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

Monday, May 22, 2023

Cloud Monday - Humanity - Part 1 - Some Issues Streaming This New Game From PlayStation Plus Premium

Today's Cloud Monday is part 1 of playing Humanity on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.

This is a new game from Tha and Enhance Experience that is out across PS4 and PS5. this is the newest game i've tried out on PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service and i chose to play it because i wondered how well having soo many people on screen at the same time would hold up, whether the stream would suffer from macroblocking or other issues.

The game itself isn't as sharp or bold and colorful when compared to some of the recent games we've played on this list. graphically, it has it's own issues on PS4. the one that annoyed me the most was the seeming lack of a shadow of my character. this meant that it was really hard to judge where it was in a 3D space. you'll see in this video that i jump off stuff a fair bit. other things i noticed include how low resolution and low framerate the shadows were.

There might've been a few other things, but it's hard to tell because the game also suffered from streaming issues. for example, the game is a bit murky and not sharp so it's difficult to know if there were resolution drops. my fear about macroblocking came true and it appeared more than once. it was so strong a couple of times that there was even zebra striping. near the end, the warning about the stream came up, too. stream tears weren't that common and even tho there was macroblocking it never really got in the way. unlike recent games who rely on sharp high resolution art and suffered because many issues were soo distracting, with the art style and limitations of the PS4, these issues didn't get in the way of Humanity.

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Switch Funday - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass - 50 Minutes Playing Online

For Switch Funday, i was looking to play something familiar, something i could relax to. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn't the most obvious game, but i know i'm not the best player so there's no pressure on me to try and win. my only goal is to not finish last. there were a couple of times when i failed to reach that goal.

I tried editing this video a little bit, cutting out the lobby time. so in real life, it was near 1 hour 15 minutes. i stopped 'cause the game had started to no longer be relaxing, rather it was becoming a little frustrating. i do enjoying playing it and it's nice that i can pop in for an hour or so and just relax and play with no pressure on me.