Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[Rally-Vincent---]

10 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Okay. What is everybody playing now?

 

I wish I was playing something right now, but I have to dedicate some time to my book backlog, my movies backlog, my TV series backlog and my anime backlog, too, and then there are other projects. Even with an unreasonable late bed time, there is only so much time after work.

 

Next up will be brainless JRPG-farming at Omega Quintet. Why do JRPGs have to have include things that make you do that? I have grown less tolerant to that, but somehow I ended up buying Trails of Cold Steel - all three parts. Patronus Contradictum.

 

After Omega Quintet, I'll need to fill a 22 trophy gap so that Final Fantasy VIII can become the next milestone. Still don't know if that'll take one or two smaller games or half a bigger game.

[Grotz99]

11 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Okay. What is everybody playing now?

 

Took a break from Yakuza 0 to knock out the Telltale Batman game, still have 4 Telltale games to complete at some point, usually like to pepper them in between longer games as relaxing break. Working on the Cat Scratch Fever trophy in Yakuza 0 started to push my carpel tunnel a little bit too much, about half way there for that trophy and warranted a break.

 

Going to continue working on Yakuza 0, which I need to focus more on the story and stop getting side tracked by all the silly mini games. Went back to start Unravel again when it's noisy in the house and don't need game sounds. Also chipping away again at Uncharted 2 when I use my PS3.

 

My game ADD is kicking in again with a few games taunting me from my shelf, even though I already have some I'm playing through. Don't get me wrong, Yakuza 0 is a great game, but it is long. Peppering in short games, like SOMA or Here They Lie is no problem, but I'm itching for another RPG or AC game to get started. I have AC Syndicate and Odyssey still yet to play and really tempted to knock out South Park: Fractured but Whole or Gravity Rush 2.

 

I'm glad to hear you liked Into the Spiderverse, that movie was excellent, better than the Spiderman movies IMO. I would like to see more that style going forward.

[det_gittes]

13 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Okay. What is everybody playing now?

I'm really itching to play AC: Odyssey (I enjoyed AC: Origins quite a bit), but whenever I turn on PS4 (which is no so often in recent weeks and usually not earlier than 10pm), I end up playing Trials Fusion (I guess you've heard that before) and before I know it, it's very late and time for bed. I also want to go back to Far Cry 5 and continue playing Just Cause 4. I've just bought the gold edition of Hitman 2 and I think that Titanfall 2 is something I would enjoy (I've had it on disc for 2 years, still unopened, but now that it's in PS+, it's more convenient). I keep working on the 3rd playthrough of Darkest Dungeon as I only need one more trophy to be done with it and I've almost finished Monster Energy Supercross, which is actually, surprisingly, reasonably enjoyable and when it gets boring, the rest can be cheesed. 

[Briste]

14 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

1. I watched some ten hour movie on Netflix called The Irishman, which is probably worth seeing (might as well have called it Goodfellas 2), and something called Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which people told me was sooo good. Well, you know what I think? I think it was fuckin' amazing. Like, holy shit. I was put off by the low frame animation for all of twenty seconds before I really started to dig it. I finished it a couple of nights ago and then booted it up again the next day to watch it a second time. I cannot believe this came out of Hollywood. You know, the same place that gave us THE EMOJI MOVIE. They didn't even have to make a decent film. It's Spider-Man. It would've sold if they cast Nicolas Cage as...wait, I can't use that joke... Anyway, I know I'm late to this party. But if you haven't seen the movie yet -- even if  you don't usually care for superhero stuff, like me -- it's definitely one you want to watch. I might even say it's the best movie I've seen since 2016's Moana.

This is probably my favorite movie that has come out recently. The dude that voices Peter B Parker is awesome...I mean all the voice acting is terrific but he really stood out to me. I've seen that movie about 25 times already and I laugh every time when Miles is running out of the building holding the PC and Monitor and Peter Parker says 'here's the good news....we don't need the monitor' I don't know why but I find that hilarious. I also love when he's breaking it down about the break-in and he's like 'I need to locate the guy that's in charge' and Miles says something like 'I think it was that lady I saw on TV' and Peter replies 'Cool, step 3 I re-examine my personal biases' The movie is visually awesome...I love how they integrate comic book features...the soundtrack is actually really good. I could not have been more surprised by how much I liked that movie...I put it on par with my surprise with Guardians of the Galaxy actually. I had low to no expectations for both and really, really enjoyed them. Thankfully, my kids love this movie so I get to rewatch this a million times instead of something like Peppa Pig or something.

 

I decided to play FFVIII. I figure it'll be a race to 100 for me...either FFVIII will be plat 100 or Darkest Dungeon...I'll be happy with either. After that I'll try and sneak in Alien: Isolation before the end of the year to wrap up my bingo card. MLB 19 can go fly a kite....but I'll get it....

[Arcesius]

23 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I always feel weird posting three times in a row, so I'll just give you all my updates for the week and ask what everybody is playing now.

1. ...
2. ...
3. Despite the warnings telling me not to, I've decided to play Hollow Knight with a map. I'm putting this as #3 because nobody will read this far down.
4. We'll get back to the awards later this week. I'm having trouble with Best Soundtrack because...you know, I usually play games on mute...and sounds are a lot harder to look up or remember than visuals or story.

 

Buuuuuh! Why would you do that?? ? No but seriously, is there any reason in particular why you decided to use maps?

I faced the final boss without having found four or so of the areas, and it was amazing discovering that there was so much more content, even though the world already seemed so huge ?

