Whatcha Been Playing?

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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

stvnorman wrote: January 17th, 2020, 2:34 pm I also finished Spyro the Dragon on PS4. The final boss level stinks - piece of cake when you eventually catch him, but prolonged multi-stage high speed chases across narrow platforms, combined with dodgy PS1-era controls and shocking checkpointing, pretty much ruined what had been a really pleasant experience for me. I’m going back to Mega Man again now... far less stressful!
Gnasty Gnorc is easily my most loathed final boss. Having to chase those egg thieves again and again if you mess up is tedious as all hell and the final section where you chase him across the platforms receding into the wall was complete torture. No matter how much I tried, I would fail at the same spot. How a game that was so easy until then had this as its finale is mind boggling to me. One of the few times I rage quit and just watched the (very short) ending cutscene.

I would recommend the two Spyro sequels wholeheartedly however. Their final bosses are much better designed and are challenging in a non bullshit way. Bosses in general are much better actually. First one really is the weakest of the trilogy for me.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Michiel K wrote: January 20th, 2020, 10:06 pm Image

Me and my 2 younglings went to the BlastGalaxy arcade in North Amsterdam this weekend and had a grand time.

Games I've played:

Galaga
Blasteroids (first time ever and it was interesting, since we did the Asteroids podcast not too long ago)
Gauntlet (3 player, with the kids, and this game is quickly becoming one of their alltime favs. We played Gauntlet II on NES recently and they were very interested in seeing what many of the more non-descript sprites in that version were actually supposed to look like)
Bomb Jack (put a decisive nr 1 high score down at the table)
Shinobi
Rolling Thunder
Ikari Warriors (always wanted to have a go at those rotary joysticks and it didn't disappoint, really good fun in its original form)
Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting (solo play, forgot how much more difficult than the SNES port the arcade version is)
Super Puzzle Fighter II-X (first playing against my daughter, then playing against my son)
Point Blank (versus my son and wow the recoil!)
Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX (this was the half covered sit down version and it blew me away more than I had expected it to, especially in the sound department... when that huge battleship is approaching fast, you'll know that a huge battleship is approaching fast)
Daytona USA (2 player linked sit down, vs. my son)
Taiko no Tatsujin (vs. my daughter... rhythm action isn't my bag, but banging those drums on the beat was satisfying, I can't deny that)
SEGA Rally Championship 1995 (you simply have to)
Crimzon Clover World Ignition (always took this to be a tacky DoDonPachi clone, but it seriously impressed me. It wears its two main influences on its sleeve, the other being Layer Section/Rayforce, but it's really fun to play, especially on a giant candy cab)

Some games the kids played that I didn't: DDR, Groove Coaster (music by Zuntata!), Rhythm Tengoku and Ms. Pac-Man...

Also, closer to the bar, they had a lounge area set up, with a Nintendo Switch and Smash Ultimate. Two twentysomething dudes were playing and my 9 y.o. boy asked if he could join. He wrecked their shit! I also joined for two games, after that. Lost the 1st one with my kid coming in first and won the second. Played K. Rool both times.

They've got 88 machines. Time flew by fast and there were a few I wanted to play that I didn't. We'll be back!
This post is choc-full of awesome.
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Michiel K
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

Was always kind of put off by Crimzon Clover’s appearance, but my kids were off on their own and I figured out I might as well sit down and give it a shot. Really got into it!
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

Very jealous of your CC cab, wow! I'd love that.

