Review The Last Game You Beat

[Crimson Ryan]

Finished Tomb Raider with 85% completion. It was a very good game. I won't bother with the rest of the collectibles. Did get a little repetitive, though I probably realised this much later than someone who plays it regularly (I only played weekends, until recently.)

I enjoyed it more for atmosphere and exploration rather than the usual shooting gallery. I played on Hard mode but didn't really notice much of a challenge in that respect.

Yep.

[Kenny]

^I bothered with the rest of them. Only thing I didn't bother with was the DLC other than the DLC that came with my collectable's box. Reminds me, I need to pose my Lara Croft action figure somewhere.

I finished Hitman Absolution. It's a good game, I enjoyed it. Worth the what, $5 bucks I spent on it?

[Jokatech19]

THE RED STAR


Wow. Where do I begin? This is the biggest review I ever wrote. This is such an unknown and uncovered game, that a review and analysis are needed. This game came out in 2007 if I'm not mistaken. Originally it was on the PS2, but then transferred over to the PSP after some time. When I downloaded it, it was as part of the reparations package for those of us who got our accounts hacked in the big PSN scam. I really didn't expect that much, but upon seeing the premise of the game, I was somewhat attracted to it. The graphics are good-looking and the game has a nice mixture of RPG, Shooter, Beat-em-up elements. It's like Killzone meets Samurai warriors. Usually, games that combine such an array of characteristics tend to damper them down and be underwhelming, but the combo system, as well as the upgrade system and shooting mechanics are great.



Originally, I was going to fill this review with a profanity laced rant to start off, but I've calmed down now. You see, this game's lasting quality is that I can honestly say, it is the hardest game of all time. Somewhere, I swear, a little vessel of evil shattered when I conquered the last boss. This game's difficulty is so historic, it makes the plot feel important. The game is about some Neo-Soviet Government in the future. you are part of a militia set to take down the evil Troika who is a cyborg, and his robot army. The enemies are very varied, and require the full use of your arsenal. You have a blade and 3 guns- a machine gun, flame thrower, and rocket launcher. They can all be upgraded with points you receive at the end of each mission based on your performance. You get a pop us icon that gives you a strategy page, if you choose, that explains how to tackle key enemies you approach in a stage. You will need it. They even give it to you if it’s been a while since you faced the enemy, and it is much needed. The action on the stages is melee combat with top down shooting which is like a hectic space shooter in it’s mechanics. The shooter portions rival Gunbird 2 on max difficulty after a while. There are even a couple of space shooter stages when you are inside of a ship taking out a tank. That was actually a reasonable stage. Old school gamers appreciate legendary boss battles, and will not be disappointed with this game. The bosses are huge and tough. Some have extra forms.



That’s all I’ll get into as far as the setup. The major thing is the difficulty. Most games are designed to challenged your reflexes and endurance. However, this game adds the twist of making you change the way your brain is wired. In even the most difficult shmups, you have to learn patterns and strategize accordingly. In this game, the bosses and enemies are so frantic and insane, you learn methodologies not patterns. You have a shield that overloads after 1 or 2 hits. Your guns overheat if fired for too long. Enemies alter their patterns and strategies, so there is no safe zone, or pattern to memorize. You will find yourself in boss fights where you have to see the entire route you must maneuver in split seconds. It’s not reasonable in the slightest. I didn’t see the difficulty taking a real turn until around level’s 12 to 14. That’s when I began to look online and see that there were no codes or guides. The only video is of some autistic kid ripping through the stages like a maniac untouched. You can’t call that a strategy for a human to follow. I saw some legends whispered quietly on message boards about how the game is unbeatable. The only 1 or 2 people who did beat it used 2 players on PS2 and no one has used the male character. The girl in the game has a dash, excellent guns, and quick speed and combos made for the game. The guy has none of that.



I felt like I was screwed and I just played a broken game. I was close to giving up, but decided to grit down and continue. The game has 19 levels. I got to level 18, and hit another wall. That level is another legend on the boards. Many called it the Waterloo and they were teamed up. Here I am on the PSP which has no 2 player and I’m using the useless male character. I kid you not, this game gave me an ulcer. I had cramps, strained blood vessels, and sleepless nights. It’s a game that physically affects you with its difficulty, and blights you life. I knew I’d be in a foul mood quitting near the end, so I pressed on. When I got to the last level, I thought I was home free. However, the last boss is a freaking summation of the entire game if there is one. He has 3 stages and like many enemies gets more frantic, the better you do. I was at a friend’s house and literally broke down in near tears. My friend’s son is a child prodigy. He’s one of those kids who yawns through Megaman 1-10. I figured I’d train him to help me. Even he was overwhelmed by this game. I eventually broke down and told him I’m retiring from gaming and give him the crown. I sat in silence bitter tears. I cursed the fact that I decided to start playing the game. He actually gave me a talking to that I couldn’t quit things in life just like that. I decided to try alittle more, and just when I was throwing my hands up, I got a slight break in the fight that allowed me to take out the boss with my last sliver of life. I was speechless. The production quality needs improvement, but I don’t think they expected people to beat their little game. No music on the credits, no ending sequence. However, it’s hard to be mad. You are part of an elite club if you beat The Red Star and deserve the extra arena mode it unlocks. It's good and very rare for a game to be eternally remembered, even if just for difficulty. I recommend this game not for being great, but for the fact that I know it will shake you to your foundation, and I’d love to see everyone suffer as I have. Enjoy- 7.5/10

