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Call me an old sentimental bastard on a foolish nostalgia rush, or just tell me that I have bad taste in videogames (who knows, you might be right), but I played a lot more of Knack today and I am thoroughly enjoying myself with it. This game is 110% PSX mascot platformer wrapped in a pretty, Saturday morning CGI cartoon package. Playing this game really takes me back, in a good way. Not sure if it reminds me of my more innocent gaming youth or if I just needed a change of pace back to a style of game that I've forgotten I liked so much. Nowadays, I couldn't play a game like this too often and feel satisfied but I suppose it had been long enough right now because the small charms of its simplistic but challenging gameplay have me pretty happy at the moment. I haven't beaten the game yet so it's hard to say if I'll find it as memorable of a gaming experience that I do other old games of its kind. Actually, that's probably something I won't be able to determine until looking back at it in retrospect much later. All I can say is that right now I'm having a lot of fun with it.
It should be noted, however, that I didn't actually pay for this game with my own money... and that I most certainly don't think it's worthy of a $60 price tag. This is one of those titles that should have been $39.99 right out of the gate. I'd almost say $29 but you can tell the game has a high production value. Speaking of which, I didn't realize until today that the lead concept artist for the game was Koji Hasegawa of Shadow of the Colossus fame; That explains why the backgrounds look so nice. There were actually a good few people with strong Japanese development backgrounds working on this, surprisingly. From a business perspective, though, I can also recognize that Sony knew they could pull decent sales for this game even at a full price point, given that it's one of their two first-party launch titles. I'm going to give Mark Cerny and company props for doing something like this as a 4th generation PlayStation launch title. In my opinion that took some balls.
It should be noted, however, that I didn't actually pay for this game with my own money... and that I most certainly don't think it's worthy of a $60 price tag. This is one of those titles that should have been $39.99 right out of the gate. I'd almost say $29 but you can tell the game has a high production value. Speaking of which, I didn't realize until today that the lead concept artist for the game was Koji Hasegawa of Shadow of the Colossus fame; That explains why the backgrounds look so nice. There were actually a good few people with strong Japanese development backgrounds working on this, surprisingly. From a business perspective, though, I can also recognize that Sony knew they could pull decent sales for this game even at a full price point, given that it's one of their two first-party launch titles. I'm going to give Mark Cerny and company props for doing something like this as a 4th generation PlayStation launch title. In my opinion that took some balls.
The Witcher (1st one) for PC.
I picked this up from the last Steam sale for a tempting 75% off the usual price, but up until today, I've only managed to play it for an hour. I've one of those occasional WRPG itches that need scratching, so I decided to boot it up again.
So far, combat is...basic. I have three different fighting styles, and combat is a hack-and-slash-like affair, with a slight rhythmic/timing mechanic to it if I wish to sustain a combo. It isn't exactly anything particularly laudable, although the magical abilities certainly pack some weight to it. I blew back a Ghoul in an abandoned house at the dead of night, and rubble just started falling down around us, before Geralt dealt a heavy stab to the creature's groins as it's on the floor being pummelled by rubble.
I do like the world so far. It's not going to be the open-world of the third game, and nor is it like Xenoblade's individual, large open maps, but for a game from 2007, I'm very content with the scope and size of the first actual area of the game - the Vizima Outskirts - with the various settlements dotted around, and enough NPCs wandering around to make it feel alive. Kind of weird that I can easily stroll into people's homes and loot like in a JRPG. I was picturing being attacked for doing it, or be dealt with a nasty penalty. You don't see Elder Scrolls or Fable letting you do that!
Story is nothing remarkable so far. It's not exactly engaging, and Geralt has that JRPG cliche of amnesia, and there's nothing particularly interesting or outstanding about how Geralt is portrayed thus far. Triss is just already in love with him. In fact, within the first forty minutes, Geralt sleeps with her, DESPITE the fact that everyone else is waiting for them to come down and attend the funeral of one of the minor characters who was offed in the first half hour of the game.
It's being played on my laptop, meaning that on mid-settings, it's running at about 20 frames per second. Not terribly ideal, but workable. It turns into a slideshow when I'm not charging the machine, which is annoying, to say. Even in mid-settings, it looks fantastic, ignoring the horrific textures that inevitably do show, namely in cutscenes. Below-par with what I picture a console version to look like in some areas, but pretty good in most places. I haven't noticed a significant performance increase in low settings though.
I'd love to play The Witcher 2, but there's no PS3 version of the game, and my machine is not going to manage it in anything more than 15fps.
I picked this up from the last Steam sale for a tempting 75% off the usual price, but up until today, I've only managed to play it for an hour. I've one of those occasional WRPG itches that need scratching, so I decided to boot it up again.
