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cloud-side-gaming · 3 years

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Cloud’s Chronic Chapter 18

I’m new to tumbrl, so I’ll start with my latest gaming blog. Which I wrote a few days ago and post on a gaming site. I’ll add old chapters here too. Then the new ones going forward. I do most my gaming on PS5 & PS4

Pretty late with this chapter. I spent pretty much a solid month playing and loving Returnal. I got to 97% of the way to platinuming the game and my game crashed. I had to turn console off to get it to do something. Then when it came back on the save file had corrupted. For some reason the cloud save was corrupted too. Maybe it overwrote. This was the most gutting and annoying save corruption I’ve had.

I managed to do a perfect run on my first run after the tutorial run. Biomes 1-3 and then 4-6 in one smooth run and completed the game again. Then it took weeks and weeks of replaying through the 2/3 biomes I needed all collectibles for to get the respective last trophies. I think the last one I needed was in the desert biome and was an ultra rare room that has one chance to spawn per run. I think it took 70 runs to unlock.

Then finally after that massive grind and pretty much earning the platinum twice over I got one of my favourite platinums in my collection. It’s a good job I liked the game so much.

After that I chilled out a bit and then got the beautiful Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. It’s truly gorgeous and one of my fave platform games I’ve played on PS along with Astros. I’ve played about half way through so far. I need to go back and finish it as I put it on hold to complete a milestone I was close to.

I decided to make FFVII Remake my 100th platinum as it’s a special milestone and FFVII is a special game to me. One I grew up playing as a school kid and the one that got me hooked on RPGs and JRPGs. Also one of the only games to make me emotional.

Firstly though as FFVII intermission has just come out. I decided to enjoy Yuffie’s DLC first. I loved the story and the fact that it was based in the same time frame as the main game. Parallel to the main story. Yuffie was really fun to play as in combat with a great ranged and close range mix. Can’t wait to play as her in Remake part 2. Another great addition was the mini game Fort Condor. A simple yet addictive strategy battle game. With different troops and board set ups. I really hope they bring that mini game to part 2 also.

The other real hard part was the pride and joy fight in the battle sim. Where you take on 4 summons back to back and then the ultimate weapon. The hardest fight is Bahamut who also calls a summon for a hand and hits you with a one hit kill move every few mins. Only reprieve or a mana barrier could save you. Somehow I passed that on my first attempt. Thanks to some luck and a recommended set up. At 40 mins long, I’m glad it didn’t take a lot of try’s. As a reward you get a necklace that lets you start with a limit break. That was super useful in the last few chapters. I popped a few easy plats to get to 99 after that. Then got the platinum and 100 milestone earlier today.

The last few days I started Hades. Omg what an amazing, beautiful hand drawn and addictive game. I can see why it got so many GOTY’s on the switch. I fell in love with it the first day I played it. After 14 attempts I finally made my first successful escape / run on my third day playing it. This will be my chill out game and one I play along with a few others if I can get off it. I really want to get this platinum and spend a lot of time with it. I bought the PS4 version with free PS5 upgrade. So once I have the 5 plat. I’ll go back to it sometime and earn the PS4 plat.

The game is a brilliant Rouge-like. You have 6 weapons you eventually earn. I favoured the bow at first and really enjoyed the range and safety it provided. As you go through the rooms you get given boons by the Greek Gods Zeus, Poseidon etc etc. That Biff your attack, special, cast (spell) and more. Each one is noticeably different and fun. Also you can get Duo boons that combine the power of two gods for very powerful effect. Like lightening on top of a water pushback.

The game is difficult but as you make your runs you get permanent upgrades to work on that make each run a little easier. Like extra health, extra lives etc etc. There is also a god mode. A 20% damage reduction that increases 2% every death to a cap of 80%. Now Ive completed my first run. I might start using god mode to make the grind a bit easier.

As you meet more characters and give them gifts they give you keepsakes. Another powerful bonus to help you along. Which you can level also. The character interacts and the way the game adds story slowly each run is a master stroke in rouge like story telling. This game really is a joy. I look forward to playing more and learning more.

As I’m writing this Ghosts of Tsushima Director’s Cut is minutes from release. I stopped playing it only a few hours in for last years GTTSC. So this is the perfect time to restart and get into one of last years best games in its ultimate form on PS5

Another great few weeks or months of gaming are ahead. Have a good one all.

#gaming #blog post #PS5 #PS4 #ffvii remake #Hades #ghost of tsushima #Returnal #Clouds Chronical #Gamer

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gojaimas · 5 years

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More Late Comment Replies

Hey people. I just watched Endgame, and since Thanos memes always remind me of my story because they kept coming up in the comments for some reason, I’ve decided to come back and reply to some more late comments. Here goes.

