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Games Completed 2019
Re: Games Completed 2019
- Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2019
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Some of my favourite encounter design of any game I've played this year. Recommended.
- MajorGamer
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- Location: Toronto, Canada
Re: Games Completed 2019
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Overall, I'd say this game is 90% great and 10% slog. The great bits are all in the strategy of the order you upgrade the village and how to form up your teams and skills to tackle the dungeons you delve into. With 18 classes (well, one is a copy of another) and 8 skills on each, there is a ton of variety to be had. Four people are selected for your run and off you go. Only four skills can be on each person at a time (they can be freely swapped outside battle) and they all have specific positional requirements based on where they are in your own line and what areas they can hit. To top it off, each of the four main areas have their own quirks to lean your decisions on. Example is the Ruins are mostly undead so bleeds don't work well but the Crusader has an anti-undead attack so they are great in there.
Each area is set up into 3 tiers of difficulty to get you acclimated on what to expect since preparation is the name of the game. It starts off easy so you can bring basically any combination in and be victorious. Bringing in a bleed heavy team to the Ruins isn't a big deal. Doing something like that on the last tier of things and while still possible, you'll struggle considerably more than needed. Even with good teams, the RNG can decide to screw you from time to time but you can always flee dungeons to avoid taking a death. Ultimately, you are building up your mercenaries to be able to tackle the horrors that are in the Darkest Dungeon itself.
The slog bit comes when you aren't prepared but don't have the available classes at the level you need for your goals. For the first two tiers, it isn't bad since they are easy enough once you are used to the game. It becomes a big problem at the highest levels. Between leveling up new mercenaries (also hoping the RNG would give me the ones I need to hire) and fixing their negative quirks and health it would often take 2-3 hours just to get that one character up to max level to continue the ultimate goal. I had to do this a few times along the way due to taking some deaths and just not having enough of a certain class. It is something I greatly hope gets worked on in the sequel, which I am eagerly awaiting on.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Oh man, congrats on that. I don't know how many times I've started this game.
I assume that late game slog could have been mitigated slightly by playing on Radiant rather than Darkest?
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- MajorGamer
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Playing it on Radiant mode makes leveling up faster and easier so it would alleviate but not eliminate those problems. It mostly occurred due to not leveling the wanted classes in the first place, not due to deaths. It wouldn't happen on a second playthrough due to knowing what is coming. To reply to your spoiler:
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Re: Games Completed 2019
JUN - Super Mario Bros. (NES on Switch)Alex79uk wrote: ↑January 20th, 2019, 5:10 pmJAN - Super Mario Land (Nintendo Gameboy)
JAN - Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Megadrive on PS4)
FEB - Professor Layton & The Curious Village (Android)
FEB - Donkey Kong '94 (Nintendo Gameboy)
FEB - Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
FEB - Chuchel (Android)
FEB - Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
MAR - Spider-Man (PS4)
MAR - Florence (Android)
MAR - Where On Google Earth Is Carmen Sandiego (Browser)
MAR - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
MAR - Final Fantasy X (PS Vita)
MAY - Söldner-X 2 (PS Vita)
MAY - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)
MAY - The Punisher (Arcade on PS Vita)
First time I've ever actually played this all the way through without using any warp pipes or anything. It's a lot tougher than I'd thought on the later stages, and those trick castles are just annoying. I also forgot how easy the bosses were, just collapsing the bridge to make them fall in the lava. Glad I finished it at last, though. I'm going to try the second game next.
- hazeredmist
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Ah nice! I saw you were on NES online last night. I haven't really taken advantage of it yet, and I'm also in the same boat where I haven't finished Super Mario Bros myself either which sounds weird for how many times I've played bits of it.
- James
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Re: Games Completed 2019
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Between Oculus Quest and Blood & Truth, I've been seeing a lot of VR coverage lately, so I figured it was time to dust off the PSVR headset and play one of the most oft-cited 'must play' VR titles.
I should have done this sooner.
I absolutely adored the ingenuity and creative use of VR in Astro Bot. As with the Playroom VR demo, the change in perspective that being 'in' the world allows really does add a lot to my enjoyment. I found myself constantly stopping to look around and explore my surroundings by leaning, turning, ducking and craning all over the place. I can't imagine how daft I must have looked, but this was one of my favourite platforming experiences... of all time.
I had a few of my usual platforming difficulties, but it was really only a few. And these were vastly overshadowed by just how much fun I had interacting with the Bots and seeing the myriad interesting ways in which VR was being used to create puzzles and moments that feel pretty unique.
