General gaming discussion

[Patje]

I enjoyed Batman's Creed: Mordor even aside from the Nemesis system. The combat suited me fine, the story was the sort of pointless fantasy bilge I'm happy to roll with. The one hook aside it wasn't even remotely groundbreaking but I enjoyed it. The Nemesis system wasn't just potential for me, though. It ran the game. That one orc who I just couldn't fucking finish off (eventually I managed to control him but there was a while when I was genuinely trying to finish him off and he kept escaping) did more for me than many written antagonists. Loved it. Can't wait to see what they're doing with it in this one.

I can't even remember the story. I do remember a dwarf with a a white whale complex, so something stuck. :D
The sidequests, the world, how everything reacted, it wasn't good or great. I didn't mind the combat, it was as expected and it suited me fine.

Problem with the Nemesis system for me was that I didn't have one, I killed them all in at most the 3rd encounter. And killing orcs to get my orcs in the right places, it was fun for a while. The whole thing needs more. As it currently was for me, it was a baddie tracking and henchman calling system.

I probably sound a bit too negative. It could have been more/better. Better quests/story, better world with the whole system having more use, ec. I do hope that the sequel manages to bring that, I wouldn't mind diving into that at all. ;)

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

First impressions are that Horizon is bloody good.

Looks stunning and I like the stealth system, haven't touched it too much mind but I'm looking forward to going balls deep.

[Ian]

I can't even remember the story. I do remember a dwarf with a a white whale complex, so something stuck. :D
The sidequests, the world, how everything reacted, it wasn't good or great. I didn't mind the combat, it was as expected and it suited me fine.

Problem with the Nemesis system for me was that I didn't have one, I killed them all in at most the 3rd encounter. And killing orcs to get my orcs in the right places, it was fun for a while. The whole thing needs more. As it currently was for me, it was a baddie tracking and henchman calling system.

I probably sound a bit too negative. It could have been more/better. Better quests/story, better world with the whole system having more use, ec. I do hope that the sequel manages to bring that, I wouldn't mind diving into that at all. ;)

I think it actually helped me that prior to the review I hadn't even heard of the thing because it somehow came out of nowhere. And thus had no expectations.

Also, Inkle have announced a new game. Bloody loved both 80 Days and Sorcery! so I have high hopes.

[leedsrevolution]

So am I the only person on here getting a switch tomoz?

[Dark Soldier]

Zelda getting 10s across the board, unsurprisingly. Switch can go fuck itself.

[leedsrevolution]

I can't wait for it. I'm proper disalusioned with PS games. Hated The Last of us and Fallout. I mean if I hate them, maybe I'm doomed. Get me on Mario or Zelda and boom, love it.

[Dark Soldier]

The Switch is a good nonce conversation opener if you're out in public.

[Disco]

Have Nintendo shipped more than about 5 this time? Hahaha, no of course they fucking haven't, it's Nintendo.

[Shindig]

I gather for a launch they can use pre-orders as a way to gauge demand. They don't want a Wii U situation of unsold stock cluttering warehouses. Like any Nintendo console, I'll consider it at the death when there's about 4 first-party titles worth having.

[Disco]

I wouldn't go near it after reading about their online service.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I want it but there are too many red flags.

[Disco]

Like it being shit and Nintendo being stingy cunts.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Like it being shit and Nintendo being stingy cunts.

Well yes but on the other hand 1-2 Switch, Zelda and Mario...

[wullie]

https://twitter.com/sc_prowrestling/status/835070785551159296

A new Fire Pro Wrestling game due, rumoured to be on the Switch but if it's on PS4 and you can download edits, 2017 is salvaged.

[Disco]

Well yes but on the other hand 1-2 Switch, Zelda and Mario...

How do you know they're any good?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

How do you know they're any good?
Your Mum told me.

[Disco]

As if you'd have the stones to talk to my mum.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm fine when she's on the webcam.

[Disco]

In which case she'd hardly disagree with a paying customer.

[Dark Soldier]

I've been out on the piss and bought Horizon: Zero Dawn, for some reason. Robot dinosaurs :drool:

[Shindig]

Nioh's wrapped up. Enjoyable, even if the challenge doesn't stick around.

[Dark Soldier]

Holy shit Horizon is fucking beautiful to look at. Way beyond Uncharted 4 (bar face tech).

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Holy shit Horizon is fucking beautiful to look at. Way beyond Uncharted 4 (bar face tech).

Yeah the facial animations are shit but I'm not too fussed.

The world they've created is gorgeous.

[Dark Soldier]

http://i.imgur.com/fYNbpgg.jpg

This is OG PS4, not Pro. Handles beautifully too.

[Boydy]

It makes me want a PS4.

[Dark Soldier]

Buy one ya yokel

[Bernanke]

Photo-mode straight into gameplay is :drool:

http://i.imgur.com/wF3O0VR.gif

[Shindig]

It makes me want a PS4.

I have two of them now. Long story short, I thought my fat one was dead so bought a slim. Unboxed it and then realised the HDMI port on the fatso was fine. £200 I'll never get back because Grainger's policy is store credit or GTFO.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just under 9% in so far.

Corrupter's are right bastards.

Died first time I tried as I put my tripcaster lines down on the wrong door in a panic.

It's also really fun to just mooch about on the back of a strider donning watchers.

[phonics]

I don't have particularly fond feelings towards Zelda normally but I have to have this in my life now.

[ItalAussie]

Woah, that's pretty spectacular. I'm definitely going to buy a PS4 one of these days.

[Dark Soldier]

http://i.imgur.com/hqxfsR2.gif

[leedsrevolution]

Zelda is pretty dece.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Battered a Sawtooth and then saw my first Tallneck.

I almost crapped myself when I first heard it.

[leedsrevolution]

Sorry I don't talk nerd. Big ass red mother fucker?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Sorry I don't talk nerd. Big ass red mother fucker?

Tallneck:

https://media.giphy.com/media/l3vQZrZk3Dc9fXiOA/giphy.gif

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/horizonzerodawn/images/f/f0/Tallneck_1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160617182323

Sawtooth:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/horizonzerodawn/images/8/8f/Sabertooth_1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160618071930

[Boydy]

Can you make those any smaller?

[phonics]

Got my PC back up and running. Got the four pillars in Hyper Light Drifter. Turns out you need 4 triangles from each section to complete the game. Fuck that.

The game has so much going for it but it tries it's hardest to fuck it up and obfuscate the player at every opportunity.

[Dark Soldier]

Its an old school, Metroid style game. It doesn't hold your hand and quite rightly.

[phonics]

How is it like Metroid?

I didn't ask my hand to be held. I've basically completed the entire game so I don't think I need to 'git gud'. It's just got a bad progression system.

