Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) Not in the mood to play "bigger" games these days. Spending a lot of time with Modern Warfare Remastered with a mate. I was, however, up for a quick one with Super Mario World on my RetroPie. Started it roughly 20 minutes ago and I beat Bowser just now It's still easily one of my favourite games of all time. Edit: After the frustrating news from this morning I decided to play through Super Mario Land. The game was my first contact with Mario and Nintendo. It was and still is magical to play this game. Currently Playing ____________________________________ Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Multiplayer (PS4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - Multiplayer (PS4) Stardew Valley (PS4) long-term playthrough Seraph (PS4) Completed ____________________________________ January ________________________________________________ Titanfall 2 (PS4) Color Guardians (PS4) Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PSVita) Super Mario World (RetroPie/SNES) Super Mario Land (RetroPie/GameBoy) Put on hold ____________________________________ Edited January 13, 2017 by drahkon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 13, 2017 Started the year off well (for me) Played a fair bit of Watch Dogs 2. Enjoying it quite a bit. I really like the 'plot' even though it's clumsily veiled parodies of fairly recent news topics. The hacking and stuff is quite fresh as well. Up to the third main mission or so. The side quests are a bit 'meh' though. Also played the first two 'sub-chapters' of Tales from the Borderlands. I've never played a Telltale game before, so i wasn't sure what to expect. It's brill though. I loved all the borderlands games, and all the little nods and hints to the main series is great - while the humour is very similar. The one thing that i don't like is the whole multiple storylines thing. It makes me uncomfortable every time i make a decision that clearly sends the plot down a different path. I don't like not seeing everything, what if the other path was better!? I realise you could play the game multiple times, but, even if i had the time to do that, how many different combinations of story are there? I'm hoping as I play more, i'll care less and less and just enjoy the ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 14, 2017 Well I've started playing through the Shantae games proper, Beat the first ending on Risky's Revenge, but the sequel 'The Pirates Curse' I beat the true ending, that's how much I enjoyed that one. I'm playing 1/2 Genie Hero now and near the end, but I'm going for all the collectables before going to what I believe is the last area. Short games but a great platforming series in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Played through Journey for the first time on PS4 the other day and really enjoyed it. I didn't think it was as revelatory as it had been built up to be, it seemed a lot more full of itself in its presentation than I had expected but it was also a more involved gaming experience than I thought it would be. The camera and the main character controls are a little stiff when you start out, with the camera problems never being solved but the character movement improves markedly as the game progresses, the sand slaloming is great fun and the floating feels effortless at the end of the game. I think my favourite aspect of the game was the silent co-operation with other adventurers, a really excellent idea. I also played through Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes last night and was left a bit disappointed by it. Narratively it's an absolute mess, Kojima flits haphazardly between giving us info in cutscenes and in text form and it never really feels like he knows what he wants to put across. Gameplay wise its fantastic though, controls beautifully and offers tonnes of different solutions, i'll definitely be playing through it again a couple more times before I get The Phantom Pain. I feel like I want to get into something more substantial as the last few games I've played have been very short experiences, so I'm looking forward to starting The Last Of Us tonight. Edited January 20, 2017 by killthenet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 15, 2017 Time has been extremely limited so far in 2017 so getting time to play games has been frustratingly difficult. I did, however, put the finishing touches to Pikmin 3 on Wii U almost a fortnight ago You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse As expected, the game was awesome and a great example of how Nintendo can sprinkle a little magic on a genre I'm not really fussed on and provide an amazing experience Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2017 Finished The Last Guardian last night. My full thoughts are in the specific thread but to say the game is fantastic would be an understatement. 100% recommend Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2017 Not played much other than OverWatch in the past...well, forever, but I did decide to take on Stories: Path of Destinies from December's PS+ lineup. Rather simple hack and slash - don't want to say too much but has varying playthrough with each one taking maybe about an hour or so - which makes it quite nice and bitesize-esque (even tho completionist is about 15-25hours depending and according to HLTB and other reports). I'm enjoying it so far - but have encountered a bug or two here and there. It's got quite simple/easy trophies a lot of which seem somewhat just routine/gotten as you keep playing through - so I think it may actually be the first game I ever actually attempt to Platinum. I've still got quite a bit to go; but I'll post more about it if/when I'm done - do recommend anyone who got it through PS+ last month to consider checking it out though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 19, 2017 