Yasawas

Phaedrus' Street Crew
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Everything posted by Yasawas

  1. Recently completed video games

    Two tonight, both impressive in different ways after a wee run of games I was indifferent toward. Rayman Legends (PS4). This is incredible. Not only is it ridiculously pretty with a soundtrack befitting a Disney film but there's a colossal amount of content here. The base game is a good length for a 2D platformer but on top of that they give you a load of challenge rooms (timed levels set up for you to run through basically) and remade Rayman Origins levels and daily/weekly online challenges and a multiplayer football game and probably loads more. The levels are well designed but like the recent Mario games the real genius only becomes apparent once you try to go for all the Teensies (this game's stars, effectively) and discover how well they've hidden some of them. The bosses are a challenge without being a grind, there are these wonderful musical themed levels as a prize after each, including one based around a mariachi version of Eye of the Tiger, and it's all pulled off with charm and sense of humour. It's not as good as Tropical Freeze but it did evoke it which is praise enough. Starfox 2 (SNES). I love the story of this. Argonaut made a full sequel to Starfox based around the new Super FX 2 chip, completed it, and Nintendo held it back to avoid potentially harming sales of the forthcoming N64. A complete sequel to one of the biggest games on the SNES! What else do they have tucked away in rooms in that place? At some point it's been leaked and is now widely available (which in itself must be quite a story, what else of this magnitude has ever made it out of Nintendo?), there are English patches if you need them and you can even buy reproduction carts to play on an original console which is what I did a while ago and now I've finally sat down and played it through tonight. First off, it takes a good 10 minutes for your eyes to adjust to SNES 3D which can't be more than 15fps if it gets there at all. Even once you reach this zen state trying to convince your hands to play a 3D game with a controller ill-suited to the task is no picnic I can tell you. Unlike the first game this is not a corridor shooter - bits of it are but a lot of it takes place in open space like later Starfox games, and some of it takes place on planetary areas where you are free to mince about doing your shooting thing which is pretty cool and then you discover you can press Select at any point and turn into a fucking MECH. It can jump and shoot and run around and oh man what fun. Many of the missions now involve you infiltrating bases by figuring out how to get into them (usually triggering switches as the mech) then swooping in and destroying the core however you see fit. There are a load of levels you can tackle in any order you like randomised each playthrough, there are six playable dudes, there are boss fights with the Starwolf team as this is apparently the game where they originated and of course there's Andross, who's still a big pushover of a monkeycubefaceboss thing. This is a very good game if you can accept the technical limitations of the time and worth playing if you can find an emulator that'll run it. It's fascinating to me to think how many finished games like this probably exist that we don't know about, I am grateful in this instance to the person who stole this build and illegally distributed it via the internet.
  2. #DRIVECLUB

    I would be surprised if you see that before November at this point. The online doesn't work for those who bought it, they probably don't want to add another several million players on top of that for a while.
  3. #DRIVECLUB

    The hardest past is just having the space to pass in most instances I find myself in. The tracks are often narrow and the opposition tend to bunch up quite rightly. I try to do it clean but I'm not averse to sliding gracelessly alongside someone's ride to get a better angle of exit myself. I actually really like the simple act of racing in this, it feels nice and fast and drafting behind a dude to casually slip by on the inside is always a wee thrill. It's a shame about the inconsistency of the penalties then, and how bad the AI is, and worst of all the rubber banding which is Mario Kart levels of obvious. I hope they fix this once they fix the everything else. I've stopped playing for the time being as I haven't been able to browse clubs yet and at level 17 it feels like I'm wasting all this xp but when they come back up I'll have a look for yours.
  4. PL4YST4TION 4

