The Video Game Thread

[The Swanton825]

I think it's all about the quality of the content. The latest AC games are long for the sake of being long with a lot of quests that are functionally the same thing you just did a region ago, coupled with Ubisoft games actively telling you exactly how much of the game you've finished, it just wears on the player after a while. It works fine for open world action games, but RPGs come with different expectations and if you can't keep a consistently good writing quality to compensate for the increased length of the game then you wind up with players finishing the game because they feel like they have to after all time they've put in and not because they enjoy it.

[Clarity]

I think it's all about the quality of the content. The latest AC games are long for the sake of being long with a lot of quests that are functionally the same thing you just did a region ago, coupled with Ubisoft games actively telling you exactly how much of the game you've finished, it just wears on the player after a while. It works fine for open world action games, but RPGs come with different expectations and if you can't keep a consistently good writing quality to compensate for the increased length of the game then you wind up with players finishing the game because they feel like they have to after all time they've put in and not because they enjoy it.

 

I couldn't finish Odyssey. After 77 hours, I gave up. I got Valhalla as it was supposed to be a shorter experience, but 58 hours in and its just a grind to get to the required level for the next area.

 

I long for what I hoped AC was heading towards around Blackflag time, and thats a modern day setting. Imagine a combination of Watchdogs and early AC mechanics.. Using your phone to hack devices, get into buildings or areas and assassinate a target. It could have been so good.

 

Over the last month or so, its been 3 games pretty much non stop

 

1) Elite Dangerous Odyssey - Alpha dropped for the expansion and its kinda fun to sneak around settlements and nick stuff.

 

2) Planet Coaster Console Edition - Had it on PC for years but it was free on Gamepass and its a great game to chill out on the sofa and build stuff.

 

3) This one may be controversial, but Cyberpunk 2077.. Bugs and console launch aside, im having an absolute blast in it on my XBox One X. Its a game where I actually care about the supporting characters like Judy, Panam and Jackie. For the life of me I cannot remember a single supporting character in a AC game... but by heck, all the cars they try and sell you

[Blackman]

Repetitive content is exactly the reason why I quit Dragon Age: Inquisition. Every new area was a copy of the previous one, with a couple of word-changes in a different environment (DA2 was a LOT worse though). The story wasn't compelling enough to soldier through, and I even scrapped it from the backlog.

 

It's true that you get a lot of "radiant" quests in AC, which is the term used by Bethesda to indicate randomly generated quests. The thing is that I ignored pretty much all of them (as it's indicated by symbols) and just did all the regular content. Obviously it'll ressemble a lot of other quests. In these games, pretty much all of the content is kill-quests, fetch-quests and explore quests. I feel Witcher III did best to provide different and exciting content.

 

I get that a lot of people are fed up with the same stuff. It does seem geared towards the "regular" player, who plays two hours a day at most, and will have forgotten about last week's events in the game's universe. I find myself also turning into that kind of player, who wants to know exactly where he is in the game and what he was doing before. AC (and Skyrim, for one) does that perfectly.

[RKOwnage]

Recently beat FF7R. Thought the story was a really cool way to make a remake while still building anticipation for future installments.

 

Now I'm on Horizon: Zero Dawn. Interesting game, pretty fun, but a little overwhelming at times with *all* the crafting that needs to be done. Having a good time though.

[The Swanton825]

I long for what I hoped AC was heading towards around Blackflag time, and thats a modern day setting. Imagine a combination of Watchdogs and early AC mechanics.. Using your phone to hack devices, get into buildings or areas and assassinate a target. It could have been so good.

 

You and me both. I found the whole "Precursors want to destroy mankind" plot thread kind of boring after a while, but I was really hoping for a point where Assassin's Creed would finally be in a modern setting or even a futuristic one where it was focused on putting an end to Abstergo.

 

3) This one may be controversial, but Cyberpunk 2077.. Bugs and console launch aside, im having an absolute blast in it on my XBox One X. Its a game where I actually care about the supporting characters like Judy, Panam and Jackie. For the life of me I cannot remember a single supporting character in a AC game... but by heck, all the cars they try and sell you

 

I also really enjoyed Cyberpunk. It absolutely undelivered on the hype, no question there but I fault the guys at the top of CDPR, not the Cyberpunk devs themselves. It's clear the dev team wanted to make their own Deus Ex with a big focus on the main plot because all the story missions are fantastic. Johnny Silverhand is without a doubt one of the best written, surprisingly complex characters in any RPG I've played. Then their bosses walked out in front of a crowd and talked a big game about how Cyberpunk 2077 was going to redefine gaming itself and suddenly they're desperately trying to implement a ton of features they never intended.

