Played: Asdivine Dios, GreedFall, The Technomancer
Finished: Nothing
Playing: Asdivine Dios
Added: Alekhine's Gun, Asdivine Dios, Shadows: Awakening, Shining Resonance Refrain, Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
I started playing The Technomancer, and it's a solid mid-tier third person action RPG. Its graphics and gameplay (more specifically combat) are both pretty good, and the story and characters seemed decent based on what I played of it. The voice acting was ok as well. But the problem is that unlike almost every other similar RPG that lets you customize your character, there's no female option. And the male character that you're forced to play as is boring and generic in both look and personality. If I have to play as a male protagonist in a game (especially an RPG) which isn't my preference, then they better be a really good character. Unfortunately, this one isn't. He's not bad, but the entire time that I was playing I was thinking how much more that I would be enjoying the game if I was playing as a cool female character. Having to play as a male character that I'm not really interested in playing as might be a deal-breaker for me, because when I play a game I pretty much need to like the character that I'm playing as in it. I stopped playing it, and I'm not sure that I will ever go back to it.
I started playing GreedFall which was also made by Spiders (the developer of The Technomancer), and it's a pretty big improvement over The Technomancer. The graphics (especially the character models/facial animations) are much better, as well as the voice acting. The voice acting is actually really good. And you can choose between a male and female protagonist. Of course I chose the female protagonist, and some of the face options are really attractive. The game itself almost seems like something made by a big studio, but there's some clunky-ness and jank to it that give it a lower budget feel. However, it's still a fairly impressive third person action RPG with a good story, cast of characters and adventure elements. I played a few hours, but ultimately stopped because I'm still not feeling really good so I'm not really up for a deep and engrossing RPG at the moment.
I started playing Asdivine Dios, and it's really hitting the spot right now. It's an old school 2D 16-bit pixel art style turn-based JRPG with a decent story, likable cast of characters and simple play mechanics/systems. It's something that I can have fun playing without needing to feel my best to get invested into it. It's made by Kemco who actually makes a lot of these same types of JRPGs for mobile platforms, and ports them to PC and consoles. I have a couple of other ones (Asdivine Hearts, Revenant Saga), and there's a lot more at the PS Store. I'll buy them when they go on sale (like I did with this one), because they're not quite worth $15 IMO. They're good $10, or less games.
Madden NFL 21 and Wasteland 3 come out this week. I’m interested in Wasteland 3, it looks like a cool isometric view post-apocalyptic tactical/turn-based combat RPG made by the makers of XCOM. I'll get Wasteland 2 first since it's cheap now, and then get Wasteland 3 in the future when it's cheaper.
The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
I could have sworn I posted at least once last week, but I just read through the thread and it didn't happen. Work has been an absolute nightmare. Heck, I don't even think I got around to mentioning to Phase that I hope you're doing OK after your hospital stay. And I feel you on the diabetes thing, it is very rough. Some days moreso than others. I've developed some kind of nice additional wrinkle where my food isn't digesting like it's supposed to, so that's great. They say in normal people the food leaves your stomach on average around 45mins to an hour after you eat. They did a "stomach emptying test" on me a couple months ago where I had to fast, then they fed me just a couple of eggs & a piece of toast and then x-rayed me once an hour for 4 hours. After the last x-ray, I still had food in my stomach.
Getting old sucks.
Anyroad...
Games added: Fate/Extella Link, Sundered, Castlevania Requium
Last whatever: Finished Symphony of the Night (yes, AGAIN
) and Alien vs. Predator (arcade), played Death End RE;Quest, Transformers Devestation
This week: More of those last 2, hope to wrap up Transformers, and I'd like to start Fate/Extella Link
So they put the latest port of Symphony on sale on PSN this week, and since I hadn't beaten that one I had to grab it. Related, I don't know if I mentioned this but Tam got my the Symphony soundtrack on vinyl for my b-day this year.
Still enjoying Death End, but I admit I dropped the difficulty - not because the battles are difficult, but because they're long and a little too frequent. I love the "pinball-esque" nature to the battles, the strategy that's involved, but it just means that battles are longer than your typical JRPG fare and because of that I really feel they should have been less frequent. It's a minor complaint tho, the story is fantastic. It's really more of a horror RPG, and I'm hearing the sequel leans into that even more (which is currently en route
).
