HH's Gaming Journal

[Honor_Hand]

2 hours ago, Durandal said:

So no Cross Edge Platinum any time soon? I guess that was inevitable.

 

Anyway, good thing you have your TV back and found some time to enjoy a few good games. Thomas was Alone sure does sound interesting. I am hearing lots of good things about those Tales games but they are all very grindy as far as I can tell. Have you played any other game and could you recommend a title for someone who is new to the series?

 

I also noticed that you play a lot on your Vita now, sure sounds like a great investment! Makes me even wonder if I shouldn't go for one myself someday.

Haven't played most of the series as to give a throughout recommendation but I think Tales of Xillia on PS3 was a great game overall in both the story, the characters, the combat mechanics and its trophies. It wasn't really all that grindy and required only 2 playthroughs, with the second one being extremely quick if you use your grade to inherit all your equipment and get some XP bonuses as well.

 

Now, since what you have is a PS4, you have Zestiria and Berseria there. I haven't played any of those two (even though I own Zestiria on PS3) but based on popular opinion, I'd recommend Berseria as that one usually gets the most positive opinions from what I have read out there.

 

Get a VIta quick!!! O_o

lol jk

 

But in all seriousness, it has been a great little console and this is coming from someone that was never too much into handheld gaming. I'd say that is an interesting option if you find one for the right price and are interested in playing some games on the go with proper controls.

 

 

[Durandal]

1 hour ago, Honor_Hand said:

Get a VIta quick!!! O_o

 

I'll get right on that!

 

But you are right the Vita seems like the best option for a handheld, maybe a Switch to but I would like to stick to PlayStation. On the other hand it would be nice if Sony would let us know what plans they have for the Vita franchise. I mean I don't expect that all of the sudden no one makes any games for it and there are a lot of games out there. But right now it is a bit of a uncertainty, at least for me. I will keep it in my mind until the next winter, always a nice time to buy new hardware.

 

Yes I read quite a bit about Berseria and it is actually on my wishlist for some time now. But it seems to be one of those JRPGs that require a lot of time. I guess I need the right time for it and clear a few of those bigger games out of my backlog first. Zestiria on the other hand is a bit of a mystery to me, and I only noticed it when they announced the new version recently. Hopefully there will be a few reviews out there when they release it. But from the few things I learned so far it seems to be a fan favorite. Damn I really need more time to play all those games.

 

By the way are those games all connected story wise? I know that Berseria is sort of a stand alone game but not sure about the others.

[Honor_Hand]

12 minutes ago, Durandal said:

 

I'll get right on that!

 

But you are right the Vita seems like the best option for a handheld, maybe a Switch to but I would like to stick to PlayStation. On the other hand it would be nice if Sony would let us know what plans they have for the Vita franchise. I mean I don't expect that all of the sudden no one makes any games for it and there are a lot of games out there. But right now it is a bit of a uncertainty, at least for me. I will keep it in my mind until the next winter, always a nice time to buy new hardware.

 

Yes I read quite a bit about Berseria and it is actually on my wishlist for some time now. But it seems to be one of those JRPGs that require a lot of time. I guess I need the right time for it and clear a few of those bigger games out of my backlog first. Zestiria on the other hand is a bit of a mystery to me, and I only noticed it when they announced the new version recently. Hopefully there will be a few reviews out there when they release it. But from the few things I learned so far it seems to be a fan favorite. Damn I really need more time to play all those games.

 

By the way are those games all connected story wise? I know that Berseria is sort of a stand alone game but not sure about the others.

Ah, a Switch is a mighty fine option as well considering it's both a handheld and a home console. Looking to get one of those at some point as well but at the time I'm also trying to stick most with Sony as far as the main platform for games. It'd be easier for me if the PS4 had a most reasonable price by now though. The Vita, compared to both the Switch and the PS4, is much cheaper. As far as what is Sony planning to do with their handheld line, I have no idea. Part of me thinks that they are going to withdraw from it completely seeing as how they have been dropping support for the Vita on every front but another part of me also believes that there is a fair chance of them trying to do a hybrid console similar to the Switch.

 

I think you're confusing Zestiria with the Vesperia: Definitive Edition that will be coming out later this year. Zestiria came out in 2015 for both PS3 and PS4 and it had mixed reviews and opinions from a lot of people. Vesperia came out originally in 2008 for the Xbox 360 and in 2009 as a Japanese-exclusive PS3 title. This one, however, is a fan favorite and it will be getting re-released on the PS4 sometime later this year. You might want to consider this one as well.

 

No, most of them are independent of each other and require no knowledge of the other game in the series. There are a few exceptions though, as both Symphonia and Xillia do have sequels in the form of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World and Xillia 2 respectively. I have also heard that the story in both Zestiria and Berseria are somewhat related to each other but I haven't had the time to check on that.

[Oturan]

Spoiler

 

[Durandal]

8 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

I think you're confusing Zestiria with the Vesperia

 

Indeed I did! Too many erias/irias in those titles! Probably best if I keep Berseria on my list and read more about Zestiria when it comes out.

 

@Soneto Now, that's just mean!

[Honor_Hand]

@Durandal Yeah, they can get confusing Good luck with whatever game you decide to start on the series.

 

@Soneto O_o Nooo! No! Take it away! Take it away! I don't want to go back there. The nightmares are coming back to me! @_@

 

@Gamesareify Nope, haven't played any game in the series. I definitely need to get onto that. Will probably end up picking both compilations for my PS3 during this year, hopefully. 

[Edunstar84]

24 minutes ago, Durandal said:

 

Indeed I did! Too many erias/irias in those titles! Probably best if I keep Berseria on my list and read more about Zestiria when it comes out.

 

I would read a few reviews about Zestiria before you purchase it. I love the Tales of franchise, but it's been unnecessarily difficult for me to complete the game. The weapon and upgrade system is very convoluted. I would play Berseria first to be honest. Unless, of course, you don't care about platinuming Zesty and just want to play the game. If you haven't played a Tales of yet, I would suggest playing the Xillia games first. I think they're great for beginners new to the series. Then again, I heard Berseria is a great game overall, too.

 

@Honor_Hand - I wish more people were interested in the Vita. It's a great system.

