What I've Been Playing: January/February 2017

On 02/12/2017 at 12:13 AM by Halochief90

Phantasy Star Universe

The online portion of this game was shutdown four years ago, so all I have to go off of is the single-player portion. I have to say, at first, this was the poorest single-player RPG I have ever played. Everything from the boring environments, launch PS2-era graphics, dull story and characters, horrid voice-acting, forgettable music and the shallow combat all reeks of bad game design. That is until later on where you figure out the combat on your own (with little help from the tutorials). It's still a mediocre game overall, but much better than it seemed at first.

Fate/Extella

As a huge fan of the Fate franchise, I enjoyed this game much more than the sub-par reviews let on. Yes, the game can get very repetitive (as you play many of the same levels over-and-over again), but it also gets quite addicting as well. That's because playing with your favourite characters is so rewarding. I can finally see why Dynasty Warriors has such a following (which is what this game is mimicking gameplay-wise). The story is also quite good, but again, I say that as a huge fan of the franchise.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

This game is excellent. Despite a relatively weak opening, Rise of the Tomb Raider gets incredibly engaging as time goes on. It has a near perfect pacing of action, platforming and puzzles. Honestly, I would say this game is better than the first three Uncharted games (haven't played Uncharted 4 yet) and as a big fan of Uncharted 2, that's saying a lot. A few minor gripes, I wish the Optional Tombs were easier to find and the story is still at B-movie level, like the Uncharted games. But those are small blemishes on an otherwise fantastic game.

Finally, after the recent price-drop, I decided to buy The Last Guardian. Really looking forward to it. Until next time.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/12/2017 at 12:56 AM

I'm about 25% into Rise, but I've been up to my eyeballs in sidequests in the Russian camps and loving it. They definitely focused more on the optional stuff compared to the predecessor. And I actually eally dig the story so far.

Halochief90

02/12/2017 at 11:57 PM

I didn't do too much optional stuff; there's too many collectibles for my patience. Only did one Tomb because that's all I found.

02/13/2017 at 12:40 AM

You missed a lot of cool backstory and world building. To me, the optional stuff is the best part.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/12/2017 at 11:21 AM

I'm gonna get Rise eventually. Don't want to purchase and not play any more games right now. Backed up with my backlog.

02/12/2017 at 11:59 PM

I can understand that. I imagine you want the PS4 version with all the DLC.

02/13/2017 at 05:25 AM

well, I don't have an Xbox One. And my PC doesn't have the power. So, yeah. Seems like a fun game!

goaztecs

02/12/2017 at 01:18 PM

I really dug Rise of the Tomb Raider. I don't know what I collected but when you find a certain item it unlocks the locations of all the special collectables on the maps including the hidden tombs. I finished the game and I've been going back to portions of the game and doing the side missions and collecting items.

02/13/2017 at 12:01 AM

Darn, I missed that. I would love to go back and get it, but I have already moved on to The Last Guardian.

Ranger1

02/12/2017 at 07:52 PM

Rise is on my short list of games I'm going to buy when I once again have a bigger paycheck coming in.

02/13/2017 at 12:02 AM

Nice, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

jgusw

02/13/2017 at 03:17 PM

I didn't know the The Last Guardian dropped on price. I'll have to get it now.

02/14/2017 at 12:25 AM

Yep, and $40 is pretty reasonable for a two month old game.

SanAndreas

02/13/2017 at 06:07 PM

I want Fate/Extella, but unfortunately it came out around the same time as Yakuza 0 and Tales of Berseria, so those are what I got. I like a lot of games that the critics don't (I also don't like a great number of critical "darlings" these days). One of my favorite games last year was Nights of Azure.

02/14/2017 at 12:30 AM

Yeah, me too. Fate/Extella was another game that didn't get very high reviews but I enjoyed it a lot regardless. I remember there was a year where all my favorite games were games with fairly low review scores. Games like Drakengard 3 and Crimson Dragon. I'm still perplexed how a game with such little content like Overwatch managed to land GOTY from numerous places.

02/14/2017 at 10:13 AM

I agree with you. Blizzard games are automatically treated like the second coming of Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, and Odin rolled into one, always have been with regards to reviewers.

KnightDriver

02/14/2017 at 01:39 AM

i put Last Guardian on my rental list. Hopefully I'll play it soon.

02/14/2017 at 04:41 PM

If I wasn't such a big fan of Shadow of the Colossus, I'd be renting it or borrowing it from a friend. I just have to own it for that reason.

02/22/2017 at 11:57 PM

I remember playing demos for Shadow and Ico. I still have my OPM demo discs with those on them. I never played them all the way through though. I even got the PS3 collection but then I traded my whole collection before I could get to it. Hopefully I'll get to rent this one and spend some time with it.

PixlBit