Damn that looks fun.
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I just got a new TV so I’ve been playing Apex and Titanfall alongside the game of calibration! I’m pretty happy with the way everything looks.
Samsung Q70 was the choice. 65" large.
I watched just a little bit of The Expanse in 4K last night and it is mind blowing. Games with HDR are incredible. It had been six years since I got the 50" Vizio I had before this so it’s a massive upgrade.
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I finished it. 11 hours over 10 sessions.
I’d recommend it, because it’s a great concept with an interesting look.
Though I have a problem with the controls. They could have been so much better on Switch - using twin sticks, gyro, etc - but they were unchanged from the PC version. Unnecessarily cumbersome.
And I found jumping very hit and miss, because it’s a strange analogue jump that is controlled with the combination of a button and a stick, which is unexpected and ultimately annoying. The developer said I was “playing it wrong” which is… not a good response. I believe as a game developer you need to accommodate all ways in which your game can be played, not just the single way in which you expect the game to be played.
Anyway. Worth playing. Buy it in the sale.
Mostly Pang games (Super Pang Collection and DS Pang), but I’ve also been putting a few dozen (unsuccessful) runs in Darius II and Bubble Bobble lately.
Picked up M2 Shot Triggers Esprade today, it’s my first time trying M2’s revival series. I’m really impressed with how extensive the modes are at allowing you to sample the game in different ways. And the presentation is among their best yet this decade, though I wish there was a brightening option to offset the scanlines like the Sega Ages “vintage” setting.
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Nice, I picked up Esprade too!! already died enough times to unlock unlimited continues lol. It’s definitely a fun game that I wanna actually get good at (will be the first Cave game I really try to learn since Akai Katana, Mushihimesama Futari, and Guwange all came out on 360).
I played thru Wind Waker for my first time ever the other month. So since I have my WiiU hooked up (I played the HD one), I’m finally playing thru Fatal Frame 5.
first of all, this is a digital only game here in the US. Also it never went on sale ever and has always been $50 for the full game >_< but I’ve played thru all other FF games so may as well see this series all the way through (I heard the DS Spirit Camera game is awful tho… won’t play that one lol)
I’m actually close to the end of this game. I really like it, it’s Fatal Frame and if you’ve played one you’ve played them all. What I do hate however is the game mandates you use the WiiU tablet controller. The game does not even recognize any inputs from the regular pro controller, you need to use the tablet for combat in this game >_< you get used to it (as well as get used to the tank controls), but I wish I could just play this like a traditional game.
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Aside from The King of Route 66 (as in the stunt racing thread) I’ve been playing a few Sega Ages games (erm, as already mentioned in the Sega Ages thread). Fantastic conversions as always from M2.
But what I did manage to play, for the first time ever in fact, was co-op Pang! It was a quiet period over the festive season so I brought my PS3 along to work - colleague wanted to play God Hand. But we ended up spending more time on PS Classics Super Pang Collection, and the games are even more fun in co-op! Had gotten to my furthest point in Buster Bros, which is pretty brutal compared to Super Pang and Pang 3. If one player dies you both have to restart the level, but it adds an extra layer of cooperation to proceedings.
This echoes how I felt, I haven’t really gotten into wanting to get good at a Cave game since their wave of Xbox 360 releases. But both modern releases Aka to Blue and Rolling Gunner (games from ex-Cave staffers) stole a fair few hours from me for good reason.
I’ve been playing Shenmue 3 all week. I am amazed at how great it turned out. I just finished the first section and have moved on to the main city. Can’t wait to finish this.
Otherwise, I felt like murdering a baby penguin today so I took a break and am playing through Mario 64 in parallel. I’m done for the day with 89 stars.
89 stars in one day? Or is that longer?
About 4 or 5 hours.
It goes to show how small Super Mario 64’s levels are after you’ve been playing 3D games for a few decades. It seemed so expansive back in the day. But in reality, the levels aren’t much bigger than what are in SM3DW.
Yeah. Back when it was new, it took me a week of pretty much constant play-time to get 70 stars and beat it and a full month to get all the stars. It’s still one of the best 3D titles ever but it doesn’t seem as massive as it used to now that we’re used to it.
Super Mario 64 is one of those games that will never get old for me. The levels, while small by today’s standards, are exceptionally focused and it’s still surprising how much the game hides away in those worlds, and expects of us the players.
Hiding a whole world - Snowman’s land - behind a mirror puzzle really does encapsulate how much Nintendo wanted players to explore.
