General Games Discussion

Just put Wii U on for first time in ages and what pops up? A Napster app lmao.

Phritz wrote:

RealGunner wrote:Think I am going to take a break from gaming. Don't feel like playing anything new atm

ES wrote:That happens whenever i buy a lot of games in quick succession lol

Give it a week or 2 and focus on one game at a time

The Paradox of Choice

Had the same feeling when I built my computer and then looked at the games I wanted to play on my new GPU XD

Also, what are some PS3 exclusives I should get that aren't TLOFU Drake and Journey?

I like a lot of the PS2 remasters like Shadow of the colossus, you probably played that though.

Yakuza 4/5

Demons Souls

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Ori is *bleep* amazing.

10/10 GOAT sound, 10/10 GOAT art design ( seriously best this year by a *bleep* country mile, which says a lot when both Bloodborne and Witcher 3 excel in this regard) level design and platforming seems legit atm and just like Tropical Freeze it doesn't hold your hand when it comes to the combat ( as much as a platformer can anyway) and timing.

Even some interesting skill tree stuff which is a welcome change of pace to a normal platformer, i shat myself when the first " mini boss " came as the soundtrack started getting loud and thumping

Only issue right now is i'm struggling with moving targets as getting used to clicking left key to attack and pressing the space bar at the same time is somewhat troublesome when like all platformers a lot of it is down to timing and learning the ins and outs of it all.

That's a me problem with not really playing on PC though and being used to controllers though than it is a game problem, as soon as i can be bothered to set my PS4 controller up i will do.

Game is GOAT though, #2 so far easily and most other years it would be #1.

Mole see's the light

I didn't deny it was a great game though, too much hype to indicate otherwise.

Just that 100x better thing tbh It's definitely in my top 5 of this gen though from what i have played.

Luckily MS are nice enough to release it on PC will play Cuphead when it comes out as well

Yeah I'm expecting Cuphead to be amazing, the 1930's cartoon art style is really something.

I can't believe it, I'm actually interested in Indie games now. Ori changed me

Btw, has anyone played Warframe? Is it good?

I could swear Cuphead has been in every E3 for the past 3 years

ES wrote:I could swear Cuphead has been in every E3 for the past 3 years

U WOT M8.

It was only at the last one lol.

Just did some digging and it turns out it was at 2014 and 2015 as well lmao.

ES

I didn't notice it at all till this year lol.

> better art design than bloodborne

seems legit

The art design is absolutely phenomenal lol.

Jonathan28 wrote:Yeah I'm expecting Cuphead to be amazing, the 1930's cartoon art style is really something.

I can't believe it, I'm actually interested in Indie games now. Ori changed me

Btw, has anyone played Warframe? Is it good?

Not a good game on console. Tried it for a while but seemed like a poor mans Destiny.

#90

Game: ESWAT: City Under Siege.
Year: 1990.
Genre: Shooter.
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Sega.



First things first, I am changing my rating system to better rate different genres according to their own rules. It will still be from 50 quality points, but every title will start from 25 and earn/lose points according to criteria important to the titles and genres themselves.

Shooters in the 16 bit generation are a dime a dozen. First, we have the top class tier like Contra and Metal Slug, then we get all the rest. ESWAT is one of the earliest 16 bit shooters, and as such was not compared to the great advances those two series made to the genre, nor was it able to learn from them.

Even though, this game is actually a fairly capable shooter, which could have been much better if not for a few serious shortcomings.

"Break E.V.E's Plan"

While the game's cover feature a man in a robot suit, you actually start the game as a fairly ordinary blonde cop. This cop only has a limited skill-set, and can only use a handgun. Only after the first two stages do you get the robot suit, and it makes a world of difference.

The decision to limit you in those two stages is brilliant, because it perfectly underscores how awesome the robot suit is. Once you get it, you feel its power in relation to you previous limitation, and with that power you are tasked with bigger missions.

Unfortunately, here is another game that doesn't bother to craft an engaging world design. The lack of narrative is to be expected in these early games, but the lack of a cohesive or interesting world is not.

Other than the robot suit, and one rather atmospheric level, there is nothing here which has not been done before. From the generic cannon fodder, to the nearly mandatory helicopter boss. ESWAT feels like it could have easily have carbon copies, SWATE and ESWET, lying around.

It doesn't help that the game is as expected, short, with no reason to revisit it after beating it once.

Generic World Design: -4
Holding the Robot Suit: +1

"Guard Silent City"

Before you get the robot suit, you can only shoot the lame handgun, and you have very limited health. If you played any other shooter, you basically know the drill, and at this stage in game development, there was no diagonal shooting.

Once you don that robot suit, its a game changer. Now, besides the increased health, you get access to an expanded arsenal as well as a jet pack.

You still have that lame gun, but now can have access to a rapid shooting weapon that completely outclasses it. Also, there is the missile weapon, which solves some of the diagonal shooting problem because it travels diagonally downward. Then there is the plasma cannon, which auto-charges a strong plasma shot. Finally, you have the one-time super move, which I personally only used once. Best of all, you can switch between these weapons at will provided you have them.

What is truley a game changer however is the jet pack, which, through use of fuel can allow you to hover, glide, as well as simply fly around. The best stage in the game uses that power to a great degree, and the game could have been much better if it actually asked you to use the jet pack more often.

Unfortunately, with the exception of two stages ,the game seemed afraid to deviate much from the confines of its genre. It focused too much on its mediocre shooting, while ignoring the potential of the jet pack.

