Dcubed Posted December 15 Posted December 15 (edited) Poor Toys For Bob. They got a proper raw deal from Activision… Thank God they managed to save themselves and buy back their independence from Microsoft earlier this year! Really looking forward to whatever they work on next If only Vicarious Visions could do the same… Edited December 15 by Dcubed
Hero-of-Time Posted December 16 Posted December 16 The game finally dropped to a far more reasonable price of £36 and so I picked it up at Argos on Friday. Loved it. The game went back to the roots of what Lego games used to be, which is a fun, linear experience. I've spoke on here a few times about how bloated the Lego games have become since going all open world but this one went back to basics and it was a far better experience, IMO. The game is essentially a retelling of the first Horizon game, except they add a lot of Lego humour to it and give the characters a little more personality. You can tell the developers had fun with this side of things and it was great that Sony allowed them to play around with the IP. The game is an example of how my opinion doesn't really match with a lot of the gaming industry. The game was marked down in reviews for being too linear and easy but sometimes that's exactly what I want in a game, especially when most of them these days seem to be going with an open world setting. 2 2
Hero-of-Time Posted December 17 Posted December 17 A game that is a very mixed bag. The world of Star Wars is very well represented here. The planets, characters, music and overall look of the game certainly do the franchise justice. That's pretty much where my praise ends. The gameplay is very much a cookie cutter, Ubisoft game. They seem to have taken a lot of inspiration from their Assassin's Creed IP and slapped on a Star Wars skin. The stealth missions being a big comparison. Even when the game doesn't require you to sneak about, it still punishes you a lot of the time for being in open combat. A lot of the side missions start off being a little fun but soon become a grind and very repeatative, with the same kind of thing being repeated on each of the 4 planets. Despite the numerous patches the game has had since release, I still had a fair few glitches. I had one where my speeder bike got stuck in the ground and wouldn't move, a couple of hard crashes that lost some of my misson progress and this gem right here happened on more than one occasion... Yeah, I would have loved to have got a move on except I couldn't! In terms of SW games, this year I've played through this, Clone Wars, Battlefront Collection and Dark Forces Remastered and this was easily the worst of the bunch. 1
Julius Posted December 17 Author Posted December 17 @Hero-of-Time so I CTRL+F'd 'Nix' and 'Sabacc' and you give me nothing?! Glad you got to it though, and fully agree with your thoughts, though I'd definitely go with the option of backing those words with near-murderous intent and venom 1
Hero-of-Time Posted December 17 Posted December 17 Yeah, Nix was cute enough but Sabaac I wasn't a fan of. It didn't help that I was playing it completely wrong for the first half of the game. I was baffled as to why my opponents were getting extra chips or placing limitations on me. I then realised I could do the same to them with the abilities that you unlock. Once I figured that out, as well as unlocking the cheat to draw 2 cards, it was a piece of cake. 1
Julius Posted December 17 Author Posted December 17 Just now, Hero-of-Time said: Nix was cute enough 2 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Sabaac I wasn't a fan of. 3 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: It didn't help that I was playing it completely wrong for the first half of the game. Maybe it's in part down to how I approached the game (crit path and the odd side thing here and there) but I absolutely loved Sabacc, and would love to see it expanded into its own game. Hell, it'd probably make a solid mobile game. A more than welcome distraction than the disasterclass that was the rest of the game, for me, so maybe that's why I latched onto it so much? It's always funny when games get one over on the player which is in no way by design but purely because it's communicated something poorly or ineffectively, and once you start using the thing you were supposed to be using all along? Piece of cake, of course 1
Jonnas Posted December 19 Posted December 19 And a little bit more! A Jonnas Arcade Update Thought I was in it for fighting games alone? Think again. Sengoku 3 So, one day, someone left the machine idle, with this game selected. The machine has an issue where you can't really... leave or change a game after it's selected. Between playing this or nothing at all, I went with "Let's try this thing I've never seen". Indeed, I played for nearly 30 minutes, without ever learning what the title of the game was (I eventually did some sleuthing at home to discover it was called Sengoku 3). This is a beat'em up where every playable character is a bladed warrior of some kind, and the enemies are all medieval Sengoku-era zombies. The game actually takes place in modern day, and you can play the first three stages (China, Japan, and Italy) in any order. Game looks gorgeous. Beautiful sprites, fluid animations, satisfying sound effects... It's comparable to Garou: Mark of the Wolves, it's so smooth. Bankruptcy-era SNK firing on all cylinders. What really brings it all together, is that there's a genuine variety to your moveset. Tired of "A to punch, B to kick, A+B to do a special move"? This game provides you with command inputs, dash attacks, desperation moves... and of