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Topic: PlayStation Plus | OT |

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ralphdibny

@Sorteddan 😃 cheers! Glad it gave you a lol!! I think doing them (something creative) as made me feel a bit better about my week too because it's been slow and tiring for me so it's good for me and good for others! Thanks for taking the time to read, much appreciated!!

See ya!

Thrillho

@ralphdibny Ha, excellent work again

Fall Guys was great fun and perfectly timed with the release being over the initial lockdown. I played quite a bit of it, even when there were relatively few rounds and got a fair few crowns. There could be some serious adrenaline pumping when it got to the last few seconds of the final round!

And the highs and lows of the final round could be intense...

Thrillho

ralphdibny

@Thrillho cheers!! And thanks for reading!!

I think the same, I played it a bit with a mate who now lives in Ireland when it was released. It's sort of quite addictive and it definitely has that "one more game" mentality. Unfortunately I never hit that elusive final round 😅. I think the furthest I got this week was round 3. I'll probably play a few more games of it while it's installed but I am quite happy to tick it off on my spreadsheet

See ya!

Thrillho

@ralphdibny Oh yeah, it’s so easy to just keep playing. It took me a while to get my first crown but I ended up with a fair few and think I got at least one from every final round.

Some of the team rounds sucked though as it was so demoralising to be on the useless team.

I had a blast with it though but have never felt the urge to go back to it.

Thrillho

ralphdibny

Just had a few fair but worthwhile tasters on a few Plus games that are on both PS4 and Vita. I've been playing them on Vita because I'm away for a few days.

Titan Souls (PS4/Vita) - you know when you read a book? Your imagination fills in the blanks. Sometimes it adds details that weren't even in the original text. For some reason, Mad Eye Moody's bulging eye made me think of him as gaunt, hooded and green skinned with really sallow features. Of course, that was until I saw the movie and realised that I had added all those details myself. I'll still remember my original vision of Mad Eye Moody but Brendan Gleeson's excellent portrayal has replaced it in how I envision the events that unfold in the Harry Potter series.

Games can occasionally be like this too, they can feature a minimalist but evocative design that isn't beholden to pages of lore. ICO springs to mind in this instance. Titan Souls is a bit like that, the game opens with you atop (have I just added that detail?) a windy castle/fortress before tutoring you in its 3 input mechanics. Move with the stick/face buttons, roll/run with X and shoot/retrieve an arrow with Square. You are initially in an area faced with four doors that can be entered in any order and what appears to be a fifth door that I guess opens at a later point.

Behind these doors are bosses. They are mostly one-hit defeats and the weak point appears to be fairly obvious but working out how to hit that weak point is less so. It's kind of tough, there is a bit of trial and error. I did 3 of the bosses but a quick bit of research tells me that there are 20 bosses. I'd say that the puzzle aspect is fairly obvious but it requires skill and reflexes to actually solve the puzzle.

One of the mechanics I should point out is the retrieval of the arrow. Holding Square will actually bring the arrow back to you even if you are on the other side of the stage. This means for each arrow shot, you have two opportunities to hit the boss, one as the arrow leaves your bow and one on its way back. Think Yondu's whistling arrow in Guardians of the Galaxy but it can only go away from you and back to you and not in all the crazy directions that Yondu can send it. When retrieving your arrow, you are also locked in place and unable to move. You can stop retrieving the arrow if you face imminent danger though and leave it at the point where it had reached as you had stopped pressing Square.

This game is 2D and top down. I like the aesthetic, it's nice. I feel like it's clearly going for a demake idea as if something like Shadow of the Colossus was made on earlier hardware but it definitely feels different to SotC. As well as the aesthetic, the mechanics have been demade into something more difficult and skill based.

It's not often that something modern that is made in 2D pixel graphics fills me with such wonder but this did. Well an appropriate level of wonder at least. Less wonder than other things but more wonder than the zero wonder I expected. Maybe like 3/10 on the wonder scale. I'm sure I would only be filled with more wonder if I carried on playing.

If I had more time and didn't have a plethora of other games to play then I would stick with this. It seems like a Desert Island Discs sort of game. If you were stuck on an Island and had only 5 games to play, you might choose different and much longer games but this wouldn't be a terrible option to be stuck with as you'd have plenty of time to work out each boss. Rating = W for wonder

Don't Die Mr. Robot (PS4/Vita) - this game is fairly simple to explain. It's like a bullet hell shmup but without any shooting. Maybe it's like an Avoid 'em up? You can kill enemies by collecting fruit that send out a wave that kills enemies within a short radius. Almost like Pacman except the wave does the killing and not your powered up protagonist. So a bullet hell avoid 'em up that's a bit like Pacman but without any mazes. Was that easy enough to explain?

