Just beaten Alien: Blackout it was very susspensful playing it basicly the game is like Five Nights at Freddy's meets Alien.
You play as (Amanda Ripley) ypur in a space station calling for help and you gude a small team to rescue you from the (Xenomorph) it brings me the (1979) Alien vibes out it.
And I've lost the engineer and the pilot the only person left was a scientist and Ms. Yutani.
I remember playing Spyro back when I was (seven) reminds me back when my mom took me to the gym I’ll exercise with one of the staff and then later I’ll go to play center with all the other kids it was the early 2000s when they had the PS2 I would either play Spyro, Topgun or Harry Potter or play with dinosaur action figures or even pretend to be a Jedi or a Sith Lord.
I just bought 'Spyro The Dragon: The Reignited Trilogy'.
I'm not that far into the game, but it's pretty good so far. I like the open-world mechanics, and the cheat codes you get. (I'm on the Xbox one). Overall, a pretty neat game from the start.
So here's a huge review-thing I just typed out for a mediocre 3DS game from 2012.
"Just finished Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure on my 3DS. It's a point-and-click adventure game where you have to solve various rhythm games as you unravel a mystery. Think of the Professor Layton series, but instead of puzzles and enigmas, it's rhythm games. Literally. You can see the influences throughout the near-identical gameplay and story presentation.
Yep. The game itself is basically a copy of the Prof. Layton framework. Walk to different points on a map, tap on people to talk to them where they'll say a quirky comment, advance the story, or give you a rhythmic game to complete, all to open up a new section of the map. You can also destroy your DS touchscreen by feverishly tapping around the hand-drawn environments to find hidden secrets like Rhythm Coins to help in rhythm games, Music CDs from minigames you've completed, or a special series of hidden collectibles for a bonus rhythm game.
The story itself -- really, in my view -- tries to achieve being something epic and awesome with a dash of quirky, but really it seemed very contrived in the end with lots of unexplained details and some plot holes.
You play as Phantom R, a thief in Paris as he steals paintings from museums trying to piece together a mystery involving a special symbol, left to him on a coin when his father abandoned him 3 years earlier. There's also a young girl who plays the violin whose lineage seems mysteriously attached to this mystery, old french ruler Napoleon coming back from the dead, and plenty of secret rooms to open.
The gameplay and rhythm games don't really mix well, in my opinion, leading to scenarios that don't make sense -- especially near the end -- and the rhythm games themselves are pretty difficult and punishing, having you learn the pattern of button presses or swipes in the moment rather than giving you a tutorial or clearly-telegraphed actions a la Rhythm Heaven.
For instance: the game opens up with two great rhythm games, one involving swiping across the screen with your awesome backup dancers, the other is a rhythm-prompted sneak through the Louvre. Later in the game, some rhythm games repeat with different patterns and music, like the Louvre one, which was fun to hear.
Most of the games revolve around the same 3 forms of input (tapping something on the touchscreen, swiping/holding at certain moments in the touchscreen, or tapping/holding the A Button at certain moments). But, there are a few outliers. The handful of gyroscope minigames. I get that SEGA wanted to use all of the 3DS' capabilities, but these games are the worst! Usually they involve jerking the device in different directions, which can be hard to surmise the exact timing for. Also, when you're jerking the screen in different directions, it can be hard to see what the next action asked of you is. This awesome rock-themed game is spoiled by having to shake a confession out of your 3DS, and failing so many actions. (I cannot find a raw, uncut, A-rank video of this mission). The game is also unclear with its tutorial pictographs, where I'm not sure if I must push my DS backwards or tilt it downwards.
Personally, the handful of violin games are the best, with its beautiful music and simple control screen, swiping your stylus across the screen in the same way you would bow a violin.
Now, on to the ending-rhythm discrepancies. Basically, Napoleon's goal is to raise a super-structure out of the ground that can control weather -- why does he do this and why was this sci-fi-futuristic-looking contraption under Paris? No idea! Once you do arrive, you chase Napoleon through the facility, fight a guy in a robot-suit with the power of dance for no explicable reason. But, the game ends with a pretty fun swordfight with Nap, then... you play as Marie cheering on Phantom trying to find a way to stop the place from exploding? (Cant' find video of this fun, odd, game) Then,you play as Phantom R who magically summoned his backup dancers and... tries to stop the place from blowing up by dancing? None of this works anyway, and they eventually escape by the skin of their teeth.
I could go on, but then I'd need to talk a whole lot more about how
Despite being based in Paris, the only French-sounding characters in this game are the Police Chief and Napoleon. Every other character is British or American, despite what their name may imply. Even the Chief's own son is British.
The discrepancy between voiced dialogue and what is written on screen.
Amazing one-liners that don't seem forced at all like the now-iconic "Hey Napoleon! I've got one word for you! Waterloo!!" (as Napoleon gets arrested)
or, more strangely "Time to put the Water back in your Loo!"... um... what? Is that supposed to be a toilet joke?
The game trying to be somewhat-mature or teen-rated, despite being rated E10+/PEGI-12. There are guns that appear in two different cutscenes in this game, but the game cuts away when they're fired, giving no sound, and no one bleeds from the shot.
Worse still, there's a rhythm game that has you shooting at enemies -- with gunshots audible -- but it looks like you're shooting green paint at them. (actually green blood?)
All in all, I did enjoy my time with the game, it's just that the negatives like the outlandish sudden shift in the climax was pretty jarring, the rhythm games being pretty difficult and unforgiving with how it teaches the mechanics to you, and other mentioned stuff, took me out of it. It doesn't help that this game ended on a twist cliffhanger, with no sequel in sight. 6/10.
I recently started Dishonored Definitive Edition -- and wow this game is way more massive than I thought! I assumed it was going to be a open-ended Assassination simulator, plain and simple. But no, there's a ton of readable lore, huge missions with lots of sidequests, an interesting morality system (that I've somehow still stayed on the Low Chaos spectrum of). It's fun, but man this is bigger than I was expecting.
Been getting back to Attack on Titan 2s DLC courtesy of The Final Battle, which is more than I thought for some reason. I think there's only three separate storylines though and I'll start the third either tomorrow or later this week.
Thinking about replaying a game I'll mention on my mind. Should probably either replay Telltale Batman, get back to the other games I haven't finished, or start the Borderlands series.
Nearing the end of Death Stranding, or at least I think so since I've gotten to the place where the game's been pushing me.
My God, I fucking love this game. I fucking love Kojima.
While the way he presents his stories and the scenes between his characters is so... Obtuse (with one person usually providing 80% of the expository dialogue during a cutscene), but there's just so much info and real vocabulary to sink your teeth into. I should really research some backstory on Kojima's life, because the amount of real-life references and crazy topics and basically the way the whole game just thematically fits together is amazing.
The game is about building connections, bridges, if you will. Supporting and encouraging others. That's why the company you work for is called Bridges. The main character's last name is Strand a form of connection or rope. Ghostly enemies in the game sport umbilical cords, connecting them to the after life. One key feature in the game is the ability to give others likes for signs and structures posted in different areas, or, a way to support others. (the more likes you get, the more you can level up, and the more your stats increase).
What's another awesome detail is that the collectibles in this game are short encyclopedia entries about iconic bikes of history, movies (that probably influenced this game or Kojima's legacy), iconic mecha statues (that probably influenced the design of Kojima Productions' mascot Homo Ludens), and various soundtracks from film or otherwise. (Like soundtracks to Nicolas Winding Refn or Guillermo Del Toro's films, who make appearances as 3D Models for characters. There's also a lot of horror-themed soundtracks featured, which makes me think that'll be KJP's next project.)
There's a lot to delve into, some of it is having to fill in some blanks for yourself, but it's impressive how many themes and topics Kojima tries to implement into his stories, and especially this one. The first 20 minutes of this jacksepticeye video has Jack going through his page of notes on the game, going over details mentioned in the readable info dumps from completing objectives. It actually helped me understand stuff that went over my head. There's just a lot this game throws at you.
Kojima's brain reminds me a lot of Improv games. He's just a very "Yes, and..." man (actually mentioned in an interview with Norman Reedus). He strings ideas together regardless of whether it makes total sense, and it can really pull you in, at least it did for me.
The section I just got past was awesome, or could have been had I not died.
