What game are you wasting time on?

[BruceVC]

Im about 80 hours into Gothic 2 and its been the fantastic PB experience I was expecting. Most PB games have the same excellent design which include

• no level scaling and you get killed easily if you try to face all enemies on lower levels
• no map hand holding, you need to actually explore to find quest objectives
• open world, you can go where you want and you can progress your character on multiple paths in different ways

I am now level 25 Paladin and I have just started the dragon hunt, I havent faced any dragons yet but Im killing orcs and other monsters in the Valley of Mines and gaining XP. I like the Paladin magic and ease of use of runes

I adopted a good strategy to kill certain monsters at lower levels which included the following tried and tested PB mechanics

• using spells, most scrolls only use 5 mana
• running away and using long distance attacks
• finding companions and letting them draw aggro and then I helped in combat. Im using Biff the dragon hunter at the moment for that but Im at the level and skill where I dont really need him as much

But its a fantastic game, very entertaining

Is it the best PB game?

Thats such a good question and its going to lead to different subjective views, I have now played all the PB games which include Gothic, Risen and ELEX and I loved them all. But personally I enjoyed ELEX1 the most and then Gothic 3 because of the size of the game world but G2 is definitely my next best

 

[Valestein]

This 2D mech action game where you can dismount and fight on foot too.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I moved onto Dark Souls 2 after completing the Knight's Honour achievement in DS. It's still definitely the worst of the bunch for me, but I have avoided a lot of my previous frustrations by going with a magic build. Sorcery is not nearly as OP as in DS, but at least I'm not fighting the retarded melee tracking as well as the enemies. (Yes all of the games can be silly in this respect, but DS2 takes the cake)

My backup for the pew pews is currently the fire longsword +3, and I'll pick up the magic mace when I get there (I can't remember exactly where it is, maybe Huntman's Copse?)

Again, I made these choices because those weapons have large sweeping strikes, as poking weapons are fucking hopeless in this game. I tried using the rapier for a while to check if this nonsense was fixed, and NOPE. Fucking sideways thrusts at enemies who were right in front of me in No Man's Wharf.

Anyway, something is bugging me. How the fuck do I get over there? It's been a good few years since I played this game, and I'm long done with this area for this run, and I still have never got over there. I don't remember it being an issue before. I can get up to the left of here, above the other cave by jumping from the tree, but then I'm walled off from this part. pls halp

 

[Strange Fellow]

Have you played the DLCs before? If not, make that a priority. They are top notch.

pls halp

That place is only accessible much later in the game.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Have you played the DLCs before? If not, make that a priority. They are top notch.

No, the last time I played I don't think they were released, but I'll definitely be checking them out

That place is only accessible much later in the game.

Cheers!

 

[Late Bloomer]

Anyway, something is bugging me. How the fuck do I get over there?

Much later in the game you'll get the King's Ring and that will unlock a door near the Cardinal Tower bonfire which leads to a whole new section in that level. The only other way is glitching over which I am sure there are some youtube videos showcasing it.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

I think it's a jump you can make, and it's probably not a glitch considering you're not really breaking anything other than the game's sequence.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I've tried it from every angle I can think of. There may be some way to do it, but I'll just get there when I get there

 

[NecroLord]

Playing Kotor and finally found the last piece of the Star Map on Korriban.
Still have some other things to do on Tatooine, Manaan and the Yavin Station. Gotta check on Suvam Tan on the Yavin Station and buy all the crazy gear he has (spoilers: It's REALLY expensive!). I managed to beat him 10 times at Pazaak, so he gave me a 10 percent discount on his stuff as a sign of respect. I rather like Suvam. He's an old rodian inventor who just sits alone and works on his stuff all day...
Tatooine is also pretty cool, a classic Star Wars planet and very important to the setting as a whole.
My light side Scout/Guardian is a freaking killing machine. Double bladed lightsaber + High Str + Master Speed + Master Flurry and Master Power Attack =Absolute carnage.
Now it's time for the final act (Rakatan planet and the Star Forge).
Can't wait to jump to Kotor 2, also known as Avellone's deconstruction of the Star Wars universe and arguably one of his best works.
Space Jesus gonna kick a metric ton of Sith and bounty hunter ass!

 

[Caim]

I've tried it from every angle I can think of. There may be some way to do it, but I'll just get there when I get there

There are two options: jump from the second highest bit of scaffolding on the right to the small horizontal bit of ground on the other side, or finagle your way up the battlements on the wall above, then jump to the scaffolding on the other side. The first jump is much easier, but only grants you access to the Branch of Yore you can find there. Make sure you have quite a bit of health and/or put on the cat ring to mitigate damage, and remove all your armor since that affects fall damage in DS2.

