General gaming discussion

[phonics]

So here's the state of play. I took Seoul because I couldn't think of any other way to get out from the situation I was in tactically. This led France to commit to Holy War against me which was useful as I hadn't used Faith at all because I've never understood the Religion system, I bought a bunch of Apostles and converted everyone's citizens and destroyed Catholicism pretty much. France gave up this war the moment I walked into their borders and one shot everybody in their way, ceding me all their money, every luxury resource they have for 30 turns and all their great works. At which point Germany thought it'd be a great idea to go to war with me and I proceeded to own them in a massive chokepoint for 5 turns before they also gave me all their money.

A better looking image than my last:

Toggle Spoiler

I'm already at Gunpowder tech (and still losing Science apparently) and I still haven't met 7 other Civs. This is an absolutely crazy game, I literally have no idea what is beyond these screenshots and a boat sailing the high seas.

[Shindig]

I've just realised The Last Guardian is out in a month's time. Pewdiepie's been playing it for a month so it's definitely done. The cunt.

[Ian]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...e-shogun-demo/

I'll be giving this a bash. "Commandos but with ninjas" is the sort of unimaginative pitch I lap up.

[ItalAussie]

So here's the state of play. I took Seoul because I couldn't think of any other way to get out from the situation I was in tactically. This led France to commit to Holy War against me which was useful as I hadn't used Faith at all because I've never understood the Religion system, I bought a bunch of Apostles and converted everyone's citizens and destroyed Catholicism pretty much. France gave up this war the moment I walked into their borders and one shot everybody in their way, ceding me all their money, every luxury resource they have for 30 turns and all their great works. At which point Germany thought it'd be a great idea to go to war with me and I proceeded to own them in a massive chokepoint for 5 turns before they also gave me all their money.

A better looking image than my last:

Toggle Spoiler

I'm already at Gunpowder tech (and still losing Science apparently) and I still haven't met 7 other Civs. This is an absolutely crazy game, I literally have no idea what is beyond these screenshots and a boat sailing the high seas.

I enjoyed this. After reports of Civ are the best.

[Dark Soldier]

Been playing through Uncharted 4 after a lend from a mate. Naughty Dog have to be one of the most over-hyped studios around. They make stunning, cutting edge graphical games, then fill them with tedious, shitey gameplay. Also, the much lauded writing is dull as feck.

[Ian]

Yeah I got bored of the first one pretty quickly.

[Dark Soldier]

Been having a discussion elsewhere about them. Main problem, for me, is their desire to ape action movies. Action movies work because any contrivances to move on the plot can be forgiven in a lean, fun 90-120 minutes. When its 20 hours plus, of set pieces ramping up, believability going out of the window and constant, tedious climb after climb when the floor gives way, or the rock face crumples, it just becomes dull as a whole. Primarily because there is zero danger, zero worry. They're essentially actions sims with the odd bit of control. Linear, dull, but beautiful to look at.

Whe Nate's fallen 40+ feet, smacking his face off rocks yet comes too with a couple of scratches purely for the sake of advancing the plot, but you miss a 20 foot jump and its insta-death, it throws you out of the world.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I loved the first two but never got round to finishing the third.

You're right, they're visually stunning but there's fuck all else there.

[ItalAussie]

I do agree that action games are going out of their way to ape films. A good set piece is fantastic, but it has to feel earned

[Shindig]

Yeah. I don't mind the platforming but the shooting in Uncharted always felt like the thing you could've skimped on. That and the usual gamechanger that happens three-quarters through every game. Blue bastards.

[wullie]

Like with the Tomb Raider reboot, I'd be happy if both games were just the exploration side. I liked marvelling at the environment in Uncharted until you see a number of convenient waist-high objects a little further ahead.

[Shindig]

Limmy's streaming of Bloodborne has reached new heights.



