The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Ys: Memories of Celceta

Finished: Ys: Memories of Celceta

Playing: Valkyrie Elysium

Added: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite - Deluxe Edition, Psychonauts 2, The Quarry, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Valkyrie Elysium

I finished Ys: Memories of Celceta, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I especially enjoyed the first 20 hours of it, but the next 10 were a bit of a slog as it was just more of the same of what the first 20 offered but not as interesting. It felt a bit bloated having six playable characters each with more special attack options than were necessary, overly long/repetitive levels and an overabundance of materials to collect for armor and weapon enhancing that was pretty much unnecessary. The story was only ok, I didn’t find it all that interesting and it was a bit drawn-out. The characters were appealing, but there were more than needed especially considering that you could only have three in your party at one time. While it took me 30 hours to finish, I would have preferred it to be shorter since the story, character interactions and levels dragged a bit at times. It was entertaining enough to finish, but I enjoyed Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana a lot more overall. While similar in a lot of ways, I found it to be a significantly better game.

Games releasing this week
Art of the Rail
Ascend: Reborn
Astronite
Autopsy Simulator
The Callisto Protocol
Deepening Fire
Dwarven Skykeep
Elevator Action Returns S-Tribute
Excavator Simulator
Expansim
Fangs
4D Miner
Front Mission 1st: Remake
Goonya Monster
Gundam Evolution
In Nightmare
The Knight Witch
Lover Pretend
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Megalan 11
Moonshine Inc.
Munchkin Digital
Need For Speed Unbound
The Outbound Ghost
Papetura
Predecessor
Primal Roar - Jurassic Dinosaur Era
Retro Gadgets
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered
Sable
Soccer Story
Sword of the Vagrant
Tropico 6 - New Frontiers
Turbo Sloths
Vayan
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Warlords Under Siege
Warp Drive
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

Played: Sonic Frontiers, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4

Platinum'd: Sonic Frontiers

Sad I am done with: Sonic Frontiers

This week:...either straight into Scarlet Nexus but might look for a buffer game. I only really play One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 when I need to occupy my hands at this point (Zoom meetings and the D&D campaign I'm in to keep me awake since my bedtime is 10 and this thing goes well past midnight). It's cool and all but mindless. I think most people would call it a podcast game. But not sure if I want to get into something meaty just yet ... Death's Door still exist too.

So I was going to drag Frontiers out to get the platinum in drips and drabs but my wife was sick the day after Thanksgiving so I was just here and ended up getting it. Pretty fun platinum too. Now still trying to figure out what to play next.

Oh and Phase, that's roughly how I felt about Ys 9. It was just a couple chapters too long, had solid tropey characters that didn't get to shine much in the main story beyond their intro chapter (and there were like 2 too many of them too) and had a crafting system I didn't have to use because every new chapter just meant I had to buy the new hotness so it was a breeze to upgrade. I wonder if the modern Ys games are all like this but you seemed to really dig 8. Did it not have these issues? I still loved my time with Ys 9 and would highly recommend anyone here to play it. It just didn't inspire me to look more into the series.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:29 amPhase, that's roughly how I felt about Ys 9. It was just a couple chapters too long, had solid tropey characters that didn't get to shine much in the main story beyond their intro chapter (and there were like 2 too many of them too) and had a crafting system I didn't have to use because every new chapter just meant I had to buy the new hotness so it was a breeze to upgrade. I wonder if the modern Ys games are all like this but you seemed to really dig 8. Did it not have these issues? I still loved my time with Ys 9 and would highly recommend anyone here to play it. It just didn't inspire me to look more into the series.
You basically described Ys: Memories of Celceta with it being longer than necessary (especially the unnecessarily long drawn-out dungeon crawling before the final boss), the characters not getting to shine much beyond when they’re first introduced, there being two too many of them and not needing to use collected materials to enhance armor and weapons as you buy better ones after each main story section. I’m disappointed to hear that these are also issues in Ys IX, because they’re not really in Ys VIII. Ys VIII is long, but with a good amount of environment and event variety throughout preventing it from feeling repetitive. It also has a sizable cast of characters, but they’re each given a decent amount of attention throughout the story. Its crafting system is pretty good, too. I liked its story, characters, setting, levels and combat more overall. It’s an improvement in almost every area, and is one of my favorite JRPGs from last gen.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by argyle »

Games added: Grindstone & Hob (both for Switch)

Last week: Finished nothing, played Grindstone, Sonic, Diablo 3, Gungrave G.O.R.E.

