack, by Dorian Concept, is a highlight though. While it's very typical early 2010s Ninja Tune/Brainfeeder stuff, it does really help lend the game some personality. 
But yeah, it feels like I've hit a pretty tough brick wall at this point. Can't imagine what the Pro difficulty level is like. The first 3 worlds went smoothly after a while, but at this points levels are regularly taking me 30 minutes each just to clear them. They should've really mapped 'restart' to a single button push, not a 2-step process lol.
Anyway, three stars, good game but it's very reluctant to even let you see all of the levels.

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 05, 2019, 07:49:09 PM
I'm playing OlliOlli, the first one from 2014 or '15. ...

Hahaha...   ;D

I've been thinking about trying this again... but my previous impressions were the controls just didn't feel good and it got to be frustrating a bit quicker than I had hoped.  Your report isn't encouraging me to go back and try again!


That said, Mega Man ZX Advent is moving along nicely now. My earlier struggles have mostly disappeared - either because I've got a more flexible arsenal or because I've gotten into the groove of fighting past bosses and then saving before hitting up the next stage.

The gameplay has become much more enjoyable as my play improved, but the story... oh boy, the story! It's the kind of foolish mess that makes you embarrassed to be playing. Seriously: the old original Mega Man games had far better story arcs and character development than this ridiculous piece of nonsense. That's a pretty low bar to be missing. Still enjoying the game a great deal, but it makes me sad they didn't have someone competent write the plot/dialog for an otherwise pretty great game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 06, 2019, 09:57:31 AM
I remember trying Olli Olli and I couldn't get the hang of it at all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 20, 2019, 10:51:29 PM
I caved and finally bought Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King. It was on sale and I had some Gold Coins that were probably going to expire soon. After tax, the game was $5.03. That was too good of a deal to continue waiting for a physical release.

So far, not bad. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King doesn’t hide the fact that it’s trying to be Zelda. Similar to how Axiom Verge was worse-Metroid, this is worse-Zelda. It’s perfectly fine, just lacks some polish.

I find the graphics and art to be a mixed bag. The 8-bit style is kind of played out to me. Sometimes a developer nails it and sometimes it looks as if the developer is trying too hard. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is an odd mishmash. Sprites like the characters are very simplistic while some backgrounds look too detailed for the aesthetic Castle Pixel is going for. The start screen with the really smooth logo looks like it’s from a different game. It’s all very weird. And the art is just really generic.

The gameplay is fine so far. I’m having some trouble with the way certain things control. I just got bombs, and they don’t control the way bombs do in A Link to the Past. I get that they’re different games, but Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is channeling Zelda so hard. I just have to get used to it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 21, 2019, 11:32:37 PM
I've almost finished Carcassonne (DS), but it's starting to be a real slog. I'm a big fan of the original board game, but playing the base version with no expansions and 5 players - which creates a lot of chaos, so that luck of the draw is accentuated - certainly isn't my favorite way to play. Guess what the last handful of levels in the campaign all look like? However, some people specifically love playing the game this way, and I do admit it's a decent enough implementation. (Multiplayer via download play is a particularly nice feature; I do wish there was the option to use at least one of the expansions though!)

In the meantime, I haven't really been able to decide on a "big" game to play next... so somehow Angry Birds Star Wars (Wii) ended up being pulled out as a time waster and is just sucking up a few minutes whenever they are available. It's a pretty good version of Angry Birds with some interesting power-ups available for different characters, but it's still Angry Birds... so, yeah.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on August 22, 2019, 12:15:19 PM
I've been tempted top pick up Angry Birds Star Wars for when I spend time with my nephew, since the price has dropped pretty darn low. What are your thoughts on it as a game to play with younger kids?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on August 22, 2019, 08:09:24 PM
I've been tempted top pick up Angry Birds Star Wars for when I spend time with my nephew, since the price has dropped pretty darn low. What are your thoughts on it as a game to play with younger kids?

How young?  You might be better with the normal Angry Birds Trilogy if they are very young, as I believe that one has fewer gimmicks and special powers thrown into the stages. With Star Wars, you quickly get into zero-gravity stages, and birds with different powers that you have to time and/or aim, and other little novelties.

However, it's still Angry Birds... so we aren't talking rocket science here. My kids got pretty far into the game when they were about 5 or 6 and had a good time with it. If you are talking younger than that, you might do better with the Wii U version since I believe that one supports touch screen instead of dragging back slingshots using the Wii remote pointer?

You are right that prices are very good right now, and the game includes a ton of content that is actually quite well put together. If either the Angry Birds or Star Wars license is a draw, it's hard to go wrong here.

My son (7) says that he remembers enjoying it, but that it's best to play with an adult who can help if you get stuck. If you two were going to play it together, I think it would be a blast.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: GK on August 25, 2019, 08:37:41 AM
Been starting this post-work day ritual of firing up a console while waiting for the PC to load up before doing the internet thing. Went WiiU instead of Switch a few times and...

Got stuck playing Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. Already past the "halfway" point.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on August 25, 2019, 11:43:36 PM
Got to the final area of Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King then did some optional item collection. There’s a lot of collecting in this game which involves a lot of grinding. I’ll get further into that in the other thread when I finish the game. I decided to call it a night for now. I was hoping to finish the game this weekend so I can spend my PTO days next week playing through Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (staycation, money is tied up elsewhere). Apparently, Artplay/Wayforward aren’t finished the Switch optimization update which is what I’ve been waiting for before starting over. I know these things can take a while so I’m not upset (the official forums are hilariously filled with salt). Until then, I’ll continue waiting. If no update by the end of the week, maybe I’ll boot up Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: sirmastersephiroth on September 11, 2019, 06:22:27 PM
Currently playing A Link to the Past on the Switch
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on September 13, 2019, 11:20:50 PM
So, you know, instead of playing literally anything in my backlog, I bought Celeste and played that for a bit today. It isn’t that difficult so far except for some reason I decided, “Yeah, let me just get those strawberries.” I made a terrible choice.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 13, 2019, 11:45:29 PM
I've been playing Celeste recently as well, first just because I wanted to play it again and now this week to try out the new DLC. Chapter 9 is a real bastard, the hardest yet and probably harder than most of the B-sides. It's not just the same bits over again, though, it includes some brand new ideas and mechanics which I'm enjoying a lot.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on September 16, 2019, 08:58:36 AM
Other than dabbling in the Daemon X Machina Demo to see if it's right for me, I've been mostly playing River City Girls. 

This game is about as good as it gets for side-scrolling beat-em-ups, IMO.  The combat feels crisp, moves flow fluidly into multi-hit combos that can get progressively longer and more satisfying as you purchase move upgrades, and so far has helped keep the combat from feeling too repetitive.  You can really chain together some long, slick combos and even juggle enemies in the air, it all feels real good.

And holy cow, the effort put into its presentation absolutely shows.  The characters so far have been fairly varied and interesting in style.  Different sections of the levels feel diverse/distinct.  The music is well produced and fits the tone of the game super well, so even though it's not exactly my preferred style of music, it put a smile on my face whenever it went into full-blown vocal tracks.  The humor is well written, and none of the game so far has felt pervy, which is what I was concerned with going into it. 

If I had any issues, maybe it'd be that I felt a little lost at points because while this isn't an open-world game by any means, you have to find the right NPC to spit out dialogue in order to progress the story further.  So at a few points so far, I didn't know where that right NPC was and ended up wandering aimlessly for a while before figuring out I had to backtrack to the beginning spot of the game.

Also, I imagine the $30 price tag is a heavy lift for someone who isn't super into brawlers like this.  I don't personally regret it since I am, and I can see that a lot of effort was put into this one. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on November 12, 2019, 04:20:24 PM
Been playing Rodea: The Sky Soldier from 2015. The original one, on Wii.

(https://www.gameinformer.com/s3/files/styles/body_default/s3/legacy-images/imagefeed/Learn%20More%20About%20The%20Story%20Of%20Yuji%20Naka%20And%20Zin%20Hasegawa%27s%20Upcoming%20Title/RodeaStory610.jpg)

So this is Yuji Naka's swan song on Wii, and in Japan it's even the final game on that system since Ubisoft doesn't grant them yearly Just Dance instalments. It took forever to come out (I don't think it ever got a stand-alone release here, just as a bonus disc with the Wii U game of the same name), and spoiler alert, it wasn't quite worth the wait.
Note: there's 3 Rodea games in total. This one on Wii which is Yuji Naka's original vision, a 3DS game which is pretty different, and a Wii U game which is basically an up-port of the 3DS one. The Wii U/3DS games aren't as well-regarded.

Rodea on Wii's a rather wonky and uneven game in which you play as a robot, you fly through the air and collect rings gems, occassionally grind rails, punch bosses in their glowing weak spots, and skip through story beats.
Consider what a combination of NiGHTS Into Dreams... and a 3D Sonic game would look like, and you're pretty close here. It's a Wiimote-only game, where you point at where you want to go, press B to zip to it, and maybe press A to use an attack while going there. This results in a game largely revolving around 2 things: keeping up momentum to stay airbourne (see NiGHTS), and locking onto enemies/objects and using a homing attack to knock 'em out (see Sonic).

The Good:
+ The stages are decently laid out for what they want you to do here. You keep pointing into the screen, so it makes sense the levels are narrow on both the X and Y-axis, but they stretch far into your Z-axis.
+ There's a general upbeat vibe, with colourful levels and a somewhat simple, arcadey quality that keeps drawing you in.
+ Levels are around 15 minutes long, meaning shorter play sessions are accomodated for.
+ NIS America provides both a Japanese and English dub. Switched to Japanese immediately after the tutorial, the voices are insufferable.
+ Every cut-scene and instance of dialogue is mercifully skippable.

The Bad:
- The story is laughably generic. Amnesia, robots with a heart, etc. Could be a Saturday morning cartoon.
- Every character is dumb, states the obvious, and the jokes are bad.
- Characters designs have that distinct Beyblade quality about them. (By which I mean a distinct lack of quality.)
- Camera controls are bad. Pointer used both for camera & movement, so it's always behind you. Turning is a real slog.
- Bossfights are severely hampered by the camera issues, because you can't quickly turn/look behind you to switch targets.
- No checkpoints during bossfights. The final one is 15+ minutes.

The only reason I'm posting this in the 'playing' thread rather than the 'beaten' thread is because I can't beat the final boss after 90 minutes of trying (for reference, that accounts for ~20% of my total playtime!!!). The game suddenly wants precision and high-speed turning from you, when neither of these are easily done with its controls.
Maybe I'll magically ace it in one go next time I try, that tends to happen to me sometimes, but it's definitely souring my opinion on the game a little.
Rating: 2½/5 stars, cautiously recommended, provided you're the kind of person who looks at NiGHTS or Billy Hatcher and thinks "huh, could be interesting." For what it's worth, this is at least much better than NiGHTS on Wii, but it's not great either. I wanted to like this more.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on November 12, 2019, 04:56:18 PM
I have Rodea also but I never got around to trying it. I've heard about the last boss issues which is one of the reasons I haven't wanted to try it, as I like to complete games and this one sounds like a real pain to do so, or else I'd just have to leave it unfinished which is probably what I would do.

Have you played the Wii U version or plan to play it? Would be interesting to see how you think it compares.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on November 12, 2019, 05:26:42 PM
I have Rodea also but I never got around to trying it. I've heard about the last boss issues which is one of the reasons I haven't wanted to try it, as I like to complete games and this one sounds like a real pain to do so, or else I'd just have to leave it unfinished which is probably what I would do.

It's mostly just irritating that they make you start the whole fight from scratch every time, when there's 3 sections of the fight where it's very easy to die if you get cornered in a strange way while trying to rotate the camera. Checkpoints would've made it much more bearable.
I've watched the fight on YouTube and turns out I've gotten super close to beating the boss, too.

