Your Last Game

[Sheikah]

999 is easily my favourite DS game. So much win.

 

Virtue's Last Reward lets you skip through most repeated stuff which is pretty cool.

[Dcubed]

999 is easily my favourite DS game. So much win.

 

Virtue's Last Reward lets you skip through most repeated stuff which is pretty cool.

 

Yeah, my friends who have played it already mentioned that. I can already tell that this is going to be a godsend! (Seriously! Even 20x text speed in 999 takes an eternity!)

 

I haven't had anything spoilt for me in regard to VLR's story, but while it supposedly answers many of 999's lingering questions, it also apparently leaves lots of room for that ilustrious Zero Escape 3...

 

I can already tell that it's going to end up being another Shenmue 2, isn't it...

[nekunando]

I surprised myself by playing through Resident Evil on the Gamecube over the last couple of weeks.. and really enjoying it

 

I posted relatively recently, probably in the Resident Evil: Revelations thread, that I wasn't sure if I ever really enjoyed the series at all apart from the glorious Resident Evil 4, even if I did remember quite liking the remake on GC when I first cleared it all those years ago!

 

I started playing it one night just to see what I thought about it all given how off track that particular series now seems to be. I ended up getting absorbed in the atmosphere and wanting to experience the whole game again, so I did exactly that. It was great and the graphics are still very impressive, even to this day

 

My brother bought me Resident Evil 6 last year but I had yet to play it. Having finished Resident Evil on Gamecube, I immediately went and fired the PS3 up to play RE6. I only played the opening section but it just didn't feel right given what I had been playing previously. I'll give it a proper chance some time, but I was initially disappointed

 

I now have the desire to finish Code Veronica on Dreamcast and commence Resident Evil 2 on N64, the latter of which I have never played more than about 20 minutes of

[RedShell]

So I finally decided to download Journey tonight. Just finished playing through it in one sitting, and yeah, it was pretty amazing. :awesome:

It scared the shit out of me at one point too...

 

When you first encounter those things that attack you. I was proper into it by then (playing in a pitch black room with headphones on full blast) and the sound of that initial encounter almost gave me a fucking heart attack!

I'd literally just split from another player that was with me in the previous section too (unsure if that's done on purpose by the game or not) so I was all by myself.

Anyway, beautiful game.

Glad I checked it out in the end.

[Sheikah]

I played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons the other day. Damn, that was really sad. It went from frustrating control method to something that was pretty integral to the story and less annoying as the game went on. Really liked the Majora's Mask style noises the people made too.

[Debug Mode]

Recently finished Episode 2 of Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity as I had been dragging my heels a little bit with the story missions. Got the "normal" ending because I fucked up and missed a single hidden object in chapter 2, pretty annoying as I'll have to go back to redo that (the easy part) and then have to rebattle that son of a bitch that is Dark Falz Dios (the hard part).

 

I feel like the difficulty from this boss stems purely from the age old Sonic Team problem of not knowing how to programme cameras properly. I swear it's a problem across all of their games!

 

Aside from that, pretty damn addictive game that mixed elements of Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Online. Looking forward to see how Nova shapes up on the Vita, presuming that's still going ahead.

[Londragon]

 

Finished this a long time ago, but have recently been trying to 5 shiny star this. Done! And, what a beautiful platformer. The extra difference that Luigi adds to the levels makes it worthwhile going through all of them again. Just in time for Mario Kart 8.

[Dcubed]

 

Finished this a long time ago, but have recently been trying to 5 shiny star this. Done! And, what a beautiful platformer. The extra difference that Luigi adds to the levels makes it worthwhile going through all of them again. Just in time for Mario Kart 8.

 

Most underrated Mario ever? Most underrated Mario ever.

[Ike]

a great story that is only really marred by the tedious process of backtracking through dialogue you've already read to get to the other endings...

 

I think this is the main reason I've been putting off playing this.

 

Recently finished Episode 2 of Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity

 

Thanks for reminding me we never got Infinity.

 

Hoping PSO2/Nova will show up at E3.

[Ganepark32]

Been putting some serious time into Far Cry 3 recently. Had been wanting to try it for ages, despite never having played any of the previous entries, and I've really enjoyed it so.

