What game are you wasting time on?

[FreshCorpse]

Shadowrun: Dragonfall: Directors Cut. The last time I played this game was five years ago and I have to say, this game has aged quite well. It even gets a bit challenging on hard, but the reason why I'm coming back is for the questdesign, the atmosphere and the story. The writing is so good after the first scene (which starts a bit flowery) and I like the characters and how well the developers catched the idea of how Shadowrun can work, if you take the pulpy, over the top - setting serious. It's a smart story about a cycle of revenge, but also an exciting actionmovie.

This game is Shadowrun. It's dark and atmospheric, pulpy and fun and creative and crazy. I guess, I am in love with the freestate Berlin again. Lucky for me, that this game is at least thirty hours long, if you do everything.

I played DMC and then for some reason skipped to Hong Kong which I played little by little over a very long period of time (a year? maybe longer), finishing the post-game mini campaign a couple of months ago. IMO the Shadowrun setting is at it's weakest once you start to get very supernatural which is unfortunately how both DMC and Hong Kong end. That said I think the writing, the setting and the plotting of individual missions is generally brilliant in Hong Kong. Looking forward to seeing what CDPR do with Cyberpunk 2077. Hopefully they are able to refrain from putting elves and dwarfs into it.

 

[octavius]

HoMM 3: The Shadow of Death

Completed the fourth mini campaign, Birth of a Barbarian.
Hardest campaign so far, and I had to save scum on the third and fifth (last) map. Playing on Impossible it's very hard to get enough troops to defeat enemies that can kill any of your stacks with one spell. Expert Diplomacy helped. And it's amazing how useful a Ballistas is when you have 40 Attack, but are very short on troops.

I won by avoiding the main enemy hero, and captured their Titan enabled capitol defended by a lvl 1 hero. Main hero then suicided against her old capitol.

A common theme for many of the SoD campaign maps is that you should not get too attached to your starting castle. And you are virtually forced to focus on troops in the beginning and to fund your army with gold from Naga Banks and Dwarf Treasures instead of using a whole week to build a capitol.

 

[DalekFlay]

I played DMC and then for some reason skipped to Hong Kong which I played little by little over a very long period of time (a year? maybe longer), finishing the post-game mini campaign a couple of months ago. IMO the Shadowrun setting is at it's weakest once you start to get very supernatural which is unfortunately how both DMC and Hong Kong end. That said I think the writing, the setting and the plotting of individual missions is generally brilliant in Hong Kong. Looking forward to seeing what CDPR do with Cyberpunk 2077. Hopefully they are able to refrain from putting elves and dwarfs into it.

The big unique thing about Shadowrun is it being a cyberpunk setting with lots of fantasy elements, so I can't see criticizing it for leaning into that at the climax. If it didn't to some extent it wouldn't be Shadowrun, IMO.

 

[RickOmbo]

Playing Discworld Noir right now, so far the story is a good blend between humor and noir tropes. Using in-game notebook to ask questions is somewhat refreshing.

 

[octavius]

HoMM 3: The Shadow of Death

Damn, that first Rise of the Necromancer map is annoying.
Sandro is limited to lvl 5, he doesn't get Logistics or Pathfinding, only Advanced Necromancer at lvl 5, and only Advanced Wisdom which is not enough to get a lvl 5 spell from the nearby Pyramid.
In the meantime there are lots of enemy heroes whizzing around, from 4-5 different factions.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

X-COM - Enemy Within. Hadn't played it in some time. Just did the train/transponder mission and am about to do the followup alien battleship/recon mission.

