Topic: Team Microtransactions (MTX) PS3 Library Deliberation Thread

@Ralizah thanks. The real MVP!
From the two entries we have our scores 😂

@ZeD It helps that we got actual games this time instead of piles of shovelware (which, unfortunately, goes along with ranking the entire library of any system). I'll leave this here for a day or two to see if anyone else wants to chime in, then I'll submit it.

i've played all of our small list this week, except for virtua fighter. i've added my scores to the spreadsheet.. there were a couple i felt i'd probably rate somewhere between two scores.. so i've gone with the lower option for now.

@LieutenantFatman @ZeD @Ralizah @leucocyte thanks for getting back team.

@Zed have a great time in Cornwall. I lived in Cornwall for about 14 months and registered to marry in St Austell. Then lived in Devon before coming back to Merseyside. Amazing place to visit. Have fun bro.

@LieutenantFatman Thank you for being honest mate. Its no problem at all and you have contributed loads so thank you so far.

@Ralizah Thank you for tracking all of the results. Great system you have in place. Thank you for the update.

@leucocyte thank you for contributing so far mate. VF5 is a beast.

The offer still stands though we are dead close to the end of this round and as the numbers have dropped we would all be better off in just 2 teams with 5 regular contributers rather than 2,3 or 4. Similar to what happened with my own team a few weeks back if you need to do something in real life there isn't anyone to pick up the slack. Let me know how you feel - Ralizah and Zed you can jon up in ADFs team. Fatman and leucocyte can help cover in 303.

I hope @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy is doing okay. She contributed a lot initially and was full of energy for the project. Then she just disappeared.

@Th3solution I've wondered about her, too, but sometimes people just have to drop off the face of the Earth for a while.

Hopefully it's just being busy with life and not related to the sickness she was apparently dealing with.

@Ralizah looks like we have our final scores. If I get chance later I will move them over to the main thread

@ZeD Just did. Thanks for the reminder.

Any advice about which games I should pick for our team?

EDIT: Too late. Here's our list.

Strider (2014 video game) Capcom
Super Street Fighter IV Capcom / Dimps
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Capcom / Dimps
Syberia Microïds
Tales of Graces ƒ Namco Tales Studio
Tales of Xillia Namco Tales Studio
Tales of Xillia 2 Namco Bandai Games
Tales of Zestiria Namco Bandai Games
Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord Aquaplus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze WayForward Technologies
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan' PlatinumGames
Tekken 6 Namco Bandai
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Namco
Teslagrad Slightly Mad Studios
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified 2k Marin
The Darkness Starbreeze Studios
The Darkness II Digital Extremes
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes Frogwares
Thief Eidos Montréal
Time Crisis 4 Nex Entertainment
Time Crisis: Razing Storm Nex Entertainment
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Arc System Works, Aksys Games, NIS America
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas Ubisoft Montreal
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent Ubisoft Shanghai
Tomb Raider Crystal Dynamics
The Tomb Raider Trilogy Crystal Dynamics
Tomb Raider: Underworld Crystal Dynamics
Toy Story 3: The Video Game Avalanche Software
Toy Story Mania Disney Interactive Studios
Transformers: Devastation PlatinumGames

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14uRdE72JtbW4N3dPmgzaf...

Here.

@Ralizah sorry. Didn't get a notification from this thread, again...

You guys have 2 of the most important games on the PS3 in this grouping imo. Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade edition (basically the best version of the best fighting game ever made). I can't emphasise how much SF4 reinvigorated a dieing genre. The controls are perfect, it introduced mechanics which games this gen are still using. Sony even announced an exclusivity deal on the back of its success as both a product and its esport.

The Darkness is a compelling game. In my mind its the sequel to escape from butcher Bay on the original xbox as they both feature amazing worlds, characters, lore and they are both a dark brooding mix of stealth, melee and fps combat. I've just taken a look at the reviews and I completely agree with the scores in the 90s. The lower rated reviews are a disgrace imo. It is important for multiple reasons.

Added my scores

Tales of Grace f is my favourite PS3 game and I'd happily rank it among my all-time favourites. I guess I was in a bit of a gaming rut when I played it and was having a difficult time with my disability getting worse. Playing it just made me happy and snapped me right out of the rut.

Originally a Wii release and exclusive to Japan, after disappointing sales the game was ported to the PS3. It has a few new additions including an exclusive epilogue chapter. Graces f surely deserves some credit for revitalising the genre on consoles in the West. It was an unexpected success for Bandai Namco, and led them to localise more games in the series and genre. I still believe this had a chain effect on other publishers.

The battle system is the very best in any Tales game to date. Rather than having and consuming "TP" (Tales answer to MP) distinct from basic attacks, in Graces all actions - including basic attacks - now use points called "CC". A superficial name change I hear you cry! However, unlike TP there is only a very limited amount (3 to begin with though this can be expanded). Points constantly recharge when blocking and through performing combos. This makes combat feel much more deliberate and weighty. The real hook appears when chaining attacks into combos - one basic attack or spell allows you to then perform another, more powerful (let's call it stage two) move and so on until a powerful finisher is performed. Through all this here is a real flow and fluidity to battle. It's very, very good.

