Last Game You Finished and Your Thoughts MKII

The_Jaster wrote:

I've not long just finished beating every single quest the game has to offer & loved every single minute of the 545 hours of play time I put in, quite simply it is the most I have gotten out of a game series EVER!

Blimey, Jas, 545 hours is nearly 23 whole days!

The Last of Us (PS3)

Amazing gaming experience overall. Well written, beautiful locations and characters you come to care about. Sneaking around trying avoid the clickers can be genuinely very tense.

It's not perfect though. Couple of slight negatives:
- Human enemy AI can be so stupid that it takes away from any realism they were trying to go for.
- Combat is a bit clunky and difficult at times
- There's no real sense of risk, if you die or fail a section you just end up restarting from the same point not having lost anything.

Played it on Normal mode so maybe on a harder difficulty setting these issues may not exist.

Due to all the praise it got it didn't quite live up to my (ridiculously high) expectations but is still a fantastic game. Could easily break into my all time top 10 and sit nicely beside Resident Evil 4.

9/10

Dead Lemon wrote:

The Last of Us (PS3)

Amazing gaming experience overall. Well written, beautiful locations and characters you come to care about. Sneaking around trying avoid the clickers can be genuinely very tense.

It's not perfect though. Couple of slight negatives:
- Human enemy AI can be so stupid that it takes away from any realism they were trying to go for.
- Combat is a bit clunky and difficult at times
- There's no real sense of risk, if you die or fail a section you just end up restarting from the same point not having lost anything.

Played it on Normal mode so maybe on a harder difficulty setting these issues may not exist.

Due to all the praise it got it didn't quite live up to my (ridiculously high) expectations but is still a fantastic game. Could easily break into my all time top 10 and sit nicely beside Resident Evil 4.

9/10

I mentioned this before in another topic, but The Last of Us would actually be the last game I properly finished.  I took about 22 hours to do it, also on Normal, but found the whole experience a struggle.  All the time I just wanted it to be over, which isn't a good sign, despite the fact that what was on offer was really first class.  I only finished it as a personal challenge and to satisfy friends who pleaded with me to stick with, claiming I wouldn't be disappointed.  In the end, I wasn't really disappointed, but I think the praise is overly inflated.

I agree on your points though, lovely game to look at, interesting characters to match a terrific story.  If I can beat a game with my poor skills in this genre, then Normal can't be very hard.

Objectively 9/10.  Subjectively 6/10.

Artist's depiction of Masofdas:

ZeroJones wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

I've not long just finished beating every single quest the game has to offer & loved every single minute of the 545 hours of play time I put in, quite simply it is the most I have gotten out of a game series EVER!

Blimey, Jas, 545 hours is nearly 23 whole days!

What can I say, I just love hitting massive monsters with crazy oversized weapons.

oldschool wrote:

Dead Lemon wrote:

The Last of Us (PS3)

Amazing gaming experience overall. Well written, beautiful locations and characters you come to care about. Sneaking around trying avoid the clickers can be genuinely very tense.

It's not perfect though. Couple of slight negatives:
- Human enemy AI can be so stupid that it takes away from any realism they were trying to go for.
- Combat is a bit clunky and difficult at times
- There's no real sense of risk, if you die or fail a section you just end up restarting from the same point not having lost anything.

Played it on Normal mode so maybe on a harder difficulty setting these issues may not exist.

Due to all the praise it got it didn't quite live up to my (ridiculously high) expectations but is still a fantastic game. Could easily break into my all time top 10 and sit nicely beside Resident Evil 4.

9/10

I mentioned this before in another topic, but The Last of Us would actually be the last game I properly finished.  I took about 22 hours to do it, also on Normal, but found the whole experience a struggle.  All the time I just wanted it to be over, which isn't a good sign, despite the fact that what was on offer was really first class.  I only finished it as a personal challenge and to satisfy friends who pleaded with me to stick with, claiming I wouldn't be disappointed.  In the end, I wasn't really disappointed, but I think the praise is overly inflated.

I agree on your points though, lovely game to look at, interesting characters to match a terrific story.  If I can beat a game with my poor skills in this genre, then Normal can't be very hard.

