Whatcha Been Playing?

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
GKBracken
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by GKBracken »

Also playing Yakuza 5 having tapped out twice on it. Have only just made it to the last character. It's usual Kiwami-era quality. It's pretty much 4 games in 1 and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you're just not in the mood of that craic.
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

I want to love Pac-In-Time. I really do. But WOW did European programmers love slippery and oversensitive controls in the 90s. And weird physics. And insane difficulty. Been a while since I've been this frustrated with a game, and it's a shame too - because it actually seems like it could be a fantastic little puzzle platformer.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

Since the team is tackling Parodius this year, I thought I would try it out so I have been playing Gokujo Parodius – Pursuing the Past Glory. Being a complete newcomer to shmups of any kind, it is kicking my arse. I was not prepared for one hit and game over but that was silly on my part. Shmups are not typically known as being the kindest genre to beginners but I am having trouble finishing the 2nd level. I do dig the premise of a "cute em up" and the visuals are great but this will take me a while to master I think.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

I'm 17 hours into Mario & Rabbids: Sparks of Hope now and it's good but I am a little disappointed by it. Given how much I loved the first game I genuinely thought this would have been my 2022 GOTY and definitely making my top 5 but that hasn't been the case. It doesn't seem quite as well balanced as the first game with there being a 3-4 heroes and a selection of sparks which are just obviously better than the other heroes/sparks. I also don't really see the point of moving away from the grid based movement system, it doesn't really seem to add anything. The graphics are lovely as usual for a Mario game but the combat arenas don't really stand out to me in anyway, the first game each level was baked into an environment, but with this being space based, each combat arena is just a floating arena in the middle of space which doesn't make any sense, why would these enemies be on a floating piece of land with nothing on it other than rocks to hide behind and pipes to travel through? Despite all these complaints, I am enjoying it but in a 7/10 way and that's due to the core turn based mechanics being satisfying.
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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

Played a bit of Switchball recently. It's a game I have quite a bit of nostalgia for, but I haven't touched it since it was new. It came out in the early days of the XBLA, so it reminds me of that time when this sort of thing was pretty unique, and back when the market of indie games as we know them now was only starting to emerge. But I never finished it back then, and recently felt like fixing that. It was also something of a graphical showcase at the time, despite being a modest download game. Pushing what were still relatively new effects like dynamic lights, normal maps, realtime reflections, etc. It's still a pretty nice looking game now. Maybe it goes overboard with the specular highlights, but otherwise it's quite pleasing. It has a kind of bright and colourful quasi-steampunk look to it that is charming in an old school adventure game sort of way.

I don't think the mechanics hold up however, which also means I don't expect I'll ever be finishing it. It has a lot of physics based puzzles (also a novelty at the time), but in this format of a marble game, they end up being really laborious and inconsistent. Like you might need to push a block in to a certain spot to progress, but you can't push it straight against the spherical marble you control. So you're always having to back up and try again, but you never have enough control to do it satisfactorily. I remember when I played this before, I stopped because I reached a late game puzzle that I just couldn't solve. I didn't get that far this time (although I did play most of the game) simply because I ran out of patience with the fiddly mechanics.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

Since I accidentally started going through the Parodius trilogy by playing the second one first, I decided to tackle the first game properly now: Parodius! From Myth to Laughter.

It is fairly similar to the second title except far less characters to choose from and maybe a tad bit easier. However saying that, I am stuck dealing with those Moai statues! You really have to know where it is safe to dodge not only their shots but the giant space ship they are on. I had issues with these guys in the second game but after dying enough times, the game just put me after they appeared out of a rare sense of mercy. No such thing seems to be happening here so hope I can get through these bastards eventually.
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

Spent most of the day playing Tormented Souls, a 2022 Resident Evil-like that a few guys on the My Life In Gaming Discord were raving about.

My God, fellas, this game is great. It's not some cheapo Steam indie game banking on nostalgia, this is a genuinely strong old school survival horror game that respects the genre tropes while also doing a lot of its own new things.

Unless this game shits the bed at some point, I'll be doing a mini review for the Games Completed thread, but hot damn is this one game worth seeking out if you're starved for quality survival horror.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I'm in the final act of The Witcher 2, and honestly, it's a bit of a chore to push through and finish it. The third game is one of my all time favourites, but I wanted to play the second game before going through the third one again with it's next gen patch.

I think we've possibly been spoiled since this game was released, but I'm struggling to see how it reviewed so well. I think it's a five out of ten at best. The level design is just terrible. I like games that let you off the leash and explore the world, but there's a difference between exploration and straight up running around lost. Each of the main areas you visit is laid out in such a confusing way, rabbit warrens of dead ends, locked doors and impassable blockages. The vague hint on the map of where to go is often little help, and as equally as often not there at all. It is incredibly tiresome to have to run around, randomly looking for the one correct way to get somewhere. The Dwarven town in the second act is especially guilty of this, as is the third big area when you're searching for the sewers to rescue the sorceress.

