General gaming discussion

[Kikó]

Unfortunately it wasn't.

Why would you want it modernised? Sonic is shite modern. Something suit the 2D walkacross.

[phonics]

https://youtu.be/e5meiRPJTWU

The non updated pixel versions look better than the actual game...

[Pepe]

Who's up for a session tomorrow?

[Ian]

Do we know how much it's gonna be? Steam just has the wishlist button and no price.

The answer is "probably" though.

[phonics]

25 dollars so probably 19.99 in pounds.

[Ian]

Hmmm.

[Yevrah]

Has anyone else had issues connecting to Xbox live over the last couple of days?

[Ian]

25 dollars so probably 19.99 in pounds.

Not far off, £22.49. Currently has a 10%(!) discount.

Dunno if I want to spend £20 on it.

[Pepe]

I already did. :cool:

[Ian]

Let me know how you get on with it. I'm reading 3-4 hours so I'd want a lot of replayability for that.

[Pepe]

3-4 hours to complete it?

Will probably take me 12.

[Ian]

3-4 hours to complete it?

Will probably take me 12.

:D

Just imagine that each enemy is Cord and they need shotgunned out of an APC.

[Pepe]

I read that there is "friendly fire" on this and got PTSD of that day.

[Ian]

:D

I believe it can be turned on or off, but yeah I saw that.

Also Benny accidentally lobbing a molotov at his own feet and shouting "OH NO WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

[Pepe]

If I can get Cord to play, we are definitely leaving it on.

[Ian]

:D

[Vercetti]

I bunged £20 on it this morning.

It was always likely to have a fan in me, as I love the older ones.

The enemies that look how I imagine Phonics to look can piss off, though. Spin-kicking pieces of shit.

[Ian]

The big question is: How is Axel's beard?

[Vercetti]

Too blonde for his age.

He clearly dyes it.

[Ian]

I mean he's got a bit of a vanity physique anyway so I guess that's no huge surprise.

[Pepe]

First stage took me three tries. :D
Vercetti, wanna do some coop?

[Vercetti]

I'm on PS4, and I don't have an online account on there, sadly.

This "lockdown" is the first sustained period of gaming I've had in years.

[Mike]

Downloaded on PC and Xbox One, cos gamepass, dunno which I'll play on.

[Kikó]

I'm willing to buy on xbox in a bit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'll get Gamepass (is it really only £4 a month for PC?) and download it for some co-op action.

Used to love playing Streets of Rage 2 on the arcade machine at the local swimming pool.

Nothing like kicking the shit out of dickheads with a strawberry Ribena :drool:

[Pepe]

Have to admit, I have never played Streets of Rage before. Lots of Final Fight though. Also a shitload of SNES beat 'em ups. Turtles in Time. :drool:

Hit me up when you ready 'how.

[bruhnaldo]

oh is SoR on Game Pass? Might have to try that then actually.

I miss the relatively straightforward beat 'em ups like Pepe mentioned Ninja Turtles

[Pepe]

What's gamepass?

[Pepe]

After having to Google it myself (thanks lads), it seems like a pretty good deal, but I don't think that I play a big enough variety of games to justify it.

[Vercetti]

I'd have signed up for that, if it ran off of servers, like PSNow.

Sadly, my laptop doesn't meet the specs.

[7om]

Anyone playing COD Warzone?

[Ian]

No because I don't have Windows 10 and can't be arsed upgrading before I upgrade my PC which is happening soon.

Anybody I know who's played it says it's good though.

[7om]

Yeah, I'm playing and loving it. Squading with randoms all the time isn't the best though.

[Ian]

I wouldn't play any of these things with randoms unless I was super in the mood and had no other option.

[Mike]

Anyone getting the Command and Conquer Remastered pack on Monday?

[Raoul Duke]

It's not out until June, I think?

I would be getting involved but it's not coming out on Mac :moop:

[Mike]

Ah I got my dates mixed up! Oops, see you in a month.

[phonics]

Streets of Rage 4 is bad (and 2 player)

[Kikó]

Is it? I quite enjoyed the first level.

[Ian]

Phonics in not liking thing shocker.

[Kikó]

Got up to level 4 with a mate and despite not really liking Axel's new way of saying his special, it hits all the right buttons. Unlocked a special character as well. :cool:

[Pepe]

I've quite enjoyed it, even if playing solo.

[Vercetti]

Yeah, I've liked it. It's exactly what I expected it was going to be.

Blitzed through it twice on easy, so far.

[Offshore Toon]

Are there any decent co-op games for 4+ players on ps4? Mostly playing COD and Rocket League at the moment.

[Ian]

GTA5 , Borderlands, some of the Clancy games have four player I think.

Overcooked if you're looking for something sillier, I've heard it's a lot of fun.

[Shindig]

I almost said Apex Legends but squad sizes are limited to 3.

[Baz]

Are there any decent co-op games for 4+ players on ps4? Mostly playing COD and Rocket League at the moment.

https://www.co-optimus.com/system/22/playstation-4.html

[Pepe]

Streets of Rage 4 :dc:

[Kikó]

Max can fuck off.

[Danny]

Anyone playing COD Warzone?

I play it a fair amount. Always with atleast one team mate. Randoms is the worst aspect of it.

I think I got upto 21 wins last night.

[7om]

I play it a fair amount. Always with atleast one team mate. Randoms is the worst aspect of it.

I think I got upto 21 wins last night.

I found the battle royale a bit boring so have mainly been playing plunder. I don't know if it's just bad luck or what but my random teammates have been horrific. Most back out within a minute of the game starting.

