Racketboy forums’ Summer Games Challenge 2019

[prfsnl_gmr]

So from my original list I am going to definitely play:

1) Mario RPG (currently playing)
2) luigis mansion
3) Guardian legend

I'm starting with those 3, probably in that order, and than I will revisit my list to find the next 7.

All awesome games. You can breeze through Luigi’s Mansion in four hours or so, and The Guardian Legend rules so hard.

[Ack]

Well, I beat F.E.A.R. 2, so...

1. F.E.A.R. 2

For my next game, I felt like a little bloodshed. With my teeth. Yep, I'm playing Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. It's the game that sank developer Troika, became a cult classic for the PC, has been labeled a "flawed masterpiece", and has even been rated the best buggy game ever released. It has managed to end up on several Top 100 Games lists as well as received accolades for being both one of the greatest horror games and RPGs ever made.

The beauty in a game like this is that it provides you so many options. There are many ways to play Vampire: The Masquerade, and Bloodlines does a fantastic job of translating that open-ended approach into a PC game. I should know. I played Vampire: The Masquerade in tabletop form and even (and yes, I am aware of how geeky this makes me) in a LARP. More than once...

I decided the best way to begin was to let the game decide my character based on a short questionnaire. There are 13 main vampire clans in V:TM, of which I was most partial to two: the hideous Nosferatu and the insane Malkavians. These two are defined by being on the fringes of vampire society, with the Nos misshapen and disgusting to behold while the Malkies are mentally warped from their vampirism. Nos tend to trade in secrets and often serve as spies and information brokers, while Malkies revel in chaos and can gain insights or even predict the future. They're both tolerated rather than accepted, and often they're just flat out feared by the other clans.

I'm happy to say I ended up a pointy-eared bat freak Nos. Takes me back to the good old days when I ran a noseless Nosferatu in a Hawaiian shirt who could projectile vomit out of his nasal cavity. I told you they were gross.

Malkies don't quite work the way I like them here, but then mine was an obsessive compulsive zealot who considered mental illness a gift from God and was more than happy to share when I was playing him. The rest of the players became horrified when they learned I had maxed out his Dementate powers, which enabled me to permanently inflict madness upon their characters. You know you're playing Vampire right when you're the pawn that everybody wants and nobody wants to cross. Since that isn't quite so practical against NPCs, I'm glad to be one of the ugly ones instead of one of the crazies.

[alienjesus]

I liked Phantasy Star 3 a whole lot more than Phantasy Star 2, but that isn't big praise because overall I found both to be pretty mediocre. It's kinda sad after Phantasy Star 1 was so impressive. I'm hoping Phantasy Star 4 makes the series good reputation make sense, because so far they're 1 for 3 for me.

Anyway, I'm dogsitting and chickensitting for the wife's family this weekend, so I decided to bring some games with me to work on for the summer challenge. Seeing as I have more N64 games on the list than any other console, I brought that with me along with Mario Party, Mario Tennis and Goldeneye.

Mario Tennis I started up yesterday. It's interesting. I enjoy tennis games but I always find them rather lacking in content, and this one is no exception really. I've been playing as Boo, and I beat the first two tournaments in singles - apparently you only have to beat 3 to get credits? I'll be doing that in both singles and doubles before I move on. I was having some trouble yesterday on the third tournament - mostly because I'm not that good and haven't played much yet, but also partially because I filleted my thumb a bit the other day with a very sharp knife and it's now covered in plasters - and I couldn't feel the stick very much when playing, which is a surprising detriment to accuracy

I also played another map of Mario Party, this time the Yoshi themed one. The original Mario Party is quite interesting for how the maps all have different concepts that change play in bigger ways - the mario stage is linear for example, and the yoshi one feature 2 islands linked by toll booths that increase in cost over time. Toad and Bowser stay in fixed places instead of moving randomly after each star, but the ? spaces swap their position requiring you to move island. It's one of the better maps I think, and it also results in a fairly high number of stars being awarded - I added 10 stars to the in-game bank, bringing my total to 22. I need to beat all 7 regular maps and gain 100 total stars to unlock the final map and beat that for credits. 1/5th of the way there.

