@Dobbos sadly, I think you're right that you should skip this one quite a lot of frantic movement involved for sure!
@NieR_Dark the ducking and freaking out when bullets are flying at you will very much still be present haha. Just add spinning In a full circle to the mix too!
Personally I love the exercise aspect of VR. I use Beat Saber in the winter as an exercise when it's too cold to go walking! It makes exercise fun and healthy at the same time!
@__jamiie Once it makes it to Steam I wanna try it! Gonna hafta use the PSVR2 adapter (like I'm doing for Half-Life: Alyx). Not ideal, but that way I'll be able to play it at least.
@Wizpig17 it definitely gave me Superhot vibes at a couple of spots, so I'd imagine this could definitely scratch the itch!
@EverydayRobot I'm so unbelievably excited for Metro and Alien! Two of my favorite properties out there!
@NieR_Dark With the way the motion works on this one (every direction) I would say this tired me out even QUICKER than Pistol Whip haha. It's a satisfying exhaustion though! (For Pistol Whip too!)
@Dobbos How susceptible are you? Because this game is gonna have your head on a swivel! I'd imagine it could be super disorienting in the wrong situation!
@Daleaf Super Blood Hockey is incredible!!!!! Best hockey game of the past decade, if not longer!
@truerbluer I miss Hitz so much!!!! Used to be a staple at sleepovers when i was a kid haha. HItz making a comeback so there's actually competition for making hockey games would be incredible!
@Yousef- I did love this show as a kid, but even with that I don't much disagree haha. I do think the jarring art style is charming (a lot of cartoons from that era had very strange art haha.
You're time's probably better spent on one of your go-tos until this gets a price drop though for sure!
@yazzika They did yeah! Limited Run Games had a hand in producing the title too, possibly because of that.
It's definitely possible though, even though I'm not sure that was the right choice haha, cool as it may be to have it functional on the NES!
@BecauseBecause Haha yep, close to 2 years to the day between Half-Life and then Timesplitters!
@LordFunkalot Weirdly I could swear the levels were more elaborate back when I used to play the game too! I had the same reaction haha.
I'm not sure where the shortcomings come from to be honest. There are a few possibilities that I could think of. Not enough budget, so they couldn't achieve the vision they wanted (well not until 2 at least!), or it was rushed like you said, trying to launch alongside the console. Or just the devs weren't familiar with how to develop for the PS2 quite yet. Would have been their first one on the console naturally, so they may just not have figured out how to unlock the full potential of the console until the next time around!
@TomasVrboda One of the best things about the game! haha
@riceNpea More of an "in relation" to the rest of the series. The lineage is important. Future Perfect going more "corporate" is a step back from 2, but I'd still rather play it than the first title, even if I still wouldn't call that particular change a good one! But Future Perfect also improved in a couple of major areas. Outside of maybe the aim assist being better at verticality like I mentioned, there isn't really anything about 1 I would consider to be better. By nature of how I feel about 2 and FP, 1 necessarily has to be lower than the other 2 as I think it's the weakest of the 3. Not surprising though, since it was the first one! They were still working out the formula!
@Zeldork TS2 was one of my absolute favorites growing up, and a number of the games I grew up loving hold up playing in a modern setting, I just don't really feel that way about in a contemporary context. Future Perfect as well, though for different reasons as it's unquestionably improved in a number of areas.
Definitely still happy with the preservation of them as well though!
@Steelhead I would kill to see what a creative studio could do making a TS campaign now!
@riceNpea "corporate" ties directly in with my mentioning the missing creative spark. TS2 is just absolutely filled to the brim with so many goofy and creative elements, and for me Future Perfect scales a lot of that ingenuity and fun back. In a sense feeling like there's more corporate oversight, trying to scale back a lot of the creativity for 2. It provides a lot of content still like 2 absolutely, but even within the challenge modes, a lot of it is "what if we did exactly what we did in 2?" So you are basically thinking along the lines of how I meant it haha. While the game isn't devoid of creativity, it feels more like a game that the studio "had to" make than one they "wanted to" make which I feel is more clear on TS2 than on this one! (cc @NoWayJose as well!)
@DexTepa I definitely still feel it in all of those haha. All 3 were some of my most played games growing up, so I'm definitely "used to" the aiming, but it still feels really bad to me haha. Even just from 2 to Future Perfect, the aiming's a massive improvement.
This probably feels 2nd best out of those 3. I'll take this over goldeneye now haha
@Yukairi Same! The emulation of the 3 games is a great start, but a remastered collection would be so welcome. Overhaul them, modernize the rough edges, I think they could pretty easily find an audience again.
@LifeGirl It would be a nightmare! This game has an insane amount of unlocks purely through gameplay, every single one would probably get stripped.
Definitely agreed on the charm! Lotta core gaming memories playing this with my friends as a kid.
@Specky less way over the line and more of a "oh that might have been a little funny back in the day, but now it's just not funny" not pushing the envelope to a concerning degree, but some of the jokes that would have been funny back in the day definitely feel less so!
