Whatcha Been Playing?

[ratsoalbion]

I hoped to jump in one day to fill a 2D metroid void in my life.

Have you got Axiom Verge MAp?

[MAp]

Have you got Axiom Verge MAp?

No is that the PS4 game with glitch related weaponry? It looked more like a Contra styled shooter, but I'm guessing I actually skipped past the answer to my Metroid dreams, especially if it's also playable on the Vita.

[ratsoalbion]

There's a Vita version in the works apparently, but currently it is PS4 only. Pretty sure it'll be Cross-Buy however.
But yeah, it's absolutely definitely a Metroid game.

[Alex79]

I took a break on Batman games just to avoid fatigue, but now I'm wondering whether to go back. I'm sad to hear that Blackgate sounds almost unanimously bad, I hoped to jump in one day to fill a 2D metroid void in my life.

Hmm, it does pick up. Slightly. Having said that it's definitely a 5/10 at best. I'd say it's worth picking up down the line sub £5, but even at £11.99 I felt there were probably better things I could have spent my money on. I'll finish it, or at least I'll try my best to as I like to try to finish anything I pay for, but it's not the best.

I've also just (like literally less than an hour in) started MGS Peace Walker. I'm struggling with it, to be honest. I can see it looks great, the controls are better etc, but real key aspects of previous games such as dragging bodies, moving whilst crawling etc has been totally stripped out of the game. Meaning you can't hide bodies from other soldiers, there's no lying in bushes or crawling in to vents and stuff. Dunno, it just feels a bit weird. I'm definitely going to play it all though as I'm somewhat hooked on the series at the moment. I know it's hailed as one of the best in the series, so it must do something right!

EDIT : Another thing I'm really missing from Peace Walker. You can't bring up the codec with Select. I used to like that - also, there's no 'quit' or 'restart mission' option in the pause menu. This is a disaster because once you're discovered you really have no option other than run and gun your way out of there, or just keep blowing yourself up with grenades until you die so you can restart the mission. It seems like a bit of an odd oversight if you ask me.

DOUBLE EDIT : Hmm, a quick scout around the internet reveals there should be a restart mission option. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough! Or maybe I've not got far enough in to the proper game to have that option yet. I am still in the prologue.

[Todinho]

Yeah alot of the features of Peace walker are watered down from previous games to conform to the psp(one of the reasons Im really pumped for Phantom Pain is because it's gonna take the Peace Walker concept and add to it all it wasnt possible in a handheld) but yeah once you unlock mother base you get the restart option I believe also sorry but the codec is gone however it is replaced by cassete tapes you can listen and unlock in mother base.

[MAp]

Axiom Verge is added to the (very long) list

Yeah I would keep the going Alex79uk, Peace Walker is a slightly odd beast compared to the build up of features through the series, probably due to it's PSP origins. It offers a more bite sized, stuttering flow to the rest of the series, but hopefully you'll feel it's a sturdy branch splitting off from the series...especially as MGS5 seems to be taking a lot of it's core ideas from Peace walker.
Also have you tried co-op yet? Although if you're wanting more of the classic Metal Gear Solid I'd wait until you start needing to develop items, and do keep going when you reach that point because the story keeps moving long after what seems to be the end in very important ways.

[Alex79]

Yeah definitely going to stick with it. I haven't tried co-op yet, but is there even online co-op on the PSP version as I read a review that said it was ad-hoc only.

[MAp]

You can do the online ad-hoc trick via your PS3. But no I think if you want to go online you'd need the PS3 HD collection and then you can begin transfarring back and forth whenever you want to play co-op.

[deacon05oc]

Started playing Sound Shapes on Vita. I bought it a few weeks ago and I am in love with this game. Bart School has me in a listening level of intensity I don't think I've had in a long time while playing a game. Plus being cross buy and save with PS4 and PS3, I'm going to be revisiting on the consoles later for sure.

[Flabyo]

Elite Dangerous on the Xbox One.

It doesn't feel like it plays much different from Elite 2 back in the Amiga days, but it's certainly prettier.

If you're the kind of person that gets sucked into goalless exploration games like this, you'll find plenty to like.

Still fairly unstable though.

[Todinho]

So I started playing 2 SRPGs recently one is Massive Chalice a game I backed and had completaly forgotten about until Flabyo mentioned it on the forum,I only played a little bit but the game was a bit overwhelming it just throws everything at you at once granted they try to explain all the mechanics the best they can but I was still a bit intimidated by it,gameplaywise the game is way more similar to X-COM then I expected when I first heard of it I assumed it would be more like Fire Emblem with it's marriage system and all but I was clearly wrong still the noble house system is pretty cool and it randomly selected a squad of killer ladies for me at the start but I probably wont keep them long because the game spans for centuries it seems that your troops are more expendable then X-COM soldiers because they will die due to the natural progression of time so I guess the point is level them up marry then and hope their kids will carry on their legacy,which is cool but I dont know how I feel about having only fixed battles but I suppose that if I could grind it would break the game so that makes sense.

