7 Replies to “Talk-A-Raptor 12: Catherine & Valkyria Chronicles”
Holy shit baka! So many much better PS3 games around there and you’re gonna into those two ? ¬¬
At least you mentioned uncharted series and bioshock. I guess you were just warming up with those two games, lol.
If I were to recommend some game, I’d go with Skyrim and Dark Souls. Two action adventure rpg’s, but for those who are not slackers, unfortunately, that’s because Skyrim’s story is insanely huge (200+ hours gameplay to complete everything!) and Dark Soul’s insane difficulty, one would take 15 minutes to kill just ONE skull warrior…imagine how much it would take to complete the whole game…
But I like Skyrim best, because it’s easier than Dark Souls and it’s story is awesome 😉
While I can’t endorse your bizarre and probably not ENTIRELY imagined predilection towards big budget titles at the expense of being able to enjoy the unconventional warts-and-all, I have to emphatically agree with you on the point of Dark Souls. The suffering, learning, rewarded exploration, believable punishment for stupidity*, challenge, and achievement of that game all blended together to make perhaps one of the most fulfilling and meaningful two or three hundred wasted hours of my entire life.
The storyline of Dark Souls is austere and deliberately left to player inference in most cases, though the item descriptions explicitly tell stories, by contrast. This is something that beautifully meshes with the game’s difficulty, because you’ll often have just enough time to think it through while working out how to make it through a level or tackle a boss.
The combat system of the Souls games is a thing of beauty, and a big reason for why I keep coming back to them. There’s a sort of…intimacy? between you and a more dangerous foe. A feeling that with one poorly timed swing, they’ll rush into the gap you just made, and fill it with steel. That sort of feeling of genuineness of action and consequence where you actually FEEL that you need to discipline yourself into a competent fighter through some internal set of rules, and the feeling that letting that discipline slip for even a second will get your face torn off.
(Tangentally, I’ve got to disagree here, a solid grasp on the upgrade system typically means that the enemies you come up against should fall in one to five blows, which is a good metric to know when you’re *not* supposed to be somewhere yet.)
Though I’ve spent ALMOST half that amount of time on Skyrim, a game whose universe was fleshed out to the point that somebody could probably spend 70 hours reading the ingame books, I really think that the lack of depth of the combat system in it worked against it, due to how easily it was to shamelessly break the difficulty curve wide open *accidentally*. If the game’s combat had a bit more meat, consequence, and interaction like Dark Souls, I feel like it really could be a game that’d keep me interested.
If this has been a bit too wordsy for you, I apologize for using your post as a springboard for my thoughts.
But really, Baka-Raptor, if you DO check out Dark Souls, which I and the rest of the civilized world can’t even begin to endorse heavily enough…
Since you’re on the high-speed *snicker* Playstation 3, you might want to check out the underrated spiritual prequel, Demon’s Souls, as well. Not sure if “first”, but it’s worth giving a peek.
*Something I like almost as much as some people hate is how much the game is willing to violate players for their stupidity, without actually inventing some sort of artificial punishment for it. You can conceivably attack and kill just about everyone, but it forces you to live with the consequences…and if the consequence is failing to kill a formerly friendly warrior who’s way out of your depth, who lives RIGHT next to your first checkpoint, the game can and will force you to watch as you’re brutally cut down like a stripling over twenty times before you figure out some way to cheese him to death for no real personal reward…But even then, the world goes on spinning. No ‘Mission failed!’ No “only knocked unconscious because this guy is important!” There’s a certain beauty to a game that’s not about to stop you, and not about to bail you out either.
Baka is the slacker gamer, he won’t ever spend 200+ hours in any game, but as a PS3 gamer, he should be enlighted to know that those two games are the pinacle of the ps3 achievement.
Skyrim is awesome, really, even if it is easier than Dark Souls.
But Dark Souls ???
It’s the most difficult game EVER.
I think that more than 50% of the game I couldn’t hava a clue what to do next without looking at forums, talking to friends, etc. The game puts you in absolute Dark, so that’s why I said about 15 minutes to kill a single skull, lol, and not only kill it, you have to lure it from his skull friends (one skull at a time), to a safer place where you have enough room to put it a nice duel without being trapped, surrounded or falling off.
