Games Beaten 2022
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RobertAugustdeMeijer
- 24-bit
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2022 10:15 am
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is really well made : D
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Hells yeah! Also, I just love how there's an obvious nod to the previous Wonder Boy games.
Also, am I crazy or is Shantae clearly inspired by the later Wonder Boy games, particularly Monster World 4?
Also, am I crazy or is Shantae clearly inspired by the later Wonder Boy games, particularly Monster World 4?
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prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12198
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Not crazy at all. Shantae’s design is clearly inspired by Asha from Monster World IV, many of the game mechanics are similar to those found in Dragon’s Trap (i.e., animal transformations) and Monster World III (i.e., a large, interconnected world with a series of self-contained dungeons). That’s probably why I enjoy most Shantae games so much!
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Yeah, plus iirc there's a fan game that teams up Asha with Shantae.
I swear if we got a live-action Shantae movie, I'm thinking Ariana Grande as Shantae, (possibly) Mike Faist as Bolo and Jordan Alexander (Julien on the Gossip Girl reboot) as Risky Boots.
I swear if we got a live-action Shantae movie, I'm thinking Ariana Grande as Shantae, (possibly) Mike Faist as Bolo and Jordan Alexander (Julien on the Gossip Girl reboot) as Risky Boots.
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Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1277
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2022
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - PS 4
This is just a really solidly made JRPG that does pretty much everything well. The old school graphics look good and the music is well done. The story, writing, and dialog is very good for the most part (aside from the occasional, annoying, anime trope). The game has tons of world building and lore. In fact, when you first get to the city of Crossbell, you'll be amazed at how large and interconnected it is with many different districts all having their own purpose, feel, and interesting characters. On that note, NPCs in this game are interesting, with their own little stories going on and interesting takes on current events. After every big event, it's worth talking to them all again as they'll have new things to say. NPCs don't feel like insignificant characters even though they aren't part of the main storyline.
This is my first Legend of Heroes game, but I'm told that every game is part of a huge story line with every game referencing characters and events from other games. This sounds like a major, interconnected, franchise comparable to something like Star Wars. That said though, you can enjoy this game as a stand alone entry. It's very accessible. The story focuses on a group of young cops who are part of a new division. I don't recall ever playing a jrpg where you play as cops. When you start the game the story basically revolves around how useless and corrupt law enforcement is, and your group of heroes (and heroines) have been brought together to address this by tackling the many issues that go ignored by the police force. You also have to deal with a rival organization of heroes who have basically taken up the task of doing what law enforcement will not, earning favor with the citizens who have always been ignored by cops and government. The story will have you dealing with bad people in the police force, the mafia, a Japanese mafia, and lots of other things as the story goes on.
As cops, you will take on different types of missions (some being optional). These award you money and Detective Points. DP allows you to go up in rank and get special items. The great thing about this system, is that every mission will test you in various ways. The amount of DP you gain is based on your performance. If your character is asked a question, how you respond will determine how many points you get at the end of the mission. If you have an NPC in your party, how many DP points you will earn depends on whether or not you can keep him from taking any damage. One tough boss fight will award you a different amount of points based on whether you beat the boss, or just survive enough turns for the fight to end. All of this stuff makes the missions more interesting. It's nice that the player has some agency in how things play out instead of everything just being completely pre-determined like most JRPGs. A lot of this stuff tests both your mind and your skill at the game.
The combat system is superb. It is based around turn order like the Grandia games. However, positioning on the battlefield is also important, kind of like a strategy rpg. Where you're characters are positioned at the beginning of a battle and where you move them to during the battle is important. There are random bonuses that pop up during both party member and enemy turns to keep things from being predictable (like the game randomly giving one of your party members or an enemy two consecutive turns). Speed is a big thing, knowing how much some actions will set your character back in the turn order, or using certain abilities to delay enemy turns or reduce how frequently they even get turns.