course, each character handles very differently. Played it for a while and time just flew by. My only complaint is that regular enemies were too easy to handle, with a notable difficulty spike for bosses. Maybe I just need to learn my moveset better. I had to stop eventually, but I would love to explore this hidden gem on my own time. For now, 4 stars, and wishlisted the Switch version. Sengoku With a positive impression in mind, I decided to check out the first entry in this series I never heard of... Oh boy! This one feels so different... One of the main characters is the most generic '90s action hero you can think of, and the other's a flamboyant cowboy. They mainly fight with their fists at first, but they can pick up blades at some point... somehow. Didn't understand how or why that happened. I didn't really understand anything that was happening here. Regular levels are made of some apocalyptic city, but sometimes we're transported to the heavens where we're supposed to battle a horde of enemies (the same enemies from the city), and when we're done, they kick us back to the hellish city. It wasn't a bonus level, it was just... how the stage is supposed to go. Repeatedly, we go to heaven several times like this in one level. Didn't understand why. One cool feature is that under some circumstances (I think it was low health? Didn't really understand), you can transform into another form. There's a Samurai, a Ninja, and a Dog. That last one is some silly fun, its jumping attack is a Sonic-esque spin. This should be noted: these transformations are not a thing in Sengoku 3 (neither is the heaven thing, btw). Honestly, this jut felt like a drug trip. I had no idea what was going on, none of the mechanics feel consistent, the game throws multiple ideas at you all at once, and I never felt really in control of anything. 1 star, didn't understand. I still wanted to check out the second entry... maybe it'll connect closer to Sengoku 3? Sengoku 2 Nope. Still weird. I mean, it's better than the first one, in that I actually understand better what's going on. The heaven thing still happens, but at least now I have a blade at all times, and understand when and how I pick up items. The transformation thing is also clearer: you can transform into any of the other forms, but you have limited time for each over the course of one life/credit. Overall, more functional, but still not quite up to what I wanted. 2 stars So, what's the deal? Why is Sengoku 3 so different from what came before? After some research, I learned that the first two were made by an SNK in their 90s prime, trying to compete with Capcom beat'em-ups. The third one was made by another team (during the bankruptcy era), one that actually knows how to make a great beat'em up. It's a mystery as to why they decided to call their title "Sengoku 3" (it's not like it's a household name or anything), but that's the gist of it. And then I turned left and played: Alien vs. Predator I had heard of this game multiple times before. It's a true classic that Capcom won't rerelease due to copyright issues, and it's a shame, because it's sooo good... Well, this Pandora's Box had it, so I'll check it out. And holy cow, they weren't kidding, this game's awesome! Four distinct playable characters (including two Predators), varied movesets (including projectiles), varied enemy types, widly fast-paced movement, lots of guns to pick up, dozens (feeling like hundreds) of enemies on-screen, gorgeous sprites with fluid movement, and it's just... incredibly fun! Like, the essence of a genre (two genres, if you include run&gun games) distilled into its most enjoyable form. I didn't complete it (30 minutes really isn't much time), but I loved every second of it. You can now count me in among the people who are disappointed that this game isn't more available. It's a shame, because it's so good. I know recency bias is a thing, and my time with it was short, but I would be ready to give this one 5 stars --------------- Good note to end on. This is probably my final Arcade update, I've had my fill with that Pandora's Box. There are several motives behind this. As you may have guessed, the 30 minute time limit really hurts my ability to explore and enjoy these games. Furthermore, I have to hope the machine is free to get even that. There's also the faulty buttons/stick, those also hurt my general enjoyment. Looking at the remaining titles I was interested in, there was stuff like Marvel vs Capcom, Punisher, Metal Slug... Titles I briefly played here, but can get on other platforms for a better experience. What muddies the waters even further is that some of these titles are just romhacks with cheats or something (there's a title called "Metal Slug 6+" which... is clearly not official!), so even less reason to depend on Pandora for them. I originally wanted to make a Sengoku update, then do one with Capcom beat'em ups, featuring Final Fight 2 & 3 as well. What do you know, those two weren't available here So, Alien vs. Predator was the one final title to close off this featurette, and maybe that was for the better. 2 1
