I've got this, and I loved playing Gwent in the Witcher 3, but found this a bit confusing. Maybe it's been too long since I played the main game, but it seemed like it added loads of extra rules and I ended up not really knowing what I was doing half the time.Kos or some say Kosm wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2022, 11:49 am Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - 7/10 craving some gwent and this scratched my itch! Really cool game.
Games Completed 2022
Re: Games Completed 2022
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FrittteShopClerk
- Member
- Posts: 18
- Joined: August 25th, 2022, 1:42 pm
Re: Games Completed 2022
I've been on something of an effort to finish games that I gave up on previously. I went back and finished Spiderman on the PS4 the other night. I bought it a couple of years ago, got about halfway through before giving up. Despite playing and enjoying PS5 Miles Morales in between times I never went back to Spiderman until now. I actually really enjoyed it apart from the Mary Jane instant death stealth sections which can get in the bin.
Luigi's Mansion 3 next!
Luigi's Mansion 3 next!
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stvnorman
- Member
- Posts: 911
- Joined: March 19th, 2013, 8:09 pm
- Location: Keysoe, Bedfordshire, UK
- Contact:
Re: Games Completed 2022
2 August: Gekirindan (Arcade)
12 August: Panorama Cotton (Mega Drive on Switch)
18 August: Midnight Wanderers (Arcade on Switch)
25 August : Vampire Savior 2: The Lord Of Vampire - Morrigan (Switch)
I think I could still do better at vertical shooter Gekirindan but I’ve moved on for now after getting to the end in five credits. I did get Panorama Cotton down to three though, after having unfinished business with that following last month’s clear. I got a good enough clear on Midnight Wanderers too, part of the Capcom Fighting Collection bonus content for Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium and a very decent action platformer. And Darkstalkers from that fighting collection keeps on giving!
12 August: Panorama Cotton (Mega Drive on Switch)
18 August: Midnight Wanderers (Arcade on Switch)
25 August : Vampire Savior 2: The Lord Of Vampire - Morrigan (Switch)
I think I could still do better at vertical shooter Gekirindan but I’ve moved on for now after getting to the end in five credits. I did get Panorama Cotton down to three though, after having unfinished business with that following last month’s clear. I got a good enough clear on Midnight Wanderers too, part of the Capcom Fighting Collection bonus content for Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium and a very decent action platformer. And Darkstalkers from that fighting collection keeps on giving!
Re: Games Completed 2022
- Spoiler: show
This one was a nice little surprise. It's the current freebie on the Epic store, and it's one that I definitely recommend people check out. A lot of the time with these free games they look somewhat interesting, enough to claim and add to the "maybe someday" pile, but for the small handful I have ever got around to actually trying, they usually fail to grab my attention. This one was different though. Turned out to be a nice little experience.
The setup is that you play as a sister and brother duo (usually as the former) as you explore the remains of a flooded post-apocalyptic city that has been reclaimed by nature. Throughout the city there are these huge black, oily tendrils reaching out to major locations, which act as platforming levels that you traverse to collect magic seeds and place them back in their natural source from which they have been displaced. When you do so it turns the black tentacles in to green vines covered in flowers, in a scene much like when you heal an area in Okami. Along the way there are also a bunch of collectables, a lot of which tell the backstory. Both of the city and the sibling protagonists.
The visual design is pretty fantastic. It has a similar look to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, with its emphasis on excessively lush plant life engulfing the crumbling cityscape. It has really strong colours too. It doesn't quite have the same specific colour palette as Enslaved, but it does tend to focus on blues and greens just because of the nature of the setting. There is a day/night cycle though, which has some really great lighting effects. A lot of the major locations that contain the platforming levels are really well designed from a visual perspective. It takes buildings or structures that might be a common sight in a city, but transforms them in to something unique that have a great sense of presence, and lets you explore them in ways you never would be able to normally. There are a lot of minor touches that add flavour too. As you explore around the city in your boat, you might see some rubble falling off a building in to the water below. There's a lot of wildlife around the city as well, but most of it comes in the form of these strange replications of creatures made out of the same green vine material that the black tendrils turn in to. On land you also see these things in the shape of human figures that react to you as you approach them, seemingly existing as shadows of the people who lived in these places before. It all adds up to a world that is not only very attractive and appealing, but has a sense of history and mystery to it, despite it being almost devoid of any life. It does have a habit of placing trees in areas that they would never realistically be able to grow, but I can let that slide.
