toxicitizen

God, Ethan! This normally goes in Events! Can't you do anything right?! (I'm in.)

Lol. Not sure if you're joking but if you aren't then go back like 4 posts.

IS IT JUNE YET?!?

Skullgirls is currently on sale on GMG, Castle of Illusion was a couple days ago. I've been meaning to get both for a while but for some reason never pulled the trigger whenever they went on sale. I guess being able to stack a 20+% voucher on top of a 75% discount makes it harder to say no. Really looking forward to checking out Skullgirls, if only because I've heard such high praise of its tutorial. Will this be the game that finally teaches me how to get good at fighting games?! Probably not.

Valkyria Chronicles. Every bit as good as I remembered it to be. The increased resolution really makes the game's visuals shine more than ever before, especially if you downsample. And considering how buttery smooth it runs, downsampling from 4K is very feasible on a shit rig like mine and with only a negligible performance hit. If you like turn-based strategy games, you really need to give this one a shot. Another thing to note is that VC was one of those PS3 games that never got a trophy patch despite a lot of fans voicing their desire for one. So it's kinda nice to finally have achievements for it, I'm definitely going to try going for 100% completion. And with that, I'm reminded that I still haven't played VCII. It's been on my Vita ready to go for a while but now I'm thinking maybe I should wait to see if they port that one to PC as well. But in the meantime, DO VANQUISH NEXT, SEGA!

Went to see Interstellar saturday night. I'd normally consider myself a pretty big fan of Nolan but holy shit, this is his best one yet and by far. The story was great and they clearly did their research when it comes to the physics behind it all, so that's always nice. But the most memorable part for me had to be the soundtrack. It's just so fucking good and adds so much tension to what's happening on-screen. I also highly recommend seeing it in 70mm IMAX because some of the shots look so fucking amazing that it would be doing the movie a disservice to experience it any other way.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. I mean, I guess? I lucked into a really strong build and beat Mom. I know she's not the true final boss and that the game is only just getting started and all that but you know what, fuck it. I never managed to beat the regular final boss in Spelunky so I'm counting this one. I don't think I ever managed to beat her in the original version of Isaac, so I'm wondering if it was just a really lucky build or if the game overall is easier. It definitely plays a lot better so that probably indirectly helps. Also, it's really nice having the game on Vita but I think I'd rather play it on my PC. :/ I kinda regret not getting it while the loyalty discount was active because, with the introduction of Canadian dollars on Steam, it's 17 bucks right now and there's no way I'm paying that much for it. Oh well, hopefully it'll go on sale during the holidays or whatever.

I was tempted to get the Vita version back in September but now that it's on Steam I'm really glad I didn't. Got an extra copy to gift, too. Now if I can just find someone willing to trade me Binding of Isaac: Rebirth for it, that'd be awesome.

Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways. Does this count? Eh, whatever, who cares. So, playing Ada's campaign in RE6 made me remember that I still needed to do the same thing in RE4. I've played RE4 quite a few times but somehow never touched Separate Ways until now. It was kinda jarring going back to RE4 right after RE6. The old controls were confusing for about 20 seconds but then it was kind of insane how much better in every way RE4 is. And this is only a side campaign that mostly re-uses assets from the main game, there's very little actual new content. I think it goes without saying but RE6 is not a scary game in the least. There's no tension whatsoever at any point in the game, not even during the Nemesis-like bits in Jake's campaign. But there was one moment near the end of Separate Ways where you go through a room from RE4's main campaign. You know the one, a broken staircase at the end and decrepit jail cells on each sides. I knew logically that the regenerator probably wouldn't be there because I didn't have the thermal scope necessary to take it out. But man, I was still nervous as hell making my way through there. It took me no more than 5 mins to clear that room but it was more interesting and memorable than anything in all of RE6's 20+ hours. It just goes to show how a little bit of tension and atmosphere goes a long way when the lack of an enemy was more fun than an entire game's worth of over the top action bullshit.

Good, so you can still return it!

Lol. Why am I not surprised? But still, I've actually felt like giving FFXIII a replay for a couple years now, I've just been putting it off again and again, even when I have the time. The PC version pretty much just gave me an excuse to do it sooner rather than later. The only problem with that is that, in true Square Enix fashion, they're being complete fucking morons about it. The game is 50GBs because you have to download all the audio files (and I think video?) for both languages. I'm pretty sure Steam has some kind of option to select your language under game properties. Fucking use that! Or shit, at least make the Japanese files into DLC, that way at least you can choose not to install it. As it is, even if you delete the files you don't need you'll end up having to redownload everything whenever the game gets patched.

