The Gaming Diary: Chapter 3

[shaggy]

Just beat Dragon Quest Builders.  Woot!

[Link41]

Band Hero (PS2) - Been playing with the family, I really need to track down the drums for this.

[shaggy]

Little Nightmares is beaten!

[Link41]

Mario Kart 64 - Some intense battle mode matches earlier. I'm not as good at battle mode myself.

[shaggy]

I beat Little Nightmares II and now I'm on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

[Disposed Hero]

Going to try to get back to posting here regularly just to keep track of what games I've been playing and my thoughts on them:

Splatterhouse - Controls could have been a bit tighter, but a fun game regardless.

A Plague Tale: Innocence - Took a bit of time to grow on me, but I really enjoyed it overall. The game starts out pretty simple but continuously introduces new mechanics as the game progresses to keep things interesting. The story takes some interesting twists. Definitely looking forward to the sequel next year!

Metroid Zero Mission - Been on a Metroid kick for the last month or two. Really glad I decided to revisit this one. I played it a year or two ago and remember not enjoying it very much, but I had a much better time with it this time.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Was really enjoying it at first, but the repetition is starting to get to me. Was hoping to finish this before Metroid Dread releases but not sure I'll be able to.

Lost Judgment - Takes a long time to finally get going, but it's slowly becoming more interesting. I've got about 10 hours into it, and so far it's probably my least favorite Yakuza game, but we'll see where it goes.

Dead Space 3 - Played this years ago in co-op and thought it was decently fun. Replaying it now in co-op and feel the same way. Obviously not as good as its predecessors, but still a fun game in its own right.

[Disposed Hero]

Lost Judgment - I think I've got around 15 hours into it and am glad to say that it's really picking up now. The story is becoming much more interesting and the side content is becoming more worthwhile and prevalent. I had a feeling that it was just a slow burn because I couldn't imagine actually being disappointed by a Yakuza game.

Dead Space 3 - I'd say we're about 3/4 of the way through this one and having a good time with it.

Metroid Dread - I've got a few hours in this and am enjoying it so far. The EMMI sections are annoying and the level design seems like kind of a mess, but it's really good otherwise.

[MetalFRO]

I fired up Doom 64 (Switch port) a couple days ago, and have been mostly enjoying that, though sometimes you just run way too fast with the analog stick and autorun turned on, so it's easy to fall off ledges or go too far. Also, some of the switches have ridiculously tight timing, so if you don't immediately move as quickly as possible as soon as you hit the switch, you won't get to the key/door/item you're after. But overall I'm digging it.

[Link41]

Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) - I've been getting used to this again and I'm having a hell of a nostalgia trip in the process.

[Disposed Hero]

Dead Space 3 - Just finished a co-op playthrough of this. Was starting to wear out its welcome by the end, but we really enjoyed it overall. The co-op exclusive missions are fun to do with all the psychological effects going on.

Metroid Dread - I'm about halfway through it but have been spending most of my time with other games instead. I enjoy it, but I find certain elements of it to be kinda annoying.

Lost Judgment - I've got around 25 hours in this game, and it has really picked up a lot since my first post about it. The story is one of the most intriguing I've seen in a game in quite a while, and the gameplay elements just keep getting better and better as I continue to unlock more special moves and side activities. I was worried that this would be my least favorite Yakuza game by far, but I definitely don't have to worry about that now.

Donkey Kong Country - Blew through this over the weekend with a friend. I really enjoy this game but was definitely noticing some bad trial-and-error level design in some places. It's also a bit shorter than I remember. I've always felt like I enjoyed this game the most of the trilogy, but I suspect that I would come away enjoying DKC2 more if I play it again soon. My friend also really sucks at this game so I have to do most of the heavy lifting.

Man of Medan - My other friend and I wanted another spooky game to play after finishing Dead Space 3, so we started this. Made by the creators of Until Dawn, so the DNA of that game is definitely here. The online co-op mode is pretty cool, but I would maybe recommend not playing with voice chat as you'll be able to give away certain things that make the game less suspenseful. A good time overall, though.

Gears of War - So we decided to start this after finishing Man of Medan. This is one of my favorite games ever and I've beaten it several times. We just finished Act 1 and are having a good time with it so far. The Lancer has to be one of my favorite weapons from any game. Closing in for a chainsaw kill just never gets old!

[WhyNotZoidberg]

Doom 64 (Switch) Having a good time here. I never played it on the 64 and it's really neat to see what is essentially a brand new Doom for me. It works well on the Switch with two analog sticks.

Breath of Fire II (NSO) If anyone ever asks, I'll tell them the two first Breath of Fire games are crap so it's surprising that I'd even fire up BoF II to give it a go after all these years. My first impression of the game in 1994 was that it was a complete snooze fest. Now that I feel like I gave it a fair chance 27 years later I'll say that there is an interesting sense of humor here and it's fun to build and populate a town as you progress through the story, but the game's mechanics are primitive as hell. The game is super slow and clunky since there is no run button and the random encounters seem to happen every 4-5 steps. Also grinding is required since random mobs can and will definitely kill you when you get to a new area and equipment/items are pretty costly in opposition to the amount of gold you'll get from battles. The game is very linear so even with the super broken text/dialogue it's impossible to get lost. If you can go somewhere, 99% that's because you have to go there. I put 10-12 hours into this and I will never visit it again, confident in my opinion that the SNES BoF games are overrated. I love BoF 3 tho.

[MetalFRO]

Doom 64 (Switch) Having a good time here. I never played it on the 64 and it's really neat to see what is essentially a brand new Doom for me. It works well on the Switch with two analog sticks.

This was the thing that helped me play the game more smoothly and for it to feel less like a stiff, early FPS. Definitely made playing through it recently a more enjoyable experience.

I finished Doom 64 on Switch a few days ago, now I'm on to Ion Fury, also on Switch.

[Link41]

Resident Evil 2 (N64) - I was keen on doing another playthrough soon. Halloween is the perfect excuse for it. I'm starting on a Leon A scenario.

[Disposed Hero]

Metroid Dread - Got about halfway through this but haven't touched it in a while. I need to come back to it and finish it.

Lost Judgment - Still rolling with this. I think I'm approaching 30 hours. Really solid game.

Gears of War - My friend and I finished this. Awesome game as always that I never get tired of.

Corpse Party - I originally played this on the PSP several years ago. It's kind of a visual novel with exploration similar to a classic 2D RPG. Really dark and morbid stories which I always find intriguing for some reason. Anyway, I had been itching to revisit this game and just saw that it was re-released for modern consoles, so I didn't hesitate to grab it. I haven't gotten very far yet, but even though my memory is really hazy on it, I still kinda know what to expect.

[Link41]

Resident Evil 2 (N64) - I've been more lost in the sewers then I care to admit...