Oh wow, Soul Reaver actually works on PC. Sasuga Nixxes.
What are y'all playing? ver 2.0
archnemesis
#223
Well done, John. The Room is awesome. The only thing changed in the sequel is that each stage has multiple tables/objects to explore.
archnemesis
#224
I beat the final bosses in both Magic 2015 and its expansion. For the first time in the series you have full control of deck building. Unfortunately the booster pack system is really awful. You get cards from different boosters named after real-life expansions, but they all have the same logo so itās not possible to see which expansion certain cards are from. Iām pretty sure only a small fraction of the cards from each expansion are available since I keep getting the same ones. Instead of having the usual split of 11 commons, 3 uncommon and 1 rare in each pack, you instead get a mix of whatever the game thinks you should have at that moment.
The first time you boot up the game you get to select one out of (I believe) ten starter decks. My initial black/white pick was focused around life gain and token generation. I transformed it to a slightly more powerful green/white deck with plenty of small creatures and bonuses based on the number of creatures you control.
Now Iām using a much more powerful blue/red control deck. I kept getting crushed by creature heavy decks, but with access to mass removal, bounce and burn spells it makes it a lot easier to survive until the end game.
archnemesis
#226
They changed it for the better with a patch. At launch you had to purchase Premium packs with real money. Now you can earn them by playing against other people online.
DG_Nick
#227
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
The best WoW expansion ever made, they really nailed it this time. Iāve been playing all day because itās so good.
archnemesis
#228
DriveClub is surprisingly great. There are loads of single player events and load times are very short which makes it easy to jump in for a quick race. I still havenāt joined a club, but I guess we can make one for WYLers once the free PS+ version is released.
Leo
#229
The visuals of Driveclub look impressive and lifelike. Is it still plagued with technical issues?
archnemesis
#230
Not really. The only thing that isnāt working for me is the notification system, but I can still find challenges I receive from another place in the menu.
John
#232
Finished Hitman: Absolution. Itās an ok gameā¦ iām personally not a fan of the changes made to the stealth mechanics. The game feels less binary, and less fun to mess around with. I finished the game on Hard and the suspicion meter was kinda ridiculous to be honest, so much so that disguises were almost completely useless most of the time. The point system works very strangely, changing the game from ākill no one, alert no oneā to āyou can kill, but be sure to hide the body!ā and āif you get spotted, headshot the target to make up the lost points!ā which i simply donāt enjoy. The old gamesā mechanics were so binary and predictable that you were allowed to explore a lot more before doing the perfect run, whereas this one feels designed to make every run a potential win, which means that it expects you to be always be perfect. It makes for a very different game, honestly.
But it did give me the itch for the older games so iāll probably be buying them at some point in time. Sasuga Eidos.
RpgN
#233
Hmmmm not sure what were the last games I talked about. Iāll quickly mention completing these without talking too much about them as Iāve mentioned most of them before.
Completed Games:
1.Scram Kitty (lovely arcade eshop game, 100%)
2. Mario Kart 8 (didnāt think I would end up loving it this much, 100%)
3. Drawn to Life (got repetitive for a while, then more fun when it was about to end 100%)
4. Heroes of Mana (enjoyed this in a way that made me feel nostalgic, was going for 100% with S rank on bonus maps but my stats got kinda reset after new game plus. Donāt feel like putting a bit of time in new game plus to do the last 2 bonus maps)
5. Hastune Miku Project Diva f (addictive, still need to get 2 trophies for platinum)
6. Deadnation (played this on the ps3 before and was happy to play it again on the vita. I love what this dev has released on PSN. Still need to get some trophies for platinum)
New (Short) Games and Completed:
- Sonic CD PSN/PS3 (it was okay, I wasnāt impressed or cared about the time machine concept with gameplay. It seemed cool but the levels and gameplay felt too rehashed to care)
- White Knight Sword (a 2D action platformer, it has beautiful style but the game ended up being frustrating due to the desperate attempt at making the game seem longer. You donāt gain lives easily and if you die, you have to play the game from scratch. Whatās funny is the game allowing you to save your checkpoints, making this process unnecessary and tedious. The game is short 1-3 hours, has some cheap sections on higher difficulties and many assets are re-used).
On my next post I will talk more indepth about the games Iāve been playing recently.
RpgN
#234
Detailed post incoming!
New Games:
Swords and Soldiers (PSN/PS3)
Blue Dragon (Xbox 360)
While going through my PSN spree during Holidays (seems like a tradition at this point), Swords and Soldiers became the last game to play with after Black Knight Sword and Sonic CD. Itās longer than those 2 and certainly better though Iām not sure if thatās saying much.
Itās a 2D tower defence game thatās very basic and with lots of humour. Story mode is divided in 3 campaigns, starting with Vikings, then Aztec and Chinese. Humour is further accomplished due to the dialogue and cute 2D characters that engage in childish/internet kinda fights. You see the story from their perspectives.
