Last game you finished and your thoughts

The structure of the game is such that you will spend more time on puzzles than in court, certainly. As mentioned, I enjoyed the multiple witness mechanic, though
 

What's not in PLvPW:AA:

 
The story is somewhat derivative of a number of sources and tugs at your suspension of disbelief more than once, but it reminded me of the better Layton plots so, yes, I was happy with it.

I guess it wasn't really the story I was getting at (although I decent Layton story is nowhere near a decent Wright one), but the characters through which it is told. I know that I've been there and done this, but I felt that there were a grand total of three good key characters in the game: Layton, Wright, and Maya.

And I could appreciate the multiple witness mechanic, although I felt that it reduced the amount of detail given to any one witness. The best witnesses in the whole game (with the exception of the first case's culprit, possibly), in my opinion, were those in the one-witness-at-a-time opening case.

In between everything else I've been up to, I just about managed to find the time to see the end of Kirby Triple Deluxe.

As expected, it's very excellent (that's right: *very* excellent). I can imagine that some would have put the boot into it on account of the lack of skill or even thought that it takes to navigate most of it's platforming or puzzles, but it's consistently delightful not only in it's signature Kirby vibrancy, but it's variety too. Really good fun, and probably my platformer of the year so far. 8/10.

Transistor

Finished this last night after reading Jay's review I want to agree with all most all of it.

The Soundtrack is excellent, hence why I've copied over the soundtrack from the music thread, it's that good.

Transistor


But on to the actual game it looks gorgeous the whole feel of it is wonderful. The game uses a strange combat system which I wasn't a huge fan of it overs a lot of depth if you want to get the most of your weapon which is the transistor.



The Transistor is narrated and comes out via the ps4's dual shock 4 and the light bar, light's up when he is talking which is rather cool it feels like your holding the transistor.



The story is fine, and kept me going to the end of the 6 hours or so. I enjoyed it but a bit like people with watch dog's at the moment, I've been hyped for this since it was first shown at E3 last year (I think) and it's not quite lived up to that, It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination but I can't give it a 10/10 like jay or does it come close my GOTY so far Child of Light.

So a 8/10 it get's if you do have a PS4 or a PC that can run it do play it though.

Transistor came out of nowhere really for me, so it was a really nice surprise to play it.

Silver light wrote:

Having had them on the shelf for a while, i finally decided to give the Ace Attorney series a go recently. And having finished the first two so far...well, i'm struggling to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to these games. The cases don't tend to be that interesting (bar a few, although then they tend to be poorly executed instead [hiya AA1 Case 5/AA2 Case 4), the cast range from generally uninteresting to downright annoying and it's not like the script is anything too amazing either. Plus it loves to be completely and utterly bonedeadedly obvious about things at times. Some of the music in the first game is nice at least, but then the second game neutered most of that.

On the bright side at least, i'm now on the third game and that's already seeming better than the first two combined. So there's some hope, at least.

I'm not surprised that you're sounding a bit down on the series after finishing JfA. It's the weakest in the franchise in almost everyone's opinion. I disagree about the script, though: I found the writing top-notch. Better than the majority of JRPGs you seem to be banging on about by far!  Anyway, T&T is the best in the series, so see how you feel after that. And what a conclusion...

From what I've played of K3D, it's a solid 7-8/10. Lots of variety in the levels. Maybe a bit too much?

Tappingo. 3DS eShop.

Really neat, if slightly easy, puzzle game. Enjoyed it a lot, and we're getting a sequel this summer.

Dusty Knackers wrote:

Tappingo. 3DS eShop.

Really neat, if slightly easy, puzzle game. Enjoyed it a lot, and we're getting a sequel this summer.

Nearly done with this too, and I'll echo what Dusty says. An easy recommendation for how cheap it is.

Metroid: Other M 8.5/10



Yes, I've finally completed my first Metroid game. Other M gets a lot of hate on the net, but I actually really enjoyed it - so much so, I actually bothered to 100% it. There's a lot to like: challenging battles, clever puzzles and amazing level design. OK, some people may not like the way Samus was portrayed, but that still doesn't alter the fact that the game is really good.

As a side note, I was surprised that Samus never actually says "The baby, the baby, the baby."

