DevourerOfTime

Now announcing the brand new, never before seen Killer Instinct DLC character: Spinal. End of announcements.

I don't think I could choose just one. I mean, I could talk for hours about Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Soul Nomad, Phantom Brave or any of the NIS PS2 SRPG offerings. Or I could also dig into the past and post some videos of underrated classics, like Rock N' Roll Racing, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkatron, or Pokemon Trading Card Game. OR I could just talk about some of my favourites that have never been covered here. Aria of Sorrow, Mother 3, Fire Emblem 7, and Final Fantasy Tactics come to mind.

You got the power!
You got the might!
Get ready for battle!
Beat the Black Knight!

I wrote a list that is half a flip on this Giant Bomb... meme (I guess?), half list of the ten games I enjoyed the least out of 2013, and half unpopular opinion about Brothers.

I think this is great, but I got a question:

Would episodic games fit under Unfinished? Thinking about that because Broken Age and Banner Saga still require the other parts to be released to be considered a "finished" product. What if they falter? Or the gameplay proves too light to cover that much game?

As we see more and more episodic games coming from Telltale in the next few years, I'd like to see coverage of those first few episodes, not just some coverage when the season is complete.

I posted a look back at planned 2013 release that I was excited for that have now been delayed into 2014. Also, it functions as kind of a preview for my Top 25 Most Anticipated Games that I'll be going through in the next month or so.

The first half of Broken Age (it's been split in half much like Broken Sword) is being released in just a few weeks (if all goes according to plan) and the second half should be out in a few months. There's very little to suggest a delay of the first chapter beyond maybe early February, as the game has been content complete for a while (if I remember correctly).

Glad to hear of a fan enjoying their time with Broken Sword 5. Impressions have been fairly scarce and it's always good to hear about a Kickstarter that meets expectations.

I am, however, glad I decided to wait for the second half to be released before buying it. Cliffhangers always leave a bad taste in my mouth, which means I'll probably hold off on playing Broken Age as well.

Metal Gear Rising's boss fights are about 10 minutes too short for my taste. Other than that, they're fantastic.

They should be both, but what kind of reward and what kind of challenge should be different for each game.

For example: The helicopter on the train in Uncharted 2 is a reward of spectacle. It's an amazing fight from a cinematic perspective. The sequence wasn't too difficult, but it did add a layer of complexity to the sequence that increased the stakes. If the helicopter wasn't there, it would just be Nathan running down a very long train for a very long time. The sequence would get boring. The stakes wouldn't be raised. The intensity of the sequence would not last until the end of the mountain range.

The helicopter part is a good way to raise the tension mid way through the train sequence. Once the helicopter is defeated, the cutscene is over, and you're in the tunnel, you breathe a sigh of relief and the gameplay can slow down a bit, only to rise and fall again naturally as you progress through the mountains.

The challenge was gently sprinkled on at that point, but it was enough to make the rest of the sequence around it better. Your reward was the rise in tension during the fight, the over the top cinematic action of the boss fight occurring on this moving train, the cutscene of the crash before the tunnel, and the satisfying drop in tension as you progressed to a much slower gameplay pace.

That's just one type of boss fight though. And it's a type of boss fight that works with that game.

Another example with a great use of boss fights both as a reward and as a challenge is No More Heroes.

No More Heroes is all about proving yourself. You have to slog through slow, monotonous side missions to get the cash to prove you want to progress the story. You then have to wade through cannon fodder after cannon fodder to prove you have the guts and skills to actually face the boss fight. Then, once you get through this annoying and frankly pretty bad gameplay, you're rewarded by the opportunity to prove yourself complex, multi-layered, incredibly challenging boss fights that are among the best that have come out this past generation. They are a reward for your patience and diligence. They are a test of your abilities, your reactions, and your problem solving skills (learning the way the boss moves, how they attack, and when you have an opening is half the enjoyment). You'll die. You'll get hit by moves you didn't see coming. You'll fight the same boss for twenty minutes and then lose because you hesitated.

@joshwent said:

Yep. joshwent hit the nail on the head.

I know you've been here a while, but still: welcome to Giant Bomb. Your unintended humour was probably the most perfect entrance to the community possible.