[Lofty]

A disgruntled employee has leaked the entire cutscene archive to The Last of Us 2 and thus pretty much given away the story.

As such Sony has suddenly announced he release date of June 19th.

The leaks are gonna make it bomb if true :D

[Danny]

I found the battle royale a bit boring so have mainly been playing plunder. I don't know if it's just bad luck or what but my random teammates have been horrific. Most back out within a minute of the game starting.

Plunder is a lot of fun. We had been playing it but once they dropped it to duos we stopped and stuck to the BR

[Pepe]

So what is the good, casual, FPS to play nowadays?

[Shindig]

The leaks are gonna make it bomb if true :D

I've tried to skirt around it but I've caught some of the backlash. It's hard to know whether the moaning is for the actual quality of the plot or rather a specific plot point that's triggered a bunch of people. The Last of Us is something I didn't want a sequel to and I can't wrap my head around how you go about managing it.

[Danny]

So what is the good, casual, FPS to play nowadays?

Probably Warzone tbh.

PUBG is dying.
Apex, imo, is crap.
Valorant is the new big thing, its a CS:GO + abilities game.

[Pepe]

Up to stage 7 on Streets of Rage. The number of enemies they throw at you on stage 6 is a bit insane. Luckily the boss isn't too hard.

[Alex]

I've been playing through Arkham Asylum for the first time recently and I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's a good mix of combat, stealth and exploration. The combat is very satisfying when you get it right and string a nice, long combo together. It's taken me until quite late in the game to properly feel like I'm doing it right, actually. I regularly got the head caved in by relatively small groups of the Joker's goons early on.

I think I'm getting towards the end now. Just based on the fact I've acquired quite a lot of the upgrades and it's starting to feel a big endgame-y in terms of the story. I imagine I'll move on to Arkham City next, as I've never played any of these Batman games and I got the remastered double-pack of the two.

[Ian]

Oof, Arkham games for the first time. :drool:

You got them all, Alex?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I never finished Origins and never started Knight.

Asylum and City are brilliant though.

[Ian]

The car stuff in Knight is tedious which is a shame because the feel of just driving the car about is ace as it's chunky and weighty. And the other stuff is as good as it was in City but when you find out the Deathstroke battle is a tank-off. Blegh.

[Shindig]

I gave up in Knight on the late-game tank boss. Batman's movement is part of the charm and the car ruins it.

[Alex]

Oof, Arkham games for the first time. :drool:

You got them all, Alex?

I've got Asylum and City in this remastered version. I think I do have Knight too, I'm sure it was a freebie on PS Plus a few months ago. Origins I don't have though. I think I'll have to fire the PS3 up for that, as it doesn't seem to have been given the (now almost obligatory) remaster treatment.

[Raoul Duke]

I've got the freebie one to get through, with all the Batmobile gibberish. I think I'll pick that up next after I've finished up Far Cry New Dawn

[Ian]

I have a bazillion games and somehow don't want to play any of them so I've bought Supraland as it's down to about £8.

[Kikó]

Streets of rage 4 is great fun. Proper arcade.

Just beat the fuck out of everyone with retro Axel as well 😎

[Giggles]

Is it right that you can’t play games online on the XBox without a subscription of some sort? Even after two people buying the game?

[Giggles]

Also, went to buy GTA V to amuse myself for a while and was met with this shit. This is the reason I went away from gaming years ago - how much does it actually cost to play this thing?


https://i.imgur.com/5PMi9ZW.jpg

[Kikó]

I'm going with Arkham 😎

[Mike]

Also, went to buy GTA V to amuse myself for a while and was met with this shit. This is the reason I went away from gaming years ago - how much does it actually cost to play this thing?


https://i.imgur.com/5PMi9ZW.jpg

Just the single player game? Just get that first one, The 30 Euro one. It had been on gamepass until last week. Bad timing!

[Giggles]

I’d never subscribe to Gamepass so that bit wouldn’t matter.

[Ian]

Okay so Supraland is brilliant.

[Giggles]

Okay so Supraland is brilliant.

Looks interesting. What sort of setup would you need to play it though? Proper gaming PC?

[Ian]

Honestly not sure what you'd need.

Have a bash at this: https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/supraland/18682

[Shindig]

If it's on steam you can try it out and refund it if your PC's not up to it.

[Giggles]

Hit the minimum but not the recommended so I won't chance it.

[Ian]

Okay so Supraland is brilliant.

Haven't finished it yet but I just want to reiterate this. I'm sure there are misguided individuals who'd be put off by the setting (because obviously what the world needs is more 'serious' games where all the colours are shades of greyish brown) but this is the good shit. It could do with giving you the ability to stop enemy respawns earlier than it does because the combat isn't that exciting and it can be annoying dealing with weak enemies when you're just returning to an area with new abilities to mop up some more puzzles but that and perhaps the lack of a map are my only real gripes. The exploration and puzzles are great, it's funny and the idea of it being in a child's sandpit / play box thing is very well realised.

A plus side I'll add regarding the combat is that I've fought one boss so far but unless terrible (i.e. most) boss fights in this sort of thing it actually needs you to use what you've learned so far to beat it.

[John Arne]

Red Dead Redemption is currently on sale, from 1,000,000 down to 800,000. About £26.

Tempting. Probably not tempting enough.

[Mike]

https://youtu.be/e03zsP3l2UY

[Shindig]

Activision are trying Tony Hawks 1+2 again. You can't go home again, guys. Just put the old games out with a lesser soundtrack. EDIT: Cheers, Mike. :D

[Baz]

I am READY!

Even considering Pre-ordering the £90 version (https://www.game.co.uk/en/m/tony-hawks-pro-skater-1-2-collectors-edition-game-exclusive-2750666) despite having zero use or desire for a skate deck thingy.

