I find the story mode in Dark Moon to be easy, but much longer.
The multi-player portion leaves a lot to be desired, considering the lack of voice chat or being able to join games already in session. Communication feels crucial with other players, but 5 different pre-determined shouts don't really cut it. There are also no online leader boards or Streetpass, which this game would have benefited from greatly in order to add more longevity to the experience. On top of it all, I'm finding it really hard to connect to other players' lobbies. I guess as expected, Nintendo still lags behind in offering basic online features and functionality on a consistent basis and that's especially true with this game.
All that being said, it's a fun game for what it is. If you're looking for a challenge, story mode doesn't offer varying difficulties, but multi-player is considerably more challenging, if frustrating due to the lack of standard online features.
I've never been a fan of online multi-player, so that really holds no weight in my purchasing intentions. I just wonder if the story mode is fleshed out enough to justify the 40 USD or so Nintendo charges. Sadly, it being as easy as you claim sounds like a turn-off.
I've been dragging my feet on this title but i've finally got around to finishing it, it improves on some aspects of the original yet falls short on others, if you were to ask me which was the better game i'd say Luigi's Mansion 2 but as for which one I prefer, well that's a tougher question.
First of all i've got to say that for the most part I don't like the mission structure, I figured that this angle was taken to be more adaptable for handheld gaming but considering how stages can take between 20-30 minutes i'm not so sure anymore.
While this approach allows stages to change across missions and allow for some objective variety it can really take you out of the moment, literally that is, the dreaded sound of the Luigi's Mansion theme ringtone style, about to forcibly tear you away from that tantalising new room you were just about to enter.
Actually that's not the only Gadd related issue, I love the eccentric oddball but I really wish he wouldn't interrupt the game so much, he doesn't spoil puzzles or anything but he does state the obvious and break the immersion, a ghost just appeared in a cutscene swiping an item? you better believe that your immediate attempt at a pursuit will be stopped after two steps because Gadd has to tell you that the ghost just fled with the important item, cheers Gadd, I had no idea.
Having recently replayed the first game this came across as incredibly jarring, the amount of dialogue and hinting in the right direction has increased tremendously, Gadd has some funny little lines though so it's not all bad.
The actual capturing of ghosts is now made a lot easier with the blinding charge of the flashlight making the stunning of ghosts kind of trivial, the tug of war isn't quite as thrilling as the first game which is a bit disappointing but capturing multiple ghosts at once is made a lot more manageable. Unfortunately with the increased amount of ghosts trying to wallop you as well as ghosts bigger health amount in the late game you can get some really fiddly encounters, Lugi's little jump dodge just doesn't feel like enough to deal with some of the situations thrown at you. Still it's nice that the game doesn't go too easy on the player, some ghosts hit hard, while I never died (bar one golden bone revival right near the end) I came oh so close on a few occasions.
Enemy variety is nice though, I just really miss trying to avoid being dragged into furniture and tactically unleashing the flashlight.
Back when I was a younger lad I had an idea for a sequel to LM, it would have multiple locations in a haunted neighbourhood, starting small and ending with a final mansion close to the size of the original LM, funny how things turn out as that's kind of like what happened here though they went with some more imaginative locations than I had in mind, the settings for the ghostbusting all angle towards suitable horror trope locations which I find pretty neat, though none of them top the original Luigi's Mansion itself.
The 2nd and 5th areas were my favourites, the last location earns points for being more open and letting me openly explore a fair bit more than the others, the 4th area fell a bit flat though.
Visually each area drips with cartoony atmosphere, I always loved the visual style of the first game and i'm glad that it made the jump to the sequel, every room feels lovingly crafted, I dig the strange angular look of objects from windows to doorways, a nice deep 3D effect and some of the best visuals on the system, Next Level Games knocked it out of the park on this point.
Luigi himself is very expressive and animated, I don't think I can prefer Mario for much longer if he keeps this up, he may not have much to say but Luigi's actions speak louder than his few words, he really sells the spooky scenes with his gasps of terror after peaking into another room and seeing ghostly goings on, I feel his relief as he exits a room and lets out a quick sigh even if the room he just left had nothing left in it anyway.
It's a shame that the actual ghosts just don't come across so strong, while they have some playful moments the overall design of them compared to the basic ghosts in the original is just so utterly plain that I just can't enjoy them as much, of course these ghosts aren't inherently bad speaking of their personalities so they need to have an air of playfulness to them but the rather generic greenies feel pretty plain compared to say the Orange spectres in the first game, from appearances to the way they'd chase Luigi and chortle at him I think it's a clean win for the original here.
And damn do I miss the portrait ghosts, I mean like really miss them, they're like the highlight of the first game as far as i'm concerned.
The music kind of underwhelms, there seems to be two main themes in particular here and while they set the scene well and can be a tad catchy they lack the iconic flare of original Luigi's Mansion theme, Luigi himself doesn't do as much whistling and humming as he used to either which is a shame, it's there in places but it comes across kind of half hearted in its implementation. The main mansion theme is also one of those tracks that gets repeated in different styles to suit the location, I was hoping for multiple themes but oh well.
