The idea that a game needs to be fun to be meaningful is crap. Go play Pathologic (the Ice Pick Lodge one). I would NEVER call it fun. In fact, I stopped playing for a bit because the atmosphere was so oppressively depressing I literally couldn't go on. But that doesn't make it a bad GAME, just a depressing one.
The mechanics and gameplay are what I'm talking about. I never said every game needs to be fun. I wouldn't call, say, horror games "fun" in the strictest of terms. But a game does need to be engaging. Especially with its mechanics. And this game's mechanics are not.
When the vast majority of the game is just boring duck and cover shooting, my engagement won't hold.
Well I just unlocked every non-DLC character on SSB4 and I'm not sure if that makes me a good player, or if this game is really easy. Gonna believe the former to as a mans needs his ego. ALSO- is Bowser Jr. really worthy to be a level 6 unlock? It took me three times to beat Duckhunt, Bowser Jr- ONE TRY!
Okay, not gonna lie. Walker's slow fall into insanity is fascinating, especially since he's your avatar for the game. The hallucination bits remind of the trippiest parts of Max Payne, as well as the Scarecrow bits from Arkham Asylum.
So yeah, the story IS getting interesting. It's too bad it's still mixed with ho-hum game mechanics. At least it's starting to mix up a LITTLE bit (water truck mission, mini-gun, etc).
I don't think I had trouble with him(I mostly remember the Duckhunt nightmare), but I might've just been lucky as "New Challengers" are freaking monsters(sans Bowser Jr though once again possibly just my experience). R.O.B. on the other hand, HOO boy. First time as Palutena, LOST. Second time as some other dude, lllllllllost! Third time as Yoshi- GAME AND WATCH HAS JOINED THE BATTLE!
Also after unlocking everyone I decided to look up how I specifically unlocked them, and noticed Jigglypuff could be unlocked- AT ONE HUNDRED TWENTY MATCHES! Uh...Jigglypuff? Did they pick these unlock events at random?
Well I just unlocked every non-DLC character on SSB4 and I'm not sure if that makes me a good player, or if this game is really easy. Gonna believe the former to as a mans needs his ego. ALSO- is Bowser Jr. really worthy to be a level 6 unlock? It took me three times to beat Duckhunt, Bowser Jr- ONE TRY!
I've given the game a break lately, along with most of my console stuff (DA:I and Hyrule Warriors, too). I haven't had the push to play any of them lately, don't know why.
*Sigh* I know, like I said ego. Of course that's only with unlocking fighters, haven't gone past level six on Classic. And while easy, that dark matter beast looked fucking AWESOME!
I'm glad I know people who own this, or I might sell it as well. I have only gone online once, but it lagged like a mother fucker.
Also I know there's gonna be character DLC, but I hope they have like a downloadable story mode cos I don't wanna just slog through All Star.
Dark Souls: Ran through Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith (even the stuff I no longer had to do thanks to Chaos Covenant). Got the sun maggot, traded it for the old witch's ring, went to talk to the sister then kill her.
... I couldn't do it. I've been killing NPCs left and right for humanity, and this one was going to get the axe for the Firekeeper Soul, but seeing as
She thinks you're her sister and then will think it's her sister killing her
It's just too sad in an already bleak world. I still have Sif ahead; that's enough. And on that note, I tried Artorias again and had him down to a smidge of health. Going to run through Catacombs/Tomb of Giants tomorrow, then try him again.
I think I'm finally hitting burnout on Dark Souls. I've been playing for nearly two months now. Got back in the Tomb of Giants, and ... it wasn't like other moments where I thought "I can't take this" or "I can do this, but I need a pause." For the first time I reached an area and thought, "I just don't feel like it."
I'd really like to at least do the Oolacile DLC before I take a break, but Artorias is a nightmare. I've gotten him down to two-hits left to kill, but somehow I always fuck up, and there's a point where the longer I'm trying, the sloppier I get. The weekend is ahead, so we'll see, but I think me and Dark Souls need some time apart.
