prfsnl_gmr wrote:You guys need to play Gunslugs and Gunslugs II. I have them on my 3DS, but apparently they are also available on this "steam" service you apparently enjoy so much...
But they are not coop.
Games Beaten 2016
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fastbilly1
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Re: Games Beaten 2016
But they are not coop.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
noiseredux wrote:hey Ack, did you watch The Guest yet? It's on Netflix and it's... I really think you're going to love it. A lot.
The movie with Dan Stevens? Yeah, I think I would. So many movies, so little time...
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noiseredux
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Re: Games Beaten 2016
Ack wrote:noiseredux wrote:hey Ack, did you watch The Guest yet? It's on Netflix and it's... I really think you're going to love it. A lot.
The movie with Dan Stevens? Yeah, I think I would. So many movies, so little time...
yes you will love it. Way more than you even think you will. Seriously, bump this up high on your list. Prfsnl was the one that got me to watch it I believe - all I know is every person that I've recommended watch it has loved it.
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PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2988
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Partridge Senpai's 2016 Beaten List
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash 2: Expanded Edition
3. Toro! Let's Party!
4. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
5. Ghost Trick
6. Shining Force: EXA
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. New Super Mario Bros. U
9. New Luigi U
10. Riviera: The Promised Land
11. (Dragon Quest) Mori Mori Slime 3
12. Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
13. Yoshi's New Island
14. Yoshi's Island (repeat)
15. Super Back to the Future II
16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
17. Binary Domain
18. Star Fox Assault
19. Chibi-Robo Park Patrol
20. Scurge: The Hive
21. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
22. Yoshi's Woolly World
23. BOXBOY!
24. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
25. Mafia II
26. Gears of War
27. Halo 3
28. Tales of Graces f
29. Tales of Graces f : Lineages & Legacies
30. DeathSmiles
31. Dishonored
32. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall DLC
33. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches DLC
34. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
35. Tales of Symphonia
36. Ninja Smasher
37. Samba De Amigo
38. Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure
39. Alien on the Run
40. Resident Evil Revelations
41. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
42. Beautiful Katamari
43. Katamari Damacy
44. Crazy Construction
45. Spec Ops: The Line
46. Wario World (GameCube) (Repeat)
47. Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)
I've really never considered myself a Resident Evil fan, as I played the first game a few years ago and didn't really care for it. Recently, however, I've really begun to rethink that stance, as the games after 3 completely revamp the series. This game is not perfect, but it is probably one of the best action-based horror games ever made.
I'm going to spend a very small amount of time on the story, because it's really not what you play a Resident Evil game for (in my opinion). It's pretty standard Resident Evil: There's some mysterious event, an agent is sent to deal with it, it turns out to be some crazy cult using disease for world dominaition/destruction/etc. The voice acting is fairly good, albeit a bit hammy at times, and that reflects on the story at large. It's science-fiction-y, it's action-y, and it's a good time. To me, complaining about a story that doesn't really make sense or isn't very well paced in a Resident Evil game is really a waste of breath (or keystrokes, in this case).
The action is where the real meat of this game is. It isn't quite a traditional 3rd person shooter, but it takes the older RE formula and takes it in a direction more suited towards that. The C-stick doesn't aim. Instead, when you hold down R, you enter an aiming mode where the control-stick aims. When not in this aiming mode, the control stick moves you with tank controls. Reading "Tank controls" may be a turn off to some, but because you can do a quick 180 degree turn with holding down and pressing B, I never had any problems with mobility. The result is a system that's very tense and also very skill based. You HAVE to stand still to attack at all. This puts a heavy emphasis on keeping distance between you and your target, and keeping your shots precise.
