tin_robot wrote:

Guardians of the Galaxy (PS5) A bit of a surprise for me this one.  A rare example of a game that gets progressively better.  Which is a good thing really, as I wasn't particularly enamoured of it at all at first. The fights (of which there are many) are clunky and repetitive, the Mass Effect Lite conversations are sometimes overly long, and don't appear to change the outcome of anything enormously. As I said in the "currently playing" thread, I kept going only because my kids bought it for me.  Yet, somehow, the whole thing blossoms over the course of play.  The fights remain repetitive, but the fiddly mechanics become a little more elegant as you grow more accustomed and the options open up a little.  The conversations, whilst still applying a handbrake to the momentum at time, prove to be essential to building up a sense of your relationship to the wider team.  The great revelation though is not in these obvious, and sometimes clumsy, mechanics, but in the subtle stuff that's in there.

Spoiler:

There was a moment late in the game where I realised I had stopped telling Groot to make bridges, or Rocket to hack stuff, or Drax to topple shit over for me.  They were just doing it.  Because they knew me, and I knew them, and we were functioning as a perfect team, not the awkward, disagreeable idiots we started out as. There's no grand pronouncement about this (though Peter briefly thanks them from time to time), and the realisation just creeps up on you.  And it feels surprisingly satisfying.

So, yeah, not a masterpiece, but defnitely worth my time.  I found myself at the end hoping that other games learnt lessons from this one - definitely not a view I was expecting to have at the start. Ratchet and Clank - A Rift Apart The first Ratchet and Clank game I've actually finished, which says something I guess. (Though whether it's about me or the game, I'm not sure).  I usually get bored at some point and drift away, but this one kept me in there for the duration. That said, it's not anything particularly game changing either.  The much vaunted "rift" stuff feels fairly inconsequential in reality. Occassionally connecting to a rift to get to another part of the map feels like a slightly less exciting version of the swingshot. The rifts opening to other dimensions at various points are so scripted as to again feel unexciting.  It may or may not be a technical achievement, but it didn't do much for the gameplay. Still, the game's fun, the ridiculous roster of weapons similarly so. (Topiary Sprinkler ftw)  I had a good time with it, but it was ultimately slight, and left me craving something a bit more substantial. I guess it's the gaming equivalent of (very expensive) fast food.

b0r1s wrote:

Nice one Tin. GoTG is not the best game in the world but I loved the setting and the team and yes that spoiler bit was very well done. I also found some of the cut scenes between Drax and Peter, as well as the flash backs, were really well done.

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Thought fire watch was meant to be good? Can’t you all go somewhere else, discuss, come to a consensus and then come back and tell me what to play?

it’s amazing

Gorogoa (Xbox) - Just blasted through this via Game Pass on Xbox console. Falls into that Monument Valley thing of being somewhat pretentious and pleasingly arty without falling into the deep end of being inaccessible and up its own arse. It's a narrative puzzler, pretty short, pretty minimal frustration. Quite liked how the previously unclear story clicked together at the end despite no dialogue. Worth a look, although if it's available on Game Pass PC maybe check that out instead as I think it's probably more ideal with mouse or touchscreen than controller. [8]

Frozen Wilds DLC done for Horizon just before the sequel comes out. Lovey setting in the snow and great atmosphere but the story was like a smaller copy of the main quest. Felt a bit of a missed opportunity to do something different. [7]

I liked it a lot but that's a fair assessment of the combat, which was 'absolutely fine' imo, but not a draw in itself. There are worse games with better hack 'n slashing.

I thought it was going to be great in the opening hours, but it never really developed. I was drawn in more by the excellent character design and the visual style and music, perhaps, rather than the combat and exploring, which never really got beyond solid.

I couldnt drag through deaths door. Every fight with a rando was some boring scrap - I aint got time for that shit.

It peaks at [8] or even [9] but overall is basically a moderately solid [7]

Deaths Door is a 5 from me. A reasonably well made game that fails to do anything interesting. Boring combat and a dull art style. The lack of a map makes the trudging about extremely tedious.

