Last Game You Finished and Your Rating

Ryse Son of Rome - 6/10

Very repetitive, but somehow I made it to the end. Interesting enough story with some major liberties taken on actual history (also Boudicca on....an elephant?)

Rapidly-Greying wrote:
Come on man,look at the effort that's been put into the game,it's a clear 10

It’s evident that a huge amount of work has gone into making TLoU2. However, there are several design choices (which I listed in the main thread) that I found annoying. Because of these annoyances, I removed a couple of marks.

It’s a great game that will live long in my memory though. Maybe I would have rated it higher had I not played GoW (which I absolutely loved) immediately beforehand.

Spider-Man - 9/10

Best superhero game ever. Best non-comic Spider-Man story ever (the reinterpretations of most of the main characters are brilliant). Would be the best PS4 exclusive if it wasn't for Bloodborne and Yakuza 6.

Nintendo Labo Toy-con 01: Variety Kit 6/10 - I was getting tired of jigsaws so ordered this on the cheap. It was relaxing folding all that cardboard and I enjoyed seeing the end results, quite impressed by how some of it functions. The actual games you can play with the kits are very limited in scope however, which is a shame. Also, playing Mario Kart 8 with the Labo motorbike is a nightmare, no matter how 'cool' it makes you look.

Dead Cells 8/10 - A super smooth rogue-like which has some incredible pixel art. Looking forward to jumping back in and trying my luck on the harder difficulties.

Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair - 8.5

Tight, imaginative platforming, with an excellent soundtrack and very pretty design. The hubworld was always rewarding and fun, and everything you collect matters, which is testimony to good game design.

The Impossible Lair took me 95 attempts and is perhaps the biggest difficulty spike in any game ever Very satisfying to beat it though. Can see myself going back to this. Nearly on par with Tropical Freeze (though perhaps slightly less variety in stages).

Shadow of The Tomb Raider: 7/10

I'll get this out of the way first - I've always preferred the gameplay in the rebooted Tomb Raider games to that of the Uncharted games. Heresy I know. The platforming is slicker, the gun-play is better, and stealth is implemented in a superior way. However, the Uncharted games clearly have the better overall stories.

With that being said, this one is a bit Temple of Doomy compared to the first two games. It's darker with more horror elements, but the story is the same as you'll find in all of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted games. Good person wants thing, bad person wants thing, good person gets thing, bad person gets thing without doing the work, but good person saves the day in the end.

First, it's an amazing looking game. The platforming sections are excellent, the tombs offer some really good puzzles and the way stealth has been implemented is probably the best in the trilogy. It's basically polished the formula. Horror fans will really enjoy some of the later sections since the atmosphere is very creepy (especially with headphones).

Unfortunately, there are negatives. They continued on the open-world thing a bit too far and the 'hub' areas mess with the story pacing too much. Side missions are more present this time, but they add nothing to the experience and just get in the way. Much like the other two games (although to a lesser extent), Lara still comes off as whiny and a bit too 'good girl' during certain sections again - which is ironic given how many people she is mowing down along the way. However, for a short section during the story we do finally get to see her shrug off that persona and go into rage mode which is very satisfying.

In short, the gameplay is great and the best in the trilogy. However, the open world elements get in the way and drags it down. Without the open-world elements it would have been an 8, and with a better story, a 9. As it stands it's the weakest in the trilogy for me.

Pacman Championship Edition 2 - 8/10

I really enjoyed this one. I don't think it's better than the one before it, and the adventure mode seems a bit one note (although it's still fun). Getting it for free was just awesome as well.

Borderlands 3 8.5/10
More of the same great looting and shooting, yeah it doesn't change anything but it's a blast. Wasn't that keen on the Calypso Twins and the story did go on a bit too long imo, but certainly a very enjoyable game.

Sudoku Master DS 8/10
400 odd Sudoku puzzles for the DS, its a fun and relaxing time waster.

Astral Chain - for the most part a very good new IP and one of the best I've played on Switch, but not without a number of issues. I found the gameplay enjoyable with the mix of detective work and combat a unique combo. It's a longer game than I'd expected too for an action game with my play time clocking in around 25 hours in the end, although I did try to do a lot of the side stuff. The game does have lots of issues though that hold it back and almost got it a lower score. Main issues are instant-fail stealth sections, some frustrating instant death platforming, camera issues, and some very irritating, repetitive side missions (box carrying anyone?). These issues aside though I did largely enjoy the game. Would be intrigued to see a sequel with more focus. 8/10

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Bloody brilliant. Great story, great characters and interesting side quests that felt like they mattered and added to the world. The news report at the end of the game was a nice touch to give some closure to some of the choices you make in the game but it's absolutely gutting to think we may never get a sequel.

