[QuickTidal]

Alternative Goose, on 10 April 2018 - 03:21 PM, said:

I loved the first Banner Saga. Felt like an Indie fantasy version of Mass Effect, where the choices and the character relationships are essential for where the story takes you.

The series is made by some ex-bioware devs I think, so it figures.

Decided not to play Banner Sage 2 before they finish the trilogy.

I got really invested in the health and ultimate fate of the caravan by the end of the game. That fear of fucking up is paralysing.

Yeah, in one of my early battles when one of the Varls fell down I was beyond worried that he "died" and didn't find out till after he was only injured. Still.

[Mentalist]

Clawing my way thru Bayonetta's fights (sometimes literally, with the fire-claw weapons). Really slow progress, but this is basically my trial run. The fighting sure is spectacular, and the enemy Angels look fantastic, but I sometimes often have a hard time anticipating their attacks, so evading requires a lot more skill than what I currently have. And the game loads too quickly for me to be able to practice any serious combos during loading screens, and I get crashes when trying to look up techniques in the journal, which is annoying.

On the side, I also dipped back into original StarCraft, since I've kinda sorta made a resolution to buy the SC2 Battle Chest in the summer. So taking it one mission a night, rolling thru Terrans now, in the "free" un-remastered edition released by Blizz last year. Bit rough around the edges, but still playable.

[Mentalist]

Ok, killed the second boss in Bayonetta last night. Really fun battle, that.

Kinda getting the hang of things as I'm killing stuff with my katana. The only regular enemies that continue to cause me issues now are the "fire and lightning twins"- those bastards are annoying, and they have a lot of variety to their attacks, which isn't helping.

Meanwhile, over in StarCraft land, I'm up to the last Terran mission (i.e, the only hard one). Not sure if it's the 1200 hours I've put into AoK HD in the past few years or smth else, but the AI in this " free" release feels a lot more passive than what I remembered it being. Of course, the only really hard Terran mission WAS the last one, so I'll see soon enough- if I start getting nuked 5-10 minutes into it, I'll know my old memories were correct.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 16 April 2018 - 01:15 PM

[Aptorian]

Been playing a handful of hours of Far Cry 5. This game is off some how.

It's still Far Cry. It still has that crazy fun factor, where you sort of just snow ball into giant fire fights and animal attacks, but the game just feels like it doesn't have the same coherence or spirit that 3 and 4 and Primal had. The hunting and crafting is gone and so is the feeling of meaning and progression.

This might be a result of them changing a bunch of stuff up but I also feel like the game may have come in hot on the presses. The writing is horrendous, the AI is twitchy and the NPC's are robot like and the way you are just thrown into the story does not help to build an investment into the games characters or story. I really like these crazy cultists as an enemy but the way they go around telling their story is just not good enough. The main baddy has a cool creepy vibe but it's just not working quite right.

On the other hand the changes does actually make the game feel like something new and different. I like exploring Montana as an exotic location. I think the new perk and challenge system is awesome. I love when I get rewarded for doing X amount of stuff.

I am having fun with the game. I suspect the fun factor will ramp up when I start unlocking upgrades and get better equipment.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 18 April 2018 - 08:03 PM

[Mentalist]

The main complaint I heard leveraged against FC5 is that once you progress through the story, the story starts to forcefully interfere with the sandbox-y fucking about.

I finished the Terran campaign yesterday. Yeah, the difficulty definitely feels dialed down compared to what I remembered.

I'll be continuing with this, but I'm also gonna toss some AoK content into my RTS playing again, as there's been a bunch of custom content released by a few of the scenario designers I've been following on the Workshop.

Also making some more progress on Bayonetta. Had to reset my controls to default yesterday, because apparently altering the primary movement controls from WASD broke the motorcycle section controls. Which was frustrating.

I'm still annoyed that the combo log in the journal section makes the game crash, because I'd genuinely like to improve at combat and button-mash less. But the pace is so frantic, I'm having a hard time with that. Guessing I'll need to go back to the beginning once I'm done the story to try and do better.
-also a bit miffed that the sequel was Nintendo exclusive, but such is life.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 18 April 2018 - 08:57 PM

[Malankazooie]

Guys, I've just played a few hours of God of War for the PS4. Guys, leave no doubt. Sony just won this generation. Guys, it is a watershed moment in gaming, a high-mark by which all video games will be measured against. A once in a generation title that will resound through the ages. If you have a PS4 and you bought an Xbox, you're a dummy. The exclusives for PS4 were better then Xbox to begin with and now with God of War, let there be no second guessing. Sony wins. End of story.

Besides, I always took offense to the so called "exclusives" that Xbox "claimed" to have. You can get them for the PC, so, kind of negates the whole idea of "exclusive".