@SmileMan64 technically the VR game from a couple years ago! Although the actually game wasn't super great and not really an adventure title. The writing still felt like them though!
@Kraven Getting an S rank could pose a problem at least on a first run, so you might need more than one go, but beyond the "ranking" trophies, I wouldn't consider it to be too too challenging to get the trophies!
@twitchtvpat This would be awesome on a Vita! I might wind up double dipping and grabbing it for my Steam Deck like @sword_9mm mentioned, just to get close to that experience!
@Kraven Happy to bring such a cool game to your attention in that case! And agreed on the control option. Between that and the "no combat" mode, the game does an incredible job of being aware that some people have different ideas in mind when it comes to experiencing horror!
@somnambulance Happy to be of assistance! And Indika looks really cool too! I'm probably gonna grab that myself at some point!
@TheAmbienWalrus Definitely agreed! Obviously, modern horror works well too, but take the way Silent Hill used fog back in the day! It's such an entirely different feel to the approach to horror and it's fantastic!
@dark_knightmare2 Pricing info is kinda cagey so far (that wasn't even in the press kit!) but I believe it's $19.99/ £15.99. We'll know for sure tomorrow once it's live though!
@SuntannedDuck2 Yeah you could argue that simplicity has a charm to it in this case I'd say! It was a perfectly pleasant experience, with some high points, just lacking some of that polish or depth you'd want in a handful of key areas to really ensure it has that extra bit of staying power!
@Impossibilium The microtransactions one I would chalk up to more of a semantic thing. The "microtransactions" were in regard to those very same cosmetic packs you mentioned. So not the more contemporary "currency" microtransactions, but more what they were at the dawn of the movement.
The time trial mode I do mention, but only sorta vaguely haha. That's the "offline" mode in that 2nd paragraph. Definitely easy to just either overlook or interpret as something else it seems like haha.
As for the wording about monetization being like Rocket League, that's still true. The PlayStation Store packs are the same general structure as the early Rocket League days, back when it was a pay-to-play game. So no keys or buying loot boxes with real money or anything like that, but the game's economy is also very much set up to make that transition into a full-blown F2P game should it decide it's ready to do so.
And fair point on no local co-op! It's definitely the type of game that would benefit from it too!
@Nem I was so excited about all the restored content for II getting officially implemented into the game! And of course, silence for a while and then canceled.
@DennisReynolds Especially games as a service! Take Rainbow Six: Siege, that game on day 1 versus now is almost completely unrecognizable!
On the bright side in a situation like this, the only way to outdate the review is to fix the game! haha. Nowhere to go but up!
@linkandnavi Ouch! Hopefully you end up getting in touch with someone who actually gets what the problem is eventually!
@Golem25 They probably already have profited given how many people were trying to play on launch day!
@DennisReynolds Honestly, that's great haha. The less time it has to remain in the condition it was in during the review process, the better!
@LazyLombax Nah not strange. The positives are all things present in the original versions of the games (with a couple exceptions I highlight in the review), but the review is predominantly about the port of the games, and most everything that pertained specifically to these versions of the games was less than ideal. So it skews the score more heavily in favor of negativity. Most everything good about this collection would still have been true 20 years ago with the original releases, plus I explicitly mentioned that most everything should be fixable! Given how much attention has been drawn to how rough this launch was, they basically have to fix it at this point too!
@TimeDelayedGamer The amount of good work they did with the Tomb Raider remasters makes it even more baffling! They did a great job with that collection!
@DrClayman Happy to be of assistance!
@awp69 In the very beginning when I first started on the review the time of day I tried to play had a major impact on if I could get in, but now you should be able to play pretty much whenever!
@Keyblade-Dan Hopefully it's an old enough game with simple enough systems that it doesn't get mucked up too bad. I imagine they'll port it eventually since we just got Dark Forces 1 last month! But I'm with ya there I LOVE Dark Forces 2 so much, I really don't wanna see it get butchered!
@Stevemalkpus Apologies for the equally late reply! Sadly no, only the primary account holder/game owner gets credit for any of the trophies. If you try and start up co-op mode in the main menu, after the players select their character, there's even a pop-up window that says "so-and-so will be unable to earn any trophies" or something to that effect!
@Bentleyma I actually know exactly what you mean! When I was trying to find pricing info (which was non-existent before launch) I fully expected it to be $29.99, not $19.99. I do appreciate the restraint on their part not trying to get too greedy with the remake!
@Jimmer-jammer yeah, since it's one of your favorites, I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy it! The core experience is still there, but it coulda been much more!
@BaronSqwelch I was personally on the fence between giving the game a 6 or a 7 for the vast majority of playing it. Luckily it's a short game, but even so, hard crashes and corrupted save data are big no-nos haha. If I fully had to start over, I may ended up coming down closer to 6, yeah!
