Whatcha Been Playing?

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

Magical_Isopod wrote: May 5th, 2019, 3:52 pm Interesting you say that, because in retrospect, I disliked both games -- for very similar reasons. Both games were worked on by MonolithSoft, so it makes a degree of sense. I wonder if Xenoblade X was a prototype of sorts for Breath of the Wild? Could explain the lengthy delays - some exec saw Xenoblade X come out and decided, "Make Zorlda more like this!!!" Be really curious to know.
Things don't really work that way at Nintendo. It's not a place where an exec fat cat walks in and starts issuing random demands. The creative folk are really trusted and left to their devices in so many ways... for better and perhaps sometimes also for worse.

About XCX and Chronicles on Wii (haven't played 2), of course the Wii game has the more likeable characters, stronger directed story and overall more imaginitive setting, but from my perspective, I prefer my (open world) role playing games to have more, well, actual role playing and a looser narrative, where I as the player get more space to create the stories and this is perhaps why X clicks better with me. Maybe that's the big similarity with BotW and (just) one of the aspects I love so much about it, as it is one of the few open world action adventure games that by its design never urges you to chase down canned story beats, but where leisurely exploration always feels completely justified.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

I haven't seen any baseball nerds around here but [deep breath] here goes:

Finished my first season (as the Padres) in OOTP, with a 92-70 record, 7 games behind the Dodgers. Beat the Cubs in the Wild Card, and then got swept 3-0 by those same Dodgers. :(

All this was having used the Padres' good farm system to do a lot of wheeling and dealing to try and bring them up to scratch. I think the wheeling and dealing is the main attraction of the game for me (though I actually play out all the season's games too, like a maniac - there are 162 and they take about 10 mins each).

My big problem this year is that all my pitchers are good enough to get to the playoffs, but not good enough to compete once there. Maybe my reliance on rookies this year meant they found the playoffs a bit overwhelming. Also I have the same problem as the real-life Padres in that my bullpen is extremely overworked due to the starters only being able to get through 5-ish innings before getting punished on the third time through the order.

I've put together a killer bullpen for 2020, and will see how far I get with that. I feel that I need to add an Ace in Free Agency, which opens as soon as I've analysed what went wrong with 2019.
User avatar
KSubzero1000
Member
Posts: 3365
Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Chopper wrote: May 9th, 2019, 7:22 am My big problem this year is that all my pitchers are good enough to get to the playoffs, but not good enough to compete once there. Maybe my reliance on rookies this year meant they found the playoffs a bit overwhelming. Also I have the same problem as the real-life Padres in that my bullpen is extremely overworked due to the starters only being able to get through 5-ish innings before getting punished on the third time through the order.

I've put together a killer bullpen for 2020, and will see how far I get with that. I feel that I need to add an Ace in Free Agency, which opens as soon as I've analysed what went wrong with 2019.
I didn't understand a single word of what you just wrote, but you seem to be having fun and that in itself makes me happy.

I know it must seem awfully sarcastic but I promise you it's not. :heart:
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

It is just pages and pages of stats, it's great :D
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 started Breath Of The Wild last night. Only an hour in, just done the first shrine with the magnet power. It's already clear this is a rather magical game.
User avatar
Suits
Member
Posts: 3174
Joined: October 28th, 2015, 3:25 pm
Location: Chelmsford, UK

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Alex79uk wrote: May 9th, 2019, 9:49 am I started Breath Of The Wild last night. Only an hour in, just done the first shrine with the magnet power. It's already clear this is a rather magical game.
Glad to hear it's going well so far man.
User avatar
hazeredmist
Member
Posts: 1709
Joined: June 25th, 2013, 12:45 pm
Location: The DMZ
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

Man, fuck Splatoon 2’s difficulty spike laden story mode... It’s maddening! I must have spent over an hour trying to finish level 26 “Paradise Lanes” tonight. Infuriating. The weapon choice is mental and the “3 strikes and you’re out” system is a killer on the tougher levels like this. It’s a miracle my Switch survived the night. Finally done so I can go to bed in peace and not bray the cartridge to death.