[Dark Soldier]

Metroid in the sense you're just given a world and basically told to get on with it.

[Shindig]

Nioh's NG+ is bad news. I should really get back to Yakuza instead.

[Dark Soldier]

I get to try and probably own PSVR this week. Hyped as fuck.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Can you make those any smaller?
Forum resized them :(

[Shindig]

DarkSydePhil's dark meltdown in the last week has been fun to watch. Sacked on Thursday for disclosing stuff you shouldn't disclose and then he breaks his Switch (a purchase he prioritised over his crippling debt) before he even gets a chance to play it. And his PS4 is ejecting games at random.

It's like watching a slow suicide on camera.

[phonics]

HyperLightDrifter completed. That last boss seemed easier than some others I'd faced but maybe I'm just better at the game now. Still don't have a clue what happened, I stabbed a big diamond eye, a dog showed me to the door and I got in a cave and it faded to black?

That is some of the juiciest combat I've played in some time. Any other recommendations along similar lines? Basically I just love dashing and cutting flickers apart with a sword.

Edit: posting this while the credits roll. Look up to see that Kanye West is in the credits.

[Dark Soldier]

HyperLightDrifter completed. That last boss seemed easier than some others I'd faced but maybe I'm just better at the game now. Still don't have a clue what happened, I stabbed a big diamond eye, a dog showed me to the door and I got in a cave and it faded to black?

That is some of the juiciest combat I've played in some time. Any other recommendations along similar lines? Basically I just love dashing and cutting flickers apart with a sword.

Edit: posting this while the credits roll. Look up to see that Kanye West is in the credits.

Salt and Sanctuary is worth a punt. 2D Souls-a-like but enough of its own thing not to be a rip-off.

[Dark Soldier]

Horizon is genuinely fucking superb btw, about 15 hours in now and I've barely done any of the main questline stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/sDEexu8.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TNXS5bn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/B254FP8.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/chhq4u4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8bmeJF8.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pEJZtKF.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3749/32426738153_dec329e3b5_o.png

[Ian]

I love it when games turn up with a title fresh off the Generic Videogame Name Generator and turn out to actually be good.

[Disco]

It does appear to be quite good but I just don't like how it looks. Immaterial really as it's vanishingly unlikely I shall ever have the opportunity to play it.

[phonics]

In play it doesn't look quite as nice as those shots suggest, still very pretty though. Watching it being played I couldn't tell whether the early hours are a bit dull or my mate is just crap at the game.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah most of those shots are photo mode, there's two or three that aren't (gifs are in game).

[Bernanke]

Photomode doesn't add anything extra afaik.

You're not playing on the Pro are you DS? Pro + HDR + 4K TV is supposedly otherworldly with this game.

[Dark Soldier]

Photomode adds a ton, got filters, field of view, depth of field, all kinda tweaks.

Nah, base PS4 but gonna be trying it on my mam's set-up soon which is exactly what you list. No doubt it'll melt my eyes.

[Raoul Duke]

I watched the Giant Bomb Zelda quick look - it looks pretty good, but I sure wish Nintendo had fucked off the Switch and just made it for PS4. The hardware struggles with it a bit.

[Bernanke]

Nier: Automata is getting rave reviews as well. I don't have time for all this.

[Raoul Duke]

I like to think that if I won the lottery I'd have loads of exciting, cultured hobbies, but I'd probably just play ALL THE GAMES

[Shindig]

DarkSydePhil proves you don't need millions to do that. Just thousands.

[Dark Soldier]

If you have a fairly high end PC you'll be able to emulate the new Zelda very, very well in a couple weeks:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuM4Va-6Z1I

[Shindig]

It surprises me how quick they catch up. PS3 emulation's in a spot I never expected.

[Boydy]

WHO THE FUCK IS DARKSYDEPHIL?

l

[Dark Soldier]

WHO THE FUCK IS DARKSYDEPHIL?

l

Bellend videogame streamer who's world has collapsed around him in the past week. Couldn't happen to a nicer cunt.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

WHO THE FUCK IS DARKSYDEPHIL?

l

Shindig always mentions Youtubers/other internet people like they're extremely well known.

We have the courtesy to just let him be though, monster.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I wanted a couple of games to go alongside FM (I can't deal with real time games or those that require reaction/co-ordination on the controls) so I've got Grim Fandango. Taken me about 6+ hours of play time just to do the initial stage in the sales building.

It really is quality (I had Day of the Tentacle as a kid but can't really remember it, so might do that one afterwards), but also, it strikes me, a product of its time. Surely nobody nowadays has the patience for this sort of thing? Either in playing it, or in developing a game with properly thought out and enjoyable characters/setting. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Disco]

These days you'd have a hint system and less terrible controls.

Decent stuff still exists but you have to wade through the iterative shit (Nintendo, Ubisoft et al), hurr-durr chest thumping man shooters and awful multiplayer dross.

[Ian]

I bought Grim Fandango remastered. Love the story, setting, characters, etc. Kind of hated the actual game and abandoned it.

[Boydy]

I think I got stuck on something (pretty early on) and gave up.

[Dark Soldier]

So PSVR is genuinely amazing and not the gimmick I expected it to be.

http://i.imgur.com/L48Ej8m.jpg

Look at that gut :jayjay:

[wullie]

I'd love to give it a try, especially for racing. My sole experience with VR games was one of these things in a Laserquest in the early 90s, right load of shit.

http://i.imgur.com/3paRJ.jpg

[Dark Soldier]

Heh I was gonna try Driveclub VR, and Thumper, but those first couple of go's really do confuse ya brain.

Frst game I tried was Battlezone. Had to quit after 15 minutes, felt a bit nauseous, kinda like that feeling when you get off a long haul flight. Enjoyed what I played but felt it looked a bit ropey.

An hour later felt fine, so went into VR Worlds and OH MY FUCKING DAYS that's amazing. Did the Scavenger one, the jumping, the shooting, the entire 360 world. Unreal. Gonna get on Resi 7 next time.

Genuinely taken aback by how good it is. Its not £700 good (because I can't afford it) but its way more than a gimmick. Not had that reaction to anything in gaming since the leap from 2D to 3D.

[phonics]

I've now tried all 3. They're all gimmicks that get dull after about 15 minutes. Resi was the only thing that seemed to understand it's platform and deliver.

[Shindig]

If I get over to Play Expo next month, I'll give them a shot. I probably have the space to do it but not the impetus. There's a fella at work who swears by it in a 'it's changed my life' way. I don't talk to him much.

[Dark Soldier]

Suck my dick phonics lad

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ugh.

Took on quite a few machines in Horizon and I saved after I set up my traps.

Battered a load but I only had like 8 health although the remaining two were some way away, decided to pick up all my shit then go to the other machines without saving (I was right next to a campfire) and obviously died.

