We’re going to do this a little differently this month. Rather than forcing a select list of games on you to play, we’re going to make it a free for all. Pick a game or two, declare them here in this thread, then use this thread to keep us updated on how it’s going. If someone has already declared a game you want to play, just like the post. If you switch games, make another post, and keep us updated. Ideally you’ll pick a game off of your backlog (this is a backlog club after all), but it’s up do you. We’re all adults here!
Now that The Phantom Pain has a firm September release date, and given I’ve been watching Giant Bomb’s Metal Gear Scanlon series, there’s no better time to finish the last MGS game on my plate. I guess by virtue of being a PSP game, it feels a bit lean (e.g. smaller environments and bite-sized missions that you select from a menu rather than exploring one large contiguous area), but I’m still finding a lot to enjoy. It’s a tasty little appetizer before September’s main course.
March 10, 2015 Update: With 3/5 chapters complete (roughly 15 hours w/ many side-objectives), I thought I’d give an update. Peace Walker is becoming something of a chore. The “Outer Heaven” base-building mechanics feel superfluous and unsatisfying, yet it’s integral to the main game because you that’s how you develop virtually all field weapons and items. The boss fights have all been lumbering and prolonged encounters against generic mechs that soak up literally all of your ammo several times over (requiring you to constantly send “requests” for more ammo, hurting your mission score). Creative boss encounters are a Metal Gear staple, and they’re all but absent in Peace Walker. The biggest offense is the story–the plot and cast are flat. The villains are simultaneously ridiculous (not the good “Metal Gear” ridiculous) and cliched, and I don’t appreciate how Big Boss is portrayed (which I cannot divulge w/o spoilers).
There are, of course, things I am appreciating. I like that the game does not stop you every 10 feet for a Codec conversation. While I prefer the bigger, more anfractuous environments of the console Metal Gears, I do like that these bite-sized missions allow for experimentation without too much risk. It still tickles me to use the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system on unsuspecting enemies.
I hold a lot of reverence for Shining Force II, and I consider it one of my favorite Genesis games despite admittedly never completing it. I’m about 5-hours in now, and its uninspired localization aside, it’s still every bit as fun as I remember. I somehow haven’t tired of the same three songs that loop in every battle. I think what I most appreciate about Shining Force II is its fevered-pitch pacing, which is uncommon in most other strategy-RPGs.
This game got a lot of mixed reviews, and oddly enough, those seem to be the games I enjoy the most. I just started it, and so far I’m really enjoying it.
And also:
Which I also started this week and have been overwhelmed with the adorableness. It’s also a lot more forgiving and approachable than the original, which I like.
There is awful lot of chatter here on the forum and VERY little on the main Groovy website! :-S
*it might be an idea to move this monthly game challenge out into the main website?
The main groovy website is beginning to look like its got very little social activity going on, because the Groovee Forums is where all the chat is at! New-comers might be put off by this & think nothing going on here, moving on…
The 3 games for the challenge could still be chosen and voted upon in the forum, maybe one month before the monthly challenge goes public then on the main website!? The main thing is people have fun with it and take part, and chatter about it. ie get some ACTIVITY going on main website!
Just thought I would put that out there, see what you guys think?
I’m excited too. I never can decide if Final Fantasy IV, VI, or VIII is my favorite - it depends on the day you ask me. VIII does seem to get a lot of hate, though, so I’m interested to see what he thinks.
I’ve always wondered whether I’d like VIII because it’s so polarizing, but if you say that IV and VI are up there in your favorites, I’ll probably be OK. I can never decide which one of those is my favorite, so maybe I’ll get to add a third one to that list.
Well, I finished Remember Me last night. Took me only about a week! Granted, it was a shorter game, but I never play through games that quickly. I just couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed it. Will be posting a review soon.
I’m almost finished with Ocarina. I finished the Shadow Temple and I’ve got a couple more dungeons to go. I’m not enjoying the difficulty spike that’s happening here at the end. I don’t remember having as hard of a time years ago when I last played it. The stealth in Gerudo’s Fortress is some of the worst stealth ever. I hate it when a game penalizes you as harshly as this one does when you are seen by a guard.
Playing the PC version. I got to the 11th floor of Etrian Odyssey but gave up.
Valkyria Chronicles is a fun game. Strategic! You got your tanks and snipers and scouts~
The nature of the game is mostly making the right choices for where you want your troops to go/be.
I hear I am past the worst battle in the entire game (The Battle of Barius). So should be a fun time from here on out.
I had a hard time getting into Valkyria Chronicles. I’ve played through the first few battles a couple of times and have dropped it every time. Is it one of those games that if you push through just a little bit, it all clicks and you really start to love it?
After about the 8th battle or so I would say you know how the game feels. There are technical sides of the game that you have to pay attention to if you want to excel (the relationships between your units will allow you to pull off coordinated attacks which are much stronger than regular attacks because units that like each other have a chance to attack additionally) and potential traits that get unlocked once you train your units (undodgeable attack, extra shot, sniper killer)
Most of the fun I’ve been having out of the game is from sniping everyone with my 1-2 snipers.
Kinda sucks though because all shots have a % success rate so you plan your advantage around specific attacks only to have them fail and you get punished for something chance based.
So the game is kinda like what I feel Final Fantasy Tactics is without the isometric field.
The game isn’t all that great tbh, pretty much the strongest element of the game is the art/characters. The art style is the kinda sketchy artbook art in Saga Frontier 2. The characters are nice and they interact with each other in a somewhat meaningful way during the cutscenes.
They give you so much money that the upgrading system seems pointless Why not just give upgrades to players at regular intervals if you aren’t going to allow them to buy upgrades till certain chapters? You do get different choices a bit later in the game about what kinds of upgrades you want to get.
You’re not missing out on anything if you don’t like the first 6 or so battles.
I forgot to post this last weekend! I finally finished Ocarina 3D on Sunday. That Ganon fight at the end is just annoying more than it is hard. I think I’m going to be shifting FF8 to the April edition of the MBLC.