The game is very simple, you strengthen your base, use the money to build new units and try to defend them with magic. The objective is mostly to destroy the base of your opponents. Itās so simple that it feels like there isnāt much to think about, itās on auto pilot. At least, thatās how it feels sometimes.
The game is fun but it feels forgettable and asking myself if I would have been fine skipping it. Mind you it has its qualities, I just feel meh about it. Just playing it to finish it at this point. There should be about 2 missions left from the Chinese campaign.
Iām not sure where my sudden interest came to play Blue Dragon. Iāve made that decision roughly the day before yesterday late at night. On one hand I got curious about it, on the other hand I didnāt feel ready to start on a big RPG that takes a while to complete. 5 hours of gaming later, here are some early impressions.
It feels very familiar. From its structure, to the gameplay, to the soundtrack and style. I couldnāt help noticing this. Lost Odyssey also felt very familiar, though it had some minor gimmicks and innovations of its own. The same can be said for Blue Dragon, but Iām not sure if itās enough. While Blue Dragon has nice touches, itās more safe than Lost Odyssey. It tries to make up for it in other ways.
Do I need to talk about the gameplay? Itās your typical turn based RPG with exploring, leveling up and equip the characters with accessories to make them stronger. Letās focus on what is supposed to make this game unique and some of its neat ideas.
Your characters have shadows to fight for you, each character having a unique monster design to represent themselves. In practice, itās just a disguised job system. Each shadow can unlock new classes such as monk and defender. You start with black magic, white magic and attacker. Classes also level up and you are able to use higher level skills/magic. Classes also have separate stats, so thereās that to think about.
What makes classes enjoyable in this game is the amount of freedom you are given early on. You can change classes and retain skills/magic of other classes depending on how much youāve trained those. It makes things flexible and training classes is always worth it.
Other nice touches about the game: magic and skills have charge time. If you want stronger magic, your turn will come later making your ally attack first or your enemy strike before you. This adds more to your planning and strategy. You can also attack a group of enemies at once in the field (enemies are visible and can be easily avoided). You get bonus improvements when you defeat each wave.
While the game feels safe, what makes up for it is not being tedious at all. Every time you visit a new area and activate a device, you can warp to it from the camp menu whenever you feel like it. Fights are quick and snappy, animations are quick and loading times are not long like Lost Odyssey. Cutscenes are less and they donāt take a long time. The ability to avoid enemies and your grinding always being useful is a blessing.
I might have sounded more negative at the start, that was the case in the first 2 hours. Iām enjoying the game greatly and canāt wait to spend more time on it. It looks nice, sounds good and itās charming. It just feels off when you feel like you know everything about the game early due to how familiar it is.
Currently Playing:
Freedom Wars (completed code 4 missions)
Etrian Odyssey IV (2 optional bosses left plus more)
Freedom Wars is getting addictive. It wasnāt anywhere near that good at the start but recently I just canāt put it down once I start. Only problem is, Iām tied with a friend. I canāt play it freely. And so, itās been 3 weeks since I played it.
Etrian Odyssey IV post game content has been waiting for me for a long time. This vacation was the time to continue with it. Iāve managed to defeat the 3 dragons, almost fully explore the 6th labyrinth and finish all side quests except 1. I feel like hitting a dead end now. The 2 optional bosses that are left require reaching high levels. My main party is mostly at levels 78 because I so badly wanted to train all party members. Now I have to grind, not sure whether to do that. What Iāve done of the post game content reminds me why I love Etrian Odyssey IV.
chapel
#235
Destiny off and on. Not as much the last few weeks since Iāve had family over.
Halo 5 beta which is very fun but sadly most of my friends donāt have it.
I got Shadow of Mordor for Christmas and just beat it tonight. Overall Iāve enjoyed the game and have always been interested in the nemesis system. I do feel that it is a bit easy and the final boss encounters are weak. I hope they use the nemesis system in other games as it is very fun. I could see it working well in a mob/gang themed game. Maybe even a political game.
archnemesis
#237
Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita) is a very solid action game like all the other games in the series. This time, Adol has lost his memory. He and his merry companions have to search the vast forests of Celceta to regain it.
Leo
#238
It resembles the Final Fantasy V job system. I didnāt get too deep into job-leveling. I just wanted to enjoy the visuals and story. Because of the art and graphical style, it was like watching a Pixar movie, except with an anime flavor. To me, I felt like I was watching Dragon Ball, and not only because Akira Toriyama was the character designer. The lighthearted and adventurous atmosphere was the same as Dragon Ball.
And oh man, wait until you get to the final battle. A big surprise awaits you. It also has one of my favorite final boss theme songs.
archnemesis
#239
InFamous: First Light is not just more of the same. Itās filled with optional challenges that you can complete to gain more skill points. Last night I was just roaming around Seattle doing graffiti and collecting neon shards(?). The main story is supposed to be quite short, but completing all the challenges would take almost as long as playing through Second Son.
