The last few games you beat and rate them IV

[Ceremony]

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Rogue Aces (PS4, 2018)

Rogue Aces is a 2D randomly generated flight combat game. You pilot a plane that takes off from an aircraft carrier, you fly off to the right and you shoot stuff. If it's big stuff, you can fire rockets at it or drop bombs on it. If you shoot other planes out of the sky you can collect powerups that make your guns more powerful, or your plane fly faster.

That's a description rather than a review, so what else? It's fun. It's great fun actually, with changing environments ensuring a mostly fresh experience each time. Sometimes that's not a positive. You can be flying low to the ground shooting at tanks and people only for a sheer cliff over half the height of the screen appearing in front of you with no warning. Eventually you learn to fly with that in mind though, and you stop dying in such an irritating fashion.

There are lots of game modes to try which actually all offer a different experience. There's the standard campaign following the layout I mentioned originally. You get up to 100 objectives to carry out, with marked targets to destroy. As you progress you can capture airfields so you don't have to keep going back to your original starting point. The further you progress the harder the enemies get, although the vehicles themselves don't change.

Beyond that you have a harder difficulty mode with one life rather than three. You have the Frontline mode which sees you fly from separate island to island with a set amount of enemy installations to destroy. Then in Arcade mode you have smaller, shorter modes which offer variations on the gameplay, and sometimes focusing on one different element such as ejecting from your own plane and stealing an enemy's to carry on. I'm not sure how that would work in reality though.

I love the art style for the game. It's retro, yet modern, and it all looks fantastic. The background environments change as you progress along the map, and the game progresses through day and night as you complete missions. All of the objects are intricately detailed and carefully designed, although there aren't really that many of them overall. It would have been nice to have some variety. Even to make your own plane customisable would have been nice, but it's not that important.

The only other criticism I'd have here is the HUD, or lack of it. I already mentioned the cliffs. The game is playable on PS4 and Vita which makes me think they had to sacrifice things, but a radar and an altimeter would have come in really handy. There also seems to be a really weird learning curve, or maybe I'm just useless. When I started playing I kept dying after about 20 missions. I think the furthest I got was to mission 40-something. Then when I came back the next day I got straight to the end, only losing one of my three lives on around mission 90. You can unlock up to three random starting power-ups to begin a game with, but these make little difference early on. I don't know how I got so good so quickly, but it gave me a strange opinion of the game's difficulty.

There's not much else to say about this. It's brief, it's bright, it's fun. It has some deficiencies but it's easy enough to overlook them for a few hours of fun.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

My Friend Pedro - 8/10

The game is all about the gameplay, you can slow down time, target multiple enemies, get bonus points for killing enemies in different ways. The aim snaps onto enemies making playing with a controller feel great. It's never overly difficult and checkpoints are plenty if you do reach a tough section. The game is short at about 4 hours but I feel like it's the appropriate length for a game like this. The controls can feel a little bit wonky at times, mostly just when rolling and you can't turn while kicking which can be frustrating.

Overall though, it's really fun. The levels are short, each one can be completed in under 10 minutes and most under even 5 minutes so it's a great game to play in short spurts if you have 10 minutes to kill which is always a plus. The game had some good humor as well. I'm not sure how much I'd recommend getting it at the full asking price of $20, it seems more like a $15 game but I'd definitely recommend picking it up whenever you see it on sale.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC)
Developed by Valve Corporation

This is more like it. Aside from the suicide Zombines and having Alyx in tow, Episode One felt like a well-made yet uninspired follow-up to the titular HL2. Episode Two actually expands the gameplay of the base game with interesting new locations and mechanics, making this the best part of the HL2 package. Vehicle sections, while wonky, are far more dynamic and exciting than previous attempts (especially the helicopter run and the finale), and the early Antlion levels are mysterious and tense, highlighted by the excellent turret defense sequence and the new Worker Antlions. The Combine's new enemy type, Hunters, are a fantastic addition that demands speed and alertness from the player to take down, especially in packs. And the characters, love em more than ever: Alyx is everyone's ideal GF, Eli is everyone's ideal Father-in-Law, the Vortigaunts are tremendous allies, Dr. Kleiner is every bit the adorable nerd he's always been, Dog kicks ass and Magnusson is the perfect asshole to hate, just amazing character work. The only part of the experience I wish could have been cut was the second half of Freeman Pontifex: I'm honestly sick of fighting poison headcrabs at this point, and the factory setting felt more derivative than the rest.

Not a long game, but it's worth every penny. Can't wait for Episode Three HAHAHAHAHA!#$%^&*$#@@

Score: 9.5/10


Round-Up:

Episode Two: 9.5
Half-Life 2: 8 (strong 8 to be sure)
Episode One: 6

 

[Tw1ster]

Horizon Zero Dawn 9.5/10

I picked up a used copy of this game around 3 weeks ago for 15 bucks as a holdover game until Final Fantasy VII Remake came out. Originally I was just gonna blast through the story and be done with it but I became obsessed with all of the side quests, collectables, and dungeons and ended up getting the platinum a mere 2 hours before FFVII R became available. Wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Horizon as much as I a did but from gameplay to its amazing story, it’s one of my favourite games in recent memory. The only flaws I found was the lack of being able to climb onto things that looked climbable and some glitchy graphics

 

[robertmac43]

Horizon Zero Dawn 9.5/10

As I looked at your post Horizon finished installing in my PS4! One of the last big exclusives for me to beat on this gen!

