TimeDelayedGamer

I'll be continuing to play Trails in the Sky Second Chapter this weekend. Didn't get a lot of gaming time this last week, so got some catching up to do. I'm playing on hard, and was stuck on the prologue for ages - I'd not heard that the prologue is horrendously tough on higher difficulties, and the final boss of the prologue is basically like the equivalent of Emerald Weapon in FFVII or something! I ended up going to the internet for guidance as I just couldn't see how it could be beaten, and was all set to lower the difficulty, when I decided to have one last go on hard and somehow managed to beat it by the skin of my teeth.

Now that I'm onto the game proper, things have opened up a lot and I'm having a great time - it's so good to be back in the company of these characters again.

Have a great weekend, fellow gamers.

@Jrs1 With the usual girlfriend levels of expense 😂

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter for me this weekend. About 8 hours in and loving every second.

I'm also toying with the idea of having a back-to-back run through of some of my all-time favourite games, the Max Payne trilogy.

Enjoy the weekend.

Completed my first playthrough of Deus Ex Human Revolution last night. It's a game that really hit the spot for me: visuals, music, story, and gameplay were all so good. If I had to make a complaint, it would probably be that the last part of the game, after everything goes a bit Stephen King (if you've played it, you'll know what I'm talking about), was a little bit too easy, which defused the tension a lot, but that's a minor gripe. Having the classic Deus Ex theme at the end of the credits was the icing on the cake.

So this weekend, I'm planning to continue playing Neva, as I'm still on the hunt for all the glowing flowers, and finding them seems to be where all the best puzzles/challenges of the game are hidden. What I'm really looking forward to, however, is starting Trails in the Sky Second Chapter. I loved the first one when I played it a few weeks ago and I'm really eager now to launch into the next part of the story. Vita is charged and ready to go.

Have a good one, folks.

I shall be continuing to play Deus Ex Human Revolution (or Detroit Become Less Human, as I've nicknamed it). Still loving it, and very impressed with how the developers have integrated first and third person gameplay and made it so smooth. Reached the second boss battle earlier this week, and it was like something straight from MGS - a tense game of cat and mouse. Great stuff.

I played and completed Neva this week as well, and hoping to launch into a second playthrough this weekend and appreciate the whole thing again (while hunting down all the glowing flowers this time). What a beautiful game it is. My daughter's playing it also and I think she was expecting a relatively relaxed Planet of Lana type experience and it's definitely a bit harder going than that. I think she is likely to need a little helping hand from dad with some sections.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Deus Ex Human Revolution for me again this week. I've reached the Pangu in China, playing on the hardest difficulty and the controls have well and truly clicked into place now. The scale of the game has really opened up, the atmosphere and music are fantastic, and I'm Metal Gear Solid-ing my way through levels like Snake on a really good day. In short I'm having an absolute blast.

It's funny how you come up with head canon reasons for your character's actions in RPG games like this. My version of Jensen is both coldly fair and compassionate, still has much of the cop about him, but is quite comfortable hacking into every sealed storage unit or apartment he sees and taking everything he can get his hands on. My head canon reason? Umm, the psychological effects of being augmented against his will, coupled with an increasing addiction to the powers the augmentations bring him...

As well as being fully immersed in Human Revolution, I see that Neva is currently on sale so planning on downloading that and playing it as I have a week off work, so hopefully more gaming time than normal to enjoy. Still playing Mercury Meltdown on PSP here and there as well.

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

@heavyartillery56 That's a bit of an extreme evolutionary viewpoint. The shark has been perfectly adapted to its environment for millions of years and has got on fine without stagnation and death (at least until humans came about).

I'm hoping that best-case scenario, the human race in conjunction with AI will reach some sort of equilibrium where material and energy needs will be met and we can forge forwards on our own terms when it comes to advancement.

But that's science fiction just now. In the meantime, I completely understand the concerns of the voice actors and other people worried about their livelihoods, and agree with those speaking about that indefinable spark that makes us human, the soul that is greater than any collection of parts, being lost.

And remember, this is not just about people losing their jobs. This is also about copyright and the human rights of individuals: the right to your own image, and your own voice. That's a real, personal thing that on an individual level goes way beyond big ideas like 'growth', 'stagnation', or 'evolution'.

