While Waiting for Forza Horizon 3

On 01/03/2018 at 10:30 PM by KnightDriver

I traded some old game systems today and got Forza Horizon 3 so I could play with Mark. Then I had to wait for the long 50 GB install and played whatever I had on my hard drive digitally. I started with Minecraft but then bought Romancing Saga 2 on sale with my remaining gift card money and played that.

Minecraft. I'm continuing a long quest to beat the Ender Dragon. I'm on the Magician stage and managed to find enough diamond to build the Enchantement Table. Then I needed a lot of books to build the library around it. I needed to find and harvest Ender Pearls from Endermen in order to find the Stronghold and it's library, or spend a long time growing sugar cane and getting leather from cows. I decided to build the Nether gate and see if there were more Endermen there, because I didn't see any in the overworld right away. While in the Nether, I managed to find the Fortress and get the blaze rod for the Brew Stand. I didn't build it because that's the next stage, Alchemist, and I want to keep to my plan. So I did some low level enchantments on my gear just to do something with the enchantment table. Then I stopped and tried to play Forza Horizon 3.

FH3 wouldn't let me play yet at 41% complete, and I didn't want to play more Minecraft, so I searched for another recent downloadable only title I might want and came up with Romancing Saga 2, the remake of the 1993 JRPG. I got kind of hooked on it for a few hours. They throw you right into turn-based battles with sprites that have gear and spells and everything. I thought it was a prelude to the main story, but it seems not. They don't tell you much what to do either. I had to figure out how to switch items and use spells and abilities all on the fly. I still don't know how you upgrade your abilities. It seems to happen automatically. I got to the first major boss, Kzunssie, and got my soul drained out of me. Then something happened which changed things quite a bit (and, I guess, is a spoiler, so I won't mention it). Suffice to say that it felt like a new beginning. That's when I stopped and could finally play FH3. That's what I want from a downloadable game, something I can play off and on when I'm waiting for installs.

Forza Horizon 3 quickly absorbed the rest of my gaming time. Its gameplay is very similar to FH2 but in Australia and with some changes that make the whole experience even smoother and more fun. I'm trying not to be overwelmed by the even bigger open world and the immense amount of races and challenges. I actually used my AI assistant after a while to tell me what to do next. I just couldn't even look at the map full of dozens and dozens of events. I'm just focusing on driving and exploring the amazing scenery of Australia. I think I want to go there one day.

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/03/2018 at 11:30 PM

I hate waiting for online installs.

KnightDriver

01/03/2018 at 11:36 PM

I thought those days were over. It's only gotten worse. Still, 50GB is a ton to download and it moves much faster than you would expect from those "old days" when internet speeds were much slower. I guess I shouldn't complain too much. But remember those days when you popped in a cartridge and got right to it?

01/03/2018 at 11:44 PM

I do. Yet at the same time, I'm starting to prefer digital, cause once it finally downloads, you no longer have to pop ANYTHING in. And stuff loads faster than it did on PSX.

01/03/2018 at 11:49 PM

Yea, I'm getting to that point too. I almost bought Forza Horizon 3 digitally. It was cheaper on a sale too. I just had trade-in money to spend, so I got a hard copy.

Cary Woodham

01/04/2018 at 12:56 PM

Wait until you die in SaGa 2 first, then you'll get to rebuild your party.

To upgrade your skills in SaGa 2, you have to use them. So to increae your hit points, get hit a bunch. To increase your attack, use a weapon a lot. To beef up your magic, use a lot of spells. That's also how FF2 worked, and both games were directed by the game guy as well.

The way formations work is that anyone in the front has strong attacks, but they get hit harder and more often. Players in the back have more defense, but less offense. It affects their speed and other stats as well.

01/04/2018 at 11:46 PM

Well I died, but didn't play longer to see what would happen next. I'll get back to it though.

I love games that level based on what you do. I try to do that myself when the game gives me a lot of options. I just think of what I did and apply the points accordingly. Cool!

Neat! Formations sound excellent. I can't wait to play more of it.

goaztecs

01/05/2018 at 12:03 PM

Love the Forza line especially Horizon. I debated for a bit on just buying it on the PC but it looks like its keyboard and mouse only, which I don't like for racing games. Installs suck especially when they are huge and take a while.

01/07/2018 at 08:41 AM

What? PC Forza doesn't have controller support? I thought most PC games had that now.

PixlBit