 

Not quite finished, a few more story missions by the looks of things, but it's a superb game. Have loved taking out the outposts and the freedom you have in taking them out in whatever why you think is best. Still love taking up a sniper position, spotting a caged tiger or whatever and releasing it on the unsuspecting guards while I quickly mop up any sniper posts and then run in to take out those that remain. And loving the Shadow pistol at the moment. So much fun popping off enemies with that. That and taking down heavy units with my knife

 

So yeah, really enjoyed the game. Had a few issues with the auto-save initially but have gotten into a habit of saving after every mission so not an issue any more. Looking forward to seeing what they manage to do with the 4th one, little apprehensive about the locale but who knows, could work nicely.

[Sheikah]

Recently finished Episode 2 of Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity as I had been dragging my heels a little bit with the story missions. Got the "normal" ending because I fucked up and missed a single hidden object in chapter 2, pretty annoying as I'll have to go back to redo that (the easy part) and then have to rebattle that son of a bitch that is Dark Falz Dios (the hard part).

 

I feel like the difficulty from this boss stems purely from the age old Sonic Team problem of not knowing how to programme cameras properly. I swear it's a problem across all of their games!

 

Aside from that, pretty damn addictive game that mixed elements of Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Online. Looking forward to see how Nova shapes up on the Vita, presuming that's still going ahead.

 

I so wish PSO2 would be localised. They said it would be and it never was. Damn them.

[Ike]

I so wish PSO2 would be localised. They said it would be and it never was. Damn them.

 

It's getting an official English release. In South Korea. *Shakes fist*

[Aneres11]

I picked up a Vita in the new year and have played nothing but that really for the last couple of months.

 

One game I've been playing since I got the Vita (and am continuing to for Trophy purposes...) is this:

 

 

I've always liked Monkey Ball and this game is fairly decent but extremely difficult.

 

I breezed through beginner and intermediate then advanced came...

Torture.

 

There is a trophy for completing all of the modes without using a continue. Bear in mind you have 3 retries before you need to use a continue and advanced has 50 levels and is insanely difficult!

Anyway, I've managed to get to level 50 of advanced before I lost my last life and had to use a continue. I cried.

 

The game is more like the older versions of Monkey Ball in that there is a little more emphasis on skill than luck although there are still some really shocking stage designs that makes for a huge difficulty curve.

I have unlocked Master and also completed that but just need to get to know those levels better in practice mode before I tackle them again without using a continue!

 

There is also a trophy for completing the game using only gyro controls... which is just impossible.

 

I've loved playing it though. Monkey ball has always been a favourite series of mine and this was one of the games I was most looking forward to when I got my Vita. It hasn't disappointed. Frustrated - yes. But great none the less!

[nekunando]

So I finally decided to download Journey tonight. Just finished playing through it in one sitting, and yeah, it was pretty amazing. :awesome:

It scared the shit out of me at one point too...

 

When you first encounter those things that attack you. I was proper into it by then (playing in a pitch black room with headphones on full blast) and the sound of that initial encounter almost gave me a fucking heart attack!

I'd literally just split from another player that was with me in the previous section too (unsure if that's done on purpose by the game or not) so I was all by myself.

Anyway, beautiful game.

Glad I checked it out in the end.

 

..and I just finished Journey about an hour ago myself In all honesty, I was pretty disappointed

 

I downloaded it months ago when it was on offer but felt like I wanted to wait until the 'right' time to absorb myself in it to see what everyone has been raving about. There are certainly some beautiful moments throughout and the music evocative but, for me, the game was lacking, well, a game..

 

Presumably it was supposed to be all about the experience, the 'journey', but I kept feeling like I wanted something more from it all. I guess it just didn't grab me like I hoped it would, which is a shame as there is something there, just not enough..

[RedShell]

..and I just finished Journey about an hour ago myself In all honesty, I was pretty disappointed

 

I downloaded it months ago when it was on offer but felt like I wanted to wait until the 'right' time to absorb myself in it to see what everyone has been raving about. There are certainly some beautiful moments throughout and the music evocative but, for me, the game was lacking, well, a game..

 

Presumably it was supposed to be all about the experience, the 'journey', but I kept feeling like I wanted something more from it all. I guess it just didn't grab me like I hoped it would, which is a shame as there is something there, just not enough..

Yeah, it's definitely a bit skimpy on the content. But I really like the vibe of it so can overlook that.

And it's such a relaxing experience (apart from certain moments ) that I can see myself going back to it many times in the future, just to chill out. It's gonna be my digital stress ball.

