The Video Game Thread

[Jaysin]

I might be the only one excited for this, but I just got an email from the Square Enix newsletter thing saying they're releasing a complete port of Finally Fantasy Legends/SaGa trilogy for the first time. I sunk so many hours into them on Gameboy back in the day and I'm really excited to replay them.

[SanX]

<p>CK2 was built for GoT. Every system in GoT fits the game perfectly, not to mention the AGOT mod is really fantastic. One the best saves I have ever had was getting Baelish dynasty to the throne by schemes and marriages.</p><p> </p><p>

Game is one of the biggest timesinks though, hours pass like minutes.</p>

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28397" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I might be the only one excited for this, but I just got an email from the Square Enix newsletter thing saying they're releasing a complete port of Finally Fantasy Legends/SaGa trilogy for the first time. I sunk so many hours into them on Gameboy back in the day and I'm really excited to replay them.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I've heard so many back and forth takes on FF Legends/SaGa that I don't know what to believe. Some people say they're super hand-holding and basic, others talk about them being seriously fun and addictive. </p><p> </p><p> And speaking of Square Enix, they also recently popped out a remake of ActRaiser with zero advertising. I'm really hoping it does well enough to get Quintet's other SNES games remade or remastered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="SanX" data-cite="SanX" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28397" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>CK2 was built for GoT. Every system in GoT fits the game perfectly, not to mention the AGOT mod is really fantastic. One the best saves I have ever had was getting Baelish dynasty to the throne by schemes and marriages.<p> </p><p> Game is one of the biggest timesinks though, hours pass like minutes.</p></div></blockquote><p> CK3 is just as bad. I've somehow sunk 600 hours into it in about a year and I have zero clue where those hours went. God help me when the expansion pack comes out.</p>

[Blackman]

Same thing here. It's just too damn addictive for me. The "one more day" thing applies here, except I usually do another 10000 before I end up quitting.

 

@steesh07: Are you kidding me? It might be the most discussed game in this thread. I regret not having played the AGOT mod with all the DLC enabled. How amazing that must be. I had such a great time playing the mod with vanilla. It beats the moments I had playing the actual game. But apparently there's some trouble completing the project for CK3. I've seen pics of some of the characters created in 3D, but some dissention in the modder ranks makes it hard to finish, never mind all the incoming DLC bound to screw stuff up.

[The Swanton825]

Same thing here. It's just too damn addictive for me. The "one more day" thing applies here, except I usually do another 10000 before I end up quitting.

 

@steesh07: Are you kidding me? It might be the most discussed game in this thread. I regret not having played the AGOT mod with all the DLC enabled. How amazing that must be. I had such a great time playing the mod with vanilla. It beats the moments I had playing the actual game. But apparently there's some trouble completing the project for CK3. I've seen pics of some of the characters created in 3D, but some dissention in the modder ranks makes it hard to finish, never mind all the incoming DLC bound to screw stuff up.

 

The one mod I got super into was After the End. Feudal post-apocalyptic America where knights wear football helmets, mercenary companies are often styled after college sports teams and Disneyland is run by a group known as The Tribe of the Mouse, complete with Mickey Mouse ears on their coat of arms. The worldbuilding is so much better than it has any right to be and I'm so antsy waiting on the CK3 version.

[BHK1978]

My computer is too damn old to play CK3. But I have heard it was not as good as 2. I forgot how many hours I have sunk into playing CK2, but it is a lot.

 

I recently got really into State of Decay 2 for the XBox. The game came out in 2018 and the developers are still putting out new content. They just added a new map last month (Or the month before, but the point is it was recent). If you play it more than once, it can get repetitive because you play a lot of the same missions over and over again (I swear if I have to track down Eagle Eye's rifle one more time I am going to go nuts.) but it is still fun.

 

One thing I like is that you can save up to fifty characters from your various communities and use them in a new community. I always look at characters that do not have many zombie kills and bring them over to the next community.

 

Also, you can recruit players from other allied communities to join your community. There was a guy named Pizza John in one of my allied communities and of course I could not pass up having someone named Pizza John in my community so I had him join my community.

