Alex79uk wrote: ↑January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)

SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)

This went from being a table I wasn't overly keen on to one of my favorites as I played through the star challenges. Really fun table, nice layout, good game mode objectives, secondary table, just a really good quality table from the FX crew. And I managed to place 234 in the world on the one ball challenge! (Which is more satisfying than it sounds, haha).

Alex79uk wrote: ↑January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)

SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)

Another table that initially seems very generic and a bit dull, but the more you play, the better it gets. Good fun, this one!

Spoiler: show

06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)
22/01 - Black Mesa (PC)
24/01 - HITMAN 3 (PC)
15/02 - The Pathless (PC)
06/03 - Homeworld: Remastered (PC)
07/03 - Demon's Souls [Remake] (PS5)
07/03 - Little Nightmares (PC)
05/04 - It Takes Two (PC)
11/05 - Resident Evil Village (PS5)
23/05 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS3)
17/06 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
13/07 - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
21/08 - Hypnospace Outlaw (PC)
27/08 - Death's Door (PC)
07/09 - Psychonauts 2 (PC)
11/09 - Metro: Exodus (PC)

20/09 - Quake (PC)

The recent remaster finally got me to complete this. Really holds up, some great level design!

(Jan) Call of the Sea - Series X.
(Jan) Remember Me - PS3.
(Jan) Ghostbusters Remastered - Series X
(Feb) Disney Infinity 2.0 - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Sacred 3 - PS3.
(Feb) The Darkness II - PS3.
(Feb) The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - PS3.
(Mar) Gears 5: Hivebusters - Series X.
(Mar) Silent Hill: Downpour - PS3.
(Mar) The Medium - Series X.
(Mar) Donut County - Series X.
(Mar) Astro's Playroom - PS5.
(Apr) Outriders - Series X.
(May) Lego City Undercover - Wii U.
(May) Ghost of Tsushima - PS5.
(May) Resident Evil Village - PS5.
(May) Dantes Inferno - Series X(BC).
(May) Streets of Rage 4 - Series X.
(May) Dead Space - Series X(BC).
(June) Matterfall - PS5.
(June) Battlefield 4 - Series X.
(Aug) Metro Exodus + DLCs - Series X.
(Aug) Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition - Series X.
(Aug) Maneater(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Dead Rising 4 - Series X.
(Sept) Limbo - Series X.
(Sept) Raji: An Ancient Epic - Series X.
(Sept) The Ascent - Series X.
(Sept) The Artful Escape - Series X.

Finish #23 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Took me close to a month but I did the majority of the sidequests and extra missions.

I'm going to play something shorter now.

Just finished Deathloop, I loved it. It's just a great very repayable package with a really got story.

Spoiler: show

05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid

23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD

While most of this was a struggle to play, it also had some really interesting aspects to it. Especially with the direction the story went towards the end. I never really got the hang of the controls, and felt like a lot of it was very awkward to play and even pretty cheap sometimes. Generally I didn't enjoy actually playing it, with very few exceptions.

But like the first game the presentation is really impressive. Despite the strong opening the story does drag a bit until the the later moments, but when it gets there it goes some really cool places. The twisting conspiracy of different interests is really intriguing, even if it starts getting a little bit absurd when you get like the third double-cross in a row in the same cutscene. But even then, those cutscenes are really well paced and presented that they are still enjoyable, and don't feel like a drag despite their length. The topics about information control and such were really compelling and brought up some stuff that is very relevant today. The way it breaks the fourth wall is very cool as well. It weaves together these topics about how information shapes society and individuals with the experiences the player themselves have. It also gives you some hints to that sort of thing early on if you know what to look out for, dropping mentions of simulations, and how the Colonel always sounds just a little bit off, etc.

I was kind of surprised to not hear the word "memes" dropped at all though. Considering that this is exactly what these topics about information and society are about, and how big a relation it has to this series. Maybe it's in a codec call somewhere that I missed, but it didn't show up anywhere in the main story. Also somewhat surprised this game heavily teases the sequel, like the first did. I was under the impression Kojima wanted this game to be the last in the series. As he basically did do for every game after as well.

Alex79uk wrote: ↑January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)

SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)

Won every belt, defended them 20+ times, been deemed the GOAT, doesn't seem anything else to do in career mode. It's a good game in the actual fights, but the career mode is a bit sparse. You earn money you can't spend on anything, you can't call out other fighters to start rivalries, getting to peak fitness before every fight gets boring after a while and the story mode amounts to a handful of cut scenes before key fights. Fight Night Champion did all this better a decade ago. Enjoyed this on Gamepass, but I'd have felt short changed if I'd paid full price.

