Still in a bit of a rut with what i’m playing at the moment, I gave Hardware: Rivals (PS4) a go. It wasn’t a fun experience really, I was hoping for a Rocket League like surprise, but it was more conventional car combat and the controls a lot less intuitive. I drove about for a bit getting picked off by people who’d managed to get there cars (or tanks) onto roofs and once I’d found the fire button was bored with the whole experience. Not very memorable at all and probably won’t return to it.
I did return to another game though, Pikmin 3 (WiiU). I completed this when it came out and really enjoyed playing through it, for some unknown reason I had an urge to play some more of it. There’s a downside to playing the story again from the start, in that you have to erase all your progress (it only allows one save slot apparently) but I wasn’t too bothered about that. The only other complaint I have about the game is it came out at that time when the WiiU really didn’t know what it was, the range of controller options are overwhelming and the best I remembered was a Wiimote and Nunchuck arrangement. So after dusting off my preferred controllers, syncing the to the machine and finding AA batteries I was ready to play. From now on all i’ve got to say about the game is positive, it still looks great, especially the landscapes and fruit. The soundtrack is some of the best video game music i’ve heard and it oozes charm. I’d forgotten the integration with the gamepad where you get a call from other members of your party elsewhere on the planet and you answer a video call on the gamepad, a lovely touch. The game itself is a RTS game set within tight time constraints, a day is around 10minutes, and in that time you’ve got to get fruit for rationing to your crew (which never exceeds four) and all your Pikmin back to there ship, failing this gives a rather bleak cutscene where monsters come out at dusk and devour all the remaining Pikmin. Early on your given an introduction to core elements, rock Pikmin can smash glass, red Pikmin are stronger, blue Pikmin can swim etc. The rate of introduction to the new Pikmin is such that its never overwhelming, and its got that Metroid thing going on where you can see areas which will be accessible only once newer Pikmin types are available. I didn’t play the earlier games but I think the addition of more than one playable character is new, this allowing me to separate my Pikmin between them and moving them about the map (another good use of the gamepad). I got through a few days, and amazingly only a couple of Pikmin have died at my command. How much further i’ll get in the game I don’t know, as I’ve already completed it, but its still a lovely thing and I’d almost forgotten how much I enjoy it.
Finally I continued with Grow Home (PS4) slowly i’m growing my plant to the next level, mastering jumping from a high point, feathering the jet pack and deploying the flower to float to the red buds to get that little bit further toward my ship. Its a really relaxing experience, while also spectacular when I step back and look at the vines which I’ve manipulated toward my goal. The way the game goes from one little plant in the ground to this vast sprawling thing is amazing.
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