[Aptorian]

Shouldn't you take more offence at Sony not allowing PC players to play their games?

I hesitate to get into a console war debate but Microsoft has been my underdog this generation. They offer much better player benefits and their ideas have been so much more creative this generation.

They've matched Sony's Playstation Plus with Gold. They've added backwards compatibility to hundreds of games making Red Dead Redemption playable in 4K for example. They allow people to buy a copy of a game and play it both on PC and X-box. They've shared their exclusives with PC. They started out making the Kinect a bundle, greatly expanding the potential user base. And of course now they have some kind of subscription where you can pay 10 dollars a month and play all of Microsoft's first part titles. Not to mention their new X1X which is the most power you can get for your money.

Unfortunately they are also hampered by terrible management and PR blunders. They can't shake the first couple of years arrogance. Too much focus on TV and not on the core service. They never developed great support for the Kinect. They've had a bunch of "bad harvests" with Fable Legends and Scalebound being cancelled. Dead Rising 4, ReCore and Sea of Thieves being disappointing and Master Chief Collection completely shitting the bed. On top of that clearly for a few years somebody in management made the decision to not invest enough money in new games and now they've hit a patch where they have nothing truly exciting for years to come besides their driving games.

Microsoft has clearly lost this generation but I think they're scrappy for a company their size. I hope they look at Sony's focus on the first party portfolio and they dump a billion dollars into the next 5 years game development.

[Mentalist]

Alternative Goose, on 22 April 2018 - 04:11 AM, said:

Shouldn't you take more offence at Sony not allowing PC players to play their games?

I hesitate to get into a console war debate but Microsoft has been my underdog this generation. They offer much better player benefits and their ideas have been so much more creative this generation.

They've matched Sony's Playstation Plus with Gold. They've added backwards compatibility to hundreds of games making Red Dead Redemption playable in 4K for example. They allow people to buy a copy of a game and play it both on PC and X-box. They've shared their exclusives with PC. They started out making the Kinect a bundle, greatly expanding the potential user base. And of course now they have some kind of subscription where you can pay 10 dollars a month and play all of Microsoft's first part titles. Not to mention their new X1X which is the most power you can get for your money.

Unfortunately they are also hampered by terrible management and PR blunders. They can't shake the first couple of years arrogance. Too much focus on TV and not on the core service. They never developed great support for the Kinect. They've had a bunch of "bad harvests" with Fable Legends and Scalebound being cancelled. Dead Rising 4, ReCore and Sea of Thieves being disappointing and Master Chief Collection completely shitting the bed. On top of that clearly for a few years somebody in management made the decision to not invest enough money in new games and now they've hit a patch where they have nothing truly exciting for years to come besides their driving games.

Microsoft has clearly lost this generation but I think they're scrappy for a company their size. I hope they look at Sony's focus on the first party portfolio and they dump a billion dollars into the next 5 years game development.

Yeah, I'll be less nice about this. Microsoft's games are crap (considering what i'm interested in, as a consumer)

As someone who doesn't care about ANYTHING multi-player, or any type of warshooters, AND never got into zombie games, I can think of literally 1 title that works as a Micrtosoft exclusive. And that's ReCore. and reception on that was "meh", which clearly isn't a good reason to for me to even upgrade to Win 10, much less think about dropping money on an Xbone. (Ryse is available on Steam now, and Sunset Overdrive is kinda zombie-type game still, so I'm not counting that).

The only potentially interesting exclusive Microsoft could've had, they cancelled (Scalebound). Their "Xbone X Headliner" title, Crackdown 3 is stuck in whatever level of development hell. They tried with Age of Empires DE, but reception for that was lukewarm, and they'll need to work REALLY hard with AoE II DE-if they can win the recognition of competitive community (which would involve surpassing UserPatch, which is a fan-made patch improving virtually every aspect of the original version of the game. For free), and allow actual modding of the DE version, they might win some goodwill. Otherwise they'll be maligned for splitting the community further, with 3 competing versions of the same game. (and terrible to no support for HD, since the dev team as moved to DE)
Likewise, they have Relic making AoE 4. RELIC! After a flop that was DoW 3; and not to mention that Relic hasn't made a non-squad-based RTS since Homeworld. And there's really no telling how the existing fan-base will react to a squad-based AoE. A large portion of the lasting popularity of AoE2 (which is unquestionably the most successful game in the franchise) is the base-building, and especially the "town-sim-like-sense" that comes from base-building. Relic is a great dev, but both CoH and DoW did their best to streamline resource management and base-building aspects, and that's pretty much what the core, "casual" AoE fan base loves and look for in their games, so "dumbing down" these aspects won't win them many fans.