@heavyartillery56 The constant push for 'growth' is one of the great myths of economics. Politicians talk about it constantly, 'we must have more growth', but we live on a finite planet with finite resources and a world population that is beginning to show significant decline in numbers. Growth is not sustainable, disproportionately benefits a very few oligarchs, and AI seems like it will turbo charge this situation. The ultimate disruptive innovation.

Deus Ex Human Revolution for me this weekend. After a bit of fumbling about getting used to the controls, I'm getting the hang of it now, as well as the ebb and flow of the main quest and the side quests. My in-story canon reason for my initial clumsiness playing the game is Adam Jensen was still getting used to his augmentations and recovering from his op(!)... The visuals are still rather good despite the fact they're a bit dated now, and the whole thing just feels very 'Deus Ex'. Heck, even the main character has a similar 'Joe Friday' voiceover as JC Denton in the original game.

Will also be continuing playing Mercury Meltdown on my PSP this weekend. I'm steadily improving as my analogue nub thumb strength comes back...

Have a good one folks.

Finished Trails in the Sky first chapter this last week. Some random thoughts on it for those who might be interested: -

• I'm so glad I decided to just go for it and play the original rather than waiting for the remake. Depending on your tolerance for retro, the sprite work is so good and so full of charm.
• Combat is maybe a mite simplistic, but it's also a ton of fun.
• The soundtrack is godly. I could listen to the final dungeon music for days.
• The story really sneaks up on you. It starts fairly simply, but the lore and world detail start to build until, before you know it, you're really invested in the journey of Estelle and Joshua and the wider happenings in Liberl.
• The characters are all fantastic, and like any great RPG, you feel like you really know them by the end.

For those who have been wondering about starting the Trails games, my advice is... give it a go! Since finishing First Chapter, I am itching to start the next game, but I'm making myself take a break so I don't burn out (and to give me a chance to absorb the story of the first game).

So this weekend, I've gone for some gaming contrast with Deus Ex Human Revolution. I played and loved the iconic original years ago and so far I'm loving this prequel. Also decided to give my PSP some more love this year and currently playing Mercury Meltdown on it. Which is pretty darned addictive.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone, whatever you're up to.

@Czar_Khastik I only play AAA games because the batteries are cheaper.

I'm starting to think there's a special circle of hell reserved for greedy investors.

Playing Trails in the Sky right now on my trusty PSP. Decided to go all-in and experience the series from the start. It's fantastic. Can't wait to see what's to come in further installments

@Kiefer-Sutherland Tomb Raider 3 is one of the hardest games in the series, with very unforgiving level design, particularly the London section. If you're feeling burnt out after the first two games (Unfinished Business alone is pretty punishing, and not Tomb Raider at it's best), then I recommend taking a decent break before playing TR3, or you'll likely bounce right off it.

Approaching the end of the first Trails in the Sky now. What a charming and fun game it has been, with a great cast of characters, and a brilliant translation. Estelle in particular is fantastic (and frequently makes me chuckle). I would be very sorry it's almost over, if I didn't know I had the second part to look forward to. I guess I'm well and truly signed up for the Trails journey now!

Once finished, I think I'll take a break with some other games for a bit to cleanse my palate before launching into part 2.

Have a good one folks.

Looking forward to playing 4 and 5 again. I wonder if they still have loading screens while wandering back and forth between different areas in TR4, or did they manage to sew the levels back into a larger whole? As this was obviously the original intention of the designers that was scuppered by the hardware limitations of the time. I found those loading screens really detracted from my enjoyment when I played it on my PS1. It made the game feel disjointed and smaller than it actually was.

I remember I was quite disappointed by the first half of Chronicles, but it really picked up when it reached the haunted island with a younger, weaponless Lara. Looking forward to seeing how that has been remastered.

AoD I never played at the time, will be interested to give it a go now the issues have been at least somewhat corrected. Perhaps future updates will further improve it.

My limited edition preorder arrived today.

