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tumbling-odyssey · 3 years

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Games I played in 2020

Just felt like getting my thoughts out on all the games I played this year. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for years but I always let it pass me by. Well not this year! Fuck you laziness!

I played the first half in 2019 but finished it in 2020 so I guess I'll count it. DQ11 was my intro to Dragon Quest and what a good starting point. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best traditional JRPGs on the market. Characters, story, combat, it all clicks in just the right way to make a flawless game... until the end credits roll that is.

I have no idea what happened with the post game but by god does it dive off a cliff. It undermines everything you worked to do in the main plot. The characters act brain dead and it shamelessly reuses events from the main game. Please pick up and play DQ11 but for the love of god just stop when the credits roll.

Doom is a game I knew I'd like. The heavy metal ascetic and soundtrack were right up my alley, but I just never found the time. With Eternal on the way though and having found it on the cheap at a pawn shop I figured there was no time like the present. Needless to say but I was right. I loved everything about this game. The thrill of combat, the screech of the guitars, and the silent take no shit attitude of Doomguy. Make no mistake though, I SUCK at this game. I played on easy but still got my ass handed to me on the regular. But I don't care, I was having way to much fun.

I flipped my shit when this game got leaked at the tail end of 2019. Zero 3 is my all time favourite game. To celebrate this getting announced I went and 100% Zero 3 as I hadn't done it on my current cart, and Zero 3 was still the first thing I played when I got this collection! I love that game to death and I’m glad to have it on modern consoles again. As I was under a bit of time crunch with other games releasing soon I only played 2 other games in the collection Zero 4 and ZX Advent. Until the DS collection those and 3 were the only Zero/ZX games I had so I have a lot of nostalgia for them.

Zero 4 hold ups better then I remember. Not as good as 3 but a damn solid game with tweaks I honestly wish hit the series before its end. I remember having issues with the stage design and ya it’s not perfect, but it’s far from as bad as I thought. For ZXA this was the first time I beat the game on normal difficulty. For some reason the ZX games have always given me more trouble than the Zero games, so finally beating one on normal was very exciting. Maybe I can now finally go and beat ZX for the first time...

The Mystery Dungeon series rising from the depth to punch all those unexpecting in the face was a very welcome surprise. I had a lot of hype going into this one as I have very fond memories of my time with Red Rescue Team and even more with Explorers of Darkness. And the game lived up to it! The remastered music is great and crazy nostalgic, the 3D models are well used and don't feel as stiff as they do in the core series, and the QOL changes are near perfect... So why did I drop this game like a rock once I finished the main quest?

Anyone familiar with Mystery Dungeon will know that the post game is the real meat of it. The story is short and all the really cool shit comes in after it's done. But I just couldn't bring myself to put more time in after I finished said story mode. I'm definitely chocking that up to me just not being in the mood then an issue with the game. Here's hoping we get an Explorers DX sometime soon. That will fucking hook me for all it's got.

Second verse same as the first. I loved this game and sucked at it horribly. Out of all the games I've played this year Doom Eternal is the one I want to go back to the most. I was not the hugest fan of some of the changes made and retained a stance that I liked 2016 better. First person platforming has never been a fun experience in my opinion and Eternal did little to change that. And I know this a lukewarm take at best but fuck Marauders!. They are so unfun to fight and ruin the pace. The Marauder in the last mook wave took me so long I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the game. But the more I've seen of Eternal after my playthrough makes me think I was being far to harsh. I haven't played the DLC yet either. Mostly cuss I haven't heard great things about it. Gonna wait for the rest of it to come out to see if it's worth getting. Might just replay to whole game at that point to see if it clicks with me better.

This was my second favourite game of the year, and was going to take the top slot until a certain other game came out. Addressing the elephant in room right away, I hated the ending. But I was expecting something like that, I think we all were. I won't let the ending ruin the rest of the game though. Not gonna let 1 segment colour everything that came before it. We have to see how the later parts play out to truly see if this ending was trash or not anyway.

It took Square over a decade but they finally got an action RPG battle system that works and feels good to play. This may be my favourite battle system in an RPG period honestly. All four characters are a blast and it only gets better the more time you spend with it. Figuring out the nuances of each character’s skills and how to combine them not only with the skills of the others but how to enhance them with the right Materia set. This makes fights thrilling and satisfying when you finally best whatever was giving you trouble. Tis was the best way to bring 7′s mechanics into the modern landscape while also fixing the BIGGEST issue the OG had. The fact every character feels the same aside from Limit Breaks.

All this on top of graphics that just look fucking stunning, a few glitched out doors aside. Fuck I still feel blown away looking at the characters models (mostly Tifa) and see how god damn pretty everyone is. Also Tifa’s Chinese dress is gift from the Gods and I still haven’t picked my jaw up from the floor after I first saw it.

In my circle of the internet there was a lot of hype for this game. So much so that I ended up buying it to see what all the hubbub was about. I had never played a Streets of Rage game before and my only experience with beat'em ups was playing a LOT of Scott Pilgrim and last year's River City Girls. Turns out Streets of Rage plays quite a bit different and it kicked my ass! So sadly I had to switch to easy to make it through but I still had a fun time with it.

I started playing mostly as Blaze but once Adam hit the scene oooooh fucking boy. I didn’t play anyone else. There's a deceptive amount of content in this game. You can unlock almost every character from the previous games and all of them rocking their original sprites and moves. If I had more of a connection with this series I'm sure I would have gone nuts on unlocking everything. I stopped after my one playthrough and I was happy with that. Always glad to support a long overdue franchise revival.

To properly talk about P5R I think I need to air a lot of my feelings on the original game and the importance it has to me. You see, prior to 2017 I barely played games, only sticking to specific franchises. AKA Pokemon and Mega Man/Mega Man like games. Until 2016 though I still bought a lot of games. Eating up Steam sales and deals I found at pawn shops. This lead to a Steam library and shelf filled with games I've never touched outside of maybe an hour or 2. So in 2016 when I took interest in the newly released Kirby Planet Robobot I made a deal with myself. I could get the game but I HAD to beat it. And I did just that, gaining not just a new fav Kirby game but a new rule for game purchases. If I knew I wouldn't beat a game I was not aloud to buy it. Now what does ANY of this have to do with P5 you may ask? Well... almost everything.

I was immediately interested in P5 when it hit the west in 2017. I loved the 20 or so hours I but into P3 years ago and really liked the P4 anime I had watched around the same time. So of course with all the hype around it I wanted to dive into the series full force with P5. But I knew myself. Putting over 100 hours into a game was beyond me and I had a weird relationship with home console games as I was predominately a handheld gamer. Add in the fact I didn't even have a PS4 and I was convinced P5 would be something I always wanted to play, but never would. So when I went to the mall with a few friends and they showed me that P5 had a PS3 version, I had a dilemma on my hands. I knew I wanted to play it and I now had a way to do so. But doing that would require me to change 2 HUGE hang ups I had with games. Would I being willing to waste 60 bucks with so much working against me? Apparently I was. I immediately started going to town on this game. Making sure I spent no less then 2 hours a day playing NO MATTER WHAT. Which may not seem like a lot but it was to me... at the time.. I also had just moved to my current house, so coming home from my still relatively new job and going straight into P5 was the first real routine I formed during this heavily transitional part of my life.

I of course ended up loving P5 and put 200 hours into it. As such my outlook on gaming was forever changed. Console games were no longer out of reach and I knew I could handle playing monster length game. I started playing way more games then I ever did before and trying out generas I never thought I would play. P5 is the main reason for this and why I'm able to make a post like this. To actually touch on Royal though? It's unarguably the better version of the game and Atlus learned all the right lessons from P4G. The new characters are great and the added section at the end is possibly the best shit Atlus has ever written. I only wish Yoshizawa joined the party sooner so I could play as her more.

The release of this really came out of nowhere huh? Wayforward announced it was being made mid way through 2019, then there was its weird half release on the Apple store... and then suddenly it was out! Very little fanfare for this one. Is that indicative of the games quality? Luckily no. Seven Sirens is a solid addition to the series and follows up Half Genies Hero nicely. The game goes back to Shantae's Metroidvania roots and makes a TON of improvements.

Transformations are now instant instead of having to dance for them (don't worry dancing is still in the game) making the game feel more like Pirates Curse in its fast flow. They also added the Monster Cards which take heavy inspiration from Aria of Sorrow's Soul system. A feature I'm happy to see in any Metroidvania since Aria is one of my all time favourite games. Sadly though the game does not take the best advantage of these improvements.

Over all the game feels kinda empty. The dungeons aren't super exciting to explore nor are they challenging in any way. And the plot is very repetitive, with each dungeon repeating the same beats. Really this game feels more like set up for a better game down the line. The mechanics are all here and Wayforward has a solid art style with the sprites from Half Genie Hero. Hopefully they capitalizes on this for Shantae 6 and we get the best game in the series.

While it may not have been the most thrilling game, Seven Sirens really put me into a Shantae mood. So much so that I went back to play the 2 games in the series I had never touched. This being the first game and Risky's Revenge. Shantae 1 really is a hidden gem in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it's the definition of jank, but there's a lot of heart to this game. The sprites are great, the soundtrack is good, and the characters are funny... but it's still on the OG Gameboy and that's a massive hindrance for any game. I'm hard pressed to recommend this with how poorly its aged but I think it's better then it looks.

Risky's Revenge on the other hand was a game that shocked me by how little it had to offer. I know this game went through a hellish development and what we got was far from what Wayforward planned to make, but it's hard to imagine a world where this was the technical BEST Shantae game. It's not a bad game by any stretch... just a boring one.

For the record my ranking of the games goes Pirates Curse>Half Genie Hero>Seven Sirens>Original>Risky’s Revenge

Sword and Shield are mediocre games at best. I know, real steaming hot take there. I managed to make my Sword playthrough a lot more fun by not spoiling myself on the new Pokemon designs for the first time since Gen 3. Either way, I enjoyed myself enough that I didn't mind playing more of it with these DLC campaigns. Plus I love the idea of Game Freak switching over to this method as apposed to making a third version, so I wanted to support it.

Klara is a fucking top tier Poke Girl both in design and personality and is probably the highlight of Isle of Armour. GF actually went out of their way to give her multiple expressions to sell her toxic bitch personality and I love every minute of it. She sadly drifts into the background for the second half of the DLC’s story which hurts an already rough section even more. Not more then having to grind Kubfuu all the way to fucking level 70 though! That put a serious hamper on my motivation to finish the story but I pushed through anyway. Having to solo the tower with Kubfuu was at least a fun challenge though, as was the final fight with Mustard. Fuck the Diglett hunt though. Ain’t no one got time for that.

Crown Tundra may be my fav of the 2 though even if there isn't a character as good as Klara in it. The hunt for the legendaries was just pure adventure and I had a fucking blast doing it. The joy I felt when I figured out Registeel’s puzzle put a smile on my face unlike any Pokemon game since I was a kid. The whole Regi stuff was honestly a nice Nostalgia trip to my times with Emerald. The story around Calyrex was enjoyable, even if I still hate its design. Not revealing the horses before release was a good call to as it gave an honest surprise. Having to chase down the Galar forme Birds in the overworld is a great way to evolve the roaming legendaries idea and I hope GF sticks to this. Plus the Galar forme birds are some of the best legendary designs since Gen 5 and I love Chocodos way to fucking much.

