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VIDEO What are you currently playing?

Discussion in 'Archive: Games' started by Aragorn327, Sep 3, 2009.

  1. Mustafar_66

    Mustafar_66 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 20, 2005
    I remember really hating the middle third of Uncharted 4. Maybe I should give it another go.

    Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
     
  2. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    You haven't yet tried Lost Legacy?
    UC4 does big, open areas for the first time but the signposting in those areas - both the one with the Jeep and the boat - is not that good so you can end up driving around aimlessly through some very pretty country, until the game decides to give you a hint that's utterly counter-intuitive like 'drive up a boulder'.

    From about level 13 on, it gets far better, though 14's open area and some of where you should go in 15 is pretty crazy, but not in a good way. 17-22 is well worth getting to.
     
  3. Moll

    Moll Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2016
    Oh man, gotta disagree a little there :p

    Personally, I found the second one to be the best. Therefore the order for me is 2 > 4> Lost Legacy > 1 > 3. I enjoyed all of them a lot, so there really is not much in it ;) Probably time for me to play them again though, it has been years :D
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2019
  4. Life

    Life Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    I've just recently begun on 4, so I skipped right over your last post, @Jedi Ben, to avoid any description of what's ahead. :D I think I will take a page out of your book and play it on an easier difficulty. I've played the previous three on normal, which could lead to a lot of retries in certain sections, but even so I rarely felt that the game was being unfair to me. But I find that enemies are even bigger bullet sponges here than in previous iterations. Or maybe my aim has just taken a nosedive.

    As for your remarks on Journey, I don't know if you've encountered any other players in the game or not, but I played it within a year of its original release, so I encountered many random players in my session. In my case, I remember that I felt like I and my incidental companions solved the puzzles quite organically as we went along. Even without text or voice, we were able to communicate and work it out, and cooperate where needed. I finished it all in one 2-hour sitting. Of course, I never sought out those players or messaged them after my play-through, so I don't know if they were playing for the first time and genuinely working it out alongside me or if they were on their second runs and going on autopilot. But I was immersed in the experience by that point so that even in the few instances where they found the solution all on their own and just led me along, I merely took it as a lucky encounter on my fictional pilgrimage. :p
     
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  5. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Re: Uncharted

    Well, I gave very little away - one section mentioned featured in the game's pre-release marketing.

    Maybe you're just getting older, I know the feeling - but my aiming was never great to begin with!

    As to Journey, did find a walkthrough that described the third desert area as 'confusing' - and no, wasn't really anyone else around.
     
  6. ZanderSolo

    ZanderSolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 18, 2007
    Playing postgame of Star Ocean 4. Since there isn't any disc switching or RROD like in 360 version I’m hoping to finally beat Gabrielle celeste and ethereal queen, ten years later.
     
  7. Reynar_Tedros

    Reynar_Tedros Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2006
    I have, should tell you something that I forgot to list it. :p I'd probably put it between 2 and 1. Fun enough but not all that memorable.
     
  8. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS4)

    Even on Explorer difficulty, this has some levels that are abominations that deserves to be consigned to gaming hell to burn forever.

    Floaty, inaccurate controls. Enemies with superhuman eyesight and weapons whose range is ****ing stupid. Aim “assist” that will see you aim at the ground, the pillar, the enemy far away instead of the one walking towards you - Father Dougal is more intelligent than the aim “assist” in this game.

    But the absolute, cardinal sin that damns it for all time? That ****ing river level. Drive up the river, while dealing with a super-bastard current, **** controls, a camera so ****ing shaky it must have overdosed on cocaine, with enemy supersolders that can kill you in about 5 shots, if you don’t get taken by a suddenly submerging explosive barrel of instant death.

    Oh, the current is “realistic”, is it? Oh, you play games for realism, OK - have you paid your off your massive insurance bill after your latest crash in Burnout? Or did the game instead play a cutscene of your funeral or incarceration? No? That’s because video games are not realistic and this one invoking realism on the water section when all of its enemy soldiers can shrug off an entire clip shot into them.

