What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[null1024]

mGBA is the no$gba killer these days, although higan's GBA core is reportedly catching up. Even VBA-M is a better alternative.

Ah, thanks!
Shit, I wish I knew about mGBA 2 hours ago. Shit's working butter-smooth.

[atheistgod1999]

Do I still get trophies in Demon's Souls if I'm playing in offline mode? I signed back into PSN as soon as I reloaded the game.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I hardly care about trophies, but I presume what's earned is saved just like any other progress (as in some other that-gen console games, there are no separate on- and offline modes).

[null1024]

so, I moved on to Sonic Advance 2 [GBA], a game I had a love-hate relationship with
it's tending a bit more toward love now, but I still hate so much about it

This should be a 100% better game than Advance 1. Visuals and sound are brilliant. It's a very slick looking and feeling game all around.
The stage design is a lot rougher. Large sections are you just running crazy fast down a skinny strip of road that occasionally intersects itself. Enemy/spike placement is rude as fuck. A bunch of stages have bottomless pits right before the end. The game repeatedly flings you into save-or-die situations with barely any time to realize "oh shit, I'm over a bottomless pit, what the fuck," which is really, really obnoxious.

It's still fun. There's definitely a flow to the stage design, where if you jump/trick at a given moment, you'll probably land on a different path. Stages feel pretty linear still, but mostly because of the absolutely blistering pace.
Camera is a ton better, actually shifting so you can see more ahead of you [unlike Advance 1's "hurr, let's have the camera not keep up with Sonic if he's going too fast" shit], but you're going so fast usually that it doesn't matter. One additional inch of screen space ahead isn't much at all.

Bosses aren't as bad as I remember... with Sonic. See, Sonic still has his double-tap forward air dash from Sonic Advance 1 [that I remember being tricky to do on the GBA d-pad for some reason] that makes reaching the boss after being knocked back a hell of a lot better. The Knuckles slap boss is obnoxious because of the hand.
Cream completely trivializes the whole game. Not one boss stands up to Cream in any way whatsoever. If Cheese could be incapacitated somehow [hit by attacks or something? get KO'd for a bit when Cream gets hit? anything to stop this little blue fuck machine from fucking everything till it dies ], it'd be better.
spam b literally every moment you're playing as Cream [while not flying]

getting the emeralds is absolutely retarded in this game and I'm not dealing with that shit, the sheer difficulty of getting into the special stages is obnoxious, and the stages are not designed for any kind of backtracking at all
I downloaded an all clear save to see if Amy or the true last boss was worth it -- TLB is kind of neat, but it's way too hard to keep track of the missiles you have to knock back. Brilliant BGM though.
Amy is absolutely fucking not worth it. For the most part, she's Sonic. She doesn't really do much Sonic doesn't, and she doesn't play very differently like she does in Advance 1.

hell, she probably shouldn't have been such a hard unlock [all emeralds with everyone else, what the actual fuck], you should have just unlocked her as part of the normal stage progression
It's nice that she's in the game, and like the rest of the characters, she's smoothly animated [really, the game's presentation is top fucking notch]. The requirements to unlock her are just ass.

[JBC]

Hyper Light Drifter PS4

Really diggin' it. Not hand-holdy in the least, challenging enough, atmospheric.

The intro cinematic really brought me back to the feeling I got from watching Another World's when I was a tyke.

[Leandro]

All this talk about Castlevania made me want to try one of the DS games, of which I have played only a bit of DoS. I chose to start Portrait of Ruin this time. Enjoying the game a lot, playing with the duo is nice, I like that girl

[evil_ash_xero]

Viewtiful Joe. I beat this game on Kids before. So, I'm working on the normal difficulty setting. It can get tough.

I also finished Drill Dozer.

I am working on going through all the Panzer Dragoons again. I did the first one (on PS2) and Zwei. Going to get to Orta, as soon as I get done with Joe.

[kaicooper]

Denuvo shit games cracks are out since last night
now playing

Rise of Tomb Raider
DOOM
Inside
Abzu

(i dont buy Denuvo shit)

[atheistgod1999]

Demon's Souls is fucking amazing holy shit

Why did they decide to ruin it with online mode? I'm having a blast figuring out how to progress without it.

Spoiler

I've opened all the doors in the first level and am currently farming the shield-faced slime things for weapon and shield upgrades.

