Whatcha Been Playing?

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

I'm gonna start putting MDMA in the sprinkler system any minute. I don't mean to be the student councillor but I'm sure we can have a disagreement here, even a slightly pissy one, and still have a turbo shandy together after.
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Warm milk, MANDY and wanking.



IN.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Jesus, what in the name of St. Bernard is going on here? I step away for a day and all hell breaks loose. :shock:

clippa, please come down. We all have our own quirks and sensibilities, but I really don't think ThirdMan is the ... "turnip" you're making him out to be. Looks like a completely benign misunderstanding to me. Keep in mind there is a lot that gets lost in translation over written text as well.

We're all here to have some nice conversations (with varying degrees of engagement, of course), but this is the sort of thing that pushes people away from the forum. Le's all relax, please.
Spoiler: show
...Also, I can't believe it's Stanshall of all people who has to play forum cop. :lol: :lol:
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DomsBeard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

I've been playing videogames

Outer Worlds

Cleared the first planet after mopping up all bar one side quest. I'm playing as a melee expert which I never do (I usually play long range). Having fun so far
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Simonsloth
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

A little bit of Tapas for me.

Some metagame Phantom Pain alongside Rhythm Paradise on Wii and trying to finish up Driver San Francisco after 5+ years of chipping away at it. My wife is loathing the CRT being out but rhythm action games on previous gen are impossible on the LED tv. On the 7th set of mini games (of 10). I’ve found it the easiest in the series given the GBA one is Japanese and the DS tap/slide was unpredictable. A good old button press in English is much easier.
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ReprobateGamer
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ReprobateGamer »

Something I've been dipping into recently has been Wargroove.

16 bit style presentation of a tactical rpg - I want to love it. But I can't quite work out the mechanics. The game usefully tells you how much of an impact you'll make on the enemy and how much damage they'll do in return but it seems inconsistent as to how much damage will actually be inflicted. There are synergies between units so it actually makes more sense to move one unit to a particular point then move a second to actually inflict damage as they will do more.

I'm also far too cautious - also haven't yet worked out the ratio of enemy kill to turns taken but as seems to be the case all too often for my taste, time taken seems to be the overriding factor, rather than keeping friendly units alive.

it may be that I'm just dipping in rather than concentrating on it fully - can't fully recommend it yet but it should be a decent enough choice if you are looking for a tactical fix ...
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

KSubzero1000 wrote: November 6th, 2019, 1:24 pm
Spoiler: show
...Also, I can't believe it's Stanshall of all people who has to play forum cop. :lol: :lol:
Spoiler: show
What the FUCK is that supposed to mean?
Spoiler: show
:P
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Ah, the music player on SSBU is stinking brilliant too.
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stvnorman
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

Finished Uncharted 3, but having to play 80% of it again after my save corrupted just before the end put a real dampener on the experience; apart from that, it’s a fun story, the combat mostly works okay, the puzzles aren’t too taxing, and there are times that it is still stunning. That said, there are also some real throwbacks to its last-gen roots - having to kill every enemy in an area before you can go through an open door to the next, for example, annoyed me a lot! Now started Uncharted 4 (a last Christmas present I want played before this Christmas), and hoping for a more contemporary experience.

I’ve never played Flower, but from what I know, Apple Arcade particle-based meditative puzzler Lifelike: Chapter One is a similar experience. The puzzle part is simply working out how to move and where to in each area, then it’s just a very zen-like, ambient journey to the next. Really beautiful, though I think the touchscreen controls could be a little more elegant - often more shove things around than help them flow. Nice all the same.

As is Stela, a stunning and tense Apple Arcade puzzle-platformer in the vein of Limbo that I’ve been playing in short bursts for a couple of weeks that just gets better the further you go. Finished Neo Cab on there too - turned out to be another clever little talking simulator that’s well worth the few hours it takes to play through.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

stvnorman wrote: November 6th, 2019, 8:39 pm Now started Uncharted 4 (a last Christmas present I want played before this Christmas), and hoping for a more contemporary experience.
I think it's pretty much a perfect action game. My favorite of the series and one of my favorite games full stop. Just a nice ending to Drake's story. Love it. So many callbacks and nods to long time fans.

Lost Legacy, the shorter game that game after, its arguably the best of the bunch and definitely worth playing.
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DomsBeard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

Tapped out on Modern Warfare. Ignoring the fact it is a game about War I didn't feel comfortable seeing
Spoiler: show
shot children/gassed children in parks
. Been a long time since I've had that issue with a game. Maybe the realism in this? Who knows
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Unnnggghhh. What a shame.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

Just started up Prey (2017). Arkane Studios games just feel so good moment to moment... they're like butter. Making me want to go back and finish up those Dishonoured DLCs.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

Ah yes Warframe - I bounced off it (not sure why) but that game impressed me to the point where I thought they could definitely do say a Destiny port on this system if they wanted to. Very graphically impressive and runs smoothly.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by duskvstweak »

So, I never had a Sega so anything on the Mega Drive/Genesis collection on Steam is new to me.

Which means last night was the first time I ever tried Columns and I got sucked into all night. How did I never play this anytime after? It scratches all the Dr. Mario itches I get (I should probably see an actual doctor about that...).

I really just need to spend a whole bunch of time in that collection and see what else I missed.

Does Virtua Fighter 2 hold up? Should I be including that in me and my wife's fight night?
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Flabyo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Flabyo »

The Genesis/Megadrive version of Virtual Fighter is *absymal*. They’ve taken renders of the characters from the 3d game and turned them into 2d sprites.

