Completion Thread 2017: Trigger Happy Havoc

[Pineapple]

4. Dark Souls 3 (PC)
Did not want to do it all again from the beginning, and I was trying to tell myself the last DLC will be shit in an attempt to not want it, but it surely did not work. ~19 hours, level 77. Already have gone back to areas and bosses I had skipped over and leveled up to 85, collecting all sorts of stuff again and hording upgrade materials for the new weapons that will be coming along. I tried to do everyone's questlines properly, knowing what to do for each, and still managed to screw up a few major ones.

4.5 DKS3 The Ringed City
The twisted and Escher like world in the Kiln of the First Flame serves as the new zone, and it's far and away my favorite of the game. It's absolutely massive in scope, and the abnormal angles and world warping make for really intense moments against new enemies. The sense of wonder as you explore is great, and there's a deliberately oppressive tone to it all. One scene used a single nearly inaudible tone to make a gorgeous vista feel completely uneasy, while later actions had me feeling terrible for what I'd done. Several very cool bosses, with one even calling back to Demon's by having you become the boss against someone else (with increased health and auto-magic abilities to boot). Also a ton of SWEET new gear, like +3 versions of rings that weren't available before (Cloranthy, Ring of Favor, Steel Protection, Evil Eye) on the first game cycle, several weapons (one of which became my newest +10 and main weapon), a fuck load of chunks and twinkling/scales, and 4 flippin' Slabs! An impressive end to the game, and definitely challenging. There are several instances where I was expecting to find enemies but walked around unmolested, adding to the sense of isolation but making progress feel a little easy in some areas. Other areas are a LOT of trial and error as you try to figure the world out and how to avoid those sentinel type assholes. Did not try any of the PvP stuff, not really my bag of tea. There is a tie in with the previous DLC as well, so I'll have to go through that to see it but this is mostly done for now.

[Frogacuda]

DISONORED 2. Finally. Holy shit.

I read a lot of complaints that this was too short when it came out, but it's taken me way too long to beat this. I clocked in at 18 hours, but it's a stealth game so obviously reloading and trial and error means it was probably quite a bit more, especially since I was trying to do a no-kill run. I didn't ghost it, and actually fucked up my no-kill by accidentally killing 2 or 3 people (body fell off a cliff or some shit). Oh well. Good enough for the low chaos ending, so good enough for me.

While I'm happy to get it done with in time to start Personal 5, it was a damn fine sequel. The level design was really excellent, with big, believable areas with a shit load to explore and a ton of options to approach situations. Some offered some pretty novel gimmicks as well, like the Clockwork Mansion, and the time-traveling stage. The powers and mechanics are as awesome as ever. It isn't a major evolution compared to the first one, but it's definitely bigger/better/prettier.

[Tain]

10. Nier: Automata



Hard mode.

This is probably the best anybody could have hoped for from a Platinum-developed Nier sequel. While the game is VERY OBVIOUSLY more engaging from a mechanical standpoint than the original Nier, there are some issues I want to get out of the way that stand out: the chip loss and recovery system is kind of sloppy, the structure and map is probably a bit too big and open for the difficulty curve to stay on-point, the save system is downright confusing sometimes, and the combat ultimately doesn't seem as complicated and varied as some of Platinum's best games. That may sound like a lot, but none of these things drag it down very far. The cutscene direction, narrative, and even soundtrack is miles above anything else Platinum has worked on. It's a rough game (shocker), but it's way more ambitious than the original was and manages to push ahead in pretty much every way.

The "true" ending is wonderful. I can't stop thinking about it.

[haohmaru]

Battlefield 1 (PS4, Normal) - It felt pretty short, but really enjoyable for the most part. Pretty incredible graphically and the stories were pretty compelling for a video game. I wouldn't mind campaigns like this every year as I miss the WWI/WWII scenarios that developers have shied away from. I'll probably go back and beat it on hard.

