General Games Discussion

Said it before and I'll say it again, I don't want game series' to be completely different with every new release.

When I finish a fantastic 9/10 game the first thing I think about after putting my pad down isn't

'Shit, that was a *bleep* great game. I hope the next one is a reboot and changes everything I enjoyed about it'

They can keep releasing Uncharted games for example and i'll love it, as long as the stories are fresh. I don't need them to turn it into Uncharted - Mini golf just to be different

Spoiler:

I'd definitely buy an Uncharted Golf game tbh.

Myesyats wrote:Ubisoft does the same thing with AC, don't they? Every AC game feels the same but that doesnt stop me from enjoying the series tbh. Similar with Far Cry, there's not many fps games that are as fun as FC to play even if they don't make constant progress.

They do need to do something different with FC6 though because you can't go so far without visible improvement. I don't expect them to though tbh, since it's ubisoft after all

And that's exactly the reason why I can't enjoy modern games anymore. Because there's so few gamers games made, Kingdom Come being the select few in last years. Every other game is allocated for casual gamers, which brings most of the money to the stockholders. Games aren't made anymore as games, but as cash cows.

September is getting stacked AF.

Hope Metro is out before then tbh, although I'll make time for it regardless.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:There's a rumour going around that Microsoft has marketing rights for Cyberpunk, Borderlands 3, Splinter Cell, Battlefield and Anthem.

None of which is really that surprising but assuming it's true that would mean a new Borderlands and Splinter Cell is coming.

IGN says this is fake BTW.

The Fake E3 leaks have started early the most wonderful time of year.

I doubt any AAA studio would trust MS over Sony lol. Everyone knows Sony's press conferences are miles better.

Money brah, all marketing rights means is basically the game will be advertised with Microsoft name at the end of every ad and they use xbox footage.

Or in Cyberpunk case CDPR has a good relationship with them, although they say it's fake I'll be surprised if they don't align themselves with MS.

Yeah I got Cyberpunk appearing on MS too based on Gwent and Witcher 3 appearing there. Sony will have DMC5 on multiplatforms.

Anyway on new game announcements I'm predicting DMC 5 by Capcom and From Software new IP on Sony PC, Splinter Cell on Ubisoft, Starfield on Bethesda (maybe Doom 2, like 20% chance), a new Remedy game on Microsoft.

And of course the yearly shit like FIFA, COD

Remedy is multi platform now BTW so them appearing on Sony stage like how Bungie did wouldn't surprise me tbh.

Assuming they actually have a game to show that is.

Oh my god sorry to dig up an old game but is FFXV a disappointment.

For those of you who have played it... is FC5 memorable? Played too much of the formula to want to play otherwise

Bellabong wrote:Oh my god sorry to dig up an old game but is FFXV a disappointment.

For those of you who have played it... is FC5 memorable? Played too much of the formula to want to play otherwise

I wouldn't call it memorable but I find it really fun to play, the changes they did make it a lot easier for me to play through.

Found Far Cry 3 and others a real grind. I could explain the differences if you want me to then you can decide if you'd want to play it.

Bellabong wrote:Oh my god sorry to dig up an old game but is FFXV a disappointment.

Yup. Disappointing enough to make me fall out of love of any future games in the series.

Not just the series, it genuinely felt like at the time you wanted to stop playing anything in general tbh.

I never played it obviously but how everyone here reacted to it turns me completely off from even giving it a chance.

Also Bella don't worry about bringing up old games in the future, we are not anti-old games here lol.

More discussion about anything is always great.

RealGunner wrote:

Bellabong wrote:Oh my god sorry to dig up an old game but is FFXV a disappointment.

Yup. Disappointing enough to make me fall out of love of any future games in the series.

I haven't really enjoyed any of the FF games since Final Fantasy X, which was the first step in the wrong direction, in my opinion. I'll most likely get the FF7 remake, but I'm probably done with the rest of the main series.

I am really worried that they are making FF7 into FF15 2.0

If it's the same combat then i am not touching it as much as i love it. Also the amount of time it is taking them is quite worrying as that's always bad news.

But I am also done with the rest of the series. Doubt there will be FF16 till 2022 anyways.