 

As for #4.... Why? ? I'm really curious here, I find well-composed music in games to really make a great experience even better. The only times where I would mute the TV is when I'm grinding and I want to listen to Spotify instead. 

 

 

12 hours ago, Rally-Vincent--- said:

I wish I was playing something right now, but I have to dedicate some time to my book backlog, my movies backlog, my TV series backlog and my anime backlog, too, and then there are other projects. Even with an unreasonable late bed time, there is only so much time after work.

 

Yeah... sounds familiar (except for the anime backlog). A couple of years ago, I simply decided that I needed to make some cuts. I don't watch TV anymore and rarely watch movies (and when I do, I go to the cinema). Gaming and books, that's the two I picked (and I really should read more)... Well, and music... always music.  

 

 

23 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Okay. What is everybody playing now?

 

Only two games... On the one hand I'm still playing Crypt of the NecroDancer. I am approaching the 40h mark and have cleared 8/9 characters. The game is still as fun as it was 30 hours ago, but the last three charactes are pretty tough. I have Aria left, the grandma of Cadence... ? She dies in one hit, cannot change her weapon, cannot increase her health, and dies if you miss a beat ?

 

Otherwise I'm also enjoying Pier Solar and the Great Architects. I think I'll try to complete this one before Christmas, so that probably means taking a short break from NecroDancer. It's veeeeeery old school, but I haden't played a JRPG in a long while, so it feels great ? 

[RuneEyesDragon]

On 12/2/2019 at 0:36 PM, Cassylvania said:

Let's hope I can fake it just as easily when I sweep all of the bosses in Hollow Knight on my first try! I mean, I did that to the Fat Knight. How much harder can the later ones be?

I am not going to ruin your enjoyment of the game by answering that question...

On 12/6/2019 at 8:37 PM, Cassylvania said:

I'd say just play on Easy and don't worry about transferring all the best traits to every item. I was able to do everything but the final boss and post-game bosses with subpar gear, and even those weren't bad.

Sounds like my kind of game.

On 12/4/2019 at 8:43 PM, Cassylvania said:

DQ Builders is FANTASTIC...but they really, really hurt that game by putting in a time limit for the trophies.

DQ Builders 2 doesn't have any time challenge trophies, so you go about it on your own pace. The story of that game is excellent and gives you backstory on the original DQ2 even if you have never played it(and few have because it's brutally difficult, especially the final areas). The only annoying trophy is the one for breeding cats or dogs until you get the super-rare animal in the fourth generation. If you read my post about my Dragon Quest Builders 2 trophy you can tell how annoyed I was about having to wait around for the animals to sleep so I could feed them moreberries to make a baby. Everything else is really easy once you get the knack of it.

[RuneEyesDragon]

On 12/2/2019 at 0:36 PM, Cassylvania said:

Isn't there a trophy for doing that?

I was surprised, but no. You get a trophy for getting all of the other tonics, but getting the golden tonic(which is the last ? in the list) is completely optional, and it's a good thing because you void that tonic once you rescue a single Beetallion as you have to go through the Impossible Lair without rescuing any of the Beeetalions. You can take one hit(which knocks Laylee off of you and you can grab him to get your free hit back) but trying to take on Capital B before you have the Bee Shield and then trying to get through the Impossible Lair without losing Laylee constantly is tricky. I couldn't even through the Impossible Lair with all 48 Beetalions rescued as I've lost my Donkey Kong Country platforming skills with age.

Edited December 12, 2019 by RuneEyesDragon

[Cassylvania]

On 12/11/2019 at 8:35 AM, VigilantCrow said:

Check out ChristopherOdd's Youtube Channel if you need a more visual assessment of the game. He's done a playthrough, if you're interested in seeing how combat works and how indepth the strategy is, on the higher difficulty levels.

 

I watched a couple episodes to get a feel for the game. Don't want to spoil it for myself, but it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Hope it drops sooner next year rather than later.

 

Oh, and ChristopherOdd is my dawg. I remember doing XCOM 2 and Darkest Dungeon runs alongside him. ?

 

On 12/11/2019 at 10:55 AM, Together_Comic said:

The NFC is a rough place to try and make the playoffs (unless you are the NFC east, but I won't beat that dead horse).  For your Vikings, Chicago vs Green Bay is an interesting match up.  On one hand it would be nice if the bears beat the packers as it would help if the Vikings have aspirations for a home playoff game.  Though a Chicago loss would go a long way towards securing a playoff spot in general should things not go perfectly for the boys in purple.  Idk. Going to be an interesting finish.

 

Honestly, I'm more worried about the Rams stealing a spot than the Bears, but there's a very real scenario where the Vikings could finish 1-2 (or worse) and not get in. There's also a very real scenario that the winner of the NFC East gets in at 7-9. I wish the NFL made a rule that if your division leader doesn't finish at or above 0.500, they must surrender a playoff spot -- or at least not be allowed homefield advantage. It's stupid that the #5 seed is basically given a bye during wildcard weekend, while the #3 and #6 seeds have to actually show up.

 

Are the Vikings the only team that hasn't lost at home this year? Homefield advantage would be huge.

