General gaming discussion

Retr0gamer · 23-08-2017 12:36pm #1

Right going to give this a go. A general gaming discussion thread. The rest of the forum seems to be dedicated to discussing just the big new games and games stories. Here you can just talk about whatever. What you have been playing at the moment, thoughts on it, what's better xbox or playstation. OK maybe not the last one.

Right to kick things off. Final Fantasy 12. I've let people know how much I hate this game in the past but I'm currently playing the recent zodiac age release and... actually enjoying it. I'm doing all the hunts and lots of exploring so I'm not as underlevelled anymore. The new job system is fantastic and way better than the free for all that was the original license board. You tend to use under utilised skills rather the Han nuking everything with the best attacks. Also it took a while but the battle system is starting to make sense and there's some good battles in the later half of the game. Takes a while to get theready though.

I still think the xenoblade games are a far better expression of the ideas in ff12 but it's not the **** show I orginally had it pegged as. The story is garbage though. Starts off great but once you hit Archades it's very obviously rushed.

gimli2112 · 23-08-2017 1:41pm

FFXII is something I can see myself getting but with Everybody's Golf & Destiny 2 just around the corner I can't commit to any other games just now. Never completed FFXII on PS2. Vaguely remember being frustrated by something to do with Hunts but think the real reason was the PS3 came out and started playing Resistance FOM.

Uncharted The lost Legacy was also something I would probably have picked up this week.

Kiith · 23-08-2017 3:53pm

I'm kind of in a rut with games at the moment. Nothing much is holding my interest, so i'm just playing World of Warcraft most of the time. Think i need to take a break for a little while, and just watch some tv.

On another note, VR is pretty amazing to look at, but i don't think the technology has quite caught up with the idea of VR. It's not far off though.

Kimbot · 23-08-2017 3:56pm

Kiith wrote: »

I'm kind of in a rut with games at the moment. Nothing much is holding my interest, so i'm just playing World of Warcraft most of the time. Think i need to take a break for a little while, and just watch some tv.

On another note, VR is pretty amazing to look at, but i don't think the technology has quite caught up with the idea of VR. It's not far off though.

Have you played Horizon Zero Dawn yet? I know a good few are only getting into it at the moment

23-08-2017 3:59pm

Kiith wrote: »

I'm kind of in a rut with games at the moment. Nothing much is holding my interest, so i'm just playing World of Warcraft most of the time. Think i need to take a break for a little while, and just watch some tv.

On another note, VR is pretty amazing to look at, but i don't think the technology has quite caught up with the idea of VR. It's not far off though.

I found myself in this situation a lot, and my solution was to keep a couple of big games on the go at a given time which has really worked for me. If I'm getting fed up with one game I just go play another and come back to the first later.

At the moment I'm playing Disgaea 5, Yakuza 0 and Nioh. Most of my time currently probably is going to D5 (I think I'm getting addicted tbh), but next week I could feel like playing Y0 and I'll put more time into that. It's definitely keeping me interested. I've probably completed more games so far this year than any year previously.

CatInABox · 23-08-2017 4:02pm

I'm currently getting through Dishonoured: Definitive Edition before I start on Dishonoured 2. Enjoying it again, had forgotten so much of it.

On VR, I'm interested, but I'm not going to get into it before all the issues are ironed out. It really needs wireless as well.

super_furry · 23-08-2017 4:18pm

Don't think VR will be truly mass market until it's a stand alone and affordable device with no need to connect it to external devices. Probably another decade away.

Generic Dreadhead · 23-08-2017 4:23pm

If I read a game takes 80 hours to complete (that was a selling point for me 15 years ago when I got 4-6 games a year) now I see it as a turn off.

I've a PS Pro ordered for Destiny 2, so I'm hoping once I have the initial campaign done I can give some of the more well received PS Exclusives a go for the 1st time (TLOU, HZD). I also have Doom to finish.

Right now I'm clearing my "backlog" of PS Plus free indie or short games.
Basically giving them like 2 hours and them I either delete them or finish them.
It's actually kinda fun having a pick-and-mix of games to try now, some of them have been surprisingly good

Gave Total War Warhammer a god, but honestly, I can't say I like it, and I've been a big TW fan in the past

Been trying to give Overwatch a bit of a rest as feeling a tad burned out by it.

Darkest Dungeon DLC has launched on PS4/Vita today so I'm gonna be playing that (as I'm much happier with my PS4 Playthrough versus my PC Playthrough) in between bouts of clearing the PS Plus backlog, That'll generally take me to September 6th, when all bets are off.