How boss is the DariusBurst cab, though? I played it over the weekend myself and bloody loved it. That bass! WARNING WARNING

:D
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Michiel K
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

Insanity. Yeah, that whole thing completely blew me away.
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

So, uh, I'm playing what is probably the complete opposite of DariusBurst......it's a browser-based game about space economics called Prosperous Universe. :(

You set up a corporation on a distant planet and then start producing stuff based on the natural resources available, and plan for more settlers, more production, transport to market, and selling stuff on the commodities exchange. :( :(

Image

I've just started and have made only a few decisions each day so far - for example picking stuff up from the stock market, which is on a different planet, takes 8 hours in real time. Similarly, I'm scrubbing Hydrogen from the atmosphere, and I'll have 10 units of that in, uh, four days time. Roll on Sunday! :( :( :(


Image


I should just take up Day Trading over here. :( :( :( :(

It's free to play at the moment but you can pay for it if you ever figure out what you're supposed to be doing - https://prosperousuniverse.com/.
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Flabyo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Flabyo »

I think that might be a bit much even for me... and I’ve spent entire evenings playing Stellaris and not really having anything happen.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Michiel K wrote: January 21st, 2020, 6:54 pm Was always kind of put off by Crimzon Clover’s appearance, but my kids were off on their own and I figured out I might as well sit down and give it a shot. Really got into it!
Crimzon Clover is amazing. Finished it many times but no 1cc. The lock-on stuff is SO satisfying. I actually had no idea it was an arcade game, I thought it was an indie thing? Was it a proper cab?
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

Why on Earth it hasn't been ported to consoles, I'll never know.
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stvnorman
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

Finished Mega Man X on SNES Classic Mini. Mega Man has never felt better to play than here, and it still looks and sounds stunning. And the final, final boss is still an absolute bugger!

Having a really nice time with all sorts of other stuff before I start another big game: The Ninja Saviors and Yoshi’s Island on Switch, Super Castlevania IV on SNES Classic Mini, Super Hang On on PS3, Starfox 64 on 3DS, Out Run 2006 Coast 2 Coast on PSP and Demon’s Tilt on Xbox - which is definitely becoming one of my favourite games ever!
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

Some cracking stuff there, Steve. Out Run C2C makes me want to get on the PSP train even more. What a game. I've been playing a real selection, myself, aside from my current WIP attempts at ESP Ra.De. Psy, Battle Garegga and some 360 shmups.

- Demon's Tilt is back in rotation on the Switch and got my HS in bed last night, albeit not by much and far from impressive. A superb little game. Infuriating at times but satisfying and exciting.

- Yoshi's Crafted World continues to be one which I dip into for a level or two as a palate cleanser or chill out game. I'll definitely try Yoshi's Island properly, at some point. This is very nice gaming.

- Tropical Freeze is one I went hard at when it first released whenever on Switch. I'd barely touched my Wii U copy so it felt brand new. I think the bosses are a bit too hard, though, and I got stuck at the world five one. Jumped back on this evening after months and months away and did it after a couple of goes. I'll finally finish it in the near future, or at least that's the plan. The secret levels are beyond my skill level and motivation, though.

- Super Mario Bros 2 is a game I remember loving as a kid but we never owned it so it still feels fresh and unfamiliar and reminds me of playing round at mates' houses. I'm dipping back in but it's bloody hard or seems that way to me! I think I might be shit at platformers.

- AI: The Somnium Files is the most engaging Phoenix Wright game I've played since the, uhh, Phoenix Wright Collection on the Switch. I really need to commit to sticking with it because it seems very intriguing so far. I don't think it's a dip in and out thing, I'll need to let it soak in at some point soon.

- Darius Cozmic Collection Consumer Edition is the game I think about firing up when I'm at work. I regularly cycle through Darius Gaiden, Sagaia v2 and the various versions of the first triple screen Darius on the 'Arcade Edition' but I was initially disappointed by the Consumer Edition versions. Buffoon. They comprise many of the best home ports, including some apparently unique games like Darius Alpha on the PCE and Darius Force on the SNES. My current faves are the Master System version of Sagaia and the SNES version of Darius Twin. I can't wait for the updates in March which will add further versions when the Western release appears.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

That is quite the vertical slice of quality content.

