Whatcha Been Playing?

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

I enjoyed I Am Setsuna but it became rather repetitive, both in setting and score. Bit of a shame because I quite enjoyed the tone and the trad combat, especially on the Switch. Lovely bedtime game.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

I am currently powering through the flawed, but oh so ambitious and satisfying Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Absolute bliss. It's been two nights in a row that I had to actually force myself to put the controller down and go to sleep.

Needless to say, I would have a lot to contribute if it ever ended up being covered in a future volume!
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Alex79uk wrote: January 8th, 2018, 8:17 pm Huh, that's interesting. Yeah to be honest I had a look at the game, saw it wasn't 'finished' and thought I'll check back later. I read a fair few reviews, really spanning the breadth of critical acclaim (or not, in some cases) and thought the game looked quite interesting. I read the story mode really acted as not much more than a tutorial for survival mode. I think I'd be interested for around £7-8 on PS4, which is a terrible thing to say I know, but...
Yeah, can't argue with waiting for that price - even as someone who really likes the game, it's a tough one to recommend; even if you like survival games, it's quite a varied niche (I detested Don't Starve, for example), so there's a high chance of not liking it. I love it, I love the world, but it's a hard sell.

Edit: just a quick NB: There's about 12-15 hours worth of content in those first two episodes combined :shock:
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

I’m around 8 hours into Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

It’s my first proper stab at an AC game since AC 2. I played a couple of hours of Black Flag but got pulled away for a long-forgotten reason despite enjoying it.

Firstly – it’s bloody beautiful. I’m playing on Xbox One X in 4K HDR and that obviously helps, but just from an art direction and design point of view the devs have really created a stunning world here. Ancient Egypt is, for me at least, one of the most fascinating periods in human history, and it has been realised in incredible detail to give the impression of a land brimming with life and texture. From the grand architecture of Alexandria to the grubby markets of Siwa, the world of Origins is one of the most impressive I’ve experienced in a video game. Period.

Gameplay wise obviously I’m coming to this pretty fresh compared to seasoned AC fans, but to me it feels pretty good and certainly a step up from what I remember. Movement is fluid, and combat is satisfying in terms of both melee and archery. There are also some pretty strong RPG mechanics present, with enough skill trees, crafting systems, and inventory management to please folks like me who are into that sort of thing and really turn off those that aren’t.

Bayek is also proving an engaging leading man, and overall the narrative at the very least has me pleasantly intrigued if not entirely gripped just yet. There have also been some quirky little side quests that have kept things varied and interesting along the way.

A good start then, and I’ll certainly be seeing this one through to the end (which probably won’t come for a good while yet I imagine!).
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

To shit on my own resolution, I reinstalled AC: Origins and I agree with everything you say about the world building. It looks phenomenal. The gameplay isn't really my bag, melee feels simplistic and bows are not quite as good as Tomb Raider, never mind Zelda, but it brings back a bit of the Far Cry 3 vibe, in that attacking little camps and big fortresses feels like a puzzle. I'm enjoying it a lot more than I expected and uninstalled three other games to make way, so as to not let myself down with the Resolutions.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Yeah I agree combat overall isn't class leading by any stretch, but it is certainly decent and does a job for me (don't like those rapid fire bows though!). Your point about attacking camps feeling like a puzzle is spot on - flying your eagle over to mark your targets and look for ways in/escape routes before you sneak in and start with the killing is really satisfying!
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

Since I loved Horizon Zero Dawn so much I went and started the Frozen Wilds DLC. It is still an absolute joy to play with the only new machine I have come across so far (Scorcher) being a really challenging foe to fight, those guys move quick and hit hard. Want to spend a lot of time with this one so doing every side quest I can and scouring the landscape for datapoints. Lovely to drop back into this gorgeous world again.

