What are you playing?

[Nintex]

Wrapped up Alan Wake II today.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ending was good but not great considering how fantastic some other story beats were, sets up another sequel, DLC or maybe CONTROL 2?

[close]

Nice of them to shout out Lance Reddick at the end.

[Nintex]

Sonic Adventure 2, the best Sonic game, on Series X to celebrate the Sonic The Hedgehog 3 trailer.



Hardest stage to get an A on as well.

[Himu]

The Witcher 3 is still pretty great but I put in RDR2, finally after that awful long tutorial and the game is finally opened up and it's really damn good. I classified it as a Talk Game but Rockstar proved me wrong. Very bad first impressions. I went back to Witcher 3 after some RDR2 and Witcher 3 feels like a generation behind in comparison. 

[Himu]

Sonic Adventure 2, the best Sonic game, on Series X to celebrate the Sonic The Hedgehog 3 trailer.



Hardest stage to get an A on as well.

GOAT



Only negative are the Tails/Eggman levels. Complete ass.

Sonic 1? Sonic 2? Sonic 3 and K? 3d Sonic > 2d any day of the week.

[Svejk]

The Witcher 3 is still pretty great but I put in RDR2, finally after that awful long tutorial and the game is finally opened up and it's really damn good. I classified it as a Talk Game but Rockstar proved me wrong. Very bad first impressions. I went back to Witcher 3 after some RDR2 and Witcher 3 feels like a generation behind in comparison. 

When's that opening up part?  I got to where you first set up a camp after the long wagon ride, and just can't find any excitement to keep going.  If I'm pretty much there, I may give it another shot essentially.

[Himu]

The Witcher 3 is still pretty great but I put in RDR2, finally after that awful long tutorial and the game is finally opened up and it's really damn good. I classified it as a Talk Game but Rockstar proved me wrong. Very bad first impressions. I went back to Witcher 3 after some RDR2 and Witcher 3 feels like a generation behind in comparison. 

When's that opening up part?  I got to where you first set up a camp after the long wagon ride, and just can't find any excitement to keep going.  If I'm pretty much there, I may give it another shot essentially.

You set up camp in some country and then you can do whatever. Do some missions and the game opens up. You get taught how to hunt rare animals like massive bears, you can steal stage coaches and sell em for cash, and as you unlock more features via missions the more and more the world opens up. It gets really good but the introduction is absolutely atrocious as an old gamer.

[Polident Hive]

Revisiting…well, trying to revisit old Dragon Ball Z games from youth. Some I imported or otherwise bought in PS1. Others I played on ZSNES and other emulators.

For some reason, the English patches for the 16-bit games are all for the French versions. Those games were localized in France. I tried playing both the Japanese and French versions to see if both were borderline unplayable. Yeah. No idea how I managed to play these games in my youth. Hyper Dimension, the best of the bunch, still plays like a C or D-rate fighting game of its time. Of the PS1 games, Final Bout and Ultimate Battle 22, the two that were brought to America, are junk.

Somehow the brand didn’t have a good fighting game until the PS2 era. It’s weird when Gundam and Sailor Moon had decent fighting games.

Anyway, I’m gonna buy that Kakarot game. People say it’s pretty good even without the Dragon Ball branding.

[Nintex]

I remember playing those games on emulators, Hyper Dimension looked good but played sluggish and Butoden 2+3 were ok. The Saiyan Saga SNES RPG is pretty fun to play.
Better games are the Mugen DBZ fan games that the community made with those SNES sprites. Some were absolutely incredible and probably impossible to find now.
It was usually just a random assortment of custom characters put together in a single Mugen release.

On GBA the Legacy of Goku games are fun RPGs and Supersonic Warriors is great (the sequel of Supersonic Warriors for DS is even better).
PS1 had a neat game called DBZ Legends or something, looked very crude but that had the DBZ feeling of warping all over the place and fighting with multiple enemies at once, a bit like Tenkaichi.

The PS2 Era Budokai Tenkaichi games on Wii were my favorites. The last DBZ I got was Burst Limit for Xbox 360 I think. I considered Fighter Z because it got so many good reviews.

[Bebpo]

Alan Wake II

The Saga inventory stuff seems pretty dumb. When you get the 4th weapon between the 4 weapons and ammo you basically have no space and have to keep discarding things to pick up loot and you can't get the next row of space upgrade until the next chapter. Just seems really badly designed?

[Polident Hive]

I remember playing those games on emulators, Hyper Dimension looked good but played sluggish and Butoden 2+3 were ok. The Saiyan Saga SNES RPG is pretty fun to play.
Better games are the Mugen DBZ fan games that the community made with those SNES sprites. Some were absolutely incredible and probably impossible to find now.
It was usually just a random assortment of custom characters put together in a single Mugen release.

On GBA the Legacy of Goku games are fun RPGs and Supersonic Warriors is great (the sequel of Supersonic Warriors for DS is even better).
PS1 had a neat game called DBZ Legends or something, looked very crude but that had the DBZ feeling of warping all over the place and fighting with multiple enemies at once, a bit like Tenkaichi.

