Antares Complex

I figured this might be a fun little thing to stuff in here, a boring list of games I’m enjoying or playing or have stopped and I’ll wanna talk about what’s what! Think it might be a interesting way to keep game talk interesting and not just controversy. So I’ll be making an effort to update this as I go. though since I’m starting so late I guess this might just be my list of games I liked from 2017.

 

7th Dragon III Code VFD (3DS):
Bought this after seeing a trailer on youtube showing really snappy combat and high energy music which are two big selling points for me in an RPG.

I really enjoyed this game! It’s almost a boss rush of a rpg where you need to kill the 200 dragons in the game which will be on the map as you run around. Bump into one and it’s a boss fight, if there are OTHER ones on the map they can join in at some point in the fight depending on how far they are. Creating a really tense battle system. The character creation really makes the game super replayble, I think there’s 9 classes and 3 teams of 3 members you can have with you.

The music is great, by the guy who did Streets of Rage, the art is lovely, it’s worth playing! I beat it but didn’t get to do the post game stuff, the main game wasn’t too hard but the post game …it’s REALLY challenging.

 

Disgaea 5 Complete (Switch):
I’ve always liked the Disgaea games, but I don’t think they lend themselves to console play as battles can drag out, especially if you dive into item world (randomized challenge maps that when beaten, that item becomes stronger. You need to do at least 10 floors before you can leave the item). So when I found this was coming out on Switch? Yes please. It makes the huge game easier to tackle I feel.

The story is pretty interesting this time around, the entire universe of netherworlds are at war with an evil group and you start piling up your rebel army and take on the bad doods. …Or if you’re me, you only use generic / create-a-characters and fight that way! I though the characters were alright at best, kinda feeling a bit weak…But, it has it’s moments. There’s a LOT going on in this game but they manage to make it all easy to get your head around. Previous games were super grind heavy and this is too, but it’s easier to with many items that can permanently upgrade your character, a cheat shop to let you get more exp/money/etc, item world being 500X better than previous titles.

It’s a pretty game and has a lot of fun to be had, you can just enjoy the story and get a dozen+ hours or …really dive in and challenge yourself. It lets you choose how to have fun which I like!

 

FAST RMX (Switch):
I’ve always liked F-Zero but never really got into it. Can’t say why, I played the SNES one a bunch and some on the 64 but yeah…Oh, why am I talking about F-Zero when talking about Fast RMX? Because it’s a spiritual sequel to the series as far as I’m concerned. I’ve seen people online say they want a new F-Zero but they have it! Right here! It’s got multiplayer; local and online, has an interesting mechanic where you gotta change to the color of the booster/ramp you touch to get the bonus of it. It’s fast, challenging and really, REALLY pretty. The game surprised me. I haven’t played much online because, well I rarely do on any title (which will make the next game confusing to you guys I’m sure.) but I’ve played it solo, local vs etc.

The racing is really fast on harder modes (the harder, the faster the race) and it gets really intense. Levels sporting their own gimmicks whether it’s something simple like dark & rainy making for lower visibility or a giant robot walking across the stage or just having some crazy jumps.

It’s so good, so, good and so fun.

 

Titanfall 2 (PC/PS4/XB1):
I loved Titanfall 1, it got me through a rough spot in my life as far as stress goes and while I haven’t gotten that much mileage out of it’s sequel, it’s no doubt a really good game. But the trouble is I don’t like playing online alone (as in, without friends in the match) so I haven’t gotten the same use out of it but it’s a solid game. What I have played, has some crazy new levels and returning ones that make for interesting backdrops to the combat and add to it typically. There’s more guns, more mechs, more maps, and they’re still updating it! Been enjoying the horde mode where you gotta protect a thing from waves of titans, drones and soldiers. Fun time

There’s nothing like it despite Call of Duty trying to ape it for a while. The transition from soldier to Titan is a big deal in the map, entirely changing how you navigate and fight. It makes for a really interesting dynamic and is just a lot of fun. I haven’t gotten to the single player yet but I’m looking forward to it.

It’s just a shame EA bought the dev and they’re likely going to be dead in 3 years.

 

Blaster Master Zero (Switch/3DS):
I know it’s listed as Switch AND 3DS but, don’t bother with the 3DS version if you got a Switch. It runs way better on there (60fps vs 30) and the ability to play on the TV and portable is great.

Now, some of you may be wondering just what a Blaster Master is! Well, get off my lawn! It’s a NES game. One that Classic Game Room introduced me to and I nabbed on the NES and tried the …not so good sequel on Wii before this game came out. It’s a lot of fun and got some free updates (that are now cheap DLC) that put characters like freakin’ SHANTAE and Shovel Knight into it! Not just reskins either, they play entirely different!

