TheMightyEthan Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 My first entry of the year: Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It was great, a real return to form for the series. I'm sad it's over. Makes me want to go back and play Double Agent again (unlike most people I actually really liked that one). The only thing about it that I don't like is that in the side missions if you fail you have to restart the whole mission, there's no checkpoints. Sure they're shorter than main missions, but imo they're still too long to not have checkpoints. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) My first entry of the year: Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It was great, a real return to form for the series. I'm sad it's over. Makes me want to go back and play Double Agent again (unlike most people I actually really liked that one). The only thing about it that I don't like is that in the side missions if you fail you have to restart the whole mission, there's no checkpoints. Sure they're shorter than main missions, but imo they're still too long to not have checkpoints. Glad you liked it. The game gets more shit than it deserves. I'm curious what you thought of the story, though. I loved the game to bits but man, the story was terrible. I mean, the premise was alright but I was really disappointed by how it basically devolved into a ripoff of 24 near the end. Especially that one mission with the bombs, Philadelphia, I think?. It's not that it was bad, but it kinda felt like I was playing a completely different game out of nowhere. Edited January 6, 2014 by FLD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Seemed Splinter Cell-y to me. I dunno, it gave me a reason to sneak through various buildings and knock dudes out. *Edit* - I mean, there were parts of the story that seemed silly and overly action-action-blam-blam, but the gameplay itself was fun and I liked the levels and the plane hub system. Edited January 6, 2014 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Oh yeah, definitely. It serves the gameplay well enough. But I dunno, I guess the best way to put it would be that it lacks subtlety. If you were to replay the original or Chaos Theory right now, I'm sure you'd see exactly what I mean. The series started back when being under the Tom Clancy license still meant something. It doesn't really feel like a political thriller anymore. Although, that's not just Blacklist. Conviction was even worse in that regard. Been too long since I played Double Agent, though, so I'm not sure about that one. Edited January 6, 2014 by FLD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.Well, this game was amazing. Despite years of having the internet constantly hail it as this legendary game, it still managed to not disappoint. I made it a point to first get the fake ending then went back and redid the boss with the item that opens the inverted castle. Also made sure to complete the map, get all the relics, etc.. and got the max completion score, 200.6%.I guess there's one area where the game fell a bit short and it's the castle's level design. On the first run, it's pretty good. Standard metroidvania stuff with a great art style and gorgeous sprites (at least, they looked great on the Vita's OLED screen). But people make such a big deal about how it still works upside down that you'd think the level design had this subtle genius quality to it. Well, not quite... It certainly works and it's pretty damn clever, no argument there. The idea is pretty cool in and of itself and it allowed them to almost double the length of the game without having to create twice the amount of environments. Problem is, most of the rooms become impossible to properly navigate as a result of the flip and you're forced to constantly rely on bat form, especially in the early areas (which are the final areas of the first castle). It gets old pretty fast. I suppose it might've been more impressive if I hadn't known about it beforehand or if I had played the game back in the days. But still, I absolutely loved the game. I kinda regret having put it off for so long. If I had played it as a kid, it probably would be one of my all-time favorite games, right alongside Deus Ex, Thief and Metal Gear Solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangelove Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Did you not have the super jump? I hardly ever need your bat form if you have the super jump. Makes the game extremely easy to navigate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Oh yeah, definitely. It serves the gameplay well enough. But I dunno, I guess the best way to put it would be that it lacks subtlety. If you were to replay the original or Chaos Theory right now, I'm sure you'd see exactly what I mean. The series started back when being under the Tom Clancy license still meant something. It doesn't really feel like a political thriller anymore. Although, that's not just Blacklist. Conviction was even worse in that regard. Been too long since I played Double Agent, though, so I'm not sure about that one. I tried to play the original when the HD version came out on PS3, but the levels were just SO SLOW. I was bored out of my mind. I actually have all of them except for Pandora Tomorrow on PC now. Maybe I'll try again in the future. *Edit* - Wait, I had them when I tried the PS3 version too, I just didn't want to have to play with a kb/m. Edited January 6, 2014 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Did you not have the super jump? I hardly ever need your bat form if you have the super jump. Makes the game extremely easy to navigate. Assuming you mean the gravity boots and not just the double jump, I had them but only figured out how to use them kinda late into the game. It probably would've made navigation a bit faster, yeah. That one's my fault. But I still feel some of the areas don't quite work as well after being flipped. I tried to play the original when the HD version came out on PS3, but the levels were just SO SLOW. I was bored out of my mind. I actually have all of them except for Pandora Tomorrow on PC now. Maybe I'll try again in the future. *Edit* - Wait, I had them when I tried the PS3 version too, I just didn't want to have to play with a kb/m. Well, yeah. Had you never played them before? They're pretty slow games. Why do you think Conviction was hated so much? Also, and this is probably gonna sound crazy but I swear it's true, but for the older games, kb/m > gamepad. It's weird at first to use the mouse wheel to control walking speed but it actually works much better than an analog stick. Edited January 6, 2014 by FLD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) I played them all on Xbox at/near their releases (played DA on both Xbox and 360), and loved them all. So yeah, there was a really obvious change to Conviction, but I hadn't really noticed the much more gradual change from SC1->DA until I went back to try to play SC1 