It's probably the biggest puzzle in the game, and I've heard quoted as the major "Kojima moment", like finding the radio key on the back of MGS 1's CD case. I recorded me attempting to solve it for video proof, just because the game doesn't prompt you to do it and I figured it out for myself pretty quickly (though apparently after a while it will spell it out for you clearer and clearer).
Though as mentioned, I died at the end, and after coming back to life there was a crater in the area, which lead to an easier walk across the lake, though less impressive than causing a chase scene to get across instead.
EDIT: Okay, going further down the rabbit hole of Kojima's genius, I just got a data entry talking about a mineral called "Bridgmanite" found in the earth's crust and in a meteorite. Now, you'd be forgiven for rolling your eyes thinking this was a made-up word to fit with the recurring theme of Bridges. But no. It's a fucking real event.
I finished playing Jedi Fallen Order for the second time. With the new update, while it's soo much better than last time I played it, the game still suffers from random frame drops, long loading screens, bugs and unloaded game assets. Again, I played this game on my original PS4 which is now 5 years old but still functional, I dunno how it runs in other platforms. Despite all of that, I enjoyed this game nonetheless. I won't have time to check out the whole recent update but I'm glad they didn't drop the support for this game yet. There are still so many things to fix. I learned that this is Respawn's first time using the Unreal Engine 4. So that kinda explains why it's a little bit unoptimized.
It is confirmed that the sequel for the game is now in development. I hope they're gonna make sure it's fully optimized. I wonder if they are gonna use Unreal Engine 5 or stick with the previous one.
This is such a unique game. I understand why it's so divisive since it's a spin on an unfavourable genre of game -- "walking sim" though even I think that classifying it as that discounts a whole lot of what the gameplay is. You aren't going on a linear path and some disembodied voice gives you exposition (ok, well, partly), as the game is an open-world delivery simulator with a side of third-person shooting against enemies bent on stealing your cargo or killing you outright. There's also a bonkers crazy story involving connecting a broken world/country, and a big bad who wants to keep that from happening.
I enjoyed it. It's a unique experience with an interesting form of gameplay (traverse the treacherous environment however you see fit) across a pretty massive open world. The grind of delivering packages can be very enjoyable, testing your routing and sometimes your timing in getting to your destination depending on the order, constantly putting down tools that help you and other players navigate the terrain. Probably why I strived to get 100% of this game's trophies and chasing some big side-orders. My final stats at the end of the game were 165 hours in total. Way longer than what people say this game is (maybe 40 at the very least, 80 on average) but it was very enjoyable.
The story is fun, with lots of connecting threads that are either coincidental or wonderfully planned, I have no idea. It's very front-loaded with cutscenes and exposition and very back-loaded near the end, too. But once you do get to Episode/Chapter 3,the game opens up as many people says it does and gives you lots of new tools and interesting locales. The story starts to become more interesting.
However, I will say that the game did overstay its welcome by about 6 hours. Slight spoiler here, so I'll keep it vague or skip this spoiler thing
The game should have ended after Troy Baker's character completes his arc. It was a nice conclusion to the main conflict, and gives a clear, cohesive story.
Because after that point, the game throws in a handful of twists, revelations, and a convoluted plot that so far was running in the background of the other one, that evolved into me understanding and engaged in the plot some moments, and totally confused in others ("Wait, whan was that established? What's the concern around this thing? Don't we already know that?")
The game's true ending is as long as people say it is. After a certain order, you're rail-roaded into a 2-hour-section of lengthy cutscenes and minimal gameplay in between. There's a certain 40-minute section where the game constantly shifts from aimlessly wandering to exposition-dumping dialogue, and while I understand the symbolic reasons behind that sequence, it didn't sit right with me.
The games story is sorta coherent by the end, and I did understand some of the final revelations in the plot, but some of it is just... Ohhh man I liked Higgs' portion of the story better.
I had to look up a story summary afterwards, and I'm still a bit iffy on some aspects.
Oh, and the game's graphics are gorgeous!! (if at all you care for that). The game's world is crafted like a real environment, I guess, with huge mountains, valleys, and some decently-sized forests. But exploring this place is amazing. If I were to borrow a slogan from Skyrim for a minute: "You see that mountain there? You can climb it" And guess what? The mountains in this game are HUGE. Certain orders might have you scale up a heavily-snowed one, and that'll take like 15-20 minutes if you hadn't already set down some ziplines or other obstacle-hopping structures to help.
The textures for some rocks and things can look pretty bleh sometimes, but that's probably the sacrifice that was made in the development of this to get such detailed character models. There's one endgame scene that has masterful motion-capture in an actor's face. (Not to mention acting alone from that character.) I loved that.
If you're interested in some sci-fi, supernatural stories by Kojima, some calming and slightly addicting route-planning/walking/driving, some stealth, a MGS4 reference, great music, truckfuls of lore and world building to read, or a unique game experience like nothing you've played before (I'm serious about this). Then check out this game. Maybe not full price if you're worried about it. (I got it for 50$CAD a few months ago. Worth it.)
I just finished Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (part 1 of the PS4 Nathan Drake Collection).
It was great to replay the origins of Uncharted (in smoooooth 60fps), since it's a game I've only ever played once.
But looking at it now... I can see why I only ever played it once. It's a pretty barebones Uncharted title compared to its sequels.
(I'll try not to get into one of my usual "mega-paragraph" modes and keep this to short point-form details.)
The game looks good, but doesn't escape that "early PS3" look of the textures. It definitely looks more animated and "fake" compared to how real today's games look.
The gameplay is very different from future titles, with so many areas going from combat sections to combat sections, with some minimal platforming in between. There's barely any puzzles in this game (which makes sense story-wise, since Drake loses his journal near the start) but because of this, there's just way too much fighting during that time frame. It doesn't get any better afterwards when he gets it back either. I can probably count the amount of puzzles on one hand.
The environments in this game were not my favourite. It's just green jungles, ruined stone buildings, some blue catacombs, more green jungles and same-y looking texturing/lighting on objects.
Keeping to an abandoned jungle-filled island was keeps with the tropes of a treasure-hunting-type game, but I'm glad they started adding in more modern, alive towns and landmarks in future titles. The idea of secret passages and rooms built right under out noses was always the coolest part of Uncharted for me. It also diversifies the architecture and colour pallette of the games.
That last point shows how difficult the platforming can be in this title -- or at least figuring out what's a climbable surface and what's not. Some things stuck out more than others, and it looks like Nate can pull off his usual "half-inch finger grab", but nope. Some climbable surfaces practically blend into the rest of the environment, so it's a matter of trial-and-error figuring out where you're supposed to jump on.
I remember the shooting in the game being pretty hard or stiff. Maybe it's due to the higher framerate, or the fact that I've gotten more skilled at shooters in the past decade, but I didn't find the shooting to be so hard this time. I got way more headshots than I usually do in games. The shooting does at times feel stiff.
The cover system is pretty basic, with you being able to roll to cover, between two bits of cover, and that's it. It's not like future titles where you can keep low when going around a corner, a very vital part of staying safe in gun combat. The blindfire from cover is okay, though Nate doesn't usually duck far open enough to shoot where you're aiming. The same goes for grenades. Sometimes you try to arc it one way, but he doesn't step out far enough, making your grenades go nowhere near where you've aimed.
There's little to no stealth in this, even though for some reason the Trophies encourage you to get 50 stealth kills. But you can at most only get one stealth kill when entering am enemy area before everyone gets alerted. I compared stealth stats to friends and "the most stealth kills in a row" for everyone on my list was 1 kill. This game is not built for stealth. Just shooting.
For some reason -- and I know why this has been burned into my brain -- there's horror-like section near the end of the game, where it throws zombie-like enemies at you. It sticks out as a pretty jarring moment for the series, since even with the other titles' monsters, it never goes as far to try to scare you with the environment or lighting as it does in this game. You're trapped in a dilapidated, abandoned German bunker after being chased by freakish humanoid beings. Now you've got to travel through these dark hallways, survive 3 waves of enemies after pulling a switch each time, and... Yeah. Really weird combat section with very stand-out, horror-type enemies that luckily didn't make the cut for future entries. (Well, the Yetis in U2 were spooky but they were people wearing costumes. These are mutant people hell bent on crawling over you and eating you.)
I noticed that the ending seems very inspired by Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Something I didn't notice the first time.
>! What with the mega-golden treasure being cursed and all that, leading to the big baddie's demise.