I never thought the game was terribly difficult. I'm fairly bad at console shooters, but even I didn't have much trouble with the boss fights. I found the final boss very easy, really, with the second to last boss really being the hardest. Ammo conservation is required, this being a survival horror game, but I had a TON of magnum and shotgun rounds left at the end of the game from being too conservative. Those handgun shots really count though, so save 'em! You can find money to use at the merchant as well, but you can only buy guns, gun upgrades, and healing items there, not ammo. The only part of the game that gave me any trouble were the QTE's.
As a rule, I think QTE's usually make a game worse, but this game used them, usually, in ways that enhanced the experience. As opposed to a dedicated dodge button, when an attack that the game says can be dodged is about to hit you, a prompt comes up on screen to either press A and B or R and L, making you do an invincible animation to avoid the attack. These did get in the way at some points. Being that A also fires when you're in aim mode, if you have to dodge with A and B, the QTE takes precident for your action, so there would be times where I'd be trying to shoot a boss while he was about to move and the gun wouldn't fire because I'd be being prompted for a QTE. Additionally, there are some sections, one in particular, that relies on succeeding a succession of QTE's to avoid instant death, and I thought those were pretty wank. Their only saving grace is that the continue points are very forgiving, so only your death counter (and your patience) will suffer from those bits.
Verdict: Highly recommended. When Nintendo Power ranked RE4 as their #1 Gamecube game in their 20th anniversary issue, I was frankly fairly dubious that a non-Nintendo game could top their platform, but my skepticism was clearly wrong. This is probably one of the best shooters and action games on the Gamecube, and it's a ton of fun that's totally worth playing in any of its ports if you don't wanna fork out 20 bucks for the Gamecube original.
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash 2: Expanded Edition
3. Toro! Let's Party!
4. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
5. Ghost Trick
6. Shining Force: EXA
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. New Super Mario Bros. U
9. New Luigi U
10. Riviera: The Promised Land
11. (Dragon Quest) Mori Mori Slime 3
12. Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
13. Yoshi's New Island
14. Yoshi's Island (repeat)
15. Super Back to the Future II
16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
17. Binary Domain
18. Star Fox Assault
19. Chibi-Robo Park Patrol
20. Scurge: The Hive
21. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
22. Yoshi's Woolly World
23. BOXBOY!
24. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
25. Mafia II
26. Gears of War
27. Halo 3
28. Tales of Graces f
29. Tales of Graces f : Lineages & Legacies
30. DeathSmiles
31. Dishonored
32. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall DLC
33. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches DLC
34. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
35. Tales of Symphonia
36. Ninja Smasher
37. Samba De Amigo
38. Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure
39. Alien on the Run
40. Resident Evil Revelations
41. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
42. Beautiful Katamari
43. Katamari Damacy
44. Crazy Construction
45. Spec Ops: The Line
46. Wario World (GameCube) (Repeat)
47. Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)
I've really never considered myself a Resident Evil fan, as I played the first game a few years ago and didn't really care for it. Recently, however, I've really begun to rethink that stance, as the games after 3 completely revamp the series. This game is not perfect, but it is probably one of the best action-based horror games ever made.
I'm going to spend a very small amount of time on the story, because it's really not what you play a Resident Evil game for (in my opinion). It's pretty standard Resident Evil: There's some mysterious event, an agent is sent to deal with it, it turns out to be some crazy cult using disease for world dominaition/destruction/etc. The voice acting is fairly good, albeit a bit hammy at times, and that reflects on the story at large. It's science-fiction-y, it's action-y, and it's a good time. To me, complaining about a story that doesn't really make sense or isn't very well paced in a Resident Evil game is really a waste of breath (or keystrokes, in this case).
The action is where the real meat of this game is. It isn't quite a traditional 3rd person shooter, but it takes the older RE formula and takes it in a direction more suited towards that. The C-stick doesn't aim. Instead, when you hold down R, you enter an aiming mode where the control-stick aims. When not in this aiming mode, the control stick moves you with tank controls. Reading "Tank controls" may be a turn off to some, but because you can do a quick 180 degree turn with holding down and pressing B, I never had any problems with mobility. The result is a system that's very tense and also very skill based. You HAVE to stand still to attack at all. This puts a heavy emphasis on keeping distance between you and your target, and keeping your shots precise.
