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Post by Ex on Oct 7, 2023 9:50:06 GMT -5
Finally finished P.N.03. See the "Points" stat? That's probably how many times I had to hit the A button to attack. I consider this the only big flaw of P.N.03, that the game expects the player to machine gun thumb the fire button constantly. That's why I bought a GameCube controller with built-in turbo-fire capability for this one game specifically. And it made all the difference in enjoying it. There are suits with auto-fire, but even the auto-fire still wasn't as fast as that turbo controller I bought off Amazon for $10 or whatever it was (many years ago). Did you get the shower ending? >Still a quirky game I'd recommend anyone check out. It's obvious P.N.03 had a limited budget, and was made on a tight time constraint. This was back when Capcom were trying to fulfill their Capcom Five deal with Nintendo in a hurry. I definitely wouldn't recommend P.N.03 to the average player. They wouldn't have the patience for the methodical dance shooting, wouldn't appreciate its minimalist retro-futurist aesthetic, and would lack the testosterone levels necessary to appreciate Vanessa. But I am glad that YOU played through this game, and had some fun with it. While I think P.N.03 is in the top 5 GC exclusives, I hardly think it's perfect... but I admire its brave uniqueness and unflinching single-mindedness.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Oct 7, 2023 9:56:55 GMT -5
I followed your guyses discussion about P.N.03 here and it sounds like the most annoying game ever lol. A stark reminder as to why I largely ignore more "modern" genres (third-person shooters or 3D action-adventure or whatever you'd call that).
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Post by Ex on Oct 7, 2023 10:21:24 GMT -5
largely ignore more "modern" genres P.N.03 is twenty years old, it's hardly modern. 3D third person shooters were a thing back in the '90s even.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 7, 2023 11:45:00 GMT -5
bone only plays the prehistoric stuff now...
I didn't get that shower ending. It was just... Vanessa's big face who was the "client". Weird goofy story.
Another level of Project Eden knocked out this morning. I have three more left but these are some beefy levels, like Tomb Raider. Hard to tell how much longer that is. I'm at 12 hours now, so somewhere in the 15-20 hour range probably.
After that, I'm not sure what I'll focus on next.
- Did sample some Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Seems pretty amazing, just not sure I'm in the mood for methodical/tactical stealth right now.
- Get back to Armored Core: Last Raven. I still need some redemption after how average Nexus was for the most part. - Might give Arx Fatalis a look.
Had the ridiculous idea maybe Tomb Raider Chronicles... I mean it's somewhat more of a 5th gen game, but came out in 2000! It would fit better if I was at Angel of Darkness. But yeah I don't want to skip Chronicles. I have a hunch that Tomb Raider 4-6 won't be getting the remaster treatment like 1-3, so I should continue on playing the old versions, but who knows.
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Post by toei on Oct 7, 2023 17:37:44 GMT -5
bonesnapdeez 3D action-adventure is pretty awesome for real. Well-worth exploring, and they're not necessarily super-long either in that era. Xeogred Gonna hit up horror games later this month or nah?
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 7, 2023 18:10:21 GMT -5
Not sure I have any good options left. Just really hoping I can grab one of those new Fatal Frame's on a sale soon if possible...
I just realized I never played Otogi 2, but I own it. I didn't get too far into the first one. But I should give it another look. Weird Games #584 via classic FromSoftware, lol.They look amazing but I remember not liking how floaty the first one felt. But it's been forever.
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Post by Ex on Oct 7, 2023 23:04:17 GMT -5
I just realized I never played Otogi 2, but I own it. Same, kinda silly of me. Maybe should check it out later this month, haven't played Xbox in forever. I did beat the first Otogi though:
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 7, 2023 23:29:02 GMT -5
Hah yeah, your old review points out the camera/lock-on issues. I remember stopping the game when I got to some boss that was like a flying giant worm thing and the camera had such a hard time tracking it. Something like that.
I think 2 has multiple playable characters or something. Looked really cool back then.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 8, 2023 19:27:48 GMT -5
Project Eden 17h13m
Nothing changed, the game continued to be incredible and is the best retro game I've finished in 2023, I don't think it'll be topped either.
They just don't make them like this anymore. Hardcore 3D level design of the late 90's and early 2000's is so bizarrely surreal in such a neat way when the game clicks. Architecture and buildings don't really look or function like this but it just makes the immersive factor even cooler sometimes, it feels so "alien" in ways I'll never be able to really convey. I love how back in the day I had no clue who CORE Design were or that there was any relation to classic Tomb Raider. Now that I've sunk my teeth into their TR games which have been amazing, Project Eden is cut from the same hardcore caliber that kind of boggles my mind. Really has me wishing that CORE were still around all these years later. They seem like they kind of devs that would have been cooking up hardcore stuff alongside FromSoftware in the modern era. Project Eden never once cares to hold your hand whatsoever and while there's some sparse moments of things not being the most intuitive, it works for the most part and I love how much games like this respect the player.
I think the immersive sim fan would find a lot to like here if they gave it a chance. A thick slice of dungeon crawling here too somewhat like System Shock or whatnot. It really feels like someone took some level design cues from Half-Life 1, a mix of Deus Ex, and said let's make it horror sci-fi Lost Vikings. It's one of the most unique games I've played. I love how much of the story and ideas later on feel like it beats FEAR to its own game ~4 years prior and while sure the dialogue is a little cheesy here at times, the concept I like even more than FEAR. Project Eden has that Metroid/Souls like energy to it with the atmosphere and world design. This entire game is you going -down- into the depths of the "undercity", every level has a specialized lift for your crew that takes you further into the depths. Again and again, it's like you're going to Urban Hell. More and more you're drowning in its claustrophobic underground city aesthetic, I freaking loved that about this game. In many of the mid levels you could look up and see endless skyscrapers, but instead of the white blue clouds and clean air, you just see dark orange smog and shadows. At some point this feels like a one way ticket for this crew of characters. Hard to imagine how they ever find their way back up to civilization. To think of what lurks below us... this was like the Hollow Earth megacity with mutants and evil mysteries.
Retro GOTY! What a joy to play. Love a game that pulls me in this hard.
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Post by toei on Oct 9, 2023 4:17:25 GMT -5
Xeogred So do you think Project Eden is the ultimate 3D Core Designs game? Looking at footage, I can see how I'd probably like it if I'd grown up on old-school Western game design more. The concept is cool, the levels are kind of built in that intricate, borderline Silent Hill way (SH's trick to making these crazy layouts feel like normal buildings is having dozens of doors be locked and hallways be blocked, some permanently), the atmosphere is there. It's level-based sci-fi survival horror. As far as Core Designs, I was aware of them as the Tomb Raider guys back in the day and thought they were basically the same as Eidos (Eidos did buy them in 1996, turns out). Turns out like a lot of UK studios, they have prior history in the micro computer scene going back to the late '80s. Are you ever going to try one of those earlier 2D games? Stuff like this: Admittedly doesn't look great at first glance, but who knows. As far as horror, The Ring really is pretty damn good, despite the budget aspect. Outside of this theme, but still in horror, there's The Convenience Store and Chilla's Art games. Laplace no Ma / Demon of LaPlace is basically a SNES Sweet Home that seems interesting, another turn-based RPG/survival horror hybrid. There's also this fan-translated Dreamcast horror game, Seven Mansions: Notice how the guy looks like my boy Ryo from Shenmue / Akira from Virtua Fighter.
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