Games Completed 2018

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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by duskvstweak »

KSubzero1000 wrote: June 6th, 2018, 7:00 pm
duskvstweak wrote: June 6th, 2018, 6:07 pm I went in expecting something light and fluffy
That's really interesting to me because I think that JRPGs are particularly prone to mature themes and writing. Xenogears, Suikoden and FF Tactics have heavy political plots with strong philosophical undertones. I haven't played it, but my understanding is that the Xenosaga trilogy went even deeper on the Nietzschean themes and motifs. Hell, FE Path of Radiance is probably one of my favorite kid-friendly political dramas in pop culture. Eternal Sonata is a heart-wrenching re-imagining of the last living hours of one of the greatest composers in history. NieR, Lost Odyssey, etc...

I wonder where this common (mis)conception stems from. Is it the art style?
1. I think, yeah, the art style of Symphonia had me tricked, with it's simple, cel-shaded graphics.
2. I guess I made part of that assumption based on the fact that it was on the Gamecube.
3. The last JRPGs I played were Trails in the Sky 1 and Worlds of Final Fantasy, so I think I was just on this weird kick.

I never played the sequels, but, yes, Xenosaga was very dramatic. One of my favorite, non-Final Fantasy jrps of all time.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by KSubzero1000 »

duskvstweak wrote: June 6th, 2018, 7:53 pm 2. I guess I made part of that assumption based on the fact that it was on the Gamecube.
3. The last JRPGs I played were Trails in the Sky 1 and Worlds of Final Fantasy, so I think I was just on this weird kick.

I never played the sequels, but, yes, Xenosaga was very dramatic. One of my favorite, non-Final Fantasy jrps of all time.
2. Killer7 and Eternal Darkness would like to have a word with you! :lol:
3. Now that you mention it, there seems to be a trend towards softer stories in modern JRPGs... When was the last true political epic in the genre? That's a bit disheartening to think about.

We never got Xenosaga 1 or 3 in Europe. An HD collection has been near the top of my wishlist for over a decade, but I've slowly but surely lost hope that it'll ever see the light of day... :(
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by duskvstweak »

KSubzero1000 wrote: June 6th, 2018, 8:09 pm
duskvstweak wrote: June 6th, 2018, 7:53 pm 2. I guess I made part of that assumption based on the fact that it was on the Gamecube.
3. The last JRPGs I played were Trails in the Sky 1 and Worlds of Final Fantasy, so I think I was just on this weird kick.

I never played the sequels, but, yes, Xenosaga was very dramatic. One of my favorite, non-Final Fantasy jrps of all time.
2. Killer7 and Eternal Darkness would like to have a word with you! :lol:
3. Now that you mention it, there seems to be a trend towards softer stories in modern JRPGs... When was the last true political epic in the genre? That's a bit disheartening to think about.

We never got Xenosaga 1 or 3 in Europe. An HD collection has been near the top of my wishlist for over a decade, but I've slowly but surely lost hope that it'll ever see the light of day... :(
Yeah, a HD Collection would be great. But, I guess it's all about Xenoblade for a while. And I don't know what happened to the tone. Maybe it's because Square is now too big and spends too much to make games like Xenogears and Parasite Eve these days.
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Flabyo »

It might surprise you, but neither Xenogears or Parasite Eve sold very well. I’m astounded Parasite Eve ever got the sequels it did. (Remember that Xenosaga is a ‘spiritual successor’ rather than directly connected to Xenogears. Different publisher.)

The problem I had with Xenosaga, especially the second one, is that it was incredibly linear and uninteresting to actually play. Which made it quite a chore to get to the next, admittedly interesting, bit of story. Xenogears has a much better balance (at least for the first 40 hours or so anyway)
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by ratsoalbion »

Parasite Eve sold over 2 million copies, them's pretty good numbers for a non mainline FF Square game. Xeno sold about one and a half too, and neither of those games received PAL releases.

I mean, it's all relative but I wouldn't say they didn't sell very well, only if you compare them to FFVII, VIII, X, IX and maybe Kingdom Hearts?
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Re: Games Completed 2018l

Post by Flabyo »

Those are decent enough numbers, but internally they absolutely would have been comparing them to the FF games.

Something happened around that time, we’ll likely never know exactly what, but a lot of people at game director level left Square in that period just after Chrono Cross came out. And then fairly infamously the Xenosaga team imploded too a few years after that, citing ‘creative differences’.

