Amazingly they’ve kept the game free of that rotten chum. Actually maybe it’s not so bad if that’s the alternative.
What are you currently playing?
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Currently reached past that point, both the Hostess club and the Real Estate grifts have proven themselves taking priority over the main story already. Something about having a growing army of collectable numbers to level up for exponential cash while enforcing it all with goofy violence appeals quite a bit for some hopefully-non-Freudian reason. (Having already bought a porno for a tiny boy and advised him how to hide it while simultaneously shaming a college girl for selling her undies, my moral compass dissolved into nothing but a primordial soup of ravenous XP and cash-chasing genes too)
But holy shit now it wants me to be good at the old arcade game Outrun for a Real Estate deal, and I am not. Never have not been shit at outrun! But this land-grab deal has to be won. So it's quit, reload and fail at Outrun repeatedly till I either git ghudda or hit full-peak insanity. With the latter having already had a headstart, am not brimming with untainted hope.
Also took until just recently to realise having Charismatic Autobiography equipped was the entire reason behind only making it through most fights by the skin of the teeth due to getting stunlocked by every group of aggressive common grunts to the point of impotent frustration as opposed to memories of the relatively easier times with other games in the series. Now it's unequiped, feels way less suffocating to walk down a single street anymore. It did not make that detail particularly clear in the description, thanks game.
The real estate thing was cool, but a little shallow in comparison to the Hostess. I still enjoyed it and honestly would totally a yakuza game focused on either. I also put off the main story because I was far more interested in running the club and real estate businesses. I really liked that actually talking & talking to people on the street and playing out their storylines actually had a meaningful fun impact to the Real estate & Hostess stories.
Since this is "Piscian shits on Far Cry 6 Month", Far Cry 6 does the exact same thing, but recruiting people only ends up linking to a shitty mini-game that doesn't do anything meaningful story wise and feels shoehorned in to groom the player for microtransactions. Fuck Far Cry 6.
I've gotten to playing Halo 1 for the first time after nabbing the Master Chief Collection last year for cheap. Is it even necessary to say that this game hasn't aged well? Like at all? I get it, it's the usual Godfather thing of being the one to start it all, but there's issues here that can't be covered with that:
- I'm seriously confused as to how seriously I'm supposed to be taking the story. Is it supposed to be Star Wars or Starship Troopers? At the start of the campaign you're gathering up survivors of a crash landing on an alien world full of relentlessly hostile enemies. Yet all the NPCs constantly spout ridiculous one liners and whoop like 12-year olds when you get airtime with a vehicle. The small grunt enemies sound like jawas from Star Wars and flail around like they're doing a comedy routine. There's some massive tonal dissonance here between the desperate survival situation and NPCs who act like they're at a frat party.
- The vehicles handle like absolute ass, and this is one of those things you'd reasonably expect to be fixed over a decade after the original release. Every vehicle driven so far handles like a balloon elephant in an ice skating rink, and moves about as gracefully as a real one in an ice skating rink. Merely trying to turn one feels like piloting an icebreaker in the Suez canal, and most times it feels best to just use them as mobile MG turrets
- In another game the lack of separate objective markers would be appreciated, but here the environments are far too big and repetitive and diagetic signaling of where you're supposed to be going is far too limited, leading me multiple times to wonder where I was supposed to be going next in the very second mission
- I started on Heroic difficulty, the second highest option, but so far all it seems to do is make those red and blue bastards total bullet sponges. Which would be bad enough, but 1. to hit them reliably you pretty much have to be close enough to them so that they can hit you as well. 2. They have the same regenerating shield you do, and by the time you've depleted theirs they've done the same to yours, forcing you to seek cover. 3. And by the time your shield's recovered, so is theirs, leading to the whole thing starting again. It's rather comical really, and IMO would be a pretty solid basis for a skit about war.
I played Halo CE on PC like a decade ago and I had a lot of the same feelings about it. I knew Halo was big so wanted to play it and after I finished it I was like "Wait, that was it? That's what everyone is so enamoured with?" I didn't think it was bad or anything but I'd played better shooters before and better since so it came across as average at best. To be fair I didn't play the MP because I just can't get into MP 90% of the time(I've had some fun with DS co-op and that's pretty much it).
It put me off trying any of the rest of them(granted, PC didn't get most of them until a couple years ago) and even hearing people talk about the Lore/Story in the Halo games tends to bore me to tears despite a friend who loves the games telling me the Story is really, really good(if you read the books). I still can't for the life of me keep the forerunner/precursor thing straight and question why they would pick two similar terms like that for two different groups, despite watching Nick try to explain Halo to Yathzee on podcast once.
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- I would say the solders being gung ho is more about them having kinda made peace with essentially being doomed. The grunts are always like that, somewhat comedic. I couldn't tell you why, it just is.