The PS2 Era Budokai Tenkaichi games on Wii were my favorites. The last DBZ I got was Burst Limit for Xbox 360 I think. I considered Fighter Z because it got so many good reviews.

Budokai Tenkaichi 3 on Wii was basically the dream DBZ game for me. They went overboard with characters with nearly everybody across Dragon Ball to GT and the movies.

In the early 2000s there were a number of mods for Quake 3 and Half Life trying to make it before it existed. Bid for power and I forget what the Half Life mod was called.

[Bebpo]

Also in Alan Wake 2 I feel like the enemies are kinda too damage sponge-y and wolves are stupid. I went around grabbing the rest of the stashes and feels like enemies keep respawning but ammo is limited and since enemies take so much ammo I literally ran out of ammo completely until I did more story and got more loot spots. Ended up being fine, but just sorta annoying.

[Nintex]

Some weapons work better against certain enemies.

The hunting rifle can take out most enemies in one shot. Dogs can't handle the shotgun well.
The most annoying ones are those shifting around. The hit detection sometimes seems off.

[Nintex]

With Alan Wake 2 wrapped up, I decided to try my hand at CONTROL again. Didn't finish it back in the day due to a lack of time. Runs like a dream on 4070 Ti. 

Also Tears of the Kingdom. I wondered how the hell I was supposed to go higher and then it became Mario Galaxy 

[Bebpo]

Some weapons work better against certain enemies.

The hunting rifle can take out most enemies in one shot. Dogs can't handle the shotgun well.
The most annoying ones are those shifting around. The hit detection sometimes seems off.

Sure, but like I was heading from the Nursing Home through the southern Ranger Cabin side and there was a spot after the cabin with 3 wolves + 2 teleport dudes at once and I ran out of shotgun for the wolves and then ran out of hunting rifle, then had to pistol the remaining 1.5 wolves and like 1 of the teleports and ran out of that and had to crossbow finish them and took a bunch of hits and ran the rest of the way with like 1 hit until I was dead and no ammo and couldn't do the charm at the shipyard because like 3-4 guys appeared after doing the the nursery rhyme and I guess the charm's on one of them but I had no ammo.

Also because you can't get back into the hotel and there's no other shoebox spot in Bright Falls town I had to limp with 1 hit until dead through the whole town until I got to the sheriff station and there were some actual pickups for ammo/life and then downstairs a save room with a shoebox to at least grab all the dozens of health packs I'd been storing (but no ammo).

Still, by the end of that dungeon had full ammo for all weapons again from chests, but yeah I feel like the non-scripted open-world parts are rough because enemies respawn but there aren't necessarily ammo boxes out in the semi-open-world when exploring and getting chests.

I really think AW2 should've used the RE4+ system of enemies dropping stuff if you're low on ammo.

[Bebpo]

Also AW2 plot spoilers

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I pretty much figured the Alan Wake on Saga's side was Scratch and Wake was still in the dark place from his gameplay segments communicating with her.
Though I didn't guess the cult were actually good guys killing the taken. Poor Jaarko 

I still need to get back and do Wake's final section. Left off when he went back to the hotel and killed Zane. Like 17 hours in now. Game is pretty long.

[close]

[Nintex]

Yeah some good twists in this.

Also I just realized, Sheriff Breaker is literally the guy from Quantum Break, same actor even 

[Bebpo]

Finished Wake 2. Liked the ending stuff after the point of no return other than getting one-shotted at the end of the mob enemy rush Saga bit. This gameplay is seriously not built for mass enemy combat solely because the reload speed is so incredibly fucking slow for everything besides the pistol you get stuck in these situations where you don't have enough time to reload because you have to dodge which cancels your reload and you can't run and reload because they teleport and hit you. I generally found the combat pretty shit tbh even after 20 hours and at the end of the game.

I think overall the story/experience is pretty artsy and ambitious and interesting, but the gameplay is pretty mediocre. The combat again, is about as jank mediocre as your average Suda51 game, the sleuthing detective stuff on the case board is all optional and pointless and I wish I hadn't wasted hours putting all the pieces on the board since it does nothing, the level design is ok, but not too deep or amazing. The semi-open world areas are kind of whatever because there's not much to explore and the max run speed is slow so backtracking around is kinda boring.

I did really enjoy the Nightless Night short film. That was cool.

Overall I'd basically say the game is about an 8/10 for me. Story experience is a 8-9, gameplay is a 6-7. Game is pretty long and maybe could've been a bit shorter since there is a lot of repetition.

It's better than Wake 1, but I wouldn't say it's a huge improvement other than in story experience ambition. The gameplay is a small improvement and that's about it.

For me:

Wake 1 - 7/10
Control - 9/10
Wake 2 - 8/10

At least their next game's Control 2 which should be fun to play again. I think Wake 2 maybe would've been better to just drop the survival horror and copy RE4r and make it an action horror game that's actually fun to fight in. Basically just make it play like Control.