Also tried the demo for Nier Automata out of curiosity. Wow, I was floored away. The combat is sublime, the designs of the enemies are memorable and the music is beautiful. And that boss at the end was just an absolute joy to fight becoming more and more epic as the battle went on. This is how you do a demo! Considering the wide critical acclaim it got as well as the fantastic demo, I will definitely pick up a copy some time this year.
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I'm having a fair bit of fun in Skyrim VR, while getting used to the Move controls. It's enjoyable to be able to shoot fire and ice from both hands, and I haven't played as a mage before. I'm still on the default difficulty (the easiest) while I get used to the controls.

I played 40 hours in the original Skyrim and had several houses but didn't advance the plot very far. I'm thinking this time I should just mainline the plot and if I'm still engaged afterwards, I can spend some time dicking around.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by duskvstweak »

Sort of working through id Software, so I'm starting RAGE tonight.
Also, thanks to Humble deal, I'm finally playing Civilization VI. Loved IV to death and never went in on V. I'm terrible at the games, but VI is doing right by me so far!
Todinho

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Todinho »

Finnally got started on the Danganronpa series , I had actually watched some of the anime a while back and stopped because I decided I wanted the play the games and thankfully I forgot everything I saw back then, the pc port is pretty bare bones and not being able to use the mouse on the menus is kinda of annoying but at least it runs, so I played until the end of chapter 1(which is basically the tutorial) and I mostly liked what I played but there are some things Im really not liking already.
So the whole class trial thing, it's a cool premise where you have to investigate and present your case to prove who the guilty is, that's fine the problem is when the game makes you do a bunch of random mini game bullshit in the middle of all of that, like you're trying to present evidence and deduce what happened and then all of a sudden you have to do a rythm game and I im like what?And if you fail that I assume it's game over and I dont like that at all, I guess they felt they needed to give you more "game" but that to me just gets in the way of what I want in those sections. Also I dont like that in the first case a crucial piece of evidence is hidden from you, you can build pretty much everything yourself but the crucial piece of evidence that makes everything make sense you cant get and the game pulls it out of it's ass saying it's a big twist, but that's not clever, that's cheating like reading a detective novel and the evidence that leads to the solution is presented at the very end without it having been estabilished before.
Another issue I have is the whole "persona aspect" in which you spend time with characters, well the problem with that is that they will die so I see I basically wasted time talking to characters because they were just gone the next day, you can defend this by saying it's part of the point but not when there are also gameplay implications as well.

Now I do like the writing and character overall, it's actually pretty funny which surprised me, I like the games style it's, very striking and do like the freedom to wander around, hopefully this will carry the rest of the game foward and the issues I have will become less important.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

Sengoku Ace: Episode 2 (AKA Sengoku Blade, AKA Tengai) - Arcade JAMMA

It's rare to see a shmup that makes an overhaul from a completely vertical shooter in the first game, to a completely horizontal shooter in the sequel (I mean, Konami's Salamander did had both types in the one game, but still... ;) ).

And it's rarer that the shift from horizontal to vertical works better. If you've ever played any other Psikyo games (Sonic Wings series, Gunbird 1 & 2, Strikers 1945 series, Dragon Blaze, etc) then thefeel of the game will be familiar. And the shift of orientation works incredibly well with Psikyo's shooting mechanics. It also has some beautiful sprite work, and wonderful design all around.

There was a Saturn port of this game, which I haven't had the opportunity to play. Considering the amount of Psikyo ports there are on the Switch currently (Strikers 1945, Gunbird, etc), the possibility of it popping up is not unlikely, but only time will tell with that.
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Flabyo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Started playing 'Shadow Tactics - Blades of the Shogun' this week.

In many respects this is a game of the old school, it harks back to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines from 1998. Its tough, to the extent that quick save and quick load are a major part of its design. That could've been tedious if the game had long load times, but thankfully it doesn't.

I'm really enjoying it though. It feels like an intricate puzzle box to play, one where its giving you all the pieces and asking you to find a solution, but where there isn't only one way to solve it. Some levels it's clearly presenting you with a high level choice (ie, 'you can break into the castle through the north gate or the south gate, your choice). But the rest of the time you're free to choose how to reach and then complete your objectives.

It also has a deft touch when it comes to presenting you with new wrinkles to your plan that you can turn to your advantage if you think about things a little laterally.