[randomlegend]

Hit the minimum but not the recommended so I won't chance it.

What do you fail on? Desktop or laptop?

[Giggles]

What do you fail on? Desktop or laptop?

Laptop. Not sure what the reason was but it had a tick for minimum and none for recommended.

I might get a better result if I install the game driver for the graphics card instead of the studio driver.

[Ian]

I've run plenty of stuff on CYRI where I don't hit all / any of the Recommended requirements so as Shindig said it might be worth a bash even if you have to get a refund.

[randomlegend]

The steam refund process is actually brilliant IME.

[Lofty]

I've got Asylum and City in this remastered version. I think I do have Knight too, I'm sure it was a freebie on PS Plus a few months ago. Origins I don't have though. I think I'll have to fire the PS3 up for that, as it doesn't seem to have been given the (now almost obligatory) remaster treatment.

If you haven't played Spider-man then play that after you do all the Batman games, it is the spiritual successor combat wise however tweaks it with the 'you aren't Batman you need to avoid getting hit' angle.

[randomlegend]

Bought Monster Huner World: Iceborne. Looks like something I'll get horribly addicted to. Will start off properly with it when the new PC stuff arrives.

[Baz]

Decided I'm gonna carry on hammering WoW Classic until September 4th, then I'm gonna become the best in the world at Tony Hawk, and then whenever The Sims 5 rolls out I'm gonna sack off real life and get way into that (if it has the suspected online play).

Ironically these are all games I played 15-20 years ago religiously, already.

[wullie]

NBA 2K20 is available on PS Store for £3.99 now which is a bit mad.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They always reduce the price like crazy around this time.

[wullie]

I'd left it since 18 but this is enough to pull me back in, I nearly bought it full whack last week after binging on the MJ/Bulls thing on Netflix too

[Baz]

Similarly I’ve been rewatching CKY lately and got thirsty for some skateboarding. Thankfully the reviews put me off ordering THPS5.

[Shindig]

Finished Super Mario Sunshine. It was decent but definitely the weakest of the 3D big console Marios. Fludd's not a bad gimmick but the game's best moments are when they take it away from you. Ocarina of Time is next. I'm not going to battle with my third-party controller with the drifting sticks. Just going to download the gamecube roms and then retire the black box.

[Giggles]

I've run plenty of stuff on CYRI where I don't hit all / any of the Recommended requirements so as Shindig said it might be worth a bash even if you have to get a refund.

I downloaded the demo and it was a bit jerky with the fans kicking in. Another thing could be that issue I’ve always had with that laptop (common XPS fault) in that it’s sometimes near impossible to get it to use the Nvidia card so it’s probably running with the shitty Intel integrated.

[Ian]

https://www.pcgamer.com/mafia-definitive-edition-is-coming-in-august-and-it-looks-gorgeous/

Less of that fucking car race level, please.

[Dark Soldier]

Haven't finished it yet but I just want to reiterate this. I'm sure there are misguided individuals who'd be put off by the setting (because obviously what the world needs is more 'serious' games where all the colours are shades of greyish brown) but this is the good shit. It could do with giving you the ability to stop enemy respawns earlier than it does because the combat isn't that exciting and it can be annoying dealing with weak enemies when you're just returning to an area with new abilities to mop up some more puzzles but that and perhaps the lack of a map are my only real gripes. The exploration and puzzles are great, it's funny and the idea of it being in a child's sandpit / play box thing is very well realised.

A plus side I'll add regarding the combat is that I've fought one boss so far but unless terrible (i.e. most) boss fights in this sort of thing it actually needs you to use what you've learned so far to beat it.

Yes, yes it is.

[Ian]

See? Me and DS can't possibly both be wrong.

[Baz]

GTA V is free on Epic Games Store this week.

Website has currently imploded though.

[Pleb]

It's free to own(?) :|

[Ian]

It's not that surprising, Epic give away at least one free game per week.

[Mazuuurk]

Started with Red Dead Redemption 2.

It looks pretty, but so far it's a bit of a drag. Everything seems to just be insanely slow. And I don't seem to quite get the combat. There's some sort of tactical approach you're meant to have to it I think, hiding behind barrells and what not whereas my style in games is a bit more guns blazing (I don't have patience).

[Ian]

You'd best get used to the combat because from what I've been told a lot of the story quests end up boiling down to "kill a billion lawmen."

[Mazuuurk]

I might get the hang of it more. The guy you are controlling just feels so clunky. He walks extremely slowly, and sprinting doesn't work that well. You can't do any rolling or jumping which I sort of get would be weird in the setting, but the game sort of feels like a game where you would do that otherwise.

But I'm thinking it's just one of those games you need to have some patience with, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

[Mike]

You get used to it for sure. It fits well once you do.

[Raoul Duke]

It's a fantastic game, but it suffers in the same way that GTA does in that it's not an FPS shooter. Quick targeting headshots and using the bullet time feature are fine once you get used to it though.

[Yevrah]

I still haven't gone back to RDR2. I played the first hour or so (if played is the right word as it barely seemed like a game) and it was just interminably dull.

[Raoul Duke]

You missed out - it's fantastic. Bit slow to get started but mostly because it's setting you up to actually care about the characters rather than just chucking you in as Mr Shooty Man and giving you a lasso.

[Yevrah]

I will go back to it. Eventually.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I need to get back to it too.

[Dark Soldier]

Also have their voucher thing on. £10 off anything over £13.99. If you use a voucher you get another one.

Got Edith Finch (again, had it on PS4), Journey to a Savage Planet and Ashen for a combined £15.

