Whatcha Been Playing?

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Combine Hunter
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Combine Hunter »

If you already own HITMAN 1 and 2, those levels are available within HITMAN 3. You don't get them if you buy HITMAN 3 on its own.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

Playing the Paris level last night in that new engine, with those reflections and lighting effects, was such an amazing, immersive experience. I kept pausing just to soak it all in and pan the camera round and look at things. And that's just the first level! I'm so excited to keep playing.
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

Felt a little bit emotionally wobbly this week, so after work today I curled up with the cat on my lap and some chocolate digestives to play The Last Guardian. Everything about the way Trico moves and acts is so wonderfully true to real life animals, and I love how the game encourages the player to intuit how to work with Trico and read his actions. My friend has been telling me for a while to play this (I love animals and I love animals in video games) but I'm glad I saved it for now. Played for hours until my eyes got sore. A comforting game.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

Haha, for me it was the opposite of comforting. I found it to be one of the most frustrating games I've ever played! Trico is wonderfully animated but I always found it a slog to try and get it to do what I wanted it to.
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

Truk_Kurt wrote: January 27th, 2021, 9:46 am Haha, for me it was the opposite of comforting. I found it to be one of the most frustrating games I've ever played! Trico is wonderfully animated but I always found it a slog to try and get it to do what I wanted it to.
My opinion may change when we are in more peril later on and Trico not obeying me might cause some death, haha. 8-)

Right now I really appreciate how the AI is like an actual animal - which includes often not being cooperative or us not understanding each other. At one point early on I was a little stuck and I contacted my friend for advice. She asked me if I was calling Trico a lot, and I said yes. She told me if I did that he would always be distracted ("yes? YEs? yeS?") and I needed to give him space to work things out on his own. I realised I had been approaching the game like he was Roach or my horse in RDR2, where I press a button and he trots over, I press another button and he does X, Y or Z. I needed to treat him like I would treat a dog or a cat in real life (being patient, giving him space, trying to intuit his moods or what he was trying to tell me). Which I think would be incredibly irritating if I wasn't a huge dog and cat person in real life, but I kind of find the frustration of the game part of its appeal.

...I mean, I say this now a few hours in, but get back to me when things get more difficult and I'm swearing a storm at my TV.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Tried to do a "quick" run of Sapienza last night on Hitman 3...

Not feeling very well rested today :shock:
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KissMammal
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KissMammal »

Magical_Isopod wrote: January 26th, 2021, 2:40 am Played Cyber Shadow for a bit. It's uh... Meh. It's another one. You know, one of those "Remember the NES?" games we've seen flooding Steam for the last decade.

It has some really nice music, it sounds more like something the TG16 could produce rather than the NES, which is a welcome decision. But the visuals... Ugh. If anyone remembers my Shovel Knight commentary, I really do not like NES style graphics. Obviously, this looks better than an actual NES, but I feel like this aesthetic has just been done to death and I'm kind of tired of it.

But mostly, I was just bored. I felt like the levels dragged on a bit too long, and I never felt especially rewarded with a cool moment where I was like, "Man, I gotta keep playing." It seems well-made, to be sure, and if you're into this sort of thing, you might like it. But for me, it's just "another one" for the pile of NES nostalgia games, and I don't particularly see the hype behind this one.
I'm quite enjoying it.

It's tough, but in a way that feels fair and not unnecessarily punishing in a way that wastes the player's time like certain other 'challenging' games do coughHollowKnightcough

Funnily enough though, how you feel about Cyber Shadow is pretty exactly much how I felt about The Messenger. A similar game, just didn't grab me for whatever reason.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

Miririn wrote: January 27th, 2021, 11:44 am
Truk_Kurt wrote: January 27th, 2021, 9:46 am Haha, for me it was the opposite of comforting. I found it to be one of the most frustrating games I've ever played! Trico is wonderfully animated but I always found it a slog to try and get it to do what I wanted it to.
My opinion may change when we are in more peril later on and Trico not obeying me might cause some death, haha. 8-)

Right now I really appreciate how the AI is like an actual animal - which includes often not being cooperative or us not understanding each other. At one point early on I was a little stuck and I contacted my friend for advice. She asked me if I was calling Trico a lot, and I said yes. She told me if I did that he would always be distracted ("yes? YEs? yeS?") and I needed to give him space to work things out on his own. I realised I had been approaching the game like he was Roach or my horse in RDR2, where I press a button and he trots over, I press another button and he does X, Y or Z. I needed to treat him like I would treat a dog or a cat in real life (being patient, giving him space, trying to intuit his moods or what he was trying to tell me). Which I think would be incredibly irritating if I wasn't a huge dog and cat person in real life, but I kind of find the frustration of the game part of its appeal.

