General gaming discussion

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122217308#Comment_122217308

Dirt Rally is intense in PSVR.

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122217393#Comment_122217393

Quick spin of DR1 and it's definitely superior to 2. The ai is ridiculous to beat but the driving is so much more tense and engaging. Can only imagine it in vr.

Jordan 199

Zero, if you have PS+ Extra you should give Assetto Corsa Competizione a go. It's a very good GT track racer.

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122219115#Comment_122219115

Never played that, might give it a look thanks!

Retr0gamer

So first there's native ports of N64 games to PC. Now a native port of a PS2 game. Hope there's a lot more of these because PS2 emulation is still quite poor.

https://twitter.com/Pirat_Nation/status/1798048559369216287?t=tYS7e-hWU3AtUXtlJ4e89Q&s=19

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122217308#Comment_122217308

The new WRC is great. Prob the best rally game since DR1

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122221085#Comment_122221085

Saw there were a LOT of WRC games but the latest EA WRC leads with 'from the makers of Dirt Rally' so definitely a good sign. Will check it out when it drops in price a bit.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122221184#Comment_122221184

Yeah the EA one. They bought up code masters and got the licence . so the EA Sports WRC is essentially dirt 6 ( the dirt numbering is all over the place 😂).

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122221391#Comment_122221391

And it's on sale today for 15 on psn which seems a very good price. Looked at a few reviews and all mention performance issues like stutters which doesn't sound great.

Retr0gamer

https://twitter.com/Genki_JPN/status/1798215153948987396?t=vXMydHFA_j1cLF8YCq5hNw&s=19

You have to take Famitsu reviews with a massive bowl of salt but SMTV sounds like a massive improvement on an already great game.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122222523#Comment_122222523

A lot of that was ironed out, I didn't really notice it. But at the same time I'm usually speeding off into the ditch any way 🤣

They are still releasing new content too.

Zero-Cool

Hhmm I'm not sure if I'm looking to compete against other racers and not just solo like Rally. Gonna try Assetto Cornetto Competitzione and see what that's like.

Answer the man Geoff!

https://twitter.com/Duplighost_/status/1797692436694913441?t=2w9PMSmiSlDfxjVvSBKHsQ&s=19

All this talk of rally games got me thinking of Colin McRae rally, I used to love that I think I'm right in saying that was the original of the 3D genre? Great game and a great rally driver too.

Edit: I see Dirt is Colin McRae, rebranded. That makes sense now!

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122223935#Comment_122223935

Yeah it started out as Colin McRae Dirt Rally and I think rebranded to just dirt after he died. Great game on PS1. Played it for hours.

Would play that then drive to the arcade on the Ennis road get the top score on sega rally then drive home for more dirt.

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122224015#Comment_122224015

Maaaaan, the same! I used to love McCrea Rally 1 and then Sega rally in the arcade was just incredible. Good times, simple times...

Mr. CooL ICE

That was some game. Great cheat codes too. Turning into a flying DeLorean, anyone?

Potential-Monke

I was a fan of Colin McRae, but my jam back then were the V-Rally games, specifically V-Rally 97. Played that game to death! Back when I could finish tracks…

Grumpypants

Dirt 1 in VR was great. WRC got a VR update but only on PC I think not PSVR2.

Zero-Cool

Reading up on it today, the general consensus is that Dirt Rally 2 has the better driving and physics while ea WRC has better career and content so think I'll give DR 2 another go.

Also finished Resi 3 remake, took 6 hours and i quite enjoyed it. Bit soulless and lacking atmosphere but Jill was a bad ass and i never felt like i didn't have the resources to take on each area, nice palette cleanser.

Now to focus on Elden Ring end game to prepare for the dlc and dabble in a bit of dirt rally. Oh, also want to try Streets of Rage 4 (ps plus) as that seems to be getting rave reviews.

johnny_ultimate

Finished the rather wonderful Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Think a weirdo, puzzle-obsessed, combat-free take on the classic Resident Evil formula, with bold visual ideas and a narrative playfulness. Indeed, while it's not really a survival horror game itself, it does feel like a more adventerous and imaginative homage to the genre than many contemporary attempts to do the same (even the successful ones).

One of the most distinctive art designs I've encountered, and also one of the most versatile. When I say it's like Resi 1, it also contains the most striking and eerie PS1 graphical (and control scheme) homages I've seen. It uses fixed camera angles to really frame some extraordinary imagery, but also is very cheeky with how it mixes that up throughout.