So I watched the Transformers: War for Cybertron episodes that are up on Netflix right now. First 6 episodes, comprises the first "chapter" of 3 that they're doing. It's incredible - goes back to G1, but takes a somewhat grittier take on it. I kinda hate to say it like that, because that brings up images (at least to me) of try-hard remakes that are going overboard trying to be dark & "edgy" just for the sake of it. This isn't that. It still has the original personality and "heart" of the series, but just takes a somewhat more serious and I guess I'd say complex look at the characters. Highly recommended if any of you guys dig Transformers at all.
Anyway, that combined with the fact that I was in the mood for an action game to break up my JRPG playing and was looking for something short, I popped in Devestation. And it's...fine. The design of it is G1, and the characters and very bright and colorful with a nice cell-shaded aesthetic, but the environments are somewhat bland and basic plus there's not a ton of variety on that front. So overall the graphics are...fine. The combat is fun enough tho not very complex, but there's some strategy to it beyond button mashing with dodging causing that "bullet time" effect that makes the whole affair feel like a Bayonetta lite (given that this is a Platinum joint, that's probably what they had in mind). But the game does that "put you in an arena, lock the doors and make you fight a bit before moving on & repeating" thing. The boss fights are usually highlights. Overall, I'd say it's...fine. The structure of the game is odd, at first I was thinking it was a linear game broken up into levels, and...sorta not really? You start out in the city which is basically a mini open-world hub that they end up making you backtrack around in way too much. Then you'll eventually end up at another area which you'll play through for a little variety before being spit back out in the hub. I'm at chapter 4 now I believe out of 7, so I'm assuming this is how it will play out until the end. Feels like they cut corners and padded it a bit because of budget and/or time constraints. So it dilutes the premise a bit and makes it feel a bit too repetitive - but it's still...fine, I suppose. Then they added these RPG elements in, as is the way of things these days. And I'm usually 100% for that, but it feels poorly implemented here and really just not needed. You collect a ton of different weapons as you play, and then occasionally you get to these points that let you "teleport" back to base where you can combine them which in turn levels them up and carries special abilities over between them. The first time I reached one of these areas I just stopped playing there because I felt like I had reached the "homework" portion of the game with the number of weapons I had collected up to that point (most of which were crap) and the time it takes to combine them (two at a time, no more). Then there's "tech" you can develop which gives small boosts to the different characters that isn't SUPER noticeable, oh and you can buy weapons as well, and oh yeah I did say "characters" plural so you in theory have to do this for 3 characters to start with and I'm up to 5 now, and each character has slots for a melee weapon & up to 3 ranged weapons, so that's a max of 20 weapons I'm having to manage at this point...talk about killing the pacing of the game. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be anything to force you to use different characters so you can just find your favorite & focus on them if you want (Grimlock. Your favorite is Grimlock, once he opens up. Trust me.). So I suppose it's...fine.
I've determined that Platinum takes on licensed games to pay the bills & allow them to fund their originals which is where they really shine. I can't really blame them I supposed. But overall, this game just makes me wish that Activision hadn't relegated High Moon Studios to perpetual Call of Duty...duty. They did such an amazing job with the 2 Transformers games last gen (War For Cybertron & Fall Of Cybertron).
I know you guys were talking about Arkham Knight recently - did you see the trailer that went up for Gotham Knights yesterday? It's developed by the guys who did Batman Origins I believe, not Rocksteady (they put up a trailer for a Suicide Squad game that's due out year-after-next) but it appears to be story-wise a direct follow up to Arkham Knight, and it looks REALLY good. Due out next year, and looks like a day-1 for me.
Getting old sucks.
Anyroad...
Games added: Fate/Extella Link, Sundered, Castlevania Requium
Last whatever: Finished Symphony of the Night (yes, AGAIN
) and Alien vs. Predator (arcade), played Death End RE;Quest, Transformers DevestationThis week: More of those last 2, hope to wrap up Transformers, and I'd like to start Fate/Extella Link
So they put the latest port of Symphony on sale on PSN this week, and since I hadn't beaten that one I had to grab it.