[OL]

^^Yeah, I was kind of surprised when I looked up some videos after you mentioned the game before, and found that it was basically a Bullet Hell shooter (or at least the last boss looks that way). Rare to see a western-made one of those, much less one licensed from an existing property. I might not be one to judge it since I haven't played it for myself, but while it did look insanely difficult (seriously, I can never beat games like that, so kudos to you for it ), I think I've seen others that look even more insane. Wouldn't recommend trying them.
Just an example:

Check right around 1:20, or 4:25:

phpBB [video]

I like one of the comments on the page, where someone likens it to dodging rain.
But again, it all comes down to how the games actually feel when you have the controller in your hands, so for all I know the Red Star might be more difficult. Games like that are all hard as hell, whatever the case.

[Jokatech19]

That's the thing. I've played a few Bullet Hell shooters that look more insane than The Red Star. But the reason it trumps them all by far is that all of those games have patterns and reason to them. The Red Star doesn't. There isn't a repetitive dance you can use to weave through the bullets. You have to attack it with a methodology, and constantly use your reflexes and intuition. Some enemies and most of the bosses- especially later ones, attack frantically with a move set in an opportunistic fashion. It's one of those games you have a window of time to beat. When you reach an age where your reflexes slow down a hair, I can see it being impossible. I do want to find that comic.

I was looking at the vid link you posted. Really nice looking game. Looks familiar. I kind of chuckled, because normally I would have considered that pretty hectic, but after playing Red Star, I'm scarred. The collision in that game is super forgiving compared to Red Star. It basically is a matter of sticking with the pattern and outlasting the boss.

If you play Red Star, I suggest using the guy for full effect. No one seems to have used him. It reminds me of when I was playing Phantasy Online episodes 1 and2, in how the character feels like they aren't designed for the high octane action in the game. I remember fighting Dark Falz in that game and feeling like I was in quick sand.

[Kenny]

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

Holy shit, this game is short as fuck. This could've been a downloadable demo instead of a $30 game, but whatever I'm glad I got to play it even though I was done with the series after MGS4. Big Boss is getting to be a pretty interesting character, Kojima pulled alot of interesting punches here that I liked.

Shame that Paz was underdeveloped in Peace Walker, her death here would've been more shocking.

Good prep for Phantom Pain though. Can't wait now.

[Axm]

Assassin's Creed 2.

I don't really like this whole world conspiracy thing the main story is taking now. And that bit about the solar flares disrupting the earth's gravitational pull? I mean...what?! This is diving too far in the realm of science fiction now. Might as well throw in aliens and intergalactic space travel while you're at it.

I thought the genetic chair was as far as they were going to go with the science fiction stuff. The whole "linking to your genetic past to solve the problems of the present" was good enough already, you didn't need all that other ridiculous nonsense (especially the evil doctor thing).

Also kind of disappointed with Ezio's story. It started off good but then kind of...wandered after that. The thing between him and Rosa was good but it never really went anywhere. I was just doing missions and nothing really impacted the character's journey other than killing a bunch of random people. The Leonardo da Vinci character was good though, especially with the flying machine and other inventions.


As a game, it was good though. Not as repetitive as the original, which was nice. Also loved you didn't have to synchronize every top of every building in order to unlock missions, that was very nice. Though the parkour kind of got on my nerves sometimes when Ezio would immediately start jumping on crates and wagons when I didn't want him too and he couldn't adequately fling himself from one ledge to another (and sometimes leaped at an angle, causing me to fall to my death occasionally).

[Axm]

Ya if you thought AC2 got too sci fi youre in for alot more in the next few games. I honestly dont care for the story outside of the animus past the first game either.

[Kenny]

Oh jesus.

The other games better offer different things gameplay-wise cause if it's the same thing over and over with a shittier story, I'm just gonna drop off and move on.

[OL]

I wouldn't say shittier stories, but the gameplay is pretty similar all through Brotherhood and Revelations.
They're still worth it though, as the in-Animus story of Brotherhood is great (the Borgias are some of the best villains in the series, for my money), and the setting and style of Revelations is so unique and different from anything else out there (it's my personal favorite in the whole series).
I hated the sci-fi stuff too, but it grew on me just enough over time that I don't mind it now. By this point, it's just a backdrop and a drive for them to keep exploring the world and somehow keep it all related.
And Ezio's story seemed to drop off mainly because... well, it isn't over. He's the star of the next two games, and by the time they're both done with (and especially if you watch the Embers short film afterward), it feels like you've just seen this man's entire life, and it's really pretty satisfying.
The AC series sometimes takes measures with their stories that feel... I don't want to say more "realistic," necessarily, but they do things occasionally that intentionally don't get tied off with a nice little bow, as is usually the expectation with any other storytelling. The flirting with Rosa is kind of realistic in a way; it may not have lead anywhere, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Lord knows I've flirted with innumerable girls, only to quit a job or whatever, and never see them ever again. Innuendo and joking is fun, but it doesn't always end with you getting your peepee wet. AC is often self-aware of this kind of "real life" stuff. Not everything has to go somewhere, and I kind of like that AC says "fuck you" to the expected norms of storytelling and does things its own way every now and then. I think they did it a little too much in AC3 (in such a way that it detracted satisfaction in the end), but I like the idea either way.

