The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Days Gone

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Days Gone

Last week's backlog thread had a whopping two replies which I think is a new record, let's try and beat it with one or no replies to this one. I know that it won't be easy with how active things have been around here lately, but I think that we can do it. Go team!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order comes out exclusively for Switch this week:

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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Judgment

Added to Backlog: Stardew Valley

Current Backlog: 30 games

Just bought Stardew Valley: Collector's Edition at Best Buy today since it was on clearance for $12. Comes with the soundtrack, small guide, and map of the world.

I'm also about 23-24 hours into Judgment, 50% complete according to the in-game % but definitely not 50% done with the story...I'm in chapter 5. Stranger Things has cut into my gaming over the last couple of days since I'm trying to finish season 3 before I read any spoilers.
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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

I'm still playing Dark Souls 3, although it's been a few days since I picked it up.

Still playing Harvest Moon The Tale of Two Towns.

Also playing Pro Evo 2019, Horizon Chase Turbo and Contrast.

I'm really enjoying everything I'm playing at the moment, so it's all good.

Dead board? Dead board. :P
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I'm still playing Days Gone, it's a longer more content packed game than I was initially expecting. I thought that I was nearing the end of it, but I recently opened up a whole new section of the map which is a good size. I was hoping that the mission types were going to get more diverse in the new area, but unfortunately they're basically just more of the same.

The main storyline of the game is more than long enough on its own, so the game didn't really need all of the filler side activities that it has. They boil down to three things: clearing freaker nests, clearing bandit camps/rescuing hostages and restoring power to checkpoint facilities. Early in the game these things are story missions, but then they become repeated optional side missions. And they're repeated a lot. They're not really optional because they need to be dealt with, otherwise they make things more complicated in the game world. Also, you're unable to fast travel near freaker nests or bandit camps so they're a nuisance that you want rid of. The problem is that they went overboard with the amount of them. I feel like I've spent more time in the game dealing with them than doing actual story missions which sucks since they're repetitive. They could have definitely got more creative with the side stuff that you do in the game so you didn't have to keep repeating the same things over and over again. It just feels lazy. Thankfully the gameplay is good, so even doing repetitive side objectives can still be fun at times.

The somewhat repetitive mission design structure of the game is my biggest complaint, but there are other things that hinder the overall experience as well such as extremely long load times both initially just to start the game and within the game itself for things like cut scenes. And the performance of the game is the worst that I've experienced in recent memory, the frame rate drops, freezes and stutters quite often. It's jarring, and can pull you out of the experience. These aren't issues that you expect from a Sony released game, and why it seems like a game that was released by a third party publisher.

But even with its faults, it's still one of the best games that I've played this gen because of its story, characters, game world and gameplay. The story and characters are strong, the game world looks and feels real and the gameplay is fun mixing melee, shooting, stealth and riding a motorcycle. I know that I'm going to have a good time every time that I play the game, even when doing the side stuff which I admit isn't quite as fun only because you have to do it so much.
jfissel wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmJust bought Stardew Valley: Collector's Edition at Best Buy today since it was on clearance for $12. Comes with the soundtrack, small guide, and map of the world.
That's a good deal. I liked the little bit that I played of it, it's basically 16-bit Harvest Moon.
jfissel wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmI'm also about 23-24 hours into Judgment, 50% complete according to the in-game % but definitely not 50% done with the story...I'm in chapter 5.
How many chapters are there? What's your opinion of it so far? Do you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games?
jfissel wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmStranger Things has cut into my gaming over the last couple of days since I'm trying to finish season 3 before I read any spoilers.
I heard that's a good show, but I have a hard time getting into shows these days. I haven't been watching a lot of movies lately, either. I prefer spending my leisure time listening to music, playing games, playing Second Life and watching YouTube videos.
isthatallyougot wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:39 pmDead board? Dead board. :P
It definitely was last week. I know that there's only about five of us left who still post here regularly, but we all usually poke our heads in at least once a week. It's a shame that the return of crim, sonuckles and stawn was so short lived, because I was hoping for somewhat of a resurgence of this place.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by argyle »

Work has been super stressful lately, and when I get home I either just don't feel like or forget to post. :( It's starting out a LITTLE better this week, so here's hoping...

Games added: Battle Garega, Moonlighter (re-added), Subnautica, Umihara Kawase Fresh!

Last (2) weeks: Finished Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and I think I already mentioned that I finished Witcher 3. Have dabbled with some other games but haven't really "landed" on what I want to sink my teeth into next.

This week: Still undecided.

