The Games You Completed/Played in September and October

Give us quick reviews for any games you played last month plus September if you'd like because I forgot to put that thread up last month!

Thomas Was Alone - A charming little puzzle platformer but the core mechanics make navigation a bit of a chore sometimes. B

Resident Evil 4 - I don't fully understand why this game is fun. It just is. It's occasionally annoying but holds up really well in general. A-

Crysis - In that weird zone where it's openness makes it a lot of fun, but also a bit messy at times. Still looks awesome on PC. Forget the ending. B+

I also replayed Mirror's Edge last month, which reminded why I ever liked that game. I still say most of the interior level design is incompetent but it does look really nice and the outdoor sections are typically ok. The ESurance cutscenes are still dumb

Here we go:

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: My favorite DK game and probably in my top ten or so 2D platformers of all-time... or at least in the discussion. A must play for fans of the genre. Grade: A

Destiny: Really amazing shooting. Fairly fun co-op. Nice art design and good music. And kind of a mess in most other areas (level/mission/encounter design, story, loot system). Disappointment of the year for me so far. Grade: C

Wolfenstein: The New Order: Great melding of old school and new school FPS design with a surprisingly good narrative. One of the best FPS campaigns I have played in a while. Grade: A-

Smash Bros. 3DS: It is Smash Bros. on the 3DS. Had some fun, but this is a game I need in local multiplayer to judge. It did have cool new characters and stages though.

Legend of Korra: Feels like a low budget game... because it is. But a really good core combat system considering that. Once you unlock everything it can be a real blast exploring the combat system. Grade: B

New Super Luigi U: Kind of a neat twist on the NSMB formula. More challenging quicker runs with Luigi's extra high jumps. But still not the revamp the series needs. Grade: B

I've only played Destiny and a few mobile games.

Destiny is a game that is highly dependent on who you play it with and what you want from it. If you aren't looking to socialize and be receptive to a myriad of personalities and play-styles, it's a waste of time.

In order to succeed you have to be just as happy with others being successful as you are with yourself being successful. I've noticed that people who care about kill count and K/D over communication and success as a team usually ruin co-op and competitive both for themselves and others. And also that flexible players have a less frustrating time adjusting to the "fun over gun" atmosphere of a game that is basically HaloMMO.

I can't rate it but I can say that it is what any given player wants it to be. For me that means being goofy with Avid and Lenny while farming Vanguard or Crucible; Being goofy with Killa while doing Nightfalls or Raids; Being goofy with the many people I've met on random tasks. Or, mainly, just being able to play a game where there's a level playing field and everyone can have fun while still accomplishing what they want as an individual player.

*edit* I want to add that Destiny uses the social features of the PS4 very well and the servers are very region specific. That's good and bad. Ask if I need to elaborate.

Destiny: pretty much what pspiddy said above.

Diablo 3: UEE: its taken a backseat to Destiny but reaching 70, doing adventure mode bounties and building up Paragon points has given this game a pick-up-and-play feel that I never got from it previously. If you haven't bought this and it comes up for sale during the holidays, grab it.

Rogue Legacy (Vita): Still STILL clawing away at this monster. I beat the 2nd boss (forest) not too long ago and I'm gold farming right now; trying to purchase upgrades and boost my stats. If I attempt any of the other bosses, I'm fucked. If I venture into the dungeon portion of the map, I'm attempting quick suicide. This is just my play style.

Dead Space: Picked a used copy of this for cheap 2 weeks ago. I was inspired to do so after buying DS 2 from the first week of PSN's Sale of the Dead. Its a game that still holds up: looks great and sounds great, effective atmosphere. Kinda wish that the scares didn't all come from the spring-loaded-cat-trap variety so far.

Dante's Inferno (ultimate edition): also bought this from the Sale of the Dead. It's a God of War clone inspired by Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Pretty decent so far, with some memorably designed levels (it's depiction of Hell is its strongest feature) but so reminiscent of GOW that I doubt I'll consider it to be anymore than an adequate entry in the action genre.

pspiddy wrote:In order to succeed you have to be just as happy with others being successful as you are with yourself being successful. I've noticed that people who care about kill count and K/D over communication and success as a team usually ruin co-op and competitive both for themselves and others.

