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What Games Have You Completed? (2021 Edition)
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Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Remastered (The Ezio Collection).
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Astro’s Playroom
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Bugsnax. Completed and platinumed.
You play a reporter who sets out to interview a Crocodile Dundee-type lady named Lizbert, about this new phenomenon of “Bugsnax” - a bunch of delectable creatures that behave like bugs but are visual variations of...snacks. You stumble on to Snaktooth Island where you meet Filbo, the down-on-his-luck mayor who reveals that Lizbert has mysteriously disappeared. It’s up to you to find out how and where while also bringing the other residents of Snaktooth island – who have all split off for various reasons - to their formerly inhabited town of Snaxburg so they can work out what happened to Lizbert together.
Like Pokemon, (even down to the snax repeatedly calling out their own names) the fun is all in catching ‘em all, and many of the side quests given to you by the grumpuses – the dominant species in this game of which you are one - will require you to do just that. The grumpuses will often ask you to feed them what you’ve caught in order to gain whatever personal advantage they believe consuming these snax will provide. However, each time they are fed their individual body parts transform into that devoured snax and you get to choose what part, essentially decorating the grumpuses how you like. It sounds weird but the fact that the grumpuses are thrilled with the transformation makes sense narrative-wise (without getting into spoilers). I created some absolute monstrosities for the lols, not gonna lie.
You have to scan bugsnax to identify them first and each type requires different strategies and tools for capturing. They all have different likes and dislikes which you can use to your advantage (for instance, my favourite snax, Bunger, loves ketchup). Time of day and weather also affect when certain snax appear. Often it’s about combining the different tools you've acquired or using the environment or even other snax to help you catch the one you want.
The beauty of it is, much like Immortals Fenyx Rising recently, it’s difficult to discern whether or not the developers actually intended for you to solve it the way you did but they've created a world and a set of tools that allow you to go wild. There are also boss fights where you take on these gigantic monster-like snax which require slightly tougher and more unique strategies to bring down and eventually capture. They’re hardly challenging (you can’t die) but the visual design choices are very clever.
The reporter can keep track of all discovered and caught snax via a journal as well as track quests and examine clues about Lizbert’s disappearance. Each side and main quest completed unlocks a piece of the puzzle with characters providing keys to secret chests or audiotapes connected to Lizbert. Typically, as you undertake these side quests you befriend and learn more about each grumpus, helping them overcome their insecurities and hang-ups…or not.
At the very least you need to get them back to Snaxburg. Once you do they are willing to be interviewed about themselves and what they think happened to Lizbert which in turn moves the story forward. The grumpuses also have relationships with one another which you’ll also navigate…or not. My personal favourite was Chandlo, a dudebro type into weight lifting and getting as swole as possible.
Really, my only negative is that a lot of backtracking is required between districts with a loading screen separating each one, and yet there is no fast travel. I've said this before and I stand by it: a game without fast travel cannot be trusted. It just comes across as a decision to disguise poor optimisation. Surprisingly, Bugsnax game runs very well but the thought that it might crash was always at the back of my mind.
TL;DR: Bugsnax is mostly a chill puzzle game, sometimes a detective adventure and, depending on the ending you get, a horror story. On that note I’d caution parents thinking about picking this up for their kids. This may seem like your typical four-quadrant video game on the surface but I’ve watched the bad ending on YouTube and I’m almost certain it might make children cry and/or very scared lol. There is actually a way to make the good ending unmissable but saying how would kind of spoil the freedom of choice you have. It’s a definite buy but only for the PS5 as you will be backtracking a lot through load screens and the PS5 load times are excellent. If you don’t have a PS5 you can definitely wait.0 -
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GAME Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
PLATFORM PlayStation 3
Grabbed the HD Trilogy off the store before it inevitably becomes unavailable digitally (cheapest option was on the US store for just a tenner).
I am ashamed at myself for ignoring this series. I had so much fun playing it from start to finish. I am not the biggest advocate for platformers, especially 3D platformers, and this one was so enjoyable.