All in all, it's a decent title, but there's a reason the sequel's are SO much more popular. They're paced better, have a bigger, better loop of combat/platforming/puzzles, has a better/more prominent use of the journal for puzzles and things get tighter and clearer, especially with where you're pointed to for platforming. I don't care if it looks a bit like a jungle-gym, at least I know where I'm supposed to go.
Definitely giving this entry a 6 at most. It pales in comparison to the rest of the series, and I'm not going to play this one again for a loooong while.
I messaged a few of you about this, but I finally found a second player to play A Way Out with. We're about 75% of the way through the game so far, and it's a fun experience.
The plot and acting is pretty B-Movie like, so it can be fun to mock alongside your partner some aspects of the game. There's also fun moments to come up with running jokes, as we did, that we constantly reference as things happen throughout the game.
It's great if you've got an open partner and some fun jokes to sling.
Each area usually has a few things to screw around with, also usually involving the two players. The best highlights so far have included a Connect Four game, Darts, Instrument Playing, and a very-heated button-mashing arm wrestling match. That last one took maybe 5 minutes before one of us gave in. (I won, but only because my partner accidentally pressed the menu button on his controller. Heh.)
The presentation of the game is the most interesting part, with the game constantly displaying a split view between your character and your partner's. Chase scenes play out simultaneously as you each head off an opponent, crossing paths every now and then as you take different routes.
There's one chase scene in the late-game that's particularly interesting as it doesn't use a split-camera view, just switching between the two characters one-after-the-other in a continuous-shot sort of way. That was very cool to see.
The game also always offers something new with each new area you get to.
One area might be heavily stealth-based, where you have to go around or takedown enemies.
Another area gives you a car chase scene, where suddenly there's driving mechanics for one player.
Another area becomes a river-rapids survival, where the both of you must coordinate paddling to avoid crashing into rocks (we did it without bumping into a single thing - in one go - which was very, very impressive. Also tense. My god, there were so many close calls.)
Another area might become a third-person shooter, where now you have guns and can shoot people (I haven't gotten to this part yet, but shooting and cover mechanics have been established, so there's got to be a bigger payoff to those short segments)
It's a fun game that really benefits from its co-op philosophy. (In that you can only play this with another person -- especially with most actions requiring pricise timing or communication).
So luckily I did find someone to play this with (even though they already finished it last year), and it's been a real joy to play.
(There's also some choices in the game dictating how certain scenes play out -- like Stealth vs Guns Blazing -- so there's always an opportunity to experience some different events if you play it again)
Verdict: We need more games like this. It's unique in concept and offers a great alternative to couch-co-op (though that is available), which seems to have been sorely forgotten for the past few years.
Doubly cool that only one person needs to own the full game.
Unfortunately, the consoles still need to buy into the Online Subscription service to access the "online features" of this title, so that's a big negative. I guess PC wins this time for most accessible, free way to play this game online.
I'll see how the story wraps up next weekend when my partner's free, and hopefully there should be another handful of interesting minigames or moments. I like this.
If ever they drop the online sub requirement for this title in the future, this is a great game to experience -- even better for free (heck, even I'll offer myself up as the Base game owner if need be).
Well, after having bought a physical copy last year but never gotten around to play it, I've finally decided to start the last game in the Professor Layton series: The Azran Legacy. I've heard this entry is a bit divisive, so I'm interested to see what that might allude to.
And right off the bat, there's some really nice music. I'm going to miss this series.
Update:
Right now I'm at the epilogue and damn, story is great, amazing graphics and this is probably the biggest open world game I have ever played since Horizon Zero Dawn and I love it!
So, I bought DOOM 2016 for my Switch since it's half price, got portability, and, uh, I can keep the gore away from the prying eyes of my family, if need be.
First of all, this game is both just what I expected and nothing like it. I thought it was a simple shooter where you're supposed to go through a level killing demons in the most brutal ways. But no, it's that and so much more. This reiview I saw puts it perfectly: It's a brutal, gory shooter you wouldn't expect to pair well with Nintendo, but the gameplay is very Zelda-dungeon inspired. There's tons of secret rooms to find in each level, colour-coded keycards to open areas, various items to find to give stat bonuses. So it's perfect for the Switch. A shooter adventure game.
I've played about 3 or 4 levels today, and boy is it fun. I've yet to get desensitized to the gore (though it would be problematic to do so) but the combat and exploration of the levels is really engaging and enjoyable. I am playing on the easiest difficulty for now since I kept getting slaughtered near the beginning, but it's still pretty fun and challenging. You feel like you're on roller skates the whole time, but if you keep an eye on your environment, keep moving, and keep unloading death into your enemies, you get into a great rhythm.
The thing I love most about this game is that Doom Guy doesn't care at all for the story unfolding around him. He just wants to kill demons and does whatever he needs to do so. Personally, I'm very interested in the lore, so I'm reading every codex and info blurb given to me, but the real treat is that you don't need to do any of that if you don't want to! You can just jump in and start ripping and tearing!
Oh, and it runs pretty well! I've hardly experienced any major frame drops so far, and while texture and effect quality is not the best, they did a damn good job of making the performance shine.
The past few days I've been playing Katana ZERO. Just finished it. Go play Katana ZERO. The less you know about this game the better.
Okay, you probably want more than that.
It's a side-scrolling action game where you play as a samurai assassin. You can cut people up with a swift cleave of your katana. You can also slow down time and deflect bullets. There's a gripping story, too about the drug your character takes, the contracts he's assigned, and the people he meets in this dilapidated neon city.
Here's a quick list of why this game is cool (no spoilers):
Dope synth music. Really good neon aesthetic.
Stylish art style.
It's programmed by one guy. He did get help on music and writing though.
Dying only halts the action for a second before you can retry your run.
Finishing each room of a level gives you a real-time playback of how you cleared said room. Badass if you deflect lots of bullets.
Dialogue choices. Not story-changing, but certainly scene-affecting. Also dictates what information you learn from whom.
Fancytextboxes so you know EXACTLY how someone says a line. (There is no voice acting, but you can bet I had my own whole voice cast in my head as I played this game.)
Gripping story that makes you think, fun characters, and great presentation that isn't afraid to mess with you.
Secret collectibles. Secret endings.
The dev is making a FREE DLC/Update that continues where the story ends. It's currently three times more ambitious than originally planned, and still going to be free. Not out yet.
It's on sale right now on Switch. Available for Steam as well.
I'm almost done with Shadow of the Colossus, I have one more Colossi to defeat. I gotta be honest with you guys, I was not having fun that much with this game so far. Most of the bosses were more annoying and bullshit than fun and challenging. Everything I did in this game was find a Colossi, climb it, watch my stamina and take out all its weak spots. Repeat and repeat. That's basically the whole game. Who knows? Maybe the final boss will change my mind a little bit? I'mma finish this game and upload the rest of the episodes in the next 2 weeks (Because I currently don't have internet because I moved to a new home).
I recently finished Shadow of the Colossus. Here are my honest thoughts. I don't find this game soo good as many people say it is. It's just riding to a boss, kill it and repeat. I was actually expecting more than that, like enemy variety and puzzles. But there is none. After defeating 5 Colossi, the game just overstayed its welcome for me. I'm sorry but it's just not for me. If you love this game, I'm happy for you.
The worst part for me were the controls. Were those the same as the ones from the PS2 version? If so, Bluepoint should have made the modernized, or at least make it optionable. The last bosses were more annoying and fustrating than fun and challenging. They take way too long to stop shaking and some can just stagger me without a chance to escape. In fact, those bosses felt more like puzzles than actual bosses. Kind of like Bed of Chaos from Dark Souls and the Soulsborne community hates that garbage.
I did enjoy this game but it's not for me to consider it a favorite. I'm now gonna edit my videos and upload the rest of the episodes later
Update on RDR 2:
Right now I'm at the epilogue and damn, story is great, great characters, amazing graphics and this is probably the biggest open world game I have ever played since Horizon Zero Dawn and I love it!
I bought Ring Fit Adventure last week as I got lucky and found a restock on Amazon. Finally arrived today.
I just played it for about 30 minutes, and boy, this is a fun way to workout! Worked up a real sweat and feeling pretty tired afterwards (keep in mind I do not work out at all)
You start up with 4 moves, but you'll very quickly level up and unlock more (up to 40 total according to the game). The Ring accessory that comes with it is pretty cool too. It seems to really be able to handle some of my most powerful squeezes and stretches.
