Games with Gold....

Calico a game about a cat café, a sim in all aspects from café(furniture/decor/food) to townsfolk relationships. For me this game isn't appealing; one to claim but can't see myself playing.

ScourgeBringer a fast-paced 'roguelite' platformer. Despite my liking of games like this, they either sink or swim on actually getting to play them; So the proof is in the pudding as they say. One to claim and try. Plus the soundtrack is good.

Saint’s Row 2. I've never been fully into a Saint's Row game since the first one(while waiting for the next GTA at the time). There's been a lot of off the wall versions since. SR2 seems to still bridge the gap of serious GTA action and fun without being too far out there. All that said it's a game I've already claimed(July 2020) and still not played so, I guess I was right.

Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine. Another game that was given away years ago. Another one I've previously claimed and not played(Sept 2014).... Best described as a 2d sarcastic comedy version of payday 2; Best in co-op...... Just not a game for me.

Between games being given away for free and games claimable like these it's becoming harder to sink time and effort into games I don't choose. The choice of too many is a real problem. Way more extreme today than a magazine disk crammed with demos which I'd spend time on back in the day. Too much of a good thing now perhaps; And one making me choose and discard full and free games more casually without playing them. Then again if I spent time on every free game I'd do nothing else.....

There was some info going around the interwebs that the 360 games were leaving the Games with Gold as freebies; I can only hope that this both improves the quality of games that are given for free as well as their playability. As much as I may say I'll claim and not play the variety offered is wide and surprise titles/game-play is nice when it happens.

Halo and The Master Chief Collection....

I've waffled about my retro, back in the day Halo, OG Xbox times.... I've gotten all re-retro nostalgic in a 2019 post; Getting and playing games I'd not had back then(like here). While I still stand behind my previous posts(for the most part); I can say I was wrong in the Xbox platform having a fade away effect on me. Since 2019 if anything the platform and PC have been even more joined at the hip by the Ultimate subscription. As such I've been 'more into' the Xbox platform(Star Trek Online, Darkest Dungeon, Battlefield 1, all games I play on PC as well). The lists of games go on ..... Cross-platform games the big winner. 

So why an I waffling about all this... The Master Chief Collection. I've taken another look. Last time I was nonplussed about the new v old textures(very 1st world problem). This time round I'm more appreciative of the new and of the switch new to old and back texture option. I still think some of the older stuff is better..... But each to their own.

Old frozen waterfall:

New frozen waterfall:

Pluses and minuses to each but to the eye of the beholder it's each to their own.

Which has all driven me to play more but mainly for achievements. Being in a non said achi point competition can lead to a person doing things that they wouldn't normally do... This is mine.

Anyway this all lead to an interesting moment. The location of that frozen waterfall is a large area filled with enemies, small to large, with plenty of enemies in vehicles, including a tank. When the combat was all said and done one grunt decided to take a post combat time out; Must've been all that running about he did.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Minecraft(Xbox)....

It's been a while since I last looked at Minecraft on Xbox. In retrospect my blog post last time was more dismissive then the game deserved. So I've recently restarted playing it and continued on from that old 'save'. What I said in that post is still true. After playing it again now it's still a lot like other cross platform titles; The same but that bit different. I say that a lot about games I see across PC and Xbox. Hard to explain but the 'little' differences make it a familiar new experience and not in a Déjà vu kind of way. Besides that, moods change as do perspectives. I appreciate it more now. 

My PC save and restarting there would feel more like work due to having done so much there already(years of building on a save since the games early day's when it was 'free'). Doing it on a new platform feels refreshing. So a new start on a new platform with no pre-existing baggage at all is appealing. A distraction that has sunk hours of time. Gaming, it's all personal perspective.

It's odd to me to see the monetization/market space and it's 'currency'. Maybe that's me and my Java edition superiority complex. I'd known things were like that on Xbox but seeing it myself ....... I didn't think it was so extensive. Given it's not a 'main' version of a game for me I'll not be doing anything with that side of it.

