The Gaming Diary: Chapter 3

[MetalFRO]

Keep at it with Axiom Verge, Disposed Hero! It's one of those games that, if you let it, will sink its claws into you. I've purchased the game 4 times over: twice on Wii U, once on Switch, and I even bought the Vita version used, and I don't even have a Vita yet

[Link41]

F-Zero X (N64) - Multiplayer mayhem tonight, I'm way more rusty then I remembered. Even my wife managed to beat me twice and she is terrible at racing games.

[Ghost Soldier]

I spend quite a bit of time playing The Black Bass on NES. It's the only thing in this world that makes sense to me at the moment.

[Disposed Hero]

The Outer Worlds - I didn't hesitate to start this and have put about 20 hours into it since Friday evening. Really great and addicting game that feels like a big mixture of Fallout, Borderlands, and Mass Effect. I'm getting a bit worn out of all the side quests, and my OCD requires that I do them all, but on the bright side I'm ridiculously overpowered now. I've read that thorough playthroughs should take about 30 hours, but I feel like I'm not even at the halfway point right now at 20 hours. But it feels like it's been a while since I've played a game like this, and I would definitely encourage anyone with Game Pass to check it out.

Dying Light - Since we just finished Gears 5, my friend and I decided to go back to a game that we enjoyed but could never get through because we didn't play online regularly enough. We both just played through the tutorial, but so far I'm enjoying the game even more than I remembered. I'm looking forward to finally getting through this one.

[Disposed Hero]

The Outer Worlds - I finished this over the weekend and really enjoyed it overall. I felt like the story was fairly weak since most of the events of the game felt relatively insignificant, and then the final mission came out of nowhere. I can't shake the feeling that the developers had more planned but had to cut some of the storyline due to time/budget constraints. However, other than some fairly minor gripes, the game is excellent overall, and I would highly recommend it.

Dying Light - My friend and I are still plugging away at this and are around the same point when we stopped the last time. Here's hoping the same thing doesn't happen twice!

Galerians - I finished this and felt like I enjoyed it overall. There are a lot of interesting ideas and mechanics here, but the implementation is a bit flawed, which allows for some pretty frustrating combat sections. I think this is one that old-school survival-horror fans should check out.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - I got about halfway through the game and reached a really tough and annoying boss fight that really soured my opinion of the game. I finally got past that boss, so now I can continue on and hopefully start enjoying the game more. So far, this is my least favorite of the 'Metroidvania' titles.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - I'll admit, I've never been a big fan of the MGS series. I played the first two pretty much as they released and remember enjoying them well enough, but they were never a big deal to me. I also played Snake Eater around the time of its release and remember being incredibly frustrated by all of the cutscenes and dialog. Since the Cartridge Club is playing Snake Eater this month, I decided to give this game another chance and see if it clicks. I'm about 30 minutes in, but I knew what to expect with the early part of the game.

[Link41]

Super Smash Bros. (N64) - I've been having better luck lately using Samus. I usually use Link/Pikachu but I started losing all the time

[EZ Racer]

Got out Aerobiz Supersonic. It had been a while since I last played it, but love all the micro-managing involved. Always something to do.

[Link41]

Duck Hunt (NES) - Now that my basement game room is up and running, this is the game that we broke it in with.

[Link41]

Diddy Kong Racing (N64) - The kids were tinkering away in single player but then it evolved into a multiplayer bout with all four of us.

[shaggy]

Playing Brain Lord for the SNES.

[MetalFRO]

Put a little more time into the Link's Awakening remake last night after my stream. What a charming game.

[Link41]

Super Smash Bros. (N64) - Playing 1P Mode and unlocking that Jigglypuff.

[Disposed Hero]

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - I'm getting pretty close to the end and have mixed feelings overall. I enjoy the general gameplay loop of exploring and leveling up, but this game has a bad habit of forcing you into new areas with really hard/cheap enemies and placing the save points somewhere where I can't find them. It ultimately means I have to keep playing through the same area multiple times until I can get past everything and reach the save point. It gets annoying, but I enjoy the game quite a bit when I'm not in that situation.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Also getting close to the end of this. As I mentioned previously, I've never been a huge fan of the series and this entry in particular. Playing it again now, I can safely say that I like it. I still think it has some problems and some frustrating sections, but after getting a feel for the mechanics and what the game expects from you, it has grown on me quite a bit. I wouldn't quite put it into the 'best game ever' category like many people do, but I have enjoyed my time with it and want to go back and replay the other games in the series now.

Shenmue II - I replayed the first Shenmue a few months back and still really enjoyed it. After replaying the second game, I have mixed feelings on it. I really enjoyed the first half of the game, but the second half was very frustrating and tedious. The overall layout of Kowloon and the objectives just made it feel like there were constant roadblocks for even simple objectives. I enjoyed it overall, I just wish the Kowloon section was better designed.

Shenmue III - So obviously I was going to roll into the long-awaited third game after finishing the second. I'm still not very far into it yet, but I have mixed feelings so far. I like it overall, and I appreciate that they tried to keep it close to the original games, but there are certain changes I'm not a fan of. The combat in particular feels like a step back from the originals, and there's an annoying stamina mechanic where you have to constantly eat food because your health is constantly draining. It feels like there's a bit more of an RPG influence since you can train to level up your overall strength and stamina, so that's kind of neat. I think Digital Foundry's review of the game is pretty spot-on, so I would refer anyone interested to check that out.

[shaggy]

Playing some Brain Lord on the SNES!

[Link41]

Minecraft: Story Mode (Windows Store) - Good thing I downloaded the remaining episodes before license removal.