What game are you wasting time on?

[Grampy_Bone]

Finished Days Gone. Pretty decent open world Consoom product game. A good mix between Rockstar style long interconnected storylines and Ubisoft style emergent content. The hordes were particularly fun to fight and presented a good overall challenge. The story was well done, interesting characters and a surprising lack of melodrama, i.e. they didn't go for the cheap scene of "someone I love has been bitten oh noes I must shoot them argh I will killmyself instead oh woe is me the apocalypse is morally teh hardz."

The story involves the biker hero looking for his missing wife he got separated from during the initial outbreak:

Spoiler

After giving her up for dead he finds her with some hardcore militia guys planning to conquer the wasteland. He gave her a ring when they separated but now some black dude has it. I really thought they were going for the cuck angle, like she thought you were dead, had completely moved on, and was banging the black dude. You would have to face the dilemma that she was alive but didn't love you anymore. The actor who plays the protagonist Deacon was really selling me on his emotional state so that would have been brutal.

But instead they wimped out and just had the black guy take the ring because he liked it, and she's still fully in love with you, the militia turns evil because muh right wingers and everything magically works out in the end.

Oh well, there was still a nice epilogue and wrap up of all the characters, plus a weird post-game stinger scene for sequel bait. I don't know if it sold well enough to get one. I liked it more than Horizon Zero Dawn anyway.

Also had maybe the best story quest of all time. Deacon's biker friend "Boozeman" loses his arm after being tortured by insane cultists. He can't ride anymore so he's stuck working on a farm.

The game gives you a mission: CHECK ON BOOZER.

*drive up to farm* *boozer is tilling soil one-handed and looking pathetic*

Deacon: "Hey Boozeman, how you doing?"

Boozer: "The fuck you think I'm doing?"

QUEST COMPLETE.

Lulz

 

[octavius]

I had so much fun playing Heroes Chronicles: The Sword of Frost with a gimped main hero and using Auto-Combat to make it more challenging, that I decided to replay Warlord of the Wasteland using the same ground rules.
The darndest thing is that I can't remember anything from it despite playing it only a few years ago. The writing is still fan fiction level, but the map design at least have some clever touches on a couple of the maps so far, and they are not as formulaic (using the same gimmics or type of map design for a whole campign) as later HC's and expansion campaigns would become.

Trying my best I was unable to gimp Tarnum as much as I would have liked. His only really useless skills are Scouting (still nice for a useless skill) and Artillery, and Ballistics and Pathfinding are skills I often choose anyway. But no Logistics, Wisdom or Magic skills still makes him quite gimped, making his ungimped secondaries all the more important.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I bought Left 4 Dead 2 off Steam last night for $2. That's right, 2 fucking bucks! Man, that's sweet when I get something that's supposedly one of the greatest co-op games of all time for a price like that and still have full online multiplayer capabilities. It just had a MAJOR community update too. I loved Dying Light so I might really enjoy this. Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

 

[d1r]

I bought Left 4 Dead 2 off Steam last night for $2. That's right, 2 fucking bucks! Man, that's sweet when I get something that's supposedly one of the greatest co-op games of all time for a price like that and still have full online multiplayer capabilities. It just had a MAJOR community update too. I loved Dying Light so I might really enjoy this. Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

I can't believe that there are people out there who haven't played L4D/2 up until this point. lol

There's nothing really to consider here, besides to stay away from Versus. Game mode is good, but hella toxic, and you obviously need the map knowledge.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I bought Left 4 Dead 2 off Steam last night for $2. That's right, 2 fucking bucks! Man, that's sweet when I get something that's supposedly one of the greatest co-op games of all time for a price like that and still have full online multiplayer capabilities. It just had a MAJOR community update too. I loved Dying Light so I might really enjoy this. Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

I can't believe that there are people out there who haven't played L4D/2 up until this point. lol

There's nothing really to consider here, besides to stay away from Versus. Game mode is good, but hella toxic, and you obviously need the map knowledge.

I didn't play it up until now because I think zombies are the most overused, overrated fucking super-trend in the history of movies, television, books and gaming with the most extreme examples of low quality product in the history of horror. And though I used to regard The Walking Dead universe as majestic before it turned into a huge, reeking heap of SJW artistic offal. I do like Romero-esque zombies and scenarios done right, and stuff that oozes quality. I'm assuming this game will be that, and similar to another decent entry in the genre - the aforementioned Dying Light. So yeah, it took me a while to get back into the idea of wanting to play with zombies again... years in fact.

