I don't think you fully understood what I meant by "the world wasn't ready", but never mind. It was basically a joke anyway.
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Rouge and Lola are the exception. We all agreed.
Sonic Adventure 2: Hero Story finished. Holy crap, starting from Death Chamber, the game takes an absolute nosedive. The entire run from there to Shadow mostly just sucks:
-Death Chamber: Tight corridors, blind corners and tiny rooms in an engine that really isn't designed for any of those things, unnecessary precision needed to tunnel through walls into other rooms, several locations that are just flat-out trolling like 'dig not on top of the unique texture, but instead on the normal patch of ground directly in front of it', and more of those ghosts that are worse than the Sandopolis Act 2 ones from Sonic and Knuckles.
-King Boom Boo: Hands-down the worst boss in the game. You have to get behind it, and the only way to do that is to run fast, but it'll turn around as many times as it feels like, and because you're going fast you only have a split-second to turn around before it just smacks you. Also, despite it seeming like you should be able to get multiple hits in every time you make it vulnerable, if that is possible it probably requires frame-perfect or pixel-perfect precision to pull off; you will have to hit that hourglass four times (or more if you mess up), and you will like it. Or, more likely, you will hate it as much as I did. If this boss isn't considered a method of torture under the Geneva Convention, it should be.
-Egg Golem: Annoying, but definitely nowhere near as bad as the last one. Still not that fun to fight, and a lot longer than it needed to be.
-Eternal Engine: Definitely a breather after the previous Knuckles-related atrocities. Still, this level introduces Artificial Chaos enemies, and they are not fun to deal with as Tails and don't get better as Knuckles or Sonic. They can predict where you come at them from to poke you with their arms, shoot lasers everywhere that interrupt your attacks if the arms don't get you, and especially as Tails you have to get close to make them vulnerable, which is right where they want you to be to smack you around some more.
And after this, there's a cutscene with Sonic learning that Amy was kidnapped that chronologically happens after the next level with Knuckles, so it could've just as easily gone there instead without changing anything other than not having a cheap cliffhanger that doesn't even really hang all that much.
-Meteor Herd: Wide-open space that takes way too long to traverse between TV screens and Emerald shard locations, the least helpful TV screen hints in any Knuckles stage, and meteors that fall on you from off-camera while you're in positions with limited mobility to avoid them.
-Rouge: I still don't know how you're actually supposed to hit her; I kinda just mashed B and hoped for the best, and it worked eventually.
-Crazy Gadget: You couldn't pay me enough to replay this level, for two specific reasons: the jump where you have to cross an acid pit upside-down using Light Dash that for some reason requires more precision than any other Light Dash in the game, and the room at the end where you're constantly changing gravity while hoping that an off-screen laser doesn't hit you while you're pulling a gravity lever, because if it does, you'll be sent flying and lose control while gravity is switching, won't land in the spot where you're intended to from the gravity switch, and die and have to start the section over. Or the level, if you used all your lives getting there, which is a possibility.
And speaking of cliffhangers, you get to see Sonic try to use Chaos Control to teleport back onto the ARK (even though I don't think it was teleportation? At least not how Shadow used it the time Sonic saw him use it earlier), and that lasts about five minutes while you fight Eggman. If that, because obviously they're not gonna kill Sonic.
-Eggman 2: The doom laser is unavoidable and takes off 95% of Tails's health, and there are no rings in the arena to recover it. If you get hit by anything else before that attack, or he uses it a second time, you just die. Fun and engaging game design on display, everybody.
-Final Rush: The most actually fun stage in this entire section. Rail grinding makes it easy to find alternative paths, Artificial Chaos aren't spammed everywhere, and the music's a banger. Ultimately, though, the focus on rail grinding feels a bit restrictive to me, and it kinda wears out its welcome a little before you reach the end.
-Shadow 2: Again, how are you actually intended to hit this boss? At first I was able to cheese him out with a Spin Dash from way behind, but then that stopped working, so I basically just had to mash buttons at random until he died or, as happened a couple of times, I fell off because of Homing Attack jank and had to start over. At least this is a good spot to grind for rings if you care about Chao Garden (I don't.)
Well, there's still half the game left to play. Honestly, the base mechanics are mostly pretty fun, other than a few control and camera issues, but the level design just doesn't live up to that promise. Hopefully it gets better from here in Dark Story, though to be honest I can't imagine it getting much worse.