[The Swanton825]

If we're comparing CK3 to CK2 as it is now then CK2 definitely has more features, but that's after almost ten years of expansion packs and other assorted DLC. However, I had the displeasure of playing vanilla CK2 when it first came out and it was a threadbare mess. CK3 was solid from the start and (hopefully) will just get better as the years progress and bigger mods start coming out.

 

I would still recommend anyone who is considering buying CK3 right now to wait until the Royal Court expansion comes out, because Paradox has a nasty habit of occasionally releasing DLC that breaks the game in some way or another. Good rule of thumb is if it's "mostly positive" or "mixed" on Steam, it's just people whining that their exploit doesn't work anymore, but if it goes below "mixed" you might want to wait a bit.

 

Now that I got that rant out of my system. I really should give State of Decay 2 another shot. It was one of the first games I tried when Game Pass first showed up on PC and I was enjoying it, but then the app kept making my computer reboot and it took troubleshooting it off and on for about a year before I got the stupid thing to work. By then there were so many other shiny new games on Game Pass that distracted me and I forgot about State of Decay 2.

[Jaysin]

I was gifted a free month of Game pass, but I only have a PC. Any suggestions on games I should check out?

 

I typically enjoy survival horror, RPGs, platformers, Metroidvanias, and the occasional FPS.

 

My laptop isn't high end by any means, so nothing too resource intensive

[Dalton]

I was gifted a free month of Game pass, but I only have a PC. Any suggestions on games I should check out?

 

I typically enjoy survival horror, RPGs, platformers, Metroidvanias, and the occasional FPS.

 

My laptop isn't high end by any means, so nothing too resource intensive

 

Crusader Kings III

[The Swanton825]

I was gifted a free month of Game pass, but I only have a PC. Any suggestions on games I should check out?

 

I typically enjoy survival horror, RPGs, platformers, Metroidvanias, and the occasional FPS.

 

My laptop isn't high end by any means, so nothing too resource intensive

 

Bug Fables - Nintendo refuses to make a normal Paper Mario game, so an indie studio decided to make their own with bugs!

 

Greedfall - Underrated Bioware-inspired Action RPG set in a fantasy version of the Age of Discovery.

 

Psychonauts 2 - I was never as in love with the first game as everyone else seems to be, but this is straight up the best platformer since Mario Odyssey with a fantastic story. Tim Schaefer finally showed he's still got it!

 

Supraland - First-person metroidvania starring tiny toys in a kid's sandbox.

 

Wasteland 3 - Classic Fallout for modern sensibilities. Also has a killer soundtrack.

 

Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 2020's Game of the Year if you ask me. Awesome JRPG with charm and heart for days. Highly recommend the rest of the franchise if you enjoy classic beat 'em up games like Streets of Rage or Final Fight. Extra kudos to the devs for the bold/insane choice of a radical genre shift for Like a Dragon.

 

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - The game everyone expected nothing from yet still delivered on being a great spiritual successor of Donkey Kong Country.

 

EDIT: Totally missed the line about nothing too resource intensive! I don't think Psychonauts 2 or Wasteland 3 should be a problem, but Greedfall and Like a Dragon might be a bit too much. Sorry about that!

[Jaysin]

So EA is apparently reviving the Fight Night series and I am over the friggin moon.

 

It's a shame boxing isn't as popular as it used to, but I'm so excited. The Fight Night series was so dang good.

[gingerdilligaf]

So EA is apparently reviving the Fight Night series and I am over the friggin moon.

 

It's a shame boxing isn't as popular as it used to, but I'm so excited. The Fight Night series was so dang good.

 

You might want to look up esports boxing club that's due out soon on consoles & pc. It looks really promising

[gingerdilligaf]

So EA is apparently reviving the Fight Night series and I am over the friggin moon.

 

It's a shame boxing isn't as popular as it used to, but I'm so excited. The Fight Night series was so dang good.

 

https://www.esportsboxingclub.com/

[Jaysin]

Thanks! That looks real solid so far.

[ironfist]

https://www.esportsboxingclub.com/

 

Holy ----! That roster is amazing!

[moon_lit_tears]

I was gifted a free month of Game pass, but I only have a PC. Any suggestions on games I should check out?

 

I typically enjoy survival horror, RPGs, platformers, Metroidvanias, and the occasional FPS.

