What are you playing right now?

[Malcador]

Still working through Bs4. Took a break to replay Max Payne 3. Also another game I don't really enjoy with the cutscenes punctuated by tedious combat

[GhostofAnakin]

The one downside (if you can call it that) to open world games is I get sidetracked and put off the main quest for days, then end up forgetting or being a bit foggy on what I was supposed to do.

 

I'm doing that this last little while with Horizon Zero Dawn.  I'll finish a main quest mission, then spend the next couple of play sessions just "mopping up" the various tasks around the map that I've already unlocked.

 

It works okay within the frame work of this story because it's not one of those "if you don't solve the problem right away the world ends" type stories.  That was one of those things that made ME3 so weird.  You're racing against time, but you can stop to help people find lost jewelry or whatever.

[Hurlshort]

So in Dragonfall you go to a location and murder all the guards who weren't bothering anyone until you broke in. Then the game asks you to make a moral decision whether someone should live or die.

Also in my last mission the guy thought his apartment was safe. I guess he somehow didn't notice the trail of guards' dead bodies leading to it.

 

 

It seems like there are always a few head scratching plot points in the HBS games. I always try to remember that it is basically a pulp fantasy universe brought to life, and it's best not to look too closely under the hood. Although I did read way too many of those Shadowrun books as a kid, so I probably have a high tolerance.   

[HoonDing]

"So in Dragonfall you go to a location and murder all the guards who weren't bothering anyone until you broke in. Then the game asks you to make a moral decision whether someone should live or die."

 

#RedshirtLivesMatter

[Raithe]

I have to say, in the pen and paper version, if you were playing runners who were sliiiightly professional, our GM always encouraged us to use non-lethal methods to disable security and the like on missions unless the mission directly called for it. Otherwise, you'd get a much bigger reaction out of Corporate Security, local Police and the like if you started dropping bodies all over the place. It was very much a "the guys chasing you are a lot more likely to allocate more resources to catching/punishing/killing your ass if you happen to be bloody minded idiots rather than sneaky thieves."

[Oner]

I have to say, in the pen and paper version, if you were playing runners who were sliiiightly professional, our GM always encouraged us to use non-lethal methods to disable security and the like on missions unless the mission directly called for it. Otherwise, you'd get a much bigger reaction out of Corporate Security, local Police and the like if you started dropping bodies all over the place. It was very much a "the guys chasing you are a lot more likely to allocate more resources to catching/punishing/killing your ass if you happen to be bloody minded idiots rather than sneaky thieves."

It's actually a suggestion straight from the splat books. I think HBS just wanted to keep the game simple instead of making it Dishonored without lethal weapons.

[algroth]

 

After finishing Tides of Numenera in a disappointingly short amount of time, I'm now back to the occasional game of Duelyst (free online card game) and Nier Automata. I was expecting Nier Automata to be like a Devil May Cry hack 'n slash game, but after the first level, it becomes an open world with "go hunt 4 xxx and bring me back a xxx" quests. Why do people keep making these MMORPG clone games? They're so mind-numbing...

A lot of people equate game length with value and it's a heck of a lot easier, faster, and, therefore, cheaper to fill your giant open world with mindless kill X creatures quests and tons of random bull**** to waste your time collecting for quests, stronghold upgrades, and stupid crafting (in case my disdain for crafting isn't coming through clearly, I really loathe crafting) than making meaningful, interesting, compelling side content that will pad out an equivalent amount of gameplay time. So long as the publisher can say "look our giant open world has 60+ hours of content" that's enough for a lot of people, even if 90% of said content is mindless busy work.

 

I still hold Inside as one of the best games of the decade (if not the best), and you can pretty much finish it in an afternoon. I agree, length is always welcome so long as it's justified, but having a game be long for the sake of it is a mark against it, not in its favour.

[Keyrock]

I have to say, in the pen and paper version, if you were playing runners who were sliiiightly professional, our GM always encouraged us to use non-lethal methods to disable security and the like on missions unless the mission directly called for it. Otherwise, you'd get a much bigger reaction out of Corporate Security, local Police and the like if you started dropping bodies all over the place. It was very much a "the guys chasing you are a lot more likely to allocate more resources to catching/punishing/killing your ass if you happen to be bloody minded idiots rather than sneaky thieves."

