What are you currently playing? 4.0

[talonmalon333]

One of the things about RE5, there are a few parts that are legitimately suspenseful. Like, when you're slowly walking through that room full of hunters, or when you're walking through that pond and the music is building and you're like "Where the fluck is that crocodile?!!!". It's just a shame that RE5 didn't realize it was most effective in these moments.

[Foggle]

The boss fight at the end of 5-3 is pretty good. Nice and suspenseful (unless you're on a second playthrough with god weapons). The rest of the level is just terrible, though. That battle against something like 15 Lickers was absolutely painful.

Here's the scenario: I have a first aid spray. So does Sheva. These are our only healing items. I'm about to be in red, so I pull out my spray. IMMEDIATELY when I press the button to use it, Sheva (who is standing next to me), without warning, does the exact same thing, thereby making us waste an entire full healing item.

[talonmalon333]

The boss fight at the end of 5-3 is pretty good. Nice and suspenseful (unless you're on a second playthrough with god weapons). The rest of the level is just terrible, though. That battle against something like 15 Lickers was absolutely painful.

Here's the scenario: I have a first aid spray. So does Sheva. These are our only healing items. I'm about to be in red, so I pull out my spray. IMMEDIATELY when I press the button to use it, Sheva (who is standing next to me), without warning, does the exact same thing, thereby making us waste an entire full healing item.

Didn't have anyone to play it with? RE5 is borderline unplayable on single-player.

[Kiddington]

So now that I'm all done with Fire Red (my Pokedex is pretty much entirely complete, sans the Action Replay ones like Mew and Celebi that you can't get without a cheating device I do not currently own), my planned Emerald playthrough should begin any time now. Probably tomorrow, if I'm bored enough.

This time, I'm doing everything this game has to offer. Everything. I'm actually going to complete the Hoenn Dex for starters, which means catching Feebas, the Regi's, Latios (Latias I already have in another game, so I'll just import that over, since you can't catch both of them here anyway), and whatever other hard to find/catch Pokemon this game makes you deal with. That way I'll finally get one of the G/S/C starters, which is apparently the prize for doing all this work. I'll probably pick Cyndaquil, since Fire Pokemon are at such a premium in Gen. 3, but we'll see.

Also, I plan on actually exploring and participating in the Battle Frontier this time around. The first few times I played this game, I didn't really bother doing much with it; mostly just looked around and said "eh, another time" (usually I lose interest after I beat the Elite 4). This time though, I do want to win some of the prizes they have to offer, just to say I did. It should give this file a lot of replay value, given the fact that I haven't really explored what this area has to offer, so it'll be pretty much all new to me.

So yeah, there's my grand plan with Emerald. Hopefully sometime around July I'll be done with it, since I am imagining this will take an extremely long time to complete. 

[Foggle]

The boss fight at the end of 5-3 is pretty good. Nice and suspenseful (unless you're on a second playthrough with god weapons). The rest of the level is just terrible, though. That battle against something like 15 Lickers was absolutely painful.

Here's the scenario: I have a first aid spray. So does Sheva. These are our only healing items. I'm about to be in red, so I pull out my spray. IMMEDIATELY when I press the button to use it, Sheva (who is standing next to me), without warning, does the exact same thing, thereby making us waste an entire full healing item.

Didn't have anyone to play it with? RE5 is borderline unplayable on single-player.

Indeed it is. Unfortunately, playing online is even worse than single-player for me because I don't own a mic. I would do split-screen, but most of my friends are living in other cities/states now, and the ones who are here don't like this game and wouldn't actually want to play it with me. So my only options are single-player and communication-less co-op.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I ended up finishing Ratchet & Clank Going Commando for the second time, and I'll put my final impressions in the Platformer thread.

Oh my fucking god level 5-3.

