Currently Playing chat thread

Maneater (XBox) - I'm actually surprised they managed to make a game about being a shark and eating people quite as boring as it is. I'm really not sure why I haven't ditched it yet (around 3-4 hours in). I'm not even sure there is a better way to have made the game, it's all perfectly functional but maybe being a man-eating shark just isn't really as much fun as it sounds like it could be.

At 4 hours you haven’t even got to the income tax declaration chapter.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:At 4 hours you haven’t even got to the income tax declaration chapter.

I hope they start it with a story crawl like Phantom Menace. All that tax talk really set the scene for a high-octane sci-fi adventure.

Well I didn’t want to completely spoil it for you but…. let’s just say having a deep fascination with fictional world bureaucracy would be a massive bonus for you over the next 7 hours or so.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:The story is really well told and voiced

Have you looked up the voice cast? It’s surprisingly A-list. I replayed it a while back but it was really oddly blurry for my taste, it was the Xbone version you’re playing too.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Well I didn’t want to completely spoil it for you but…. let’s just say having a deep fascination with fictional world bureaucracy would be a massive bonus for you over the next 7 hours or so.

Did I need to keep receipts for all the people I've eaten? I'm concerned I've dug myself into a corner now if I haven't.

Rex Kramer wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Well I didn’t want to completely spoil it for you but…. let’s just say having a deep fascination with fictional world bureaucracy would be a massive bonus for you over the next 7 hours or so.

Did I need to keep receipts for all the people I've eaten? I'm concerned I've dug myself into a corner now if I haven't.

Sharks don’t dig. Now THAT would be ridiculous.

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:The story is really well told and voiced

Have you looked up the voice cast? It’s surprisingly A-list. I replayed it a while back but it was really oddly blurry for my taste, it was the Xbone version you’re playing too.

I did (briefly, to avoid spoilers), and yes, it’s a very comprehensive and talented cast.

The series versions now have frame boost to 60…. Maybe that improves things? Not sure when that was added. It doesn’t look blurry to me, but some of the auto hdr can look a bit odd I think. Nothing that has impacted my enjoyment though.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:The story is really well told and voiced

Have you looked up the voice cast? It’s surprisingly A-list. I replayed it a while back but it was really oddly blurry for my taste, it was the Xbone version you’re playing too.

I did (briefly, to avoid spoilers), and yes, it’s a very comprehensive and talented cast.

The series versions now have frame boost to 60…. Maybe that improves things? Not sure when that was added. It doesn’t look blurry to me, but some of the auto hdr can look a bit odd I think. Nothing that has impacted my enjoyment though.

Re downloaded it and the boosts have totally transformed the game. Had a save which was a little ways through the story, which helps as you’ve successfully added to my backlog

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:The story is really well told and voiced

Have you looked up the voice cast? It’s surprisingly A-list. I replayed it a while back but it was really oddly blurry for my taste, it was the Xbone version you’re playing too.

I did (briefly, to avoid spoilers), and yes, it’s a very comprehensive and talented cast.

The series versions now have frame boost to 60…. Maybe that improves things? Not sure when that was added. It doesn’t look blurry to me, but some of the auto hdr can look a bit odd I think. Nothing that has impacted my enjoyment though.

Re downloaded it and the boosts have totally transformed the game. Had a save which was a little ways through the story, which helps as you’ve successfully added to my backlog

I do what I can. And yes, 60fps is a complete game changer for anything incorporating 3rd person action I find.

I was surprised to find I am apparently 70% through the story, despite only 10 hours of playtime (according to the in game stat tracker) and a fairly broad range of side activities completed. So perhaps it wont be the biggest backlog worrier if that's any consolation (says the man who has just this morning bought the Saints Row 3 Remaster because he is enjoying Sleeping Dogs so much).

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

Buffalo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:The story is really well told and voiced

Have you looked up the voice cast? It’s surprisingly A-list. I replayed it a while back but it was really oddly blurry for my taste, it was the Xbone version you’re playing too.

I did (briefly, to avoid spoilers), and yes, it’s a very comprehensive and talented cast.

The series versions now have frame boost to 60…. Maybe that improves things? Not sure when that was added. It doesn’t look blurry to me, but some of the auto hdr can look a bit odd I think. Nothing that has impacted my enjoyment though.

Re downloaded it and the boosts have totally transformed the game. Had a save which was a little ways through the story, which helps as you’ve successfully added to my backlog

I do what I can. And yes, 60fps is a complete game changer for anything incorporating 3rd person action I find.

I was surprised to find I am apparently 70% through the story, despite only 10 hours of playtime (according to the in game stat tracker) and a fairly broad range of side activities completed. So perhaps it wont be the biggest backlog worrier if that's any consolation (says the man who has just this morning bought the Saints Row 3 Remaster because he is enjoying Sleeping Dogs so much).

Yeah I might not do all of the side stuff in this, there is bloody loads of it. Maybe if it’s achievement related

Sonic Mania
Ehh...this is fine I guess, but I'm not really feeling it. I was a big fan of Sonic 1 and 2, but I never got on with 3/Knuckles (crap levels, Sonic looks awful, new items and abilities that don't add anything), and this seems to lean more towards that formula than the first two. It's telling that the best levels so far are butchered versions of Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Press Island Act 2 was good, but Studiopolis, Flying Battery, and Press Island Act 1 are pretty poor and not enjoyable to play through. The levels go on for so long as well, to the point it becomes tedious. The bonus stage with the blue spheres is just annoying, but thankfully I don't need to do those I don't think, so I can avoid them without issue. Boss fights so far are a mixed bag - again, some that go on too long, some that are more enjoyable and creative. I'll keep going with it, but unless it improves drastically, I don't think I'll be doing more than the bare minimum here.

I have just started the Iki Island expansion part of Ghost of Tsushima (i finished the main game about 2 weeks ago). Initial impressions are positive - it seems a bit more taxing in the combat department, and the shrines appear to be of a puzzle nature. Basically there would appear to be enough subtle changes to the format to make it feel like it is its own thing that warrants being an expansion, not just cut content.

I'm replaying Batman Arkham Asylum for the first time since playing it back on my ps3, and it's aged wonderfully. It's so nice to play a game that's not bloated for the sake of it (as would happen with the last Batman game). Small areas, with metroidvania elements, small combat encounters. Good stuff.

Wario Ware Gold. This is really, really good! Easily the best game in the series out of the ones I've played.

The Walking Dead S2

Such an awful sequel. It's so strawberry floating dreary and lazy (getting Clem to do all the grunt work but not setting the story up so it makes sense for her to do it) that I now realise why I can't remember anything from playing it the first time. The biggest mistake they made was dropping so many of the characters from the first game. It could have worked but in retrospect it didn't because the vast majority of the s2 cast are piss.

I didn't hate S2 like you did but it's definitely a step down from S1.

It's a step down like failing to mind the gap while boarding a train.

I wish the final season would make its way over to Game Pass. Perhaps that's not going to happen given the demise of Tell Tale? I should probably just get on and buy it.

I really enjoyed S2, but I think my Clem/Kenny character arcs probably worked better than most variations