Managed to get some gaming time over the weekend and I finished Shadowrun Returns.

First off I noticed the game gave me headaches (literally) if I played it in long sessions (which I did). I'm not sure if it's some graphic setting or just the aesthetic of the game with all the bright colors. If it's the aesthetic I'm fine with it. The game was gorgeous, I wouldn't change it even if I could.

I thought the writing was very good and I can't say I miss having the lines voice acted. I think the lack of voice acting actually gave the writers more freedom to created a better story/dialogue. The story itself was good enough, if "somewhat" linear (and by somewhat I mean A LOT). SPOILER: I could have done with a regular conspiracy by the end, no need for bugs, but then I don't really know the Shadowrun universe enough to cast an informed opinion if it fits or not, so I'll let the bugs slide. /SPOILER

The gameplay was average. Considering the game is incredibly linear and no encounter is random they could have done a better job of it. I mean, I'm looking at Divinity: Original Sin where every encounter feels handcrafted (it was) and then I'm looking at Shadowrun and I just don't get the same feeling. It feels like they threw some stuff together and hoped for the best. It's why some encounters seem easy and others feel hard as hell, on the same difficulty level.

I played an elf shaman which was somewhat underwhelming. Well, having the charisma/etiquette for some checks was actually rather nice but by the end I just pumped riffles and a bit of shotgun for good measure. Haste/Slow where the most useful skills, everything else was meh. From what I played, controlling the other members of the team, it looks like mages and riggers are in a similar position. If I play again I'll most likely use a street samurai or adept. Maybe with some decking thrown in there. Why some decking? Because there where plenty of opportunities to use the skill and because I didn't have it it feels like I missed something. I mean why be able to use the decker I made sure I hired every mission... fuck! that annoyed the hell out of me. If you're not in combat you can't use the decker you hired, because fuck you, that's why!

Other "wonderful" mechanic was the game over screen when my character or some other important character died. Let's just ignore the trauma kits I could use to revive a fallen guy... Oh, look! Paco's dead, I guess you can just replay this section again rather than use a trauma kit which could revive him... that makes sense, right? NO! It fucking doesn't!!!

I hear Dragonfall is a huge improvement. I hope that's true.

I don't own a DS, but considering how cheap the used ones are, I might yet. In any case, I'll look it up. Thanks for the recommendation.

Grinding / leveling was one thing that CT did sort of right - I ran from battles left and right, and still ended up as level 50+.

So it's even worse than I assumed. Ah well, it's going to the back of the list now.

I realize there's a range - Bloody Roar 2 looks pretty good to me, but Wild 9 hurts my eyes. In any case, this is the least problematic aspect to me.

This seems to be the consensus. That's actually encouraging, to be honest.

Noted, and appreciated.


I've read much praise for Suikoden 2. It seems to fulfill all the conditions, which is good. Would I be missing out on much by skipping the first one?

I think I will. I'll just brace myself for disappointment from the second part.

Ah, no, another misunderstanding - I like SRPGs. I was just saying that 1) it's a really bad name (sort of like "computer science" for a discipline that isn't about computers and isn't science) and 2) I liked FF:TA the least of all the games I've tried. I know the name, but I haven't played any Front Mission titles. Would I miss out on story if I played 3 first?

I'll look it up.

Buronson's Sanctuary? I've read it, yes. It was pretty good. I've just looked up Strain, didn't know that one. Buronson again, huh. Your friend must be a fan. I can't imagine how you'd jRPGize Sanctuary, but I'll look the game(s) up.

Perhaps because the seinen/josei stuff isn't really very popular. If you look up the sales of manga volumes, it's always battle shounen manga + newest light novel trend (currently, magical schools and being trapped in MMORPGs). The market is big enough to support various niches, but big game publishers probably aren't too interested in them.

I liked Eden as well. Pretty much everything else by Endo Hiroki, actually. Speaking of mangaka, when I was watching Lost Odyssey gameplay, my jaw dropped when I saw who designed the characters - somewhere in the back of my mind, I was going "where have I seen this guy?" - the damn cover of Vagabond, that's where.



Thanks again to everyone who suggested games or contributed their opinions.

I was in a similar position, but due to the fact I enjoyed the game so much, I got sucked into reading about it.
Short answer: yes, it fits.