Lots of hyperbole, I know. Apologies. Astro Bot was a much needed distraction whenever I got a little too frustrated with Furi, and I really enjoyed every second of it.
Re: Games Completed 2019
I'll just say, save states were very useful. I really haven't got time to be starting games again nowadays, so I saved at the start of each world and reloaded if I lost all my lives. It seemed a middle ground between pulling my hair out and flat out cheating, haha.hazeredmist wrote: ↑June 6th, 2019, 8:17 am Ah nice! I saw you were on NES online last night. I haven't really taken advantage of it yet, and I'm also in the same boat where I haven't finished Super Mario Bros myself either which sounds weird for how many times I've played bits of it.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Observation (PC but available on console too)
Oh god. There's a lot to like in this game, but so much that is infuriating too. It's set on a near-earth space station (similar to the ISS) in the near future, so it's mostly grounded sci-fi in the manner of Moon. There's been an accident, systems are offline, and you're trying to keep the survivors alive and stabilise the ship.
It's all right. Most of the gameplay consists of switching between cameras on the station, and solving mostly simple puzzles. This works really well for atmosphere - I was wholly immersed in the setting from the start - but I had some control issues that undermined things.
I would strongly urge PC people to play with a pad - I started with M+KB and it was a super unintuitive control scheme; I'm not sure if it was the UI or me, but even at the end of the game after I switched to pad I was struggling to identify next steps because it hadn't sunk in that there was a menu for the particular action I was supposed to take.
Leaving all that aside...the game narrative was good, up to a point. Characterisation was minimal and was discovered via scraps of info left on laptops (the latest Prey is the only recent game I can think of that has done this well, though this does fine as there is little enough info) and photos pinned to walls etc. The acting was really excellent.
The story was awful, just awful. Not a lick of sense to it, though I'm aware I have a blind spot when it comes to the more nebulous gaming stories (see Virginia, Dear Esther); your mileage may vary.
Oh god. There's a lot to like in this game, but so much that is infuriating too. It's set on a near-earth space station (similar to the ISS) in the near future, so it's mostly grounded sci-fi in the manner of Moon. There's been an accident, systems are offline, and you're trying to keep the survivors alive and stabilise the ship.
It's all right. Most of the gameplay consists of switching between cameras on the station, and solving mostly simple puzzles. This works really well for atmosphere - I was wholly immersed in the setting from the start - but I had some control issues that undermined things.
I would strongly urge PC people to play with a pad - I started with M+KB and it was a super unintuitive control scheme; I'm not sure if it was the UI or me, but even at the end of the game after I switched to pad I was struggling to identify next steps because it hadn't sunk in that there was a menu for the particular action I was supposed to take.
Leaving all that aside...the game narrative was good, up to a point. Characterisation was minimal and was discovered via scraps of info left on laptops (the latest Prey is the only recent game I can think of that has done this well, though this does fine as there is little enough info) and photos pinned to walls etc. The acting was really excellent.
The story was awful, just awful. Not a lick of sense to it, though I'm aware I have a blind spot when it comes to the more nebulous gaming stories (see Virginia, Dear Esther); your mileage may vary.
- hazeredmist
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Oh I'm with you all the way there. If it's a difference between save states, easy difficulty modes or not seeing a full game because I don't have the time like I used to, I'm taking the easy route. With zero shame.Alex79uk wrote: ↑June 6th, 2019, 7:20 pmI'll just say, save states were very useful. I really haven't got time to be starting games again nowadays, so I saved at the start of each world and reloaded if I lost all my lives. It seemed a middle ground between pulling my hair out and flat out cheating, haha.hazeredmist wrote: ↑June 6th, 2019, 8:17 am Ah nice! I saw you were on NES online last night. I haven't really taken advantage of it yet, and I'm also in the same boat where I haven't finished Super Mario Bros myself either which sounds weird for how many times I've played bits of it.
- MajorGamer
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- Location: Toronto, Canada
Re: Games Completed 2019
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Been sitting at the last level of this since a week after it came out so randomly decided to finish it. Basically just more of the first game with mindless (mostly) melee fun. The loot system is better than the first as you get items based on the character you open them with instead of pure RNG but the quality you get is determined by how much loot you've previously gotten. The better loot is needed for the higher difficulties which is rather annoying. I'd much rather there be no loot system at all. Still no versus mode which is what kept how Left 4 Dead lasted for so long.
May 29 - Styx: Shards of Darkness (PC)
In terms of gameplay, mostly more of the first game with stealthing around. There are a couple of boss fights this time around and they suck. Most of the time, instead of finding your items (like a health potion), you find ingredients you would then later craft into a health potion. It was an extra step that didn't add much of anything. There is also a bug that got me spotted way too often. You can pick up bodies to move them and sometimes after you drop them, you automatically go from crouching walking to normal walking. That didn't happen in the first game.
