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Topic: Games you've recently beat

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JohnnyShoulder

@Tasuki I enjoyed what I little played of it, I was just not ready for more Borderlands when I was playing it.

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

Ralizah

Super Mario World

SNES (via Nintendo Switch SNES app)

So, after years of starting and stopping this game on various systems, I FINALLY beat it. And I didn't just beat it, I completed Star World and the unlockable Special world as well (the one with hilariously dated level names like "Gnarly," "Tubular," and "Mondo"). I think there might be a secret level or two that I didn't complete, but I'm not really bothered about that, especially since I never consulted an online FAQ for this game even one time (which was a huge temptation in the irritating Forest of Illusion).

I've stated for years that I just don't like this game. Has that opinion changed after fully experiencing what it has to offer? ...not really. I don't understand the acclaim this receives. Most of the worlds feel very samey and don't do enough to distinguish themselves from one-another (which wasn't an issue in SMB3, which featured very creative and distinct worlds).

The available power-ups are incredibly disappointing (the only really new one you'll use with any regularity is the cape, which is, frankly, a nuisance, and a massive downgrade from the Tanooki suit in SMB3; stuff like the balloon powerup, which strikes me as someone's bizarre inflation fetish that was somehow worked into the game, and the wings that attach to Yoshi and turn him into a blue Yoshi are so incredibly rare that they're little more than occasional level gimmicks).

The music is weird and very limited. You'll hear the same couple of tracks over and over.

Yoshi and a number of new enemies are introduced, but Yoshi feels very nerfed without the wonderful flutter jump that was later added into Yoshi's Island. Swallowing enemies is useful, but otherwise he just feels like an extra layer of armor to protect Mario from hits or, occasionally, a pawn to sacrifice when large jumps are needed and you're not wearing a cape.

The difficulty is all over the place in this game. I understand some people will find some things more challenging than others, but why do some of the random levels from the main game feel so much more brutal at times than the Secret levels, or the Star World levels? There's no rhyme or reason to it. Boss fights follow this trend as well, with several of the Koopalings being far more challenging than the actual final boss encounter against Bowser, which was pretty disappointing.

A lot is made about the number of secret exits in this game, and the interconnected world map. But, honestly, the focus on hidden content feels like it comes at the expense of the regular level design, and the connected world map really does nothing for me. SMB3 had actual minigames and item houses on its map, so, if anything, that game felt like it benefitted more from the somewhat open map design, despite the worlds not all being interconnected like they are here.

Probably the worst addition to the series via this game are the ghost houses, which slow down the momentum of the platforming to a crawl and force you to engage in irritating trial-and-error puzzle design until you happen to chance upon the correct path that'll take you to the end of the level. The design of these levels are improved in several subsequent Mario games, but they're almost intolerable here, and I groaned in frustration everytime I came across one, because I knew any semblance of fun I was having was about to end.

Any positives? Well, the game has a bright, cheerful aesthetic, which is nice. Yoshi coins, which you collect five of in a level to get a 1-Up, I believe, are interesting. While I prefer the flagpoles of previous and subsequent games, the system here where you have to tear the tape on the goal post to collect stars so that you can play a minigame is nice, although I personally prefer the flower system that accomplishes the same thing in Yoshi's Island. I also kind of like how different Yoshis can have different abilities (the rare Blue Yoshi, for example, can fly when he's holding a koopa troopa in his mouth). Control-wise, I dig the spin jump, and wish Nintendo had elaborated on it in later games.

It's not a bad platformer, and is still far preferable to the dreadful Mario 64, but I don't think I'll ever really 'get' why this game is so beloved to so many Nintendo fans (apart from the obvious nostalgia factor, which might be the missing ingredient; I didn't first play this until it released on the Wii VC, and obviously didn't complete it until 2019).

Verdict: 6/10

Edited on by Ralizah

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

PSN: Ralizah

KALofKRYPTON

@Ralizah You could chuck this in the 'Unpopular Gaming Opinions' thread too! haha

PSN: KALofKRYPTON (so you can see how often I don't play anything!)

Twitter: @KALofKRYPTON (at your own risk, I don't care if you're offended)

"Fate: Protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise." - Cmdr William T. Riker

Rudy_Manchego

@Ralizah I have been replaying this over the last week or so on the SNES Mini and I'll be honest, it is so tightly woven into my nostalgic childhood memories, I can't be objective. I love the game and it is my favourite 2D Mario however, I agree on the difficulty. I can absolutely whizz through some levels and then randomly hit a brick. I also don't like the Ghost houses.

Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot

PSN: Rudy_Manchego | Twitter:

Ralizah

@Rudy_Manchego I'm the same way with FFVII. I'm not sure how much I'd actually love it if I played it as an adult for the first time, but there's so much emotion and memory mixed into my experiences with the game that just thinking about it makes me feel warm and happy.

I didn't talk about it, but I also hate how much harsher the damage penalties are in older Mario games. In newer games, if you're equipped with a power-up and get hit, you usually retain your adult form, giving you 2 more hits before you die. You only ever have 2 HP in SMW, though, unless you're riding a Yoshi, which lets you tank another hit.

@KALofKRYPTON Probably. Unlike a lot of people, I think Nintendo's games have only improved over the years. They absolutely still have their classics, of course, like Yoshi's Island, SMB3, A Link to the Past, etc., but I find that my favorite Nintendo games tend to almost universally be modern or semi-modern.

Edited on by Ralizah

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

PSN: Ralizah

Ralizah

@LN78 I could write paragraphs about all the stuff I hate in that game, but suffice to say that it's probably my all-time least favorite Nintendo game.

Also another one I didn't fully finish despite trying to replay it time after time over more than a decade. Maybe I'll force my way through it on the Wii U sometime just to say I beat it, like I did with SMW.

Edited on by Ralizah

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

PSN: Ralizah

Kidfried

@Ralizah I appreciate your opinion, though I will say that to me it sounds like you're talking about a different game. To me the ghost houses were the game's highlights, and provided some much needed variety. And the shortcuts made me replay levels, enjoying them again, in a new game plus way. The never detracted from my first playthrough, only providing more fun.

Kidfried

Ralizah

@LN78 I'd absolutely joust with you about Mario 64! It does sound like we share a common interest in Galaxy, though, which is absolutely my favorite Mario game, and one of my all-time favorite platformers. I don't feel equally as fond about Galaxy 2, unfortunately. Something about it just rubs me the wrong way. It's missing all of the grandeur, emotion, and scale of Galaxy, and I wasn't a fan of the change to even more linear level design.

Still hate the Wii, but until we get a remaster of Galaxy that matches or exceeds the quality of the original, I'll always have something that plays Wii game plugged up where I live.

@Kidfried I get aggravated with the ghost houses in this game because, more often than not, the solutions feel like pure trial and error. There's nothing fun to me about entering a door and then finding that it just transported me back to the beginning of the level, for example. I will concede that the choco ghost house that featured ghosts that turn into blocks was clever (you have to lure the ghosts over to a certain location to access the secret exit), but most of them weren't that good.

RE: secret exits, I'm fine when the secret exits go to optional levels or open up shortcuts to later worlds, but in places like the Forest of Illusion where they hide the real exit, I just feel like my chain is being yanked.

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

PSN: Ralizah

HallowMoonshadow

To be completely honest @Ralizah I have no idea what Mario game you're talking about 😂

I only know of Mario Bros 1, 2 & 3 (Plus lost levels I guess) thanks to the SNES release Super Mario All-Stars (The different styles for each game (Except for lost levels) helps) never knew there was a super mario world til now!

Honestly I couldn't play them for longer then half an hour before I got bored of them

In fact... aside from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart DS and Super Smash Bros Brawl (If you even count that as one) those are the only Mario games I've played! So I have no opinion on your "Blasphemous" opinion either lol

Your score of a six seems rather generous actually for a game you didn't particularly seem to enjoy :')

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

Gremio108

@Frigate It's strange because the missions are starting to get quite repetitive but oddly they're still fun. And like you say, just when you think you're getting bored of the gameplay loop, a great cut-scene comes along and you think "right well I have to keep going then"

When I've got work to do, or some household chores, I usually close whatever game I'm playing and put Spotify on. But Mafia 3 has stayed on in the background so I can listen to the soundtrack while I'm doing ironing or whatever!

Good job, Parappa. You can go on to the next stage now.

PSN: Hallodandy

JohnnyShoulder

@Frigate Mafia 3 was only released on this gens consoles? I got this on ps plus, still not played it as not been in the mood.

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

Rudy_Manchego

Been struck down by bad Man flu this week but managed to finished 2 games.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Played this on Switch and ended up putting a lot of time into it. I liked it (as a big South Park fan) but I had literally come off the back of The Stick Of Truth and I thought it took a step backwards. I preferred combat in SOT but I can see how the grid helped. However, the story and the world travel was more convuluted and it felt more 'Ubisoft' then the first release. I know Obsidian were contracted for the first one so that probably explains it but there felt like there was more filler in TFBW. Also, loading times on the Switch version were pretty poor and quite annoying.

