1st February - Dark Souls
8th February - The Gardens Between
9th February - Quarantine Circular
20th February - Night in the woods
26th March - Ape Out
16th June - Brothers
Been a while since I could add to this list. Have either been replaying lengthy games with the kids we've still not beaten (Mario Odyssey, Breath of the wild), hit a wall I can't overcome or bailed at (Starlink, Virtua Racing, Valkyria Chronicles) or playing games that don't ever really end (Picross, Rocket League, etc).
Picked this up the other day though and was keen to play it after I'd heard such good things.
And maybe it's showing its age or it's been expanded upon by newer titles, but I dunno... It didn't do much for me?
Felt a bit heavy handed compared to titles that came before it like Ico, didn't hit me in the heart like Gris or Rime managed or make me think like Firewatch, Night in the woods or Oxenfree did. All those games seem to have a singular point or moment they're building up to, but Brothers felt patchy and never quite gelled with its melding of mythology, family, loss and adventure.
Liked the idea of using a different stick to control each character and a couple of the puzzles were good, but yeah... solid 6/10 try that missed the mark for me.
Games Completed 2019
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James
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Re: Games Completed 2019
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Rolled credits on Furi, though I didn't make it all the way to the end until the following day. A D-Rank performance, the game's end screen reliably informed me,. Though I get the impression that first playthroughs are unlikely to be highly ranked.
More on the podcast, of course. See you on Issue 374!
Re: Games Completed 2019
16-6 - Furi (PC)
Finally got the post credits boss today. And what James said.
Finally got the post credits boss today. And what James said.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Games Completed 2019
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After finishing the main game in January, I left this for a while as I wasn't ready for another 5-10 hours of Yakuza straight after.
Turns out I needn't have bothered waiting, its less than two hours. There are no substories or distractions apart from the minigames (darts, pool, karaoke) that are in the main game. Cutscenes probably make up a third to a half of the running time (this is what would happen if all the side stuff was removed from the main games too) The plot is inconsequential apart from showing why Majima is running a legitimate construction company in the main game. Majima is overpowered even compared to the usual Yakuza beatdowns. All said, its a pretty weak addition to the game.
Re: Games Completed 2019
I really want to play Kiwami 2 after really enjoying Zero and the remake of the first game, but for some reason it never seems to come on a sale! Kiwami and Zero are always in the sale, but I'm holding out!
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Caligulas Horse
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Re: Games Completed 2019
I finished Suikoden 2 over the weekend, it made me sad that I had to finish it.
Re: Games Completed 2019
Sorry bud, just spotted this.Haha, I'm the same. Pillars is on that list but I don't think it can hold up to Divinity so perhaps it will stay on that list of shame forever. I'd recommend Divinity thoughChopper wrote: ↑May 23rd, 2019, 5:56 am
I have this lined up for my Great Summer of Gaming. The problem is really one of getting stuck in - at some point your backlog fills up with absolutely massive games, as you pick the low-hanging fruit, so I have this, Pillars, and half a dozen massive 4xes sitting there staring me down at the moment. Intimidating.
Re: Games Completed 2019
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Batman Arkham Asylum - Man, what a game. Still one of my favourite games of all time.
South Park: The Fractured but Whole - This was kind of a disappointment. Loads of repetition in both gameplay and assets and empty spots with no music or interest which made the game drag. Would I recommend it? Meh.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2019
I finished Mad Max. It's such a strange game. I wouldn't say I had tons of fun playing it, but there was something gently satisfying about just cleaning up the map, akin to carpet cleaning. It was the perfect game for where my heads been at.
It's one of those games, where if someone could only have one game for a month or two, I'd suggest it. It would keep them busy and they'd feel like they got their money's worth.
It's one of those games, where if someone could only have one game for a month or two, I'd suggest it. It would keep them busy and they'd feel like they got their money's worth.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Kiwami 2 has only been out about 10 months I'd guess. I think the sale prices for Yakuzas start about a year after release.
Good to hear, its a fantastic game that has aged very well over the last 20 years.Caligulas Horse wrote: ↑June 17th, 2019, 2:20 pmI finished Suikoden 2 over the weekend, it made me sad that I had to finish it.
The game as a few endings, the best of which requires all 108 stars of destiny (characters). Ending spolilers ahead.