 

[Ghulgothas]

I bought Left 4 Dead 2 off Steam last night for $2. That's right, 2 fucking bucks! Man, that's sweet when I get something that's supposedly one of the greatest co-op games of all time for a price like that and still have full online multiplayer capabilities. It just had a MAJOR community update too. I loved Dying Light so I might really enjoy this. Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

Go through all the vanilla campaigns first before you dip your toes into the mod scene. It's not on-the-level of enduring passion like you'd get with Thief mods, but there's some great Custom Campaigns out there. Everything else... is subjective.

 

[JDR13]

I loved Dying Light so I might really enjoy this. Is there anything I should know before playing?

Don't get your hopes up that it's going to be anything like Dying Light.

 

[Catacombs]

Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

It's much better played with friends.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Is there anything I should know before playing? Tips for extra fun? I'm a total newbie to the Left 4 Dead series.

It's much better played with friends.

Well, most of the people I know personally that play games online regularly are Fortnite-tards that throw their money into microtransations to buy those cool psychedelic pogosticks or whatever so there goes that prospect. I wouldn't respect them in the morning anyway. I do see a few Left 4 Dead fans mentioning that bots can used in single-player in place of humans and will be almost as fun as with co-op players, so if anyone here has anything to say about that, please go ahead. Come, come, you're among friends here.

 

[Krivol]

FM2020.

It's a crack.

 

[Machocruz]

Well, most of the people I know personally that play games online regularly are Fortnite-tards that throw their money into microtransations to buy those cool psychedelic pogosticks or whatever so there goes that prospect. I wouldn't respect them in the morning anyway. I do see a few Left 4 Dead fans mentioning that bots can used in single-player in place of humans and will be almost as fun as with co-op players, so if anyone here has anything to say about that, please go ahead. Come, come, you're among friends here.

I found the bots more reliable than playing with strangers, as they always stick close to you and, well, they are CPU so they are omniscient of what's going around them. So if you get 'kidnapped' by a smoker or something, they are immediately on it whereas a lot of times human players either won't be paying attention or will leave you to the wolves.

So I think the true experience is co-op, but you might want to play with bots first to learn the maps and not worry about getting left behind.

 

[Machocruz]

Well, most of the people I know personally that play games online regularly are Fortnite-tards that throw their money into microtransations to buy those cool psychedelic pogosticks or whatever so there goes that prospect. I wouldn't respect them in the morning anyway. I do see a few Left 4 Dead fans mentioning that bots can used in single-player in place of humans and will be almost as fun as with co-op players, so if anyone here has anything to say about that, please go ahead. Come, come, you're among friends here.

Was just thinking of reinstalling it.

I found the bots more reliable than playing with strangers, as they always stick close to you and, well, they are CPU so they are omniscient of what's going around them. So if you get 'kidnapped' by a smoker or something, they are immediately on it whereas a lot of times human players either won't be paying attention or will leave you to the wolves.

So while I admit the true experience is co-op, you might want to play with bots first to learn the maps without threat of getting left behind

 

[baud]

I have been playing through Halo: ODST and I'm finding really nice so far (I just have the last level to complete). In particular I appreciate the parts alone in the city, when you go from one level to the next. It makes for a nice quiet moments with some exploration and some fights that can be avoided. In addition to that, it's a change of pace, so fighting nearly always the same enemies doesn't feel stale. Writing is serviceable, perhaps even better than the main installments, but mostly due to the fact there's more than two characters who can talk.
The flamethrower and gravity hammer are still so much fun to use and both were available in areas where they were usable.

On the other hand, I just feel the enemies are even more bullet spongy, but it might be caused by using the wrong type of weapons. Also setting the tank level in narrow streets with no room to maneuver was a bad choice, it would have been much better outside the city limits. The color palette, especially when using the night vision, is drab.

In the end, it's still a Halo game, so if it's not your cup of tea, it won't change your mind.


While playing in the city street sections, I was wondering if it was possible to have similar levels (as in city block-sized levels), but having actual objectives, instead of just clicking on the button, like in ODST. That way you'd have a large map, objectives that you could do in any order, exploration to do (maybe a few secrets here and there) and less linearity than modern shooters. What do you think?