A slightly spoilery example from the third level:
Spoiler: show
I have two characters, a swift light footed trainee ninja girl and a hulking Samurai. I have to reach my target in a snowy mountain village. At the start of the level the introduction cut scene has the girl complain how she hates snow cause the footprints you leave behind point like an arrow to your hiding places.

And I died a lot to start with, because up to this point you've not had to think too much about how you move around on the ground. You realise the ninja should stay on the rooftops as much as possible, and the samurai should stick to the roads which are clear of snow.

Then you realise the twist: enemies will investigate footprints and track you down. But you can use that to drag individual people off their patrol routes to let the samurai get past them by having the ninja create a trail that leads to a dead end (because she climbed onto a roof). And then you start leading guys deliberately into traps and ambushes.
Something that the game has presented as a new hazard is really just another tool. And it does this kind of thing on almost every level.

And I haven't even reached the levels where you have to use all 5 characters at once...
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

since finishing zelda i've been struggling to find motivation to play any new games. need something to really catch my eyeball
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Hierony wrote: January 12th, 2018, 10:02 am since finishing zelda i've been struggling to find motivation to play any new games. need something to really catch my eyeball
Mix it up with something short, different and good looking, like Edith Finch, Late Shift, Superhot or at a stretch, Hellblade.
Flabyo wrote: January 12th, 2018, 9:15 am Started playing 'Shadow Tactics - Blades of the Shogun' this week.
Got this in the Jan sales and it's looming like a very intimidating rock in the sea of my to-play list. Great writeup, looking forward to it a little more now.


Last night I played a bit more Skyrim VR. The sheen has almost totally left Bethesda RPGs for me now, I'm afraid. I find them rote and uninteresting.
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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I started a SMW play through again the other week and I've just tipped over the 78 mark, so that's always a very pleasant experience. I'm starting to wonder if i can remember all of the secret endings though I've already forgotten two straight away :lol: .

I'm also still marching through Xenoblade 2 on the Switch, I've just arrived at Indoline Sanctum, which is chapter 6. I'm enjoying it an awful lot, not sure I'd recommend it to everyone but it's certainly a fresh, enjoyable new experience for me.

The only sort of issue I have with Xenoblade at the moment is that it's stopping me get into Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance on the GameCube. The gameplay is different enough, although currently I feel I only have enough space for one Japanese RPG story :lol: .
kintaris

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by kintaris »

Really enjoying HITMAN at the moment. First game in the series for me.

It's like an interactive Where's Wally with extra murder. Why haven't I played this before now?
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

kintaris wrote: January 15th, 2018, 8:27 am It's like an interactive Where's Wally with extra murder.
Love that description. And yes that's exactly what it's like!
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DomsBeard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

So I hit a zone of loving Zelda BOTW and then again I feel like it is kicking me in the teeth like it doesn't want me to like it. The weapon breaking mechanic is a joke, I do not know what they were thinking.

I have reached the boss in the Divine Beast Van Ruta and both my bows break once I have hit it with enough arrows and damage to get it to half health.
Spoiler: show
So when it has half health it raises 4 platforms and I cannot hit it anymore as I have no bows.
Do I need to leave and get some new bows and come back?. #deargamesmaster :D
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I had a hankering to play a trading game at the weekend, and dug Patrician IV out of my backlog-that's-not-a-backlog-as-I'll-never-play-them. Despite enjoying an earlier incarnation of the game years ago, this turned out to be the most basic trading game imaginable. Just buy furs at Visby and sell at Lubeck for a small profit, type of thing.

Then I checked out a space game, Endless Sky, which is admittedly an open source free game, and it seemed to be much the same. I couldn't discern any real difference in the two games as regard their basic trading model.

Then I had a rush of blood to the head today and installed X Rebirth. 90 minutes later I have a splitting headache and a very tenuous grasp on how the game works. Tenuous-to-none, really. It seems even more impenetrable than its predecessors in the X Series. Not sure I'll continue.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I'm about 8 hours in to FF X Remastered on Vita.

Fuck Blitzball.

That is all.
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