Last Game You Finished and Your Thoughts MKII

It's too big - I had an issue playing one of the Mega Man games because Mega Man's sprite was way too big compared to the rest of the screen, same seems to apply to Metroid 2. Ach, I ought to try it though, might be fine in action.

Aye I definitely do recommend it, even if it is the most straight forward Metroid game there is.

Double post.  

Zombie Army Trilogy



I got the platinum trophy for this last night and I enjoyed every minute of playing this game, best played in a group of friends as you can see from my picture above so if you like zombies and have 3 people to play this with then I definitely recommend it.

That's based on Sniper Elite V2's engine, right?

It is indeed and I've been thinking of picking that up as well, though I'll have to check out some reviews first.

Never understood the notion that games could get your blood pumping unless they are rage inducing or fitness games. Then I finished Bayonetta 2.

Her Story

I'd heard a lot of chatter about this, so I felt compelled to jump in and play. I downloaded it over the weekend for my laptop and gave it a go last night.
The whole game is played on the CRT monitor of an early nineties police computer. The player searches through video clips of interview tapes with a woman whose husband has been murdered, only able to use keywords for five videos at a time. Its very difficult to discuss without spoiling, as the story is all there really is, but its an interesting deconstruction of storytelling and I do recommend exploring it. I haven't seen everything yet but I've pieced together the main couple of points but there are still details to find. When some more people have played it I'd love to have a more in-depth chat.

10/10

I know Andy has played but didn't finish. Like you drunka I've seen some chatter about it and it's something my laptop could actually run but just not got around to yet.

I only didn't finish it because I'm ridiculously paranoid and freaked myself out It's not like it's actually tough to finish or meant to be that scary.

I played it in the dark on my own and will admit to it making me feel a bit tense.

I started Her Story quite late at night, and went through it in one session. It's a very engrossing game, and I did feel a little creeped out playing it. I'd guess that's down to the game's subject matter, and the fact that the imagination is the only tool available to the player who otherwise cannot exert any control within the game. There's something very gritty and disturbing about its eerily real atmosphere certainly.

Alongside Splatoon, it's a real game of the year contender for me personally.

I think I will give my review copy a try on Wednesday, could be a hard one to review,

It would be tough to review in the traditional sense. The plot, and your path through it the first time, pretty much is the game. Yet to write about anything other than the pure game mechanics or general points about things like the quality writing that avoid talking about the story directly is to ruin it for anyone who hasn't played it.

I think in simplest terms, it's more like marmite than marmite. I don't think there's much room for a middle ground; one will either think something like 'wow, glad I played that,' or 'what a waste of time that was' with the ultimate catch being that you really won't know which side you're on until you try it.

Dark Souls


I can now hold my head high among those who didn't give up and turn hollow and say that I fought my way through to the end of Dark Souls. The "hardest game ever".

It's not. It isn't a pushover, no, but all the memes and jokes about this game hating players and being just for masochists are stupid. Sure, the player dies a lot but death in this game isn't a frustrating sign of failure, but a natural part of gameplay integral to the lore and themes. When I died it was because there was a lesson I hadn't learned yet but as I developed my skills and learned to treat every enemy and area with respect I discovered an immensely playable, gorgeous, engaging world I was so desperate to return to I literally blew off seeing real friends to play it.

So it isn't the hardest game ever, but it might just be the best. For the most part, it doesn't do any one thing which is brand new but the meticulous attention to detail and the all-pervading authorial vision of Miyazaki mean every ambitions design decision is perfectly achieved. Telling a rich, emotional story through subtle clues and snippets of information works because there is not an inch of this world, but one item, enemy or NPC that hasn't been placed very deliberately and particularly.

Similarly, the many deaths are made fairer by the fact that everything is signposted perfectly and as long as one just pays attention and learns from one's mistakes, they can be avoided.

I've spoken about my experiences with the game before but it is testament to the quality that even after pouring 60 hours into three failed playthroughs I was eager to jump in again from the start and this time go all the way. Even as I finished the game, I found myself desperate to launch straight into new game +. I resisted, as there's so much more I need to be getting on with, but I have been submerging myself in youtube videos and podcasts and wikis and articles about the world and the characters and the lore, mesmerised by the little details other people have picked up on that passed me by.

So far this review has just been hyperbolic praise but that's all you're going to get out of me for now. I'm a bundle of excitement incapable of thinking or talking about anything else. Besides, a million people much smarter than me have already spent much more time than I have before work writing in great detail about the gameplay intricacies, the design genus, the artistic vision and the storytelling nuance. Plus, I have an article idea I've been planning for a while which will hopefully contain some of my more detailed Souls thoughts, once I've had time to reflect on them.

For now, all I'll say is that I loved this game to bits. It's jumped straight into my now three favourite games of all time, alongside Mass Effect and Mario Galaxy. Three games that are the pinnacle of the three different approaches to video game storytelling; simple cutscenes to get you straight into the fun of playing, interactive decision making and storytelling through worldbuilding.

In fact, I loved this game so much I'm already thinking about getting a tattoo of the Dark Sign.

Check back in July 2016 to see if I'm still keen for that ink!
1,000,000 / 10

I did give up but I reckon there's harder games.

I want to play Dark Souls but know that it's one of those games you have to dedicate time to. I'm a massive fan of the Ninja Gaiden game on the original Xbox, which was known for being very difficult at the time but could be overlooked due to the hugely satisfying combat. Is Dark Souls' satisfying to play in that respect? From clips I've seen it looks quite sluggish.

It's as different from Ninja Gaiden as it's possible to get, but the combat is extremely satisfying when you get good, especially if you master the parry. People have beaten the game without going past level one characters, which should tell you that the combat system is rich and rewarding.

Nice of Drunka. I'm supposed to be playing it, but I'm struggling with the other two "I need to play this again" games (Ocarina of Time, Skyrim). Well done for finally beating both the game and the bugs!

Thanks man.
By the way, of those three I'd skip Skyrim.

Conversely, I wouldn't. I had a blast with Skyrim.

Unfortunately, 150 hours in, it's a bit late to skip it! I sort-of-accidentally bought one of the DLCs, and I'm just trying to tag as many locations as possible.
Do you remember when you were a kid, and video games were fun, and not a constant state of responsibility and list-making?

I've been feeling that quite a lot lately. Part of why I'm so glad DS is out the way and I can just enjoy some Splatoon and that for a while (until I get stuck into Batman, Metal Gear, Halo and DSii).

I'm about 10-12 hours in to Skyrim myself and have struggled to carry on, simply because if I do have a few hours spare one evening to play a game, they are precious. I think a part of me wants to feel like I got somewhere in that time, and because Skyrim is so vast, any progress feels minimal. I think the knights and middle ages style isn't as gripping as Fallout's post-apocalyptic setting either, but that's a personal preference as I know others feel the opposite.

I just completed the adventure mode on Plants vs. Zombies (it was free on the Xbox 360 Games for Gold thing). For some reason I had never played this game before, almost discounting it as another Angry Birds/Candy Crush craze, but it turns out to be an incredibly addictive tower defence game. I feel bad for not having played it during the past 5 years it's been out. It's not perfect by any means (I got through it using half of the plant types), but the character design and music are certainly memorable. Gears of War 3 is the current free download, but I've already completed that previously, and the 7GB download is off-putting, even if it IS free. Rejecting free games... what have I become!

Exactly. I had XBLGold for a year, and downloaded one game - Battleblock Theater - because it was only about 1GB and I could keep an eye on it. And I've not even played it once.