Main Menu

Last game played...

Started by Keef Monkey, 11 June, 2011, 09:35:35 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

JamesC

Quote from: radiator on 18 July, 2019, 06:13:54 PM
Blazing Chrome on Switch

An unashamed tribute to Contra III/Super Probotector, so right in my wheelhouse (Contra III being one of my all time favourites).

It's a lot of fun, but there's something slightly off about it that I can't quite put my finger on. There's something in the overall presentation, or pacing, or balancing that doesn't quite live up to the game its trying so hard to emulate.

It certainly looks the part but I often find the same thing with trying to play retro (or retro inspired) on modern consoles. I think it's to do with the controller (at least it may be as even straight ports/remakes feel off to me). I'm not a switch owner but if I ever invest (which I may have to once Bayonetta 3 is released) I think I'll get one of those 8BitDo retro controllers.

Incidentally, if you have any interest in the Megadrive Mini which is coming out in November it includes Contra Hard Corps which is excellent.

GrudgeJohnDeed

I really, really enjoyed Blazing Chrome!! For me it is up there with the 16-bit Probotectors/Contras, perhaps even rising above in some regards by being a little more approachable in terms of difficulty (at least on normal) and having a nice zippy flow. It felt like they knew what was fun about those old games, and then tried to concentrate it some. It's not perfect though, some of the larger art looks a bit iffy (that jock-off thumb in the bottom left on the map screen!), but that was true of Contra 3 if I'm honest, and however imperfect the art in places, Blazing Chrome has a lot more bold, screen-filling story content which is very welcome.

If the shooting perhaps isn't for you, when you beat the game on normal, you unlock two melee characters, who when used turn the gameplay all Strider-y/Ninja Gaiden-y! They're a lot of fun, they're slightly faster and more agile, and spamming melee kicks out a TON of damage but you have to get in close!! I used them to beat the Boss Rush as they just melt the ones you can get close to for a good moment.

I don't think I have the chops to beat Hardcore though, which I feel these games kind of daring you to do. 3 continues, each start with 3 lives, more enemies (with more HP in some cases, and I think faster attacks). I practiced stages 1 - 3 a lot and got ok at them but 4 - 6 are hell!

Trooper McFad

After being upgraded to a smart phone (Daughters old one) she also introduced me to miniclip's 8 Ball pool now I'm hooked 😳 much to my wife's displeasure. Simple game play pick up and put down. (although the hard push for in game purchases is starting to get on my wick). If anyone fancies a game look up RogueT.
Citizens are Perps who haven't been caught ... yet!

IAMTHESYSTEM

Fallout New Vegas. The Steam version I have often crashed, so I went to GOG games. The Game works fine now, only one crash so far but otherwise much more stable. Graphics are very dated, but the buzz of nostalgia I get from walking the Mojave wastes makes up for that. RPG, not to everyone's taste but for me its one of those games you can play again with much enjoyment. Keep dying of course by wandering off to meet angry Legionnaires, bugs and scorpions. It was priced £4.79 in the GOG sale so won't break the bank either.
"You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension."

http://artriad.deviantart.com/
― Nikola Tesla

somebody-nobody

there is a really nice Mod for Fallout new Vegas and Fallout 3 called a tale of two wastelands it gives the two games a link by subway train I've always played them as one big game anyway.

GrudgeJohnDeed

#2330
Recently played through the Doom 3 (BFG Edition) 2019 rerelease on Xbox One, it's showing its age a bit in some superficial areas, but holds up incredibly well for a game from 2004! I got sucked right back in and it's as good as any current game for my money.

I forgot how much of a star the base itself is, super oppressive, claustrophobic, dark (they lit this thing like a seedy nightclub from day one), dangerous, and with an over-designed look to all the metal panels and exposed machinery, it's almost baroque. All before a Hell portal was even a twinkle in Betruger's eye!

I hadn't played the BFG Edition before, and the only change I noticed was the flashlight. You can now have the flashlight turned on whilst simultaneously holding a gun, which wasn't the case before. My friend said that it almost feels like cheating :) . It does make it a bit easier and less scary in parts, but it's fine overall. There's one bit where a guy chaperones you with a light through a pitch black area, which made sense in 2004 but now his dialogue about doing you a massive favour doesn't quite ring true!

I always thought it was a worthy successor to the Doom crown, but it had plenty of its detractors back then. I wonder if it'll change any minds this time round, now that perhaps expectations are different?

