What are you Playing Now: Living the Game Life

[BruceVC]

44 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

The main reason for joining the clerics is that they have by far the best exclusive power, since it stunlocks targets.

 

Interestingly enough even your point  is relevant to overall combat I always make decisions in games like this after long and deep contemplation and rumination around the ideological  reason to join any faction. My decision is always about the narrative and who I can identify with after understanding what they represent

Things like advanced lazer power wouldnt be a reason for me, just a benefit around a particular faction 

[Keyrock]

I've been playing the Smith campaign in Griftlands on prestige level 1 and it's a significant step up from base difficulty. Even with perks I unlocked that made my character objectively stronger than my first go round, it took me 3 tries just to get past day 1. I have some cool deck ideas but realistically I need to get to day 3 to get all the cards I need to truly implement said ideas. That's the thing with a deck builder, theory crafting is all well and good, but you still have to get the cards.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Keyrock

[Skarpen]

I'm trying Solasta since it's on Game Pass and the project is interesting in few points. Mechanics are very well implemented with a lot of versatility in encounters and I didn't encounter any big bugs which is refreshing. What is a novelty and somewhat a milestone in RPG games is that it's fully voiced and responsive to each character and yet you create your whole party. So it's possible to make a game that doesn't rely on set protagonist or mute main character and also gives freedom in creating a character or a party of characters. 

[Malcador]

Finished the Foundation DLC for Control, that was fun.  End boss fight was difficult muddled through it eventually.  Launch definitely not the "I Win" button it was in the base game, hah.  Cool story though, missed the Former at the end in the distance.  Will go back and play the train mission as I hear that was enjoyable - although doubt it will top the Ashtray Maze.

[Sarex]

@Malcador Do you find the game to be scary at all? The whole time I was playing it I was under the impression that they wanted it to be a horror game...

[Malcador]

28 minutes ago, Sarex said:

@Malcador Do you find the game to be scary at all? The whole time I was playing it I was under the impression that they wanted it to be a horror game...

Not really, I did get spooked a bit dodging the weird killer spheres but I scare easily anyway.  It's about as scary as Alan Wake I guess, just in terms of setting and things going on that you see the aftermath of.  

Finished the second DLC, that was okay, those fights with Hartman were a pain, Langston is one bright point, his monologuing and freestyle poetry, hah.  All in all, 21 hours spent on the game, not bad, may tool around a bit more with side missions but don't feel the urge to do the grind (kudos to Remedy to give us a cinematic of Trench talking about 'endless grind' to start off the endgame).

[Keyrock]

I'm starting up Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne Remaster.

Let's get the cons out of the way first. This is a relatively barebones remaster. I will say this, the upscaled graphics look pretty good, everything is smooth and sharp. By comparison, the movies look hilariously low res. But that's all they did as far as I can tell. There are no added effects, no depth of field, volumetric fog, etc. It's been a long time, but I haven't noticed any quality of life improvements either. They upscaled the existing graphics and made the game work on modern systems, that's all.

On the positive side, it's still SMT3: Nocturne. This game is still awesome. Just the fact that I'm playing a MegaTen game on PC and it's not via emulation feels pretty great. Hopefully this leads to other MegaTen games getting ported to PC, even if they're only barebones remasters like this.

This remaster includes all the different editions of the game (as DLCs because of course), I'm playing the Chronicle version, since I never got to play that back in the day. Quick history lesson: A year after the game released on PS2 in Japan they released a director's cut called Maniax which included content cut from the original release plus some added stuff, including a cameo by Dante from Devil May Cry. This is the version that eventually made its way to North America. Later they released another version called Chronicle where Dante was replaced by Raidou from the Devil Summoner spinoffs. That version was only released in Japan, until now.

I'm starting the game on hard difficulty. I may (read: probably will) regret that, MegaTen games aren't exactly known for being easy. In fact, they added a merciful difficulty for the remaster so that filthy cazhuls could play the game without having their egos bruised too much (I keed I keed, play how you want). The good news is that I can change difficulty at any time, so I won't have to start over if I wuss out and drop the difficulty to normal.

Edited June 12, 2021 by Keyrock

[bringingyouthefuture]

Finished Solasta, interesting enough even with the straight forward story I think I might replay it, though might wait for the Sorcerer DLC.  The power gamer in me wants to create the ultimate party now that I have all the meta knowledge in what gear is available, and what to expect.  I also just read the studio is opening a partner studio to create a new game in the world, which is pretty cool.  Would love them to continue to work on the graphics and interface because I would love them to come out with something as polished as POE2, that ran as smooth.  Solasta is a little chunky ... is that the right word? Also, would love them to expand the level cap and add more classes ... I am a sucker for isometric RPGs ...

[BruceVC]

1 hour ago, bringingyouthefuture said:

... I am a sucker for isometric RPGs ...