HorsemanOTA: “looks like you finished this earlier this year but i wish i would have come by it sooner, spent the past almost week binge reading this story and have loved every minute of it, i cant say im not disappointed that all three of them didn't end up in a poli-relationship, i was hoping it would have ended like that. The crutch thing i can understand but i feel like they had bonded way too much for it to end way, it hurt me that that was the out for her to be like i gotta squash it and let it be a pair instead of a trio. Got so invested in your version of Lucy lol. regardless i loved just about all of this fic so thank you for the read, hope this review reaches you well. Later Daze”

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I’m a little let down that I couldn’t have all three of them get together in the end, too. But I couldn’t just snap my fingers and make everything turn out alright in the end. I wanted to stay true to the story I was writing and it just didn’t fit for that to happen at that point.

J Master 87: “Holy shit. That was down right amazing. I absolutely loved this story, the interactions, the twists and turns. It was everything I could have asked for in a Ben 10 fic. Thank you for that”

You’re welcome! I only had a few real ‘twists’ I’d say, but I’m glad I managed to pull them off well enough for some people to enjoy.

Guest: “Lurking in the shadows huh? Batman, is that you? For being the world’s greatest detective you sure gave your identity away pretty easily”

CrimsonBolt1: “This is enjoyable so far. Reminds me of Little Moments in feel. Nice to see them finally starting to be open and honest with each other. I like your Lucy. Much better inclusion than a random OC.”

I didn’t want to make any OCs major characters in the story. Lucy ended up being a good fit for the role I needed. Also, for anyone who hasn’t seen, shadows59 just started a reboot of Little Moments, so go and check that out.

yuyuyre: “Why, this is my first ben10 fanfic and I'm glad. It's beautiful, truely. Thank you for writing this wonderful story.”

Thanks! There are lots more great Ben 10 fanfics out there if you’re interested, so I hope you find some others that you enjoy, too!

Hassan Elgarni1: “Nothing to do, so I re-read. Sigh. And shit, no more good fanfictions for ben10, plus the fandom seems like it's diying. What to do? We're lost without some drama in our life. No! I mean some dramatic stories to read about, and this one seems to always fit.”

Not to plug for it too much, but there’s that Little Moments reboot now...

Guest: “Can we get that Lucy ending or that afterstory as a Christmas present? We got a snow map in PubG, Fortnite season 7, MCU trailers with Avengers: Endgame, Blackout from CoD, GOTY awards, it’s such a shame RDR2 didn’t bag the prize but can’t really say God of War didn’t deserve it so an update would be the icing on the cake, unless you’re pre occupied with unwrapping presents. Also, can we have a Ben 10 battle royale mode too? Thanks”

Sorry I couldn’t get that Ben 10 battle royale out in time for Christmas. Also, I’m not working on a continuation for this story right now. I’m too busy trying to find time to work on my Legend of Zelda story.

Guest: “Me when gojaimas updates: Ayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayaya”

Guest: “According to the Bible we're all related, so we all share blood so it being forbade by Christianity makes no sense, also great story thanks for making my day less boring”

I don’t really get how I’m still getting comments about this one particular line in that chapter. I never said anything about what should or should not be forbade by Christianity. Lucy was simply trying to figure out Gwen’s reasons for being against incest, and she considered religious beliefs to be a possibility since, regardless of whether or not you think it makes sense, there are Christians out there who are against incest for religious reasons. Neither me, nor Lucy, nor Gwen said that should be the case. I hope that’s clear by now. Anyway, I’m glad I made your day less boring.

dippytrippy122: “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Simply put this was the best romance-based fanfic I have ever read that wasn't just a humorous jab at the genre. You did so with a pairing I disliked due to its incestuous nature and actually made me enjoy it greatly. You also made sure that the ending wasn't perfect and I respect you immensely for that. Thank you for this wonderful story. :)”

Thanks! It’s always great to hear from people who enjoyed the story despite not liking the pairing. I think that means I did an okay job with recognizing the weirdness of it and not shying away from that.

xSean: “THATS WHERE YOU END IT?! Can't deny I'm a little annoyed with that but this fic was still great over all. The character development and interactions were absolutely superb. Wish there was more clueless, fluffy interactions but I guess they gotta grow up and realise what is happening at some point. Again great fic over all, one of the best I have read in a long time. Only the 2nd Ben 10 fic I've read too!”

Thank you! I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it going for another year or two, but I had to let it end before I ruined it, haha. The clueless, fluffy interactions were always a lot of fun, though. I loved that part of their relationship.

Samian: “Read through it in 2 days and some how I'm sad about that, the pace of your story should have made me slow down and push the ending further away. This was exactly the kind of development in their characters that I was looking for with in the Bwen fics. Beautifully done, really good job. That being said though there were some downsides, over the course of the story you took what made ben 10 what it is out of the story, which was a bit sad in my eyes. I do have to admit that you made it work though and I wouldn't change any of it. The ending is a bit of a letdown in the sense that there is a strong sense of anticipation of where it would have gone too. But again you some how made it work. You really did an incredible job.”

Thank you. I’m sorry to everyone who read this story expecting more alien fighting action, but even from my minimalistic description, “A story about how Ben and Gwen's relationship evolves over the next four years following their summer trip,” I think I made it clear that that simply wasn’t what the story was about. I’m happy you managed to enjoy it anyway!

