Last Game You Finished And Your Four-ghts

It's all right, passable enough. It's a lot more like Virtua Strikers than Mario Strikers, it's a lot slower and doesn't have the excitement that you're probably looking for. On that note, it's absolutely mental that there hasn't been a new Mario Strikers game in over a decade.

I bloody loved the first two. On Switch with some decent online? Forget about it!

I finally finished a retail game! It's a shame Game Freak didn't.




No really. There's a lot of things that feel unfinished about this game. So many that I'm going to hide them away in a

SPOILER OF NEGATIVITY:

None of this is Game Freak's fault, I hasten to add. No doubt their publishers and Nintendo rushed them slightly, and they were using new technology when they've never been the most technologically adept team. They should have got more support. As it is, what we have feels like it's a beta for another Pokémon game, maybe one that should have been released next year.

It's a really good beta mind. The new monsters and forms are a very solid selection: I even like some of the humanoids. The characters bar the Hop brothers are an appealing lot - Bede and Marnie both grew on me after lacklustre beginnings. Pokémon battles are more appealing than they've ever been, especially in the returning gyms (yay!) and the new Pokémon League layout; and to see them running around the overworld is a substantial and much-needed improvement. The soundtrack is top-notch as ever, the lack of HMs is still a good thing despite what I said above, Dynamax > Mega Forms (I'm so glad they're gone), and, in general, Game Freak can put together a good game!

There's an obvious third member of the wolf trio (Zayero?) to come, and I'm keen to see what happens to either the third iteration of the series or the next pair of games on Switch. I really think Game Freak need to be given more time to make them though. From the rushed non-Victory Road in SM to the entirety of this game, I don't think they're getting as much time as they like, or need really.

Also: the digitised cries are a bad joke at this point, especially with the anomalous Pikachu and Eevee. Anime calls for Gen. 9 please.

@Cappa how's the Rugby 7's that looked like the most fun

@Balla not got a lot to add as Cappa and myself have also said similar


Star Wars Fallen takes a bunch of ideas from other games be it Souls with combat (maybe more Sekiro) and the bonfire stuff, Metroidvania as in you get new powers which then let you go to new areas which you couldn't before, Tomb Raider with tombs with puzzles also a touch of Uncharted but the new Raiders also have that, to make a decent package.

It just lacks soul and personality, like it's a better game than Pokemon as example yet out of the two Pokemon be the one you'd would want to play.

I finished this a few weeks ago and it's an absolute joy to play from start to finish, I know this can be said for many Nintendo games but the amount of new ideas Next level games pack into each floor really is something else & a lot really are so good that entire games could be based around them. Without spoiling it one particular highlight is the floor called Paranormal productions which had me scratching my head at first but once I figured out what to do I was genuinely amazed at what I was seeing unfold, then there's the boss fight which I think is one of the best set pieces of any boss fight ever in video games! (It made me laugh a whole lot too)

The one downside for me is the game is quite linear (the next LM game in the series has to go full metroidvania) so it can drag a little bit once you hit the latter half but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best games on the Switch.



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Next up was this little indie Sci fi game where you play as the space stations AI as you try to figure out what is going on with the last remaining astronaut after a weird incident occurs.

This story-driven puzzle game does a cracking job of putting you in this AI role by having a reboot sequence and letting you figure how things work on your own by scanning rooms, computers etc but a lot of this stuff isn't just fluff either if you collect enough data logs it'll help you piece together the story of what is happening & thus allow you to make better choices down the road. Games like this aren't usually my cup of tea but the theme of this one pulled me in and is mostly executed quite well.....mostly, anyway the puzzles are bit straightforward with a couple of head scratchers here and there.

If you're a Sci fi fan you'll definitely get a kick out of this but the asking price of 20 quid might be little too much so I'd say wait for a sale like I did.

I have Paranormal Productions up next! Excellent.

I said during the FPS genre talk in the decade's thread Halo Reach was one of my favs but I'd actually not played it since 2010 and I may have just had rose-tinted glasses.

Now, this past week the MCC came to PC and with it brought Halo Reach to the collection (Xbox has some great collections), it got a bit of an update not like Halo CE or 2 with the anniversary stuff, just now it's in 4K 60fps on an X.

I have to say I was right to talk about it as being one the best of the decade as I do think it is my favourite Halo campaign and the third-best overall only behind Halo CE and 2.

Banger

I really enjoyed Reach. I have very fond memories of playing in co-op with my brother - that was the last thing we did living together. After that, he went to Uni and a few months later I moved to Japan.

For me, I don't think it will ever be a favourite because of its prequel nature and lack of Chief. But it is great.

The prequel nature and knowing what's going to happen along with reading fall of reach, I feel makes it the most impactful of the campaigns.

If thats yiur jam, fair enough. I think 1 and 3 are still mf my favourites.

Fall of Reach is a legit good book though.

Still think Halo CE is the overall best one, that could be nostalgia though with the multiplayer and it getting me on Xbox & playing FPS's.

UGG came to PS4 and Xbox One yesterday, with it being in Game Pass on Xbox One. That why not play it again, it was still fun but it felt like I've heard the joke before.


