Jump to content
NEurope
nekunando

Your 2016 Gaming Diary

Recommended Posts

Got my first ever (and probably only) Platinum trophy tonight!

 

Finally managed to complete all the milestones for No Man's Sky, which i was pretty chuffed with. Thinking about going back and trying to complete Assassins Creed Syndicate now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Been a busy week for me finishing up a few things. Managed to finish Deus Ex Mankind Divided late last week and it has to be said but the game really does suffer from some serious middle-of-a-trilogy issues with an abrupt ending that left me wondering what the actual hell.

 

It’s been ages since I played Human Revolution but certain bits stuck in my mind and I really enjoyed that game so I was champing at the bit, so to speak, for playing this and more often than not, it struck a good chord. Picking up 2 years (IIRC) after the events of the original game, you reprise the role of Adam Jensen who now works for Interpol as the sole augmented agent post-Incident. The Incident has left lasting effects worldwide leading to rallying calls on both the augmented and non-augmented sides for change. In the midst of it all, an explosion at a train station in Prague, along with the appearance of unknown augmented terrorists, has put the world and the corporations in a panic leaving you to sift through the debris to find out what happened and what’s going on in the bigger picture.

 

The narrative, which is something I thought was a real strong point in the previous game, was equally strong here, if not more so, and really tackled the subjects of segregation and discrimination really well. Top marks to the writers there for creating a believable and hard hitting reflection of modern day life and for portraying atrocities such as Golem City, the game’s reflection of Kowloon Walled City with such thought provoking detail. While the dialogue might not have always matched up to those standards, it still helps to embolden the examination of the themes well and I definitely felt myself connect with the story and what was happening much more because of it.

 

Gameplay is still very much first person stealth, should you choose to play that way, or first person shooter with a solid cover mechanic. There’s not a whole lot of change from HR to this game in terms of that and what was a solid basis is still solid now. Obviously, the use of augmentations is the main draw here but despite some interesting new additions (which add a level of management to what you can use and what you lock away), the battery drain seems to have been ramped up and really hampers the use of them. It can make things a right pain to get through with stealth when you constantly have to pop in another biocell to recharge with how quick the battery seems to run out and ultimately hampers the gameplay to a degree on that front.

 

That being said, it still plays extremely well and the stealth gameplay is top notch. There’s nothing as satisfying as slowly moving your way through a room and taking out every enemy without getting noticed. It doesn’t quite fare as well when going in all guns blazing but, to me at least, that’s not really how the game is meant to be played.

 

I do feel the abruptness of the ending put a bit of a dampener on the game as it was slowly ramping up, after a meandering start, into something really captivating. However, even with that being the case, the mid-credits clip gave enough of a glimpse of something hinted towards throughout the game that will make the wait for the inevitable final piece a long one. It’s a series where I have no connection to the earlier games but from playing HR and now this, I can honestly say I can’t wait to see how it all pans out as it’s one of the most engrossing narratives and experiences available.

 

Also managed to play and finish off two “Walking Simulators” at the end of the week as well: one classic in the form of Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and the other a first time release for a studio in the form of Virginia. Having played Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture last year, I was interested in seeing how Dear Esther fared and after finishing it, I came away a bit unimpressed. Not so because of the atmosphere of the game, which The Chinese Room have nailed just as they did with EGttR, but more with the feel of the game and the way it feels a bit too pretentious for its own good. There’s merit to be gained from this style of play and while my initial play of EGttR didn’t grab it, subsequent ones did but I just don’t see how Dear Esther can do it. I just didn’t feel engaged with the story or the mystery of what had happened.

 

Virginia, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air and it instantly clicked with me and it’s remained long in my mind after the game finished. Though a short 2 hour or so experience, the way it presents a strong narrative through use of no dialogue, merely actions, is a bold move but one that not only sets itself apart from some of the other titles in this genre but also makes one of the most captivating. The drip feed of the narrative and the way that it’s made explicitly clear that you aren’t getting everything and certainly not in the right order meant that I was more involved than I otherwise would be as I tried to make sense and while a lack of a definitive conclusion isn’t presented, being left to draw your own conclusions from what was there was a very nice touch.

 

Stylistically as well, the game was brilliant with that Painterly art style and a superb soundtrack. It may not be as immediately interactive with how you scope around the locations you’re in trying to solve the case of a missing child, but the implicit interaction in your mind of themes and narrative threads is something I found hugely captivating and incredibly moving at times when you put elements of the story together.

 

It was a nice juxtaposition to play these back to back but for me, Virginia is the better title and definitely one of the most interesting games I’ve played this year.

 

Finally, started up and finished off a play through of Until Dawn over the last couple of days. I played this with the missus watching on as she was quite enjoying the experience of watching it, especially with it more or less playing out like a TV series in episodes. I’d been meaning to boot this up for awhile in in the wake of finishing the above, I thought why not give it a go now.

