Last game you finished and your thoughts

Gunman Clive was great fun for the price, and 7/10 feels about right.

~~~

This morning I exhausted

NES Remix 2

An incredible improvement over its predecessor with a lot more to do... so why have I finished it so quickly? Part of me fears that the rainbow stars were easier to collect than before: I frequently came out of levels thinking "That'll never get me the rainbow sta-oh". Maybe it's because the games in NES Remix were far harder to control (Clu Clu Land springs to mind, and then wobbles around a dot and heads into a black hole). There's almost certainly an element of addiction.  At any rate, it was fun while it lasted.

8.5/10

A batch of mini-reviews!

Dark Souls II

Stellar. Improved visually from its predecessor in a big way and the combat feels sharper this time around too. Multiplayer is leaps and bounds better as well. The world design is a little flatter than before, but that's not to mean that adventuring isn't still a treat. It's challenging, but very rewarding. This is the perfect example of what a modern version of the very first Legend of Zelda or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would look like. 9.5

Dear Esther

Whilst it tells an interesting enough story, and it's certainly a pretty game, it's more akin to a walking simulator than anything else. Other story-driven titles I've played have been infinitely more engaging than Dear Esther, which can be played to completion by holding forward and occasionally stopping to listen to the narration. It plays like an audiobook. I can't totally deride it, as it does a good job of creating a haunting atmosphere, particularly the cave segment, but you're punished for treading off the beaten track as you walk at the pace of a crippled snail. It seems like the game is only trying to steer you from audio cue to audio cue, with little room for gameplay. I'm not one to turn my nose up at a narrative driven experience, but Dear Esther doesn't offer up a reason to be engaged in its narrative when it can be experienced by taping down the thumbstick and twiddling your thumbs in the meantime. 5

Card City Nights

Cute card game. It offers up a deceptively complex system, asking you to link up three or more cards each with their own defensive, offensive or revival properties in order to defeat your opponents. Some cards are stronger, some cards have more "links" allowing you to use them in devastating combos and some cards are totally unique, shielding you from damage or just having no use whatsoever. However, the card game isn't particularly balanced, as an offense-oriented deck trumps any defense-oriented strategy. Allowing for a better variety of decks would have made for a richer experience. But, the kooky characters and great character design makes for a fun enough experience nonetheless. 7.5

Persona 4 Golden





And so it comes to an end, as all good things must (thank god for trophies for an excuse to leap right back in with a new game plus.)  Given how much I loved persona 3 portable playing this was inevitable, only taking as long as it did because I take forever to buy new hardware (watch as I take another two years to buy a wii u!), but it was worth the wait.  Despite how similar in terms of gameplay the two modern persona games are in terms of atmosphere I found persona 4 to feel really different to persona 3, from the colours to the general tone to the background music to the story itself persona 4 was a more cheerful and optimistic game than its predecessor.  

Like persona 3 the battle system is the same, with the refinements such as direct commands of the party and guarding being incorporated in to the version of persona 3 (portable) that I played.  Unlike persona 3 portable the game retains its original presentation qualities including the occasional anime sequences that in hindsight I really wish they kept in p3p.  

The highlight of the game for me was the cast and their interactions, slow burning games where the cast has time to simply be and grow are often my favourite and this is no exception.  By the time the year in Inaba came to an end I found myself genuinely wishing it wasn't, but alas all good things come to an end.  The main gang was very warm and likable, as were the Dojima's (that scene really wrung the heart.)  

Music like persona 3 was top class, with some really addictive area themes (both outside and inside the tv world) and catchy battle themes, the true final boss's themes were standouts with both being catchy and very intense.  Especially The Genesis, a really slow burner but perfectly suited for the battle that incorporated previously heard melodies in to it really well.  And The Almighty, I can't mention awesome boss themes without giving that one a mention.  Despite how perfect battle hymn for the soul in persona 3 was for a final boss theme I think the genesis might just pip it to the post as one of my favourite final boss themes ever, but I'll wait until the post-game rush is over in a few weeks before making that call.

