Over the summer, I did some more auditioning of games and played through a few.
Chromehounds (360)
This mech game from From Software has long since had its servers shut down, so I was not able to play its much-lauded multiplayer. The game has 6 smalll single-player campaigns, presumably for training ahead of online matches, and I played through the Sniper missions and had some fun.
It's as clunky as one would expect from a mech game in terms of menus and customization. The actual battles are fun and fast-paced, graphically manageable for the 360, and quick to play. I hope to return for more of these missions someday, even though I am currently stuck on one of them.
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (One)
Like a fine bottle of wine, I've saved this Dishonored 2 DLC for awhile and only opened it up when I wanted to taste the fine blend of stealth gameplay and fantastic story once again. It did not disappoint, and offered a great farewell to the series by wrapping up the story behind all the weird magic of that whale-oil soaked world.
Like Dishonored 2, I played a complete stealth and no kill playthrough, carefully picking off guards, hiding their unconscious bodies, and avoiding any detection. There are only a few chapters in this story and at least one area was used twice, but it was nonetheless a great thrill exploring that world one last time.
Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies (3DS)
I was long overdue for a return to the courtroom since I have not played one of these in almost a decade. I left the weird spin off game Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth unfinished on the DS as it just did not captivate me like the Phoenix Wright games did. Looking to keep my gaming balanced across all systems and all genres, Dual Destinies seemed like a good game to use to return to the series.
I'm a few cases in so far and progressing nicely when I have time (my lovely wife decided to pick up the 3DS again too, for a damn solitaire game, so we are sharing one unit). It's the usual interview phase/courtroom phase mechanic, with the usual cute young assistant with a weird power and insane enemy prosecutor characters to increase the courtroom drama and antics.
Graphically, it is absolutely gorgeous and the best use of the 3DS magic to create depth I have seen so far. It's just plain fun, more interactive story than game, and I am enjoying it so much that I already picked up the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for the Switch, in anticipation of later returns to the courtroom.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)
I downloaded this PS3 adventure back in 2013 when it was free via Playstation Plus, and dabbled a little then, making a note to come back and play it later. Later turned into the summer of 2021, and knowing full well that this would be a huge commitment of time and have a steep learning curve, I dove in again.
It's an action RPG where the player is the hero and is accompanied by up to 3 "pawns", which are NPC companions. The player has one pawn as their main companion who levels with the player, and two randos that get changed up as needed throughout the game. They were not that stupid, which is a compliment in terms of NPC behavior in the videogame world.
There is not a lot of monster variety overall, but there are big monsters about that take a lot of time to kill, Giant cyclopses, griffins, and manticores are scattered here and there and those fights are fun. Players can climb on these beasts and hold on with one hand while hacking away with another, which was a very cool game mechanic.
Stamina drains so fast that one is forced to be careful to a point that the combat is just not that much fun at times. Of course, there is a whole level of item management and crafting that I barely skimmed that can provide the player with relief potions, but I am just too old to deep dive into that.
So when I arrived at the end of the game, I took the bad ending option and called it a day. I tried the final boss fight once, and the damn dragon had 10 health bars to hack down. My heart just wasn't in it and the bad ending was satisfying enough.
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