The game is a bit of a metroidvania kinda thing, where you explore in a tank and hop out to explore small ‘dungeons’ as a person. There’s power ups to be had and while the story isn’t great, you’re really here for the action and exploring. I think the game is far better than any of it’s other entries. It adds a lot, plays really well and has a lot more replayability in it. You gain upgrades for the tank as you progress and as the character in dungeons you gain power ups based on how well you do, more you get hit, the less access to your weapon list you get.

They did a really good job here and if you like exploring and action, it’s a fun time.

 

Tales of Berseria (PC/PS4/(PS3 Japan Only):

Alright, I was a bit unsure of this game since I hated Tales of Xillia 2 and Zesteria kinda didn’t work with me (I will try again though). But, wow this game was a lot of fun. It requires a mod on PC, which is thankfully easy to install, but it makes the game look/run/work better. The combat is crunchy and hits hard, there’s a bunch of characters you can play as to enjoy the game and the story is a fun time, if not sad. …I didn’t cry though! Still waiting for a game that’ll get me to do that. …Closest I came was Phantasy Star IV. I know that may sound dumb to you but shaddap!

But it’s a very fun game that manages to make the characters fun and explain them progressively vs in one large dump of story. The combat is great, fast and fun, offering variety with tons of skills and the characters you can play as. It’s got one of the only angst-y characters that I really enjoyed because they actually explain why early on vs 5-20 hours of enduring their crap without knowing why.

My only complaint is how they handle weapons and improving them, which you can …kinda passively worry about on lower difficulties (played on hard, didn’t seem TOO mandatory) but perhaps with NG+ perks it’ll be more smoothed out.

I look forward to playing it again with a New Game+ which has added to the game in my experience with Tales of Xillia. The characters are great in this, the more you go the better it gets. I’ve laughed pretty hard more than a few times in this game and agh I can’t wait for more. I even did freakin’ fanart for this game I loved it so much!

 

 

Metroid Samus Returns (3DS):
Did, not, see, this, coming. I thought Nintendo would be done for way longer after how much they mishandled the series with the garbage Other M and Federation Force to rub salt in the wound. But wow they came back and really nailed it with this game! My one complaint is a bias one, I do not like analog sticks for 2D games and the circle pad is serviceable with most games but tie that in with a 2D game? Agh it made the game a bit tedious to play.

BUT, it’s that good that I wound up beating it rather fast vs taking 3 months to beat a game. The visuals were rather nice and the bosses were fun to fight …except one, you might know the one. Yeah. That one. But this is an improvement in EVERY WAY on the original Metroid 2, I just could never get into it. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot of fun. Zero Mission may still be my favorite 2D title, yes, even over Super which is a great game but opinions, man.

 

Ever Oasis (3DS):
Didn’t see this one coming, I was interested in the cover art and then 1 trailer later I was sold. Which is weird since Zelda games don’t interest me but …the ‘clones’ seem to get me ever time. This is pretty much that. Except instead of new power ups you’re gathering new friends to live in your town who have their own abilities to help you in dungeons. I say help but it’s pretty mandatory in situations.

You want to gather supplies for these people as they sell things, which pulls in more people to sell things and buy things as well. I’m simplifying obviously since, I’m TRYING to keep these short but…It’s a fairly easy, charming game that’s worth playing. It’s hard to talk about much depth with this game because it has a lot of mechanics but they’re not particularly deep I found. Which, isn’t a knock against it, it’s fun and I think worth playing if you like action-adventure games like this.

 

PREY (PC/PS4/XB1):
I wasn’t expecting to like this game, it was in development hell, had nothing to do with the original which was quite the good but flawed game and I was hearing mixed things from some reviewers. Who, now apparently say a 2nd play through makes the game way better…

I disagree, I think going into this game blind as possible will make for a more tense and atmospheric playthrough. Which is what I did and I really got into it. I kind of feel this is how Bioshock was promised. A game that opens up the more you play, more and more of the space station becomes yours to explore and loot as you go. Letting you choose your routes based on the abilities as you get them.

Maybe it’s the scifi aspect to the game but, I enjoyed this more than the Bioshock games. I felt like they delivered on what they were going for better. (Not saying Bioshock is bad, they were good, just liked this better before you yell at me). I think one of the best strengths of this game is one of my favorite things, replayability. There’s a lot of ways to play it with the weapons, paths and skill trees at hand, so you can get a lot out of this whether you replay it soon after or a year or so down the line.

 

Zelda: Breath of The Wild (Switch/WiiU):
Well, I’m going to make people mad with this one. It’s good, I had more fun than I did with most other Zelda games but it’s not a game I think I’ll finish. Like most open world games, I feel like there’s more fun to be had in screwin’ around with the open world than there is with the game’s story.

It’s fun, a good game but I don’t have much to say on this one. Worth playin’ if you have a Switch or WiiU as everyone has probably said by now.