Here we are folks, my GotY. I love Panzer Paladin so fucking much. A combination of mechanics from Mega Man, Castlevania, and Blaster Master? Sign me the fuck up! This game is tailored made for me and I knew I had to play it once it started making the rounds on social media. I'll admit though, I was a bit worried when the the first full trailer dropped and showed the weapon mechanics. Breakable weapons that you have to sacrifice for checkpoints and power ups? I'm not sure about that.... Luckily I was being a complete moron and those mechanics are near perfect.

I love the set up of each boss being a mythological creature from different cultures. They didn’t just pull the easy ones either. A lot of these things I learned of for the first time here. I love how Grit controls. Using the upward stab as a double jump and being able to pogo off enemies Shovel Knight style just felt great and satisfying. Flame was limited but it made her sections feel tense. She does more damage then you think she could at first glance. Also the only way to heal Grit being to use pods that only Flame could access was a cool idea.

I am begging you Tribute Games, you have to make more Panzer Paladin games. Slap some new upgrades on Grit and expand what Flame can do and you have an even better sequel on your hands. Also maybe not have so many 'gotcha' moments with enemy placement. That's really my only complaint about the game. Great music, great sprites, giant robots, unique premise, and a reference to Canadian legends. The ultimate self indulgent game for me.

It felt super out of left field for Curse of the Moon to be getting a sequel. The games fucking amazing but it was really just a tie in for the main Bloodstained product. Not something I expect to get a continuation. Either way I was pumped. If this was even half as good as the original then I was in for a great time. Which held true... cuss this legitimately is only half as good as Curse of the Moon. I still like the game, quite a lot actually. I mean how could I not with a fucking Corgi piloting a Death Train Mech.

Something was just missing here that never made this click like the first game. Maybe it was the stage design, maybe the bosses, maybe the fact that it's a bit to long. I'm not sure. All I know is I couldn't bring myself to play all the modes like I did in the original. . Stopping part way in to the one where you can get the first games characters. I want to go back some day... I just don’t know when someday is.

This was an announcement I never saw coming. A Gundam Verses game coming to the west? That hasn't happened in the entire time I've been a Gundam fan. I had played a bit of Full Boost on my old roommates PS3 thanks to him having a Japanese account and I played Force on the Vita a few years ago. But to have the latest version fully translated with open servers? Holy hell that's a dream come true.

Having the open betas every weekend leading up to launch was some much needed fun during this shit hole year. I had a lot of fun just fucking around with different suits and seeing what I could do with 'em. Absolutely trashing two Bael players as the Kapool is a memory I'll keep with me for a long time. Fucking danced on their graves. This gave me some new appreciation for suits like the Baund Doc and Hambrabi, the later becoming a lowkey fav as it was my main.

I've fallen off with the game in the last few months but I definitely want to go back. I hope to start learning the game and take parts in tourneys when cons aren’t death sentences anymore.

It felt like everything in my life was SCREAMING at me to start the Yakuza series. From 2 of my friends playing 0 recently, a youtuber I following live tweeting as he played through the WHOLE series back-to-back, and Yakuza 2 having a run at AGDQ 2020. Plus the constant pleas to play this series you get from following Little Kuriboh on Twitter. I finally broke and picked up 0 in the middle of August. Boooooooooy howdy did I not know what I was getting in to. And no I don't mean the content. I knew Yakuza was a series of wildly conflicting tones between the main story and side quests. What I mean is the length. I legit thought this was gonna be a 20-30 hour game. When i reached hour 30 of my playthrough and realized I wasn't even close to a conclusion, I think I knew I had bitten off more then I was planning. That misstep aside I ended up loving this game and want to play the rest of the series.... I just need to rest up first before I dive into Kiwami 1.

Let's actually talk about the game for a moment here. Kiryu and Majima quickly clicked as likeable characters to me and I cared about their stories. Combat is fun and the multiple styles are all great.... though both the default styles take a while to get there. The mad rush I felt at the end was fantastic and the last bosses are a joy to fight. Only real complaint is the pacing of the side stories. I loved being able to just stumble into various different events while on route to the next plot objective. But this became less common as the game went on and side stories started getting more tucked away. Also hot take here, the host club mingame is more tedious then fun and I like Kiryu’s business stuff as I could do that in the background. I’m excited to dive into Kiwami and probably Kiwami 2 this year... Though I’m not sure when just yet.

Just gonna say it flat out, I think this is better the the 2018 game. The smaller scale helps in this style of game and Miles just naturally has a better move set then Peter. I'm not sure if they actually tightened up the combat system or if they just threw less bullshit enemies at you but fighting feels so much better in this one. Traversal is better too, simply because they changed the button for tricks. In the original you have to hold down 2 face buttons to enter trick mode??? In hindsight that was such a bad call.

Having both the heal and venom powers run off the same meter was a good idea. Making the choice between keeping yourself alive guaranteed or potentially ending a fight quicker/disposing of a problem enemy is super fun. The player having to make small choices like this during combat is what helps it not be brainless. I love all the different venom skills you get. While they all achieve the same thing in stunning opponents, how you achieve that goal is up to you. Do you want to just slug the bastard, throw 'em up in the air, tackle the shit out of them? The choice is yours.

Only real big complaint is certain upgrades being NG+ locked. I know you want to encourage replays, but this is a shitty way to do it I feel. Also can we retire Rhino for the next game. Man has had 2 shitty boss fights now and I need a break. Between this and Spider-Verse, I'm honestly starting to like Miles as Spider-Man more then Peter.

I got this game more on a whim then anything. I was definitely interested when it was first announced for the west. Vanillaware's beautiful art style in a story about giant robots beating the shit out of Kaijus? Sign me the fuck uuuuuu-oh wait it's an RTS? I had never played an RTS's before, mainly due to the sheer concept stressing me out. So I let it fall to the wayside. The game started coming up again though towards the end of the year with GotY on everyone's minds. This revived my interest, especially as what I HAD planned to be playing around that time was... well. Cyberpunk. Don't think I need to say much more. Also I had worried for nothing as the Real Time Strategy was not that Real Time.

This game really lays on the analysis paralysis once you're out of the tutorial. Do you want to fight, do you want to do story, who's story do you want to do, what branch should you follow, how much should you play with this one character? It's very overwhelming at first. I decided to not go ham on just one character and swap around all the time. The twists in this game are equal parts exciting and infuriating. Learning something new always came with the caveat of more questions, or something you knew 'for sure' being disproven. Like when I learned 1 characters was actually 4 separate ones! Anyone that's played knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Natsuno ended up being my fav and not just because of.... obvious reasons. BJ was cute if unfortunately named and her relationship with Mirua was my favourite in the game. Not that there was much competition except for maybe Ogata and Tomi. I ended up really liking the combat but I can see why RTS fans say it's the weakest part. It's far from complex and I had a winning strat by the third or so real fight. Aka spam turrets and have the Gen 1′s gank all the bosses.

One quick thing I want to share was how I beat the boss at the end of Area 2. The one where Inaba is singing. I had Hijiyama use the limit break skill to bum rush the boss right off the hop. I took out half its health in one hit but Hijiyama’s Sentinel was on death’s door. Only thing that saved him was sending in Amaguchi to blow up a bunch of missiles. Hijiyama took it out on his next attack but lost his Sentinel at the same time. It was a real clutch victory and crazy fucking anime.

The best way to really describe Carrion is that it's a fantastic proof of concept. Can you make a game where you play as The Thing? Why yes, yes you can. Carrion just needed a bit more tweaking to really bring this concept home and be the A+ game I know it can be. As it is now the game is a bit empty. The level design is super samey and the lack of a map is fucking brutal at points. I know it would make no sense for a blob monster to have a map but somethings you just have to gameify for convenience. The level design must have done something right as even though I was completely lost I still moved from area to area properly. Hell by the time I actually looked up a map I had 1 more item to get and I learned I was one door away from beating the game.

I love the idea of losing mass as you take damage and gaining more by eating people, but having abilities tied to size was a terrible idea. It just leads to tedium as I have to go and shed myself to the right size, do the puzzle, then of course I'm going to go back and rebuild myself to see if I can do the next segment at full power. Just make it so you can swap between abilities using the d-pad or something. I hope this game gets a sequel just so this sick ass concept can be fully realized.

#games #goty #Final Fantasy #pokemon #spiderman #yakuza #gundam #bloodstained #panzer paladin #shantae #persona #streets of rage #doom #mega man #dragon quest #13 sentinels: aegis rim #carrion

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annakie · 4 years

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An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Three

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Wherein we finish up on Eden Prime, and make it to the Citadel.

The fight along the long open walkway before the train is, imho, the hardest part of Eden Prime. But hey, only died once this time and that was mostly my own stupidity. Should probably knock the difficulty down to easy.

I have, btw, beaten the game on insanity, on Xbox 360 so without mods or cheats. It was... extremely frustrating. There are certain spots, and I’ll try to remember to point the worst ones out when I get there, that I probably had to replay upwards of 20 times before beating. But I did it. I did get every achievement on XBox back in 2009.

This is such a good visual. They didn’t have to tilt the camera, but they did, really emphasizing the “Something is very, very wrong here” angle.

The aesthetics of this station are great. Again my biggest problem is that it feels like it’s a train to nowhere.

This last playthrough I completely forgot to disarm the bomb that’s, you know, right as you get off the tram. Still had about 30 seconds left when I ran back for it. Whoops.

I really love this quick scene of Ashley and Kaidan because something about the lighting makes it feel like the cover of like a 50′s scifi pulp novel.

I’m using the flycam command that can super slow time down so it’s been great for getting those little moments that go by super quick, like all the little cuts during the Beacon scene. A lot of scenes like this I’ll run it through once normal and then go back and do it with slo-mo on, letting things that go by in half a second slow down so I have itme to capture a perfect shot.

I’ve always thought it’d be interesting to see what would have happened had Ash or Kaidan actually absorbed the beacon.

I bet someone’s written that fic.

Anyway, I’ve seen people criticizing Ash/Kaidan for being that close to the beacon. First of all, you can walk that close before the cutscene (in fact you have to to mash the button to start the cutscene) and second... um... it’s dictated by the plot that it has to happen. *facepalm*

OOF. Upscaling did not actually help this low-poly Sovereign model. I mean the lights look good... the rest of the textures though... not so much.

There’s a mod that gives Benezia a shirt that I’m really regretting not applying now. I might figure that out.

Anyway, first time I played through it drove me CRAZY for a minute not knowing who this voice belonged to, and after googling it, I fell in love with this game even more. I love ST:TNG so much, and it’s always a thrill to hear Marina’s voice.

Anyone else totally not shocked that Saren is a rage monster?

Later in 2009 I went on a cruise that was supposed to be with my entire family. My grandma got sick and couldn’t go, so neither did my parents or aunt. My brother, SIL and her parents still went. With no heavy family obligations I spent 90% of the daytimes on that cruise on the adults-only deck reading books, including I think the two Mass Effect books that were out at that point. Reading the whole story behind Anderson & Saren made me hate this guy even more. Pretty good book, if you haven’t read it yet.

And that was a really, really great vacation.

Scary hand textures there, Bioware. Good angle and colors, though.

At least the beacon let us have a really good nap.

This conversation and honestly most of them dealing with this vision / talking to the council about Saren I think the middle options are some of the better options, even better than the Paragon options.

Also, this happens sometimes in the next two games but heavily in the first game, the middle option is often still the Paragon or Renegade voiced dialog but the text is just different. For a lot of these lines here, though, it’s not, and also it makes Shepard sound like less of a goody-goody and more realistic.

And then this happens.

Oh, there we go, our first heart-melting moment. The smile that’s been giffed a thousand times. I love how subtle this is, the widening eyes, the actual natural-feeling upturn of the lips. I wonder how long it took the animator to get this right, because... bravo.