There were two major aspects within this game that I just had no idea;- Open World
- Seamless Traversal
Zero loading screens. I'd no idea how they done it but I had to know. I ended up watching an episode of DidYouKnowGaming that explains how they managed to do it, on a PS2 game created in 2001 - I was blown away, even 20 years later I still find this very impressive. The gameplay was solid as well. My only gripe was the camera was not willing to play ball at times. But it was a small issue that didn't happen too often.
The animations, the voice acting, the characters - everything was top-drawer stuff (Daxter was a joy to watch)
Managed to do everything in the game - even nabbing myself a Platinum trophy in the process
I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
|GAMES BEATEN IN 2021|
#|GAME|PLATFORM|#|GAME|PLATFORM|#|GAME|PLATFORM|#|GAME|PLATFORM
1|RESIDENT EVIL 3|PS4|11|NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM|XBOX 360|21|STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3|PC|31|JAK & DAXTER|PS3
2|ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN|PS4|12|FATAL FURY (ACA NEOGEO)|PS4|22|STREET FIGHTER 3: NEW GENERATION|PC
3|GRIS|PS4|13|STREET FIGHTER|PC|23|STREET FIGHTER 3: 2ND IMPACT|PC
4|SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD|PS4|14|STREET FIGHTER 2: THE WORLD WARRIOR|PC|24|STREET FIGHTER 3: 3RD STRIKE|PC
5|STREETS OF RAGE 4|SWITCH|15|STREET FIGHTER 2: CHAMPION EDITION|PC|25|SHANK|PC
6|KING OF FIGHTERS '94 (ACA NEOGEO)|PS4|16|STREET FIGHTER 2: HYPER FIGHTING|PC|26|SHANK 2|PC
7|KING OF FIGHTERS '95|PS4|17|SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2: THE NEW CHALLENGERS|PC|27|BLACK MESA|PC
8|KING OF FIGHTERS '96|PS4|18|SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2 TURBO|PC|28|HALF-LIFE 2|PC
9|KING OF FIGHTERS '97: GLOBAL MATCH|PS4|19|STREET FIGHTER ALPHA|PC|29|LITTLE NIGHTMARES 2|XBOX ONE
10|KING OF FIGHTERS '98: ULTIMATE MATCH|PS4|20|STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2|PC|30|WARRIORS OF FATE|SWITCH
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Game Platform
Code Vein Xbox
Haven Xbox
Call Of the Sea Xbox
Immortals Fenyx Rising Xbox
Hitman 3 Xbox
Donut County Xbox
The Medium Xbox
Day of the Tentacle Remastered Xbox
Full Throttle Remastered Xbox
Trailmakers Xbox
Dark Souls 2 SotFS Xbox
Fallout 4 PC
Undertale Xbox
Genesis Noir Xbox
Played Genesis Noir on Gamepass over the week end, loved the art style and music but hated the game. While the puzzles aren't really difficult can be a bit ambiguous and the game does a piss poor job conveying to the player what it expects them to do. I don't need my hand held but when I'm forced to randomly click the screen or press A in the hope something happens they've not done the best job. Won't even get started on the plot
Next up for me I think will be Nier Automata on PC (gamepass version)0 -
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Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Remastered (The Ezio Collection).
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Astro’s Playroom.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Bugsnax.
Cyberpunk 2077.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered
Spider-Man: Miles Morales DLC. Completed and platinumed.
No, it doesn’t officially say "DLC" but that’s essentially what it is dressed up as a full price game that no one should in no way, shape or form pay for until there is a significant price drop! Basically, if you like the main game then you will like this. It’s exactly the same but truncated and with new abilities. The combat overall is still the best version of the Arkham style every basic bitch third person action/adventure seemed to be aping around 2013 to 2015.
