What are you playing?

[pook99]

Playing a lot of stuff right now:

1. Pandoras tower (wii): this was recommended by prfsnl_gamer some time ago and I finally got around to picking it up and playing it, I just beat the first boss and so far I absolutely love it, great atmosphere, interesting story, and good use of the wii mote, definitely an under the radar hack n slash worth playing

2. Super Mario 3d world: got a wii u a few weeks ago and have been dying to play this, beat the first world last night, it is as awesome as I hoped, I can't play it without my wife since she loves watching me play through mario games so I won't be able to blaze through this as quick as I liked

3. Bladed Fury (steam): really good 2d hack n slash, reminenscent of muramasa on the wii, made it to the final boss last night and will finish it soon, great game

4. Pankapu (switch): cool 2d platformer with some interesting costume change mechanics, reminds me a bit of the mickey mouse games on SNES in how different costumes give you different abilities and can be changed on the fly.

5. El Shaddai (xbox 360) Hyper weird, trippy game that is one part devil may cry and one part 2d platformer, interesting so far.

[PretentiousHipster]

Holy hell Freedom Fighters didn't age well at all. The engine is quite rough.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Playing a lot of stuff right now:

1. Pandoras tower (wii): this was recommended by prfsnl_gamer some time ago and I finally got around to picking it up and playing it, I just beat the first boss and so far I absolutely love it, great atmosphere, interesting story, and good use of the wii mote, definitely an under the radar hack n slash worth playing.

Such a sweet game. I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far. The bosses keep getting better, It is basically the best 3D “Castlevania” game, IMO. Also, it is one of the few modern games where a timer really, really matters, both from a gameplay and storytelling perspective. The game took a lot of heat for it, critically, when it was released, but the timer really is one of the best parts of the design. As you get further into the game, it will take you longer to find meat, and you will feel awful for leaving that girl alone for so long. Moreover, the dungeons become drastically more tense as you delve into them, knowing you will might have to fight your way out very quickly. It is just really well-designed over all, and I think it is one of the Wii’s best games,

.....

I’m playing Crash Bandicoot (PS1) since I’ve never beaten it before, it is pretty clear the designers didn’t really know how to make a good 3D platforming game at this point, and the game plays very much like a 2D platformer, but in 3D. It’s a little awkward at times, but the design is mostly fine with me since I love 2D platformers. The graphics have also aged really well, and the game still looks great. The save system is ridiculous, however. (You have to find and complete a bonus stage to save your game...What?!) That drags it down it a bit. It is also really linear, and all the secrets are unlocked by beating stages both without dying and by destroying every box in a stage. This a profoundly tedious way to unlock secrets, and I’m just going to play through the game rather than “complete” it.

[PretentiousHipster]

In the middle of the following Zelda games: BS Legend of Zelda (finished map 1. Will take a few weeks off so map 2 won't feel too repetitive), Oracle of Seasons, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass.

I am only playing them a bit at a time though. I managed to beat Wind Waker, but starting from the Wind Temple it just got worse and worse until after the triforce hunting part. It all falls apart there and I never had so much contempt for such a praised game. It kind of makes me wanna time a minor hiatus on other Zelda games. I guess I'll try to only focus on one at a time, with Oracle of Seasons being first since I'm in dungeon 5 now.

Kuru Kuru Kururin is fantastic, but I can only play it in short bursts because of its difficulty and frustration.

Descent: Freespace is phenomenal. I wanna play more space combat sims after playing Freelancer. I loved the gameplay and its ambition, but they should have just made it main missions. I saw a masterpiece during those parts, but the required side quests were so repetitive that it ruined it. Still, it gave me interest to try out more space combat sims. I have a great idea for a video involving this, but I'll leave it as a surprise.

Thief Gold is also a masterpiece. I remember playing it years ago and absolutely loving it too. The combat is garbage, and the heart-racing atmosphere is gone when you get caught because of how underwhelming it is, but I like to consider it a loss when I get caught. It makes the game a lot more exciting.

Freedom Fighters didn't age well at all. It's clear that it used the same engine as in the early Hitman games. You know what's the worst part about that series? The shooting. Imagine a game that just has that. The squad aspect is interesting but man oh man can they be dumb at times.

I'm done with Tiger Woods 2004. I loved it at first, but in the career mode you have to repeat the same course up to 4 times. To call it repetitive is an understatement.

I'll try out Daytona USA after Freedom Fighters which I should beat today, and then either the Kim Possible game or Smuggler's Run.

[pook99]

@prfsnl_gamer: yeah, the timer adds an intensity to the game for sure. It definitely is one of those games that just keeps getting better, I just beat the 5th dungeon last night and the level design keeps getting more interesting while the bosses are just wicked fun to fight. I would say that this game has some of the best boss designs I've ever seen, learning their patterns and how to take them down is immensely satisfying. I get excited before every encounter, even though I know I am going to get my ass kicked several times before I proceed.

