What are you currently playing?

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah, that hole sucks to get down without dying. There is a way to get down to the first tiny platform easily but from there its "drop and hope you don't miss". And of course, DS2 doesn't really have the controls for platforming.

I actually thought finding the abandoned hunter’s dream in Bloodborne was trickier. The easy answer to the Majula pit is a mainstay for this kind of problem in the series and is sitting pretty close by, but it also doesn’t hurt to have close to full health even if by some *binding* measure.

 

[Dalisclock]

I actually thought finding the abandoned hunter’s dream in Bloodborne was trickier. The easy answer to the Majula pit is a mainstay for this kind of problem in the series and is sitting pretty close by, but it also doesn’t hurt to have close to full health even if by some *binding* measure.

Shit, I forgot about that(and it's worse). I mean, it's also optional but still really obnoxious to get down there without getting dead in the meantime.

 

[Chimpzy]

A day later than expected, but my copy of Catherine: Full Body arrived in the mail today, so I'll be giving that a whirl tonight. Shop also gave me a €10 coupon as compensation for the delay, which I don't think was really necessary since it was just one day, but sure, I'll take it.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I've just started Devil May Cry for the PS2, holy cow is it hard! I'm on, like, mission 4 and have hit a bit of a wall against the flaming scorpion guy. I just feel like I have barely any openings to attack amongst his barrage of varied moves and my bullets do almost no damage so I need to get up close and melee. I'm scared of how difficult the later bosses will be.

 

[BrawlMan]

I've just started Devil May Cry for the PS2, holy cow is it hard! I'm on, like, mission 4 and have hit a bit of a wall against the flaming scorpion guy. I just feel like I have barely any openings to attack amongst his barrage of varied moves. I'm scared of how difficult the later bosses will be.

There is an option to not fight him. Go to the door on Dante's right when in the hallway. After that, put that lion stone tablet thing right bot the statue with the glowing eyes, and you will fight a mini boss named Shadow. After him, you will get to the end and fight Nelo Angelo. I reccomend the the HD Collection (don't get the PS3 version) as you won't have to worry about the infamous Triangle jump.

 

[Drathnoxis]

There is an option to not fight him. Go to the door on Dante's right when in the hallway. After that, put that lion stone tablet thing right bot the statue with the glowing eyes, and you will fight a mini boss named Shadow. After him, you will get to the end and fight Nelo Angelo. I reccomend the the HD Collection (don't get the PS3 version) as you won't have to worry about the infamous Triangle jump.

I beat him already, and then again in the hallway, but after I had to retry the mission a billion times fighting the wolf and the knight I just let him live. I hate the lives system. They cost xp so I'm not going to buy them and they get used automatically so if I die early in a level and would rather retry I'd have to manually load the game. Loading sucks too. Far too many clicks to get back into the mission. And why the heck are there missions anyway? I always accidentally end them by walking through random doors when I want to keep exploring the castle, and saving is useless because you still need to do the whole mission again if you lose all your lives. It's a big elaborate interconnected castle, just let me explore the whole thing!

I'm not going to buy another copy of the game, I already have the PS2 version so I'm going to play that.

 

[BrawlMan]

I always accidentally end them by walking through random doors when I want to keep exploring the castle, and saving is useless because you still need to do the whole mission again if you lose all your lives. It's a big elaborate interconnected castle, just let me explore the whole thing!

This was originally going to be Resident Evil 4 and it shows. The castle, unlocking doors, simple puzzles, and exploration. DMC1 doubles as a metroidvania game too. Once you memorize where the "exits" are or check a (video) guide, the game becomes easy to navigate through. Once you get to mission 7, you will be leaving the castle and won't come back to it until the last 1/4 of the game. I highly reccomend you look at guides for secret missions, so you can get more blue orb fragments. How to find a lot of them are obtuse and you would not know on your first playthrough or if you have not played in a long time.

 

[Dalisclock]

Still working on Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and even though at times it pisses me off, I still spent a fair amount of time this weekend working through it. Getting close to the end and I do appreciate how the game keeps finding new ways to mix up the challenge while using the same 3 enemy types for the entire game, including the obligatory You got captured, put in jail and all your stuff was taken away. Escape and retrieve your gear mission. The fact your gear is scattered all over the level and not just sitting near the start point makes the opening rather tense.

I'm still gonna call bullshit how sometimes the level design feels designed to funnel you in the most arbitrary way possible. Notably in the Bathhouse mission, where I spend a good 30 minutes trying to get Hayato over the rooftops near the river but since he can't climb up a roof section that's 3 feet high(at most), going over the roof is a no go, I had to find a way to get him past two straw hats guarding the exit to reach the meeting spot. Jumping in the canal nearby to swim past doesn't work either, because even though you get the "Jump in the water" icon. Hayato will insist on trying to run all the way around to do it, right through a ton of enemies. It feels kinda cheap, really. I can't imagine trying to do a ghost or pacifist run, if it's even possible. At least the game doesn't punish you for killing for Narcing civilians.