Bit more detail: Rodea can get hit 3 times, then you lose a life. But your powers also scale with your hitpoints; at full health your charge attack is more powerful, at 2 hit points you can still attack, but you're less powerful, at 1 hit point you can't even attack and your flight path is very short.
Thus, you can basically just be hit once without losing offensive capabilities (which double as speedboost). There's plenty of replenishing health pickups in static locations, so you can remember them and stock back up... but losing the attack means you lose speed and flying range, meaning you're less likely to make a successful getaway.
Throughout the game it's not a massive issue, in fact I would say the game is pretty easy overall, but during the final boss it compounds into a bigger problem. (At least, for me.) Will report back if I suddenly breeze through the fight tomorrow, now that I've drunk from the fountain of Youtube knowledge.

Have you played the Wii U version or plan to play it? Would be interesting to see how you think it compares.

Haven't played it (yet), but might give it a shot. From what I can tell, the 3DS/Wii U versions include some loot-esque stuff, semi-permanent item upgrades which are more temporaneous in the Wii version, and the colours seem a bit more washed out too.
That said, if the levels are largely similar, I don't really care enough to go through the same game twice. Getting the impression the Wii version is probably the better one; at least, Yuji Naka appears to think so.
 (https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/663935285722374144)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on November 12, 2019, 08:45:28 PM
I've been playing Sim City 4 on the PC, the last Sim City game! It's fun, but man the pollution!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on November 12, 2019, 09:02:02 PM
Been playing & completing a lot of stuff lately:

- Indivisible (PS4)
- Walking Dead: The Definitive Telltale Collection
- New Super Lucky's Tale
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- The Aladdin/Lion King Collection
- Trine 4
- Concrete Genie (little bit)
- Ghostbusters Remastered
- Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair
- Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
- The Outer Worlds (little bit)
- MediEvil PS4
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 19, 2019, 09:15:34 PM
I haven't had a lot of free time lately, but started playing Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS).

Gotta admit, despite a slow start the story has drawn me in and I'm really enjoying the game now. Why is it this series hasn't been rolled up into an anthology release of sorts? Definitely should have happened already - just fantastic fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on November 30, 2019, 02:04:53 PM
Just started playing Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (3DS eShop).

It's not the full Bloodstained (and I'm still sore that I don't have a console that supports that game) but it's pretty cool and the old-school roots are a perfect match for my gaming tastes. Looking forward to getting deeper into the game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on December 13, 2019, 05:16:06 AM
Tried out Dauntless. It's definitely Monster Hunter for babies so Khushrenada might like it. It feels incredibly hollow compared to Monster Hunter and none of the attacks feel satisfying to pull off. Meanwhile my sour impressions of the game combined with the epic games logo seem like a good excuse for me to uninstall.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 21, 2019, 07:49:22 PM
Per the finished thread, I have some irons in the fire:

Baba is You (PC):

On paper, this is an ingenious concept. A boulder-pushing-type game mixed with a programming-type game. Way to find a niche! Based on the blank spots on the world map, I'm very early in, having only finished the second world, and I can see this becoming an extreme challenge/pain in the ass.

I applaud the effort so far, but it carries a good dose of the "This is labor" feeling from a programming game like Human Resource Machine. At the same time, I feel like it's not doing a fantastic job of teaching its rules. I found it very clever when I figured out you could do crossword-style command orientations. But fast-forward an hour and I'm apparently breaking the internal coding system to try to solve a puzzle (it's giving me a frozen screen that I can resolve by pressing a direction and transforming the avatar back and forth every cardinal move?), when the solution in fact requires an understanding that a vertical identity command (Baba is Baba) invalidates a simultaneous horizontal command (Baba is Crab). Or am I doing it wrong? I don't know about this one.

The Fall: Part 2: Unbound (PC):

I very much enjoyed the first part on WiiU for what it was worth, but was surprised to find it end so abruptly (the ability menu has several blank spots still at that point).

I didn't realize the second part ever came out until the GOG winter sale, and snapped it up. In concept, it's a pretty cool semi-left turn. Instead of a straight 2D physical adventure game, now it's a janky cyberspace metroid type game, with 2D adventure game "dungeons" where you inhabit a real-world robot and have to execute an objective within a delimited environment. Cool! Except that this has maybe the worst controls of a modern game I've ever encountered. I'm invested in the concept, so I'll keep going, but good lord, you can't even push right and left without the controllable character hitching. In the action portions, it feels like the inputs only register half the time. Baffling and infuriating, with checkpointing that seems like it was not even cursorily focus-tested.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 22, 2019, 07:39:34 PM
Having played out Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and beaten it on all difficulty levels with just about every permutation of party, I've moved on to Guacamelee (Wii U).  Really enjoying the game. Level design isn't "the best"... but it's good enough, and both the style and writing are winning me over. Very fun game so far, and probably one that I should have played sooner.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 22, 2019, 09:34:33 PM
That’s interesting timing. I’m in the mood for a Metroid-like game right now, and I’ve been trying to decide whether I should go with that game, Guacamelee, or one of Bloodstained or Axiom Verge. I already own all three of them (in some cases multiple times) but I’ve barely put any time into any of them. What would you recommend?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on December 23, 2019, 12:23:26 PM
Also listening along for the Axiom Verge / Guacamelee opinions. Have both, have started neither.

The Fall: Part 2: Unbound (PC):

I very much enjoyed the first part on WiiU for what it was worth, but was surprised to find it end so abruptly (the ability menu has several blank spots still at that point).

I never got into this series, because I always confused The Fall and The Swapper for some reason. Very similar art styles I guess. Would you still recommend the first one, knowing that part 2 isn't very good?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 23, 2019, 10:48:26 PM
That’s interesting timing. I’m in the mood for a Metroid-like game right now, and I’ve been trying to decide whether I should go with that game, Guacamelee, or one of Bloodstained or Axiom Verge. I already own all three of them (in some cases multiple times) but I’ve barely put any time into any of them. What would you recommend?

I can't really compare, because I haven't played Bloodstained (at least, not the real game; I do love the retro-goodness of Bloodstained Curse of the Moon but that's a love letter to Castlevania 3 on NES and not a Metroidvania at all) or Axiom Verge.

A few hours into Guacamelee and it's still impressing. The game is very action-focused and keeps you moving along consistently without any real need for backtracking or exploration so far. There are lots of special moves to unlock that then open up different pathways and secret areas.  In my mind, exploration and experimentation is one of the key elements of a good Metroidvania, and this game doesn't score highly in that regard... but as a fun and colorful action game it's absolutely worth playing. The style is great, the controls are tight, and there is lots of humor along the way (although some references are now a bit dated).

Considering the game is only about 7 hours long according to How Long To Beat, I figure it's a pretty easy recommendation. The game definitely gets better as you become more skilled and unlock more moves, but you'll know early on whether the style and humor will appeal to you.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on December 24, 2019, 12:48:29 AM
I have not played the IGA metroidvania Bloodstained so I can't comment on that one.  But I have played Guacamelee and Axiom Verge and between those two, Guacamelee is the better game.  Axiom Verge feels more like the NES Metroid, where the game wants you to randomly keep looking around until you find the right path.  It also doesn't help that a lot of the area's look the same like NES Metriod as well, making it hard to remember what area you might need to go back to.

Guacamelee on the other hand is a much more polished game.  The world design is very well thought out and put together with a lot of great platforming sections.  The controls and combat are much tighter and fluid as well so it feels great to control, unlike Axiom Verge which can feel kind of janky at times.  Guacamelee also has a much better variety of bosses that are different and require different strategies.

Axiom Verge is an impressive game when you realize it was made by one guy, but it also feels kind of amateurish at times because of that.  This is why Axiom Verge feels closer to Metriod NES and no where close to the quality of Super which I saw many compare it to when it first came out.  It's still a decent game but I feel Guacamelee is a much better designed and more fun to play experience.

Considering the game is only about 7 hours long according to How Long To Beat, I figure it's a pretty easy recommendation. The game definitely gets better as you become more skilled and unlock more moves, but you'll know early on whether the style and humor will appeal to you.

Its closer to 10 hours if your going for the true ending.  I'd heavily recommend doing that since some of the best platforming challenges in the game are in these optional area's.  Plus going for the true ending makes it more like a metriodvania since you have to do a bit of exploring to find these places.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on December 24, 2019, 06:15:44 PM
Also listening along for the Axiom Verge / Guacamelee opinions. Have both, have started neither.

The Fall: Part 2: Unbound (PC):

I very much enjoyed the first part on WiiU for what it was worth, but was surprised to find it end so abruptly (the ability menu has several blank spots still at that point).

I never got into this series, because I always confused The Fall and The Swapper for some reason. Very similar art styles I guess. Would you still recommend the first one, knowing that part 2 isn't very good?

I would easily recommend the first one if you like adventure games. The action parts are a bit tedious, but I enjoyed the approach to puzzles and interactivity with the robo suit. It's a cool concept with a well-executed atmosphere, and pretty decent writing.

Also, despite my poo-pooing, I wouldn't exactly call Part 2 bad yet. It's also a cool concept and in interesting angle on the adventure game genre, it just plays like ass. But this is one of the few genres that can withstand that.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on December 28, 2019, 12:32:45 PM
... Guacamelee ... the true ending.  I'd heavily recommend doing that since some of the best platforming challenges in the game are in these optional area's.  Plus going for the true ending makes it more like a metriodvania since you have to do a bit of exploring to find these places.

Working on this now. The "bad ending" was a bit disappointing, and now that the game has opened up it's quick enough to go through different areas looking for secrets that I don't think a couple of extra hours will be a problem.

Not sure about getting gold medals for all challenges in El Inferno though... that might be more than I really want to strive for.

That said, I would easily recommend the game. It's solid from start to end, and has a bunch of clever puzzles and challenges to work through. Very entertaining!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 28, 2019, 02:54:57 PM
I’ve been playing Guacamelee too because of the recommendations here and while I’m still pretty early, I’m liking it quite a bit.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 02, 2020, 02:42:16 PM
I’ve been playing Guacamelee too because of the recommendations here and while I’m still pretty early, I’m liking it quite a bit.

Good game!  Good choice!
There was one secret I checked on YouTube to get the good ending, but most things fell into place nicely. One of the more enjoyable games I played last year!

Moved to Trace Memory (DS) after finishing off Guacamelee, hoping to cross that game and the Wii sequel off my list this year. It's kind of odd, and some of the puzzles and gimmicks haven't aged particularly well... but I'm four chapters in and enjoying the game so far.  (Then again, I've always been a sucker for the point-and-click adventure genre... which reminds me that I have another Sam & Max game on Wii to dig out.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on January 02, 2020, 05:22:56 PM
I always thought Guacamelee was a fighting game of some kind. I guess the melee threw me off so I never looked that closely into the title. Hearing it is like a Metroid type game just rocks my preconceived notions of the game. I guess I should look into it now.

Been mostly playing Pokemon Picross, Gunman Clive 2 and Super Metroid. It's got to be over 10 years since I last played Super Metroid and there's a lot I've forgotten although also a bunch I do still remember. In any case, I find after coming back to it from so long and playing most of the other Metroid games inbetween that I'm not sure I'd consider it the top entry in the franchise anymore. I'm surprised how much I miss the ledge grab, for instance. I'm not saying the game is bad. It is still a top tier SNES title and all-around great video game in general. However, within the series of Metroid itself, I'd rank some other titles ahead of it now.

Picked up Trace Memory and the two seasons of Sam and Max around 3 years ago. Perhaps a new forum retrospective is in order.... But probably not. I finally played Myst for the first time last year and did it with the DS version of all things. I really liked the game and now I want to play more of that series. Not sure if Trace Memory would quite fall in line with that style of point and click puzzle game but now I'm wondering since you brought it up. In any case, there are bigger Wii games I still want to play before Sam and Max and even on the DS, I really am finally going to play Chrono Trigger for the first time as soon as I can tear myself away from some of these 3DS games I keep putting ahead of it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 03, 2020, 12:06:41 AM
... and even on the DS, I really am finally going to play Chrono Trigger for the first time ...

Hahaha... Sure you are. One of these days!

(Although you really should. I played it through for the first time a couple of years ago, and have to admit that it lived up to the hype - at least mostly. Was a slow starter for me, but a great game and is easy to replay with many different endings possible.)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on January 03, 2020, 12:05:50 PM
Also played Chrono Trigger a few years ago for the first time. Holds up very well, still hum the soundtrack sometimes. Do not skip out on the character sidequests towards the end. I read everyone raving about them but figured "eh I'm a busy person, no time to mess with sidequests."