-Death Chamber: Tight corridors, blind corners and tiny rooms in an engine that really isn't designed for any of those things, unnecessary precision needed to tunnel through walls into other rooms, several locations that are just flat-out trolling like 'dig not on top of the unique texture, but instead on the normal patch of ground directly in front of it', and more of those ghosts that are worse than the Sandopolis Act 2 ones from Sonic and Knuckles.
-King Boom Boo: Hands-down the worst boss in the game. You have to get behind it, and the only way to do that is to run fast, but it'll turn around as many times as it feels like, and because you're going fast you only have a split-second to turn around before it just smacks you. Also, despite it seeming like you should be able to get multiple hits in every time you make it vulnerable, if that is possible it probably requires frame-perfect or pixel-perfect precision to pull off; you will have to hit that hourglass four times (or more if you mess up), and you will like it. Or, more likely, you will hate it as much as I did. If this boss isn't considered a method of torture under the Geneva Convention, it should be.
-Egg Golem: Annoying, but definitely nowhere near as bad as the last one. Still not that fun to fight, and a lot longer than it needed to be.
-Eternal Engine: Definitely a breather after the previous Knuckles-related atrocities. Still, this level introduces Artificial Chaos enemies, and they are not fun to deal with as Tails and don't get better as Knuckles or Sonic. They can predict where you come at them from to poke you with their arms, shoot lasers everywhere that interrupt your attacks if the arms don't get you, and especially as Tails you have to get close to make them vulnerable, which is right where they want you to be to smack you around some more.
And after this, there's a cutscene with Sonic learning that Amy was kidnapped that chronologically happens after the next level with Knuckles, so it could've just as easily gone there instead without changing anything other than not having a cheap cliffhanger that doesn't even really hang all that much.
-Meteor Herd: Wide-open space that takes way too long to traverse between TV screens and Emerald shard locations, the least helpful TV screen hints in any Knuckles stage, and meteors that fall on you from off-camera while you're in positions with limited mobility to avoid them.
-Rouge: I still don't know how you're actually supposed to hit her; I kinda just mashed B and hoped for the best, and it worked eventually.
-Crazy Gadget: You couldn't pay me enough to replay this level, for two specific reasons: the jump where you have to cross an acid pit upside-down using Light Dash that for some reason requires more precision than any other Light Dash in the game, and the room at the end where you're constantly changing gravity while hoping that an off-screen laser doesn't hit you while you're pulling a gravity lever, because if it does, you'll be sent flying and lose control while gravity is switching, won't land in the spot where you're intended to from the gravity switch, and die and have to start the section over. Or the level, if you used all your lives getting there, which is a possibility.
And speaking of cliffhangers, you get to see Sonic try to use Chaos Control to teleport back onto the ARK (even though I don't think it was teleportation? At least not how Shadow used it the time Sonic saw him use it earlier), and that lasts about five minutes while you fight Eggman. If that, because obviously they're not gonna kill Sonic.
-Eggman 2: The doom laser is unavoidable and takes off 95% of Tails's health, and there are no rings in the arena to recover it. If you get hit by anything else before that attack, or he uses it a second time, you just die. Fun and engaging game design on display, everybody.
-Final Rush: The most actually fun stage in this entire section. Rail grinding makes it easy to find alternative paths, Artificial Chaos aren't spammed everywhere, and the music's a banger. Ultimately, though, the focus on rail grinding feels a bit restrictive to me, and it kinda wears out its welcome a little before you reach the end.
-Shadow 2: Again, how are you actually intended to hit this boss? At first I was able to cheese him out with a Spin Dash from way behind, but then that stopped working, so I basically just had to mash buttons at random until he died or, as happened a couple of times, I fell off because of Homing Attack jank and had to start over. At least this is a good spot to grind for rings if you care about Chao Garden (I don't.)
Well, there's still half the game left to play. Honestly, the base mechanics are mostly pretty fun, other than a few control and camera issues, but the level design just doesn't live up to that promise. Hopefully it gets better from here in Dark Story, though to be honest I can't imagine it getting much worse.
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I didn't agree to shit. Also, whoever gets horny over whatever character is none of my business. Furry or not.Rouge and Lola are the exception. We all agreed.
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The title update came in for Capcom Fighting Collection #2. So now all four of the Alpha 3 MAX characters are added into the update of A3U. Maki is so much fun!
I only played SA2 when I was a kid. played about 6 missions and got switched to the replay mode, and couldn't figure out how to continue to the next mission. Then I spent all my time with the game in the Chao garden. I even bought the Gameboy Advance Sonic game to transfer my Chao between. I only ever played a couple missions of Sonic Advance.
Finished Jedi Fallen Order, and I wish I liked this one more.
