What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Marc]

They're not my bag, I actually got into Oblivion for a while when I first got a 360, but those games are a lot of smoke and mirrors and tend to fall apart when you look to closely at their mechanics. I like the idea of them though, which it why I thought BotW might be my bag - taking the open world I did appreciate about those games and mixing in some classic Zelda mechanics, but I dunno... I didn't see anything on the way to Kakariko that made me want to stop and investigate, it feels quite barren just for the sake of being big. I want to like it - the visuals in particular are among the most astonishing I've ever seen, and the whole environment feels alive in a way that other open world usually don't, but I don't like the idea of simply running back and forward across a map of that size for the next 60+ hours. I'll probably give it another few sessions and see what happens.

[Sumez]

marc: do you generally like big open world rpgs? cause from what i've seen (i haven't played it) that's exactly what BotW is. so, sure, you need to go to kakariko village, and it will take ten minutes to get there, but more than likely it will actually take an hour or more to get there as on the way you see something to explore which leads to something else that catches your eye etc ad infinitum. from what i gather, if this isn't your sort of thing you might not like BotW.

This Who just walks straight to Kakariko in BOTW? :O

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I can understand the dauntingness of an open world game. The main reason I haven't put any time into Oblivion yet is because I've seen the difficulty scaling and the levelling system apparently requires extensive min-maxing and really strange choices for maximizing stat gains. Apparently Skyrim rectifies this though, but I haven't had the chance to really get into either game because I haven't been in the mood for a massive open world "get lost in the game" sort of thing.

System Shock/Bioshock fans: have you heard of Wrath of Earth? Relatively unknown with little info around for it. Looks and seems to play amazingly well for the time it was made. It's an early MS-DOS game that has a basic 3D engine (no vertical movement, think System Shock complexity running on a Wolfenstein engine). You're in a powered suit that recharges in lit areas such as outdoors, or indoor ambient lighting. All of the weapons are equipped initially, but for the stronger ones you need to locate ammo, whereas some use the suit's built in energy (which also recharges shields). You have various modes to cycle through such as infrared sensors for seeing high temperature areas (and radioactive areas which tend to be high temp), a radar system for detecting enemies, a basic inventory system, keyboard and mouse controls (the mouse is handy for the suit's various functions, which are clickable toggles as well as keyboard shortcuts).

Apparently someone ran into a bug on a later level where they could not locate a keycard necessary to advance, but I'm not 100% sure it's a bug or just something overlooked. At any rate there's a clip through walls cheat to get around that if I run into anything like that. Really looking forward to seeing how it holds up compared to System Shock.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Oblivion is definitely a bit goofy with the level scaling. One of the safest bets is just to beat the game at a very low level which is pretty counter-intuitive.

What I typically do with open world games is chug through and tell myself I'll check out random stuff later, which of course I never do.

[Marc]

Shock Troopers, main thought about this so far is fuck Nintendo and their shitty switch controller. Thing gives me a dead thumb with prolonged use, enough so that I might have to rebuy for PS4. Game is fun, though I got my ass beat on the initial few credits. Did manage to make it halfway through the 4th stage on ‘easy’ (I presume) path. Not a fan of the bit where it makes you dangle from ropes while enemies swarm the screen, other than that good stuff. Second stage and boss seems to be more difficult that the third though. Was on my ass by the end of the second, but on the third managed to knife enough guys to make most of my energy back, didn’t get hit for the entire stage, and the boss was a piece of piss.

Yeah, BotW finally clicked. Got sent off to get the not-Switch updated and found myself messing about with all sorts of side quests, farming for minerals, spotting seed puzzles everywhere, and generally having a whale of a time. Again, I have to say that this is one of the most coherent, believable game worlds I've ever seen. The art direction is utterly stunning, that Nintendo have managed to make the game look the way it does on 'underpowered' hardware is an incredible achievement. It's one of only a handful of games I've played which can stop me in my tracks just to look at stuff.

[Stevens]

More SOR Remake.

Never played Rudra before yesterday. She feels similar to Blaze (three specifically, but with a shitty meter move set. Probably won't spend any more time with Rudra. Don't love how she plays.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

More SOR Remake.

Never played Rudra before yesterday. She feels similar to Blaze (three specifically, but with a shitty meter move set. Probably won't spend any more time with Rudra. Don't love how she plays.

Are you playing with SoR3 Pause Delay? or Combined Pause Delay? She's hit with slow, SoR2 speed combos if you play in Combined Pause delay, which makes Rudra more or less useless at high speeds in Mania difficulty. If you play at SoR3 speed Pause Delay (the most appropriate speed for the crazy fast enemies on Mania in my opinion) then she's fantastic.

