Flabyo wrote: ↑April 6th, 2020, 4:19 pm
Jan 10th - Spider-Man (PS4)
Jan 26th - Children of Morta (XBO)
Feb 10th - Indivisible (XBO)
April 6th - Monument Valley 2 (iOS)
April 18th - Yakuza 0 (XBO)
Finished Yakuza 0 (well, the main story anyway, still more than half the side stories to do). That game is certainly a thing. On the one hand it’s nothing more than cutscene, fight, cutscene, fight for 40 hours...
On the other, the story telling is complex and impressive, really getting what makes that movie genre work. And it’s helped by having so many of the characters played by actors who made their name in those movies too.
I shall get to Kiwami 1 and 2 when they make their way onto gamepass.
13th Jan - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
24th Jan - The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone
28th Jan - Far Lone Sails
10th Feb - Super Mario World
21st Feb - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
7th Mar - The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
18th Apr - Batman - The Telltale Series
What a frustrating experience.
At the heart of this game is one of the most interesting and original takes on the Wayne family legacy and Batmans' enemies I've ever seen or read. I won't spoil those plot details here for anyone tempted to play this at some point but it went places with the origin story, Falcone, Cobblepot (Penguin), Alfred and Harvey Dent that I've not seen before.
The story had me enthralled and eager to see where it went right up to the end of Chapter 4. And then the bugs kicked in.
There had been warning signs. A few crashes. A failed save. Some slowdown meaning quicktime events were over before the button input appeared on screens. Some weird lighting making certain characters look utterly out of place. The stats from other players' playthroughs not working.
But it worsened in Chapter 4 when I got a recap of 'Previously on Batman' at the start showing scenes and dialogue I hadn't been a part of. They were minor inconsistencies and somewhat cheapened my playthrough of that chapter as it seemed like whatever route I'd taken would have gotten to the same point.
But the issues worsened in Chapter 5. Chapter 4 ends with a very stark choice and when I started the final volume, the game had decided I had taken the entirely opposite decisions to what I had already made. It showed a cut scene of an outcome I didn't recognise. The story made little sense. When I realise what had happened, I nearly quit. I pushed on, knowing the chapters are short and I was near the end, but this meant I spent the first half of Chapter 5 more or less replaying the last sequences of Chapter 4 in a slightly different way, but with my decisions feeling neutered. Probably more annoyingly, I never got to see what happened in one entire half of the story as I faced the same enemy twice and never saw the other foe again.
It's a real shame that happened as up to that point, I was thoroughly enjoying it. Perhaps I was unfortunate as a Google of the reviews and user scores doesn't seem to mention this save / decision tree issue happening for others, however it spoiled any immersion and left me feeling that that my decisions never counted at any point. The ending was also a bit of a Hollywood esque clichéd damp squib after such a strong, unconventional build up.
If you want to see a great Batman story play out I'd recommend you consider checking out this game's narrative, but I'd regrettably suggest doing so on a YouTube walkthrough instead.
13th Jan - Dishonored 2
19th Jan - Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
23rd Jan - Sayonara Wild Hearts
4th Feb - Wolfenstein: The New Order
18th Feb - Titanfall 2
28th Feb - What Remains of Edith Finch
2nd Mar - Gone Home
2nd Mar - Florence
21st Mar - Hitman (2016)
21st Mar - Thief 2
22nd Mar - BioShock Remastered
25th Mar - Dishonored
3rd Apr - Resident Evil 2 Remake
4th Apr - Hitman 2
18th Apr - Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
Finished up my hard mode New Game Plus. I'm tempted to go for platinum on this game. I certainly feel like going through the main quest again straightaway.
BaileyBoy wrote: ↑April 18th, 2020, 4:45 pm
Oh it's absolutely nuts...but I like it. Never played the SNES version but I do come back to this one every now and again before inevitably losing the will to continue! The stage select does take the sting out of it somewhat though.
How far do you typically get on 1 credit if you start from the beginning?