Really looking forward to the X-com 2 DLC, but I'm going to wait to buy it as I know I won't have the time to commit to a full campaign Playthrough (with DLC) in 7 days. So it'll probably be around X-Mass time by the time I get to it

Taltos · 23-08-2017 4:41pm

Finished Horizon ZD a week or so ago and felt that gap where I just wasn't into trying some other huge game. So I went back and am replaying Darksiders, downloaded it for the PS4 along with Darksiders 2 behind it.

You know, it's been several years but parts of it feel like I only played it yesterday and the gameplay has held up reasonably well. Gets a bit frustrating in parts but Dark Souls means that frustrating games are there to be destroyed... Nice hearing Mark Hamills voice every so often, very happy I picked this one up again. Great change of pace from the open world HZD though, much needed.

As to VR. I'd also love to try it, but like others here, not until it's wireless and maybe isn't dependent on the camera solution. Cables in my house will just mean that hardware gets pulled onto a hard tiled floor so I'm not going to go that route until they release the updated model (and hopefully by then we'll see evidence that its here to stay and not another flash in the pan like 3D gaming...)

Retr0gamer · 23-08-2017 4:43pm

Couldn't really get into Horizon. Not a bad game but Breath of the Wild has destroyed my ability to enjoy the unison formula games. Saying that it's probably the best example of the ubisoft formula so far.

RasTa · 23-08-2017 4:58pm

Anything happening at gamescom?

23-08-2017 5:03pm

Also in a bit of a rut myself. Plenty there to be played in the back log but just can't be arsed with any of it.

Has anyone got Agents of Mayhem, I've heard "repetitive" being used in some of the reviews

CatInABox · 23-08-2017 5:05pm

RasTa wrote: »

Anything happening at gamescom?

No, not really. Age of Empires 4 is about the only thing that interested me.

drake70 · 23-08-2017 5:12pm

Still a few hours to go on Horizon ZD, but decided to have a break before the last push and have a go at Just Cause 3.

I still have The Witcher 3 WH GOTY and The Phantom Pain in my library

Retr0gamer · 23-08-2017 6:54pm

Gamescom seems to pretty lacklustre this year with Microsoft failing to give the One X a good pitch being the only non news worth talking about.

johnny_ultimate · 23-08-2017 10:24pm

Playing Pyre at the moment (among several other games - my fatal flaw) and disappointed it appears to have flown under the radar a tad given its from such a well-regarded studio. It makes a compelling case for best art & soundtrack of the year (seriously: it looks and sounds astounding); the writing is razor-sharp and overflowing with character; and while I've heard mixed things about the combat I'm find it thoroughly enjoyable and another worthy experiment from Supergiant (although Transistor's combat is other level good).

Also big fan of Fidel: Dungeon Rescue. Shades of Crypt of the Necrodancer, but its randomly generated puzzle rooms are very much their own.

23-08-2017 11:00pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Playing Pyre at the moment (among several other games - my fatal flaw) and disappointed it appears to have flown under the radar a tad given its from such a well-regarded studio. It makes a compelling case for best art & soundtrack of the year (seriously: it looks and sounds astounding); the writing is razor-sharp and overflowing with character; and while I've heard mixed things about the combat I'm find it thoroughly enjoyable and another worthy experiment from Supergiant (although Transistor's combat is other level good).

Also big fan of Fidel: Dungeon Rescue. Shades of Crypt of the Necrodancer, but its randomly generated puzzle rooms are very much their own.

I didn't know it was out , I got so used to seeing it for pre-order at the top of the new releases list on the phone app I ignored it. Liked Bastion and Transistor a lot.

Pac1Man · 23-08-2017 11:36pm

I really miss the Brothers in Arms franchise.

It offered something different when the original released in 2005. I Google it every 6 months or so to see if there is any news about another release.

"In development" is the current status.

Josey Wales · 24-08-2017 2:09pm

I bought the remastered Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 on PSN the other day. It was a pretty good deal at €20. I wanted to play through it with my son.

So we played it for a few days and got about 5 hours or so into the first game. The other night when he was in bed I decided I wanted to play something different so switched to another game. The next day I turn back on MUA and am told there is no game data to load. The game doesn't have any auto check-pointing or saving. You have to manually save the game at various points through the levels.

Sephiroth_dude · 24-08-2017 6:28pm

Playing through uncharted 4 atm, such a pretty game, will start lost legacy over the weekend maybe.

