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bmoc
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by bmoc Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:22 pm

1. Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition (Xbox One)

This is the first Lord of the Rings game that I have played and it is certainly a good one. I picked it up for $20 during all the holiday sales and it was worth every penny. For those that are unfamiliar, it is hack and slash game with many RPG and stealth elements. When you start out, your character is fairly weak and can't take on numerous enemies at once - forcing your mainly rely on stealth maneuvers.

As you level up and earn more abilities, your offensive capabilities become quite complex. There are several 2-button combinations that fire off different abilities, many of which only become active after reach a hit-streak. Eventually you are even able to force orcs to serve you in battle through the Brand ability. Once you aquire the Brand ability (and quite possibly before), you are able to take on a constant influx of enemies.

There are some critters that you can ride: Caragors, Caragaths, Graugs, and Wretched Graugs. Caragaths and Wretched Graugs are only in the Lord of the Hunt DLC (the GotY version includes all the DLC). The havoc that you can wreak with them (whether you ride them or not) makes for a lot of fun. Some of the orc captains fear them and you can occasionally split up a pack of captains just by attracting a Caragor or Graug.

If found the story very intriguing as it fleshes out a bit of Tolkien lore that I knew little about. The two DLC campaigns add some to the story. The Bright Master campaign much more so than the Lord of the Hunt. The ending of the main campaign allows plenty of room sequel which I am certainly looking forward to.
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Erik_Twice
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Erik_Twice Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:40 pm

alienjesus wrote:I dunno about dumbing down. If anything, the series has more intricacies than ever with team up combos, skills, children mechanics, class switching and branching promotions.

There are a few more mechanics, but the overall level and unit design is much simpler and far less interesting. Personally, I think the differences introduced in Awakening are all pretty massive and not in a good way.

But really, even if the gameplay were as good, turning a game series about Joan D'Arc figures into one with pop idols, submissive waifus and beach episodes is terrible. I mean, have you guys seen this?

What SMTxFE turned out to be

Just watching that makes me want to ban anime from the face of Earth, it makes Muchi Muchi Pork look measured in its otaku pandering :lol:

Yes, the default difficulty is easier than usual, and they added a casual option. If anything, that gives them more leeway with the harder settings to really go all out, especially with all the new options you have to tackle the map.

I think this is very disingenious. History shows that when this happens, the result is not a good game, but another Thief: Deadly Shadows, Fallout 3 or Metroid: Another M.

I also feel that removing permadeath is not a matter of difficulty. It simply breaks the whole concept of the game. It's like making a new Fatal Frame in which the player has a machinegun.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by BoneSnapDeez Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:10 pm

I agree that the Mummy Queen is the hardest boss in Illusion of Gaia. Especially at the end of the game, where those damn platforms are so small.

Do play Terranigma, Ack. Similar atmosphere as Soul Blazer and Gaia but it plays more like a straight traditional ARPG.
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Ack
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Ack Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:12 pm

Exhuminator wrote:
Ack wrote:Overall, I liked the game, but it has its problems. I don't think this is a top tier RPG. It has some qualities that I adore, but there's enough that I find problematic for me not to consider this one of the absolute greats.

Fantastic and fair review, probably the best I've seen for the game. I think you hit on the highs and lows that really matter.

I would love to read a review of Terranigma by you.


Thank you, I appreciate the kind words(and from you as well, Bone). Maybe one day I'll finally sit down and tackle Terranigma properly(I played it years ago when SNES emulation first got going but don't recall whether I beat it). But I have a bunch of other SNES NTSC-U RPGs to clear first. Illusion of Gaia gives me one more step towards my eventual goal of beating all NTSC-U SNES RPGs.

Oh, Soul Blazer is still unbeaten...so I'll be doing that before Terranigma, definitely.
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by BoneSnapDeez Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:14 pm

You'll roll through Soul Blazer pretty quickly, I predict. It chugs along at a much faster clip than Gaia and it's probably shorter overall (I don't recall an in-game clock in either game).
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Exhuminator Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:19 pm

Ack wrote:one more step towards my eventual goal of beating all NTSC-U SNES RPGs

Which ones do you have left outta curiosity?
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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Ack
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Ack Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:29 pm

Exhuminator wrote:
Ack wrote:one more step towards my eventual goal of beating all NTSC-U SNES RPGs

Which ones do you have left outta curiosity?


It depends on what you consider an RPG. By some accounting, I think I'm halfway through, though I've gotten nearly all of the big names from the JRPG side at least. I can list what I have beaten and what I have unbeaten back in the RPG subforum if you like.
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Exhuminator Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:35 pm

Ack wrote:I can list what I have beaten and what I have unbeaten back in the RPG subforum if you like.

Go for it, it'd be good discussion fodder for all of us. 8)
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Stark Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:41 pm

I know you've all been patiently waiting for my first entry into the Games Beaten thread and it's finally here! :P

1/22 Emily Is Away (PC)
This is a free game available on Steam or Itch.io (http://emilyisaway.com/)

A Windows XP desktop simulator with AOL Instant Messenger as the only thing you can do. This is a quick little story about regret and longing with some different choices you can make about how the story plays out. It's gonna hit you hard with the nostalgia if you attended school around this time and I thought it was really well done. Worth your 30 minutes.

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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2016

by BoneSnapDeez Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:14 pm

As someone who used to use AIM to talk to the ladddieezzzz............

I gotta play that.
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