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Tesla vs Lovecraft - September Gaming

November Games

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Busy month in games land, with me managing to complete, play, and buy a bunch of games, and even abandon one for good measure. The 2018 playlist has all but been forgotten. Will review that for 2019 I think, roll some games forward and have a bit of a reshuffle.

Games completed during November

Tesla vs Lovecraft – PS4

Had an absolute blast with this. As you might imagine from the title, Tesla vs Lovecraft doesn’t take itself very seriously. It’s a lovely twin-stick arena shooter in the Robotron style. It’s not as polished as Housemarque’s excellent Nex Machina, but it’s not too far behind.

Rollers of the Realm – PC

I do love a bit of pinball, and couldn’t pass this premise up. It’s a party based RPG, where all the combat and exploration takes place in pinball table-based arenas. The various classes of character are different types of pinball, had a lot of fun playing through this one.

Forza Motorsport 7 – Xbox One

Finally finished the single player championship on this. The patched out all the lootbox trash I complained about previously, and it’s a much better experience for it. The mods remain clunky, hopefully we’ll have it resolved from the beginning when the inevitable Forza Motorsport 8 arrives.

Games abandoned this month

Watch Dogs 2 – PS4

I knew when I bought this, it was a gamble. I don’t generally get on well with open world games, but I’d been enjoying watching Mr. Robot so much that I thought I’d give it a go for the hacker vibe. I managed about 3 hours. Was enjoying the story and how on the nose some of the missions were, but the majority of the game play is everything I find tedious in Grand Theft Auto. Oh well, I tried.

Also played this month

Forza Horizon 4Forza Horizon 4 – Xbox One & PC

Still playing and loving this, looking forward to the first expansion turning up in December.

 

 

Tetris Effect Demo – PSVR

Granted I don’t usually include demos in this round up. Mostly because I don’t play many, but this is something special. An incredible experience in VR, but couldn’t bring myself to pay the asking price of £35 for another copy of Tetris, especially when I already have a substantial queue of VR games to play. Will grab it in a sale I think!

God of War – PS4

Only picked this up this month too, but managed to get on it pretty quickly after I gave up on Watch Dogs.  I’m about 6 hours in I think, and having a great time so far. It’s already the best in the series for me.

Forza Motorsport 5 & 6 – Xbox One

As well as completing the main championship on Forza 7 during November, I also put a bunch of time into these two games. Mostly mopping up Forza Rewards achievements, so that I get more free credits in Forza Horizon 4.

Games picked up during November

Cities Skylines Snowfall – PC

Bought myself this bit of DLC for Cities Skylines, in a bid to convince myself to get round to playing the game properly. I’ve had a bit of a go, but hoping to spend more time on the snow content during December.

 

PlayStation 2 Slim

I’ve never really spent much time with the PS2. It mostly passed me by at the time, as I was too busy playing Dreamcast, GameCube and Xbox. Finally decided to rectify this, and picked up a cheap used console from CeX.

 

Batman Arkham VR – PSVR

Haven’t got round to playing it yet, but I’ve heard so much good stuff about this game, decided to grab it during the Autumn sales. Looking forward to getting on it eventually.

 

Tempest 4000 – PC

Another one from the wishlist, finally grabbed Tempest 4000. I’d have preferred it for PS4 but the price difference was crazy. Great game though!

 

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy – PC

Loved this back on the original Xbox, picked the PC version up on Steam for the nostalgia hit.

 

DX-Ball 2: 20th Anniversary – PC

Had no idea this was even a thing! I loved DX Ball 1 & 2 way back when (20 years ago apparently!) and this update is just how I remember it. One of my favourite Arkanoid clones.

Pinball FX3 Jurassic World Pack – PC

Took advantage of the steam sale to add a few more tables to my Pinball FX3 collection. These Jurassic Park / World themed ones are excellent.

Forza Horizon 4

October Games

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A month without any games completed again. I did manage a fair amount of gaming, but I put the lack of completions down to a combination of playing the new Forza Horizon, and playing games that are much too difficult for me to complete for the latest Maximum Power-Up podcast episode “Run & Gun”. Teehee.