[Ian]

Also have their voucher thing on.

Epic?

If so I need to actually fucking use it this time. I could have sworn I'd used the last one to get Outer Wilds and then when I went to fire it up the other day I'd apparently never completed the purchase. :moop:

[Dark Soldier]

Epic?

If so I need to actually fucking use it this time. I could have sworn I'd used the last one to get Outer Wilds and then when I went to fire it up the other day I'd apparently never completed the purchase. :moop:

Yeah, go onto their store and at the top is a big banner about claiming a code.

[Ian]

ArseCreed Odyssey and Outer Wilds bought for a combined princely sum of £16.48.

Cheers for the heads-up, DS. As it turns out it wasn't going to pop up and tell me that when I booted up so I might have missed it.

[Pepe]

I enjoyed Odyssey a lot before dropping it. Might get back to it some day.

[phonics]

Next 3 free epic games fyi

Civ VI (May 21)
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (May 28)
Ark Survival Evolved (June 4)

[Pepe]

Will finally get my hands on Civ 6 then. Might even actually play it too.

[Baz]

Play it? :saywhat:

I thought the Epic Games Store was just for collecting free games, like trading cards or something.

[Giggles]

Cannot get signed up to that Epic games thing, but fuck buying it now when everyone else is getting it free.

[Ian]

Cannot get signed up to that Epic games thing

How come?


I enjoyed Odyssey a lot before dropping it. Might get back to it some day.

Basically my experience with Origins. I definitely got my money's worth as I got it for cheap and the game world itself is absolutely beautiful but it never got it's hooks into me so one day I just meh'd out and played something else.

[Giggles]

How come?



Basically my experience with Origins. I definitely got my money's worth as I got it for cheap and the game world itself is absolutely beautiful but it never got it's hooks into me so one day I just meh'd out and played something else.

Signed up using the XBox logo, filled in all the details, verified, but when I try log in it says I have invalid credentials.

[Ian]

Hm, I dunno I think I just created a new account, dunno how it works if you go via Xbox.

[Giggles]

Hm, I dunno I think I just created a new account, dunno how it works if you go via Xbox.

Tried a few methods. It’s where it gets to the bit for linking to an existing or new account (you have to pick one). I do ‘new’, it sends me a code via email and when I enter the code it refreshes back to asking me to send the code again. Infinite loop.

[Ian]

Well that's a pain in the hoop.

[Baz]

Sounds annoying but it’s definitely worth persevering. GTAV is belting.

[Boydy]

I still haven't gone back to RDR2. I played the first hour or so (if played is the right word as it barely seemed like a game) and it was just interminably dull.

I did the exact same. It seems like the sort of thing you probably have to sit and play for hours at a time and I just don't think I can be arsed with that these days.

[Giggles]

PES on the iPad not having controller support is fucking ridiculous. How hard could it be to include?

[phonics]

I tried GTA online but the servers are on fire.

[phonics]

More than 12 hours later. Still on fire and they haven't even bothered putting a message up.

[Giggles]

Well that's a pain in the hoop.

Got signed up now. So is this a legitimate copy of the game and can I play it some way on the XBox?

[phonics]

You can't play Epic Games games on XBox if that's what you're asking.

[Giggles]

That’s probably what I needed to ask yes. So what’s that free version for, a gaming laptop?

[Disco]

GTA V and it's shity money grab online mode means they never made any fun add ons to the main game. I'd take another Ballad of Gay Tony or Lost & Damned over griefer twats in alien costumes and pointless money sink vehicles.

[Giggles]

GTA V and it's shity money grab online mode means they never made any fun add ons to the main game. I'd take another Ballad of Gay Tony or Lost & Damned over griefer twats in alien costumes and pointless money sink vehicles.

Online version? Fuck that for a start.

Is the €30 one on the Microsoft store a proper version then? Apologies for what is probably an obvious question but everything in gaming these days seems to be set up to shaft you.

[Disco]

The most basic version will be the main (singleplayer) game which is great, the map alone is worth the money. Anything else will be main game plus online currency (Shark cards are also online currency), any crime/business based expansions are also online only.

[Gray Fox]

Giggles

GTA 5 was added to Xbox Game Pass a short while ago. You can get 1 month for about £3 assuming you don't have it already.

[Giggles]

Giggles

GTA 5 was added to Xbox Game Pass a short while ago. You can get 1 month for about £3 assuming you don't have it already.

I ended up buying the Premium Edition as it was the same price as the regular edition for some reason. I had game pass at one time but I drag the Xbox out about twice a year so wasn’t worth it.
This game is far too hard for me though, I barely got through the intro as I don’t know the controls :D

[Ian]

Supraland finished, with apparently only 63% of stuff found. It's fucking excellent and in case I haven't already made my thoughts on this clear PLAY SUPRALAND.

[Mazuuurk]

I still haven't gone back to RDR2. I played the first hour or so (if played is the right word as it barely seemed like a game) and it was just interminably dull.

This was my initial feeling as well. Pretty - but boring.

But Its slowly growing on me. That said - I still can't really manage playing it for longer than 1-2 hours and after that I just feel like I need to move on. Not sure why
And it still feels more like ambiance and scenery than proper fun. Also, most of the stuff you can acquire and sort of "upgrade" your character mostly seems costmetic, rather than actually make Arthur better.

Still, worthwhile so far. Definitely will try to get through it.

[Shindig]

Just seen the big fairy in Ocarina of Time for the first time. Everything about that cutscene looks ... dodgy.

[Mazuuurk]

For the....first time?

[Shindig]

Yeah, I never bothered with it much past the first dungeon. The way the game hands its tutorials (slowly and at length) put me right off.

