- Apr 1, 2009
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I never got around to getting an S rank, but I also didn't replay the prolog. When I do a hard run I might give it a shot.
What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter Nick Calandra
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I think I'm about half-way into Pirate Creed: Rejiggered (just had the Big Famous Character Death Scene). I have the map open, all the forts conquered except one and the diving bell, and the ship upgraded as much as possible but not yet included all the most highest level upgraded that require special items to make. That is to say, I'm well in it.
I'm pleased to say that I'm enjoying the new content, the new missions. I didn't expect to because it got universally savaged in even the positive reviews. The only criticism I agree with is that Kenway strikes the same goofy pose the characters in Odyssey/Valhalla do when talking to the new characters. But that is obviously a minor nitpick. The actual missions and stories are fun!
The game adds these ship officers as new NPCs. You find them, talk to them, do a couple missions and they are on your ship. They offer a couple of perks- the most meaningful of which is the ram charge move that, in the original, you get after defeating the legendary ships (by which point you don't need it because you're already defeated the hardest parts of the game!).
The game also adds a few little cut scenes and bits of dialogue here and there. They are good- they fill in some of the story gaps that help connect things where in the original were ill served by the story jumping across years of time. And they put Ann Bonney in more scenes because in the original she's in like two scenes then at the end becomes your second in command all of a sudden, so now they're trying to make it a bit more organic.
In an extremely silly thing with her character- I saw the internet misogyny bitchers bitching about how she doesn't have cleavage in the new version (yes, folks, it's that nonsense). Well- she has plenty of cleavage. Just a reminder that not only are idiots complaining about stupid things, but they're also making up stupid things to complain about. Thank you for your attention on this matter!
I'm pleased to say that I'm enjoying the new content, the new missions. I didn't expect to because it got universally savaged in even the positive reviews. The only criticism I agree with is that Kenway strikes the same goofy pose the characters in Odyssey/Valhalla do when talking to the new characters. But that is obviously a minor nitpick. The actual missions and stories are fun!
The game adds these ship officers as new NPCs. You find them, talk to them, do a couple missions and they are on your ship. They offer a couple of perks- the most meaningful of which is the ram charge move that, in the original, you get after defeating the legendary ships (by which point you don't need it because you're already defeated the hardest parts of the game!).
The game also adds a few little cut scenes and bits of dialogue here and there. They are good- they fill in some of the story gaps that help connect things where in the original were ill served by the story jumping across years of time. And they put Ann Bonney in more scenes because in the original she's in like two scenes then at the end becomes your second in command all of a sudden, so now they're trying to make it a bit more organic.
In an extremely silly thing with her character- I saw the internet misogyny bitchers bitching about how she doesn't have cleavage in the new version (yes, folks, it's that nonsense). Well- she has plenty of cleavage. Just a reminder that not only are idiots complaining about stupid things, but they're also making up stupid things to complain about. Thank you for your attention on this matter!
I am furious that the random unnamed prostitute who was barefoot in a cutscene from the original was covered up with nasty leather boots in the remaster. Unforgivable!
This might be the defining quote for my experience with GoW Ragnarok. I didn't love the boat stuff in the first game, but I tolerated it. But now every goddamn realm has a boat equivalent and I'm just tired of it. It is undeniably beautiful, but when you backtrack for the nth time because apparently you missed The Codpiece of Everlasting Spurt, you don't really care how it looks.
Also, I have never played Dark Souls, but I feel like I am playing it. There are mini-bosses that take me close to an hour to finish, because they can genuinely two or three shot you. Am I not the God of War? Why can I go toe-to-toe with Thor and still get my axe shoved up my asshole by random viking zombie #4? The game gives you so many combat abilities, but just like Spider-man 2, ultimately it's only about waiting around, parrying, dodging the unblockables, then dumping your super moves.
The answer to many boss fights just seems to be getting better gear, and I find that so, so boring.
The difference with Souls games being you’re just a lowly grunt, so it’s very understandable you’d die easily and are much less powerful.
