Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@RogerRoger I'll be honest: I totally forgot Team Sonic Racing was a thing.

My score is actually lower than the fun I had with it, if that makes sense. Despite my complaining, I think the core single-player story mode is decently solid and meaty. Most of my gripes aren't huge, but they start to add up after a while, and I felt it necessary to address them as fully as possible.

Also worth reiterating that this is only for the story mode, which doesn't really touch the pit stop, mtx element, or the bevy of modes and stages outside of it.

@DerMeister It's a Playstation fan website, so I highly doubt you're the only Bandicoot fan here.

And yeah, I recall the premium currency situation souring @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy on the game a bit as well.

@DerMeister I'm also a fan of Crash. Haven't played Crash 4 yet since I only completed Crash Warped late last year, but I'll get round to it eventually.

@Ralizah Interesting writeup. Crash Team Racing took me a while to get used to, mainly due to how drifting is very different to the likes of Mario Kart. The best times in Crash Team Racing all require keeping up the drift combos for as long as possible, to keep the boosts going. But once it clicked, I had a lot of fun tearing through the tracks.

The big positive of the game for me is the amount of content. There's a lot of tracks once you count the CTR, Crash Nitro Kart, and the free DLC tracks. Then there's all the modes for each track.

My main problem with the game was the shop system and microtransactions. The single player is (or at least was) very stingy about collecting coins, making it take a tedious amount of time to unlock characters. Multiplayer was supposedly much better for collecting coins, but I didn't do much of that.

@RogerRoger Sorry, only just now read your Squadrons review. I agree with pretty much all you have said. I played the entire campaign in VR and have started getting weekly multiplayer sessions together with mates to play with two of us in VR (typically in Fleet battles against AI which is very hard!).

VR adds a lot to the experience, I can't lie. I tried it with and without and being able to look up and down makes a huge difference. In my mind, this game was designed for VR and then made to have a non-VR mode.

However, as a package, I'm really impressed. I bought it at launch at retail price and I think EA did fairly well by the game. It is a niche game in a lot of ways. The campaign was fun, had some exciting moments. The multiplayer is also fun, all packaged up at an affordable price with a lot of replayability. No crazy monetization, just a game that it encourages you to play and enjoy for a fair price. One of my mates who I play with is addicted to it as Xwing and Tie Fighter were his favourite games when we were growing up. Great review!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty sure your review was what prompted the discussion about the microtransaction element of the game originally. I actually combed through the thread looking for the review until I remembered it was probably written before this thread became a thing!

@crimsontadpoles There is a crapton of content in this game. From a single-player standpoint, it's probably one of the best I've seen on that front. The mtx element is unfortunate, and probably the reason I won't end up purchasing the full game, though. Not sure I want to support that business model and/or not have access to certain characters.

@RogerRoger I needed something to occupy my mind going into the weekend. It's hard when I can't go out, although I know everyone is in the same boat. Anyway, I played and completed Batman A Telltale Series - I got it working finally. Had to just keep trying to download it successfully. Took around 5 times. odd.

I had some strange technical hitches on PS5, but those aside, presentation wise it's much more polished than their GoT effort. Pacing is much better. Tighter. Good runtime, and the story is actually entertaining.

@TheIdleCritic Yeah I think I had the same technical issues. Glad you enjoyed it. Was that the first season or second?

@JohnnyShoulder It was the first. I might get the second at some point, but I'm a little burnt out on the Batman/Joker arc. Although, if they do a slow burn before he becomes Batman's nemesis, that could be interesting.

@TheIdleCritic Ah cool. Think I enjoyed the first one over the second series, which I wasn't too impressed with. Seem to remember having a few technical issues on PS4 too, nothing too major but stuff like stuttering and the sound cutting out. I did leave it a couple of years between playing as I think I've grown a bit tired of those kind of games.

Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition for PC. The executive edition is just the normal version of the game, after receiving a free expansion that added in some extra areas and a new route. I played this game last year and was very fond of it, but never got round to making a detailed write-up. Now seems like as good a time as any, so here goes.