[P_3]

What tutorials? It thrusts you in and the story/setting drags you along until the end. Such a good game.

[Shindig]

"Hoot hoot. Hi, I'm the exposition Owl. Looks like you're on an adventure. I'm an owl that tells you where you need to go next. Hey, you've just been to the place you've been and got the thing you need. Hoot hoot. Remember to pop back whenever something needs explaining to you. Would you like my to explain that again?"

"Hey, you can target people to talk to them with Z. It's called Z targeting. You can target people to talk to them. Try that now. Awesome, you're talking to me. You can target over people and talk to them. Try that now. Well, did you get that? Great. If you need that explaining again, target me with Z. That's how you talk to people. Anyway, see ya."

[Ian]

Can't be as bad as AssCreed 3 which was about 8 hours of boring tutorial stuff.

[Raoul Duke]

You see the new Ass Creed : Valhalla? Looks like someone's been watching a lot of The Last Kingdom. Can't wait to tun through Swindon wielding Mjolnir though :drool:

[Ian]

I like the idea of that as a setting. I loved the world of Oranges but never finished the story, but I got Odyssey with the current Epic deal so I'll see how I get on with that.

[P_3]

"Hoot hoot. Hi, I'm the exposition Owl. Looks like you're on an adventure. I'm an owl that tells you where you need to go next. Hey, you've just been to the place you've been and got the thing you need. Hoot hoot. Remember to pop back whenever something needs explaining to you. Would you like my to explain that again?"

"Hey, you can target people to talk to them with Z. It's called Z targeting. You can target people to talk to them. Try that now. Awesome, you're talking to me. You can target over people and talk to them. Try that now. Well, did you get that? Great. If you need that explaining again, target me with Z. That's how you talk to people. Anyway, see ya."

:D Oh yeah.

[Raoul Duke]

I like the idea of that as a setting. I loved the world of Oranges but never finished the story, but I got Odyssey with the current Epic deal so I'll see how I get on with that.

I've not played either of the newest ones. Need to try and get through them soon but I have so many frickin games to work through.

[Shindig]

It's all too GCSE History for me. I'd rather Ubisoft (a company of many ethnicities and religions) went full tin-foil and gave us a JFK conspiracy hour or plonked you in the Nazis.

[Raoul Duke]

They ought to just go back to building more of the pirate ones so I can mooch about the open seas listening to "me trumps" singing :cool:

[Ian]

Black Flag was the best.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Black Flag was incredible.

I was also a big fan of Ass Creed II.

[Ian]

Black Flag, then Ezio, then..... Syndicate maybe? I liked the Fryes and London was excellent. I never finished Oranges but as I've said I thought its Egypt was absolutely amazing.

3, Rogue (nice idea but I got bored fast) and the original way down the bottom of the rankings for being super dull, not played Unity or Odyssey.

[Ian]

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

"Showdown" mode looks like it has potential. Usually in this type of game once everything goes tits-up or if you need timing that's going to be a pain in real-time you end up having to reload a bunch of times but that looks decent.

[phonics]

I don't want to scream spoilers because the game was 8 million years long but people who say Ass Creed stopped being weird need to go from 2 to Origins. You end up walking in on a future mirror image of yourself where you are Hilary Clinton protecting the maguffin from both the Assassins and the Templars because they cant be trusted. At which point you're allowed to choose whether or not to trust Pythagoras.

[Ian]

I honestly can't remember much about the present-day bits in AssCreed since Desmond woke up and it became apparently he was being locked up for being the world's most dangerously boring protagonist.

There aren't many games that you could improve more by taking a way a single aspect of them than by taking away modern characters from an AssCreed game.

In other news I am following up Supraland with Outer Wilds which is a good but odd thing. The twenty minute time loop structure is interesting and I'll be curious to see whether I end up annoying by having to do / explore stuff in stages.

Also I fucking hate the control of that ship, Jesus Christ it's wibbly. I get that it's meant to be wibbly but I still don't like it.

[Shindig]

Oh, is that Apple of Eden shit still an ongoing concern with Assassins Creed? I stopped at Brotherhood and Desmond seemed only around for the final seconds of the Ezio games. It was cool when the Matrix Egyptian called him by name. It was cool when he stabbed Kristen Bell.

[Pepe]

Oh yes, what it the deal with the modern day BS? I have only played Odyssey, and the game is pretty good, except for the whole time traveling nonsense.

[Ian]

Oh yes, what it the deal with the modern day BS? I have only played Odyssey, and the game is pretty good, except for the whole time traveling nonsense.

It's some bullshit they added because they thought "baddass assassin dudes vs. evil but also badass Knights Templar dudes" wasn't enough. it doesn't even need the mystical shit, just having it as cool stabby lads in hoods vs cackling political dickheads taking over the world would be absolutely fine.

[randomlegend]

Not gonna lie I feel pretty guilty killing some of these monster I MHW. Like when the poor fucker is limping trying to run away and you just run it down and keep slashing it to bits.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

You're the real monster, dickhead.

[Pepe]

I tried Monster Hunter and found it really boring. The combat isn't very good, and that is basically the entirety of the game.

[Ian]

Yeah my mates were desperately trying to get me to play at one point but I just couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it.

[Shindig]

I started it but haven't touched it since. I'll get to it .... eventually.

[Ian]

I'm trying to think of a less surprising headline in gaming history than it transpiring G2A profits from crime.

And I'm including "[game] released today" headlines when games come out on their intended release date in that.

[Yevrah]

How do keys get stolen in the first place? It's not like nicking a bike.