 

[deuxhero]

Finished Doom's Inferno (episode 3). Better than episode 2, since all maps have a clear identity and I never felt I had missed the path of progress and had to check the entire map again. The two teleporter maze levels weren't frustrating, but I imagine they'd be more annoying than charming on further playthroughs. Final boss of episode had more to it than the last one with the option to soften it up and expose its rear with infighting, but still kinda throwaway with nothing to it but "shoot boss". The secret level would likely have worked better if it used a better map than E3M1.

I also realize the major thing episode 1 has had over episode 2 and 3: No lost souls or cacodemons. Those things are more annoying than deadly, and are way more durable than they should be (2 shotgun blasts to kill what is ultimately a flying suicide bomb that comes in lare numbers? 6 to kill a slow, big target with easily dodged attacks?). Cacodemon would be more interesting in mixed groups where its durability is more than just tedium, but aside from a few chances to make them infight with a Baron of Hell, episode 2 and 3 rarely do this.

Now the question: Episode 4, or Doom 2 since it came out first?

 

[Average Manatee]

Lost Souls not going down in 1 shotgun shot is one of the few things objectively bad about Doom. From what I've read most console ports actually fixed this and lowered their health by half. Maps that force you to fight cacodemons, or worse barons of hell, without rockets are purely bad design

Episode 4 because once you get the supershotgun you'll never want to be without it.

 

[NecroLord]

Now the question: Episode 4, or Doom 2 since it came out first?

Thy Flesh Consumed can be pretty rough, especially the first two levels.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

Ep 4 isn't that good. It starts pretty tough and it actually gets easier. Doom 2 has too many maps, it's just a collection of maps in the end. The original 3 episodes of Doom are still the best thing done by id in the series.

 

[deuxhero]

Cleared Ep 4's first two levels and secret level. They were pretty absurd, as though it was a response to people claiming the game was too easy. All four level starts so far (only started level 3 enough to save) have player in a position they can take damage when level starts, which I feel is poor design (and something most Doom levels avoided till now). I did like that cells were more plentiful, since I felt I never really got a chance to use the plasma rifle in ep 2 or 3. Was the secret level meant for multiplayer first? The way it's laid out really seems like a multiplayer map that was repurposed.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

The first level in ep 4 was designed by American McGee. Silly puzzles are his thing. If you find a level that has a puzzle which involved doing shit like shooting at a torch or something, it's his work. Romero said that they did went overboard for the first few levels of Ep 4 under the logic that people who already had mastered the other 3 wouldn't want anything else.

 

[deuxhero]

E4M3: Sever the Wicked:
More enemy spam. The main area is clearly based on an MP focused map, especially with all the ammo thrown at you.
E4M4:
No strong impressions besides the unique end of level. Overall solid level.
E4M5:
What's the deal with the yellow key? The skip is utterly trivial. Otherwise a solid level.
E4M6:
Platforming when you can't jump, long range attackers in a game that's normally at a res so low you can't see them attacking you, and ambushing the player as they teleport in. More damage floor spam that throws enough suits at you it's nothing to anyone who knows even remotely where to go but an FU to others. I think I wasn't supposed to reach the final area the way I did, strafe running off the nearest platform, but I don't really care because I'd rather not keep playing the level.
E4M7:
This level is really brought down by the one before since I started at low health. The closets opening behind you and enemies in pitch black rooms is just annoying. Level just kinda ended when I didn't expect it.
E4M8:
Is the start of this level is just a huge FU to anyone who didn't have BFG and ammo at the start? I like the section the teleporter takes you to, though would have prefered it not be accessed by teleporter. What was the point of the pillars you can lower with all the varying power ups? Only thing left to use that berserk pack on is a bunch of fodder with a baron in the middle, making it a bad choice for that purpose, or enemies you skipped, which are in an open area with lots vertical differences that make it also poorly suited for the area.

Now I've beaten Doom, on to Doom II. Think I'll grab Heretic+Hexen pack for $2.50 when it goes on sale to try those since I enjoyed the demos.

 

[Baron Dupek]

After jumping the ship from Win7 to Win10 (with no going back because HDD just died and with it - my key) I was really curious if Return to Caste Wolfenstein work on new OS.
There was a bunch of issues that no fan patch or source port could fix - broken AI, save corruption
To play RtCW I had to use RealRTCW project and then use addons that turns it into vanilla experience, which is weird way to deal with the problems.
Now - it works without any patches or mods, reached first stealth section and that was enough for me.
Now to find those Win8/10 only to test...