It's still very much an RPG game. There's enemies to encounter with turn-based battles, EXP to collect based on your progress, long, calorie-burning boss battles, and there's even equipment to collect and equip, but I haven't unlocked anything yet.
There's a difficulty meter to adjust if you want to crank up or down the pain, but I'm not so sure yet what it changes (Damage? Health? Num. of repetitions?)
There's also other modes to try that I haven't touched yet, one for different exercises and poses, making your own playlist of moves, minigames involving the different kinds exercises, and an added rhythm game to move your body to with different tracks from the game and other Nintendo games.
Well worth the base purchase, I've been seeing lots of posts on restocks happening at different US retailers so that's cool to hear. Screw you, 200$+ scalpers.
Just recently finished SOMA. People hardly talked about it when it came out, so I kinda ignored it. But wow, I'm glad to have played it. Its story and pacing was really good. If you like sci-fi horror then I highly recommend it.
Just over a week after starting my island on Animal Crossing, it's starting to get lively and open up.
Honestly, this is a very chill game and I totally understand how this became the big quarantine hit. Characters are adorable, there's a nice sense of progression at the start, really calm atmosphere, lots of things to find and contribute to, and if you're got friends I guess that's a nice bonus too.
As for my villagers I've got: Teddy who is a big positive ball of fluff, Zucker who is an interesting, chill squid, Sandy who is kinda shy and nervous and I can totally vibe with that, Agent S who is some sort of superhero/popstar and has one pretty unique name, and Pashmina who I kinda tolerate (she's got this old but cool vibe but honestly I'm indifferent)
Notable stuff so far:
Blathers looks like he's made of felt and I want to pet him so bad.
This game is pure positivity and we all need that these days.
I've heard the game can run out quick if you complete a lot of tasks one after another
There's some days that can have barely anything to do if you upgrade too many facilities at once (like yesterday I had the museum closed for renovations AND the Resident building was too AND a villager was still in the 'moving in phase' so it kinda limited my options for what to do.
I freaking love the Dodos.
After finally paying off my first house loan, Nook already wants me to invest in a $200k expansion. No way dude.
I started playing God of War (2018). I've also decided to film it because this is really something wholly new to me.
I know practically nothing about GOW other than... Kratos is a pretty angry dude and I think he killed all of the Greek gods in the previous games? I've never played them myself though, this is just my surface level knowledge I've picked up over the years from friends and the internet.
Anyways, this game is so far like one massive superhero action flick. People are getting thrown around like ragdolls, getting punched with the force of 20Gs in some really really crazy setpiece. And there's probably bound to be more.
I guess I've reached the unofficial "ending" of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
K. K. Slider finally came to my island, sang the New Horizons theme song and the credits rolled.
Either I call it that, or it's the ending of the tutorial. The game has taught me almost everything it has to offer, and now I'm set loose to organize and decorate my island however I please, setting whatever tasks I want.
So... It's kinda sad that the meat and potatoes of "Hey Player, go here and do this new thing" is over, but now I've got a lot of new tools and ideas of how I want to make my Maple Bay a pretty little island.
If anyone also has New Horizons and wants to share an island tour or see some other villagers, hit me up. I'd love to visit another Player's place.
Finished playing Greedfall today, a bioware inspired RPG with companions, romances, heavy story+worldbuilding and big decisions. I quite liked it, though it was rough in places. I kinda wish these type of games would stop giving us their endings through slideshows but alas (DA:Origins really was ahead of its time!). If I had to rank it I'd say it was a miles better game than Dragon Age 2 but still some leagues away from Origins or Inquisition. Storywise it was pretty decent (although not comparable to the Dragon Age series).
I play League of Legends and Clash of Clans mostly, these 2 are my favs. With vpn https://veepn.com/ I can be calm that my data is safe. Plus it helps me to bypass all restictions. useful tool for gamers.
The AWE expansion for Control just released early on PS4 and I am HYPED. (supposed to be out on the 27th) Alan Wake I'm coming to save youuu!
On another note, God of War is fun. Very fun. But recording a playthrough of it is not.
I dunno why, but something about having to record myself playing the game, then finding the important bits afterwards in editing turns me off from it. How I see it is this:
Maybe it's the open-ended nature of the game. The many side quests and "ooh what's over here" moments that I want to see for myself, but I don't think would be worthwhile to someone watching.
Maybe it's because I feel like my contribution of my impressions is like a drop of water in an ocean of other Gow playthroughs. This game is a few years old now, millions of people have already played the whole thing and discovered probably everything there is to find. I feel like I've missed the boat, and recording the game now is just a waste of time.
Maybe it's because I live with my family, so if I'm called away for something important, certain moments might be hard to edit around. (that's a small nitpick but whatever)
Eh, maybe game-recording is not my thing. And that's okay!
Idk... Part of me wants to put my opinions and impressions on games out there, another part doesn't feel the need to. But I still want to play a game for me not for someone else.
Maybe streaming is a better format. I streamed my final playthrough of TLOU1 where I ironed out the 100% platinum trophy, and I enjoyed that. Since with streaming, you hit record and whatever happens is a kind of "what you see is what you get" vibe. No cutouts or scrubbing through an hour+ of footage later.
I play League of Legends and Clash of Clans mostly, these 2 are my favs. With vpn https://veepn.com/ I can be calm that my data is safe. Plus it helps me to bypass all restictions. useful tool for gamers.
Finished the AWE Expansion for Control, closing out this new first step in a Remedy Connected Universe.
Boy, it's a fun DLC with lots of nods to everyone's favourite lost writer, Alan Wake, with a small peppering of a few Control-related mysteries and AWEs as well. By the end of it, after completing the main quest and side missions, it was pretty good. The side missions ranged from quirky and odd to menial busywork, but the good outweighed the bad. And the main mission definitely moves the needle forward on Remedy revisiting Alan Wake in the future. Part of his involvement was a bit unsatisfying in some ways, yet also satisfying in others? Kinda like Control's mysteries themselves.
I don't know if this COVID pandemic impacted their work/plan on this DLC, since it felt quite shorter than the Foundation DLC, but I think what they put out is worth its 15$ price if you're at all interested in Alan Wake's 10-year-hiatus.
BIG Spoilers are here, be careful of the BIG SPOILERS
There were quite a few neat audio messages from Alan Wake himself, complete with a totally new Hotline vision look, with a black-and-white filter and Wake writing on his typewriter. That was a neat detail.
In his Hotline messages, there is some debate as to whether he wrote/created the events of Control itself, since in almost every entry he uses a line from the Hiss Incantation heard throughout the game, and Wake also mentions in detail needing to create a hero's story that leads them to his whereabouts, describing Jesse's actions throughout this DLC. While the idea that Control is all created by Wake would definitely make the game's events feel cheap and artificial (and Jesse not being her own individual -- just a puppet serving Wake's needs) I don't think his monologues (and a few special documents) are supposed to be explicit evidence that he created and orchestrated the entire world-building of Control, like quite a few fans are saying. I believe that he just nudged a few things in reality to happen, causing the world of Control that we got. All the characters and supernatural threats are real and their own person, but it's Wake that caused them to intersect and meet each other to make this rescue mission possible.
I admit that I am kinda dissappointed with how little of Alan Wake himself we got in this DLC -- just a few pre-recorded messages and about two cutscenes of him stuck in the Dark Place. And it's not the rescue mission/resolution to Alan's plight that I had been hoping for. But, the fact that they explicitly state that Alan's story will continue 'in a few years from now' and totally voiced dialogue from Wake himself that he's going to be making his "Return" soon has me really quite hyped. Remedy's still going to keep Wake trapped in that dark place for a few more years, but they're not abandoning him, that's for damn sure. Whether it's Control 2 or Alan Wake 2 or another totally new, connected IP is uncertain, but it's awesome to finally have Remedy revisit this beloved IP and confirm that they aren't done with him yet.
Also Control is now on sale on Steam -- and at a 20% off launch price! (it comes bundled with all the DLC and updates -- and the final update makes this game the most complete thing it can be: adding an Assist Mode to tweak some combat options to make things easier if you want, adding an "Unread" tab for all those documents you're inevitably going to pick up and forget where they are in your collectible menu, and adding some checkpoints for hard bosses).
