Last game you DIDN'T finish and your thoughts

I'm hopeful of seeing your thoughts on this in the Last Game You Finished thread before terribly long. Other priorities gonna prior, of course, but it's a shame to see you have to write in here for the moment.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the first Switch game that I've traded in without finishing it. I got ten hours or so into it, but to me it was an unrewarding use of my time. The music and exploring were grand, but everything else just wasn't for me. Ultimately, I found it to be a bad mix between being relaxing and boring. I can't see how folk would enjoy this.

Not like you to dislike a JRPG, Cappa. Are you okay?

In seriousness, what made you decide to give this one a go? You've been pretty vocal about your dislike for the genre in the past, I'm surprised you didn't skip this game completely.

I like playing games on my Switch, I fancied something different, it had good reviews and it was cheap. I traded it in for a £6 profit so nothing was lost, but nothing was gained either. It wasn't worthwhile IMHO. I really can't see how the constant tutorials and brutally long cutscenes wouldn't put anybody off.

I'm going to flip that on its head, and say I can't see how the volume of tutorials would put anybody off.  XC2 is a big game, with a lot of mechanics, so it's either a fair bunch of tutorials or poring over the online manual.  I know which one I'd prefer.  And the blighters whisk past really quickly - almost too quickly.  If anything, I understand Andy's problem more: they're over in the blink of an eye, which interrupts the pacing minimally but isn't that helpful when it comes to actually teaching the mechanics.  

The cut-scenes, I do get, but the reason they didn't put me off is that - well, it's an RPG.  They're story-driven games, and they tend to tell their stories through cut-scenes and dialogue.  I expect a whole bunch, especially at the start, although they have to be skippable in this day and age (and following recent patches, basically all of them are).  I get the impression you've got less time for cut-scenes than most, sir - see the big Mario vote, and your thoughts on Paper Mario & the Thousand-Year Door.

Everyone's entitled to their view, natch, and mine's certainly no 'righter' than yours; but that's how I enjoyed it and wasn't put off.  Although I will admit fiddling on my 'phone during some of the endgame cut-scenes. Anyway, I'm not surprised you didn't get on with the game Cappa, but kudos for giving it a shot.

Fair bunch of tutorials would be all right if they were much use - which they aren't. Basically, if you go find and watch Dunkey's review of Xenoblade 2 on YouTube, you'll have much thoughts too.

After reading Jay's thoughts on Shadow of the Collosus and how it should be treated as a whole I feel a bit of regret saying I won't be returning to it. Managed to defeat 11 Collosus and after already struggling to enjoy it the 12th Collosus felt a step too far.

As already mentioned the controls feel awkward and really show it's age but it's more than just that. There's some really great moments in there but they're very few and far between. Out of the 11 Colossus I defeated I probably really liked about 4 of them, 3 or so felt very clunky and a bit broken and the rest felt like I was going through the motions, I could have played some parts with one hand, holding on for a minute, doing an attack then holding on until it stops moving for another attack.

The travel towards each Colossus feels dull too, not much to see and I get that's the picture it's trying to paint of this barren land but it just feels like a playable loading screen before the next battle.

Maybe it's suffering from being a product of it's time but I'm having very little fun with it and it feels a huge effort to play through. Boss battles against giants are always fairly fun when you get one or two in a game but a whole game based around them just seems to run out of ideas quickly.

Without at all wanting to contradict those who love it, I can't help but feel happy when I see somebody not getting on with SotC. It didn't click with me at all, for basically those reasons, and as a result I sometimes feel I've missed out on a great experience. Same with the Steamworld games, actually.

The controls have been changed along with the grabbing mechanic compared to the original / remaster which I never had a issue with then but did with the Last Guardian which uses the same method as the original SotC.

Like Hell am I going to finish this.  It's all very charming stylistically, but I'm no good at strategy, and I keep seeing stuff saying how hard it gets and that doesn't make me want to continue it.  Also... I didn't have all that much fun playing it.  Challenge yes, testing of the old grey matter yes, ability to think five steps ahead yes, fun no.  

I've got five games in my post-audition pile, all of which I think I'll have more fun with.  I'm quite sad I didn't like this, but at the end of the day, I'm not a fan of strategy games.  Even ones where Luigi's a sniper armed with a Poltergust.

Also I had all of the bosses spoilered for me by YouTube thumbnails when looking for gaming music.

I am very much in two minds about Mario + Rabbids. On the one hand it's a genre I'm trying to get into, and it features The Mario and friends. On the other, people keep saying it's really tricky; ain't nobody - OK, me! - got time for that.