Still got the DLC to do though.

fry87 wrote:Astral Chain - for the most part a very good new IP and one of the best I've played on Switch, but not without a number of issues. I found the gameplay enjoyable with the mix of detective work and combat a unique combo. It's a longer game than I'd expected too for an action game with my play time clocking in around 25 hours in the end, although I did try to do a lot of the side stuff. The game does have lots of issues though that hold it back and almost got it a lower score. Main issues are instant-fail stealth sections, some frustrating instant death platforming, camera issues, and some very irritating, repetitive side missions (box carrying anyone?). These issues aside though I did largely enjoy the game. Would be intrigued to see a sequel with more focus. 8/10

I felt pretty much the same about this game, but the more time that passes since when i first played it, the more fondly i look back on it. The music, art style, weird detective bits etc really made it feel unique and slick. It really was very long though.....

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

fry87 wrote:Astral Chain - for the most part a very good new IP and one of the best I've played on Switch, but not without a number of issues. I found the gameplay enjoyable with the mix of detective work and combat a unique combo. It's a longer game than I'd expected too for an action game with my play time clocking in around 25 hours in the end, although I did try to do a lot of the side stuff. The game does have lots of issues though that hold it back and almost got it a lower score. Main issues are instant-fail stealth sections, some frustrating instant death platforming, camera issues, and some very irritating, repetitive side missions (box carrying anyone?). These issues aside though I did largely enjoy the game. Would be intrigued to see a sequel with more focus. 8/10

I felt pretty much the same about this game, but the more time that passes since when i first played it, the more fondly i look back on it. The music, art style, weird detective bits etc really made it feel unique and slick. It really was very long though.....

Absolutely agree. The combination of gameplay styles is unlike anything else I've played, while the presentation also stands it out from the crowd. It does drag a bit towards the end though - could have done with a bit of trimming down!

Resident Evil HD: 10/10

It’s still the best pure Resident Evil in the series for me. 2 is my favourite, but the REMake is just outstanding. Finally went through Invisible Enemy mode to get the 1000/1000 on XBox, it’s strawberry floating terrifying.

Corazon de Leon wrote:Resident Evil HD: 10/10

It’s still the best pure Resident Evil in the series for me. 2 is my favourite, but the REMake is just outstanding. Finally went through Invisible Enemy mode to get the 1000/1000 on XBox, it’s strawberry floating terrifying.

Invisible enemies mode? First time I've ever heard of this, sounds crazy!

Squinty wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:Resident Evil HD: 10/10

It’s still the best pure Resident Evil in the series for me. 2 is my favourite, but the REMake is just outstanding. Finally went through Invisible Enemy mode to get the 1000/1000 on XBox, it’s strawberry floating terrifying.

Invisible enemies mode? First time I've ever heard of this, sounds crazy!

Yeah the game escalates a little. You play it on easy, normal or hard and unlock real survivor mode. That unlinks all the item boxes(so you can only pick up items from the box you left them in) and locks the game on hard mode. Finish that, and you unlock invisible enemy mode, which is, err, as described.

Thing is, a lot of the enemies have tells that make them visible, so you can see the dust they disturb as they walk towards you, or drool coming out of the giant snake’s mouth etc. It’s actually easier than Real Survivor I think.

The worst one of the lot of them is the Once Again mode where some zombies are randomly replaced by Forest Speyer, a zombie covered in grenades who is also super fast. You can’t run away, and you can’t shoot him.

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Squinty wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:Resident Evil HD: 10/10

It’s still the best pure Resident Evil in the series for me. 2 is my favourite, but the REMake is just outstanding. Finally went through Invisible Enemy mode to get the 1000/1000 on XBox, it’s strawberry floating terrifying.

Invisible enemies mode? First time I've ever heard of this, sounds crazy!

Yeah the game escalates a little. You play it on easy, normal or hard and unlock real survivor mode. That unlinks all the item boxes(so you can only pick up items from the box you left them in) and locks the game on hard mode. Finish that, and you unlock invisible enemy mode, which is, err, as described.

Thing is, a lot of the enemies have tells that make them visible, so you can see the dust they disturb as they walk towards you, or drool coming out of the giant snake’s mouth etc. It’s actually easier than Real Survivor I think.

The worst one of the lot of them is the Once Again mode where some zombies are randomly replaced by Forest Speyer, a zombie covered in grenades who is also super fast. You can’t run away, and you can’t shoot him.

