Bought Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Tuesday and then went over to my sister's yesterday with pizza and played it with my two nieces. It was a fun time, the game is good.
What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter Nick Calandra
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I'm back from my trip, and honestly don't have a whole lot to report. Other than that I managed to find an arcade on my last day there with a bunch of genuine retro games, as opposed to being nothing but online battle games, claw machines and Taiko no Tatsujin. Made it to the final stage of Metal Slug 1 for the first time, but I wasn't able to clear it before running out of money, that's still progress. And I hadn't played Metal Slug in a while, either, so it's good that I still remember how to do most of it (up to stage 5 of 6).
Don't know what I'm gonna pick up now that I'm back. A lot of options present themselves at once. It's Halloween, so a horror game might be appropriate, but it'd likely be a replay instead of a new game to finish. Unless I go for Metroid Dread for the best of both worlds...
Don't know what I'm gonna pick up now that I'm back. A lot of options present themselves at once. It's Halloween, so a horror game might be appropriate, but it'd likely be a replay instead of a new game to finish. Unless I go for Metroid Dread for the best of both worlds...
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METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY™
In 1996, an arcade legend was born with the release of METAL SLUG Super Vehicle 001. The clever mix of the military-style themed, side-scrolling action shooting platform gameplay, with a wacky sense of humor and hilarious cartoon style met with an instant success among players around the world...
store.playstation.com
- Apr 1, 2009
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I really wish they would release the anthology on steam. I still have it on my wii, but throwing nades needs the stupid controller shake.
Use a GameCube Controller (3rd party after market controllers work great too) or Classic Controller. You'll never have to shake a Wiimote ever again.
- Apr 1, 2009
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It doesn't work with those, it was a launch title and only supports the wiimote.
The Gamecube controller definitely works. I know, because I still have the Wii version and GC controllers to spare. You're are correct about the Classic Controllers though. I forgot.
- Apr 1, 2009
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Hmm, I could have sworn I tried my GC controller with it since I love the games but hate the shake. Oh well, I would have to dig my wii out of... where ever it is to try so, back at hoping they release it on steam. With a remaster of the game boy advanced Metal Slug.
I actually bought the ACA version on Switch a while back, that's how I've mostly been playing it so far. I probably could have made it to Stage 6 before, but I've not been using continues for some reason. Since I'd gotten to 6 anyway and only had a couple of 100 yen coins left, I decided that time to see how much farther I could get (the answer was 'not very', I didn't even make it to the submarine.)
Finished my replay of Crysis 3. Still my personal favorite of the franchise. The game goes by even faster on repeat playthroughs/NG+ and does reveal how much shorter it is compared to the previous games. Not a big deal for me, as most of the levels are longer any way, and it has the best gameplay of the franchise.
I got back to Final Fantas XVI, and while I'm still in the beginning (only unlocked the second of the ability sets last night), I'm already starting to feel what Yahtzee complained about weighing on me. Namely that the combat is very mid, the gritty Game of Thrones tone doesn't really mesh with the anime high fantasy, and it's hard to get a feel for the stakes because combat seems to have next to no effect on the characters.
I can whale on some boss for like 5 minutes, and in the cutscene afterwards they show no greater injury than maybe a cut lip or a bloody nose. Characters have already had statues toppled on them and thrown off 60 ft heights, only to show up mere moments later with no outward display of injury or even exhaustion. It makes the combat feel so token and superfluous, that I'm just mashing buttons between cutscenes. For all the effect it has you could just have a quicktime event. This links directly to the tonal mismatch: because there seems to be so little risk or consequence of getting injured to the characters, the weighty, dark tone rings hollow. In Game of Thrones the mighty Robert Baratheon was taken out by a boar, Ned Stark was brought down with a simple spear to the leg, and the implacable Tywin Lannister with a single crossbow bolt. It's a huge part of maintaining the stakes and creating the sense of danger that permeates the series. Even in something much more high fantasy like The Witcher, characters get injured and beaten, they feel the aftereffects for months and we're reminded of their injuries. But in FFXVI, for all its posturing and putting on airs of being a dark fantasy for adults, it seems that characters can just get burnt, stabbed and ridden with magical bullets, and be completely fine by the next day.