Games abandoned during October

Dead Space – Xbox 360 / Xbox One

I give up. After hinting about it last month, I still haven’t picked this up again since. I made it to Chapter 5 or something, further than any of my previous attempts. It’s disappointing because the story and atmosphere of Dead Space are superb and very much my kind of thing. I just don’t enjoy the gameplay enough, time to let it go and make room for something else. Maybe one of the many FPS games from my backlog.

Played this month

Forza Horizon 4 – XB1 & PC

Pretty much all I’ve played this month aside from podcast research. The game is a masterpiece. Consider it my new All-Time Favourite Racer. I’m also very much enjoying playing it on both PC and Xbox One depending on where I am in the house. Still plenty to do, and I haven’t even taken it online at all yet.

Games picked up during October

Shadow Warrior 2 – PC

Pretty sure this was free on the humble store or Good Old Games as part of a promotion. Really enjoyed the first one, as well as the original game first time round. Looking forward to maybe playing this one day. Perhaps if I finish the first one…

ToeJam & Earl – Xbox 360 / Xbox One

This is a port of the two Mega Drive games. Grabbed them in a sale just for the convienience of having them on the Xbox One as well.

 

Fighting Vipers – Xbox 360 / Xbox One

A game that mostly passed me by on the SEGA Saturn, I picked this edition up just to spend a bit of time with it, if only to better appreciate the Fighting Vipers side of the Fighters Megamix roster.

 

Virtua Fighter 2 – Xbox 360 / Xbox One

Have played this to death ever since first getting a Saturn back in the day, but after confirming its place in my All-Time Top 5 fighting games, I thought I’d get it for the Xbox while I was buying Fighting Vipers, because why not.

Halo Wars: DE – PC

I think the people over at Steam who decide which games to put on sale had read my last blog post. This popped up for a bargain price, and I’m excited to give an RTS set in the Halo Universe a proper go with keyboard & mouse controls.

 

 

All-Time Top 5 Real Time Strategy (RTS) Games

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Before I’d even had chance to finish my Top 5 Fighting games ; @swooper_d had managed to convince me I needed to do this list too. Depending on the kind of RTS games you’re used to, there are going to be plenty of notable absences here. My Top 5 are all of the ‘build base, smash opponent variety’ because that’s what I like.

The Top 5 are also all PC games, which is pretty much the only acceptable place to play RTS games, with a notable exception picked up in the ‘honourable mentions’ at the end.

5) Age of Empires 2

War Elephants. I had so much fun playing Age of Empires 2 online with friends, and most of that fun involved being Persia and creating War Elephants. Not sure I ever won any matches, but it was a great time. It got a bit of a ‘HD’ re-release on Steam a little while back. I almost convinced a few people to play but they took one look at the dated interface and gave up!

4) Red Alert 3

Possibly the most “over the top” of the series, I just find this game highly amusing to play. It doesn’t quite recapture the joy of the original Red Alert, but it holds up much better to play now. The presentation, audio and cut scenes are all so very slick and it has a great campaign for co-operative play with a buddy. Now my favourite Command & Conquer game.

3) StarCraft 2

I was late to the StarCraft party, never really played the original game outside of a few skirmishes, and at the time it felt very similar to a game I was also dabbling with, Dark Reign. StarCraft 2 though, came along when the RTS scene had become a bit stale. This game is stunning, and although I’ve barely touched the multiplayer (mostly out of fear) the single player campaign and story is superb.

2) Total Annihilation

The most satisying in scale RTS game I have ever played, battles on Total Annihilation always felt epic. Right down to having in game maps that were so big you needed 128mb of RAM (imagine it) just to play them. The scale was spiritually superceeded by the Supreme Commander and Plantetary Annihilation games, but none have really recaptured the actual fun of the original. I should also shout out the PC Zone cover discs that used to include user created content for games at the time. (Wasn’t quite so easy to just grab such things from the internet back then.) Extra maps and units for Total Annihilation were regular features and greatly added to the enjoyment of the game.