 

Shame we didn't cross paths in the end then, / nando /. By the way did you play it while online? If so, how many other players did you encounter?

I bumped into 3 people throughout my journey.

[nekunando]

Yeah, it's definitely a bit skimpy on the content. But I really like the vibe of it so can overlook that.

And it's such a relaxing experience (apart from certain moments ) that I can see myself going back to it many times in the future, just to chill out. It's gonna be my digital stress ball.

 

Shame we didn't cross paths in the end then, / nando /. By the way did you play it while online? If so, how many other players did you encounter?

I bumped into 3 people throughout my journey.

 

I was debating whether to go through it whilst signed into the PlayStation Network or not, but in the end I decided to play it offline by myself.

 

Having finished the game alone, I'm not really sure if coming into contact with others would have made that much of a difference I was sort of under the impression, before I played it, that although you couldn't communicate with the other player you could sort of try to help each other out with the 'puzzles'. When you consider that there is never a single point in Journey where you have to scratch your head in the slightest, it almost feels like a bit of a missed opportunity

 

It's a difficult one to judge as I feel like some additions to the gameplay could have made it an awesome game but then it may have taken away from the overly simplistic beauty that it currently exudes.

[Debug Mode]

Thanks for reminding me we never got Infinity.

 

Haha sorry about that mate! I usually see it floating around very cheaply, so keep your eye open if you don't mind using DeviFoxx's awesomely constructed guide.

 

I so wish PSO2 would be localised. They said it would be and it never was. Damn them.

 

It's a very sticky situation. They were clearly very up for it, but they and the players knew there would always be a gap between content updates and it would not convince current players to migrate off of the Japanese servers.

 

And realistically, Sega's going to ask what's wrong with leaving it that way. They're paying Japanese rates for a F2P game (which is no doubt way too expensive for them to reasonably charge domestically) and the community keeps putting out English packages for players to use.

 

But it's looking like if we do get it, Sega Japan will block us from playing the Japanese version. They've done this yesterday to those in the countries that the SEA is designed to cater for.

 

Continuing onwards..

 

Phantasy Star Portable

 

Finished this today as it was the only title in the Portable series that I had not completed. Released for the PSP quite a while ago, it's essentially a very "lite" version of Phantasy Star Universe with the Ambition of the Illuminus content thrown in too. It only offered local multiplayer, and I have next to no fucking idea of any one else in the whole of the UK who might own this game.

 

Gameplay is essentially the same as it was in PSU, the only Phantasy Star instalment that didn't grab my interest, and is designed to be very grind heavy. One of the things I liked most about it is how the "technic" discs (attributes/attacks to can link to your weapon) levelled up via experience it gained throughout your usage of it. It's very similar to Final Fantasy 2 in that regard, another game that coincidentally, I know of no other person that has completed it. It isn't simply down to spamming the thing either. Each weapon has its own Power Point tank. Whilst melee weapons like sabers, claws, daggers etc have a regular attack that consumes no PP, using the more powerful special attack that is only available through photon link will use PP each time it is used. This is actually used to balance things strangely well, with ranged weapons consuming PP no matter what photon bullets you're firing. No link will give you no special attributes and cost very little to fire whilst linking it to an elemental or special bullet (such as penetrating multiple enemies/inducing nerfs) will start to cost a little bit more and maybe add accurcy/power.

 

You can also change your class if you wish. You'll start with the Hunter/Ranger/Force selection as you did with PSO, but your character can then move onto another class (Without the need of making a new character), or upgrade to a slightly advanced class once one of the previous 3 classes has been levelled to a point. This gives your character permission to use higher ranked weapons (you'll take a slight hit in your stats at first though, as you'll start the advanced class at level 1), and this new class will also count towards one of three expert classes which offers cross-class specialities like a Ranger/Force.

 

The GUI is appalling. Alpha Systems clearly had a tough time learning how to work with the PSP at first, and this was made worse my Universe's overly ambitious size that was never fully utilised on any platform due to the lack of popularity. Sega has always seemed a bit too cocky in this respect, another example of this is PSO V1's drop table. So, instead of walking around to buildings on each planet to do stuff, it's all done through a map that has you point and click basically. A big pain in the ass as well, as only certain essential services like your own item storage can only be accessed at one place, so you could finish a mission on one planet and have to navigate the menus to get back to the colony and then your room etc etc.

