Can do! Probably wont get to play it till tomorrow. But I will report back.
2 Likes
Alright, got to play a bit tonight. Initial impression is that it’s fun. Definitely has a Mario odyssey vibe to it. Colorful and looks reasonably good. Haven’t played a lot (less than an hour) but initial feelings are positive. Not far enough to heap too much praise on it though.
2 Likes
+1 Robocop Rogue City - Unfinished Business (1000/1000)
Total = 3
2 Likes
+6 Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4 (Master Chief Collection)
My plan was to just breeze through the campaigns, but I ended up grinding miscellaneous achievements for a bunch of hours after all. (And I’m still only at 49% completion.)
People like to give shit to 343 Industries for “ruining” Halo. But I honestly didn’t notice any difference, other than the grunts sounding less fun(ny.) Maybe it’s a multiplayer thing, which I didn’t really touch.
I’ve got the collection again on Steam. But that’ll probably have to wait a couple of years. I think there’s cross-progression, so I should crack those 50% on some of the cumulative achievements eventually. 
4 Likes
Monday and time for an update! This week @SilentJay76 is shooting up the leaderboard and claiming the runner-up position Keep up the good work everyone!
The Leaderboard:
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@Knottian 22.5
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@SilentJay76 16.5
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@MasterLeePhD 14.5
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@Zip 10.5
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@profjjj 9
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.@ Mort 5.5
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.@ TechWendigo 5
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@vrinn 4
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.@ AbhorredGunt 0
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@Widey85 -3
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@APOPHIS1989 -11.5
5 Likes
+1 Zone of the Enders (ZOE HD Collection)
Got this collection years ago, but only just got round to playing it. I finished ZoE1, it wasn’t a long game which I appreciate because it was filled with action and the ranking system encourages replayability.
I played on Normal and finished in around 4.5 hours. I got a bad ranking, probably because I saved too often. You can save civilians, which is crucial to getting your rank up. I think I got an 85% ranking for saving civvies, but I saved 10 times. It’s basically a hack n slash action game produced by Hideo Kojima, and the artist is the same from the Metal Gear Solid series.
I recommend this if you like action games or hack n slash like Devil May Cry and mecha games like Armored Core. The graphics hold up well for a game from 2001, and the gameplay while simple, is satisfying. You can unlock more weapons for your mech, there are a lot of sub weapons. Also, the story and characters are good. Especially the main rival type villain. I read on the wikipedia page that the main character was considered annoying, but I didn’t see it that way. I give the game an 8/10.
I’m going to take a break before starting the second game. The next thing I’ll probably finish is Asura’s Wrath which I’m about halfway through.
2 Likes
All these backlog games be like
While instead of playing any of that all my game time last weekend going to Powerwash Simulator. 
4 Likes
+1 The Cave (360)
Nice little puzzle platformer from Double Fine / Ron Gilbert.
2 Likes
+1 Donkey Kong Bananza
Total =4
3 Likes
I’m a man of my word, and once Square released FF16 on Xbox, I bought it straight away to support more JRPGs coming to the platform.
Now, I knew FF16 was a bit of a jump compared to other games in the franchise, but it plays more like a DMC game mixed with Game of Thrones and a tiny splash of Final Fantasy. No jaunty victory tune, no airships, one moggle, loads of Chocobos, and not much in the enemy variety (where’s my Cactuars at?)
The story and main quest are epic, with some of the best set pieces I’ve seen, with huge spectacle that are visually striking. Side quests were mostly pointless, with rinse and repeat fetch quests. Another annoying thing is enemies feel like they take forever to take down - even minor ones.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with it, but the amount of time it takes for the game to pick up and get started will put most people off. If you want a third person action heavy game with a ton of eye candy combined with an epic story, then go for it! Just remember if you like more RPG in your Final Fantasy games, I’d probably give it a miss. 8/10
Looking forward to playing through FF7 Remake again but on Xbox. I also felt compelled to get my money’s worth and get every achievement in the main game + 2 DLC packs.
3 Likes
Once again a Monday appears, and with it an update!
The Leaderboard:
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@Knottian 22.5
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@SilentJay76 17.5
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@MasterLeePhD 14.5
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@Zip 10.5
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@profjjj 9
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.@ Mort 5.5
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.@ TechWendigo 5
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@vrinn 4
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.@ AbhorredGunt 0
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@Widey85 -3
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@APOPHIS1989 -11.5
3 Likes
I bought Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gold Edition in the sale… -2
I trust @Doncabesa when he says it’s good even if one’s not too fond of the smurfs!
6 Likes
I played and completed Avatar base game back when it released. I rated it an 8.0/10 overall with the graphics being a 10/10, audio being a 7.0/10, gameplay/combat a 7.0/10 and story/characters being an 8.0/10.
The game looks amazing and I enjoyed the story and characters. Gameplay wise, it’s good for what it is but I had several negatives that decreased my enjoyment playing the game. For a $20 monthly rental via Ubisoft+, it was worth it but since AC Mirage, I have been very happy in regards to not buying Ubisoft’s games anymore as they’re just not worth buying at launch in my opinion.
For $33, the Gold Edition is a very good bargain. Hope you enjoy the game Mort.
