What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Xyga]

New Wild Guns is up on PSN. Not playing it at the moment though, as it's been priced at an astonishing 24.99....

CIB SNES game goes for up to $1000 on eBay, especially the JP one.

Loose US cart goes around $24.

I have nothing more to say.

[Sumez]

Yeah better pick up the SNES version, it can be found for half that price. I'm sure it's not a boot

edit: Xyga beat me to pretty much the exact same post - I'm not sure if the part about the $24 US cart was sarcastic though?

[Xyga]

I'm not sure if the part about the $24 US cart was sarcastic though?

Not sarcastic, maybe a few more peanuts but the loose US cart is indeed cheap.
That's not an uncommon scenario, sometimes there's a reason (version differences) but mostly it's the collector's virus.
PS: unless they're all repros, but it's not always clear, this is making me paranoid.

[BIL]

CIB SNES game goes for up to $1000 on eBay, especially the JP one.

I'd always heard the PAL version was the big(gest) swingin' dick in terms of price.

Not that I'd sell my SFC copy anyway.

[trap15]

Wild Guns Reloaded is a lot more than just a port. All assets retouched and redone for the higher resolution, more characters, more stages, etc.

[Blinge]

Metroid II - GB version

Man this is good!
They fixed the things that bug me about the first game.

[Marc]

Wild Guns Reloaded is a lot more than just a port. All assets retouched and redone for the higher resolution, more characters, more stages, etc.

Yeah I get that, but still... It's a hell of a price. I mean, Pang Adventures is less than half of that and that was a new game, not one semi made from existing assets. They've priced themselves out of the game with this, it's only gonna sell to those who already know they want it. Of which I'm one, but at that price I'll be picking up Rez first. Seems mad to me, to your average punter it looks I distinguishable from the Arcade Archive titles at nearly five times the price.

Noticed from the screen shots it's 4 player. Hope that doesn't mean the balance has been ruined for a solo.

Also I had the UK cart. Or at least, I definitely had this and it wasn't Japanese. It was an instabuy because 8 worshipped Cabal. I'm distraught to know it goes for so much. I lent mine to some scumbag in exchange for Art Of Fighting and never saw it again.

[Sumez]

You're seriously saying $25 is too much for this game? It's an awesome game, well worth the money!

Not sarcastic, maybe a few more peanuts but the loose US cart is indeed cheap.
That's not an uncommon scenario, sometimes there's a reason (version differences) but mostly it's the collector's virus.
PS: unless they're all repros, but it's not always clear, this is making me paranoid.

If you're finding US carts that are even remotely cheap, those are repros, yup.

[trap15]

What a fucking world when $25 is too much for a great game with plenty of content.

[Marc]

To much for me? No. Although it's on hold until pay day on Friday. But they have COMPLETELY priced themselves out of any casual / impulse purchases and that's the simple truth. To anyone not 'into' gaming the way we are, it simply looks like another Arcade Archives title, at almost five times the price. I'm not sure which part of that folk seem unwilling to understand. IMO they've shit themselves in the foot. Not like it was a particularly well known game to begin with. Maybe they'd have been better testing the water with a re-release of the original.

Anyways, this will probably make them fuck all money, they'll wonder why, and not bother again.

Oh, and did you also miss the bit where I expressed GENUINE CONCERN about how it now being four player may have affected the balance for a single player. Some of you guys are so desperate to defend what you perceive to be a worthwhile re release that there wasn't one comment addressing that.

I mean, you guys HAVE played said game, right?

[Sumez]

$25 is still cheaper than a lot of small indie games you see on the service. It's definitely cheap enough to warrant a purchase from everyone who's been hyped for it.
For the people who never heard of the game and impulse buyers, rest assured there'll be plenty of special offers etc. where the game gets sold at a reduced price. There's no reason to lower it immediately for people who are willing to pay the full price anyway.

Personally I paid $30 + shipping for a physical copy.

[Marc]

I'm over in the UK to more like $30 here.
See your point about indies, but a) I couldn't name one I've paid anywhere near that price for, and b) we're talking games created from the ground up there - from what I can tell, this seems to be a remastered SNES game with a few new characters and bosses?

I just hope it doesn't end up flopping, I'd love for more companies to bring their old games back like this, but I think they're gonna have to be more realistic with their prices. We'll just have to see if it turns out to have been worth the effort I suppose.