While the exploration has taken a hit from the mission structure the actual variety in gameplay and puzzles has increased, this here is the main reason as to why i'd consider this better than the original, the game gets a lot of use out of that Poltergust in various ways, puzzles are still pretty simple but they're at the level where I at least can feel pretty smart for solving a problem or discovering some of the many hidden trinkets scattered throughout the game. The bosses top the first game as well but some still leave a lot to be desired and
I can't believe they brought back my mortal enemy with Boolossus, fortunately it's not anywhere near as irritating this time
. Oddly the first boss is probably the best and then there's a run of underwhelming battles before it picks back up again for the finish.
I've yet to go and nab all the boos, gems or try the thrill tower (darn it NoE, that name just ain't as good) so there's still plenty of content. Better yet the game is like triple the length of the original before even pursuing these options, they went and fixed what was critically speaking one of the bigger issues with the original and then some!
So yeah, as it stands I do think this is an improvement but deep down I longed for something closer to the original game in structure, one in which I feel like i'm the one exploring the mansion as opposed to being hinted in the right direction by tour guide Gadd.
I've never been a fan of online multi-player, so that really holds no weight in my purchasing intentions. I just wonder if the story mode is fleshed out enough to justify the 40 USD or so Nintendo charges. Sadly, it being as easy as you claim sounds like a turn-off.
It's probably a 20-25 hour game if you try to 100% it sans multiplayer stuff (which isn't that great, imo, but I haven't tried harder difficulties or 25 story towers either).
Finished mansion #3 100%. Close to 15 hours now I do believe.
Mansion #3 boss fight by far the most infuriating part of the game. Died near the very end and of course had to redo 12 minutes worth of stuff. Is there any way to get a golden bone before fighting the boss? I managed to collect the gem and probably 200 or so gold worth of treasure but no bone. Also sucking on the clock hand to pull it back and it sort of plays the music in reverse is really cool but I have no idea if it helps or not.
I started this game a few days ago and I'm currently in the middle of the second mansion. I have mixed feelings about this game so far. On one hand it's a very fun game in its own right. I like the addition of the dark light and the variety of environments. Exploration is a lot of fun and finding all of the secrets can get tricky. On the other hand I kind of miss the original game. The mansions in 2 feel a bit cramped compared to the huge, sprawling mansion from the first game. I also miss the unique ghosts from the first game.
Control-wise, the game does the best with what the 3DS has, but IMO it really suffers from the lack of a second analog stick. The original game was made partially to showcase the GC's dual analog, and its loss is definitely felt. Also, in a weird case of Damn you, Muscle Memory, my fuzzy memories of the first game are interfering with my ability to progress in the game. I keep seeing obstacles, such as spiderwebs or plants, and, remembering shooting fire from the vacuum in 1, I think I'll come back to the obstacle later when I have a similar power-up and walk right by without trying to solve the puzzle as-is. It takes effort to remember that, due to the mission structure of the game, most obstacles are solvable right now without waiting for future upgrades.
I'm looking forward to trying some multiplayer this weekend. I tried playing the ScareScraper by myself to see what it was like, but I didn't get very far before running out of time. I should do better with a proper team.
Just dropped 195 health on that stupid fucking bridge. So either my 3DS is completely broken or the gyro controls are just terrible. I never made past about 20% of the way. I feel like I'm getting blown down by the wind and even thought there was something I had to do and I even checked the GameXplain video to make sure I was doing it right and apparently all you need to do is walk it. Really unhappy that I'm going to have to do that whole mission again and just pray to God that I can do the shitty gyro control part. If my 3DS is broken then I guess I can sell this game because one segment that should take 15 seconds is going to sour me on a fantastic 25 hour game.
Just dropped 195 health on that stupid fucking bridge. So either my 3DS is completely broken or the gyro controls are just terrible. I never made past about 20% of the way. I feel like I'm getting blown down by the wind and even thought there was something I had to do and I even checked the GameXplain video to make sure I was doing it right and apparently all you need to do is walk it. Really unhappy that I'm going to have to do that whole mission again and just pray to God that I can do the shitty gyro control part. If my 3DS is broken then I guess I can sell this game because one segment that should take 15 seconds is going to sour me on a fantastic 25 hour game.
I tried that and he still fell pretty much immediately.
I notice that the hinge on my 3DS isn't that great so could that be the problem? Also is there any way to adjust the sensitivity of the gyro? It seems like I move a millimeter and he goes from swaying in one direction ready to fall to swaying in the other direction ready to fall.
I don't think I've ever had any trouble with the gyro controls. Walking across those narrow beams was not all that challenging. Sometimes, I don't even need to move my 3DS at all.
200 more health down. I'm fairly confident that my 3DS isn't broken because I tested out the gyro in OoT 3D. It's just the wind is ridiculous and I pretty much have to stop completely and pray that the subtle movements are enough because the gyro seems so sensitive.
Hooray for me third time through this mission. Seriously fuck whoever wanted to put gyro controls in this game. Going on like 2 hours now playing this mission.
