[Aptorian]

Funny enough I was just listening to an old episode of the Bombcast the other day where they discuss the launch of MW2. Game was a huge release. I think I put a couple hundred hours into the multiplayer.

I believe MW2 came out in 2009 or 2010, so it's not quite that dated. MW1+2 more or less kicked off the craze of annual AAAs and shooters with RPG mechanics crammed into them.

To fully appreciate the story you probably need to play MW 1 as well but as far as I recall you're playing two story tracks. One is about the start of WW3 and Russia invading the US and the other is following the Spec Ops team featuring Soap, Ghost and a few other who are trying to track down Makerov and who ever I'd behind the false flag attack.

I can definitely recommend finishing the game there's several crazy moments in the game.

And yeah I felt quesy after playing the No Russian level originally. I remember shooting some of the wounded but mostly firing above or around the civilians.

[Primateus]

I am replaying Assassin's Creed: Odyssey because I got the Atlantis DLC some months ago. Next I reckon I will install Mount & Blade: Bannerlord again.

[Malankazooie]

Aptorian, on 01 November 2020 - 06:46 PM, said:

Funny enough I was just listening to an old episode of the Bombcast the other day where they discuss the launch of MW2. Game was a huge release. I think I put a couple hundred hours into the multiplayer.

I believe MW2 came out in 2009 or 2010, so it's not quite that dated. MW1+2 more or less kicked off the craze of annual AAAs and shooters with RPG mechanics crammed into them.

To fully appreciate the story you probably need to play MW 1 as well but as far as I recall you're playing two story tracks. One is about the start of WW3 and Russia invading the US and the other is following the Spec Ops team featuring Soap, Ghost and a few other who are trying to track down Makerov and who ever I'd behind the false flag attack.

I can definitely recommend finishing the game there's several crazy moments in the game.

And yeah I felt quesy after playing the No Russian level originally. I remember shooting some of the wounded but mostly firing above or around the civilians.

Yeah, you play as "Roach" and the other guy is Ramirez I think. One guy seems to be traditional warfare, on the front of fighting the Russians with high tech and that sort of thing. The other guy seems to be more like spec-ops, behind enemy lines, hairy situations, toeing the line of following the protocols of proper wartime behavior/borderline crimes of war type covert stuff.

I'm not too far into it. Some of the settings have been interesting. The snow mobile level was fun, albeit predictable and zero challenge, but neat fun for what it was.

This post has been edited by Malankazooie: 01 November 2020 - 07:42 PM

[Mentalist]

The first boss in GhostRunner took me over 400 tries. First-person precision platforming while doing bullet-hell style dodging of deadly lasers? And in Phase 2 (of 5) he's sending out a pulse that makes runnable walls made of lava for a few seconds?

I did not sign up for this crap. Thankfully, checkpoints were REALLY generous.

Anyway, after that I needed something lighter. So now I'm alternating GhostRunner with Raji: An Ancient Epic. A simple story of an acrobat girl chosen by the Gods to kill demons, who also happened to kidnap her younger brother.

It's isometric Prince of Persia with basic, but functional combat, and an okay enemy variety. Bosses aren't anything special (a big demon with fiery balls-and-chains; a really big demoness that does the "smash you with a hand and get claws stuck in floor so that you can chop the fingers off one at a time" thing), but it's got a nice little mix of combat, platforming, light puzzling, and some optional hidden upgrade points to keep me invested. Some cool mythological asides where you just look at a bunch of murals while Vishnu narrates the corresponding myth. Really cool stuff.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 13 November 2020 - 07:08 PM

[Aptorian]

Are you playing on a ridiculous difficulty level, Ment, or are the bosses in Ghostrunner just really brutal?

[Mentalist]

Aptorian, on 02 November 2020 - 04:36 AM, said:

Are you playing on a ridiculous difficulty level, Ment, or are the bosses in Ghostrunner just really brutal?

only one difficulty.

This game is basically Mirror's Edge crossed with Hotline Miami.

The one boss I've face so far was

Spoiler

an automated defense system. Basically a huge-ass cylinder that'd spin around firing lasers in a pattern. And I had to grapple up along it, dodging those lasers to cut the suspension cables to make it collapse.

It's a well-designed game, but like Hotline Miami, it's a got a pretty big element of trial and error. So that can get a bit punishing until an encounter or a platforming section clicks.


Fun game, though.

[Aptorian]

When you die to the boss are you almost instantly back into the fight with the boss?