Objectively 9/10.  Subjectively 6/10.

I finished it in just under 20 hours checked again and it has it recorded at 18 hours 56 minutes) and that was with me taking ages to progress through areas due to how long I spend checking every area for supplies/secrets so its definitely a rather short game. At the start I did kind of feel the same, it hadn't really hooked me and I was hoping it'd be over quickly, by the end I was a bit disappointed that it had come to an end - not just because I never really got to test my upgraded weapons out on the infected (or the machine gun you only seem to get during the last section).

The praise surrounding it has likely done more harm as you go in expecting "best game ever" or something truly innovative or revolutionary. When that's not the case, it's nothing that new to gaming but it is very well made and one of the best examples in the genre.

The Swapper



I had no idea what to expect for The Swapper, the game starts with yourself being sent off (unwillingly) in an escape pod, you quickly manage to return to the ship you were sent from and from there on I got a feeling I'd be playing some sort of psychological survival game in space as the story sets the tone that some great tragedy has taken place. In short it has but not nearly in the suspense filled manner I originally assumed, instead I'm quickly introduced to The Swapper, a device which allows your character to create duplicates of themselves and swap consciousness between them.

From here on out it becomes apparent that you're playing a rather clever puzzle game which forces to think about all sorts of factors such as physics, awareness of your surroundings and where you and your doppelgangers are heading (the clones will move as you do rather than remain dormant). There were some really good puzzles in there with some great eureka moments and the limited script still manages to remain interesting as you try to figure out what's happened aboard the Thesus. It does feel a tad rushed towards the end but its pretty, atmospheric and challenging enough to warrant the price of admission.

8/10

Yep I've just finished another Telltale game, this one I was less keen to play due to knowing very little of the Fables IP it's based on.

But after playing this, I think at the moment is the best Telltale game I've played.

I just love the 80's Noir of the game and the story which is just fantastic.

9.5/10

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker



A mini-game gets a mini-review.  I went in expecting cute puzzles, and that's what I got: no more, no less.  It completely delivers on its promise, while not delivering the magic we're used to from even Nintendo's smaller games, apart from a few moments near the end of the game.

6/10

Poor Captain Toad! I quite liked his game, particularly the way the content unfolded gradually. Anyway

Evoland



Evoland started life as a game produced in 48 hours for Ludum Dare. You start off in what looks like a Game Boy game and, by opening various treasure chests throughout the land, gradually improve the graphics, sound effects and music until you're playing something that looks pretty good (but doesn't sound it ). The game itself starts out like Zelda and takes on elements of Final Fantasy, mashing the two together pretty successfully throughout. It's fun and rewarding, though the touch controls drove me insane at one point, and there may be too many collectables. RPG fans welcome - play 'Spot The Trope' for maximum fun!

15/20

Rattled through Evoland 100% a while back - it's fun, but not particularly deep when positioned next to the games it's trying to ape. Still, a neat concept.

Exactly - it's about as shallow as a gnat's paddling pool, but in terms of what it's trying to do, I think it's pretty successful. I'll be bunging up a review on the Gintendo site when I can.

Blue Estate

If I was a gamergater, this game would represent a moral quandary. The staff who provided me with the review code were so pleasant that I should have given it a bad review just to prove I'm not corrupt. However, the game is a hateful cesspit of misogyny and racism, so I'd want to give it a glowing report.

Drunkalilly wrote:

Blue Estate

If I was a gamergater, this game would represent a moral quandary. The staff who provided me with the review code were so pleasant that I should have given it a bad review just to prove I'm not corrupt. However, the game is a hateful cesspit of misogyny and racism, so I'd want to give it a glowing report.

I had never heard of this, so I read up a little on it and it sounds pretty bad. However, not as bad as the people who come out to defend it. It really brought out some vile gamers who give us all a bad name.

Shantae And The Pirate's Curse



The first Shantae (pronounced 'shone-tay') game is so slow-paced that you wonder how the character survived... WayForward's persistence is a good thing, though, as this is a pretty good Metroid-like. Shantae is a dream to control and the story rolls along at a good pace, always changing locations and keeping things fresh (or rotting, if you're on the third island). Issues include the game's obsession with breasts (done in the normal cheeky WayForward way but it has started to pall) and dat price. As good as the game is, £15.99 is a lot.