[Shoryukev]

Castlevania - Rondo of Blood

I have been patiently waiting for my SCART to component converter to use my new CRT, but I had completely forgotten about my wii. I already owned the component cables for it, and have a few games on the virtual console. Rondo was one of them....I'm actually pretty impressed at how good the games look in 240p on the wii.

[atheistgod1999]

Spoiler

I am so fucking stumped on this part in Half-Life.

[Vludi]

I'm over in the UK to more like $30 here.
See your point about indies, but a) I couldn't name one I've paid anywhere near that price for, and b) we're talking games created from the ground up there - from what I can tell, this seems to be a remastered SNES game with a few new characters and bosses?

It's not just a "remaster" though, most if not all the graphics/animation are redrawn, there are new levels, new characters, new gameplay/scoring mechanics, new weapons, new music, higher resolution that changes how the game plays etc. It's comparable to something like Streets of Rage remake, probably more professional. Personally I think the price is pretty ok, probably more expensive than some comparable indie titles but also better made imo (visuals alone are awesome)

[null1024]

Pokemon Prism [GBC].
A romhack of Crystal that got C&D'd before it was set to actually release, so now the near-final build and modified disassembly are floating around.
It's pretty fun. New region and all.
Backports a lot of features and has a fair bit of polish, I'm digging it.

[Marc]

Some Double Dragon 2 at the moment. Never really bothered to play these properly as they seemed to be blatant coin gobblers to me, unless you abused the elbow in original (which I used to do when playing the cab in our local rock club back when I was 18+) of course. I’ve managed to make it to the halfway point on ST3, but I wouldn’t say my opinion has changed – I feel more like I’m manipulating the game’s deficient AI and wonky level geometry than getting any better as such. As an example, progress past the second round came the first time I still had the medicine ball in play at the stage end. Worked out that the entire section becomes pretty trivial when you cower underneath the conveyor belt, wait for the enemies to line up in front of you, throw ball, scoop up and throw dropped knives, dash out and collect your ball, rinse and repeat. It’s proving oddly compelling. Think the audio/visuals help, there’s just something so satisfying about Technos brawlers, they feel properly meaty. Wouldn’t mind getting one loop of this under my belt if poss. Be nice if Combattribes made it to the AA lineup.

[atheistgod1999]

The hitbox for the spider web balls in HL1 is WAY too big. Also, I actually found the elbow in Double Dragon (NES) to not be useful due to leaving you open to attack for too long.

[BIL]

I feel more like I’m manipulating the game’s deficient AI and wonky level geometry than getting any better as such. As an example, progress past the second round came the first time I still had the medicine ball in play at the stage end. Worked out that the entire section becomes pretty trivial when you cower underneath the conveyor belt, wait for the enemies to line up in front of you, throw ball, scoop up and throw dropped knives, dash out and collect your ball, rinse and repeat. It’s proving oddly compelling. Think the audio/visuals help, there’s just something so satisfying about Technos brawlers, they feel properly meaty.

Insidious, ain't it? Currently having the same experience with Irem's would-be ultimate sidescrolling torture device Holy Diver (FC). Working with certain flawed yet charismatic titles can become a game in itself.

Technos were the kings of beltscroller pain... Final Fight and Bare Knuckle have you clinically depleting enemy lifebars with little apparent wear on the foe. Absent such niceties, DD, Kunio and Combatribes task you with battering the fuckers until they double over in agony before either hauling back and knocking their goddamn lights out, or grabbing a fistful of hair and smashing their faces in. No lifebars, but if you've just landed a fourth unanswered mounted punch to the face, yep, they're probably done!



^ Bozo the clown is in deep shit

Having said that, though I love the sheer violence of AC I & II (the dry-heaving KO sound especially), it's hard to play either for long with the equally savage yet categorically smoother DD Advance around. One of the most comprehensive and successful love letters to a flawed legend ever.

[KAI]

Played CHAOS CODE - New Sign of Catastrophe. The game is soo doujin it hurts. Dozens of mechanics in the same game is something I don't like at all.
En-Ens is still the best fg I've played this year.

[Squire Grooktook]

Played CHAOS CODE - New Sign of Catastrophe. The game is soo doujin it hurts. Dozens of mechanics in the same game is something I don't like at all.

