So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

Andrew76 · 04-08-2013 12:40pm

Had a go of Rymdkapsel on the N7 earlier, not normally one for real-time strategy games but this pretty good. Lovely aesthetic and soundtrack to it.

My first go lasted a pitiful 26 minutes.

CiDeRmAn · 05-08-2013 7:27pm

Here's a peculiar thing...
I am currently finishing the main story of GTA4, just on the last couple of missions now.
And a lot of fun has been had too.
No problem there.
The problem is, is it time, finally, to start Skyrim?
That game has been sitting there, taunting me for some time now.
I don't want to start it, then get distracted by something else shiny that comes out (like GTAV!)
I know that, if I get into it, I'm likely to say goodbye to some 50/60 hours of my time.
So, should I go for it?
Or allow vacuous experiences like Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, Resistance 3 and a whole host of other games with 3 in the title take over????

In other words
What should I be playing at the mo???

o1s1n · 05-08-2013 7:33pm

Don't bother with Skyrim, it's a snorefest! Many more interesting games you could put all that time into instead. How about a Snes RPG you've never played?

johnny_ultimate · 05-08-2013 7:41pm

Yeah Skyrim is super dull, really never got the obsession with it. For a game with so much effort poured into it, it's amazing how it just feels like an expansion pack of the previous game.

Anyway, in the final stages of Spec Ops: The Line at the moment. Certainly interesting the way it subverts and damns all those jingoistic military shooters, especially in the sequence that emulates that COD4 bombing level in a frightening new context. Also clever casting Nolan North as the lunatic Nathan Drake would surely have been with that many genocides under his belt. The actual gameplay is quite uninspiring. But at the same time it kind of has to be, to make the player question their past virtual mass murders.

James Howlett · 05-08-2013 7:43pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Here's a peculiar thing...
I am currently finishing the main story of GTA4, just on the last couple of missions now.
And a lot of fun has been had too.
No problem there.
The problem is, is it time, finally, to start Skyrim?
That game has been sitting there, taunting me for some time now.
I don't want to start it, then get distracted by something else shiny that comes out (like GTAV!)
I know that, if I get into it, I'm likely to say goodbye to some 50/60 hours of my time.
So, should I go for it?
Or allow vacuous experiences like Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, Resistance 3 and a whole host of other games with 3 in the title take over????

In other words
What should I be playing at the mo???

I imagine that GTA4 was quite the time sink and GTA V will no doubt be the same so if I were you I'd pick some quick and disposable titles until GTA V hits.

CiDeRmAn · 05-08-2013 8:06pm

Well, there is Earthbound and Chronotrigger there, I hear they both have gotten good reviews and lack a Retr0 written hate-page somewhere on the interweb, so maybe I'll start with them!

As for Spec Ops: The Line, yeah, that rattled me at times, as the sanity started to slip and the FPS typical acts I was committing, well turns out they had consequences, which the game was never afraid to show me, nice game but hard to say "enjoyable". Nolan North was great, a nice turn that show's he can do more than Nathan Drake and all the facsimiles of him that he churns out in the rest of the games he's in.

Might also get Gears 3 finished, barely started it and I don't imagine it's particularly long.

Retr0gamer · 05-08-2013 8:08pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Yeah Skyrim is super dull, really never got the obsession with it. For a game with so much effort poured into it, it's amazing how it just feels like an expansion pack of the previous game.

Anyway, in the final stages of Spec Ops: The Line at the moment. Certainly interesting the way it subverts and damns all those jingoistic military shooters, especially in the sequence that emulates that COD4 bombing level in a frightening new context. Also clever casting Nolan North as the lunatic Nathan Drake would surely have been with that many genocides under his belt. The actual gameplay is quite uninspiring. But at the same time it kind of has to be, to make the player question their past virtual mass murders.

