What are you currently playing? 4.0

[Spark Of Spirit]

I finally beat Sly 2. The game really is WAY too long. 8 episodes that seem to take at least two hours a piece is not really a step up from the first game's fast paced length and replayability. Too many repetitive missions, some episodes have a disappointing lack of platforming, and the game is extremely easy on top of it.

All that said, it was decent. My issues are really that they didn't fix anything from the original and somehow kept the weaker parts from the first game (too many minigames and non-stealth platforming) and the boss fights were weaker as a whole compared to the first game's fights. Yes, Mz Ruby was a terrible boss fight, but so were pretty much all the boss battles in Sly 2 besides Dimitri and Jean Bison.

I platinum'd the first two games, but before I start the third one I'll probably finish off Tools Of Destruction first. I need a break from the Sly games, since the second one really winded me.

[Kiddington]

Welp, I'm up to Noki Bay on Sunshine now. This is probably the farthest I've ever made it in this game; I can't really remember where I was in my last file, but this level doesn't seem all that familiar, so I'm thinking this is new ground for me.

God, though... this game is soooooooooo boring. RSW, I really wish I knew what you liked about this experience, because I just cannot get into it at all. I feel like I'm playing it because I have to, and no video game should feel like that, much less a Mario game of all things.

...except the secret levels. Those are still, and will forever remain, cool. Some fine platforming here; just think, if the rest of the game was this good...

[Foggle]

I finally beat Sly 2. The game really is WAY too long. 8 episodes that seem to take at least two hours a piece is not really a step up from the first game's fast paced length and replayability. Too many repetitive missions, some episodes have a disappointing lack of platforming, and the game is extremely easy on top of it.

All that said, it was decent. My issues are really that they didn't fix anything from the original and somehow kept the weaker parts from the first game (too many minigames and non-stealth platforming) and the boss fights were weaker as a whole compared to the first game's fights. Yes, Mz Ruby was a terrible boss fight, but so were pretty much all the boss battles in Sly 2 besides Dimitri and Jean Bison.

I platinum'd the first two games, but before I start the third one I'll probably finish off Tools Of Destruction first. I need a break from the Sly games, since the second one really winded me.

I just don't think Sly is a very good series in general. The core gameplay is undeniably fantastic, but Sucker Punch completely forgets about it after the second world EVERY FREAKIN' TIME!

I have high hopes for the new one, though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I finally beat Sly 2. The game really is WAY too long. 8 episodes that seem to take at least two hours a piece is not really a step up from the first game's fast paced length and replayability. Too many repetitive missions, some episodes have a disappointing lack of platforming, and the game is extremely easy on top of it.

All that said, it was decent. My issues are really that they didn't fix anything from the original and somehow kept the weaker parts from the first game (too many minigames and non-stealth platforming) and the boss fights were weaker as a whole compared to the first game's fights. Yes, Mz Ruby was a terrible boss fight, but so were pretty much all the boss battles in Sly 2 besides Dimitri and Jean Bison.

I platinum'd the first two games, but before I start the third one I'll probably finish off Tools Of Destruction first. I need a break from the Sly games, since the second one really winded me.

I just don't think Sly is a very good series in general. The core gameplay is undeniably fantastic, but Sucker Punch completely forgets about it after the second world EVERY FREAKIN' TIME!

I have high hopes for the new one, though.

The thing is, it has so much potential.

The first game is too short with only 5 episodes with 8 levels a piece except for the fifth which is a long gauntlet of annoying minigames. They could have cut it down to 5 levels an episode all Sly gameplay and the game would have been perfect. The first two worlds are great in the Sly levels, world 3 has like only 3 proper Sly levels (wha?) and the fourth is a return to form (I think there's only two minigames) while the last is a hot mess of minigames with only like 2 proper Sly parts.

The second tries something new, making it more about adventuring. There are some good hubs (I think most of the hubs are really good), but every episode has you doing the same freaking things over and over again... for like 2 hours. At least they made Murray actually able to fight now, but I'd still rather play as Sly. And most of the bosses are bad.

From what I heard about the new one (and seen), there's a hub world like 2 with missions, but apparently it has sort of self-contained platforming levels peaking out from it. Which I think is a good balance of both games. As long as A) There is a lot of platforming, and B) The missions aren't the same things (IE: mandatory, they should be optional- the level parts should be mandatory) repeatedly, then they could have finally got it.