Combat gives you so many options to work with. You have basic melee attacks (quick attacks you can do on a character's turn that are effective on generic enemies), magic-like abilities (that are slow and take multiple turns to cast, but are essential in some situations), special attacks that use CP points (separate from the EP points needed for magic abilities), and S-Break attacks (powerful moves that require lots of CP points, they hit harder depending on how many CP points you have and can be used at the player's discretion with no regard for turn order). I love S-Breaks, they almost feel like cheating because you can literally do them whenever you want, even interrupting an enemy's turn. They are like Final Fantasy style limit break moves, very powerful. Considering that every party member has them, you can really turn a battle in your favor by just busting out 2 or 3 S-Breaks in succession, completely interrupting whatever you're enemies were about to do. It's even possible to take action with a character on his/her turn, then immediately do that character's S-Break, effectively taking two turns.
Enemies can be spotted on the overworld, and you can avoid or ambush them (by attacking them from behind to stun them, then initiating combat). This again feels similar to games like Grandia or Chrono Trigger. Your overworld attack depends on the lead character in your party. If you're high level, attacking enemies on the field will instantly take them out, no battle required. One cool thing about ambushing enemies is that you'll start the battle with your party members getting their turns before the enemy AND a possibility to trigger a powerful party based attack that will allow all four characters to simultaneously attack your enemies. The game will randomly choose one of your character's turns to let you unleash this attack. It's basically a four character limit break (I'm using Final Fantasy terminology again). I think Persona 5 also has a mechanic like this if you stun an enemy in combat.
I should also mention that you can upgrade characters by using "sepith" to open up slots to insert gems into. Different gems provide different abilities. Gems all have an element, and can only be inserted into a slot that matches the element. Different amounts of certain gems open up different spells and abilities for that character to use. You get sepith from defeating enemies, but there are other ways to get them too.
The game has multiple difficulty levels. On Nightmare mode, you'll need to be smart about how you fight and really learn how to properly utilize all the tools the game gives you because enemies do lots of damage. I played through on this setting. Initially it felt unfair, but once I understood more about how the game works, I found it to be quite balanced. Though a smarter player might want to tackle this difficulty on a new game plus, I'll get to that in a bit.
There's lots of simple, fun, side activities in the game like cooking, fishing, or gambling, all of which provide rewards that can really help you in combat. Gambling can help you buy good equipment, cooking can help you get powerful items for use in combat (they can really be game changers), etc. You can also upgrade weapons with the right combination of materials.
I mentioned before that the game has a new game plus mode. Basically, getting achievements/trophies gives you points to spend on things to carry over into a new game. New game plus introduces stuff to the game that isn't available on a first playthrough as well.
All in all, it's just a really good JRPG. It pretty much does everything well. There's even quality of life stuff like a turbo button to speed up everything in the game, really useful if you feel like grinding or just want to do a couple battles to build up CP points for a tough boss fight. You can also save at any time outside of battle.
The game is definitely worth checking out, and makes me curious about the rest of this interconnected franchise. I heard fans of The Legend of Heroes games are hardcore and hold the franchise in very high regard. I can see why. They often argue about where a newcomer should start though. As I said before, this one feels made for newbies to the franchise since tutorials explain everything and the story is self contained. Some time next year they should be localizing the sequel to this game too or so I've heard, so you'll get one more entry with the same characters to finish this group's story.
This is just a really solidly made JRPG that does pretty much everything well. The old school graphics look good and the music is well done. The story, writing, and dialog is very good for the most part (aside from the occasional, annoying, anime trope). The game has tons of world building and lore. In fact, when you first get to the city of Crossbell, you'll be amazed at how large and interconnected it is with many different districts all having their own purpose, feel, and interesting characters. On that note, NPCs in this game are interesting, with their own little stories going on and interesting takes on current events. After every big event, it's worth talking to them all again as they'll have new things to say. NPCs don't feel like insignificant characters even though they aren't part of the main storyline.
This is my first Legend of Heroes game, but I'm told that every game is part of a huge story line with every game referencing characters and events from other games. This sounds like a major, interconnected, franchise comparable to something like Star Wars. That said though, you can enjoy this game as a stand alone entry. It's very accessible. The story focuses on a group of young cops who are part of a new division. I don't recall ever playing a jrpg where you play as cops. When you start the game the story basically revolves around how useless and corrupt law enforcement is, and your group of heroes (and heroines) have been brought together to address this by tackling the many issues that go ignored by the police force. You also have to deal with a rival organization of heroes who have basically taken up the task of doing what law enforcement will not, earning favor with the citizens who have always been ignored by cops and government. The story will have you dealing with bad people in the police force, the mafia, a Japanese mafia, and lots of other things as the story goes on.