Or before Wake 2 came out and after Control and its Alan Wake DLC, I sorta expected Alan Wake 2 would be a dual-protagonist game where you play as Jesse from Control going to investigate the Bright Falls AWE and the game would be split between Alan Wake playable sections that play like a slow psychological survival horror game, and Jesse sections that play like an action horror game with Control-controls like RE4.

Story-wise I enjoyed Saga's story so I'm fine that they went with that, though it would've been cool fanservice to have the two series leads working together, but yeah I think it would've been better if the two leads had two different styles of gameplay with one playing more like Control as an action game that's fun.

Yeah some good twists in this.

Also I just realized, Sheriff Breaker is literally the guy from Quantum Break, same actor even 

Yeah, him and Mr. Door are from Quantum Break. Casey is Max Payne. Game is connecting all Remedy's works together.

[Nintex]

Interesting idea to mix the gameplay style up. I agree that the running and gunning is the weakest part of the game and enemy placement is weird at times. Coffee World is almost empty while the roads surrounding it are crawling with enemies.
The detective board is a fun mechanic to keep up with the story but there could've been some more gameplay for things like profiling like puzzles or interviews. There is only one suspect interview at the beginning which seems a bit odd.

Alan Wake 2 is certainly a 9/10 for me overall but it also feels like a 7/10 at times.
I wonder what the Final Draft DLC is going to add next week and if they consider it to be one of the 2 planned expansions or just a small DLC.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, though I'd say the best section of the whole game for me was the Watery chapter. The whole Silent Hill foggy sea town vibe, Ahti's show in the coffee shop, the slow walk up to the creepy theme park in the distance through the woods and then exploring the park itself with some of the best manuscript notes like the worker that fell in the well; that's all fantastic and very SH.

That bit, the music bit with Wake and the ending case board bit with Saga (which basically was like "the entire case board mechanic the whole game only existed to service this one section in the finale") were the best parts for me.

Was sorta ambivalent about the Hotel/Theater
Cauldron Lake was a good intro, decent area
Bright Falls map was pretty weak, can barely go inside any town buildings and then can't see woods and I thought the Nursing Home was the weakest section of the game after the Subway Tunnels.

After a night's sleeping on it, I think I appreciate Wake 2, but I feel it's more like the kind of thing that more like something that would be in a museum as a multimedia art experiment than a great game to play.

[Bebpo]

Also re: the AW2 ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I thought the ending of Wake dying in sacrifice was fine and fit the story stuff it was doing within the horror genre,

So I thought the post-credit bit with him still alive? And back in the Dark Place loop? was stupid because it basically undermines their ending in the first place.

[close]

[demi]

Guess you better play NG+ or watch the new content this week

[demi]

Did a single session of Parasite Eve last night (stream: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1999917920). Surprised that it was that short of a game. I guess Chrysler Building is the real meat and bones. Still enjoyed it, though it did kind of drag towards the end in the Museum.

[Nintex]

Also re: the AW2 ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I thought the ending of Wake dying in sacrifice was fine and fit the story stuff it was doing within the horror genre,

So I thought the post-credit bit with him still alive? And back in the Dark Place loop? was stupid because it basically undermines their ending in the first place.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There is no telling who wake actually is. Some believe he's just a projection, reincarnation or even character of Thomas Zane and Ahti keeps calling him Tom.
But remember he wasn't killed in the real world, he was killed in the Dark Place, which happened many times before but that 'resets' him again. It's a Spiral, not a loop. He realized it wasn't loop when he got to the end of 'being killed' and he was back in the writers room under new conditions. The same thing occurs when he dies during gameplay. It happens throughout the game in the overlaps too, the "loops" progress. There is always an end that sends you spiraling down further into the rabbit hole.

Anyhow, there was a big hint that 'The Darkness' was inside him (i.e. Scratch = Wake), one of the Alex Casey echoes basically states the same thing, Casey realizing he is the source of his own darkness. Alex Casey of course is also a weird element in the overall story. Showing up in Zanes movie with the 'ritual sacrifice' possibly being real (the reason why the movie was sought after). As well as both in The Dark Place and the real world at the same time.

Also hard to tell if Logan is actually alive or not. There is evidence in both directions but I'm going with the theory that she's dead and Wake used the false of hope of saving Logan to motivate Saga. The phone call with David pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[close]

[Bebpo]

Also re: the AW2 ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I thought the ending of Wake dying in sacrifice was fine and fit the story stuff it was doing within the horror genre,

So I thought the post-credit bit with him still alive? And back in the Dark Place loop? was stupid because it basically undermines their ending in the first place.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There is no telling who wake actually is. Some believe he's just a projection, reincarnation or even character of Thomas Zane and Ahti keeps calling him Tom.
But remember he wasn't killed in the real world, he was killed in the Dark Place, which happened many times before but that 'resets' him again. It's a Spiral, not a loop. He realized it wasn't loop when he got to the end of 'being killed' and he was back in the writers room under new conditions. The same thing occurs when he dies during gameplay. It happens throughout the game in the overlaps too, the "loops" progress. There is always an end that sends you spiraling down further into the rabbit hole.

