Online Saturday - Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - My First Time

Today's Online Saturday game is from this month's PlayStation Plus selection. Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War was added as a free game to download for PlayStation Plus subscribers and i was curious as to whether the online was still popular considering this is an older Call of Duty game.

The last Black Ops game i played was Call of Duty: Black Ops III but i only played the single player story mode, in the video i thought i played it on PS3 but i think i was wrong and i played it on PS4.

When i played Warzone 2.0, https://youtu.be/-F5LygJiO2U, i had such a bad experience that i actually deleted the game after making that video. So i came into this a little cautious with low expectations. The main menu has 3 options, and as i wanted multiplayer i selected that. i wasn't expecting there to be a video for it tho, i have no context for it so it came across as unnecessary fluff.

But after that, when i got to the multiplayer menu, i was pleasantly surprised how accessible it all was. each mode had an option to see what it actually was. it wasn't cluttered either, nor were there many messages. to me, it was clear what my options were. pressing L1 or R1 would change the menus and i felt that these could've done with the same treatment as i didn't really know what any of it meant. but at least it was simple enough to explore them and i was mostly able to work it out for myself.

It did take longer to find games than i expected. but, seeing as i didn't play this at launch i have no context as to how long it used to take. so if you have that information, please let me know in the comments. thankfully i was able to use the time to explore the menus more, unlike Gundam Evolution.

I'm playing this on a launch model Japanese PS4 so loading did seem to take a little while and even when it got into a game textures took extra time to load. that coupled with the waiting time did give this game a slower feel to it. But i went into it assuming that maybe the case as no game i've played as matched up to Splatoon 3.

with so much loading, i would've liked the loading screens to have provided some more information about abilities and classes. But i won't hold it against the game as it does have a bot mode where i could learn all that stuff. I also don't take multiplayer too seriously so i didn't mind learning as i played in each game. one nice thing about the maps i played was that they weren't too small. there was enough room so that i didn't die as quickly as i spawned in. there was time to explore the map, time to try out stuff, and time to beat other players. i didn't feel like i didn't have a chance, i felt like i could contribute even tho it was my first time playing it.

Overall, i found Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War a very accessible game. it may not have as many people still playing it as when it did at launch, but there's enough so that waiting isn't too long. i had fun and even tho it takes up a lot of space and i think 6 downloads, i won't be deleting it. i may not do a video on it, but i may play the single player mode as well as some more multiplayer. but probably not zombies, they're too scary for me!

Mobile Friday - Tower of God: NEW WORLD - A Fantastic First Hour

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Tower of God: NEW WORLD by netmarble on my iPhone Pro 14.

This game came out this week and it's not often i play a brand new game. especially one that's highly anticipated as this game is based on the Webtoon Tower of God, and it's subsequent anime. I've not seen either, tho i think i've seen a trailer or two for the anime.

on the iOS App Store, there are a couple of images, but they don't really get across what this game is, and honestly i didn't read the description. so starting the game, i didn't quite know what to expect. i liked that the game asks if i wanted to download all the voice data. so this means that the game is playable but it either downloads the voices as and when it needs them or is silent. i chose to download them all and it's a download, 2.62GB! But after playing the game, it's something i would recommend doing. i'm on Wifi so i wasn't worried about data caps, and if you're on Wifi i think you should go ahead and download it as i found the voices to be well done and in such a story heavy game i do think it adds to the experience. Plus, there's a cool video that plays whilst it downloads the data and when the video finishes there's information on a bunch of the games characters with cool art.

There is a lot of story in this game and for some, that's not what they want in a mobile game. the game is designed as a mobile game first. a great example is how battles work as i didn't control them. i have an option to use special moves or i can let the game use them automatically. meaning, as a mobile gamer we have the option to watch the action which can be useful when commuting. Another impressive way the game is designed with mobile in mind are the graphic options. i accidently started the video with low settings and around half way changed them to highest. but low the low settings actually looked quite good, plus my phone didn't heat up and it would help with battery life. once i changed to the highest settings i quickly felt my phone getting hotter and by the end of the video my battery was lower than expected, too. so if you're far from a battery pack or charger, you can set the graphics to low and still enjoy it. but if you're at home or plugged in, you can set it to the max your phone can do and enjoy the graphics.