As cops, you will take on different types of missions (some being optional). These award you money and Detective Points. DP allows you to go up in rank and get special items. The great thing about this system, is that every mission will test you in various ways. The amount of DP you gain is based on your performance. If your character is asked a question, how you respond will determine how many points you get at the end of the mission. If you have an NPC in your party, how many DP points you will earn depends on whether or not you can keep him from taking any damage. One tough boss fight will award you a different amount of points based on whether you beat the boss, or just survive enough turns for the fight to end. All of this stuff makes the missions more interesting. It's nice that the player has some agency in how things play out instead of everything just being completely pre-determined like most JRPGs. A lot of this stuff tests both your mind and your skill at the game.
The combat system is superb. It is based around turn order like the Grandia games. However, positioning on the battlefield is also important, kind of like a strategy rpg. Where you're characters are positioned at the beginning of a battle and where you move them to during the battle is important. There are random bonuses that pop up during both party member and enemy turns to keep things from being predictable (like the game randomly giving one of your party members or an enemy two consecutive turns). Speed is a big thing, knowing how much some actions will set your character back in the turn order, or using certain abilities to delay enemy turns or reduce how frequently they even get turns.
Combat gives you so many options to work with. You have basic melee attacks (quick attacks you can do on a character's turn that are effective on generic enemies), magic-like abilities (that are slow and take multiple turns to cast, but are essential in some situations), special attacks that use CP points (separate from the EP points needed for magic abilities), and S-Break attacks (powerful moves that require lots of CP points, they hit harder depending on how many CP points you have and can be used at the player's discretion with no regard for turn order). I love S-Breaks, they almost feel like cheating because you can literally do them whenever you want, even interrupting an enemy's turn. They are like Final Fantasy style limit break moves, very powerful. Considering that every party member has them, you can really turn a battle in your favor by just busting out 2 or 3 S-Breaks in succession, completely interrupting whatever you're enemies were about to do. It's even possible to take action with a character on his/her turn, then immediately do that character's S-Break, effectively taking two turns.
Enemies can be spotted on the overworld, and you can avoid or ambush them (by attacking them from behind to stun them, then initiating combat). This again feels similar to games like Grandia or Chrono Trigger. Your overworld attack depends on the lead character in your party. If you're high level, attacking enemies on the field will instantly take them out, no battle required. One cool thing about ambushing enemies is that you'll start the battle with your party members getting their turns before the enemy AND a possibility to trigger a powerful party based attack that will allow all four characters to simultaneously attack your enemies. The game will randomly choose one of your character's turns to let you unleash this attack. It's basically a four character limit break (I'm using Final Fantasy terminology again). I think Persona 5 also has a mechanic like this if you stun an enemy in combat.
I should also mention that you can upgrade characters by using "sepith" to open up slots to insert gems into. Different gems provide different abilities. Gems all have an element, and can only be inserted into a slot that matches the element. Different amounts of certain gems open up different spells and abilities for that character to use. You get sepith from defeating enemies, but there are other ways to get them too.
The game has multiple difficulty levels. On Nightmare mode, you'll need to be smart about how you fight and really learn how to properly utilize all the tools the game gives you because enemies do lots of damage. I played through on this setting. Initially it felt unfair, but once I understood more about how the game works, I found it to be quite balanced. Though a smarter player might want to tackle this difficulty on a new game plus, I'll get to that in a bit.
There's lots of simple, fun, side activities in the game like cooking, fishing, or gambling, all of which provide rewards that can really help you in combat. Gambling can help you buy good equipment, cooking can help you get powerful items for use in combat (they can really be game changers), etc. You can also upgrade weapons with the right combination of materials.