Thinking about it now, I'm not sure if each dead enemy also sends out a wave that kills the next enemy along and can also trigger another fruit so you can chain kills. At the very least, you can trigger other fruit with your wave.

The game looks addictive, there is an Arcade mode that unlocks after two levels of the Remix mode. The remix mode serves as the main campaign though. I progressed through about 5 levels of the remix mode and it looks like there are a substantial amount of levels to play. It's a decent time waster if you've got the time to waste, which unfortunately I don't. Rating = WW for waka waka

Ninja Senki DX (PS4/Vita) - this is a pretty unremarkable side scrolling shooter/platformer. You throw shuriken at baddies and progress through stages. I mean, it's ok. I'd play it if I had nothing else to do.

I had a look online to see how many levels were in this game. There's 17 but I also found a troubling piece of history in the comment section of the PushSquare review of this game. A poor review led to the downfall of its reviewer. It made me hesitant to review the game here, not because I fear for my own downfall (I do but 2021 has different criteria for cancellation) but because I didn't want to dredge up a touchy subject/sad memories.

I highly doubt any of the game developers actually read my reviews, especially as these games came out many years ago but I think I've made clear that if I don't like a game or don't have time for it that it's because of personal reasons. I do try to exaggerate my feelings sometimes for humourous purposes however. I am confident that these games have an audience, or at least had an audience in the past. I am but a mere bystander who walked through a door looking for an experience. Too often I quickly have my fill and walk right back out again. Occasionally I stay for the party.

Anyway, Rating = U for unremarkable.

Edited on by ralphdibny

See ya!

Ralizah

@ralphdibny I actually rather liked Ninja Senki DX, particularly from a trophy collecting standpoint, since some of the trophies are incredibly challenging and require mastering the levels. I don't believe I collected all the trophies, but some of the harder ones are among the trophies I'm most proud of collecting.

Granted, I'd never sit in front of a TV and play it. This is a true portable game, IMO: something best played on a lightweight handheld as you're listening to a podcast or something. But, played that way, it was addictive, and something I reached for over and over to achieve different endings and whatnot.

I had no idea there was so much drama with a one-off reviewer on here! That comment section, in particular, was rather embarrassing. That dude's style and personal conduct isn't professional or mature enough for anything other than his blog, it seems.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

nessisonett

@ralphdibny Oh dear, now I’ve went and searched for that review of Ninja Senki DX! Must have missed it the first time around because I was definitely around back then. Bloody hell though, that escalated!

Plumbing’s just Lego innit. Water Lego.

Trans rights are human rights.

ralphdibny

@Ralizah it's a bit of a weird one, there's definitely nothing wrong with it. I actually thought it controlled really well from my initial playtime with it. I thought the platforming was fairly tight which I could tell early on because there were coins in holes that required falling into the hole and double jumping out of it in order to collect them. (Technically not a double jump but normally the second jump of a double jump can either be done after the first jump or just a fall)

I can see it being quite addictive, perhaps Super Mario Bros style addictive. I think it's just a case of nothing immediately hooking me in, either graphics wise, story wise or gimmick wise. VVVVVV in contrast, got me hook, line and sinker from the opening moments. Or at least hooked me long enough for me to keep going and get to the more addictive parts.

I think there's always going to be an element of "time and place" to my reviews too. My initial batch of PS3/Vita reviews in the PS3 thread were sort of under a time limit due to me deciding whether I wanted to buy them when my Plus sub lapsed back in May but I still had the freedom of the pandemic to actually put more time into the games. I think I'm being a bit harsher now, not with my reviews but with my time because I do actually have limited time as I'm back at work now.

I think Ninja Senki DX, especially as you've now pointed out the rewarding part of the gameplay loop, will probably be in the back of my mind. I'll delete it and tick it off my spreadsheet but it remains to be seen whether I'll return to it if my time ever becomes less of a commodity. I did decide to call time on Exile's End after all, which is a game I treated in the opposite way in that I intended to return but didn't.

I didn't actually read much of that review to be honest as I didn't want to be too influenced when writing my own minutes after 😅. But yeah, I probably wouldn't want to comment too much on it. To each their own I suppose. I guess people handle criticism in different ways.