That's interesting, the only encounter that felt hard to me was the graveyard one, and that was for a good reason. The rest of the game felt very easy to me. In fact, when I replayed it, I decided to try it on Very Hard, and I didn't have any problems. Still failed graveyard once, though :)

Well, here's the thing: shamans and mages are more or less support characters, so one must adapt to the style. You need to hire some samurai and then buff/heal, perhaps soften groups with explosions (mage) or draw fire with spirits (shaman). Riggers, though? Pretty much unstoppable. My second playthrough was a human rigger on Very Hard, and it was actually easier than my elf decker on Normal. 4 AP per drone means plus one for you translates into a ton of damage per turn.

I wouldn't recommend an adept in Returns. In Dragonfall, with its re-worked combat system, sure. But in vanilla, they're quite underpowered.

This pretty much drives me crazy. I played a decker first, so I wasn't even aware that you couldn't jack in with hired deckers, but when I replayed it, and started playing UGC...damn it, so much backtracking while in combat.

It's a much lesser issue in Dragonfall. But how did you get Paco killed? :p

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I was thinking about the graveyard also. The last fight was also hard but only until I figured it out and then it was easy mode. Other difficult fights might have felt that way because of not knowing the game. I can definitely see how a second run would go much smother.

As support characters they are good but I think most people would prefer their PC to be a badass rather than support. At first glance you think "oooooh, mage, flings fireballs and lighting around, niiiiice!" but that's now how it goes. Stems from not knowing enough on first play.

As for the riggers, I don't know. I only hired one once and it was cross-classed with a mage so maybe that's why it felt weak. A 2 AP drone (I already had 3 AP at the time) with crap aim didn't really feel very powerful. Maybe a pure rigger with better skill selection would be fun to play. I didn't use one after the initial experience.

Well that's because another Shadowrun mechanic I'm not a fan of: having enemies join the fight in subsequent turns from different directions, including from the back or from a flank. And again this is a problem for the first time you go through the game/fights. The second time, knowing where the enemies come from, I just picked better cover.

So it looks like most of my issues are because of not knowing the game enough on a first run. Considering how extremely linear the game is there's not much replayability so I really think they should have done a better job at fleshing out the first play experience.

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F.
I don't know what they're singing and I don't think I want to know based on the one English song in there.

Include me.

2015 started out in high gear, let's see if I can keep it up. =)

01 Driver: Parallel Lines (GOG) [***]
02 Olav & the Lute (Desura) [***]
03 Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (GOG) [***]
04 Soul Gambler (Desura) [****]
05 Endgame - Syria (Desura) [***]
06 Left One Stone (Desura) [**]
07 Monokrome (Desura) [**]
08 Flight of the Amazon Queen (GOG) [****]
09 Deponia (GOG) [****]
10 The Kite (Desura) [**]
11 Lair of the Madhat (Desura) [***]
12 Deponia 2: Chaos on Deponia (GOG) [****]
13 Unreal (GOG) [****]
14 Deponia 3: Goodbye Deponia (GOG) [****]
15 Sinister City (Desura) [***]
16 Mousecraft (GOG) [****]
17 Trine (GOG) [****]
18 Gray Matter (GOG) [****]
19 The Blackwell Epiphany (GOG) [*****]
20 Hacknet (Desura) [***]
21 A Date in the Park (Desura) [**]
22 Medal of Honor: Allied Assault War Chest (GOG) [****]
23 Trine 2: Complete Story (GOG) [*****]
24 Stacking (GOG) [***]
25 Q.U.B.E. (GOG) [***]
26 Darkstar One (GOG) [***]
27 Star Wars: Republic Commando (GOG) [*****]
28 Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (GOG) [****]
29 Who Is The Killer? Episode I (Desura) [**]
30 Far Cry 2 (GOG) [***]
31 Consortium (GOG) [****]
32 Magrunner: Dark Pulse (GOG) [****]
33 Personal Nightmare (GOG) [**]
34 Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico [***]
34 The Witcher (GOG) [*****]
35 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (GOG) [*****]
36 Runaway: A Road Adventure (GOG) [***]
37 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GOG) [*****]
38 Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (GOG) [****]
39 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (GOG) [****]
40 Waking Mars (GOG) [****]
41 The Dig (GOG) [*****]
42 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (GOG) [*****]
43 Long Live the Queen (GOG) [***]
44 Bad Mojo Redux (GOG) [*****]
45 Serafina Saga (Desura) [***]
46 Ristorante Amore (Desura) [***]
47 Dragonsphere (GOG) [****]
48 Primordia (GOG) [*****]
49 The 7th Guest (GOG) [***]
50 F.E.A.R. Platinum (GOG) [*****]
51 Love Hotel (Desura) [**]
52 Oknytt (Desura) [****]
53 Qbeh (Desura) [**]
54 The Terrible Old Man (Desura) [**]
55 Jazzpunk (GOG) [****]
56 Strategic Command: European Theater (GOG) [****]
57 Botanicula (GOG) [****]
58 Project 0: The Piano (Desura) [**]

GOGmix with all GOG games that I've finished, plus quick reviews (updating). Also, GOGmix with all GOG games that I've started but haven't finished, plus some thoughts on the matter (also updating).

