What are you playing?

Finally started EDF 4.1 this weekend. So good, just mindless shooting against hordes of brain dead enemies. Its not pretty, it has technical issues, but like Dynasty Warriors it has this wonderful addictive quality that lets me overlook all that stuff and just enjoy the game for what it is. I can see me putting quite a number of hours into the game...

Also started my Doom II run today. 9 levels in, much like EDF its throwing a ton of enemies at me even in the early levels - like the room of Barons of Hell + 1 Cyberdemon! Its so good though, early levels are super dark though, kinda hilarious as the games pre patch on current consoles were too bright, which in retrospect made Doom easier than it should have been. I'm looking forward to replaying Doom III after this.
 
Shenmue II -- Back to Kowloon...I took some knees in Hong Kong and did a fair share of duck racing...netted about 9,000 HKD just by betting a cold hard $900 (yes, I save scummed a little) that I earned from the Lucky Hit stand just outside the Come Over Guest House (that Lucky Hit stand is so easy to win from...especially the 11x/$10 table. I got $700 from that stand alone.)

I also got the Gold Medal with our Caught Duck. Hence the need for a lot of cash to keep leveling him/her up.

Few thoughts from this most current playthrough

-- Even though I like Shenmue III's battle system and don't think it's as bad as I feared it would be....I must admit....I will miss this combat system. The throws and counters do feel really good when you land them. II's combat is such a big improvement over the first game as a whole and I will miss it in III. I'm a realist, I knew it couldn't be the same in III but I will definitely miss it.

-- After playing so many games that really take their time and draw themselves on and on past their welcome, it's kind of nice to play a game that moves along quite briskly and always keeps it simple enough to never let you forget what it is you were doing or why it is you were doing it. Compared to some games on the market today, Shenmue II really does move along at a brisk pace. But I welcome it. I feel like some games have been getting a little too long for their own good nowadays as is. I still haven't finished RDR2 because, quite frankly, I felt the story just kept bogging down and losing me. It's a problem that I'm noticing more and more in certain games.So it's nice to look at this and think "for all the talk about Shenmue being slow, it actually does move at a steady pace and never bogs down too long past its welcome."

-- I'm really curious to see what secrets Shenmue III has to offer up its sleeves. Playing I and II again reminded me how much I enjoyed those little random sporadic secret moments. So I can't wait to see what SIII has up its sleeves.

Anyways, back in Kowloon. Probably will finish it this week since Kowloon isn't that long (and considering I have an abundance of money and not much need to earn money then it should be all story from here on out)
 
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Myst 3 Exile: The most beautiful game I can remember with Jet Set Radio and Bloodborne (although I have yet to play the latter). The game itself is great as well. So far, I prefer Myst 3 rather than Riven and Myst 1 but I've still a long way to come.

Supreme Commander Forged Alliance: Not only the best RTS of all time gameplay-wise but also the most stimulating game ever if you know how to play it. So many things to manage, so many different ways to win, epic scale and still visually/aurally spectacular nowadays. To be honest, it's not my favorite RTS because it's just too demanding, I'm too stupid for that game. I'm just fascinated by how complex and tactically creative the game can be.

Rocket League: My favorite game of all time. I view Shenmue games as my favorite "experiences".

Ride 2: Forza-clone but with motorcycles. The game is surprisingly well-shaped but the gameplay is not as sophisticated as Tourist Trophy.

Untitled Goose Game: You control a goose among humans in a little and charming town. It's kind of a sociological sandbox as you can make humans reacting in different ways, trigger them, etc. Very amusing but maybe too minimalist to take a frank pleasure.

Ace Tennis 64: A very nice free indy tennis-game, imitating the Atari graphics. Very good arcade gameplay.

Before Shenmue 3, I will try to play these games:

Alone In The Dark (1992): The game that inspired Resident Evil. The mansion was absolutely stunning at the time. I could never beat the game.
Crusader King 2: Paradox just announced CK3 so we can consider CK2 and the current DLC represent now the "full" experience.
Cities Skylines: Random desire, I didn't play it since time.
Battletech: After Supcom, I'm looking for a good tactical mecha game but without the tiring frenzy typical of RTS games.
 
SNK released a iPhone KOF game today. Gave it a shot. Annoyingly its full of all this awful microtransaction/loot box rubbish, but... I kinda really like it. Its a simple phone game, pretty much every KOF character ever is playable, loads of content, awesome music etc. So I'll see just how playable it is without spending money.

Finished Doom II today, final boss aside its a fantastic game. A different "feel" in level design to the original Doom, a larger enemy count per level which was a blast! And more ammo scattered around the levels which encouraged the use of Rockets and Plasma Rifle more because some of the new enemies definitely needed the heavier firepower (Mancubi, Pain Elementals, Revenants, Arch Viles etc.) and speaking of the enemies, they all felt unique and added just enough strategy to your encounters, Arch Viles especially. Plus you had previous big bosses appearing in levels to keep you on your toes. I definitely feel Doom and II are still some of the best FPS action the genre has, timeless for sure.

Also more time spent on EDF 4.1 which continues to impress. Like Doom II it adds in nice new enemy types to keep things interesting and have some genuinely insane enemy counts in levels to keep things hectic (like Doom II... I'm beginning to see a pattern!)

