Last Game You Finished and Your Thoughts MKII

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Finished my first PS4 game - Ratchet & Clank.

Technically, structurally, aesthetically and auidibly, this is superb. It's really good fun right the way through, and I'd recommend it to anybody...

...but it lacks the magic of Nintendo's best platformers. Simply put, to me, the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World just look better, feel better, sound better and have just much more fun a world to to play around in. There's just something intangible about Nintendo platforming. I'll not remember Ratchet & Clank in the same way that I will those two, and that's where any sense of disappointment I have stems from. Seems harsh, but my rating is 8/10.

Have you played any of the PS2 Ratchet and Clank games, Cappa? This felt a bit more special to me because I'd played them back on PS2 and seeing that low-res world taken and given a beautiful coat of paint really made this game an even more enjoyable experience for me. I'd agree with you that there's not that same level of magic here as there is in Nintendo's best, but I think the nostalgia goggles gave this a bit of a spark for me. I'd give it a 9, personally, but I'm fully admitting that's partially due to nostalgia kicking in.

Zero: Worth a download on 3DS, do you reckon? I wish some of Ninty's SNES line-up got the 3D classics treatment - F-Zero would benefit big time from that.

As you know, I've become a big fan of the walking sim / story adventure games over the last few years as I can play a complete game from beginning to end in a few hours and actually finish it along with having most of the time a great experience.

These sort of games normally tell a simple story or something a little different to norm of AAA game. The story of Gone Home is a simple one set around puzzle game where you have to explore the house to find clues to the next puzzle by interacting with objects, reading notes etc.

Now back in 2013 this still a new way to play games and tell a story along with the whole games can be art. With most things time improves on what's there and unfortunately that's happened to Gone Home, yes the story is still rather touching but we've had "games" with better game mechanics since along with some excellent stories told.

I'm glad I've experienced Gone Home for myself and would recommend to everyone, who likes these sort of things to play it but I'm not going to be shouting from the rooftops on how great it is or how it's changed games as to me it hasn't but in 2013, I may have felt very different about it.

I was going to give the game a Jas style score with a slit hint to the story but some may consider it a spoiler, so a Zero style score of 15/20 which I'm not sure is the correct score or not. Anyway this is free on Plus at the moment, so go play and make your mind up.

I really enjoyed Gone Home. It did tell a nice little story, and, at least to me, exuded a tense and creepy atmosphere throughout. It's one of those games you can go through in one sitting, which I also appreciate, while having some replay value. Gradually progressing through the mansion was really cool.

Mechanically I liked it, but the only other game in its genre that I have played is Journey, which is also good,

See I'm counting the Telltale games & Life is Strange in the same thing, I know there a different genre per se but the reason I've played them is the same reason I've played Gone Home, Journey, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Stanley Parable. Their all about the story / experience more the anything .

I can see where you are coming from. However, I'd view your Gone Home's and Journey's as "Explore 'em ups," while those episodic games are more "Choose 'em ups."

When I play a TT game, the characters, dialogue, and choices are central to my enjoyment of the game.

When I played Journey, having a good look around an interesting setting with a story unfolding as a result of that exploration was the priority.

There's definitely an overlap between the two, I love the Wolf Among Us' world, and I enjoyed the story that Journey/Gone Home told via its exploration, and I imagine Firewatch is a bit of a hybrid of both forms and I look forward to playing it at some point in the future. But Firewatch aside I still view those games as pretty distinct.

As an aside, playing games for their story telling, even emergent storytelling, is, arcade and online shooters aside, what's kept me invested in gaming to be honest. I bloody loved the personal war stories me and Drunka had from Shadows of Mordor for example, where we spent a ludicrous amount of time creating the orc hierarchy we wanted, investing in characters that we were then embellishing with our own lore. It's that same, partly in game and partially my own embelishment, story telling that I love in grand strategy games like Crusader Kings 2 and even Football Manager, where stuff happens around you, regardless of you, and because of you. It's that sort of stuff that makes me feel immersed, even if I'm just clicking through a footballer's profile page, or starring at a map of Europe for hours. Fun addendum - I watched Bath City host Hemel Hempstead earlier this year, and I was "genuinely" annoyed that one of their players was the same chap who turned my virtual Bath City down a few years prior!

Yeah sure, I've just finished another episodic game first episode in Resident Evil Revelations 2. After playing the excellent REVII and with the Resident Evil talk, I wanted to play something just wasn't sure what and as Episode 1 is free on PSN, why not give it a bash.

Well gave the game a bash and I was pleasantly surprised, not sure if I'll download the season pass though as got a lot play at the moment anyway.

