Webhead123

This is one of a handful of reasons why I'm not going to dive into Diablo 4 for a good while. As one of those "endless" type games where grinding, exploring and leveling up is essentially the entire point, I just don't want to sink that kind of time, considering how many other things I've got on my plate. TotK is also going to have to wait for that same reason. I know I'll love it...I'm just not ready for it to dominate my free time right now.

It's a personal thing, obviously, but I like my Castlevanias to be more, well, "Castlevania" and less "Metroid". That is, I like more linear stage progression, pure side-scrolling action and less exploration, puzzles and RPG systems. Give me the NES, SNES and GEN games over the later entries all day every day (and Rondo is great, too). Of the later Castlevania's that I have tried though, I can say that Symphony and Aria have been the most enjoyable. Yeah, there's still a lot of "busywork" going on in them compared to the early titles (and even compared to actual Metroid games) but they have enough focus on the action and platforming that it doesn't ruin the mood. I think the list you're working with should prove to be a good litmus test of what you like about Castlevania and what you don't. I have not played Ecclesia, though, so I have no comment on that one.

Yes, I can see the addictive loop behind it, so I can appreciate how this became such a phenomenon for the audience and time that it did. It's that raw dopamine rush of leveling up, unlocking new powers, finding new Pokémon and repeating the cycle. That said, now that I've seen that core loop, I think I'm good with what I have. There are only so many ways to reiterate on that concept meaningfully, so if I'm ever gonna spend any more time with it (and that is a big "if" with all the other things I've got going on these days), I'll just go back to Blue or Leaf Green (or was it Emerald? Now I'm questioning myself) and continue that journey.

I think it's been established that I'm not a Pokémon guy. I see nothing wrong with it but the series and concept never really spoke to me. Kinda after my generation, I guess. I've played a couple hours of Blue and a couple hours of Leaf Green and I have to admit that I could see myself messing around with them on occasion because there is some RPG-lite fun to be had. But yeah, I don't see myself ever playing a particular game in the franchise other than that.

Currently working my way through the System Shock remake. After following the project since 2017, I was concerned what toll all the development hell would take, between having to switch game engines and effectively restarting the build from scratch but I remained cautiously optimistic because System Shock is one of those pivotal titles for me that, if any game deserved a modern remake, this was one of them. I'm so incredibly pleased to say that...it is drokking amazing! I'm taking my time with it. Playing it in tightly-paced sessions so that I can maximize my appreciation for the passion that's on display here. It's been long enough since I last attempted to play through the original that, outside of the first level, it feels pretty much entirely new again. They've managed to pull off the near-impossible feat of being both staunchly true to the original concept and design while also making the game's interface and controls infinitely more accessible for modern play. It is still as hardcore as the original in all the right ways. There's no hand-holding. No checkpoints or objective markers. The game doesn't care if you've found a particular weapon or upgrade before you move on to another part of the station. You're still going to have to listen to audio logs and sometimes backtrack to previous areas to complete your goals. It's a dungeon-crawl in space, where the maps are maze-like, the enemies are tough and aggressive and your resources are limited. Despite this, the game never feels unfair or that your failures are anything but your own fault. You were too hasty, or too greedy, or too oblivious to your surroundings and it is so incredibly immersive and rewarding to fight your way through all of those odds stacked against you. Essentially, every way in which the original should have been tightened up and improved it has been and every way in which it should have stayed true to the original, they've done that. While I'm sure its exposure is going to limit it's potential recognition and the competition this year is already fierce, this is the kind of game that will honestly deserve to be at least mentioned when people look back at contenders for GotY 2023. It is truly impressive.

Destroy All Humans: Remastered is complete. Fun game and glad I finally finished it. It isn't a flawless experience. There are some mid-game stages that are frustrating for reasons that are mostly the result of poor design (escort missions...ugh) and the final boss fight is the kind of tedious bullshit that has no honest justification. However, the variety of weapons and skills that the game offers the player to simply go ballistic is quite satisfying. The game manages to keep from getting too stale, thanks to mixing up the gameplay ever couple of stages. I think it gets an 8/10 from me. Very solid and fun. Now I'm ready to check out the sequel, which I hear is generally better than the first and almost certainly the best game in the series.

I was never a big puzzle-game player but I remember renting this one out of curiosity. Not terrible but also not remarkable in any way and I actually found slightly more lasting entertainment from Yoshi's other puzzle game on NES. 5/10

The System Shock remake releases in a few hours. If you're looking for me over the next few weeks, I'll be on Citadel Station giving a rogue A.I. the "middle finger salute". Edit: Sorry. Meant to put this in the "currently playing" thread.

I was originally signing up to get one (an HD-compatible TurboDuo? Who doesn't want that?) but I just spent a ton of money on a different project and I had to hold my feet to the fire on this one. Perhaps someday...

I never did beat the game all the way through and I haven't played it since probably 2010. That said, I do remember quite enjoying it at the time, so I gave it an 8/10. While I think the original Half-Life left a much bigger and better impression on me, Half-Life 2 certainly felt like a "game changer" in the industry and I have to give it props for that. It clearly never became one of my all-time favorites or anything but I still respect it.

I have to admit that a) I was never all that big a fan of the GTA series (I played much more Saints Row), and b) I only ever played about an hour or two of San Andreas. Thus, I don't think I'm qualified to properly rate it. But if I were to do so, I think I'd be inclined to give it something in the range of 6 out of 10. I can see why someone could get completely absorbed in the game and have a great time exploring it. I never had that experience, so I don't have any great sense of admiration or nostalgia for it.

