Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - vivigamer

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 52
1
General / Re: Games with great stories.
« on: March 24, 2024, 05:19:21 am »
I perfer narrative games in general. I'm not a competitive gamer but like to enjoy spectacle and the experience. For me what makes a great story is the dedication to detail put into the experience. It's spending time with the characters and getting a chance to know and care about them. For me, the two go together & if I care for the characters I tend to get more engrossed in the story and situation. I want good scenario writing, events to remember! I believe good writing is just as important as in other mediums because if I don't care for the context of what is going on, I will lost enthusiasm. Often I find with open world games they lack the care and offer just generic mission structures. That doesn't mean I need endless exposition or collectible documents either!

I think why JRPG's succeed at this is because they often have the structure to explore a character - Often visiting their hometown which leads to scenes and moments focused on that character, highlighting their personal struggles and why their along for the bigger picture.

- The Final Fantasy Series (The peak for me being 4,6,7,8,9,10)
- The Metal Gear Series (I personally ignore MGSV)
- A Plagues Tale Series
- The Shenmue Series (Hoping for more!)
- Shadow of Memoires/Shadow of Destiny
- Life is Strange 1 & 2
- The NieR series (I haven't played the Drakengard games yet!)
- Catherine
- Wolfenstein Reboot series
- The Yakuza Series (Has it's ups and downs but overall I like it)
- Resident Evil (A mixed bag when it comes to story but I respect it as a whole)
- Silent Hill 1-4 + Shattered Memories

That's just a few that come to mind.

2
Final Fantasy VII:Rebirth - Delxue Edition (PS5)
It's been an agonizing 2 weeks but my Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Delxue Edition has finally arrived!

The problem was simply that normal retailers are charging too much! It's £100 & While I am a big fan of the series the content in the DE isn't worth it! A steelbook, Sample OST CD & case sized artbook... it should really be around £60 - But then the game itself is now RRP at £70 which is also abusrd.

So... I had to resort to a cheaper retailer Coolshop. Now I have ordered with them before, I had the same situation with Final Fantasy XVI's DE. Coolshop were offering the FF7R:DE for £75, that while still more than I wanted to pay is more agreeable. The problem is with FF16 I had to wait a week beyond launch to get it. FF is my main game series so this was a tough decision but I decided £25 is £25 & that I could wait a week. Well, 1 week went by and had seen that tracking said Coolshop had it prepped for delivery still... So I went on Live Chat & put up with the most condescending assiting I've had to deal with - they literally used ':-)' with every comment even when not being friendly...

So it turns out Coolshop are baseed outside the UK & have to send the item through customs, yet tracking didn't not that - it was blank from March 1st - 13th! On March 13th I got an update and it was here the next day. It's all in good condition - Well the CD OST has a minor crack in it but I'm over it.

I'm a patient guy and already accepted it will be 1 week but 2 became torture! I had a great time yestersday diving into the game and already thrilled with it. I'm hoping by the time Part 3 is released that prices won't so ridiculous and the world will turn to right, as I don't want to have to resort to Coolshop ever again!

3
Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Duplicate List 2024
« on: March 13, 2024, 05:11:31 am »
System Shock (PS5) - My bad!
https://vgcollect.com/item/262788


4
I've had to bring this up before, now I am going to have to do so again...

I just listed a game White Day 2. The game has a subtitle but it also is noted as a Complete Edition. From my understanding and what I read in the sites style guide it should be formatted as:

Tile: Subtitle - Edition
White Day 2: The Flower That Tells Lies - Complete Edition

Yet, I find my listing had been edited to:

Tile: Subtitle: Edition
White Day 2: The Flower That Tells Lies: Complete Edition

Other than looking like crap, it also doesn't specify the difference between the subtitle and edition. So can we stop with re-editing listings this way?