Still gonna keep playing though, it's not a dealbreaker (yet anyway).
I can whale on some boss for like 5 minutes, and in the cutscene afterwards they show no greater injury than maybe a cut lip or a bloody nose. Characters have already had statues toppled on them and thrown off 60 ft heights, only to show up mere moments later with no outward display of injury or even exhaustion. It makes the combat feel so token and superfluous, that I'm just mashing buttons between cutscenes. For all the effect it has you could just have a quicktime event. This links directly to the tonal mismatch: because there seems to be so little risk or consequence of getting injured to the characters, the weighty, dark tone rings hollow. In Game of Thrones the mighty Robert Baratheon was taken out by a boar, Ned Stark was brought down with a simple spear to the leg, and the implacable Tywin Lannister with a single crossbow bolt. It's a huge part of maintaining the stakes and creating the sense of danger that permeates the series. Even in something much more high fantasy like The Witcher, characters get injured and beaten, they feel the aftereffects for months and we're reminded of their injuries. But in FFXVI, for all its posturing and putting on airs of being a dark fantasy for adults, it seems that characters can just get burnt, stabbed and ridden with magical bullets, and be completely fine by the next day.
Still gonna keep playing though, it's not a dealbreaker (yet anyway).
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GZdoom goodness.
First the demo for Divine Frequency came out. I was expecting a horror Doom style game, but it seems like its closer to something like System Shock, with stats and systems and such. Much of which doesn't seem to be implemented yet but its really cool and creepy.
Next is Supplice, the second episode finally came out and its cool. Same great music, interesting story, cool levels and great enemies. So far there are only 2 new enemies, an exploder asshole, who is much more manageable then they usually are, but use a shotgun. And a ghost that is really dangerous close up and cannon fodder from any other distance. But yeah, still awesome, even though the levels are really damn long.
First the demo for Divine Frequency came out. I was expecting a horror Doom style game, but it seems like its closer to something like System Shock, with stats and systems and such. Much of which doesn't seem to be implemented yet but its really cool and creepy.
Next is Supplice, the second episode finally came out and its cool. Same great music, interesting story, cool levels and great enemies. So far there are only 2 new enemies, an exploder asshole, who is much more manageable then they usually are, but use a shotgun. And a ghost that is really dangerous close up and cannon fodder from any other distance. But yeah, still awesome, even though the levels are really damn long.
After taking a nearly two week break from MK1 I finally got the last challenge for Mileena! Well, technically it’s the fifth, but the only one that felt nearly impossible. It can’t be done exactly as the demo shows because the first jiggle will whiff unless you move forward ever so slightly and quickly. This is shown on screen but not on the required inputs. The timing is killer (at least for me lol) because if forward is still registered as an input it will result in a different move. It really took breaking down each section separately and then piecing it all together.
After that I did some more invasions, and just started the Tarkatan map.
After that I did some more invasions, and just started the Tarkatan map.
So I powered through the rest of Act I and all of Act II in Shadows of Valentia in a single day, because that's how I roll. At this point in time, I don't have much to say I already haven't in terms of the game's quality (that I haven't said already), but in regards to more specific thoughts:
ACT I
-So the Deliverance has made their hideout in catacombs that are crawling with undead monsters. Um, okay. It's obvious why it's the case from a gameplay standpoint (grinding), it's harder to justify from a narrative standpoint. The best explanation I can give is that the fact that the dead are rising is that something's wrong with the world (we know that crops have failed for years straight by the time of the game's proper beginning), and what I know of the lore of Valentia seems to justify this idea, but while that justifies things on a thematic level, it doesn't really justify them on a plot level.
