Screenshot thread

[Darth Roxor]

but do you really think it's comparable to PoP 1 or 2?

no, because it's a different game, hory shit

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Seeing Dan Bunten's name reminds me of M.U.L.E. which reminds me of this:



And seeing that this is the RPG Codex, the following deserves mentioning:

Bunten underwent sex reassignment surgery in November 1992 and afterwards kept a lower profile in the games industry. Bunten later regretted having surgery, finding that for her, the drawbacks of surgical transition outweighed the benefits, and wishing she had considered alternative approaches. She joked that the surgery was to improve the video game industry's male/female ratio and aesthetics, but advised others considering a sex change not to proceed unless there was no alternative, and warned them of the cost, saying "Being my 'real self' could have included having a penis and including more femininity in whatever forms made sense. I didn't know that until too late and now I have to make the best of the life I've stumbled into. I just wish I would have tried more options before I jumped off the precipice."

Unfortunately Bunten died of lung cancer in 1998, but managed to survive long enough to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Computer Game Developer's Association.

The very first Sims game is also dedicated to his memory. Bunten left a very memorable quote, which I feel that too many on the Codex will try to denounce in one form or another:

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had spent more time alone with my computer.'

Bunten deserves a no matter how you look at it.

 

[octavius]

Bunten doesn't look very happy in that picture.

 

[Utgard-Loki]

incoming enderal pictures, contains spoilers

Spoiler

this is just a small taste of what is to come. the devs _really_ love their skeletons.

and some of those are _really_ fucked up.

the basket of potatoes is empty, as can clearly be seen.

good celebrity cameo.

[diary]

[i was an adventurer, but i got an arrow to the knee]

no.

comfy library, uncomfy quest marker.

skull king ruling his subjects

in some spots you can see into the past. like here, you can see into the ps1 era of gaming. thanks bethesda

i told you, they _really_ like their skeletons.

the artists really chose the wrong tools. thanks bethesda.

really, really love the skeletons.

first time i saw this i was really stoned and i was in awe, but even sober i think it looks really good and closely resembles the concept art that inspired it.

the entire under city is actually really cool, in my opinion. should have had way more quests.

i don't think they ever really explained why they were crucified in the quest. i guess the devs just really love corpses and(on) crosses.

really, really, really love skeletons.

it's getting really hot in here, because you know, of the fucking TORCH!?

the grace and majesty in this dance animation makes the ffviii cutscene look silly and amateur in comparison!

this construction is missing a vital part.

and here we are at last. the conduit. and i wonder: why. why mass effect 3?

acoolakhan! hehe, get it!? aCOOLakhan! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

"there must be more to life" the ending.

 

[Ivan]

Spoiler

 

[Kitchen Utensil]

 

[FreshCorpse]

 

[Anthedon]

After these screenshots were taken the game decided to eat my saves, can't even remember the last time this happened.

Spoiler

 

[Darth Roxor]

hope you guys like my toilet!

 

[bozia2012]

Someone said Fallout 4?

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

 

[HansDampf]

From my latest Steel Soul attempt:

Spoiler

I fucked this guy.

I fucked them.

Then I fucked him.

And raped his mind.

I fucked her twice.

And the game.

But it feels like a hollow victory. A true Steel Soul run would complete the game 100% and fuck Radiance at the end. The game file still exists. Maybe I will give it a try, and see how far I get.

 

[FreshCorpse]

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004)

Spoiler

I had to replay this one as I am in the middle of a Lord of the Rings binge.

I remember somewhat enjoying it back in the day for the same reason (i.e. anything-goes LotR binge), but all the criticism I had back then remains as well.

The game wasn't a long project and it shows: tons of unnecessary mini-cutscenes, awful dialogue, amateurish skill system, etc. It is absolutely terrible in its original form: I found Wizardry 8 quite tiresome but this game takes trash mob tedium to a new galaxy. Playing on an emulator and unlocking the framerate is mandatory so you can Benny Hill your way through the game and have a half-digestible experience.