The second component that feeds into the gameplay loop is obtaining "titles". These are mostly gained through completing various battle actions, so the process of obtaining them becomes a very addictive part of the game.
Titles have long been a feature of Tales games, and their utility ranged from minor stat increases upon levelling up to simply being superficial or bringing comedic value. However, in Graces they are extremely important in that they each confer a stat bonus or ability to each character. As with other games in the series you can only set one at a time, so will constantly change them depending on the situation. For example, when battling a powerful dragon you may wish to set titles that lessen fire damage or increase defence and so on.

Graces f was criticised for its presentation, characters and story, though I think this was a actually little unfair. It's a Tales game through and through, and the more clichéd aspects are always part of the charm of the series. I myself loved every aspect of the game. The story is simple, but sweet (although the villain's voice made me laugh and I was bemused by how naïve the protagonist is), the characters are nice and the world, despite its simple Wii origins, is colourful with attractively designed towns. Unlike previous Tales games up to that point the world eschews an overworld map in favour of largely linear pathways between towns and cities. VERY IMPORTANT

Tales of Xillia 1 & 2 thoughts coming later!

@themcnoisy
I didn't play the Arcade Edition but I agree SSF4 was excellent, really enjoyed it. You know a game is good if you enjoy playing against randoms online.

@mookysam @RogerRoger Appreciate all the help, guys.

Time Crisis 4
A relatively unambitious entry in the series, but it almost single-handedly held the line on light gun game representation last gen when it released.
Verdict: 2.5

Time Crisis: Razing Storm
So, this one is a bit controversial, it seems. It's a compilation. It includes Time Crisis 4, along with a spin-off that features FPS segments. There's also a different light gun game included to round out the package. All things being equal, this one is better value for money, and all the included games are supposedly pretty decent.
Verdict: 3

@Ralizah Happy to help.

Quick thoughts on the other Tales games.

Tales of Xillia was the first "proper" PS3 Tales game. It surprised me quite a bit because I really, really enjoyed the story and loved the characters. Story is never the strongest aspect of any Tales game, but here I felt they went the extra mile and there are some genuinely deep moments. And no padding!
The battle system is another highlight. Unlike Graces, here it is an evolution of the traditional system. It's very fast and fluid and just a joy to play. The battle "gimmick" (though I hesitate to use that word) is that each character is linked to another in pairs. You still only control one at a time, but it leads to some interesting strategy, especially when the combo meter is filled and your pair can work in unison. You can also switch characters on the fly (a big improvement). Each character controls very differently and has a unique battle method and set of skills, but they are very all fun to play as.
The overworld is very reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII in its design - basically a series of interconnected areas. Overall, while still very much a Tales game (not a negative thing at all), it feels like it's pushing the series forward. VERY IMPORTANT

Tales of Xillia 2 - The next "mothership" Tales release was a direct sequel to Xillia - taking place a year after that game - and reuses the world and assets of its predecessor. It does include some new areas and playable characters.
The air of familiarity unfortunately drags it down quite a bit, but I did overall enjoy returning to the world and catching up with characters from the first game. Shaking things up is the "futuritic" vibe, as the world has abandoned medieval-esque technology and rapidly developed. In my view this brings an interesting feel to the game, though some fans did complain. The protagonist this time is a new character and silent protagonist (the ludicrously named Ludger Kresnik), and throughout the game he joins up with the cast of the first Xillia. The battle system is for the large part the same (good thing) with some neat additions that fit in with the dimension travelling theme of the game.
Although there are some pacing issues, on balance the story is again a strong point - at times perhaps even more so. Split into chapters, one part of the game is genuinely one of the most upsetting moments in any game I've played. The story isn't as long as in the first Xillia, and so the gameplay is lengthened with a large number of side quests. Like a madmen I did them all. Overall Xillia 2 is a lot harder to rank than the first. I want to say it's important because of how much the story touched me, and as before I loved the characters. The battle system is also great fun. However, at the same time it doesn't feel like an important Tales release. Reusing the world was an interesting experiment, but it feels unnecessary and lightweight. So I shall be ruthless and say it's EXISTING.

Tales of Zestiria - I played this on the PS4 and it ran like absolute poo. Everything I've read indicates it is even worse on the PS3. The battle system, based on the excellent system from Grace f is one casualty. The framerate is at times abysmal and actions feel slow and laborious. Even worse, the camera is a complete and utter nightmare. Sadly the battles were one of my least favourite aspects of the game, something unthinkable for the series. There are some nice ideas hidden away in the system, but they are overwhelmed by the poor technical performance.
The world is supposed to have a more "realistic" look to it than the more fantastical and colourful designs of previous games. Frankly, it's just ugly. Monster designs are also dull.
The game does have a strong point, however; dungeons are truly brilliant. I can't really fault them at all and thoroughly enjoyed playing through them. The story at times feels like it is going at a strong pace and picking up momentum, but then quickly loses it. It oscillates between this several times. It's not helped by a particularly dull cast of characters, including one important character who leaves early on, returns much later and has her own DLC to plug in the gaps. The game is a bit of a mess. UNIMPORTANT

@Ralizah nvm. Just seen the list has been posted

@ZeD Already done and submitted. There was only one left, so I just researched it and applied my own score.