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Slay the Spire 2 (PC) by jp (Aug 23rd, 2026 at 09:46:33) |
Despite the long hours I've put in already, the game feels a lot less like a sequel and a lot more like...an add-on. Which feels like a mean thing to say, but still...
The first, I don't know how many hours, was basically playing the same characters as the first game. It's possible, actually probable, that there are some new cards and that the numbers might be a little different and that sort of thing. But, it feels like the same game in the fundamentals.
That would be the summary of my experience until I unlocked everything. And now, with more hours in and that sort of thing, I still feel like it's not quite a sequel even if the experience does feel somewhat different - mostly from some of the new (to me?) artifacts and how they interact.
I'll be fair, the new characters are fun and different and I've enjoyed messing around with them...but the game still feels the same? And this isn't a bad thing - I mean, I really enjoyed playing the first one for sure....
I guess there's no reason to go back to it at this point?
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Slay the Spire 2 (PC) by jp (Aug 23rd, 2026 at 09:24:27) |
This is probably the most I've ever played a game in early access. Kind of embarrassing really, but I don't think I've been playing it all THAT much? When I first started, I wanted to complete a run with each of the main characters, especially as I unlocked them. And since then I'll occasionally play a daily run. Those have been fun, and my success rate seems pretty high?
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Dishonored 2 (PS4) by jp (Aug 23rd, 2026 at 09:07:28) |
I've been sitting on this one for what seems like forever - more like five years - and I've enjoyed getting back in the world of Dunwall, though this game takes place in other locations too, as I soon came to know.
I'm playing it on the PS4, and you would think this would be bad/awkward given how old the game is (10 years!), but the art direction is so good (IMO) that, other than long loading times, it really does hold up. As I write this I realize I need better language for this - the idea that it's great and timeless regardless of the technological foundation underneath it. I mean, I don't think people watch Disney's Snow White and say "oh, it really holds up".
I was surprised, going in, that I had to pick a character for the rest of the game and I wonder what will happen once I beat it. Will I then be able to pick levels to play from a menu, with either character available to me? Or will this be a "play the entire game all over" kind of situation? I don't really want to play it all over again, mostly due to other games I'd rather get to, but we'll see. I guess ideally I'd like to try a few levels just to see how different the characters are?
So far my only real gameplay-related disappointment has been that I misunderstood the structure of the game. The first "real" level was one that had lots of thing to find/pick up - and I assumed that most would only be accessible once I had acquired a few powers and abilities. For example, there was a rune in the water next to the boat where you start, I went for it and died to some carnivorous fish. Oh, I'll try again later when I can turn into a fish (I though), or when I can attack them (maybe I could already, I realize in hindsight). No worries, I'll come back to this later. And, there was no later. So I missed that - and many others as well.
People who say the Clockwork Mansion was an amazing level are correct. It is. Very interesting and clever and, I'm sure, I technical nightmare to put together and test. I wonder if there are any GDC talks or such about it? I need to make a mental note to look around.
Anyways, I'm currently in the Dust District - interesting because there's a sandstorm that blows in periodically, giving you a chance to sneak past or silently take out enemies. I've been trying to be silent - rendering enemies unconscious - with the occasional "oopsie", and I've had mixed success. This mostly means that it's been taking me forever to make much progress. So, I wonder if I played more shooty-killy, could I then get back and re-play sneaky-sneaky?
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Denshattack! (PC) by dkirschner (Aug 17th, 2026 at 10:40:12) |
This game is bananas. Do you like skateboarding games? I don’t, unless there’s something really novel about them (the recent Skate Story being one). Do you like racing games? Yes. Do you like being punk rock and sticking it to the man? Yes. Do you like fast speedrunning games and challenging platformers? Sometimes. Neon White was awesome. Do you like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio? Sure, I like Sega-era nostalgia. Did you enjoy the style of Hi-Fi Rush? Yeah, that was a colorful, super creative game with a kickass soundtrack that came out of nowhere. If you said yes to any of those questions, or maybe to two of them, you might become obsessed with Denshattack.
Denshattack is all those things mixed into one. Except instead of a skateboard or a taxi or running, you are driving a train (and on one later track your train rides a skateboard, lol; know your inspiration). This is future Japan. An environmental catastrophe has happened. Everyone lives in secure domed cities managed by the Miraido corporation. Most everyone. Some people—rebels—live outside…in trains? No, I don’t know where they live. But they drive trains. They are Denshattackers…gangs of mostly young and always cool people (gangs are themed around baseball, cute fashion, rockabilly, goth/horror, whatever other subcultural or The Warriors-esque group) who…drive around fighting other gangs by racing them, out-tricking them, and apparently sometimes literally going to war and killing them. They also dislike Miraido, despite Miraido’s cute, funny (evil) mole mascot, and they enjoy tagging and destroying corporate property. Denshattackers and/or Miraido have laid train tracks all over the place for…reasons.
You play as Emi, a ramen delivery girl who learns about Denshattack through a random encounter with a Denshattack fan. Long story short, she becomes a pro, defeats all the gang bosses, and together they take on Miraido. The story is absurd, fun, and oddly heart-warming.
The game is broken into 9 chapters, each of which takes place in a different gang’s territory. Each chapter has a handful of tracks. Most of these involve just getting to the end, but there are also occasional races (place in the top 3), score attacks (get x score in 2 minutes), and boss fights. Each track also has additional objectives, like picking up x collectibles, doing specific tricks in specific locations, doing things to affect the environment in some way, smashing 10 opponents in a race, etc.