I watched speedruns of people doing two of the missions I've already beaten, on hardcore with no saves either. Yeah, I didn't even think of half the things these guys did, or at least not to the same degree. Granted, to speedrun I imagine they ended up playing the missions over and over again to pull that off.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Defeated The Duke's Dear Freja, and now I only have one Great Soul left before it's time for the second 'half' of Dark Souls 2. Meanwhile, I'm nearing where I think the end of the first arc of Sekiro is, now that I've taken down Jinsuke Saze and only have at most one more miniboss between me and Genichiro IIRC.

I'm not sure whether Freja is easier to do with or without the torch. Having it seriously limits your options in combat, but it also means you aren't getting mobbed by the smaller spiders and only have to focus on the boss, who only has a few fairly predictable attacks. Well, I beat it without dying, so it's probably not worth worrying about.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Very quick update: Rotten defeated, Drangleic Castle reached. King is missing, because of course it's not that easy, so I'll have to search the castle for him and any other treasure I can potentially loot. And my God, the view of the castle from the approach is gorgeous. Pretty much all of the Dark Souls games are gorgeous, but I think I like DS2's art design the best out of them, at least for the environments. I don't know exactly what it is, but it just works for me in a way that the first game, while very good-looking, doesn't quite live up to.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Very quick update: Rotten defeated, Drangleic Castle reached. King is missing, because of course it's not that easy, so I'll have to search the castle for him and any other treasure I can potentially loot. And my God, the view of the castle from the approach is gorgeous. Pretty much all of the Dark Souls games are gorgeous, but I think I like DS2's art design the best out of them, at least for the environments. I don't know exactly what it is, but it just works for me in a way that the first game, while very good-looking, doesn't quite live up to.

I personally think Forest of Fallen Giants and Shaded Woods are wonderful areas and some of my favorite in the series. There’s a lot of intrigue and atmosphere there respectively.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Ugh, I think I'm about done with Devil May Cry. Mission 6 and the game is just a massive slog. The combat just feels slow and clunky, dodge roll is horrible to use, and the lives system. Oh god do I hate the lives system. I used all the free yellow orbs on the second or third mission so I have to do the entire mission over again every time I die. Which is all the time! I tried buying more, but they get more expensive every time you buy them and I can't afford them. I'm just so sick of redoing the level a bunch of times every time I hit a new boss and am trying to learn the attack patterns.

I could probably just restart the game on easy automatic mode and breeze through it but what's the point? The story is completely uninteresting. I don't even remember what I'm doing in the castle to begin with.

 

[BrawlMan]

Ugh, I think I'm about done with Devil May Cry. Mission 6 and the game is just a massive slog. The combat just feels slow and clunky, dodge roll is horrible to use, and the lives system. Oh god do I hate the lives system. I used all the free yellow orbs on the second or third mission so I have to do the entire mission over again every time I die. Which is all the time! I tried buying more, but they get more expensive every time you buy them and I can't afford them. I'm just so sick of redoing the level a bunch of times every time I hit a new boss and am trying to learn the attack patterns.

That is how we did in the old school; especially when it came to the PS2 era. I recommend you start with DMC3 Special Edition, since it is more player friendly. If you got a Switch, get that version as it has the free style mode, and allows you to change styles and weapons on the fly.

I could probably just restart the game on easy automatic mode and breeze through it but what's the point?

I don't recommend that, as you don't even fight certain enemies on that mode, and you can't do new game+ on harder difficulties. Take your time, get better, and have patience. Here's a guide for you on mission 6.

The story is completely uninteresting. I don't even remember what I'm doing in the castle to begin with.

You're stopping Mundus, the Demon King, from taking over the human world. DMC3 & 5 both have the best story, with 3 still slightly on top. The best part about 3 is that it's a prequel.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Still working on Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and even though at times it pisses me off, I still spent a fair amount of time this weekend working through it. Getting close to the end and I do appreciate how the game keeps finding new ways to mix up the challenge while using the same 3 enemy types for the entire game, including the obligatory You got captured, put in jail and all your stuff was taken away. Escape and retrieve your gear mission. The fact your gear is scattered all over the level and not just sitting near the start point makes the opening rather tense.

I'm still gonna call bullshit how sometimes the level design feels designed to funnel you in the most arbitrary way possible. Notably in the Bathhouse mission, where I spend a good 30 minutes trying to get Hayato over the rooftops near the river but since he can't climb up a roof section that's 3 feet high(at most), going over the roof is a no go, I had to find a way to get him past two straw hats guarding the exit to reach the meeting spot. Jumping in the canal nearby to swim past doesn't work either, because even though you get the "Jump in the water" icon. Hayato will insist on trying to run all the way around to do it, right through a ton of enemies. It feels kinda cheap, really. I can't imagine trying to do a ghost or pacifist run, if it's even possible. At least the game doesn't punish you for killing for Narcing civilians.

I watched speedruns of people doing two of the missions I've already beaten, on hardcore with no saves either. Yeah, I didn't even think of half the things these guys did, or at least not to the same degree. Granted, to speedrun I imagine they ended up playing the missions over and over again to pull that off.