Glen-i Posted Friday at 11:39 AM Posted Friday at 11:39 AM Bayonetta 2 is another character focused action hack and slash game developed by PlatinumGames, as well as a concept pitch for StarFox Zero (Yes, really). It was originally released for the WiiU in 2014 and then ported to the Switch in 2018. I played the Switch version. Somewhat controversially, despite being an IP that Sega owns, it's only been released on Nintendo consoles. This is because Nintendo funded it's development. Without Nintendo, there wouldn't be a Bayonetta 2 (Or 3, for that matter). It's also the best Christmas game! It's Christmas Eve! Bayonetta is going last-minute Christmas shopping! But then, oh no! Shenanigans! Angels attack! Devastation for the city! Average Tuesday for Bayonetta. However, a typical demon summon goes wrong and it gets out of control. This gets Bayo's best friend Jeanne's a big ouchie in the form of her soul getting knocked out of her body. Umbran Witches get dragged to Hell when they die, but there's still time. Bayonetta travels to the very wet town of Noatun, as the Gates to Hell are rumoured to be there. She has less then a day to save Jeanne, or she'll miss Christmas! Bayonetta 2, apparently For all intents and purposes, this game plays similarly to the first game. Just a whole bunch of refinements. The big new mechanic is "Umbran Climax". Playing well enough will get you enough magic to use it, and it drastically increases the range and power of her attacks. It's lots of fun, but it does make most other uses of magic a bit redundant. Add to that other great changes, like Witch Time working on everything (Although it doesn't last as long in this game to compensate), and no awful QTE's, just button mashing ones that get you extra points. This makes it easily my favourite Bayonetta game. It also helps that the Nintendo bonuses are even more ridiculous in this game. The Switch version has added amiibo support, which means I didn't have to beat the game on Hard difficulty to get one of the best unlockables in all of gaming history! That Chain Chomp cracks me up! Helps that it's really good as well. Also, Arwing pistols! The game is a lot more vibrant compared to the first game, it just pops beautifully. That Nintendo influence, I'm guessing. The game still looks great today! Bayonetta 2, apparently So yeah, people bemoaning the lower skill ceiling be damned, Bayonetta 2 is a riot! And it has a decent multiplayer mode too! Sea of Stars Chained Echoes Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Princess Peach Will Star As The Main Character In A Brand New Game Star Ocean: The Second Story R Hi-Fi Rush Sonic Superstars Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising Theatrhythm Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition (100%) 1000xRESIST Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) (100%) Miitopia (100 flipping per ceeeeent!) Metroid Zero Mission (100%, Under 2 hours, Normal) Chico and the Magic Orchards DX Super Metroid Redux Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Densetsu No Stafy Densetsu No Stafy 2 Densetsu No Stafy 3 Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Gravity Circuit Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster The Plucky Squire Lorelei and the Laser Eyes Banjo-Tooie (100%) Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack Shantae and the Seven Sirens Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling Bayonetta Spyro the Dragon (Reignited Version - 120%) Bayonetta 2 1 3
Hero-of-Time Posted Monday at 11:34 PM Posted Monday at 11:34 PM Finished a few games over the past several days. With the sequels dropping on Premium, I decided to play the first game again and in doing so nab another platinum. I played through it earlier in the year but figured I would cross it off my double platinum list. I played through the original game last year and it was a decent, chilled out experience. This dropped on PS+ and I gave it a whirl. It was pretty cool seeing a lot of the characters make a return to the coffee shop for a brew. I also can't believe they kept the trophy/achievement from the first game where you have to leave a latte sitting for an hour. Another Cotton game was on sale which meant I had to pick it up. There are two more available for me to buy but one of them has a broken trophy list which doesn't seem like it's ever getting fixed and so I won't be touching it. This verson of the game gives you multiple characters to control. You pick your team of fairies and witches and when one of them is defeated the other takes its place. You can also swap them on the fly, providing you have enough power ups to do so. You can use this to great effect when a shot is heading your way. By switching out at the right time your characters become invincible. They also play slightly differently, with each of them using a different style of firing projectiles. It was another fun and breezy adventure. This was a doozy and ended up really surprising me. I picked it up during the TGS sale on PSN and have been waiting for the right time to play it. Having plenty of time off over Christmas meant that time was now. There are so many systems to get to grips within the game that it can be very overwhelming to begin with. Levelling up is done by doing jobs and earning gold but you can only do jobs if you have enough stamina. To regain your stamina you need to use facilities, such as having a beer in the tavern or a soak in the hot springs. These things cost money though and so a delicate balance of doing jobs, relaxing and earning money needs to be struck. You can earn quests to tackle by talking to villagers. These play out very similar to Miitopia. Your team automatically walks through the level and then you take control when an enemy is encountered. From there it's a typical JRPG set up with a little twist in the battle system. Standard attacks are pretty much useless and you are really required to use your special moves. This is where the CCC system comes into play - CHANGE, CHAIN, CHANCE. You can change the status of the enemy by say using a fire attack, you can then cause a chain to happen by using a water attack. Finally, a chance is