Finished and got Platinum for Dave the Diver. It's a fun game in short intervals, there's always a sidequest or project to distract yourself with and regardless of how you spend your time by the end of the day you get a nice sense of payoff with the restaurant minigame. I did eventually grow tired of the routine though, especially after money turned useless and diving/fishing became more of a hobby than a necessity. So today I decided I was bored of the game and fast tracked the last couple of chapters to no real consequence. It ends on a nice note and tempts you into playing endless mode, but the game itself already felt like endless mode (there're no deadlines or incentives to run your business in any particular way) so I'm good forever on Dave the Diver.
I planted the bug on the boat and swam to the opposite shore, since there were no guard boats on the other side of the ship. But as I approached land, I saw that for no reason at all I was supposed to return to the docks. I could not even take a car back because the mission deactivated traffic. Stick to the script!
I'm told GTA III is less restrictive than Vice City and everything that came after, so out of curiosity I added that to my playthrough of Code Veronica and replay of San Andreas. Only had time for the introduction today.
I'm told GTA III is less restrictive than Vice City and everything that came after, so out of curiosity I added that to my playthrough of Code Veronica and replay of San Andreas. Only had time for the introduction today.
- Apr 1, 2009
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- 5,185
- 118
- Gender
- Whatever, just wash your hands.
Still playing Tevi, still having a blast, I forgot how much game there is here. Most metroidvanias aren't that long, even the long ones max out at like 16 hours so far its not as long as Silksong (although I did do a lot of fucking around in that) but its a good length. I'm at 36 hours so far and I haven't gotten to the dlc yet, although I could start it now if I wanted. Elther way, still fantastic and criminally under looked.
Denshattack - I decided to change the controls slightly and make the jump button the [(X)] on my PS5 controller. R2 is way too awkward and I made it more like the standards controls for racing game. All of sudden, I am getting a much better hang of the controls. Thank God for customized controls.
@Worgen, I am playing Ninja Gaiden III: Ancient Ship of Doom (NES). I am playing the mod where it's more like easier, but still challenging Japanese original. And the mod gets rid of the stupid knock back when you take damage. The game is hard, but much more manageable than the US/World version.
@Worgen, I am playing Ninja Gaiden III: Ancient Ship of Doom (NES). I am playing the mod where it's more like easier, but still challenging Japanese original. And the mod gets rid of the stupid knock back when you take damage. The game is hard, but much more manageable than the US/World version.
I think I’m nearing the end of RE: Requiem. Leon climbed out of the Ark dumping grounds. Really liked the fight with Tyrant! Also earlier the bike chase with the huge building jump was very well done. Overall it’s been a fun game, and I’m torn because I want to play through it again but also haven’t even played RE8 yet. Might go back and forth between the two.
Played a bit of Elite Beat Agents. I was going to replay all the levels and then do the final level, which I have never beat before but, there's kind of a major flaw with the game. The game has all these fun animations on the top screen that play as you are doing the songs, but you can't look at them because you need to focus your attention on the bottom screen to keep up with the timing! So I think I'm just going to watch a playthrough on Youtube and enjoy the art.
I did finish the final level, though, and my god, was that enough of the game. It was absolutely brutal. You can play perfect for 80% of the song and then come to a section you've never seen before and lose in about 2 seconds before you even realize what you've done wrong. The level is split into two parts and it probably took me at least 2 hours to finish each section. If I could have just practiced the entire song a couple times it probably would have taken 15 minutes, but no it's instant failure and incremental progress each time. This was on normal difficulty, I shudder to think what the game is like on hard.
I did finish the final level, though, and my god, was that enough of the game. It was absolutely brutal. You can play perfect for 80% of the song and then come to a section you've never seen before and lose in about 2 seconds before you even realize what you've done wrong. The level is split into two parts and it probably took me at least 2 hours to finish each section. If I could have just practiced the entire song a couple times it probably would have taken 15 minutes, but no it's instant failure and incremental progress each time. This was on normal difficulty, I shudder to think what the game is like on hard.
