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Post by impulse on Dec 28, 2022 11:42:55 GMT -5
Well, got enough Christmas money to get the two games I wanted. God of War: Ragnorok and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection.
God of War: Ragnorok
For the longest time, you couldn't find a PS5. I've signed up for in-stock alerts. Now, the alert is going off multiple times per day, and they can even be found idling on a shelf, but I'm broke and can't justify the expense now that I can find it. All that to say... I am playing this on my trusty PS4 Pro.
And I have to say, I am impressed. Obviously, I'm sure the PS5 version looks better and has some features the PS4 just can't do, but not only does the game look good, it looks damn good, and it performs better than the 2018 GoW so far. I know historically devs could optimize later in a consoles lifecycle as they had more time to learn the limits and capabilities of fixed HW in consoles, so that makes sense. Then again, I thought I had read that is less significant now that consoles have moved to standard x86 architecture. Also since this game is straddling two generations and would have to be hobbled somewhat compared to PS5, I would have thought the PS4 would have really struggled with an even more demanding game.
I'm only a few hours in, but so far, that does not seem to the case. The game is gorgeous, and performance mode runs very smoothly. I also like the added accessibility features and that nearly every aspect of the UI and control scheme is now customizable. While I'm sure the PS5 version looks stunning, the PS4 version doesn't seem to be left wanting for much.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
I'm glad this one is finally available! The 8- and 16-bit TMNT games have been in licensing hell for years, so there hasn't been an authorized path to get them on recent modern equipment. The only ways to play these games were to track down old hardware increasing in both age and cost while not benefitting the rights holders in any way, or to use any of the less-than-official digital means which also did not benefit the rights holders in any way.
I've said for years that if ever these games in particular were put out in an official authorized modern package that I would buy them as soon as I feasibly could, and here we are! I put my money where my mouth is, and I am glad to be able to do so.
I mostly wanted the original TMNT Arcade game, and the rest is just a bonus.
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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 31, 2022 8:46:20 GMT -5
So, my copy of WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain came earlier than expected (Was supposed to get here on Jan 6th, arrived on the 30th) and man, I could absolutely not wait to come home and play it. Like I stated in "Meanwhile", I have very fond memories of playing it with my cousin Aaron late into the evening at my grandparent's house in the early 00's. Wrestling was everything to me back then.
Playing it now, so partially removed from my youth, it's still a great game. A lot of my favorite titles are ones that you can just pick up and play. The only thing that was kind of confusing was not having prompts for when you could do a move reversal, it's why I'm glad my copy came with the instruction manual, but it also has little tutorial screens.
I still largely prefer Day Of Reckoning for the Gamecube (mostly for the tutorial training so you actually got to learn the game instead of relying on the manual), but Here Comes The Pain is an icon for a reason and I'm very happy to have it
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2022 11:49:02 GMT -5
It is a great game. I liked the storyline mode in it, even though it was on-screen text. I love that I could play as Goldberg, and, as stated previously, I like how you could swap wrestlers’ finishing moves. It’s quite surreal to see Kane do the Rock’s moves!
Its predecessor, Shut Your Mouth, was underwhelming for me - and the predecessor to that game, Just Bring It, wasn’t a favourite, either. So Here Comes the Pain was definitely an improvement, although I loved it on its own merits.
I hated how some WWF/WWE games became too convoluted (control-wise). I mean, who on earth wanted stamina mode? I’d switch that off. It became impossible to avoid Royal Rumble eliminations in later games (maybe I’m a crap player, but once you were thrown over the ropes, hanging on meant nothing). So many changes just weren’t to my liking.
