What game are you wasting time on?

[Abu Antar]

Today, I beat Toonstruck on PC and Mercenaries Saga: The Will of the White Lion on Nintendo Switch.

Got Toonstruck from GOG for free. It looks really good, plays well and it was funny enough. Took me 4.5 hours to beat.

MS: TWotWL is basically a budget Japanese SRPG in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. Why it doesn't hold up to those games, it's a fun enough game that I played in small bursts. Took me around 30 hours to beat, but you can easily beat it in 20. I just wanted to try as many classes as possible and I also grinded some characters just to have them at the same level as the rest of the party. There's a NG+, but I'm not sure if I'm going to bother with going the other route (which gives you some other party members). I'm going to play the second and third games, but not now.

Next up is probably going to be Persona 5. I haven't touched it for a few days. I'm ready to enter the third palace.

 

[Harry Easter]

I started Arcanum for the xth-time again, this time playing an Half-Orc (but keeping my talky, fighty build) and I have to say, the game has me hooked even after all this years. I just love the Quest Design, the world and the writing. But I also forgot, that higher level enemies can kick your butt, so no Black Mountain Clan for me right now. And you know what? I'm a-okay with that.

 

[octavius]

Played the Unification of Rife user made campaign for HoMM 3.

First map, playing the Wizard Rife who is searching for a nice present (an artifact) for his sister Sari, is extremely slow if playing on Impossible since you start with no Fort, but since there are no opposing players there's no rush (except to try to get a good score).

Second map is a rather small strategic battle map.
You have one ally (Lance) and play as Sari, against two enemy players. The enemies are not allied, though, so they never posed much of a threat.

Third map is bigger and more ambitious, and you start with Sari and Lance imprisoned, and their friend Kyllian who was killed and returned as an undead, have to rescue them. Very nice map, but could be better "scripted". At one point you are sailing down a river and can land on the north or south shore. On the south shore is a very powerful enemy hero (I lost on two tries, but could probably defeat him with very heavy losses), so I landed on the north shore and defeated the weaker heroes there. But events suggest you are supposed to land on the south shore and rescue Lance, and in the end I never did that, and the map ended seven days after I conquered all enemy castles. But still a good map despite its premature ending.

The fourth map is an XL map and very ambitious, with lots of quests (some of them very involved), quest guards, border garrisons (some which you can never pass), some huge monster stacks (like a stack of Fairy Dragons having grown 20% each week to a couple of hundred), and epic battles. There's also some C&C where you can use some artifacts to open more than one quest guard.
In many ways the best HoMM 3 map I ever played and it (Conflict of Destiny) is also available as a stand-alone map, and with a WOG version (or just played with WOG?).
Unfortunately it didn't end when I defeated Dragonrife, nor when his faction (Red) disbanded. I checked the editor and the victory condition is clear, so I'm not sure what's causing this. And the remaining player (Green) is located in an isolated pocket (no Dimension Door in the entire campaign), so not possible to defeat all enemies.

All in all much more exciting than the vanilla campaigns, and you even keep most of your troops (but no artifacts). Rife and Sari didn't keep their lvl 5 and 6 troops, though, and Kyllian only kept three of his stacks, but they were the core of his army (Skeletons, Vampire Lords and Power Liches), while Lance kept all his troops.

Diplomacy is a very useful skill on the last map.

 

[the_shadow]

Just finished Quake: Scourge of Armagon. Overall it's a really good expansion pack if you liked the original Quake, as it's more of the same. A few weapons have been added which are all fun to use without feeling overpowered, and I can see that the ion blaster from Daikatana was inspired by the laser rifle with its ricocheting projectiles. One more expansion pack to go.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Started Assassin's Creed Origins yesterday with the two major DLC. Man, that game runs like a dog on mostly high settings at 1920x1080 once you hit cities. My system is mid-end (GTX 1070, i5 4690K, 16GB memory, SSD, etc) but framerates shouldn't take a nose-dive from 60 FPS down to 40 FPS like it does. First UBISoft game I played that I noticed felt really unoptimized. It deters enjoyment a little but nothing deal breaking. I'm just used to playing with a constant 60 FPS. I heard that even on the best systems it drops to 45 FPS in cities. Don't know if that's true or not. If anyone has any tips for getting it smoother please offer advice. I saw a few youtube videos on how to optimize it but these guys are clearly retarded because then the game looks like complete ASS with all the settings they lowered to get a constant 60FPS. Ugly. As. Sin. I think a game like Origins should have as much eye candy turned on as possible, especially with the special tour DLC.

 

[luj1]

Finished Powerslave, which completes my recent FPS cycle.

