GRcade

Spyro Reignited Trilogy - 7/10

Enjoyed all 3 games and overall I liked the collection more than the Crash collection last year. You can see the ambition increase over the 3 games with the worlds becoming larger and more complicated as the games progress. However there did seem to be fewer difficulty spikes and less backtracking in the first game. Also I noticed some slowdown in the third game which didn't seem noticeable in the first 2 games. A nice trip down memory lane and has me hopeful for next years CTR!

fry87 wrote:Also I noticed some slowdown in the third game which didn't seem noticeable in the first 2 games.

How do you end up making a PS1 game have slowdown on hardware 3 generations newer

Sonic 1 (SEGA AGES) - Switch - 8/10

Still such a fantastic game even after all these years! Whilst it's a shame that SEGA haven't ported the Stealth & Taxman retro engine versions of the Sonic games over to the Switch this version from M2 is still a great way to play Sonic 1.

Much more than just a barebones release the addition of things like leaderboards, ring keeper mode, Mega Play arcade version of the game, option to choose between the JPN/US version of the game, and adding moves like spin dash from S2 onward and drop dash from Mania are a great way of adding more to the package.

Only downside is that there were moments of slowdown, particularly in Labyrinth Zone, which I don't recall experiencing in the original game - but I may be wrong as it has been a while since I played on anything other than a modern port.

Basically if you like Sonic then this is a great way to play the original.

Life Is Strange: Before The Storm

I dunno if it's my fragile state of mind, the time of the year or whatever, but this just floored me. I adored the first game but this, gooseberry fool. There are scenes in this that made me weak. I have never been as emotionally engaged in characters like this, it's the stuff Telltale could only dream of. The actually solve a mystery 'game' behind it was alright, but I could happily live with these characters forever. The strawberry floating Tempest play bit, Jesus shitting Christ. Actual tears, all over the place.

10/10

Spyro 3: 6/10 (PS4)

Probably the worst game of the collection. It’s clear that they are rushing the game production for this as there’s a lot of glitches, some slowdown in some levels.

Late Shift (PS4) 6/10

A decent “FMV” game. A good plot, story writing and decent acting from all cast involved. Not much of gameplaying apart from making choices via text on screen.

Wedgie wrote:Late Shift (PS4) 6/10

A decent “FMV” game. A good plot, story writing and decent acting from all cast involved. Not much of gameplaying apart from making choices via text on screen.

I've been interested in playing this, any indication of how much choices affect the story and how much it branches?

OrangeReindeer wrote:

Wedgie wrote:Late Shift (PS4) 6/10

A decent “FMV” game. A good plot, story writing and decent acting from all cast involved. Not much of gameplaying apart from making choices via text on screen.

I've been interested in playing this, any indication of how much choices affect the story and how much it branches?

Every choice seems to affect something. It’s very short though and each play through last around a hour or so.

I think there’s 7 endings in total.

Just wish there is a fast forward option for scenes that I’ve seen several times.

An hour playthrough sounds perfect to me! I'll keep an eye on it

FEAR - 6/10

+ Enjoyable combat.
+ The shotgun is great.
+ Some good creepy moments/scripted events.

- I don't think I've ever cared less about the plot in a game.
- The levels are basically warehouse, office, warehouse, office...with a few warehouses and offices thrown in for variety.
- Absolutely no variety in objectives, locales, enemies, guns...very generic.

Inside (Switch) - 8/10

Played through in one sitting. Clear to see why this is so highly regarded and why it will continue to inspire imitators. Very well crafted and makes use of a few mechanics extremely well. Perhaps not as narratively engaging as it thinks it is - highest impact moments come within the first 15 minutes for me.

Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (3DS)

Very fun game. Finally got around to playing it because I needed something to play on a couple of long train rides I had. Initially thought he moved a bit too slow but I stopped caring and later on the relics allow for some cool movement options (on top of the shovel down-thrust). Fun characters and dialogue too.

The checkpoint system which allows you to destroy them for more loot is a novel and pretty cool idea. Did feel a bit meaningless since you can pretty easily grind for more and it doesn't take too long, but it's nice that you can tailor the difficulty like that. At some point I did just start using all the checkpoints, but it was still a decent challenge. I found that even though you can cheese levels and bosses a bit with the relics there'll still be cool interactions and such.

Will check out the other campaigns in due time.

Night in the Woods -

Very tough one to rate. Fits into the category of being more of a gameplay experience than a game.

I've been thinking a lot recently how low the bar is for gamers' expectations when it comes to writing and storycrafting. I would argue that in the vast, vast majority of cases, games would not stand up on their own as engaging and dynamic narratives.