Here’s Max having a play... (very nsfw language from the outset :) )

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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

Due to some errors in judgement, my backlog almost entirely consists of strategy games, so it's been a real relief to have Gamepass for PC so I can dip into lighter fare. I've been trying out some stuff:

The Outer Worlds
Didn't like this, the humour irritates me and I'm done (for the moment anyway) with that first-person RPG thing. Uninstalled after an hour or so. For some bizarre reason, the shotgun I found did worse damage than my starting pistol, even fully repaired. Rating on the shotgun-o-meter: Misfire.

Forza Horizon 4
I've only just dipped in to check out the first three races. Looks absolutely amazing. The campaign story is extremely goofy so far.

Hollow Knight
I have sworn off bossfight games, and I dislike platformers in general, but I couldn't resist having a quick look. Three hours later, I love it, but I'm still considering binning it due to the boss-fightyness. They've been grand so far (I'm at the first guy in the GreenShade or whatever it's called), but I just know I'm going to encounter some monstrous prick soon.

Gamepass as a whole is going great. The App interface on PC is simple and easy to use, and no bugs to report so far. Based on my interaction with the MS Store, I was expecting something worse.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Chopper wrote: November 7th, 2019, 5:38 pm Hollow Knight
I have sworn off bossfight games, and I dislike platformers in general, but I couldn't resist having a quick look. Three hours later, I love it, but I'm still considering binning it due to the boss-fightyness. They've been grand so far (I'm at the first guy in the GreenShade or whatever it's called), but I just know I'm going to encounter some monstrous prick soon
Oh there are some bastards, no doubt. Nothing that took me more that 10-15 goes though, and most nowhere near that much. It's probably the best game I finished last year. Exceptional. I can't wait for the sequel.
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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

A few days ago I picked up Greedfall to give me something to play alongside Control so I don't get bored of playing that too much. I was a bit apprehensive at first, since this game is made by a studio who is known for putting out clunker after clunker, but this one did pique my interest more than their previous work, and reviews have been generally much more positive than their track record. And even going in with cautious optimism, I was really surprised how much I ended up liking this. Despite it being clearly very janky and low budget in a lot of ways, it very quickly clicked with me and it sucked me in right away. Putting hours and hours in to it at a time, not able to put it down.

It's an RPG in the style of a Bioware or Witcher game, and was very much promoted as being along the lines of the former trying to capitalise on that studio's recent... misadventures. I've never really been a Bioware fan, but I can definitely see the comparisons here. The game world is full of various different factions that are various shades of morally grey and each have their own cultures and priorities. And you gradually build a party of companions who come from these different factions, who have their loyalty quests that go in to their relationships with said faction and/or some kind of quest of self-discovery. The factions themselves are pretty well fleshed out and quite interesting, with each of them embodying some kind of aspect to do with the theme of colonialism that the game is all about. So in that context, they're mostly all some form of awful, but some are worse than others, and they do show how some people with good intentions might end up being involved with evil acts. While other characters are just straight up reprehensible. They do give a decent amount of attention to the point of view of the natives though, and they are generally shown in a positive light, and don't lump all of them together as one amorphous group either. Some tribes want to trade peacefully with the colonisers, while others are at war with them, and this brings up inter-tribe conflicts as well. While I would hesitate to say their depiction is perfect, they are generally pretty sympathetically portrayed. So far at least

The quest writing has been pretty good too. Most quests have had a pretty compelling premise, and frequently end up taking a turn you don't expect that keeps things intriguing. While it's not on Witcher level writing, it's been pretty enjoyable so far, and you get the sense the writers were trying really hard to add in some level of nuance and not make everything straightforward and predictable. Like for example there's a quest in the prologue section where you have to track down a shady potion seller and shut down his operation, by the order of one of the main factions. The faction in question being all about science and medical discovery, they don't want this unlicensed snake oil salesman on their turf. But then once you find the guy, it turns out that actually he's an ex-member of this faction, who was expelled for uncovering inhumane experimentation methods, and that he's genuinely trying to make potions that help people, even if he's doing so illegally and exaggerating the effects. That's just one of the smaller introductory quests though. Later on you take on more important issues, like mediating a trade agreement between two tribes and one of the colonial factions, where the tribes heavily disagree on what stance to take, where the seemingly more peaceful and reasonable one ends up betraying the other.

I also really like the aesthetic of the game too. It's got a really nice tone to the visuals, even if the level of fidelity is pretty low for a 2019 game, and it's full of oversights. But it has this really nice sepia toned look to it. Not done by just putting a filter over the image, but with the general colour palette, and the lighting. It's got a really nice evocative look to it, and a very autumnal feel to it that I appreciate a lot. The actual environments themselves are very nice too. It's sort of open world, but separated in to smaller zones with loading screens in between. So each zone feels like a self-contained area where it can have a lot of control over set design and composition. It makes for some surprisingly breathtaking moments, especially with how they angle the sun in these scenes too. The character models are a low point unfortunately. While the costume design is pretty cool, with lots of long coats and fancy hats that you'd expect from the time period, they are pretty low detail, and the faces look quite bad. Especially their animation. Very stiff, bad lip syncing, clipping issues, bad skeleton rigging, etc. Thankfully the voice acting is fairly good, so it's not the worst thing ever. But the game definitely looks best when you're just wandering around and you are presented with a really nice vista, with the low light and long shadows, full of hues of earthy colours.

So yeah, enjoying it a lot so far. Another example of these mid-tier games that I like so much. They may not be the most graphically or technically impressive, and can be pretty janky with lower scope, but they do a couple of things really well, and have a very distinct personality with their odd mix of pros and cons.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

I've been playing some Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Rather unsuccessfully, I might add. ;)
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