It may not be 100% successful but it's one of the most interesting games in years. Really love how it deals with not only military shooters but also the players themselves. Not seen a game deal with something like that since No More Heroes. It's good to read up about it afterwards to find of more about it, especially places where your actions actually do have consequences although you might not know it. Hope you can understand my problems with that scene at the end of the Last of Us as well now!

unky chop chop · 05-08-2013 9:03pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Here's a peculiar thing...
I am currently finishing the main story of GTA4, just on the last couple of missions now.
And a lot of fun has been had too.
No problem there.
The problem is, is it time, finally, to start Skyrim?
That game has been sitting there, taunting me for some time now.
I don't want to start it, then get distracted by something else shiny that comes out (like GTAV!)
I know that, if I get into it, I'm likely to say goodbye to some 50/60 hours of my time.
So, should I go for it?
Or allow vacuous experiences like Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, Resistance 3 and a whole host of other games with 3 in the title take over????

In other words
What should I be playing at the mo???

Ahhh give Skyrim a whirl.
Deffo my game of 2012, Be prepared to grow a beard,develop an albino like skin complication and hum the theme tune to yourself in your undies!
It took me over a year to complete, clocking in over 100+ hours.
You can forget all other games when you embark on the journey.
What a journey though, you really can't miss it.

CiDeRmAn · 05-08-2013 9:11pm

Ahhhh!!!!!

And, if I don't do something with it it'll be lost in the mania that will be the arrival of the PS4 into the house!

[sarcasm] And that's not considering the deluge of incredible WiiU games doubtlessly around the corner! [/sarcasm]

CosmicSmash · 05-08-2013 9:17pm

Never bother getting current gen stuff at release, wait a few months and pick them up for 20-25 euro. Tomb Raider is worth a play through if you haven't sampled it, short game but a lot better than I thought it would be.

unky chop chop · 05-08-2013 10:09pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Ahhhh!!!!!

And, if I don't do something with it it'll be lost in the mania that will be the arrival of the PS4 into the house!

[sarcasm] And that's not considering the deluge of incredible WiiU games doubtlessly around the corner! [/sarcasm]

Yep I hear ya....it takes commitment
September comes GTA5, November....Xbox1.
I'm afraid to start playing any games with longevity until then.
Be strong though,take the bull by the horns and make the decision....we will support you in your time of need when your life unravels and all turns to sh1t:)

Myrddin · 05-08-2013 10:12pm

unky chop chop wrote: »

November....Xbox1

Ah, so you're the bloke that pre-ordered an Xbox 1......:P

Actually I seen 'the list' of console pre-orders in a Smyths store a few weeks back. Out of 70 odd PS4 orders, there were 12 Xbox 1 orders.

o1s1n · 06-08-2013 12:30am

Thought I'd happened across a game breaking glitch in Evermore's great pyramid. After about an hour of backtracking all over the place I finally figured it out. Thank **** for that. Last game which did that to me was The Story of Thor a few months back - glitched out towards the end. Unbearable!

CiDeRmAn · 06-08-2013 10:21am

I'm in no rush to replace the 360 as it happens, Halo 5 or not.
I'll pick up the PS4 though, not under any illusion that Sony somehow are Sammy better than the competition, they'd still rip off my skin and dry it in the mums attic if they thought they'd make money from it.

Game glitches, see more in this gen than ever before, games freezing, often within doing distance of an auto save point, B@stards!

murphyebass · 06-08-2013 8:34pm

Currently playing Zelda spirit tracks on ds as in on hols in rainy mayo. I started it about 2 years ago but never really got into it. Im currently looking for an engineer to fix a bridge to open up the 3rd zone fully. So far ive enjoyed it. I thought id hate the controls but i think it works really well. In particular the circle motion to do a 360 sword move is cool.

johnny_ultimate · 06-08-2013 8:42pm

There's a lot of good stuff in Spirit Tracks - certainly fixed several of the more grievous design errors from Phantom Hourglass - but the train stuff was infuriating. It's basically the antithesis of the freeform exploration Zelda has always thrived on. I got around 85% through it before just getting fed up of how finicky traveling was.