Rudra's very different from Blaze I'd say. Her jump kick has slightly less range, but her 0 star blitz is vastly more useful for rushing down groups as well as close range damage linked to her standing combo. She also has that visually impressive rear grab attack that works on all enemies, even the heavyweight ones. Her offensive special is generally bad though as the shuriken do not pierce multiple enemies and do low damage. In a one on one fight though or for getting kneeling enemies to approach you it has its uses due to it being an unblockable projectile, but generally her defensive special is the one you will be using. I think her run speed is also a bit faster?

The 0 star blitz she has (which is always available along with the star blitzes under X button blitz type) is vastly better at quick group knockdowns and keeps her mobile, and she also has a decent jump kick. I quite enjoy Rudra, and it's easy to see why she's one of the more popular characters in spite of made for the Remake and not an original series character.

[Stevens]

More SOR Remake.

Never played Rudra before yesterday. She feels similar to Blaze (three specifically, but with a shitty meter move set. Probably won't spend any more time with Rudra. Don't love how she plays.

Are you playing with SoR3 Pause Delay? or Combined Pause Delay? She's hit with slow, SoR2 speed combos if you play in Combined Pause delay, which makes Rudra more or less useless at high speeds in Mania difficulty. If you play at SoR3 speed Pause Delay (the most appropriate speed for the crazy fast enemies on Mania in my opinion) then she's fantastic.

Rudra's very different from Blaze I'd say. Her jump kick has slightly less range, but her 0 star blitz is vastly more useful for rushing down groups as well as close range damage linked to her standing combo. She also has that visually impressive rear grab attack that works on all enemies, even the heavyweight ones. Her offensive special is generally bad though as the shuriken do not pierce multiple enemies and do low damage. In a one on one fight though or for getting kneeling enemies to approach you it has its uses due to it being an unblockable projectile, but generally her defensive special is the one you will be using. I think her run speed is also a bit faster?

The 0 star blitz she has (which is always available along with the star blitzes under X button blitz type) is vastly better at quick group knockdowns and keeps her mobile, and she also has a decent jump kick. I quite enjoy Rudra, and it's easy to see why she's one of the more popular characters in spite of made for the Remake and not an original series character.

I think SOR 3 delay, but I have to check. I did like that the hit box on her 3 star blitz will hit enemies standing slightly behind you. I guess I would say it seems to hit enemies Axel's 3 star (the jumping portion) would miss. Her Izuna drop is super satisfying to use too (that sound effect), I just like my characters with a little more punch.

I'm not near a mania run yet, but have been thinking about it.

[Mero]

Today I've cumulatively done about 5 hours grinding for skills before a tough boss on Digital Devil Saga 2, and I'm not quite finished yet.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Yakuza Kiwami 2 complaint: I wish there were some girls for the cabaret that you got from side stories like before. It's kind of sterile just getting them from the way you do it in this game.

[kaicooper]

been trying to play some underrated or bad games from the past
so ended up playing Kane & Lynch:Dead Men
this game need a remake..fantastic concept but gameplay is terrible
AI and shooting mechanics are broken..last act empty seems rushed
while i likd first and second act ALOT...
======

then played Kand & Lynch 2 Dog Days
this game...aaaahhh..one of best underrated for sure..why?
cus this's a CULT for me..its like a bad or overlooked movie from 80's
then appreciate more after years...such a fantastic game
everything superiors to its original

lighting and shaky cam worked for me well..

[kitten]

been trying to play some underrated or bad games from the past
so ended up playing Kane & Lynch:Dead Men
this game need a remake..fantastic concept but gameplay is terrible
AI and shooting mechanics are broken..last act empty seems rushed
while i likd first and second act ALOT...
======

then played Kand & Lynch 2 Dog Days
this game...aaaahhh..one of best underrated for sure..why?
cus this's a CULT for me..its like a bad or overlooked movie from 80's
then appreciate more after years...such a fantastic game
everything superiors to its original

lighting and shaky cam worked for me well..

this is a legit post, dog days rules

[Blinge]

Baha.

You're never safe from the Dog Days... https://youtu.be/KKHX99udeqY

[kitten]

w-what is the context of this one?

i mean, it is amusing

[Blinge]

aha, there's a years old story to it.

Having seen reviews of Kane & Lynch 2, it had the reputation of being one of the worst games of last generation
I bought it for £3 and gave it as a joke birthday gift to erstwhile forum member JWS, the friend who got me into shmups in the first place.