For one, im not a Soulslike guy, and this is a Soulslike, even if it is very simple. Unfortunately, with that simplicity, comes a strong lack of variety. There is no gear, there is no buildcraft, there is no choice - there is just getting stronger. As a result, progression feels very dull, and the game never really feels like you have gotten stronger in any cool or interesting ways. I honestly had a lot more fun when I modded the game to give myself unlimited force powers, because at least then I felt like I could do more than just whack (and I do mean whack) them with my lightsaber basic attack.
Secondly, the plot is very whatever. Obviously 99% of the time, Star Wars can only really be so adventurous with its plots, but I feel like I have seen/heard/read/played this story a dozen times over, and following some old Jedi's recordings to puzzle vaults to find a mcguffin really isn't an engaging way to tell this story either. What is weird though, is I really like this cast of characters - Cal and Merrin in particular. I guess that is a testament to these character's writing and performances, even if the plot they're navigating isn't particularly groundbreaking. One thing I did really enjoy, was the Darth Vader "boss fight" at the end of the game. Vader wasn't someone you fought, but someone you ran away from, and I really enjoyed his display of power, which felt like one of the stronger renditions of the character.
I did really enjoy building my lightsaber though. I know it is a relatively minor thing, but I was always excited to find a new part, and then go back to the bench and put something together, Obviously most details were super minor, and the lightsaber hilt itself is a really small object, but it really taps into the fantasy of being a Jedi, and I appreciated its inclusion.
Maybe I'll move onto Jedi Survivor at some point, but for now Im happy to have finally ticked this one off.
For one, im not a Soulslike guy, and this is a Soulslike, even if it is very simple. Unfortunately, with that simplicity, comes a strong lack of variety. There is no gear, there is no buildcraft, there is no choice - there is just getting stronger. As a result, progression feels very dull, and the game never really feels like you have gotten stronger in any cool or interesting ways. I honestly had a lot more fun when I modded the game to give myself unlimited force powers, because at least then I felt like I could do more than just whack (and I do mean whack) them with my lightsaber basic attack.
Secondly, the plot is very whatever. Obviously 99% of the time, Star Wars can only really be so adventurous with its plots, but I feel like I have seen/heard/read/played this story a dozen times over, and following some old Jedi's recordings to puzzle vaults to find a mcguffin really isn't an engaging way to tell this story either. What is weird though, is I really like this cast of characters - Cal and Merrin in particular. I guess that is a testament to these character's writing and performances, even if the plot they're navigating isn't particularly groundbreaking. One thing I did really enjoy, was the Darth Vader "boss fight" at the end of the game. Vader wasn't someone you fought, but someone you ran away from, and I really enjoyed his display of power, which felt like one of the stronger renditions of the character.
I did really enjoy building my lightsaber though. I know it is a relatively minor thing, but I was always excited to find a new part, and then go back to the bench and put something together, Obviously most details were super minor, and the lightsaber hilt itself is a really small object, but it really taps into the fantasy of being a Jedi, and I appreciated its inclusion.
Maybe I'll move onto Jedi Survivor at some point, but for now Im happy to have finally ticked this one off.
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Started Sekiro it's pretty good so far. The combat system is really fun. I was a little shaky on what I was really supposed to be doing, but after an old woman stabbed me for an hour I eventually came to grips with how it works. The game patronizingly told me that I could always come back to her later, but I thought, screw that! I eventually killed her, and I think it was the right choice.
I'm not in love with losing half your gold every death with no chance of recovery, especially since bosses cut off your escape route. I had 3000 gold prior to the old woman, and now I have almost nothing. I guess it doesn't really matter because even up to the gate battle there hasn't been anything to spend money on. Still, I feel like I'm losing out.
I'm not in love with losing half your gold every death with no chance of recovery, especially since bosses cut off your escape route. I had 3000 gold prior to the old woman, and now I have almost nothing. I guess it doesn't really matter because even up to the gate battle there hasn't been anything to spend money on. Still, I feel like I'm losing out.
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Welp, its Quake con and in Quake con tradition, some old games have gotten awesome remasters or whatever the term is. Last time it was Doom1/2/expansions, now its HERETIC/HEXEN! I love me some Heretic and I quite like some Hexen also, but, this isn't just making it easier to play on modern systems and condensing both games and all expansions into a single launcher, they have made so many changes. In Heretic your crossbow fires 5 bolts instead of 3, the levels are more detailed, enemies are less tanky, I know there is more too, but I'm still on the first episode so I don't even have access to the more powerful weapons. I know that Heretic also added a shield that the cleric can use to reflect things when they have the mace equipped, I imagine the warrior and mage got extra goodies also. On top of all this, there are two new episodes, one for each game. Oh, and a new sound track by Andrew Hulshult.