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ColinAlonso
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The easiest way to describe it is Lumines: Tetris Edition and a lot of the cool ways the gameplay, sound and visuals interact are all present and correct but this really does feel like a step up from those games. Of course I only played it on a 1080p screen with headphones and despite never having used VR, its obvious that the visuals were designed for VR and would look stunning with it.
Re: Games Completed 2019
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duskvstweak
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I just started the first game last night!Caligulas Horse wrote: ↑June 17th, 2019, 2:20 pmI finished Suikoden 2 over the weekend, it made me sad that I had to finish it.
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Caligulas Horse
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Yeah I actually spent quite a bit of time replaying the end section just to get the 'good' ending.ColinAlonso wrote: ↑June 17th, 2019, 9:09 pmKiwami 2 has only been out about 10 months I'd guess. I think the sale prices for Yakuzas start about a year after release.
Good to hear, its a fantastic game that has aged very well over the last 20 years.Caligulas Horse wrote: ↑June 17th, 2019, 2:20 pmI finished Suikoden 2 over the weekend, it made me sad that I had to finish it.
The game as a few endings, the best of which requires all 108 stars of destiny (characters). Ending spolilers ahead.
- Spoiler: show
- Spoiler: show
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Caligulas Horse
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Re: Games Completed 2019
Awesome, I kind of wish I had done it first but plan to give it a go at some point anyway.duskvstweak wrote: ↑June 18th, 2019, 12:21 amI just started the first game last night!Caligulas Horse wrote: ↑June 17th, 2019, 2:20 pmI finished Suikoden 2 over the weekend, it made me sad that I had to finish it.
Re: Games Completed 2019
American Truck Simulator
There's no completion condition here so I made up my own - visit all locations in the game. That's done now and I'm still left wondering about this game's curious appeal. There were times in the game where I was seriously considering buying the Oregon and Washington expansions, and other times I was wondering what the hell I was doing.
It worked on some levels for me and not on others. I quickly got tired of the mod that plays real radio stations as it got too depressing - not only the gouging and politics, but the ads for prison officers paying 15 bucks an hour (14 an hour for cooks in the same place, I know which one I'd be going for).
I did listen to a lot of podcasts. Best for me was this one about a car dealership in New Jersey.
It doesn't really work as a tourist simulator, as the nods to the big attractions are cursory; to be fair, there's a lot of Americana in the American Southwest, and for me it worked best as a 'this looks interesting, let's have a look on Wikipedia'-type experience. Virtual tourism then.
I think they got the ambience of the Southwest right - there's a definite sense of place - but a lot of genericness too. I was slightly disappointed some geographical features were not present - the big mountain that features so prominently in Breaking Bad is missing from Albuquerque - but they did very well indeed overall. The transitions between biomes - high mesa, desert, coastal forest - was well done and the sunrises and sunsets were lovely.
Done with it now though thank the lord.
There's no completion condition here so I made up my own - visit all locations in the game. That's done now and I'm still left wondering about this game's curious appeal. There were times in the game where I was seriously considering buying the Oregon and Washington expansions, and other times I was wondering what the hell I was doing.
It worked on some levels for me and not on others. I quickly got tired of the mod that plays real radio stations as it got too depressing - not only the gouging and politics, but the ads for prison officers paying 15 bucks an hour (14 an hour for cooks in the same place, I know which one I'd be going for).
I did listen to a lot of podcasts. Best for me was this one about a car dealership in New Jersey.
It doesn't really work as a tourist simulator, as the nods to the big attractions are cursory; to be fair, there's a lot of Americana in the American Southwest, and for me it worked best as a 'this looks interesting, let's have a look on Wikipedia'-type experience. Virtual tourism then.
I think they got the ambience of the Southwest right - there's a definite sense of place - but a lot of genericness too. I was slightly disappointed some geographical features were not present - the big mountain that features so prominently in Breaking Bad is missing from Albuquerque - but they did very well indeed overall. The transitions between biomes - high mesa, desert, coastal forest - was well done and the sunrises and sunsets were lovely.
Done with it now though thank the lord.
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ReprobateGamer
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Because I didn't spend enough time over the weekend trying out new games, I ran through Abzú (well mostly swam) getting 100% inside of three hours. For anyone who has played Flower , this played very much the same and had a very similar progression (though thankfully no motion controls!).