[Honor_Hand]

@Edunstar84 It's a great little system. It has its fair share of cons and pros, like everything, but I have been loving it so far. I can say that I am enjoying the console more than what I enjoyed my PSP (which was also cool btw). One thing I have been having problems is getting the games in physical form. They are extremely scarce in my country and looking for copies of a number of titles I was interested in on eBay got me some numbers that are kind of over my budget.

 

There are some good prices on digital titles every now and then when there is a sale going on the store but I still feel reticent about getting major games in digital form.

[Edunstar84]

4 hours ago, Honor_Hand said:

@Edunstar84 It's a great little system. It has its fair share of cons and pros, like everything, but I have been loving it so far. I can say that I am enjoying the console more than what I enjoyed my PSP (which was also cool btw). One thing I have been having problems is getting the games in physical form. They are extremely scarce in my country and looking for copies of a number of titles I was interested in on eBay got me some numbers that are kind of over my budget.

 

There are some good prices on digital titles every now and then when there is a sale going on the store but I still feel reticent about getting major games in digital form.

I have the same situation where I live, too. My local GameStop has stopped selling them completely, and my only option is NIS Europe or Amazon UK. But as you said, some of them are above my budget. I love my Vita, but not enough to break my bank.

[Honor_Hand]

So, almost 1 month later, we FINALLY have an update here. Main news of this update is that I will be traveling tomorrow Thursday, July 26th to visit my father on a wasteland near extinction remote location of the country with a rather craptacular lackluster internet service. Simply put, it is like internet purgatory over there. At any rate, I will be taking my Vita with me (and maybe my Laptop) to spend the week I am planning to be there. No more PS3 games for a short while as I will be focusing on the Vita.

 

These are the games I am planning to play on the coming days:

 

- Race the Sun (PSN / PS Vita)

- LEGO Marvel: Universe in Peril (PS Vita)

- LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PS Vita)

- Slain: Back from Hell (PSN / PS Vita)

- Lara Croft GO (PSN / PS Vita)

- Hitman GO: Definitive Edition (PSN / PS Vita)

 

Need to get Race the Sun finished. Those 2 trophies I am missing have proven to be quite difficult for short play sessions so I might need to dedicate a full day to them in order to memorize the given stage for the day in order to maximize my score in one and improve my chances of survival on the other one >.>

 

As far as completed games go, feel free to check the spoilers below for information on the 3 most recent tiles I have finished since my previous update.

 

Spoiler

Platinum #84 - Ratchet and Clank (PS3)

Rarity: 27.63%

 

This was my first experience with the Ratchet and Clank universe and it was a very pleasant one. Despite the game being considerably old, I didn't feel as it had aged poorly or anything like that. In fact, it plays as a pretty cool action-platformer even today. The game plays in a linear fashion while visiting many planets in a quest to stop an evil kind-of-corporate looking alien for constructing a new planet by wreaking havoc and stealing the resources from other planets. There are many planets to visit and each of them has their own distinct personality to make them stand apart from each other. On the gameplay front, the game is just simple and fun. You just run and gun enemies with a variety of weapons and gadgets you collect while traveling around. Most weapons are pretty interesting and fun to use. If there is a word I could use to describe the game it would be "colorful". Everything from the characters and the weapons, to the planets, all of them feel full of color.

 

The trophies were pretty easy except for one that required to amass 1 million bolts over the course of the game. Needless to say that it would have required multiple playthroughs destroying each and every box and enemy to reach that amount if it wasn't for a certain comment I saw online of someone recommending to farm the bolts on the underpass of Kerwan with a Turbo controller and having Ratchet throw his wrench continually at the traffic there. Other than that, the trophies were from your usual collect everything, beat the game and do a number of miscellaneous stuff on each planet. Pretty easy and straightforward for the most part. All in all, I thought this was a great entry point for the series

 

 

Spoiler

Platinum #85 - MotorStorm Apocalypse (PS3)

Rarity: 5.94%

 

I started playing this one due to the server closure date being announced for the last week of July. I had previously played the first MotorStorm and its sequel, Pacific Rift, at a friend's house a long time ago so I knew well in advance what I was getting into. What amazed the most in this game was the level of destruction the developers were able to apply on the tracks for the time. Granted, not all tracks have these dangers but the ones that do are plenty and even then, you sometimes get surprised on certain laps when say, a boat gets thrown in your face when you were least expecting it. These dangers sometimes play against the driving experience on certain tracks though, as it makes difficult for one to judge a proper route without having some initial trial and error. I also enjoyed the variety of vehicles types available in the game and how differently they drove from each other. For example, I personally preferred anything that was 4-wheeled and with a good amount of mass if possible. The Racing Truck, the Mud plugger, and the Super Car were by far my favorite vehicles on each race. Conversely, all bikes sucked for me. I am sure most online players would say otherwise but I hate how they jump all over the place on the roughest of tracks as it makes difficult to keep a good racing line.

 

The graphics in this game were also outstanding and even with 16 racers on screen and buildings falling all over the place, the game rarely ever slowed down. I am aware most people around seem to have hated the comic book presentation for the story (yes, there is a story in this racing game <.<) but I actually enjoyed it. Found the scenes amusing for the most part (Any questions? xD). The trophies have a good variety, from clearing the story, to clearing a set number of trials, to using some of the mechanics available while racing. The online probably took me way more than it should since I self-boosted the game alone with a second controller on a private match for the most part. I really didn't want to bother other people and set a session for it if all the trophies (minus 1) could be obtained alone. The one that needed other people, I was able to do it on a public match in less than 1 hour with some randoms I found on a certain day. One final thing, collecting 150 cards across the campaign races was...excruciatingly boring. Don't do collectibles in racing games, please. It hurts!