@UltimateOtaku91 So, @Quintumply @Jimmer-jammer have already chimed in, but just to elaborate beyond the review! The co-op is on both sides of the fence for the score because it is a fun way to play the game and does offer a different approach to the experience, but it's also decidedly not the, let's call it "authentic" way to play! And there weren't any efforts made to distinguish the co-op from the core experience beyond offering a different way to play. So it ends up both good and bad!
@Weebleman Nah I think you nailed it! For anyone who hasn't played, I don't think they'd be able to infer!
@RicebinBernacky @Nightcrawler71 Much as I like this game (well the original more, but still) I don't disagree haha.
@itsfoz I don't know about a huge one, but it definitely needs a patch haha. I may have run into substantial issues, but they should be things that are relatively easy fixes!
@Jimmer-jammer The technical issues are the type of thing the team should hopefully be able to square away pretty quick, so if you're that passionate about the game, you shouldn't have to wait too long!
@Stevemalkpus Honestly that mindset to grabbing the game feels right haha. A steep sale, if you enjoyed the original, it may still be worth a go 'round!
@EfYI I haven't played A.S.2, but I did review Synapse as well, and between those 2, I think Vertigo 2 is the better game. Synapse has incredible gameplay, but it's roguelite with no replay value. Honestly I think one playthrough of Vertigo 2 is more gameplay value than the entire time I spent with Synapse, good as some parts of that game may have been!
@SgtTruth I didn't get the slightest twinge of VR sickness at any point while I was playing. And I had a couple reallllly long play-sessions with this one too haha. I was glued to it! I don't get motion/VR sick either, unless a game is incredibly poorly optimized. Might be worth waiting for a sale if you do wanna play it but are nervous about VR sickness. Or if you don't really want to wait, could just fiddle around with the comfort settings before starting. I've seen more robust comfort options elsewhere, but I've seen worse too haha
@CaptD The delays were odd, I'm still on marginally clear on what the errors were. I',m super appreciative of the fact they were so determined to bug quash their game they delayed it last minute, but I never actually encountered any bugs, so I'm still not clear on what the issues with the game were haha!
@riceNpea If you like the core gameplay, there's absolutely enough to push more than 10 hours out of the title. And yeah, there is a new game+!
@species It borrows from the best very heavily, and it's not shy about it, but all of the VR games I've played this is by far the closest to recreating the experience of playing that first Half-Life , just in VR!
@riceNpea Replay value would depend on how much you wind up liking the core gameplay loop, but if you do, I'd say quite a bit. The secret weapons are for the most part super worth seeking out, and I believe at least one of them requires more than 1 full playthrough, so it's worth it there! And yes, there's a NG+!
@thefourfoldroot1 Usage of some foveated rendering would absolutely have been welcome, but it's definitely still one of the better looking titles on the headest! Some absolutely gigantic environments in there too!
@ingie It's just so satisfying and relaxing haha. But by that same token, I can get why someone would not like it, or even just look at it and not wanna play it at all haha. I expected to play it for about 15 minutes....right before I played it for about 30 hours haha
@LazyLombax I think I ended up trying them briefly but then leaving them off the one time I booted up the game haha. I should try it again with them on. I only disable the adaptive triggers for online games usually
@Ar_az It's on my list, but I haven't gotten around to it yet! Playing or listening to the soundtrack for that matter!
@Kraven Actually, for what it's worth (and in case this helps anyone), this is NOT a staff vote one, so it's not a collective bout of insanity or anything, strictly a solo mission!
@Amnesiac Hmmmmmmmm, I dunno about that opinion! It's not quite toxic enough! But yeah, my stuff sure does tend to attract those kinds of comments! My Game of the Year articles every year must be a feast for you! bahahah
@clvr Yes! A HROT port right now please! I gotta play that one too. As for DUSK top 5 shooter, I don't think I can argue against it haha. It's such an incredible game!
@EfYI Not to worry, I didn't see the original form, so I'm a-okay haha.
It's basically PS1 vibes visually haha. That pixelated look, but everything's just way more elaborate and cavernous thanks to all the new processing power. Funnily enough they just "remastered" the game not too long ago with some more modern looking textures as a fun little throw-in, though I'm not sure if it's a part of the PS4 version, I should look
@Hyena_socks Big time agreed! very much under the radar, but the writing was just so good! I loved it!
@Ralizah It seems like more than just #5 haha. I swear I get attacked on my personal list ever year for something, and I had a feeling that was gonna be a problem for some. But hey, it's not their list! Another one playing Prodeus! I really need to get started on that haha. DOOM Eternal is also fantastic, you won't go wrong with either haha.
@playstation1995 100% agreed!
@Drago201 Honestly same haha, Even while reviewing I was unsure what to expect, but by the time credits rolled, I loved it!
@zhoont Bigtime same! Alan Wake 1 was one of my favorite games basically immediately upon playing it, and I've spent the last, what, 13 years(?!?) waiting and hoping for a proper sequel, it had been so long, that I wanted to give up, but with how publicly enamored with the property the team at Remedy was (especially Sam Lake!) I never really gave up hope. And look what happened!
