What You've Been Playing This Week

[Brad]

Death Stranding. On to the penultimate chapter. Loving every minute.

[Neon Ignition]

Into the weekend again and:

Nintendo 3DS
Kirby Triple Deluxe with the final world about to fall

Nintendo Switch
Still chipping at the final stages of Animal Crossing and also about to start Telltale Walking Dead: Season One - Episode Three

PlayStation 3
Second mission on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

PlayStation 4
Wrapping up Chapter 6 of Judgment

PC
Reaching about a third of the way through Tomb Raider

[Atticus]

Played Minecraft Dungeons with my son for a good 4 hours straight yesterday afternoon. Perfect couch co-op sesh. It's been described as a kind of Diablo-lite, which it is in some respects, but the difference for me is at default difficulty it provides a bit more of a challenge, requiring a little more patience and strategy. It's really good fun. The only problem was my son's loot drops were stingy and his head went down as I kept on, through no fault of my own, getting epic gear ... ...

[Arashikage]

I went back through the Uncharted's again recently and finished up U4 just this last week. After another appraisal of the games I do think that U4 is my favourite. It's adds just enough variance to the gameplay to be a step up and fun; the rope, driving and stealth are spread through the game very nicely. The journey to get to the end is great and actually feels like a quest, especially with the deep dive into Libertalia. But it's the story and characters that get me, it's so well written and paced that you can't help to have a smile on your face the entire way through. I think this is the characters at their best and I was worried for their survival throughout the whole thing.

I haven't tried Lost Legacy yet but I've a feeling the protagonists aren't going to be as compelling and as good company as Nate's crew.

[prinnysquad]

U4 wrapped up. I didn’t realise I was so close to the end!

Enjoyed the exploring bits leading into the mountain. A number of times this game has got my legs shaking. I get vertigo, and it’s all credit to the game that it’s able to properly replicate the sense of danger associated with heights. Maybe it’s the camera angles.

The green lagoon looked dreamy, before diving underwater to be greeted by the predictable Nadine/Rafe spiel. Avery’s ship, in that location, gave off a Goonies vibe.

I probably wouldn’t have gone down the route that it did. You’ve spent the whole game searching for this ship, and what happens? By the time you clamber aboard, it’s on fire. I’d have had Sam getting there first. The Nadine/Rafe talk about mercs and priorities that you listen into could have taken place after the armoured car crash earlier. Then Nate swims over to the ship, entering it fully intact. Give him time to soak up what he’s achieved, and take in the treasures. A real One Eyed Willie moment. Then, BOOM! Explosion! Nate hears the sound of Shoreline down the other end of the ship. As he gets closer, the flames start. The rest would play out exactly the same.

It’s totally cliched, but it felt like, after an epic adventure, the payoff moment was incredibly brief.

I didn’t enjoy the QTE battle much, but then again, I never do. It had spectacle, though. The way Nate saves Sam is neat.

All the ending/epilogue stuff was pleasant. However, I reckon that it would carry more weight with me if I’d played through 2 and 3, so that there was a more poignant sense of a book being closed.

These are minor moans. I’d still give the game 9/10, easily. It’s a fantastic game. The visuals are simply incredible, the pacing extremely well-devised, and the characters fantastically fleshed out. I’ve enjoyed nearly every minute of the title, and it’s created some brilliant gaming memories for me to treasure.

It’s also reminded me not to be such a slag, and be more open to giving games another shot, or at least showing greater perseverance. U1 wasn’t for me ten years ago. Today, I enjoyed it a lot more. It led me onto a game that easily slots into my top 20 of all time.

[Dogg Thang]

I just finished The Return of the Obra Dinn and it was superb. I absolutely loved it. The game felt like an impossible task at the start and yet it was one that I was able to make constant progress through at the perfect rate. A great game.

[Golgo]

^ I've got this on my to-play list. Great fan of Papers, Please. He's a genius.

I've been playing Zelda Link's Awakening on Switch. Never played previous versions and its magical. Adore these super-compact Zelda worlds the most. The vibrancy and intricacy of this one reminds me of The Minish Cap.

Also just finished Owl Boy, also on Switch. Beyond the wonderfully characterful pixel art visuals and animation (first time I've seen a 24 hr day-night cycle attempted in pixel art, and it's stunning) the game is really quite poor. Controls are loose and fussy, you spend most of the game flying then it becomes a 'real' platform game towards the end and it's woeful. A metroidvania yet no map supplied, and lousy collectibles thereby making extra exploration unappealing.

[Dogg Thang]

Thankfully, it’s not as miserable as Papers, Please. It does have an eerie vibe in places and the atmosphere is great. The style of the graphics really adds a lot to it and I got totally sucked into the story.

[prinnysquad]

PES2020.

Just about assembled a team of 70-rated plodders. Managed to claw my way to the top of the table.

Then I got PES’d.

What does that mean?

Try this:
Top of the table clash vs WBA.
13 shots. 9 on target. The keeper was like Banks and Montgomery in heat.
He managed to save point-blank shots along the ground, with a palm, behind him. Three times. The ball had actually travelled past his body, and he managed to claw it off the deck.
He managed to save deflected shots mere yards in front of him, without breaking a sweat.
When I did beat him, it hit the woodwork. Twice.
When I scored a legit goal, it was chalked off. A foul. The replay showed a defender falling on my bloke as he shot. Clearly a foul then!

Add in the litany of piss-weak freekicks conceded, while their strong-as-oxen players dived and hit the deck like a bag of spuds, and you have a FULL on session of getting PES’d.

The computer conspiring to cheat its way to a draw, with the footballing equivalent of rubber-banding.

Absolute cack.

Also, major flaw: a through-ball to a player often travels past another player en route to being intercepted. Your ‘passive’ player literally watches the ball go past them, or even jumps out of the way, to avoid it. A few times, I’ve tried to assume control over that player in order to take the ball, and the game utterly refuses to let that happen.

[vanpeebles]

Sundylan?

[prinnysquad]

They’re not even on. Too ****.

Notts Forest. Though I’ve had a job offer from the Smoggies.

[vanpeebles]

haha, what you gonna do?

[Atticus]

Though I’ve had a job offer from the Smoggies.

Just when you thought the game had kicked you enough

[Team Andromeda]

Notts Forest. Though I’ve had a job offer from the Smoggies.

Scab b8st8rds

[prinnysquad]

I just beat Cardiff 2-1.

Take that, TA!