For the week of November 11 – 17
Check out what I played last week
November 11 – Star Wars: Rebel Assault II
I wanted to start the week with something that wouldn’t need much effort. Playing a mobile game would have been the smarter move. Instead, I decided to finally try a classic Star Wars game. I have fond memories of 90s Star Wars games on the PC. One that I never tried was Star Wars: Rebel Assault II. I went in with zero expectations, and this is one odd video game.
To be fair, I wasn’t expecting a great experience. What I wasn’t expecting was a game that is all over the place. I thought this was a space combat game with a heavy use of FMVs to tell the story. But, the first three stages have you playing different genres. The first level is the expected space battle. But the second stage is a shooter that reminded me of the arcade shooter Lethal Enforcers. After that, they want you to escape with a Correlian freighter.
That’s all I could muster. I wasn’t enjoying the controls for this game. This is a 30-year-old game and it shows its age. Looking past the graphics, the controls are janky and the story is dull. I wanted to see what this game was all about and I saw enough. If you haven’t played this before, you don’t have to. There is nothing special here and I suspect even the most hardcore Star Wars fans don’t care for it.
November 12 – Metal Slug Tactics
This week’s I feature a few games that I played previous versions of. Over the summer, I played a bit of Metal Slug: Awakening. The mobile game wasn’t that bad. It was my first experience with the franchise, and I was curious about the other Metal Slug games. With their latest release, Metal Slug Tactics, they are now doing a tactical game. As a fan of those types of games, this made sense to try it out. This isn’t wowing me but I can appreciate its attempt at the genre.
Metal Slug Tactics is a rogue-like. The missions feel random but it’s almost always the same. Your squad gets dropped into an environment and you have a task to complete. The early missions are straightforward. You might have to kill five marked targets or survive long enough to back up to arrive.
Every stage sees your team of three completely outnumbered. To combat this, your characters can sync their attacks, which is key to victory. This means that if one of your other characters can act, they will. So, it’s possible to attack with all your characters in one move. There were a few times when I was able to use all three of my characters to defeat many foes on a turn. It’s not always possible, but when it happens, it’s sweet.
But, there isn’t much of a story here. The leveling up isn’t that impressive and the early missions feel the same. I wish the intro section had more mission and location variety to keep you interested. I played five missions and felt like I had enough. There might be more to explore but I don’t feel the need to. It’s a fine tactical game, but there are better ones.
November 13 – Inazuma Eleven
For one of my favorite Japanese developers, I’m usually late to play games developed by Level-5. I never played Ni no Kuni II. The Yo-kai Watch series isn’t something I’d typically play. Meanwhile, they have a lot of games that are not released in North America or get very little marketing. One such series is Inazuma Eleven. This was a popular series in Asia and Europe, but only one game was released in North America. I picked up 2013’s Inazuma Eleven for the Nintendo 3DS and finally tried it.
To be honest, I’m a little underwhelmed. Some parts impress me, but soccer is its weakest aspect. For a 3DS game from 2013, the first hour of the game features a lot of animated cutscenes. These are well-produced and help move the plot. But, there isn’t a lot of gameplay. You do a few small things, but the rest of it is exposition.
Of the three soccer sections, two are short 4-v-4 matches. Meanwhile, the only 11-v-11 match is a scripted event. The controls aren’t fun. You don’t directly control any of the players. They move on their own. You use the stylus to perform certain actions. Tap the screen to pass, and slide the stylus to attempt an interception or tackle. When they unlock the ability to do special moves, you only need to tap the icon, and the character attempts it.
The story here was interesting, but I wanted a better gameplay experience. I don’t see myself playing more of this. But, this hasn’t hampered my interest in the series. Level-5 is developing Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road for modern consoles. It had a 2024 release but is now slated for next summer. Since it won’t rely on touch controls, I’m hopeful the soccer aspects are better.
November 14 – The Rise of the Golden Idol
Earlier this year, I played The Case of the Golden Idol and had a lot of fun. The sequel, The Rise of the Golden Idol, came out this week and I had to try it out immediately. I’ve completed the first chapter and I am enjoying myself even more so.
My only gripe with the game thus far is how it controls on the Steamdeck. While this game is verified, it’s not designed with a controller in mind. It uses a “click to open” for all interactions and using a virtual mouse isn’t fun. So, I’ve decided to play this on my PC with the mouse and keyboard. It works better as you can drag menus around. It feels like the natural way of playing this. This surprised me considering that I remember that I had no problems playing the first game on my Xbox Series S|X.