Slayer of The Abyss: “I really liked how you gave the characters depth and Sense of being real people, the only thing that bothers me is how the thought process of different senteint species could be almost exactly the same, which isnt really your fault. But anyway i am looking forawrd to any potential fic you may write in the future”

Yeah, not much I could’ve done about that. If Lucy was too alien, she wouldn’t really have acted the way she did in the episode she appeared in.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “This story is adorable and you're a wizard at writing to make this happen! The fluff I've read till now has been heartwarming, I demand more fluff for the fluff gods!”

I, too, worship the fluff gods.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “Oh Lucy, you're about as subtle as a brick. Which says something about Ben and Gwen I suppose...“

Ben and Gwen: *oblivious to their love* Lucy:

MosquitoesLoveMe: “I am not sure how I feel about this. The lead up, the talk, and the execution was perfect mind you, and Ben's reaction is to be expected from how he's been portrayed. Maybe it's because we've seen Gwen struggle with her feelings and come to terms with them but we haven't had quite as many chapters from Ben's perspective. But because of that it kind of felt off. I didn't expect both of them to have sorted this out at the same time, but it doesn't even seem like Ben entertained that thought, leading to a blank face when confronted. Somehow I didn't expect that, or rather I expected more than that. Either way considering I'm reading this months after it's been completed, I shall have faith that you'll tie it up well, after all I haven't been disappointed thus far!”

It’s been a while, but I think around this point in the story, I was doing a lot less from Ben’s POV because I wanted the reader to be unsure about how Ben would react as much as Gwen was. As for whether or not Ben has entertained the idea, I’ve shown in the past that every time anything even close to resembling the idea pops into his head, he finds some way to dismiss it and bury it deeper because to him, his cousin was completely off-limits. It took Gwen confronting him with the idea directly to finally get him to truly consider it.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “It was a wonderful journey, thanks for writing this story! It was a pretty realistic end to the story and finished on a hopeful note, that leaves me wishing there was a sequel that goes into how Ben and Gwen handle the trials of their relationship and the adults finding out. That also made me really wish for a chapter from the perspective of Ben and Gwen's parents. Keeping with the trend of maintaining a realistic tone, it's hard to believe they did not at least suspect something was up, especially Natalie. It makes me really curious as to what went on in their heads during the last few chapters. Either way, whether or not you get back to this at a future date, I'm happy you wrote this story and glad I got to read it, cheers mate!”

Natalie was definitely getting suspicious. If I ever do continue the story, I probably will go more into what their parents are thinking. But that’ll be on the backburner for now. Thank you so much for reading my story! I’m happy you enjoyed it!

Well, that wasn’t all the comments, but that’s all I have time for right now. I’ll get to the rest eventually. Thanks again for everything! My fans are truly a joy to hear from.

#Comments

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missdreawrites · 6 years

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Hello, friend! There's a steam sale going on and I was wondering if you had any games you would recommend?

Hello there, friend! I do! I’ll even break it down by game type, in case you’re looking for a specific genre. I play a lot of games, so it can get overwhelming when you suddenly get 50 emails from Steam like “YOU HAVE 1q8347348957 GAMES ON YOUR WISHLIST ON SALE”. Yes, thank you Steam, I know.

Oh boy this got long, okay putting the list under a cut. Yikes.

RPGS:Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is 33% off. I paid full price and I’m quite enjoying it, so I don’t regret it it at all, but Getting a 60$ game for 40$ is great.

Fallout 4, GOTY: Okay yes, I know, a lot of people didn’t like Fallout, and it has a lot of mixed reviews, and it’s fairshare of problems but I loved the game play and characters. It’s also 60% off, making it less than 25$.NieR:Automata: This game broke my heart. I dumped 90 hours into it and I still didn’t manage to complete it one hundred percent. It’s also 50% off, making it only 30$, and no, you don’t need to have played NieR:Gestalt first.Witcher 3 The Wild Hunt: This is 60% off, making it 20$ and considering that I had to beat it twice and sank over 250 hours into the game to complete it, it’s well worth it. The characters are amazing, the graphics are perfect, and the music is bonkers. The whole thing is so good.

Fallout New Vegas, Ultimate Edition: This one is also 50% off, dropping it down to under 10$, and honestly this is the Fallout game that made me fall in love with the franchise. Rise of the Tomb Raider: This is the second game in the series, and it’s 80% off, making this normally 60$ game only 12$. While it too suffered from some storytelling problems, I bought it for full price and played the hell out of it. Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice: This game. Oh man, this game. I’m really glad it’s on the list, because this game is so good. The music is so good, the graphics are amazing, and the story is heartwrenching. It blends Nordic mythos and paganism with deep lore storytelling, the fighting is realistic and it’s just... so good. [However, the main character is schizophrenic, and if that is at all triggering for you, I’d be remiss in not warning you. It is done accurately, however, as I have it on good authority from someone who played my copy and is schizophrenic. They highly recommend this game to everyone as well.) It’s 50% off, so it’s only 15$.

