The Backlog Check-in Vol. 10: 3/10/18: March Madness Edition

[jfissel]

Finished: Shadow of the Colossus PS4 (platinum #51)

Now Playing: Virtue's Last Reward

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 30 games

Finished up the rest of the trophies in SotC remake. I honestly forgot that Yakuza 6 was delayed until April 17, so I have plenty of time to play other games before that and God of War the same week.

March Madness is here! I love the NCAA tournament and watch as many games as I can over the next few weeks.

I also forgot to relay some interesting things from my trip to Florida:
- I went to a retro video game store called 8-bit Hall of Fame, which was really neat. They have systems from every gen for sale and tons of games as well. I mean, they had 8 copies of Dark Cloud 2 for $40 each. I was kind of walking around checking out games that I thought might be pricey, just seeing what they were stickered at. Some of the NES/SNES games were much higher than I thought they'd be. Anyway, I didn't buy any games, but I did buy a cool t-shirt. It's a mash up of Street Fighter and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out...a small Ryu is battling a big M Bison in the style of Little Mac and a fighter from Punch-Out (not sure who). And then on the back is an 8-bit Hall of Fame logo that looks like the old Castlevania logos.
- I went to South Beach for about 24 hours and felt like I was in Vice City. We stayed at a place right on Ocean Dr, and I'm walking down the street singing "I Ran" in my head. Also, the Scarface chainsaw scene was filmed between 8th & 9th streets on Ocean Dr...but I'm pretty sure we only ventured down to 10th.

[canedaddy]

That shirt sounds dope!

I love the fact that South Beach still gives you that Vice City vibe. You should have been there in the '80s!




Played last week: Grand Kingdom

Finished last week: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 37 (12 PS4, 11 Vita, 7 PS2, 5 3DS, 2 PS3)


I'm not feeling inspired to play anything lately. Is it just a phase (Phase???) or have I finally hit the age where gaming loses its appeal?

[argyle]

Games added: Shadows of War

Last week: Finished nothing, played Everybody's Golf & Shadows of War

This week: More of the same

Gamestop had (has?) Shadows of War on sale for $30 so I decided to pick it up since it was the kind of thing I was in the mood to play. Having a blast with it so far. It's very similar gameplay-wise to the first but just feels a little more polished and "tighter". I'm enjoying it more than the first one, but can't really put my finger on why right now.

I played the new Kirby demo for the Switch last night and it was a blast, so I'm thinking about picking that up on Friday.

We also finished up watching the Netflix Punisher series over the weekend. It was great, very dark & gritty. I'd probably rank it just under Daredevil, tied with the first season of Jessica Jones. Season 2 of that went up last week, so we'll be starting it next.

[isthatallyougot]

Sounds like a cool trip j.

Cane, I've felt that way sometimes about gaming as I've gotten older, but I keep pushing on out of habit sometimes.

Argyle, I bought Everybody's Golf a while back. I've got to get to it, but I still am a bit peeved about the variable impact and some of the other things I've read about it. Maybe I should just open Hot Shots Golf Fore finally.

As for myself, I've allowed myself to get sucked back into Out of the Park Baseball. It's just too good, and when I start up, I can't stop. I've also been slowly playing through the campaign of Injustice: Gods Among Us, and it's been a pretty good time as well. Also playing Terraria with my kid (and a bit on my own). I also picked up and put down the SSX reboot on PS3. It's not bad, but is just missing the heart and soul of the PS2 entries - or maybe I'm just experiencing burn out like cane.

[argyle]

Izzy, now that you mention it I think J mentioned that variable impact issue when he was playing it but I haven't noticed anything so far. Not saying it's not there, but it hasn't impacted my enjoyment any (at first that pun wasn't intended, but now that I've typed it it is SO intended! ).

And you're not wrong about the last SSX. I enjoyed it for what it was, but it definitely didn't have the same spirit as the originals.

[isthatallyougot]

Izzy, now that you mention it I think J mentioned that variable impact issue when he was playing it but I haven't noticed anything so far. Not saying it's not there, but it hasn't impacted my enjoyment any (at first that pun wasn't intended, but now that I've typed it it is SO intended! ).

That's good to hear. I'm sure I'll adjust and enjoy. I mean, I love the series a ton, so I'm sure it's good stuff overall.

[jfissel]

Yeah, that was me that kind of harped on the somewhat randomness of the impact in Everybody's Golf.

[Phaseknox]

I'm currently playing a broken quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and apparently it's game breaking. The game was released unfinished, and while I can excuse a lot of bugs and jank I can't excuse broken quests and game breaking stuff that prevents me from proceeding further in the game. There's a lot that I like about the game, but a lot that I don't like as well. I made a mistake buying it on day one for full price since not only is it unfinished, but it's also not a game that's worth $60+ IMO.

I'm thinking about buying Far Cry 5 on day one since I'm a big fan of the main series, it's apparently less scripted and hand-hold-y more similar to Far Cry 2 than 3 and 4, and you can choose between a male or female character and customize their look. Reviews will be the deciding factor for me.

I'm not feeling inspired to play anything lately. Is it just a phase (Phase???) or have I finally hit the age where gaming loses its appeal?

I think that for me nothing really feels all that fresh anymore, almost every time that I play a new game it feels like something that I've already played before. Sure some digital/indie stuff feels a little more original, but usually in a lower budget arcade-y, artsy quirky way that can be fun but not quite what the big budget retail released games deliver IMO. There's exceptions of course, but being 2018 I guess that the stuff that I mostly play now I want to feel current instead of like games that could have been made for older consoles. There's definitely charm to those games, but I still like my primary gaming time to be spent with the really big budget stuff for the most part.

Gamestop had (has?) Shadows of War on sale for $30 so I decided to pick it up since it was the kind of thing I was in the mood to play. Having a blast with it so far. It's very similar gameplay-wise to the first but just feels a little more polished and "tighter". I'm enjoying it more than the first one, but can't really put my finger on why right now.

I wasn't planning on getting it because I didn't love what I played of the first game, and I heard mixed things about it. But based on your positive impressions of it I guess that I'll buy it when I can get it for $20, or less.

Jessica Jones.

One of my favorite shows.

been slowly playing through the campaign of Injustice: Gods Among Us, and it's been a pretty good time

I recently got that and Injustice 2, and look forward to playing them when I'm in the mood for fighting games since I heard that they're really good.

[canedaddy]

I think that for me nothing really feels all that fresh anymore, almost every time that I play a new game it feels like something that I've already played before. Sure some digital/indie stuff feels a little more original, but usually in a lower budget arcade-y, artsy quirky way that can be fun but not quite what the big budget retail released games deliver IMO. There's exceptions of course, but being 2018 I guess that the stuff that I mostly play now I want to feel current instead of like games that could have been made for older consoles. There's definitely charm to those games, but I still like my primary gaming time to be spent with the really big budget stuff for the most part.

That's somewhat true for me as well. I've played some big games this year that were fresh experiences that blew me away (Horizon, Witcher 3) but I'm doubtful anything else in the backlog will hit me that way. I have plenty of indy games and smaller stuff, but they're not pulling me in either. I'm off later this week with the house to myself so I'll fire up something and see if it gets me back into the groove.

[isthatallyougot]

I think that for me nothing really feels all that fresh anymore, almost every time that I play a new game it feels like something that I've already played before.

Yeah, I definitely get that sensation at times. It's harder to replicate the "magic" in anything you enjoy with prolonged exposure. But if I'm feeling that way, I'll just spend time with some other activity. Ultimately, I always end up finding myself enjoying gaming again. But if not, no big deal. Lots of stuff to do in life.