Between the two DS games, you basically have one great Zelda game. Shame it's not a coherent whole.

murphyebass · 06-08-2013 8:52pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

There's a lot of good stuff in Spirit Tracks - certainly fixed several of the more grievous design errors from Phantom Hourglass - but the train stuff was infuriating. It's basically the antithesis of the freeform exploration Zelda has always thrived on. I got around 85% through it before just getting fed up of how finicky traveling was.

Between the two DS games, you basically have one great Zelda game. Shame it's not a coherent whole.

yeah its definately infuriating on the train front but other than that i do like it. Never played phantom hourglass so cant comment. I read the reviews on both though and spirit tracks definately came out on top. Thin ill have to give a link to the past a go soon. I know i know i havent played it yet but i will. Seriously a youth of playin way too much iss and wwf games has a lot to answer for!

valleyoftheunos · 07-08-2013 11:55am

murphyebass wrote: »

Currently playing Zelda spirit tracks on ds as in on hols in rainy mayo. I started it about 2 years ago but never really got into it. Im currently looking for an engineer to fix a bridge to open up the 3rd zone fully. So far ive enjoyed it. I thought id hate the controls but i think it works really well. In particular the circle motion to do a 360 sword move is cool.

Have to say I loved Phantom Hourglass and Spirit tracks although ST is not all that cannonical with trains and bringing Zelda with you. I know many people disliked the controls but I found them simple and responsive.

o1s1n · 07-08-2013 12:08pm

I absolutely loved Phantom Hourglass. Even the backtracking didn't annoy me. Really great game.

Spirit Tracks on the other hand, I just couldn't get over the whole train thing. Think I quit that one after a few hours.

The Ayatolla · 07-08-2013 12:09pm

Streets of Rage 1 via iPhone. What a game!

Retr0gamer · 07-08-2013 12:16pm

Phantom Hourglass for me was missing any kind of challenge what so ever. If it's harder to die in a game than it is to beat it then you just feel like you are cruising through it on God Mode. I was very disappointed in it.

Star Lord · 07-08-2013 12:31pm

I guess this kinda goes against the grain with a lot of people, but I loved the Temple of the Ocean King... building up as you went along to be able to venture deeper inside and take more risks...

o1s1n · 07-08-2013 12:43pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Phantom Hourglass for me was missing any kind of challenge what so ever. If it's harder to die in a game than it is to beat it then you just feel like you are cruising through it on God Mode. I was very disappointed in it.

Is it just me or have many Nintendo first party games gone this way? As much as I enjoyed the Mario 3DS games, they were all extremely easy. Even getting all of the coins was relatively simple.

As was Kid Icarus, as was Luigi's Mansion 2...just trying to figure out if anything has really posed a challenge recently?

Mr.Saturn · 07-08-2013 12:55pm

o1s1n wrote: »

Is it just me or have many Nintendo first party games gone this way? As much as I enjoyed the Mario 3DS games, they were all extremely easy. Even getting all of the coins was relatively simple.

As was Kid Icarus, as was Luigi's Mansion 2...just trying to figure out if anything has really posed a challenge recently?

Donkey Kong Country Returns, and completely to its benefit. Fantastic game, but I'm a bit cautious about the sequel, since the original got a bit of flack for its difficulty, and Ninty'll want to be appeal to the broadest market possible.

Well, DKCR is second-party, but yanno what I mean. It was pretty refreshing to not have all the challenge located in the post-game for once.

Retr0gamer · 07-08-2013 1:36pm

I noticed it as well. The first party games are getting an awful lot easier. Even Fire Emblem, although that one at least gives you the option to wimp out on perma death. Sometimes a bit of challenge can add an awful lot to a game. The new mario games I usually have 99 lives before I finish the second world. In the old games extra lives were very hard to come by.

At least their second parties keep the difficulty up with DKCR and Xenoblade.

CiDeRmAn · 07-08-2013 2:03pm

I was tempted to by DKCR on the 3DS but I have it on the Wii and they're the same games, aren't they?
The sequel on the WiiU looks fantastic, looking forward to it, I hope they get in enough copies for everyone here in Ireland, about 15 should cover it?

