PS2 Backlog Committee

5) Tennis Elbow 2013 (PC)



When I was younger, and into adulthood, I’ve played a lot of tennis. I really loved the time I spent on the court and because of that affinity for the sport, I've tried out a variety of tennis games over the years. Smash Court, Top Spin, Virtua, Wii Sports, NES (Top Players and Nintendo's own) Hot Shots, Mario...Pong , and probably some others have landed on my gaming screen. Some have been enjoyable and provided good fun, be they realistic or otherwise. But I've always been looking for a game that really replicated the feeling of being on the court. Enter Tennis Elbow 2013.

I don't remember how I became aware of this title, but the reviews all seemed to indicate that this would hit the sweet spot on my virtual racket, and after close to 70 hours, I'm ready to share my opinion. First of all, what TE does right is exactly what I was looking for - that feeling of being on the court. As you trade strokes (all the shots you'd make in a real match are here), that sensation of maneuvering yourself and your opponent around the court looking for that opening to put a winner away is fantastic. It's all about timing, positioning, anticipation, shot selection and execution. And the mechanics of executing your shot are subtle and varied, allowing you to really paint the lines when you get in a groove, imparting a wonderfully satisfying feeling of control. As the ralleys play out, there is an ever-present tension as you struggle to nudge the point in your favor - really great stuff. And the AI can be really challenging if you so desire. There are 6 difficulty levels, each containing 10 sub-levels., so it's possible to find that perfect zone for your own skill in order to find the right level of challenge with room to amp things up if you so desire.

The main meat of the game is a career mode where you create a player and start from youth, playing tournaments and training week after week in the hopes of eventually becoming the best player in the world. The way it's structured is that you acquire points to assign to your character through successful performances in tournaments - starting with the lower level tournaments and working your way up the ladder as your rank improves. But it's a balancing act because if you don't rest and play too many tournaments, you'll not have enough time for training in order to improve your (constantly declining) skills, and your stamina will become an issue from overwork. So you've got to take into consideration how much of a work load to take on as you develop your player. And climbing the ranks is satisfying - if, again, you've found that sweet spot in difficulty. Once you start encountering top 50 players, you'll be working for every point and every notch in the world rankings. It can be a bit of a grind because there are so many tournaments available, and playing a full career from beginning to retirement would take untold number of hours.

The game does have some downsides. I believe it was made by a single individual, and the lack of polish in terms of presentation is evident. Everything is very dry - some might say befitting of the sport, but a little bit of spice and flavor could have gone a long way towards engagement. It's got the nuts and bolts, but not the sizzle. The menus/UI are not very intuitive at first either. Once you figure things out, it's no problem, but they could use a redesign. Everything outside the on-court action feels very low budget, albeit functional. And as much as I love the core representation of tennis on the court, there is some room for improvement in one regard - net play. Coming to the net is a little awkward and not as smooth and natural as the exchange of ground-strokes from the baseline.

But, the most important facet of a good sports game for me is the feel of the sport itself in translation to controller in hand, and here Tennis Elbow 2013 really shines as the best (certainly most realistic) example of the game in virtual form in my opinion, net-play notwithstanding. It's consistently realistic and satisfying, and just *feels* like tennis. When you're an up and coming player on the fringes of being recognized and you find yourself up against a top 10 player in the world in a 5th set tie break at the US Open you entered as a qualifier, the tension is very real and palpable. You really feel as if you are on center court and each point is dripping with the tension you'd expect to feel as if you were there. With a little more budget and development resources this could be truly spectacular for a tennis fan. As it is, it's still great, just wanting that for that little extra that would put it all the way over the top. 4/5.

*Note : Tennis Elbow 4 released in 2021, and it's apparently a significant improvement in many regards, if any of you have any interest in the series. Although, now that I mention it, I think I might be the only one playing with any regularity on PC here, or not, idk.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:04 amTennis Elbow 4 released in 2021, and it's apparently a significant improvement in many regards, if any of you have any interest in the series. Although, now that I mention it, I think I might be the only one playing with any regularity on PC here, or not, idk.