    Thanks to some cheap PSN credit and lack of willpower I now own Driveclub and can confirm this is not the PGR clone I was looking for. It's the weirdest feeling. It's painfully apparent that it's not finished, was rushed out and the team making it was gutted at some point along the way leaving all these decent ideas under-implemented, and it being forced offline at the moment just kills it as every bloody loading screen has a wee message extolling how integral the online side is and how much of a fud I am for not being sociable and enjoying all that good stuff. Now I feel bad for them but more bad for me and others who've bought it as it is the worst, most cynical example of cashing in on an unfinished product I can think of off the top of my head. And the actual racing isn't bad! It handles really well, the sense of speed is great, the in-race challenges are a neat idea, it usually looks pretty nice*! But there's nothing else but more racing racing racing round the same samey locations. There's no tuning, at all, there's no buying of cars, there's nothing resembling a memorable circuit so far and I don't expect to see one later. The tracks don't seem to have names and if they do they're buried somewhere I'm not noticing so how you're supposed to know which ones you like for online play later I've no idea. Argh it's so disappointing. I have a bunch of friends playing it so hopefully the online aspect will paper over the cracks until they can patch some content in but I think I've been mugged here to be honest and it's my own fault. I do it to myself, I do. * Usually. It's not as pretty and you'd have thunk for a racing game that had Sony behind it and was delayed by nearly a year. The first tutorial track which will likely be in the PS+ version if it eventually releases is a great example - the cars look almost photorealistic but the environment looks slightly off in a way I can't properly articulate which makes it look kind of really awful in a way I also can't describe well. You'll see it. It's quite jarring. I was pretty disappointed for a few races until I got to Scotland for the first time and that was just staggeringly beautiful and so Scotland it hurt and then second lap the sun came out, mega bright, in that special way it does here while still being utterly fucking dreich and dismal and it was so perfect I wanted to cry, but I didn't, I just crashed into a corner instead so great was the surprise. There have since been a few pretty standouts but there's a whole lot of average in here too. The lighting is pretty incredible at times and I do like the way they flashily condense a sunset into a minute or two but there are also times they're so keen to show it off that you will be literally blinded for half a lap and that gets old fast I can tell you. Anyway buy it and race with me. We'll put wizard logos on our cars or something it'll be great.
  5. Quitter's Club: Don't be ashamed to quit the game.

    Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. I've actually done the first four chapters which I understand is Diablo III basic but I'm not going to manage the extra content, this game is doing nothing for me at all and I've spent double figures in hours trying to work out what it is that's meant to be enjoyable about it exactly. If it wasn't such a good game to listen to podcasts to I'd never have got near this point. It's a bit like how I can play Street Fighter for a few hours here and there just as something for me to do with my hands and to keep my brain ticking over while it processes audio stimuli from somewhere else entirely. It's my own fault for buying it as it didn't look like my thing (I loathe the aesthetic, and if Borderlands taught me anything it's that lootemups are not my funtimes either) but everyone loves it don't they? And I wanted to buy a game for my PS4 and here we are. It's not for me. It should still hold enough trade in value for Smash Brothers so all is not lost.
  6. iOS Gaming

    Really? I tried it on my 5C and found the audio stuttered constantly and the game to be actually unplayable.
  7. iOS Gaming

    I just got my first iPhone in a little over four years. It's cool how I can still access all the stuff I bought back then (eh Nintendo?), but I am devastated to find that Sword and Poker doesn't run properly on a modern iOS device. That game was amazing and seems to be the only good iOS idea ever that hasn't been endlessly cloned. I bought a couple of Cave games just to give them money really and am very impressed at how well they work. Bullet hell on a tiny wee screen with touch controls didn't sound great to me but it works a hell of a lot better than most games available. Getting quietly addicted to Desert Golfing too and will pick up 80 Days based on all yous and your optimism. I am a convert.
  8. The Nintendo Wii U is Great Thread

    A Bayonetta 2 demo! I was not expecting that, sweet.
  9. THE EVIL WITHIN: Slurms MacKenzie

    I'm not buying this at launch but on Midnight Resistance a man who loves RE4 as much as me described it as the true follow up to RE4 having paired it at Eurogamer and I am now thoroughly enthused for it. I know it makes me a terrible person but hopefully this'll be a casualty of the season and be £20 in a month because Driveclub and Bayonetta have my time/money for October.
  10. Twitter :)

    I think Talon is the best Android one now Twicca and more recently Falcon Pro have been abandoned. Is Tweetbot as good as it gets on iOS? I just bought an iPhone and like everything else there are way too many of them in the app store and the majority will be abysmal I'm sure. TweetMarker support is handy.
  11. PL4YST4TION 4

    Nice, I'll give that a go later. I thought it should be under that Options menu too, it's weird to fathom why they've hidden it so well now everyone is completely opposed to including a paper manual. On the plus side you do get patch notes in that Options menu which is cool and an annoying omission on previous consoles.
  12. PL4YST4TION 4

    Am I doing something stupid or is there no system standard for electronic manuals on PS4? I'd never really needed one before but I got Diablo yesterday and I had some queries about how to read the stats screens but I can't find this anywhere. I know 3DS games all have them so it's weird if PS4 games don't.
  13. THE EVIL WITHIN: Slurms MacKenzie

    Vanquish and God Hand are incredible, acquire and play them right now. The former has Shinji Mikami in it as an NPC and all I remember seeing him do was chill behind cover in a huge firefight nonchalantly smoking which is exactly what I wanted. This has quietly crept up on me and comes out at a time when I can't really afford it but if it gets enough love on here/Twitter then I'll do things so I can buy it. Mikami might be my favourite gameman after Miyamoto so I have high hopes for it.
  14. Recently completed video games