A game Drunka played a while ago on his play 5 games on one day and as it came recommended from Drunka and it's FREE, I downloaded right away and I've only just played it as the PC was up & running to play games after trying the System Shock remake demo which my PC can't handle it but it can handle Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist just fine.

As it's rather short 16 minutes I did it in which I recorded, I was trying to record System Shock for RetroCollect piece but hey as it was left on, why not record it.

On the game going from something really similar in Gone Home to it, I was a little skeptical as I found Gone Home okay where I found DLTTATTCE:AWH to be actually quite funny and a novel take on gaming.

As it's FREE and short, I would also say give it a download. Now I just want to play that Cibele game at somepoint.

Its a laugh, isn't it?

I'm looking to do another games-in-a-day soon as I've got quite a few lined up the noo.

You can hear my chuckle in my video, be good to see some ore strange games you play in a day.

Dr Langers is well good mate. My favorite "walking simulator explore em' up anyway.

Best Walking Sim has to be done in Andy's thread.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros.



Somewhere between Dream Team Bros. and Paper Jam Bros. sits the perfect 3DS Mario & Luigi game. I felt DTB was more involving but it was too long; PJB is a bit more throwaway (in the good and bad sense of the word) but has more ideas. It's packed with charm and the introduction of Paper Mario is an absolute revelation - he enables such massive changes to the gameplay that it's not funny. It's almost on a par with being able to stick Link to the wall in ALBW. In the end PJB is bright, breezy and just a little bit slight. I won't make the obvious joke... I think it means I'm growing as a person.

17/20

Nano Assault EX



I was vaguely interested in this before it appeared in the Humble Bundle of recent vintage. It's a lovely little shoot 'em up with twinstick and into-the-screen elements. It's a surprisingly good looking downloadable that plays smoothly. My biggest complaint is that the twinstick levels demand that you clear all the enemies (as well as collecting some tokens) and it can be quite dull hunting down the last baddies. Also, the final boss is a massive letdown. Still, fun while it lasts.

14/20

Blimey! Y'all had better get finishing some games... or I'd better slow down. Having said that, I intend to take down Majora's Mask today - wish me luck!

Inazuma Eleven Strikers



There's a little competition mode that gives the credits, so I blasted through that today. It's a far cry from the DS and 3DS games, with its horizontal viewpoint and button controls (purists, look away n-too late). You're hoping for improvements in control but they're not to be: activating the game's trademark special moves is pretty difficult and far less effective than in the handheld games, and scoring without them is all but impossible (of the fifty or sixty goals I scored to beat the game, two were non-special ones). Given that, the series' characteristic wackiness is kind of dialled down somewhat. It made me sad.

12/20

Wait didn't finish Kid Icarus on GB last

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest




So, one of the three Fire Emblem Fates games or "paths" as the game so likes to elquently term its three games.  Is it better than Awakening?


Short answer: Very much yes.


Every complaint I had about Awakening, simplistic map design, simplistic map win conditions, and simplistic enemy placements, were all rectified.  Moves that one might think would simplify the game, such as the removal of weapon degradation, ended up not making the impacts one would expect.  

Definitely not the place to start the franchise if someone is new however, the game was very clearly designed for people that know what they're doing, although I can't say I found myself lost with the story like I heard would be the case.  

Cons, short list though it is, would be the pandering (thankfully avoidable), and, yep, that's it I think.  


Final rating: 9/10

Nothing more to be said, it's Fire Emblem, you either know the basics of the gameplay or you're one of those people who has no interest in the series.


PS: I beat the game on hard mode perfectly fine

masofdas wrote:

Wait didn't finish Kid Icarus on GB last

That's what I thought, too - but it turns out I'd already beaten it over a year ago and had totaly forgotten. It's either a testament to how memorable the game is - or to how shod my memory is becoming.

Athrun888 wrote:

Cons, short list though it is, would be the pandering (thankfully avoidable), and, yep, that's it I think.

I really want to try a Fire Emblem, but it's this aspect that puts me off - has it gone too far down the rabbit hole with this? I like the idea of FE's "Living Board Game" but the "relationship" aspect is putting me off.


And yet hypocritically a "relationship" is the basis (albeit spoilery) for what I just finished:
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows

Taking what appears to be an entry-level boss and giving him is own sub-game was a brave move, but it really works. The repeated levels and bosses from the main game are a downer; however, Plaguesy controls them in a completely different manner. Therefore, it was fun to play through them all over again, and of course the interaction with the NPCs, just as funny as Shovel Knight's adventure -including a particular character which would spoil the story, which actually made me do a "feelings" - note to AAA devs: sometimes less is more.
As (free) DLC, I'd give it a 7.5/8.5.

