Kill Your Completion V

[voodoo_eyes]

Game #7 - Final Impressions

 

 

This one is going to take a while to finish up, as general progress is slow. Partly it's due to being sent back and forth a lot for the main quest progression. At least the characters are likable and offer dialogues between them every once in a while. Most of the time is spent in dungeons that can take quite some time. If you're anything like me that is and want to explore every area for loot and wipe out all the enemies on the way. This comes with a bit of a downside though, as there are several dead ends that force you to go back through another route. Furthermore the save points can be a bit far between.

The combat is fun for the most part, stringing in combos together and pulling of special moves. Once again it isn't without it's problems though. Enemies being weak to specific elements, makes you want to adjust your combos being of the element they're weak against to enhance your damage. That can break the combat flow a bit when you have to interrupt it to change the combo attacks in the selection.

 

It's still a good game overall, even though I'm disappointed by the visual presentation of it.

 

 

Time played: over 6h

Trophies earned: 2/51

Edited November 21, 2017 by voodoo_eyes

[Melanogaster1987]

Good news - I've edited my previous post - it's now a proper review of my time with Call of Duty: Ghosts.

 

Bad news - I settled down Monday night to get some playing time in for my 7th game (Knack), only to realise that I must have deleted from my PS4 at some point! And it's a 35GB download. And I have a sluggish internet speed to boot (my downloads sometimes go at less than 1GB per hour), which meant it wouldn't have even been possible to get the download finished before it was time to move on to game #8. So, nothing played in slot #7 this time, but I do still want to play it as part of this event, though, so here's what I'm thinking:

 

Play Driver: San Francisco between November 22 and November 24, as originally scheduled.

Play Deus Ex: Human Revolution between November 25 and November 27, as originally scheduled.

Play Dying Light between November 28 and November 30, as originally scheduled.

Play Knack between December 1 and December 3.

 

That's how I would prefer to schedule the remaining 4 games (sticking to 3 days each), but it's Hemiak's event, so if he wants everybody done by the end of November, then maybe I could do this instead:

 

Nov. 22 - Nov. 24 - Driver: San Francisco

Nov. 25 - Nov. 26 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Nov. 27 - Nov. 28 - Dying Light

Nov. 29 - Nov. 30 - Knack

 

Please let me know which of these 2 proposed remaining schedules you would prefer me to use, @Hemiak.

[Hemiak]

12 hours ago, Melanogaster1987 said:

Good news - I've edited my previous post - it's now a proper review of my time with Call of Duty: Ghosts.

 

Bad news - I settled down Monday night to get some playing time in for my 7th game (Knack), only to realise that I must have deleted from my PS4 at some point! And it's a 35GB download. And I have a sluggish internet speed to boot (my downloads sometimes go at less than 1GB per hour), which meant it wouldn't have even been possible to get the download finished before it was time to move on to game #8. So, nothing played in slot #7 this time, but I do still want to play it as part of this event, though, so here's what I'm thinking:

 

Play Driver: San Francisco between November 22 and November 24, as originally scheduled.

Play Deus Ex: Human Revolution between November 25 and November 27, as originally scheduled.

Play Dying Light between November 28 and November 30, as originally scheduled.

Play Knack between December 1 and December 3.

 

That's how I would prefer to schedule the remaining 4 games (sticking to 3 days each), but it's Hemiak's event, so if he wants everybody done by the end of November, then maybe I could do this instead:

 

Nov. 22 - Nov. 24 - Driver: San Francisco

Nov. 25 - Nov. 26 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Nov. 27 - Nov. 28 - Dying Light

Nov. 29 - Nov. 30 - Knack

 

Please let me know which of these 2 proposed remaining schedules you would prefer me to use, @Hemiak.

It doesn't really matter that much. If you think you can get the minimum time per game with the 2nd schedule, that would put you ending with everyone else. People stick around after the events end though, so no real harm if you need to string it out an extra few days. 

[dizzyshadow]

The Sexy Brutale

 

I don't have much to add to what has already been said about this, but i've definitely joined the fan club as well, its a really well made game i'm really enjoying the way it all weaves together, although i should be starting my next game tonight i have a feeling i'll definitely be continuing with this until i finish the story. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone.

 

And finally just a play if you do decide to have a go at this please do your self a favour and and play it without a guide. It really is worth it.

 

 

Trophies 7/19

Completion: 51.35%

Future plans: finish the story asap, and definitely get the plat as well.

