Whatcha Been Playing?

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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I played Streets Of Rage (1) for the first time in almost twenty years last night. I've played 2 and 3 hundreds of times over the years, but the original I only ever played once before, when I re-bought a Sega Megadrive around 2001 and sat through it in co-op with a friend. It's nowhere near as sophisticated as its sequels, but last night I had a whale of a time with it. It's still a hell of a lot of fun. I managed to get all the way to the last boss before game over, seems weird nowadays you don't really get game over screens where you just have to start the game again! I managed to get to the final stage without even using a continue, but that boss rush at the end of the game ate in to so many lives!

I'm determined to try to finish most, if not all of the games on the PS4 Megadrive Collection. So often I'll buy a compilation like this and not really give it any time, but I want to get something out of it this time! I was actually playing on Vita via remote play last night and the game looked brilliant on that small screen.
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dezm0nd
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by dezm0nd »

Glad our Chibi Robo podcast inspired someone to play it!
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Alex79uk wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 9:21 am I managed to get all the way to the last boss before game over, seems weird nowadays you don't really get game over screens where you just have to start the game again! I managed to get to the final stage without even using a continue, but that boss rush at the end of the game ate in to so many lives!
I always liked the fact that Mr X makes you a proposal before the final fight......and the cool ending it gives you if you accept !!
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Michiel K
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Michiel K »

Suits wrote: January 2nd, 2019, 7:49 pm Dude, that game just keeps going and going with new levels and fun twists.

Very delightful, fun, game that. One of my favs.
Yeah, I was going to say it's short and sweet, but it turns out it's not that short after all! All for the better, in my opinion.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

I've been playing AC Odyssey, and now I basically just want to live in Greece. My family's from Greece, I'm Macedonian (Slav, not Hellas) by blood, so certainly northern Greece, that's my ancestral homeland. I swear I feel some intrinsic connection to this game. But it's got me knit-picky too - I get that the many of the actors are of Greek descent, but they don't sound like Greeks. It's really annoying to me. They've got western-born actors doing a mock Greek accent with western dialogue. It misses a lot of the idiosyncrasies of the accent, and frankly, they should have just had Greek audio. I see no reason why not. Bah! I'm not even Greek and I bemoan the lack of authenticity!

Anyway. I'm loving the game. I've got 90% of the HUD elements disabled, and the exploration mode really adds a lot to the feeling of discovery - especially some of the tomes. One describes a goat farm, but I can't seem to find a goat farm on the island it refers to... So I'm assuming, perhaps, it's metaphor, or referring to a farm no longer there.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

Happy New Year everyone!.

So I have been devoting most of my time to Battlefield V. Really not had as much fun with a Battlefield since 3. Playing with a regular crew over mic does help elevate it further. The guns feel great, all the maps bar one are excellent and the weather/great graphics make it far more easy to run past enemies you cannot see as they are camouflaged. The tides of war have been the only let down as a few times I have clearly done what is required only to not have it ticked off my completion list.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

DomsBeard wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 11:09 am Happy New Year everyone!.

So I have been devoting most of my time to Battlefield V. Really not had as much fun with a Battlefield since 3. Playing with a regular crew over mic does help elevate it further. The guns feel great, all the maps bar one are excellent and the weather/great graphics make it far more easy to run past enemies you cannot see as they are camouflaged. The tides of war have been the only let down as a few times I have clearly done what is required only to not have it ticked off my completion list.
Totally forgetting I played Tetris Effect for the first time last night. It is amazing, I reached that weird natural flow state you get with Tetris. Easy to play in VR as well with the simple controls and lack of use of the camera. Music is good
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Chopper wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 8:40 am :lol:

Having a genre-curious forum member willing to try out new things at your behest can be a double-edged sword at times. :)
Don't you laugh at me, old man! I don't see anybody else trying it out, do you? :lol:

Playing an FPS/Immersive Sim that also happens to be procedurally generated (if I got this right?) is like having a debt collector ringing your doorbell who also happens to not have showered in two weeks. Like you thought you were in one type of trouble and then BAM! you get twice the unpleasantness within one package.

In all seriousness, am I understanding the structure / concept properly?

