Last week i played Harvest Moon for the first time, https://youtu.be/De1aItAfPFk, and it didn't go well. This week i tried it again, having learnt from my mistakes in the hope of making progress and having a better experience. To be honest, that didn't really happen.
By about 20 or 30 minutes into the second video, i had already gotten further than i did in the previous video. but in terms of story, i don't feel like i made any extra progress. i did have a greater understanding of the mechanics, i explored a new area and learnt more about building extensions, and i finally managed to harvest grass. But even after an hour, i still didn't have enough grass for animals, and in some respects my farm was beginning to look worse than when i arrived. i had noticed that the wooden walls around the farm had begun to deteriorate.
So whilst this attempt at playing Harvest Moon did go better than my first attempt, and i'm happy things went better the second time round. i'm also disappointed that nothing really came of it. i'm starting to think that it's more the game's fault than mine. that maybe the game has a really slow start. i get the feeling that the game is wide open and is expecting us to go and explore rather than offer guidance.
For Online Saturday this week i tried out Warface for the first time. With there being soo many game modes to choose from, i decided to focus on something familiar and played Team Deathmatch for an hour.
Going into this, i knew nothing about the game. it wasn't until after i had played it that i learned that it's been out quite a while. Obviously it will have changed along the way, but it's still impressive that a game as old as this has retained enough players to keep being updated and to keep being brought to new platforms. But it also means the developers behind it know what they're doing and it showed. this was one of the better online experiences i've had as a new player. More so when you compare it to last weeks Trackmania video, https://youtu.be/we766gY1WPw. the experience for first time players was soo rough, that i couldn't recommend it.
One of the key ways in which Warface was so approachable was that it starts with a tutorial. It's not too big and full of too many new things either. it focuses on two classes and uses in-game action. at every step, everything was clearly highlighted and the text prompts were simple and easy to follow. the main screen does look a little dated and is clearly not designed for consoles. my guess is it's the same screen across all platforms. but it works because only one of them options is playing the game and it's clear and simple "Play".
Going into play, again whilst looking a bit dated, you're greeted by all the game modes divided into three sections, Co-op, Spec Ops, and Versus. whilst these may not be that clear to everyone, what i really do appreciate is that there's a little bit of text explaining what's happening. so Spec Ops was a mode i didn't know what it could be, but after reading the text and looking at the images i understood that i was playing a mission that would have maybe 4 stages, maybe 5, and that they take time. that's soo much more information that Trackmania. and this applied to Versus, too. There are 8 modes but when you move the cursor to one it clearly says what's going to happen. Great.
That's not to say the game doesn't have it's own quirks and issues. the bottom of the screen is a mess and never clearly explained. there are 3 currencies down there, bonuses, and mail. A lot of these screens are dark, the text is often small to very small, to the point where i wonder how legible it is if you played the Switch handheld. Whilst the game is keen to move onto the next game, i feel like there's not enough time given to the player to change class and then there's soo much time given to loading that could be better hidden. the load times are rough in this game. it took around a minute and a half or more to just get to the main screen after clicking start on the icon on the Switch home screen.
It's age could be one reason why the game felt a little old school. and i don't mean that in a negative way. i've tried many newer online shooters and not really enjoyed any of them. so coming to a game that felt old, but in a familiar way, was actually refreshing and Warface actually felt easier to pick up and play. the classes were clearly different, the maps were smaller, respawn times were fast, and the action was frantic. This did mean that in Team Deathmatch the medic class did feel a little useless as people died too quickly and when they did they didn't hang around to be revied. Maybe it'll work better in a different mode. And with the game being as old as it is, at times it felt like i was playing against people who knew all the best places to attack from. the game says that it's trying to balance the teams but it became clear that this didn't mean all new people were together and all veterans were together, this game tries to make teams featuring both.
There was a lot i didn't get to see so i won't be deleting the game. i think i'll come back later and try out some of the other game modes. It's free to play and i do recommend it. More so to players familiar with online shooters during the PS3/360 Generation, but also for those looking for something less serious than Modern Warfare.
For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Miracle Merchant by TiNYTOUCHTALES. It's not a new game and it's out across the iOS app store and android.
I've seen the app icon on the store for a while but only recently downloaded it. but i didn't really know much about it other than it was a card game. i think i saw it mentioned it was a solitaire style game, but i don't think that's quite accurate enough to describe it. It's more a card matching game. you need to match cards to what the customer needs, but also to what the cards themselves need.
It can sound a little complicated and after some of the games i've played recently i too was concerned that i was about to be dropped into the deep end. thankfully the game starts with a simple but effect tutorial that, to me, felt like it covered most of what you need to know. there were a couple of UI stuff i'm sure i worked out for myself. but i'd say the biggest thing Miracle Merchant doesn't do is keep a record of what card matches do.
there are 4 colors of cards and 1 extra trap color. each of these has a picture on them. it wasn't that clear whether the items made by combining four of them were a result of the cards used, the pictures on the cards used, or the amount of money you got from combining 4 cards. i would've liked a book next to me that would tell me what combinations i've found from the cards available.
