Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

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Bowser's Fury (Switch) - The standalone new mode included with Super Mario 3D World on Switch.

Fur is gonna' fly.

Gameplay:

• While core SM3DW took 2D style Mario gameplay and applied it to a 3D plane (much like SM3DL before it), Bowser's Fury goes a few steps further. It still retains the power up based life system of the 2D games (rather than a health bar like traditional 3D titles), and generally linear, obstacle course style level design, but that's about it from the 2D side of things. You see, the world of Bowser's Fury is made up of one large open world lake, and the linear(ish) levels are islands you can freely explore between.
• It takes cues from the earlier 3D titles where there are multiple objectives in a level, and each island has multiple (5) "Cat Shines" to collect. One is almost always a linear "get to the end of the course" type challenge, and they also all share a "Cat Shard" collecting objective (think the "Red Coin" missions in 64/Sunshine), as well as a Fury Blocks Shine (a Cat Shine hidden behind special blocks only Fury Bowser can break). Other objectives aren't shared between all islands but show up more than once, such as Blue Coin Challenges (collect these in a certain time limit), Caged Shines (find a key somewhere on the island and use it to unlock a caged Shine near the level's start), & Shadow Luigi challenges (similar to the Shadow Mario chases in Sunshine). Every once in awhile an island will have a completely unique objective (or at least a set of objectives exclusive to that island), such as a coliseum island which houses various boss fights with Boom Boom & Pom Pom.
• While it sounds like things could get get a bit repetitive, and in some cases that's true, I found that the issue isn't that bad due to the various unique gimmicks of the islands themselves, which can make completing similar objectives feel different enough. For example, in addition to the boss fight centric island, there's one that centers on a structure completely surrounded by a maze of clear pipes, another that's one long icy slide, one that consists of an invisible structure (whose ground is illuminated in your immediate vicinity) that you must scale, and yet another that consists of a series of floating lava filled rotating platforms, etc.
• There are also various Cat Shines you can collect on the lake inbetween the islands, such as various timed challenges riding Plessie (the Loch Ness monster type creature introduced in SM3DW) out on the open lake (such as collecting a series of Plessie coins before they dissapear, or traversing a little obstacle course in time), as well some challenges that exist on the sort of "hub islands" that usually sit in the middle of a cluster of "level islands" & house Giga Bells (more on these later).
  
  Finding lost kittens & delivering them to their mother is one of the extra types of Cat Shine mission that exists outside of the main level islands themselves.
• When you start out only three of the main islands are available (the rest of the lake is covered in black goop), and by earning enough Cat Shines you earn the opportunity to advance through the game & unlock more islands (this is like 64/Galaxy where you had to collect most, though not all, Stars in order to progress).
• The biggest shake up is "Fury Bowser" himself. See, something has happened to the big guy and he's transformed into a Godzilla sized monstrosity that's terrorizing the lake. Every once in awhile he'll rise from the center of the lake (which you can slowly see in real time as you're playing) causing chaos. He'll rain down fireballs, blast flaming energy beams, & alter the environment, making whatever you're doing at that given time much harder. He'll (usually) go away after a few minutes or after collecting a Cat Shine (some of which you need him to access, such as the aforementioned Fury Block Shines), but if you want to put him down a bit harder you'll need to use a Giga Bell.
• As mentioned before there are "hub islands" of sorts that sit inbetween a cluster of the main level type islands. Each of these houses a Giga Bell (these turn our hero into the super sized Giga Cat Mario that can tussle with Fury Bowser), but their powers have been drained by the black goop. Only by collecting a specified number of Cat Shines can their powers be unlocked, letting you fight Fury Bowser in epic Kaiju combat (seriously fun boss fights, just for the sheer scale), clean up a section of the lake & unlock the next cluster of islands. I'll also note that driving Fury Bowser away by collecting a Cat Shine will usually chip away some of his health, making the fight portion slightly easier when you do become big enough to fight him directly.
• You'll only need 50 Cat Shines to see the game to it's end (and it sort of forces your hand into completing it around then), which will only take a few hours, but there are 100 Shines total, which just might be worth striving for.
• Other things to note are that Bowser Jr. joins you on the adventure, attacking enemies & summoning powerups from graffiti in the environment (you can adjust how much he helps you in the menu, and can be controlled by a second player), and that it does away with a lives system (you just lose some coins & are sent back to the entrance of whatever island you were on). Due to it's more open world nature you're able to store up to 5 of each kind of powerup (Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, Boomerang Flower, Super Bell, & Lucky Bell all accounted for) to make it easier to tackle any given task in front of you. Instead of granting you a life, grabbing 100 coins gifts you a random powerup.