The game has a unique graphically presentation because it isn't limited to the phones screen. the characters are big, everything is big and fills the screen. but there are often times they go beyond the screen, almost as if the game was designed for bigger screens like iPads. with everything being so big and the graphics and artstyles working so well, it's easy to get lost and be absorbed into the world. i wasn't distracted by anything, it was incredibly effective in grabbing my focus. it's kinda cinematic in that respect.

Something else that's unique about the game is what kind of game it is. it would be difficult to say it's simply an RPG. what we play as "ourself" is more RPG than what we play when we're Ban. His side of the game is more like a story based game. it's interesting that these two stories are split. "Our" story is the Adventure Mode and Ban's story is the Story Mode. it looks like both need to be played to get the full story. as i've not watched the Webtoon or Anime, i don't know how accurate either is, but if i was to guess Ban's story would be closer to the Webtoon/Anime and "Our" story is probably new. I put "our" in quotes because i don't know who i am in the game. we have a name that we create, but other than that there's not been any physical representation of us in the game. so i'm playing it, but i don't know who "i" am.

The game isn't perfect. i feel like the tutorial could be better incorporated into the story and spaced out a bit more. i feel like the shop is available too early and not explained as we have no sense of worth/value in this game and yet the game expects us to be able to make a purchase decision. And by the time the video ends, i felt like the game could've chimed in with a reminder to level up as the battles were beginning to take longer. but in the grand scheme of the game as a whole, this are minor quibbles.  

Tower of God: NEW WORLD is a game that i recommend. it's one you could play straight from download, but i would download the voice pack first and then go out and play the game. i played for an hour and barely scratched the surface of this game. there were many other modes and menus locked. so for a free to play game, it offers a lot and doesn't throw endless adverts at you either. 

Backlog Conquering - RiME - Part 2 - An Hour Of More Adventuring

After getting stuck at the end of the first video for RiME, https://youtu.be/dEA0laV7RbA, i had a quick look at a YouTube video for the solution and found out i was soo close to the answer. so i started this video, part 2 of playing RiME as part of my Backlog Conquering series, by solving the puzzle.

After the puzzle, i didn't know what to expect. i stopped watching the video as soon as it showed the solution, so once more i was off exploring and solving the puzzles as they came. Part 2 feels a little different to the part 1 video as i didn't find any pedestals with glyphs on them this time and the puzzles seemed to be a little more complicated, or that i didn't solve them too quickly. 

The game continues to look stunning and it continues to push my PS4 so hard the fans are actually really loud, so loud i tried to edit them out of my audio. But the game's story hasn't really grabbed me. i don't know if i've missed something or i'm not quite understanding what's been shown to me, but the drive for me is exploring the world in the game. so there will be a part 3, but my enthusiasm for the game has dropped a little and getting messed about by the autosave system didn't help.

at the end of the first video, i quit after an auto save as there's no way to manually save. but when i started RiME for part 2, it was immediately clear that things weren't as i left them. it almost felt like the area i was trying to solve reset. it was frustrating having to do stuff that i had already done to get to the puzzle i was stuck at and because i was unhappy with it i didn't go back to do the side areas that i also did in part 1. i can only hope that things will go smoother at the start of part 3.

Backlog Conquering - RiME - Part 1 - The First 55 Minutes

RiME is the new Backlog Conquering game. i'm playing this on my launch model Japanese PS4 and it's a PSN download, i think there was a disc version of this game in some markets.

I've had this game for a while and i don't really know why i never played it. i think that it maybe wasn't as good as people had hoped for tho i don't really remember. i do remember there being some hype around this game.

