samedi 29 novembre 2014

What Am I Playing NOW - Part VII

Considering the flurry of new titles released in the past 2 months, you might expect someone "running" a gaming blog must have played most, if not all, of the noteworthy titles. In most cases, you'd be 100% right. However, in my case, it most certainly wasn't the case. For various reasons (No free time, because I have a 3 months old daughter, and no money, because I have a shitty job that doesn't pay well enough for a man to take care of his wife, baby, rent, car AND gaming hobby. Sometimes you have to pick something to sacrifice. In this case the choice was pretty obvious!), I haven't played a more recent title than Destiny. I actually own an even more recent title in Borderlands : The Pre-Sequel! (pre-ordered with the E3 deal), but I haven't even opened it yet since I'm still not done with all Borderlands 2 DLCs. I also should mention that I played more recent games given away for free with the PS+ subscription.

The Sequel before the Pre-Sequel

Let's begin with Borderlands 2. Since my PS3 died last year and that, for some unknown reason, my saves weren't being uploaded to the PS+ cloud, I had to restart a character in Borderlands 2. I usually play as Zer0 (like I did Mordecai in the first game), but I wanted to try something different. Very different. I went with the Mechromancer, Gaige. I kinda regretted it at firt because I really liked Zer0's skills, but now I'me getting more used to her, it's not that bad. Anyway, I'm nearly done with the main game, after which I'll do the 2 DLCs (Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep) I didn't have time to play before my PS3 died. I loved the first two DLCs, so I'm glad I'll finally get to try the last two. Eventually. Hopefully before Christmas (I was not kidding when I said that I have no free time).



Destiny, still

It seems, when I listen to gaming podcasts, that everyone was done with this game 2 months ago. Not me! I'm level 15 and I did, if I remember correctly, only one story mission on Mars. It's a very fun game, although the story is very lacking. Uninteresting, to be exact. But the gameplay is so freaking solid. And I haven't unlocked all the abilities of the one class (out of three) I have tried. Looks like many hours of fun are still ahead of me.

South Park

I started South Park : The Stick of Truth about a month ago. Played it a bunch during a weekend when my wife and baby were away. It's a very, very funny game. It really feels like a South Park episode. The combat system is pretty basic and can get a little repetitive. But you don't play South Park for its innovative gameplay, you play it because it's freaking South Park. Because you get to hang out with Princess Kenny, Cartman, Butters and the likes.



No time = small and/or portable games

The subtitles says it all. I don't have much free time, so I often resort to quick little sessions of games you can start quickly and, especially, quit at a moment's notice without losing (too much) progress. Obviously portable games are perfect in that case. I've played a bit of Vita games, especially Dragon's Crown (though even after 4-5 hours, I can't "get" into the game that much) and other smaller titles like Luftrausers and Pix the Cat. But I've played a lot more 3DS during that time, most notably Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time 3D and Mario Tennis Open. To my surprise, the former isn't quite a great as I expected. Don't get me wrong, it IS a good game, but the controls aren't as intuitive and sharp as I would have hoped. Anyone who has ever played a core Mario title knows the controls, essential to the platforming genre, have always been stellar. Here, they're not bad, but they're not stellar. Otherwise, the levels are short and sweet, perfect for short gaming sessions.

There's not much to say about Ocarina of Time. It still is the greatest game ever, no matter the format or number of screens. Mario Tennis Open, on the other hand, is disappointing. I absolutely loved the Mario Tennis game for GameCube, it was pretty much perfect. I used to turn off the special/power shots most of the time to get a truer tennis experience. The special shots are fun at times, but in the long run, the mini-cutscenes before each one become tedious. In this one, you CAN'T turn them off. Seriously? That really sucks. It's a stupid choice by Nintendo, as far as I'm concerned. The minigames are still fun and the gameplay, other than the special shots, is still very solid. But man. That's a bummer...

Anyway, let's hope next time I'll have a newer game to write about!