The puzzles initially seem largely focused around combination locks and simple maths puzzles - the info is somewhere in the world, and you need to put it in the right place. That remains the basic formula, but it evolves to more elaborate, mansion-wide puzzles over the course of the game too. What really makes it interesting is how gradually the writing starts to meld with the puzzles. Without giving too much away, recurring patterns, numbers and motifs start to take on great resonance, and in the latter half of the game understanding of the events alluded to in the documents and stories you uncover begins to grow a lot more important.

Anyway, don't want to say too much, as it's a big, generous game that's worth meeting on its own terms (and thankfully there's some helpful guides out there that hint rather than tell for when you do need a nudge in the right direction). Simogo have done it once again, as I never doubted they would.

CatInABox

With over 22 days of playtime, I have officially unlocked the last achievement for Civilization 6. I'd say a fair amount of that was just when I left the game running as I went and did something else, but even so….. That's a lot. On Xbox. Because I've also played it on PC….. and switch…

Anyway, on to the back log! A Plague Tale 2 is up first, already about half way through it now.

pixelburp

Oof: had realised my old favourite Team Fortress 2 had fallen so low; depressing to see a former great in this state & valve leaving it rot...

https://aftermath.site/valve-team-fortress-2-fixtf2-bots-botspam

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122227623#Comment_122227623

Streets of Rage 4 surprised me with how good it is and it's gotten so much better with a very generous selection of characters.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122227693#Comment_122227693

I was waiting on the Johnny ultimate review. Sounds really good and heard it described as being like Sudan51's Flower Sun Rain, not like I'd know what it's like as not played that!

Halo remaster rumoured to be coming g to PlayStation. That is some turn of events, if true.

https://www.eurogamer.net/halo-combat-evolved-remaster-reportedly-in-the-works-being-considered-for-playstation-release

Retr0gamer

Id they do remake it I want them to improve the second half of the game.

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228502#Comment_122228502

A senior designer at MS has seemingly poured cold water on the news, although I'm pretty sure some XB people did that when Hifi Rush was first touted as going multiplat also. Whatever the truth is, this doesn't look great for Microsoft, imo - we had the same crap 6 months ago and it looks like in all that time they still haven't internally agreed on a strategy. We'll have this multiplat debate every time they announce a new game!

CatInABox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228608#Comment_122228608

Not sure why it's a debate really, some games are going to go multiplatform, and Halo was always one of the more likely ones. MS are still desperate to break into the live services games, and live service games only make sense when on as many platforms as possible. Infinite had a lot of early promise there, with the game eventually dying off because the Devs literally couldn't support it. The engine being cumbersome, along with insanely stupid hiring practices at 343 being the main culprits.

Anyway, makes sense that it's a remake, they need a single player aspect to it that is low risk, and nothing is lower risk than remastering a popular game, but in reality, this is just a vehicle for them to launch/relaunch their attempt at a Live Service Halo multiplayer.

eggy81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228608#Comment_122228608

it would be great if they could come up with a game that would actually sell a system somewhat. What was the last thing on Xbox that you’d wish was also on ps. Fable? Sea of thieves?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228608#Comment_122228608

Yeah there is a real lack of strategy. While PS are selling games on PC with a clear intention to entice gamers over to the console to buy the sequels, Xbox come across as just desperate to make money.

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228755#Comment_122228755

I'm not sure I agree that their being desperate to break into live service games has as much influence on their decision making. Hifi Rush isn't live service. Nor is Doom, but the new one is purportedly going multiplat day and date. The former was a small title with allegedly low sales expectations attached, the latter a big AAA franchise. There just doesn't seem to be a consistency in their decision making. Hence why debate on whether game X should be made available on other platforms or not seems inevitable.

Now obviously there doesn't need to be a discernible strategy at all - they can literally judge each game on a case by case basis. That's grand. It's just that from the outside, that doesn't look like the machinations of a company that know what they're doing (imo, and granted the closing of studios also feeds into that perception).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228875#Comment_122228875

I'm not a fan of reviews that boil a game down to a score out of ten, or whatever. But yeah, XB sure could use a few "9"s.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122229023#Comment_122229023

I don't think that strategy will necessarily work for PS either btw. Herman underestimates how patient (and stubborn) PC gamers are - I mean, they'll often wait literally years for a game to be released on Steam when it's already available to purchase on EGS! Besides, that revelation about wanting to lure PC gamers over to PS5 for sequels came during a corporate segment meeting, so I'm not sure how much faith I'd put in it.