One of the worst things that can happen in a Telltale game is it losing which choices you made. Completely kills the immersion (cause under the hood they’re almost all using the ‘string of sausages’ narrative approach, but you don’t really want to be reminded of it)
Flabyo wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 10:51 am
One of the worst things that can happen in a Telltale game is it losing which choices you made. Completely kills the immersion (cause under the hood they’re almost all using the ‘string of sausages’ narrative approach, but you don’t really want to be reminded of it)
Is it a common occurrence? Not heard that complaint before and friends on another forum who have all beaten this game tell me it worked fine for them.
Michiel K wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 10:30 am
How far do you typically get on 1 credit if you start from the beginning?
Typically? Not far! Stage 2 and in particular 3, are incredibly difficult and if you lose a life you're basically done for. If I do get beyond that, 4 is the weird into the screen stage that is actually quite easy (relatively) if you don't try to collect all the power ups. 5 is as far as I usually get if I make it through. I think the furthest I've ever got is stage 7 and I can't quite remember but I imagine that was on "easiest" mode.
Flabyo wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 10:51 am
One of the worst things that can happen in a Telltale game is it losing which choices you made. Completely kills the immersion (cause under the hood they’re almost all using the ‘string of sausages’ narrative approach, but you don’t really want to be reminded of it)
Is it a common occurrence? Not heard that complaint before and friends on another forum who have all beaten this game tell me it worked fine for them.
Guess I just got unlucky.
I had it on the game of thrones one, from episode one to two. They had to patch it to fix it as it broke for sooo many people.
I don’t know how common it is across them all, I had no issues on Wolf amongst us or tales from the borderlands.
Flabyo wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 10:51 am
One of the worst things that can happen in a Telltale game is it losing which choices you made. Completely kills the immersion (cause under the hood they’re almost all using the ‘string of sausages’ narrative approach, but you don’t really want to be reminded of it)
Is it a common occurrence? Not heard that complaint before and friends on another forum who have all beaten this game tell me it worked fine for them.
Guess I just got unlucky.
I had it on the game of thrones one, from episode one to two. They had to patch it to fix it as it broke for sooo many people.
I don’t know how common it is across them all, I had no issues on Wolf amongst us or tales from the borderlands.
Thanks, good to know. I would like to play The Enemy Within despite this and see how it further unfolds with the Joker.
Would have posted about this earlier but was feeling under the weather so waited until I was back to normal. Besides, my proper thoughts will be elaborated on in the feedback for the Kiwami Episode later this year but for now, liked it a lot but did not love it like 0. If you want to start this series, definitely start with 0 as it enhances a lot of the story for this game and seems to represent what so many people love about this series. This game is good but honestly would not be too bothered to check out the rest of the series based on this alone. Heard Kiwami 2 is meant to be fantastic though so looking forward to checking it out later this year. But for now, I need a Yakuza break. Variety is the spice of life and all that.
Flabyo wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 10:51 am
One of the worst things that can happen in a Telltale game is it losing which choices you made. Completely kills the immersion (cause under the hood they’re almost all using the ‘string of sausages’ narrative approach, but you don’t really want to be reminded of it)
Is it a common occurrence? Not heard that complaint before and friends on another forum who have all beaten this game tell me it worked fine for them.
Guess I just got unlucky.
I had it on the game of thrones one, from episode one to two. They had to patch it to fix it as it broke for sooo many people.
I don’t know how common it is across them all, I had no issues on Wolf amongst us or tales from the borderlands.
Thanks, good to know. I would like to play The Enemy Within despite this and see how it further unfolds with the Joker.
Never had any bugs and I've done all Telltale bar Guardians and Borderlands. Season Two of Batman is good and worth picking up.
BaileyBoy wrote: ↑April 19th, 2020, 1:24 pm
Typically? Not far! Stage 2 and in particular 3, are incredibly difficult and if you lose a life you're basically done for. If I do get beyond that, 4 is the weird into the screen stage that is actually quite easy (relatively) if you don't try to collect all the power ups. 5 is as far as I usually get if I make it through. I think the furthest I've ever got is stage 7 and I can't quite remember but I imagine that was on "easiest" mode.