Laying down the law on chat in the last minute. Gerr'em telt, son.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I've got Motorsport Manager going - for those that like that sort of thing, it really is good. The race engine is brilliantly done. Doesn't have F1 licensing/whatever but in reality what that does is give them the freedom to make it a much better game.

[John]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...e-shogun-demo/

I'll be giving this a bash. "Commandos but with ninjas" is the sort of unimaginative pitch I lap up.

Any time I have a go on something like that I just end up annoyed that it isn't as good as Cannon Fodder, even though it's obviously a million times better.

[Ian]

I don't believe I ever properly played Cannon Fodder. Commandos, though? Oh aye.

Commandos 2 is the fucking business. The little dog. I played Desperados as well at the time but couldn't get into it, I should probably go back to it and hope it's aged well.

[John]

I don't believe I ever properly played Cannon Fodder. Commandos, though? Oh aye.

Commandos 2 is the fucking business. The little dog. I played Desperados as well at the time but couldn't get into it, I should probably go back to it and hope it's aged well.

I think I remember Commandos. Sort of isometric faux 3D?

[Disco]

Cannon Fodder was great, I think I had the second one. I used to get slaughtered as soon as it got the alien(?) levels.

I've been watching some Jagged Alliance 2 and while that seems like a lot to learn I could go for something tile & turn based. The new Wasteland or Shadowrun look fun, as does Banner Saga.

[Ian]

I think I remember Commandos. Sort of isometric faux 3D?

That's the one. Each character had their own specialities (green beret, sniper, sapper, er, flirty spy woman.) I'd love a new entry in that series.

[ItalAussie]

Commandos was brilliant. Worth another go, I think.

[Disco]

Played the latest Broken Sword game over the weekend (it's called number 5 but I'm not sure how than be as THERE ARE NO THIRD OR FOURTH GAMES IN THIS SERIES NO MATTER WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK) and very much enjoyed it. It's a proper point and click affair like the first two, story is a bit wooly and doesn't hold up quite as well as the originals but other than it was rather good.

[Shindig]

Replaying Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin before I bother streaming it. I need to know if I've improved. 9 bosses down in ten hours. Big hurdles like the Ruin Sentinels and Pursuer cleared quickly. Last four bosses have went down at first attempt. Lost Sinner's probably next to fall. She seems to get powered up in her last quarter. Boo. I still don't like some aspects of this game. Dead Man's Wharf was a nightmare to navigate and I wound up being bogged down there. The run to Ornstein is shit entirely due to the Heide Knights.

[Dark Soldier]

Run past 'em, don't have to kill every enemy.

[Shindig]

I kinda did at that point. Needed to kill the Dragon guarding the bridge. OH SHIT!



Kojima's going to bankrupt Sony.

[Disco]

More incomprehensible tosh from Kojima by the looks of things, he really is just recycling essays he wrote when he was 15. Oooh a baby, edgy.

[Shindig]

Some twat on the internet reckons it's an Akira adaptation. It's not and Del Toro is doing this entirely out of spite. How many bored models will he rope into this project?

[Ian]

Kojima is a tosser, and yet he manages to make a lot of money to do it. So fair play, I guess?



A few nifty ideas in there but whether it hangs together to make a good game is a different issue.

And in RPS' advent calendar they say the best city in a game this year is Mankind Divided's Prague.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...n-a-game-2016/

I disagree, I would say Dishonored 2's Karnaca is the best in the games I've played. The best urban bit of Mankind Divided was Golem, which isn't in Prague, I don't think? I'd pick Karnaca either way.


EDIT: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...of-the-shogun/

I want this very much.

[Disco]

He makes games that are technically very good but then insists on filling them with utter horse-wank.

[Dark Soldier]

The Last of Us 2 announced yay. I'm seemingly one of the few who straight up hated the first.

[Shindig]

Story was good, not so much the sneaking.

[Dark Soldier]

Story was bang average but judged in the world of game writing its a fecking masterpiece.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I sort of liked it but the clickers scared the living shit out of me.