Gameplay isn't especially compelling to be honest, but I still appreciated it as the more relaxed experience it's clearly trying to go for. It's split between two major styles of play. Sailing around in your boat looking for optional collectibles, or the aforementioned platforming levels. Both are extremely simple and straightforward, not really asking much from the player at all. Hardly any of the collectibles are remotely hard to find. The platforming barely qualifies as such. It's that automatic style, also like Enslaved, but even simpler here. You don't even need to press any button to jump, or do anything. Just generally point the stick in the direction of the next ledge or whatever, and your character will just do it all themselves. There are a few very minor puzzles in these levels sometimes, but they never extend beyond "put the rock in the obvious spot to hold down the switch." But even so, I found it engaging enough. It feels like it's mostly there as an excuse to get you to explore the world and see the story, and it did that. The game has a slow and relaxing pace, and it's good for just chilling out to and going through the motions, soaking in the atmosphere of it, poring over the little environmental details.
The story itself is okay. It has three different plot threads to it, but all of them are pretty simple and not especially deep. The first is obviously the events of the game as they happen, collecting the seeds and healing the black tendrils. It tries to create some drama, in that the sister has some kind of supernatural affinity with the tendrils and the magic seeds, and this somehow drives a wedge between her and the brother, but it doesn't feel very believable and doesn't really go anywhere. There is something else that happens near the end of the story that adds a sense of ominous mystery to it, but I don't want to spoil it. The other two are backstory told through comic strip-like pictures accompanied by a small amount of text. Some tell of the history of the siblings and their previous attempts to find a home but being rejected because of the sister's powers. The others tell the history of the city itself and how the tendrils came to be, and what became of the people who lived there before. Both are pretty shallow and predictable, but at least do their job of adding a bit of flavour and context.
This game is actually a sequel to one that came out a while back. I remember it piquing my interest at the time, but it didn't review well, so I skipped it. I feel like perhaps if I played that one first, maybe I would have connected with the story of this one better. It's also a funny coincidence that this came around at the same time as I discovered Wavetale through its demo recently. Both are games that are themed around flooded worlds, that were both also Stadia exclusives until recently.
But anyway, this is a good game that I think deserves a shot. It might not be the best game in the world, but for the price of free, it's definitely worth giving a go if it looks at all appealing.
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ColinAlonso
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- Joined: September 6th, 2016, 9:13 pm
- Location: Dublin
Re: Games Completed 2022
- Spoiler: show
Aug 13 - Downtown Nekketsu Story (Switch)
I've been playing the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun bundle on switch. These are the re-translated Super Dodgeball and River City Ransom/Street Gangs, which I've completed before. Not the deepest games in the world, (they are NES games after all) but still really enjoyable.
Aug 20 - Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day! (Switch)
This is a silly little game. Basically there are four events and you pick a school and try to win the most points across all the events but, being an old game, you need to be in first at the end of each event.
The first event is cross-country, which I find quite funny and the highlight of the game. Four characters racing across the course. But since this is River City, its purely an urban course with silly locations and the runners all hitting each other.
The others are a shorter obstacle course that requires more platforming (not a strength of the brawler style controls) a game where teams of two have to climb a pole and burst a balloon (I'm slightly sketchy on that detail, the game is fun but short) and a 4 man free for all fight.
I would have been a bit annoyed it it was a Christmas present back then (although it was Japan only and a wee bit before my time too) as its a bit slight but I found it a fun and funny diversion.
I won with Reiho, which heads to a bad ending, they are the villians of the piece after all. I think it has to be with Nekketsu (or possibly with Hanazono) for the good ending.