 

20 hours ago, det_gittes said:

I'm really itching to play AC: Odyssey (I enjoyed AC: Origins quite a bit), but whenever I turn on PS4 (which is no so often in recent weeks and usually not earlier than 10pm), I end up playing Trials Fusion (I guess you've heard that before) and before I know it, it's very late and time for bed. I also want to go back to Far Cry 5 and continue playing Just Cause 4. I've just bought the gold edition of Hitman 2 and I think that Titanfall 2 is something I would enjoy (I've had it on disc for 2 years, still unopened, but now that it's in PS+, it's more convenient). I keep working on the 3rd playthrough of Darkest Dungeon as I only need one more trophy to be done with it and I've almost finished Monster Energy Supercross, which is actually, surprisingly, reasonably enjoyable and when it gets boring, the rest can be cheesed. 

 

Is it really? I almost immediately deleted Brand Name Supercross from my library. I just couldn't see myself enjoying something like that, but I have been itching for a racing game...

 

11 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Buuuuuh! Why would you do that?? ? No but seriously, is there any reason in particular why you decided to use maps?

 

I need a map to get my mail. There's no way I was going to find my way around without one. ?

 

Nah, it just got frustrating for me. My geo counter kept going up and up, but I had nothing to spend it on, so every death meant I had to trudge all the way back to where I had fallen or risk losing everything. That's different than Dark Souls, where you can at least spend your souls whenever you're at a bonfire -- and where you're at least rewarded with something other than fragile currency when you explore dangerous areas. Unless you deposit your money at the bank (which I found out about later, and honestly should be an option in Dirtmouth), you're being increasingly punished in Hollow Knight for not finding the next shopkeeper to blow your load on. That's a pretty harsh punishment for a player not picking the right path in a maze. Especially if the objective is for players to memorize every area in detail.

 

I also don't understand why you need to use a charm slot to see your position on the in-game map. I mean, at least they have that option (unlike The Long Dark), but it feels like that's another penalty for not committing everything to memory.

 

11 hours ago, Arcesius said:

As for #4.... Why?  I'm really curious here, I find well-composed music in games to really make a great experience even better. The only times where I would mute the TV is when I'm grinding and I want to listen to Spotify instead. 

 

It depends on the game. Hollow Knight -- yeah, I'm going to listen to the music. It's great. Games with voice acting...usually. Sometimes I'll mute it during the battles/repetitive gameplay and put it back on during the cutscenes. But I'm usually watching movies or YouTube while I play, and I like the sound to be on low or mute.

 

I'm sure I can come up with something, though.

 

Best Soundtrack of 2019

 

A moment of silence for Cosmic Star Heroine, who would've dominated this category...if only the rules allowed it. But since they don't, this year's nominations go to Forgotton Anne, The Flame in the Flood, The Long Dark, and Resident Evil 7, as I actually added tracks to my Spotify list for the latter three games, and Forgotton Anne has music from the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra. The Long Dark only has one track I can think of (most of the game is eerily silent), but it gets me so pumped up. It's called "The Lion's Roar" from a Swedish indie band called First Aid Kit, who actually have several really good songs. Which brings me to a question I've always wondered: how come when people sing, they lose their accent? I never would've guessed they were from Sweden. Anyway, they play the song before each chapter in the main campaign, so I've seen it at least three times now. I love the part where the music picks up and the camera pans out to a pack of wolves surrounding Baloo's wife. It's probably the best part of the campaign.

 

As for Resident Evil 7... Everybody who's played that has seen how awesome the intro is, right? For two weeks after I finished, every time I'd start up a new game, I'd hear "GO TELL AUNT RHODY" in my head. I don't even know who Aunt Rhody is. I don't even think Rhody is a real name. But damn, if that isn't how I want every game to start.

 

I don't think you could go wrong with any of these four, but...

 

 

It's VERY tempting to give this one to Forgotton Anne, but I actually went out and bought this album from Chuck Ragan. I don't think I even paid for the Shantae soundtrack. (I checked, and I did not. It came with the game.) I think what I like most about the music from this game is that it isn't connected to a particular area or a cutscene or an intro. It plays -- from what I could tell -- completely randomly, whenever you board your raft. The fact that it doesn't play all the time just adds to the loneliness. It's only when it begins playing that you realize how quiet the rest of the game is. I think The Long Dark could've benefited from something like this, because you do start to go stir-crazy when you're performing the same actions over and over. Can we make this a requirement in survival games going forward?

 

Worst Soundtrack of 2019

 

 

If you made it past the main menu without turning the music off, you deserve this platinum more than me. The only reason it beats out Pic-a-Pix Classic is that I knew by then to have the TV on mute before I began.

[RuneEyesDragon]

On 12/11/2019 at 1:42 AM, Cassylvania said:

Speaking of fundamentally flawed games... WHY IS POKEMON SHIELD SO EASY!? Most of us have been playing these games for 20+ years... At the very least, just put in a Hard difficulty, like EVERY OTHER GAME TO COME OUT IN THE PAST TWO DECADES.

 

I understand your pain. I got through Pokemon Sword pretty easily. The Max Raid battles giving so many EXP candies and Dynamaxing in general is broken.

[Rally-Vincent---]

On 12.12.2019 at 8:10 AM, Arcesius said:

Yeah... sounds familiar (except for the anime backlog). A couple of years ago, I simply decided that I needed to make some cuts. I don't watch TV anymore and rarely watch movies (and when I do, I go to the cinema). Gaming and books, that's the two I picked (and I really should read more)... Well, and music... always music.  
 

 

Games already get the most time, and I like stories, so I like movies. And I think I have worn out a controller, I have to go get a new one.

[Cassylvania]

On 12/12/2019 at 3:39 PM, RuneEyesDragon said:

I understand your pain. I got through Pokemon Sword pretty easily. The Max Raid battles giving so many EXP candies and Dynamaxing in general is broken.