 

And overall, I thought it was a very well made experience but the second half definitely didn’t hit the same notes that I felt the first half did. I really enjoyed the whole “Psycho-killer” half of the game as it was where I felt there were more genuine jump moments and though it didn’t exactly toe an original line (it was starting to feel slightly Saw-esque), it was still engaging with the situations it threw at you and they didn’t feel as farfetched as the ones the game threw about later on.

 

I managed to make it through most of the game without screwing things up and right up until the very end of the 9th chapter, I still had everyone alive but a bad decision at the end of that and jumping the gun on the final decision meant I ended the game minus 2 characters. Bit gutted that I’d managed to keep everyone going for so long, though to be honest it wasn’t as difficult as I believed it would be. Maybe another play through down the line will result in a full house or I’ll play for the exact opposite, who knows. Still a good experience that as I say I thought was let down by the second half of the game.

 

Completed

January

Axiom Verge (Started Dec. 2015)

Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

Resogun* (Rookie complete, 3 difficulty settings to go)

Super Exploding Zoo

Among The Sleep

Amplitude

Just Cause 3 (Started Dec. 2015)

Fallout 4 (Started Nov. 2015)

Flower

 

February

The Witness (Platinum get)

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Submerged

Rainbow Six Siege (Situations Completed)

Firewatch

Unravel

 

March

Hotline Miami

SOMA

The Fall

Murdered: Soul Suspect (Platinumed)

Uncharted 2 Remastered

 

April

Uncharted 3 Remastered

Republique (PS4)

Shutshimi

Teslagrad

Volume (Platinumed)

Mirror's Edge (PS3)

Blues and Bullets - Episode 1 & 2 (of 5)

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

 

May

Shadow Complex Remastered

Koi (PS4)

The Park (PS4)

Table Top Racing: World Tour

Uncharted 4

 

June

Ratchet and Clank (2016)

Invisible Inc. (Beginner difficulty)

Child of Eden (PS3)

Oxenfree

VEV: Viva Ex Vivo

Gone Home (PS4)

Mirror's Edge Catalyst

 

July

Far Cry Primal

Infamous First Light

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell

Type:Rider (PS4)

Adr1ft

Shadow of the Beast (PS4; Normal Difficulty)

Trials of the Blood Dragon

Song of the Deep

Unmechanical Extended

 

August

Hyper Light Drifter

The Walking Dead Season 1

Abzu

This War of Mine: The Little Ones - 2nd Run: Day 28 (Long term)

No Man's Sky (Platinum)

Bound

 

September

Oceanhorn

Batman: A Telltale Series - Episode 1

Datura (PS3)

Tales from the Borderlands - All episodes

Remember Me (PS3)

 

October

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition

Virginia

Until Dawn

 

 

Hopefully going to be picking up Rise of the Tomb Raider and Rez Infinite to get stuck into those around the weekend, though the latter will be getting played without the PSVR mainly because I can't pass up another chance to play Rez :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

2 more games to add to my list, first is Ultratron.

Not much to say about this one really, it was OK. Would've been way better without all the OTT SFX though. I disabled the ones that could be switched off from the options menu, but even then the game is still far too busy visually.

Was a freebie on PS+ though, so can't really complain. :hehe:

 

And next up is a game I've been looking forward to playing for quite a while, Severed.

Remember being pretty jealous of drahkon and Hero-of-Time back when they were playing it on the Vita. :D Was hoping a PS4 version would appear at some point, but obviously that never happened, so I was well chuffed when it was announced that the game would be coming to Wii U & 3DS.

The funny thing is though, I actually ended up playing it on iPad. :grin:

Yeah, when I discovered that the game was available on iOS for a fraction of the cost of the console versions, and also thought about how much better it would look and play on that screen, it was a no-brainer.

 

Anyway, glad I finally got to play the game, as it was great! I really enjoyed the exploration and puzzles (even though they were very simple) and the combat was super fun too. Some truly superb touch screen controls in this. :awesome:

 

Story is proper dark and some parts of the game are seriously gross, or at least they would be if it wasn't for the art style. I'd say it was pretty much perfect apart from the absolutely atrocious song that plays during the credits! icon13.gif

No, just no. :shakehead

 

In other gaming diary news, I also reached level 30 on The Tomorrow Children! That should've got me the gold (and final) trophy for the game, but... it didn't.

Yeah, unfortunately the trophy unlock glitched. :sad: I've since contacted Q-Games though, and they are working on a fix.

Still can't belive the game didn't get a Platinum though, over 100 hours to earn the last trophy is surely more than enough reason to warrant one!