Aug 21 - Judgment (PS5)
I have a '1 Yakuza a year rule' and I've reached the Judgment spin offs. I really like this one. After the slower turn based RPG combat of Like a Dragon, this was a welcome return to the brawler style. I liked the cast of characters with a different angle to the ex-Yakuza from the other games and really like the story. Definitely in the top half of my personal Yakuza series ranking.
Sep 3 - Guardians of the Galaxy (PS5)
I had to check the Opencritic score for this before I started typing because I feel like this is one of those games that does most things ok but doesn't do anything particularly special. However I also think its tone and style and how the the story lands with people may make it a favourite for some.
The combat is fine, and activating the team's skills at opportune moments is nice, although this also shows that Star-Lord's are boring.
The story is ok and moves at a nice pace, trying for some emotional bits that kinda work. It includes the kind of banter expected from the Guardians and that's good too. Its also not an origin story, which is nice.
Its a pretty game but I had at least 10 glitches over the course of the game which caused me to reload the game (there is very regular autosave) which was odd since I wasn't doing anything weird and its a linear game.
I enjoyed it enough to complete it but it won't leave a lasting impression.
The score is 82 by the way, slightly higher than I thought it would be.
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Kos or some say Kosm
- Member
- Posts: 13
- Joined: August 28th, 2022, 11:19 am
Re: Games Completed 2022
As first it also seemed super confusing to me but after maybe 2 hours it all clicked then started to have a blast! Once I knew what I was doing I started a new gameAlex79 wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2022, 12:10 pmI've got this, and I loved playing Gwent in the Witcher 3, but found this a bit confusing. Maybe it's been too long since I played the main game, but it seemed like it added loads of extra rules and I ended up not really knowing what I was doing half the time.Kos or some say Kosm wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2022, 11:49 am Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - 7/10 craving some gwent and this scratched my itch! Really cool game.
Re: Games Completed 2022
- Spoiler: show
Been mulling over giving this one another run for ages. This is the first time I've played through this since the No More Heroes revival in recent years, and since playing Killer7 for the first time. Given how many similarities this game shares with those, I figured that might change how I felt about it. In the end it didn't really, I still like it about the same, but it did give this game some more context that is interesting to think about.
I still really like it on a basic experiential level. The gameplay is really enjoyable, even if it's rather simple. It's not deep, but it feels great on a kinaesthetic level. And the way your attacks increase in speed and escalate in their flourish is so gratifying. Keeping a barrage of attacks going as long as you can without getting hit has a gradually increasing tension that produces some great thrills. The last-second dodge that sends you in to a hyper fast counter attack where everything turns red feels really good too. The enemy variety is decent enough to keep things a bit more interesting on that side of things as well. Bosses are a mixed bag. Some are excellent, while others are a drag. It ends on probably the best of the lot, at least.
The aesthetic is fantastic as well. I love how this game looks. The super high contrast and excessive use of sharp shadows that have a gradient across them looks really cool. It creates this impression that the shadows are somehow so dark that they're darker than pitch black. The presentation has a certain mood to it as well, making you feel like you're not really sure what's supposed to be real or not. I like the monster design too, often made of strange twisted wires. Mondo himself is a design I like a lot, very sharp looking.
This game does feel like it isn't all that it could be though. That's something I have always felt to a degree, but comparing it against those other Grasshopper games, it sheds a bit more light on to that. NMH3 has this game beat in terms of combat design, I think it's fair to say. Before that game came out, there was an argument to be made that KiD had the best combat of any Grasshopper game. It may have been basic, but all games from the studio before then had been. But the responsiveness and pacing of fights in this game was a step above what they had made before. But NMH3 came along, and not only did that carry over a lot of the positive qualities of KiD's combat, but it also added more depth with the Death Glove abilities, and had more imaginative enemy design as well. Not that KiD's combat is bad by any means, but as an evolution of what NMH was doing beforehand, NMH3 feels like a more ambitious and fleshed out version of that.