@pretentious hipster: are you running the whole zelda series? Just from reading your posts it does not seem you are having a great time with many of them, personally I am not a huge zelda fan, I have played most of them and only finished a very small few (zelda 1-3 when I was younger, wind waker, and breath of the wild) the rest of the games just didn't motivate me to keep playing.

[PretentiousHipster]

@pretentious hipster: are you running the whole zelda series? Just from reading your posts it does not seem you are having a great time with many of them, personally I am not a huge zelda fan, I have played most of them and only finished a very small few (zelda 1-3 when I was younger, wind waker, and breath of the wild) the rest of the games just didn't motivate me to keep playing.

I have a visible Zelda tattoo I loved most the ones I played so far, I just think I might have "overdosed" on them. I tried Minish Cap first which was a masterpiece, and Link's Awakening was awesome as well. Also really enjoyed the first Zelda. BS Legend of Zelda was even better, but I feel like playing season 2 of it might make it overstay its welcome. That's why I'm waiting a few weeks to play it. Oracle of Seasons is great so far. Twilight Princess had a slow start but it picked up in the Goron Mines which was one of the best dungeons I've played in a Zelda game. Phantom Hourglass seems better than Wind Waker so far, but milking the DS controls to the max is a bit annoying. It's nearly impossible to roll for example.

I did play most of them in the past. A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask are one of the best games I've ever played. I really enjoyed Breath of the Wild too. The only game I look back on with contempt is Skyward Sword. I haven't played these in ages though. I'm sure I'll love these three, but perhaps my order of it will change. I also loved Hyrule Warriors, but I am a Dynasty Warriors fanboy.

I do a youtube channel in my spare time, and my goal is to make a video ranking the Zelda games and most of the spinoffs. The other videos made are complete garbage. The most popular one literally only has one criticism or praise of an aspect, and that was him saying the first one is outdated.

So to end this, I love Zelda, I just fucking hate the Wind Waker.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I started playing Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition on my Xbone yesterday. It's pretty cool! I really like how the action feels, although it's surprisingly hard to start out with (I'm only an hour or so in). It feels a lot like Yakuza but with more Arkham-y combat. Very fun ^w^

It does throw me off that I can't read the signs though. I'm so used to being able to read signs with characters like that written on, but when I try here I just get confused and I have to remind myself "oh yeah, I don't speak this language XP"

[PretentiousHipster]

Started Daytona USA. I have some rough notes about it:

It has an aesthetic that I find very endearing. It kind of screams vapourwave, everything from its dated music, the arcade-like checkpoint system, and the voice overs. I absolutely loved it.

In terms of its difficulty, I am on the fence with it. I do love how it's overall not too overwhelming to do well in a race, but a challenge to reach the first place spot. The flaw lies in the difficulty progression. In what I believe are three courses, the jump between them is vast. It feels like you're getting thrown in the deep end as opposed to it keeping you on your feet. I guess this was the compromise of only have three courses.

I also don't like the fact that it has so few courses. Of course, I didn't beat the game yet, so perhaps more will unlock if you reach 1st place in every track or something.

The gameplay for this is quite complex for its time. Your handling is dependent on different environments, and I found myself slipping more easily when on the grass. There's also a damage mechanic and I was shocked when I found out it's in a game of this time period. I found it to be inconsistent when the damage happens though. My guess is only when you smash into something in a corner. The use of drifting while braking in turns is also quite cool, and not too difficult to master.

One major flaw of this is the repetition of the music. Yea, it sounds very of its time and awesome, but it gets very repetitive when you find yourself repeating courses. Many songs in games of this era has the same repetition, but because it's full of vocals that repetition is emphasized.

I also found the camera to be too erratic when changing where I was on the road, kind of like the camera was shaking. The movements of some vehicles can also be just as erratic. I swear there are times where they're teleporting.

I do find it to be a great game so far. I'm just unsure about it's replay value once I reach first in the 3rd course. Maybe arcade mode will increase the replay value.

I actually prefer Moto Racer over this.

[Note]

Months ago I picked up Resident Evil 6 (Xbox 360) for a few bucks at a local game shop, since it was a co-op game my girlfriend and I could try. We finally started playing it last weekend and have already finished Leon's campaign and Chris' campaign. We're in the middle of playing Jake's campaign now.

I can see why this game got mixed reviews upon release. I have not played any of the later RE games (have not tried 4, 5, or 7) yet, but after playing this I can see why the fans wanted the 7th game to be taken in a different direction. While RE6 is fun as a co-op game, I don't think I would find it nearly as fun as a single player experience.

The gameplay is on the action third-person shooter side, as opposed to a survival horror game. The gameplay actually really reminds me of Gears of War, especially Chris' campaign. Some of the action sequences are very frustrating to get through, and seem to leave very little room for error, such as running from the BOW in Chris' campaign (the camera angles are terrible here too), or the snow mobile sequence in Jake's campaign (which we are currently stuck on).

I think we'll eventually finish the game, since we've played through a lot of it already, and we're both enjoying it, however the game is definitely flawed.

[opa]

I've been working on increasing my score in Alien for the 2600. I'm not a Pac man fan but I do tend to love games that mix up the formula.