...I mean, I say this now a few hours in, but get back to me when things get more difficult and I'm swearing a storm at my TV.
I think you’ve perfectly described what I was doing wrong! I spent a decent portion of the game essentially moaning at Trico then putting my pad down to make a cup of coffee only to see him do exactly what I wanted when I wasn’t ordering him around! Eventually we both learnt from each other and by the end we were like two peas in a pod.

Trico is very unpredictable and it can be frustrating. Funnily enough the more frustrated I became the less Trico listened. Less is more!

It’s a fabulous game and one built on patience and mutual understanding. It’s very unlike anything I have (or possibly will ever have) played.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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The Medium looks very pretty. And sounds amazing too. I've plugged in a pair of headphones and it's very immersive so far.
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

Simonsloth wrote: January 28th, 2021, 10:19 pm Trico is very unpredictable and it can be frustrating. Funnily enough the more frustrated I became the less Trico listened. Less is more!

It’s a fabulous game and one built on patience and mutual understanding. It’s very unlike anything I have (or possibly will ever have) played.
Yes, I agree exactly. It very closely mirrors what it's like interacting with animals in real life, and that includes frustrations and difficulties communicating. Like you, I found that Trico normally got there in the end if I gave him time, and sometimes if I was frustrated we weren't progressing it was because I was asking him to do the wrong thing! The one time I jumped and he didn't catch me was also because I had misjudged the angle - he was trying his best.

I may have gotten quite emotionally attached to Trico, haha. Probably the most "real" animal AI companion I've played alongside, maybe even more real than a lot of human AI companions!
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Gadget8Bit
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Gadget8Bit »

I’ve been all over the place this week

Finished Prey (2017) FINALLY. Great game, wish I’d beaten it years ago.

I bought Hitman 1 & 2 on Xbox and I’m enjoying running through them again before I pull the proverbial trigger on Hitman 3. I’m doing a silent assassin run for the first time too. It’s nice to re-engage with these levels I’ve done before to try and do them “properly”. It’s frustrating yet fun.

Got through the first half of The Medium in one sitting last night and, to be honest, I’ve got zero motivation to go back. It looks pretty and the story is great but the actual gameplay is just so bloody beige. Some of the game’s ideas are great, some of them are flat out dreadful. It’s such a shame, I had really high hopes for it
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andthenweplay
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by andthenweplay »

I bought my son Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch and he is loving it soo far.

One thing I must say as a first impression is this game looks outstanding.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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andthenweplay wrote: January 30th, 2021, 2:38 am I bought my son Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch and he is loving it soo far.

One thing I must say as a first impression is this game looks outstanding.
How old is your son?. It gets exceptionally difficult later on my 4 year old got to a water level and the boss there even did me in.
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

"Dishonored 2" was taking too long to download on my terrible internet connection so I played a lot of Spiritfarer yesterday.

I was worried it would be a bit sickly and twee, but it's moving and funny, and it's animated like a dream. It's not normally the sort of game I would choose to play but it's been slowly worming its way into my heart. Surprisingly beautiful music, too. From the cute art-style I wasn't expecting these gorgeous orchestral tracks.

It's funny playing this not long after "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice", because they're both slightly left-field games made by small studios, and they're both inspired by ancient mythology, and are largely about learning to accept death and say goodbye. But you couldn't get two more different games in almost every other respect.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ReprobateGamer »

Miririn wrote: January 30th, 2021, 12:55 pm "Dishonored 2" was taking too long to download on my terrible internet connection so I played a lot of Spiritfarer yesterday.

I was worried it would be a bit sickly and twee, but it's moving and funny, and it's animated like a dream. It's not normally the sort of game I would choose to play but it's been slowly worming its way into my heart. Surprisingly beautiful music, too. From the cute art-style I wasn't expecting these gorgeous orchestral tracks.

It's funny playing this not long after "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice", because they're both slightly left-field games made by small studios, and they're both inspired by ancient mythology, and are largely about learning to accept death and say goodbye. But you couldn't get two more different games in almost every other respect.
Spiritfarer is firmly on my list of games to play - just a little concerned playing it when I'm likely to have two junior school aged daughters potentially watching it
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andthenweplay
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by andthenweplay »

DomsBeard wrote: January 30th, 2021, 6:44 am
andthenweplay wrote: January 30th, 2021, 2:38 am I bought my son Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch and he is loving it soo far.

One thing I must say as a first impression is this game looks outstanding.
How old is your son?. It gets exceptionally difficult later on my 4 year old got to a water level and the boss there even did me in.
My son is 4 as well. Every combat moment he passes me the controller, I think aspects might be difficult for him, but he always gets a kick out of Luigi's personality and animations. I am sure together we will see it through until the end. But I will keep it posted how our experience goes.