Narratively this game is somewhat muddled as well. It clearly has things it's going for, but it doesn't come together in a cohesive way. It shares some of those things with Killer7, with themes about untrustworthy government entities, working in unethical areas towards dubious goals. Or themes about losing your identity and how immersing yourself in a dark environment can corrupt you. But this game never really feels like it has a solid thesis it's trying to present on these things. As convoluted and confusing as Killer7 could be, it always felt like it had a message, and whatever weird thing you were seeing, it always had some payoff or connection to the wider plot. KiD instead has a bunch of threads that suggest some of these themes, but don't end up anywhere, or it's unclear how things are supposed to relate to each other. KiD also has a weird thread about masculinity running through it as well, that doesn't seem to connect to anything.
In some recent interviews Suda51 has mentioned the idea of going back to this game and revisiting its ideas somehow. How exactly that would be done wasn't clear, but I would be very interested in seeing something like that happen. I don't think a straight up remake or sequel would be a good idea, but perhaps a spiritual successor of some form would be cool to see. Not to mention it would be way easier from the IP rights perspective. Although I'm not sure on the status of the rights for this game, Grasshopper may already hold them. But either way, I think it would be better to try again on something new rather than trying to overwrite this game like it never happened, or being stuck with any unnecessary baggage. But having another shot at trying to get this game's ideas right sounds like something I'd definitely want to try, not to mention simply having a new Suda51 action game to look forward to.
I played this on the Very Hard mode this time around, not for any particular reason. I just felt like stepping things up to a mode I hadn't done before seemed like I was progressing in some way. I did the same thing last time when I moved up to Hard, so why not. I don't think it was necessarily worth it though. The game doesn't really change at higher modes, just makes the numbers more punishing. For most of the game that didn't really make a significant difference, aside from a few encounters that it caused quite a bit of annoyance in. I suppose it did get me to think about strategy a bit more in some areas, but it only resulted in one worthwhile discovery near the very end of the game. And even then it was inspired by a loading screen tip more than anything else. I think this is the hardest mode the game originally had on consoles, but on PC there's an even higher Nightmare mode. I don't think I'll ever bother with that though. If I decide to go back to this again, I'll probably go back down to Hard.
Had a good time with this one generally though. Fun combat, very stylish, great visuals. It's never been near the top of the pile in terms of action games for me, but I appreciate it regardless.
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ThirdDrawing
- Member
- Posts: 571
- Joined: October 13th, 2016, 2:33 pm
- Location: Poverty Stricken StudentLand
Re: Games Completed 2022
#9 for me this year (slow year!) - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
176 hours spent and I still didn't even finish every quest in the game.
I liked some of the refinements they made to things like affiliation and gems, they were streamlined but less tedious than in the previous games.
Some parts of the story really, really, really reminded me of Xenogears in both tone and theme. It's the most serious of the three games, by far, and it's slowly growing on me, as is the soundtrack. Didn't think much of it when I started playing, it's still not my favourite, but there are some excellent songs on it.
A good game for fans of the series. I enjoyed it overall.
176 hours spent and I still didn't even finish every quest in the game.
I liked some of the refinements they made to things like affiliation and gems, they were streamlined but less tedious than in the previous games.
Some parts of the story really, really, really reminded me of Xenogears in both tone and theme. It's the most serious of the three games, by far, and it's slowly growing on me, as is the soundtrack. Didn't think much of it when I started playing, it's still not my favourite, but there are some excellent songs on it.
A good game for fans of the series. I enjoyed it overall.
