Topic: Games you've recently beat

I am surprised Microsoft didn't snatch up Asobo by now. I kind of expected it to be announced as part of their E3 Showcase. Unless they really want to stay independent, then it doesn't matter. If they are open to a buyout, Sony taking a shot at them before Microsoft does would be smart.

In the end, it doesn't really matter unless something happens. I'll enjoy the PS5 upgrade to A Plague Tale Innocence and will continue to really look forward to the sequel.

@Th3solution @KilloWertz I (& I’d assume Sony feel the same) am not happy with this current landscape of locking up developers… but regardless of one’s displeasure, sometimes you just have to allow yourself to get down & dirty in the interest of self-preservation. It really sucks!

Played and beat another couple of original Game Boy games on my 3DS. Super Mario Land 2 was decent and really imaginative but not quite as much fun as the original. Kirby’s Dream Land was also alright but Kirby’s still not really my thing.

As mentioned in the trophy thread, I have just polished off Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

A wonderful game that really is stunning to look at with Insomniac giving you plenty of choice on your graphical settings, just like Miles Morales. The story was good fun and there was very little I didn't get as someone who has only otherwise played the 2016 reboot; there were just some side characters I didn't know.

There's not a whole lot different in the mechanics from 2016 but the rift tether move works well for platforming and combat, and the pocket dimensions offer slightly different areas to try different things with the platforming.

The game is reasonably short with my game time clocking in at 18 hours to complete and platinum the game. But too much more and it would almost certainly start to drag. There are enough planets to keep things interesting and jumping between controlling the main characters does the same, even if they do control exactly the same and weapons/XP are shared between them both.

The game uses the DualSense well with R2 differing in what it does between a half and full pull, much like Returnal. There are plenty of weapons to play with and I think I used the vast majority of them reasonably organically as the game went on but did switch things up to try and level almost all of them up by the end of the game.

Overall, I would recommend the game but can see that the price may put some people off a relatively short experience.

Also, for those who have finished the game as well, how good is that song over the second part of the credits at the end! I would have loved for that to have been in the main game..

@Thrillho Thanks for the thoughts, which seem to reinforce the general consensus. For me personally, I think I was right to hold off at the moment, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing it someday. Everything you've described there sounds like my kinda game, right down to the simplicity and short runtime (those shouldn't be dirty words in gaming). The only thing that makes me wrinkle my nose is the bit about the triggers, but that was always gonna be something I'd have to get used to eventually. Glad you had fun!

@RogerRoger The triggers are less pronounced than in Returnal but it works well. For instance, with the grenade type weapon you hold fully press R2 to just lob it in that direction but half pressing let’s you see the arc for more precision.

@Thrillho Ah, that doesn't sound so bad. Thanks for explaining an example of it in action. Should definitely be something I'll be able to adapt to (pun semi-intended).

Ys Seven done! Started out really tropey and average at best but took one hell of a turn around the halfway point and got proper good towards the end. Only VIII and IX left now and I need to decide between Vita and PS5 for VIII. It would be a shame to play VIII on PS5 considering I’ve played every other game on Vita after all!

@Ralizah Mental to think that my Falcom binge is finally getting close to the end. With me also playing through Trails to Azure atm, it shouldn’t be long until I catch up with Ys and Trails.

@nessisonett Well, you won't be able to play IX on a Vita, and VIII is a bit iffy performance-wise on handhelds. Also, a decent chunk of content is exclusive to the PC/PS4/Switch version of the game.

Good job on catching up on Falcom stuff. Plan on playing any of their side games like Gurumin, Tokyo Xanadu, Xanadu Next, etc.?

@Ralizah Not sure about Gurumin to be honest. What I saw of it on 3DS just didn’t look very good. I’m like 5 chapters into Tokyo Xanadu since it’s on PS Now but lost track of it moving from my PS4 to PS5! I guess I’ll pick up Ys VIII next time it’s on sale on PS4 then.

@nessisonett Good move. It goes pretty low in PS4 sales, whereas nothing on Vita ever goes on sale anymore, lol.

And yeah, Gurumin 3D is dreadful, and the music is terrible. Worst Falcom game I've played to date.

Beat The Beat: Rhythm Paradise (a.k.a. Rhythm Heaven Fever) on Wii. I've cleared every main level on it.

It's a wonderful rhythm game. The game is made up of lots of weird and fun mini-games, such as jumping on a see-saw, packing sweets (whilst swatting away the spiders), or cheerleaders encouraging people to read in a library.

Controls are nice and simple here. The only two controls in any rhythm game is pressing A, and pressing A and B together (they're easy to press together on a Wii remote). Thankfully they didn't fall into the usual Wii trap of sticking motion controls in just for the sake of it, as this sort of game works best with buttons.

The button presses do require precision timing, so this game can get challenging. There is the option of skipping levels if the player is struggling. The key to getting good at this game is to pay attention to the music and audio cues, and not rely on the visuals.

There were a few frustratingly tricky games, especially Monkey Watch (which has a small monkey on a watch hand high-fiving the other monkeys as it ticks past). But aside from those, it was a lot of fun.

Finally played Resi 4 for the first time in ages. Not aged too well, and more of an action game instead or a horror, but it was very fun.

Super Metroid.

One of the best games of all time.

The End.

Mass Effect. First time I ever played it as FemShep, and of course had to do it as a Renegade. I somehow managed to have a lot of Paragon points in the end too, but oh well. Still had more than enough Renegade points for the trophy, and it was still fun, especially her dialogue when you disconnect on the Council.

@KilloWertz To me renegade FemShep is the canon way to play. I played and replayed the Mass Effect games multiple times (only the first two), but I could never not be renegade! I think it made more sense in the story that way.

(Oh, and let's not forget Jennifer Hale does a better job of acting than Mark Meer, even though both are quite good)

@Kidfried Obviously EA always marketed the male Shepard as the main Shepard, but I can't really argue otherwise. It is the better way to play imo now after experiencing it, even though like I said, I ended up having a lot of Paragon points too by the end. I look forward to experiencing Mass Effect 2 that was for the first time ever as well.

She definitely does. She's a top notch voice actress. I'm sure I've heard her doing other stuff and didn't realize it, but her work as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was also great. I had no idea it was her until somebody mentioned it somewhere (probably here).

@KilloWertz Hanging up on the Council is one of the few times I allow myself to go Renegade. The other time is when you get to call that preaching hanar a "big stupid jellyfish" but otherwise, my balance usually ends up being somewhere in the region of 75% Paragon, 25% Renegade.

Glad you had fun, and here's hoping you continue to enjoy the trilogy as you progress!

@RogerRoger I've played the series when it first released (I never finished 3 though for some reason), so this isn't my first time playing it of course. I haven't played it since they originally came out aside from the first one since I wanted to try being a Renegade FemShep for the first time after beating the first one once already in this edition. Still, thanks regardless.