I mean I adore Xenogears. I do. But that thing ran way over budget and I doubt Square saw it as any sort of success (at the time, they’re getting reasonably behind celebrating its 20th anniversary this year).
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by mikeleddy83 »

Spoiler: show
Jan - Mega man 3
Jan - Mega man 4
Jan - Mega man 5
Jan - Mega man 6
Jan - Mega man 7
Jan - Mega man 8
Jan - Mega man 9
Jan - Mega man 10
Jan - Horizon: Zero Dawn
Jan - Metal Slug XX
Jan - Dead Rising: Case Zero
Jan - Talespin
Jan - Darkwing Duck
Jan - Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Jan - Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2
Jan - DuckTales
Jan - DuckTales 2
Feb - Wild Guns Reloaded
Feb - Bound
Feb - Quantum Break
Feb - Monster Hunter: World
Feb - Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain
Feb - Steins;Gate 0 (platinum)
Mar - Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (story and arcade)
Apr - Tekken 7
Apr - Ratchet & Clank (2016)
May - Resident Evil – Code: Veronica X
May - Hyper Dyne Side Arms
May - Street Fighter
May - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
June - Street Fighter II′: Champion Edition
June - Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by duskvstweak »

Yikes, finished Telltale's Jurassic Park. Very quick. Intellectually, I know it's not a great game. It's nothing but quick time events and nothing is there to engage the player. It's really just an interactive movie. On the other hand, that movie I'm interacting with is Jurassic Park, so...
Am I crazy for thinking I'd replay this "game" someday? I might start including it in my Jurassic Park marathons!
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Simonsloth »

Spoiler: show
January 2018:
Bleed
Crackdown
Rez Infinite
Resident evil directors cut
Bioshock
Resident evil 2
Bioshock 2
Resident evil 3:Nemesis

Feb 2018:
Bioshock infinite
Def Jam: fight for Ny
Zone of The Enders
Resident Evil:code Veronica
Resident evil zero
Hyper light drifter
Braid
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Resident evil 4

March:
resident evil 5
resident evil 6
Lostwinds
lost winds 2
Ico 3D
Dead space
Dead space 2
Heavenly Sword

May:
Horizon Zero Dawn plus Frozen Wilds
Enslaved
Dmc
Steinsgate 0
Hellblade
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Resident Evil 7

June:
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Bastion
08/06
Detroit

Overall I’d say I really enjoyed this. I think a lot of the parts that were most widely criticised are such minor pieces of the overall narrative.

The game mutates a lot along the way and the last act has a ridiculous amount of connotations based on the choices you’ve made throughout . If nothing else it’s difficult not to look at the story flowchart at the end and say “wow” even if the parts that make it are flawed.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Simonsloth »

Spoiler: show
January 2018:
Bleed
Crackdown
Rez Infinite
Resident evil directors cut
Bioshock
Resident evil 2
Bioshock 2
Resident evil 3:Nemesis

Feb 2018:
Bioshock infinite
Def Jam: fight for Ny
Zone of The Enders
Resident Evil:code Veronica
Resident evil zero
Hyper light drifter
Braid
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Resident evil 4

March:
resident evil 5
resident evil 6
Lostwinds
lost winds 2
Ico 3D
Dead space
Dead space 2
Heavenly Sword

May:
Horizon Zero Dawn plus Frozen Wilds
Enslaved
Dmc
Steinsgate 0
Hellblade
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Resident Evil 7

June:
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Bastion
Detroit
09/06
Vanquish

Still not won over on another playthrough. I haven’t had a platinum game which I’ve clicked with yet. I want to like them but for some reason I don’t get the same buzz as everyone else.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Simonsloth wrote: June 9th, 2018, 9:30 am 09/06
Vanquish

Still not won over on another playthrough. I haven’t had a platinum game which I’ve clicked with yet. I want to like them but for some reason I don’t get the same buzz as everyone else.
Vanquish is not a game you can just "complete" in a day or two and expect to get the most out of. It's a game that rewards optimization and mechanical experimentation. It's a game made for people who enjoy the intense "Risk vs. Reward" aspect of the AR and melee systems and who want to quickly improvise in order to maximise their efficiency:
Image

It's a game for people who enjoy finding out about efficient combos, like the manual mid-air grenade explosion:
Image

It's a game for people who like to distract the enemies' infrared sensor through cigarettes to gain precious but brief respite in the middle of a frenetic battle:
Image

Despite what its reputation suggests, this is not a cover-"based" shooter. It's an action game with guns where cover should always remain the last possible resort, as evidenced by the fact that the scoring system actively discourages its overuse.

In short, it's a gameplay-centric title. Through and through. It has almost nothing to offer except its raw mechanics. If you're not interested in scoring systems, higher difficulties and/or challenge modes, this probably isn't for you. I'm not saying this to have a go at you, btw. But I think it explains why people looking for more... artistic experiences tend to bounce off of it.

This video explains it better than I ever could:


Platinum Games are an acquired taste aimed at a very niche audience, and Vanquish probably even more so than the rest. It's much more difficult to enjoy on a surface level than something like Bayonetta 2.
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Hunter30
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Hunter30 »

January - Jade Empire: Special Edition (PC)
February - Resident Evil HD Remaster, Jill playthrough (PC)
February - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (PC)
February - Super Metroid (SNES Classic Mini)
February - Resident Evil HD Remaster, Chris playthrough (PC)
March - The Walking Dead: Michonne (PC)
March - Tomb Raider: Legend (PS3)
May - Resident Evil 4 HD (PC)

June - The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (PC)
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Scrustle »

I think a good tip for trying to enjoy Vanquish is to knock down the difficulty level. It can be very tempting to just hide behind cover where it's safe and play it like any other plodding third-person shooter. But you miss out on basically everything the game has to offer if you do that. If you just knock it down to easy that gives you some slack to mess around with the mechanics a bit and experiment without having to spend ages mastering everything. You can enjoy the bombast of it, and get a little taste of the more inventive mechanics, without it beating you down instantly for not executing things perfectly.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by KSubzero1000 »

^^^

Yes, that's a very good point. It's better to knock it down a notch in order to get comfortable with the mechanics and the fluidity of the combat instead of spending the entire Normal playthrough behind cover and missing out on everything.
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Simonsloth »

I’ve played it about 3 times through with the latest one inspired by working my way through old podcast episodes.