Story:

• While taking a stroll outside Peach's Castle Mario runs across a familiar goopy "M" graffiti, which acts as a portal transporting him to the ruined Lake Lapcat, where he's immediately accosted by Fury Bowser, who he must drive away by collecting his first Cat Shine. Afterwards he runs into Bowser Jr., who charades his way through the explanation of what happened to his dad, Mario agrees to help, and the game is afoot.
  
  Charades champ right here, folks.
• It's not terribly deep, but it's quite a departure from the typical events that kickstart events in this series, so it's a nice change of pace. Bowser's transformation is explained during the credits, but it's nothing too exciting.

Visual/Audio:

• It's an absolutely stunning looking game, and I'm ashamed of myself for not taking more environmental shots. Whether it be the volcanic Mount Magmeow, a large Windmill themed island, or the coliseum that rises higher into the air the more of it you complete, it has some truly inviting looking locales that organically set off your thirst for exploration without the need of questmarkers to guide you to your next objective (only after the credits roll do the locations of uncollected Cat Shines dot the map & does fast travel open up).
  
  
  
  Fury Bowser slowly rises up in a cat's world. The enemies are cats, the plants are cats, the birds are cats, the clouds are cats, heck, even the cats are cats (well, that last one makes sense).
• There are a lot of different lovely particle effects in play (especially when Fury Bowser himself comes out to play), such as rain, embers, & more, and though they can cause the framerate to stutter a bit, it's overall a smooth & snappy playing game, just like 3D World proper.
• Fury Bowser himself looks totally awesome (maybe he'll replace the Giga Bowser transformation in the next Smash?), a level of terror applied to the character that hasn't been seen in a long time. Giga Cat Mario on the other hand fitingly has an air of divinity about him, especially amongst the stormy, darkened skies that are summoned whenever Fury Bowser is active.
• The music organically changes from area to area, with a cool relaxing yet somewhat melancholic vibe amongst the "hub islands", peppy adventure tunes on the "level islands" & open lake, and thrashing metal whenever Fury Bowser is bearing down on you.

Conclusion:

• This was a great experiment for the Mario formula, & I'd be interested in seeing it expanded in a full blown adventure. It was fun (& short) enough that I went out of my way to 100% comple it, which is something I never do.
  
  Another adventure in the books.

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Been feeling nostalgic for Sonic recently so I decided to play through Sonic Adventure DX again on the PC.

I always enjoyed this game growing up. Sonic Adventure DX on the Gamecube was the fourth Sonic game that I owned after Sonic R (yes, really), Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and Sonic Advance (although I had played the Megadrive games at a friend's house) - and I was really keen to see where the 3D games started. Although SA2B was my favourite as a kid, at the time I really appreciated the brighter tone and more diverse environments of SADX, and the way six character stories were integrated into one larger narrative.

Some of these...kinda still hold true? I still believe the diversity of levels is great - between running from a killer whale at Emerald Coast, snowboarding down Ice Cap, and being chased down a skyscraper in Speed Highway, these levels for the most part are very memorable. I also still really like the idea of six stories tying together...in concept. In execution not only does it fall a little flat narrative-wise (the interactions between stories feel more forced than anything), but with six different gameplay styles it meant that this was the start of what would become a trend - tacked-on gameplay elements in Sonic's 3D outings. Personally while I generally enjoy Sonic and Tails' platforming in this game, I think Amy's platforming is okay but underwhelming, Knuckles' treasure hunting and Gamma's shooting are a bit underbaked compared to their SA2 equivalents, and Big's fishing...just doesn't belong.