There's a sense of wanting from this game throughout. it starts us off with a great introduction sequence as we move through a town. and that's the only time we get to see it. i was playing it for free so for me all there is are a few games of completing customer orders. it was shown that if i bought it, i'd get daily challenges unlocked. but it also looked like that was it for those who bought it, one extra mode. the game has great art style, all sorts of interesting characters on screen and a cool world too. but all i get to to in this game is match what the customer wants to the cards i have. i wanted more from this game because the world looked soo interesting.
Miracle Marchant is worth playing for free. there were no additional downloads, no intrusive adverts, and my phone didn't really get hot. but for many, i imagine that this game is a one and done. that's not to say it's bad, i don't think it is. but once you've won, there was nothing left that i wanted to go back and play. i imagine that'll be the case for a few who try it.
This is part 3 of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.
In this part i finish the second play and start the third. Whilst i continue to enjoy being in this world and the main characters, the story is starting to be affected by the amount of fighting that seems to now be taking place. it's like the fights have broken the pace of the game. I am playing this on normal so there's a chance that playing this on easy would reduce the amount of fights and bring back pace to the story.
Whilst it is annoying, it's not enough to stop me from playing so there will be a part 4. There's not too much commentary from me in this part as i was really tired and might've even dozed off for a second or two! so it's not my best playing.
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 June Bride Cup 2! (2023/6/19 9:00～2023/6/26 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.
It was fun this week. i had another player to go up against in every match. tho, the matchmaking was a little strange at times. more than once i was put into a game right at the end of the countdown or someone was put into mine. as for playing, well i got a couple of wins early on but then it seemed to get tougher. it certainly got more competitive but i also think i got a little unlucky with combos. this is another week where i got to the boss many times but i was never able to defeat it.
Today's Cloud Monday is part 1 of playing Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.
the only Disgaea game i've played is Disgaea 3 and that was on PlayStation Vita a long time ago. But i still remember roughly what it was about and the style of gameplay. for me, going into Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness i had an idea what it could be whilst also having no clue. thankfully, the game has an amazing tutorial that slowly and assuredly reintroduced me into the world of Disgaea.
I'm not positive where on the Disgaea timeline this game sits, but it felt like it took place after Disgaea 3. the characters and story seemed to match what i remembered of that game. here, the story did feel a little much. Like, they needed to quickly tell the story of what came as well as begin the story of this game. so really, in the 50 minutes i played, i didn't learn much about the story of this game. thankfully, there's a part 2 next week where i'm sure the game will move on from the world's past and focus more on it's own story.
And streaming it from PlayStation Plus Premium went perfectly. it's a very rare thing, more so when you compare the quality of this stream with previous videos. things had been rough recently but then there's this game and it's perfect. All i can think of is that maybe because it's a PS3 game, it requires less bandwidth than some of the PS4 games i've been playing. the speed check seemed normal and comparable to the previous videos so i don't think that has anything to do with it.
Many games that i've played for the first time in this series have mostly gone fine. I've not been that good at them, but they've always gone better than what happened with Harvest Moon. in nearly all the videos i've said something along the lines that the manual would have helped. But i think that wouldn't have helped here. as you'll see, i get stuck in the main town area for over 17 minutes as i couldn't find the one person to talk to.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing i didn't understand. it's possible that had i watched the full How to Play video i would've understood what to do. But i hadn't so i made many more mistakes. for example, i didn't plough enough soil so sowing grass seeds didn't go right. the same for turnip seeds. this meant that i was stuck for money. out of the three turnips i actually managed to grow, i broke 2, so i was only left with 1 to sell. thankfully, that meant i had just enough money to buy some more turnip seeds. by this point i had ploughed more soil so when i sowed them, i finally realised what i was meant to do.
Ultimately, this game doesn't tell you anything as a tutorial. the town's people offer advice and heavily suggest what to do. But as it's my first time playing the game, there was no context for it. by playing it, and mostly stumbling along inefficiently, i've now learned how to start the game and how it should be played. Harvest Moon on the SNES is like the Dark Souls of this farm simulation game style, as the world offer hints as to what to do, but only by failing do you truly work it out for yourself.
Unlike Dark Souls, i didn't come away from the game thinking too favorably of the past hour i spent with it. to be honest, it almost feels like a waste of my time. there are other little things about the game i wasn't enjoying, like what was the point of the dog. i can't pet it, it does nothing inside the house, and seems to do nothing outside. i put the mole/rodent thing next to it and nothing happened. what am i supposed to do about that, too!?
At the end of the video i kinda think out loud that i may give it another go now i understand what should happen. i feel like i could condense the hour plus i spent with it to less than 30 minutes and then maybe the game will open up a bit more. i may do that but i can't guarantee when.
