Whatcha Been Playing?

[Flabyo]

So, Dynasty Warriors 9 then.

First a tl;dr - this is very different from the way these games normally are, so if you were thinking about maybe coming over after having played the Zelda one, I’ll say go for 8 or preferably 7.


This isn’t the worst dynasty warriors game, I still think that title belongs to 6. What this is is something that is trying to do something very different whilst at the same time stay familiar. And it doesn’t quite pull it off.

It has a lot of tech issues, but I let those slide for the moment because I know that Omega Force are pretty good at post launch patch support (the launch version of 8 on 360 had some serious problems that they fixed pretty quickly).

The combat system has changed, and that was what really did for 6, but at the moment I think these changes are interesting if a little weird. I get the reviews saying it feels even more of a button masher than normal, but I think the flow system they have here has nuance that might take a while to tease out.

The open world elements are a combination of busy work, climbing towers to reveal the map (sigh) and a surprisingly engaging ebb and flow of battle where you can stumble across minor skirmishes over a small fort right up to full scale sieges. The ‘feature’ battles don’t quite have the same hand authored feel of 7 and 8 so far, but I’m not far enough in to know if they improve.

For long time fans it feels like a solid 7, but it’s not anywhere near as newcomer friendly as Hyrule Warriors.

[Scrustle]

Aside from still being absorbed by Monster Hunter, I've been playing Snake Pass. It's a very nice counterweight to MH, being pretty much the polar opposite. It's a very interesting and inventive game, which is very charming too. The mechanics of snaking around and making your way up/through obstacles by wrapping around things is pretty fun and interesting. Very unique. It can actually be pretty tricky on occasion too, despite the slow pace and calming atmosphere. It looks fantastic too, on the PC at least. Very colourful and vibrant, with some real nice grass effects, and the most adorable snake imaginable. The soundtrack is pretty cool too. The game has Rare vibes all through it, but especially the soundtrack, since it's by David Wise.

I've heard this game is pretty divisive though. Some people like it a lot, while others really dislike it. From what I gather, it's because there's some unreasonable difficulty spike at some point. I think I'm halfway through the last world, and I've yet to find anything like that. Apart from one level that had a kind of annoying section where they really should have put a checkpoint in, it's been a smooth gradual rise in difficulty where I haven't ever really felt like I was coming across anything cheap or overly disruptive.

[Feirsteax]

Still working away at celeste.

I have set up my Wii U again so I'll have to finish off Metroid Prime trilogy and Xenoblade Chronicles next!

[Suits]

I have set up my Wii U again so I'll have to finish off Metroid Prime trilogy and Xenoblade Chronicles next!

Just a couple of hours then .

I've been meaning to get my Wii U out again and refresh myself with YWW for the upcoming podcast, although we're bang in the middle of moving and having the new house refurbed, so I might not find the time/space to be able too .

Love the Wii U.

[Alex79]

I've been playing, and almost finished, Rime. As a PS+freebie I was really pleased to get it as I'd been meaning to snag it at some point. Love it. It's utterly gorgeous, I've never taken so many screenshots in a game! Mat Murray summed it up well when he said the puzzles are just enough to have you thinking for a minute before finding the solution relatively easily. A lazy way to describe it is a cross between Ico and Journey, but that really what it plays like to me. Very good so far, and looking forward to finishing it this weekend.

[KSubzero1000]

I've started the Shadow of the Colossus remaster this evening.

It's every bit the heart-wrenching, yet beautiful and mystical adventure I know and love, this time with a much appreciated new coat of paint. With that said, I can totally emphasize with those who are put off by the clunky controls and mechanics. I find it relatively easy to look past them for the sake of the bigger picture, but I can see how they might be a massive issue for some.

It may be strange of me to say this, considering how often I like to praise the idiosyncratic control schemes of certain games, but if there's a game that benefits from more standardized controls, it's this one.

[ADumican83]

I've been playing SotC too. Never played it until now. I can completely see why people loved it back in the day and although I'm definitely enjoying it in most part, the controls and camera angles are infuriating at times. It looks stunning though and the music is fantastic.

[KSubzero1000]

I realize it may very well be an infuriating answer, considering how much climbing and stabbing the game expects you to do, but the gameplay really isn't the most important aspect of SotC.

Still, it's nice to know you're finding enough to enjoy despite its flaws when playing it for the first time in 2018.

[Suits]

SotC is a game that I’ve missed out on over the years for various resasons.