I'd recommend playing another Metroid game, because Other M is a very different beast to the rest of the series.

ATTACK OF THE FRIDAY MONSTERS

Sweet enough, I suppose.

Tales of Vesperia



My first Tales game was Tales of Symphonia. It was amazing. It's one of my favourite games ever. It had some typical RPG tropes but it also had themes of racism and betrayal, and a brilliant battle system. Since then I've played its sequel, Dawn of the New World (mediocre), Tales of the Abyss (good fun - Balladeer, if you come here just to moan about it again I'm sending you a poo in the post) and Tales of Vesperia.

Vesperia wasn't as good as Symphonia. It did a lot of things well: the battle system, the fully-voiced, well-acted skits, and colourful world. The story was not so bueno. Symphonia painted a picture of its worlds well, and you followed the plot reasonably easily - minus some stumbling blocks. Abyss didn't really make any sense and threw a few too many nonsense words around all the time, and Vesperia has fallen into the same trap. Basically, you get powerful crystals called "blastia" which power stuff - barriers to keep cities safe from monsters, accessories for warriors to fight better, etc. When it comes to aer, the Adephagos, Entelexeia, and how everything fits together, you're as well giving up.

What's nice, though, is that Yuri, the protagonist, is more of an antihero than Symphonia's Lloyd, and less of a twat than Abyss's Luke. It also had a dog who smokes a pipe, and some good plot twists (I think - it's hard to say when you're not sure what the plot is). Its fighting system is deep and there's a lot of time to be wasted making new weapons and setting skills and stuff.

The ending was a bit rubbish though.

Symphonia set the bar too high.   

8/10

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD

Hmm... tricky this. It's still a great game - one of the best ever, in fact, according to the Jimbob Index™. Firstly, the graphics do make a difference; every time you think you can't tell what's been changed, go back and check that location in the original; I suspect you'll be surprised. Despite the obvious fantasy setting, the increased rendering abilities make everything feel more believeable (this is also true for other games that exist in a non-realistic world, e.g. Mario Kart 8, or LittleBigPlanet - more realistic lighting makes them feel like they could be real).
Some changes to the game are welcomed; the fast sail is the obvious one. However, the Triforce section at the end hasn't perhaps been altered as would fix the issues. Sure, some of the journeys have been halved, but, the issue is with the gameplay the preceeds this; occasionally you receive a Triforce piece for traversing what seems to be an entry-level cave room. However, re-writing the actual content of the game is, understandably, something Mr. Aonuma would want to avoid.
This all sounds a bit negative; there's still plenty to love, many hidden gems (quite literally HAR HAR HAR) in terms of dialogue and animation - I don't want to know anyone who doesn't laugh the first time they stab a Moblin in the bum and watch them go hopping away, clutching their be-pierced rear. And of course the game is massive. It suffers a bit from the problems all open-world games suffer (the variety is spread thin, away fromthe key locations), and again, knowing what's an important aside and what's "for 50 Rupees" is a tad annoying (the last heart piece I had to get, it turns out, involved blowing up a group of 3 battleships that, to me, looked like any other set of battleships), but, ultimately, there's so much in this game that, for every bad bit, there are several good bits.

Can I give this 9.5/11?