I already spent the credit I was saving for this on Valkyria Chronicles so I had to pay out of pocket. I was going to wait since I still haven't really touched FFXIII but then GMG sent me a 25% voucher that stacks on top of the 10% pre-order discount. 13.50$ was low enough for me to bite. Unlike FFXIII, I've never actually played this one. I think I have a digital copy of the PS3 version from when it was on sale on PSN but I never got around to playing it. It's been so long since I played the original that I felt like I needed to replay it first anyway, so I'm not too bothered by the accidental double-dipping. I'd rather play it on PC anyway.

Resident Evil 6. Finished the last campaign tonight. Eh, I can honestly say that I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. It's a fucking awful Resident Evil game (and I even kinda want to say a bad game overall) but it's actually pretty damn fun! Ironically enough, I thought the more action-oriented campaigns were the best ones. Leon's was probably the weakest of the bunch (and holy shit lol @ Capcom calling it the "traditional atmospheric" one. Yeaah... no.) but I ended up blasting right through Jake's, Chris' and Ada's campaigns over the week-end. They're much shorter but still, all together that's about two-thirds of a 20+ hours long game. Hard to complain too much when it's that engrossing. But like I said, kind of a bad game. I should expand on that. Say what you will about tank controls and not being able to move and shoot at the same time but at least those controls were fucking tight. Here, the characters move way too fast, the aiming is a bit too floaty and almost everything about the control scheme feels unpolished and "loose". Then there's the story, which is a complete fucking mess. It's enjoyable if you like Resident Evil's trademark cheesiness but I felt like splitting it all up between 4 campaigns did more harm than good. Taken individually, none of the campaigns have a particularly satisfying narrative. And this might seem a bit nitpicky but what is the point of having the campaigns intersect if you're not going to maintain consistency? Like, the first time I played through a certain event I ended up looking forward to experiencing it again from the other character's point of view. Then when I got to that part, it was just... the same. Like, literally the same fucking thing. The perspective wasn't flipped, I just went through the same section of the level and the other guys somehow magically ended up where I should've been. I mean, I get that it was probably easier to make it this way but if you're going to half-ass it then why even bother? Anyway, despite my criticism I actually enjoyed the game a lot and I'm really glad I gave it a shot. It's just really not up to the series' usual level of quality, in terms of both polish and game design. I really fucking hope that RE7 will go back to being a regular one campaign game. This little experiment was fun but it did not work. Not even a little. It's definitely the worst out of all the modern REs (4,5,6 and Revelations). But at least until then, between the HD Remaster of the GCN remake and Revelations 2 looking like it might be decent, it's actually not a bad time to be a Resident Evil fan.

You're a bad person. Also, why? I kinda want to say it gets better and that that's too early to write it off but without knowing what it is you disliked about it then it's hard to say for sure. I mean, I know you like stealth games and I can't imagine how a fan of stealth games could possibly not love MotN.

Sokobond. I have to say, between Hexcells and now this, I'm really loving this trend of thinky little puzzle games coming out on Steam. The chemistry theme can be a little off-putting at first but you really don't need any knowledge of chemistry to play it, it's nowhere near as complex as something like SpaceChem. But that's not to say it's a walk in the park, either. I completed all of the basic levels like a week ago but after the credits a new batch of levels unlocked and those were pretty damn challenging. There really isn't much else to say about it. If you're familiar with Sokoban, this game clearly draws from it a little. But yeah, if you like puzzle games, it's a damn good one.

If you mean out of any games on that list, then definitely Mark of the Ninja. It's the best stealth game since Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. You just can't go wrong with it.

OH GOD, YES!! I kinda feel like the wait for this one was much shorter than it was for HotS. Also, it's standalone. I understand why but meh. It better integrate with the old client for those that are already up to date because I don't want two completely separate installs/programs just to have access to all 3 campaigns.