 

Fun game, I might jump into the original MotorStorm (even though it doesn't have trophies) and Pacific Rift (even though the online servers already went kaput) just for fun

 

 

Spoiler

Platinum #86 - Ratchet and Clank 2 (PS3)

Rarity: 34.72%

 

Finally, after having enjoyed the first Ratchet and Clank game so much, I was very eager to try the second one. Fortunately enough, It didn't disappoint as it improves over its predecessor in all the areas that matter. That means lots more of weapons and gadgets to play around with. And this time they can be modded and they even rank up by using them regularly. My most common weapons included the Lancer, Synthenoid, Lava Gun, Miniturret Glove, Plasma Coil and Shield Charger. They are all cool in their own way though as I sometimes found myself switching back to the Pulse Rifle, the Hoverbomb Gun and even the Sheepinator to mix things up. Honestly, there is a lot of stuff to try. The game is structured similarly to its predecessor, you travel to a bunch of planets (each of which has like 2 different routes you can follow) in order to complete a set of objectives and move forward. The colorful characters remain and I actually laughed trying to figure out what Mr. Fizzwidget was trying to say to say on some of the cutscenes.

 

As with the previous game, something that I really enjoy from this series is (kind of a weird fetish, I know o.o) having lots and lots of bolts raining on you after destroying many enemies and destructibles at once. Really, I get this funny satisfaction feeling on the inside when I see all those bolts being magnetized to me. The graphics in this game mostly stayed the same but what they improved was on the variety of the locales you get to visit on the different planets, which was already a strong point on the first game. There is always something cool to see in your space travels. Something new that was added here was space combat which feels kinda underwhelming to be honest. I mean, it looks visually great and is cool you get to outfit your ship with many weapons and modifications but the combat itself feels too simple for my liking. Another minor complain is that the game sometimes experiences slowdowns when there is a lot going on screen, which on itself is a weird occurrence but it can happen if you like to amass enemies to blow them all at once for those bolts ha ha ha

 

Fantastic game, looking forward to ending this collection to then jump into the HD series on the PS3.

 

 

That's all there is to this update. I think there was something else I was gonna type here but I cannot remember it now after having typed all that ↑ *points at the spoilers above*

 

Oh well, I will remember it on my next update I guess... See you around ^^

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Honor_Hand

[Oturan]

Congrats on Ratchet and Clank! how was the space missions?

[Honor_Hand]

21 minutes ago, Soneto said:

Congrats on Ratchet and Clank! how was the space missions?

Thanks!

 

They were alright. Graphically, they look pretty good for their time and I loved how you could get your ship customized but I thought the gameplay on them was too simple. Most of the space fights usually resulted in me waiting for the bad guys to jump in front of me to shoot down with either lasers or missiles. I don't know... I was expecting them to be a little bit more involving but they were ok.

[Honor_Hand]

So... When was the last time I updated this thing? Almost 1 month ago? *Psssst* At this point, I don't think I could become even lazier to update this. I actually thought this would be easier to maintain and update but the fact that I haven't even completed building the first post ever since I started pretty much tells that I may be the worst kind of person ever to keep information updated on a personal diary. >.> It's alright though... <.<

 

If any of you have been following my status updates, I returned from my small (and excruciatingly tedious) travel almost 2 weeks ago. Out of the 6 games I proposed myself to complete while I was away, I only got 3 of them completed. Well, let's be honest, I actually got 2 and half of them completed and the third one was finished during the first couple of days while I was back at home but, yeah, you get the idea. The 3 games I completed were:

 

- LEGO Marvel: Universe in Peril (PS Vita)

- Lara Croft GO (PSN / PS Vita)

- Hitman GO: Definitive Edition (PSN / PS Vita)

 

You can read more about them in the following spoilers:

 

Spoiler

Platinum #87 - LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril (PS Vita)

Rarity: 29.90%

This is my first LEGO game since I played the first couple of Star Wars LEGO games that came out around 2005-2006. I actually thought those games were pretty fun back then in how they handled its simple gameplay with funny nods and references towards the movies. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes blah blah blah, however, ended up filling like a so-so experience. The gameplay was simple and there were a number of attempts at making humor at the characters from the Marvel universe but everything came out as flat to me. I also had numerous hit detection problems with my characters not hitting enemies even if they were standing right next to me. The worst offender in the game was its design structure. Going through these short levels for the first time felt alright but having to repeat them up to 4-6 times with a different hero (which plays pretty much the same to the one you used before) just to access a secret area or break a certain something that only that heroe is capable of doing is just plain boring. The stages and the enemies themselves didn't help either as there was very little variation on them, which only added to the feeling of repetitiveness.

 

In the end, the game worked and it was easy to focus on the tasks at hands since there wasn't really much of a challenge to it. I'd say that only hardcore LEGO or Marvel fans may get a kick out of it, otherwise, the best thing to do would be to just avoid it.

2

 

Spoiler

Platinum #88 - Lara Croft GO (PSN / PS Vita)

Rarity: 79,31%

 

Hurray! My first Tomb Raider game! Does this count as a Tomb Raider game even though it doesn't have "Tomb Raider" on the title? Now that I think about it, why wasn't it called Tomb Raider GO? ? This was a pretty fun and innovative kind of game for me. Think of it has a turn-based platformer puzzle game with an isometric perspective and there you have it. But it was so much more than that, the art style for the environments, monsters, and Lara herself was pretty unique too. Some would say that it looks kind of simple but I thought it was artsy enough to stand on its own.

 

Most of the puzzles were well thought out with a number of head-scratchers starting from very early on in the game. The 2 extra chapters in the end ramped up the puzzle difficulty considerably but they can be beaten if you look closely at them and experiment a lot. I tried my best to not use the hint system since it pretty much solves the complete puzzle for you but I have to admit that I resorted to it at least 2 times with some of the later puzzles. Really, I was stuck on those for like 2-3 hours and wanted to move forward so I had to suck my own pride and use it lol

 

There is one major issue that detracts from the overall experience and those are the numerous technical issues I found while playing on my Vita. I experienced constant frame drops, extremely long loading times, unresponsive pause menus and quite a number of instances of the game crashing and sending me back to the console menu. I'd say it is very much worth getting if you like puzzles and you happen to spot it with a huge discount.

