[Mentalist]

Go one last gut punch of 2020 bad news, and now I'm in hardcore financial skrimping mode. So I pre-ordered the new Age of Empires II DE expansion and that's gonna be the last thing I buy for the next 5-6 months that's not like 80+% discounted.

[Traveller]

I got Days Gone in the PS store.

Reduced to £15 - I knew nothing about it but my brother in law recommended it, so I thought I'd have a look as I've been a bit off games lately.

I've only played a couple of hours, and im finding it to be unexpectedly.. good? I mean, it looks great, the controls are intuitive after a short intro (like flicking the binoculars up to scan, and the melee fighting) and since I've not played a zombie/post apocalypse game for years its actually fresh. I like having a bike instead of a horse for a change.
I like not being a super ninja, expert assassin or something - I'm a somewhat regular looking biker, clambering over crates, smacking things with a bit of 2x4 when things get close, and getting injured a lot which requires patching up. I'm generally finding it quite absorbing.

There are some numbers and percentages that pop up after each section, but whereas a few years ago I would have replayed for a better score, now I'm happy to ignore them and just play the game.

(Its also set post-pandemic, which for some reason appeals to me right now)

This post has been edited by Traveller: 01 January 2021 - 02:59 PM

[Aptorian]

I thought Days Gone was a mess. The story, dialogue, voice work - It's interesting and peculiar in the delivery of Deacon's lines and the more down to earth plot but it's all so ramshackle and undercooked. I played it a couple months after Last of Us Part 2 and Days Gone pales in comparison. The looting is unsatisfactory, the scenarios are copy paste, a lot about the game just feels like a studio who wants to do the things other studios have done with out the necessary vision, budget and talent.

But it was a fine podcast experience.

Pro-tip: The Hordes of Zombies in the game are tuned to the area you're in. So you can and should try to take out some of the hordes when you feel brave enough. You'll get much needed reputation and upgrades.

[Serenity]

I got Disgaea 5 Complete and Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark for Switch at the last minute in the eshop sale. I've only played a couple of Disgaea games before, and only finished one of them, but I do love their bonkers approach to, well, everything.

[Traveller]

Aptorian, on 01 January 2021 - 03:21 PM, said:

I thought Days Gone was a mess. The story, dialogue, voice work - It's interesting and peculiar in the delivery of Deacon's lines and the more down to earth plot but it's all so ramshackle and undercooked. I played it a couple months after Last of Us Part 2 and Days Gone pales in comparison. The looting is unsatisfactory, the scenarios are copy paste, a lot about the game just feels like a studio who wants to do the things other studios have done with out the necessary vision, budget and talent.

But it was a fine podcast experience.

Pro-tip: The Hordes of Zombies in the game are tuned to the area you're in. So you can and should try to take out some of the hordes when you feel brave enough. You'll get much needed reputation and upgrades.

Deacons random lines during play are a bit weird and dont really make him a likeable character. But I knew nothing about his game and had zero expectation, so I'm probably getting more out of it.

Also, I never actually finished TLoU, and didnt pick up the second one so no comparisons there either (I found the 1st one was just a series of repetitive areas gameplay wise, even if the story was good).

I'm just enjoying having a new landscape to explore with a bunch of new mechanics compared to say GoT or RDR. A year or so back, tv and games were swamped with zombie stories, I think this just got released into a market already saturated and didnt have anything distinct to make it stand out, and got a bit lost in the crowd. It's keeping my attention so far.

[Serenity]

Completely unplanned, but I picked up Desperados 3 Digital Deluxe off GOG at 50% off, which was £24.99, about £3 cheaper than on Steam. I loved Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun by the same developer so I'm excited to give this a go.

[Malankazooie]

Malankazooie, on 30 December 2020 - 07:10 PM, said:

Okay, these games are free for PlayStation Plus subscribers in January. So, I guess I am technically buying them with my subscription to the service. So appropriate thread for this post?

Anyway here is the rundown.

Maneater. Heard it is pretty dumb, but I remember getting shark x GTA vibes from it when I saw the game trailer back before it was released, so I'll probably grab it. Oops, is this just for PS5 owners? That was unclear to me.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I remember reading some criticisms about this title when it came out that shewed me off of buying it. I've played both Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015). I enjoyed both. I liked the first one a lot. I will grab this final to the trilogy and give it a go. Any you guys have thoughts on this?