There isn’t too much to go into this puzzle game. If you played the first game, this is a continuation. You don’t have to understand the events of the first game. So far, this feels like a standalone experience. They’ve added more elements to the puzzle-solving. One highlight for me is how they bridged together the different parts of the first chapter. There is one key event that factors into them all. Once you’ve completed those three sections, you then have to try to explain how they all connect.
I’m eager to try the next chapter and to see how they expand on that. I guess that the game goes down a much deeper hole. I want to play more of this and I’ll find the time to give it more of my attention.
November 15 – Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
This is a bit of a cheat. Back in January while I was in Europe I tried the Game Boy Color version of Dragon Warrior III. I tried it before SquareEnix revealed the release date for the remake. To be fair, I didn’t put too much time into Dragon Warrior III. So, I’m considering this as my first real experience with the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.
I am hooked. Although I only played for about 90 minutes on the first day, I’ve put in over seven hours so far. I’m still early in the story, which entails completing quests. But, I love the exploration. I’m actively looking for things to discover. Even when I know where I need to go next, I’m seeing what else I discover.
The combat is fun but I’m struggling at times. I’m relying a bit too much on the auto-battle option. I tell my squad what I want and they do it. One member of my squad is dying a lot, so it’s been a bit frustrating having to revive them so often. Because of that, they are behind the rest of the team with how their stats are. Also, you don’t get a lot of money, so improving gear takes a while. I’ve reached a point where the best items cost 6K, and I don’t have enough. So, I’m having to go back to get cheaper gear I can afford and that’s still helpful.
Like Octopath Traveller II and Super Mario RPG, this one has my undivided attention. I am at the point where I want to dedicate an hour every night to playing until I finish the game. This will be on my favorites of 2024 list, I don’t know if it will dethrone my current #1.
November 16 – Somerville
Before its removal from Xbox Game Pass, I decided to try Somerville. This is a game that I was curious about last year but decided to hold off after its lukewarm reception. For a game from some of the people who developed Limbo and Inside, it had some high expectations. It certainly feels like those two games. I managed to reach what I suspect is close to the halfway point of the game. At first, I was a bit put off, but as I kept playing I wanted to see where the game would take me.
Like a lot of other “wandering” games, this one doesn’t throw a lot of narrative your way. You start the game without any prompts, controlling a baby. You wander around the home when you see some purple flashes outside. The baby’s actions in the house wake up the parents, and then you take control of the father. After that, some crazy stuff happens. You wake up with his wife and child missing and the house almost destroyed.
After that, you begin your trek through different areas. The only goal is to avoid the purple light. Getting caught in it kills you. There aren’t too many puzzle sections and the few so far are not difficult. The only one that gave me some trouble involved a bucket from a well. Other than that, I was progressing at a decent pace.
I’m disappointed that I didn’t invest the extra 3-4 hours to finish the game. This started poorly. But as I kept playing I began to like it more. While I don’t plan on buying this game unless it’s super cheap, if it comes back to Game Pass in the future, I’d like to finish it.
November 17 – Spirit of the North
For Spirit of the North, I got this for free earlier in the week. A game involving a canine, in this case a fox, is something I will want to try. As an owner of many dogs, I’ve grown to like games that involve animals (dogs, wolves, foxes, etc…). On top of that, this is a very visually appealing game. What we have is a wandering-adventure game that wants to you take in the atmosphere.
This one is a mellow adventure. I’ve played through the first two chapters and there isn’t too much to do. You’re wandering around a snowy location with some variety in the foliage. I’m having fun watching my fox slip and slide down different tunnels. The only gameplay has been finding these magic staffs that you reunite with dead bodies. I suspect there is a deeper meaning to these, but for now, you’re “freeing spirits”. The fox spirit that your character is following has been interesting. But, the first two chapters don’t reveal too much.
The first two chapters only take about 30 minutes to complete. As shown in its trailers, there are more environments to discover. At the same time, this doesn’t feel like a challenging game. They are encouraging exploration. But, they also will let you know if you veer too much in the opposite direction.
A sequel is in development, and I’m already interested in trying it out in the future. I am glad I tried Spirit of the North. It’s been a great relaxing game to play on a gloomy Sunday afternoon.