Of course when push came to shove I tried one of them; immediately discovered this is where the true heart of the game shines through, so I did them all.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 05, 2020, 07:03:15 PM
Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch):

I'm about halfway through (I think?), and I'm decidedly nonplussed about this one. Which is a real shame, as I hold Good Feel in very high regard. Kirby's Epic Yarn is better than most Kirby games and is otherwise a delight, Wario Land: Shake It miraculously salvaged the shitty direction Wario Land 4 took, and Woolly World is hands-down the best Yoshi game (and finally made the formula good).

Crafted World, by comparison, feels half baked along the previous metrics at which the studio excelled.

-Level design for the most part feels very elementary, with the expanded perspective offering little in terms of genuinely interesting interactivity or problem-solving.

-Aesthetically, it feels kind of soft and bland. The whole "crafted" gimmick doesn't pop, and is applied inconsistently (the T-Rex is made of actual bones and is breaking actual stones? e.g.). Furthermore, the backgrounds extend out into the blurry yonder, which doesn't accentuate that this is a hand-built arts-and-craft environment. Plus, the "material" texture implementation feels very flat. Like, the rock that holds the sun gems looks better than most stuff in the actual levels.

-Unlike Woolly World, the standard Yoshi OCD stuff is overloaded and borderline unpleasant. You've got flowers, red coins, coins, and life meter on looong levels, and then additional Poochie pups and souvenirs on top of that. And in this game, if you finish a level missing a red coin, it's like "Great, there's a hidden cloud somewhere in the level track, or some **** tucked away in the background."

If I recall correctly, this game had significant delays, and what was originally shown had much more involved mechanics around flipping the perspective of the levels back and forth to navigate and interact with structures. That's almost entirely absent now outside of the odd little cloud challenge, and the largely pointless Poochie reverse courses. It feels like they had a significantly more ambitious plan for this thing, but couldn't execute for whatever reason, and had to patch something back together that's a bit paltry.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: fennycruz on January 10, 2020, 06:41:49 AM
 I've playing Total war Attila and i think CA have made many good games in the past. sometimes they go wrong and can't achieve the targets that they set, this may be due to SEGA forcing an early release (they fund it, they own it) or because of lack of experience with features, but Total War: Attila is everything that Rome II should have been, this has happened before with Empire total war and then they sorted it out with Napoleon, (https://www.tehranlaserclinic.com/) Total War Attila is amazing, in depth, immersive, fun and almost bug free, give CA another chance and pick this up.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 14, 2020, 08:58:41 PM
I tried the Resident Evil 6 demo on Switch, and man alive, the badness of this game just oozes out.

A new lousy spin on quick Time Events, running towards the camera, combat that works poorly in close quarters and that's the first combat scenario they throw at you, a new cut scene every few minutes, wannabe Call of Duty set pieces, an awkward new inventory system, the clumsy jump system, I could go on. It's like the person who designed the character gameplay and the person who created the levels never spoke. The level design is so bad that they have a path finding system tied to the left bumper button. I could go on...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 14, 2020, 09:12:52 PM
I downloaded Pokémon Go again for my new phone and I have been having fun with it.  Started with Bulbasaur and I am Team Mystic so I am enjoying myself seeing the city and getting some mini exercise while I am out and about.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 14, 2020, 09:45:11 PM
Borrowed a copy of Ghost Trick (DS) to play through again. Wow, I had forgotten just how lovely a game it is!

The downside is that (roughly halfway through) there hasn't been any tough puzzles to work through at all - either the game is dirt easy, or I'm half-way remembering the solutions as problems pop up.  However, the production is amazing for a DS game and the story is absolutely bonkers in all the best ways, so lack of challenge isn't hurting the experience at all. A gem of a game, and playing it again makes me regret trading it away years ago.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on January 16, 2020, 07:09:40 PM
Disco Elysium (PC):

Terrible title! Substantively, though, I'm not sure how I feel about this after four hours or so. The praised writing is the usual gamer-with-an-English-degree stuff you see around the indie scene, just as purple and overwritten, but there's toooons of it.

I like the concept and atmosphere and all of that, but the hard D&D RPG stuff is too much. It really throws you in the deep end with dozens of opaque stat categories and ancillary systems. Right off the bat you've got a timer and the need to come up with a large amount of money, and I was on the brink of just dropping it before I happened into the necessary sum that I happened to have the skill set for and happened to get a favorable roll with. I would be much more into this if it was just a traditional point and click with an Indiana-Jones-style character preset that would affect how you can approach the obstacles.

You can also die essentially at random via interactions the game funnels you into. Very early I found my way into a cargo area that guides you to the union boss's office. You should be talking to this guy according to the logic of the investigation! But apparently it's a kind of boss battle, and I got wiped in 30 seconds for sitting in a chair. Lost 20 minutes of progress. Similarly, I made the mistake of examining the gear shifter of a car, and went into some kind of fugue state that wiped out my resolve or whatever with no warning. Another 20 minutes gone. This feels very trial-and-error but the auto-save is not kind. So now I'm paranoid about constantly making manual saves like I'm playing Fear or some ****. Oh, PC games!

Guess I'll keep going for the time being and see how far I make it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 19, 2020, 10:12:43 PM
Started playing The Kore Gang (Wii), and got to stage 9 before calling it a night.  This is a weird little Wii platformer that feels released in 2010... but reportedly started development a decade earlier than that. That age shows in the design, but it's still perfectly playable.

The in-game camera isn't awesome, and your character doesn't control particularly well. The game (so far) has still be pretty fun, though. It also banks on a lot of weird and odd design to help distract you from the design limitations; I'm ok with that.

In the end, my biggest problem is one of comparison. The gameplay is ok, but nothing special and outdone by a handful of other Wii platformers. The weird story and setting is outdone (for me) by Mushroom Men - another Wii game with outdated design but weirdly cool levels, but one that had a better soundtrack and just felt more grounded to me. So Kore Gang is kind of an "also ran" release from either viewpoint.  Still, if you can look past that and approach the game with tempered expectations, there is some fun to be had here.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on January 20, 2020, 10:16:45 AM
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Switch)

ArtPlay/505 Games released Version 1.04 last Wednesday. I believe this was the second of two promised Switch updates meant to bring the game’s performance closer to the other versions. Admittedly, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night never should have released on Switch in the state it was in. As a backer, my opinion was essentially: I already waited four years so as long as you fix it, I’ll be back when you do.

Finally put some time into the game this weekend. I’m having a lot of fun so far. I haven’t played a Metroidvania in this style since Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. I’ve really missed the genre. I normally don’t like grinding and I’ve done a ton of grinding so far for shards/items, but it weirdly doesn’t feel grindy.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is still pretty blurry on Switch though there are noticeable graphical improvements from launch. Still won’t win any beauty contests; it’s more than passable though.

The performance is night and day. The input lag was fixed in release 1.03 in October. I tested it back then but opted not to put time into the game until the next update. I’m not sure how much of an improvement 1.04 is over 1.03 in terms of load times and stability. The important thing is that the Switch version doesn’t suck anymore. At the same time, play the game on another platform if you can/don’t care about handheld mode. Considering the Switch version apparently sold more than the PS4 and Xbox One versions combined, my hope is Switch will be the primary platform for an inevitable sequel.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on January 20, 2020, 04:25:54 PM
Started playing The Kore Gang (Wii), and got to stage 9 before calling it a night.  This is a weird little Wii platformer that feels released in 2010... but reportedly started development a decade earlier than that. That age shows in the design, but it's still perfectly playable.

Is this based on a license or something? Never heard of it. It does seem very reminiscent of Mushroom Men, Psychonauts and the like.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on January 20, 2020, 10:31:03 PM
... The Kore Gang (Wii), ...

Is this based on a license or something? Never heard of it. It does seem very reminiscent of Mushroom Men, Psychonauts and the like.

As far as I can tell, it's an entirely original IP, but Psychonauts does seem influential. (Mushroom Men less so, since it came out much later.) Sadly the world isn't fleshed out very well; from the opening cut scene, things just kind of happen without much explanation or development. So you don't really get a strong sense of the world you are in - instead it's just a lot of weird experiences with each new stage. That's not terrible, but despite being in development for over a decade it still kind of feels like there could have been more attention to detail if they wanted this to be a truly memorable game.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 11, 2020, 11:58:21 AM
Went back to play through MadWorld (Wii), as it's a game I never actually finished earlier.

Back in the day, I really liked it. The art direction seemed really well suited to Wii, and gave the whole game a dark comic vibe. The music was on-point, and the "color commentary" provided while playing is still obscene and ridiculous enough to be a good fit for the game (despite being too repetitive).

However, this time around the weaknesses are poking through. The combat/combo system is too limited; this works just fine for low-skill play, but kind of puts a ceiling on how much replay value the game has. The excessive violence also become a bit rote over time (although they try to keep things moving with regular mini-games and the occasional special weapon thrown into the fray).

So my current impression is less positive than initial impressions many years ago, but still positive overall. I'll have to wait and see if things get too repetitive as the game goes along... but since my gaming time now is pretty spread out that probably won't be a big deal even if it happens.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on February 11, 2020, 05:30:31 PM
I tried a few times to go back to MadWorld and recently considered trying again since PlatinumGames has been in the news with The Wonderful 101 port.

How long did it take you to get through the game?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on February 11, 2020, 08:19:32 PM
I tried a few times to go back to MadWorld and recently considered trying again since PlatinumGames has been in the news with The Wonderful 101 port.

How long did it take you to get through the game?

I haven't finished yet; just playing in small fits and bursts. Not sure how long the whole thing will take...  probably between 5-8 hours? Almost certainly not longer than that, judging from the map progress.

You could probably push through the whole game in a few nights if you wanted to. Might start to feel stale if you take that approach though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on February 12, 2020, 05:33:20 PM
Sounds about right regarding MadWorld's playtime. I think my system time was just over 7 hours, which includes loading times/pausing/etc. I liked the game, but it definitely grew stale before the end arrived. It's kinda neat how some PlatinumGames traditions trace back to it, particularly the Bayonetta motorcycle stage.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 06, 2020, 04:12:55 AM
I said in the New Years Resolutions thread that one thing I'm trying to do this year is to play through some of my backlog, and one game I've been going back to a lot lately is SteamWorld Heist. It's a great, unique take on turn-based strategy, and it's making me want to also go back and finish SteamWorld Dig 2.

Also, as Neal's review indicates, Voxelgram is basically Picross 3D on Switch and I'm completely hooked on that right now too.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on March 24, 2020, 01:37:11 AM
So, I'm about halfway through Nioh 2, and...yeah, this game is kind of astoundingly disappointing. I'm a big fan of that 1st game, having dumped over 100 hours into it completing the main game & DLC, as well as most of a New Game +. It took the gameplay of something like Dark Souls, sped it up, broke progression into levels, and threw in a dose of Diablo loot grind for an incredibly addicting experience.

However, Nioh 1 wasn't without its flaws. The script, partially penned by famed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, was borderline incoherent and exceptionally dense in Japanese history no one outside Japan would know. The game was also extremely bad when it came to recycling environments and enemies, including bosses. These were things I was hoping a sequel with a larger budget would address.

They were not. Geralt of Rivia cosplayer William Adams' journey to recover his lost spirit guardian amidst a war-torn Japan in Nioh 1 may have been hard to follow, but it was at least interesting and William was allowed to voice some personality. Nioh 2 decided that what we really needed was a Silent Create-A-Character Protagonist tagging along on Yet Another Retelling of the tired Nobunaga story. I know Japan loves to idolize this guy (which is odd since they also always seem to acknowledge that he was psychopath), but I just don't give a damn. It didn't help that this is a prequel to Nioh 1, and I already fought a resurrected Nobunaga in THAT game so it's not like there's any drama in the sequel. And having your character just silently nod along to the plot during cutscenes is boring.

Oh boy, if you thought they recycled enemies & environments in Nioh 1, you ain't seen nothin' yet in Nioh 2! It recycles enemies and environments from BOTH games! Yes, including bosses!  :rolleyes: They also recycle music, art assets, etc.