 

But that's not the worst of it. The story is fucking dire. I love the Phantasy Star series, but it's always been average at best. Online had a pretty good story and required you to dig around for it, it was the perfect atmosphere that suited the fact that there is a conspiracy at work. Then they forgot all about that shit, tried to make Universe feel more like an anime, possibly trying to emulate Phantasy Star IV which is held in high regard by the community. Heck, there's so many fucking nods to that one game alone that I'm completely convinced they designed it with that game in mind. Takes place after the whole SEED and Illuminus bollocks in Universe, and what do you know, SEED and Illuminus are big factors again and some bitch named Helga is running the show and keeps with the two dimensional antagonist theme who just does what she's doing because she's been enveloped by the darkness blah blah blah, it's shit.

 

The gameplay is very average, roughly about as average as PSO was but not nearly as addictive. This was still in the day of having no dodge or shield, so of course there were unavoidable attacks that you just had to hope you had enough HP to endure before you promptly administer a trimate.

 

I have other complaints, such as the lack of situational music, lack of any kind of randomness in the map structure (The later the area in PSO, the more varieties in the map structure), very little immersion offered by the atmosphere and the general absence of exploration, but this is a problem within any game of the Universe series, including 2 and Infinity.

 

What started off as a rant about Portable 1 has now ended up covering Universe as a whole, woops, I'll end it there.

 

TL;DR: Pretty bad, pick up 2 if you can, Infinity if you don't mind playing in Japanese, just don't expect a good story out of any of them.

[danielodom]

Metal Gear Rising and Assassin's Creeed BF were fun didn't pickup any game after that

[ChloboShoka]

I last played Super Smas Bros. Melee. Playing on the gamecube is fun.

[Jimbob]

Finished up Murdered: Soul Suspect earlier today.

 

It's not a bad game, there are some things that would need improving. For example, i would have loved to see more "ghostly" powers. The game itself is not "open world" as they say it is, more like 60% open and 40% closed off. The story itself is decent enough, but as a whole the game is very short. You could easily do this in 1 sitting, i reckon this is at least 6-9 hours to complete. In an attempt to "beef" the game, there are some side quests where you help "others" whom have not left the world as they too have unfinished business. And of course, there are some items to collect. By some, i mean a lot. As a whole, the game is decent at best. It's worth getting at £20

 

 

Also finished up Stick it to the Man yesterday (22/06/2014). Not a bad game, very much enjoyed it. Had a nice story to it, and i loved the humour of the game. Not bad for free via PS+

Edited June 23, 2014 by Jimbob

[Hero-of-Time]

After playing Megaman on the Wii U VC I was in the mood to play some more of his games. I've had sealed copies of Megaman X and Megaman Powered Up for the PSP for well over a year now and decided to break one of them open.

 

Megaman: Maverick Hunter X

 

This is a great remake of the SNES original. I still prefer the sprites of the original but the new graphics look good on the PSP.

 

It plays largely the same as the original game but there are a few changes here and there, with a few of the X upgrades now in different areas.

 

The music is just as good as it's always been, with the remixes staying true to the original.

 

When you finish it you unlock a 20 minute anime movie that details the rise of Sigma and pretty much ends where the game picks up. This was a nice little bonus.

 

The great thing about this version is that you get to play as Vile. This was in interesting playthrough as he plays very differently to X.

 

You have to select different weapons at the start of each level and once you have picked them you are stuck with them for the duration of the mission. He also plays a lot slower than X and it's harder to just run and gun with him, especially if you haven't beaten Storm Eagle and not equipped the speed boost.

 

As a Megaman fan I thought the game was great and it's just a shame it didn't sell well as they had planned to remake a bunch of them for the PSP.

 

I finished that on Tuesday and yesterday I moved straight into opening and playing Megaman Powered Up.

 

Megaman Powered Up

 

It took some getting used to playing this after playing Megaman X. I kept trying to wall grab and do dashes.

 

I have to say, while the stages have a very clean and crisp look, i'm not a fan of the Chibi Megaman. Some of the bosses look cool in this design but I don't really care for Megamans look.

 

Like Megaman: Maverick Hunter X, this plays just like the original game but with a few changes and additions made.

 

The levels have been made a lot more easier than the ones on the NES. There are also a couple of new bosses for the game. Both Timeman and Oilman look fantastic!

