The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Crossing Souls, Outbreak: The New Nightmare

Finished: Crossing Souls

Playing: ?

Added: Manhunt, Red Dead Revolver

I started playing Outbreak: The New Nightmare, and was mildly enjoying it. It’s basically a low budget poor man’s version of the original Resident Evil games. Story and characterization is basically nonexistent. There’s some text at the beginning that vaguely explains the situation, and then you just start the game in an office building.

While it has 3D graphics, the camera is fixed and constantly changes angles and perspectives as you move through the big maze-like office building. The goal is to locate keys to open locked doors, and while searching for them you come across zombies.

You start with a pistol and limited ammo, and find other weapons along the way such as knives, axes, shotguns and machine guns. The melee weapons are so slow and weak that they’re basically useless, and the shotguns and machine guns are extremely limited on ammo.

The graphics look PS2 quality, and the gameplay is clunky and cumbersome. But I’m a sucker for survival horror games, so I was getting some enjoyment out of it. However, the constant backtracking, respawning zombies and annoying camera angles/perspectives were taking away from the fun so I decided to quit playing since I have better games to play.

Games releasing this week
Adios
Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe
Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventure
Can’t Drive This
Chess Knights: Viking Lands
Darq: Complete Edition
Dogworld
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
Endzone: A World Apart
Explosionade DX
In Rays of the Light
Mundaun
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
QV
R.B.I. Baseball 21
Saviors of Sapphire Wings: Stranger of Sword City Revisited
Signs of the Sojourner
Space Otter Charlie
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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

Played and beat: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim...oh and not even half an hour of Persona 5 Strikers because life and all that

Awed by: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Still thinking about: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Watching YouTube videos discussing: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Bought: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim...oh wait, nothing. I bought nothing.

Two things:

A) Someone, anyone please play 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim. I need to talk about this thing they did because...man, it's wild! It's not a game and not a visual novel but it only works as a game. It's so hard to explain...

B) Phase, thanks for your thoughts on Crossing Souls! It sounds very Stranger Things and not exactly my bag. But we have to get down to brass tacks: why are you making up all these nonsense game names...Space Otter Charlie is not a real game. You can't just make up game names like that, not cool bruh. Just stop it. Please :P .

But seriously, the hell is happening with game releases? Is this the pandemic showing up in gaming releases now? Because last couple years early release calendar was stacked, at least one likely banger each week. This year? Mail Mole and Space Otter Charlie...
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by argyle »

Games added: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Hotline Miami Collection

Last week: Finished P5 Royal (platinum), played Bejeweled 3 and a little P5 Strikers.

This week: Unsure

Thinking of taking a break between Royal & Strikers - I'm thinking I may appreciate Strikers more if I give it a little breathing room. Royal is a stunning game, but after 170+ hours I think I need a change of scenery. ;) I'm considering 13 Sentinels crim, but wary of jumping into something else that's super story heavy.

Hades comes out this Friday physically for the Switch, that's the week's big release IMO. Literally everyone I know with a Switch has been trying to get me to play this game (I had been holding out for a physical release), so I'm thinking I may start it when I pick it up Friday.
Hades_Wallpaper_01.jpg
"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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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:13 amAwed by: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Still thinking about: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Watching YouTube videos discussing: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

Bought: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim...oh wait, nothing. I bought nothing.
:lol:
crimson_tide wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:13 amPhase, thanks for your thoughts on Crossing Souls! It sounds very Stranger Things and not exactly my bag.
I’ve never seen Stranger Things. Crossing Souls offers 16-bit style Genesis/SNES era charm, and I found it to be a decent time overall. But I think that you really have to like retro throwback pixel art games, and the 80s to fully enjoy it.
crimson_tide wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:13 amthe hell is happening with game releases? Is this the pandemic showing up in gaming releases now? Because last couple years early release calendar was stacked, at least one likely banger each week. This year? Mail Mole and Space Otter Charlie...
IKR. I assume that it’s because we’re at the end of the last console generation, and starting the new one. But I currently have 500+ PS4 games, so I don’t really mind that nothing substantial has been coming out lately.
argyle wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:56 amHades comes out this Friday physically for the Switch, that's the week's big release IMO.
No, it’s most definitely Space Otter Charlie. :P

In other news, I started playing A Knight’s Quest and I’m enjoying it. It’s a comical and cartoonish third person action adventure platformer reminiscent of classic N64 games like Banjo-Kazooie, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64. It has colorful graphics that run at a smooth 60fps, and plays fairly tight and responsive. The humor has been really good, too. It’s like a parody of the games that it’s mimicking.

My only real complaint so far is that I don’t really like the look of the main character, he’s short and stumpy with a constant smirk on his face. He kind of looks like a 3D version of the main character from Scribblenauts. He also makes goofy grunt and groan sounds while jumping, grabbing and climbing up ledges. He’s been growing on me a little the more that I play, but I would have preferred a cute and spunky female character in the role instead.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 43 games

I'm nearing 110 hours with Valhalla and I can almost see the finish line. :shock: I think I have 5 more regions of story plus about 7-8 regions to fully complete for the platinum...insane.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I quit playing A Knight’s Quest because I don’t like the character that you play, the environments open up really big with a lot of empty space and lack of focus that hurts the pacing, and the game in general just seems like it was made for kids.

