Cat Quest (PC) - Guest Post

This week on Super Adventures, guest reviewer mecha-neko is playing a game about a cat! I'm as shocked about it as you are.

My gimmick for this Super Adventures this year is that I'm only playing games that have made it onto a top ten list, but mecha's not restricted by my self-imposed limitations, so he does what he wants. Though I went and found a top ten list with Cat Quest on it anyway! It's on MacRumour's Top 10 iOS Games Released in 2017, along with games like Fez, The Witness and The Binding of Isaac. So if you like those games, maybe it's worth reading about this one.

Developer:

The Gentlebros

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Release Date:

8th August 2017

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Systems:

Windows, Mac, iPhone

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Hello everyone! It is August once again, which means it's time for a cat game! This time, the internet seems to have provided the cattest game of them all, Cat Quest!

We've got cute cats on the title screen, peppy music blasting out the speakers - everything's set for one colourful kitty caper!

Click the images to enlarge!

Dragon Quest VIII (PS2) - Part 2

This week on Super Adventures, I'm learning that Dragon Quest VIII is a very long game. So long that I'm going to have make a second article just to reach the second town.

I'm looking for the right place to stop playing, hopefully somewhere that looks cool and has a third party member to recruit. I mean how am I supposed to tell people I've got opinions about the game with a straight face when I've only gotten as far as running around a cave with my buddy Yangus?

If you want to read PART ONE instead just click that text.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2) - Part 1

Developer:

Level-5

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Release Date:

2006 EU (2004 JP, 2005 NA)

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Systems:

PS2, Mobile, 3DS

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm playing another Dragon Quest game! In fact this was the very first main Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior game released here in the UK where I am, so that's why it's just called 'Dragon Quest' up there. (The first game in the series released in Europe was Dragon Warrior Monsters in 1999 if you're curious).

To everyone else though this is Dragon Quest VIII, the eighth game in the legendary RPG series... though it is the first to be made by Level-5. The original five Dragon Quest games were by Chunsoft, then Heartbeat took over for six and seven, and now Level-5 has become the third developer to take the reigns. Like the last two games it came out pretty late in its console's life (JRPGs take a while to cook I guess), but at least it wasn't last gen on arrival this time! Well, except for when it finally arrived in Europe two years later.

I've been playing games from 'top 10' lists this year, and I found Dragon Quest 8 at #4 in Metacritic's top 10 PS2 RPGs list, between Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 (the number 1 game is Final Fantasy XII if you're curious). DQ8 and I have never really gotten on, I got frustrated early on by its combination of unskippable cutscenes and 'guess what NPC you have to talk to' gameplay, but I figured that if everyone else likes it so much I should probably give it another shot. And by 'shot' I mean I'm probably going to be stuck here playing it for five hours or more. But if it hasn't won me over by then, it's a lost cause.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition (PC)

Developer:

LookingGlass

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Release Date:

1994

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Systems:

DOS, Mac, PC-98 (EE version: Windows)

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm checking out the original System Shock, a game I've somehow never played. Well okay maybe I put it on for five minutes once and got scared off by the controls, and I did play the demo of the remake, but this is something I'm mostly clueless about. It's a big gap in my important video game knowledge. I mean up to this point I assumed I'd be playing as the guy with the chunky metal headwear from the box cover, but that's apparently a Cyborg Elite Guard. Seems like the player character is the guy in the sneaking suit on the right.

My gimmick for Super Adventures this year is that I'm playing games that have appeared on someone's top ten list and I found System Shock at #9 on PC Gamer's Top 100 from 1996... even though it actually came out in 1994. I guess it's the kind of game that takes a while to win people over.

System Shock was LookingGlass's next immersive sim or '0451' game after the Ultima Underworld games and introduced something absolutely crucial to the genre: a door locked with the code 451. There are many things locked with the code 0451 in many games, but this is its origin. The game probably introduced other things too, I'll let you know if I spot anything.

I'll be playing Nightdive's Enhanced Edition, which is an entirely different thing to Nightdive's upcoming remake. It's basically the same as the original game, just with modern resolutions, redefinable controls, video options, that kind of thing. They likely even patched a few bugs while they were at it. Plus it comes packed with lots of bonus features, like artwork, guides, the soundtrack (in MP3, FLAC and MIDI!) and even an interview with Warren Spector, which I need to remember to watch. It also includes the original version of game and a copy of DOSBox to run it in, just in case the Enhanced Edition isn't authentic enough for you. Very handy if you happen to be taking screenshots to compare versions.