- Amid Evil
- Project Warlock
- Heretic
- Hexen
- Powerslave

I liked it more than Heretic or Hexen. While the level design is rudimentary at first (but very cleanly executed), it becomes progressively more complex w/ platforming and puzzles. The game becomes quite hard.

Weapons are diverse, from sabres, guns and rifles, to magic staves, rings and spell-like abilities. A big part of the game are artifacts, magic items which provide enhanced abilities such as jumping higher, breathing under water, resisting lava and acid or levitating.

Overall, a long and hard game with a nice atmosphere and elegant concept behind it.

I wanted to do Quake Copper next w/ Horde of Zendar, but I think I need a break.

 

[Sceptic]

You should do Tekwar next

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Didn't Tekwar use the same engine as Witchhaven? At least Powerslave looks much more polished and professional than those god-awful Witchhaven games where some of the monster models look like they were very early projects of Ken Silverman before he did Ken's Labyrinth.

 

[Sceptic]

Didn't Tekwar use the same engine as Witchhaven? At least Powerslave looks much more polished and professional than those god-awful Witchhaven games where some of the monster models look like they were very early projects of Ken Silverman before he did Ken's Labyrinth.

Well some did come out before Duke3D IIRC (Witchaven 1 for sure).

Honestly Witchaven wasn't so bad. It felt a bit rushed and unfinished in parts, in terms of controls, hit detection and other weird oddities in the engine that were completely polished out by the time Duke and all subsequent games came out, but it had some cool level design, quite a bit of variety with enemies and weapons, and I think it was the first FPS to even attempt some character progression in stats. Second one was worse, but eh.

Tekwar was another level of bad and unfinished. I tried a few years ago to actually finish it, but couldn't. The most frustrating thing about it is that the concept of the city hub, that you could go around and explore at will, with objective-based missions, seemed so awesome, but nothing worked as it should and ultimately the whole game is one huge mess.

By comparison Powerslave fares extremely well, since it's, well, an actually finished game. A good one too.

 

[octavius]

I borrowed Witchaven from my gaming buddy back in the days and liked it. Didn't complete it (didn't have the same Willpower/Endurance I have now), but I thought the graphics and animations were very nice.
Didn't like it so much when I tried it again some years ago, though.

Speaking of Duke Nukem 3D, I tried the Starship Troopers TC, and hated it.
Obnoxious music, several insta death traps if you go the wrong way, and it's based on Terboven's movie, not Heinlein's book.

 

[Abu Antar]

I finished Bleed 2. A decent and challenging side-scrolling platformer.

Another game that I completed is Bombshell. I can't recommend it. Boring weapons, boring level design and a lack of enemy types. There are many better games in the genre. Play anything by Housemarque instead.

I'm not the best at simulation/strategy games like Anno and such, but I still decided to start Anno 1404: Gold Edition. It was Either that or Anno 1602, but I went with the newer game and prettier graphics... lol. And 1404 looks really good, actually. I was very surprised when I started it up. I chose a 3 computer opponents and the biggest map. I chose an opponent from every category, easy, medium and hard. We'll see how it goes. 1 hour in and I don't feel like I am doomed. I've only gotten 1 actual quest and that was to escort a ship.

Just Cause 3. This is being played causally and not very often, but last time I freed a base. I don't mind playing this in shorter sessions. Wreak some havoc for 15-20 minutes. I haven't seen this many explosions in such a short time span in a long time.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Brain dead platforming that animates greatly. Arkham Asylum style combat and great scenery. I'm about to start chapter 5. I have to say that the game might not have amazing gameplay, but animations and graphics are good.

Heroes of Ruin on 3DS is a Diablo clone. It's way too easy and enemy variety is poor. You do seem to get a lot of loot but your inventory can only hold 30 items. I am also told that you can only have 99.999 gold. This game, I could maybe have recommended if you played with friends, but as of now, you can safely skip this one.

In Persona 5, I have beaten the third palace. I located the treasure, and the next day, I entered and beat the boss. I grinded quite a lot of money in here. Before this palace, I felt like I barely had any money for confidants, social activities and equipment/items. Now I'm loaded. The day after I beat the boss, I finished all the requests that I had. Mementos floors aren't that big, but it seems to have many floors. I'm down to floor 17, I think. I also had a go at the batting cages. I'm surprisingly bad at it. I can get 1 homerun and then miss the ball 4 times.

Obduction was given away on GOG, I think. Didn't know it was from the Myst/Riven developers. I'm still very early on. None of the puzzles have been difficult, no idea if that changes later on. Everything's been fairly straightforward. Other than that, not much to say other than I think that the game looks great.

 

[flyingjohn]

Shadows awakening,diablo with puzzles and multiple characters.

Reaching the end of chapter 2 and i don't like it.This game could have been good if it wasn't a action rpg. Every single action rpg element is mediocre to bad.