 

[robertmac43]

Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 9/10

What can I say? It's more Ori. If you liked the first, you'll like this one. It does feel kind of like more of the same but the pacing was great and it didn't overlast it's welcome. I 100%ed it in about 13 hours according to the in game clock.

Did you find yourself dying a lot at the start of this one?

 

[Frankie Spankie]

No, I don't really remember that happening in the first either but it has been a while since I last played it.

 

[robertmac43]

No, I don't really remember that happening in the first either but it has been a while since I last played it.

It may just be from me being out of practice with the whole 2D platformed thing. My timing for jumps is off frequently.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Gris - 5/10

This is definitely in a case of video game as an art form. The whole game is about the visuals and relaxing music. Unfortunately, that's all there really is to the game. The platforming is average at best, the few puzzles they have aren't fun or challenging. If I didn't already know the game was only 3-4 hours, I would have stopped after an hour. I just wanted to see if anything picks up later in the game, it does not.

 

[saluki]

I finished Red Dead Redemption for the first time in Feb or Mar.

Easily one of the best games I've ever played. 10/10

A case study for avoiding reading anything about a game's story before you play it, a la KotOR. I was gutted at the end. I can't get into RDR 2. I guess I'll have to wait anther 10 years.

 

[Bocephus86]

Figured this is probably the best thread for my question as I don't think it's thread worthy: I've found myself really drawn to both of the recent X-coms, as well as Battletech. I've played them both through a bunch and was wondering if there are any other (relatively recent) games like them? Base building/team building side with turnbased missions? They scratch my itch of building up characters/weapons and then using my 'built to my style' characters in combat. Plus I like the turnbased nature as I tend to want to play at my own pace, and I like the mission format so I find natural break points instead of getting into a constant 'one more turn' situation ala Civ.

 

[robertmac43]

I finished Red Dead Redemption for the first time in Feb or Mar.

Been meaning to go back and give that game another go. Such a good one and I only played it one time through back when it first came out.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Figured this is probably the best thread for my question as I don't think it's thread worthy: I've found myself really drawn to both of the recent X-coms, as well as Battletech. I've played them both through a bunch and was wondering if there are any other (relatively recent) games like them? Base building/team building side with turnbased missions? They scratch my itch of building up characters/weapons and then using my 'built to my style' characters in combat. Plus I like the turnbased nature as I tend to want to play at my own pace, and I like the mission format so I find natural break points instead of getting into a constant 'one more turn' situation ala Civ.

They're not just mission based, you have to travel from location to location and there's a story line/dialogue to go through but you may like the Divinity: Original Sin series and Wasteland 2. They're both pretty long at about 60-80 hours each. If you want something shorter, give Mutant Year Zero a shot. Mutant Year Zero probably plays the most like XCOM but there's less story line and the game itself is shorter. I finished it in about 14 hours.

 

[saluki]

Been meaning to go back and give that game another go. Such a good one and I only played it one time through back when it first came out.

I'd love to play it again but its going to be a while, if ever.

I can't unremember the end.

 

[Bocephus86]

They're not just mission based, you have to travel from location to location and there's a story line/dialogue to go through but you may like the Divinity: Original Sin series and Wasteland 2. They're both pretty long at about 60-80 hours each. If you want something shorter, give Mutant Year Zero a shot. Mutant Year Zero probably plays the most like XCOM but there's less story line and the game itself is shorter. I finished it in about 14 hours.

Thanks, will check these out. I have heard a lot of chatter about Divinity; not so much the gameplay, just many people talking about it. Will give them all a look today though.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Thanks, will check these out. I have heard a lot of chatter about Divinity; not so much the gameplay, just many people talking about it. Will give them all a look today though.

Honestly, I loved the subtleties to the gameplay more than the story. All the elements react accordingly in battle. There's an area with a blizzard and casting a rain spell for example will freeze enemies. You can also combo things like casting a rain spell to create puddles and then a lightning spell to shock anybody standing within that puddle. There was a lot of things early on that would get me killed because I just wasn't paying enough attention to the environment. I just played the D:OS 1 for the first time earlier this year and loved it. Since there aren't any big games that I want to play coming out until like August, I'll be starting 2 pretty soon. I just have a couple shorter games on my backlog I want to play first.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

A Plague Tale: Innocence - 9/10

A Plague Tale is a story based game that is 100% about following the story. That being said, the gameplay is surprisingly good for that type of game. The gameplay certainly isn't great by any means, but games like this usually have terrible gameplay and the gameplay is good here for what it is.

The game takes place hundreds of years ago during a plague with rats. Game play consists of surviving the Inquisition that comes to kill you as well as surviving against the hordes of rats. The gameplay is primarily stealth based but also has some puzzle elements as you figure out how to safely get through an area.