[Rumpy]

Ryse: Son of Rome (Das Xbox Uno)

It's worth playing for *free* this month. It's very much a launch title: high production values but very simple gameplay. It often looks amazing, sets especially. The characters look great, animation too, lip sync is very good but holy shit if anyone smiles it's like mutant central. Combat is basic as it can get, a much slower and less involved version of the Arkham series. The camera is way too close though and the controls for throwing javalins can be a bitch to get to work right when you really need them to. The harder difficulty levels jack up the amount of damage you take in a hit and I think that's it. No change in combat strats so the minimal amount of enemy types is another downer. Haven't tried co-op/multi and doubt I will. Campaign is 6-8 hours so it doesn't wear out its welcome.

[Melf]

Horizon: Zero Dawn: Surprise game of the year for me. I had no idea what this even was until I saw a demo video of it at Walmart and gave it a chance. I'm so glad I did, as it's a really great game. Wonderful world and backstory, rock solid gameplay, and some of the best visuals I've ever seen on console. I did everything except the blazing sun trial achievement, and I'll likely do that since I'm only three trials away from having them all.

I really can't wait for the sequel!

[gameoverDude]

10) Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (PC)
Difficulty: Hard
Score at last checkpoint's dropkit: 174,480

While the price may be high for the rerelease, ($50, or $55 with the Duke Nukem Tour) it's good to see BS getting a second chance and a 64-bit, true Steam release with GFWL kicked to the curb. All the Echoes DLC is included and then some. Hopefully it gets a bit more sales this time and if we're lucky, then BS2 could happen. The textures do get touched up some. I haven't had it crash, unlike the original.

The Overkill mode sounds like it'll be a good NGP. The weapons gotten on the first run are available from the start.

[kingoffighters]

3) Exist Archive (Vita)

Clocking in at 76+ hours, I believe I got the good ending with 1 dark crystal offered. I enjoyed this game quite a bit. It has an intriguing premise, likeable cast of characters, flexible (and combo-centric) combat system and a decent story. However, the 2D platform dungeons got boring as they are mostly the same with different color/backgrounds. They also give you multiple missions on the same map which adds to the tedium. The game encourages grinding but the loading (at least on the Vita) is bad. Not so bad as Albert Odyssey, but it is close.

Overall, I give it a 7/10 for the good that outweights the bad. Quite a bit of content is unlocked with a finished save, including new+ game but I need a long break if I ever dive back in.

[Pineapple]

5. Steep (PC)
Reached the level cap of 30 and Legend in all 6 categories so the fun of watching an experience bar go up is gone (for now). I'm sticking around for 100% on this one though and have about 30 more events to finish. The game feels like a wonderful mix of Pilotwings done right and Trials. Any time you're at a full stop you can switch between skis, snowboard, hang glider, wingsuit, or just walking around. All of the various activities feel really smooth and tight, which was a little surprising but in a good way. You can fast travel to any point on any mountain to begin a freerun, or very easily select and travel to a huge number of events. The mountain(s) look amazing and the time of day changes that are available on the fly are cool enough that occasionally I'd just sit there cycling through them and admiring as it changed. After any run you can immediately jump into a replay that you can share with friends. If your friend is in the game with you and near you during your run, you can seamlessly switch to their character during the replay. Same goes for any random person you encounter on the mountains. That felt like a really cool touch. I honestly lost count of the times me and a buddy said "thats a really cool touch" while playing, the game does a lot of things right, even in multiplayer. Which is surprising because Ubisoft. Outside of there being no dedicated MP events and the ability to reach the experience cap too quickly (~25 hours), I don't have many complaints. It's the ultimate chill out and relax for a while game, then when you start going for golds it can be a rage inducing reset-fest. I'm still enjoying it as much as when I started. It gives me great hope for the planned dlc that will include Rocket Wings and other fun stuff! Highly recommend.

[Rumpy]

I wanted to like Steep. The controls always felt weird.