I’ve always wondered if the halo were intentional, like, that’s some heavy symbolism there since Shepard becomes The Savior of The Citadel (and eventually the galaxy).

Finally some alone time. I liked that he both checked in on Shepard here, remembered Jenkins and mourned civilians a little bit, encouraged her letting her know she did a good job, and also had time to give us a little more exposition about the council, his abilities, and his backstory.

Also.. JOKER’s WAITING FOR YOU ON THE BRIDGE!

Maybe that line wouldn’t be so jarring later if they didn’t recycle it from here.

Naah, it would still suck.

This is the only other conversation of substance we have with Dr. Chakwas. And a good chunk of it is about Kaidan and his implants. I’d love more interaction with her in a remaster. At least in 2 and 3 she has fetch quests.

Also some time to get to know Ashley. I can’t imagine people blaming losing her unit on Eden Prime on her, but hey, some people do. Her abilities were wasted there anyway, and she deserves to be on the Normandy, end of story.

Hey Joker what’s up do you want to tell me about yourse--

Nope, right into a cutscene, okay!

At least it’s an amazing cutscene.

I like here that apparently Ashley and Joker have spent the last 15 hours while Shepard was asleep getting comfortable enough with each other to make dick jokes.

The music, the visuals, the absolute majesty of this entire scene. How can you not already love this game?

Honestly, I complained about the loredump at the beginning, but it’s pretty crucial and it hits on all the right beats without being completely overwhelming, even if it does get a little repetitive. It doesn’t take long for the game to throw you into the action, introduce you to the major players (except the four companions you don’t have *yet*) and establish the universe and premise of the story. It also gives you a sense of urgency and danger, and sticks the sci-fi tropes it needs to land.

Then you pretty quickly get funneled into the Citadel, where some of the learning comes more naturally and you finally get off the beaten path a little. It’s peak Bioware game design at it’s best.

I planned on stepping foot onto the Citadel by now, but I have stuff to do, so that will have to wait until later.

#mass effect #bioware #annakie's mass effect stuff #mass effect 1 #video games

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pistachiolan · 5 years

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEAN! [Click for a special message! ]

Since I didn’t do The Boss Week every day I will post the whole thing at once! Since the last day is a birthday wish I will put it as first and then the rest I put under [READ MORE] not to clutter the tag with my neverending words.

7. Birthday @therealjacksepticeye Jack, I honestly don’t know what I should say, but I wish you everything the best in life, I wish you that your spark will turn into a burning flame and that you will be able to achieve everything you desire while also taking care of yourself (which I trust you do). I know our time together is not eternal, but I hope you and the community will be able to create wonderful things together while it lasts!

1. Beginnings: What about the channel first piqued your interest or made you subscribe? Back in 2013/14 I was watching a lot of Pewdiepie and Jack appeared in BroKen Podcast as a guest and I got interested, but never really checked him out, until his Stanley Parable playthrough popped up, but I didn’t subscribe to him until like May of 2015~ I really came to love his BOMBASTIC personality and soon I found myself screaming with him :)

2. Growth: How have you grown as a person being part of the channel? Before I started watching Jack I ENORMOUS fear of talking to people even online. I was awfully awkward and isolated myself because I had no real friends until Highschool. Of course, I’m still awkward and anxious about human interactions, but comparing myself from today and back then... two different worlds. I also started acknowledging that there is nothing wrong with me and I’m allowed to feel how I feel when I’m not hurting anybody. Jack definitely played a HUGE part in me realising my orientation and gender identity.

3. Friends: Have you made any friends in the community? What are your favourite memories together? 2018 was definitely me making a huge step and reaching out to people. In May I saw that Overnight Watch opened discord server and I told myself “If that won’t work I will just get out” and OH GOD how grateful I’m I took that step and started talking to people. I came to know so many kind, fantastic and creative people that made me believe in my art skills and inspired me constantly, but what is the most important - I felt incredibly loved and accepted. I also got to meet many people attending Manchester Show of HDWGH Tour and I got to finally see Jack with my own eyes, which was an absolutely wonderful experience. And also all of you who clicked follow on my trashy blog, all of you who ever reblogged or liked my art or shitpost. Thank you for sticking with me!

4. Emotions: What video/ series has made you the most happy, sad, thoughtful or relaxed?

Oh, that’s hard! Happy - probably collabs he has done with Robin and I also find myself crying with laughter at the JSE Home Videos and LA Noire VR series. Both sad and thoughtful... I don’t think ANY game ever will beat

“The Beginner’s Guide”

for me. I still come back to watch it every now and then and I always cry and I can’t explain how much this game always tears me apart and Jack with his commentary - puts me together, but also this year “You Left Me” brought tears to my eyes. as for relaxed... I think his Slime Rancher series is unbelievably adorable and relaxing to watch!

5. A Message For Sean: What would you say to Sean if you could talk to him? I wrote him a letter that hopefully got to him after Manchester Show, but I could also talk for literal hours about how he changed my life and also my life perspective. He made me feel like there is, in fact, a hope.

6. Words: What thing/things have Sean said that have impacted you the most?

“It’s not a bad thing - You are not a bad person. You can get out of it and I believe in you“ This is honestly all I ever needed to hear. That I’m not bad for feeling the way I feel. That I’m not broken. To this day I carry this message close to my heart.

If anybody got to this point - wow I’m impressed, but I would also like to thank you, dear reader, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for each and every one of you.

#jacksepticeye #septicart #bossweek #boss week #antisepticeye #bossweek2018 #lanart

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vyrerus · 4 years

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Vyre’s Top 12 Games of 2009~2019 Decade #11

So this game came out n PS3 in late 2009... and let me just say I became grossly addicted to it. I was in my sophomore year of college, which was my last year of college as I dropped out after that. I didn’t actually own this game until a few years later, but a good friend of mine had bought a PS3 and this game just as soon as it was available. He was taking a lot more classes and had a big social life, as well as a mildly anti-video game boyfriend. As a result he let me and his suite mates play it A LOT! And I played it nearly endlessly, in one sitting I played it for nearly thirty-six hours straight. I did a character for every origin and race. I did complete playthroughs for every character I made. This game is by Bioware, the same folks who made Knights of the Old Republic. As such it had similar gameplay and mechanics.

The game itself centers around interacting via dialogue options, though as I remember it, there’s no morality system. You can choose to be a dickhead or a saint, and it doesn’t affect anything other than game events, such as NPC death or EXP/material acquisition. There are oodles and boodles of items and sidequests. There isn’t an overworld, but there is a world map, and you travel from location to location, and each location is rather large and maze like with the occasional field or forest.

Dragon Age is a game of possibilities. You have the opportunity to romance almost everyone in your party, with certain characters being locked by their sexuality. You can work up a rapport and you will get a form of a sex scene where both characters are in their underwear and do some heavy petting by a campfire. I don’t remember if this made as much of a stink as Mass Effect, though I’m inclined to think that it didn’t. Romance was certainly a focus of each of my playthroughs.

In my first playthrough, my friends and I were taking turns at playing. One had chosen to be a Mage. The other also a Mage. I chose to be a Dwarven Rogue from the commoner upbringing. I was not disappointed by my choice. The Dwarven commoner is branded as casteless with a tattoo marking his lack of a house name. Dwarves have their own slang terms, city location, and are unique in that they cannot use magic. As a commoner you work for a crime boss who wants you to rig up an arena tournament that he’s bet money on. You drug his fighter’s competition, only to find that his fighter is blackout drunk. You decide to put his armor on, the helmet covering your face, and fight in his stead. As you go on to beat every opponent in the tournament, all dwarven nobles, right before the final match, the drunken dwarf enters the arena grunting and mumbling about you having stolen his armor. Forced to reveal your identity, you are cast out of the tournament, despite your battle prowess, for being a casteless dwarf. The crime boss then throws you in prison for ruining his wager. You break out, and are apprehended by the Grey Warden, Duncan. He gives you the choice of facing the consequences of your actions within dwarven society or agreeing to become a Grey Warden.

Every origin leads to that. Basically the plot of the game is that Duncan is the last of a handful of Grey Wardens in a country known as Ferelden. Ferelden is beset by a horde of evil, demon like monsters known as Darkspawn. Darkspawn originate from when the Tevinter Empirium and its council of incredibly powerful mages used Blood Magic to physically enter a realm of spirits and demons known as The Fade. When they returned to the world, they did so as the Darkspawn and lead a war, known as a Blight, which ruined the land and shattered their nation. It went on for 200 years, and was only stopped by the formation of the first order of Grey Wardens. Duncan suspects another Blight to be coming, and he seeks to bolster the Grey Wardens’ forces with talented warriors.

So its story interested me. The gameplay itself is a mixture of real time tactics with a global cooldown of sorts on your abilities. Auto attacks come into play as well. It’s fairly similar to an MMO. You can use melee weapons, bows, or magic. For melee there are two handers, dual wielding, and sword/shield. All come with benefits. Certain classes offer perks to certain styles of combat, and only mages may perform magic. There are basic classes and advanced classes that you can unlock later, as well as prestige classing, so you get a main class and a sub class basically. Corpse as lootable. THere are doors and chests that are locked all throughout the game, picking them yourself or with a party member yields experience. Your party size is limited to 4, with three of your members controlled by the A.I. though you may give them direct orders through a pause wheel menu or switch to controlling them directly, though you may only control one character directly at a time. When you lose all HP, but the party wins the fight, any incapacitated party member recovers some health but receives an injury and the injury gives a debuff that persists until the injury is healed.

Mages are the most powerful class to be, followed closely by Warriors, but Rogues are no pushovers. No matter which class you pick, you need to read your skill descriptions and take note and remember what they do, so you can fight as effectively as possible. I believe the game has a menu set difficulty setting, but I never touched it.

The most enjoyable thing about this game was playing it with friends. Even though it’s single player and we took turns, it was fun to see the same situation play out 100% differently from character to character. For instance, there’s a situation with the forest elves, The Dalish, where you are trying to get them ally with the Grey Wardens and fight the Darkspawn. You have to take care of a forest spirit and werewolves for them. You can cause one of three things to happen. You can do as the Dalish bid and rid the forest of the spirit and werewolves, thus getting the Dalish on your side... or you can side with the forest spirit, getting the werewolves on your side. Further, I think you can kind of screw fuck yourself and get neither, but it’s been far too long since I last did a playthrough.

Despite buying a copy for myself a few years later and doing one more playthrough for a total of, I believe, 7 complete playthroughs? The magic of the game had worn off, and without my friends to enjoy it with, it seemed a lot less humorous. I can still say though, it was one of the best games of the last 10 years and easily earns a spot on this list. I must have put 150 hours into that game, easily. My favorite characters are Shale, Alistair, and Morrigan. Morrigan was my first romance, and I sure as shit gave her as much as my humble casteless dwarf could give!

The game also can tout slightly different endings, though I think all that really changes is who winds up killing the archdemon and related to that, is whether your character survives or not. It’s at least worth one full playthrough if you can get your hands on a copy!

#Top 12 #Dragon Age #origins #dwarf #morrigan #yeah her hellbaby gonna be half dwarf #how did that turn out btw?#I haven't played any of the other Dragon Age games

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endwalkr · 5 years

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this is an ask based thingy but im really in the mood to infodump so im just gonna answer them all under the cut !