Amazon has the game listed in the way I have recomended also:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Day-Flower-Tells-Complete/dp/B0CV7XFDBH/

5
Not Much for Feb:
- White Day: A Labyrinth Named School (PS5)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (GAME exclusive Steelbook)
- Road 96 + 0 Miles DLC (PS5 - Digital)
- South of the Circle (PS4 - Digital)
- Star Wars Battlefront (PS4)
- Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)
- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox)

6
Modern Video Games / Re: Where do you draw the line? New Game Prices
« on: March 01, 2024, 05:38:07 am »
Oh I have been well and truly priced out this gen! Right now, I should be enjoying Final Fantasy VII Rebirth but the audacity of them charging £70 for a standard copy gets the worst of my stuborn side - Which doing a $-£ conversation makes £70 = $89! The Deluxe Edition is £100! And you don't get a whole lot with it - Tiny artbook, sample CD Soundtrack & a Steelbook. But it is my favourite series so I have caved in - But ordered online from a Questionable retailer who are selling it for £75 but I won't receive it until a week later - At least that is what happened with my previous experience buying from them with FF16.

It used to be about £40 for a Standard Edition & £50 if you wanted a minor upgrade with a Steelbook. But the greed of this industry has taken over and ruined the concept of Day One Purchases for me. And I know the industry is struggling and can justify the rise in cost but it doesn't end there does it? Day One usually had the game at a technical disadvantage and these days always requires follow up patches. Then there is DLC, so usually buying a game Day One is incomplete for anothe reason with extra content withheld and spliced back into the game at a cost of the consumer - Just look at Final Fantasy XV & even recently with XVI... What infuriates me is that once I beat a game I am done, I can't go back to DLC upon release because I am not imersed in the experience as with the initial playthrough, so DLC never works for me - Unless I am replaying the game YEARS later like with FF7 Remake & the INTERmission DLC. Then there is Complete Editions released later that give you the base game with a code, a trend that really needs to stop!

I have to schedule my gaming throughout the year a lot more due to this also, like recently 2 big hitters with Like A Dragon (Yakuza): Infinite Wealth & FF7 Rebirth. Both came out wihtin a month of each other and are BIG games. So I decided to hold off on Like A Dragon 8 & Replay FF7 Remake in prep for Rebirth - I know this will take me up until Mid-April/May. Then before LAD8, I still have the spin-off Like A Dragon title to play before diving into LAD8, so it's looking about May until I actually get around to playing LAD8, so I have put off buying it until then - Which I am hoping for a decent reduction.

I have also been looking into CEX, a UK Trade-In Store. I have a decent amount of money in In-Store Credit but the problem is they charge ridiculous prices for their Newer titles - LAD8 is £50 in Used Condition, where I have seen online deal placing LAD8 for £36! Which is really good! But I want to make use of my In-Store credit for newer games but other online retailers keep selling the game New for a considerable discount in comparision. I mostly end up buying Retro Games from them as their prices seem to be much better.

In short, there is a lot of frustration as a consumer for the industry. I want to support games I love but I can't help but feel ripped off - especially within a Day One Purchase. I don't want an all digital future but I don't believe a decent enough effort is put into making the Physical game market accessible or even practical for collectors who are buying into releases for the prospect of game preservation - years down the line, your Day One Copies won't contain the needed updates and when servers go down you'll be left with an incomplete game.

7
Not so much this month, I did manage to get a Complete copy of Song of Horror on PS4 - Been after this for a while so glad to finally find one in the wild.

Other games
Control: Ultimate Edition (PS5)
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (PS4)
Fallout 3: GotY Edition (PC-DVD)
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Xbox One - Digital)
Operation WinBack (PS2)
Silent Hill - Red Steelbook (DVD)

8
Modern Video Games / Re: State of Play | January 31, 2024 thoughts?
« on: January 30, 2024, 02:01:52 pm »
To keep the RE discussing, I expect nothing from Capcom at tomorrow's event, but I would prefer to see Code Veronica get the Remake treatment than RE5. I don't think RE5 needs it. Honestly, I didn't think RE4 needs it either, though I'll be tempted to get it after a significant price drop. I really enjoyed RE5. The move to action was great, but I understand why the Survival Horror enthusiasts didn't enjoy the transformation.

I think if anything the next RE game will be Resident Evil 9. I like the remakes but if we ever got 2 within a row I would start to get impatient. I too wish they would do Code Veronica - It's story is very important to the overall series & is a mainline title in my eye. As for a RE5 Remake, I am open too it but also feel it is an indulgence - Much like RE4R (I feel this way with most remakes though). The PS4 ports of RE4-6 are fantastic and I am more than content with them already. But of course Capcom has done well with the Remakes & I am open to either project - Heck I would even take RE Zero That's a game which would actually benefit being changed into proper Co-op!