I never thought the game was terribly difficult. I'm fairly bad at console shooters, but even I didn't have much trouble with the boss fights. I found the final boss very easy, really, with the second to last boss really being the hardest. Ammo conservation is required, this being a survival horror game, but I had a TON of magnum and shotgun rounds left at the end of the game from being too conservative. Those handgun shots really count though, so save 'em! You can find money to use at the merchant as well, but you can only buy guns, gun upgrades, and healing items there, not ammo. The only part of the game that gave me any trouble were the QTE's.
As a rule, I think QTE's usually make a game worse, but this game used them, usually, in ways that enhanced the experience. As opposed to a dedicated dodge button, when an attack that the game says can be dodged is about to hit you, a prompt comes up on screen to either press A and B or R and L, making you do an invincible animation to avoid the attack. These did get in the way at some points. Being that A also fires when you're in aim mode, if you have to dodge with A and B, the QTE takes precident for your action, so there would be times where I'd be trying to shoot a boss while he was about to move and the gun wouldn't fire because I'd be being prompted for a QTE. Additionally, there are some sections, one in particular, that relies on succeeding a succession of QTE's to avoid instant death, and I thought those were pretty wank. Their only saving grace is that the continue points are very forgiving, so only your death counter (and your patience) will suffer from those bits.
Verdict: Highly recommended. When Nintendo Power ranked RE4 as their #1 Gamecube game in their 20th anniversary issue, I was frankly fairly dubious that a non-Nintendo game could top their platform, but my skepticism was clearly wrong. This is probably one of the best shooters and action games on the Gamecube, and it's a ton of fun that's totally worth playing in any of its ports if you don't wanna fork out 20 bucks for the Gamecube original.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Glad you had a blast Partridge. It's still one of the best and holds up like a dream. I need to get the PS4 and Wii versions sometime. I must own every release.
Have you ever played the Dead Space series? I feel like those were the natural evolution of this type of third person action game. Great pacing that has some atmosphere and puzzles, in between the awesome monsters and boss variety. You can now move when aiming, but you feel like a damn tank. I vastly prefer feeling super "heavy" in games though, compared to the ultra loose controls of something like Uncharted that just feels totally wacky and bad. But yeah Dead Space is easily one of my favorite trilogies from last gen. I like RE5 and don't hate RE6 unlike most here on both of those, but Dead Space clearly destroys them.
Have you ever played the Dead Space series? I feel like those were the natural evolution of this type of third person action game. Great pacing that has some atmosphere and puzzles, in between the awesome monsters and boss variety. You can now move when aiming, but you feel like a damn tank. I vastly prefer feeling super "heavy" in games though, compared to the ultra loose controls of something like Uncharted that just feels totally wacky and bad. But yeah Dead Space is easily one of my favorite trilogies from last gen. I like RE5 and don't hate RE6 unlike most here on both of those, but Dead Space clearly destroys them.
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PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2988
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Xeogred wrote:Glad you had a blast Partridge. It's still one of the best and holds up like a dream. I need to get the PS4 and Wii versions sometime. I must own every release.
Have you ever played the Dead Space series? I feel like those were the natural evolution of this type of third person action game. Great pacing that has some atmosphere and puzzles, in between the awesome monsters and boss variety. You can now move when aiming, but you feel like a damn tank. I vastly prefer feeling super "heavy" in games though, compared to the ultra loose controls of something like Uncharted that just feels totally wacky and bad. But yeah Dead Space is easily one of my favorite trilogies from last gen. I like RE5 and don't hate RE6 unlike most here on both of those, but Dead Space clearly destroys them.
