Moran

Karma itt

I've run out of space to add any more games to either of my megaposts on page 3.  Looks like I'll need three placeholders next year.

37. Ori and the Blind Forest [9]
16-23 Nov
This is up there with the best modern Metroidvania games. A lot of it is tried and tested stuff (although the 'bash' power is a bit of a game changer), but it's delivered with such polish and imagination it doesn't matter. Level design is where it really shines and it's consistently top class. The way layouts loop around, or the way new powers are introduced, tested, refined and combined over the course of hours is very impressive, and it always feels worth recovering old ground once you've made significant advances. What it really nails that every Metroidvania should aim for is getting more enjoyable with every major new power that unlocks. The make your own checkpoint system is also smart, if a little generous by the end of the game. And it all looks great too. Criticisms are minor - slightly misjudged chase sequences, oversensitive control and some visual detail getting in the way of clarity. It's not quite the precision platformer it wants to be, but I never struggled too much. A 9 but only just, let's say.

38. Lost Ember [5]
20-21 Nov
I almost really liked this. It's let down by a very creaky engine and a lack of focus. It actually ends up being quite Journey-like. You play as a wolf but can also possess any other animals you come across to traverse different terrain. There aren't any puzzles or combat or anything like that, just keep going, explore, enjoy the landscapes and the sensation of flying/running/swimming that controlling each beast provides. There are some good views and some stand out sequences, plus it uses the set up to deliver an interesting story about the end of a human civilisation, viewed through the eyes of the natural world that outlasts it. But it overuses a handful of animal types, especially in the first half, and often doesn't give you enough to do with them. Most of all, the performance is poor and the way your creatures move and struggle to interact convincingly with the world makes it feel dated. There are invisible walls, camera glitches and loading pauses that detract from an experience that should be about visual splendour and smooth flow. Over the course of the game you cover tons of ground and different locations. It's an absorbing journey and quite an achievement to make such a large world. But quantity too often comes at the expense of quality.

A Way Out is number 12 for me, got to 13 last year and will probably get there again this year with Luigi's Mansion 3 as the 13th. Don't think I'm going through DQIX quick enough to finish it this year.

Just another reason to cut back on buying games by quite a bit, I hardly finished any games from the list I made for myself.

Wariospeedwagon wrote:

A Plague Tale: Innocence (PC) 5/10

I'd agree that it goes on just a bit too long and gets daft at the end, but I can't say it spoiled it for me. It's still one of the most visually stunning game of the year as well.

I fancy doing an easy run of a recent Mortal Kombat at some point.  I don't plan to learn it but I'm intrigued by the story mode.  Haven't played an MK properly since no.II, but I liked stuff like Fight Night Champion (or even the journey mode in Fifa before I got bored).

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I fancy doing an easy run of a recent Mortal Kombat at some point.  I don't plan to learn it but I'm intrigued by the story mode.  Haven't played an MK properly since no.II, but I liked stuff like Fight Night Champion (or even the journey mode in Fifa before I got bored).

I had a really good time with MK 11's story mode earlier this year mate.  It sounds insulting to describe it as cheesy fan service, but a lot of care has gone into it.  Not sure if MK X is still on gamepass, but that has a similar (though not quite as good) story mode, if you wanted to see if it's your cup of tea.

80. Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide Edition - Switch

Spruced up rerelease of an XBLA game that passed me by.  I have quite specific tastes in grid tactics types - I like them to be fairly straightforward, with enough systems in play to make them feel deep without ever straying into overwhelming territory.  So we're talking Shining Force II, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, Fire Emblem Awakening (alright, that dips a blocky foot into overwhelming) and Mario + Rabbids as my ultimate genre heroes.  This sits proudly alongside my favourites, I thought it was fantastic from start to finish.  I'll attempt to sum up the rules and systems quickly:

Movement area is dictated by a sphere rather than a grid.  Units can be knocked over edges for an instant kill.  Infantry have limited movement but the highest knockbackability.  Cavalry can cover large distances but don't hit hard.  Archers are fucking deadly.  Archers counter attack ranged attacks but not close combat strikes, everything else can counter close contact hits but not ranged attacks.  Form a 'spirit wall' by placing two or more units together and a) they can't be knocked back, and b) archers firing through them can't be counter attacked. Defeated enemies leave skulls behind which can be eaten to replenish health or increase maximum HP.  Eat three and your unit becomes a demon, granting them two moves per round.  Enemies can also eat your skulls to earn the same benefits.  Haunt rice paddies to harvest rice, haunt shrines to create troops by spending rice.  Total rice available per map is finite so it never becomes an RTS troop churn thing, but extra units can be key to victory.  HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.  Your general is your tank, he automatically gets two actions per round, but if he dies you lose instantly.  Same deal for the enemy general.  The more rounds you leave them to meditate without waking them up the more HP they gain.  A general that's eaten three skulls can attack three times, so they're absolutely deadly, but must be guarded at all costs. A general's HP can rise to 18, standard units can't go past 12.  That's most of it.  It sounds like a lot in a wall of text, but anyone au fait with the genre will know that it's really not - try summing up the XCom2 systems in one paragraph. 

So I've spent most of this review explaining how it works for some reason.  The main thing is, it works!  The campaign lasts around 7-8hrs and I've been thoroughly addicted for a week.  Brilliant game.  I bet multiplayer is an absolute riot too.  [9]

NBA 2K20 MyCareer Mode - 6/10

This game gets all sorts of reviews, thanks to being a very good basketball game with pretty much unlimited content with a pretty shithouse currency system.  I think people easily cheat on PC and it never gets fixed as well.  

My experience with 2K20 was mostly positive with some important caveats.  It is presented very lavishly with realistic graphics and cut scenes that look like they could be in a real movie that is sponsored by every shoe company.  Rosario Dawson and Idris Elba are in it, as well as lots of basketball people.  As you would assume.  It is as low key as you could hope for which is nice.  A few years ago you had to play as a man called Frequency Vibrations who killed a man with his best friend and covered it up.  I'm not making that up.  It was directed by Spike Lee.  

This time you have to play as a bloke called Che.  They don't tell you this before you start and you can give your man any name you like, but they will still call him Che.  I called my man Goro Barkley so I had to start again.  Anyway Che is presented as a pretty decent bloke.  I prefer these sports games to leave you mostly as a blank slate and this wasn't too bad.  You can be a lair or a quiet team man.

The story is your way into the NBA.  It's fine.  I wish they'd let you do a full college run and you would be drafted based on how well you do over a couple of years, I don't think that will ever happen though.

My problems with this game go:

*The bombastic presentation just slows everything down too much after a minute.  IE the actual game of basketball wants to look just like a TV broadcast.  When you start a game there's a preamble where the players are walking into the arena, commentators are throwing to each other, line ups are analysed, all of that.  During the game in timeouts cheerleaders and mascots come out to dance, t shirts are shot into the ground.  A screen will pop up of both teams' next 4 games.  It's impressive in the first game.  By the second game you're hammering the X button and it won't fuck off and let you get back to the game for upwards of 5 seconds.  I think only Mario Kart makes me swear at the TV more than this game.

*the game's currency behaves like souls in Dark Souls ie: you spend it both on levelling up and new clothes etc.  It's very stingy with how it doles it out.  This does not sit well since you can buy more with actual money.  I cracked it because the game bugged out; I signed a deal with a sportswear company and asked me to wear their shoes.  Fair enough.  I tried to get a pair from the store but it wanted me to buy them (you are supposed to get a gratis pair).  The cheapest was 2000 points, which is about 2 games worth.  I said bugger that, and got in trouble.  Not only is it evil corporation stuff but it is stupid - I'm supposed to believe my NBA rookie monster has to choose between getting better at basketball and buying shoes?  Ridiculous.

*Also this has to do with realistic sports games in general.  When you start getting quite good it cuts you down to keep your stats realistic.  Like the AI is not brilliant at rebounding.  So the game won't let you just run at the hoop in the big gap between the players, he will run towards the defenders like they have a gravitational pull or something.