As far as gameplay's concerned, it's absolutely identical to the 1st game aside from some minor quality of life improvements and some new attack options like the Mega Man-esque Yokai Abilities. I do really dig the "Dark Realms", areas of the environment corrupted with monotone, stamina-sucking Yokai energy where you sneak around until you can find and kill the one special enemy maintaining the corruption. Other than those, though, you're going through the same motions with mostly the same weapons and mostly the same strategies you did in the 1st game, just with incredibly longer levels.

This isn't Nioh 2. It's a Nioh 1 $60 Expansion Pack that was rushed out the door.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 30, 2020, 09:56:14 AM
Tallowmere (Wii U)

So this game looks pretty ugly and controls seem kind of janky when you start playing. Honestly, my first impressions aren't great. It's also got the typical roguelike feature where you will die quick and foolish deaths often when not used to the game.

However, if you stick with the game for an hour or two then things start to come together pretty nicely. Controls are odd, but consistent and responsive. Understanding the environments and enemies allow you to progress deeper into the game and see some of the non-randomized events and bosses. Everything becomes a bit more enjoyable.

At this point I've probably played for close to 2 hours an am rather enjoying the game. It's still not the best** roguelike you can get... but it's unique and interesting and the whole package works pretty well. Not a game for everyone, but I'm pretty happy with it.


**For what it's worth, The Swindle is one of my favorite roguelikes on Wii U - but that game had serious crashing issues in later levels that made it almost unplayable.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on March 30, 2020, 01:10:40 PM
**For what it's worth, The Swindle is one of my favorite roguelikes on Wii U - but that game had serious crashing issues in later levels that made it almost unplayable.

Swindle is a great game. The port was super shoddy though, crashes, bugs, interminable slowdown. Super addictive loop. I'll put Tallowmere on the list based on that comparison, although I gotta agree it looks hideous.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on March 30, 2020, 01:44:31 PM
**For what it's worth, The Swindle is one of my favorite roguelikes on Wii U - but that game had serious crashing issues in later levels that made it almost unplayable.

Swindle is a great game. The port was super shoddy though, crashes, bugs, interminable slowdown. Super addictive loop. I'll put Tallowmere on the list based on that comparison, although I gotta agree it looks hideous.

The sale price right now is quite attractive; something like $1 USD? 
If you don't like it, you really aren't out much.

That said, don't give up on it too quickly. Most people who enjoy roguelikes probably don't mind dying a bunch of times and understand that's part of the learning process... but not everyone does, for sure. If I judged the game after my first 5 or 10 deaths it wouldn't have gotten so favorable an opinion.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 04, 2020, 01:55:49 AM
I finished my 1st playthrough of the Resident Evil 3 remake, and overall I really enjoyed it. I think Adrock is going to be very happy with how they updated Jill, especially her dialogue. I'm really happy that (unlike the Resident Evil 2 remake), the RE3 remake is confidant enough to acknowledge that the events of RE1 actually happened and Jill has residual mental scarring from it. I can't remember the last time an RE game actually allowed a main character to be anything less than superhuman.

I really don't understand where all the complaints about the game's length are coming from. The game's exactly as long as it needs to be, and there is a reward system baked into the game's challenge system that gives a lot of incentive to replay it in different ways.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on April 04, 2020, 06:29:42 PM
I think Adrock is going to be very happy with how they updated Jill
I’m surprised by this comment. I feel as if I’ve been extremely subtle with my Jill fandom.
Quote
I can't remember the last time an RE game actually allowed a main character to be anything less than superhuman.
No idea what you’re talking about.
(https://i.imgur.com/E6zgm9j.gif)
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 11, 2020, 04:19:16 PM
Google Stadia (Whatever!)

I saw that Google is giving out two free months of Stadia Pro to juice the moribund platform, so I signed myself up. It comes with 10 or so free games out of the gate, most of which I have no interest in or have already played. In general, it's pretty slick, and seems to perform significantly better than the Assassin's Creed beta. It's genuinely neat to just pop open Chrome and click play and just immediately be in a game. I have the Switch Pro controller hooked up through a USB converter on Xbox settings, and Stadia recognized it with no hitch.

As for the games:

Gylt:

It's baffling that this is the major exclusive game for the service. It's a kid-friendly take on the horror-stealth formula (the true horror is bullying!), that is too cartoony and easy to be effective for adults, and probably too scary/stressful for actual kids. It demonstrates no features unique to a streaming service, and in fact has mostly dark environments that show off the glaring streaming compression.

Stacks on Stacks (on Stacks):

I'd never heard of this, but I played a few levels and don't like it at all. It's kind of a 3D Tetris, but focused on the physics of balancing pieces. Will not be booting this back up.

Thumper:


This is my first experience of the game, and it's really grabbed me. Reminds me of Rez on the PS2. I ended up playing an hour without noticing it. Very fun, great DMT-trip presentation, but even as someone who 100%ed the first two Bit Trip Runner games, it's hard as hell. This is not aided by the noticeable Stadia input lag. It doesn't matter at all in something like Gylt, but here it definitely feels like the timing is off, and I'm basically learning to play it "wrong" to account for it. At least I don't have a basis of comparison! I'm reminded of when I set up Rhythm Heaven on the Wii U pad instead of the TV, and couldn't re-play the levels at all because I'd had the wrong delayed timing burnt into my neurons. 
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 12, 2020, 06:38:42 AM
I am actually very interested in Stadia and basically all other similar game streaming platforms.

My interest is a bit more from technological point of view, because i just think that the concept is just so cool and has many interesting upsides. And it's own unique downsides too -- but these are very interesting to me as well.

Seeing how Stadia is likely not to launch in my country until 2030 (if ever), i am more hopeful about trying out Microsoft's streaming platform. Me having a library of games on Xbox helps, and one can stream from their own Xboxes to say PC in my workplace without having to wait until Microsoft deploys their servers.

Thumper:

This is my first experience of the game, and it's really grabbed me. Reminds me of Rez on the PS2. I ended up playing an hour without noticing it. Very fun, great DMT-trip presentation, but even as someone who 100%ed the first two Bit Trip Runner games, it's hard as hell. This is not aided by the noticeable Stadia input lag. It doesn't matter at all in something like Gylt, but here it definitely feels like the timing is off, and I'm basically learning to play it "wrong" to account for it.

AFAIK Stadia version of Thumper has massively relaxed timings compared to regular versions.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 12, 2020, 08:47:18 PM
I am actually very interested in Stadia and basically all other similar game streaming platforms.

My interest is a bit more from technological point of view, because i just think that the concept is just so cool and has many interesting upsides. And it's own unique downsides too -- but these are very interesting to me as well.

Seeing how Stadia is likely not to launch in my country until 2030 (if ever), i am more hopeful about trying out Microsoft's streaming platform. Me having a library of games on Xbox helps, and one can stream from their own Xboxes to say PC in my workplace without having to wait until Microsoft deploys their servers.

Thumper:

This is my first experience of the game, and it's really grabbed me. Reminds me of Rez on the PS2. I ended up playing an hour without noticing it. Very fun, great DMT-trip presentation, but even as someone who 100%ed the first two Bit Trip Runner games, it's hard as hell. This is not aided by the noticeable Stadia input lag. It doesn't matter at all in something like Gylt, but here it definitely feels like the timing is off, and I'm basically learning to play it "wrong" to account for it.

AFAIK Stadia version of Thumper has massively relaxed timings compared to regular versions.

Azeke, do you have any ability to do a Stadia trial through VPN, or is that a no-go with the distances involved in any case?

Also, did not know that about Thumper. I may just be terrible at the game. Although, today I got to the multi-track levels, and something really seems off. It tends to either not register the track hop, or it'll do two in a row. I guess this could be the fact that I'm using a joystick, but I really don't like how this feels to play with a D-pad.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on April 13, 2020, 02:23:00 AM
Azeke, do you have any ability to do a Stadia trial through VPN, or is that a no-go with the distances involved in any case?
My interest in streaming platforms in almost entirely academic and from technology geek standpoint. I aint jumping through hoops just to try it out.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 18, 2020, 03:13:32 PM
Stadia Trial Continued:

Gylt:

I finished this one this morning, and as I indicated above, I couldn't really recommend it to anyone. The core stealth gameplay is extremely simple and gets old almost immediately. The later buildings have bit more going on in the level-design department, but the last stretch of the game is truly lousy, with one of the worst bosses I can recall encountering (this and a few other late-game sequences feel like they weren't even playtested).

Thumper:


I'm up to level 7, and I honestly don't know how much further I'll make it. The mushy timing window for this streaming port seems to actually be working against it the further I get; there are so many inputs that it's increasingly difficult to parse the game's feedback. This is almost assuredly the worst way to play this game.

Serious Sam Collection:

I've never tried any of these before, and booted up the first game. Made it three levels in before I tapped out. I think I just strongly dislike this arena wave style, but it also plays like **** on Stadia. It hitches frequently and fails to read strafing inputs, which makes this nearly unplayable on even medium difficulty.

Grid:

I have zero interest in realistic racing games, but it's free, so why not give it a shot? I immediately hated it and didn't finish the first race.



Aaaaand that's it. I think I'm done with the Stadia service as of now. I'm a little bit tempted to pull the trigger on Red Dead 2, as I have no idea when I'll have a computer or console that could run it, but then I remember the six or so hours I played while staying at a friend's place, which I pretty thoroughly disliked.

Scrolling through the catalogue right now, and boy is this a crappy roster.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 19, 2020, 09:17:44 PM
Back to the Switch!

I scrolled through the whole sale list this morning, and picked up these two titles at a steep discount:

Unraveled 2:

I've been interested in these games, but never enough to pay more than ~$4 for one. And that day has come! I completed the first two levels, and I'm enjoying it so far. It's a bit more physics dependent than I would prefer, but unlike most of these indie puzzle platformers, it actually feels fun and snappy to control. The 2D slice-of-life presentation is top notch, and flows well with the gameplay. On the other hand, the obligatory indie game "actually this is about emotions" thing is one of the most eye-rolling I've come across. Luckily it's literally in the background. I'm definitely interested to see how the level design develops, though I think I remember Iansane or someone saying it's just a lot of yarn swinging all the the way through.

Severed:

I don't love the Guacamelee games, but I had flagged this one on initial release given some pretty strong reviews. I had no idea it was on Switch, and from what I understand this really needs to be played on a touch screen. ~$4? Hell yeah! I put an hour in, and I'm really digging it so far. It reminds me of a Labyrinth game I was obsessed with as a kid on some early DOS modem gaming platform. I enjoy the touch combat, and it seems like it'll develop in kind of a rhythmy direction, which I am down with. I kind of want more environmental interaction, but I'm hopeful the game will develop more nuance as it goes. Visuals and overall vibe are very engaging.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on May 06, 2020, 06:48:52 PM
Have you played the Wii U version or plan to play it? Would be interesting to see how you think it compares.

Haven't played it (yet), but might give it a shot. From what I can tell, the 3DS/Wii U versions include some loot-esque stuff, semi-permanent item upgrades which are more temporaneous in the Wii version, and the colours seem a bit more washed out too.
That said, if the levels are largely similar, I don't really care enough to go through the same game twice. Getting the impression the Wii version is probably the better one; at least, Yuji Naka appears to think so.
 (https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/663935285722374144)

Just to follow up on this 6 months down the line, I popped in the Wii U version of Rodea The Sky Soldier today to cull another one from the pile. There's some differences, particularly in the flight and camera controls. Rodea on Wii U gives you more camera control options, but curiously they're all worse options. No instant snap-behind-character button which has been a staple of 3D games since uh, Ocarina of Time, and if you hate an inverted Y-axis the options menu will not be your friend either.

The upgrading of stats seems mostly tacked on to encourage collecting more doodads. Annoyingly, you now have a flight meter too, so you can no longer soar forever as long as there's an object in sight. Not sure why that was added. What is a clever addition is the ability to launch yourself pretty high. That's useful and should've been in the original. Cut-scenes seem identical, and the environments are a bit less bright. Framerate is a bit worse too, though not disastrously so.

