Comments 541

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 219

mookysam

Continuing with Tales of Zestiria. Must be fairly far into it now so I reckon it can be finished within the next week.

Playing RPGs back-to-back has given me an itch to play something short and nice to break things up a bit, so I think I'll start Virginia later and then move on to Ducktales on the PS3. I got the latter in a PSN sale years ago so feel it's probably time to get through my ancient digital backlog a bit!

@ShogunRok I knew you'd succumb! 😂

Re: Square Enix Announces E3 2018 Showcase

mookysam

They'll announce their ten year plan for XV, with a third batch of DLC planned for 2021. 7 Remake? Who needs that when we can play as Noctis and co. in perpetuity!

Actually quite surprised they're doing something like this. They must have enough content to show or wouldn't bother. Hopefully lots of Kingdom Hearts 3.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 218

mookysam

Continuing with Tales of Zestiria and getting into it a lot more now. The battle system definitely has some good ideas, but is held back by the camera and low frame rate. I have a lot of handheld games to get through so am going to start doubling down on that front, too.

@ShogunRok Haha I hear ya. My brother has been playing Fallout 4 and sending me videos of his settlement creations. I am seriously tempted to reinstall it but I know it will consume everything in its wake.

Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Red Dead Redemption 2 Yet?

mookysam

Not entirely sold just yet because I really want to know just how much of the game will be online multiplayer focused. Rockstar take themselves so seriously, particularly in the writing department, and it's just never on the level of the things they take their inspiration from. I did massively enjoy the first Red Dead Redemption though.

Re: Soapbox: The Last of Us: Part II Has Plenty to Prove at E3 2018

mookysam

Definitely agree with how gameplay needs to be balanced with and fit the story. The "gamey" bit of a game is sometimes neglected in the industry and feels like a painting-by-numbers exercise. Naughty Dog weren't particularly good at balancing the gameplay and story in the Uncharted games. I liked them because of the great characters and the spectacle of the set pieces. On the other hand - and perhaps this is an unpopular opinion - I felt the moment to moment gunplay was a little dull. Additionally, the disconnect between the story and Nate being a "good guy" was at its widest in parts of Uncharted 4.

The Last of Us did a good job and I felt that the gameplay genuinely complimented the story and vice versa. I have faith that the Last of Us 2 will be a great game. If it's little more than a rehash of the first (but with even more violence) would people be disappointed?

Re: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Appears to Be Making Some Progress

mookysam

I hated the reveal. I was expecting it to be different, given how much time has passed since the original, but tonally it was so far removed from what Beyond Good and Evil was it may as well be a completely different franchise. The overall gameplay premise doesn't pique my interest either.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 217

mookysam

Aside from the super dungeon and a final skirmish that absolutely refuses to spawn, I've finished Ni No Kuni 2. It was a nice, enjoyable and thoroughly charming game - a solid 8/10.

Following my post in the new backlog thread, I've now started Tales of Zestiria. I'm not very far in, but man are the environments fugly. They've opened them up so they're a lot bigger than in previous games, but maybe it's come at a cost? I love Tales games. They're simple, fun Japanese RPGs and I always enjoy the battle systems. I'm not really feeling the battle system in Zestiria at the moment though. It's slow and has a troublesome camera. Fundamentally it seems based on Graces incredible battle system so I'll see how it goes as the game progresses.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 216

mookysam

Although it's my plan to wait until my birthday to play God of War, I am tempted to buy it.

Anyhoo, I'm still playing Ni No Kuni 2 and am just before the end. I've spent the day doing the RTS skirmishes, which are actually rather fun. I forgot to charge my Switch so couldn't play Breath of the Wild this morning!

Re: Soapbox: You Should Play God of War III While You Wait for Kratos' Return

mookysam

I'll replay them all! I don't have the remasters so will go old-school and fire up the PS2 (although it was a bit temperamental reading discs the last time I used it). God of War 2 is still my favourite. I don't think 3 had quite the same consistency but it was still very good.

@Dodoo @Toadie Ghost of Sparta was very impressive. Hard to believe it was running on a handheld at times. The PSP had a lot of great spin-offs. I enjoyed Daxter a lot, too.

Re: Report: 2K's Working on a Top-Secret BioShock Title

mookysam

Oh my! Yes, I kindly would be excited. BioShock is one of Gen7's greatest franchises (the other of course is Mass Effect).

