Topic: What (Non-PS4) game are you playing??

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks! So far, it's living up to my expectations as a successor to Pirate's Curse and the original GBC Shantae (which this is increasingly reminding me of with its elaborate dungeons, multiple towns, dancing minigame, connected overworld, etc.)

The Last of Us, huh?

I forget: did you ever play the Uncharted games?

Well that's good @Ralizah

The last Shantae game was half genie hero right? What was not quite right about that one compared to seven sirens which seems to be an improvement over it?

I've only played the third Uncharted. Only reason I did admittedly was because it came with my PS3 super slim (Along with Gran Turismo 5)

Uncharted 3 was alright from what I remember. Certainly not averse to giving the others a try at some point (And I did take that free uncharted collection offer last month so I can in good time)

I was planning on playing The Last Of Us a little after Days Gone.

Then I finished Days Gone and I decided not to 😅

Then I watched the state of play for the TLoU2 and flip flopped once again to give it a whirl.

I can easily get back into Dark Souls 2 when I'm done and the first Last of Us is a much shorter experience then Days Gone too.

And so far... The Last Of Us is alright just like Uncharted 3.

The opening got me a little. I knew something bad was gonna happen (Cus everyone only ever talks of Ellie and Joel)... but ooph.

It's admittedly lulled a bit after that though...

But I now have Ellie with me and I'm traveling with Tess as well, (I don't think Tess is gonna make it though) to get to the capitol building to meet the Fireflies.

Met Clickers for the first time which are fairly creepy, and the final bit of that section before the museum of having to creep through the building with all the lockers and like six or seven of the buggers patroling around the place was both satisfying and unnerving.

That PS3 may've been a bit of a barstool to develop for but it does produce rather stellar results when one really puts the effort in. The enviroments are rather good indeed... I can only imagine it looks even nicer with the ps4 remaster.

I can't see it becoming my favourite game or anything... But with the stronger sense of storytelling it has it can probably surpass Days Gone at the very least.

It doesn't have that satisfying bike though.

Man I'm missing that most from Days Gone, It was the best character!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy

The harrowing opening was easily my favorite part of The Last of Us. It's like a splash of cold water to the face. And, you know, exploring Joel's (and every parent's) ultimate fear coming true right in front of his eyes like that is an effective way of setting up his character arc through the rest of the game. Brutal, but definitely affecting.

And yeah, the sense of storytelling is stronger, but TLOU doesn't have Boozer (or any other, presumably, frat boys-turned-bikers in it), so I think both ultimately meet in the middle. Give and take.

I will say I was rather impressed that TLOU, with probably minimum work to the actual visuals, looked like a native PS4 game. I imagine TLOU Part II is probably going to put a lot of PS5 games to shame in the visuals department as well. I can never, ever fault ND for their ability to craft beautifully realistic games.

RE: Shantae... lemme explain my dislike of the last game.

Previous Shantae games were part of a trilogy that started with the GBC original. Each game built on the last in terms of both plot and character development, leading to a consistent narrative and universe across the three games. Additionally, the games were incredibly fun (what people today would call) "metroidvania" titles where you got to explore big world maps, tackle interesting themed dungeons, and use the new transformations you found in those dungeons to explore more of the overworld. It's a classic game design philosophy that goes back to stuff like Monster Boy and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. They were never what I would call hugely difficult games, either, but neither were they total pushovers. And the character writing in each game was a lot of fun, with a very snarky sense of humor.

That... all disappeared in Half-Genie Hero.

The game reset the timeline, so no more consistent character building. Everyone went back to zero. And it shows, because the dialogue and interactions between characters are a bore. The game was ridiculously easy (the DLC has mostly addressed this complaint, as it can be quite challenging, and some of the modes are actually quite a bit more fun than the main game! But that's still just putting lipstick on a pig). The 'normal' look of the characters, where they look like normally-statured anime characters, was replaced with designs that made them look vaguely like chibis. The worst part of it, though, and the reason I struggle to enjoy it, is that the game went from one that emphasized non-linear exploration and dungeon crawling to a linear stage-based platformer, with little to nothing in the way of actual exploration. Now, if they'd really committed to this direction and designed all of the game's elements with linear platforming in mind, it could still have been fun (not what I was looking for, but a decent spinoff), except that the developer decided that they wanted to keep certain elements from the old games, such as backtracking to previously trodden areas to unlock new paths with recently obtained transformations. So, instead of being able to run through the game at a decent clip and maintain the pacing, you had to return to these linear levels hunting around for new areas to navigate with your transformations. So the game decided to embrace the worst aspects of both metroidvanian design (backtracking) and linear platformer design (linear stages that funnel you down a single path with little in the way of exploration).