Oh absolutely.  When I played PnP Shadowrun, firefights were a last resort.  If we were in a shootout, plan A, plan B, and possibly plan C had all failed.  To that point, when I play the video games, I always do my best to avoid combat as much as possible and try to stealth/dupe/disguise my way to the goal as much as the game will allow.  In that regard, Hong Kong seemed like the game that most allowed you to "ghost" (or come close to) missions more than any of the 2 games that came before it.

Edited March 7, 2017 by Keyrock

[Wrath of Dagon]

 

So in Dragonfall you go to a location and murder all the guards who weren't bothering anyone until you broke in. Then the game asks you to make a moral decision whether someone should live or die.

 

It seems like there are always a few head scratching plot points in the HBS games. I always try to remember that it is basically a pulp fantasy universe brought to life, and it's best not to look too closely under the hood. Although I did read way too many of those Shadowrun books as a kid, so I probably have a high tolerance.  

 

Yeah, I wasn't really complaining, just commenting on the absurdity. Unlike some people, I don't expect realism or even much logic from games, unless it's a simulation.

[Bartimaeus]

I still hold Inside as one of the best games of the decade (if not the best), and you can pretty much finish it in an afternoon. I agree, length is always welcome so long as it's justified, but having a game be long for the sake of it is a mark against it, not in its favour.

 

I don't understand the love for Inside whatsoever. I really don't, not even one bit. It's just a kinda meh/average platformer with a pretty forgettable setting that feels like it was made specifically to be "artsy", but really comes across more as "not made very well".

[algroth]

 

I still hold Inside as one of the best games of the decade (if not the best), and you can pretty much finish it in an afternoon. I agree, length is always welcome so long as it's justified, but having a game be long for the sake of it is a mark against it, not in its favour.

 

I don't understand the love for Inside whatsoever. I really don't, not even one bit. It's just a kinda meh/average platformer with a pretty forgettable setting that feels like it was made specifically to be "artsy", but really comes across more as "not made very well".

 

I don't understand how you don't find it well-made or the setting to be forgettable myself, but it goes to show how opinions differ I guess. To my mind it's all about the sheer amount of detail into the setting, into the visuals and sound design that make it such a wonderful, surreal experience. It's not just a very well-made game, it's outright virtuous.

Edited March 7, 2017 by algroth

[Katphood]

Going to buy Nier: Automata today(or maybe tomorrow). I've been following that game for a long time now and I like what I read from the reviews.  

[Katarack21]

Beat Numenera twice. Back to Tyranny/Alpha Protocol replays.

[Bartimaeus]

I don't understand how you don't find it well-made or the setting to be forgettable myself, but it goes to show how opinions differ I guess. To my mind it's all about the sheer amount of detail into the setting, into the visuals and sound design that make it such a wonderful, surreal experience. It's not just a very well-made game, it's outright virtuous.

 

I guess I see it as a video game, first and foremost, and in that respect (that is, gameplay), it's just an okay platformer. Are there a couple of new ideas? Maybe...but it's nothing special, even so. In regards to the setting and atmosphere...that one, I still just don't get. People just rave about the setting and atmosphere, and, as you say, "the sheer amount of detail"...and I went through the entire game thinking, "Moving onto random set piece #42..." For me, the game didn't flow together at all like it seems to have for other people, and the resulting effect was that the game felt incohesive and poorly detailed and explained, not the opposite. Like it was just banking on its "surreal" atmosphere while never doing much of anything with it...and furthermore, surreal atmospheres aren't anything special if they don't make the player actually *feel* like it's a surreal experience, and Inside felt much more silly and over the top than actually surreal to me. So yeah, I just don't get it at all,

[ShadySands]

CK2 with Monks and Mystics 

[Rosbjerg]

CK2 with Monks and Mystics

 

Looking forward to it myself, is the new wargoals for AIs any good?