Finished playing through Crime o'Clock. It committed a major crime by showcasing the good version of itself after you had finished the story, which made me go "Okay, why wasn't the game like this from start to finish?"
The game consists of looking at Where's Waldo style images to find a character as they are the perpetrator or victim of a crime. These images depict the same panorama over ten different ticks, so there is a storyline forming across the images that the player is tasked with figuring out. It works by the game loading a tick, providing some narration, and then declaring "find [the relevant thing]". Intercut with this there are minigames that are simple enough that my conclusion is that they are there not to challenge the player but to immersive them in the role of a detective. This is the major of the game, and the long winded narration and the insipid mingames lead to me concluding that it was "tolerable-to-good".
In the end game, the control of what tick to look at is given to me, the player. And instead of having one story to uncover, there is a listing of 8 characters to find throughout the 10 ticks. And when you find a character at a tick you get only a part of a sentence describing the character. And this mode is what the game should've been. One downside with the game deciding what tick you get to watch was that it was impossible to find any stories in the image other than the one the game was letting you focus on. This mode however was all about looking at the nice pictures and finding the stories yourself; I even found some stories that were not connected to the 8 characters I was supposed to look for. Since I was simultaneously tasked with finding multiple characters I never ended up in a position where I felt like I got nowhere; just looking across the image was enough to reveal some of the eight characters, so progress were always present.
The game consists of looking at Where's Waldo style images to find a character as they are the perpetrator or victim of a crime. These images depict the same panorama over ten different ticks, so there is a storyline forming across the images that the player is tasked with figuring out. It works by the game loading a tick, providing some narration, and then declaring "find [the relevant thing]". Intercut with this there are minigames that are simple enough that my conclusion is that they are there not to challenge the player but to immersive them in the role of a detective. This is the major of the game, and the long winded narration and the insipid mingames lead to me concluding that it was "tolerable-to-good".
In the end game, the control of what tick to look at is given to me, the player. And instead of having one story to uncover, there is a listing of 8 characters to find throughout the 10 ticks. And when you find a character at a tick you get only a part of a sentence describing the character. And this mode is what the game should've been. One downside with the game deciding what tick you get to watch was that it was impossible to find any stories in the image other than the one the game was letting you focus on. This mode however was all about looking at the nice pictures and finding the stories yourself; I even found some stories that were not connected to the 8 characters I was supposed to look for. Since I was simultaneously tasked with finding multiple characters I never ended up in a position where I felt like I got nowhere; just looking across the image was enough to reveal some of the eight characters, so progress were always present.
Ah, one of my all time faves. For a couple months in the late 00s I was obsessed with it. Had to get those S ranks on every level on every difficulty. And I did ... except that final level. Never managed better than a B. Nor will I ever, probably, my dexterity is not what it used to be. Kept me busy on my daily commute back when tho.
One of my three day-one purchases with my Nintendo DS (bought from money from summer work).
I never finished the last level on divas difficulty, but I managed on Hard difficulty.
Back to backlogging, started Apotheon. It's a Metroidvania (ish) set in mythological Greece and toting an aesthetic that makes it look like you're playing across the surface of a massive black and orange Greek vase. That's pretty much all it's got going for it. It's as boilerplate a representation as Greek mythology gets. Movement is floaty and puppety, and the physics based combat is pure jank. The UI itself is ugly and kinda hard to read. Areas are way too big and annoying to navigate, including the central hub that connects everything. I guess I like the bits in the central hub where you have to find ways to bypass a guard or locked door, feels a bit like playing an adventure game.
Code Veronica was very dumb. I'm glad I finished it.
Now I can judge the remake as an insider, instead of discovering the original years later like with RE2 and (though I did not finish it) 3.
I'm disappointed that I did not blow up the detonator with a heat source. I forgot Claire had the lighter.