It quickly became clear that this is a game that leaves it to the player to work it out. it does offer some hints as to what you need to do. for the first part, there were pillars of light and there was fruit strategically placed next to animals. but as i moved to the second area, i felt like there were fewer hints and that did lead me to stopping the game because i had been stuck for 5 to 10 minutes.

I did have fun exploring. there was no sense of urgency nor anything that seemed out to kill me. so it was nice to do it at my own pace. But it did feel a little dated in that your character is unable to climb and seems not able to jump high at all. i can understand why this character can't jump, it's to confine you to an area. the game may look like an open world but it's actually several gated areas. i have done the first area and i'm in the second, and yet i don't really know if i've finished the first area. there are many collectibles in the game but there doesn't seem to be any record of how many you need to find in area. maybe this'll be something that'll unlock at the end of the game or maybe i'll get a in-game map later.

There will be a part 2, but getting as stuck as i did at the end of part 1 has taken the wind out of my sails, so to speak, and completely halted any momentum i had up to that point.

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Ilmina 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 Ilmina Cup! (2023/7/24 9:00～2023/7/31 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

I wasn't able to play this on Monday when the new cup started, playing on Tuesday usually means there are fewer players online. but it was still competitive and i never managed to beat any of the other human players. when it was just me versus the computer, i did manage to get a couple of wins. But ultimately, i was never able to defeat the boss even tho i got there a few times. i feel like i understood what i needed to do, but was either unlucky or not quite right. This cup was also the first time in a while where i felt held back by using a controller as everything felt slower, and less accurate, than what i wanted to do.

This week i played against:

Ciel - Rank 66

くれぴ - Rank 68

ハニーバナナコーン - Rank 95

モテぃ - Rank 52

Cloud Monday - Dodgeball Academia - Part 2 - The Underdodges Battle to The Tournament!

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing Dodgeball Academia on my launch model Japanese PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Service. In part 1, https://youtu.be/8VHNzvngNfg, there were a few minor issues with streaming the game but nothing that got in the way of gameplay.

I'd say that today's part 2 went even better. there were a couple of noticeable things but they were slight and didn't get in the way of gameplay. because they were slight, there's a chance they were from the game itself rather than from streaming it from PlayStation Plus Premium to me.

As for playing the game, well it was a pleasant experience. both parts have been enjoyable. by the end of this part i came to the conclusion that it's a bit slow for a sports game but if you treat it like an RPG, then it becomes surprisingly approachable kinda like a Pokémon game. if you've played one of them, certain things about this game instantly became familiar, but it also has plenty of it's own unique ideas. coupled with the whole Dodgeball world, Dodgeball Academia feels familiar but also new and interesting. these two parts are still in the tutorial phase of the game, but because it's been soo well integrated into the story it doesn't stick out. it feels natural and very well crafted to ensure that you are always ready for what's next.

In part 1 i talked about how the game's generous Auto Save and ability to save quickly make it a game that's great to stream even if it wasn't designed for it. In this part, that auto save helped me out when i got stuck in a quest i couldn't finish. it didn't save after each battle, it saved before them. so thankfully all i needed to do was load that auto save and i was unstuck. the game was also helpful in saying that i had side quests unfinished and if i went to the next episode, i wouldn't be able to do them. coupled with the tutorial i mention above, it's clear that the focus for the game is letting the player play in accessible ways and it makes it a great choice for not just streaming but for playing in general.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - Getting July’s Salmon Run Item

Welcome to Switch Funday.

I checked and i hadn't got this month's Salmon Run item, See-an-Enemy HUD (It looks like the scouter from DragonBall Z) so i decided to have a "relaxing" time with Salmon and get it.

It wasn't too bad, result wise, today as my teams and i managed to complete the third wave in half of the games. we faced off against the King Salmonid once, but we could only get it down to about half health. we faced it on the smallest stage, too, so it was extremely difficult.

One nice thing about this weekends Salmon Run was that i enjoyed more of the available weapons than normal, but i did seem to get the one i don't like a little too frequently. i also noticed, and complain about it in the video, that it felt like there was less communication from my teammates than normal.