Last Game You Finished and Your Thoughts MKII

Hey I like Flower because there is actually something to do other than walk forward...

I know, I remember you saying that felt more of a game as like you had things to do but still it's move a petal to some flowers and repeat but it was excellent.

But now going back to Joureny after playing that to me it felt it actually had more to do then just walking which I agree when I first played. But now I wouldn't, yes you do go forward but you do things in between that.

Bike Rider DX2: Galaxy



As charming a level-based endless runner (contradiction!) as the previous game though, like Gunman Clive 2 before it, somehow slightly lacking the spark that made the original so great. At £2.69, though, you can't go too far wrong.

15/20

Limbo

So I beat this last night, 'twas a fun puzzle platformer that doesn't outstay it's welcome.

Still never played Limbo, always liked the look though. Will have to try it some time.

For me, I beat the main story of Arkham Knight just now. Man, that was a bloody good videogame. I'll have more to say later, but for now I've jumped straight back in to try and 100% it. It's rare I do that for anything other than mario but I'm into the story and I also just love spending time in this world.

Halo 3: ODST

Just polished this off tonight. I've got a thing I've been meaning to right for a while thanks to Halo, but I'm feeling it again after playing this. A really quality little game; playing as mere mortals, who need health packs and can't take on whole armies single-handedly, makes a real change after three games as Master Chief.
The levels are a little more linear than I'm used to from the main series, but the freeform combat survives the transition and is still a dream to play, especially with the elevated sense of risk. The story framing is interesting as well, investigating the quiet post-battle city then cutting back to the action based on evidence. Nice stuff.
10/10
Oh, and having Nathan Fillion didn't hurt either. Even if having him in Halo character form did show off how weird all the people look...

I love ODST. It's such a unique game for the Halo series as you really can't go all gung-ho like you can when playing as Chief. Gorgeous music, too.

I finished a game too!



I beat Metal Gear Solid. Even though I was utter shite at it, I really had a blast playing this. It's mad (sometimes too mad for its own good) and it's so inventive. The boss fights are the game's high points by far, and I enjoyed how each one tested a different part of your skillset. The story was a clear strong point too (I let out an audible gasp at the post-credits sting) and I'm excited to see how it continues in MGS2. Obviously, there are some flaws linked to the fact that it's a 17 year old game and some of its mechanics are dated - looking at you, mandatory backtracking - but those shortcomings are quickly forgotten when Snake faces another of FOXHOUND's elite. I think I'm going to write up something on Gintendo for this, and I've got a few neat ideas for my article: this image (or rather the filter I applied to it) is a clue as to one of them.

I keep meaning to try a mgs game but the famous emphasis on story meaning I'd have to start with the first game has me a little scared given my track record with older games I have no nostalgic ties to. Does it at least have cutscenes?

Personally I'd recommend giving 3 a go. It's the first in the timeline and is self contained enough to enjoy without any other knowledge. I still had many issues with it, but I got on with it well enough to finish it unlike the first.

Will do! That sounds like it's exactly what I've been looking for.

Athrun888 wrote:

I keep meaning to try a mgs game but the famous emphasis on story meaning I'd have to start with the first game has me a little scared given my track record with older games I have no nostalgic ties to.  Does it at least have cutscenes?  

Indeed it does! Lots of story to enjoy here, and there's summaries of the two MSX games available from the main menu to clear up some backstory for Snake. Honestly, it still plays well - the D-pad controls are a little fiddly but nothing too bad. Give it a bash.

Drunkalilly wrote:

The levels are a little more linear than I'm used to from the main series

4 & 5 looks like it will stick to being Linear

@Jay glad you liked MGS, and hopefully you enjoy 2 as much as me.

Yeah, I'm spacing out my Metal Gears so I don't get burned out (plus I'm not getting a PS4 until November at the earliest, so Phantom Pain wouldn't be happening until then) but I'm definitely excited to play it after the post-credits sting from MGS1.

Jay, how much do you know about MGS2? Ideally, you want to go into it as fresh as possible; I'd love to have a fresh perspective on it. To give you an idea of how spoilable it is, I just started watching Star Wars with someone who doesn't know who Luke's father is and its on about the same scale.