Alrighty, I'm done Sayonara Wild Hearts now. Overall, I'd say it can be completed in about an hour (and that's the length of the full soundtrack) I took a break a couple levels before the end to savour everything for the rest of the day, just jumped back in now and finished it.
Gorgeous game. Awesome soundtrack. This is definitely one of my favourites. Time to abuse Spotify's replay button.
Note: This looks pretty tame for the Switch, but when I boot it up in handheld mode I can hear the Switch whir its engines in anticipation. Never heard any game I have do that with the Switch. Well, maybe Doom.
God, I can't get enough of Wild Hearts and its album. Such fun pop tunes and I wish it was longer!
And... I realized I only included music tracks in the last comment, so here's actual gameplay of SWH so you can see why I'm so enamored by it. It's dope.
Ayyy I also played sayonara wild hearts recently! That game is great and yes the soundtrack slaps so hard. "Begin again" is easily my favorite fight and track in the game. The vibes hit so hard on that stage~ My only complaint is that some of the smaller tracks are just way too short to really get a good groove with compared to the boss fight stages, which are all so damn compelling.
God, I can't get enough of Wild Hearts and its album. Such fun pop tunes and I wish it was longer!
And... I realized I only included music… more tracks in the last comment, so here's actual gameplay of SWH so you can see why I'm so enamored by it. It's dope.
"Begin Again"
"Mine"
I ended up picking up the Dynasty Warrior Gundam trilogy for about 60-ish dollars, which might seem a bit steep but these games prices have been all over for a while so I might as well grab em before they really get up there. I'm not exactly a musou fan entirely but boy I sure do like Gundam and this game scratches some good itches. The first game is pretty rough with odd boosting regulations, charges and limitation on musou attacks, but it also has better ideas than the second game weirdly enough, specifically with picking out parts for your gundam and how skills seem to unlock a lot more frequently. I haven't touched the third game but the cel-shaded artstyle has me already pretty intrigued, but overall they are very much serviceable games for a gundam fan like myself. The story beats are pretty inconsistent and the VA choices are really bizarre (most notably whoever the hell they grabbed to voice Domon). No idea why I'm talking about this but its what I been playing!
Also got Hypnospace outlaw on PC. Only played for a few hours but its such a trip into this wild 90s alternative universe. Feels really good with the new mouse I bought recently. Recently just got a big update with tons of new music and webpages. Super recommend it just from the little I've played so far.
I finished Little Nightmares. The lore was all over the place but I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the puzzles and all types of pursuers that I encountered. It's also pretty short, so I'm definitely gonna check out the DLCs, sooner or later.
Comments
Just beaten Alien: Blackout it was very susspensful playing it basicly the game is like Five Nights at Freddy's meets Alien.
You play as (Amanda Ripley) ypur in a space station calling for help and you gude a small team to rescue you from the (Xenomorph) it brings me the (1979) Alien vibes out it.
And I've lost the engineer and the pilot the only person left was a scientist and Ms. Yutani.
Which of course she survived in my playthrough.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.D3Go.mendel
I remember playing Spyro back when I was (seven) reminds me back when my mom took me to the gym I’ll exercise with one of the staff and then later I’ll go to play center with all the other kids it was the early 2000s when they had the PS2 I would either play Spyro, Topgun or Harry Potter or play with dinosaur action figures or even pretend to be a Jedi or a Sith Lord.
So here's a huge review-thing I just typed out for a mediocre 3DS game from 2012.
"Just finished Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure on my 3DS. It's a point-and-click adventure game where you have to solve various rhythm games as you unravel a mystery. Think of the Professor Layton series, but instead of puzzles and enigmas, it's rhythm games. Literally. You can see the influences throughout the near-identical gameplay and story presentation.
Yep. The game itself is basically a copy of the Prof. Layton framework. Walk to different points on a map, tap on people to talk to them where they'll say a quirky comment, advance the story, or give you a rhythmic game to complete, all to open up a new section of the map. You can also destroy your DS touchscreen by feverishly tapping around the hand-drawn environments to find hidden secrets like Rhythm Coins to help in rhythm games, Music CDs from minigames you've completed, or a special series of hidden collectibles for a bonus rhythm game.
The story itself -- really, in my view -- tries to achieve being something epic and awesome with a dash of quirky, but really it seemed very contrived in the end with lots of unexplained details and some plot holes.
You play as Phantom R, a thief in Paris as he steals paintings from museums trying to piece together a mystery involving a special symbol, left to him on a coin when his father abandoned him 3 years earlier. There's also a young girl who plays the violin whose lineage seems mysteriously attached to this mystery, old french ruler Napoleon coming back from the dead, and plenty of secret rooms to open.
The gameplay and rhythm games don't really mix well, in my opinion, leading to scenarios that don't make sense -- especially near the end -- and the rhythm games themselves are pretty difficult and punishing, having you learn the pattern of button presses or swipes in the moment rather than giving you a tutorial or clearly-telegraphed actions a la Rhythm Heaven.
For instance: the game opens up with two great rhythm games, one involving swiping across the screen with your awesome backup dancers, the other is a rhythm-prompted sneak through the Louvre. Later in the game, some rhythm games repeat with different patterns and music, like the Louvre one, which was fun to hear.
Most of the games revolve around the same 3 forms of input (tapping something on the touchscreen, swiping/holding at certain moments in the touchscreen, or tapping/holding the A Button at certain moments). But, there are a few outliers. The handful of gyroscope minigames. I get that SEGA wanted to use all of the 3DS' capabilities, but these games are the worst! Usually they involve jerking the device in different directions, which can be hard to surmise the exact timing for. Also, when you're jerking the screen in different directions, it can be hard to see what the next action asked of you is. This awesome rock-themed game is spoiled by having to shake a confession out of your 3DS, and failing so many actions. (I cannot find a raw, uncut, A-rank video of this mission). The game is also unclear with its tutorial pictographs, where I'm not sure if I must push my DS backwards or tilt it downwards.
Personally, the handful of violin games are the best, with its beautiful music and simple control screen, swiping your stylus across the screen in the same way you would bow a violin.
Now, on to the ending-rhythm discrepancies. Basically, Napoleon's goal is to raise a super-structure out of the ground that can control weather -- why does he do this and why was this sci-fi-futuristic-looking contraption under Paris? No idea! Once you do arrive, you chase Napoleon through the facility, fight a guy in a robot-suit with the power of dance for no explicable reason. But, the game ends with a pretty fun swordfight with Nap, then... you play as Marie cheering on Phantom trying to find a way to stop the place from exploding? (Cant' find video of this fun, odd, game) Then, you play as Phantom R who magically summoned his backup dancers and... tries to stop the place from blowing up by dancing? None of this works anyway, and they eventually escape by the skin of their teeth.
I could go on, but then I'd need to talk a whole lot more about how
Amazing one-liners that don't seem forced at all like the now-iconic "Hey Napoleon! I've got one word for you! Waterloo!!" (as Napoleon gets arrested)
or, more strangely "Time to put the Water back in your Loo!"... um... what? Is that supposed to be a toilet joke?
The game trying to be somewhat-mature or teen-rated, despite being rated E10+/PEGI-12. There are guns that appear in two different cutscenes in this game, but the game cuts away when they're fired, giving no sound, and no one bleeds from the shot.
Worse still, there's a rhythm game that has you shooting at enemies -- with gunshots audible -- but it looks like you're shooting green paint at them. (actually green blood?)
All in all, I did enjoy my time with the game, it's just that the negatives like the outlandish sudden shift in the climax was pretty jarring, the rhythm games being pretty difficult and unforgiving with how it teaches the mechanics to you, and other mentioned stuff, took me out of it. It doesn't help that this game ended on a twist cliffhanger, with no sequel in sight. 6/10.
I recently started Dishonored Definitive Edition -- and wow this game is way more massive than I thought! I assumed it was going to be a open-ended Assassination simulator, plain and simple. But no, there's a ton of readable lore, huge missions with lots of sidequests, an interesting morality system (that I've somehow still stayed on the Low Chaos spectrum of). It's fun, but man this is bigger than I was expecting.
Been getting back to Attack on Titan 2s DLC courtesy of The Final Battle, which is more than I thought for some reason. I think there's only three separate storylines though and I'll start the third either tomorrow or later this week.
Thinking about replaying a game I'll mention on my mind. Should probably either replay Telltale Batman, get back to the other games I haven't finished, or start the Borderlands series.