Obviously Abzú is ocean themed to Flower's wind/petal gimmick but the mix of nature to technology pretty much mirrors that of the earlier game.
There were some stunning visuals but there was nothing more to do with the experience beyond what was presented. Didn't outstay it's welcome but Journey certainly remains my top pick for this style of landscape traverse games.
I'm glad I've played it but, sadly, more glad that I didn't pay for it (thanks Game Pass)
Re: Games Completed 2019
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So after wrestling with the awful remaster, I switched over to the original version instead. Still a great time that stands up very well, although it does feel a tad clunky in some ways. Aiming feels a bit wonky, but I've always thought the feel of shooting is pretty good. It's got good sound design and weapons have a real kick to them.
But everything that got this game so much praise a decade ago is still as sharp and impactful today. Great art design and aesthetic, a really well written story with a brilliantly delivered twist (apart from it being rather clumsily re-explained the moment after they reveal it so expertly), and some very interesting political themes. In fact those themes feel more relevant now than ever with how the world has been going recently. It's also really enjoyable to come back to this game years later, having got a deeper understanding of the kinds of things it covers, and so being able to get more meaning out of it. This being my third time through, that's not even the first time that's happened. Makes me hopeful that I might be able to to it again some other time down the road.
Another thing that stood out to me is how this game actually has some parallels with the parts of Infinite that got so highly criticised. The way that game fumbled its depiction of the Vox Populi that caught it so much flak is actually somewhat similar to some of the stuff they do with Atlas in this game. They manage to steer away from putting their foot in it here for the most part, but it's kind of interesting to go back to this game after hearing all of those criticisms, and seeing they kind of have a slight precedence here. Now it makes me curious to go back to Infinite again and see how it compares. I picked this one up along with 2, and was sort of intending on playing that after if I felt like it. But now I think I might go for Infinite instead.
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James
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21st Jun - Watch Dogs 2 (PS4)
After playing and loving Astro Bot recently, I decided to pick up Blood & Truth. It was getting some pretty-good word of mouth, and I was up for another VR game.
Turns out it is pretty good, I think. The story is a collection of action scenes strung together by some tried and tested plot beats, but it's really all about the action. The problem is that PSVR tracking can be a bit iffy, I've found. So Blood & Truth, in theory, allows you to hold a gun in two hands and look down the sights. When this works I felt like I was in a ridiculous action film, taking out enemies with unbelievable speed and precision. More often than not though the rifle would jump from my hands, backwards through my head, making aiming more of a guessing game. It was bad enough that I decided instead to resort to holding whichever gun I had at full arms length and pointing it in the general direction I wanted to shoot, with kinda decent-ish results.
Throw in a bucket of gangster cliches and Colin Salmon inexplicably putting on an American accent that I just couldn't get on board with, and it's an odd experience. A full, narrative-meets-action experience like this in VR is quite impressive when it works, but PSVR's tracking and resolution issues (the game is quite blurry in the middle-to-long distance) hold it back. Oh, and the vehicle chase sequences were endlessly frustrating for me. Probably my fault, but I died way too often in those sections to have any fun at all.
On the other end of the spectrum is Watch Dogs 2. I heard good things about it back in 2016, but the marketing of the game had kinda put me off. Now, nearly three years later, and egged on by the announcement of Watch Dogs: Legion, I decided to pick WD2 up for under a tenner. It's very Ubisoft open world (no towers to climb though), and enthusiastically adopts the pop-culture hacker aesthetic.
But I really enjoyed WD2. The story has been a little surpassed by some of the events of the past few years, which gives the game a weird hopeful atmosphere; yes, corrupt politicians and privacy-ignoring corporations and election fixing and racist police, but the game presents a group of individuals coming together to counter all of this. That I was able to play non-lethally was a nice surprise, and there were plenty of "hacking" skills to keep the gameplay varied throughout.
A really-enjoyable reminder that Ubisoft's open worlds don't have to be endless to be good value. And whatever they may say, their games won't ever be apolitical.
Re: Games Completed 2019
23-6 - Donkey Kong '94/GB (3DS)
Fun times. Now back to the arcade original once more.
Fun times. Now back to the arcade original once more.
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