What game are you wasting time on?

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Currently playing PowerSlave EX and having a motherfucking blast.

Tried re-playing Kingpin, but it hates integrated GPUs with passion. Wonder if a glide wrapper will help.
Decided to install Anachronox again (fuck you, Ivan) just to rip the music and walk around dem Bricks. With the widescreen mod it feels as good as I remember. Pity that I have zero interest in replaying the game, unless I want to finish all sidequests -- this game has little to no replay value, like most of JRPGs.

 

[Abu Antar]

I got Styx: Master of Shadows to work again. I managed to get all the achievements. That ending sequence was kind of crap. Overall, a very solid game. I hope they can make a slightly more polished sequel, though. I hope the game stays focused on stealth and they don't force combat on you.

I started Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Going to focus mostly on magic.

 

[Daemongar]

Quit Evil Islands as I just got tired of learning maps by reloading. Just finished Mafia II two days ago. Took about 13 hours according to Steam, but it wasn't too bad. If you like cutscenes, driving across maps, annoying fistfight mechanics, and shooting small armies, this is the game for you. If you like open worlds... not so much.

World design: excellent. Huge detailed map of 1951
Missions: very good. The missions followed the story, and it was mixed up quite a bit. However, most missions were go to this point - cutscene - drive to this point - cutscene - shoot guys. Repeat shoot guys if you fail.
World itself: Very, very little to do other than outrun the cops and drive to checkpoints. In fact, there just was nothing outside the missions worth doing. Getting a fast car upgraded, filling the gas tank and getting a car wash were there, but didn't really have any bearing on the game. You could buy a change of clothes, but there about 4 different outfits and thats it. You could eat, but it really didn't affect anything other than a useless bump in health.
Music: Excellent! Best music I've ever had in a sandbox game, other than Vice City. Can't really get sick of it, as the game is only 13 freaking hours. Don't even think I heard all of it. Nice to hear Buddy Holly ("Rave On") while driving around. Yes, the game year was 1951, and Rave On was released in 1958, but I'm not complaining. None of the damn songs were the right year, come to think of it...
Gunfights: not bad. A burst from enemies can kill you, as well as a well aimed shot or two. However, you regen when not shot, fairly fast. It's a mixed bag.
Story: pretty good.

Got this and the DLC on Steam for $11 total. Worth it, but don't expect more than a sequential move through a linear story. It's a good story, though. A HUGE waste of a really good map, though. As an explorefag, cities you'd like to look around in but there isn't anything worth seeing, so no reason to run through the streets. A pity.

 

[Ivan]

I recall enjoying the gunplay in Mafia 2 but remember it was generally a game that didn't let you have as much fun as you wanted in the open world due to little reactivity from the police.

 

[sullynathan]

Beat prototype2. It was quite generic but fun. I have a soft spot for superhero games.

 

[Ivan]

Anachronox
brute forced my way to the final boss fight and conceded since I didn't pick up the best loot for the party. all in all, I really liked the humor, the world, the dialogue, but the gameplay itself failed to entertain. I think it was just traversing the environment, the fetch questing, the lack of real C&C. really though I think it was my lofty expectations that got in my way. I saw it on the Codex list and I thought it was going to be C&C heavy, deep, but this is very much a lighthearted affair. I think I would have dug this more had I been like 13 years old and more willing to put up with finding all the loot and shit, I just don't have that amount of patience anymore. However, I would like to see a sequel. As mentioned, the main cast were a cool bunch to get to know. I particularly liked the story behind Sly, Fatima and Sera. Now that I think about it, the camera movement in the game's cutscenes are phenomenally done. It's always panning around and engaging the viewer. Music was also very well done. I'm looking for a piano piece that plays in the Monk's Cathedral but I can't find it. It's a mellow piece that reminds me of Jon Brion's work on Eternal Sunshine.



also, can anyone tell me why Paco is featured on the covert art for the game? spic only has like 2 lines in the game lol

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Music was also very well done. I'm looking for a piano piece that plays in the Monk's Cathedral but I can't find it. It's a mellow piece that reminds me of Jon Brion's work on Eternal Sunshine.