Favorite video game?

starting off with the absolute hardest question huh? i can’t possibly name ONE favorite game of mine because i adore my favorites for many different reasons. my overall favorite video game is ffxv or botw. ffxv because it has brought me so much joy for such a long time, and because i have such a connection with the characters. botw because i was actually in the fandom when it first got announced in 2016 so i got to be there when the hype was at an all time high– and finally being able to play the game after waiting for so long was an unforgettable experience. i have more favorite games but ill talk more about them in the ‘’special place in ur heart’’ question.

First console you owned?

my first console wasn’t a console. my friend and i used to play on her nintendo dsi all the time and at one point tiny little me reeeally wanted one of my own so i saved up and got one in [redacted] when i was 7. my first actual console was a wii though, we got that around the same time.

A game that holds a special place in your heart?

ffxv and botw mean the absolute world to me, but super mario galaxy and skyward sword are very important to me too. skyward sword is the game that got me into zelda which got me into anime which got me into final fantasy etc etc etc. super mario galaxy was the first non-mini game collection and more adventure story-ish game i played. i was so proud when i beat it for the first time and mario was my first ever ‘’fandom’’ :’)

Favorite video game character?

bro. i cant pick just one so i’ll choose one per game : prompto, ryuji and link. they were all my comfort characters at some point and i projected like crazy onto them. this doesnt mean that i wouldnt absolutely die for noct or zelda.

Least favorite video game character?

i dont think theres anyone i distinctly dislike? i always talk about hating ardyn but that’s because he’s just a salty bitch. as a character i think he’s a great villain and i rly love him. i honestly always end up liking everyone somehow, maybe there is someone i just forgot about but i cant remember at all.

Favorite genre?

adventure games, or action rpgs.

Video game character you’ve had a crush on?

every character ever, but i distinctly remember the moment i fell in love with prompto sjghfkshd i was watching a playthrough of xv in december 2016 because i didnt have a ps4, and the guy got to the scene in galdin quay where the bros learn insomnia fell. i had watched about 6 hours of the game by that time and wasn’t particularly interested in the characters but not uninterested enough to drop it. i hadnt even gotten a good look at the characters faces yet, so when the camera zoomed in on prompto when he said ‘’might not be save for us here!’’ i noticed he had freckles. oh god. oh fuck. oh my god hes fucking cute. oh my god better watch 30 hours of this game now

First video game you remember playing?

wayyy before i got my own gaming systems, my then-best friend had a gamecube in her attic. i was around 5 or 6 at the time. whenever i was over at her house and we didnt know what to do, she’d sometimes propose to play ‘’mario kart’’. important is that we are dutch, and i was a literal child. i thought mario KART meant it was a fucking card game, so i always declined whenever she asked. on one fateful day, i finally gave in and was pleasantly surprised it was in fact not a card game, but a viddy game. so we played mario kart double dash. (…i had never played a video game in my life besides browser flash games and was Very Very bad)

Age you started gaming?

so i played my first video game that i didnt own when i was about 5 or 6. then i got my first supply of games at age 7/8, but i dont really consider that time to be when i started ‘’gaming’’. i’d say that was when i started mario galaxy, so i’ve been playing video games for real (ie. story adventure games with boss battles) for about 6 years now.

Hardest video game you’ve played?

this is gonna sound stupid, but the witcher 3. there’s like 7 difficulties and i played on the EASIEST and still had a hard time, i just couldnt get used to the combat. i had the same problem with assassin’s creed syndicate, but after about 10 hours i actually knew what i was doing, and ive played the witcher longer than that and still am clueless. this is kind of an unpopular opinion but i dont particularly like that game

Video game you’ve spent the most time on?

i guess i am what you’d call a casual gamer; i really like video games but during a normal school week i only game for like 2-6 hours. most of the time i dont play for like 2 weeks if im busy. gaming has kind of taken over my life not because i play so much but because i get so emotionally invested lol i’m currently on summer break and even now im not playing a lot because of exhaustion and executive dysfunction. this derailed slightly but the game i’ve played the most despite my casual gamer status is …. … …. ffxv. surprise, right? the runner up is botw, but xv wins by a landslide. 630+ hours. botw is 350. my main save in ffxv is almost 200 hours i think. damn. i really managed to keep myself entertained with that game… (………i was thinking recently, since the loading screens in xv are so long, how much of this total amount was spent watching screens. i imagine it’s several hours, especially if you fast travel a lot.)

Most embarrassing gaming moment?

many moments in my gaming experience are embarrassing, but a more recent one: i was in xv’s postgame, beating some dungeons on my new save file. i had just finished daurell caverns and hadn’t saved in about 2 hours. (uh oh) i was driving around in the regalia type d and got to the big cliff near lestallum, and remembered someone made a gif of jumping in there so i wanted to try it too. i imagined the game would just put me back on the road, like it does when you crash into something. except it didnt. i got a game over. where was my last save? 2 hours back all the way in hammerhead. yippee.

Scariest video game you’ve played?

i never play horror games, cuz for me games are supposed to be relaxing experiences. no hate towards horror games of course, they just stress me out. the only time ive played horror is when friday the 13th was for free on ps+, and my friends really wanted to play it. (theyre kinda addicted to it now. huh) they had already gotten over the initial fear of having jason chase you, but i was still terrified. i can play the game without getting scared now tho. the horror sound effects just rly freaked me out at first jhsdkghsd

Most memorable gaming moment?

playing breath of the wild for the first time, or beating it for the first time. both experiences were filled to the brim with excitement and nostalgia. seeing botw as a blank slate, a world for you to explore, having no idea where you’re going… that was pretty incredible. now i know every nook and cranny of the map, so i wish i could play it for the first time again. i was so incredibly immersed. beating it was insane. i cried for 30 minutes and the end wasnt even sad, i was just so amazed at the fact that i was really here, playing breath of the wild, it was really real. the fucking main theme in the background (which i cannot for the life of me listen to without crying) didnt help with my emotions sgkdjh

Video game character you wish you could meet in real life?

…………..its prompto again. maybe 2017 me …. was .. kind of a kinnie

PC, Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo?

i dont care about console wars at all, but i think hardware-wise, pc is the best, because if you have a good pc you can basically do anything. i however do not, so i just play on consoles. ive never particularly liked xbox, so i only play ps4 and nintendo. not the switch though. its kinda petty, but my best friend and i really dont like the switch djghks

Gaming company you’re most loyal to?

none. i used to call myself a nintendo nerd (oh my god…. i m. gonna die) in like 2015 but since the switch came out and since i got a ps4 they kinda lost me. i still like their game series of course, but as a company i don’t care for them. the only reason i see square enix as one of ‘’my’’ gaming companies is because ffxv took up like 70% of my gaming experience, but besides final fantasy i don’t really love them too much either.

If you could only play one video game for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

atm i’m really into ffxiv because theres just so much to do, but that’s just a new, possibly temporary interest. if i had to choose, i’d say botw. maybe i’d say ffxv, but i feel like running around doing nothing in that game isnt very fun, because the world is sorta empty after completing every quest and getting to level 120. in botw, just fucking around on your horse is still really relaxing and nice.

Do you use strategy guides?

yup. in certain games i try to avoid them but i usually end up stuck or in need of advice. i couldn’t have gotten so many p5 trophies if not for the internet lol

How often do you use cheats?

never, simply because the games i play often do not have cheats. unless im playing the sims and are in need of a motherlode, i dont use them.

Competitive or single player?

single player. im bad at video games and like to do stuff at my own pace. online multiplayer can be fun every now and then in games like mario kart 8 or splatoon, and i also like teamwork stuff like ffxiv or comrades. but ultimately, i prefer playing on my own.

Video game character you want to/have cosplayed?

have never cosplayed, dont have plans to either, but it would be fun to cosplay link. omg. i just remembered i have that fucking chocomoogle shirt… sorry link im gonna slap on some sasuke hair, black jeans and ugly sneakers

Ever go to a video game convention?

i have not, i have however gone to three (3) video game concerts which is basically the same thing.

Hardest boss fight you’ve been in?

the hardest bosses for me are usually the ones with a gimmick. you have to use a certain item or tactic to beat them or something. other hard fights for me are when you fight someone with a similar skill set. (in ffxv, this happens twice, once with the iggy-noct sparring match and once against ardyn. somehow, the final boss was easier than getting the prince to eat vegetables.) i don’t know an actual example of THE hardest boss fight ive been in though. at the time, the first bowser battle in mario galaxy was the hardest thing in the universe and i got stuck for like a month. currently, i’m having trouble with the riku-ansem fight in kh1.

Video game you wish you could burn from your memory?

the zelda cdi games? no, i dont really know. i dont hate a game so much that i’d want to forget about it altogether, but i dont exactly love ocarina of time that much. it hasnt aged well and playing it on the gamecube for the first time in 2015 wasnt a good idea. im sure it was revolutionary at the time, but i cant handle the outdated controls gsdgksjs

Favorite gaming series?

see, i love ffxv itself more than the entirety of the zelda series, but i dont love ff as a SERIES more than the zelda games. so if were talking series, zelda for sure. i fucking love those games and they mean a lot to me.

Do you skip tutorials, or find them useful?

i often skip them because i cant pay attention, but then find that i need them anyway. so i usually do skim through them.

Best online gaming experience?

one really good one happened a few days ago in ffxiv, some guy and i exchanged emotes for like 30 minutes and it ended with us becoming friends on psn :’) ppl dont usually emote back at me in that game so this was really wholesome and nice gjshksdj

Worst online gaming experience?

i dont really have a worst? theyre more annoying. think try harders in gta online killing you 15 times in a row because they want to show you how good they are or something. magically, online gaming hasnt been too hard on me (mainly because i dont game online that much)

Why do you game?

it brings me joy. it’s a fun way of relaxing, while being stimulated at the same time. games have meant a great deal to me the past 6 years and i wouldnt want to lose them for the world.

#uh. i really just spent and hour and a half writing this down but ya #i love ya video games #personal #long post #like. really long

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labaguettegameuse · 5 years

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Yesterday (or should i say this night) were my last hours playthrough of the main campaign of dragon age origins. Instead of my usual 3AM sleep time, i went to bed at 7:30AM. I AM DEAD. But it was super worthy.

How should i start my rent this time ? Mmh. Yes. About Alistair et Zevran. Again yes yes yes.

To make sure i wont loose Alistair cause of that damn crown, i support Anora no mater what. Side with her and give her my unconditional love and support. Before the big meeting, i told Alistair about my decision. Since i harden him, i was kinda unhappy about not being king but don’t worry. Santa Surana have your back ;) I was basically chilling and hunting for equipments, weapons and gifts for my friends before the final battle. But then, i notice something about my party comments. I was with Léliana, Alistair and Zevran. And for some reasons, he was extremely jealous of Zev. How strange... Later, i was giving some equipments and healing products to my friends. I was on Zevran profil and i notice this : 100 approval, love. Like : when did i ... ? Then it hit me. Maybe a hour before my gifts hunt, i talked to Zevran. And i choose the option : So what is it you fancy, exactly ?

He said : I fancy many things. I fancy things that are beautiful and things that are strong. I fancy things that are dangerous and exciting. Would you be offended if i said i fancied you ?

And she anwser : No. Not at all.

So, of course, when i talked to Alistair much later... He asks questions about us, about my feelings for him. Since Al is the endgame for my warden, i had to make a choice. And... let's just say that i waited a while before talking to Zevran again. She didn’t want to see him heartbroken. But he was. Then he asked her : Since we can’t be lovers... can we at least be friends ?

How in the fuck can i say no. Absolutly Zevran.

