thegaffer12
2012
I actually had a lot of fun playing this game, in between moments of peak frustration as I failed challenges over and over again. These moments however drove me on to master the controls of the game to a certain degree, but I wasn't willing to commit to anything beyond the main campaign as I knew the difficulty curve to go any further would require more than I was capable of. SSX is a very exciting game, and you're always kept on the edge of your seat as the slopes are very thrilling. I'm not an SSX series purist so can't make any comparisons, but the experience was fun without being anything extraordinary.
2009
Didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would sadly. Found the controls more complicated than they needed to be, and despite seeming like a rather zen game from a distance, the requirements for succeeding were far too great. I enjoyed the free rolling so much more than the levels at the first time of asking.
A hearty, enjoyable and pleasant game to play from start to finish. I played and 100% completed this game over 6 months, due to lack of free time more than anything else, and throughout I always found Ocarina of Time easy enough to pick up again where I left off, even if a fortnight had passed. It's reputation as a game is definitely deserved.
I found every dungeon enjoyable and rewarding to complete, and the controls and gameplay throughout to be very consistently strong. The world of Hyrule is easy on the eye and all the characters are intriguing and likeable. The side quests are (mostly) good fun and I really like the ability to change the world with time travel.
However, the game isn't without it's faults, understandably with it's age and how early on in the 3D adventure game invention cycle it was. I found Hyrule field a chore to navigate around until ocarina travel or Epona became available. Some stages of game progression seemed impossible without a guide telling me exactly what to do, and after all the effort I went to to collect 100 golden skullutas, the final reward is absolutely laughable. Finally, the fishing game is such nonsense. I broke my analogue stick holding down on it for hours trying to catch a 13 pound fish, and ended up permanently breaking my 3DS when attempting to repair it. I blame fishing entirely for that!
I'm glad I made sure to give this game a proper go, as it's a very worthwhile experience.
I found every dungeon enjoyable and rewarding to complete, and the controls and gameplay throughout to be very consistently strong. The world of Hyrule is easy on the eye and all the characters are intriguing and likeable. The side quests are (mostly) good fun and I really like the ability to change the world with time travel.
However, the game isn't without it's faults, understandably with it's age and how early on in the 3D adventure game invention cycle it was. I found Hyrule field a chore to navigate around until ocarina travel or Epona became available. Some stages of game progression seemed impossible without a guide telling me exactly what to do, and after all the effort I went to to collect 100 golden skullutas, the final reward is absolutely laughable. Finally, the fishing game is such nonsense. I broke my analogue stick holding down on it for hours trying to catch a 13 pound fish, and ended up permanently breaking my 3DS when attempting to repair it. I blame fishing entirely for that!
I'm glad I made sure to give this game a proper go, as it's a very worthwhile experience.
2010
This game was released while my PS3 was broken and awaiting repair, so I became obsessed with the idea of it, longing for the day where I would get to play a kart racer/Littlebigplanet hybrid. It sounded like a dream come true.
I do like the game but it fell a bit short of my enormously high expectations. The racing doesn't feel the tightest, although I say that as an admirer of Crash Team Racing's controls, but not the worst out there. It was easy enough to make a basic map but the tools were there to master the creation tools and make advanced tracks. I never delved too deep into making my own races as the tracks available online were very well made.
Online was a lot of fun, I remember getting somewhat hooked on racing with others until the servers lost its player base.
I really like the concept of the game as a whole and think it's a load of fun, but just wish the whole thing was a little more streamlined.
I do like the game but it fell a bit short of my enormously high expectations. The racing doesn't feel the tightest, although I say that as an admirer of Crash Team Racing's controls, but not the worst out there. It was easy enough to make a basic map but the tools were there to master the creation tools and make advanced tracks. I never delved too deep into making my own races as the tracks available online were very well made.
Online was a lot of fun, I remember getting somewhat hooked on racing with others until the servers lost its player base.
I really like the concept of the game as a whole and think it's a load of fun, but just wish the whole thing was a little more streamlined.
2002
I have a lot of admiration for this game, however I feel to unlock Dark Cloud 2's full potential as a game, I would have to sacrifice my real world life which I was reluctantly unwilling to do.
There is so much to do, and the ridiculously vast amount of content was overwhelming for someone who wasn't able to commit much more than an hour a day whenever possible, resulting in spending a lot of time exploring an endless pool of guides out of fear of missing something out. I wasn't able to devote every spare moment to photographing every entity in Chapter 1 before they became permanently lost (one of the first boss fights included a photo), and that was a red flag for me. If I was a child with no commitments, this game would be the dream for me but sadly those days are gone.
The visuals are bright and vibrant, I enjoyed exploring the towns to recruit people and I was a big fan of the scope of the whole thing, however it's not without it's flaws. I found dungeons incredibly repetitive, and this was one of the things that put me off persevering through Dark Cloud 2. The battling left plenty to be desired, which isn't ideal when you're looking at about 30 dungeons per chapter.
I wish I could have stuck out longer with this game as it includes so many interesting components, for which I congratulate the designers. I just needed something a bit more streamlined.
