After about 30 hours of Final Fantasy 16... I'd just had enough, honestly. I think I have like forty percent of that game left and I... just can't take any more. Because of this, I picked back up from where I left off with Star Trek Resurgence. This fell by the wayside to games like FF16 and Diablo IV. Feel kinda bad that I shelfed it honestly, as once I reoriented myself with what was going on, I found a spark really got lit in myself which had been so missing when playing through FF16.
It isn't exactly fun to play necessarily, but I like Telltale style games and I’m just generally a sucker for any game that gives you choice, even if in most games it is all pretty fake. Bolt a loot system or a dialogue tree onto any mediocre video game and I’m probably gonna score it like two scores higher than anyone else will. But give me a dialogue system where I felt like my choices genuinely mattered like they do in Resurgence? Oh baby, I'm feasting.
This makes it almost like the inversion of FF16 for me, FF16 is inarguably way more fun to play in the moment to moment, but it serves as a reminder that at least for my tastes no amount of mechanical proficiency will be enough for me when it is basically holding up a game alone. However, when a game is kinda jank like Resurgence most definitely is, my tolerance for that jank is far greater as long as I am as engaged with the story and characters, as I am in Resurgence.
Would I have been as engaged if I was just passively watching the cutscenes play out like I was in Final Fantasy 16? Probably not, honestly. I think it maybe shows the industry under appreciates how much something like a strong narrative choice system can add to a game, I'd argue far more than a flashy combat system can.
But different strokes for different folks, as they say.
Started playing MadWorld on Wii U. After finishing up Prince of Persia, I've been craving a new game and I was in a mood to play something short but sweet from my Wii backlog. I've played through the first level and it's such a fun game! Another good example of how much fun the games on the Wii were thanks to the motion controls, which work great with this game. I also had no idea that PlatinumGames developed this game, which is cool! Looking forward to playing more of it.
@LtSarge Oh very cool that have picked up Mad World. I remembered the game very clearly (played it back in the days). Its a little bit sad that the game have not got more attention then it have... It would be so very cool to see a remake. Unfortunately it does not seem as PlatinumGames does a lot of remakes.. Its also a little bit of a shame in a way that MadWorld is only available on Wii and Wii U. Would be nice to see the game available on more platforms so more people could try it out although I guess it will unfortunately not happen..
@nessisonett Very true. I played through Red Steel 2 last year, which is one of the best games with motion controls on Wii in my opinion. Still got some more promising third-party titles on Wii to play, such as the Trauma Center games, Epic Mickey, Rabbids Go Home and Zack & Wiki to name a few.
@oliverp Yeah I only know that the protagonist shows up in the crossover title Anarchy Reigns, which I sadly sold my copy of. That one also seemed like a decent game. But yeah, MadWorld definitely seems like one of PlatinumGames' more creative titles. It truly feels like the Wii brought out the creative side of developers back then among all the same-y games we got at the time.
Hopefully more Wii titles get re-released, at the very least on Switch. No More Heroes 1 and 2 are good examples that it works to bring over old Wii titles to a modern platform.
A few sprays of compressed air and my Guitar Hero/Rock Band controller feels good as new. I was playing the Rock Band games cause I was always more of a Guitar Hero fan and it’s been really good, a surprisingly decent tracklist minus Jet’s Are You Gonna Be My Girl, a contender for the worst song of all time. Just having a bit of a nightmare with Enter Sandman, and haven’t played the game in a while so The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again was a crampfest due to being like 9 minutes long 😂
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on PC. I wasn't sure if my PC would even be able to run it, but thankfully it runs surprisingly well. It even coped with the rift-hopping set-piece, with only a tiny split-second of buffering between rifts. My PC does have an SSD, though the CPU is slightly worse than what's specified in their minimum specs, and the GPU is only slightly above their minimum.
I'm very happy with this. It was the current gen exclusive that I was most eager to play, and now I've got the means to play it.
As for the game itself, it's great so far. The gameplay is fun, and they appear to have done their magic in terms of story and humour. The visuals are also brilliant. I am playing with the lowest display settings and 1080p, but the parade section still looked phenomenal. I'm surprised that game graphics could look that good on my PC.
@RogerRoger Finally got to continue Star Trek: Resurgence for a bit. Up until Jara and Tylas are hiding in the cave chamber watching the Hotari almost do something to the Alydian. The storyline is getting good for sure now, though I acknowledge I've been playing through it slowly. I also like to take my time with these games and pace them like I would a TV show by playing just around an hour at a time. So far this game has given me great points to take breaks at where I would imagine actual episodes ending!