The story is absolutely where it shines. I found myself continuing playing just seeing what happens next and finished the game in a couple of days which is rare for me. Furthermore, in addition to how good the story was, the characters were written that much better. Amicia and Hugo, the main characters, were some of the best written characers I've seen in a long time. Hugo was absolutely adorable and has instantly become one of my favorite child characters of all time across any medium of entertainment, not just gaming. The relationship between Amaicia and Hugo as you progress was just top notch writing.

In addition to all that, the graphics are beautiful. I couldn't help but take tons of screenshots all the way throughout the game because it looked so stunning. It's definitely not what I was expecting from a non-AAA studio. This is a must buy IMO.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Opus Magnum - 9.5/10

Opus Magnum is mainly about having a goal and creating a machine to achieve that goal. You have a blank canvas to work with and have to place all sorts of different mechanisms down and tell each mechanism what action to make, in what order, in what timing. It's an incredibly well down puzzle game that is both challenging and rewarding. You have unlimited space to work with and have no penalty for using it but there are metrics where you are compared to others to see how much money, space, and cycles you spent to complete the puzzle. Again, there's no penalty but you'll find yourself fine tuning a puzzle even after you complete it to make it as efficient as possible.

I had a blast, it took about 30 hours to 100% it and I loved every minute of it. It's definitely one of the best puzzle games I've ever played. If you like puzzle games, you'd be stupid not to pick this up. My only problem is there's a couple shortcuts they don't explain to you like how to copy a set of actions. I didn't even realize until way too late that you can hold right click to drag the action bar and play area around.

 

[Osprey]

Opus Magnum - 9.5/10

Opus Magnum is mainly about having a goal and creating a machine to achieve that goal. You have a blank canvas to work with and have to place all sorts of different mechanisms down and tell each mechanism what action to make, in what order, in what timing. It's an incredibly well down puzzle game that is both challenging and rewarding. You have unlimited space to work with and have no penalty for using it but there are metrics where you are compared to others to see how much money, space, and cycles you spent to complete the puzzle. Again, there's no penalty but you'll find yourself fine tuning a puzzle even after you complete it to make it as efficient as possible.

I had a blast, it took about 30 hours to 100% it and I loved every minute of it. It's definitely one of the best puzzle games I've ever played. If you like puzzle games, you'd be stupid not to pick this up. My only problem is there's a couple shortcuts they don't explain to you like how to copy a set of actions. I didn't even realize until way too late that you can hold right click to drag the action bar and play area around.

We sure have some similar tastes. I've been meaning to get around to this game. It's been on my radar because I love Zachtronics' previous game, Infinifactory. The gameplay is very similar--create a machine to achieve a goal and, optionally, continue tweaking it to make it the most efficient that it can be--except that it's in 3D and you have a free floating camera that you can move around your machine. I really liked how Zach executed that, so it's interesting that he went back to the more 2D style of his even earlier game, SpaceChem, but I can't argue with the great reviews. Anyways, if you haven't played Infinifactory yet, I highly recommend it.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I did play Infinifactory, it's why I was so interested in Opus Magnum. I've been meaning to play it since it was released but it part of the Humble Bundle choice so I figured now was as good a time as any.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Just beat Dark Souls Remastered on Switch the other day. My only real, objective complaints are the audio quality is pretty bad (only irritating and jarring for certain actions like smashing barrels/tables) and it doesn't run at 60 FPS which seems strange for a past-gen game on a current-gen console. My other issue was that I completely missed the DLC areas (DLC in the sense that they were DLC for the original launch game). If you don't look up how to access them, chances are you will miss them entirely as they are not very intuitive to locate.

I'm playing a New Game Plus now to level up my character in order to play PvP soon. It's insane how much the difficulty curve drops in this game once you hit level 90 or so. In about 45 mins, I already rang both bells and am going to do Sens Fortress now. It's also a fun game to replay as there are plenty of decisions you can make differently on your second play through. I'm excited to play through the DLC areas and obtain the items I missed out on during my first playthrough.

9/10

 

[hamzarocks]

Half-Life 3: Confirmed

10/10

 

[PK Cronin]

Finished RE3 Remake, 7.5/10. Not as good as RE2 but still enjoyable. Can't bring myself to complete the original RE4 though, it's so bad.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Black Mesa - 9.5/10

Black Mesa is an incredible remaster of the original Half Life using the Source engine. The game looks great and every detail I remember from the original is there in Black Mesa. That is, until you reach Xen. Xen was completely reworked and they did an incredible job. The conveyor belt section in the final mission dragged on a bit but other than that, Xen was a blast.

If you haven't played the original Half Life, this is how to do it now. Everything feels great and looks a hell of a lot better than the original. I did have some framerate issues late in the game though which were annoying but overall, the rest of the game ran great.

On a side note, I wish more companies were like Valve. I don't know how many times someone was working on a fan project remake or unofficial sequel to a popular game only to have the publishers issue a cease and desist order within 2 days. Not Valve, they let it happen.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Finished RE3 Remake, 7.5/10. Not as good as RE2 but still enjoyable. Can't bring myself to complete the original RE4 though, it's so bad.

Lol wut?