 

You can unlock each of the Robot Masters to play as, providing you beat them by just using the buster rather than another weapon. Once unlocked you get challenges with each of them. These are nice little time wasters but nothing worth a major time sink.

 

There is voice acting in the game now but most of this is pretty dull/cringe worthy and doesn't really add anything to the game.

 

I managed to finish it in one sitting, probably due to me playing the original the other day, so I had the level layouts fresh in my mind.

 

Both great games but I prefer Maverick Hunter over Powered Up. Its just like how I prefer the X series over the original.

[Hero-of-Time]

Power Stone Collection

 

Power Stone

 

Another PSP I still had sealed has now been opened. The World Cup has been great for clearing some of my PSP backlog.

 

I loved the Dreamcast original and was intrigued to see how this would hold up on the PSP. It's not a bad port at all.

 

The loading times are a little long but nothing like certain Wii U or One games. Between the fights it's not that bad, it's mainly just the start up screens.

 

It plays just like the original, although I don't remember the AI being so cheap on the Dreamcast. On this they seem to just be constantly jumping around the map and doing dive kicks to knock the stones out of you.

 

Graphically the game looks fine on the little screen. I would probably say I was a little surprised just how faithful it has stayed to the original.

 

A nice addition to the first game is that you can now unlock the new characters from Power Stone 2. Well, I thought it was a nice addition. It turns out that each of these characters like the dive kick move. This was a right pain in the backside because it was a nice quick way grab the stones off the AI, especially as they would be doing it to you on a regular basis.

 

I had to complete the game with every character to unlock everything and using Julia from the second game was an absolute nightmare. I usually blitzed the game in about 8-10 minutes but her play through took me over 20. I got to Valgas ( human form, not that weird blob they decide to make a last boss ) but because she had no decent moves and no dive kick I had to rely on weapons spawning. Very frustrating.

 

Yeah, loved playing through it again but the game can't be shelved yet. I still have Power Stone 2 to start, which will begin today.

[Jonnas]

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

GOG/PC version, but released originally on the PS1

 

 

This a golden oldie, I played the demo a lot, back in the day. It's about a slave working for a giant corporation, deciding to escape and helping as many coworkers as he can along the way.

 

While I remember it as a puzzle platformer, it now also reminds me a lot of sidescrollers like Flashback, Out of This World or the original Prince of Persia. It has the same fluid-yet-clunky movements, but it fits this game better (what with the main character being a weak slave in rags).

 

Everything in this game - from the gameplay mechanics to the enemies you face - helps drive home the fact that the main character is a weakling facing impossible odds. Love it when a game joins plot and gameplay so well.

 

The puzzles are all about navigating deadly traps and enemies while saving coworkers. There are some genuine mindbenders in there. Most of them optional, but even finding them is a good challenge, and offers replay value.

 

Visually, it's incredible how well this game has aged, with charming animations and great use of CGI. Probably one of the few games of this generation that can say that. Unfortunately, its age shows with its archaic save system and frustrating checkpoint system. Pretty much its only real flaw (and also, why can't you call more than one coworker at a time? Needlessly frustrating).

 

Anyway, it's a highly recommended game. Give it a try, if you haven't yet.

[Ike]

Power Stone Collection

 

Oh, wow. I really need to play this, completely forgot about it. I liked Powers Stone 2 a lot more than 1 back on the Dreamcast.

[Hero-of-Time]

Oh, wow. I really need to play this, completely forgot about it. I liked Powers Stone 2 a lot more than 1 back on the Dreamcast.

 

Yeah, the second game was the better one for me as well.

 

Power Stone Collection

 

Power Stone 2

 

So, I finished this last night, unlocking all of the secret pages in the book. I would have finished it a day earlier but I was playing 1v1 mode when I should have been playing 1v3 mode.

 

The second game is much more fluid and frantic than the first, especially when there are 4 characters on the screen at once. New weapons are introduced as are things like turrets and tanks and various stages.

 

The loading times are a lot faster on the second game than the first, which is strange seeing as there is so much more going on. Maybe it wasn't optimised as much or something. I dunno.

 

The game looks great again on the PSP screen but you do run into an issue when playing on certain stages with 4 players. With the screen being so small, and the action being so frantic, it's sometimes hard to see what is going and just where the hell your character is!

 

Still, it's a great collection and having both Power Stone games in the palm of your hand is never a bad thing.

 

Playing this just reminds me this is another franchise that Capcom are just sitting on.