The level design in Desperados 3 also has a few times where it funnels you pretty hardcore (though one time did make narrative sense at least). Though I do feel Desperados 3 does something that Shadow Tactics didn't do where you have several levels in Desperados where you have the 1st section, then the 2nd section has an A and B path to get to the 3rd section. I don't recall Shadow Tactics having that kind of design. I definitely wish the devs would make the windows a bit bigger. There's numerous times I know that a certain plan is valid, it's just that the window for executing it is rather small (whether it's the viewcones or the timing of the guards movements or both) and that's what causes a lot of reloads. I also with there was just a bit less of overlapping of the guards and their groups were a bit more isolated as sometimes you just need to kill this guy but you end up having to kill like 5 other guys just to get to that guy. I think that would also incentivize using the Showdown and Shadow(?) modes more vs the more safe "one guard at a time strat".

 

[Drathnoxis]

Snip

Okay, I restarted the game, ground orbs off of the scorpion in the hallway with Air Raid for about an hour while listening to an audio book, bought about 10 extra yellow gems and a bunch of other upgrades and the game is a lot more bearable. If I lose a bunch of yellow gems I just restart the level once I get the hang of it, but up to level 12 I've only done that once. The game is a lot easier with more devil's triggers.

 

[BrawlMan]

Okay, I restarted the game, ground orbs off of the scorpion in the hallway with Air Raid for about an hour while listening to an audio book, bought about 10 extra yellow gems and a bunch of other upgrades and the game is a lot more bearable. If I lose a bunch of yellow gems I just restart the level once I get the hang of it, but up to level 12 I've only done that once. The game is a lot easier with more devil's triggers.

If you can, I do recommend that you get air hike. You'll need it for some of the more frustrating platform sections. After that, buy stinger number 2. Unless you have not bought the first stinger yet

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Got Worms W.M.D. I was an Armageddon regular - only competitive videogame I was ever close to pro level, I think - and I'm happy to be back, kinda. W.M.D throws in a couple of new features - crafting and vehicles - but other than that it's essentially Armageddon, and apparently a return to form for the series after 17 games or so, not that I've played any of them. I simply don't think there's much to tinker with after Armageddon. It's basically a perfect game. The new W.M.D features don't really get in the way but I'm disabling them for now while I refamiliarize myself with the game.

 

[Dalisclock]

The level design in Desperados 3 also has a few times where it funnels you pretty hardcore (though one time did make narrative sense at least). Though I do feel Desperados 3 does something that Shadow Tactics didn't do where you have several levels in Desperados where you have the 1st section, then the 2nd section has an A and B path to get to the 3rd section. I don't recall Shadow Tactics having that kind of design. I definitely wish the devs would make the windows a bit bigger. There's numerous times I know that a certain plan is valid, it's just that the window for executing it is rather small (whether it's the viewcones or the timing of the guards movements or both) and that's what causes a lot of reloads. I also with there was just a bit less of overlapping of the guards and their groups were a bit more isolated as sometimes you just need to kill this guy but you end up having to kill like 5 other guys just to get to that guy. I think that would also incentivize using the Showdown and Shadow(?) modes more vs the more safe "one guard at a time strat".

Shadow Tactics goes back and forth. At times it feels like I'm being presented with a number of options to press forward and those parts I like. Other points I feel like there's a chokepoint or like one specific way to solve a problem and the game just expects to me to fucking deal with it, and those parts annoy the crap out of me.

I do kinda feel bad how many civvies I've shanked to prevent them from calling the guards on me, but the game doesn't penalize me at all for it and it does kinda fit with how you're not really playing the good guys here. While the villains in the story are kinda shitty for self serving reasons, you're essentially the shoguns goon squad who does all his dirty work for him and nobody seems to pretend otherwise. Hell, some of the comments by your character show how comfortable your guys are with the constant murder, particularly Yuki who makes those cute little quips about her trap impaling people. I normally try not to kill non-combatants but since there's little point in trying to do anything non-violently in this game(because they wake up pretty fast) and since they won't stop screaming for the guards at the sight of me....well, you picked the wrong day to be standing there, buddy.

 

[BrawlMan]

Finally finished Streets of Rage 4 on Mania difficulty in story mode. I did have to use assist mode on stages 9 & 12. They go way overboard certain enemies in both stages. Too many fucking Thai fighters in Y Tower, and the Z's on Y Island (Donovans in gold pants with way too much health, can immeadtely wake up/anti-air uppercut you, and catch and throw weapons right back at you). The bosses are plain easy on Mania though, as not has changed other speed increase. I've beaten boss rush mode already several times and been did 100% trophies. The only thing left is Mania Arcade mode, I can save that for later.

 

[Ezekiel]

Playing Evil Within 2 right now. After playing a hundred other games with this mechanic, I can't figure out what is supposed to be fun about using a slow crouch. The old Metal Gear Solid games let you run, which only was audible if you stepped on glass or something. That was the way to do stealth. Crouching doesn't even quiet one's footsteps anyway. It's tedious. It slows everything down so much. Thanks, Splinter Cell.