Once I’ve moved and I’m all comfortable again, it’s the first PS4 game I’m getting into.

[KSubzero1000]

I'm gonna have to play some of the older Mario titles now to see what I've been missing all these years. How does Super Mario 64 hold up these days?

Quality never ages, it's just people who get more and more set in their ways as time goes on... Great games from 20 years ago hold up just as well as great films from 50 years ago or great music from 200 years ago.

Are you thinking of grabbing the Virtual Console version? I'd say go for it, just maybe look at a few screenshots first so that you know what to expect graphically, at least.

And if 64 doesn't turn out to be your thing, maybe consider giving Galaxy a shot, provided you have a wii remote and nunchuk in working order.

[ratsoalbion]

I'm gonna have to play some of the older Mario titles now to see what I've been missing all these years. How does Super Mario 64 hold up these days?

I'd recommend giving our podcasts a listen, starting with this one: https://caneandrinse.com/super-mario-64/

I think we felt that, overall, certain elements of the game itself had aged a little bit by the time we reviewed in some four years ago, but also that the magic and class of the game was still there in spades.

Super Mario Galaxy (1) remains probably my favourite 3D Mario, my favourite 3D platformer and one of my favourite games of all time though.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I've been spending some time playing Psyvariar: Medium Unit (Taito GNet) and while I'm improving, I'm in no danger of being great at it!

The arcade and the PlayStation 2 versions are pretty much identical. One point of difference (besides the initial load screen on PS2) is to do the roll in the arcade version, you have to do a quick left-right or right-left movement with the joystick, whereas in the PlayStation 2 version you can hold down the triggers and spin forever. Also, the PlayStation version combines Medium Unit and Revision, and is on PSN in some regions. Obviously I'd recommend it!

But yeah, having to manually initiate the roll manually makes for very different experience, and for lack of a better description you feel more like the pilot of the ship. I have combed through the service menu for an auto-roll option, but it's manual roll all the way. Games like Dodonpachi have the option of mapping autofire to the C button, so having an auto mode isn't that unusual for arcade games.

If there's one fault, the scores don't reset to zero once you add a credit to continue, so you can kinda "buy" yourself a high-score. But deep down, every gamer knows whether they've truly earned that high-score or not, and I'd be far to proud to accept anything but a one credit attempt!

Great game, and having Revision included in the PS2 version makes it a bargain.

Minor edit: if you have an arcade fightstick/joystick - easily the best way to play it. For obvious reasons.

[ratsoalbion]

I used to have the PAL (60Hz option) PS2 disc version but sold it at some point. Disappointing that there’s never been a downloadable version on a more contemporary system.

[kintaris]

I have persevered with Shadow of the Colossus and got used to the controls again, but sadly the magic hasn't returned. For me I think it was a one-punch powerful experience when everything was a surprise, but a lack of substance beyond the aesthetic and simple story is just leaving me a little hollow.

Not the soundtrack though. It remains gorgeous and will soon be another addition to the vinyl collection, for the LP player I don't own

[Chopper]

I reached my limit with Monster Hunter's Rathalos - there's just no fun in fighting flying beasts - so have moved on to give Kingdom Come Deliverance a go.

It's interesting. There's a fair bit of shonkiness where the seams meet - transitioning in and out of conversation/cutscenes mainly - but it looks mostly great and is very playable. That said, a large part of the first three hours is spent watching stuff taking place and tutorial quests rather than being too involved yourself. After about 3.5 hours you get the opening credits.

I haven't figured out the RPG aspects yet - I may or may not have levelled up, and there are loads of traits with points in them, but I don't know whether I have points to spend. It's heavy on the lore (historical codex entries are popping up on screen at an alarming rate), and the realism aspect may be a bit overexaggerated; I lit a torch at one point and the tutorial told me I could use a torch to see in the dark, or use a 'Nighthawk Potion'.

Saving is a pain in the arse; I was catapulted back half an hour to my last save at times. This wasn't an issue when I was bumbling around at the start because I was able to repeat that half hour's actions in about 2 mins, but I could see it being an issue now things are serious.

Fighting is interesting, with directional swinging of sword/fists. In 3.5 hours I have killed 2 guys and beaten one guy up. Lockpicking is absolutely awful to the extent I won't be doing any more of that. I only have 2 gold after all that time.

