We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.

I've played Hotel Dusk, but you've probably heard a lot about it.

I have not! Tell me!

Oh good, okay so

The plot and story is fantastic, (just look up the plot summary on TV tropes or something) it's really dramatic and thrilling while having like almost no action, just emotions conveyed through really good characters. Most of the game just has you dig into certain characters backstories as a side story to the protag's, and all of them are interesting and worth going through.

The gameplay does a lot of neat innovations with the DS, like touching two parts of the screen, closing the DS, and tilting the DS. A lot of the puzzles are clever and some of them have to do with interrogating characters Ace Attorney style.

All the characters are rendered in black and white, hand drawn animations and a huge chunk of the game's budget went into just drawing those animations.

It also has one of the most memorable endings/final chapter(s) that I've ever experienced in any video game I've played. Overall it's probably one of the most clever and innovative adventure games I've played, which is unfortunate given that Cing is bankrupt, but you could probably find it somewhere for like ten bucks. I really recommend it.

EDIT: ALSO, semi-related because it's on my mind: If you've never played Ghost Trick and really like adventure games, you REALLY SHOULD play it.

Actually, while we're recommending games, I'd recommend finding a copy of Time Hollow. It's like...TIME SHENANIGAN GAME DONE RIGHT :3

or something i need to play it again

Time Hollow is nice but the whole HP thing and then the cat brings you more or something mechanic was super ugh.

I was /super/ careful with my chronononoinons.

I liked it a lot but I don't remember how much of it was puzzles and how much of it was visual novel...

which reminds me that I still need to pick up 999 and VLR

Quite frankly, I'm convinced that professional "game critics" don't actually know anything about game design, or what makes a game good.

That’s okay, a good number of professional game designers don’t, either.

Actually, Forbes has an excellent article about all the problems with video game journalism. Erik Kain is probably one of the best voices in gaming journalism right now, despite Forbes being completely unrelated to video games.

I am unhappy that we never got a single one of the Detective Conan games over here.

Has anyone played any of Cing's adventure games for the DS? I love adventure games, but they only got average critical reviews.

I think Cing generally presents pretty fun stuff, Another Code is pretty alright, and Hotel Dusk and it's sequel are pretty charming with an excellent art style.

Really, the only game I'd consider "avoid at all costs" is Again, because that one is just horribly boring and uninspired.

For a comparison, if you've ever watched Half in the Bag or Plinkett reviews by RedLetterMedia, they do an excellent job of going in-depth with movies, and I really wish there was a video game equivalent. They tried one, but it didn't work out and they didn't go much in depth. They were six minutes long and had comedy skits in-between. They're looking for ways to mess with the format though, and I hope it turns out like Half in the Bag.

I was also thinking about starting up in-depth reviews of video games a little before DmC's release because of how pissed I was that DmC was a thing, but I've decided against it.

Majora's Mask... a game I really dislike

I'm sorry we can't be friends anymore. It may have some of the same gameplay flaws as OoT but it's theming elements are so amazing that it makes me forget about it, i also feel like there's not as much clunky combat as in OoT.

The only thing i dislike about Matthewmattosis is his monotone reading tone. ALWAYS ends sentences with the same tone, it's annoying.

It is really taking all of my muster to not re-watch all of his MGS reviews until after he uploads the comparison.

I should probably watch the Legend of Zelda reviews to hold me over, I'm really glad that he was linked in the other forums' games chat because he's greattttt.

I could see how his voice could be seen as monotone but I dunno, there's something about it that I just really like??? Maybe im a weirdo.

Maybe im a weirdo.

This is news?

EDIT: Oh yeah, Freq, thanks for reminding me the Backloggery exists, this is a neat site that I should be using. My collection is goddamned bonkers.

Being on a time limit to accomplish anything made the game feel very tedious to me, like I had to fight for every inch of progress. A game's pace should be determined by the player, and not artificially lengthened by handholding or time constraints.

While I can understand personally not liking it, are you going as far as saying it's bad design as a rule?

One of the reasons (one of many) I rate Star Control II ahead of Mass Effect, despite the former being vastly more primitive, is that when you're out to save the galaxy from a deadly threat, things are happening as you play, not based on what plot events you've triggered, but on a consistent independent time frame. When you can stop to take 20 shopping trips and 10 sidequests before you make the plot move forward on your own terms, the threat seems a lot less and the whole world seems a lot less real.

I know MM's system is different in that you're going back in time a lot and there's no limit there, but I feel it does help push the idea of a real world you're saving and a threat that you have to react to rather than the other way around.

Since when does Majora's Mask have an actual time limit

The time limit is almost decorative. It only comes into play, as a LIMIT, in the sense that you'll want to beat a temple before the last ding so that you can skip to the boss if you need through there again (I don't remember if you actually have to have beaten all four bosses in the same 3-day cycle before Oath to Order works, so there can be that).