For some reason I can’t in good conscience go back to multiplayer until this is off my plate. One more level then the boss to go.

Edit: here is the level in question. Even the guy posting the walkthrough wipes out multiple times! Not just me then at least :)

User avatar
Jobobonobo
Member
Posts: 574
Joined: July 27th, 2016, 4:30 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

Just started Gravity Rush 2. Seems like more of the same but combat at the moment seems to be a bit improved? Still too early to tell but is starting out pretty good so far. Still looks and sounds lovely though.
User avatar
Suits
Member
Posts: 3174
Joined: October 28th, 2015, 3:25 pm
Location: Chelmsford, UK

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Man, yeah, Splatoon 2 really picks up the difficulty towards the back end.

I fell off at around world 5 I think but went back to it a few weeks ago and moved forward after having a rest.

Good game that.


I'm thinking I might pick up MK11 today as people are being really positive about the story mode.

I'm really a fighter player but I enjoy the MK lore and I'm pretty excited to see what its all about.

Thinking about the Xbox X version as Digital Foundry say that's the strongest console version.
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 »

After listening to the C&R Pilotwings podcast a few weeks ago, I’d been meaning to pick it up on 3DS Virtual Console, then noticed it was 50% off with My Nintendo the other day, so got it for £3.50. Never played it before but it’s still very playable, though I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the parachute bits yet! Also picked up the 104 level Game Boy Donkey Kong on there. Plays really well and I love the way it mixes things up after the original levels.

Also finished Mega Man 5. Most long-winded but easiest Wily boss I’ve come across in the series to this point, but some of the run up to it was brutal, if not very original. Mega Man’s 1-5 now completed from the Legacy Collection on Switch, and this is my least favourite so far. Skipping to 11 next because I just got it for my birthday, then back to 6!

Finally this week, finished the Mortal Kombat X story mode on PS4, quite a few years after starting it. It wasn’t really worth the wait, but in my own mind justifies me getting shot of it and moving onto the new one!
User avatar
Magical_Isopod
Member
Posts: 993
Joined: May 29th, 2018, 11:57 pm
Location: London, ON, Canada

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

I still espouse the unpopular opinion that Mega Man 5 has the best soundtrack of the original Meger Mang games. Especially that godly remixed version for the Anniversary Collection (ommited from the Legacy Collection for some goddamn reason), which it the primary reason one should own the Anniversary Collection.

Nobody's even uploaded it to YouTube, that's how unappreciated the darn thing is. https://www.zophar.net/music/playstatio ... ction.html
User avatar
Scrustle
Member
Posts: 2426
Joined: November 18th, 2012, 6:02 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

Just finished off the Nyakuza Metro DLC they just released for A Hat in Time. It's really great! The new level is very impressive. It's pretty huge, and full of so many little unique details and touches that bring it to life. I love the look of it, with all the neon colours everywhere and hustle and bustle constantly going on. All the cat-themes background elements are very amusing, especially the trains themselves that are pulled by giant cats, that you ride on to get about. The layout is very well done too. It's split up in to zones that each have above and underground portions, and they can seem pretty easy to get lost in with how dense and winding they can be, but they always neatly join up with the central area in a satisfying way. It has a very cohesive feel to it.

It's really impressive to see how much they've improved their production quality over time with this game. The level of polish and little details here is several steps up from the base game. Particularly when it comes to the animation of the new character who takes the role of the antagonist for this level. Their body language and minor little expressions are really well done, and feels like night and day compared to the pretty basic, albeit still charming animations and designs of previous characters. The level design too feels more ambitious and well implemented. Probably makes this the new best level in the game. It's far better than the previous DLC too.