What has proved to be a strong motivator to gameplay is getting achievements. It's 'nice' to 'just' play and get the achi popup...... Sense of achievement for the achievement...... Aiming for some that are 'out of the way' also add to the mix. Others are too much work and not even aimed for.

The stats on achievements like in other games, have me pondering the playerbase.

Some are explainable. People love bunny rabbits so they aren't going to go out of their way find never mind kill, cook and eat one in game. There are plenty of other 'options' for that. 8.6% have had bunny, I get it.

Farming and breeding animals is a more 'specialist' activity, 17.2% have bred cows. I get it.

Visit 17 Biomes. 38%. Not everyone can visit everywhere... I get it. 

Stopping starvation with Rotten Flesh. Just like the bunnies but in reverse.7.9%. I get it(I only did it for the achievement).

I even get the 4.9% making charcoal and 6.1% crafting and using a flower pot. Not everyone is going to want those things.

What I don't get are some of these....

Make a crafting bench..55.9%. Who plays Minecraft and not make a workbench!

Make a cobble furnace... 46% ........................?

Made a wooden pickaxe... 54.5 % ........................? Really ?

Make a wooden sword... 52.5%  ........................?

Only 63% have punched a tree to get a wooden block....  that IS Minecraft.!!?!?!??!?

BUT 

Only 67% opened the inventory...............Sixty Seven Percent.................. What ?!?!?!?

Given the range of versions and modes I'm sure the stats are skewed. Playing Multiplayer only and/or creative mode. Still it's 'interesting' to see and mull/comprehend the stats.

My save on Xbox is a good lil'adventure. Yes I've been burned by lava, blown up by creepers, slapped about by Slenderman, speared by drowned, looted villages and gotten lost. Noting like the motivation of creating a new compass in the wilderness as motivation(and all the tools needed to do so). Survival mode at it's best. But getting back to home sweet home where things are plentiful and safe is always a good feeling......... Then gearing up for a new expedition.

Things have changed a bit since I captured these screenies but they give a good snapshot of my save..... 

A Netherbrick eternal flame.... That I use for waste disposal.....

Bit'o'farmin....

Decent all in one house....

House come animal shed at the back....

In retrospect, is it odd to have a potential bbq area next to the animals....

Horse and donkey stabled on the opposite side....

While I did craft a Golem he has since wandered off or been destroyed.....MIA

Fencing off a portal I created helps with 'interacting' with any Pigmen that wander through.

Behind that is an early build, observation platform. Nothing like a birds eye view to see whats about.

A ladder up and down is good but a trapdoor down to water is handier.

As for inside the house, all mod cons.... Nothing fancy but all practical. The only thing I need to try and get is a bit of an enchanting addition.

The blacksmiths table is hidden in the corner. A lot of things like that around.

Maneater....

Maneater, maneater, maneater; I've been waiting for Maneater for a good few years. I liked it's initial release info during the PCGaming Show of E3 2018. Something new, different and fun.

Development time lead to an Epic store exclusive which lead to more dev time and a release on Epic and another year wait and more waiting.... It was finally released on Steam last month (May 25th 2021). 

That's almost a three year wait. 

That same launch event had another games initial release info; Two Point Hospital. Another quirky and fun game to watch.... And play. I did and have since played it to death a long time ago. No real waiting required...... Strange/funny how things go like that.

So in balance, from that E3 show I got a game I had to wait for and another I got to play soon after. Never mind wait times...The real difference in retrospect is that I really, really like Two Point Hospital and Maneater is 'just' OK. Both games with their own flaws but one has some that are more forgivable than others. Spoiler... It's not Maneater.

During that 3 year wait time I've seen and watched a good few Youtubers playManeater and while not spoiling to much for myself kept my interest afloat. But in the end I decided not to buy.

So why waffle about a game I've not bought; Thankfully the joys of Xbox Ultimate allowing access to games and has let me play Maneater for no cost other than what I was already paying for Ultimate..... 