The other SRPG I played goes by the name of CHROMA SQUAD! This is a power rangers simulator where you build your own studio and show and the battles are the fight scenes from the show it's a pretty cool idea and the game nails the feel of power rangers,gameplaywise it's a more simple game then other SRPGs since you are limited to 5 characters and the difficulty isnt very high even on hard,they challenge really comes from following the especific orders from the director to gain more audience(which is kinda of a currency)I would actually compare this to Super Mario RPG in the sense that they are both a good entry level games into a genre. The most fun I've had in the game though was customizing my power rangers you get to do everything from their name to the name of their final move and mecha.I Created the Super Marxist Squad!Fighting everyday against the opression of capitalism every day!(which surpisingly fits the story of the game)it's pretty fun seeing the fan reactions to the episodes and them discussing things like which is their favorite character Lennin or Che XD,but yeah it's a pretty fun game so far and that fact that it was made here makes me really happy

[seansthomas]

Completed the last level of SMW3D last night. Not the proper last level post-Star completion, just the story one.

Kinda torn on this game. There were certainly times where I enjoyed it immensely but it lacked the sense of exploration of 64 and the sheer joy of Galaxy 1&2. It felt very 'instant reward', constantly dolling out trophies, stars and bonuses yet I don't have the desire to get every last Green star like I did on the aforementioned.

The first two worlds or so suffered from trying to be larger and wider to accommodate 4 players. Once they tightened up, it all got a lot better.

Looks great, found some of the new power up items great but ultimately left me a bit cold. Not sure I'd put it in my Top Ten Wii U games even...?

[stvnorman]

Completed Wolfenstein The New Order. Didn't enjoy the final part of the final boss battle in the slightest, and one or two similiarly frustrating sections, but overall pleasingly mindless fun. And I can finally listen to the podcast! Along with The Order, that's my two birthday games done in just over a month (good going for me) and I'm now onto my Father's Day present, the Devil May Cry Definitive Edition on PS4. Not sure I'll ever stray beyond my usual button mashing, but the combat so far has been quite satisfying and it looks stunning.

Also had a rare play session (not counting FIFA) with my 8-year old on Lego Marvel. I always like the idea of the Lego games more than the reality, but amazing to see the sheer enjoyment a child can get out of being Lego Iron Man. Sometimes easy to forget how much fun this hobby should be.

[Alex79]

Yeah the Lego games are kids to play co-op with kids. My son is also 8 and we've finished Lego Batman and Indiana Jones together. Is the Marvel one good too?

[fieldy]

Going through Fire Emblem awakening - only 4 chapters left. really really enjoyed this a I have most of the intelligent systems turn based strategy games. Wont be going onto the DLC however I've had my fill until Fates comes out

[DomsBeard]

Arkham Knight.

Strangely as much as I moaned about it I really love the Batmobile.

Superb so far.

[Alabastermage]

Finished Bloodborne finally, but have been replaying Final Fantasy VII.

Pretty much just trying to fill that void between now and the MGS5's release.

[Flabyo]

Few hours into Batman Arkham Knight, and it's pretty good. It's not spent much time tutorialling the things that are the same as the previous game, it seems to expect familiarity with the controls and gadgets from that game from the get go (maybe it's being clever and disabling tutorials if you use something before the game expects to have to tell you how to, something I've proposed for games I've worked on in the past but not aware anyone has ever done)

The Harley Quinn mission you get for pre-ordering hardly seems worth it though. It's short and the final boss battle in it is incredibly tedious. The way it replaces Batman's 'detective vision' with a kind of 'this is how Harley sees the world' mode is pretty well done though (right down to the count of enemies listing the cops as '10 little piggies')

One thing though...

If you replaced Batman and his allies with the Section 9 crew, and the Batmobile with a Tachikoma tank, you basically have the perfect Ghost in the Shell game here.

Get it done someone.

[Bakers_12]

I have been playing for the first time Majoras Mask on the 3DS despite having it for years on the Wii and not getting round to playing it.

It took me a little bit to get used to the mecanics of the three day loop but really like it now. the controls are a bit of a pain but that's probaly due to having an origanl 3DS and no circal pad pro. I'm only at the first temple but think this dark qurky Zelda is right up my street.

[stvnorman]

Yeah the Lego games are kids to play co-op with kids. My son is also 8 and we've finished Lego Batman and Indiana Jones together. Is the Marvel one good too?

Visually it's a treat. Stuff flying everywhere in a thousand colours. Real eye candy for a kid! And there's the draw of being a Marvel superhero too. Those two things alone are worth the asking price if you've got a son under ten.

I did find some of the puzzles a bit frustrating in this one though, which I didn't in Batman or Lord of the Rings. Two adults playing together might work them out quickly, but when you've got Iron Man flying randomly around the screen smashing stuff up while you singularly try to be in two places at once to find a solution, combined with a visual overload, you do start wishing the level would just end!

Would recommend it though. Once you get to the open world areas a few levels in, there's hours of fun to be had doing nothing in particular.