-Even more absurd is that Alm is made head of the Deliverance because he's Mycen's grandson, and their course of action after being on the backfoot is to, um, storm Zofia Castle? There's, like, nothing in-between "we're losing this war, we need a new leader" and "cut off the head of the snake?" I could maybe buy it if this was portrayed as a hail mary, but nope, that doesn't happen. It's like there's an entire section of the game that's missing narratively-speaking.
-Storming the titular castle is certainly fun as a gameplay map. SoV's maps are mostly empty fields, but this was more intelligently designed, so that was nice.
-Thus ends Act I - the Deliverance has retaken the castle, but Desaix is holed up in his own fort, and Rigel's forces are still south of the border. Credit where credit is due, in comparison to the insanity of the Deliverance's actions in the last few maps, this is actually handled well as the characters discuss their options - hole up and fortify Zofia Castle, or push on to oust Rigel? The latter is chosen, but unlike the prior march on the castle, it's a decision that feels justified.
Act II
-Act II has you controlling Celica instead of Alm. From the outset, from a character standpoint, Act II is better than Act I, in the sense that it has a better cast of characters. Celica's fine as a protagonist. Mae and Boey are the "bickering couple who never seem to get on, but are clearly close all the same," only this time the trope's actually done well (less well done is that Mae is far better from a gameplay standpoint, but meh). Sabre is the "mercenary who's just in it for the money, but maybe not really, because he keeps going above the call of duty when asked" character that again, for whatever reason, works as a trope. To be clear, none of these are deep character traits, but overall, the cast is much more likable. Compare that to Alm's route, where you have characters that are outright boring (e.g. Lukas), or characters that I despise (e.g. Faye), with a few exceptions.
-In contrast, Valdar, Leon, and Hasumi...yeah, I've got nothing. You save them, they agree to tag along out of a sense of obligation...sort of...maybe...yeah, given how the game is designed, some characters get more screentime than others, since any character can end up dead.
-While Act II is better from a character standpoint, it's lacking from a gameplay standpoint. Act I's maps were often open fields, whereas Act II's maps are often ship-based. Now, in previous FE games, ship-based maps are some of my favourites, but this is just one ship map after another in many cases, and boy does it get old. Often, the map itself doesn't vary, it's just "here's the map where everyone is a pirate" or "here's the map where all the enemies are mages" or "here's the map where there's a never-ending stream of undead and you need to kill the summoner to stop the flow"). When you repeat the same map design over and over, it gets old, not to mention that often, there's very little plot connecting them. Just "pirates are sailing these waters, what else is new?" or "evil necromancers are after Celica."
-So, Celica is saved outside Zofia Castle by a red-haired masked knight who I'm absolutely sure isn't her brother. Y'know, the guy who's meant to be dead...in a fire...mask...firemarks...refuses to give his name...checks wiki...yep, he's her brother. Honestly, I can't even say I spoiled myself because it's so freaking obvious the moment the guy turns up (or at least it's obvious if you've been paying attention).
-So, Celica's reunion with Alm is mixed for me. The reunion in of itself is actually well done - as saccharine as you could accuse it of being (and you'd be well within your rights to do so), for me, it works - two people that are close with each other, reunited since being separated from childhood, etc. That's all good, no complaints there. However, the fallout that immediately results is...
Okay, I get what the game was going for. In regards to war with Rigel, Alm's view is (broadly speaking) that the war has to end with a Zofian victory. Rigel's crossed the border, if Zofia sues for peace now, you're effectively rewarding annexation - sometimes, you have to keep fighting. Celica's view (again, broadly speaking) is that peace in of itself is the higher virtue, that it's better to save as many lives as possible, period, hence why it's better to end the war now rather than prolonging it. Again, I get what the game is going for, but in terms of execution, it just doesn't work, because in the span of two cutscenes, we have characters go from happy reunion to "I never want to talk to you again!" Also, there's the fact that Celica is the last surviving member of the Zofian royal familiy, but to everyone's knowledge bar her entourage, the family is wiped out. Celica accuses Alm of wanting the throne, insists that the princess is dead, yet refuses to come forth as the heir. Now, I get why Celica wants anonymity, but it really doesn't reflect well on her. On one hand, she wants the war to end now, on the other, she refuses to actually do something that would end said war. She wants her preferred outcome without any of the responsibility for it. Except I'm not sure if the game actually wants me to think that.