Calma RG. If they can put together a FF with the framework of 15, open world, but fleshed out story etc it will be fantastic. Also combat needs to be more punishing. It was basically impossible to die. The visuals, dungeons etc were great in 15, but the open world was dead (albeit pretty) and the story was what really killed it. If it had a better story it would have been a great game.

FF7 already has a good story so it may be great with that engine etc. Combat was boring in 15 but they need to find a middle ground, because I also don't want to go back to vintage turn based.

Struggling to think of a Japanese open world game I actually enjoyed tbh.

As much I think Nier is great I feel like the world was completely unnecessary.

Most of the world's are interesting to look at but poorly designed imo.

Yakuza is probably the best example but I'm not sure that even counts.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Struggling to think of a Japanese open world game I actually enjoyed tbh.

As much I think Nier is great I feel like the world was completely unnecessary.

Most of the world's are interesting to look at but poorly designed imo.

Yakuza is probably the best example but I'm not sure that even counts.

Been so long since I played it that I don't even remember tbh

I guess Dark Souls counts, but it got away with being an empty barren open world for story reasons. The last real open world Japanese game I liked was Tales of Vesperia. I definitely feel like they stumble when it comes to them, no idea why. Seen quite a lot of ppl discussing the same subject online over the years.

Firenze wrote:I guess Dark Souls counts, but it got away with being an empty barren open world for story reasons. The last real open world Japanese game I liked was Tales of Vesperia. I definitely feel like they stumble when it comes to them, no idea why. Seen quite a lot of ppl discussing the same subject online over the years.

Don't really count Souls otherwise I would have mentioned Bloodborne tbh.

Japanese Devs are definitely much better than Western at that type of inter woven game design with different paths etc etc.

Not even close actually.

#93

Game: Pandemonium!.
Year: 1997.
Genre: Platformer.
Publisher: Crystal Dynamics.
Developer: Toys for Bob.



First things first, I am changing my rating system to a simpler 10 point system. Games that get above a 7 I fully recommend, and those that get below that are mostly a waste of time. That leaves the score of 7 to depend on your taste

Pandemonium is yet another Crystal Dynamics platformer, but it is one of their lease known titles. Originally released on the PS1 in 1996, the game was overshadowed by Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot. It then went on to be ported nearly everywhere, with the Saturn getting probably the best version.

It's one of the earliest 2.5D games in the market, and through some impressive innovation at the time, in provided solid 2D gameplay in a moving 3D world.

"I am Youngo. Oh.... (Chomps an entire village) YUM"

The game starts with an admittedly not so bad CGI cut-scene. In that scene the girl character and the jester accidentally summons a monster that eats their entire village. In order to reverse that spell, they must travel far to a wishing well and wish their spell away.

Initially, I thought this would be the start of a more involved platformer, but as evidenced by my own forgetfulness of the two character's names, any semblance of plot goes out of the window. Instead, there is only a vaguely fantasy medieval setting and soundtrack to pick up the narrative slack.

Of course, you are not going into a platforming game, especially in the 1990s, for any narrative depth. However, there is an expectation that the characters somehow carry the game. That's never the case with the girl and the jester, who are utterly forgettable in an utterly forgettable world.

Maybe that's unfair to the world, which tries its best to be a good fantasy medieval setting. For half the levels, where the setting is against a background of lush greenery or mystic cloud, Pandemonium shines as a game. In the other half, with boring deserts and samey swamps, the game's character becomes like that of its main characters; unrecognizable and mundane.

"Let's go tuts, make with the boo boo"

With two characters to choose from, the game offers two somewhat similar ways to play. The girl can do a double jump, and the jester has a flipping attack that defeats enemies. Since you can defeat enemies by jumping into them or shooting them with one of three similar power-ups, the girl is the obvious choice unless you are like 7 years old me who refused to play as a girl.

The jester becomes more like an unofficial hard mode, since the double jump makes everything easier. It also makes the game more fun. Since exploring the stage and finding shortcuts to go over obstacles is a significant part in each level, the double jump allows you to more easily access that.

Stages are not very varied though, with a lot of them sort of bleeding into each other. It's basic platforming gameplay, with a hop and bop style that is at times fast, and at others very deliberate.

