La5t Game You Fini5hed And Your Thought5

Balladeer wrote:

You can't really know a line until you've heard it thousands of times over the course of sixty hours.

'Flora heals an aching soul!'
'Tora dreamt that Tora was eating a sausage the size of Poppi!'
'THINK YEW KIN TAKE ME!?'

...none of these lines will mean anything to anyone here.  Alas.

I haven't played much of XC2 but 'Flora heals an aching soul' is already a very tedious refrain!

Have you got to the 'Haggis McHaggis' ( Cappa) guards yet Rum? Sadly they had their 'wonderful' lines patched to make them marginally less wonderful, so you'll never have a fight as wonderful as this.

I picked up Road 96 in the big Switch Sale, as I've had my eye on it for a while, but as you might remember I was put off by the price, and I've never seen it physical local.

So it is a Telltale/Life is Strange type game, which is also procedural generated'ish set in the 90s yet basically Trumps America. As over 7 episodes, well 7 for me, you start as a no name teen with a bit of money etc and have to get to Road 96 to cross the boarder (to what would be Canada) and along the way you meet people and can interact with them.

Once you cross the border or get arrested, killed whatever you start a new episode with a new teen and if you have done something like save a character with the previous teen, then the character you saved might mention it.

Stuff like that and a few other things play out along the 7 episodes, which are spread over about a month, which ends on the day of the election for next president and other stories tied together.

Each episode is about an hour, a decent amount of content for a game like this, just it gets samey, especially in the mild or so episodes. It does look rough on Switch, and looking at screenshots just now they must be from the PC version as they look much better, the PS4/5 and Xboxes versions might be as well when they come out soon.

As Mas has said, that's pretty much everything I hate in a game!




Unlike Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space, which has everything I hate in a point-and-click game!  Disappointing follow-ups to beloved favourites, multi-part environments that take years to negotiate, moon logic, an extended section with talking babies: it's got the lot.  That is in fact far too negative a take on what's still a polished and mostly funny adventure, but I really like Sam & Max Save The World and this feels like a step back from that.  It takes until case four out of five for the cases to get properly good, the environments feel broader and the logic moonier, and there are no musical numbers!  That said, it's still Sam & Max, and it's still a fun time, albeit a fun time that might benefit from a walkthrough.  6/10

What is moon logic?

Logic that's only obvious to the designer and a handful of people who think like them. Old adventure games are full of it. Jim's recent Tir Na Nog review had a tremendous example.

Rocket League

I gave Rocket League a download during half-term and had some three-player matches with my two daughters. The 6-year old wasn’t as keen but the 10-year old loved it, but I found myself having the most fun! I had played a bunch of this in 2017 and thought it was a fun, if shortlived experience that made the most of its “gimmick”. In 2022, this game looks a lot shinier than I remember, and considering it’s a free game, has a lot more content. Most of it is cosmetic unlockables behind online matches, and that’s my main criticism of Rocket League: for a game with League in the title, the offline Season mode is pretty basic and doesn’t really offer up the longevity of the online game. I guess the developer doesn’t want people playing alone - the money here is in the online community.

You’ve probably all played Rocket League, so this review will be largely pointless. But I have a new Bluetooth keyboard and I need to type something to warrant the purchase. Now I can’t stop. Type type type. Shenanigans is a great word isn't it? Anyhoo, I contemplated whether Rocket League cracks my all-time list (of 25) but it lacks a bit of character to really be a "gjones great". A top 100? Definitely. And it’s something I would put on a Top 100 Best Games Ever, because it has that immediacy and addictive quality all the best games possess. Any clown could have fun with Rocket League, but there’s room for mastery and that’s down to great design.

9.5/10

Rocket League absolutely makes my all time top 25, probably top 10, you've hit the nail on the head, it's so easy for anyone to just pick up and play but at the same there's some incredible levels to it's skill ceiling.

I do wonder if the cosmetic thing felt the same back at launch, I only ever remember it having DLC packs every now and then but unlocks felt frequent enough that you wasn't really missing out, although I personally bought quite a few just because I got the game on PS Plus and wanted to give something back to the Devs.