Now back to Alistair. I was so relived and happy to be with him, him being a Grey Warden, and not a king (even if i know he would make a great one since he’s good man). During the big meeting, my warden basically talk shit about Loghain in front of everybody. And himself of course. I was like a little snitchy bitch : BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO He did this and that, he murder him and poisoned a dude blblbl. You have no idea how much i enjoy that. And sice you have to kill him for you and Al to be Grey Wardens together, i’m the one who fight against him. I finished him with Duncan’s sword and dagger. I was kind of sad of hurting Anora but... i didn’t have any other choice. Another thing... Since i have a harden Alistair with me, i had the dialogue option : Alistair will be king. And i will rule by his side. It was a persuasive thing. I was like : Mmmmmmh. But since i know he won’t marry you unless you’re a human noble female, i did bother to click that option. Cause i was aiming for the grey wardens ending anyway. Did i mention that i became not only the commander of the warden, but also of the all freaking armies of Ferelden ? And i heard some peoples comment later : She stop Loghain and her order is gonna fight for us during the blight ? They should have crown her instead. MAKER BALLS DAMN RIGHT GUYS (let me dream plz). How awsome is that ? Before going to war, i give Alistair Duncan’s shield and Maric’s sword.

And as my warden promise to herself, she wears Cailan’s armor. So he can have justice and have the possibility to be with us from the beginning till the end (i was slow as fuck XD but i didn’t care). I mean, look at us being badass girlfriends.

Talking about girlfriends.

Morrigan and her request... Of course i didn’t like the idea of my boyfriend sleeping with someone else. But it was the only way for us to both live in the end. Morrigan can be a cold and a mean bitch. But she’s my cold and mean bitch you know ? She’s my friend. And she will be a better mother than Flemmet. I didn’t want her to leave. I tried every dialogue option to make her stay, but it failed. Since she matters a lot to her, my warden will respect her choices and wishes.

Each of my companions/friends saying farwell/goodbye to me was so heartbreaking. I was spaming my key to heal each one of them. In the end, everybody was alive. Except the other grey warden that told us about how to beat the archdemon.

After the queen speech in the royal castle, i had one last opportunity to talk to my companions. I know we won’t be able to spend our lifetime together forever. But still... when you spend a lot of time with those people, when you get to know more about them, to make them discovered love and friendship, it’s hard to see them go. Shale and Wynne traveling together. Léliana leading an expedition for the saint urn. Oghren being happy, doing drins contests, enjoying the surface and being probably in love again... Don’t ever change man. Ever. I let him lead the rest of my party while i was gone dragon hunting. Morrigan didn’t say goodbye. She wasn’t here... Sten returning to his homeland. I was so freaking ready to go with him but the wardens need their leader. Duncann the dog ... idk. Maybe he was going with Sten? Or stayed with me and Al. And Zevran... I wanted to travel with him (or each of my companions). I wanted him to stay. And he will. For a couple of days or weeks. The grey wardens need a mascot after all.

Anora is a great queen. I know she will. I choose to side with the nice dwarf king but it wasn’t so good for society apparently (you know what ? Oghren should have been king). Dagna was super happy with her times at the mages tower. Even if i failed to save them... After that, Greagoir retired and Cullen took over. I was kind of anxious and nervous with that statement to be honest... But i know he’s gonna be a sweet heart in Inquisition. I was pretty satisfied with my ending. And 30 seconds to mars at the end credit ? Good fucking job. It was a nice addition. You know what song would have been great too ? Breath of the life by Florence and the machine but the song wasn’t out at that time. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to wipe off my tears and ruin my sleep schedule by doing the others campains. I wish the best to my companions and to you dear community. See you later. May the maker smiles upon you.

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celeste-mountain · 6 years

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[incredibly long ramble ahead that I hope makes sense? idk I didn’t proofread this thing, I just wrote it on a whim]

Celeste really is a one of a kind game to me

I mean like... I’m bad at video games okay. Really bad. I’ve never beaten a Mario game, I still struggle with Pokemon despite my vast knowledge of the series, can’t play most games on a difficulty higher than ‘Easy’ etc.

Bottom line is I’m not good, and that... sucks... In order to even consider myself good at a videogame I feel that I need to practice far more than others and a lot of times I just don’t see the effort as worth it (or I lack the time/attention span). On top of that it feels like nowadays people are so obsessed with being good at videogames, and challenges, and games that are just completely and utterly unforgiving...

And that’s fine. Because what are video games? They’re an entertainment medium- they’re meant to be fun! Who cares how you have your fun. Want a challenge? Go for it. Want to Speedrun? Do it. Want to play on the easiest difficulty? Eh... I’ll get to that later

Personally I can’t find joy in games like Dark Souls that are difficult, yet I can understand the appeal. I know someone who loves those kind of games, they love being challenged in an environment that’s built to kick you while you’re down. This is where their enjoyment lies, not mine, which is okay!

Celeste was a game that really intimidated me the first time I saw it, and honestly I had just written it off. It’s a platformer (a genre I dislike greatly) and it’s deliberately meant to be challenging. It wasn’t until the mention of an Assist Mode that I became somewhat interested in it, although I still never checked the game out for a good few months after its release

What surprised me most, however, was despite the game’s difficulty upon playing it for myself was just how much I felt like I was being treated... fairly. That was in all honestly the last thing I expected from the game in question. My deaths were mistakes, yes, but they were also my learning experiences and I never felt like I was being chastised for playing bad

Celeste even tells you that your deaths are proof of you learning and that... really hit me hard. I had never seen a game like this before, one that enhanced my basic skill in a nurturing environment and told me I could improve. Rather being kicked while I was down it felt as if Celeste was picking me back up and telling me to try again- because the game itself knows I can do this

When I first picked the game up it was my intention to use Assist Mode throughout it all. However, I wanted to give the base game a chance first. As such I played through the first Chapter and the second Chapter (barring one single room) without using Assist Mode. In that short time the game’s encouraging nature had already made itself apparent and it kept me from resorting to Assist Mode more often than not

That doesn’t mean I still never used it, because I did- a lot. As mentioned before I used it in one room in Chapter 2, then the entirety of Chapter 3, one room in Chapter 5 and about half of Chapter 7. I had made it my own personal rule that I would only ever turn Assist Mode on once I stopped having fun

Again, videogames are meant to be a fun form of entertainment, if I’m not having fun then I stop playing. But I liked Celeste, I enjoyed it and as such I didn’t want to stop playing. Thankfully Assist Mode was there to bring the enjoyment back for me

That’s really the problem I have with how people treat videogames nowadays

It feels like a difficult and challenging game is praised on said difficulties, but a game that is made to be more accessible to lower tier players is... bad. Playing games on easy is still seen as bad! People are so quick to mention that ‘x’ game can be easier but they personally didn’t do it like that because they’re embarrassed by it- that’s the truth of it

People are embarrassed to be bad at videogames

Which to me is baffling! Some people adapt to games easier than others, that’s the truth, but most people are not amazing at them immediately. To become good at anything you’ve got to practice even if you do have some sort of natural talent

The way people talk about difficulty like that. It really irks me because it makes it seem like it’s wrong when in actually it’s not! I think so many gamers and developers have forgotten that videogames are meant to be fun! You cannot badger those who find fun in what you perceive as not fun

My first playthrough of Celeste took around about 12 hours, with well over 1000 deaths, not even 50 Strawberries collected and on-and-off use of Assist Mode

My second playthrough of Celeste took under 4 hours, around 350 deaths, about 70 Strawberries collected and no Assist Mode

In total I have over 80 hours in this game from multiple playthroughs, I’ve collected 170/175 Strawberries on my main file, I have all the base Chapter’s Crystal Hearts, I’ve got all the B-Sides and currently I’m on my way to completing the Chapter 3 B-Side

If this was any other game I can guarantee you that I would have never been able to improve like I did here. But this was Celeste. And because Celeste was a game that nurtured and encouraged me I felt like I could do this! If things went awry then I always had Assist Mode acting as my safety blanket

Personally I need this kind of reinforcement to better myself, unfortunately most games don’t offer that and those that do either berate you for choosing the easier option, and if the games themselves don’t then the gamers sure as hell will

Because I had that available to me I managed to improve to the point where I could tackle on the harder difficulties (beating the game without Assist Mode, getting almost all the Strawberries, challenging the B-Sides etc.)

By having a hopeful tone and an Assist Mode I was given a kinder entryway to a hard game and allowed myself to progress slowly through its difficulty at my own pace rather being thrust into it at the beginning, which would have made the game no longer fun for me

Basically, Easy Mode allowed me to access Hard Mode

That’s why Celeste was such a special, unique and one of a kind experience to me and I hope that more game developers learn from what it offered. I know that you want to make a hard game but realise that... a lot of people like what you have on offer, yet the difficulty is a real turn off for a lot of those. To you it may seem like your product loses its identity by making it easier, yet in actuality you’re widening your audience, letting them find enjoyment in your game that you personally don’t find- which is good! At the end of the day you’ll still have those people (probably the majority) that are playing it for the original challenge you intended

By giving them that easier difficulty they can grasp what the game has to offer and work their way up to a higher difficulty- just like I did

And to gamers: let yourself be bad at videogames and let others be bad at videogames. You’re learning and you’re improving, or maybe you just want to have a casual relaxing time on easy

A tl;dr since I rambled:

> Celeste is a good game that nurtures it’s players in a hopeful environment, it believes that the players can complete the game and that’s a good feeling > Having Assist Mode is great, more games should have this > Developers should not only cater towards those that want more of a challenge, but those that want less of a challenge as well > LET PEOPLE BE BAD AT VIDEOGAMES, OWN YOUR BADNESS, BE OKAY WITH IT AND STOP BADGERING THOSE WHO PLAY ‘BAD’ > Videogames are meant to be fun, it doesn’t matter what games you play or how you play them, they just need to be fun for you

#I need a talk tag #long post #sorry this is so long #but I needed to get this off my chest #probably delete this later

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pml1225-blog · 5 years

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7:characters continued - worldbuilding and NPCs

A few posts ago, I talked about the stories of two characters in Breath of the Wild – Mipha and Zelda, and how their individual story arc played out within the broader story. This time, I want to talk about the characters that aren’t really part of the story – NPCs, or non-player characters.

NPCs in Zelda games have always contributed to the world of the each game. RPGs will always have NPCs, usually populating towns and coming with side quests to give the player, but when done poorly, it really doesn’t add much to the story. A lot of the time, NPCs are either turned into exposition machines or just have a fetch quest for you to complete (like “kill 10 enemies and bring me their remains” LOL). The Legend of Zelda, starting from the 3D era with Ocarina of Time, has really put a lot of detail into folding the NPCs into the environment and themes of the game, and this really contributes to the player’s enjoyment.

Ocarina of Time has some great NPC storytelling, and it fits within the context of the story. As you’ve probably heard dozens of times before, one of the main mechanics of the game is Link travelling time from his time as a kid before Ganon took over to a time 7 years later as an adult when Ganon took over. The game takes great care to show the effects of 7 years of Ganon rule on the world, including the environment and the music (see the last post). To round this all out, the NPCs also change and develop, and it fits the somber events that occurred. Some people move up in the world, some people stay the same, but some people just straight up died. Ocarina of Time really excelled with its consistent storytelling throughout the game, not just the main story, and it set a precedent for future games to come.