I don't know how statistically rare it actually was (as I understand, the special encounter system was partly based on the player's Luck stat) but one of my favorite random encounters in the original Fallout was finding the crashed saucer. Searching the wreckage, you found two alien corpses. One carried a Velvet Elvis painting and the other carried one of the best weapons in the game, the alien blaster. On the saucer itself was a sign that read: "Property of Area-51. Return if found."

As a piece of fantasy adventure animation, it is a fun (if frantic) piece of entertainment. As a game...it doesn't hold much appeal. The entire gimmick was making you memorize the inputs so that you could see more of the animation play out and stealing your quarters along the way. Today and with the ability to play it effectively "for free", there's really no reason to go through all of that other than for bragging rights, I suppose. I have a great admiration for Don Bluth's work in animation and his are some of the most nostalgic media from my childhood. For featuring his wonderful artistry in a quirky fantasy setting, despite the very limited gameplay, I'll give Dragon's Lair a straight 5/10. But yeah, just watch a playthrough on Youtube and enjoy it that way.

I haven't explored all the possible route combinations yet but I can say that...yeah, Sypha kicks ass and is usually the direction I go if I'm just playing casually and not trying something new for the sake of it. However, Alucard is not to be underestimated. The stages on his path aren't my favorite but he's just generally useful and fun to play. But Sypha...

Oh, absolutely! I'm still in the process of finishing the Oracle games (but I can already tell you they're great) but Link's Awakening is probably my third-favorite Zelda game after ALttP and BotW. There have been a few blips of awesomeness along the way, for sure. And a lot of my biases stem from being much more a fan of the 2D Zelda formula and aesthetic than the 3D take on it.

Tragically, I still haven't played past the opening five minutes of Majora. I'm convincing myself that I will play it at some point but who knows when that will happen. Up until BotW, for me it was all downhill for Zelda games after ALttP. I was as initially impressed with Ocarina as everyone else was at the time but over the years, I've come to learn that most 3D Zelda just never had the same charm or appeal to me. I was primarily focused on PC gaming around the time that Majora released and my N64 was mostly gathering dust, so I have zero nostalgia for it.

I can't comment on Tekken 3 specifically because I don't believe I've played it. However, I can comment on the Tekken series as a whole by saying...I don't think I've ever actually liked a single one of them that I have played. In part, I've never liked fighting games on a 3D play field. Soul Caliber, Virtua Fighter, some of the later Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games...none of them really work for me. Fighting games just don't feel right (or fun) unless they're played on a single 2D plane. For another, I don't like fighting games that put a lot of focus on juggles, stun-locks and grapples. I can't claim to be an expert on any of the Tekken games (my lack of enjoyment naturally limited the time I spent playing them) but every Tekken game that I have tried always felt like it was a race to be the first to abuse trapping your opponent in the air and exploiting long hit-recovery animations. Also, the control schemes always felt strange and unintuitive to me and the fighting overall felt stiff and sluggish. So yeah, I won't give Tekken 3 a specific rating but as a whole series, I'd be hard pressed to rate any of them higher than a 4 out of 10.

Why do people keep talking about SMB3 needing a shave feature? Mario's mustache is one of the most iconic things about his appearance. Why in the world would anyone want the ability to shave it?

I'm still pissed that this game didn't find more success, as I loved almost everything about it. But if nothing else, we got a killer soundtrack out of the deal.

I mean, yeah, giving it anything but a 10/10 would be me just being contrarian. While I know for a fact that I'm not as rabidly enthusiastic for this game as some people and I actually like Super Mario World a few measures more than this one, it's a 10 for sure. I remember how much all the marketing lead up impacted me and I still vividly remember getting my first chance to play it at PowerFest 1990 (World 7-1 was the first stage I attempted). I had my mom and grandma help me sew together a custom Raccoon Mario costume for Halloween that year. And at one of the houses I visited while trick-or-treating, they were playing SMB3 in the living room when I came to the door (they were currently on World 2). That should tell you something right there. On top of all of that, it still plays supremely well even today.

Objectively, this game likely deserves a 9 or 10 for everything it is and does on the SNES. Subjectively, my gut reaction is to give it an 8 mostly because it didn't "wow" me the way the original DKC did and, as a result, I haven't spent nearly as many hours with it. But I can recognize that I'm being rather unfair and superficial in that comparison and when it really come down to it, DKC2 is probably one of the best action-platformers ever made. So, I'll give it a 9/10.

"This whole "Mario" thing is just a fad. Just you wait...in the next ten years, nobody will remember who that mustache man is." - Probably some jerk in 1989

The week before last, I discovered the new multiplayer game Deceive Inc. and have been quite enjoying my time with it. It has managed to nail the feel of playing through a '60s/70's era super-spy movie, a la James Bond, complete with espionage, backstabbing and futuristic gadgets. Absolutely worth its $20 asking price and Steam says I've already logged 25 hours on it.

Altered Beast is an example of a game that survives purely on nostalgia for me. The graphics and sound have become iconic in my brain and instantly transport me back to that dark, smokey arcade in 1988. And while I can tolerate a few minutes of actually playing the arcade original on those vibes, the Genesis port doesn't cut it in that same way. 4/10 for the arcade. 3/10 for the Genesis cart.

I've never played the arcade original but I have played quite a bit of the Genesis port and its sequels. I enjoy the game for its nostalgia and some neat gimmicks like the magic system and kicking gnomes for power-ups. That said, considering it today, the original game is pretty plodding and limited, even against other beat-em-ups on the same console. If it's a fantasy setting you want, even just springing for the sequel is a better deal and if setting doesn't matter...well, Streets of Rage, TMNT, etc. are really just leaps and bounds better. 6/10 because I can still play the game and enjoy its period charm and do still find myself booting it up from time to time. But if you can say nothing else good about it, at least it isn't Altered Beast. Edit: Also, beat-em-ups are my jam. Love 'em. Well...the good ones, anyway.