Though since I'm only playing Trails in the Sky first chapter at the moment, it's going to be a little while before I get round to this... 😳

An all digital future and lack of disc drive just makes consoles less convenient and useable for customers. One of the big pluses of PS5 was the backwards compatibility with PS4 games, which required a disc drive if you own your games physically.

More than that though, consoles have been positioned as an all-in-one home entertainment solution for quite some time now. I want to be able to play my Blu-rays on my console so I don't need to purchase a separate dedicated player. Some people want to own their favourite programmes, and not rely on streaming services that can take them down because of some licensing issue, lack of interest, or whatever.

Going all digital gives a customer less options. To me, this is not a good thing.

10/15. Not bad. Made a stupid mistake on the first question (always read the question properly!).

Well, I'm currently in week 5 of playing Trails in the Sky first chapter... If I'm starting a big RPG, then I'm usually resigned to the fact it will take me something like 3 months to finish it. Because of that, I only tend to play 1 big RPG per year.

I seem to be a bit of a slow, methodical gamer. I usually take a lot more hours to finish any given game than the internet suggests it should take to beat. I guess I just like to stop and smell the virtual flowers!

Being a father and full-time employee in a stressful job cramps my gaming style a lot as well, but I guess I made my choices 😁

@CutchuSlow I've heard there's an obscure Japanese company called Nintendo doing good things.

@DrVenture69 I played Below Zero last year, and it was so good, my personal game of the year in 2024. I probably spent about half of my playtime just tinkering about with my base.

I'll be spending more quality time with Estelle and Joshua in Trails in the Sky this weekend. Looking forward to reading more sarcastic in-game messages about empty treasure chests 😁

Happy gaming, folks.

I've had no gaming time at all this week as I've been away from home down in misty Cardiff. Now that I'm back, planning to catch up and get as much time as possible on Trails in the Sky first chapter.

Have a good weekend all.

Completed Metroid Prime 2 during the week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but have to say that at times the game is appallingly bad at communicating what it expects of you (a few of the bosses I had to look up what I was supposed to be doing to beat them, as the scan info was cryptic to misleading...).

Now I've finished MP2 for the time being, it's full steam ahead with Trails in the Sky the first. It's fair to say I'm already totally engrossed in the charming world and story. It's daunting but exciting knowing there are so many Trails games ahead of me.

Happy gaming all.

@nessisonett Hulst's more of a slicker than a clicker.

Imagine the Valley of Defilement in smell-o-vision 😳

@Czar_Khastik It better come with a disc drive this time!

14/15, and apparently currently 11 on the leaderboard! I'll take that. The Italian estate question tripped me up.

@GymratAmarillo The last video game industry crash was in 1983.

Close to completing Metroid Prime 2 now - just hunting for the last few upgrades, then on to the Sky Temple for what I presume is the final boss. Also continuing the first Trails in the Sky, which I am still thoroughly enjoying. I don't know what magic dust Falcom sprinkle on their games but they always hit the mark for me, it's just a lot of fun, the characters and world are great and the translation is excellent. It's a fair bit, er, saucier than I was expecting though.. be interesting to see how some of the character interactions are handled in the upcoming remake!

Have a great weekend folks.

@DrVenture69 Somehow missed the review for this game, but reading your comment, it's definitely on my radar now! It sounds right up my street. Love a good puzzler, and having to take notes is a big plus as far as I'm concerned...

Guys, I'm going in... as I've got a bit more free time than usual over the festive period, I've taken the unusual step (for me) of playing two games at once, and have finally decided to start Trails in the Sky first chapter. I know the remake is coming out next year, but I really wanted to experience the original. I've long been in love with the Ys series and have been meaning for ages to get around to Falcom's other flagship RPG series. And so far it's exactly what I was expecting - a charming, lovingly crafted game with great music and engaging characters. It's really hitting the spot, and I'm looking forward to diving more into the lore of the world as I continue. It's probably going to take me about 15 years to get up to date with the various Trails games, but bring it on! 😅

I'm also continuing my playthrough of Metroid Prime 2 on Wii. Finally got past an absolute bugger of a morph ball boss (spider guardian), though I had to resort to help from YouTube to do it, grr. At least the comments on there assured me that I wasn't the only one grinding their teeth in frustration at it. Once I realised that you could flick the Wiimote to do a morph ball jump (I feel I was denied critical, need-to-know, information!), I beat it without too much trouble. It must have been an absolute nightmare on Gamecube though...

