What are you playing?

[Xeogred]

I also played a little Shovel Knight. I absolutely DESPISE games that track your deaths and this one does via a witch in the first village. If you're OCD this forces you to try and play the game without dying which a tall order for a game like this. Also, nothing about Shovel Knight feels relevant. It plays like so many 8-bit, 2d action platformers, which means that it also plays like the one thousand or so games of this ilk you can find all over PSN, Xbox Live, Steam, Nintendo eshop and the PC indie scene.

Sure, let's see a list of what Shovel Knight ripped off and doesn't measure up to.

Begin.

[oxymoron]

I'm about half way through GTA 5 and I'm starting to get the same feeling I get with every GTA, this game is long for it's own good. The heists are getting to be tedious and the forced driving is becoming a pain. If this game doesn't get better in the next couple hours it's going to be sitting on my shelf for a while.

[Exhuminator]

Started playing Sonic Colors on Wii tonight. This game is absolutely amazing, and is the first 3D sonic I've actually enjoyed.

[Violent By Design]

Saying Shovel Knight rips off of other games feels like someone just read some random review post on IGN.

What game does Shovel Knight rip off, or even play similar too? There's literally no game like Shovel Knight, much less any 8 bit game.

Maybe they'll make a patch for people with OCD or something , I didn't even notice a kill counter until the credits.

[Sload Soap]

Still playing Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - New 'n' Tasty, and it still sucks. As a fan of the series, (except for Stranger's Wrath, which isn't an Oddworld game), I am both surprised and disappointed by how much I am hating this game. I don't remember this game being this awful. It seems my nostalgia goggles aren't working correctly. The controls are SHIT, absolute SHIT. And the sadistic, obnoxious level design seems built around exploiting that as much as possible with extremely challenging platforming sections that require a level of precision that this game doesn't have. Also, this game has some of the worst stealth gameplay I've ever seen.

You're the only person I've heard of who has had a problem with the remake. The controls have always been stiff, it's a cinematic platformer that's part of the price you pay. And yes the level design is meant to trip you up but it compensates for that by having constant checkpoints.

What I don't get is you say you're a fan of the series and yet you seem surprised by the way the game plays. I don't get it.

[dunpeal2064]

Mario Kart 8: So good!

Crisis Core: So bad!

[Exhuminator]

Crisis Core: So bad!

Nah, if you stick to the story missions it's decent enough, and the ending is possibly the best I've seen in a FF.

[dunpeal2064]

Well that is good to hear. I'm about 4 hours in... and since I'm not sticking to story missions, that means about 3 hours of single screen, pointless "quests" and one hour of the actual game.

The story is alright so far (Although I think a little subtlety would add to the suspense. Seeing Genesis and Sephiroth pop up so often, even when doing all the missions, is just weird.) The combat is decent for an action game, but it always feels a little off. Dodging, and blocking in particular, could be better, but its still fun.

Materia fusion is actually quite nice. With them adding custom stats to each material, it feels like there are a lot of possibilities. Sadly, the basic attack in the game is so much more affective than even the coolest Materia I've crafted so far (Sorry Dark Blizzara). The best strat I've found is "walk behind enemy, spam attack for free crits, they die"

Those missions are just god awful. I don't mind linear gameplay, but each mission is just "walk up to a normal enemy and kill it. Oh, and explore for one chest that likely just contains a potion." No real story comes from it, a few decent equipment, and... more missions.

Also, not a huge fan of the reels. I don't hate them, but that random element just makes the game feel weird. I actually like it affecting levels of character and material, but it affecting special moves and summons is weird. Sometimes I get non-stop special moves, which locks you into a perma-Guard and makes you invulnerable. Other times, nothing. Even when no special move kicks in though, just netting somewhat decent rolls still gives you physical invulnerability, free MP/AP abilities, and straight invincibility. Its silly how often I am completely untouchable in this game, considering it is never by choice.

I freaking love VII, so I am still having fun. Seeing the Exhibit in the Shinra building made me smile. But.. the world feels so dry and dead compared to VII... where is should feel more alive. Maybe its just the restriction in the areas and lack of actual movement between stages.

I just shouldn't have tried Type 0 until I was done

[graffix_13]

Completed Metroid Prime this weekend, so I began my next game on my Gamecube playing frenzy: Resident Evil (REmake).

I haven't played the original Resident Evil since....well, about 1996. There is A LOT of things I forgot about. I think they added somethings to the remake as well.

[Xeogred]

They definitely added things, but it fits perfectly. Best remake next to Zero Mission to me.