Nearing the end of Death Stranding, or at least I think so since I've gotten to the place where the game's been pushing me.
My God, I fucking love this game. I fucking love Kojima.
While the way he presents his stories and the scenes between his characters is so... Obtuse (with one person usually providing 80% of the expository dialogue during a cutscene), but there's just so much info and real vocabulary to sink your teeth into. I should really research some backstory on Kojima's life, because the amount of real-life references and crazy topics and basically the way the whole game just thematically fits together is amazing.
The game is about building connections, bridges, if you will. Supporting and encouraging others. That's why the company you work for is called Bridges. The main character's last name is Strand a form of connection or rope. Ghostly enemies in the game sport umbilical cords, connecting them to the after life. One key feature in the game is the ability to give others likes for signs and structures posted in different areas, or, a way to support others. (the more likes you get, the more you can level up, and the more your stats increase).
What's another awesome detail is that the collectibles in this game are short encyclopedia entries about iconic bikes of history, movies (that probably influenced this game or Kojima's legacy), iconic mecha statues (that probably influenced the design of Kojima Productions' mascot Homo Ludens), and various soundtracks from film or otherwise. (Like soundtracks to Nicolas Winding Refn or Guillermo Del Toro's films, who make appearances as 3D Models for characters. There's also a lot of horror-themed soundtracks featured, which makes me think that'll be KJP's next project.)
There's a lot to delve into, some of it is having to fill in some blanks for yourself, but it's impressive how many themes and topics Kojima tries to implement into his stories, and especially this one. The first 20 minutes of this jacksepticeye video has Jack going through his page of notes on the game, going over details mentioned in the readable info dumps from completing objectives. It actually helped me understand stuff that went over my head. There's just a lot this game throws at you.
Kojima's brain reminds me a lot of Improv games. He's just a very "Yes, and..." man (actually mentioned in an interview with Norman Reedus). He strings ideas together regardless of whether it makes total sense, and it can really pull you in, at least it did for me.
Also, real quick, the production and direction quality of the cinematics is uber cool. Especially this chapter opening cutscene featuring Mads Mikkelsen's character. The music buildup and use of light in the tunnel is soooo fun.
The section I just got past was awesome, or could have been had I not died.
It's probably the biggest puzzle in the game, and I've heard quoted as the major "Kojima moment", like finding the radio key on the back of MGS 1's CD case. I recorded me attempting to solve it for video proof, just because the game doesn't prompt you to do it and I figured it out for myself pretty quickly (though apparently after a while it will spell it out for you clearer and clearer).
Though as mentioned, I died at the end, and after coming back to life there was a crater in the area, which lead to an easier walk across the lake, though less impressive than causing a chase scene to get across instead.
EDIT: Okay, going further down the rabbit hole of Kojima's genius, I just got a data entry talking about a mineral called "Bridgmanite" found in the earth's crust and in a meteorite. Now, you'd be forgiven for rolling your eyes thinking this was a made-up word to fit with the recurring theme of Bridges. But no. It's a fucking real event.
I finished playing Jedi Fallen Order for the second time. With the new update, while it's soo much better than last time I played it, the game still suffers from random frame drops, long loading screens, bugs and unloaded game assets. Again, I played this game on my original PS4 which is now 5 years old but still functional, I dunno how it runs in other platforms. Despite all of that, I enjoyed this game nonetheless. I won't have time to check out the whole recent update but I'm glad they didn't drop the support for this game yet. There are still so many things to fix. I learned that this is Respawn's first time using the Unreal Engine 4. So that kinda explains why it's a little bit unoptimized.
It is confirmed that the sequel for the game is now in development. I hope they're gonna make sure it's fully optimized. I wonder if they are gonna use Unreal Engine 5 or stick with the previous one.
Just beaten GTA: SA
I just finished Death Stranding.
This is such a unique game. I understand why it's so divisive since it's a spin on an unfavourable genre of game -- "walking sim" though even I think that classifying it as that discounts a whole lot of what the gameplay is. You aren't going on a linear path and some disembodied voice gives you exposition (ok, well, partly), as the game is an open-world delivery simulator with a side of third-person shooting against enemies bent on stealing your cargo or killing you outright. There's also a bonkers crazy story involving connecting a broken world/country, and a big bad who wants to keep that from happening.
I enjoyed it. It's a unique experience with an interesting form of gameplay (traverse the treacherous environment however you see fit) across a pretty massive open world. The grind of delivering packages can be very enjoyable, testing your routing and sometimes your timing in getting to your destination depending on the order, constantly putting down tools that help you and other players navigate the terrain. Probably why I strived to get 100% of this game's trophies and chasing some big side-orders. My final stats at the end of the game were 165 hours in total. Way longer than what people say this game is (maybe 40 at the very least, 80 on average) but it was very enjoyable.
The story is fun, with lots of connecting threads that are either coincidental or wonderfully planned, I have no idea. It's very front-loaded with cutscenes and exposition and very back-loaded near the end, too. But once you do get to Episode/Chapter 3,the game opens up as many people says it does and gives you lots of new tools and interesting locales. The story starts to become more interesting.
However, I will say that the game did overstay its welcome by about 6 hours. Slight spoiler here, so I'll keep it vague or skip this spoiler thing
The game should have ended after Troy Baker's character completes his arc. It was a nice conclusion to the main conflict, and gives a clear, cohesive story.
Because after that point, the game throws in a handful of twists, revelations, and a convoluted plot that so far was running in the background of the other one, that evolved into me understanding and engaged in the plot some moments, and totally confused in others ("Wait, whan was that established? What's the concern around this thing? Don't we already know that?")
The game's true ending is as long as people say it is. After a certain order, you're rail-roaded into a 2-hour-section of lengthy cutscenes and minimal gameplay in between. There's a certain 40-minute section where the game constantly shifts from aimlessly wandering to exposition-dumping dialogue, and while I understand the symbolic reasons behind that sequence, it didn't sit right with me.
The games story is sorta coherent by the end, and I did understand some of the final revelations in the plot, but some of it is just... Ohhh man I liked Higgs' portion of the story better.
I had to look up a story summary afterwards, and I'm still a bit iffy on some aspects.
Oh, and the game's graphics are gorgeous!! (if at all you care for that). The game's world is crafted like a real environment, I guess, with huge mountains, valleys, and some decently-sized forests. But exploring this place is amazing. If I were to borrow a slogan from Skyrim for a minute: "You see that mountain there? You can climb it" And guess what? The mountains in this game are HUGE. Certain orders might have you scale up a heavily-snowed one, and that'll take like 15-20 minutes if you hadn't already set down some ziplines or other obstacle-hopping structures to help.
The textures for some rocks and things can look pretty bleh sometimes, but that's probably the sacrifice that was made in the development of this to get such detailed character models. There's one endgame scene that has masterful motion-capture in an actor's face. (Not to mention acting alone from that character.) I loved that.
If you're interested in some sci-fi, supernatural stories by Kojima, some calming and slightly addicting route-planning/walking/driving, some stealth, a MGS4 reference, great music, truckfuls of lore and world building to read, or a unique game experience like nothing you've played before (I'm serious about this). Then check out this game. Maybe not full price if you're worried about it. (I got it for 50$CAD a few months ago. Worth it.)
About to start Life is Strange 2. Really enjoyed the others, but I was put off by this one as it's a new cast etc. Hopefully it'll be good.
I just finished Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (part 1 of the PS4 Nathan Drake Collection).
It was great to replay the origins of Uncharted (in smoooooth 60fps), since it's a game I've only ever played once.
But looking at it now... I can see why I only ever played it once. It's a pretty barebones Uncharted title compared to its sequels.
(I'll try not to get into one of my usual "mega-paragraph" modes and keep this to short point-form details.)
The environments in this game were not my favourite. It's just green jungles, ruined stone buildings, some blue catacombs, more green jungles and same-y looking texturing/lighting on objects.
Keeping to an abandoned jungle-filled island was keeps with the tropes of a treasure-hunting-type game, but I'm glad they started adding in more modern, alive towns and landmarks in future titles. The idea of secret passages and rooms built right under out noses was always the coolest part of Uncharted for me. It also diversifies the architecture and colour pallette of the games.
That last point shows how difficult the platforming can be in this title -- or at least figuring out what's a climbable surface and what's not. Some things stuck out more than others, and it looks like Nate can pull off his usual "half-inch finger grab", but nope. Some climbable surfaces practically blend into the rest of the environment, so it's a matter of trial-and-error figuring out where you're supposed to jump on.