He left it at my house next time he visited.
The next time, I hid it in his bag.
He left it at our other friend's place on his bookshelf.
I found it under my pillow some months later.

These were the dog days

I stole it from JWS as he prepared to move to Japan, and said I had merely hidden it.
He said "I can't find that game, man you hid it really well.."
Two years later I visited Japan, with a mission.

Unfortunately I never got the chance to plant the game on him, just threw it into his bag while he was rummaging in it.

[kitten]

the hidden story of dog days.........

[BulletMagnet]

Yakuza Kiwami 2 complaint: I wish there were some girls for the cabaret that you got from side stories like before. It's kind of sterile just getting them from the way you do it in this game.

I found one that does come from a side story, presumably there are more, though seemingly not nearly as many as in the Clan Creator...which, frankly, I'm not a big fan of so far, mainly because the camera doesn't let you see the entire playfield and makes it easy for baddies to slip by your goons and start wrecking stuff (in 6 you had to pan the camera too, but for some reason I didn't have the same problem there...I think the areas were more elongated and less wide). The "defensive" style is a bit more strategic than its predecessor, but also doesn't have quite the same zip to it - I felt more pumped putting together a posse when the goal was to invade territory and crack skulls, preserving boxes and vans just doesn't have the same appeal, theme song or no theme song.

Also, mea culpa number two - for the first (?) time in the series, you can move freely back and forth between the two cities almost from the outset, instead of being tied down to one or the other by the story until the very end, so I'm glad to see that too. Definitely an improvement on 6 overall, though so far it's still a notch or two below Zero and Kiwami 1.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Yakuza Kiwami 2 complaint: I wish there were some girls for the cabaret that you got from side stories like before. It's kind of sterile just getting them from the way you do it in this game.

I found one that does come from a side story, presumably there are more, though seemingly not nearly as many as in the Clan Creator...which, frankly, I'm not a big fan of so far, mainly because the camera doesn't let you see the entire playfield and makes it easy for baddies to slip by your goons and start wrecking stuff (in 6 you had to pan the camera too, but for some reason I didn't have the same problem there...I think the areas were more elongated and less wide). The "defensive" style is a bit more strategic than its predecessor, but also doesn't have quite the same zip to it - I felt more pumped putting together a posse when the goal was to invade territory and crack skulls, preserving boxes and vans just doesn't have the same appeal, theme song or no theme song.

Also, mea culpa number two - for the first (?) time in the series, you can move freely back and forth between the two cities almost from the outset, instead of being tied down to one or the other by the story until the very end, so I'm glad to see that too. Definitely an improvement on 6 overall, though so far it's still a notch or two below Zero and Kiwami 1.

Ah. There hasn't been yet, and I've done all the sub stories available but I've also been doing the cabaret mini-game as soon as it unlocked. So it's in another chapter I'm guessing, but I definitely should have waited before making that assumption.

[mycophobia]

I played a lot of Jurassic Park Arcade on the cruise I just got back from. for a modern western light gun game it's surprisingly fair and fun. there's a lot of bs involving the game tricking you into shooting your teammates but those moments are easily memorized and there's nothing that's unavoidable as far as I could tell. There's three missions, each scored separately, of three stages each, and I was able to do the first one on one credit (about 10 minutes) and I have no reason to believe I couldn't eventually do the second one too. you can take about three hits before game over, but there's no health refills so doing all three missions in one credit is probably pretty tricky. audiovisually it does the job, nothing eyepopping. overall a fine product

the Walking Dead game I also played, on the other hand, sucks ass and is completely unfair. lots of really tough moments where you have to save people from zombies and if you don't then you take a full hit, but if you do you get a "health bonus" which is like a centimeter added to your health bar. also if you survive for like ~3 minutes enemy hits start taking half a health bar (so basically two hits and you're dead even if you've taken no damage up to that point). also there's a lot more cheap hits that are just too hard to avoid compared with Jurassic Park. I was able to clear the first of four total stages on one credit once and after that I decided it just wasn't worth putting more money into.

[evil_ash_xero]

I finished Monster Hunter World (I took a BIG hiatus from gaming...I was just totally fried). Really enjoyed it. I'm still playing it some. Going back and taking out stronger monsters (eat me, Black Diablos).
I also got it on PC, so I started a new game, and I am enjoying the better visuals and framerate.

Main game I am working on is Dragon Quest XI. I'm having mixed feelings on it. It's good though. It seems like it's wanting to start you out simple, and is opening up, and getting more complex. I'm very early on, so I'll just have to see.
Playing it with the Stronger Monsters option, and am VERY glad they added that. Combat is fun, and challenging.