And the thing is, I actually like Celica as a character. At least, I like her more compared to Alm (though in terms of gameplay, Alm's clearly superior). So it's frustrating for me to have a character flaw be present and not actually regarded as a flaw. Because character flaws are great, a character without flaws is rarely an interesting one, but I can't honestly say that this is what the game intended.
-On a side note, I've been listening to the seaport music from the game's OST on YouTube, so, um, yay?
Act III
So I started Act III. At this point, you're able to control both parties along different routes. Alm has to lead his army (and by army, I mean the playable characters) to deal with Rigelian forces and Desaix's loyalists, If I had to guess, Alm's route will be mostly human foes, Celica's will be mostly undead foes. Some of you might be saying "wait, you mean like FE8 when Eirika and Ephrahim split up?" And to that I say "yes, exactly like FE8." Yep, there's a lot of inspiration taken from FE2 to 8 as far as I can see, and the remake has followed suit, only FE8 is, well, better. Or at least, better in all the ways that count.
ACT I
-So the Deliverance has made their hideout in catacombs that are crawling with undead monsters. Um, okay. It's obvious why it's the case from a gameplay standpoint (grinding), it's harder to justify from a narrative standpoint. The best explanation I can give is that the fact that the dead are rising is that something's wrong with the world (we know that crops have failed for years straight by the time of the game's proper beginning), and what I know of the lore of Valentia seems to justify this idea, but while that justifies things on a thematic level, it doesn't really justify them on a plot level.
-Even more absurd is that Alm is made head of the Deliverance because he's Mycen's grandson, and their course of action after being on the backfoot is to, um, storm Zofia Castle? There's, like, nothing in-between "we're losing this war, we need a new leader" and "cut off the head of the snake?" I could maybe buy it if this was portrayed as a hail mary, but nope, that doesn't happen. It's like there's an entire section of the game that's missing narratively-speaking.
-Storming the titular castle is certainly fun as a gameplay map. SoV's maps are mostly empty fields, but this was more intelligently designed, so that was nice.
-Thus ends Act I - the Deliverance has retaken the castle, but Desaix is holed up in his own fort, and Rigel's forces are still south of the border. Credit where credit is due, in comparison to the insanity of the Deliverance's actions in the last few maps, this is actually handled well as the characters discuss their options - hole up and fortify Zofia Castle, or push on to oust Rigel? The latter is chosen, but unlike the prior march on the castle, it's a decision that feels justified.
Act II
-Act II has you controlling Celica instead of Alm. From the outset, from a character standpoint, Act II is better than Act I, in the sense that it has a better cast of characters. Celica's fine as a protagonist. Mae and Boey are the "bickering couple who never seem to get on, but are clearly close all the same," only this time the trope's actually done well (less well done is that Mae is far better from a gameplay standpoint, but meh). Sabre is the "mercenary who's just in it for the money, but maybe not really, because he keeps going above the call of duty when asked" character that again, for whatever reason, works as a trope. To be clear, none of these are deep character traits, but overall, the cast is much more likable. Compare that to Alm's route, where you have characters that are outright boring (e.g. Lukas), or characters that I despise (e.g. Faye), with a few exceptions.
-In contrast, Valdar, Leon, and Hasumi...yeah, I've got nothing. You save them, they agree to tag along out of a sense of obligation...sort of...maybe...yeah, given how the game is designed, some characters get more screentime than others, since any character can end up dead.
-While Act II is better from a character standpoint, it's lacking from a gameplay standpoint. Act I's maps were often open fields, whereas Act II's maps are often ship-based. Now, in previous FE games, ship-based maps are some of my favourites, but this is just one ship map after another in many cases, and boy does it get old. Often, the map itself doesn't vary, it's just "here's the map where everyone is a pirate" or "here's the map where all the enemies are mages" or "here's the map where there's a never-ending stream of undead and you need to kill the summoner to stop the flow"). When you repeat the same map design over and over, it gets old, not to mention that often, there's very little plot connecting them. Just "pirates are sailing these waters, what else is new?" or "evil necromancers are after Celica."
