General Games Discussion

Why I'm going through dat backlog. Not that it wasn't obvious anyway as most other things announced this year are coming in 2nd half.

ES wrote:Gaming drought is real, nothing notable until UC4. Only F4 keeping me afloat.

LoL you pos

I don't even have an idea what a gaming drought is. My backlog can keep me entertained after the apocalypse with its size.

Yep lol, although sometimes it gets to a point where i completely ignore most of said backlog and forget they exist tbh.

BRB Fallout 4, MGS5, Bloodborne etc etc (:

I have a backlog of over 35 games lol. No idea what a game drought is

No Man’s Sky hits PS4 on 22 June

I've been enjoying playing Skyrim again, it's been fun exploring the world again.

I actually forgot that the Division was coming out next week, I've been so engrossed in Skyrim that I'll probably delay buying the Division for a few weeks in order to finish off my current playthrough.

Jonathan28 wrote:I've been enjoying playing Skyrim again, it's been fun exploring the world again.

I actually forgot that the Division was coming out next week, I've been so engrossed in Skyrim that I'll probably delay buying the Division for a few weeks in order to finish off my current playthrough.

Someone hold Mole.

Nothing wrong with people enjoying it, don't mean i have to like it.

forgot the division releases next week, hated the beta. still buying it.

#69

Game: Warsong.
Year: 1991.
Genre: SRPG.
Publisher: Treco.
Developer: Masaya Games.



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.

Of the three important SRPGs of the 16 bit era, the Langrisser series is probably the least well-known, and that's becaue few of its titles were ever localized in the west. Warsong is actually the first Langrisser game, and it was localized as Warsong.

With that in mind, we are discussing a game that is arguably as important as the first Fire Emblem and Shinig Force games. Obviously, since the series went on to find some success, the first game in the series must have had some positive elements. It sure does, but it also has its share of obviously glaring problems.

"The legendary sword, Warsong, was said to give its bearer magical powers"

As with many SRPG games, Warsong begins with the main character's retreat from his own kingdom. The Dalsis empire is right at the doors of the castle, and Prince Garett of Baltia will then need to organize an army to avenge that loss. Yet, its not all as it seems, as monsters, those that are not controlled by Dalsis, also seem to move in more intelligent ways.

The set-up is basic, but could offer up some interesting plot elements. For instance ,the magical sword, Warsong, is a basic fantasy trope but could be interesting if the game did something with it. However, the narrative of Warsong doesn't go much further than the text blurbs before each mission.

True, there is some dialogue, but its typical low quality translation. One unfortunate point is that your allies never have any lines beyond their introductory chapter, and a few lines if killed in battle.

Limited Story: -3

"We can't retreat now! Everyone stay close and try not to get hurt"

As an SRPG, Warsong tries to separate itself from the pack by its use of soldiers along with commanders. Each character can hire up to 8 soldiers of the same class. Of course, the enemy commanders have their own soldiers as well.

This means that you can control up to 72 units in one turn. Which is why this system is the most unique, and most frustrating part of the game. Turns can take an eternity because of that, as you see each unit move, even at the fastest setting. Trying to play the game on slow is worse than watching paint dry.

Compared to all the SRPGs I played, Warsong's turns are probably the longest, as these separate units all take such ha long time to move. Unfortunately, you can't even effectively use the game's auto-move feature, because of the game's stupid AI (which I will discuss later).

Other than the use of soldiers, the game uses a unique health system. Each unit (commanders included) have 10 HP points, but with their stats, you can see a commander completely decimate a soldier unit without getting hurt. Additionally, soldiers that end the turn next to their commander heal, and a commander can stay at their place and heal as well. This all leads to an extended time, but also lends a more strategic element than other SRPGs.

Hence, this is not a game for people who want to blaze through the chapters, as the the more tactical approach means each turn is longer than other comparable SRPGs by a lot.

Very Long Turns: -4
Tactical Gameplay: +4

"No, such strong defense"

Let us now talk more about the more tactical gameplay, as well as how soldiers serve in the gameplay. For starters, terrain is varied, and it affect both defensive bonuses and movement points. Second, soldiers are stronger within their commander's sphere of influence. Finally, there is a rock-paper-scissors relationship between soldier types.