Okay, I usually play games for an hour or so, but I suspect this is going to need a bit longer than that. I'll keep going until I've finished the first floor, or at least succeeded at something. I'm sure someone will eventually want me to flick an important switch and I will make sure that switch gets flicked.

The Lawnmower Man (SNES) - Guest Post

This week on Super Adventures, virtual game reviewer mecha-neko has returned with a quick look at perhaps the best video game to ever have the word 'lawnmower' in the title. It's probably better than a lot of games with 'man' in the title as well, like Superman 64, the DOS version of Mega Man, that Amazing Spider-Man game from 1989, and The Running Man. Though this and The Running Man would both make it onto anyone's "Top 10 Video Games Based on a Stephen King Story" list, because as far as I know there's only ever been five of them.

By the turn of the millennium a technology known as VIRTUAL REALITY will be in widespread use. It will allow you to enter computer generated artificial worlds as unlimited as the imagination itself. Its creators foresee millions of positive uses - while others fear it as a new form of mind control...

Developer:

The Sales Curve

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Release Date:

8th November 1993

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Systems:

SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy

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Hello, everyone! I'm going to take it easy and play a 16-bit movie license today. This game was recommended to me because it has flashy graphics and fancy effects. The person recommending it to me hadn't actually played it themselves, but what can you do?

I'm not going to go in-depth talking about the original film. In fact I played the game before having seen it! But I'll warn you about potential spoilers for it anyway now if you'd rather not read anything like that.

Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition (PC) - Part 2

Good news, this week's Super Adventures has been extended with bonus content, as my quick look at Resident Evil 4 has turned out to be a little less quick than I expected. This is definitely the final part now though, and you can click this link to check out PART ONE.

Despite the title, Resident Evil 4 is actually the sixth mainline Resident Evil game... I think. The first three RE games started off on the PlayStation, then there was Code: Veronica, which launched on the Dreamcast first, and Resident Evil 0, which was a GameCube exclusive. So if you were an impatient RE fan who wanted to follow the story you needed a Sony console, a Sega console and a Nintendo console. Resident Evil 4 was announced as GameCube exclusive too but fortunately it went multiplatform with a PS2 release later that year, and I'm sure all the fans who bought a GameCube because of it eventually got over it. Especially as the GameCube original is apparently the better version.

The game did something else to annoy fans: switching genre to a third-person shooter. RE4 has a much more modern gameplay style and made a lot of people feel like the series would never return to the awkward survival horror gameplay they loved it for. Fortunately Capcom did eventually return to Resident Evil 2 and 3 and gave them big-budget remakes... to make them more like Resident Evil 4. Someone must have liked them though as they sold enough for Capcom to start working on Resident Evil 4's remake! Wait, hang on, what happened to the Code: Veronica remake?

Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition (PC) - Part 1

Developer:	Capcom Production Studio 4	|	Release Date:	2005	|	Systems:	GC, PS2, Wii, Win, iOS, Android, Zeebo
	HD Edition -		Release Date:	2011 (2014 PC)	|	Systems:	Win, X360, PS3, XBOne, PS4, Switch

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm going to be hating on another beloved Resident Evil game! Perhaps.

I mean there's no doubt that it's beloved, you can find the game on all kinds of top ten lists (often just behind Ocarina of Time), I just don't remember liking it much myself. Other people considered the innovative over-the-shoulder aiming to be a big step forward in third person shooters, but I was left wondering why I couldn't move and shoot at the same time like I could in Max Payne 2. I also remember finding the aiming to really awkward for some reason, maybe because I had to use a controller to do it. You've got to be accurate in a hurry and that's not an analogue stick's strength.

But I'm willing to give games a second chance... that's why I went back to it again right after beating Resident Evil 5. I played it up to the lake and got sick of it; it just seemed really awkward by comparison. But I'm willing to give games a third chance, especially if I haven't written about them yet.

Anyway I've already said too many words, but I have to mention that I'm playing the Ultimate HD Edition with the higher resolution visuals, on PC. I wish I could do my thing where I compare all the different versions, but have a glance up at the list of systems on the top right, there's about 10,000 of them! Windows actually got two ports and I don't even know what a Zeebo is! All I know is that the first PC port had... issues.