16/20

Good to see that score, Zero! Hopefully the level designs will pick up before long: a third "left-to-right with lots of enemies" is one more than is necessary at this stage in the game, thanking you.

Also, I did a stupid thing and looked at the comments below the Nintendo Life review. As you might expect, they focussed on the bosoms, and dissolved into aggressive anti-feminism.

Balladeer wrote:

Good to see that score, Zero!  Hopefully the level designs will pick up before long: a third "left-to-right with lots of enemies" is one more than is necessary at this stage in the game, thanking you.

Also, I did a stupid thing and looked at the comments below the Nintendo Life review.  As you might expect, they focussed on the bosoms, and dissolved into aggressive anti-feminism.

Each island opens with a left-to-right section so that you can get a flavour of it, I'm afraid. The dungeons do become more varied, though.

As for the anti-feminism, it's simply sad. The character models look ridiculous in 3D because of the emphasis: it's not worked, WayForward!

Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited.  

The good:

-The gameplay
-Main character being a sardine obsessed vampire
-The OTT nature of skills, who doesn't like destroying dimensions to kill an opponent?

The bad:
-Over-reliance on the same jokes for some members of the cast the entire game, Fuuka thinking it's a dream is funny the first few times, her trotting that out the entire game?  Not so much.
-Grindy nature to the post-game can be offputting for some.  
-Main villain was lame as hell, can we have a badass like Overlord Zenon as the main villain again please?

Score: 8/10

I share my thoughts on DOA: Last Round

Fin. I found this cheap in CEX and thought it was worth a bash. Overall, better than Asphalt 3D, but worse than Ridge Racer 3D. The main downside of Need For Speed: The Run is that it goes a bit mental with the mid-race touchscreen minigames, which really breaks the flow of each race. Yet I can see why they're included - though there's a wealth of modes and unlockables, the actual game itself would be very straightforward without any of the gimmicks. I'd suggest that it plays a bit like a draft version of Burnout 3: Takedown. It's a bit of a walkover too. I'd probably recommend another arcade racer on 3DS, but apart from Ridge you've got hee-haw choice. 5/10.

I review The Order: 1886

masofdas wrote:

I review The Order: 1886

It is good to read your review Mas, it gave me a sense of what the game is like from your perspective, and although you clearly like the game, it certainly didn't sell it to me, but that isn't a criticism, as I am unlikely to be very interested in it to begin with.

Can I just add Mas, and I apologise upfront, as I don't want or intend to sound mean, but you really need to work on your structure. It can be hard to read at times due to simple spelling errors, repetition and overly long sentences that could do with separating or adding some commas. Again, I apologise but I think it needs to be said and I am just trying to be constructive. Even a basic spelling check on word would have picked up the obvious.

I do use word to write all of up, yeah the good old Oxford comma is something I need to work on. Hopefully someone like a Balla gives a read and tidys up a bit.

masofdas wrote:

I do use word to write all of up,  yeah the good old Oxford comma is something I need to work on.  Hopefully someone like a Balla gives a read and tidys up a bit.

I did copy/paste it myself Mas and ran through Word spell check and it picked up about 10 or so simple changes.  I will give you an example of a sentence I found too long and how I would have written it:

As the game focuses on the cinematic approach there is a lot of story element’s where you play as Sir Galahad who is a member of The Order which is modern (well Victorian times) King Arthur’s roundtable where the knights of The Order take names of famous knight’s and can live for centuries’ with the help of the holy grail.

I would have gone:
As the game focuses on the cinematic approach, there are a lot of story elements where you play as Sir Galahad, a member of The Order, which is a modern (well, Victorian times) King Arthur's Roundtable.  This is where The Order takes the names of famous Knights, allowing them to live for centuries with the assistance of the Holy Grail.

You will see that I have removed the unnecessary apostrophes, added some commas, put in capitals for proper nouns and split the sentence.  Keep in mind, I don't profess to be a literary genius, but I do have a keen interest.  I hope I have been helpful without being insulting, as I do this with great trepidation due to the fine line I am treading.