The first track of this video (that contains 1/3 of the entire soundtrack) is what I think you're looking for.

also, can anyone tell me why Paco is featured on the covert art for the game? spic only has like 2 lines in the game lol

Because they had to cut out about 40% of the game's content to get it out the door. That's why everybody wants a sequel, to get the rest of the story.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

because the game (which is awesome and you're bad person for saying otherwise. i mean

Spoiler

all the time and efforts to find this hidden red light district and then the tranny "hi boots!"

) had been brutally cut in half, everyone who finishes the game notices it.

 

[Ivan]

looking to start System Shock 1 soon. Which difficulty is best for 1st time? I see there are slots for puzzle plot combat etc.

 

[Ivan]

Unkillable Cat close. but it was a lot slower. it reminded me of this:

 

[Unkillable Cat]

looking to start System Shock 1 soon. Which difficulty is best for 1st time? I see there are slots for puzzle plot combat etc.

Don't put the hardest difficulty on Plot, that puts a 7-hour time limit on the game and that's a No-No for a first-time player.

Likewise, a first-time player should avoid making Cyberspace harder. Just leave it as it is, or lower it if you learn to hate Cyberspace.

The puzzles are logic puzzles to open doors and operate stuff, and combat is mostly just damage modifiers (I think). The game has revival chambers, so except for the very start you shouldn't have much trouble with combat.

As for the Anachronox tune - the video I linked is part of a trio of videos that seem to have the entire Anachronox soundtrack. Odds are pretty good it's in there somewhere.

 

[Adon]

Siren: Blood Curse

Haven't played the original PS2 game, but have always been curious about the series due to my affinity towards the horror genre. So far I love the presentation, the menu alone gives off a creepy vibe that reminds me of the opening of Ju-On. The in-game menu also looks great, and has a pretty comprehensive map, more-so than it should be for the gameplay it has.

There's also an Archives section that allows one to re-read diary entries, as well as miscellanous items, phone messages, and papers that give more information about these characters and the story. An example of one is some sort of imagined story one of the characters wrote where he confesses his love to their co-worker (and in this story she's feels the same way obvs) as a form or preparation for a dinner he has planned after they return from their journey (which is totally not happening anymore). Obviously a lot of these aren't lying around for you to find and are just earned as you progress through the game. I always appreciate being able have this option to revisit notes and such that you find within the game.

For some reason the game is split up into 12 episodes, which would be fine if they weren't short so the "previously in" sections at the start are kind of annoying. So far I've only played 5 of the 12 episodes, and so far I've been digging it. Game is stealth oriented for the most part, and some of the areas are cramped which makes it feel claustrophobic but there are sections of the game where you can pick up weapons. That said, because these Shibito are technically unkillable, they do reawaken after a period of time. Not a problem for the episodes so far outside 1 section in episode 4 inside this 2 story house where regardless of time, when you are forced to go outside for a bit (I'm talking like 2 minutes max), when you go back inside the enemies will be around again. Oh, and if you incapacitate enemies and reach a checkpoint, expect for them to be back up again if you get killed. But again, this has been the only area with that problem so far.

Weirdly enough, the game holds your hand and at the same time it doesn't. It always tells you what to do next, it even marks the map when you have to head to a certain location, but doesn't give any real directions as to how to accomplish this. And by it always tells you, I don't mean that the story does, I mean in your pause menu, it'll say things like "Find a weapon", "Make a phone call from the reception area", etc., after a cutscene.