I would be interested in Tennis Elbow 4 if it was available for PS4 since I like tennis video games (a sport that I also played in my youth). I don’t know why it’s not available for PS4 (along with a lot of other notable indies) considering some of the absolute crap indie games that are available on the PS Store. But yeah, I think that you’re the only one here that plays PC games.

Phaseknox wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:39 pm I would be interested in Tennis Elbow 4 if it was available for PS4 since I like tennis video games (a sport that I also played in my youth). I don’t know why it’s not available for PS4 (along with a lot of other notable indies) considering some of the absolute crap indie games that are available on the PS Store. But yeah, I think that you’re the only one here that plays PC games.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I've gradually gravitated to PC-first in my gaming. There's just a ridiculously huge number of games that often don't make it to console. And with the increasing amount of console ports to PC, I find myself not even looking to buy a new console. (Nintendo stuff aside.) I'll probably get a cheap PS5 *very* late in the life cycle if there are any exclusives that are bound to the device that I really must play.

4) Katana Zero (PC)



Do you find yourself wishing that you were graceful, stylish, and far more capable than you find the reflection in the mirror to be? Do you long to unleash the superhero that you are sure is buried (deep ) within? Well, boy, do I have a game for you. I got Katana Zero in a recent Humble bundle, and rather than letting it sit indefinitely like I usually do with all those bundles, lol, I decided for some strange reason to pick up and play a game that I'd bought.

The immediate impression made is of a side-scrolling Hotline Miami. Quick and greasy action, thumping soundtrack, and just an onslaught of adrenaline, it's all here. You play as an amnesiac samurai sent on missions to fulfill certain killing contracts, and the story is deeper than I expected (or needed) for this sort of action-first experience. I can't say that it was the highlight of my time with the game, but there were some interesting twists and turns about who you are and why you are doing what you are doing, much of which revolves around the central premise, thematically and mechanically, of a time-bending drug, the administering of which grants the main character the ability to alter the flow of time. This is integrated wonderfully into the narrative and makes playing – and replaying - the brief but intense levels a real joy. Your primary weapon is the titular Katana, and due to your enhanced abilities, you find yourself dodging and deflecting enemies and their bullets, both within the context of a limited bullet-time meter and without. There is a wonderful learning curve as new concepts and possibilities are introduced in a steady and gradual manner, and you find yourself doing things that you didn't imagine yourself capable of as the levels unfold. This imparts a fantastic sense of empowerment, allowing you to really embody the protagonist on his journey. Failure is only theoretical as you are whipped back to the beginning of levels in an instant, and you always feel like this time, you're going to get it right. And you eventually do, and the feeling of success is incredibly satisfying. Every level feels like both a (variable/fluid) puzzle and an action game, again reminding of Hotline Miami. I think I'll label this new genre Puzzle Carnage. (I've trademarked it, so seek permission for use of the term. )

Katana Zero is not a very long game. It took me just over 6 hours to beat, and I failed a bunch. But its dense run-time and flexible gameplay were thrilling from beginning to end. I found myself shocked at how bad-ass I was, doing things on-screen that were over-the-top awesome and seemingly improbable only moments earlier. If you have any affinity for stylish, slickly controlling action games, you'd be remiss if you didn't give it a try. I don't have any major complaints. I won't call it an all-time personal classic, but it's not too far off that mark. A strong 4/5.

3) ELEX (PC)



I had never played a Piranha Bytes game, but I had always been curious from the effusive praise from fans I'd read over the years, specifically regarding the Gothic franchise. I wanted to see what their style was all about for myself, and despite having the Gothic and Risen franchises in my backlog, I was in the mood for something a bit more recent, so I decided to fire up their latest offering in the form of a new franchise titled ELEX. I went in knowing that their games are fairly niche and it seems you either "get it" or you don't, without too much of a middle ground, but I knew they had a reputation for freedom and lack of hand-holding, so I was pretty sure that I would find something to enjoy and so I dove in.