Re: Games Completed 2022
Jan 2: Days Gone, PS5
Feb 27: Demon's Souls (2020), PS5
May 8: Deathloop, PS5
June 9: King of Fighters 15, PS5
July 4: Sonic Mania, PS4
July 16: Dragon Quest 11S Definitive Edition, PS4
July 22: God of War (2018), PS5
Aug 10: Elden Ring, PS5
Aug 15: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, PS5
Aug 21: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PS5
Sept 6: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, PS4
Sept 6: What Remains of Edith Finch, PS5
I had been meaning to finish A New Frontier for a while. I had completed the first episode for free years ago and was always annoyed seeing it's trophies incomplete in my profile, so when it went on sale this past week for $6, I picked it up. I thoroughly enjoyed Javi's story; way more than Season 2, which I thought was a clusterfuck (Clem, a 10 year old, behaved more logically and was smarter than all the adults in Season 2, who acted like brats). Also, I though Telltale changed their game engine by A New Frontier? Way too many graphical glitches!
I played Edith Finch years ago on PS4 when it was free on PS+ and just downloaded the recent free PS5 upgrade just wanting to score a quick and easy platinum trophy. My god, this game is far more horrifying than any actual horror game ever. I was getting queasy as I controlled each of the Finches deaths, particularly the children's. I know the game tries to be uplifting at the end ("Don't mourn us being gone. Celebrate that we ever had a chance to be here."), but it's hard to do that as I've just watched multiple young children die from the the first person perspective. I'm not certain I can ever play that again.
Feb 27: Demon's Souls (2020), PS5
May 8: Deathloop, PS5
June 9: King of Fighters 15, PS5
July 4: Sonic Mania, PS4
July 16: Dragon Quest 11S Definitive Edition, PS4
July 22: God of War (2018), PS5
Aug 10: Elden Ring, PS5
Aug 15: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, PS5
Aug 21: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PS5
Sept 6: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, PS4
Sept 6: What Remains of Edith Finch, PS5
I had been meaning to finish A New Frontier for a while. I had completed the first episode for free years ago and was always annoyed seeing it's trophies incomplete in my profile, so when it went on sale this past week for $6, I picked it up. I thoroughly enjoyed Javi's story; way more than Season 2, which I thought was a clusterfuck (Clem, a 10 year old, behaved more logically and was smarter than all the adults in Season 2, who acted like brats). Also, I though Telltale changed their game engine by A New Frontier? Way too many graphical glitches!
I played Edith Finch years ago on PS4 when it was free on PS+ and just downloaded the recent free PS5 upgrade just wanting to score a quick and easy platinum trophy. My god, this game is far more horrifying than any actual horror game ever. I was getting queasy as I controlled each of the Finches deaths, particularly the children's. I know the game tries to be uplifting at the end ("Don't mourn us being gone. Celebrate that we ever had a chance to be here."), but it's hard to do that as I've just watched multiple young children die from the the first person perspective. I'm not certain I can ever play that again.
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Indiana747
- Member
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: September 3rd, 2012, 5:17 pm
Re: Games Completed 2022
(Jan) Terminator Resistance(platinum) - PS5.
(Jan) Call of Duty: Cold War - Series X.
(Jan) Dishonored 2 - PS5.
(Jan) Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Series X.
(May) State of Decay 2 - Series X.
(June) Chorus - Series X.
(June) Shadow Warrior 3 - PS5.
(June) TMNT: Shredders Revenge - Series X.
(July) TMCC: Halo Reach - Series X.
(July) The Dark Pictures: Little Hope - PS5.
(July) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Series X.
(July) Far Cry 6 - Series X.
(July) Road 96 - Series X.
(July) Trek to Yomi - Series X.
(July) Stray - PS5.
(July) Toy Soldiers: Cold War - Xbox 360.
(Aug) Avicii Invector - PS5.
(Sept) GRID Legends - Series X.
(Jan) Call of Duty: Cold War - Series X.
(Jan) Dishonored 2 - PS5.
(Jan) Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Series X.
(May) State of Decay 2 - Series X.
(June) Chorus - Series X.
(June) Shadow Warrior 3 - PS5.
(June) TMNT: Shredders Revenge - Series X.
(July) TMCC: Halo Reach - Series X.
(July) The Dark Pictures: Little Hope - PS5.
(July) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Series X.
(July) Far Cry 6 - Series X.
(July) Road 96 - Series X.