Having seen or played all of the Dead Spaces, I can very much see where you're coming from. I would argue, though, that Dead Space doesn't have nearly the amount of nuanced choice in play-style that a game like RE4 has, and also doesn't have the replayability of this game (I feel all of the Dead Spaces drag on too long. It just feels like you're never really accomplishing anything, especially in the first one, though that one has the best atmosphere). Though "which Dead Space is best" is something for another day, I would certainly agree that if you like RE4-style action games, you'll hella dig Dead Space 1 at the very least, if not 2 and 3 that made the series much more action based and less survival-based like the first game.
Out of total coincidence, as well, I picked up the Japanese verison of Biohazard 5 Alternate Edition (their title for the gold edition) because it was only 5 bucks down at the resale store. Not 100% sure I'll try it soon, but it's something I gots now. Is that something like Halo where it can be blitzed through in a day with a friend, or does it have RE4-level of game length (20+ hours)?
Personally, I think I'm a bit action-gamed out at the moment, at least for shooty-bang type ones. After going through RE4 and Revelations recently, I think I'm gonna spend some more quality time with Tales of Eternia, or perhaps get to know Fire Emblem if (which I ordered the special edition of *w*) or that Ghost Recon game that Exhumy Senpai mentioned the other day (which I also picked up today).
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
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Exhuminator
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 11573
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:24 am
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2016
It's hard to beat Resident Evil 4 at what it does. But, I enjoyed this game nearly as much:
It does enough unique things that it doesn't feel like a knock off. Ack even agrees that one is underrated.
It does enough unique things that it doesn't feel like a knock off. Ack even agrees that one is underrated.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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Key-Glyph
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1709
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:38 am
- Location: Summer Games Challenge!
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2016
01. MagMax (NES)
02. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN) [2-player]
03. Sonic Spinball (GEN)*
04. Sonic Spinball (GEN)* [complete]
05. Comix Zone (GEN)*
06. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
07. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project (NES)
08. WCW World Championship Wrestling (NES)
09. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
11. Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
12. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (GEN) [2-player]*
14. Gunstar Heroes (GEN)
15. Columns III: Revenge of Columns (GEN)
16. Contra: Hard Corps (GEN)
17. The Legend of Zelda (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
18. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB) -- Summer Games Challenge
19. Bases Loaded II (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
20. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) -- Summer Games Challenge
21. Shenmue (DC) -- Summer Games Challenge
YOOOO BRO!!
* = replay
02. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN) [2-player]
03. Sonic Spinball (GEN)*
04. Sonic Spinball (GEN)* [complete]
05. Comix Zone (GEN)*
06. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
07. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project (NES)
08. WCW World Championship Wrestling (NES)
09. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
11. Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
12. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (GEN) [2-player]*
14. Gunstar Heroes (GEN)
15. Columns III: Revenge of Columns (GEN)
16. Contra: Hard Corps (GEN)
17. The Legend of Zelda (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
18. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB) -- Summer Games Challenge
19. Bases Loaded II (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
20. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) -- Summer Games Challenge
21. Shenmue (DC) -- Summer Games Challenge
YOOOO BRO!!
* = replay
BogusMeatFactory wrote:If I could powder my copies of shenmue and snort them I would
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PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2988
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Partridge Senpai's 2016 Beaten List