Not sure if this is the place to ask but what kind of switch games do you and your four year old play together?
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

ReprobateGamer wrote: January 30th, 2021, 3:06 pm
Miririn wrote: January 30th, 2021, 12:55 pm "Dishonored 2" was taking too long to download on my terrible internet connection so I played a lot of Spiritfarer yesterday.

I was worried it would be a bit sickly and twee, but it's moving and funny, and it's animated like a dream. It's not normally the sort of game I would choose to play but it's been slowly worming its way into my heart. Surprisingly beautiful music, too. From the cute art-style I wasn't expecting these gorgeous orchestral tracks.

It's funny playing this not long after "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice", because they're both slightly left-field games made by small studios, and they're both inspired by ancient mythology, and are largely about learning to accept death and say goodbye. But you couldn't get two more different games in almost every other respect.
Spiritfarer is firmly on my list of games to play - just a little concerned playing it when I'm likely to have two junior school aged daughters potentially watching it
Yeah, it's an odd one - the friendly characters, cheerful designs, satisfying mini-games (catching jellyfish, playing guitar, working in a foundry or on a loom) would be ideal for younger gamers (and I think you can even co-op where one of you plays as the cat and the other as the girl, which would be great if you have two little girls who might argue over who gets to use the computer/console) ...but a lot of the dialogue and themes are surprisingly adult (I'm still only midway through the game, so I don't know if it gets darker). I guess it's that weird juxtaposition of jolly "Animal Crossing"-style aesthetics with more poignant themes that makes the game original, but it also means I'm not sure how young would be too young to play it.

They might enjoy having a go at the fun busywork minigames themselves and then you could always shoo them out of the room for some of the more sad/adult dialogue bits.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Been hopping between cabaret club management in Yakuza Kiwami 2 and B sides in Celeste. Both very different but satisfyingly addictive at the same time. Will crack onto the main story in Yakuza once I have all my platinum hostesses at max level, so glad this minigame is back.

Less enjoyable was the demo for Balan's Wonderworld. This bizarre 3D platformer by Yuji Naka looked quite compelling from the trailer but I can now see why most of the trailer were of cutscenes because the actual gameplay is just really underwhelming with head scratching decisions. Your character can only jump and at least 6 buttons are dedicated to jumping! Said jumping feels really stiff and you are moving far slower than the movements of your character would indicate creating a strange dissonance between what you are actually doing and what you are seeing. The main gimmick of this game, costumes fare little better. Again they can only do one action and switching between costumes feels a lot longer than it should be with a slow spinning animation when you change from one to the other. This is especially daft when you have to continuously switch between costumes either to attack or jump. The PS4 controller has a load of buttons why would you limit yourself like this for no reason? Also really puzzling is that NPCs are dancing around the level which disappear when you get close to them and for such a cartoony game, feel rather unsettling when they dance with no sound effects. This is a first for me where a game with cartoony visuals simultaneously has the uncanny valley effect. This is why I am glad that demos are still a thing because I would have been a very sad sack if I had actually bought this strange unappealing mess. One of the poorest 3D platformers I have ever played, do not recommend.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I've been playing Super Mario 64 on Switch. I must admit, I started it more because I wanted to get my monies worth from the 3D All Stars package, and wanted to play the games in order, than any kind of actual desire to play the game again. From the start it's been a bit of a war of attrition against the controls. Movement felt sluggish and janky, and navigating Mario with the pinpoint accuracy needed in places was half the battle.

However... Over the last 10 hours or so, I've come to love the game all over again. Sure, it does nothing that hasn't been iterated or improved upon in later games, but the fact is, it's still an absolutely first class 3D platform game. It's just become a real joy to play, and I've been favoring it over almost all else in the evenings over the last week. I'm now at 51 stars, having completely cleared the first 6 or 7 stages and a few secret ones. I've got all the coloured hat switch blocks unlocked, and having an absolute blast.

Before playing this again, I'd have guessed this game hadn't stood the test of time, but I'm so wrong. It's an all time classic. It really is.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

Started up Forza Horizon 4 again this weekend, but this time on PC. I had a great time, I really love the handling model and how every car feels different. Playground Games also did a great job with the variety of events. I haven't had this much fun with a racer since Dirt 2 on Xbox 360 and Burnout Paradise. My current favourite car is the Ford Escort RS, it's great for the rally events.

One thing that has annoyed me though which I never noticed before when I played it on Xbox One and that is the ads for DLC. Every hour or so after a race there are unskippable ads which last a couple of minutes. It's really annoying, especially considering I own the game, it's not like I'm playing the Game Pass version. I wonder if any other MS exclusive games with DLC have ads like this?
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