-So, Celica is saved outside Zofia Castle by a red-haired masked knight who I'm absolutely sure isn't her brother. Y'know, the guy who's meant to be dead...in a fire...mask...firemarks...refuses to give his name...checks wiki...yep, he's her brother. Honestly, I can't even say I spoiled myself because it's so freaking obvious the moment the guy turns up (or at least it's obvious if you've been paying attention).
-So, Celica's reunion with Alm is mixed for me. The reunion in of itself is actually well done - as saccharine as you could accuse it of being (and you'd be well within your rights to do so), for me, it works - two people that are close with each other, reunited since being separated from childhood, etc. That's all good, no complaints there. However, the fallout that immediately results is...
Okay, I get what the game was going for. In regards to war with Rigel, Alm's view is (broadly speaking) that the war has to end with a Zofian victory. Rigel's crossed the border, if Zofia sues for peace now, you're effectively rewarding annexation - sometimes, you have to keep fighting. Celica's view (again, broadly speaking) is that peace in of itself is the higher virtue, that it's better to save as many lives as possible, period, hence why it's better to end the war now rather than prolonging it. Again, I get what the game is going for, but in terms of execution, it just doesn't work, because in the span of two cutscenes, we have characters go from happy reunion to "I never want to talk to you again!" Also, there's the fact that Celica is the last surviving member of the Zofian royal familiy, but to everyone's knowledge bar her entourage, the family is wiped out. Celica accuses Alm of wanting the throne, insists that the princess is dead, yet refuses to come forth as the heir. Now, I get why Celica wants anonymity, but it really doesn't reflect well on her. On one hand, she wants the war to end now, on the other, she refuses to actually do something that would end said war. She wants her preferred outcome without any of the responsibility for it. Except I'm not sure if the game actually wants me to think that.
And the thing is, I actually like Celica as a character. At least, I like her more compared to Alm (though in terms of gameplay, Alm's clearly superior). So it's frustrating for me to have a character flaw be present and not actually regarded as a flaw. Because character flaws are great, a character without flaws is rarely an interesting one, but I can't honestly say that this is what the game intended.
-On a side note, I've been listening to the seaport music from the game's OST on YouTube, so, um, yay?
Act III
So I started Act III. At this point, you're able to control both parties along different routes. Alm has to lead his army (and by army, I mean the playable characters) to deal with Rigelian forces and Desaix's loyalists, If I had to guess, Alm's route will be mostly human foes, Celica's will be mostly undead foes. Some of you might be saying "wait, you mean like FE8 when Eirika and Ephrahim split up?" And to that I say "yes, exactly like FE8." Yep, there's a lot of inspiration taken from FE2 to 8 as far as I can see, and the remake has followed suit, only FE8 is, well, better. Or at least, better in all the ways that count.
- Apr 1, 2009
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Beat episode 2 of Supplice. Really good, but not as hard as the first one. Certainly doesn't have the slaughter map amount of enemies with some encounters that the first episode had. But really well designed stages, interesting story and great music, as I said before. Well worth it and more and more will be coming.
Decided to give Hogwarts Legacy a try after the recent sale.
The novelty of playing a game based on the Wizarding World is amazing; The spells/charms are recognizable, the Hogwarts castle locations are familiar from the movies, and the little details and decorations are nice.
BBBUUUTTTT It's also one of the most generic open-world games I've ever played. Like, it's so....okay. There are no new things the game offers. You have your typical challenges, puzzles, dungeons, and collectible design. They are all great but nothing new. And while I appreciate the intricate and detailed indoor design of the castle, I feel like it has been padded to waste my time. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore, and the way to get to the next objective feels annoying to go through. I'm glad they had the courtesy to include fast travel points, but I don't think I should have to rely on them to explore.