 

Beat:

in January:____________

Yakuza 5 (PS3) started in 2015

Little Battlers eXperience (3DS) started in 2015

Hardware: Rivals (PS4+) IDbttgi.gif

in February:____________

Dragon Quest Heroes (PS4) IDbttgi.gif

Rocket League (PS4+) beat in 2015 IDbttgi.gif

Radio Hammer (3DS)

Horizon Chase (iOS)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3+)

in March:____________

Transformers: Devastation (PS4)

Super Stardust HD (PS3+)

Binary Domain (PS3)

Super Mario Maker (Wii U) replay

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) replay IDbttgi.gif

Miitomo (iOS)

in April:____________

Shutshimi: Seriously Swole (PS4+)

Broforce (PS4+)

Grow Home (PS4+) 100%

Bloodborne (PS4)

PKTBALL (iOS)

in May:____________

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (3DS/Wii U)

Trackmania Turbo (PS4)

Pocket Card Jockey (3DS)

Uncharted: Fortune Hunter (iOS)

Uncharted 4 (PS4)

in June:____________

Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)

in July:____________

Street Fighter V (PS4)

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (PS4+)

Monster Hunter Generations (3DS)

Metroid Prime Blast Ball (3DS)

in August:____________

ABZÛ (PS4)

Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)

Ninja Battle Heroes (3DS)

in September:____________

The Tomorrow Children (PS4) 100%

in October:____________

MHbUwnT.gifUltratron (PS4+)

MHbUwnT.gifSevered (iOS) 100%

 

Total: 35

 

Yet to start or unfinished:

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) replay

OlliOlli (3DS/Wii U)

Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U)

 

Dropped or on hold:

Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) started in 2015

Affordable Space Adventures (Wii U)

Zombi (PS4+) replay

Table Top Racing: World Tour (PS4+)

Tricky Towers (PS4+)

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Glad to see that you enjoyed Severed, @RedShell. Did you like the music? I thought it fit the tone of the game beautifully.
While not the kind of stuff I'd really listen to outside of the game itself, I did like the music and also thought it was a good fit. Well, everything apart from that song on the credits, which was way too cheesy.

Might just be me though, as I generally have a super low tolerance for vocals in game music. :woops:

 

This track was probably my fave:

 

Gave me a Zelda-ish vibe (as did quite a few aspects of the game) which is nice. You can tell the guys at DrinkBox have been heavily inspired by Metroid and Zelda, in both this and Guacamelee. icon14.gif

I look forward to seeing their next project. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm currently 70 shines into Super Mario Sunshine but I don't think I have the stomach to hunt down all 120 as the good parts of the game are becoming overshadowed by irritations. I reckon I'll call it a day when I unlock the final stage and beat Bowser.

 

While I have always seen it as a great game, it has further cemented itself as the weakest 3D Mario title in my mind..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm currently 70 shines into Super Mario Sunshine but I don't think I have the stomach to hunt down all 120 as the good parts of the game are becoming overshadowed by irritations. I reckon I'll call it a day when I unlock the final stage and beat Bowser.

 

While I have always seen it as a great game, it has further cemented itself as the weakest 3D Mario title in my mind..

 

I could never finish it again, no way. Screw the Blue Coins!

 

Best way to play it is to just play it till you've at least beaten Bowser and stop either there, or after you get fed up with the other shines.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I could never finish it again, no way. Screw the Blue Coins!

 

Best way to play it is to just play it till you've at least beaten Bowser and stop either there, or after you get fed up with the other shines.

 

There was something in my head telling me I only needed 60 shines in comparison to the 70 required to beat Super Mario 64 but that target has been and gone.. as has 70 :blank:

 

I was starting to wonder what the deal was but I checked and discovered I need to hunt down Shadow Mario in each stage. I don't recall that from my original playthrough all those years ago but I guess it just happened naturally while I was going for a few of the more obscure shines this time around from the off!

 

I hadn't even touched Pianta Village but I'm working my way through it now..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Went on a bit of a trophy hunt over the weekend and grabbed a few platinums. Replayed the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands to nab the trophies there, seeing as the trophies I got for playing the download of the episode didn't stack with the physical release. Again, a brilliant game and although I'm not likely to jump back on and finish a second run through right now, just dipping back in to play that first episode has me really wanting to play it all through again, which is a testament to the strength of that title.

 

Also managed to clear up all of the collectibles in Mirror's Edge Catalyst to nab the platinum there. Some of those secret bags were super well hidden, I thought I was relatively familiar with the different districts and areas yet ended up in tracking all of these down I ended up in areas that I didn't think were there. They really did a good job of building the environment and giving you plenty of opportunity to parkour your way up and down places. Sad to see the end of the game as I genuinely enjoyed tracking down the last bits and while objectively it may not be the best game this year, it's certainly up there subjectively as one of my favourite experiences this year.

 

I would've also grabbed the platinum for Oceanhorn on the PS4 as well if the game hadn't decided to crash and subsequently corrupt my save file with one trophy left (the one for the Bloodstones) :mad: needless to say I wasn't impressed and even when rebooting it to play and checking the "No" option for overwriting my save, it still went and did it anyway. Not willing to play through it again to grab the last couple of bloodstones, which is a shame as I was enjoying it a bit more this time round grabbing the trophies (even if the fishing was a right pain in the backside, especially that final botfish thing :nono:).