2 Likes
Dragon Age: The Veilguard +1
This was a lot bigger than I was led to believe, my playthrough came in at 105 hours. I guess if you put it on easy and mainline the story it’s a lot shorter 
This ended up being a great game! Before I played it I was a bit sceptic, the artstyle looked weird and there was so much negativity out there surrounding it. Well, I once again listened to @Doncabesa and I’m glad I did.
The story is excellent and continues right off Trespasser, and it’s very satisfying. Lots of struggles, epic moments, twists and so much DA lore. The side-, faction- and companion quests are also great for the most part, almost always relevant and tied in very well to the overarching narrative.
The companions are very well written and they felt like real persons. I ended up liking all of them, some more than others but there was no duds so to speak. Their personal quests were varied, interesting and for the most part relevant. Some things felt a bit out of place and shoehorned in, but it’s not that much of it and the Internet once again exaggerate. (I do feel certain subjects could have been woven into the setting in a much better way though, the use of modern terminology felt very awkward tbh. That struggle with identity deserved better writing)
Overall the setup with your companions is very similar to Mass Effect 2, with how it plays into the main story and how well things go, iykyk. Very good!
Exploration is fun and rewarding, there’s lots of collectibles and gear to find and the upgrade system is tied well into it. You need certain companions abilities to progress in places, and I really like how they solved that without having to switch party members all the time, very nice.
Combat is really good. Once again, Mass Effect-y with combos of skills you set up with your companions playing a vital role. There’s lots of different ways to play and I ended up with a Warrior with a parrying-based Champion spec. Very satisfying and fun, where you have to time your parries well as the entire build hinges on that perfect parry to set off other skills. Roleplaying plays a part here too, where you can choose something that fits your character. I played a Grey Warden as a “paladin” of sorts. There are some great boss fights in this game too, always felt awesome and epic.
Visually it’s a beatiful game with lots of very different places to see, some grand scenery. The Deep Roads feels more oppressive (you can in some parts almost feel the weight of the mountain) than ever. The forests are alive, the towns feels great and the Fade is more awesome than ever. It’s a joy to discover it all (yes I did, haha).
On the negatives front I have to mention the pacing, which can be a bit weird in the middle but it kind of makes sense. I think it could have been handled a bit better though. There’s also some issues with the dialogues at times. Especially with regards to companions. I felt it could get a bit too Young Adult if you know what I mean, I would’ve prefered a more mature writing. There’s a lot of it too, so it’s a big part.
Overall an excellent game, and it’s my second favourite in the Dragon Age saga, after Origins! Could have been a 10 if not for the negatives I mentioned above, but it still comes in at a 9 for me. A must play if you enjoy Dragon Age.
5 Likes
Yep I really enjoyed DA Veilguard, more so than Inquisition and almost getting near to some of my favourite Bioware games as it had some of those key Mass Effect bits with the team building.
I also spent way too long in it, 100% every area etc. really takes ages!
2 Likes
+1 AC: Shadows
90+ hours and I’ve rolled credits plus completed the collections and other bits I like to 100% before leaving an AC (I’ll go back for the paid DLC when it launches).
Really, really enjoyed it, much more than Ghost of Tsushima as it felt I could actually make decisions and have an impact, rather than watching impotently as my protagonist did something ridiculously out of character.
The team you built was believable and fun to hang around with, while the interplay and differing styles of the two playable characters kept things interesting.
Was also a great deep dive into Japanese history - I knew a lot of the broad brushes but it really brought to life a lot more detail of such a complex and defining period.
-1 then +1 The Roottrees Are Dead (Steam)
Bought this and completed it in 3 or 4 days as I loved it so much - if you like The Return of the Obra Dinn or The Case of the Golden Idol, you’ll love it too.
A game where you’re tasked with piecing together a family tree using logic, a basic internet search engine and journals, and reading between the lines.
There’s an endgame, RoottreeMania too, which I finished also - harder, but just as rewarding.
Won’t spoil too much but definitely worth playing - if it comes to consoles I’ll probably double dip, and I’ve already wishlisted their next game!
3 Likes
Monday and that means it’s also time for an update! A couple of big completions this week at least
The Leaderboard:
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@Knottian 22.5
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@SilentJay76 17.5
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@MasterLeePhD 14.5
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@Zip 10.5
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@profjjj 9
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.@ TechWendigo 5
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.@ Mort 4.5
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@vrinn 4
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.@ AbhorredGunt 0
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@Widey85 -2
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@APOPHIS1989 -11.5
4 Likes
It wasn’t just Jesse that told you The Veilguard was an excellent game. It was me too!!! Hehehe. It was my 2024 game of the year after all.
Glad you enjoyed the game Mort!!
3 Likes
Haha, yes very true!
1 Like
Machinarium +1
A cozy point and click adventure about two robots trying to reunite. Nice artstyle, decent puzzles. I liked it!
Fit My Cat +1
A puzzle game where you… fit cats into a box. Very easy at first but it gets tougher as you advance when a lot more different shaped cats gets introduced as you play. Close to a hundred levels makes this an excellent podcast game, which is how I play most of these games.
2 Likes