    There’s other stuff too - the “hints” and signposting are useless and abysmal. The indication of what you can and cannot interact with inconsistent and non-existent. But that ****ing river section…

    EDIT: Turns out Elena supposedly auto-aims on blind fire - why I would think she would do this without any prompting is a mystery. Even that didn't work that well, had a barrel practically teleported in. Where the pirates are concerned, she didn't shoot any of them, so went with a different plan - speed by them! It just about worked and probably wouldn't on any other difficulty.

    The sad thing is this level is in the same game that had the brilliant Level 7 where you're shooting pursuers in bikes and jeeps, with astonishing scenery design and then they do this goddamn river level. Even the first jetski level was fun compared to this one.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2019
  9. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Sigh... Level 13 was OK up to that goddamn "puzzle", 14 was all right, 15 was far too find of a long instant death for error platforming section, 16 was a bastard abomination and 17 wasn't much better, 18 had another long instant death platforming. What else? Oh yeah, OHKO zombie enemies, yeah, just what the game needed, like really. 19 then spliced those together with the games' general tendency of not bothering to give directions to horrible effect. 20-21 sort of recovered from all that, even 22 started off well before doing one of the worst sins ever - granting QTE protection to Navarro. It was arse.

    Suffice to say I can see an awful lot better what the improvements in Uncharted 2 now were, as the controls aren't as precise as they should be, which the long, platforming sections really show up.
     
  10. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    So returned to Uncharted 2.

    Having now played the first one, this comes across as a far more polished piece of work. Not perfect, but far better than the first game.

    Did a couple of temple puzzles, then shot out escape, another shoot-out, chase escape, shoot-out - all were far better than before, which I recall some of the shoot-outs being far more irritating and difficult. The experience this time was far more fun.

    Then Drake caught a train…

    Even allowing for this being a decade old game, that it’s a very high quality remaster, that the fourth game tried its best to out-do them…

    The train levels of Uncharted 2, levels 13-15, remain an unequalled masterpiece of game design, here even the boss QTE isn’t as irksome. With Explorer difficulty some of the harder sections, like the stun-helicopter-with-bazooka-and-open-door-to-escape-before-it-recovers bit, are far, far better. Being able to do all of them successfully immerses you into the game as Drake. At the same time the graphical depiction of first the jungle, then a tunnel, then snowy mountains is better than ever.

    Even Uncharted 2 tries to match these levels later, but it just can’t do it.
     
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  11. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Well, it turns out some of Uncharted 2 on Explorer mode still sucks, like the "boss" fight in the ice cave. Similarly, the aim assist is hugely variable - with a machine gun it's all over the place and frequently an idiot, but with a pistol? Suddenly, its zeroing in on your enemies with ease. The other 'feature' that made a return is the Uncharted-arbitrary-death-leap, where you jump a distance Drake has previously made but you die. Jump in a different direction, but of similar height, Drake lives. The problem with this is it undermines your trust in the game, a couple of bits later, in the tower shootout in Level 22, I was expecting the game to decide that no, I can't make that jump. Level 19-20, with the villagers shooting soldiers works against your ability to spot the enemies, never mind when Telzin just walks right across my field of fire, while I'm firing a Kalashnikov! And then there was the level with the tank, utter arse with so much stuff that's counter intuitive....

    However... Even with all that crap, Level 21 is mostly very good, especially when you get to go nuts with a grenade launcher. Save for a couple of bits the Monastery level is fairly smart. Ditto the Tower level. The only irritation here was the puzzles, which I generally loathe anyway.

    I do notice some neat touches on this remaster, like sunlight being partly reflected in water.

    The other aspect that is a bit different this time round is the Drake-Elena relationship due to having gone through the first game.
     
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  12. Reynar_Tedros

    Reynar_Tedros Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2006
    Elena is the best character in that series.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2019
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  13. JEDI-SOLO

    JEDI-SOLO Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2002
    I’m not sure how it would stand up today but I was married when Uncharted 2 was new and my wife aside from Skies of Arcadia and Morrowind got annoyed if I spent to much time playing on main tv, however she F’n loved UC2. It was like playing a nice action tv series for a few weeks.
     
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  14. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    After playing the PS4 version, I can tell you for certainty that the PS3 version no longer does. I booted it up today and the differences were very noticeable.
     
  15. Moll

    Moll Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2016
    Seeing all this reviewing of Uncharted really makes me want to dive in and play it again (Been about 3 years since I played through the first three). After this comment, I might look into investing in the PS4 versions as well - I already own them on PS3. Would be nice to see one of my favourite game series enhanced.
     
