Review The Last Game You Beat

[MiTT3NZ]

I thought I was gonna be reviewing TPP n'all, but it just keeps going on. Gettin beyond a joke now.

[ShenGCH]

I thought I was gonna be reviewing TPP n'all, but it just keeps going on. Gettin beyond a joke now.

What are your thoughts thus far?

[IrishNinja]

About the ending:

I was certainly disappointed with the ending at first, but I've grown to quite like it in time. Sure, we all wanted to see Big Boss become that Big Boss, complete with a Walter White-esque downfall, but instead we got something that spoke directly to the player; something that questioned the very nature of legend status and how it's basically nothing but a title. Anyone can be Big Boss, and we were the ones responsible. They retconned the series, but it was a retcon that worked and made sense, as you said. I really wanted there to be a repeat of that brilliant "Big Boss - Richard Doyle" parts in the credits, except with something like "Solid Snake - David Hayter" or even waiting 'til the credits reach the black screen before quickly cutting to a bullet hitting the wall next to a young Solid Snake, shot by Big Boss (Venom Snake), before their battle in Outer Heaven.

yeah

in that regard, it's exactly what Kojima was doing with Raiden in MGS2, and clearly said as much during the chatty final hours.

you're right about all the BB voices too, i just try not to dwell on it, haha.

[Mr357]

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)

I got to chapter 5-2 out of 5-5 several years ago, but hadn't managed my inventory very well and gave up due to a lack of ammo and items. I recently picked it back up with a new save specifically because I remembered that you can use an old Mauser handgun (Red 9 in-game). I liked RE4 before, but damn do I love it now. If nothing else, this game does body dismemberment better than anything I've ever played. The visuals, the sound effects- nothing comes close besides maybe Killing Floor. It's certainly convenient that the best weapons in the game are also the most effective at bursting heads open. The story is nothing to get excited about, but the characters are very well fleshed out, and in my opinion, only hindered by their classically corny Capcom dialogue. The game is more so on the challenging side, but highly rewarding and filled with a plethora of gameplay elements.

9/10

[AnimeGamer183]

I hope to get back into resident evil again soon. I have the ps4 0/ 1 remasters on my watch list and have had re2 on n64 since i bought another n64 again last summer (great buy btw), although ill probably wait out re2 remake but i am curious about the old versions too, especially collecting. Re3 and code veronica on dreamcast?

[Thief]

I hope to get back into resident evil again soon. I have the ps4 0/ 1 remasters on my watch list and have had re2 on n64 since i bought another n64 again last summer (great buy btw), although ill probably wait out re2 remake but i am curious about the old versions too, especially collecting. Re3 and code veronica on dreamcast?

If you have a way to play gamecube games, then get the gamecube versions of 2, 3, and code: veronica. Those are the best console versions.

As for the other games, you can get the main ones on PS4 nowadays, which I assume would be the best versions to get. If you want to play the original version of RE1 (which i prefer -- it is not obsoleted by the remake), then either get the black label version of director's cut (not the green label or the one on PSN) or the DS version. The music is fucked up beyond belief in the green label director's cut version or the PSN version. Also, the original release of RE1 on PSX (not director's cut) is not a good choice because it has artificial difficulty added to the game (in the west) in order to make it harder to complete. Makes it a bit unplayable IMO.

Anyway, love the series so hope you do get into it.

[OL]

