VideoGame_Discussion

Star Wars Jedi Survivor (PS5) - 7/10 - This is more of the same, and it's still quite fun, but it's buggy as hell, the graphics are a bit of a mess at times, and it just feels like it lacked focus during development. I honestly don't know what the core plot is and I'm 4 planets in. It's a parade of characters, rumors (side missions), and lots of traveling. Adding fast travel is great but it's only necessary because the maps are larger than they need to be. I'm having fun but this definitely feels rushed out the door, even now with several patches.

Even bumping down to 1440p Performance mode results in regular screen tearing and bouts of poor framerates. I've encountered many times where it appears to be hitting 20fps in both modes. And I get about 2 crashes a night. Disappointing but I'm still having fun.

WWE 2K23 {} 7/10
I hadn't bought one of these games since the 2K16 version and a bit has changed over the years since then. I wish they'd just simplify the gameplay a little bit more.
I hate to compare this to the WWF games on N64, but I'm going to do just that. One of the reasons those games were so popular (and apparently still are, even though I feel they haven't aged too well) is because when a friend or relative would visit, they'd usually want to play even if they didn't give a crap about watching WWF on TV, the games were just that fun, and you could hand them a controller and explain everything they'd need to know to play within a minute. I don't think you'd be able to do that with this game. The matches are a lot more slow paced, just mashing buttons won't get you anywhere (so it's not noob-friendly). It's way more realistic than those N64 games which is both good and bad.

I feel like the Create-A-Wrestler Superstar mode is a little too in-depth for its own good. In WWF No Mercy I could spend about 45-60 minutes creating my own custom wrestler, and that would include his entrance, moveset and alternate attires. Just on my one custom wrestler so far in this game I've spent almost 2 f'n hours creating him, with over 45 minutes of that being spent on his entrance alone (which I'm still not satisfied with due to glitches involving pyro), and spending a lot of time on his moveset but there's no way I'm sitting there to preview every available option. 20 years ago I would have, but not anymore.

Having not played one of these games since 2K16 version, I feel the graphics in 2K23 are a little bit of a letdown, or maybe I just expected a little more from the PS5 version. I felt the PS3 and Xbox 360 WWE games were held back a lot because they kept supporting the Wii and PS2 for longer than they should have instead of just taking full advantage of the next-gen hardware and I don't want a repeat of that with PS5 and XSX, so maybe just cut the PS4 and XB1 versions after this.

I had fun with the showcase mode, however it overall was not as good as I was hoping for. It focuses only on John Cena and he's one of those "love him or hate him" guys for most fans. I personally am somewhere in the middle. I realize there will always be a place for guys like him in the the industry (good physique, charismatic, but somewhat limited in-ring ability) so the women and children have someone to mark out for. It was fun to revisit some of his more famous matches, but I do have some complaints:
- They really botched some of the presentation in this mode. There is no commentary in any of the matches except for the last two, it's all just generic rock music in the rest of the matches.
- At a few points some of the FMV clips are pixelated and gross, almost as if they ripped the clips off of old YouTube videos instead of getting them from WWE directly.
- During the matches some parts turn into a cutscene (a mixture of the in-game character models and FMV clips) to segue you into the next point of the match, but some of the cutscenes felt too long.
- They had to censor way too much stuff in the FMV cutscenes. Referee faces (wtf?), commentary team's faces, faces of the ringside photographers, and also the logos on John Cena's sneakers and wristbands. It looks terrible when you see all of those things on-screen at the same and having to be blurred out.

After that I tried out the MyRise mode which you use a created character to play through an original storyline. It offers two storylines and I've only played through one so far, but I liked it and it offers a few kinda inside references to the "smart" fans. They encourage you to play through it twice to see the different available paths you take depending on choices you've made but I don't know if I'll be doing that.
My original intention was to play through the Showcase mode and then toss this up on Craigslist by WrestleMania weekend to get some of my money back. I eventually decided I'm not doing that. After exploring more of the game's features and what it offers, I'm okay with keeping this in my collection for good. I doubt I'll go back to where I buy these games yearly, but I was pleased with this one after being away from the series for so long.

Slickriven wrote:


As good as the Uncharted games are, I feel like stealth is one area they never quite got right.

Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure! {} 4/10
Okay, let me explain why the heck I'm even playing this is because I had one of those moments where I loaded up the PS+ Extra/Premium Game Catalog and closed my eyes while pressing the d-pad wildly and I'd play whatever it landed on. Well, it landed on this and I wasn't backing down. I'm committed to finishing this turd.

I have not watched any of the Ice Age films (though I've heard by many they are considered the Citizen Kane of children's CGI films) and so I have no connection with this character or why he is the standout character of the series (at least I assume he is, since he earned his own game), but to put it simply, there is nothing remarkable about this game.

Even by "low budget licensed games aimed at making a quick buck off of clueless parents and their children who don't know any better and will play anything" standards, this is a pretty bad game. First off, the game itself plays like the generic licensed kid games from the GameCube-era, and in fact if I was watching gameplay of this on YouTube and the uploader said it was indeed a GameCube game being upscaled via the Dolphin emulator, I don't think I'd have a difficult time believing that, because nothing about this looks like it belongs on a PlayStation 5 (or PS4 or even PS3 for that matter). In addition to that the camera doesn't always play nice, so that also makes it feel like it fits in that GameCube-era of 3D platformers. They also don't take advantage of the DualSense unique features like the rumble (it is disabled by default in the options menu) or gyro, where there's one section specifically where the character falls off the edge of a cliff and you have to aim him through the center of hoops as he falls and that could have been cooler to do with gyro instead of the analog stick. The character is also silent the entire time except for some grunts when jumping or taking damage, that could've been covered up if the music was at least catchy but most time I don't even notice any BGM playing.

You might think I'm being overly harsh on a game that I'm clearly not in the target demographic for, but someone has gotta look out for these kids, so leave it to ol' uncle PizzaTheHutt.

There are much better licensed games for children to play than this, and I suggest starting them out with one of those South Park RPGs. That'll open their eyes real quick and as a bonus will give them something to talk about with their therapist when they get older.

Polyball {} 6/10
Basically this is a ball rolling game inspired by titles like Marble Madness and Super Monkey Ball while also taking inspiration from games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Super Mario Kart and Trackmania.

I don't find it to be as fun as any of those games though. And graphically it has a kind of minimalist look to it. It's definitely not as colorful as Super Monkey Ball, instead it uses lots of gray and brown (at least in the dozen levels I've played so far).

There is a multiplayer mode, but at this point there is nobody playing online. There's also a message when you select the multiplayer mode saying something like "we know multiplayer is buggy and it's a miracle that it works at all", so that could have something to do with why nobody is playing it.

There's a level editor and you can upload/download custom levels, but I didn't mess around with it very long. You can also race against ghosts of other players, but I didn't bother with that as I'm not interested in speed running these types of games, I more like the challenge of just trying to make it to the ending of each level. While I wouldn't call this a bad game, I don't know how much more I'll play it. I probably wouldn't have played it at all if Sega didn't screw up the Super Monkey Ball series because this game lacks any of that charm...and monkeys.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Not sure how I feel about this one yet/10

I mean the the new formula of actually running around in a semi open world and watching your Pokemon battle it out while you run around and survey them etc is kinda cool, but I’m not sure how I feel about ticking off so many damn research boxes in the Pokédex to progress in the game such as catch an X amount of the same Pokémon, battle them an C amount of times, etc. Maybe I’m just too used to and too accustomed to the traditional Pokemon games. I’m only about 2 hours in so far and hoping the more I play it’ll click.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

I feel largely the same way about it. The lack of Pokémon variety doesn't help either. I abandoned the checklists pretty quickly and focused on the missions. Then the game is much more fun. I view the checklists as something people can go back to if they want to play more, but don't want to start a new game.

Wait you can abandon the check lists? I thought you had to do them in order to rank up and progress in the story?

The arceus end game is great.

I just completed Super Mario RPG for the first time earlier today. I enjoyed it. It was fun to see those characters/world in a RPG format. As an RPG, it was pretty short and easy - I just powered through the story and didn't worry about all the items or side quests. In battle controls are a bit awkward, but you get used to it. I only died during main story boss maybe two or three times. The mini games are kind of blah, but you can do them over and over for coins. Would recommend. It is on my available list now too if anybody is interested.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Some of them are required, yes, but they aren't as extensive as the list that max out a Pokémon's entry information. Most of the required ones are low like 5 or 10, with basic tasks.

