manny_c44

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Posts posted by manny_c44

  1. Posted

    I disagree with Polygon's review of this game. I wore no rose tinted glasses when I played this game for the first time last year and still thought it was really really good and would deserve the same accolades it originally got if it was released today. I think it's fine to gripe a bit about the controls but to complain about the puzzles being too hard and that there are no waypoints or hint system kind of annoys me. In my opinion there was really only one puzzle that was kind of crap (that weird rolling over the pipes puzzle to knock down the tree machine thing) and the rest were designed in a way that made sense but took some time to work through. In other words, they were difficult but fair and I think these types of puzzles are far more satisfying to solve than obvious puzzles. Knocking this game for the puzzles being too hard would be like reviewing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and giving it a lower score than a 100 piece puzzle because it was harder to find the pieces you were looking for.

     

    Plus, I think a part of what made this game (and a lot of the other LucasArts games) so special for me was the pacing that was imposed by how long it took to work through some of the puzzles. If the puzzles are obvious or there is some kind of heavy hint system at play, the impact of the game and setting is lessened for me. Having difficult puzzles forces me to comb the environments multiple times and burn the settings and items into my memory. It makes the game special to me because not only do I get to enjoy the amazing music and story, but I notice and appreciate every little detail about each environment and interaction that I might otherwise ignore. It has already been around 9 months since I first finished it and I remember every little detail so much more vividly than I typically would with any other modern game that doesn't force you to think.

     

    Of course this is all just my measly opinion, but I don't think rose tinted glasses are required for a person to appreciate the greatness of this game as much today as they might have when it first came out.

     

    Agreed. I think that tree puzzle didn't make visual sense to me until the 8th or 9th playthrough. The first time solving that puzzle it was just luck.

     

    I think overall they have really done a fine job with this remaster-- although it has already crashed for me once, right at the start of year 2, which happened last time I played as well. 

  5. Posted

    I'm going to re-post a guide I wrote for a different forum. I apologize for its length, but it's meant to cover everything you need to get started with modding Skyrim.

     

    Haha thanks! I was too bashful to ask you to write a guide but you already made one.

     

    EDIT: after setting it all up I have to say it really is a much nicer looking game-- what a weird benefit of being a late adopter. The depth of field is killer for performance though, maybe have to further drop the resolution.

     

    Also in your guide, towards the end when you are giving directions for the ENB setup, you link twice to the same file ('The Wilds' doesn't get the right link), otherwise your guide was very very helpful thanks.

  7. Posted

    On the topic of difficulty:

    That could've been a neat puzzle where you need to double back to the original passage and re-enter the same elevator twice. To solve it would require you to understand the system and then figure out how to abuse it, which is gratifying. Instead, you only need to take the three elevators present in any succession and the puzzle basically solves itself. I was practically in the process of figuring out the solution to a much harder puzzle than was actually there.

     

    Oh man, that's the way I did solve that puzzle!  I didn't realize there was an easier way.  Yeah it was very lite, maybe they got the ball rolling with simple puzzles and then didn't want the progression of the game to grind to a halt with tough ones.

     

    It's strange because the game was (atleast originally) concieved as something to please the closest fans but it ends up feeling like a game for the masses rather than the enthusiasts.

  9. Posted

    Gunpoint: Totally awesome indie game I bought during the steam sale (I bought it because Eurogamer told me to), really took me back to the 1990's in terms of of its aesthetic and rewarding gameplay.  Granted it is very short but I played through it in one day, which is rare for me.  Big recommendation.

  12. Posted

    Hey after you guys play Chibi Robo! Photo Finder post your opinions, I thought the original Chibi Robo was a little rough around the edges and un-engaging so I never finished it but I'm interested in this one....

  14. Posted

    I've been playing Attack of the Friday Monsters! and am liking it so far.  Mostly I'm interested because I could never get past the language barrier in the interesting My Summer Vacation Games (the background artist is also the game designer! which explains the pure-exploration fun of the game).  It has a basic card game that serves as the 'gameplay', while the rest of it is just wandering around and talking to people.  It has made me laugh a few times-- which usually never happens with Japanese developed games.  It really reminds me of retro games challenge in a way, in its overall feel.

     

    I like these guild games, they basically dispose of any tutorial bloat and let a proven designer make a small solid game with fitting production values.  I'm looking forward to the next Guild announcements.

  15. Posted

    I think Bill's studio has the potential to turn out something truly stellar if they could put out more product and hone their writing skills, but from the sounds of things all graphic adventure work he's been doing since Ghost Pirates has been on his own time.  I just want to see more games from this studio, and my fear is that there won't be an opportunity to see that if this isn't successful.

     

    Yeah agreed, I liked a lot about AVS and GP.

     

    Maybe they will be able to tightly edit a short-form game and reach new heights.

  19. Posted

    System Shock > System Shock 2 > Minerva's Den > BioShock > BioShock 2 > * > Infinite.

     

    Oh man, I always wanted to play the first system shock, but it always seemed like a DOS emulator and who knows what else was necessary to play the game (if you have to specifically emulate a CPU clock speed to get a game to run then, for me, it is too complicated to set up).

     

    Is there a better way to play the game?

  20. Posted

    I didn't have to grind beforehand but it was a bit of a slog going through the fight as only Giauque could do any damage, so I just supported him with the other two characters.  It was a slog, I used that Club you get from the minotaur + Thor Smash to do enough damage per turn to make the fight winnable.

  21. Posted

    An area that has spawning monsters will keep spawning monsters until the plot advances (I think).  At the beginning there are many such areas but less and less as it goes on. 

  22. Posted

    I second the excellent combat system.  You shouldn't be afraid of its complexity, I think this is by far the easiest Matsuno game I've played-- I never saw a game over screen.

  23. Posted

    Edit: In response to a comment Andrej made, I feel like i should point out that Crimson Shroud was designed by Yasumi Matsuno. So if it feels like it's cribbing from old Square stuff like Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics, it's because it's from the same designer.

     

    Well I meant specifically the art style. The lead artist on Vagrant Story was Akihiko Yoshida and he didn't work on Crimson Shroud, but the game is definitely stretching to emulate his style (mostly succesfully).

     

    Also to get past the place where you are stuck you have to repeadetly go back to the area named "waterway" (or atleast waterway is part of the name, can't quite remember now) until you get an 'Obsidian Daphne' as loot. Skeleton Mages drop the Obsidian Daphne, make sure to kill the skeleton archers first to get some mages to respawn as replacements.  The rest of the game doesn't have a wait-for-item-drop sequence, so it moves more briskly.

     

    Also...atleast on the first play through...the ending didn't really make much sense to me.

  24. Posted

    I just finished this and really enjoyed it.  Somehow it's really nice to have a JRPG that doesn't take months to finish. 

     

    Also really enjoyed the tabletop element and the way the story was told.  The whole thing was like an easier, thoroughly enjoyable offshoot of vagrant story.  And even though the art was kind of cribbing from the old Squaresoft stuff it still managed to look quite nice, hopefully the team will release something in the future.

     

    I got it on sale too (5 clams), I love these level 5 Guild projects, they are the games that I am the most excited for these days.