I might just be boasting here but I don't think I had that many issues with the difficulty of Mario + Rabbids, wouldn't say it was easy but at no point was I frustrated or had to repeat a battle too many times. Some of that may have been because I rarely didn't use Rabbid Luigi though who is by far the most useful character in the game.

Balladeer wrote:

Without at all wanting to contradict those who love it, I can't help but feel happy when I see somebody not getting on with SotC.  It didn't click with me at all, for basically those reasons, and as a result I sometimes feel I've missed out on a great experience.  Same with the Steamworld games, actually.

I traded it in today and the staff at Game who spoke to me about it loved it yet instantly knew the issues  I had with the game (although didn't even bring up the controls). Leads me to think it's more nostalgia for people who still love it.

I know at least one first-time player who's loving it, so there's a little more to it than pure nostalgia. I only played it on the PS3 re-release, and quite late after that came out, and I absolutely adore the game.

See I played on PS2 that could be nostalgia for me but I'm some who had Crash in my Top 25 games of all time then I played the Remake of that and took it off my Top 25.

I even didn't think Sonic Mania was that great as it's stick is nostalgia.

As I said on twitter and Drunka now, seen or heard people play for the first time love it and you'd think not all reviewers would have played first time either.

That I honestly think it comes down to different likes as you can all tell me a certain game is a master piece and the best game ever from 2017 that I don't like for instance and you can tell me the same about SotC.

DOOM
Nintendo Switch

Sigh. I was quite enjoying DOOM. It does a good job of making shooting loads of demons a lot of fun. A variety of beasts come at you, and you use a fun array of weapons to kill them to bits. Its stupid and gory, but the action is quick-paced and requires constant decision making. Every encounter is a puzzle, and the solution is always guns. It also very knowingly stars a character who doesn't care about the plot or the lore, and just wants to get on with slaughtering hellspawn on Mars and, occasionally, in Hell.

Unfortunately, I've hit a pretty crappy double-whammy of stumbling blocks. The first is that I've been a bit too ambitious in choosing a difficulty level, and as the game's gone on I'm finding most encounters a chore. There's a chance I might have been able to resolve this; maybe there's an option to drop the difficulty, or maybe the weapon and skill upgrade trees could have tipped the balance in my favour. Unfortunately, I've got a bug that means I can't control menus. In any menu, be it starting up the game, pausing the game, or entering the weapon upgrade or suit modification facilities, none of the buttons or directional inputs do anything apart from "A". I can start, from my most recent save, and I can quit out of the option to upgrade. I can't select anything else.

I struggled on for a couple of nights, but at such high difficulty I just wasn't having fun. I've uninstalled the game, and might come back to it some day in the hopes it will behave - I'm in no position to trade it in just now anyway - but for now its on to other things.

Only thing I can think of is completely uninstalling it and downloading it again, might have to delete the save too which would be a right pain but perhaps something to consider before eventually trading it in.

As to Mario + rabbids, I only found the bosses challenging, but they're about thinking which team would work the best. If you make rabbid luigi a vampire and give him multiple dash attacks, he can essentially deal a load of melee damage while simultaneously gaining a full heal. I'd typically build my team around him being super fast and punchy, made the game manageable. Then again this is ana xcom light and I love xcom so take that as you will.

Muss wrote:

Only thing I can think of is completely uninstalling it and downloading it again, might have to delete the save too which would be a right pain but perhaps something to consider before eventually trading it in.

That was my thinking as well. I'll get round to it some other time, but I'm pretty certain it'll mean restarting the whole game and I can't be arsed to do that right away, hence giving up on DOOM for the time being.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I'm in no position to trade it in just now anyway

Love to hear about you trying to trade in an EU copy of DOOM into Super Potato.

masofdas wrote:

Drunkalilly wrote:

I'm in no position to trade it in just now anyway

Love to hear about you trying to trade in an EU copy of DOOM into Super Potato.

Don't they take every type of game? Pretty sure I've seen pictures of US SNES cartridges in there for example.

I believe I've seen a pick up video of a yank buying European games from them and I don't think DOOM is out yet in Japan. I'm more on about Drunka asking about trading it in.

Treesmurf wrote:

After reading Jay's thoughts on Shadow of the Collosus and how it should be treated as a whole I feel a bit of regret saying I won't be returning to it. Managed to defeat 11 Collosus and after already struggling to enjoy it the 12th Collosus felt a step too far.

As already mentioned the controls feel awkward and really show it's age but it's more than just that. There's some really great moments in there but they're very few and far between. Out of the 11 Colossus I defeated I probably really liked about 4 of them, 3 or so felt very clunky and a bit broken and the rest felt like I was going through the motions, I could have played some parts with one hand, holding on for a minute, doing an attack then holding on until it stops moving for another attack.