I think I'm finally hitting burnout on Dark Souls. I've been playing for nearly two months now. Got back in the Tomb of Giants, and ... it wasn't like other moments where I thought "I can't take this" or "I can do this, but I need a pause." For the first time I reached an area and thought, "I just don't feel like it."
I'd really like to at least do the Oolacile DLC before I take a break, but Artorias is a nightmare. I've gotten him down to two-hits left to kill, but somehow I always fuck up, and there's a point where the longer I'm trying, the sloppier I get. The weekend is ahead, so we'll see, but I think me and Dark Souls need some time apart.
I'd just summon in some help. Artorias is the hardest boss in the game (harder than the final boss of the DLC or the bonus boss) so just having some dudes there to take some of his aggro can be a life saver.
When you DO beat Artorias, I highly recommend using his Great Shield. I think you take his soul, a certain level great shield, and combine them at a smith to make it... but I'd check online.
I'd just summon in some help. Artorias is the hardest boss in the game (harder than the final boss of the DLC or the bonus boss) so just having some dudes there to take some of his aggro can be a life saver.
When you DO beat Artorias, I highly recommend using his Great Shield. I think you take his soul, a certain level great shield, and combine them at a smith to make it... but I'd check online.
I'd just summon in some help. Artorias is the hardest boss in the game (harder than the final boss of the DLC or the bonus boss) so just having some dudes there to take some of his aggro can be a life saver.
When you DO beat Artorias, I highly recommend using his Great Shield. I think you take his soul, a certain level great shield, and combine them at a smith to make it... but I'd check online.
Got help, and while you still need to know the fight, it all worked out. I wish more hosts knew about healing their helpers with Estus Flasks.
Also, Sif's soul makes the shield. And it is an awesome shield I wish I'd known about in my last playthrough.
Also also, I did the bad thing in Anor Londo. On running to find Gwyndolin, I saw a figure in the dark, snuck up, and one-shotted it. Thought I'd done a good job.
Got help, and while you still need to know the fight, it all worked out. I wish more hosts knew about healing their helpers with Estus Flasks.
Also, Sif's soul makes the shield. And it is an awesome shield I wish I'd known about in my last playthrough.
Also also, I did the bad thing in Anor Londo. On running to find Gwyndolin, I saw a figure in the dark, snuck up, and one-shotted it. Thought I'd done a good job.
Well, I finished it. And everyone's right - as I knew, myself, before playing it - that the story was very good. It's such a brave departure from other modern warfare shooters in showing the true horrors of war. As far as the ending goes, I was a little confused. Thoughts on the ending behind the spoiler cut, too.
Like, who was the Damned 33rd getting orders from this whole time if it wasn't Konrad? Or were they acting on their own, together, at this point? Yeah, it was a cool reveal that Konrad has been dead all this time, and from the looks of his body, before even you the player even started your campaign.
I did like how we saw some of the sequences from the game from outside Walker's perspective, like the choice between killing to two guilty men revealing to be dead bodies. Honestly, I think this would've had more impact if there were more instances throughout the game. But that and the radio having no batteries were the only two instances I can recall that showed Walker's delusion. It really needed more of that.
Though, with Walker's insanity, it does make me ask why the HELL his men continued to follow him and his orders throughout the whole game despite clear and present evidence that he'd lost it.
As far as the ending goes, I chose the suicide option almost immediately. Walker wasn't worth saving after all his actions and needed to own up to those actions.
What STILL bothers me the most about the game is that the vast majority of the game was dull, plodding, repetitive duck-and-cover game mechanics. You can have a great story all you want, but when the actual gameplay is so dull and unengaging, you lose part of what makes the overall game experience so great. If they had managed to find a way to interplay the game mechanics better with their storytelling themes and goals, I would definitely have praised this more.
So yeah, glad I finally got to play it. I can see why it's praised in terms of its story (problems with that as it is), but the game mechanics hold it back way too much for something I'd ever bother playing again.