[Scrustle]

I've been playing, and almost finished, Rime. As a PS+freebie I was really pleased to get it as I'd been meaning to snag it at some point. Love it. It's utterly gorgeous, I've never taken so many screenshots in a game! Mat Murray summed it up well when he said the puzzles are just enough to have you thinking for a minute before finding the solution relatively easily. A lazy way to describe it is a cross between Ico and Journey, but that really what it plays like to me. Very good so far, and looking forward to finishing it this weekend.

Really glad people are liking this game. I think it got somewhat unfairly overlooked on release. I don't think it's really "lazy" to call it a mix of Journey and Ico. While obviously you can go in to much more detail than that, as an overall description, that is very accurate. If anyone is familiar with those games, that pretty much tells them everything they need to know. Maybe even too much.

I reached my limit with Monster Hunter's Rathalos - there's just no fun in fighting flying beasts - so have moved on to give Kingdom Come Deliverance a go.

Which weapon were you using for that Rathalos? Flying enemies can be a massive pain depending on what weapon you're using. I would advise you try out a ranged weapon or the Insect Glaive for flying monsters. I'm particularly partial to the latter. You can just jump up to it in the air and slice it to pieces. Lots of fun.

Kind of disappointed to here there are some unrealistic aspects in Kingdom Come. I thought the whole idea of that game was making it a hardcore realistic experience. Not played the game myself, but the idea seemed interesting to me, in contrast to the usual magical RPG fare.

[Chopper]

Really glad people are liking this game. I think it got somewhat unfairly overlooked on release.

Yeah, really enjoyed Rime too. It has a lot going for it.

Which weapon were you using for that Rathalos?

Dual Blades!

I fought the Paolumu with the light bowgun, and it took forever. I was using the flash pods and slinger to try and ground the Rathalos here but the item management is just a bit too finicky for me.

Don't get me wrong, I've loved the game so far. I think I spent far too much time farming the lower level monsters though - I'm 35 hours in and only got to the Rathalos + Rathian story mission - so I'm a bit burned out on it.

Kind of disappointed to here there are some unrealistic aspects in Kingdom Come. I thought the whole idea of that game was making it a hardcore realistic experience. Not played the game myself, but the idea seemed interesting to me, in contrast to the usual magical RPG fare.

In fairness it is the only really artificial thing I've seen so far, apart from maybe the lords and ladies being a bit too happy to talk to you. Then again, I have done very little so these systems (fighting, stealth etc) have yet to fully reveal themselves to me.

There is a fair bit of micromanagement though, washing yourself and keeping yourself fed and that.

[Flabyo]

From what I’ve read about Kingdom Come’s save system, that’s enough to put me off playing it entirely.

Not being able to save anywhere, in an open world game, in 2018? Really guys?

[Alex79]

Dark Souls 3.

I've put a few hours in to this today and last night. Honestly, I don't want to sound like a bit of a dick (although I am fully aware I often fail miserably in that regard) but I've kinda been breezing through the game so far. None of the bosses have taken more than a few attempts, but then I reached Aldrich and he kicked my ass about ten times before I beat him.

Last night I started exploring the Ithryll Dungeon and finally starting feeling the Dark Souls challenge. This area is tough! I made my way through and reached the Profaned Capital, and have probably died more in the last couple of sessions than the entire rest of the game put together!

I reached Yhorm the Giant, and...

Spoiler: show

...together with Siggy totally kicked his ass. Bit annoying though because I spoke to Sig after the fight and before I had chance to grab the items or light the bonfire and cash in my souls (about 80 grand >_<) I was whisked off to fight another boss, the Dancer!? Dammit. That's a lot of souls to lose, hope I can get them back. It put me all the way back to the Profaned Capital bonfire too.... Turned it off, I'll try again later! The Dancer was going down quite easy, got him down to about 30% health when he started spamming some whirlwind attack!)

Dark Souls 3. It's good.

[KSubzero1000]

I have persevered with Shadow of the Colossus and got used to the controls again, but sadly the magic hasn't returned.

I'm really sorry to hear that, because I'm having the exact opposite experience at the moment. I just defeated

Spoiler: show

Avion

and was completely taken aback by the juxtaposition of the awe-inspiring moments of the fight itself, as well as the sadness of the following cutscene. What a ride.

This game. It's so good. It does so much with so little. We need more of those.

I genuinely hope it'll click for you again, man.

Dark Souls 3. It's good.

If you use the

Spoiler: show

Vordt of the Boreal Valley bonfire, you'll be very close to the Dancer.

Might come in handy.