PS2 Backlog Committee

Played: American Fugitive, Antiquia Lost

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Antiquia Lost

Added: Nothing

I ended up getting into Antiquia Lost, so I stopped playing American Fugitive despite somewhat liking it. I just get more absorbed in RPGs than I do action games. But I’m ready to wrap it up at this point, and move onto something more substantial. I can only play so many retro style indie games before wanting to play something bigger budget, and more modern.

I’m nearing the end of Antiquia Lost, so I should have it finished soon so that I can start something else that will hopefully really click with me. I just haven’t played anything lately that has really gripped me, so I’m in the mood for something like that now.

Games releasing this week
Abyss Memory: Fallen Angel and the Path of Magic
Arise: A simple Story
Ayo the Clown
Bit Orchard: Animal Valley
Castle Formers
Deadly Dozen Reloaded
Deck of Ashes
Demon Gaze Extra
Dune: Spice Wars
Evasion From Hell
Galactic Civilizations IV
The House of the Dead Remake
Kaiju Wars
King Arthur: Knight’s Tale
Micro Pico Racers
Mokoko X
Nintendo Switch Sports
Parkasaurus
Prehistoric Kingdom
Ravenous Devils
Research and Destroy
Rogue Legacy 2
The Serpent Rogue
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight
Transiruby
Turbo Overkill
Ultra Age
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt

This looks really good, a possible GOTY for me:

Phaseknox wrote: ↑Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:49 pm This looks really good, a possible GOTY for me:

Hmmm, never heard of it. Looks interesting though.


Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Gran Turismo 7

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 40 games

Continuing to play GT nearly every day, just trying to complete the menus (aka tasks), buy cars, win other races, do challenges, etc. Fun times.

I finished Antiquia Lost, it took me 18 hours which was pretty long for the game that it is. It was mildly entertaining throughout, just enough to keep me playing until the end. It also helped that it wasn’t overly difficult, only the bosses posed somewhat of a threat as all regular enemies could be defeated rather easily.

The story and characters were decent, and were mainly what I played the game for. The graphics are extremely basic like a 2D RPG Maker game, everything is repeated a lot including the NPC character sprites. The dungeons are decently designed with loot to find off the beaten path, and they’re also the right length without dragging on for too long.

There’s a lot of reading involved as the entire story and character conversations are delivered through text. Thankfully, it was all well translated. It had a lot of humor that gave it some charm, and kept everything somewhat light throughout.

I'm close to wrapping up RDR2 - after the "transition". (I don't think I'm spoiling anyone here.) It's been great fun. I've got my gripes, but boy oh boy do I love the cowboy fantasy. After the narrative concludes, I'll probably keep it in rotation for some side stuff and general exploring, if the game allows me to do so.

I'm still loving Unreal World. It's incredible how absorbing this ancient looking game is. It's so deep and variable. If you have any affinity for roguelikes or survival games, it's certainly worth your time. (Not that anyone here will ever play it, lol.)

I finished up Painkiller Black Edition and it was excellent throughout. A fine example of old-school FPSs. Great atmosphere, enemies, weapons and carnage. Worth playing after all these years.

Edit: I've also gone back to Celeste and done some work on collecting strawberries and some of the other challenges. I'm not sure I'm capable of rising to the level it asks for some of the post-game content, but I loved it enough to give it some more time.

I started playing Republique, and I’ve been mildly enjoying it so far. It’s a stealth game with a somewhat unique premise. The game begins with you (the player) answering a video call from a teen girl asking for your help. She’s being held captive in a large facility, and needs your help to escape. You’re connected to the facility’s security network, and can look through their cameras to help her proceed through the facility without being detected. You’re also able to hack various things. You control all of the girl’s movements and actions as well such as sneaking, hiding, pickpocketing, using pepper spray and tasers.

The core gameplay is pretty much like other stealth games where you sneak around and hack into cameras to see what’s ahead of you so that you can plan how to get through the areas without being detected. The difference with this game is that you’re always hacked into the cameras, and you’re navigating a separate character through the environments.

While the premise is good, the actual execution of it isn’t the best. You have to constantly switch from one camera to another every step of the way, and there’s a transitional pause each time that you do. It just makes the already slow pace of the game even slower.

The story seems interesting and I like the concept, but I’m not sure that I’m in the mood for a slow paced stealth game right now.

Asterigos looks cool. Thanks for the heads up, Phase.

jfissel wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:06 am Continuing to play GT nearly every day, just trying to complete the menus (aka tasks), buy cars, win other races, do challenges, etc. Fun times.

I know you're a machine and all, but you're not finding it overly complex? I've never played one of those games but I got the impression it was all about tweaking minutiae in menus more than driving.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:39 am I'm close to wrapping up RDR2 - after the "transition". (I don't think I'm spoiling anyone here.) It's been great fun. I've got my gripes, but boy oh boy do I love the cowboy fantasy. After the narrative concludes, I'll probably keep it in rotation for some side stuff and general exploring, if the game allows me to do so.

They did a great job with all the side stuff and collectibles... a lot of interesting encounters if you take the time to pursue them.


Played recently: Elden Ring

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 20 (19 PS4, 1 Vita)


I got through that wall in Elden Ring. I'm Level 70 and have visited most areas of the map. Now I'll be exploring all the nooks and crannies and building up strength/skill to take on some of the big bad bosses. (There's one I wish I had gotten to during the brief period where it was accidentally nerfed.)

Phaseknox wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 9:21 pm I started playing Republique...

Let me know what you think of it if you stick with it phase. It's in my backlog, and I'm curious about it.

canedaddy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:47 am They did a great job with all the side stuff and collectibles... a lot of interesting encounters if you take the time to pursue them.

Yeah, there's certainly tons of content, and of course R* always build amazing worlds. I'm around 150 hours and I still get pleasure from leisurely roaming about and soaking in the scenery and vibe.

I'm curious how you'll rate Elden Ring once you've finished it.

And I haven't played a GT game since GT3 on the PS2. I enjoyed it, but never really sunk my teeth in too deep. It's a bit dry for me, but I know the gear-heads eat it up.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:28 am

Phaseknox wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 9:21 pmI started playing Republique...

Let me know what you think of it if you stick with it phase. It's in my backlog, and I'm curious about it.

I didn’t stick with it. I somewhat liked what I played of it, but it’s a slow paced stealth game which I’m not really in the mood for right now.

I was in the mood for something more action-y, so I started playing Strange Brigade since I bought the season pass for it somewhat recently. I’ve been enjoying it, it’s a fun third person action shooter. It’s a bit arcade-y and linear, but it offers a good mix of shooting combat and light puzzle solving. It could have used some platforming as well, but unfortunately it doesn’t have any. However, it’s still entertaining and doesn’t take itself too seriously as there’s humor throughout.

I've got Strange Brigade in my backlog too phase. I remember when I picked it up it seemed pretty different in terms of presentation. Hope it's good.