(July) Trek to Yomi - Series X.
(July) Stray - PS5.
(July) Toy Soldiers: Cold War - Xbox 360.
(Aug) Avicii Invector - PS5.
(Sept) GRID Legends - Series X.
Re: Games Completed 2022
Got resi evil 4 on sale last month for Switch.
Completed it this morning, post run and pre baby waking up. Which is a big win for my gaming time!
What a great game! Now onto all the extra content.
Completed it this morning, post run and pre baby waking up. Which is a big win for my gaming time!
What a great game! Now onto all the extra content.
Re: Games Completed 2022
I have this and didn't even notice there was extra content! I bought it to play on holiday and accidently spent the week playing X-Com 2 instead
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ratsoalbion
- Admin
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- Joined: August 28th, 2012, 9:41 am
- Location: Brighton, England
- Contact:
Re: Games Completed 2022
IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ALEX.
We even covered this one twice!
We even covered this one twice!
Re: Games Completed 2022
No I know it has extra content, just didn't notice it on the Switch menu!ratsoalbion wrote: ↑September 7th, 2022, 9:26 pm IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ALEX.
We even covered this one twice!
haha, I've played the extra stuff on other formats!
Re: Games Completed 2022
What did you think of Grid Legends?
Re: Games Completed 2022
Third time's a charm, right?ratsoalbion wrote: ↑September 7th, 2022, 9:26 pm IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ALEX.
We even covered this one twice!
Re: Games Completed 2022
SEP - Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge (PC on Android)Alex79 wrote: ↑February 16th, 2022, 7:37 pmJAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
JAN - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox)
JAN - Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Switch)
JAN - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (Xbox)
JAN - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)
JAN - Halo Infinite (Xbox)
JAN - Hitman (Xbox)
FEB - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
FEB - Max Payne 2 (Xbox)
FEB - The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Xbox)
FEB - Hyper Sentinel (Switch)
FEB - It Takes Two (Xbox)
FEB - Overboard! (Android)
APR - Hollow Knight (Switch)
APR - Sagebrush (Switch)
APR - Saints Row IV (Switch)
APR - Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis on Switch)
APR - Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox)
APR - WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch)
MAY - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade on Xbox)
MAY - Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
MAY - You Must Build A Boat (Android)
MAY - Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
JUN - The Secret Of Monkey Island (PC-CD on Android)
JUN - Street Fighter (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Switch)
JUN - Super Street Fighter II (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Switch)
JUN - Disco Elysium (Switch)
JUL - Portal (Switch)
JUL - Poinpy (Android)
JUL - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox)
JUL - Portal: Still Alive (Switch)
AUG - X-Com 2 (Switch)
Oh this was just lovely to return to. I'd forgotten enough to make it an almost fresh playthrough. I remembered the locations, but barely any of the puzzles. I had to look up a couple but managed most of it without a guide. This game still looks utterly beautiful, way nicer than the remake a few years back, and the music is so iconic. I decided to play through 1-3 before the new one, so will jump straight on to CoMI next.
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seansthomas
- Member
- Posts: 856
- Joined: March 31st, 2015, 8:10 am
Re: Games Completed 2022
23rd Jan - God of War (PS4)
10th Feb - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox Series S)
11th Feb - Starfox 64 (Nintendo Switch)
14th Feb - Sunset Overdrive (Xbox Series S)
16th Feb - Superliminal (Xbox Series S)
12th Jun - Elden Ring (Xbox Series S)
23rd June - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge (Xbox Series S)
11th July - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox Series S)
9th Sept - Hitman 3 + DLC (Xbox Series S)
Inspired by all the recent Backpage Pods on the levels, I fancied a return to the brilliant world of Agent 47. Beat the story, Ambrose Island DLC and replayed my favourite levels a few ways. Will probably go back and do a few again at some point.
Overall verdict is that the gameplay is more of the same with the usual mix of theatrical, story based outlandish public deaths, moments you can stealth a kill, poisonings, drownings, etc. Didn't spot any new mechanics from 2.