Yes. Yes, you can.
 
~~~
 
Picross e4
 
A massive review is not going to be necessary: it's more Picross, with some Micross (which I quite like) and some Mega Picross (which didn't unnerve me as much as in e3; that's not to say I like it, Balla, just that I didn't hate it quite so much). I missed the puzzles where it doesn't tell you if you make a mistake. For that reason - and the persistent inclusion of Mega Picross - I'm giving it a
 
7/10

So, just last night I finally finished Mass Effect 3. Oh my god. What a freaking experience. As it is, I think the trilogy is best explored as a solid unit, so that's what I'm going to do. I don't think I could pick one out of the three if you put a gun to my head, so I'm not gonna try. Instead, I'm going to talk first about my own initial thoughts about the series. Then I'm going to talk about a few of the criticisms I've heard and my responses to them. Then I've got a few poems, then the score. (I bet you can't guess what score I gave it).

To clarify a few things; Yes, I played as a female. I thought the male Shepard on the box looked like a tosser, I love Jennifer Hale's performance, I thought the character was more interesting as a woman and I take every opportunity I can to not play as a white male space marine with stubble.
I played through all the DLC as part of the games; 1 and 2 came with it pre-installed and for 3 I downlaoded it mid-game and weaved it into the adventure. The only piece I haven't played is Citadel becuase I understand that's best enjoyed as an encore performance.
I'm going to be talking with spoilers because I think I'm the last person on Earth who hasn't finished this and might care about spoilers.

My Life as Commander Lily Shepard, Alliance Navy.

So then. So. I barely even know where to begin. I can't think of any books or TV series, let alone games, which have captured my attention and engaged with me on this level, let alone videogames. I was absolutely, positively invested. The world, even if it stole every single science fiction trope it could find, was grand and real and full of characters. Not just NPCs, but real actual characters.

The gameplay could be construed as repetitive, but as someone who hasn't really played any "cover-based shooters" besides this one, it was new and exciting to me. Of course, the action only exists to serve the story (how often can you say that about a game?) and it's the exploration, characterisation and RPG elements that kept me coming back long after I ran out of things to pump full of lead.

I had the conversation with Balladeer yesterday about interactive storytelling; he was saying he wouldn't be able to just accept the version he had, he'd have to experience every possible line of dialogue. With writing this good, and voice-acting to match, that would be understandable but I actuallly feel quite the opposite. Sharing the journey with Shepard, watching her fall in love, rise and fall, unite the galaxy, was such a powerful experience that I don't think it would feel right to see it play out any differently. Certainly not any time soon. The story I got was my story and it felt real and complete and absolutely right. Just booting up the game to take a picture of my Shep to go at the top there was pretty emotional; I'm going to have to leave it a while before I go back and play the Citadel DLC, let alone re-live the whole game.

I think this is right up there among my all-time favourite games. I'd put it above the Metal Gear games. With Zelda games, there's a lot of nostalgia clouding my view; I'd probably put whatever my favourite Zelda game of the moment happens to be above ME because there's more variety in the gameplay and I love the puzzle-solving element. That being said, the worlds can sometimes feel too gamey, as can the dialogue etc. Mass Effect, on the other hand, felt very real. It was a better realised universe than most TV or Film sci-fi, and set a new benchmark for the sort of storytelling and action experience a videogame can deliver which other media can't. Of course, the new Zelda looks like it features an all-new, living breathing world so we'll see how I feel when that comes out.

In fact, as of now, the only videogame I can definitively say I like more than this is Super Mario Galaxy, and that's like comparing my favourite book with my favourite flavour of pringle; its such an utterly different experience you can't compare the two. I'd say Mass Effect is a long-lost romance; it will always hold a special place in my heart and be remembered fondly, but it is an experience in my past that I can never relive. Mario Galaxy is more like a loyal friend; any time I fancy it, I can ring them up, get drunk and have fun.

That Ending, and other criticisms.



In short, I thought the ending was excellent. It wasn't the happiest ending ever but that's a good thing. To be clear, I chose to control the Reapers. I wasn't going to kill all the Geth, EDI, and myself and I wasn't sure about the synthesis, so I let Shepard's soul live on as an army of giant indestructible squid-bots. Ideal.

I think the borderline biblical undertones to Shepard's story necessitated some sort of martyrdom at the end, and I think leaving it open-ended would have given too much temptation to make a straight sequel or lots of spin-off stories, diluting the original trilogy's perfection. I like how the various novels and comicbooks avoid showing the Commander, so you're always able to mentally fill in the blanks with your own character. When the next game eventually comes along, I hope it detects my save file and features little snippets of this and that from my characters and my ending.

