Whatcha Been Playing?

[Flabyo]

Below is definitely an interesting game, but I’m not really sure it’s a good one.

I’ll keep going with it for a while yet, but it’s not really opening up after the first few hours.

[Alex79]

Thanks to the incredible generosity of a forumite (who I won't name here in case he'd rather I didn't) who has lent me his copy, I played the first three hours of Red Dead Redemption 2 last night.

And it was everything I'd hoped!

I fucking loved it!

I like Westerns. I like the movies, the setting, the characters, the atmosphere, the soundtracks, and this is like playing the best of Sergio Leone with a Tarantino twist. The slow, considered opening was amazing, the world building, reading the journal, the riding, the hunting, the fighting, the shooting, it was amazing!

I've only just made it to the start of chapter 2 and am now 'allowed' off in to the world on my own, and I can't wait to get back on it tonight!

[KSubzero1000]

Sadly, I'm not as positive about the Shadow of the Colossus remake. I didn't play the original and only beat the first three colossi in the 2011 HD release before putting it aside. I couldn't stomach the controls then and they're only marginally better now.

I realize this isn't a particularly constructive (and borderline rude) answer, but my way of tackling Ueda's games is to make time for them until I really get in the zone. If I had been juggling them in-between several modern games with more intuitive UIs like RDR2 and GoW, I don't think I would have ever become so affectionate of them. They're simply not action games based on player empowerment, and I'm not sure I would classify the issues you mentioned as fundamental design flaws.

But I suppose it's a general issue whenever people revisit older games of that nature.

[Suits]

I’m the other side of the river near Bromley so not too far at all. I’m up for this for sure.

I'd be interested for sure if the stars align

OK, sweet.

Well we'll let the festive period pass and maybe see what works for people in the new year and get something booked in.

Can get some pizzas and pop in too, would be cool to have a forum get-together .





Getting back on topic, I'll bore people with a dilemma of sorts that I've had of late but resoled to solution.

So, GBA games as wonderful as they are can cause a bit of an issue regards playing them on hardware thats comfortable and accessible.

The virtual console on the Wii U is a great way to play and if you're lucky enough to have an ambassador 3DS (I think Dez has one of these) you have an excellent selection of GBA titles on a fantastic system.

The best easiest option is the GameBoy Advance SP (AGS-001), which has an under slight screen to allow play without having to eek out a comfortable position lit by a light source.

However, this still isn't that great.

Nintendo released a revised version of the GBA SP, which had a much superior back-lit screen - not in the UK though .

That said, they are procurable but are expensive and tricky to get the one you want. I've been looking for years and still don't have one.

I can get a modded one tomorrow but I'm holding out.

With that in mind, I've been looking at closer to home solutions.

The GameBoy player on the GameCube is an option but the lack of mobility and dismal optimisation of the hardware without modification feels for a half baked experience.

There is however, a very good, very cheap, alternative.

The DS Lite.

The first revised model of the original DS has a Slot 2 built into the unit that will allow GBA games to be played, much like its predecessor, it's only GBA games but it plays them very well and on a delightful back-lit screen.

The original DS will play these also but the Lite has a more refined design and overall is better than the OG-DS in a few ways.

The DS has another card up its sleeve, as it has a 3.5mm audio jack, something that the GBA-SP doesn't have.

The GBA player on the DS also lets you select what screen you'd prefer to display the game, top or bottom. Both screens on the DS Lite are the same, albeit the bottom as a touch response pad over the top of it - so really, the top one is probably the ideal display panel to use.

The only downside that stops this being better than a AGS-101 is that the pixels aren't quite as perfect as the original, which results in a slightly bordered display and perhaps more importantly, doesn't have the refresh rate of the 101, which will give an artefact called ghosting on the DS, but honestly, I don't think its that bad.


Sooooooooooooo, I can finally, comfortably, play Metroid Fusion .

I'm a few hour in to the self titles Metroid 4 and so far its pretty meh, it's just Super Metroid. Again.

The story is OK, I feel SA-X is rather uninspired and miss Zebes, although its nice to be back on SR388.