One thing I loved about Denshattack is that it has minimal gatekeeping. Most racing/speedrunning/platformer games gatekeep like crazy. You have to get x stars or gold medals to unlock the next area…that kind of thing. There really isn’t gatekeeping in Denshattack. The only thing that came close for me was those score attack tracks (until I learned how to rack up massive combos and easily beat them). I imagine the races are tough for some people, too, since you have to place in the top 3, which means that you can’t crash hardly at all. If you finish the track and meet its main objective, you can proceed. But if you want to strive for perfection, getting gold medals, finding all collectibles, completing additional objectives, you can go nuts replaying tracks. There are some incentives for doing this, such as buying cosmetic items for your trains, buying new trains with different abilities, and filling out Emi’s “book”, which is a fun little way of learning more about the world and Emi’s adventure. I just went straight through though.
So, in each chapter, Emi confronts a new gang, and in each chapter, she learns a new skill. Because of these constant additions, Denshattack never got old. First, you learn how to do all the regular tricks. Then it introduces rails and you learn to grind. Then it introduces tunnels and you learn to go off-track to do halfpipes. Then it introduces hanging rails and you learn to swing. Then it introduces magnets and you learn to flip upside down…and so on. The tracks are fast, and once more and more of these elements are added, the tracks become insane. I mean, that’s how I would describe the whole game—it’s insane. Tracks are fast, obstacles everywhere, you’re pulling combos, jumping, dodging, spinning, grabbing, choosing directions, switching tracks, nabbing collectibles, smashing enemies. Reacting constantly as Emi zooms around. Many tracks have big set pieces, so there might be a tsunami, kaiju, wrecking balls, a sawmill, all sorts of stuff going on around you that you can often interact with. And the boss battles are wild, multi-phased tracks oozing with creativity. You might think, “how can they do a boss battle in a skateboarding game?” That’s what I thought about Skate Story too, and it was badass the way it handled bosses. Same with Denshattack, but…insane.
The whole game is creatively stunning, the entire time. I kept thinking, “at some point, this will get repetitive” or “wow, no way they can top that,” but it never gets repetitive and nearly every track—certainly every chapter—contains awesome new things that you haven’t seen before. Finally, I appreciate how user-friendly the game is. Taking a cue from hard-as-nails platformers like Super Meat Boy, checkpoints are generous. Usually if you crash, you are set back just a few seconds, so you can fail, try again, see what you did wrong, fail, try again, fail, and succeed, and feel like you overcame something difficult. The game provides the feeling of mastery. Or if not mastery, at least solid proficiency.
This gets a strong, strong recommendation from me. So glad it was a day one release while I had a month of Game Pass!
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Halo: Campaign Evolved (PC) by dkirschner (Aug 17th, 2026 at 10:34:27) |
Halo felt like a standard shooter. In that way, it is authentic to the original (standard now, perhaps, but revolutionary at the time). I was never a massive Halo fan. I played some multiplayer in college, but never actually played the franchise until I was like 30 years old. I played the original Halo when it was remastered for Xbox 360. So, I can look at this without nostalgia. And the simplicity was striking. There are no RPG mechanics, no loot, no parries or dodges, no cover. I remember when each of these features was added to FPS games; it’s weird seeing none of them present!
You can sprint through levels just like in the original Halo, but that gets hard in the tunnels with all the Flood. Some of those later Flood missions were really annoying with so many enemies crowded into corridors. All the hallway/tunnel areas were pretty abysmal. I’m surprised they didn’t change them. The game adds three new bonus missions. In those, you cannot sprint through everything! You always either have to kill all enemies (then the exit would unlock) or have Johnson unlock the exit (after all enemies were dead).
New missions added a some modern elements, but were a bit jank. For example, Johnson had trouble following me. I had to go find him a few times. One time, I had cleared enemies in an area, and he said “alright, let’s go!” and the exit door opened, but he wasn’t there. Then no other door after the exit door would open. I traced my steps back to the beginning of the area, and there is Johnson, stuck on a door (how I heard him say anything, I do not know; perhaps he’s an expert at throwing his voice). I had to reload to get him loose. Another time, I was supposed to clear all enemies in an area. After doing so, the exit wouldn’t trigger, so I was running around, thinking it was because I lost Johnson again. An enemy materialized out of a turret. Killed him. Exit opened. Another time the opposite happened, where the exit opened, as if I’d killed all the enemies, but there was still a red dot on my map. Followed the dot, and it was an enemy, who promptly killed me. Had to start over. I think he was stuck in a corner and the game read him as dead for some reason.
So…this was…fine. I feel a bit like I wasted 10 hours. I don’t feel any more knowledgeable about Halo. I just feel like I ran through an old, buggy shooter. But you know what? My (at least) 5-year-old laptop ran a brand new AAA Unreal Engine 5 game on low settings. Go go laptop!
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GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
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2323 registered gamers and 3376 games. 7915 GameLogs with 13414 journal entries. 5122 games are currently being played.
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Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (XBX) by Killerseeker |
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most recent entry: Wednesday 5 October, 2011
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At the beginning of my second sit down I started my game by going to the gym after exercising for 10 minutes I started to see some improvements on my character. I wish exercising was that easy. Anyways, On my second sit down, I decided to go on and continue with some more missions. I reached a mission where they introduced a new character called Jeffery or as he liked to be called "OG Loc". When watching the cut scene where they introduced the character I noticed something strange in the dialog that threw me off guard. The main characters were laughing at OG Loc because he had plans to attend college at the past. The context of the dialog seems to mean that it is shameful for people to attend college. Of course there is the other meaning which the main characters may think that OG Loc is not college worthy. Whatever the game actually meant, it could actually send the wrong idea for the players playing the game even though it was meant only as humor. Sometimes words are much stronger than actions and a simple dialog like this may influence young people with the wrong idea.
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