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ugvm Podcast Episode 14

Posted on 14/09/2018 Written by deKay Leave a Comment

Just in time to finish recording immediately before the Nintendo Direct so we couldn’t cover it, here’s Episode 14. Like the secret of comedy, it’s all about timing. Note: there may be no comedy.

In this episode, deKay finds some sailors, Choobs is waiting for a leopard, Luffer is suffering from animal magnetism, and Kendrick talks a lot about some game nobody else has heard of or cares about.

Despite missing the Direct, there’s some predictions and early announcement chat, we mention the Game Maker’s Toolkit Jam, news about the Neo Geo Mini and reimagined Atari VCS, Persona 3 and 5 spinoffs, and all of these games:

Judge Eyes/Project Judge
Diablo III
Civilisation VI
Atelier Arland
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
Shenmue
No Man’s Sky
Hollow Knight
Two Point Hospital
Turing Test
Golf Story
Disc Drivin’ 2
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Divinity: Original Sin II

And wouldn’t you know, some listener questions too. Lovely.

(Direct link here)

Links to things we mentioned:

Game Jam (and the other games from the same jam)

Encased

GameSX

Skies of Arcadia: a difficult start

Posted on 13/09/2018 Written by Xexyz

I bought Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast (for £5 when HMV was clearing its stock). I bought Skies of Arcadia Legends for the Gamecube (for about the same when Game was clearing its stock). I have never played either.

But now, with the release of ReDream, a clean and simple Dreamcast emulator, and a few spare hours with my laptop in a Taiwan hotel, I have at least started it. There are a few graphical effects on the screen which wouldn't be there if I were playing on my Dreamcast, but at the same time I wouldn't have such a clean picture ... and in fact I wouldn't be playing it at all.

The game isn't exactly the quickest to start, with cutscene after cutscene introducing the cast and situation. The characters are well designed, if not immediately likeable, and there's a good world that feels ready to be explored.

But when the game starts properly, it's just all a bit slow. You have to traverse long distances (across admittedly beautiful scenery) to find the next checkpoint, and it feels very linear and scripted. I'm sure that the game will eventually open out, but after an hour I had only just landed the ship, after a few easy battles, and had managed to get stuck in a cupboard.

This is a problem I have with most JRPGs, to be fair, and as I get older and I have less free time it becomes ever more noticeable. While this is a game I'd like to play more of, I suspect that realistically I can expect to forget about it now and have to replay the first part again in the future.

Skies of Arcadia: a difficult start

Posted on 13/09/2018 Written by Xexyz

But now, with the release of ReDream, a clean and simple Dreamcast emulator, and a few spare hours with my laptop in a Taiwan hotel, I have at least started it. There are a few graphical effects on the screen which wouldn’t be there if I were playing on my Dreamcast, but at the same time I wouldn’t have such a clean picture … and in fact I wouldn’t be playing it at all.

The game isn’t exactly the quickest to start, with cutscene after cutscene introducing the cast and situation. The characters are well designed, if not immediately likeable, and there’s a good world that feels ready to be explored.

But when the game starts properly, it’s just all a bit slow. You have to traverse long distances (across admittedly beautiful scenery) to find the next checkpoint, and it feels very linear and scripted. I’m sure that the game will eventually open out, but after an hour I had only just landed the ship, after a few easy battles, and had managed to get stuck in a cupboard.

This is a problem I have with most JRPGs, to be fair, and as I get older and I have less free time it becomes ever more noticeable. While this is a game I’d like to play more of, I suspect that realistically I can expect to forget about it now and have to replay the first part again in the future.

Lazy Game Update Post

Posted on 03/09/2018 Written by deKay

Yes, I’ve been playing games. I’ve not completed any recently so haven’t posted about them. And, all the games I’m playing are pretty long. With all that in mind, here’s an update on them!

No Man’s Sky (PS4)

Having not played the game for almost two years, I started it again. Why? Because Hello Games have effectively turned the original game into a sequel over a series of updates I’d never even looked at since then. And since many people have found bugs and other issues when migrating an old save to the new version, I thought it best to begin again.

It’s certainly different, that’s for sure. I go into a lot more detail on the ugvm Podcast, but in short, I don’t really like most of the changes. The base building is, in itself, fine but it’s not what I want in my No Man’s Sky. Some of the Quality of Life changes, like stacking inventory items and easier ways to make money are appreciated, though, and the new Artemis storyline gives me a new thing to do, so I’m still enjoying it. So much so I’m already 40 or so hours in. Again.

Sanrio Characters Picross (3DS)

Yes of course I was going to buy this. Because I love Hello K–uh picross games. It’s huge, and I’m probably only 15% done so far.

Shenmue (PS4)

Oh my. Who’d have thought this day would come? A re-release of Shenmue (and Shenmue II!) for a new console? Over the last few years I’ve been trying to find a nice way to play the original Dreamcast games on something more modern, eventually running it in an emulator on a PC streamed to my TV with a Steam Link… only that was a mess and fiddly and didn’t happen. I toyed with a handheld device like the GPD Win, but couldn’t justify the expense. But now – it’s on the PS4 and it’s excellent.

So far in the story, I’ve spent all my money on capsule toys, played with a cat a lot, found some sailors, not found Charlie, and have made it into the wrong Warehouse 8. And I’m loving it.

Hollow Knight (Switch)

When I was trying to find reasons not to buy this, because I already have too many Switch games, I settled on “I don’t like the art style”. Then it was on the eShop for cheap and I bought it anyway. I Am Not Strong.

But I’m glad I did, because it’s amazing.

It’s a Metroidvania, where you play as some sort of beetle with a nail for a sword, fighting other bugs and exploring a ruined world. It’s beautiful, challenging and really very well designed, and after about twelve hours in I thought I’d seen most of the map and then opened up three entirely new areas. It’s big.

The post Lazy Game Update Post appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Bomb Chicken (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 26/08/2018 Written by deKay

I was never not going to buy a game called Bomb Chicken. Especially when I saw it in action.

You’re a chicken, and you lay bombs. You can kick them when you’ve laid them, but other than that and moving left and right, you’ve no other moves or abilities. Using this somewhat limited array of skills, you have to navigate platforms, kill baddies, hit switches and generally avoid touching anything.

Having no jump button is the main enemy you have to contend with, however. You can stack your bombs to gain height, or bounce on some baddies, so simply getting around the levels is different to pretty much every other platformer, and the basis for many puzzles.

It’s not a massive game, but there are some really difficult levels near the end, as well as some bosses, but it’s really rather good. The artwork is great and the animation – especially on your chicken – is really nice. The gameplay is also top notch although I hit a couple of minor bugs (bats you have to bounce on sometimes don’t respawn if you die).

Bomb Chicken is fun, unusual and cheap, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Even when I had to redo level 27 some twelventythousand times.

The post Bomb Chicken (Switch): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.