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  16. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    In that case Moll, what I noticed on the UC2 train comparison play:

    • Quicker load times
    • Far better use of light and shadow in motion
    • Far better sense of speed on the train
    • And, on Explorer mode at least, longer QTE window - which I really need!

    Currently going through UC3 and the counter-attack / QTE prompts are far more forgiving, so more fun and the enemies are far less huggy than they were in the PS3 version. It also didn't do some of the crap the PS3 version did like spawning enemies behind me when I'm in a cul-de-sac.
     
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  17. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    You know, all things considered, the Uncharted games would be so much better without the damn puzzles. Arcane, lacking in logic, solvable only by Internet, even the solutions lack a sense of satisfaction because it's so out there.... And then Uncharted 3 throws in a victory prize of sending swarms of spiders for completing its puzzles! The sections suck, all of them, but the one with Elena opening the door is especially bad - takes too long, even Explorer mode can't make it work.

    When it's not doing that rubbish, UC3 is a mostly smart game - the aim assist randomly fluctuates between incredibly effective and incredibly dumb. Even so, Explorer mode renders the firefights a lot more enjoyable, you get to enjoy the flow of the story far more - until UC3 throws in a momentum-killing puzzle or death trap sequence or interminable chase, like chapter 11's one with waste-of-sperm Talbot.

    I can clearly recall the ship graveyard and cruise ship sections being a total bastard to play on PS3 UC3, even on Very Easy. In the PS4 version they are far, far better - even the infamous ballroom firefight. (My rant about the PS3 rendering of it is probably somewhere online.) But having had a brilliant sense of flow across multiple levels, the game throws it all away with a bad escape sequence on the cruise ship. It then compounds this with an underwater QTE and then escape sequence that, even with a YouTube vid, I could still barely see where to go. It killed the game's fun stone dead. The sequence that followed wasn't much better, with you having to jump off the ship entirely, instead of going to the side, to avoid the game whacking you with instant death.

    Have done a bit more stealth takedown of enemies on this one, but not that much - I'm still very much of the 'shoot first, shoot everyone' school!
     
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  18. Ahsoka's Tano

    Ahsoka's Tano Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2014
    Just started playing World of Final Fantasy Maxima. As I mentioned in another post, it's a cute game. It has the RPG flavor without the complicated new methods of controls and weird skills that something like a massive game like FFXV has. The initial "prologue" and opening chapter seem rather linear; but I'm guessing it opens up later since I haven't heard too many complaints about such like we had with FFXIII. We'll see.
     
  19. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    For all that many reduced FF13 to 'hit X', I found it to be quite a bit deeper than that. The speed of the fights meant I needed as much assists as I could get.

    What I quite liked was that you could sometimes interrupt enemy attacks, like say a standing Behemoth raises their sword to attack, you hit them first and they react to being slashed.
     
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  20. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    A crappy set of levels in Uncharted 3:
    • 16: So, I actually have, first time ever, a stealth takedown streak. I'm above this guy, I'm hitting square to down takedown - game refuses to grant it. So I jump down, guy sees me, I take him out but he's alerted the hivemind. Bollocks, everyone gets shot. What follows is a crappily signposted chase / escape section to get on the plane.
    • 17: For what should have been a standout sequence, this was disappointing. One of its big sins, shared to an even worse degree in 18, is it is less than clear as to when it is and isn't in cutscene mode. And at the end, when you land, Drake is going 'oh God, at the wrecked plane. Why? Why would Drake give a crap that a plane of psychopaths is wrecked?
    • 18: A goddamn interminable boring-as-arse wandering through the desert level. Utterly dire. Oh and that gun Drake picked up from the plane wreckage? Gone up in smoke!
    • 19: Mostly good, mostly fun save for a couple of of bits where the ledges are near invisible and there's no real indication on a tight passage you have to go left. Those aside, it's pretty good, particularly that you can take out the pillars at the tank bit with machine gun fire.
     