Mr.Saturn · 07-08-2013 2:07pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I was tempted to by DKCR on the 3DS but I have it on the Wii and they're the same games, aren't they?
The sequel on the WiiU looks fantastic, looking forward to it, I hope they get in enough copies for everyone here in Ireland, about 15 should cover it?

3DS version adds a new world and a new mode, that adds trinkets to lower the difficulty, but otherwise the spit of its older Wii brother.

Retr0gamer · 07-08-2013 11:19pm

Just beat Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. It's one of the best RPGs I've ever played but also one of the toughest. So satisfying to have it behind me now. Wonderful setting and storyline, very different from typical JRPG fare but then you can never accuse SMT of being boring.

johnny_ultimate · 08-08-2013 7:33am

Started playing Metal Gear Revengeance. Excuse me while I cackle with pure glee: it is absolutely inspired in its ridiculousness, silky smooth in its gameplay. Word of warning: the game's tutorials are dreadful, but learn to parry fast. Around an hour in it becomes an absolute necessity.

blag · 08-08-2013 11:35am

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Started playing Metal Gear Revengeance. Excuse me while I cackle with pure glee: it is absolutely inspired in its ridiculousness, silky smooth in its gameplay. Word of warning: the game's tutorials are dreadful, but learn to parry fast. Around an hour in it becomes an absolute necessity.

The dodge is a necessity that the game fails to point out also (x+a) and the blade cancel is really useful when things get hectic (tap L trigger to go into blade mode which cancels the recovery of an attack).
Edit: You can also use the dodge to cancel some attacks and use it kind of like Bayonetta's offset.

Retr0gamer · 08-08-2013 3:51pm

Currently chatting up hunky samurai guys in Hakuoki. Also playing Megaman Powered Up. It's such a great remake with bucketloads of content.

One thing I never hear people talk about when it comes to this game is the level editor that is included and the incredible amount of content the community made for the game. This was before LBP and this game has platform physics that don't suck donkey dick.

o1s1n · 08-08-2013 4:10pm

Blazing through Secret of Evermore at the moment. So should be finished it in not too long. Have a tough choice to make now though, what RPG next?

I have Illusion of Time sitting at home. But Final Fantasy III/VI has been shipped and on the way from the US.

I've already played FF VI, but on a tiny DS screen - really don't think I appreciated it fully because of this. It was also years ago and I've a terrible memory so it'll almost be like a new game.

So, which one to go with first?

TechnoFreek · 10-08-2013 2:16pm

Fired up R Type Leo on the cab through mame.
Very good game. Super smooth with some fiendish enemy designs.

o1s1n · 13-08-2013 10:51pm

Well, just finished Secret of Evermore. I want to say it's a fantastic game, but there were so many annoyances. I haven't checked gamefaqs that many times in a very long time. Nothing in it is really very intuitive. At all. I'd say without GameFaqs I'd have spent about 1/3 more time wandering around just trying to figure out where the hell to go.

And don't get me started on all those crappy puzzles. Just aimlessly wandering from screen to screen until you find your way out - it's like the whole game is built around this crappy logic.

But I dunno, something I really enjoyed about it. One of those games that, when you sum up all the bad stuff, it should be worse than it is - but it's great!

Music and visuals are some of the best I've seen/heard on the Snes. Gets my thumbs up (even thought it feels like it shouldn't)

Retr0gamer · 13-08-2013 11:52pm

Yep it's a pain but like a lot of my favourite games the fact that it's so interesting absolves it of it's sins. File it in there with Rule of Rose and Fragile Dreams.

I've played better games that have bored me more.

o1s1n · 14-08-2013 12:00am

It's a funny phenomena isn't it? Just goes to show, takes all sorts to make a good game.

I guess it's the same reason we suffered through all those shooting sections in Deadly Premonition

CiDeRmAn · 14-08-2013 12:13am

Finished GTA4!
And the mission length with rubbish checkpoints is a real drag, but made it in the end, some 4 years or so since I got it at launch!