I'll persevere, if only because I feel a bit guilty about bailing out so early on MUDFarmer or whatever. :P
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 10:43 am They've got western-born actors doing a mock Greek accent with western dialogue. It misses a lot of the idiosyncrasies of the accent, and frankly, they should have just had Greek audio. I see no reason why not. Bah! I'm not even Greek and I bemoan the lack of authenticity!
Tell me about it. Mock accents that make zero logistical sense are one of my biggest pet peeves in films and games alike.

A mandatory Ancient Greek audio would have been absolutely fantastic, but you can be certain that it would have instantly drawn the ire of the "I don't read subtitles"-crowd who would have accused the devs of being horrible elitists. Way too risky for such a huge budget tent-pole title. I would have bought it in a heartbeat, though!
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Magical_Isopod »

KSubzero1000 wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:12 pm
Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 10:43 am They've got western-born actors doing a mock Greek accent with western dialogue. It misses a lot of the idiosyncrasies of the accent, and frankly, they should have just had Greek audio. I see no reason why not. Bah! I'm not even Greek and I bemoan the lack of authenticity!
Tell me about it. Mock accents that make zero logistical sense are one of my biggest pet peeves in films and games alike.

A mandatory Ancient Greek audio would have been absolutely fantastic, but you can be certain that it would have instantly drawn the ire of the "I don't read subtitles"-crowd who would have accused the devs of being horrible elitists. Way too risky for such a huge budget tent-pole title. I would have bought it in a heartbeat, though!
Well see... There's some politics in that. Greeks are VERY nationalistic, and the official state position is that modern Greek and ancient Greek are the same language. No historian would agree. But I would have still been very, very happy with Greek audio from modern Greek actors. What downright pisses me off though? The AC:O devs responded to questions about Greek audio with a really snide remark along the lines of, "if you really want Greek audio, just put it on Italian, it's close enough." Like. It was incredibly rude, and downright ignorant of linguistics. Their focus on accuracy is commendable, but they only seem to care on the level of an American tourist...
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:31 pm Well see... There's some politics in that. Greeks are VERY nationalistic, and the official state position is that modern Greek and ancient Greek are the same language. No historian would agree.
Goes without saying! :shock:

Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:31 pm What downright pisses me off though? The AC:O devs responded to questions about Greek audio with a really snide remark along the lines of, "if you really want Greek audio, just put it on Italian, it's close enough." Like. It was incredibly rude, and downright ignorant of linguistics. Their focus on accuracy is commendable, but they only seem to care on the level of an American tourist...
Oh really? I didn't know that. That's rough, even for Ubisoft.
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Suits
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Suits »

Nia the Gotmotti in Xenoblade 2 had a delightful cwtchy south Walian accent.

It’s hamed up a bit at times and some of the common language used didn’t seem to fit 100% but overall it was great.

It also fitted the stereotype model of the character very well I though, short, plump and chopsey in a way only a local would maybe find humorous. Proper Vally Girl.

Not expecting it and hearing it all of a sudden, so familiar and powering was magical. Welsh accents aren’t something you hear too often in games - if at all.

It honestly brought a very slight tear to my eye and never didn’t bring a smile to my face over the 60 hours I had with it.
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Chopper
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Chopper »

KSubzero1000 wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 12:50 pm In all seriousness, am I understanding the structure / concept properly?
It's more of a 'curated' procedural generation. On every run the world is generated, and some things are set - for example you will find an essential piece of kit on the first corpse (a rocket pack or something, I forget) and that stays present no matter how many times you reset. The randomness comes into play with weapon distribution, environmental hazards (a staircase missing, a room on fire or radioactive) and stuff like certain areas being without power (you can reroute power if necessary). These then stay the same until you reset the simulation. So if you pick up a silenced pistol with character 1, it won't be there for character 2, if you're on the same playthrough and don't reset. And when you reset. that pistol probably won't be in the same place. You can also have character 1 create a stash for later characters, as the game gets more difficult as you go along. There are also some interdependencies between characters/modes of escape.

I guess part of the pleasure is in unravelling the whole thing - story, environment, what A needs to do for B to happen, etc. The game comes into its own as you progress. Another part is making the randomness work for you - doing without that critical piece of kit and coming up with a workaround.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ThirdDrawing »

I picked up Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice while I was at home for the holidays, based on word of mouth I had heard. That and supporting physical releases. Didn't know much about it before I bought it.

Was not expecting a horror game! I'm quite enjoying it so far!