The game begins with a comet hitting the surface of Magalan, an Earth-like planet with many of the familiar elements we know in our own daily lives. The comet brings with it a substance called Elex, appropriately enough, in addition to the massive destruction and depopulation inherent in such an event. It doesn't take long before we realize that this mysterious, otherworldly substance is going to play an important role in the development of whatever new society is birthed from the wreckage of the old. There is a power to this material that has been scattered across the globe and the people of Magalan use it for a variety of purposes, from money (from shards), to magic (in its pure form) to drugs that offer enhancements to natural abilities. Elex is everywhere and everyone seems to want it for some reason or other.

Speaking of divergent interests, ELEX offers an interesting take on the (re)building of society, post-apocalypse. There are 4 primary groups vying for control of the shape of the future (well 5 actually) - 3 (plus 1 additional that comes into play later in the game) of which are open to the player. You may align with the Berzerkers, the Clerics or the Outlaws. The first group we are introduced to is the Berzerkers and they have a vision for restoring Magalan to a more natural state that existed well prior to the comet's arrival. They are attempting to nurture something called "world hearts" which have an effect of causing nature to flourish again in areas where things were less lush and alive. These "seeds" of the new world are treasured and treated with ultimate respect and defended vigorously. Ultimately they look upon this new world as an opportunity to make the world as it used to be in a pre-technological society, a simpler, more grounded and naturally harmonious way of life. The Clerics are a group that, in contrast to the Berzerkers, want to embrace technology. They've got fancy high-tech armor and weapons, and they believe these things were given to them by their god, Calaan, whom they worship with a cultish zeal. Finally, we have the Outlaws who, in true Mad Max style, live in the desert and embrace a "me-first/money-first" mentality. They have no strict rules, and live by the notion that all is essentially chaos so you better get yours while you can, a concept that is quite at odds with the notion of any group in my view, but they've managed to have a loose sort of society nonetheless. All of these groups had their drawbacks, but I felt the strongest pull towards the Berzerkers and their love of the natural world. I'm a bit of a Luddite at heart, despite the irony of me making that comment in reference to playing a video game on a device birthed via modern technology. Nevertheless, I often feel a yearning for a more natural world, and despite the Berzerker's dogmatism (as with all the other groups) - of which I'm not a fan - they were the least objectionable option for me.

Finally there is a group that everyone seems to hate that are central to the overall conflict (a group not available to the player), the Albs. They were the first to wholeheartedly embrace the elex and they've changed quite dramatically as a result. Elex seems to have an effect of causing detachment from any sort of emotion, and as they've used the substance, they've evolved into something that is coldly rational and quite antagonistic to what they view to be weak human emotions. But they are out to conquer all of Magalan, and so they present a persistent and common enemy to the other groups as they seek to obtain all available elex for themselves and their leader, a being known as The Hybrid, a being who they believe will lead the way to a higher form of evolution. And their use of elex along with the substance’s origins and (intended) purpose are revealed as the story plays out. Without spoiling things, the source of elex itself was quite interesting, and coming to understand what it was all about was pretty compelling.

The interesting thing about all these various factions is just how different they are. You've got the traditional fantasy presentation of the Berzerkers with their swords and old-school armors and use of (elex enabled) magic blended with the sci-fi Clerics and the desert-dwelling Mad-Max outlaws. It was a really odd marriage of wildly differing styles all tossed into the same soup, and I've never played anything that felt so unique in its refusal to adopt a cohesive motif. It was very "kitchen-sinky" in that regard. It felt like the developers just said, "What the hell, put it all in!" But somehow it still manages to engage, despite the peculiar mingling of flavors. This tug of war between drastically different objectives was both interesting and, naturally, quite chaotic. And choosing how you wanted to align yourself in this struggle for the vision of the future was a big part of the experience. The impact of your decisions on Jax, the protagonist, played out in a "cold meter" rather than a morality metric. The more emotional you were, the more your cold decreased and the more rational or detached in your choices, the more it increased. I followed a path of emotion to the extreme apparently as I got a rare achievement called "Human" for having a cold level below 10 by the end. (Note – you are never told in-game the actual number of this meter.)