All of these elements, as well as the various statistics and classes for each character, means the player has many options in how to approach the game. Sure, some options are obviously superior, archers are very good units for example. Yet, the option is there for the player to experiment.

One part that is worth mentioning is the game's AI. I cannot complain about it much, conisdiring the game's age, but it can be daftly hilarious. For instance, the computer could send ALL of its soldiers against one commander that is sitting in a high defensive position, and that commander wouldn't lose one health point. It's like sending all of their soldiers into a grinder.

This is the reason you cannot trust the AI to move your units; it simply could ruin all of your plans.

Gaemplay: +5
Stupid AI: -2

"Is the evil chasing after Warsong?"

Graphically, Warsong looks fine. Its colorful, and the character portraits are really good, especially for a 1990 game. Sprites are detailed, and animate adequately. When attacking, the game goes into a 2D plan and showcases a small battle, and when using magic, the effects are cool enough.

Thankfully, all the information is conveyed in a clean and obvious form. Soldier types are clear, and the terrain types make it obvious where the best defensive positions are.

Unfortunately, the same care doesn't extend to the music. Its not that the soundtrack is bad; in fact the tracks that are in there are good. However, there are just too few tracks, and as such, you hear the same five or six tracks for a long time in a lot of levels.

Graphics: +3
Limited Music: -2

In Conclusion:

As the first game in the Langrisser series, Warsong makes it obvious that the series has a lot of ideas. Ideas that would make for some better games in the future. Unfortunately, this first attempt for the series suffers because of the very long turns.

It feels like the balancing was off, and because of that, the game is inaccessible for many who will not want to invest the time in finding what fun is there in the game.

Final: 26/50

"Tips"
1- Don't buy the maximum number of soldiers, 5 or 6 is fine.
2- Characters level up through kills fro mboth themselves and their sodliers, make sure to kill everything in site.
3- The cleric class is a pain to level up, save slimes and lizardmen for them to kill.

"Next Game"

As my introduction to the Langrisser series, Warsong does excite me about the possible improvements to the series in the future, even if it is an underwhelming game.

The next game I am reviewing is going back to number 79. Coming back to review Phantasy Star III, which is considered a different game to others in the franchise. However, after finding PSII terribly aged, I don't think I am going to trust public opinion regarding the Phantasy Star games.

Stay Tuned

hitman games have never been top tier in the graphics department but the beta is ugly as f imo

got bored after the first mission, will check it out once it's complete

It's because of the level IMO



This looks a lot better.

Them feels at the AC 2 opening.



First time that you ever hear Ezio's theme. Looking back at it after learning of the life and death of Ezio makes you even more emotional.

So... one of my uni mates got a job at Traveller's Tale lol. He has to sign like 20 NDAs but i will get the info out of him about all the new projects etc

Pretty sure he will be working on Lego Star Wars game.

When he settles in and is trusted, I am going to ask him to sneak in some easter eggs ffs

easter eggs in games none of us will ever touch ffs, jobber studio

although seeing this reminds me that i once played lego indiana jones back in my achievement addiction days

I have never played a lego game in my life. But now I have to buy one just to see his name in the credits lmfao



or just youtube it

#9

Game: Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals.
Year: 2010.
Genre: ARPG.
Publisher: Square Enix, Natsume.
Developer: Neverland, Square Enix.



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.

The Lufia games are a little know RPG series that began in the SNES era. The first game was a mediocre RPG with a potentially good story, but the second was a little known masterpiece. I myself consider it among the top five of SNES RPGs. Yet, after that game, the series went silent for nearly 15 years, and no one probably expected a revival.

Which is why this DS remake of the second Lufia was such a surprise. It was not made because of any fan demand, but because those who worked on the original game wanted to make it.

This is a faithful remake of the original in both story in tone, but it updates something, and changes the gameplay dramatically into an ARPG. It results in a very good game, the unfortunately bombed, reminding us that even if you do everything right, you are not guaranteed to succeed.