I mentioned before that the game has a new game plus mode. Basically, getting achievements/trophies gives you points to spend on things to carry over into a new game. New game plus introduces stuff to the game that isn't available on a first playthrough as well.
All in all, it's just a really good JRPG. It pretty much does everything well. There's even quality of life stuff like a turbo button to speed up everything in the game, really useful if you feel like grinding or just want to do a couple battles to build up CP points for a tough boss fight. You can also save at any time outside of battle.
The game is definitely worth checking out, and makes me curious about the rest of this interconnected franchise. I heard fans of The Legend of Heroes games are hardcore and hold the franchise in very high regard. I can see why. They often argue about where a newcomer should start though. As I said before, this one feels made for newbies to the franchise since tutorials explain everything and the story is self contained. Some time next year they should be localizing the sequel to this game too or so I've heard, so you'll get one more entry with the same characters to finish this group's story.
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elricorico
- 32-bit
- Posts: 224
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:02 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2022
1. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond (NS)
2. Metal Slug 3 (XBO)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
5. Arc the Lad (PS)
6. Rayman Origins (PC)
7. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)
8. Final Fantasy IX (NS)
9. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)
10. Mario Golf - Advance Tour (GBA)
11. Cat Quest (PC)
12. Soul Calibur VI (PS4)
13. Hyrule Warriors (WiiU)
14. Mario Kart 8 DX (NS)
15. Flashout 3D: Enhanced Edition (PC)
16. Fast RMX (NS)
Fast RMX was one of my answers to most wanted Switch physical release about three years ago(along with Grandia HD Collection). Not long back now, Super Rare Games granted my wish and since it arrived it has been my go-to switch game when I have 10 or 15 minutes to squeeze in some gaming. Last night I rolled the credits(or unlocked the credits as this game put it) after reaching the podium in all of the leagues on the "subsonic" or novice level.
This is another game inspired by the likes of F-Zero and Wipeout, and I think this is a very good one. Great speed, solid controls and the polarity switching system adds one more thing to manage. Having your vehicle in the correct colour allows you to take advantage of only the same colour's boosts and jumps, which is key to keeping ahead of the competition. There are 3 tracks in each league and 12 leagues for 36 tracks to race on. The tracks are varied and even though some share similarities, they don't get boring or ever seem like they are all the same. The game seems locked to high fps, I never once felt any slowdown. I find the graphics solid, might never would have won any awards, but more than adequate for the system, and I like the overall style.
I'd say this is on the tougher side of the genre. Maybe not quite to the harder F-Zero games, but it feels a bit harder than the last wipeout games I've played. Even on the easiest level I need to play aggressively to stay at the front, and I certainly don't always take first place.
I'm happy that this finally came out physically, and I'm glad I waited for a cart that I imagine will remain "complete", since the game hasn't had any updates in a long time. If you like this style of games I think this one is well worth playing and it should give you several hours of enjoyment.
2. Metal Slug 3 (XBO)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
5. Arc the Lad (PS)
6. Rayman Origins (PC)
7. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)
8. Final Fantasy IX (NS)
9. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)
10. Mario Golf - Advance Tour (GBA)
11. Cat Quest (PC)
12. Soul Calibur VI (PS4)
13. Hyrule Warriors (WiiU)
14. Mario Kart 8 DX (NS)
15. Flashout 3D: Enhanced Edition (PC)
16. Fast RMX (NS)
Fast RMX was one of my answers to most wanted Switch physical release about three years ago(along with Grandia HD Collection). Not long back now, Super Rare Games granted my wish and since it arrived it has been my go-to switch game when I have 10 or 15 minutes to squeeze in some gaming. Last night I rolled the credits(or unlocked the credits as this game put it) after reaching the podium in all of the leagues on the "subsonic" or novice level.
This is another game inspired by the likes of F-Zero and Wipeout, and I think this is a very good one. Great speed, solid controls and the polarity switching system adds one more thing to manage. Having your vehicle in the correct colour allows you to take advantage of only the same colour's boosts and jumps, which is key to keeping ahead of the competition. There are 3 tracks in each league and 12 leagues for 36 tracks to race on. The tracks are varied and even though some share similarities, they don't get boring or ever seem like they are all the same. The game seems locked to high fps, I never once felt any slowdown. I find the graphics solid, might never would have won any awards, but more than adequate for the system, and I like the overall style.
