GRcade

Last of Us Part 2 9/10
Played through the game again just to get the platinum and it's still a brilliant game, combat is so good and crunchy. The gameplay is great but again my main issues is with the story, the excess bloat and the feeling at times the script feels like a soap. I've actually grown to like Abby a bit, but again it just lacks the heart and the special feeling the original had.

Fate Stay Night

Feels like a bit of a stretch calling it a game but overall I did enjoy it. I liked the Unlimited Blade Works route the most.

Bravely Second, been playing it over the space of a few years. Took 97+ hours and enjoyable for the most part. Side Quests are fun and I did most of them. Only problem is that levelling up can take some time and individual battles can take 5-10 minutes at times. When you seem to get a boss battle they seem to be way overpowered compared to the area that they are in. Some bosses feel like a end of game boss.

Speaking of the end boss, it took me a few goes at them, have some really cheap moves that can wipe out your party and there doesn’t seem to be a way to hide from them. Even using Jump to avoid, sometimes the enemy will wait till I return till they pull off their Uber move that wipes out my party.

Kriken wrote:Fate Stay Night

Feels like a bit of a stretch calling it a game but overall I did enjoy it. I liked the Unlimited Blade Works route the most.

I couldn't persevere through the endless cookery

Astro's Playroom 10/10

I have got all the trophies apart from the time trail one so not quite 100% done but close, I absolutely love this game, it’s got a really nice feel about it like a Nintendo or SEGA (Dreamcast era) game,

TLOU2. Easy 10 for me. One of the most impactful things I have ever played. Amazingly I went it to it with zero knowledge of any spoilers. It was a rollercoaster to the very end.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:TLOU2. Easy 10 for me. One of the most impactful things I have ever played. Amazingly I went it to it with zero knowledge of any spoilers. It was a rollercoaster to the very end.

I have not started it yet and I have managed to read zero spoilers, the first game was one of my favourite ever games and one I have completed multiple times (very rare for me) I have even left it sealed until I can focus fully on it, how do the two discs work? Do I instal both before playing?

Install one, then play on the other from what I remember.

Yeah one is an install disc then you play off the other

Glad others could help. I own it digitally...

Astro's Playroom (7)

Your mileage may vary depending on how much you enjoy the PlayStation brand and how favourably you look upon the Dual Sense controller. It's a pleasant game to play, and some of the nostalgia did strike a chord with.me, especially in the final level, but it's quite short and, if you were to take away the Dual Sense controller, nothing particularly revolutionary, being a bit floaty and straight-forward.

I enjoy using the Dual Sense - and this game does make good use of it - but the hyperbole in the gaming press, especially the gushing comments made by Jonathan Dornbush on IGN, made me feel it would be transformative. It's certainly more expressive than other rumble and the adaptive triggers are neat, but it's not the next epoch of gaming some may have you believe. Don't get me wrong, I'd love Xbox do have it's own equivalent but the telling thing is I didn't miss it when I went to play other games. Don't believe the hype but fine as a pack-in.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas (PC)

This is definitely a Ubisoft Open World Game, and is much better without all the plastic toys getting in the way of switching weapons and pilots instead of just using a menu. It sets up the reasoning behind grinding out all the bandit camps and resource gathering a lot better than most, and across a visually compelling solar system of No Man's Sky-like worlds as you push the Big Bad Guy's forces back to tidy up the world maps.

The actual combat is fun, but I can imagine trying to play this with just the physical starter box would be a massive pain, as you only get 3 weapons and definitely need a lot more to do things like the big space battles as well as counter the various elemental weaknesses of the enemies. By the end I was getting a bit fed up with it so cranked it down to easy to just get through it, and as with a lot of these games the plot resolution isn't really worth the investment, and its fairly tepid setup for a sequel is all the more annoying given it totally bombed so will never happen.

If the digital deluxe version (which has the first wave of ships/weapons they released with it) goes on sale and you want a super-condensed space game then this could be worth a go, otherwise I would probably give it a miss if you're just looking at the physical box.

Doom 2 - 6/10

I finally beat this game after starting it three times and getting annoyed with it. The city levels were to blame. They are mostly gooseberry fool. I enjoyed some of the levels after that.

The game would be amazing if the level design was more consistent. They had everything else right, the new enemy types added are great, the weaponry is still awesome. Speaking of enemies, the Archvile might be my favourite video game enemy ever now. Every time I heard that sound effect, I freaked out.

Guacamelee - 9/10

IMO, still the best indie Metroid like series. This game is just fantastic from start to finish. The combat is brilliant, the controls are responsive, the level design is great.

Trelliz wrote:The actual combat is fun, but I can imagine trying to play this with just the physical starter box would be a massive pain, as you only get 3 weapons and definitely need a lot more to do things like the big space battles as well as counter the various elemental weaknesses of the enemies.

It definitely limits you a lot but it's mostly fine really because you can just brute force the enemies with the starter weapons and ignore the elemental stuff. Some of the puzzles can be hacked around by abusing the elemental barrels (or whatever they are) and others just have to be ignored.

The Switch version being an arwing piloted by Fox definitely helped me not care about the lack of ships/pilots though, because why would I not want to use Fox/the arwing!

Batman Arkham Asylum 7/10 -
For the most part, I enjoyed this; however, having experienced Spidey first diminished my enjoyment somewhat. It just feels a little chunky and clunky (mostly, due to its age). While I appreciated how Batman-y it all was, the detective bits were too simplistic and the fighting bits both thrilled and annoyed in equal measure (ie targeting the correct bad guy when fighting lots of them). On to the sequel next...

I think the sequel is better.

Good to hear, hopefully I'll be in agreement! As an aside, 3 came as a download code only in the collection, which is a pain as I'd planned on selling on when done.

The cool kids know that Origins is the secret best one

Bay 12, Please wrote:The cool kids know that Origins is the secret best one

It really is.

Xmas period gaming; refound my gaming passion in the past 5-7 days.

Donut County [PS4] - 6/10; really addictive and some nice ideas. Just not enough game, glad I picked this up on sale.

GRIS [PS4] - 7/10; really enjoyable and moving narrative. Hope there is more or a sequel, like Donut County picked this up on sale. Gorgeous soundtrack and visual.

Lara Croft GO [PS4] - 8/10; I was hooked, turn based strategy Tomb Raider. I was disappointed by Hitman GO but this is a step above.

Spider-Man [PS4] - 8/10; very good but by 100%-ing the main game and all DLC I have sickened myself of the world and the similar missions / objectives / crimes. It will be a long time before I pick up Miles Morales. Best traversal in a game ever, probably.

Super Lucky’s Tale [PS4] - 8/10; my Xmas Day game, great old school platformer with fun levels to explore. I was so addicted I played till 4am, not had a game have me so hooked for a long, long time. Also there’s just something so Xmassy for me playing a new platformer during the holidays