"I'd fight my way out of hell to get back to you"

Unlike the original game, the story in Curse of the Sinistrals start right from the start. Gades, the Sinistral of destruction shows his face from the beginning this time. Maxim, being the hero he is, takes it upon himself to defeat Gades, and so he tries to gather around a group to help him.

The Sinistrals are god-like beings, who are upset at how humanity are developing beyond the need of gods, and as such, want to force it to bow down to them. Its really just a different way of ancient evil threatening the world, but it is more interesting because the Sinistrals are characterized well, even if only within one dimension.

However, it is not the Sinistrals that are the most interesting about the story, but the characterization of the world and main players that are driven to oppose them. Maxim, Selan, Tia, and the others are well defined characters that go beyond JRPG tropes.

In many ways, the characterization is more developed than the original. Yet, strangely so, the relationship between Maxim and Selan was more natural before, even if it is still presented well here. All and all, the characters are all interesting ,and both individually, and together, they make this a better tale. One that while depends on a lot of tried and true JRPG tropes, is still interesting enough to even veterans of the genre.

Basic Story: -2
Very Good Characters: +4
Good World Design: +2

"I will destroy your dismal little civilization, and remake it into something more to my liking"

Unlike the original Lufia II, the remake is an Action RPG. It is also a smaller game in scope. You pick destinations among a list, and then enter them without having to travel an overworld. Compared to the original game, there are much less places to visit. This is partially explained because the game-world is made for Action gampelay this time.

Each of the six characters can be controlled, and there is a unique fighting style for each characters (one character can use all styles). Maxim can combo quickly, and his special technique is excellent in fighting multiple characters, while Tia is more about keeping her range, and dealing heavy damage from afar. This variety in gampelay keeps it interesting, even if we soon realize there is little reason to become proficient in the system.

While the Action gampelay is solid, the fact that there is very little challenge unfortunately means we rarely need to use it to its fullest potential. Indeed, unless you deliberately never upgrade your equipment, you will never be in danger of losing once you get the hang of the combat system.

The only cases where I felt threatened was during the admittedly interesting boss battles. Yet, even those battles were far and few between, and some are repeated several times.

Still, this doesn't mean the game is not fun even if you are going into auto-pilot. There is some joy in trying to chain a huge combo together, especially because the better you play, the more experience and gold you receive, and it is always a pleasure to see more gold and experience burst out of a dead enemy as you pummel it beyond death.

One way to force challenge into the gameplay is through opting out of the GRID system. The GRID is where you equip statues boosting gems that you earn through combat to your characters, both increasing their stats and giving them extra benefits. Unlike purposely underequiping yourself, under utilizing the GRID system doesn't severely handicap you.

However, something worth noting is the frequent frame drops when there are many enemies on screen, especially as you attempt more complex combos. While it never goes beyond an occasional noticeable dip in performance, it is nonetheless annoying to see.

Good Action Gameplay: +3
Limited Challenge: -4
Varied Gameplay Between Characters: +3
Rewards for Excellence: +2
Some Frame Dips: -2

"You must bow for us and wish for mercy"

Other than combat, dungeons are home to many puzzles that impede your progress. The original Lufia II didn't have many puzzles, but the few puzzles it had apparently inspired the developers to make more this time around.

These puzzles are not particularly interesting, nor are they ever obtuse of boring. Running the gamut of basic puzzles, from moving blocks to manipulating light beams, Curse of the Sinistrals involve you in dungeons in more than battles. In fact, roughly half the time spent in dungeons is in solving these puzzles, and that's not a bad thing.

Generally, an action RPG with little challenge (it is surprising how many easy ARPGs there are) grows to become a mindless hack 'n slash. However, by virtue of breaking up the action sequences with puzzles, this game manages to keep both puzzles and battles interesting despite the easy nature of both.

Yet, for some reason, the game saw fit to reuse a lot of the dungoens several time. True, we are usually exploring different levels of the same dungeon, but usually the puzzle style of each dungeon is the same.