Scrustle wrote: ↑September 23rd, 2021, 5:49 pm

Spoiler: show

05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid

23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
...

I was kind of surprised to not hear the word "memes" dropped at all though. Considering that this is exactly what these topics about information and society are about, and how big a relation it has to this series. Maybe it's in a codec call somewhere that I missed, but it didn't show up anywhere in the main story. Also somewhat surprised this game heavily teases the sequel, like the first did. I was under the impression Kojima wanted this game to be the last in the series. As he basically did do for every game after as well.

MGS2 is old enough that meme's were not really a thing at that time - the likes of 'I can has cheeseburger' were only just beginning to get a following ...

ReprobateGamer wrote: ↑September 25th, 2021, 12:50 pm MGS2 is old enough that meme's were not really a thing at that time - the likes of 'I can has cheeseburger' were only just beginning to get a following ...

Memes were around at the time though. The original meaning, that being looking at how ideas and culture change and adapt over time in the same way genes do. That's what MGS2 is talking about with those topics of influencing the progress of society through information control. Like how Snake is an attempt to recreate Big Boss through his genes, the Patriots are trying to improve society as a whole through memes. I hear MGS4 talks about it explicitly, but I haven't got to that one. I know MGR does though.

Scrustle wrote: ↑September 25th, 2021, 1:20 pm

ReprobateGamer wrote: ↑September 25th, 2021, 12:50 pm MGS2 is old enough that meme's were not really a thing at that time - the likes of 'I can has cheeseburger' were only just beginning to get a following ...

Memes were around at the time though. The original meaning, that being looking at how ideas and culture change and adapt over time in the same way genes do. That's what MGS2 is talking about with those topics of influencing the progress of society through information control. Like how Snake is an attempt to recreate Big Boss through his genes, the Patriots are trying to improve society as a whole through memes. I hear MGS4 talks about it explicitly, but I haven't got to that one. I know MGR does though.

Oh for sure - I explained badly in my response. My point was solely that 'meme' as a word was not as much in the public consciousness as it is now - it was much more tied in with the field of memetics rather than the public 'this is a funny picture' which I suspect would be the more immediate response to hearing the word presently.

Spoiler: show

06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)
22/01 - Black Mesa (PC)
24/01 - HITMAN 3 (PC)
15/02 - The Pathless (PC)
06/03 - Homeworld: Remastered (PC)
07/03 - Demon's Souls [Remake] (PS5)
07/03 - Little Nightmares (PC)
05/04 - It Takes Two (PC)
11/05 - Resident Evil Village (PS5)
23/05 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS3)
17/06 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
13/07 - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
21/08 - Hypnospace Outlaw (PC)
27/08 - Death's Door (PC)
07/09 - Psychonauts 2 (PC)
11/09 - Metro: Exodus (PC)
20/09 - Quake (PC)

25/09 - Castlevania (Switch - Via the Collection)

Thoughts on the pod!

Finish #24 - Deadly Premonition Origins.

Fun to play again after quite a while, but man that game runs like hot garbage.

#14 - Night Delivery

This is an interesting little J-horror game, found cheaply on Steam. It's not long by any means - I spent about an hour or so, maybe a bit more. The core premise is that you're a delivery guy delivering packages late at night. That's all you have to go by, and ideally, that's all you know on your first playthrough. The game has two endings, but unlocking the more complex one is not difficult; I almost did it by accident, but I forgot to pick up an item I knew I'd unlocked.

But yeah. I know it's hard to recommend a game but then say, "Go in blind," but if you're in for some spookums with some unexpectedly deep-cutting social commentary, pick this up for a few "squid"... That's what Brits call their dollars, right? It's very inexpensive and it goes on sale a lot. 'Tis the season, I say roll the dice.

Oh, and fair warning, it has no native controller support, but it really only uses like 3 action keys outside of movement, so you should be okay using something like Joy2Key.

&iso2021

I really want to play Night Delivery. I wish so many good horror games weren't PC only... my laptop just isn't up to the task

18. Dishonored 2

This game was so, so much fun. Can't decide if I want to jump straight into Prey or play something else as a breather first.

Finish #25 - Deadly Premonition 2.

That was.....quite a story.

I have mixed feelings. No driving, just a skateboard - but the skateboard sucked in the last game.

Shooting is *way* better, but you don't switch weapons...which makes money and sidequests kind of pointless.