Also been playing trails in the sky, witcher 3 hearts of stone expansion, forza 3 and I can see why people like undertale, the humour is quite quirky in it

Retr0gamer · 24-08-2017 6:36pm

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Playing through uncharted 4 atm, such a pretty game,

Fur coat no knickers the game. Looks gorgeous but it's a few action scenes interspersed with boredom.

The Specialist · 24-08-2017 6:39pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Fur coat no knickers the game. Looks gorgeous but it's a few action scenes interspersed with boredom.

I wouldn't say it was boring as such, a solid title, but it did feel about 2 hours too long. I was rolling my eyes in the final few stages every time it handed back control.

CiDeRmAn · 24-08-2017 7:03pm

I haven't started it yet myself, Uncharted 4.
I understand the waste of time it represents, but I'll still give it a go.

Notorious · 25-08-2017 7:51am

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I haven't started it yet myself, Uncharted 4.
I understand the waste of time it represents, but I'll still give it a go.

It is fun but there were times where I started to think it was more of a visual feast than a game. The level of the detail in some of the backdrops is insane.

25-08-2017 8:07am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Fur coat no knickers the game. Looks gorgeous but it's a few action scenes interspersed with boredom.

Agreed, I really bounced off UC4. I hated, despised the shooting. Just couldn't keep playing it.

gimli2112 · 25-08-2017 8:58am

Loved Uncharted 1 & 2, 3 was alright. 4 wasn't a bad game but I struggled with it at times and was glad to get to the end. The final scene was really well done...... or maybe I was just glad to get there.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 25-08-2017 9:37am

This time of year, i usually try and clear out a bit of the backlog. Anyone with an xbox, I'd highly recommend you check out oxenfree - its games with gold for september.

Am somewhat rushing through dark souls 3 at the moment, which isnt the way to play it, but with Destiny 2 less than a fortnight away, and Rainbow 6 siege about to drop its next round of DLC, I can see my gaming time being utterly dominated by those 2. I also have the 2 witcher expansions that I'm saving for my Xbox Scorpio, and if Battlegrounds launches this year, well, the backlog is just going to fester completely.

Oh, and Narcos season 3 is also out next week:eek:

CatInABox · 25-08-2017 9:48am

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Am somewhat rushing through dark souls 3 at the moment, which isnt the way to play it, but with Destiny 2 less than a fortnight away, and Rainbow 6 siege about to drop its next round of DLC, I can see my gaming time being utterly dominated by those 2.

Destiny 2 is so close? Damn, that's pretty much all the news for the next few months polluted with various Destiny articles.

"Where to find the best weapon"
"What build is best"
"New loot cave found"
"Voice actor is c**p, being replaced"
"What's on sale in the some guys shop"

Nothing against Destiny, for various reasons I don't think I'd like it, but man, all those articles got really wearing last time around. A damning indictment of games journalism, it proved to me that no site wouldn't turn out clickbait articles.

Kimbot · 25-08-2017 9:56am

CatInABox wrote: »

Destiny 2 is so close? Damn, that's pretty much all the news for the next few months polluted with various Destiny articles.

"Where to find the best weapon"
"What build is best"
"New loot cave found"
"Voice actor is c**p, being replaced"
"What's on sale in the some guys shop"

Nothing against Destiny, for various reasons I don't think I'd like it, but man, all those articles got really wearing last time around. A damning indictment of games journalism, it proved to me that no site wouldn't turn out clickbait articles.

Well you never know if you like it or not if you dont at least try it out :P

All the above could be said for many many games out there, COD/GTA etc, the joys of the internet mean we are flooded with rubbish articles.

CatInABox · 25-08-2017 10:07am

jonnycivic wrote: »

Well you never know if you like it or not if you dont at least try it out :P

All the above could be said for many many games out there, COD/GTA etc, the joys of the internet mean we are flooded with rubbish articles.

Destiny was a particularly weird one though, it was like every second article for the first month was destiny related, which I found weird for a game that had reviewed averagely.

As for if I'd like it or not, I'd be more worried that I'd get addicted to it than if I'd like it or not. Really can't do time sink games anymore!

Kiith · 25-08-2017 10:12am

Looking forward to Destiny 2, but it'll be October for me as that's the PC release.

I think i'm going to work through my Steam backlog over the next few months. So many games i've never played, and i feel like i should give at least some of them a chance. I'll be pretty ruthless though...an hour or two to impress, or into the bin you go.