Whats keeping me going is the lovely sprite work, backgrounds, noises and general Metroid-ness.

It feels supremely familiar, to the point its too familiar. I'll keep going to the end mind and see how I feel after it.

Worth pointing out too, that this isn't my cart, its someone's that I work with, who has lent it too me - very kind, which also speed up my portable GBA solution .

[KSubzero1000]

Nintendo released a revised version of the GBA SP, which had a much superior back-lit screen - not in the UK though .

Wait, you guys didn't get the AGS 101? Why not?!

Hands down my favorite way to play GBA games at home where I don't need to use headphones, for outside it's NDS Lite all the way.

EDIT: Retracted the bit about the 3DS because apparently I can't read.

[Suits]

Wait, you guys didn't get the AGS 101? Why not?!

Not sure, I cant find much info on it but they are very hard to track down over here.

And when you do, its often commanding the price you'd expect.

My trouble, is that I want a boxed one, one with the 'Brighter Screen' on the front of it. Which makes things harder.

What clouds the search further is that the shell colours that are often attached to the 101, over here in the UK, were released as 001 screens.

[KSubzero1000]

No, I hadn't been 'juggling'. I simply put on a game, that I knew to be relatively short, in order to finish it in one or two sittings over the course of the day. Is that the wrong way to play a Fumito Ueda masterpiece? What, exactly, is the decontamination period? Should I switch off my PS4 for a week to get myself suitably in the 'zone' for the game?

I didn't mean it like that! It's just that I've heard many other people mention similar issues with these games, and I've experienced them myself. My way of dealing with them was just to... take a step back, so to speak.

Nothing personal, man.

Not sure, I cant find much info on it but they are very hard to track down over here.

I see. That's unfortunate...

Not to get your hopes up, but I can notify you if I ever come across an affordable boxed copy in the wild if you want?

[Suits]

Not to get your hopes up, but I can notify you if I ever come across an affordable boxed copy in the wild if you want?

I've thought about tapping you up a few times in fact.

Yes, that would be trick .

[KSubzero1000]

I've thought about tapping you up a few times in fact.

Yes, that would be trick .

Cool, will do.

I don't frequent used game shops very regularly, but I'll definitely keep an eye out just in case.

[Alex79]

I loved the Shadow Of The Colossus remake, but aside from the gorgeous visuals, I couldn't really explain what they'd done to 'improve' it over the HD PS3 remaster. I never played it on PS2, but I know a lot of people tried the PS3 version and couldn't get on with the controls and then said they were much better in the PS4 one. Personally, the controls felt exactly the same to me, but I may be remembering wrong.

That part with the bull was easily the second most irritating part of the game, after the total shite last Collossus. Its easy enough once you know exactly what you have to do, but I remember getting very frustrated with that knockdown loop.

I do still think it's a masterpiece, but I can totally get why someone might not enjoy it. I still think Ico is one too, but I'd be hard pushed to sit through that game again if I'm honest (although I'd still buy a remake!)

[rob25X]

Sega Mega Drive Collection (Xbox 360). - Really nice package with 40+ Mega Drive/Genesis games with extras such as interviews, artwork and more. Not all of the games are 'classics' but there's a good number any gamer of any age would enjoy I'm sure. Sonic Spinball is one of my personal favourites. Comix Zone still looks and plays quite good - that game seriously needs a remake or a sequel for current gen.

Gran Turismo 6 next... very excited about finally get round to playing it. Is it one of the best games in the PS3 library?...I will soon find out. 1,200 cars and 71 courses should keep me busy for a bit.

[Alex79]

I did enjoy GT6, but it was a little disappointing after GT5. If you never played 5, 6 is a truly excellent game, I mean one of the best racers around, it just didn't really add anything noticeable over 5 ,it wasn't even any better looking graphically. As I said though, excellent game. I just wish they'd release a proper GT7 and not that Sport one with the nerfed career mode. The highlight of GT for me was always pimping out a banger to 700bhp or something ridiculous and the full on career mode.