The story revolves around Brian Pasternack, who is arriving at the office for his first day of work. Naturally he gets to do the mundane office activities such as meeting his co-workers, logging on to his computer, and grabbing a cup of coffee. A stereotypical office is not the most exciting of settings for a game, but don't worry. This office is far from stereotypical.

Just an ordinary first day of work...

It soon becomes apparent that there's a lot of sinister things going on in the shadows. People disappearing, areas that are considered unsafe, that kind of thing. Rumour has it that a witch has cursed the company, and is causing these problems. Naturally, the game does get dark in places, and a few parts that made me jump (though admittedly I am quite easy to scare).

The gameplay is an adventure game with some survival horror elements. It involves Brian exploring through the 10 floors of the building as he tries to complete his tasks and uncover the mysteries of what's going on. There will be a lot of backtracking between the different floors, but the handy elevator makes it quick to navigate the building. The office is in a poor state of disrepair, so there's a lot of dark rooms. The ever useful flashlight can help, but make sure you don't run out of batteries for it.

Surely they're straining their eyes by typing in the dark

There's plenty of hazards to watch out for. As he's just an ordinary person and not a skilled fighter, Brian will have to avoid enemies where possible. Health can only be restored by eating food and drink, but there's usually plenty lying around. Scavenging the various drawers is encouraged. While items are in a limited supply, there's generally more than enough to be found. So you don't have to worry too much about running out of things as long as you're careful.

What helps to give the game its charm is the various co-workers that make up the cast. Most of them are somewhat deranged, treating the strange occurrences as an everyday part of their lives. However, they're also full of personality. There's a lot of charm and humour in the dialogue. Their often lighthearted banter helps to balance out the darker elements of the game.

Just your everyday work colleagues

The soundtrack is rather good as well. The soundtrack was created by the same person who made the VA-11 Hall-A music. There's a nice mix of relaxed music for the safer office parts, and more dramatic or emotional music elsewhere when needed.

Overall, I really like of this game. The little touches help make this game special, and there's plenty of secrets and surprises along the way. The variety of characters adds plenty of charm. Plus there's always trouble lurking nearby to keep you on your toes.

@crimsontadpoles Nice review!

I've been put off by the title's art style in the past, but the premise does sound fairly unique, and it's really cool hearing the VA-11 Hall-A composer's work (which was just phenomenal, and sounds pretty darn good here as well; 'Green Horn' is especially a fun piece) in another game. Also love a game that can balance horror and humor well.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

When the game came out I didn't really pay attention. Maybe because it was EA, and their previous Star Wars games have been disasters in their own right. They could never get right, right? Fast forward a year and here am I looking for something new to play while waiting on the proper next gen games. Mandalorian episode 2; and a recent binge of the Star Wars films with my GF who had never seen them, has kindled a new excitement for Star Wars. So I remembered Jedi: Fallen Order. I remember liking Titanfall 2, and Apex Legends was pretty good as well from what I've heard from my friends. So if there's one developer under the hood of EA who could do it right, it's Respawn. And so I bought it...

It was a great decision! The game is structured like Tomb Raider, or God of War. You're free to explore several locations. Backtracking to older locations with new powers and equipment is also part of it. In a way, it's what I expect of a modern-day Metroid game. The planets you visit are all visually distinct locations. Though I was kinda surprised when I learned there is no desert planet. Those seem to be a staple Star Wars setting at this point.

Story-wise it's good for a Star Wars game. It dives into themes that the films don't really touch, at least, not to the extent in this game. And it's much more personal as a result. It's not a mind-bending, plot-twist driven story, but it's good for Star Wars standards. The cast is also nice. Jokes are pretty neat, and nothing it too cheesy. The main character is a bit of a blank slate, and lacks perhaps the most depth of any character. Furthermore, the game is filled with small easter eggs to the Star Wars universe. I'm not that well-versed in the Clone Wars era, but I think I got most of the references. A random stormtrooper saying 'at least we have the high ground' has to be one of the highlights.