 

[octavius]

Completed Heroes Chronicles: Warlords of the Wasteland for the second time, but it was like playing it for the first time 'cause I couldn't remember anything of it!
With a gimped main hero (no Logistics or magic skills), no secondaries (Tarnum decided to poison them in a rather un-barbarian like manner) and using Auto-Combat the last map provided some challenge, at least before I was able to beat the main enemy hero for the second time.
But the final fight was a major anti-climax; I thought the "impregnable" Steelhorn would be some neutral city with 100 Titans or something, but instead it was the last enemy city, almost depleted. So lots of logistics wasted when Tarnum could just have used five Titans for the final stretch.

Even with the above mentioned handicaps and playing on Impossible, I still finish the maps too quick to follow the storyline:

After the death of the woman he fell in love with, Yalla, and the murder of one of the bards by the wizards, Tarnum's noble intentions become a sinister quest for blood and revenge. Decided to destroy the Wizard-Kings at all costs, he enslaves the inhabitants of the Mudlands and orders villages of "traitors" to be burned to the ground, even causing the death of one of his long-lost sisters.

Never saw any mention of the deaths of Yalla or his sister, and this time I actually read all of the text, which was not too verbose in this Chronicle.

EDIT: I got the same score (2115) playing with handicaps as I did when I played normal.

 

[DalekFlay]

Just finished Crysis 2. It mostly sucks. The first handful of levels out of 15 or so are actually the best ones, with open zones and human enemies that are fun to lethal stealth like the predator. Around a third of the way in it turns full CoD for no apparent reason, as me and AW8 said above. The levels turn super linear and you are forced to go full combat. They don't even give you a silenced weapon for like 7 levels, there's no option but to run n' gun. Towards the end they give you a nice stealth focused level I enjoyed before another few levels where you're literally told to stealth and run by everything. The earpiece voices are literally like "don't waste your time fighting, just get through!" Those early levels can be fun with the right expectations and mindset though.

The story never gets better, it actually gets worse. Just completely jumbled and nonsensical. You're forced to do everything random evil strangers tell you to do, and even when one double-crosses you after a while you STILL inject yourself with something you have no idea what is because he tells you to. Baffling. You also save the day by walking into a room? And the suits were actually designed all along to like... be infectious to the aliens? What? The ending literally has another random guy you never heard of before start talking to you... "let me introduce myself, I'm Joe Blow..." and then credits. Just such insanely bad storytelling, which is a shame because the visual design and spectacle can be quite good.

One thing I will give the game is the graphics are amazing. It's 9 years old and other than a bad texture here and there I'd put it up against almost any modern game.

 

[Puukko]

After a long break from MP games outside MMOs, I grabbed GTFO and played for a few hours with buddies. It is good fun and definitely my preferred style of zombie shooter over L4D and such.

It handles atmosphere well and you feel like the odds are stacked against you. This is the sort of game where one badly handled stealth kill can alert the room and result in your team getting swarmed. The game puts emphasis on lighting and darkness, but the plastic look of a Unity game is still there, even if obscured. They put effort into the zombies which was the correct call. The devs don't recommend the game to everyone and neither will I since it really is difficult and you do need a full premade group.

 

[Ivan]

Finished Creaks Amanita Design's 2020 offering: TLDR great puzzle game w/great visuals, sound, and music

Creaks is Amanita design's stab at a puzzle/platformer, much like Playdead's games Limbo and Inside. It starts off very much like Silent Hill 4/Alice in Wonderland. You discover a hole in your wall that leads to this huge structure. As you descend, you come to meet a small crew of characters that need your help with a problem. Puzzles are presented in linear fashion, with every ten or so introducing a new enemy or puzzle mechanic. I was never truly stumped, but there were one or two puzzles that I had to take a break and come back to. It amazes me how well of a job Amanita does to develop its characters through animations and noises alone. If I had to levy one criticism against the game, it would be that there are a few puzzles that rely on player timing that can lead to some buggy results (not running back in time might cause a visual glitch, which may give some the false idea that their idea is wrong, but really they just need to execute it faster). Really though, I find it very hard to find much to complain about. The game has a great pace, introduces new ideas consistently, and is always a sheer joy to look at. Christ, I haven't even mentioned the sound. Impeccable soudn work and a fantastic score that adapts to your progress in each puzzle.