Join the club, who isnt a fan of isometric RPG's

[Mamoulian War]

1 hour ago, BruceVC said:

Join the club, who isnt a fan of isometric RPG's

Unfortunately, the people who are focustesting the AAA ****

[Gorth]

Playing Dungeon of Naheulbeuk…

I just dispatched the cheese guarding chef and his henchmen (and henchrats) followed by a showdown with the cultists of Dlul, the god of boredom. Looks like my party may have been cursed by the latter, constantly yawning and suffering from lethargy

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Gorth said:

Playing Dungeon of Naheulbeuk…

I just dispatched the cheese guarding chef and his henchmen (and henchrats) followed by a showdown with the cultists of Dlul, the god of boredom. Looks like my party may have been cursed by the latter, constantly yawning and suffering from lethargy

Are you enjoying it, what would you give it out of 100 based on your experience so far ?

[WDeranged]

Finally enjoying Fallout 4 after five years.  Yes the dialogue sucks, and the lack of skills is galling.  But now that there are mods available to fix the dozens of other niggles I can actually enjoy it for what it is rather than comparing it to New Vegas.

7/10 Bethesda...you c***s.

[Gorth]

7 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Are you enjoying it, what would you give it out of 100 based on your experience so far ?

I'm not really much for giving games "ratings". My world view is a bit too binary sometimes. Either I like it or i don't (i.e. 100 or -5). I like this game. Very much so. East to learn mechanics, which can still involve some rather convoluted thinking and strategies for skill choices and party deployment. At a certain point, your party grows from 7 to 8 and you have to make a binding choice from 3 candidates, a bard, a paladin and a priest, which one you want to add permanently. I let my glorious party leader, the ranger, have the final word and went with the priestess. In his own words, she has some enormous attributes.

An interesting mechanic is how party member can passively buff each other depending on who they stand next to. A simple example, if the magician is standing next to the wood elf (the party "dumb blonde"), she feels even smarter than she normally is by comparison and get a +5 to intelligence

Similar with other stats and attributes. The skill system a mix of primary skills and derived secondary skills.

It took me a bit to figure out how to get your party to scout for traps, but that turned out to be surprisingly simple. Just make your thief the party leader and the party sill move slowly, scanning for traps. Nice and easy like that in many ways. Your ogre is the party inventory, as his massive strength is what carries all the party's loot etc. (the in game explanation for how it works).

While it is a 3D isometric system, the camera can be moved freely, rotating around the action, zooming in and out etc.

But... no matter how nice and easy to learn the interface and game mechanics are, it doesn't matter if you don't dig the writing. I believe (without having investigated too much) it's based on a French comic.

I found a single video on Youtube showing somebody's interpretation of the comic and I would recommend watching the 7 minutes or so video to judge if the visual style, voice acting (which sounds like the game voice actors) etc. is to your liking. Also the humour... always a hit or miss thing, I think the cartoon catches the style of the game.

Edit: Someone else's 'lets play' video showing the introduction and the start of the game. Showing much more than I can tell in several long paragraphs

 

 

[Malcador]

Got Stranglehold.  Waste of $3 for me.

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Gorth said:

I'm not really much for giving games "ratings". My world view is a bit too binary sometimes. Either I like it or i don't (i.e. 100 or -5). I like this game. Very much so. East to learn mechanics, which can still involve some rather convoluted thinking and strategies for skill choices and party deployment. At a certain point, your party grows from 7 to 8 and you have to make a binding choice from 3 candidates, a bard, a paladin and a priest, which one you want to add permanently. I let my glorious party leader, the ranger, have the final word and went with the priestess. In his own words, she has some enormous attributes.

An interesting mechanic is how party member can passively buff each other depending on who they stand next to. A simple example, if the magician is standing next to the wood elf (the party "dumb blonde"), she feels even smarter than she normally is by comparison and get a +5 to intelligence

Similar with other stats and attributes. The skill system a mix of primary skills and derived secondary skills.

It took me a bit to figure out how to get your party to scout for traps, but that turned out to be surprisingly simple. Just make your thief the party leader and the party sill move slowly, scanning for traps. Nice and easy like that in many ways. Your ogre is the party inventory, as his massive strength is what carries all the party's loot etc. (the in game explanation for how it works).

While it is a 3D isometric system, the camera can be moved freely, rotating around the action, zooming in and out etc.

But... no matter how nice and easy to learn the interface and game mechanics are, it doesn't matter if you don't dig the writing. I believe (without having investigated too much) it's based on a French comic.

I found a single video on Youtube showing somebody's interpretation of the comic and I would recommend watching the 7 minutes or so video to judge if the visual style, voice acting (which sounds like the game voice actors) etc. is to your liking. Also the humour... always a hit or miss thing, I think the cartoon catches the style of the game.