But as DarkSouls, Skyrim is rewarding too, One thing I like the most about those rpg’s is that you can be whenever you want. I’ve played as a Wizard and as a Paladin in Skyrim, but the Wizard required more strategy to kill enemies as his low HP and low defense magical robes let him weak against arrows and swords alike, one hit could mean death. In contrast, his magics, conjurations, etc where extremelly powerful.
But Why Skryrim is MUCH more easier than Dark Souls then ?
If in both games, one hit could mean death ?
Simple, in Skyrim you can save anytime you want, at any place.
Just save, go berserk in a suicide mission and then restart if things went wrong.
But Dark Souls!?!?!? you can only save at certain points, that means, no berserk suicide run, or you’ll lose countless hours of gameplay.
Don’t believe me ?
In Skyrim when you open the menu to search for potions, the game pauses conveniently.
But in Dark Souls ?
The game still is running and enemies attacking while you’re at the menu searching for potions and items.
This is the TRUE difference between an apparently easy game and a HARD to DEATH game.
Take away Skyrim’s anytime save and menu pausing battles and what you got ?
A totally different gameplay experience.
That’s why I like Skyrim best, because it’s is amazing as a Story telling game, amazing as an action rpg game, difficult battles depending on what gamestyle you’re into, and YOU CAN SAVE ANYTIME. That means, I can take casual runs with Skyrim, differently from Dark Souls where you have to dedicate yourself as a servant of the game, training yourself to have matched your body, mind and spirit and just breath Dark Souls. Until the next save of course, lol.
One thing that I agree the most with you fine fellow, is that If Skyrim and Dark Souls would combine to make a different game…It would be an HELL of a FUCKING GAME! Skyrim’s beautiful Universe and Dark Souls Punishing Battle System.
But Baka’s post are just springboards for our thoughts, isn’t it ? lol.
I’ve already spent 300 hours reading these comments. What’s another 300 hours to play Dark Souls? Consider it added to the list. Skyrim as well if my psyche is still intact.
I would advise against purchasing Skyrim for the PS3. Vanilla Skyrim is not a good experience and the only way to make it an entertaining game is through PC mods.
[…] too much pull-up/puzzle filler. Nathan Drake’s true identity may be the long-lost brother of Vincent Brooks. After all the old school video games took jumping to its limits, perhaps jumping has jumped the […]
Holy shit baka! So many much better PS3 games around there and you’re gonna into those two ? ¬¬
At least you mentioned uncharted series and bioshock. I guess you were just warming up with those two games, lol.
If I were to recommend some game, I’d go with Skyrim and Dark Souls. Two action adventure rpg’s, but for those who are not slackers, unfortunately, that’s because Skyrim’s story is insanely huge (200+ hours gameplay to complete everything!) and Dark Soul’s insane difficulty, one would take 15 minutes to kill just ONE skull warrior…imagine how much it would take to complete the whole game…
But I like Skyrim best, because it’s easier than Dark Souls and it’s story is awesome 😉
While I can’t endorse your bizarre and probably not ENTIRELY imagined predilection towards big budget titles at the expense of being able to enjoy the unconventional warts-and-all, I have to emphatically agree with you on the point of Dark Souls. The suffering, learning, rewarded exploration, believable punishment for stupidity*, challenge, and achievement of that game all blended together to make perhaps one of the most fulfilling and meaningful two or three hundred wasted hours of my entire life.
The storyline of Dark Souls is austere and deliberately left to player inference in most cases, though the item descriptions explicitly tell stories, by contrast. This is something that beautifully meshes with the game’s difficulty, because you’ll often have just enough time to think it through while working out how to make it through a level or tackle a boss.
The combat system of the Souls games is a thing of beauty, and a big reason for why I keep coming back to them. There’s a sort of…intimacy? between you and a more dangerous foe. A feeling that with one poorly timed swing, they’ll rush into the gap you just made, and fill it with steel. That sort of feeling of genuineness of action and consequence where you actually FEEL that you need to discipline yourself into a competent fighter through some internal set of rules, and the feeling that letting that discipline slip for even a second will get your face torn off.
(Tangentally, I’ve got to disagree here, a solid grasp on the upgrade system typically means that the enemies you come up against should fall in one to five blows, which is a good metric to know when you’re *not* supposed to be somewhere yet.)
Though I’ve spent ALMOST half that amount of time on Skyrim, a game whose universe was fleshed out to the point that somebody could probably spend 70 hours reading the ingame books, I really think that the lack of depth of the combat system in it worked against it, due to how easily it was to shamelessly break the difficulty curve wide open *accidentally*. If the game’s combat had a bit more meat, consequence, and interaction like Dark Souls, I feel like it really could be a game that’d keep me interested.