So far, combat is...basic. I have three different fighting styles, and combat is a hack-and-slash-like affair, with a slight rhythmic/timing mechanic to it if I wish to sustain a combo. It isn't exactly anything particularly laudable, although the magical abilities certainly pack some weight to it. I blew back a Ghoul in an abandoned house at the dead of night, and rubble just started falling down around us, before Geralt dealt a heavy stab to the creature's groins as it's on the floor being pummelled by rubble.
I do like the world so far. It's not going to be the open-world of the third game, and nor is it like Xenoblade's individual, large open maps, but for a game from 2007, I'm very content with the scope and size of the first actual area of the game - the Vizima Outskirts - with the various settlements dotted around, and enough NPCs wandering around to make it feel alive. Kind of weird that I can easily stroll into people's homes and loot like in a JRPG. I was picturing being attacked for doing it, or be dealt with a nasty penalty. You don't see Elder Scrolls or Fable letting you do that!
Story is nothing remarkable so far. It's not exactly engaging, and Geralt has that JRPG cliche of amnesia, and there's nothing particularly interesting or outstanding about how Geralt is portrayed thus far. Triss is just already in love with him. In fact, within the first forty minutes, Geralt sleeps with her, DESPITE the fact that everyone else is waiting for them to come down and attend the funeral of one of the minor characters who was offed in the first half hour of the game.
It's being played on my laptop, meaning that on mid-settings, it's running at about 20 frames per second. Not terribly ideal, but workable. It turns into a slideshow when I'm not charging the machine, which is annoying, to say. Even in mid-settings, it looks fantastic, ignoring the horrific textures that inevitably do show, namely in cutscenes. Below-par with what I picture a console version to look like in some areas, but pretty good in most places. I haven't noticed a significant performance increase in low settings though.
I'd love to play The Witcher 2, but there's no PS3 version of the game, and my machine is not going to manage it in anything more than 15fps.
I'm having an amazing amount of fun playing Killer Instinct. I knew I would enjoy the game but didn't think it would be to this extent - I am loving this game. Great soundtrack, fun combos, nice backgrounds with awesome weather effects... I'm enjoying it so much I even went ahead and bought the Ultra Edition. Playing Killer Instinct Classic, which came with the Ultra Edition, is a nice throwback, too.
So far I'm pleased with Crimson Dragon but I haven't spent an incredible amount of time with it like I plan on doing. As I've said before I'm nothing if not a diehard Panzer Dragoon fan, and with that I can already deduce that this could have been a better game based solely off of the few hours I played of it last night. My biggest gripe already would be the lack of that old 90 degree quick-turn; It's definitely still needed. You can tell they put a good effort into trying to let the camera guide you to where you need to be facing but, at times, it whips you around to a position that you simply don't need to be in and by the time you get to where you do, you've already taken one if not multiple hits. It's probably fine for a casual playthough, but for a game that encourages you to grind out levels and perfect stages for higher rankings and bonuses it's somewhat frustrating, especially for someone such as myself who wouldn't even think of playing on any mode but Classic. I'd be extremely happy if they could just patch-in that 90 degree turn. There are things to love about the game, though. It definitely feels like Panzer Dragoon. It's new, it's HD, but at the same time it feels retro (in a good way) and that's because they stayed true to the art direction and level design of the older games. The music is also classic Panzer and overall a really good soundtrack if you're a fan of the series' music; It's up there with the best of them. There's definitely some beautiful environments to be seen even if they're not cutting-edge next-gen. You might have to be a fan to enjoy them as much as I do but in my opinion some of them are quite breathtaking. Actually, I'm gonna go out on a limb and make a far-to-soon judgement call: I think you probably have to be a hardcore fan to enjoy this game much at all. The way I see it so far is that some aspects of it can be enjoyable if you're really into Panzer Dragoon, but even then it's basically only going to stave off your hunger for another really good game in the series. It's much more of an edible appetizer than a delicious main course. I know, shame on me for saying so after only playing 4 or 5 hours of the game, but I sincerely think that's how it's going to turn out. I'm not severely disappointed, though, it's already worth the $20 I paid for sure.
