Other Games
-
I got sucked back into warframe which is why I haven't been around.
I've never played a free game that was continuously developed so much as to keep things interesting for so long
-
Last couple months or so I've been playing a few games, some good, some not so good, so here's my feelings and recommendations in case it can help others decide whether the game is worth their money or not.
Fall of the Dungeon Guardians / Ruzar: The Life Stone - These are two different games, but I'm listing them together because they're basically the same thing. Oldschool first person dungeon crawlers. Those of you who have played Eye of the Beholder, Might and Magic Legacy X or Legend of Grimrock know what kind of game it is. Both indie games, pretty cheap and with a pretty high fun-per-dollar ratio, especially for those who like the genre.
Fallout 4 - I said most of what had to be said up there. The game is aeons behind The Witcher 3, but what it does, does it well. I had my fun with it, but I don't consider this game an essential.
Sword Coast Legends - Rivers of ink have been spilled on this game as well. Now Community packs 1 and 2 have been released, and soon the expansion/addon "Rage of Demons" will be released. All in all, a lot of the initial roughness and lack of options has been mitigated. I'd say for a DnD fan it's a worthy buy at this point.
Mordheim: City of the Damned - I'm in LOVE with Mordheim. Not only because of how loyally it's been tranferred from tabletop to PC, but also because the game is actually really polished, beautiful (in its sinister dark way) and addicting.
Each individual unit in your warband you can name, add a long description, equip, customize in appearance, and each individual unit levels at its own pace depending on its own merits, and can also suffer permanent injuries like losing an eye, arm, leg, anything - all of which, you see physically on the character's avatar even during further battles, should you want to keep such crippled warrior in your roster. Your soldiers can even die permanently if they were severely injuried and there is no reloading games, or restarting battles that don't go the way you wanted.
As your units level up and achieve feats, you start getting fond of them, celebrating their perks and enduring their wounds, and that makes every battle exciting considering a bad move can end the life of one of them for good, or have a leg amputated which will have your warrior running around on a peg leg for the rest of its career. You could even customise your whole warband to be your favourite group of Narfell characters, customising names, descriptions, equipment and appearances for each of them, and see how they fare in the cursed alleys of Mordheim.
The game also has some flaws, like sometimes very long loading times, or non-adjustable difficulty - the default difficulty has been reported to be really high and frustrating for a lot of players, preventing their progress in the game as the warband is so crippled that they start falling further and further behind schedule, in the end being forced to disband and restart fresh from the beginning with a new warband. This is nothing new, it's the same mechanic as UFO/X-Com games, but I'll lay it out there so people know what they're getting themselves into.
I'd like as well if there were more warbands, at the moment only available are Skaven, Human Mercenaries, Possessed(Chaos), and Sisters of Sigmar, each very well represented with their own strengths and weaknesses.
This Mordheim talk got a bit longer than I wanted, but that's because I've always loved tabletop Mordheim, and it's the game I'm currently investing most of my computer time with.
That's all for this round, more and better next year!
-
I'm playing Legacy of the Void until Bethesda does their usual ironing out of bugs way after release.
-
Being 30 hours in, I feel I stand on solid enough ground to cast a valid judgement on Fallout 4.
Short story - it's a great game.
Now for the long story…
The game does a lot of great things to keep you having fun. The VATS mode once again outdoes itself, the physics and ballistics in the game are superb. Few things are as satisfying as slow motion sequences captured from advantage angles just as you critical hit some mutant creature's head off. I simply can't get enough of that.
Enemies drop exactly what they wear and what they're using as weapons, nothing more, nothing less, and I personally love that. I wish every RPG could follow that example.
Weapons are great, so is the ability to custom build piece by piece about every weapon you find in the game. So you want a scope on a Colt .45 or a bayonete on a rocket launcher? Yeah, you can do it. Same goes for armors, and your own personal Power Armor that works much like a Mech-suit you can use to tackle on tough challenges (it runs quickly out of power and power cells are scarce).
Being able to build from the ground up entire settlements and towns is another thing someone who enjoys that could spend countless hours with. You can set-up entire electrical networks, water ducts to get everyone a steady supply, fenced crops... it's not as highly customizable as one would hope, but it's still pretty great.
Oh and I have to mention the voice acting. It's really well done. The acting feels natural and fitting in most cases, not overacted, not lazy. Just right more often than not. That's progress, one that many franchises are making, and it's worth commending Bethesda for it too.
Now. The game does have problems. The most minor of them all I'll make a passing mention since to me it doesn't mean that much, but the graphics quality do not meet the state-of-the-art expectations one could have from such a millionaire budget AAA title. As I said, to me it's not that much of a problem, but I'm putting it out there.
