Just plain good games that you should buy

[Stevens]

Not sure Marc.

WL3 is turn based/grid combat with dialogue choices that legit affect your playthrough.

[Mischief Maker]

Planescape Torment on a console, played with a pad? Weird. I assume they blow up the dialog text to gigantic size?

[guigui]

I unsurprisingly bought Wasteland 3, huge jump in presentation over 2. 3 looks like a current gen game where as 2 when it came out looked like a really good PS 2 game.

Made a few characters and jumped into the tutorial stage. A huge change I noticed somewhat quickly is how combat is handled - in 2 character order was determined by combat initiative. Each character, regardless of side, took their turn based on this. In 3 you move your team in any order you wish. Not sure how I feel about that yet - having each character slotted by initiative added to the strategy - it feels more like an actual conflict. Your team/my team makes it feel more like a game. Not a deal breaker by any means though. I'm sure in a day or two I'll love it.

Mostly plays the same on a controller as 2 does on the PS 4. Many of the buttons are the same, although I am still figuring a few things out.

Looking forward to diving into this one. I still am going to finish 2 though - game gets really good in the 2nd half.

I've got Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale on PS4 - are they similar?

AFAIK, Planescape Torment has LOTS of text in it. It is very well written for sure, but the main gameplay is to read the story and plan your next action according to how you'd like it to unfold. It has some combats, but not as developed as Wasteland, or original Fallout.

[drauch]

I've played all of these. There's some slight similarities (isometric, WCRPG, lots of choices).

Wasteland 2 is turn-based tactics. There's lots of choices and dialogue, but a good portion of this game is still the combat; or, it at least takes up more time than the other games due to the turn-based nature.

Icewind Dale is very similar to Baldur's Gate if you've played that. Same engine; like playing D&D. Even moreso than BG as you create your entire party. Dialogue and combat is split. Combat is Real-Time with Pause.

Planescape is also on the same Infinity Engine as BG and ID. Not much combat. Mainly just a very strong narrative and lots of text.

Planescape I could imagine getting by on PS4. Icewind Dale on the other hand seems absolutely miserable.

[vol.2]

I've got Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale on PS4 - are they similar?

In addition to what everyone else has already said better than I could:

It's of note that Wasteland 2 was essentially the spiritual successor to the first two Fallout Games and to Fallout Tactics. Because Brian Fargo couldn't hope to get the Fallout Franchise back, he purchased the rights to the Wasteland franchise back from EA. This kind of made sense because the OG Wasteland is a bit of a spiritual fore-runner to the first Fallout game.

What that means is that Wasteland 2 can be viewed in it's relationship to the first three Fallout games (1,2 and Tactics), and as an evolution of that game design. Fans of the original games played an important role during the Kickstarter for the game, and helped to guide it's development.

Planet Scape and Icewind Dale on the other hand, are a particular flavor of CRPG that represents the time when Hasbro (the toy company) owned the rights to make DnD franchise games. I can't add anything more to that than drauch already did, except that they are held up as historical examples of the best of what they were.

[Mortificator]

Personally, concerning isometric narrative-light build-your-own-party D&D adventures (whew!) I like The Temple of Elemental Evil more than Icewind Dale. The pausable real-time system of the Infinity Engine games was always a compromise of depth for accessibility. It's fine for something with a really involved story like Torment, but for a game where you're going to spend most of your time fighting I want the meatier turn-based combat. I like ToEE's character creation better too, classes aren't so monolithic.

It's only on PC, though, and needs a modpack to get up to snuff. Typical Troika, the retail release was a disaster.

[cave hermit]

You know, there are so many good games out there. Thing is the majority of good games that have come out don't really push the graphical envelope and thrive more on their gameplay (as they generally should). Factorio, Hades, Monster Train, none of those games really are gonna make your GPU scream, but they are all fantastic games.

But what if I want a game that actually justifies my having a RTX 3080, AND is also a good game in its own right? I thought cyberpunk 2077 would be THE game to let me flex my top of the line GPU, but... well we all know how that turned out.

So how about some good games that take some significant horsepower to run?

Off the top of my head, anything that's on RE engine (Resident evil 7, RE2 and RE3 remakes, Devil may cry V), Doom Eternal, can't really think of much else.

[Stevens]

Have you played Noita?

[XoPachi]

I think this is my 3rd playthrough of Deus Ex MD.....I've had this game for two weeks.
I fiended on HR 2 years ago. I'm sad the third game was cancelled. But both of these are quite fun.

[Marc]

In an ideal world, I'd find time for another playthough of HR. I did enjoy MD, but found it less satisfying, I think due to the large open world. Id' be all over a remake of the original, one of the greatest games of all time for me.

[Sengoku Strider]

I think this is my 3rd playthrough of Deus Ex MD.....I've had this game for two weeks.
I fiended on HR 2 years ago. I'm sad the third game was cancelled. But both of these are quite fun.

Same, I loved the world & character they'd built up. I avoided MD for a long time because of how negatively it was received...lots of talk of it being an unfinished game etc. When I finally did get it, I loved it, mainlined it in like 4 days, then promptly went & bought all the DLC. I could not for the life of me figure out what people were on about. It was a great time, it wasn't an "unfinished story," it was very obviously your classic trilogy setup. After finishing it I went to look up the chances of a sequel, and...oh