General Games Discussion

For those of you who haven't played God of War, GTA V, the Bioshock series, Bloodborne or Prey - they're all available on PS Now and you can activate your 1-week trial period if you haven't used the service, yet. They also cut their subscription price to about  £10 per month starting October 1st. That said, you'll probably want to play or have access to those games for longer than a week, and I can't guarantee that you'll enjoy the rest of the library, which is largely composed of PS1-3 titles.

Here's the full list of games:

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstation-now/games/

I don't know if any of you played Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint "early access" that they are trying to brush off as some kind of late beta phase. I didn't. Anyway, a range of boosters, time savers, bundles, weapon upgrade packs, and various monetization schemes were included in the early access, and now that the game is officially released and people have voiced their outrage over these features, Ubisoft are claiming that it was not their intention to make those things available in the first place, that it was merely a simple error on their part.

Clearly, the error was that they intended to release those features later on, so as to skip the criticism of having released a game with heavy emphasis on micro-transactions. That seems to be how they avoid the heavy brunt of criticism and early, negative ratings, these days. Ubisoft say that these features have been removed "for now", which basically confirms that their intention was what I just stated.

They also took the time to address criticism regarding these features being "pay to win" and replied that PvP has been carefully balanced and none of the features grant "critical advantages" - meaning, they grant advantages (weapon upgrades being among them), but not to a "critical" extent. They also claim that there are no pay to win elements. Seriously, they must think their consumers are stupid with this constant, roundabout choice of wording to disguise the obvious.

The issue of microtransactions aside this game didn't really appeal to me. I have played all Ghost Recon games on my brother's account and they couldn't keep me entertained for more than 10 hours. I'm no longer a teenager and time is too precious to be spent on grindy games like looter shooters and MMOs these days. Especially Ubisoft ones which are 80% re-skin and re-hashing old material.

Yeah game looks boring Microtransactions or not.

You know a game is really shit when Eurogamer gives it an 'Avoid'!

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-10-07-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint-review-a-limp-and-lifeless-spin-on-the-ubisoft-formula

starting to understand the hype for Zelda now

Switch Pokemon in 3 weeks, think I'm getting Shield so uh...guess if there are ppl getting it here we can exchange friend codes or w/e to trade online? if that's a thing? IDK. hype though. I know online raids are in.

Gonna finish up Zelda before Death Stranding, smash that in under a week then Pokemon time.

I'm getting pokemon, we can trade for the evolutions and stuff that they always lock behind trades.

I plan on getting it, but I'm easily distracted by multiplayer stuff with friends atm so i can't promise I'll play it much.

#23

Game: Shining the Holy Ark.
Year: 1996 in Japan, 1997 in NA.
Genre: First-Person RPG
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Camelot.



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

Other than the fact that it is part of the illustrious Shining series, and one of the few RPGs on the Saturn, I don't think that there is anything much remarkable about Shining the Holy Ark (other than such a grammatical mess of a name).

It's a boring by-the-numbers First-Person RPG that does little to stand out.

"So you are the chosen ones to join me in spinning the threads of destiny"

The game starts with a hunt for a dangerous criminal ordered by the king of the country himself. As part of a mercenary trio, you corner that criminal inside a dark cave, and after a fierce fight, the floor collapses plunging all four fighters to their death.

Yet, in the darkness of that cave, the spirits that caused the collapse saves three of the fighters, including the criminal, while a dark spirit obviously possess the third member of the mercenary trio. Bound by the spirits, you must go and find your lost partner and discover what is the secret of these spirits and your place in the destiny of the world.

Honestly, it is not a bad set-up and the story progresses smoothly with good dialogue and characterization. Nothing too special or too distracting, aside from cringe-worthy attempts at humor. It's a basic JRPG story that is better told than many others but is outclassed by the classics and other JRPGs of the same era.

"Yeah... Since you are the mighty swordsman, you lead the way"

If I were to analyze the game's story more critically, I would find that many of its shortcomings are directly related to its gameplay. As a First-Person RPG, Shining the Holy Ark typified the genre with its focus at pushing the player towards more dungeon crawling.