Seven Sirens isn't perfect. It's still progressing based off of the reset timeline, so character interactions are still basically back at zero, and there's no on-going plot from the last game. With that said, this hardly matters, because the game is set on an island where a large chunk of the characters are brand new anyway. The game is a bit easy because of all the food it throws at you, but not to the degree of HGH, which was just unsatisfying. The game design is where the primary improvement of this over the previous game lies. It basically integrates the best aspects of previous games. Especially the way it made transformations work like abilities, so they don't slow down the gameplay constantly (a common complaint in previous games that was addressed by Pirate's Curse abandoning transformations for plot reasons), the themed dungeons with puzzles and multiple towns making it feel like a grand adventure in the vein of the original game, they reintroduced a version of a minigame where you performed on a stage to make money, etc. The presentation is also dramatically improved, though. Character portraits look like they're supposed to. The game's beautiful cutscenes peppered throughout are a treat. The game performs flawlessly, and the 60fps performance and character animations are a joy to look at. I still kind of miss the gorgeous pixel art from previous games, but this one really makes the non-pixely look work.

Oh that's rather quite interesting @Ralizah RE: Shantae

So Half Genie Hero not only wiped the narrative slate clean but it also took a vastly different approach to the platforming...

I can see why it might be a divisive entry amongst established fans (Though it's interesting to see critically it seems to have done just as well as the previous titles)

It's rather facinating reading up a little on the series history... I'm quite surprised to find out it had an 8 year gap between the first and second title with no one wanting to publish it.

It's rather neat that it's managed to make a comeback now. Though I guess it also explains why I had zero clue what it was til a couple of months ago 😅

Still quite interested in trying the series out of course!

I got the suburbs chapter in The Last Of Us over the weekend.

Specifically I'm just at the sequence where I'm being shot at by a sniper and have to make my way towards them without being shot at... somehow

I'd say that compared to Days Gone, TLoU has been a more consistent experience so far for me across all areas... maintaining a general steady impression of being fairly good.

It has yet to ascend to greatness mind but I'm still quite interested in playing the sequel.

Joel's more of what I was hoping for in a flawed protagonist and Troy Baker has a much better script to work with here... Not to mention Troy generally seems to have a good bit of charisma about him in most his roles!

Ashley Johnson is a delight of course as Elly with her playful banter, particularly towards Joel.

Personally the combat feels a little clunky to me coming off of Days Gone (That dodge Deek had was pretty useful)... And not in the it's supposed to be clunky kinda way like some survival horrors. Maybe it is but I'm not quite feeling it.

The "go fetch a plank or ladder bits" are a bit boring too

Probably the only real downsides I could say at the moment to TLoU.

@Ralizah I played Uncharted 2 & 4 and The Lost Legacy, only finished 2, though. Sadly there were not enough supernatural elements nor any sword action for me to merit continuing my journey with those games, correct me if I'm wrong, I know 2 has supernatural elements. Anyway, I think the protagonist, Drake, I believe he is called, Nathan Drake, is top-notch as a heroic figure, a morally "good" thief, and I liked the plot of Uncharted 4, you know, being pulled back onto the saddle for one last heist! .Classic stuff, almost as good as the OGBs returning for a co op adventure with their successors in Extreme Ghostbusters!

With regard to "one guy" making Stardew Valley and another making Undertale, I think that's really impressive, I struggle with my own game design projects myself, well, I have in the past, I don't really bother with it any more, I wrote a couple of Game Design Documents but don't have the programming know-how to see them through to the demo stage!

I am playing The Silent Age on my iPad, a very interesting adventure game that has many good points - such as story and some really strange puzzles.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Uncharted 1 - 3 all have prononced supernatural elements to them. Pulling back from that and focusing on a more grounded, personal narrative was one of the things I really liked about Uncharted 4.