Apestrife

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 05 August, 2019, 07:46:08 PM
Recently played through the Doom 3 (BFG Edition) 2019 rerelease on Xbox One, it's showing its age a bit in some superficial areas, but holds up incredibly well for a game from 2004! I got sucked right back in and it's as good as any current game for my money.

I forgot how much of a star the base itself is, super oppressive, claustrophobic, dark (they lit this thing like a seedy nightclub from day one), dangerous, and with an over-designed look to all the metal panels and exposed machinery, it's almost baroque. All before a Hell portal was even a twinkle in Betruger's eye!

I hadn't played the BFG Edition before, and the only change I noticed was the flashlight. You can now have the flashlight turned on whilst simultaneously holding a gun, which wasn't the case before. My friend said that it almost feels like cheating :) . It does make it a bit easier and less scary in parts, but it's fine overall. There's one bit where a guy chaperones you with a light through a pitch black area, which made sense in 2004 but now his dialogue about doing you a massive favour doesn't quite ring true!

I always thought it was a worthy successor to the Doom crown, but it had plenty of its detractors back then. I wonder if it'll change any minds this time round, now that perhaps expectations are different?

I like it alot more this time around, thanks to DOOM2016 being the DOOM game I wanted DOOM3 to be. Has it's fair share of cheap scares, but it's dark areas and one on one encounters it feels quite unique I think.

But I hope they'll add the option to play the game with a flash light. The gameplay calls for it.

GrudgeJohnDeed

The early parts of Doom were definitely a horror game to me as a kid, sheepishly peeking round the corners of a purged human habitat, white knuckles around my nearly depleted shotgun, lights flickering, listening to the groans and grunts of god-knows-what in the next room and knowing I have to go through there..

Then by later levels, you've seen all the horrors the game has to offer, you're in the more colourful and less relatable hell, you have godly weapons, you're extremely familiar with the controls, the levels open up more often to accommodate the huge crowds you have to fight, the mood and the action changes a lot. You're circle strafing around spider demons at 90 mph firing tactical nukes whilst cackling like a maniac.

I feel like Doom 3 captures one of those sides of Doom, and Doom 2016 the other, whilst dialling them up to 11. I'm pretty chuffed we got both. I can also highly recommend the Brutal Doom mod for original Doom, it makes the violence ridiculous, adding lots of new weapons, gore and mechanics (including the melee kill animations that Doom 2016 later had).

Roll on that Doom 64 rerelease/remastering that is rumoured to be on the horizon, another great game!

GordyM

Observation can go f*** itself.

That is all.
Check out my new comic Supermom: Expecting Trouble and see how a pregnant superhero tries to deal with the fact that the baby's father is her archnemesis. Free preview pack including 12 pages of art: http://www.mediafire.com/file/57986rnlgk0itfz/Supermom_Preview_Pack.pdf/file

Keef Monkey

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 06 August, 2019, 04:18:51 PM
The early parts of Doom were definitely a horror game to me as a kid, sheepishly peeking round the corners of a purged human habitat, white knuckles around my nearly depleted shotgun, lights flickering, listening to the groans and grunts of god-knows-what in the next room and knowing I have to go through there..

It does have an amazing atmosphere that still holds up. Interestingly (to me) when Dolby gave us a demo of their Atmos technology one of the things they used was a version of Doom 3 that they'd upmixed to Atmos. I thought it was really cool how of all the modern games they could have chosen (some of which are already in Atmos) they felt the best way to showcase what it can add was with a game that old. It's a real testament to how dripping with atmosphere that game still is. Hearing a level of that game with all those environmental and creepy sounds coming from above and all around was bloody terrifying!

I still need to pick up this new edition, but I might get it for my charity game marathon this year and do a full playthrough in the dark for maximum spookiness.

Quote from: GordyM on 08 August, 2019, 11:00:31 AM
Observation can go f*** itself.

That is all.

I thought this many times during Observation but overall liked it a lot! It's just way too obtuse and disorientating for its own good at times, but there are things it does well that swung the needle into the positive for me personally. Not sure I'd play it again though, the thought of getting lost and confused again doesn't appeal much.

GrudgeJohnDeed

Quote from: Keef Monkey on 08 August, 2019, 11:29:14 AM
It does have an amazing atmosphere that still holds up. Interestingly (to me) when Dolby gave us a demo of their Atmos technology one of the things they used was a version of Doom 3 that they'd upmixed to Atmos. I thought it was really cool how of all the modern games they could have chosen (some of which are already in Atmos) they felt the best way to showcase what it can add was with a game that old. It's a real testament to how dripping with atmosphere that game still is. Hearing a level of that game with all those environmental and creepy sounds coming from above and all around was bloody terrifying!