 

It's very frustrating that Pokemon has existed for almost 25 years and they keep making the games easier. I understand their primary demographic is kids (or is it?), but I did just fine playing Red and Blue when I was 10. Everybody understood Charmander was hard mode. Why can't they put something like that in the newer games? Give us the option to make battles harder. Give trainers more Pokemon. Limit item usage in battle. Put stronger Pokemon in the world to force us to grind. At the very least, let us turn EXP Share off. For Arceus' sake, THAT USED TO BE AN OPTION. (See what I did there?)

 

I need to calm down. I can't play a Pokemon game anymore without wanting to rip my hair out. I don't even think I got halfway through Sun and Moon. I just can't stand the incessant dumbing down of the series. The last one I think I legitimately liked was Crystal, because it introduced concepts (the day/night cycle and the ability to play as a girl) that didn't feel like a cheap gimmick. I don't know what Sword and Shield have accomplished, but I would've rather seen Red and Blue remade on the console with absolutely no changes to the story, dialogue, or gameplay. That would be a better game than what we got.

 

That's all I have to say about that.

 

Anyway... I beat DuckCOM. Think I already mentioned that. The game is pissing me off because of a trophy called Freak out!, which requires unlocking every mutation on every character. The problem is that experience and skill points are limited, and it's very possible to finish the game without enough points to get everything. I...fell just short. I did unlock the DLC, though, which gives me access to more skill points...but also more mutations...and another character. I managed to max out everything (I'm over level 100 now), but no trophy. I'm thinking the DLC mutations are messing it up, because they work as "upgrades" to the regular mutations. I might have to load up an earlier save to see if I can milk a little more experience before beating the game.

 

DLCvember has also brought me back into the world of Minecraft. I've managed to finish two-thirds of the trophies (I actually really like the addition of bees), but Master Trader looks annoying. I don't know why they're so inconsistent with the quality of their trophies. Why trade for 1,000 emeralds? Most of the achievements in Minecraft are simple things, to give you a taste of what you can do in the game. Place a sign, harvest some leather, collect honey from bees, stay underwater for two minutes. Where do they get this 1,000 emeralds shit? Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

For just once, I wish I had the power to put a trophy into a game that the developers would have to attempt.

[RuneEyesDragon]

9 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

It's very frustrating that Pokemon has existed for almost 25 years and they keep making the games easier. I understand their primary demographic is kids (or is it?), but I did just fine playing Red and Blue when I was 10. Everybody understood Charmander was hard mode. Why can't they put something like that in the newer games? Give us the option to make battles harder. Give trainers more Pokemon. Limit item usage in battle. Put stronger Pokemon in the world to force us to grind. At the very least, let us turn EXP Share off. For Arceus' sake, THAT USED TO BE AN OPTION. (See what I did there?)

 

You could do a Nuzlocke. I am too cowardly to do that challenge run, which explains why I created another PSN account. I'm just too much of a wimp.

 

Also, trophy hunting is no longer top priority anymore. I've gotten back into Wizard101 and am really enjoying it. I know that means my money is now going towards the lootpacks to get that schwag gear and dual-boxing to sweep the early story, but the graphics and audio are awesome and I never expected to enjoy voice acting in a game but this game does it amazingly. I would have done without the zoom-in cinematics to the face like Elder Scrolls Skyrim but I'm in the minority. KingsIsle just upgraded all of Wizard City to HD and I am giving hope that they'll do the same for everything else.

 

I do admit that KI did some bad things - the Deckathlon and Beastmoon stuff is meh - but I am going to hope for better player character models and more sick events. As such, single-player games are getting a bit lackluster so playing a Playstation game is feeling a bit more like a chore. I might change my mind when Trials of Mana 3D comes out in March, but for now I am not as interested in Playstation games.

 

Don't get me wrong: There are some games I enjoyed or will enjoy replaying:

• Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom: A really great 2D platformer which has ability changing mechanics.
• Dragon Quest Builders 2: I loved the story, the graphics and audio and building my own little island is just awesome.
• Kingdom Hearts 3: With the Re:Mind DLC coming out in January, I want to try out the new photo mode.

If you want to call me a doopy dreepy-eyed jerkface for abandoning my last account, that's fine. I know I deserve to get hate for bailing two platinums from #100. I am not going to promise this will be the final time, I know that it might not be the final time I abandon an account, but I'm getting to an age when I can't afford to buy a zillion games. (While my Social Security is generous and I always ended up with at least $200 after bills were paid and groceries for the month bought, I almost ran out of money last month due to buying both Pokemon Sword and Shield. If I was going to do that, I should have just kept my preorder for the double-pack and I would have gotten some magic crystals to get exclusive Pokemon in max raids. Never again.)

 

ADDED: When I installed the Wizard101 launcher, I found it sucked all of my new computer hard drive so I had to uninstall The Sims 4 and Origin, which is fine as the Origin Launcher erased my library because I had to move my computer briefly so my dad could replace all of the flooring in my gaming room. For some reason(no, I swear I clean all my spills thoroughly!) the old floor got cracks in it and started to peel off. So no more Sims 4 for me, which is okay. I didn't get to experience Discover University but it's probably for the best. Running virtual people living regular lives is more tedious than fighting trolls.