Final thoughts: Creaks has easily the best ending of any Amanita game I've played. It does so much through sheer animation to develop its characters that I was completely floored by the ending. It also features an absolute banger of a song to wrap things up, as is typical of their games. Final thoughts: it's incredible all the little details there is to each individual room. It's like you're slowly descending into this tapestry that's unfolding before you. It reminds me of Silent Hill The Room, Alice in Wonderland, Tom Waits. A truly wonderful experience with a perfect ending.

 

[octavius]

Continuing with Heroes Chronicles, this time The World Tree.

After the ultra lame Conquest of the Underworld, the first map in this mini (5 maps) campaign was a real struggle, with three Necros against one Stronghold on a Small map. The attrition due to auto combat (Wolf R(a)iders last only one battle, often just one round) was painful on this map, so I had to use lame tactics like luring the AI towards my castle and then recruit as much as I could afford and attack, instead of just pressing onwards all the time which is my usual play style.

But I'm glad at least one of the HCs provide a challenge.
The World Tree was a free (if you have bought the two first HCs) DLC, and seems to be unconnected with the main storyline; just a side adventure for Tarnum.

 

[Abu Antar]

I finished Deus Ex GO on my phone. My least favourite GO game by Square Enix.

In Suikoden II, I have recruited 100 of 108 heroes. The next time I boot it up, I am at the point where I can recruit the remaining Stars of Destiny. I could have beaten the game hours ago, but I'm experimenting with different heroes that I usually just let rot on the sidelines. It will be the first time I gather all SoD in the game. Overall, the game is great. I just feel like the story should have been over after you beat a certain someone. Not that I mind playing more, but the person I'm talking about should have been the main villain, but the series is all about the runes.
I will replay Suikoden III after this. It's the only remaining game in the series where I haven't recruited all 108 SoD.

On the crpg front, I'm rotating between Geneforge 4, Wasteland 3 and Underrail.

 

[bertram_tung]

emulating breath of the wild in 4k/60fps is pretty awesome

 

[Catacombs]

I redownloaded Kingdom Come Deliverance and sunk a ton of hours into it this week. It's still janky AF, but it's a fun thief simulator.

 

[Puukko]

Phasmophobia, the EA coop ghost busting game. Pretty janky for sure, but the atmosphere and horror are done really well. I can't stand straight up horror and this game with buddies is just about the limit of what I can handle. The gist of it is to use various tools to figure out what kind of ghost is haunting the place and accomplish objectives (photograph the ghost/use specific tool/survive an encounter) using various typical ghosting hunting tools from crucifixes and salt to EMF readers and ouija boards. It constantly detects voice input and you can use commands to try and get the ghost to do stuff and call out its name to anger it. For a game supposedly halfway through development, it has a good amount of content already. Some ten different types of ghosts and fairly large environments too, though I am low level still so I only got a glimpse of those. It has something like 97% positive ratings and a lot of players thanks to big name REACTION Jewtubers covering it.

 

[Gamezor]

I'm playing Death Stranding, which is fantastic. It's different than anything else I've played or probably anyone has played because far as I know, nothing like it exists. The whole game is about traversal and building traversal methods to get from one place to another. Especially once you unlock ziplines and start building routes with them, it exercises a totally different part of your brain than I've ever used in a game or in life. It truly is a unique, highly innovative AAA game, and it's oddly meditative and rewarding to play. Considering all of the stuff that could go wrong with bugs with the way the game works, it's impressively bug free. It also features less silly exposition than some of the MGS games (particularly IV ugh). I hope Kojima will make another totally unique game after this one. It doesn't hurt that the game is gorgeous either. Biggest con is the aggressively stupid names that Kojima insists on giving his characters. Die Hardman? Seriously? I do not know if Kojima understands how aggressively and jarringly stupid some of the names sound.

Also play Swordflight, and absolutely majestic NWN module that I highly, highly recommend, but only if you want challenging but fair combat and lots of it.

Had been playing MLB the Show but am sick of it at this point.

Edit: Forgot that in Death Stranding the knot, strand, etc. puns are also pretty unbearable and have to be overlooked.

 

[Catacombs]

The whole game is about traversal and building traversal methods to get from one place to another. Especially once you unlock ziplines and start building routes with them, it exercises a totally different part of your brain than I've ever used in a game or in life. It truly is a unique, highly innovative AAA game, and it's oddly meditative and rewarding to play.

High marks for an overpriced, overhyped walking simulator.

 

[J_C]

emulating breath of the wild in 4k/60fps is pretty awesome

Which console version can you emulate?