@Northern_munkey Well I never saw the original comment, so no offense taken! I absolutely adore Power Wash sim haha. I find it super gratifying and super relaxing to play. I booted it up originally as a joke, cuz I had just finished trying Lawn Mowing sim on gamepass for about 10 minutes, and I expected more of the same. And then I played nothing else for the next 2 weeks haha. And THEN when it was released on PS5, I played it AGAIN all the way through. And if PSVR2 ever gets the VR version, I think I'll probably do it a 3rd time haha.
@ErrantRob I'm so backed up on my boomer shooters, I love the genre so much. Cultic, Turbo Overkill, HROT, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, Maximum Action on Steam and then Prodeus and Boltgun on PS5. That'll keep me busy for a while!
@Mostik Hahaha, I actually have the inverse! I've had Prodeus installed on my PS5 for ages now and I just haven't started it! I should really do that haha.
@Stevemalkpus I did my part, it was my #1 on the staff vote too!
@EnragedGibbon I've always wanted to see Dream Pop crop up in there too haha. Some Beach House, Alvvays, hell Julee Cruise even! It'd be a little more lowkey, but Synth Riders is like the only game where I feel like that'd be a good fit.
Yeah, it's one major flaw in not having PCVR haha. It kinda sucks
@WavesOfActivity Hard agree! Back in the day, I had enough friends who wanted to play regularly that we could field a full lineup on the ice some nights. But now? It's just me and one poor other friend of mine and that's about it haha. And given the state of them, I find it hard to so much as broach the subject of trying out NHL again, I don't wanna do that to them haha
@tomassi It's not that change is inherently the problem. The problem is the matter of making the RIGHT changes. Like the checking as I mentioned is just dreadful. So it magnifies how unnecessary the change felt as the prior system already worked pretty well. Whereas the new control scheme while it takes some adjustment, I would consider a good change even though the skill stick system is pretty excellent as it is.
@Arnna I can't imagine it's higher haha. gotta be the lowest on the totem pole right? Hockey's the only sport I'm personally into/obsessed with, but it usually tends to bring up the rear in popularity haha
@REALAIS Yeah I kinda like that haha. It feels a lot more like what sustained pressure looks like in real hockey, especially the cascade of errors that can come from it. It could do with some slider adjustments to tweak how strong it is, but with how many other issues I had with this year, that was a bright spot for me!
Comments 1,473
Re: Mini Review: Vendetta Forever (PSVR2) - Exhilarating Puzzle Shooter Is Next VR Must Play
@Dobbos sadly, I think you're right that you should skip this one quite a lot of frantic movement involved for sure!
@NieR_Dark the ducking and freaking out when bullets are flying at you will very much still be present haha. Just add spinning In a full circle to the mix too!
Personally I love the exercise aspect of VR. I use Beat Saber in the winter as an exercise when it's too cold to go walking! It makes exercise fun and healthy at the same time!
Re: Mini Review: Vendetta Forever (PSVR2) - Exhilarating Puzzle Shooter Is Next VR Must Play
@__jamiie Once it makes it to Steam I wanna try it! Gonna hafta use the PSVR2 adapter (like I'm doing for Half-Life: Alyx). Not ideal, but that way I'll be able to play it at least.
@Wizpig17 it definitely gave me Superhot vibes at a couple of spots, so I'd imagine this could definitely scratch the itch!
@EverydayRobot I'm so unbelievably excited for Metro and Alien! Two of my favorite properties out there!
@NieR_Dark With the way the motion works on this one (every direction) I would say this tired me out even QUICKER than Pistol Whip haha. It's a satisfying exhaustion though! (For Pistol Whip too!)
@Dobbos How susceptible are you? Because this game is gonna have your head on a swivel! I'd imagine it could be super disorienting in the wrong situation!
Re: NHL 25 (PS5) - Another Season Mired in Mediocrity
@Daleaf Super Blood Hockey is incredible!!!!! Best hockey game of the past decade, if not longer!
@truerbluer I miss Hitz so much!!!! Used to be a staple at sleepovers when i was a kid haha. HItz making a comeback so there's actually competition for making hockey games would be incredible!
Re: Mini Review: Rugrats: Adventures In Gameland (PS5) - Fun and Frustration in This Nostalgia Trip
@Yousef- I did love this show as a kid, but even with that I don't much disagree haha. I do think the jarring art style is charming (a lot of cartoons from that era had very strange art haha.
You're time's probably better spent on one of your go-tos until this gets a price drop though for sure!
@yazzika They did yeah! Limited Run Games had a hand in producing the title too, possibly because of that.
It's definitely possible though, even though I'm not sure that was the right choice haha, cool as it may be to have it functional on the NES!
Re: Mini Review: TimeSplitters (PS2) - A Fantastic Foundation with Flaws
@BecauseBecause Haha yep, close to 2 years to the day between Half-Life and then Timesplitters!
@LordFunkalot Weirdly I could swear the levels were more elaborate back when I used to play the game too! I had the same reaction haha.