But alas I can't play any game without some (in this case minor) niggles.  As I've played persona 3 portable at least four times before even getting a vita (and probably heading back to Iwatodai soon after playing persona 4) and given how similar they are to each other I'm only naturally going to compare the two games, and as much as I loved persona 4 there are a couple of minor areas I think persona 3 handled better.  Such as the main human antagonist, as I said in another thread I found Strega in persona 3 to be more compelling than the main human antagonist of persona 4 (who I won't name for obvious spoiler reasons but you know who I'm talking about if you've played the game anyway.)  Compared to Strega's reasons for acting the way they were I just found the main antagonist's reasons to be rather weak, strega were all completely and utterly ruined from a young age and with not much time left, ultimately forming some very screwed up but very understandable views of the world as a result.  Meanwhile the main antagonist in persona 4 in comparison to them to me just came off as a whining loser.  

Persona 3 and 4 plot and culprit spoilers:

The other minor niggle, the actual final boss of persona 3 was better.  The Nyx Avatar fight was still more memorable to me than either of the final bosses in persona 4, with the fight taking what felt like eons even when I break the game, with the whole cycling through each of the arcana's ending on death taking forever and the fight getting progressively more brutal.  Nether of the two final bosses in persona 4 gave me the same buzz that one did.

Both are minor in the grand scheme of things, and about the only complaints I have about persona 4.  

Overall I'd rate the game 9.8 out of 10, one of the best jrpg's around with an excellent cast and ultimately satisfying conclusion that any fan of the genre simply must play at some point.

Child of Light oh what a delight.

That’s enough trying to rhyme, as it will take too much time.  For me to do my review on this game, I finished it late last night/early this morning  as I wanted to keep on going to the end to find out what happens to Auroa and her loveable party members.
The art style is just lovely, which you can see from these screenshots from my game thanks to the PS4’s share button, it’s like playing a fairy tale also the soundtrack is outstanding especially the credits.


But looking good is one thing but does it have the gameplay to back it up, it does start with what feels like a 2D Platformer  with a RPG battle system, but near the end your battling enemy after enemy with most feeling like boss battles.  It uses an almost unique battle system (grandia used it before this) where it’s a bar at the bottom has a redzone and the character’s move across this bar and when you get to this you can do an action be it a attack or drink a potion. If you can time it right you attack a enemy whilst there in the redzone which sends them back to the bar, so there is more depth to the system then I first thought, in the end I was using a certain two characters a lot as I could keep the enemies from attacking by keeping them out of the redzone. There are a few basic puzzle elements in the game that uses Auroa’s ablity to fly and light but nothing that difficult.

To quote Balla, it’s a bit "baby’s first RPG", especially the skill "trees" and the equipment which is, to be honest is but the rest of the game is so good that this doesn’t really matter that much I wasn’t expecting a final fantasy with a deep system.
The game took me about 10-12 hours, can’t be sure as there’s no way to check the play time. But at £12 for most people, it’s outstanding and maybe could have been a proper retail release as I’ve played shorter and not so good games at £40.

There are a few negatives like being too simple of a RPG but Ubisoft focused on what will make this title standout and it has.  
To quote Balla again, my favourite Wii U game so far, not sure if I will go far but seeing what I’ve played and reviewed that’s come out in 2014

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc 8/10
Titanfall 9/10
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes 8.5/10
Infamous Second Son 8.5/10

This is by far the best of them all and currently my GOTY with its 9.25/10.

Bring on Valiant Hearts: The Great War which also uses Ubiart will it be as good as Rayman Legends and Child of Light.

I do have one annoyance which isn’t to do with this game as much but the trophy system, I’ve/will have every trophy on this game but it has no platinum. I’m yet to have one as it’s not something that’s really bothered me as I play game’s for their story mainly or just pure fun gameplay. But this and MGSV:GZ both had retail releases (kinda) on PS4 both don’t have platinum as according to Konami because there not full games to Sony but then resogun and transistor for example which are both downloads have platinum’s. It just seems weird to me that’s it not all the same.

masofdas wrote:

This is by far the best of them all and currently my GOTY with its 9.25/10

9.25/10?   