[Ian]

From what I understand (I haven't done a huge amount of reading on the minutiae of this) it's a bit of a misnomer. I think what happens is a lot of these keys are bought using credit card details obtained by fraud, which inevitably gets claimed back and then the key is either unusable or invalidated.

And numerous developers have said that they'd rather people just pirated their game because a pirate isn't directly costing them anything, whereas having to chase this shit up costs them time and money that especially smaller devs don't really have.

[randomlegend]

From what I understand (I haven't done a huge amount of reading on the minutiae of this) it's a bit of a misnomer. I think what happens is a lot of these keys are bought using credit card details obtained by fraud, which inevitably gets claimed back and then the key is either unusable or invalidated.

I find this hard explanation hard to believe, at least for the majority of cases. I've bought quite a few games off G2A and I've never had a key invalidated or known anyone who has. I'm sure it accounts for some of the keys but I don't believe it's most of them.

I thought most of it was just down to abusing variable region pricing, by buying keys in cheap regions (like Eastern European countries) and selling them on since they aren't region locked. Or something like that.

[randomlegend]

I tried Monster Hunter and found it really boring. The combat isn't very good, and that is basically the entirety of the game.

I think the combat is deeper than it lets on. I'm finding it pretty fun. Maybe I'm just a mong.

[Ian]

If you've used the key already as most people would I doubt there's much they can do about it, I don't think it's the customer who gets the bad experience broadly speaking or G2A, CD Keys, whoever just wouldn't get as much business. If a high proportion of these transactions ended up causing people bother they wouldn't do it and would pay more. to avoid the bother.

Even if you choose not to believe that G2A are selling stuff that enriches criminals they're still a shithouse company who don't deserve anybody's money as evidenced by about 30 seconds worth of Googling.

If you're going to go to a keyseller, don't, just fucking pirate it.

Or lob your money into a canal if you're determined to pretend you've given something up to get the game.

[randomlegend]

Oh yeah I know they are shithouses, it's a long while since I've used them.

[Disco]

G2A manage to be cunts as well as operating a shady, exploitative business. There's plenty of other discount sites out there and endless sales/offers so there's really no excuse.

Webly has it about right, keys are bought with stolen card details and then flogged on G2A. When people get their card bills at the end of the month the fraud is discovered and the transaction charged back. So the crim has his money from selling on G2A and G2A have their cut, while the developer loses the sale and the end user often has their key cancelled.

[Shindig]

I think the combat is deeper than it lets on. I'm finding it pretty fun. Maybe I'm just a mong.

I've got that impression as well (deeper combat, I mean). Each weapon seems to have a pretty extensive moveset. I've always thought Monster Hunter was Dark Soul-ish in that they're games that are hard to get into. It's the kind of game I wouldn't mind having someone ride shotgun just to tell me what I should be doing.

[Pepe]

People rave about the combat, so I'm sure that I am wrong about it, but it bored me very quickly.

[Shindig]

Yeah, I'm not keen on the lack of lock on and the fact that some of the hunts will take forever.

[randomlegend]

Quick gratification generation init.

The "World" is really amazing when you just spend a while wandering about watching it. The monsters very quickly start to feel like part of a living eco-system with their own 'personalities'. E.g. Anjanath is a fucking cunt. Reminds me a bit of Shadow of Mordor which is a cracking game (shame they turned the orcs into cartoon-faced mongs for the sequel).

[Ian]

Quick gratification generation init.

Surely Shinners is older than you? :D

[Shindig]

Look, I'm not poking this fancy dinosaur in the tail for 30 minutes for the privilege to be told I've failed. Gratification doesn't come into it. I want to know if I'm making progress. I reviewed Daymare 1998 and that game finishes with the longest scrap with a big nasty I've had the displeasure of watching. It's the kind of fight that makes you wonder if you're doing something wrong.

I'm after feedback.

[Ian]

Kids today. :nono:

[randomlegend]

Surely Shinners is older than you? :D

Well I meant us as a generation, but yes I think he is older than me :P

[Shindig]

I discovered another thing about Ocarina of Time that slightly miffs me. Side stuff with very little to go on. I mean, I'll find this woman's dog for her but she's not giving me a description or anything. And she gets very mad when the white or brown terrier I bring her is not her brown or white terrier. There's probably a gold one on a rooftop somewhere. The kind of distinguishing features a person would find useful on a 'find this shit for me' quest.

[Giggles]

Next time I want to buy a game tell me I’m a cunt and to give my head a wobble.

[Disco]

Can do.

[Giggles]

Can do.

You can just keep regularly doing it anyway.

[Kikó]

Arkham Asylum is good fun even though I'm shit at the combat and generally faff about. I'm not really exploring about either focusing on the main mission so I'm sure I could do a lot more rappelling around and failing.

[Alex]

It took me quite a long time to grasp that the key to the combat in that game (at least as far as I can tell) is to use the jump button to keep extracting yourself from the fight and then swooping back in. Because it keeps the combo going. As long as you direct a punch towards somebody else after you land, he just glides back across screen and rejoins the action. Rinse and repeat where necessary. Then you can start more consistently working the instant takedown moves you can learn in to thin the crowd. That was a real "eureka" moment for me, because I hardly used the jump dodge up to that point. I just stayed mostly in place trying to constantly time my blocks perfectly and quite often getting pummelled.

[Ian]

I don't think I ever did that. I would just direct the next hit to somebody more distant if I was about to get jumped.

[P_3]

I did it Alex's way in Arkham City. Jump dodge - a few punches - jump dodge. Rinse and repeat.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I don't think I ever did that. I would just direct the next hit to somebody more distant if I was about to get jumped.

This was my tactic.