 

[Average Manatee]

deuxhero All levels in Doom 1/2 (and properly made wads) are balanced for starting with just the pistol. This helps each level ramp up the difficulty along with the weapons you have with you at its own pace rather than entering every level with a rocket launcher and BFG. It's not a huge deal for Doom 1 since the episode system is itself a weapon restart, but Doom 2 is entirely continuous and gets trivial and boring very quickly if you carry your entire arsenal and backpack full of ammo with you.

 

[Pentium]

Finally got to play Fallout: Nevada mod and...omg it must be the best Fallout game I've ever played gameplay-wise so far. Dead serious. Of course, encumbered with inevitable flaws and that horribly obsolete engine and gfx and other shortcomings of first Fallouts, still living up to the Legacy of BI. Burn down to ashes, Bethfags.

 

[deuxhero]

deuxhero All levels in Doom 1/2 (and properly made wads) are balanced for starting with just the pistol. This helps each level ramp up the difficulty along with the weapons you have with you at its own pace rather than entering every level with a rocket launcher and BFG. It's not a huge deal for Doom 1 since the episode system is itself a weapon restart, but Doom 2 is entirely continuous and gets trivial and boring very quickly if you carry your entire arsenal and backpack full of ammo with you.

Yeah, but E4M8 seems particularlly ill suited to one. I've checked videos, and they all need to cheese the AI to clear the area after that first door. Even being able to do that is dependent upon finding a very non-indicative secret.

 

[Average Manatee]

What do you call cheese? Dipping in to aggro them and then backing up and using the doorway as a chokepoint? You definitely don't need the secret, although it makes it a lot easier. And it should, and is another reason to pistol start maps. Without pistol start secrets feel like minor rewards rather than something you really search for. If you don't get the secret you'll probably need to use the pistol a little which is still fine, its just shotgunners. They'll mostly kill themselves though if you let them infight, can't even climb the stairs to reach you.

 

[Maculo]

I tried to play Dawn of War 3 again, but I just don't have the stomach for it. Even on the hardest difficulty, it feels brain dead. It shocks me that the developer thought these missions were presentable, especially with Starcraft 2 on the market. Starcraft 2 and Blizzard deserves shit for various reasons, but every mission was somewhat unique and play-tested. In contrast, let's take the first Ork mission, where the "highpoint" of the mission is protecting a canon that doesn't come into play until the very end of the mission. Before you get to that point, you have banal attack-move across the map. When you finally get to the canon, you have to defend it against waves of enemy Eldar. . .that focus fire not on the canon, not on your forces, but any structure you may have built. Thus, building an HQ building slightly off from the canon ties up most of the waves, and because the eldar units don't bring any anti-building/siege units it takes ages for the HQ to go down. It is as though the developers never tested the mission.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

We should have a "Games You're Kinda Sorta Thinking About Playing But Probably Won't" companion topic to this one. Now that I can relate to with my advanced case of choice paralysis. Continuing in that vein, I'm kinda sorta thinking about playing a Ratchet and Clank game because I never really played one since I never got into consoles much after the 16-bit era. I did play the first few minutes of an R&C title on my old PS3, however, and noticed one thing immediately - slowdown, and more slowdown. But the first Rachet and Clank game for PC (Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart) has finally hit Steam, I noticed.

 

[Caim]

But the first Rachet and Clank game for PC (Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart) has finally hit Steam, I noticed.

Am almost seven hours into that one. It strongly builds on the previous games in the series, so most of the characterization and the alternate counterparts of established characters will be lost on you. The gameplay is fantastic and is a refinement of everything Insomniac has learned from 20 years of making Ratchet & Clank games. Current generation power allows for much less of the rectangular levels from the earlier games, and in some levels there's speed both on land and swinging around unlike anything seen before. The arsenal is great and the upgrade system is straightforward, granting power with every upgrade. The story at a basic level is more "multiverse lmao" stuff you've seen before, but each of the four main characters has their own conflict to deal with. The voice acting is on par with the rest of the series, with all major players sounding just like they have before. Rivet and Kit are nice additions to the cast, and they pulled off a genderswap version of a male character without it being cringe. The soundtrack is nice but there's no standout tracks so far, and they got Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame to do the music.

Unfortunately where the game falls a bit flat is the port quality: while there's assloads of visual and gameplay settings there's slowdown even on my rather beefy system, and I've had several visual and gameplay bugs and even a few crashes to desktop.

While I love this game enough that I can somewhat overlook the technical issues, I don't think this should be your first Ratchet & Clank game at all. This builds way too much on the previous entries in the series, and half the conflict will go right over your head if this is your starting point. I'd advice that you first play, at the absolute least, Up Your Arsenal and the Future trilogy (Tools of Destruction, Quest For Booty and A Crack in Time), with QFB being a shorter inbetween for ToD and ACiT).