The youtubers I've watched had issues with the game. Mainly the lock on control choice; And I can now see why as it's annoying A.F. Range based 'auto-change' as a target lock is a bad mechanic here because there are so many targets. Especially in some of the tighter game spaces(tunnels/sewers). The games controller setup is also a bit of a head wrecking experience, at least for me. That's coming from a gamer who is enjoying the button mashing of Hades right now. Anyway for me the controls are not intuitive. So much so that I'd rather not use some moves and stick to basic lunging attacks. 

Submerge, target, lunge and or lunge jump. If it wasn't for the epic sounds of the targets(mainly human) and the commentator/humour it could've been a game that got stale faster.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Once you do get used to the controls it's fast and responsive even with button mashing... Which kind of works as a theme for the game that it is. There's satisfaction at the speed and chomping nature of your shark. Way overthinking it but still... There's fun in it's doing.

For the most part it all 'works'. But it has it's frustrations for me. There's a grind element that's 'off-putting' for me. Gotta constantly feed the eating machine I guess. I do get that, but it reached the level of feeling like work early on. Filler for the sake of it. Your mileage may vary. 

The game still looks good, the comedy and 'story' are still entertaining etc. But if you go all in on just following the main story you'll go through area's too fast. I guess it's good to say that the game doesn't limit you..... Only it does if you want more from it.... The grind is due to brick walls of difficulty in the game. Your next objective is an enemy 5 levels above you so you need to grind the 'latest' area to get to a comparable level and then do it and move on. Motivation gets lost in that doing. At least for me. Work feels like work. Which all leaves me with a very 'meh' feeling for the game and no motivation to pick up a controller to get back to it. Maybe I'm overly cautious in game. Maybe I'm too much of a completionist. Maybe I should 'get gud'......

I don't know how gamers are being completionist with the entire game in 'just' 10 to 12 hours. Surely that's 'just' for main story pushers. That said it's a short game if you 'just' go for the main story-line. 

Take the first area, by the time I'd explored and collected about half of it's items/collectibles I was 25% through the main story....

The grind shows inconsistency to the flow of the game overall. Mini roadblocks; Not insurmountable but as a personal perspective something that didn't feel right to me. Maybe that's the completionist in me on one hand and the over-thinker on the other.....

Why grind this to see how the story goes when there's not much to it). Why do it when I could be in other games feeling like I'm making much more 'real' progress(cough HADES cough). 

Each to their own again.... 

I keep finding myself drifting off to other games rather than going back to Maneater. It's all subjective.

If I'd bought the game myself I'd be a bit disappointed but then again it would probably motivate me in persisting with gemplay. Trying to get value out of it. That's not a great reason for game motivation.

Don't get me wrong I've enjoyed parts of the game. But as is I can live with it being 'free' and being disappointing, while thanking myself for not buying it and swimming on.

P.S. On a side note.... Achievements show a playerbase that whittles down over time by area with about 15 to 20% being 'into' the game across a broad range of game mechanics/leveling...

But the broader plaeyrbase really is lacking given these other percentages.

Games with Gold....

The King's Bird.... Looks to be a game of interest for me. It's art style reminds me of the Abzu and Journey games. As does the gameplay; all about the journey, the challenge of the journey and the views. A platformer with a difference that appeals to me. With a side of Super Meatboy wall use without the blood.... I'll be giving a try and see if it clicks!

Shadows: Awakening.... While it looks like a great game visually I'm hesitant of all (serious(?)) isometric RPG's these days; Mainly because I was into Divinity:OS and quickly fell out of it just as hard. The RPG isometric straw that broke me. Shadows isn't as unique as it says it is but I'll give it a go and see for myself. If it clicks with me I'll give it more time. Even at that it's a stretch for me to try.

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.... Seems to be a love it or loath it fighter. Given my loss of love for all fighting games I have no need for another.... Even a free one.

Injustice Gods Among Us....... A DC fighting game. A parallel universe with Superman as a Tyrant. Meh. Not a good follow up given what I thoughts of Battle Coliseum. I've just no interest in it, it's looks or premise.