Rocket League definitely made my top 25 on Switch at first. Then it had a prolonged period of brokenness and if I remember correctly, when it came back it was free-to-play. It dropped off that list in a hurry. Had some great matches while it was live, though.

Aperture Desk Job

ADJ is a short 30mins tech demo of sorts sent in the Aperture (Portal) world, with same the humour etc to show off the SteamDeck yet can be played on any PC. As ADJ is free thought I'd give a go, and it is fun enough and the desk is set out like a SteamDeck which is neat, but I just used an Xbox pad to play which did mean I couldn't do the gyro section aiming (I did with the normal RT to aim then LT to shoot).

It's free and short, so you've not got a lot to lose.


It's a KH game on a cartridge for Switch yay. Which tells the story of the games via rhythm based memories of Kairi, in a fun enough game which the ending does setup what I guess will be KHIV (I think it is happening same time as Re:Mind this ending, but I'm still yet to play Re:Mind) but with Nomura we will likely get 20 spin-offs before KHIV.

If you enjoyed Theatrhythm, you'll likely enjoy this, and as it's a retelling of the games you don't really need to have played them to get an understanding of what's going on.

gjones wrote:

Any clown could have fun with Rocket League, but there’s room for mastery and that’s down to great design.

Perfect summary, it's one of the all-time greats imo

I realised I've not posted in this thread in a wee while. Might as well talk about my recent return to the Yakuza series and my playthrough of Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4.



Whilst the same Yakuza charm was present throughout both games, the gameplay and visuals are the most dated I've experienced in the series so far in Yakuza 3. I suppose that's by virtue of the fact that the first two games have been remade in the same engine as Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 6 respectively, so Y3 is now technically the oldest in the series. I do think it probably could have done with that lick of paint and modernisation the first two games received as it was a bit of a shock to the system going back to Y3 after Kiwami 2. Y4 didn't have that problem as it wasn't too far removed from Y5 and felt more familiar as a result.

Combat didn't feel great in Y3 and I must admit, I didn't delve into the series' much vaunted substories as a result in Y3. Enemies were frustrating in regards to how defensive they were and there wasn't a lot of variety in regards to combat options compared to the other entries in the series I've played. Y4 circumvented that issue by giving you 4 different playable characters with their own movesets and I had a much better time with that as a result.

Funnily enough, whilst I was sour on Y3 from a gameplay perspective, I think its main story might have some of the best story beats in the series as a whole so far. There's some genuine stakes at play for Kiryu and I think the supporting cast are generally all winners, with the affable Rikiya being a standout. Y4 still provides a great cast of characters with the new gang mostly being winners - Tanimura is a bit of a dweeb - but I think the overall story falls flat. The amount of twists and double turns that happen towards the end of the game borders on the ridiculous and each subsequent twist falls flatter as a result. It reminded me of that SNL sketch where people keep getting shot and that "mmmm whatcha saaaay" song plays after each gunshot.

I think both games are absolutely worth playing if you've enjoyed the series up to this point. Y3 might be dated, but the main story is brilliant and Y4 will be a lot closer to the Yakuza you've fallen in love with by this point and you'll enjoy the substories as much as any past entry.

Yakuza 3 - 7.5
Yakuza 4 - 8

That's good to hear. I've started Kiwami 2 but actually just traded in my physical copy of Yakuza 3/4/5 (I've gone digital to try and get through the backlog), so it's good to hear 3 and 4 are still worth playing through (and they are often on sale). Was Yakuza 0 in the Yakuza 5 engine too? It's probably because it was my first Yakuza, but I preferred the combat in that to the combat in Yakuza Kiwami.

Jay wrote:

the game borders on the ridiculous

Funny story - when I traded in my PS4 games at CEX, they were sat in a pile on the counter. I used my voucher to pick up some DVDs to boost the ol' Oscar nominee collection, returned to the counter and the guy behind me said "some madman has traded in the Yakuza games". I turned around and said "Yeah it was me, I'm going digital". He then said "Oh, well that's ok then". Funny thing is, I asked what's his favourite and he said "Oh I've not played them" Idiot.