Anyhow, there was a big hint that 'The Darkness' was inside him (i.e. Scratch = Wake), one of the Alex Casey echoes basically states the same thing, Casey realizing he is the source of his own darkness. Alex Casey of course is also a weird element in the overall story. Showing up in Zanes movie with the 'ritual sacrifice' possibly being real (the reason why the movie was sought after). As well as both in The Dark Place and the real world at the same time.

Also hard to tell if Logan is actually alive or not. There is evidence in both directions but I'm going with the theory that she's dead and Wake used the false of hope of saving Logan to motivate Saga. The phone call with David pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hmmm, I thought Alan Wake was in the real world though. Like he goes through something to get to eternal deerfest, but I didn't think he went to the dark place? I thought he just went through this subspace the dark presence was creating and then I thought he exited it back to the real world when he got to the manor and started writing the end.

Because Casey is in the real world with the dark presence in him and he bursts through the door where Alan Wake is typing the ending. I thought Saga got herself out of the dark place and appeared in the real world writer's room and everyone was in the real world when Saga shot Alan Wake in the head, so I assumed he actually died.

Because otherwise the plot of the game seems pretty pointless. He got stuck in the dark place writer's room at the end of the first game and then accomplishes nothing in the second game and still stuck in the room and in the loop? Seems weird.

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

In Alan Wake 3, you play as Sam Lake developing Control 2, when you’re approached by legendary Finnish game designer Thomas Zane and told you need to buy back the rights to Max Payne from Rockstar before the Dark Presence can corrupt them into releasing Max Payne 4 as an AI art NFT-laden F2P Battle Royale with RPG elements and herald in the apocalypse.

[Bebpo]

In Alan Wake 3, you play as Sam Lake developing Control 2, when you’re approached by legendary Finnish game designer Thomas Zane and told you need to buy back the rights to Max Payne from Rockstar before the Dark Presence can corrupt them into releasing Max Payne 4 as an AI art NFT-laden F2P Battle Royale with RPG elements and herald in the apocalypse.

Sounds about right..

[Nintex]

Also re: the AW2 ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I thought the ending of Wake dying in sacrifice was fine and fit the story stuff it was doing within the horror genre,

So I thought the post-credit bit with him still alive? And back in the Dark Place loop? was stupid because it basically undermines their ending in the first place.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There is no telling who wake actually is. Some believe he's just a projection, reincarnation or even character of Thomas Zane and Ahti keeps calling him Tom.
But remember he wasn't killed in the real world, he was killed in the Dark Place, which happened many times before but that 'resets' him again. It's a Spiral, not a loop. He realized it wasn't loop when he got to the end of 'being killed' and he was back in the writers room under new conditions. The same thing occurs when he dies during gameplay. It happens throughout the game in the overlaps too, the "loops" progress. There is always an end that sends you spiraling down further into the rabbit hole.

Anyhow, there was a big hint that 'The Darkness' was inside him (i.e. Scratch = Wake), one of the Alex Casey echoes basically states the same thing, Casey realizing he is the source of his own darkness. Alex Casey of course is also a weird element in the overall story. Showing up in Zanes movie with the 'ritual sacrifice' possibly being real (the reason why the movie was sought after). As well as both in The Dark Place and the real world at the same time.

Also hard to tell if Logan is actually alive or not. There is evidence in both directions but I'm going with the theory that she's dead and Wake used the false of hope of saving Logan to motivate Saga. The phone call with David pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hmmm, I thought Alan Wake was in the real world though. Like he goes through something to get to eternal deerfest, but I didn't think he went to the dark place? I thought he just went through this subspace the dark presence was creating and then I thought he exited it back to the real world when he got to the manor and started writing the end.

Because Casey is in the real world with the dark presence in him and he bursts through the door where Alan Wake is typing the ending. I thought Saga got herself out of the dark place and appeared in the real world writer's room and everyone was in the real world when Saga shot Alan Wake in the head, so I assumed he actually died.

Because otherwise the plot of the game seems pretty pointless. He got stuck in the dark place writer's room at the end of the first game and then accomplishes nothing in the second game and still stuck in the room and in the loop? Seems weird.

[close]

They way I read it

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Alan Wake is the protagonist, the hero. He said that by the rules of the horror story even if the Hero succeeds he must pay a heavy price. He succeeds in his effort to destroy 'Scratch' and prevent the overlap from expanding but the price is losing Alice in the process. There is no other price for him to pay as he has no other stakes or relationships. Saga is the second hero, so by extension she loses David. After all Wake says there can be multiple heroes but each of them will pay a price. Logan is already dead so she loses David.

Why do I think Logan is dead? She could've easily contacted her and verify her status through her mindspace but she never attempts to make contact that way because she knows deep down there is no one to contact.

