So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119395134#Comment_119395134

Black was well received at the time but, as far as I remember, no one bought it.

It is pretty good fun and was Criterions attempt to break out of the racing game vibe they were best known for.

It was a Renderware baby too, which was middleware they built themselves and served as the platform for the racing titles like Burnout they were so well known for.

Retr0gamer

What I remember of Black was it was pretty good with the caveat for a PS2 FPS. It was a bit bland and a bit too washed out for me and there were much better shooters on PC. I'd take any of the Halo's over it.

o1s1n

I was actually playing through the Xbox version there a few months on Gamepass, thought it had aged pretty well! It's quite a lot of fun.

Retr0gamer

I just don't get the love for it. It was just shooting guys with bad AI. I played the Xbox version as well but even that had performance that bothered me. I mean you could call it a dumb shooter in its defense but I'd rather play Earth Defence Force or the current crop of boomer shooters. I remember my opinion of it at the time was 'is that it' and being baffled by the positive response. I mean it's grand but can't give it higher praise than that.

Retr0gamer

Played a bit of Aline vs. Predator, the 1999 game. Beat the Marine campaign on the highest difficulty but still have the bonus missions from the gold release to play.

I've always found this a game that works despite itself. Rebellion have always been a second tier developer and at the time hadn't made very many good games, the sniper elite games have been their best stuff. The game runs on an engine that's a bit janky and it has all the jank of Rebellions other games. Despite the janky engine they absolutely nail the look and feel of the movies. And the AI and level design might be janky but it still manages to be a terrifying experience.

Retr0gamer

Played a lot more Baroque. Some very weird stuff happening in the game. All the denizens of the overworld have buried themselves in the ground and I've opened the way to some weird laboratory at the back. The dungeon has been extended as well from 16F to 22F and the story is getting more intriguing. Seems to have been some very nasty experiments that caused an end of the world scenario.

I'm still absolutely mesmerised by the game. I've been using a faq of the PS2 remake as a guide to progressing the story but from playing it it's not actually that badly telegraphed what needs to be done to advance the story and game. You just have to pay attention to what characters want and talk to everyone.

Mr.Saturn

Finished Burnout Paradise (PS3) over the weekend and it joins the list of games that are absolutely jaw dropping until hour 10 and then devolve into a slog.

Like still high on my GOTY list, but there is no reason why you don’t get a fast travel option deeper into the game. I get why initially, but too often a race concludes in the remote part of the map and you’re left to just slog your way back to where it’s all happening cause there’s no events close by.

That said, absolute classic when it’s not wasting your time - with enough variety you don’t even cop the first 10 hours wiz by. Right beside Outrun 2006 (another one whose campaigns takes the mick a bit) for best racer of all time.

Have moved Katamari Forever into Burnout’s place in my rotation. Wasn’t aware it was more of an omnibus than a straight sequel, kind of mixed on the fact as it stands but good fun as usual.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418311#Comment_119418311

Every Katamari game after the second is a remix game. Kind of ridiculous they never even bothered with substantial new content.

Really hope we get a We Love Katamari Remaster.

Mr.Saturn

Even Beautiful Katamari? It seems to be the most acclaimed of the post-Takahashi entries.

DaveyDave

Burnout Paradise is the first and only Burnout game I owned. I want to like it but it can be incredibly frustrating, I feel there's a lot of cheap crashes. Rounding a corner head on into a car? Sure. Brushing off a wall and hitting a brick that's sticking out an inch? Ugh. I've put enough time into it on 360 and PS4 to get the Burnout license and recently I was chipping away at unlocking all the cars and doing some of the street crash objectives but still I just fully enjoy it.

johnny_ultimate

TBH the mere existence of Katamari games without Takahashi renders them redundant. They may have tidied up certain gameplay elements or whatever later on, but the sheer eccentric joy and imagination of those two first games is what made them so special. A series that really shouldn’t have continued when its lead creator left.

As for Burnout Paradise, it’s unusually unforgiving compared to the lines of Forza Horizon where the edges have been totally sanded down. Paradise really does force you to figure out navigation and routes on the fly, and at incredible speed. A narrowly missed turn can really **** you up. It makes for an often frustrating experience, but also one that can be much more rewarding than the similar games since that leave the training wheels on forever.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418810#Comment_119418810

Actually haven't played that one but I do remember thinking I didn't need it from reviews.

