Hey guys,
Lacking a PS4 and the ability to play MGS5/Mad Max/etc., I've been going on kind of a retro kick. I've gone back and forth between the real oldies and the PS360Wii era, and I've found a lot of great games that kind of snuck under the radar that really deserve attention.
Asura's Wrath - So it's heavy on the QTEs, but this is the closest we are so far to being able to play an anime with the intensity of 5 Dragonball Zs. The level of extreme reached in the fighting goes far beyond expectations, and I love it. It's a real shame that important story is yanked out for DLC though. It has a demo for PS360 if you want to try it out.
Nier - A game that didn't get either the budget or time it deserved, I can't tell which. Either way, it's an action RPG with a fantastic story that ties into Drakengard without the need for Drakengard knowledge. It's an RPG, a brawler, a shmup, an adventure, and even a text adventure all in one. It's wacky and its fantastic.
Shadows of the Damned - It's a game that doesn't match the expectations set by its parents: Suda51 of No More Heroes fame, Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil 4 fame, and Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill Fame. It plays like RE4 but nowhere near as tightly, the story isn't really as "wacky" as we expect from Suda51, and Yamaoka-san's music is great but doesn't really fit the setting and gameplay. It's still worth playing if you like 3rd person shooters and games that don't take themselves seriously.
Vanquish - Japanese Gears of War with rocket boots and an arcade feel, also by Shinji Mikami. If you have any interest in 3rd person shooters, the "old days" of scoring and bullet-dodging, and like the idea of sliding on rocket powered boots from one end of the map to the other while shooting giant robots in slow motion, you need this game in your life.
*Entry that does not fit the criteria* - My wife asked that I include this one, even though it's from the PS2 and not the last generation - Everywhere Road Trip. Also known as Road Trip Adventure in Europe. The boxart makes it look like some crazy American car carnage racing game, and that's absolutely not what this is. It's a CaRpg- where you drive around an open world and talk to other sentient driver-less cars by driving into them. It is a racing game, but it's equally a collect-a-thon, minigame collection, and open world RPG adventure. It's definitely interesting if nothing else.
Lacking a PS4 and the ability to play MGS5/Mad Max/etc., I've been going on kind of a retro kick. I've gone back and forth between the real oldies and the PS360Wii era, and I've found a lot of great games that kind of snuck under the radar that really deserve attention.
Asura's Wrath - So it's heavy on the QTEs, but this is the closest we are so far to being able to play an anime with the intensity of 5 Dragonball Zs. The level of extreme reached in the fighting goes far beyond expectations, and I love it. It's a real shame that important story is yanked out for DLC though. It has a demo for PS360 if you want to try it out.
Nier - A game that didn't get either the budget or time it deserved, I can't tell which. Either way, it's an action RPG with a fantastic story that ties into Drakengard without the need for Drakengard knowledge. It's an RPG, a brawler, a shmup, an adventure, and even a text adventure all in one. It's wacky and its fantastic.
Shadows of the Damned - It's a game that doesn't match the expectations set by its parents: Suda51 of No More Heroes fame, Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil 4 fame, and Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill Fame. It plays like RE4 but nowhere near as tightly, the story isn't really as "wacky" as we expect from Suda51, and Yamaoka-san's music is great but doesn't really fit the setting and gameplay. It's still worth playing if you like 3rd person shooters and games that don't take themselves seriously.
Vanquish - Japanese Gears of War with rocket boots and an arcade feel, also by Shinji Mikami. If you have any interest in 3rd person shooters, the "old days" of scoring and bullet-dodging, and like the idea of sliding on rocket powered boots from one end of the map to the other while shooting giant robots in slow motion, you need this game in your life.
*Entry that does not fit the criteria* - My wife asked that I include this one, even though it's from the PS2 and not the last generation - Everywhere Road Trip. Also known as Road Trip Adventure in Europe. The boxart makes it look like some crazy American car carnage racing game, and that's absolutely not what this is. It's a CaRpg- where you drive around an open world and talk to other sentient driver-less cars by driving into them. It is a racing game, but it's equally a collect-a-thon, minigame collection, and open world RPG adventure. It's definitely interesting if nothing else.