 

Crash: N Sane Trilogy(PS4):
I loved Crash 2 and 3 on Playstation, really fun games that I think gets ignored for some reason. Now I finally got to enjoy one without the BS save system! It’s a worthwhile time, good platforming to be had but it’s gotta be said the physics in this game are off…as are some of the enemy hitboxes making this game harder than it normally should be. It’s not a deal breaker, they’re close, quite close. So it’s only if you’ve played the older games a lot you’d noticed and even then it’s a bit iffy.

Crash 1 is hard, bloody hard and the later games I think let up on that and that’s a good thing. There’s some levels in Crash 1 that are s- know what, I’m trying to keep these short. There’s a LOT of game to be had here and it came out at $40 bucks. Something Sonic Forces failed to do at that price point. No, I won’t be featuring that game on this list. It was not good.

Three games, tons of replayabiltiy if you like running through platformers and despite a few issues it’s surprisingly faithful for so cheap.

Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4):
I know what I said about Zelda! It was only a 15 minutes ago that I typed that part up! Anyway! I went into this game blind and have really been enjoying it. I feel that it’s got a few flaws, I’d like to be able to vault more things and climb things that are …easily in grabbing reach. But damn, this game kinda came out of nowhere for me.

Big hulking monsters that you have a variety of ways to take them out and you’ll likely need them as some can be difficult as hell to beat. This may be one of the first open world games I care enough to beat. The scifi aspect really caught me and so far it’s interesting and I hope it pays off in the end. The story is well told …if not a bit stiff in the conversations. Something that was partly why Ratchet and Clank’s reboot was bad about .

 

Fire Emblem Warriors (Switch/n3DS):
Another time to make people mad, I don’t like Fire Emblem games much. That’s for another day to talk about what I want to talk about is the other, other, other…OTHER, spin off of the Muso/Warriors game. And it’s …I guess the 3rd I’ve played? Zelda, Dragon Quest & now this one.

This one is by far my favorite. In performance mode it runs super nice and manages to keep a good amount of baddies on screen during 2player! Which is where this game shines. Massacring thousands of doods in battle with a variety of characters (with similar moves to eachother’s class) in co-op or portable.
Where it doesn’t shine is story or characters. The story is generic at best and dumb at worst, the characters?…Oh how I hate the 2 main leads, they’re so bad. So, very, bad. While I’ve not played all of the Fire Emblem games these others characters hail from I can say this game probably makes them look way dumber than they ever were in their titles. Character assumes you kidnapped their sister (who’s just hanging around you, likely armed too) so it’s WAR. Thousands of troops die in this battle over a sibling and afterward, oh it was ALLLL just a misunderstanding! Hahahaha~! What a silly mistake. Let’s be pals! *while standing on literally THOUSANDS of corpses* Yeah, great character and story telling.

 

AHEM, it’s a fun game, good gameplay but do not, do, not take the story seriously. ….Also the DLC is pretty bad. 3 characters that are in the game are only playable via $20 DLC. …kay.

 

Sonic Mania (PC, PS4, Switch, XB1): (GAME OF THE YEAR)
Sonic games don’t get me hyped anymore. I’ve been burned by them, I got Sonic 06 on launch as well as Secret Rings and since then I wait till reviews come out before I buy or open the game. The day levels in Unleashed were good, Generations was a lot of fun as was Colors, Advanced 1 & 2 etc…But I’m always skeptical because they truly did stumble bad.

This game…may be my game of the year, I’m not good at picking favorites in most cases but if pressed this game I’ve replayed a TON already and I see myself enjoying this for years to come, much like other Sonic titles of the 2D variety. It may very well be the best 2D Sonic (if Sonic 3 & Knuckles gets a remaster treatment like 1 and 2 on iOS/Android then they’re tied). The levels, the music, the platforming, every little detail being a fun callback. The new sprites, the new baddies the boss fights. It’s, so, good. I’ve filled EVERY save file on my Switch with beaten games with all the emeralds. It’s just way too much fun and on the Switch it’s easy to jump in and out of.

It’s INSANELY replayable. There’s so many ways to play it,

Sonic and Tails, with Tails being useful even in 1p mode given you can have him fly you places.

Sonic alone with his ability to speed through levels and use elemental shields and with the debug mode, you have access to EVERY power up from the static shield, super peel out to the new drop dash.

Knuckles with his unique level paths and way to get around levels, Tails and his ability to maneuver around levels better than the others.

Nevermind the competitive mode, the co-op 2 player mode (which ODDLY worked great for me when playing with my cousin vs Sonic 2 & 3 which didn’t) and all the alternate paths you can wind up taking through the game.

Yes, I know, Zelda, Mario etc. This is the game that hooked me and I got into. I really love it.  If you have a different game or list you’d like to share in the comments, feel free to share. I like chatting about this stuff.