And I'd say the set of levels isn't up there with Hitman 2, where there wasn't really a single duffer. There's nothing terrible here, but the overlaying of finishing off the story means there are more missions with exposition than before (so a repeat play of a couple of levels is a bit of a chore as guides walk you round big facilities) and a bit more linearity than before, like the train level finale and one corridor section that feels like there's only one way to tackle it.
Loved the start of every level. The production values and visuals are gorgeous, and it all bodes well for their Bond game. Dartmoor is a great whodunnit, which I enjoyed playing in a few different ways, and I also thought the Berlin level was amazing. The vineyard was cool too.
Ambrose Island is amazing for Free DLC too. Nothing to trouble the top 10 levels of the series I suspect, but good.
It's a remarkable series, though two games in now I am starting to realise that there perhaps aren't quite so many unique ways to tackle every level as it might at first seem, rather lots of moments within the systems you can mix up.
Still got the first to play, which I know many people say has two or three of the best levels in it. So will do that soon...
10th Feb - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox Series S)
11th Feb - Starfox 64 (Nintendo Switch)
14th Feb - Sunset Overdrive (Xbox Series S)
16th Feb - Superliminal (Xbox Series S)
12th Jun - Elden Ring (Xbox Series S)
23rd June - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge (Xbox Series S)
11th July - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox Series S)
9th Sept - Hitman 3 + DLC (Xbox Series S)
Inspired by all the recent Backpage Pods on the levels, I fancied a return to the brilliant world of Agent 47. Beat the story, Ambrose Island DLC and replayed my favourite levels a few ways. Will probably go back and do a few again at some point.
Overall verdict is that the gameplay is more of the same with the usual mix of theatrical, story based outlandish public deaths, moments you can stealth a kill, poisonings, drownings, etc. Didn't spot any new mechanics from 2.
And I'd say the set of levels isn't up there with Hitman 2, where there wasn't really a single duffer. There's nothing terrible here, but the overlaying of finishing off the story means there are more missions with exposition than before (so a repeat play of a couple of levels is a bit of a chore as guides walk you round big facilities) and a bit more linearity than before, like the train level finale and one corridor section that feels like there's only one way to tackle it.
Loved the start of every level. The production values and visuals are gorgeous, and it all bodes well for their Bond game. Dartmoor is a great whodunnit, which I enjoyed playing in a few different ways, and I also thought the Berlin level was amazing. The vineyard was cool too.
Ambrose Island is amazing for Free DLC too. Nothing to trouble the top 10 levels of the series I suspect, but good.
It's a remarkable series, though two games in now I am starting to realise that there perhaps aren't quite so many unique ways to tackle every level as it might at first seem, rather lots of moments within the systems you can mix up.
Still got the first to play, which I know many people say has two or three of the best levels in it. So will do that soon...
Re: Games Completed 2022
Jan 7th - Little Nightmares 2
Jan 15th - Final Fantasy IX
Feb 3rd - Deathloop
April 29th - Last of Us Remastered
June 1st - Marvel's Spider-Man
June 30th - Elden Ring
July 15th - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
July 30th - What Remains of Edith Finch
August 7th - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
August 21st - God of War HD
September 9th - God of War 2 HD
Great sequel overall. Bigger, more cinematic, sillier and more aggressive than the first game. There are some great set pieces with flying Pegasus, climbing up cliffs and along ceilings, swinging between collapsing pillars. The combat is as fun as the first game, with a slightly improved move set. The game is at its best when you're fighting against some big mythological figure, or just surrounded by enemies and let loose. I still find the puzzles pretty tedious, but they're no trouble with a walkthrough. I'm probably just gonna push straight through to 3. The PS4 remaster will feel very next gen after playing through these two.
