Whatcha Been Playing?

[Todinho]

Thanks. How is the combat? Looks a bit more complicated to me than the standard turn based I'm used to.

It can be a bit overwhelming at first, having to deal with gambits and understanding the license board but the game does ease you in so dont worry about not getting everything right away, on the general side if you played an MMO the controls should be a bit familiar, combat is still menu based like other RPGs the only difference is that it's all real time, it looks abit more comlicated but it should be simple enough to grasp if you start playing it.

[Alex79]

Thanks for the Banner Saga feedback lads. I'm not sure it's one for me. I have picked up Human Resource Machine though, by the World Of Goo guys. Looks good and I loved their other games.

[Michiel K]

And the game I had plugged in was the Taito F3 board for Bubble Symphony, a game of incredible cuteness, and two button platforming joy.

Love that game. I have the Saturn port, but it must be really cool to play it in a cab.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

And the game I had plugged in was the Taito F3 board for Bubble Symphony, a game of incredible cuteness, and two button platforming joy.

Love that game. I have the Saturn port, but it must be really cool to play it in a cab.

It is an overload of cuteness, and Taito love! Preservation of gaming is the least dull or dry form of preservation.

When I play alone, it's all about sticking to a single credit. With others, those rules don't matter!

[Alex79]

So Human Resouce Machine is brilliant! Devilishly difficult puzzle game which purports to teach you very basic computer programming. I'm sure it doesn't, but it makes you feel like you're thinking like a programmer. Using basic 'IF'/'THEN' type commands you direct your little man to deliver specific boxes to the other side of the room. Sounds shit, right? It's not. It's one of those puzzle games which niggles away at your brain when you're not playing it, and you have to whip your phone out to try the idea straight away. Well worth the ~£4 I paid. Check it out.

[Stanshall]

Aside from Isaac, I've been playing a few neat little games on the Switch.

Forma.8 is a pretty fun little Metroidvania type thing. Great music, pretty visuals which are quite vectory/cel shading/Limbo/other. The controls feel good, some light physics elements and most importantly a great sense of exploration and atmosphere.

Kingdom: New Lands just appeared this week, too. It's a kind of roguelike, in the loosest sense, and a kind of tower defence game, with pixelated retro visuals and...yawn, right? It's actually pretty good! There are no controls, really, just trot right and left on your horse through this decrepit land, pick up coins and choose to build defensive or offensive resources. I haven't managed to finish a run yet but I can see myself going back to this and getting into its mechanics.

[kintaris]

Well I had an intense 2-day marathon from the start to the story end of The Witness this weekend. These are the kind of logic puzzles I've enjoyed since I was a kid so while I appreciated being able to play them in a virtual space (especially the use of environment to add a layer), I probably found the core principles a little less mindblowing than others.

I didn't enjoy the base mind-fuckery of some of the final story puzzles though. Spinning grids and flashing lights were more of a pure headache than a legitimate challenge, and a bit cheap given the genius that had gone before.

I haven't put this in the completions thread because I'm still debating whether to go for the final bonus Challenge for my first PlayStation platinum. While I've had a lifetime diet of these puzzles, I've never enjoyed them under time pressure and it sounds like the last bonus round is a sequence of random puzzles on a timer. I'm so close to the finish line though, so maybe...

[Flabyo]

I didn't enjoy the base mind-fuckery of some of the final story puzzles though. Spinning grids and flashing lights were more of a pure headache than a legitimate challenge, and a bit cheap given the genius that had gone before.

Yup, totally agree on that. It doesn't sour me on the whole game, but it does mean it stops short of greatness for me.

[Alex79]

Those panels that flash quickly - well you know the burst shot function on your mobile phone camera......

[Combine Hunter]

Been playing XCOM 2: War of the Chosen and it is FUCKING incredible. They do a great job of quickly introducing all the new stuff after a very familiar first level. The chosen themselves work wonderfully, an ongoing threat that adapts to your tactics as the game goes on. They don't feel unfair, which could have easily happened, just a stiff challenge that pops up every once and a while.

The hero units are my favourite edition though, with the Templars being the stand out for me. Great having at least one unit in the early game, that can already do some of the crazier moves that your regular units will get access to later on.

[kintaris]

Well I had an intense 2-day marathon from the start to the story end of The Witness this weekend. These are the kind of logic puzzles I've enjoyed since I was a kid so while I appreciated being able to play them in a virtual space (especially the use of environment to add a layer), I probably found the core principles a little less mindblowing than others.

I didn't enjoy the base mind-fuckery of some of the final story puzzles though. Spinning grids and flashing lights were more of a pure headache than a legitimate challenge, and a bit cheap given the genius that had gone before.

I haven't put this in the completions thread because I'm still debating whether to go for the final bonus Challenge for my first PlayStation platinum. While I've had a lifetime diet of these puzzles, I've never enjoyed them under time pressure and it sounds like the last bonus round is a sequence of random puzzles on a timer. I'm so close to the finish line though, so maybe...