I'm sure the wind does have a part to play for that one beam, I tried tackling that beam with the wind the same way as the rest seen so far and it just kept ending it failure which I figured odd as i'd had no problems with the gyro up to that point, when I decided to factor in the wind and only progressed when it wasn't blowing I slooooowly got across, when the wind did blow I had to account for it by staying still and balancing a bit to the left to avoid the wind sweeping Luigi further right.
Have to do the mission again because there is a gem I missed that apparently only appears in this mission.
Of course I've been through another 400 health and can't do it again.
Another thing I've noticed is that there is a lag between moving your 3DS and Luigi's movement. So sometimes you can move because you think you are falling but then you balance back out and fall anyway because of too much movement.
I'm at the point now where I want to finish this game and get rid of it as fast as possible. I'm just so frustrated and disgusted with this one 30 second segment.
I noticed when playing the multiplayet that some people had an emblem next to their usernames. Is it just a thing you get for completing the game or something else?
I noticed when playing the multiplayet that some people had an emblem next to their usernames. Is it just a thing you get for completing the game or something else?
On another note, just wasted half an hour playing a rush tower with randoms. By floor 15 it was just me and another dude, and by floor 17 he dropped too :/ could've made it a bit further, but literally everything I revealed with the darklight didn't have a clock in it -_-
I finished the game a couple of minutes ago. And wow, Luigi's Mansion 2 is a damn good game. After playing about three mansions I already wrote: This game is a reason to buy a 3DS. Now, after playing five mansions, my opinion is still the same. Luigi's Mansion 2 offers five very well designed mansions with tons of things to discover (Boos, gems and lots of lovely details). There are some great bosses and I think at least one of them is truly remarkable. Next Level games did not only do a great job in terms of gameplay and level design, their effort paid also off regarding the technical aspects of the game. The graphics including the lightning effects and short but great in-game cut scenes are absolutely top-notch for a 3DS games. This combined with the great and suitable soundtrack results in a fantastic atmosphere. There are of course some weaknesses like some repetitive mission structures - but those are minor points of criticism. Overall Luigi's Mansion 2 is a fantastic game you should get unless you want to miss a great and worthwhile experience.
The whole digital push is annoying to us with less than stellar broadband connections. I'd rather have the physical copy but I'm quite sure shipped a low quantity on purpose.
The whole digital push is annoying to us with less than stellar broadband connections. I'd rather have the physical copy but I'm quite sure shipped a low quantity on purpose.
I don't know if it's a push for people to go digital as it is more them having supply issues.
If it is a digital push, Nintendo is more idiotic than I even imagined. Who the hell would undership to drive digital sales? It should be an option so not to choke your own sales.
Plus why would they push digital when they don't even have a proper account system? At this point, shame on anyone buying a $40 game from the eShop without it being tied to a recoverable, proper account. Shame on you further for doing so just for Club Nintendo points.
I hope its selling well. I know amazon isn't a good indicator of sells, but the game is still the number 3 best seller for video games and it hasn't really left the top 5 since its release.
The whole digital push is annoying to us with less than stellar broadband connections. I'd rather have the physical copy but I'm quite sure shipped a low quantity on purpose.
I'm coming up to the end of the 4th mansion and I have to echo the opinion of this being a great game, but I had hoped for something a little more similar in structure to the original.
I just finished the first couple of missions. I'm starting to feel the same way about a more cohesive exploration mode. This game still has a ton of charm and I like the music. Should be a great time sink and distraction for me.
The 5th mansion ambush boss is the worst in the game for me so far. What an absolutely tedious fight. The train had probably twice as many targets to hit on it as it should and aiming is really difficult. That's not to say that it's a hard fight, but everytime you miss hitting the target or shooting the Boo into the front of the train, it makes the fight such a drag to have to spend half the time running in circles dodging stuff. I don't think the idea is terrible, but it goes on way too long.
Wow, I'm an idiot. I didn't realize the bridges were gyro-controlled until after I beat the game. Must have missed that explanation. No wonder I sucked at it so much.
Wow, I'm an idiot. I didn't realize the bridges were gyro-controlled until after I beat the game. Must have missed that explanation. No wonder I sucked at it so much.
It took me forever to realize it. I had some idea but it seemed like too stupid of an idea to actually be implemented. But nope, those sections are totally dependent on gyro-stuff.
Have to do the mission again because there is a gem I missed that apparently only appears in this mission.
Of course I've been through another 400 health and can't do it again.
Another thing I've noticed is that there is a lag between moving your 3DS and Luigi's movement. So sometimes you can move because you think you are falling but then you balance back out and fall anyway because of too much movement.
I'm at the point now where I want to finish this game and get rid of it as fast as possible. I'm just so frustrated and disgusted with this one 30 second segment.
I think your gyro is busted, but then again I've dropped my 3DS a LOT and it's still alright. Maybe you are just trying to hard. I found the motion segments incredibly easy and responsive. It recognized the slightest movements, and I kept my eyes on Luigi's hands because they would indicate where he was leaning.
All leaning puzzles are the same Tony Hawk grinding balance, it's just about imagining that balance bar and finding the visual clues that give it away (Luigi's hands)