In terms of the nuts and bolts of the game, you're tossed into an open world right from the start, free to go about things however you choose. It was very reminiscent of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls and Fallout titles in that regard. Things were just open, and you moved about as you wished. Almost immediately you are given access to an important tool in the world of Magalan. You wear a jet-pack on your back - it's rather small, like a bulky belt - and it allows you to boost up to higher areas or slow your descent from heights. It's limited in its thrust and requires cool down to recharge, so you have to use it judiciously in order to avoid being caught mid-air with nothing to slow your fatal plummet back to hard ground. The world of Magalan uses this tool to great effect. It's an incredibly varied world geographically with a great deal of verticality on display. So you'll often find yourself trying to decide if you can reach that next ledge high above or leaping off a giant precipice and free falling until finally feathering your jet-pack for a smooth landing - a sensation that never got old in my 90+ hours with the game.

There are plenty of opportunities to loot and plunder in the exploration of this world. Much of the spoils is mere detritus, an assortment of rather worthless odds and ends - from toilette paper to mugs, cups and silverware scattered about everywhere, but this junk still has some value in trade as money is very tough to come by, especially early on. Exploration is, nevertheless, rewarded in the finding of the occasional rare item or weapon, and it was always fun to look for that needle in the haystack. You'll never run short of items to stuff into your unlimited inventory. And the world itself was really attractive, spurring you on in the spirit of exploration. There were plenty of beautiful natural vistas along with modern tech from the Albs and Clerics as well as many ruins of the old world. There were also different climates from deserts to lush rain forests to snowy peaks and pretty much every geographical stereotype you would imagine. This variety made the world consistently enjoyable to wander.

One thing that really stood out in ELEX was the arc of progression. When you start out, you are really weak - I mean REALLY weak. You will get one or two-shot killed by almost anything for a long while before it's possible to stand toe to toe with any opposition. For many that would certainly be a negative, but I found things to be engaging enough in terms of both narrative and world discovery that I didn't mind running from foes until I was able to grow and develop my character. There is an excellent sense of empowerment on offer to the patient here. By the end of things, I could stand face to face with the deadliest of foes, dishing out my preferred brand of pain. And that was really satisfying and felt well-earned in juxtaposition to the struggle in those early hours.

There were surely some downsides to ELEX. Piranha Bytes is a relatively small team - around 30 I believe, and that was evident at times with some elements. For example, you might encounter a character and engage in a conversation at the same time that an enemy is present, and the intense battle music will be playing throughout the conversation, which felt really strange. In one instance, there was a major transition into "Chapter 3" and in the scene there were many mutants wandering around. But their growling and animalistic noises drowned out the narration of Jax for this important narrative beat to the point that I couldn't hear much of what he said at all. Combat can also feel a bit weird until you get used to it. (I should mention that both ranged and close quarters fighting are viable options. I went primarily with sword and shield as a Berzerker, although I could have used bow and arrow or high-tech projectile weapons too. Everything is very flexible.) Hit boxes are sometimes off, especially at differing elevations, and you will find yourself swinging and missing although it appears contact was made visually. The character graphics could have often been better. The voice work could be hit or miss. And while I enjoyed the narrative, it was sometimes more in premise than execution. The freedom of the order to tackle things made some situations feel awkward in terms of story delivery at times as well as the language and dialogue construction itself sometimes being a bit hard to embrace. I'm always a "less-is-more" type in terms of storytelling though. I'd rather have things paired down to the vital essence, but if you want plenty of exposition and conversation, you'll find that here. ELEX also has little interest in making sure you understand everything. It's not going to go out of its way in making you comfortable with its systems and workings, so that could be a turn off for some. Personally, I was fine with discovering things on my own, but I know some don't like that. Overall, there were quite a fair number of issues that needed polish and attention. They didn't diminish the game too much for me, but it's clear that budget/team size can and does make a difference in terms of that final spit shine, especially, I imagine, in a game so vast as ELEX.

Overall though, I had a really good time with ELEX. It offered a unique, and often interesting, narrative and setting, a nice challenge and was just fun to explore and sight-see as a virtual tourist. As mentioned, I spent close to 100 hours with the game, and it was time well-spent. I know I'll miss having a jet-pack always on my back in other games. It's short of an all-time classic in my book, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great fun all the way through. 4/5.

