Whatcha Been Playing?

[Stanshall]

I've been going through various bits and bobs I've had lying around, partly so I can uninstall without any regret and get them out of my sight.

Girl Fight is a sub-DOA tit-centric fighting game for the Xbox 360. It's sluggish, has GG-style cards and perks and a naff, late 90s industrial/big beat soundtrack. Fundamentally, it's about a range of tits in different costumes.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Excellent name and cult status aside, this is a very pretty, but very simplistic Bayonetta type thing. I can imagine feeling like it was something special ten years ago or something but the form has been superceded several times over by better games.

Otomedius Excellent is a Gradius game spun off the theme of massive anime tits. It's not really worth playing if you have the Konami Arcade Classics Collection or any other way in which you can play the Gradius games themselves.

Otomedius Gorgeous is very similar but with one bloke to choose from and it's all in Japanese. Identical tit content.

SEGA Rally Online Arcade is a really good fun, lite Sega Rally game. It looks cheerful and handles very easily but with some decent challenge as you go on. It's no OutRun 2 but it's more interesting and fun than Daytona USA to me. I won't actually uninstall this, it's good.

Dead or Alive Extreme 2 is a mini game collection built around the concept of big bouncing tits. It's every bit as boring as one might imagine, with the dolly dress up and looking at the tits elements taking up perhaps 50% of the game time.

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury is one that I think I played on the DS and at the time I just thought 'cultural differences'. Fifteen years on or whatever it is, I still don't get this game at all. It seems fun on some extremely base level but also curiously mind-numbing and pointless. It's funny that it's by Treasure considering how rigid and austere their other shmups are that I've played. It has nothing at all in common with Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun. I know that they're not very Treasure kind of games, in fact, but they're much more to my taste.

[James]

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Excellent name and cult status aside, this is a very pretty, but very simplistic Bayonetta type thing. I can imagine feeling like it was something special ten years ago or something but the form has been superceded several times over by better games.

Perhaps others would disagree, but I never saw El Shaddai's combat as particularly noteworthy. At least, that was never the draw for me. It was simplistic even when released in 2011, compared to forebears like DMC and Bayonetta. The draw was the art and the way mythology was presented and played with.

Taking DMC4's religious overtones as an example, notions of faith and religious iconography were largely backdrop, and it's my opinion that the developers didn't really use these to best effect, beyond giving Nero and Dante stuff to hit. Bayonetta uses similar motifs and manages to craft a personal story for Bayonetta herself out of it, but I didn't feel the developers ever really tackled the (Christian) faith that it uses to dress up its characters. Orders of angels and demons, with vague nods to an eternal war, etc, etc.

I think it's notable that the director on El Shaddai was a character designer and artist on Devil May Cry, rather than a gameplay or combat designer. The development team surely put a lot of effort into crafting El Shaddai's gameplay, and I wouldn't want to minimise or ignore that, but what makes El Shaddai special for me lay elsewhere, and I can't say I've seen anything in the genre surpass it since.

[Combine Hunter]

Yeah, I'd agree James. I like the combat just fine, it never gets in the way, but the draw is aesthetics and theming. Bayonetta came out a year before it and it's still the gold standard for character action games like this for me.

[Stanshall]

Perhaps others would disagree, but I never saw El Shaddai's combat as particularly noteworthy. At least, that was never the draw for me. It was simplistic even when released in 2011, compared to forebears like DMC and Bayonetta. The draw was the art and the way mythology was presented and played with.

Cheers for the reply. I suppose part of it is that I don't know anything about the Jewish iconography and/or mythology that the game is apparently using. I found the art style very pretty but after an hour or so, I gave up on the game because it's mechanically very simple and I also found it aesthetically quite similar throughout (the short time I played it). I totally accept that I haven't seen the full game or really understood what it's doing but it's a subgenre that I don't especially enjoy at the best of times (DMC series does zero for me; Bayonetta was something I loved at the time but struggle to go back to; Bayo 2 was overblown, all turned up to 11 and therefore ironically dull; Nier:A is amazing in some very specific ways, but little to do with its mechanics or presentation). I could have given it more of a chance but I didn't fancy button mashing my way through any more. I can see that there's plenty I'm likely missing out on, though.