Ok, here is where I need most of your guys' advice - Greedfall. I sort of remember people discussing this title here on this forum. Is it worth checking out? I know very little about it.

Awww man, Maneater is only for PS5. I really wanted to play Grand Theft Jaws. Oh well, hopefully it will still be available when I get a PS5.

Grabbed SotTR and Greedfall though. Goes on the pile of tbp games. Probably will have a go at SoTR first so I can finish out that trilogy. What I've read about it though, seems as if it is a let down. *le-sigh

[Mentalist]

Since "Fearmonium" was under 15 CAD on Steam, which was WAY beyond my expectations, I let GOG sucker me into buying the Deluxe edition of Iron Harvest, the "Dawn of War, but with mechs after WW1" RTS. Got the Season Pass as part of the deal, so I'm not feeling top terrible about it.

If anyone is into basketball games, NBA 2K21 is Epic's free giveaway this week. And Epic has another Mega-Sale, so some decent deals (the coupon is back). Immortals: Fenyx rising would be 26 CAD after the coupon, which is... tempting. If I don't end up grabbing Biomutant next week, this would be the alternative. Unfortunately the coupon no longer works for add-ons like Season Passes, so I can't nab that for ultra-cheap as well.

[Aptorian]

For what it's worth Immortals: Phoenix Rising is very run of the mill Ubisoft open world experience. It's an attempt at copying Breath of the Wild with little understanding of what made BOTW great.

Play it if you want a big open sandbox to play around in while you listen to podcasts.

[Mentalist]

Aptorian, on 22 May 2021 - 06:20 PM, said:

For what it's worth Immortals: Phoenix Rising is very run of the mill Ubisoft open world experience. It's an attempt at copying Breath of the Wild with little understanding of what made BOTW great.

Play it if you want a big open sandbox to play around in while you listen to podcasts.

Well, I don't have a Switch, and I like action/adventure games that have puzzles. Immortals is giving me a very Darksiders II vibe, which is why I'm kind of interested, even though generally I'm indifferent to the Ubi-formula. I prefer WB's games for my open-world fix, because those usually commit to some gimmick that makes the whole thing click.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 22 May 2021 - 07:57 PM

[Aptorian]

The puzzle dungeons are pretty good. They have a great variation and some get down right crazy.

[Aptorian]

Bought Mass Effect Legendary.

I reckon if I'm ever going to replay those games, it's got to be over a long summer with little else coming out.

Really hope the series holds up. I always wanted to do a Replay but it was impossible to get the DLC for the games with out paying full price on the PC.

[Mentalist]

GOG summer sale is on. New release is Sleeping Dogs for 85% off, so that was a no-brainer to add to my de-Steamed collection.

Also grabbed Necromunda: Hired Gun before the launch promo ends tomorrow. I love E.Y.E., so might as well support the dev.

Gonna do some math next week, once the credit card [pay period re-sets on what I wanna splurge on; probably gonna pick up a bunch of Metroidvanias that came out earlier this year that I skipped due to renovations situation.

[Bapop]

I got Necromunda: Hired gun last night. I always thought that E.Y.E. looked cool but never tried it. Only really tried the prologue so far but it seems promising. Haven's played a FPS for over a year so I keep dying from not being on the move enough.

[Aptorian]

Hired Gun definitely seems like a new Doom style of game. gotta keep moving and shooting. Hit and run.

I'll get it in a sale.

[Mentalist]

Nier Replicant for 37% off? yep, thanks, GMG.

[Bapop]

Got Jedi: Fallen order on the sale. It looks very pretty on the PS5 although there is something of the uncanny valley about the player character. But lightsabers make up for it

[Morgoth]

Jedi Fallen Order was such a pleasant surprise. The first good SW game I've played in god knows how long.

[Bapop]

Morgoth, on 27 June 2021 - 12:50 PM, said:

Jedi Fallen Order was such a pleasant surprise. The first good SW game I've played in god knows how long.

It brings back great memories from the Jedi Knight series. Reflecting back lasers with the light saber is such great fun.

[Bapop]

It felt like a fresh take and I appreciated both the story and the setting. If you haven't tried odyssey or Valhalla yet it's a great introduction to the new rpg style AC.