I'm glad I skipped the episode from last fall so I can listen after I finish it.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:31 pm
KSubzero1000 wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:12 pm
Magical_Isopod wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 10:43 am They've got western-born actors doing a mock Greek accent with western dialogue. It misses a lot of the idiosyncrasies of the accent, and frankly, they should have just had Greek audio. I see no reason why not. Bah! I'm not even Greek and I bemoan the lack of authenticity!
Tell me about it. Mock accents that make zero logistical sense are one of my biggest pet peeves in films and games alike.

A mandatory Ancient Greek audio would have been absolutely fantastic, but you can be certain that it would have instantly drawn the ire of the "I don't read subtitles"-crowd who would have accused the devs of being horrible elitists. Way too risky for such a huge budget tent-pole title. I would have bought it in a heartbeat, though!
Well see... There's some politics in that. Greeks are VERY nationalistic, and the official state position is that modern Greek and ancient Greek are the same language. No historian would agree. But I would have still been very, very happy with Greek audio from modern Greek actors. What downright pisses me off though? The AC:O devs responded to questions about Greek audio with a really snide remark along the lines of, "if you really want Greek audio, just put it on Italian, it's close enough." Like. It was incredibly rude, and downright ignorant of linguistics. Their focus on accuracy is commendable, but they only seem to care on the level of an American tourist...
If there's one thing that I wish Ubisoft did from the very beginning with Assassin's Creed (and from a business standpoint, I kinda get why they didn't), is go all out with the historical time period, including using the original language relevant to the time period and place!

I mean, I understand that some people (even some people close to me in my private life) are afraid/scared/can't-be-bothered-with subtitles, but if the Yakuza series can do it, then so can Assassin's Creed!
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I guess it's not the exact language that would have been spoken at the time, but I played Assassins Creed 2 with the Italian audio last year. It felt much more authentic. Same also for playing Metro with the Russian voice acting. I much prefer it, if it's an option.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ratsoalbion »

Fun fact: Our very own Michiel does the Dutch language translations for AC.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Put some more hours into Prey: Mooncrash and it just isn't clicking I'm afraid...

Yesterday evening, died repeatedly against a particularly troublesome enemy that my arsenal seemed completely inefficient against (the Moon Shark) as soon as he started appearing from my second run onward. I went and looked at a handful of videos and fan articles to try and see how other players were approaching the game and if I could perhaps readjust my strategy a little. It does seem like there's a lot that goes into the loot runs, etc...

Booted it up again today, bought the only available weapon at the start with plenty of ammo, rushed to the main PC at the center without collecting anything (I wanted to leave some stuff for the others), carefully followed the objective marker toward one of the escape pods, but got cornered by the Moon Shark again and died when he threw undodgeable (?) rocks at me while my shots didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

I think I understand the appeal of this particular game, but so many of its elements are going against my natural play style which means I've put it down for now. I'm sorry if this isn't what you were hoping for, Choppo. :(

But I'm not ready to give up on the game entirely. I plan on playing through the Prey main game at some point in order to familiarize myself with the various mechanics and give Mooncrash another shot afterwards.


Started up SOMA after being curious about the praise it received for its narrative. Pretty early on, but very atmospheric and I appreciate the UI / lack of obvious signposting. Might there still be some hope for me in the FPH genre?


On a more positive note, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is amazing! It follows the core template of the first one very closely, but puts its own spin on it with entirely new characters and mission design. The new Grenadier class is really useful but with carefully thought out weaknesses. And like the first one, everything feels so delightfully tight and well-considered. This ticks a lot of my boxes.

Love it so far, definitely has the potential to become my belated 2018 GOTY. :)
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by kintaris »

Because of those charming sods on the Computer Game Show I just picked up a PlayStation VR Mega Bundle -- that's with Astro Bot, Doom VFR, Wipeout, Skyrim and VR Worlds. Expect some updates on my new tech once I feel relaxed enough to attempt setting it up.

It was a handsome deal on Very.co.uk for 209 instead of 299, but it looks like they've run out now.

I already played a bit of Astro Bot at EGX so I know I'm not going to regret this :)
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ratsoalbion »

ThirdMan wrote: January 4th, 2019, 9:12 pm Does The Computer Game show still have the same main presenter?
David? Well they did up until the most recent show, but he's just gone on paternity (for an extended period).
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