[Mentalist]

Yeah, I was a HUGE fan of TW3. but I had the added benefit of

1) Being a series fan ever since the books;
2) Having skipped out on the whole third-person action/adventure open-world genre craze as started by the GTA3 trilogy. Only games of the genre I played before TW3 were the Batman Arkham games, so I wasn't anywhere near genre fatigued by what I played.

I've no opinion on HZD because of the whole exclusivity thing, but the concept definitely sounds intriguing

[Serenity]

Cause, on 17 July 2018 - 04:10 PM, said:

Serenity, on 17 July 2018 - 10:45 AM, said:

Have to say I'm having a great time with Prey, finding it quite absorbing. Choosing where to spend the neuromods is very difficult as I don't really know how many I'll get in total, especially as you can make them yourself. I'm just under the level with the Typhon powers where the turrets and such will start to turn on me. So far the skill I've used most has been the one that slows time briefly, but Psychoshock and Kinetic Blast look like being fun. Killed the first Nightmare yesterday but may go back and experiment with that fight a bit as I wasn't very ammo efficient.

In the beginning they are rare as can be and making them is not easy. That said don't be stingy. As the fame progresses you will get a decent amount and make a fair few. You wont unlock everything but don't be scared to test new powers either.

Cheers, yeah, a lot of the powers do appeal to me. The first time I used Psychoshock on an Etheric Phantom and sent it flying made me grin. I haven't bought into the mimic ability yet but it seems like a good way to get into places that are otherwise difficult to reach. Machine Mind seems like it might be useful, too, given that the turrets will be turning on me soon.

[Maark Abbott]

Khellendros, on 17 July 2018 - 09:54 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 17 July 2018 - 07:18 PM, said:

Alternative Goose, on 17 July 2018 - 09:59 AM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 17 July 2018 - 07:16 AM, said:

Alternative Goose, on 17 July 2018 - 07:13 AM, said:

Your taste in games vexes me.

Forgive me for being from the generation that was able to play trial versions of games to see if we actually liked them before buying.

I dunno, Wtcher 3 has incredibly good voice acting, design, looks great, character models are super detailed... But the quests and gameplay are basically the same every time. "Someone's filled the town pool with fish heads!" *sniffs about in Witcher mode* *that FUCKING SKELLIGE SHEEP* "Oh so it's you* *kills monster*. Tell me I'm wrong.

You're wrong.

While it's true that many, if not most quests rely on the formula of examine crime scene/talk to NPC -> Track red foot prints -> fight something or someone, it's what happens in between those events that makes Witcher spectacular.

Maybe it's a ghost story, maybe it's a story of betrayal, maybe it's actually a trap, maybe Geralt has to get drunk or disguise himself in some funny way, maybe the whole hunt is just an excuse for Geralt to hang out and with an old friend, etc.

Sure there is a lot of copy paste content but there's so much deep content that it doesn't matter.

Eh, the content for the sub-quests is passable at best. The main quest isn't particularly enthralling in terms of the story and themes (moreso for the character interactions which I won't lie are very well done). But I can't agree that it has lots of deep content. Lots of jacuzzis, a few dive pools, and a lot of paddling pools.

I don't know, this is my problem with extremely hyped games and one reason I've been wary of HZD. Witcher 3 is fun (in small doses), sure, but it's not lived anywhere close to where the hype put it.


And don't get me started on that dick-off of a horse. I walk everywhere on foot. EVERYWHERE.

I loved both the Witcher and Horizon, two of the best games I've played in a while. For Witcher, I thought the stories behind most quests were well done, and I can't remember another game where so many sub quests threw an unexpected twist into the mix, even if the actions you take to move through the quest are largely the same.