1

 

Spoiler

Platinum #89 - Hitman GO: Definitive Edition (PSN / PS Vita)

Rarity: 70.49%

 

This one was the antithesis of the previous game even though it works under the same "node-based platformer with an isometric perspective" principle. My main issue with the game was how stiff it was in its presentation. And really! You cannot go any stiffer than a bunch of trophy-looking figures moving around without barely any sort of animation. The game obviously tries to create some sort of diorama with how the stages and the characters look but it all came out looking as boring and simple to me. The gameplay does work though. Unlike Lara Croft GO, there is a bigger emphasis on stealth on this one. You can't let the other statues? look at you for the most part and each of them can only be taken down from certain angles or with a number of distractions. Sadly, puzzles were mostly on the easy side with only a few difficult ones near the end of the game. My main issue was, really, how the whole game looks. You would think an art style reminiscent of dioramas could look cool but, in my opinion, it made the game come out as bland to me.

 

Since this one is the antithesis of the previous game, it ran perfectly on my Vita with blazing fast load times, fast and responsive menus, no crashing whatsoever and no bullshit anywhere. Nice! Out of these two, I'd personally recommend the Lara Croft game as the best despite the technical shortcomings. This title may be worth your time if you're looking for a quick Platinum on an afternoon and you don't mind the somewhat sterile presentation. Make sure to not pay more than $3 for the game though.

2

 

 

I didn't even touch Race The Sun as I wasn't really interested in investing any time in it while I was there. Not because the game is bad or anything, I just wasn't interested.

 

Other than that, I haven't really played anything else after finished Hitman GO more than a week ago. Guess I haven't felt too motivated as to play anything... Which is weird because even though I have lots of old games to choose to either start or finish, I mostly wanted to stay away from gaming altogether for a while while I get my mojo back. In the meantime, I have focused my attention (and my few free hours) on watching a number of anime series I had piled up on my pending to watch list.

 

Right now, I am feeling a bit better and kind of wishful to return back to gaming. In that regards, I will be playing the following games for the next couple of days:

- Ratchet and Clank Collection (PS3)

- Soul Calibur V (PS3)

 

Finally, Tales of Symphonia...great game, love it. Not so sure of when I am going to start with the multiple playthroughs part. Part of me has been skipping on doing that ever since I finished the game. Gonna wait until I finish the Ratchet and Clank collection to decide if I man up and go for it or just make some room for it on the fridge alongside Cross Edge. And I also added Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! (<--- with 5 exclamation marks, very important) to my pipeline. A friend invited to play this game in the coming days and I want to get others done before starting this one.

 

Thanks for checking

 

EDIT; Just noticed my spell checker glitches out and adds numbers to the lower left corner of the spoiler boxes for some weird reason... ?

 

Edited August 18, 2018 by Honor_Hand
Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!! lol not Arcana 3

[Durandal]

21 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

EDIT; Just noticed my spell checker glitches out and adds numbers to the lower left corner of the spoiler boxes for some weird reason...

Maybe you spell checker is just giving you notes for your trophies!

 

Congratulations on your latest achievements

 

Like I mentioned before I am really interest in playing Lara Croft GO now. But I wait a while before I buy it, my 2 for 1 rule and all that! And I think I made up my mind what games I am going to purchase next. I might just finish more of my games and grab it as soon as it on sale, who knows. The name might be a nod to the Lara Croft Coop games, as they are a bit similar. Well I mean they have the same isometric perspective and have some puzzles in it. Now that I think of it, they should make a PS4 port for the first Lara Croft game, Guardian of Light i think, it is a great game even if you play it solo. The second isn't that great solo and it has some serious issues. In any case I can recommend you Guardian of Light, as it is available for the PS3. Maybe you already have it.

 

LEGO doesn't really sound like a fun game, so kudos for your patience. Are you planing on playing more of them or is your hunger for them sated now? Aren't there more then a dozen out there by now?

 

Same goes for Hitman GO or any of the other games. Somehow it irks me to play an assassin, not sure why because I have no problem to assassinate dozens of enemies in other games. Maybe it is all that hiding and disguising. I did play the very first one and never made it beyond the first contract. I guess No.47 and me are better off going separate ways!

 

By the way how is your Crunchyroll experience going?

[Honor_Hand]

25 minutes ago, Durandal said:

Maybe you spell checker is just giving you notes for your trophies!

 

If that's the case, then it is giving me terrible notes for my trophies  

 

Oh, I forgot about those Co-Op Lara Croft games. I actually tried the demo of Guardian of Light a long time ago and thought it was great but I never went about getting it for my PS3. That one should be worth getting if I see it on a future sale.

 

I am still willing to go and try other LEGO games. I actually have LEGO Batman 2 on the Vita so I may go as well and try that one at some point since I already added it to my pipeline. Yes, there are quite a number of them out and from pretty much any franchise imaginable: LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO The Lord of the Rings, LEGO The Hobbit, LEGO (insert superhero franchise here). Hell, there is even a LEGO Rock Band game out there too. It just goes to show that you can make a LEGO game out of anything

 

Could it be due to having to use stealth, perhaps? I am not a fan of stealth-based gameplay either as I really don't have much patience for it. My idea of stealth usually revolves in me storming into any place with an M60 and throwing grenades everywhere

 

Crunchyroll is ehhhhh... alright for the time being. I have a fair number of complaints like their library missing a number of key titles, the subbing work being just passable and me not being able to stream on anything more than 480P (that last one is mostly my fault though, internet in this country sucks) but, for $5 a month, it doesn't feel as if I should complain much either. In the meantime, I'm more towards dropping it eventually but let's see if it can make me change my mind

[Durandal]

Hmm, I think I have no issues with stealth per se, just not when it is the main feature, or used exclusively. But yeah those games are a minority in my collection. I played the first Deus Ex and a couple of Splinter Cells. Funny enough I recently bought both Dishonored titles oh and Shadow Blades but that's a different kind of stealth. So yeah guns blazing is my preferred method too.

 

Hmm I was thinking about trying out Crunchyroll too at point. Since I am kind of interested in anime, but more the Ghost in a Shell type. I checked the website a bit but I should see if there are alternatives first before testing it. I am also not a fan of streaming service. Knowing me I end up binge watching the entire collection in on big session. I prefer to buy DVDs/BluRays. But sadly it is impossible to find animes with english subs and I don't like the german kind.

 

Oh and regarding the notes, here in germany a one is the highest note you can achieve. I guess you do the other way around?

