Whatcha Been Playing?

[gallo_pinto]

If you're still planning on doing the whole series, I'd say do PW before 4, just because it's a continuation of the story in 3 whereas 4 jumps forwards a few decades.

That's my plan too. My PS3 isn't with me right now, so I'm doing all of the games that are playable on Vita first.

[KSubzero1000]

If you're still planning on doing the whole series, I'd say do PW before 4, just because it's a continuation of the story in 3 whereas 4 jumps forwards a few decades.

I know this is the order in which the CaR team did it, but I would actually recommend against doing that, on account of two things:

- Even though PW is set decades before 4, it actually references some of the things that happen in 4. Whereas MGS4 (obviously) doesn't take into account any of the games that were produced after it. So it seems counter-productive to me in terms of the overarching narrative progression of the series. Pure chronology isn't everything.

- PW also marks the first departure of the "Tactical Espionage Action" subgenre and is much closer to MGSV in that regard. Appearances can be somewhat misleading; MGS3 is much closer to 4 than to PW in terms of design.

The logical conclusion of playing the series in chronological order would be to play PW, Ground Zeroes and V (and maybe MG1 and MG2 while we're at it) before 4 as well. I really don't think this is the best way to tackle the series.

In short: Both the narrative and the gameplay progression follow the order of release, instead of the chronological order.

[PapaJupe13]

Mafia III.
Fantastic story told in a great way.
Decent game play that holds it all together well enough. I mean it isn't breaking any new ground...at all. But it is good enough.

And an open world map that isn't littered with 1000 icons.

It is a nice change of pace.
The story just keeps me playing, which is weird for me. I am usually all about the game play.

[DomsBeard]

Played the 30 minute timed Demo of Recore and I really liked it so I'll be picking it up. It looks like an easy game to pick up and play

[Stanshall]

I'm about three quarters through Gravity Rush Remastered and I'm absolutely loving it. Pure charm. The soundtrack is obviously one of the best of this generation and the artistic direction is gorgeous, reminds me of a less stylised Triplets of Bellville, at least in terms of colour palette. It's also gone in a number of bonkers directions, quite heavily drawing on Existentialism and Taoism but with quite a light touch. I really love it, a true work of art. I also can't wait for the sequel now.

[Alex79]

If you're still planning on doing the whole series, I'd say do PW before 4, just because it's a continuation of the story in 3 whereas 4 jumps forwards a few decades.

I know this is the order in which the CaR team did it, but I would actually recommend against doing that, on account of two things:

- PW also marks the first departure of the "Tactical Espionage Action" subgenre and is much closer to MGSV in that regard. Appearances can be somewhat misleading; MGS3 is much closer to 4 than to PW in terms of design

I think PW was way more stealthy than 4. I spent most of 4 running and gunning, but still tried to keep things on the downlow in Peace Walker. It doesnt matter too much anyway, I just remember being so eager to continue the story set out in 3 that I wanted to do PW before 4. Plus it was just easier to find time to play what with it being handheld.

I've still not played GZ or 5 yet, but I'm going to try GZ tonight since I finished Arkham Knight yesterday. Can't wait to get back in to the Kojimaverse.

[KSubzero1000]

It doesnt matter too much anyway, I just remember being so eager to continue the story set out in 3 that I wanted to do PW before 4.

Which is perfectly understandable, but I would actually argue that 4 is a better continuation of 3's story than PW is. I'll put the rest in spoiler tags. (I won't talk about GZ or V.)

Spoiler: show

Sure, both 3 and PW have Big Boss as their protagonist. But now look at the rest of the cast. How many of 3's characters appeared and had their arcs being resolved in 4, or any of the other SS games, for that matter? Quite a few, no? Whereas PW focused almost exclusively on an entirely new cast. 3 has much stronger thematic ties to 1, 2 and 4, despite its place in the timeline.

Hope you'll enjoy GZ and V!

[Todinho]

I'd say that it's better to go to PW first even though K is right about how 4 follows 3 in terms of design and story more then PW and Kojima has said many times tha Peace Walker is "The MGS5 I have in my heart" so It would make sense to play it after but 4 is a messy game storywise(more then usual) and I think alot of the plot points and story beats in PW and MGSV are kinda there to somewhat retroactivily fix stuff done in 4 and actually one of the main plot points of 4 is directly adressed in PW and it makes that make alot more sense when it comes up in 4 and I think it flows alot better having the context of PW given the setting of 4,after thinking alot about this I kinda think the series should be played on:MG,MG2,MGS,MGS2,MGS3,MGSPW,MGS4,MGSV. This is all subjective of course but I think this depends alot in how much you get invested in the MGS3 story versus the story of Solid Snake.

[Alex79]

Well whatever you do, and whichever order you play them in gallo, be sure to map the circle, square, cross and triangle buttons on the Vita to the right stick when you play PW so you can play it using the right stick to look/move the camera. It makes the game a lot more playable!

[gallo_pinto]

Well whatever you do, and whichever order you play them in gallo, be sure to map the circle, square, cross and triangle buttons on the Vita to the right stick when you play PW so you can play it using the right stick to look/move the camera. It makes the game a lot more playable!

Hahaha, that's a good tip! I didn't realize that the original scheme was with the face buttons (thought I guess it makes sense). Thanks for the advice everyone! In a perfect world, I usually prefer to play things in the order they come out. But I'm still a few months away from being reunited with my PS3, so I'll go from MGS3 to PW and then to MGS4.