[Immryr]

what do you mean you finished MHW? the story is just a long tutorial. the real game is farming tempered monsters and elder dragons for decorations and augmentations. unfortunately there aren't really enough monsters in the game to keep this interesting for long. this is why i haven't played it since just after deviljho was added. i'm sure they will keep supporting the game and adding monsters though, so i'm just waiting for enough to be added to keep me interested for a while before returning.

i've still been playing fallout new vegas. i'm around 18 hours in at the min and not really doing anything specific, just wandering around. it feels like the game really wants me to side with one of the factions, but none of them are appealing to me. i've never really been a joiner or someone to identify with groups, so i'm basically wandering around helping people out at random just to give me something to do.

still not sure i'm actually enjoying it, but i'm still playing it....

-edit- after playing a couple more hours I'm feeling insanely bored of this game. It should be called post apocalyptic errand boy. I don't think I can take any more of this tedium.

[Blinge]

Oh nooo.

How far in the 'main' quest are you?
Have you met Yes Man ?

Something to see before you quit, I guess:

Spoiler

find vault 11

[Immryr]

no idea how far in the main quest i am. i'm in new vegas strip, i've met mr house..... i dunno who yes man is.

[Blinge]

I suggest confronting Benny and letting whatever happens at the Tops play out.
You can be less of an errand boi after that.

The nice thing about tracking Benny and his strange bedfellows/ Khan entourage, is that you don't have to.
You could just assume he's gone to Vegas and go there yourself rather than following tips and having to do quests that lead you there.
The game will adapt and skip all the scenic route/ Repconn Test Site stuff on the main quest line, yet still leave them as sidequests to do if you return later.

[Immryr]

ehhh. maybe i'll do that and continue a bit but.... so far the game has had no redeming features to me, other than being easy for me to mindlessly sit and play for several hours at a time. i have no engagement with the story or world, i haven't found any of the characters or dialogue interesting, the combat is meh, the character progression has mainly been me thinking "ok i need 25 speech for that quest", "ok i need 50 science for that quest".... etc. i just don't think these kinds of games are for me. in general i haven't been enjoying rpgs for a while even though i used to love them. however...................


I just started playing Wizardry tale of the forsaken land on ps2 and this is exactly the kind of game i wanted to play. it's basically like an etrian odyssey game with some slight differences (from what i've seen so far). the main change is that in the dungeon you see all enemies moving around, not just FOEs and your movement is tile based, but it's not turn based movement like EO or a roguelike.

to me, the character art in this game is 100x better than the etrian odyssey games, but the music is not as good. i can live with that.


one thing that i'm not sure/unhappy about so far is... and it has nothing to do with the game itself... i bought this off ebay and it was about £10 cheaper than it generally goes for... the game arrived and has a german/italian manual/cover but the game is in english. kind of torn about whether i should send it back and get a copy with an english manual, or just keep this one.....

[Blinge]

A miniscule amount of quests are actually locked behind skill barriers like that, so much that the only one I can remember is fixing E.d.e. There's usually other answers?

But Ok. Gonna pull out of this one,
I really enjoyed New Vegas but don't have the energy to explain why.

[Immryr]

pretty much all the side quests i found while wandering around basically broke down to either, you need x speech or x science or x lockpick etc. often there was two of the stats that you had the option of having, but if you didn't have either then you couldn't do it.

[BurlyHeart]

I just 1cc'd SOR 2 on my birthday! After weeks of practicing on the Hardest difficulty (one below mania), I decided to try a 1cc on the default settings. It was a breeze truth be told, but I'm still happy

[Sumez]

Yeah, BotW finally clicked. Got sent off to get the not-Switch updated and found myself messing about with all sorts of side quests, farming for minerals, spotting seed puzzles everywhere, and generally having a whale of a time. Again, I have to say that this is one of the most coherent, believable game worlds I've ever seen. The art direction is utterly stunning, that Nintendo have managed to make the game look the way it does on 'underpowered' hardware is an incredible achievement. It's one of only a handful of games I've played which can stop me in my tracks just to look at stuff.

I'm glad it managed to click! I didn't think much of it while playing the plateau, but once you are let loose in the world, and find points of interest in all directions, it's impossible for me not to get enthralled. It really sets a new standard for the modern "open world" formula.

[mycophobia]

Playing through Chrono Trigger for the first time. Well the first time past the first three or so hours of the game, anyway. The art and music are incredible, but I'm not super fond of the battle system. Kind of would have preferred just straight turn-based tbh...too much pressure to make a decision lol. Anyways I think I'm almost at the end and I'm almost certainly going to go ahead with new game+ after