Currently Playing

[Deathbearer]

Can't wait to play the remake when it finally comes out.

[Xenomrph]

Currently shooting my way through the Painkiller series, I'm maybe 3/4 of the way through Painkiller Hell and Damnation (the last one).

[Razz]

I loved the combat system of Condemned.  Still bummed that it ended on a cliffhanger and part 3 was cancelled.

I wasn't even aware a part 3 was ever in development. I assumed it wasn't even on the table after the low sales and less favorable reviews for Bloodshot.

Condemned really is a series that deserves another shot but I don't know how they could do a part 3 considering the plot at the end of 2. Can't exactly go back to throwing bricks and drinking yourself half to death from a plot narrative standpoint and on the opposite end of the spectrum, collapsing people's heads by screaming at them really isn't subtle combat wise.

Series does need a reboot.

[Wysps]

FSO, after re-discovering my love for Sims. 

[Ultramorph]

Just finished the side missions for Sargento, Garland, and Javi in Just Cause 4, after liberating the last few regions. Now I'm eagerly looking forward to the first expansion, hopefully out later this month.

[The Dutch Ghost]

Sonic Mania and Sonic CD. Finally able to play Mania now that Dunevo has been removed (I did not want that on my computer when it was originally released on Steam).
In my teens I was a really big fan of the Sonic games but I realize that my taste has rather changed since then as I can't really get into the games any more. My interest these days are FPS and action-adventure games.

Really need to continue where I left of on Homeworld Cataclysm (I refuse to call it Emergence)

[Vertigo]

Sonic Mania and Sonic CD. Finally able to play Mania now that Dunevo has been removed (I did not want that on my computer when it was originally released on Steam).
In my teens I was a really big fan of the Sonic games but I realize that my taste has rather changed since then as I can't really get into the games any more. My interest these days are FPS and action-adventure games.

Might want to give the other 2D games a refresher before giving up on them. Mania's great but CD's a tough one to love in my opinion.

[The Dutch Ghost]

Might want to give the other 2D games a refresher before giving up on them. Mania's great but CD's a tough one to love in my opinion.

No doubt about that. Back in the day (yeah I am that old  ) I begged my parents for a Sega CD when Sonic CD was released. I had played Sonic 1 and 2 on the 16-bit and I so much wanted to play this game which must be even better.
They didn't and instead I got Sonic Spinball which I think I later returned for Gunstar Heroes.

It took several years before I could finally play the PC version (for some reason I could not increase the size of the screen) and while playing it I found the level design awful (it felt so incredibly random designed sometimes), the time travel gimmick in general rather pointless (yeah it opens up some new sections of the levels and allows you to change the future), and the special zones really unpleasant to play because the perspective does not work well with the controls.

But recently when I bought Sonic Mania plus the Encore DLC Sonic CD was also on sale on Steam so I decided I might as well give that one another try.
I am a little better at it that years ago but I still do not find it as good as for example Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
The only stand out thing in this game is the race against Metal Sonic.

I really wish SEGA had allowed Christian Whitehead and his team to actually redesign the levels when they remade it in the Retro engine. And of course add Desert Dazzle and Final Fever to it. (I know both in a form appear in Mania but I feel CD could have done with the extra content)

Perhaps I will give Sonic 1 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles another try in the future.

[Vertigo]

Yeah I agree with everything there. There are a lot of good ideas in Sonic CD (mostly outtakes from Sonic 2, which was made by a different team) but most of them are poorly implemented, and the flow is nowhere near as good as the other 16-bit games. It does have its fans though, and Christian Whitehead is among them (hence Sonic CD having a disproportionately large presence in Mania) so I'm not sure he'd have wanted to radically alter the game even if given the opportunity.

The mobile ports of Sonic 1 and 2 are really good, if you don't mind the small screen. 16:9 widescreen, 60fps, save states, tonnes of bugfixes, Tails and Knuckles in both games, spindash in Sonic 1, Hidden Palace in Sonic 2... They really go a long way towards modernising the games.

Sadly emulation remains the only decent way of playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles though, which in my opinion is the best of the series. The Sonic 3 Complete hack does make some major improvements to it though.

[Deathbearer]

Shadow Man
Heroes of the Storm
Diablo III

[KiramidHead]

Shadow of the Colossus

I'm coming up on the colossus who lives in next to the geysers. f**k that guy, he's incredibly annoying to fight.

[The Dutch Ghost]

Yeah I agree with everything there. There are a lot of good ideas in Sonic CD (mostly outtakes from Sonic 2, which was made by a different team) but most of them are poorly implemented, and the flow is nowhere near as good as the other 16-bit games. It does have its fans though, and Christian Whitehead is among them (hence Sonic CD having a disproportionately large presence in Mania) so I'm not sure he'd have wanted to radically alter the game even if given the opportunity.

The mobile ports of Sonic 1 and 2 are really good, if you don't mind the small screen. 16:9 widescreen, 60fps, save states, tonnes of bugfixes, Tails and Knuckles in both games, spindash in Sonic 1, Hidden Palace in Sonic 2... They really go a long way towards modernising the games.

Sadly emulation remains the only decent way of playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles though, which in my opinion is the best of the series. The Sonic 3 Complete hack does make some major improvements to it though.

In general the fans of the 16-bit games seem to be divided on Sonic CD, they either like it or dislike. It is not often in the middle.
I don't mind a more exploration oriented Sonic game as I do enjoy trying to reach every part of the levels to look for secrets but this is just messy and like you describe doesn't flow well.

I really wish that SEGA had put the Sonic 1 and 2 remakes for mobile on PC because I have heard from more people that it really is a, hmm better/more current? version of the games. And of course all the extra features that you mentioned.

Actually had forgotten about the Sonic 3 Complete hack, I really should play it one of these days as I like to some the changes I just read when I looked it up.

If you are interested, there is currently a remake of Sonic Triple Trouble in development redesigned as a 16-bit game called Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit. It looks very promising.

[Vertigo]

I'll have to look that up, cheers!

And yeah, the idea of a more exploration-focused Sonic game could have been brilliant. There's already a lot of scope for it in the main games, but you're not particularly rewarded for it as a single mishap loses all the rings you've found. The dynamic could be improved by making the pickups more persistent - having shields stack in your inventory rather than replace each other, being able to use invulnerability/speed upgrades whenever you want rather than just when hitting the monitor. With a proper inventory system, there's more incentive to scour the levels.

Eh, I'm probably thinking about this too much.

[The Old One]

Freedom Planet is excellent.

[Vertigo]

Freedom Planet is excellent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHiPwSLNZTw

That's another one I really need to try.