I'd say this is on the tougher side of the genre. Maybe not quite to the harder F-Zero games, but it feels a bit harder than the last wipeout games I've played. Even on the easiest level I need to play aggressively to stay at the front, and I certainly don't always take first place.
I'm happy that this finally came out physically, and I'm glad I waited for a cart that I imagine will remain "complete", since the game hasn't had any updates in a long time. If you like this style of games I think this one is well worth playing and it should give you several hours of enjoyment.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
1. Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)(Action Adventure)
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
6. Firewatch (PC)(Adventure)
7. Perilous Warp (PC)(FPS)
8. The Ascent (PC)(RPG)
9. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (PC)(FPS/RPG)
11. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - Claptrap's New Robot Revolution (PC)(FPS/RPG)
12. Kingdom of the Dead (PC)(FPS)
13. Monument (PC)(FPS)
14. Bloodwash (PC)(Horror Adventure)
15. Dead Estate (PC)(Isometric Shooter)
16. Lost in Vivo (PC)(Survival Horror)
17. Star Explorers (PC)(FPS)
18. Dark Souls Remastered (Switch)(RPG)
19. NAM (PC)(FPS)
20. WWII GI (PC)(FPS)
21. Necromunda: Hired Gun (PC)(FPS)
22. Quake: Dimension of the Past (PC)(FPS)
23. Quake: Dimension of the Machine (PC)(FPS)
24. Quake: Scourge of Armagon (PC)(FPS)
25. Quake: Dissolution of Eternity (PC)(FPS)
26. Huntdown (PC)(Run and Gun)
27. A.W.O.L. (PC)(FPS)
28. Hands of Necromancy (PC)(FPS)
29. Cyberpunk 2077 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
30. Prodeus (PC)(FPS)
31. Tails of Iron (Switch)(Action)
32. Tails of Iron: Bloody Whiskers (Switch)(Action)
33. Arkos (PC)(FPS)
34. Security Booth: Director's Cut (PC)(Horror Adventure)
35. Skinwalker Hunt (PC)(FPS)
36. Vomitoreum (PC)(FPS)
37. Hellbound (PC)(FPS)
38. Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)(Beat 'Em Up)
39. Wholesome Slaughter (PC)(FPS)
40. Battle Engine Aquila (PC)(Action)
41. REKKR: Sunken Land (PC)(FPS)
REKKR: Sunken Land is the official release for the REKKR episodes, a total conversion for Doom that changes to a more Nordic theme. The first three episodes released for free, but with the fourth, it was packaged together and can be acquired in Steam for relatively cheap. Each of those episodes is filled with 10 levels often packed with death traps, secrets, new bosses, and literally hundreds of monsters (over 300 in one particular level). And it's a challenging package too; while there are a few archetype weapons, the overhaul has made some of them far more interesting and challenging to use. Not to mention the enemy overhauls that have also turned some basic creatures into absolute nightmares.
First and foremost, the levels are big and often consist of ruined towns or villages, dungeons and fortresses, islands, and more. Later ones do some strange incorporations included museums and portal-hopping that, while challenging, loses the thematic thread. But the music keeps it going with an approximation of strings and pipes that'll make you want to raid and burn a village or three. Which is great, as you're having to rid hideous monsters and corrupted humans from your lands thanks to your king's desperation and hubris.
REKKR likes to throw all kinds of nasty enemies, from former human fodder to floating heads that fire tracking projectiles, flying eyeballs that can revive enemies (imagine a Lost Soul with the power of an Arch-Vile...now imagine a dozen of them), tiny crawlers that look like rocks and explode like landmines, giants that shoot souls out like the cleric's superweapon in Hexen...welcome to REKKR.