The game kind of straddles a middle point between "muh cinematic gameplay" of today and more old-school style of survival horror gameplay now that I think about it some more. Don't get me wrong, I love that slick ass presentation that makes me feel like I'm in some Japanese horror movie, but some of it, and including the episodic structure, are more of a detriment than anything else. To go back to the hand-holding stuff, there was one section where I had to use a timer as a disctraction to get past a Shibito nurse. Obviously, all the game tells me is that I need to create a distraction, but because this was a linear area, it wasn't hard to figure out what to do. There are a few sections that are way better at it and less hand-holdy and coincidentally enough they were in the more open, and bigger areas. I think the episodic structure really hurts it in this case by limiting what you're doing in each area and the way the game progress because of that structure. I get what they were going for, but the game feels slightly disjointed as a result.

There's also a "sight-jacking" mechanic which allows you to see through the eyes of the Shibito. Nice enough when you actually have to use it, but mostly it's just there. I pretty much only use it to be able to tell where an enemy is whenever I hear the heart-thumping that warns players an enemey is close.

 

[boot]

DRAGONS DOGMA

adventuring through the world with my talkative buddies killing goblins and harpies never gets old.

there is no other game like it. I'm going to save Quina from the dragon later on tonight and play with her fluffy bush, wish me luck.

 

[Leechmonger]

Started and finished Quake 1 for the first time. Meh. Step down from Doom, for sure. It's like the stepping stone between Doom's fun levels and Half Life's cinematic linear experience. Also: holy shit could they have made the weapons any more boring?

 

[Walden]

Adon Did you play it on emulator?

 

[Deflowerer]

Siren: Blood Curse

I wager they did it because the first game got such harsh criticism for being so difficult. Indeed, the original is probably one of the hardest survival horror games out there, moreso with the lack of guide. You have key objectives in each area, but if you don't complete certain actions to set it up for the other characters when they reach the same area at a later time, you will be stuck in a loop. So you basically have to figure out a relatively cryptic puzzle while managing enemy patrols.

But man, what a rewarding experience. It doesn't even have proper stealth mechanics and yet it's probably one of the best games in the stealth genre, lol. Not sure about the Blood Curse, but the original game only has a static map that doesn't track your location. So much of the preparation phase of each stage is Sightjacking the enemies, trying to figure out the geography of the map and the patrols. Really cool stuff.

 

[Abu Antar]

I finished Dark messiah of Migh and Magic.

Overall, it was a fun game, kicking stuff was OP as fuck. It had good level design, good atmosphere and the combat was fun. There was enough loot to make things interesting. There weren't a lot of enemy types but I guess I didn't care that much since I stil had fun. What annoyed me was that there were some bugs which meant that I had to reload. On some occasions, I would fall endlessly, reload was the only option. Once or twice, the quest log would not update.

All in all a fun experience, which doesn't surprise me, since it was made by Arkane.

 

[Adon]

Siren: Blood Curse

I wager they did it because the first game got such harsh criticism for being so difficult. Indeed, the original is probably one of the hardest survival horror games out there, moreso with the lack of guide. You have key objectives in each area, but if you don't complete certain actions to set it up for the other characters when they reach the same area at a later time, you will be stuck in a loop. So you basically have to figure out a relatively cryptic puzzle while managing enemy patrols.

But man, what a rewarding experience. It doesn't even have proper stealth mechanics and yet it's probably one of the best games in the stealth genre, lol. Not sure about the Blood Curse, but the original game only has a static map that doesn't track your location. So much of the preparation phase of each stage is Sightjacking the enemies, trying to figure out the geography of the map and the patrols. Really cool stuff.

Ah, that would explain some of the choices in Blood Curse. Regardless of the hand-holding, there are still some difficult sections that can take a few tries. Still, this makes me all the more curious to try out the original Siren.

Adon Did you play it on emulator?

Nah, Blood Curse is only on PS3, unfortunately.

 

[markec]

Continuing my tour of old shooter, finished Blood and now moving on Redneck Rampage.

 

[Ivan]

I'm actually itching to return to Blood to play the Death Wish mod. Have you given that a spin?

 

[flyingjohn]

Trying to play grandia redux but it is just so tedious.The mod by itself is great but the game fundamentals just don't work very well.
I played until the desert in disc 2 and i think i will probably stop playing it right there.