81. My Friend Pedro - Xbox One

Cracking balletic bullet time romp that somehow manages to hit most of its targets.  Ever fancied playing a 2D version of John Woo's Stranglehold?  Watch a trailer and you could be forgiven for assuming it's trying too much, but after a few minutes it's obvious that the player is in complete control of the action.  The dual wield and the dodge work well, and although the slowmo could perhaps be viewed as window dressing it still adds to the experience by giving you something else that's fun to mess around with.  Fun is the key here - the campaign is a blast, there's plenty of scope for score chasing/improvement with practice and every single one of he weapons is legit.  Levels are mostly well designed and it laughs in the face of repetition by making the basics so enjoyable.  I'm only marking it down because there's a touch too much float to the controls, which gives the whole thing a breezy, lightweight feel that absolutely works, but also lends it a slight whiff of imprecision that prevents it from being a truly outstanding game.  Perhaps more finesse would detract from the enjoyment overall, so it's quite possible that the game occupies the sweet spot already.  A handful of stages are pure shite, but most of them sit somewhere between fine and excellent, and almost all of the devices it uses to mix things up work well without taking any wind out of its sails.  Very very close to an 8, but I'll go for a tip top [7] instead.  Good stuff.

40 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen [7]
3-16 Dec
I bought this cheap as something to play for a couple of weeks before going away for Xmas and it did its job. I ran through the last few parts pretty quickly to get it finished and even dropped down to easy for the last battle, after one already rather long failed first attempt. Normally I wouldn't have tried to tackle it so soon and was probably a bit under-leveled.

Anyway, solid action RPGing, which delivered in the areas I want - exploring, fighting and treasure hunting. The rest of it, like story, characters and the intricacies of item management, I found easy to ignore. It's best when you set out on a long trek into uncharted territory and stumble upon an unexpected location to poke around, eventually coming home with a sack full of loot after some close encounters. A few more enemy types would've been nice, but the group combat with AI pawns works well most of the time, even if everything's a bit rough around the edges.

There's clearly tons more to do and plenty more depth if I want it, but I'm happy with seeing the credits and moving on.

Ah, fireworks wells. Toss in a coin to make a wish, toss in a match to make a death wish.

28:Halo: Reach - Xbox One X - 8/10 - 5 Hours
Still amazing, such a great campaign, and really emotional too. The MCC version is beautiful and runs as smooth as butter. Beautiful to play. I hate how it’s non-canon and completely ignores the books Bungie/MS helped create but it’s a great story nonetheless. It’s a great campaign with good variety, and the Space mission in the Sabre is just aces. Sounds odd but I love the weight is everyone dying as it adds an element missing from the other Halo’s in terms of the Spartans. Loved going through it again. Whilst it’s not my favourite Halo it’s up there.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

What's the reason for Reach being non-canon?

It had the best campaign for legendary solo play since CE imo.

Edit: Actually I think I wimped out and opted for Heroic maybe.

Quick and dirty answer, there’s talk of the split between Bungie and MS, Bungie making Halo Reach without much consideration for the Fall of Reach novel, and then 343 later retconned the lore to make the events of the game sort of fit. There have been some very in depth timelines created by the community, both the book and the game are oddball canon now, although it took Halsey’s diary, a few data drops and the Halo Fleet Battles rule book to fully explain how. Though it still doesn’t really make sense...

In a nutshell, in the novels, the Pillar of Autumn was in Orbit, leaving Reach on a mission with the entirety of the Spartan II’s and Cortana already aboard and working with them and Keyes. In the Reach game The Autumn is docked on the planet, Cortana needs to be transported last minute by Noble 6, and Chief is in cryo-sleep.

Doesn’t matter to 99.9% of players as they won’t have read the books but at the time Halo nerds like me didn’t really get why they chose to do it when the same game could gave been made with a slightly different ending.

For a super Halo Geek that’s played through all the campaigns a million times my favourite to play is...Halo 4.