So yeah, very few worthwhile new features, and a much more annoying camera make this one an easy skip. The Wii version is better, but still just okay.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on May 07, 2020, 11:19:59 AM
So being stuck at home, we've gone back and are playing a lot of Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort as help make gaming slightly more active. We've also thrown some Wii Play mixed in just for kicks. All are still enjoyable, and it's fun to play through these games together with my kids.

Thinking about pulling out Wii Fit again, or maybe trying Skyward Sword if the "stay home" recommendations don't let up before long.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on May 07, 2020, 11:46:49 AM
Recently got back into Mario's Picross on the Game Boy, which I'm playing on the Super Game Boy.  It's, uh, Picross, which is really it's own thing and I don't really want to go into a detailed description of how it works.  It's very addicting and it works well in short spurts.  Each board has a 30 minute time limit and I usually can complete two of them in a half hour block so I'm playing it at lunch or in the morning before I start work.  I just wrapped up the Mushroom courses today and unlocked the Star ones.  It's too bad that the sequels to this stayed in Japan but I just realized that there isn't really much of a language barrier.  Maybe I should keep an eye out any imports at future retro gaming expos, if there ever are any again.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Ian Sane on June 08, 2020, 12:11:49 PM
Currently playing Ys on the TurboGrafx Mini.  It's a dated game but it's charming and pretty fun to play.  Right now I'm in The Darm Tower and hitting a bit of a wall.  Once you enter the tower you can't leave it.  The game tells you this in a cut scene that puts you in the tower.  It warns you but doesn't say "are you sure?"  I have a save from outside the tower if I need to go back (which would lose like two hours of progress).  There's a part in the tower where your top gear is stolen from you and you need to retrieve it as you go.  Here's the problem - I didn't obtain the mid-tier armor and shield because I found the top gear so quickly.  Why would you assume you would need the mid-tier gear if you already have the top stuff?  So I'm stuck with the lowest level armor in the game which is putting me at a big disadvantage.  I'm at a boss that takes off a lot more health from me than I do of him.

The combat is the game is frankly idiotic.  You run into enemies.  No attack button, you just walk into them and it's vague what situation will result in you inflicting damage or getting hit.  The d-pad in the TG Mini isn't that great either, suffering from the old "Nintendo patented the good d-pad" problem from the time, and you need to be precise with your movement in fighting bosses.  The game has a potion item to regenerate health but it doesn't work in boss fights.  That's the only time you really need it!  What I likely have to do is grind so that I hurt the boss more than he hurts me.  You gain a level every 200 exp points but non-boss enemies only give 1 exp point each.  Yes, that means that the weak enemies at the start of the game and the harder enemies where you're currently at are worth the same.  So naturally if you need to level up you go back to the beginning and plow through the weakest enemies which you can defeat in one hit with no risk to yourself.  This was not well thought out.  Can't do that in the tower, though.

Stopping to grind isn't fun and I've had to do it a few times but I always enjoy myself after I get past the road block so hopefully I have the patience to keep at it because it's still a good time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on June 08, 2020, 08:03:43 PM
Stadia Trial: The Conclusion (?)

So my trial carried over into one more month of free games, so I've jumped back in.

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid:

I didn't really know what this was, but played it for about 45 minutes. A budget fighting game with a repetitive and non-sensical story mode (why am I randomly playing as bad guys immediately after playing the same fight as the good guy?). Not my genre in any case, so I'll let this lie.

Steam World Heist:


I'm not much of a fan of the Dig games, so I was reluctant to try this, but it was a free chance, so what the hell. I got hooked pretty quick, but like the Dig games, despite getting snared by the gameplay loop, I'm not sure it's actually good.

I'm a weird case where I tend to enjoy strategy games, but also in general hate endless spawning enemies, which is pretty endemic to strategy games. I didn't mind it so much in Codename Steam, for instance, where it was more universal and part of the general "push forward to objective" pressure design. In Heist, though, with the randomly generated but claustrophobic levels, it tends to twist my tail, as the placement of the spawn doors can really put you at an arbitrary disadvantage. And the specifically harder levels heavily lean on the spawns.

Speaking of the randomly generated levels, I really fail to see the point here, as it seems to fly in the face of the whole "strategy" thing. Like, the potential layouts for any given level aren't that different, and just mainly serve to put you at an annoying random disadvantage without altering any actual fundamental approach. I don't see how this game wouldn't have been better with tightly crafted bespoke levels. Which also plays into a weird oscillation between levels feeling trivially easy or punishing.

Character progression is also kind of whack, I think? I feel like there's very little reason to sub in new underleveled characters when I have a tight three-person team from almost the get-go with short, medium, and long-range skills. I think there's only been one four-character level, as well, and I think I'm over halfway through.

Abort penalties are irritating, as I'm going for three-star runs on each level (don't have much time left on this Stadia trial), but also, I seemed to quickly run out of stuff worth buying from the shops.

Maybe I'm just missing it, but it also seems like you can't scope out the enemy movement grids; it's pretty difficult to maintain a sense of what ranges are in play, particularly with all the ladders (Rabbids Kingdom battle has a similar issue, I think, but you can at least preview the senselessly large movement grids).

I'm still playing it though, so . . .

Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Gingerbeer on June 11, 2020, 08:26:20 AM
I really enjoyed the Steamworld Dig games and Heist! I have Quest but haven't played yet.

For me, right now I'm playing Divinity Original Sin 2. I picked it up on Steam a while back (you know the buy the game because it's on sale thinking you want to play it one day). Played it for a few hours and it seemed like it could be something I would like and so many excellent critical reviews and fans singing its praises, so then I bought it on Switch for cross-platform saves. It's definitely much prettier on PC but having it on Switch will help me sink in much more time which will help immensely for a game like this.

It's quite different from my normal gaming tastes and I haven't played D&D since the 1990s. So I'm definitely feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the systems and options - reading a few different guides and hints/tips sites but don't want to ruin the experience exploring and experimenting. I'm still very early on in the game and it hasn't truly captivated me but I'll definitely stick with it for a while longer yet - but at this stage I really can't tell whether I'll stick with it all the way through.

Is there anyone else here who's played it on Switch or elsewhere?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on June 21, 2020, 11:26:41 PM
Indivisible (Switch)

I didn't realize I would receive both a digital and physical copy of the game. I downloaded the game thinking I wouldn't get the physical copy until July or August. I got it in the beginning of June.

Finally booted this up. It's pretty good so far. I'm not good at combos, and there wasn't really a training section. A lot of battles require combos such as breaking an enemies shield. It isn't especially forgiving as you can waste whole turns dealing like a single point of damage. There's a quick tutorial in the beginning with Ajna's father showing her how to block attacks, but he doesn't offer to do the training again. You would have to restart from the last checkpoint. I thought that was little weird.

The battle system appears pretty deep so there definitely should have been more guidance. Indivisible's battle system is like a souped up version of Valkyrie Profile's (unless I forgot the complexities of the latter). Holding a direction and the attack button does a different move for every party member. I just reached the third area, and I've only recruited six other characters. Having to remember every party member's moves has proven to be pretty difficult especially since thus far, you can't farm experience. You fight the enemies that show up. I'm not getting a lot of practice unless you count all the times I've died.

The graphics are fine; I like how colorful the world is. The backgrounds are noticeably simple with the art direction doing the heavy lifting. The music is great so far. The voice acting is uneven. The cutscenes are odd. Indivisible has a really gorgeous animated opening. With the crowdfunded budget the game had, there was no way Lab Zero Games could animate every cutscene. That said, some scenes have splash images with some minor animation while others are merely dialog on the gameplay screen with character portraits appearing with dialog boxes. It's really inconsistent because some are fully voice and others aren't. I understand not voicing every NPC. However, not every playable characters is voiced in their introductory cutscene which was weird. Not a huge deal, but I would have liked more consistency.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ejamer on June 30, 2020, 09:59:04 PM
So I've been bumming around playing Hexyz Force (PSP). This Atlus-published RPG was developed by Sting Entertainment, and sounded promising enough... but it's been a bit of a slog. The story and characters are (frankly) pretty bad, and the localization hasn't done it any favors in my opinion. That isn't to say the game is bad - it's not - but it's been almost entirely unremarkable. Perhaps it's a case of misplaced expectations, or the way I'm playing isn't the way it should be played, but the overall experience so far has been mediocre at best and a let down over all.


Which brings me to some happier news: I've started digging into Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (3DS) again and am just constantly reminded of how much I love this game. Playing on 3DS isn't the best way to go about it in my opinion - the small screen just doesn't convey the sense of scale and grandeur that you get from a bigger view on the Wii or Switch versions... but being able to play the game on a portable system at all is amazing.

Thanks to Khush for brining it back to mind with recent posts here: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=28408.700
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on July 02, 2020, 01:04:18 PM
Which brings me to some happier news: I've started digging into Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (3DS) again and am just constantly reminded of how much I love this game. Playing on 3DS isn't the best way to go about it in my opinion -  but being able to play the game on a portable system at all is amazing.

Thanks to Khush for brining it back to mind with recent posts here: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=28408.700

I'm just such a bad influence on these forums.  8)

I've actually popped in my 3DS copy to see the difference between that and the DE and what the 3D effect is like. I actually learned something new for use in the Switch version I'm playing by doing that. I also can't help but wonder if getting XC to work on the 3DS was another factor in getting Nintendo to the Switch since you had a portable able to run a huge game like that which was still quite current. It just seems like at that point the ability to just make console gaming equivalent to portable was pretty much there for them and now it was a matter of making it work with third parties also.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Luigi Dude on July 11, 2020, 11:51:35 PM
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Well I'm not sure what to think so far.  Two years ago I praised the first one for being the remake of Castlevania 3 that IGA always wanted to make.  Now this game is a more of the same sequel with some new character added.  The new characters are really fun to control and each is quite different from the last.

So on paper I should be loving it.  The problem is this game fucking hates me and anybody I might have every known as well.  I'm sure it hates whoever is reading this as well.  The difficulty is just insane and not always in a good way.  I finished Episode 1, and those last few stages were just bullshit.  The game is obsessed with literally putting you in situations where you're next to a bottomless bit, with an enemy shooting projectiles at you, and a flying enemy swooping down at the same time.  Some sections literally require you to keep track of enemies coming from both sides and the top, and if you don't have the right character and sub weapon equipped on that character you're fucked.

I have to wonder if because some complained that Casual mode was too easy in the previous game, Inti Create went our of their way to make it way more challenging in this game which as a result turns Veteran mode which I prefer to play into cheap BS mode.  Of course, I have to imagine some of these area's are just as cheap in Casual since some of the level design feels like Inti was trying to create another Mega Man Zero or Gunvolt game, and didn't realize the jumping mechanics of classic Castlevania do not fit that type of level design.

Oh well, I do like a good challenge and maybe after completing the later episodes I might appreciate the game in the end but right now a lot of the challenge feels more on the cheap side then fair, which is kind of disappointing since the original did a great job of being very accessible with it's regular mode while offering a good challenge with stuff like doing a solo Zangetsu run that was hard but still fair.  This game literally punches you in the face and steals your car by the halfway point of what should be the easiest part.  It makes me fear what's in store for me in the later Episodes.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on July 17, 2020, 06:16:56 PM
Hypnospace Outlaw Played on PC. Also available on MAC and I believe Linux. It doesn't seem demanding at all so pretty much any PC that you have that's in any kind of active use in the year of our lord 2020 should be able to run it.

This game is weird and wonderful. You play as an enforcer who moderates what is essentially a miniature Geocities thing. The game kind of relies on you having some kind of nostalgia for late 90s internet culture but even for someone like me who is way too young to remember any of that, there is plenty of great humor and writing throughout the game help carry the experience.

It's a bizzare experience and I don't want to go too into detail because I feel like doing so would risk spoiling things but the game has some really good logic puzzles, incredible writing, and more than enough charm to make it worth checking out.

What really strikes me about the game is how authentic it feels. The various hypnospace webpages you interact with feel like they were actually written by different people even though they were probably written by the same one or two people, the fake 90s era operating system the game is built around feels like an actual operating system and you can even "download" files and catch fake viruses on it (which in turn requires you to get a fake anti-virus).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 25, 2020, 04:13:55 AM
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

The original Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town is one of my favorite games, so I've been looking forward to the western release of the remake for a while. This is also the first time I've played a HM/SoS game since playing Stardew Valley, which makes for some interesting comparisons.