I'm not sure where the shortcomings come from to be honest. There are a few possibilities that I could think of. Not enough budget, so they couldn't achieve the vision they wanted (well not until 2 at least!), or it was rushed like you said, trying to launch alongside the console. Or just the devs weren't familiar with how to develop for the PS2 quite yet. Would have been their first one on the console naturally, so they may just not have figured out how to unlock the full potential of the console until the next time around!
@TomasVrboda One of the best things about the game! haha
Re: Mini Review: TimeSplitters (PS2) - A Fantastic Foundation with Flaws
@riceNpea More of an "in relation" to the rest of the series. The lineage is important. Future Perfect going more "corporate" is a step back from 2, but I'd still rather play it than the first title, even if I still wouldn't call that particular change a good one! But Future Perfect also improved in a couple of major areas. Outside of maybe the aim assist being better at verticality like I mentioned, there isn't really anything about 1 I would consider to be better. By nature of how I feel about 2 and FP, 1 necessarily has to be lower than the other 2 as I think it's the weakest of the 3. Not surprising though, since it was the first one! They were still working out the formula!
Re: Mini Review: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PS2) - Some Steps Forward, Some Steps Back for Final Entry in Famed Franchise
@riceNpea Oh, yep that makes more sense for the confusion then haha. I mean it in direct comparison to TS2, exactly!
Re: Mini Review: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PS2) - Some Steps Forward, Some Steps Back for Final Entry in Famed Franchise
@Zeldork TS2 was one of my absolute favorites growing up, and a number of the games I grew up loving hold up playing in a modern setting, I just don't really feel that way about in a contemporary context. Future Perfect as well, though for different reasons as it's unquestionably improved in a number of areas.
Definitely still happy with the preservation of them as well though!
Re: Mini Review: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PS2) - Some Steps Forward, Some Steps Back for Final Entry in Famed Franchise
@Matroska nailed it!
@Steelhead I would kill to see what a creative studio could do making a TS campaign now!
@riceNpea "corporate" ties directly in with my mentioning the missing creative spark. TS2 is just absolutely filled to the brim with so many goofy and creative elements, and for me Future Perfect scales a lot of that ingenuity and fun back. In a sense feeling like there's more corporate oversight, trying to scale back a lot of the creativity for 2. It provides a lot of content still like 2 absolutely, but even within the challenge modes, a lot of it is "what if we did exactly what we did in 2?" So you are basically thinking along the lines of how I meant it haha. While the game isn't devoid of creativity, it feels more like a game that the studio "had to" make than one they "wanted to" make which I feel is more clear on TS2 than on this one! (cc @NoWayJose as well!)
Re: TimeSplitters 2 (PS2) – Classic FPS Has Tons of Content, But Hasn't Fully Stood the Test of Time
@DexTepa I definitely still feel it in all of those haha. All 3 were some of my most played games growing up, so I'm definitely "used to" the aiming, but it still feels really bad to me haha. Even just from 2 to Future Perfect, the aiming's a massive improvement.
This probably feels 2nd best out of those 3. I'll take this over goldeneye now haha
Re: TimeSplitters 2 (PS2) – Classic FPS Has Tons of Content, But Hasn't Fully Stood the Test of Time
@Yukairi Same! The emulation of the 3 games is a great start, but a remastered collection would be so welcome. Overhaul them, modernize the rough edges, I think they could pretty easily find an audience again.
@LifeGirl It would be a nightmare! This game has an insane amount of unlocks purely through gameplay, every single one would probably get stripped.
Definitely agreed on the charm! Lotta core gaming memories playing this with my friends as a kid.
Re: Mini Review: Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Remastered (PS4) - Another Adventure Game Win
@Specky less way over the line and more of a "oh that might have been a little funny back in the day, but now it's just not funny" not pushing the envelope to a concerning degree, but some of the jokes that would have been funny back in the day definitely feel less so!
@SmileMan64 technically the VR game from a couple years ago! Although the actually game wasn't super great and not really an adventure title. The writing still felt like them though!
Re: Mini Review: Crow Country (PS5) - Brilliant Retro Horror Wears Its Influences on Its Sleeve
@Kraven Getting an S rank could pose a problem at least on a first run, so you might need more than one go, but beyond the "ranking" trophies, I wouldn't consider it to be too too challenging to get the trophies!
@dark_knightmare2 of course!
Re: Mini Review: Crow Country (PS5) - Brilliant Retro Horror Wears Its Influences on Its Sleeve
@twitchtvpat This would be awesome on a Vita! I might wind up double dipping and grabbing it for my Steam Deck like @sword_9mm mentioned, just to get close to that experience!
@Kraven Happy to bring such a cool game to your attention in that case! And agreed on the control option. Between that and the "no combat" mode, the game does an incredible job of being aware that some people have different ideas in mind when it comes to experiencing horror!
@somnambulance Happy to be of assistance! And Indika looks really cool too! I'm probably gonna grab that myself at some point!