 

Next up: World to the West.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

 

Game #8: Stealth Inc. 2 - A Game Of Clones

Final Review

Total playtime: about an hour and a half

Trophies: 3/12 for an A rank

 

some more puzzles

sequel to a game I like

tough act to follow

 

Spoiler

In trying to catch up to the event, I'm trying some short games which I should be able to rate after an hour or so of playing. Last Monday I did the first episode of Minecraft Story Mode, today I did Stealth Inc. 2 - a game which I should be able to tell much about after an hour or so because I have it through PS+, but I bought and enjoyed the first game and when I first tried this sequel, I didn't like it at all. The first game was all short levels, but this sequel changed it into a MetroidVania style open world. This, combined with the (to me) less appealing graphics, caused me to give up on the game after about ten minutes of playing when I first tried it a year or two ago.

 

Luckily, the game gets much more fun very soon. Turns out you're using the overworld mostly to quickly get to testing levels, which are the short and brainy levels that I've grown to love from the first game. They're keeping it fresh by throwing in a new gadget each chapter, which is cool and prevents the puzzles from feeling too much like the first game.

 

Basically, you're a clone in a testing facility where everything wants to kill you. You're quick to die for even the tiniest of mistakes but the puzzles are fair and there's enough checkpoints to prevent the game from becoming too demanding.

 

I don't have more PS4 time today and I want to get into a new title whenever my next PS4 gaming window is, but I really enjoyed Stealth Inc. 2 and it's definitely high on my list of games I want to get back to sooner rather than later.

 

Stealth Inc. 2 final score:

Next up: Don't know yet, possibly Sky Force Anniversary

[DamagingRob]

Yakuza 4- Final Review

 

Well, damn. I don't want to quit playing this one.  The story is fantastic, and you get to play as 4 (guess they took this being the 4th game a bit too literally ) different people, all with their own fighting styles. There's the loan shark with a heart of gold, the inmate on death row who breaks out of prison to find out what really happened the day he was sent to prison, a young detective trying to find out who murdered his father 25 years ago, and the protagonist from the first 3 games who runs a childrens' orphanage on an island. 

 

It took about 13 hours before I finally got to play as the guy from the previous games, but he is in it. So watching the previous games' video clips is probably essential. He shows up before this, though. The inmate actually washes up on his island after his breakout, and you have to fight him. This was not fun. Lol. The inmate (Saejima) is slower compared to the others. He packs a good punch to make up for it, but fighting Kiryu still sucked like hell.. And this was on Normal. I shudder to think what higher difficulties will be like. 

 

The detective (Tanimura) is more agile and instead of simply blocking attacks, is able to parry them, allowing you to get open attacks on enemies from behind after doing so. I didn't really get into Kiryu's part of the game, so not sure what he plays like. 

 

Looking at the trophy list, I feel like there is still so much I haven't seen and tried. But I did stay at a hot springs, which led to playing a round of table tennis. It didn't end well. :/ But I won a couple prizes from one of those crane machines (so much easier than in real life, that's for sure). There are plenty of places in the city that you can enter and do things in. And tons of shops and restaurants, where you can buy items to heal yourself during fights (simply pause and use the item from the menu).

 

I feel like I have only scratched the surface with this lengthy game. But I'm loving the story so much, that I haven't really wanted to deviate from it too much. Quite possibly another  game here. Not sure why @Cubone didn't care for it. 

 

Time played: 13-14 hours. 

Trophy progress: 5/49 for 7% and a D rank. 

Did it lower my completion? Yep. 

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

13 minutes ago, Scyther said:

 

I feel like I have only scratched the surface with this lengthy game. But I'm loving the story so much, that I haven't really wanted to deviate from it too much. Quite possibly another  game here. Not sure why @Cubone didn't care for it. 

 

Because I expected a game about the Yakuza, yet what I got in the first few hours that I played was a game that made me pimp out women...

 

On 08/07/2016 at 6:50 PM, Cubone said:

Game #3: Yakuza 4
Second day
Total playtime: about two and a half hours

 

 

Here's what happened today with my player character in Yakuza 4:

• He goes to his office, finds police outside and the chief of police inside. The chief tells him that one family of the yakuza is out for blood, the police is looking for the yakuza member with the current largest bullseye on his face and since the PC nows that guy, he's being protected by a police watch.
• Instead of doing anything about or with the information mentioned above, the PC goes on to buy a woman who wants a loan a dress, some jewelry, then shows a teen how to talk women into being a "hostess", then goes on a date with the woman he bought the dress and jewelry for. But only after he makes her change her clothes, playing dress up in front of him complete with "before/after" shot. And then he pushes her into being a hostess as well. And then he forces her to treat him as her first customer. And then he wants to see her "after hours".

Sigh. I thought this was a game about Yakuza, not Adult Entertainment Industry Manager. I'm getting very annoyed by the lack of speech as well, especially when the whole conversation with the chief is in text and he randomly does one word spoken before switching back to text. The "date" was not much better with that.

 

I'm calling it quits today, I've got no energy for this kind of stupid fluff.