The newer Odyssey thankfully featured a mix of tighter, smaller worlds to complement its larger environments. But note how boring it is to return to a lot of these larger areas, which mostly consist of flat land with attractions dotted around. New Donk City is a breath of fresh air because of its verticality.
And Odyssey’s constant need to pat the player on the back in an era where our attention is so divided (900+ moons, many of which are gained for doing trivial activities) really does show that Super Mario 64 is a product of its time.
For me the long lasting appeal of Super Mario 64 is in how it offers a multitude of ways to get Mario to reach the conclusion of each of its once-cryptic ‘star’ puzzles.
Repeat playthroughs are always good fun because that made the game feel energising to play. The satisfaction came from problem solving with the physics, not because you’re constantly collecting stuff.
Other 3D platformers feature very shallow gameplay by comparison - often relying on amassing objects or achievements to give the player a feeling of satisfaction rather than through playing the game itself.
What are your opinion of other more recent 3D Mario platformers? Curious about how you feel about the Galaxy games and 3D Land/World.
Odyssey is expertly made, but I agree it’s far less fun to revisit than something like Mario 64 which has a more focused and tighter design. But I felt like the Galaxy games uphold their re-playability very well with perhaps the strongest level design in the series. I just replayed them this year and had such a blast.
3D Land and World are even more focused, but hold up perhaps to a slightly lesser extent. It’s been a while since I’ve played them though and I don’t think I’ve revisited them since Odyssey came out.
The one thing I will say about Odyssey is that it is the only Mario in a long long time that I’ve felt the pull to return to and replay. I’ve enjoyed all the others but I don’t think I’ve returned to any since 64 after fully beating them while it is something I do all the time with 64 and the ones prior to it.
Think Galaxy 2 is the only one I didn’t “fully” beat since I just didn’t want to do it again with Luigi to unlock the final final level. Also 3d world I didn’t beat every stage with every character, just Mario and random stages with the character you needed to get the item in them.
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I can’t play it without a N64 Controller. I have it on the Wii VC with the Wii CC. It’s not the same. Anyone else feel the same way?
I love 3D Mario, especially 3DLand/World, which have the perfect mix of the old school style in a 3D plane.
I definitely feel that way.
Slightly off topic, I thinking of getting an N64. How is this controller situation there? Any good options? I know many legacy N64 controllers were messed up by Mario Party lol.
I love my N64. Personally, I’d go with OEM controller with OEM parts. Just look on google for ones with a “stiff analogue stick” and you should be good to go. It’s true that many controllers were ruined and are very loose, but it was a popular system and quality 2nd hand controllers are still out there in the wild.
Also, the N64 is only natively capable of RF, composite, and S-Video. It needs to be modded for anything better than that like RGB.
But S-Video is a really really good option for it. Just make sure you aren’t actually getting composite output through an S-Video cable, there are sellers out there that sell genuine S-Video cables that carry the proper signal. Be sure to read the descriptions on ebay.
RGB isn’t as impactful on the N64 as it is on other systems since it still has an inherently soft picture, but it will give you 100% accurate colors in comparison. So it may be worthwhile.
They also have HDMI mods, as well as an external HDMI option that directly pumps S-Video quality into your HDMI port. It’s expensive though.
I’m such a huge fan of the system and couldn’t imagine being without my n64 
I need to go back to both Galaxy games to see your much of each I completed. Memory says most of 1 and not even half of 2. I didn’t feel Galaxy 2 delivered on my expectations, though probably my fault for going in anything other than open minded!
I’ve said elsewhere that the 3DS game 3D Land I found unplayable because of the variable frame rate until a 3DS firmware update improved things. It’s even better playing on a CFW New 3DS as you can run it with the faster CPU clock speed.
Though I enjoyed the Wii U game 3D World.
I’ve never played SM64, never had an N64, though I tried - and aborted - the DS version.
I adored both Galaxy games, played both to death within their release. They appeal for different reasons than the more open-ended 64 and Sunshine of course. Despite the linear level progression I remember the physics still allowing for plenty of tricks and fun along the way, and the level variety is phenomenal. I remember replaying certain level stars several times over at the time. Really want to revisit both games at some point.
I suspect you’re right about 3D Land and 3D World. 3D Land is a blast to play through because its levels are quite short but much of the game is quite safe, it’s only when it’s taking you to new places (the few propeller Mario stages set in mid-air were incredible) that it truly excites, or when it ups the difficulty. I didn’t enjoy 3D World as much as 3D Land even though it clearly brought more new ideas to the table.
Yup. I get that with a lot of N64 games, there’s something about the Z trigger in particular that makes games feel very different in the hands (Wave Race 64, Lylat Wars and 1080 Snowboarding are other good examples).