Similarly, 2 was my first Uncharted, which I played partway through at a friend’s. When I got my own PS3 I decided to start back at 1 and found it did a much better job of teaching me how to play the game than 2 did. When I went back to 2 after finishing 1, everything I had trouble with was so much easier, and it was really need to see the jump in graphics between the games.
Weird. I really enjoyed it. Loved the characters, liked the story, and all the little nods to the games and fandom were nice and didn’t feel out of place. Probably one of the better adaptations I’ve seen.
Seriously. At the end of the day it’s the players who decide whether a game is good or fun. They might not understand the nuances of what went into creating a game they don’t find fun, but that doesn’t make them wrong.
Old Gods of Asgard live was amazing, and Alan Wake 2 NG+ next Monday, which is huge (for reasons I won’t explain, y’alls will just have to play the game).
I had other things to say but I’m too excited about that, so I’m going to bed.
Final Fantasy XVI’s Active Time Lore. Being able to pause the game and have a list of relevant characters, places, and concepts for the scene you’re in is so helpful for my ADHD, for when I take a break from a game and come back not knowing what’s going on. I want to see this in every story heavy game.
Resident Evil 1 and 2 were the games that I always went over to a friend’s place to play, and when Resident Evil 3 came out I got my own copy, and it felt much more like “my game”.
Those, plus the original Silent Hill games (1 and 2) really helped define my taste in games, and they’ve got something I feel even the more recent throwback Survival Horror games don’t have, in that they, and the original Alone in the Dark, shared some DNA with the old Point and Click adventure games, like Monkey Island, and Myst. Puzzles based on collecting things, and combining or using things on or with other things, often in mind-bending, nonsensical ways.
The Spencer Mansion, RPD Station, Raccoon City, and Silent Hill were all big explorable areas that opened up as you progressed, and you really got to know them. Games these days feel like they’re scared of being accused of “backtracking”, so you never spend long enough in any one area to really get to know it.