As for being in the real world, he's in an overlap. Remember, the only place Saga and Alan could interact before was in those overlaps, the eternal deerfest is an overlap so Saga can meet him there and give him the Switch and shoot him. The overlap pulls him back into the dark place when he dies in it. This is the logic of the dark place/overlaps throughout the game, some enter the dark place by drowning in overlaps. Thor and Odin exhausted from the ritual literally walk into Cauldron Lake (the overlap) as the darkness pulls them in and they are too weak to resist. People are literally 'pulled' into the darkness.

I wonder how the new ending expands on this or changes it. Because as you said, the conclusion of Wakes journey is that he is still stuck in the dark place but has a better understanding of how it works and can try to escape again under a new set of conditions.

[close]

Same Lake released this statement on the new ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

For a long time, Wake has been trapped in a nightmare loop, and with him, so have we all, no matter how many times we have played through the game. Finally, with the New Game Plus and Alice’s help, we are set free from the loop and ready to proceed deeper into the spiral.

This is The Final Draft of both Initiation and Return. And it will lead us to what awaits at the end of the spiral.

[close]

[Himu]

GTA2 is still great. Been playing PSX version. Probably should play Dreamcast instead.

[Nintex]

I still remember the missions, like the one where you have to pick up the Loonies with a bus and have them processed to meat at the Hotdog factory. 

[Himu]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 



Mobile it is.

[demi]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 



Mobile it is.

I use Elgato HD60 S, it is a USB capture device. There are newer models but I have no experience with them

HD60S: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Elgato-Game-Capture-HD60-S-Stream-and-Record-in-1080p60-for-PlayStation-4-Xbox-One-Xbox-360/52586642

HD60X: https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/game-capture-hd60-x

I use a RetroTink 5x, which takes the component input and outputs to HDMI.

I use a HDMI splitter, which I plug one device in (the RetroTink), then output to two devices - my Television, and my Elgato. The reason for this is that while the Elgato has Passthrough, it kind of messes with the color range, which gets weird when you have different devices saying something is Full or Limited range. I think this isn't a big issue with the newer Elgatos.

I use OBS for capturing the Elgato for my stream. There might be more involved if you want to record crisp gameplay, but it works for me when I stream.

Twitch only lets you stream in 1080p, so if you want 4K captures (for whatever reason) you may need an entirely different device because YouTube lets you both stream and upload 4K videos.

[Himu]

Thanks so much Demi. Want to get other ps2 games like Silent Hill 2 and 3 too even if I'm not going to go the ps2 route for GTAIII trilogy. Thanks.

[Bebpo]

Been getting back to Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. I think I'm at the last zone now.
I like it, good game. Lots to like about it. But also some of the platforming gives bad PTSD of early era 3d platforming camera/controls.

I'm not sure I like how the zones all seem to be vertical and there's usually just one way to get to the higher level stuff. So when you fall, every time you have to make your way back up again. Like Pyramid Island. Yeah, there's the shortcut from the ground floor entrance elevator but it still doesn't go up to the top floor so you have to grind the pipe to get to the brown tubes and take them up there each time. Just wish once you unlock the top floors you can get back up in a few seconds when you fall.

But yeah, having fun finding/getting to all the rep spots and enjoy the vibe/music/story/art. Good game.

[Polident Hive]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 



Mobile it is.

If you’re subbed to Netflix, they offer the three games on the App Store. Or plan to soon.

Actually played Dead Cells Castlevania DLC on my iPad when I saw they offered it as part of the service. They have good stuff time to time. Deaths Door, Shredder’s Revenge, Into the Breach, Shatter.

update. the GTA versions Netflix offers are the newer remasters. Not the older mobile ports.

[Bebpo]

Finished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - Overall liked it! I have some issues with the camera/controls/level design being too linear/vertical instead of open, also the change between skates and feet mid-combo to do blue ground slides is awkward controlling. But was a lot of fun exploring and platforming through the zones trying to find all the graffiti spots and secrets. Some great music, great art and most surprisingly I actually liked the story. So overall thumbs up. One of the better indie games I've played in 2023. Might make tail end of top10 in a few weeks.

*edit* OH, and I got most of the secrets in all the zones, beat the game, yet still never figured out how to get up to the train platform and rails in the starting Verdum Hill zone   Gonna have to google that tomorrow.

[Himu]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 



Mobile it is.

If you’re subbed to Netflix, they offer the three games on the App Store. Or plan to soon.

Actually played Dead Cells Castlevania DLC on my iPad when I saw they offered it as part of the service. They have good stuff time to time. Deaths Door, Shredder’s Revenge, Into the Breach, Shatter.

update. the GTA versions Netflix offers are the newer remasters. Not the older mobile ports.

 



IDK it's still not it.

I watched the cutscene for when Luigi gives Claude the mission to take out the Spank dealer.



And Claude isn't nonchalant. In the original he gets his orders and then he does this badass head nod. Here he barely reacts. Bruh. It's lacking the GTAIII steez.