[Jaysin]

I completely forgot I picked up Re-Reckoning when I bought my new laptop. I think that's going to be the next game I play as I never finished the original version back in PS3 days. I just remember following the production of the game just because of the talent involved. I'm also a massive Todd McFarlane fanboy, so anything he does I'm immediately interested in.

 

I think I'll start tonight after Dynamite.

[Blackman]

Though "cyberpunk" isn't my theme and preordering isn't my thing, I did preorder Cyberpunk because I'm a big CDPR-fan, still playing Gwent and having enjoyed the heck out of Witcher 3's masterfully crafted atmosphere.

 

Still, I felt compelled to get a refund. Not out of principle, just didn't feel like playing an unfinished game (the glitches were plentiful). Let them keep the money through GOG, which is where I bought it, and will probably buy it later (for less), but I had to send a message. I heard the amount of people that refunded was relatively low. Must be the vocal minority on the net. I hope it humbles them that they're just a little part of the big, big pie.

 

I completely forgot I picked up Re-Reckoning when I bought my new laptop. I think that's going to be the next game I play as I never finished the original version back in PS3 days. I just remember following the production of the game just because of the talent involved.

 

I didn't forget as it was quite pricey for a re-release (though less than Mass Effect).

is a good watch. It explains the troubles the original release went through. It involved them ripping off the Rhode Island state, and several bad decisions from the top I guess?

 

Here's a guide to the launch of Mass Effect. I'm a fan, but sorry that I'm not uberexcited as to know the exact release of the... pre-load. The game's literaly been out for a decade. Despite all the info online, I'm pretty sure some goofs will come along saying "wtf where's the new content?". Not that it matters as it'll take days to download under my connection.

[Jaysin]

So randomly listening to 16 bit era soundtracks and Thunder Force IV's music is some of the best I've ever heard.

 

Also just read that Zombie Ate My Neighbors is getting released later this year for current consoles and PC. Super stoked.

 

Also read that Sega has plans on releasing Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast games on the Switch in the future. Seems like I'm gonna have to get a Switch

[Blackman]

I was shortly thinking of getting one as obviously the next gen isn't going to be an option.

 

1. No stock and everything's reserved.

2. No games afaik apart from current-gen games with updated performance and lower loading times.

3. Doesn't support Ultrawide monitors.

 

Hard for a PC-user to motivate himself to get one. I bought a Xbox One solely to play the EA UFC series. I do nothing else with it.

 

But Pokemon Snap had me contemplate a Switch. I loved the first one on N64. I remember pacing myself as to not 100% the game on one day, as it was a little short on content. Had a lot of fun though, and from the look of it, that's not going to be different here.

 

Fired up the Dreamcast yesterday for a couple of minutes. It's the only old console I still use sometimes, though several of the games have indeed been released for PC or other consoles.

[The Swanton825]

Also read that Sega has plans on releasing Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast games on the Switch in the future. Seems like I'm gonna have to get a Switch

 

Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga had better be two games they're planning on putting on the Switch. Saga especially. That game needs way more love.

[Jaysin]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28397" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga had better be two games they're planning on putting on the Switch. Saga especially. That game needs way more love.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I read they're working on Panzer Dragoon 2 right now, so I imagine if it's successful they'll keep going down the line!</p>

[The Swanton825]

Man, if it's a full-on remake like 1 & 2, that'd be even better! Panzer Dragoon Saga would be remembered as a JRPG classic if it had come out on any system but the Saturn.

[Jaysin]

I just read that the source code for Saga has actually been lost

[Clarity]

<p>I dont know if its just old age, fussiness, or my standards, but some of these 'Game Launchers' are starting to grind on me.</p><p> </p><p>

Just picked up Mass Effect Legendary Edition, and it loads you onto a screen where you then pick which game you want to play and then it loads you into that game. </p><p> </p><p>

Ezio Collection was exactly the same, and to an extent the COD collection of Warzone/BlackOps/MW</p><p> </p><p>

How cool would it have been to start the game, pick your starting point, and then it just played through one after the other with no bouncing back to the launcher to open the other game. You finish ME1, the game briefly fades to black, has a 'Some time later' message appear and then go straight into ME2</p><p> </p><p>

For the Ezio collection, how amazing would it have been to use the timeline screen and pick a part of Ezios life and the game just load that up instead of having to quit back to launcher and then load that part up</p><p> </p><p>

/Old man grumble over</p>

[Blackman]

<p>That would be cool but that wouldn't be more than a nifty little feature. Lots of people would take a break in-between parts. It only takes you a minute. And there IS literaly "some time" between the parts. </p><p> </p><p>

The launcher was also made so you'd have the same character creator, which is really a bonus. And it's hard to imagine, but there might be some people who want to skip 1 (but then again, why the heck would you buy this?).</p>

[BHK1978]

But Pokemon Snap had me contemplate a Switch. I loved the first one on N64. I remember pacing myself as to not 100% the game on one day, as it was a little short on content. Had a lot of fun though, and from the look of it, that's not going to be different here.

