What game are you wasting time on?

[pakoito]

I'm playing a Gloomhaven campaign on Tabletop Simulator because I couldn't hold myself to wait for the digital version. The game's so good to scratch the tacticool itch.

 

[Vlajdermen]

I downloaded the eDuke32 mod for Duke Nukem 3D, which gives it modernized, Half-Life style controls. It's how Civvie played it, and he was right to do so. It plays like a dream. I can't wait to finish it and move on to Blood.

Spoiler

Shadow Warrior plays like a dream even without mods

 

[Krivol]

Ok I have finished with Outher Worlds (finished playing, not finished game). This game is disgusting...

As I wrote here before, I am huge FNV fan and I was really happy to try this game, especially if Tim Cain was one of it's creator. And... oh my god, why all old game creators turned to shit? Garriot, Molyneux, Gollop to name a few... And now Tim Cain - e tu, Brute?

Gameplay is not good - ok, FNV shooting was not great neither, but at least you could build your character in a fun way. Here it's... extremally easy. And Hardcore mode - in FNV it only added perma-death to your companions and you had to eat, drink and sleep (and also healing was harder). Here it affects save system, which is totally idiotic in my opinion. Why not give player control of what parts of hardcore mode he wants to add to his game?
And game is easy. Easy as fuck. Fights? If you read perks and skills descriptions, you will breeze through your enemies. Skill-checks? Laughable.

Writing? OMG, I know this game was ment to be lulzy, but it is not FNV with wild wastelands level of lulzy. IT'S FUCKING FALLOUT 3 LEVEL OF LULZY! Everyone is a moron. Literally everyone.

Well except... few women because game has netflix level of char creation - white guys = morons and bad people. Women of colour = good, caring, intelligent, strong.

Oh and companions. Shiiiit! Fuck! Remember Cass? Remember Boone? E-DE? Or my favourite Raul? Forget about them, OW gives you boring she-engineer, boring she-doctor, boring he-priest, boring he-adventurer and cool robot. And some red-head chick I haven't checked, cos I ragequitted when reached city she is sitting in.

Worldbuilding is related to writing - if everyone is moron, then you can't expect world being well-created. It is not. It's bullshit.

Oh and the worst. You know which game is the most similar to this in terms of maps and exploration? Fucking Ass Defect.

Rating - Oblivion/10 . Don't buy it.

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

I'm playing a Gloomhaven campaign on Tabletop Simulator because I couldn't hold myself to wait for the digital version. The game's so good to scratch the tacticool itch.

That's actually a good idea. I'll try it out too.

Personally I'm playing Legend of Grimrock II [EDIT] and it's pretty awesome. Didn't know that series before and it was suggested to me recently.

Krivol Thanks for saving me some money.

 

[Endemic]

Ok I have finished with Outher Worlds (finished playing, not finished game). This game is disgusting...

As I wrote here before, I am huge FNV fan and I was really happy to try this game, especially if Tim Cain was one of it's creator. And... oh my god, why all old game creators turned to shit? Garriot, Molyneux, Gollop to name a few... And now Tim Cain - e tu, Brute?

Well according to the credits there were several writers besides Cain and Boyarsky:

Kate Dollarhyde ... (narrative designer)
Paul Kirsch ... (narrative designer)
Chris L'Etoile ... (narrative designer)
Daniel McPhee ... (narrative designer)
Carrie Patel ... (narrative designer)
Nitai Poddar ... (narrative designer)
Megan Starks ... (narrative designer)
Marc Soskin ... (additional narrative designer)

However the poor combat and overall gameplay structure is down to them.

 

[DraQ]

I also continued Drakan, but I'm still not getting the combat and getting wrecked by the knights with flaming swords

Dodge dem swings. And flaming spears. And telegraphed but devastating flame rings.

 

[forumvisitor#451]

Enjoying the shit out of some modern stealth games:

Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes (want to finish this to 100% before jumping to Phantom Pain) - great graphics and controls. Game has as well as Phantom Pain lots of hidden mechanics that you just do not get to see anywhere else, lot of content and possibilites. Quite a challenge to get all missions S-ranked. I am still finding out what game actually reacts to.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider - replaying second and bank level - finally they ditched chaos and you get to fully embrace your powers. Cool design, AI is very advanced, reacting to all kinds of stimuli. While the world-building is cool, it is too edgy in this one and story sucks. But it does not ruin the fact that levels are great (even though Dishonored 2 levels were better) and game just invites you to experiment.