[Nel_Annette]

Lollipop Chainsaw. The humor is pretty funny, admittedly, but the levels are waaaay too long. And geez, the bad guys really like calling this girl a slut and a bitch. I swear like a sailor, but I've never heard this much foul language in a game. haha

Also, I hate QTE in any video game, this one included. Combat's kind of clunky, and I find myself just plain button-mashing because I can't tell what the hell is going on half the time.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I finally got back to playing Half-Life and Sonic CD. I'll talk more about Sonic CD later on in the Sonic thread, but right now I'm on chapter 8 of Half-Life, "On a Rail."

I have to say, while I really like the game in general, so far, I do hate the labyrinth type levels, and this one is no exception. I suck at navigating these tracks and while I do like how this level seems to try and be more like a call-back to classic FPS games like DOOM (with how there are lots of tunnels and passageways to explore, many of which are even optional, I believe), I kind of find it a pain to have to use the monorail as your main source of travel as it just feels like a nuisance to have to shoot switches and get on and off the thing each time you want to move to the next location. I guess I'm just being nit-picky here, but this level feels a bit too slow-paced compared to the rest of the game so far, for my liking.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

I've been playing Valkyria Duel with some help and instructions from Alicia's Bakery blog. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm supposed to progress, but the TCG aspect isn't as intimidating as I thought it would be. It's more like Farmville meets Advance Wars. So to sum it up, its typical low-budget browserware but I'm still having fun because of the team building aspect.

Kinda wish I could remove Aika from my frontline and add Cosette or Reila for that extra boost though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I still can't believe what happened to this series.

So much wasted potential.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, I finally beat the rail segment. That was pretty long, but now I'm onto the water level. This one seems like it'll be a more puzzle-based segment of the game.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I finished the last chapter of Rhythm Thief at around 7 hours total. I still have some exploring and unlocking to do, but for a music game this is quite the meaty experience. So far this is probably my favorite original experience on the 3DS so far next to SM3DL and possibly Shadow Wars.

[gunswordfist]

A few days ago I was playing Ninja Gaiden on the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for SNES (on my brother's pc). Didn't get farther than I was the first time I played the game (this is my second and my first was a few years ago.) I got up to the boss that makes you start the sublevel over if you get knocked off the cliff (and I think if you die too) I either beat him the first time I played that part or forgot about that. Either way, I got to enjoy the game more than ever. One of those games that forces you to get better over time and it ends up almost being instincct how you get good enough to past some parts. I also love how most enemy are treated as one hit obstacle so platforming can be the real focus.

I also played Ninja Gaiden 2 before that. EK was right, the clone powerup is great.

And I played some more of Shadow Of The Ninja. NES ninja games rock.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I was playing some more Half-Life today. I made it all the way up to Residue Processing. Man, I hate parts like this in games where you end up losing all of your stuff and end up having to regain all of your items from scratch. I'm sure it won't take too long to get everything back again, but you just get so used to having weapons in a game like this that you almost feel naked (in a sense) without them. I'm assuming that this level will of course be light on enemies and much heavier on platforming since there isn't really anything that you can do against your opposition.

The level Apprehension itself was surprisingly fun. The water segments were pretty brief and the level was more about puzzle solving and strategy, which was a nice break from all of the action. In particular I like how I finally came up with a use for those trip-mines against those assassin type enemies that were way too fast to shoot at without taking a ton of damage yourself (that, and they seemed to be bullet sponges since it took a lot of hits to take them down). It was all the more satisfying when I exploited them by setting up the mines in my path and getting them to follow me through them.

I also played Ninja Gaiden 2 before that. EK was right, the clone powerup is great.

Yeah, its one of my favorite video game power-ups ever. I was so disappointed when Ninja Gaiden III on the NES removed that feature. There was absolutely no reason that it needed to go.

[Foggle]

Do yourself a favor and stop playing once you beat Lambda Core. The Xen portions completely ruin what was easily my second favorite FPS of all time up until that point.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Eh, Well I'll keep your warning in mind, but I can't not play the rest of the game, even if it is bad. Its a thing I have, but I can't stand not having a game finished unless I hated the game to begin with (but I have to REALLY hate the game in order for me to stop playing it without completing it). In that regard, I even went as far as to finish Assassin's Creed despite how boring the whole experience was. With Half-Life, I figure I'll just stomach playing through Xen one time and then just not bother returning to it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Now I'm on Questionable Ethics. Residue Processing was actually surprisingly fun since in this level most of the platforming worked quite well and the whole level design was very creative with how you were ducking under rotor blades or jumping from one conveyor belt to another while avoiding various obstacles such as large metal crushing cylinders, fire, and toxic waste. It was also perfectly paced and didn't last too long so as to overstay its welcome. Now I've gotten back a few weapons and the game is getting more action-oriented again, but at this point I'm at that critical stage where I have to conserve ammo since for right now I'm just getting my weapons back and ammo isn't as plentiful to find as it used to be.