Going digital yet buying DVDs, now that's a thing.

masofdas wrote:

Going digital yet buying DVDs, now that's a thing.

I have like 100 digital games and 8 physical on PS4, it wasn't hard

Once I hit a thousand DVDs I can cancel my streaming services

Ahh, its cost for me why digital for films makes sense (then what's in Disney+), why sold all my 4K UHD'S as can watch Avengers anytime via that.

Games otherway around, as never paying £70 for a Game, a sub like Game Pass only way I'll ever go all digital.

masofdas wrote:

Ahh, its cost for me why digital for films makes sense (then what's in Disney+), why sold all my 4K UHD'S as can watch Avengers anytime via that.

Yeah, I guess for Disney it will always be on there, but most films on Netflix/Prime/NowTV rotate.

masofdas wrote:

never paying £70 for a Game

How much was Persona 3? Nah I get that. I feel like there was a time (20 years ago?) where you could get a game and a couple of DVDs each month and you'd be set. To stay up with all the content now is impossible. I do wonder when DVD will stop - CDs are nearly there...

gjones wrote:

Was Yakuza 0 in the Yakuza 5 engine too? It's probably because it was my first Yakuza, but I preferred the combat in that to the combat in Yakuza Kiwami.

Yeah, it was. It did have the added bonus of the different combat styles though which I think makes it the best in the series in my eyes.

gjones wrote:

masofdas wrote:

Ahh, its cost for me why digital for films makes sense (then what's in Disney+), why sold all my 4K UHD'S as can watch Avengers anytime via that.

Yeah, I guess for Disney it will always be on there, but most films on Netflix/Prime/NowTV rotate.

masofdas wrote:

never paying £70 for a Game

How much was Persona 3? Nah I get that. I feel like there was a time (20 years ago?) where you could get a game and a couple of DVDs each month and you'd be set. To stay up with all the content now is impossible. I do wonder when DVD will stop - CDs are nearly there...

£70 for a DIGITAL game, other day Ratchet was on sale still £40 that even waiting not get that much cheaper.

I still buy the new Taylor Swift on a CD every year.

Buskalilly wrote:

I still buy the new Taylor Swift on a CD every year.

I bought on vinyl, but did think about getting on CD to play in the car (Jacob at work would say, BOOMER). Not only that, but I do wonder if games will go this way of vinyl of more collectable thing, the only issues will be if the PS6 and Xbox Series XR2 are digital only, which I very much could see being a thing.



I might have a new favourite Switch game as Triangle Strategy does a lot of things better than Three Houses, a few worse as well mind, like when you get some, new characters outside the main bunch those aren't' really mentioned. Which is a bit dumb as hey I'm invading this country you're from, maybe you have insight on it, nah I just go to battle regardless.

However, if you look at just the main path (which is 4 outcomes) it is top-notch and people like Balla should be playing this game as part from potentially Xenoblade 3 this easily going to be the best new RPG on Switch this year, I would think.

Get on it 9/10

Edit

Shite 4/10

What, genuinely shite? After all the waiting?

I should probably play FETH before I play Triangle Strategy, aaaaaaand I probably won't end up playing either.

Yeah it's awful, not even in a bad Balan Wonderworld way. How Nintendo Life (they've got it as number 2 kart racer over CTR etc) and Scully scored it decently, god knows.

I think you'd prefer Triangle Strategy as not got the slice of life stuff and you'd prefer the artstyle.

Grapple Dog

The first of Super Rare Games foray in to the publishing side of things was the most interesting to me, a side scrolling platformer where you play as a Dog with a grappling hook, literally two of the best things a game could have, needless to say I was up for this. The first thing I noticed about this was it's look, it isn't gonna win any awards but it harks back to the days of the GBA with its bright and chunky style, next thing I noticed though is where it all starts to go downhill, they put the confirm on the B button!