(rip graveyard dude)

Breath of the Wild has really taken this to the next logical step, and I think it was done beautifully. Part of this is due to better technology, but mostly, it is just a dedicated attention to detail by the staff. The world feels real and interconnected. Most townspeople still stay within the safety of their homes, but as you travel along the roads, you will encounter people travelling around, and you can follow them to their next destination. Sometimes, you will have to save someone who is being attacked by monsters, and they remember you if have saved them before. There is a clan of evil ninjas, the Yiga clan, that poses as travelers you have spoken to along the road before, only to attack you. There is a traveling reporter who goes around from place to place, spilling gossip about nearby attractions. There is a travelling bird bard, whose goal is to learn songs about the Hyrule of yore that his master was unable to pass onto him before he passed. People move around, but are still wary of exploring too far themselves. As you venture further from roads, you will see fewer and fewer people, which makes the times you do encounter people unexpectedly off the beaten path more interesting. There is a brother-sister duo of treasure hunters that roam around the ruins of old fortresses, hoping to find valuable relics of the society that was destroyed in the past. There is a fishing village that you never have to go to, but has a multitude of people with their own stories for you to delve into. This sort of detail, which would go unnoticed by some people (it took me 60 hours to venture to that corner of the map), is what truly elevates the game. It isn’t just to serve as easter eggs, either; it really paints Hyrule as a civilization struggling to rebuild, but unable to make headway with the threat of Ganon still looming. For example, the people of the fishing village face constant threats to their way of life as monsters set up camp in their fishing areas. You get the sense that they had to stand their ground to maintain their traditions across the years. Even so, the constant threat of the monsters would make anyone feel cornered and helpless. The player doesn’t necessarily need to make the journey to Lurelin village, but it helps contextualize the struggle of Hyrulians throughout the past 100 years.

One of my favorite side quests in the game is one where you literally build a town. Throughout my first playthrough, I met some characters that just stuck out to me. There was a Gerudo woman who just sat in a bazaar, lamenting the fact that she couldn’t find a husband, as her only skill was making clothes. Another Rito boy told me how he didn’t want to work in his mothers shop anymore, and wanted to travel himself. I thought this was weird, because there was nothing for me to do to change their situation. Later in the game, you meet a construction worker who was tasked to build a new town on a small outcropping of uninhabited land. You help him clear out the area, bring building materials, and ultimately, bring these people who you have met before to populate the town. To me, this signified another theme within the game – needing to rebuild. While the people of Lurelin village were trying to maintain their lifestyle against the odds, other people were yearning for something greater. When you beat Ganon, Zelda tells Link of her plans to help the entirety of Hyrule to rebuild and recover its former glory, and you are reminded of the town that you helped build.

(the sidequest ends with a wedding, with all the people you gathered who wanted something else in life. what a great way to tell a human story while also making you chop down 110 bundles of wood to build the damn town.)

This is how games can use NPCs to not only add content to the game and provide a rich world for the player to explore, but to also help tell the story. An immense amount of thought and work went into creating every aspect of Breath of the Wild, and it really incentivizes the player to explore. Many games are working to implement this mode of storytelling through gameplay as a philosophy. Unlike other media like movies or books, the player can choose to get out of the experience what they want, and when a world is well built and populated with characters that feel real within the contexts of the story, it is extremely rewarding to sink hundreds of hours just talking to everyone and seeing everything.

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afreakingdork · 3 years

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Review: Resident Evil Village

So, just to set the stage here. I’m obsessed with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. I first played it when I was home sick and beat it within two days. I then immediately replayed it to go through the Zoe ending which, in retrospect, might not have been worth it. I then followed through my partner’s playthrough which I tangentially refer to as me playing through it and, finally, I replayed it in preparation for Village. I just love everything about it. I love the enclosed space of the Baker estate, I love the characters, and I even love the story despite the many silly plot holes. Keeping that in mind, I found Village to be alright. I was not immune to the big lady hype. I was really excited to be back as Ethan. If we’re talking about my playthrough specifically, I found starting the game to be a treasure. It really sets a great tone for the story and I loved seeing how everything had changed in three years with Mia and Ethan. My joy and curiosity were cut short when I got totally bodied by the lycans in the village. For whatever reason, I could not figure out that I was just supposed to run away from them and kept dying. It was so stressful I actually put the game down for a day after dying a few times because my nerves were shot. I moved through the game what I considered to be an average pace. I made sure to ‘turn’ all the rooms blue and my total run time ended up being just over 15 hours. Of that time, I probably spent at least 7 hours in Castle Dimitrescu, a little over an hour on each House Beneviento, Moreau’s Reservoir, and the Stronghold, and finally finishing pretty much a majority of the rest of the game at Heisenberg’s factory.

Now that all the details of my gameplay are out of the way, my thoughts on the experience are below!

Which brings me to my two biggest problems with the game; the first being pacing. The amount of time spent on Castle Dimitrescu vs. House Beneviento is staggering. I love House Beneviento. It’s the exact kind of enclosed space puzzles that I adored about Resi7. The baby is objectively one of the scariest things I’ve ever encountered in a video game and I was truly, heart racing, terrified playing it, but jumping into that after Castle Dimitrescu is a wild difference. Honestly, all four dominions don’t feel like they share the same game. There’s a wild tonality shift between each area that felt really disjointed. There’s also a ton of little nit-pick things I have, like why are pots breakable, but only at Castle Dimitrescu. I’m not talking about the item vases; I’m talking about regular pottery that can be broken in pretty much every room along with the windows. It’s so strange because every other area has the identical item crates so why is Castle Dimitrescu an exception? The assets for pottery from Castle Dimitrescu are used in other areas, but they are no longer breakable. It’s a weird consistency problem that just goes in line with the inconstant tone.

I don’t know if this is common, but my other issue with the game is I genuinely believe that the game is out of order. I truly believe that they meant for Castle Dimitrescu to be the second to the last level, but after the Lady Dimitrescu hype, they moved her up in the game so everyone could experience her as soon as possible. Think about it; you spend hours wandering about Castle Dimitrescu and defeating the Lady all before you even get the dialogue from the Duke about who the four lords are and what they do. On your way out of Castle Dimitrescu you pick-up your first meat items before you’ve even unlocked Duke’s Kitchen. Resource-wise, House Beneviento and Moreau’s Resevoir have very few items to pick up in contrast with Castle Dimitrescu, which I posit is because they were meant to sequentially go first. The amount of ammo you pick up in Castle Dimitrescu is insane. It was so much, in fact, that a majority of the ammo I picked up in Castle Dimitrescu ended up not getting used until the Stronghold. From a visual standpoint, the Castle is such a visual focal point in the game, it seems wild to just knock it out and lock it up in the very beginning. Also, when you take into account the Castle’s logs about their Cadou experiments, they are the only location to not mention the Cadou. It’s almost as if they specifically had to take that phrase out, because you hadn’t learned what it was yet. You also don’t hear about Cadous in House Beneviento, but that makes more sense story-wise. As opposed to the other lords, Donna isn’t really experimenting on individuals with Cadous because she is instead experimenting with her hallucinatory power that was caused by the Cadou. The other lords are actively serving Mother Miranda by trying to create more viable subjects, while Donna is just mostly keeping to herself outside of the occasional overwhelming loneliness that pushes her to ‘call for playmates.’ My ideal order of the lords starts with Moreau because the Reservoir is the most linear of all the domains (and because I think blowing the House Beneviento load immediately would skew perception of what the game would be). You then tackle Beneviento next as a way to show the player how far this game’s reach can go. Then you enter the ever-looming Castle Dimitrescu and pick up all the details and ammo you need to then hit the Stronghold and then Heisenberg’s factory. Think about how well the game would have flowed, were you to just alter the order some.

Outside of that, there are a ton of little gameplay aspects that are sloppy. When you switch between weapons, there is a roll animation that means 1. Ethan can have two right hands up at any given moment, or 2. Ethan can have 3 hands total if you switch from a one-handed weapon to a two-handed one. When you try to dock after using the boat, you have to wait for the sliding animation of the boat getting back to exactly the right position before you disembark. When you’re talking to Chris in Heisenberg’s factory the game has to cut to black to get Ethan to sit in a chair, when it didn’t have to do that when we were talking to Heisenberg when we first get to the factory. The button combination to block and then push back an enemy was extremely finicky if the enemy wasn’t in the 100% perfect position. There were so many times when I would block and then have the prompt pop-up to push back and I would execute and Ethan would just stand there because the enemy was, usually, too close to him, which is wild because you would think that’s exactly what you need to push them back. The sound effects are omnidirectional. What this means is that when Lady Dimitrescu is walking around it sounds like she is everywhere because no one programmed the sound to not go through the walls. This is something that is taken care of in Resi7 which makes it all the more baffling that it is not in 8. When I heard the growl of a lycan or the flapping of a samca I would spin around wildly because the sound was coming from all angles. It made especially the Stronghold super annoying to play.

This is a personal thing, but it really drove me crazy how many times Ethan just sat there and took attacks in cut scenes. So many times he was still holding a firearm in his right hand and doesn’t even try to aim while enemies (particularly Lady Dimitrescu) maim him. Another personal thing is what is up with Lady Dimitrescu‘s daughters? There are detailed notes on how the Cadou and Mutamycete work differently on different individuals, but there are like no details on why the Daughters are bugs? It’s never specifically stated how Dimitrescu went about her experiments. We know it was an injectable, but was it Cadou? We know for a fact that the Cadou is large. Moreau was separately, surgically putting the Cadou into people’s bodies and then maybe injecting them with wolf blood. Donna split up her one Cadou between her dolls to puppet them and Heisenberg was using a Cadou-powered reactor which was quite large to power his Soldats. Also, as opposed to all other areas, Castle Dimitrescu is the only one with what can only be described as zombies (they’re actually called Moroaica which is like when was that established?) as the rejects of the injection, where everywhere else it’s lycans. Then, the three viable candidates of the injections turned into what looked like house flies and then reformed in a human-esque body, but is really a mass of flies for the Daughters?! At least they gave Alcina a blood disorder to explain her height and vampire tendencies, but the Daughters don’t get this treatment at all. It’s just bizarre.

Something minor I haven’t stopped thinking about is just how enormous baby Rose is. There’s even throw-away dialogue at the Winters’ home about how she is outgrowing diapers that are meant for her age at an alarming rate. Even the maternity photos of Mia show her stomach is way bigger than the average person pregnant with a single child. It’s wild because nothing about this ever comes back in any way, shape, or form. Rose is just a big baby and it’s not a big deal.

Also, WHY IS CHRIS ON THE COVER AS A LYCAN?! 1. That never even happens and 2. Chris isn’t even in the game that much!! I get that we can’t put faceless Ethan on the cover, but why not a picture of... I don’t know... THE VILLAGE! IT’S ONLY IN THE TITLE FOR FUCK’S SAKE AND IT WORKED FINE ENOUGH FOR 7!

#review #video game review #videya games #resident evil #resident evil village #resident evil 8 #me

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superstarpower2000 · 3 years

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TimeSpinner. Nintendo Switch.

All Feats Unlocked

All Orbs Achieved

All Auras Obtained

All of the Maps explored

Usually, I like to post some gameplay pics of the games beaten at 100%, make a fast quip and move on. Today, I think I'll give a small review of Timespinner.

TimeSpinner. The flight from Virginia to California is one of the longest in the US. As such, I searched for a MetroidVania to play while on the plane ride. I chose TimeSpinner. Going into this game blind, I knew I wanted two factors in a game while on this long flight. It had to have MetroidVania gameplay. As such, TimeSpinner includes what you would expect from the genre; exploration, collectibles, upgrades, appropriate music and even subsequent lore. The other factor that attracted me to this game was Time. I'm a fan of time manipulation games so a game that had a time stop mechanic definitely caught my attention.