Check this shit OUT!
Check this shit OUT!
I think if you didn't love this game then the sequel will just feel like more bleh and you'll get burned out. Better to wait a while until you're hankering for it.
Survivor has two improvements:
1- Better map. I really liked Fallen Order very much except trying to understand the map. It's this kind of level design I've come to hate where it's "open world" but not open at all, and then a confusing map to show you that you're close to something but you don't know if that means you can just hop on over have to go around the whole planet again. At least Survivor's map is a little easier to read.
2- Different stances. Regular, dual, Darth Maul style, Kylo Ren style, and with a gun even! Fun stuff, IMO
Ah, Lady Butterfly. That legit might be my favorite boss of all time. It does that thing I love where you're dealing with all these scary monsters and big warriors, ok, and then a granny comes out and oh shit that's when you get really scared! Love it.
I do kinda hate her second round though, with the homing butterflies. Ugh. But the first round of that fight is *chef's kiss.* The "dance" of it, that rhythm, the way that you can shoot her down with a ninja star if you time it right, her move set included her foot stomp at the end of combos. So good.
I bought this month's Humble Choice bundle, and in it was a little game called Warpips.
It is a 1v1 strategy game - though strangely, it is only vs AI as far as I can tell. You and your opponant have bases on either side of the map, and then you spawn units to try to destroy the other base. Simple enough. But there are a couple of twists:
1) once you have spawned in your units, you have zero control over them. You can still interact by calling in artiliery strikes, building emplacements, or buffing your units, but where your units move, what they shoot, etc, is all down to them.
This kind of works, but obviously you're reliant on the unit's AI not to make stupid decisions, or get stuck, but unfortunately this can happen quite often.
2) Before you load into a match, you need to pick what units you're bringing with you. These are limited use, and can either be purchased from the shop, or rewarded from previous matches. You can see what your opponant is bringing before you start the match, so you can try to counter what they have.
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When it works, its a fairly enjoyable time. I completed the conquest mode on normal difficulty, then felt like I'd had my fill. Maybe one to revisit every now and again, probably on my Steam Deck.
The artstyle is really great though.
It is a 1v1 strategy game - though strangely, it is only vs AI as far as I can tell. You and your opponant have bases on either side of the map, and then you spawn units to try to destroy the other base. Simple enough. But there are a couple of twists:
1) once you have spawned in your units, you have zero control over them. You can still interact by calling in artiliery strikes, building emplacements, or buffing your units, but where your units move, what they shoot, etc, is all down to them.
This kind of works, but obviously you're reliant on the unit's AI not to make stupid decisions, or get stuck, but unfortunately this can happen quite often.
2) Before you load into a match, you need to pick what units you're bringing with you. These are limited use, and can either be purchased from the shop, or rewarded from previous matches. You can see what your opponant is bringing before you start the match, so you can try to counter what they have.
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When it works, its a fairly enjoyable time. I completed the conquest mode on normal difficulty, then felt like I'd had my fill. Maybe one to revisit every now and again, probably on my Steam Deck.
The artstyle is really great though.
I didn't explain myself well. My point was that modern games are too cluttered with visual noise (like all the unexplainable debris on the floor) and just placing the objective on the map cheats the player. When I play Zelda, the next puzzle that I'm supposed to interact with in the dungeon or the next chamber is not highlighted on the map. What's even the point of making it so photorealistic, of putting so many insanely detailed objects in the world, if when you look at anything closely it doesn't hold up, like a forklift with useless forks that they bought on the Epic asset store (to keep costs down)?
I know that yellow paint became common because of all the visual noise and death of true environmental traversal. When actions become more scripted, more context-sensitive and stickier, you're not as free to move around and jump from place to place and grab things. Surfaces or platforms are so detailed that it's too complicated to work out the collision and animations. They color-code so that the player doesn't try to interact with all the objects and surfaces that can only to be looked at.
Played Doom for the first time, on the middle difficulty, "Hurt Me Plenty," which was mostly too easy, but I didn't want to risk struggling too much, and after I started I thought it was too late to change the difficulty, finding out after finishing the campaign that you can play any level you want. But I don't know if playing a level in the level selector then lets you continue on to the next level (with your weapons and status). Can I say that I've beaten Doom after playing the campaign "Knee Deep in the Dead"? I will say I did because there were end credits. Took me one hour and forty minutes, partly because I waited too long to start reading the map and its colored doors.