As for the event, I'm not sure what to expect I would like to see Death Stranding 2 as it has been rumoured. I haven't put much thought into it as I'm already swamped for moderning gaming this year - currently replaying Final Fantasy Remake, then Rebirth. Then after that I'll be diving into Like A Dragon (Yakuza) Gaiden & Infinite Wealth... that alone will keep me busy until at least May  :o

9
Modern Video Games / Re: Palworld.
« on: January 30, 2024, 01:50:53 pm »
I haven't because at it's core it is a Survival game which just seems like needless busy work to me. If they update it in time and add an interesting story around it I could be interested.

If anything, I hope this causes GameFreak to step up their game. We've all wanted to see a proper Triple-A Pokemon game to the scale of the recent Zelda games and it just hasn't happened. Now that this PalWorld game has presented a different game but on much bigger scale the demand will be there and I don't think they can get away with such a medicore offering like last time.

10
Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Developer/Publisher Requests
« on: January 22, 2024, 02:45:21 pm »
Developer - Toge Productions
https://www.togeproductions.com/

Publisher - Serenity Forge
https://serenityforge.com/games

11
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: January 18, 2024, 06:27:56 pm »
02. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS4 on PS5) - 18/01/2024
This is a really big deal for me as I have never beaten this game before due to rage quitting time and time again! The problem is late-game, enemies start to attack your MP & if you reach 0 MP your character dies... I still hate the concept! But I told myself I need to do this once & for all after being fresh off beat S.O. Second Story R.

So, how was it? Very good! Overall i like the story, I know there is much controversy to a few of the narrative points in this game but I like where it goes. I found the story engaging from start to finish and really valued the games decent production value (For the time).

Combat was a mixed bag, I already mentioned the MP snag but I also had a lot of problem with hit detection - Say if an enemy is getting back from being knocked on the ground it will be invulnerable until it reaches its upright stance. The game also has a bonus bar which you build up from attacking enemies & get bonuses like 300% EXP or 200% Money but sadly once hit can shattered the perk which is infuriating!

The game has one of the most convoluted set of customisation mechanics I've ever seen. In summary you need to recruit NPC's by gathering items for them. Once you have done so they will appear in one of your workshops, there you can form a team to work on Alchemy or Crafting or Cooking etc. BUT you can't even figure out what they're going to make, you have to cycle through a set of cost figures and hope it is what you want - or look up a guide. The game requires very precise combinations to which I had to often look online to figure out for a lot of this - Honestly, I feel like I have been studying a degree with the complexity of all these systems. It's something you have to figure out too or late-game enemies will trash you up!

One thing I have noticed about Star Ocean in general is it's 1-dimensional villains. They often don't get much attention thoughtful the story and the villain in this game was very underwhelming. That said, I did find the cast of characters charming and they're involvement into the on-going narrative relevant - Apart from 1, who I read up you can get earlier but I got him later without a choice and his story didn't make much sense.

The games dungeon areas are very maze like and frustrating. A guide is needed for most of them as it is really easy to get lost. The game also introduces features like breakable walls too so there is a lot going on. I like the games art direction and enjoyed the variety of locations.

Overall I packed a good 70+ hours into the game, there is post game content to dabble with which I may consider if the crafting isn't too much of a time sink. I've beat all S.O. games but The Last Hope now. Time is tight before Final Fantasy VII Rebirth though and I want to replay FF7R beforehand. But despite the problems I had with this game it does offer that true sense of adventure which I love from the genre and I had a lot of fun with it.

12
General / Re: A Year in Review - 2023
« on: December 30, 2023, 04:55:32 am »
Favourite 2023 Release: Star Ocean Second Story R
I wasn't sure about the new visual style but after 5 or so minutes I was hooked! The game features tons of quality of life improvements making the Private Actions feature actually accessible! I played through the campaign as Claude but eager to see if there is more to the story with Rena as I felt the later section of the games story was weaker, still with how accessible the game is now I am keen to find out more!