1) WarCraft 3

No surprise if you’ve read my top 5 games of all time post, but WarCraft 3 remains my favourite ever RTS. As per my original post, this is still the only RTS game where I completed the whole campaign. I even managed to complete the campaign from the expansion, The Frozen Throne. I’m now two thirds through StarCraft 2 though so as soon as I settle down to play Legacy of the Void, I’ll have managed to finish two, like some kind of superhuman. WarCraft 3 is both my favourite multiplayer RTS as well as my favourite campaign, and yes also responsible for the many years of my life that went into World of Warcraft. I patiently await a true WarCraft 4.

Honourable Mentions and also-rans:

Command & Conquer: Red Alert – PS1 & PC

The first RTS that made me really pay attention. The original Command & Conquer never really grabbed me in the same way as Red Alert did. Thankfully a Playstation mouse made the console version viable and with the use of a link cable many head to head skirmishes took place on there. It was still best on PC though, and I had many a late night playing 3 player LAN games.

Dawn of War II

While I definitely had fun playing co-op Dawn of War 2, the lack of base-building was a real disappointment for me. The small numbers of units were a bit underwhelming too. I think I would have got more out of it if I cared for the licence, but one space marine is much the same as another…

Empire Earth

Making up in scale what it lacked in polish, Empire Earth was an entertaining idea. With battles spanning 500,000 years, the battles were all about the arms race and choosing the right time to attack. Make a mistake and you could be sending your men armed with bow & arrows to fight robots with laser guns. The game was otherwise pretty clunky, and the sequels didn’t quite manage to become essential, but at it’s core this is a great RTS for a battle with friends.

Age of Mythology

I really loved the theme for this, and after playing so much Age of Empires 2 I thought it would be the new go-to. None of my AoE 2 friends picked it up though, and I bounced off the single player campaign. Oh what could have been… As with AoE 2 I have picked up the HD re-release on Steam, so maybe it’ll still get some love one day.

Total Annihilation: Kingdoms

Much like Age of Mythology, I was really looking forward to a follow up for Total Annihilation. However this came out, and I just couldn’t get on with it. No one else I knew bought it either, so it was forgotten.

Halo Wars

The premise of this really appealed to me, but I had no desire to play on console when it came out on Xbox 360. I did have some joy playing Command & Conquer 3 on there, but soon gave way to frustration a few missions in when you needed to do anything even slightly fiddly. However, as Halo Wars and it’s sequel are now available on Xbox One with “Play Anywhere” I intend to pick them up at some point to play on PC, properly.

September Games

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Returned to winning ways with a minor completion this month. I need to revisit the list of games I meant to play this year though, since I appear to have gone wildly off track. Haven’t given up on any during September, but I fear for Dead Space. If I don’t wrap that up during October I might have to write it off.

Games completed during September

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite – PS4

I picked this up during September, had a bit of a craving to play some Capcom fighting games (as will be evident from the below playlist). I had ignored this when it first came out due to the poor reception it received. While it’s a far cry from Capcom at their best, it is decent enough if you can pick it up cheap. I got it for around £14 with the 6 DLC characters. I played through the story mode on a day off and quite enjoyed it, not as much as the recent Injustice & Mortal Kombat games, but still an entertaining diversion.

Also played this month

X-Men vs Street Fighter – SEGA Saturn

One of the best crossover fighters, really enjoyed playing a bit of this again. Although the Juggernaut & Zangief team admittedly gave me quite the headache!

 

Street Fighter V – PS4

Seemed a recent patch reset my progress in the new Arcade modes on here, so I had to start over. I’ve now redone the first two. If I manage to do all 6 of them, I might count this as another completion.

Destiny 2 – PS4

A free game with PS Plus during September, I was pleased to be able to give this ago. I’ve played the first hour or so to get to the main hub so I could play with people, but haven’t yet felt the urge to go back to it. Felt a lot like playing the first one to be honest.

Games picked up during September

Tesla vs Lovecraft – PS4

Been waiting for this to pop up in a sale for a while, think it was around £4. As will be evident if you’ve listened to the recent Maximum Power-Up Podcast (or if you’ve met me…) I am always up for a game with a Lovecraftian influence, and also partial to a twin-stick shooter. I’ve put a couple of hours into Tesla vs Lovecraft now, and have been enjoying it. The game plays a lot like Nex Machina, although it’s not quite as deep / polished as that (not much is though).

