Comments 234

Re: Developers Discuss the Switch eShop 'Gold Rush'

BustedUpBiker

It feels like a land of plenty to me. Yes, the eShop needs a bit of a revamp, more categories to increase and extend visibility, but sales will speak volumes and the cream will rise to the top. Hopefully the Indie devs will continue to work on Switch for the life of the system, and won't be put off by the cries of "too many games".

Perhaps those people have only ever owned consoles, but I'm used to using Steam as well. While sometimes I have ended up with a backlog (usually after one of their sales) it has been brilliant to go through my library and have plenty to play at the times I have had to be more careful with my pennies. Perhaps those people need a slight attitude adjustment - all of these games don't have to be bought straight away. They can be parked on the watchlist to be picked up and enjoyed later on, when time and money allows. I know I'd rather be spoiled for choice than the alternative.

Re: Review: Golf Story (Switch eShop)

BustedUpBiker

Brilliant fun so far. Tickles my funny bone. Charming and fun to play, easy to get to grips with. I'm all fore it. Bought it over Thimbleweed Park and don't regret it one bit.

I personally have but one gripe - the rumble is very intense in portable mode, especially vs. the Pro controller (which is perfect). Wouldn't mind so much but it vibrates every single time you press A to advance dialogue. In an RPG style game it's a bit much.

I'd like to see it disabled for dialogue and possibly also reduced in intensity when in portable mode (or menu options to that affect). It's a shame because the rumble is so good outside of the dialogue.

Re: Feature: Dashing Through Super Meat Boy and Catching Up with Tommy Refenes

BustedUpBiker

Fond memories, sitting with my brother passing the pad back and forth trying to beat the more fiendish Super Meat Boy levels, laughing at the humourous cutscenes, crazy replays and warp zones, wondering how the hell we managed to pull off certain moves and beat bosses. Can't wait for this.

Side note for those put off of this by the endless runner thing - if you played the original, when exactly did you stop running? If you wanted to beat the par times, you pretty much had to hold the sprint button down for dear life.

Re: Nintendo is Now 128 Years Old

BustedUpBiker

Couldn't bring myself to ask my parents for a Game'n'Watch or GameBoy, but they seemed magical. Coveted my cousin's NES. First console I ever bought for myself was N64. When the step kids abandoned the GameCube for PS2 I gave it a good home. See, I've always gamed on home computers such as the Speccy and PC but Nintendo to me seemed like the epitome of console gaming. Such character and spirit, forging their own way.

Nintendo have a certain special flavour that I believe will see them endure beyond the generic. Companies have risen and fallen but Nintendo seem to always be there, doing their own thing and doing it well. Each time a new generation of Nintendo hardware is released I cannot help but think "The King is dead. Long live the King!"

Wii(-U), 3DS and now Switch have brought my family together in gaming, something I didn't think would happen, especially with regard to having the hardware in common. I'm forever grateful for that. Truly a lifelong love affair for me, and I look forward to what comes next.

Re: First Impressions: Hell in a Handbasket - DOOM on Nintendo Switch

BustedUpBiker

My ageing PC uses a 30fps lock when rendering a 1080p output (internally scaled down to 80% or an effective 864p) at a mixture of low/medium settings. It is my compromise between sharp image quality and playable framerate. The temporal AA is magnificent and makes a world of difference on my 42" telly.

Performance is a solid 30 in outdoor scenes and depending on how busy it is indoors can ramp all the way up to 60, but ~45 is typical. The transition between these is smooth in the excellent engine but I tend to lock it at 30fps anyway. Loading times are VERY long between levels, but they aren't too frequent. And yes, that controller stick does get hammered mercilessly for the glory kills.

So, particularly with regards to playability I'm optimistic that they will deliver a very enjoyable version of Doom on Switch. I love playing it on PC even with the above limitations 🤘

Re: Review: NBA 2K18 (Switch)

BustedUpBiker

@Tibob I'd say BotW was years in development and Nintendo are known for their refined releases. Playgrounds and Bomberman were considerably less ambitious IMHO.

This is a huge game, with features on a parity with every other platform. It seems rough around the edges, but from what I know the core gameplay is great. Personally I'd class it as an experiment for 2K - they're testing the waters here - and such a complex project no doubt had their Switch team working long hours to meet the release date at all.

Re: Review: NBA 2K18 (Switch)

BustedUpBiker

I for one understand the score pending situation, but only at this particular time. A fine line needs to be walked here. Devs are effectively in uncharted waters with Switch, especially with big AAA franchises like this one. I would like to encourage them to look positively to the future, rather than having the bean counters decide it isn't worth the hassle and merely give us warmed over mobile games like RBI.

It's like praising a child for what they have done right, explaining to them what they have done wrong, and having the leniency and patience to let them correct themselves and improve. For me the content of the review does all of this.

Having said that, this pending score policy is acceptable to me in these early days, but as the system matures it should not continue. You can only give them so much rope, after all.

Re: Super Mario Odyssey's File Size is Only a Little Bigger Than an NBA 2K18 Save File

BustedUpBiker

What I can't get my head around is how games like Zelda on Switch or big Bethesda games on PC like Skyrim and Fallout 4, with all their hundreds of variables to be contained in a save file, each come in at up to 1/4 of a GB. What on earth is the 5GB reserve for? Per user no less?

Nice to see Nintendo continuing their excellent track record of attractive games with reasonable storage requirements.

Re: Doom Will Bring Hell to Switch This Holiday Season

BustedUpBiker

I thought I'd fallen asleep and YouTube had autoplayed another video. Genuine jaw dropping moment. This will stretch Switch to breaking point and I'm sure Digital Foundry are already planning their content. However even on my archaic PC this is the dogs.