@TheAmbienWalrus Definitely agreed! Obviously, modern horror works well too, but take the way Silent Hill used fog back in the day! It's such an entirely different feel to the approach to horror and it's fantastic!
@dark_knightmare2 Pricing info is kinda cagey so far (that wasn't even in the press kit!) but I believe it's $19.99/ £15.99. We'll know for sure tomorrow once it's live though!
Re: Mini Review: Crow Country (PS5) - Brilliant Retro Horror Wears Its Influences on Its Sleeve
@Kanji-Tatsumi a lot of them get elements right, but this one gets the most right cumulatively of all the ones I've played! It's great!
@somnambulance anywhere from 3-5 hours I'd say, based on how thorough you wanna be!
Re: Mini Review: Turbo Golf Racing (PS5) - Fun, if Slight, Golfing Game Is Worth a Little Drive
@SuntannedDuck2 Yeah you could argue that simplicity has a charm to it in this case I'd say! It was a perfectly pleasant experience, with some high points, just lacking some of that polish or depth you'd want in a handful of key areas to really ensure it has that extra bit of staying power!
Re: Mini Review: Turbo Golf Racing (PS5) - Fun, if Slight, Golfing Game Is Worth a Little Drive
@Impossibilium The microtransactions one I would chalk up to more of a semantic thing. The "microtransactions" were in regard to those very same cosmetic packs you mentioned. So not the more contemporary "currency" microtransactions, but more what they were at the dawn of the movement.
The time trial mode I do mention, but only sorta vaguely haha. That's the "offline" mode in that 2nd paragraph. Definitely easy to just either overlook or interpret as something else it seems like haha.
As for the wording about monetization being like Rocket League, that's still true. The PlayStation Store packs are the same general structure as the early Rocket League days, back when it was a pay-to-play game. So no keys or buying loot boxes with real money or anything like that, but the game's economy is also very much set up to make that transition into a full-blown F2P game should it decide it's ready to do so.
And fair point on no local co-op! It's definitely the type of game that would benefit from it too!
Re: Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection (PS5) - Calamitous Launch Ruins Anticipated Return
@Nem I was so excited about all the restored content for II getting officially implemented into the game! And of course, silence for a while and then canceled.
@DennisReynolds Especially games as a service! Take Rainbow Six: Siege, that game on day 1 versus now is almost completely unrecognizable!
On the bright side in a situation like this, the only way to outdate the review is to fix the game! haha. Nowhere to go but up!
Re: Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection (PS5) - Calamitous Launch Ruins Anticipated Return
@linkandnavi Ouch! Hopefully you end up getting in touch with someone who actually gets what the problem is eventually!
@Golem25 They probably already have profited given how many people were trying to play on launch day!
@DennisReynolds Honestly, that's great haha. The less time it has to remain in the condition it was in during the review process, the better!
@LazyLombax Nah not strange. The positives are all things present in the original versions of the games (with a couple exceptions I highlight in the review), but the review is predominantly about the port of the games, and most everything that pertained specifically to these versions of the games was less than ideal. So it skews the score more heavily in favor of negativity. Most everything good about this collection would still have been true 20 years ago with the original releases, plus I explicitly mentioned that most everything should be fixable! Given how much attention has been drawn to how rough this launch was, they basically have to fix it at this point too!
Re: Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection (PS5) - Calamitous Launch Ruins Anticipated Return
@TimeDelayedGamer The amount of good work they did with the Tomb Raider remasters makes it even more baffling! They did a great job with that collection!
@DrClayman Happy to be of assistance!
@awp69 In the very beginning when I first started on the review the time of day I tried to play had a major impact on if I could get in, but now you should be able to play pretty much whenever!
@Keyblade-Dan Hopefully it's an old enough game with simple enough systems that it doesn't get mucked up too bad. I imagine they'll port it eventually since we just got Dark Forces 1 last month! But I'm with ya there I LOVE Dark Forces 2 so much, I really don't wanna see it get butchered!
Re: Mini Review: Akka Arrh (PS5) - Next-Gen Port Brings a PSVR2 Mode to the Table and Little Else
@Amnesiac definitely gonna have to agree! Polybius is so excellent!!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@Stevemalkpus Apologies for the equally late reply! Sadly no, only the primary account holder/game owner gets credit for any of the trophies. If you try and start up co-op mode in the main menu, after the players select their character, there's even a pop-up window that says "so-and-so will be unable to earn any trophies" or something to that effect!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@Bentleyma I actually know exactly what you mean! When I was trying to find pricing info (which was non-existent before launch) I fully expected it to be $29.99, not $19.99. I do appreciate the restraint on their part not trying to get too greedy with the remake!
