Multi Watcha playing?

[Andy]

Have you played the Ape Escape games before? So many good memories of those, particularly the first on PS1.

I think I'm done now with Avengers after getting a couple of the more obscure achievements. I think Starship Troopers Terran Command will be next. I've also just found out that I'm going to be away from home for four nights the week after next. I do actually prefer being at home, but it's a good excuse to take my Steam Deck with me. Might see if I can mop up the last few achievements I need in Hades.

The real question is whether you ever played Mass Effect in the end?

 

[Viper_Maniac]

I tend to jump around lately between LA Noire (trying to get the remaining achievements), EA Sports WRC and Snowrunner. Occasionally American Truck Simulator. Mostly PC. Don't really do consoles anymore.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

The real question is whether you ever played Mass Effect in the end?

To my shame, I did not.

 

[Quagmire]

To my shame, I did not.

 

[Fire Queen]

still trundling through the first metal gear solid game. currently at psycho mantis

the wife's kingdom hearts replaythrough has reached kingdom hearts iii. that there's a polarizing game but if you take it for what it is it's fun as hell. she just finished the pirates of the caribbean world which has a lot of ship combat clearly taking cues from black flag/odyssey. way better than the frozen world that is mostly just the movie frozen but sora donald and goofy are occasionally there!

been doing some replays of my own lately. we replayed portal on switch and that game holds up as much as you would expect it to (a lot). excited to get to the portal 2 replay! i also picked up tales of symphonia remastered on sale for my first playthrough of that game in nearly 20 years. love to hang out with robin from teen titans and miles tails prower.

what else? i've been enjoying f-zero 99 a lot lately. they just put out the first update in months to add some tracks that have never been playable outside of japan which is pretty cool, and there's an anniversary event going on. it's not as good as a new f-zero game would be, but hey. it's something!

i started playing metroid: zero mission for the first time lately, since it got added to NSO. thus far i think i prefer fusion but it's a really good remake.

 

[Smacktard]

what else? i've been enjoying f-zero 99 a lot lately. they just put out the first update in months to add some tracks that have never been playable outside of japan which is pretty cool, and there's an anniversary event going on. it's not as good as a new f-zero game would be, but hey. it's something!

I'm convinced a new F-Zero game will be a launch title for the new Nintendo console. I notice whenever I start hearing about a specific old game/series a LOT, it usually releases 2 or 3 years later. F-Zero was that even *before* 99 was released.

still trundling through the first metal gear solid game. currently at psycho mantis

How is it so far? Twin Snakes kinda blew and tainted MGS for me, but I jumped into MGSV recently and absolutely adored it. Considering starting from the beginning on the PS3 collection and continuing from there.

 

[Quagmire]

still trundling through the first metal gear solid game. currently at psycho mantis

Enjoy!

the wife's kingdom hearts replaythrough has reached kingdom hearts iii. that there's a polarizing game but if you take it for what it is it's fun as hell. she just finished the pirates of the caribbean world which has a lot of ship combat clearly taking cues from black flag/odyssey. way better than the frozen world that is mostly just the movie frozen but sora donald and goofy are occasionally there!

It was fun, but that whole series for me was such a disappointment, the first is one of my all time favorite and none after that were nearly as good and the story just went too crazy

been doing some replays of my own lately. we replayed portal on switch and that game holds up as much as you would expect it to (a lot). excited to get to the portal 2 replay!

Loved both but I think the first is better, 2 felt like it was too bloated

i also picked up tales of symphonia remastered on sale for my first playthrough of that game in nearly 20 years. love to hang out with robin from teen titans and miles tails prower.

I never liked Symphonia, couldnt get into it



I've been still hacking away at Kingdom Come Deliverance and am still loving it, will do a full post on it when ever I finish it, I know Im close to the end

Returned to Crusader Kings 3 and am finally liking it. Took a lot to finally make it click with me (after 300+ hrs into the original)

 

[Fire Queen]

How is it so far? Twin Snakes kinda blew and tainted MGS for me, but I jumped into MGSV recently and absolutely adored it. Considering starting from the beginning on the PS3 collection and continuing from there.

it was a bit hard to wrap my head around the control scheme at first, and i had to restart and lower the difficulty to ensure that playing it would be an actually fun experience, but i like it so far. i love that otacon's "japanese animes" line is a real thing.