 

On 09/07/2016 at 11:36 AM, Cubone said:

Game #3: Yakuza 4
Final Review
Total playtime: about three and a half hours
Trophies: 1/49 (the only trophy I got was for watching the recaps, got nothing in-game)

 

There once was a Japanese loan shark
Whose yakuza plot quickly got real dark
But he's distracted by hoes
And buying them clothes
I'd rather be playing an aardvark
 

  Hide contents

I experimented with ending in "not even the same ballpark", but then I thought aardvarks were funnier. And cooler than this game.

So today our story continues with the "date"... What place does the girl pick for their date? Why, the roof of the slum appartment building she grew up in of course! And then she asks why men are so focused on working themselves to death while they forget the woman by their side. Yeah, nice mood there. Luckily our PC shuts her up by telling her that men understand that keeping someone you love happy tends to work better if you have a steady income. Isn't this the woman who wants to load a hundred million yen? Yeah, no hipocrisy there... She tries to talk her way out of it by saying "Strange, how I never cared for money and ended up needing so much". Riiiiight... I'm not buying it. And then it's time for one actual spoken line, followed by a romantic kiss, because the mood is oh so good... And then they go talk about why they kissed and blah blah blah. I'm actually glad some thugs interrupt them. And then in the middle of the fist fight, some douchebag decided to start shooting at me. What kind of game were we playing again? I decided to pick up a bench and smash all their faces in.

Random thought:
Why does this city even have streets if there's no cars at all (just a few parked taxis) and half the people here are just walking on the street instead of on the pavement?

Then we finally get to further the plot a bit. Our main guy decided that the best way to find his friend who is in trouble... is giving a lackey some money to go find said friend, whom he also admits saved the PC's life at one point. Yeah, nice one. I guess our resident dipshit has too much on his hands what with his hostesses and all, much too important to help a friend out in any real way. And then he goes into a long backstory bit, during which we can look long at a couple of boring pictures of him. And then he goes into a "deep" monologue about how this concrete jungle needs a lion. And just so we're abslutely clear that this is meant to be deep, we have another character being amazed by how deep it is.

And then he finally goes to check on someone who has to pay a loan back. But before he's even walked to the street, he has decided that he'd better check up on his hostess first. Silly me, expecting that an open world means getting multiple missions and choosing yourself which to tackle first. Also, we get our first e-mail. Which is spam.

I'm done with this game. As I'm outside of the business, I try to go inside and save but first it twice just puts me into a stupid conversation with someone who wants money and then makes me leave again.

Sadly, after all the people talking this game up I can only say it's a real drag that doesn't manage to rope me in at all. It started fairly promising but it took a dive right into the concrete floor down below. I might finish this if I ever find myself without any other games to play.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2017 by Cubone

[DamagingRob]

15 minutes ago, Cubone said:

Because I expected a game about the Yakuza, yet what I got in the first few hours that I played was a game that made me pimp out women...

Lol. Different people, different tastes I guess. You may like the other characters' stories more, if you can push through his. I loved them all so far, though. 

[voodoo_eyes]

Game #8 - First Impressions

 

 

It's definitely a musou game alright.Tons of enemies to wail on, a fair amount of characters to play as (although so far I only unlocked 3), several collectibles and a ton of grinding to be done.

 

I haven't played a lot of it so far, essentially only finishing the first mission .The core is just like any other game of this genre. You fight your way through an area with different paths that are locked off by gates, while going for a main objective. Occasionally side objectives pop up that offer extra rewards, if completed. The attacks expand gradually as you level up and can also be unlocked with in-game currency. The same goes for the character's starts, which can also be improved by exchanging collectibles for them.

 

The story, which is supposedly telling the whole story of the anime/mange is told through a manga style cutscenes. I'm not really caring much for the story so I've been skipping through most of it.

 

Visually the characters look good enough, but the environment looks a bit bland. I've noticed a graphical glitch when too close to a wall. When turning the camera it seems to clip through the wall and you can see what's on the other side.

 

There's one thing that has me a bit worried in regards to character progression. I've noticed that at the end of the mission my main character was level 7, while the other 2 characters remained at level 1. I'm not sure, if the other characters didn't level because I technically didn't get to choose them to be part of my party (they kind of just joined as part of the mission) or if only the character you control get XP. In case of it being the latter, it's gonna make this game an absolute chore to play as there seem to be several additional objectives tied to using specific characters.

The second mission suggests a character level of 4, but it also wants me to do objectives with one that is currently level 1. I'll be damned, if I have to grind levels almost immediately after starting the game. Guess I'll have to wait and see once I get further into the game.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

1 minute ago, Scyther said:

Lol. Different people, different tastes I guess. You may like the other characters' stories more, if you can push through his. I loved them all so far, though. 