That's probably the determinant for any SSB; some of us just didn't realize it until we got this one, expecting it to be fun on our own, and it wasn't. I'm sure I'd have loved it if my wife wanted to play or I still lived near my siblings/cousins. As it is, the only thing I end up enjoying is 1v1 For Glory, which in my opinion is the exact opposite of the game's intent. I can do that just as well on the 3DS version since it neuters all the stages to being exactly the same.
I am sorry, Sakurai, I am aware of my basic nature.
Though I'm on hiatus now from Dark Souls, its echoes live on. I didn't realize playing 100 hours of that would make me better at other games.
Example, Mega Man 2. While I did what I could to dodge boss attacks last time I played, this time I'm noticing the pattern gaps, where to exploit openings. I've been beating bosses on my first try now, which is so strange since my last time.
Playing Endless Legend....which is like a completely shameless fantasy ripoff of Civ 5....but like...WAY fucking more complex. Each faction is incredibly different, unlike the barely lipservice difference that Civ factions have. I'm probably not starting with the one they'd recommend. I'm playing Necrophages. A hive insect race that's cannibalistic and completely unable to be diplomatic with the rest of the food that exists in the world.
The Walking Dead (Season 1, 2, and 400 Days)
(Don't worry, I kept everything vague to avoid spoilers. Anything I did talk about in detail for Season 2 is behind a spoiler cut.)
These games, I swear. Very seldomly do I get this emotionally invested in a story, let alone a game, but these games? These games just run the full gamut on me.
I replayed through the first season since I'd only played it on PS3 before. Figured since I had it on Steam now, I'd replay it to re-familiarize myself with the story, along with making sure my choices carried over to the next season. And even replaying it, knowing what happens, it still packs a lot of emotional punch. There was one death that I'd completely forgotten about. Not that I forgot they'd died, but how they died. And that ending? Cripes, it still made me tear up all over again.
Then I played 400 Days and it was...okay. I can see why people felt it was mostly missable. I just played the episode in Season 2 where your decisions from 400 Days affect it and who shows up. And for the most part, it's mostly uneventful. Some extra dialogue, neat to see one or two people show up, but overall, it's really not much impact. Though I will say, despite how short each of the five stories were, I still found each of the characters very engaging in their own way. That's just good writing.
Now I'm about halfway through Season 2, just finished up Episode 3.
And holy hell, does Clem take a beating in these games. Just because she's a little girl, it doesn't stop anyone from beating the hell out of her, living or dead. Then again, she's not your average little girl. She's had to grow up so much throughout these two games that she's more of an adult than the adults she meets. Though I think it's funny how sometimes, everyone in the room will turn to her when it's time to volunteer someone for a certain job. That's the only part that felt hand-holding to me as far as the narrative goes.
And come on, who didn't tear up when you reunited with Kenny? By god, that was a beautiful moment.
Carver felt a little too much like a mustache-twirling villain, but at the very least, he had some motivations behind him. Though I did love the Costco-like setting. Shame the story didn't have it that you and your group didn't try to take over the place, instead.
While I'm really enjoying playing this from the perspective of an 11-year old girl, I find some of the writing is a little caters a little bit too much to it, like giving her a "best friend" who is somehow - even over a year later - still in the dark about the world. Though I did like how they played with our expectations about that catering by introducing a dog companion, only for it to completely turn on its head. That terrified me. Honestly didn't see it coming, even though I should have. The only thing I find is the chemistry between Clem and everyone else just feels off. With the first season, Lee developed some good chemistry among characters like Clem and Kenny, both of whom were with him for the majority of the season. Here, she doesn't seem to really make a connection with anyone. There's an almost cohort-like companionship with her and Luke, who seems to be the only one that sees her as an equal. Kenny is there and they interact, but there's not much there between them. And Sarah just feels more like a lost puppy that Clem has to look after at times.
Still, criticisms aside, I'm still completely drawn into this world and story. In a lot of ways, I feel more drawn into this one than I do with the comic or the TV show. I can't explain why.