This can be clearly seen in the pedestrian boss battles. Initially, you might believe these are some tough adversaries, until your realize that they cannot adequately deal with your flying power. Most bosses are rendered ineffective if you glide a little bit into the middle of the edge of the screen, and shot them with the diagonal missiles.

With that tactic, ESWAT becomes one of the easiest shooters I played.

Excellent Jetpack Mechanic: +4
Robot Suit Packs some Firepower: +2
Doesn't Use it Enough: -2
Easy ti Beat Bosses: -2

"Infiltrate Cyber Prison"

With as many shooters out there, any one that aims to make a name for itself must be technically sound, and has some solid presentation.

Thankfully, ESWAT does just that. The sprites are big and well-detailed, and while the backgrounds are nothing special, they are not bad either. Especially well done are the animations, which make the sprites pop that much better.

For instance, there was no need to have the robot morph into a ball, as he crawls beautifully.

Additionally, all the extra effects, such as shots and explosions are well rendered, and actually have solid sound design behind them.

Speaking of sound, there are some nice tunes in the game, although the soundtracks attempt at being more complex sometimes backfire. The second track I could imagine being much better in the SNES, where the sound chip is more advanced.

Generally, this is some solid stuff.

Graphical Design and Animation: +3
Sound: +2

In Conclusion:

ESWAT is a classical example of a game not recognizing its own strengths. If this game actually utilized the excellent jet-pack mechanic better, it it designed its bosses and stages to accommodate that, it might have been a strong enough game to warrant a sequel. Even with a silly sounding name like ESWAT.

As it is, ESWAT is merely a solid shooter in an overcrowded genre, one which could have been much better than it ended up being.

Final: 29/50

"Tips"
1- For the second boss, simply crouch down and shoot, your bullets can guard you against theirs.
2- For a lot of bosses, hovering (not flying) mid-air at the age of the stage and lobbing missiles at them is more than enough.
3- Missiles travel in the ground, and are great at defeating enemies under you.
4- The Plasma Cannon charged shot is great, and can destroy most enemies in one hit, it charges automatically if you don't shoot.
5- You need to use all your weapons if you don't want to end up in dangerous situations.


"Next Game"

Maybe a 29 is not too bad for the first Sega game on the list, but it could have been better. Hell, it could have EASILY been a better game if it had a little more ambition.

For #89, we are actually getting an ambitious game from EA, General Chaos. A real time tactics game, whatever that genre is.

Stay Tuned[/i]

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

The art design is absolutely phenomenal lol.

Yep, Ori won best art direction at the game awards for a reason, the art style is phenomenal.

But the music man, the music. There's a part in the game where you have to escape an area real quick, people who've played it will know which part I'm talking about, and I intentionally kept killing myself over and over because I wanted to keep listening to the music which was playing, it was so good.

Finished Until Dawn. Thought it nailed what it was going for, for the most part. Started to drag a little in the final third but it was still a great experience. Genuinely felt bad when I chose to do something and some of my favorite characters ended up dying, would like to try to play it over and save them but I don't think the game has that much replay-ability. Honestly think it might be better than 95% of the teen horror/slasher genre that it pays ode to tbh. Hope they make a follow up eventually in a new setting/new characters. 8/10

You didn't get scared enough to abandon it


Can't wait to play it at some point

Jonathan28 wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

The art design is absolutely phenomenal lol.

Yep, Ori won best art direction at the game awards for a reason, the art style is phenomenal.

But the music man, the music. There's a part in the game where you have to escape an area real quick, people who've played it will know which part I'm talking about, and I intentionally kept killing myself over and over because I wanted to keep listening to the music which was playing, it was so good.

Sure you did

I know that feel though from Tropical Freeze though and i know i always talk about it but the music in that game is *bleep* amazing





Wasn't even nominated for soundtrack of the year last year is probably the biggest oversight in gaming history IMO.

Does Wii U music even run on MPEG-H 3 audio format

ES wrote:Does Wii U music even run on MPEG-H 3 audio format

Music is universally loved like tiki taka (:

does Until Dawn count as a 2015 game since it was released that year even though I technically played it in 2016

gonna say it does since I installed it and loaded it up in 2015

my final top 5 of the year just past

The Witcher 3 10/10
Bloodborne 9.5/10
Until Dawn 8/10
MGSV 8/10
Fallout 4 8/10

will play Life is Strange soon

@ES didn't I read that you played through Until Dawn a while back? or am I imagining things? who did you keep alive until dawn

spoiler tag pls (:

ES wrote:

Spoiler:

on your first playthrough? pos i don't believe you

Spoiler:

great, great game though.

RealGunner wrote:spoiler tag pls (:

Every character can die and every character can live... it's not really a spoiler to say which one(s) die in a specific play through.

Firenze wrote:does Until Dawn count as a 2015 game since it was released that year even though I technically played it in 2016

gonna say it does since I installed it and loaded it up in 2015

my final top 5 of the year just past

The Witcher 3 10/10
Bloodborne 9.5/10
Until Dawn 8/10
MGSV 8/10
Fallout 4 8/10

will play Life is Strange soon

@ES didn't I read that you played through Until Dawn a while back? or am I imagining things? who did you keep alive until dawn

I'm gonna count it hell i'm gonna count Tomb Raider technically tbh, although that would remain revisiting this subject in like 10 months

Also those who are more experienced with these things what are these Steam Trading Card things i'm seeing pop up lol.

2015 was an amazing year for games.