So far I'm pleased with Crimson Dragon but I haven't spent an incredible amount of time with it like I plan on doing. As I've said before I'm nothing if not a diehard Panzer Dragoon fan, and with that I can already deduce that this could have been a better game based solely off of the few hours I played of it last night. My biggest gripe already would be the lack of that old 90 degree quick-turn; It's definitely still needed. You can tell they put a good effort into trying to let the camera guide you to where you need to be facing but, at times, it whips you around to a position that you simply don't need to be in and by the time you get to where you do, you've already taken one if not multiple hits. It's probably fine for a casual playthough, but for a game that encourages you to grind out levels and perfect stages for higher rankings and bonuses it's somewhat frustrating, especially for someone such as myself who wouldn't even think of playing on any mode but Classic. I'd be extremely happy if they could just patch-in that 90 degree turn. There are things to love about the game, though. It definitely feels like Panzer Dragoon. It's new, it's HD, but at the same time it feels retro (in a good way) and that's because they stayed true to the art direction and level design of the older games. The music is also classic Panzer and overall a really good soundtrack if you're a fan of the series' music; It's up there with the best of them. There's definitely some beautiful environments to be seen even if they're not cutting-edge next-gen. You might have to be a fan to enjoy them as much as I do but in my opinion some of them are quite breathtaking. Actually, I'm gonna go out on a limb and make a far-to-soon judgement call: I think you probably have to be a hardcore fan to enjoy this game much at all. The way I see it so far is that some aspects of it can be enjoyable if you're really into Panzer Dragoon, but even then it's basically only going to stave off your hunger for another really good game in the series. It's much more of an edible appetizer than a delicious main course. I know, shame on me for saying so after only playing 4 or 5 hours of the game, but I sincerely think that's how it's going to turn out. I'm not severely disappointed, though, it's already worth the $20 I paid for sure.
Bravely Default for me.
And also started a third full run of the Mass Effect games in tandem with a mate who's not played the series before. Really cool way to experience the game.
Finished up Zelda ALBW (here's my review!), and SteamWorld Dig on Steam recently, too (reviewed that, and all).
And also started a third full run of the Mass Effect games in tandem with a mate who's not played the series before. Really cool way to experience the game.
Finished up Zelda ALBW (here's my review!), and SteamWorld Dig on Steam recently, too (reviewed that, and all).
Playing Super Mario 3D World. To me, it's the best 3D Mario game since 64. I enjoyed the Galaxy games pretty well and all, but this one is just fantastic.
...Also playing Sonic: Lost World. I haven't spent a great amount of time with it yet but so far I'm liking it much better than other recent Sonic titles I played.
...Also playing Sonic: Lost World. I haven't spent a great amount of time with it yet but so far I'm liking it much better than other recent Sonic titles I played.
I've decided to revisit Batman Arkham Asylum to see how long it can take for me to speed my way through the game while completely ignoring side content and especially the Riddler trophies. The speed-run isn't exactly going too well when I spend 15 minutes stuck in a room when all I had to do was look UP and grapple with R1. In addition, it is glorious to go through the Scarecrow bits of the game again. Trust me to suggest that they are the best parts of the game.
Still slowly going through The Witcher. It's...not that great to be honest. It's a mediocre game at best, largely because Geralt continues to lack a personality, not helped by a rather background cast of NPCs, and especially what passes as the combat system, as limited as depth as it is. Three stances that you occasionally switch between, and just rhythmically clicking the left mouse key. There have been moments when a group of enemies encircled me, but Geralt couldn't even land a hit because one member of the Drowner group continuously hammered me in the face or the back of the head. I had to somersault out of there because Geralt could do nothing but be a ragdoll, despite the combat style specifically suited for group combat activated. Pretty sure that wasn't meant to happen.
Still slowly going through The Witcher. It's...not that great to be honest. It's a mediocre game at best, largely because Geralt continues to lack a personality, not helped by a rather background cast of NPCs, and especially what passes as the combat system, as limited as depth as it is. Three stances that you occasionally switch between, and just rhythmically clicking the left mouse key. There have been moments when a group of enemies encircled me, but Geralt couldn't even land a hit because one member of the Drowner group continuously hammered me in the face or the back of the head. I had to somersault out of there because Geralt could do nothing but be a ragdoll, despite the combat style specifically suited for group combat activated. Pretty sure that wasn't meant to happen.
Likes:
Denki
Wow, took me way too long on the Beast's Lair in Ys: Memories of Celceta. Getting past that underwater current threw me for a loop ' cause I didn't think it was currently possible. So I kept wandering the dungeon over and over thinking I must have missed a path elsewhere. Ash well, at least I'm overpowered for the time being.
My Christmas break game has been, surprisingly, Final Fantasy VIII. PC version, Steam, with the lovely audio patch to give PS1 music. Good stuff.
I'm also playing Seven Ways to Die, which is just a bit brilliant.
I'm probably going to embark on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' hero mode tonight, too...
I'm also playing Seven Ways to Die, which is just a bit brilliant.
I'm probably going to embark on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' hero mode tonight, too...
Papers, Please!
Glory to Arstotzka!
Video games. They're great aren't they? You can be a race car driver competing against half a dozen other drivers on a track, while battling against rain and the slippery tarmac. You can be a criminal, about to perform a deftly heist. You can be a teenage swordsman embarking on a death-defying quest to slay a monster that is the source of a plague on your village. You might be a heroic, flag-waving American soldier tasked with murdering swathes of foreign people with an assault rifle. You can even be playing an eroge game with one hand.