No, i've played it and i don't feel like i've missed anything, just be sure not to worry about collecting ALL the characters, that's impossible without a guide, just enjoy the game without that "burden".

Again, no, i didn't played 1 or 2 and i didn't had any problem, people were saying the 3rd was the better one so i picked that one. Btw, not sure if spoiler, but early on there will be a hidden decision that changes the game, basically you have 2 campaigns, but that's up to you if you want to google about this.

Eh, to be honest i'm on the same boat as you, i've read both mangas but i doubt the yakuza has the same depth (i haven't played them), especially considering that Sanctuary is heavy on politics and yakuza seems more like a romanticized yakuza brawler. I think it's more in the sense of "if you like yakuza/mafia stories then play yakuza".

Yeah, i know, still it's sad that we used to have good jrpg's during the psx era (Suikuden series, Xenogears, Vangrant Story, Front Mission, etc) and nowadays it's all lolies/panties/friendship stuff, what "hurts" me the most is games like Etrian Odyssey, i loved the demos (the gameplay) available on the Eshop but i HATE the design, i don't want to play a game dedicated to japanese/weeaboo pervs/pedophiles (this is disgusting).

Yeah, i remember back then people discussing that and having the same reactions as you when they discovered who designed the LO characters. As for me, it gave me a little bit of Shin Angyo Onshi vibe but i know it's different.

Ideally and if you have the time, playing both would make the most sense but if you only want to play one game or only have time for one, make it Suikoden 2. It's widely accepted as the best of the series. I played Suikoden 2 without knowing any of the characters from the first game and it didn't lessen the experience as the story is completely new but I'm sure it's even more fun if you play the first game before that.

Sorry about the double post but different discussions. so...

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

For me, one of the best games of 2014, i still find it hard to believe that the WORST publisher of 2014 managed to release this amazing game.

Where to begin... The gameplay is simplistic (in comparison with Ghost Trick for example), it's a puzzle plataform game and there isn't any real difficulty in the game (well, i was stuck in some parts but that was because it was hard to navigate between areas, you didn't notice there was passage on the scenery) but it does have some parts that will get a smile out of you. Oh, and i hated the rhythm parts, it's just not my thing...

The music is so amazing, it's just perfect for the story, it's just that wave of emotions, sometimes i just wanted to stop the game, close my eyes and just stay in that "moment" for a while... and in the other parts, let's say, more humoristic, it was just a nice fit with the gameplay (the can can music while running away, those who played it know what im talking about).

The extra content was really a nice addition to the game, i'll be honest with you guys, i don't listen to audio logs or read books/letters found around the levels of many games, i just don't care, i'm not really a person who gets involved with the game's (franchise?) universe but everytime i started a level i was always pressing triangle (ps4) to know more about the WW1, it was small texts explaning the big battles, the inventions, what the soldiers endured, what the civilians endured, etc, this is a perfect game for educational purposes (about ww1 obviously) and i would LOVE if more games do this.

The story is the hard part to comment about because it's really a great story filled with emotions and making the gamer wanting to know more about what happened to the characters but at the same time people need to be prepared for a game that it's for all ages, sure, it has heavy content like the horrors of war but don't expect it to be full serious, it isn't.

Nonetheless i loved how they approach the subject, let's be honest, it's just hard to make a game about WW1 nowadays, sure, it's full of stories to be told but the gameplay wouldn't be interesting in other genres.

All i can say is, just play the game, it doesn't matter if it's today or in a few weeks/months during a promotion, if you ever get a chance to play it, just do it, the game really deserves to be played... well, obvious it's also not a game for everyone but still...

Gun Metal

A look at the game's cover was all that was needed to convince me to play Gun Metal and I wasn't disappointed.

In Gun Metal, you take control of a large mecha which can transform into an airplane and blow shit up in 14 arena-like stages. None of these stages is particulary large (at most 15 minutes), which makes it a great game to pick-up-and-play. Adding to its pick-up-and-play factor are the game's simple and well-responsive controls, whether you are in mecha or airplane form and it can be a great stress-reliever, what with all those explosions going on.