[Kittet3]

2 hours ago, Honor_Hand said:

*Snip*

Are you using Grammerly? Grammerly would keep adding a number to the bottom of my spoiler to the point that it was several inches of blank space that I could not delete. (It would add it to a strange spot in the spoiler I couldn't edit) I eventually had to disable the extension on this website and my grammar has went down hill from there  

 

I haven't played Lara Croft Go yet, but I thought it was the same as Hitman Go. It was cool to see side-by-side reviews of them both (and it made me realize that Lara Croft Go is probably much better). Hitman got to tedious for me so I ended up using a guide. (I'm not a big fan of strategy :P) Lara Croft Go sounds like it may be more enjoyable based on your review (How could you beat a Hitman video game of a board game, though?), although saying the puzzles are rather complex makes me already want to open up a guide. 

 

I played one Lego Marvel game (too lazy to see which one) and had a single red brick glitch on me after I finished most of the levels  I always much preferred Lego Batmans, especially the early ones, since they didn't have too many character abilities to worry about. (And it's Batman), so I'm eager to see you come to the bat side compare your Lego Batman and Lego Marvel experiences  If the vita version of Lego Batman 2 is anything like the PS3 version, then I remember it being quite enjoyable. (Lego Batman 1 was always my favorite, though, because it felt like a good length and complexity. For some reason, they always felt the need to "add more" to the Lego games like open worlds and diversity of levels)

 

Is Arcana 3: Love Max!!!!! (yes, I counted them) related to Arcana: Gothic 4? I've had 4 on my backlog forever but I never figured out what kind of game it's about. You got to keep these reviews up to date now because I'm depending on your opinion on these games  

 

lajunta

[Honor_Hand]

1 hour ago, Durandal said:

Hmm, I think I have no issues with stealth per se, just not when it is the main feature, or used exclusively. But yeah those games are a minority in my collection. I played the first Deus Ex and a couple of Splinter Cells. Funny enough I recently bought both Dishonored titles oh and Shadow Blades but that's a different kind of stealth. So yeah guns blazing is my preferred method too.

 

Hmm I was thinking about trying out Crunchyroll too at point. Since I am kind of interested in anime, but more the Ghost in a Shell type. I checked the website a bit but I should see if there are alternatives first before testing it. I am also not a fan of streaming service. Knowing me I end up binge watching the entire collection in on big session. I prefer to buy DVDs/BluRays. But sadly it is impossible to find animes with english subs and I don't like the german kind.

 

Oh and regarding the notes, here in germany a one is the highest note you can achieve. I guess you do the other way around?

7

I am pretty much the same. The more stealth a game has in gameplay, the less I'm going to be interested in playing it out. I mean, I can tolerate a stealth section on a FPS or any other action-adventure game but when stealth is the main focal point, I just cannot see me going all the way through it. That may probably be the reason why I have avoided playing some of the great stealth franchises like Metal Gear or Splinter Cell. 

 

Ah, got you. You're looking for the serious type of anime. I also watch those from time to time too As far as alternatives to Crunchyroll, the only ones I know of are: Funimation (which doesn't even work for my country), Netflix (which I have heard they have been expanding their anime catalog) and Amazon Prime Video (which used to have their own kind of independent service for anime but they later merged it up with Prime). Other than those, Crunchyroll seems like your best bet. Of course, there are also like a million of fansub sites floating around. I'd prefer to get my anime on DVDs/Blu-Rays but they are impossible to find in Spanish and kinda expensive to be honest. I prefer watching my anime with Japanese voices and Spanish subtitles.

 

Ah! I didn't know that. Yeah, we do it the other way around. When I went through school and college, a 1 would be the lowest score you could get on a scale of 20

 

27 minutes ago, Kittet3 said:

Are you using Grammerly? Grammerly would keep adding a number to the bottom of my spoiler to the point that it was several inches of blank space that I could not delete. (It would add it to a strange spot in the spoiler I couldn't edit) I eventually had to disable the extension on this website and my grammar has went down hill from there  

 

I haven't played Lara Croft Go yet, but I thought it was the same as Hitman Go. It was cool to see side-by-side reviews of them both (and it made me realize that Lara Croft Go is probably much better). Hitman got to tedious for me so I ended up using a guide. (I'm not a big fan of strategy :P) Lara Croft Go sounds like it may be more enjoyable based on your review (How could you beat a Hitman video game of a board game, though?), although saying the puzzles are rather complex makes me already want to open up a guide. 

 

I played one Lego Marvel game (too lazy to see which one) and had a single red brick glitch on me after I finished most of the levels  I always much preferred Lego Batmans, especially the early ones, since they didn't have too many character abilities to worry about. (And it's Batman), so I'm eager to see you come to the bat side compare your Lego Batman and Lego Marvel experiences  If the vita version of Lego Batman 2 is anything like the PS3 version, then I remember it being quite enjoyable. (Lego Batman 1 was always my favorite, though, because it felt like a good length and complexity. For some reason, they always felt the need to "add more" to the Lego games like open worlds and diversity of levels)

 

Is Arcana 3: Love Max!!!!! (yes, I counted them) related to Arcana: Gothic 4? I've had 4 on my backlog forever but I never figured out what kind of game it's about. You got to keep these reviews up to date now because I'm depending on your opinion on these games  

 

lajunta

Yep, it happens when I use Grammarly but it's not always so it's kinda weird. It does happen from time to time when I use the spoiler but what I do is to try to deactivate the extension and then turn it on again when I have finished writing. Your grammar is top notch so we haven't really noticed  

 

Hitman GO also got tedious to me up to the point that I dropped it for a couple of days while I was away. I then picked it up once I came back home to finish it but, yeah, the style of the game makes everything look bland and boring. Lara Croft GO plays kind of similar but, not only the art style is better (the characters move their legs and arms for once!), but it is actually fun moving Lara on a turn-based grid and trying to figure out how NOT to get crushed by a boulder or killed by a giant reptile while climbing a vertical environment. Oh, come on... Don't use a guide. It's only allowed if you get super stuck for like 3 hours on the same stage

 

Hmmmm. Your comments on LEGO Batman have renewed my spirit to actually try LEGO Batman 2 as my next Vita game. I was planning to do Slain: Back from Hell but I think I can come to the bat side just for you

 

Lol My apologies... I mean to say Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!! not Arcana 3. Pretty sure a bunch of cute anime girls fighting to dead aren't related at all to the Gothic series of RPGs ? Gonna go and fix that now ?