Gears 5 - I have played all Gears games except Judgement (ain't nobody got time for that) and this was, in my mind, the best since Gears 2. The story was character driven largely, the combat pretty smooth and it did a good job of explaining the world and the threat in good detail. I also liked Kait as a character. Not groundbreaking, sure but a decent enough campaign.

Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot

PSN: Rudy_Manchego | Twitter:

Thrillho

@Rudy_Manchego Funny that as I thought the biggest improvement between the two games was the combat.

In the first game, it felt like you could just stick (no pun intended) with the same characters and just mash the same couple of attacks over and over whereas the second game was more tactical with movement, AoE attacks etc (particularly the one fight later in the game where you needed to knock enemies back to defeat them).

I did prefer the superhero theme though but the first game was set around the time I still watched the show so I knew a lot more of the references etc.

Thrillho

Rudy_Manchego

@Thrillho I agree that it made it far more tactical, in that different enemies needed you to experiment with different team members and your own moves - the knock back one being a prime example. At the same time, I missed the RPG elements where you could build up a costume and attacks etc. I also thought you could develop your own style in Stick of Truth as there felt like more point in upgrading. I also liked that consumables didn't take a turn - I guess that made it easier but just seemed to make the battles quicker.

Also, with the experiementation, I found a few situations that made things harder like the knockback boss. I didn't have any knock back attacks so found that harder without changing.

The superhero theme was very funny and I liked it a lot but I guess I enjoyed the ribbing that Skyrim took in the first one. Maybe because I never stopped laughing at Cartman doing the background singing when you were walking around the city!

However, these are the first two turn based games I have played end to end in years so hopefully I can take that further in other games!

Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot

PSN: Rudy_Manchego | Twitter:

RogerRoger

@Rudy_Manchego I'm gonna pass your Gears 5 comments along to my best friend, as she's really looking forward to playing it specifically because of its focus on Kait. She chose to play Borderlands 3 first, but knowing that it has a character-driven story will get her hyped. Thanks!

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

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

RogerRoger

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
2003 / PC

At the turn of the millennium, licenced games were starting to struggle. It was inevitable; why spend £50 on a seven-hour version of the two-hour, £5-a-ticket film you just watched? To try and solve this issue, many franchises took to creating original storylines and scenarios for their interactive offerings... but then just how "original" do you make them? I'm reminded of the 2002 blockbuster game James Bond 007: NightFire, which featured an "original" storyline. In one mission, you're tasked with driving an Aston Martin Vanquish across a frozen lake, just like you'd seen Bond do in trailers for Die Another Day, which was about to hit theatres. Coincidence?

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb suffers from a similar identity crisis. It claims to be an original Indy adventure and, for the most part, it succeeds. There's a new mythical object to be found, a new villain to keep from finding it first, a new love interest for our hero and a new disfigured Gestapo agent to punch... but, along the way, this formulaic familiarity stops being coincidental and starts being laughably obvious. You'll whip yourself around a Nazi-infested castle, brawl in a Shanghai nightclub, shoot classic cars in a street chase, infiltrate a U-Boat dock and traverse an invisible floor. Whilst obviously expanded by gameplay, so many sequences descend into "stop me if you've heard this one" and were clearly intended to add authenticity to the proceedings, but instead prevent you from taking everything seriously as a chunk of Indy lore.

Untitled
U-Boat, I-Boat, We-All-Boat: At least he didn't inexplicably cling to the side of this one.

In between all the nudges and winks, there are some welcome new ideas thrown about. Alas, these rare nuggets of originality often betray their inspirations, as they're examples of some well-worn videogame tropes and conventions. Find yourself atop a slow-moving gondola, strafed by Messerschmitts? Don't worry, it's just a turret-shooter sequence (and a long, drawn-out one at that). Sneaking around a secret Nazi base? Try hopping in the vents, because... well, because vents, complete with red-tinged bottomless drops and deadly spinning fans.

Untitled
"Vents. Why'd it have to be vents?" Indy finds yet another victim of a standard videogame trope.

