A random gaming update where I played random games

March 10, 2015

Where I try to keep it brief and likely fail.

My Terranigma review was #400! ALL SHALL PRAISE!!! I just wish I'd chosen a more memorable game to reach this milestone. But, as in life, nothing may be permitted to be perfect.

I just sent off my review of Dragon Quest IX to be proofed. Yay for productivity!

Let's see. To keep things reasonably brief, I'll just mention games where I feel I've done something noteworthy.

The next two to be beaten and reviewed will likely be Stella Deus and EvilQuest. In the former, I just have the final series of battles in the final chapter. It's weird how this game has been progressing. The fourth chapter was this long and tedious slog to get the respect of four near-identical (they inflicted different status ailments and were colored differently) elemental bosses, followed by some interesting stuff. So far, in the fifth chapter, I've fought three battles and eliminated three major character's from the plot. Two by death and one by...I guess just saying "screw it", giving Spero the Bland a sword and leaving. At least, Echidna wasn't shown dying, as Croire and Viser were. In the later, I've killed the king and made it to the temple in the Battlefield region. Which is where I'm guessing the fourth and final seal happens to be.

In Super Mario Galaxy, I only beat one level recently, but the first star in the Toy Time Galaxy was pretty epic. Scaling the Mecha-Bowser robot thing was a lot of fun.

I've done the first big area of the Mercenary Hideout at the end of the first arc in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Twas tough to maintain stealth with the big robot thingy in the way. But after a decent few reloads, it was accomplished.

Did a lot of stuff on the 3DS. In Bravely Default, I beat Ominas Crowe and am about to fight Heinkel, as I'm at a save point and it looks like he and the king he kidnapped are in the next room. With Shin Megami Tensei IV, I'm doing sidequests now that I've completed the "kill corpses and then Dullahan" quest that gives me the right to freely explore that whole area. Also, in Etrian Odyssey Untold: Millennium Girl, I've made it past Fenrir, so I can reach Floor 6, as well as the second part of that Gladsheim place. In there, I've killed a lot of the FOEs, but then had to retreat to get healthy and full of MP again.

I've reached the seventh (of eight) characters in N.T. Burning Heroes for the Super Famicom. Trying to fight off the Stockholm Syndrome telling me that things can't be this bad, can they?

In a bit of "makes me grumpy" news, I decided that the SNES' U.N. Squadron just wasn't clicking with me. I like shooters, but the "points are money so you can buy new planes and side weapons" angle was annoying me, so I scrapped it. Which means I have to find a new "U" game for the year. Odds are, it will be an XBox Indie game, as I only have 3 other console "U" games available. Undead Line doesn't overly excite me at the time, while I'd rather play the previous "Strike" helicopter titles before hitting up Urban Strike. And I'd rather have more Turrican experience before playing Universal Soldier, so I can accurately tell how much forcing a movie license on a particular game can change the way the series plays. And, so, Indie game it likely is.

But still, #400! WOO-HOO! MORE PRAISE, MORE!!!

Most recent blog posts from Rob Hamilton...

The latest in my really infrequent blogs

An update on gaming

The progress thing which I've forgotten to do for ages.

Most recent blog posts from Rob Hamilton...
The latest in my really infrequent blogs An update on gaming The progress thing which I've forgotten to do for ages.

Feedback

dementedhut - March 10, 2015 (11:12 PM)
I couldn't get into U.N. Squadron myself, though that might be because I didn't commit much time to it. My impression was that it felt way too complicated for its own good, and some of the most annoying stages in the game involved those silly canyon dives, or whatever they were supposed to be.

JoeTheDestroyer - March 10, 2015 (11:13 PM)
Meh, EvilQuest.... I didn't dislike the game, but it felt rather cheesy, even for an indie A-RPG. The music was a bit odd in places, too.

overdrive - March 11, 2015 (12:54 PM)
pick
"Too complicated for its own good" is the best way to describe that game. You have a 10-or-so level shooter, so why make SIX planes (the default and five that can be bought) with about 10 or so weapons that can be bought for each one? When you look at the map screen to pick what level to do next and then the plane/weapons screen, it's almost enough to make you wonder if you're playing a war/strategy game instead of a shmup. And the difficulty must not have been downgraded from the original quarter-muncher form. First level was pretty easy. Second one was really tough. Third one: if you don't invest in weapons that take out stuff coming behind you, you will die. No, just no. Shooters are fun-to-insanely-frustrating tests of skill; I don't want to spend time thinking about how to gear my plane, what plane to use and all that stuff.

Joe: I like it, but it's in that "indie good but not great" category. Easy as hell (at least with my play-style of putting virtually all points into strength and defense) and after a while, everything starts to feel the same, just with different colors for enemies and backgrounds; but a good diversion that seems short enough to not wear out its welcome before I'm done with it.

Feedback
	dementedhut - March 10, 2015 (11:12 PM) I couldn't get into U.N. Squadron myself, though that might be because I didn't commit much time to it. My impression was that it felt way too complicated for its own good, and some of the most annoying stages in the game involved those silly canyon dives, or whatever they were supposed to be.
	JoeTheDestroyer - March 10, 2015 (11:13 PM) Meh, EvilQuest.... I didn't dislike the game, but it felt rather cheesy, even for an indie A-RPG. The music was a bit odd in places, too.
	overdrive - March 11, 2015 (12:54 PM) pick "Too complicated for its own good" is the best way to describe that game. You have a 10-or-so level shooter, so why make SIX planes (the default and five that can be bought) with about 10 or so weapons that can be bought for each one? When you look at the map screen to pick what level to do next and then the plane/weapons screen, it's almost enough to make you wonder if you're playing a war/strategy game instead of a shmup. And the difficulty must not have been downgraded from the original quarter-muncher form. First level was pretty easy. Second one was really tough. Third one: if you don't invest in weapons that take out stuff coming behind you, you will die. No, just no. Shooters are fun-to-insanely-frustrating tests of skill; I don't want to spend time thinking about how to gear my plane, what plane to use and all that stuff. Joe: I like it, but it's in that "indie good but not great" category. Easy as hell (at least with my play-style of putting virtually all points into strength and defense) and after a while, everything starts to feel the same, just with different colors for enemies and backgrounds; but a good diversion that seems short enough to not wear out its welcome before I'm done with it.

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