 

Lajunta!

[AJ_Radio]

21 hours ago, Honor_Hand said:

Ah, got you. You're looking for the serious type of anime. I also watch those from time to time too As far as alternatives to Crunchyroll, the only ones I know of are: Funimation (which doesn't even work for my country), Netflix (which I have heard they have been expanding their anime catalog) and Amazon Prime Video (which used to have their own kind of independent service for anime but they later merged it up with Prime). Other than those, Crunchyroll seems like your best bet. Of course, there are also like a million of fansub sites floating around. I'd prefer to get my anime on DVDs/Blu-Rays but they are impossible to find in Spanish and kinda expensive to be honest. I prefer watching my anime with Japanese voices and Spanish subtitles.

 

Akira is still my favorite anime of all time. Basically a masterpiece, just watched it the other day and I'm amazed how well it holds up after 30 years. It's about as old as I am.

[Honor_Hand]

14 hours ago, Spaz said:

 

Akira is still my favorite anime of all time. Basically a masterpiece, just watched it the other day and I'm amazed how well it holds up after 30 years. It's about as old as I am.

Hello Spaz!

 

I've heard Akira is a masterpiece of its time. Haven't personally watched it though, but I always heard many great things about it. I didn't actively watch anime in the pre-2000s as only a short number of shows catched my attention during that time. A number of anime shows that I remember liking from that era are: Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) and, of course, Pokemon. There were others but I honestly don't remember the titles now. 

 

Most anime shows I watch now are from 2005 and onwards as I like the new art direction they have taken in this era. Altough, truth be told, I can sometimes make an excuse to watch an old classic if I hear many great things about it. Like Cowboy Bebop for example, which has been on my pending to watch list since like forever.

 

What about you? Are you into any of the newer series?

[Kittet3]

On 8/17/2018 at 9:12 PM, Honor_Hand said:

Yep, it happens when I use Grammarly but it's not always so it's kinda weird. It does happen from time to time when I use the spoiler but what I do is to try to deactivate the extension and then turn it on again when I have finished writing. Your grammar is top notch so we haven't really noticed  

 

Hitman GO also got tedious to me up to the point that I dropped it for a couple of days while I was away. I then picked it up once I came back home to finish it but, yeah, the style of the game makes everything look bland and boring. Lara Croft GO plays kind of similar but, not only the art style is better (the characters move their legs and arms for once!), but it is actually fun moving Lara on a turn-based grid and trying to figure out how NOT to get crushed by a boulder or killed by a giant reptile while climbing a vertical environment. Oh, come on... Don't use a guide. It's only allowed if you get super stuck for like 3 hours on the same stage

 

Hmmmm. Your comments on LEGO Batman have renewed my spirit to actually try LEGO Batman 2 as my next Vita game. I was planning to do Slain: Back from Hell but I think I can come to the bat side just for you

 

Lol My apologies... I mean to say Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!! not Arcana 3. Pretty sure a bunch of cute anime girls fighting to dead aren't related at all to the Gothic series of RPGs Gonna go and fix that now

 

Lajunta!

 

You say that, but the few times I actually reread what I write I often find that I switch words or just completely leave them out. I say it properly in my head, but sometimes my fingers have minds of their own

 

The only thing I liked about Hitman Go is that it made me want to actually play a physical board game. Like Mousetrap but with little agents that fire plastic bullets. Lara Croft sounds much better AND it has vertical-ness? Wait, what connects these two games then? Does the same studio own Hitman and Lara Croft? I actually never played a real game in either of those series now that I think about it. My partner already bought Lara Croft Go so I'm just going to borrow it off his system one of these days

 

You can't resist the Bat side

 

Darn it, I actually felt clever recognizing a game for once. I now realize that ArCania or whatever has a silly 'i'. I saw that PSNow has both Arcana Heart 3 and Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!!. What's the difference between them? (Besides the 5 exclamation points) 

 

Lajunta 

[Honor_Hand]

4 hours ago, Kittet3 said:

 

You say that, but the few times I actually reread what I write I often find that I switch words or just completely leave them out. I say it properly in my head, but sometimes my fingers have minds of their own

 

The only thing I liked about Hitman Go is that it made me want to actually play a physical board game. Like Mousetrap but with little agents that fire plastic bullets. Lara Croft sounds much better AND it has vertical-ness? Wait, what connects these two games then? Does the same studio own Hitman and Lara Croft? I actually never played a real game in either of those series now that I think about it. My partner already bought Lara Croft Go so I'm just going to borrow it off his system one of these days

 

You can't resist the Bat side

 

Darn it, I actually felt clever recognizing a game for once. I now realize that ArCania or whatever has a silly 'i'. I saw that PSNow has both Arcana Heart 3 and Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!!. What's the difference between them? (Besides the 5 exclamation points) 

 

Lajunta 

My girl goes exactly through the same thing when typing anything

 

Yes, it does have a lot more vertical-ness than Hitman GO, that's for sure. Instead of going through those square chutes to appear on a building, Lara actually has to climb vertical walls with enemies, levers, moving saws of doom and whatnot. Both franchises are owned by Square Enix. However, both Lara Croft GO and Hitman Go were developed by different companies. There is also a Deus EX GO on mobile that hasn't been ported to Sony's consoles...yet. Let me know what you think about the game once you play it. It is more suited to be played on the go with a Vita but I had technical problems with mine. You may want to try it on your PS4 if you have any problems on the Vita.

 

So, we all got confused with the title of the game then? lol Besides the 5 exclamation points, Love MAX!!!!! is a revamped version of the regular AH3. It includes new moves, additional stages, new gameplay modes, a revamped story and rebalancing of course. I believe there are no extra characters compared to the previous game. As far as trophies go, both games are in the 1 - 1.5% rarity range. In my opinion, the list for the regular Arcana Heart 3 looks harder than the one in Love MAX!!!!! (<--- never forget the 5 exclamation points) as you are asked to perform more character specific combos for a number of trophies while on the second one, those trophies were changed to just using the different arcanas during the fights.

