Terry Randolph – Persona 5 (Playstation 4), Battlefield 1 (Xbox One)
I’m almost at the 50% mark of Persona 5 (at 44 hours too) but damn do I love this game. I’m finally starting to see what happens when you push too far too fast: having to face enemies about 6-7 levels over you that require extensive thinking. I’ve had a few more game overs now thanks to this…but really I’m loving the challenges I’m having to face as a result. Battles mean a lot more, and as a result the thrill of conquering a palace is more rewarding. I can’t wait to see what else this game throws at me, and hopefully I’ll complete this game soon!
Battlefield 1 is a good detox away from the heavy experience that is a JRPG since it’s playing with friends online. I’m not good at multiplayers (and hence why I’ll never stream) but it’s still fun, exciting, and engaging. Maps are incredibly huge and expansive, allowing for plenty of room for making sweet trick plays….and for camping snipers. Overall, it’s still a lot of fun, and I’m glad to see that many people still playing online.
Jake Rushing – Xenogears (PS1), Fire Emblem Fates Birthright (3DS)
Alright guys, this is the end. I finished farming for gold to buy supplies, and I’m already in the final dungeon of Xenogears. I just have very little bit to go and i can say bye bye to my months of playthrough of Xenogears. I won’t touch another RPG for a good time being.
While I’m working on Xenogears, I’ll play around with Fire Emblem Fates Birthright again. There is a lot to like for Birthright in many ways like Awakening. I like playing matchmaker with different characters, I enjoy the story that I have to keep playing to get more tidbits after each chapter, and I enjoy planning out my steps in ways that I can take to make sure nobody dies when playing on classic mode.
Ben Fitzgerald – King of Dragon Pass (PC)
King of Dragon Pass, or KOPD, is an old strategy/RPG from 1999 set in the fantasy world of Glorthana, apparently a pretty famous fantasy world that’s similar to Norse or Germanic peoples of European culture and society. It is very,very intense, requires a lot of careful management, and it’s very easy to start making decisions that really don’t work out for you well.
I replayed the game a bunch of times, and I couldn’t seem to figure it out. Finally, I read the manual, and I gleaned some much-needed info from there. It’s a very intense game, but there’s a lot to like in it. The struggle to balance cultural events and random occurences with strategic planning, enemy raids and learning the myths of your people makes for some very rich gameplay.
And, of course, it’s always satisfying when that neighboring clan you’ve been raiding begs you to stop your raids and offers to send you tribute.