And don't get me wrong: making ANYTHING is hard. Writing even a poem is hard. These people who create entire video games have my unending admiration and respect. Their games are often so good that I don't want to treat them with kiddy gloves, or add an asterisk next to their games.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy It's not unusual, IMO. Professional critics in general are impressionable, impressed by shiny new things, and often don't appreciate the game design fundamentals that make series stand out to their respective fanbases. And, frankly, games that are easily consumable will always play better with them. This is why RPGs with deep gameplay mechanics, or series with a niche appeal to them, will often score more poorly with critics than more accessible games.

@Ralizah You’re pretty much dead on about accessible games. I’m not completely mad about Naughty Dog’s games and other similar ‘blockbuster’ experiences because they do tend to sacrifice depth for a wider audience. I always try to find a critic I trust for niche genres such as grand strategy or shmups since you really need to be a fan to appreciate the intricacies and decide what’s a ‘good’ instance of that genre. I personally thought that the Trails in the Sky games were better than Persona 4 on the Vita but I can see why at face value, a lot of people wouldn’t see that. It lacks the style and flashiness of Persona 4 and even the battle system might not be as fleshed out but it was just incredibly enjoyable. There’s definitely something to be said for substance over style but I do appreciate that polished experiences provide a certain respectability to the genre, making them more likely to be taken seriously outside of the gaming community.

@nessisonett I'm reminded of this one Playstation website critic who reviewed Steins;Gate 0 and noted with disapproval how "all you do is click a button to read dialogue." lol

It's why, in general, I think, as much as possible, publications shouldn't finger someone to review something niche if they hate the genre. Especially since, as much as possible, I think they should be reviewing it with the target audience in mind.

And yeah, you're right, some genres are so technical that reviews of them aren't going to be useful unless you're already a bit of a connoisseur of the genre. Like, I would never want to review shmups, because they all basically look like the same game to me (unless they go out of their way to stand out, like Ikaruga or the Velocity games), but I understand it's a classic genre with a ton of variety and depth to it that's hidden to me. I think the same applies to a lesser extent to stuff like fighting games.

I also think, with games being as long and demanding as they are in comparison to film/literature/etc., it can be tricker for critics to engage with experiences that aren't more accessible and don't put all of their content up front. Some games only bloom when you take the time to really engage with them and master their mechanics, and if you have a workload to get through for your job, you're going to be more pleased with the visual extravaganzas that don't demand too much from you.

I've just ordered the fantastic Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning for PS3. Can't wait to play through it again.

The last of us. Ps3.

I've gone back to The Witcher 3 this last week. After months of finding excuses to not boot it up on my PC, I snagged the Switch version, and I've been putting a lot of time into it again. It's still an impressive port, all things considered, but I have to say, story sections do NOT fare nearly as well as the open worldy bits. I've noticed that, in cutscenes with a lot of movement, character models become curiously... laggy looking, like the framerate is selectively dropping for certain parts of the image (this also happens with characters in the distance, which isn't as big of a deal, and a normal way that even first-party developers optimize games for the system). The Battle of Kaer Morhen was especially rough, with a TON of slow down as things got hectic (at one point, Geralt was surrounded by enemies near the front gate, and the game suddenly turned into a slide show for, like, eight seconds; worst dip I've seen in the game).

I also discovered that playing with the visual settings can make the game go a bit nuts with the lighting. I think it was after I disabled the bloom, anti-aliasing, and other post-processing effects, but any time there were complex changes with shadows on screen, or more subtle shifts in lighting, the screen would start flickering like the software was having a seizure or something. This was particularly pronounced on the Isle of Mists when Geralt reunites with Ciri, and you see that dream vision of them seeing each-other again after her souls re-enters her body. The foggy background behind them was like a strobe light, lol.

Environments are interesting, because most of the time, they look great, but then certain environments look like something you might have seen on the PS1.

It's also fascinating watching texture detail literally load in before your eyes as you walk and look at the ground around you. Although this made it a bit of a challenge in one quests where, instead of following the glowing red outlines you usually do during these quests, you have to actually follow this subtle, non-highlighted set of footprints to advance further in the quest.

