Gaming What was the last videogame you beat?

If you keep talking to Professor Gerald in White Space, he'll acknowledge that Shadow's time anomaly seems to work different to Sonic's and that Shadow might therefore see events from his future, not just his past. Of course, that still doesn't explain Chaos Island (apparently, when asked, the developers fessed up and said, "We just really like Chaos Island and wanted to include it anyway!") but it's not like the Starfall archipelago ceased to exist after the events of Frontiers or anything, so it's possible Shadow is set to go visit there at some point.

Real glad you enjoyed the game as much as you did. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

Those Infinity Engine mobile ports are all rock solid. They also still kind of blow my mind since I remember having to scour the BG1 box trying to make sure I met the requirements.

 

Yup. That’s a core memory of mine too. Along with waiting eights hours for the Phantom Menace logo to download.

 

God of War: Ragnarok

God of War 2018 is one of the best experiences I’ve had in gaming, so I don’t know what the **** happened here. Everything feels like a step down, even the gameplay. The combat is repetitive, the story is dull, the puzzles are annoying and often uncooperative… it’s just so mid. Like it feels like Sony Santa Monica assigned this game to a B-team while Barlog and the team from 2018 worked on something else. I just don’t understand. Such a bummer.

I did like Richard Schiff and Ryan Hurst as Odin and Thor respectively, but their talents are mostly wasted here. There are good moments in the story for sure, but overall it doesn’t hold a candle to its predecessor. Give me one Baldur over the rest of the Norse pantheon any day.

 

"Haunted Castle: Revisited".

 

Ghost of Tsushima + Iki Island DLC
Had a great time with this game, the story was strong, it is visually incredible, and the characters were likeable. Sucker Punch has done a better job at doing an Assassin's Creed-esque game, than Ubisoft has done in a long time. The main protagonist, Jin, is a Samurai that you take on quite the ride as he navigates a Mongolian invasion on the island of Tsushima, and he has to leave his Samurai morals behind to save not only his island but his friends and Uncle. The combat in this game is very well done, it relies heavily on parrying well, which gives you an advantage over your enemy. That being said, the game wasn't hard, the fights didn't hold any real difficulty, even on hard, which for me was ok as it made for a more relaxed gaming experience. Looking forward to their next game, Ghost of Yotei, and to seeing how they introduce more advanced weaponry (as I believe it is set ~400 years later) into the combat system.

Coming up to Christmas, I will have less time to game, so have picked up a couple of smaller games. One is Toem, which was free on PS+ a while back. I have already started this, and it is adorable. The other is A Short Hike, which was recommended by a work friend, and looks like it will be equally as cute as Toem.

 

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the best games I've ever played. It's quite old, but I still enjoy playing it once in a while.
And the last game I got and play is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It was worth all the wait.

 

Control
Excellent game, killing bad guys by throwing scenery at them with your mind never gets old. I still have the dlc’s to do.

 

God of War: Valhalla

Despite my mixed feelings on Ragnarok and my distaste for roguelikes in general, I went ahead and played this free DLC and am very happy I did. The story feels more like a continuation of the original Greek trilogy than Ragnarok, and is better for it. Kratos reckoning with his past as Valhalla recreates his memories is a great setup, providing some solid character moments and a fantastic ending. You can even unlock a classic skin for Kratos that really makes me want a remaster of the PS2/3 games.

This expansion also gave me a new appreciation for the game’s combat, forcing me into different setups I never considered in the base game. It was a lot of fun going through the different scenarios with varying loadouts and gradually realizing which paths I preferred to go down on a given run. Even after I finished I went back and spent a little more time in Ragnarok, and the DLC actually improved my overall opinion on that game. It’s a great expansion that they absolutely would’ve been justified charging money for, so the fact that it’s free makes giving it a shot a no-brainer.

 

I agree that this DLC is incredible. And it was free! It is honestly super story driven which I didn't expect from a rogue like, a genre I also don't normally like.

 

It also kinda serves as a bit of redemption for

Spoiler

Tyr as well. It was satisfying to finally see the two gods of war clash, while still maintaining Tyr’s pacifist nature. Him being the one who invited Kratos and helping him come to terms with being Freya’s god of war was a really cool bit of storytelling.

 

Baldur’s Gate II, Enhanced Edition. Still one of the best games ever.

 

Creatures of Ava

Was not planning to blast through this, never mind finish it.

The second biome was good, the third was a poison swamp. Those are never fun. Where the game took off was the story, as it continued, it got better and better, building to a logical and emotional wreck of a conclusion.

Weaknesses are the combat, which the camera can't always keep up with, but once you work out how to combine powers it gets a bit better. For instance time freeze mixed with beam power-up. And you do need to pay attention, as this is not a ' you can't die' type cosy game a la Journey or Pathless.