[Jobobonobo]

So a few weeks ago I got myself a PSP and three games for 60 euros. After spending enough time with each title here are my thoughts:

Locoroco: This game is just gorgeous to look at, the colours and simple shapes really make this stand out. Incredible to think it is 10 years old this year. Game is great fun when you are just rolling about, splitting up and rejoining after going through obstacles. Sadly, for me, it becomes unbearable when any platforming is required to progress through the level. Especially when the platforms are tiny or flimsy like the flowers in some level. It can be really tough to keep your blob from rolling off the platform that you may have attempted to land on 12 times prior. Still, liked it enough that I am intrigued to try out the sequel. Hope it fixes some of those issues. Oh, just remembered the villains in this game are pretty damn dodgy from a racial standpoint as they are basically floating blackfaces which certainly made me raise my eyebrow.

Gunpey: This title is from Q entertainment which involves you trying to join lines to the beat of music, retaining the synergy of music and gameplay that defines their games. Really simple but like the best puzzle games, you are compelled to keep trying until you can completely master it. Fun, addictive and can be enjoyed in quick 5 minute bursts or 2 hours. Perfect handheld title in my mind, really like this one.

Echoshift: This is another great puzzler but is far more cerebral than the think on your toes style of Gunpey. You guide a mannequin figure through various levels to try to get to the exit. However, there are all sorts of obstacles in your way such as walls and gaps that your character cannot cross. So you have to get your mannequin to perform a certain action such as hitting a switch which opens a door within a certain amount of time. After the time is up, you move onto the next mannequin who performs another action until your character can eventually reach the exit. It starts out simple but gets pretty complicated and soon you have to time your actions in such a way that your character can make it to the exit in one piece. Hitting multiple switches, crossing walls that can push you off the ledge and springs that launch you into the air, it keeps introducing new mechanics at a steady enough pace that once you think you have this game mastered it will throw something else at you to keep your mind sharp. I have only 20 levels done and I am not even a third of the way through and that is only the basic game! There are also modes where you need to find a key before you exit the level and another where you can pause time to get you through harder variations of the same level. This game definitely requires you to put your thinking hat on and might not be the ideal thing to play after a long day at work, but find the time for it and you will be pleasantly rewarded.

So overall, not bad value at all. Actually, I was just wondering if anyone here knows if the Playstation Store is still usable on the PSP. I love JRPGs but can only really play them on handhelds and would be up for giving FF VII a twirl at some point! See what all the fuss is about.

[Craig]

If I remember correctly, you can't access the store front from the PSP directly any more, but you can still download purchased titles. So if you buy something via the web browser on your PC you can later download it on your PSP.

[Alex79]

You can download to the PS3 too and transfer it across.

[Jobobonobo]

I will keep both those methods in mind when I want to play PS1 games on the go. Thanks a bunch for the quick replies!

[KSubzero1000]

I've been pretty busy these last few days with Sin & Punishment 2. The graphics are pretty rough, even for Wii standards, but I'm glad this game was made in the first place and that the developers smartly invested their resources where it counts: gameplay. To put it simply: the fighting and boss battles are exhilarating. Very difficult at times though, not sure I'll be able to finish it.

I also love how they went out of their way to market the framerate on the back of the cover. Nintendo must have been trying to sell this game hard.
http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/ ... -cover.jpg

[Alex79]

Spent an hour or so with FIFA Mobile this afternoon.

Utter bollocks. Absolute crap. FIFA on a phone is apparently no longer about playing a game of football.

[Alex79]

I've also been playing Lords of the Fallen, after it was free on PS+ last month. I've heard an awful lot of negative talk about this game (despite it being reviewed fairly well, actually) saying it's nothing more than a Dark Souls clone, and well, I can't argue with that. The thing is, it's actually pretty good. Don't come expecting Dark Souls. The depth of the combat, the lore, the world, the sense of constant oppression and dread - you won't find that here. What you will find is an interesting, fun and perfectly enjoyable game that has borrowed (albeit incredibly heavily) from the Souls games we all love. There are a few differences/additions though, the most interesting of which is a mechanic which sees the XP you gain for each kill rise exponentially until you bank that XP and reset the multiplier. It's a slight diversion from the Souls series, and a welcome one. I'm only about 90 minutes in right now, but so far so(uls) good! Give it a chance.

[deacon05oc]

I've been juggling a few Lego games: Lego Avengers and Batman 3 on PS4. Lego Force Awakens and Legends of Chima on Vita. And No Man''s Sky is my unwind/relaxation game I play about for an hour before bed.

[Jobobonobo]

So finally got around to purchasing a PS4 today with a copy of Tearaway Unfolded and wow, have I got an excellent first impression from this console. I should have played this a long time ago! This is exactly the kind of stuff HD should be used for, this game looks jaw droppingly beautiful. It really looks like the world is made out of construction paper and the sheer imagination on display has been a utter delight to experience. The way it use the Dual Shock 4 is Media Molecule at its best. Enchanting worlds, whimsical music and cuteness by the bucket loads, I have already devoured four hours of it and apparently I have only completed 17% of this game! If it keeps up this level of quality throughout then this could very easily be one of my favourite platformers to have come along this year. Cannot wait to listen to the Cane and Rinse episode on this when I finish it.

[Alex79]

I loved it on Vita, I think you've talked me in to double dipping.

I started MGS:GZ the other night. Obviously it's brilliant,, but I listened to all the tapes before the mission, and I'm really missing David Hayter. A better actor Sutherland may be, but he's not Snake. He's just not. I didn't want a 'better actor', I wanted Snake I didn't think the game would miss Hayter so much, but well, it does.