Here's my character, if anyone's interested:

Spoiler

[Blinge]

Pahaha. show the stats you bellend! Not just the character. "Edgelord lvl 20"

Try progressing without farming first, for man points. You can farm later if you're struggling.

The online mode doesn't make much difference man, if you're in body form someone can invade and fight you, or you can summon them to help/ get summoned (pussay option)

[BIL]

Hey, that blue mullet :O

[atheistgod1999]

PS3 games always have a little bit of inherent input lag (I'm playing on a gaming monitor (ASUS VG248QE, formerly BenQ 2455HM (my grandpa accidentally broke it when I was in NYC and I got my current one as a replacement)), so the monitor itself doesn't really have any lag (no lag when using my PC or playing PS4 or Wii U)), so I didn't realize that my PS3 controller wasn't connected (another cable was connected to one of my PS3's USB ports and I thought it was the one my controller was connected to). I just realized that about 10 minutes ago and immediately plugged it in, reducing the lag from ~5 to ~1 frame. My performance has significantly improved; wish I realized this yesterday.

[Immryr]

Demon's online is basically dead sooooooo.......it doesn't effect the game much at all. It's very easy to not read the notes on the floor if you don't want to.

I would also advise against farming in souls games for the most part. The only grinding you should be doing is trying a boss over and over if you're having trouble with it.

[atheistgod1999]

I would also advise against farming in souls games for the most part. The only grinding you should be doing is trying a boss over and over if you're having trouble with it.

1. I was farming for material.
2. I haven't even attempted the boss yet; I thought it would be as big and powerful as the tutorial boss, so I figured I should to upgrade everything by a ton.

Also: I was wrong about opening all the doors; I forgot about the guy at the narrow bridge who charges at you with a super-long spear. I'm about to upgrade my spear, and with less input lag, it should be easier. Before, I was able to hit him about 5 times before I died.

[Blinge]

1. I was farming for material.
2. I haven't even attempted the boss yet; I thought it would be as big and powerful as the tutorial boss, so I figured I should to upgrade everything by a ton.

Also: I was wrong about opening all the doors; I forgot about the guy at the narrow bridge who charges at you with a super-long spear. I'm about to upgrade my spear, and with less input lag, it should be easier. Before, I was able to hit him about 5 times before I died.

wrooooong. seriously, there's no need to farm this early in the game.
Don't worry that a boss is too powerful for you, just try beating it, there's nothing to lose. Barely any of them will be as big a challenge as tutorial boss - it's supposed to kill you.

Red Eye Knight on the other hand is wayyy too powerful for a nub. he's a " come back later " type enemy.

[atheistgod1999]

Thanks for the advice, Blinge. I was actually about to attempt to do the boss shortly after mentioning that I was farming, but then remembered the red eye or whatever and was afraid that I couldn't return to the level after beating the boss. I beat it on my first try using just my +2 shortsword and +1 [medium-sized shield available at the start of the game that costs 2000 souls (don't remember the name)], BTW.

Turns out I still get trophies in offline mode as soon as I fulfill the requirement(s) (don't even have to reload the game in online mode to get them), FYI.

P.S.: What sucks is that I'm going to stop playing for a bit to memorize the hiragana and katakana alphabets because I have my next session tomorrow

[Ruldra]

Don't know how much you're familiar with the game so here's a couple tips:

- Always keep your weight at half your maximum load so you can roll fast. In this game, being able to evade quickly is critical to your survival. Armor can shave off some damage but won't protect you entirely. A tank build just doesn't work here.

- After you beat a boss, don't go any further. Go back to the Nexus and go to another stage. Once you've beaten the first boss of every world, you go back to Boletaria and attempt to beat the second boss there. After beating all second bosses you go for the third ones, and so on.

And seriously, you don't need to grind at all to make it to the end. Having slightly better equipment won't help you if you don't learn enemy patterns.

[atheistgod1999]

How do I use spells and miracles!? I bought the healing miracle, remembered it, and I couldn't figure out how to use it, so I thoroughly checked the whole manual and the most I could find was that I had to use L1 or R1 to use them, but all they do is use the equipment in my hands! Help!!!

[apatheticTurd]

you need to find a ring (for miracles) or a catalyst (for spells) and equip it.