Locking off the other biomes to then return to the central grasslands area, in a worse state each time, doesn't work for me. But that slow collapse does. The game starts off as day, then sunset, then dusk, then, at the end, night.

For the last two biomes there were a good few monents of frustration due to the route of where to go being too vague. But by this point the story was carrying it enough to make up for it. That story makes a neat point of there being fates worse than death, like being delivered to a testing facility.

There's a neat line in humans' capacity for good and evil and the legacy from either, with a side critique of corporate culture and following orders.

Graphically, it's a superb title. Each environment has a distinct look, with them mostly having a good set of landmarks to navigate with.

Accessibility is OK, though I think some colour indicators could be bolder. Did get better on the music as the game went on though.

Ultimately, we say we want new and different games, well, this is one of them and you should, if able to, play it.

 

Ok not a whole game but I finished the first/original chapter of Honkai Star Rail. Really quite a charming game. I'll spend 5 bucks a month for some pull materials and that's all I need to spend, it's just an enjoyable game. The art style and turn based combat are particularly appealing

 

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered - A pretty decent update, but I'm disappointed they didn't use this as an opportunity to get rid of the original's pre-rendered cutscenes.

 

Before the holidays took proper hold, I managed to drag myself through Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, probably for the last time ever. It's such a disappointment, especially fresh from the near-perfection of its immediate predecessor. Sure, it has its moments, but it's always been my least favourite of the main Metal Gear series, and this playthrough (via the Master Collection, Vol. 1 on PS5) only served to reinforce why.

Thought I'd attempt to squeeze in my NG+ playthrough of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 afterwards, and would have had it finished by now, but 'tis the season, best laid plans, etc. and so I needed something much more sedate, which means I'm playing Jurassic World: Evolution until my head clears.

 

Just beat Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

 

Street Fighter 6: World Tour Mode

For those familiar with the SF games, you'll know that they already feature Arcade modes; where you play through several characters, bonus stages, and a boss battle and get some fancy artwork at the end. I played that with my main (Cammy), but this World Tour Mode is something unique for SF6. It's meant to be sort of a training campaign; through a mini open world venue. You create your own avatar, and roam around where you can fight not only what they call "masters" (the familiar characters in the game) but rogue enemies who could come up and start a fight (or you can start a fight with them). Regarding the masters, you build up skills with them, and can acquire their moves to add to your own avatar to be used in fights. I added a combination of mostly Cammy and Chun-Li. I got my avatar up to level 60 by the time I got to the final stages. Got my ass kicked by the primary boss (there's two that you have to beat) but the story continued (I guess there's alternate endings), and I had to fight another one; where with items I was able to beat it (and using a continue). After the credits roll, you're brought back to the first area; but with all skills and any missions that you haven't completed. It's a sort of New Game Plus. On top of everything else, there's a "Battle Hub" in the game, where you can meet up with players from around the world and not only fight against them with familiar characters, but with Avatar battles as well.

 

Lil Fish and I finished Hogwarts Legacy. It was awesome!

 

I honestly just had a terrible time with Hogwarts legacy. Was just not fun whatsoever

anyway wrapped up fallout 3 plus DLC. I actually think this was the first time I have beaten all its DLCs.

 

@Jedi Knight Fett That is fair. I like fluffy games and I loved how excited Miss 7 was when she played with me.

 

Legend of heros Trails into daybreak

 

Completed my NG+ playthrough of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and came away even more enamoured than before. Despite needing to switch to Miles whenever given the option, in order to strike a proper balance between the game's dual protagonists, the presentation and weight of the story between Pete and Harry is just about worth the constant side-lining of the superior Spider-Man (said as somebody who considers Yuri Lowenthal to be the greatest Peter Parker there ever was). Given how things get left, and with comments from the developer all but confirming as much, I can't wait to see Miles front-and-centre again.

Also picked up the TimeSplitters trilogy for cheap, and blasted my way through the first game... all forty-five minutes of it. What a laughable excuse for a Story Mode. My nostalgia for the series is tied to its sequel, specifically the demo of its first level, so will still look forward to playing that someday soon.

 

Infinity Nikki

Well, for now. Can't say I expected to get to the end, especially with its endgame being a drag.

That's a shame, as up until that endgame, it's pretty well-paced. Story is OK, world design is great. It's refreshing having a game where it isn't all sturm und drang.

Combat is all right, but it's exploration where it really succeeds. Interesting that one of the creators behind Zelda: Breath of the Wild worked on this. It does show.

The big weakness is both the styling challenges and their use. Their use is roadblocks and shove to spend. In their systems you never have an accurate sense in advance of how you'll do. And the gauge is an offence against maths.

Other weaknesses are far too cryptic puzzles, some bad 3d platform bits and unclear mechanics.

But, despite that, it is a fun, mostly conventional open-world game that I enjoyed playing and wanted to get to the end of. I just hope it doesn't do a Hoyoverse and ramp up the difficulty in future expansions.