I thought that the main quest had some excellent set pieces (the castle siege), but I wasn't blown away until right at the end. Why? Because they ended up doing something that for my money should be talked about on the same level as the likes of Bioshock for narrative twists in games:

Spoiler

When Ciri says 'this isn't your story' to Geralt and you realise that you've been a secondary character in someone else's adventure to save the world. The entire first half of the game, what are you doing? Tracing back through things that Ciri has already done, the adventures she's had. The second half of the game you spend working to accomplish Ciri's goals. The few times you get to play as Ciri, she is nigh invulnerable, a 'traditional' video game hero who cuts through all the henchmen laid before her.

The DLC has superb quests.

Horizon doesn't play with game narratives like that, but it does have a very well-told and surprisingly deep story with some twists of its own (which you might see coming). The quests are definitely also far less memorable, but the world and gameplay is just beautiful. You never get tired of taking down machines in a hundred different ways and it feels totally smooth and natural.

I'm actually at the buildup to said siege (Dickstra can eat my... Well, you know) so from the sounds of it, it'd be worth forging onward to there.

I've also noticed that Omega Quintet and Fairy Fencer F are £5 in a sale right now. I'll probably get them because I'm a sucker for colourful IF JRPGs.

[Mentalist]

I somehow survived the last crystal mission on Hard (I dread to think what it's like on Brutal).

Also, finally did "Outbreak". Hellions are really kinda useless when you've got diamondbacks already, doing way more damage and firing while moving.

Only got Haven and the last couple of artifact missions before I'm into the home stretch.

[Malankazooie]

Can you guys guess what video game I'm playing? A freshly baked, warm out of the oven chocolate chip cookie for the person who does.

[Aptorian]

Mario party?

[Khellendros]

Malankazooie, on 21 July 2018 - 01:38 AM, said:

Can you guys guess what video game I'm playing? A freshly baked, warm out of the oven chocolate chip cookie for the person who does.

The DLC for Horizon.

[Malankazooie]

Khellendros, on 21 July 2018 - 07:00 AM, said:

Malankazooie, on 21 July 2018 - 01:38 AM, said:

Can you guys guess what video game I'm playing? A freshly baked, warm out of the oven chocolate chip cookie for the person who does.

The DLC for Horizon.

ding ding ding. Virtual freshly baked, warm chocolate chip cookie for you. Or you could just bake your own as a reward for realsies.

[Maark Abbott]

I was gonna say World of Warcraft.

[Malankazooie]

Finished What Remains of Edith Finch. While it's a short game, it is every bit deserving of the excellent reviews it received. Although, as it seems to be with these types of games, I get the feeling gamers with a CoD mindset will hate the ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And boy-oh-howdy, what a kinetic way to tell the story of a family. You'll be shocked, you'll be moved, you might even get misty eyed. The strings connected to your heart will definitely be tugged at.

[Mentalist]

Finished the Artifact missions (they get progressively easier with a fuller tech tree)
Now just need to do Haven, and then it's off to Char for the last missions set, unless I feel like going back and farming some achievements first.

[Mentalist]

The last WoL mission on Hard is making me realize I've made some wrong tech choices as I progressed through the campaign. This mission is now kicking my ass comprehensively.

I may need to load up an earlier save and replay a good chunk of it.

[Maark Abbott]

Mentalist, on 22 July 2018 - 02:49 PM, said:

The last WoL mission on Hard is making me realize I've made some wrong tech choices as I progressed through the campaign. This mission is now kicking my ass comprehensively.

I may need to load up an earlier save and replay a good chunk of it.

Is that the "defend the thing until it can pew pew and save Kerrigan" one?

[Mentalist]

Maark Abbott, on 23 July 2018 - 07:38 AM, said:

Mentalist, on 22 July 2018 - 02:49 PM, said:

The last WoL mission on Hard is making me realize I've made some wrong tech choices as I progressed through the campaign. This mission is now kicking my ass comprehensively.

I may need to load up an earlier save and replay a good chunk of it.

Is that the "defend the thing until it can pew pew and save Kerrigan" one?

yup

I took out the air units in the mission before, and my mostly air-based army is proving kinda inadequate. Also, every time Kerrigan shows up, most of my defences go bust.