I played the game on my PS5 on performance mode. I figured it would look about as good as on PS4, but at 60fps. Visually, it's still a very nice game. I haven't tried the normal mode though. I encountered a few bugs during my playthrough, but nothing too bad. The worst bug was a frozen enemy or two, and that played more in my favour than anything else, so I'm not complaining. The game did crash on me once, which was disappointing. I didn't lose any progress however. I beat the game in around 10 days. Too lazy to check the time! But it's not too long, and I completed every planet 100%. I'd wager somewhere in the 25-30 hour range. It took me months to beat Ghost of Tsushima, so this was refreshing!

Some spoiler-filled complaints:
No Darth Vader fight was a bit disappointing. Understandable from a story perspective, but maybe they should've picked a different 'final boss'. Darth Maul perhaps, he seems to be able to survive anything anyway. I also didn't completely understand the function of that one battle arena planet/station you get transported to halfway throughout the game. Is that setting up for a sequel? I guess it unlocked the bounty hunter fights. It seems like they wanted to do more with it, but couldn't do it due to time constraints. Also, the addition of Merrin to the crew. Cool. But the only thing she did was safe Cal and Cere from the water at the end, and that felt more like a mandatory thing to give her something to do than anything else.

Anyway, easy recommendation if you like Star Wars, or if you're looking for a good action-adventure game that isn't drawn out like the average open world game. Best EA game in a good while.

@Octane, bought it in the recent sale & am looking forward to getting to it (still working slowly through Dragon Quest Heroes, & am planning on playing Sakura Wars next, so it'll probably be a while). I really enjoyed the new God of War, so marrying that with the sci-fi trappings of Star Wars should be a good time.

@mookysam Yeah, the map could sometimes be a pain in the arse though! I often wished there were one or two additional shortcuts.

No performance issues on PS5. Resolution could drop at times, and I think that loading the high rez textures didn't always happen in time, so there was a bit of pop in at times. But not too often fortunately.

@Octane The map was one of my minor gripes. I really like the idea of it appearing in-game but the implementation was a little bit messy. Honestly, Fallen Order as a whole just got me really hyped for Metroid Prime 4 if it ever arrives 😂

@nessisonett Yeah, that's true. It fits the game. Metroid's maps aren't a lot better, but they were at least a lot clearer, and didn't have the Star Wars hologram fuzz.

It's a shame how Nintendo has treated Metroid over the years, because it could've something great. They got beaten in their own game. Prime 4 will hopefully be good, but if it's a Switch 2 game they can screw themselves

@Octane Great Fallen Order review. It has peaked my interest. I have had it downloaded on my Xbox since it came on Gamepass but it has never grabbed me as a must play. However, I like Metroid style games (see my incoming next user impression) and my love of Star Wars is growing again following watching Clone Wars and the Mandalorian so I may dust this off.

@Rudy_Manchego That’s a great review of Hollow Knight. I appreciate your candor about the game and it’s difficulty (or relative lack thereof). I’m probably a similar player as you — not very skilled per se, but can be tenacious when I’m driven to be. I can see myself enjoying the base experience in Hollow Knight but skipping the optional stuff that is higher on the difficulty level.

That said, it sounds like there is a large time and emotional commitment if I’m to enjoy this game. As such, I’ll probably leave it for now. Perhaps someday I’ll get a craving for a deep and immersive Metroid style
platformer and I’ll have it waiting for me (so long as I keep my PS Plus sub active, that is)

@Th3solution Thanks! I mean, I think you could get through the game quicker. I spent 70 hours and I did do optional stuff and some DLC content. I have seen an average play time of around 30 hours which is still no short change but doable. However, is worth it. I think we had similar experiences on Bloodborne if I rememeber correctly which was we did it but it took some time!

@Rudy_Manchego Yes, the Bloodborne experience was one of commitment and YouTube assistance. 😅
The gameplay loop of “go back and level up and grind a bit before trying this boss again” sounds familiar. The thing that sounds different in Hollow Knight is that when you go back to level up to make a boss easier, it’s not just grinding random enemies to earn XP, it sounds like you have to explore a bit and find a specific power-up item or skill which makes the boss easier. In some ways that sounds more fun than grinding random base enemies for blood echoes, but in some ways it sounds like it could be more frustrating as well, trying to find said item/skill.