[Cassylvania]

5 hours ago, RuneEyesDragon said:

If you want to call me a doopy dreepy-eyed jerkface for abandoning my last account, that's fine. I know I deserve to get hate for bailing two platinums from #100. I am not going to promise this will be the final time, I know that it might not be the final time I abandon an account, but I'm getting to an age when I can't afford to buy a zillion games.

 

I guess I just don't understand why you feel the need to make a new account all the time. You said it yourself -- you have other things you want to focus on. Your PSN account will still be there when you come back. Nobody says you have to collect a certain number of trophies per day or achieve x number of platinums to gain some sort of respect level. Just play what you want, whenever you want, for however long you want. Even the folks in Animal Crossing will forgive you if you forget about them for a few years.

 

...but not if you quit out of the game without saving.

 

Platinum #197 - Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

 

If I was stuck on a deserted island for the rest of my life and could only play three games, the only real question is what game would be joining XCOM and XCOM 2. Sadly, it won't be this one. As I started to mop up the last few trophies I had missed during my two full playthroughs, I tried to put into words where I think the developers went wrong. The story is decent enough. The characters are more developed than anybody you meet in XCOM, and they actually found a nice balance between the grim narration and humor. I like that the ancient "artifacts" in the game are modern household items that we know to be harmless, but the characters are always misinterpreting their uses, like Scuttle in The Little Mermaid. It's pretty funny that Dux thinks a boom box is a bomb that goes off when you press the red button, and that a string of Christmas lights is a rare and heavily sought-after item. (It's less funny that they named the duck character "Dux.") Even the gameplay isn't bad. You alternate between a "real time" mode, where you can wander around an area to collect scrap or sneak around enemies, and a "combat" mode, which is going to feel right at home to anybody who has played an XCOM game before. The problem is that it's not XCOM. You can't play it like an XCOM game. You'll want to, but the game won't let you. Let me explain.

 

You enter a zone. There are enemies. If you engage with one of them and fire off a shot that somebody else hears OR if they get a turn to call for help, the whole zone will come down on you. This is bad. For the vast majority of the game, the only thing that matters is how much damage can you do in a single turn with silent weapons. In the beginning, it’s 4. You have two characters and one silent weapon between them. You eventually get a third character, who also has a silencer. Now you can do 8 damage. You can upgrade each weapon twice, so you can eventually do 12. There’s also a third silent weapon out there. Congrats -- you can now do 18 damage. If you see a lone enemy with HP at or below your maximum single turn damage, you can probably take him out without alerting anybody. Sometimes you’ll miss. Something you’ll get a critical hit. Sometimes you’ll be forced to use a non-silent weapon and pray that nobody hears, because the range is not always clear. (And by "pray," I mean back up your save to a USB drive.) That's ultimately what this game is. A numbers game.

 

If that sounds tedious, that’s because it is. You wander through each zone, being careful to only pick off enemies that are alone and within your maximum range of damage, until you realize that too many enemies have more than 18 HP. Now what? Well, the pig has a mutation called Hog Rush. Hog Rush will knock an enemy down and stun him for two turns, allowing you to get off eight unanswered shots -- plus the damage from Hog Rush. It does make noise, but less than what you get from a gun. This is pretty useful, but if you're playing on the highest difficulty (which you have to do for trophies), mutations have a cooldown that is directly tied to kills. That means you're incentivised to NOT kill every enemy you come across. So you can go back to previous zones and farm kills to reactivate your mutations. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Don’t you want to revisit old areas for the sole purpose of being able to continue your game?

 

Wait, what? You killed everyone? Oh, man. You’re fucked. How dare you treat this like every other game in existence. Enemies don’t respawn. Now you're going to have an engage in actual combat. Are you sure you’re ready for that? I hope so because your HP doesn’t refill after battle. Oh, and medkits are limited. So are resources. Like currency. And grenades. Yes, it’s completely possible to screw yourself over. Did I mention your characters are permanently dead if they bleed out in battle? Did I also mention there are only five characters in the game, and you'll need at least three to even stand a fighting chance?

 

Not all is lost, though. Some party members have a mutation that can disable robots for two turns. Guess you could take advantage of that. Scarface has a mind control ability, which would be fantastic, except I heard it can interfere with the trophy for beating the game on Iron Mutant without any deaths. I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's worth the risk. You can use the fox, who can eat corpses to restore health and prevent enemies from being revived, but…no, do that. Fox is good. Just remember that her mutations have a cooldown too. Oh, and cooldowns only work if that character is used in battle, so no swapping between characters while you wait for mutations to refresh. That would be too generous and would encourage actually using all the resources you have available.

 

In short, I'll never fault a game for trying to copy XCOM, but this is a little too watered-down for my tastes. I don't like that attacks have a 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100% chance to hit either. I don't like that combat is so basic, or that each character can only have a couple mutations active at a time. I don't like that mutations have a cooldown that is tied to the number of kills you have, and I don't like that you can put yourself in unwinnable situations by killing too many enemies early on in the game. I think there is a lot to like here, but when you drop the ball on the combat, it's hard to appreciate the rest of your efforts.

 

I'd recommend the game only if you're going to play on Normal difficulty and not worry about the trophies. I still need to the finish the DLC.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Cassylvania

[Rally-Vincent---]

6 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

 

If I was stuck on a deserted island for the rest of my life and could only play three games, the only real question is what game would be joining XCOM and XCOM 2.

 

Wouldn't it be the waiting game (for XCOM 3)?

[Cassylvania]

4 hours ago, Rally-Vincent--- said:

Wouldn't it be the waiting game (for XCOM 3)?