Could be a lot worse! :P
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I've been playing Horizon Zero Dawn. I think its OK. It hasn't blown me away yet, and if I'm being really honest I'm finding it slightly annoying with all the robots and sneaking around. I realise this doesn't bode well for the rest of the game, but I'm hoping once you've upgraded health, armour and weapons etc you get a bit more freedom with how you can attack them. I'm only about 4 hours in, I've literally just left the opening area and done the test killing that Sawtooth. Not even done the Proving yet so really early days.
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

Alex, it gets much better. I spent a long time fannying around and felt the game was aimless. Then I stopped roaming and played the missions and built some momentum. The story is a bit uneven with pacing but it gets really good, and the audio logs and stuff add a lot, some of the best I've found in any game. You also get much more gear variety to play with and much more enemy variety. Press on would be my advice.
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

KSubzero1000 wrote: January 22nd, 2020, 10:08 pm That is quite the vertical slice of quality content.

Could be a lot worse! :P
Basically, a bunch of games which I tend to only play in bed and therein lies the value of the Switch for me. DariusBurst Chronicle Saviours on the big screen, Darius Alpha on the PC Engine in bed. I actually like the fact that so many Switch releases are ports, because I am much more inclined to play them on that format.
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

I dipped back into Destiny 2 yesterday evening after not playing it for about two years.

There’s so much stuff, so many icons, I have no idea what to do.

To the point, even if I want to carry on with the story I abandoned last time, I can’t, I don’t where it is, or what I have to do to find it.

It’s a mess.

I stuck with it for about 3 hours, poked around, did some patrol and and left feeling meh about it all.

Portrait of Ruin on the DS, Super Mario Maker 2 and Tri-Force Heroes on the 3DS are other things I’m currently enjoying.

Where’s this freaking Nintendo Direct.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

Ah, Destiny. I absolutely adored that game, so many good times with mates online. I don’t think it’s something you can just drop in and out of though, so like coming off a drug the best call is just cold turkey. Eventually you can’t relate to it anymore.

Enjoy the memories though!
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

clippa wrote: January 22nd, 2020, 1:50 pm Preposterous universe more like!
@flabyo found your new favourite game!
That's a proper dad game, innit? Back in the day you'd see dads playing on a computer and you'd go "ooh, what you playing, man?" and it'd be something boring like that with loads of writing.
:lol:

Nailed it.

Flabyo is getting there with his Stellaris and Elite Dangerous but not quite yet; I thought Stanshall had joined the ranks when he mentioned Train World Simulator last year, but it doesn't seem to have stuck.

I'd meant to mention this before but didn't want to look like I was trolling in the Shmup thread - at some point you guys' reaction speed will decline, right? What happens then, is it onto the Dad Games for everyone? I see from your last video you don't have anything to worry about for a while yet, but won't there be whole genres of games that people won't be able to play (to their accustomed standards) when they are 50, say?

Anyway, less of the depressing stuff, I am still playing.....Field of Glory: Empires in multiplayer:
Spoiler: show
Image

I am Egypt; the Seleucids declared war and forced me to take the Levant. The only human players left are me, Pontus (on the southern shore of the Black Sea), Maurya (India) who is the huge advancing red guy to the east, and Dacia (north of Greece). We started with 10 players.

Moving on Athens now, specifically Crete, with an eye on the logical conquest, which is Macedonia. Both Macedonia and I are Hellenic, which makes it easier to assimilate, race-wise. It's one of the 800lb gorillas though, so care needs to be taken.

Rome is also on the move - it's got a fleet in the Med - and Carthage is threatening my western borders through its client state Nasramones. Getting hot* in here.

*Insofar as a dusty wargame can get 'hot'.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

I don't know about the others but I intend to Prince Phillip my way through genres I enjoy to my 50's and beyond as long as my limbs allow it, I've never been particularly good at them anyway it's just repetition and gradual improvement, and if you're having fun who cares!
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Flabyo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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It’s really only bullet hell stuff I don’t get on with, my reaction times are still perfectly fine for the likes of Doom and Overwatch...

Young punks, get off my lawn!
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