[Baz]

Next time I want to buy a game tell me I’m a cunt and to give my head a wobble.
Not feeling GTA5?

[Giggles]

It’s too hard for me. Took me hours to figure out how not to get killed in the tutorial bit in the snow at the start and I then binned it when I couldn’t keep up with the lad in the car after.

[Disco]

The opening bit is actually not very easy, the graveyard(?) has lots of targets and they're very keen on flanking. Not exactly what you want when you're trying to get to grips with controls etc. Are you using a controller? If so make sure auto aim is on, you can just pop in and out of cover then and it should snap to the nearest target.

[Giggles]

I was playing on the Xbox One but it took me ages to figure out the suggested controls as they’re tiny when they pop up in the corner of the screen. I had to figure out that the dot icons meant the cross control pad directions before I was able to do it.

[Baz]

Stick with it. It’s a really good game.

[Shindig]

At least stick around for Lamar.

[Ian]

In other news I am following up Supraland with Outer Wilds which is a good but odd thing. The twenty minute time loop structure is interesting and I'll be curious to see whether I end up annoying by having to do / explore stuff in stages.

The answer is "sometimes." I'd say 95% of your deaths aren't annoying because you know they're going to happen and you've taken the risk to explore something new know you're going to get trapped or risking a tricky return journey or whatever and when you do begin a new cycle it's so quick to get back into space and do a new thing that it's not annoying. The only times it's annoying to me are that there are a couple of places that it's a bit of a faff to get to. I've been using a stopwatch on my phone to time each cycle so I know how much time I have, so sometimes if I've done a thing and only have a few minutes I'll just find somewhere nice to watch the supernova, but using the timer shows me that even for some of the trickier locations unless there is a specific time-related factor in getting there you're only ever normally a couple of minutes away.

The story of the game is fine, in that way where you patch it together yourself but the real winner is the design of the solar system you're in. You've got a comet that slingshots around the sun and you can only get at the core when it's near enough that the ice melts and cracks to let you in. There's a planet with a black hole at its core and ramshackle settlements built on the underside of the crust which crashes into the whole toward the end of the cycle, a planet that's basically a series of wormholes, etc. and there are a couple of others too. It's satisfying once you start to work out, "Right, if I want to see x on planet y I need to do something else for ten minutes until thing z changes so I can get at the right area" and plan each cycle around it.

I think I must be near the end now assuming I can work out how to progress.


Also I fucking hate the control of that ship, Jesus Christ it's wibbly. I get that it's meant to be wibbly but I still don't like it.

Turns out I was making life harder than it needed to be because I didn't know you could autopilot to distant planets. :face:

[Ian]

Outer Wilds is finished and excellent. Had to use a walkthrough for a couple of bits near the end for a couple of reasons:
1) Some of the puzzles or logical steps just weren't really for the way my brain works. I'd have probably get there eventually but I'd have got annoyed far sooner.
2) There was one glaring thing that I'd missed despite appearing to have the story pretty much in place according to the little log thing. I've no idea if the game would have eventually said "Listen up, dipshit, you've not done [the thing]" or what but I had no inkling that I'd missed something. I'm putting that on me and not the game though because it was a pretty dumb thing not to have managed.

Great game though and a nice ending to it too, if a slightly underwhelming one maybe.

Going full other end of the scale next with AssCreed Odyssey.

[Pepe]

Five new characters coming to Street Fighter. :drool:

That means five new matchups where I will have zero clue what to do.

[Raoul Duke]

Just mash the buttons at random

[Pepe]

That's what I do.

[Giggles]

They've all been muck since SSFII Turbo.

[Ian]

Was going to start ArseCreed Odyssey then decided there wasn't much point if I'm going to be upgrading soon and could therefore be playing it looking much prettier.

So I've installed the most recent Thief game that everybody hated and will give that a bash.

I did give The Flame in the Flood a brief go. I got it free somewhere but that sort of survival-y-ness isn't for me.

[phonics]

So I've installed the most recent Thief game that everybody hated and will give that a bash.

A game so average that it's actually worse than a bad game.

[Ian]

That's kinda what I've heard but it's probably near enough my thing to kill some time before the new shit arrives.

[phonics]

If you're playing 6/10's go for Raven's Wolfenstein reboot. Or that WarHammer Space Marine game.

[Disco]

Space Marine is great fun, they should have done more of those,

[Ian]

This 6/10 is already in my Steam library is the difference.

Can't remember why, I must've seen it for a pittance unless it was given to me by Humble at some point.

[Ian]

Early in Thief the City gets locked down due to an illness.

Dat escapism. :drool:

[phonics]

lol same thing happens in the Wolfenstein game I recommended thinking about it.

[Ian]

Have all video games always been about this???

[Shindig]

Yeah, there's usually a plague, curse or world-ending something that only your character can stop. Sometimes Nazis just aren't enough.

[randomlegend]

Monster Hunter is seriously addictive.

[Giggles]

Started a Madden 19 fantasy draft franchise but made a cunt of the draft.

Anyone know how you play one of these with a downloaded roster?

[Kikó]

Really enjoying the story of Arkham Asylum even though I'm still a bit of a noob when it comes to fighting off plebs. It's pretty satisfying when you get it right though. Blowing up tanks in the Batmobile is pretty formulaic but it's not too bad.

[Shindig]

What if you were given bigger, more intelligent tanks to fight?

[Kikó]

Oh fuck sake.

[Ian]

https://media2.giphy.com/media/XfgSpC4NVJNZchSA5W/giphy.gif

Spotted a guard in Thief jus' doing the usual guard stuff.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Protecting all angles.