[rob25X]

I played 5 so much it killed my console. When I lost the save data there was no way I was starting it all again.

When I read about GT6 having so many cars (1200+) and so many tracks etc. without any DLC I couldn't believe it. I remember seeing those 'credit packs' in the shops priced at £20 for 10,000,000 credits or something and being very put off GT6 at the time.

Regarding GT Sport, I've heard similar complaints about it - a poor career mode, less content than 6 etc.

[Stanshall]

GT Sport was light on content at launch but it's updated every month with new tracks, cars and more. It has the best handling model of anything I've played. It's stunning, fluid and has the slickest front end of any game I've seen in any genre. There's not as much there as with Forza 7 or whatever but what is there is pure quality. It was one of my games of last year and I didn't even much like racing sims up to that point. The driving school stuff is so well implemented, it should be a standard feature in every racing game.

[Stanshall]

I've been playing the Fortune Island expansion for Forza Horizon 4. It's a somewhat grim setting, drizzly and grey but the thunder storms and lightning are incredibly dramatic. I remember some stunning storms in Drive Club, throwing a La Ferrari around the Indian tracks at night but I think this game has now matched that jaw dropping weather. I would confidently say that Forza Horizon 4 is the best looking game ever made. On the One X in 4K HDR and with Freesync, it's the kind of thing that makes you have to show your mate and your mate have to go out and buy the console. I've been driving a souped up Ford Escort for much of my time with the game but I recently got a TVR Cerbera on a wheelspin or something and I tuned that at significant expense and now I don't want to drive anything else. I'd say it's the most thrilling sense of speed in anything since, ooh, Wipeout 2097. These games are now purely iterative, there's virtually nothing to separate this from the already magnificent FH3 but I can't wait for FH5 even if it changes very little again.

I've also been playing more Assassin's Creed Odyssey , having once again abandoned RDR2 for the time being. As much as I respect Red Dead, and it's undeniably a colossal technical achievement, this is so much more entertaining for me. The story is getting a little bit drawn out now but I'm still intrigued by the central narrative quest to find Kassandra's mother and I've enjoyed much of the dialogue along the way and the colourful cast of characters. They also look about fifty percent better than Red Dead's facial models which are pretty fucking ugly in comparison. I'm now supposedly on my way to what I assume will be a key plot point, having just been on a narrative kind of corridor with my return to Athens, but I don't doubt that it will open up again very soon. I'm still only level 26 and have plenty of game ahead of me at 25hrs or so. I know I am subhuman scum but I did buy the XP booster because I have no interest in grinding, I just want the romp for the most part and if I feel like wandering about murdering people for rocks and twigs, I'll do that at my leisure. Superb winding down kind of game.

Beyond that, SMASH. I've unlocked everyone now so I'm working on getting the hang of my boy Ken Masters. I love the little touches here in that you do more damage and get slightly different lines of VO and visual effects if you use Street Fighter inputs for special moves! That's pretty bonkers detail. Also, I'm sure you do a different ultra/final smash depending on enemy position because I've done both his SF4 ultra shoryuken (ie not the full ultra) when an enemy was above me and the Third Strike combo 'ultra' when we were on the same platform. It's just an insane level of detail and respect for the characters. We really ought to get a C&R night in over the next couple of weeks.

[Alex79]

I've been wanting to play Spider-Man since it came out, and my sister has now lent me her copy. Seeing as all my gaming time (what little I seem to have) is dedicated to Red Dead Redemption 2 at the moment, it looked unlikely I was going to be able to get a go on Spidey any time soon.

UNTIL...

...I remembered that Ellis (aged three and a half) is obsessed with superheroes, and was absolutely delighted when I asked him if he wanted to play a Spider-Man game. Installing now and will be passing the pad shortly!

Watching him fumble around with the controls on his turns is a small price to pay for some cheeky out of hours gaming!

[KSubzero1000]

I'm curious though, would you always take a step back for a game, or just when you have a lot invested in the developer?

I ask you because of all of the podcast contributors you were the most forgiving, and the most condescending of those that weren't as forgiving.