This is how I feel about Killzone multiplayer. Once I got over the whole k/d ratio bullshit and played to my class strength, I got and understood the game. Kind of makes me interested in Destiny, if most have that mentality.

pspiddy wrote:I can't rate it but I can say that it is what any given player wants it to be. For me that means being goofy with Avid and Lenny while farming Vanguard or Crucible; Being goofy with Killa while doing Nightfalls or Raids; Being goofy with the many people I've met on random tasks. Or, mainly, just being able to play a game where there's a level playing field and everyone can have fun while still accomplishing what they want as an individual player.

I don't think I understand the bolded. What do you mean by that?

@Bret: I still have that extra copy sitting right next to my PS4...

@Trip: You get out of the game what you want, or don't want, to put into it. The social aspect leaves it open to however much replayability each player wants out of it. There really is no "I finished the game." I'd like to say this game is casual-hardcore. Meaning that completionists will always have something to do and perfectionists will probably not find much fun in such an even-keeled experience.

Basically, each player has an open-ended experience based on how they prefer to play. There is no "wrong" or "right" way to play the game.

September:

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U) was the only big new release I played in September. It's Musou with Zelda flavoring, so works for me on all levels. Lots of good homework on Zelda lore. A-.

October

Pier Solar and the Great Architects (PS4): Good enough homage to 16-bit RPGs, but at the same time I'd rather be playing one of the actual 16-bit RPGs, because they're still better than the homage. B.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky First Chapter (Steam): Now this game is more like it for RPGs. Graphics aren't whizzy (though the 3-D environments are pretty good) and the game itself is pretty solid. Looking forward to Second and (hopefully) Third Chapters, and hopefully this will sell enough to convince Xseed and Nihon Falcom to localize LoH: Trails in the Flash. A-

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U): You folks already know how I feel about this game from other forum posts. A+

Fantasy Life (3DS): Doesn't have a huge overarching narrative but lots to do, colorful graphics, and two of the original three powerhouses behind Final Fantasy (Amano and Uematsu). Great 3DS experience. A-

Destiny- Pretty disappointing. Fun, but lacked the Halo level design I was hoping this game would have. There's a good base for sequels, but the whole game reeked of just being good enough. C+

Bioshock Infinite- Figured I'd put it again to show how it holds up on a replay with PC. 60 FPS and a mouse eliminated most of my control annoyances with it while the story holds up pretty well with foreshadowing, even if it didn't juggle the two plots amazingly. B+

Smash Bros- This series really does need MP to get the most out of it. Still, practicing with Greninja keeps me going. Great character selection. B

Bayonetta 2- As fun as games can get. It's dumb, over the top, and ridiculous. A

Legend of Korra- Like Trip said, it feels low budget but is still fun, especially when you unlock more bending elements and techniques. I'd love to see what Platinum could do with a bigger budget. B

Stealth Inc 2- Reviewing this one since no one at Rotorob has a Wii U since I left. Funny I compared the original to Portal so much because this one is a lot like Portal 2 with adding more to the test chambers and guy in charge of them more than the gameplay. Also there's a hub world that doesn't exactly work and the puzzles aren't as good as 1's. Still a fun game. B

@pspiddy - I'd gladly take the copy, but like I said only if no one else is available. If that happens, just let me know.

San - Not really sure of what that Pier Solar game is. I"ll have to check that out.

September

Sly 2 Vita - I know this is most people's favorite, but it is my least favorite. Getting around the worlds is tiring and boring. The bosses aren't as cool except for Demitri. Boss fights seem weaker. Just a big let down. C+

October

God of War Vita - Still fun so many years after it originally released. Graphics on the Vita aren't much better than the PS2 version. Sound is bad as well.Same great gameplay and world. Inferior to the PS3 HD version. A+ for game, B- for shitty porting.

Apparently that's it from trophy list. Been playing Final Fantasy X-2, FIFA 15, and Killzone Mercenary.

BretBaber wrote:

San - Not really sure of what that Pier Solar game is.  I"ll have to check that out.

It actually started out as a homebrew RPG for the Sega Genesis, of all systems. They even packaged the original release on Genesis cartridges. The battle system is a side-view Final Fantasy style battle, although without the running time gauges. The art style is reminiscent of Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV, which was probably intentional. It did reasonably, well, the company did a Kickstarter for a HD port that was well-funded enough to ensure ports for PC/Mac, PS4, and PS3, which are out now, as well as for Wii U and Xbox One, which are coming this week.

It's a cool enough concept, but not quite as good as the RPGs that it pays homage to. The HD version has HD graphics as well as pixellated Genesis-style graphics.

Next time I get on I'll look for it. Not sure how it slipped past me.