I hate Sony for making its games exclusives, but honestly, there's like a dozen titles I'd know i want to buy if someone was to offer me a PS4 for free. Microsoft really needs to invest in a variety of games.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 22 April 2018 - 04:56 AM

[Traveller]

I haven't seen a single thing that made me even consider an xbone.

However, I am now wondering how much it would cost me to upgrade to a ps4 pro, and if its worth the extra.

[Aptorian]

Like I said above, their lacking first party output and creation of new IP that had real impact cannot be denied, but to say that Microsoft doesn't have good exclusives is at best a heavily subjective thing, if not just obstinate dislike of the brand.

You might call their first party titles more bro dude but you can't ignore that shooters and driving games are massively popular still. Their portfolio is still strong, it just doesn't create the waves that their games on 360 did. They still have Halo, Forza and Gears and they've had some great one off's like Cuphead, Ori, Rare Collection, etc. They just need to inject more money into their output.

[Mentalist]

Getting back to games played...

Spent like 3 hours bashing my head against the 3rd Jeanne fight in Bayonetta. When she gets on the bike in the second phase and starts ramming you down, the controls are unbearable, because half the time the camera doesn't turn to face her, and so I'm literally guessing as to when I'm in supposed to be dodging. Very frustrating.

On the upside, I did manage to complete my first Alfheim challenge in the same level.

Over in StarCraft land, finished mission 8 for the Zerg and will be taking a bit of a break. The last 2 missions are both 1 v 3 against fully teched, entrenched Protoss bases and they are tedious. So I'll save them for the weekend. Gonna mostly focus on Bayonetta for now.

[Silencer]

Started messing around in ARK: Survival Evolved. Given I barely played for an hour last night I'm surprisingly into it. Mainly started playing around to test the waters - might throw together a private server and mess around in that with some Guild Wars 2 guildmates. It seems pretty fun, even if being completely vulnerable in-game for more than 16 hours a day while I sleep and work is not ideal. XD Fingers crossed for the thatch hut!

[Gothos]

Mentalist, on 23 April 2018 - 02:11 PM, said:

Over in StarCraft land, finished mission 8 for the Zerg and will be taking a bit of a break. The last 2 missions are both 1 v 3 against fully teched, entrenched Protoss bases and they are tedious. So I'll save them for the weekend. Gonna mostly focus on Bayonetta for now.

You can win everything in that campaign by good resource management and an endless stream of Hydras. Or muta/ling. Brood War gets more interesting

[Mentalist]

Yeah, I've been using 'lings a lot more this time around (they really become awesome in lategame with adrenal glands). But I'm also trying to mix'n'match and actually learn how to use Zerg's special units this time around, rather than just do a Guardian + Muta doomstacks assaults.

Last time I attempted Brood War, I know I finished Korhal. I honestly don't remember if I ever beat the Tarsonis mission that followed it -if I did, I would've gotten as far as Char before stopping, but I may have stopped @ Tarsonis.

I'm planning to pick up the SCII BattleChest on my first payday in June (that's when I'll make my summer transition to 3-day weekends), so that gives me roughly 7 more weeks to get through the original campaigns.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 24 April 2018 - 04:21 PM

[Gothos]

Zerg special units aren't worth much in SC1, especially compared to the other races. You might as well embrace the Swarm and live up to its name Even in SC2, playing Zerg is a bit less about playing smart and a bit more about playing efficiently and adaptability.

Still, of course you can try some play like Dark Swarm + Ultras / Zerglings, Plagues before assaults and so on. I personally absolutely adore using Spawn Broodlings to take out siege tank positions...

[Mentalist]

Gothos, on 25 April 2018 - 01:50 PM, said:

Zerg special units aren't worth much in SC1, especially compared to the other races. You might as well embrace the Swarm and live up to its name Even in SC2, playing Zerg is a bit less about playing smart and a bit more about playing efficiently and adaptability.

Still, of course you can try some play like Dark Swarm + Ultras / Zerglings, Plagues before assaults and so on. I personally absolutely adore using Spawn Broodlings to take out siege tank positions...

I'm looking into doing that to Reavers, since they are the only thing capable of stopping my 'ling tide. Snipe the reavers with Queens, watch stuff burn, use mutas for air support.

In related news, apparently SCII is going out of stock everywhere, so I ordered 1 of the 2 remaining online copies today, It should be here tomorrow, but I probably won't get into it until I'm finished Brood War. And the SCI is on temp hold as I'm checking out some custom campaigns for AoK HD, since I kinda promised a few of the creators to give some feedback this week...