Well, I wouldn't say it's when I have a lot invested in the developer, more when I feel like the game is worth the extra effort.

The majority of my classics have their fair share of quirks and oddities, unconventional systems and control schemes and take a while to get used to. But there is also great engagement to be found in them with a bit of perseverance. And so it kinda breaks my heart whenever I hear them being dismissed on account of what I perceive to be superficial hurdles.

I'm not saying this to take a shot at anyone in particular, because I think there is just an unfortunate feedback loop at play. Developers become more and more risk-adverse with rising development costs, players become more and more used to ubiquitous design conventions, and the press only focuses on the latest and shiniest because it's what people want to read about. It would be easy to get hung up on any of those individual aspects, but I think that'd be missing the point. The way I see it, nobody is at fault. But the result is that a lot of idiosyncratic products and experiences are being left by the wayside.

When it comes to TLG, I got a strong impression that a lot of the criticism aimed at the game I read on the wider internet was due to many players approaching the game with a conventional action game mindset and running headfirst into a brick wall as a result thereof. And if respected professional critics are writing the game off because of the existence of indie games like Journey, then I don't think that's a very productive commentary either. That's not to say that the game is flawless, far from it. It's an infuriating, glitchy, barely-functional mess a lot of the time. But I also want the medium (and the AAA sphere in particular) to spread its creative wings a little further, and this game is a breath of fresh air in that sense. In the short term, I understand and echo a lot of the complaints. In the long term, I don't want the next Ueda to be discouraged from making his or her game because 90% of the game's critical reception is centered on the framerate and collision detection issues.

Broadly speaking, I think there is value in works that aren't centered around instant gratification, and that expecting patience and perseverance from the audience shouldn't be a taboo topic. I also think that audiences are partially responsible for their own enjoyment. If someone spends the entire runtime of a horror movie staring at their phone, chatting with their friends and yelling jokes at the screen only to declare the film to "not be scary" afterwards, I don't think that's gonna to be a very informed opinion.

Then again, I also have massive cognitive dissonance about this sometimes, so maybe I'm just blinded by my own affection and pre-conceptions. For the record, I went back to read my podcast contribution again, and I agree that I could have formulated some of it more diplomatically. I know I can come across like an elitist prick sometimes.

I wonder if you'd benefit from taking a step back from Ueda entirely?

Not sure what you mean by that... Should I stop playing his games?

[rob25X]

GT Sport was light on content at launch but it's updated every month with new tracks, cars and more. It has the best handling model of anything I've played. It's stunning, fluid and has the slickest front end of any game I've seen in any genre. There's not as much there as with Forza 7 or whatever but what is there is pure quality. It was one of my games of last year and I didn't even much like racing sims up to that point. The driving school stuff is so well implemented, it should be a standard feature in every racing game.

Sounds like you had a great time with GT Sport then. Driveclub was very exciting but turned out to be a complete disappointment. Without spending extra money on DLC packs there's hardly any game there at all - about 90% of the game is blocked with paywalls. It's like a demo without DLC. I've not had a chance to play Project Cars, The Crew or Assetto Corsa yet but those racers look promising.

My friend owns GT Sport so I might ask to see it this week.

GT6 presented me with 21 updates... I should get to play it in about 4 hours.

I'm not one for the whole VR thing but Gran Turismo sure has to be the best game for it.

[Alex79]

I don't want the next Ueda to be discouraged from making his or her game because 90% of the game's critical reception is centered on the framerate and collision detection issues.

I'd have thought he's quite happy with The Last Guardian's 82% Metacritic rating. I'd say all of his games have been very well recieved, critically speaking - quirks and all.

GT6 presented me with 21 updates... I should get to play it in about 4 hours.

Oof. And on the PS3 that's no laughing matter.

[KSubzero1000]

I'd have thought he's quite happy with The Last Guardian's 82% Metacritic rating. I'd say all of his games have been very well recieved, critically speaking - quirks and all.

Well, I don't put a lot of stock in review scores in general and Metacritic in particular, but fair enough. Unfortunately, the popular consensus that I've witnessed doesn't appear to reflect this.