It's pretty simple IMO.

It's basically a game with really fun meter management. You can hold in your reversal or okizeme supers to attempt to reach 3 bars and go into unlimited super cancel mode.

That and the universal parry/reversal thingy. Other then that you can basically play it as kof with low/instant air dashes replacing short hops.

[Sinful]

Virtua Racing 32X (J).

Do I suck so much that I still can't secure a first place with the Formula car on the beginner track, or is this game that hard? Best I can do is 2nd. Seems like getting the sub 39 or whatever lap time on this track is pretty hard and only happens once in a blue moon.

VRDX's CPU competition is pretty challenging, at least with the F1 (I seem to remember the Stock being a bit easier, on account of its lower top speed and forgiving handling ; Prototype seemed the hardest). Little tolerance for caution, even less for outright error. I cleared out the F1's races a couple years back - the desert course's brutal tunnel corner made me sweat blood. Incidentally, the Japan version of that course is harder - the fast route's final chicane isn't in the US cart, just a plain straightaway. JP cart saves records to SRAM, too, decidedly the more complete package.

Great game, easily worth keeping a certain infamous bit of hardware around for.

How is that he desert course gave you the most trouble? It's just one or two major turns (depending of which fork in the road you choose). For me it's Highland. The only track I've yet to get first place with the formula one car. And I'm past long overdue compared to the other courses. Came close today, but keep choking and failing at stringing good enough laps together. As this track has the most and most intricate turns. It's also the only track where I never use the break button, only down gear to 6th for two corners then aiming for the best lines to come out of them as I'm accelerating. Oh, wait, the final turn I also very briefly down gear while still holding the gas just to slow me just a hair to get me through this final turn.

[BIL]

The desert's first tunnel corner really gave me hell, and I couldn't seem to gain much ground on the CPU leaders during the straightaways. I did get it eventually, so I must've figured something out, but I distinctly remember that track being the most troublesome.

Highland I remember as the simplest of the lot, even including Big Forest. Not necessarily the easiest, but it's the one where a good line has you basically flooring the gas the most of the time, with only a bit of feathering and brief shifts down from top gear. I should go back and revisit to post in more detail, but I only remember really slowing down for one particular corner, late in the race and visually marked by a nice big post. Even there it was just letting off the gas and downshifting before getting the car pointing the right way and promptly dropping the hammer again.

Blasting through those opening chicanes at top speed from lap 2 onward, wao... exhilarations! :O

Good to hear you're getting to grips with it, anyway. Maybe your Highland is my Desert.

[Marc]

I feel more like I’m manipulating the game’s deficient AI and wonky level geometry than getting any better as such. As an example, progress past the second round came the first time I still had the medicine ball in play at the stage end. Worked out that the entire section becomes pretty trivial when you cower underneath the conveyor belt, wait for the enemies to line up in front of you, throw ball, scoop up and throw dropped knives, dash out and collect your ball, rinse and repeat. It’s proving oddly compelling. Think the audio/visuals help, there’s just something so satisfying about Technos brawlers, they feel properly meaty.

Insidious, ain't it? Currently having the same experience with Irem's would-be ultimate sidescrolling torture device Holy Diver (FC). Working with certain flawed yet charismatic titles can become a game in itself.

Technos were the kings of beltscroller pain... Final Fight and Bare Knuckle have you clinically depleting enemy lifebars with little apparent wear on the foe. Absent such niceties, DD, Kunio and Combatribes task you with battering the fuckers until they double over in agony before either hauling back and knocking their goddamn lights out, or grabbing a fistful of hair and smashing their faces in. No lifebars, but if you've just landed a fourth unanswered mounted punch to the face, yep, they're probably done!



^ Bozo the clown is in deep shit

Having said that, though I love the sheer violence of AC I & II (the dry-heaving KO sound especially), it's hard to play either for long with the equally savage yet categorically smoother DD Advance around. One of the most comprehensive and successful love letters to a flawed legend ever.

Had a few games on Advance and yeah... seems like DD finally given the treatment it deserves. Didn't realise the GBA player went for so much these days so I'll probably end up buying a Pi after Xmas to play some handheld stuff. Maybe even a Micro.

1 also found DD Neon quite enjoyable as a 2 player game, though not having had much experience with the originals at the time, I'm not sure how faithful it is. Enjoyed it a lot more than tat (IMO) like Scott Pilgrim and Charlie Murder anyways.
The combine harvester bit on DD2 Stage 3 is super annoying.

