Trip Hazard

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Posts posted by Trip Hazard

  1. Posted

    Not "recently completed" as I first completed the base game a long while back, but I've only just gotten around to the final piece of DLC for Dark Souls 2: The Crown of the Ivory King. I was thoroughly impressed with both of the other episodes, for various reasons, but mostly because they upped the challenge and featured intricate, compacted areas with plenty of twists and turns. In this aspect the Ivory King doesn't disappoint; initially it seems fairly linear, but an event happens that opens up a lot of previously inaccessible paths. There's a small part of me that cynically thinks that this is just a way for the devs to pad out the content, because unless you'd been paying close attention, you'd probably have to explore everywhere a second time, to ensure you found all those paths.

     

    Still, how uncharitable an assessment! The devs do a lot with relatively little, and this DLC, like the previous two, strikes a fine balance when it comes to doling out bonfires at appropriate intervals. The edge of my seat has seen quite a lot of use, just recently...

     

    The final boss of this DLC is, thematically, very interesting, despite being somewhat hamstrung by a limited moveset and mundane appearance. The other non-optional boss is also interesting, with some rapid flurries that can catch you off guard, and it's just pleasant to once again be fighting a beast in a game which generally favours humanoid foes. That usual tactics apply, mind you: stab it in the arse.

     

    In short, I'm impressed, and I often wonder why there wasn't so much care applied to the main game. A metric shitload of areas, but not many that make you feel really involved. I'd highly recommend that everyone who has finished DS2 but hasn't tackled the DLC should do so. They're essentially the game I wanted all along.

  3. Posted

    I really enjoyed it at the time, but I remember reviewers criticising the game for very frequent load zones (not so much a problem now it loads quickly), and those interminable locked doors, though they do become less frequent as you progress.

     

    If you want to have more fun towards the end of the game and keep things moving along briskly, I'd recommend using the scythe in conjunction with a powered-up Speed spell. Hold up, it slices and dices? I'll take ten.

  4. Posted

    I played the demo of Mana Spark and I would recommend having a look. It's a top-down roguelite, somewhat reminiscent of Hammerwatch and Titan Souls. There's no class system as such: you're always equipped with a bow and you can roll, and it's the items you find that determine what extra skills you'll have.

     

    The website boasts of a unique AI system which means different types of enemies will work together to kill you (indicated in game by a grey strip joining them together) but in my playthrough I only saw one example of this. It's an idea with potential, nevertheless. My main gripe with it is that it's a bit easy. Bearing in mind it's a demo, there aren't many enemy types, only one type of dungeon, and I got through it with ease. Still, it is possible I just got lucky with my item drops?

     

    Give it a go if you've got half an hour.

  5. Posted

    Oh man, don't even get me started on Alan Wake. I had a pretty serious case of off-base - and unreasonable - expectations from reading previews about it and seeing some of the gorgeous screenshots, but man. It wasn't just not at all what I expected, but also boring, asinine, repetitive, overlong and, last but by no means least, *Barry*.

     

    Yes, very "video gamey" as you say...

  7. Posted

    Finished Her Story and The Beginner's Guide.
     
    Both good. One of them took my breath away, left me reeling, mouth agape. 
     
    Yup, TBG is totally great. I don't think I'll ever play it again, and not just because it's a "walking simulator" or whatever we're calling this kind of thing, but because it made me super uncomfortable at times.
     

    Some of Coda's constructions were, I thought, incredible tense. I kept expecting something awful, not like a jump scare, but to find out something which made me really concerned for Coda. Like, at the end of Gone Home where I thought I'd find Samantha hanging from a rafter, a noose looped around her neck and poo in her pants. That didn't happen and TBG surprised me as well. It was brutal at the end, like I felt that I was the one who had poisoned Coda's creativity and that I made him feel physically sick.

     

    I have questions about the game and some half-formed theories, so I'll probs hit the thread for it. It's still percolating with me as I only finished it late last night. 

     

    Her Story is less great, but I did like it. Played it thought with my girlfriend over a couple of nights. I went into it knowing that it told a story in a non-linear way, and so I didn't expect it have a concrete "The End" moment, where everything is wrapped up neatly. And, I wasn't disappointed, but also, as a fan of closure, I kinda was? Can't be bothered going back to it to find every single clip, but I think I got the gist of it. For me, I really wanted the game to focus more on the murder mystery, whodunnit side of things, but after we explored this trail it quickly veered off into something quite different. I don't want to spoil it, but I'll just say I was less taken with that. Overall, I would still recommend it. 

     

    Viva Seifert was great. She was just subtle enough that I felt I had to watch her body language and pay attention to her tone of voice, which made me feel clever when I then got a good hit with my next search term. But, it has enough of the hammy soap-opera about it so as not to exclude people who struggle reading people in that way, or make it necessary to really study clips multiple times. Just got it spot-on.

  8. Posted

    Man, I have been quitting games with gay abandon recently.

     

    Mutant Mudds Deluxe - movement speed too slow, instant death on hitting spikes and far too many trinkets to collect. Ain't got time for this shit.