Playing a lot of Xenoblade Chronicles X recently. After realising the mission that I was "stuck" on was a side mission, I found the correct mission I needed to do and started making progress. From there, the story has started to become more interesting... and so have the clothes shops... You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse Done Chapters 7-9 as well as the affinity missions needed to complete it. Chapter 8 was epic, best chapter in the game so far, Chapter 9 also had some interesting factors behind it and it's clear that the first 6 chapters were all build up of plot elements that all come together in the second half of the game. When I heard the name of the Ganglion Skell I couldn't resist making this joke. You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse In other news my entire party now has Skells, I bought three other units to be used by the other party members with two specifically for Elma and Lin as well as another to be used for whoever the fourth party member happens to be. I decided therefore to name them all after other robots. And here they are: You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse Next task will be to get the Skell Flight Module and fly to all the probes I couldn't reach before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2017 (edited) I started this year by replaying Shantae: Risky's Revenge and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse after playing Half-Genie Hero. I've already talked about these games in previous gaming diaries so I won't bother going into details again. Shantae: Risky's Revenge - DS Shantae and the Pirate's Curse - 3DS Edited February 3, 2017 by Glen-i Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2017 Finished up a couple of other games over the last week or so. I put in some time to finish up Color Guardians, one of the recently offered PS+ titles on PS4, and have to say that by the end it had become a tedious slog and I really didn't enjoy it. It started out fine, as a simple runner with collecting different coloured orbs in lanes to re-colour the world but the lack of variety and some of the design choices irked me a bit. The boss battles just felt irritating, particularly because of the colour palette used and the difficulty I had differentiating between what was a blue bomb and what was a lethal purple bomb (I'm Red/Green colour blind and the boss stages really highlighted how poorly they'd thought about the colours used). In the latter boss stages, when you were having to be quick with your actions it just proved infuriating having to start over and over because of that. Sure, technically it's a fault on my part because of my difficulty to differentiate between the colours but it surely should have been a foresight for the devs to consider that some might have difficulty with it. That and some of the things like the windcopters and some of the level designs really soured the experience. I would've gone for the platinum but these issues have put me off of doing it. It's a game I wouldn't have played if not for PS+ but even then, I don't know if I'd recommend it to be honest. There wasn't much enjoyment to be had with it. Also started up Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter the other day and finished it last night. Wasn't sure what to expect with this one and was kind of using it as a palate cleanser after Color Guardians and it ended up not really taking all of that taste away due to an under-realised plot and some wonky mechanics. There's supposed to be an overarching narrative tying Holmes with his daughter Kate and an inevitable reveal about her which you could see coming a mile away, even if you only have a loose knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes stories like I do. The issue is that much of it is expressed through a brief conversation between Holmes and Kate at the start of each of the game's 5 cases and then only built on with the final case, which is over in about 30 minutes of play and really doesn't do much to elevate it out of the mire. If they were intending for the ending/revelation to be more of a shock, they should have build more of a connection between the characters because as it is, it just felt limp. The cases themselves are varied enough to propel the game along, incorporating different elements of gathering clues, interrogating suspects and reconstructing events. It all pushes towards Holmes' deductive skills and needing to link clues together to paint a picture of what's happened, who's innocent and who's responsible. Sometimes, it's too caught up in itself to realise that most of the clues and assumptions are vaguely drawn and seem more like inferences. You're never really given any insight into whether your inevitable conclusions are correct or not, merely given a post case screen showing your conclusion and whether your action, absolving or condemning the person, match up in the loosest sense. It's a shame then that the crime solving seems so half baked as some tweaking and refining could have made it more concrete in it's usage rather than abstract as it appears. If you've played the likes of the Telltale's games, you'll feel somewhat at home here as it's more or less handled in a similar way for moving through environments and through some of the action sequences. However, like the crime solving bits, they could have done some additional work and taken some more hints from those games to flesh out what's here. Perhaps the best section, and the bit I enjoyed the most, was the 4th case and having to recreate the events of a crash scene and the sequence of events that led to so much carnage. It's well done and utilises what the game has at its disposal well. It just would have been nice to have had that level of play occurring throughout the game. The game does suffer from some wonky frame rate issues here and there and there's a