 

Yeah, I'm usually already not that into JRPGs, I think perhaps I expected more of an LA Noire, GTA or whatever type deal in the sense that it's all about the darkness of the Yakuza. Maybe like the Japanese movie Infernal Affairs. I sure didn't expect the same full-blown J madness for which many visual novels are known. I'm very much into Japanese horror and thirller films and series, but I'm not usually the one who appreciates the weirdens of J-games, with the exception of Ace Attorney (which is very moderate in its J-crazy, I think).

 

As it's a PS3 game, chances are getting smaller and smaller that I'll go back to it. Perhaps with one of the sequels, if one of the PS4 ones goes on PS+.

[DamagingRob]

1 minute ago, Cubone said:

Yeah, I'm usually already not that into JRPGs, I think perhaps I expected more of an LA Noire, GTA or whatever type deal in the sense that it's all about the darkness of the Yakuza. Maybe like the Japanese movie Infernal Affairs. I sure didn't expect the same full-blown J madness for which many visual novels are known. I'm very much into Japanese horror and thirller films and series, but I'm not usually the one who appreciates the weirdens of J-games, with the exception of Ace Attorney (which is very moderate in its J-crazy, I think).

 

As it's a PS3 game, chances are getting smaller and smaller that I'll go back to it. Perhaps with one of the sequels, if one of the PS4 ones goes on PS+.

Well, I know the escaped inmate's and detective's stories were pretty dark. And there's no more of that type of minigame forced on you in their stories, at least. The loan shark's tale was probably the least gritty. And had the most weirdness. His is where the underwear thief appeared too. Lol. There hasn't been anything as ridiculous as that since. 

[MarkusT1992]

Game #7: Chronicles of Teddy: Exidus of Harmony (Day 1-3)

 

 

This game is the sequel to a game called Finding Teddy. Although I played the first game on PC I didn't know that this game was a sequel until I researched the game a bit.

Chronicles of Teddy is a mix of Metroidania games and the second Zelda game (The Adventure of Link) in a pixel optics.

You play as a little girl who must be the same girl from the first game as the intro implies it. There was a lonly demon (I believe he was the king but I can't realy remember). He decided to pay the human world a visit and found a friend in the little girl. Now his world is in danger and so he decides to seek the help of his old friend. To do that he posseses her teddy because he isn't able to use his other powers anymore.

 

The game consists of you walking through the screens while trying to overcome the obstacles. You start on the graveyard and need to go to the library. There you have to find items that bring you to other worlds(?). The first world is a forest. These worlds are the Metroidvania part of the game. You need to explore to find a way to advance. There are many places you can't reach when you arrive there the first time. In each world you can collect a world specific collectable and some chest filled with marbels, the currency in this game or important items.

In each of the world is a dungeon you need to reach and complete to gather the four eggs. The dungeons are the Zelda part of the game and feel just like in Zelda. You walk throug it, find an items you need to complete the dungeon and defeat the boss.

 

Cumminucation is done through musical notes in this game. You collect runes for use with the Musicom to speak with people or open doors. You learn new words by hearing them from people.

That's an interesting feature as you need to listen to the enviroment to solve some puzzles.

With your marbels you can buy upgrades from a shop in the library. You can upgrade your sword, ring and tunik. You can also buy more health and a revieve cristals.

Another nice feature is the color coded map. You have a map with a square for each screen of the world or dungeon. If you can still collect something in a screen, be it a chest or a world specific collectable, the square is marked in blue or yellow if it is a golden chest. That's a feature all Metroidvania games should have. It doesn't show you how to get something of if you can reach it, it only shows that there is something. That's especially helpful to get some trophies in this game.

 

All in all it's an ok game. I normally don't really like Metroidvania games but this feels kind of good. The first boss wasn't too hard and the forest world had no difficulte puzzles. Given it is the first world and dungeon that's a good thing and I can imagine the game getting more difficulte later on.

 

Time played: About 3 hours

Trophies: 1/17 for 4%

Rating:

 

 

39 minutes ago, voodoo_eyes said:

Game #8 - First Impressions

 

 

There's one thing that has me a bit worried in regards to character progression. I've noticed that at the end of the mission my main character was level 7, while the other 2 characters remained at level 1. I'm not sure, if the other characters didn't level because I technically didn't get to choose them to be part of my party (they kind of just joined as part of the mission) or if only the character you control get XP. In case of it being the latter, it's gonna make this game an absolute chore to play as there seem to be several additional objectives tied to using specific characters.

The second mission suggests a character level of 4, but it also wants me to do objectives with one that is currently level 1. I'll be damned, if I have to grind levels almost immediately after starting the game. Guess I'll have to wait and see once I get further into the game.

 

IIRC there should be an option somewhere to level up your character with Berry. Could be that I mix that up with Hyrule Warriors where it was definetly an option. This way you only need to grind for money.