 

[HansDampf]

I'm playing another weird puzzle game, Stephen's Sausage Roll. The goal is to roll sausages around on grid based levels, and move them onto grill squares to grill them exactly once from each side. If a sausage touches a grill twice on the same side, it gets burned, and you fail. The controls are very simple. All you can do is move your guy+fork around. But there are a lot of surprises on the way. The game explores its mechanics thoroughly, and there is also kind of a "wow" moment later on. And it's very hard, I'm getting stuck on every other puzzle.
It feels like I'm about to reach the end soon. At this point, the game hat gotten so weird, I just want to see what it's going to throw at me next.
So, the puzzles are great. The concept is bizarrely funny. And I would recommend this game to hardcore puzzle fans, if it weren't for the offensive price tag. Many basic features are missing, like rebindable keys or controller support (use Joy2Key). The controls will feel awkward at first, it's hard to get into it. The graphics are ugly as fuck (deliberately in parts). I can't even force AA. Changing resolution in the options menu does nothing. Consider all this, and that the game is now 3 years old, look at the screenshot, then guess the price.

Spoiler

28€

Wait for a sale. I grabbed it for 75% off on the Humble Store.

 

[Harry Easter]

I played DMC and then for some reason skipped to Hong Kong which I played little by little over a very long period of time (a year? maybe longer), finishing the post-game mini campaign a couple of months ago. IMO the Shadowrun setting is at it's weakest once you start to get very supernatural which is unfortunately how both DMC and Hong Kong end. That said I think the writing, the setting and the plotting of individual missions is generally brilliant in Hong Kong. Looking forward to seeing what CDPR do with Cyberpunk 2077. Hopefully they are able to refrain from putting elves and dwarfs into it.

I can see what you mean, but the magic related stuff makes the setting more versatile.I think they used the theme quite creative in Hong Kong and Dragonfall. In DMS it was just enjoyable how crazy the story got in the end^^. But it's true that it gets boring, the more you use magic as the maintheme. Doesn't help, that it is easier to get crazy with the monsters and the world, if you don't use the matrix ... which is my least favorite part of Shadowrun or Cyberpunkthemed games in general. I would like another noirish story the most, to be honest. Don't know why, but Film-Noir and Cyberpunk just work for me.

I finished the game today and yeeah, it continued to be great. My private challenge was a no-magic, no-cyberware character and I found it quite interesting. I always play the face with a knack for assault rifles. and it took me a lot of karma until the char wasn't killed off :D. Worth playing. This game aged like good wine.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

My private challenge was a no-magic, no-cyberware character and I found it quite interesting.

For real? That's how I always play.

 

[newtmonkey]

Hello fellow RPG gamers

Lately I've been playing Planescape Torment
I might have bought this game back in the day, but I never put any time into it whatsoever... so forget about it.

I have to say straight away, that this is not my kind of game. I definitely prefer blobbers and have little interest whatsoever in reading a bunch of text.

Having said that, this game is amazing. It's simply some of the best exploration I've experienced and writing I've ever read in a game. In any other game I'd be pissed off at having to read paragraphs and paragraphs of this stuff, but in this game I am delighted. I played D&D when I was a kid but never had any experience with Planescape, so for me, it's this completely bizarre world to explore, and all the dialog I'm reading is just another part of exploring this world.

I know a lot of people say "Planescape is a JRPG in disguise." I really don't agree with that. I've played a TON of JRPGs, all the old DQ and FF games and even a lot of the 16/32 bit games; playing Planescape is absolutely nothing like playing a JRPG.

For one, the older JRPGS are pure tactical games; they are somewhat retarded versions of Wizardry or Ultima. As for the latter 16 bit or 32 bit JRPGs, there's no comparison. In Planescape you are free to explore this completely alien world bit by bit, learning more about the world as you speak with its inhabitants. In 16/32 bit JRPGs you are following an extremely linear path, talking to people who just say "This is Wintertown the town of winter" and that's it.

Planescape could not be MORE different from those games. There might be a JRPG where you explore a massive alien city, slowly gain an understanding of the completely unique world and gain some idea of what you need to do while you are also handed out side quests, but I've never played it (yes, I've played the SaGa games and they are awesome, but they are not typical JRPGs by any means).

On top of that, I get now what people were saying. Planescape only works as a game. Yes, you could probably write a story about the game. But would it still affect you in the same way as an interactive experience where you are slowly piecing the world together by talking to people WHO BY THE WAY never feel like they are just dumping exposition on you? It's a rhetorical question, but the answer is fuck no.