AND I picked the wrong last upgrade in the Zerg research tree. Mind-controlling a single unit feels like a waste, when I could've had them all being way slower.

Best I ever got was 95.7% charge, and that point as i'm totally over-run, Kerrigan shows up again.

So I went back to almost the very beginning. I'm also trying to get all the achievements (esp the "complete mission before X min" to get into a rushing mentality in terms of developing quickly. Yesterday I did the "kill 4 hatcheries in the defending mission on Mar Sara". That one is really hard, cuz all you get play around with are un-upgraded Marines and Medics.

Edit (July 27). Yesterday finally had the time and energy to play properly some more. Did the 2 rebellion missions and the Dig again (completed the " burn buildings with Lazer" achievement this time) I now know that I deffo need both siege tank upgrades for that last mission (to blast Kerrigan into oblivion) so that's priority.
Also now that got access to Zeratul missions again, I'll do all 4 to max out research before progressing any other lines further, so that I'll have better eco techs starting those missions (should make the Terrazine mission easier, too).

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 27 July 2018 - 02:30 PM

[Serenity]

No Man's Sky Next. Played for a couple of hours, bored already. Shall try it multiplayer and see if that helps.

[Serenity]

To be fair, I've only played for about three hours but the constant pressure to mine resources just to carry out the simplest of tasks is already exasperating. Ooh, look, here's the resource I need! Great! What do you mean the multi-tool has run out of fuel? So now I need to find carbon? Great. I'll be back in ten minutes.

At the moment it's got me running around a planet trying to find buried technology, but there was none in the area where I first landed, so I decided to fly around and try other areas, which resulted me running out of both the take-off fuel and the regular fuel (whatever they're both called), so I spent more time running around shooting at rocks and plants just to be able to take off again. Grrr.

Naturally, when I actually found some buried technology, I didn't have the resource I needed to actually activate it, so off I had to go, mining again.

I guess, when it comes down to it, I knew what I was getting into. I can't imagine the multiplayer is going to change my opinion but we'll see.

[Khellendros]

Serenity, on 01 August 2018 - 08:02 PM, said:

To be fair, I've only played for about three hours but the constant pressure to mine resources just to carry out the simplest of tasks is already exasperating. Ooh, look, here's the resource I need! Great! What do you mean the multi-tool has run out of fuel? So now I need to find carbon? Great. I'll be back in ten minutes.

At the moment it's got me running around a planet trying to find buried technology, but there was none in the area where I first landed, so I decided to fly around and try other areas, which resulted me running out of both the take-off fuel and the regular fuel (whatever they're both called), so I spent more time running around shooting at rocks and plants just to be able to take off again. Grrr.

Naturally, when I actually found some buried technology, I didn't have the resource I needed to actually activate it, so off I had to go, mining again.

I guess, when it comes down to it, I knew what I was getting into. I can't imagine the multiplayer is going to change my opinion but we'll see.

Sounds almost like you're playing in Survival mode rather than Normal, which is a more laid-back experience. Yes, at the beginning there's quite a bit of resource-gathering to do, but as you find, craft, and buy better equipment and upgrades you do less and less of the recharging and gathering. For example, in my old game when I first started, I had to recharge life support every couple of minutes. With upgrades, that turned to about 20-30 minutes, in which time you just naturally gather resources while exploring, instead of actively having to hunt for them.

[Khellendros]

That's not to say that NMS isn't a grind, it certainly can be, and you just either enjoy the way they've implemented the grind or you don't. Depends on the individual.

[Serenity]

I'm in Normal mode, so I'm guessing I should stay away from Survival mode forever

It's a taste thing for sure. I'm going to try multiplayer at the weekend and see how it goes. My mates might be able to point out stuff that increases the enjoyment.

[Serenity]

I've been having great fun with Star Traders: Frontiers. A mission I did ended up going in a completely different direction from what I expected and I now have a fugitive aboard my ship who is being hunted by two different factions. All the quest log says is that I have to keep them alive. Should be interesting, especially if my crew decide it's not what they signed on for and decide on mutiny.