Bloodstained was amazing. It really exceeded my expectations, and I expected great things from Igga. I still can't say if it's better than SotN - that's a tall order for me, and I'd have to give it some time anyway. But I can say it's definitely a worthy follow up. It has a TON of depth - I sunk around 37 hours into it, only missing 2 trophies from the plat (there are 2 bad endings, one of which I missed, and then there's a trophy for completing the item list). I know I'll be replaying this one again, probably many times. My current GOTY, no doubt.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by jfissel »

Sounds like Phase is enjoying Days Gone. Good write-up, it makes me want to play it sooner rather than later.
Phaseknox wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:34 pm
jfissel wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmI'm also about 23-24 hours into Judgment, 50% complete according to the in-game % but definitely not 50% done with the story...I'm in chapter 5.
How many chapters are there? What's your opinion of it so far? Do you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games?
I think there are 12+ chapters in this story. Some are relatively short if you don't get distracted by side stuff (impossible :P).
Phaseknox wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:34 pm
jfissel wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmStranger Things has cut into my gaming over the last couple of days since I'm trying to finish season 3 before I read any spoilers.
I heard that's a good show, but I have a hard time getting into shows these days. I haven't been watching a lot of movies lately, either. I prefer spending my leisure time listening to music, playing games, playing Second Life and watching YouTube videos.
It's great! Takes place in the 1980s...check. Tons of music and references from that era...check. Fantasy and sci-fi storyline...check. It hits all the nostalgic buttons.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

argyle wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 5:21 pmWork has been super stressful lately, and when I get home I either just don't feel like or forget to post. :( It's starting out a LITTLE better this week, so here's hoping...
Hope things are better this week, glad to see you back.
argyle wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 5:21 pmBloodstained was amazing. It really exceeded my expectations, and I expected great things from Igga. I still can't say if it's better than SotN - that's a tall order for me, and I'd have to give it some time anyway. But I can say it's definitely a worthy follow up. It has a TON of depth - I sunk around 37 hours into it, only missing 2 trophies from the plat (there are 2 bad endings, one of which I missed, and then there's a trophy for completing the item list). I know I'll be replaying this one again, probably many times. My current GOTY, no doubt.
That's great to hear, I always thought that it looked really good. Perhaps I'll get it sooner rather than later.
jfissel wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:15 pmSounds like Phase is enjoying Days Gone. Good write-up, it makes me want to play it sooner rather than later.
Yeah, despite a few complaints I'm really enjoying my time with it. Part of it is because I really like the main protagonist (Deacon), he's a character that I like playing as. I usually prefer playing as female characters in video games since I find a lot of male video game characters to be generic and/or douche-y, but he's neither. He's similar to Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption II where he's a good guy at heart that's basically forced to not always do good things based on the circumstances. And the game in general is just fun to play. It's something that I can play a little or a lot of, and I enjoy my time with it every time that I do. Fatigue can set in a little at times since you do a lot of the same side things over and over again, but when that happens I just take a little break.
jfissel wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:15 pm
Phaseknox wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:34 pmHow many chapters are there? What's your opinion of it so far? Do you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games?
I think there are 12+ chapters in this story. Some are relatively short if you don't get distracted by side stuff (impossible :P).
So it seems to be a good length. You didn't say if you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games. I admit that I'm a little confused by it since it looks almost identical to the Yakuza games, but isn't a Yakuza game. What is it exactly, a spinoff of the Yakuza games that takes place in the same universe?
jfissel wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:15 pmIt's great! Takes place in the 1980s...check. Tons of music and references from that era...check. Fantasy and sci-fi storyline...check. It hits all the nostalgic buttons.
Sounds good, I'll have to check it out.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by argyle »

Glad you're enjoying Days Gone Phase. I loved the characters / story as well. The part you're in especially, I thought the main relationship and how it's handled considering everything that's happened to the people involved was handled extremely realistically, especially for a game. That's super vague to avoid spoilers, but you'll know what I'm talking about. ;)

I picked up Darkest Dungeon yesterday and played a little of it last night. I think I'm really going to enjoy that one.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by jfissel »

[quote=Phaseknox post_id=1329 time=1563294262 user_id=50
jfissel wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:15 pm
Phaseknox wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:34 pmHow many chapters are there? What's your opinion of it so far? Do you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games?
I think there are 12+ chapters in this story. Some are relatively short if you don't get distracted by side stuff (impossible :P).
So it seems to be a good length. You didn't say if you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games. I admit that I'm a little confused by it since it looks almost identical to the Yakuza games, but isn't a Yakuza game. What is it exactly, a spinoff of the Yakuza games that takes place in the same universe?
[/quote]
Yep, it's a spinoff and I like it about the same as the Yakuza games. The fighting is good, although I'm still adding moves to my arsenal (just got the ol' Tiger Drop, which is Kiryu's best move). Most of the gameplay so far resolves around investigations (moving a first person view around and trying to find clues) and tailing people.
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 80: 7/13/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Man, if any of you old codgers have any affinity for Pole Position, OutRun or Enduro (on the 2600) or just old-school racers in general, you should check out Horizon Chase Turbo. It takes the arcade racer and really juices it up nicely. Great soundtrack, fun progression, cool stylized graphics, nice challenge if you want to have it. I'm really glad I decided to play it. Considering it's a mobile game conversion, I'm blown away.
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