Another issue, and this is personal - level scaling. I don't want every damn enemy I face to be matched to my level. It makes the world feel so artificial and fake. That's a matter of personal preference I suppose, but I just don't like it.
Another problem is already a legacy and symbol of Bethesda games. The world feels so damn discontinued and inconsequential whenever you're not in the pursue of a main story quest. It's like I entered this huge library and as you delve into it beating supermutants and malfunctioning security bots you learn the story of the place - a group of scientists/curators fought to their last breath to preserve the knowledge there for the world of the future, and as you read through documents you find out that the curator spendt her last moments encoding a message so that any human who finds the place can carry on their work.
So I'm all over that, I want to save the knowledge, it'll help the human race to stand back on its feet if it can survive that holocaust. Except you can't do anything about it, because there isn't even a quest attached to it. You wanted to matter, but you can't because the game doesn't care for it. So you feel helpless and let down, much like one of those Narfell plots where the DM suddenly quits and you feel yourself invested into that plot, but then nothing happens ever again. The world just pretends it never happened.
It's not only that. The whole place is "kill stuff because it's in your way" when you're not strictly following the main storyline. And that's a shame, because a game with the potential to be the best RPG you ever played turns out to be a sandboxy exploration RPG lite with cool combat mechanics. In a way that feels like its eons behind its direct competitors, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or The Witcher, to mention the most acclaimed.
To sum up my opinion then - Fallout 4 is a very great game that is worth playing. It'll no doubt deliver 100+ hours of fun to about anyone. That said, I'm yet to be moved by Fallout 4, and I'm having a hard time to feel identified or even care for the concerns of any of the companions / NPCs I've encountered along the way, which I suppose can be blamed on the rather deficient writing.
-
Borderlands pre sequel went on sale on steam with fallout. .so I got that instead.
I won't be spending 80 bucks on a game though I'll wait til it goes on sale
-
Fallout 4 has taken over my life. I'm not ashamed and I don't want it to change. I embrace my fate. My life belongs to Fallout 4.
Seriously though, everything I've done so far has been brilliant. Some of the 'repeatable' quests are getting a bit dumb I mean I've saved the same 'farm' about 18 times from all kinds of Wasteland calamity. I think it's time to stop investing my time in those kinds of missions and find a questline to stick to.
I've seen so many wonderful things! Mustn't spoil them, but I hope you react to them when you encounter them as I did. With pure giddy glee!
-
I sometimes wish I could hit my head in a way that I could forget the first Mass Effect trilogy, and be able to experience it anew, to be surprised and amazed by it as if I had never known of it before.
I think Andromeda aims to deliver that experience. A new, fresh start to say "we already told you a great story you loved, but that story ended. Let us tell you another for you to love just as well."
And personally, exploring our neighbouring Galaxy with the scientific plausibility that Mass Effect typically is built I think will be make for a fantastic journey.
-
I wish I was more excited for new Mass Effect.
I did love the original trilogy, and was always pining for more. Buuut it's in an entirely different galaxy? All it has in common is the game mechanics. I was hoping for adventures in the galaxy they spent sooo much time building up already that fascinated me.
-
The Witcher 3, very great game. Fallout 4… looks good, we'll see! Cyberpunk 2077, looking pretty awesome in the first few videos and short gameplays you can dig from the net.
But to me, they all are fillers while waiting for The Real Thing.
The clock is ticking!
-
$10 from me too!
-
Yay, you guys are my heroes!
Almost halfway there!
-
Just sent $10USD. Would have sent more, but exchange rates are hurting me at the moment. Plus just bought an engagement ring, them things are pricey.
-
Thank you! ^_^
-
-
I do!
chris_m_oriley@Yahoo.com is the name on the account!
-
Unfortunately, Steam doesn't allow cash gifts.
Jerrick, do you have a Paypal we can donate to? Then you can buy the game with Paypal.
-
How much is Fallout 4 on the US Steam store? I'll chip in some money if others will!
-
I definitely do have Steam, and you guys are way too nice to me.
It's TripleSevenATX
Fine timing, too. I'm literally on my way to the Dr. as soon as my ride gets here, then it's on to making the treatment plan. Ugh.
-
Hey Jerrick, do you have Steam? I reckon some of us could chip in for a copy for you. I know I would.
Also +1 to playing Life is Strange. It was amazing.
-
@1c758268bb:
Best Audio: Ori and the Blind Forest (Microsoft)
If you enjoy platformers it's tremendous amounts of fun. The art and music are both amazing.
@1c758268bb:
Gaming Performance of the Year: Ashly Burch as Chloe in Life is Strange
Everyone should get and play this game (all five episodes). Considering Life Is Strange has nothing in it but moving around, conversations, object interactions, and other choices - it's ridiculous how much it will blow your mind. It will also take your heart, rip it out, and beat you senseless with feels.