While this game includes quite a few quality of life improvements compared to the original, it's still missing a couple things that I'd become used to because of Stardew. The biggest adjustment, even though it seems like a relatively minor thing, is going back to having your sold items picked up at 5 p.m. instead of overnight. Largely, though, it's pretty faithful to the spirit and overall structure of the original, but with some very nice updates in areas that prevented me from enjoying it as much on the Virtual Console, like inventory management and being able to walk over crops.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on November 28, 2020, 05:59:41 PM
Resident Evil 4 (PS4)

Hot take: Resident Evil 4 with traditional controls does not hold up. I haven’t played the game with a traditional controller since like 2005. Now that I’ve tried, woof. It’s difficult going back. I almost want to say the controls are actively bad by 2020 standards. I’m tempted to dust off the ol’ Wii U just to play it with motion controls again. I feel like I started replaying Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition in 2013/2014 and thinking it held up.

There’s a rumor going around that Resident Evil 4 is getting the remake treatment similar to Resident Evil 2 and 3 (ignoring Code Veronica for some reason). I don’t know if a full remake is necessary. However, Capcom could have gotten some extra mileage from Resident Evil 4 if it went out of its way to add at least the Type D controls from Resident Evil 5 (though all control types would have been preferred). That would have made a world of difference.

Resident Evil 5 (PS4)

Still holds up. The better frame rate is *chef’s kiss* It also still kind of sucks playing single player. I won’t dock points from the game as it was built for multiplayer, and I’m too cheap to pay for PlayStation Plus.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: nickmitch on December 06, 2020, 03:13:46 PM
I don't normally like rogue-likes, but I've really been enjoying Hades (Switch).  I don't have much to say about it that Jonny didn't already say on the RFN live episode.  I picked it up because of the praise and GOTY attention it got, and I don't regret it.  I recently got past the second boss on a run that I didn't think would go the distance, but I had some of my favorite boons and finally worked a strategy for it.  That moment kind of sealed it for me because I honestly went into that run thinking "Guess this'll be to just grind for stuff" but then it turned into "teh urn" for me.  I'm still a ways off from escaping, but I really like the loop of progressively getting stronger or unlocking random stuff/seeing dialogue with each attempt.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on March 19, 2021, 07:22:34 PM
NSO NES and SNES Libraries (Switch):


I've finally hit a point of pandemic boredom in which I signed up for the free NSO trial to check out the pre-modern game libaries. I've poked around a good bit, and probably would have gotten the $4 worth for the month already. I'll probably let it go at least one billing cycle to pursue a few of the titles further.

The good:

-Fire and Ice (NES): I'd never heard of this before, but it's right up my ally in terms of puzzle platforming, and has a really nice presentation to boot for an 8-bit game.

-Rygar (NES): I'd heard of this, but never played it, and after putting in 30 minutes or so it seems like a smoothly executed and ambitious semi-open adventure.

-Joe and Mac 2 (SNES): Not the deepest experience in the world, but it looks great and plays well, with a pleasing overworld map that lets you chart your own path through the levels.

-Pop'n Twinbee (SNES): This is I think the first official US release? Regardless, I'm really enjoying the atmosphere even if I'm not the biggest shmup guy.

-Super Punch Out (SNES): The greater complexity compared to the NES/Wii game is throwing me off, but I didn't give it long. I intend to give this one the old college try, though, as I really liked the NES game from the Wii virtual console and loved the Wii remake, one of the undersung games of that gen.

-Kirby's Dream Course (SNES): I had a bad rental of this or something as a young one, and wasn't intending to put much time into this, but I surprised myself by clearing the first world, and think I'll enjoy the rest as well now that I "get" golf as an adult (the game does a really lousy job of introducing its mechanics, though, and applies the concept of spin incorrectly).

-Crystalis (NES): Haven't gone too far, but this seems like a promising late-era Zelda-like.

-Nightshade (NES): I don't know how much time I'll put into this, but I'd somehow never heard of this before, an ambitious, wry point and click adventure game (shame about the real-time combat).

-Overall, I really enjoy the texture of these apps. Everything is super-quick and the library presentation reminds me of that game show from my childhood where the winner gets to run through an obstacle course full of game boxes velcroed to wall, grabbing them and sticking them on their jumpsuit. The games all look great to me on a modern screen and the save states and rewind feature make a bunch of these games actually playable in a modern context.

The bad:

-Most of the non-Nintendo games on there. Granted, just having the first-party library up is a very good persistent value, as these are some of the best games ever made to this day, but I've played most of those to death long ago. I'm sure it's a tough sell for Nintendo to get third parties to put their roms up on there compared to the virtual console days, but there are some real headscratchers that would probably be better off not being available on the service at all. It would be a harmless novelty for stuff like Tuff E Nuff or Psycho Dream to be on there if there was 100+ games on the SNES app, but as it is that kind of thing is a real headscratcher and probably not great to have up for a naive audience just checking out the earlier generations for the first time.


Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThePerm on March 26, 2021, 07:57:26 PM
Resident Evil 4 (PS4)

Hot take: Resident Evil 4 with traditional controls does not hold up.

When I bought that game one of my complaints was the controls. The Gamecube version still holds up. The ps4 version is mapped wrong.

For game companies mapping controls for games based on Gamecube games:

B is Square, A is Cross, Triangle is Y, Circle is X

apparently the ps2 version also had different and better controls than the ps4 version. But I just read you can remap controls for all ps4 games in accessibility settings. I haven't checked it out.

I never liked the Wii version of the game either, just preference, but I never got around the playing the ps4 version of the game because the controls were so much poorer.  You should be able to play Gamecube designed games with a ps4 controller.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Adrock on March 27, 2021, 03:24:04 PM
-Crystalis (NES): Haven't gone too far, but this seems like a promising late-era Zelda-like.
I literally just bought Crystalis on Gameboy Color about a week ago. I keep forgetting about Nintendo Switch Online.

It's fine. I'm trying to bolster my Nintendo handheld library (I'll get into that in another thread). Crystalis only cost me like $25. There was this weird brown funk on it that I had to clean off so I guess I paid in other ways.

I watched some comparison videos between the NES and GBC versions, and it seems like the ultimate version of the game would be somewhere between the two. The viewing area and music are better on NES; the translation is better on GBC. Nintendo Software Technology handled the GBC port, and in hindsight, what it did to Crystalis'seses overworld music was the first hint NST would eventually be relegated to the low-budget Mario vs. Donkey Kong factory. This is a shame because I still think Nintendo needs a stronger development foothold in North America beyond Retro Studios and more recently, Next Level Games.
I never liked the Wii version of the game either, just preference
I presume you mean strictly motion controls because I believe you can use the Gamecube controller as long as you have the best Wii model with the GCN controller ports. I don't think you can use the GameCube adapter on Wii U if you attempt to play Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition via backwards compatibility because nothing is good in this world and the gods have abandoned us.

Still, the Wii Version is still the definitive version of this game for me because it's the Gamecube version with the PS2 extras and all the controller options. If the Switch ports was just an HD Wii Version, I don't think I would have cared about the even higher resolution and frame rate on PS4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: JoshuaLoveGames on March 31, 2021, 05:03:55 AM
What games do you recommend for a beginer who has never played anything?  :-\
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: ThePerm on March 31, 2021, 07:46:04 PM
-Crystalis (NES): Haven't gone too far, but this seems like a promising late-era Zelda-like.
I literally just bought Crystalis on Gameboy Color about a week ago. I keep forgetting about Nintendo Switch Online.

It's fine. I'm trying to bolster my Nintendo handheld library (I'll get into that in another thread). Crystalis only cost me like $25. There was this weird brown funk on it that I had to clean off so I guess I paid in other ways.

I watched some comparison videos between the NES and GBC versions, and it seems like the ultimate version of the game would be somewhere between the two. The viewing area and music are better on NES; the translation is better on GBC. Nintendo Software Technology handled the GBC port, and in hindsight, what it did to Crystalis'seses overworld music was the first hint NST would eventually be relegated to the low-budget Mario vs. Donkey Kong factory. This is a shame because I still think Nintendo needs a stronger development foothold in North America beyond Retro Studios and more recently, Next Level Games.
I never liked the Wii version of the game either, just preference
I presume you mean strictly motion controls because I believe you can use the Gamecube controller as long as you have the best Wii model with the GCN controller ports. I don't think you can use the GameCube adapter on Wii U if you attempt to play Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition via backwards compatibility because nothing is good in this world and the gods have abandoned us.

Still, the Wii Version is still the definitive version of this game for me because it's the Gamecube version with the PS2 extras and all the controller options. If the Switch ports was just an HD Wii Version, I don't think I would have cared about the even higher resolution and frame rate on PS4.

Oh Well that could be an oversight on my part. I'm not sure if I tried to play it with a GameCube controller. I just wasn't a fan of motion controls in general. I like being lazy and relaxing when I play games. Though, Wii Sports was great, and Twilight Princesses waggle was just the minimum amount for me not to feel like it was more burdensome than fun.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Khushrenada on April 05, 2021, 10:30:25 AM
What games do you recommend for a beginer who has never played anything?  :-\

I recommend playing all the NES games you can then. With the NES, the videogame industry was still in its infancy so a lot of games are quite simple and controllers didn't have the amount of buttons that they do now. Since the games are simple they are quite easy so you should have a great time playing them, Mr. Spambot. A few good choices to start would be Metroid, Zelda II, and Ninja Gaiden. Happy gaming.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 08, 2021, 08:35:57 PM
Well, my TV's out of commission...seemingly permanently...so now seems as good a time as ever to cover the stuff I've been playing for the last month or so on my new PS5 (+ 1 Switch game). Gonna break this thing up over several posts for easier reading:

Astro's Playroom - Already talked a bit about this game in the New Console thread, but this little game is just delightful. Yeah, it's a tech demo, but it's a good tech demo. To this date, it's the only game I've played on PS5 that actually makes full use of all its features, from the Haptic feedback of the Dualsense controller to the Activity Cards w/ built-in hint videos for the collectibles. It's a celebration of Sony's legacy at a time when Sony could not be working any harder to kill its legacy due to the incompetence of Jim Ryan.

The Pathless - This is actually the 1st PS5 game I bought, as I found it on 50% off sale before I even got a PS5. The people who made Journey (and left ThatGameCompany) and Abzu basically made their own Team Ico game, from the empty world filled with puzzles to the magical companion you bond with to the minimalist storytelling. I could have done without the repetitive auto-target shooting to maintain your Sonic-esque running speed, but in general I found this game quite relaxing and (at times) atmospheric. I do think $20-$30 is the right price for it, though.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 08, 2021, 08:44:09 PM
Persona 5 Royal - Well, this one's been sitting on my shelf for a while. I'm not the biggest fan of the original Persona 5. Despite it being the best-PLAYING Persona game, I found its characters recycled and dull and its story repetitive; poorly-written; and really poorly-paced. Unfortunately, Royal doesn't do much to change that. It adds a bunch of quality of life improvements and minor tweaks at the start of the game that initially made me feel like they understood why Persona 5 kinda sucked. However, after clearing the 1st dungeon it became clear that all the big updates were front-loaded and back-loaded, with very little new or tweaked in-between outside of adding EVEN MORE generic mob fighting during the boss battles. The social links still suck, with Mementos used as an excuse to not have characters develop of their own free will.

The new villain introduced for the extra month at the end of the game is nice and their story is very well-integrated into the original story. However, the quality of the extra month is poor and feels like an utter anti-climax after the events of the original game's Christmas encounters. It's also severely pointless, as you will see when you finish it.

Overall, it's...fine, I guess. It is a better game than Persona 5 Vanilla, but it wasn't the huge leap in quality promised by Atlus.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 08, 2021, 08:51:45 PM
Bugsnax - A neat little environmental puzzle game that's just oozing with charm. I don't think the developers fully thought out how the player's tools can interact with the environment (in particular, the spring board doesn't allow for much experimentation despite it opening up so many possibilities), but in general I had a good time and the game doesn't out-stay its welcome.