Now I can judge the remake as an insider, instead of discovering the original years later like with RE2 and (though I did not finish it) 3.
I'm disappointed that I did not blow up the detonator with a heat source. I forgot Claire had the lighter.
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I was so looking forward to getting a platinum tophy on AssCreed Black Flag Rejiggered (I couldn't plat the original because of the multiplayer), but the mixed-bag new mechanics, odd difficulty tuning on the hardest enemies, and odious requirements for some trophies have made me give that up.
The last straw was a trophy called Overdesigned IV. The overdesign trophies in these games have you killing an enemy with simultaneous status effects, and I've never had a problem with them before. This one has you kicking an enemy off a ship after you hit him with a berserk dart and drop a smoke bomb. And I just cannot get it to pop. Tried following youtube guides and I press the buttons they press, the enemies don't react that way. And when I actually do kill an enemy that way- or at least it looks that way- I don't get the trophy. So annoying.
I know, I know, completionism is stupid, but it's part of the fun for me with these games because they're otherwise so easy.
Honestly the most I've played this game the more frustrated i've gotten with the mechanics. As with Unity and Mirage, the idea of some of the mechanics are good but the execution is kinda shit.
The other struggle was the legendary ship battles. Yes they are intended to be the hardest thing in the game and that's fine- I beat them all multiple times in the original. But here, even dropping the difficulty, I just can't deal with the constant barrages of attack, having to time a block (essentially a ship parry!, a new mechanic in the game), and just the health sponge grueling time sink on each attempt.
F*** that, I'm done.
The last straw was a trophy called Overdesigned IV. The overdesign trophies in these games have you killing an enemy with simultaneous status effects, and I've never had a problem with them before. This one has you kicking an enemy off a ship after you hit him with a berserk dart and drop a smoke bomb. And I just cannot get it to pop. Tried following youtube guides and I press the buttons they press, the enemies don't react that way. And when I actually do kill an enemy that way- or at least it looks that way- I don't get the trophy. So annoying.
I know, I know, completionism is stupid, but it's part of the fun for me with these games because they're otherwise so easy.
Honestly the most I've played this game the more frustrated i've gotten with the mechanics. As with Unity and Mirage, the idea of some of the mechanics are good but the execution is kinda shit.
The other struggle was the legendary ship battles. Yes they are intended to be the hardest thing in the game and that's fine- I beat them all multiple times in the original. But here, even dropping the difficulty, I just can't deal with the constant barrages of attack, having to time a block (essentially a ship parry!, a new mechanic in the game), and just the health sponge grueling time sink on each attempt.
F*** that, I'm done.
I've been playing roboquest with a friend. Its rogue like borderland. Thats a good thing. I don't have a ton to say because it pretty much does what it says on the box, but it does earn that overwhelmingly positive, its just really good at what it does.
I've just finished Halo Campaign Evolved, because I love Halo, and I am a proper slut for a good remake/remaster, so I was the definitely the target audience of this.
And having rolled credits on it, I feel the same way about this, as I did about the Dead Space and The Last of Us remakes: completely unnecessary, but i'm glad it exists.
It is in my book now the definitive way to play and replay Halo CE, but it just goes to show how well Halo CE holds up even today, that it didn't really need a remake, and frankly I don't think that this remake does enough to really justify its existence.
Still though, if they decide to do 2 and 3, I'm definitely in line.
And having rolled credits on it, I feel the same way about this, as I did about the Dead Space and The Last of Us remakes: completely unnecessary, but i'm glad it exists.
It is in my book now the definitive way to play and replay Halo CE, but it just goes to show how well Halo CE holds up even today, that it didn't really need a remake, and frankly I don't think that this remake does enough to really justify its existence.
Still though, if they decide to do 2 and 3, I'm definitely in line.
I replayed all of the Ninja Gaiden NES Trilogy. NG I & III with mods that get rid of that stupid hit knock back on Ryu. The games are still challenging, but much more manageable now. Especially NG III and the mod that has it be more like the Japanese version.