Capcom Employee A: OH MAN I JUST HAD A GREAT IDEA FOR RESIDENT EVIL 5
Capcom Employee B: Really, what is it?
A: Okay, so... you're on a constantly spinning platform.
B: Yes?
A: And people are sniping at you.
B: Uh huh.
A: From, like, 500 yards away.
B: Go on.
A: And they stand behind cover so there's only a couple of pixels open for you to shoot.
B: Right.
A: And you have to kill all of them to move on with the level.
B: And you still can't move and shoot at the same time?
A: Yeah!
B: And you expect people to do this with a console controller and no aim assist?
A: Of course!
B: .....
A: .....
B: You're fucking brilliant! Put that shit in!
A: It's gonna' be GOTY!

Capcomtm

[Foggle]

Finished Resident Evil 5. Episode 6 was absolutely horrible and I hated every minute of it that wasn't a cutscene. Far too many cover-shooter segments in these levels. Also, the Excella boss fight was really boring and that shit with the dual JJs in 6-3 made me want to kill myself.

I have now beaten (almost) every main series RE game in a row! Hooray! Here are some brief summaries of how I feel about each:

Resident Evil (Original) - Like the original Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda, later games in the series have surpassed it; but also like the original SMB and LoZ, Resident Evil still holds up very well and will never be forgotten as the true classic that it is. 9/10

Resident Evil 2 - Perhaps the greatest game on the PS1, Resident Evil 2 proves that a video game can be cinematic without also being long-winded or what basically amounts to an interactive movie. With the best story in the series, an iconic setting rivaling that of the original, tons of replay value, and some truly excellent jump scares, this game is as close to perfect as you can get. 10/10

Resident Evil 3 - While it feels more like an expansion pack for RE 2 than a new game, Resident Evil 3 impresses with some pretty nifty gameplay mechanics (for the time), a couple of genius puzzles, and an antagonist that's still scary today. Unfortunately, the somewhat boring environments, uncreative boss fights, and lacking atmosphere keep this game from being as amazing as the first two installments. 8/10

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X - Excessive backtracking, laughable villains, and an unnecessarily long campaign keep this game from reaching its full potential. However, the steep learning curve makes it perfect for hardcore fans, and great level design in the first and final sections of the game make it a winner on at least some fronts. 7/10

Resident Evil (Remake) - One of the few video game remakes to actually improve upon its predecessor, Resident Evil takes a masterpiece and somehow manages to top it. More than just an amazing entry in its own series, this game ranks among the finest in the survival horror genre. 10/10

Resident Evil 0 - An acquired taste that eventually ends up delighting. Resident Evil 0 suffers from some of the most painful backtracking in video game history, rage-inducing enemies, and an utterly horrible storyline, but the excellent level design and wonderful progression ensure that RE 0 will grow on you, even if it takes multiple playthroughs for that to happen. 7/10

Resident Evil 4 - The game that changed the series and redefined the console TPS forever. Exceptional level design, tight shooting mechanics, charming dialogue, dense atmosphere, and amazing boss fights make Resident Evil 4 a joy to play through again and again. 10/10
Separate Ways - While it can feel pretty redundant due to most of the levels simply being recycled from the main game, what's actually new is very good. 7/10

Resident Evil 5 - This game has six episodes. The first two are good but overly familiar, sometimes feeling like a lazy cut-and-paste job from RE 4. The next two are awesome but marred slightly by the game being co-op only. The final two have almost no redeeming qualities. An out of place forced co-op system, no atmosphere whatsoever, cutscenes that are more exciting than actual gameplay, and a whopping ONE! puzzle make this game an utter failure as both a Resident Evil title and a third person shooter. Fear you can't forget... because it doesn't exist. 4/10
Lost In Nightmares - The reason to own Resident Evil 5. While it can easily be written off as nothing more than shameless fanservice, this chapter is absolutely dripping with creepy atmosphere and is probably the closest thing to a new survival horror Resident Evil fans will ever get. 8/10
Desperate Escape - Was this even made by the same team as RE 5? The level design is far, far better than anything in the main campaign, your AI partner never becomes an annoyance like Sheva often does, and the chapter itself is just tons of fun to play.  Feeling like a deleted scene from the island portion of Resident Evil 4 and featuring no shitty cover-shooting, Desperate Escape proves that the Resident Evil 5 formula could have worked had it been more competently handled. 8/10