Retr0gamer · 14-08-2013 12:16am

You should reward yourself by playing a something different, like a good game :P

CiDeRmAn · 14-08-2013 6:51am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

You should reward yourself by playing a something different, like a good game :P

You know, it was your support and warm words of encouragement that got me through.
"Good game" and this from the guy that hates LoD and is an apologist for the CDi Zelda abomination!
I suppose I could play AvP on the Jag, the Wolfenstein clone :P

Myrddin · 14-08-2013 10:54am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

You should reward yourself by playing a something different, like a good game :P

Are you kidding? He's already seen a copy of GTA 4 in his local Smyths he wants to buy, getting rid of his existing GTA 4 though is the tricky part

CiDeRmAn · 14-08-2013 7:47pm

EnterNow wrote: »

Are you kidding? He's already seen a copy of GTA 4 in his local Smyths he wants to buy, getting rid of his existing GTA 4 though is the tricky part

Why, if you weren't the Cat Mod, I'd, I'd feed you to Atavans man eating harem of wimmins!

Actually, I will pick up the stand alone dlc pack, Kerbdog has it so I can borrow it, probably finally finish it in 2016/17 or so...

MrVestek · 15-08-2013 10:39am

Funny you should say that, I was only playing GTAIV there myself the other day for the first time in four years or so.

Wasn't arsed with any of the missions though... just your typical post work killer rampage type affair.

murphyebass · 15-08-2013 2:15pm

Am i the only one who finds gta games boring as hell. It was fun to run people down etc when they first came out but now i just don't see the appeal if im honest.

Retr0gamer · 15-08-2013 2:24pm

I'm getting increasingly bored with them as well. There's too much emphasis on going for more realistic as opposed to being fun like the original games were. Saint's Row I find is a much better series than GTA now although it tries too hard to be zany and isn't as good as the best GTA games.

One thing that really annoys me is how they script the world for missions. In GTA 3 the world was unscripted for most missions so ridiculous stuff could happen which added to the fun. Gradually the missions got more scripted until you had GTAIV.

CiDeRmAn · 15-08-2013 2:38pm

The rot set in with San Andreas for me, it just got ridiculous, an amazing game world though, Vice City is the zenith of the series so far.
However, if I could cheat a bit, none of them hold a candle to Red Dead Redemption, most amazing game of the current gen for me, so far anyway.

The Last Bandit · 15-08-2013 2:56pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

However, if I could cheat a bit, none of them hold a candle to Red Dead Redemption, most amazing game of the current gen for me, so far anyway.

AKA 'Grand Theft Burro...'

o1s1n · 15-08-2013 3:07pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

The rot set in with San Andreas for me, it just got ridiculous, an amazing game world though, Vice City is the zenith of the series so far.
However, if I could cheat a bit, none of them hold a candle to Red Dead Redemption, most amazing game of the current gen for me, so far anyway.

Red Dead Redemption is far better than any GTA game IMO - just utterly brilliant. Came out of nowhere for me too. Heard nothing about it's production really and then BAM! I'm riding a horse across The West never wanting it to end.

Wouldn't say best this gen though, for me that goes to Dark Souls.

Andrew76 · 15-08-2013 3:40pm

o1s1n wrote: »

Wouldn't say best this gen though, for me that goes to Dark Souls.

On console then Dark Souls or Mario Galaxy would get my vote. Amazing games both of them.

CiDeRmAn · 15-08-2013 4:21pm

Andrew76 wrote: »

On console then Dark Souls or Mario Galaxy would get my vote. Amazing games both of them.

They are in my top 10 for sure, I just wish I was better at Dark Souls

johnny_ultimate · 15-08-2013 5:52pm

I have very high hopes for GTAV, which has no reason not to be superb if they've learned the correct lessons from both GTAIV and RDR. Certainly everything released so far suggests a re-emphasis on fun, but not the rather dull Saints Row wacky sort.

Only concern Id have is whether or not the consoles are able for it :pac:

So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition

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