A separate realm to explore alongside and puzzles could have been greatly used in anything else except a isometric action rpg.

Oh,and it has the slowest walking speed of any action rpg coupled with no portal scrolls and a small amount of way points .

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Playing Guild 2. 12 trialsv so far where the main accuser has died tragically in a duel before the hearing. At this rate I'll be killing a dynasty every turn.

 

[Curratum]

After playing through all the Dishonored games and their DLC, I relapsed back to STALKER ShoC / Anomaly / CoChernobyl.

 

[octavius]

Edge of Darkness mini-campaign for Half-Life

Quite good, with nice level design, clever scripting and a novel final boss.
But firefights generally not very satisfying, thanks partly due to heavy use of marines. The more I play Half-Life the more I hate their stupid AI.

 

[samuraigaiden]

After playing Severance: Blade of Darkness a second time as the barbarian all the way to the final boss, and playing the adventurer (amazon?) and dwarf 1st levels, I'm ready for something lighter in tone. So I decided to tackle Obsidian's magnum opus, South Park: The Stick of Truth. Just two hours in so far. I hate the Super Mario RPG combat system, but I think I'll stick around for the fart jokes.

 

[Ivan]

- Amid Evil
- Project Warlock
- Heretic
- Hexen
- Powerslave

Dusk when?

 

[wyes gull]

Having a ton of fun with My Friend Pedro. It's 2D Max Payne with all the immediacy and violence of Hotline Miami (1, not 2) with Danger as a protagonist (not really) and bananas because ???. Say what you will about Devolver but they stick to their guns.
Speaking of, there's a criminal low amount of these to kill the baddies with and yet somehow not only is the amount enough, I actually found it more rewarding to tackle the levels with the starting pistols, which I could attribute to the difficulty not being that high and to the added challenge of having to time reloads just right. But it'd be fair to say that the game is as much if not more about the gimmicks than the guns. Whether it's moving platforms, kickable knives, gas cans or body parts, or even skillets that serve a Robocop-like ricochet pads, the game introduces these at a steady enough pace that the levels never grow dull. On difficulty, the game is absolutely not to be played on normal, as it's piss easy (and like HM, there's no penalty for dying) and I could almost argue for starting on the highest difficulty- It is after all a game about score rather than level-surmounting and the highest scores lie there.
Would add that for once, it's a game that doesn't overstay its welcome. Which is a kind way of saying it's rather short. Like 4 hours-short. But then I've already spent twice that much on score attacks on the level select option.
There's also a neat little thingamajig that saves your best kill of the level as a gif for posterity if one were so inclined.

Spoiler

Pretty nice time-waster if you can get it for 10-15 bux.

 

[Straight elf]

Witcher 3. Tried playing it the first time when it came out, but my computer at the time was not good enough and terrible performance kinda ruined the game for me and so I put it aside for a long time (even though I got the DLCs at one point for a few euros during a Steam sale). Now I finally got around to playing it and OMG it is SO much better than the first two installments!

 

[Dux]

This is it. This is the end. Of the Gold Box experience, that is. It's been... interesting.

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN

Spoiler

Hooray™.

Spoiler

Come again?

Pretty good in all, recommended for anyone who likes the Gold Box thing. It covers the best of any D&D adventure which are levels 1-8.

Anyone unfamiliar with Dragonlance (like me) will be introduced to the ever-present antagonists which are the Draconians. Dragon-men, I guess. Thankfully they aren't high level Draconians - because those are the literal bane of my existence with their bullshit innate defence and self-destruct mechanisms. Champions of Krynn is a fairly straightforward experience and will ease a player into the world of Dragonlance. A solid base, for sure. Not much else to say. It reminds me somewhat of the Gateway of the Savage Frontier, another decent entry in the franchise.



DEATH KNIGHTS OF KRYNN

Spoiler

Fantasy villain #93 is finally defeated.

A continuation of the previous game, except now there are hordes of undead to turn, destroy or disassemble with blunt objects. Good, entertaining storyline that is focused and straightforward. Brings out the best out of the Gold Box formula and doesn't really wear out its welcome with endless, mindless combat and cheap deaths. Definately one of the strongest entries in the entire GB franchise and my favourite next to Pool of Radiance. I don't know, there's something deeply satisfying going into tombs and fighting skeleton warriors that you can't incinerate with fireballs. It brings out the man in you.



DARK QUEEN OF KRYNN aka DELAYED BLAST FIREBALL SIMULATOR aka FUCK MY LIFE JUST FUCKING END AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

Spoiler

I saved some retarded gnomes, and possibly the world as well. What did it cost? Everything.

