Topic: What (Non-PS4) game are you playing??

@RogerRoger @Keith_Zissou @Thrillho @ralphdibny and anyone else who has played MGS4.

I'm grinding out the... well, more 'grindy' emblems and the Bee emblem requires that I use the syringe on 50 enemies... the thing is I don't have a syringe in my inventory. From what I gather it's an item that Snake should have from the start, am I missing something?

@colonelkilgore I don't remember I'm afraid as I've only played it once early in the PS3 days so don't have such a good memory of this game.

@johncalmc played it more recently too I think?

@colonelkilgore I just had a search and apparently you get it after meeting a certain character and before you fight another certain character in a boss fight.

I didn't say their names because I can't remember how early they enter into the story and also I don't know how far into the game you are! Didnt want to give you spoilers!

Do the emblems translate as trophies?? I can only vaguely remember them. I played the game through once before they patched in trophies and then once again in 2020 which was after they'd patched in trophies. Had to start a new save post patch so I've never played the game in a "new game +" style save

@Thrillho no probs pal 👍

@ralphdibny ahh cool, that’s a relief 😅. Yeah, there is a trophy for achieving every emblem… the most difficult of which (the Plat-blocker if you will) is the Big Boss emblem. To get it you have to complete the game on hardest difficulty with 0 deaths, 0 kills, 0 continues, 0 health items, 0 special items and 0 alerts, in under 5 hours.

@colonelkilgore Christ almighty, that sounds ridiculous! You Gona go for it then? 😅

I hope that's correct info about the syringe, was just a quick Google. I guess you didn't Wana search it yourself in case of spoilers so I thought I'd do it seeing as I already know what happens in the game. My memory is fading though so maybe it's time for another playthrough of the series 😂.

@ralphdibny yeah I’m gonna try at least… still trying for the MGS2 plat too, their both frikkin’ crazy tbh. Not too far off 2’s now though, don’t know if I’ll even get that close to 4’s!

@Keith_Zissou sorry to hear about you having a tough time of it buddy. Yeah, I’m free Saturday and most of next week actually, message me when you’re good to go 👍

I am playing Agatha Knife on my IPad.

I'm still in an RPG mood after having finished up FF7 so I decided to return to a series I haven't played in years and that's Fire Emblem. Since I'm not that confident in playing them without save states, I looked up which the easiest FE games are and The Sacred Stones seemed like one of the easiest games in the series, so I went with that. Played it for about an hour on 3DS and it's just so much fun to play, especially on a portable device. Even though I haven't played an FE game for so many years, Sacred Stones still felt very familiar to me in terms of mechanics. Stuff like inventory management and having access to an armory directly on the world map are very welcome additions. I also heard that you can apparently grind in this game, which is probably why it's regarded as easy. Either way, I think this is the best game for me to help alleviate the need of constantly using save states when playing these games. Looking forward to playing more of it!

@LtSarge Sacred Stones is absolutely very very easy but it’s still a fun enough time. Can’t go wrong with Fire Emblem, unless it’s Fates 😛

@nessisonett The only Fire Emblem games I've played are Shadows of Valentia on 3DS and Fire Emblem on GBA and the latter absolutely wrecked me in the last few maps that I became hesitant in trying out Sacred Stones. But apparently SS is much easier than I thought, which is nice!

How come you don't like Fates? And which version have you played? I have Birthright and I was planning on getting Conquest but apparently that game is truly very difficult, even if I were to play it without permadeath. So I think I'll skip it even though I really want to give all three versions a go.

@LtSarge I’ve played all three versions of Fates. Conquest is the much better game but the characters in all three are lacking to say the least, the incestuous nonsense is extremely misjudged and the maps aren’t even that fun. It’s just inferior to Awakening in every conceivable way.

FE Fates: Conquest is, to date, the only game I've played where the writing was so thoroughly moronic that it actually took away from the otherwise excellent gameplay for me. And, in general, my standards aren't too high for video game writing.

