3DS Catch-all

Soul Hackers comes out in April.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Soul Hackers comes out in April.

Tempted to pre-order, but I hate doing that. Maybe I'll pre-order the day before release to get the soundtrack.

Just looked at the amazon page for it and found a typo ("pre-oder," lulz).

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Soul Hackers comes out in April.

Ah, I assumed he meant SMT IV. I don't keep track of these things like you guys.

I'm going to give it another whirl, but Monster Hunter might not be for me after all. On the other hand, Fire Emblem went from a "maybe when it's cheaper" to "I hope I don't have to pay any important bills next paycheck, because I kinda want this". I really like how they implement the characters being in contact with each other.

Also, the cel-shading for the cut-scenes is so gorgeous. Is this what Ni No Kuni looks like? Because I want more Japanese games to be doing this. So, so beautiful.

Blind_Evil wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Soul Hackers comes out in April.

Ah, I assumed he meant SMT IV. I don't keep track of these things like you guys.

Your assumption was correct, I was referring to SMT 4.

ccesarano wrote:

I'm going to give it another whirl, but Monster Hunter might not be for me after all.

I've yet to try the 3DS demo I downloaded, but I tend to fall in that category as well. I have two of the games for PSP (one I won in a contest, the other I got off Gamefly during an end of year sale ages ago), but I just can't seem to get into them.

Mighty Switch Force 2 is in development and will release Q1 or Q2 of this year. I rather enjoyed the first one, so I'll keep an eye out for the second.

Did you guys go buy Crashmo yet? It's on sale through tomorrow.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Did you guys go buy Crashmo yet? It's on sale through tomorrow.

I did. I am bad at it.

SixteenBlue wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Did you guys go buy Crashmo yet? It's on sale through tomorrow.

I did. I am bad at it.

Good for you!

I think after the first round of puzzles you unlock training mode. Those are 90 puzzles that you can at any time have one of the characters show you how to solve. They were invaluable for teaching me some of the basic tricks for getting through.

That's exactly where I am. The first puzzle after the 20 lessons. I haven't looked at training mode, I'll check that out.

Edit: I did do the 20 lessons without getting hints, I guess that's maybe something. But I'm already stuck on the 1st real puzzle.

So umm....

wut

This is almost Katamari levels of weirdness. I think I might need this.

EDIT: Also, I too bought Crashmo. Never played the first game but I'm enjoying this one so far.

dhelor wrote:

This is almost Katamari levels of weirdness.

In. That's all I need to know.

I bought it at launch, but I am totally hooked on Resi: Revelations at the moment. I enjoyed it when I played the first few levels when it came out, but wasn't too keen on getting back to it without the Circle Pad Pro after I upgraded to a 3DS XL.

I was wrong about that, and it plays absolutely fine with the default controls. It's a game that Nintendo should shout about from the rooftops as a demonstration of the system's capability in terms of a game that isn't a JRPG, SRPG, platformer or puzzle game. It is the best Resi game that I have played in years, putting the confused 5 and the execrable 6 in the shade.

I will look at the console port with interest, to see whether any additions enhance or detract, but what I really want is another 3DS game in the same vein.

Kersploosh does look interesting. Personally, I'm more looking forward to Harmoknight:

spider_j wrote:

I was wrong about that, and it plays absolutely fine with the default controls.

Which is what I've been sayin', man! Why does no one listen to me?

It's a game that Nintendo should shout about from the rooftops as a demonstration of the system's capability in terms of a game that isn't a JRPG, SRPG, platformer or puzzle game. It is the best Resi game that I have played in years, putting the confused 5 and the execrable 6 in the shade.

I will look at the console port with interest, to see whether any additions enhance or detract, but what I really want is another 3DS game in the same vein.

I'm hoping making Revelations available on other systems will only boosts its sales and indicate to Capcom that this is closer to the direction people want. Unfortunately, Capcom has been notorious in getting the wrong idea.

For example, is it possible that ResiEvil 5 sold so much because 1) it was available on two "hardcore" systems which made it available to a larger target demographic and 2) players that weren't fans of the original control scheme discovered ResiEvil 4 in new AND used copies and thus were fired up for 5? NOPE! 5 clearly sold because it had more of the actionings!

Bleh.

Revelations isn't perfect and occasionally feels like a lower budget handheld, but it certainly has some shining moments. Too bad New Game + is kind of screwed up by constantly switching to characters with default equipment. Made the flashback levels a serious Female Doggo on the harder difficulty.

Friendly reminder time:

  • Fractured Soul is $7.99 this week, down from $11.99. It's an action platformer where you swap between two versions of the same space, one on the top screen and one on the bottom, to maneuver around obstacles and enemies.
  • The demo for Castlevania: Mirror of Fate is now available.
  • This is the last week for the free DLC in Fire Emblem: Awakening. After March 5th, you'll have to pay for it.
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Friendly reminder time:

  • Fractured Soul is $7.99 this week, down from $11.99. It's an action platformer where you swap between two versions of the same space, one on the top screen and one on the bottom, to maneuver around obstacles and enemies.
  • The demo for Castlevania: Mirror of Fate is now available.
  • This is the last week for the free DLC in Fire Emblem: Awakening. After March 5th, you'll have to pay for it.

Just checked a trailer for Fractured Soul and that looks ridiculous and awesome. May have to grab that.

Pretty excited about the Castlevania demo. I feel like I'm one of the few people who enjoyed Lords of Shadow.

How interesting is the FE DLC? I don't have the game yet, and wasn't planning to until next payday probably.