Demon's Souls (remake) - I got about halfway through this one before I hit a severe wall and just gave up on it for a while. In case you're interested, it's the Twin Maneater fight. The game has superb atmosphere, and I generally enjoy this sort of game, but I just feel like Demon's Souls is just way too restrictive and punishing, even for this sort of thing. Levels don't generally HAVE shortcuts and boss corpse runs are extremely long and cruel after the first real level. This game would have been so much better if Bluepoint hadn't made it so faithful to the original, as the Soul series in the intervening years has gotten so much better about things like checkpoints.

Also, world tendency can just **** off. What is the point of punishing struggling players by locking them out of side content IN ADDITION to also sending them back to the beginning of the stage; taking away their souls; and halving their health? It mandates that you beat the entire game at half health or miss out on content. This system sucks. It wasn't brought back ever again for a reason. It should have stayed dead.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 08, 2021, 09:08:48 PM
Finally...

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (PS4) - I adored Garden Warfare 2. I played it almost exclusively for over 6 months, and probably would STILL be playing it if I hadn't forced myself to stop checking in on the Daily Challenges. It's probably in my Top 10 best PS4 games.

Naturally, when this got announced for quasi-Early Access for a cheap $30 pre-order price, I jumped right in. However, having learned my lesson about Live Service games with GW2, I let it sit on my digital shelf until I had a good window to play it without it intruding on other stuff...so yeah, basically now.

Garden Warfare 2 was heavily criticized by bloated, egotistical idiots like Jim Sterling for its microtransactions. However, had they actually played the game for more than an hour, they would have seen that the beauty of GW2 is that it SHOWERED you with coins for basically doing ANYTHING. The "sticker packs" you could buy with in-game currency were reasonably priced, you got a bunch of character unlock/cosmetic "stickers" in every pack, and you could pick different types of packs to get better odds for specific drops. Garden Warfare 2 is the embodiment of this sort of game done well. I never put a cent into that game's microtransactions, as I always had more than enough coins for whatever I wanted.

Likewise, Garden Warfare 2 had very basic, but extensive, SP content and a wide variety of settings for its maps and modes. There were also literally over a hundred characters, as each class had tons of variants like a Sunflower that could stealth health by damaging players or a Citron that that swapped out its orange ray for a freezing ray. There was so much customization and freedom of choice. Later updates also added the Gnome battles you could jump into to get Rainbow Stars you could spend on special unlocks.

Why do I bring all this up about Garden Warfare 2? Because Battle for Neighborville is everything the critics claimed Garden Warfare 2 WAS. There are NO character variants; the single-player is boring (outside of the boss fights) and lazily implemented; they absolutely BUTCHERED Garden Ops (my favorite mode in GW2) by halving the number of waves & removing both friendly bots AND player choice in where to plant their base; and Turf Takeover (my second favorite mode) has been neutered into this Overwatch-style "sieze the point/push the payload" mode.

In fact, it's widely suspected that one of the reasons EA took the hatchet to this game was to try to turn Garden Warfare INTO Overwatch, as all the characters are now grouped into "Attack/Defend/Support" classes and they removed all the variants that made this game fun.

On the microtransaction front, there are now a whole bunch of currencies (one of which pretty much requires paying real money and which is used for most of the best unlocks) and the sticker packs have been replaced with an expensive 1 item gatcha system.

There is fun to be had in Battle for Neighborville, but considering that EA halted development on that game's content a year after its initial release AND apparently closed the studio who MADE the game, I don't know why this game got ported to Switch recently. It's a shitty sequel to a fantastic game. It also crashes CONSTANTLY in my experience.

I thought I'd also talk about Panzer Paladin, but I have very mixed thoughts on that game and probably need to think about it for a while. I should also probably finish it, as I've been picking away at it for a few months.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 10, 2021, 03:47:30 PM
Might as well chuck another opinion into the void since I forgot it earlier, but I did play roughly about half of Sackboy: A Big Adventure (why isn't it just called "Sackboy's Big Adventure?"), and I quite enjoy it but I had to stop play it after a while because my completionist side was starting to make the game a grind. I was trying to get all the collectibles and the "no death" awards in one run per stage, leading to frequent restarts.

From what I played, though, it's shamelessly a Mario 3D World clone (as well as a Rayman Legends clone somewhat, given the musical levels), but if you're going to steal you might as well steal from good games. I wish the cosmetic options were better and the music and gameplay had a bit more variety, but what I played was perfectly enjoyable. There's just a good, relaxing flow to the platforming. The game has 4 Player Co-Op if you care for that sort of thing.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: M.K.Ultra on April 10, 2021, 09:25:02 PM
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (why isn't it just called "Sackboy's Big Adventure?")

or "Little Big Planet 4"?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 10, 2021, 10:10:30 PM
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (why isn't it just called "Sackboy's Big Adventure?")

or "Little Big Planet 4"?

No, there's a very good reason why this game doesn't use the LittleBigPlanet name: there is no level creation utility at all. The game is sole-ly based on playing content created by Sumo Digital.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Order.RSS on April 11, 2021, 04:50:06 PM
So at this point you've played most PS5 exclusives right? Anything you're currently looking forward to on the platform?
If I had one I'd probably be excited most for Returnal, I wish HouseMarque were still a multi-platform developer but they seem pretty firmly in Sony's camp at this point. Not sure what else is out soon though, Ratchet and Clank in June and then DeathLoop in September?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on April 11, 2021, 05:38:56 PM
So at this point you've played most PS5 exclusives right? Anything you're currently looking forward to on the platform?
If I had one I'd probably be excited most for Returnal, I wish HouseMarque were still a multi-platform developer but they seem pretty firmly in Sony's camp at this point. Not sure what else is out soon though, Ratchet and Clank in June and then DeathLoop in September?

Yeah, I haven't play Miles yet because I'm really not in the mood for that sort of game, but I suppose that's not really a PS5 "exclusive" anyway.

I am hesitantly looking forward to Returnal. Housemarq is a studio that's never really made games that clicked with me long-term (there tends to be one correct way to play their games, and you don't succeed otherwise), but I liked their short-term gameplay loops. I'm using the last of my credit from my PS4 trade to bring that $70 price tag down to basically free, but I am one of those people that doesn't think Roguelikes should be $70. If you have a game that largely demands on repetition of content and assets like Indie games do, you aren't justifying the full price IMO.

I don't know what to make of Deathloop at this point. I like Arkane, but it's not only another Roguelike, but one you have to play while either another player or an AI griefs you. That's assuming the damn game even gets out the door. Given the timing of this latest delay, I strongly suspect that game failed Sony's Certification process BADLY.

Ratchet is DEFINITELY the next PS5 exclusive I'm eagerly looking forward to. A Crack in Time is one of my Top 10 favorite PS3 games, and god only knows the next time we'll see a fun mascot platformer from Sony, given the edgelord "too big to fail" AAA game direction they're going. If only Sly Cooper was getting the same treatment... *sigh*

It's not a PS5 exclusive, but I'm also really looking forward to Kena & the Bridge of Spirits in August, as well as potentially Scarlet Nexus in June.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: unorules on June 06, 2021, 01:45:36 PM
What games do you recommend for a beginer who has never played anything?  :-\

I recommend playing all the NES games you can then. With the NES, the videogame industry was still in its infancy so a lot of games are quite simple and controllers didn't have the amount of buttons that they do now. Since the games are simple they are quite easy so you should have a great time playing them, Mr. Spambot. A few good choices to start would be Metroid, Zelda II, and Ninja Gaiden. Happy gaming.

Great tip! Thank you very much! I am a beginner as well and appreciate the explanation a lot!
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: M.K.Ultra on June 06, 2021, 02:13:38 PM
What games do you recommend for a beginer who has never played anything?  :-\

I recommend playing all the NES games you can then. With the NES, the videogame industry was still in its infancy so a lot of games are quite simple and controllers didn't have the amount of buttons that they do now. Since the games are simple they are quite easy so you should have a great time playing them, Mr. Spambot. A few good choices to start would be Metroid, Zelda II, and Ninja Gaiden. Happy gaming.

Great tip! Thank you very much! I am a beginner as well and appreciate the explanation a lot!

This is great, let's see how long we can keep this going.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Phil on June 09, 2021, 05:35:13 PM
Started Resident Evil Village this week, and I'm immensely enjoying it. Poor Ethan, though! Regardless, I'm getting big RE4 vibes from it, and that is most definitely a good thing. And what I mean by that is all of the hidden treasures, the shopkeeper, the fun level designs, all that good stuff I loved about RE4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: broodwars on June 20, 2021, 06:42:31 PM
Rolled credits on Returnal last night, though I still need to get the "True Ending" that concludes "Act 3" of the game.

I really like it, but it's not for a lot of people, let alone "everyone". It is, however, one of the rare games where I would say that the "It gets good after X hours" argument has merit. So many people & so many reviewers couldn't even get through the 1st 3 Biomes that make up Act 1, let alone beat the game. I got stuck hard on that first Biome for quite a few bad runs, because I just couldn't get past the 1st Boss. Then I had an incredible run & completed all 3 of the Act 1 Biomes in one go with relative ease. Had a similar situation last night with Act 2, though at least I'd gotten to the 5th Biome beforehand.

I feel that if you can't push through the first Act, you haven't really seen how fun Returnal can be, as you haven't seen probably half of the available guns & artifacts and possibly didn't even acquire the grappling hook. I don't think I've seen a shooter this fast-paced, exploration-focused, and eager to punish carelessness since Doom Eternal, another divisive shooter. Once you've established a foothold in Act 2, I feel that the game really opens up in terms of gameplay options and you start being able to explore areas that are underwater; covered in what's essentially lava; or hidden behind invisible platforms, all things the game teases as far back as the 1st Biome.

I'll give Returnal's story this much: for as convoluted as it feels at times for this sort of game (it feels like there are 2 different stories at odds with each other between the Act-ending cutscenes & the "House" cutscenes), I appreciate the fact that so much of it is open to interpretation when so much of modern gaming is incredibly on-the-nose. It's helped the game to stick around in the back of my head when I'm not playing it more than a lot of games these days, in particular something very particular to how the game's soundtrack is woven into the storytelling. The game also has some amazing atmosphere that's drawn comparisons to Metroid Prime for good reason.

Is it "worth" $70? Eh...I dunno, but I'm enjoying it.

Been playing other stuff over the last few months, but not really up to writing about them at length: Persona 5 Strikers, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Judgment, Resident Evil Village, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, FF7 Remake: Intergrade, etc.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: pokepal148 on June 25, 2021, 10:43:26 AM
I'm playing through Majora's Mask through the 3D restoration mod on 3DS. I'm also using a mod that replaces the 3DS's shitty, overly reverbed version of the soundtrack with the original n64 soundtrack, with some of the songs being replaced by an excellent remaster of the n64 ost that gives you gems like this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDmQY0lcGs& (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDmQY0lcGs&)

I've considered opening a games as art thread of some sort and this game is definitely worth considering on that level, especially once you've ironed out the various kinks from it's official releases.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on July 03, 2021, 09:44:49 PM
Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (3DS):

I played through the first four games over a fairly short period of time, and got pretty sick of it, but nonetheless had a baseline affection for this adventure game approach.

Decided to jump back in to the controversial latter two games since I was already fiddling with 3DS stuff again.

Boy can I see the cause of the negativity!

For one, the transition to 3D graphics totally sucks. To an extent, it's kind of impressive that they managed to impute some of the animation style of the pixel games to the polygonal overhaul, but overall it adds nothing to the gameplay and just makes most of it look worse. Wright in particular looks like ****. And overall it just makes everything blander and pokier.

On top of that, the game strips out much of the adventure game DNA by taking away environmental exploration outside of a few very constricted spaces. Most of the investigation portion feels like its on rails as a result, diverging toward a plain visual novel trajectory. Very lame.

The actual trial stuff also feels considerably more spoon fed than in previous games, with the characters bordering on just stating out loud the solutions. Athena's emotional psychology stuff also just blows and feels like Telltale-level fake interaction scheme.

