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Things I’ve been playing recently

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Well, where “recently” is “any time in the last couple of months” and “things” is “games I’ve not completed as I’ve already posted about those”. In no particular order:

Spec Ops: The Line (Mac)

This was free, but only if I played it enough to get £1 credit back from Green Man Gaming. At first, I really struggled as it misdetected my PS4 controller and everything literally spiralled out of control – see this video, in particular from the 7 minute point:

With that fixed (I used a mouse and keyboard instead), I then worked through the first level, or mission, or whatever. It’s OK, but nothing special. It’s also difficult to play with an Apple mouse, because you can’t click the left and right buttons at the same time. I don’t know if I’ll play it more.

Paper Mario Sticker Star (3DS)

A lot of people seemed to be quite negative about this, but I’m really enjoying it. It removes almost all of the RPG elements (perhaps this is why it has the reputation it does), but the story and the combat are great and it looks lovely. Also, that Wii U one is out now and I thought I’d do this while waiting for that to magically appear in my possession.

Letter Quest Remastered (PS4)

Incredible Boggle/RPG hybrid. You’re given a bank of 15 random letters, some worth more than others (sort of Scrabble-like) and you make words out of them. The more powerful your word, the harder your attack is on your foes. You can level up abilities, making 6 letter words worth more, or double letters more powerful, etc. and it’s very addictive.

Assault Android Cactus (PC)

I set my Steam Link up again and this is one of the titles I played, having heard good things and getting it for virtually free in a recent Humble Bundle. It’s not bad, but I don’t think – so far at least – it deserves all the praise. It’s just a quite bland twin stick shooter with average graphics but with some great characters. I’m enjoying it, but not as much as I expected to.

Lego Dimensions (PS4)

I actually bought this a while back, but still had Lego Marvel Avengers on the go. With that finished (although not 100%ed) my daughter and I broke it out and yes – it is excellent. Jumping from world to world (we’ve had The Simpsons, The Wizard of Oz, Ninjago and Doctor Who so far) is great, and the references to other Lego games (such as the Joker Titanbot rematch) are awesome too. Playing shuffle-the-characters on the portal is less fun, though, but we’ve negated that a little by moving the portal to the sofa between us.

Pokémon Y (3DS)

With over 70 hours on the clock now, and still about 30% of my Pokédex unfilled, there’s a lot of game here. Not least when you consider I “completed” it at around the 35 hour mark.

The post Things I’ve been playing recently appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

An old-fashioned game save

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%21END%21

Beware Planet Earth (PC): COMPLETED!

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I continued playing this again a few days ago having “paused” almost exactly a year ago. I think I’d struggled on a level and lost interest, but it is actually a very good tower defence game. I resumed it part way through Autumn (the game is split into four chapters, one for each season), and quickly progressed to Winter, where I ran into difficulty.

Beware Planet Earth

It’s just so damn hard. In the final season, you have to deal with your weapons freezing, and although you get an item to help negate this later on, it’s not cheap and uses up precious space on the map. Eventually though, I made it to the end boss who was surprisingly simple – or not surprisingly, considering a power-up you’re given right at the end.

I can definitely recommend Beware Planet Earth, especially if you like this sort of game. And it has a toilet in it, so what more can you want?

Click to view slideshow.

The post Beware Planet Earth (PC): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Sonic Generations: hitting walls

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Oddly enough, although I wrote at length about my experiences with the 3DS game, I don't appear to have written about the Xbox 360 version which I played at pretty much the same time.  I didn't complete it though; of the nine main stages of the game I had completed both acts of six and played through the 2D parts of the remaining three.  I've no idea why I stopped.

With the launch of TrueSteamAchievements, I was able to register and see which games I own but have hardly played on Steam. Most of them, it turns out. One of the more interesting pages is 'My Easy Achievements' which lists those achievements I've not yet won which most people who own the games in question have. This list was topped by the achievement for completing the first Act in Sonic Generations. I have absolutely no idea when I bought the game on Steam, though I won't have paid much for it.

Anyway, suitably shamed, I loaded the game on my work PC - no Mac version, it seems - and played through both Acts of the Green Hill Zone. That took some effort; the game juddered and slowed in the resolution it recommended, and then looked ugly and in the wrong aspect ratio when I tried to change that. Why was I struggling through it when I had a perfectly accessible console version?

No, I didn't know either. And that, in a roundabout way, is why I loaded up Sonic Generations on my Xbox 360.

I'm glad I did. This is a good Sonic game - particularly the 2D sections, although most of the 3D Acts are fun as well. The only real problem is that the controls feel a little imprecise at times, which I think is down to using the analogue stick (with its length of travel) over digital pads. Turning in the air to avoid spikes can take a fraction of a second too long, and occasionally I can't steer Sonic away from the walls that jut out into the 3D levels.



I played through the second Acts of Crisis City, Rooftop Run, and Planet Wisp, with a number of lives lost due to me trying to hurry through the levels. It's easy to forget that even in the original Mega Drive games you had to take the later stages somewhat slower. There's a boss battle next, but first I've got to unlock it by completing three challenges - special requirements within existing levels. What a faff. 
 

Switchblade: exploring the caves

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Switchblade was always touted as one of the great games on the GX4000, using the power of the console over the standard CPC version and benefiting from instant loading.  Given the size of the map, that's not surprising; the disk version certainly seems to chug regularly.  Despite having owned it for many years, I've never given it a proper go beyond making sure that the cartridge worked.  Over the Christmas holidays I had some time to rectify that.


The first thing I was surprised about was the accuracy of controls. When playing many 8-bit games, there's a noticeable lag in inputs, and games are often designed to allow for this.  Some games did this better than others - Titus the Fox, for example, allowed a bit of leeway in jumping.  That's not the case here, but the response to inputs is instant, making you feel much more in control.


The second thing I noticed, after playing for a while, is how complex the game is.  It's packed with puzzles, in terms of finding new rooms, finding ways to attack enemies without taking damage, and exploration.  I originally thought that the fact that enemies can't attack you while you're standing on a crate was a limitation of the game, but in many cases it's the very basis of the puzzle.

That's not to say that the game isn't an action-based title.  I've not completed it yet, because the five lives you start with don't last long when you're being attacked.  I shall try again, though - each time I play I get a bit further.  I may need map paper soon though ...

Meanwhile, I loaded up an emulator to take some screenshots, and took the opportunity to compare the GX4000 game to the CPC version.  As I said above, the disk version seems to chug a bit more, which may be loading, but the main difference is the visuals.  Look at them, it's an astounding change.



(GX4000 is the top, standard CPC is the bottom.)