     

    Full Mojo Rampage - really boring. Again, base movement too slow and I don't like it when this is a "stat" to be improved as you play (see also: Binding of Isaac). It has cookie-cutter levels which were extremely unimaginative, and the first boss was v. tedious to fight: easy to predict and shoot, but has lots of health. Ugh, no.

     

    Feel like I'm on the verge of quitting Titan Quest, which I've been playing in the new, anniversary edition, form. I'm playing as a hunter and I only just got the chance to multi-class so I picked Dream. People were saying I'd be squishy, but able to deal a ton of damage. A kind of hit-and-run class, which sounded fun. Well, maybe it becomes fun but initially, you do piss all damage and have a very limited range of attacks to call on. This isn't uncommon for an ARPG - there's an argument to be made that you have to start off weak and weedy in order to feel like a demigod by the end - but leveling is simply too slow and when I look at the skill tree, I just can't see anything that looks exciting. Mostly it's incremental improvements to my chance to pierce the enemy or dodge an attack, and that's all behind the scenes stuff...

     

    Where's the skill that lets me fire off a volley of flaming arrows? Or the one that makes me run like the wind, leaving a trail of ensnaring thorns behind me? Probably only get that stuff when you're almost done with the game :/

     

    Lastly, I'm not quitting exactly, but not sure when I'll go back to Devil Daggers. I really like it, and I really want to be good at it - totally not happy that fucking Dennis is ahead of me on the leaderboard - but I tense up when I play and I hold my mouse in a weird way and get the dreaded MEGACRAMPS so I just can't. But, like I said, seems like a great game.

  12. Posted

    Declan, the episode with Ellie Gibson was great. Can't believe you've never heard of Loot, though! I'm feeling quite ill at the moment (not related to hearing your podcast) but I'll post more thoughts when I'm back to normal.

  13. Posted

    We deliberately skipped the Lost World. I remember how teeth-gnashingly frustrating some of those levels were, and it didn't seem worth it. Also, if memory serves, you have to pay 15 coins to Klubber at each kiosk, which I think would necessitate grind? So, I've never seen the true final ending to DKC2, and, as I lack a controller with a good d-pad, I won't be seeing it any time soon.

     

    I played DKC a lot as a kid, too, but I don't remember any secret levels or anything like that? I completed the whole game several times, but probably missed out on hidden stuff.

     

    Anyway, I just now, this moment, finished AM2R, and I'm really happy to have played it. My total time was 6h22m, with an 84% collection rate. I may play it again and try to cut that time down. If it weren't for a few times where I was completely unsure of how to proceed (my own dumb fault, mostly), I feel my time would've hovered around the 5h mark. 

     

    The game handles well, has an expansive, interconnected map, and is lovely to look at. The pacing is pretty good, with serious upgrades doled out at regular intervals and tons of extra power-ups to find. Some of the music is very good, some not so good, but as another poster pointed out in the thread for the game, it would've benefited from using silence more often to develop an atmosphere. You'll be hearing music almost constantly as you play. Some of the boss fights were great, some were utterly tedious (the final boss looks great but is boring to fight)

     

    My experience was glitch free, but I understand others have not been so lucky, although the game was recently patched. I'd recommend it to fans of metroid games or "metroidvania" games.

  14. Posted

    I've had a hectic week at work but finally got some time to myself to sit down and give this game some attention.

     

    About 3 hours in, I've been *mainly* having a lot of fun, but becoming quite bored of the actual fights against metroids. They move quickly and erratically, and oftentimes I think I've definitely hit the weakpoint only for my missile to dink off the armour. Quite a few of my fights now I'll just sit in the corner, aiming up, and just tank damage so that I can fire a missile as the metroid moves back after hitting you. That is tedious, but no more tedious than hopping back and forth hoping that it moves above and to the side of me.

     

    So, I might be stopping for the day now 'cos I am super stumped. I found a green, dark area with ********* things stuck on the walls. I think I've explored everything here that is accessible to me, but I feel I defo need the super missile to get further, and even after a thorough search of the whole map, I can't bloody find it! I would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

  16. Posted

    My nerdy metroid lovin' pal messaged me yesterday - for the first time in about a year - to let me know that this massive project has finally been completed. AM2R is a remake of Metroid 2, years in the making, and mixes a bunch of new assets with some stuff cribbed from Zero Mission, and the result is very polished and fun. 

     

    I have never played the original M2 so have no basis for comparison, but my friend relates that this version is more enjoyable to play than that venerable classic due to a smattering of new bosses, and hidden items being tucked away in clever new places, so I'm sure it'd be worth a play even for those who've done M2 to death at this point. Don't forget to use your xbox pad!

     

    Anyway, grab it here:

     

    http://metroid2remake.blogspot.co.uk/

  17. Posted

    Finished DKC2 with a friend of mine, passing the controller when we lost a life. Man, that game has some harsh difficulty spikes, which is probably a consequence of it being so creative. Each new level seems to bring a new type of challenge, whether it's swimming rapidly through cooled lava, or leaping over vast bottomless canyons with the wind shoving you along. Some of those ideas work well and the challenge seems fair, but sometimes they're throwing obstacles at you that you won't see coming, and don't have time to react to. 