Related, I don't know if I mentioned this but Tam got my the Symphony soundtrack on vinyl for my b-day this year. Still enjoying Death End, but I admit I dropped the difficulty - not because the battles are difficult, but because they're long and a little too frequent. I love the "pinball-esque" nature to the battles, the strategy that's involved, but it just means that battles are longer than your typical JRPG fare and because of that I really feel they should have been less frequent. It's a minor complaint tho, the story is fantastic. It's really more of a horror RPG, and I'm hearing the sequel leans into that even more (which is currently en route
). So I watched the Transformers: War for Cybertron episodes that are up on Netflix right now. First 6 episodes, comprises the first "chapter" of 3 that they're doing. It's incredible - goes back to G1, but takes a somewhat grittier take on it. I kinda hate to say it like that, because that brings up images (at least to me) of try-hard remakes that are going overboard trying to be dark & "edgy" just for the sake of it. This isn't that. It still has the original personality and "heart" of the series, but just takes a somewhat more serious and I guess I'd say complex look at the characters. Highly recommended if any of you guys dig Transformers at all.
Anyway, that combined with the fact that I was in the mood for an action game to break up my JRPG playing and was looking for something short, I popped in Devestation. And it's...fine. The design of it is G1, and the characters and very bright and colorful with a nice cell-shaded aesthetic, but the environments are somewhat bland and basic plus there's not a ton of variety on that front. So overall the graphics are...fine. The combat is fun enough tho not very complex, but there's some strategy to it beyond button mashing with dodging causing that "bullet time" effect that makes the whole affair feel like a Bayonetta lite (given that this is a Platinum joint, that's probably what they had in mind). But the game does that "put you in an arena, lock the doors and make you fight a bit before moving on & repeating" thing. The boss fights are usually highlights. Overall, I'd say it's...fine. The structure of the game is odd, at first I was thinking it was a linear game broken up into levels, and...sorta not really? You start out in the city which is basically a mini open-world hub that they end up making you backtrack around in way too much. Then you'll eventually end up at another area which you'll play through for a little variety before being spit back out in the hub. I'm at chapter 4 now I believe out of 7, so I'm assuming this is how it will play out until the end. Feels like they cut corners and padded it a bit because of budget and/or time constraints. So it dilutes the premise a bit and makes it feel a bit too repetitive - but it's still...fine, I suppose. Then they added these RPG elements in, as is the way of things these days. And I'm usually 100% for that, but it feels poorly implemented here and really just not needed. You collect a ton of different weapons as you play, and then occasionally you get to these points that let you "teleport" back to base where you can combine them which in turn levels them up and carries special abilities over between them. The first time I reached one of these areas I just stopped playing there because I felt like I had reached the "homework" portion of the game with the number of weapons I had collected up to that point (most of which were crap) and the time it takes to combine them (two at a time, no more). Then there's "tech" you can develop which gives small boosts to the different characters that isn't SUPER noticeable, oh and you can buy weapons as well, and oh yeah I did say "characters" plural so you in theory have to do this for 3 characters to start with and I'm up to 5 now, and each character has slots for a melee weapon & up to 3 ranged weapons, so that's a max of 20 weapons I'm having to manage at this point...talk about killing the pacing of the game. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be anything to force you to use different characters so you can just find your favorite & focus on them if you want (Grimlock. Your favorite is Grimlock, once he opens up. Trust me.). So I suppose it's...fine.
- giphy.gif (1.14 MiB) Viewed 7646 times
I've determined that Platinum takes on licensed games to pay the bills & allow them to fund their originals which is where they really shine. I can't really blame them I supposed. But overall, this game just makes me wish that Activision hadn't relegated High Moon Studios to perpetual Call of Duty...duty. They did such an amazing job with the 2 Transformers games last gen (War For Cybertron & Fall Of Cybertron).