[Ian]

So I'm enjoying Thief well enough and I think it's the sort of thing I was in the mood for but I can see why it's so 6/10. The story / characters all seem a bit meh so far and there are loads of little UI / control annoyances that are starting to bug me.

[Shindig]

Reviewing my first visual novel at the minute. It's about two 9 year olds forming a loving relationship. Eugh.

[Mazuuurk]

ABout 1/3 into Red Dead Redemption 2 now. Holy hell is this game well-made and stunning. The world-building is absolutely amazing.

That said - it all gets more and more repetetive, and really the game seems a little pointless. It's basically a Western Sim, which maybe was the intention, but it just feels like that whole world goes a little to waste as the gameplay is so sluggish and the narrative a little simple.

Also - the fact that you literally fight the same enemy over and over gets a tad old after a while, despite the efforts to keep the missions novel.


I'm currently down in what's supposed to be Louisiana though and oh my fuck is it awesome. Can just ride around in the Nawlins copy town and the swamps around it all day long just soaking in the ambiance. Doesn't help that I have such a sweet-spot for Louisiana in the first place.

[Ian]

Reviewing my first visual novel at the minute. It's about two 9 year olds forming a loving relationship. Eugh.

"Loving" as in.......?

[Shindig]

Romance, yes. The kids say they love each other at 9 and then the game fast forwards to 18 where they start kissing (almost like they wanted to avoid some implications). This relationship takes like six days to happen. On day 1 they're sharing baths and by day 6 they're spoon feeding each other sundaes.

The parents are weird as well. The mother's an actress who kind of abuses her submissive househusband. His jobs seem to mainly be baking, cooking and making dresses for the girls. He is always wearing an apron.

[Raoul Duke]

This just sounds like some kind of peado-fantasy simulator. You'll end up on a list

[Ian]

Is this one of those weird Japanese games Steam spams at you when you've already clicked Ignore on everything else it recommends?

[Shindig]

Yes. 9/10 on steam. The author has churned about 14 of them out in the span of 3 years.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/407340/Strawberry_Vinegar/

This interview is ... something.

http://evnchronicles.blogspot.com/2018/10/interview-with-ebi-hime-evn-developer.html

[P_3]

And you need to review it why? Does your website only cover niche games?

[Shindig]

It's being published by Ratalaika who throw everything at us. I unlocked two more endings now. One of them the girl is sad when the demon lass leaves. In the other one, the demon's sister turns up to reap your soul because you were a dick or something.

[P_3]

Wait, how do you get from two 9 year olds bathing to a demon reaping your soul? :lol:

[Shindig]

One of the 9 year olds is a demon from Hell so they can do that, "URMIGAWD, FISH OUT OF WATER CRAZINESS!" stuff.

[P_3]

A hell of an imagination. Where do you rank this in your game of 2020 list so far?

[Shindig]

Bottom. Visual novels are not games. They are short, shit books.

[Ian]

is there not even a CYOA element to them? If not then I get there's presumably a money element for the site but I don't see why you'd be reviewing stuff created by a fella who seems like he may well be an actual nonce.

[Shindig]

Yes. There's six endings and I've seen three so far. The thing is, anything other than the sixth ending (where they grow up and kiss) is seen as a failstate. It cuts an already short game shorter. Food gets weirdly fetishised in this, by the way.

[SincereTheRebel]

You owe me an apology

Sir Andy Mahowry
Shindig


He'll pussy out of it.


They'll announce GT7 and he'll lose interest.



Anyone else really looking forward to Sincere getting that prestigious Platinum trophy? :)


Baz
phonics

Two years later and the Gran Turismo Sport platinum trophy is officially mine.

Gran Turismo Sport Update - Week 124

1046 online races finished
255 online races won
152 online pole positions

100% driving school
100% mission challenge
100% circuit experience
409 offline GT League wins

591 driving hours
56243 miles driven
2.23 million of Gran Turismo XP earned

:joy:

[Shindig]

So ... now what will you do with yourself? Also, congrats.

[P_3]

Top effort. :thbup:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I need screenshots before I send out any apologies.

That is mental.

[SincereTheRebel]

Under lockdown, ive been literary playing for 12 hours per day, for the past 2 months.

[SincereTheRebel]

So ... now what will you do with yourself? Also, congrats.

A new challenge awaits...

[Pepe]

That's quite the achievement. Congrats Sincere.

[Yevrah]

Amazing grinding Sincere.

Is there a way you can tell on PS what % of players have got that trophy? It must be fuck all.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah you can check in your trophies list.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided to buy Disco Elysium as I spotted it was on sale at GOG.

Gone with a 6 intellect 2 in everything else build with my signature skill being encyclopedia.

[SincereTheRebel]

Amazing grinding Sincere.

Is there a way you can tell on PS what % of players have got that trophy? It must be fuck all.

According to the PSN trophy stats, not sure how accurate it is. There are just over 1000 people who have done it a which is 0.7% of the player base who own GT Sport.

[Shindig]

Well, that's the Strawberry Vinegar review up. The last ending I found was the 'let's be best friends' one which still has a flirty insistence to it. Just write them as teenagers to start with and this is all avoided.

[John]

Strawberry Vinegar. :D

[Shindig]

From the makes of Blackberry Honey. That one's also about lesbians.

[Kikó]

I'm absolutely hooked on Arkham Asylum even though there is loads of button bashing. But it just keeps calling me back. If only the loading times weren't so fucking long.

[Pepe]

Decided to buy Disco Elysium as I spotted it was on sale at GOG.

Gone with a 6 intellect 2 in everything else build with my signature skill being encyclopedia.

You are in for a treat. :drool: