Topic: The PlayStation Fan Thread

@Peek-a-boo It takes some memory to remember the locations. It's like Fez, the map's confusing and your memory often serves you a better map. Fortunately, the game is not too big and it's not impossible to remember the locations. All you really need is the dungeon map; the triangles are mostly located in dungeons, and if you can find the dungeon you're looking for you're all set.

Exploration can be tedious. I've found hidden passages in walls that didn't have any indication whatsoever. I'm not sure how I would've found them if I didn't accidentally bump into those walls.

Yellow points are scattered everywhere, I wouldn't worry too much about those. Health upgrades and bombs are certainly useful. Bullet reflecting, invicibility dash and the dash upgrade are the other three important upgrades. Once you get your gun upgrades, the other upgrades don't really matter anymore.

@Octane I played the game for 30 minutes earlier before going out to cut the grass (lovely weather in the UK today!).

I have done North, which was my first place I travelled and, after defeating the rather tricky boss, I got this laser lookalike shotgun that has been a real boon ever since.

I have no trouble playing the game, especially after choosing to start somewhere a little bit more challenging, it's just the lack of direction that brings an unnecessary element of tedium into the fray.

I thoroughly dislike games that makes me think, 'this is starting to become dull now'.

It also doesn't help that going West is a confusing mesh of colours, whereby you don't know where is where, and what is what.

You also reminded me of that terrible 'map' in FEZ. That was appalling!

@Peek-a-boo Yup, they could've used some better maps for those games. Have you ever played one of the older Pokémon games? RBY or GSC? The map works in a similar way; it doesn't show your exact location, but it gives you an approximation of where you are. All four areas are divided in several parts (where you transition between screens), and in only shows you in what area you are. So unless you transition between screens, you map icon won't move. You really have to use your map and look at the small details if you want to make use of it, but it's still pretty vague. Just keep a mental note of everything, that's all the advice I have!

The positive thing is that the boss fights are an absolute blast, and you're going to encounter plenty of them.

@Peek-a-boo - I was going to get it day-1, trust me. A modern Elite-Style game with planetary exploration and zoology (especially one that's gorgeous to look at), has been my dream since I was 13, but now I'm not sure I'll have the money to afford it. I'm still waiting for that "emergency card", or whatever I'm supposed to use to temporarily replace my stolen credit card until that's sorted out, probably won't arrive in the mail until Thursday, and I'll have much mor pressing things to pay for before I even think about getting another game. I'll at least keep an eye on the reviews, but I doubt they'll mean much in my case. It's clearly not the kind of game that puts you on a grand guided tour of its universe like most gamers are used to - It's a road trip of galactic proportions. It's not exactly the sort of experience the average hack-writer most review venues employ could easily convey on paper...really, at this point, I just need to know if the game still runs well once its servers go public. So...I guess that would require fan-feedback, actually. I guess a longer "wait 'n' see" approach is warranted. I couldn't play Overwatch for 3 full weeks until the server overload died down. I really don't wanna experience that again...

@Ralizah - You almost scared me into thinking those games were all coming out this month! But I guess you mean time/funds are limited, and there are other things you know you'd rather be occupied with the rest of the year, so you were just listing a whole boatload of examples....right? I'm not missing some crucial date-changes, am I?

@Octane The boss fights are great; they show a pattern in their attacks, but unpredictability in their movement, which I think is a great fusion between the two mechanics.

Yes, I do remember the map in Pokémon Red and Blue. They were awkward for my six or seven year old self to get around however, the world was full of interesting landmarks and signposts to aid your journey.

Those were the days!

Oh, and Patrick Klep (ex-Kotaku editor) has openly confirmed that the PlayStation 'Neo' will indeed be shown and announced in New York, in a months time, on the 7th of September.

@CanisWolfred Sorry, no, most of those release in mid-to-late September. A little more than a month, actually! I make sure not to blow all of my money on luxury items, though, so I don't want to waste valuable fun money on NMS when other, more interesting games are coming out by the dozen soon.

September and October in particular have nine or ten games I want. Choices will have to be made. Terrible, terrible, first world problem choices.

That has to be one of the worst typos I've ever made. I meant funds, not fun...

Fun is always limited. No games are good anymore. None.

@Ralizah yeah like I want titanfall 2 but it's coming out at a wicked bad time.

Same, I'm mainly gonna get Dragon Quest VII (because I remember how hard it was to get any DS Dragon Quest game except 9...) and Final Fantasy XV (because it really seems like my bag, especially all those demoes). Sadly, SMT and Ace Attorney are gonna have to wait this time. Even Half-Genie Hero might have to wait until February, unless I skip out on getting a Halloween game this year (I was hoping I could grab REmake this year, or maybe even Yokai Watch. However, I do have a backlog of horror games I could fall back on now, since I didn't celebrate last year due to health issues). And don't even get me started on the Vita - the floodgates finally opened there, September alone has at least 6 games that I'm greatly interested in (though, most are sequels), as well as a bunch that I'll be keeping an eye on, since they might actually be fun despite having a really scummy premise (looking at you, Criminal Girls) or just generally sounding like blatant otaku pandering, to the point where you could cut the cynicism with a knife. MeiQ especially sounds like it'd be a fun dungeon crawler just going off of the mechanics, but aesthetically its so obscessed with sexy eye-candy that even the Xenogears-style Mech Guardians have boobs, just because that's clearly the only thing that's on the design teams' minds at any given moment...seriously, look at this! That is one of the most unfeminine things I have ever seen, yet they still put boobs on it! The story also sounds pretty flimsy, but I'm hoping that since it's a dungeon crawler, it won't even have much of a presence, anyways. But that's why I gotta wait for the reviews (as well as seeing whether or not they found some way to turn all those interesting gameplay mechanics and options into a complete mess once it all gets going, like what seems to happen in 90% of Compile Hearts' other RPGs).

Nothing about XV really appeals to me, which is something of a bummer considering I'm a lifelong FF fan. I'm probably going to end up focusing on Valkyrie Drive in September and Disney Magical World 2 in October (because, even given its performance issues, I really enjoyed the first game). I'm unsure about whether I want to spend full price on The Last Guardian or not. I'll probably wait for reviews.

(I was hoping I could grab REmake this year, or maybe even Yokai Watch. However, I do have a backlog of horror games I could fall back on now, since I didn't celebrate last year due to health issues).

REmake is a masterpiece, and I say this as someone who isn't even that fond of the first RE on PS1. If you've never played it in some form before, you really need to do so. The RE games and I usually don't see completely eye-to-eye, but REmake is seriously an almost perfect game.

Sorry to hear about your health issues. Hope they're nothing too serious.

since they might actually be fun despite having a really scummy premise (looking at you, Criminal Girls)

Criminal Girls is... interesting. I nabbed the first one in a sale for $14. The battle system is totally weird and unique. It involves gradually building up a pool of skills among the different girls and then accepting suggestions from them about what you should do each turn. The infamous "motivation" minigames are what you use to build up your reservoir of new skills, so you'll have to engage in them quite often. The plot is nothing special, as you might have guessed, although the game does attempt to develop the girls somewhat as characters. It's interesting if you can get it cheap. I wouldn't pay over $20 for it, though.

MeiQ especially sounds like it'd be a fun dungeon crawler just going off of the mechanics, but aesthetically its so obscessed with sexy eye-candy that even the Xenogears-style Mech Guardians have boobs, just because that's clearly the only thing that's on the design teams' minds at any given moment...seriously, look at this! That is one of the most unfeminine things I have ever seen, yet they still put boobs on it! The story also sounds pretty flimsy, but I'm hoping that since it's a dungeon crawler, it won't even have much of a presence, anyways. But that's why I gotta wait for the reviews (as well as seeing whether or not they found some way to turn all those interesting gameplay mechanics and options into a complete mess once it all gets going, like what seems to happen in 90% of Compile Hearts' other RPGs).

Yeah, the game really tempts me, especially with those customizable mecha, but I have a hard time just giving anything developed by CH the benefit of the doubt. I'll pick it up eventually if it reviews well.

That boobed robot is either the best or worst thing I've seen all week. Hard to say which.

As to its boob fixation, have you seen what comes with its limited edition?

So, for those people concerned about Europe having to wait longer to get Persona 5, put those concerns to bed. Persona 5 is launching simultaneously in NA and Europe. You guys are even getting that nice special edition option.

I am really loving this so far!

The sense of isolation is quite profound too.

@Peek-a-boo Your post made my stance on this game change from ''meh, I'll be skipping this'' to ''maybe I really need to get it!''. Once I'm done with my current games and its priced has dropped a bit, I'm definitely going to reconsider it!

@Octane I must admit that those first five or ten minutes felt a bit like 'oh, is this it?' however, as soon as you find something 'to do' and eventually begin your journey, the experience takes ahold of you and doesn't let go.

All I am thinking about at the moment is, 'I want to go back to flying my ship'!

@Peek-a-boo The jank-ish controls, overwhelming visuals, and god-awful UI and tutorial give No Man's Sky the worst start in years. Yet, after a while, it turns into Minecraft with better exploration (and no building obviously). It's fun so far, we'll have to see where it goes I guess.

PS Now is coming to Europe it seems, I got a personal ad that showed me the games that were now available on PS4 thanks to PS Now: Uncharted 1 till 3, God of War 3, Last of Us, Flower, Journey.. Hold on a minute, all those games are already available on PS4 and remastered..? And I own pretty much all of them already..

Great advertising Sony!

Anyway, I'll be making use of the free trial and play through Shadow of the Colossus on my PS4 once more. It's been a long time since I played that masterpiece.

@Ralizah Ah, Persona 5! That's one of the games I'm most certainly looking forward too. I've seen quite a lot of trailers and it's so lively and striking!

@Octane If only PS Now wasn't super expensive. I think I would pay $10 for a month of unlimited access to PS3 games. But $20 a month just doesn't seem worth it.

@Dark-Luigi It looks amazing. Games like Persona 5, The Last Guardian, and Gravity Rush 2 are what I buy Playstation consoles for, so, assuming they're all excellent games, I'm going to be a satisfied PS4 owner for the next several months.