Retr0gamer · 25-08-2017 11:03am

After finding Destiny to be some of the best shooting mechanics wrapped around a game designed to completely and utterly waste your time with mechanics on top of mechanics that are just a different version of the same grind.... I'm steering well clear.

It's skinner box the game. You sit down and when you put the controller down realise hours have past yet feel you've achieved absolutely nothing and could be playing something else that doesn't leave you with a hollow feeling inside.

Kiith · 25-08-2017 12:00pm

As someone who's spent 10+ years playing World of Warcraft, i'm used to that feeling :P

Notorious · 25-08-2017 12:28pm

Kiith wrote: »

As someone who's spent 10+ years playing World of Warcraft, i'm used to that feeling :P

Are you still playing Kiith? I went back to Legion but I couldn't get into it. After years of leaving and then returning to WoW, I felt like I was done.

Kiith · 25-08-2017 12:31pm

Yeah, still playing. I pop in every few months, get briefly hooked, and then realise I'm not really enjoying it that much and quit. That's been a pretty recurring theme for the last few years. Currently still enjoying it though, and just levelling some alts as they made it much easier to play multiple characters with the catch up mechanics. Looking forward to 7.3 for the completion to the current story.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 25-08-2017 2:08pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

After finding Destiny to be some of the best shooting mechanics wrapped around a game designed to completely and utterly waste your time with mechanics on top of mechanics that are just a different version of the same grind.... I'm steering well clear.

It's skinner box the game. You sit down and when you put the controller down realise hours have past yet feel you've achieved absolutely nothing and could be playing something else that doesn't leave you with a hollow feeling inside.

Thats a line thats constantly trotted out and it does the game a massive disservice.

I'll always have memories of going into the vault of glass with low quality weapons and taking 7 or so hours to get through it. Same for the lantern run in crotas end, all your teammates essentially making a circle and trying to move onwards through the darkness, then hold the hordes at bay while getting the bridge to materialise. I'll always remember running the totems perfectly as a group, no chatter outside of 'switch', 'swapping out' etc. The laughs had as fellas repeatedly failed the jumping section after golgoroth etc.

I've been one of destinys harshest critics on occasion, but that game has given me some of the highest highs I've had in gaming.

Retr0gamer · 25-08-2017 2:15pm

It's not a total trainwreck, it's just the fun to bull**** ratio is heavily in favour of the latter. I mean to get to the raids you had to play through 20 hours of boring. And even if Vault of Glass was fun, it's all the game had for a very long time.

25-08-2017 2:26pm

Anyone see a former lead writer at Valve released the story to Half Life 3 (or potentially Half Life 2 Episode 3 - there's some confusion) and pretty much confirming we'll never get it?

Stone Deaf 4evr · 25-08-2017 2:33pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Anyone see a former lead writer at Valve released the story to Half Life 3 (or potentially Half Life 2 Episode 3 - there's some confusion) and pretty much confirming we'll never get it?

This post is useless without links!

25-08-2017 2:35pm

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

This post is useless without links!

True enough

johnny_ultimate · 25-08-2017 2:47pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's not a total trainwreck, it's just the fun to bull**** ratio is heavily in favour of the latter. I mean to get to the raids you had to play through 20 hours of boring. And even if Vault of Glass was fun, it's all the game had for a very long time.

Yep. I played through one of the most insipid campaigns I've ever played through... and still had 10-20 hours to go until the 'good stuff'. That to me is actual contempt for the player's time, and completely turned me off Destiny for good.

I also believe that the social element is true with most multiplayer co-op games. Sure, Destiny has a bit more effort put in, but there's plenty of adequate to great games that are made significantly better when playing with a friend. Hell, even bad games are better with a friend.

I was playing Overcookd the other night in 2-player, and within an hour we were conjuring up insane co-op plans and just shouting single words at each other to communicate. That game delivers quickly and immediately begins mixing it up to keep you on your toes. Destiny? Not so much.

Generic Dreadhead · 25-08-2017 3:16pm

What other 6 player co-operative PvE console games exist?

I mean I was playing the below last week and had a blast, but I wouldn't go comparing it to playing Evolve

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gimli2112 · 25-08-2017 3:20pm

Should I just post Destiny is fantastic, to add some objective balance?

Generic Dreadhead · 25-08-2017 3:24pm

gimli2112 wrote: »

Should I just post Destiny is fantastic, to add some objective balance?

I say we just stay in our box. Any attempts to change anyones minds on this kind of stuff is futile.