It is simply a pleasure to explore the world this game presents. It's not the same pleasure you get from building your weakling party through Wiz 1-5, mastering the system/game and coming out on top, but it's just as satisfying to slowly explore the world and piece together the story.

I don't think I'll ever switch over to the story darkside, but Planescape has tempted me more than any other game.

 

[Harry Easter]

For real? That's how I always play.

Cyberware just made it easier and I thought it would fit the character. Turns out without it fitted better this time.

 

[FreshCorpse]

the matrix ... which is my least favorite part of Shadowrun

Yes, They clearly tried to improve it between DMC and Hong Kong but I still felt like it was poorly explained and just not a lot of fun. I'm not sure though how it could have been done in any other way without it devolving into a just another lockpicking puzzle

 

[DalekFlay]

Alternatively, the matrix is one of my favorite parts of both games. Especially when you're fighting a battle outside it at the same time, and it feels like a rush to get in and get out with the data.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I played DMC

DMC? Do you mean DMS, Dead Man's Switch?

 

[Darth Roxor]

the authentic jedi outcast experience

charge up a full bowcaster shot, jump on a reborn to knock him down, AIM FOR THE 'EAD

 

[Silentstorm]

Since Bloodstained is coming up, i am in the mood for Metroidvanias, so...Rabi-Ribi, the suprisingly good game with a bunny girl main character.

God, was this game always this hard!?

I mean, the areas are easy like i remember, but the bosses, good God, they have a lot of HP and lots of attacks that can quickly fill up a screen, apparently there are various bosses with attacks you can't even dodge which i swear i forgot about...or they were hard, after getting a lot of items and equipping some badges, i have taken down some DLC bosses without dying once which is different from what happened some other times, though apparently there are people who fight those bosses with no items at all and i can't see hating myself enough to do that.

Now, it's gone back to being easy, hooray for exploration making a game become so much easier, now i just need to take care of post-game content.

 

[The Decline]

I was in the mood for some mindless action so I've been playing Earth Defense Force 4.1. Last one I played was EDF 2017 on the 360 so being able to enjoy the insane mayhem without slowdown is really nice. The only downside is my asshat brother not wanting to play co-op like we did in the previous game.

 

[Darth Roxor]

the authentic jedi outcast experience

charge up a full bowcaster shot, jump on a reborn to knock him down, AIM FOR THE 'EAD

or wait for them to throw saber and then spray 'em full of blaster fire

Tavion is p. hard to gun down, though, because she keeps moving around like she's on crack, which makes tactical deep strikes on her head p. hard, and she also doesn't get knocked down from that reliably. Can't bait her into saber throw either, cuz she has the power at rank 3 which means it's homing, and that's bad news. Plus she has haxx0r that prevents her from getting knocked off ledges, so it's all p. tricky.

Fortunately, smart use of push can still knock her down, and that's when you move in and unload dat flechette into her roastie gob.

 

[Shadenuat]

no-saber run, is that your tradition or trying something new?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Neither. I did only one no-saber run before, and was surprised to discover how fun (and hilarious) it was, so I decided to stick with it for future playthroughs too.

 

[Mark.L.Joy]

Surviving Mars: Interesting start when setting base with drones and accumulating resources goes down hill from there with colonist domes mid game, plopping down building after building with no real purpose maybe to see green on mars? Maybe they could set research paths that make sense instead of randomizing them it would make setting up colonies less tedious and a less frustating path to end-game exept there is no end game.