[Ruldra]

You need a talisman for miracles, actually. If you aren't a priest, it'll take a while until you find one.

[pestro87]

幻霧ノ塔ト剣ノ掟 (Genmu no Tou to Tsurigi no Okite) - Known as the Dark Spire in the west. I finally got the ultimate ending after playing the game on the side for the past 6 months. My final playtime ended up being around 100h. Abslutely incredible game, highly recommended for anyone looking for an amazing old-school dungeon crawler. Incrediby rich dungeon design, fantastic dialogues, great characters and immense depth when it comes to character progression and levelling up. One of the best RPGs that I've ever played, the only nit-pick that I have with the game is that a lot of the later puzzles and quests are incredibly difficult to figure out, to the point where you basically have to use a guide. When I did my playthrough I really tried not to use a guide but I got really stuck on a lot of places later on in the game so I had to look up a few things. I could probably have beaten this game with the ultimate ending in 70-80h if I had used a guide from start to finish.

[Leandro]

Playing Metroid II remake... Really good, can't stop playing

[Shoryukev]

Castlevania III - NES
Chrono Trigger - SNES
Gunstar Heroes - Genesis

I finished Shovel Knight on the PS4, it was a bit shorter than I expected....but as a whole I enjoyed it. I might play it again in the future if I can find a way to play it on my PVM in 240p. I've actually been trying to think of a way to do that with my PS3 for Megaman 9 anyways.

[wgogh]

幻霧ノ塔ト剣ノ掟 (Genmu no Tou to Tsurigi no Okite) - Known as the Dark Spire in the west. I finally got the ultimate ending after playing the game on the side for the past 6 months. My final playtime ended up being around 100h. Abslutely incredible game, highly recommended for anyone looking for an amazing old-school dungeon crawler. Incrediby rich dungeon design, fantastic dialogues, great characters and immense depth when it comes to character progression and levelling up. One of the best RPGs that I've ever played, the only nit-pick that I have with the game is that a lot of the later puzzles and quests are incredibly difficult to figure out, to the point where you basically have to use a guide. When I did my playthrough I really tried not to use a guide but I got really stuck on a lot of places later on in the game so I had to look up a few things. I could probably have beaten this game with the ultimate ending in 70-80h if I had used a guide from start to finish.

Well done!! I gave up on that one not long ago. I thought it required a lot of time, even thought it had little to offer. Then i remembered all the times when I heard great things about this game and couldnt understand why. A love the idea of a old-school dungeon crawler, the art is great, but i couldnt get into the gameplay.
Some other time...

[ryu]

my PS3 controller wasn't connected (another cable was connected to one of my PS3's USB ports and I thought it was the one my controller was connected to). I just realized that about 10 minutes ago and immediately plugged it in, reducing the lag from ~5 to ~1 frame.

Sounds like something in your room or house is interfering with those controllers' wireless signals. I've never had any issues, and never heard of anyone with such issues until now.

btw there's no real reason not to grind or farm. I recommend you play the game however you feel like.

There's enough replay value for all kinds of challenges later on.

Now enjoy your avatar

P.S.: What sucks is that I'm going to stop playing for a bit to memorize the hiragana and katakana alphabets because I have my next session tomorrow

Be glad you get to study while you're in your teens. I wish I had started when I was your age.

[atheistgod1999]

After spending yesterday learning more Japanese, I spent today playing more Demon's Souls. I beat the armored spider boss and am currently in the prison level. I probably would be done that one too if I realized earlier that I probably shouldn't be using the wing spear for the squid guards (or whatever the guy said they were) and instead just use the short sword like I do for all the insane prisoners (shouldn't have unlocked them lol). I've learned to meditate during loading screens.

[Leandro]

Portrait of Ruin, I think I'm getting to the end, I'm trying to do some Wind's missions before entering the big painting... Loved listening to Iron Blue Intention again

Edit... Finished it. Pretty fun and easy game

[Ed Oscuro]

Second or third time trying Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, courtesy of the Ubi at 30 giveaway. This isn't the most stable game; my first attempt years back was thwarted by crashes (using nVidia hardware). It's been so long that I didn't remember late sections until I was well into them.