The plot, something that was noteworthy for a thing it did in the first one, was weird here. It was all over the place and didn't even get fully resolved in the end. Felt like there should have been another level or two to cap everything off. The level reuse is unfortunately back from the first one. It is fine but the first was better.
Re: Games Completed 2019
JUN - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS4)Alex79uk wrote: ↑January 20th, 2019, 5:10 pmJAN - Super Mario Land (Nintendo Gameboy)
JAN - Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Megadrive on PS4)
FEB - Professor Layton & The Curious Village (Android)
FEB - Donkey Kong '94 (Nintendo Gameboy)
FEB - Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
FEB - Chuchel (Android)
FEB - Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
MAR - Spider-Man (PS4)
MAR - Florence (Android)
MAR - Where On Google Earth Is Carmen Sandiego (Browser)
MAR - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
MAR - Final Fantasy X (PS Vita)
MAY - Söldner-X 2 (PS Vita)
MAY - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)
MAY - The Punisher (Arcade on PS Vita)
JUN - Super Mario Bros. (NES on Switch)
Slowly making my way through the series. I remember this being my favorite of the Ezio trilogy, and it's still a really good game. Much shorter than AC2, but it introduces loads of cool stuff like calling on the assassins and sending them out on missions etc. I really like the story, and contrary to popular opinion, really enjoy the Desmond side of the story too. It ends on a total cliffhanger, and IIRC Revelations picks up literally where it leaves off. I'll find out if I'm right a little later in the year, and looking forward to it.
- stvnorman
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Re: Games Completed 2019
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6 May: Mega Man 5 (Switch)
7 May: What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)
10 May: Mortal Kombat X (PS4)
23 May: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS4)
24 May: Kid Dracula - Castlevania Anniversary Collection (Switch)
Re: Games Completed 2019
Finished in 2019
Batman : Arkham City (PS4)
What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
Bioshock 2 (PS4) (+ Minerva’s Den)
Spyro 1 (PS4)
Burly Men At Sea (PS4)
Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider (PS4)
Dark Souls (PS4)
Bioshock Infinite (PS4)
The Last Of Us (PS4)
Call Of Duty WWII (PS4)
Batman : Arkham Origins (PS4)
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare (PS4)
Bulletstorm (PS4)
Journey (PS4)
Wolfenstein II : The New Colossus (PS4)
Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4)
Amber’s Airline (!) (iOS)
Hellblade : Senua’s Sacrifice (Xbox One)
Life Is Strange (Xbox One)
Halo : Combat Evolved (Xbox One)
Currently playing
Deus Ex : Mankind Divided (PS4)
The Gardens Between (Xbox One)
Celeste (Xbox One)
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Xbox One)
Alien : Blackout (iOS)
Stardew Valley (iOS)
Steam World Heist (iOS)
Bully (iOS)
Started but fallen by the wayside (will pick up again eventually)
Witcher 3 (PS4)
Fallout 4 (PS4)
Dip into every now and then
Gran Turismo Sport (PS4)
F1 2017 (PS4)
Dirt 4 (PS4)
Bloodbowl 2 (PS4)
Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox One)
Slayaway Camp (iOS)
Batman : Arkham City (PS4)
What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
Bioshock 2 (PS4) (+ Minerva’s Den)
Spyro 1 (PS4)
Burly Men At Sea (PS4)
Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider (PS4)
Dark Souls (PS4)
Bioshock Infinite (PS4)
The Last Of Us (PS4)
Call Of Duty WWII (PS4)
Batman : Arkham Origins (PS4)
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare (PS4)
Bulletstorm (PS4)
Journey (PS4)
Wolfenstein II : The New Colossus (PS4)
Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4)
Amber’s Airline (!) (iOS)
Hellblade : Senua’s Sacrifice (Xbox One)
Life Is Strange (Xbox One)
Halo : Combat Evolved (Xbox One)
Currently playing
Deus Ex : Mankind Divided (PS4)
The Gardens Between (Xbox One)
Celeste (Xbox One)
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Xbox One)
Alien : Blackout (iOS)
Stardew Valley (iOS)
Steam World Heist (iOS)
Bully (iOS)
Started but fallen by the wayside (will pick up again eventually)
Witcher 3 (PS4)
Fallout 4 (PS4)
Dip into every now and then
Gran Turismo Sport (PS4)
F1 2017 (PS4)
Dirt 4 (PS4)
Bloodbowl 2 (PS4)
Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox One)
Slayaway Camp (iOS)
- Pitwar
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- Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
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Re: Games Completed 2019
27th Jan - Captain Toad Treasure Tracker (Switch)
1st Feb - New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (Switch)
9th Mar - Crackdown 3 (Xbox One X)
6th May - Mortal Kombat 11: Story Mode (PS4 Pro)
12th May - God Of War '18 (PS4 Pro)
19th May - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4 Pro)
23rd May - Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4 Pro)
26th May - Devil May Cry 5 (PS4 Pro)
1st Jun - Days Gone (PS4 Pro)
8th Jun - Blood & Truth (PS4 Pro)
As is normally the case for games made for VR, Blood & Truth isn't very long and can be played through in a couple of sittings. However, it's the most fun I've had playing a game in VR and is a must play if you have the tech to do so.