There is so much to do, and the ridiculously vast amount of content was overwhelming for someone who wasn't able to commit much more than an hour a day whenever possible, resulting in spending a lot of time exploring an endless pool of guides out of fear of missing something out. I wasn't able to devote every spare moment to photographing every entity in Chapter 1 before they became permanently lost (one of the first boss fights included a photo), and that was a red flag for me. If I was a child with no commitments, this game would be the dream for me but sadly those days are gone.
The visuals are bright and vibrant, I enjoyed exploring the towns to recruit people and I was a big fan of the scope of the whole thing, however it's not without it's flaws. I found dungeons incredibly repetitive, and this was one of the things that put me off persevering through Dark Cloud 2. The battling left plenty to be desired, which isn't ideal when you're looking at about 30 dungeons per chapter.
I wish I could have stuck out longer with this game as it includes so many interesting components, for which I congratulate the designers. I just needed something a bit more streamlined.
1995
Suikoden was one of my favourite RPGs until I played the second entry which surpassed it so much that going back to the first one was never as tempting. That being said, it is still a really fun game.
The story is great, visuals hold up superbly and it's battle system is foolproof. Character recruitment is rewarding but having permanently missable characters is a bit of a bummer. One thing I think this game and the Suikoden series as a whole is missing is side quest bosses, as the game never gets more challenging than the story bosses.
The story is great, visuals hold up superbly and it's battle system is foolproof. Character recruitment is rewarding but having permanently missable characters is a bit of a bummer. One thing I think this game and the Suikoden series as a whole is missing is side quest bosses, as the game never gets more challenging than the story bosses.
2008
It's hard to give a numerical rating to a party game, but Buzz for the PS3 is really good value for money. The different rounds were varied and great fun to play in a group of friends, and a huge advantage over the PS2 Buzz entries is that questions almost never repeated themselves. It was always fun building your contestants and making the fart noise their buzzer noise. Online and being able to make your own quiz was a good touch too.
The racing is really dull, which was a huge disappointment following the spectacular CTR and to a lesser extent Nitro Kart. The hub world's were decent fun to explore alongside all the collectables, without being anything spectacular enough to justify recommending this game.
This game definitely holds a special place in my heart. It's the first game I remember playing on the PS1 as a five year old, and was considerably harder when I didn't know the "charge" function existed.
I have replayed this game a lot over the years, and it still holds up in terms of controls and level design. I'm not too bothered by the visuals aging as I have too much nostalgia for it all. I have a big interest in the game's glitches and speedrunning techniques, which adds another layer of fondness for it.
Lots of fun and my favourite classic PlayStation platformer.
I have replayed this game a lot over the years, and it still holds up in terms of controls and level design. I'm not too bothered by the visuals aging as I have too much nostalgia for it all. I have a big interest in the game's glitches and speedrunning techniques, which adds another layer of fondness for it.
Lots of fun and my favourite classic PlayStation platformer.
1994
Such a unique, fun blast of a game! The writing is so clever and original, the battle system is familiar yet not dull and the visuals are so classic and colourful. It expertly manages to achieve the range from lighthearted humour to morbid dread without missing a step. It's certainly not flawless, but Earthbound does so much right that is deserves five stars for it's amazing individuality alone.
Quite a frustrating recent gaming experience as a big fan of the original Rayman and PS1 platformers in general. The game has exciting level design throughout and is thematically excellent, but the PS1 controls have aged very poorly. I would guess that on other platforms there would be less clunky controls and overall better fun as I'm led to believe the Playstation release has a lot of cut content.
Aged like milk. I have a lot of nostalgia for this game but I think even as a child I was aware of it's faults.
In the last year, I replayed the game with the intention of 100%ing it, with the main objective being to collect all the Famous Witches and Wizards cards. This game is devoid of any fun, and the controls are so poor that even the better designed mini games feel like exercises in anger management. The biggest issue I had with the game was it's missables (if you've played it you already know I mean the shambles that is Gringotts), with many areas being locked forever upon leaving which isn't ideal for a game of adventuring and exploring.
It doesn't even make a good companion piece to the book/film as the narrative differs in places.
In the last year, I replayed the game with the intention of 100%ing it, with the main objective being to collect all the Famous Witches and Wizards cards. This game is devoid of any fun, and the controls are so poor that even the better designed mini games feel like exercises in anger management. The biggest issue I had with the game was it's missables (if you've played it you already know I mean the shambles that is Gringotts), with many areas being locked forever upon leaving which isn't ideal for a game of adventuring and exploring.
It doesn't even make a good companion piece to the book/film as the narrative differs in places.
1997
Good fun and holds up well for it's age! I enjoyed the game's humour and how much influence you had over the hospital management, however I had to give up on this game due to how stressful it was becoming in the later levels.
2000
This game was absolute torture to fully complete. The trophies, gems and crystals were easy enough in the first few warp rooms, but as the game developed the challenges became excruciatingly tough (looking at the tank and racing levels especially). Fun for a while but that fun gets replaced by frustration.
2000
A decent enough action game, which I have a lot of nostalgia for. Controls have aged relatively well and the design holds up, in a comic-esque way. The unlockables added some replay value to a fun game. Combat was quite repetitive throughout.