SF x Tekken – PC

I used to own a retail version of this, but think I gave it away in a disappointed huff. However, I really wanted to play it again so picked up a Steam Code for a couple of quid. It is a fun game, but the micro-transaction pushing gem system is a travesty and pretty much spoils the whole thing. As a bit of a bonus, the fix I had to install to make it run properly on Windows 10 also unlocked all the extra characters, which was nice.

Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Ed. – XB1 / PC

I originally pre-ordered the standard retail edition of this. Forza Horizon 3 being my favourite racer of all time, I felt confident about a pre-order. However, after the recent upgrade to my PC I really wanted to be able to play it on there as well. Once the demo came out, I played it a bit on both the Xbox and PC, and took the plunge. Cancelled my ‘xbox one only’ physical pre-order and started shopping around for a good deal on the ‘cross-buy’ digital edition. I managed to upsell myself to the Ultimate Edition, thanks to finding a discounted code online, so I’ve been able to start playing the game a few days early.

Capcom Beat ’em Up Bundle – PS4

This appeared out of nowhere. Didn’t see any news about it ahead of release, but was a day one purchase when I saw the line up. Seven of Capcom’s Arcade Brawlers, two of which have never previously had home versions. Looking forward to playing some of these in local co-op.

June Gaming

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No major completions this month, but a couple that I’m counting anyway, because it’s my blog. 🙂

Games completed during June

TRIHAYWBFRFYH – PC

A 20 minute indie game / experience, this was quite odd but not entirely uninteresting. The music is excellent, and it utilises audio recordings of excerpts from Lovecraft stories for atmosphere. It’s free, so worth a look if you’re interested.

Captain Spirit – PS4

Yes it’s sort of a demo, but it works as a standalone episode in the Life is Strange universe. Very much enjoyed playing this, and going back to make sure I’d ticked off the full to-do list.

 

Also played this month

Gears of War 4 – Xbox One

Finally made a start on this campaign in co-op with my buddy. Really enjoying it so far, think we’re just starting the 3rd Act.

 

VR Worlds – PSVR

After scaring myself silly on some other VR experiences, I finally got round to playing some of the games on here. The London Heist in particular is really enjoyable, but the shark attack experience didn’t do much to calm my heart rate.

Trackmania Turbo – PS4

A free game with PS Plus, I originally just had a quick go and moved on. Mate text me to point out he’d been and smashed all my times though, and I’ve had to go back and try to regain a bit of my honour.

Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed – Xbox 1 / 360 BC

Another free one, this time from Games with Gold. I’ve played a bunch of this on other platforms, but it’s still a great game, so have been playing it fresh.

June Pickups

The Division – PS4

Picked up this (and the next two games in this list) in a 3 for 2 offer at Game. All 3 are games I was interested in when they came out, but concerned I might not enjoy them based on past experiences.

Watch Dogs 2 – PS4

Generally I don’t get on with open world games, and I didn’t enjoy the first Watch Dogs. However, I’ve heard that this one is much better, and having been watching Mr. Robot lately, I’m interested in the themes. Hack the Planet indeed.

Resident Evil VII – PSVR

Don’t really like standard Resident Evil games, but at some point I knew I was going to need to get this to try in VR. Have played the first half an hour, it’s terrifying, and I’m still working up the courage to try again…

Resident Evil IV – PC

When I tell people I don’t like Resident Evil, they tell me to play this one. So I shall.

 

Cuphead – Xbox One

Finally! Gave up waiting for a significant price drop and just grabbed it. Everything you’ve heard is true. It looks incredible, and it’s far too difficult for me.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 – PS4

Not sure how much I’ll play this, have owned it a couple of times before and kind of bounced off. It was cheap though, and I do like the roster.

Mouse – Sega Saturn

Sadly mine didn’t come with the mouse mat from the picture. Treated myself to one of these in order to best experience the Saturn version of Riven. Discovered after purchasing that a bunch of the Saturn light gun games support it, which finally gives me a half decent way to play those on my modern TV. Result.