Resident Evil: Revelations (this is an approximation based on what I've played of it - which is roughly 50%) - No matter what Capcom says, this is not a return to survival horror. The first two boss encounters are very scary and early levels do feature some classic-style level exploration and backtracking, but this is really just RE 4 on a portable system. It obviously lacks that special "Mikami touch," but it's still totally awesome. 8/10

Resident Evil: Gaiden - This game is complete shit. I turned it off after about 15 minutes in disgust. 0/10

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - Great rail shooter, bad Resident Evil game. 7/10

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles - Slightly less great rail shooter, excellent Resident Evil game. 8/10

[Spark Of Spirit]

How about Gun Survivor and Outbreak?

I'm still milling around and being wishy-washy with this series. The demo of Revelations was REALLY good, though.

[Foggle]

Survivor is terrible, I can't play Dead Aim since I don't have a PS2 light gun, and Outbreak is even less fun in single-player than vanilla RE 5.

If you liked the demo of Revelations, you will love the full game and RE 4. Guaranteed.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Okay, next opportunity I'll get the rail shooters and RE4. That free game I have at Microplay should make that easy enough.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, Because I liked RE4 so much I really want to play Revelations. Too bad its only on the 3DS, which I will probably never own until I graduate from college and get a real job.

Oh well, I guess the next best thing for me to do is to buy a GC for dirt cheap if I can find it and then hopefully get the RE games on the GC for dirt cheap if I can find those as well.

[Foggle]

Let me go into more detail about those last bits of RE 5.

5-3's boss fight is cool in concept: hide from Wesker so he can't kill you since there's almost no way to stop him on your first run. It's also quite excellent in co-op. But in SP, it's flat-out idiotic. Since Sheva doesn't know how to hide and will constantly try to run out and attack Nina Williams, the fight basically boils down to "stand in the corner and press circle every ten seconds so your AI partner won't stray too far from you." This goes on for seven minutes. Oh, and if you decide to quit here, you'll have to replay that fight next time you boot up the game. I learned the hard way that "Checkpoint" doesn't actually mean "Saving."

6-1 is a standard level with far too much cover-shooting. Yawn.

6-2 is just awful. It begins with a horribly lame QTE and ends with what is possibly the least exciting boss fight in the entire franchise. It also takes something like 10 minutes to beat.

6-3 has you fighting Wesker in two highly disappointing ways. His first form merely boils down to "turn the lights off and shoot him twice with the rocket launcher" and his second one sees him transform into a monster that looks like a combination of final form Mr. X and post-mutation Jack Krauser. This fight is extremely easy but requires a shitload of ammo, so it's basically just a battle of attrition. You'll win eventually without much trouble (unless you run out of bullets). The entire second half of the battle takes place inside a volcano, and yes, you do punch a boulder. Multiple times. It's not 90's cheesy-cool like Leon dodging those lasers in 4... it's just fucking stupid.

But before the final boss fight(s), you must endure yet another cover-shooting level. And this one really goes all out with its contempt for the player. Remember those dudes with the chain guns in 4? Well, you have to fight two of them at once, and they soak up a lot more damage in 5. Fun, right?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm currently playing House Of The Dead 2 & 3 Return on the Wii.

Man, HOTD 2 is a lot harder than I remember! The bosses especially can be really difficult, and you have little time to save citizens before they die which will lead you down a different path. It's still one of the best rail shooters out there, but man is it tough.

HOTD 3 is a bit lighter on the difficulty, even in the arcade I could usually get to the third stage without dying (and yes, I did beat it in the arcade) but being able to choose your own path and the easier way to save your partner than the prequel make it more fun to just blast through for fun. Also the bosses aren't anywhere near as tough.