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418840#Comment_119418840

The camera's up your arse so found myself struggling to see little bits and pieces jutting out that would cause crashes and kill an event. As much as I enjoyed the ridiculous crashes, part of me wishes you got the capacity to skip them after a while. Last thing you want during a long-arse 'Marked Man' run is a prolonged slow-mo of how you messed up.

Quigs Snr

Today, I am rocking it old school. Trying to see if this thing is working correctly. The fire button feels very, very sluggish, but I haven't played mine storm since the mid eighties so I can't remember what it was supposed to be like.

Retr0gamer

I got to the ending of Baroque tonight and the **** emulator crashed on when it tried to play the final cutscene. Was absolutely gutted. It was well over 3 hours to get through the dungeon. Not to mention that it was a great run as well with a lot of early luck. Being a rogue-like it's not like I had a save either, the game only has temporary saves between floors.

Anyway some hero of a twitch streamer had finished it last week and uploaded his playthrough so I watched the ending on that.

As for Baroque, it's an absolute gem of a game. It's nicely balanced so it never feels unfair and the world and atmosphere are incredible. Special mention to the soundtrack which is some god tier atmospheric electronica.

Retr0gamer

Played a bit of Ninja Five-O/Ninja Cop. What a **** name for such an amazing game. It really feels like a lost Sega Shinobi game. It's quite difficult but I love how each room feels like an action game puzzle to be solved. There's bags of charm and attention to detail. If it came out today it would be lauded as a retro throwback indie darling.

Colonel Panic

Getting moderately annoyed with Klonoa now I'm on stage 5-1. So let's see...

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430257#Comment_119430257

It gets pretty tough in the later stages.

My advice is to avoid the optional secret stage you can unlock. It's not worth the broken controllers and adds nothing.

Colonel Panic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431764#Comment_119431764

Funnily enough, I did google what collecting all the stuff in the levels did and debated it for a few minutes. I'm pretty close, but yeah, I think I'll take a path straight to the ending and give the second game a go.

Retr0gamer

Collecting all the hidden elf things isn't so bad. That's what gets you the secret stage which is a total ball buster. Collecting all 150 thingy majigs I think nets you nothing.

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430257#Comment_119430257

Yeah, it does feel like that game just turns around and goes 'you know, I've always hated you.'

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119441651#Comment_119441651

The Souls games did that to me all the time!

So did Super Ghouls'n Ghosts

As did, actually most games to be fair

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119443753#Comment_119443753

Do you need me to hold your hand again against the big bad Capra Demon?

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119445686#Comment_119445686

I'm not ashamed, I was sh1te at that game.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119445826#Comment_119445826

To be fair to you, with the Capra Demon you were battling bad boss design and camera angles as much as you were battling a boss!

CiDeRmAn

But, and this is important to know, I was sh1te at that game

Retr0gamer

Been playing Little Samson. Very late NES/Famicom game from the creator of Megaman before he left Capcom. It's a really great game with some Megaman DNA but it also very much it's own thing.

Basically the game starts out with you choosing 4 different stages each with a different protagonist with their own controls. Once they are finished the game starts proper and it's a more linear game (with some branching paths) and you can choose between the 4 protagonists at any time.

As a late NES game it looks stunning with some incredible animation. I'm not wild on the music though. The music changes based on the protagonist you are using and that means you'll be well sick of those 4 songs before the end.

o1s1n

That's such a great game. Always found the smooth character rotation animations really impressively done.

CiDeRmAn

I've mentioned it before, but Super Spy Hunter is an absolutely incredible looking late NES title, also known as Battle Formula on the Famicom.

Visually it is doing things the console really shouldn't be doing at all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqZKLNaYIiw

Quigs Snr

Best way to play Mother 2 / Earthbound folks ? Not into digital copies or emulation, so thinking either SNES PAL Repro in my regular SNES or ... original Japanese copy in my retron 5 with maybe a translation patch installed on the memory card.

Any opinions on that ?