@Jimmer-jammer yeah, since it's one of your favorites, I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy it! The core experience is still there, but it coulda been much more!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@BaronSqwelch I was personally on the fence between giving the game a 6 or a 7 for the vast majority of playing it. Luckily it's a short game, but even so, hard crashes and corrupted save data are big no-nos haha. If I fully had to start over, I may ended up coming down closer to 6, yeah!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@colonelkilgore It does!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@dark_knightmare2 Happy to help!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@dark_knightmare2 $19.99 / £15.99, it is slightly discounted right now though, 20% I believe
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@UltimateOtaku91 So, @Quintumply @Jimmer-jammer have already chimed in, but just to elaborate beyond the review! The co-op is on both sides of the fence for the score because it is a fun way to play the game and does offer a different approach to the experience, but it's also decidedly not the, let's call it "authentic" way to play! And there weren't any efforts made to distinguish the co-op from the core experience beyond offering a different way to play. So it ends up both good and bad!
@Weebleman Nah I think you nailed it! For anyone who hasn't played, I don't think they'd be able to infer!
Re: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (PS5) - Cult Classic Shines Through Technical Troubles
@RicebinBernacky @Nightcrawler71 Much as I like this game (well the original more, but still) I don't disagree haha.
@itsfoz I don't know about a huge one, but it definitely needs a patch haha. I may have run into substantial issues, but they should be things that are relatively easy fixes!
@Jimmer-jammer The technical issues are the type of thing the team should hopefully be able to square away pretty quick, so if you're that passionate about the game, you shouldn't have to wait too long!
@Stevemalkpus Honestly that mindset to grabbing the game feels right haha. A steep sale, if you enjoyed the original, it may still be worth a go 'round!
Re: Mini Review: Balatro (PS5) - Roguelike Poker Ain't No Joker
This sounds brilliant, was completely off my radar. Not anymore though! Definitely picking this up.
Re: Mini Review: Beat Saber (PSVR2) - A Serviceable Port of One of VR's Best Games
@Critonic Hahahaha, very much late! But yes! Yeah the wand control has felt pretty good for a while now mercifully. They got it right eventually!
Re: Mini Review: Vertigo 2 (PSVR2) - Phenomenal VR Shooter Shares a Lot of DNA with Half-Life
@EfYI I haven't played A.S.2, but I did review Synapse as well, and between those 2, I think Vertigo 2 is the better game. Synapse has incredible gameplay, but it's roguelite with no replay value. Honestly I think one playthrough of Vertigo 2 is more gameplay value than the entire time I spent with Synapse, good as some parts of that game may have been!
@SgtTruth I didn't get the slightest twinge of VR sickness at any point while I was playing. And I had a couple reallllly long play-sessions with this one too haha. I was glued to it! I don't get motion/VR sick either, unless a game is incredibly poorly optimized. Might be worth waiting for a sale if you do wanna play it but are nervous about VR sickness. Or if you don't really want to wait, could just fiddle around with the comfort settings before starting. I've seen more robust comfort options elsewhere, but I've seen worse too haha
Re: Mini Review: Vertigo 2 (PSVR2) - Phenomenal VR Shooter Shares a Lot of DNA with Half-Life
@CaptD The delays were odd, I'm still on marginally clear on what the errors were. I',m super appreciative of the fact they were so determined to bug quash their game they delayed it last minute, but I never actually encountered any bugs, so I'm still not clear on what the issues with the game were haha!
Re: Mini Review: Vertigo 2 (PSVR2) - Phenomenal VR Shooter Shares a Lot of DNA with Half-Life
@riceNpea If you like the core gameplay, there's absolutely enough to push more than 10 hours out of the title. And yeah, there is a new game+!
@species It borrows from the best very heavily, and it's not shy about it, but all of the VR games I've played this is by far the closest to recreating the experience of playing that first Half-Life , just in VR!
@riceNpea Replay value would depend on how much you wind up liking the core gameplay loop, but if you do, I'd say quite a bit. The secret weapons are for the most part super worth seeking out, and I believe at least one of them requires more than 1 full playthrough, so it's worth it there! And yes, there's a NG+!
@thefourfoldroot1 Usage of some foveated rendering would absolutely have been welcome, but it's definitely still one of the better looking titles on the headest! Some absolutely gigantic environments in there too!
Re: Game of the Year: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@ingie It's just so satisfying and relaxing haha. But by that same token, I can get why someone would not like it, or even just look at it and not wanna play it at all haha. I expected to play it for about 15 minutes....right before I played it for about 30 hours haha
@LazyLombax I think I ended up trying them briefly but then leaving them off the one time I booted up the game haha. I should try it again with them on. I only disable the adaptive triggers for online games usually
Re: Game of the Year: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@clvr You as well!
Re: Game of the Year: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@clvr I had hoped to, but no dice
Re: Game of the Year: Top 10 PS5, PS4 Soundtracks of 2023
@Ar_az It's on my list, but I haven't gotten around to it yet! Playing or listening to the soundtrack for that matter!
@Kraven Actually, for what it's worth (and in case this helps anyone), this is NOT a staff vote one, so it's not a collective bout of insanity or anything, strictly a solo mission!
