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Messages - bikingjahuty

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 286
1
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: March 28, 2024, 03:14:38 am »
24. Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC)

I got the itch to play a late 90s/early 2000s FPS game, so I decided to finally beat Return to Castle Wolfenstein, a game I have not played since around the time it first came out. A friend of mine was a diehard PC gamer back in high school, and we decided to rent the PS2 port while he spent the weekend at my house. Bar far, he was more into it than I was, but I still enjoyed it for the most part, and to this day the game has an pretty strong air of nostalgia around it for me.


I finally beat Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and while I don't adore this game like many others, I can still appreciate it as a really fun, and somewhat iconic early 2000s PC game. The gameplay has its issues when it comes to certain enemies and bosses being incredibly annoying and even poorly designed, and some weapons having few practical uses, but this doesn't distract too much from what is an otherwise enjoyable game. The visuals are also pretty good, although I feel like by 2001 there were certainly better looking games, FPS and otherwise. Audio is mostly good too, although I found the OST somewhat uninspired and a bit repetitive throughout the game. I also found the bad German accents to be funny and also have that early 2000s video game cheese that I usually really like. Still, I feel like in the grand scheme of things, it was more of a blemish on the audio and doesn't help this game age as well as it otherwise could. I would definitely say that Return to Castle wolfenstein is worth playing, but for me it's a game I likely won't be returning to, at least for a very, very long time. For what it's worth, I did enjoy it for various reasons, especially how much it brought me back to my life back around 2001/2002. (3/28/24) [35/50]

2
General / Re: Games with great stories.
« on: March 23, 2024, 01:38:41 pm »
Red Dead Redemption 2: I'm not even into westerns, but this game literally changed my life as well as my perspective on a lot of things. As far as stories in video games go, this game impacted me more than any other. The game itself is fun as hell too.


Resident Evil 1-3 + Code Veronica: I love the story and lore of RE before RE's plot went a bit off the rails starting with RE4. The characters are all memorable and cool, the settings are all awesome, the enemies are really imaginative and interesting, and just overall I can't get enough of those first four mainline games.


Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order + Jedi Survivor: Your mileage will vary depending on how much of a Star Wars fan you are, but these two games, especially Fallen Order, are the best Star Wars stories we've had since the prequels. If not for this series, I'd have lost all hope in modern Star Wars given how terrible the rest of it is.




3
General / Re: Games you must play before you die.
« on: March 19, 2024, 10:59:50 pm »
Pretty much if it's a game you've heard most people heavily praise and it was conventionally considered to be an excellent game, I'd say it's a must play. After gaming nearly my entire life and being a collector for nearly half of it, these well known and well loved games are often the ones that stand out above the rest. Very rarely do I play a game that sold poorly or that is fairly obscure that even comes close to competing. In fact, most "hidden gem" games I've played are fairly mediocre at best, or just plain bad. I think a lot of collectors want to pretend these hidden gem games are just as good as their better known, more successful counterparts in order to justify their often exorbitant prices, but the truth truth is they'll never compete. Link's Awakening will always be vastly better than Alundra. Every mainline Pokemon game blows every Digimon RPG out of the water. The Mariokart games will always be better then nearly all other kart racing games ever released.


I actually own that book you mentioned, and I think 95% of the games that made it in deserve to be in there. Likewise, most games that received over 1 90 on Metacritic would also be contenders as must play games.

4
I never understood the appeal of speedrunning a game or why some people go to obsessive lengths to figure out how to beat a game faster than its ever been beat before. I'm all for people enjoying games however they want, but it seems like the antithesis of enjoying a game if all you're doing is trying to get it over with as fast as possible. Not to mention, many of these speedruns just exploit glitches in the game's programming and design to bypass the majority of the game, making it possible to beat a game that would normally take 15-hours to beat, in an hour or whatever. It all comes across as a bit neurotic and also just a weird way to flex online.

5
I guess technically I received it yesterday (2/29), but my FF7 Rebirth Collectors Edition arrived in the mail. Sepheroth statue is huge, but awesome!