[Mentalist]

Aptorian, on 02 November 2020 - 06:45 AM, said:

When you die to the boss are you almost instantly back into the fight with the boss?

Yeah, the boss is a separate level. And it's got like 7 or 8 different checkpoints throughout the fight.

[Aptorian]

Oooh. I love when difficult or complicated bosses have checkpoints between phases. I'll be picking it up during Christmas I think.

[champ]

Morgoth, on 27 October 2020 - 09:16 AM, said:

champ, on 23 October 2020 - 02:37 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 20 October 2020 - 09:02 AM, said:

champ, on 19 October 2020 - 04:18 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 19 October 2020 - 03:30 PM, said:

I have now managed two runs in Hades where I beat what, so far at least, seems to be the final boss. Instead of feeling like I'm done, I've instead just gotten more focused on teasing out the story, and improving my abilities and the esthetic charms of the underworld. My last run, an almost pure Zevs Poseidon combo with the spear was unbeatable. I crushed everything without breaking a sweat.

I picked this up yesterday and spent a couple of hours in the world, absolutely loved it. My best run so far is with the shield but I only got up to floor 37, my dash and special had reflect on so it was pretty ridiculous zooming everywhere. Going to hit it up later. Very addictive gameplay.

Aye, and the music is so good! I've taken to listening to it at work, which to be fair I've done with the soundtracks for Supergiant's other games too.

I think they've really nailed how good it feels to get a solid combo going. With all the boons, and all the duo boons too, not to mention all the weapon forms, it feels like there's an endless supply of crazy combos out there. Often it doesn't work, but you've gathered up resources anyways to improve your next run, and you progress the story too.

I loved the Transistor soundtrack, I haven't really had chance to listen to this one too much yet as I had the game on quiet when I was playing but noted for next time!!

It's absolutely nailed that "one more run" feeling too... Had to drag myself away a few times now otherwise I would have regretted it the next day.

I've done 13 runs and haven't got further than the Arena boss battle and that was because I had some ridiculous boons on the shield. Came across my first duo boon too. I like how it keeps teasing more and more depth to the gameplay. All weapons are unlocked and I can start to upgrade them now.

And damn I hate that Hydra... it's killed me on most of the runs tbh. Funny moment, I died to the Hydra and in my head I said "stupid Hydra" and Zag goes at the same time, "stupid Hydra."

Yep! Very addictive.

The Hydra is all about quick in and out attacks, keep moving back and forth to make it miss it's long range attacks. Also, normally it alternates 1:1 between the melee head smash and one of its long range attacks, so if it just did the head smash you can get in close and do a bunch of attacks, and then dodge to the other side when it starts shooting, and continue the attack for longer. Unless you have the spear or one of the long range weapons, in which case just stand just out of head smash range and attack until it dies.

I've beaten the "final boss", or at least the final boss for now, you never know, a few times, and the game still keeps introducing new elements and story. It's a ridiculously deep game, with a never ending spiral of new additions. My favourite weapon so far is the gloves, with the upgrade that pulls enemies close with the special attack. It feels so satisfying and visceral. I had my fastest run with those and the feather, with some serious Artemis boons and quite a bit of chaos bonuses. The "final boss" melted in no time at all. Though to be fair, I normally don't get that far with them as the need to be close and personal makes it harder to dodge away from incoming attacks.

I've got the Hydra's number now, especially after I unlocked more on the mirror, I've got 2x respawn after death and 100hp to help out. It was the Hydra's 4th phase - if you can call it that - where he spawns all the extra heads instead of just a few that was ruining me. Now though I am pretty comfortable with him.

I also beat the Arena boss fight for the first time too the other day with the Shield, it's ridiculous how powerful that weapon can get with certain boons. Still though, close fight, I lost both lives to them and was about 10hp from biting the bullet. Safe to say I didn't progress too far in the next area after that.

With regards to the story, I read that a guy finally got the "best ending" after over 6 months and 300 hours in so aye, it is definitely a tease out game.

It's the progression and gameplay that keeps me coming back. You really do feel yourself getting stronger after every run and being able to progress that little bit further each time.

I've only tried the gloves on one run so far and Meg took me out - I know what you mean they can be hard to use with the closeness... I am just selecting the weapon that gives the most darkness each run, I think the spear is my favourite at the moment with the 2nd tier selected where your special almost becomes another dash.

Just bought a fishing rod too for some reason, absolutely no idea how to use it though, avoiding all spoilers / helpful tricks websites!

