WingedKagouti on 8/4/2023 at 12:08
Quote Posted by henke
Overall score: 7/10
As far as I'm concerned, 7-8/10 is a resonable score for the majority of Nintendo titles. Their games are certainly not
bad, but they're also frequently not the pinnacle of gaming either. Despite the pedestal many gamers seem to put those games on.
Thirith on 8/4/2023 at 16:37
I've not played all that many Nintendo games, but I would say that the Marios and Zeldas and Metroids I've played (which isn't that many) are tremendously well designed. They're very overtly designed and *gamey*, but I can absolutely see why something like Super Mario World or Galaxy, Wind Waker or Super Metroid and Metroid Prime receive all the praise they get.
Jason Moyer on 9/4/2023 at 03:14
It depends on the games. People love the 3-D Mario and Zelda games and I've never seen what was so great about them (except Breath Of The Wild). The 2-D Mario games, Mario RPG/Paper Mario, top-down Zelda, and sidescrolling Metroid games are basically consistently top-of-the-pile though. Even then you have some titles that are kinda eh, like Donkey Kong 3 or Wrecking Crew. People put them on a pedestal, and their best games are so so so good, but they've always had some stuff that was just kind of meh.
Sulphur on 9/4/2023 at 04:31
Quote Posted by henke
Also, I got the weird urge to replay
The Order 1886 so that's what I'm doing this weekend. A solid action adventure with great action (QTE's aside), a decent storyline, and it still looks great!
Obviously, your opinion on Metroid Prime is
incorrect and no cookie for you!
FOREVER!! :mad:
But anyway, yeah, it ain't perfect, and I can see if you're not taken by its overall construction and moodiness and position as a surprisingly great 3D sequel to a great 2D series, what's left is essentially a jumble of fun and unfun things. So I can relate, but don't necessarily agree.
Order 1886 was pretty neat though, yeah! Though while it looks amazing and the action is fine, it's missing... something. It almost like it feels like it's playing itself towards the next cutscene, and it's very short, so nothing is given enough room to breathe, and nothing is developed enough either mechanically or narratively. I liked it all the same, it's a solid 6.5 or 7 out of 10 for me.
henke on 9/4/2023 at 16:59
Think I enjoyed The Order more the second time through. Took me 6-7h this time. The game kinda starts so-so but really picks up in the zeppelin level. Fantastic guns in this.
What else I played this weekend:
Terra Nil - this is included in Netflix's games section on mobile! Plays decently on my phone despite small screen. Feels like a modern tablet might be ideal for it. Sadly my Samsung Tab is a bit too old and creaky to run it smoothly, and my decade old iPad Air can't even install it. Anyway, played through the first level, and it's a very nice feeling making the landscape bloom again, then cleaning up your presence, leaving behind a beutiful, pristine landscape.
No Man's Sky - started this up, then though "hey, why don't I played Subnautica instead?" and closed it.
Subnautica - I never finished it first time around, despite make it ~20h in. Been playing it in 30 min increments over the day. Always starts out feeling good but it's not long before it just feels like work. And it really is. I mean I know exactly what I gotta do so I'm just doing chores and crossing items off a long list. Really not as much fun the second time around.
Renault on 9/4/2023 at 19:52
Funny, I've started Subnautica 2 or 3 different times now, and then just quit because I'm not really sure what to do. I mean, I could research it, but I feel like they don't make anything very obvious.
demagogue on 9/4/2023 at 20:39
The heart and soul of Subnautica is exploration, both the world and the story. So I think the sine qua non of getting into that game is a person has to be into exploration as an end in itself.
This is one of those cases I think where it's better they drew a line knowing some people weren't going to be into the game, because it's so directionless especially at the start, than watering down the concept and giving more guidance to be more inclusive. You're crash landing on an alien planet. That bewildering and lost feeling is kind of essential to its character I think. But also like henke was saying, making progress is really just a matter of exploring everywhere you can, and the places you visit will tell you what you need to do, usually farming or gathering some resource or another, in whichever order you visit them. So it's for a particular mood that people may not be in all the time.
Even that said, since I wasn't really into the gathering and farming parts, at some point I just started playing it in sandbox mode, where you get access to everything right from the start. In some sense that's gutting the entire game. But I was mostly only interested in exploring, seeing the story play out, and making my own base without restriction, so I had fun playing it that way. Anyway I'm glad they allowed me to play it that way.
Renault on 9/4/2023 at 22:22
Idk, I typically love exploration games, but Subnautica hasn't (to date) drawn me in. When you're on the surface, there's nothing visible in any direction, except for your crashed ship and your escape pod. When you're underwater, everything just looks the same. It's beautiful, but nothing really stands out a far as a destination or a place to search for. The kind of exploration I'm usually into is seeing (for instance) a mountain peak, or a foreign structure or a dark tunnel in the distance, and then trying to figure out how to get there. Or reading a map and wondering what tools do I need to get to that spot. That kind of stuff. I think the breathing mechanic in Subnautica gets in the way too, because you could be adventuring around and suddenly you're forced to leave what you were doing and go to the surface, which is a boring place. Then you're sort of just starting all over again. I want to like the game, I completely do, but it just hasn't clicked with me so far.
demagogue on 9/4/2023 at 22:47
There are different zones with somewhat different styles and creatures. But I think the gameplay loop mostly revolves around depth. The new areas that carry the story forward are at increasing levels of depth which require increasingly better tech to get you down there. That's a bit different than exploration per se, but it does give a person a rough sense of direction to go.
Anyway I wasn't even disagreeing with you. I'm a fan and still recognize it's a game one needs to be in a certain mood for, even if it's tricky to explain what exactly that mood is.
nicked on 10/4/2023 at 07:04
Yeah what made Subnautica one of my favourite games is exploring without knowing what's coming up. You venture, terrified, into the deepening blue gloom knowing that anything at all could be down there, which has a special kind of thrill. But I can totally see how it's not for everyone, and I have no urge to ever replay it now I know what's down there. I think that's what also lessened the impact of Subnautica Below Zero somewhat, is that it has a much clearer directed quest from the get-go, so its easier to get started, but the joy of pure exploration is slightly diluted.
