[xiuying hong is brill]

haha, is there any kid that wasn't a Monster in My Pocket kid? I inherited a sizable collection from my older brother, mixed up amongst which were those muscle figures. Seems it those muscle figures still have a dedicated community:
http://www.musclefigures.com/

[James]

The spherical heads thing doesn't really do it for me, but I applaud the community for keeping it alive. I like the fact that the figures seem to have retained a consistent style, as I felt they kinda ruined Monster in My Pocket when they started making them bigger and painting them.

Anyway, on topic, I figure now's as good a time as any to go back to Yakuza 3 after the false start I had over a year ago. The subtitles weren't designed to be read on a CRT portable television, but now that I have a lovely HD screen to play it on I should be able to follow the plot.

Yakuza 4 and Dead Souls are queued up behind it...

[jameswalker85]

I've been playing Trials Fusion and PvZ: Garden Warfare on PS4. I'me gearing up for streaming a playthrough of The Last of Us Remastered.

[Shenmue Stare]

Just got Alien Isolation on Steam for 25 bucks. Gotta test out this new vid card. So far i dig it.

[xiuying hong is brill]

Not playing it yet, but I might join you on the Yakuza vibe, James. Though it'd be 4 for me. Actually what I'd really like to do would be play Shenmue and do a kind of diary thread here documenting my thoughts as I play through it for the second time/ first time all the way to the end. But I'd need to get on it soon, or else I'll be saying "next winter I'll do it" again. The only thing is I need to buy it, I'll have to start scouring ebay this week.

[Shenmue Stare]

Can't wait for Yak 5.

[xiuying hong is brill]

What are you, Team Yakuza? Get off this forum. / very heavy sarcasm

[James]

It was going to be either Team "I Trust Yu Suzuki" or Team "We Want A Third Shenmue," but we weren't sure about the acronyms.

[xiuying hong is brill]

More like Team YUkuza! Ya bunch of fraudsters!

[Shenmue Stare]

Team Yukuza has a nice ring to it, Mue, hahaha. We should work it in somewheres.

[James]

Pleased to report that I absolutely loved Yakuza 3. As usual some of the gameplay isn't perfect, but everything I enjoyed about the first two games remains strong and the storytelling is exceptional. The way the writers make you feel attached to each of the kids at the orphanage raises it above a vast majority of games, and when they inevitably come under threat the scene is all the more intense due to the bond you have with each and every character.

As an Ace Attorney fan I was also pleasantly surprised to find a substory that sees you investigating a murder case, speaking to witnesses and presenting evidence to try and prove someone's innocence and nail the real killer. No objections from me. In fact according to my PS3 trophies I'm a "Substory Addict," having completed eighty of them, but there are still more besides.

I've left it there however, and moved onto Yakuza: Dead Souls. I haven't been looking forward to this one, but as a fan of the franchise I wanted to get whatever I could from the experience. As you probably know, in a genre swerve that nobody asked for, Dead Souls diverts the Yakuza series into third-person shooter territory, where the city is overrun by a zombie outbreak. Why Sega felt this was the best use of the studio's resources, I will never know. Furthermore, if it's true that poor sales of Dead Souls was used as the reason to stop localizing the mainline Yakuza games for the West (until Sony stepped in), then the company's decision makers are even further removed from reality than Phantasy Star and Shenmue fans already imagine.

For those who've played the game, I've only made it as far as the weapons truck, on my way to finding a doctor. I want to persevere and enjoy the elements that are familiar to me as a Yakuza fan, but enduring the core zombie shooter gameplay (at which I am going to suck once the challenge increases) is going to really test my patience. The fact that there are people out there who were put off the whole series by their first and only exposure to it being this ill-conceived spin-off makes it an all the more bitter experience.

Luckily I'll still have Yakuza 4 with which to wash it down.

EDIT: Just discovered I had my chronology mixed up, and Yakuza 4 was released before Dead Souls. Looks like the zombies can wait a while!

[Shenmue Stare]

YEah you'll definititely want to play through four first. That'll keep ya occupied for a while. Then just breeze through Dead Souls till Yak 5 comes out. Dead Souls isn't as bad as it might seem at first, and certainly worth playing for fans, so be sure to finish it when you're done with 4.

[James]

So I've started number 4, and simply strolling into parts of Kamurocho that were previously inaccessible is blowing my mind right now. "Oh, you want to go down these steps do you? Well go right ahead! Be our guest!"

[James]

I finally got around to playing the demo of The Unfinished Swan.

I get the impression it's been unfairly written off by many as an "artsy" game that's too "high concept" to be enjoyable. It seems we all want indie games to be adventurous and experimental, to break from the mold that is feverishly protected by AAA publishers. But as soon as something does come along that dares to try something unfamiliar, it's politely dismissed as a noble effort that nobody would truly want to play.

With the caveat that the backstory is utter guff so far, I enjoyed playing the demo and would have bought the full game on the spot if the link to the PlayStation Store had worked. As my impulse buy was thwarted I'll now have to get around to it when I'm actively in a shopping mood, but it's on my to-do list.

[jameswalker85]

I decided to start playing inFAMOUS First Light, since I got it free with PS+.

Then I realised I maybe should play Second Son, so I don't miss any of the story, so I bought that.

Then I realised I probably should play inFAMOUS 2, which I also got free with PS+.

Then I realised that I hadn't yet finished inFAMOUS, which I got free as an apology for that hacking that happened a few years ago.


So I've played through inFAMOUS, inFAMOUS 2, and Second Son. Once I have the platnum for the latter (which I should get today), I'm gonna start First Light.

And that's that.