Update: Ahahahahahahano. I'm never completing that challenge.

One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing utterly unnecessary time-sensitive bits into ponderous puzzle games. I just don't get it. You're leaving a reasonable chunk of your audience on a sour note if they get stressed out by that sort of thing.

Maybe that's just me. I've always found intense time limits to be completely stressful and not why I play games.

[Stanshall]

I've never been so frustrated by anything in gaming than that hateful RNG mother bastard challenge. I absolutely hate it, from the nightmarish music to the dreadful claustrophobic cavern lighting. I would like to lead Jonathan Blow down there, seal the exits with dynamite and inject myself with werewolf serum.

[kintaris]

I've never been so frustrated by anything in gaming than that hateful RNG mother bastard challenge. I absolutely hate it, from the nightmarish music to the dreadful claustrophobic cavern lighting. I would like to lead Jonathan Blow down there, seal the exits with dynamite and inject myself with werewolf serum.

I am so glad it's not just me! What a horrible end to my precious gaming evening.

[Flabyo]

Played the third chapter of Telltale's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' game last night. I think they're finally starting to nail the 'voice' of it now. It actually feels like a Guardians story rather than something that just has its set dressing and characters.

I think a lot of that is facilitated by the new character that gets introduced here (not new as in created by Telltale, just new as in 'wasn't in the first two parts'), it mixes it up and allows the humour to flow instead of feel forced.

There's even a moment that comes close to the heights of 'Tales from the Borderlands'.

[Michiel K]

Tried out Tales of Symphonia last night on the trusty old Gamecube, after finding it for a very attractive price last weekend, and was immediately taken by the similar 'Tales of' charm I found in Vesperia.

Feels pretty much like an incarnation of an earlier generation of hardware and I didn't warm up to the characters that quickly, but I must say that Lloyd instantly feels more fluid to control than Yuri, in movement and in how his moves are linked together.

[Suits]

I'm nicely settled into Metroid 2 at the moment, however - Steam World Dig 2 has come out today and I've been looking forward to this since it was first shown at the Switch reveal.

Due to the similarity of the two games in terms of genre, I think I'll find it awkward to flick between the two, so I think I'll hold off until I've slain all those pesky Metroids !!

It's going to be hard though.

[Craig]

I recently went to a huge arcade Round One for the second time. On the ground floor they have a huge selection of current machines, but heading upwards you'll find the real magic. Rather than throw away all the old machines, they keep a selected amount and for a decent price, 2500 yen from 11AM until 6AM the next day, you can play them all on free play.

While some of the machines are vintage, there are quite a few that are still very modern. Because it's all free play, that means you can blast all the way through the games if you're patient enough, and those quirky games with odd controllers become a lot more appealing when you're not putting coins in the machine. They have all the House of the Dead games, a strange Castlevania light gun (well, light whip) game and even things like the drum master games so you can get really good. Or stay bad for a longer time like I did.

Highlights include-

Bishi Bashi special, arcade. I loved this back in the day on the Playstation, and never knew it was an arcade game. It's three player, which seems like an odd number, but it's a master class in what you can do with simple instructions and only three buttons.

Rhythm Heaven arcade - similar to the above!

Outrun 2000, sit down cab. Almost made it to the end!

Darius Burst. I've heard the name before but never really explored it. It's a extremely wide screen shooter with a bowel shaking sound system in the booth. Immense.

A table flipping game which I've seen in arcades a while but never understood what you have to do - turns out it's like angry birds. The controller is a small table. You have four scenarios which place the protagonist angry in a situation (at home, a nightclub, a bride at a wedding, in the office) and you have one minute to flip the table. It doesn't take long to flip the table, you literally just throw the table in front of you up, but you have to watch patiently and toss it just at the right time to do the most damage. You'll then get a short slow motion video showing what happened, how much your damage was in yen and detailing how far your furthest item was flung and soothing lyrics. It's great.

Lastly, Densha de Go! I've kind of scoffed at the idea of train simulators before but you know what? They're good. Really soothing sitting on the chair (which rumbles underneath to mimic going over a train track), slowly applying the brake, tooting the horn. It's all very tangible and the controls click in just the right way. I think I must be getting old.

[Stanshall]

One of my favourite games on the 3DS was 'Train Simulator Kyoto to Oppo - Autumn Fiesta' or something like that. It was quite rubbish but with headphones on, and a camomile tea/whisky, it was stupefied bliss.

[Chopper]

Lastly, Densha de Go! I've kind of scoffed at the idea of train simulators before but you know what? They're good. Really soothing sitting on the chair (which rumbles underneath to mimic going over a train track), slowly applying the brake, tooting the horn. It's all very tangible and the controls click in just the right way. I think I must be getting old.

I dunno, the train sim world can be pretty wild!

[Michiel K]

Darius Burst. I've heard the name before but never really explored it. It's a extremely wide screen shooter with a bowel shaking sound system in the booth. Immense.

Lucky you.