It's an open exploration universe, with trade, combat, mining, fleets, etc etc etc... really thought it would scratch that privateer itch. And it would!
If it wasn't sooooo boooooring. The "free roam" mode which I pounced on immediately (because screw your story, I'll make my own, right?) pure tedium - mining in the starter ship makes you money at such a rate that it'd take a real life month to afford the next ship up. The dynamically generated bounty hunting missions are inexplicably limited in number, and every ship you see is either trivially easy to beat or completely impossible - there's no challenge, you're either assured an easy victory or guaranteed immediate explody defeat. And that's all you do. Fly back and forth trying to make some money. But the missions don't pay all that well, and mining/salvaging pays even worse, and straight up trading is laughable - your starter ship's cargo hold is absolutely puny - and the only way to upgrade it is to buy an entirely new ship.
So after suffering through space-ennui for a couple hours, I retried it in Story mode. And story mode helps a little bit at first. It gives you something focused to do and rewards you with better cash... but the story missions also start to become extremely repetitive. The voice acting is atrocious. The missions themselves have almost no challenge at all - and really that is the fault of the underlying mechanics of combat in any case - it's entirely turret based, and there's a button (f) that turns your turrets to "fire at will" mode, which makes them kill anything hostile within gun range. Really, I feel like less of a combat pilot and more of a chauffeur for turrets. There's little point to trying to do fancy things like "dodge" because either your turrets win immediately (which usually happens in the story missions) or they're completely ineffective and you need to run away NOW (which usually happens if you go exploring on your own).
All in all, the game is a complete yawnfest. I think I've been spoiled by playing so many multiplayer games lately - if this game was MMO - or even just multiplayer on servers, like Space Engineers, it'd be a lot more interesting. It'd kind of be like tradewars in real time. But it isn't, so it's not. And really, is there anything more boring than playing tradewars by yourself?
Is she? I never got that impression. Sheltered from the world by her father, maybe. But...then again, how she reacted to a lot of things, like shutting down after several emotional moments and such.
I'm not so sure, though. She's clearly able to hold eye contact with Clem on a number of incidents, which is something people with autism often struggle with.
UPDATE: Yeah, I'm skimming through some discussions on the subject and most - including some that have worked with people with autism - come to the conclusion that she isn't. Severe anxiety problems and possibly a highly sheltered life from her father, but not autistic.
Is she? I never got that impression. Sheltered from the world by her father, maybe. But...then again, how she reacted to a lot of things, like shutting down after several emotional moments and such.
I'm not so sure, though. She's clearly able to hold eye contact with Clem on a number of incidents, which is something people with autism often struggle with.
UPDATE: Yeah, I'm skimming through some discussions on the subject and most - including some that have worked with people with autism - come to the conclusion that she isn't. Severe anxiety problems and possibly a highly sheltered life from her father, but not autistic.
It's never said that she's autistic, but she's definitely developmentally slow, which is why her father shelters her so much. You can even see it in some of the meeting dialogue, she mentions to Clem how great it is to finally have someone her own age, and Clem has the option of commenting that she's a lot older than Clem.
Also, the reason Clem doesn't make as many connections as Lee is because she's much more guarded than Lee was. She's been hardened by growing up in this world.
My favorite part, though, is when you first meet the new group, and can eavesdrop on Rebecca talking to herself, hoping that the baby is her husbands. Later on, after Rebecca continues to be a total bitch to you, you have the option, after everyone has left, of just turning to her and saying:
Portal 2. I've owned it for, what, 2 years now, and still haven't gotten around to playing it - mostly because everyone and their dog said "all the fun" was in co-op play which I'm not interested in. Still not, by the way, but I'm having fun with the SP campaign, though I have the feeling it might be shorter than I'd wish. Than again, Portal was a short game too.
I've heard many people call it (at the time of release) the best single-player experience they've ever had, but never that all the fun was in the co-op.
. Past games forced you to unlock most of the content, whereas this SSB gives you most of it from the get-go.
Fuuuuuuuck.