 

Completed

January

Axiom Verge (Started Dec. 2015)

Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

Resogun* (Rookie complete, 3 difficulty settings to go)

Super Exploding Zoo

Among The Sleep

Amplitude

Just Cause 3 (Started Dec. 2015)

Fallout 4 (Started Nov. 2015)

Flower

 

February

The Witness (Platinum get)

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Submerged

Rainbow Six Siege (Situations Completed)

Firewatch

Unravel

 

March

Hotline Miami

SOMA

The Fall

Murdered: Soul Suspect (Platinumed)

Uncharted 2 Remastered

 

April

Uncharted 3 Remastered

Republique (PS4)

Shutshimi

Teslagrad

Volume (Platinumed)

Mirror's Edge (PS3)

Blues and Bullets - Episode 1 & 2 (of 5)

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

 

May

Shadow Complex Remastered

Koi (PS4)

The Park (PS4)

Table Top Racing: World Tour

Uncharted 4

 

June

Ratchet and Clank (2016)

Invisible Inc. (Beginner difficulty)

Child of Eden (PS3)

Oxenfree

VEV: Viva Ex Vivo

Gone Home (PS4)

Mirror's Edge Catalyst (Platinum, October)

 

July

Far Cry Primal

Infamous First Light

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell

Type:Rider (PS4)

Adr1ft

Shadow of the Beast (PS4; Normal Difficulty)

Trials of the Blood Dragon

Song of the Deep

Unmechanical Extended

 

August

Hyper Light Drifter

The Walking Dead Season 1

Abzu

This War of Mine: The Little Ones - 2nd Run: Day 28 (Long term)

No Man's Sky (Platinum)

Bound

 

September

Oceanhorn

Batman: A Telltale Series - Episode 1

Datura (PS3)

Tales from the Borderlands (Platinum, October)

Remember Me (PS3)

 

October

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition

Virginia

Until Dawn

 

 

Booted up Far Cry 4 to give it a go as its been sitting there unplayed for ages. Having played Primal earlier this year, I must say that I'm not enjoying this as much by comparison. I'm not far into it so that may change with time but there was something immediate with Primal that I really enjoyed that isn't as apparent here. Who knows, some more play time may change that but XCom 2 is beckoning and I really want to sit and play through that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I really need to do this more often. It's almost quarterly updates at this point.

 

Bought and finished Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Great game. Played through it four times to get all of the trophies. Only thing that keeps me from getting the platinum is the awful Breach mode. Still not given up on it though.

 

Someone mentioned Super Princess Peach earlier. I have never played the game, but reading what people said about it, it reminded me of Freshly-Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland and the fact that I never finished it. Picked it up and finished it for 100%. It's a weird game where Tingle is off on a quest to reach Rupeeland. Everything in the game is about rupees, just talking to townspeople costs rupees, fighting monsters costs rupees and no good deed goes unrewarded, unless if you're asking too much. It can be pretty mean if you overpay or asks too little throughout the game, think that's why I quit the first time around.

 

Also bought Picross e3. Think I own them all now.

 

Finished all the dlc for Minecraft: Story Mode

 

Played a lot of No Man's Sky. Nowhere the game I and everyone else thought it was going to be, but it was good fun the 30-40 hours I played. Missing a couple of trophies, but I will get those when/if the developer put something in the game worth coming back for and staying.

 

Was bored one day and wanted an easy and short game to 100%/platinum so I bought Doodle Kingdom. Waste of money!

 

Platinumed Rebel Galaxy, a game given through ps plus. A lot of grinding, but it was good fun. I especially liked the combat.

 

Also achieved platinum on Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas. For some reason I can't remember I was browsing the playstation blog and I noticed this cute game. Was in the mood for some light and easy fun so I picked up on day 1. I was really surprised to see that three N-E members was playing this game at the same time on the release day. Thought I was the only one who knew it even existed :p Anyway, worse than Zelda in every way? Sure, it's easier, it's shorter, but it was exactly what I wanted. It was great fun. Looking forward to the sequel.

 

Played the latest expansion for Star Wars: Battlefront, Death Star. It's great fun, but too much fighter squadron for my taste.

 

Started on Lego Dimension but haven't gotten far in it at all. Don't know if I will finish it.

 

Currently playing Rise of the Tomb Raider and Dragon Quest Builders

 

 

 

 

 

 

Platinum

 

Grim Fandango

Rogue Galaxy

Gravity Rush

Far Cry Primal

Heavy Rain

Beyond Two Souls

Mirror's Edge: Cataclysm

Minecraft: Story Mode

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered

Uncharted 2 Remastered

Nights of Azure

Republique

Tropico 5

Super Exploding Zoo

Ratchet and Clank

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Rebel Galaxy

Oceanhorn: Monsters of Uncharted Seas

 

Started last year

 

Final Fantasy Type 0

Lego the Hobbit

Witcher 3: A Wild Hunt

Watch Dogs

 

 

100%/Complete

 

Firewatch

Mousecraft

Gone Home

Her Story

Freshly-Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland

Doodle Kingdom

 

100% DLC/Expansions

 

Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

AC Syndicate: Majahara Missions

Watch Dogs: Bad Blood

Far Cry 4: Valley of the Yeti

 

 

Finished

 