Jan 15th - Final Fantasy IX
Feb 3rd - Deathloop
April 29th - Last of Us Remastered
June 1st - Marvel's Spider-Man
June 30th - Elden Ring
July 15th - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
July 30th - What Remains of Edith Finch
August 7th - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
August 21st - God of War HD
September 9th - God of War 2 HD
Great sequel overall. Bigger, more cinematic, sillier and more aggressive than the first game. There are some great set pieces with flying Pegasus, climbing up cliffs and along ceilings, swinging between collapsing pillars. The combat is as fun as the first game, with a slightly improved move set. The game is at its best when you're fighting against some big mythological figure, or just surrounded by enemies and let loose. I still find the puzzles pretty tedious, but they're no trouble with a walkthrough. I'm probably just gonna push straight through to 3. The PS4 remaster will feel very next gen after playing through these two.
Re: Games Completed 2022
Jan 2: Days Gone, PS5
Feb 27: Demon's Souls (2020), PS5
May 8: Deathloop, PS5
June 9: King of Fighters 15, PS5
July 4: Sonic Mania, PS4
July 16: Dragon Quest 11S Definitive Edition, PS4
July 22: God of War (2018), PS5
Aug 10: Elden Ring, PS5
Aug 15: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, PS5
Aug 21: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PS5
Sept 6: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, PS4
Sept 6: What Remains of Edith Finch, PS5
Sept 16: Dead Cells, PS4
I've been playing Dead Cells off and on since it's release date, but I've never gotten very far. I've never legitimately beaten the 0 Boss Cell difficulty because I could not handle the Hand of The King. The one time I beat him a year or more ago was when he glitched himself and would not move or attack. After that, I tried 1BC and, much like 0BC, I could clear all of the game except for the Hand and I just never got lucky enough for that jerk to glitch again, so I never anticipated finishing this game, that is until I learned an "Assist Mode" was added recently. In reality, this Assist Mode is just a cheat mode. With it, you can reduce enemy health, enemy damage, and trap damage to 20% and add in infinite respawns, among other tweaks, and these cheats have been the only way for me to progress any further.
So I'm of two minds about this game. The core gameplay is great. I love the randomly generated biomes, the character and biome design, and all the wild weapons, but I felt like, for me personally, the difficulty was way too all over the place. The 90% of basic enemies were essentially too easy and some of the bosses were way too hard, so, prior to the inclusion of the infinite respawn cheats, you spent 20 to 30 minutes running through simple boring enemies to get steamrolled in two hits by a boss, having not had an opportunity to really learn the boss's moves or patterns.
Feb 27: Demon's Souls (2020), PS5
May 8: Deathloop, PS5
June 9: King of Fighters 15, PS5
July 4: Sonic Mania, PS4
July 16: Dragon Quest 11S Definitive Edition, PS4
July 22: God of War (2018), PS5
Aug 10: Elden Ring, PS5
Aug 15: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, PS5
Aug 21: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PS5
Sept 6: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, PS4
Sept 6: What Remains of Edith Finch, PS5
Sept 16: Dead Cells, PS4
I've been playing Dead Cells off and on since it's release date, but I've never gotten very far. I've never legitimately beaten the 0 Boss Cell difficulty because I could not handle the Hand of The King. The one time I beat him a year or more ago was when he glitched himself and would not move or attack. After that, I tried 1BC and, much like 0BC, I could clear all of the game except for the Hand and I just never got lucky enough for that jerk to glitch again, so I never anticipated finishing this game, that is until I learned an "Assist Mode" was added recently. In reality, this Assist Mode is just a cheat mode. With it, you can reduce enemy health, enemy damage, and trap damage to 20% and add in infinite respawns, among other tweaks, and these cheats have been the only way for me to progress any further.
So I'm of two minds about this game. The core gameplay is great. I love the randomly generated biomes, the character and biome design, and all the wild weapons, but I felt like, for me personally, the difficulty was way too all over the place. The 90% of basic enemies were essentially too easy and some of the bosses were way too hard, so, prior to the inclusion of the infinite respawn cheats, you spent 20 to 30 minutes running through simple boring enemies to get steamrolled in two hits by a boss, having not had an opportunity to really learn the boss's moves or patterns.