Let's dive in. TimeSpinner is inspired by 90's game art styles. It utilizes this art style really well. I felt while I was playing this that I was playing a game from the 90's. This is evident in visuals and even the gameplay menu. TimeSpinner does a lot with what little it uses. The backgrounds are interesting and eye-catching. The orb mechanic (which we'll get too) has orbs constantly flying around your character but instead of being in the way it just helps you realize where your attacks are landing and keeps the screen interesting as orbs change color depending on the weapon equipped. The backgrounds aren't necessarily detailed either but they keep the player engaged, ranging from strange planets in the sky to horrific creatures in test tubes while exploring a lab. There are plenty of unique character models with a lot of detail put into them. Characters have unique hair colors, hair styles, armor and even gestures. I know who I'm talking to before I speak to them as the models don't repeat and each stands out. However, TimeSpinners is mixed when it comes to the enemy models. At some point, the enemies become boring with repeated models showing up halfway through the game with no new textures, just re-colored enemies. Despite this, a lot of the boss fights in this game caught me off guard due to how visually surprising they looked. One boss, lfrit, caught me off guard as it stood out from the other bosses, in a good way. lfrit is bright, takes up a good portion of the screen and genuinely seems threatening. He/It? is by far my favorite looking enemy in the game.

The gameplay mechanics are also a mixed bag for me. With a name like TimeSpinner, I was hoping for a lot of time manipulation mechanics. TimeSpinner only uses one time manipulation mechanics and that's stopping time. The time stop mechanic is underwhelming. Despite having maximum sand power I felt the time stop mechanic didn't last very long. Even if it did, there was barely any use for it. There were very few obstacles in the way that requires the player to stop time for any reason. If I tried hard enough I feel I could get through the game without stopping time at all. And when you do stop time there's almost very little point as enemies are not affected by the mechanic through damage. If you stop time and attempt to hit an enemy, the attacks won't register. However, actually attacking in TimeSpinner is fun and engaging. In TimeSpinner, there are two modes of attack. Using orbs you find throughout your playthrough and through Aura attacks. You can equip two orbs at a time, one for each hand, and they act like melee weapons you can toss in front of you that immediately come back and literally orbit your character. Orbs naturally level up through constant use, so if you like an orb (or three) , repeated use of them will make them stronger. I was a fan of the Blade Orb, using it causes a sword to spawn in front of your character. Another common orb was the fire orb, which as its name suggests, causes fire damage when thrown at an opponent. Aura's on the other hand are attacks that deal heavier damage but have a charge time and are attached to a meter bar, so overuse means you have to wait to use these powerful moves again. As a fan of anything that has the name Blade in this game I used the Blade Aura, which after it's done charging releases a huge sword to attack enemies that almost takes up half the screen. There's an abundant amount of orbs and auras to obtain in the game and other than wishing they would have more unique situal needs for them in the games environment, these moves all cause damage in different ways so gameplay doesn't feel repetitive or boring.

My final point I want to make about TimeSpinner is the story. I know this blog is all about beating a game at 100% but if there's something else I love about a good game is a good story. TimeSpinner does not have one. The story for TimeSpinner is quite literally, all over the place. You start off with a simple objective of revenge and (spoiler coming up) by the time you're done, you end up being a literal God. The transition from revenge to God is not a smooth one, it feels the game jumped straight to 11 when it comes to advancing this surprise plot. A new enemy (if you want to call him that?) appears near the final hour with little to no build up, but defeating him ascends the main character to absurd heights. In between this enormous jump in story plot there are a few plot twists that feel like they game out of left field and were only put there for a shock factor that doesn't land. I'm not invested in TimeSpinner's narrative, but I will say its one of the few games I've kept playing due to being a fun game despite a story that's not well structured.

100% completion for this game took me nearly 15 hours. I give TimeSpinner a 7/10.

#timespinner #metroidvania #indie #100% completion #nintendo #switch #nintendo switch #completionist #bodie lee #lunar ray games #eshop #nintendo eshop

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zachsgamejournal · 3 years

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PLAYING: Resident Evil 7

Was loving the game until the ship. Damn...it's like a whole new game in here...Graphics are amazing though.

SO -- defeated the bug lady and picked up a few more things from within the house. There's a creepy story about a boy trapping a friend in the attic above his room, and I guess the other kid dies? I'm not sure I want to dig deeper into this.

There's crawling guys out by the trailer. No longer my safe space. I manage to clumsily unlock the next area while getting sliced at by the crawlers, but I've got tons of healing objects.

This area (Testing Area) went by a little quicker. Not many molded, and no bugs. There were trip-wires everywhere. This was...I don't know, less clever. Seemed like a modern trap that fits better in a military shooter.

But then there's the birthday video tape. (When did I watch this?) Doesn't matter, it's a really F'ed up Saw-inspired escape room. But I loved it cause it was very puzzle-driven. Practical puzzles too. I mean, it got a little silly, like the booby-trapped balloon and clown machine that grabs hold of the player. But ultimately, I enjoyed it.

Lucas is pretty entertaining. In a youtube playthrough, he kind of annoyed me, but this time I'm impressed with the performance. I got a little stuck when you have to repeat the puzzle room. It seems if you do it exactly the same as the first time, you die. But if you skip a step cause you now the password, it triggers an alternate scene.

Oh...probably cause I don't uncork the gasoline barrel.

k...now it makes sense.

I find Mia and Zoe...though I'm not 100% sure who Zoe is supposed to be. Maybe I've missed something, but I don't get how some mummified remains can cure anything. Or how Zoe could whip up the cure with a screw driver and a chair leg (I have no idea what she used).

Anyway, BOSS FIGHT! I think this is Jack? This was the easiest boss fight of the game so far. It was pretty easy to tell that the eye balls were the target. Two blasts with the shotgun and Monster Jack stumbles. I'm not sure I even took damage. Zoe tells me to use one of the cures on jack to kill him: much success. Then she seems insanely distressed that there's only one cure...

Cross some crazy ass docks and now I've gotta choose who gets the last cure: Zoe or Mia. Like...is this a real choice? I'm here because of Mia, and I'm not even sure who Zoe is? So I choose Mia, and Zoe freaks out. I mean, I guess she's gotta turn into a crazy-ass monster or something, but you know...sorry.

Mia and I drive off on a bone. We find a ship run ashore. I remember thinking in the YouTube playthrough that maybe the game was exploring a oil-spill metaphor. Tentacles attack us and now I'm Mia.

ok.

So begins the boat chapter, and holy shit! The boat is about as big as all the previous areas combined. And since you're Mia--you've lost all the weapons and healing items from Ethan. So it's like playing a whole new game! I wasn't too psyched about this. At this point, I'm kind of ready for the game to end. But according to the strategy guide, there's more after the boat. MORE. And the boat is huge and long!

Way more molded, way fewer supplies, and then there's a flashback. Appears Mia isn't exactly who she claims to be. I've complained about the flashbacks before because they basically retread familiar ground. Exactly what happens here: After exploring nearly half the boat, you're forced to watch a video flashback. In this flashback, you have to scavenger for supplies: ammo and healing items. And there's lots of unavoidable molded (I died a few times).

When the flashback ended, I thought: Oh good--so I'm done. Nope, now the boat really opens up with puzzles, scavenging, and multiple floors worth of work to do. I hated it. I mean the graphics and environmental design for both present and past are amazing. I almost just enjoy walking. But the sequence is so long and stressful. I just want this to be over.

It's a weird thing with games. You spend a lot of money on 'em, so you want them to last, but they can also wear you down. Like, I remember the first time I played through Uncharted (in one night). I really wanted it to be over, but I was also a little disappointed it only took me 7 hours. I remember wishing there was a new game + that had you play everything from Elena's perspective. See, I feel that's how the Old Resident Evils could get away with being short. You had two characters that explored the same environments, but had their own stories. This is also what I love about Dynasty Warrior games. I could beat a character's story within 5 hours, but there's so many characters you almost never run out of gameplay.

Anyway--this ship bullshit is too long. I also missed a fuse somewhere and I gotta find it.

#Zach's Game Journal #PLAYING #Resident Evil 7 #Stadia #When Will This End

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aaronpullinteeth · 6 years

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Top 10s: Video Games

Ok, I got inspired to do this after watching UpUpDownDown and might do more of these for different topics. Right, quick rules. 1 game per franchise and an explanation as to why I love it will be given. No spoilers either.

10: Tomb Raider 1

Ok, there’s going to be a lot of PS1 games in here. It’s my era and the first console I got so deal with it. Nostalgia is powerful shit. I remember being really young, like 4 years old and watching my step dad play this game for hours. After awhile we started playing it together, we would play for hours and I was so hooked. The story was so good Lara Croft was the first human main character for a game I can remember playing and it will always have a special place in my heart. This is why the new Tomb Raider games have been so hard for me to get on board with.

9: Spiderman PS1

The first game I ever finished, start to finish, on my own. I finished it so many times I unlocked all the costumes without the cheat. I then lost my save so begged friends at school for the cheat so I didn’t have to do it all again. But ended up doing it all again anyway. I am a massive superhero fan and Spiderman was my first favorite superhero and I dreamed of a day he would get a game, so when he did, I played it to death. I loved it so much. It was like playing a season of the 90s animated tv show. Pure superhero gaming perfection.

8: Mass Effect 2

In the modern era it’s rare I actually finish a game. Modern games either have gameplay that just entertain (either handling terribly or just plain boring) or the story is terrible. This was different. I never got to play the first Mass Effect as I believe it never released for the PlayStation and I never had an Xbox. But I found the second one years after it released on the cheap. Figured I’d give it a go, I didn’t have plans that weekend. It was something else. It was the first time since....a game later in this list.... that I had experienced such great and interactive story telling in a game. And by that I mean a game where you actually felt like you shaped it. For those that haven’t played it I wont spoil anything, but when you get to the last mission, it really shows how a game can handle your choices.

7: Croc 1

The only game on this list I haven’t actually finished. But my god it was fun. Another example of games on the PlayStation 1 that were such simplistic perfection. Without much of a clear story and other than “save these creatures from the bad things!” it was engaging and that soundtrack......oh my god that soundtrack.

6: Medievil 2

Play it. Just play it. And the first one too. i struggled with which one to put on this list. And while the first one might have had a few more funny moments with dialogue, the variety in levels, weapons, environments and story for a PS1 game were way way WAAAAAY ahead of their time. A game that somehow took a great dry sense of humor, an engaging story, a lovable protagonist that wasn’t your usual “badass” (again, I wont spoil anything) it was just pure fun, start to finish. The dark, gothic yet funny aesthetic didn’t hurt either

5: Tekken 3

Fighting game perfect. Disagree? Fight me. I know the argument of “Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat vs Tekken” has been going on for ages. I am team Tekken. The massive shifts in tone between characters and story is so good and keep it entertaining no matter how many times you play. But the thing that puts this Tekken ahead of the others is the Tekken Force mode. Not only did you have one of the best one on one fighting games ever, but you also had a multi leveled side scrolling beat em up in with it. What was not to love? Sidenote: King is my character. I once was at a house party and we have Tekken set up and I beat everyone else there two times over playing as King to the point we changed the game because I just wasn’t losing.

4: Fallout New Vegas

In my humble opinion, the greatest RPG experience ever. I know a lot of people wont agree. A lot wont even agree with it in the case of only Fallout games. But this is my favorite and I pumped so many hours into this game. You could play it 20 times over and never play the same way twice. No matter what you did, it had an impact. You could start the game and kill the first person you see and that would have a massive effect on your game. You could be good, evil, smart, dumb, a scientist, a fighter, a talker, a lover, a loner almost anything you want. The only game (other than the next on this list) that I have finished without killing anyone in it....I mean games where that is actually an option, you can finish the game without killing. It’s amazing.