2/5

It has magic negro Bill Negrease Tyson quotes

1/5

 

[Gregz]

Borderlands GOTY Enhanced

 

[Dux]

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
aka Band of Brothers, directed by Randy Pitchford

Mein gott, this game. A WW2 squad-based tactical shooter complete with suppressing fire and flanking. All that good shit. One moment it's Hidden and Dangerous light and the next it's Call of Duty. It just can't seem to make up its mind. Imagine storming a village full of krauts, using actual battlefield tactics to defeat ze Germans... until a Panzer suddenly rolls up in your face. You don't have any AT personnel. No fire support. No armoured support. Because why would you? Then the game politely asks you to find a Panzerfaust somewhere to take it out single-handedly. Imagine telling your guys to get to cover and they instead decide to stand out in the open and then complain when they get shot. Imagine telling them to shoot back at the enemy only to find 2/3 of your squad staring into a bush somewhere whilst schreeching "I CAN'T SHOOT FROM DERE, SARGE!!"

To be fair, when this game was good it was actually quite fucking good. I remember this one mission where me and my squad had to overtake an abandoned building occupied by enemy infantrymen and a gunner perched on the second floor. So I tell my guys to distract the bastards from one side while I go around the other side and hit who I can with my Thompson before quickly darting inside the building. I make my way up to the second floor: kill one guy and then the gunner. I take hold of the mounted machinegun and proceed to open up on the krauts right down below me. Then when the building is ours a German counter-attack sweeps down upon us. I tell my guys to get into position and open fire and what ensues is a prolonged and quite engrossing firefight. For one precious moment this game really showed its potential. It's too bad it was wasted so badly.

The map design is strangely constricted and there are a lot of arbitrarily closed off avenues, denying you any real chance to move around. You're only allowed to move where the game wants you to move, basically. If the maps had been more open and the AI better, this easily could have been a great game. However, the game is indeed blighted by bad AI. The enemy intially gives off the impression that there's some dynamic flow to the fighting but that's just an illusion. Enemies will run out out of nowhere when you trigger scripts and then they get behind some nearby cover. If they're not suppressed they'll peak on set intervals and you can pick them off quite easily. Standard stuff. If they're suppressed they'll just hang around behind cover until you flank them. Eventually their behaviour becomes extremely predictable. Conversely, your squadmates behaviour remain completely unpredictable. Either they'll do what you tell them or they'll either spaz out or get stuck on some object.

The voice-acting is unimaginably atrocious. It's not original Resident Evil by any means, rather it's so aggressively bland and forced that you actually start to wish death on some of your own guys. Especially that motherfucker with the glasses who always shouts even when you're literally right next to him. Goddamn I hated him. He got jibbed by a shell in the end, though, so all's well in the world.

In short, this game is a rollercoaster of emotions - ranging from frustration, rage, befuddlement, mild enjoyment and overall dejection.

 

[unfairlight]

I have Road to Hill 30 on PS2. I should replay that game some time. I remember when I played it I never let anyone on my team die because I thought they would die permanently.

 

[Jinn]

Just finished up my second playthrough of Risen, with my first being completed about a month after its release in 2009. In 2009 I played as a pure bandit - fuck the mages and fuck the order. This time I went full-on Mage of the Holy Flame. Loved it about as much, if not more, as I did 10 years ago. But I think I probably enjoyed the last chapter even less than I did back then. Why the fuck did they decide to punish their playerbase with those final temple/dungeon crawls? It wouldn't have even been as bad if they hadn't padded it with so many ridiculously HP bloated enemies that can knock the shit out of you if you're playing on Hard. The dungeon design wasn't even bad. It just all felt like it should have been naturally interspersed through the entire adventure instead of all thrown at you when you can sense the end is near. All PB game final stretches tend to rub me the wrong way despite how much I love the games, but this has got to be the worst (excluding G3, R2, and R3). And of course the laughable final boss fight that is almost a relief after the several hours of shit that came before.

Annoyances aside, I return to my initial statement: I still love Risen to this day. It was such a return to form after G3, and such a joy to play. Now give me ELEX 2, PB! I've never played Risen 2 despite it being one of my most anticipated games before taking a 3-4 year hiatus from gaming right prior to its release. I have zero expectations and am going to be installing the Risen 2 Enhanced mod pack, with some rebalancing stuff, etc., so maybe I can find some fun in it regardless of its infamy.