smattering of screen tearing which only turned up late in my playthrough but for the most part, the game looks decent and the streets of London are well realised and the detail in some of the locations is great. The voice work is a bit stilted however, with some dodgy English accents throughout. It's not a bad game, it certainly has its moments, but it could do with some refinement across the boards for taking the series forward. I hear it's a noticeable step up from Crimes and Punishments so perhaps the next title will nail the formula. January Bastion Hitman - Intro Pack Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Day of the Tentacle Remastered (Platinum) Color Guardians Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Platinum) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2017 The Last Of Us The opening sequence to the game is fantastic, it gets you immediately emotionally invested in the narrative and spends just enough time setting up the premise. The controls feel unresponsive though and Joel feels really clunky to control, there doesn't feel like there's much fluidity to the gameplay, things don't flow as well as they could do. The AI of your party members is appalling, and their animations are ridiculous. Ellie herself is just an irritating brat, pretty much everything she says is a swear word. We get it, she's an edgy little tween. Her 'comments' on what's going on are supposed to create sense of verisimilitude but just come off as annoying and they only serve to do the opposite, breaking any sense of atmosphere when you're quietly avoiding 'clickers' and she utters loudly 'fucking scary' or 'those things are creepy'. It completely takes you out of the moment and kills any tension that might have built up. The level design is great though, the game world itself is incredibly interesting. Combat is frustrating to begin with but gets more enjoyable once you earn more weapons and upgrades. Ellie definitely grows on you as the game goes on and the best moments of gameplay come when you take control of her as you go in search of food. The game definitely feels like it wants too much to be a film or TV series though, where something like 'The Last Guardian' utilises the best aspects of the medium to tell its story, 'The Last Of Us' feels like it is putting up with the interactive aspects to fill time between cut scenes. The narrative is one of the games strongest elements though, along with the wonderful sound design and engrossing score. This is my first Naughty Dog game and it has definitely got me more interested in playing through the 'Uncharted' series and I will definitely be checking out 'Left Behind' & 'The Last Of Us: Part Two' but I hope the sequel provides more reason for their story to be told through a video game than they did with the first entry. Next I'm going to play through a couple more NES classics before finishing the Metroid Prime trilogy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) Last night I dreamt about my childhood and playing Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on my GameBoy. So I decided to start up my RetroPie and give it a go Completed it just now. It's such a weird game. So many odd enemies This one scared the shit out of me as a kid: These days I don't play much aside from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - Multiplayer. Whenever I start up Seraph I finish one level and stop playing. No idea why as it's an awesome game...The same goes for Shovel Knight. Maybe it's time to just crack on with another old game. I'm thinking about either Terranigma or Chrono Trigger. Currently Playing ____________________________________ Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Multiplayer (PS4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - Multiplayer (PS4) Stardew Valley (PS4) long-term playthrough Seraph (PS4) Shovel Knight (PSVita) Completed ____________________________________ January ________________________________________________ Titanfall 2 (PS4) Color Guardians (PS4) Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PSVita) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GameBoy) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GameBoy) Platinum Trophies I might get sometime ____________________________________ Put on hold ____________________________________ Edited January 24, 2017 by drahkon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) Was hoping to add F-Zero X to the list this weekend, but man this game is hard on expert mode.... Remember it being way easier as a kid, or maybe I'm just not used to the 60Hz speeds! Might put it on the backburner for now. January 2017 Papers, Please (Steam) Splatoon (Wii U) Edited January 21, 2017 by Nicktendo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2017 It has been extremely difficult to find time to play games in 2017 and it's already evident that I'll get nowhere near the 51 games I cleared in 2016 but I'm hoping it'll be a year of quality over quantity The purchase of the PS4 has the potential to open up the PS3 library for me as I've had to move the console into the 'games' room with the rest of my consoles (Only the Wii U and PS4 are located in the living room). This should give me more of a chance to delve into some games without needing exclusive access to the main TV in the house but the games I've tried to get into on PS3 so far this year are failing to draw me in On Wednesday night, I attempted to return to Red Dead Redemption while watching Plymouth v Liverpool on BT Sport on my PC. The sound on the TV was down so I couldn't get absorbed in the dialogue but for the 10 minutes I had the game on, the majority of it was me holding the X button while I automatically followed the Marshall on horseback to the destination of my objective.. and that bored me to tears. I was sitting there watching the football (which wasn't great either ) and