Online Saturday - Meet Your Maker - One Month Later

Welcome to Online Saturday.

Today's video is my return to Meet Your Maker. i first tried this game back in April when it first came out, https://youtu.be/AFfyi11Uu24, but back then i was having a hard time with it. i decided to leave it for a bit and come back. hopefully things like raid difficulty would become more realistic. the game has had a few patches since then, with 1.06 being the most recent for this game play video.

Unfortunately, i didn't really notice any differences. loading times are still long, raid difficult levels still seem out of balance, and overall i didn't enjoy it any more than the first time. i did manage to defeat a few bases and it was satisfying to do so. but i didn't enjoy it.

I've come to the conclusion that this game isn't for me. i do enjoy the feel of the controls. i've mentioned a few times that it feels somewhat nostalgic to games like Unreal Tournament. but the game attached to it doesn't quite feel right. the controls feel floaty and fast compared to the gameplay and mechanics which seem to require stealth, slow cautious exploration, and for some reason a grappling hook. in some ways, it feels like two different ideas for the game were smashed together and this was the result, rather than the two being stitched tightly together.

Backlog Conquering - Prehistoric Dude - Part 2 - Unable To Beat Enormousaurus

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

This is part 2 of my playthrough of Prehistoric Dude on PS4.

In the last video, https://youtu.be/1WgExq3LxwI, i made a lot of progress but got kinda stuck. it felt like i needed a power-up. so i ended that video by going back to the start to check out some new locations

This video continues on from there. it very quickly pays off as i get the ability to go under water. this opens up the game a lot and enables me to check out other areas i had missed. so for the start of the video that's what i end up doing. about half way i get to the big boss, Enormousaurus, but i get stuck. for the rest of the video, i'm unable to beat it. i get close a couple of times but i can't seem to get the final hit. the video ends with me being frustrated at this situation and wondering if i'm still missing a weapon or something.

Backlog Conquering - Prehistoric Dude - Continuing From QT30E

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

With Malicious now finished, it was time to move onto a new game. in my QT30E series i did a video on the PS4 PSN game Prehistoric Dude. you can catch that video here https://youtu.be/zDgQxE1AIhk and that has the first 25 minutes or so of the game.

Backlog Conquering continues on from that video and keeps going for 50 minutes or so. in this video i continue to not enjoy using vines, i continue to miss wooden platforms, and i continue to hate the spiders. But i do still have fun. maybe i should've stopped a little earlier as i was beginning to get frustrated. but overall it was a good time and some great progress was made.

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Umisachi and Yamasachi Cup - Achievement Run

Welcome to Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday! Sit back and either watch me play through, with no commentary, the cup or leave it running in the background as BGM!

I play and earn all the achievements from The  Umisachi and Yamasachi Cup! (2023/5/15 9:00～2023/5/22 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

This was another quick cup for me. the gimmick seemed OK and making the combos needed was not an issue either. And yet i only managed to beat the boss once, in my final battle. there weren't too many other players online when i did the cup, it's a few days since Zelda was released so i was expecting it. but there were some fun close matches.

This week i played against:

Oolong - Rank 64

ake - Rank 68

そう - Rank 64

Cloud Monday - Super Stardust Portable - Part 2 - A Rougher Stream From PlayStation Plus Premium

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing Super Stardust Portable on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.

I really enjoyed playing Super Stardust Portable on PS4 last week, https://youtu.be/zaOUq0mc6Qc, so i was looking forward to playing it for Part 2 of Cloud Monday. But this week, the streaming experience was much rougher than part 1. Last time, there were issues with macroblocking, but today we seemed to have all the major issues.

it got so rough that the streaming warning appeared for a time! there were stream tears, there were resolution drops, there was macroblocking, and there were times when it felt like it was slowing down and/or stuttering with the controls getting "heavy". there's a chance the latter could also be caused due to the game itself, rather than it being streamed to me. There were a couple of moments when the amount of enemies and particles on screen was really high and this was coupled with streaming/playing issues. 

It's still a fun game to play, but out of the two days i played this game today's issues negatively impacted my enjoyment of it, but it was still mostly playable. if you do have issues, downloading and installing the game is an option, but the point of this series is to see what the streaming experience is like.

Switch Funday - Asphalt 9: Legends - The First 45 Minutes

Welcome to Switch Funday!

Asphalt 9: Legends is a game i've had on my Switch for a long time, but i've never played it. it could be, in-part, that i've always considered Asphalt to be a mobile game series. but it's Switch Funday and i was in the mood for a racing game.

First thing i'd like to say is that i came away from this game very impressed. some of the design and user interface stuff feels old, but the core gameplay itself was a lot of fun. it felt like it took the arcade drift fun from Ridge Racer 7, the cars from Gran Turismo, and the wrecking from Burnout to create a racer that at it's core is rather fun and enjoyable.

the only negative that really stood out regarding it's core gameplay is the length of the races. whilst the races may share parts of a course, they can vary wildly in distance. if it took less than a minute, it felt too short. it would be a guess to suggest that this was from it's origins as a mobile game. but when they're short, a mistake or two is all it takes to lose the race. there's not enough time for a comeback. the Ai is rather good and seems to try, combined with a boost that doesn't seem that much faster than everyone else, makes the short tracks feel a bit of a chore rather than something to look forward to.

Considering how old the game is on Switch, i was also impressed by how good it looked. there wasn't too much complex stuff on screen, but what was there was clear, big, and colorful. there were some texture pop-in issues with stuff in the background, but that was only really noticeable when things were going slow. the sense of speed when you're going fast and the type of racer it is means that in a race there's little time to admire the scenery so i didn't notice if pop-in happened. it doesn't have the most crisp graphics and i'm sure i spotted the game showing my car with a floating head inside, but i do feel that it's good enough. even the menus were fine.

I'm glad i checked out Asphalt 9: Legends and i do recommend people try it. it's free to play from the eShop and has a huge amount to unlock. it's a bit of a retro racer with modern ideas that mostly pulls it off.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - Getting May's Salmon Run Item

Welcome to Switch Funday.

Today i went and got May's Salmon Run item, the Commander Tunic. today's video continues my new edited approach to Splatoon 3 videos.

it was a successful Salmon Run today. it rarely goes smoothly and can sometimes take a long time to get the item twice. however, today things went really good. there were only a couple of early losses! most games either finished or got to the final round. this meant i even got a couple of extra matches in after getting the item this week. i had some great team wins with some great teamwork, something that's not a given. my team and i did face against a King Salmonid, but once again we failed to defeat it.