When the staff here at Power Up Gaming aren’t writing articles for the website, they’re usually flinging flaming bags of faecal matter at passing cars. When they’re not doing that, they’re usually playing video games. Here’s a smidgeon of what they’ve been playing this week.
Owen Atkinson
So I only lasted a week before crawling back to Total War: Rome II, determined to lead the German tribes to victory. Turns out that instead of betraying my only ally and making war on everyone, I should have made friends and focused my attacks on the nearby Roman factions that threaten us all. Go figure. Now I lead the fearsome German Confederation, and woe betide any who trespass in our forests!
I’ve also just wrapped up another run of GTA4, choosing the Revenge ending as always (sorry, Kate). I made sure to spend as much time with her beforehand as possible, however, to really cement their relationship for maximum heartache. Ah, Kate. One day I hope I can meet a judgmental, sexless, emotionally scarred woman just like you.
JD Schmidt
If you listened to our most recent PUGcast podcast, you will know that for the past few weeks, I have been spending my time catching up on some great games that I missed out on in the past. This week, I finally have been able to make some decent progress in Kingdom Hearts I.5 Remix, which I have been enjoying.
However, my time spent with Sora, Donald, and Goofy was cut short when Final Fantasy IX appeared on Steam like a thief in the night. FFIX is my all-time favourite game, and so the world basically stopped turning for me upon the game’s PC release.
FFIX is just as addictive, lovable, and enchanting as I remember it. And I remember it well, seeing as I usually play through the whole thing a few times each year. But the PC release has quickly become my favorite version of the game. It boasts beautifully upgraded character models for every living being in the game, a flashy and slick new menu system, and significantly decreased load times when compared to the PS1 version. It also has new character art for each party member, which is a nice touch.
I’m about halfway through the second act of the game (I just saved Dagger from the slimey hands of Zorn and Thorn in Alexandria), and I’m just ripping through the story in an attempt to obtain Excalibur II, the strongest weapon in the game. The catch? To get the sword, you have to essentially beat the game in twelve hours or less, which is ludicrous.
I won’t spoil any more of my thoughts; I’ll save that for my full review of the game, which should be up early next week. But I will say this: The PC edition of Final Fantasy IX is gorgeous, and everything I could have hoped for. If you haven’t played this gem, then get on it.
Adam Lloyd
Last week I was determined to complete Ether One and report back here with my oh-so-smart analysis. I’m ashamed to say that I only managed to play another short session before giving up on the game entirely. Other similar games such as Dear Esther and The Old City usually manage to pique my interest, but this absolutely failed to appeal me somehow. It’s difficult to put my finger on the exact reason, but I just didn’t find the narrative, the environments or the puzzle mechanics engaging. Horses for courses I guess.
In other news, Dark Souls III is here! Praise the sun; the sun that I won’t be seeing for the next two months while I lock myself in a cupboard, crying and self-harming over my abject failures! I’m supposed to be reviewing the game, but after dying to the first boss more often than a family of lemmings in a demolition derby, I suspect that the review may be in the works for a long time. The game is still very good though. It feels a bit like a greatest hits album, taking the hub structure of Demon’s Souls, the speed of Bloodbourne, and the overall difficulty of Dark Souls. I’ll let you know how many times I’ve broken down in tears next week.
Scott Russell
This week I have been playing a game. That game is called Severed. It has been made by Drinkbox Studios. But I can’t talk about it. Sorry.
Instead, I am going to talk about the 28 minutes that I’ve played of Day of the Tentacle Remastered. So far, I have seen a tentacle turn evil, an old man drink too much coffee, a huge nerd called Bernard walk around touching things, a girl whose knickers have literally been caught in a twist and an overweight rock music fan get stranded in the 18th century.
Yes, Day of the Tentacle is certainly a game plucked from the mind of Tim Schafer. His zany brand of absurd yet hilarious humour is in evidence from the off, and I am keenly anticipating what is to come. There will probably be some more tentacles getting into irreverent and amusing situations. I really hope there’s a seagull. Or a wagon.
David Tierney
I’ve been facing a bit of drought this week in my quest to play games, but I have gotten to jump back into a few bouts in Guilty Gear Xrd, and came just a hair away from finally, and quite sadly, winning my first online match. It’s amazing how the little intricacies of a fighting game eventually become second nature, and how patience and tactics can truly win a match. Hopefully, by the time the updated version, Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator, comes out I’ll be ready to take down some noobs.
Besides that, I’ve also been frequently wandering back to Super Meat Boy on my PS4. I completed it long ago on PC, but now I’m attempting to work through those devious dark worlds, and the horrifying Cotton Alley. It makes for great popcorn gaming; it’s so easy to just sit down and run through one more level.
This weekend I’m going to start Heathen Engineering’s Terran, an indie space exploration game still in early access. Expect a preview up for it soon.