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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on May 23, 2020 6:51:30 GMT -5
Sonic CD (Mega CD, 1st time, time taken: 1hr28 - timer) Compared to most games I've completed this year, this game is short. It's a great sonic game, easily one of the best in the series, but not the best I prefer 1 & 2. I played the European version as I heard it has a better soundtrack.
Rating: 8
Did you play the game at the regular EU speed? Because like most games of the era, the PAL version is slow, which for this game definitely makes it a lot worse. FWIW, the JP version also has the good soundtrack, as does the 'remaster', both of which of course run at the correct speed. Also, did you play by trying to get the good future in every stage? Because if you didn't, the game indeed is very short. If you did, it's a million times better and arguably the only way to really experience the game as it is meant to be played.
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Post by zerker on May 23, 2020 7:21:04 GMT -5
Finished The Outer Worlds (PS4; First Time) last night. Yup, it sure is an Obsidian-style RPG. I enjoyed it and did most of the quest-lines that you can do in a single play-through (when not taking the Board's side). 8/10. Rough time estimate (based on start and end date): 35-40 hours.
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Post by dsparil on May 23, 2020 7:34:04 GMT -5
Nirvana Pilot Yume (Switch, First Time)
Woody Alien's post reminded me that I actually did finish this earlier in the year. Did the world need a short SkyRoads clone mixed with an inscrutable VN? No, it did not. SR was one of my favorite games growing up so those memories only led to feeling a greater disappointment than I would have otherwise. I'm pretty sure the eShop description originally mentioned SkyRoads directly, but it's currently a vaguer reference.
That aside, the Switch version at least is a technical mess with random frame rate issues, wonky physics and occasionally unresponsive controls. If it did work properly, 10 courses is still something though significantly less than SR's 30. Stay away from the Switch version assuming the PC one works better although it is double the price.
Rating: 5
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Post by alexmate on May 23, 2020 7:58:23 GMT -5
I played the European version as I heard it has a better soundtrack. I wouldn't say either is better than the other. They're just different. The Past music is the same in both though. I think people generally just prefer the one they encountered first. I think I will probably play through the USA one, maybe next year. I've got a huge backlog of games. I thought the soundtrack was great especially the Tidal Tempest zone levels.
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Post by alexmate on May 23, 2020 8:00:15 GMT -5
Sonic CD (Mega CD, 1st time, time taken: 1hr28 - timer) Compared to most games I've completed this year, this game is short. It's a great sonic game, easily one of the best in the series, but not the best I prefer 1 & 2. I played the European version as I heard it has a better soundtrack.
Rating: 8
Did you play the game at the regular EU speed? Because like most games of the era, the PAL version is slow, which for this game definitely makes it a lot worse. FWIW, the JP version also has the good soundtrack, as does the 'remaster', both of which of course run at the correct speed. Also, did you play by trying to get the good future in every stage? Because if you didn't, the game indeed is very short. If you did, it's a million times better and arguably the only way to really experience the game as it is meant to be played. I will be honest with you I wasn't 100% sure of the mechanic so I doubt I got the good future and it did seem short, but about the same length as most 16 bit Sonic games. I ran it through retroarch and overclocked it to 400% as it did seem slow.
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on May 23, 2020 12:46:04 GMT -5
I will be honest with you I wasn't 100% sure of the mechanic so I doubt I got the good future and it did seem short, but about the same length as most 16 bit Sonic games. I ran it through retroarch and overclocked it to 400% as it did seem slow. There's three eras, present (which you start out in), past and future (which has a bad and good version). Initially the future is the bad future, but if you go to the past, you can destroy a machine that's placed somewhere in the stage which will turn it into the good future. Seeing all 4 versions of a stage requires you to time travel 5 times. The stages are really meant to be played less linearly. Learning the layout and looking at the differences between the eras is fun, and getting to know the levels makes it easier to build up speed and not letting time-travel signs go to waste. Level design is much more focused on exploration and trying to get the build-up for time travel. It's especially fun if there are slight differences between eras to mix up opportunities for time travel. Trust me, you're really doing your self a disservice not going for the good futures. Granted, it's not really explained very well in-game that this is what you're supposed to do. But seriously, replay it some time with the NTSC verion (or the remaster) and with the good futures. I mean, it's apparentely already an 8/10 for you now, so it'll be worth your time.