Final Fantasy XV: This game is deceptive, in that you think it’s one thing and then it breaks you. I’ll admit that I didn’t play this all the way through - I wanted to but I was really, really bad at the controller. I did however watch someone else play and for 50% off, it’s pretty worth it to try now that it’s on PC.DOOM: (This is the remake). Doom is 25% off, making it only 15$ and this game is SO MUCH FUN. The music is bad ass, the graphics are killer, and you get to shoot the hell out of demons and run around flying through the air. There is literally nothing not to like about this.Far Cry 4: This one is 75% off, making it only 7.49$, and oh my god, anon. This game. This game changed my life. I love this game, SO much. The characters are amazing, Naveen Andrews voices one of them and Pagan Min is pretty much my biggest fandom crush of all time. I will never not recommend this game.BioShock, the Collection: These are older games, I know but BioShock 1 is still the game I go to when I want shock and horror. The collection is 75% off, so it’s 15$ for all three games (1, 2, and Infinite). Definitely play them in order.

Pillars of Eternity, Definitive Edition: This one is a little more on the expensive side, but it is 25% off, making it 30$. This game is very much like Dragon Age: Origins in play style - you can tactically pause and give your squad orders and such. The game definitely wants you to follow the story though so if you wander off into the wilderness (as I did) you might probably definitely die from high leveled enemies.

Far Cry 3: Like Far Cry 4, this game changed my life. My other fandom crush is one of the villains of this one, and ho boy. Hoooo boy. It’s 66% off, so it’s less than 7$ and it’s just. I love this game so much. Far Cry 3 and 4 really nail it on the RPG level.

Puzzle Games:

Portal 1 & 2: These are both 80% off, so they’re 2$, and Portal 2 is like RPG meets puzzle meets feels. I absolutely recommend this game to everyone, because it’s so much fun, and it’s so quotable.

Firewatch: This one is 75% off, making it 5$, and it’s the story of a guy who needs to run away from his life for a while. He goes to a national park to live in a Firetower in order to watch out for fires (obviously, duh) and his only human contact is a single woman at HQ to talk to him on the walkie talkie. There’s a lot of running around and searching/puzzling out how to get places and putting clues together to solve a mystery. And your responses are chosen, so how you navigate this single-human relationship is up to you.

Bastion, Transistor, Pyre: These are three separate games all done by Supergiant, and I’m putting them together because I feel like you should play all three. Bastion is 75% off, and only 3.75$, and the music is amazing, while the play is fun and the story is wrenching. Transitior is also 75% off, and the music is even MORE amazing, and the story is heart breaking. Pyre is 60% off, the music has only improved, and the story is so moving and you really feel attached to these characters. Each game is very different though, however, the backgrounds of all three are all handpainted and Supergiant Games deserves about a million kudos for how much detail they put in.

Life is Strange: This game is as heartbreaking as some of the others I’ve put on here. You can get the complete season 1 (episodes 1-5) for 80% off, so all five episodes are 4$. This game brings up a lot of hard hitting themes and the whole fan base is pretty divided on the ending (and if you play, do let me know what you choose ;)) but I highly recommend it, just from a puzzle game point of view.

The Eyes of Ara: This game is point and click, and it’s 60% off, making it 6 bucks. This game makes me feel so stupid sometimes. There was a lot of me wandering about clicking randomly and hoping I found something. But like it’s spiritual predecessor (the Myst games), there’s a lot of storytelling through journals and notes and I love the aesthetic.

Myst: So of course I had to put this on here - all the Myst games are currently 40% off, and they’ve all been optimized to run on a Windows 10 system now. So no more needing a seriously ancient and defunct QuickTime version (1.3, wince wince wince) to run the animations. I grew up on these games, in fact, Myst Masterpiece Edition is the very first video game I ever played, when I was - here I go, dating myself - seven years old. Survival Games:

The Long Dark: Technically, this game still has episodes coming out. I think we’re at 3, now, and there’s like... 2 more still to come. However, you can play the episodes, and also play in the Sandbox version of the game. I started playing it like, three years ago and I managed to sink over 60 hours JUST playing the sandbox during Early Access. It’s 75% off, so it’s less than 8$.

Outlast: Yes, this is survival horror and it’s currently 80% off. It definitely can be a bit. Rough. But for 4 dollars, I’d give it a chance. (I’m not actually a huge fan of survival horror on it’s own because I don’t like the concept that the only thing you can do is turn and run and hide. Honestly, if I were put in a situation where something was going to attack me, I’d hit it back.) But Outlast was a lot of fun.

Hope this helps, anon! Enjoy your gaming!

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Tomas’ Top 10

December 26, 2019 10:00 AM EST

Astral Chain, Death Stranding, Super Mario Maker 2, and Erica were some of my favorite games from 2019, with plenty of others in the running.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

2019 has been a very odd year for games. While we didn’t have any heavy hitters like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, God of War, or Red Dead Redemption 2, everyone had their niche catered to, so I think DualShockers‘ personal GOTY lists will be quite varied this year. I have rounded up the 10 games that stood out to me the most in 2019, and they are all quite different from each other.