This fucking game, I tell you. It is a perfect sibling to Pools of Darkness. Gruelling. Brain-bleedingly tedious. Unbelievably broken. Why? Because high-high level D&D. I fucking hate high level D&D. It's the worst fucking thing in existence. Completely pointless and so goddamn cheap in every single conceivable way. Most spells cease to work because epic saving throws. Conveyor belt of dark wizards which WILL insta-kill your mages and clerics with Delayed Blast Fireballs - unless you blast them first. Hope you got good dexterity to win those initiative checks. That's 99% of the combat, by the way. That's it. Dark wizards fucking up your day, pitiful dragons and elite Draconians which will outstay their welcome before midgame. Nothing else to say, really. There are some locations here and there which try to switch it up but it's not nearly enough to compensate for the Perdition that is the rest of the game. One-hitting dragons left and right, and I don't mean hitting them with Dragonlances. I mean spell damage so inflated that it breaks any semblance of balance. Just blast everything in sight and then send in your -8 THAC0 fighters to mop up what's left. Oh boy what fun.

If that isn't bad enough there is the completely nebulous storyline where you'll chase after some bimbo half across the world. It doesn't seem worth all the bullshit that will rain down on your party at regular intervals but that's the game. Convoluted dungeon design that will leave you pondering your own sanity more than once. The Flame Tower is the equivalent of Moander in Pools of Darkness. It's just torture from beginning to end. Just when you believe things are finally starting to come together the game just throws another couple of spanners in the works and then kicks you in the balls for good measure. Then you have the boss battles which just won't end. Just more and more and more. That's what makes Gold Box so fun, right? Pft, I'd rather play Secret of the Silver Blades again than this pile of Draconian droppings - and that is saying a fuckton.

 

[octavius]

Pffff! The Flame Tower is one of the best GB dungeons, in the best GB game. Dark Queen provides a high, steady challenge, and enhanced Draconians were probably the most interesting enemies the primitive engine (very weak AI) was able to provide.

 

[flyingjohn]

Warriors orochi 4 on the pc.

Good:
-Each character gets a new move set in the form of three magic attacks making it the most unique rooster second only to pirate warriors.
-The combat system is still fun
-The only modern warriors orochi game on pc (minus z and its not so stellar English patch).
-The biggest rooster of any warriors game

Bad:
-Multiple overpriced dlc. Do not buy any of the dlc whatsoever.All of them are not worth it. The costumes are a joke(dw8 legendary copy paste + some badly design mythology costumes),the mounts and weapons make the game even easier and he scenarios are just copy pasted original scenarios with small changes.
-Laziness everywhere. From the maps,enemy types,move sets,everything is copy pasted from he previous games.This was done as a quick cash grab after dw9 failed.
-Lack of modes. This game has lees modes then warriros orochi 3 ultimate and it makes the game get boring quickly.Scenarios don't cut it.
-Worst warriors menus ever.

Neutral:
-Rpg elements are typical warriors series shoehorned way of prolonging the game.
-Story is passable.

I can only recommend this if you are interested in warriros orochi for pc and heavily discounted. Also i advise anybody to wait for a year to see if they are going to release the ultimate version.
Just don't buy any dlc,trust me.

 

[Harry Easter]

I finished the adventures Yesterday and Yesterday: Origins and now I want more. I had forgotten that the Pendulo Studios are not only good at weird riddles, but also at writing. The stories and the characters of those games were really, really GOOD. Somehow they always find the balance between weird and wacky, but also compelling. Now I can't wait for their upcoming Blacksad game. Maybe I will give the Runaway-trilogy another try, I wanted to finish the other two games for years.

 

[flyingjohn]

I finished the adventures Yesterday and Yesterday: Origins and now I want more. I had forgotten that the Pendulo Studios are not only good at weird riddles, but also at writing. The stories and the characters of those games were really, really GOOD. Somehow they always find the balance between weird and wacky, but also compelling. Now I can't wait for their upcoming Blacksad game. Maybe I will give the Runaway-trilogy another try, I wanted to finish the other two games for years.

If you want more pendulo you can try these games:
-Hollywood monsters.Their second game released only in Spanish language,it got a English patch a couple of years ago.
-The next big thing. A sequel to Hollywood monsters,it has a English release.

Edit:Links:
English patch:http://www.mediafire.com/?3huzgxi8rcarquj
The game version must be the fx interactive versions.

 

[Harry Easter]

If you want more pendulo you can try these games:
-Hollywood monsters.Their second game released only in Spanish language,it got a English patch a couple of years ago.
-The next big thing. A sequel to Hollywood monsters,it has a English release.

The next big thing I ignored back then, but now I will give it a try. Hollywood monsters I'm a bit hesitant, but I will keep it in mind, thanks!