[Hurlshort]

I've hit a pretty nice point in Elder Scrolls Online where there is a ton of decent content for me to get into. The crafting system in ESO is fantastic, it is really a game in itself. First of, it is fairly logical, and you can craft a decent set of armor relatively easy. But in order to make crafted sets with neat traits you really need to work at it. Also all the resource nodes level up as you do, so even if you are hanging out in a low level area, you still get to harvest stuff that is useful to your crafter.

 

Actually leveling as a whole has been overhauled, so you can basically go wherever you want and tackle any quests you want. While that can cause some annoyances, for example you can no longer go back to low level areas as a high level stud and blow through everything, it also means you do not waste time finishing up content that is way below you, and your rewards are in sync with your level. The scaling is way better than it was in Oblivion, that is for sure.

 

I can run around stealing stuff and then try and escape the guards, I can take part in the dark brotherhood, or I can just explore. It has surpassed all the single player ES games for me.

[Fenixp]

How's the solo experience in TES: Online? And have you liked any other MMOs, Hurlshot?

[Hurlshort]

How's the solo experience in TES: Online? And have you liked any other MMOs, Hurlshot?

 

It's a very solo able game, but not in the traditional way. It can be very challenging to do stuff on your own, but there are always a lot of other players running around, and you don't need to actually group with them to work together. For example, when an anchor drops out from the sky, you get a lot of nearby players running in from nearby to help close it. You get credit for being involved in the scrum. It is the same thing with the dungeons, there is usually one or two other people doing it. They make such good use of the way instancing works that you are never really fighting over resources or spawn points with other players.

 

That being said, I'm a pretty big fan of MMO's. I give them all a chance. So it might not be the best fit for everyone. But it is free to try I think, so worth a spin if you like the ES games.

[Katphood]

How's the solo experience in TES: Online? And have you liked any other MMOs, Hurlshot?

 

I played it solo for a while and had a whole lot of fun. The writing is pretty good and it makes for a decent exploration game. 

[Ganrich]

I always wanted to give TESO a try.  Especially after it went FtP.  However, none of the classes look interesting to me.  I am so picky about classes in MMOs.  It's a curse. 

 

I can blame Age of Conan for the Dark Templar and Bear Shaman being so fun to play and interesting thematically.  I can say that even if the game was pretty mediocre in the end with a lot of bad design decisions.  There class system was great though.  It was just everything else wasn't. 

[Eumaios]

Tides of Numenera. After my first foray into the final area of the Darkest Dungeon only to lose two characters in the last hallway before the boss room and another one in the escape so the last guy could transport the trinkets back to the Hamlet, I decided to sit on it a bit before I go back to find out if it were bad luck on my part or simply outright ineptitude. So Tides is tiding me over.

[Hurlshort]

ESO doesn't really have traditional classes, you can basically do whatever you want. There are 4 templates to choose from, mage, thief, paladin, and fighter, but you can go with any types of weapons and armor, and you don't even need to really use your class skills because you can take them from guild skills and other options.

[ShadySands]

 

CK2 with Monks and Mystics

Looking forward to it myself, is the new wargoals for AIs any good?

 

I haven't had a chance to test it out yet since I started as a count in the middle of Italy

 

I have joined a devil worshipping cult though

[Ganrich]

ESO doesn't really have traditional classes, you can basically do whatever you want. There are 4 templates to choose from, mage, thief, paladin, and fighter, but you can go with any types of weapons and armor, and you don't even need to really use your class skills because you can take them from guild skills and other options.

 

Eh, maybe the next time there is a sale I will scoop it up and give it a go.  I have $40 bucks of steam money, and nothing of interest on the horizon.  I like hybrid classes in MMOs, and I mean classes that mix two focuses.  Like my DT in AoC was a DPS/Lifesteal character which made him good in PvP and it was fun, but my tanking in PvE was trash as a byproduct.  However, if they brought me in as a DPS I could out DPS some of the DPS classes which was hilarious.  It was because I used Priest of Mytra Gear in smaller gear slots instead of Heavy armor, but they gave me wisdom to increase my spell damage.   I like oddball builds, and typically MMOs are too constraining to allow it.