I'm currently playing Yooka Laylee right now.  I think they did a good job as a tribute to Banjo-Kazooie (which is a way better series than DK64, by the way), but I had the same problems as you with controls and camera and such.  I think it could've used a bit more time in the oven, but then it would've had to compete with Mario Odyssey.

I watched my neighbors play Banjo Kazooie and was never that interested in it. I honestly think I'd still like DK64 better, if for no other reason than the voices weren't as grating. 

Even as an 8-year-old, that with voice drove me mad.

Mostly RPGs. Playing Persona 5 and Trails of Cold Steel, looking into Valkyria Revolution. I got a real Vita (I had a Vita TV) courtesy of another 1UP alumnus, so I've been messing with that.

Working, and looking to buy a house here in the Valley.

I never was a big fan of Rare, even in the N64 days. I enjoyed some of their games, but I would honestly rather have had Square on the N64 instead. :(

where you gonna buy a house?  I wish I didn't live all the way Northwest like I do.  

All the way Northwest? I thought you lived in Arizona.

northwest Phoenix....

I thought that after you typed it, but I did just finish a game set in the pacific northwest. Lol

yeah San Andreas just moved back here a few months ago I think. It's the Valley "of the Sun" - Phoenix.  

That's right. 

Do you know where to buy the Life is Strange soundtrack by the way? I want it. It reminds me of being in high school too, even though it's set around the time I graduated college. It kind of reminds me of my first year of college too.

i don't think u can get it physically anymore, but I did a search and it is on spotify. there might be a place to download it. I thought maybe u could get it on steam but I checked and you can't. 

Dunno. I have a lot of family in the East Valley, real estate is cheaper from Glendale on west. Also thinking of looking in Pinal County.

That makes sense if you're an RPG fan, which I am not. I would like to try Persona 5 though. It does look cool, but I'll probably send it back after being turned off by the turn- based combat, as per usual.

Which Valley?

Persona 5's system could still work for you. They set up commands in a way that's much quicker and streamlined than picking from a menu, instead each action is mapped to a different button. Not saying it will, but one of the better RPG options for someone who isn't a fan of the genre IMO.

I did enjoy 's action combat system despite the demo making it seem more repetitive than it is in the actual game, so we'll see. It's been in my Q.

Sorry, should have specified. Valley of the Sun, which, as Snee said above, is a catch-all name for Phoenix and its surrounding suburbs, total population 4.3 million. I'm looking to become a first time homeowner, and I would like to do it here.

There's definitely some rough edges to Yooka-Laylee. The notes for the upcoming patch sound really promising though. I think they are ironing out most of what you mention here and near anything I had a complaint about as well. It's clear the game wasn't quite ready when they released it and I do wish they would've held it back a few more months to iron out all the kinks before pushing it out the door to meet their (already delayed) release date.

I understand why they did it though, especially with the various other Kickstarter failures that likely made them hypersensitive to another delay. I hope the patch does the game the good it deserves and that they are doing well enough to refine the experience in a sequel.

I can understand their decision. It's not a "broken" game, but the kinks frustrated me too much to stick with it when I have so much else to get to.

Why is it these Kickstarter games keep having these problems, I wonder? Is it the fans expect too much for too little time and/or money or is it the developers being too ambitious?

I think it's a bit of both and bit of not having publishers there to keep things on track and in check. In the case of Yooka-Laylee, it does seem like using Unity might've been a bit of the problem as well. It expects to work in a certain way and it's not quite as precise as having your own custom engine as they did back in the N64 days. Plus there's no doubt that having Nintendo's input and oversight helped immensely.

I do think Yooka is one of the more successful Kickstarters (though Shovel Knight is probably the overall best one, hands down). The game wasn't horribly delayed and it mostly delivers on what it promised. It's not perfect and it needs some clean up, but it was pretty much what I was banking on. Like I said, hopefully the patch gets it to where it needs to be and it's nearly as solid of an experience as the classics that inspired it.

I forgot SK was a kickstarter game. Damn, yacht club! You fancy!

I'm sure Nintendo's input help, but it seems they know what to do on their own, and just need kinks ironed out. Using a free engine may have been the problem, but that's impressive what unity can do, despite my problems with the game. 

Now I'm wanting to know more about game development.

Too bad about Yooka Laylee, but I'm still renting it. Maybe that patch Nick's talking about will drop by then. 

This summer is super weird for me. I'm taking depression meds, working part time and starting school in a week or two. I hope I get back on track by this time next year. I don't like being dependent on anyone. Plus, I want to buy some games again. Not doing that now. 