Facial animations are sometimes cringy af, and does not seem to match the emtion that they are expressing. During combat, I don't think there's an animation cancellation, meaning I take hits when I instantly press the dodge or block button in vain. Also, there are times when NPCs just waltz past a group of enemies, and the enemies also don't do shit. The world doesn't seem to be alive.
If this wasn't in the WW universe, I don't think I would've ever picked it up.
Still, the environmental designs are nice, it's cool to actually attend the classes, and spell effects are cool to see
The novelty of playing a game based on the Wizarding World is amazing; The spells/charms are recognizable, the Hogwarts castle locations are familiar from the movies, and the little details and decorations are nice.
BBBUUUTTTT It's also one of the most generic open-world games I've ever played. Like, it's so....okay. There are no new things the game offers. You have your typical challenges, puzzles, dungeons, and collectible design. They are all great but nothing new. And while I appreciate the intricate and detailed indoor design of the castle, I feel like it has been padded to waste my time. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore, and the way to get to the next objective feels annoying to go through. I'm glad they had the courtesy to include fast travel points, but I don't think I should have to rely on them to explore.
Facial animations are sometimes cringy af, and does not seem to match the emtion that they are expressing. During combat, I don't think there's an animation cancellation, meaning I take hits when I instantly press the dodge or block button in vain. Also, there are times when NPCs just waltz past a group of enemies, and the enemies also don't do shit. The world doesn't seem to be alive.
If this wasn't in the WW universe, I don't think I would've ever picked it up.
Still, the environmental designs are nice, it's cool to actually attend the classes, and spell effects are cool to see
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Trek to Yomi
This is the kind of game I want from PS+. It's interesting enough I wanna play it (and will probably enjoy it), but I wouldn't pay more than the monthly cost of PS+ for the opportunity.
It's also short enough that it won't clutter my backlog.
So this is an artsy 2.5D go-right indie without the usual platforming and puzzle solving. You go right and fight a few dudes in between checkpoints. Occasionally there's a branching, semi-hidden path to a collectible and that's about it.
I'm only a couple of chapters in and while there's an in-depth skill tree.and different combos and all that, the game never really asks more of you than to spam light attacks on most enemies. Light, light, heavy for the occasional armored dude. The game could use more enemy variety to make the most of such a robust fighting system.
Best thing about the game is the presentation. It's affecting the vintage, monochrome look of samurai movies from the 50s. It pulls off the aesthetic rather well, and the fixed camera angles make sure every frame looks like a movie still.
It would probably make my bottom Top 10 Devolver Digital titles.
1. Hotline Miami
2. The Messenger
3. The Talos Principle
4. Minit
5. My Friend Pedro
6. Carrion
7. Olija
8. Trek to Yomi
9. Mother Russia Bleeds
10. Fall Guys
This is the kind of game I want from PS+. It's interesting enough I wanna play it (and will probably enjoy it), but I wouldn't pay more than the monthly cost of PS+ for the opportunity.
It's also short enough that it won't clutter my backlog.
So this is an artsy 2.5D go-right indie without the usual platforming and puzzle solving. You go right and fight a few dudes in between checkpoints. Occasionally there's a branching, semi-hidden path to a collectible and that's about it.
I'm only a couple of chapters in and while there's an in-depth skill tree.and different combos and all that, the game never really asks more of you than to spam light attacks on most enemies. Light, light, heavy for the occasional armored dude. The game could use more enemy variety to make the most of such a robust fighting system.
Best thing about the game is the presentation. It's affecting the vintage, monochrome look of samurai movies from the 50s. It pulls off the aesthetic rather well, and the fixed camera angles make sure every frame looks like a movie still.
It would probably make my bottom Top 10 Devolver Digital titles.
1. Hotline Miami
2. The Messenger
3. The Talos Principle
4. Minit
5. My Friend Pedro
6. Carrion
7. Olija
8. Trek to Yomi
9. Mother Russia Bleeds
10. Fall Guys
Finished my replay of Crysis 2 Remastered. Alan Wake II is next.
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