Sonic and Tails' gameplay is therefore the meat of the experience IMO but...it is very flawed. I'm not sure if this was the case for the original game of Dreamcast, or even the Gamecube release that I played growing up, but this game is janky as hell. I frequently encountered awkward camera angles (including several external views of an indoor area's model) and poor collision (such as apparent magnetism towards walls at high speeds, awkward clipping with certain setpieces, and occassionally falling through setpieces). An annoying example of the poor collision in-level is Sonic's Lost World (not to be confused with the 2013 Wii U game), where at one point Sonic must ride a rock snake over a bottomless pit of water...but for some reason the snake is constantly trying to push him off so the player must make a conscious effort to adjust Sonic's position to stay in place. Moreover, the labyrinth jungle in the Mystic Ruins wouldn't be so difficult to navigate if the player character wasn't constantly tripping over the scenery at every turn. Perhaps the most egregious example of the janky physics is late-game Sonic stage Sky Deck, where the player has to fight janky controls in combination with physics-based level gimmicks, such as shifting gravity and high winds.

The presentation is also incredibly awkward, making it difficult to take any moment in this game too seriously. I'm sure you're aware of some of the awkward character animations - especially those meme-worthy lipflaps. Actions which are seemingly unimportant come across as exaggerated, whereas other actions underwhelm - it's a hot mess really. I'm perhaps a bit more willing to forgive this due to the age of the game, however the voice acting only makes things worse. I don't take much issue with the voices alone, but some voice deliveries are pretty bad (search "I wonder what happened to Sonic?" on Youtube for a good idea of this), and most jarringly, many voice lines are repeated between gameplay and cutscenes, which comes across as cheap and lazy. I also feel that voice clips can be inappropriately used - for example, Sonic has the same victory cheer (and accompanying music) regardless of which boss he's defeated - which can really ruin the tone when defeating the penultimate and final boss.

Luckily SA2 seems to have done some work to address pretty much all of my issues with this game - the cutscenes, while still fairly awkward, have much improved animation and can be taken a little more seriously; the treasure hunting and shooting missions have specially-built stages and refined mechanics; the physics, while occasionally janky, generally feel a lot smoother; and the two parallel stories, while less ambitious than six stories, tie in much better. In fact, the only things that I miss from SADX in SA2 are the more diverse environments, arguably the world-building that comes from an explorable overworld (although the overworld was a bit of a time-waster in SADX), and playable Amy.

Conclusion? This isn't a good game, and I don't see any reason for someone to play it unless (i) like me, they have some nostalgia for it and want to relive the experience [and maybe be prepared for disappointment], (ii) they're really into Sonic and are interested to see how the 3D games started. If you're looking for a non-boost 3D Sonic, SA2 and Heroes are much better options. I think if this title were released in 2006, it would've been ripped to shreds just as much as Sonic 06 was (although, credit where credit is due, this was the first 3D Sonic game in 1998 so they had much less to work with here). It's a shame because I do like a lot about this game in concept...but the execution just simply hasn't aged well.

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Ratchet & Clank (PS4) - The modern reimagining of one of PlayStation's longest running platformer franchises.

Gameplay:

• A hybrid platformer/third person shooter, most levels have a linear progression, though of course there are hidden collectables right off the beaten path as well as the occasional optional objective that branches off from the main route. There are some attempts at non-linearity at times too, such as having a choice between which of the next two levels you want to tackle first, or one level that really opens up upon acquisition of a jetpack & is much more exploration based.
• The platforming itself never asks much of the player (outside of some of the later rail grinding objectives), but the shooting really mixes things up & there are tons of weapons play around with from your standard laser blaster, grenades, flamethrower, rocket launcher, & sniper rifle, to more fanciful fare such as the Sheepinator (turns foes into sheep), Groovatron (makes enemies in it's area of effect dance), & Pixelizer (turns enemies retro). You're bound to find a few that really click with you, though things can get annoying if you're in the middle of a fire fight and have to switch to a weapon that you don't have mapped for quick access, especially in the later game where you have well over a dozen to sift between. Of course, Ratchet also has a melee attack he can perform with his ratchet if enemies get up too close
  
• Occasionally there'll be some other sort of gameplay you'll be thrown into, such as ship dogfighting (pictured below), hoverboard racing, or some other mountable weapon, and while they do mix things up they usually don't come along too often. The most prevalent of these are laser based puzzles you'll need to solve to unlock doors/barriers (there is an auto-solve option for these if you don't want to get stuck on them, but I persevered on my own capabilities).
  