Of course, I did not have the time nor the patience to get through every single game that came out this year. That means some notable releases like Resident Evil 2, Gears 5, and DualShockers‘ Game of the Year Judgment did not make my list. Some great games were also just barely beat out, but I’d still recommend Ape Out, Baba is You, Samurai Shodown and Mortal Kombat 11 if you are looking for a good time. Without further ado, here are my 10 favorite games of 2019:

10. Erica

While this live-action interactive game is very short and definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it is an experience that has certainly stuck with me this year. Unlike most FMV heavy games, Erica doesn’t try to justify its use of live-action through its premise, it’s just how Flavourworks wanted to tell this story. That was an incredibly risky move, but the experience is held up by good writing and a great performance by Holly Earl.

I always love trying games that are innovative, weird, and unorthodox and Erica was able to check all of those boxes. For that reason, it’s still on my mind at the end of 2019 despite a couple of problems. If you’re done with Telling Lies and are looking for another intriguing FMV game, Erica should be on your radar. The game, not the person. That’d be quite creepy.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Erica.

9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

After Star Wars Battlefront 2 got struck down, EA’s Star Wars games have become even more powerful than you could possibly imagine. While the discourse surrounding Star Wars is hitting an apex of toxicity following the release of The Rise of Skywalker, fans should still remember that the franchise received two great additions this year: The Mandalorian and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Capping off a great year for Respawn Entertainment, this game finally provided the engaging single-player focused Star Wars experience that players have been yearning for ever since EA and Disney struck their Star Wars game deal all those years ago. In fact, the only reason this game isn’t higher on this list is that I haven’t beaten it yet, and I’m sure my love for it will only grow as I play it more.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

8. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

I initially slept on this game upon its October release, even though I enjoyed my time trying it at E3. When I recently got an Xbox One and Game Pass, I decided to download this game and have been hooked on it ever since. Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a great podcast game, and I have now played it while listening to everything from stand up comedy to podcasts to the last democratic debate. Still, even if I wasn’t listening to anything, the game remained enjoyable.

Just like the Trials series, half of the fun is in mastering the course, and a few unique objectives across the game’s sixteen tracks and four mountains add to its replayability. Lonely Mountains: Downhill can still be quite difficult and somewhat irritating at points when you just can’t get a part of the course down, but overall Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a soothing and relaxing game to play if you aren’t doing anything else or want to do something more than just listen to John Mulaney, Ben Hanson, or Andrew Yang.

7. Super Mario Maker 2

I’m not much of a creator, but I’ve had a ton of fun seeing what everyone’s made in Super Mario Maker 2. Whether I’m rating levels for StephenPlays’ Morning Mario, getting random grab bags of levels in multiplayer or endless mode, or just browsing for myself, I am always surprised by the masterpieces and monstrosities that people can come up with if you give them the right tools.

On top of all of that, the story mode provides a meaty and varied single-player 2D Mario experience, which is something that the series has needed for years. It is my favorite platformer of 2019, and the first of many indicators on this list that 2019 has been an amazing year for Nintendo Switch. Also, Super Mario Maker 2’s multiplayer is terrible, but I love it.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Super Mario Maker 2.

6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also made my top 10 list last year. In that article, I said it could make the list this year if the game added Geno. While they weren’t added to the game, we still got exciting characters like Joker, Hero, Terry Bogard, and most surprisingly Banjo.

Thanks to its hefty post-launch support and just being a damn good game in general, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of my most played Nintendo Switch games of the year and has managed to make my top 10 once again. Even though it didn’t work last time, I will say it again: now just add Geno, Sakurai, and we’ll talk about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate making it onto my 2020 GOTY list as well.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

5. Tetris 99

I was simply addicted to Tetris 99 earlier this year. I played it every day non-stop and had to actively draw myself away from playing it when I had other things to take care of. While battle royale and puzzle games don’t seem like they would mix, boy howdy they certainly do. While Fortnite remains the king and Apex Legends brought a lot of innovation to the genre, Tetris 99 proved that the mechanics of battle royale aren’t limited to just shooters.

Tetris was already great on its own–just look at last year’s Tetris Effect–and splicing battle royale mechanics in there only embellished the whole multiplayer experience. As the game has received some single-player and local multiplayer modes since launch, Arika and Nintendo’s game has cemented itself as one of the best Tetris titles of all time. It’s becoming a mobile game too. That’s always a good sign, right?

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Tetris 99.

4. Death Stranding

I really like Death Stranding, but for the opposite reasons of most people. Many despise the traversal mechanics and adore Kojima’s writing. I can barely stand many of Kojima’s cringey scenes, but love the melancholic but tense and engaging delivery mechanics. Death Stranding tends to struggle anytime other than when it does do that. While the writing can be bad and the shooting sucks, I was still totally engrossed by Death Stranding and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Its “Strand Genre” mechanics are also very innovative, showing how multiplayer elements can be combined with a single-player experience for maximum impact.