See ya!

ralphdibny

@nessisonett it certainly did! I think that was before my time, certainly with Push Square at least though I may have been lurking on NL. It's hard to frame the timeline of when I lurked, when I joined and when I participated. I could tell you why and how I ended up on this trio of sites and I can tell you key moments that led to a larger participation in them but I'd struggle with the times/dates/years!

See ya!

LtSarge

@ralphdibny I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on Titan Souls. I've seen this game on sale for so many years now and I always want to get it but I never do because like you said, I'd rather play so many other games than one that focuses on having difficult boss fights with trial and error. That's just not my cup of tea, even though the game would probably be a lot of fun to play on the Vita.

LtSarge

Ralizah

@ralphdibny Yeah, there's nothing that really distinguishes Ninja Senki DX from about a million other competent indie platformers like it. Which, I've found, is usually the case with so many ignored indie games out there: they're often fun enough and well-designed, but lacking in that bit of artistic or interactive novelty in order to allow them to stick out from the crowd (whereas vvvvvv is stylistically and mechanically unique enough to be quite memorable). Although, to be fair, there are a huge number of AAA games I feel the exact same way about.

I can say that if I had played it on my PS4, I'd have bounced off of it like you did. I happen to have a weakness for tightly-designed portable platformers, though, so I ended up spending tens of hours on it.

Putting aside the lack of professionalism in how that reviewer handled the community criticism, I've found, over time, that it's just best not to bicker too much with people, online or off. There's this natural tendency to want to get the last word in, to "win" when disagreeing with someone, but by that point any semblance of constructiveness in the conversation has vanished. Language used purely in the service of stoking one's ego is wasted. The review, for me, was obnoxious because he was clearly using someone's game (undoubtedly the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking effort) as a platform on which to flaunt how clever he is at dunking on people. I imagine that's probably why other people called him out as well: a poorly-worded conclusion and/or review, in and of itself, wouldn't generate that sort of irritated response.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

ralphdibny

@LtSarge cheers for reading bud. Yeah it's deffo the most remarkable of all the games I've played today. Different time, different place, I could see myself getting lost in it for a few hours. I don't think it would take that long to finish though, I think there's a trophy for beating the whole game in under 20 mins!!

@Ralizah yep same here! I've said it with regards to my previous reviews that it doesn't matter if it's AAA or indie, loads of stuff is either generic by design or just generic because the market is so over saturated that it's hard to tell the difference between games. No amount of marketing push is going to get me to buy a Far Cry or an Assassin's Creed at launch when there's a ton of games already that I haven't played but actually want to play. (Apologies if you like those games, for all that they might do uniquely, id put them under the umbrella of "generic" AAA games)

Yeah, I totally agree that it's not worth arguing with people online. We spoke briefly about this recently actually.

I know I've dunked on a bunch of games in my reviews and I do find negative reviews very funny sometimes. John from this site is a great example, his WWE 2K battlegrounds review was hilarious and I've seen similarly worded reviews about the Legacy FIFA editions over on NL. There's probably a fine line that can be tread between funny and obnoxious. It's probably how tongue in cheek you can get about it, I love a lot of the AVGN stuff but it's clear that it is an exaggerated character that's doing those reviews.

But yeah, I hope I don't offend too many people with my short musings, I've said that it's down to personal preference and these games are usually stepping stones to me fulfilling my mission of "getting my moneys worth" out of PS Plus. Contextually, playing these games in the way that I have, levels a direct comparison between titles. It's an interesting way to experience them, through this lens of a paid subscription but I don't think it's neccesarily the best way to experience these games.

See ya!

nessisonett

@LtSarge I got Titan Souls years and years ago on PC and absolutely loved it. It’s well worth a go given how cheap it gets.

Plumbing’s just Lego innit. Water Lego.

Trans rights are human rights.

LtSarge

@nessisonett Well with such high praise, I might have to give it a go eventually. I'll add it to my watchlist and maybe I'll get in a mood where I want to play something different and this could be it. Cheers!

LtSarge

RogerRoger

@ralphdibny These machine gun reviews of yours are a real treat, y'know. Thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of 'em, they're both hilarious and informative! Particularly since, despite not appearing to take the task seriously at times, you're actually doing everybody a solid by trying out some of gaming's more obscure offerings, as well as particular instalments of certain annual sports games. Speaking of which, with regards your thoughts on MLB The Show 19...