Edit: Someone else's 'lets play' video showing the introduction and the start of the game. Showing much more than I can tell in several long paragraphs

 

 

I'll watch those videos and I must say I was initially surprised when you said you dont like rating games on a score system because in life scoring systems and statistics gathered to create those scores are used ubiquitously to  create   all kinds of useful information that directly and indirectly influence us on many levels .....like so many  restaurants we may or may not visit due to reviews

But you have a real ability to describe games in an interesting, objective and informative way so you dont need to use a  rating system to share information and help others decide if a particular game is worthwhile. This review was great and it reminds me of your GW2 review 

But I will watch the videos you posted for additional information because I have one criticism I feel about this game but  I am not sure if its valid or I will explain it properly. I dont like the graphics, it reminds me of  a children's cartoon 

And I am not a graphics elitist, I play old RPG fairly regularly like Morrowind

Edited June 14, 2021 by BruceVC

[BruceVC]

4 hours ago, WDeranged said:

Finally enjoying Fallout 4 after five years.  Yes the dialogue sucks, and the lack of skills is galling.  But now that there are mods available to fix the dozens of other niggles I can actually enjoy it for what it is rather than comparing it to New Vegas.

7/10 Bethesda...you c***s.

Its a great RPG,  I played it for the first time about 30 months ago and I spent 280 hours on it. I used about  200 mods and they really added to the overall experience and modified the game and narrative in an  exciting and believable way. But I only used Mods that  ensured the theme was still post-apocalyptic. For example I added Vampirism but this was a type of virus so it wasnt any incongruous " supernatural " themes that was inconsistent with  the Fallout world 

[Gorth]

2 hours ago, BruceVC said:

But I will watch the videos you posted for additional information because I have one criticism I feel about this game but  I am not sure if its valid or I will explain it properly. I dont like the graphics, it reminds me of  a children's cartoon 

And I am not a graphics elitist, I play old RPG fairly regularly like Morrowind recently 

Disclaimer: I only just started on the game, made it to level 3 (level cap is 10), so my impressions are what I got after a few days play. With the settings cranked up (3800x2100 or thereabouts and all effects, the game is visually pretty). Now art direction... yes, like humour, i suppose that is also a matter of taste. Not so much childrens cartoon style as old French and Belgian comic book style, which i grew up with (Danish translations) and loved very much and still do to this day. Very different from for example US comic art styles. Closest "style" I can think of would be Asterix.

 

[Malcador]

Refunded Stranglehold, so at least got my $3 back. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by Malcador

[WDeranged]

10 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Its a great RPG,  I played it for the first time about 30 months ago and I spent 280 hours on it. I used about  200 mods and they really added to the overall experience and modified the game and narrative in an  exciting and believable way. But I only used Mods that  ensured the theme was still post-apocalyptic. For example I added Vampirism but this was a type of virus so it wasnt any incongruous " supernatural " themes that was inconsistent with  the Fallout world 

 

I find it difficult to call it an RPG but as an explore-em-up and shooter it's certainly great.  I'm not going hard on the mods, almost entirely interface and gameplay tweaks with a ton of bugfixes.

One thing that greatly improved the experience for me was playing as a female.  The voice acting is waaay more consistent.  The male character is all over the place, it's one cringe after another.

[HoonDing]

Bethesda going into space is good. Post-apocalyptic is boring at any rate.

Edited June 14, 2021 by HoonDing

[Keyrock]

Hard difficulty in SMT3: Nocturne is brutal. For those not familiar with MegaTen games, combat is focused on weakness and resistances. Any time you either land a critical or hit an enemy with an attack it is weak to you get an extra action, effectively making your attack free. Any time you miss or hit an enemy with an attack that they resist or nullify or reflect you lose an additional action. If you have the right skills and play your cards right you can just keep attacking and wipe the opposition out before they even get to go. However, it works both ways. Enemies can do the same thing to you. Sometimes you'll get ambushed and the enemies will hit you with successive attacks that hit weaknesses. On normal difficulty you may survive and have to expend resources to heal your wounds. On hard you may just die before you even get to act. Such is life on hard difficulty.

[melkathi]

Mordheim and Spellcaster University

[Wormerine]

Playing Metro: Exodus. It's alright. I feel the game lost a lot by moving away from the metro setting, but then again I don't think I would like to spend yet another game in there. Already Last Light felt like it was retreading old ground.

I am really bothered by Artiom's silence this time around. I found it awkward at times, but this time he has so much personal interactions with other characters, that it's comical for him to be mute. So much Artiom's internal exositions has to be done through other characters. There is also inconsistency - sometimes the games references/makes a joke about Artiom not saying anything, sometimes other characters seem to pretend that Artiom said something. 

[ComradeYellow]

22 minutes ago, Wormerine said:

I am really bothered by Artiom's silence this time around. I found it awkward at times, but this time he has so much personal interactions with other characters, that it's comical for him to be mute. 

Artyom is not 100% mute, he narrates the intermission between each map, which I think is a great balance between an annoying PC blabbermouth and a completely silent laughably unrealistic PC.