Assassins Creed IV (PS4)

As i've never played any AC game before, i came into this with no preconceptions. I have to say i've thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Marginally irritated by the present day missions getting in the way of Edward's story but they're quickly despatched and ignored. Other occasional niggle was the control of Edward when free running as it was sometimes inevitable he'd get stuck or jump in the wrong direction and induce rage for a moment or two....but nothing controller destroying. I loved the pirating side of things and found i enjoyed the sea battles as much as, if not more than the land based missions. The side missions and minigames are all interesting diversions and i still have much to do to finish looting everything. Its not often i actually feel a bit sad when i finish a game but i was when i saw the credits roll!

Definitely value for money! My seal of approval and 9/10



Stick it to the Man (PS4)

Strange one this. Not really sure i liked it that much but still felt compelled to finish it. Can't moan too much being a freebie and all, but not one i'll ever go back to. I did like the puzzles but they weren't particularly complex. A reasonable 6/10

The_Jaster wrote:

masofdas wrote:

This is by far the best of them all and currently my GOTY with its 9.25/10

9.25/10?   

I've seen that scoring system used somewhere else. Presumably it's another way of saying 37/40, but making it easier to compare to other people's percentage or out-of-ten ratings for those who are maths-illiterate.

Balladeer wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

masofdas wrote:

This is by far the best of them all and currently my GOTY with its 9.25/10

9.25/10?   

I've seen that scoring system used somewhere else.  Presumably it's another way of saying 37/40

Or 925/1000.

Yeah what they said about the score. I use the out of 10, so I might use a . something sometime.

I've never been a fan of using a decimal point in any kind of scoring system, it just stops it from being clear cut & to the point. (especially if the words preceding it are a bit murky)

Child Of Light

Admission: not as enamoured of this as m'learned compatriots Balla and Mas. The battle system is amazing, the story is vast in scope and it both looks and sounds amazing. However...

Child Of Light bad bits:

8/10

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Very late to the party on this one but I was just happy to be there. Mostly what I expected, as good a top down Zelda as you can get and the wall merging was a brilliant inclusion that opened up so many clever opportunities that I've come to expect from the series.

Doesn't quite take the spot as my favourite 3DS game though as the Buying/Renting items mechanic made building up Link's inventory a bit too easy and took away some of the magic of the dungeons, I did enjoy how you can tackle dungeons in your own order though which I suppose wouldn't quite work if you obtained items in the usual way. Very good story too, certainly more original than I've come to expect.

9/10

At long last, RAYMAN LEGENDS

Why on earth do the credits roll when there's still one 'zone' left? I know the final zone is just re-heats of earlier levels so it's more of a bonus, but surely as pure postgame (rather than an optional route to the end, a la every level after the first seventy stars in Mario 64) it should be hidden until it unlocks? I feel like I've had game stolen from me because I was lead to believe there'd be more.

Also, there's too many Murfy levels which are as dull as all hell, there's no point to the unlockable characters (that is, the identical barbarian girls rather than the series characters) as far as I can tell and the Invaded levels pale in comparison to both speedrunning the levels proper and the chest chase levels of Origins.

Still liked it, though.

Transistor

Gorgeous soundtrack, brilliant aesthetics (especially if you're a sucker for cyberpunk visuals, like myself) and a great battle system akin to Fallout's VATS turn based system. It's simple enough that you can finish the game without delving too deep into the mechanics of the battle system, but it rewards deeper experimentation by combining attacks and creating devastating combos. The story was remarkably touching as well, mostly in part to the masterful narration. I can't levy any valid criticisms towards this. This is currently jostling for my GOTY with Dark Souls II - if you've a PS4 or a PC capable of running it, you really ought to pick this up. 10/10

Pretty much agree with Beemoh and Smurf (although I didn't like the "any order dungeons" so much) - hope I don't agree with Zero by the time I've finished it.  

Balladeer wrote:

Pretty much agree with Beemoh and Smurf (although I didn't like the "any order dungeons" so much) - hope I don't agree with Zero by the time I've finished it.  

Agree with me, even if you do agree with Mr Jones and give CoL a 8/10 that's an average of a 8.41/10   for it out of us three.

CHILD OF LIGHT - UBISOFT (Wii U).