This DLC attempts to draw a line between itself and the main game by highlighting Miles’ inexperience as Spider-Man, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, when you perform ‘awesome’ or ‘spectacular’ combos during swinging Miles yells excitedly, “that was sick!” which brings a smile to the face. On the other hand, his landings and overall acrobatics are deliberately sloppy in comparison to Peter’s which I get but isn’t as visually fun to watch. That's a nitpick though - the swinging is still the standout mechanic of this franchise.
There are some more notable changes but not for the better... The aforementioned moment of glee is rare for Miles who is a whiny little bitch throughout and is incapable of internalising his thoughts. The game is so patronising that Miles has to tell you how to complete puzzles before you even realise you've started one. I think the moment it dawned on me just how much I am not a Miles Morales fan is when I found myself using the skip button whenever a relic from his past was acquired unlike, say, Peter’s stories about his backpacks which I was happy to listen to. I also did a New Game Plus playthrough and in the opening sequence with Rhino I paid more attention to Peter's quipping in the background and it was hilarious. Really made me miss him.
To top it off, there’s the cringe-inducing way Miles' race is "handled". I like the Avengers-style score music but then they have to drop an awkward and cheap sounding Hip Hop beat over it (because apparently Hip Hop is the only music black people listen to). There’s also a weird Black Lives Matter reference which comes out of nowhere,and the Roxxon enemy faction - who act as hyper aggressive stand-ins for the police - are prepared to shoot a complying Miles once his skin colour is revealed. That scene didn’t even make sense seeing as one of Spider-Man’s abilities are his fast reflexes so he could have easily dodged each and every one of their bullets,as he does throughout the entire game.
Putting aside that black kids should get the chance to experience the power fantasy of being a superhero without real world ugliness creeping in, to only reference racism when the protagonist is (half) black seems like a cynical marketing ploy, especially when his Latino heritage is portrayed more positively. There is so much more to black people than oppression.
And then there's the story. Oh boy. The story is simply not as good as the 2018 one, I'm sorry to say. There are just too many moments of characters saying or doing something insanely stupid in order to advance the plot. For instance,Miles’ morally ambiguous uncle saying that he recognised Miles as Spider-Man from "shooting hoops" (as opposed to his whiny, lipsy voice) because apparently being good at basketball is comparable to being a wall crawling acrobat... Then there's Phin warning Miles during his infiltration of her hideout that The Underground gang will take a while to warm up to him only for them to spill all their secrets moments later…Like I said, the game treats its player like an idiot.Speaking of Phin, who I guess is the main antagonist alongside Troy Baker, she is by far and away the biggest casualty of this subpar plot. Going from sympathetic to psycho way too quickly. I never bought into her trying to kill Miles who she previously thought of as family. She also had no reason not to believe him when he desperately tells her that her plan is going to kill innocent people. He lied, like, once. Why would you take the risk that he’s telling the truth?It’s a real shame because the story and characters in the main game was one of its biggest strengths.
Lastly, the graphics on PS5 are OK but even with ray tracing and 60FPS it’s still inferior to the PS4 version of the 2018 one IMO. Load times are obviously excellent.
Look, it’s a good bit of DLC but don’t bother with it at full price. It’s probably better to get Spider-Man Remastered as I think this comes packaged with it, otherwise wait for a significant price drop.0 -
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Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Remastered (The Ezio Collection).
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Astro’s Playroom.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Bugsnax.
Cyberpunk 2077.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered
Spider-Man: Miles Morales DLC
Rage 2. Completed and platinumed.
If you’ve played Avalanche’s previous games like Just Cause and Mad Max you know what you’re getting with Rage 2. It’s an open world that’s less of a 'world' but more like a checklist of repetitive but satisfying tasks for you to take care of.
At first it's kind of dull. You’re going around base clearing but you don’t have abilities yet, so that mainly consists of sitting behind cover and taking out enemies with the assault rifle so you can eventually plunder the base’s resources, in which you can spend several minutes searching for because almost every box containing loot is marked pink in a game that is overall very, very pink. At this point you’ll probably want to put the controller down but stick with it because when you do find those abilities, better weapons and upgrades that’s when id Software takes control of the wheel.