    The Last of Us Remastered and the DLC I've forgotten the name of already. Left Behind? I'd beat the main game last year already but while this version did look megapretty and held a steady 60fps better than I'd feared it might, it just didn't stand up to a second playthrough as well as I thought it would. I don't entirely know why. I think the combat is great fun and allows for different approaches, it's a lot less explicitly explore -> combat arena -> explore -> combat arena than the Uncharteds are which is what ruins them for me, and the characters are interesting in a video game sort of way, which is to say they are a big bag of cliches but at least the voice actors are good at what they do. (There are entirely too many "how are you holding up?"s though, which is something I am very sensitive to since Jake and Sean mentioned it a while back). Basically I think this game is pretty sweet but is undermined by reminding me of Resident Evil 4 in a number of ways, but unlike that game it isn't one of my top five ever, doesn't have the same variety of locations or ludicrous ideas or memorable set pieces, and no matter how much fun sneaking about the snow sniping dudes with a bow is I'd rather be suplexing monks until their heads explode instead.
  15. Life

    This current government shambled over the line on a pathetic turnout and was forced to form a coalition to do it, they had no support here to begin with so discovering the level of discontent toward them doesn't really affect anything. Scotland is too small to influence anything sadly. I'm just incredibly disappointed, I can't put it into words. I'm not quite naive enough to think it would've all been whisky and shortbread but I was willing to take a risk and endure some uncertain times in the hope it would eventually lead to a fairer society than the Tories and UKIP want to march us toward so I don't have to see people queue up at that foodbank across the road from my office day in day out. And we were going to get rid of Trident, and the Orange Order, and stop sending our people to bomb schools in the Middle East and we totally shat it. I've avoided the media this morning as much as possible but I couldn't miss Cameron having already said something about ensuring England gets a bigger say in things or something along those lines, clearly preparing for the inevitable veto of this Devo Max nonsense should it ever even get as far as a vote. I can't even decide if how badly Labour have disgraced themselves in this is a good thing overall as whilst they've been a dead man walking for years now, trading on memories of when they were a party with ideas, they're just going to be one less viable choice in future elections. Still Hyrule Warriors is out today, it's not all bad.
  16. Life

    Fucked it. Poverty, austerity and nuclear weapons it is. Even Andy Murray couldn't save us. Gutted.
  17. Life

    They'll be close but probably won't count for much to be honest. Glasgow and Edinburgh are the two largest areas with the power to swing it significantly on their own and they won't declare until the end. Oh it's exciting and I can't wait for it to be over. Going by your name I take it you have roots or family here?
  18. Life

    2200, which is in about three and a half hours. Results are expected around 0600ish tomorrow, maybe a little later, so I'll find out as soon as I get up for work which is weird and unsettling.
  19. The Nintendo Wii U is Great Thread

    Oh not the First Press edition, just the one that includes the first game. The FPE is exclusive to Game in the UK right enough and I am a little disappointed in you for giving them money too. I actually had it on order from Amazon.fr at first for about 60 Euro I think it was then decided against it.
  20. The Nintendo Wii U is Great Thread

    I'll be holding off on that one for now I think, next month has too much stuff anyway. Speaking of which, Amazon are honouring my cheap Bayonetta 2 preorder and are sending me the special edition for the regular edition price which is downright decent of them.
  21. General Video Game Deals Thread

    Oh man that's great too, much appreciated.
  22. General Video Game Deals Thread

    That's an excellent link, thanks!
  23. General Video Game Deals Thread

    For the first time in 10 years I own a computer that can play contemporary games and the only one I really want is Crusader Kings II. Currently the Humble Store has it at £13.99 with a bewildering assortment of DLC, is this a wise purchase or is it liable to be cheaper on Steam or elsewhere at some point? I've basically never bought a PC game that wasn't on a disc (an a CD at that) so I don't know what I can realistically hope for from these fancy internet services and to be honest the volume of DLC intimidates me rather than tempting the sale.
  24. Twitter :)

    I have a very delicate constitution and had a memorable run-in with some tainted chili last year which scarred me. I can never forgive food which made me ill regardless of how delicious it may be, I've still never had another scotch pie since that one time my dad bought me one at an amateur football match in the 80s and I took one bite into a mouthful of grease and instantly vomited.
  25. HOWL O'WEEN (Halloween)

    In line with local custom I will be sitting in the dark pretending I'm not in when the door goes. Ah, Halloween.