Claude's original model also looks cooler. What the fuck is this. They say it's Claude but my brain registers "this is not Claude" when I see the Definitive Edition model. It's live uncanny valley imposter shit.

[Himu]

Finished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - Overall liked it! I have some issues with the camera/controls/level design being too linear/vertical instead of open, also the change between skates and feet mid-combo to do blue ground slides is awkward controlling. But was a lot of fun exploring and platforming through the zones trying to find all the graffiti spots and secrets. Some great music, great art and most surprisingly I actually liked the story. So overall thumbs up. One of the better indie games I've played in 2023. Might make tail end of top10 in a few weeks.

*edit* OH, and I got most of the secrets in all the zones, beat the game, yet still never figured out how to get up to the train platform and rails in the starting Verdum Hill zone   Gonna have to google that tomorrow.

there's a subway entrance with glass.

[bork]

Finished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - Overall liked it! I have some issues with the camera/controls/level design being too linear/vertical instead of open, also the change between skates and feet mid-combo to do blue ground slides is awkward controlling. But was a lot of fun exploring and platforming through the zones trying to find all the graffiti spots and secrets. Some great music, great art and most surprisingly I actually liked the story. So overall thumbs up. One of the better indie games I've played in 2023. Might make tail end of top10 in a few weeks.

*edit* OH, and I got most of the secrets in all the zones, beat the game, yet still never figured out how to get up to the train platform and rails in the starting Verdum Hill zone   Gonna have to google that tomorrow.

there's a subway entrance with glass.

Yup- so many people miss it!   . Seems like you may have some more play time with the game if you want to recruit all the characters, Bebpo.

I still need to finish the last area in this game. 

[Himu]

Did this for you Bebs.

[Polident Hive]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 


Mobile it is.

If you’re subbed to Netflix, they offer the three games on the App Store. Or plan to soon.

Actually played Dead Cells Castlevania DLC on my iPad when I saw they offered it as part of the service. They have good stuff time to time. Deaths Door, Shredder’s Revenge, Into the Breach, Shatter.

update. the GTA versions Netflix offers are the newer remasters. Not the older mobile ports.

 

IDK it's still not it.

I watched the cutscene for when Luigi gives Claude the mission to take out the Spank dealer.

And Claude isn't nonchalant. In the original he gets his orders and then he does this badass head nod. Here he barely reacts. Bruh. It's lacking the GTAIII steez.

Claude's original model also looks cooler. What the fuck is this. They say it's Claude but my brain registers "this is not Claude" when I see the Definitive Edition model. It's live uncanny valley imposter shit.

Yeah. I don’t get the appeal.

I’ve had the old mobile port of GTA3 for ages and boot it up from time to time. It’s crisp and smooth and plays surprisingly well with touch screen. They had many of the quality of life improvements while keeping vibe of the PS2 games.

Heard people say the original Xbox has the best versions of those games. Never got to play those.

[Svejk]

Finished my first Daimon run in Bitterblack Isle.  Can't decide if I want to start the post Daimon run or not.  Trying to pry myself away to play other backlog, but it's hard. I love this game too much.  (It was my most played game on my PSN wrap up)

The Ascent - The gameplay loop is slowly starting to get stale.  It's fun and solid, but the story, what little of it there is, just doesn't push me to keep going.  Just dabbling in it now.

MGS1 - Ok.. as much as I fucking love this game, they fucked up the controls on this collection and is pissing me off.  There's no analog support.  Using the analog stick is still just 8-way.... But I can't put the game down.. The pacing of this game is just God tier.  It just moves you along to new little set pieces, while layering a phat slab of 90's Kojimbo spread over it.  It's still a classic.  Been years since playing this, but ffs, PATCH THE CONTROLS KONAMI!  I've been seeing update notifications for MGS2 & 3 on occasion, so they're doing something.. they need to keep at it. (And yes, it's unexcusable these aren't pristine ports) 

RDR2 - Loaded up the game... Pulled up the controls menu.. scratched my head and quit.  I just can't right now. 

Jumped back into Mass Effect 2.  Kinda feeling it's vibe again, so I may continue with it.

[Himu]

Demi, I am starting a gaming YouTube channel for game analysis. The first game I want to do is GTAIII. How do I capture footage. I have a ps2 hooked up to a CRT with component cables. What are my options for high quality capture? I considered Xbox version but Xbox version lags on 360. I've considered PC but I have Mac and my computer stutters during game play. Unfortunately GTA trilogy definitive looks like cheeks.

edit: Mobile 


Mobile it is.

If you’re subbed to Netflix, they offer the three games on the App Store. Or plan to soon.

Actually played Dead Cells Castlevania DLC on my iPad when I saw they offered it as part of the service. They have good stuff time to time. Deaths Door, Shredder’s Revenge, Into the Breach, Shatter.

update. the GTA versions Netflix offers are the newer remasters. Not the older mobile ports.

 

IDK it's still not it.