What I really came here to say though, is that I connected my playthrough to an account to see the choice percentages and I'm shocked by how low some of mine are. I'm used to being the person who is usually in the vast majority with most of my decisions, but here there's stuff even in the single digits. Notably, I was one of the 23% who followed Westbrook's advice to use the deflector pulse early in the game. Because of this, our interaction after the medical bay where he was ashamed of his behaviour and I rebuked it sarcastically which he felt was warranted... was only seen by apparently 3% of players. Crazy! The other very low one just happened this last hour where Carter catches Miranda doing the unauthorised transfer and I accused her of lying and called to send her to the brig. Only 5% of players had this exact scenario happen. It really shows that this is a game where choices actually do matter, which is honestly such a satisfying feeling.
In general I seem to be playing Carter quite differently than most since other choices with him are also within the 20-30% range. For example the conversation with Westbrook while they're flying, only 16% apparently left the conversation with Westbrook enjoying it and feeling like Carter was smart, pragmatic and content. Only 28% shared Edsilar's suspicions of Miranda when they first encounter her after landing. And in terms of the biggest choice on his path so far, I chose to descend back into the ship first with the energy wave leaving Edsilar permanently scarred. Also in the minority with 38%. With Jara my percentages are generally more 50/50, with the exception of making Solano impressed with her intellect and approach to the cave mission while debriefing after returning from Hotari Prime. That one is at just 22%.
Sorry for the long rant with all the statistics, but I'm an absolute nerd when it comes to this. I love seeing my choices and the amount of people who had the same experience! I'd love to know if you had a completely different choice/situation from any of the ones I mentioned. Normally I would google myself what the other options are, but with this game being so heavily branching I figure it's a better idea to leave it alone to not get myself spoiled!
@RogerRoger Hate to tag you twice about the same topic, but I just had to talk a bit more about Star Trek: Resurgence as I've been continuing it over this last week. It's been getting so good, I'm very impressed. As you said in your review, technically it's a mess throughout but I've not actually encountered anything game-breaking or something that would distract from my enjoyment. Considering how flimsily this game seems to be held together, I take this as a win!
The story I've gotten so invested in ever since my last reply. This game feels so reactionary to a lot of the choices you make and that satisfies me deeply as someone who loves these types of game, even though I realise much of it is probably still an illusion. It's really the Telltale formula done right without having to go as far as something like Detroit: Become Human. It feels like it adds such a personal touch to your playthrough and the in-depth statistics as just the cherry on top. Won't bother you with a lot more of those as I'm sure that gets exhausting, but let's just say my low percentage streak has often continued and it feels fun I'm seeing things that many people will experience otherwise.
As for some spoilery story beats I want to discuss, I've now gotten to the point where they've discovered and returned from the second vault and Jara has appointed a new First Officer after the briefing with Spock (which in my and most people's case is Westbrook). It's kind of funny the confrontation you get afterwards with Urmott where he shows his disappointment and how he feels cheated as he's always been supportive of Jara, as I don't remember Urmott doing much of anything throughout my game. Sure, he's always been doing his job on the bridge but he's easily the Bridge Crew member I have the least of a connection with. I don't think that necessarily is even limited to my experience as I can't think where people otherwise might have interacted with him more.
Captain Solano was probably one of my most hated characters in gaming recently, but I suppose the twist with him having been bioformed should change my opinion on him a little bit. I never liked him to begin with though, so it doesn't make so much of a difference to me. It felt very satisfying to get to plan a mutiny and pull it off against this person I've disliked and tried to usurp the position of from the very start. I did hear there's apparently a comic series that ties in with the game as a prequel focused on Solano which shows his backstory, and it supposedly makes him a bit more sympathetic when you know what happened before. Sadly for him didn't come across in the game by itself.
Bedrosian slightly annoyed me too now as she threw a temper tantrum because I didn't agree with her decision to destroy all Tkon life forms. Sure, partially her frustration with me is understandable as I also did not heed her advice back in the first hour of the game and I did get her permanently disfigured with her eyes because I didn't switch out with the power surge in the shuttle... BUT we also had a literal Tkon guardian on board who clearly would not react well to me destroying the remnants of his civilization. I get being afraid of the Scions doubling down on finding us and putting the crew at risk by transporting them onto our ship, but I feel like the even more immediate threat is the guardian sworn to do anything to protect his people who is already on our ship. And as established, he would clearly mop the floor with anyone on the Resolute.
I was surprised by the amount of people who didn't choose to confide in Westbrook with the revelation that Solano was bioformed. To me, he felt like the obvious decision of the three and it didn't take long for me to come to that conclusion. Bedrosian is of course loyal to Jara but is a total kiss-ass and also fairly new to the crew, so having her by my side would not give me the greatest legitimacy in trying to overthrow my captain. She'd just be seen as my pet or an easy follower. Urmott I barely had much of a relationship with, so while I believe he would've followed me, I was also not quite sure enough of his intentions and personality. Westbrook I've had run-ins with in the past, but he's always been mature about owning up to his mistakes afterwards and our professional relationship never had any issues. He has the most seniority on the ship and (most importantly) was a friend of Solano, so having him on my side felt like the obvious decision as he would add the most legitimacy to my claim and has the greatest stature of the three.