But some other common dangers of "gameification" are neatly dodged. Indy doesn't suddenly become Rambo, gunning down countless goons; ammo is actually somewhat scarce, as guns are more of a lifeline for when you're feeling overwhelmed. Instead, you'll rely on the responsive, satisfyingly-robust melee system for most of your encounters. You can grab, you can throw, you can reel enemies in with your whip... heck, you can even smash furniture and use the discarded debris to your advantage. If you've ever wanted to whack a Nazi with a chair leg, this is the game for you. Just get used to hearing the same audio cues over and over again, as some of the sound design is quite limited in this regard; no matter if they're falling off a cliff, being shot in the face or clobbered unconscious, all baddies seem to scream the same. Private Wilhelm would be proud.

Untitled
Calling this game "one-note" would be pretty accurate when referring to death yells.

You'll hear a lot of this later in the game, too, as brawls become bigger (and therefore tougher) the further Indy travels. It isn't too much of a problem, although the lack of mid-mission saving can cause a few headaches in some of the larger trap-filled tombs. Whilst most of the game is broken into manageable bitesize chunks, be prepared to play through a couple of them three or four times as you figure out certain challenges. These can range from the aforementioned fights to platforming sections where the traversal mechanics aren't as fluid as they should be. Indy has an annoying habit of missing his second target when chaining whip-swings together, despite it being a simple click-and-release manoeuvre, and some of the ancient traps can feel somewhat cheap when they (literally) pull the rug out from under his feet.

Sometimes you won't mind stepping where you just stepped, though, as the various environments can be quite impressive when they want to be. Whilst this game was never considered a looker, not even at launch, playing it on PC with up-to-date hardware can reveal a few neat touches which help sell the escapism of a globe-trotting, history-revelling adventure; the Penglai Mountain castle, as well as its distant cousin in Prague, fare particularly well. As is standard for an Indy yarn, things crescendo towards the supernatural and, since we're dealing with a videogame here, it goes a little further than your average movie... not that it necessarily should have done, however, because some of the fourth-quarter effects are just as ropey as a melting face.

Untitled
It's Behind You: Moments like these can make Crystal Skull look like a documentary.

As a product of its time, though, Indy's quest to the Emperor's Tomb is one of the better examples of a licenced game... and as a product of its franchise, the game doesn't bring shame upon its source material. Playing it may only reward you with some pixelated fortune and glory, but maybe that's enough if you're an armchair adventurer like me.

After all, there were rats. Big ones.

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

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Th3solution

@RogerRoger Great work there on that post! An enjoyable read on a game I actually didn’t know existed. Love the screenshots too. It’s an Indy extravaganza lately for you! (I feel the same with Marvel lately since watching the movies inspired me to play Spider-Man)

I actually finally finished Lara Croft Go today, which is also one for the relic-hunting adventure theme here. I recall it being one of your favorites, and your recommendation is one of the reasons I picked it up. I’ve said a little about it before, and I will say that I enjoyed it for what it was — a simple puzzle game within the setting of the TR Universe. The perfect portable short session palate cleanser for when I didn’t want to be bogged down by booting up a PS4 game and investing a bunch of time. The puzzles got to be very challenging toward the latter half and for me it was hard to do them all without hints. I did finally get the platinum though. 🎉 The worst thing I can say about it though is how poorly it runs on Vita. Between inaccurate input (especially with the analog stick, less of a problem with the touch screen controls) and unacceptably long load times, it dragged down a pleasant and creative experience to something of a chore at times. But overall it was definitely worth it and I’m sad to see it end — that desire for more is testament enough to the quality of the game. I considered picking up Hitman Go in the current sale, but I don’t have an invested interest in the Hitman world yet.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Thrillho

@RogerRoger How big are those air vents when it looks like that skeleton could be stood upright and still have a metre or two of space above it??

Some of those era tie-ins which just retold the story of the film were a little weird. I seem to remember a level in the PS1 game version of The World is Not Enough had a casino scene where you actually had to gamble to get enough money to progress.

Thrillho

mookysam

@Th3solution The loading times almost killed the game for me. Utterly grotesque port. Luckily the quality of the puzzles shone through - some are really well designed. It's a neat little game, just a shame about the loading times and control lag.

@RogerRoger Nice review. That last screenshot is terrifying! The presence of air vents in Indiana Jones sounds somewhat out of place. Were there conspicuously placed oil barrels too?

Black Lives Matter
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DerMeister

@RogerRoger Wow, that review can pass as actual magazine review. Great stuff.

"We don't get to choose how we start in this life. Real 'greatness' is what you do with the hand you're dealt." -Victor Sullivan
"Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing." -Solid Snake

PSN: HeartBreakJake95

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