Your weapons don't feel nice either. It's not that they're weak, but you don't get the luxury of immediate hitscan. Yeah, your starting now is a projectile, and ammo is mainly found by killing certain does and stealing their souls, which only last for a few short moments before vanishing forever. While you get a powerful hitscan shotgun, it's slow to reload after a shot and spreads a lot. And your rocket launcher now lobs out runes that then explode a second later, making it more like a grenade launcher. These weapons demand more skill than the base Doom set and require you understand how to manage their use almost immediately. And when you get to the final levels of any episode, they're invariably stripped from you for the boss and then stripped again at the start of each episode.
REKKR is not kind. Even the base fodder enemy can rip into you in melee range. So if you want a challenge and have bested Doom on Ultraviolence, you have a great option.
Also, REKKR fits into a nice set of '90s-style fantasy-based FPS on Steam now. From old classics like Hexen and Heretic, trash fodder like the Witchaven series, or new boomer shooters like Hands of Necromancy, Arthurian Legends, and REKKR, if you prefer your FPS to involve swords and magic, it's a good time to be playing games.
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
6. Firewatch (PC)(Adventure)
7. Perilous Warp (PC)(FPS)
8. The Ascent (PC)(RPG)
9. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (PC)(FPS/RPG)
11. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - Claptrap's New Robot Revolution (PC)(FPS/RPG)
12. Kingdom of the Dead (PC)(FPS)
13. Monument (PC)(FPS)
14. Bloodwash (PC)(Horror Adventure)
15. Dead Estate (PC)(Isometric Shooter)
16. Lost in Vivo (PC)(Survival Horror)
17. Star Explorers (PC)(FPS)
18. Dark Souls Remastered (Switch)(RPG)
19. NAM (PC)(FPS)
20. WWII GI (PC)(FPS)
21. Necromunda: Hired Gun (PC)(FPS)
22. Quake: Dimension of the Past (PC)(FPS)
23. Quake: Dimension of the Machine (PC)(FPS)
24. Quake: Scourge of Armagon (PC)(FPS)
25. Quake: Dissolution of Eternity (PC)(FPS)
26. Huntdown (PC)(Run and Gun)
27. A.W.O.L. (PC)(FPS)
28. Hands of Necromancy (PC)(FPS)
29. Cyberpunk 2077 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
30. Prodeus (PC)(FPS)
31. Tails of Iron (Switch)(Action)
32. Tails of Iron: Bloody Whiskers (Switch)(Action)
33. Arkos (PC)(FPS)
34. Security Booth: Director's Cut (PC)(Horror Adventure)
35. Skinwalker Hunt (PC)(FPS)
36. Vomitoreum (PC)(FPS)
37. Hellbound (PC)(FPS)
38. Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)(Beat 'Em Up)
39. Wholesome Slaughter (PC)(FPS)
40. Battle Engine Aquila (PC)(Action)
41. REKKR: Sunken Land (PC)(FPS)
REKKR: Sunken Land is the official release for the REKKR episodes, a total conversion for Doom that changes to a more Nordic theme. The first three episodes released for free, but with the fourth, it was packaged together and can be acquired in Steam for relatively cheap. Each of those episodes is filled with 10 levels often packed with death traps, secrets, new bosses, and literally hundreds of monsters (over 300 in one particular level). And it's a challenging package too; while there are a few archetype weapons, the overhaul has made some of them far more interesting and challenging to use. Not to mention the enemy overhauls that have also turned some basic creatures into absolute nightmares.
First and foremost, the levels are big and often consist of ruined towns or villages, dungeons and fortresses, islands, and more. Later ones do some strange incorporations included museums and portal-hopping that, while challenging, loses the thematic thread. But the music keeps it going with an approximation of strings and pipes that'll make you want to raid and burn a village or three. Which is great, as you're having to rid hideous monsters and corrupted humans from your lands thanks to your king's desperation and hubris.
REKKR likes to throw all kinds of nasty enemies, from former human fodder to floating heads that fire tracking projectiles, flying eyeballs that can revive enemies (imagine a Lost Soul with the power of an Arch-Vile...now imagine a dozen of them), tiny crawlers that look like rocks and explode like landmines, giants that shoot souls out like the cleric's superweapon in Hexen...welcome to REKKR.