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash 2: Expanded Edition
3. Toro! Let's Party!
4. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
5. Ghost Trick
6. Shining Force: EXA
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. New Super Mario Bros. U
9. New Luigi U
10. Riviera: The Promised Land
11. (Dragon Quest) Mori Mori Slime 3
12. Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
13. Yoshi's New Island
14. Yoshi's Island (repeat)
15. Super Back to the Future II
16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
17. Binary Domain
18. Star Fox Assault
19. Chibi-Robo Park Patrol
20. Scurge: The Hive
21. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
22. Yoshi's Woolly World
23. BOXBOY!
24. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
25. Mafia II
26. Gears of War
27. Halo 3
28. Tales of Graces f
29. Tales of Graces f : Lineages & Legacies
30. DeathSmiles
31. Dishonored
32. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall DLC
33. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches DLC
34. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
35. Tales of Symphonia
36. Ninja Smasher
37. Samba De Amigo
38. Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure
39. Alien on the Run
40. Resident Evil Revelations
41. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
42. Beautiful Katamari
43. Katamari Damacy (repeat)
44. Crazy Construction
45. Spec Ops: The Line
46. Wario World (repeat)
47. Resident Evil 4
48. Me & My Katamari (PSP)
If you didn't know this game existed, and the first thing you thought when you saw there was a Katamari game on PSP was, "Well, how does that work? There's not two joysticks and the hardware is so weak!" You have a very accurate picture of how good an idea it was to make a Katamari game on PSP. I'm glad it came out domestically, because I would've felt like a total moron if I'd had to spend like $50 importing it.
Now, this game isn't completely worthless. The King's dialogue is still very silly and funny as ever (my personal favorite line being, "It should be "Us and Our Katamari"" because he always speaks using the royal "we.") The levels which are there are also designed fairly well, and the levels where you're doing unique missions (like collecting things with age or things with high monetary value) are also very well designed and fun.
UNFORTUNATELY, the bulk of the "levels" is where this game really shows its flaws. This game has FAR too many stages for how much content it actually has. There are like 10+ normal stages (roll the katamari X big) in this game, but there is like 1 map per size level with each of those maps having like 2 or maybe 3 variations, if any at all, of where items are located on it. This makes the game get SUPER monotonous when it really doesn't try and hide that you're doing the same thing over and over. This also pads out the story of the game to like 6 or 7 hours, which is WAY longer than it needs to be.
A lot of the levels end up being really long because instead of the normal katamari way, where you slowly get bigger and then new areas are revealed to you and you can roll up everything in them and do that process all over again, you're often given a series of consecutive stages to do, usually 3 or 4 five+ minute stages, to do in one level. And because the level variety is so small, this really doesn't help with the monotony. The hardware just really shows its limitations, especially when you reach a new size level to access a new part of the level.
When you reach a new size that requires the game to load more objects, like in the first game, (I can't remember if the second game had that but the 360 one definitely didn't) basically all of the objects, save for the very tiniest ones that were out of your vision range, would still be there in the place you were just rolling. In this game, the object limit is so small, that basically the entire field you were just in is cleared of tinier objects, so there's no point in continuing to roll there. Hardware problems are also very present when you get to the stages where you're larger, because there's REALLY obvious and bad item pop-in.
The tremendous length of the game is not helped by the BAD controls. The PSP doesn't have 2 joysticks, or even 2 joy-nubs, to replicate the traditional Katamari Damacy controls. As a result, you have to use the D-pad and the face buttons to control instead. This takes some getting used to just because of how far apart things like the face buttons are laid out and how things like the 180 degree quick-flip and the charge are differently mapped, but the bigger problem is that it just hurts to play. The center of the D-pad on the PSP is a sharp little fucker, and pressing your thumb into it for even 2 consecutive levels will really start to hurt your hands. I will say, though, that the load times aren't bad, though they are relatively frequent compared to the other games.
The last thing about this worth mentioning, as with any Katamari game, is the music. Again, it's not bad, but not great. Almost the entire soundtrack is just the first game's music. There're a few new songs present, and they're usually good (especially the main theme), but there's not a whole new soundtrack like with a lot of the console releases.
Verdict: Not recommended. Unless you're a HUGE Katamari Damacy fan like I am, there is no reason to play this game. I would go as far as to say that this game just shouldn't have been made. This is the first Katamari Damacy game where the original creator wasn't involved in the creation process at all, and it really shows. The development team was either just too unfamiliar with the series, and/or just too limited by the hardware and it just comes off that they really didn't know what made Katamari Damacy fun. Add in that most if not all of the best levels in this are probably in Katamari Forever, and this is a game you can very safely skip.