The movie excerpts are the worst. Their design is completely self-defeating: you get bombarded with them constantly, even though:

- You are familiar with the movies, in which case they are a needless (and very verbose) repetition of what you already know.
- Or you aren't familiar with the movies, in which case they are a poor and heavy-handed way to deliver exposition.

Furthermore, some of them contain info / foreshadowing on the in-game plot and you cannot tell which ones will matter and which ones are just exposition dumps.

A note on the in-game plot: it is not bad at all, but as said above the game was, if not rushed, at least way underproduced. The cutscenes often say nothing of value, the dialogues sound like the climax of a build-up that is absent but taken for granted, etc. Most characters have a sort of twist in their backstory, and there is nothing that wouldn't work with more dialogues, but the actual product is a succession of sudden revelations and unearned conclusions.

Credit where credit is due: between the enemies grunting, the glorious movie music and the constant idle animations, the combat feels very alive and dynamic despite being turn-based. The special effect are good though you will quickly find them needlessly overdone, especially as they cannot be turned off to speed up the fights.

The game uses the same engine as The Two Towers and The Return of the King action games. The environments look a bit drab and empty today but I think they aged pretty well. The visuals are incremental in the usual fashion: PS2 looks worse than Gamecube which looks worse than Xbox. My pictures are from the PS2 version, which looks mediocre compared to the other two: low polygon count, some models replaced with flat textures, and the textures themselves are dry and ugly.

The game is generous on illusion of distance and beautiful vistas, which further underlines its claustrophobic corridor design. As for sound effects, they are mostly lifted from the movies and nothing is out of the ordinary, except some dialogues sound like they have been recorded in a bathroom.

It was never released on PC even though it came one year after The Return of the King, which did get a PC version. A shame, as even with rudimentary modding this game wouldn't be too far away from being good: less trash mobs, skippable skill animations, proper high-res graphics. It would still be a cheap cash grab, but at least a relaxing gib-moar-LotR fix.

As it stands, it leans way too much on the tedious side. Being in dire need of a LotR fix is mandatory to enjoy this game, and even then that's an uphill battle. Just know what you are getting into: a fanservice Middle-Earth tour to various movie locations, built around a primitive Final Fantasy knock-off combat system.

Spoiler

From memory, there is still at least Osgiliath, the Pelennor fields, Minas Tirith, and the final boss fight remaining. Nothing more to say, except enemies ramp up the tedious crowd control and the environments are more of the "beautiful fanservice scenery that reminds you how you cannot just hop on a horse or hike away".

I won't update further but I still want to leave a few words about Helm's Deep.

Even during my first playthrough more than a decade ago, I noticed barely a few minutes in that there was no money, and I guessed (correctly) that there wouldn't be "towns". I was correct, but there is still a semi-exception.

Helm's Deep reminds me of Kordava in Conan The Dark Axe: a sudden civilian area in a combat game, with an amount of care and attention to details that are seen nowhere else in the game.

It is what many have been waiting for: a carefully crafted movie location in which you can walk freely and talk to movie characters while listening to movie music. Of course it hammers home how the rest of the game is nothing like it, and Helm's Deep is leagues below Kordava in terms of both design and content, but the contrast with the main game is the same, and in both cases it is my favourite part of the game.

That's all there is to say about this game. Whatever horrors you heard about it are probably true, but as usual the salvation might come from computers. If you still want to give it a try, fire up Dolphin and hotlink the framerate unlock to something accessible.

Spoiler

Looks like FFX with legolas to me

 

[Sigourn]

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

Spoiler

It's probably time for another replay of previous part, since the second RE will have a proper remake and I already finish it blindfolded.

 

[Falkner]

 

[catfood]

Spoiler

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Sid Meier's Pirates! was originally released in 1987 and ported to the Commodore Amiga in 1990.