Loaded back up and the traps were gone and so were all the resources I used for my traps :(

I mooched up to the second corrupted area for the quest and got donned without traps or fire arrows.

[Raoul Duke]

Shadow of War: https://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/2017/03/middle-earth-shadow-of-war-early-preview/

[Ian]

Didn't watch it all, just enough to see the workings of the Nemesis upgrades.

Want want want.

[Shindig]

IT's a little too showy and the world is now a slightly different shade of bland. I'll think about it, though.

[Ian]

The second half of the last one was rather splendid to look at. Grass and hills and everything. I mean being in Mordor there's not a huge amount of scope for making it more pleasant-looking so they've put themselves in a corner there but hopefully they'll make up some reasons to mix it up again.

I still don't understand why the Nemesis system hasn't been stolen/copied/bettered by other open-world action games since Shadow of Mordor.

[Shindig]

It sounds like a hard system to justify. You've not just got to put it in there but also repopulate it once the player clears it out. It's a lot of work for what's effectively a gimmick.

[Ian]

It's probably fairly obvious that I disagree so rather than wasting both your time and mine repeating myself I want to say how much I'm looking forward to Tacoma:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/08/tacoma-hands-on/

Completed Gone Home in one rainy Sunday afternoon sitting. And it turned out after the fact missed stuff. :( Hopefully this is as good.

[phonics]

I have a genuine burning passion for hatred against these sort of games. That one set in rural England almost bored me to death. I realised then that it was time to stop trying to understand these games.

[Ian]

Is that Dear Esther? I haven't played that.

I dunno if by 'understand' you mean understand the appeal, in which case... I dunno. I just loved the sort-of-story falling into place in Gone Home. Firewatch too I guess.

I should probably play Dear Esther.

[Raoul Duke]

You don't really "play" Dear Esther. It's just a kind of mooching simulator. Gotta be in the right mood for it, but it's pretty cool.

[phonics]

No, though Dear Esther is definitely one of those games. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is what it was called.

[Shindig]

Everyone's Gone to the Rapture kinda turned me off them a bit. Thing about Dear Esther is, that game was tight. Giving you a village to fart around in ... at walking speed took forever.

[Raoul Duke]

There's a bunch of Shadow Of War gameplay videos out now. Looks pretty ace. Some of the new moves/effects look cool, but I have a lingering worry they're going to 'kitchen sink' it and turn it into something overly complex. Also, it's still very 1-v-1, even in group combat from the looks of it.

[Ian]

Any of those you've mentioned in particular that I should be having a gander at, Raoul?

[phonics]

In my search for a platform combat thing I found this


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAO2urG23S4

I mean you may as well call it Ori and The Dark Bug Place but the controls are pretty tight. I haven't discovered any of the Air control powers like double jump, dash etc. so it may become a bit overly complex but it's fun.

[ItalAussie]

I've basically been on a six-month hiatus from video games due to work, but I'm thinking I'll pick some up soon. I'm reluctantly on a Mac now though, so we'll see what I can actually get my hands on.

Ori and the Dark Bug Place sounds right up my alley though. Still want to play Hyper Light Drifter as well.

[Dark Soldier]

Zelda is here bye bye weekend

[phonics]

I'd say Hyper Light, despite the games flaws, has the more satisfying combat but this has more of a 'world' to speak of and explore.

[Raoul Duke]

Any of those you've mentioned in particular that I should be having a gander at, Raoul?

I only watched one, which I think was IGN and it wasn't that great. Just spotted that Giant Bomb have one up so I'd start there.

EDIT: they all seem to have the same footage

[Boydy]

Zelda is here bye bye weekend

Did you buy a Switch?

[Dark Soldier]

Did you buy a Switch?

Wii U. £150 plus pro controller at £40. Mate lent me his spare Zelda, and I have a buyer for the Wii U when done.

[Boydy]

Oh, I didn't know they'd released it on that too.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah, its pretty much the same bar its 720p on Wii U, 900p on Switch. Was originally developed as a Wii U game.

[leedsrevolution]

I've put almost 50 hours into Zelda and barely touched the main quest.

[Dark Soldier]

I'm four hours in so far and it feels like a special, special game.

[Boydy]

Better than Horizon?

[Dark Soldier]

Horizon has been on the backburner since I knew I was getting Zelda. Those first five hours have only been matched by Ocarina of Time nearly 20 years ago. You set your sights on somewhere, but its so easy to get distracted. Every single thing rewards you.

[leedsrevolution]

Better than Horizon?

It's so much better than horizon and I have both. Like, so much better. No competition.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I want Zelda now :(

Might have to get a Wii U when I get some money.

[leedsrevolution]

Oh and I'm not slagging off horizon cos that is good.

[Shindig]

Christ. Yakuza 0 took forever to end. "Well, guess we need a cutscene for every character arc. Sit tight for 90 minutes." It's MGS4's wedding all over again. Minus a wedding. With an Animal House mid-credits roll. Mad bastards.

[Dark Soldier]

22 hours played in 3 days on Zelda. Game is insanely good. The reviews may seem like hyperbole but holy shit they're right.

[ItalAussie]

It's almost convincing me to buy a Switch, just for that as well as whatever Mario games get churned out.

My only reservation regarding Zelda is weapon degradation. Does it play a major role in the game? I normally hate it (it's a sword - you stick 'em with the pointy end), but nobody seems to be complaining about it.

[Dark Soldier]

It's almost convincing me to buy a Switch, just for that as well as whatever Mario games get churned out.

My only reservation regarding Zelda is weapon degradation. Does it play a major role in the game? I normally hate it (it's a sword - you stick 'em with the pointy end), but nobody seems to be complaining about it.

Some are complaining, but not many thankfully.

The way I view it is, you soon learn which level of weapon will kill certain enemies. Weapons are abundant, any place you discover normally has at least one or two (for example, stables normally have 3-5 plus a shield or two). Shrines normally reward you with a decent, sometimes excellent weapon, and if you kill any enemy who is wielding a weapon, you get that on its death too.

I'm like you I think, in Souls/The Witcher and games of its ilk, I normally use 1 or 2 weapons and stick with it. This encourages you to switch, adapt and use strategy rather than going straight in with no regard. Just earlier I took out a group of five low level enemies with a mop ffs :D If you're taking on enemies and all your weapons are breaking and you're doing fuck all to them, come back later. Keep the big damage weapons for tough enemies/guardians/bosses, use the shit on the pleb enemies. Also use your runes, and bow a hell of a lot, they're very efficent. With the right bow, you can insta-kill pleb enemies with one arrow to the head.