Firstly let me say that had I have known this was by Ubisoft I'd have probably skipped it. I haven't really enjoyed one of their games since Beyond Good and Evil and they have a knack nowadays for getting it more right on their second attempt. But I am glad that this caught me out. I was only made aware of it a short while before it was released, and thought to myself that looks quite pretty. Then I forgot all about it. A few weeks later I noticed quite a few people going on about it at various forums so I thought to myself why not? And Why not indeed.

It is stunning visually. I love illustrated children's books and this mirrors the style of some of my favourites. The whole look of a water colour painting through it is fantastic and the quality never dips. The story is largely told through characters speaking in rhyming couplets. I found this quite endearing and enjoyable. The sound is fantastic also. But it is a game, not an illustration or piece of animation for kids. Fortunately it delivers as a game also. The development tree, as others have said, isn't that complex. But I think it benefits the game that you aren't getting bogged down in a minutiae of details. There is also a crafting section that allows you to enhance certain statistics by collecting and crafting 'occuli'. These are gems that when place in certain slots enhance your attack, rate you gain experience etc. Pretty bog standard stuff for an RPG, but it doesn't detract from the game. Despite these seemingly weak areas it does deliver in the combat. I have read that a similar system was employed in Grandia, or whatever it is called, but I have never played it. All I can say it is surprisingly deep as you start forming different strategies as you get more familiar with how it works and which characters are best suited to your team against various enemies that you'll encounter.



But it isn't without its faults. The aforementioned combat makes you realise that your party gets quite bloated with characters you won't end up using that often. It is also lacking in ambition and scope. Quite early on it plays like a RPG with a platforming bent. It then introduces a new ability quite early on and you think 'Oh wow, I wonder what else they'll come up with.' But that is pretty much it. The ending seems to come quite abruptly and seems out of pace with the rest of the game. But, despite these faults, they don't ruin the game. There are plenty of side quests and hidden items and areas to explore throughout the game. I got about 95% of the things to find and the game weighed in at 24 hours for me. As soon as I finished it I was torn as to whether to pop back in and find the remaining items of go for a New Game+. My biggest complaint about this game is why wasn't it released on the 3DS? The illustrative nature of it would have looked fantastic on the 3DS, or so I'd imagine.

9/10.

Great piece Saul on CoL.

I think/imagine that the 3DS didn't have the power to do the illustrations justice. Also, probably easier to have something for PS4 and Wii U than PS4 and 3DS.

Finding myself really wishing that you could have a two-person party.

Balladeer wrote:

I think/imagine that the 3DS didn't have the power to do the illustrations justice.  Also, probably easier to have something for PS4 and Wii U than PS4 and 3DS.

Finding myself really wishing that you could have a two-person party.

It's on everything apart from the 3DS, but I think that's down to power.

Whilst there may have been a loss of detail by putting it on the 3DS most of the backgrounds were static with incidental animations. Do you really think it would struggle with it?

I'm currently at the bit where the wind's chucking me around like a ragdoll (or rather, have just beaten the

Spoiler:

right afterwards), and the frame rate had a couple of special moments.  I imagine they would be even worse on the 3DS.  Also, there seemed to be quite a bit of world loaded at one time.  I'm not going to get into the different types of RAM, because the only type I know anything about is this:

but that seems like something that would be harder on less powerful machines.

If it chugs at points on Wii U then it would chug more frequently and chug worse on 3DS, so yeah, you're right.

Well, I agree with beemoh, Smurf and Zero with their respective reviews! Go me! 

Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Shu Takumi is both an excellent storyteller and a big fan of cats. The only complaint I could level against the story is that it took a while to warm up, but when it did, it out-Laytoned at least the last two main Layton stories, for me. The gameplay was slightly less satisfying, mostly because both 'sides' felt dumbed down (although I hope the multiple witnesses giving testimony mechanic finds a way into a full Ace Attorney game, because it was great). Ultimately, fans of either series will be happily right at home with the game... and it made me realise how much I miss the presence of Maya.

8.5/10

ZeroJones wrote:

Ultimately, fans of either series will be happily right at home with the game...

Cannot agree with this. Fans of the Layton games should be fine; fans of Wright only will be deeply let down. I say this as a fan of both who leans to the Wright (ha), and who was let down.

Also, you... liked the story? You liked it?  As in: you thought it was good?  Still getting my head around this.