6
Modern Video Games / Re: Nintendo Switch 2
« on: February 28, 2024, 12:22:28 am »
As stated, I think 2024 will be the year we get to see the Switch 2, or whatever Nintendo calls it. I do think it'll be similar to the current Switch in terms of its hybrid handheld/console setup, however it'll have the added bonus of a 4k screen and games made to play in 4k too. I think the Switch 2 will be the last console to embrace physical media, however, I do think Nintendo will offer some SaaS subscription service that'll essentially be what they're currently doing with classic Nintendo games, but on steroids. It'll also be similar to Gamepass in that you can play a bunch of modern games too with your subscription, essentially phasing out on the need for physical media. Still, I think the option for physical carts will still be there. It will not be backwards compatible with the Switch, and instead offer Switch games on its Gamepass-like service. I think like the current gen Sony and MS consoles, the Switch 2 will likely have two variants with one being 100% digital only.


As for launch games, my money is on Mario Kart 9 being their killer app for the console at launch. My justification is MK8 was their best selling game on both the Switch and WiiU, and it's been nearly a decade since we last got a new Mario Kart game. Maybe not launch games, but here are a few more titles I can see being teased at the Switch 2's reveal, and released sometime in 2025 for the console.


-Metroid Prime 4
-New full 3D Mario Bros game
-New mainline Pokemon game(s), possibly a 5th gen remake
-New Animal Crossing Game
-Xenoblade 4


While I don't think it'll come out in 2025, I can also see a new Smash game being teased as well.


Obviously this is all mostly speculation, but it's also based on the info I offered above. At the very least it's fun to think of this sort of stuff and read what others think of it as well.

7
Modern Video Games / Nintendo Switch 2
« on: February 28, 2024, 12:09:43 am »
I feel like rumors of the Switch 2 have been circulating for several years now, which supposed "leaks" claiming it's going to come out soon, or at least be announced, yet nothing has materialized so far. However, with Nintendo being a lot more quiet recently, especially on big first party releases, I have to wonder if this is the calm before the storm. Personally, I don't think the Switch 2 will be released in 2024, but I do think it will get officially revealed this year. Assuming the Switch 2 does come out in early 2025, it'll have been 8-years at that point since the Switch came out, which is long past the typical console lifecycle we usually see with consoles. Likewise, 2025 would place the other two competitors at their end of cycle date too, meaning we might start seeing PS6/Xbox Edition XXX (or whatever dumb name they end up calling it) news that same year with a possibly launch in 2026.


But anyhow, what do you think about the Switch 2 getting a reveal this year? Or do you think since the Switch is still very popular, it'll continue to receive support from Nintendo for another few years before we get a successor? Also, what games do you think Nintendo is holding back right now to release on the Switch 2 as launch games or games that''l bee released within months of launch?

8
Modern Video Games / Re: Where do you draw the line? New Game Prices
« on: February 28, 2024, 12:01:37 am »
If we're talking physical and just for the game itself (not a CE or LE), I'd say $80. And mind you that would only be for a game I was nearly certain I'd like and was also a game I was considerably hyped about.


Digital only, my limit is about $30, and once again I'd only ever pay that maximum amount for a game I really, really wanted and was fairly certain I'd like.


If GTA6 is $150, I don't doubt that people would buy it like crazy still seeing how GTA5 is the best selling game of all time, and still appears on best selling game charts each week. I'd simply wait until I could get it for under $50, which is similar to what I did with 5. I ended up buying it used for probably around $30 or so over a year after it came out. I like the GTA franchise, but I'm not obsessed with it like so many others.

9
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: February 26, 2024, 05:55:38 pm »
23. Detroit Become Human (PS4)