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Post by alexmate on May 23, 2020 13:23:44 GMT -5
I will be honest with you I wasn't 100% sure of the mechanic so I doubt I got the good future and it did seem short, but about the same length as most 16 bit Sonic games. I ran it through retroarch and overclocked it to 400% as it did seem slow. There's three eras, present (which you start out in), past and future (which has a bad and good version). Initially the future is the bad future, but if you go to the past, you can destroy a machine that's placed somewhere in the stage which will turn it into the good future. Seeing all 4 versions of a stage requires you to time travel 5 times. The stages are really meant to be played less linearly. Learning the layout and looking at the differences between the eras is fun, and getting to know the levels makes it easier to build up speed and not letting time-travel signs go to waste. Level design is much more focused on exploration and trying to get the build-up for time travel. It's especially fun if there are slight differences between eras to mix up opportunities for time travel. Trust me, you're really doing your self a disservice not going for the good futures. Granted, it's not really explained very well in-game that this is what you're supposed to do. But seriously, replay it some time with the NTSC verion (or the remaster) and with the good futures. I mean, it's apparentely already an 8/10 for you now, so it'll be worth your time. Thanks. This is incredibly informative. I will definitely give it ago again, but it will be next year. I'm about halfway through another game which is much bigger than I expected.
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Post by dsparil on May 24, 2020 13:45:23 GMT -5
Commander Keen in Keen Dreams (Switch, First Time)
ID's last game for diskmag publisher Softdisk is of course totally phoned in. I remember its genesis as simply being the last game under their contracts for Softdisk, but Wikipedia makes the unsourced statement that this game was the result of a "settlement" for using company systems to make the original trilogy for Apogee. I suppose this is possible, but I can't find any info corroborating this. Slightly more mysterious is that whoever owns the rights to Softdisk's catalog these days put this up on Steam for a few years, took it down in 2018 only for a still available Switch version to come out last year.
I'm not a huge fan of the Commandeer Keen games, but this is a particularly slight installment. As the title implies, the premise is that this is all a dream so basically every hallmark feature is gone. The game is vegetable themed so all the sci-fi elements are out as is the pogo stick. The gun is replaced by lobbed balls that temporarily stun enemies. It's finicky to aim and not used to its full potential.
The real let down is the levels. They're all small and generally uninteresting. The size could be attributable to capacity limitations but not the blandness. There's occasionally some nice touches but they're few and far between and are outnumbered but some truly frustrating level design.
I guess this isn't too bad overall, but ID obviously didn't put the effort that would go into into a "real" CK episode. I bought this on sale a while ago, but the original full price of $10 is ridiculous as is the current full price $6. This is a $3 game at best if you like the series and maybe $1 if you don't already.
I finished in about an hour.
Rating: 6
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Post by dsparil on May 25, 2020 8:12:59 GMT -5
realMyst: Masterpiece Edition (Switch, Replay)
Myst is a total classic and this edition of realMyst does come close to being a realtime version of the prerendered original while the original realMyst was too early for that to be possible. I do have the Mac version of this from a few years ago too, but didn't have a computer that could actually run it well at the time so I haven't really played Myst since the first realMyst 20 years ago.
The underpinnings of the game haven't aged too badly. While not having much direct story, it does let you piece together what happened to each age between the last entry in Atrus's journal about them and their present state. It isn't too cryptic and has some well done touches. There is a real synergy between the text and the depiction of the ages, and a key element that many clones miss.
I did forget how small and actually pretty easy the game is. Granted some of that is from remembering the broad strokes of what to do, but the clues are generally very obvious and you're given enough context to figure out the ones that aren't. There is a very robust hint system if you do get stuck. I think that at the time, the concept was new and abstract enough to throw people off, but over 25 years of subsequent genre development shows how simple many parts are. On puzzle in particular is actually unfair, but for UI reasons rather than the puzzle itself being hard.