@YummyHappyPills Aww, BioShock 2 improved on the first in many areas. It did lack the wow factor, and I admit that when I first played it I was underwhelmed, but on repeat playthroughs it's really grown on me.

Re: Poll: Will You Be Buying God of War?

mookysam

I love God of War so this is a very emphatic yes, I'm getting it. But... it's my birthday next month so I'm going to ask for it then. I'm still in the midst of Ni No Kuni 2 and I'm sticking to my gaming resolution to not buy a new game until I've finished what I'm playing! 😂

Re: NIS America Apologises for Comments About PlayStation

mookysam

Hmm something was off about his original comment. NISA's reputation isn't at its highest among gamers recently, what with the dodgy translations. Losing publishing rights to Atlus titles in Europe has also no doubt hurt them too. I did read a while ago that the Japanese arm was facing some difficulties due to low sales of its own games.

The PS4 does have a crowded release schedule, but, like the PS2 before it, that is merely a symptom of its enormous success. As a gamer I'm not really going to bemoan that. Whilst companies like NISA will always have their (small) niche, it must be difficult to get wider recognition. Is it Sony's place to ensure that they do? They have to pick which games to support - i.e. those that they think will succeed, such as Nioh.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 212

mookysam

Ni No Kuni 2! It's gorgeous looking. Not too far in so I don't really have much to say, but I do like the battle system. It's very snappy.

In Kingdom Hearts 2 I still have the lingering will left to beat and I'm finding it rather tough. I've done everything else in the game apart from the gummi missions (I'm rubbish at them) so would like to defeat him.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 208

mookysam

Continuing with Breath of the Wild. It's so enormous!

On the PS3 I've got back into Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix after a long break from it (Final Fantasy XII's fault). I'm enjoying the new cutscenes and various other tweaks compared to the vanilla PS2 release. Should be finished by next week and then I'll move on to Persona 4 Arena. I'm terrible at fighters but shall have to see!

Re: Assassin's Creed Origins Edits Classroom Scenario for Inclusivity

mookysam

It is only a "little thing" but If it is supposed to be a historical tool showing how life was in ancient Egypt, then altering it to suit modern sensibilities is wrong. What use is it as an educational tool otherwise? Who would be offended anyway? History cannot be changed but it can and should be learnt from. Sometimes it's ugly and repugnant to us. That's the point isn't it? It's also important to note that history is not black and white. There's always different angles and socio-economic and political contexts and the lives of normal people with normal struggles caught up in it all. I wonder how the world today will be taught in history classes 500 years from now (if the world still exists then that is!).

Unrelated to the Assassin's Creed but on topic, it is very concerning how many countries represent their history in a certain light to further particular political or nationalist ideals. We see it throughout the world. Even in this country, notice how schoolchildren are only taught the nice version of British colonialism?

Re: Soapbox: I Miss the Mystery of Video Games

mookysam

I was thinking about this just yesterday. Spooooky.

I loved getting my magazines each month and poring over each and every page multiple times over. They usually had tiny blurry screenshots but they were exciting anyway. The internet was in its infancy (and we didn't have it at home then anyway) so the magazines were my only source of gaming information. Of course, it meant that if I got stuck on a game I really did get stuck. Sometimes I rang those really expensive gaming hotlines to find out what to do next. 😂

Going to Electronics Boutique in the nearest town was always fun. It wasn't like GAME (as it was later rebranded) is now and had lots and lots of different types of games stocked including niche titles. Curry's always had demo kiosks for various games and I specifically remember playing Rayman on the PS1 and Sonic Jam on the Saturn. There were also lots of indie game shops about. Nowadays I do 99% of all my shopping online as it's convenient and suits my lifestyle, but it was quite fun to buy a game with only how cool the box looked to guide me. I actually only ended up ever buying one stinker and that was Gex Enter the Gecko on the N64. So I didn't do too badly! Woolworths always had good sales too. Rummaging through the bargain bin for a suprise was part of the fun.

@get2sammyb I did go to the CEX on Bull Street a few years ago. They had a great selection of PSP games. That smell is something I can't describe, and it was horrifically humid. 🤢

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 206

mookysam

Now I've finished Nier Automata I fancied something nice and short and less emotionally gruelling to break things up a bit so started Wario Land: The Shake Dimension on the Wii. The Wario Land games are some of my favourite 2D platformers and although this is quite different so far, it is enjoyable and I actually like the waggle elements. The cel animation is gorgeous, too.

Also continuing with Breath of the Wild and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.