I'm also considering downloading Neva and giving that a go, as I believe it's pretty short and sounds like a great game to play at this time of year.

Have a great weekend fellow gamers.

Merry Christmas, Push Squarians (or Push Aquarians, as my autocorrect insists it should be). Enjoy the festive period whatever you're up to. Good health and good cheer to you all.

@Fishnpeas Agree with everything you said there! Trading Standards should be hitting the video games industry with fines left, right and centre, but it never happens, probably because the legislation has never kept up with the technology.

I've been expecting an ET-style industry crash ever since the Cyberpunk debacle.

Just catching up with all the news. Anything by Naughty Dog is always on my radar. However, I think Project Robot and Okami 2 top my list.

Metroid Prime 2 for me this weekend. I've played the first one a few times but for some reason have never got round to the sequels, so about time I corrected that. At about 25% completion so far, and loving every second of it.

@MeanBeanEgg Well, if there's a general consensus that a game is good, that's usually a good sign. But obviously you have to take that in conjunction with what you know your own tastes to be.

It helps if you know there's a critic or two whose tastes tends to align with your own. Then you can trust the critics you trust...

But yeah, gamers confuse the heck out of me as well. There's been so much condemnation of this game based on some limited previews and the fact it's 1st person. Certain people seem happy to vilify a game based on their own expectations of what it should be, having not played a second of it, rather than keeping an open mind and approaching it with the intention of being entertained. Which when you're speaking about an entertainment product, kind of baffles me.

By all means, condemn a game after you've played it, if it disappoints you and that's your honest opinion...

Anyway, rant over. Personally I think this looks like an interesting take and I'm looking forward to giving it a go, at some point.

Well, I guess the naysayers can shut up now.

Probably.

9/15, not bad. Made a couple of stupid mistakes that I'm kicking myself for.

Finishing up Hollow Knight. I somehow haven't found The Grimm Troupe DLC so going to hunt that down. Had a little go of the Godmaster stuff but soon gave up on it... I hate boss rushes with a passion (and some of those harder versions of the bosses are just insane!). Next, planning to move on to Metroid Prime 2.

Oh, and Push Square, please don't give me a heart attack by telling me it's the last weekend in December 😂 I'm very easily confused don't you know.

@Crimson_Ridley That's because shorts and skirts are the... new jeans.

@ChrisDeku Is it a large portion though? Or rather (as with so many other things) a small but very vocal minority?

Same outcome on the morale of developers, arguably.

This is sad news in any case. It just seems like the industry is being ritually gutted at the moment.

@LifeGirl Also, know your target audience and don't close the studio the second a game isn't an immediate financial success. Some quality games take a while to bed in, and not all games have mass market appeal, but will nonetheless do very well with a certain demographic of gamers. A lot of publishers and investors seem to have an extremely short-term view on these things.

3/10. Yeesh. A lot of those games I've never played though.

Hollow Knight again for me this weekend. I've been taking my time and savouring the game world. The air was blue last night as I found myself in a late-game location with some utterly evil platforming gauntlets to complete. Some of it took me a while just to figure out how to even attempt it. But I conquered in the end and got to a save point... Will see what pain the game has in store for me next, lol... Have a good weekend all.

I remember first seeing Tony Todd in an episode of The X-Files, years ago, as the guest 'monster of the week'. He had such an amazing screen presence, he could stand there seemingly doing nothing and your eyes would be drawn to him.

Hollow Knight again for me this weekend. Made lots of progress over the last week. The game is constantly drip-feeding me new charms to experiment with, areas to explore, new moves to try out, enemies to conquer, and lore to puzzle out, that there's no chance of ever getting bored. It's so good that I'm starting to think this might be up there with Symphony of the Night as my personal favourite 2D Metroidvania. I'm in awe that such a small team put this together. Now for yet another attempt at that second challenge in the Colosseum of Fools...

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Remedy always seem to get screwed over by their publishers, one way or another.