Judging from the statistics, I have to assume that most people don't really get along well with Major Arminta throughout the game. The positive moodlets I get with him are pretty much always in the very low percentages, but he's honestly one of my favourite characters. He's also one of very few where I haven't actually had a negative interaction with him at any point. It's just an entirely green history. I think his writing is one of the most fleshed out of the whole ensemble and I love that I really felt like I had to earn his trust, which I clearly eventually did. His customs, his relationship with Itasca and the general way in which he starts feeling integrated in your trio was such a beautiful arc for him. I'm assuming I'll see less of him now that we've been rescued very much like Tylas, but I will miss hanging around with him. I think he was a fascinating guy and it's sad that more players didn't get to experience him in a more positive manner.
Some more random side-notes: Riker's appearance I realised was a big deal because I remembered that name from having heard Star Trek stuff in the past, but it was somewhat hilarious how bad the original actor's voice acting was here. I looked him up afterwards and saw he's done bits of voice acting for Riker here and there before, but I hope in these other places it was of better quality. He stuck out like a sore thumb in a cast that mostly consists from at least solid to pretty great voice actors. I'm sure he's better in live action. Aside from that, I think Duvall is also the only other major character I've managed to keep entirely happy throughout my run. I have not one single bad moodlet with her and that makes me happy. We two are clearly on the exact same page!
That's about everything I can think of for now that I've wanted to discuss while playing. Sorry for bombarding you with all this text (previous reply included!), but it's hard to find much chatter about this game elsewhere as it seems to not have barely made a dent even within the Star Trek-fandom. Would love to hear your thoughts about anything I brought up, your personal experiences with the story so far or anything else!
@BeerIsAwesome I dunno how anyone can deal with emulating Xbox 360 games, I’ve always found it a massive pain! Perhaps Free Riders is a game that they’ve specifically targeted for optimisation.
@RogerRoger Haha, now that you've put Tkon and Prothean in the same sentence it struck me how similar these two narratives are actually. Two long gone highly advanced civilizations destroyed only for a sole representative of their species to be found ages later when new civilizations stumble upon their old technology... At least the Protheans didn't try to come back in a mass genocide plot!
I'm surprised they didn't give you the choices on PlayStation. On PC, you were able to click on Choices on the main menu and link your playthrough to an online account where you could then view your breakdowns on your preferred web browser. It did annoy me that you couldn't see the percentages of past moodlets though, always only the most recent one except for the big choices which stayed throughout.
Whew. You really had no chill with Miranda, huh? I did initially accept the romance with her, but I totally understand your feelings towards that. For me it's not really about wanting to kiss a girl (for obvious reasons), but I always get a sense of FOMO if I'm not accepting some seemingly big storyline a game is trying to give me. As much as I don't appreciate it clearly being force-fed, I didn't want to risk missing out on any good scenes by denying it! As soon as she came back to the ship and obviously wasn't being herself I turned on her quick too, though. I told her to go to hell when we were on the Alydian ship communicating through the combadge and did also shoot her.
Your reasoning for Urmott makes total sense too. I guess that's the beauty of the game in that everyone had something speaking for them (except Bedrosian which... I don't know why you would choose her). She was not present at my First officer meeting either and I didn't miss her presence in the slightest. Why exactly would you go with Westbrook now that you've finished the game? I remembered your other messages with another forum member and went back to read them and saw you didn't have the scenes where Urmott goes to the lower decks and much of the Resolute's crew gets caught in the bioforming ray, including him. Though unlike this other person (who I would reference if I remembered their name, sorry), I didn't decide to kill Urmott when I had the chance and stunned him instead. What happened to him in your playthrough?
I'm not very interested in checking out the prequel comic considering Solano is the focus and my opinion on him as I said is... very low. Maybe I should anyway though and not let my bias get in the way of a possibly great story. It looks like the reviews are actually quite solid. I'm currently working my way through the Saga series on the comics front, so I'll see if I decide to take a detour at some point and give it a shot.
I finished the game a few days ago, so feel free to respond with anything spoilery!
@RogerRogerI agree. The romantic relationship between a hero and a traitor would certainly make for a more interesting, dramatic storyline. The problem here is that, much like your criticism, it never got to evolve naturally. Even if you do try to go for that storyline, there's just not enough investment from the player to make that fully work. I would be a sucker for something like this if I had felt any attachment to Miranda, but it was very easy for me to turn on her and disregard that storyline as well simply because there was none. I'm not sure how they could've made it more successful though. It's not like I'm advocating for a "bond with Miranda"-prologue or anything! Maybe they thought they could pull it off here, but for me it was a swing and a miss. I don't think you'll feel differently upon replay even if you force yourself to interact with her more positively!