We’ll be seeing this game’s influence on the industry over the next couple of years, whether that be via making traversal interesting alongside the online mechanics. We need more games like Death Stranding. Still, I don’t think I can ever hear another line as terrible as “Like Mario and Princess Beach.”

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Death Stranding.

3. Dicey Dungeons

PLAY THIS GAME!!! Dicey Dungeons is dice-based in both a mechanical and literal sense, and is by far the most underrated title on this list. It turns standard roguelike and deck-building mechanics on their heads with its dice-based actions and differing playstyles between its six characters. I tend to be very lukewarm on deck-building or card games, and while games like Slay the Spire are fun, that still served as a roadblock for me.

Dicey Dungeons made deck-building interesting by turning genre conventions on their head in its various playstyles. It is a game that everyone should give a whirl, even if they don’t typically like roguelikes or deck-based games. Dicey Dungeons never stops being fun and is far and away the best indie game I played this year. I don’t have a joke for this one, but I think the jokes have been on a good roll thus far.

2. The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds was everything people wanted it to be and more. While studios like BioWare and Bethesda have seemed to abandon their roots in recent years, The Outer Worlds revels in its old-school RPG design. It isn’t the largest or most grandiose game out there, but it is certainly one of the most well-written and replayable RPGs in a long time.

I’d rather play a 30-hour RPG 4 times than a 120 hour RPG one time. The Outer Worlds seems to understand that mentality and delivered an experience that can be quite diverse depending on one’s character build and choices. It was just barely edged out of being my game of the year and is certainly a must-play for those who have ever remotely enjoyed an RPG at some point in their lives. On that positive note, Parvati is my daughter and if any of you hurt her, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of The Outer Worlds.

1. Astral Chain

I don’t really have any problems with Astral Chain and it’s super innovative, which is why I gave it a 10 earlier this year. Astral Chain features the tight and rewarding action PlatinumGames is known for but is quite accessible at the same time. Its detective case-solving portions feel like better versions of similar segments in the Batman: Arkham games. Astral Chain is one of the best-looking games on Nintendo Switch. And finally, the Legion is the most innovative thing to happen to action games since Bayonetta’s Witch Time. Creating a unique weapon-user relationship I’ve never seen in a game before, Astral Chain remains fun and manageable while still tasking players with controlling two things at once.

Just like many of the other games on this list, Astral Chain is a trailblazer within its genre and will push the industry forward. While 2019 didn’t have one or two truly groundbreaking games like previous years, games like Astral Chain show that the game industry is at an all-time high when it comes to creativity and quality. I don’t have a joke this time either, seriously.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Astral Chain.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 26, 2019 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-tomas-top-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-tomas-top-10

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smartstartblogging · 6 years

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Massive Retro Gaming Monthly Pick-Ups – September 2018

It’s that time again, to take a look at all of the things that I have managed to add to my retro gaming collection in the past month or so. Recently, these posts have been rather short because of budget constraints… But this time, thanks to some great deals, finding a new retro gaming shop (which you can read about here) and some very nice people, I have a lot of things to feature!

So, without further adieu, let’s all take a look at what retro gaming pieces were added to the 16-Bit Dad collection this month!

Grand Theft Auto London – PSX

We’ll start this month’s retro gaming pick-ups with an absolute classic for the original PlayStation; Grand Theft Auto London, the mission pack expansion for the original Grand Theft Auto game. I loved this game, or rather the expansion, as a child (even though I really shouldn’t have been playing it back then). The top-down, 2D version of the GTA games will always have a special place in my heart, but the London missions hold so much more.

This might be because of the Brit in me, which could also explain my love for The Getaway and its sequel. However, there was just something so much fun about the game that I had to get it as soon as I saw it in Mobile Game Exchange!

Music 2000 – PSX

Now, this is the first game we have from the great box of games that I was given by a colleague (they make up most of this list, to be honest). I have never played Music 2000 before, nor do I know anything about it, if I am to be honest. Apparently, it can allow you to create some great pieces of music using the original PlayStation… So maybe I could use it to make some new music and sound effects for my YouTube videos…

Honestly, I don’t know how much time I’ll actually put into Music 2000. However, I will do a review of it in the future, so I’ll need to play it for a while at least.

Athens 2004 – PS2

Another game from the big box of games, Athens 2004 is an Olympic Games official game. I, generally, don’t really like sports-related games as I find them repetitive and boring. However, I’ll be giving this one a try as I have huge respect for the Olympic Games and all of the athletes who take part in them.

I may even stream it, as it would be the very first time I have ever played the game, so it could be an entertaining stream. Especially since I would most like fail completely.

Final Fantasy XII Platinum – PS2

Funnily enough, I already have Final Fantasy XII for the PS2, but not the Platinum version. So when I found this in the box, I did chuckle a bit. I now have two copies of one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made (and yes, that is my real opinion). There’s not much more I can really say about it, other than the fact that Final Fantasy XII is a huge game that is very much a marmite game; you either love it or hate it.