I never liked Symphonia, couldnt get into it

i don't think i would have liked it were i not like 13-14 when i played it. it's sooooooo hokey lol

Returned to Crusader Kings 3 and am finally liking it. Took a lot to finally make it click with me

when that game clicks it clicks. my wife and i have lost so many hours to it we have to be legit careful with how we play it lol

 

[Quagmire]

when that game clicks it clicks. my wife and i have lost so many hours to it we have to be legit careful with how we play it lol

Yep, I play these games in spurts. CK2 and EU4 I have like 300 hours in each and that is nothing compared to some.

CK3 hadnt clicked with me until now, combination of DLC and Mods

 

[Spiner202]

I just bought the first Sly Cooper game. I didn't realize they were available on modern consoles, so I'm going to start that soon.

I'm about 2 hours in and am completely sold on this game. The gameplay is simple, and not overly challenging but has just enough to make you think. You can unlock upgrades very easily, most of which are reasonably useful but none of which seem essential to actually beating the game.

I really like the sidekick character, and Sly himself is good too. He reminds me of Max Payne in terms of the way he speaks and narrates.

I love that this version of the game has a rewind feature. It's so much easier to just rewind when you die instead of starting over. Granted, this is by far the easiest game I've ever played that has a rewind feature, because that's usually best used for SNES games, which are brutally hard.

The only minor complaints I have are in the audio mixing. Sly's voice is way quieter than his partner's, and the music is general is quite loud compared to both. Being such an old game, I couldn't find any options for messing around with the audio. Also, some dialogue has subtitles and other dialogue doesn't. Still, these are pretty minor complaints.

I'm expecting it to take about 10-12 hours to complete based on how far I am right now, which is also the perfect length.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

How long is Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!

howlongtobeat.com

You'll probably beat it faster than 10-12 hours, but that'll give you more time to play the other 3 games.

 

[Quagmire]

i don't think i would have liked it were i not like 13-14 when i played it. it's sooooooo hokey lol

I can't remember when I played it, would have been in my 20s after I had played Phantasia and Vesperia, both of which I loved. I think I got to the half way point and it also felt very similar to Final Fantasy X in terms of story, but I think I read it does diverge from the similarities. I also couldnt connect with the characters. Perhaps if I had played it when I was younger it would have hit different

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Lets gooooooooooo, Friday. The 5 hour demo was awesome!

 

[Andy]

View attachment 21515

Lets gooooooooooo, Friday. The 5 hour demo was awesome!

I barely keep up with games anymore but saw an ad for this and it was getting great reviews.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

It's basically Persona but as an actual RPG like with towns, castles, exploration. It's grounded into days that you can do activities or dungeon crawl like the Persona series, so it's awesome. It's ridiculously stylish like Persona 5 as well.

The demo got me past the prologue and now I'm into the meat of it.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Also her name is Hulkenberg and I can't get over it. I need this statuette when its released just for the name.

 

[dimmerwit]

I think the developers watch a bit of Formula 1!

 

[Spiner202]

I've been playing WWE 2K24 ever since I re-subbed to PS+. So far, I have beaten Showcase mode and played around a bit in MyFaction (the equivalent of Madden's Ultimate Team mode).

The game seems pretty similar to 2K23, although obviously the showcase mode is all-new. It appears that blood is back in the game? I don't remember that being the case last year, and truthfully, I'm not even sure how I made it happen this year.

MyFaction feels a little bit glitchy so far, but I actually think this mode is superior to Ultimate Team, even if it is also very grindy.

As far as annual iterations of video games go, WWE has to be one of the deepest. There are so many game modes that let you do so many different things. At some point, I'm going to move on to another game, but this could easily keep you happy for a full year if you're in one of those places in your life where you just want to play the same game all the time (AKA me, 10 years ago).

