Currently off my face on Switch —

Splatoon 2 expansion
Good but hard - or maybe I’m just shit. Probably the latter


Toad Teasure Tracker
Only played a few levels but it’s exactly what I hoped it would be - seems like the perfect ‘holiday’ game.


Subsurface Circular
Heard good things and I really like the premise but the interface is really jarring IMO so I’m struggling to get through It.

danclarke wrote:

Subsurface Circular
Heard good things and I really like the premise but the interface is really jarring IMO so I’m struggling to get through It.

What do you find so jarring about it?

Also, conceding defeat with the Metroid thing.  I finished Fusion on the Micro last year, I preferred it to what I've played of Super.  Was a lot easier to work out where to go next, but Hollow Knight has since taught me that not knowing the best route to win can be fun.

Heh, I didn't really mean to make a point about ageing level design, which means you don't even partly agree with anything I've said.  It's fiiine.  I'll happily applaud Super for its layout and progression system - the player's route through the game is expertly designed.  The fact that I bounced off that aspect of it is my fault rather than any problem with the way the map stitches together, it's just set out in a way I can't get on with.  Due to the controls. 
I've been happily exploring the crap out of Hollow Knight.

Fair point re controls. I knew that’s what you had issue with. They’re not perfect. I firmly believe it’s perfect in all other ways though.

Dying Light is substantially better than that Edge ([6] i think?) review suggested.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

regmcfly wrote:

Hoorah. You must not be that far in yet re villain.

5-6hrs or so.  I've been destroying things that are dear to him, and just watched him

Spoiler:

blow everyone's minds

Indeed. Well I shall say

regmcfly wrote:

Hoorah. You must not be that far in yet re villain.

5-6hrs or so.  I've been destroying things that are dear to him, and just watched him

Spoiler:

blow everyone's minds

Indeed. Well I shall say

Spoiler:

come back in 2 or so hours.

I might be a bit inebriated, but the second phase of Stef is wiping the floor with me.  On easy.

YES

Homefront: The Revolution. It's alright. It's on Gamepass. It's open worldy and has quite an enjoyable loop of liberating areas from red to blue. Nothing special.

The highlight so far has been finding an old arcade cabinet that allows you to play the first two levels from Timesplitters 2.

I thought there were four discs? Surely you're passed disc 2??

Zero Time Dilemma on Vita.  One of the oddest games I've ever played.  I played for 90 minutes before being faced with anything other than 50/50 choices (and terrible dialogue), and now I'm in a room with a strict solution procedure that requires far more thought than your standard first-real-puzzle stuff.

Fair enough. I felt it worked quite well, but I was playing on Switch in portable which probably affects this, particularly with the way the background perspective moves with the device while the overlay remains static

Jet Set Radio (w10)

What an inspired gem of a game yet so flawed in execution.
Basically a straight port from the Dreamcast, audiovisually the game is a treat to behold with superior presentation to the dreamcast original. Higher res visuals with AA support look stunning on a modern pc monitor. Sound is great too and the game plays exactly like I remember including all its flaws.

The major flaw of the game is basically how it controls. The controls are a bit too arcadey, too floaty and too imprecise to be really engagng in 2018. It's still enjoyable to navigate the game's environments but you keep having that nagging feeling the controls should and must be tighter. Too many obviously missed jumps start to grate after a while. There's also a lack of tony hawk style combos and tricks. Why? This was somewhat half-heartedly addressed in the semi-sequel jsr future but I'll leave that for another post. Due to above flaws the game lacks a bit of depth in its gameplay hook which is a crying shame.

Other than that the game is a fascinating experiment of imagination running wild.
The whole presentation is outstanding and the level design inspired. Professor K, the gg's, the rival gangs, the soundtrack, they all scream quality. The way the characters dance and bop to the music is a sight to behold. Shame they didn't incorparate b-boy/b-girl dance battles into the game, could've been an interesting diversion.
I also like the open level designs. This really should be an open world game where levels flow organically into one other but due to this being originally a Dreamcast game I guess this wasn't technically feasible at the time. Still, level design is nice and varied with more inter-connectedness than I expected.

This ip is seriously screaming for an update. A true sequel that addresses all the original's faults; tighter controls, a true fleshed out trick/graffiti system, b-boy/b-girl battles, a fully open world to explore with more rival gangs and missions, a better fleshed out story. It's unlikely we'll ever see a sequel as both jsr and jsrf seriously underperformed in the charts and publishers don't like taking risks. It'll take a very, very brave developer to pick up the challenge of doing another jsr game.

Agreed, jsrf flowed better than the original but imo still suffers the same fundamental faults. The controls and jumping could be more precise, much tighter and the implemented trick system is a bit weak. The world and level design in jsrf is much bigger and open but the game would really benefit if it moved to a true open world design. Also, still no b-boy/b-girl dance battles.

In short, the gameplay hook in jsrf is still a bit weak. I do like the better flow and the visual overhaul tho' but if the series really wants to move forward and break into the mainstream it needs a more precise and engaging platforming/grind/trick system and mission structure. The gameplay hook is what counts most.