That sounds like it might appeal to me. Thanks for the detailed thoughts!

canedaddy wrote: ↑Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:50 pm That sounds like it might appeal to me. Thanks for the detailed thoughts!

You're welcome cane. Yeah, it's really good imho, but it's a real slog at the beginning. If you ever get around to it, just make sure you do non-combat quests for experience/character growth at first and avoid fighting much in the beginning, otherwise you'll probably just get frustrated and put it down. (many detractors site this issue - the overwhelming lack of ability early on) It's ok to test out yourself just to see how anemic your character is, but it's by design that you are a feeble nobody at the start. It's a sort of zero to hero type journey.

My students flipping love Katana Zero! I never really got into Legaia. I blame Legend of Dragoon which I played first. I wasn't a fan of twitchy controls in my rpg's because I am terrible at them and even more so with fighting game inputs. Hence, I would pass on it. I only liked it in FF6 with Sabin because a) Sabin is awesome and b) the control input was super generous so I could do things like suplex trains (because again, Sabin is AWESOME). I didn't realize it was less intensive than I thought based on your description. If it's on the PSN store, I might grab it for my Vita .

Still not sold on ELEX, that game looks way too scary for me. I don't deal with frustration well

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:56 am My students flipping love Katana Zero!

Hey, I'm not as old as phase thinks I am. I must be young at heart. (because my body feels so old )

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:56 am I never really got into Legaia. I blame Legend of Dragoon which I played first. I wasn't a fan of twitchy controls in my rpg's because I am terrible at them and even more so with fighting game inputs. Hence, I would pass on it. I only liked it in FF6 with Sabin because a) Sabin is awesome and b) the control input was super generous so I could do things like suplex trains (because again, Sabin is AWESOME). I didn't realize it was less intensive than I thought based on your description. If it's on the PSN store, I might grab it for my Vita .

Still not sold on ELEX, that game looks way too scary for me. I don't deal with frustration well

I don't remember timing being an issue with Legaia combat inputs, but I played it earlier last year, and...my mind. Yeah Elex, is not a game to play if you're easily frustrated by slower progression imho.

2) Earthbound (SNES)



Most RPGs opt for settings with time periods far removed from the familiarity of our own world and I guess that is understandable. The less you invoke the familiar, the more creative license and broader canvas you theoretically have at your disposal. But there are also strengths available from calling upon the more recognizable. There is less of a gulf to cross in the pursuit of relatability, and you find yourself more readily stepping into the shoes of the characters. One such game that opted for more familiar settings is a classic that I had never played, a game from the SNES called Earthbound. Going into this experience, I knew next to nothing about this game, aside from the aforementioned "modern" setting. I'd somehow remained free from spoilers over the decades, and so I went into this experience without any bias or preconceived notions, other than the idea that it was well-loved by a vocal segment of the gaming populace. I was curious to see if it would resonate with me in a similar way, even after all these intervening years, and so I put on my red cap and picked up my baseball bat to find out.