Just think it's funny how completely different comparisons are made to suit the usual group-think rhetoric.

Usually because it's fashionable now to be acceptingly-dismissive of Destiny now (instead of the outright vitriolic circle jerking that was fashionable in 2014->2015) as people don't want to accept that the game actually was fixed, added to, iterated on, rebalanced and so on and so forth :rolleyes:

It would be like me popping up in Gran Turismo thread saying how 2-player campaign in Rock and Roll Racing on the SNES was much more fun than selecting my tire pressure for my C license reversing test :P

Falthyron · 25-08-2017 3:24pm

gimli2112 wrote: »

Should I just post Destiny is fantastic, to add some objective balance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrXr8PcW4CY

CatInABox · 25-08-2017 3:31pm

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

It would be like me popping up in Gran Turismo thread saying how 2-player campaign in Rock and Roll Racing on the SNES was much more fun than selecting my tire pressure for my C license reversing test :P

Well, in fairness, it was..... :pac:

I don't actually have a problem with Destiny, never hated it or anything, just not my thing. The number of articles though, that caused me to despair. Like seriously, a weekly article on the front page of a fairly large website, detailing what was in the shop that week? I thought that stuff like that was excessive.

johnny_ultimate · 25-08-2017 3:33pm

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

Just think it's funny how completely different comparisons are made to suit the usual group-think rhetoric.

I was merely pointing out how social interaction quickly makes a game more enjoyable - and using a game that IMO delivers co-op gameplay that does not require two dozen hours of play before opening up

The only two online multiplayer games I've played recently - Splatoon 2 (Salmon Run is fantastic, no nosense PvE) and PUBG - also both deliver the goods without fat, and pretty immediately, as a more direct comparison.

I don't expect to change many or indeed any people's opinions - I respect that many people like or indeed love the game, and that it received a lot of work since I played vanilla. Happy to leave the more thorough discussions happen in the forum without pointlessly interjecting how crappy I think it is.

Personally never saw anything that would change my mind that it was filler-packed nonsense with a regrettable attitude towards the player's time, though, and this is a general discussion after all rather than a dedicated thread about the game. But again, have read plenty of interesting, articulate thoughts on it over the years even if I disagree with 'em, and I'm sure that will be the case when part two arrives

Generic Dreadhead · 25-08-2017 3:46pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Splatoon 2 (Salmon Run is fantastic, no nosense PvE) and PUBG - also both deliver the goods without fat, and pretty immediately, as a more direct comparison.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Salmon Run on Splatoon 2 time gated? I could not play this activity for a lot of the time I've owned the game. The area was closed

johnny_ultimate · 25-08-2017 3:56pm

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Salmon Run on Splatoon 2 time gated? I could not play this activity for a lot of the time I've owned the game. The area was closed

It is! I think Nintendo like 'eventising' things like that! Would be great if it was open all the time, but when it is it's straight-up, immediately gratifying co-op

I do have a few issues with the way Splatoon does things, incidentally: I think the difference is even when there's a some weird quirks and restrictions (like unlocking modes as you go on), there's actually lots of really great stuff from a very early stage in the game and doesn't feel like you're just waiting to get to the better stuff. Not to mention there's always the pleasingly episodic and imaginative campaign to spend a few hours with to break up the pace!

aaronjumper · 25-08-2017 4:40pm

Well I'm still addicted to Overwatch and Final Fantasy XV. Currently taking a break from Mafia 3 and Elite Dangerous.

Trying to decide if I want to buy Dead By Daylight, looks like fun.
I see that people are getting bored with Friday 13th until the new maps and game modes are released.

As for Destiny I think it is great, if you stick to the activities you enjoy instead of trying to do everything for a max light level that won't matter in a few weeks you enjoy yourself more.
I always enjoyed patrols and strikes so that is where I spent most of my time, with the odd hop into the Mayhem gametype that was added to the crucible.

Retr0gamer · 25-08-2017 4:42pm

I just feel Destiny is a really vapid experience. It's a glorified chat box. Something branded to put on while you chat to mates. Sure the Raids do require a bit more team work. The whole character development system is just layers of grinding for grindings sake. That's something you can level at nearly ever MMO but I feel Destiny is particulately blatant about it.

What's so maddening is that it has the mechanics there to make on of the finest shooters ever yet it's just surrounding a game of hollow repetition. Even if Destiny 2 is a big improvement I probably won't dip in as I was burned so badly beforehand and the people reviewing will be Destiny fan boys who will Gobble it up and not be objective.

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