Sounds terrible, right? But, you know, I don't mind it that much. It's a weirdly fascinating port of the game that fills me with so many conflicting feelings. Some mixture of "I can't believe this is running and looking mostly decent on my Switch" and "...should I really be playing this on my Switch and dealing with these performance/graphical issues when I have a PC that can run this in 1080p60fps Ultra settings literally feet away from where I'm sitting?" I think the fact that it's still engaging on dramatically weaker hardware, though, speaks to both the strength of the writing as well as the art design, which still looks good even on a cheap gaming tablet.

I also noticed some weird bugs when I was playing on Switch. My favorite to date is definitely this one:

No matter how poor the visual fidelity might get, though, Geralt never stops being a handsome devil.

@Ralizah The nastiest looking thing in those screens is that haircut you've given Geralt.

That’s the funnest bug I have ever seen, thanks for sharing.

I’ve decided to 100% every single Tony Hawk game in preparation for the remake coming in September. It’s been fun revisiting the original game with no reverts or manuals, the high scores are brutal, especially Mall, which I’m finding really hard to get that final tape in. I never did play Proving Ground so that should be interesting too. No way in hell I’m playing Motion, Ride and Shred though, I’m just going to pretend they don’t exist. So here I am, doing everything I can...

After beating The Last Of Us I didn't fancy putting the PS3 back into the attic of despair right away so I ended up popping in Batman: Arkham City and Crysis 2 that must've been my son's which he dropped off alongside The last of us at some point.

Batman: Arkham City (I haven't played Asylum) was first and I played about an hour and a half of it.

I really didn't get on with the control scheme. I thought it was rather cumbersome and Batman himself seemed to control like a block of concrete which just felt off too.

Despite liking it in Spider-Man I'm not terribly fond of the combat mechanics either... Not entirely sure why.

Never actually heard Mark Hamil as Joker before either... So that was nice and I can see why people like him in the role as the decen chunk I saw of him (I got to the meeting with him in the office of the smelting building) was a pretty good performance.

Crysis 2 ... That was weird. Just kinda shoved me in there without any explanation really (I did admittedly only play it for about half an hour though) The suit was kinda cool though and varying powers that was on offer were pretty good. The stealth in particular was quite useful and fun.

Not my thing though really.

Back to the attic you go PS3... I'll bring you out when I fancy playing Legend Of Dragoon sometime soon!

@nessisonett I am really but tentatively looking forward to Tony hawk 1 and 2. I really hope it's going to be good. Pro skater 2 and 4 were my favourite games in the series. Not sure whether I want it on Xbox or PS4, I'd like the one X enhancements if there are any but I'd prefer to play it on a dualshock 4! Mind you I did play Pro skater 4 on GameCube and I remember that being fine

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy contrary to popular opinion, I find the batman games to not be that good really, I played asylum when it came out and became disinterested in it after a while. I started a play through of the games in chronological order last year too just because I felt like I should play them, I got through origins and blackgate but have yet to start asylum! Probably will though at some point.

I love spider man as well, the games are kind of similar, I understand the comparison but spider man is just a lot better and a lot more fun.

In the spirit of this thread. I've just more or less finished MGS peace walker on the PS3 HD collection. When I started playing it my original save file was at 60 hours and I thought that no way am I going to play it for that long this time....the new save file I made is at like 95 hours now -_- lol

I'm buzzing. I've played Mass Effect about a dozen times and I've just had a scene that I've never seen before - the love triangle confrontation between Kaiden, Liara and Shep. I asked for a threesome but Kaiden spat his dummy and stormed off in a jelly huff. He's well getting nuke guard duty on Virmire for that.

@RogerRoger I've heard a lot about Mark Hamil and his performance for the 90's cartoon as well as the Arkham games (... And he's in an animated film or two I think?) but I hadn't heard any of it til yesterday.

Well... I did try a demo for Arkham Asylum the once ages back (It probably had some Joker dialogue in but I really don't recall) but I ended up giving up on that too... Pretty sure it was because I was rather bored with the combat.

Again I really don't know why the core combat mechanics seemed fine to me in Spidey but I didn't really like it in Batman or Shadow of Mordor/War.

... Also penguin being cockney(Well I think he was supposed to be) was weird when you've only heard devito in the role 😂

I'm pretty sure my save file was something in the 60-70's too @ralphdibny for Peace Walker so I'm not terribly surprised to hear you've reached 90 I assume trying to do everything!