 

 

Retrogamer Magazine & 8bitdo Controller

Retrogamer magazine have an offer where you can currently subscribe to 6 issues of the mag for £26 and get one of these controllers for free. The controllers generally cost more than that on their own, so I went for it. They’re Bluetooth and it should work nicely with my RetroPi setup.

 

 

 

April Games

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In which we mostly just played hundreds of hours of Castlevania.

Games completed during April

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin – Nintendo DS

Only finished one game this month, but it’s a great one. One of the best Castlevania games, thoroughly enjoyed this. Might be a while before I seriously tackle another Metroidvania one though. Need a bit of a vania break!

Also played this month

More Castlevania – Everything

This month I was invited onto the Maximum Power Up podcast, to talk about Castlevania. I started this during March, and played very little else for most of April, as I strove to fill the gaps in my knowledge of the series. You can listen to the Castlevania episode featuring yours truly here.

Sega Dreamcast

I’ve just started spending some quality time with my Dreamcast, and also with an emulator on my PC, as my console is getting a bit temperamental. Might have to pick up another.

 

Forza 7 – Xbox One

Yes I’ve gone back to this. The game is still frustrating, I really hate the ‘mod’ system and ‘prize crates’ but the racing is very satisfying, and it has been a nice change of pace from all that Castlevania.

 

April Pickups

Slay the Spire – PC (Steam, early access)

Not directly a pick up, but a steam gift this month from one of my friends. I’ve spent a little time with Slay the Spire now. It’s an excellent deckbuilder card game / rpg hybrid.

Panzer Dragoon Orta – Xbox One (Xbox BC)

The one game I’ve been hoping for since Microsoft announced a selection of classic Xbox games would be added to Backwards Compatibility on Xbox One. Support was finally added this month, and I grabbed it from the Xbox Store. I’ve had a few goes, and it’s glorious. Tough though!

 

Gaming in June

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Games completed during June

Almost went the full month without completing anything, but a couple of clears at the end of the month saved me from a duck.

maxresdefaultNex Machina – PS4

Bit of a cheat this, since I’ll still be playing it for some time to come. I did however manage a 1CC on Rookie difficulty. Now working on Experienced. The game is a masterpiece, does for Robotron 2084 what Resogun did for Defender. Housemarque continue to be one of my favourite developers.

injustice-2-listing-thumb-01-ps4-us-06jun16Injustice 2 – PS4

Cleared the Story. Was planning on holding off on buying this one, until a GOTY edition was released with all the DLC. I hate the fighting game model of buying extra characters for a full price game. (See Killer Instinct for how to do that right.) Too many of my friends were playing though, and I caved. Glad I bought it though as it is fantastic.

Also played & picked up in June

wipeout-omega-collection-listing-thumb-us-03dec16Wipeout Omega Collection – PS4

Not sure how I’ve managed to get worse at this, but the collection is great value. Basically the content from Wipeout HD & the Fury expansion on PS3, and Wipeout 2048 on the Vita, but all running at a swish 1080p 60fps. It’s gorgeous. Although I still hold out some hope that the franchise will be resurrected despite Studio Liverpool’s demise, if this was to be the last release, it does at least do the series justice.

crash-bandicoot-trilogy-trailerCrash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy – PS4

Much like the Wipeout Collection, this is another compilation of older content. This time collecting and remaking all 3 classic Crash Bandicoot games from the original PlayStation. Also like the Wipeout Collection, it looks great, and is rock hard. I’m having a bit of a nightmare with it to be honest, but I’ll stick with it for a bit longer!

Retired in June

MordorMiddle Earth: Shadow of Mordor – Xbox One

After 4 and a half hours of gameplay, I’m giving this the boot. Although the combat feels satisfying in a Batman Arkham sort of way, that’s where the enjoyment ended for me. Found it impossible to care about the story or the endless Orcs, despite the renowned ‘Nemesis’ system. All the work felt like ‘busy work’ to me. Happy to accept that it might just be me on this one though, since it seems almost universally popular. Still not really a fan of open world games, and they need to be something special to draw me in.