Your weapons don't feel nice either. It's not that they're weak, but you don't get the luxury of immediate hitscan. Yeah, your starting now is a projectile, and ammo is mainly found by killing certain does and stealing their souls, which only last for a few short moments before vanishing forever. While you get a powerful hitscan shotgun, it's slow to reload after a shot and spreads a lot. And your rocket launcher now lobs out runes that then explode a second later, making it more like a grenade launcher. These weapons demand more skill than the base Doom set and require you understand how to manage their use almost immediately. And when you get to the final levels of any episode, they're invariably stripped from you for the boss and then stripped again at the start of each episode.
REKKR is not kind. Even the base fodder enemy can rip into you in melee range. So if you want a challenge and have bested Doom on Ultraviolence, you have a great option.
Also, REKKR fits into a nice set of '90s-style fantasy-based FPS on Steam now. From old classics like Hexen and Heretic, trash fodder like the Witchaven series, or new boomer shooters like Hands of Necromancy, Arthurian Legends, and REKKR, if you prefer your FPS to involve swords and magic, it's a good time to be playing games.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Sounds cool. Wonder if it'll run on the modded PlayStation Classics I'll (hopefully) have ready to give to my nieces and nephews this year.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Beat Picross S for the Switch.
Re: Games Beaten 2022
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
First 50:
51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
X4 was a return to form for the X series, after the detour that was Rebirth. Once again you are able to fly every ship and the galaxy is much bigger. It does keep the stuff in Rebirth that worked well, but adapts it to the wider empire building that we had experienced with X3.
Unlike X Rebirth, X4 is light on the story; more like Terran Conflict or Albion Prelude than Reunion. When the game starts the gate network has been reconnected for a number of years, allowing for the various stellar empires to begin rebuilding. But because of the fall of the gate network there are now more sub factions. The Argon are split into two major factions plus a minor, the Paranid similarly have two major factions that war with each other, and the Teladi are happy to sell to everyone. Adding in all the DLC gets you two Split factions at war, the Terrans, and a couple of minor factions that mostly exist to give you some tutorials on piracy.
The game gives you several different gamestarts to choose from; this will determine your starting ship and any assets, as well as providing an intro mission to get you into the world. From there you will find several different questlines that compose the various plots of the game. These will require you to exercise various parts of the simulation, like learning piracy, building a fleet, and learning how to operate stations. The ultimate capstone is the terraforming system, which allows you to spend an ungodly amount of resources to make certain planets habitable for little tangible reward. I did the one that has the most tangible reward (it allows you to get friendly with a pirate faction) and wrote off the rest, as it is an exercise in dealing with the clumsy station building interface and running in SETA in the foreground (as the game pauses when you alt tab).
As with the X3 games, you can pilot any ship. You'll probably settle on a tricked out corvette or frigate, having a decent amount of firepower but still having maneuverability. The capital ships are best left for out of sector operations, as the calculations will best make use of their firepower on fighter swarms and enemy stations. And unlike previous entries, this game really wards you building those major fleets, as sector ownership is now fully dynamic. It is based on certain types of stations existing in a sector, so if you wipe a faction out of a sector you can watch another faction claim it for themselves, or you can make it yours. The aforementioned wars between factions saw multiple sector flips in my playtime. The game also no longer lets factions create stations for free, so you CAN completely wipe out a faction if you put your mind to it. I did that with the Xenon, making my economic supply lines much safer.
The game carries over the notion of good looking stations built from components from X Rebirth. But here you get full control of building a station. You get a 3D builder where you drag and drop various components like production modules, piers, storage modules, and connecting infrastructure. You are encouraged to build self-sustaining complexes fed by mining ships and are given a detailed view into how your resources are flowing in a station. Unfortunately, this interface is pretty ass once you get beyond a very basic station. Many components only have attachment points on a single point, and the game does not attempt any auto rotation to allow pieces to connect. The game also does not make it easy to rotate pieces the way you want to. If you've ever used Unity you will remember the three axes coming off of a shape, with you being able to click and hold on one to rotate around that axis. You don't get that here; instead based upon some arcane property of how the module is currently in your viewport it picks one of the three axes to rotate around. So you'll spend time just randomly rotating the view until you get it to pick the right axis. Fortunately, the game does let you copy single or groups of modules, so if you're building a chain (and you will be) you don't have to manually rotate each one.