Resident Evil 6. Just finished Leon's campaign. Good God, this is supposed to be the "traditional, atmospheric" one of the bunch? Similar to RE4?! Hahahaha, okay, Capcom. Clearly you have no idea what the hell you're doing anymore. Or, maybe you just don't understand what it is you used to do. Either way, the only word I can use to describe the game so far is excess. People have been complaining that the series is devolving into action for years but it is fucking absurd to point at this campaign and say: "This is the atmospheric one!". That's not what atmospheric is and any comparison to RE4 is completely unjustified. That being said, fuck me, the game is actually pretty damn fun! It's fucking awful but still fun as hell. It's not broken or anything but I dunno, something about the faster movement feels kinda janky to me. I mean, even though I loved Resident Evil 5, I understand why people had issues with it. So when I say that RE6 makes RE5 look like a goddamn masterpiece by comparison, you know something's very wrong here. But hey, at least the story is the same good old cheesy schlock I know and love and that's good enough for me. Oh and I almost didn't notice at first but it's kinda nice to have the traditional zombies back. Now if only the game was a little creepier... Anyway, I'm not sure which campaign to play next. I was thinking Chris but apparently the recommended order is Leon->Jake->Chris? I mean, I've seen the chronological list of all the chapters but fuck that, I'm not jumping from one campaign to the next every two chapters.

Honestly, while I'm sure there's a recommended order, I don't think the difficulty varies enough for it to matter. I'm pretty sure every time I made it there I went about it in a different order. Without knowing your level, I guess I'd recommend the Catacombs under Firelink Shrine. I could be wrong but I think they're the easiest out of all the remaining big areas. As for the ghost ruins, I'll just say this: there is a point about halfway through where if you make it there the ghosts shouldn't be a problem for you anymore. I usually just run straight for it and worry about killing ghosts later. Oh man, just talking about it makes me want to start a new playthrough, I can't fucking wait for the Steamworks update next month! I've been wanting to replay it ever since I finished 100%ing Dark Souls II months ago.

I don't know how much the Halloween discount is actually supposed to be but I guess it stacked with the loyalty discount I get from owning the original version because it was like 2 bucks. Well, 2,80$ since I got the bundle with the soundtrack. Hard to argue with that price and I really wanted to check out the new content. Plus, you know, Guacamelee is fucking amazing so I'll jump on any excuse to replay it. I love that game so much, I'm actually looking forward to redoing all the achievements. Except for the Infernio challenges, though, because holy shit a few of them were so fucking frustrating.

This is most definitely on it. Like, seriously, were you on drugs?

Yeah, normally I'd expect Arc System Works to re-release it down the line and make a PS4 version while they're at it. But, unlike their own IPs like BlazBlue, the original P4A never got any kind update or new version, so I don't really know what to expect with this one. I think it's really Atlus' call in this case.

It's a direct sequel, it takes place a couple days later. The original's story mode is also available as DLC but it's unfortunately unchanged. Seems like a wasted opportunity, I would've gladly bought a "fixed" version of it.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Well, it took me way longer than it should have but I finally completed the last episode of the story mode. I got started on it right away when I got my copy at the beginning of the month but then I got into that mid-semester rush with tons of work to do and studying for midterms and all that. So, I barely had any time to game the last few weeks and whenever I did manage to sneak in a few hours, I focused on ACIII. I was only able to get back to Ultimax a couple days ago. So, overall the game is massive improvement over the original. The new flowchart structure for the story mode is much more suited to this kind of story. Each episode (one for the P4 cast and one for the P3 cast) follows the entire cast and characters have their own story branches that keep splitting off and re-joining. The story itself is kinda meh but initially it was a blast to play through. Then I completed the P4 episode and unlocked the P3 one... That's where things got a little disappointing. The one thing that bugged me the most about the original was how you had to replay through the same story as every single character and all the different versions contradicted each other. I figured that the new story structure was intended to fix that but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The P3 story contradicts the P4 one in a few big ways and then that other character's episode ends up adding yet another different version of some events. Sigh... you had just the one thing to fix, damnit! There's the true ending that kind of overrides everything but the fact that there even is one makes me wonder why they didn't make an effort to have both episodes complement each other a little better. Oh well, at least the actual gameplay is still fucking fantastic. I haven't spent a lot of time in Golden Arena but what little I've played seemed fun enough to keep me playing for a while. I'm usually pretty stingy when it comes to fighting games but overall I feel like this one was definitely worth the 60 bucks.

Ha, thread moved. Suck it, Cowboy!