Star Wars Battlefront

Flower

Plague Inc Evolved

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

No Man's Sky

 

Unfinished

 

Bastion

Banner Saga

Pokemon Yellow

Rune Factory 4

Uncharted 3 Remastered

Table Top Racing

Fire Emblem Birthright

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Race the Sun

Picross e3

Lego Dimensions

 

 

Edited by Tales

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not long after my previous post yesterday, I beat Bowser in Super Mario Sunshine :smile:

 

15329_front.jpg

 

The final battle was extremely quick and easy with the only real frustrations coming from trying to steer the boat through Corona Mountain :nono:

 

I'm finding it difficult to know how to feel about Super Mario Sunshine as I mostly enjoy it and was looking forward to playing it again after all this time but it seems like it was rushed as it isn't as polished as most other Nintendo titles, bringing with it serious irritation.

 

I'd like to retrieve all of the shine sprites, just as I've collected everything in other Mario games, but I'm not sure I have the desire to deal with the obscurity in obtaining some of the blue coins.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, because Game Freak can't scrub demos to save their lives. I have to ignore everything to do with Pokemon until I play through Sun/Moon.

 

I'm gonna write about a game to pass the time.

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice came out on the 3DS last month. Much like the other games, it's a visual novel revolving around defence attorneys and the court cases they take part in.

 

The game follows Phoenix Wright and his 2 employees, Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes as they tackle 5 cases (6 if you buy the DLC).

 

Now, I normally start by giving a brief synopsis of the story, but seeing as this is a visual novel, I won't bother this time.

I will say that it's an absolute corker of a story. Right up there with Trials and Tribulations, there are some really nice twists, all sorts of ridiculous scenarios, great characters and many, many pop references.

 

The gameplay revolves around two main sections, Investigations and Trials. Investigations involves searching crime scenes, gathering evidence and questioning witnesses in an attempt to piece together what happened so that you don't utterly fail in court. Just like I did here.

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

The court sections are the meat of the game and involve your lawyer trying to get a "Not Guilty" verdict for their client. This involves listening to Witness Testimony and pointing out contradictions with evidence and just a little bit of dramatic pointing. Sooner or later (Provided you don't mess up so much that the Judge refuses to listen to you anymore), the truth should come out and you find out what happened.

Now, obviously, there's a lot of reading in this game. Comes with the genre.

A new mechanic in this entry is the "Divination Seánce". You see, Phoenix is abroad in a place called Khura'in and their trials revolve around a seánce that shows a murder victims last few moments from their point of view.

Most of the time, it looks pretty incriminating for your client, so you'll no doubt have to find something there that looks fishy and figure out what it really means.

 

I really like this mechanic, the game does some clever stuff with it and it's fun slowly changing the actual meaning of what is shown.

 

The visuals, just like Dual Destinies before it, are fantastic, every character is animated beautifully and exude loads of charm.

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

Yeah, a lot of my Miiverse posts were full of spoilers, sorry for focusing on Athena so much. Trust me though, the animation's great.

 

The music is solid too, some very catchy tunes, some somber ones and those all important ones that play when you're making good progress and the game wants you to get pumped up!

 

I think this may be my favourite Ace Attorney to date. It rarely puts a step wrong. The 4th case is not quite as exciting as the others, but it still has it's great moments. If you're an Ace Attorney fan and you haven't tried this y...

Oh, who am I kidding? Of course an Ace Attorney fan has played it.

 

And with that...

 

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - SNES

Shovel Knight - 3DS (Custom Knight amiibo playthrough)

Game & Watch Gallery 2 - GB

Radiohammer - 3DS

Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path - DS

Shovel Knight - WiiU (Co-op run with Dcubed)

Puzzle and Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition - 3DS (Crazy Diamond Wall 2nd Playthrough Difficulty)

Metroid Prime - Wii

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - Wii

Game & Watch Gallery Advance - GBA

Zelda - Game & Watch

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Wii

Metroid Fusion - GBA

Super Mario World - SNES

Star Fox Zero - WiiU

Bravely Second: End Layer - 3DS

Hyrule Warriors Legends - 3DS

Super Metroid - SNES

Freedom Planet - WiiU

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. - 3DS

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon - 3DS

Paper Mario - N64

Zero Time Dilemma - 3DS

My Nintendo Picross - 3DS

Pocket Card Jockey - 3DS

Monster Hunter Generations - 3DS

WarioWare Touched - DS

Donkey Kong Country 2 - SNES

Kirby: Planet Robobot - 3DS

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - WiiU

Osu! Tatake! Ouendan! - DS

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatake! Ouendan! - DS

Elite Beat Agents - DS

AM2R - PC

Xenoblade Chronicles X - WiiU

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice - 3DS

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's been a while since I've been in here. I've been very tempted to play through The Last of Us lately, so I decided to have a go at that again.