I can cope with films just fine but a game sucks me in too much.

I remember playing FEAR and I was constantly in fear (lol) of actually shitting my pants.

[wullie]

I loved Last of Us. Part of me wishes they'd leave it alone or it'll get like those shows that would have been perfect with a single season, but then it did pick up when Brodie was hanged in Iran and all that.

[Shindig]

Yeah, although I feel that way with a lot of sequels. I guess calling it 'Part II' implies they had something in mind, rather than penning a sequel as soon as the sales data came in.

Meanwhile, I'm now into the back half of Dark Souls 2. I'm won over, although my Morning Star is terrible against mob bosses. I've got some massive alternatives which I have to dig out. This series really, really trains you well to get better.

[Patje]

I still need to play The Last of Us. I've got the Remastered version for the PS4. Might play it once I'm done with Mafia 3, though I'll probably start Borderlands 2 (my last game on the 360 to play) or Witcher 3.

Though I'm still mostly playing Armello and Blood Bowl: LE on the laptop.

[Dark Soldier]

Borderlands 2 is like crack to me. Think I've played through it about 12 times.

[Shindig]

Second run of Dark Souls 2 was done in 30 hours. Restarted a new character now with the intention of all bosses and DLC. Ancient Dragon is a war with my patience. Getting better at this, although I'm popping boss souls as I go to boost my build quicker. +8 Morning Star and I'm only at Ruin Sentinels after 5 hours. Only areas that peg me back a little are No Man's Wharf and Huntsman's Copse.

NG+ feels like a trollish pisstake. Red phantoms everywhere and you spawn into PAIN on a new cycle.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Can I trust The Wolf Among Us to be at least as good as The Walking Dead games?

[Disco]

It has by far the most interesting premise of any of them.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Sorted, cheers.

[P_3]

Final Fantasy is out. There is no thread. Is it that bad?

[phonics]

Not out on PC for months

[phonics]

I was just about to boot up Metal Gear V and realised I don't have my save anymore. I'm not sure I have the will to do the opening again.

[Disco]

I've never gotten the appeal of FF, I tried 7 because everyone raves about it and it was god awful tosh. Not helped by a total disdain for random encounters.

[phonics]

They used to look amazing. I can imagine the charm gets lost when you go back to them generations later.

[Ian]

I was just about to boot up Metal Gear V and realised I don't have my save anymore. I'm not sure I have the will to do the opening again.

Yeah, it occurred to me that when I go back to it I should restart but have the same issue. I do have my save though so I'll probably just crack on and end up fucking up loads while I relearn how to actually play it.

[phonics]

I'm so glad Konami got rid of Kojima when they did and forced the game out. There would have been 40 hours of that across the game if he had his way.

[Disco]

Starting to get to grips with Pillars of Eternity, I still have no idea how wizards work or how to tell what kind of weapons everyone should be using but I'm no longer getting completely trounced by everything. I'm not sure I quite follow what's going on (there's lots of names and places chucked at you and this being a fantasy game they're all liberally sprinkled with apostrophes as if the writers ordered too many and need to use them up somehow) but I suppose that's true of any story driven rpg.

[Dan]

I still need to play The Last of Us. I've got the Remastered version for the PS4. Might play it once I'm done with Mafia 3, though I'll probably start Borderlands 2 (my last game on the 360 to play) or Witcher 3.

Though I'm still mostly playing Armello and Blood Bowl: LE on the laptop.

Borderlands 2 is like crack to me. Think I've played through it about 12 times.

Yep, it's the only game I've ever started a second playthrough of. Still play it every now & again. Top, top game.

[phonics]

Armello is great until you realise how absolutely biased it is with a good start.

[Shindig]

Yeah, it occurred to me that when I go back to it I should restart but have the same issue. I do have my save though so I'll probably just crack on and end up fucking up loads while I relearn how to actually play it.

It's not as long as I remember but it's still a terrible intro. The grind of R&D might be worse, in the long run.