What Are You Currently Playing? 6.65: Neighbor of the Beast

[gunswordfist]

I've been playing more of Dust and I've only gotten a little farther in the first area due to neglect. Then I turned the game off when I realized I ripped myself off at the first merchant. Anyway, the game is kind of like a mix of Castlevania Symphony Of The Night and Devil May Cry with a much lighter look.

[gunswordfist]

I'm starting to get somewhere in Beyond Good & Evil.

[Kiddington]

Thanks to all the overtime I've been getting at work lately, I found some extra space in my budget to work in Triple Deluxe. A couple worlds in so far...........yeah, it's fun as heck. My only complaint at this point is pretty much the same as everyone else; most of the levels and bosses are very easy, but honestly who cares. I'm still having a blast with the new abilities, and the graphics are downright gorgeous.

Buy it. You'll thank me later.

[gunswordfist]

A few hours ago, I beat the Factory level on Beyond Good & Evil. I was liking the stealth at first but then it got on my nerves. The guards' filed of vision is way too big and you have no clue when they can actually see you at times. Also, the boss was hilariously easy. I guess I'll buy some stuff when I start again.

Also, I got my butt kicked on Spelunky again. Those worm levels are pretty hard.

[Kiddington]

Guys, seriously; buy Triple Deluxe. Just..........just buy it.

Most non-Smash/MK8 fun you'll have this year.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Remember when I said that I'd quit DMC3 after I cleared DMD mode? Well, I lied. I've been going back to the game to clear off the last 3 achievements which I still haven't gotten. But, that's the sign of a great game, isn't it? One that you keep coming back to no matter what because it's fun to replay.

Of the achievements remaining, I still have clear Heaven or Hell mode (which is ridiculously easy), clear Bloody Palace mode (which isn't THAT hard since my current record is around 5,800 floors, and I only died at that point on purpose because I just wanted to collect my money at that point), and S-rank every mission in the game (which could be somewhat difficult, since the requirements are pretty strict, even on easy mode).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I finally bought Bayonetta. This isn't the first time that I played it, but it's certainly the first proper playthrough that I'll get to do for it. I just love how robust the combat is. There's no shortage of ways to take down your foes. It really does kind of put Platinum's later hack n' slash effort, MGRR, to shame (even though that game is great in its own right). That said, I do find the over-done visual flare of the game a bit distracting at times (it makes it hard to tell what's going on in crucial situations). As far as combat in action games go, NG2 is still my personal favorite just from how simple yet fun it is (and it is nuanced, even if not as robust as DMC or Bayonetta), but Bayonetta easily takes my second place spot alongside Dante's combat from DMC4 (they are pretty much a tie for me).

I also picked up NG3: RE from the bargain bin for just $5....I'm probably going to regret giving it the time of day, but at this point it was cheap enough for me to pick it up and play it just for the sake of playing a Ninja Gaiden game. I absolutely hated the demo of both NG3 vanilla and this game, so I'm not expecting much. This will probably be like playing DMC2 all over again (well, OK, it's not as bad as that game, but it's still a turd).

[gunswordfist]

I got a bit farther in Dust. I shouldn't neglect the game so much though. I got used to the auto lockon, I think. And I recently (hell, I believe yesterday), got to being able to travel the world on go on quests.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm about half way through Day 2 of NG3: RE. You know what my biggest problem with the game so far is? The game is flat out less responsive and controls worse than the first 2 NG games. The first 2 games had near flawless and unrivaled controls in terms of both responsiveness and precision. How Team Ninja managed to fuck up such core mechanics that they had already mastered is beyond me, but somehow they did it, and the sad thing is that this was their second attempt at this game, which was meant to be an apology letter of sorts to the fans who hated NG3 vanilla, and they couldn't even fix the thing that mattered the most. That's just truly sad. It's not so terrible that it makes the game unplayable, but to a huge fan such as myself who has played these games on Master Ninja level difficulty, it is very noticeable and very hard to ignore.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm up to chapter 8 in Bayonetta. As usual, Platinum is great with combat, but horrendous when it comes to scripted platforming and QTE sequences. I've seriously died more times from those than to losing to enemies in combat (and I only ever used a single healing item so far).

Meanwhile I'm on Day 3 of NG3: RE, including going through the Ayane exclusive chapter. First off, how is it that she's perfectly responsive, but Ryu, the main fucking character of the franchise, is still off in this version of the game?

Putting that aside, the game just feels to monotonous. I'm so sick of fighting these same soldiers already. I love how the first 2 games had such a huge variety of distinct enemies that they threw at you. This game feels like it's just variations of the same 3-5 enemies.

[Rynnec]

I'm up to chapter 8 in Bayonetta. As usual, Platinum is great with combat, but horrendous when it comes to scripted platforming and QTE sequences. I've seriously died more times from those than to losing to enemies in combat (and I only ever used a single healing item so far).

I hear ya. The QTE's were the worst part of the game and are bullshit with how unfair they are. Fortunately the rest of the games difficulty is fair and hard in the good kind of way.

Meanwhile I'm on Day 3 of NG3: RE, including going through the Ayane exclusive chapter. First off, how is it that she's perfectly responsive, but Ryu, the main fucking character of the franchise, is still off in this version of the game?

Putting that aside, the game just feels to monotonous. I'm so sick of fighting these same soldiers already. I love how the first 2 games had such a huge variety of distinct enemies that they threw at you. This game feels like it's just variations of the same 3-5 enemies.

The difficulty is still bullshit too. I honestly don't see why everyone is saying RE "fixed" NG3, it's still the same terrible game, just ever so slightly more playable.

[gunswordfist]

I don't remember the QTEs being hard at all.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I don't remember the QTEs being hard at all.

They aren't hard. Just stupid. Missing one button input causes you to suffer instant death. It's really annoying in a hack n' slash game when you are doing good with the actual combat, but then have your score deducted because of a botched QTE sequence.

[gunswordfist]

You mean the platforming ones? I heard that if you do the transforms/summons/whatever-the-hell-they-are-called wrong, the monster eats you but I've never gotten any of those wrong. I just died from doing a QTE jump or two wrong a few times.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The difficulty is still bullshit too. I honestly don't see why everyone is saying RE "fixed" NG3, it's still the same terrible game, just ever so slightly more playable.

It didn't fix anything. It just took mechanics straight from the first 2 games and thoughtlessly spliced them into this game. Casual NG fans think that makes it a good NG game. Hardcore fans will tell you that it's just a mess, and that Ultimate Ninja is a test of endurance and luck more than skill.

Hayashi seems to think that people liked NG being more difficult just for the sake of difficulty. In reality, people liked how they felt when they overcame difficult situations by learning how to effectively use the game's mechanics against balanced enemies. This game's difficulty flat-out relies on cheap bull-shit enemies and projectile spam. Hayashi has no idea how to properly balance a game. I know that NG2 was rushed and had balance issues of its own, but Itagaki still showed more than competent design by giving you lots of moves with extended I-frames and very short recovery animations. He also ensured that the controls were insanely responsive. Somehow, Hayashi saw fit to undo all of that. He REALLY shouldn't be allowed to direct this series, anymore, if his track record with it is anything to go by.