[Kenny]

I didn't mind the "to be continued" part by the end, I figured at that point they were really confident they had a successful series on their hands and were willing to milk the story arc for all its worth (and they were right, it's still going).

I just don't feel there are enough "meat and potatoes" in between. I mentioned Rosa because that was the only thing in the entire story that had any substance to it (aside from his family getting hanged, that was a pretty powerful moment there), everything else felt more superfluous by comparison. Hell, by the end, when all the comrades came in to help me fight the evil dude I was like "who the hell are you people...oh-oh yeah, I met you at some point in time. Right. Uh...let's go kill stuff, I guess".

If the other people felt less vanilla, then this whole journey of meeting new people while trying to avenge your family's death (while coming to terms with earning your father's legacy) in each new city would've felt more epic and personal. I'll keep playing starting with Brotherhood once I get that.

[OL]

Yeah, they could have fleshed side characters out more. Thing about that, is that part of their impact is determined by your prior knowledge of the time period. Most characters are based on real people, and if you already know a name and their impact on the time, they leave a better impression. If not, then they just kind of pass you by. It's an interesting thing, because my first time through the game was a bit like yours, but years later I got more interested in the Renaissance, then when I went back to the game, suddenly I felt more in-tune with all these different names and faces. Did the same thing with Constantinople in Revelations.
It's part of why AC4 is so easy to get into, I think, since everyone certainly knows a thing or two about Blackbeard or Anne Bonnie or Benjamin Hornigold.

[Kenny]

Ah, then that would do it then. Da Vinci was the only cultural figure I recognized, I don't have a in-depth knowledge of history let alone Italian history.

[OL]

Just finished the final episodes of Asura's Wrath, and all I can manage is to say "wow."
Maybe also "holy shit."
I already loved the game, that's for sure, but the DLC is easily the best DLC I've every played. The original retail game was pretty satisfying on its own, but the DLC does huge things for the story, and has some of the most inventively-constructed QTEs in the game. I kind of always thought the original intention would have been to turn Asura's Wrath into a series. But now, having seen the true ending, it feels like any attempt at a sequel would be completely forced and unnecessary. It all gets wrapped up in an extremely satisfying manner. This was clearly intended as a one-off, and in an odd way, that kind of makes me like it even more.
Some great moments in the final four episodes, too. Episode 21 is poignant as hell. The part where

Yasha is fading away, then as Asura fist-bumps him, he disappears completely

was almost enough to bring a tear to the eye. And that's quite a feat, considering these are a couple of muscly male characters who spend the majority of the game yelling and punching things.
The fact that the game ends with Asura

beating the shit out of GOD

is pretty insane too. I think it's pretty hard to dispute after something like this: Asura is the most badass videogame character of all time.

The only thing I would have liked to see get explained is just where the hell everything started. It's shown pretty explicitly that Asura and Yasha are basically robotic. The same could be assumed of the rest of the deities as well. So... who built them?
There must be some kind of a backstory writeup sitting on a desk at Cyberconnect somewhere, explaining how everything came to be. I mean, you don't make it a point of rendering the complex, mechanical inner workings of Asura's shoulders after his arms have been blown off, only to have it mean nothing. Maybe the story exists in one of the manga or something. Such a shame we rarely get that kind of stuff over here, because there's clearly some kind of awesome background story that just wasn't explained in-game.

[CodingGenesis]

I couldn't have found better words to describe my experience with Asura's Wrath than yours, man. You absolutely hit the nail. I just love this game. Sure, it has its weaknesses and it may not be the ultimate killer title, BUT it surely scores in respects such as story, messages and cinematics. I don't want to cover all this in a huge post, you just did. Just a few words, nice and short.

To me, the story is really great with interesting twists and turns, unexpected even. As you just said, the final four chapters of the main story are one hell of a story-cinematic-epic battle-explosion! The meaning of true friendship, of fighting for someone you love, of never giving up no matter the obstacles - just like you said,

he really beat the fuck out of GOD

- it's amazing and inspiring. I love all the dialog as well, both, the actual dialog (the wording) and the voice acting. Given that

I am kind of one of the biggest Street Fighter fans on this planet

I enjoyed the main game and the DLC episodes so much more. I even bothered to beat this game 100%, that's what great of an impact it had on me. To be honest, to me it even increases the value of the game/story not knowing where everything started. I mean you get a glimpse of where it all came from, but that the big picture is left to your imagination feels satisfying, in a weird way. Asura's Wrath is just not a normal game - this is a special game, made for badass motherfuckers to beat crap up like a god.
Thanks for your words, OL.