     

    I'm also very glad of the save state function for the final boss fight, which goes on way longer than it has any right to. I still love the game, but I'm starting to appreciate the relative simplicity of DKC more, now.

  18. Posted

    If you can, you should grab Link Between Worlds.

     

    Ah, yes. I borrowed it from a friend, to play on my stepdaughter's 2DS. You know, from screenshots, I expected to be quite repelled by the graphics, but it actually looks lovely. I was having a lot of fun with it, enjoying the various quality-of-life improvements and just how well crafted it was in general, but then Alice took her 2DS back and I haven't played it since (that was maybe 5 months ago?) I do definitely want to go back and finish it though - based on what I played, it may well end up being one of my fave Zelda games.

     

    Sounds frustrating. Did you find that playing with other people helped you soldier on to the end?

     

    Yeah, totally! I'd played it as a kid on a real SNES, and gotten I think to the Ice Palace before quitting, but attempts on emulators since then always stalled out just after reaching the dark world. Also, I have a rubbish attention span, even for games I really like, and can rarely play for more than a couple of hours at a time. With my friends, I was putting in 6-8 hour gaming sessions, and just getting completely absorbed. 

     

    By the way, Mark Brown did a great video dissecting the dungeon design of A Link to the Past (and some other vids about other Zelda games). Here it is:

     

  20. Posted

    Excited to report that, over the weekend, I managed to complete A Link to the Past. 

     

    I say that I completed it; really it was a collaborative effort with several friends of mine, but I want to hog the limelight for myself. It has probably been about five years since I last played ALttP, so I had forgotten how to tackle most of the dungeons (oh, how grateful I was that they're shown on the map in the order you should approach them!) and my friends were no more clued-up. The game plays, looks and sounds beautiful though, really a class act in almost every respect. 

     

    We were only truly stumped in one dungeon, the Ice Palace. Dwarfing almost every other dungeon in the game in size, the Ice Palace is a bit of a grueling challenge. After a few false starts, we managed to progress far enough to get the both the boss key and the key item, and presumed the boss would be a short jog from there. Well, not quite! In a devious twist, the player has to progress towards the boss in order to hit a switch lowering some blocks in a room they'd been through previously, in order to dislodge a brick which would hold down a switch, and finally allow access to the boss. Unfortunately, that block is only accessible after the player has backtracked through at least half of the dungeon again, with, in our case, dwindling health and magic reserves.

     

    By the time we'd actually gotten to the boss room, we had no fairies left for revival, and very little magic left to use the fire rod, which was absolutely necessary to start the fight proper. So, it's out of the dungeon, grinding for fairies and magic in the overworld, then delicately descend through the whole dungeon again! Argh! 

     

    Apart from that admittedly quite hair-pulling experience, the game is splendid and much fun was had by all. It was only when we finally got to the last fight against Ganon that I realised I'd actually never made it this far before; that this monolith of gaming had been unscaled until now.

     

    I'm going to continue to hold gaming days at my house, and we've already voted to play Chrono Trigger next. Forthwith I will slay Magus and restore honor!

  21. Posted

    Before reading these last few posts, I had the urge to give S&S a try tonight (I pirated it, with the intention to buy if I liked it).

     

    I...like it? The backgrounds look great, the writing isn't bad at all, and the impact of attacks is really tangible. But, I can't beat the Sodden Knight. Like, just can't do it. Tried throwing on my heavy armour and blocking with my kite shield, no good. Tried taking all my gear off and two handing my sword for max damage and mobility, no good. After I'm out of my "flask" item, the boss is usually down to about a fifth of its HP, but then I just can't land any hits at all without getting soundly punished.

     

    What am I doing wrong, guys? Seems like this boss pulls the classic Dark Souls BS trick of having a weapon whose hit box is bigger than it appears to be :/

     

    Edit: I realised now that I didn't try spamming throwing knives or bombs at him. Seems cheap but I bet it'd work a treat.

  23. Posted

    I organised a "Zelda day" yesterday, and had some friends over in an attempt to play through all of A Link to the Past in a single sitting. Using Snes9x and a steam controller, which all worked largely painlessly, we sat down with copious amounts of snacks and drinks, and passed the pad every twenty mins or so.

    In honour of all the filthy casuls, I named Link "Zelda". We didn't quite manage to finish in the ~9hours(!) we played, but it was a fantastic start and has served as a timely reminded, after many years of being a drapes-drawn hermit, that games are at their most engaging when sat on the sofa with your mates.

    Best of all, nobody thought about the referendum *thinks about the referendum*

  24. Posted

    If anybody is after an fun - but old and somewhat obtuse - CRPG then I recommend Wizardry 8. The usual rules with old games apply: save often in different slots, and read up on how things work before you take the plunge. A mod to speed up enemy movement and attack animations is an absolute necessity, as well.