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Played 17 hours of Metaphor this weekend and am very impressed. It's like an old FF game with killer graphics since it's turn based but with a Persona flair. The calendar/time deadlines on side quests and story missions keeps the gameplay loop interesting. I didn't want to stop, but my kids had to eat meals or go to bed or something so I had to stop.

I also named the MC Lobster so that makes me laugh whenever things get dicey.

 

[shortkut]

my kids had to eat meals or go to bed or something so I had to stop.

Last I checked, you weren’t a single parent

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Last I checked, you weren’t a single parent

I would be if I didn't turn off the game and do what I'm supposed to!

 

[shortkut]

I would be if I didn't turn off the game and do what I'm supposed to!

 

[Smacktard]

I finally beat Judgement Silversword on OG hardware on the Easy difficulty. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in gaming.

"Easy" final boss:


I don't think I'll ever be able to beat on Normal unless I unlock starting each continue w/ 9 lives, and Hard mode is definitely out of the question.

 

[Nae'blis]

Damn. That looks punishing.

 

[Andy]

Completed the first Spyro and now started FF4. I’ve now completed 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 so 4 is the last single player I haven’t done until the most recent I believe.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Completed the first Spyro and now started FF4. I’ve now completed 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 so 4 is the last single player I haven’t done until the most recent I believe.

I've been slowly working my way through the first Spyro, both on the Switch and the PS1. I don't like the lack of a free camera in the PS1 version. I do appreciate they have an auto camera option so that I pretty much don't have to touch anything to keep the camera behind Spyro.

I do think the game is technically impressive (for a PS1 game) because of the open world feeling of the levels and no loading within those levels. Loading times between levels are MUCH faster on the PS1 when compared to the Switch version. I don't really understand why it's so slow on the Switch, it's not like the levels are all that big and the game not all that visually demanding.

 

[dimmerwit]

I do think the game is technically impressive (for a PS1 game) because of the open world feeling of the levels and no loading within those levels. Loading times between levels are MUCH faster on the PS1 when compared to the Switch version. I don't really understand why it's so slow on the Switch, it's not like the levels are all that big and the game not all that visually demanding.

They were bad on the PS4 and surprisingly not great on my PC either. It's the one thing I remember not liking about what is otherwise a great remake.

 

[Andy]

I've been slowly working my way through the first Spyro, both on the Switch and the PS1. I don't like the lack of a free camera in the PS1 version. I do appreciate they have an auto camera option so that I pretty much don't have to touch anything to keep the camera behind Spyro.

I do think the game is technically impressive (for a PS1 game) because of the open world feeling of the levels and no loading within those levels. Loading times between levels are MUCH faster on the PS1 when compared to the Switch version. I don't really understand why it's so slow on the Switch, it's not like the levels are all that big and the game not all that visually demanding.

I was playing it as part of the reignited trilogy on Xbox and didn’t really notice any issues. It’s a very simple game which helps but they basically just made it a lot sharper. The camera was largely good. Few times could have potentially done with it being a bit more zoomed out as if I charged beyond an enemy I just had to turn round and guess where they were while it caught up. But that was minimal.

 

[Smacktard]

The Switch trilogy has some pretty noticeable lag. At least, it did in the very first opening area, where it skips a bunch of frames in one particular section. I ended up returning the game because I figured if it was performing that poorly in the first area, where there aren't even any enemies, the rest of the game would be worse.

I want to get it for the PS4, still

 

[Quagmire]

Finished Kingdom Come Deliverance, highly recommended, see my post about it

Playing Cyber Punk 2077. Second time playing it, first played it a few months after launch, got the DLC and now that I have a PC that can run it, got some mods for it too, though it seems there arent a lot of game play mods for the updated game, but I guess thats because it was done do well?

 

[Oppenheimer]

I recently got my hands on Astro Bot. It's been a long time since I've called a game a must-play, but this is it. One might call it the bomb. Serious GOTY contender.

 

[Zell 17]

I've been playing UFO 50. I fuckin love this game. I second basically everything said in this glowing review:

UFO 50 is the best retro-gaming homage I’ve ever played

Collection of 50 new ’80s-era game concepts brims with originality, care, and joy.

arstechnica.com

The basic idea is that you've discovered an old NES cartridge made by devs (UFO Soft) who happen to have some knowledge of modern gaming design. Within this cartridge are 50 games they made between 1982 and 1989. Games that were made "later" are influenced by earlier games. There are some direct sequels. All of the games are limited to the specs of the NES. And they are 50 FULL games, one of them is an RPG that would probably take 60+ hours to get through.