Gaming in May

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Games completed during May

Bit late posting this month, but some games were played and I didn’t want to miss the round-up.

zumaZuma’s Revenge – XB1 / 360 BC

Hadn’t played Zuma for years, and missed this version first time round. Was pleased to stumble across it in EA Access, and found myself addicted to the story mode for a few days. Still one of the best takes on a ‘Match 3’.

Halo_ alt_3Halo: Combat Evolved (MCC) – XB1

Never completed the first two Halo games on the original Xbox, so had been looking forward to playing the remasters on the Master Chief Collection. Playing through them in Co-op with a buddy, really enjoyed the first one. Did drag on a bit though towards the end, those levels are huge.

Forza-Horizon-3-Hot-Wheels-Expansion-Pack-ReleasedForza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels – XB1

The second expansion for Forza Horizon 3 is even better than the first. Had an absolute blast with this, can’t recommend it enough. If you ever enjoyed Hot Wheels cars and playsets as a kid, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

C9z2xE0WsAA6ZkGWonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap – PS4

Easily the best remaster of a classic game I’ve ever played, this is a work of art. The original Master System game is one of the best games on that console, and this really does a great job of bringing it up to date.

Also played in May

oriOri & the Blind Forest: Def Edition – XB1

After completing Wonder Boy I was in the mood for a new ‘Metroidvania’ and have had this kicking around for a while. It’s charming, and quite satisfying, although I’m already finding some of the platforming painfully fiddly. We’ll see how I do.

MordorMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – XB1

Still not completely sold on this. I’m not much of a LotR fan, but picked it up based on recommendations and promises that it’s not too Tolkien. I am quite enjoying it, feels very much like a Batman Arkham game with elements of the Tomb Raider reboots. So far though I’m not finding it as good as any of those games.

 

April in Games

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Games completed during April

Strong mix of well regarded indie games and Forza this month.

headerEpistory – PC

Loved every minute of this, the typing mechanic is a lot of fun. A few challenging moments but never got stale. Hope to see more games like this!

journey-ps3-logoJourney – PS4

As hinted at last month, I felt I should play this before making a start on Abzû. Probably should have left it in the pile! I expect it might have been more impressive if I’d played it back on PS3, the experience kind of left me cold. It does look pretty, but the desert setting isn’t too inspiring. When I finished I was a bit concerned I’d made a mistake in picking up Abzû…

header (2)Abzû – PS4

I needn’t have worried, it’s easy to see where the Journey comparisons came from, but this was a much more enjoyable experience. I expect this is mostly because I was much more interested in the undersea setting than the beige boredom of the desert. It did leave me craving a new Ecco the Dolphin game though!

8a407642-56b7-4327-bd86-1bd8bb3d757b

Forza Horizon 3 & Blizzard Mountain – XB1

As started last month, I stuck with Blizzard Mountain until I’d mostly finished it. (Cleared the story and some of the extra challenges, but I’ve got no interest in going for the ‘3 star all events’ type stuff.)

Once I’d cleared the expansion I found I was back into the main game again, and finished the story there too. I’ve found myself well back on the Forza wagon.

 

header (3)Inside – PS4

Really glad I picked this up, it’s very much “Limbo 2”. Identical gameplay system and story-telling but that’s no bad thing. New setting and manages to be even darker. A real gem, if you haven’t played these, I heartily recommend both!

1384846394forzahorizonForza Horizon – XB1 / 360 BC

I didn’t like this when it first came out, but it turned up free on Games with Gold, backwards compatible on the Xbox One, and I thought I’d give it another go. It helps that the ‘Forza Hub’ awards bonuses in each Forza game based on your overall performance in the whole series. Gave me the motivation to stick with it, and I’m glad I did. Had a lot of fun playing through the story, and still going back to mop up some of the other challenges.