This week: More of all of those...probably.

Gungrave was a day-1 Gamepass title, and I was having a blast wit it at first. It's dumb fun (like the originals were), just a very arcade-y shooter. Knows what it is, leans into it. I unfortunately hit a level that's a real pain - you're fighting on top of a train, and the enemies like to knock you off. There are also tunnels, and from time to time you have to reach a drop-down point before you reach the tunnel. Of course, at the last of these spots that I've reached, they pop up 10-15 guys right in front of the spot you're trying to reach, so if you don't get outright killed or knocked off the train you just can't make it in time. EXTREMELY frustrating. The cherry on top? The game has hard crashed on me twice during this level (never did before) forcing me to start the level over from the beginning. :| I'm gonna try once more on easy, and if I still can't finish the level then I'm done.

Grindstone is a lot of fun, a puzzle game with tons of Puzzle Quest appeal. I'm not sure why the Switch is the only console it's on (it's also on mobile devices & PC), but at any rate it's a recommend to anyone looking for a good time killer game. Came in handy during my stay at my folks' during Thanksgiving. ;)

DG suggested Diablo to me, and you don't really have to twit my arm to get me to play D3 again. Tam either - so the three of us have been playing a good bit this past week. I really hope they don't drop the ball with D4...
"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. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by canedaddy »

argyle wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:31 pm Grindstone is a lot of fun, a puzzle game with tons of Puzzle Quest appeal. I'm not sure why the Switch is the only console it's on (it's also on mobile devices & PC), but at any rate it's a recommend to anyone looking for a good time killer game. Came in handy during my stay at my folks' during Thanksgiving. ;)
Thanks for the word. Puzzle Quest was such a blast.



Played recently: God of War Ragnarok

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 28


Ragnarok has been awesome, as expected. I had a moment last night, though, that felt like a possible jump-the-shark situation, when a certain woodland creature arrived on the scene. Very jarring and out of place for those of us who have been with Kratos from the jump. Thought I was playing Kingdom Hearts.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by argyle »

I have $45 PSN credit, and I came *really* close last night to using it to buy Ragnorak...but I just cannot bring myself to support this $70 game BS. It turns my stomach, credit or no. I had almost convinced myself to do it for Callisto Protocol, to support the Dead Space guys on their new endeavor, but then it was revealed last week that they've locked death animations behind DLC - 25 player animations as part of one pack and 25 creature animations in another. Nope.

So I'm just sitting on my credit for now. Not like I have a shortage of games to play anyway.
"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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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:24 am ...but then it was revealed last week that they've locked death animations behind DLC - 25 player animations as part of one pack and 25 creature animations in another. Nope.
I saw that too.

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I wasn't going to buy it day one anyway, but the unmitigated gall! Modern gaming trends, especially in the AAA space are just nauseating. It astonishes me that this sort of thing is even possible. It speaks to the moronic nature of the average consumer. I'm so glad I have a massive backlog and could not care less about being in the current broader gaming conversation. I'm tempted to *NEVER* buy this game, just on principle. I'll certainly wait until it's sub $10, if I ever pick it up.

Edit: I think I saw that there's also a difficulty locked away behind DLC. smdh
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Hold up... did you really just say death animations are DLC?

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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by argyle »

isthatallyougot wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:18 am Edit: I think I saw that there's also a difficulty locked away behind DLC. smdh
I just rolled my eyes so hard I nearly fell out of my chair.

This kind of garbage combined with companies releasing "AAA" games in broken beta states (Pokemon, Saints Row (supposedly, I haven't played it)) and the constant porting & re-re-remastering games w/ minimal improvements & selling them at full price again - it's definitely enough to make you want to give up on modern gaming. There are still a few bright spots, mainly in the indie scene, and the occasional exception that proves the rule like Elden Ring (the only new release game I bought this year that I can say without hesitation was 100% worth full price).
"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

Image
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isthatallyougot
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Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 256: 11/26/22: The Callisto Protocol/Need For Speed Unbound Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

The problem is that the average consumer is a sucker, and big corporations know it and are more than happy to exploit it. So it makes no difference what the discerning gamer does - we'll always be undermined by the masses. All I can say is thank god for indies, emulation and my longer-than-the-rest-of-my-life backlog, ha.
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Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
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