Some of the set pieces in this game are amazing to experience in VR, and more than once I was in awe of what I was seeing around me. The story is simple but entertaining enough, with even a couple of moments that make you sit back and think if you really just saw what you just saw.
My only complaint was casued by a glitch which meant after I died in a certain area, I was constantly respawned without a gun so it was impossible for me to progress. As the game doesn't give you the option of restarting missions I had to load up an old save and replay about an hour and a half worth of the game.
On the whole it was great fun, and definitely a game I'll replay at some point and show off to friends who fancy seeing what VR is all about.
1st Feb - New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (Switch)
9th Mar - Crackdown 3 (Xbox One X)
6th May - Mortal Kombat 11: Story Mode (PS4 Pro)
12th May - God Of War '18 (PS4 Pro)
19th May - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4 Pro)
23rd May - Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4 Pro)
26th May - Devil May Cry 5 (PS4 Pro)
1st Jun - Days Gone (PS4 Pro)
8th Jun - Blood & Truth (PS4 Pro)
As is normally the case for games made for VR, Blood & Truth isn't very long and can be played through in a couple of sittings. However, it's the most fun I've had playing a game in VR and is a must play if you have the tech to do so.
Some of the set pieces in this game are amazing to experience in VR, and more than once I was in awe of what I was seeing around me. The story is simple but entertaining enough, with even a couple of moments that make you sit back and think if you really just saw what you just saw.
My only complaint was casued by a glitch which meant after I died in a certain area, I was constantly respawned without a gun so it was impossible for me to progress. As the game doesn't give you the option of restarting missions I had to load up an old save and replay about an hour and a half worth of the game.
On the whole it was great fun, and definitely a game I'll replay at some point and show off to friends who fancy seeing what VR is all about.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Given that it didn't allow you to restart chapters, when you finish the game, does it give you the option to select a chapter to play, eg in London Heist you could stick on the van shooting bit for your mates?
- Pitwar
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Yeah, you can replay all the missions, but for example if you play mission 15 it'll just be that, it won't then jump to mission 16 automatically.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Good to know. I've hit a bit of a VR lull, so won't be getting this anytime soon. I was buying loads of VR games at one stage, 'to support the product,' so I have a bit of a backlog for when I start playing again.
Into the Breach (PC)
Finished this on Easy (this is starting to become a habit) and not sure if I'll go back and finish it properly on normal. That said, I've closed the game down several times already only to open it 30 seconds later and start a new game.
It's pretty good.
Into the Breach (PC)
Finished this on Easy (this is starting to become a habit) and not sure if I'll go back and finish it properly on normal. That said, I've closed the game down several times already only to open it 30 seconds later and start a new game.
It's pretty good.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Into the Breach on Normal Difficulty
Jesus Christ, that was hard as nails. Absolutely delighted to get it over with and put it behind me
Total games 41. Total losses 37.
For those familiar with the game:
I was in a sticky spot at the very end with 5 power (lives) left and the baddies lined up to knock out 5 on the final turn, and poised to destroy the win condition (vague for spoiler reasons):
I had to sacrifice my best pilot (indicated by the skull and crossbones) by positioning them in that lava line in order to knock away a hornet. You will be remembered, Lily Reed*:
Victory!
Jesus Christ, that was hard as nails. Absolutely delighted to get it over with and put it behind me
Total games 41. Total losses 37.
For those familiar with the game:
I was in a sticky spot at the very end with 5 power (lives) left and the baddies lined up to knock out 5 on the final turn, and poised to destroy the win condition (vague for spoiler reasons):
I had to sacrifice my best pilot (indicated by the skull and crossbones) by positioning them in that lava line in order to knock away a hornet. You will be remembered, Lily Reed*:
Victory!
- Spoiler: show