I know you guys were talking about Arkham Knight recently - did you see the trailer that went up for Gotham Knights yesterday? It's developed by the guys who did Batman Origins I believe, not Rocksteady (they put up a trailer for a Suicide Squad game that's due out year-after-next) but it appears to be story-wise a direct follow up to Arkham Knight, and it looks REALLY good. Due out next year, and looks like a day-1 for me.
"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
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
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Finished: Nothing
Now Playing: Ghost of Tsushima
Added to Backlog: Nothing
Current Backlog: 34 games
I'm nearly done with the 2nd area in Ghost, perhaps I can finish this up in the next week or two as it looks like the third area is smaller in size than the others.
Now Playing: Ghost of Tsushima
Added to Backlog: Nothing
Current Backlog: 34 games
I'm nearly done with the 2nd area in Ghost, perhaps I can finish this up in the next week or two as it looks like the third area is smaller in size than the others.
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Thanks. They did that same stomach emptying test (amongst others) on me when I was in the hospital, and I was digesting normally (sorry to hear that you're notargyle wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:17 amHeck, I don't even think I got around to mentioning to Phase that I hope you're doing OK after your hospital stay. And I feel you on the diabetes thing, it is very rough. Some days moreso than others. I've developed some kind of nice additional wrinkle where my food isn't digesting like it's supposed to, so that's great. They say in normal people the food leaves your stomach on average around 45mins to an hour after you eat. They did a "stomach emptying test" on me a couple months ago where I had to fast, then they fed me just a couple of eggs & a piece of toast and then x-rayed me once an hour for 4 hours. After the last x-ray, I still had food in my stomach.
). They didn’t find anything abnormal with me from any of my tests, I apparently just have diabetes (which is more than enough).It sure does, but we're not THAT old. I would be more accepting of these kinds of health issues in my 60s+, but I'm only 50 which is too young to feel this lousy IMO.
I have the digital PS4 port as well, but I haven't played it yet. I'll get to it eventually when the mood strikes me.
Cool.
Thanks for mentioning it, I'll definitely check it out since I'm a fan of the original Transformers toys, cartoons and comics.argyle wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:17 amSo I watched the Transformers: War for Cybertron episodes that are up on Netflix right now. First 6 episodes, comprises the first "chapter" of 3 that they're doing. It's incredible - goes back to G1, but takes a somewhat grittier take on it. I kinda hate to say it like that, because that brings up images (at least to me) of try-hard remakes that are going overboard trying to be dark & "edgy" just for the sake of it. This isn't that. It still has the original personality and "heart" of the series, but just takes a somewhat more serious and I guess I'd say complex look at the characters. Highly recommended if any of you guys dig Transformers at all.
I watched the gameplay trailer, and it looks awesome. While you can choose to play as one of four different characters, it's a Batgirl game for me because she looks kickass and I don't really have an interest in the other three characters. It's definitely a day one game for me as well since it's coming to PS4 unlike Suicide Squad which doesn't look as good to me anyway.argyle wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:17 amI know you guys were talking about Arkham Knight recently - did you see the trailer that went up for Gotham Knights yesterday? It's developed by the guys who did Batman Origins I believe, not Rocksteady (they put up a trailer for a Suicide Squad game that's due out year-after-next) but it appears to be story-wise a direct follow up to Arkham Knight, and it looks REALLY good. Due out next year, and looks like a day-1 for me.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1312
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Yeah, just to throw my own agony on the misery fire, I think I've shared that I have PKD, and my kidneys are still functioning, but they've surely been declining, and I can feel it. (I've still got around 40% function.) Hopefully they'll last a while before needing dialysis/transplant. (I'd definitely prefer that latter quickly when / if the time comes.) The current problem is that they're so engorged with cysts that everything is compacted internally. (Liver cysts too) Can be hard to breathe and digestive troubles among other things because of the lack of room. Sorry fellers. We're a walking MASH unit.
I think you're right.
Yeah, I saw it. Looks good. Although having played both Spider-man and Arkham Knight this year, I'm due for a good long break from spandex.argyle wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:17 am I know you guys were talking about Arkham Knight recently - did you see the trailer that went up for Gotham Knights yesterday? It's developed by the guys who did Batman Origins I believe, not Rocksteady (they put up a trailer for a Suicide Squad game that's due out year-after-next) but it appears to be story-wise a direct follow up to Arkham Knight, and it looks REALLY good. Due out next year, and looks like a day-1 for me.