The story is quite boring as well. Just a really low excitement, hum drum tale about not much really.

I have really tried to enjoy this game, and I will finish it because I'm so far in now, but I think I'm ready to admit I really don't think it's a good game at all.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

On the other hand, I've also been playing Ori & The Blind Forest on Switch. I've not finished it yet, but have unlocked all the abilities and am having an absolutely brilliant time going through each area to get all the collectables and 100% completion. The joy is the traversal in this game, perfect controls and a host of abilities to get from A to B. It's an absolute delight! The best 'Metroidvania' since Hollow Knight, and I didn't feel the need to 100% that one.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ColinAlonso »

Seen you playing Ori this morning Alex. Sorry for not replying to your Apex request, I've never played it!

The final boss of Shadow Dancer (Mega Drive) is infuriating. He just summons these black clad ninjas constantly. They were only introduced in the previous room, take 3 hits instead of the 2 the other ninjas take and all look the same despite having different movesets taken from the previously different coloured ninjas. I've decided that I'm using a save state right at the final boss if I'm going to try to finish it.

I've finished 2 more chapters in Live-A-Live. Both are light on combat. The far future chapter has a lot of talking and few fights. There is a particularly cool moment with the behemoth though and some of the characters are good. The wild west chapter is short but running around the town looking for items for traps for the approaching bandit gang is nice.

I have to delete Slay the Spire again. That game steals my time like no other.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

ColinAlonso wrote: January 15th, 2023, 12:27 pm Seen you playing Ori this morning Alex. Sorry for not replying to your Apex request, I've never played it!
Haha no worries, it wasn't me! My son was playing on my account, I didn't realised he'd been sending off play invites - so the apology is mine!!
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markfm007
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by markfm007 »

Last of Us Part 1/Remastered: There's a free trial of Part 1 on PS Plus at the moment. So on a whim I decided to waste the afternoon playing it, then playing the original right after to compare. The trial service is not great honestly. You have to download the entire game, and then are given two hours to play it. Seems less convenient than a demo to me.

Part 1 is very impressive. It's definitely one you need to play yourself rather than watch clips on youtube to get the full effect. The lighting through windows, spores, darkness and cracks of thunder. It looks properly next gen. Going into the remaster I definitely noticed how simple a lot of the levels looked in comparison, especially the indoor areas. There's just a lot less detail in everything.

That said, Part 1 still felt like the same game to me. The remake didn't make the experience feel that different. Overall I prefer the remaster, despite being a bit simpler. I just like the overall look of it more, and it hasn't aged that much. I'm kind of glad they didn't change anything, but at the same time, if they had changed the levels a bit to make them more in line with Part 2, I'd be more interested in it. As it is I'll probably stick with the remaster. I'd maybe recommend Part 1 to a new player, but wait for a sale.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Started Assassin's Creed Odyssey. So far, so good, but FFS Ubisoft... You've learned nothing, have you? Map still absolutely littered with icons and worst of all, floating icons all over the damn screen to show shops, quests you've not picked up yet, points of interest... It's hideous! Show them on the map, show them on the compass if you have to, but on the play screen? All over the bloody place? And with no way to get rid of them other than turning the entire HUD off? Ugh.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

Playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. It’s phenomenal. Really builds on Human Revolution brilliantly.

The cover system is so satisfying in these games, it’s so fit for purpose for stealth or shootouts. The environments are all S-tier immersive sim level design with loads of infiltration opportunities- love that feeling after a half hour working my way into a place to see a vent in the wall I could have used or something.

Prague in particular has to be my favourite map in this series - after spending ten hours in it I even prefer it to Hong Kong and Hell’s Kitchen in the OG. It has so much to do and discover, and you get this cast of minor characters that develops through emails and references and sometimes an eventual meeting that sometimes reminds me of Prey with its Talos crew.

Side quests are superb, all really rich with story and lots of objectives, there’s no go here do that checklist type stuff. It’s all meaningful and gets at the themes of the series as well as having some of the most satisfying mission setups. They honestly feel mandatory given the quality.

Speaking of themes it reinforces how well they’ve pitched these rebooted prequels in terms of narrative. It doesn’t have the “every conspiracy theory is true!” wild eyed bombast of the OG, which I do love, they’ve got a more operatic tone with themes of transhumanism, segregation and hatred. Even if they’re quite surface level with a lot of this stuff, it makes for a good focus and with the swirling electronic music and the Jensen VO it’s very immersive stuff.
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MattL
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by MattL »

Jon Cheetham wrote: January 18th, 2023, 10:55 am Playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. It’s phenomenal. Really builds on Human Revolution brilliantly.

The cover system is so satisfying in these games, it’s so fit for purpose for stealth or shootouts. The environments are all S-tier immersive sim level design with loads of infiltration opportunities- love that feeling after a half hour working my way into a place to see a vent in the wall I could have used or something.