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash 2: Expanded Edition
3. Toro! Let's Party!
4. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
5. Ghost Trick
6. Shining Force: EXA
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. New Super Mario Bros. U
9. New Luigi U
10. Riviera: The Promised Land
11. (Dragon Quest) Mori Mori Slime 3
12. Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
13. Yoshi's New Island
14. Yoshi's Island (repeat)
15. Super Back to the Future II
16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
17. Binary Domain
18. Star Fox Assault
19. Chibi-Robo Park Patrol
20. Scurge: The Hive
21. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
22. Yoshi's Woolly World
23. BOXBOY!
24. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
25. Mafia II
26. Gears of War
27. Halo 3
28. Tales of Graces f
29. Tales of Graces f : Lineages & Legacies
30. DeathSmiles
31. Dishonored
32. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall DLC
33. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches DLC
34. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
35. Tales of Symphonia
36. Ninja Smasher
37. Samba De Amigo
38. Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure
39. Alien on the Run
40. Resident Evil Revelations
41. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
42. Beautiful Katamari
43. Katamari Damacy (repeat)
44. Crazy Construction
45. Spec Ops: The Line
46. Wario World (repeat)
47. Resident Evil 4
48. Me & My Katamari (PSP)
If you didn't know this game existed, and the first thing you thought when you saw there was a Katamari game on PSP was, "Well, how does that work? There's not two joysticks and the hardware is so weak!" You have a very accurate picture of how good an idea it was to make a Katamari game on PSP. I'm glad it came out domestically, because I would've felt like a total moron if I'd had to spend like $50 importing it.
Now, this game isn't completely worthless. The King's dialogue is still very silly and funny as ever (my personal favorite line being, "It should be "Us and Our Katamari"" because he always speaks using the royal "we.") The levels which are there are also designed fairly well, and the levels where you're doing unique missions (like collecting things with age or things with high monetary value) are also very well designed and fun.
UNFORTUNATELY, the bulk of the "levels" is where this game really shows its flaws. This game has FAR too many stages for how much content it actually has. There are like 10+ normal stages (roll the katamari X big) in this game, but there is like 1 map per size level with each of those maps having like 2 or maybe 3 variations, if any at all, of where items are located on it. This makes the game get SUPER monotonous when it really doesn't try and hide that you're doing the same thing over and over. This also pads out the story of the game to like 6 or 7 hours, which is WAY longer than it needs to be.
A lot of the levels end up being really long because instead of the normal katamari way, where you slowly get bigger and then new areas are revealed to you and you can roll up everything in them and do that process all over again, you're often given a series of consecutive stages to do, usually 3 or 4 five+ minute stages, to do in one level. And because the level variety is so small, this really doesn't help with the monotony. The hardware just really shows its limitations, especially when you reach a new size level to access a new part of the level.
When you reach a new size that requires the game to load more objects, like in the first game, (I can't remember if the second game had that but the 360 one definitely didn't) basically all of the objects, save for the very tiniest ones that were out of your vision range, would still be there in the place you were just rolling. In this game, the object limit is so small, that basically the entire field you were just in is cleared of tinier objects, so there's no point in continuing to roll there. Hardware problems are also very present when you get to the stages where you're larger, because there's REALLY obvious and bad item pop-in.
The tremendous length of the game is not helped by the BAD controls. The PSP doesn't have 2 joysticks, or even 2 joy-nubs, to replicate the traditional Katamari Damacy controls. As a result, you have to use the D-pad and the face buttons to control instead. This takes some getting used to just because of how far apart things like the face buttons are laid out and how things like the 180 degree quick-flip and the charge are differently mapped, but the bigger problem is that it just hurts to play. The center of the D-pad on the PSP is a sharp little fucker, and pressing your thumb into it for even 2 consecutive levels will really start to hurt your hands. I will say, though, that the load times aren't bad, though they are relatively frequent compared to the other games.