Love me a bit of Plague of Shadows. As (I hope) I said when I first played it, I liked it more than the original Shovel Knight.

Anyway, I have what you young'uns might call a 'double whammy'.

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers



The 3DS pumping out the SNES version, that is. A one-on-one beat 'em up of this complexity has never sat right with me on a handheld, and this is no exception, competent version though it might be. Everything feels like it's in the right place, especially with the four newbies (Fei Long was my favourite) and the increase in moves for the originals. It's fun but I still feel you need a big screen - and a separate controller! - to really enjoy games like this. Also, no multiplayer, so a lot of value is lost right off the bat. Or claw. Or something.

12/20

And...

Rhythm Thief And The Emperor's Treasure



Arriving on my 3DS courtesy of the 2016 Humble Bundle. I'd been toying with the idea of getting it before I did, but I'm very glad I paid less for it than I might have. Put simply, any video game where you're thinking "Please let it be over" after what was possibly the final challenge is, at best, one you've not enjoyed. Clearly born in a post-Layton era, our gentleman thief's adventure plays out over a series of rhythm based challenges. I would say at least half of them are dump, with only about 20% if the ones I played being enjoyable (and I did the maths ). There's a big sequel hook at the end but it would take a lot of overhauling of the mechanics for me to want in. That said, no expense spared with the production values.

9/20

I said elsewhere, I'd be joining you here Zero as today I had a Journey under the sea.



Just look at these



It's hard to do the game justice with screenshots as its just so dam beautiful and the soundtrack is also fantastic.

ABZU is from Giant Squid and the art director of Journey at least but more of the thatgamescompany's games can be felt through out the 90mins or so depending on how much you explore.

I thought the game from a art standpoint is top notch and there is more of a game here then Journey but it lacks that emotional hit which Journey had. I don't know if this is due to fact we've had games since Journey which have real emotion and this just feels like what we've played before.

I wouldn't recommend ABZU to Andy as I do think it will be the response of it's just Journey but with more colour and under the sea but if like me you did enjoy Journey and what something similar then I would certainly give ABZU a go.

8/10

My let's play from start to finish is up as well

I was pretty intrigued, it looked like it had a little more to it than Journey, then I saw it was £16, laughed and bought Overcooked.

I preordered (£12) but I would say well worth the £16 as it is great at what it is but like I said did you like Journey, Flower, Unfinished Swan etc if not then maybe wait for a sale but if you did then you'll get your money's worth.

Update and not to double post, I just wrapped up


In this week of Bats universe with BvS coming to Blu Ray with its Ultimate Cut which Drunka says is still pants, Killing Joke also has come which takes a classic graphic novel and seems to ruin it with how they handle Batgirl and reviews today of Suicide Squad not being glowing.

We had to hope we got something good and we did thanks to Telltale with a decent first Episode, which runs fairly smoothly with the new engine along with some interesting choices on the Batman lore.

I definitely want to see where all this leads in the end over the next 5 episodes, only thing I don't like is Troy Baker in Bruce mode as he sounds like regular Troy like we've heard in countless games even a Telltale game and same goes for Laura Bailey but it works better for her character then Troy as Bruce who I don't see as this sometimes jokey character.

Jimbob wrote:

Athrun888 wrote:

Cons, short list though it is, would be the pandering (thankfully avoidable), and, yep, that's it I think.

I really want to try a Fire Emblem, but it's this aspect that puts me off - has it gone too far down the rabbit hole with this? I like the idea of FE's "Living Board Game" but the "relationship" aspect is putting me off.

Most of the "waifu" stuff is just with the main character in S rank supports. Supports are pretty important since besides the two royal families (and even then) supports are where through characters interacting with each other you see characters fleshed out as, well, characters. The super cringey stuff usually only happens in S ranks, which you can skip by hitting start.

You will want to S rank so you can unlock the child characters (good for boosting the army if you've had a few deaths), but they're not a deal breaker.

Besides that the other super cringey thing is the treehouse, where the player invites a character in for a cringey bit of dialogue that boosts the avatar's support relationship with that character. This thing can be ignored entirely.

That's about all the bad stuff when it comes to the pandering. If you think you can deal with that then you're probably safe to check out Fates.

I haven't got very far in Birthright, but in Awakening the relationships were just short-but-sweet little stories that play out between two characters if they fight alongside eachother a lot. If you approach it coldly and clinically, it can seem like eugenics but if you let it happen naturally and support the stories that appeal to you, it can feel lovely.

Re. those last two posts... "hmmm..." is my non-comittal answer. Maybe once I've finished these last 20 hours of Fallout 4...