[PerryToxteth]

Game No. 7

Old Time Hockey 

(aka Bush League Hockey)

Final Review

 

 

Trophies Earned: 2/23 4% E ranking

Playing Time: 4-5 hours

Overview: My gaming career has now spanned 30 years. I took all my 1986 Xmas money and bought an NES. True, my family had an Intellevision but that was more an oddity than actual gaming. In those 30 years, I've had six consoles and the  game I would assume I have logged the most hours into was NHL 94 on the Sega Genesis. This came out during my college years so this game was played ad nauseum with friends, dormmates, etc. We'd have the entire wing of the apartment complex play in huge tournaments. It still is, one of my all-time favorites, proving you don't need a 4K TV and 70 gigs of memory to have gaming fun. 

     Old Time Hockey definitely hearkens back to the EA NHL series of the 16-bit days. In fact, it has "retro" controls where you just use three buttons to shoot, pass, check. The playing style is very similar to the Sega days, though not as polished. There's no one-timers, and you can't do "the move" from NHL 93.

      The game doesn't have the NHL liscensing, so instead it has created a 1970s goon league inspired by the cult classic film Slapshot (Ironically, that's the movie I've probably seen the most times in my life. At least 40-50 viewings, though I probably haven't seen it in the last 15 years). In the story mode, you play as the Schuykill Hinto Brews. A hapless team that is near the cellar in the standings and in danger of folding. Story mode consists of playing over 50 games in one season and as you progress, things happen story-wise to change the teams' fortunes. My team hit rock bottom in my first few games as my star winger was suspended for beating up the local mall Santa. Seems the Jolly Old Fellow called him a "pussy." Then my rookie blue liner got busted for a DUI.

     As you play each game, you are given objectives to achieve. There are usually 2-3 and examples are - accrue X amount of penalty minutes, shoot four slap shots in a period, give up less than four goals. If you achieve the objective, your team's ratings will go up and the team will improve. I was losing as many games as winning early on, and I was playing on the easy settings. But then I discovered the trick to winning. Just like the Charlestown Chiefs from Slapshot, winning becomes easier if you beat the other team up. Yep, drop the gloves and beat the shit out of the other team so they are fatigued and injured. The game centers on this, to the point of putting a boxing glove icon above various players who you should goon it up with. 

Trophies: This is the downside of the game. They are really tough. Only in select games are you able to earn the specific trophies. So you can't just earn a hat trick with one player for the trophy, you have to earn the hat trick when that is the specific objective for the game. It took me a few games to figure that out and by that time, I had already missed a few trophies. Out of the 23 trophies, most are rated as "rare."

Final Thoughts: This is all about nostalgia, and it delivers pretty good. The gameplay isn't quite as crisp as the EA games on the Sega, but it's close enough to have fun with.  And the subtle references to Slapshot have been humorous. Before my last game, my GM traded a player for a walk-in beer cooler. I guess that's better than a used puck bag.

     The platinum will be a chore however. I think you have to play at least two season so you are looking at playing 120 games or more. Thankfully, no game last more than 10-15 minutes. You can whip through 2-3 games in a half hour with no problem. I'll rank it a .

 

KYCV Statistics 

Pre-KYC numbers are in ().

Games Completed - Played 87/60    (79/60)

Trophies Earned - 2896                      (2809)

Unearned - 518                                  (330)

Trophy Rarity - 44.10                         (43.51)

Completion % - 82.81                       (88.68)

Down - 5.87%

 

Next Up: Steep

- So I'm making a last-second audible. I originally had The Flame and the Flood in this spot but I'm going to drop it for a couple of reasons. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, my gaming time will be at just 1-2 hours with cooking/ baking, family time and football watching going on. I don't want to start a story-driven game if I'm not going to play much of it. And, I just picked up Steep on the Black Friday sale, a game I've had my eye on for awhile.

 

[voodoo_eyes]

3 hours ago, MarkusT1992 said:

IIRC there should be an option somewhere to level up your character with Berry. Could be that I mix that up with Hyrule Warriors where it was definetly an option. This way you only need to grind for money.

 

Yeah, you can use money to upgrade, I'd prefer if other characters would also level up in combat though. Not a fan of that system. At least in Warriors Orochi they mixed it up so you would gain XP during battles as well as invest money if you wanted to. I was hoping it would be similar in this one.

[dertswa687o]

Game #3 - Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition

 

This game is very fun. It's a 2D Metroidvania through and through, just with a little more focus on combat. Your powerups mostly are are moves that can be used in combat as well as traverse the environment. And they're not items, they're just powerful punches or a headbutt or you turn into a chicken. Normal stuff really.

 

The game has a lot of charm. There are references everywhere. I've seen Mario, Castle Crashers, and Strongbad to name a few. The first boss is killed by hitting an axe that drops a bridge which drops the boss into lava. And then you're told the princess is in another castle. Feels like that should be a reference to something I mentioned 3 sentences ago but I can't put my finger on it...