The worse the weapon, the quicker they degrade. Found a 40 damage axe recently, basically took down an entire mini-boss, and half another mini-boss with it before it broke. Had to switch to a shitty club from an enemy, and that broke just as I killed the second mini-boss. There is one (maybe two, I dunno) weapon which cannot break, but you don't get it until midway through the game.

As for downsides:

*Frame rate can be dodgy in certain areas. Not enough to ruin the experience, but it is noticeable.
*A lot of inventory time. You can drop swords/axes and all that by throwing them. Bows/armour/other shit you have to find in the inventory and drop. Once you're used to it its not too bad though.
*Some people have complained about not being able to climb when its raining, but I discovered a bit of a cheese way to get around that.
*In wide, open expanses where there's not much going on, it looks like a Wii game. But these areas are rare once you get the glider, leap off a mountain and you can traverse vast distance.

That's about it. Everything else is nailed completely. If you think of something, and think the game won't allow you...99% chance it will. See this as an example:

https://twitter.com/patepote61/status/840213290806534146

You can also 'complete' it as in beat the final boss within an hour if you're good enough and want to. You can just go straight to the boss once out of the tutorial bit, but you'll get your shit pushed back in unless you're a speedrunner.

[Raoul Duke]

Isn't the 'climbing while raining' thing a feature they put in? It was mentioned on one of the streams I watched as being because it'd be more difficult to do so, so it's in the game.

[Dark Soldier]

Isn't the 'climbing while raining' thing a feature they put in? It was mentioned on one of the streams I watched as being because it'd be more difficult to do so, so it's in the game.

Yes, but see Jim Sterling and his reaction to weapon durability and the climbing while raining. Its led to neogaf (I know, its toxic), losing their shit. Its the games way of just saying "You can't go here at the moment, head in another direction and you'll discover something else" but its the modern world of gaming where everything is now, give it me now, I liked that weapon why did it break (despite the fact you'll find plenty more of said weapon).

His review was decent but those two complaints are intrinsic design decisions that may seem odd before you play but work perfectly in game. Its the first open world I've been in where every system, mechanism, and the whole structure of it feels like insane care has been taken. Even the random finding of rupees and other little things feel hand placed in the perfect areas. Its the first time in ages the Nintendo we all grew up on has come back to the fore.

As for climbing in the rain being possible:

If its a vertical face, you can't. If its an incline, any incline, climb to just before you slip, press B while holding up, and Link will walk a bit up the wall, then grip again. Rinse and repeat until you're up it.

[ItalAussie]

https://twitter.com/patepote61/status/840213290806534146I love it. Love it.


You can also 'complete' it as in beat the final boss within an hour if you're good enough and want to. You can just go straight to the boss once out of the tutorial bit, but you'll get your shit pushed back in unless you're a speedrunner.Reminds me of Chrono Trigger in that regard. You can knock off the final boss almost immediately (you're a party of time travellers, so of course you can), and the ending you get is different depending on how much of the main story you've gotten through when you do.

[Dark Soldier]

I will say though, I don't believe any game is worth the price of a console, entirely depends on your funds and such. I wouldn't have it if that guy hadn't agreed to buy the Wii U for him and his kids when I'm done.

[ItalAussie]

I will say though, I don't believe any game is worth the price of a console, entirely depends on your funds and such. I wouldn't have it if that guy hadn't agreed to buy the Wii U for him and his kids when I'm done.

Yeah, and I doubt it'll be enough to get me over the line. Saving for mortgage deposit, etc.

But the idea of buying a console for a Zelda game is nice.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah, and I doubt it'll be enough to get me over the line. Saving for mortgage deposit, etc.

But the idea of buying a console for a Zelda game is nice.

If I'd had £400 spare, I'd have bout the Switch for this, no doubt. But then I have no willpower.

This is one of the best videos I've watched with regards to the world. Minor, minor spoilers if they bother anyone:


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

[phonics]

I'm buying this at the end of the month. I can't wait.

[Shindig]

Jim Sterling's apparently angered fans enough with his 7/10 that his website is now crippled with DDOS attacks. Grow up, lads. In emulation news, Demon's Souls is getting closer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKO6E306_UU

And, on a sidenote, PS4 games are now coming to PS Now which has led some people to panic and call the PS4 obsolete.

[leedsrevolution]

If I'd had £400 spare, I'd have bout the Switch for this, no doubt. But then I have no willpower.

This is one of the best videos I've watched with regards to the world. Minor, minor spoilers if they bother anyone:


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

How many Devine beasts you done so far? You got the mastersword?

[Dark Soldier]

None, and nope. I've not even done a proper main quest yet, just been wandering about. In no rush. Five hearts, two extra stamina bits.

[leedsrevolution]

None, and nope. I've not even done a proper main quest yet, just been wandering about. In no rush. Five hearts, two extra stamina bits.

What a fucking game though, I now truly believe it's the best game I've ever played.

[leedsrevolution]

Oh and that video you posted sums it up perfectly.

[Dark Soldier]

What a fucking game though, I now truly believe it's the best game I've ever played.

I don't think it'll hit top spot for me, there's a few games that have a lot of personal meaning to me, but it'll easily crack my top ten. Finally progressed the story today, did 5 more shrines and found a few nice little bits that had me smiling. Its Nintendo's best game, not just best Zelda, since Ocarina for me. I don't count Metroid Prime as Retro made it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Super Mario Bros 3 > *.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39265275

PS4 games coming to PC thanks to Playstation Now for £12.99 a month.

[Dark Soldier]

Super Mario Bros 3 > *.

Super Metroid for me, its the perfect game.

[Ian]

Man I love Divinity. There are a few wobbles in the Co-op stuff but otherwise that aide of it is spot on.

But I'm at a point now where any big fight will at some point have a big horrible mess of elemental effects on the go, and the way you can interact with that using your own abilities is just wonderful.

[Shindig]

Super Metroid for me, its the perfect game.

I don't know what mine is any more. It used to be Metal Gear Solid and now it's probably Dark Souls.

[wullie]

Zelda Link To The Past is still my favourite from the series. The worst I've played was the DS one with the train stuff, which was still ace but felt more constricted.

[ItalAussie]

Super Metroid for me, its the perfect game.

For me it's Grim Fandango, but that's a great call.

[phonics]

It's actually Diablo 2 or CS 1.6 if we're being correct.

[John]

My favourite game ever is something I've never given more than about ten seconds thought at a time, and the first proper game I ever completed then replayed was Broken Sword so it's always the first that comes to mind and I go with it. If I could pick any game to put on right now though it almost certainly wouldn't be that, so I probably have to give the question a bit more thought.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Wonderboy is another personal favourite.

I sunk many hours into a tabletop arcade version (tabletops should come back btw) in hotels in Cyprus.