Spoiler

Fleeing your debt-ridden situation, you find refuge on a pirate ship, becoming its captain.

Towns offer a variety of options.

Taverns are the best way to recruit a crew of scurvy sea-dogs.

When navigating the Caribbean, you must take into account the prevailing winds and the capabilities of your ships. Seen here, the Dread Pirate Codex's fleet descends on Guadeloupe.

When attacking (or being attacked by) another ship, or when attacking a port by sea, naval combat plays out, combining navigation with gunnery.

A sword-fight ensues when naval combat ends with one ship ramming the other or when you storm a the fort of an enemy city, as well as certain other situations. Your men fight the enemy in the background, and the progress of that struggle affects the difficulty of your 1-on-1 fight.

Ships encountered at sea can sometimes be pirates or pirate-hunters, seeking your defeat.

When an enemy ship is captured, you can take it into your fleet or sink it. Either way, you plunder its gold and resources.

Governors grant you new ranks after you have obtained a sufficient number of points from defeating enemy ships and sacking enemy cities. Excess points result in the addition of grants of land.

Each governor has a daughter, who can be wooed if you have attained sufficient rank.

The plainer of the governors' daughters will become overawed after you reach higher ranks, thus agreeing to gather information for you.

The treasure fleet and the silver train advance between cities in the Caribbean at certain times of the year, offering opportunities to capture them.

Attacking a city by land results in a land battle different from the system for naval battles. Your men are divided into groups, and you have opportunities to whittle away the enemy's forces before storming the forts.

Sacking a town earns you a booty of gold and goods, similar to capturing a ship, but more lucrative.

Sometimes sacking an enemy city results in its capture, which offers you the choice of installing a governor of a different allegiance.

Your long-lost relatives can be rescued, if you obtain maps revealing their locations.

When dividing the plunder, you can retire completely, leading to an assessment of your career.

A premature retirement would result in an outcome of becoming a merchant captain, but there are more adventures in store for Count Codex.

The Amiga version of Pirates not only offers improved graphics but also improved sound, including ten Baroque musical tracks, which can also be accessed from the main menu.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I don't care how many people claim that the Amiga version of Pirates! is the best one, THAT FONT IS A CRIME.

 

[D_X]

ITZ time part 2:

Spoiler

Fuck fighting, time to cheese:

Worst fucking thing ever. Because agents randomly refused to pick up bombs. It took over a dozen retries before I figured out that there seems to be a sort of a pattern to them not doing what I tell them and finally finishing the fucking thing.





This one was a close shave. Fucked it up the first time because the agents got stuck where the force field previously was:

Finally, the Moon. Unwelcoming committee taken care of:

'spolsions:

Now this my friends is the Gravitron Gun. Not only does it fire a concentrated beam of pure fuck you but it also shoots some sort of missiles as well. One pull of the trigger and half the map is dead and I'm not even kidding. Where have you been all my life?



Victory, fuck yeah.

Spoiler

Or...is it?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Damn jerries can't read. It clearly says "not enemy."

Everyone survived the landing with just one gear.

 

[kain30]

Damn jerries can't read. It clearly says "not enemy."

Everyone survived the landing with just one gear.

which game is it? looks sexy

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Damn jerries can't read. It clearly says "not enemy."

Everyone survived the landing with just one gear.

which game is it? looks sexy

Bomber Crew.
It's not a simulation in any shape or form, for example your mechaniac will crawl to wing to fix malfunctioning engine (do not do sudden dives/corkscrews while he is in there).
Game is closer to FTL with focus being crew station management with added action elements and you only get limited time slow to help you make decisions in; no RTwP in this one.

 

[Lord Pickle]

Finished first playthrough of Ressurection yesterday.
Was hoping for some real sneaky sabotage...

Didn't turn out quite the way I planned

Spoiler

 

[Falkner]

I chickened out, though.

Tough noogies, nerd.
I have a date right after this.