I've also finally managed to get in to The Witcher 2 lately. I've actually been making really fast progress at it, and I'm almost already finished. I've been enjoying it, but it's kind of hard to not compare it to The Witcher 3, having played that first. Or before I managed to get past the first chapter in this game at least. 3 is a far superior game in pretty much every way. Both in things it focuses on over 2, and in ways that 2 focuses on over 3. The character writing in 3 is so much better and has more depth to it. While in 2 it's definitely not bad in that respect, and the voice acting is good, there's a sense that 3's characters has much more going on with them. And the way the larger overarching plot of 3 was conveyed was much clearer too. While it did sometimes get a bit hard to parse with referenced to wider things in the fiction that they seem to assume the player is already familiar with, the general thrust of what's relevant to the game was usually clear enough. In 2 that problem of getting lost in lore it worse, and the relevance of immediate events can seem pretty confused too. So because of those two things, it feels like 3 succeeds both at the smaller scale, episodic style stories that focus on the complexities of people in this worlds, as well as doing the big grand adventure thing better too.

And of course there's all the technical aspects that 3 is better in as well. Much better graphics, animations, combat, soundtrack, etc. Also I've found that 2's quest design can be kind of obtuse. It feels like there's a lot of things that require reference to a walkthrough to be able to do correctly, while 3 felt much more natural in that regard, helping the flow of playing just feel better. I have a feeling after I'm done with this game I'll probably never look at it again. While I still look back at 3 as being a special experience stuck with me.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8423
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Played maybe 70 minutes of The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter last night. For reference, I adored Gone Home, really liked Rapture, thought Dear Esther was OK and didn't like Firewatch.

I'm kind of bouncing off Ethan Carter a little, it's got far more paranormal type stuff than I realised which I'm not really digging. Will see it through though as it's only a few hours long.

Then I tried some RDR2 online at last and did a few missions. It seems fun, but I can't help wishing my character wasn't a silent protagonist. I get why he is, but it makes it feel a little odd and difficult to warm to him.

Finally, I carried on my very slow playthrough of the AssCreed series last night by starting the first couple of hours of Brotherhood. I remember this being my favorite of the Ezio trilogy at the time, and it's still great. I know most people really dislike the Desmond Miles parts, but I'm really enjoying it. Obviously I'm playing in Italian audio with English subs, and it's weird not having Danny Wallace doing any lines, but it's much more immersive having Ezio and everyone else speak their native tongue.
User avatar
Magical_Isopod
Member
Posts: 993
Joined: May 29th, 2018, 11:57 pm
Location: London, ON, Canada

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

I suggest playing Ethan Carter til the end. It's one of two games (KONA being the other) that made me say, "Oh, fuck youuuuuu" at the ending. Think of the dumbest possible explanation for all the supernatural stuff, the most cliché college film student explanation, and you'll probably be right.
User avatar
Magical_Isopod
Member
Posts: 993
Joined: May 29th, 2018, 11:57 pm
Location: London, ON, Canada

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

Actually, now that I think about it, Ethan Carter, KONA and The Fidelio Incident are all really interesting games for the majority of the play time, but they're all ruined by a cliché or dull ending. It seems to be endemic to walking simulators - the folks making them know how to build interesting worlds and premises, but lack the execution... Great foreplay, but the sex wasn't worth the effort.

I think the only walking simulators I've been 100% sold on have been SOMA, Albino Lullaby and Near Death. And you could argue all three have enough going on mechanically that they transcend the "walking simulator" tag a little.
User avatar
Chopper
Member
Posts: 1405
Joined: April 16th, 2013, 6:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Further proof that Alex and I are opposites in our gaming tastes - I really liked Ethan Carter. I think the only 'good' game we agree on is Salt and Sanctuary :lol:

I enjoyed the ending, but would agree that KONA's ending was a let-down. That said, I find 99% of endings are a let-down, narratively speaking, and I possibly tend to overvalue games that actually have a coherent or well done ending. Things have been getting better this last few years, but still.
User avatar
Pitwar
Member
Posts: 323
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 9:46 am
Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
Contact:

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Pitwar »

God of War '18

I started the latest God of War back when it came out in April of last year, but for some reason it didn't click with me so it got put on the back burner.