Batman: Arkham Knight (plus all DLC).
Not sure why it took me so long to get around to it, but I had a blast all the same. First time I've 100%-ed -- or rather, 120%-ed, when you factor in the DLC -- any game in the series (which you kind of have to do anyway if you want to see the ending). I remember so much complaining about the Batmobile being too big a part of the game, but I can't say I really agree with that. Sure, certain things about it might feel kind of "un-Batman-ish" or whatever -- blowing things up in arcade-style tank missions and all that -- but I still found all that stuff fun as hell regardless. And even if you think it's not very Batman-like, if you take into account the fact that the story explains it just fine, it's really not as offensive as people pretend. And even besides all of that, it doesn't in any way overshadow the classic on-foot Batman gameplay in the slightest, which is about as front-and-center as can be.
On that note, the on-foot stuff is all the most polished and fun of any game in the series; the multi-takedowns in stealth sections are exciting, flashy, and even more Batman-esque than anything before, and the little additions in combat (like hitting charging enemies with batarangs) really add another layer to the illusion of "being Batman" that this series is so good at. Without a doubt, the best gameplay in the entire series is right here in Knight. If they could take all of this stuff and transplant it into the others in the series... good god, that really would warrant another series-wide, back-to-back playthrough.
I'd have to say that the only areas I was disappointed with the game in were during character-specific encounters. For example, I was really excited that they included a Man-Bat side-story this time around... until I finished it, and realized that there isn't even a fight with Man-Bat; all you do is find him at certain points, glide up to him, and the game does the rest. I was hoping for some kind of button-press extensive flythrough of the city or something, but no, nothing like that. Likewise, while the chases with Firefly are fun to a point, they're all exactly the same thing: chase, get close, tackle him and you're done. Three different encounters, all the same exact thing. And worst of all was the fight with Deathstroke. I've made it clear I'm a big Deathstroke fan before, so when he popped up late in the game over radio chatter and whatnot, I was excited as hell, and really looking forward to a confrontation with him. Unfortunately, that confrontation is entirely tank-based. People complain that the tank stuff is too un-Batman-like; I'd argue it's even more un-Deathstroke-like. And then once you destroy his tank, the game adds insult to injury by having a small cutscene where he leaps out of the tank with his sword drawn... only to be immediately tackled and taken down by Batman, with no player-input whatsoever.
So honestly, Arkham Origins remains my favorite in the series. It absolutely has the best boss battles of any of them (including ones with Firefly and Deathstroke) and easily has the best story.
But Knight definitely has the best gameplay, the greatest sense of variety, and is probably the most epic Batman experience I think I've ever seen outside of the comics, so it's no slouch at all. And like someone mentioned not long ago, it's a fucking technical marvel as well. Probably the most technically-impressive game I've seen on PS4, even edging out Uncharted 4.

[Monkei]

^ Thought about warning you about the Deathstroke letdown when you posted that you got the game, but didn't wanna spoil anything. I didn't really like the way he was portrayed, saying stuff along the lines of "come on, I let my guard down, uncuff me and I'll beat you, blah blah" after you take him down and drive him to the police station. I'm no expert on the character by any means, but is he meant to be like that? Complaining he got got, like a kid? I would have expected him to be more silent, less bragging.. accepting defeat by a greater warrior and waiting for his next chance, something like that. More samurai-like and less thuggish in character.

Anyway, I gotta say I also like the Arkham Origins story best I think, except for some of the Bane stuff, which kinda screws with the series' continuity. Firstly Bane was sadly depicted as a skinny guy who only gets big (and turns into a dumb rage monster) by using venom in Arkham Asylum.. that was a mistake of course, but still, retconning sucks. Also, as a nod to the Knightfall saga, Batman says something like "this time I break you" in Asylum, before Bane gets hit by the batmobile. The bat-breaking never happens though. They kinda remodelled the Arkham series' Bane to be closer to Nolan's depiction from The Dark Knight Rises (at least it felt like that to me), having his own little terrorist army and stuff like that. Bane discovers Batman's secret identity, cause that's like his thing, that's what he usually does.. but the way they handle that towards the end of the game felt pretty poor to me. Using memory erasure in a story to go back to a former status quo is a thing I can't stand at all.
On a more positive note: Totally loved the Joker parts and the way they used Black Mask.

And allthough I really like the series in general, I have another small point of criticism, storywise: The games always feel like there's wayyyy too much stuff crammed into one single night of Batman's life. It made sense in Arkham Asylum, because all the villains where imprisoned there, but it's just too much in the other games, it feels really unlikely for that many events to happen and that many characters to show up in one night. Like Batman took a couple months off or simply was procrastinating prior to each game while work piled up on his desk.