The weekend will hopefully feature more progress in both, as well as some significant progress through GoldenEye. I'm worried I'll struggle with that one somewhat though - I'm awful at FPS games, unlike our buddy Ack.

[MrPopo]

I'm very interested to see how you feel about playing the Nosferatu in the game once you've spent enough time to form opinions about the constraints you have to play under.

[pook99]

The weekend will hopefully feature more progress in both, as well as some significant progress through GoldenEye. I'm worried I'll struggle with that one somewhat though - I'm awful at FPS games, unlike our buddy Ack.

Your skill level at conventional FPS is irrelevant when it comes to goldeneye. I am decent at FPS but none of those skills I have with a traditional twin stick layout translate to any success in goldeneye(to be fair, in any N64 FPS) the controls are so god awful its amazing anyone was able to play it. At the time of its release there was no real precedent for console FPS so I kind of get it, but given how far the genre has come it is impossible to go back.

Luckily the brain dead AI make it a manageable experience in terms of difficulty so you will probably be able to manage it somewhat, just don't be prepared to have any fun with it.

[MrPopo]

Switch Goldeneye to control scheme 1.2 (do a similar thing to Perfect Dark). Turok by default uses that control scheme. C buttons are WASD, stick is mouse.

[alienjesus]

Switch Goldeneye to control scheme 1.2 (do a similar thing to Perfect Dark). Turok by default uses that control scheme. C buttons are WASD, stick is mouse.

I will be doing this. I'm used to the Turok control scheme from playing Rage Wars, and I used that button layout when playing Perfect Dark a few years back too. I played that one in co-op though, and the other guy had it as a kid and basically carried me

[Ack]

I'm very interested to see how you feel about playing the Nosferatu in the game once you've spent enough time to form opinions about the constraints you have to play under.

What constraints? I can feed regularly off rats for blood, can use the sewers at my whim to manuever around the city, and my powers enable me for stealth and combat.
Sure, I can't easily walk down the street, but that's a small price to pay for the opportunity to be a stealthy killer that hits like a brick wall. I just spend most of my time on the surface crouching or in obfuscate. This game play style suits me.

In truth, they nailed it for how I want to play a Nosferatu. My only complaint is that I wish I could find a change of clothes. A nice, dirty suit would be perfect.

[MrPopo]

Ahh, see, that exact play style is something I utterly hate to be forced into. I like stealth as a force multiplier, not a requirement.

[lordb0rb4]

Well, sure it's been a long time since i've posted here but it's indeed that WONDERFULL time of the year again!

First of all, congratulations AJ, may God bring happiness and love for both of you always.
It's my second Summer Games Challenge and oh boy i'm HYPED just by thinking about it, i'm on a roll this year gaming-wise, having beat 90 games to this date i'm sure this year will be one for the record.
This is what i have for now but i'm dying to hear from you guys:

New Super Mario Bros. (NDS) - Already playing it for the first time.I'm not a fan of side-scrolling games and Mario for the matter and i'm very unimpressed but i'm definitely beating this one.
Grand Theft Auto III - LTTP but that's what Summer Games Challenge is all about hum?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - HBO's Chernobyl set the mood and now it is time to finally see this one through
Air Combat (PS1) - Played and finished 3 modern Ace Combat this year and recently H.A.W.X and i'm dying to get acquainted with the origin of the series, is AC a good starting point or should i skip and play the second or third one?
Metroid Fusion - A good starting point and "easy" Metroid for newcomers i hope?
Mortal Kombat 2
Star Wars: Battle for Naboo / Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter / Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike - Played and beat Rogue Squadron 1 and Starfighter in 2018 and Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II this year (My Retro GOTY atm) i'm looking forward to play one or all of these.
Tenchu 2 - Tenchu 1 (DAT INTRO) was one of my favorite ps1 games but i totally skipped the sequel.
Star Wars: Republic Commando Star Wars + Rainbow Six you say!?!!?!
Zone of the Enders - Played a little game called Project Nimbus: Code Mirai and i'm hungry for more of that.

So guys, how am i looking this far? I apreciate any response in advance