PoPSoT (that PoP Beer easter egg) does a lot right, but it also does so much wrong that I have to wonder why it's still lionized. The climbing gameplay is about as serviceable as the "next-gen" Tomb Raider titles from a few years later, and the time rewind mechanic is decent enough. Beyond that:

- Very short campaign with no replay value to speak of - strange considering the collectibles and hidden areas (probably cut in scope)
- Color-coded combat concept is awful, just awful.
- Even more minor enemies - bats, beetles, vultures, Viziers - are also pointless filler
- Brutal learning curve to fighting with very little instruction into what to do when the first fight with zombies is a boss fight full of regenerating, teleporting tank enemies.
- AI enemies typically sit around doing nothing during mob fights but occasionally decide to suddenly take a swing; the seemingly arbitrary timing made "sand retrieval' execution dangerous. If knocked down, enemies can easily get in multiple hits before you can recover. The broken mob combats also poorly prepare players for the elevator fight.
- Horrible camera and some cluttered arenas often had me unable to see enemies right on me, and the lock-in system and relative camera changes often meant that the prince would run right back in a direction I wanted him to escape from. Also an annoyance during a few block-pulling puzzle sections.
- The Prince tends to be unresponsive, due to early command buffering on the drawn-out attack animations. Again, it wasn't welcome to have the Prince three-quarters of the way through a showy execution only to get knocked over by an enemy who didn't wind up until after you moved in, and who you couldn't see anyways.
- A+A wall combo is not only poorly presented, but unreliable, and visually just the same thing as the normal vault attack for red enemies.
- The prince sometimes jumps too far to connect on vaulting attacks for some reason
- Architecture looks fantastic but sometimes lets you down. During one fight on a bridge it's possible to get permanently stuck because you can't pull up or shimmy over back to the bridge.
- Too much emphasis on "clever" platforming mazes that are hard to decipher visually (I'm thinking of the cistern and the library) and not enough fast reactive platforming. Most of the fast platforming can be entirely preplanned.
- The absurdly demanding simple wall run + jump needed to get off the elevator always has me running around the arena like mad, going "what am I not seeing here?" Nope, just Ubisoft fucking it up again with a pointless pixel-precise jump.
- Only the time rewinding power is a necessary convenience, but even that was obnoxious at times when I wanted to wait for a clean restart. All the other dagger functions just get in the way.
- Getting shot in the back by your AI partner
- Getting blocked in combat or during puzzle segments by the AI partner
- "Story"

I had a surprising amount of fun in the prison area, though it was over quickly, and I completed the final section with no rewinds with only a couple mistakes, and that felt like the highlight of the game. By that point you also don't have to suffer through extended fights. I also checked out the secret PoP1-themed 3D dungeon, which you get into by going to Start New Game and inputting the following at the balcony (it will automatically start the bonus area if you succeed): Hold X, then quickly press Space, Left Mouse, E, C, E, Space, Left Mouse, C.

76/100 better luck next time, and that's heavily weighted in favor of the platforming and against the amazingly broken combat.

[JBC]

Got my N64 RGB mod back in the mail from Retrofixes. It's amazing to say
the least. If any system ever needed clarification it's the 64. I've
played a lot of my carts for short bursts today just to soak it in.

Star Soldier sees major improvement as it's no longer difficult to see
bullets through the over complicated textures. I never even noticed that
some of the popcorn ships are straight up Vic-Vipers. Is it just me or
were they trying to ape RayStorm a little in the presentation?

The stupidly dark Doom 64 is also markedly more playable, but you still
gotta crank up the in game brightness.

Cruis'n USA actually looks pretty good now. Not arcade perfect of course,
but wayyy nicer. I cleared it in 26 minutes. I remember playing this the
day I got my 64 - over RF & it looked So. F'ing. Horrible. Oof, I
don't miss those days.

Well, yeah I do but I sure AF don't miss RF.

Games that were already pretty colorful are most noticeably beautiful now.
Mario Kart 64 & Waverace are just heavenly. (Side note:
Mario Kart's music is very Outrun-esque)

Darker, desaturated stuff like Castlevania LoD & StarFox are better & very
crisp, but don't pop much more. Still makes them more enjoyable. This is
true of notoriously foggy games like Turok as well. Just seems easier to
play.

This mod was def worth the cheap price I paid. Now I can't wait to get my
top loader NES back from them ^___^

[Ikaruga11]

Twilight Princess HD