Whatcha Been Playing?

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
User avatar
ColinAlonso
Member
Posts: 585
Joined: September 6th, 2016, 9:13 pm
Location: Dublin

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ColinAlonso »

Final Fantasy 4 - Even though I quite liked FF3 I am delighted to see in-dungeon save points again. I wish my party would settle down though, I keep losing and gaining members and don't really get attached to many of them.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8423
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I played the Detroit: Become Human demo last night. Played it through 3 or 4 times to see how different it could play out, and I enjoyed what I played. I will, however, confidently predict that it will not win over any non David Cage fans. Jay, I don't think this is the game to convince you!

The demo was quite high tension, and I don't think a full game of that would be particularly enjoyable, so I'm imagining there will be plenty of down time too. It's all there, though. The tech layovers on the screen, the awkward controls, the sub-par voice acting, yep, it's a David Cage game, and whilst it won't be a day one purchase for me, I'll definitely play it at some point.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel now, console-wise. My 4 options for gaming this weekend are

Evil Within 2
Dante's Inferno (2010)
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 6

:x
User avatar
KSubzero1000
Member
Posts: 3365
Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Pick your poison, man! :lol:

What are you playing on?
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Dante's Inferno on PS3; I just played the first 40 minutes and can safely say I haven't seen anything like it before. It's slightly over the top :)

The others are on PS4. I started Resi 5 last year but got mobbed in an alley at the start with seemingly no effective means of crowd control and turned it off.

Not a salubrious bunch of games by any means.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8423
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Do you have PS+? There has been loads on there lately. I'm going to start DE: Mankind Divided after I finish my current game.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I do have PS+ but up until about a year ago I bought almost every game I was interested in on day of release so there’s usually nothing there for me. I’ve also been making inroads to my backlog in the last two years (eg the two new Deus Exes). I did have a look through the library but nothing jumped out, closest was That War of Mine which is a bit too grim for my current mood.

I have some pc games to get through but it’s hard to sit down at a pc after staring at one all week.

I lent my Moves to my brother so PSVR was out*

The only real recent games I’m interested in are Metal Gear Survive but only with a discount, and Dad of War which I’m not *really* interested in so I’ll try that in 6 months or a year.

Nothing on the horizon for me till end of May with Detroit and State of Decay 2.

*That said I was in CEX this morning and picked up a Move for him, so PSVR is back in the mix. Incredibly, CEX had a shelf full of second hand FIFAs going back to FIFA 09

DE:MK is excellent, hope you enjoy it.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I’m aware that last post is the epitome of first world problems but this is a games discussion site, don’t judge me! :D
User avatar
Stanshall
Member
Posts: 2370
Joined: January 31st, 2016, 6:45 am

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

I've been hammering Dodonpachi DaiOuJou recently on FB Alpha and I absolutely adore that game. I went to Arcade Club today in the hope of a 1CC on their cabinet but I'm not quite there yet, think it's set at a higher difficulty than I've been used to! :) I'll keep on keeping on, though.

I also played Ketsui for the first time there, too. Wow. Add that one to the list, it's fucking phenomenal. I love the lock on shooting mechanic so much, it's very reminiscent of Crimson Clover but with a more Dodonpachi militaristic bent. I just got home and fired it up and already got further on my first credit. I think I'm probably better with a pad than stick, funnily enough.

I've also been battering Mushihimesama via Steam. Seems like a perfectly acceptable port even on my crap old laptop hooked up to the telly via HDMI. The odd wonky performance issue but it's good enough and I love the aesthetic, and those bright pink spinning Wotsit bullets and Pringles collectable tokens.
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

^^^^ Just lovely. DaiOuJou and Ketsui are on the harder side of Cave's oeuvre, but they're also kind of irresistable.

I want that PS3 Ketsui port.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Dante's Inferno started off pretty wild, but grew a bit boring mid-game and I've turned it down to easy for the last stretch.
User avatar
stvnorman
Member
Posts: 911
Joined: March 19th, 2013, 8:09 pm
Location: Keysoe, Bedfordshire, UK
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

kintaris wrote: April 26th, 2018, 8:27 am I've also finally gotten around to playing Downwell but I may have shot myself in the foot. I thought this would be a perfect mobile game - quick-fix, portrait perspective - but the buttons are in the absolute worst place. I never appreciated how important it is to be able to look ahead in a game like this until the direction of movement was inverted, and my own damn thumbs are in the way of the route ahead!