 

With any luck, it'll be a PS5 launch title.

 

You know, I forgot one thing I like about Mutant Year Zero. The dialogue when attacking (especially with either of the female characters) is hilarious. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing Selma scream, "Not today, dickwad!" ?

 

Managed to beat the DLC on Iron Mutant. It ended up being easier than I expected because a.) you can jump right into the DLC from the main menu with level 60 characters (which worked out well for me, as my Iron Mutant characters were only level 36 by game's end), and b.) you can play on Normal difficulty. The game is actually fun on that difficulty because you can treat combat like a normal XCOM game. There are just a few encounters you have to leave alone until you get stronger, but your health and mutations are refilled after battle.

 

Alright. That gives me some breathing room. I still don't think 100% is possible this year because I don't know how I'll gain access to the King Knight DLC in Shovel Knight, but we at least cleared the way for one more medium-sized game. I may not end up having to do Deponia 4 after all.

 

For tonight, I think we'll play around a little more in Minecraft. The creative mode glitch still works, but it's finicky. Tomorrow, we have some important football games, including Vikings/Chargers. The outcome probably won't matter, but a win there (followed by a Bears' victory over the Packers) would be sweet.

 

Anybody hoping for certain games this Christmas? I usually put one AAA title on my list, just to see if somebody will dish out for a full price game for me. Last year, I got Spider-Man, which I still haven't played, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. (Remind me to give that person coal.) I just didn't know what to put down this year. I guess that Star Wars game or The Outer Worlds would be nice, but you know there's going to be future DLC that'll cost just as much as the game.

Edited December 15, 2019 by Cassylvania

[VigilantCrow]

Awesome job with Mutant Zero!

Edited December 16, 2019 by VigilantCrow

[Cassylvania]

2 hours ago, VigilantCrow said:

Awesome job with Mutant Zero!

 

Thanks. I know you're working on it too. I'm wondering if you're going to run into the same issue with Weapon smith that I did with Freak out!. I fell just a few skill points short of unlocking all mutations on the main campaign. My thought was I could simply unlock them by playing through the DLC, not realizing the DLC adds a new character AND additional upgrades for existing mutations. One of those things interferes with the trophy. I tried unlocking all the base mutations, all the upgrades, AND all the mutations on the new character. Nothing happened. I'm thinking the developers didn't want people to simply be able to start Seed of Evil with stock characters (at level 60) and trigger the trophy right away. If that's the case, it might also apply to weapon upgrades.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Cassylvania

[Grotz99]

On 12/14/2019 at 1:35 PM, Cassylvania said:

 

I guess I just don't understand why you feel the need to make a new account all the time. You said it yourself -- you have other things you want to focus on. Your PSN account will still be there when you come back. Nobody says you have to collect a certain number of trophies per day or achieve x number of platinums to gain some sort of respect level. Just play what you want, whenever you want, for however long you want. Even the folks in Animal Crossing will forgive you if you forget about them for a few years.

 

...but not if you quit out of the game without saving.

 I thought about making a new account to start having a 100% profile, but i had this account forever and it has so much time/money/history invested in it. I'm planning on knocking my unearned trophy count down and working on getting my completion percent above 75%. It is kind of funny seeing games take 5+ years to platinum.

 

Vikings spanked the Chargers even though they lost Cook in the 2nd half. Was happy to see GB win too though.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Grotz99
Vikings Game

[Cassylvania]

21 hours ago, Grotz99 said:

Vikings spanked the Chargers even though they lost Cook in the 2nd half. Was happy to see GB win too though.

 

Are you a GB fan? They're my dad's favorite team. One of the reasons I started cheering for the Vikings. ?

 

Anyway, yeah. Going to be a crazy game next week. Having Cook healthy for that would be nice...

 

Best Protagonist of 2019

 

 

Let's be real: I'm only doing this category because I already know who's going to be the worst. The best is a little harder to pick because I'm not exactly sure how you define what makes a good protagonist. Is it their personality? Their personal growth? Their banter or their wit? Maybe it's whose storyline is the most interesting to follow, or who is the most compelling to learn more about. For me, what matters is beer. That's right -- if I'm going to sit down and share a beer with someone, who would be at the top of my list? Main characters only.

 

After ten minutes of looking over my games...yeah, only Graham from King's Quest, Rook/Alette from The Banner Saga 2 and 3 (it's not cheating to include both), Anne from Forgotton Anne, and Six from Little Nightmares make the cut. It may be more telling which characters/games did NOT make the list than those that did. I mean, Six doesn't even speak, and I thought she was more interesting than the dudes from Sekiro and Nioh combined. The main guy in Resident Evil 7 is so boring that they didn't even give him a face. The main guy in The Long Dark is so boring that I can't even remember his name. And in most of the other games, you are the main character, which should rule them out instantly. You can't share a drink with yourself.

 

But Graham? He's got personality. I loved him in all five chapters of KQ, but especially Chapter 1 and every time he was voiced by Christopher Lloyd. I actually cared for him and his story, and not just because of nostalgia. Rook is another magnificent bearded man, although his storyline could change dramatically, depending on the choices you make in the first Banner Saga game. That's why he shares the nomination with Alette. Anne (the other redhead)...well, you know Anne. She keeps appearing on these lists. You do have some choices you can make with her dialogue, but you're forced to go the "good" route if you want a particular trophy, which is unfortunate. I'd like to see what evil Anne is like. But either way, I'm sure she would have some stories to tell. She's the only normal character in that world. And Six...okay, she's underage. Nobody give her a beer. Or a sausage. It didn't end well for the last guy.