 

The game flows really well. You get powerups pretty quickly which makes you want to explore and do stuff with them. That said, it's very linear at the point I'm at... but that's obviously the point. I always like the cleanup portion of Metroidvanias where you have all the powerups and run around the map collecting stuff. Even though the game is linear so far, there's still plenty of hidden stuff I can get along the way.

 

Overall a great game. I've only played a few hours but I would definitely recommend it already.

 

Time Played: 2:30

Trophies Earned: 10/36, 15%

Completion: 99.11% -> 91.76% (down 7.35%)

 

Next up is Final Fantasy X. I wonder if I'll even get a trophy in the few hours I can put into it.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

14 hours ago, dertswa687o said:

Game #3 - Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition

 

This game is very fun. It's a 2D Metroidvania through and through, just with a little more focus on combat.

 

I really should play that game some more, haven't played it beyond getting the first trophy.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

 

Game #9: Sky Force Anniversary

Final Review

Total playtime: about an hour and a half

Trophies: 2/14 for an E rank

 

graphics are so good

a vertical shoot 'em up

brought down by grinding

 

Spoiler

It must have been a long time since I played a vertically scrolling shooter. Only one that comes to mind is a Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith phone game set in the opening scene. Incidentally, that's probably a game from 2004 or 2005 then, which is the same time that the first Sky Force apparently got released and then ported to phones. I didn't know this, but I checked because I saw '2004' in the banner of Sky Force Anniversary.

 

Sky Force Anniversary starts interesting enough. Graphics are good, controls are responsive and there are plenty of enemies without it getting too crowded. But then the problems begin.

 

See, Sky Force Anniversary has only nine stages, and they're not that long. What Sky Force does to lengthen the experience which I think is very annoying, is upping the difficulty just too much so you're going to spend a lot of time replaying stages to level up. That's just wrong - you can make a short game longer by having me go for perfection afterwards, but not during. I'm not willing to keep going back and grinding just so I stay strong enough. Flame Over did it the wrong way too (needing to die and level up a few times until the game became fun) but at least it switched pretty quickly, and Titan Attacks did it the right way, where you were able to push through the game in one go and become insanely overpowered by the end if you didn't die too much. But by the looks of it, Sky Force Anniversary will keep this going back stuff up until the end, and it makes it even harder because each upgrade costs more than the one before.

 

As it is, Sky Anniversary is tolerable, and good for a few stages each, but it could have been so much more fun if the upgrades had all been 100 a piece.

 

Sky Force Anniversary final score:

Next up: Either Galak-Z or The Swindle

[DamagingRob]

Day 1- Gal*Gun Double Peace 

 

Oh, man.. I don't even know what I'll be able to add to a final review, 'cause I already finished a playthrough. It's that short. But here we go.

 

You play as a guy named Houdai, who is unpopular with the ladies. Until a cupid angel shoots you with a massive dose of love arrows, that is. Now, they're all coming for you. I guess there are worse things in life? But due to the effects of the arrows, Houdai must find his true love by the end of the day, or remain alone and unloved for the rest of his life.  

 

Now, the reason the cupid angel shot him with such a massive dose, was to keep a demon angel who had him in her sights from shooting him. So she's not as bad as you think. And now this demon angel will take control of some of the girls, and they will do... sadistic things to our poor Houdai (the more I type this name, the more I think a new meme could be made just for him; HOLD THE DIE!).

 

Besides the plethora of girls chasing after Houdai, the two main love interests are sisters that were friends with him when they were young. They are demon hunters, and aren't so easily swayed by cupid's influence (they have some kind of guardian that protects them, I think it was). So he has to work for their affection. 

 

Sounds harmless enough so far, right? Well, here comes the gameplay discussion. For the most part, this in an on rails shooter. What this means is, you just sit back and aim and shoot girls as they pop up (some will be possessed by demons, and you can shoot those first to turn them back to normal). Doing so gives them... pleasure. :/ Moreso, if you hit their weak point. Hitting multiple weak points in a row without getting hit will increase your combo, making your score go up more over the course of the level. As you rack up the points, your rank will increase. You need an S rank by the end of the game, if you want to get a True Ending. 

 

Besides shooting the girls, you can zoom in on certain body parts to learn their measurements. And at the same time, see through their clothes.. You will be seeing a lot of underwear in this game, I kid you not. If @Cubone found Yakuza 4 uncomfortable, I advise him to run very far from this one. Learning their measurements, picking up their notebooks (scattered around the levels, and have to be shot to obtain), getting their ending in the True Love route, and using Doki-Doki mode on them in their gym clothes and swimsuit adds information to their profiles, which can be viewed from the Main Menu. This will be the biggest grind for the Plat, as there are a lot of girls. 