The last thing about this worth mentioning, as with any Katamari game, is the music. Again, it's not bad, but not great. Almost the entire soundtrack is just the first game's music. There're a few new songs present, and they're usually good (especially the main theme), but there's not a whole new soundtrack like with a lot of the console releases.
Verdict: Not recommended. Unless you're a HUGE Katamari Damacy fan like I am, there is no reason to play this game. I would go as far as to say that this game just shouldn't have been made. This is the first Katamari Damacy game where the original creator wasn't involved in the creation process at all, and it really shows. The development team was either just too unfamiliar with the series, and/or just too limited by the hardware and it just comes off that they really didn't know what made Katamari Damacy fun. Add in that most if not all of the best levels in this are probably in Katamari Forever, and this is a game you can very safely skip.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
Re: Games Beaten 2016
First 50:
51. Ori and the Blind Forest - Xbox One
52. AM2R - PC
53. Total Annihilation - PC
54. I Am Setsuna - PS4
55. Planetary Annihilation Titans - PC
56. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - PC
The latest Deus Ex is here! Naturally I'm already finished because I've only put it down for things like sleep and going to work. The one sentence summary is HR but more with an Attack of the Clones ending. I'm predicting a third game that ends on a down note like Revenge of the Sith.
The game starts you off with a much better tutorial level than HR. Mostly because you get to start with a full suite of augs, so you get the ability to try out the various approaches from the get-go. Then, when the sudden but inevitable losing of your powers happens afterwards you know what you want to focus on. The game also gives you a bunch of Praxis Points at that point, so even though you're less than you were at the start you're still more than you were at the start of HR.
The game still has the structure of being in a hub level, doing several quests, then finally getting a story quest that takes you to a "dungeon". This time you get daylight at the start of the game. That gets taken away by midgame, though. The hub city is about the size of Detroit and Hengsha combined. However, there's a bit of frustration because it's split into a small area and a large area, and you need to take a loading screen train between the two. A couple times it gets annoying, as one quest had each step being on the opposite side of the boundary.
That said, the train has another important purpose; sending home the parallels between the anti-Aug sentiment and the expressions of racism we've seen in the past. In the world of Mankind Divided Augs are distrusted thanks to the Incident where they all were forced to go crazy. The average citizen you run into will be distrustful, or make snide comments about you. But when you go use the train things become a bit more real. The entrances are segregated into a side for Naturals and a side for Augs, and the Augs side is fenced off with razor wire. There's even separate trains with signs directing you to the appropriate one. If you take the Natural train the loading screen will have you as the only Aug in the car, with suspicious looks being thrown by the other passengers. And afterwards you'll get hasseled by the police for using the wrong train, and your documentation gets checked. The same thing happens if you take the Natural stairs to/from the train rather than the Aug stairs. It's a little subtle thing, but you quickly find yourself adapting to it and remembering to always go on THIS side and to use THIS train. The overall story of the game is about the Augs pushing back against the general anti-Aug sentiment, but it's little touches like this that really hit things home.
The game has several new augs available (which is a minor but important plot point) to suit the various playstyles. These new augs are experimental, so activating one will Overclock your system which can lead to errors. You can compensate by permanently disabling a regular aug. This ends up being a fine tradeoff, as you're probably not using all your augs anyway; stealth characters rarely use the Typhoon, for example. There's also a quest that lets you remove that penalty (and consequently make the disabled augs available again). It ends up being a bit of a missed opportunity in terms of giving you choices, as most people find a playstyle and stick to it, so you don't miss augs from playstyles you don't use.
The game has a single boss fight at the very end. It can be done non-lethally (and must be to get Pacifist) but the boss takes a lot to go down (multiple tranquilizer clips). You also have options for hacking his security bots and turning them on him; I'm not sure how effective they are overall because they're lethal. It's about on par with the boss fights from the Director's Cut of HR. I still wish it was fully skippable and not quite as much of a bullet sponge.