The setting definitely sets itself apart from the last game, and they didn't try and repeat themselves - but the moodiness of the Pacific NW was part of the charm of the first game.

I liked it, I'm glad I played it, but I don't completely know how I feel about it.

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Slay the Spire (Switch)
Jan 10 - Streets of Rage 4 (PS4) (Cherry - Normal)
Jan 24 - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch) (True Ending)
Feb 28 - Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)
Mar 28 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Vita)
Jun 13 - Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PS4)
Jul 11 - What The Golf? (Switch)
Jul 17 - Everything (PS4)
Jul 24 - Astro's Playroom (PS5)
Aug 2 - The Darkside Detective (Switch)
Aug 5 - Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
Sep 4 - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)
Sep 10 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch)

Sep 26 - Blaster Master Zero (Switch)
This was sitting on my Switch for 2 years at least, and I finally played it last weekend. Solid and likeable but there's nothing particularly special about it. Both the vehicle platforming and the top down shooting function well and have a good range of power ups for its 5 hour playtime. The plot is poor and there's too much talking, especially given its retro sensibilities.

I'm still curious to see how Inti developed the series with Zero II and III and might pick them up on sale.

#15 - Onimusha (PS2)

Sigh. I really hate to call this one, but my disc freezes on the cutscene right before the final boss. Absolutely brutal. A resurfacing could probably fix it but... I honestly didn't like this one enough to keep it. I did enjoy it for its run time though.

So Onimusha is Resident Evil 4, insofar as it's a Resident Evil style game with an action focus. I did enjoy the navigation and everything on display here, but the feudal Japanese setting just never grabs me because it's just so overplayed. The Japanese cultural obsession with Nobunaga Oda and that whole era is just something I've seen done to death and back, I have trouble getting into any story in that period.

The story is actually super, super basic. Like RE2, you just kinda start caught up in the action, but it really just boils down to a "save the girl" story, with a few neat setpiece moments. The game's pretty short too, maybe 5-6 hours. That said, I did really like the whole "70s Japanese monster movie" stuff happening in the story, and that stuff made me excited enough to keep rolling through the game.

I really liked the camera work and tank controls here, and the game looks visually amazing on a CRT over component - which really surprised me for an early PS2 game. The gameplay itself is... Fine. You can beat the snot out of enemies really quite easily, and the magic attacks almost feel like cheating sometimes. But at the same time, enemies can rip you a new one if they combo you. Very similar to Bloodborne in that regard. It was serviceable to play, overall, but never especially exciting.

I dunno about this one overall. Like I said, I enjoyed it enough to finish it, and I'm excited to see what else the series has to offer (I also have 2 and 3 on the backlog), but this first entry was just kinda "merely good"... Lacking a certain je ne sais quois to put it over the top for me.

And one minor nitpick - this game has Japanese audio options (a rarity for its era), but the pre-rendered cutscenes have no subtitles. Weird, and worth keeping in mind if you pick this one up.

&iso2021

Spoiler: show

1. GRIS
2. My Friend Pedro
3. Doom Eternal
4. Donut County
5. What Remains of Edith Finch
6. Luigi's Mansion 3
7. Locomotive
8. Bowsers Fury
9. Mafia Definitive Edition
10. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
11. Halo: Combat Evolved (Anniversary Edition)
12. It Takes Two
13. Mario Golf Super Rush
14. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
15. Into the Breach

16. The Artful Escape
If there was ever a game to be described as an audiovisual spectacle, then this is it. It has a great story which I'm sure will strike a chord (pardon the pun) with many people. Some of the scenes you see in this game are incredible which fit perfectly with the games epic score and it has some really cool customisation bits which impact later bits in the game. For me personally I think this game could have been truly special to me had it had more gameplay. Specifically with the guitar riffs. I would have liked them to be more challenging, longer and have more of them. I want to reiterate that this is for me and my tastes only as I think what I am about to say some people will strongly disagree with, but had this game had sections similar to Rock Band or any other rhythm game for the boss battles, it would have made defeating those bosses feel even more incredible. They feel great anyway due to the spectacle and music happening at the same time, but the gameplay was so simple and easy that I didn't feel as satisfied as I would have liked at the end of those battles. Each guitar riff bit was like eating a treacle sponge but without any ice cream or custard. 7/10

Just Finished Kena Bridge of Spirits, it's a really fun new AA 3D action with fun combat and an engaging story. It feels like a game that was more common on 360/PS3 consoles. I think it's worth checking out.
It also just looks fantastic, it's by the team that made that animated Majora's Mask short a few years ago.