[BIL]

Virtua Racing 32X (J).

Do I suck so much that I still can't secure a first place with the Formula car on the beginner track, or is this game that hard? Best I can do is 2nd. Seems like getting the sub 39 or whatever lap time on this track is pretty hard and only happens once in a blue moon.

VRDX's CPU competition is pretty challenging, at least with the F1 (I seem to remember the Stock being a bit easier, on account of its lower top speed and forgiving handling ; Prototype seemed the hardest). Little tolerance for caution, even less for outright error. I cleared out the F1's races a couple years back - the desert course's brutal tunnel corner made me sweat blood. Incidentally, the Japan version of that course is harder - the fast route's final chicane isn't in the US cart, just a plain straightaway. JP cart saves records to SRAM, too, decidedly the more complete package.

Great game, easily worth keeping a certain infamous bit of hardware around for.

How is that he desert course gave you the most trouble? It's just one or two major turns (depending of which fork in the road you choose). For me it's Highland. The only track I've yet to get first place with the formula one car. And I'm past long overdue compared to the other courses. Came close today, but keep choking and failing at stringing good enough laps together. As this track has the most and most intricate turns. It's also the only track where I never use the break button, only down gear to 6th for two corners then aiming for the best lines to come out of them as I'm accelerating. Oh, wait, the final turn I also very briefly down gear while still holding the gas just to slow me just a hair to get me through this final turn.

Further to my last post, I suspect I'm remembering the Desert track on Hard difficulty. I forgot that the game gives visibly differing trophies for each difficulty level, which led to me clearing 'em all out with the F1... my shaky performance on Desert plus the quicker max difficulty AI probably wasn't a happy combination.

[wgogh]

Shogo MAD has a special charm for me.
"I KNOW WE CAN MAKE IT TOGETHER."

[atheistgod1999]

Was playing some Cities: Skylines earlier today.

Please rate my "city":

Spoiler

In retrospect, it probably would've been a better idea to put the industrial area next to highway.

[BulletMagnet]

Got Wild Arms Reloaded in the mail the other day: I hadn't played the original, but knew it was well-regarded, and also wanted to give Natsume a bit of encouragement when it came to remembering cult IP instead of doing nothing but Harvest Moon for the rest of time, so I figured I'd give it a go.

Having tried it...I can understand why it's praised, as the visual style still holds up very well, and give Natsume props for adding some extra stuff instead of just porting it and calling it a day, but when it comes to actually playing the thing I can't help but feel that they were perhaps a bit too in thrall to nostalgia here. Mind you, the control scheme (more specifically, the way you can't control your character and the crosshairs separately) isn't the original game's fault, but I'm having a heck of a time getting used to it; it's great when you're able to stand in one spot and blast everything to smithereens, but when an enemy inevitably gets a shot off the flow is instantly broken as you're forced to either jump or roll, and then scramble to realign the crosshairs without simultaneously putting yourself back in harm's way. It's an especial pain in the rear to get back on the offensive when your character and your target are on opposite sides of the screen; to attack anything anywhere else you'll likely need to run most of the way to the other side and then coax the cursor outward from there.

I could also gripe about how they didn't see fit to include a one-button dodge roll (heck, they could've done that back on the SNES), and maybe something obvious about the "right way" to play this simply hasn't clicked in my head, but more than anything else, as much as I want to love this one, this is a game which absolutely screams for an "arrange" mode with a modernized control scheme. That, and less goofy cover art.

[atheistgod1999]

Fixed the industrial zone thing:

Spoiler

Can someone please r8? :3

[Ebbo]

it's great when you're able to stand in one spot and blast everything to smithereens, but when an enemy inevitably gets a shot off the flow is instantly broken as you're forced to either jump or roll, and then scramble to realign the crosshairs without simultaneously putting yourself back in harm's way.

Just making sure: You do know that the enemy bullets can be canceled by shooting at them? This charges your vulcan cannon and is also key part of the scoring system since as long as you keep shooting you'll get an extra multiplier for destroying enemies.

I wouldn't mind simultaneous aiming-movement in some sort of arrange mode but as far as the original game goes I do believe the designers were making very conscious design choice in keeping those actions separate.