- Hard disagree about the vehicles, not only was Halo one of the first fps games to have good drivable vehicles but they seem to really hold up. (but I am talking as someone who is a long time fan of the series, so take that as you will)
- The lack of objective markers does make things more confusing then most modern fps games. Really thats all I can say. I can't give a different perspective, I've played through the games so much that I would have to try and get lost.
- That might have been a mistake. Halo is a different beast then most fps games, mainly because of the Elites. You really have to outthink and outfight them on Legendary and even Heroic. It means being prepared to utilize all the options at your disposal, like the plasma pistol. (charged shot disables their shields then swap to a normal pistol to head shot for best results)
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I never played multi and had a blast playing the series over and over again.
Story is still really good, no books required, in fact, the books probably make it worse since some questions really don't need to be answered. Although the story peaked with Halo 2, after that you started getting into the MC being the super special and destined and all that bullshit I hate in stories. The stories can still be good, but not to the same level as the first 2.
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Hard disagree about the vehicles, they handle great, the controls for them are just very different than other games. This also isn't a racing game, nor are you being asked to drive through precise courses or navigate traffic.
Take the warthog for example, the reason that the warthog handles the way it does is so that you can turn and drift super easily in order to dodge incoming fire, and it works really well. It feels weird and clumsy the first time you play, but after a while it becomes second nature and the vehicles handle fantastic for what they are supposed to do. They just handle differently than what you expect.
Just wait til the last 1/3 or so, if you think levels are repetitive now. I’m convinced half the reason it was so popular and made such an impact is because it was Microsoft’s big foray into the console market, and they needed it to be big. $o they hyped the hell out of it and took advantage of the fact that there was little else like it on consoles at the time. I mean sure there’s Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Timesplitters, etc. but while terrific in their own rights none of them had a larger than life feel to some of the open ended stuff found in Halo, or the benefit of being the center of a huge launch event.
Microsoft got kinda lucky that all the stars aligned so well, as it made any of the game’s shortcomings easy to be drowned out amidst the sea of newness that surrounded it all.
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Have you gone back and played any of those old games? They really haven't aged as well as Halo did. Halo was the first time it felt good, like really good to play a console fps game, they managed to get the autoaim and tracking just right so felt like you were playing like a bad ass and less like auto aim was helping you succeed or had to rely on a weird control aiming method.
I still say Timesplitters 3 is better and more fun than all of the Halo games combined.
True story - I had a third shift surveillance job that was so quiet and boring we ended up bringing in an Xbox and managed to beat Time Splitters 2 and project snowblind before it got taken away from us.
Time splitters 2 is one of the most fun games I've ever played. I've never played time splitters 3, but 2 was definitely better than Halo. Halo was cool and had it's moments, but I think if Halo ever had a big weakness it was goofy cover shooting. Despite not playing it in like 20 years I clearly remember getting kind of tired of the enemies hiding behind shields and walls and just sitting there so I had to play this dumb song and dance of rushing around to flush them out.
It felt less smartly AI driven and more just a hindrance between me and fun at times.
I think there's a healthy balance between the chaos of enemies blindly running at you ala serious Sam and games like gears and Halo that drag out fight sequences with at times, tiresome cover based shooting which kills the pacing of delivery of "fun".
Watching Nick play Halo infinite I feel like they added more shit but it's still basically the same game. I watched a plot synopsis online and realized I just don't care enough to load it even though it's free on gamepass.
I will say, for any of gamers on here gamepass ultimate is a $1 for 3 months on PC ATM and I believe halo infinite is included. I just loaded outer wilds or whichever one is the obsidian rpg so if money is an issue it's only $1
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I vaguely remember playing Timesplitters 2 at a friend's a couple of times, and we had more fun playing that than Halo.
This is one aspect where I've found the game to be quite frustrating and feeling somewhat at odds with itself. The regenerating shield would seem to incentivize more methodical play, taking cover and picking your shots carefully. But the way the enemies move around and constantly seem to be in every direction is way more in line with faster-paced shooters like Doom or Painkiller. I was stuck for quite a while on the hangar section in the spaceship level, because 1. all the jackbrained NPC squadmates had died, which I don't believe the encounter was balanced around, and 2. the multiple spawnpoints, enemies being above as well as around you, their hectic movement and tons of cover made it hard to even tell where they were. When I finally cleared it I didn't feel like I'd played better, merely that the enemies hadn't moved to more advantageous positions. It's also become clear that often times the game will tell you to wait while Cortana is hacking something, but what you actually need to be doing is killing every last enemy. Given the often big and open environments this has already turned several scenarios into tediously looking for the one last random grunt running around somewhere.
Oh fuck.
The spaceship literally made me chuckle out loud a few times because of how ridiculously samey it was. I legitimately was doubting multiple times if I was proceeding in the right direction or unknowingly backtracking because I just couldn't tell.