It would have been nice to have a version of the original in this, but since Sega apparently lost the source code (sigh), I guess I'll have to deal. HOTD is easily one of the best light gun series.

[talonmalon333]

Great summaries, Foggle! I'll do my own!

Resident Evil - Still my favorite of the classics. There's definitely an art to making survival horror games, and a cost to continuing them as franchises. In this game, everything was still shrouded in mystery. I'll have to disagree with Foggle saying RE2 has the best story in the series. While that too has a good one, it's fairly linear and scripted, and much of the mystery has been lifted. RE1, on the other hand, is more open. You're dropped right into the middle of the action, and you must uncover the story on your own, through files and other means. It's these reasons, coupled with an amazing atmosphere, that makes RE1 my favorite. I actually think the Director's Cut (particularly with the Dual Shock soundtrack, which I'm one of the five people in the while world that prefer to the original music) is the best version, even more than the remake which I feel downgraded the atmosphere.
Rating: 10/10

Resident Evil 2 - Like I said, it's hard to keep up horror franchises. Secrets have been unveiled, and we have a better understanding of the monsters. But still, RE2 did it's best. There's more of a bleak atmosphere here. Like, it really feels like the city is dying, largely in thanks to the soundtrack (even the save room theme has a somewhat sad feeling to it). And while not as scary, RE2 made up for that with superior level design. There's more complexity to it. Not only that, but RE2 also improved with it's connecting scenarios... By the way, one thing I'd like to mention is that N64 RE2 is a miracle of game creation. Seriously, they took the content spread across two CDs, and condensed it down to a single cartridge. It's true that the game suffered for it; this is easily the worst version of RE2. But even still, they must've sold their souls to manage it.
Rating: 9/10

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - I'm pretty sure this was made by a different team than the last two... And it shows. RE3 brought some new ideas to the series, some hits (quick-turn), some misses (making ammo). But at it's core, it was lacking in comparison to RE1 and RE2. The level design was pretty forgettable, there weren't many scares, and the atmosphere was overall lacking (at least after the first half hour of the game). But it's still a great game on it's own. There are two parts of the game in particular that I love. One is Nemesis, who brings serious suspense to RE, and is just the type of villain you love to hate. The other is the ending. I won't spoil it for those who haven't played the game, but it's just wonderful. When I was younger, CV was my favorite ending in the series. But now I'd go with this one.
Rating: 8/10

Resident Evil Code: Veronica - The real RE3. I know you have issues with it, Foggle, but other than the character switch (which admittedly was flawed since weapons could be lost in the process), I'm fine with the game's presentation. Conservation is a big part of it, and the sections that are brutally hard always occur nearby a save point. I also think Alfred was a good twisted villain, who's voice fit him pretty well (especially how it changed). But putting all that aside, this game's just great in general. The atmosphere is great, the areas are great, soundtrack's great, and while not perfectly executed, I really liked the character switching. And as mentioned earlier, game has an awesome ending... at least the "Code: Veronica X" version for the PS2 and GC does. I never even played the original on the DC.
Rating: 9/10

Resident Evil 0 - I've always had a soft spot for this game, ever since I got it and played it many Christmas' ago. Billy Coen was a great addition to the cast with a great background. And contrary to what most people think, I really like Rebecca here, and I find her to be far more dynamic than the monotonous Jill (even though I still might prefer Jill overall). I think one of the main reasons I love this game is the atmosphere. From beginning to end, it's just perfect. And for a game that's based around cooperation, the game really makes you feel alone... But I have to admit, RE0 has always been a game that I wished I loved more than I really do. Cause with all that said, the game's pretty slow. A big part of this is the inventory system. You're constantly trading items between the two characters, dropping things, picking things up, and so on. The idea of being able to leave items is more convenient than the crate of old games. But had they given Rebecca and Billy eight inventory spaces each, it really could've improved the game in the long run without sacrificing difficulty. In addition, the story's just bad.
Rating: 8/10