24626644906_bc9f14df15_bKing of Fighters XIV – Story – PS4

Picked this up in the sale as a bit of a gamble. Street Fighter V has been a let down, and I’m keen to find something new to get stuck into. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I’m enjoying it so far. Put a bit of time in and cleared the story mode, trying to get a feel for which characters I’ll use. My buddy picked it up too, so looking forward to trying out some friendly versus combat

Also played in April

downloadRetired – Banjo Tooie – XB1 / Rare Replay

Meant to include this in March. I’ve shelved Banjo Tooie, possibly for good. A pity since it was one of my goal games for 2017, but I just wasn’t enjoying it. Did make way for the next game on my list though…

 

headerYooka Layle – PS4

My pre-order arrived for launch, and I’m largely a fan. I’ve mostly cleared the first two worlds. One major issue though, the game gives me motion sickness if I try to play more than an hour. I hear a new patch is going to address some of the camera problems, so I’m hoping this will improve. It seems most of the criticism is valid, it’s not a great game by any means, but it’s certainly not bad either. Plenty of fun to be had! (Nausea not withstanding)

C9z2xE0WsAA6ZkGWonderboy: The Dragon’s Trap – PS4

Another game I pre-ordered. I have fond memories of playing this with my Bro-in-Law back on the Master System, but I was too young to really ‘get’ it. This remake is an absolute masterpiece. Preserves the great gameplay, and brings it up to date with excellent modern graphics and sound. I know some people have complained about the art style, but I really like it. It’s also a really nice touch that you can switch between any combination of modern & old for graphics, sounds and music. The graphics can be switched on the fly with a single button press, much like in Halo: Master Chief Collection, it’s oddly compelling. (How the title screen changes if you play as the girl character is a nice touch too!)

Hopefully I’ll complete this during May, I’ve just unlocked Hawk Man, hurrah.

Forza-MS6A-04-HDForza 6 – XB1 & Apex – PC

With my Forza love safely resurrected, I’ve been back to these two as well. Lots of ‘Forza Hub’ points to be obtained. It’s funny, when the first Horizon game came out, I was well into Forza 4 and much preferred the more serious 507156bc-fa81-4f82-b487-5c69ad1c671egames to this new open world approach. With Horizon 2 and 3 though I now would rather play those than these serious ones. I’m not sure if it’s a general decline of the main Forza Motorsport line, but the Career mode in Forza 6 is very stale. The racing is second to none though, just wish it was a bit less ‘dry’. I never played Forza 5 and am wondering if it’s worth picking up for the Hub points. Would like them to add Forza 2,3 & 4 to Backwards Compatibility though so I could at least see if they’re as good as I remember.

1fc40618-68a8-45a2-bc11-6656400d9877Forza Horizon 2 – XB1

In for a penny… I also went back to this during April too. Moping up achievements across all 3 Horizon games, first thing I did was drive all the roads in each game. It’s really nice to go between the games because of their different geography. Unlike how similar the Forza Motorsport games are from one to the next, the fresh location for each Horizon game really helps. I’m also really looking forward to the Hot Wheels expansion coming to Horizon 3, has some exciting potential!

Games picked up

H2x1_NSwitch_PuyoPuyoTetrisPuyo Puyo Tetris – PS4

With this finally getting a Western release, I was very happy to be able to pick the English version up, and put aside my Japanese copy and my 30 page print out of menu translations. It’s still the finest arcade puzzle game of all time and it’s great to see how many people are now getting to experience it. I’m still not interested in getting a Switch, but I can see how this must be a perfect fit for that machine.

March Gaming

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Games completed this month

I’m three for three so far in gameplay months worthy of an update. Some progress has been made, and I’ve identified a few more games I might pick up due later this year.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider – Xbox One: No surprise here, as I was fairly close to completion in February. I finished the main story early in March. Really enjoyed the game, but the Challenge Tombs remain the highlight, and the parts that feel like the games I remember. I won’t be going for 100% completion, as there appear to be hundreds of pointless collectables, but I do fancy going back and clearing the few Challenge Tombs I missed on my way.

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Panzer Dragoon Saga – Sega Saturn: One from my long term bucket list, it’s only taken almost 20 years to get around to. A game that by all accounts was well out of my price range, but the recent addition of a modded Saturn to my collection changed that. I’m going to write a bit more about this game in a following post, but I’ll just say how well it holds up considering its age, and how satisfying it was to play. My getting through any RPG is a rare thing indeed, and should be acknowledged.