Today I finished up Persona 5. It was a nice ride. While there were some bits and characters I wasn't overly fond of, in particular the final couple dungeons. After the imo really strong 6th and 7th palaces (also Rivers In The Desert is a bop boss theme), both narratively and in terms of presentation, I felt it kind of lame that the main antagonist for 90% of the game gets replaced by some giant space flea out of nowhere god-figure that starts spouting pseudo-philosopical dribble. It's a common trope in jrpgs, like Persona 4 did it too, and I'm not a fan, because the new true antagonist pretty much always ends being much less interesting. I'm still putting it in the running for my goty list for this year tho. Local store had a sale on Persona 5 Strikers for Switch and I also had a coupon left, so I got it nice and cheap. Will have to wait tho, partly because I'll have to wait until my gf is done with it, but also because I'm kind of Persona'd out for the moment.
Played some GG: Strive after not touching it in a while. I played Milla Rage in Survival and Arcade Mode. She's a high-speed character as described, but feels like a rush-down too. Fun character; loving her combo set ups. I don't bother much with the multiplayer, but loving playing through survival and arcade. I still don't like how Arcade mode works as the difficulty immediately shoots up, and goes back down from losing a single round. Not match; a single round can drop you from Extreme to Hard. I've only beaten Arcade Extreme mode once, and that was with Giovanna. Also, I noticed in some new videos on YouTube that shows she has better air combos now. So that's a plus.
Played some games on the T-16 Mini. Ninja Gaiden is still annoying despite being slightly easier than its NES counterpart. I stopped after the 6th stage, because I found it too aggravating. Then I continued where I left off from Bomberman 94 and completed the 2rd world. Will do the 3rd world later. I tried Super Star Soldier, and I do not like this SHMUP's checkpoint structure. Dying takes you back to the start of the stage, unless you're fighting a boss. That is just dumb. So I quit.
I tried Seirei Senshi Spriggan next. Another SHMUP in the console's library of roms and I love it. It plays similar to Soldier Blade, except you control a mech called the Spriggan. You can collect power-ups and mix match different weapons in threes a la Soldier Blade. What's cool is that there is a mechanic where you can take your shooting power-up and use it as a bomb clear. Though you permanently lose the weapon or portions of the weapon, unless pick up another orb. Which there are plenty of that spawn at bosses or from killing certain enemies. I wish I could tell you the plot without looking up a wiki, but everything is in Japanese, and there are no subtitles. It's nothing too complicated, but it boils down to a guy and girl controlling the Spriggan, and fighting an evil empire that is cross between machine and mutated monsters. The third stage end boss is giant frog that is the video game equivalent of the Black Knight. Every time you blow up a piece of its body, the fucker just keeps jumping after you. It's to the point where its final form is just a heart attached to some intestines.
I am halfway through the game and finish the rest later. The game starts off simple, but challenge ramps up quickly, but it is not overbearing. Unlike the bullet hell shooters, I prefer the old-school style of vertical SHMUPs.
Senshi Spriggan, Soldier Blade, Lords of Thunder, and Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire are my favorite SHMUPS on the TubroGrafx-16 Mini.
I tried Seirei Senshi Spriggan next. Another SHMUP in the console's library of roms and I love it. It plays similar to Soldier Blade, except you control a mech called the Spriggan. You can collect power-ups and mix match different weapons in threes a la Soldier Blade. What's cool is that there is a mechanic where you can take your shooting power-up and use it as a bomb clear. Though you permanently lose the weapon or portions of the weapon, unless pick up another orb. Which there are plenty of that spawn at bosses or from killing certain enemies. I wish I could tell you the plot without looking up a wiki, but everything is in Japanese, and there are no subtitles. It's nothing too complicated, but it boils down to a guy and girl controlling the Spriggan, and fighting an evil empire that is cross between machine and mutated monsters. The third stage end boss is giant frog that is the video game equivalent of the Black Knight. Every time you blow up a piece of its body, the fucker just keeps jumping after you. It's to the point where its final form is just a heart attached to some intestines.
I am halfway through the game and finish the rest later. The game starts off simple, but challenge ramps up quickly, but it is not overbearing. Unlike the bullet hell shooters, I prefer the old-school style of vertical SHMUPs.
Senshi Spriggan, Soldier Blade, Lords of Thunder, and Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire are my favorite SHMUPS on the TubroGrafx-16 Mini.
Senshi Spriggan I just finished. There are seven acts total, with Act 7 being a boss only level. Now that is a fun shoot'em up. It's also got some nice little bonuses. It's not much, but for 1991, that's not bad. There's a score attack mode and a time attack mode. Like I said before in the previous post, there is story, but you're not going to know exactly what is going on, unless you know Japanese or look up a translation guide. The visuals give you enough ideas, thankfully. Also, the cut scenes pretty good too. There's a lot of nice details in them. Makes me feel like I'm playing in a 90s Mecha OVA. It creates this warm feeling inside.
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