 

What a fantastic experience. I'm trying to find flaws with the game and it's very, very difficult. I had completely forgotten just how insane the graphics are for this, but the sound design is also top notch, as is the script work and the animation. I'm also a big fan of the gameplay. Naughty Dog have the right balance here and they strike it better here than they do in the Uncharted games. There's the right amount of combat, where it doesn't cross that line and become tedious. There's the right amount of stealth, so you can choose to go down that route if you want to or not. There's definitely some horror and tension there, but it combines well with the action to strike a perfect balance.

 

I'm tempted to say that I love it even more second time around.

 

I also went through Left Behind, which is short but exceedingly sweet. The character development in both the main game and this DLC is extremely well done. I genuinely cared for the characters you meet along the way, not just for Joel and Ellie. The way that the characters interact and play off each other is just masterful, especially the scenes to show Ellie and Riley's friendship.

 

10/10 game, imo. Definitely, definitely in my top ten. For some reason, I really enjoyed the combat this time around. Moar, please.

 

Games of 2016

 

Flower - Finished

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Finished

The Unfinished Swan - Finished

Grim Fandango Remastered - Finished

Race The Sun - Finished

The Wolf Among Us - Finished

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Story Finished

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Ico - Finished

Tokyo Jungle - Finished

Grand Theft Auto 5 - Finished!

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Finished

Batman: Arkham City - Finished

Life Is Strange

Uncharted 4

Heavy Rain (PS4 Version)

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

Unravel

The Last of Us

The Last of Us/Left Behind

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Moar, please.

 

I reckon The Last of Us 2 would single-handedly convince me to purchase a PS4. I'd love to know what happens to Joel and Ellie :hehe:

 

Anyway, thinking about the potentially heavenly hybrid that Nintendo may soon reveal to us I've returned to my save file in Hybrid Heaven on N64! I'll probably chip away at it over the next couple of weeks and see if I can make it to the end :smile:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Demon's Souls

After falling in love with the Souls series during my playthrough of 'Dark Souls' I was definitely keen to get stuck into the rest of the series but thought it would be best to start with the original entry before moving onto the more refined editions. I sank about 120 hours into 'Dark Souls' so expected to be in it for the long haul again but to my surprise I managed to finish the game in less than 50 hours, I think part of it is down to being familiar with the games mechanics and quirks but it also felt like an altogether easier and more linear game. Instead of each area connecting to the next, 'Demon's Souls' has you start out in a hub world called the Nexus and you can enter the five areas of the game through Arc Stones that are dotted around its central structure, it makes the game less intimidating as you're aware from the beginning how many areas there are going to be to explore but coupled with the more linear nature of the level design it definitely works to the detriment of the game when you compare it to it's successor.

 

The main ingredients of what makes a Souls game so addictive are evident though, with the combat feeling fluid and each swing packing a real sense of weight. Curiously the player characters movement actually feels much more substantial than in 'Dark Souls', where I often felt like my character was too light and floaty. Inventory management is also something that seems much more intuitive in 'Demon's Souls' than it did in 'Dark Souls', I spent much less time fiddling around in menus this time around.

 

I think I enjoyed playing through it more than I did 'Dark Souls' but the lack of challenge on some of the boss battles meant I felt like completing it wasn't as big of an achievement. Before playing it I expected it to be the weirder, less polished cousin of 'Dark Souls' and it pretty much ended up that way apart from being more refined that I had assumed. For anyone who has played through and enjoyed one of the 'Dark Souls' games I highly recommend you seek this out, it's a really fun experience.

 

As I expected to be playing 'Demon's Souls' for a long time, I started playing through 'Oracle Of Ages' on the 3DS VC, so I plan to finish that next before tackling some more of my backlog.

Edited by killthenet

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I finished Paper Mario Color Splash ( Wii U ) over the weekend. My thoughts are in the thread but I will just say again that I loved it.

 

Yesterday I decided to sit down and finally play through Shovel Knight (Wii U).

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

I started from scratch as it had been ages since I had last saved it. I was surprised just how short the game actually is.

 

My favourite stage and boss had to be Tinker Knight. I absolutely loved the music in that stage.

 

 

The boss battle felt a lot like the Sigma battles in the Megaman X games. You would get an easy fight and then all of a sudden he would change into some giant mechanical beast. :D

 

Great game, just a shame its taken me this long to finally get through it and see the end.

 

Next up, from one knight on to another, is HarmoKnight. (3DS). I figured it would be best to get this out of the way, what with Rhythm Paradise Megamix arriving ( literally just came through the postbox as i'm typing this up ).

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

The game just doesn't sit right with me. I mentioned last month that something feels off about the game and it still feels that way. At times, the music doesn't seem to match your actions and there were times where I was actually just looking at the stage or boss area itself to know what to do, rather than trying to match whatever Game Freak class as rhythm.

 

Having to restart the whole stage again because you miss a single hit at the end of the stage is just wrong, especially when some fights have cutscenes that can't be skipped.

 

It wasn't all bad. I did enjoy the art style and characters that were in the game. I wouldn't mind seeing them in a proper platforming game of some sort.

