The Gaming Diary: Chapter 3

[bombatomba]

You know you want some EarthBound on 2DS XL!

Yes.  Yes I do.  After Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, though.  While earlier I lamented at the amount of hours that I had left in DQ7, I have picked up another JRPG that will take the same amount of time to finish.

It's definitely a flawed game but I have a lot of nostalgia for it and still think the mech levels look really cool, even if some of the enemies are goofy.

I feel the same way.  I remember first playing this and having difficulty resolving the silly stages in between the mech ones, but the nostalgia is enough to carry it in my memories.

[Addicted]

Forza Motorsport 7 (X1) - Graphically it look great and the gameplay is solid. It strikes a nice balance between arcade and simulation but the amount of credits you gain per race is minimal. You gain mods from lootboxes that boost the amount of credits you receive by hitting certain conditions such as finish in the top 3 etc. The lootboxes can be purchased using in game currency or real money. Since you only gain a minimal amount by racing normally it seems to funnel you towards pay to win. If you want a Forza game grab Horizon 3 or Forza 6. It's a shame that the lootboxes ruined the game.

Shadow of War (X1) - No matter how hard I try I can't get in to this game.  I may have burned out on the previous entry. I'll keep trying.

Popful Mail (SCD) - It's a good game with a quirky sense of humor. I can see why it's praised.

[Disposed Hero]

Yakuza Kiwami - A couple more hours in and my thoughts are pretty much the same.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 - I finished Episode 1 and am probably close to halfway through Episode 2.  I think this game feels a bit more rushed than the first, at least in terms of its story.  I still like it though.

Shining Force II - STILL working on this.  Just finished the Geshp battle.

Oxenfree - I finished this.  It was ok.  Probably not something I'll ever play again even though the ending hints that you should do multiple playthroughs.

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - I've put a few hours into this so far.  It feels very similar to the first game, which was expected.

The Evil Within 2 - I really enjoyed the first Evil Within, so I was pretty excited for the sequel.  I am enjoying the game, but I liked the first game much more.  The sequel has unfortunately fallen victim to the ever increasing homogenization of action games, so it has a shoehorned open-world environment along with side quests and a crafting system.  And all of that added stuff feels very half-assed.  In fact, I would say that the production values of this game as a whole feel lower than the first.  A lot of things seem kind of janky.  It's still a good game, but whenever this game sticks me in a creepy corridor with a lot of trippy things going on (what it does best), it really makes me miss the first game.

[GrayGhost81]

I also played through Oxenfree. I played a whole playthrough in one day. I actually didn't really like the characters at first but the "Twilight Zone" feel of the game kept me pushing to see what would happen next.

I'm not going to replay it soon but I watched some youtube videos about the different endings, and let's just say that was good enough for me. A real head-trip either way.

[Boshamp]

June 26th was the last day I played a console video game until last night. A dry spell of almost four months. Considering I have only played a couple games over the last year aside from participating in an achievement competition for those few weeks in June, it felt like forever. I just stared at my games and couldn't figure out where to start again, and with my XBone power supply overheating frequently, I had an even more difficult time trying to figure out what to play, but I got a few hours in before passing out.

Splatoon 2 (Switch) - I have never been a huge fan of shooters aside from Gears of War, but this series has been a very different experience. Very well balanced, requiring more strategy than brute force to win any game mode. I just wish I could form a party or at least communicate with my teammates in some way, which I have taken for granted on other systems.

Fortune Street (Wii) - I have been wanting to play this game for a long time now and since I remembered to leave out a replacement sensor bar after moving, I was finally able to play my Wii/Wii U games again. I am in love with the more in depth system of commerce, but was really hoping it would have a more "Mario Party" feel to it. It ends up being a fancier version of Monopoly with licensed characters thrown in. I am left wanting some mini-games, character interaction, and more non-property spaces to make things more exciting.

[Disposed Hero]

Yakuza Kiwami - Just hit the 20 hour mark.  Still love the game, but I'm really seeing where this is a remake of an older game.  The story doesn't feel quite as fleshed out as other Yakuza games I've played.

Shining Force II - Creeping ever closer to the end.  Just finished the Odd Eye battle.  I'm hoping to finally finish this one this weekend.