And that's it. There's loads more easter eggs of course but read the review. I aimlessly picked a few titles at the start that I though sounded cool (Warptank!). But now I'm going from the beginning.

Also I'm tagging @VashTheStampede because it seems like it would be in his wheelhouse.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I've been playing UFO 50. I fuckin love this game. I second basically everything said in this glowing review:

UFO 50 is the best retro-gaming homage I’ve ever played

Collection of 50 new ’80s-era game concepts brims with originality, care, and joy.

arstechnica.com

The basic idea is that you've discovered an old NES cartridge made by devs (UFO Soft) who happen to have some knowledge of modern gaming design. Within this cartridge are 50 games they made between 1982 and 1989. Games that were made "later" are influenced by earlier games. There are some direct sequels. All of the games are limited to the specs of the NES. And they are 50 FULL games, one of them is an RPG that would probably take 60+ hours to get through.

And that's it. There's loads more easter eggs of course but read the review. I aimlessly picked a few titles at the start that I though sounded cool (Warptank!). But now I'm going from the beginning.

Also I'm tagging @VashTheStampede because it seems like it would be in his wheelhouse.

Ugh I still need to get this. I had been following it for months, you're absolutely right about it being my kind of shit.

I did NOT know they did a couple sequel games in there, that is brilliant!

Seems like it would be perfect on Deck too.

 

[Quagmire]

I've been playing UFO 50. I fuckin love this game. I second basically everything said in this glowing review:

UFO 50 is the best retro-gaming homage I’ve ever played

Collection of 50 new ’80s-era game concepts brims with originality, care, and joy.

arstechnica.com

The basic idea is that you've discovered an old NES cartridge made by devs (UFO Soft) who happen to have some knowledge of modern gaming design. Within this cartridge are 50 games they made between 1982 and 1989. Games that were made "later" are influenced by earlier games. There are some direct sequels. All of the games are limited to the specs of the NES. And they are 50 FULL games, one of them is an RPG that would probably take 60+ hours to get through.

And that's it. There's loads more easter eggs of course but read the review. I aimlessly picked a few titles at the start that I though sounded cool (Warptank!). But now I'm going from the beginning.

Also I'm tagging @VashTheStampede because it seems like it would be in his wheelhouse.

Looks pretty cool, wish they went more 16bit generation for graphics, but probably cheaper and easier to do 8 bit

 

[dimmerwit]

Trying CoD Blops 6 since it's on Game Pass, and I have to say the campaign is very good.

 

[Spiner202]

I started Dead Space a couple of days ago. I'm not a horror guy, but am enjoying the gameplay. I'm hoping that by the end of the game, I'm super powerful. I'm only on Chapter 3, but it's definitely one of those games where they don't throw a lot of health or ammo at you. I suspect that I'm supposed to learn the layout of the ship, because there are clearly instances where you are supposed to backtrack with a higher security clearance, but every part of the game looks the same to me.

Definitely great for a PS+ game!

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I started Dead Space a couple of days ago. I'm not a horror guy, but am enjoying the gameplay. I'm hoping that by the end of the game, I'm super powerful. I'm only on Chapter 3, but it's definitely one of those games where they don't throw a lot of health or ammo at you. I suspect that I'm supposed to learn the layout of the ship, because there are clearly instances where you are supposed to backtrack with a higher security clearance, but every part of the game looks the same to me.

Definitely great for a PS+ game!

original or remake?

I love the first two Dead Space games. Loads of fun. They're in my short list of favorite video games published by EA.

 

[Spiner202]

original or remake?

I love the first two Dead Space games. Loads of fun. They're in my short list of favorite video games published by EA.

I'm playing the remake.

