Whatcha Been Playing?

[gallo_pinto]

Ive been playing Sound Shapes in an attempt to go through Death Mode levels and it's a no go. I've beaten the main game and all the beat school levels. I got 2 DM completed and I think I may have to wave the white flag. I want to platinum this but Death Mode is winning. On every death my blood boils a tad bit more. Thank goodness for the fun base game, creator and user created content. A sequel would be nice.

There was a good stretch where I was really trying to stretch my video game dollars, so I was trying to get a Platinum in every Vita game I bought. I got the Platinum in Sound Shapes, but I wish I hadn't. Unless you're really into trophies, that Death Mode just makes you dislike the game. The mechanics in Sound Shapes are fine, but they don't stand up to that level of challenge. I really liked my time in the main levels, but I have pretty negative associations with Sound Shapes because I spent soooooo much time trying to beat Death Mode.

[Scrustle]

Lately I've gone back to Metroid Prime. I played it a long time ago when they first released in on the Wii U, and I really enjoyed it, until I got myself stuck at a certain point. Found that pretty infuriating, and I think it was actually a pretty poor oversight in the game design. Managed to get myself stuck down the bottom of a flooded shaft without the suit upgrade that allowed me to be able to move and see down there. I was completely trapped. But that was ages ago. This time I started again and things have gone better. Got the suit, got past that point, and I have now just reached the Phazon Mines. I really do like the atmosphere of the game. Exploring round these detailed and unique areas, slowly getting more familiar and gaining more abilities to get around. I really like the bosses too. They feel very Zelda-like.

I feel like it's kind of a shame Nintendo don't do more with this franchise. I get the impression that even though I wouldn't say I'm a fan of the franchise by any stretch, Nintendo could easily make me one if they wanted to. I think it has a huge potential to do much better than it does. They could easily sell it as being a kind of open world, non-linear sci-fi shooter. I think the aesthetic of it is pretty timeless too. Especially the design of Samus herself. That Varia Suit has barely changed since the beginning of the series, yet it looks totally contemporary. Could have come out of a game released today. It also manages to keep a very distinctive look too.

Another game I've been finding myself playing a lot lately is Two Worlds II. Honestly I can't say why. I picked it up for next to nothing on PC, and have been playing it quite a bit. Thought I might get bored of it quickly, but I haven't yet. I can't really work out why I'm enjoying it though, because the game is pretty awful. Maybe I like it just because of the ambition of it. It's got a quite impressively large and varied world, although some of the visual design is kind of tacky and cliche. It's got a relatively interesting take on magic, although I haven't really been able to stat my character much in that direction yet. But it looks and sounds pretty hideous, it's very clunky to control, and combat is monotonous and brain-dead. The soundtrack is relatively nice though. And I think I kind of root for the game somewhat, because even though it's so awful, it's such a huge improvement over its predecessor, in comparison it's quite impressive. But that isn't exactly hard when the first game is one of the worst of all time.

[mikeleddy83]

We've started a fresh save game of Super Mario 3d World and once again it's brilliant, otherwise a few missions of the Wonderful 101 are keeping my video game muscle memory strong and a daily helping of Steins;Gate that is sadly starting to get a bit too long round out my play selection for now. Socially it's Overwatch all the way, with some Diablo 3 seasons to keep me busy on the weekend.

With little on the horizon (personally) I'm glad to get time to hoover up all those neglected games and I'm feeling like progress is a real thing now.

[Craig]

Picross 3D is brilliant in making you feel smart while you're wasting a beautiful Saturday afternoon sitting at home in your pants.

[Alex79]

Anyone know how much of The Witness is left once...

Spoiler: show

you enter the mountain? I've enjoyed this game so much, but feel ready to finish now. I've got every available puzzle panel outside the mountain (note: panel. I decided fairly early on that the 'other' puzzles were something I'd do if they presented themselves but I wasn't going hunting for them - unless there's an additional ending?) and I've got five of the six hex puzzle solutions found. I've done all 11 lasers but just wondered if anyone knows how much is left inside the mountain? (I've done the first two sets of puzzles down there, and also want to explore the caves and challenge room)

Thanks!

(Spoilered the whole lot since the entire game is discovery based I think and I'd have been a little disappointed if I'd even known what all the different areas were let alone the aims of the game, so only read if you've finished it or don't care. I'm basically asking how much of the game is left once you reach a certain point!)

[Stanshall]

I seem to remember that you don't have to do all the puzzles in that area, so you could power through in half an hour, depending on how quickly you do the key puzzles. I spent a good hour there before reaching the goal you mentioned.

[Alex79]

Thanks - yeah I can't walk past an unsolved puzzle haha. I'm doing every one I find, and haven't resorted to any solutions yet, I'm determined not to peep!