Least Favorite 2023 Release: Final Fantasy XVI / Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1
My summary of Final Fantasy XVI is that it is a decent story trapped within a bad game. The games combat requires no effort, it doesn't even feature any elemental attacks. But the games structure is what bothered me the most. The world felt divided into levels, you can't traverse from one place to another, once you reach the end of an area, you're presented with a map to select a new location - this broke all immersion I had with the game as the sense of adventure was lost. Also, despite saying the game was complete and there was no plans for DLC, we now had DLC which will lead to a new ending... I regret playing this now.

Also, I can't pass without mentioning my destain for the botched job on the Metal Gear Solid 'Master' Collection. It simply has nothing to offer, I'll stick to the 360 version of the HD Collection & play MGS1... elsewhere.

Favorite Game Played in 2023: In Sound Mind
This game really surprised me! It's hardly Triple-A but it does enough with it's budget to be convincing. You play as a psychiatrist who gets trapped in his office building and has to navigate through surreal portals which explore his patients traumas. It's a creative and fun first person horror game that I highly recommend!

Least Favorite Game Played in 2023: Final Fantasy XVI
It was either this or Ghostwire: Tokyo but FF16's onslaught of generic sidequests have ruined the prospect for other games now, I genuinely can't be bothered anymore.

Sleeper Hit of 2023: Bramble: The Mountain King
This is an interesting game in a similar style to Little Nightmare but arguably better! You play as a boy in a fantasy tale looking for his sister. The sweet setting turns sour very quickly and can be quite horrific! There's a lot of atmospheric set pieces along the way. The game doesn't have much replay value but if it is still on Gamepass it's worth a try!

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2023: Coffee Talk
I can't dive into spoilers but the game really presents it's characters well and the is a moment late in the game where one... I don't want to spoil it but it was very exciting and a lot of fun. I'm now playing the second game and already looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2023: Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Signed Art Print by Yu Suzuki
Nothing outrageous this year, I'm pleased to get an imported version of Like a Dragon Gaiden, as i was annoyed at the lack of a world wide physical release. But the most unique Item I got was a signed art print from Yu Suzuki from the Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign - I opted for multiple copies of the game instead of increasing my initial pledge so I didn't get higher tier items. I always regretted not getting the a signed print and have been hunting on eBay the last few years, well I finally got one this year!

13
General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!
« on: December 26, 2023, 07:47:42 am »
Completed:
01. Soma (PS4 on PS5) - 15/01/2024
02. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2 on PS4 on PS5) - 18/01/2024
03. Mortal Kombat 9: Komplete Edition (Xbox 360 on Xbox One X) - 20/01/2024
04. Resident Evil Village + Shadow of Rose DLC (PS5) - 23/01/2024
05. Mortal Kombat XL (PS4 on PS5) - 26/01/2024
06. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate + Aftermath DLC (PS5) - 27/01/2024
07. Silent Hill: A Short Message (PS5) - 01/02/2024
08. Disney Speed Storm: Season 5 - Let It Go! (PS5) - 08/02/2024
09. Final Fantasy VII Remake + Intermission DLC (PS5) - 29/02/2024 (Platinum)
10. Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (PS5) - 03/03/2024 (Platinum)

Now Playing:
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion
Resident Evil 4 Remake
We Happy Few
Disney Speed Storm: Season 6 - Under The Sea!

Backlog:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Ghost Trick
Like A Dragon Gaiden
Lost Judgment
Sonic Superstars
Time Hollow

15
Modern Video Games / Re: The Game Awards 2023
« on: December 08, 2023, 03:43:24 am »
It was a good show but boy am I pissed! Final Fantasy XVI was meant to be a complete experience at launch and now we have DLC set within the games story... I've already beat the damn game! These parts midway through the story should haev been there in the first place. It;s the same crap the previous game pulled and I'm sick of it.

At least Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is looking amazing! It's changing the story & getting very meta' but still it's proving to be a real Triple-A experience! Despite bringing the game to a modern era there still keeping a lot of the silliness & charm in the original which I really appreciate - I can't wait to see Gold Saucer brought to life!

Interested in the SEGA revival titles, they look a little low budget but hoping I can be proven wrong.

Very interested in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, seems very similar to IT in structure.

Visions of Mana is finally stepping beyond Remake territory and bring a NEW game. Looks decent, hoping it doesn't have a silent protagonist.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a title I am interested in, would like to see some raw gameplay footage but releasing the game in-between Yakuza 8 & Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a problem...

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 52