Elden Ring is coming out on previous gen too.

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑December 16th, 2021, 8:52 am Elden Ring is coming out on previous gen too.

Aye, I did see that but I sort of want to see the game at or near its best. So my laptop might be a decent compromise.

I started Shadowman Remastered last night. I remember being 13 when the game came out and being weirdly drawn to it, but I never got to play it. And at 35, I'm still drawn to it, even though I suck at 3D platformers and it has no minimap, which is going to hurt.

ThirdDrawing wrote: ↑December 2nd, 2021, 8:15 am I have this for 3DS and I've been wanting to get to it for ages.....but I keep drifting to other stuff (finally got a copy of Xenoblade 2 this year), or other stuff comes out (SMT V).

I'm still hammering away, really enjoying it, but I just haven't been able to sit down and dedicated hard time to gaming. You'll need a solid time commitment though... I'd say 40 hours, minimum. I'll probably be more like 60 as I feel my way around the world and mechanics. But I like meandering in games. It's funny though - there's actually a trophy for beating the game in under 4 hours, which is apparently very easy to do in NG+ if you skip all the dialogue scenes. Bit of a testament to the strength of the writing and world-building, I'd say.

Witcher season two had me feeling guilty for not committing to the Witcher games, so I started Witcher 2 yesterday. I spent a lot of time just figuring out the combat/menus/mechanics, but I think I'm in a good spot now.

Miririn wrote: ↑December 13th, 2021, 11:36 am - I gave up on Ghost of Tsushima after a few hours (keep meaning to go back) but in terms of setting and atmosphere this is much more what I wanted from that game, in part because this game doesn't default to the "everyone talks about honour all the time" trope that a lot of Western companies making Japan-set stories rely on.

Haha "So... did we discuss honour yet? ... How about that honour, huh?"

duskvstweak wrote: ↑December 20th, 2021, 1:30 pm Witcher season two had me feeling guilty for not committing to the Witcher games, so I started Witcher 2 yesterday. I spent a lot of time just figuring out the combat/menus/mechanics, but I think I'm in a good spot now.

I really enjoyed what I've played of The Witcher 2. I think the opening couple of hours with the siege and the journey to the hub town is fantastic. Really nice to see all my old friends in the tavern when I arrived, too.

Michiel K wrote: ↑December 20th, 2021, 5:32 pm

Miririn wrote: ↑December 13th, 2021, 11:36 am - I gave up on Ghost of Tsushima after a few hours (keep meaning to go back) but in terms of setting and atmosphere this is much more what I wanted from that game, in part because this game doesn't default to the "everyone talks about honour all the time" trope that a lot of Western companies making Japan-set stories rely on.

Haha "So... did we discuss honour yet? ... How about that honour, huh?"

A tepid weak tea of a narrative compared to Sekiro's intriguing brew. If they included the ability to skip the cutscenes in the next gen upgrade for Ghost of Tsushima, I'd probably purchase it.

The open world and gameplay is alright, but being forced to sit through those cutscenes is interminable.

I've a decent smattering going at the moment - Halo Infinite, Spiritfarer, The Lost City and It Takes Two.

All really enjoyable in their own right and it's a nice mix of genres to flit through (especially with Quick Resume).

With Christmas coming up though I always try to play and complete one of my favourites from my younger days - this year it's either Sonic 2, Banjo-Kazooie or a run of SOR2/Gunstar Heroes with my older brother.

Love this time of year!

duskvstweak wrote: ↑December 20th, 2021, 1:30 pm Witcher season two had me feeling guilty for not committing to the Witcher games, so I started Witcher 2 yesterday. I spent a lot of time just figuring out the combat/menus/mechanics, but I think I'm in a good spot now.

Interesting, I picked that up recently in an Xbox sale, too. I absolutely loved Witcher 3, but it's the only one I've played, so looking forward to going back to the second one after I'm done with Halo.

I've only played the first Witcher game! I was gonna just go straight into the third game forever ago, but then the completist in me wouldn't allow it. But then, I found out the games follow the books, so I went and read all of those before I started Witcher 1... it's been a slow journey that's my own doing.

Yeah I'm usually like that, hate starting games series anywhere but the first game. Fortunately at the time, I had (and still have) no way of playing the first game, and didn't have access to an Xbox when I picked up Witcher 3, so it wasn't much of a choice.

I finished Devil May Cry 5 and am in a bit of a lull before Christmas and its probable presents.

I did start Bravely Default II though. Its pretty old school with the Final Fantasy warriors of light and elemental crystals thing, but it does have a job system so I don't mind seeing where this is going.