The good:
-The game nails the adventuring theme both in atmosphere and story.You feel like you really just a kid exploring the world with his goofy sidekicks and that is refreshing thing considering this was the era of grim dark jrpgs.(probably something to do with the popularity of evangelion)
-Plot is a absolute joke but npc chatter is actually well made.It reminds me a lot trails series although it doesn't even have a third of the dialogue of that series,but exploring places and coming back to see what npc have to say feels nice(some of them even have small stories)
The dialogue is lighthearted and childish but it works when compared to the plot execution.
-The music is nice(although i can't recall remember when was the last time i played a jrpg with a bad ost)
-The combat system is a double edged sword which tries to innovate but fails miserably.
-The positive about it is that you can time your moves to cancel enemy attacks and you have to take account when enemies attack considering the enemies can do the same to you.(but this is also a big problem with the combat system)
Redux positives are that skills have been balanced,buffing/debuffing,and status effects are now mandatory and you have to take enemy resistances in mind or you will be destroyed quickly.
I love that you can drain the speed and strength of the enemies making them useless,and love the boss changes.
The bad:
-Graphics beside character models are horrible and the game performance just tanks when playing in larger areas.Unless you use the overclock option in epsxe you will get lag.
-Camera is atrocious.They were going for some weird close up isometric view that you can barely see anything around you.And couple that with the horrible dungeon design and you will get lost a lot.And this isn't like old school dungeon crawlers getting lost,no this is you getting lost because everything looks the same and the camera is doing everything to not showing you what you need to see.
-Enemy variety is non existent and there are plenty palette swaps across the game.
-Dungeons are a joke.Minus the bonus dungeons everything else lack any sort of secrets, interesting design or anything that makes actual dungeon feel like dungeons.They are more like boring one color palette mazes.
-Trash mob design directly clashes with the redux mod.The mod wants you to have every battle feels like an epic struggle that you need to use most of your tools but considering the same enemy x10 is just waiting behind all you are doing is just spamming aoe spells or just putting play fair auto mode on.There just isn't way for you to conserve resource or mana if you actually play the intended way.
-Grinding galore(i know it is a jrpg staple).Not only do you have levels,you also have both magic and weapon levels.And considering redux increases difficulty you need to grind a lot for all those 3 stats which is too much.
-Not enough variety in spells.You will probably unlock most spells by the end of disc one leaving disc 2 with very few new abilities which gets boring very soon.
-Combat fails because characters have to actually move to the enemy to attack(minus spells) and they get stuck a lot or just do stupid things.
It is a guessing game to gauge the speed of ability and spells and who will actually get his move off first or if you just want to cancel a move,making the entire gimmick feel pointless.
-No side quests and the map is very linear.(go from a to b)

Overall a very disappointing game,and considering everybody hates the sequels i think i will probably abandon any attempt to play any other games form the series.

 

[markec]

I'm actually itching to return to Blood to play the Death Wish mod. Have you given that a spin?

Nope, not touching any mods until I finish my tour, after that we will see.

 

[Ivan]

What else is on your tour? I've been doing the same thing recently. New highlights include: Unreal, Hexen. Sin was okay.

 

[pippin]

Playing Darkest Dungeon, it's a fun game and p. addictive. I've managed to get a grip on most of the mechanics, have a handful of characters at level 4 right now. I like the rng actually. I like to live dangerously, and rng is a must for rpgs, Considering dice rolls and all.
Looking forward to play it for more than 1337 hours.

Also bought the old school dnd games during the current gog sale, I only had the gold box ones (Collection Two, going by their own bundles) until now, so I guess I'll be playing most of the dos rpgs I haven't played yet.

 

[DwarvenFood]

So, finished Spec Ops - The Line. I enjoyed the mind fuckery and headshotting enemies. Now - thinking of what to play next. Probably I'll try and finish some of my currently installed games - Binary Domain, LISA, Trails in the Sky....