 

My laptop isn't high end by any means, so nothing too resource intensive

 

 

Little late to this but I started Dead by Daylight on GAmepass. I have moved since to Steam as there were some connection issues with GAmepass.

 

Though it's sadly left Gamepass if you like RPgs, they have Ikenfell. It reminds me of the earlier FF games and Lufia, which were my kind of style. So niece little JRPGs.

[Jaysin]

Little late to this but I started Dead by Daylight on GAmepass. I have moved since to Steam as there were some connection issues with GAmepass.

 

Though it's sadly left Gamepass if you like RPgs, they have Ikenfell. It reminds me of the earlier FF games and Lufia, which were my kind of style. So niece little JRPGs.

 

I googled Ikenfell and it being inspired by Super Mario RPG is a huge bonus. I'll have to check it out!

[Blackman]

<p>Ah, Super Mario RPG. Unfortunately, like Ogre Battle 64, I had to play it through an emulator because they felt it necessary not to release it here, but those games were really good.</p><p> </p><p>

For this year I'm mostly hyped for the upcoming CK3 DLC. Probably will be the year where I'll play Expeditions Rome and Mount & Blade II too. Apart from that, not much on my list tbh apart from some indy titles.</p>

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Blackman" data-cite="Blackman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28397" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Ah, Super Mario RPG. Unfortunately, like Ogre Battle 64, I had to play it through an emulator because they felt it necessary not to release it here, but those games were really good.<p> </p><p> For this year I'm mostly hyped for the upcoming CK3 DLC. Probably will be the year where I'll play Expeditions Rome and Mount & Blade II too. Apart from that, not much on my list tbh apart from some indy titles.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Nintendo acts like we're asking the world of them just to have classic games playable on their newest systems. Well whose fault is it for giving us tons of games with Virtual Console and then never doing that idea again?</p><p> </p><p> I'm super psyched for the CK3 DLC finally coming out, though it feels like a safe assumption that it's going to break the game for a couple weeks before patches roll out. I also heard several of the immersion modders are supposedly working on a super mod that will combine all their mods into one which would be fantastic because I'm tired of troubleshooting compatibility on mods.</p>

[Jaysin]

Marvel's Midnight Suns looks incredible. Getting to customize my own hero is a huge plus.

[Blackman]

Nintendo acts like we're asking the world of them just to have classic games playable on their newest systems. Well whose fault is it for giving us tons of games with Virtual Console and then never doing that idea again?

 

I'm super psyched for the CK3 DLC finally coming out, though it feels like a safe assumption that it's going to break the game for a couple weeks before patches roll out. I also heard several of the immersion modders are supposedly working on a super mod that will combine all their mods into one which would be fantastic because I'm tired of troubleshooting compatibility on mods.

 

I did it before the world of virtual console and Wii came out. I know Ogre Battle, for one, is technically available now (on some Wii console) but I'm not buying a console just for that.

 

I'd bet most of my money that you're right in the sense that it'll break everything, because it always did in CK2 - due to the complexity of the code after a couple of years - so I'm planning to wait (as usual) until the hardcore community greenlights it. I've never played with mods in CK3 as vanilla's enough fun but I've seen some fun youtubevids now that make me excited about it. Though I regret not having achievements enabled, they are all so specific that I'm not going to get them anyway. I've accepted that I will never ever reach 1453 in a CK game by now. That way I can also disable Ironman and the superfrustrating 'misclicks' that in the past have doomed my character with -50 opinion modifiers.

 

Marvel's Midnight Suns looks incredible. Getting to customize my own hero is a huge plus.

 

Saw the first gameplay and am excited in theory, but there's too much going on in terms of effects for my tastes. Hopefully we can mod it on PC to hide this. This includes damage numbers etc. I realise it's a tactical game but there should be the option. It just looks stupid to blow up the screen with explosions and slashes and then see the enemy virtualy unscathed. Looking forward more to Gotham Knights, because I'm more of a DC fan. But it's doubtful I'll end up playing it in the first months for reasons you all know well enough.

 

I hope to rely on this forum - amongst some others - to pass some indy gems or other notable games.