Resident Evil 4 - I personally don't think RE was stale. But it would've definitely become that after RE0, so a gameplay reboot was a great idea. With that, and with Shini Mikami more involved than he's ever been since the original, they created a masterpiece with RE4. I loved the game the first time I played it back in 2005 or so, and I love it now. Like I said before, they ditched the claustrophobia and weakness from old games, but they more than made up for it by doubling on the atmosphere. RE4 has the best atmosphere in the series, hands down. I really can't describe it, you just have to experience it for yourself. The game also has an interesting narrative, which makes you actually curious of what will become of things. And although the control scheme is still the sluggish, tank controls from the classics, it was improved with the behind the shoulder viewpoint. Plus, this control scheme makes sense because RE4 is, despite it's changes, still a survival horror game, or at the very least, a horror adventure game.
Rating: 10/10

Resident Evil 5 - Capcom was left to make RE without Shinji Mikami... and they really didn't prove themselves. They just ditched the atmosphere and made RE5 a generic TPS with a control scheme that simply has no place in such a genre. Ironically, RE4 was pretty revolutionary on TPS', in that they were influenced by RE4... But that makes it all the more pathetic that RE5 just took the exact same system of RE4 and worked with it. I initially loved RE5, but that happens when you've anticipated a game for years and therefore have a pretty clouded opinion. RE5 is forgettable, uninspired, and not worth playing unless you have someone else to play with... But that doesn't make it all bad. Cause if you do have someone to play with, it's fun. And while the story is a hack job and crummy attempt to give the series closure, it's nice seeing the series main hero and villain resolve a conflict that was introduced in CV, if only because Wesker is so badass in this game. And as I mentioned somewhere before, RE5 has a few legitimately suspenseful moments.
Rating: 7/10

I played a few of the spin-offs, but I'd rank them below any of the main games. Let's hope Resident Evil 6 is good.

[gunswordfist]

Unless you just really feel the need to finish the first game for the sake of completion, you should probably just skip it and go to the 2nd one. I myself haven't played the 2nd game (though I here its a much better game, not that I care to get suckered into another AC game again), but the 1st game is one of the most horribly overrated pieces of shit to have been so successful this gen. I mean, it had some brilliant marketing behind it, so maybe that's why it sold well, but it really didn't deserve it. The game is atrociously repetitive in all of the worst ways, and the story is so laughably bad that it makes the writers of Resident Evil games look like freaking scholars. I did actually beat the game all the way through, and I really had to struggle to do so, as it was just so  damn tedious that I got bored after just 1 measly hour of playing. Sure the graphics were really good and it had large expansive environments, but I always felt like there was basically nothing to do in the entire game aside from the same lame-ass, boring tasks. The climbing mechanics were kind of cool but got old fast, the combat is some of the most shallow and boring that I have ever seen, and the assassinations (you know, the actual highlight of the game) basically just boil down to striking down your target in broad daylight for EVERYONE to see so a bunch of guards can chase you until you hide somewhere that's extremely easy to find yet the guards are designed to be dumb enough to not notice you.

When I think of a game about assassins, I think of getting creative with methods to take out a target, sneaking around at night and using various mechanics to perform feats that no normal person without intense training could do, and being able to successfully take out a target inconspicuously and leave long before you have a chance to be noticed. That would be a rewarding experience, and honestly its one of the few times I was sold on a concept of stealth, but this game didn't even take that approach and IMO was a complete waste of a great idea for a game.

Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time.

I'm at the end of Assassin's Creed right now. Things are kind of interesting now. I should be able to wrap this up soon and call it a day.

Unpopular opinion time: I don't mind games havin a bad first game in a series and then coming back with a good one(Mass Effect, AC, Uncharted, Marvel Ultimate Alliance).I say don't throw it out if you can make it work.