Ah, makes total sense that it's Westbrook who you stun instead then. The good old character switcheroo in choice-based narratives. Sounds like the final climax is largely the same either way! Personally, the only parts I felt like dragged a little bit were those inside the Tkonian ship. An extended stealth section and, like you mentioned, a fair amount of "pew pew pew" didn't really add much to the experience there. The former I just completely rushed through when I realised it takes a character like ten seconds to spot you even if you stand right in front of their face. The Resolute sections commanding the ship were very fun though! A bit of a mixed bag in that front, but I ultimately left with a positive feeling as the Tkonian ship sections also picked up steam towards the end narratively.
For me, Edsilar came back alive. Carter sacrificed himself. I didn't even realise it was possible to have it the other way around. I decided to use the syringe Duvall gave me when Miranda tried to turn Carter instead of attacking her. Is that one of the deciding factors in what happens in the end? What's needed to have Edsilar sacrifice herself instead? Not that I would've preferred that, as I feel like a heroic death is a much better end narratively for Carter than it would be for Edsilar. I don't think I will be playing again. Nothing against this game in particular as I very much enjoyed it, but because I barely replay games in general. There's only a very rare few, but most of the time I'm fine with just knowing what could've happened instead of seeing it for myself. You planning to replay it any time soon?
The Beatles: Rock Band really is absolutely fantastic. Just in awe of how great a package it is, with clear love for the band all throughout the game. Difficulty wise, it’s not too difficult on guitar but wow, it can get pretty hard on vocals! Having a blast playing through the story mode and going through the timeline even if I struggled a bit with their earlier hits on vocals.
@RogerRogerYeah, if I remember correctly, the only time you see Miranda inbetween confirming your romance and her acting suspicious already is when she leaves with the ground team to go to the Hotari Queen. It's the only romantic scene you get with her before you see her again with a clear change in personality.
I can imagine the final Tkonian ship sections weren't anything like your usual Trek. As I've mentioned before, I'm not all that familiar with the shows and have never seen a single episode, but I know that's not the general vibe they tend to go for. Personally, this bothered me less as I'm more used to the action-oriented sci-fi anyway, such as Mass Effect. I do appreciate Star Trek's focus on diplomacy however and wish this was a more common aspect within narrative games. There's nothing I love more than watching a bunch of politicians duke it out over issues of intergalactic importance. This is why Shohreh Aghdashloo's character in The Expanse was my favourite or Mary McDonnell's in Battlestar Galactica.
Ah, makes total sense that you'd get more options with the injection if you didn't immediately use it. I didn't consider killing Miranda in that moment (as much as I wanted to as well) because 1) she had overpowered Carter and I was not convinced he would be able to defeat her there and 2) we needed someone with Tkonian DNA to operate this protection sphere and fast, so it just made sense for me to let Carter be that person. Maybe I wouldn't have made that choice so easily if I knew where it was going to lead, because at that point I was still under the assumption the effects could eventually be reversed or slowed enough that Carter would not actually turn.
Glad to hear that they're bringing it out physically! That does seem promising and I would love to see a sequel with a bit more polish. Definitely let me know if you encounter anything out of the ordinary. Feel free to tag me whenever you might get to it!
Today I beat Super Castlevania 4! As a HUGE Castlevania fan (Castlevania is my favorite franchise) I have trouble beating the Classicvanias as they are really hard for me, but I decided to push it trough! I've beaten Castlevania 1 and now this!
The feeling is the same when I beat the Soulsborne series
I am sure that I will continue with either Castlevania III Dracula's Curse or Castlevania Bloodlines.
Made a start on Splinter Cell: Blacklist on the PS3 today… it’s my first ever Splinter Cell! Absolutely loving it so far… can’t believe this series passed me by.
@colonelkilgore Great stuff, one of my favourite games from the PS3 era and a very enjoyable platinum, well except for the MP stuff.
I can't believe that Ubisoft haven't remastered this or Vegas Rainbow six. My Xbox has a few last gen games on it, Dark Souls (before Bamco announced the remaster) and Vegas rainbow six, can't beat terrorist hunts...every FPS game should have them.
PS. If you like your stealth then I recommend Styx shards of darkness, just over two quid in current sale.
Started playing Tokyo Xanadu eX+ today. After finishing all my ongoing games, I decided to start up a JRPG as I was in the mood for one. And what better one than Falcom's own take on the Persona formula mixed with real-time combat. I only played it for a short while since I wanted to test it on my Vita. I'm actually playing the game through PS4 Remote Play and it works wonderfully, just like when I played through Steins;Gate 0 a while back. Not to mention that this game was originally a Vita title, so the control scheme works great on the Vita. I genuinely cannot wait to sink my teeth into this game!
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