Yokosuka said:
Alone In The Dark (1992): The game that inspired Resident Evil. The mansion was absolutely stunning at the time. I could never beat the game.
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You mean, the OTHER game that inspired RE ;) I finally played Sweet Home on the Famicom recently, and you can really feel the Resident Evil in many ways - puzzles, basic setting etc. feels incredibly similar to what eventually went onto what Resident Evil became - it was developed by Capcom after all, and RE was actually originally going to be a remake of Sweet Home, but they went into a different direction instead (probably thanks to Alone in the Dark?). Definitely worth playing one day if your interested, its a really cool RPG/piece of Capcom history.
 
Played the first couple of levels on the Medievil remake on the PS4. Looks and plays nice. Nothing revolutionary but I see me really enjoying the game. I'll try and put more time into this tonight/this weekend when I have some proper time to get into the game.
 

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 — Streamed an all goals run last night on my Twitch channel. Was fun. Don’t know why I bother with the streaming but I like capturing play throughs none the less. THPS3 remains one of my favourite games of all time.

I've been dipping my toes in with streaming. I don't know why? Don't expect to have much of an audience. Flirted with hooking up the headset but then I just feel silly like I'm talking to myself...but I do like capturing playthroughs for whatever reason. I used to do it as well when I was a kid on VHS for some time.
 
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On a whim (gotta stop doing that) I grabbed the Power Rangers fighter for the Switch. It's really good, basically an easier Marvel Vs Capcom with a small range of Power Rangers. Very impressed with it, while it lacks characters, its cheap and is getting season passes to bolster the roster.
 
Shenmue II -- DONE! I am now in the cave and waiting until November 19th to get out and continue onwards. So damn good, every playthrough reconfirms my preference for II. Yes, Shenmue has its hometown charm, but I just feel like II does everything a little better.

Whether it be befriending Fang Mei (I love that she starts referring to you by your first name after you talk to her more and more; it's such a damn neat little attention to detail). Or the fighting system which I feel is so much more refined and superior. Or the entirety of Kowloon. Or actually giving you a proper reason to make money. Or the characters. Or the emphasis on the WUDE. I just feel like Shenmue II has so much more going for it. Even though I still love the first game. The second game just feels more confident as a whole about what it was.

Things I'm looking forward to in Shenmue III? Finding out more about Iwao. I feel like this game is going to explore a fair bit more of Iwao. It's definitely the thing I'm most excited for. I want to know more about Dad and what really happened between Dad and Lan Di's father.

The stage is now set for November 19th...I'm ready for the Saga to Continue.


Modern Warfare: Call of Duty -- Haven't dug into the campaign yet. Mostly been in Multiplayer. Will start digging into the campaign now that Shenmue II is out of the way.
 
I am not sure if I said it before, but God of War on the PS4. So far I like the combat and the art direction, and the only thing that keep me hook to the story is watch how they handled the Nordic and Greek mithology
 
Assassin's Creed Odyssey on PS4. Obviously, they tried to make a game similar to The Witcher 3, but quests aren't so interesting, the map is giant, but feels empty. Main story is good enough, but it doesn't feel like Assassin's Creed anymore.

shadowman16 said:
On a whim (gotta stop doing that) I grabbed the Power Rangers fighter for the Switch. It's really good, basically an easier Marvel Vs Capcom with a small range of Power Rangers. Very impressed with it, while it lacks characters, its cheap and is getting season passes to bolster the roster.
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I wanted to buy it too when it was available at Limited Run Games, but lack of characters is a reason why I didn't do that. It seems like not so many characters added to the game since release date or am i wrong?
 
Alexey said:
Assassin's Creed Odyssey on PS4. Obviously, they tried to make a game similar to The Witcher 3, but quests aren't so interesting, the map is giant, but feels empty. Main story is good enough, but it doesn't feel like Assassin's Creed anymore.


I wanted to buy it too when it was available at Limited Run Games, but lack of characters is a reason why I didn't do that. It seems like not so many characters added to the game since release date or am i wrong?
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There's about half a dozen been added so far and hopefully more on the way. I still want moree characters, but I'm satisfied with what's in the game now (especially as it plays so darn good!)
 
Tekken 7 -- I'm a god damn addict, but I just really like playing online (for whatever reason.) The thrill is in learning every match up.

Yakuza 3 -- Went back to Yakuza 3 for a bit now that I have both Shenmue and Shenmue II out of the way. Chapter 4....in no rush, taking my time with it. I still love the low key vibes of Okinawa...the closest this franchise actually got to replicating Shenmue (I feel)...some of the orphanage stuff always gave me a bit of a Shenmue vibe.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch) -- perfect material for morning commutes to work.
 
Started playing PC Building Simulator after not touching it for about six months. Forgot to apply thermal paste after re-affixing three CPU coolers and the customers chewed me out. Lesson learned.
 
ShenGCH said:
Started playing PC Building Simulator after not touching it for about six months. Forgot to apply thermal paste after re-affixing three CPU coolers and the customers chewed me out. Lesson learned.
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I dream about a crossover between PC Building Simulator and Biotope Simulator I both played this year:

Montaje refrigerado por aceite mineral.png
 
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