 

And the winner is...

 

 

King's Quest is the Breaking Bad of video games. Five chapters, five seasons -- all excellently written and voice-acted. This game will never get the recognition that its predecessors did, but the writers did in one game what Sierra failed to do in six: make Graham a good character. It's a bit bizarre too, because I don't think Graham was ever meant to be interesting. The original games portray him as a very generic hero. Strong and wise and kind and brave. Just take your pick from Merriam-Webster: The best thing you could say he had going for him was his puns, and he only said those when he died. I guess -- sorta like with Anne -- you were only supposed to identify with him, and be more interested in the wacky characters and the world around him. This game changed all that, by giving Graham a story arc that sees him go from a young adventurer to a grizzled king. If I had one complaint, it's that I would've liked to see the first chapter stretched out over an entire game, but that's only because I particularly loved that version of Graham. By the third or fourth chapter, I was dying to have him back (even though Adult Graham is fun to be around in his own right).

 

Worst Protagonist of 2019

 

 

Lara Croft in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. She wasn't walking away from this year without at least one raspberry.

 

NOTE: this isn't me saying Lara Croft is a bad character. She's been portrayed well before (even in some games I played earlier this year), and Camilla Luddington is perfect as her voice, but the writers weren't even trying to make her likable. She's an annoying twat through this entire game, putting her friends in danger for her usual selfish reasons, and then cries about what a terrible person she is -- before making matters even worse. I was so thoroughly disgusted by the entire story that I honestly don't think I could play the 2013 reboot again. The trilogy is forever tainted to me.

 

Tomb Raider is the Dexter of video games.

[AJ_Radio]

6 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Are you a GB fan? They're my dad's favorite team. One of the reasons I started cheering for the Vikings. 

 

The only person I cared about at Green Bay was Brett Favre. One of the all time greatest quarterbacks who had an excessively long career. When he left for the Minnesota Vikings I stopped caring for the Green Bay Packers. 

 

Minnesota had more notable players. 

 

Seattle isn’t doing bad this year, but they’re definitely not what they used to be.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Spaz

[det_gittes]

Hey @Cassylvania, could you briefly say what you think so far of Graveyard Keeper? This game is on a -65% sale right now here in EU and on top of that I have a 10% discount code which is only good till tomorrow, so I might pick it up if it's at least decently entertaining (and if it's more than that, even better)!

[Grotz99]

21 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

 

Are you a GB fan? They're my dad's favorite team. One of the reasons I started cheering for the Vikings. 

 

I am and looking forward to a good game Monday night. 

[Cassylvania]

9 hours ago, det_gittes said:

Hey @Cassylvania, could you briefly say what you think so far of Graveyard Keeper? This game is on a -65% sale right now here in EU and on top of that I have a 10% discount code which is only good till tomorrow, so I might pick it up if it's at least decently entertaining (and if it's more than that, even better)!

 

Sure. I just picked it up on the sale too.

 

Farming sims are like crack to me. I really love farming sims. Some people scoff at the idea, but I love waking up in a video game and having a list of tasks to complete and the freedom to do them in any order I desire, to whatever extent I desire. It's cathartic. I particularly liked Harvest Moon 64 and Back to Nature growing up because there was never a "right" way to play. The plot was minimal (you were rarely given more of a story than, "Here's a farm -- take care of it"), and it was mostly up to you to figure things out. You could try to maximize your profits by planting a variety of crops, or you could just grow strawberries because your sweetheart down the road loves them and you don't want that asshole Kai taking her away from you. You could spend all day raising chickens, or you could ignore your farm completely and hit up the pier for some fishing. You could even pick up rocks and spell out cuss words on your farm for any low-flying aircraft or UFOs to see. I don't think the game ever punished you for these things, except some characters would leave town if you were too much of an asshole. But that made the world feel alive. If you shirked your duties, it made sense that the town would suffer. If your farm flourished, so would the lives of the townspeople.

 

Time was an interesting concept in those games. You were almost always under the pressure to complete something before some kind of deadline. Birthdays, town events, and the change of seasons would cause you to have to break your routine or adjust on the fly. It wasn't as stressful as, say, most of the Atelier games, but you always felt like you had something to do.

 

Graveyard Keeper changes all of that by making time mostly irrelevant. There are only six days and they cycle endlessly. Each day is only a few minutes long, and the only difference is that certain NPCs only show up on a particular day. So, for example, if you need to talk to the Merchant, you have to wait for...thing-that-looks-like-an-anteater day. If you need to talk to the Inquisitor, you have to wait for universal-sign-for-male day. (Yeah, I don't know. They use weird symbols to indicate days.) Other than that, though, you can take as long as you want to do anything. You can only leave your controller idle and nothing will happen. In fact, you kinda WANT time to pass, because certain machines you can build take a while to produce items. Oh, and every Sunday (this symbol actually LOOKS like a sun), you can hold a sermon, which gives you money and faith. (Yeah, you're a priest too, apparently. And a farmer. And a tavern owner. And...)

 

The plot is great. You die, some asshole says you're now a graveyard keeper, and you're transported to a town where nobody cares about your problems. And that's not a spoiler -- that's literally the first ten seconds of the game. The dialogue is VERY minimal, and the little they have is pretty funny. They poke fun at the genre without being annoying about it. There's barely a tutorial, and you learn most of the game by trial-and-error, with very little that could screw up your playthrough permanently. (I think there's one missable trophy late in the game and I heard you can make things a lot harder for yourself by exhausting your resources before building the bridge.)