Somehow, the game is convinced that you should traverse its dungeons as much as possible in order to have some fun. That may have been the case in a time where its battle system wasn't too outdated and in a console with few RPGs, but it surely not the case today.

With a very basic turn-based battle system, there isn't much that differentiates battles from each other. The difficulty is mostly on point, but it is very obvious when you simply need to grind to progress. There are limited strategy options and little to no customization opportunities.

Simply, it becomes a slog to go through much of the game.

"I was truly surprised when I saw you hale and hearty in my magic crystal"

The reason that much of the game is a slog is due to its incredibly boring dungeons. Visually, conceptually, and inactively boring dungeons are the theme of this game. Being a first-person game, you expect the game's dungeons to be labyrinthian in design. What you don't expect is for those same dungeons to require much backtracking. It becomes incredibly boring, especially when the battle system is uninspired and several trips back to town are required to complete it.

Ironically, the game's most unique and engaging element ends up exposing its biggest flaws. One thing I enjoyed is how enemies show up on the screen. While they are randomly generated battles, the enemies physically appear somewhere around the player. For example, you could see them running towards you from the distance or you may see a monster's claw as they approach from the corner. In that window of opportunity, where the monsters reveal themselves but are yet to attack, you can use pixies to score an opening attack that helps shorten battles and get more experience points.

With five types of pixies, each guarding a single direction, it provides an active experience where you need to quickly switch between the pixie types as you see where the enemy is approaching from and then spring your attack.

This fun little element in battle and exploration is marred by the need to actually find those pixies. You see, most of them are not in treasure chests or hidden cleverly in the environment inside obvious pots or special looking rocks. No, the majority of pixies, and items as well, are hidden in the bland dungeon environment of the game. This means that without a guide, you need to wast your time like an imbecile "searching" every wall in the game, skipping the text box declaring your idiocy to the world.

"You who are the mortal destined to stop the thousand years kingdom"

Directly supporting the game's intention to confuse and beguile you in those pixie hunts is its art direction, which provides no character or distinction to its many dungeons. With the bland semi-3D design, the game world is a barren mockery of the colorful localities of previous Shining games.

The characters fare better, with acceptable designs and models that aged better than most. Even the polygonal models were not as bad as I initially noted, notwithstanding the fact that 2D portraits would have been much better.

Musically, the game was fine. In fact, it had some really good tunes which made dungeon crawling more bearable. That is until you hear some of those horrendous sound effects. For some reason, those effects consist of pongs and screeches that bury the best part of the track on a consistent basis.

Overall, the game's production values are far removed from what the series is known for, aging poorly in the process.

In Conclusion:

If I were a Saturn owner, I would have probably enjoyed Shining the Holy Ark. It is rich in content, and it looked new and amazing at the time. Yet now, there is little pushing me to finish it.

Even though it doesn't avoid the curse of early 3D RPGs, it is not incredibly ugly either. Somehow, the fact that it is a first-person RPG both contribute to its mediocrity and save us from what could have been uglier and blander game.

Even with a story that isn't at all bad, it manages to push things very far with its poor pacing and very long dungeons, actively working against its best assets, concluding with a game that probably wasn't bad at the time but is surely not fun to play now.

Final: 6/10

Pros:

• Relatively OK Story and Characters
  
• Many Characters to use
  

Cons:

• Boring and repetitive graphics
  
• Going through dungeons is a slog
  
• There is little unique or engaging about the gameplay
  

"Tips"
1- You will need to search around the dungeons like an idiot to find items and pixies.
2- Spare yourself the headache and simply use an online resource.
3- At some points, you will simply need to grind.
4- Learn how to best use the pixies for a useful opening attack.
5- You can actually sell key items (once you don't need them) to get some cash and free-up inventory space.
6- If you accidentally sell something you need, you can buy it back for a higher price.
7- Some doors are jammed and need you to dash through them at full speed.