Right of the bat (no pun intended), I found things to be uniquely charming. The graphics had a playful and happy cartoony appearance with vibrant colors and engaging art. Despite being rather simple in appearance, everything was clean and well-crafted, imparting a sense of place very nicely to the variety of unique - both strange and familiar - locales. You begin your journey as the main character (you can name him whatever you want if you don't want him to be NESS) who rather quickly discovers, after the crashing of a meteor close to his home, that he is in conflict with a world-destroying enemy named Giygas. He discovers in short order that he needs to find eight melodies - found after defeating bosses, naturally - to help him in this titanic and heroic quest. This quest takes him to a variety of towns, cities and other bizarre locations as the journey unfolds, and you can travel freely for the most part, either by foot, bicycle (in some cases), bus, or a hilarious teleportation spell that finds you looking to acquire enough speed before zooming off. But if you try to gain that speed without enough room or straight-away, your party will get amusingly crushed as they run into the world geometry. (There is an upgrade later that doesn't require a large runway.) Within the towns and locales you will, of course, meet denizens who have also been affected by this cosmic calamity in various ways, and you'll aid them, which in turn benefits you and your party's mission, rather par for the genre course. The writing was often funny and the characters were interesting and enjoyable, both within your party and without. The turn-based battle system, while very simple initially, revealed depth and difficulty as things progressed, and was ultimately far more challenging than first impressions or than what I expected going in (and given appearances, but old games were often more of a task). I found the gameplay to be consistently engaging, if a bit repetitive with regards to lower level enemies. But Earthbound did offer a nice solution for the normal grind. Enemies are visible on screen and if you bump into them, you fight. But when dealing with enemies far below your level, you'll often get an immediate victory and experience rather than having to trudge through the more hapless minions. There was also a nice feature where really under-powered enemies would flee from your presence. In addition to the regular over-world, this enemy response always happened after completing a dungeon and finishing off the boss. It was really empowering to see all those bad guys that troubled you on your way to the boss shrink from your presence as you made your way back out. It offered a subtle sense of progression and growth that felt really unique. And there were lots of little touches like this that made this game stand out. You could carry a for sale sign with you that would "summon" buyers when used, to help you offload unwanted inventory and gain a bit of cash. You could get burdened with a mushroom on your head after fighting certain enemies and that would reorient your controls which, while frustrating, was also charming. If you didn't check in with mom for a while, you'd get "homesick" and skip turns in battles while you struggled with that longing. You could get a teddy bear to drag around and be a punching bag for distracted enemies until it was rendered into stuffing. There were just tons of fun and quirky little elements that gave things a sense of charm and made it feel special. And despite appearances, it also tackled some heavier themes, which I found both surprising and exciting. It dealt with confronting your own dark side/shadow after spending all your courage, touched on stoicism and the concepts of enlightenment and the illusion of the "self". Granted, it didn’t delve too deeply into some of these themes necessarily, but it had some depth in there that I wasn't expecting.

There were also some elements that could have been better. I'm not a big fan of mazes, especially in jrpgs. When you combine random battles (granted, you can see enemies here, but not always avoid them) with intentional disorientation, it can be a frustrating recipe – a recipe that for some reason seemed to be a part of many older jrpgs. You can end up forgetting your sense of direction while in battle and then you feel lost. To be fair the mazes here weren't very tough though. There was also an abundance of inventory to contend with, and limited space, and I often found myself struggling with what to keep and what to store or discard. Speaking of storing items, that was also limited in space. Your sister worked for a company that could help in that regard, but she also had limited room. And sometimes when you called her for either delivery or pickup, the employee got lost and called you to let you know they'd given up, which was both charming and annoying. I also thought some of the text box navigation and timing was sometimes annoying. You ended up pushing the wrong option or too soon because of awkward timing on player input requests.

But none of those aforementioned niggles really did much to detract from the overall pleasure of playing this aged classic. It was just fun and engaging from the beginning to the end, and it had a very sentimental "Stand By Me" flavor as your youthful party embarked on a magic and magnificent adventure of friendship and growth in a world of tedious and oblivious (to the knowledge/awareness of youth) adults. The music was catchy (especially the theme in Onett - the opening and home town), the battle system was simple but fun and challenging as things progressed, especially against some tough bosses, the enemies were unique and wonderfully strange, the dialogue was entertaining and often funny, and I was left with a feeling that I've just never played anything quite like it, in terms of personality if not structure. I had a great time here, and now I want to play the other two entries in the Mother series - or at least Mother 3, as I've heard the original is pretty dated. I know there are translations out there, so I definitely plan on trying out the rest of this series. Overall, I found Earthbound to be worthy of all the whispers of greatness that had seeped into my awareness over the years. And given the age of the game, I find that to be particularly impressive. 5/5.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:33 am

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:56 amMy students flipping love Katana Zero!

Hey, I'm not as old as phase thinks I am. I must be young at heart. (because my body feels so old )

If my memory serves me right, then I believe that we’re the same age. I’m going to be 52 next month.

Phaseknox wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:52 pm

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:33 am

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:56 amMy students flipping love Katana Zero!

Hey, I'm not as old as phase thinks I am. I must be young at heart. (because my body feels so old )

If my memory serves me right, then I believe that we’re the same age. I’m going to be 52 next month.

I'm 50...something. I forgot.