again. Edited January 6, 2014 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Good game but there is an almost disturbingly fetishistic focus on the number of horrible ways you can get this poor girl killed before her 15th birthday. Even the steam trading cards are all focused on her deaths, and they fetch a high (for steam cards) price on the community marketplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Oh yay, I love games with cards I can sell for free money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Hence why I haven't forged a badge. :< I wonder what ways of getting her killed I've missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Only badge I've forged is the Winter Sale one. Honestly, I should get on selling the game ones I have. Friend told me you get half the cards for a game, so the intent is to trade and/or buy the rest for the badge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Ys II.Well, I guess technically now that I've done the second one that means I beat Ys I & II Chronicles. But Ys I got its own entry so whatever. Anyway, it's essentially the same game as Ys I, just a few hours longer. It looks the same, plays the same and picks up right where the first one left off. Only notable difference is it does away with all the cryptic bullshit the first game suffered from! Also it has a more reasonable level cap (50). As a result, it's a massively more enjoyable experience.These games are kinda weird. They're very much greater than the sum of their parts. By all accounts, they shouldn't be as much fun as they are. The combat is about as basic as it could possibly be, you just run into the enemies. That's it. Running into them at a slight angle to avoid damage is the extent of your strategy. Ys II introduces a few basic spells but I only ever used them in boss fights when I was forced to and even then it was really only the fireball one. The story is almost nonexistent and what's there isn't particularly good. The only standout element is the soundtrack. It's pretty damn great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTgvJW7-ZMA So, yeah, really glad I picked them up. I'll probably be playing The Oath in Felghana in the near future. Being short and sweet really works in this series' favor. I've basically been marathoning it yet I usually tend to lose interest halfway through RPGs when they're too long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 If you're going straight from Ys II to OiF you're going to be blown away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yeah, I heard the leap is pretty big. That's why I made it a point to play I and II first, even though I keep hearing the order you play them in doesn't really matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Just finished Fire Emblem: Awakening. It was a fine role-playing game, though hardly deserving of the momentous praise I've read in some places. Fine, not particularly exceptional. Not really lateral in any way that I can think of either. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you. I did appreciate the bond system, as basic as it was. Overall I'd say it was definitely worth the price of entry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Ys: The Oath in Felghana. As expected, it pretty much blows the first two out of the water. The addition of an attack button makes the combat much more satisfying but everything else is essentially the same. The improved presentation and story were quite welcome. One thing I wasn't a fan of was the addition of jumping. Slashing at flying enemies is always annoying and the platforming was terrible most of the time. So, the Vita one is next, Memories of Celceta. Looking forward to that one but I'm not gonna get it right away. Think I'll take a bit of a break from the series and play something else for now. Playing two of them in a row made it feel a bit repetitive near the end of OiF. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronixal Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Shantae: Risky's Revenge. I figured I'd give it a go seeing as I backed 1/2 Genie Hero on Kickstarter and I wish I'd played it years ago. Not only the best handheld platformer I think I've ever played but one of the best period. Not hugely long but that's to it's credit in that it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Roll on Pirate's Curse for the 3DS and 1/2 Genie Hero which I shall be claiming for the PS4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoStarr Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Ys with an attack button? Doesn't that basically make it Zelda? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Ys with an attack button? Doesn't that basically make it Zelda? How do you mean? Old Zelda? I haven't played anything past Wind Waker so I can't comment on recent games. But the overall game structure of Ys is different and the gameplay doesn't feel all that similar either to me. More of a traditional RPG with brawler-like combat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 The SNES era games you could compare to Zelda but only in broad strokes. In general they were the same genre but Ys was/is more action-y than Zelda. The 3D games I cannot say that you can compare to two. Anyways, Ys>Zelda. Adol is more of a badass that Link can only dream of being. God damn Link, get your shit together. While Adol does have a girl back at home waiting (She actually tagged along in one game. The old version to the Vita one) but Adol swooned a lot more ladies than that. Plus he actually ages. He started out at 16 and with Ys 7 I think he is 23. Someday, he'll meet his destiny, something I don't think Link ever will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 It's not the same Link. Each game is set in a different era, with a different Link (barring a couple direct sequels), so it's not that he doesn't age, it's just different people who are all around the same age at the time they do their world saving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 The SNES era games you could compare to Zelda but only in broad strokes. In general they were the same genre but Ys was/is more action-y than Zelda. The 3D games I cannot say that you can compare to two. Yeah, the only way I could see any kind of similarities would be if you were to add the attack button to Ys I & II, what with the top-down view and sprite graphics. That might feel a bit like Link to the Past. But beyond that, I don't really see it. The Zelda series never really registered as RPGs for me. More like action adventure with puzzles, I guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Crysis 2, it was fun, I liked the suit and weapon upgrade stuff. It's weird how they just ignore the dudes from the first game. Now I want to play Crysis 3 to see if that stuff is mentioned there. Edited January 15, 2014 by MetalCaveman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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