"Next Game"

As a fan of the series, I hoped that Shining the Holy Ark would prove to be the rare good First-Person RPG of its era. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, with the game showcasing many of the problems associated with that genre in those early days.

Next in my review list, I will review a game suggested by one of the commentators here. That game is Astal which was used in lieu of the availability of Sonic to launch the new console.

Stay Tuned

Baldur's Gate trilogy, Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale I now available for peasants, PS4, Xbox One and for Switch.

https://www.psu.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition-pack-ps4-review/

This Is A Substantial Package Stuffed With Great Stories, Memorable Characters And Near Infinite Replayability

You don't say.

Loving Control so far, but I absolutely hate the checkpoint system. Everything apart from that is really good. Director Trench is alpha cool ffs

Pre-ordered The Outer Worlds. It’s been a while since I pre-ordered anything. This better at least be a decent experience. Next friday

WWE 2K Looks Worse Than Ever This Year

https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2019/10/17/wwe-2k-looks-worse-than-ever-this-year



Is this the rock or bobby lashley?

Judging by the reviews NBA 2K20 has received on Steam I would say 2K are hitting lower than EA these days.

Previews for Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order seem extremely positive.

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who can let their brains look past more than "ItS eA!!!!11!!!"

The likelihood of Respawn and the lead director of God of War 3 making a bad game was always slim to none.

I'm being honest, I completely forgot about the existence of this game.

Hope its good. Titanfall 2 was great, I have faith in Respawn.

M99 wrote:I'm being honest, I completely forgot about the existence of this game.

Hope its good. Titanfall 2 was great, I have faith in Respawn.

Well that you can blame EA for, their marketing has been pretty lazy/bad tbh.

I have faith in Respawn. With EA being the publisher, I’ll never be surprised if they manage to sabotage the game with something like an unreasonably short deadline for the game to be finished. I expect quality content from Respawn, though. They have yet to let me down.

Finished Zelda BOTW, story at least, probably put in 50 hours overall. Left at least another 50 untouched in side quests etc.

Best game ever? Nope.

Best open world ever? Possibly.

The exploration is great, but i do feel there's room for improvement, it's filled with way too many mini puzzles and not enough interesting unique side content to pace the exploration better.

I've seen a few people pickup on this little detail in #JediFallenOrder - Purge Trooper training prepares them to fight Jedi.

They'll block Cal's attacks at the hilt of his lightsaber so the blade doesn't cut through.

I wonder what other Jedi tricks they're ready for... pic.twitter.com/0tc1OZZ4JX

— Blairwolf (@BlairBroon) October 20, 2019

I love it when games pay attention to small details like this.

40 hours of Elex behind and finally got to chapter 2. Only thing stopping this being one of the best rpg's ever is the combat. It's not bad and has more variety than most rpg's with melee, magic and scifi components. But I hate the stun lock nature of it and how it makes it look and feel stupid. Of course this isn't a factor if you play with ranged weapons, like I do with cleric laser weapons guy.

The dialogue is good and funny, the story is great and there's a lot of choices&consequences. The enviroment together with jetpack makes the exploring/looting more fun than in any other freeroam 3D rpg, period.

@Harmonica
Have you played Pillars of Eternity, Planescape: Torment, or Torment: Tides of Numenera? They're RPGs you might like and they're all on sale on Steam right now.

danyjr wrote:@Harmonica
Have you played Pillars of Eternity, Planescape: Torment, or Torment: Tides of Numenera? They're RPGs you might like and they're all on sale on Steam right now.

I have those on Steam, and have played PS:T through couple times. I actually have both PoE I and II. Tried starting it once, but didn't get into it yet.

Microsoft Flight Simulator making comeback after 10 years. And it's a biggie:

Entire Earth modeled in 3 cm accuracy, all cities, all 40k airports, machine learning used to detect all the trees in the world, 1.5 trillion of them. Real weather data. Scenery on demand over the internet as the whole world takes about 2PB of data.



Looks freaking awesome.