This contributes to the decrease in scale in comparison to the original. There are fewer dungeons, fewer cities, and fewer things to do. Still, we cannot complain much when what is there to be done is fun enough that we rarely notice the lack in scale until we look closer and discover the same backgrounds.

Puzzles are Fun: +3
Doesn't Stagnate: +2


"Chaos! Beautiful, beautiful chaos"

It must be said that Curse of the Sinistrals truly tried to push the DS for all its worth. The graphics were in full 3D, with some seriously epic boss designs. The music of Lufia II was updated to an excellent resolution. And there is even some Voice Acting, which was a bad idea.

Thankfully, we don't have to suffer the VA much, as the characters only speak in some of the important plot points, and not all the time. For some reason, they actually do not speak where a plot point will usually demand VA, but in random times. Since I didn't enjoy the acting of most characters (other than the Sinistral), that was actually a good point.

As for the graphics, pushing the DS to its limit doesn't mean the graphics are actually pretty. In fact, it just shows us that trying to circumvent the DS's limitations with smart art direction is a smarter approach of trying to brute force more polygons into the models.

While not bad in any way, the environment is usually drab and lacks resolution up front, but looks okay from the distance. One things that is consistently good are the character models, which are nice enough in 3d, but excellent in their portrait form. Each character is uniquely designed, and all of them have excellent portraits with many expressions. The tearing up expression of many characters, especially the President of Parcelyte, are priceless.

Finally, the music is actually pretty great. The original Lufia had some good tunes, but suffered from a lower quality ceiling compared to other games on the SNES. Curse of the Sinistrals updates the best tunes of the original, and adds some of its own. The One Who Will Save the Earth is one of the best on the DS, and its a remix of a 15 year old song.

Ugly Polygonal Graphics: -3
Very Good Portraits: +2
Very Good Music: +4

In Conclusion:

Curse of the Sinistrals is the rare remake that neither ruins nor supersedes a game. In fact, both this remake and the original can be enjoyed for different reasons. Fans of 16 bit RPGs will still want to play the original, but they will enjoy this game as well.

In the end, this is a fine remake of a fine game. Even though it financially bombed, and now that the series is most probably dead, it went out with a very good game.

Final: 39/50

"Tips"
1- Don't buy the full load of potions, because you are probably going to find some in each dungeon.
2- Older weapons and armor are practically useless.
3- Make sure the last checkpoint is close enough if you ever use the reset function.
4- The endless dungeon is only endless if you play New Game+.
5- If a character is weak against magic, they will be decimated against bosses, only use them to hit hard then switch them out.

"Next Game"

Lufia II was a surprise hit for me during my SNES reviews series, and it narrowly missed the top 10. Because of that, I am happy that its remake turned out to be a good game. Too bad about the series being a financial failure though.

The next game might as well be a financial failure, because Nintendo apparently treats it as such. The Advance Wars series is not as loved by Nintendo as the Fire Emblem series, and the next game I am playing is Advance Wars: Dual Strike, the first AW game on the DS.

Stay Tuned

Just won the NXT title on WWE 2K16 but the then champion had his foot on the rope and the ref didn't see it

That Flair and Austin from 02 dynamic

RealGunner wrote:I have never played a lego game in my life. But now I have to buy one just to see his name in the credits lmfao



or just youtube it

Some of those Lego games are really cool.

Lego City Undercover on the Wii U is a hilarious spoof of Hollywood cop movies, and is a a pretty good game.

NINTENDO ALLEGEDLY FUNDING NX-EXCLUSIVE BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL 2

Please be true

Beyond Good and Evil was a one of a kind game, with one of the hardest end game bosses i've ever faced (if not, the hardest)

Great move from Nintendo, now get Intelligent Systems and Retro working on something relevant and not portable related, bin all the Yoshi and Kirby game, make a proper console for normal human beings, get better 3rdpart games and focus on relevant first party games (no Hyrule warriors, nintendoland, captain toad, etc)

They have all the assets to come back next gen, question is, do they wanna focus on amiibo and 3DS's 2 customers? (jay and LS)