NINE

Guardians of the Galaxy
Im sad to be finished this one. It looked great, with flarkin' varied environments, funny dialogue and quite a lot of feels by the end and it was just great fun to play. My only gripe was that Peter's guns felt quite weedy, there wasnt much of an impression of impact. I give this a solid 8. Well worth sinking a few hours into.

Uncharted : legacy of thieves collection.

Uncharted 4.

So I mainly played this at 60 fps performance mode but after trying 120 fps it is just something else.
Was better than I remembered for its puzzles and set-pieces and with the improved frame rated the gun play was so much better too.
A solid 9/10.

Uncharted lost legacy.

Same as a above started on 60 and soon jumped to 120fps.
Much shorter and just nearly as enjoyable with a lo Ely cast of ladies.
Environments were cool but set pieces just weren't as good as uncharted 4.
8/10

Pokémon Legends: Arceus - Just hit the credits with this, although there's still some post-credits story content still to go. This game is Pokemon reimagined in a more dynamic, open-world format - instead of linear environments with firmly separated overworld and battle engines, Pokemon Legends drops you in open landscapes where you can hurl Pokeballs at roaming Pokemon in action game style to capture them and where you can seamlessly enter turnbased combat with more aggressive Pokemon. The new gameplay loop is fantastic - Breath of the Wild inspired Pokemon is basically everything you hoped it would be. Collecting resources to craft tools like Pokeballs and healing potions and then using them out in the field to capture and battle Pokemon is captivating and is such a refreshing new tale on what is becoming a stale traditional formula.

The game isn't prefect. The graphics are rough - not absolutely awful, not game ruining... but the fact you will never look across a landscape and go 'wow, that's pretty' during the entire duration of the game is a bit depressing, especially when Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Switch and looks lovely in places. The game also falls into a repeating formula quite early on in the game, which it never really mixes up. It's not that it gets boring, more that the game could have been a classic if it had more time in the oven and a bit more variety and sparkle added to it, but is instead only very good.

Pokemon has increasingly ignored its adult fanbase in recent years with games becoming increasingly cakewalk-ish and veering into almost being a bit patronising. This game is absolutely as kid-friendly as ever but it just adds back in the tiny bit of spice that was missing to make the games appealing to adults. The plot is just a bit more well-developed and successful than usual. The utopian modern day world of Pokemon doesn't exist yet - instead the three factions of the Galaxy Exploration Team, the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan uneasily coexist, and while the story beats go in exactly the co-operation oriented direction you'd expect, it's clear that, at least at the outset, all three groups are extremely wary of their relationships breaking down into bloodshed. Likewise, some of the Pokemon battles in the story encounters are clearly analogues for violent conflict, with your opponents making threats to do you in. None of it is truly mature in a Game of Thrones way but the ever-so-slighty more mature themes in this one inject back in some intergenerational cross-over appeal that has been missing from the series of late. Likewise, the gameplay is more challenging than it's been in many years - I game overed a few times in every boss battle towards the end of the game and wiped out in one of the last Pokemon battles near the end. Again, it's nothing too off-putting for kids and you can mitigate the difficultly of the boss battles (you can optionally choose to continue boss battles where you left off if you're defeated although the way the options are ordered in the menu suggests this is intended mainly for people who are struggling to complete the boss, like small kids). There is also more depth in how Pokemon are fleshed out - most of them have a sub-quest relating to them that fleshes out their background - a bit like how the animated show did when we were kids. They've hit just the right balance of family-friendliness with a bit of depth to make the game engaging for the adult audience.

Overall, this is a really successful game that has successfully reinvigorated a tired old formula - the only downside is that it's clearly a game that has been cranked out in a fixed time-period rather than a Zelda-style production that's been polished to perfection. Hopefully we'll see further iterations on this formula - either by integrating features from this back into the traditional formula in Generation IX or by producing further Pokemon Legends games - that will be genuine classics. As it stands, this has to settle for just being very, very good. [8]

FranticPea wrote:

The Gunk

I just completed. Really, really enjoyed it. Just the basic gameplay loop is really fun.

Good stuff, dude!  I guess you're doing a new game/plus, and are you still going to try and beat the mega hard boss you found?