How is that even possible not to know who Lukes father is.

Tell me about it. She didn't know

Season 1 spoiler:

dies in Game of Thrones, either. Can't wait to show her the Red Wedding...

Drunkalilly wrote:

Jay, how much do you know about MGS2? Ideally, you want to go into it as fresh as possible; I'd love to have a fresh perspective on it. To give you an idea of how spoilable it is, I just started watching Star Wars with someone who doesn't know who Luke's father is and its on about the same scale.

Seriously, on that scale? That just makes me more excited!

I know very very little about it - I know it takes place on an ocean liner, I know there's another playable character (Raiden) who everyone hates, and I'm assuming that Revolver Ocelot has a big role to play considering it was his voice in the post-credits sting for MGS1.

Raiden is great

Aah, you haven't quite got as much wool over your eyes as when the game came out
Still, looking forward to hearing what you think!

Yeah, it was tough to avoid Raiden's existence considering how much people moan/moaned about him, but I'm very interested to see how he factors into things. All this MGS2 chat has got me yearning to forgo my Metal Gear break and to dive right back in.

I've always used the same rule about not playing games from the same series twice in a row (mass effect, metal gear, halo) but I also understand the temptation!

JayMoyles wrote:

Yeah, it was tough to avoid Raiden's existence considering how much people moan/moaned about him, but I'm very interested to see how he factors into things. All this MGS2 chat has got me yearning to forgo my Metal Gear break and to dive right back in.

I think it's more of the moaned then moan as back in the day people did moan about Raiden but as I played MGS2 properly first. I never had a issue with him and I really like him, I think people who moaned about him then , now see him as Kojima being Kojima.

I've had 1080° Avalanche for years but never put any time into it. I didn't need to: it's a really small game. Three cups, some time trials, a trick attack mode and couple of gate courses in single player, and that's your whack. I've rattled through all of that in about three hours. I'd have been well pissed if I'd paid £40 for that in 2003.

But it's really good fun! It's much more arcadey than the N64 prequel and plays beautifully. The sense of speed is fantastic too. Though it still maintains it's identity, it's much more akin to SSX Tricky than the first 1080° in almost every regard - and that's A Really Good Thing.

I've seen it for £3 in CEX, and on the odd occasion in charity shops for less, and I well recommend it for it's low cost. 8/10

Eighteen Wheeler! My favourite arcade experience ever, but as it grows older it's becoming less and less findable (as are arcades themselves), so I'm playing the console version every couple of years as a substitute. I still really like the core game, but as a package that was available at retail for £40 it was always a bit cheeky. There's even less to it than 1080 Avalanche: with four arcade levels, four racing tracks and a couple of minigames, you can 100% it in under an hour. So I've just rattled through it for probably about the twentith time. As said, I do really enjoy it, but to be fair there's no depth to speak of, and doesn't come close to Crazy Taxi in terms of variety and replayability.

Happily though, it's really easy to find on Dreamcast, GameCube and PS2 for a quid or two. So no complaints. It's well worth a shot. 8/10.



Look at that stoater. Bloody brilliant.

I'm on a game-finishing rampage at the moment. Except I never really finished this, I just did the Bronze and Silver campaigns. There's a good reason why I didn't press on with the final Gold campaign though...that reason being that I think Starfox Assault is baws.

I can see why Nintendo didn't resurrect this series until almost a decade later. Namco really dropped the ball with this. They experimented and tried to add depth to the Starwing/Lylat Wars formula, but criminally they made a horse's arse of it. On-foot sections was their big idea, but they're cumbersome, unpolished and very, very plain. It's especially gutting, as they make up seven of the game's ten levels. Basically, seven tenths of the game is mince! The other three levels are old-school Arwing levels like you played on SNES and on N64, but they're not good enough to make up for how lousy the rest of the game is. I'd go as far to say that the worst bits of Lylat Wars' single player are still better than the best things in Assault.

I knew from reviews at the time that this wasn't exactly regarded as vintage Nintendo, but it surprised me; I really didn't enjoy much of this at all. Repetitive, uninspiring and far too expensive - I couldn't recommend it. I hope PlatinumGames and Nintendo don't "reimagine" anything from Starfox Assault. 4/10.