>! What with the mega-golden treasure being cursed and all that, leading to the big baddie's demise.
All in all, it's a decent title, but there's a reason the sequel's are SO much more popular. They're paced better, have a bigger, better loop of combat/platforming/puzzles, has a better/more prominent use of the journal for puzzles and things get tighter and clearer, especially with where you're pointed to for platforming. I don't care if it looks a bit like a jungle-gym, at least I know where I'm supposed to go.
Definitely giving this entry a 6 at most. It pales in comparison to the rest of the series, and I'm not going to play this one again for a loooong while.
I messaged a few of you about this, but I finally found a second player to play A Way Out with. We're about 75% of the way through the game so far, and it's a fun experience.
The plot and acting is pretty B-Movie like, so it can be fun to mock alongside your partner some aspects of the game. There's also fun moments to come up with running jokes, as we did, that we constantly reference as things happen throughout the game.
It's great if you've got an open partner and some fun jokes to sling.
Each area usually has a few things to screw around with, also usually involving the two players. The best highlights so far have included a Connect Four game, Darts, Instrument Playing, and a very-heated button-mashing arm wrestling match. That last one took maybe 5 minutes before one of us gave in. (I won, but only because my partner accidentally pressed the menu button on his controller. Heh.)
The presentation of the game is the most interesting part, with the game constantly displaying a split view between your character and your partner's. Chase scenes play out simultaneously as you each head off an opponent, crossing paths every now and then as you take different routes.
There's one chase scene in the late-game that's particularly interesting as it doesn't use a split-camera view, just switching between the two characters one-after-the-other in a continuous-shot sort of way. That was very cool to see.
The game also always offers something new with each new area you get to.
One area might be heavily stealth-based, where you have to go around or takedown enemies.
Another area gives you a car chase scene, where suddenly there's driving mechanics for one player.
Another area becomes a river-rapids survival, where the both of you must coordinate paddling to avoid crashing into rocks (we did it without bumping into a single thing - in one go - which was very, very impressive. Also tense. My god, there were so many close calls.)
Another area might become a third-person shooter, where now you have guns and can shoot people (I haven't gotten to this part yet, but shooting and cover mechanics have been established, so there's got to be a bigger payoff to those short segments)
It's a fun game that really benefits from its co-op philosophy. (In that you can only play this with another person -- especially with most actions requiring pricise timing or communication).
So luckily I did find someone to play this with (even though they already finished it last year), and it's been a real joy to play.
(There's also some choices in the game dictating how certain scenes play out -- like Stealth vs Guns Blazing -- so there's always an opportunity to experience some different events if you play it again)
Verdict: We need more games like this. It's unique in concept and offers a great alternative to couch-co-op (though that is available), which seems to have been sorely forgotten for the past few years.
Doubly cool that only one person needs to own the full game.
Unfortunately, the consoles still need to buy into the Online Subscription service to access the "online features" of this title, so that's a big negative. I guess PC wins this time for most accessible, free way to play this game online.
I'll see how the story wraps up next weekend when my partner's free, and hopefully there should be another handful of interesting minigames or moments. I like this.
If ever they drop the online sub requirement for this title in the future, this is a great game to experience -- even better for free (heck, even I'll offer myself up as the Base game owner if need be).
I bought Shadow of the Colossus yesterday, at a small price and I decided to make a playthrough of it cause I never played this game ever in my life.
Here is another part. The fourth boss was a pain in the fucking ass. Just watch and you'll see
Well, after having bought a physical copy last year but never gotten around to play it, I've finally decided to start the last game in the Professor Layton series: The Azran Legacy. I've heard this entry is a bit divisive, so I'm interested to see what that might allude to.
And right off the bat, there's some really nice music. I'm going to miss this series.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Update:
Right now I'm at the epilogue and damn, story is great, amazing graphics and this is probably the biggest open world game I have ever played since Horizon Zero Dawn and I love it!
So, I bought DOOM 2016 for my Switch since it's half price, got portability, and, uh, I can keep the gore away from the prying eyes of my family, if need be.
First of all, this game is both just what I expected and nothing like it. I thought it was a simple shooter where you're supposed to go through a level killing demons in the most brutal ways. But no, it's that and so much more. This reiview I saw puts it perfectly: It's a brutal, gory shooter you wouldn't expect to pair well with Nintendo, but the gameplay is very Zelda-dungeon inspired. There's tons of secret rooms to find in each level, colour-coded keycards to open areas, various items to find to give stat bonuses. So it's perfect for the Switch. A shooter adventure game.
I've played about 3 or 4 levels today, and boy is it fun. I've yet to get desensitized to the gore (though it would be problematic to do so) but the combat and exploration of the levels is really engaging and enjoyable. I am playing on the easiest difficulty for now since I kept getting slaughtered near the beginning, but it's still pretty fun and challenging. You feel like you're on roller skates the whole time, but if you keep an eye on your environment, keep moving, and keep unloading death into your enemies, you get into a great rhythm.
The thing I love most about this game is that Doom Guy doesn't care at all for the story unfolding around him. He just wants to kill demons and does whatever he needs to do so. Personally, I'm very interested in the lore, so I'm reading every codex and info blurb given to me, but the real treat is that you don't need to do any of that if you don't want to! You can just jump in and start ripping and tearing!
Oh, and it runs pretty well! I've hardly experienced any major frame drops so far, and while texture and effect quality is not the best, they did a damn good job of making the performance shine.
The past few days I've been playing Katana ZERO. Just finished it.
Go play Katana ZERO. The less you know about this game the better.
Okay, you probably want more than that.
It's a side-scrolling action game where you play as a samurai assassin. You can cut people up with a swift cleave of your katana. You can also slow down time and deflect bullets. There's a gripping story, too about the drug your character takes, the contracts he's assigned, and the people he meets in this dilapidated neon city.
Here's a quick list of why this game is cool (no spoilers):
It's on sale right now on Switch. Available for Steam as well.
I'm almost done with Shadow of the Colossus, I have one more Colossi to defeat. I gotta be honest with you guys, I was not having fun that much with this game so far. Most of the bosses were more annoying and bullshit than fun and challenging. Everything I did in this game was find a Colossi, climb it, watch my stamina and take out all its weak spots. Repeat and repeat. That's basically the whole game. Who knows? Maybe the final boss will change my mind a little bit? I'mma finish this game and upload the rest of the episodes in the next 2 weeks (Because I currently don't have internet because I moved to a new home).
I recently finished Shadow of the Colossus. Here are my honest thoughts. I don't find this game soo good as many people say it is. It's just riding to a boss, kill it and repeat. I was actually expecting more than that, like enemy variety and puzzles. But there is none. After defeating 5 Colossi, the game just overstayed its welcome for me. I'm sorry but it's just not for me. If you love this game, I'm happy for you.
The worst part for me were the controls. Were those the same as the ones from the PS2 version? If so, Bluepoint should have made the modernized, or at least make it optionable. The last bosses were more annoying and fustrating than fun and challenging. They take way too long to stop shaking and some can just stagger me without a chance to escape. In fact, those bosses felt more like puzzles than actual bosses. Kind of like Bed of Chaos from Dark Souls and the Soulsborne community hates that garbage.
I did enjoy this game but it's not for me to consider it a favorite. I'm now gonna edit my videos and upload the rest of the episodes later
Update on RDR 2:
Right now I'm at the epilogue and damn, story is great, great characters, amazing graphics and this is probably the biggest open world game I have ever played since Horizon Zero Dawn and I love it!
I bought Ring Fit Adventure last week as I got lucky and found a restock on Amazon. Finally arrived today.
I just played it for about 30 minutes, and boy, this is a fun way to workout! Worked up a real sweat and feeling pretty tired afterwards (keep in mind I do not work out at all)
You start up with 4 moves, but you'll very quickly level up and unlock more (up to 40 total according to the game). The Ring accessory that comes with it is pretty cool too. It seems to really be able to handle some of my most powerful squeezes and stretches.
It's still very much an RPG game. There's enemies to encounter with turn-based battles, EXP to collect based on your progress, long, calorie-burning boss battles, and there's even equipment to collect and equip, but I haven't unlocked anything yet.