I started Beast Quest, and it’s a low budget third person fantasy action adventure game. The graphics and gameplay are decent, but it’s extremely linear with a somewhat weird battle system where you basically stand in place fighting enemies one-on-one attacking, blocking and dodging. It’s not terrible, but it failed to make me want to keep playing.

I started Dark Devotion which is a 2D side scrolling pixel art action adventure game that is like the original Prince of Persia meets Dark Souls. It plays slow and methodical, and the environments have a lot of traps. The graphics and gameplay are good, but it’s difficult and I’m not feeling up to its challenge right now.

I decided to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey since it’s something that I’ve been wanting to play for a while now, and I really like what I’ve played of it so far. The story and characters have been good, the character models and environment graphics are impressive and the gameplay is tight and responsive. It’s already packed with things to do, and I just started. I’m not sure if I’m up for such a big open world game right now, but I’m going to play it some more to decide if I want to stick with it or not. I’m thinking that I’m going to want to, because I’ve been enjoying it.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by canedaddy »

crimson_tide wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:13 am But we have to get down to brass tacks: why are you making up all these nonsense game names...Space Otter Charlie is not a real game. You can't just make up game names like that, not cool bruh. Just stop it. Please :P .

But seriously, the hell is happening with game releases? Is this the pandemic showing up in gaming releases now? Because last couple years early release calendar was stacked, at least one likely banger each week. This year? Mail Mole and Space Otter Charlie...
My thoughts exactly. What is going on.

On a related note, I went into the Nintendo shop to see what's there for Switch and MAN there is a whole lot of nonsense in there. I was so overwhelmed by all the trashy iPhone ports and softcore Japanese filth that I almost found myself getting this comparative gem:





Played recently: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Finished: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Added to backlog: Dragon Quest III

Current backlog: 10 (6 PS4, 1 Vita, 3 Switch)


Shadow of the Tomb Raider was a good time and wrapped up the trilogy pretty well. The exploration/puzzle/combat gameplay mix really clicked with me aside from some tedious mandatory stealth and zombie rooms. The story was very goofy but the OG Lara fought dinosaurs so whatever, it's acceptable. Glad I played those games and hope they do something good with Tomb Raider going forward.

Not sure what I'll play next. I tried a couple of things on Switch last night that were a bit much on the big screen... DQIII and Golf Story. Those will be more enjoyable when I just want something to play handheld.

I have Breath of the Wild, but that seems a little too similar to Tomb Raider for me to jump into next. I'll have to dig up a nice palate cleanser. :)
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by argyle »

There is a lot of good stuff on the eshop for Switch, but yeah, there's also a LOT of trash. Unfortunately the store gives you no way to separate one from the other. Makes it practically impossible to discover games just by browsing the store, you pretty much have to use some outside source to fill you in on what's worth looking for.

In related news, I started playing a really fun Metroidvania on the Switch called Kunai. Decided to go for something smaller before diving back into a massive JRPG, so I landed on this game that's been in my backlog for a while. It has a neat style to it, and does a fantastic job of introducing skills to you & giving you a chance to learn them before layering something new on. It's been just what I needed as a palate cleanser.

I tried playing Ghostrunner on the PS4 first. That game is super pretty & slick, but man does it NOT know how to ease you into complex systems. The whole game is lightning fast, and they quickly dump different movement, dodge, slow motion and attack concepts on you and immediately expect you to execute them at break-neck speed. I put it down out of frustration after 30-45 mins. Will probably go back to it eventually when I'm more prepared for a lot of trial and error, but it just goes to show that there's a real art to game design that we often take for granted when it's done right.
"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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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by canedaddy »

argyle wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:10 pm There is a lot of good stuff on the eshop for Switch, but yeah, there's also a LOT of trash. Unfortunately the store gives you no way to separate one from the other. Makes it practically impossible to discover games just by browsing the store, you pretty much have to use some outside source to fill you in on what's worth looking for.
Yeah, I saw some appealing games and great stuff I've already played sprinkled in among the shovelware and other trash.

I'm almost positive the 3DS store lets you sort by user ratings, which are pretty solid. If that's on Switch I sure can't find it.
argyle wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:10 pmIn related news, I started playing a really fun Metroidvania on the Switch called Kunai. Decided to go for something smaller before diving back into a massive JRPG, so I landed on this game that's been in my backlog for a while. It has a neat style to it, and does a fantastic job of introducing skills to you & giving you a chance to learn them before layering something new on. It's been just what I needed as a palate cleanser.
I'll check that out. It might do the trick.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 167: 3/13/21: Space Otter Charlie Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I’m officially addicted to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, why didn’t any of you here that have played it tell me how good that it was? :P But seriously, based on what I’ve played of it so far it’s the best Assassin’s Creed game that I’ve played. But it doesn’t really seem like an AC game. While Origins before it went in a more action RPG direction, it still felt like an AC game in a lot of ways. However, Odyssey doesn’t. It just seems like a standalone third person open world action RPG similar to something like The Witcher III that’s not really connected to the AC series. Perhaps it will the further that I get into it, but so far it pretty much feels like its own thing.

Everything about it is well done... the story, characters, world design, graphics, gameplay, skills, quest variety, music, voice acting, etc. And of course Kassandra. She’s one of the best main protagonists that I’ve played in a game.

Back to playing...
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