Untitled

These remind me of when we all had to collectively research and review every single PS3 game ever released, for the purposes of a forum megapoll. The difference is, you're stepping up and actually gaining first-hand experience of the games you're writing about. It's a heroic effort. Almost as heroic as offering to tickle some chap named Brock.

Oh, and add another "got curious, checked out the site's Ninja Senki DX review and comment section, laughed my butt off and shook my head in equal measure" response to the list.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

ralphdibny wrote:

yep same here! I've said it with regards to my previous reviews that it doesn't matter if it's AAA or indie, loads of stuff is either generic by design or just generic because the market is so over saturated that it's hard to tell the difference between games. No amount of marketing push is going to get me to buy a Far Cry or an Assassin's Creed at launch when there's a ton of games already that I haven't played but actually want to play. (Apologies if you like those games, for all that they might do uniquely, id put them under the umbrella of "generic" AAA games)

It's inevitably going to happen when a genre becomes oversaturated for a period of time, like with DOOM clones in the 90s. Although I still feel like games with a strong sense of identity will stand out from the pack regardless.

I actually think the reverse can kind of happen with games that are undersaturated, where developers can get away with releasing somewhat generic games if there's a shortage of such software on a particular system, for instance.

For the record, I've never played more than a few minutes of an Assassin's Creed game. Something about the way they control drives me up a wall, and I'm not sure what it is.

ralphdibny wrote:

Yeah, I totally agree that it's not worth arguing with people online. We spoke briefly about this recently actually.

Oh, did we? My episodic memory is terrible, unfortunately, so you'll have to excuse me.

ralphdibny wrote:

I know I've dunked on a bunch of games in my reviews and I do find negative reviews very funny sometimes. John from this site is a great example, his WWE 2K battlegrounds review was hilarious and I've seen similarly worded reviews about the Legacy FIFA editions over on NL. There's probably a fine line that can be tread between funny and obnoxious. It's probably how tongue in cheek you can get about it, I love a lot of the AVGN stuff but it's clear that it is an exaggerated character that's doing those reviews.

I feel game reviewing, like comedy, is heavily dependent on perceived authenticity as well as execution. Readers can often tap into a "phoniness" vein and tell the difference between someone who uses comedic exaggeration to convey frustration with amateurish design elements and someone who never intended to give the work a chance in the first place and is just flexing their clever rhetorical barbs on a victim deemed safe enough to dunk on.

ralphdibny wrote:

But yeah, I hope I don't offend too many people with my short musings, I've said that it's down to personal preference and these games are usually stepping stones to me fulfilling my mission of "getting my moneys worth" out of PS Plus. Contextually, playing these games in the way that I have, levels a direct comparison between titles. It's an interesting way to experience them, through this lens of a paid subscription but I don't think it's neccesarily the best way to experience these games.

Anyone thin-skinned enough to become personally upset by a negative blurb about a game you bounced off of isn't worth wasting energy on.

It's an interest project you're undertaking. Keep it up.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

JohnnyShoulder

I like how this has become the Review thread 2.0! 😂

Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

PSN: JohnnyShoulder

ralphdibny

@RogerRoger cheers! Haha wake me up when MLB The Show gets some Simpsons DLC and you can play through that episode in Road to the Show!

I guess I'm glad you took a PG interpretation of my Tickling Broc joke 😅. I do remember that PS3 game mega poll. I didn't envy the task one bit, I just don't think I could have let go of my own favourite games for the benefit of a community poll! It was good to keep up with sparingly though. Well done to you and all others involved

@Ralizah cheers, yeah I know what you mean about a dearth causing generic-ness as well. There are actually a fair few generic 3D platformers knocking about because the really good ones are few and far between. And don't worry, I wasn't accusing you of being an Assassin's Creed fan and it's no bad thing if you were anyway 😂. They do have an audience!!!

@JohnnyShoulder haha sorry, the reviews thread has got some appropriately strict criteria which my reviews don't fit. Namely the length and detail required. I'd say only a few of mine, both in this thread and the PS3 thread fit that criteria. I've thought about adapting them, chopping out the PS Plus context and posting them in that thread. They probably still wouldn't be long enough but at the same time, they are appropriately long for the sort of game I'd review. I probably can't justify posting a review there if I only played the game for 5 minutes though!

See ya!

JohnnyShoulder

@ralphdibny lol no worries, don't let me stop you!

Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

PSN: JohnnyShoulder

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