I feel like the key is matching form and function - DOOM has been rightly praised for offering a lore which does not even remotes interfere with gameplay. Hollow Knight (my Game of the Year) takes that a small step up and gives only the thinnest of plots, but a lot of depth with lore. Whereas Zelda Breath of the Wild abandoned plot nearly entirely, and whilst being a phenomenal gaming experience, has very little staying power or singularly memorable moments because of it.

A game then which is entirely driven by story is a risky enterprise, because if any parts of the story fall flat, there is little to redeem it.

Night in the Woods doesn't fall flat, but does take its themes in a slightly flawed direction towards the ending. There's quite a lot of fabulous characterisation across the various vignettes and set pieces when Mae (the protagonist) is one-on-one with characters, but from the second act onwards, the game has an esoteric conspiracy plot driving it, which is lifted straight from Hot Fuzz and felt obtuse.

The game also has branching paths, forcing multiple playthroughs to experience various strands of the story and the set pieces. However, it seems like none of the main plot is affected regardless of the path that the player picks, so the motivation to go back and re-experience 90% of the same game for the sake of a 10% variation seems like a flawed design decision, intended only to offer some replayability to what is otherwise essentially a well written dialogue based novel.

It very clearly is a Kickstarter game, swollen with additional side plots and a few minigames which are charming enough, but ultimately fail to enhance the main story in a meaningful way. If anything, the proper 'game' elements detract from the form/function value proposition.

I very much enjoyed my time in Possum Springs, having completed the game in a lazy Saturday at home. The dialogue and primary cast were well realised and refreshingly diverse - great to see LGBT representation at the centre of a gaming experience. However, there's an unclear identity here, compared to a game like Wandersong which clearly borrows a lot from Night in the Woods, but has a much clearer identity.

Frosty the Clarkman wrote:I feel like the key is matching form and function

Play Papers Please and Celeste

OrangeReindeer wrote:

Frosty the Clarkman wrote:I feel like the key is matching form and function

Play Papers Please and Celeste

Celeste is probably my number 2 game of the year (number 1 if you refuse to count Hollow Knight, given it was out last year).

I don't own a console that can play Papers Please - seems to be unavailable on PS4?

Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance.

Got the standard ending the other day and the true ending today. Some of those pieces of Vlad needed to trigger the ending were hard to find/easy to miss, but in this game that true ending isn't that much more fulfilling. Just an extra boss and a happier epilogue. And in a way I appreciate that they didn't hide so much content behind an obtuse barrier like in other Castlevanias.

The last boss was also a bit of a joke, although I just happened to have an ability on me that countered it hard. Shielded me from frontal attacks while also dealing damage as well. None of the game's bosses were difficult.

Pretty much summed up my thoughts on the game here already. Flawed but overall fun game. Feel like with some refining it could have been really good. Now I just have Portrait of Ruin to complete and I've played through all the handheld Igavanias.

Kirby's Dream Land

Rating: ^.^

Krik Kringle wrote:Kirby's Dream Land

Rating: ^.^

Smash Ultimate has a lovely remix of the credits theme!

Hitman 2 - PS4

8/10, Excellent game.

In many ways it's just an extension of Hitman 1, rather than a full blown sequel. It introduced a few new mechanics, but on a core level it's the same game in new levels. Not a bad thing though as I really enjoyed the first game too. The way they pulled through all the levels of the first game as a free bonus was nice, and as a whole it's now a really great game.

Controls can be a little annoying at times, far too many actions are tied to the same button... so often you go to silently subdue a target only to have 47 clobber than around the head and alert everyone as the half a yard the AI moved changed what pressing square will do in the time it took you to press the button.

Sam & Max : The devils playhouse

Never played a point & click before. I started this years ago but I just didn’t like it. So I started again, gave it time & more or less enjoyed it. Just scrapes by 3/5. Would of been a 2/5, but episodes 4 & 5 I really enjoyed.

Next stop : going back to Sackboy prehistoric bollocks. I hated it then with its stupid playstation move bollcocks then, strawberry floating awkward controls, what in the hell were Media Molecule thinking at the time I’ll never know. Not a great way to show off your magical waggle wand.

I swear on my great grandmas grave I’ll badger this game so hard like a muscle bound dickhead eating pancakes.

Jazzem wrote:

Krik Kringle wrote:Kirby's Dream Land

Rating: ^.^

Smash Ultimate has a lovely remix of the credits theme!

I don't remember the credits theme lol, but this is good. The game has some great tunes.