 

[BlackAvatar400]

I'm still welling on PS2 right now trying to record uploads. Gotta a bit more with Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance, and then I'll be doing X Men Legends 2 Rise of Apocalypse, and after that: Marvel's Spider-Man 1&2, Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales, Last of Us Part 1, Marvel's Avengers, Batman Arkham Knight, Dying Light, and World War Z Aftermath (PS5)

 

[rktaker]

been on a bit of a Terraria kick lately got it last year, played it on and off not really knowing what I was doing but I finally took the time to learn what to do and have made more progress than I had before so that’s something

 

[Quagmire]

Deep into Cyberpunk 2077 , Im about 27hrs in, jumping between the main quest lines, having a blast. Played it a few months after launch. Amazing how much I remember once a mission or quest starts.

Gameplay is still a lot of fun, I like that clothes no longer have stats.

Im not sure I like the new perk system, I dont recall how it was in pre 2.0 update, but there are a lot of perks Im not a fan of and have to wait until I unlock the next tier in an attribute

 

[dimmerwit]

New toy.

 

[Andy]

I started Dead Space a couple of days ago. I'm not a horror guy, but am enjoying the gameplay. I'm hoping that by the end of the game, I'm super powerful. I'm only on Chapter 3, but it's definitely one of those games where they don't throw a lot of health or ammo at you. I suspect that I'm supposed to learn the layout of the ship, because there are clearly instances where you are supposed to backtrack with a higher security clearance, but every part of the game looks the same to me.

Definitely great for a PS+ game!

I’m also not a fan of horror games so have stayed away. How scary is it?

 

[Spiner202]

I’m also not a fan of horror games so have stayed away. How scary is it?

It's not that bad, although the first few chapters are scarier than the rest of the game. It feels like they try to scare you a few times, and then you realize that most of the enemies are the same, so it's not that bad.

 

[Benzine]

I'm playing The Bazaar, and loving it. https://playthebazaar.com/

 

[Fire Queen]

wife finished the khiii replay, i finished my tales of symphonia replay. it's funny how ridiculously similar symphonia is to final fantasy x. such good juicy early 2000s goodness. anyway

i've often spoken of my journey platinuming every single yakuza/like a dragon game to see a western release. until majima pirate game comes out in february, i only have one game remaining...Like a Dragon: Ishin!. this is the one that only recently saw a western release when it was remastered. set in 19th-century japan, featuring yakuza characters playing the roles of real-life historical figures, with kiryu filling in for Sakamoto Ryoma. i'm having a lot of fun so far! the new setting is a lot to get used to but i'm enjoying the departure from the norm. the four battle styles are fun, the squad system is neat, and the farming sidegame is easy to lose yourself in.

i also picked up Sonic X Shadow Generations. my god, man. i enjoyed the original Sonic Generations enough to 100% it and i'm having fun replaying that part of the game. but the Shadow Generations content? holy shit. i've been trying to drip feed it to myself and savor it because it's giving me everything i could have wanted and more. it's making me cautiously optimistic for when i pirate the movie in december. it truly is the year of shadow and we're just living in it.

and i haven't started them yet but there's a couple of games looming on the to-play list:

• The World Ends With You. i've heard nothing but good things about this one and even if i missed it when it was originally on DS i've heard good things about the remaster
• Umineko. i don't even know how i would sum this up to someone who hasn't heard of it. but it's a foundational visual novel and that's probably an understatement

 

[Andy]

I have a PS4 on the way. Very excited. Haven’t owned a Sony console since the PS2 so I have some catching up to do.

 

[Kat]

I have a PS4 on the way. Very excited. Haven’t owned a Sony console since the PS2 so I have some catching up to do.

I'm excited for you! What games are you getting first?

 

[Andy]

I'm excited for you! What games are you getting first?

The first part of the FF7 remake will definitely get me. Friend is lending me spiderman so will play that too.

Other than that? I’ll be looking for deals but open to recommendations. Uncharted and God of War are tempting.

 

[Kat]

The first part of the FF7 remake will definitely get me. Friend is lending me spiderman so will play that too.

Other than that? I’ll be looking for deals but open to recommendations. Uncharted and God of War are tempting.

All of those are great options which I'm sure you won't regret. Is there any particular genre you want recommendations for?