Kotaku writes: "For the uninitiated, Treasure's Ikaruga is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up originally released for arcades, with ports for the Dreamcast and GameCube released in 2002 and 2003 respectively. It uses a simple mechanic of polarity-your ship, the Ikaruga, can switch between black and white states; there are no traditional shooter power ups, black and white beams are your only weapon. It's a system that belies its complexity. When white, the ship can absorb all white-colored incoming enemy fire. When black, the ship can absorb all black-colored incoming enemy fire. However, when firing on ships of the opposite color, the Ikaruga does double the damage. Oh, but there's more to it than that, a layer of depth that makes Ikaruga one part shooter, one part puzzler, with a dash of rhythm and strategy tossed in. How does the Xbox Live Arcade port hold up, with Ikaruga now seven years old?"
Carl Williams writes, "Here are some fun pieces of retro gaming on sale with Steam right now. For those that do not know, this time of year is the annual Summer Sale. Tons of games go on sale for two weeks or so. For fans of older titles though, this can make it hard to find them. I am going to try and help with that a bit."
There are so many good things about games. It's a shame when the challenge gets in the way for someone. Maybe more accessibility options are the answer? Let's talk about why it's OK to slap the easy button.
If a game is too difficult, I'll drop it and move on to something else pretty quick, otherwise I won't get to play anything else that year and miss out on a ton of fun games. There are exceptions though if the game really hooks me in like Ori, i'll stick with it to the end. With 4 kids, I have probably about 2-3 hours a week for gaming, if i'm lucky. I remember loving the challenge much more as a kid when I could spend 3-4 hours a day playing games. Life gets in the way though. If a game is overly difficult, it's just not fun for me and that's the whole point of video games.
I'm a gamer of 37 years and understand where your coming from, but I've literally been tapping down bloodborne since launch day.
I've only done 4 bosses but my god there some of the best trophies I've earned.
Will I ever complete bloodborne? Probably NOT, but I've had alot of fun trying over the years. I normally go back to it while waiting Imbetween releases of other games I'm looking fwd too.
Edit: tbh it's games like "super meat boy" which piss me off the most cause I just suck at them lol.
40 year old gamer here that returned a year ago from a 20 year break in gaming. I couldn't finish AC Origins and struggling to complete Fallout 4, but Bloodborne is one I had to complete (100%). I get lost in From's games. They remind me of gaming in the 90's with graphics I wish the NES, Sega and even the PS1 had.
As a father of 4 I know the struggle. Days I would 100% games are behind me. I choose my games to play that night by how much I need to put in to it. Ducks getting old, but I figure when I retire I'll have all the time in my life to play games.
I wouldn't say you suck if you aren't good at the SoulsBorne-esk game. They just have a precise timing mechanic that isn't as easy to master, plus a health bar that is pointess (with those 1 - 3 hit deaths). I would say, it's just not your thing. I used to love oldschool NES titles, but playing Ninja Gaiden now, it's brutal and it's just not my thing. I play lots of really hard modes and games but I pick and choose what I play. Also, I 100% am cool with watching a run of Sekiro over playing it. It's a very tough game and I can still enjoy it without playing it. Plus, I am older and like the pick up and play titles, or keep to 1 big game at once. (Currently playing Yoshi, just platinum'd TIMESPINNER of PS4)
I play all my games on normal and hard on my 2nd playthrough. I would say I can complete 95% of games on those difficulties but yep there are the 5%ers out there like bloodborne, Wipeout etc but that's not to say I don't enjoy them, some of most cherished trophies are from hard games like bloodborne or Wipeout as examples.
Far better feeling of omfg I got the trophy instead of the trophy popping because you collected a simple treasure within 5mins of starting the game.
Uncharted 1 says hello. 😊
Actually, you do get a trophy in Dark Souls 2 when you die for the first time, which could be in the first minute. Still, IMHO I think DS2 has the better tutorial than DS1 or DS3 (no nasty mini-boss) although like the other Souls games it can be quite unforgiving in the later stages and in the DLC.
I found the main difference between the Souls games and Bloodborne was the fact that in Bloodborne you have to learn to dodge although if you play Dark Souls 3 and choose a lightly armoured character (eg thief) you can get a similar experience especially if you learn to dual-wheel.
Actually, in all the Dark Souls games you can move relatively quickly if lightly armoured but IMHO DS3 offers the closer Bloodborne experience.
On a side note. I opened up a root dungeon in Bloodborne and most of the enemy I was up against were "insight eaters". This wasn't so bad but then I hit the first boss which was (you guessed it) an "insight eater", but this boss had the ability to cast paralyze like the Hemwick witches which is very problematic. Too far away and you have a chance to escape but too close and you are "instakilled" with the loss of two insight.
I did find a valuable blood gem (prior to the boss) and consequently got an achievement for it but I am not sure if I want to retry the boss after dying a few times which is kind of expensive.
There is no shame, because it's kind of stupid to think being good at gaming means anything really. I mean if it's a personal thing then I understand. Then I suppose it's self shaming.
Slap the easy button all you want, if the game has one. I wouldn't do it, but you bought the game.
Most games are supposed to be fun and not frustrating, so if someone wants to play the game on easy then I agree there should be no shame on it.
I always blame the controller, if I'm suck at something i knew already how to figure it out, I don't care much about the brand if that specific game is special to me.
The games that really get me good are RTS games. Tried company of heroes and I would just get butt whupped. I love the ability to command my troops in world war Ii and out strategize Nazis, but I just plain suck. Sometimes, you're just not good at some games.
Nicalis has made a name for itself in recent times publishing an array of physical titles on the Switch and also handling the release of Treasure's sublime shmup Ikaruga on the eShop.
Teasing its attendance at PAX West 2018, the American publisher recently tweeted a photo of a gigantic game case with Ikaruga plastered over the front of it. In actuality, the "case" itself appears to be the border aesthetic for an Ikaruga demo unit - with the screen in the middle running the game.