That's mostly due to the camera.

Since this is a 2.5D games, the game's 3D engine does a lot of camera tricks. Sometimes it zooms too close, and that's when it becomes hard to avoid obstacles and enemies. The game is best when the camera changes your perspective as you go, so that the player sometimes goes into the stage or out of it, and that showcases the excellent 2D backgrounds and hides the limitations of the polygonal stages.

"I hereby wish for a chicken"

While Pandemonium's core gameplay is nothing to write about, it is solid enough most of the time. However, there is a duality to it that I think is the cause of disparity in level quality. It's evidenced by the game's access to bonus stages, which require getting 80% of all the level's treasure (coins).

In some levels, playing the best route, finishing the level as fast as you can, and generally being really good at platforming, naturally nets you that 80% count. That means that the level was designed with optimal play in mind, and those are the best levels.

Other levels seem like they want you to explore all paths to get that bonus, which means going over the two or three paths the level offers for you to choose from. That's just weird, and throws in some labyrinthine design without any rhyme or reason. In those cases, the game seems to drag on.

Bosses are one area where its consistently challenging and good. Which is not hard when you only have three bosses. They combine some light puzzle solving with a lot of jumping around, and they make the most of the 3D engine.

"Think we are gonna need another wish"

Outside of the admittedly good CGI cut-scenes, the game's polygonal design have not aged well, but have not aged terribly. They look fine, especially when the camera zones out. What's weird is that the levels are not islands in the sky, but try to have a logic within the natural world.

Of course, the 3D polygons can't hold a candle against the gorgeous 2D backgrounds, which in their design truly sells the fantasy medieval setting. One thing the camera does is showcase this marriage between 2D and 3D very well, adding some depth to the level as well as the background.

While the graphics are not the best, what let's down the production department is the god awful sound direction.

The music is suitable and good half the time, and annoyingly repetitive in the other half. That's not bad enough to condemn the game though. What is bad is the gloriously terrible sound effects.

While the 'boing' jumping sound is annoying, some of the other sound effects are genuinely offensive. In a series of level where some firework things attack you, their screeching sound drowned out the soundtrack and nearly broke my speakers.

In Conclusion:

Back in the day, I actually player this game a little on the PS1, and had some good memories with it. However, there is a reason I didn't actually complete it, and now I figured out that reason. The initial impression doesn't hold.

Pandemonium is half a good game, with one half showcasing some very good graphics, with good gameplay and sound. However, there is another face to the game, and that's one that is simply boring, with sub-par levels showcasing the most mundane aspects of it's gameplay and production values.

Then there is that SCREEEEECHING sound.

Final: 5/10

Pros:

• Very Good Half of a Game.
  
• Effective Use of the 2.5D Design.
  

Cons:

• Boring Half of a Game.
  
• Inconsistent Level Design.
  
• THAT SCREEEECHING SOUND.
  

"Tips"
1- Just Pick the Girl.
2- Usually, the safest ways involve jumping over birds to keep at the highest level of the stage.
3- There is no real difference between powerups.
4- There are some permanent power ups that increase the number of your hearts, I stumbled on them by accident.
5- Bosses will probably require you to have more than the initial two hearts you start with.
6- Health recovers only when you die or get some health, it doesn't recover when you finish a stage.


"Next Game"

I really wanted this game to justify the good memories I had with it in the past. Now, I realize it was probably not worth begging my Uncle to let me play it then. Probably had to do some chores to get the "privilege".

Next game in the list is the first, but not last, Tactical RPG. At #91, this game has two names depending on the region; Blazing Heroes and Mystaria: The Realms of Lore. Published and developed by Sega, this was another TRPG to rival their own Shining Force series.

Stay Tuned

Pandemonium is a classic to me, one of the first games I ever played IIRC. So I didn't get that far as I was a kid. I had it on playstation too.

Firenze wrote:Pandemonium is a classic to me, one of the first games I ever played IIRC. So I didn't get that far as I was a kid. I had it on playstation too.

It was the same to me in a sense. However, on playing it now, it's not half as good as some of the great platformers of the time (including its rivals on the PS1)