I want to wrangle with it a little more to see if I like the potential of it, if so I will repurchase it on another platform.
I play Downwell regularly on iPad. It’s landscape on there and the controls are fine. I just installed it on my phone and can see what you mean! I’m pretty good on the iPad but useless on there! I’m fairly certain that at some point I switched from portrait to landscape on the iPad but can’t for the life of me find any way to do it now! Would probably be okay in landscape on the phone too. PS4 version is very good.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

Stanshall wrote: April 28th, 2018, 5:06 pm I've been hammering Dodonpachi DaiOuJou recently on FB Alpha and I absolutely adore that game. I went to Arcade Club today in the hope of a 1CC on their cabinet but I'm not quite there yet, think it's set at a higher difficulty than I've been used to! :) I'll keep on keeping on, though.

I also played Ketsui for the first time there, too. Wow. Add that one to the list, it's fucking phenomenal. I love the lock on shooting mechanic so much, it's very reminiscent of Crimson Clover but with a more Dodonpachi militaristic bent. I just got home and fired it up and already got further on my first credit. I think I'm probably better with a pad than stick, funnily enough.

I've also been battering Mushihimesama via Steam. Seems like a perfectly acceptable port even on my crap old laptop hooked up to the telly via HDMI. The odd wonky performance issue but it's good enough and I love the aesthetic, and those bright pink spinning Wotsit bullets and Pringles collectable tokens.
I love reading other peoples experience with Cave shmups! It’s something I identify with right away! Quality programming is timeless.

I got the Ketsui PS3 port from the Japanese PlayStation store if I recall correctly (for the PS3 only, of course). Having the digital version available, ready to go, with the Mad Catz arcade fightstick in easy reach... perfection! :)
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

I also played Mushihimesama again on PC, recently. Did you turn VSync on in the config or ini file, Stanshall? That's the only way to get rid of the screen tearing and it makes the experience so much better.

I have way more experience with the 360 port of the sequel and find this one surprisingly tough to get into and I can't quite put my finger on why that is, because what I see on screen certainly doesn't look insurmountable. Input lag, maybe? I've got one of those fighting game tournament approved "lagless" screens, so if the lag is significant enough, it has to be the game. Or maybe it's just playing in yoko orientation on a smaller screen.

I always play a single credit and last time I played marked the first time I managed to get to stage 3.

I also think I'm missing something where it concerns the scoring system. There is no coloured gem counter like in Futari, so I'm wondering if the alternating your shots to net the biggest gems thing just isn't there? I might need to look up some strategy thread / FAQ on shmups.com's forum or something.
User avatar
KSubzero1000
Member
Posts: 3365
Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

These posts are just making me sad I can't manage to get into these games...

One day!
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

My quick beginner's guide on how to get into / start enjoying shoot 'em ups:

1. Just appreciate how your shots connect with targets, making them dissapate / fall apart / explode real good.

2. Be aware that these games are meant to be hard and you're meant to die over and over again until you start dying less and less. There is no shame in dying in 'em.

3. Be aware that contrary to what some people might tell you, getting good at a specific shoot 'em up is not just a matter of recognising rote patterns and finding spots where you'll always be safe on the screen. From Xevious and Gradius on, enemies have always aimed their shots at you, or in your general direction. Even the focus of larger bullet spreads in a Cave game is related to your position on the screen. Knowing this and knowing that enemies aiming and shooting will usually be slower than your movement speed, you can start taking initiative and direct where you want the enemy projectiles to go, in relation to your screen position, i.e. so-called bullet hearding.

4. Where applicable (Cave games, for sure), try and dig into the scoring systems. This is where the genre has really increased its complexity over time, even more so than in its bullet patterns becoming more intricate. The risk/reward is often where the real rush starts, inviting death on your door step and proceeding to live on the edge and dominate.

5. The best way to get better organically (especially in ports of arcade games) is to not continue and get a bit better and further each time you play. These games usually don't last longer than 45 minutes (and often much less), when played from beginning to end, so it's not like you lose much progress when starting over. Quite the contrary, this is where you'll actually gain the most progress and level up as a player, much more so than by hitting continue and losing lives ever faster the further you get and becoming none the wiser in the process. This approach also pretty much destroys the "short game, no value for money" argument, as you can easily put as much time in a single shoot 'em up as you'd put into a JRPG, this way.
kintaris

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by kintaris »

That was a really useful post Michiel, thanks!

I must admit I spam that Continue button at the moment when I'm trying to get into the genre, and that's really not helping...
User avatar
KSubzero1000
Member
Posts: 3365
Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Thanks, Michiel. It all makes a lot of sense. I can definitely tell there are some fantastic experiences to be had in the genre.

Safe to say I'd be all over a proper CAVE collection on current systems.
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

^^^^ Happy to read you guys find it useful!
User avatar
ratsoalbion
Admin
Posts: 7918
Joined: August 28th, 2012, 9:41 am
Location: Brighton, England
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ratsoalbion »

KSubzero1000 wrote: May 1st, 2018, 11:37 amSafe to say I'd be all over a proper CAVE collection on current systems.
A compilation for current gen consoles would make so much sense.
Post Reply