[Ian]

We might be due a new favourite game(s) ever thread. I think on the last board I did one a few years ago. Can't remember if I plumped for Panzer Dragoon Saga in the end, which I still have but am terrified to replay.

[Boydy]

Bit like John, it's not something I've ever really thought about much. Lots of games I really enjoyed but I don't know what my favourite would be. Shadow of the Colossus, maybe.

[Disco]

Too broad to pick just one.

Super Mario World is the perfect platformer.
Mario Kart (pick your flavour but if it's anything other than Double Dash you're objectively wrong).
Morrowind, passes the test of still being great without needing a billion mods to make it interesting.
UFO, because it's perfect.

[Shindig]

I need to sink serious time into Super Metroid. Metroid Prime was pretty cool but I probably came to that too late. Link to the Past is another blank spot.

[ItalAussie]

UFO, because it's perfect.
It really, really is.

I'd take 3 > World in the Mario stakes, but I appreciate differences of opinion on that.

Also Lemmings is in the conversation for me.

[The Merse]

Ocarina of Time is the one that has the most feelings of pure joy attached to it. Probably that, along with Red Dead Redemption and Mirrors Edge as the more recent ones. Such a shame that ME: Catalyst is a bit shit.

[Dark Soldier]

I've my top 10 nailed down tight, Breath of the Wild not withstanding if it creeps in (its currently on for top 5).

[Ian]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/streets-of-rogue-review-early-access/

Well that sounds right up my alley.

That name, too. :drool:

[Disco]

It really, really is.

I'd take 3 > World in the Mario stakes, but I appreciate differences of opinion on that.

If you still get the occasional hankering for some UFO then OpenXcom does a brilliant job of adding a little more functionality (zooming out, re-arranging base layouts etc).

Agreed on Mario, I reckon it will depend on which one you grew up with.

[Shindig]

I'll need to hash mine out. I'm cataloguing my owned games so that'll get me thinking. I completely missed Nintendo until I bought a Gamecube, though.

[ItalAussie]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/streets-of-rogue-review-early-access/

Well that sounds right up my alley.

That name, too. :drool:

I've spent many, many hours of my life playing NetHack. I'll be all over that. :nodd:

[Bernanke]

Ordered the Nier-steelbook. :drool:

[Shindig]

I really like the look of that. Sounds like Platnum have stopped shitting it.

[Dark Soldier]

So another forum I'm on have inexplicably had a whipround and bought me an Xbox One completely out of the blue, plus Forza. What games are good on it?

[Shindig]

The fuck? That's nice of them. I'd say go for Forza Horizon 3.

[Dark Soldier]

The fuck? That's nice of them. I'd say go for Forza Horizon 3.

Yeah that's what they're sending. I know, its fucking mental, never even mentioned about wanting one. One geezer started a thread last night, I said nah its alreet, cheers though, woke up and they'd put 250 to it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

How many sexual favours were you handing out?

[Dark Soldier]

I've subsequently offered my arse to all and sundry.

[Boydy]

What? Why did they do that?

[P_3]

I could do with a PS4 lads.

[Shindig]

I think, in terms of exclusives, Xbox One doesn't really have much. Inside is the highest ranked exclusive, according to metacritic. Backwards compatibility, though.

[Dark Soldier]

What? Why did they do that?

They bought another geezer an Xbox One a year ago, bought me Far Cry 3 on release a few years back, do secret santa and a charity drive every year. Fantastic place, one of the users was drunk last night, some geezer made a joke about playing Forza with me if I had Xbox, 24 hours later its done.

[Shindig]

All aboard Mahow's new webcam fund.

[Dark Soldier]

Destiny 2 coming to PC who's buying it no-one good.

[Disco]

The first one was supposed to at one point, not that I care as it looks like a vaguely serviceable shooter with basically no framing whatsoever. I don't see the attraction.

[Dark Soldier]

PVP is the main attraction for those who fell into it. Rare loot + grind + shooty mans.

I got 30 hours of it then deleted.

[John]

Apparently they released an update for the first one at some point that changed the voice of your little companion bot thing, replacing Peter Dinklage with some random games voiceover person. I think I played maybe eight or so hours of it and it was just the same mission over and over again with a different shape of enemy to shoot at.

[Disco]

I'm a lot more interested in Signal From Tolva which comes out in April.

[Disco]

Apparently they released an update for the first one at some point that changed the voice of your little companion bot thing, replacing Peter Dinklage with some random games voiceover person. I think I played maybe eight or so hours of it and it was just the same mission over and over again with a different shape of enemy to shoot at.

Not exactly a random, it was Nolan North.

[John]

I didn't realise it was him, a mate who was still playing it just told me the latest update had replaced Peter Dinklage with 'someone crap'. Still a bit mad to replace Peter Dinklage with him though, unless he has an industry wide contract that says he must take part in all games involving gunplay.

[Disco]

The consensus would seem to be that the game was much improved post-Dinklage and that his replacement was a big factor in that. I've only seen a friend playing it so I can't say for sure.

[Dark Soldier]

Mate I know has been streaming it since pretty much launch on Twitch. Still plays it for 8-10 hours most days, complete lunacy.

[Shindig]

Aye, there are people deep into that arsehole. The shooting's meant to be really on point but their content delivery system (and the fact they threw most of the story away because of some suits) meant it was always hamstrung. They've added some decent raids over the years and monetised some seasonal crap but it's never looked like enough, to me.

[Disco]

I can't get Open Xcom to work properly with TFTD. Booo!

[Ian]

I'm a lot more interested in Signal From Tolva which comes out in April.

Yeah I'm looking forward to this. Though I never actually got close to completing a single-player save in Sir.

[Disco]

I never liked the idea of being constantly hunted, far too stressful for me. This one looks more like my kind of thing.

[Ian]

That was basically what did for me. Sometimes I was just trying to work on my stash and then OH SHIT ROBOTS. I genuinely think it's a great game, just not the one for me.

In single player. Me and Cord had some good saves and many a failure.

[Ian]

I think I'm nearly at the end of Divinity: Original Sin. The later-level mage spells are an absolute joy.

[Disco]

Which schools did you take? I think the archer in my game became a ridiculous murdering machine.

[Shindig]

I'm very close to giving Demon's Souls another run. I never did fight Doran. I should carry on with cheating my way through my blacklog but I'm struggling to find ones to finish quickly.

Well, I'm in it now. Fixed the bent casing on the PS3 drive as well. Now it no longer rattles off the top of the console case. I forgot how satisfying backstabs are in this.

[Dark Soldier]

The lunatics legit bought me an Xbox One, it wasn't a wind up.

http://i.imgur.com/u9t4gEn.jpg

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

An elite too, bastard.