But up until now I don't think we've ever been an immigration official working for a totalitarian Soviet Russia-like republic examining passports and entry visas until this game came along. And thanks to Steam, I was able to pick this up and unexpectedly come across what may be one of my favourite games this generation. A game that absolutely should not be entertaining, let alone as engrossing as I am finding it to be.
I'm up against the clock in this game. Time is precious, and the hours of the day are tragically finite. I have a family and extended family (yo uncle, you're a moocher!) to look after, because they're clearly incapable of supporting themselves otherwise. They need food. They need heating. They will eventually need medicine. They will also need to stay sheltered and housed, and I have to be the person picking up the rent bills (rent bills that I have to pay daily for some reason). So I do have to perform well enough to sustain my family, and it depends on how many people I let in to the glorious country of Arstotzka.
So what's the problem, you ask? Just let as many people as you can regardless of whether they're eligible or have the right papers? Well, you forget that I'm still meant to be doing my job. I don't want officials to constantly reprimand me that I end up out of the job - or in front of a firing squad. Every morning from 6am, I enter my booth and call upon the first lucky people to show me their papers. What conceptually sounds like an incredibly basic, brainless and monotonous task is quickly spiced up when I have to actively search for discrepancies as quickly as I can. Does the prospective immigrant or visitor come from a "real" region or country? Do photos match? Are they potentially lying about length of stay? Is this person a wanted criminal? There's also this recurring character who waltzes in multiples times with fake passports. Then there are the occasional terrorists who break from the line to hurl bombs at security. They're scripted, but they can be very welcome to break up the routine now and then.
What else does this game unexpectedly succeed in doing? Despite its basic appearance, this little indie gem does a very effective job in recreating the pressure and psyche of being a border official, with multiple things to actively look out for, prevent and strive for. Hard decisions have to be made; an elderly woman may plead for me to allow her access into the country to see her son, but her papers are insubstantial. I can take pity on the poor soul and comply with her wishes and face the ire of my superiors, or I can silence her once and for all by stamping a bold red DENIED on the paper, thereby inviting her amidst the grief to curse my name.
Plus, in the event that I ever want to make a career out of checking people's passports, this can be listed as "work experience"!
Glory to Arstotzka!
Video games. They're great aren't they? You can be a race car driver competing against half a dozen other drivers on a track, while battling against rain and the slippery tarmac. You can be a criminal, about to perform a deftly heist. You can be a teenage swordsman embarking on a death-defying quest to slay a monster that is the source of a plague on your village. You might be a heroic, flag-waving American soldier tasked with murdering swathes of foreign people with an assault rifle. You can even be playing an eroge game with one hand.
But up until now I don't think we've ever been an immigration official working for a totalitarian Soviet Russia-like republic examining passports and entry visas until this game came along. And thanks to Steam, I was able to pick this up and unexpectedly come across what may be one of my favourite games this generation. A game that absolutely should not be entertaining, let alone as engrossing as I am finding it to be.
I'm up against the clock in this game. Time is precious, and the hours of the day are tragically finite. I have a family and extended family (yo uncle, you're a moocher!) to look after, because they're clearly incapable of supporting themselves otherwise. They need food. They need heating. They will eventually need medicine. They will also need to stay sheltered and housed, and I have to be the person picking up the rent bills (rent bills that I have to pay daily for some reason). So I do have to perform well enough to sustain my family, and it depends on how many people I let in to the glorious country of Arstotzka.
So what's the problem, you ask? Just let as many people as you can regardless of whether they're eligible or have the right papers? Well, you forget that I'm still meant to be doing my job. I don't want officials to constantly reprimand me that I end up out of the job - or in front of a firing squad. Every morning from 6am, I enter my booth and call upon the first lucky people to show me their papers. What conceptually sounds like an incredibly basic, brainless and monotonous task is quickly spiced up when I have to actively search for discrepancies as quickly as I can. Does the prospective immigrant or visitor come from a "real" region or country? Do photos match? Are they potentially lying about length of stay? Is this person a wanted criminal? There's also this recurring character who waltzes in multiples times with fake passports. Then there are the occasional terrorists who break from the line to hurl bombs at security. They're scripted, but they can be very welcome to break up the routine now and then.
What else does this game unexpectedly succeed in doing? Despite its basic appearance, this little indie gem does a very effective job in recreating the pressure and psyche of being a border official, with multiple things to actively look out for, prevent and strive for. Hard decisions have to be made; an elderly woman may plead for me to allow her access into the country to see her son, but her papers are insubstantial. I can take pity on the poor soul and comply with her wishes and face the ire of my superiors, or I can silence her once and for all by stamping a bold red DENIED on the paper, thereby inviting her amidst the grief to curse my name.
Plus, in the event that I ever want to make a career out of checking people's passports, this can be listed as "work experience"!