I disliked it enough that I sold my special edition after I finished playing through Conquest on hard mode with permadeath turned on (which was... an experience; I don't think I've ever been so thoroughly schooled by a game before, lol). Which was probably not the best choice, since it took away a centerpiece of my 3DS collection, but whatever.

Never ended up playing Revelations, since a friend of mine who also played all three routes told me the writing was somehow even worse than in Conquest. I couldn't do it.

Birthright felt like diet Awakening. Totally forgettable.

I'm so glad Three Houses was fantastic, boring maps aside.

So I've been ticking some old Star Wars classics off my bucket list recently.

Until this morning, I'd never managed to complete the original Star Wars: Dark Forces, despite owning it on both PSone and PC for many years. I found it to be more than a passable DOOM clone, bringing some of its own innovations to the table (rooms built on top of rooms, the ability to look up and down, etc.) but also hiding a lot of its later levels behind a haphazard mess of tricky platforming, incomprehensible environmental layouts and three deadly varieties of Dark Trooper. I'm glad to have finally beaten it, but I'm also glad to have finally beaten it, if that makes sense.

There was also the PC port of the N64 exclusive Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, which I'd always pined for as a PlayStation kid back in the day. Turns out my eleven-year-old self did make the right console choice after all, as the entire game was over in ninety minutes. I appreciated its blockbuster variety (shooting and speeders and spaceships, oh my) but it was alarmingly simplistic in every way, from its level design to its intersection with the wider Shadows of the Empire project.

All in all, a pair of mildly interesting trips back through time, but nothing revelatory.

@RogerRoger I totally agree with you in regards to Dark Forces. Played it a while back now and it was really good to start with but by the end was a bit of a maze! I did enjoy it though, actually perhaps more than its sequel.

@nessisonett I liked it as a straightforward, no-nonsense Star Wars shooter but yeah, recognising all the connections it shares with its sequel and the rest of the Jedi Knight series did feel a little weird, given the direction those games suddenly veer off in. I mean, those games also had frustrating, maze-like levels, but at least you could switch to a third-person view and Force Jump your way out of trouble!

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore I finally got my hands on Fable II today, and whilst it was initially difficult getting used to the controller after playing on PS4 for so long, I soon got to grips with it and after the tutorial showed me the ropes I was plowing through some pesky fantasy beetle monsters like nobody's business. About to take on some bandits now. How are your games going?

@TheBrandedSwordsman good good, sounds like you’re quite enjoying it then. I vaguely remember chopping a helluva lot of wood in Fable 2… think it was one of the paid jobs iirc.

Yeah not bad mate, just about to finish my 8th playthrough of MGS4 (my next playthrough is the dreaded Big Boss emblem run 😱). Once I get MGS2 and MGS4 squared away (whether that means plats… or me giving up fruitlessly) I’ll be moving onto a busy December of Rise of the Tomb Raider/Borderlands 2 (haven’t quite decided yet), Guacamelee, Astro’s Playroom and Spider-man: Miles Morales.

@colonelkilgore Wood-chopping probably is one of the paid jobs, today I just started out as a blacksmith after killing some bandits, before going to explore a 'Hobbe' cave and then being told I needed to improve upon my reputation before I could take the next main quest in the game. Fun times, it's a great game thus far and I really think The Witcher 3 took a lot from the Fable series, in the sense that you can do a lot in the open worlds of both games including having sex, as well as the obvious swordplay quests that make up a part of each game, I look forward to enjoying the sims-like aspects of the game like getting married and having children, owning property, and the obvious aforementioned adult activities in the game.

You'll have to let me know how you get on with Rise of the Tomb Raider if you play it, either way good luck with MGS2/4 & whatever your next game is going to be.

@TheBrandedSwordsman ahh, sounds like your enjoying it bud… I’m glad, you haven’t had a lot of luck with finding a game that ‘clicks’ of late. Enjoy 🙌.

… and I’ll need all the luck I can get, so much appreciated.