[Dark Soldier]

:cool: as fuck

Tag is DorkSirjur if any of you wanna add me. Got that EA Access thing which has just added Fifa 17 so I'll be on that and Forza mainly.

[Disco]

Yeah yeah we get it, you like your other family more than us.

[Dark Soldier]

Buy me a PS4 Pro and we good.

[Ian]

Which schools did you take? I think the archer in my game became a ridiculous murdering machine.

My character has witchcraft and geomancy which inadvertently match up quite nicely for buffs and that, to an extent. And although he's a colossal penis we have Jahan too, who has at least one Master skill in all the elemental ones. Hailstorm and meteor shower are the nuts.

Bit gutted that the summons feel more like an early crutch because now I only use them very situationally.

[Disco]

Yeah it's a shame they don't scale the summons very well, the later ones don't feel as powerful as they should do. I had exactly the same setup as you and they were useful for crowd control sometimes but nothing like how useful the spider was early on.

[Ian]

The uselessness of spiderbro now is a constant heart-ache. I get that it'd probably be hard to balance it out because numbers are so important in the tough fights but still.

[Shindig]

Plagiarism update, lads:

The site accused of it is ran very suspiciously. (http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2017/04/08/writer-quits-spectacularly-after-site-screws-everyone-over)

[Dark Soldier]

That Xbox Elite controller is a work of beauty, holy shit.

[Shindig]

Yeah, I've heard it justifies it's price tag. A lot of setups you can rejig and tailor to whatever you're playing.

[Shindig]

The Context
I'm always guilty of it, aren't I?

The site I write for received an email from a former writer for Brash Games. They're a prolific site with several writers on staff. Like, 20 at least. We've taken an interest in them because of this and because some of their reviews sound proper ropey. The kind of stuff media students will gladly spew as they look to find their feet. Anyway, this source cited alleged plagiarism of some of our reviews and also mentioned how his review of 140 (an indie something) was re-scored and re-written without his knowledge.

We couldn't make the plagiarism stick but the rewriting of reviews held firm with our editor in chief finding three versions of the review, each with different scores. We kinda left it there until a few more writers began publicly slating Brash Games for their conduct. One of which writing his resignation in the summary of his last review. What's followed is an exodus and tales of authors being removed from articles (shafting the writer if they ever fancy getting a portfolio together) , the editor providing no feedback or editing beyond score fiddling and, the latest allegations relate to their funding.

They're not an ad-based site but they do seemingly plug a free-to-play roulette gambling site and earn $150 a pop for every referral. It's been quite a week and, whilst teenagers trying to use reviews as a way to 'get into the industry' is daft, seeing them dicked about like this is quite dodgy.

https://medium.com/@MorganRPark/brash-games-founder-responds-to-discrediting-allegations-a808ed3c15b8

850834122280845312

It's all so amazing. Clients, lads. That's not implying an agenda at all. They removed the PacMan 256 review where the writer wrote out his resignation in the last paragraph. Awww. This time last week, their staff page referenced 40 aspiring writers. It is now blank.

Finally, OpenCritic published some findings. They're Metacritic for rejects.

http://c.opencritic.com/releases/BrashGames.pdf


Each time we confronted Brash Games with a specific accusation, we found traces of
attempted cover-ups including efforts such as editing or deleting old reviews, sending dubious
legal documents and threats, blocking OpenCritic team member IP addresses, and removing
Brash Games from the Wayback Machine

I love this stupid industry and its stupid people.

[ItalAussie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egLTRtZI4Mw

I'm excited about this. It looks really faithful to the (fantastic) original, too.

[Shindig]

Hot off announcing Bayonetta for PC, Yakuza Kiwami (Remake of the first one) is coming in August. And Microsoft now offer console and PC refunds. Neat.

[Disco]

Lets not applaud Microsoft too much for doing something they're obliged by law to do anyway.

[Shindig]

My, Gran Turismo 6 has a lot of patches. AND A THREE HOUR INSTALL!?

After all that, it's not compatible with the Dual Shock 4. Christ.

[Disco]

Very much enjoying Signal From Tolva, for something made by 5 people it looks great and I'm really liking the story and the way it gets delivered (text files and a lorebook aren't exactly groundbreaking but it fits the game/universe very well) plus the somewhat serene exploration punctuated by shooting robots in their robot faces is right up my robo-street. The weapon loadouts I have found slightly restrictive but that could easily be because I'm a bit rubbish at robo-combat.

Well worth the £15 it's going for on Steam.

[Ian]

Yeah that'll probably be my next purchase.

[Ian]

Well that's Divinity finished. Tremendous game. Though a rare game of this sort where I came away not especially caring about any of the characters. They're all just.... fine.

[Disco]

Yeah, weird that a game can have so much character but not have any interesting characters, the lich lady was the closest. One of my few gripes with it is the other party members, because of the characters I;d rolled I was basically railroaded into taking the most annoying ones.

[Shindig]

Found my first Crimsonhead in Resident Evil HD. Oops. Apparently there's a flask I should've picked up.

[Ian]

Yeah, weird that a game can have so much character but not have any interesting characters, the lich lady was the closest. One of my few gripes with it is the other party members, because of the characters I;d rolled I was basically railroaded into taking the most annoying ones.

Me and my mate had Wolgraff and Jahan then switched the former for Bairdotr because we wanted to use all the arrows we kept picking up. Barely used Madora at all because my mate was playing a tanky warrior type.

[Ian]

I'm really quite enjoying Assassin's Creed Syndicate. I think objectively it's probably got a shout for being one of the best, if not the best in the series but it doesn't have enough Ezio or sea shanties to out-do whichever of Brotherhood or Black Flag I tell you is my favourite on a given day.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I couldn't get into it.

I just kept thinking 'I wish this was Black Flag'.

[Shindig]

I don't know what it would take for me to get interested in that series. Wait. There is one thing:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it6CweE-yhk

[Ian]

Not done the Victoria missions after the main yarn yet but otherwise I'm done with Syndicate. The story wasn't very involved, even by the standard of these games, and seemed to just sort of arrive at a finale. I think they were trying to make the two protagonists and the main other character but even then it was mostly being told stuff is happening ("I SEE YOU AND CHARACTER B ARE REALLY GETTING, EH?" *wink*) rather than it actually happening.

That's not why any sane person plays AC, mind. Even if I did quite like Jacob and Evie. London's swish in it, I quite enjoyed the brief WW1 "time anomaly" and it's got the best kind of travelling over long distances of anything in the series after the boating.

[Raoul Duke]

I'm kinda tempted to have another crack at Ass Creed: Pirates of the Caribbean - was a fun game.

[Ian]

It helped that Kenway isn't a mega-dickhead in that. It wasn't a promising sign when after an hour in Connor's company in AC3 I wished I was back playing as his Templar dad again.