If this has been a bit too wordsy for you, I apologize for using your post as a springboard for my thoughts.
But really, Baka-Raptor, if you DO check out Dark Souls, which I and the rest of the civilized world can’t even begin to endorse heavily enough…
Since you’re on the high-speed *snicker* Playstation 3, you might want to check out the underrated spiritual prequel, Demon’s Souls, as well. Not sure if “first”, but it’s worth giving a peek.
*Something I like almost as much as some people hate is how much the game is willing to violate players for their stupidity, without actually inventing some sort of artificial punishment for it. You can conceivably attack and kill just about everyone, but it forces you to live with the consequences…and if the consequence is failing to kill a formerly friendly warrior who’s way out of your depth, who lives RIGHT next to your first checkpoint, the game can and will force you to watch as you’re brutally cut down like a stripling over twenty times before you figure out some way to cheese him to death for no real personal reward…But even then, the world goes on spinning. No ‘Mission failed!’ No “only knocked unconscious because this guy is important!” There’s a certain beauty to a game that’s not about to stop you, and not about to bail you out either.
After so much being said, what can I add more ?
Baka is the slacker gamer, he won’t ever spend 200+ hours in any game, but as a PS3 gamer, he should be enlighted to know that those two games are the pinacle of the ps3 achievement.
Skyrim is awesome, really, even if it is easier than Dark Souls.
But Dark Souls ???
It’s the most difficult game EVER.
I think that more than 50% of the game I couldn’t hava a clue what to do next without looking at forums, talking to friends, etc. The game puts you in absolute Dark, so that’s why I said about 15 minutes to kill a single skull, lol, and not only kill it, you have to lure it from his skull friends (one skull at a time), to a safer place where you have enough room to put it a nice duel without being trapped, surrounded or falling off.
But as DarkSouls, Skyrim is rewarding too, One thing I like the most about those rpg’s is that you can be whenever you want. I’ve played as a Wizard and as a Paladin in Skyrim, but the Wizard required more strategy to kill enemies as his low HP and low defense magical robes let him weak against arrows and swords alike, one hit could mean death. In contrast, his magics, conjurations, etc where extremelly powerful.
But Why Skryrim is MUCH more easier than Dark Souls then ?
If in both games, one hit could mean death ?
Simple, in Skyrim you can save anytime you want, at any place.
Just save, go berserk in a suicide mission and then restart if things went wrong.
But Dark Souls!?!?!? you can only save at certain points, that means, no berserk suicide run, or you’ll lose countless hours of gameplay.
Don’t believe me ?
In Skyrim when you open the menu to search for potions, the game pauses conveniently.
But in Dark Souls ?
The game still is running and enemies attacking while you’re at the menu searching for potions and items.
This is the TRUE difference between an apparently easy game and a HARD to DEATH game.
Take away Skyrim’s anytime save and menu pausing battles and what you got ?
A totally different gameplay experience.
That’s why I like Skyrim best, because it’s is amazing as a Story telling game, amazing as an action rpg game, difficult battles depending on what gamestyle you’re into, and YOU CAN SAVE ANYTIME. That means, I can take casual runs with Skyrim, differently from Dark Souls where you have to dedicate yourself as a servant of the game, training yourself to have matched your body, mind and spirit and just breath Dark Souls. Until the next save of course, lol.
One thing that I agree the most with you fine fellow, is that If Skyrim and Dark Souls would combine to make a different game…It would be an HELL of a FUCKING GAME! Skyrim’s beautiful Universe and Dark Souls Punishing Battle System.
But Baka’s post are just springboards for our thoughts, isn’t it ? lol.
I’ve already spent 300 hours reading these comments. What’s another 300 hours to play Dark Souls? Consider it added to the list. Skyrim as well if my psyche is still intact.
I would advise against purchasing Skyrim for the PS3. Vanilla Skyrim is not a good experience and the only way to make it an entertaining game is through PC mods.
If you think Dark Souls is the hardest game ever, you need to play more videogames.
[…] too much pull-up/puzzle filler. Nathan Drake’s true identity may be the long-lost brother of Vincent Brooks. After all the old school video games took jumping to its limits, perhaps jumping has jumped the […]