Just savor the moments you're able to savor while they're there. Hang in there brothers.
Here's some dark humor to lighten the mood
:
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
It's true. You're all children to me.
Very sorry you're dealing with that stuff though. Played recently: Yakuza 0, Mount and Blade: Warband, Far Cry 4, The Witness, Dark Cloud 2
Finished: nothing
Added to backlog: nothing
Current backlog: 35 (13 PS4, 9 Vita, 7 3DS/2DS, 5 PS2)
I'm not sure what to play after Yakuza. I checked out various games on the list above to see if they hit my current mood, and they didn't quite click. Last night, I started Dark Cloud 2, one of my all-time favorites, and I think I'll just ride with that for a little while anyway.
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Still waiting for my Dark Cloud 3...
- giphy.gif (8.35 MiB) Viewed 7620 times
"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
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
-
crimson_tide
- Posts: 464
- Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:07 pm
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
SPHEDA!!! I started Dark Cloud 2 a few months back (might've been right at the beginning of lockdown?) and stopped immediately because I had too big a backlog to get sucked in by its many, many charms and...spheda...
Played: Persona 5 Royal, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix
This week: Persona 5 Royal
Maybe through the end of September: Persona 5 Royal
I love this game. It's so flipping good...and they keep giving me new things! The showtime attacks are great, I bought SP adhesives that REPLENISH SP IN A PERSONA GAME that allows me to really engage with all the skills, I just unlocked the ability to shift party members mid battle...it's just great. 3 dungeons in with 3 really fun bosses, some strong side stories that could've carried a whole ass game...it's just so dang good...I will cop to the dungeons being a bit too long and lack a solid gimmick in some cases but it's still a blast most of the time.
Argyle...I thought we were friends. Why would you do this thing to me, just rip my heart out and stomp a mud hole in it? I LOVE Transformers Devastation! I had a blast with that game. Maybe I should go back, it's been years since I played it. I do concur it didn't do anything special but I remember what it did it did well. That's honestly all I wanted from it so I was really lenient on the game. Is Wheeljack a playable character? I only beat it with Prime. Because you know, Prime!
Played: Persona 5 Royal, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix
This week: Persona 5 Royal
Maybe through the end of September: Persona 5 Royal
I love this game. It's so flipping good...and they keep giving me new things! The showtime attacks are great, I bought SP adhesives that REPLENISH SP IN A PERSONA GAME that allows me to really engage with all the skills, I just unlocked the ability to shift party members mid battle...it's just great. 3 dungeons in with 3 really fun bosses, some strong side stories that could've carried a whole ass game...it's just so dang good...I will cop to the dungeons being a bit too long and lack a solid gimmick in some cases but it's still a blast most of the time.
Argyle...I thought we were friends. Why would you do this thing to me, just rip my heart out and stomp a mud hole in it? I LOVE Transformers Devastation! I had a blast with that game. Maybe I should go back, it's been years since I played it. I do concur it didn't do anything special but I remember what it did it did well. That's honestly all I wanted from it so I was really lenient on the game. Is Wheeljack a playable character? I only beat it with Prime. Because you know, Prime!
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
Me too. That and Steambot Chronicles 2.
I haven't gotten spheda yet, looking forward to that. What a crazy game... inventions via photography, fish races, dungeon golf...crimson_tide wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:52 pm SPHEDA!!! I started Dark Cloud 2 a few months back (might've been right at the beginning of lockdown?) and stopped immediately because I had too big a backlog to get sucked in by its many, many charms and...spheda...
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1312
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 138: 8/22/20: Madden NFL 21/Wasteland 3 Edition
I still have a sealed copy of Steambot Chronicles. And I'm still kicking myself for not buying them all when I bought the copy I do have. Toys R Us had a bin full of the game @ $5 a pop. (probably about 25-30, maybe more) It's selling at about $150 sealed currently.
I've been tempted to play it via PCSX2. There are still a couple emulation issues though. One major one that can freeze the game in a spot.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!