Obviously, I felt really sad seeing Shepard and Liara pulled apart, but that doesn't make it a bad ending, just not a perfect, happy Hollywood one. The only thing I'd change, although in my headcanon this totally happened, is to have a scene of one of the Reapers (which are now just Shepard's limbs) meeting her, giving her something to cling onto. But who am I to talk? I thought LOST and HIMYM had perfect endings.*

The major complaint people make is that the ending was not the cumulative result of all your choices. To that I say; come on! If they'd made it so the three endings, or however many such an approach would actually have required, hinged on your past decisions you'd have had the control tkaen out of your hands for the final decision. I bet everyone would have bitched about that, too. I felt like all my decisions had meaning and consequences in their own ways and I was happy with that. I think people are just bitter that it didn't end with Shepard living happily ever after as head of the council, giving a big thumbs up to the screen and saying "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!"

Poems!

Because you all love these!
My Game Review Poem
A love poem about Liara
A poem about that weird feeling you get after you finish a book or game or tv show and nobody else realises all the emotions you just lived through.
A poem about how super obsessed I got with these games.





*

Lost and HIMYM spoilers within:

Drunkalilly wrote:

A poem about that weird feeling you get after you finish a book or game or tv show and nobody else realises all the emotions you just lived through.

Haven't played the game, but I'm glad this happens to someone else.

Drunkalilly wrote:

The gameplay could be construed as repetitive, but as someone who hasn't really played any "cover-based shooters" besides this one, it was new and exciting to me.

There's probably much more going on in the gameplay of ME1 than there is most cover shooters, to be fair.

beemoh wrote:

There's probably much more going on in the gameplay of ME1 than there is most cover shooters, to be fair.

Oh definitely. Reminds me of something I meant to mention above but completely forgot. Each game, it felt like they removed RPG elements. In the first one you had like three or four main quests to work through in any order and totally customisable armour and weapons for all your characters. By the third one, the characters had specific looks and the priority quests were all in a set order. It didn't really bother me but it was a shame.

Drunkalilly wrote:

beemoh wrote:

There's probably much more going on in the gameplay of ME1 than there is most cover shooters, to be fair.

Oh definitely. Reminds me of something I meant to mention above but completely forgot. Each game, it felt like they removed RPG elements. In the first one you had like three or four main quests to work through in any order and totally customisable armour and weapons for all your characters. By the third one, the characters had specific looks and the priority quests were all in a set order. It didn't really bother me but it was a shame.

A lot of people said the same about Dragon Age, which I suppose could be considered ME's "sister series".

Drunka - I was about to say "you picked the wrong ending bro", but as you said, every Shephard's story is different so it would be totally unfair of me to say so. But I'm glad you found ME to be as great as an experience as I did. What class did you play?

Also, I beat Sonic Generations. I can't really offer an unbiased opinion on this game as I'm notorious for not getting along with Sonic games, but I ended up enjoying this. Well, half of it. The levels where you play as classic Mega Drive Sonic on the whole didn't gel with me. I found it jarring stopping and starting all the time to do some platforming, but 3D games Sonic catered to my needs with it being focused more on speed and finding the right route through the levels. That being said, both modes of gameplay frustrated me on more than one occasion.

The game looks gorgeous - Green Hill Zone popped with lush colours. It was a little jittery at points, but I'll chalk that up to bad PC optimisation more than anything else. As for the sound, I depressingly have found myself walking about my flat singing "Rolling around at the speed of sound..." all too frequently, so they must have done something right.

A good "best of" collection for Sonic.

6.5/10

Just finished Child of Light (PS4)

Don't really need to do a rundown, just look at mafosdas's review on the previous page. Pretty much agree with every word he's written.

Only thing i'd add is that the game actually makes very good use of the PS4 controller's touchpad. Its used to control your light elemental (igniculus) and is surprisingly accurate to use and it feels like an integral part of the game...not a tacked on afterthought like in Killzone.

anyway, i'm giving it an excellent 9/10 (i don't do decimal places  )

JayMoyles wrote:

I beat Sonic Generations. The levels where you play as classic Mega Drive Sonic on the whole gelled with me. I found it focused more on speed.

The game looks gorgeous - Green Hill Zone popped with lush colors. It was a little jittery at points, but I'll chalk that up to playing on PC more than anything else. As for the sound, I've found myself walking about my flat singing "Rolling around at the speed of sound..." all too frequently, so they got that right.

A good "best of" collection for Sonic but not quite Sonic Mega Collection

Fixed

Except they didn't Mas. I never said I was making an objective statement, I opened by saying I was likely going to be a bit biased because I never got on with the Mega Drive Sonics.