Losing all your shit is annoying but its not like its hard to reload and it helps enforce the theme

Losing all your shit is annoying but its not like its hard to reload and it helps enforce the theme

Yeah, part of why the theming works so well is the pressure the timer puts on you. I haven't played much of it, but I always find myself glancing at the timer at least every 10 seconds. It's a big weight, despite the fact that it's not actually much of a real timer. I think it's one of the most unique titles in Zelda, especially given how stale Zelda can be sometimes.

One game that I felt handled the theme of time and "events going on regardless" really well was The Last Express. Which (wait what? I can buy this for Iphone now??? uh, pardon me.)

It was basically a murder mystery on a train, but each person on that train would be at certain places at certain times. You had the luxury of turning back time if you really screwed yourself over - but few things put on the pressure like trying to find your way out of a person's bathroom before they return and knowing that an inexorable clock is ticking against you.

I remember reading about that game a while ago on Wikipedia from an article about commercial failures in video games. Is it worth playing?

I remember reading about that game a while ago on Wikipedia from an article about commercial failures in video games. Is it worth playing?

It's pretty interesting, though not without it's flaws, like the near-total lack of guidance.

They did a lot of things right, like the art style and how fleshed out the characters are, and the writing is pretty solid (barring the ending, which is shit and Mechner should be ashamed for writing it), and the ultimate result is a pretty interesting game in a rather limited genre.

So yeah, I'd suggest you check it out if you like adventure games.

and also understand very little about game design if their own games are anything to go on

Strangely, two professors this (school) year have defensively quoted “those who can’t, teach” at questions I asked and I’m like, maaaan I didn’t say anything.

I remember reading about that game a while ago on Wikipedia from an article about commercial failures in video games. Is it worth playing?

I watched a video playthrough a few months back and while it is not at all paced like a film, I got the feeling it’s probably better watched that way despite that unless you really have time to spend and want to get acquainted with the richer elements of the game and the various ways you can lose. The gameplay definitely suffers from that adventure-gamey need for absurd leaps in logic and lucky guesses.

Even if you watch a playthrough with no mistakes whatsoever, you won’t really miss out on the good parts of the game, such as the sense you are in a living microcosm of 1914 (in real time!), traveling through the various cars (no real shortcuts), bumping into people in the halls (who are weaving various plots), using the technology of the day (plus... something else), and a plot that could have just as easily been pitched in Hollywood instead (but then the script wouldn’t be 800 pages).

Even if you watch a playthrough with no mistakes whatsoever, you won’t really miss out on the good parts of the game, such as the sense you are in a living microcosm of 1914 (in real time!), traveling through the various cars (no real shortcuts), bumping into people in the halls (who are weaving various plots), using the technology of the day (plus... something else), and a plot that could have just as easily been pitched in Hollywood instead (but then the script wouldn’t be 800 pages).

Okay, that sounds extremely interesting.

I don't know if I have the time at the moment to play through it, but I don't really want to watch a playthrough. GUESS I'LL STICK ANOTHER GAME IN MY BACKLOG WHOOPS

Note also I didn't say I think it's bad. I just don't like it. I can see how other people enjoy it, but it's not executed in a way that I thought was fun. I'd need to replay it to get any more in depth.

I know i always bring up SotC as The Game Everybody Loves Except Me™ but it's relevant this time i swear.

It's kinda like the opposite of MM, in both games you have a clear goal, yet in one you're free to bullshit around while the other urges you to get shit done or else you'll eventually have to "start over". I never felt pressured by the timer, like Mehg said, it's just a limit; a reminder that stuff is happening and you should get going. It doesn't set the pace for the player either, you're always free (after you turn back into a kid) to do most of the side quests, if you fuck it up, going back in time then fast-forwarding is the punishment for not figuring it out. It feels fair since the song of double time gives you plenty of time to mess around.

I know it's subjective though. I just personally don't enjoy the extreme freedom you get in SotC while exploring since there's nothing to do, whereas in MM you're given enough freedom to do other things without giving the main goal less priority. Not to mention all the stuff you can do besides the main quest.

Also, the best improvement in MM over OoT is Tatl.

G-I-A-N-T E-G-G!

My little brother got that game for Christmas one year and I thought it looked stupid, but then I ended up liking it! I'm kind of tempted to dust it off now.

Got me some Billy Hatcher.

Haven't played it since it was new and I rented it. Curious to see how it holds up since it's been too long for me to have any real opinion ...

I played that recently.

The answer is: oh my God this was such a good game, why hasn't it spawned a sequel?

Arggghh Darkstalkers is out and i don't have any moneyyy.

E: Is anyone else here getting it? Cause you gotta give me that psn name stat if you will.

Well, technically none of the ports except the Japanese only ps2 port are good. But we already talked about that.