Here Comes the Pain was, in my view, the last simple WWE game where you could wrestle/win relatively easily - and where they weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, e.g. making pinfalls something convoluted to perform.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2022 11:54:28 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga CollectionI'm glad this one is finally available! The 8- and 16-bit TMNT games have been in licensing hell for years, so there hasn't been an authorized path to get them on recent modern equipment. The only ways to play these games were to track down old hardware increasing in both age and cost while not benefitting the rights holders in any way, or to use any of the less-than-official digital means which also did not benefit the rights holders in any way. I've said for years that if ever these games in particular were put out in an official authorized modern package that I would buy them as soon as I feasibly could, and here we are! I put my money where my mouth is, and I am glad to be able to do so. I mostly wanted the original TMNT Arcade game, and the rest is just a bonus. I don’t buy video game magazines, but I noticed that the latest issue of Retro Gamer covers the TMNT:  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2023 7:40:30 GMT -5
Stupid question. Of course, a higher price is harder on the wallet. 🙄
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Jan 11, 2023 8:15:19 GMT -5
Stupid question. Of course, a higher price is harder on the wallet. 🙄 But is it really a higher price, or is it a comparable price adjusted for inflation? I remember NES games back in the late '80s going for $50. The inflation calculator says that would be over $130 today. My bigger complaint is that expensive games these days are not made to last. They only work so long as the publisher continues to provide online support and until your platform subscription expires. Meanwhile, I can play Mariokart 64 thru Doomsday and without spending a dime beyond the original purchasing price and the cost of electricity. |
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Post by impulse on Jan 11, 2023 9:38:27 GMT -5
I don’t buy video game magazines, but I noticed that the latest issue of Retro Gamer covers the TMNT: And the caption is fair. Some of those games were great, and some were really bad. Also, while the TMNT Cowabunga Collection is really cool and has tons of extras and behind-the-scenes stuff, unfortunately the online is abysmally poor. Like screen crawls and barely moves if you have more than one player, constant stutters sometimes. You can mitigate it by increasing the frame delay, but then you have input lag. I'm floored at how badly it runs for not just a game in 2023 but also one so simple. These games are so old you could run them on a potato. The extra, though. Really cool. It includes the box art and full manuals for I think all the games, even the manuals for the arcade machines. Tons of concept art, and even a gallery of the comic book series. I was disappointed to find out it was just the covers and not the books themselves, though I'm not sure how long I'd read comic books on my TV before giving up. One of the weirder extras that screamed "adding an extra just to have one" though is when you can browse the separate TV show iterations. It shows random screencaps from the episodes when you read them. I don't know who they think is going to buy this game to look up random screen grabs of various episodes of the old shows, but whatever. Anyway, if you are nostalgic for these games and play single player, it's worth grabbing on sale. If you like the history, the extras are cool. I really hope they fix the online because as-is it is not ready for prime time. Stupid question. Of course, a higher price is harder on the wallet. 🙄 But is it really a higher price, or is it a comparable price adjusted for inflation? I remember NES games back in the late '80s going for $50. The inflation calculator says that would be over $130 today. My bigger complaint is that expensive games these days are not made to last. They only work so long as the publisher continues to provide online support and until your platform subscription expires. Meanwhile, I can play Mariokart 64 thru Doomsday and without spending a dime beyond the original purchasing price and the cost of electricity. Yeah, if anything, video games are less expensive than in the past considering buying power. The catch is how a lot of games now come out without much content and you have to buy DLCs. The ability for online patches and online play is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's nice that bugs can continue to be fixed and features added after the fact. On the other, developers ship games in appalling incomplete buggy states, and if there is an online component, once the server is down, that's it. |
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 26, 2023 18:28:37 GMT -5
Had something of an "itch" to start back up New Vegas after watching Nuka Break and HBomb's retrospective. Not very far in, still on the Sunny Smiles tutorial, but I'm very excited to get back into this world
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Post by tartanphantom on Jan 26, 2023 21:50:28 GMT -5
Had something of an "itch" to start back up New Vegas after watching Nuka Break and HBomb's retrospective. Not very far in, still on the Sunny Smiles tutorial, but I'm very excited to get back into this world
Coincidentally, I just started playing a new session of this about a week ago. Last time I played was before the pandemic. My son saw me playing it on Steam and he started up a new game himself!
It's been awhile for both of us.
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Post by impulse on Jan 27, 2023 10:01:10 GMT -5
I love New Vegas and FO3. Imperfect though the engine is, it's a fun game in an entertaining world. It might be worth another playthrough when I either get through or get tired of the others on my list.
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 27, 2023 11:25:25 GMT -5
I love New Vegas and FO3. Imperfect though the engine is, it's a fun game in an entertaining world. It might be worth another playthrough when II either get through or tired of the others on my list. New Vegas was one of the first games I thought to buy on Steam when I got my Acer Nitro 5 a few years ago. My old '09 Vista/HP Compaq Presario laptop was so poor spec wise that it couldn't even hope to run it. While the quests are fun, there's just something about getting lost in the game world and coming across stuff completely by happenstance |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jan 27, 2023 11:35:09 GMT -5
I love New Vegas and FO3. Imperfect though the engine is, it's a fun game in an entertaining world. It might be worth another playthrough when II either get through or tired of the others on my list. New Vegas was one of the first games I thought to buy on Steam when I got my Acer Nitro 5 a few years ago. My old '09 Vista/HP Compaq Presario laptop was so poor spec wise that it couldn't even hope to run it. While the quests are fun, there's just something about getting lost in the game world and coming across stuff completely by happenstance
Exactly why I am a big fan of open-world games. I love the exploring as much as the quests. I've always been this way. My mom used to say that I must have been a pioneer/mountain man in a former life, as whenever we'd go some place, I'd be off and exploring the minute she turned her head.
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Post by impulse on Jan 27, 2023 11:44:01 GMT -5
Yeah, exploring in those games is at least as much fun if not more than the quests. Just try going north right away out of Goodsprings for an interesting experience.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jan 27, 2023 11:49:36 GMT -5
Yeah, exploring in those games is at least as much fun if not more than the quests. Just try going north right away out of Goodsprings for an interesting experience.
A varmint rifle and a 10mm pistol might get you past the first bunch of powder gangers, but by the time you get to Sloan, you'll be toast at the sight of the first Deathclaw!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2023 13:19:46 GMT -5
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