 

I have two major issues with the game. The first is that...how do I put this nicely... You know those "free" mobile games that get you addicted and then charge you real money if you want to advance further or speed things up? Yeah, that's this game. Everything is locked behind a paywall. It doesn't require spending real money, which is good, but you do have to earn gems. There are red gems, which are earned from crafting items, green gems, which are earned from harvesting natural resources, and blue gems, which are earned from doing "spiritual" things (like building tombstones). You need these to upgrade your tech tree, which is huge and filled with different categories, like smithing, farming, autopsies, and theology. This is where my second issue comes in. Games like Harvest Moon...don't usually require you to do everything, in order to advance in one area. You're not prevented from expanding your farm because you haven't upgraded your fishing enough. Graveyard Keeper basically makes you level up all of your skills equally, as they're all tied together. For example, I'm trying to get into wine-making now. It's not enough just to have a vineyard. You also need the right machinery, which requires leveling up your smithing. And you need to grow grapes, so your farming skill is important. I'm also pretty sure I'll need glass, so I need to have the right tools to do that. And of course, this all costs money, so you're going to want a bigger church and better graveyard for more donations. So, your playthrough of the game is likely going to be the same as everybody else's, as you don't really have the option to specialize until late game.

 

If you're going to buy the game (and I'd recommend it ONLY if you like farming sims), you should also pick up the Breaking Dead DLC. There are no new trophies, but it adds literal zombies, who do menial tasks for you. (This is the equivalent of paying cash to speed up a mobile game, except it's on sale now for less than $2 and does add new content into the game.) I have six of them right now, which is pretty great. I have one chopping wood, three mining, and two hauling the lumber and ore back to my house. Once I get a vineyard going, I'll probably put one there. There's no limit to how many you can have, and there's zero upkeep. The only downside is they're a little slow (and you technically lose out on gems), but you could theoretically let the game run for an hour or two in order to see your supplies completely refreshed.

 

I'd say...cost-wise, it's definitely worth a buy. You can get both the game and Breaking Dead for under $10. Double that if you want Sinister Sins, which does have additional trophies, or wait for another sale. The game was clearly inspired by Stardew Valley, which was clearly inspired by the original Harvest Moon games, so if you like that genre and could use a little twist on the formula, this might be perfect. On the other hand, if you hate long grinds and repetitive gameplay...well, you might want to look elsewhere.

 

45 minutes ago, Grotz99 said:

I am and looking forward to a good game Monday night. 

 

Oh, man. You probably hate me for some of my past comments.

 

Nah, it's all good. I loved Brett Favre. He's one of the main reasons I got into football. I can't say I'm a big fan of his replacement, but I won't deny Rodgers' talent. With that defense (and almost assuredly getting at least one home game in the playoffs, since the Lions will not beat the Packers, no matter what happens Monday night), I think they could be the team to beat in the NFC.

 

The AFC is the Ravens' to lose, I think. I wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of the 2013 Super Bowl.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Cassylvania

[Grotz99]

50 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Oh, man. You probably hate me for some of my past comments.

 

Nah, it's all good. I loved Brett Favre. He's one of the main reasons I got into football. I can't say I'm a big fan of his replacement, but I won't deny Rodgers' talent. With that defense (and almost assuredly getting at least one home game in the playoffs, since the Lions will not beat the Packers, no matter what happens Monday night), I think they could be the team to beat in the NFC.

 

The AFC is the Ravens' to lose, I think. I wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of the 2013 Super Bowl.

No worries, I'm not a die hard fan by any means, but Farve was amazing and Rogers hasn't filled those shoes, but still entertaining to watch him with Devante Adams and Aaron Jones. I know there is a rivalry between them and the Vikings, but I would like to see either team make it to Super Bowl (really any team other than the Patriots). The team that will probably make it though is the 49ers. 

 

Between the Ravens defense and Lamar Jackson's running speed, they'll be tough.

[det_gittes]

2 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

If you're going to buy the game (and I'd recommend it ONLY if you like farming sims), you should also pick up the Breaking Dead DLC. There are no new trophies, but it adds literal zombies, who do menial tasks for you. (This is the equivalent of paying cash to speed up a mobile game, except it's on sale now for less than $2 and does add new content into the game.) I have six of them right now, which is pretty great. I have one chopping wood, three mining, and two hauling the lumber and ore back to my house. Once I get a vineyard going, I'll probably put one there. There's no limit to how many you can have, and there's zero upkeep. The only downside is they're a little slow (and you technically lose out on gems), but you could theoretically let the game run for an hour or two in order to see your supplies completely refreshed.

 

I'd say...cost-wise, it's definitely worth a buy. You can get both the game and Breaking Dead for under $10. Double that if you want Sinister Sins, which does have additional trophies, or wait for another sale. The game was clearly inspired by Stardew Valley, which was clearly inspired by the original Harvest Moon games, so if you like that genre and could use a little twist on the formula, this might be perfect. On the other hand, if you hate long grinds and repetitive gameplay...well, you might want to look elsewhere.

 

Thanks for your thoughts! I'd say that genre-wise it would be a good pick (I got hooked on Stardew Valley and played nothing else for a month or so at one point) but I will pass on GK this time for a very pedestrian reason - the DLCs (well, at least the Breaking Dead one) are not on sale in EU, so if anything, I may grab it in the future (although I am really not low on titles to play anyway ).