I watched the cutscene for when Luigi gives Claude the mission to take out the Spank dealer.

And Claude isn't nonchalant. In the original he gets his orders and then he does this badass head nod. Here he barely reacts. Bruh. It's lacking the GTAIII steez.

Claude's original model also looks cooler. What the fuck is this. They say it's Claude but my brain registers "this is not Claude" when I see the Definitive Edition model. It's live uncanny valley imposter shit.

Yeah. I don’t get the appeal.

I’ve had the old mobile port of GTA3 for ages and boot it up from time to time. It’s crisp and smooth and plays surprisingly well with touch screen. They had many of the quality of life improvements while keeping vibe of the PS2 games.

Heard people say the original Xbox has the best versions of those games. Never got to play those.

PC original is the best version. I would go with that version if I could.

[Himu]

Finished my first Daimon run in Bitterblack Isle.  Can't decide if I want to start the post Daimon run or not.  Trying to pry myself away to play other backlog, but it's hard. I love this game too much.  (It was my most played game on my PSN wrap up)

The Ascent - The gameplay loop is slowly starting to get stale.  It's fun and solid, but the story, what little of it there is, just doesn't push me to keep going.  Just dabbling in it now.

MGS1 - Ok.. as much as I fucking love this game, they fucked up the controls on this collection and is pissing me off.  There's no analog support.  Using the analog stick is still just 8-way.... But I can't put the game down.. The pacing of this game is just God tier.  It just moves you along to new little set pieces, while layering a phat slab of 90's Kojimbo spread over it.  It's still a classic.  Been years since playing this, but ffs, PATCH THE CONTROLS KONAMI!  I've been seeing update notifications for MGS2 & 3 on occasion, so they're doing something.. they need to keep at it. (And yes, it's unexcusable these aren't pristine ports) 

RDR2 - Loaded up the game... Pulled up the controls menu.. scratched my head and quit.  I just can't right now. 

Jumped back into Mass Effect 2.  Kinda feeling it's vibe again, so I may continue with it.

RDR2 controls take getting used to especially after coming from other games but get used to it and you'll adjust.

[demi]

Playing Star Ocean 3, and this was a horrible idea. What a dogshit ass game. I was always told "the story sucks" "the twist sucks" but where was everyone saying that everything else sucks? Holy shit this game is stinky piss.

[Himu]

Bro I tried that game and couldn't get past the intro area because of the embarrassing cat girl. I'm so pissed that franchise has had so many opportunities while Valkyrie Profile has been laid to rest only to be resurrected with an action game. Good Lord I hate Star Ocean as a franchise.

[Bebpo]

Good Lord I hate Star Ocean as a franchise.

2's the only good one. Maybe 6 dunno.

[demi]

SO2R is great, the best and only way to play that game now. It does add so many systems that make it really casual, but SO3 has so much shit that fights against the player, it's insane.

[Bebpo]

SO2R is great, the best and only way to play that game now. It does add so many systems that make it really casual, but SO3 has so much shit that fights against the player, it's insane.

I thought SO3 was shit at the time on PS2 when the import JP version first came out, but everyone on gamefaqs gave me shit about it and said it was good.

I was very forward thinking in my trashing of mediocre rpgs in my youth 

[Joe Molotov]

Getting close to the end of Mother 3, cool game. 

[Bebpo]

Gave the God of War Valhalla roguelike mode a try. This is pretty great. Kind of surprised they gave this away for free considering the production values of it. Could easily have been a $20-25 kind of DLC.

Reminds me that I still hate fighting the elves in this game.

[Bebpo]

Got the non-plat 100% in Valhalla.

Good story, good gameplay.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The blind circle Tyr fights are kind of bs/annoying though, especially with enemy mobs that stay out of the circle range with Tyr teleporting in doing moves you have to dodge or block interrupt on a dime.

Like it makes sense for a rogue that the hardest fight is the endboss, but it's also kind of annoying that you can cruise through a 30 min run and then wipe on Tyr sometimes. In the 5-10 hours I played, lost two runs with Tyr at like 1 hit to death and he kills me.

But yeah, good stuff. Kratos having to deal with his pre-rebooted past self was a good story to tell.

[close]

[demi]

Played Contra Anniversary Collection (twitch vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2011289424) and played every game legit, besides using konami codes when available. Only got one ending in Hard Corps, good enough for me

[The Sceneman]

Sunk cost fallacy had me keep playing Sea of Stars as I wanted to see it through. Game actually gets better at end/postgame as you can tackle side quests and just explore a bit more. They really needed to have some of this freedom during the game it's FFXIII all over again. Oh well game is fine in the end, 7/10

Got the Baten Kaitos "remaster" on Switch to play on holiday. The games are missing the English dubs?! Dafuq? The dub for BK2 is so good and I'm pissed they didn't include it. Oh well started BK1 and game is serious cash money just as I remembered it

[tiesto]

Playing Star Ocean 3, and this was a horrible idea. What a dogshit ass game. I was always told "the story sucks" "the twist sucks" but where was everyone saying that everything else sucks? Holy shit this game is stinky piss.