  21. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    Trails of Cold Steel. Mechanically very satisfying, as pretty much all games in The Legend of Heroes series are. Presentation-wise it's leaving me slightly uncomfortable considering it seems content (at least for the time being) to occupy a very positive take on a genre (anime military academy) that Final Fantasy Type-0 tore apart so thoroughly it's a little hard for me to go back to.

    I mean, the latter game opens on a kid slowly bleeding to death while sobbing about how scared he is to die. This, by contrast, starts with grinning teenagers hanging out while a cheesy J-Pop song plays. There are some differences in approach, to say the least.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2019
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  22. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Was closer to the end in Uncharted 3 than I realised.

    Level 20 was utterly epic - taking out a convoy truck, couple of bikes, jump back on the horse, take out the next truck and so on, until you nab a bazooka to take out the lead armoured trucks so you can get past them to save Sully. Graphically it looked amazing.

    Level 21 was a sandstorm desert fight, which was cooler than it sounds, given the earlier desert level.

    Level 22 - So, this is Ubar, nice place - then Drake ends up on the worst trip of his life. Despite another goddamn spider chase sequence, it wasn't that bad. The Djinn enemies were, compared to their zombie and guardian predecessors, quite straight-forward and all the better for being so.

    Level 23 - Hadn't realised I was at the end. The flaws in the level are the dumb-as-hell QTE fight with Talbot, which sees you having to mash buttons to a ludicrous degree and, unlike the brute enemies Drake has engaged with, you don't even get to kick him in the nuts! The other one is the final escape sequence which just can't stop itself freezing the controls and generally screwing around. Although, being fair, it is a bit better than UC2's final escape sequence.

    There was a very funny moment with Drake and Sully descending into the depths of Ubar and Sully quips that its amazing the place is still standing. ... Yeah, about that Sully, you remember who you're with, right? It ain't going to be standing for much longer!

    I'd forgotten just how satisfying Marlowe's fate was. It's a perfect end for her, stripped of all control, utterly helpless and dead.

    And then the level has this insane shoot-outs with enemies, as the place is falling apart! The loyalty of these guys is amazing, first a firefight in a blazing French chateau and now a collapsing city!

    And the trilogy overall? Like how Mass Effect 2 tries to summarise Mass Effect 1 but just can't do it justice, so the same is true of UC2 to UC1. The first game is easily the hardest and most unforgiving, some of its checkpoints on its platforming are hugely irritating, but having been able to get through it? It does change how I see the sequels. The major change is Drake's relationship with Sully and especially Elena, which runs all the way to UC4. In UC3 we get a neat set-up for the young Drake levels of UC4 and the entry of Sam, whose arrival doesn't seem quite so out of nowhere, as how did Drake end up in Cartahega?

    When it isn't doing dumb crap, when the levels make sense, the signposting is clear, the aim assists work and you see Drake pull off these insanely grandiose spectaculars, with perfectly placed and executed cutscenes along the way, it's a very effective combination. The improvements on the platforming from the first to the second to the third game are very noticeable. The one flaw that starts in UC3 but continues into UC4 is sometimes the graphics obscure what is and isn't a ledge you can interact with, or even see, and sometimes what is and isn't a cut-scene is unclear.

    After all this? I think there's only thing to do: Boot up Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
     
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  23. Jedi Knight88

    Jedi Knight88 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2018
    I have also been playing mk11
     
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  24. Jordan1Kenobi

    Jordan1Kenobi SWC Jedi Draft Champion star 6 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Uncharted is the greatest gaming series of all time. I'm having a blast watching Nolan North and Troy Baker play through Uncharted 1 on YouTube. Nathan Drake playing as Nathan Drake... awesome!

    I just started Shadow of the Tomb Raider today, and it's bloody brilliant! I absolutely love adventure games. Everything about this entry to the trilogy is designed so well. The gameplay, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the graphics, the game world... all brilliant. The amount of detail they've done to the game world is insane - the realistic graphics, the lighting, and even the animal noises and sound effects. It actually feels like you're in a real rainforest. It also has one of the best game soundtracks I've heard in a while. I can't wait to keep playing!
     
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  25. Jordan1Kenobi

    Jordan1Kenobi SWC Jedi Draft Champion star 6 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Oh yeah, and I’m not one for mobile games, but I’ve been playing Marvel Strike Force everyday on my iPhone. It’s pretty fun and addictive. Anyone else play that here?