I'll be interested to see if they go with another multi-protagonist set-up in the next one.

Something else I forgot to mention about Syndicate, it has comfortably the least intrusive present-day stuff yet. :drool: Hopefully in a game or two's time they're going to have quietly culled all of it. A man can dream.

[Yevrah]

I couldn't believe the use of that modern day bollocks in Blag Flag.

I was enjoying being a pirate and suddenly I'm transported into modern day, doing follow and yawn shit for a complete bell-end in a skyscraper.

I mean, wut?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The modern day stuff should just be dropped, no one likes it.

Just give us a touch at the start to set it up and be done with it.

[Ian]

Don't even do that. Just burn it all.

It fails the do-people-want-this test every single time.

[Yevrah]

There's a myrid of stuff that runs through Ubisoft titles that no sane person would bother to include/think was acceptable.

Their reward structure for collectables and the lack of balance in the economies in their games being two such examples that spring to mind.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Don't even do that. Just burn it all.

It fails the do-people-want-this test every single time.

I mean just in the sense of Hi Bob, we need you. Go into this machine and relieve your ancestors memories from X time period.

Just to keep the game plugging into the whole thing they've created.

[Raoul Duke]

The worst thing is the overly-knowing meta-nods to it being Ubi themselves. I get that they've kinda committed to it now, and it helps tie together the overarching story/allow them to flit around to different time periods, but like you say - just give us a bit of fluff at the beginning and then leave me in the Matrix for the rest of the game.

Still, I've put an hour or so back into Black Slag and it's still kinda fun. Want to get out on the high seas and start turning over some Spaniards.

Shanties :drool:

[Ian]

I genuinely wouldn't mind the brief disconnect if they just fucked off the modern day stuff altogether. I suppose you can't bin off the artifacts now, that ship has fucking sailed, but just do historical assassins 'n' templars. Nice settings, cool kills, good protagonists. I just remembered a thing I really like in this one so I'll get my next gripe (with both the series and Syndicate specifically) out of the way first: the final villain turning into an Assassin-level combatant because he's got a McGuffin. I'd love them to go the other way (they won't) and make it so you have to get a kill first time but just make it really hard to get to.

Which leads me onto something I loved in Syndicate, which is the different methods of achieving assassinations, primarily in the Jacob missions. Almost Hitman-lite in the way you get alternate routes in and stuff. More of that please, Ubi.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Bought WWE 2k17 as it's only £15.

http://i.imgur.com/ByvAaaq.jpg

Hero.

[wullie]

I'm tempted by the price but it just seems like more of the same and I've managed to resist the habit this year. Does it come with the DLC packaged in yet? I might get it when they do the complete version.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I think the deluxe version is like £50 or something.

You could buy it for £15 on Shopto and then download the season pass although you wont get Goldberg.

Edit: After a bit of reading I've gone for Goldberg (I just couldn't say no to him), the NXT Enhancement Pack (mainly for Nakamura), Legends Pack and Hall of Fame Showcase.

Last two are in the season pass but the first two aren't.

[Shindig]

They need better fake jobber names. Probably.

[Ian]

Cord will just be hoping for more opportunities to fight Pap O'Shango if his 2k16 adventures are anything to go by.

Is the submission system still an absolute disgrace?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The right stick thing? I haven't played 2k16 but yeah it's a cock.

I keep forgetting to switch to the old system of button mashing for it.

Oh and AJ Styles is a dick, he's the only guy to beat me (I battered him but made one mistake which allowed him to do a finisher on me and I died) and he just attacked me during a promo.

[Ian]

That's alright, Corporate Kane beat me with some shitty chokehold and Cord lost to a punch from Finn Balor.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Normal Finn Balor or mental one?

In 2k17, the first time I face him he was normal and the second time he had gone full mongo which is quite cool.

Currently a face but after AJ Styles bitchslapped me in the back I've thrown my toys out of the pram and keep knocking the shit out of people after I beat them.

[wullie]

The PS4 version is out of stock on Shopto which works out alright as I'd have bought it otherwise and I'm not really sure I want to.

[phonics]

Thought you were discussing NBA there and I got sad. How many more months do I have to wait?

[wullie]

Back in stock now. Come to papa

[Dark Soldier]

Gonna grab Prey tomorrow I think, looks like a dream cross of Bioshock and System Shock.

[Raoul Duke]

Gonna grab Prey tomorrow I think, looks like a dream cross of Bioshock and System Shock.

It's meant to handle like ass on the PS4 :moop:

[Dark Soldier]

I'm going Xbox because I need something to play on it :baz::baz:

[wullie]

Had a quick go on the new WWE 2K which came yesterday, how are the character models actually getting worse? This is the same publisher that puts out the NBA titles where you have teams filled with players that look as close to real life as you can get in a game.

[Ian]

The graphics and overall polish of 2K16 is atrocious. It's impossible to know when somebody's coming to get you post-match or whatever because it quite happily plays both sets of music over each other at the same time.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Had a quick go on the new WWE 2K which came yesterday, how are the character models actually getting worse? This is the same publisher that puts out the NBA titles where you have teams filled with players that look as close to real life as you can get in a game.

Did you try the facial capture thing? I tried to use a sample one, which I thought would look better. It was like trying to put a sticker of a face over a face.

[wullie]

I've not had a look at any editing yet, need to finish downloading and installing the massive patch first. I saw you can download alternative attires though which is nice so long as there isn't the horrible delay in selecting everything still.

[Dark Soldier]

Lads Prey is fucking superb. If you loved any of the Bioshock, System Shock, or Metroid games its right up your street.

[Ian]

Yeah I wasn't even considering buying it at new release prices until the reviews started coming in.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i0.wp.com/www.criticalhit.net/images/2016/10/WWE-2K17_20161025133721.jpg?resize=800%2C450

It's majestic.

[wullie]

Sweet lord.

[Patje]

:roflol:

[Pepe]

That's incredible. :D

[Shindig]

Square Enix are selling off IO Interactive. RIP Hitman. :(

[Ian]

Surely it's only RIP Hitman if nobody else buys them / they can't find another means of funding it? Didn't the latest one do pretty well?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The rankings in this game are broken.

I'm stuck at 5th for the US Championship despite winning loads of matches, so I decide to call out the Champion John Cena. This starts a rivalry and a non-title match is set up. I batter the crap out of him, it says that he won the rivalry (lol) and I'm still 5th.

[wullie]

Have they got rid of the story mode this year or is it part of the update I'm halfway through downloading?

[phonics]

Had a quick go on the new WWE 2K which came yesterday, how are the character models actually getting worse? This is the same publisher that puts out the NBA titles where you have teams filled with players that look as close to real life as you can get in a game.