 

Doki-Doki mode is something you can activate when it charges up enough. Once activated, you'll end up on a new screen with 1-3 girls, depending on how much the bar had charged (goes from 1 to 3) and how many you activated it on (even with a full gauge, you can choose less than 3, or there may not even be 3 on the screen). Then you have to shoot their weak spots, trying to avoid shooting spots they don't like (indicated by pink hearts and broken purple hearts) to fill up a bar. Once full, they will explode from pleasure, and take out any other girls on the screen. 

 

Most of it is fairly fun, but will probably get repetitive. But the bane of my existence have been these parts that utilize the PS4's touchpad. I think my controller is mostly to blame here, but if you fail to get a Perfect rating, it means redoing the entire level you just completed to get back to the touchpad minigame. There's no saving in between them. Only in between chapters. And you want to get Perfect ratings for True Endings (as well as the overall S rank), because you also need to max the girl's affection. So yeah, kind of a pain in the butt that my touchpad seems to stop responding shortly after turning on the PS4 (even in PSN Messages). I hope it's the controller that's the problem.. 

 

Despite all that, it's a relatively short game, and not all that difficult. I'm not a stranger to super perverted games, as I've played Monster Monpiece and one of those Senran Kagura games. So I like it. It's just not the greatest thing ever. 

 

Time played: No idea, but I'll guess maybe 5 hours. 

Trophy progress: 15/39 for 25% and a B rank. 

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

3 minutes ago, Scyther said:

Day 1- Gal*Gun Double Peace 

 

Oh, man.. I don't even know what I'll be able to add to a final review, 'cause I already finished a playthrough. It's that short. But here we go.

 

You play as a guy named Houdai, who is unpopular with the ladies. Until a cupid angel shoots you with a massive dose of love arrows, that is. Now, they're all coming for you. I guess there are worse things in life? But due to the effects of the arrows, Houdai must find his true love by the end of the day, or remain alone and unloved for the rest of his life.  

 

Now, the reason the cupid angel shot him with such a massive dose, was to keep a demon angel who had him in her sights from shooting him. So she's not as bad as you think. And now this demon angel will take control of some of the girls, and they will do... sadistic things to our poor Houdai (the more I type this name, the more I think a new meme could be made just for him; HOLD THE DIE!).

 

Besides the plethora of girls chasing after Houdai, the two main love interests are sisters that were friends with him when they were young. They are demon hunters, and aren't so easily swayed by cupid's influence (they have some kind of guardian that protects them, I think it was). So he has to work for their affection. 

 

Sounds harmless enough so far, right? Well, here comes the gameplay discussion. For the most part, this in an on rails shooter. What this means is, you just sit back and aim and shoot girls as they pop up (some will be possessed by demons, and you can shoot those first to turn them back to normal). Doing so gives them... pleasure. :/ Moreso, if you hit their weak point. Hitting multiple weak points in a row without getting hit will increase your combo, making your score go up more over the course of the level. As you rack up the points, your rank will increase. You need an S rank by the end of the game, if you want to get a True Ending. 

 

Besides shooting the girls, you can zoom in on certain body parts to learn their measurements. And at the same time, see through their clothes.. You will be seeing a lot of underwear in this game, I kid you not. If @Cubone found Yakuza 4 uncomfortable, I advise him to run very far from this one. Learning their measurements, picking up their notebooks (scattered around the levels, and have to be shot to obtain), getting their ending in the True Love route, and using Doki-Doki mode on them in their gym clothes and swimsuit adds information to their profiles, which can be viewed from the Main Menu. This will be the biggest grind for the Plat, as there are a lot of girls. 

 

Doki-Doki mode is something you can activate when it charges up enough. Once activated, you'll end up on a new screen with 1-3 girls, depending on how much the bar had charged (goes from 1 to 3) and how many you activated it on (even with a full gauge, you can choose less than 3, or there may not even be 3 on the screen). Then you have to shoot their weak spots, trying to avoid shooting spots they don't like (indicated by pink hearts and broken purple hearts) to fill up a bar. Once full, they will explode from pleasure, and take out any other girls on the screen. 

 

Most of it is fairly fun, but will probably get repetitive. But the bane of my existence have been these parts that utilize the PS4's touchpad. I think my controller is mostly to blame here, but if you fail to get a Perfect rating, it means redoing the entire level you just completed to get back to the touchpad minigame. There's no saving in between them. Only in between chapters. And you want to get Perfect ratings for True Endings (as well as the overall S rank), because you also need to max the girl's affection. So yeah, kind of a pain in the butt that my touchpad seems to stop responding shortly after turning on the PS4 (even in PSN Messages). I hope it's the controller that's the problem.. 