[Alex79]

I've been playing a bit of Deus Ex Go on Android. It's, erm, alright. It looks nicely made and all that, but the levels, or rather the solutions - it's not a very elegant game, if that's even the right word. There's no looking at the level and planning your route, it just seems you keep tapping and seeing what happens, a lot of tapping left and right to wait for a guard to pass or almost sort of chasing them round in a loop before pegging it to the exit. I don't know, it just seems a bit shallow and actually not as enjoyable as the Tomb Raider one. Anyone else played it? I've not really managed to put in to words very well what I mean here, but someone might get it!

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

I've started Quantum Break on Xbox One recently.

It's been sat on my hard drive since it launched as I was really looking forward to it, but then I had a weird flip-flop with it and couldn't get in the mood to play when it finally arrived (which makes no sense given that it actually got decent reviews!).

I'm enjoying it so far - the early powers I have are already fun to use so really looking forward to upgrading those and becoming a real time-bending badass as I get further through the game. It also looks lovely, the writing and acting are a cut above, and the TV show sections are easily the best live-action content to ever feature as part of a game in my experience.

I'm seeing it for as little as £20 new in some places, and first impressions are it's well worth!

[seansthomas]

Have always been a fan of the Tomb Raider series buy missed Underworld, so picked it up on Wii for £2 last month.

Had a go last night but not sure I can stomach it. Camera never does what you want and you can't invert any axis, meaning its hard to control. Its very stripped back compared to layer TR titles too as you'd expect, but it left me feeling like it was TR for kids, just with stupidly bad level design and camera issues making it hard to know where to go. I'll give it one more shot but if it doesn't click, will move on I think.

[Alex79]

I really enjoyed it on 360. And Legend. Funnily enough I did try the Wii one first and had similar issues as you.

[seansthomas]

I really enjoyed it on 360. And Legend. Funnily enough I did try the Wii one first and had similar issues as you.

I had a look on YouTube and its very apparent that the Wii version of the game is greatly reduced in scope and size as well as graphics compared to the 360. But the camera controls clicked last night so I'm persevering. Its basically the PS2 port it seems.

The puzzles and empty environments feel like TR at its best to me, but constantly have the sense I'm playing a 'Lite' version of the real deal.

I quite liked Legend at the time but can only imagine how poor it'd be now!

[deacon05oc]

I began Bloodborne. This is my first time playing a Souls-type game. To my surprise I've been finding it really accessible. I've died a couple of times in the beginning getting the hang of it obviously but I never find myself frustrated because I feel the game has never cheated me. I deserved each one. Most of time because I tried to fight off a crowd unnecessarily. I'm just walking around Central Yharnam, but I'm just loving the exploration. Possibly more than I would in any other game. I just hope I don't miss anything.

[Stanshall]

I'd say console yourself to the fact that you will miss certain things, certain NPC quests and you'll waste some upgrade items. It's OK. Just soak up one of the most coherent gaming experiences ever made. Sometimes I think, oh, I wish I could play it again for the first time but it's not true. I shat my pants and felt it creep under my skin until I'd finished. It's now just pure power fantasy and I can glide through wrecking horrible bastards, a bit like Bayonetta, with fewer perineum crash zooms.

[Alex79]

I went in to GAME today to get Bloodborne pre-owned, and they didn't bloody have it! Only a brand new copy they were still selling for £49.99!! How they're clinging on in today's world of online bargains god knows.

[deacon05oc]

I went in to GAME today to get Bloodborne pre-owned, and they didn't bloody have it! Only a brand new copy they were still selling for £49.99!! How they're clinging on in today's world of online bargains god knows.

That was me a couple days ago to get Bloodborne. Game's been out over a year and I always saw it pre-owned in stores. The day I go to get it, 3 stores in my area sold out. Guess everyone wanted to give it a try like me too.

[Alex79]

Haha that is weird, someone is obviously stockpiling the game!

[KSubzero1000]

Only a brand new copy they were still selling for £49.99!

Was it the GOTY version with the DLC included? Because that was released much later. That price a bit steep, but the game is definitely worth playing!

[Stanshall]

The GOTY is very often on sale on PSN, almost every other sale. I'm sure I've seen it for twenty quid or so.

[Alex79]

Only a brand new copy they were still selling for £49.99!

Was it the GOTY version with the DLC included? Because that was released much later. That price a bit steep, but the game is definitely worth playing!

I think it was the collectors edition or something. Was a nice box as opposed to the normal bluray case. Yeah I definitely want to play it, but as Stanshall says, it's always in the PSN sales so I guess I can probably pick it up there as cheap as it is preowned in GAME.