Overall, the game does a much better job of scratching the "be the baddest empire in space" itch than X Rebirth did. While the galaxy isn't as big as what we saw in the X3 trilogy, and it lacks a real climax, it serves as a great sandbox and shows the devs are looking to move things forward and take advantage of new technology. With some tightening up of some elements, like station building, and removing some zeros from others, like terraforming, you would have a true masterpiece. As it stands, though, you still have a really fun game if you're into what it's offering.
First 50:
51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
X4 was a return to form for the X series, after the detour that was Rebirth. Once again you are able to fly every ship and the galaxy is much bigger. It does keep the stuff in Rebirth that worked well, but adapts it to the wider empire building that we had experienced with X3.
Unlike X Rebirth, X4 is light on the story; more like Terran Conflict or Albion Prelude than Reunion. When the game starts the gate network has been reconnected for a number of years, allowing for the various stellar empires to begin rebuilding. But because of the fall of the gate network there are now more sub factions. The Argon are split into two major factions plus a minor, the Paranid similarly have two major factions that war with each other, and the Teladi are happy to sell to everyone. Adding in all the DLC gets you two Split factions at war, the Terrans, and a couple of minor factions that mostly exist to give you some tutorials on piracy.
The game gives you several different gamestarts to choose from; this will determine your starting ship and any assets, as well as providing an intro mission to get you into the world. From there you will find several different questlines that compose the various plots of the game. These will require you to exercise various parts of the simulation, like learning piracy, building a fleet, and learning how to operate stations. The ultimate capstone is the terraforming system, which allows you to spend an ungodly amount of resources to make certain planets habitable for little tangible reward. I did the one that has the most tangible reward (it allows you to get friendly with a pirate faction) and wrote off the rest, as it is an exercise in dealing with the clumsy station building interface and running in SETA in the foreground (as the game pauses when you alt tab).
As with the X3 games, you can pilot any ship. You'll probably settle on a tricked out corvette or frigate, having a decent amount of firepower but still having maneuverability. The capital ships are best left for out of sector operations, as the calculations will best make use of their firepower on fighter swarms and enemy stations. And unlike previous entries, this game really wards you building those major fleets, as sector ownership is now fully dynamic. It is based on certain types of stations existing in a sector, so if you wipe a faction out of a sector you can watch another faction claim it for themselves, or you can make it yours. The aforementioned wars between factions saw multiple sector flips in my playtime. The game also no longer lets factions create stations for free, so you CAN completely wipe out a faction if you put your mind to it. I did that with the Xenon, making my economic supply lines much safer.
The game carries over the notion of good looking stations built from components from X Rebirth. But here you get full control of building a station. You get a 3D builder where you drag and drop various components like production modules, piers, storage modules, and connecting infrastructure. You are encouraged to build self-sustaining complexes fed by mining ships and are given a detailed view into how your resources are flowing in a station. Unfortunately, this interface is pretty ass once you get beyond a very basic station. Many components only have attachment points on a single point, and the game does not attempt any auto rotation to allow pieces to connect. The game also does not make it easy to rotate pieces the way you want to. If you've ever used Unity you will remember the three axes coming off of a shape, with you being able to click and hold on one to rotate around that axis. You don't get that here; instead based upon some arcane property of how the module is currently in your viewport it picks one of the three axes to rotate around. So you'll spend time just randomly rotating the view until you get it to pick the right axis. Fortunately, the game does let you copy single or groups of modules, so if you're building a chain (and you will be) you don't have to manually rotate each one.
Overall, the game does a much better job of scratching the "be the baddest empire in space" itch than X Rebirth did. While the galaxy isn't as big as what we saw in the X3 trilogy, and it lacks a real climax, it serves as a great sandbox and shows the devs are looking to move things forward and take advantage of new technology. With some tightening up of some elements, like station building, and removing some zeros from others, like terraforming, you would have a true masterpiece. As it stands, though, you still have a really fun game if you're into what it's offering.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.