created once you get a chain higher than one. At any point you can end this chain but if you keep switching between attacks and getting the chain to 10, you will be doing some stupid damage. Another thing that features in the quest is a stamina system. You can load up with food before you set out but certain foods will spoil very quickly if they are in an area that they aren't meant to be in. For example, taking things meant for frozen maps to a volcano area ain't a good idea. The stamina needs to be managed well otherwise you will fail the quest. The game features a job system. Now, usually I don't care for these but I didn't mind how it was set up here. Each of your team members has a set job (2 sub jobs can be unlocked later) and there's only the main character who can switch between different ones. This makes it very manageable to create some very useful team compositions. Anyone who enjoys job systems in JRPGs will get a kick out of it. The platinum took some doing, with me needing to put 50 hours into the game to obtain it. The last couple of quests to get the real ending aren't for the faint hearted. I pretty much had to max out my perfect team and even then it was pretty difficult. It was hard to come be information, given that not many people seem to have played the game. There is very little out there in terms of best teams/characters to use. There were only a handful of Reddit posts that ended up being pretty helpful. I really enjoyed the game, far more than I thought I would. I will say though that there is a lot of grinding in it. Money is the key to levelling up and by doing various things and managing your time and jobs well, you will end up earning a lot of cash pretty fast. However, it still takes a lot of grinding, even when you do get to grips with every system the game throws at you. Luckily for me, I love repeatative actions in games that allow me to see my stats keep going up. It's very much a game made for me. 3 2
Hero-of-Time Posted Tuesday at 10:12 PM Posted Tuesday at 10:12 PM This time last year I sat and played Streets of Rage 4, so it's fitting that I've once again sat and played another scrolling beat em up during the festive season. Sadly, Asterix is nowhere near the quality of that game. I was a big fan of Asterix as a kid. I have fond memories of playing the classic Konami arcade game while on holiday at Blackpool, as well as renting the Asterix books from my local library. I was hoping this game would match the quality of the Konami game but it wasn't even close. The game is a looker, for sure, but the gameplay is really lacking. For one, a lot of the stages go on for far too long. These types of games are best when the levels are short, snappy and varied. The later stages really start taking liberties with how long they are and how many enemies they throw at you on screen. This can be brutal on the hardest difficulty (needed to play through it on this setting for platium) because you can only take a couple of hits and then you are done. No lives and no continues, which means back to the start of the very long level you go. You can switch to the second character to give yourself a second life pool but it's difficult to do when you get swamped by enemies. A lot of the scenery gets repeated in the game, as do some of the bosses. There's a pirate boss named Red Beard which constantly pops up, as does the Roman Centurion. This is baffling because the books have such a rich enemy roster to choose from and yet they felt the need to repeat the same ones over and over again. It's not a bad game, just very boring. If the levels had been shorter, the areas more varied and the bosses changed up a bit then it would have been a far better game. Despite all of this, I still wouldn't mind giving the sequel a whirl to see if any improvements have been made. Playing the game did get me all nostalgic for the franchise and I went searching for the 80s animated movies. My two favourites were Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Big fight. I found the latter on YouTube (proper UK dub instead of the US one) and I was sat watching it while I was doing my grinding on Various Daylife. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ5uTeuVuiE 2
Hero-of-Time Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago Played a couple of games today that reminded me of Christmas. Played through Jak again even though I just played through it the other week and so I wont harp on about it again. It was originally released December 2001 and it reminds of Christmas due to me playing it around that time. I finished off the DKL trilogy. DKC3 reminds me of Christmas 1996. Like Jak, it was released in December. I never got it (no way we could afford new SNES game prices) but my best mate did. We spent all the Christmas holidays playing the game. Seeing as I have played DKC3 too many times to count, this was the next best thing. It's a decent version of the game, although it is pretty stripped down when compared to the original. There's no Banana Birds to find and no overworld to walk around. On the plus side, Ellie is no longer scared of rodents and can fire unlimited amounts of water out of here trunk. Sweet. If you find all the bonus barrels and coins you will unlock some time trials. These are 13 stages from the game in which you have to beat certain times. It was a neat addition and is needed to get 103% completion. So that's the trilogy done. It's a shame there are no more DK games that have been added to NSO recently. Would have been great to play DK64 over the Christmas break. Yeah, I'm still bitter. 4
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