Talk about a month of games that point out my changing gameplay wants and needs over time. 

Games with Gold....

Looking at the games with gold for May; My usual claim'em and not play'em is in full swing. More so than other months. I've a lot of games on the go at the mo so my tolerance for fun faff's on the side is very, very limited whether they're free or not... 'First world problems'. The bane of so many free games on so many platforms from so many providers/stores......

Armello is an interesting looking game but has nothing that seems to draw me in for an 'I must play this' point of view...

Dungeons III could be a good game for me. It's a game that brings nostalgia for the Dungeon Keeper games. But I've already claimed it on another platform and not played it there so 99.99% ditto on that for Xbox.

The Lego Batman game isn't going to be played as I'm not into the Lego games regardless of theme...

Tropico 4 is a franchise I like the look of; And gameplay seems to be up my alley but even through I've claimed other editions of the franchise I've not played them. So if I have Tropico 5 and not played it  (yet) then Tropico 4 really isn't going to get a look in....

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order....

The game-play just doesn't click with me. Since my last blog about it, the more I try to 'get into it' the more I'm frustrated. There's way to much wall running, platforming, guard killing for the sake of it. I may have called it a Tomb Raider/Prince of Persia clone but it really is also mirrors edge platforming. Run along wall to jump to opposite side to run along it to jump pack to the other side to jump onto a rope to swing to a platform to.......to.....to......to......

I mention guard killing because after the first level/section/chapter they're 'just' another platform to jump over, that's all they are. I can't quiet put my finger on it but they're 'filler'. Not really there for world building, not really there for meaningful gameplay let alone be a real threat. They're generic bad-guy filler. Nah they are worse they are unfulfilling bad-guy filler. 

Yea you can up the difficulty and hamstring yourself so that each trooper is an epic Souls like battle ... each to their own... but not for me in this game. 

Playing it (even on 'normal') feels like I'm working hard to get the smallest sliver of story. The story is interesting but it really makes you work hard to see it. I like the story I've seen, I like the android companion(he's Wall-E), I like the ship and it's crew, I really like the captain of said ship. I even like the customizations. The story is an adventure and 'feels' epic. Till you get to a planet and it's hop, hop, skip, jump, wall run, x20 platforms with some generic saber fodder thrown in. I'm simplifying it but that's the gist of it. No new gimmicks for an old gaming dog, no new tricks to learn. Seen it all before.

I'm jadded with killing Troopers. I've been killing troopers since Dark Forces.... Even in the last 10 years how many Troopers have died.....  Some things are cool and some things just need to be reinvented. Or at the very least be made interesting. Games need to be as 'cool' in doing as on 'TV'.

I've no interest in manually tweaking 1's and 0's to edit graphics options in text files! While I can forgive some graphical popping every now and again, falling through scenery has killed me on more than one occasion. Stuck in a door frame or on a wall, jump to try and get out of it and I'm through the floor/building and dead. Charming.

I've gotten as far as I'm willing to go. If I'd bought the game I'd persist to get value from it.... As I got to play it for free via EA Play through Xbox Ultimate........ Time to uninstall.

Games with Gold....

For me the first two of the games are of some interest....

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard: Seems to be 'a fun, deep action RPG'. A Diablo style game with some good graphics and atmosphere. One I'll look at but maybe not too deeply.

&

Truck Racing Championship: Looks interesting, worth a try. Again another I'll not dive into too deeply.

The second set are games I'll claim and 'forget'.

Darkvoid: Is an Anthem like (way before Anthem) game I've no interest in... 

&

Hard Corps Uprising: Is a game I like the look of but I know the game-play is one I'd also not be into.

2 of 4 isn't bad as Games with Gold freebies go....

Xbox Ultimate with EA Play....

EA Play on PC from Xbox Ultimate is a complex mouthful of overlords and platforms. But it's here and it works. Or at least it's finally here for PC after teething issues, which it still has, some, issues. I've played games under the Ultimate access on Xbox but it was the PC versions of some of those games that I wanted to see, test and over the last few days I have...... for the most part.