Oh, and I killed the 4th Virtue boss in Bayonetta yesterday. Taking Monday off gaming cleared my head, and I actually beat Jeanne on my 2nd try. My dodge timing seems to be getting better, I might try another Normal run before attempting Hard.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 26 April 2018 - 12:03 PM

[Maark Abbott]

Mentalist, on 24 April 2018 - 04:18 PM, said:

Yeah, I've been using 'lings a lot more this time around (they really become awesome in lategame with adrenal glands). But I'm also trying to mix'n'match and actually learn how to use Zerg's special units this time around, rather than just do a Guardian + Muta doomstacks assaults.

Last time I attempted Brood War, I know I finished Korhal. I honestly don't remember if I ever beat the Tarsonis mission that followed it -if I did, I would've gotten as far as Char before stopping, but I may have stopped @ Tarsonis.

I'm planning to pick up the SCII BattleChest on my first payday in June (that's when I'll make my summer transition to 3-day weekends), so that gives me roughly 7 more weeks to get through the original campaigns.

Brood War is HARD. The Zerg campaign is hard as balls, especially when you get to the second-to-last mission on Char.

I'd recommend cores of Lings / Lisks backed up with 3/4 Ultras, Guardians and Mutas. Hydralisks are super important due to being AA units as the Terran AI loves to spam Valks. Queens are marginally helpful to snipe expensive units (siege tanks are the main danger beyond other Zerg units) and spy on the enemy, and Devourers are really handy for Plague as it mitigates the fact that your units are squishy. You can try Lurkers but as soon as one hits an AI unit the AI will autocast the swirly reveal thing and they'll get fisted.

[Gothos]

Mentalist, on 25 April 2018 - 02:20 PM, said:

I'm looking into doing that to Reavers, since they are the only thing capable of stopping my 'ling tide. Snipe the reavers with Queens, watch stuff burn, use mutas for air support.

In related news, apparently SCII is going out of stock everywhere, so I ordered 1 of the 2 remaining online copies today, It should be here tomorrow, but I probably won't get into it until I'm finished Brood War. And the SCI is on temp hold as I'm checking out some custom campaigns for AoK HD, since I kinda promised a few of the creators to give some feedback this week...

Just watch out so that you don't lose 60 mutalisks to two psionic storms

How can an online copy be out of stock? Unless you mean ordering a box copy online?

Maark Abbott, on 26 April 2018 - 05:39 AM, said:

Brood War is HARD. The Zerg campaign is hard as balls, especially when you get to the second-to-last mission on Char.

I'd recommend cores of Lings / Lisks backed up with 3/4 Ultras, Guardians and Mutas. Hydralisks are super important due to being AA units as the Terran AI loves to spam Valks. Queens are marginally helpful to snipe expensive units (siege tanks are the main danger beyond other Zerg units) and spy on the enemy, and Devourers are really handy for Plague as it mitigates the fact that your units are squishy. You can try Lurkers but as soon as one hits an AI unit the AI will autocast the swirly reveal thing and they'll get fisted.

Brood War basically requires you to play it as if it was a multiplayer game in terms of efficiency and output; plus, on Hard, the enemy teams have more or less infinite resources from the get-go so you can't cripple their economy.
4-6 Lurkers can obliterate terran infantry formations even if revealed, though some may die... Which just emphasizes the most core secret to winning in this game: create localized advantages and crush enemies with less casualties than an even fight.

[Aptorian]

I've been switching between playing God of War and Far Cry 5 the past week.

God of War is, as the reviews suggest, awesome. I think it does get a bit tedious at times, when you're pulled through long stretches of combat, that just seem to pad out the space in between the significant story bits and big fights. However, there's no part of that game that doesn't feel like it received a lot of attention and polish.

Far Cry 5, especially in comparison to God of War, is a serious let down. I've often heard people complain about Far Cry games being copy paste content, an open world full of padding. I've never really felt like that before this game. Playing Far Cry, looking at the AI behaviour, listening to the dialogue, completing missions I just get this feeling this game was made on a tight budget that demanded tons of content and afforded little time to actually give anything meaning. There's few weapons, few vehicles, re-used abilities - It just feels like there's no depth to this game at all, gameplay wise or story wise.

I have lots of fun shooting people in the face but the story does nothing for me and I think the open world feels less interesting than 3 and 4. It's a real disappointment since I LOVE Far Cry 4.

Still I will finish the game because it supplies the mindless kind of fun I enjoy out of shooters.

[Mentalist]

Yeah, I meant a box copy. I have no intention of dealing with Blizz directly, and this is one of those cases where the more money goes to the middlemen, the happier I am.

Psi storms can be tricky, but Guardians out-range high templars by a lot, and they like to auto-target them, so it's rarely been a problem for me.

Defiler is the one unit I need tobecome more versatile with, as I virtually never use them.