This post has been edited by champ: 02 November 2020 - 05:19 PM

[Mentalist]

Second boss in GhostRunner really puts those katana skills to the test. Oof.

The cityscape levels were just gorgeous, though.

[Morgoth]

champ, on 02 November 2020 - 05:19 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 27 October 2020 - 09:16 AM, said:

champ, on 23 October 2020 - 02:37 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 20 October 2020 - 09:02 AM, said:

champ, on 19 October 2020 - 04:18 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 19 October 2020 - 03:30 PM, said:

I have now managed two runs in Hades where I beat what, so far at least, seems to be the final boss. Instead of feeling like I'm done, I've instead just gotten more focused on teasing out the story, and improving my abilities and the esthetic charms of the underworld. My last run, an almost pure Zevs Poseidon combo with the spear was unbeatable. I crushed everything without breaking a sweat.

I picked this up yesterday and spent a couple of hours in the world, absolutely loved it. My best run so far is with the shield but I only got up to floor 37, my dash and special had reflect on so it was pretty ridiculous zooming everywhere. Going to hit it up later. Very addictive gameplay.

Aye, and the music is so good! I've taken to listening to it at work, which to be fair I've done with the soundtracks for Supergiant's other games too.

I think they've really nailed how good it feels to get a solid combo going. With all the boons, and all the duo boons too, not to mention all the weapon forms, it feels like there's an endless supply of crazy combos out there. Often it doesn't work, but you've gathered up resources anyways to improve your next run, and you progress the story too.

I loved the Transistor soundtrack, I haven't really had chance to listen to this one too much yet as I had the game on quiet when I was playing but noted for next time!!

It's absolutely nailed that "one more run" feeling too... Had to drag myself away a few times now otherwise I would have regretted it the next day.

I've done 13 runs and haven't got further than the Arena boss battle and that was because I had some ridiculous boons on the shield. Came across my first duo boon too. I like how it keeps teasing more and more depth to the gameplay. All weapons are unlocked and I can start to upgrade them now.

And damn I hate that Hydra... it's killed me on most of the runs tbh. Funny moment, I died to the Hydra and in my head I said "stupid Hydra" and Zag goes at the same time, "stupid Hydra."

Yep! Very addictive.

The Hydra is all about quick in and out attacks, keep moving back and forth to make it miss it's long range attacks. Also, normally it alternates 1:1 between the melee head smash and one of its long range attacks, so if it just did the head smash you can get in close and do a bunch of attacks, and then dodge to the other side when it starts shooting, and continue the attack for longer. Unless you have the spear or one of the long range weapons, in which case just stand just out of head smash range and attack until it dies.

I've beaten the "final boss", or at least the final boss for now, you never know, a few times, and the game still keeps introducing new elements and story. It's a ridiculously deep game, with a never ending spiral of new additions. My favourite weapon so far is the gloves, with the upgrade that pulls enemies close with the special attack. It feels so satisfying and visceral. I had my fastest run with those and the feather, with some serious Artemis boons and quite a bit of chaos bonuses. The "final boss" melted in no time at all. Though to be fair, I normally don't get that far with them as the need to be close and personal makes it harder to dodge away from incoming attacks.

I've got the Hydra's number now, especially after I unlocked more on the mirror, I've got 2x respawn after death and 100hp to help out. It was the Hydra's 4th phase - if you can call it that - where he spawns all the extra heads instead of just a few that was ruining me. Now though I am pretty comfortable with him.

I also beat the Arena boss fight for the first time too the other day with the Shield, it's ridiculous how powerful that weapon can get with certain boons. Still though, close fight, I lost both lives to them and was about 10hp from biting the bullet. Safe to say I didn't progress too far in the next area after that.

With regards to the story, I read that a guy finally got the "best ending" after over 6 months and 300 hours in so aye, it is definitely a tease out game.

It's the progression and gameplay that keeps me coming back. You really do feel yourself getting stronger after every run and being able to progress that little bit further each time.

I've only tried the gloves on one run so far and Meg took me out - I know what you mean they can be hard to use with the closeness... I am just selecting the weapon that gives the most darkness each run, I think the spear is my favourite at the moment with the 2nd tier selected where your special almost becomes another dash.

Just bought a fishing rod too for some reason, absolutely no idea how to use it though, avoiding all spoilers / helpful tricks websites!