3: Undertale

What can I say that hasn’t been said? A game where it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you fall in love with side characters that you might only meet once, hell it’ll make you fall in love with the generic “enemies”. Everyone and everything has a personality in this game. And when it comes to being inclusive to all, this game is the best I’ve ever seen. Every character is different and so deep it’s amazing how much time and effort must have gone into it. If you haven’t played it for yourself, do it. I mean. You’ll get at least 2 playthroughs out of it that will be different. 3 if you have the time.

2: WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth

The game that I have lost the most hours of my life to....I think.....either this or number 1. Almost all WWE games have the same format, at least this era of WWE games. The mode that I will focus on is the season mode. 2 full years worth of storylines and madness. All different, all fun. Some based on real WWE storylines but with twists. If you are a wrestling fan, well a WWE fan, this is the best game for season mode.....well, this and Here Comes The Pain. It;s very close. This one wins for me because you get 2 full years worth.

1: Crash Bandicoot 1

The first game I ever owned. The day my dad brought home a PS1 and this game I was hooked. Hours of my childhood were lost to this orange, spinning asshole. Who doesn’t love Crash? He’s the best character ever created for PS1 in my opinion. Without saying a word he was amazing. The best. And the levels were all so good and challenging. But not bad challenging. You always knew what to do, just doing it was hard work. But the feeling you get when you beat the game......it’s so good. And shoutout to the music. Best soundtrack!

#me #top10 #video games #top 10 #personal #crash bandicoot #wwe #undertale #fallout #tekken #medievil #tomb raider #mass effect #croc #spiderman

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Logan’s Top 10

December 25, 2019 2:00 PM EST

While 2019 didn’t have one, major standout game, it ended up being one of my favorite years in recent memory based on my own personal tastes.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

I kind of fell out of love with gaming to a certain degree this year. Believe me, I still spent countless hundreds of hours over the course of 2019 playing a variety of different games, but unlike past years, I didn’t feel an inherent obligation to try and get my hands on every hot new release. While you might be questioning my gamer status because I say this, I feel like stepping back a bit and not feeling a responsibility to play every major release was really healthy for me. Not to mention, I actually got physically healthier as a result of limiting my time playing games because I focused a lot of my newfound free time on activities like going to the gym. I feel better here at the end of 2019 from a physical standpoint than I have in quite a while, which is nice.

I also just had a really difficult 2019 when it came to my personal life. As a result, spending my free time playing games was something I didn’t always want to do. I mentioned this in my Sekiro review earlier in the year, but I had some health issues in the early portion of 2019 that dragged on up until a few months ago. Even though I didn’t let on much about it to close friends, the whole situation really stressed me out quite a lot and took up a lot of my headspace.

With all of this being said though, I really just want to express love and gratitude to our team here at DualShockers and to our community who follows the site. Even in the midst of a variety of personal hardships, our staff really helped pick me up this year when I was down, whether they knew that or not. I’m forever grateful for the crew we have at DualShockers and to you–yes, you–if you’re reading this. Running a website is actually a pretty hard gig but I feel continually #blessed because of who I have the pleasure of working alongside here. I’ll never take that for granted.

Anyway, of the games that I did spend time with in 2019, here are my ten favorites. Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes in 2020.

10. League of Legends

If 2018 was the year I fell in love with League of Legends, 2019 was the year in which I was exposed to the dark side of the ever-popular MOBA. Elo hell, toxicity within the in-game chat, and players running it down mid seemed to be present constantly when I was playing. To be honest, I have no idea how I’m still playing the game after such a terrible year in solo queue.

Despite all of this, I played over 900 games of League in 2019 and it was my most-played game of the year by a mile. Heck, it’s hands-down the most-played game of my entire life at this point as well and I don’t really see myself stopping moving into next year. I didn’t want to put League of Legends very high on my list this year since it has become such a staple of my gaming diet at this point, but with how much I still play it on a weekly basis, I needed to at least mention it. Hopefully, 2020 will prove to be a more positive experience for me with League. And, uhh, I should also probably stop playing it as much, too.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for League of Legends.

9. Halo 2 Anniversary

For some reason, myself and fellow DualShockers writer Michael Ruiz decided about a year ago that we wanted to replay all of the Halo games before Infinite releases next year. We’ve still got quite a bit of ground to cover before late 2020 (we’re about halfway through Halo 3 right now), but we did end up playing through the entirety of Halo 2 Anniversary, and it was some of the most fun I had this year.

When The Master Chief Collection released back in 2014, I actually never ended up playing through the remastered version of Halo 2 for one reason or another. In hindsight, I’m actually glad that I waited because it allowed me to revisit the second Halo entry with an Xbox One X and a 4K TV, two things that I didn’t own five years ago. 343 Industries really did a great job of bringing this classic to the present day and my experience was made all the better because I played through the whole campaign with one of my good pals. I’m really looking forward to finishing our playthrough of the series in the coming months.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

8. Devil May Cry 5

I’ve been wanting to play the Devil May Cry series for years at this point. In the lead up to Devil May Cry 5, I told myself that I would play through every other entry (yes, even DMC2) before diving into this year’s release. Once Devil May Cry 5 launched back in March though, I threw all of those plans out the window and just decided to jump into the latest entry in the series. All in all, I’m really glad I did this.

Devil May Cry 5 is one of the more enjoyable games that I played this entire year, which says a lot considering that I probably didn’t get the most out of the story like others surely did. While it definitely has a fair number of problems by my own estimation, the combat is unrivaled and never gets stale at almost any point throughout the entirety of the experience. Plus, hacking demons up as Dante while screamo music plays in the background is just a joy in every sense of the word. I haven’t spent much time dwelling on Devil May Cry 5 since I saw it through to completion, but I definitely loved my time with it in the moment.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Devil May Cry 5.

7. Gears 5

Following an outing that I didn’t care for all that much with Gears of War 4, I was shocked by how much I loved Gears 5. I said this in my review of the game earlier this year, but The Coalition really blew me away with the strides they took in this entry in the long-running shooter series. All of the new elements such as the open-world style areas, the addition of Escape mode, and the other minor refinements seen throughout Gears 5 made it my favorite installment in the saga since Gears of War 2. Not to mention, I also think it’s the best first-party game Microsoft has released this entire generation.

If there’s one thing about Gears 5 that I’m saddened by, it’s that I haven’t played the game more this year. Obviously, I’ve spent my free time on other games rather than playing Gears 5, so that’s my own fault. Still, I think about returning to Gears 5 very often and I might end up diving back in over the holidays.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Gears 5.

6. Apex Legends

I ended up bouncing off of Apex Legends pretty hard only a few months after it released, but I also cannot deny how much pure enjoyment I got out of it when it stealth launched. In a time where I didn’t see myself playing battle royale games much anymore, Apex Legends spiced up the genre in inventive, fun ways that brought me and my group of battle royale friends back together.

I also have to credit Respawn for creating such a polished, tight experience and continuing to push this relatively young subgenre forward. The idea of playing as characters with different abilities sounded a bit odd to me at first, but Respawn proved with Apex Legends that this scheme can work in the battle royale space. Not to mention, I think Apex is just flat out the best shooter of the year in terms of controls. I might not play it too often anymore, but Apex Legends is very good and I’m so glad that it exists.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Apex Legends.

5. Death Stranding

Death Stranding is such a weird game. On one hand, I love many aspects of it such as the world, the story, and the characters. On the other, I think the gameplay is incredibly one-note and the full experience could’ve been tightened up so much. Hideo Kojima was essentially given a blank check from Sony to make this game, but he also was in dire need of an editor. Death Stranding just drags on for far too long at certain points.

Despite my complaints though, Death Stranding could very well be the most memorable gaming experience I had all year long. It’s a grind to get through, but it’s unlike anything else in the gaming space right now and tells a really touching (albeit insane and confusing) story. The Metal Gear saga is still Kojima’s magnum opus, but I liked the famed director’s follow-up despite its flaws. I cannot wait to see what he and his team decide to create next.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Death Stranding.

4. Judgment

Judgment is the most slept-on game of the year, and this is coming from someone who isn’t a longtime Yakuza fan. Judgment ended up being my first foray into Ryu Ga Gotoku’s world of Yakuza and I loved every minute of it. The journey of the game’s main character Takayuki Yagami and his cohorts in the city of Kamurocho is filled with laughs, drama, and boss fights with people named Ass Catchem.

Pound for pound, I don’t think I had more pure enjoyment with any game this year more than I did with Judgment. The game is filled to the brim with content and just when you start to get burnt out with what it’s throwing at you, something new and exciting shows up. Play Judgment — I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Judgment.

3. Resident Evil 2

I love Resident Evil; it might very well be my favorite franchise in all of gaming. As such, it shouldn’t come as a shock whatsoever that I adored the remake of Resident Evil 2. Capcom masterfully took the story and main beats of the original, adapted it for the RE Engine, and created a final product that felt like a great mix of RE2 and RE4. In the process, they also turned Mr. X into likely the most popular character in any video game this year. I love that bowler hat-wearing monster.

Resident Evil 2 is probably the best video game remake ever made and it might be the best RE game to boot. A few years back, it felt like Resident Evil as a whole was nearly a dead franchise, so to see it come back with such a vengeance has warmed my cold, dead gamer heart. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Capcom does with Resident Evil 3 next year.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Resident Evil 2.

2. Return of the Obra Dinn

Yes, Return of the Obra Dinn did release last year, but I didn’t get a chance to play it until January of this year. It’s a true shame that I didn’t get around to it in 2018, either, because I really think it was in dire need of some Game of the Year consideration.

Regardless, better late than never, I did get around to playing Obra Dinn and it enraptured me more than any other game did in 2019. From the opening moments that I climbed aboard the remains of the good ship Obra Dinn, I was mesmerized; not just from the game’s wonderful art style, but from the mystery surrounding this eerie tale. What happened to this ship’s crew? How did everyone aboard it disappear? And how exactly am I going to tie all of these threads together?

I played Return of the Obra Dinn in one fell swoop and didn’t turn it off until I had seen it through to its conclusion. In my old man age of 25 years, it takes a lot for me to stay up until around 3am solely to keep playing a game, but I just couldn’t put Return of the Obra Dinn down. It’s not just one of my favorite games that I played this year, it’s one of the most unique experiences that I have ever had with a video game and I cannot recommend it enough.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Return of the Obra Dinn.

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is far and away my favorite game of the year, which shouldn’t be a shock whatsoever if you’ve talked to me at any point since I first played Bloodborne back in 2017. I was a late convert to the Church of FromSoftware, but now, the developer is likely my favorite in the entire world.

Sekiro has a lot in common with the Souls games that came before it, but also feels like such an evolution and advancement of all of the ideas at the root of the genre. The gameplay, specifically, is what makes Sekiro stand out to me so much in this year’s crowded slate of releases. FromSoftware created a system of combat mechanics that make sense at a baseline level right out of the gate, but takes hours upon hours to fully learn all of the intricacies. The boss fights, which I specifically think are the best of any FromSoftware game ever made, continue to throw new things at you throughout the entirety of the experience. You’re always learning new things in Sekiro and then are quickly asked to take everything that you have learned and apply them within the context of a new challenge.

I know Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice might not be for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s a very hard game and not everyone may want to spend their gaming time screaming at their televisions. If you stick it out though and learn the ins and outs of what Sekiro tries to teach you, you’ll have an experience that is unmatched compared to anything else that released in 2019.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 25, 2019 2:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-logans-top-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-logans-top-10

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