@Amnesiac Hmmmmmmmm, I dunno about that opinion! It's not quite toxic enough! But yeah, my stuff sure does tend to attract those kinds of comments! My Game of the Year articles every year must be a feast for you! bahahah
Re: Game of the Year: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@clvr That's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure if I had just overlooked the option in the menu, or if it wasn't there to begin with!
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@clvr Yes! A HROT port right now please! I gotta play that one too. As for DUSK top 5 shooter, I don't think I can argue against it haha. It's such an incredible game!
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@LazyLombax Ah-hah! Someone else playing Prodeus! That's 3 just in these comments alone! I really need to start it
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@LazyLombax I'll call that a "mission accomplished" !!! The game is unbelievable!
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@EfYI Not to worry, I didn't see the original form, so I'm a-okay haha.
It's basically PS1 vibes visually haha. That pixelated look, but everything's just way more elaborate and cavernous thanks to all the new processing power. Funnily enough they just "remastered" the game not too long ago with some more modern looking textures as a fun little throw-in, though I'm not sure if it's a part of the PS4 version, I should look
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@Hyena_socks Big time agreed! very much under the radar, but the writing was just so good! I loved it!
@Ralizah It seems like more than just #5 haha. I swear I get attacked on my personal list ever year for something, and I had a feeling that was gonna be a problem for some. But hey, it's not their list! Another one playing Prodeus! I really need to get started on that haha. DOOM Eternal is also fantastic, you won't go wrong with either haha.
@playstation1995 100% agreed!
@Drago201 Honestly same haha, Even while reviewing I was unsure what to expect, but by the time credits rolled, I loved it!
@zhoont Bigtime same! Alan Wake 1 was one of my favorite games basically immediately upon playing it, and I've spent the last, what, 13 years(?!?) waiting and hoping for a proper sequel, it had been so long, that I wanted to give up, but with how publicly enamored with the property the team at Remedy was (especially Sam Lake!) I never really gave up hope. And look what happened!
Re: Game of the Year 2023: Graham's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
@Northern_munkey Well I never saw the original comment, so no offense taken! I absolutely adore Power Wash sim haha. I find it super gratifying and super relaxing to play. I booted it up originally as a joke, cuz I had just finished trying Lawn Mowing sim on gamepass for about 10 minutes, and I expected more of the same. And then I played nothing else for the next 2 weeks haha. And THEN when it was released on PS5, I played it AGAIN all the way through. And if PSVR2 ever gets the VR version, I think I'll probably do it a 3rd time haha.
@ErrantRob I'm so backed up on my boomer shooters, I love the genre so much. Cultic, Turbo Overkill, HROT, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, Maximum Action on Steam and then Prodeus and Boltgun on PS5. That'll keep me busy for a while!
@Mostik Hahaha, I actually have the inverse! I've had Prodeus installed on my PS5 for ages now and I just haven't started it! I should really do that haha.
@Stevemalkpus I did my part, it was my #1 on the staff vote too!
Re: Synth Riders Spooky Update Adds Yet More Free Content
@Fishnpeas Hey, at least there's no wrong answer between the 2! Both incredible games
Re: Synth Riders Spooky Update Adds Yet More Free Content
@Burntbreadman A Halloween pack especially sounds incredible! I'd certainly get it haha
If console rhythm games were able to have custom songs though. Ugh, what I wouldn't give for that!
Re: Synth Riders Spooky Update Adds Yet More Free Content
@EnragedGibbon I've always wanted to see Dream Pop crop up in there too haha. Some Beach House, Alvvays, hell Julee Cruise even! It'd be a little more lowkey, but Synth Riders is like the only game where I feel like that'd be a good fit.
Yeah, it's one major flaw in not having PCVR haha. It kinda sucks
Re: Mini Review: Tennis On-Court (PSVR2) - Solid Gameplay Surrounded by Technical Issues
@BetaRabbit64 It might (hopefully) be less broken by then!
@Mikey856 @ztpayne7 Definitely hopefully!
Re: NHL 24 (PS5) - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
@WavesOfActivity Hard agree! Back in the day, I had enough friends who wanted to play regularly that we could field a full lineup on the ice some nights. But now? It's just me and one poor other friend of mine and that's about it haha. And given the state of them, I find it hard to so much as broach the subject of trying out NHL again, I don't wanna do that to them haha
@tomassi It's not that change is inherently the problem. The problem is the matter of making the RIGHT changes. Like the checking as I mentioned is just dreadful. So it magnifies how unnecessary the change felt as the prior system already worked pretty well. Whereas the new control scheme while it takes some adjustment, I would consider a good change even though the skill stick system is pretty excellent as it is.
@Arnna I can't imagine it's higher haha. gotta be the lowest on the totem pole right? Hockey's the only sport I'm personally into/obsessed with, but it usually tends to bring up the rear in popularity haha
@REALAIS Yeah I kinda like that haha. It feels a lot more like what sustained pressure looks like in real hockey, especially the cascade of errors that can come from it. It could do with some slider adjustments to tweak how strong it is, but with how many other issues I had with this year, that was a bright spot for me!