SO3 was probably the most disappointing game I have ever played. Coming from being such a big fan of the first 2 (especially 2)... everything about 3 sucked aside from the visuals (awkward character designs nonwithstanding). The "MP Death" system, wtf is this? The totally neutered item creation/crafting which was such an integral part of the first 2 games. The large amount of backtracking with no fast travel and the large-ass dungeons with no save points. A bunch of useless characters that join way too late in the game and start at level 1. Awful, awful VA. The battle system also felt clunky with the enemies having tons of i-frames when they got knocked down (which was quite frequent). And of course, the big plot twist...

[Pissy F Benny]

Got the non-plat 100% in Valhalla.

Good story, good gameplay.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The blind circle Tyr fights are kind of bs/annoying though, especially with enemy mobs that stay out of the circle range with Tyr teleporting in doing moves you have to dodge or block interrupt on a dime.

Like it makes sense for a rogue that the hardest fight is the endboss, but it's also kind of annoying that you can cruise through a 30 min run and then wipe on Tyr sometimes. In the 5-10 hours I played, lost two runs with Tyr at like 1 hit to death and he kills me.

But yeah, good stuff. Kratos having to deal with his pre-rebooted past self was a good story to tell.

[close]

Thought you was talking about AC Valhalla at first and was questioning if you'd lost your mind

[demi]

Quick Viewtiful Joe NG+ playthrough to test my Gamecube I got repaired - (vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2012790926)

[MMaRsu]

Quick Viewtiful Joe NG+ playthrough to test my Gamecube I got repaired - (vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2012790926)

HENSHIN A GOGO BABY

[Himu]

After a few weeks of going back between GTA VC (ps2), IV (Series X), and V (Series X) I've come to the conclusion that the HD era of GTA is poor compared to the ps2 era. I haven't played GTAV since 2014 or 2015 and I loved it then. I still love the story and characters but it's just not as fun as III, VC, or SA. I can play VC and get lost and just enjoying myself in minutes. I haven't played VC since like the 2000's and yet the map is still burned into my brain. Playing it is a constant thrill. The map design is genius. Despite the fact that Vice lacks hills and stuff, the map isn't flat and has a large emphasis on verticality and getting on buildings and riding your bike over stairs connected to buildings. It feels as if almost every building or house or alley has something hidden for you to do or find. There's tons and tons of alley ways with hidden crap (packages, weapons, rampages) that makes you want to explore even the most minute area. So far in VC I've collected like 13 hidden packages. Getting 10 gives you an armor at your safehouse. This formula is so addictive even now. I won't even get into the mission design which VC obliterates both IV and V in.

A look at a stunt jump compilation for VC shows just how vertical this game surprisingly is.



I find V to be extremely sparse with few things to do within any given game radius. In VC the map is jam packed with crap and I explore every nook. In V there's so much empty crap and bloat. Driving far, far, far distances just to do. a triatholon and stuff. I tried the taxi mission and it's not arcade-y, there's not even a time limit and it doesn't keep going. So far the missions are constant cinematic chase bullshit. I really, really, really dislike modern Rockstar mission design. That isn't to say GTAV is bad. It's certainly considerably better than IV, but that doesn't make it a sure bet for fun either. IV is the most shocking game. It's a marvel to look at and explore but there's literally nothing to do in it. I have no idea how we tolerated this back in 2008. It's like pulling teeth. I obviously love and have an affinity towards NYC so I love the details and just love being in the world of GTAIV, but there's nothing to do. I have no idea what they were thinking.

Chinatown Wars was last GTA made just for pure fun. Shame that game is so underrated. I did love TLAD and Gay Tony. I look forward to replaying them.

A few conclusions I've made:

GTA games are more fun with smaller maps because it makes content more dense to go through. Things like hidden packages, missions like the PCJ challenge, constant unlocks, and stunt jumps within a short vicinity. It's all so fun. The GTA ps2 trilogy is all about fun. The HD era is all about realism. Honestly playing V has made me far less excited for VI.

I truly feel that after San Andreas Rockstar became a company that likes to smell its own farts. Sad.

So far my GTA ranking is:

III = VC > VCS > SA > Chinatown Wars > 2 > LCS > 1 = London >>>> V > IV

I love all the 2D GTA's besides Advance. 2D GTA don't miss.

Played Contra Anniversary Collection (twitch vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2011289424) and played every game legit, besides using konami codes when available. Only got one ending in Hard Corps, good enough for me

Any tips with Contra? I could never get good with those games.

[demi]

It's just patterns

[Svejk]

Finished my MGS1 playthrough.  Still a classic, but it's a bit hard to believe there's no proper analog support with that game on the Master Collection... Pretty unacceptable.  But that game still remains an all-time classic.  Immediately jumped onto MGS2, which has been decades since I last played.  Never played the HD version, so this looks really nice to me when compared to my memory of playing it on PS2.