The games I had planned to take a look at via the 'scheme'/new entitlements had an addition in Command & Conquer Remastered; And three games not looked at(both KOTOR games and They are Billions).

Taking another saber swing at Fallen Order proved to be a better stab at it than when I tried it on Xbox. Still with a controller and still with it's flaws. It hasn't changed my mind. The game is what it is. I saw on PC what I'd seen on Xbox and character popping isn't something I can't unsee no matter the platform. It's a fun enough game, it looks and feels like a Star Wars game. No flaws in that yet I found myself getting irritated at times. True to say it's not a game for me now. It's got to much tomb raider platforming and Prince of Persia(Sands of Time) wall running with time slowing.... Even with a cute robot companion and force power to 'interact'/slow objects, none of it 'did it for me'.....Again. 

Yet using the saber in battle and pulling off great moves does 'feel' cinematic. Too many cons then pro's for my tastes these day's. Never say never for the future.....

Battlefront II via EA/Ultimate carried over my previous progress (from the Free Epic Store giveaway) which is nice to see but the game is still the game I left(like here and here). I did play in a good few online matches but the 'new' playerbase from the Epic giveaway has gone and the older 'uber' always on 'this is their game' players were OP spamming everything. I didn't find that fun then and not now. Time to exit stage left.

Battlefield V is exactly like my Battlefront II thoughts. My stats and player details 'via EA/Ultimate' carried over my previous progress which is nice to see but the game is still the game I left'. Again akin to Battlefront II it's got so many OP players it's hard to survive. Fun gives way to frustration fast. I'll plug away with it here and there but it's treading a fine line.... Makes me want to get back to Battlefield 1 the more I play; And that's not a player issue, BF1 is 'just' a better game right now (imho) and has been since before BFV came out...... BFV is too quick, snap reaction based for me.

Battlefield 4 is a game I played to bits on 360. Seeing as I missed(by years) the once off profile export option(360 to xbox one) I was always going to be trying this PC version as a Noob. I had fun, nostalgia was fulfilled. It's not a game I could grind a 100+odd levels in again. Still I laid out some C4 on a helipad and enjoyed an explosive moment as the helo respawned, an enemy player hopped into it and I detonated said C4. For old times sake.....Nice.

I've had my fun and this version is good fun but I think Battlefield 1 really is a better game today; For me at least. The thought of grinding levels for gear, unlocks and mods.... It would crush my soul. Efforts better but towards my ongoing BF1 journey.

Aragami was stuck in a pre download queue loop for a while; Despite my clearing of both Origin and EA app location caches. It took an app reinstall(no cache clear) to get it to download. That aside the game is the same as on Xbox(no surprise); And no point going past the initial start of the game. Nothing new over the way I played and cleared it on Xbox. The Xbox version was played through well enough. 

They are Billions as well as KOTOR I & II are listed on EA as available under Play as well as the more costly Pro. As Ultimate 'only' includes Play, the EA store seems to have issues with recognizing the Ultimate access to access them as 'Play', all three games are not 'available' and prompt to buy Pro to access them. 

Snag, temporary hitch or not it's a pity as I was looking to get back to the KOTOR's and see how I liked They are Billions. All on the back burner now. I'm sure as the joint venture goes on things will be ironed out(for the majority of gamers).

Which all brings me to the best experience of the access to games this way.... Command & Conquer Remastered. I've waffled about it, mainly in a way that was biased in not wanting it. Maybe in a semi subconscious way.... But trying it now is a whole other thing. I was genuinely gobsmacked at the look and feel. The instant switch from old to new graphics on the fly.... The new and old music. I've been flooded with nostalgia big-time. So many memories so much need to keep playing it 'just' for the fun of it. 

The addition of all the behind the scenes content 'unlocked' items as you play is great fan service. The new music and remixing is phenomenal.... I've re-added the game to my wish-list. I'll pick it up on the next sale(yes I still have a need to own games......Just a pity they aren't on physical media!!!!).