• At times Clank (who usually just functions as Ratchet's double/extended jumps) will be seperated from Ratchet & you'll find yourself tasked with more methodical puzzle platforming. These segments usually revolve around utilizing a limited number of "gagebots" (which can function as trampolines, bridges, or electrical switches) in order to traverse the environment. Sometimes you'll have to survive while fleeing a stronger foe as well (pictured below).
  
• In terms of collectables the most common type are Bolts, which you get for doing pretty much anything and are used to purchase new weapons (and refilling your health/ammo) at designated points. Otherwise you have Raritanium which can be found at single use harvest points & randomly dropped by enemies (use to upgrade weapons), & Golden Bolts (there are only 28 of them in the game, these coveted collectables unlock concept art, costumes, paint jobs, & even optional infinite ammo & invincibility toggles).
• The most in depth collectables in the game are the Holocards. There are packs of these hidden away at various points in levels (and they're also randomly dropped by enemies), and they feature art & information about various characters/weapons throughout series history. They are arranged in sets of three, and if you complete a set you'll get a various buff, such as a 5% increase in the amount of Bolts or Raritanium you earn (you can swap 5 duplicates for a card you don't have, helping you to complete your collection). The most coveted of the Holocards are the RYNO cards, of which there are 9 and unlock the game's ultimate weapon if you find them (they can only be collected by accessing their hidden locations, and aren't randomly dropped by enemies).
• Of course you often won't be able to access all of a level's big collectables on your first visit, so will need to return with new gear to access previously inaccessible areas. Also, in the second to last level there's an optional objective that will reward you with the ability to see the locations of all missing collectables on your map (which you can bring up by pressing the touch pad), if there are any that have eluded you.
• There are some light RPG elements included as well (as with pretty much everything these days). Ratchet earns EXP for defeating enemies (though you only gain more overall health upon level up), and weapons level up individually as well (they each have their own skill tree that grows in size upon level up, and you spend the aforementioned Raritanium to activate the nodes, which do things such as increase maximum ammo, area of effect, range, etc). You won't be able to fully upgrade everything on a single playthrough, so just focus on your favorites.

Story:

• A reboot that retells the story of the original game, it launched around the same time as a movie adaptation, & many of the game's cutscenes are straight up pulled from the film (you aren't allowed to take screenshots during such scenes, in contrast to events that happen in engine).
• A comedic take on an epic space faring sci-fi adventure, it follows a young Lombax engineer named Ratchet who is excited to partake in tryouts for the Galactic Rangers, the galaxy's premier super hero team. While he may not have the base brawn traditionally needed for the job, thanks to his mechanical know how & the assistance of Clank (a "defective" warbot that escaped the villainous Drex Industries) he's able to perform above his level, and along with the info Clank gives him about Drex's nefarious schemes, he earns a spot on the team.
  

Visual/Audio:

• It really is a lovely looking game, and each planet you visit (which are the game's levels) has a very distinctive vibe, whether it be a tropical paradise, metropolis, industrial, volcanic, etc. I just couldn't help myself and took many screenshots of the environments, many of which you can see below.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Performance is mostly rock solid on base PS4, though I noticed the occasional dropped frame here or there. Nothing I'd say impacts the experience though, and it's understandable as A LOT can be happening on screen at once.
• I wouldn't say the soundtrack stands out, but it fits the sci-fi adventure vibe the game has going.

Conclusion:

• This was my first experience with a Ratchet & Clank game, & while the core platforming isn't quite as tight as something Nintendo would put out (which was noticeable as I started this while still playing SM3DW on Switch), but it's still a high quality well crafted game, and the mixture with third person shooting with a variety of fun weapons really definitely makes it stand out in comparison to other platformers.
  
  Don't be sheepish, give it a whirl.