Gran Turismo 4 – PS2

If you’ve watched my video on my PlayStation 2 collection (which is now out of date already), you’ll know that I have had Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec for a while and said that I was planning to get Gran Turismo 4 at some point. Well, now I don’t need to since I already have it, don’t I?

I never actually managed to play Gran Turismo 4 when I was younger, so I’m actually really happy to finally have it in the collection.

Ring of Red – PS2

For those who don’t know, I’m currently counting down my top 101 games on Twitter, using the hashtag #16BitDad101. On that list is a certain mecha-based tactical RPG (of sorts) known as Ring of Red. I adore this game, even though many people didn’t enjoy it because of the relatively bad translation from Japanese to English.

However, that really shouldn’t put you off trying Ring of Red, at the very least. It’s a really deep and tactical game that makes you think with every turn!

Soul Calibur 2 – PS2

I have some great memories of Soul Calibur 2, since my wife, her sister and myself used to play mini tournaments on the game years ago. It was so much fun, but unfortunately, the disc got badly damaged and no longer worked. As such, getting my hands on it again is a wonderful feeling!

Now I’m looking forward to playing some competitive matches with my wife once again.

Xenosaga Episode 2 – PS2

This one was another game that I bought in Derby. When I saw it sitting in a shop window, I just couldn’t resist. Xenosaga is a truly incredible series, but sadly, we only got Episode 2 in Europe. Much to my surprise, the discs in the one have no scratches on then at all, and it is complete in box. So that was a brilliant find, as far as I am concerned.

Every single thing about this game stuck with me since I first played it, because it is such a great J-RPG. Now I just need to get the NTSC version of the other games.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 – PS3

I’ve actually gone off Call of Duty for the most part, not really enjoying the more recent games (except for World War 2). However, I will admit that I have not played Modern Warfare 2 before, so I am looking forward to giving it a try.

Gran Turismo 5 – PS3

This really made me laugh when I saw it in the big box of games… After all, I had been planning to get Gran Turismo 4, but now I have both 4 and 5, which is awesome! Slowly but surely, I’m going to get my hands on the entire Gran Turismo series. However, there are other games that I want to get before focusing on that (most PS2 Survival Horror games).

God of War Ascension Special Edition – PS3

I’ve been a fan of God of War ever since the very first game on the PlayStation 2. The whole series is outstanding, so when I saw Ascension Special Edition (in a steel box) sitting in Mobile Game Exchange, I just had to get it! It even has a demo of The Last of Us included as well, which is awesome.

Resident Evil 5 – PS3

Now, I will admit, I don’t like Resident Evil 5 that much. Yes, I am in that camp. It isn’t a Survival Horror at all, as far as I am concerned… Instead, it is an action game with Resident Evil characters added to it. Nevertheless, it is pretty cool that I have it now. This is another series that I want to collect every game for, so this just helps me along the way.

Age of Mythology – PC

Now we get to a whole host of PC games, starting with my wife’s second favourite game of all time (Diablo 2 takes her number one spot). Age of Mythology is a really nice spin-off from the Age of Empires series that mixes a number of different cultures and their mythological creatures and beings. It is a really entertaining RTS that can really suck you in.

Arma: Armed Assault and Queen’s Gambit – PC

I’ve put these two games together because, honestly, there isn’t much I can say about them. This is because I haven’t actually played any of the Arma games, so I don’t know that much about them. I am looking forward to trying them out, though.

Battlefield 2 and Special Forces – PC

Thinking about it, in order to stop this post from being boringly long, I’m going to put expansion packs and sequels together. So, with that in mind, Battlefield 2 and its expansion were both in the big box of games. I loved Battlefield 1942 but missed out on Battlefield 2 at the time, so I’m looking forward to playing these ones.

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon – PC

I used to really enjoy the Broken Sword games on the PlayStation and PC (who can forget that damnable goat), but never got around to playing The Sleeping Dragon. I always wanted to, but kept forgetting about the game entirely. Shame on me. Now I don’t have an excuse anymore, so this will be played (and probably streamed) in relatively short time.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth – PC

If you like Survival Horror, or rather a Psychological Horror, then you really need to play Dark Corners of the Earth. It’s one of the best Cthulhu inspired games that I have ever seen and will really get under your skin. The scene in the hotel when you are being chased is insane!

Commandos 1, 2 and 3 – PC

Yet another game series that I sadly didn’t get to experience in my youth, Commandos always managed to evade me (which is fitting considering the title). Thanks to the big box of games, though, I now get to play all of them! It should be a lot of fun trying to get my head around each one.

Company of Heroes – PC

There was a time when I used to love the Real-Time Strategy genre. This was driven, of course, by the likes of Command and Conquer. However, when I first played Company of Heroes I was blown away by how much I enjoyed the game. Because of this, I’m really happy that I’ll get to play it all over again.

Dark Messiah: Of Might and Magic – PC

The Might and Magic games are such great fantasy games that are fun, enjoyable and exciting. Yet, for some reason, I never managed to play Dark Messiah. I’m really looking forward to trying this one out since it has been on my backlog list for so long!

Dawn of War GOTY Edition, Dark Crusade and Winter Assault – PC

Here’s a bit of an admittance; I used to collect and play Warhammer 40,000 religiously. I spent so much money on the figures and even made my own battlefields out of polystyrene. Then, Dawn of War came along and I could enjoy Warhammer 40K digitally, instead. Dawn of War is such a great game, and now I have the expansions as well.

Deus Ex and Invisible War – PC

So what do I really need to say about Deus Ex? I mean, it is one of the best games ever released for the PC. It is just phenomenal (maybe even more than A.J Styles). Sadly, the second game isn’t as good but it is still entertaining.

Dreamfall Limited Edition – PC

I’ve heard so many great things about Dreamfall, but I never actually played it. The people I know who have played it only ever sing the game’s praises, so I’ve wanted to try it for ages. Now, I have the limited edition version with the art book as well. So yeah, that is really cool!

Evil Genius – PC

This is a game from the big box of games that I have actually never heard of! After a little bit of research, I have found out that it is a Real-Time Strategy game mixed with a simulator type experience where you have to and achieve world domination. It has been compared to the original Dungeon Keeper games, which I really enjoyed, so it should be a fun game to try.

F.E.A.R – PC

As a young adult, I never really thought that First-Person Shooters could be mixed successfully with the Horror genre. Part of this may have come from the utter failure that was Resident Evil: Survivor. Then F.E.A.R came along and changed my mind entirely. The use of Japanese Horror tropes actually worked really well and helped to turn F.E.A.R into a multi-game franchise.

Fable: The Last Chapter – PC

Despite all of the bad press that the Fable games get these days, because of the over-hyped promises made during development, they are actually very good games overall. However, I never did play The Last Chapter because I had moved onto other games. So I’ll now be able to see how the story plays out first hand.

Fallout 3 – PC

Fallout 3 is probably my second favourite in the Fallout series, beaten only by Fallout 2. I already have it on the PS3, but now that I have it on the PC, I can enjoy all of the crazy mods that available out there. It’ll be interesting to finally have a look into the mods and see what kind of game I end up with.

Gangsters 2 – PC

One of my all-time favourite movies is Goodfellas and I just generally enjoy Mafia movies (and games). So when I saw Gangsters 2 in the big box of games, I was very intrigued as I had not played it before, as is the case with quite a few of the games in that box. Visually, it looks like it is an isometric game similar to the older Fallout games or Syndicate.

Grim Fandango – PC

One thing I can definitely say is that I really enjoy games that are either experimental, downright weird, or both. Grim Fandango definitely fits into the “both” category. It was very much an underrated game at release but has since become very popular as people started to see the genius in the game. So I am really happy to manage to get my hands on it!

Haegemonia: Legions of Iron – PC

Haegemonia is a Real-Time Strategy game for the PC that I had never heard of before. It is apparently available on Steam, but there was a physical copy of it in the big box of games. From my quick and limited research, it seems like the game features a war between Earth and colonies on Mars. This is a big draw from me as that is also the most common plot basis for the Gundam anime, which I absolutely love.

Half-Life 2 – PC

This is another game that really needs no introduction. Every game out there knows what Half-Life 2 is, and the fact that we are probably never getting a Half-Life 3. I do own the game on Steam already (naturally), but now I have a physical copy of it. This is great news for me, personally, as I prefer having physical media over digital copies of games.

Hammer & Sickle – PC

Interestingly, Hammer & Sickle is a tactical role-playing game, which if you have read my blog for a while, you would know is one of my favourite genres of video games. You take the role of a Soviet commando during the Cold War, with a plot that is open-ended and changes depending on your decisions and choices.

Hidden & Dangerous – PC

I originally tried to play Hidden & Dangerous back on the original PlayStation when I was younger, but I was terrible at it. In fact, I think it may have been the first game that I ever rage quit. So now I have a chance to redeem myself and use my gaming experience to finally be able to play through the game.

Medieval Total War 2 – PC

You may have noticed that there are a lot of Real-Time Strategy games in this month’s pick-ups. The big box of games given to me by my colleague and friend was full of them. It seems as though he certainly enjoyed them a lot. The Total War series as a whole is a brilliant example of the genre, and the Medieval games within the series suit me perfectly. So I am very excited to play this one.

Rise of Nations – PC

To finish off this list, we have one more RTS game; Rise of Nations. I actually own this digitally already, which is probably a good thing as this came in the big box of games without the disc. So I have the case and manual in physical form, but the game is digital. One day I’ll buy the disc itself from somewhere, but honestly, it is pretty low on the priority list.

And That’s All Folks

That was, by far, the biggest monthly pick-ups post so far. In fact, it’ll probably stay that way for a very long time. But there are some true gems in that list, and overall, I’m really pleased with all of the games added to the collection this month.

What have you managed to get your hands on this month? Let me know in the comments below!

from More Design Curation https://www.16bitdad.com/massive-retro-gaming-monthly-pick-ups-september-2018/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=massive-retro-gaming-monthly-pick-ups-september-2018

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