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Firewatch – PS4: I picked this up along with the other PS4 games mentioned below in a recent Playstation Store sale. I was a bit wary getting another “Walking Simulator” (urgh) as I bounced off the Vanishing of Ethan Carter and actively disliked Dear Esther. I enjoyed Gone Home however, and the art style of Firewatch was instantly appealing. I was hooked pretty quickly and played it over two nights. At 4 hours long it’s still a short game but about twice the length of Gone Home. The story is engaging, and as I’d done a good job of avoiding any spoilers, I also found it surprisingly tense.

Also played in March

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Epistory – PC: Grabbed this in a Steam Sale as it had been on my radar for a while. It’s a sort of cross between an isometric Action RPG and Typing of the Dead. Great little game where all the combat and some of the exploration is done via typing. I love the Typing of the Dead games, and played the second one to death (ahem) when it came to Steam. More games should have Typing combat as a mechanic.

Panzer Dragoon: Playing through Saga this month really got me back in the mood for revisiting the original games. Haven’t quite managed to beat it yet but I think I’ll keep it in the Saturn for a while.

 

8a407642-56b7-4327-bd86-1bd8bb3d757bForza Horizon 3 – Blizzard Mountain: This month I grabbed the DLC expansion as it was on offer for 50% off. Played a couple of hours of it so far and it is good fun. Like the main game it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and delivery an enjoyable arcade style Rally in the Snow experience.

Games picked up:

header (2)Abzû – PS4: Not really sure what to expect here, all I know is it’s an underwater adventure game along the same lines as Journey. However I still have Journey in my “to play” pile, so we’ll see. Looks really pretty though, and I’m a sucker for the theme.

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Inside – PS4: The follow up to the superb “Limbo” looking forward to getting on this one, I’ve heard lots of good things!

 

header (1)Caladrius Blaze – PS4: Was a bit disappointed with this, and glad I only paid a small amount for it in the sale. At its core it’s a fun vertical shmup, but unfortunately has an overdose of Japanese “fanservice” that gives it a disturbing creepy vibe. When choosing your ship style, you’re also effectively choosing a pilot. The pilots are mostly (possibly all) Anime women, in revealing attire (so far so par for the course). However during the game whenever you take damage, you get a pop up graphic of your clothes gradually disappearing. To make this even trashier than it already is, they also manage to call this the “shame” system, because getting your clothes ripped when fighting to save the world/galaxy/whatever is obviously shameful.

I did discover after my first go that you can turn this shite off, so the game is at least playable. I’m annoyed I didn’t know about it before I started, and have to live with the trophy it awarded me for having ‘experienced’ all the shame breaks of the first character I chose. *shudder*

Gears-of-War-4-01-HDGears of War 4 – Xbox One: Won’t be on this yet, as I will be playing it in co-op with a buddy. However we’re half way through Halo 1 on the Master Chief Collection atm, and intend to play Halo 2 before we start Gears 4. Was a great price though, and it is one from my list of games to play in 2017.

More releases I’m looking forward to:

When I compiled my list of 2017 games, I struggled a bit to find many games due this year to add. Indeed of the three I did select, I don’t think Life is Strange 2 will appear till at least 2018 (if at all). I’ve since found a few more that I’m now intending to play however, although all but 1 are remaster/reboots of games I’ve played before.

crash-bandicoot-trilogy-trailerCrash N Sane Trilogy: I was a big fan of the Crash Bandicoot games on the original Playstation, but don’t think I ever finished any of them. Looking forward to putting that right with this collection.

 

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Wonderboy – The Dragon’s Trap: A game I remember fondly from my Master System days, and another I never finished, although I put that down to my still being in single digits at the time.

 

wipeout-omega-collection-listing-thumb-us-03dec16Wipeout Omega Collection: Essentially the third time I’ll have bought some of this content, it represents a collection of the PS3 & Vita Wipeout games, but delivering them at a crisp & smooth 1080p 60fps (hopefully).  Let’s be honest though, it’s Wipeout and I was always going to be buying it.

maxresdefaultNex Machina: The one new game in this list is a new shmup from Housemarque. Big fan of their previous games, and optimistic that this could do for Robotron what Resogun did for Defender.