I still need to pick up this new edition, but I might get it for my charity game marathon this year and do a full playthrough in the dark for maximum spookiness.

That's a cool story thanks! The sound is indeed incredibly well designed and effective, a few times during my playthrough I span round to shoot whatever it was that was supposedly breathing over my shoulder or sniggering devilishly in a doorway behind me, and there was nothing there. The game had succeeded in turning me in to Private Hudson. Dead Space deservedly won awards for its amazing horror sound design but it was standing on the shoulders of giants in a lot of ways I now realise!

I'll definitely try and tune in for the marathon again this year, and I reeeally want to catch Doom 3! Great price at £8.99 too!

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is next on my list but havent got the cash right now..

GordyM

Quote from: Keef Monkey on 08 August, 2019, 11:29:14 AM

Quote from: GordyM on 08 August, 2019, 11:00:31 AM
Observation can go f*** itself.

That is all.

I thought this many times during Observation but overall liked it a lot! It's just way too obtuse and disorientating for its own good at times, but there are things it does well that swung the needle into the positive for me personally. Not sure I'd play it again though, the thought of getting lost and confused again doesn't appeal much.

I really, really wanted to like it. I love the concept and all of the story-related stuff but the game itself just seems to be going out of its way to make everything as frustrating as possible. Being put in the positiion over and over of very slowly scanning (sometimes very large) areas until you find the bit you can interact with, no exterior maps, no way of highlighting what you can use, sometimes very vague instructions etc etc etc.

After 20 minutes of very slowly scanning the station's exterior bit by bit in search of damage I gave up.
Check out my new comic Supermom: Expecting Trouble and see how a pregnant superhero tries to deal with the fact that the baby's father is her archnemesis. Free preview pack including 12 pages of art: http://www.mediafire.com/file/57986rnlgk0itfz/Supermom_Preview_Pack.pdf/file

Keef Monkey

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 08 August, 2019, 06:12:51 PM

The sound is indeed incredibly well designed and effective, a few times during my playthrough I span round to shoot whatever it was that was supposedly breathing over my shoulder or sniggering devilishly in a doorway behind me, and there was nothing there. The game had succeeded in turning me in to Private Hudson. Dead Space deservedly won awards for its amazing horror sound design but it was standing on the shoulders of giants in a lot of ways I now realise!

I'll definitely try and tune in for the marathon again this year, and I reeeally want to catch Doom 3! Great price at £8.99 too!

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is next on my list but havent got the cash right now..

The Hudson thing is such a good description of how I end up behaving in those games, jumping at my own shadow and wasting ammo firing into the darkness at the slightest sound! It definitely set the horror sound design bar really high. I want to get Metal Wolf Chaos too, I find myself enjoying everything Devolver put out generally, and I love how well suited to the Switch so many of their games are. They seem really committed to putting cool stuff on that console!

Quote from: GordyM on 09 August, 2019, 01:35:04 PM
After 20 minutes of very slowly scanning the station's exterior bit by bit in search of damage I gave up.

Damn, I hated those outside sections so much that I think I wiped them from my memory. You've brought it flooding back now! I remember that exact part, looking for the damage and having no indication of what I was looking for based on the super vague instructions and the lack of anything to direct me. Incredibly frustrating. I must have really liked the other aspects for me to forgive it that.

Bolt-01

Auralux, on my phone.

What a game

Keef Monkey

Finished Wolfenstein: Youngblood and on the whole I'm pretty bummed out about it. I love Wolfenstein 1&2 so really threw myself into this wanting to enjoy it but it's just such a weird direction for the series and a lot of what gives the series its character is the character and cutscene stuff and while that is in there (and is still great) it's pretty sparse.

On your own it feels quite empty, a bit like Borderlands with no pals, and the most I enjoyed it was when I opened up to public matchmaking and let randos join for co-op. Had a couple of really good sessions with a stranger, no voice-chat but just added a lot to know a human being was slogging through it beside me.

The whole thing maybe took 5 hours to batter through and I'd probably have said I generally enjoyed it BUT the last boss fight absolutely undid any goodwill I had for it. It's awful to the point of very probably being broken (there's no way it's working as designed), anyone who joined to play it with me would quit out eventually after a while of no progress, and I eventually had to switch it down to the lowest possible difficulty just to get it done. Even then it took forever. Seriously, that fight is dreadful.

So I walked away hating it, and that's pretty sad given how fantastic the mainline games are. Hopefully a weird sidestep that they'll move on from and forget about when Wolfenstein 3 rolls around.