Monday, May 29, 2023

Cloud Monday - Humanity - Part 2 - “Your streaming game closed”

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

 It finally happened. After 31 videos, hours of playing games that were being streamed to me via PlayStation Plus Premium, a game closed on me. There have been times when the game being streamed to me has looked rough and had issues. More than once, i've had a warning appear on the screen to say the game could close. But this video is the first time where it actually happened.

throughout most of this video you'll see all the usual issues i have with streaming from PlayStation Plus Premium, apart from zebra striping but that is a very rare issue in itself. in some ways it's surprising that the game kept going for as long as it did as there were some very rough times before it did close. Macroblocking was a big issue and this video was the first time that it actually got in the way of gameplay because it made parts of text almost unreadable. 

I was beginning to be done with the game anyway. for me, the prologue was all i needed to play to know that this isn't quite the game for me. the prologue would make an excellent demo and i do recommend people play at least that much of the game. but it was the water stages that showed me i was done. streaming the game also affected things because it reduced the spectacle of the game. whether it was the macroblocking or the resolution drops, or whatever, the key moments when a stage is completed and there are hundreds of people moving around kinda didn't have much of an impact on me. i could tell what they were aiming for, but it fell flat because at times it looked like a PS3 game or even worse.

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Switch Funday - Puzzle & Dragon: Nintendo Switch Edition - Oceanus Falls and Kronos Forest

For Switch Funday, i decided to play Puzzle & Dragon: Nintendo Switch Edition. I already play this game for Tuesday's Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyEBkNKW1vyrmZICkMDUAK4PIqkPjfxr2, but that series focuses on the online cups. But there are other game modes to play.

So today i focused on completing the Oceanus Falls and Kronos Forest dungeons, the 8th and 9th ones, in the quest mode. there were some real close moments and overall i would say it was more difficult than playing the online cups. the biggest difference is that the monsters in the quest mode can kill you, whereas playing in the cups it's more you're up against other players and want to have the highest score.

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Online Saturday - Gundam Evolution - 4 Games, 3 Losses!

It's been a little while since i last played Gundam Evolution. since i last played there have been a few game updates and a new season has started, too. Whilst this game session wasn't any more successful than normal, i still had fun.

My goal for today was to try out a new Gundam in each game. for the most part it worked out well, but i didn't have fun with the Gundam that uses a mace. it's a melee focused Gundam that doesn't work too well in a game which has a far greater number of mid to long range Gundams that use guns.

Friday, May 26, 2023

Mobile Friday - Animal Restaurant - The First Hour

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Animal Restaurant from DH Games. i played it for an hour on my iPhone 14 Pro, but it is also out on Android.                                                                                              
Going into this, i had some assumptions as to how this was going to play. not too long ago i did a video on Cat Snack Bar, https://youtu.be/hhqyaTmhXw4, and going back further i did a couple of videos on Cats & Soup, https://youtu.be/B5_zo0ov4IM and https://youtu.be/hCvATMGu-9g. both of these are idle games and both suffered with grind. those videos were all shorter than this one because i ran out of things to do much sooner than with Animal Restaurant. 

From the beginning, it was clear that Animal Restaurant was a little different than other idle restaurant games i've played. it started with a story! it's not an in-depth one, nor is it long. but it does help set the scene and give a reason why we're doing what we're doing. the game also feels like it takes it's time. i didn't feel rushed into progressing, into ads and the store, nor did i feel like i was going to run out things to do right up till the end of the video.

What became more apparent as i played was just how much content is in the game. even tho the title has "Restaurant" in it, in that first hour i learned that there's more to unlock and interact with. the game mostly focuses on a center location, the floor of the restaurant. to the right is the kitchen. at this point in the game, i didn't do too much there. but by the end of the video i had explored the buffet and takeout sections, but not unlocked them as i didn't have enough money, but i had unlocked the courtyard.

because of the how idle games work, it's difficult to say how long it would take to unlock those extra areas. it could be that the grind starts just as i was ending my video. there was one downside, tho not a particularly big one but it's something worth mentioning. the game does an extra download when you start it, in my case for the first time but it could happen after a patch or when an event happens. for anyone with data caps on their phone, this could be annoying as there was no choice about it happening nor was there any mention of how much data was being downloaded.

I do recommend people give this game a go. i feel there's a lot of content to unlock as you play, but if you only play the once i feel that it's a pleasant experience. it's not a game you can play one handed so it may limit a little where and when people can play it.

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Backlog Conquering - Prehistoric Dude - From Start to Finish

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.
This is a video showing my playthrough of Prehistoric Dude on PS4.

This video takes the 4 parts of my playthrough of the game and combines them into one. nearly all my deaths have been removed so it is shorter than all 4 parts combined. if you want to watch each part, you can head to:
Backlog Conquering - Part 2 - https://youtu.be/1WgExq3LxwI
Backlog Conquering - Part 3 - https://youtu.be/X_MrfToAHdI
Backlog Conquering - Part 4 - https://youtu.be/_zIvM0hqbm4

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Backlog Conquering - Prehistoric Dude - The Final Part

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.
This is part 3, the final part of playing Prehistoric Dude.

This is a very short video. i had two goals, get the missing weapon and beat the Enormousaurus boss that i was stuck on in video 2, https://youtu.be/X_MrfToAHdI. the hope was that the new weapon would give me the boost i needed. but what actually happened was i found the weapon not really effective against Enormousaurus. it's such a big boss, getting close enough to use the club on it was just too dangerous. it was much safer to stick with throwing axes. so what i needed most was a little luck. thankfully i got it!

the way the game did credits was nice, there's a big thankyou and a short list of those who helped make the game. the next room takes us right back to the start of the game. this works because after you beat Enormousaurus, you get a special key that unlocks everything. so the game puts you back into the world to get what you missed. turns out i missed a powerup as i very quickly found the final powerup i was missing. 

Prehistoric Dude was a fun game to play. there are a couple of small issues, but the big one for me was how the game goes from controlling well when you jump to becoming a mess when you use vines or try to land on small moving platforms. missing out on powerups was a little frustrating but it didn't become a problem until right at the end. thankfully the game is small enough so backtracking didn't take too long. but the map only shows rooms instead of what's inside them, so it kinda felt like searching took longer than needed. but i do recommend giving it a go. it's not long and the Platinum Trophy is very achievable. there's not much story, but there's a nice twist at the end, but it is, mostly, a enjoyable gaming experience.
 

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Kundali 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 Kundali Cup! (2023/5/22 9:00~2023/5/29 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

Whilst this was another easy cup, where the gimmick was not only easy t o understand but also easy to pull off, it wasn't as exciting as some more recent cups due to the lack of other players. there was only one other player i matched with this week. i didn't beat them, but our second game, my final one of this video, was really close. this week i was able to get to the boss frequently but only once was i able to beat them.

This week i played against:
ariri - Rank 63