 

At least it's done and dusted now and it just adds to the pile of another disappointing game from Game Freak.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After the hype started to die down from the Switch reveal last night, I finished The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages. It was a really fun game overall and having played 'Link's Awakening DX' recently I felt really familiar with the controls and the games world. It definitely feels like a Capcom developed game rather than a Nintendo one, with the addition of the animals and the use of cutscenes from enemies perspectives really standing out as something that Nintendo probably wouldn't have done. It all works though and my only real gripes are the weird swimming controls when Link gets the Mermaid's Tail and the lack of buttons resulting in constant item switching, but thats a limitation of the original system rather than any mistake by the developers.

 

I really loved some of the creature designs, with interesting takes on Goron's and Zora's as well as my personal favourite Tokay. There were lots of interesting nods to other games in the series too with the inclusion of characters like Jabu Jabu and Tingle. I'll definitely play through 'Oracle Of Seasons' at some point but having played through two quite similar handheld Zelda adventures in quick succession, i'll wait a while before I delve into that.

 

Next up I'm going to play through 'Chase: Cold Case' and maybe a few other smaller games, I don't want to get sucked into something too substantial like 'Demon's Souls' with Nanowrimo coming up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've just finished and platinumed Dragon Quest Builders (PS4).

 

What a fantastic game! I've never really cared for Minecraft due to how open ended it is. I prefer to have an objective in my games, rather than being left to come up with one of my own. This game gives you a story, objectives, challenges and then adds in the building elements of Minecraft, mixed in with the world of Dragon Quest. The result is an amazing experience.

 

All the classic character and charm from the standard DQ games is present and accounted for, as are certain tunes and jingles. The regional accents are also in this game, for better or worse. :D The game looks absolutely gorgeous. The cartoony style of DQ really looks the part in the PS4, just like DQ: Heroes did.

 

Trophies wise the game offers 5 challenges per world that need to be completed. The only one that causes a bit of a headache is the one that requires you to finish all the missions in a set number of days. This gets easier as the game progresses due to you learning the mechanics and how the game works. I just managed to finish the first world with 1 day to spare but by the final world I had 15 days left!

 

With Heroes and now Builders, Dragon Quest continues to show its diversity this generation. Now to twiddle my thumbs until DQXI arrives...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well that was surprisingly short! I played through the entirety of Chase: Cold Case in just over an hour. It has some of the hallmarks of Cing's classic visual novels but felt more like a proof of concept than a fully fleshed out game. All of the action is limited to the detectives office, so there is no exploring environments for clues like we're used to from games like 'Hotel Dusk' and 'Another Code', as a likely product of this there is also a complete lack of any puzzle solving. The games story and dialogue is certainly intriguing but it doesn't feel like a fully realised idea. Clearly the developers at Aksys are working with a much smaller budget than they were in their Cing heyday, but I can't help but feel a little short changed with this. In future I'd like to see Aksys continue to make these kind of games and hopefully with a little more financial support after testing the waters with this they'll be able to produce something more substantial.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After seeing several people mentioning Virginia (think they were @Ashley, @Goafer and @Ganepark32), I decided to get it off PSN because it was under the 10 quid limit. My sweet spot. :D Previously, I knew nothing about it and just went into it completely blind and not knowing what to expect.

 

I LOVED it. It's unique. There isn't an actual lot that the player does and it very much reminds me of Everybody's Gone To The Rapture in that sense, which is a game that I loved anyway. I adored how there wasn't any dialogue and the soundtrack was an absolute masterpiece. It's an unusual looking game and is a bit all over the place with the way that it's cut and pieced together, but I found that to be really interesting. It won't be to everyone's taste. Straight afterwards, I had to head online to read people's interpretations of the game because it doesn't spoon-feed you anything.

 

Overall, I had a great time with it and can see myself giving it another playthrough soon. Very glad that I bought it. There's one bit which I just wanted to get out of my seat and start applauding:

 

Where the main character, Anna, is in the prison cell and she leaves the cell to provide the Internal Affairs file to her boss. The scenes afterwards which show her basically ratting out on her colleagues, especially after she invited some over to her place to be sociable, were just incredibly well put together and the musical accompaniment was masterful. 10/10 sequence right there.

 

 

Games of 2016

 

Flower - Finished

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Finished

The Unfinished Swan - Finished

Grim Fandango Remastered - Finished

Race The Sun - Finished

The Wolf Among Us - Finished

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Story Finished

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Ico - Finished

Tokyo Jungle - Finished

Grand Theft Auto 5 - Finished!

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Finished

Batman: Arkham City - Finished

Life Is Strange

Uncharted 4

Heavy Rain (PS4 Version)

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

Unravel

The Last of Us

The Last of Us/Left Behind

Virginia

Edited by Fierce_LiNk

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My Vita was really starting to run low on space ( due to all the PS+ games on it) so I figured I would tackle a game on it and free up some memory. I decided to play through Code: Realize ~Guardians of Rebirth~ (Vita). I've just finished and platinumed the game.