I bought Hellblade when it launched on PS4 day one as I love Ninja Theory, yet it didn't click with me. Then HB started to win awards and I think even Muss had it as GOTY on a Podcast we did, I went back to HB which I had no idea where I was going and never played since.

I always appreciated what Hellblade did even if it wasn't for me, much like Sekiro this year being Game of the Year. Now this past week at TGA, Hellblade II was announced and I saw Hellblade was on Game Pass.

Thought to myself why not give it another go from the start, and this where I got tempted to post in the I thought it was rubbish but I'll give another go thread, as I'm pleased I did give it another go as it really clicked with me this time.

I'd even go as far as saying I would retroactively consider it as one of the best games of 2017. This also shows why I'm always willing to give a game in a genre or series I don't normally get on with a go as I may have a experience like this one or with Outer Worlds this year.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD was a very frustrating game to complete. My frustration in a nutshell: as bright, cheery and accomplished as Banana Blitz HD is, I don’t really know why SEGA bothered their arses. The main game is fairly OK, the boss fights are just rubbish, the minigames are all terrible, the online multiplayer is weird. And that’s your whack, if you’re not into high score attacks and time trials. 

Why’d they bother to update a game that wasn’t really well regarded in the first place? Also, with it's lack of extras, why’s it £30? If they’d included it’s Wii sequel (Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll) as part of the package, I’d maybe feel better about this. But everybody and their granny knows that there was already a much, much better Super Monkey Ball game that deserved to be modernised and given the HD treatment. Indeed, why SEGA re-released 2006’s Banana Blitz instead of 2005’s Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is a mystery that’s up there with the whereabouts of Cleopatra’s tomb. 

Unjustified. 5/10.

My guess would be that they had all the resources to hand and they were easy to upscale, what with it being more recent. The answer to "why did they bother their arses" is they didnt.

They'll take poor Banana Blitz sales as reason to not rerelease the better game too

I’m less surprised by SMBBB bbbeing bbbobbins second time around (like it was first) than I am that UGG isn’t so hot on a replay, and that’s pretty damn unsurprised.

I finished Golf Story. A good little game that overstayed it's welcome towards the end. So, an alright medium?

Would recommend if on sale and you've got a clear back log.

Ha ha ha... Yes I thought Golf Story was silly and cute, what I played of it, but I don't really regret not pressing on past the caveman course. I'm not that excited for Sports Story as a result, which is a shame.

The old folk area is the best bit. You'd have another course to go before you would've got there.

I am interested in sports story but not enough to get it until it's on sale.

I felt the same about Golf Story, and I'm feeling the same about Sports Story. At least there'll be more variety in the sequel, with sports like Mixed Martial Arts, Aussie Rules Football and Bullfighting.

The end year review round-up of the 60+ games, this is based on the Balla scale as I can't see me finishing any more games this year due working till Jan 1st and playing some Witcher III.

9.5/10
Death Stranding, Game of the Year

9/10
A Plague Tale Innocence
Ori and Blind the Forest
Fire Emblem Three Houses
Control
Catherine Full Body
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Links Awakening HD
Halo Reach

8.5/10
FAR Lone Sails
Moss
Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes
Luigi's Mansion
Firewatch
Gears 5
Outer Worlds

8/10
Resident Evil 2
Devil May Cry 5
Gardens Between
Mortal Kombat 11
Forgotten Anne
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fuelled
Untitled Goose Game, Would have been higher but then played again on Xbox One and had to knock it down as wasn't as funny
Assemble with Care
COD Modern Warfare
Star Wars Fallen Order
Hellblade

7.5/10
Undertale, Found it to be a tad overrated
Guardians of the Galaxy
Final Fantasy XV PEHD
Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes
Sea of Solitude
Captain Toad
Blair Witch

7/10
Onimusha, Decent remaster
Kingdom Hearts III, Disappointing
Thief of Thieves
Madden NFL 20
Man of Medan
Concrete Genie
Pokemon Shield

6.5/10
Hydrophobia
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Manhattan
Silence
AER
Mario Tennis Aces
Erica
Felix the Reaper
Afterpaty

6/10
Fe
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
11-11 Memories Retold
Monkey King

5.5/10
Fractured Minds

5/10
The Station
One Night Stand
Close to the Sun

4.5/10
Bird Game+
Tracks the Train Game

4/10
Claire
Planet Rix-13

3/10
Where the Bees Make Honey

To note: my scale uses 10/10, as it recognises that the underlying distribution has tails, and that 10/10 represents the top quantile rather than some unachievable upper bound.

My scale
Mas' scale?

Nothing would have made it this year, mark you. Closest was Untitled Goose Game on 9/10 (I played it the right amount of times ). A few 8/10s will be mentioned in the voting thread, so I'll leave that until then! (I also have some games that might be up there but I haven't played enough of to get there...)

All mine are out of 10, so tad confused and was thinking more of the lines as you had in your signature that 4 below average, 5 average etc

Nope, they're out of 9.5.

Maybe one day I will give a game 10/10, at the moment Wind Waker my favourite stand-alone game of all-times would get a 9.8/10 because of the dam triforce bit.