I've also been playing Horizon Drift Turbo over the past few weeks as a game to play when I have a few minutes. Unlike Hotshot Racing which reminded me of Ridge Racer or Outrun 2, this reminds me of the first racing game I ever played, Super Monaco GP on the Mega Drive. The big arrow signs at each corner,hard steering getting around most corners and dropping loads of time if I ram into the back of the gaggle of cars I need to pass to win (19 cars actually, as you start every race in 20th).

I finally started up Metal Gear Solid 3. The length of the cutscenes is beginning to push in to the extremes now. In my first 2 and a half hours with the game, all I did was basically walk through the same small three rooms twice. The rest was just cutscenes. Thankfully it has eased up a bit since then, but it does feel like it's dragging a bit more than the previous games. It's strange, I always hear about how 4 is where the series really jumped the shark with the excessive self-indulgence, or how 2 was even the start of that and 3 is more of a breath of fresh air in between. But I'm still enjoying it anyway. Haven't seen much of the story to come to any conclusion on it yet, but it's yet again really well presented, with its characteristic mix of seriousness and shameless goofiness. I'm generally liking the new characters, and the younger Ocelot is fun too. The gameplay is just as awkward and convoluted as 2, so actually playing it is once again me just bungling my way through everything. And now on top of that there are the survival mechanics as well. At first they seemed intimidating, but they're actually not that bad. It's not as punishing with them as I feared it would be, and it basically tells you everything you need to do to heal yourself each time, so you don't need to remember all the stages for everything.

Love Metal Gear Solid 3. But, yes, having a the right mindset for the length of the cut scenes will help. For someone like me, I loved them. They don't go away, that's for sure.

Michiel K wrote: ↑December 20th, 2021, 5:32 pm

Miririn wrote: ↑December 13th, 2021, 11:36 am - I gave up on Ghost of Tsushima after a few hours (keep meaning to go back) but in terms of setting and atmosphere this is much more what I wanted from that game, in part because this game doesn't default to the "everyone talks about honour all the time" trope that a lot of Western companies making Japan-set stories rely on.

Haha "So... did we discuss honour yet? ... How about that honour, huh?"

Ahahaha exactly!

I worry I am too harsh on the game- I follow some Sucker Punch staff who clearly put a lot into it, and I heard the tourism board of the island it's based on was ecstatic/gave the company an award or something? (and I used to do work for the regional governmebt an area of Japan and they still use the works of a manga artist from the area to promote tourism so I can imagine that island was chuffed to bits to get a boost from the game).

I think, obviously, the idea of "face" and "honour" was a part of the culture of Japan in that period in the same way the idea of "chivalry" was important in medieval England. And the ideas of respect, saving face etc are still large parts of Japanese culture. But the reliance a lot of Western-based storytellers have on "honour" as a fall-back story crutch when they tell stories set in Eastern Asia really flattens things because at this point it's overused to the point of parody.

I think it's the same as when non-Brits really overhype the "stiff upper lip" or "repressed" side of Britain in UK-set fiction. Yes, there's an element of truth there, but it seems... flat? Kind of boring? Covered elsewhere? Like if in all fiction set in France characters were constantly saying "VIVE EGALITE" and waving flags or if characters in American fiction said "and FREEDOM" every other sentence. Countries get reputations for certain qualities often for a reason, but sometimes it just feels like I want... fiction to explore things that haven't been covered as much.

I do understand this is a very specifically personal dislike and that I am splitting hairs in a horribly picky and snobbish way, especially considering the game is a visually beautiful and well-researched love letter to Japan and Japanese cinema from an American studio. And I know they talked to experts to try and get everything right. And it is all the more lovely an American studio did this, considering resistance among some people to diversity in games. If the success of Tsushima prompts more studios to explore other settings and cultures, then great! But I just want the stories to feel less generic.

Edit: ...wow that was a very long and rambling response to a short, light-hearted quip, lmao. V sorry!

Scrustle wrote: ↑December 21st, 2021, 8:46 pm I finally started up Metal Gear Solid 3. The length of the cutscenes is beginning to push in to the extremes now. In my first 2 and a half hours with the game, all I did was basically walk through the same small three rooms twice. The rest was just cutscenes. Thankfully it has eased up a bit since then, but it does feel like it's dragging a bit more than the previous games. It's strange, I always hear about how 4 is where the series really jumped the shark with the excessive self-indulgence, or how 2 was even the start of that and 3 is more of a breath of fresh air in between. But I'm still enjoying it anyway. Haven't seen much of the story to come to any conclusion on it yet, but it's yet again really well presented, with its characteristic mix of seriousness and shameless goofiness. I'm generally liking the new characters, and the younger Ocelot is fun too. The gameplay is just as awkward and convoluted as 2, so actually playing it is once again me just bungling my way through everything. And now on top of that there are the survival mechanics as well. At first they seemed intimidating, but they're actually not that bad. It's not as punishing with them as I feared it would be, and it basically tells you everything you need to do to heal yourself each time, so you don't need to remember all the stages for everything.