This has been another classic backlog game that I've been meaning to play for years and have just never got around to it. I've never played any of Quantic Dream's other games, but Detroit Become Human always stood out as the one I'd be most interesting in given its subject matter and scifi setting. Overall, I really enjoyed "playing" Detroit Become Human and really got into the story and characters particularly. The reason I put the word playing in parentheses is because this is probably one of the least video game-like games I've ever played. For the record, I think the common criticism of calling many modern video games with many cutscenes interactive movies has usually pedantic and ridiculous argument when the cutscenes make up maybe 10% of the overall experience of the game, and there's still engaging gameplay during the other 90% of the time you're playing. However, there is almost no gameplay in Detroit Become Human beyond having your character walk around, QTEs, awkward button presses, and the game's outcome flowchart. If not for the outcome flowchart and how varied and dynamic it is, I'd easily say Detroit Become Human was a straight up interactive movie and not a game. But that last gameplay element really makes this a very fun and unique gaming experience in that you can have a radically different experience with the game depending on various decisions you make throughout the story, even having main characters die earlier on in the game who would have otherwise been around until the very end. It really raises the stakes with the decisions and actions you make, which made this a very fun game a and made for a pretty interesting story. While some of the writing was a bit questionable or even lazy, I found the majority of the game's plot to be good to excellent overall. The characters are what really make this game awesome, and I was deeply invested in seeing certain outcomes with certain characters, and made certain sections of the game very tense in terms of not knowing what would happen to them. The OST is decent, however the voice acting is about as good as it gets, and really helps sell the story. While certainly not a perfect games by any means, I ended up thoroughly enjoying Detroit Become Human and it'll be a game I'll revisit again someday. (2/26/24) [37/50]

10
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: February 24, 2024, 07:20:33 pm »
3. Earthbound (SNES) - ABANDONED

Like many collectors, I've known how coveted Earthbound since pretty much as soon as I started trying to acquire the more rarer and sought after retro games out there. Years ago, I finally tracked down a cheap copy of Earthbound, started playing it shortly after, and well, I didn't understand the appeal. I tried again several years later and found it even less appealing. Yet, over time, more and more people kept telling me to stick with it and to try and appreciate it for what it is rather than comparing it to other acclaimed JRPGs of the 90s. Maybe against my better judgement, I tried one last time earlier this month to get into Earthbound, telling myself that I'd stick with it way past when I felt like giving up to see if maybe the game did get better or something later on clicked with me and I'd finally understand why this game is so beloved by retro RPG fans. Well, I did play it considerably longer than I ever had, yet nearly the entire time I felt bored, frustrated, and just underwhelmed as I trudged through the game once more. After 10 hours, I finally hit my breaking point and just couldn't continue playing. I get that Earthbound was very unique for the time in that it didn't use some fantasy or scifi setting like almost all other JRPGs of the time, but even with the more unique, modern setting, quarky characters and dialogue, and all the other aspects that fans of the series love to use as justification of why it's so amazing, I still found the game mediocre at best. Compared to many of its SNES JRPG counterparts, it's lacking in nearly every possible way. And while I'm admittedly not as big of a JRPG fan as I was in the 90s and 2000s, I'm still able to appreciate a good RPG when I see one, and Earthbound is just not one of them. I honestly wanted to love this game like many others, I really did. However, after three failed attempts over the course of a decade, I'm finally ready to admit I don't like Earthbound and never will. I'm happy for everyone who does like this game, whether they played it as a kid in the 90s or even just a year or two ago for the first time, but I will never be one of those people. (2/24/24)

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Modern Video Games / Re: Pokemon Presents 02/27/24
« on: February 22, 2024, 09:59:04 pm »
Or Pokemon could just have selectable difficulty like so many other franchises. Have it be easy by default for the kids and people literally looking for zero challenge, but at least allow people to select medium, hard, or even very hard. The underpinnings of Pokemon's gameplay is all numbers anyways; it wouldn't be hard to tilt that in favor of the CPU, making it more of a challenge for the player. Beyond just the difficulty, I'd like to see these games become more unique in their narrative without all the extremely tired tropes that bore many players to death these days. I'm not looking for a mature themed Pokemon game, just something with a little more personality than, "oh boy, you got a Pokemon, go have a fun, carefree adventure with your highly encouraging friends, but watch out for that bad, yet completely harmless organization that seems to be a minor annoyance to everyone!" It just gets so freakin tired. And then of course, it would be nice if Nintendo actually seemed to be trying with their Pokemon designs with each new generation. Each Pokemon gen has received worse and worse exclusive Pokemon to where I either feel like I'm catching the same Monsters from 20-years ago or they're so freakin uninspired I don't even want to catch em' all anymore.