TalonJedi87 wrote:
I had a similar thought and didn't continue playing the game (I was a couple hours in).

@DCGX Without giving any spoilers, if I skip all the non mandatory checklists, do I miss out on things in the game that are very worth it? Or is it more like, "do a bunch of tasks, and get a uniquely colored t shirt" type of reward?

nonamesleft wrote:

Well, I obviously didn't do them so I don't know for sure lol but I don't even think it's that. It's mainly completing the Pokedex entries.

DCGX wrote:

Ah I see. Thanks for the info. I’ll see if I can stick with it then. I like the new feel minus the Pokédex check boxes. It’s def a different Pokémon game than traditional ones.

Immortals: Fenyx Rising

8/10

This game is way too good for an Ubi title. It’s like a Greek Zelda BOTW and I am OK with this. It has quirky corny humor too which I mildly enjoy. I’m about halfway through and I am pretty hooked. Oh and PS. No crappy breakable weapons! Haha

Strider 2014 release
8/10
It's generally not very challenging outside of maybe the first attempt against a boss but it's quite a lot of fun overall and not short. I'm at nearly 7 hrs and only around 60% overall completion, though I suspect that all of the collectables might count towards the overall and I've found a decent amount, but suspect there are a good bit left. I've also collected all 4 of the colored slash skills and a good bit of the upgrades, so I would think I'm actually getting nearer to the end vs. what that 60+% indicates.
It's also sort of surprising (to me at least) a Metroidvania, with doors and such you need upgrades to access later, and that causes 2 drawbacks as there's really not any fast traveling and the map could be better with indicating if you've already visited an area behind a formerly blocked, but now accessible, doorway. So you can end up (if you choose to) backtracking to an area you thought you maybe missed but hadn't. It's not terrible and seems like if you explore on your own then enemies won't spawn in as much or at all in some cases in non-active story sections.

The Pathless (PS5) - 6.5/10 - This is pretty chill and enjoyable, and I do like it, but it only rarely gels for me. I like just heading in a direction towards a glowy thing and seeing what i find when I get there. Having to shoot to keep your speed is interesting too, and it feels great when in a zone, but I'm also finding it annoying at times and for such a core mechanic it can feel clumsy all too easily. It can take just one "wait, how did I miss?" to ruin your flow.

I also often get to a staircase-like wall I can't shoot myself up without lots of backtracking so I use the bird to go straight up, land to reset the flaps, and repeat until I'm at the top. It feels like an exploit because it kills all momentum (which goes against the entire premise of the game).

I got this for $20 which feels about right and is a good time for that price. For $40, no way.

Far cry 6 and inscryption added to ps plus, nice, had both on wishlist and hoped this would happen

Inscryption is so geat. Far Cry 6 I just could not get into

started playing Tacoma as it was added to ps plus recently, really interesting,“walking simulator” in space where you basically piece together AR memories to figure out what happened to the crew, about an hour into it

Death Stranding: Director's Cut {} 5/10
I wasn't sure what to expect out of this. Of course I had read what other people thought of it (and it was mostly negative things), but I still wanted to give it a shot and use it as a make up badge in the Game of the Month thread. I won't be getting that badge though, because I don't wish to spend any more time on this than I already have.

On the positive side, I like the 3D audio and it sounded very realistic the first time I heard a thunderstorm starting up (there was an actual thunderstorm happening outside irl too, so that was like hearing it in 4D or something). The soundtrack has also been decent, and I liked the ability to build bridges and ladders and leave them in the world for other players to be able to use. On the not-so-positive side, plain and simple I just find the game to be pretty boring. It's not even a bad game, and I've played and beaten plenty of bad games and posted about them in this thread, but I already know this would feel like a chore if I make myself commit to finishing this, and you know as well as I do that nobody likes chores.

Death Stranding is an acquired taste. I was not a fan of it for like the first 10 hours. Then it clicked. I still wouldn’t personally rank it higher than a 6/10 but I have friends who adore it for whatever reason. More power to them.

I finished Death Stranding, but didn't do any extra stuff. It was interesting, but not great.
It's too bad they are making Death Stranding 2 instead of something else.

I concur. Kojima could be giving us another Zone of the Enders but instead we’re getting Walking Simulator 2.

Walking Simulator 2 with more poison rain and Alan Wake enemies does not sound like a good time.