It's still made by the same developers that have been making these games since Smackdown! Here comes the pain. They just changed publisher when THQ went under.

[wullie]

I get that, I was just hoping that with it now falling under their banner 2K might have had more of a hand in it so it at least doesn't look embarrassingly inferior to titles in their range. When they announced the deal to move from THQ there was talk that they were going back to the drawing board, but with a captive audience I suppose they have no real need to meddle too much.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I think I hate the ladder mini game more than the submission one.

Christ it's shit.

[Shindig]

Surely it's only RIP Hitman if nobody else buys them / they can't find another means of funding it? Didn't the latest one do pretty well?

It's hard to tell with digital sales not being tracked so well. 600k on steam, about 300k everywhere else. Consider most of those sales were probably at a cut price, too.

[Ian]

I think I hate the ladder mini game more than the submission one.

Christ it's shit.

At least anything involving ladders included in every wrestling game ever (and ladders are always shit) reflects wrestlers twatting about on ladders in real matches because they can't get their timing right. The submission mini-game may be less shit but it also fucks up the illusion more than the other stuff.

[Dark Soldier]

Prey feels like all the best bits from System Shock, Bioshock, Dishonoured, Metroid and Deus Ex chucked into the fucking mixer and it ending up working. It can be a little wonky control wise (combat is very Bioshock, a tiny bit sluggish so as to keep it tense), plus twice I've had to reload due to getting stuck in the world, but the degree of exploring, the whole recycling mechanic, the enemies. You can very easily quick save on console too, just press start and its the first option.

I will say the mimics, used as a selling point, aren't that great. The first five or six times you encounter them it feels fresh but they become an annoyance, the other enemies that do pop up make up for it. They're very fucking aggressive, it feels each battle needs strategy,

The world itself is wonderfully realised. Just a giant, linked, weird as fuck spaceship, which is where the Deus Ex comparison comes in. I've added my points into hacking at the start, so I can access everything now. Emails, locked rooms, all that shit. Shortcuts into rooms you can't hack into, which brings me to the Gloo Cannon.

You can fire that shit on any surface, and you can climb onto and stand on it, so you can build a bridge to an area you shouldn't be in yet, or rooms you can't get into via hacking/shortcuts. They've just left the player to do what the fuck you want whilst keeping it challenging and tense. You get waypoints on the screen but you're free to ignore them and do your own thing. I'm scoping out every area.

I'm sixteen hours in, about 30-40% done, and loving every second. If it wasn't for Breath of the Wild, this would easily be my GOTY.

If you didn't get on with two or three of the games I mention in my opening sentence, you probably won't like this. It all hinges on exploration and if you can get into the story.

[Ian]

I bought it last night. About to get in about it.

[Ian]

I love that after the initial setting-up stage it just basically shoves you out the door and goes "Right then, go play."

Snuck around a locked door into the security room and got a shotgun. :cool:

[Dark Soldier]

Glad you're liking it mate. I'd say I've gotta be about 40% through and each area just keeps getting better.

[Shindig]

Picking up The Surge on Tuesday. Liked some of the pre-release coverage. Hopefully it doesn't crash like Lords of the Fallen.

[Ian]

Glad you're liking it mate. I'd say I've gotta be about 40% through and each area just keeps getting better.

I've been spending ages in each area on nook-and-cranny duty. Just got the neuromod schematic and made 14 of them.

The typhon are a bit boring to fight but the could-be-anywhere nature of the mimics is superb. Including when you chase one round a corner and you're desperately trying to remember how the room looked last time you saw it.

[Dark Soldier]

Heh I guess you don't have the ability to spot mimics yet?

[Ian]

I have not.

I don't have anything alien-y yet.

[Dark Soldier]

Ah I won't say more as I think its linked to the story. Its a fucking Godsend tbh :D

[Ian]

I've been obsessively backtracking to uncover stuff I bypassed previously so I haven't progressed especially quickly through the main story I don't think.

I will definitely get that as and when I get the chance and yet..... I suspect it'll take away one of the few things I like about the enemies in this. I tend to find with most of the ones I've had so far that once I've fought a new one once or twice I'm just going through the motions. The mimics though, at least they'll come at you from anywhere even if the ensuing combat isn't the most stimulating. From what I've encountered so far none of it is. It's not dreadful, but with the abilities/weapons I have so far it's mostly functional at the times I'm caught out in the open. I like it best when I have the opportunity to plan, set up "traps" (that often go wrong), etc.

There may be more to come but the fighting I currently treat mostly as a change of pace but I don't relish it. I do still enjoy getting jumped by a mimic though.

[Dark Soldier]

Now I've upgraded my movement speed to max, and have upgraded a couple of weapons to almost max, the combat is a lot more fun as its way easier. I one shot mimics with the shotgun, and take chunks off the other enemies. But at the start I agree, it feels sluggish and just not that fun. Its ala Bioshock in that sense where the ship is the star, and the exploration that comes with it, but without the combat it'd essentially be a walking sim, and would make the recycling mechanic, which is so imperative to it, redundant.

Tbv Dishonored's combat was weak too, was always more about using your powers to avoid it, which you can in this to a lesser extent.

Also, I know its a spoiler, but the mimic spotter thing, its a choice as to if you use it, so if you like the mimic mechanic you can just avoid using it.

[Ian]

Dishonored's combat was pretty rough but you could player it as the Arkham trilogy-esque power fantasy where you can be unstoppable in conflict if you pick your spot.

Not that my issue with the combat in this is that I feel weak, it's more than the enemies don't feel like they're doing anything other than throwing damage at me. Different sorts of damage, sure, and with different resistances or health bars (that big floaty thing I found in Fabrication can go and heartily fuck itself) but I think I'm finding the anticipation of combat more of a driver than the combat itself. But I wouldn't avoid it even if I could. I need the resources, man. My hacking and repair isn't going to up itself, after all.

I think the utter lack of cutscenes and stuff in this has played up to my being an absolute sucker I am for piecing together (back)story by way of audiologs, diaries, emails, etc. I fucking love it.

January/ me telling me I need to destroy the station and then Graves' audiolog where he's realised the truth behind the neuromods fit together so perfectly for me.

I've just had December in my ear. "She" can get lost."

Sounds like I'm being really down on the combat but it's more an observation than actual complaints. I'm loving life and there are two things it does really well that I've specifically noticed in my time with it today. While the combat isn't great it can produce great stories (either "Here's this awesome thing I did" or "Here's a cool story about when shit went horribly wrong") and it's great at setting up scenes.

Like when I opened up the door for the Volunteers Quarters and it was fucking pitch black. And it cleverly keeps you largely combat-free while you're in the dark, dicking with your expectations. I turned on the lights only to hear the Poltergeist talking to itself....