[Simonsloth]

El Shaddai definitely is more style than substance for me. The fact my favourite part of the game was the Jason Issacs delivered attract mode says a lot. Let me tell you a tale...
[youtube]https://youtu.be/GU4I6MM-moU[/youtube]

[duskvstweak]

I started Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect 1 was the first game I streamed from start to finish on Twitch back in 2017, so now I've been using the series as my anniversary game. I'm only two hours in (the intros never really grab me) but excited to finish this trilogy up. I most likely will not be trying Andromeda.

[stvnorman]

I think Game Boy Castlevania Adventure gets a bum rap. Then again, I think that about Pit Fighter and the Spectrum version of Out Run too! Anyway, I remember being hugely impressed with it on the original hardware, and have really enjoyed playing through it again in the Konami Castlevania Collection on Switch.

A lot of the current criticism seems to be about it being boring compared to the sequel, therefore redundant in the collection, and taking the place of a GBA game or Symphony or whatever.

The first stage is a bit sedate, but there’s some really good platforming, races against time and boss fights later on. Took me a few goes to remember how the end bit works, but the rest felt comfortably familiar and as much fun as I remembered. And I for one am glad it’s present! Now I just need that Arcade Archives Pit Fighter release!

[ratsoalbion]

I rate M2’s Castlevania: The Adventure - Rebirth as a fabulous SNES-esque remake too. Real shame it isn’t on the compilation.

I don’t think Hamster have any Atari IP, so you won’t get an ACA version of Pit Fighter.

[stvnorman]

I don’t think Hamster have any Atari IP, so you won’t get an ACA version of Pit Fighter.

Treading all over my dreams with your superior knowledge...

[ratsoalbion]

Have you got this?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway_Arcade_Treasures_2

[stvnorman]

I know it but haven’t got it. However, when I last looked the price on PS2 was much higher than it seems to be on eBay currently. Unfortunately my PS2 drive is knackered and only plays about one in three games, so I’ve been reluctant to buy anything new for it. The first one does still work though. If it’s only a few quid I might take a punt. Thanks!

UPDATE. Just bought for £2.50!

[Alex79uk]

I started Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect 1 was the first game I streamed from start to finish on Twitch back in 2017, so now I've been using the series as my anniversary game. I'm only two hours in (the intros never really grab me) but excited to finish this trilogy up. I most likely will not be trying Andromeda.

Hope you enjoy it! I loved it, and it was my favourite of the trilogy. I even loved the ending (but then, I liked the Lost ending too so what do I know?)

[duskvstweak]

I started Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect 1 was the first game I streamed from start to finish on Twitch back in 2017, so now I've been using the series as my anniversary game. I'm only two hours in (the intros never really grab me) but excited to finish this trilogy up. I most likely will not be trying Andromeda.

Hope you enjoy it! I loved it, and it was my favourite of the trilogy. I even loved the ending (but then, I liked the Lost ending too so what do I know?)

Yes, I'm aware of the controversy/mixed feelings people have about the ending, and vaguely aware of why (not certain, so no spoilers please!)

I will say, I like the series but don't love it, so I doubt I'll be mad either way. Also, from what I've gathered, people were upset because the ending made them feel like their choices didn't matter, but, from what I've seen in the games, it's more of the illusion of choice anyway. If people want to see Bioware choices that can really mess them up, go play Baldur's Gate II.

[stvnorman]

I’ve been dabbling with Night Trap since the day it came out last year on Switch, gradually getting a bit further through the story each time. A couple of weeks ago I got to what turned out to be a mid-way checkpoint (after all of 14 minutes!), so I’ve been getting a bit more serious, even taking notes on event timings like it’s 1992, no less! The game is the same every time, and once you start down this route, you get gradually more addicted to working out where and when everything happens, and it gets very easy to have just one more go and get one more scene further along. I’ve now finished it, with the final run clocking in at around half an hour.