I don’t dislike it, far from it. I just don’t love it and like bayonetta I can’t get my head around why many people do.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by ratsoalbion »

We were young and still finding our feet as a format, but hopefully the podcast will have offered some inkling.
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Simonsloth »

ratsoalbion wrote: June 9th, 2018, 1:39 pm We were young and still finding our feet as a format, but hopefully the podcast will have offered some inkling.
It did help. So now it’s less that I dont understand why others love them but more that I don’t understand why I personally don’t.

Yes narrative is important to me but at the same time some of my favourite games are purely a bunch of mechanics without any agency or story to speak of.

I’ve got a few more platinum games still to play including bayonetta 2 so I’m optimistic. Maybe lower expectations will work in their favour.
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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by Alex79 »

If it's any consolation, I love God Of War, Devil May Cry and also third person shooters, yet I bounced off both Vanquish and Bayonetta. Vanquish in particular I didn't enjoy, there was something about the way it 'felt' that I couldn't get on with. I really can't describe it, I couldn't at the time, but there's just something about it. It felt too smooth, and it felt very Sega. I know that means nothing and doesn't even make sense, but it was all I could come up with then, and it's all I can manage now!

What I said when I tried it years back was:
Alex79uk wrote: January 20th, 2014, 11:08 am I can't put my finger on it, but it's a very Japanese style of game, super smooth scrolling and dashing about all the time. I'm not describing it well but I know exactly what I mean!!
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mikeleddy83
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by mikeleddy83 »

Spoiler: show
Jan - Mega man 3
Jan - Mega man 4
Jan - Mega man 5
Jan - Mega man 6
Jan - Mega man 7
Jan - Mega man 8
Jan - Mega man 9
Jan - Mega man 10
Jan - Horizon: Zero Dawn
Jan - Metal Slug XX
Jan - Dead Rising: Case Zero
Jan - Talespin
Jan - Darkwing Duck
Jan - Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Jan - Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2
Jan - DuckTales
Jan - DuckTales 2
Feb - Wild Guns Reloaded
Feb - Bound
Feb - Quantum Break
Feb - Monster Hunter: World
Feb - Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain
Feb - Steins;Gate 0 (platinum)
Mar - Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (story and arcade)
Apr - Tekken 7
Apr - Ratchet & Clank (2016)
May - Resident Evil – Code: Veronica X
May - Hyper Dyne Side Arms
May - Street Fighter
May - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
June - Street Fighter II′: Champion Edition
June - Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting
June - Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
June - Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack
June - Street Fighter Alpha 2
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Re: Games Completed 2018

Post by MajorGamer »

Spoiler: show
Jan 1 - Neon Chrome (PC)
Jan 2 - Dispersio (PC)
Jan 9 - Numbus (PC)
Jan 11 - Hero Siege (PC)
Jan 14 - Castle of no Escape 2 (PC)
Jan 20 - Toy Odyssey (PC)
Jan 23 - 20XX (PC)
Jan 25 - Battle Chef Brigade (Switch)
Jan 29 - Kamiko (Switch)
Feb 1 - Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)
Feb 3 - KByte (PC)
Feb 7 - Cat Quest (Switch)
Feb 11 - DYE (PC)
Mar 7 - The End is Nigh (Switch)
Mar 10 - Shadow Warrior 2 (PC)
Mar 16 - The Keep (PC)
Mar 17 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC)
Mar 18 - Hue (PC)
Mar 22 - Song of the Deep (PC)
Mar 28 - Metro: 2033 Redux (PC)
Apr 4 - Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Switch)
Apr 6 - Xeodrifter (Switch)
Apr 8 - Has-Been Heroes (Switch)
Apr 14 - Slime-san (Switch)
Apr 20 - ReThink (PC)
Apr 22 - Little King's Story (PC)
Apr 24 - Headlander (PC)
Apr 28 - Dex (PC)
Apr 30 - SUPERHOT (PC)
May 6 - Azure Striker Gunvolt (Switch)
May 7 - The Ball (PC)
May 21 - Drakensang (PC)
May 23 - Spectrum (PC)
May 25 - Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas (Switch)
May 27 - The Sexy Brutale (PC)
Jun 4 - Immortal Redneck (PC)
Jun 5 - Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight (PC)

Probably the best Momodora game but misses the mark for me to be a truly great Metroidvania. Too many things are locked behind a simple key. Too many secrets revolve around fake walls. Bosses are fine but have a very limited number of attacks. There really isn't much else I can think of to say. It is overall fun but rather bland.
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