[Addicted]

I have to make as much progress as I can as Wolfenstein II and Assassin's creed Origins come out next week:

South Park Fractured But Whole (X1) - Very crude and offensive but I knew that going in. It's more of the first game with more of a fleshed out battle system. It moves quickly though as it clocks in around 10 hours.

Gran Turismo Sport (PS4) - It's a game for car lovers and simulator heads. It's not for me as need some arcade in my racing games.

The Evil Within 2 (PS4) - I've only played up to Chapter 3 but I like it so far. It's set in a virtual world so all sorts of messed up things can happen and often do. For the record I played about an hour of the first game.

[GrayGhost81]

Started Ace Combat 6 for my blog series. I had trepidation after my troubles with 5 but 6 has implemented a revolutionary game design element known as CHECKPOINTS! I'm actually enjoying this one a ton, but the long missions, even with checkpoints, require a massive time investment, so that prevents me from playing this game in the morning.

That makes for a good opportunity to make more progress in Final Fantasy Adventure. I don't hate it but there's nothing really pulling me into it either. It will be interesting to discuss it for the playthrough and podcast for sure.

[Boshamp]

Started Ace Combat 6 for my blog series. I had trepidation after my troubles with 5 but 6 has implemented a revolutionary game design element known as CHECKPOINTS! I'm actually enjoying this one a ton, but the long missions, even with checkpoints, require a massive time investment, so that prevents me from playing this game in the morning.

That makes for a good opportunity to make more progress in Final Fantasy Adventure. I don't hate it but there's nothing really pulling me into it either. It will be interesting to discuss it for the playthrough and podcast for sure.

I didn't play all the way through it, but I did get about halfway or 3/4 through the story-line before putting it down. I picked it up at launch with the flight sticks and those are amazing! The entire reason I haven't finished it is because I haven't been able to access them and I refuse to play without them. Lol

[Disposed Hero]

Yakuza Kiwami - Around 25 hours in.  I definitely like Yakuza 0 more, but this one is still great.

Shining Force II - Finally finished this game.  Although I feel like 2 is technically superior in many ways, I think I enjoyed SF1 more.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 - I think I'm about halfway through episode 4.  I'm really enjoying the story.

The Evil Within 2 - On Chapter 13 now.  Chapters 8-12 moved away from the open-world aspect and were much more linear.  I have a lot of mixed feelings about this game but am enjoying it overall.

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - Just starting Chapter 2.  These games are really starting to become like a 'comfort game' for me.

[Addicted]

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/QeL1Abt.jpg[/img]

South Park (X1) - If you liked the last game rent or pick this one up. The combat doesn't feel varied enough from the last game but I'm still enjoying my time with it.

The Mummy Demastered (PC) - This game is a mix between Turrican and Super Metroid. I like what I've played so far.

[Link41]

Costume Quest 2 (Wii U) - Been rather enjoying this as of late, will have to check the first game at some point.

[Addicted]

South Park (X1) - Finished. If you liked the last game pick this up.

The Mummy Demastered (PC) - A good Metroidvania.

The Evil Within (PS4) - The more I play of this game the more I like it. The upgrade system makes you feel empowered without allowing you to brute force your way to victory.

Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) - I still like this game a lot. I'll leave further impressions to the official thread.

[Disposed Hero]

Yakuza Kiwami - Over 30 hours now and should be getting close to the end.  I don't think I'll ever play a Yakuza game I don't like, but this one is definitely not my favorite.  Some of the encounters feel really cheap (certain bosses, coliseum opponents, etc.), and the whole Majima Everywhere thing gets pretty obnoxious.  I still have a hard time putting it down though.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Almost finished with Episode 4.  I had a hard time making a certain decision halfway through the episode, so I looked online to see what the consequences were, and I was extremely disappointed to see that things play out practically identically either way.  Seems pretty lazy of the developers to do that.  I'm still really into the game though.

The Evil Within 2 - Finished this game.  Despite the problems I had with it, I really enjoyed it overall.  I wasn't a big fan of the open-world portions, but the latter half of the game is much more linear.

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - I'm a little ways into Chapter 2, mainly doing sidequests now.

Super Mario Odyssey - Really fun game.  I think they went overboard with all the moon pieces you can find, and I have a hard time moving on to new levels until I feel like I've found everything in the current level.

Cuphead - Played a little bit of this.  Seems pretty fun.

[shaggy]

Beat RE6!