 

I'd pick Love MAX!!!!! (you have to cry it out loud) if I was you as it seems the better game  

 

Lajunta!

Edited August 20, 2018 by Honor_Hand

[Honor_Hand]

Alright, It's been exactly a month since my last update and just now I'm feeling like updating this journal. But not too much, only a bit here and there Keeping this up to date is harder than I thought so kudos to all of you who are able to find the motivation to keep your respective threads much more tidier, organized and up to date than mine ^^ Over the last month I haven't really made that much progress on my gaming front for a number of reasons I'll be touching in a short while. The only game I managed to plat was Ratchet and Clank 3: Up your Arsenal, which you can read my thoughts about it on the spoiler below. After finishing that game, I wasn't much in the mood of playing anything else for a while and decided to jump and watch anime on a more frequent basis. That's why I eventually ended up accepting an offer from Crunchyroll to try their Premium service for a month...and after a month watching anime there, I can safely say that I won't be using any streaming service to watch anime from now on and continue to pirate it online. Not the kind of response I'd like to have but is the one I have to go with ?

 

You see, there are quite a number of reasons why I didn't like Crunchyroll:

 

- Poor catalog. Considering this is the best (legal) site out there to stream anime from, I was expecting a bigger variety on their catalog. Most of the animes there are on 2 categories: they are either the most mainstream series that everyone is watching right now or series you have never heard off anywhere and that the first couple of episodes are enough to send anyone in despair. There is not much middle ground in that regard.

- Subbing is merely adequate. It works but I have seen Fansubs do both better and worst.

- Video quality was top-notch, sadly my 4th world internet connection was not able to continually stream anything over 480P, which completely defeated the purpose of being Premium.

- Their video player glitched on me numerous times. For whatever reason, when I started my trial they had an obsolete Flash player embedded on the site that would completely freeze the video on my stream if I paused it for too long. On my last week there, they actually updated the player for one in HTML5 that didn't have that issue but somehow managed to lag my stream even more.

- Not sure of why there is some sort of disorder on how some of the animes are alphabetically filtered...

- Finally, they are owned by AT&T, a company with a shady background not only in the USA but also in my country from several years past and I'd simply prefer not having anything to do with them.

- Also, this.

 

For thoughts on what I did this last month (complete R&C 3 and the 2 animes I saw on CR) read the spoilers below:

 

Spoiler

Platinum #90 - Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal (PS3)

Rarity: 34,90%

 

This marks the end of the R6C collection on the PS3 and I gotta say that I loved the games for the most part. I also found the innuendo on the titles kind of funny to be honest. As for this game, it was good but I feel that it had a lot of recycled content from the previous 2 titles. Gameplay wise, everything clicks perfectly but to me, it felt as if I was going through locales and weapons that I had already gone through. Weapons like the Spitting Hydra and the Rift Inducer were new and a blast to use. Another weapon that stood out for me was the Qwack-O-Ray (which is pretty much a rework of the Sheepinator from R&C 2). The cool thing here is that, instead of turning your enemies into sheep, it now has the power to turn anything into a flying fiery duck of death that explodes after diving into enemies. Pretty cool. The rest of the weapons, although fun to use, mostly reworked from previous weapons in the series ?

 

The planets you get to visit in this game are few and far between compared to the second game and not all of them have the same WOW factor as when you first get to them. One cool thing the game does better than its predecessors are the antagonists Dr. Nefarious and Lawrence, which were far more laughable than the previous bad guys In the end, the game was fun to play albeit not that original. Maybe it felt a bit stale after playing the other 2 games in quick succession? I don't know... At any rate, I hope the games that came out on the PS3 feel much better once I eventually get to them

 

Also, this Platinum was almost my 5000th trophy

3

 

Spoiler

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - (2017) - 13 Episodes + 1 OVA

This one was a very interesting twist on an already established formula. Dragon Maid, for short, tells the story of how Kobayashi, a regular run-of-the-mill female programmer with a stoic personality ends up befriending a number of dragons. We are first introduced to our titular Dragon Maid, Tohru, which is in reality, a powerful dragon from the Chaos Faction in another dimension and, after being mortally wounded with a Holy Sword on her land, she is saved by Kobayashi on a drunken excursion to the mountains on a certain night. Tohru, deeply grateful after being saved by Kobayashi decides to stay with her. The rest of the series then goes on about how Tohru and Kobayashi start living together. Tohru's extremely unorthodox methods of housekeeping (being a mythical dragon with a superiority complex over humans and all) are what brings a number of truly interesting moments to this slice of life anime. As the series progress, we will be then introduced to other dragons and mythical creatures with a number of eccentric personalities which will, in some way, get acquainted with our main characters.

 

One of the things that immediately caught my attention on Dragon Maid is how laid-back and relaxed the series is on each episode. This is not a full-blown comedy nor a harem series of sorts, it is a true slice of life with a unique twist and great deal of cozy family moments all around. Sure, there are also a good number of jokes here and there and the odd action scene dispersed in-between when the dragons decide to "play together" but most of the series revolves around the everyday life of our titular characters. The animation was great, as well as the art style, which was also unique and lively. Special attention was taken to the eyes of our dragon characters in how vibrant they are compared to the rest of the humans. The expressions our characters make throughout the series are also something to behold, especially Kanna (first of Tohru's friends that starts living with her and Kobayashi) which will melt your heart with how irresistible and ridiculously adorable she is. Top-tier Moe for sure. 

 

I wouldn't go and say Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is an extremely original or groundbreaking series at all but instead, it is a series that sets out to deliver cozy and warm family moments with a cast of mostly original characters, and it absolutely succeeds in doing so. Highly recommended.