That's good stuff. I remember being elated when I made it past the first stage on that same compilation, years ago!
Alex79uk wrote: JAN - Titanfall 2 (PS4)
JAN - Pinball FX3: Fish Tales (Switch)
FEB - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
FEB - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)
FEB - Mafia 3 (PS4)
MAR - Mega Max X (Switch)
MAR - Assassin's Creed III Remastered (Switch)
MAR - Control (PS4)
MAR - Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (PS4)
APR - Yoku's Island Express (100%) (Switch)
Absolutely glorious from start to finish. I'm not one to ever try to 100% a game, but I was trying to get every last second of fun out of this one. Looks beautiful, plays perfectly and has an incredibly uplifting soundtrack, this game was the perfect antidote to life over the last couple of weeks. I'd give it a 10/10 and I really hope they make a sequel.
The Easter break has given me plenty of time to catch-up / finish / start some new games so thought I’d scribble down some thoughts:
Doom: Eternal
I didn’t pick this up on day 1 as the reviews I saw seemed mixed over whether this was a step forward or back from Doom 2016. Well with the country going into lockdown I decided to splash out, and I’m so glad that I did. It’s an undoubtedly fiddlier beast than the reboot, but once you’ve spent time with all of the abilities unlocked it becomes something magical. It took me back to playing Tony Hawk on the og PlayStation; arenas are there to be carved through and reacted to as opposed to implementing a pre-determined strategy, and just when you think you’re mastering it they’ll introduce an enemy like the Marauder to change things up again.
Even the platforming was nowhere near as bad as some reviews have made out. Looking back I think there were maybe two areas that had me cursing a bit, but after replaying the game to find all of the secrets I blitzed through them on a second pass.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
For the first time I’m sharing an Animal Crossing area with my fiancée and it’s added a whole new dimension to our island. I’m no longer relying on the game to surprise me; she’s able to leave notes, and make her own additions to the space, and during our isolation together it’s been a lovely way to bond. Although we do have the occasional argument about islanders that we want to boot out; I’m a big fan of Al the smelly ape but she’s had her knives out for him since day 1.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
What a curious combination of old and new. The linear structure feels refreshing after playing through so many huge open worlds in recent years, but the combat I yet to gel for me. I don’t feel in control of battles, with attacks coming from off-camera and actions taking a long time to perform (and leaving your characters open to attack in the meantime). It’s a reminder of old school RPG design where sometimes you just don’t have the tools to win a battle and have to quit and re-load a prior save. But the game looks astounding, that soundtrack still holds up (and the new orchestrations are as beautiful as expected) and it’s been fleshed out sensitively. At a guess I’d say I’m a third of the way through and I’m curious how they’re going to make this feel like a ‘whole’ experience by cutting where I expect they will.
Jan - Blasphemous
Jan - A Short Hike
Jan - Dear Esther
Jan - Luigi's Mansion 3
Jan - Sayonara Wild Hearts
Jan - Gorogoa
Feb - Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition
Feb - Samurai Showdown (2019)
Feb - SAR: Search and Rescue
Mar - Dragon Age: Origins*
Mar - Double Dragon IV
Mar - FRAMED
Mar - Binary Domain*
Mar - 198X
Mar - Missed messages.
Mar - Final Fantasy Adventure
Finished Yakuza 0 (well, the main story anyway, still more than half the side stories to do). That game is certainly a thing. On the one hand it’s nothing more than cutscene, fight, cutscene, fight for 40 hours...
On the other, the story telling is complex and impressive, really getting what makes that movie genre work. And it’s helped by having so many of the characters played by actors who made their name in those movies too.
I shall get to Kiwami 1 and 2 when they make their way onto gamepass.
Did you enjoy it, though? If so, you'll enjoy more of the same, but Kiwami 1 and 2 really don't add anything more to 0, they're more stripped back if anything. Although they're considerably shorter. Personally I didn't enjoy 1 as much as 0, but for story alone 2 was the best of them all for me (which I've since learned isn't a very common held thought, I know Farley on TCGS was least keen on 2 out of all of them and I've read it elsewhere, too).