Oh yeah. I actually came to contribute something lol. Street Fighter 6 for PS5. Pretty dang good. Been doing World Tour mode the most because I don’t want to pay for costumes and colors. The grind is real, but enjoyable. I feel like they might have too many systems in place, and sometimes it feels overwhelming. Drive parries, drive impacts, different levels of super moves based on which button but you can only use 1 power of a super move (ie level 1 Shin Hadoken or whatever it’s called can’t be a level 2 or 3 no matter how many bars you have built up). Lots of returning characters have lots of different moves too, but still feel familiar. Graphics are great and the music is there. Nothing really that I’d listen to outside the game, but nothing offensive either. There’s a cool track that would be straight out of a Final Fight game if it were made today that’s pretty good. The new characters fit the aesthetic of what they’re going for in this game, but they wouldn’t have fit any other Street Fighter game. Capcom has been killing it lately, and I’m here for it. I don’t know if I want to give it a number score, but if you’re into fighting games this is a great one.

I suck at Street Fighter usually but I’m intrigued by the accessibility of SF6. I may pick it up on a sale.

Like a Dragon Ishin is just about what I’d imagine a Yakuza game being set in feudal Japan. 8/10 so far and I’m about 1/4 of the way thru.

They did make the controls a lot more accessible with the modern scheme. I defaulted to the classic because I’ve been playing Street Fighter for 30 years that way. I feel more in control with classic, but modern is also good.

Good to know. I played SF on and off for the past 30 years myself. I think I came close to being halfway decent at SF2 and almost SF4 for a bit but not without my hands needing wheelchairs for recovery first from all those ridiculous and complex combos haha if I get it I’ll def opt in for modern controls and be called a filthy casual and wear that title like a badge of honor. At least then my hands won’t need life support.

That’s fair haha. I’m a filthy casual myself. I don’t play online with others because I don’t need that negativity in my life. If there’s ever a GTZ Tourney involved I’ll do that but beyond friends I’m out haha.

Afterimage - This game is giving Hollow Knight a run for its money for how large the map is. I'd say it's at least an 8/10 game after around 10 hours so far. Some performance issues on Switch, but runs fine for the most part.

Guacamelee! 2 {} 8/10
It has been 7 or 8 years since I first played the original Guacamelee! game and so there are things I don't remember too well about it, but I enjoyed the game overall and got a few laughs out of the humor and the same applies to this game. It's a pretty good example of what a sequel should be: it takes what you liked about the first game and just gives you more of it. More of the same beat-em-up gameplay mixed with 2D platforming and Metroidvania elements (hearing a game described as "Metroidvania" is usually enough to make me skip it, but this one is doing something right) with more of the silly humor from the first game sprinkled on top. I think I'm nearing the end of the game already, I might have it beaten by tonight.

Trek to Yomi
7/10. Like the art style. Camera,reminds me of early Resident Evil. Neat little “pick up and play” game.

Finished SF6 World Tour mode. I’ll grind to get everyone’s second outfits that I can but otherwise it’s done for me. I did like it, but not enough to immediately jump into another play through.

Finished Tacoma the other day, short but compelling experience, recommended

Started Far Cry 6, so far so good but very early

Since the slay the spire topic is closed, just got to A20 with Watcher, that means all my characters have reached A20, i’ve beaten A20 heart run with Ironclad and Silent, haven’t done it yet with Defect, and haven’t tried yet with Watcher
A year ago i was convinced i’d never even sniff A20 or any kind of heart run, so im kinda proud of myself, just two more A20 heart runs to go and I can settle into more casually playing the daily climbs and random runs haha

you should be proud, way better than I'll ever be and I play often

Persona 4: Golden 8/10 so far and I’m almost done with the first palace. It’s a nice predecessor to P5 but so far for me P5 is still top dog.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

It’s funny how everyone’s fav Persona game is always the first one they played.

Pretty much! Haha

Knights And Bikes {} 7/10

It's a pretty fun co-op action/adventure game with some puzzles thrown in. It kind of gives a Goonies vibe, with two young girls setting off on an adventure with no idea what is in store for them as they form a bond along the way. I only have one main complaint and it's that the screen is shared by both players, so you can't just go and check something on your own without your partner needing to follow you. I like when co-op games give that kind of freedom. Other than that, my friend and I are enjoying this and the game is pretty funny too which I guess is to be expected for a game published by Double Fine.