There's a difficulty meter to adjust if you want to crank up or down the pain, but I'm not so sure yet what it changes (Damage? Health? Num. of repetitions?)
There's also other modes to try that I haven't touched yet, one for different exercises and poses, making your own playlist of moves, minigames involving the different kinds exercises, and an added rhythm game to move your body to with different tracks from the game and other Nintendo games.
Well worth the base purchase, I've been seeing lots of posts on restocks happening at different US retailers so that's cool to hear. Screw you, 200$+ scalpers.
Just recently finished SOMA. People hardly talked about it when it came out, so I kinda ignored it. But wow, I'm glad to have played it. Its story and pacing was really good. If you like sci-fi horror then I highly recommend it.
Here is my final video on Shadow of the Colossus and I'm sharing my honest thoughts on the game.
Just over a week after starting my island on Animal Crossing, it's starting to get lively and open up.
Honestly, this is a very chill game and I totally understand how this became the big quarantine hit. Characters are adorable, there's a nice sense of progression at the start, really calm atmosphere, lots of things to find and contribute to, and if you're got friends I guess that's a nice bonus too.
As for my villagers I've got: Teddy who is a big positive ball of fluff, Zucker who is an interesting, chill squid, Sandy who is kinda shy and nervous and I can totally vibe with that, Agent S who is some sort of superhero/popstar and has one pretty unique name, and Pashmina who I kinda tolerate (she's got this old but cool vibe but honestly I'm indifferent)
Notable stuff so far:
I started playing God of War (2018). I've also decided to film it because this is really something wholly new to me.
I know practically nothing about GOW other than... Kratos is a pretty angry dude and I think he killed all of the Greek gods in the previous games? I've never played them myself though, this is just my surface level knowledge I've picked up over the years from friends and the internet.
Anyways, this game is so far like one massive superhero action flick. People are getting thrown around like ragdolls, getting punched with the force of 20Gs in some really really crazy setpiece. And there's probably bound to be more.
Oh, we actually have a thread for this. Many of us have put in entries for games that we liked/hated/neutral if you would like to take a look.
I guess I've reached the unofficial "ending" of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
K. K. Slider finally came to my island, sang the New Horizons theme song and the credits rolled.
Either I call it that, or it's the ending of the tutorial. The game has taught me almost everything it has to offer, and now I'm set loose to organize and decorate my island however I please, setting whatever tasks I want.
So... It's kinda sad that the meat and potatoes of "Hey Player, go here and do this new thing" is over, but now I've got a lot of new tools and ideas of how I want to make my Maple Bay a pretty little island.
If anyone also has New Horizons and wants to share an island tour or see some other villagers, hit me up. I'd love to visit another Player's place.
Some photos of my time this month:
Finished playing Greedfall today, a bioware inspired RPG with companions, romances, heavy story+worldbuilding and big decisions. I quite liked it, though it was rough in places. I kinda wish these type of games would stop giving us their endings through slideshows but alas (DA:Origins really was ahead of its time!). If I had to rank it I'd say it was a miles better game than Dragon Age 2 but still some leagues away from Origins or Inquisition. Storywise it was pretty decent (although not comparable to the Dragon Age series).
I play League of Legends and Clash of Clans mostly, these 2 are my favs. With vpn https://veepn.com/ I can be calm that my data is safe. Plus it helps me to bypass all restictions. useful tool for gamers.
The AWE expansion for Control just released early on PS4 and I am HYPED. (supposed to be out on the 27th)
Alan Wake I'm coming to save youuu!
On another note, God of War is fun. Very fun. But recording a playthrough of it is not.
I dunno why, but something about having to record myself playing the game, then finding the important bits afterwards in editing turns me off from it. How I see it is this:
Eh, maybe game-recording is not my thing. And that's okay!
Idk... Part of me wants to put my opinions and impressions on games out there, another part doesn't feel the need to. But I still want to play a game for me not for someone else.
Maybe streaming is a better format. I streamed my final playthrough of TLOU1 where I ironed out the 100% platinum trophy, and I enjoyed that. Since with streaming, you hit record and whatever happens is a kind of "what you see is what you get" vibe. No cutouts or scrubbing through an hour+ of footage later.
I hop back into Clash when I can as well.
Finished the AWE Expansion for Control, closing out this new first step in a Remedy Connected Universe.
Boy, it's a fun DLC with lots of nods to everyone's favourite lost writer, Alan Wake, with a small peppering of a few Control-related mysteries and AWEs as well. By the end of it, after completing the main quest and side missions, it was pretty good. The side missions ranged from quirky and odd to menial busywork, but the good outweighed the bad. And the main mission definitely moves the needle forward on Remedy revisiting Alan Wake in the future. Part of his involvement was a bit unsatisfying in some ways, yet also satisfying in others? Kinda like Control's mysteries themselves.
I don't know if this COVID pandemic impacted their work/plan on this DLC, since it felt quite shorter than the Foundation DLC, but I think what they put out is worth its 15$ price if you're at all interested in Alan Wake's 10-year-hiatus.
BIG Spoilers are here, be careful of the BIG SPOILERS
Also Control is now on sale on Steam -- and at a 20% off launch price! (it comes bundled with all the DLC and updates -- and the final update makes this game the most complete thing it can be: adding an Assist Mode to tweak some combat options to make things easier if you want, adding an "Unread" tab for all those documents you're inevitably going to pick up and forget where they are in your collectible menu, and adding some checkpoints for hard bosses).
Alrighty, I'm done Sayonara Wild Hearts now. Overall, I'd say it can be completed in about an hour (and that's the length of the full soundtrack) I took a break a couple levels before the end to savour everything for the rest of the day, just jumped back in now and finished it.
Gorgeous game. Awesome soundtrack. This is definitely one of my favourites. Time to abuse Spotify's replay button.
Note: This looks pretty tame for the Switch, but when I boot it up in handheld mode I can hear the Switch whir its engines in anticipation. Never heard any game I have do that with the Switch. Well, maybe Doom.
Marvel's Avengers.
I was not expecting that to be as good as it was. I was a bit skeptical because of how it looked. But, never judge a book by its cover.
The story campaign was decent, it was good, but not good enough to sell at the price it is now.
I recommend getting this game when it's on sale, it's good, but not 60 bucks good.
Little Nightmares.
Bought this game on sale yesterday. It looks cool and I love the atmosphere. Very spooky
Ooh, enjoy it. Very atmospheric and a great style. There's one specific monster that really makes your skin crawl (or at least it did for me).
I don't know if you have the DLC levels but they're worth it too. But play em after finishing the main game.
Watch Dogs 2 in preparation for when Watch Dogs Legion comes out.
God, I can't get enough of Wild Hearts and its album. Such fun pop tunes and I wish it was longer!
And... I realized I only included music tracks in the last comment, so here's actual gameplay of SWH so you can see why I'm so enamored by it. It's dope.
"Begin Again"
"Mine"
Ayyy I also played sayonara wild hearts recently! That game is great and yes the soundtrack slaps so hard. "Begin again" is easily my favorite fight and track in the game. The vibes hit so hard on that stage~ My only complaint is that some of the smaller tracks are just way too short to really get a good groove with compared to the boss fight stages, which are all so damn compelling.
I ended up picking up the Dynasty Warrior Gundam trilogy for about 60-ish dollars, which might seem a bit steep but these games prices have been all over for a while so I might as well grab em before they really get up there. I'm not exactly a musou fan entirely but boy I sure do like Gundam and this game scratches some good itches. The first game is pretty rough with odd boosting regulations, charges and limitation on musou attacks, but it also has better ideas than the second game weirdly enough, specifically with picking out parts for your gundam and how skills seem to unlock a lot more frequently. I haven't touched the third game but the cel-shaded artstyle has me already pretty intrigued, but overall they are very much serviceable games for a gundam fan like myself. The story beats are pretty inconsistent and the VA choices are really bizarre (most notably whoever the hell they grabbed to voice Domon). No idea why I'm talking about this but its what I been playing!
Also got Hypnospace outlaw on PC. Only played for a few hours but its such a trip into this wild 90s alternative universe. Feels really good with the new mouse I bought recently. Recently just got a big update with tons of new music and webpages. Super recommend it just from the little I've played so far.
I finished Little Nightmares. The lore was all over the place but I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the puzzles and all types of pursuers that I encountered. It's also pretty short, so I'm definitely gonna check out the DLCs, sooner or later.