Was exceedingly long at the end of "Command Control." This bridge wouldn't rise, so I wandered around the map on and on. I don't even know what finally caused it to come up. I pressed a button in the little room just to the south that I'd already pressed before!
Liked it. Will play the next campaign at another time.
Was exceedingly long at the end of "Command Control." This bridge wouldn't rise, so I wandered around the map on and on. I don't even know what finally caused it to come up. I pressed a button in the little room just to the south that I'd already pressed before!
Liked it. Will play the next campaign at another time.
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Finished Sonic Adventure 2 in about 6 hours over four (and a bit) play sessions. I intended to do the last few stages of Dark and Last Story in the same session but I started a little late and had to do Last Story today instead.
In terms of basic mechanics, the game's fine. It (mostly) works, though it's pretty painful when it doesn't, and there's a few things like the Homing Attack having no indicator for when something's in range or what it's aiming at that were done a lot better in later titles. Not having to charge the Light Dash helps avoid breaking flow in Sonic and Shadow's stages, but it can be a little finicky to get the timing right at speed. Not having the hub worlds in between stages helps the pacing compared to Adventure 1, but having to track down upgrades in the middle of stages kills the pacing whenever they're mandatory to progress and you have to take a detour to find them, which is more often than not. Knuckles's stages are a pain, and while most of Rouge's are better, Mad Space is just not fun. Tails and Eggman ironically play the best due to not being too fast for the camera to keep up with. Ultimately, though, where the game's really let down is in its level design; aside from a few standouts, it's just not very good, leading to a lot of stages and bosses - particularly, several points where there's several in a row that aren't fun - that make the game kind of a chore to play.
The story does get better in Dark Story, partly because compared to Team Sonic (summed up by Sonic himself, "What you see is what you get!"), Shadow, Rouge and Eggman are more rounded and complex characters suited to a darker and more thematic story. And while being foils to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles wasn't a bad idea, the follow-through isn't totally there. Last Story does manage to stick the landing, though, all plotholes aside.
The story is the best part of the game, but is it worth playing through all 31 levels and about a dozen bosses to get to? YMMV on that, but in my opinion, I don't think I'll be coming back to this one for a while. And I'm definitely not going to try and get all 180 emblems; that's for people with a lot more free time and patience than me.
What's next: Probably Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth once I'm no longer bound at the hip to Old School Runescape.
A new day brings new adventure. But for now... Rest easy heroes. [sic]
In terms of basic mechanics, the game's fine. It (mostly) works, though it's pretty painful when it doesn't, and there's a few things like the Homing Attack having no indicator for when something's in range or what it's aiming at that were done a lot better in later titles. Not having to charge the Light Dash helps avoid breaking flow in Sonic and Shadow's stages, but it can be a little finicky to get the timing right at speed. Not having the hub worlds in between stages helps the pacing compared to Adventure 1, but having to track down upgrades in the middle of stages kills the pacing whenever they're mandatory to progress and you have to take a detour to find them, which is more often than not. Knuckles's stages are a pain, and while most of Rouge's are better, Mad Space is just not fun. Tails and Eggman ironically play the best due to not being too fast for the camera to keep up with. Ultimately, though, where the game's really let down is in its level design; aside from a few standouts, it's just not very good, leading to a lot of stages and bosses - particularly, several points where there's several in a row that aren't fun - that make the game kind of a chore to play.
The story does get better in Dark Story, partly because compared to Team Sonic (summed up by Sonic himself, "What you see is what you get!"), Shadow, Rouge and Eggman are more rounded and complex characters suited to a darker and more thematic story. And while being foils to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles wasn't a bad idea, the follow-through isn't totally there. Last Story does manage to stick the landing, though, all plotholes aside.
The story is the best part of the game, but is it worth playing through all 31 levels and about a dozen bosses to get to? YMMV on that, but in my opinion, I don't think I'll be coming back to this one for a while. And I'm definitely not going to try and get all 180 emblems; that's for people with a lot more free time and patience than me.
What's next: Probably Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth once I'm no longer bound at the hip to Old School Runescape.
A new day brings new adventure. But for now... Rest easy heroes. [sic]
Yes! It was worth it back then for me, and still is now! I still have my save file on GameCube from back in the day!
I teared up the first time, because I didn't know what was going to happen with Sonic....and SEGA after the Dreamcast's final farwell. I didn't want them to die.
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Generally Ultraviolent isn't hard unless you do the expansions, but for the base game of doom and doom 2 its not hard.