Hitman 2016/18 - this hit all the right tones in me. I could not get into Hitman 2: Silent Assassin because of unpredictable AI, this time it actually is predictable and gameplay is more precise. Opposite of Dishonored in terms of mood - it does not take itself seriously and there are some hilarious moments. Optimal way to play for me is just turn off all the prompts/opportunities/story missions, look around the levels, figuring where am I allowed to go in with a gun and/or in default disguise and slowly working way towards targets which are rough at first and then I get more and more efficient until I know the map inside out. The feeling when you finally know how to do at first seemingly impossible run with only suit, no evidence and only targets killed is thrilling. And once you pull it off and go calmly towards an exit as the music builds up... just awesome. And then I think - is it even possible without any distractions and KOs? And on even higher difficulty? And of course it is. I am amazed how well it is actually designed so that you can approach things in hundreds of ways. And if it gets less challenging you can go with any of the Escalations or Contracts... just so much content. I even liked some of the "worse" maps - like Colorado. That was super challenging on Master. I was not hooked in a game like this since Underrail came out. Also mention deserve graphics - shit looks tight on PC. Just the correct use of effects - very spare but done properly. Downside are loading times (maybe tied to internet connection?) and always on-line shit.

I like alternating between these as each has something quite different to offer. All of them feel like they perfected their formula and are at its peak.

I got Hitman and Metal Gear Solid V from website cdkeys.com which had them in total for 35USD (20 USD for Hitman 2 + Legacy Pack and 15 for MGS V Definitive Experience). Money well spent. Time well spent

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Phantom Pain

Oh you're in for a good time if you don't give tuppence for the story.

 

[Theodora]

Absolutely adoring Hades (EA); Supergiant's depiction of the Greek pantheon is very endearing, and the game is so good it's hard to believe it's an Early Access title. Speaking of, a similar game that's decent is Curse of the Dead Gods (EA). Both fun roguelites, both of them really benefit from using a gamepad for the analogue directional controls.

Them aside, finally started my retro FPS binge. Wolfenstein 3D (1992) was surprisingly still playable. Blowjob's facial expressions are oddly satisfying. Though it was Doom (1993) — run through crispydoom — that really impresed me. That was fucking great. I found Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994) kinda disappointing at times though. Too much making the weird secret-hunting shit part of simply finishing the levels. Still got a couple levels left though, mayme it'll turn around. Looking forward to Doom 64, though not sure whether to play that or Final Doom or Heretic next when it comes to idTech1 era games. Just finished playing through the first chapter of Duke Nukem 3D (1996) on hard, and damn this game aged well (albeit with the world tour edition at least).

Kinda wanna jump ahead to DUSK and similar, but I know I should at least play the original Quake first.

 

[Squid]

but I know I should at least play the original Quake first.

Yeah I want to get DUSK too but I gotta finish Quake II now. Never played Wolfenstein or Duke Nuke Ems or anything though. There's quite a bit of retro FPSs I'm wanting to get around to but after Quake II I think I'm just getting DUSK. I dig the style.

 

[forumvisitor#451]

Oh you're in for a good time if you don't give tuppence for the story.

Oh I know. I have skimmed through some hours of

Spoiler

pirated version of

game and decided I want to experience it whole from start. Also because on certain site, people say GZ is better. Story is just there for me. Not interested in it but at least you have motivation for what you do.

Btw. I have checked some comprehensive tips from seasoned players, but is there a strategy guide? I know Konami made one site but there was not much things in it, I am especially looking for all those hidden mechanics - like explaining what exactly shower does, how to make enemies paranoid of you etc.? Kojima is autistic about hidden mechanics and not telling you about them.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

explaining what exactly shower does

It increases your damage threshold, the time in reflex mode, and most importantly it rids you of the stink you'll accumulate from staying in the AO too long.

how to make enemies paranoid of you

In what sense? There's plenty of tools to fuck with their heads, if that's what you're after.

