What Are You Playing? (Fall, 2014)

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

I mean, butterfly killed me a couple times, but it wasn't from too much I had control over. I think I could've technically swapped my equipment to lighter stuff make my rolling better to let me dodge the spread laser thing easier, but the mechanics were very simple.

As for Transistor, I liked the gameplay of Bastion a bit more since it was more action-y, but Transistor has a cool mash up of real time and turn based combat going on. Aside from the combat difference I'd say they're fairly similar in feel, so if Bastion disappointed this probably won't do anything for you. Or maybe the lowered expectations will help. I liked Bastion, but I also agree with the style over substance.

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Butterfly gave me more trouble than any other boss in the game. It's funny you mention lighter armor for faster rolling - here's a challenge: if Dark Souls isn't tough enough as is just play as a pure dexterity character (where you can roll at lightning speed and your attacks look bad ass but one hit kills you). I haven't played as -just- dexterity yet, but I know people who have. That might be too tough for a first playthrough though.

That's cool about Transistor. It's too bad it's less action focused than Bastion but I'm so into the sci-fi vibes I've seen from screenshots that I might give it a shot anyway. Thanks for the impressions Mech.

I saw the Belmont builds for a pure challenge, but I'm just going to play through for now and use whatever I come across. Rocking a halbard, gargoyle helm, and elite knight armor right now. I need more endurance to up my carry weight more than anything at the moment.

That's just about the best equipment you'll find for where you're at in the game right now. You'll find much cooler equipment as you progress though - for me finding new equipment in Dark Souls was almost as satisfying as finding new equipment in Diablo, if not more so.

Endurance is key, I didn't realize that until much later than the Moonlight Butterfly boss, so nice job.

SPOILERS ABOUT EQUIPMENT





Did you find the Drake sword? That was my go-to for about 75% of the game. Great piece of equipment - once you level it up it's badass.

All this talking about Dark Souls makes me want to play some. Think I'll boot up my New Game+

Nope, haven't found that. All the swords I've found have been garbage so far. I was using an axe just because it murdered so well, but had the halbard by the time I got the gargoyle axe so I never even touched it.

I do find the overweight heavy roll where my guy basically just throws himself at the ground to be hilarious.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Nope, haven't found that. All the swords I've found have been garbage so far. I was using an axe just because it murdered so well, but had the halbard by the time I got the gargoyle axe so I never even touched it.

I do find the overweight heavy roll where my guy basically just throws himself at the ground to be hilarious.

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Sorry to spoil that. You'll find some cooler stuff later on. I like the swords just because they're more fun to use, but the axes and halbard are more effective.

Yeah that is hilarious - that happened to me too for a while. He basically just wipes out and somehow gets back on his feet a couple seconds later. It would be funny if when you get to the heaviest level and press roll your guy just collapses on the ground and stays there. "Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!"

Don't worry about spoiling that it exists, it's not like I know where it is or what it does or anything. Even if you told me where it was I probably wouldn't be able to figure it out since I don't know the names of any of the places.

I do want some kind of great sword. Hopefully I get something cool soon, as while the halbard is fantastic utility I don't really care for it stylistically.

True, true.

Yeah the swords are the most stylish way to cut down enemies in Dark Souls imho. You'll find some cool swords eventually. There are a lot of them laying around Lordran.

I wish I was playing Dark Souls for the first time. It's frustrating, don't get me wrong, in some ways I'm glad I've already beaten it, but it's also immensely, immensely rewarding. It was also on my mind 24/7 during the 5-6 weeks it took me to beat it - if I wasn't playing Dark Souls I'd be googling the game at work, reading essays about the game or visiting Dark Souls forums. I don't think any other game has had me so obsessed.

There's also this thing where the game is like a secret club even though it's very popular. If someone says they like Halo or Final Fantasy, I say sure great, but if someone says they're into Dark Souls? Immediate bond.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight - The gameplay is alright but the writing and designs are so much fun. A legitimately evil main character who stops at nothing, enslaving a spirit who collects things in his stomach and can eat enemies to restore stamina. Not sure how well the balancing act of the stamina system with eating garbage items will be once I'm further into the game, but at least through the end of the first act it works pretty well. Seems like it's designed to let anyone faceroll their way through the game if they want but being tough to get a high ranking for those who prefer a challenge.

Also, Vita time:

Steamworld Dig - This seems slow and shitty. Has anyone played this to say if I should just delete it or bother pressing on?

Binding of Issac: Rebirth - A little better than the original but I would still prefer analog shooting. It's okay, I guess, but I probably won't touch it again until I need to scrape the bottom of the Vita barrel again. I feel better not having directly spent any money on it.

Luftrausers - Up the point where I need a blimp for almost every mission but haven't made one spawn yet. I downloaded it for PS3 as well just to have two separate save files to work through, and then starting working on it a third time on someone else's account. Those missions really hook me into one-more-time attempts.

Freedom Wars - I really like the grappling, limb severing, and silly storyline stuff (You walked around your room too much? 10 YEARS ADDED TO YOUR SENTENCE), and it moves a little faster than I was expecting. I don't fully understand the ranking system yet but I'm enjoying this.

Bayonetta and I just started Mario and Luigi Dream Team

edit: I just caught how weird this was but I'm not going to fix it.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Steamworld Dig - This seems slow and shitty. Has anyone played this to say if I should just delete it or bother pressing on?

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I played it for about 2 hours, once you get a few of the upgrades you move significantly faster and can get around much easier, it actually started to get it's hooks in pretty good, I was enjoying it more and more as I played.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Luftrausers

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Downloaded this as well, haven't had the chance to try it but glad to hear it's engaging.

Binding of Issac Rebirth: Still plugging away at this, I love it so much but I really wish I knew what all the items do, as sometimes I'll have a really awesome loadout going and then I pick up something else and it screws up the whole thing. Unlocked Cain, Lazarus and Azazel last night, can't remember which one it is but whoever is the one with the Luck (Cain I think) is so much fun to play, giving you tons of powerups/downs on each floor.

Super Smash Bros: It's more Smash, and it's great like Smash should be. I like the variety of modes, although I wish they were grouped together differently, as it always feels like I'm going through 15 menus before I've found the mode I want to play. Unlocking characters and stages is still fun, unlocking trophies is still addicting, and the online actually worked pretty good on the first try!