 

Wait a second, you cracked on me for playing a "kids game" in Among Us and you still play Pokemon games? People in glass houses and all of that...

 

I got the XBOX Live (I think that is what it is called, too lazy to look it up.) at a dollar for three months. I have to say I am a little disappointed in what I got. They have all of these free games and I either own most of them (There is a good amount of 360 games on there which I own, I only own eleven games for the XBOX One), not interested in them (any first-person shooter I avoid like the plague) or once I do download and play them the game is just not good.

 

I will say I have been somewhat enjoying Night Call. It is part Noir and part Taxicab Confessions. It is not a great game by any means but it is entertaining enough.

[Blackman]

Wait a second, you cracked on me for playing a "kids game" in Among Us and you still play Pokemon games? People in glass houses and all of that...

 

I said I was thinking about playing a kids game. It's been 20 years since Snap was released. And I never intend any disrespect or anything, so sorry if I came across like that.

[Jaysin]

Was thinking about picking up Dead Space 1&2 for PC and decided to read reviews of Dead Space 3. Man, people were way nicer about it than I was. Maybe I should revisit it, but it felt like such a different game than the first two. The first two were survival horror masterpieces and 3 felt like an action game. Granted I didn't finish 3, so maybe it got better, but it just didn't feel like it fit in the same franchise.

 

Any other survival horror suggestions for PC? Preferably nothing too resource intensive. I did play a little of Outlast, but I was very stoned when I played it and there was a jump scare that legitimately freaked me out to the point I exited the game and never went back

[Rampaaage]

Alien: Isolation and Maid of Sker are two I played relatively recently and enjoyed. Layers of Fear is a personal favourite of mine. Not so much survival horror but a great horror puzzle game if that interests you at all, and will run on pretty much anything.

[Jaysin]

According to Can you Run it, I don't quite meet the requirements for Made of Sker. I have enough ram, but nowhere enough dedicated video ram. I have 128mn and it requires 2048mb. It does look promising though so maybe I'll give it a shot to see if it'll run smoothly or not.

 

Layers of Fear requires 1gb of dedicated video ram, but I have 8gb of regular ram and I've had similar situations before where I could run stuff. I'll be checking it out next payday.

[The Swanton825]

The HD version of the Resident Evil remake is even better than the Gamecube version. You can even turn off the tank controls if you don't like them. They also put Obscure 1 & 2 on Steam. It's been a long time since I played either, but they're Resident Evil clones inspired by the teen horror flicks of the late 90s.

 

And for a loose definition of "survival horror" there's also the original STALKER and FEAR. The atmosphere in both is amazing.

[Blackman]

Survival Horror isn't for me at all. Apparently Resi7 is great atmospherically but it's too scary for me (after not even fully playing the demo). Resi8 will be the same story I reckon. I'm more for a foolish take on the zombie/horror genre, like the ridiculous - sorry, but it's true - other Resi games. It's very hard to get scared from those.

 

I liked the Resi Revelations titles and the 5th installment most, but I guess people like different things.

 

I don't really like the trademark puzzles in the first installments (same ridiculousness), but I did buy all the remakes just for the atmosphere and actually liked them.

 

I once played one of the earlier Alien games as a kid, and got scared after the first level, which was actually just a walking sim where nothing happened. That's immersion for you.

 

Steam sales are up but once again I will not buy a thing as I just don't see anything interesting for me personally. I only want Mount&Blade Bannerlord and perhaps Baldur's Gate 3, the latter which isn't even close to being finished.

[The Swanton825]

I'd be all for a survival horror game that went with all the usual trappings of RE games but done as a campy comedy like Return of the Living Dead. I think the closest we ever came to that kind of tone was Stubbs the Zombie.

[steesh07]

<p>I am amazed I have never heard of this game until last Friday. An absolute gem of a mod too!</p><p>

<img alt="IKRkwU.jpg" data-src="https://snipboard.io/IKRkwU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p>

Shame I can't run CK3.</p>

[Jaysin]

I've picked up a few games for PC in the last few months, but have yet to actually play any.

 

So far I've gotten CrossCode, Oceanhorn, Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King, Astalon: Tears of the Earth, Frostpunk, and the Pixel Remake editions of Final Fantasy I, II, and III.

 

Supposedly, the Pixel Remakes of Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI are dropping later this year so I'll probably wait until they come out and binge all six. I love pixel art so friggin much.