 

I'm not the biggest fan of the VN genre, especially after playing through STEINS; GATE earlier in the year, but this game really won me over. The story and characters were much better in this VN. Having crazy stuff like vampires, knights, kings and queens, Captain Nemo, Sherlock Holmes and Van Helsing all wrapped up in a steampunk setting was great. Their anime designs were also pretty cool, especially Van Helsings.

 

Another enjoyable experience that I wouldn't have even thought about playing had it not been for PS+. Seeing as I enjoyed this, I may have a crack at Ammesia: Memories at some point soon, which was also given away via PS+.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Finished another couple of games over the past few days.

 

First up is Amnesia: Memories (Vita). I figured I would crack on with this after finishing the other VN.

 

Not a fan of this one. It was very much like a teeny bopper, dating sim. Sure, there's a little mystery to solve but it's all wrapped up in a love story. Code: Realize had a bit of a love story going through it but the characters and main story were at least interesting enough to push the player forward.

 

The minigames that are on offer were probably more fun than the main game. Playing rock, paper scissors and air hockey was a right laugh. :laughing:

 

I still have to go through it another couple of times for the platinum, luckily there is a fast forward option and plenty of footy on over the next two days. :D

 

Next up was Metroid: Zero Mission (Wii U). I've played the original Metroid a few times in my life but i've never played this remake.

 

You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse

 

I thought it was great, well until the end. I didn't care for the Zero Suit Samus section one bit. Sneaking around the level was a pain in the backside. :nono:

 

I think is the first Metroid game that both me and the hardcore Metroid fans like. Not a fan of the Prime series ( which they love ) and I love Other M and Fusion ( which they don't rate highly ). Nice to finally have some common ground with them. :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just finished Never Alone (Wii U) with my wife tonight. It wasn't terrible and I generally liked the atmosphere and very minor puzzle solving but we were both glad it was only £2.59 in the sale :heh:

 

header.jpg?t=1475112190

 

There were a few frustrating deaths that didn't seem fair but there wasn't much punishment as checkpoints were plentiful. I was certainly glad I played with my wife, though, as I can imagine the game being a little more irritating if playing alone.

 

Anyway, I think I need to update my list before I completely lose track of what I've been through over the last few months :grin:

 

Spyro the Dragon (PS1)

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Mario vs Donkey Kong (GBA [3DS Ambassador])

Kirby's Adventure (NES [Wii U VC])

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (PS2)

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3)

Space Channel 5 (DC)

Wave Race: Blue Storm (GC) REPLAY

Power Stone (DC)

Mario Kart 8(Wii U)

ESPN International Track & Field (DC)

Skies of Arcadia (DC)

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker(DC)

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U)

Life is Strange (PS3)

Rayman 2 (DC)

Starfox Zero (Wii U)

Beyond Good & Evil (GC)

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (GC)

Batallion Wars (GC)

Mario Kart 64 (N64 [Wii VC]) REPLAY

NBA Jam (Wii)

BOXBOY (3DS)

Mickey Mania (SNES)

Duke Nukem 64 (N64)

Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing (SNES)

Super R-Type (SNES)

Mario Slam Basketball (3DS)

Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA)

Illusion of Time (SNES)

Gekido (PS1)

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (GC)

Nintendo Land (Wii U)

Dino Crisis 2 (PS1)

Outrun 3D (3DS)

Super Hang On 3D (3DS)

Space Harrier 3D (3DS)

Streets of Rage 2 3D (3DS)

Gunstar Heroes 3D (3DS)

Doom (PS1)

Mario Party: Star Rush (3DS)

Konami Krazy Racers (GBA)

Super Mario Sunshine (GC) REPLAY

Never Alone (Wii U)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought it ages ago but have only just got around to playing through Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. I have vague memories of playing the game when I was a kid, so was getting pretty nostalgic when I got to Mt. Teapot but I never completed it when I was younger. After playing through 'Super Mario Land' recently, I was really impressed at how deep 'Wario Land' is comparatively despite only coming out 4 years later - being able to backtrack through levels and discover more secrets is a huge technical leap over the original Game Boy platformer. The presentation is stunning too, with a really unique art style and great sprite work, the overworld is really well designed and there are plenty of interesting enemies and bosses. The levels themselves are often quite lengthy and deep, with jewels hidden throughout and the boss battles are really impressive for a Game Boy platformer. I think it must rank among the best platform games on the Game Boy.

 

One weird thing though is a couple of errors in the credits, Gunpei Yokoi is credited as Gumpei Yokoi and Satoru Shibata is credited as Shibata Satoru.

Edited by killthenet

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was sitting in my car for over 2 and a half hours earlier waiting for my wife :blank: Anyway, I put that time to good use and cleared HarmoKnight (3DS) :hehe:

 

hh.png

 

I know @Hero\-of\-Time had his issues with the game but I loved it :love: The colouful graphics and overall vibe were great and I enjoyed it a lot once I finally got to grips with the fact A was attack and B was jump!

 

It's a shame the music wasn't stonger but I didn't mind too much and I'm now very excited for Rhythm Paradise Megamix to arrive later this week :yay:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×