This is unbelievably great news for Switch, and will hopefully encourage other publishers to invest time and money in the platform.

Re: Editorial: A Week of Gaming the Nintendo Switch Way

BustedUpBiker

Lovely read, bang on.

The flexibility is a winner here. It's a joyful little machine and I appreciate it every single time I use it.

Another stand out feature for me is the near instantaneous switch on and play. Missus answers the phone and I'm dishing out a pasting with Garou's Kim Dong Hwan in no time at all. Before Eastenders is cued up on the Sky+ I'm already on horseback in Hyrule.

Not really surprised that major third parties consider it as a portable though, as that is the key differentiation between this and the breeze block consoles.

Re: First Impressions: Defying Gravity in Skyrim for Nintendo Switch

BustedUpBiker

Hopefully the Pro Controller gyro aiming works like the handheld mode. The BotW aiming mechanic is sweet. Needs mod support as well, if only to iron out the game breaking bugs with the unofficial patch.

Love the thought of it on Switch, might mean I actually see it through to the end this time, but the price is a bit ridiculous. However I was spoiled by picking it up the GOTY edition on Steam for a fiver yonks ago (got ~20 hours in before GTA V took over), and by the generous free upgrade to the remastered version (~35 hours in before Fallout 4 took over).

It is an entertaining, immersive and absolutely massive game though and I really should get back to it. After Master Mode. After Mario Odyssey. After... oh you get the picture.

Edit: I'll miss messing with the tilde activated dev console commands as well.

Re: F1 And Micro Machines Studio Codemasters Is Keeping An Eye On The Switch

BustedUpBiker

@timson72 That's great to hear of a return to form. I've missed out on the big sims, having an older PC and no current console. I'll catch up one day, feeling like a boy in a sweet shop no doubt.

MXGP was fun, different but fun. The ranch stages in the VR46 game are pretty good as well. Great news it's coming to Switch - hopefully the upcoming Ride TT game will follow suit.

Re: F1 And Micro Machines Studio Codemasters Is Keeping An Eye On The Switch

BustedUpBiker

@timson72 Always best with a wheel. I used to use a LogItech MOMO Racing with force feedback on PC. Far superior to any pad. Great for Simbin games as well as the more arcadey Codies titles. When I had to ditch the huge desk I used to clamp it on to I started using a 360 pad - what a downgrade. Having had no choice but to adjust I've managed fine though.

Can't comment on how the latest iteration plays, though I've heard it's pretty good, but the last F1 game I really sunk hours into (2011 I think, oh do I feel old right now) was fine when I calibrated the advanced controls accordingly.

I love the Milestone bike racers now, from SBK through MotoGP and Ride. I play them on realistic AI and full physics with no aids out of the box. The 360 pad holds up really well with these, and those games need a deft touch the way I play them.

I'm of course disappointed that I'm doomed to micro-presses of the triggers in any racing game on Switch that has aspirations of realism, but the console is so good that I can overlook it. MK8D on 200cc is scratching my racing itch right now.

Re: F1 And Micro Machines Studio Codemasters Is Keeping An Eye On The Switch

BustedUpBiker

@timson72 The Android version of F1 2016 is playable, if not perfectly, with tap controls and tilt steering. Obviously not as good as with analogue triggers but it's doable even with traction control turned off.

Glad I picked it up dirt cheap though. It doesn't seem finished at all. Audio bugs, no visual options, questionable season mode and seriously choppy performance on an S7. It's a bit pants really.

I'd love to see the Codies return to form, some of their racing games were very enjoyable (Colin McRae, BTCC, TOCA, Grid, Dirt and F1 - but for the latter 3 only certain releases) but I'd prefer remakes of older Micro Machines to the new one.

Re: Some Retail Nintendo Switch Games Will Require You To Own A MicroSD Card

BustedUpBiker

@MarioPhD All sounds very plausible. Even empty boxes on shelves draw the punters in. If the base game takes up anywhere near 25GB or over then that would explain the friendly warning. I suspect a missed opportunity for texture compression etc. here as well.

Perhaps they missed a trick here. A bundled, subsidised SD card of reasonable capacity could have resulted in more of a positive PR spin. Bonus side effect of effectively ending up with an NBA 2K18 physical copy of sorts after all.

Re: Some Retail Nintendo Switch Games Will Require You To Own A MicroSD Card

BustedUpBiker

Always wondered how certain third party devs were going to address their gargantuan day one patches. Now I know. Balls to this.

Edit: Let's tread a little carefully here folks. While this is far from an example of best practice, isn't this going to be a fully featured game i.e. content parity with other consoles? If we don't temper the backlash we may well start putting some devs off and end up with a load of cheapo "portable" versions of games.

Re: Gear.Club Unlimited Power Slides Onto Switch in December

BustedUpBiker

Love a good racing game. Fingers crossed it turns out well. Plays like a dream on my S7.

Played this on mobile since it was first announced for Switch. It is good fun, with a nice difficulty curve, massive roster, regular multiplayer challenges and tournaments and regular content updates (tracks and vehicles).

For me, it's a worthy alternative to Real Racing 3's cynical IAP model - I've played a large portion of the game so far without spending one penny or watching one ad, and it has never felt like a grind due to the vast amount of races available. It is a generous package.

Only gripe is that the deceleration when you graze a wall or barrier seems disproportionate to the contact made, especially for an arcade style racer. Can typically cost you a close race.

Oh, and it'll be micro-press city with no traction control and no analogue triggers. Hope ol' ZR is up to it.