[OL]

There are a few different versions of Deathstroke, much in the same way there are different versions of Batman. My favorite is the original version as written by Marv Wolfman, because he is a little more the way you said you'd expected him to be, more dignified and all that. He was actually more of an anti-hero in the beginning; he's a mercenary/assassin, sure, but he does it all under a bit of a code, and has his own moral barometer that determines which way his stories go. For example, in the first few issues of his 1990 series, he puts a halt on the mission he's working on so he can go rescue the kidnapped son of some woman he meets, just because he's lost children of his own and doesn't want this woman to feel that pain. He's a good guy who happens to do bad guy stuff.
But of course later on, as he started to get used as a villain-of-the-week type of character in other comics not written by Marv Wolfman, he began to be portrayed as being all about the money, all about the hunt, all about the fight. I don't hate this version necessarily, because it at least makes for some cool appearances (this is kind of how he is in the Arkham Knight), but it does show a decline in any depth he'd had before that. Then later on from that, they started to just make him a flat out villain and bad guy. I haven't actually read his more recent comics, but I've flipped through the trades, and it seems like they mostly just used him as an excuse for bloody violence during the New 52. Even watching the Son of Batman animated movie (which is on Netflix if you haven't seen it), I definitely took issue with the fact that he's portrayed as power-hungry and evil, and even kidnaps Kirk Langstrom's wife and daughter and threatens to kill them if his demands aren't met (a complete 180 from his actions in the 1990 comic, saving a kidnapped kid for no other reason than that it was the right thing to do). His Rebirth version sounds like a return to his roots though, which is a welcome thing to hear.

I haven't played Asylum in a long time, so I don't entirely remember what Bane was like in that, but his appearance in Origins is actually much closer to his original incarnation during Knightfall; intelligent, well-spoken, a meticulous planner, all that. The Dark Knight Rises got that stuff basically right as well, although I've always kind of hated that they didn't make him Hispanic in that. It was the one bit of whitewashing no one took note of.

[Axm]

I've just completed Journey.

I gave it a go, I thought it would be just another indie platformer or something.

Boy, was I wrong. I don't think I've ever been as emotionally involved in a game. Everything pulled on my heart strings.

It's only short, free on PS plus. I feel a little lost now it's over. Do yourself a favour and out it on, if only for 5 minutes, and be hooked.

[Monkei]

^ You should also give Flower a try if you're looking for other relaxing and touching quality titles. ABZU might be nice too, though I can't speak from experience there, as I haven't played it yet.

[BlueMue]

Super Fantasy Zone

I just love this little shooter on the Mega Drive. It looks great, sounds beatiful and is just a lot of fun to play.
It can best be described with these three words: colorful, hectic, joyous.

Even though I've known this game for years and always enjoyed picking it up for a quick fix I never managed to beat the whole thing without level skip. I beat each stage individually but never in one run and I always did it on Easy.
It's really a shame because but that's a thing of the past because I did beat it on Normal and I think I did quite well.

I got the whole playthrough on video. So if you're interested, take a look.
It seems that I also have the only playthrough on Youtube that is captured from real hardware, let alone in 1080p60.

phpBB [video]

[Truck_1_0_1_]

SFZ is just a brilliant shooter; I once got to the 4th level, but never past that (the fish in Level 3 is too much for me, most of the time). Love the, "Picknica" theme, listen to it all the time!

I'm playing through Ecco on the DC right now, will post once its completed.

[Thief]

Demon's Souls

Easily one of the best games I've ever played. I'm tempted to move on to Dark Souls, but I actually want to do another playthrough of Demon's Souls first. I didn't do anything with magic or ranged attacks during my first playthrough, so I wanna do a magic or faith build, and I also want to try to get all the unique weapons in the game. That... and it's just fun so I want to keep playing it.

[Calshot]

^
I felt the same way about Dark Souls (and I did the same thing as what you're planning).

I'd recommend moving on to Dark Souls though. That way, when you end up replaying Demon's Souls down the road, it'll feel even more like a new experience since you'll be playing a new build and have forgotten some of it, making it fresh again.