I know it doesn't sound like much but it starts the trend of frustrating little features that hold this game back greatly, I did get a little bit used to it but there was still occasions where I accidentally left a stage because I wanted to back out of the pause menu but actually confirmed leaving the level. The problems only get bigger though, there's slowdown at certain points where the frames must be in single digits, the music for each world is repeated throughout each stage and they're uninspiring to start with.

I also had a few glitches which led to me failing at certain points but perhaps the biggest issue was the sensitivity of movement, the type of platforming required needs much more precision than you're getting from this, in particular the moments where I was falling towards the next platform, it was so easy to overshoot the landing and it was incredibly unsatisfying. It does have a few plus points though if you were to persist with it, boss battles are fun and when you're moving through a level at speed it feels very satisfying and we'll put together, sadly those moments are marred by the irritating performance issues and lack of precision control that it desperately needs.

5/10

Youch!  That's just grappled out of my wishlist and onto the compost heap with that review.  Lack of precision is the killer there.

Jimbob wrote:

I assumed Deponia.
My quick take - main characters can be arseholes of course, but the chap in Deponia is a complete selfish nobhead, and the writers don't seem to have realised that. Unbearable.

Oh also, I did want to respond to this - basically just to say that I started Deponia and never got past act 2.  Rufus being a 'selfish nobhead' wasn't as bad as the whole 'slog back and forward across the map at treacly pace to complete arcane point-and-click puzzles', but it didn't help.



I reckon this has enough potential interest to do outside a spoiler.  Jay, Muss, and Andy have all shown interest in the series before.  That said, if the suggestion of a 'super-anime detective visual novel with blood' puts you off, then yeeeeeeees maybe skip this one.  It should be right up my alley: Ace Attorney but even more anime!  What could be better than that?  That said, I haven't played the previous two (ignoring spin-off) games: I, er, read Let's Plays of them. In my defence they hadn't been announced for Western release at the time!

It's not hard to see why the idea might not have been super-easy to translate: schoolchildren killing each other is something the States in particular are a bit sensitive about.  That's the backstory, and v3 introduces an all-new cast and setting from the previous games.  Based on my admittedly patchy experience, this is my favourite bunch of sixteen teenagers yet.  I found a bunch of them interesting, and one truly sinister.  Yes two are annoying, two are dull, and one is the fanservice character and the writers seem a bit too fond of her - and yes those five are all female, sadly - but on the whole, the kids are alright.  In particular, your main character is probably the strongest of the three series leads, although I have a soft spot for Hinata of 2; and the eventual deuteragonist has a hotline directly to a key fictional figure from my childhood, so that was great.

The story itself does have two dubious twists.  One comes quite early on, and would have been brilliant had it been the other way around.  As such, it feels like a massive opportunity missed.  The last one is the ending.  I saw the ending described as 'divisive', and yes that's probably accurate.  To say any more would be going into spoiler territory, but as somebody who's railed at 'divisive' endings in the past, I thought this one was fine.  I was glad I'd had the warning, mind, so I'm giving it to you now.

Finally, the gameplay.  The Free Time segments, where you get gifts by roulette to try and make friends, are dull and too long; the murder investigation scenes are pretty good; and the trials are really good, brought down by some points that really aren't.  By the end I really liked the shoot-answers-to-contradict mechanic, and hated any and all minigames that deviated from it.  The worst are Psyche Taxi, a slow tedious Outrun-alike; and Closing Argument, where you laboriously put together the course of the murder which you already know at that point.  Those aside, I enjoyed the trials.  Trials are always a great way of having drama unfold, especially in visual novels, and these are no exception.  

You probably already know whether you're going to play this.  I didn't, to be honest.  I'm glad I did.  A fun story, even if it does go off the rails near the end, and probably the best of the Dingle Rumpus games overall.  The slightly sad thing is, this feels like quite a firm end to the franchise, just as they nailed the formula.  Ah well, I can't wait to see what the writer did next after thi- oh.