I decided to go back to it over the weekend and fell in love, to the point I played through and finished the story portion of the game. I'm definitely going to go back and polish off some of the side quests.

Devil May Cry 5

A bunch of my friends absolutely love this game, but I'm still not feeling it. I think a big part of that is I much prefer DMC and really wanted more from that version of the franchise. The old Devil May Cry just feels dated in it's look and style.

Farpoint

The wife fancied playing something in VR and wanted to "shoot some things". So, I gave her the aim controller and put Farpoint on. About 5 minutes later the headset was off and she was feeling incredibly sick from motion sickness. But, it was nice for her a show a little bit of interest in gaming for that short time.
User avatar
Magical_Isopod
Member
Posts: 993
Joined: May 29th, 2018, 11:57 pm
Location: London, ON, Canada

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

Agree 1000% that Capcom DMC is dated af. Normally I'd be fine to let bygones be bygones, but I'm legit still angry at the original series fans for so aggressively metabombing and shunning Ninja Theory DMC to such a degree that it'll likely never have a sequel. I don't think I've ever seen a more toxic, irrational fanbase in the gaming space.
User avatar
Scrustle
Member
Posts: 2426
Joined: November 18th, 2012, 6:02 pm

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

That's not really fair. It's only a subset of the fanbase that still acts like that. Most are just fine enjoying the main games and not dwelling on the reboot. Like all of the DMC fans on this forum for example. And for me personally, even though I prefer the Capcom games, I like DmC too. It's unfair to paint all the people who like that side of the franchise as being like that toxic element. It's just a vocal minority, as if often the case for this sort of thing.

And most of the impression of people who don't like the game is mostly based around the kneejerk reaction from when it was first announced, and not any of the more substantive criticisms that came after. I really don't like how this conversation has to still keep coming up. It's pretty bad on both sides. Although since 5 came it, it does seem like it has been brought up more from people complaining about people who didn't like DmC, than there has been people actually doing that.
User avatar
KSubzero1000
Member
Posts: 3365
Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Magical_Isopod wrote: May 13th, 2019, 10:00 am Agree 1000% that Capcom DMC is dated af. Normally I'd be fine to let bygones be bygones, but I'm legit still angry at the original series fans for so aggressively metabombing and shunning Ninja Theory DMC to such a degree that it'll likely never have a sequel. I don't think I've ever seen a more toxic, irrational fanbase in the gaming space.
Nobody came out of the DmC debacle looking their best. Capcom, like many other japanese developers at the time, misread the market. Ninja Theory's initial announcement was dripping with condescension towards long-time fans. A number of disingenuous hit pieces were written, the whole thing got politicized to an unsavory degree and a vocal minority of the fanbase decided to "retaliate" by way of the usual behavioral garbage that the internet is so great at fostering.

If you prefer the reboot over the classic series, then great: more power to you. But there are plenty of others, myself included, who have good reasons for feeling the exact opposite way and most of us are neither toxic nor irrational for doing so. And like Scrustle said, most of the negativity these days seems to come from the DmC fanbase more than anything.


"Dated af" is the cheapest form of criticism there is. Simply deriding a game for its release date is no substitute for any actual analysis of what might or might not work in the way you think it should. It just reads like close-mindedness to me. Video games are the only medium that suffers from this type of wide-spread intolerance towards anything that dares to contradict the latest design trends regardless of merit, and these unsubstantiated drive-by posts are frustrating to read.

There are plenty of old games that are well designed and there are plenty of old games that are badly designed. Putting them both under the same dismissive umbrella only hurts the good ones. In any case, it'd be nice to read some actual criticism for once beyond "urgh it's old and different".
Post Reply