looking up every few seconds to see if we were there yet but it seemed to take forever. This is the second time I've tried to get back into Red Dead Redemption after initially enjoying it several years ago before my old PS4 died and destroyed my save. At this point, the signs aren't encouraging that I'll ever make it through the game Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2017 It started a little slowly but today I cleared Rhythm Paradise Megamix on 3DS.. and it was awesome I love a good rhythm game and would have killed for a new Elite Beat Agents on 3DS but this is one of my favourite titles on the system Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2017 Did my yearly play of Super Mario Brothers on the 3DS VC. Also, i've finished Super Mario Brothers 2 and currently working on Super Mario Brothers 3 on my commute to and from work. Games Completed 2017 Super Mario Brothers Super Mario Brothers 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 26, 2017 Went back to an older PS+ title the other week as I was wanting a smaller game to play through before tackling something bigger. So settled on Velocity 2X and finished it up at the weekend past there. I'd only played a few missions back when it was offered in 2014, so I decided just to replay through them to get back to grips with the gameplay and after quickly getting back up to speed, I was racing through the 50 levels, blasting everything in sight and really enjoying it. The mix of classic shmup and side scrolling platforming/action game works really well, and neither bit feels out of place. It doesn't throw enemies or bullets at you in standard shmup style, rather having you work through levels in a more puzzle-esque fashion in most cases, with a sprinkling of timed levels to speed through. And the side scrolling features some of the same puzzle type stuff as well as you have to work through sections, unlocking gates in the right order while phase dashing/teleporting through sections. It's only when it relies too heavily on the puzzle elements that the gameplay begins to feel contrived and to up itself. It really doesn't hold up as well in some of the later levels which do this which is a shame because up till then, it's really good going. It doesn't help as well that the focus on gaining XP to unlock levels slows down later progress as well. It adds an artificial longevity to the game through having to replay levels so on these aspects, it hinders the game a bit. But even then, I really enjoyed it. Loved trying to races through the levels while blowing everything up and collecting everything. Just the kind of thing I was looking to play and glad I went back to it after a couple of years. After that, I decided it was time to get the Master difficulty play through of Titanfall 2 done so started that up and finished it earlier in the week. I'd moped up the rest of the trophies a couple of weeks back so the Hard and Master difficulty trophies were all that were left but the heightened difficulty didn't seem too troubling. Unlike other games in the genre, it didn't feel cheap in some of the deaths I suffered (there were 1 or 2) and was actually a lot of fun to play. Much like how playing on Legendary is how Halo should be played, this felt like how Titanfall should be played, especially in the Titan battles (I now see why people main Tone as their Titan online though). It just felt more visceral and the failure in some situations to fluff wallruns and slides to cover really put you in tight spots to scramble. If anything, it's heightened my appreciation of the game and the single player. Such a well put together campaign. Here's hoping they do get to deliver on a third title that takes the story further. January Bastion Hitman - Intro Pack Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Day of the Tentacle Remastered (Platinum) Color Guardians Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Platinum) Velocity 2X Titanfall 2 (Master Difficulty playthrough, Platinum) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Finished Shovel Knight on the Vita. Was my second time with it. Such a great game. One of the best 2D platformers out there. : peace: Not in the mood for going after Platinums right now so I'm done with the game for now I also decided not to play Terranigma or Chrono Trigger. Instead I started playing The Witness. Currently Playing ____________________________________ Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Multiplayer (PS4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - Multiplayer (PS4) Stardew Valley (PS4) long-term playthrough Seraph (PS4) The Witness (PS4) Completed ____________________________________ January ________________________________________________ Titanfall 2 (PS4) Color Guardians (PS4) Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PSVita) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GameBoy) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GameBoy) Shovel Knight (PSVita) Platinum Trophies I might get sometime ____________________________________ Shovel Knight (PSVita) Put on hold ____________________________________ Edited January 26, 2017 by drahkon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2017 @Rummy I think we can all agree that this one is your fault. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2017 @Rummy I think we can all agree that this one is your fault. Now you just look like a weirdo talking to yourself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) Hey drahkon, have you heard? What? Rummy sucks. Nothing new here. :p Edit: Started Actual Sunlight on my Vita and finished it in one go. It's heavy stuff... Currently Playing ____________________________________ Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Multiplayer (PS4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - Multiplayer (PS4) Stardew Valley (PS4) long-term playthrough Seraph (PS4) The Witness (PS4) Completed ____________________________________ January ________________________________________________ Titanfall 2 (PS4) Color Guardians (PS4) Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PSVita) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GameBoy) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GameBoy) Shovel Knight (PSVita) Actual Sunlight (PSVita) Platinum Trophies I might get sometime ____________________________________ Shovel Knight (PSVita) Put on hold ____________________________________ Edited January 27, 2017 by drahkon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2017 Started and finished Dear Esther on PS4 this afternoon. Cracking game, perfect for an hour. Can see how it won many awards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 29, 2017 Finished Tales from the Borderlands last night. Really enjoyable game, and glad i chanced on it. I'm not really into story-based games, as i tend to lose interest in what's playing out and forget what's happening between bouts of gameplay. However, with games like these, the story is 90% of the experience, so you can't ignore or forget it. I loved the battle with the Traveller at the end, and it'd be great to go back and try it with some of the other companions choices. I chose August, Zero and Athena. However, i did think hat the dialogue with those guys at the end was really clunky and awkward. I suppose it's hard coming up with stuff for them to say that works regardless of which three you choose. Disappointed I didn't have enough money to hire Claptrap though, he would have been great. The one thing i was disappointed in the game was that considering it's a last gen game, it didn't really perform very well on the PS4. There was loads of pop-in (i.e. characters suddenly appearing in scenes) and chopped up audio, especially in the later episodes. Also, there are some quite long loading screens, which is odd seeing as it's really not a very graphically intensive game. I suppose they have to load up a lot of large audio files maybe? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2017 So, I'd been meaning to have another play through of this for sometime but never got round to it. But late last week, I decided to download and boot up Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and have another play to see if my mind would be less clouded on the game and in the process, nab that platinum trophy. I think my enjoyment of the game first time round was diluted as a result of having finished The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and making comparisons between the two. The lack of interactivity and more passive nature of this game as opposed to that didn't sit as well with me on release. However, a lot of the more recent games I've played have had a strong focus on the narrative so I hoped that would change my mind on the game, and I'm glad to say it has. It's a very engrossing, if at times confusing, narrative. It's very British shall we say and I definitely felt that want to pry more and gleam more from the memories/interactions you came across. It was moving and touching at times; things that had perhaps washed over me first time around were more apparent here and it made it a much more enjoyable experience. With that being brought forward into my mind, the way the narrative ties in with the towns of Yaughton and Tipworth and the state you find them in becomes really captivating and drives a want to know what's happened. Like last time though, I'm still none the wiser on the exact events that cause the people to disappear. But that's fine with me, my renewed appreciation for the interactions, the relationships between the characters you hear along the way and all the events happening in their lives over the course of a couple of days more than make up for the unclear story hook as a result of their richness and the beautiful work that's been done to create the locations, making them believable, and in creating that beautiful soundtrack. I still wish you would walk/run quicker and the CryEngine does seem to creak under the weight of the game on display with screen tearing throughout, as well as one or two instances of slowdown, but in the end I'm glad I went back and gave it a go as it ended up being a great experience second time around. January Bastion Hitman - Intro Pack Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Day of the Tentacle Remastered (Platinum) Color Guardians Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Platinum) Velocity 2X Titanfall 2 (Master Difficulty playthrough, Platinum) Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (Platinum) Had a few false starts on games this year in terms of not finding enjoyment in them. I expected the likes of Homefront: The Revolution and The Technomancer to be middling experiences but neither hooked me at all. I've also recently picked up Dragon Quest Builders but again, like those previously mentioned games, I'm really not taking to it. Thankfully, I've got Dishonored 2 to play through and from the opening of that (despite a shoddy engine and a lot of screen tearing, which I thought had been patched), I'm already hooked. Probably going to pick up The Flame and the Flood and The Little Acre, as the latter is on sale and I've been interested in seeing what that's like, and keeping my fingers crossed that Divide gets it's digital release on the EU PSN Store tomorrow like it does in America as the Blade Runner vibe it's giving off has me intrigued. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2017 I finishedUntil Dawn last night. I made some seriously dumb decisions (especially right at the end) which resulted in only three survivors. I did really enjoy the game. I loved the narrative, decision making and the graphics. It also continuously made me jump too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