I also reject the idea that Pokemon is a made for kids. I see just as many older Pokemon fans (20s, 30s, and 40s) as I do kids, maybe even more. I'm sure Nintendo is aware of this, yet they seem to think everyone playing Pokemon is a impaired 4 year old that can't handle even the bare minimum of what could be considered a challenge.

12
Modern Video Games / Re: Pokemon Presents 02/27/24
« on: February 20, 2024, 11:13:04 pm »
Unless Gamefreak completely redoes the Pokemon franchise and makes it even a partially deep (and challenging) RPG series again, I have literally zero interest in any future Pokemon titles. Pokemon is essentially Nintendo's COD or Madden, with each new entry lacking any soul, substance, or remnant of better times when the series was actually respectable and good. We all know the next Pokemon game is going to be worse than the last. We can blame fanboys and little kids for telling Gamefreak and Nintendo that they're doing a good job despite the series being terrible for almost a decade now.

13
Found Haven (PS5) and Yakuza Kiwami (PS4) at a game store while on a mini road trip and picked them up for a fair price.

14
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: February 10, 2024, 02:24:13 pm »
15. Castlevania: Dracula X

My Castlevania Advance Collection finally arrived. I thought I'd celebrate by finally, and officially, playing Dracula X. I guess I can say I got the worst out of the way. This wasn't fun. The stiff controls might have been too to playing on the Switch, but that's just one issue. Things just seem extra unfair in this iteration. I don't remember Rondo of Blood having so many "eff you" moments. Save states and rewinds were used heavily. Then, there's the lack of extras like playing as Maria and the different levels. It was just an all around unfun game. Luckily, it's short and included as part of the collection; no need to worry about dropping a couple hundred bones on that cart.


I played this game years ago and I was going in thinking it would be amazing, but in the end I just found it super frustrating. I somehow managed to beat the game, although Dracula feels damn near impossible. It's a fun novelty on the SNES, but most other 2D Castlevania games blow it out of the water.

15
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: February 03, 2024, 02:26:44 am »
Another Sega arcade night. This time I tried some games outside my comfort zone.


20. Sky Target (Arcade)

I have a very vague memory of playing Sky Target in the arcade, however if I did, I'm honestly not surprised that I forgot about it. Sky Target is essentially the 90s version of After Burner, except it has half the charm, and is not nearly as fun or iconic as that arcade classic. This game looks pretty good in the visuals department, but other than that, there is very little that is remarkable about Sky Target. The gameplay is very bland, generic and borning, and the audio is nothing special either. In fact, the audio can get fairly annoying thanks to an announcer that literally says the same thing every time you lock onto an enemy, which is what you're doing almost constantly while playing. Overall, Sky Target is just a very forgettable, boring game that I can't see myself ever wanting to pick up again. (2/2/24) [26/50]

21. Sega Water Ski (Arcade)

I'd never heard of or played this game until tonight, and while the game is very short and limited on content, it makes up for it with a very catchy OST and the stages are all vibrant, cheerful, and buzzing with a lot of things going on as you play our your water skiing fantasy. The gameplay is very similar to Top Skater, except you're having to ski between markers in the water and you'll have to do tricks of the various jumps in each stage. This all works fairly good, although, it's all to easy, and tricks don't require any real effort, which is kind of a bummer in terms of fun. But as mentioned, the presentation really knocks it out of the park in this game, and Sega Water Ski ended up being my favorite game of the evening because of this. (2/2/24) [32/50]

22. Sonic Championship (Arcade)

The final game I tried out tonight was one I've wanted to check out for a very long time. I never saw this one in the arcades back in the day or since. I pretty much know about Sonic Championship thanks to my love for the Sonic franchise and because the game has become an unfortunate internet curiosity over the years. With no exaggeration, Sonic Championship is one of the worst fighting games I've ever played, at least from a gameplay perspective. The combat is super basic, clunky, and just unpleasant to play all around for the most part. Really, the only redeeming factor in regards to the gameplay is the fact that each of the selectable character as their own moveset, which can make things entertaining to a degree. The presentation, both in terms of audio and visuals is pretty good for the most part, but it's still not enough to make me forget how crappy this game is to play. I couldn't even recommend this one to the most passionate of Sonic fans. (2/3/24) [25/50]

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