Sounds like a private thing and not something you have to tell me here or via PM if you don't want, but how are you dependent? Sounds like you're out and about with work and school. I'm techincally dependent on my parents for housing at the moment, even though I needn't be. Just makes loan payments easier when rent payments don't exist.

Yooka Laylee definitely feels like an old 3D platformer game made by Rare, so you'll get what you're looking for that way. I just rage quite at a certain point, because the  camera kept messing up and the slippery controls weren't helping.

I'm only partially dependent financially. I'm trying to find solutions to make that independent again. It's not going to happen, I think, until I get school done and look for full time work again, unfortuneatly. That just makes me nervous as heck. 

A messy camera and slippery controls sounds like exactly the old school experience. Ha ha. 

Maybe, but I've played DK64 recently, and it wasn't near as bad near as early on in the game. 

I'm enjoying YL alright, but still only at the second world and will need to put it on hold once Crash gets here. I liked Life is Strange, but once you get to the party in episode 4, it started to go downhill. Max let Chloe do stupid things, the villain's motivation didn't work for me, and I thought one of the two endings was downright evil. Though the end's solution was a neat callback to episode 1. Also the more I think about Chloe the more I hate her. Yeah, she went through some bad shit, but that doesn't excuse a lot of the crap she does, especially with Max's call from Katie.

I couldn't get past how loose the controls felt in YL, which is something I think a platformer needs to nail. I also thought some of the challenges early on were a bit too much and only served to bring more attention to some of the game's issues.

I agree about Chloe. She came across as somewhat of a bully from the grade above Max rather than a long lost best friend, and she honestly pissed me off more than endeared me to her. I think Kate would have made more sense as Max's best friend.

The villain is something I didn't necessarily see coming, but then just kinda went "huh," when it happened. It was a bit of a surprise, but kind of a deflating one. I actually really liked how dark it got though as a lot of it was genuinely creepy and quite a mind f*. My only issue was shoehorning in that stealth section, which would have been fine had it been a bit easier to navigate without getting caught imo. The whole series had been a game for non- gamers up to that point, so I found the ransom difficulty spike annoying.

Having said all that, taken as a whole, it's still one of the best games I've played recently and I was emotionally invested in the story and characters throughout. I loved how the game let you fast forward and remind without ever letting you be sure you made the right decision. I felt vindicated when I picked the villain correctly based on the fact that response was really the only one Max could know for sure, having witnessed it herself.

I'm still excited to see how Chloe became such an asshole...

My issue with the villain wasn't so much that I saw it coming and more that I didn't get his motivation. He just wanted perfect shots? If you want to make the villain nuts, I'm fine with that, but give them a sense of logic to their insanity. Felt really half baked in that regard.

I don't disagree or have a counterpoint, but it just didn't bother me as much as it did you. I think because I was too focused on the characters the game actually explored to care.

It's a silly motivation, but it's not so crazy it took me out of the game. Again though, I don't really disagree with you. I understand exactly where you're coming from and do wish the motive was better.

I wasn't much of a Rare fan during their run on SNES so Yooka wasn't a must play for me. Shame about your experience, because there was a lot of hype surrounding this game and it sounded like it was going to be a solid game.

I have Moana on my laptop and I was going to watch it while in Hawaii, but I forgot. Eventually I will watch. 

Since I'm reading blogs from a couple of weeks ago and moving my way towards the present stuff, hopefully you resolved the problem and you and your friend are now roommates. 

It's hot here, but the neighborhood gym just reopened and I want to use it. I might go in swim shorts and just jump into the pool after working out before heading home. The walk back to the house will dry me off. 

You mean their run on N64? That's more what this was trying to emulate. I personally liked Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct on SNES, though. I can understand not liking those.

I think it is a decent game overall, there were just some bugs they didn't work out before shipping that got to me. The newest update to the game specifically mentions fixes to the boss I rage quit on (Rampo), so I feel vindicated. lol

Moana to me was pretty typical as far as Disney story structure and characters, but the animation is stunning. 

We're not, but I might stay where I am and just help him move in October. It's an odd situation I don't feel like getting into, but everyone is still friends as of now. lol

I'm glad you mentioned the gym, cause I need to go today, myself.

Oh ok, I knew them from SNES. I didn't play much of the N64 during its time because I chose Playstation. 

Yeah gym time is great because not only do I get to hit the pool at the end but the random people who live in my neighborhood make the experience interesting. A lady yesterday kept grunting while on the machines. It was so loud I could hear it over the movie I was watching on my phone.