Platformers

[gunswordfist]

I THINK I've only played a demo of one of them. I guess it was the first one. So I have no input here. Too many character switches does suck though

[Spark Of Spirit]

I always thought Sly 1's approach of intro level to hub, then 8 levels was the best way to go about it. 2 improved the "hub" tremendously by putting tons more to do, but there were few actual platforming "levels".

Easy way to do it, IMO:

-Intro level to city/area
-City with tons of stealth and platforming challenges all of which are optional
-Levels sprinkled throughout to set up the heist and are required for progression
-Heist
-Boss fight
-Next world

That way you get the best of both 1 and 2 without all the stuff no one wants.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Screens

Ignore the comments. NeoGAF always bitches unless it looks like Crysis.

[ToonFaithful]

Little Big Planet is a fun game and it kept me busy for about....three weeks. Great game, just not a game I can play for months and months. Same thing happened with LBP2, excited when I bought it, played all of single-player and multi-player, and I stop playing it. Sometimes I forget I had the game.

Seeing the news on Sly 4 makes me wish I kept my PS3. That would be the only title I'll have on the console....and maybe Twisted Metal....

[Spark Of Spirit]

Damn, I forgot how much dumb crap you have to do in Sly 1's last world. Instead of a hub you play through a bunch of minigames in a row with like two proper Sly segments in between. Then you have to face that annoying boss.

It's a good thing world 4 was so damn good, and that this is the last world otherwise I would have just moved on to 2.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Wow, Sly 1 is really easy to Platinum. I thankfully didn't have to go through the Master Thief Sprints, but I'm surprised they weren't tied to trophies.

Anyway, that aside, other than that last level gauntlet of minigames and a few non-Sly levels in the other world, Sly 1 remains a great game with some flaws. I can't wait to properly dive into 2 next.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

I checked out Rayman Origins based on your praise, the game looks amazing and fairly challenging too. Really tepted to get this one and Lost in Shadow (20 bucks at WalMart here) for my Wii soon.

Just a shame some people still believe 2D games aren't worth MSRP.

[Eddy]

I played the demo for Rayman Origins on the 360 and thought it was great, despite never really playing much Rayman in my gaming life. I may have to pick this up somewhere down the road.

[Spark Of Spirit]

So I'm playing Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

Wow, what a turnaround. You weren't lying, Foggle. I'm currently up to just after the whole Quark boss battle and everything is improved tenfold. The weapons feel tighter, the platforming is not separated from the action and is much improved and more involving, the humor is funny and not as awkward as the first game, and the levels are much more fun to run through. Too bad the controller I was using sucked so I had to replace it, but I liked pretty much everything a lot more than anything in the first game (which I stopped at the final boss because it just didn't feel worth it) and I'm hoping the pace keeps up.

Looks like I might need to find that copy of Going Commando sooner than I thought. 

[gunswordfist]

I want more games like that. Not just Ratchet and Clank, more 3D action platformers period.

[Spark Of Spirit]

"Another day; another death course."

Those 2D sidescroller levels are surprisingly fun, too. This game keeps surprising.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I remember playing a lot of Going Commando with an old friend of mine a few years ago back in high school. The game itself was a ton of fun from what I played, but the multiplayer was surprisingly addicting. I friend and I spent hours each day just playing that one game where you capture territories and try to defend them from each other, and that was just with 2 of us playing. I can't imagine how much more fun and chaotic it could become with 4 players.

[Foggle]

So I'm playing Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

Wow, what a turnaround. You weren't lying, Foggle.

I told you! And if you like UYA, you'll love GC. The one you're playing is probably the best game in the series, though I like GC slightly more because it's more platforming-oriented. UYA is absolutely packed with content, though. It has fun puzzle-based Clank levels and arcade-style space shooter missions along with the more standard 3D platforming and third-person shooting. Not to mention the hefty arena mode loaded with both platforming and fighting segments, the 2D stages, and some fairly addicting split-screen multiplayer.

You should also try Tools of Destruction and Crack In Time once you finish the PS2 games. They're not really as good, but still pretty cool overall. I'd avoid Deadlocked (it's 90% TPS), Quest For Booty (most of the game is extremely boring), and All 4 One (it's barely even a Ratchet game), though. The PSP titles aren't so hot, either, but they aren't Insomniac-made.

I remember playing a lot of Going Commando with an old friend of mine a few years ago back in high school. The game itself was a ton of fun from what I played, but the multiplayer was surprisingly addicting. I friend and I spent hours each day just playing that one game where you capture territories and try to defend them from each other, and that was just with 2 of us playing. I can't imagine how much more fun and chaotic it could become with 4 players.

Hell yeah it was! Only got to play 4-player mode a couple of times (I never owned the 4 controller port connecter thingy), but it was an absolute blast. I don't think Going Commando has multiplayer, though... only Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked have it, I think.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

You're right. I had the titles confused. I was indeed talking about Up Your Arsenal.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I got up to Aquatos before I decided to stop for today, I even went out of my way to beat all the challenges in the aren first. So far, so great. I'm really loving this one.

It is weird how much the Ratchet games improved so much, while the Jak games split opinion and the Sly games got worse.