Prague in particular has to be my favourite map in this series - after spending ten hours in it I even prefer it to Hong Kong and Hell’s Kitchen in the OG. It has so much to do and discover, and you get this cast of minor characters that develops through emails and references and sometimes an eventual meeting that sometimes reminds me of Prey with its Talos crew.

Side quests are superb, all really rich with story and lots of objectives, there’s no go here do that checklist type stuff. It’s all meaningful and gets at the themes of the series as well as having some of the most satisfying mission setups. They honestly feel mandatory given the quality.

Speaking of themes it reinforces how well they’ve pitched these rebooted prequels in terms of narrative. It doesn’t have the “every conspiracy theory is true!” wild eyed bombast of the OG, which I do love, they’ve got a more operatic tone with themes of transhumanism, segregation and hatred. Even if they’re quite surface level with a lot of this stuff, it makes for a good focus and with the swirling electronic music and the Jensen VO it’s very immersive stuff.
Mankind Divided was phenomenal from a gameplay perspective. It took everything that worked in Human Revolution and refined it. And as you said, it has some of the best side quests of any game ever and, I don't think this opinion is controversial, they were better than the actual main story of MD. In fact, the story is my only major criticism. It was clearly positioned to be part one of a trilogy, which I'm sure the developers were pressured into by Square Enix.

As to what I'm playing, I'm trying Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for the first time. This is a wonderful blend of genres, pulling combat inspiration from Sekiro, traversal inspiration from Tomb Raider and Uncharted, and world design inspiration from Metroid. It had been on my potential list since it's release, but I'm glad I waited to play it, since I can now play it on PS5 with the increased frame rates.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ColinAlonso »

ColinAlonso wrote: January 15th, 2023, 12:27 pmI have to delete Slay the Spire again. That game steals my time like no other.
I've replaced the Slay the Spire addiction with FTL: Faster Than Light and Splatoon 3. Not necessarily good for someone who likes reaching the end of games. :(
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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I abandoned Assassin's Creed Odyssey last night after about 15 hours (pretty much exactly as I did with Origins a few months back). I was actually enjoying what I played, but it became very apparent that the core gameplay loop wasn't going to change, and as fun as it was I just asked myself if I really wanted to be doing the same thing for the next 80+ hours.

This is a real problem with Origins and Odyssey, and although I've not played Valhalla yet, I'm going to guess it's the same. I've quite a fondness for the series up to and including Syndicate, but these newer games just seem to be extending the time of the game with no real reason.

The story was interesting enough, but I don't like the way it starts effectively gating off the quests until you reach a higher level. I mean you could do them whenever, but you'd likely die very quickly. This essentially forces the player in to multiple hours of side quests and other distractions which might not be such an issue if any of the side quests were even slightly interesting but they fall in to one of two camps; fetch me x amount of x, or go here and steal/burn/kill someone or something. There is very little deviation from this formula, and it's the games undoing, for me.

There is also far too much to keep track of in the game. As well as main and side quests there's a whole strand of the game about uncovering a cult and you go around assassinating various members to uncover clues on other members. Then there's upgrading some magical spear to keep on top of, and the ongoing push/pull between the Spartans and the other team - it's just endless. Too many systems.

I do wonder if the nature of Gamepass makes these games more disposable to me. Get 15/20 hours of fun out of them and move on. Would I have done the same to The Witcher 3 or Dragon Age Origins back in the day if they'd been 'free'? I don't think I would.

As for Valhalla, when it inevitably drops on to Gamepass I will absolutely give it a try, and probably enjoy it for a while, but this is a series that has got too big for it's own good. I don't want 120+ hour, endless open world tickbox exercises from the Assassin's Creed games. I preferred the semi-open world of Ezio's or the shorter and tighter Black Flag story.

All that said, Kassandra is certainly one of the more interesting characters I've played in some time. I thought she was brilliant.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

You might be interested in AC Mirage coming out later this year which is supposed to go back to being this much shorter adventures like the Ezio games.
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markfm007
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by markfm007 »

Alex79 wrote: January 22nd, 2023, 6:03 pm I do wonder if the nature of Gamepass makes these games more disposable to me. Get 15/20 hours of fun out of them and move on. Would I have done the same to The Witcher 3 or Dragon Age Origins back in the day if they'd been 'free'? I don't think I would.
I think when a game's got its hooks in you, you'll keep playing regardless of what else is available. When I played the Witcher I wasn't thinking about how long I had to go. I've definitely dropped AC games in the past for the same reason, the bad outweighs the good. I'm more the opposite though where I'll take a long time to get started on something, but then if I do and it's dragging, I'll play it longer than I should.
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nosleeptill0blivion
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by nosleeptill0blivion »

Been hammering Vampire Survivors lately but, having unlocked everything, I'm thinking of moving on to something more story focused. As Dusk Falls will probably be the next venture.
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