Lastly, I picked up Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars this weekend and am really digging it so far, at about 4 hours in and in the 4th or 5th mission. Pokemon White 2 was my on-the-bus game but I stalled when I changed which bus I take to work: it's hard to make progress in that game in 20 minutes. Shadow Wars is great for a 20 minute bus ride, because I can at least get a couple of turns in and I can save mid battle.

There are actually 2 women in the main group of Ghosts, which I found impressive, even if their classes are kind of cliche (one of them is a medic and the other is the equivalent of a Rogue). That idea would likely have been shot down if this were a console game. I did meet another female character in the last mission who is less cliche, but I think she's temporary.

I am a bit disappointed with the AI. When I saw that the medic character only had a medpack and a pistol, I thought this might be a game that actually incorporates the protected status of medics under the Geneva Convention. However, one of the early missions, you are tasked with taking out an enemy commander, but when you get to him and surround his tile, there is no chance to capture him instead, despite him not doing anything for several turns. When I brought the medic within range, he finally decided that she was the person to shoot (which is a war crime), which of course triggered the return fire mechanic from 2 or 3 other units and he was killed. I have been playing her as a legit combat medic and only using her for healing, with her pistol only being used with the return fire mechanic, but I guess the game doesn't actually care.

I was a big fan of Shadow Wars. I know it got a fair amount of attention when the console first launched, but I feel like it's become a bit of an overlooked gem since then. The writing isn't always that great, but the gameplay mechanics are solid and enjoyable.

The FE DLC is for two kinds of people: the people that are into fan service, and later the people that want the most extreme challenge. I am neither. Get the free one, but analyze it and see if you want more.

Blind_Evil wrote:

The FE DLC is for two kinds of people: the people that are into fan service, and later the people that want the most extreme challenge. I am neither. Get the free one, but analyze it and see if you want more.

Yeah. I'd say the weirdest part about the DLC is how you'll end up not wanting DLC characters in your party. They can't form relationships, don't have much story to go along with them. The idea of having Lyndis in your party is cool in theory, but in practice you'll want to level up Chrom's daughter instead.

Played through the Castlevania demo. I wasn't expecting much going in and was hoping to be surprised. The framerate is bad. This game is not smooth at all. The game plays like a 2D God of War with some Metroidvania stuff sprinkled in. There is a cool feature where you can use the stylus to drop notes on the map if you want to remember to backtrack to certain places. But man, that framerate. It's a shame because it seems like there is an ok game here but I can't imagine playing an action heavy game like this with with a poor framerate. Maybe the final release will be smooth.

Framerate didn't seem bad on my play of it, but then I only played for a few minutes.

dhelor wrote:

Framerate didn't seem bad on my play of it, but then I only played for a few minutes.

I think it's pretty bad. And the 3D graphics look terrible. And it's God of War: Castlevania. Do not want.

If you're on the fence about it like I am, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is getting a demo on the 7th.

I'll check out the demo. I've had a few good experiences with roguelikes and actually think a less-intense version would fit me okay. Also, Pokemon Conquest was a pleasant surprise as the first Pokemon spin-off I've ever enjoyed (aside from Snap, of course).

I finally got around to the Mirror of Fate demo, and I liked it a lot. I likely won't be getting it at launch, but it's definitely going on my list of games I want to buy.

I might be the only console gamer around here who hasn't played a God of War game (unless Dante's Inferno counts ;)), so I can't compare the two, but I liked the combat in Mirror of Fate. I liked that it was in 2D, and I liked that it was just difficult enough that I had to develop strategies for some of the harder enemies. I had fun experimenting with the different moves.

The game seems a bit lighter in the Metroid aspects than other Castlevania games, but I'm honestly okay with that. I haven't played all the Castlevania games, but in the ones I have played, the large, contiguous maps were neat but weren't nearly as much fun to explore as your average Metroid game. I think it's because the majority of the game's upgrades were level- or equipment-based rather than being hidden pickups, and the combat was so lackluster that I tended to avoid enemies just to duck the tedium.

I didn't notice any major framerate issues in what I played. It wasn't running at 60 FPS, for sure, but it never seemed to dip all that low and certainly never interfered with gameplay. If I hadn't have read the complaints here about the framerate, I'm not sure I would have noticed it at all.

Meijer is having "Buy a 3DS XL, get a $50 gift card" this week. Think that's technically the cheapest price ever, beating out Target's $160 deal back around the holidays.

In-store only though, and pretty regional stores (midwest).

I should add that the environments in Mirror of Fate are gorgeous. The backgrounds are pretty incredible.

I played the demos for Fractured Soul and Castlevania: Double subtitle.

The Fractured Souls demo just kind of dumps you into the game, with no setup, and therefore no reason to care about the story, but the gameplay itself is pretty fun. I only played for 10 minutes and didn't finish the demo, so I don't know if it touches on story bits later. I'll probably pick this up at some point.

The Castlevania demo confirmed that it's a game I want to play. The combat seemed to transition fairly well to 2D, and the addition of the automap made it feel closer to a traditional Metroidvania. I was a bit disappointed that they only hinted at the Light and Shadow magic systems, but didn't show them off, as they were neat additions (mostly to the combat, but I think there were some non-combat applications) and I wanted to see how they transitioned to 2D. I've been meaning to replay Lords of Shadow anyway, so I may do that, and pick up the 2 DLC packs before jumping on the 3DS installment. While I sometimes play handheld for multihour sessions, I typically play them in short chunks on the bus, or at lunch, and I wonder how well that will work for this game.