Jesus, there's a lot more content in that game than I originally thought. I beat the game back in the day with Jill and Chris, and went through the game with Jill only whenever it came out on Xbox One. I never went full in on it, I thought the game was hard enough on Normal

teh bork wrote:

That's not a growth wrote:

That's not a growth wrote:

teh bork wrote:Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - 5/10

Decided to finally give the Uncharted games a go, despite having had the games and a PS4 for a year and a half, but after having given up on The Last Of Us, I was reluctant to given another Naughty Dog game a go. Have to say that this was pretty bad in a lot of places, which was a shame as it also had moments of real quality and enjoyment. Really liked the cinematic feel of it, the characters were well rounded and the traversal and puzzles were great fun, I could easily see how it influenced so many others, such as the Tomb Raider reboot. However, the shooting and controls maybe some of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to play. I felt like I was firing Murray Mints at the guards half the time, as the bullets had very little impact and the guards could absorb about 10 of the things before dying. Not to mention the constant wave after wave of enemies in the shooting sections that was just tiresome, and coupled with awful shooting mechanics, made the game a chore to play. Yet somehow not as bad as the controls which at points almost made the game unplayable, I don't think I'll ever play a vehicle section as bad as the jetski sections in this game, utterly abysmal. Also dying after falling 5 feet because you missed a jump despite having pressed X had me in stitches. I know it's a 13 year old game, but it baffles me that it was so highly rated back in the day.

I was planning on going straight into Uncharted 2, but not sure I can deal with more of the same. I've heard people say the series improves, but not sure I can cope with more of that God awful shooting or control system.

I just finished this after starting it yesterday. I played on easy since I figured it'd be a bit clunky, and I'm glad I did.

There was quite a bit I liked about it, but like you I found it had it's issues. Headshots were really inconsistent, although some later pistols helped.

Some of the traversal puzzles show their age, with certain bits having bad camera angles, or unclear direction.

But a fair bit did hold up, mostly story and atmosphere. The general character animation as you're just running about is phenomenal, too. But strawberry float the jet ski, Jesus Christ. The first time wasn't too bad, just a bit annoying. But the second time, strawberry float me.

I'm actually going to jump into the second right away, I hear it's better so happy to go for more.

6/10

Edit, just loaded up number 2 and strawberry floating hell they really upgraded the animation in this.

Bork, I finished 2 the other day and it's much better than 1. I'd give it a go if you can.

I'm onto chapter 19 and agree, much, much better.

Taken a pause though as I'm now on TLOU 2.

Finally finished it.

Uncharted 2 - 7/10

Much better than the first, in terms of controls, story, animation, etc.

The problem it has, similar to the first game, is that the shooting is still so hit and miss. The number of shots to kill someone is still ridiculous, some of the enemies and sections became utterly tedious as a result. The main issue though is that ND seem to assume the only way to make the game harder, as it progresses, is to just give you sections with loads of enemies at once and just have you tackle wave after wave. This wouldn't be a problem, except it means certain sections must therefore be done certain ways and it turns into a poor cover shooter. It's amazing to think that the cover system and shooting in this was so dreadful, especially when you compare it other games like the Gears series from the same time. Then again having played TLOU and TLOU2 I've never felt Naughty Dog have quite got shooting or cover mechanics right.

teh bork wrote:
Finally finished it.

Uncharted 2 - 7/10

Much better than the first, in terms of controls, story, animation, etc.

The problem it has, similar to the first game, is that the shooting is still so hit and miss. The number of shots to kill someone is still ridiculous, some of the enemies and sections became utterly tedious as a result. The main issue though is that ND seem to assume the only way to make the game harder, as it progresses, is to just give you sections with loads of enemies at once and just have you tackle wave after wave. This wouldn't be a problem, except it means certain sections must therefore be done certain ways and it turns into a poor cover shooter. It's amazing to think that the cover system and shooting in this was so dreadful, especially when you compare it other games like the Gears series from the same time. Then again having played TLOU and TLOU2 I've never felt Naughty Dog have quite got shooting or cover mechanics right.

Unfortunately, although the combat improves a bit in Uncharted 3 or 4 it remains very similar. However, the good news is that - on the whole - I rate 3 and 4 over 2, so the best is yet to come.

I always found Naughty Dog games a bit overrated because the gameplay tends to take a back seat to the narrative. TLoU 1 wouldn't have received anywhere near the overwhelmingly positive reviews it did if the story wasn't as good as it was (and even then, they owe 'The Road' a lot for that) because the actual gameplay was pretty clunky.

Conversely I found the new Tomb Raider trilogy to have better gameplay than Uncharted, but they have the opposite issue in that the story is the weakest part.

Concrete Genie - PS4 - 8/10

A lovely little game. Main game is probably 5-6 hrs in total, with some collectables to mop up at the end to get a pretty easy Platinum. Style is wonderful and, although the game is something of two halves (there's a shift in tone/gameplay about two thirds of the way through) it does fit together extremely well.

After playing through Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Last of Us Remastered and Assassins Creed Origins in the past month or so, this was a welcome change in tone, game length (well worth the £16 I paid for it) and structure. The VR mode isn't much more than a 30 minute mini-game, which allows you to paint in the same way you do in the main game, but with Move controllers in VR. However, having played it after the game, it still has the charm and enough humour to make it worth playing.

Kirby Star Allies - Switch - finally got around to finishing the main game. It then unlocks a huge amount more content.

Brilliant game with a lot of charm, as is the Kirby way the game starts off charming and easy going. By the end it's a battle for survival against countless huge bosses.