I am especially looking for all those hidden mechanics

You'll find a lot of stuff all over, even on the codex thread, but I don't know that it's documented in a quantifiable manner anywhere.
There's a lot of room to experiment, so don't prepare yourself too much for it.

 

[Theodora]

but I know I should at least play the original Quake first.

Yeah I want to get DUSK too but I gotta finish Quake II now. Never played Wolfenstein or Duke Nuke Ems or anything though. There's quite a bit of retro FPSs I'm wanting to get around to but after Quake II I think I'm just getting DUSK. I dig the style.

IKR? DUSK, Amid Evil, Ion Fury, and Wrath are the reason I went back to play these old games to begin with. I'm really glad I did.

But squaddie m8, you gotta get Duke Nukem 3D. The first level (pick Come Get Some for difficulty) will leave you screaming for more, I promise. And it's on sale for nothing atm.

 

[DalekFlay]

Gameplay is not good - ok, FNV shooting was not great neither, but at least you could build your character in a fun way. Here it's... extremally easy. And Hardcore mode - in FNV it only added perma-death to your companions and you had to eat, drink and sleep (and also healing was harder). Here it affects save system, which is totally idiotic in my opinion. Why not give player control of what parts of hardcore mode he wants to add to his game?
And game is easy. Easy as fuck. Fights? If you read perks and skills descriptions, you will breeze through your enemies. Skill-checks? Laughable.

The game's complete lack of any difficulty is really baffling. I enjoyed the other aspects more than you, but it can't be denied the game is so easy it ruins any hope for the RPG systems mattering at all.

 

[Theodora]

God, playing FNV for the shooting ain't the way to go. If that game didn't have VATS it'd be unplayable.

 

[jackofshadows]

God, playing FNV for the shooting ain't the way to go. If that game didn't have VATS it'd be unplayable.

Wait, what? Why? I have tons of hours in NV and used VATS very rarely.

 

[Theodora]

Wait, what? Why? I have tons of hours in NV and used VATS very rarely.

Because the combat is otherwise terrible.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Wait, what? Why? I have tons of hours in NV and used VATS very rarely.

Because the combat is otherwise terrible.

Eh, it's quite alright if you're playing a sniper.

 

[RK47]

Early access Bannerlord is rather unfinished in kingdom management features, but the visceral combat is still there.
Worth the early buy since COVID19 gives me plenty of time and nothing to play.

 

[Theodora]

Eh, it's quite alright if you're playing a sniper.

Didn't feel very viable in all those tight hallways. Aka the horror that is a bethesda engine dungeon.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Eh, it's quite alright if you're playing a sniper.

Didn't feel very viable in all those tight hallways. Aka the horror that is a bethesda engine dungeon.

Eh, you don't use a scoped rifle exclusively. Got to sneak around and/or use explosives & other weapons when needed.

I'll concede that melee combat is shit in NV though.

 

[baud]

Finished Van Helsing 1. It's alright, the ARPG side isn't wonderful, but it has some charm (though I wasn't a fan of the magiteck/steampunk switch halfway through) and it doesn't overstay its welcome (finished in 12-13h). I appreciated having a sidekickchick to carry my loot and tank my enemies while I pumped them full of lead. I'd say that it was worth buying on a sale.

FYI they released a version of the trilogy with all three games stitched together to form a single big game.

Yes, I got all three games + the version you're talking about, but I preferred to play something shorter and try different class for each game.

 

[DraQ]

Yeah I want to get DUSK too but I gotta finish Quake II now.

That's probably a waste of your time unless you're really having fun there.

 

[Modron]

Early access Bannerlord is rather unfinished in kingdom management features, but the visceral combat is still there.
Worth the early buy since COVID19 gives me plenty of time and nothing to play.

Brave Sir Robin ran away.
Bravely ran away away.
When danger reared its ugly head.
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes brave Sir Robin turned about.
And gallantly he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet.
He beat a very brave retreat.
Bravest of the brave Sir Robin.

 

[jebsmoker]

receiver 2 and fallout: nevada. receiver 2 tickles my itch for roguelike gameplay with detailed gun porn. fallout: nevada tickles my itch for nuanced and enjoyable slavjank.