Suddenly you’re storming in with your shotty blowing everything in sight while enemies scramble to get away from you. That’s when you’re not using The Force your abilities to push and pull enemies around, shatter their armour, slam them to the ground etc, whichever comes first. The issue of locating resources within the base becomes trivial when you’re double jumping all over the place while using your eagle vision ’focus’ and radar to easily spot them. You get into this rhythm that’s so addictive that it turns into a, “just one more mission” game several missions later. Each base has different levels from 1 to 10 but there is no player level. The game doesn’t tell you when you’re ready to take them on; you’ll just feel it. And that progression from, “can I do this?” to, “you are sooo dead” is *chef's kiss*
There’s not much vehicular combat other than the respawning enemy convoys which are fun, but don’t go in expecting Fury Road. It’s very much a stripped down version of Mad Max due to a lack of weapon variety and virtually no off-road manoeuvrability. There are multiple vehicles in the world which you can obtain by finding and bringing them back to trade towns, but your starting vehicle, the Phoenix, is usually the most efficient. Phoenix also talks by the way but she’s more annoying than anything, constantly backseat driving.
On that note, the story is just...nothing, and its presentation is rushed. Something about a ranger who is the last surviving member of her squad and she needs to stop an evil mutant alien guy from killing humanity and cloning himself and making more mutants and the only way to do that is to make some super weapon or something. The characters are mostly forgettable and the game is so eager for you to get into the action as quickly as possible that its idea of character introduction is literally pausing to deliver exposition about an NPC while their bio is displayed on screen. What’s worse is that NPCs ramble on about absolutely nothing. For instance, it takes a couple of minutes for them just to tell the player to clear out a mutant nest that, at that point, you’ve probably done a thousand times. I don’t usually skip dialogue on principle but I did for this.
The lead character, Rachel Walker, is OK when she is not screaming over every bullet flying her way. It ruins the power fantasy when your protagonist is constantly going, “eeerrgh! aaaargh!” What’s funny is that at a certain point you’ll heal too fast from the health currency enemies drop to even die so her whining is OTT. You can choose your gender at the start of the game so I’m not sure if the male Walker differs in this regard as I never chose him.
There are three main NPCs who provide you with the story missions to take down the main bad guy. Each of them has “projects” that come with incredibly useful perks. You open up more projects by doing each NPC’s corresponding tasks in the open world. Once you’ve done a certain amount of these tasks you level up with that NPC and get 3 points per level to spend on any of their projects. At some point in the story this becomes mandatory, as you cannot progress until you reach a minimum of level 5 with each NPC. The amount of XP you get is extremely generous though and no other story mission is gated thereafter. In fact, it’s likely you will be level 5 with at least one of them before you’re even asked to be.
One last thing, I also beat this game on Ultra Nightmare difficulty for my NG+ run. Let me lend some friendly advice for anyone remotely interested: don’t do this. No matter how badass you think you are it’s not worth the literal headache. Playing on the highest difficulty forcibly regresses you back to a state of hiding behind cover and popping your head out occasionally to shoot enemies with the AR because you die in 3 hits tops, sometimes 1 hit depending on the enemy. This render’s the game’s best asset – the manic, fast paced Doom-inspired CQC - virtually impossible. Also, enemies are such bullet sponges on this mode, even with damage output upgrades, that ammo depletion becomes a concern where it isn't usually.
TL;DR: If you like sandbox checklist games where you go from base to base with not much in between like Mad Max and Just Cause then no doubt you’ll enjoy this. The grind of these bases, while rarely imposed on the player, is not supplementary to the missions; it’s the meat. The Doom-like gunplay from id is so enjoyable though that you won’t feel the grind, and the story is so short that ultimately you get to decide when enough is enough. I've beaten the game 3 times now and it's definitely worth playing if you know what you're getting into.0 -
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