I love the low-budget 80’s horror it’s based on; I love the concept of the repetitive gameplay and ultra simple controls - essentially switching between 8 CCTV cameras playing FMV and activating traps on vampire trespassers; and even though I’ve never played it before, I still have huge nostalgia for how cutting-edge and cool this game was when it came out. I know most people hate it, but I couldn’t be a more perfect demographic for both the concept and the dumbed-down gameplay, and as such I think it’s great!

[Caligulas Horse]

I’ve been dabbling with Night Trap since the day it came out last year on Switch, gradually getting a bit further through the story each time. A couple of weeks ago I got to what turned out to be a mid-way checkpoint (after all of 14 minutes!), so I’ve been getting a bit more serious, even taking notes on event timings like it’s 1992, no less! The game is the same every time, and once you start down this route, you get gradually more addicted to working out where and when everything happens, and it gets very easy to have just one more go and get one more scene further along. I’ve now finished it, with the final run clocking in at around half an hour.

I love the low-budget 80’s horror it’s based on; I love the concept of the repetitive gameplay and ultra simple controls - essentially switching between 8 CCTV cameras playing FMV and activating traps on vampire trespassers; and even though I’ve never played it before, I still have huge nostalgia for how cutting-edge and cool this game was when it came out. I know most people hate it, but I couldn’t be a more perfect demographic for both the concept and the dumbed-down gameplay, and as such I think it’s great!

Ahh that's cool, I'm planning to get a Switch sometime soon and I didn't know this was on there.

I've wanted to play it since I saw it on AVGN, in my teens. I get a kick out of crappy low-budget things in general and even more so when they have something unique going for them. I reckon I'll feel the same as you do when I eventually give it a go.

[Alex79uk]

I waited and it finally paid off, picked up Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4 in the sale last night. Got to finish Detroit first but can't wait to get back in that world and play through the second installment.

[stvnorman]

Ahh that's cool, I'm planning to get a Switch sometime soon and I didn't know this was on there.

I think you’ll like if. The Switch version has loads of extras if you’re willing to put the time in. I think it’s been in sales fairly regularly since it came out so hopefully you’ll get it at a decent price too.

Speaking of which, thanks to Leon for recommending I check out Midway Arcade Treasures 2 on PS2 so I could get my hands on Pit Fighter again. Bought on eBay for £2.49 on Tuesday, arrived today and thankfully works in my temperamental disk drive. I haven’t played it since it was one of those arcade machines everyone marvelled at for its visuals, which obviously aren’t the marvel they were then, and the gameplay was and still is, shall we say, simple, but I won’t hear a word said against it! Aside from Pit Fighter, it’s one hell of a compilation. What a buy!

[clippa]

Curious Expedition


I remember trying this when it came out, really enjoying it and snapping it up straight away but I only had like 20 minutes or something on steam so some other, shinier game must have come out at the same time and lured me away.
Anyway, I was going through my library looking for something a bit more chill and slow paced to play of a night time and this is really hitting the spot. It's really good fun, like a choose your own adventure sort of thing, really relaxing.

[clippa]

Ooooh - Curious Expedition 2 coming


To console as well and the original is getting a console release this year too (Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One).

• Enjoy deeper travel and combat mechanics that offer opportunities to express your personal play style.

• Witness the next era of procedural generation that will provide you with unique endless stories and characters, coming alive through their diverse personalities and relationship features.

• For the first time, compete against your friends and the rest of the world with the new multiplayer features.

You can play an in-browser version of the first game here if you want to try it out - https://curious-expedition.com/demo/

[DomsBeard]

I waited and it finally paid off, picked up Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4 in the sale last night. Got to finish Detroit first but can't wait to get back in that world and play through the second installment.

Yeah that is a great price for Kiwami 2.

Judgement continues to be excellent. I now have a girlfriend who constantly texts me whenever I'm trying to get anything done, much like real life