I banged my head against the third boss for so long, but now I kill them every time. I'm not sure if it's the mirror, or just my experience in picking the right boons, or probably a bit of both.

[Mentalist]

Beat GhostRunner. Final level took over 600 tries. All I can say is, FUCK

Spoiler

dodgeball

I'm gonna go back and re-run a few levels to pick up missing collectibles. I think I can do that with my abilities unlocked now, so that should be a lot simpler.

Edit: yup, picked up all the missing story items (had to look one up in a guide, it's a really tricky one), and a few "kill this enemy type in a special way" achievements.

Also got the "finish a level without dying" one. It says something about a game when that particular cheevo is easiest to get in a boss fight, rather than the intro/tutorial level.

Got only a few more for tomorrow, and then might give this game a break and finish Raji over the weekend.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 07 November 2020 - 10:05 PM

[Serenity]

Briar King, on 26 October 2020 - 04:31 PM, said:

Wait what limited edition?! I made sure to buy it(the one that hits tomorrow) before I left Houston. It said it had all the dlc stuff on it. Did I fuck myself?

This one: https://store.nisaeurope.com/products/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel-iv-limited-edition-ps4

That's the European version.

This post has been edited by Serenity: 07 November 2020 - 01:08 AM

[Mentalist]

100%ed GhostRunner. Great game, totally worth the money. Gonna pick up the soundtrack when it goes on sale next.

Next up, gonna finish up Raji.

[Loki]

Just finished MK11 and plan to start Aftermath this weekend. Sidenote: Loki likey Daddy Cage.

Not sure of my overall progress but I'm four or five main quests into The Sinking City. It's cool but too open world for the amount of time I have available so it feels like I'm spending a lot of time playing but not really getting anywhere.

Wondering if I should put a pause on The Sinking City until I can play it for a decent chunk of time and start a less story-based game for now. 🤔

[Mentalist]

Having finished Raji, I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. A new patch for Vigil is supposed to be out this week to fix a bunch of NG+ bugs.

So while I'm waiting for that, I started SpellForce 3.
One of the main characters seems to be voiced by English Geralt. Since I played Witcher games in Russian, I'm not as used to him as others might be.
Game seems to start by taking me through same locations as Order of Dawn. It's cool to see this world before the cataclysm.

Also, it took me like 8 hours to realize, but the male version of the main character is voiced by the OG Prince Arthas. The connection became obvious when I had to take over a local militia to protect a village against a bunch of marauding Orcs.

Overall, the game spends much more time being an. RPG, and there's certainly the most non-optional dialogue in any SpellForce mainline title to date;
The RTS portion seems needlessly convoluted. It takes cues from Age of Mythology and the later Empire Earth games (? maybe Rise of Nations as well), in that your goal is to expand your "territory", which you do by erecting settlements in "sectors" of the map. The problem I have, the boundaries of these "sectors" aren't really marked, so you don't know what you're claiming until you grab it and piss off the neighbours.

There's also no manual villager control. Your settlements generate workers and you give abstract orders to build structures and populate production buildings. It all feels very Settler-ish, including needing to have all the right resources in that particular sector- if you don't they need to be delivered from other sectors to the construction/recruitment site first.

It feels strange; also doesn't help that I only have hunting and fishing for food production right now, so food is always a limited resource. It'll probably become a smoother experience once I'm far enough along to unlock farms.

[Aptorian]

Finished Persona 5 Royal with a Platinum after 156 hours. Awesome game that is let down by the Royal expansion story that feels utterly unnecessary.

I'd recommend anyone play it and just not play past New Year. It's an extremely cool game.

I think I need to check out Persona 4 Golden on Steam when I find a sweet spot between release windows.

[Aptorian]

Ah but it's the time management that's the most fun once you get into the rhythm of juggling social opportunities and the need to upgrade the characters.

[Mentalist]

Spellforce 3 goes full-on RPG after you finish Act 1. You get a base/hub area, and multiple quest lines to follow in any order, as your job is to "gather allies" who will then help you recover the McGuffins. Feels very Dragon Age: Origins, as your companions find places to chill in the new camp and you can speak to them individually and start personal quests; The balance of the game is still skewed to spend about 70% of your time in RPG mode, and a much shorter chunk with actual RTS.

Also, it's cool that they're really doubling down on being a prequel; I think we're actually creating the Runes and Rune Warriors that will be the driving plot (and underlying mechanics) of the first SpellForce & its expansions.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 14 November 2020 - 07:28 PM