Jan - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (XOX)
Feb - The Last Of Us - Left Behind (PS4 Pro)
Feb - God Of War (PS4 Pro)
Mar - The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Switch)
Apr - Panzer Dragoon (Switch)
Apr - Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure (Vita)
Apr - Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (XOX)
Wow they really embraced the whole B-movie ultra-violence schlock-fest thing! Makes the first game look like a Disney movie!
Looks great on Xbox One X in 4K, solid performance, gut-punching musical arrangements, strong voice-work, and of course, great gunplay.
Yo, so I've had a weird few months with gaming. I kind of fell out of love with it due a combination of burn out and new job taking my time. I've still been playing games but I've barely finished any, well until the isolation started
March
Pokemon Shield - I really didn't enjoy sun ultra because it felt like it held my hand throughout my playthrough. Thankfully there was little of that with shield and whilst I can see why some people didn't like the new changes, I really did. My only gripe is the games are far too easy but I guess I'm not the target audience.
April
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - I had absolutely zero interest in this game because of those annoying looking Rabbids. My friends kept recommending this game though and I eventually caved during the last sale. What a game, I couldn't stop playing it. It's the first game in a good while that has kept me up to the wee hours. Luigi is the main man.
Persona 5 - I really love Persona 4, playing it through 2.5 times in 2-3 years so I was really excited for Persona 5. I started P5 in April 2016 and burned out about 3/4's of the way through. I love the way the game looks and sounds but I found it very drawn out and the dungeons / combat very repetitive. I'm glad I finished it but I have zero desire to play it again. Hopefully the next one addresses those areas because the game is so close to being perfect.
03/01 - Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
08/01 - Need for Speed: Carbon
12/01 - Devil May Cry (Normal)
15/01 - Devil May Cry 2 (Normal/Dante)
26/01 - Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
08/02 - Dishonored
18/02 - Deus Ex: The Fall
23/02 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Normal/Dante/Free Style)
26/02 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Normal/Vergil)
28/02 - Horizon Chase Turbo
28/02 - EQQO
02/03 - Yakuza 3 Remastered
03/03 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Hard/Dante/Free Style)
10/03 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Very Hard/Dante/Free Style)
13/03 - Mirror's Edge Catalyst
19/03 - A Short Hike
01/04 - Doom Eternal
02/04 - Lucah: Born of a Dream (NG+, Bad Ending)
14/04 - Yakuza 4 Remastered
17/04 - Fable Anniversary
21/04 - Transistor
Been intending to get around to this for years. I really enjoyed Bastion but never played any of Supergiant's later games. I've been put off them for one reason or another. Turns out my hesitance to try this one out was correct, as sadly I didn't really connect with this game. While the art is fantastic, and really unique, nothing else really spoke to me. The story covered a lot of the same ground as Bastion, but in a way that wasn't very involving or engaging. While the soundtrack is good, it didn't stand out anywhere near as much as Bastion either. And I found the combat to pretty uninteresting. This pseudo-tactical ATB style thing just does nothing for me.
January:
God of War
Resident Evil 2 remake: Leon A and Claire B
February:
Triforce Heroes
Donkey Konga Trilogy
Halo 4
Yakuza Zero
March:
Bury me my love
DK: Jungle Beat
Florence
Axiom Verge
Halo 5
Days Gone
Gradius
Bloodstained: Curse of the moon
April
Uncharted: Lost Legacy
Curse of Monkey Island
I Have no Mouth, and I must scream
The Gardens Between
22nd April
Devil May Cry 5
Didn’t really click with me and I suppose it wouldn’t given my favourite Devil May Cry is DMC. I’m not one to play these games on the harder difficulty levels so I’m missing out on some of the nuance I know that but chopping and changing between the different fighting styles put me off a lot.
By the time I was getting used to a character the game would switch me to another with a completely different skill set just long enough to get to grips with it then switch again. Not a fan given I’m pretty rubbish.