Let us know when you get to the ladder... We'll try to have a whip round and send you some sandwiches and a flask of tea.

Alex79 wrote: ↑December 22nd, 2021, 6:42 pm

Scrustle wrote: ↑December 21st, 2021, 8:46 pm I finally started up Metal Gear Solid 3

Let us know when you get to the ladder... We'll try to have a whip round and send you some sandwiches and a flask of tea.

I actually did that today. It's a cool moment. I knew it was coming though, since I've never been that bothered about spoilers with these games as I never expected I would ever actually play them. But people talk about them so much it's hard to avoid. I recorded the moment and tried up upload it on my Xbox activity feed too, but Konami has blocked people from sharing clips of the game.

Alex79 wrote: ↑December 22nd, 2021, 6:42 pm

Scrustle wrote: ↑December 21st, 2021, 8:46 pm I finally started up Metal Gear Solid 3. The length of the cutscenes is beginning to push in to the extremes now. In my first 2 and a half hours with the game, all I did was basically walk through the same small three rooms twice. The rest was just cutscenes. Thankfully it has eased up a bit since then, but it does feel like it's dragging a bit more than the previous games. It's strange, I always hear about how 4 is where the series really jumped the shark with the excessive self-indulgence, or how 2 was even the start of that and 3 is more of a breath of fresh air in between. But I'm still enjoying it anyway. Haven't seen much of the story to come to any conclusion on it yet, but it's yet again really well presented, with its characteristic mix of seriousness and shameless goofiness. I'm generally liking the new characters, and the younger Ocelot is fun too. The gameplay is just as awkward and convoluted as 2, so actually playing it is once again me just bungling my way through everything. And now on top of that there are the survival mechanics as well. At first they seemed intimidating, but they're actually not that bad. It's not as punishing with them as I feared it would be, and it basically tells you everything you need to do to heal yourself each time, so you don't need to remember all the stages for everything.

Let us know when you get to the ladder... We'll try to have a whip round and send you some sandwiches and a flask of tea.

duskvstweak wrote: ↑December 20th, 2021, 1:30 pm Witcher season two had me feeling guilty for not committing to the Witcher games, so I started Witcher 2 yesterday. I spent a lot of time just figuring out the combat/menus/mechanics, but I think I'm in a good spot now.

At one time, I considered The Witcher 3 to be in my top 10 games of all time. But it's odd - "Familiarity breeds contempt" is true in games. That game is SO FREAKING BIG that I honestly just got sick of it after a while. In terms of story completion, I'm literally right before the final battle and I just... Don't care to go back. In my senior years - 31, basically a pensioner - I just have little respect for games that do the whole, "Here's a million map markers" thing, because as someone with ADHD, I can't just ignore them.

I'll always love it for its inclusion of Slavic folklore - scant as it may be, relative to the Germanic and Norse stuff - but I think it's permanently burned into my brain as map marker Hell rather than the girthy chunk of premium fiction it is.

I'm still hammering away at The Alliance Alive. Roughly 50 hours in, around 75% through the main campaign. I may actually attempt the platinum on this one, because apparently it's very easy to do with NG+.

Tried MDK on PS1 and man... That game is surprisingly good. I sincerely miss the era when games were allowed to experiment and do weird things with weird mechanics and an oddball visual style. Sadly though, I couldn't figure out how to save, and lost 2 hours of progress to a death. >:

Also played around with Descent on PS1... Many of the same things apply as MDK. It's got an amazing soundtrack to boot. I think if I'd played this as a kid, I would have been absolutely in love with it. Definitely gonna see this one through.

Tried and bounced off Kaze and the Wild Masks. It's a DKC clone that's occasionally very good - and most certainly better than the DKCR games - but the insane difficulty at points and clear design choices to be friendly for speedrunners (ie, every level has a very telegraphed and ideal route) really hold it back. The diversity of the titular masks is cool, but because they have completely different mechanics, physics and controls, it's really a pain to mentally recalibrate when their use is so sporadic. Recommend this one for cheap though. I got it on Switch for $25CAD, and I think it's worth that.

Also been playing Pokemon: Dark Cry, a GBA ROM hack that includes Gen 4 Pokemon, moves, etc. It's... Fine. Story seems interesting, but the script feels like poorly-translated English. My sense is it's from someone whose first language is not English - certain anachronisms strike be as "central Europe" if you get my meaning. The higher difficulty than official Pokemon games is appreciated, making it far more enjoyable than those in some respects.