Overall, a very good entry in the series. Don't pay attention to the mixed Steam user reviews; they're evenly split between people who think they should be able to run the game on Ultra and people who take moral offense to being able to purchase Praxis Points (levels) in game using real money through a store only accessible on the main menu with nary a popup of "by the way, you should give us money" if you don't click it's menu option. Hell, the DLC from Dragon Age Origins was more intrusive than this in game store.
51. Ori and the Blind Forest - Xbox One
52. AM2R - PC
53. Total Annihilation - PC
54. I Am Setsuna - PS4
55. Planetary Annihilation Titans - PC
56. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - PC
The latest Deus Ex is here! Naturally I'm already finished because I've only put it down for things like sleep and going to work. The one sentence summary is HR but more with an Attack of the Clones ending. I'm predicting a third game that ends on a down note like Revenge of the Sith.
The game starts you off with a much better tutorial level than HR. Mostly because you get to start with a full suite of augs, so you get the ability to try out the various approaches from the get-go. Then, when the sudden but inevitable losing of your powers happens afterwards you know what you want to focus on. The game also gives you a bunch of Praxis Points at that point, so even though you're less than you were at the start you're still more than you were at the start of HR.
The game still has the structure of being in a hub level, doing several quests, then finally getting a story quest that takes you to a "dungeon". This time you get daylight at the start of the game. That gets taken away by midgame, though. The hub city is about the size of Detroit and Hengsha combined. However, there's a bit of frustration because it's split into a small area and a large area, and you need to take a loading screen train between the two. A couple times it gets annoying, as one quest had each step being on the opposite side of the boundary.
That said, the train has another important purpose; sending home the parallels between the anti-Aug sentiment and the expressions of racism we've seen in the past. In the world of Mankind Divided Augs are distrusted thanks to the Incident where they all were forced to go crazy. The average citizen you run into will be distrustful, or make snide comments about you. But when you go use the train things become a bit more real. The entrances are segregated into a side for Naturals and a side for Augs, and the Augs side is fenced off with razor wire. There's even separate trains with signs directing you to the appropriate one. If you take the Natural train the loading screen will have you as the only Aug in the car, with suspicious looks being thrown by the other passengers. And afterwards you'll get hasseled by the police for using the wrong train, and your documentation gets checked. The same thing happens if you take the Natural stairs to/from the train rather than the Aug stairs. It's a little subtle thing, but you quickly find yourself adapting to it and remembering to always go on THIS side and to use THIS train. The overall story of the game is about the Augs pushing back against the general anti-Aug sentiment, but it's little touches like this that really hit things home.
The game has several new augs available (which is a minor but important plot point) to suit the various playstyles. These new augs are experimental, so activating one will Overclock your system which can lead to errors. You can compensate by permanently disabling a regular aug. This ends up being a fine tradeoff, as you're probably not using all your augs anyway; stealth characters rarely use the Typhoon, for example. There's also a quest that lets you remove that penalty (and consequently make the disabled augs available again). It ends up being a bit of a missed opportunity in terms of giving you choices, as most people find a playstyle and stick to it, so you don't miss augs from playstyles you don't use.
The game has a single boss fight at the very end. It can be done non-lethally (and must be to get Pacifist) but the boss takes a lot to go down (multiple tranquilizer clips). You also have options for hacking his security bots and turning them on him; I'm not sure how effective they are overall because they're lethal. It's about on par with the boss fights from the Director's Cut of HR. I still wish it was fully skippable and not quite as much of a bullet sponge.
Overall, a very good entry in the series. Don't pay attention to the mixed Steam user reviews; they're evenly split between people who think they should be able to run the game on Ultra and people who take moral offense to being able to purchase Praxis Points (levels) in game using real money through a store only accessible on the main menu with nary a popup of "by the way, you should give us money" if you don't click it's menu option. Hell, the DLC from Dragon Age Origins was more intrusive than this in game store.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.