 

Spoiler

Bungo Stray Dogs - (2016) - 24 Episodes + 1 OVA

 

 

This anime... is somewhat of a mixed bag that can either be truly great or truly average depending on who you are. Bungo Stray Dogs is a supernatural fiction show centered on the everyday fights of a group known as the Armed Detective Agency (the good guys) and the Port Mafia (a criminal organization that controls the underbelly of the city). What makes the show interesting is how the characters in these 2 factions have their own set of special abilities and powers and how they live and strive on their respective organizations. The plot is, somewhat scattered and doesn't follow a clear objective during the first season. The 2nd season was much better on this regard as it added a clear threat to these 2 organizations and a reason to be scared of, whereas the first season mostly relies on everyday criminal investigation work. The main protagonist, Atsushi Nakajima, was somewhat of a useless and uninteresting character at first but he eventually grows out of his (honest to God) melancholic phase during the first episodes while he finds his place on the Armed Detective Agency.

 

The art style was interesting and definitely gave the show a personality of its own. Content-wise, it strives between being dramatic, mysterious, action-packed and comedic, while finding different grades of success in each category. I'd say Bungo Stray Dogs is at its best when it is being at its more serious and darkest tone (which is played exceptionally well during Dazai's flashback episodes of the 2nd season) and, is at its worst when it tries to implement comedy when it is not needed. Admittedly, some of the jokes and Dazai's constant attempts at suicide may give a good chuckle here and there at first but it really gives a stark contrast to the series at first during the more serious moments. The art style of the series was appropriate and it really makes it truly differentiate from other similar shows. The animation was pretty good during the fight scenes as they really accentuated the build-up of each particular supernatural power between each of the characters. In the sound department, the main theme of the series is pretty strong, like head-bangingly strong. It really hit it home with me, especially as you hear the bombastic OP theme during the climax scene of the last episode. Truly great work as far as presentation goes.

 

Overall, I thought Bungo Stray Dogs was a somewhat similar series to Durarara!! in its city gangs with supernatural powers setting but, while Durarara!! had a story that was better laid out, I actually liked Bungo's character design and general presentation more. It starts off weak during the first 4-5 episodes and it is not sure of what it wants to do with its setting and characters at first but the more you watch, the more it goes into playing its strong points while minimizing its shortcomings the best it can, which in turns help in transforming the series into something truly great by the time you are headbanging to the main theme on the final fight. Recommended but give it some time while it picks up.

 

After finishing watching anime, I came back to gaming and decided to tackle on the 2 fighting games that I'm still playing now.

• Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! is almost done by this point. Didn't know it was gonna be this long. Most of the difficult trophies are already completed (minus beating the Time Trial mode in less than 10 minutes, need some more luck for this one). I'm also missing the online trophies (which shouldn't be too hard or long) and grinding out all the memories, gallery images, link animations and LP (which is quite the grind actually )
• Soulcalibur 5, haven't done much. Started the game and pulled off some minor trophies but it has been in more of a standby than anything else as I am enjoying AH3 more ^^
• Tales of Symphonia joins Cross Edge in the freezer for God knows how much time. It seems I don't have much patience for doing extra playthroughs on JRPGs...
• Will be starting The Tomb Raider Trilogy (PS3) as a recommendation from @Durandal and LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PS Vita), recommended by @Kittet3 on the following days.

 

That covers the gaming and anime fronts. On the real-life side of things, well... I feel as if things have gotten a bit harder for me. Ever since the Red Friday announcements, things have been spiraling out of control here. I don't want to go into the details of some of the indignation I have to go through on a daily basis so I'll just cut short of that and say that I'm going to be reducing down on the frequency I buy new games for my collection from now on. Thankfully, I have an income from the outside that helps me get by but even that has been running on the low side for the last couple of weeks as work volume has started to have problems at the place I work in right now. Will probably need to find an alternative for that instead of putting the extra hours I've been doing as of recent. Which is probably the reason why I have been spending less time gaming over the last couple of weeks ?

 

Even so, as the grip gets tighter, I think I'm still able to hold my position and continue moving forward. It might not be at the pace I'd like to have but oh well... that's how things are right now. I'm hopeful that things will change for the better at some point. If not, I do have a Plan B in case things get worse. That's if they can actually get worse, which would actually surprise me >.>

 

So... yeah. That's me for now. You know the story, thanks for dropping by and reading. I will finish my Hall of Memories some day, yadda, yadda, yadda

 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Honor_Hand

[Durandal]

I am really sorry to hear that the shit has indeed the hit the fan for you. Or maybe it has for a while now and the volume of shit just got a lot bigger. I am really glad that all this doesn't affect your mood, much! So keep doing what you can and hope for the best.

 

About this journal thing, yeah it is a bit of a drag for me too. Mostly because there are other places where we can post our progress and it's probably easier for everyone to respond to a status update. I think it is probably easier to use the status updates and the most recent platinum thread and updated a journal silently. Maybe post some major updates from time to time.

 

Too bad that Crunchyroll turned out to be not very satisfying for you. And from what you are saying there seems to be no legal alternative online. So I guess I should keep waiting until something interesting comes along or I find some way to buy them on discs with a good english sub, if I am ever going to seriously get into anime that is.

 

Nice to hear that you will pick up the Tomb Raider Trilogy soon, I am sure you will enjoy it. They are still the best what the series has to offer and even the latest one can't touch them in my opinion.

 

P.S.

Oh forgot to mention this, your spoiler sections aren't working.

[Honor_Hand]

Ha ha ha, that's an accurate analogy for what I'm going through right now. Yes, the shit hit the fan a loooong time ago, it just happens that the volume of shit being thrown at me right now got considerably bigger Thanks for the good wishes! ^^

 

Yeah, I also find Status Updates to be a much more comfortable way to share our progress and talk with friends and other people. At least, when we want to share just small pieces of text and thoughts. The journal/checklist idea is pretty cool too, especially if we are looking to have a more thoughtful conversation with a considerable amount of text, share some deep opinions on any given game/trophy or maybe just post a major update about our current status in life.

 

I wouldn't say CR was completely bad, just not as good as I was expecting it to be. It is a pretty economic legal alternative, I'll give it that but for everything they did on their site, I was sure I could find it better somewhere else, with more options and for a lesser cost. I wouldn't like to advocate for piracy but, oh well... I thought the medium would have been more fully developed by now. If you're ever looking for an anime to watch, let me know I'll recommend a good series of your liking

 

Looking forward to starting that one soon.

 

I don't know what is going on with the spoilers on this website honestly... They sometimes work, and sometimes doesn't. Just edited my post, saved it again and they seem to be working now.