[The Swanton825]

Marvel's Midnight Suns looks incredible. Getting to customize my own hero is a huge plus.

I totally forgot about that one! This is the closest we're going to get to a new Freedom Force (even if Midnight Suns is more XCOM-style turn-based) so I'm really hoping it turns out good. Firaxis rarely let me down.

 

I did it before the world of virtual console and Wii came out. I know Ogre Battle, for one, is technically available now (on some Wii console) but I'm not buying a console just for that.

 

I'd bet most of my money that you're right in the sense that it'll break everything, because it always did in CK2 - due to the complexity of the code after a couple of years - so I'm planning to wait (as usual) until the hardcore community greenlights it. I've never played with mods in CK3 as vanilla's enough fun but I've seen some fun youtubevids now that make me excited about it. Though I regret not having achievements enabled, they are all so specific that I'm not going to get them anyway. I've accepted that I will never ever reach 1453 in a CK game by now. That way I can also disable Ironman and the superfrustrating 'misclicks' that in the past have doomed my character with -50 opinion modifiers.

 

---

 

I hope to rely on this forum - amongst some others - to pass some indy gems or other notable games.

 

I did plenty of emulating before the Wii too, it's just frustrating that companies won't give us easier access to these games. I'm dead sure all the console manufacturers would make a killing if they just sold official emulators for their old systems.

 

Mods in Paradox games are a dangerous thing. Once you try them, you'll never be able to go back to vanilla. And IMO CK2 and 3 are nowhere near as fun if try to play them "legit" for the achievements.

 

Once my annual F2P MMO obsession wears off, I'm sure I'll be digging through my backlog and recommending plenty of indy games.

[Jaysin]

Once my annual F2P MMO obsession wears off, I'm sure I'll be digging through my backlog and recommending plenty of indy games.

 

What F2P MMOs are worth checking out? I downloaded The Old Republic yesterday because I'm fiending for some Star Wars, but have yet to launch it since it has to do a lengthy update at launch and I'm too impatient

 

I've been considering playing WoW again, but I'm afraid I'll get too obsessed like I did before.

[Jaysin]

I totally forgot about that one! This is the closest we're going to get to a new Freedom Force (even if Midnight Suns is more XCOM-style turn-based) so I'm really hoping it turns out good. Firaxis rarely let me down.

 

When I first saw that it had card based stuff I got really sad. I don't really care for deck building games, but I watched a gameplay vid and it looks great.

[The Swanton825]

What F2P MMOs are worth checking out? I downloaded The Old Republic yesterday because I'm fiending for some Star Wars, but have yet to launch it since it has to do a lengthy update at launch and I'm too impatient

 

I've been considering playing WoW again, but I'm afraid I'll get too obsessed like I did before.

 

Have you heard about RAID: Shadow Legends? It's the hit mobile- Nope, can't do it.

 

In all seriousness, SWTOR is the best if you prefer story in your RPGs and the only current gen Star Wars game better than it is Jedi: Fallen Order. Elder Scrolls Online has gotten really good in the past couple years and is now the best when it comes to combat and a sense of adventure IMO. I'm also weird and have a thing for playing solo, especially in dead or dying MMOs so I've got quite a few hours in games like Age of Conan, The Secret World (now only playable if you owned a copy of the original version, otherwise you have to play the awful Legends relaunch. Thanks, Funcom) and both EverQuests. Though I can't exactly recommend them to anyone but antisocial weirdos like me lol.

 

If you've never played it and don't mind spending a bit during a sale, the original Guild Wars is still excellent. With all the instances, it's more an RPG with online features than a full-fledged MMO but you can still tell ArenaNet's founders were ex-WoW devs.

 

Speaking of, WoW has basically been steadily destroyed from within by Blizzard in the past few years. Instead of adding new content, they've been cutting out older parts and replacing them with stuff for the expansions. I don't mind world-changing events, but I would much rather they happen when I reach a certain level or story point rather than replacing the noob areas (I restart a lot) and more so they "gel" with events of the expansion. ESO does this a bit too, but you can still access the starting areas and even the original tutorial zone with all the quests and stories intact. Hopefully Microsoft buying Activision will be a net positive, though after Microsoft did Asheron's Call dirty, I'm not holding my breath.