I'm still going for the time being, because this series is still good at stringing you along with the mystery content, but damned if this title isn't toeing into walking sim territory.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 15, 2022, 03:11:13 AM
As happened with Stardew Valley in the last game, the current Mafia game got me to play Pikmin 3 Deluxe, where I started a new file, this time playing on hard mode. I just adore this game. The Pikmin series has always been one of my favorites, I went as far as to import New Play Control Pikmin 2 from Europe back in the day, and Pikmin 3 is just the perfect synthesis of the best ideas of the first two games. I'm so happy this game got a second chance on Switch, and I hope more people got to experience its greatness. It seems like it did reasonably well, so here's hoping Nintendo goes back to the series and gives us Pikmin 4.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Mop it up on February 15, 2022, 01:26:06 PM
Don't you worry, I have it on good authority that Pikmin 4 was completed years ago.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 15, 2022, 05:33:30 PM
It was close, and seven-ish years later I have to assume it’s even closer now.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: MagicCow64 on February 18, 2022, 09:16:35 PM
As happened with Stardew Valley in the last game, the current Mafia game got me to play Pikmin 3 Deluxe, where I started a new file, this time playing on hard mode. I just adore this game. The Pikmin series has always been one of my favorites, I went as far as to import New Play Control Pikmin 2 from Europe back in the day, and Pikmin 3 is just the perfect synthesis of the best ideas of the first two games. I'm so happy this game got a second chance on Switch, and I hope more people got to experience its greatness. It seems like it did reasonably well, so here's hoping Nintendo goes back to the series and gives us Pikmin 4.

I think Pikmin 3 gets very close to fully nailing it, but doesn't quiiiite get there. The fruit collection is ultimately too easy to put real pressure on (and the fruit are not nearly as satisfying to collect as the human flotsam from the previous games). The sequence that pulls the rug out for a bit is very memorable as a result.

Like, each game is a 9/10 in its own right, but it always feels like it's just shy of true greatness. Someday P4 will come and become the rapture.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 18, 2022, 10:16:02 PM
As happened with Stardew Valley in the last game, the current Mafia game got me to play Pikmin 3 Deluxe, where I started a new file, this time playing on hard mode. I just adore this game. The Pikmin series has always been one of my favorites, I went as far as to import New Play Control Pikmin 2 from Europe back in the day, and Pikmin 3 is just the perfect synthesis of the best ideas of the first two games. I'm so happy this game got a second chance on Switch, and I hope more people got to experience its greatness. It seems like it did reasonably well, so here's hoping Nintendo goes back to the series and gives us Pikmin 4.

I think Pikmin 3 gets very close to fully nailing it, but doesn't quiiiite get there. The fruit collection is ultimately too easy to put real pressure on (and the fruit are not nearly as satisfying to collect as the human flotsam from the previous games). The sequence that pulls the rug out for a bit is very memorable as a result.

Like, each game is a 9/10 in its own right, but it always feels like it's just shy of true greatness. Someday P4 will come and become the rapture.

You're right that it isn't as much of a push as it could have been, but at least there's something forcing you forward. Even playing on hard mode I've got 20 days worth of juice saved up 13 days in. I'm close to the bit you referenced, and it would have been nice if they did some more stuff like that. It could use a bit more fine tuning, and I would like to see the purple and white Pikmin return as well.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on February 21, 2022, 05:42:10 PM
I played through the campaign with my wife and non-gamer type with limited play skills. The fruit actually got dangerously low while we were working together because of how much more challenging it was to juggle my work while helping her elsewhere. There was a genuine risk we would run out for a few days.

I do wish we could hunt for treasure as well. Make it a bit more open-world/sandbox where we show up with limited supplies and have to gather food and other critical resources while also hunting for treasure and it would really elevate the entire experience.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 26, 2022, 04:48:33 AM
One of the first things I bought when I got my Xbox 360 14 years ago, and really one of the reasons I wanted the system in the first place, was Mass Effect. It really seemed like a game designed specifically for me with its big sci-fi story. So anyway, I'm finally getting around to playing it now, two console generations later after buying it again via the recent remaster, and I'm really enjoying it. Probably should have done this sooner.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on August 09, 2022, 07:44:17 AM
Last few months i've been finishing up all the achievements on

Desktop Dungeons (Steam):

I haven't touched the game for almost a decade now! I initially gave up on it because i felt it lost the simplicity and accessiblity of original freeware game. Transition from GameMaker to Unity also hurt them, i feel. UI instead of a simple "pick your class, pick your dungeon" screen became very bloated and confusing. New quest system instead of easing in new players only discourages playing further. Added class tutorials, puzzle boxes and class challenges were too hard. Even the new music i found too loud, distracting and a bad fit despite the pedigree of Grant Kirkhope and Danny Baranowsky.

At least web-version (http://www.desktopdungeons.net/HTML5/) that replcates original DD is still there -- and was even playable in Wii U browser!

So this year i got back into Steam version to finish it off. And even if all my complaints are still true, coming back to it i kinda started to see what they were trying to do with quest system and building up your kingdom idea and slow-rolling unlocks. Late game unlocks in this game are kinda insane and require very intricate knowledge of game's systems. Back then i didn't even know how "burning (https://www.qcfdesign.com/wiki/DesktopDungeons/index.php?title=Traits#Burning)" effect works, but it's basically mandatory to take down some of the later bosses.

Many of the class challenges and puzzle boxes i just gave up on and had to look up the trick or the exact sequence of steps you need to replicate to beat them. Deviating from that sequence, misclicking away even on one wrong block means failure. And that's kinda my general problem -- at harder difficulties game constantly requires to teeter on the edge where one wrong click -- and you're dead ending 30 minutes-1 hour run. I guess i can somewhat fix it by setting to only attack on right-clicking, but you can still fail by just "moving wrong" if you left-click somewhere you're not supposed to.

So as i was finishing this game (only 4 achievements left!) i see that they're redoing the game (again) with 3d graphisc and new gimmick of rewinding turns -- which addresses my criticism of sudden deaths by misclicking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smrfXYhnKCc

I am cautiously excited.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on August 09, 2022, 01:58:18 PM
So Unrailed is free on Epic store. I liked the demo on Switch so jumped on this. Having a blast with it solo and with randoms online. Might even grab it on Switch since it seems like a great party game.

Goal is to build a railroad for a non-stop train by gathering resources to build the track the train runs on. Over time the train speeds up, but at checkpoints you get to buy upgrades to the carts that make tracks, buy new cars that help you, and upgrade the train to progress to new levels and slow the train back down.

Has a bit of a Minecraft aesthetic but plays like Overcooked where it is easy to learn but progressively gets harder to master.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 03, 2023, 02:34:22 AM
Hi-Fi Rush (PC, Steam):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2i1Vq3Odbg

This feels like the best (action) game since DMC5. I kinda bought a new PC to play this game -- when the game didn't run on my old PC i figured i might as well use this as a reason to upgrade.

Such a fresh feeling game. My only criticism would be that rhythm mini-games can sometimes feel too precise. I was stuck at one minigame (https://youtu.be/fDLCbBgYLxU?t=1623) for almost an hour. I couldn't tell if it was my setup, my sucking at rhythm or some kind of bug with this particular minigame...
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on February 08, 2023, 12:33:56 AM
Played the credits on Hi Fi Rush. Game is not even that deep combat-wise or even well balanced for either first or further playthroughs, but charming art-style, music and freshness of it all really makes me overlook it all.

The graphics on this game is pretty much my Platonic ideal how modern games should look like -- high frames, striking colour schemes, distinctive silhouettes.

Reminds me of Splatoon 1 in a way, where freshness of the concept is so overwhelming it can make people forgive some rough edges. And the game is not even that janky -- it's an extremely polished game, but personally i just had some problems with some of the rhythm mini-games during battles.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on May 05, 2023, 08:59:54 AM
Loop Hero quickly captured me, and i'm chewing through it quickly.  A hero whose lost their memories comes across a small outpost of fellow people trying to piece together their memories and how they break this cycle has just the right amount of mystery and keeps the story engaging so far.  The overarching goal is to get through enough loops of the action to unlock a final boss and finish them off.

I'd almost describe it as a Macro RPG.  You don't directionally control the hero, instead they run across a randomly generated loop, with a camp that acts as the "go" tile from Monopoly (pass go, get health refilled).  Battling is all auto generated when bumping into monsters in that loop.  The map is constructed of tiles, and you receive cards randomly as those monsters are killed, as well as armor/weapons/equipment.  The cards themselves are things like vampire mansions, spider nests, graveyards, etc that when placed on the loop will generate more challenging monsters, but will yield higher rewards when beat.  Other land or structure cards will yield things like higher health max, regenerative health.  There is a good push/pull of trying to decide when to place down cards, because making a loop too hard could prematurely kill you.

There is also a base building portion between loops.  Resources you obtain during the action will allow structures to be built that can add permanent buffs, open up new kinds of resources, and some permanent buffs.  In doing so, the game also meters-out conversations that gives a broader picture of the world you're stuck into.  Like the loops, it's very passive but satisfying.

Having a great time with it, can't recommend it enough, and fortunately it won't take long before you can decide whether it's for you or not.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Stratos on May 09, 2023, 04:09:41 PM
Been trying to play Advance Wars. Nice throwback and really scratches the itch that Wargroove could never quite itch. Though it is missing some of the more streamlined options that come in Wargroove or even modern Fire Emblem games (auto-turn end when all moves are exhausted, inability to skip the CO animations).
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: azeke on May 09, 2023, 11:29:16 PM
Loop Hero quickly captured me, and i'm chewing through it quickly.

Played it a few times and it's okay i guess if monotonous, but never managed to go past second (?) upgrade.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: M.K.Ultra on July 27, 2023, 11:01:03 AM
I recently had the pleasure of playing "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition" and it was an absolute thrill from start to finish. The game follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, a legendary monster hunter known as a Witcher. As Geralt, players are tasked with uncovering the mystery behind a dark force known as the Wild Hunt, all while navigating political intrigue, complex relationships, and dangerous monsters. With stunning graphics and detailed character development, "The Witcher 3" offers a thrilling and engaging gameplay experience. The game is filled with memorable characters, including Geralt's companions such as the sorceress Yennefer and the bard Dandelion. Each side quest is carefully crafted with its own unique narrative, providing hours upon hours of gameplay. The characters and their stories were the true gems of the game, as every interaction felt like a meaningful encounter that would have a lasting effect on the world around me. The voice acting was top-notch and every character felt like a real person with their own motivations and agendas. I especially enjoyed the game's combat system, which was both challenging and satisfying. Fights against stronger enemies required careful planning and strategy, but the feeling of triumph after taking down a powerful foe was incredibly rewarding.

Were you playing on Switch? If so, what did you think of the graphics and performance of the Switch port?
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: TOPHATANT123 on August 04, 2023, 01:04:31 PM
Loop Hero is free on the Epic Game Store at the moment. It's like PS+ or Games with Gold but free.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: WiiUIVLife on October 09, 2023, 01:29:19 PM
I have a lot of games, the best part is once I finish one or get s tired of it I just start all over again one that I haven't played in a long time.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: Evan_B on October 23, 2023, 08:14:28 AM
Man, I am not vibing with Transistor. I don’t know if this is a quality that all Supergiant Games suffer from (this is my first of their catalogue), but the game does not tutorialize itself well at all, and that’s beside the fact that the story remains nebulous, but also infuriatingly chatty at all times. I don’t mind an ambiguous narrative, I actually welcome them from time to time. But the over-talkative nature of the Transistor and the lack of substance in so many of its comments is grating.

I am about halfway through and learned about its ridiculously punishing revive system, which then led me online to discover the true nature of its customization options. I was confused by all the individuals praising its versatility when I finally realized how to switch functions. Anyway, the combat bores me and I’m thinking I’ll probably drop it.
Title: Re: What are you playing?
Post by: lolmonade on November 16, 2023, 10:52:55 AM
My current game is Jusant.  it's a quiet game of a person mountain climbing.  Long periods of moving hands to pull yourself up and finding the right path to climb up, with a cryptic story told through notes left behind.  Love it, highly recommend for those wanting just a quiet, chill adventure.