You perform all those fancy explosions with an increasing arsenal of weapons that unlock as you progress through the stages, with each of them differing in the way it is handled. Whether it is a grenade launcher, napalm, a railgun or a laser, very few weapons resemble each other (there are some aerial versions of these weapons). An interesting aspect of the game is that unlike other action games, your enemies are trying to stop you in a RTS way. They have walls, guard towers, war factories that produce vehicles and barracks that produce infantry (at least until they are destroyed). Similarly, in almost all missions, you'll have to defend your own base from attacks, which I didn't find frustrating as I originally thought it would be (escort/protect missions anyone?). All in all, great stuff, but certainly far from flawless.

For starters, as nice as the environments and the enemy units look, there is not enough variety among them. You'll get tired of seeing the same valley yet again, or fight the same types of enemies once more. Another issue with the game's visuals is the sun/lens flare effect which makes it impossible to see anything in the stages and I ended up disabling it to actually be able to play the game. It's also disappointing that the game gives you no difficulty choices, as the game itself isn't that hard (though the lack of mid-stage saves and quick deaths through carelessness prevent it from being too easy). Finally, as I said above, 14 not-that-long stages don't translate to much playtime which makes the game short. According to the game's clock, it took me 98 minutes to complete it, which might be a good time for an arcade-like game, but arcade-like games are usually more difficult than this.

Full list has been updated.

Shadowgrounds

Pretty much a mediocre title from beginning to end.

The story's a joke, the attempt at a tense atmosphere doesn't work, it sure as hell never comes close to resembling sci-fi survival horror, the voice acting is a joke, the gameplay's average at best (not good when that's all you have to bring to the table), you get stuck on walls, the general combat pacing is crap, you find out at very bad moments that you can't do your dodge roll with certain weapons (not good considering that your walk/run speed is pathetic), and I'm pretty sure I scared a cat by screaming, "MOVE, YOU STUPID BITCH!" at an AI-controlled character who had apparently decided to conspire with the monsters to kill me.

The music isn't bad, though. Far better than the game deserved, really. But even that eventually got turned off in favor of the Super Meat Boy soundtrack.

Oh well, one less pile of garbage on my plate. Moving on.

I just finished this one recently, and it is everything you say Not a lot of gameplay there, but the story... I really enjoyed this one, and will play it again one day ^__^

This year, I want to finish the games I still have bought but still not played on that notorious gaming service, then purge my computer from its presence once and for all.
The first of the line is...

Half-Life 2: Episode One

This time I'll be seriosuly brief, because there is almost nothing to say: the game was over in nearly three hours!
I know Episode One is meant to be an expansion to HL2, yet it adds absolutely nothing to the previous installment: the only differences are slight differences two new types of enemies. That's it: everything else is exactly the same you saw in the base game.
The plot does not advance of a millimeter and character development is non-existent, being just a repetition of what was previously seen.
Oh, and *LIGHT SPOILER* it ends with the traditional cliffhager, as always. *END OF SPOILER*
The entire game is based on the escape from City 17, which transaltes basically in going through the last segment of HL2 backwards.
While it's true that puzzles and encounters are many and varied, each one has been already seen in the main game, hence failing to impress like the latter did. The incredibly briefness of the title makes this only more dull.

To sum up in a few words: HL2-ep1 is not a bad game, yet with so many good shooters out there it is not particularly worthy of attention; I cannot recommend it, but I cannot disocurage others to play it, either.

Dust: An Elysian Tail

I was expecting much and wasn't disappointed.
It's definitely a really well made game. The graphics are beautiful and completely fluid on my ancient system, the gameplay is excellent, the voiceovers are perfect and the references to other indie pearls (and the NES Ducktales!) are well placed.
I've found everything ingame, but although I did find the two places where you are supposed to wait to get to the secret area and it was obvious that you are supposed to wait, nothing happened and I simply didn't get that you have to wait crouching/bowing down... this I had to look up.
The game actually has a replay value, which is something you don't encounter in any game those days.

What I didn't like about the game is, that it's so ovbiously an XBox-port, that it hurts.
It doesn't have any button mapping and you have to use an XPad emulator again for using other USB gamepads, then it works well, but the button symbols ingame are all from the XBox of course.
The second thing I really disliked was the absence of a language selection.
If your system is set to German for example, you get English audio and German subs.
I hate having two languages I comprehend thrown at me at the same time, it's confusing and distracting as hell, so I renamed the folder with the German translation to something else and did get the English subs automatically. At least this easy trick did work.

Full list:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2015/post68