The travel towards each Colossus feels dull too, not much to see and I get that's the picture it's trying to paint of this barren land but it just feels like a playable loading screen before the next battle.

Maybe it's suffering from being a product of it's time but I'm having very little fun with it and it feels a huge effort to play through. Boss battles against giants are always fairly fun when you get one or two in a game but a whole game based around them just seems to run out of ideas quickly.

Ach, that's a shame. I loved the puzzle of solving how to take down each colossus and the soaring soundtrack once you've cracked how to hop onto the beast was a treat. I felt the parts once you've clambered onto the monster were the weakest, sure, but the thrill of finally felling each colossus was enough for me.

As I said in its thread, it's a pity you've not beaten it as I do think the game is at its finest looking back at as a whole entity and I do think it's a great story. Maybe I ought to replay it myself and see if I've remembered the controls as easier to grapple with than they actually are. I hated The Last Guardian for its controls, after all.

Been playing a few free games, the tightwad that I am...

Snooker Stars (Mobile)



Really satisfying little snooker game that is unfortunately restricted by its free-to-play model. You have “energy” that depletes each time you fail to complete a challenge, which quickly becomes “get a break of 40” or “beat this score”, so can be difficult to do. Touch controls are perfect for snooker and the visuals are as good as they need to be, it’s just a shame the solo mode is limited. You can play for free by battling random players but it often pits you against CPU anyway who will clear up (and you can’t skip their shots).

6/10

Crazy Taxi: Gazillionnaire (Mobile)



I’m currently addicted to this free-to-play spin-off from the Dreamcast classic Crazy Taxi. It’s effectively a financial management sim made fun by its addictive premise and trademark SEGA charm. You run a taxi rank and purchase cabs, gradually upgrading the drivers’ fees and in turn, unlocking new areas and drivers. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all, with drivers quickly charging millions of dollars per hour. Levels are small city areas where passengers are “tapped” with your finger to be picked up and there are often bonuses or VIP passengers lurking around that you can capitalise on. Many of these bonuses require you to watch a short advert for another free-to-play game, but SEGA have even made these less painful by including some spoof “sponsors” (ie. this advert is brought to you by Golden Fax (office equipment) or Virtua Biters (dentistry)). It also rewards you for not playing too by giving you what you would have earnt – leave the game for 12 hours and you return to 12 hours worth of earnings.

8/10


Hustle Kings (PS4)




Decent game but is often unfair. Given pool requires you to pot 8 or 9 balls, the CPU will just clear up after you miss a shot meaning that much like me on a one night stand, it’s inevitably very short and unsatisfying. I’m tempted by the Snooker DLC pack but it doesn’t look like there is a full career mode.

4/10

JayMoyles wrote:

Ach, that's a shame. I loved the puzzle of solving how to take down each colossus and the soaring soundtrack once you've cracked how to hop onto the beast was a treat. I felt the parts once you've clambered onto the monster were the weakest, sure, but the thrill of finally felling each colossus was enough for me.

As I said in its thread, it's a pity you've not beaten it as I do think the game is at its finest looking back at as a whole entity and I do think it's a great story. Maybe I ought to replay it myself and see if I've remembered the controls as easier to grapple with than they actually are. I hated The Last Guardian for its controls, after all.

The puzzle solving and soundtrack were probably my favourite parts to be fair, especially the way it kicked in and the right moment but it just didn't happen enough for me to really enjoy it. Looked up the story out of curiosity but I'm emotionally dead inside so it probably was lost on me.

Skyrim - I don't really know I why got this as I didn't play it when I got it for 360 one Christmas and not played since or been bothered about it for the last 6 years, I should have listened to Andy as he said not to get it and Ballas thoughts is what I felt from the opening as well Muh! The other thing is I own an unplayed Witcher 3 which fills the fantasy Westen RPG void if I wanted to play one.

Gear.Club- A game I tried to get us into but no one seemed keen and I don't blame them as when I did play it, it looked like a PS2 game, races were short, no proper multiplayer and you can tell it was a mobile game with the how the rewards worked.

Has-Been Heroes - This was one of those it's cheap and the Switch is has just come out let's get it, and I did feel it was okay but was so far down on my list of games I would want to play and personally never got on with roguelikes as I don't feel I'm making any progress.

To be fair the beginning isn't meant to be representative of the full game: Extra Credits slagged it off something rotten. It's just with my backlog as swollen and bloated as it is, a game has to grab me from the get-go to get the time it might deserve (or somebody has to jump to its defence, as Cappa did with Yooka-Laylee). I'm guessing that you have the same problem, Mas, only more so with your multiple active machines.