The smallness is maybe the only disappointing element, but this was a low budget game from a small team so it's understandable. Cyan got $265,000 from Sunsoft for the console rights and that was the budget. For comparison, Riven was a multi-million dollar project. I'm not sure how fruitful that was for Sunsoft since Myst was the best-selling PC game of all time for a number of years and is still top 10, but the two companies have a relationship to this day.
Compared to the computer version, it isn't clear cut which is better. The computer version has a higher graphics ceiling but unreasonably high requirements to get to it for the time. This version doesn't look as nice, but is still good with a solid frame rate. They both have different issues with the controls. The computer version has more cumbersome mouse and keyboard movement but an easier time with mechanical manipulation. This version has that flipped with straightforward dual stick movement and adjustable movement, turn and cursor speeds but moving a cursor with an analog stick is always clunky. There are touchscreen controls, but it makes you confirm the mode switch every time while seamlessly transitioning back to stick controls. There prices are also fairly close ($18/$20) with the computer version slightly cheaper.
Overall, Myst is still worth playing, and this is a pretty good avenue.
Rating: 8
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Post by Snake on May 26, 2020 11:00:46 GMT -5
Spriggan Mk.2, PC-Engine CD-ROM (1st time, about 2.5 ~ 3 hours)
One of Compile's many shooters, but with anime cutscenes and in-game dialogue as a selling point. I do enjoy the sense that you're not some one-man army, as you have friends and support chiming in and out as you're playing. I like that this game is more about not over-using the pre-selected arsenal to carry into battle. So you're not chasing after power-ups while trying to dodge a hail of bullets. The plot itself reminds me a lot of Gundam Char's Counterattack, with backdrops ranging from a planet, a moon, asteroid field, to even a space colony.
7/10.
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Post by JoeQ on May 28, 2020 15:55:26 GMT -5
MiniDoom 2 (Windows) - First playthrough, Time: 10h (itch.io timer) A fan game that reimagines Doom as a run'n'gun 2D platformer, taking inspiration from all the games in the series. The devs did an excellent job, the game really captured the spirit of Doom and could easily have been a commercial product. Check out the game here: calaverastudio.itch.io/minidoom2Rating: 4/5Alphabet Challenge: ABCD-F-H-J-LM------TUV---Z Number Challenge: --2-------
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Post by ResidentTsundere on May 29, 2020 3:45:17 GMT -5
I have a couple of games from this month to add:
Metal Slug 6 on the Wii's Metal Slug Anthology. First time playthrough; it took about one hour and 30 minutes. I have mixed feelings about this one. There's some crazy spectacle and the "wow" moments that I came to expect from the series, but there's a nagging feeling that the game is more quarter-munching than the others -- and I played with infinite continues.
Mu Cartographer on the PC. First time playthrough; it took about three hours. This is a fun puzzle game with cool music, but the highlight of the game is definitely the journey, not the destination. I highly recommend getting this game if you can afford the pauper's sum that it's going for on Itch.io.
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Post by alexmate on May 30, 2020 11:25:16 GMT -5
Lollipop Chainsaw (360, 1st time) About: 6 hours (est. no timer on 360) Pretty solid Onechanbara clone with nice art style. You could spend a lot longer getting every item, probably take you 50 hours. The cutscenes are really well done, some of the reference humor is a bit tedious, and combat not quite as satisfying as it should be, but it is well worth playing.
Rating: 7
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Post by zerker on May 31, 2020 8:10:11 GMT -5
Finished Train Valley 2 (Linux; First Time) which was a charming and (mostly?) chill puzzle/simulation game. 8/10.
I also finished The Gardens Between (Linux; First Time) which was ALSO a chill puzzle game. 8/10; Steam says 2.1 hours.
but there's a nagging feeling that the game is more quarter-munching than the others -- and I played with infinite continues. Just a friendly reminder: Arcade and Arcade Style Games- A maximum of 2 credits per stage may be used if the game allows for credit feeding i.e. you get revived exactly where you died after continuing. This does not mean that only 2 credits can be used total per stage. For example, a game with 7 stages has 14 credits available. - Games that use checkpoints or restart the level do not have a credit limit. - Games that loop infinitely do not count.
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Post by dsparil on May 31, 2020 9:40:14 GMT -5
I'm assuming that was a reference to not doing a 1CC for it.
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