 

Despite all that, it's a relatively short game, and not all that difficult. I'm not a stranger to super perverted games, as I've played Monster Monpiece and one of those Senran Kagura games. So I like it. It's just not the greatest thing ever. 

 

Time played: No idea, but I'll guess maybe 5 hours. 

Trophy progress: 15/39 for 25% and a B rank. 

 

... the fuck...

[DamagingRob]

5 minutes ago, Cubone said:

... the fuck...

Lol. I think that will be the general reaction from most. :/ It's a bit further off the charts on the weird scale than I had anticipated. 

[voodoo_eyes]

12 minutes ago, Scyther said:

 

Funny thing is that this is probably the best game of the genre to have been released in the last 20 years (without counting VR).

[DamagingRob]

1 minute ago, voodoo_eyes said:

Funny thing is that this is probably the best game of the genre to have been released in the last 20 years (without counting VR).

Yeah, there haven't been a lot of on rails shooters. I liked Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear (Afghanistan, not so much..), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I impulse buy a lot of games at $5 or $6. Lol. 

[voodoo_eyes]

6 minutes ago, Scyther said:

Yeah, there haven't been a lot of on rails shooters. I liked Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear (Afghanistan, not so much..), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I impulse buy a lot of games at $5 or $6. Lol. 

 

I played Shattered Spear as well and thought it was borderline decent. Having to play through it in one go, because of glitches wasn't particularly fun neither were the 1 or 2 sixaxis bits. The gameplay was decent enough that I considered buying Afghanistan. That changed when I realised that the game still goes for 50 bucks in Europe lol.

Edited November 23, 2017 by voodoo_eyes

[DamagingRob]

12 minutes ago, voodoo_eyes said:

I played Shattered Spear as well and thought it was borderline decent. Having to play through it in one go, because of glitches wasn't particularly fun neither were the 1 or 2 sixaxis bits. The gameplay was decent enough that I considered buying Afghanistan. That changed when I realised that the game still goes for 50 bucks in Europe lol.

Lol. They're not nearly as expensive here. Although, nothing will beat what I paid on PSN for them, unless they end up on Plus. I miss those less than a dollar Flash Sales.. 

 

Controls felt tighter in Shattered Spear, though. The glitchy trophies did suck, but I was rushing through games at the time to set up a milestone, so it probably wouldn't have changed how I approached it.

[Kevvik]

Wow, non-existent game time this week.  Nothing to add to my previous talk on the Last Guardian.  Didn't get back to it but still really looking forward to it.  I'll update my completion rate tomorrow hopefully after a bit more time with the next game.

 

Game #8: Kona

 

Day 1/Iniital Impressions

 

Time played: 1 hr

 

I'm really hoping to have more time to get into this, especially since I subbed it in for Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus.  My first hour really hasn't pushed to much into it as I have been wandering all over the place in it, not 100% sure where to head next.

 

Kona is a 1st person adventure game of sorts with elements of survival mixed in.  The story appears to be that you are a private detective working out of Montreal in 1970.  You are hired by a rich Englishman who owns a town and mine in Northern Quebec.  Apparently he has had concerns with threats that he has received since he opened his new mine.  This action has displeased the local Cree population and he is worried about what might happen.  Why you?  Unsure about that at the moment. 

 

You start by driving up a northern road in what appears to be autumn. After advancing past a small puzzle to open a gate, you are run off the road by another car which also crashes.  When you come to, a winter storm is in full blow, the driver of the other car has disappeared and you need to find shelter to survive.  As you get colder, your energy level drops (you can't run as well), apparently your aim will be worse (just found a pistol) and your thinking gets hazy (screen blurs in/out at times).  Shelter and warmth are your friends.  After solving the next puzzle involving getting your truck back on the road, you drive to town and find the body of your employer lying inside the general store, dead.  Now you have a death to solve.  Now I am wandering around a bit.

 

Warmth is an important factor.  Not only is it a protective measure, the game autosaves at firepits/places which you can light to create warmth, provided you have found the materials to make fire.  There are notes/clues which you find to hopefully help you solve the mystery you have fallen into.  You need to manage material like matches (for warmth), alcohol and cigarettes which ?help? your health.  I can't say much more at this time.

 

Graphically, it is late PS2/early PS3 quality with an understated soundtrack to match the desolate area.  I've yet to run across anyone else yet so I'm not sure how dialogue will work.  Your story is narrated by a 3rd person, unlike normal film noir where you have an internal monologue to help with giving information.  So far, it seems to work but we'll see as we progress.  Controls aren't bad but not demanding either as yet.

 

I wish I had more to say about this but just haven't had time and won't have any tonight (company over).  Hopefully get a few hours in tomorrow to get up to 3 hrs.

 

Trophies earned: 3/36, 4% for E rank

Score so far: 6/10 (though not a lot to go on so far)